Julia Valentine
| World of Darkness: Guardian House | |
|---|---|
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| GM | |
| Karen | |
| Game Time | |
| 1st Weekend of the month | |
| Characters | |
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Dr. John Evans Julia Valentine Thomas Daly Kirk Ryder Richard Berkinson IV Ben's Changeling Kimura Tristain Hiroyuki Matt's Keyboarder Norman Rockfellow Jim Tanaka |
Vitals
| Name: Hephziba Bat Adam חֶפְצִיבָּה בַּת אָדָם
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Place of Birth: Hell Height: 6'0" |
Description
In her true form, Julia becomes a whole other beast: soft leathery wings appear on her back, fingers become claws, fair skin turns pale and otherworldly, and green eyes flash with sin. It would be disturbing if it didn't make you want her all the more.
Julia often wears normal "street" clothes, which on her become more than that, and she's always at the top of fashion for club and formal wear, though you'll get a treat at amateur's night. At home, stealing Thomas' sweater is the norm.
Julia is built like a dancer, tall and lithe, but curvy with sweet almond eyes and amazing hair- when she's being "normal." Truth be told, she can be anything you want her to be, and she knows exactly what you want, you little perv.
Background
Julia is not quite sure how old she is, only that she is "of age" and has been on the Earth for only a year. She grew up in Hell, a place without hope or the warmth of felling God's love. Earth is a relative paradise where she can exert her will... but the emotions it creates are strange and frightening.
Hell may have been without God's love, but it wasn't without her mother's. Julia's mother's age is unknown, but she "frolicked in her youth" in the middle ages. Julia's grandmother is an angel of sacred prostitution and one of the four queens of demons who mate with the archangel Samael/Azrael. Thus, Julia counts both Lilith ("Grammy" and Azrael "Grampa") as allies. Julia also has an ally in the demon/cherub Azazel.
Julia first appeared in Las Vegas, armed with a business card her mother kept as a memento of Julia's father. Julia's made it a personal mission to find her father, and Vegas was the perfect training ground for a young succubus to learn the ropes on Earth. After swindling enough cash from hapless victims of temptations, she made her way to San Francisco, the city on the business card. There she enrolled in UCSF as a cover and worked as a language tutor to pay the bills... and corrupt a few souls on the way.
Tutoring lead Julia to Thomas Daly,
answered a paper ad for a room at Guardian House.
We might say that life has never been the same since, but life has never been the same for the young immortal demon since she landed on this plane of existence.
Merits and Vestments
Merits
- Dragon's Tongue 3
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- Striking Looks 4
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- Magical Nexus 2
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- Language 3
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- Allies 3
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- Contacts 1
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- Barfly 1
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Vestments
- Purient Perfume
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- Succubus Kiss
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- Flight of the Seducer
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- Mother May I
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- Purgatory's Failure
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Inherent Demonic Traits
Inherent Demonic Traits are applicable to all demons, regardless of nature, vice, or infernal rank. These can be learned by others through research, though it may be long and difficult to do (pg. 48 of Inferno for rules).
- Aura of Corruption
Demons leave their mark on everything they touch. It’s impossible to predict the general effects of a demon’s attentions, but in many cases they remain long after it’s either left or been banished. The exact effect depends upon the circumstances behind the demon’s presence and its favored sins.
- The Dragon's Tongue
Demons understand all languages, including ancient, dead tongues and languages that are used in supernatural societies. Additionally, demons “speak” their own language. It sounds like tortured glossolalia and cannot be translated or decoded. Strangely enough, it can be taught. Some old texts call the demon’s language the “Dragon’s Tongue.”
- Soul of Sin
Within their own Vices, demons understand sin to a degree no other being can fathom. When a target shares one of its Malapraxis’ Vices, the demon immediately knows about every occasion upon which she’s indulged it, even when she has forgotten some or all of them.
- Lord of Lies
No supernatural power can detect a demon’s lies, half-truths or other deceptions, even when the power does not depend upon reading the demon’s “mind.” For example, powers that search for falsehood according to the threads of destiny (such as Awakened Fate spells) are useless. Anyone using such a power sees whatever the demon wants him to see. Some rituals and powers can command a demon to speak the truth, but their users have no way of knowing whether these are effective. The demon might resist the use of such a power and, playing the part of a cowed, defeated spirit, spout a torrent of lies in a grudging, pained voice.
- Keeper of Secrets
No supernatural power can penetrate a demon’s thoughts. (Perhaps this is for the best.) There are rites and powers capable of commanding a demon to reveal information, but without them, characters are limited to their natural guile and the demon’s discretion. Powers can sense the presence of demons, but can never peer inside their thoughts and motives.
Attributes and Traits
Attributes
| Intelligence | 2 | Wits | 3 | Resolve | 3 | ||
| Strength | 2 | Dexterity | 2 | Stamina | 2 | ||
| Presence | 4 | Manipulation | 2 | Composure | 2 |
Derived Traits
- Size 5
- Speed 9
- Defense
- Armor
- Initiative Mod 4
Other Traits
- Health 7
- Willpower 4
- Infernal Will 3
- Morality No Score
Skills
Mental
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Physical
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Social
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What's in a Name?
Though Julia has a secular name which I gave to her originally because "Julias are always a troublesome bunch," as a demon she needs a true name with which she can be called with. She also does need a last name to go with Julia when it comes to her identification and running about on Earth, and I've decided to go with Tim's delightful suggestion of "Julia Valentine," not so much for the wonderful reference to Cowboy Bebop as the name meanings. I'll get to that in a bit. First, the true name:
Because this name is for rather ritualistic purposes, I decided to go with proper Hebraic naming conventions to both reflect her roots and for the added benefit that even today, Jewish children with secular names are given Hebrew names for use in Temple, so she seemed in a very similar boat.
As a note, while many have easily translated names (especially with popular biblical names, like Joseph, Sarah, or Michael,) a Hebrew name does not have to be the same as the secular name, but should reflect the same spirit, or qualities known if given later in life- it just often does mimic the secular name.
Hebraic naming follows as such:
[First Name] Daughter/Son of [Father's First Name]
"Daughter of" being "bat" and "Son of" being "ben."
For supernatural beings there has also been the tendency to construct more depth of meaning out of the name by the natural link one creates with bat or ben. It turns the name more into a descriptor phrase. As with real living humans, poetics are a plus, and deeper translations are always meaningful. I've tried to do that with Julia. Here is her name:
חֶפְצִיבָּה בַּת אָדָם
Hephziba bat Adam
Hephziba, can variously mean "delight is in her" or "I want her" (desire, wink wink) and has also been a euphemism for Jerusalem (in Isaiah). Adam, besides the name, both means "man" and "earth" from whence the first man was made. Thus the name can form the following:
"delight, daughter of earth" "desire, daughter of man" (etc.)
and thusly: "desire of man" "delights of the earth"
one of which points to her demonic nature as a succubus (Desire of Man) and one to her more free nature out of Hell (Delights of the Earth). The reference to "man" can also be literal as she had a human father. Then, if we consider the euphemism for Jerusalem, it creates an interesting twist on The Holy City as being simply a secular creation of man, and on the demon being a divine creation of God. Her true name has rather deep philosophical implications. (Makes sense, coming from the den of the Adversary.)
Now back to Valentine:
Julia is not just from a Jewish tradition but is very wrapped up in Christianity as well, her secular name should reflect this somewhat to keep from being either to far from the true name and yet also not too like to it (not too Jewy!). It should be meaningful but still sound everyday to be obviously secular as well.
In old Christianity (as well today, and in Judaism), Jerusalem was the Holy City and it's secular counterpart was Rome. Rome eventually has become the seat of the Catholic Church, but back in the day, Jesus asked his fellow Jews to "give unto caesar that which is caesars, give unto God that which is God's." A name with a Roman background would balance the Jerusalem in her true name.
Fortunately, Julia had a big start in her first name, which like Julius Caesar's, comes from the Julii family name. The name itself goes back to the legend of Aeneas, but has no real known meaning, just the history of the Julians over time. Valentine actually complements it well:
Valentine comes from Valentinus, another family name, from "valens" which means strong and healthy or able. Valentine is our easy modern day corruption of the Latin. Her secular name thus renders her as a bit of an able trickster, strong from descent or lineage; and, like the purpose of having her secular name, it is somewhat obscure in meaning but points to oh so much more lurking beneath the surface.
So there we have it: Julia, named Hephziba bat Adam, called Valentine.