Zy-Dur and Brightshadow, Epic Aether Knight and Their Legendary Apparatus

Continuing from yesterday, here's a potential "epic knight" writeup for our no-longer-young qy knight and their much-upgraded 'Ratus. 

Zy-Dur and Brightshadow (Epic Form - 200 AP)

Visuals: Zy-Dur is a mature qy organic, well-seasoned and in teh prime of life.  When outside of a tether pod it favors loose-fitting hooded white robes marked with simple geometric patterns in shades of blue.  Like many of its kin, Zy-Dur is something of a arcanotechnophile and is usually festooned with gadgetry tucked away in concealed pockets or disguised as rings and other ornaments.  In personal combat the veteran knight relies on elegant fighting knives balanced for throwing and aether-bound to return to the hand on command, but occasionally carries a bulky personal cannon for long-range work.

Zy-Dur's 'Ratus Brightshadow is a gleaming mirror-bright figure of polished chrome and metallic cyan blue.  The graceful war-machine has been entrusted to Zy-Dur by the Qy Court and the youthful qy takes pride in the Dragoon frame's pristine condition and the numerous augmentations that have been added over their service time.  They spend a great deal of time in the maintenance bays after any battle, ensuring any damage is fully repaired.  Brightshadow is armed with a slender rapier-like sword, a spiked buckler shield, a heavyweight longarm caster and a smaller modular multi-barrel caster designed to break down into a swarm of independent weapon platforms on command.

 

Knight: Zy-Dur     Kin: Qy     Frame: Dragoon     Moniker: Brightshadow

Stone	Flux	Aether	Hearth
15	18	11	11
Energy	Armor Die	Damage Die	Nexus Die
24	D8 +1	D8	D10

Aspect Improvements:

• +2 Stone
• +4 Flux
• +1 Aether
• +2 Hearth

Augments: 

• Adjunct Limbs (Extra Armament) - You have four weapon slots instead of two, and gain either two weapons or a weapon and a shield to fill the extras.  In addition, you can benefit from two shields instead of one.
• Aegis Aetherium (Aetheric Shield) - When you take damage, you can choose to roll you Nexus Die to reduce the damage by the result; you can choose to do this before or after rolling your Armor Die.
• Flame Culverin (Flaming Weapon) - As an Activation, coat a weapon (one of yours or an engaged knight's) in flame.  Roll your Nexus Die.  That weapon deals 1d4 extra damage.  If that d4 rolls max, it becomes ongoing damage on the target and then dissipates.  This effect lasts until it dissipates this way or you use this ability again.
• Koradium Heart (Machine Soul) - When you roll despair on a test, you may choose to reroll that test but must take the second result.
• Koradium Heart (Upgraded Pod) - Permanently increase you maximum Nexus Die to a d10.

Bonding:

• +14 Energy

Boons:

• Blitz Phase - At the beginning of your turn you may choose to test Flux.  If you succeed you can take a free Maneuver during your turn (not counting toward duplicate actions).  If you fail take 1d6 damage and become shaken.
• Chasm Strike - As an Interaction, test Stone.  If you succeed, your current span gains the crumbling peril.  Roll your Nexus Die.
• Dash Strike - If you end your movement engaged with a foe, you can test Flux.  If you succeed, deal 1d6 damage to an engaged foe and stagger them.
• Meteor Strike - After moving, you may test Stone.  If you succeed, deal 2 damage to each engaged foe and push them into an adjacent span.  Roll your Nexus die.  
• Summon Fissure - As an Interaction, create a temporary Aethereal fissure at your location.  Roll your Nexus die.  At any point, you and any engaged knights can travel back to the location of the fissure.  The fissure fades away after you teleport this way or after you use this boon again.

Frame Abilities:

• Aetherwind Form - As a Maneuver, shift into Aetherwind form.  You become aloft.  In addition, while aloft you have favor on tests made to avoid attacks and may move an additional span while shifting, but also reduce your damage by -2.  End this form and the aloft condition as a Maneuver. 
• Relentless Charge - If you take a Maneuver and Strike in the same turn, deal +2 damage.

Kin Ability: 

• Bend Aether - As an Interaction, roll your Nexus Die and choose one of the following effects:  Grant another knight favor on their next Aether or Hearth test, or mark a foe.

Nexus Surge: 

• Fissure Phase - You and each engaged or adjacent knight may phase.  If you do, until the end of your next turn you take no damage or conditions from foes, and inflict no damage or conditions in foes in return.

Weapons:  

• Blade - Deal critical damage on rolls of 1 or 2.
• Buckler - +1 to Armor Die rolls.
• Bashing - After a successful Strike, deal 1d4 damage to an engaged foe.
• Caster - If you destroy a foe, deal any excess damage to a foe engaged with it.
• Dismantle - As an Activation, become d6 Legion Die; return to weapon and equip as an Activation.
• Caster - If you destroy a foe, deal any excess damage to a foe engaged with it.
• Heavy - +1 slot; deals +2 damage.
• Sniper - No hindrance to attack distant foes.

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Design Notes:

Looking at our 200 AP budget, this character split things up as follows:

Aspect Improvements - 90 (which feels like a lot, and maxes out Flux)

Augments - 44 (fairly inefficient, since most of the augment pairs only took one of the two options)

Bonding - 14 (spent over 7 respites, and would be only +7 Energy without Ringbounder Court)

Boons - 20 (thanks to Ringbounder Court discount)

Weapons - 32

That took at least 21 respites worth of time, plus 7 bonus actions while bonding.

Compared to the brand-new version of Zy-Dur, this one has added a lot of action efficiency, durability, and damage output, although it takes some setup to maximize - generating a Legion Die, setting a weapon (most likely the main caster) ablaze with Flaming Weapon, and of course going aloft and perhaps deploying a fissure somewhere for a future teleport.  Tactically, you still want to stay in the air and snipe since you're much safer there and your melee capability still isn't stellar.  Watch out for effects that can root you and foes that can make ranged attacks with favor or hit your weaker Aether/Hearth aspects from a distance.  Your Armor Die and shielding are solid but not amazing, and a lot of survivability comes from having favor on defense tests while aloft - and with an 18 Flux, no less.

Going forward, AP are likely to get funneled into weapons and qualities that improve melee and durability, like forging a second buckler and giving both of them bashing and hovering.  There are quite a few attractive boons as well, including the entire "Flux-" trio and various utility tricks.  Your on-foot performance is wretched as well and could use some help, and getting some companions wouldn't hurt.  Really not much in the way of augments you'd want (Ironclad might be worth it), but there's still room for even better aspects and more energy never hurts.

One thing that's becoming clear as I do more epic knights is that the Extra Armaments augment becomes almost mandatory at some point just so you can equip more weapons/shields to apply qualities to.  Hovering is fine on shields if you don't need two other qualities in them, but not so good on weapons so it's hard to free up more than two slots.  There's real limits on how far you can push a 'Ratus when it's only got two slots to work with, and by 200 AP you're starting to feel it.