Arsenal Card: Operator Adven Ventura

His white-burned hands and feet speak of his age, his filled cabinets speak of his feats, but his blank, marble stare belies something far greater. For one cursed to be old in a profession where most die young, he has seen the rise and fall of many, lived through the greatest times in the modern Dancirah, and proved that the doctrine of Spyndl still burns powerfully through all these processions. And the Dancirah has seen many a man and creed, but Ventura is here, and they are not. Boasting infamous marksmanship and battle-honed chalkweaving, it is not that Ventura is a force to be reckoned with, but rather the yardstick by which reckon-worthy forces are measured.

T0 - Martial Disciplines

Rigorous training in the ranks of the Spyndl Academy’s Operator school, further honing out in the field and gathering experience in his many travels has taught and honed Operator Adven Ventura into a lethal weapon. Proficiency with fists, martial weapons and firearms has granted him supreme confidence in engaging in all forms of combat against any type of target.

Innate

• Spyndl Academy’s HALOS Doctrine - HALOS “Some of the greatest figures in the annals of the Current got there with nothing but sword and hand cannon in hand. The symbol of victory in the Switchboard is the HALOS doctrine.”

• HighCastle Wyrlian - Castle Wyrlian “Many times I have extended an arm to a fallen foe only to be slashed again on the forearm. I still keep doing it. The stories spread, and that is good for the spirit.”

• Sanscryvan Knife and Sword Disciplinary Standard - Skidis “Everyone start somewhere. I like Skidis, it is polished and disciplined.”

• Sekator’s Restraint and Disabling Standard - SRDS “Necessary for training. I thought once it was a misguided attempt to disabuse the notion of Operators being ruthless killers. I was somewhat right; it is precisely because so many of us are just that, that it is necessary to learn the Restraint and Disabling Standard.”

Practiced

• The Wheelhouse’s Five Summits - The House Pentrapex “I cannot speak on that which doesn’t exist.”

• The Flight of Zahir - Divine Zahflir “Speak not of this discipline. It is meant only for the hollows of war.”

Novice

• Starwyld’s Bladeworks - Threwfair-fam “To define a discipline as the amalgamation of all other disciplines performed poorly is… preposterous to say the least.”

T1 - Relic Armaments

Relic Arm 1

Noblesse Oblige - WHLHUS-011-F#SALYNE - Praxlance “There is a gap between us that nothing can close. And that is fine; the stars I fight for belong to you.” Praxlances precede the Vaults, as such, there cannot possibly be a praxlance that originates as a Vault relic. That has not stopped the crafter of this weapon from taking the next imaginable route; raiding dozens of Vaults for the weapon-treasures within each, breaking them along their seams, and forging them into something new. It is for this reason that cracks would have spiraled across the length of stave were it not for the inlaid metal holding it together, and chips would have been nicked out of the blade were it not for the authority of the post it adorns that keeps it sharp. In hand, the weapon shapes the wielder, the crown atop the head that compels the king.

• Offensive Mark of Office: Skycleave - Cado “My head forever hangs low.” Ventura takes a stance, and then swings the Oblige in a wide arc, the mechanics of the praxlance assembly mirroring the strike with a follow-up wave of cutting chalkweave. The sheer calcic force is enough to cleave through even the strongest targets.

Mark of Office: Sunderblast - Brch, Induc, Unrav “Bring low all baseless pride.” Ventura takes a stance, and arms the firing mechanisms built into the praxlance. From the blade roars forth concentrated blasts of hyperweave projectiles, fired in bursts and spreads. Targets struck are heavily unraveled in an instant, as well as inflicted with inductive unraveling that sees the effect continue and escalate with time.

• Defensive Mark of Office: Subjugation - Brch, Induc, Prax “The path before you is still worth walking, even if you can see it ends lower than others.” Slamming the end of the Oblige groundward releases an incapacitating shockwave that inflicts inductive doctrinal damage on the knees of sufferers, compelling them to fall and be unable to rise momentarily. This cast cannot be performed immediately after use, however the effect lasts longer through the mechanics of praxis, based on the ill-will held by the target towards the Spyndl Academy.
  

• Utility Mark of Office: Dancer-born “The Current confers post as it sees fit.” In a manner reminiscent of the Old Danseers, Noblesse Oblige confers authority upon all those who wield it, requiring possessing status to begin with to even be carried. When held in the hand, calcic locality is resolved in deference, and the wielder is granted the Graceflight.

• Feat Mark of Office: Halo Dance - Cado, Brch, Prax “There are heights afforded only to a chosen few.” Ventura takes firm hold of the Oblige, and strikes out in nine sweeping arcs, covering a massive area and devastating all caught within its reach. Each cut carries with it the physicalization of pure doctrine; the post granted to Ventura by virtue of birth and feat. The Halo Dance does considerably more damage the wider the difference in strength and authority between Ventura and the target is.

Relic Arm 2

Sojourner’s Tale - SPYNDL-046-F#HAIRSPLITTER - Hand cannon “I’ve put more rounds through this thing than I care to count. It’s saved my life more times too. I’m asked ‘How do I be a better Operator?’ - again - more times than I care to count. My answer is always the same; get hardware you can trust. Get good at using it. Take it everywhere you go. Let it become your right hand.” Built for long walks in the cold vacuum, supreme alloy and polymeric fiber has been hammered and wound into the shape of a surgical instrument, where spinmetal barrel meets eight-chambered cylinder, rested upon a platform of supreme precision. Subdermal ritual assembly sees to it that tool transcends the disposition allotted to its shape, resting comfortably in the hand, reaching out and touching the world with metal and fire. Wound behind the sights, a pact with the Reveler, who sees to it that the chill of the vacuum never banishes mirth from the lips.

• Offensive Compression Chamber - Perf, Brch, Induc Axle: Relic Feat | The Sojourner’s Tale “To last long on this job, you have to adapt. You must be thinking two steps ahead of every possible enemy. You must have an answer for even unasked questions.” When more than four rounds are present in the Sojourner’s Tale, manipulating the ritualism within the chamber allows for compressing all available rounds into a single, final round that gains explosive properties, allowing it to breach and destroy armor, as well as inflict a heavy inductive stagger on those struck.
  • This ability can only be used when the Sojourner’s Tale is in Marksman’s Stance.

Second Cylinder Axle: Relic Feat | The Sojourner’s Tale “The strongest techniques in the Switchboard have an element of necessary ridiculousness to them.” When Sojourner’s Tale is empty, spinning the barrel triggers onboard ritualism in the hand cannon, causing the empty casings in the cylinder to reweave into weaker, but live ammunition. Ballistics Data can be consumed to empower these shots back to baseline, or go further. This ability can be chained into itself, allowing ammunition generated by the ‘second cylinder’ to be rewoven into a ‘third cylinder’ and onwards, allowing Ventura to continue firing without reloading. - This ability can only be used when the Sojourner’s Tale is in Gambler’s Stance.

• Defensive Sidewinder’s Fire Veil Axle: Relic Feat | The Sojourner’s Tale Axle: Tek | Trajectory Calculator “Lead from the front.” When Sojourner’s Tale is in hand or holstered, the wielder may invoke the power of the Mindspun Sidewinder, a mythic beast with mighty scales, with which it shields the young of its dynasty. When cast, an inductive effect is placed on the target of the cast, which manifests as a passive shield imbued with the logic of Ventura’s Tek. All who benefit from this shield will have their calcic reserves sapped to power it, but in turn the shield will fire out dense chalk spikes, that intercept projectiles the shield has detected would pose a threat to the subject. If Ventura does not wish for the shield to rely on the subject’s calcic reserves, he can expend Ballistics Data to give it a supply that depletes over time.
  • This ability can only be used when the Sojourner’s Tale is in Marksman’s Stance.
  • Transiting form dismisses all active instances of the Fire Veil.
• Utility Sidewinder Feathergrips Axle: Relic Feat | The Sojourner’s Tale “Pick a thing and do it excellently. I picked guns; it’s paid off.” When Sojourner’s Tale is in hand or holstered, the wielder may invoke the power of the Mindspun Sidewinder, a mythic beast with a serpentine frame and nature built for swift movements and subtlety. When invoked, all firearms in hand handle and reload considerably faster, are more accurate, and gain recoil compensation and heat dissipation. On cast, this technique consumes a third of all available Ballistics Data.

Sidewinder Feed System Axle: Relic Feat | The Sojourner’s Tale “Adopt the language of the Academy; we do not ‘defeat’, we crush, and we do so with overwhelming force.” When the Sojourner’s Tale is in hand or holstered, the wielder may invoke the power of the Mindspun Sidewinder, a mythic beast with fangs of chrome, and venom like mercury. When invoked, all firearms are overclocked, gaining a massive boost to their firing speed and a passive unlimited supply of calcic ammunition. This includes firearms the wielder has in hand, and firing systems they can touch, such as stationary turrets and cannons mounted to vehicles. On cast, this technique can consume up to half of all available Ballistics Data, the benefits of the cast scaling with the number consumed. - This ability can only be used when the Sojourner’s Tale is in Gambler’s Stance.

• Feat The Sojourner’s Tale Axle: Tek | Trajectory Calculator “I’ve stories to tell you from my long walks across the stars.” The Sojourner’s Tale is able to transit between forms known as stances, tuning it on the fly for varying applications.
  • The Sojourner’s Tale’s Marksman’s Stance modifies the weapon for maximal accuracy and precision. This is done at the expense of the weapon’s firing rate, as a delay is inserted between moments of fire-readiness, caused by the weapon’s onboard ritualism calibrating for each shot. Couple with Ventura’s Tek, the Sojourner’s Tale is capable of preternatural accuracy.
    • Certain abilities and casts in Ventura’s loadout can only be utilized in Marksman’s Stance.
  • The Sojourner’s Tale’s Gambler’s Stance engages onboard ritualism in the weapon, in the form of a Skydancer Pact made with Skydancer Leilani, the Reveler. She of the Many-Sided Die lives in endless pursuit of exhilaration present in games of chance, and the tenets of the pact trades accuracy for additional firing speed and damage. To reach full utilization of this pact, Ventura must disable his Tek, aiming only with his skill, the Reveler in turn rewarding him with the ability to augment the power of his shots using the Ballistics Data generated previously by his Tek.
    • Certain abilities and casts in Ventura’s loadout can only be utilized in Gambler’s Stance

T2 - Elementary Calcic

Weave Strike

Five-Pronged Fork - Perf Axle: Tek | Trajectory Calculator “Something to open negotiations with.” By forming a mockery of a gun with his fingers, Ventura engages a subroutine of his Tek that immediately begins tracking five targets in his vicinity. These targets are chosen automatically based on perceived threat, determined by apparent calcic density, though Ventura can reassign targets as he sees fit. Ventura can then ‘draw’ and fire this finger-handgun, making calcic attacks - firing woven projectiles - against all five targets at ludicrous speed, requiring not even considerably deflecting his aim towards the marked targets to hit them.

Weave Charge

Interceptor Flechette - Imbue - Perf, Cado Axle: Tek | Trajectory Calculator Axle: Relic Feat | The Sojourner’s Tale “I spoke to a Sabai once about Skydancer Nefele. They supplicate them by sleeping - is what I had thought all this while. But that isn’t true; they worship them by dreaming.” This technique can be charged with an offhand and done rapidly. On cast, it functions as a parry, releasing a barrage of lacerating flechette projectiles that can shred incoming projectiles as a means of defense. If Ballistics Data is expended in the cast by weaving it into the charge, the flechette barrage is exponentially more accurate. It can be used offensively as well, doing considerable caedometric damage to all in the vicinity. - This ability can only be used when the Sojourner’s Tale is in Marksman’s Stance.

Fan the Hammer - Imbue Axle: Relic Feat | The Sojourner’s Tale “Show passion and vigor in all that you do.” The target for Fan the Hammer is whatever weapon is in Ventura’s hand, rather than Ventura himself. This ability can be charged indefinitely, or for as long as Ventura believes is necessary. When cast, whatever weapon that is Ventura’s hand gains a woven striking hammer that integrates with the weapon’s firing systems, and Ventura can ‘fan’ this hammer to both fire and cycle ammunition for as long as he fans the hammer and for as long as the chalk reserves accumulated in the charging of the imbue can be expended to wind ammunition for the weapon. There is no limit to what kind of weapon this can be cast upon, though slow-firing weapons benefit particularly from this ability. In place of chalk, Ballistics Data can be expended to provide ammunition for the weapon. - This ability can only be used when the Sojourner’s Tale is in Gambler’s Stance.

Saboteur’s Salvo - Grenade - Induc, Brch, Comp “Operators win because we don’t fight fair. They see our parades and award ceremonies and think there’s an underlying sense of honor and nobility to the entire thing. It’s all theater; ask anyone in the Panopticon.” Chalk is woven into three projectiles which can be thrown. Upon detonation, they explode into light, sound, create a pressure wave and disseminate viral weave. Targets caught in the blast are blinded and staggered, and Slates or slate-reliant technologies have their computational processes interrupted by calcic noise.

Weave Shield

Interceptor Net - Active - Perf, Cado, Brch Axle: Tek | Trajectory Calculator “Mastering this was when I truly learned of the gap that existed between those who could weave chalk, and the rest.” Usage of the slide rules allows for deploying a net of weave from a free hand, which can intercept and arrest the momentum of any projectile that strikes it. This technique inflicts an amount of unravelling on the caster, and the amount increases based on the size and number of the projectiles blocked. This technique additionally generates Ballistics Data, usable by Ventura in additional abilities.

Gunfighter’s Shield - Active - Perf, Cado, Brch Axle: Tek | Trajectory Calculator “Often, the only way out is through.” When a firearm is in hand, the wielder may deploy a transparent shield of weave around the scope, that shields the face and body of the wielder carrying the weapon. This shield has durability, and it breaks after considerable damage, how soon depending on the power and number of projectiles blocked. This shield also adds weight to the weapon, making handling it slightly more cumbersome. This technique additionally generates Ballistics Data, usable by Ventura in additional abilities.

Weave Dash

Gunfighter’s Gambit Axle: Tek | Trajectory Calculator Axle: Relic Feat | The Sojourner’s Tale “Stay alert and on your feet. If you can breathe, move, and legend has it you’ll keep breathing for a while longer.” The caster performs a deft standing spin, while deploying a sphere of weave around them. Based on the active stance of the Sojourner’s Tale, different effects are triggered. - In Marksman’s Stance, projectiles caught within the field generate Ballistics Data for Ventura to use in his various other functions. The Ballistics Data generated scales with how close they were to hitting him. - In Gambler’s Stance, projectiles caught within the field are rapidly unwound into ammunition for the weapon. This ammunition is calcically enhanced based on the projectiles unwound, and takes on the properties inherent to it. If Ventura is using a weapon other than the Sojourner’s Tale, the effect of both stances is triggered, albeit without the latter affects of Ballistics Data gain scaling with accuracy, or reloaded ammunition taking on the properties of oncoming projectiles.

Weave Armament

Wheelstrider’s Stiletto - Equation - Dagger “A mark of steadfast service and accomplishment, in an age of traitors and failures.” A woven armament spawned from a complex equation, gifted by the Spyndl Wheelhouse to its finest operators. A foot and a half of razor-honed weave down to a point, hilted in an ornate assembly, and never far from the owner’s reach, resting sheathed in their memory strait. This weapon can be drawn from thin air at the speed of thought, and used as any other weapon in the wielder’s arsenal, and in their roaming across the Dancirah.

T3 - Advanced Calcic

Tek

Trajectory Calculator “If you want to go far as an Operator, you want to get a Tek early on. Hopefully a good one, but that’s subjective. Mine is simple, maybe even weak, but I’ve gone as far as I have because I know how to use it. Some Striders can breathe fire or throw stars; me? I just never get hit… and never miss.”

The Trajectory Calculator interfaces directly with the bearer’s Weavesight, enhancing its normal functions and granting it new ones. When activated, the Tek draws slide rules in space visible only in bearer, taking the form of graduated gossamer strings. When the slide rules are active, the bearer is able to track the movement of any object in space, as well as anticipate its movement using its present and previous positions.

When an object such as a projectile enters the view of the bearer of the Tek, lines are drawn emanating from it, indicating its vector components in three-dimensional space and their resultant; the path it it is currently taking. This path is represented by a line that is drawn from the projectile to a range of places where it is likely to strike, represented as a flaring of the end of the line into a cone. These cones are deliberately employed to reduce the computational overhead of the Tek when in use, and thus the unravelling it inflicts on the caster.

Additionally, it can anticipate projectiles before they are even fired. Knowledge of a firearm’s make and the rounds it uses allows the Tek to draw an extended cone from the gun’s barrel to where a projectile fired from it might strike. Even if the details of a projectile weapon are not known, observation of the weapon in action allows for forming a model of its firing behavior, enabling computation towards anticipating where fired projectiles might strike.

Non-projectiles - or simply ‘bodies’ - can also be tracked and their movement paths calculated. A vehicle in motion can have its speed deduced and where it will be at a given time deduced by the slide rules. A thrown punch can be evaded by deducing its path towards the face. Even the time of day can be computed by watching the movement of stellar bodies.

Where the Tek sees considerable utility is in calculating interceptions and rebounds. If a projectile is able to rebound, such as a rubber ball or hard-metal bullet, the path it will take after rebounding can be calculated. If a known weapon is readied, or parameters of some other launch system such as a device or even the arms are fed to the Tek, it can deduce the parameters needed to intercept another body midflight. If a projectile is in motion and a firearm is readied, the slide rules can indicate where the bearer of the Tek must aim to obtain a maximal chance of intercepting the projectile with a fired shot.

Many of the actions taken while using the Trajectory Calculator generates Ballistics Data. This is chalk that is spun passively into being without input from Ventura, as a result of calculating the various trajectories undertaken by bodies in the path of the viewer. Ballistics Data points can be expended in various casts to grant accuracy enhancing qualities or to shape projectile attacks of one’s own.

• Offensive (N/A)

• Defensive (N/A)

• Utility Tunnel Vision “All or nothing.” Culls all other active trajectory calculations down to a minuscule number, and utilizes all available resources towards calculating specific trajectories to ensure maximal accuracy. This technique can be enabled and disabled in fractions of a second, allowing for considerable accuracy boosts at the moment of firing a weapon.

Corrective Evolution “Moving forward demands learning from the past.” Ventura passively generates Ballistics Data from his own ballistic measures. Firing weapons or using techniques that fire projectiles contributes to building additional Ballistics Data for his use.

• Burst (N/A)

Quis

Operator Adven Ventura specializes in firearms and ammunition of all kind, and in this discipline he is a speaker of a very many number of tongues. His sheer proficiency at weft allows him to concoct fresh rounds in the space of a reload, faster than most can see him do it.

• Hardpoint Rounds - Perf, Brch Axle: Tek | Trajectory Calculator “Six shots were too few, so I asked for eight. In time, I learned I only needed one.” Ventura calls forth his aged, stratified spynjack, raging with power. He fills it with components, accumulated Ballistics Data, and powers it with calcic inferno. With this, he weaves eight hardpoint calcic rounds, capable of piercing targets and rebounding off of hard surfaces multiple times.

• Unravelling Rounds - Perf, Brch, Unrav, Induc Axle: Tek | Trajectory Calculator “The warning shot. Into their central mass.” Ventura calls forth his aged, stratified spynjack, raging with power. He fills it with components, accumulated Ballistics Data, and powers it with calcic inferno. With this, he weaves eight rounds encased with discordant chalkweave, that burrow into targets and unravel them from within, suppressing their power to weave chalk and use abilities.

• Antamaran Rounds - Siph Axle: Tek | Trajectory Calculator “Become a student. Let the Great Sky teach you what it knows.” Ventura calls forth his aged, stratified spynjack, raging with power. He fills it with components, accumulated Ballistics Data, and powers it with calcic inferno. With this, he weaves eight rounds with context-specific curvature manipulation ritualism built into their make-up. Upon detecting active curvature manipulation - such as from Depthstrider powers - they trigger the reverse effect in a localized space, counteracting and thus nullifying any ongoing spatial manipulation.

• Noble Rounds - Induc Axle: Tek | Trajectory Calculator “A Lancaster once told me of an adage among them; ‘if you want to go fast, go alone, but going far takes friends’. I found it rather quaint. I can already move fast, and so I can always bring company along for the ride.” Ventura calls forth his aged, stratified spynjack, raging with power. He fills it with components, accumulated Ballistics Data, and powers it with calcic inferno. With this, he weaves eight rounds suffused with the grace of the Sabai, nomad-zealots of the Great Sky. Ventura’s Noble Rounds travel slowly and seek out targets chosen by him. On contact, they heal and undo unravelling affects on their targets, as well as dismiss all active inductive effects of his choosing.

• Starblight Rounds - Unrav, Perf Axle: Tek | Trajectory Calculator “The life of a Sil’khan is much like a star; glowing bright, living short, giving life to some and scorching others, and dying in manner that all the Dancirah can see.” Ventura calls forth his aged, stratified spynjack, raging with power. He fills it with components, accumulated Ballistics Data, and powers it with calcic inferno. With this, he weaves eight rounds packed dense with stellar matter, taking the form of virulent hyperweave. Targets struck are lanced through and sundered, being struck with the raw calcic fury of a star, disabling abilities and often knocking targets out of a fight in its entirety.

T4 - Grand Calcic

Rituals

Captain’s Repertoire: Will of the Thousands - Cast “Do you hear it? We’re all rooting for you, rookie.” Ventura declares a site of ritual geometry, expanding outwards under his will. He expends components and summons forth the might of the Spyndl Academy and the Combined Strider Operations, blessing all within the ritual space with praxis-formed power. For a considerable amount of time they benefit from; - Reduced effective information mass - An additional reservoir of chalk to draw upon - Honing of all weaponry in the context of the weapon (blades become sharper and guns shoot truer) - Unravelling is considerably reduced - Immunity to undesired inductive effects

Ritual Conjuration: Vitric Rounds - Cast - Neg, Perf Axle: Tek | Trajectory Calculator “We vow to never use glass - unless absolutely necessary. You are right to ask who decides in the moment whether it is necessary, and I tell you now that only the winners - no, the survivors - write the after-action reports.” Ventura declares a site of ritual geometry, expanding outwards under his will. He expends components, notably scintillate and pure, sharp glass from the Vitric Shelf, and concocts a single round, filled with honed glass. Targets struck by this round will have their lattices invaded, consumed and subjugated by the wicked, lacerating, simplifying wrath of glass.

Extended Disciplines

(N/A)

T5 - Flash Protocol

Sojourner’s Summit - Weave Burst - Perf, Brch “Never forget where you came from, or the lessons learned while getting here; you will need to know both of those things for the road ahead.” Ventura summons forth his strength gifted to him as descendant-kin of the storied Danseers, his focus honed over a thousand sojourns and ten thousand battles, and his command of chalk that sees the realization of dreams into reality - and conjures forth a restrained salvo of massively destructive hyperweave bolts. With a gesture he can launch individual charges or the full salvo, which travel at near-instantaneous speed to wherever he directs them and - upon arrival - detonate with magnificent calcic force. Forgoing all higher intricacies of chalkweaving, Ventura embraces the purest aspects under the discipline; immense power and uncanny control.

Danseerform - Lattice Burn Axle: Martial Arm | Noblesse Oblige “Conferred upon all are wings. I have seen where yours have taken you. Let me show you where mine have taken me.” From the depth of his straits, Ventura summons forth his pride as a descendant of the Danseers, those who dominated the Switchboard through their power of hallowed flight. Expending the Flash Charge, his mastery of his birthright that is the Strider Protocol crystallizes into being as concentric halos over his back, and the entirety of his lattice is unspun and rewound into a higher form. In this Danseerform, Ventura is granted perfect Graceflight, as well as supremely enhanced speed and strength, as well as durability, allowing him to wield weaponry - in this case, his praxlance - with hallowed proficiency, while being able to shrug off the strongest storms the Dancirah can conjure.

Reveler Rounds - Weave Burst - Perf, Brch, Prax Axle: Firearm | Sojourner’s Tale Axle: Axle: Relic Feat | The Sojourner’s Tale “To live is to risk everything. Once I found it terrifying. Now, I still do, but I have come to take pleasure from it.” Ventura invokes the full power of the Skydancer Pact upon the Sojourner’s Tale, doing so by disabling his Tek, Weavesight and blinding himself with a woven blade dragged across the eyes. With this done, he is then able to call forth his aged, stratified spynjack, raging with power, and fills it with components that channel the aspect of Skydancer Leilani, the Reveler. With this, he weaves eight rounds blessed with the powers of chance and praxis, a random-sided die baked ritualistically into the makeup of each round. Upon striking a target, the damage done by each round is magnified by the number rolled on the die. - If any doubt is expressed concerning Ventura’s ability to land the shot prior to being struck by a Reveler Round, the round is empowered by the doctrine of the Skydancers, and the damage done is praxicaly multiplied nine-fold.