Deus Ex Machina: The Xenogears Tale ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PERSONA SHEET ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Player Information ------------------ Name or Alias: Mike "IceTigger" Gorman Age (optional): 18 Sex: Male. E-mail address: jhgorman@eos.ncsu.edu ICQ/AIM/Yahoo! Pager/etc. (if applicable): 1542722 Character Information --------------------- -Name: Feris Utan -Age: Looks to be about fifty or sixty but is, in reality, thirty-four. -Sex: Male. -Occupation(s): Master Gear Mechanic. -Substitutes which Xenogears Character? (if applicable): Ol' Man Bal (if anything) -Birthdate: -Height: 5'9" -Weight: 145 lbs. -Eyes (colour and shape): A deep, dark grey... slightly oval in shape. -Build: Somewhat stocky... Feris is well built as a result of his constant heavy gear work. -Complexion: Normally quite dark, although his skin is constantly sunburnt from repeated exposure to his UV blowtorch. -Facial Features: His face is somewhat leathery and cracked, due to years in exposure to the high heat and grueling conditions of his workshop. The weathering of his face conceals what was once a fairly attractive countenance. -Identifying Marks: A large, dark scar is etched into his leg, from where a Gear sized hip-actuator fell on him during his youth. The accident left Feris with a semi-noticable limp. -Hair (colour and style): His brown hair is typically cut short, and normally spiked straight up. It is typically very dry and dirty, again a side-effect from all of his work in his shop. -Voice: His voice is somewhat gnarled and cracked, but that doesn't stop him from speaking. For the most part, his voice is is flat and not overly (or underly) emotional, but can quickly take on harried and excited tones when he's either talking about gears or writing. -Dress/Attire: Typically wears very baggy beige pants, held up by a black leather belt. His long-sleeved, button up tunic is a deep blue, lined with a scarlet red. The cuffs are often upturned, and the top button in the front is often left unfastened. In his workshop, his typical attire is a flat suit of drab grey coveralls. -Jewelry (if any): Wears a silver wristwatch, and a Cruciform of Nisan on a golden chain around his neck. The latter was given to him by an old female acquaintance, and the former was bought in Bledavik because it happened to catch his eye. -Weapons/Tools (if any): Typically tries to shy away from combat on foot, but if he has to use a weapon, it'll probably be something from his gear toolkit. The toolkit itself is probably one of his most frequently used items. Whenever gear repair-work is necessary, he puts on a pair of bulky metallic gloves. These gloves have a small nano-machine assembler built into them, allowing him to instantly create any repair tool which might be necessary, and instantly break it down upon completion of the task. In addition to the assemblers, the gloves also house and *extremely* small anti-gravitic drive, akin to an extremely scaled down version of what keeps Shevat in the air. The drive can create a temporary anti-gravity field around whatever he might be holding, thus effectively doubling his lifting capability (author's note: Okay... so the science sucks, but it sounds cool) . Last but not least is the blowtorch built into the right glove. Since gear repairs often require a blowtorch, a torch unit was built into the glove so as to not unnecissarily use nano-machine resources. If Feris uses any weapon in combat, it'll be the blowtorch. The technology surrounding Feris' toolkit seems ultra-modern with respect to Ignas society. This is partially because the gloves date back to the Zeboim civilization. They are extremely valuable, and many parties, if they knew of their existence, would pay quite a bit to get their hands on the nano-machine assemblers. Even Feris is unsure of the exact workings behind his equipment, although he realizes it's value. There is also a fair amount of sentiment attached to the gloves, as they are a family treasure handed down from the father to the oldest son in his family. -Armour (if any): None that he wears with any regularity. -Personality: Feris is always personable and friendly, even to those with a foul disposition. He greets any intellectual discussion with open honesty, but truly comes alive when the discussion is either gear mechanics or literature. -Background and History: For hundreds of years, the Utan's have been regarded in all nations as respectable and competent mechanics. Their services have always been sought after, and premium prices are always paid for their original and unique gear designs. Feris is the thirteenth in the line of these Master Gear technicians. From an early age, he has been educated in the workings and theory of gear design and repair. His father's workshop, located in northern Aveh, was his playground from early childhood until late adolescence, when he was sent to Nisan for a more generalized education. In Nisan, Feris acquired a love of classical literature, and evenly divided his time between repairing Nisan's militia equipment and writing adventure stories. His "editor," as he liked to call her, was a young woman studying to become a Nisan priestess. She read his stories, criticizing where necessary and offering suggestions when needed. After a time, the two fell in love, but she was forced to call off the relationship when she attained full priestesshood. The incident left him somewhat emotionally scarred, and since that time he's had a hard time establishing any long term commitment to any woman. His studies ended a few years later, and after helping lead a retro-fit project for Nisan's gear militia, Feris returned to his home in Aveh. Unfortunately, he was surprised to learn that his father had disappeared several months prior to his return. His sister had no idea how the disappearance had occured, and his mother had gone into a sort of psychological shock. This incident left Feris as the head of the family, and the one in charge of his father's unfinished projects. In the years since the disappearance, Feris has worked diligently as both a mechanic *and* a writer (the former moreso than that latter) , although he's never had any of his work formally published. He's become renowned throughout Aveh and Kislev as a reliable source of sturdy and efficient gear designs, and is often paid highly for his remarkable work. His income is mostly given in donation to the Nisan church. -Birthplace: Aveh -Mother: Cyntha Utan (67) -Father: Romero Utan (72 ... Missing, presumed dead) -Siblings: Rebecca Utan (23) -Mate: None. -Children: None. -Other relations: Even though their romantic relationship has long since ended, Feris is still on speaking terms with the Priestess Samantha Ogden. -Secondary Skills: He is a somewhat talented writer, specializing in adventure and epic poetry. He hopes to one day publish his work when he has something worthwhile to release to the public. -Abilities/Disabilities: Feris is an exceptionally talented Gear designer and technician, and his skill is surpassed by few. This makes him a little bit cocky towards his own ability, although not in an overtly arrogant way. Also, his limp can be a noticable impediment in open spaced combat, which he tries to avoid at all costs. -Hobbies: Writing, gear design. -Current residence: Bledavik. Currently, Feris is designing a new type of security gear for a wealthy Bledavik land-owner. -Current Life Conflicts: None... per se. He is always trying to discover what became of his father, to whom he now bears a little resentment. Also, he has been troubled by the requests the Aveh government has asked of him. They refuse to discuss the project, yet they wish his assistance, and their demands are growing more forceful. As of yet, he has always made polite excuses to refuse their requests, but he fears that there might be trouble... -Other notes: Unknown to Feris, his father was threatened into working with the Solarian government. His "disappearance" was actually an abduction, and Romero was put to work on the original Weltall design project. -Gear name: Kinzern -Gear description: Kinzern is a large, heavily modified repair gear. The basic central chassis has been slimmed and streamlined, and the primitive, blockly head assembly has been replaced with a vaguely humaniform face. A large sensor array is positioned in the middle of its "face," making it seem that the gear has one large "eye." The arms are large and stocky, with the left hand replaced by a lifting claw. On the back of the right hand is a gear-proportioned blowtorch of Feris' own design. The entire gear in fact, is one of his productions. Unfortunately, it's not truly representative of his ability and, keeping with his love of adventures, he one day hopes to build a gear that a real "hero" could ride. -Class: Repair/Light Attack -Primary function: Transport, Defense -Weapon(s): Gear proportioned blowtorch. -Abilities/Disabilities: Due to the odd proportions in the limbs, Kinzern is rather slow. It's lake of speed is made up for, however, by it's natural Frame HP restoration ability... signifigantly more damage is repaired with a substantially lower fuel cost. -How your character acquired the gear: The gear has been built over the years by Feris.