(This is a combo of two separate posts several months apart. Hopefully this long post doesn't break the forum limit!)
Well I was inspired by
this thread here on the Malvans. In case you don't know who they are, this is the alien race that of which Firewing is a member. Firewing is a villain from the pen and paper Champions game that hasn't yet appeared in CO.
Here's the thumbnail explanation of the Malvans from
Terran Empire.
"Typical humanoids, the Malvans have skin tones ranging from dark bronze to light golden. Just above their large eyes Malvans have feathery eyebrows which are part of their sense of smell. Their hair is usually some shade of red or violet, and both genders tend to wear it long and elaborately styled. Cosmetic body modifications, tattoos, and exotic clothing are common. The Malvan birthrate has dropped to almost nothing in the past millennia. All Malvans live to great ages, and most receive immortality treatments."
I made a costume to show in the thread. Later I made a character using TK blades. And found at least the first few levels a lot of fun to play. So I started thinking up a concept for her -
Tarma Sul is from the planet Malva, three quarters of the way across the Galaxy. And she is here because, quite frankly, she was going out of her mind with boredom on her home planet.
The Malvans are an ancient race who once ruled the half of the Milky Way Galaxy opposite Earth, with a recorded history going back perhaps a million years. 100,000 years ago they were at war with the Elder Worm, and though they won the war the Worm cast a magical curse on them before going into hiding. Since then they've become lazy and decadent, dependent on their super-advanced technology to maintain and repair itself.
Malvans typically spend their near endless lives in pursuit of pleasure and entertainment, but rarely create anything themselves anymore. Slaves and robots perform all menial tasks.
Very rarely, a Malvan is born that has the spark to question their indolent existence. Some rouse themselves to compete in the gladiatorial games for the Phazor - the ruler of Malva.
Tarma is quite possibly unique among her peers. She was a Malvan born with a touch of ambition and wanderlust. A Malvan who actually wanted to DO something with her life beyond looking for the next entertainment. She took to the Gladiatorial games and became the finest competitor since Ariax Thone. Defeating dozens of opponents and holding the championship for over a decade. But even that couldn't satisfy her. Something was missing in her life.
Desperately searching for whatever it might be, she was perhaps the first Malvan to query the planetary archives in thousands of years about such things as the history of her people and other worlds that the Malvans had records of around the Galaxy.
The artificial intelligences that ran the databases were still dutifully recording intelligence from various sources, such as Hzeel trading partners and captured Qularr signal encryption. Even if no Malvan currently expressed an interest, they still cataloged everything they learned.
One world intrigued her. Earth. If the sketchy data was to be believed, there were hundreds, if not thousands of super-powered natives on Earth. There were even hints that Ariax Thone,after he had been transformed into Firewing, and the Metal-clad Dorvalen Drogen Lar was said to have been seen there as well!
Tarma decided that she would go to Earth as well. She planned and executed a lightning attack on the shipyards and stole a light warp transport. It was the most thrilling thing she had ever done. And she had never felt more alive than when she warped out just beyond the firing range of the planetary defense network.
She arrived on Earth just in time to excitedly dive in to help stop the Qularr. Now THIS was exciting! This was something new! A whole new planet to explore. People to meet. Enemies to vanquish!
And she would hardly have believed it herself, but she thinks she might be getting to like helping people.
So yeah - she's charming, courageous, and kind in a kind of "noblesse oblige" fashion. But she's also arrogant, spoiled, and doesn't really have much in the way of common sense. But that's because she never
needed to have any before on Malva, where everything is too easy. She's sort of getting into heroism for the wrong reasons. But she's not really a bad person. And being around the hero culture is having an effect on her for the better.
I know the whole "alien princess" schtick is a bit cliche, but I think in this case it works. What do you think?
(Several months later I posted an update)
Well Tarma Sul has been fun to play. But TK/TK Blades was kinda tough after lvl 10 or so. After Cryptic overhauled TK and gave us the Disciple AT, I respecced Tarma and have been having a blast! Much closer to what I had in mind as far as playstyle goes! Up to almost lvl 30 with her now! Woot!
Anyway - this of course means - more costumes! So I'm posting more for critique and commentary.
Speaking of commentary - here's mine:
This is Tarma's "default" costume.
The one you'll likely see her in most of the time when she's doing missions, especially in MC and the Desert. One thing that I'm always trying to do with Tarma is emphasize a few "alien" features in her look combined with a "royalty" theme. Lots of purple/wine/gold/red color combos. Tech is a theme. But also tradition. I imagine that to a long-lived race like the Malvan's traditional elements might pop up from time to time in odd ways. That's why Tarma's base costume is metal-textured and has tech elements, but also has the "arcane" necklace and armband, along with the knife on her opposite arm and the "serpent" styled boots. The shoulders give a hint of an eastern theme. (Similar to 1001 Nights)
This is a costume I'll switch to in Canada where it makes more sense for her to cover up, some. Occasionally I'll use it in MC too.
Where the first costume is almost casual, I see this one as a Malvan "Honor Guard" military look. It's based around a suit that can be sealed for vacuum (It isn't, here. But add a helmet and gloves and a re-breather and this is a serviceable spacesuit, as you'll see with the next costume) The shoulder pads and the neck area are more "tech" themed. But the armband and the knife remain on the upper arms.
This is essentially the same suit as #2, but it's sealed with gloves and a helmet, plus has some additional armor bits.
In place of the cape, this outfit is using the "Sakura Mecha Jetpack" - the one with the 3 prominent fins. I designed this outfit with an eye toward eventual adventuring in Lemuria or even outer space. (But see the last costume for an alternate I may wind up using!) I also see this as being something she could wear to protect her from Qliphothic corruption if/when I have her play the Demonflame pack. The Malvan's have an ancient history fighting minions of the Elder Worm. I think they'd know a few tricks. Tarma may not personally know about this. But I think the A.I. In her spaceship would provide this suit if it knew she was going to be fighting against Qlipothic enemies.
One thing about Tarma's fashion sense. What she considers "casual" clothing might look a bit odd. But there's no doubt she looks good in it.
I made this one after I had unlocked a couple of costume bits from Vibora Bay on another character recently. I really like it. Might even use it while adventuring!
Speaking of unlocking costume sets, the "Formal Supers" costume pack provided some inspiration for making a dress for Tarma to wear in Club Caprice or the VIP lounge.
But I actually wound up using not as much as you might think. The dress design I'm really happy with. Looks classy, but the pattern and the highlights come across as sufficiently alien that I think it works. (I think I was channeling a bit of
Bill Thiess on this one!)
And another costume pack that was a must-buy was the recent retro Sci-Fi pack!
I had WAY too much fun on this one! It's basically another take on Costume # 2/3 but with bits from the Retro Sci-Fi pack added in place of some of the earlier tech bits. LOVE the bubble helm! I might use this one instead of #03 in Lemuria (at least sometimes). Continuity-wise, I think this still fits with my themes. But it's a less military oriented version of her spacesuit. This one is more for pure exploration. WIth an emphasis on comfort and the ability to see in all directions unimpeded. Best way to fly through the cosmos!
And that's Tarma's current set. What do you think?