Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

Umbral Hone Spark Theme: Arachnid

Competence:
Runic paradigm shift: Arachnid: Fridgar's skin, scales, fur, feathers all grow paler no matter the form he takes, his hair loses some of its colors as though it has been partially bleached in all his forms. The runes he draws take on a woven web-like appearance. Because of how intricate his runes are drawn, they're more ether efficient and lose less power while chaining. While chaining two runes, each rune loses only a third of its power instead of half and while chaining three runes, each rune only loses a half of its power instead of two thirds. As a consequence, they also take longer to draw, even as standalone runes. The spider is a careful predator that builds its web in advance, and Fridgar's runes reflect that.

Expert:
As Fridgar grows in hone, his skin, scales, fur, feathers, and hair grow paler yet. His self totem's skin has turned from an olive, tan complexion to a fair, pale one. His hair has turned from dark brown to sandy/ash blonde and similar transitions of pigment happen across all his currently collected forms and all forms he might acquire. His web like runes have begun to crawl all along his limbs, starting at his extremities and ending halfway along his shins/forearms. His spark drives him toward others that he can inflict his umbral runes on like most umbral hone users, but the spider waits for its prey to wander unknowingly into its trap. As such, Fridgar's runic traps, as long as he is within a hundred yards of the trap, will alert him to the presence of anyone that his becoming spark doesn't recognize as kin. Just like how prey will alert the spider of their presence by sending vibrations along the silk of the web, Fridgar's runic traps express their disturbance to him mentally. This sense goes both ways, however. The unfortunate person to have wandered into Fridgar's trap will become immediately aware that they are in danger, whether they have seen the trap or not.

Master 1:
Nearing the pinnacle of his union with the hone spark, Fridgar's skin, scales, fur, feathers, and hair have changed pigment beyond recognition or what is natural. His skin and scales are all white as snow and eerily undead-like in appearance while his fur, feathers, and hair are all silver/platinum in appearance. The whites of his sclera have darkened to black and his irises have shifted to a deep red pigment from their light brown. The mural of web-like etchings that paint his skin have grown to envelop all of his arms and legs in the glowing crimson of his umbral runes and even run along his spine.

What is more, whenever Fridgar activates a runic trap, the arachnid in his spark reveals its presence to Fridgar's prey and unleashes another four etheric arms from his back, which take on the same chaotic appearance as his runes. These arms are made entirely of the mage's ether and can grow in length at the cost of more of his ether or shrink and replenish it. These arms function the same as his two biological arms, save for the presence of a joint or any bones at all, and can grasp various objects and lift them with his own strength. If one of the limbs is severed or damaged, then Fridgar is unable to reclaim the ether that has been lost and he cannot regrow the limb until his ether reserves have restored. The arms last until Fridgar draws them back into his body and restores his ether reserves. A fighter with high-expert strength will be able to cut through the arms with ease, while high-competent and low-expert will have some difficulty.

Master 2:
The arachnid in his spark deems Fridgar's vision to be an unnecessary sense, as most spiders make do without their eyes. As such, Fridgar's perception of anything more than five feet ahead of him is extremely blurry and only appears as edgeless colors and shapes. This severely inhibits his rupturing abilities as opening any long distance portals is incredibly difficult. In return for his eyes, the arachnid in his spark has made the web-like runes along his arms and legs a lot more perceptive to the vibrations of motion and sound in the air around him.