Carl Fox
Last Updated : 25 July 2005 -- change in Guardian role.
Full Name : Carlton Victor Fox. He very rarely uses his full name, preferring to be called "Carl Fox", or simply "Carl".
Age : 32 years old, Earth reckoning.
Gender : Male
Species/Race : Anthropormorphic red fox / grey fox mix.
Height : Six feet even (about 1.83 metres) to the tips of his ears.
Build : Solid. Carl is in excellent shape, having toned up a bit from all of his travelling and adventuring, but is not overly muscular.
Fur Colour : Dark orange-red fur, becoming a even tan from the bottom of his muzzle down his chest, and on the tip of his tail; his "gloves" and "socks", and the tips of his ears, are a dark brown with traces of silver mixed in. His hair is also dark brown, and the silver streaks are more noticeable here. He wears his hair long (to mid-back), and usually has it in a ponytail.
Eye Colour : Brown. He wears pierce-nez glasses designed to rest on his muzzle comfortably while staying put when he's moving; the lenses have a slight grey tint.
Clothing : Carl's dress sense is very casual - t-shirts and jeans are the usual order of the day. His wardrobe varies with consideration for the setting he finds himself in, the level of formality, and the weather. He usually wears black high-top sneakers, although he has been thinking about investing in a good, solid pair of hiking boots.
One piece of clothing is a constant -- his vest. He actually has two vests, one black and one slate grey; he tends to wear the former with lighter colours, and the latter with darker colours. The vest is often covered in interesting buttons (see "Vest of Many Buttons", below).
He wears a Celtic knot pendant around his neck, and has an engraved gold wedding band on his left hand.
Occupation : Back home, Carl was a technical jack-of-all-trades, although master of none. His favourite hobby is writing and telling stories, usually drawing on his love of fantasy and science-fiction.
In the Dream, Carl is an adventurer and explorer. When he isn't travelling, he helps keep the peace in his adopted hometown of Dreamsend, as well as helping to protect the secret that lies beneath it.
Allies and Affiliations : Carl is a member of the Gaming Guardians, and is one of their primary agents active in the Dream. He holds the rank of Guardian Staff Sergeant, and was rated for field team leadership early in his Guardian career.
Currently, Carl has moved into more of an Intel capacity, focusing on the Dream and its inhabitants; the unique nature of the Dream, as well as the recent mass influx of new avatars, makes it a place of specific concern for the Guardians. He also remains in command of the Dream Outpost, and in turn, the Public Relations office located at the Welcome Center.
A note on NCD/GG crossovers : The versions of Carl Fox that appear in the Dream and the Guardians forum are the same character, and react as such. The fox has learned to verify which version of an avatar he's interacting with, in case there are differences between their Dream and Guardian versions (e.g. Rhiann, Nyu).
Carl has volunteered with First Alert on occasion, and served as an "irregular" in the United Northern Peacekeepers during the D'Twenty invasion. He is also a frequent member of the second Mapping Cat Team.
One of the first contacts Carl made in the Dream was Ceera Darkwynde, who lent him the use of a cavern off of the Pool of Dreams to test his talismans (see "Buttons/Talismans", below). Later, Carl promised Ceera his help at a later time in return for her assistance in finding the Guardian known as Lurker.
Accessories :
- Vest of Many Buttons -- Carl's trademark is his Vest of Many Buttons, a garment that can stop the easily amused in their tracks from several feet. At a glance, the buttons on his vest appear to be the ordinary pin-back type with a multitude of ever-changing witty sayings.
Both of Carl's Vests have proven to be indestructible (or, at least Carl hasn't run into anything that can damage them), but otherwise have no special qualities. The weight of the Vest, regardless of how many buttons Carl has on it, is negligible.
- Knapsack -- When travelling, Carl carries a leather knapsack, which usually contains the odds and ends the fox thinks he'll need for a given journey. The knapsack is extremely well made and has weathered well, but has no special properties.
- One item that is a must-carry for him is the Bag O' Buttons, which looks like a large drawstring pouch. Within this pouch reside the buttons that are not on Carl's Vest. The Bag plays a role in his use of the buttons, as well (see "Buttons/Talismans", below). It normally resides in his knapsack.
- Other gear -- Carl carries his Guardians communicator in a vest pocket, and has a conversion matrix somewhere on his person as well. He also has a second comm in his knapsack, which links him to Porter and his base of operations.
Abilities and Skills :
- Natural Abilities : Carl is a vulpine...a sapient, upright-walking vulpine, but definitely a fox all the same. As such, he has certain natural attributes. His claws and teeth are quite sharp, although he considers mauling someone to be utterly uncivilized. His hearing and sense of smell are very acute. He can move very quickly in short bursts, and is a good leaper and climber (the latter coming from his grey fox heritage). He also understands many variants of native canine dialects, and is fluent in "foxish", the natural vulpine language. He has been known to slip into foxish when irritated, or in pain.
- Personal Skills : Carl is a master punster, skilled in the use of clever wordplay. He improved his personal speaking and business writing skills in his role as Guardians public relations, and is comfortable dealing with the media of the Dream. (Yes, even Pingu. :) ) He is a quick study with most technology, and loves to learn about new tech.
- Leadership : His leadership ability has improved recently, primarily due to his work with the Guardians. Traditionally, he hasn't been one to actively seek the leadership role; he's perfectly wiling and capable of following the lead of someone with better experience or information. However, when called upon, he applies careful decision making and listens to suggestions closely when making command decisions.
- Combat Skills : Carl has concentrated on learning hand-to-hand styles that allow him to subdue an opponent without using his claws. He has not mastered any particular style of fighting, but he has learned enough to hold his own if fisticuffs are called for.
- Psionics : Carl retains his psionic abilities when he is unable to use his talismans (as when he travels beyond the Dream -- see "Weaknesses", below). These abilities are described under "Silver Talismans" in the "Buttons/Talismans" section. He can use these abilities in the Dream without the silver talismans, although they allow for better control and improved power.
- A Magic All His Own : During his travels, Carl has discovered that the talismans have only a small amount of magic resident in the discs themselves. The powers that he manifests actually come, in some manner, from a magic all his own. Whether the fox will learn to use his other abilities without the focii the talismans provide is to be determined.
Weaknesses :
- Carl does not have the best eyesight. He suffers from myopia; without his glasses, he's very nearsighted.
- Carl has to be touching or holding a talisman to activate it. He does not have to be wearing the Vest to use his talismans, however.
- The talismans, for the most part, only exist in the Dream. If he travels to a dimension where magic is weak (e.g. the Primary System), the buttons disappear, and he can only rely on his natural abilities and his psionics. In certain circumstances, he may have access to the talismans in other dimensions; however, they may not work quite the same, and certain aspects may be different -- for instance, the buttons may not stay on his Vest properly, or their illusion may fade, revealing the talismans' true faces.
- Carl's abilities rely on his having the will and focus to cast, and the stamina to draw upon. Wear him down sufficiently, break his will, or utterly bewilder him, and he's in trouble. Carl relies a bit too much on his powers, although it's a habit he's trying to break - hopefully, before it gets him broken.
- Using one or two powers concurrently (not combined), for short periods, is a negligible drain on his resources. Continuous use, especially against a powerful or unyielding foe, is much more tiring. Utilizing multiple talismans to increase spell strength (see below) can also be a major stamina drain.
Buttons / Talismans : Carl tends to use the terms "buttons" and "talismans" interchangeably.
To a casual viewer, these colourful discs have various witty sayings on them - they're the sort of button one might pick up at science fiction and fantasy conventions. (If you'd like to see some examples of what they might say, visit Nancy's Buttons, where Carl's PG has obtained a number of his RL pins.)
That form, however, is an illusion. When it is lifted, talismans made of various substances are revealed. Each of them have Celtic knotwork around the edge, and, with the exception of the Dark talisman, each has a symbol in the middle revealing to the knowledgeable what they do.
The buttons magically attach themselves to the Vest, although Carl usually follows through on the illusion and "pins" them on. He can pop them off at will, but others cannot under normal circumstances. ((Successes on Salen Stormwing's part to do so are, 99.9% of the time, for comedic purposes. :) ))
The talismans will not work for anyone except Carl, as they are a focus for his own internal magic. He has been able to "activate" a talisman and hand it to another avatar for their use, basically passing the spell on to them temporarily. An "inactive" button, however, will not work for another avatar, even one with similar magical abilities.
If any of the buttons are destroyed by outside forces (e.g. superior magics), or are out of Carl's possession for a long enough time, they will dissipate and reappear in the Bag O' Buttons. The same applies to used elemental talismans (see below). There are always 144 buttons, in one manner or another - twelve each of the twelve types listed below.
Description format : Name of talisman - colour, symbol in middle. What the talisman allows Carl to do.
Elemental Talismans : These talismans dissipate once the spell cast with them is completed. Carl believes this is because of the type of energy being controlled by the talisman, but has not been able to verify this. He has to be careful not to use up a needed elemental talisman type without the Bag O' Buttons close at hand.
- Earth - Copper, upside-down equilateral triangle, horizontal line in middle. This allows the fox to control the very earth itself. Common uses include generating earth tremors, opening fissures, and pulling up magma from deep underground as geysers.
- Water - Steel, upside-down equilateral triangle. Carl can control water in all its forms, including snow and ice. He cannot, as of yet, create water from thin air, although he can control water vapour around him to make it look that way. He can control the temperature of the water, turning it to ice (and vice versa). He's still working on ways to use this talisman, besides water spouts and tidal waves.
- Air - Clear quartz, equilateral triangle, horizontal line in middle. This talisman allows Carl to control the air around him, generating winds for various effects (e.g. wind blasts, mini-cyclones, sandstorms). He can also use it to create a vacuum in a focused area for short periods, a great way to remove noxious smoke or toxic fumes. While he can use this talisman to carry him aloft, he finds his control much better using his telekinesis.
- Fire - Bronze, equilateral triangle. One of his more powerful talismans, this one allows Carl to create and use various fire and flame effects (e.g. fireballs, fire walls, novas). This talisman does create a magical flame for his use, although he can control naturally burning flames with it as well.
Silver Talismans : Carl's psionic abilities are his best-honed powers, since they're all he can rely on (for now) in most places outside the Dream. These talismans help focus and magnify the power of his mind.
- Telepathy - Silver, thought bubble. Carl's telepathic ability gives him other key skills, besides allowing him to send and receive telepathic messages. Carl has developed a powerful mental "firewall", designed to swiftly "lock down" and protect him from most psionic attacks. He has learned to use his telepathy offensively, generating psi-blasts to incapacitate foes. He is still mastering mind control and passive monitoring techniques.
- Telekinesis - Silver, feather. The fox, perhaps, relies on his TK more than any other of his skills. Besides using it to levitate himself and others, it's also his primary defensive skill. He can create very effective shields, and often surrounds opponents in TK fields, immobilizing them. He has been experimenting with using TK to augment his strength and speed, as well.
- Teleportation - Silver, disappearing form. This psionic ability allows Carl to "jump" from one location to another instantaneously. He must be familiar with the destination point, or have it in his line of sight; if he's about to pop into a dangerous place, the ability will either return him to his starting point, or send him to a random (but familiar) location, such as his home in Dreamsend. Carl cannot travel between dimensions with this power; he can only teleport within a given reality.
- Illusion - Silver, drama masks. This power allows Carl to create life-like illusions. The illusions are psionic in nature (they trick the viewer's mind into believing they're real), and do not have weight or substance.
Note : the 'default' illusion each talisman has - that they're pin-back buttons with witty sayings - is built-in, and does not require the Illusion talisman to be active. The talisman is required, however, if Carl wants to make it appear he's not wearing any talismans (projecting the illusion around him that he's wearing an empty vest), or if he wants the talismans to appear as something else (see Salen's PG's intrepretation of the Vest and talismans for an example).
Utility Talismans : Light and Dark, Sound and Silence...these talismans are effective tools for Carl to use.
- Light - Gold, starburst. This talisman allows Carl to generate quantities of light, from a faint glow to nearly solar intensity, for various effects. The fox can use this for illumination, to blind opponents, or can focus the light into a laser for various uses. He tends to use this one mostly to see where he's going, though.
- Dark - Onyx, no symbol. The talisman allows Carl to generate a dark energy that absorbs all light in a given area. Carl can uses this to blind opponents or conceal himself in shadow. The darkness can be used as a shield against energy attacks, as well, although some may not be fully absorbed. This is not a talisman Carl has worked with much, and he's a bit leery about where that 'dark energy' is coming from...
- Sound - Gold, concentric circles. The Sound talisman allows Carl to generate white noise at various volumes and frequencies. This lends itself to many uses - for example, the white noise can mask other sounds, defeating listening devices. The noise can be concentrated and directed for other purposes, such as jarring open locks, or generating a sonar-like pulse. The fox's primary use for this talisman, to date, has been an offensive one - focused tight, the white noise can be utilized to generate powerful sonic blasts. At high enough decibel levels, the sonic blast can shatter many substances, organic or man-made -- in fact, a double-talisman blast once took out a mecha in one shot!
- Silence - Onyx, finger to lips. When this talisman is activated, it absorbs all sound in the immediate area around Carl. Sonic attacks are dampened by the field (including those generated by Carl's Sound talisman, if needed).
Using Multiple Talismans : Carl can combine talismans to boost their effect. This applies mainly to the elemental talismans, although he can increase the power of the others, if necessary.
The power Carl can generate increases by the factorial of the number of talismans he's using (x!, where x=the number of talismans in use. For those not familiar with factorials, that means the power goes up by 1*2*3...*x times.)
For example, if Carl uses four talismans for one spell, the power level of the spell is 24 times greater than if he use one talisman alone (1*2*3*4). He can, potentially, use all 12 talismans of one type to cast a spell that is 12!, or 479,001,600 times as powerful as using one talisman alone. Whether or not he would survive such a massive burst of power, of course, is extremely questionable.
Special Effects : His buttons glow when they are being used. Occasionally, certain buttons will glow to alert Carl of their location in certain circumstances (most likely tied into Carl's feelings - for example, if he feels he's about to be attacked, talismans of a more defensive nature may glow). They always maintain the illusion of being just pin-back buttons, unless Carl needs to know what a particular button does.
Carl's hands glow a faint silver when using his psionics, especially his TK. The glow is intensified when he's using a silver talisman.
Description of Personality : "Mellow" has been used to describe Carl. He's slow to anger, although he has a low tolerance for the ninnies and the twits. The fox is courteous, curious, helpful, and loyal to his friends. He tends to be the quiet type until words or deeds are called for, and then he acts accordingly. Carl is always willing to do his best.
Brief History : Carl is a fox far from home. It is a home he has not been able to find, despite all of his searching, and the resources available to him. Sooner or later, however, he is convinced that he will find the way back, and return to the realm of his birth...and more importantly, to a wife he loves more than life itself.
In the meantime, the storyteller within him yearns to explore, to travel. If he can aid those in need while he does so, so much the better. Possessing abilities he never knew he had, with friends and allies of similar mind and ability, every day for Carl Fox is an adventure.
Inside, a young cub, weaned on tales of fantasy and swashbuckling, is just loving this. Outside, Carl's demeanour is more laid back...but never disinterested. There's a story to be told...and SuLin'll never believe him when he eventually tells it to her!
Other Adventures :
A brief and character revealing answer to the question, "What is your ambition?" : "To journey to distant lands, meet new and interesting people, and tell stories about them...assuming I survive the experience."
