Age: 21 yo | Attributes: 6’6” 200 lbs Human

Semblance: Butcherbird’s Savvy

Ruilin finds comfort and familiarity in chaotic warzones surrounded by death and destruction. Her Aura automatically preserves nearby Grimm corpses to be used as construction material and/or improvised weapons, while also empowering her mental faculties/clarity when she is surrounded by fresh corpses.

Weapon: Corpse Pilers

Dual tactical shotguns with ji-halberd bayonets. They are designed for close-quarters combat and environmental destruction.

Ruilin also carries a combat spade that she uses for various combat engineering duties (digging trenches).

Background:

Taken into the Kaspar Clan after the Clan slaughtered her bandit parents, Ruilin was raised from infancy in the deepest bowels of the Enclave. There she would earn a reputation as a bookish student and devotee to the Clan’s tyrannical authority and mandate for world domination. While she also demonstrated great physical prowess in combat drills and rigorous training courses, Ruilin really set herself apart from her peers with her rote memorization of countless tactical doctrines and historical battles from both the Kaspar Clan and before its existence, as well as her ability to recite hours upon hours of propaganda to her peers.

The most talkative and dogmatically loyal of her fellow Neophytes, Ruilin was not well liked by her peers early on - only making friends with Gwen and Hongshan. Even then, they were more like violent rivals. However, during the Neophytes’ escape attempt, Ruilin would lend critical support to the escapees, mapping out the known defenses and hallways of the sprawling Enclave. Much like Hongshan, Ruilin knew that the escape attempt wouldn’t work, but wanted to test her vast knowledge / skills beyond drills and simulations. Still, in the aftermath, Ruilin would win respect from both her peers and instructors for her unexpected show of initiative and competence.

In her teen years, Ruilin would undergo Phase 2 training, further cementing her loyalty to the Clan and heightening her obsession with martial perfection. Her aptitude for tactics and strategy led the Clan to train her as a defensive / combat engineering specialist and give her (less-restricted) access to historical and modern tactics manuals and books on military strategy from outside sources, as well as unredacted internal sources. Through her studies, Ruilin would greatly expand her horizons on military strategy and develop an appreciation (bordering on obsession) for historical generals and military leaders. She would also be given multiple opportunities to put her theories to the test, setting up defenses and training militias for several of the Clan’s vassals/ Hidden Villages in Mistral.

Upon graduating her training and becoming a full-fledged Operative, Ruilin had drafted several treatises on warfare, using everything she had learned up until that point, eager to finally publish them to her Clan after acquiring sufficient data from field missions. With her given skillset, physicality and prior connections, Ruilin would be assigned to Kill Team HARE under Hongshan’s leadership, complimenting the Team’s aggression and speed with adaptability and defensive staying power.

Psychological Report:
To outsiders, Ruilin comes off as arrogant and aloof, ignoring most conversation to focus on preparing defensive fortifications or re-reading historical manuscripts. Though, in honesty, she feels uncomfortable in social situations with people outside of her Clan, knowing that she is severely untrained for most social interactions. And as a perfectionist and star scholar, that level of unpreparedness brings her crippling anxiety that she would rather ignore. However, if the conversation ever drifts toward philosophy or strategy, Ruilin is all too happy to share her thoughts with anyone who cares to listen- to the point where Angela may have to cut her off to avoid divulging Clan secrets. For Ruilin, the Clan exists to help Humanity and she genuinely believes in helping most people regardless of their levels of ignorance. She has even floated the idea of publishing training manuscripts for outsider institutions, like the Huntsman Academies, to her superiors.

Among the Kaspar vassals and Hidden Villages, Ruilin is well-liked and celebrated for assisting in their defense and fortifications, often receiving small gifts whenever she visits (including her lingzi). She also has a generally positive reputation amongst her peers, offering valuable strategic insight during training and field operations, though her tolerance for outsiders is seen as misguided naivete. Within Team HARE, Ruilin is satisfied with her role, allowing her to continue her studies, respecting Hongshan’s authority and Angela’s seniority. However, she does occasionally argue with Angela over the usefulness (and expendability) of outside allies.

On the field, Ruilin will help her Team infiltrate and seize territory through frontline combat through observation and knowledge of the terrain. However, her main work is in fortifying the seized territory using whatever means are available, moving earth and rock to form the most ideal terrain for her Team to operate under and to protect from enemy bombardment. Additionally, she will also use her Semblance on fallen foes and use their remains to build fortifications. Depending on the Grimm, she can use their flesh to build walls, their fangs and claws for caltrops and their spinal cords and rib bones for barbed wire. Dead people are more useful as decoys, leading their allies into all sorts of traps. The more horrific the battle, the more crafty and intelligent Ruilin becomes.

Age: 24 yo | Attributes: 5’2” 105 lbs Human

Semblance: Envious Eyes

Angela’s Aura greatly empowers her vision, greatly extending her vision range and allowing her to see the entire electromagnetic spectrum. She can perceive Aura, radio waves, electrical pulses from devices and even brain activity (via electrochemical signals). To avoid sensory overload, Angela can only visualize one spectra at a time and tends to fixate on a singular target.

Combined with a natural, photographic memory and thorough combat training, Angela can instantaneously pick up and analyze the techniques of foes and allies alike. However, her enhanced vision is also just as likely to trigger heavily repressed feelings of inadequacy and envy over others who she deems “undeserving” of their skill, tech, or health. She is especially spiteful of outsiders who she feels are more intelligent than herself.

Weapon: Conqueror’s Arsenal

Angela’s primary armament is a high-caliber, bullpup assault rifle loaded in 12.7×55mm ammunition and can transform into a Kopis gunblade for melee engagements. It is a brutal weapon designed to end fights quickly and decisively in either forms, while retaining a shorter overall length for mobility and handling. Additionally, Angela carries grenades, a Black Market handcannon (Glock 50GI) and captured Atlesian Hardlight Shield gauntlet. Lastly, on her back is an Atlesian “Cold Thrust” Jetpack that runs on highly refined Gravity Dust.

Background:

Born sickly and weak to a family of destitute refugees in the fetid ghettos of Mistral, Angela’s parents tried their best to keep their daughter alive, scrounging up what little they could to buy drugs to ease her suffering. Gradually, Angela’s condition continued to worsen and her parents became more and more desperate to save her. After her father was caught trying to steal expensive medicines and executed by the state, Angela’s mother began to beg and plead on the streets for anyone to help her dying infant. While most ignored her cries along with the other beggars on the street, a wandering “Huntsman” with silver hair and massive frame took interest, silently inspecting the small infant before taking her away.

In the Enclave, young Angela was given the best medical treatment that the Kaspar Clan could steal, kidnap and coerce. Yet, even then, for the first year, she was barely a step away from death due to disease, parasites and severe malnutrition. After surviving and being brought to a healthier state, Angela would still remain significantly smaller and weaker than her peers.

Growing up, she would be beaten and thrashed on a daily basis in combat drills and sparring. Despite her diminutive size, her instructors showed her no mercy and encouraged her peers to do the same. Defeat after defeat, Angela would keep willing herself back to her feet, learning from each encounter and becoming numb to the pain. Memorizing attack patterns and behaviors and learning how to push her body and Aura to their limits, Angela’s combat prowess would suddenly skyrocket as she found and developed tactics to counter her Clanmates.

While she didn’t become the best fighter, her use of unorthodox tactics and ability to instantly create near-perfect counters to her opposition made Angela an ideal training dummy for the Clan’s more elite Neophytes. She forced them out of their comfort zones and tactical crutches, making them have to adapt in order to win. Her relentless perseverance in sparring drills and cleverness led her to befriend/mentor a younger Hongshan becoming her “Big Sister” until Angela graduated into becoming an Operative. During the later phase of Neophyte training, Angela had already become well-acquainted with suffering and was able to endure the constant torture and chemical psychoindoctrination with minimal trauma. Her photographic memory even allowed her to retain much of her memories of her biological family and Mistral.

As an adult, Angela’s unusual degree of independence and intelligence made her an ideal solo Operative. Infiltrating the criminal underworld as a freelance merc, she would spend years building influence, acquiring various resources and assisting in other major operations. During her time, her cover identity would also accrue infamy among other Factions and the criminal underworld, known for her bottomless greed and ruthlessness; pillaging holy sites of many different faiths, looting the dead and dying, and excessive butchery.

Despite her continued success as an independent Operative, Angela would immediately volunteer to be a part of Team HARE and submit to Hongshan’s command in order to spend more time with her favorite battle sister. Using her extensive field knowledge and tactical expertise, Angela advises Hongshan and the rest of Team HARE in operations.

Psychological Report:

Silent and intense. Angela’s face is an unmoving mask that barely reacts to most stimuli, at most, curling a faint smile. While she can speak, she will only talk to outsiders when absolutely necessary. Instead, she prefers to stand back (preferably on the high ground) and analyze the people in her field of view, measuring their Aura, mannerisms, brain activity, heart rate, bone structure, etc. If she is annoyed by a particular person (or just bored), she may attempt to cause them distress by pickpocketing them, causing an incident or even confronting them directly.

As an accomplished and consistent field Operative, Angela is well-respected by many of her peers and superiors alike. Even the Matriarch has taken a preference for her, seeing much of herself in Angela. Her reports and tactical insights are also taken seriously by rival Kill Teams. However, due to her (relative) physical weakness and childhood trauma, Angela constantly battles feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness. While this motivates to work even harder to “compensate”, it also causes her to constantly compare herself to others and lash out violently in fits of jealousy. She will vindictively hunt down and mutilate foes who are “better” than her to put them in their rightful place and will sabotage (non-Kaspar) allies. 

In combat, Angela prefers to keep herself in reserve and out of sight in the skies. From that height, she observes the battlefield and uses her Semblance to identify high-priority targets - generators, commanders and/or support units. After assessing the enemy forces and tactics, she swoops in from the heavens in a series of calculated strikes to cripple the enemy command structure and sow further chaos on the field. From there, she’ll often regroup with Hongshan and assist with the main fight on the frontlines. While her Semblance and tactics are highly versatile, Angela is slightly better at fighting human opponents over Grimm, as sapient forces are more reliant on tactics and command hierarchies than Grimm.

Among Team HARE, Angela is closest with Hongshan, continuing the “Big Sister” dynamic she had with her back in their younger days. She doesn’t get involved in Hongshan’s constant bouts with other Operatives but is always there to provide post-fight analysis for Hongshan and to assist the other Teams afterwards. While she isn’t social, Angela does like to go out to the major cities at night, usually to catch an illegal underground gladiatorial match and/or people watch. She’ll occasionally bring along Ruilin (because Hongshan is way too loud and would immediately blow their cover).

Age: 21 yo | Attributes: 7’1” 255 lbs Faunus (French Lop Bunny Ears)

Semblance: Aftershocks

Hongshan’s Aura generates shockwaves with each physical impact she makes equal to the kinetic energy of each impact. In essence, every time Hongshan takes a step or hits something, the surface experiences two impacts - first the actual physical hit and second the Aura shockwave after a brief (~200ms) delay. This effect is always on, but Hongshan has found ways of working around it when necessary.

Weapon: Groundbreaker

A light machine gun / halberd weapon designed to slaughter chaff and overwhelm foes in close to medium ranges. The machine gun form is belt fed directly from a backpack that Hongshan affectionately calls the “Killbox”. Depending on the mission (and her mood), Hongshan alternates between using incendiary and FMJ ammo.

Background:

Tithed to the Kaspar Clan as an infant, Hongshan was noticeably different from her peers at an early age. She was much larger than the other children in the Clan, growing more with each day. This led to many difficulties in training, as Hongshan struggled to move nimbly through obstacle courses or hide from sentries in simulations and was even harder for her instructors to control. She was abnormally tough physically and mentally, always challenging authority and never succumbing to the brutal corrective measures that followed. 

Learning as quickly as she grew, Hongshan wasn’t even allowed to fully spar with the other Neophytes until she could fully master her strength and techniques to avoid lethal accidents. Instead, she had to spar with full-grown Operatives (and later veteran Operatives and Taskmasters after she started injuring the adults.) Although her espionage and mobility skills didn’t improve at the same rate, the young girl was able to find clever ways of using her limited skillset, turning every drill and test into a combat drill / test. Hongshan grew to enjoy the methodical violence of combat. Every sparring session and simulation stimulated her mind and body.

When her peers organized an escape attempt from the Clan Enclave, Hongshan wasn’t informed of the plan until the very last minute, only helping the escapees so then she could brawl with the guards and the Operatives sent after them. With no plans of leaving the Clan herself, she would stay within the compound, locking down a narrow hallway as a strategic chokepoint to brawl - only being dislodged by the Matriarch herself.

In the aftermath, Hongshan would undergo months long brainwashing and mental conditioning procedures, requiring more intensive measures than usual. Not much of her fierce, insatiable personality would change, but her desire for combat would skyrocket, seeing violence and warfare as forms of reprieve from the constant torture and indoctrination.

After graduating her final phase of training, Hongshan would be deployed as a solo direct combat Operative to further assess her skills in various active warzones across Remnant. Over the years, she would be sent after Grimm, bandits, and the various other Factions spread across all four Kingdoms plus Menagerie. While she lacked precision and “thoroughness”, her speed and might were unmatched in most battlefields, clearing entire AOs in a matter of hours.

Her physical prowess and warmongering tendencies would attract the gaze of the Warmaster, while her past defiance would attract that of the Spymaster. However, both would find Hongshan lacking in their respective expectations. While she enjoyed fighting for both of them, she did not care for any grander philosophies or projects, caring only for the entertainment and novelty of her next fight. And she would only be their willing pawn so long as it satisfied her.

Still her unique skillset was extremely useful for all the Taskmasters and the Kaspar Clan as a whole in an era of growing tensions and uncertainty. Combined with her accomplishments on the field, Hongshan would be selected to lead her very own Kill Team. Under her leadership, Team HARE would specialize in overt, high-speed operations, area denial and combat readiness exercises (acting as opposition against other Kill Teams and Neophytes in training).

Psychological Report:

Loud and obnoxious. Hongshan makes her presence known long before anyone can see her, with thundering footsteps that feel like an army of hundreds marching as one and a booming voice that declares her intentions. Hongshan seems impatient and unpredictable, constantly yelling at others and quick to use her overwhelming, physical might to get her point. However, this brutish behavior is driven by logic and efficiency in Hongshan’s mind - a commanding tone to encourage compliance and the use of physical force to ensure compliance. While her Team understands these principles, many outsiders find her to be unnerving but still find themselves obeying her demands out of intimidation. 

In combat, Hongshan prefers to lead her Team from the front, quickly observing the battlefield terrain, assessing enemy positions / force composition and planning accordingly. After determining the optimal approach angle and timing, she would spearhead the charge, sprinting at high speed while spewing hails of lead and causing an earthquake with her Semblance. By the time she and her Team collide with the enemy forces, she has usually sown complete chaos and disorder. Amidst the anarchy, she doesn’t waste time on weaklings or cowards, letting them flee if they choose to and swiftly punting them if they get in her way. When she meets “actual challengers”, Hongshan doesn’t hold back, viciously attacking them with a combination of dirty tactics and overwhelming force, often using her Semblance to off balance them before crushing them mercilessly. She finds particular enjoyment in fighting warriors and Grimm with the bravery to stand their ground. Meanwhile, running down cowards, taking prisoners or even executing prisoners are seen as a chore, which she will ignore unless explicitly ordered to do so by the chain of command.

Hongshan’s self-centered drive to find challenging opponents and have “fun” has often led her to pick fights with other Kaspar Operatives, especially other Team Leaders. Unlike most warriors, other Kaspars don’t give up after she breaks a limb. These “friendly” competitions of martial prowess can get exceptionally brutal, especially if Rory is on stand-by to fix both combatants up afterwards. One example includes Hongshan chokeslamming Gwen into pavement then punting her off an abandoned skyscraper. Another has Hongshan impaling Graham and setting him on fire with a point-blank barrage of incendiary rounds.

Outside of operations, Hongshan is one of the more chill Kaspar Operatives. She enjoys hanging out with the Foundlings and secretly feeding them increased rations, as they help with her equipment maintenance and also because she wants them to eventually become powerful sparring partners in the future. While she doesn’t speak much to the Auxiliaries, she also isn’t horribly abusive either and has a reputation for standing up for them. The only reason she does this is to have another excuse to brawl with her brethren.

Team JADE are a Team of elite mercenaries and debtors working for Novgorod Security Solutions (N-SEC) - a PMC (or Paramilitary Maid Company) based out of Vacuo. While none of them are licensed Huntresses or Huntsmen, their corporate backing and martial capabilities are more than enough to earn them contracts with numerous governments and legitimate business enterprises. They often take on missions as security for trading caravans, travelling diplomats and armored trains/trucks carrying freshly minted Lien. In slightly less legitimate matters, Team JADE has also conducted numerous missions against the SDC and the Atlesian Military, using Jerry's knowledge to decisively sabotage military and corporate infrastructure in Argus, Atlas and Albion. Additionally, they also take on more personal missions for their CEO/Debt Holder/Goddess, Eris Novgorod, providing domestic work, entertainment and offering Grimm and human sacrifices for dark occult rituals.

Jeraldine Jin [Team Lead and Grimm-hearted Civil Engineering Dropout]

Auburn Wallace [Frontline Support and Prideful Servant]

Daisuke Zatoichi [Duelist and Faded Legend]

Eden Silene [Mobile Vanguard and Penitent Angel]

Age/Attributes: 42 yo /  6’2” 190 lbs Faunus (Vulture Talons) 

Semblance: Offensive Tempo

Daisuke’s Aura temporarily increases his strength, speed, and adrenaline with every consecutive attack he lands in melee. This allows him to fight better as a fight goes on, so long as he can consistently hit his opponents. Given enough time, Daisuke could shrug off otherwise incapacitating blows and can muscle through any guard or defense. 

Weapon: Pride and Joy

Twin katanas (Pink is “Pride”, Green is “Joy”) forged by Daisuke himself. While simple in form and function, they serve their purpose well as weapons and as hedge trimmers for the Novgorod Estate’s many lush and exotic gardens. In a previous life, they were once part of a mighty nodachi wielded by a younger, freer Daisuke. However, after Eris shattered the blade, Daisuke was forced to make do with the pieces. Each time he draws his blades is a constant, humiliating reminder of the life he once had.

Background:

Long ago, Daisuke was born into the Zatoichi Family of Menagerie. Like many of his line, he was trained in swordplay and the finer arts from a young age. While he struggled in poetry and calligraphy, Daisuke was unmatched by his peers in combat drills. He lived for the violence and chaos of battle and found satisfaction in overwhelming his opponents with superior cunning as well as strength.

When he came of age, the now-adult Daisuke forged a great nodachi for himself and set off travelling across Remnant for adventure and glory. During his early years, he scraped by as a sellsword slaughtering Grimm and defeating bandits - and quickly squandered his newfound wealth on dingy gambling dens and third-rate bars. However, he would truly make a name for himself in the chaotic gang wars of Mistral.

As a freelance mercenary, Daisuke never stuck to one side, fighting for the Parrots one day, the Spiders the next and the Wolves the day after. While he did fight for coin to spend in the city and to sate his ever-growing ego, he loved the danger and excitement of his work the most. Every day brought new and unique challenges to overcome, which made his mere survival at the end worth celebrating to its fullest. Even as he profited massively from the ongoing strife in Mistral, he spent even more in the casinos and entertainment district, racking up a staggering debt.

When the Spider Gang gradually overpowered the other criminal syndicates and the lucrative contracts dried up, Dai found himself alone, broke and surrounded by innumerable enemies. Hunted by vengeful gangsters, legitimate authorities and other greedy mercs, he was run out of the city. While he enjoyed the chase and endless bouts with the armies of killers after his life, Dai’s status made him a pariah anywhere he went.

Entire towns refused to host him out of fear of the conflict he brought with him and even the greenest loan shark knew better than to lend him money. Only bandits would be willing to deal with an outlaw like him, but Dai found them to be too distasteful and craven to even think about associating with.

Without many options, Daisuke left Mistral to explore the other Kingdoms and apply his mercenary trade. In the deserts of Vacuo, Dai had plenty of fun engaging in friendly duels with various nomadic warriors and fighting ancient and exotic Grimm that lurked beneath the sands. The rest of their entertainment and alcohol scene left much to be desired. As the poorest Kingdom, there was hardly any gambling to be had, while the local fermented milks were hard for even Daisuke to stomach. However, Dai would catch whispers of a secret place with Mistralli-imported wines, fun company and gladiatorial combat.

He would enter the Novgorod Estates looking to take part in these rumored festivities. While outsiders were usually forbidden, his impressive resume led N-SEC to let him under one condition - he takes part in a single gladiatorial duel. If he won, he would be awarded enough wealth to pay off his debts in Mistral, but if he lost, he would have to sign a 500-year contract with the Novgorod Corporation (with possibility of renewal).

Dai took one look at his opponent - a petite, pale lady with silver eyes, delicate skin and a fancy dress- and immediately took the deal. While there was little honor in beating up a weakling, he never backs away from a fight.

In the arena, Daisuke was immediately on the back foot. Although unarmed, the woman was unperceivably fast, unencumbered by her fine dress. She weaved through all his attacks only to deliver a firm slap with the back of her hand. Daisuke’s face stung from the blow, but not as much as his pride. The woman was toying with him and seemed to derive great pleasure from it, giggling as she did so.

As the fight wore on, Daisuke would finally catch his opponent off guard with a feint and strike with all his might. However, his opponent stopped his blade with the palm of her hand and snapped the metal into pieces with some magical strength.

Daisuke was furious and lashed out with pure rage with what remained of his blade, decapitating the woman in one reckless stroke. He regretted his actions immediately after, he didn’t mean to kill anyone- how could her Aura not protect her… Before he could finish the thought, the disembodied head and body melted into black goo. All Daisuke could do was watch as it slowly transformed into a tentacled monstrosity, unlike any Grimm he had ever seen.

In the aftermath, Dai was fully employed for the first time in his life - humiliated and nearly broken in spirit and ego. As a member of N-SEC, he would use his reforged blades to trim and sculpt the hedges of the Novgorod Estates while teaching swordsmanship to some of the other maids and even Eris’s children. In an effort to relive some of the excitement and freedom of his youth, he eagerly volunteered at every opportunity for any combat mission, eventually getting assigned to Team JADE.

Psychological Report:

Since his recruitment into N-SEC, Daisuke has grown more mature and tempered than before, learning to find comfort in meditation and his mundane chores as both a teacher and a gardner. However, deep inside, his pride is still deeply wounded from his loss, which he eagerly tries to soothe with alcohol and combat. At first, he resented Jeraldine and saw his assignment to Team JADE as further humiliation - a grizzled, career merc forced to serve with a bunch of women young enough to be his daughters and led by a cowardly college dropout. However, he quickly warmed up to Jerry when he realized they were in the same boat and, since he wasn’t the leader, he could dump all the responsibility stuff with her. Likewise, he gets along well with the rest of his Team. Eden admires Dai’s skill and “cool” personality, feeding his ego enough for him to tolerate the rest of her obsessive personality. Meanwhile, Auburn is a fellow warrior and drinker, and is dependable enough to watch over him when he gets absolutely wasted.

In combat, Daisuke thrives in close quarters, especially in duels. While his tools and Semblance are simple, they are more than enough for him to beat almost any opponent when combined with his lifetime of training and experience besting some of the most formidable warriors in Remnant. Compared to his youth, Daisuke is more cautious and conservative in his tactics, picking his battles carefully. He cares deeply for all of his teammates, even Auburn, and prefers to stick close to them to keep them alive.

Age/Attributes: 25 yo /  6’ 175 lbs Faunus (Cat Eyes) 

Semblance: Sluagh-Ghairm

Auburn’s Aura empowers her voice giving her access to battle cries with amplified volume and numerous effects on those within earshot. Shouting curses and insults temporarily elevates the anxiety and trepidation of her targets. Meanwhile, shouting war chants and battlecries re-invigorates allies and increases focus (like an inverse version of the Apathy Grimm).

Weapon: Red Valor

A giant claymore and machine gun combo weapon passed down Auburn’s Clan for generations since the Great War. Designed for rapid advances and heroic charges across No Man’s Land.

Background:

Auburn hails from the highlands of Albion, a frigid island off the western coast of Solitas - though she has never been there. Since long before she was born, Albion and its primarily Faunus people have had difficult relations with their eastern neighbors in Mantle/Atlas, fending off numerous invasions and raiding in retaliation. During the Faunus Revolution, the island was seized by Atlesian Armed Forces after a brutal bombing campaign and converted into a large military base for naval operations and experimental weapons testing. The numerous Clans (including Auburn’s) that once lived on Albion were forced to abandon their homeland or face annihilation- spreading across Vacuo, Menagerie and Mistral as roaming bands of mercenaries.

Among the first generation to be born in exile, Auburn had only heard stories of Albion from mournful elders and her parents reminiscing of better times. Though she would be raised in the same traditions of her ancestors as her Clan migrated across Remnant for work. Eventually, her Clan would be lured to Vacuo by word of a powerful and charismatic figure promising to return the exiled Clans to Albion.

In her early teens, Auburn would move with her family into the Novgorod Estates, experiencing small luxuries, like soft beds, silk and fresh fruits, for the very first time. She would continue her military training under her parents, but would also be taught to read, write and perform arithmetic by mentors from N-SEC while playing with other Faunus kids of all backgrounds. 

For her, Vacuo became her home and N-SEC her people.

When she came of age, Auburn was assigned to a Highlander Maid Guard unit where she would see action against Grimm and Atlesian Black Ops in Mistral and Vacuo. While she would perform bravely and competently in these harrowing engagements, she would also develop a massive ego and a habit of challenging her commanders. These challenges often ended with Auburn getting into fist fights with her more senior kin and would lead to her transfer to Team JADE.

Psychological Report:

While not a fanatical devotee to Eris, Auburn has been a loyal member of N-SEC for years as many of her goals often align with the Corporation, driven by hedonist pursuits and a lifelong dream of seeing Albion. Her time at the Novgorod Estates has given her a taste for fine foods, cloth and entertainment, but has not weakened her ability to endure hardship when necessary. Compared to the rest of her kin, she is open to experiencing other cultures and adapting the aspects that she likes into her own routine. Among her Teammates, Auburn is infatuated with her Team lead, Jeraldine, as they share similar worldly views and she finds Jerry’s anxiety-driven quirks to be cute. Meanwhile, she views the rest of her teammates favorably, though they occasionally test her patience. Daisuke is a great drinking buddy and shares fun stories of his duels, but he tends to overdo it and needs to be watched over. And Eden is extremely reliable and energetic, but equally as clingy.

In combat, Auburn fulfills the roles of crowd control and support, using her Semblance and voice to manipulate the battlefield in her Team’s favor. While on the surface she seems brutish and simple, she works best when paired with any of her Teammates, invigorating their spirits or making the enemy hesitate to buy more time for tactical decision-making. She has a knack for military tactics and strategy, often advising Jerry on opportunities and decisions, but respects Jerry enough to follow her commands.

Hi RWBYOC Community,

I just finished watching a video on one of my favorite tropes in fiction, the Living Weapon. To summarize, a "Living Weapon" is a character who was raised/trained/built by another for a single (usually violent) purpose. I have a ton of OCs that fit this archetype and am curious to hear about others.

If your OC fits this archetype, what types of training did they undergo? Who do they serve and what is their purpose? What are they like as people and as weapons?

Age/Attributes: 21 yo/  5’11” 160 lbs Faunus (Bat Wings) 

Semblance: Halo Effect

Eden’s Aura is buffed by her self-confidence and righteousness. Completing noble and heroic deeds grant her temporary buffs to her senses, reaction speed and strength, while manifesting a bright halo above her head. At its maximum potential, the “halo” becomes blindingly bright and obscures her silhouette.

Weapon: Sky Warden

A Light Machine Gun / Battleaxe from the Great War for Mantlean heavy infantry. Designed for mobile fire support and close-quarters bruising against sapient foes and Grimm alike.

Background:

Eden Silene was born in a rural hunting village in the outskirts of Mistral. From an early age, she was raised to shoot old, breachloaded rifles and use her wings to search for prey. However, none of her training could prepare her for when a massive bandit gang raided her town, razing it to the ground.
Seeing the tactical utility of Eden’s Faunus trait, the bandit warlord would force Eden to serve as a scout for his forces, using her parents as leverage for her loyalty. With her reconnaissance, the gang laid waste to countless other towns and villages, outmaneuvering their defenses and evading the response forces sent after them. Each time, Eden was forced to watch helplessly as they destroyed homes and livelihoods much like her own, growing numb to the carnage and burdened with overwhelming guilt.

When Eden was finally shot out of the sky, the young teen didn’t even bother begging her aggressors for mercy (nor laugh at their maid-based attire), accepting her end with withdrawn resignation. Instead of killing her or torturing her for information, the mercs bandaged her wounds and fed her. For the first time in years, Eden acted of her own volition, freely offering up insider info on the gang and their warlord - the camp layout, sleeping schedules and even patrol routes. With such detailed intel, the Team of mercs were able to coordinate a flawless assault of the bandit encampment, killing the warlord, capturing most of his men and rescuing all hostages, including Eden’s parents.

For critical assistance in this operation, Eden would be offered a job and housing with the rest of her family at N-SEC, which she would accept happily. Under N-SEC, Eden would be given formal military training and education from ex-Huntsmen and private tutors, learning the tenets of chivalry, reading and writing along with modern counter-Grimm tactics. Upon reaching adulthood, Eden would be gifted her weapon and armor as part of the Maid Errant where she would serve in numerous combat operations across Remnant, gaining pride and fervor with each accomplishment.

After a year of active duty, Eden developed a reputation as a brave and devout warrior among the other maids, but barely followed orders and had no sense of self-preservation. She constantly bounced from Team to Team as her commanding officers struggled to reign in and control her fanaticism and glory-seeking behavior. This spotty record would lead her to be assigned to Team JADE where one of N-SEC’s “Chosen” can manage her and best use her abilities for the corporation and Eden’s own well-being.

Psychological Report:

As the most junior member of Team JADE, Eden is filled with righteous zeal, unwavering bravery, and a need to prove herself to the rest of her Team. She is a true believer in Eris and N-SEC as an institution, trying her best to live up to the chivalric code taught to her. Toward civilians, she is the most kind and social of her Team, constantly engaging in conversation and searching for “side quests” to help them. With her teammates, she tends to lionize all of them and see them as faultless heroes and paragons of virtue - conveniently overlooking their obvious flaws. This is especially true for Jeraldine who was personally “blessed” by their “Goddess”. She’ll even follow them around and imitate some of their behaviors, like drinking or reading or caber tossing, to both bond with her Teammates and to learn from them.

In combat, Eden likes to send herself straight into the frontlines of every engagement, streaking through the sky like a missile at the scariest enemy. Due to her past, she absolutely hates performing recon, seeing stealth and espionage as cowardly and childish. Deep down, a part of Eden seeks death or grievous injury to atone for her past and take a chance at becoming one of Eris’s Chosen, like Jeraldine. Though she masks these fatalistic motivations with layers of bravado and idealism. While Eden’s impulsiveness makes her difficult to control, Jeraldine has found success in using her “divinity” to get Eden to wait and strike at the right place at the right time. Additionally, her kindness and sociability often inspires her other Teammates and local militias to fight harder and protect her on the field.

Age/Attributes: 24 yo/  4’11” 110 lbs Faunus (Mouse Tail) 

Semblance/ “Blessing”: Panic Attack/ Heart of Darkness

Jeraldine’s Aura leeches off of her fear and anxiety, converting it into stored energy. At will, Jerry can expend this stored-up energy to unleash a sudden burst of deadly Aura shrapnel that impales anything within a 15m radius. Those that survive the initial blast find themselves knocked away from Jeraldine. The shrapnel will also explode after some delay.

After using this ability, Jerry becomes temporarily more lucid and less burdened with stress.
In addition to her Semblance, Jeraldine has a Beowolf heart implanted in her chest, replacing her own. This replacement further augments her strength and athleticism beyond human limits, while granting a minimal amount of physical regeneration. Her strength is further amplified in the presence of negative emotions, whether they come from other people or herself. In turn, Jeraldine requires weekly maintenance rituals from N-SEC’s Witch Maids to stay alive and she is extremely allergic to silver and any other materials with anti-Grimm properties.

Weapon: Mistral Pond

A 40mm pump-action shotgun/grenade launcher designed by old Vacuoan nobles who hunted Goliaths for sport. It can be loaded with a variety of shells to fulfill a variety of functions.

- Canister Shells unleash a wall of lead that can reduce hordes of lightly-armored foes to a thin, red mist in a single shot

- Explosive Dust Shells explode on impact and are effective in mid to long ranges, and can be used to provide indirect fire support akin to a mortar. They also leave behind a burning cloud of Dust for temporary area denial.

- Depleted Uranium Slugs are ultra-dense munitions that can pierce through any armor or barrier at close range.

Background:

Born to a poor working-class family in Vale, Jeraldine has always aspired to rise above her station and she worked hard to do so. While small and meek, Jerry was studious, keeping her head down and focusing on her schoolwork. As a small, impoverished Faunus girl, she was bullied relentlessly by her peers, who would tear up her books and shove her into lockers on top of threatening to cut off her tail. Yet Jerry would forge ahead, learning to hide and gain protection from bigger students in exchange for doing their homework. By the end of her general studies, she was the top performing academic in her graduating class, excelling in physics and mathematics specifically, as she aspired to build grand cities and skylines for Humanity.

Even with her many scholarships, Jerry had a hard time paying for her boarding, school supplies, and living expenses at the prestigious Atlesian campus. In order to keep pursuing her dream, Jerry would take on multiple jobs in addition to her rigorous coursework while significantly cutting back on her meals, and sleep. This daily schedule was completely unsustainable and damaging to her physical and mental health, but she was willing to make those sacrifices to get ahead in the world. Jerry endured these conditions for two years until her heart finally gave out from the intense pressure and lack of sleep she was subjected to.

In the middle of one of her class presentations, Jerry suffered a major heart attack and collapsed. She was quickly rushed to the Emergency Room. The girl would survive and be resuscitated, albeit with a significantly weakened heart that could give out at any moment. When she received her hospital bill, the shock was almost enough to give her another heart attack. Unable to pay off her newly acquired medical debt and her tuition, Jerry made the heartbreaking decision to put her dreams on hold and search for a job. Yet, no one would hire a terminally ill, broke Faunus girl… well, except for the Novgorod Corporation.
Eris quickly recognized the young girl’s talents, determination, and, most importantly, her desperation. Without a second look, the kind business magnate gave Jerry an offer she couldn’t refuse. The Corporation would take care of all of Jerry’s medical and basic needs, in return for her signature. Desperate to survive by any means, Jerry accepted without hesitation… and without reading the fine print.

Immediately after the signing, Jerry lost consciousness- sedated by one of Eris’s shrewd attendants.

Jerry woke up strapped to a stone slab where Eris and her more occult-specialized maids conducted a brutal ritual replacing her defective heart with one from Beowolf. She had to watch through paralysis as the Beowolf was cut open and hear its tortured screams as its ribs were cracked open and its heart was violently ripped from its body. Then she had to watch the same happen to her. The transplant was long, and extremely painful process… but successful nonetheless. 

Hours after the final stitch was placed, Jerry regained control of her body and physically felt better than she had ever been before - though her mind was still in shock. As one of N-SEC’s newest “Chosen”, she would undergo an accelerated, military training program headed by ex-Huntsmen and mercenary drill instructors for three months before being sent on dangerous missions fighting Grimm, corporate rivals, half-naked desert people and the occasional psycho ninja. While this was not exactly what Jeraldine had in mind, her new heart came with many strings attached and she performed to the best of her abilities to survive.

After a couple years of stellar (involuntary) service, Jerry would receive a promotion, being assigned a Team of other Combat Maids to lead on various special operations and private contract work. Unlike her, the rest of Team JADE are highly-trained and experienced combatants… with violent and disorderly tendencies. In order to reach retirement unscathed, Jerry must learn to lead this violent band of grizzled mercs, while maintaining her heart and continually satisfying her contract with Eris.

Psychological Report:

Despite lacking a martial background, Jeraldine was selected to lead Team JADE due to her intelligence and rational thought… and Eris likes to watch her squirm and struggle in the face of difficult challenges. Behind the cowardice and anxiety, Jerry is a clever, defensive tactician that always seems to find a way for her team and herself to survive. Her ambivalence toward serving N-SEC can sometimes be seen as an asset, as she is less likely to commit suicidal actions based on faith or emotion. As a leader, she lacks charisma and confidence, but is able to wing it by playing into her Team’s personalities. Eden sees her as a saint blessed by her Goddess. Auburn sees her as a damsel-in-distress to woo. And Daisuke will do anything for alcohol and/or to recover an ounce of pride.

Off the field, Jeraldine enjoys walking around the Novgorod Estate and surveying the ancient and majestic megastructure. She spends much of her free time reading from the Estate’s library (mostly nonfiction) and also spends time with each of her Teammates and other maids. As one of the Chosen, she gets priority service and respect from the other maids- something that is completely alien to her.

In combat, Jerry lacks any formal martial training, purely following her instincts and acting out of fear and self-preservation. If it weren’t for the looming threat of what Eris would do to her, she would have abandoned her duties and run away. Fortunately for her, Jerry’s Semblance and new heart both massively increase her combat power when under stress, making up for her relative lack of experience and talent. Jerry prefers to engage her targets at a distance, using Canister and DU Shells and her Semblance if her foes get too close. She’ll often sit at the back of her team to provide fire support with her HE Shells while relying on others to draw and absorb enemy fire.

Team ZHDW (Shadow) is a handpicked Team of disavowed Huntresses, vigilantes and convicted terrorists operating primarily out of Mistral on behalf of a much broader, more secretive, paramilitary organization. If Team GORE is a sledgehammer (Search-and-Destroy, Intimidation Tactics) and Team GOLD is a scalpel (Assassinations, Kidnappings), Team ZHDW is a broom, cleaning up messes and disrupting state-run investigations in counter-intel operations. Using the expertise and knowledge from their prior lives, the members of Team ZHDW are experts at covering up and obfuscating the numerous operations and dealings of their mysterious benefactors - planting evidence, posing as mobsters or White Fang members and/or sabotaging rival safehouses and black sites. Despite their shady pasts and extensive criminal records, each member of Team ZHDW is united by a shared belief in their cause and a desire to protect Humanity as a whole (by overthrowing the current world order and replacing it with an ultra-oppressive, military dystopia).

Fei Zedong [Team Lead and Counter Intel Specialist]
Hallie Betty [Ambusher and Bioweapons Specialist]
Dinah Isurus [Medic and White Fang Liason]
Whitney [Powerhouse and Failsafe]

Extra:
Winslow [Whitney's Daughter and Scavenging/Maintenance Gremlin]

If your OCs were assigned to investigate an incident involving Team ZHDW, who would be their primary target and how would they go about collecting evidence or leads? If they caught this member, what questions would they ask during interrogation?

Age/Attributes: 16 yo/ 6’8” 220 lbs Human

Semblance: Lightning Strike

Earl’s Aura collects and stores static charge. Upon conscious activation, Earl consume the charge within his Aura to produce a blinding flash of light and to move at supersonic speed for up to 5 seconds at a time, followed by a deafening sonic boom. Earl can collect charge passively through static air, being struck by lightning or electrocuting himself with Dust.

Weapon: Holmgang

A heavy, one-handed Estoc / bolt-action, single shot dueling pistol loaded in .50 BMG. A training weapon that rewards precision and speed over mindless, brute force.

Background:

Despite being of Noble stock, the Agravains have long been feared and borderline ostrasized by their highborn peers. Proudly tracing their lineage back to a notably uncivilized clan of berserkers and raiders from the barely-civilized parts of the Frozen Wastes, the Agravains have spent centuries cultivating a reputation of brutishness and terror. Named after his late uncle and bearing a striking resemblance to him, Earl II struck fear in the hearts of many from the moment he was born.

His father and uncle had been infamous bullies in their youth and early adult years, who terrorized every school and sports competition they ever attended, while his eldest sister, Aveline, was already beating up kids and stealing servants despite being pint-sized. The thought of a massive Agravain running amok among their young heirs and prestigious schools made many Noble parents shiver and led them to do everything within their power to pre-emptively stop it.

They banded together and paid exorbitant bribes to school officials to cancel Earl’s enrollment and even filed requests for General Ironwood to get involved. This would lead General Ironwood to talk to General Amadeus Agravain (Earl’s father) and get him to agree to send Earl to Tartarus Youth Correctional Facility / Combat School instead. General Agravain only decided to send his son there, after Ironwood listed the annual numbers of brawls and reported violent incidents on campus.

At Tartarus, word quickly spread of the young, highborn “princeling” enrolling into the school and many of the more domineering and violent students plotted to ambush him. However, when Earl arrived for his first day of classes, the students mistook him for a new instructor or a visiting Huntsman. Even as a kid, he stood a head taller than all the other instructors and a meter thicker with pure muscle. His shadow loomed even larger, dimming every room and hall he entered. Even the combat drill instructors fell quiet at his presence, questioning their pay grade and whether to let him spar with the other kids or themselves. Meanwhile, any thoughts of “bullying the rich kid” vanished after Earl effortlessly ripped a steel training dummy in half and skewered the head and upper torso 28 times before it hit the ground.

In the following days, faculty and students alike would give Earl a wide berth, letting him study and eat in quiet - unsure if or when he’ll blow up on anyone. Ironically, this peace and stability would gradually attract many of the weaker and more desperate students to him as a sort of demilitarized zone where they can also study and practice their hobbies in peace.

Earl would make his first friends among these social outcasts as they shared their hobbies with them, from video games to anime to poetry writing. As an Agravain, Earl had been raised in a cold and desolate Manor, taught to endure harsh conditions and fight with overwhelming might and passion. But, he got no satisfaction from crushing the weak and found more joy with his new activities. However, he also proved more than willing and capable to end anyone who unfairly harasses his friends.

Psychological Report:

Silent and intimidating. Earl II is surprisingly nonchalant and completely oblivious to how other people perceive him, focusing on his studies and his current tasks instead. In the Agravain Manor, he grew up surrounded by family and veteran soldier-servants loyal to his family - all of whom weren’t bothered by his abnormal size. His eldest sister, Ave, even subjected him to some light bullying and tussling, while his other elder sister, Eve, freely read and discussed books/movies with him. While Earl does enjoy sparring with his father and multitudes of elite private instructors, he never felt the desire or need to at Tartarus Combat School, as the students there were significantly under-trained and weaker. Instead, he became more interested in learning more soft skills and more about the personal lives of the people living under the system that his family dutiful maintains. Because of this, Amadeus has grown to be sympathetic to the plight of Faunus and poor in Mantle. While he is still far from joining the Happy Huntresses, the seeds of doubt against General Ironwood and the Atlesian elite have been planted.

In combat, Earl II specializes in duels and aggressive first strikes. He has trained extensively in 1v1 encounters with opponents of equal or greater skill with weaponry geared toward parrying and thrusting past a foe’s armor and guard. Meanwhile, his Semblance works best at the start of the battle when he can activate a full charge and get multiple free hits in before his enemies can react. Earl can get a full charge again during a fight, but it usually requires a long cooldown or Earl getting hurt (or hurting himself) with electricity. Due to still being in training and not having a combat-oriented Team to practice with, Earl can struggle with teamwork and working harmoniously with others. He is more used to operating as a lone dreadnought, blitzing the enemy with precision stabbings and pure muscle, until either the enemy is defeated or he is.

Age/Attributes: 3 yo/ 3’2” 30 lbs Human

Semblance: Overclocked Runes

A powerful Semblance inherited from her bloodline. Winslow recently unlocked her Aura and Semblance with help from her mother, and her abilities are extremely limited. So far, she can only craft rudimentary runes that can generate fog or create localized time dilation effects via Dust. However, these runes are highly unstable and will explode after a given amount of time or with the wrong stimulus. Winslow has been working diligently to refine her technique, but has only succeeded in being able delay the self-destruct sequence and making the explosions bigger.

Equipment: Phalanx Armor System

Winslow is too young for combat operations, but comes equipped in highly advanced armor designed to protect her during scavenging runs and her Semblance training. In addition to built-in optics, cooling and communication systems, it also comes with a specialized, safety cord that can attach to the combat harnesses any member of ZHDW (preferably Whitney) and siphon Aura for extra protection and augmented strength.

Background:

Born into the Kaspar Clan, Winslow spent a year being reared with the other Foundlings before being assigned to her mother in Team ZHDW for additional training in between field operations.

Psychological Report:

Team ZHDW’s shadow, Winslow is a silent and orderly child who follows orders… to the best of her abilities. Fluent in military code and sign language, but not quite grasping “standard” verbal conversation, she quietly observes her mother and the rest of the Team at all times, studying their every movement and action. She is most fond of her mother, Whitney, who serves as her primary instructor and idol. She also likes Fei and Dinah, as Fei is exceedingly patient and willing to run drills with her and Dinah likes to spoil Winslow with contraband sweets and stories of her misadventures. Meanwhile, Winslow does not get along with Hallie who is the most combative and menacing. As such, Hallie finds herself to be the unsuspecting test subject of Winslow’s Runes.

While Team ZHDW is on mission, Winslow is in the command room with Endora, reviewing combat footage and tactics and acting as Endora’s assistant. In the aftermath of major battles, Whitney will take Winslow out to the battlesites days later to scavenge parts and gear for later use. Winslow is well-trained in dismantling guns and most standard pieces of wargear. Additionally, she also assists in packing ammunition and maintaining Team ZHDW’s weapons, relying on her armor to protect her from the occasional mishap.

Age/Attributes: 25 yo/ 6’5” 200 lbs Faunus (Shark Teeth)

Semblance: Blood Scent

Dinah’s Aura is highly sensitive to blood, granting increased strength and endurance when blood is in the air. The strength of this buff increases exponentially if the blood belongs to Dinah’s allies or to someone Dinah believes is innocent and/or meek. However, this can cause Dinah to tunnel vision on protecting others - disregarding any prior orders and her own sense of self-preservation.

Weapon: Trauma Response

A heavy, full-auto 12-gauge shotgun / wireless defibrillation device. In ranged combat, it can be loaded with explosive Frag rounds and/or low-power, electrical Defib slugs as both a nonlethal stun option and as a way to assist downed allies from a distance. Additionally, it comes equipped with a heartbeat sensor that can help Dinah monitor the physical health of any individual within a short radius.

Background:

Born to a pair of Faunus extremists in the far-flung, wild fringes of Menagerie alongside many siblings, Dinah was raised to hate Humanity and to kill anything that moves with guns, teeth and clubs. Dinah was an… unreliable… student. Despite being bigger and stronger than her kin, she often spaced out during lessons and was easily distracted by any moderate noise, unusual shape or strange smell. While she could catch and kill most wild animals with her bare hands, she would much rather befriend them - only taking her training seriously when the lives of her family were at risk.

When Sienna Khan ascended to High Leader of the White Fang, Dinah’s parents were pardoned from their lifelong exile from the organization and swiftly reinstated to their positions as Spec Ops commanders. Likewise, the Isurus kids were moved and integrated into the White Fang’s unofficial Combat School program.

There the Isurus brood gained a tenuous reputation of brutishness and savagery. They were all lumbering, shark-blooded monstrosities who preferred to solve every problem with tooth and fist. However, Dinah was different. While she was the biggest and strongest of her kin, she was also a chatterbox and eager to befriend her new comrades-in-arms - to the point of standing up to her own siblings to protect them. Her unusual friendliness was seen as endearing by her peers in spite of her strange ramblings and incoherent tangents. Paired with her skills in CQC and gaining the self-control to focus when necessary, Dinah was seen as a guardian and leader by her allies.

Upon graduating the White Fang’s Combat Program, Dinah was naturally placed in Special Forces under the command of parents, gravitating toward Search and Rescue. For the next few years, she spearheaded operations in Vale, freeing prisoners and rescuing recon elements from Grimm and Huntsmen ambushes with bravery and distinction. However, she also developed a concerning amount of sympathy for enemy combatants. In her eyes, the humans and their Faunus allies were not nearly as wicked as she was led to believe. While there were mean ones, she noticed many Huntsmen put themselves in danger to protect others, regardless of their races.

Her comrades simply dismissed her observations as part of her crazed ramblings, but a fellow officer, Adam Taurus, took notice of this small treason. Since childhood, Adam had despised Dinah for being “weak” in mind, believing that she had only reached her rank and popularity through nepotism. Being a shrewd operator, Adam knew that he couldn’t outright kill her himself without incurring the wrath of their peers and her parents. Instead, he would turn her into a martyr for the cause.

Days before Dinah launched a routine mission to extract an undercover asset in Atlas, the Atlesian Military would receive an anonymous tip from a “concerned citizen” leaking the entire operation with time tables, locations and even exact force counts. Immediately surrounded by Atlesian Black Ops and regular army forces, Dinah did her best to protect her men against overwhelming odds. In one final act of heroism, she would use herself as a diversion to buy her remaining forces enough time to escape

For the next two years, Dinah would be tortured in an Atlesian Blacksite deep in the Frozen Wastes of Solitas. In that frozen hellscape, she would silently endure, refusing to utter a single word to her captors.

One day, the muted sounds of suppressed gunfire would echo across the blacksite and Dinah would barely react when masked Operatives would break into her cell and sedate her. Her new captors would nurse her back to health, providing just enough gruel and rest for Dinah to recover. However, once she did, she found herself being forced to fight in countless battles without rhyme or reason, armed only with rubber bullets and training weapons against an unquantifiable force with live munitions.

After weeks of constant warfare and Dinah being at her wit’s end from sheer social isolation, her survival and performance would attract the attention of an unseen benefactor. The Director would pluck Dinah from her current assignment for her own machinations. Subjecting Dinah to psychological torment and suffering far worse than any pain she had suffered so far, the Director would achieve partial success in brainwashing the Faunus commando before placing her on Team ZHDW.

Psychological Report:

Despite the Director’s best efforts, Dinah is one of the most unpredictable members of Team ZHDW, willing and able to resist orders at some capacity, albeit in non-disruptive ways. She has retained much of her identity and personality over the years, bouncing back with unyielding resilience and positivity. Overall, her mental conditioning was still successful in getting Dinah to agree with the Director’s agenda and to be programmed with a few activation phrases.

Among her new Team, Dinah was overtly excited and eager to have friends again, showing immense (almost delusional levels of) respect and going above and beyond to impress them. Her and Whitney are “scar buddies” who enjoy sparring together. Fei is the “nicest human” she’s ever met and enjoys her passionate rants about justice and order. And Hallie is so wise and cunning, almost as wise as the Director herself… in Dinah’s damaged perspective.

In the field, Dinah is often kept in reserve to react to any shifts that may occur on a mission. Her skillset and instincts make her ideal for getting her Team out of tough spots, as well as rescuing civilians and HVTs along the way. Meanwhile, her weaponry and physical build make her a fearsome opponent against any foe, from CQC brawling to clearing waves of chaff. However, her heroic instincts can be a double-edged sword during operations, as Dinah will deviate from any plan in order to protect nearby civilians and will hesitate before shooting unarmed/surrendering combatants. The rest of Team ZH_W often plan around this, as moving to stop Dinah would cause way more problems for the Team.

Age/Attributes: 29 yo/ 5’5” 200 lbs Faunus (Octopus Arms)

Semblance: Tactile Analysis

Hallie’s Aura swiftly scans the surface of any object she touches (10m max range from point of contact), giving her instant knowledge of the surface’s properties. This can be used to find external weak spots, surface compositions and physical characteristics (melting points, malleability, conductivity, etc.)

Note that this effect doesn’t apply to what lies beneath the surface.

Weapon: Flesheaters

Modified pistols / bowie knives loaded with a highly illegal, flesh-eating mixture of silver, Mercury and modified Grimm Spawning Fluid (affectionately called “Ink” by Hallie.) In gun form, they can either fire concentrated blobs at high velocity or mist the air with Ink, obscuring line of sight and/or providing area denial. In knife form, Hallie can temporarily coat the blades in Ink or inject ink into targets, melting them from the inside out.

Additionally, the helical mags double as impact grenades that leave behind a thick, opaque Ink cloud upon detonation. Ink is a highly volatile substance outside of pressurized storage due to the paradoxical natures of both its active ingredients (silver is anathema to Grimm). This leads it to dissipate in minutes after exposure.

Background:

A Faunus orphan for as long as she could remember, Hallie grew up in the squalid streets of a Valean border town abandoned by her own parents. Even among other outcasts and Faunus, the young girl was ostracized and shunned for the grotesque, slimy tentacles that protruded from her back. Hungry and alone, she was forced to hide in the sewers and steal over-ripened scraps at night, cautiously avoiding patrols and other children.

Until one day, a guard caught Hallie pilfering cabbages from a sleepy merchant. Instead of beating her, the woman showed mercy to the malnourished child, giving her some candy and taking her hand. Unused to such kindness, Hallie blindly followed her new “friend” with silent obedience, gnawing at the chewy stick of taffy as they left the town behind. Distracted by the sweetness of sugar that kept her ever-present hunger at bay, the girl didn’t know where she was going or when her “friend” left her alone in the dark woods.

Unlike the guard, it didn’t take long for Hallie’s hunger to return and even worse than before. For days, the young girl wandered aimlessly, desperately looking for something - anything- to stave off starvation. Driven to Death’s door, Hallie began gnawing at her own tentacles, ignoring the excruciating pain just to survive another day. 

Before long, one bite became two, became an entire tentacle, became the rest of her tentacles.
In a rare stroke of good fortune, Hallie would stumble into a caravan of merchants before collapsing from sheer pain and exhaustion. Mistaking her for a human girl attacked by Grimm, they would rescue her before taking her to the city of Vale and leaving her at an orphanage.

While the beds were straw mats and the daily servings of gruel had more in common with glue than food, Hallie thought she had died and gone straight to the highest tier of heaven. She clung onto her new human identity tightly like a drowning sailor to a piece of driftwood. Despite reaching safety, the young girl would never truly feel safe, knowing that suffering and death was only a few steps away. To ensure her survival, the young girl would continue to cut off her tentacles as they kept growing back.

Like many orphans, Hallie was selected to attend Signal Combat School as she turned of age, demonstrating incredible resilience and willpower. However, her peers often complained about her strange obsession with Grimm. To Hallie, she felt she understood the demonic beasts at a fundamental level and even preferred them over her fellow classmates. They were driven to slaughter by any means, climbing over the rapidly decaying mountains of their dead and gnawing off trapped limbs just to get a whiff of human misery, and she was equally driven to do anything to ensure her own survival. Meanwhile, the kids around her were weak, crying and giving in after a light bruising or a mere broken bone.

At Signal, Hallie’s casual cruelty and talent drew the attention of the School’s newest instructor, Qrow Branwen. Seeing much of his absent sister in the maverick prodigy, Qrow took Hallie under his wing and trained her personally. Alongside combat and technical lessons, he gave Hallie a much needed lesson on ethics. As a Huntress, she wasn’t just fighting for her own survival, but rather the survival of all of Humanity.

Over time, Qrow carefully guided Hallie, treating her as a little sister, introducing her to his nieces and even convincing her to regrow her tentacles. In turn, Hallie idolized Qrow and tried her best to live up to his example. On the surface, it seemed that she was integrating well into society
During her time at Beacon, Hallie was still seen as silent and awkward with a somewhat disturbing fascination with Grimm, but was also loved by her Team and class for various heroic actions, saving students and even faculty on several occasions. Her knowledge on Grimm behavior and anatomy was second none, surpassing that of even Professor Port. After graduating at the top of her class, Hallie was naturally inducted into the Circle at Qrow’s recommendation. For years, she would serve Oz as both a solo Agent and in collaborations with her old mentor - specializing in cases involving Grimm.

One day, Qrow and Hallie would work together on a case like any other about a group of missing prisoners and a “haunted” cell block. Uncharacteristically wary and even a little fearful, Hallie suggested dropping the case after a few days, but curiosity pushed Qrow to dive deeper and deeper. He discovered morbid tales of inmates being dragged through the cell bars by a shadowy Grimm at the dead of night. This terrifying creature was as silent as a whisper, muffling the voices of its victims with one of its tentacles before recklessly breaking their bones and dislocating their limbs so it could slide them out.

With each new story and clue, Qrow’s suspicions slowly grew. Until finally, he confronted Hallie with an enormous pile of evidence pointing to her involvement in countless disappearances across dozens of prisons over the course of years.

Unable to hold her secret any longer, Hallie took her mentor to a secret lair in the outskirts of the Vale, hoping that he would agree with her if she told him everything from her perspective. Hallie confessed to kidnapping convicted felons to use in various experiments, feeding their lives and suffering to Grimm she secretly captured in the field. She enthusiastically explained to a horrified Qrow all the questions she was able answer through their sacrifices and how it would ultimately save more lives. How long can a Grimm go without feasting on misery? What types of emotional / physical suffering attracts Grimm? Would Grimm and wild animals work together to hunt humans? Etc.

And the experiments didn’t stop with the convicts, Hallie ran torturous tests on herself, ingesting Grimm ichor and burning skin with Grimm fluid. Each test pushed her pain tolerance to the limit and induced severe nightmares and fever dreams. 

As her confession / tour of her underground lab ended, Hallie searched Qrow’s eyes for any sign of approval. All she found was horror and disgust. Brought to tears by her mentor’s sheer disappointment at her life’s work, Hallie smashed a sealed glass flask on her work bench, instantly flooding the underground chamber in suffocating black smoke. Qrow would succumb immediately, overwhelmed by the intense burning sensation that flooded his lungs while his mind relived every single horrible moment of his life on loop, simultaneously. He would eventually wake up from this nightmare in the Emerald Forrest… and Hallie would be long gone.

Hallie would return to Mistral as a fugitive, scavenging once again to survive as she was hunted relentlessly by her former comrades and bounty hunters. However, she still remained determined to “serve” Humanity the best she could. Her experiments continued on herself and those came to hunt her, while she searched for a patron / group of like-minded individuals to assist her in her noble quest.

It didn’t take long for the Director to hear of her exploits and recruit her immediately. Hallie welcomed the brutal onboarding process with open arms, as she was eager to share her findings and methods with those with the stomach to accept them. No torture can compare to what she had already endured and what more she was willing to endure for Humanity.

Psychological Report:

Hallie was one of the Director’s most “unique” acquisitions; both the easiest and hardest to work with. The Rogue Agent freely and knowingly gave herself up to the Director and the Kaspar Clan with zero doubts or hesitation. However, all of the Director’s attempts to fully break and brainwash her have failed to change Hallie at all, even marginally. This has allowed Hallie to maintain complete and total independence. While this hasn’t stopped Hallie from remaining in line with the Clan’s interests, it has led her to communicate and even work with the Director’s rivals within the Clan. The Director has tried to mitigate these interactions by personally befriending Hallie through their mutual connections to Beacon… and having the rest of Z_DW (especially Fei) monitor her activities closely.

Among her Team, Hallie is well respected for her experience and internal strength. Fei admires her unwavering devotion to “heroism” and “justice”. Whitney is impressed by her kill count, the amount of suffering she inflicts and her extreme pain tolerance. And Dinah likes that Hallie is another Faunus who uses big words and likes to talk alot. In return, Hallie does respect her Teammates as strong and capable individuals, but sees them as a little “green” and believes herself to be a bit smarter. She likes Whitney the most for her martial prowess and sizable impact on the battlefield - though is put off slightly by her open sadism and warmongering tendencies. Outside of her Team, Hallie has been collaborating with the Kaspar Clan’s Warmaster, sharing her notes and formulas for the Warmaster to run on the newest batches of Clan Neophytes.

In combat, Hallie is Team ZHDW’s foremost expert in Grimm warfare and support specialist. She can predict Grimm movements at a macro and micro level, relaying crucial intel for her Team to take the most optimal path. She gets extremely excited when encountering new Grimm and will try recklessly to capture a living specimen whenever possible. Against human combatants, she is just as deadly, often claiming more “food sources” for her experiments. She will often use her Ink to obscure the movements of her Team and box in enemy forces. Even in her unhinged state, Hallie still tries her best to save civilians and well-meaning Huntsmen. Despite her falling out with Qrow, Hallie still loves him (platonically) and is convinced that he will see the wisdom of their actions one day.

Age/Attributes: 24 yo/ 5’9” 150 lbs Human

Semblance: Blind Eye

The heritable Semblance of the Zedong family and a byproduct of Ozma’s genetic tampering to counter stealth and special warfare tactics during the Great War. Blind Eye gives its user a passive, supernatural sense of awareness within a 30-meter radius, akin to a personal, ground-based radar. Within this zone around them, the user can detect the position and velocity of any object bigger than a fly in real-time.

Weapon: Midnight Song

A high caliber battle rifle using a modernized version of a Great War design along with an undermounted chainsaw bayonet. Fei was heavily inspired by the criminals and terrorists that she hunted when designing this weapon, seeking to dominate the battlefield through fear and intimidation. At range and in melee, it is a loud, brutish weapon with abundant stopping power and armor-piercing potential. The deafening bark of its gun and roar of its motor can terrify all but the bravest of enemies.

Background:

Born into a family of traditional Huntsmen in the heart of Mistral, Fei was trained in marksmanship, counter-espionage and Semblance control from a young age alongside her sisters, May (younger) and Rey (older). For generations since the founding of the Kingdoms, the Zedong family was renowned for their steadfast commitment to justice and morality… which earned them few allies and many enemies in the modern, corruption-riddled politics of Mistral. Unwilling to bend to threats or bribery, the Zedongs’ influence and power waned with time, weakened by assassination and sabotage from the very institutions they swore to protect.

Growing up in the dying gasps of her Noble Family, Fei and her siblings were still taught to operate within the law and strict moral boundaries, even as their peers and rivals thrived off of underhanded dealings and corruption. However, Fei was infuriated by her family’s stubbornness to adapt, perceiving the current state of Mistral as the result of her family’s unwillingness to engage in “necessary” tactics. They sat on the sidelines, while criminals ran the rest of the Kingdom and Haven Academy.

As a Huntress, Fei was a notorious loose cannon, constantly getting into trouble across Mistral for her unwavering commitment to righteousness. She would decline bribery, detain high-profile mobsters and even provide material assistance and support for vigilante groups. However, as Fei’s crusade continued, she became overwhelmed by the sheer amount of injustice and depravity endemic in the world. In response, she grew more violent and aggressive herself, getting into frequent fights with her sisters. Rey would constantly use her connections to get Fei out of legal trouble, while Fei was overly cruel to May for being “weak” and Rey for not using her strength to “fix” the Kingdom.

This frustration would come to a head with the disappearance of her elder sister Rey. While official reports claim she defected to the Branwen Bandit Tribe, Fei knew her beloved sisters well enough to know that they were incapable of such treason. After a careful and secretive investigation, she uncovered a grand conspiracy to have her sister assassinated in the wilderness, with multiple high-ranking Huntsmen and government officials being bribed or blackmailed by Raven Branwen to make it happen. In a fit of rage, Fei abandoned her creed and went on a murderous rampage, hunting down those responsible in the dead of night, leaving their bodies on grotesque display and sending the populace into a panic.

Her vicious crimes were eventually uncovered by her remaining sister, May, who attempted to arrest her. Alongside the rest of Team BRNZ, May ambushed Fei in the dead of night, barely managing to win as Fei couldn’t bring herself to hurt her younger sister or her friends.

After a sham trial, Fei was blamed for the murder of Rey and scores of “innocent” lives and branded an insane, psycho killer by the court and her own family. In disgrace, she was quietly whisked away to serve the rest of her life in a maximum security mental institute. However, like everything else in Mistral, things were not as they seemed.

At the “mental institute”, Fei was subjected to intense psychological torture and mental conditioning routines, gradually breaking her down and making her more suggestible to the whims of the “medical staff.” Weeks later, they began testing her marksmanship and acumen, interrogating her about her abilities, her family and her days as a Huntress. By then, Fei was in no condition to resist and divulged freely, explaining the many state and historical secrets her family safeguarded, along with her own personal secrets. Satisfied with the results, the staff escorted the Huntress from her cell to meet the boss.

The Director was a middle-aged, fit woman with long silver locks neatly wrapped into a bun. Her cold, teal eyes stared silently at Fei in her haggard patient uniform and straight jacket, carefully assessing her like a butcher to a lamb carcass. She finally spoke, claiming to be impressed with Fei’s career and potential. Her voice cracked with practiced optimism and softness that tried to soothe Fei’s nerves. Before long, the Director began to explain to Fei that they work for a secret organization responsible for maintaining order throughout the Kingdoms and protecting Humanity from hidden threats. All Fei could do was nod along and bend the knee in response. She felt compelled to trust this strange woman and follow her every command like dogma.

With proper rest, Fei’s old personality and impetuousness would return, but that compulsion would never go away, sticking in her subconscious like the Director had etched her will in stone. Not that the Huntress minded, under the Director’s authority, she was finally able to pursue true justice and protect Humanity without the red tape of corrupt bureaucrats or overly prudent laws. She stopped world-ending experiments in the labs of Atlas, cooperated with chivalrous Knights in Vacuo and purged “corrupt” Agents in Mistral.

Psychological Report:

Impatient and abrasive, Fei tends to act on what she feels is right, regardless of immediate or long-term consequences. She is naturally distrustful of others, especially other Agents of the Circle and Huntsmen, searching for evidence of corruption or treason and bluntly questioning their orders and motivations. However, she finds herself incapable of questioning her Director, implicitly trusting her every word and order. Since her career shift, Fei has developed feelings of unexplainable “wrongness” and nightmares, leading to increased levels of aggression and hallucinations of her dead sister talking to her. As a commander, Fei is able to keep these discrepancies in check for the most part, but every so often, her peers see her talking to herself and asking for forgiveness. Since her trial, she has been wholly focused on restoring her family’s (especially her sisters’) honor and establishing true order and “justice” across Remnant.

The Zedong family had once been a formidable adversary to the Kaspar Clan with members being able to successfully hunt Operatives in the years after the Great War and before the Faunus Revolution. Yet now, all the Director feels is pity for her Clan’s former rivals. Fei is the last ember of her family’s greatness and the Director has devoted herself to helping Fei restore her family - under the careful and hidden guidance of the Clan. Fei sees the Director as both a mentor and a mother figure, ever grateful for her benevolence and cruel lessons. As for her Team, Fei initially struggled to win over the trust and loyalty of her Teammates due to her age and seeming lack of experience. Only Dinah seemed to like her off the bat, but Dinah likes everyone. However, Fei was able to prove her mettle through bravery in battle… and her willingness to engage in savagery when necessary. Hallie and Whitney still have their apprehensions about her leadership on the surface and might treat her like a younger sibling, but implicitly trust her orders at the end of the day.

In combat, Fei is highly aggressive and persistent, preferring to be constantly on the offensive during any mission or engagement. While her family has traditionally used their Semblance for security or defensive maneuvers while sniping from afar, Fei approaches threats up close and personal, hunting them down like dogs. She is unflinchingly fearless against the horrid Grimm abominations and supernatural super soldiers she fights on a regular basis. Officially, the Director has Fei and Team ZHDW deployed on missions to study and combat Grimm anomalies in the wild, but frequently also sends them on clandestine missions across Remnant to disrupt Atlas’s reckless military research, investigate occultic organizations in Vacuo and forcibly “retire” political obstacles in Vale.

Age/Attributes: 26 yo/ 6’4” 180 lbs Human

Semblance: Runes and Thrall

A powerful Semblance inherited from her biological family line and corrupted by trauma and conditioning. Whitney can manipulate her Aura into snowflake-like Runes that enhance and alter the effects of Dust in a myriad of ways. They are a lesser version of Weiss and Winter’s Glyphs with limited range and incapable of making large ice constructs. Without the generations of secret knowledge and technique passed down the Schnee family from parent to child, Whitney’s Runes lack the refinement of modern Schnee Glyphs, resembling more the rudimentary forms of their ancestors. Instead, Runes can be used to generate obscuring fog within an area, boost Whitney’s personal mobility via localized time dilation or accelerate/decelerate projectiles.

Despite her lack of traditional Schnee training, Whitney’s superhuman willpower, lack of morals and sadistic fixations with violence has allowed her to brute force her way into summoning. Similar to Weiss and Winter, Whitney can summon constructs based on memorable foes that she has vanquished. Unlike her biological sisters, Whitney uses this ability to summon horrid, zombified mockeries of all the people she’s slaughtered (bandits, soldiers and even Huntsmen). Affectionately known as “Thrall” by Whitney, they may not have all the abilities of the originals, but they are far more powerful and coordinated than Grimm constructs. In order to “collect” more Thrall, Whitney must derive satisfaction from the kill AND be close enough to memorize the finer details of their final moments. Both conditions basically necessitate that Whitney lands the killing blow in melee.

Weapon: Aconite Malice and Iron Blossom

A hardlight bastard sword / Draco pistol built for close quarters combat. Aconite Malice is Whitney’s primary killing instrument. Its hardlight blade is surprisingly light in both sword and pistol forms, allowing for nimble swordplay and surgical precision at the cost of stopping power and parrying potential. Meanwhile, its Draco has been heavily modified and overpressured to fire as fast as possible with mags of high-velocity bullets.

Iron Blossom is a bladed buckler / flail designed for defensive techniques and to constrain foes. The steel teeth lining the rim of the shield are great at catching blades, as well as rending flesh to maim opponents. In its flail mode, it becomes even better at entangling weapons  or limbs, leaving foes open to attacks from the rest of Whitney’s arsenal.

Background:

In the distant past, Willow Schnee was pregnant with her first child. While she didn’t care much for her aloof husband, the young heiress was excited to be a mother and, with the help of her own father and servants, prepared her mansion for her firstborn daughter. Only Jacques refused to participate in the preparations and became more distant than ever. Every night, he withdrew to his study with several bottles of liquor and became erratic at any mention of the child.

Finally, the delivery date came, and Willow gave birth to her daughter without any medical complications with a host of the finest midwives Jacques could hire. However, before the new mother could see her child, the head midwife- a woman with long, silver hair and dead eyes- coldly informed her that her daughter had been stillborn. Her father acted quickly to comfort her, but she was despondent and refused to talk or eat for days. Jacques didn’t look the least bit surprised but couldn’t bring himself to see Nicolas or Willow for weeks, spending more time in his office and drafting his ambitious plans for the SDC. No one could understand the sacrifices he needed to make to get this far in life, and only he knew how many more he was willing to make to go even further beyond. In the Schnee household, all news and records of the pregnancy were covered up and destroyed by Jacques and his associates to help his wife “move on.”

In the following week, several prominent board members of the SDC would go missing on a hiking trip in Mistral, a couple of investigative  journalists were found frozen to death in their Mantle apartments and the law firm prosecuting a high-profile class-action lawsuit against the SDC would suddenly drop their case. For the first time since Nicholas retired, the new CEO of the SDC, Jacques, would have some breathing room to truly make his company flourish.

---

A little under two decades later, stories would emerge across Remnant of a malevolent ghost who ambushed and hunted warriors from the shadows. Unlike Grimm or bandits who usually preyed on the weak and hapless, this entity sought out the strong - stalking Teams of Huntsmen, hunting parties of Daybreak Knights and squadrons of Atlesian Black Ops from afar before pouncing at the most opportune moments. It struck seemingly without reason and didn’t stop until it had butchered its prey and harvested their souls. The only survivors being among those it had deemed “unworthy” of harvesting.

Lesser known was the young, eccentric traveller who went by “Whitney Kalahan”. Bouncing from town-to-town across all four Kingdoms, Whitney was a quiet girl with a gentle smile and the patience of a saint. She exhibited many peculiar behaviors; such as being unable to laugh or to read through obvious sarcasm, but those were typically excused as her being a foreigner unfamiliar with the local customs. She also frequented bars and saloons, seeking out conversation with veteran Huntsmen and Huntresses. With her pretty face and abrupt forwardness mistaken for “flirting”, many of these grizzled vets flirt back and share tales of their greatest feats to woo or entertain her. Little did they know that behind her smile, Whitney was cynically calculating their worth and how she was going to extract it.

For years, Whitney was able to successfully maintain her double life, even having a daughter, Winslow, to help her and pass down her knowledge/experience to. However, these continued successes made Whitney bolder, arrogant and more ambitious. Against the orders of her Clan, she would attempt to accelerate their plans in Atlas by kidnapping Winter and using her to kill both General Ironwood and Jacques.

Although she was able to successfully lure Winter out by killing an Ace Op and a ton of soldiers in Atlas, Whitney underestimated how resourceful and competent Lt. Winter was, losing the duel with her biological sister. She was only rescued at the last minute by Kill Team GORE, who was tasked with stopping the carnage Whitney started and to recover her for reconditioning.

For her insolence and foolishness setting back a decade’s worth of work and intrigue, Whitney was severely beaten on top of the injuries she sustained during her unsanctioned hunt. However, as the Matriarch was about to send her away for months (if not years) of brutal reconditioning, Spymaster Endora spoke up for Whitney, offering to watch over her closely in exchange for her assistance in operations. 

In exchange for babysitting the rest of Team ZHDW, Whitney wouldn’t be punished further for her insubordination and would even get to continue raising her daughter until she was ready for Phase 1 training.

Psychological Report:

By far the most hateful and arrogant member of Team ZHDW, Whitney naturally conceals her sadism and contempt for others with a faint smile across her lips. She finds immense joy in breaking the strong in mind and body before tallying them to her kill count - often collecting  a memento so that their deaths will live on forever in her mind (and Semblance). Toward civilians, she is thankfully disinterested in them, viewing their lives as not worthy to even acknowledge, let alone take. She is only slightly warmer toward her fellow Operatives, viewing them as equals (albeit rivals). However, she does have a soft spot for Winslow, seeing her as an extension of herself.

However, despite these quirks, Endora believes that Whitney is a critical asset that she can mature, without losing any of her killer instincts, by forcing her to interact and work with others. Should any member of Team ZHDW die prematurely, Whitney would be sent on a one-way ticket back to her immediate reprogramming. At first, Whitney was apprehensive and seethed with silent rage toward her teammates due to her circumstances, but she quickly grew to like them after the first few missions. Fei was a competent and creative tactician even by Whitney’s standards, capable of adjusting plans on the fly after unforeseen events. Dinah is a bit too talkative and light-hearted, but has more than enough bite to make up for it. Lastly, Hallie is Whitney’s favorite due to her sheer brutal pragmatism, seeing her research into Grimm behavior and physiology to be aspirational… just not in the ways Hallie would expect. Still they talk to each other most about new, innovative ways to feed their captives to the Grimm.

In combat, Whitney prefers to operate alone either as the flanker of her Team or the anchor with her kit allowing her to do both roles incredibly well. As a flanker, Whitney has high mobility and lethality in close quarters combat, while using her Semblance to summon Thrall Huntsmen and Knights to add more devastation to her flank.She can also hang back and use her Semblance to summon Atlesian heavy weapons teams to suppress and distract enemy forces. Due to her personal stakes in their survival, Whitney will go above and beyond to save her teammates, using her constructs to rescue them should they fall in battle.

Team STYX is a patchwork Team of Valean Agents handpicked by Special Agent Sierra Kings to assist in her investigations, as she seeks to root out corruption, and conspiracies against the global hegemonic world order. While many fellow Valean Agents question the invasive and heavy-handed techniques used by Sierra's crew, they have been instrumental in dealing with plots against Oz and Vale from the shadows, whether it is busting terror plots by Salem cultists or rebuffing infiltration attempts by Agents of Vacuo and Atlesian Black Ops. Sierra's eye for the finer details combined with her Team's collective firepower makes them a highly reactive and powerful strike force - even when there is little harmony within their ranks.

 Team Facts:

• Each member of Team STYX is named after a river and primarily alludes to cursed weapon in history/mythology.
• Sierra may have installed hidden cameras and listening devices in the barracks dorms of each of her Teammates.
• Tomoe likes to give her Teammates flowers that she grows on base. Sierra tosses them in the trash, Ylsa keeps them in a vase near her dorm window and Xoe mistakes them for extra rations and eats them (she really likes the purple ones)
• Ylsa is the oldest member of the Team (30 yo) and Xoe is the youngest (19 yo)

"Torch their homes, slaughter their young and, most importantly, don’t let any of them escape…" - The Matriarch

Throughout the vast wildlands and ruins of Remnant, seemingly endless hordes of Grimm roam. For every monstrosity that is slaughtered by Huntsmen, ten more seem to take its place, crawling from the shadowy recesses of nature. Within caves, dense foliage and even ancient ruins, specialized Grimm set up and maintain the spawning pools from which their endless ranks are constantly being replenished.

Classified as the “Jorogumo”, these spider-humanoid Grimm serve as the engineers and custodians of each Grimm horde. In their base form, these Grimm are almost never found outside of the nests that they care for, devoting a majority of their time, weaving defenses and expanding the sizes of their nests. Despite their more passive role, the Jorogumo have hair-trigger tempers ready to go off at anything that disturbs their meticulous work. Even the newly-formed Grimm that emerge from their pools are not immune to their wrath. If any of them make the mistake of trampling on a Jorogumo’s web, their brief existence will come to a violent and painful end as they are repeatedly stabbed and torn limb from limb in a mad frenzy. Ironically, this obsession with their own territory makes Jorogumo incredibly prone to infighting, straight up murdering each other and letting rival nests dry out. Though on occasion, multiple older Jorogumo may agree to expand in different directions to avoid such conflicts.

Compared to the Nuckalvee, the Jorogumo is not as flexible nor as durable. Instead, it relies heavily on territorial defenses and advanced mobility to win its fights. Its webs aren’t lethal but can serve as motion sensors informing the Jorogumo of the exact locations of intruders and obstacles that can slow the progress of any attacker. The older Jorogumo may even use their webwork and the acoustics of their surroundings to mimic the shrill scream of a woman or child to pull intruders deeper into an awaiting ambush. Fire is a crippling weakness for the Jorogumo and can cause them to flee in terror at its presence - though this often leads to more problems down the line.

Unlike most other Grimm, Jorogumo don’t evolve into their “Alpha” state with age, but rather through circumstance. When a Jorogumo’s nest is purged but the Jorogumo remains, it undergoes a berserk metamorphosis as its overwhelming rage and hatred twists its physical form. The Jorogumo loses its ability to produce spawning fluid in exchange for even greater strength, perception and sadistic intelligence. In this state, these Alphas become lone predators, beelining to the nearest human settlement to terrorize. Instead of attacking right away, the Alpha Jorogumo wait until midnight before slipping past and kidnapping villagers at random. From there, the Jorogumo uses the terrified cries of its hostages to lure rescuers into a death trap of webs and tight corridors that heavily favor the Jorogumo’s strength and wall-climbing abilities.

When sieging a Grimm nest, Huntsmen are advised to move as a Team, placing explosive charges as they go. They are also advised to bring along the appropriate gear (flashlights, flares and blades for cutting through webs) and encouraged to follow a doctrine of cautious advance until they eliminate the Jorogumo. However, many veteran Huntsmen have cleared enough nests to be able to solo blitz them and reach the Jorogumo before it even has time to formulate a counterattack. Meanwhile, less morally conscious Huntsmen may take the easy way out by simply burning out the nest to claim the bounty and letting any potential survivors be someone else’s problem down the line.