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Showing results for tags 'rise of the house of usher'.
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GM Just past midnight March 6th, 2021 In the shadow of the Doomforge The House of Usher had returned. The Raven had been after them for months at this point. He had researched the old Ushers that the previous Ravens had fought. He had been following any leads, stopped any of their operations he could find. All that he had learned was that they were back and their influence on Freedom City was growing. They had yet to meet another Usher directly. A recent operation had uncovered one new piece of information, at least: The Ushers' base of operations were somewhere in Kingston. And so, Raven and Nevermore headed towards Kingston, in the shadow of the Doomforge...
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OOC for this.
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OOC for this.
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GM Night February 25th, 2021 Across the rooftops of the Fens Callie had spent a lot of time patrolling Freedom City since being brought to the this time. She had gotten used to this future Freedom, gotten used to this new world she found herself in, where she existed twice at once: The headmistress of Claremont and the time displaced teenager. Things had changed in the poorer parts of the city lately. The Fens, Southside, Kingston... The shadows seemed darker. Ever since Raven and Nevermore had learned that the House of Usher had returned, the Raven Family had found mounting evidence of the Ushers' increasing presence in the city, especially in these areas. Now, she had been patrolling the Fens. It had been largely uneventful when she caught sight of a mugging in progress on the street below, near a street corner. Three men against one hardly seemed fair.
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The House of Usher From the shadow of the Kingston Doomforge, the House of Usher is reborn! Once again, a new generation of Ushers stand to profit, providing the Freedom City underworld with anything and everything they want or need. No deed is too depraved, no request too dark. What they want, they take. What they can't, they destroy. All is for the House of Usher. Description & History The Ushers have lived in Freedom City for centuries, trading in everything dark and depraved that decent men and women would turn away from. Swindling Native Americans out of their lands, trading slaves after slavery was abolished, assassination, breaking strikes, running bootleg liquour, supplying super villains with drugs, minions and whatever else they needed, even trading with Nazi Germany at the height of World War II, no sin was too great for the Ushers. In the name of profit, they would do anything. The Ushers were so reviled by Freedom City at large that they had to turn to inbreeding to preserve their lineage. Their madness and deformity only grew. During the 1960'es, family patriarch Alister Usher cultivated a criminal empire born of sin and wickedness, eventually attracting the attention of the original Raven. After nearly a decade of conflict, the Raven managed to defeat Alister Usher. On November 12th 1969, the House of Usher in Lantern Hill was burned to the ground, leaving only charred bodies behind. For decades, the Usher line was believed to be extinct. In 2018, Alister Usher's grandchildren returned to Freedom City. Unnoticed in the chaos of the 2018 Terminus Invasion, the Usher's staked their claim on Kingston. Here, in the Shadow of the Doomforge, they built an exact replica of the House of Usher that once stood on Lantern Hill. Slowly and carefully, the House of Usher expanded their reach and grew their power, careful not to attract unwanted attention until they were ready. Their clandestine actions bore fruit, and through blackmail, coercion and manipulation, their power grew. The House of Usher grew strong in the shadow of the Terminus. They changed, their constant exposure granting them uncanny abilities, twisted powers that only increased their madness. The House of Usher exists for two reasons: Profit and revenge. They do not care that the original Raven has long since he retired. The Raven Family will suffer, as their grandfather did, and they do not care if all of Freedom burns alongside them. Members The House of Usher The scions of the House of Usher are all warped in some way. Most commonly, their skin will be pale and seem like it is almost rotting, though other deformities and mutations can appear. Anthony Usher: The head of the family. A pale young man, always dressed in immaculate Victorian era suits. Anthony led the return to Freedom, all in the name of profit and revenge. Anthony was born with insensate flesh, but otherwise dramatically enhanced senses. His time in the shadow of the Doomforge has granted him the ability to instill fear in others and control shadows, even shaping them and turning them solid. Bernard Usher: The thief. Bernard is a lanky man with long black hair, his left eye noticably larget than his right. His Victorian suits will invariably be in tatters. Motivated solely by greed. He has always been able to have whatever he wanted. Why should he stop now? The Doomforge has unhinged Bernard from reality. Unless focused, his body seems to stutter between movements, as he bypasses great distances in little time, almost as if he moves at super speed. David Usher: The smuggler. A trader of human beings, David services the most depraved of the Usher's clients. A short young man, standing at barely 5 feet tall, with short blonde hair. He lives for the thrill of the hunt, to find whatever others can't, to procure whatever is desired, no matter how or why. The powers he has been granted by the Doomforge, if any, are a mystery. Francis Usher: The enforcer. A hulking brute of a man, Francis was one of the main advocates for taking revenge on the Raven Family. He is the youngest of the Ushers and looks up to Anthony, who he will often accompany. Bald, tall, unnaturally muscled and appearing much older than he is, Francis is a sadist that takes joy in pure violence and inflicting pain on others. He is much smarter than his appearance and demeanor would suggest. The Doomforge have only served to further warp Francis' body into grotesque proportions. Strong, durable and fast. Vivian Usher: The mastermind. An anomaly among the Ushers, Vivian was born beautiful and perfect with long white hair, and thus, she was shunned by her family. Only her brother-cousin Anthony would look upon her, and they grew to be co-dependent. Vivian is a mastermind and Anthony's co-conspirator, the one that makes all his dreams and plans come true. She continues to push the House of Usher to take revenge on the Raven Family, making sure that the family never forgets. She has only grown more beautiful and deadly in the shadow of the Doomforge. A perfect woman, she charms any and all into her graces, then kills them with a poison touch. Known Associates The Devil's Advocates: A group of bikers that made a deal with the Devil to gain powers based on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They, and the bikers that serve under them, serve as enforcers and security for the House of Usher. Angel: The leader of the group. A hedonistic Satanist that believes that might makes right. Death. Born Loser, the: An conman and aspiring musician with a fondness for permanently disfiguring his victims. Famine. Buddy: A crude, disease-ridden lech. Plague. Cueball: A supremely violent and tough man. War.
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GM A Friday evening in late February, 2021 The Boardwalk, outside the Diamond Clover Casino It had not been a evening for Raina so far. Eddie had seemed like a nice enough guy at first. He had taken her to a magic show at the Boardwalk. The magician wasn't exactly good, but he was trying at least, not helped at all by Eddie's heckling and talking over each and every thing that he did, loudly explaining to Raina how he would have done the trick so much better. No, Eddie had turned out to be quite insufferable, and Raina had left, leaving the Diamond Clover Casino soon after. It had been a good day for Casper. No trouble at all so far, he had been hangng out with Carrie and had taken her to a kids' show at the Boardwalk, and she had absolutely loved it. He could have sworn that Jessie had looked a bit differently at him when she picked up Carrie, too. All in all, a good day, and he had spent the rest of the afternoon and evening hanging out at the Boardwalk, just feeling good about himself for once. Of course, either of those feelings wouldn't last. In the cold clear night, the roar of bikes echoed through the Boardwalk. A biker gang tore through the Boardwalk, all wearing jackets with an a horned skull with burning eyes and a pentragram on the forehead that identified them as "THE DEVIL's ADVOCATES FREEDOM CITY". Few wore helmets or any kind of protection, laughing and shouting as they drove amongst the people that had to leap for their lives to get out of the way. Of the two riders in the lead, one looked almost unnaturally pale, a red bandana tied around his forehead, his rapidly thinning black hair pulled back by it, and the other, with a full light brown beard and long hair, wore a helmet in the style of an Imperial German Pickelhaube officer's helmet.
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Rise of the House of Usher The House of Usher returned to Freedom City in 2020, first coming into conflict with the Raven Family and their allies during August of that year. With the House of Usher having quickly established a powerbase, can the Raven Family and their allies stop them once more? Narrative The storyline is still ongoing. The narrative will be updated as it progresses. Characters Players characters Arrow IV Ghost Sparkler Raven Family, the Madame Raven Nevermore II Raven III Rebound Notable NPCs Bowman IV Devil's Advocates, the Cueball Born Loser, the Buddy Cueball House of Usher, the Anthony Usher Bernard Usher David Usher Francis Usher Vivian Usher Timeline August 18th, 2020: The House of Usher reveals itself during a planned playdate for Bowman IV and Raven III's sidekicks Arrow IV and Nevermore II, brutally beating Bowman IV in the process. While Francis Usher is captured and left for the Freedom City police, he soon escapes. In between: The House of Usher's influence spreads throughout Freedom City, with several minor skirmishes between them, the Raven Family and other heroes. Late February, 2021: After Ghost and Sparkler defeats the Devil's Advocates, the House of Usher frees and recruits the biker gang as their enforcers. February 25th, 2021: A normal patrol for Madame Raven turns into something else entirely, as she and Rebound ended up fighting Bernard Usher. While Bernard eventually fled, he seemed to develop a crush on Madame Raven. March 6th, 2021: Raven III and Nevermore journeys to Kingston, into the shadow of the Doomforge...
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GM An abandoned warehouse in Kingston 11:30PM, August 18th, 2020 The Raven and Bowman families had been in Freedom City for generations. Beyond working together in the Freedom League or chance meetings, there had been little coordinated effort between what might perhaps be the city's two most well known sources of unpowered heroes. Both families had recently expanded. New, young heroes in training. Both the newest Arrow and Nevermore would attend Claremont Academy soon. At headmistress' Summers suggestion, the fourth Bowman and the third Raven had arranged a playdate for the fourth Arrow and the second Nevermore. It was a simple job. One where the experienced heroes would be able to keep their sidekicks safe with little issue. It would serve as a simple training exercise. Nothing serious, a weapons deal going down in an abandoned warehouse in Kingston, far away from the Doomforge. It would all be very simple and easy. Maybe a few stray bullets at worst. No civilians to keep safe, just the other heroes. What could go wrong? The group of heroes were positioned on the roof of a nearby building with a clear vantage point of the supposedly abandoned warehouse. It was all concrete and glass, several ways inside. It was supposed to be empty, but of course it wasn't. The four heroes could see lights moving around inside. The Bowman kneeled by the edge of the roof, holding a pair of binoculars to his eyes. "I count at least 12 people in there. There's probably more, staying away from the windows." He lowered the binoculars, then looked back over his shoulders at the rest of the heroes. "How do you want to do this?"
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OOC for this.
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OOC for this. @Cubismo @KnightDisciple
