Nov'25 Trench Poll

Here is a new batch!

As a reminder these are all characters from a setting that only exists in my brain and that I chose to expand from a fighting game roster framework. I've mostly been really rough with my ideas to get a lot of them down and serve as anchors I can go back to and keep pushing. There is no plan behind them but they channel my interests directly or indirectly, so I thought I should share the process!

Last time (you can check the first Trench poll using the tag!) I went overboard with the detail, I'll keep it concise in my descriptions. Again I chose to pair a broadly attractive design with one displaying other qualities every time =>

1a: "TRADER"

She is a member of a trader guild with ancient roots that cultivate a deep knowledge of the shifting travel routes across the wilds, and the ancient communication technology that connects remote settlements to main hubs. The world has changed around the guild and tends to value its traditional prestige more than its fading structural role.

"Trader" herself has a very rare "mutation" (I'll have to define how that works at some point) she shares with her father which grants her a unusually long life span, indeed she is 117 and expected (from historical examples) to live around 90 years more. She is BIG, physically strong and experienced, but her peak is past (she fondly remembers her youthful 70s) and she drags around a lot of bagage.

1b: "ADONIS"

"Adonis" comes from a somewhat isolated community organised around a unique mutation. At a consistent rate, women, even unrelated give birth to children who are effectively genetic clones of each other. These individuals are all male, sterile and have unusually short life spans (45 thereabouts). They have identical features and reach physical maturity early, growing to resemble greek gods, they do have a sense of individuality (they are still raised by normal families) and mostly normal intellectual capacity, but they are particularly vulnerable to manipulation when conditioned in homogenous groups. At a certain age they all experience a form of restlessness that can't be appeased, this has historically been dangerous thus tradition dictates that they must be sent out into the world to broaden their perspectives. after a few years they can choose whether or not to come back.

the "Adonis" here (they all have different names) is not special, he's just beginning his journey on the outside, incidentally alongside "Trader"!

Two different Adonisses on walkabout

The old worker's hostel in the capital, staffed mostly by Adonisses who never moved on after their first consultation of the job postings, their restlessness satiated.

2a: Samar (she actually has a name!) is a Cyborg. She lives quite a distance from the wilds in the frozen north, part of a community that has specialised in utilising rare resources found only there and securing routes to export them. She's a scout/surveyor and has to regularly spend weeks or months away from any support, hence her body has been optimised to endure, sustain itself and notably enter a powered down state to wait out extreme weather events (she similarly can boost for short periods). her forearms and lower legs have been replaced with dedicated technology that facilitates her activity. She wears a multi-purpose powered coat-like life support apparatus on her outings (I mean, come on).

2b: "Orang" is not from around here either, his form is not an outcome of mutation but neither is it totally foreign to humanity. His advanced technology seems to greatly surpass what current civilisations can achieve.

3a: "Nade" is a resourceful young man from a remote settlement sitting right next to a massive fresh water mangrove system. There are precious resources to be collected in the area, but despite the natural barrier, constructs from a semi active hive not too far away regularly wander in the periphery. They are passive but must be prevented from reaching inhabited zones as it will attract the hive's attention. "Nade" is trained in the traditional art of navigating the Mangrove's twisted tendrils on foot, either on emerged roots or elevated cables strung accross the wider perimeter. Along with his peers he uses thrown light explosives to turn away the constructs (destroying them raises hive awareness levels) by expoiting their low-functioning sensory arrays.

Mangrove Ninja.

3b: "Lurker" shares some moves with "Nade", though his origin is hard to pin down. He excels at traversal and is enhanced with very advanced technology, he uses his skills accross the wilds, on missions from the less savory kind of patrons.

4a: "Toxin" is a tough sell in grayscale, she also displays a rare mutation which causes her skin to produce deadly toxins, a process that can't be stopped. For every individual like her the chemical balance is different and highly subject to external modification, to the point where the expression of colors on their skins can be controlled. "Toxin"'s control is exceptionnal, enhanced by a device she carries, allowing her to temporarily mitigate her lethality on contact (causing paralysis instead of death). The mutation can occur anywhere, in traditional societies these children were often disposed of, however in major settlements they are allowed to live in secluded quarters or join similarly afflicted groups in the wilds, often operating as isolationist cults. "Toxin" has rejected this life and travels on her own, harboring bright colors instead of the dull tones chosen by her peers.

FROGWOMAN

4b: "Nose" is an outcast weirdo, definitely non standard genetically. His origins are unknown but he seems to have more remarkable knowledge about navigating the deep wilds, including active hive areas, than trade guild veterans. He randomly appears in outposts to sell bits of technology, advanced construct parts or archeological scraps and departs no less randomly.