Parzivus

Berserker - The Mothman

Jul 27th, 2020 (edited)
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  1. America: Home of the free, land of the strange.
  2. The reach of the Clock Tower is wide, but not global. There are places, like backwater Asian countries and the New World, where their priorities are lesser, their influence weaker. Such places attract outcasts among mages, those who attempt rituals too dangerous and too unconcealable for the halls of London or the deserts of Egypt.
  3. One such mage made their way far into rural Appalachia, in the mountains of West Virginia. They were of the Chimera department, that which involves magical creatures, and in their search for the Root they became convinced that a mere human did not have the capability to reach it. It was there that they would being increasingly dangerous experiments on their own body, fusing themselves with various animals in wild attempts to grow stronger.
  4. Yet it was all for naught. Every furred limb, scaly wing, and alien organ served only to push the mage toward madness at their increasingly unrecognizable body. In their darkest hour, surrounded by the corpses of countless slaughtered beasts, they seized the only other living thing remaining in the laboratory - a tiny moth.
  5. Local people would later hear that the old munitions plant in the area had exploded after decades of neglect. Slowly, sightings began to appear of a hideous creature, larger than a man with strange wings and two massive glowing eyes that brought doom wherever it appeared. Local newspapers would dub it with a name that would become famous in American legend - the Mothman!
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  7. STR: B+
  8. AGI: B
  9. END: D
  10. MAG: C
  11. LCK: D
  12. NP: -
  13.  
  14. Mad Enhancement C
  15. The class skill of Berserker, it trades the user's sanity for an increase in attributes. In this case, he has lost all ability to speak, and is prone to strange obsessions and fits of rage.
  16. Normally, the Mothman would be summonable in other classes like Assassin or Caster, but being such a modern spirit, his Mystery is somewhat lacking, and he greatly prefers being a Berserker purely for the increased fighting ability. At this level, his attributes are raised enough to compete with an average servant.
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  18. Monstrous Strength A-
  19. A skill allowing one to raise their strength parameter for a limited time.
  20. As a servant physically similar to some sort of strange demonic beast, Berserker shares the ability to temporarily grow stronger. At this rank, his blows are earth-shattering while active, leaving great holes and craters in the surroundings as if hit by a tank shell. He prefers to use it briefly and end the battle in one quick stroke, as continuous use places a great deal of stress on his body.
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  22. Harbinger C
  23. In the tales of the Mothman, a frequently cited note is that it tends to appear near places just before disaster strikes. Most notable is the collapse of the Three Narrows Bridge, but in general, it is seen as unwise to remain anywhere it has been sighted for long.
  24. These stories manifest as a kind of curse, where accidents of various scale follow Mothman wherever they go. All of it can generally be written off as bad luck - a building falling due to faulty construction, destructive weather, or even the infamous killer known as gas leaks. Mothman tends to avoid these simply by flying away with his master in tow, and in truth, most servants should not have much to fear, but any hero or master that is concerned for the lives of innocent civilians will be forced to confront Berserker as quickly as possible.
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  26.  
  27. Noble Phantasm:
  28. Chimera Overload - Armament of the Beast King
  29.  
  30. Type: Anti-Unit
  31. Rank: B
  32. Range: 1-5m
  33. Max Targets: 10
  34.  
  35. In it’s own way, the experiments of that mad scientist in West Virginia did bear fruit.
  36. Before completely losing his mind, he learned a great deal on the nature of beasts - how they might be dissected, what physical and magical traits they possessed, and how they might be grafted into the human body. In exchange for his life, his knowledge must surely have rivalled the creators of the first homunculi.
  37. As a servant, it is sublimated as his Noble Phantasm. Berserker can use magical energy to alter his body at will into the animals he studied. At any moment, an arm might become covered in iron-like scales or poisonous spines. Claws appear on his torso seemingly at random, and his teeth contort in a horrifying fashion. His legs may in one moment propel him into the air before sticking to the ceiling above.
  38. However, as a Berserker, the Mothman struggles with strategy once thrown into the heat of battle. Rather than fighting someone with an endless series of weapons and tricks, it is more like battling an entire zoo at once. Heroes renowned for slaying mythical creatures will have little difficulty, but the speed and variation of attacks can be overwhelming for others.
  39. Afterwards, Berserker reverts to his “normal” moth form. It is unclear if he could transform into a human, but he seems uninterested in providing an answer.
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  41. Personality
  42. He’s a magus. That is, he isn’t very pleasant to be around.
  43. Berserker sees the world more in terms of tools and obstacles than allies and enemies. He belongs in the group of servants who very much want the Holy Grail, and has no particular chivalric code or honor to worry about. Of course, many mages would find this attitude perfectly acceptable or even helpful - he is not so mad that he thinks nothing of endangering his master, and is perfectly capable of being cooperative with a competent master. It is merely that, among the colorful bunch that is the Throne of Heroes, he may come across as a little reserved. Maybe the Chaldea crew can get him to lighten up a little.
  44. This is somewhat of a strange fact, but his wings are actually capable of changing color to match his mood. Normally, they remain the yellow-brown common to moths, but when angry they change to red, blue when sad, and a whole host of other colors. It partially compensates for his lack of speech, but only in very vague terms. Berserker himself seems entirely unaware of the phenomenon, which is bound to lead to all sorts of misunderstandings and awkward situations. Perhaps there’s hope for him as a harem protagonist? ...no, not really.
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  46. Character Interactions
  47. Circe - As fellow “winged magicians specializing in animals,” types, they get along exceeding well. She understands him better than most, and he has become somewhat attached as a result. Unfortunately, Circe’s idea of entertainment is usually at the expense of random servants and staff members, so giving her henchmen should be strongly discouraged.
  48. Fujino - As fellow “famous for bringing down bridges” types, he has been trying to strike up a friendship with her. Being stalked by a moth is, as expected, an unpleasant experience, and his affection has not been returned whatsoever. How sad.
  49. Jack the Ripper - She’s always eager to meet new mommies, and her surgery skill makes her mildly useful to him, so he has taken her on as a sort of apprentice. Keep an eye on them, lest she walk out of his workshop with a tail.
  50. ???? - A meeting between two existences that could never exist in the same timeline. Yet, if it somehow did, there would undoubtedly be a carnage, terrible to witness, among two that are utterly convinced that the other is a mere fake.
  51.  
  52. Wish for the Grail
  53. One might expect the wish to be reaching the root, as all mages desire. Alternatively, he might use the power to become human once again.
  54. The truth is, as always, more complicated.
  55. He knows, on some level, that he has lost his humanity. That in his desperate search for knowledge, he lost some integral part of what it means to be human. That, in looking, he was blinded, and became a monster among monsters. The thought burns within him, obsesses him, controls him. Truly, more than anything else, that is what makes him Berserker, and that is why nothing else in this world matters to him.
  56. If he becomes victor of the Holy Grail War, he will ask to turn back time. There is no other option. He must erase the idea before it ever took hold of him, a lifetime ago. Is the grail capable of such an act? Does it even matter? Either way, that is where his destiny lies, and there will be no rest before he reaches it. Such is the way of things - that which was born of witchcraft will be ended by witchcraft, and the cycle will end. If he believes such with all his being, that dream will certainly come true.
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