#but she hasn't yet earned enough fame for that to matter so

[dlaprobably]

Servantember, Day 6: John of Nottingham (Caster/Assassin)

A relatively obscure figure for Day 6! John of Nottingham was a famed sorcerer in 14th century England who was hired by the people of Coventry to kill King Edward II and various associates of his through magical means. Nottingham's method involved sculpting wax effigies of his targets and inflicting the means of death upon them, which he first tested on the effigy of a non-target, Richard de Lowe. de Lowe reportedly died soon afterward, but that was as far as Nottingham got before his assistant turned on him, the scheme was exposed, and he was arrested along with his assistant and the other conspirators. While they were declared not guilty, Nottingham died in prison before the verdict was reached.

Lore Notes:

-A skilled, if shortsighted magical practitioner, his fame was well-earned but ill-timed, most crowds in his day being tough ones when it came to sorcery. He may not be as much of a celebrity as he once was, but if you need magic done quick, cheap, and decently well, he's your man. While his craftsmanship is serviceable, he's not much of an artist, and will prioritize function over form, much to the dismay of some of the crafts themselves. They're also not terribly pleased with being created just to die, go figure!

-Has a decent assortment of spells to work with, but his real talent is with curses. While his wax effigies were designed with assassination at a distance by his hand in mind, they have access to the Presence Concealment skill even when Nottingham is summoned as a Caster, making it feasible for them to carry out assassinations themselves. Efficacy may vary depending on their form, however, and they have the endurance that would be expected of magically reinforced wax. Incidentally, Nottingham is silent when it comes to the circumstances of his own mysterious death.

-His Noble Phantasm, Regicide by Proxy: Test Run, is based on the assassination plot's one success, the death of Richard de Lowe. By creating a wax effigy of anyone not considered one of his main targets and inflicting some manner of death upon it (stabbing into it with lead pins is his traditional method, but it's optional), Nottingham can bring about their death in a matter of days. It's a fairly powerful curse, though it of course has its limitations. While Nottingham's "main targets" would of course include any of his opponents in a Grail War he's summoned to, anyone he has a strong enough motive to strike against will likely also be counted, and mages are particularly resistant to the curse regardless of their status as targets. Non-magical acquaintances, friends or loved ones of his targets who Nottingham hasn't personally met would be fair game, as would any unrelated individuals whose presence his targets are depending on for their own plans. Perhaps he could even bring about a target's death through the death of a non-target individual, but it's yet to line up so nicely for him. There are restrictions, but for what's basically a guaranteed kill if his choice of victim works, it seems fair enough to him. The only real worry's the effigy's feelings on the matter, so he leans toward more destructive methods of death.

-A fully powered version of his Noble Phantasm, Regicide by Proxy: The Waxwork Plot theoretically exists, but it would necessitate the test run going off without a hitch first, and Nottingham surviving long enough to pull it off before a countermeasure could be found. He has yet to pull it off, but when the day comes, it'll be a grand one, and he'll achieve what he couldn't in life. Maybe he'll even manage to pull off a comeback off of that!

-Doesn't really get why Madame Tussaud hates him as much as she does, and doesn't plan on changing his methods anytime soon. If summoned in the same environment as her, may antagonize her for a laugh, or attempt to take her waxworks for himself to use as materials for his own plotting.

-Believes himself the more deserving of the "Caster Caster" title as a waxworker himself, as well as one who was a sorcerer in life, arguably making him a Caster Caster Caster. Since his waxworks tend to be more hand-molded and slapped together, nobody takes this claim of his seriously.

Design Notes:

I'd read about this guy in the past and forgotten who he was by the time I came to him for this project, but he seemed like an interesting dude! My first instinct for him was to go full Renaissance era wizard, but since he seemed like more of a businessman than in it for the love of the game, I ended up leaning more toward Renaissance wiseguy. A pretty powerful mage, all in all, but one who takes his power for granted and takes the danger he's put himself in far too lightly. The effigy to the right is meant to be that of Richard de Lowe, far cruder than that of Nottingham's real targets since he was an afterthought, while the one to the left is that of Edward II, better formed to leave no room for error, but displeased with his lot as a sacrificial facsimile and intent on avoiding it. His interactions with Tussaud are the first consideration I really gave to the interplay between these characters and other Servants, and there'll be more of that in future profiles.

[victorluvsalice]

Day 4 of our Newcrest Adventures with the McFly family, aaaand -- I felt they needed a bit of a break after some of the bullshit they went through with their surprisingly-Gold-level weenie roast. (Particularly poor Jennifer, who was the one set on fire. . .) So today I kept it simple -- Marty and Jennifer have been putting on a little weight, so I figured they might appreciate getting their cardio back on with a trip to the gym!

Of course, it’s never quite that simple, is it? Firstly, Marty’s record label called him complaining that he needed to release some new tracks -- and my attempts at making new tracks always ended up with poor-quality CDs. *grumbles* Why is it that he’s apparently not competent at his job whenever I have him streaming? What is the magic formula for making a good track on the Mixmaster Music Station every time? Should I just keep remaking “Stabby Organs Revenge” over and over, the radio seems to like playing that one?

Er, anyway, the other complication of the morning was a surprise visit from Eric Embers! Yeah, I know, I could have just ignored him until he went away, but -- well, he was polite enough to knock, unlike other NPCs from our last episode. And it’s not like my poor Sims have to quarantine. So Jennifer invited him in, and they all had a nice chat surrounded by stinky plates at the dinner table. XD Yeah, no wonder Eric felt like he had to wash his hands. . .

And then I decided -- why not take Eric to the gym with us, just for a laugh? I mean, he’s a cop, he’d probably enjoy a good workout with friends. So, after having Marty take a vacation day (I hadn’t realized until just then how close it was toward him having to go to work), they all proceeded to Ripping Flats together and started exercising. With, uh, variable results, as you can see. Yeah, gotta be careful of those inclines, Marty!