Individual Character's full name: Hunter Antonescu
Alias/ Nickname/ Code name: N/A
Gender: Male
Age: 439
Birthday: 18/1/1571
Nationality/ Ethnicity: Romanian
Birthplace/ Home/ Place of origin: Transylvania
AppearanceHair color and style: Close Cropped Black Hair
Eyes: Silver
Height: 6’2”
Build: Athletic, not overly muscular
Visible mutation: His eyes are silver. Formerly he’s have a low level of his mesmerism so people thought his eyes were grey, but since learning to suppress his powers they are a striking silver. He can also extend his canines into fangs.
Scars/ Tattoos/ Piercings: There are an assortment of scars across his chest, all inflicted by wooden weapons. There is also one on the back of his head where he was struck with a table leg by Sebastian.
Other features: Hunter is a very handsome man, something that he used to his advantage in the past.
Everyday clothing style: White robes that are free flowing, but tight on the forearms and shins and sandals. Anyone with martial arts training will know that while this outfit is comfortable it is also designed to be unrestrictive in a fight.
Uniform: N/A
Sleepwear: White pyjama bottoms
Miscellaneous clothing: Hunter has a variety of normal street clothes, but prefers his white robes. None of it is as expensive as his old wardrobe.
CharacterPersonality: Hunter used to be cold and calculating individual, tirelessly pursuing his goals. Being as old has he is he has experience of the full range of emotions but was often cold and calculating, bordering on cruel.
His time in Tibet has had a radical change in his personality. Hunter is now a pacifist (though he will defend himself and others it will be with non lethal force and only as a last resort) and a much more kind hearted man than the embittered soul he was when he left. Primarily now he simply wishes to help. Not on any grand scale, he’s left those ambitions in the past. With a now firm belief that all arguments can be resolved by having both parties sit down and discuss their feelings in a civilised manner he hopes to help who he can in this way.
Hobbies/ Interests: Hunter has had the time to indulge in many pass times over the years, and is an accomplished pianist, violinist, artist and singer. He also enjoys meditation and gardening.
Job or part time job and description: None currently
Fears/ phobias/ concerns: Hunter used to fear wood, but since Tibet he no longer does. What he fears now is losing control and reverting back to his old nature.
Special talents: Through centuries of interaction with many people of varying origins Hunter can socialise with almost anyone on their level. While he is now disinclined to do so, he is capable of infiltrating almost any organisation due to his consummate acting and social skills. Also Hunter is multi-lingual due to his extensive travel and study.
MoralityGood/ bad/ neutral/ other: While before it was clear that Hunter was definitely evil a lot has changed. Hunter is now a changed man who is working towards peace.
MutationsMutation description: Hunter is the origin of the vampire myths. His strength, speed, agility, durability and senses have all been enhanced to superhuman levels by his mutation. However just being superhuman doesn’t make you the origin of vampires. The fact that all these enhancements are powered by blood does. To make draining blood that much easier Hunter’s canines can extend into fangs.
Strengths: His strength, speed, and senses are superior to humans. Normally, he is at superhuman levels, but through meditation and constant self-inflicted psychic suppression Hunter has lowered them to near-human levels.
Weaknesses: The wonderful upsides to his powers come at a price. Blood. Hunter needs to consume blood in order to use his abilities. In the past this was not a problem, but after his time in Tibet this is too high a price. Because he has been able to suppress most of his physical abilities, he no longer needs to rely on blood to survive. If he wishes to access his full physical capabilities, he would first need release his firm mental control, and shortly after to drink blood or suffocate.
Secondary mutation description: Along with the enhanced physical abilities Hunter can also heal at a phenomenal rate. He’s taken a sword through the chest and been fine minutes later. As well as healing injuries his healing factor also makes him immune to poisons and diseases. It is this healing factor that has also kept him alive. Over four centuries old and Hunter is still in his Physical prime. Like his physical abilities it is blood that fuels this power. Also Hunter is allergic to wood, wounds inflicted by wood heal at normal human rates.
Strengths: Allows Hunter to heal from nearly any wound and live forever.
Weaknesses: As well as needing to consume blood his healing factor does not work on wounds inflicted by wood.
Note: Hunter used to have even more power at his fingertips. He could mesmerise people with his gaze and even more formidably temporarily take on the powers of mutants whose blood he drank. Both these abilities were psychic in nature and have now been lost to Hunter. While in Tibet a mutant there who was the master of a Buddhist temple remolded his psychic powers. Now instead of mesmerising people and copying powers Hunter can use his psychic abilities to suppress his blood based powers. This requires continual concentration along with several hours of meditation every day. Only through this continual mental effort are his powers suppressed. The advantage of suppressing his powers is that while suppressed he does not need to drink blood. Were he to lose control, or to release it, he would have full access to his physical and healing powers. However after a short duration he would need blood or suffocate.
Fighting StyleExplanation: Having lived for as long as he has Hunter has taken the time to learn most martial arts to a master level. He combines them to form his own unique style, utilising both his physical abilities and combat skills to deadly effect. Also he is proficient with any hand to hand weapon, but has only used a firearm once in a training session. During his time in Tibet Hunter discovered he wasn’t as good as he thought he was, and the reason he could beat any human martial arts master was his powers, not his skill. Since that discovery he has worked harder at his skills to attain the master level that he had believed himself to be at/
Pros for fighting style: Having an understanding of almost every known fighting style to a high level gives him a significant edge against an opponent who only knows a few.
Cons for fighting style: Unorthodox fighters who have no formal training and “make it up as they go along” can cause Hunter problem as he has to quickly analyse their style to find an effective counter from his vast repertoire.
Faction AllegianceUnaffiliated
History Of Your CharacterHunter was born the son of a peasant in Transylvania. He looked like he would live the simple life of a peasant until his mutant abilities emerged. At first his abilities frightened him, and he hid them from everyone, but the hunger for blood grew in him. Eventually he succumbed, and fed off cattle. After draining his first living creature of its blood, he came to realise the true power within him. He was no mere mortal, but something else, something greater. Utilising his newfound powers he overthrew the ruling count, instilling himself as ruler of Transylvania. He moved from feeding on cattle to feeding off humans, stalking them in the night and draining them dry. It was his nocturnal hunts that gave birth to the vampire myths.
He swiftly became a wealthy noble, and when he discovered that he wasn’t aging he devised a plan to hide his powers. Travelling often, he would pose as a descendant of himself, one with an uncanny likeness of his forefather. During his travels he accumulated great wealth, as well as spreading the vampire myth across the globe.
In 1782 he met the only woman he has ever truly loved. Katherine Oswald. He courted her, and they married a year later. The next fifty years were the happiest in his life. When he told her of his powers, she did not abandon him, instead she let him drink form her, for he only needs to take enough to breath, not drain someone dry. Thus she always looked pale and fragile, but for a time Hunter didn’t immerse himself in bloodshed. However, as the years wore on Katherine began to wither with age, while Hunter remained unchanged. Fearing that she would become too weak if he continued to feed off her he bought cattle, and fed off them instead. While the taste was foul, it was far better than weakening his aging wife.
In 1836, forty eight years after they met, Katherine died. Hunter was beside himself with grief that drove him into a bloody rage he stormed across Europe, leaving a path of slaughter in his wake. Eventually, when he reached the Russian steppes, his fury was spent, leaving him a hollow man. It was then that he resolved never to love again. He built walls around his heart, locking away his emotions. Stripping away his humanity he left only a cold, calculating mind, and the primal joy of the hunt. While he has taken lovers since Katherine’s death, he has never developed an emotional attachment with any.
Using the wealth he had gathered he started up several companies, a few of which have flourished, so he no longer has to assassinate lords and nobles to acquire money, as he is the owner of a few multi-national companies that, while he is not directly involved in the running of, have attained him a substantial fortune allowing him to pursue his own personal projects.
When mutants were discovered, Hunter realised that he was no supernatural creature, but a mutant, and he began to use his fortune to study his unique biology and determine the cause of his powers. When he found the alterations in his blood he began to wonder, what would happen if he replaced a human’s blood with his own? Would he be able to create more like him? The possibilities have caused him to come to America, in search of some of the most predominate researchers into blood in an effort to determine if his plan is viable, and if it is, to begin to implement it, and create a new race, a stronger race. A race in his image.
However much has interfered with that plan and it is currently on hold. The discovery of powerful mutant groups has caused Hunter to form his own in response. Originally the Kabal was intended as an elite strike group, but it has become something more. The variety of mutants he has on the payroll allows him to pick and choose the right ability for each mission.
Hunter has recently discovered his “daughter”, a woman created as one of Hunter’s attempt to combine mutant powers to make a living weapon. The project was abandoned due to an irrevocable flaw, and Hunter ordered Paragon’s gems removed so she could live as a human.
His orders were not carried out, and as such Paragon, know to the world as Iris, still has her powers. Hunter recently met his daughter, but it did not go well and she stormed off hating him. The loss of Paragon is one of the factors that has driven him to begin to form a bond with Katrina, a young mutant which the Registration law has forced to take refuge, along with many others.
A showdown with a subordinate of his, Calley, led to a radical change in the man. They traded blows and while Calley’s advancement with his powers impressed him, he still could not believe that the boy had bested him. Calley’s final move had left Hunter broken and bleeding on the ground. It also left Calley unconscious and human. Despite his condition Hunter’s healing powers allowed him to get up first. While he could have easily killed the boy his defeat had given him a lot to think about.
Hunter needed time to evaluate everything, time away from everyone. So Hunter simply left. With nothing more than the (shredded) clothes on his back Hunter went to JFK airport and stowed away on a plane to China. His superhuman regenerative powers meant that he could survive the extreme cold and decompression. Once in China he set out on foot for Tibet.
He’d briefly visited a Buddhist temple almost a century earlier. Last time he was here he’d not gotten what he’d been looking for. There was no secret martial arts method he could learn and in a rage he’d slaughtered half the monks there and left. Now he was returning there to learn what had been offered to him the first time. The meditating techniques of the temple would allow him to properly analyse himself and what he had been trying to do. It was a long and hard journey and Hunter had left many bodies in his wake. Finally he arrived at the temple. The last stretch had been hard and it had been three days since he’d seen a person and needed to feed.
As the doors opened Hunter grabbed the first monk and extended his fangs. “Stop,” said the voice of an old man in Tibetan. The man was approaching the doors. Hunter paused for a moment and looked up. The man who was clearly the master of this temple was walking towards him. At least in his eighties the man was bald and clean shaven wearing the orange robes of Buddhist monks. “You may attack this monk and none here will stop you, but if you do you will have to leave this place and shall never find what you came here to seek.”
Hunter silently fumed and wanted to snap the neck of the man he was holding and drain the old man dry. However, impulsiveness and asserting his pride rather than doing what was sensible would cost him what he believed would change his world. He came here to change, and change he would. As he released the monk his hands began to shake. “You have taken the first step. Please, come inside.” Hunter took a few steps forward before his legs gave out. To his surprise he didn’t fall. Someone had caught him and held him up. It was the monk who he had intended to kill. Instead of fear or resentment on the man’s face there was only a reassuring smile. With the monks help Hunter followed the temple master into the main building and sat before him.
The master simple stared at him for a while before speaking. “Tell me,” he said in the same calm and level voice he had used earlier, “why did you attack Anil?”
His breathing now laboured Hunter paused before giving an honest answer, the first time he had done so to a stranger in decades. “I am a mutant,” he explained in perfect Tibetan, “A core part of my power requires me to drain the blood of others to live.”
“And do you need to kill others to live?” the master asked.
“No, I do not.”
“Then why do you take more than you need?”
“Because to make full use of my abilities I need more blood.”
“But not to live.” The master paused, considering what Hunter had told him. “Then here is you first test. Take what you need to live, but no more.”
Hunter was confused for a moment by what the master meant. Suddenly there was a bare arm in front of him. Anil, still smiling that reassuring smile of his, was extending his arm in offering to Hunter. It had been a very long time since Hunter had drunk from someone and not killed them. Pulling back required an enormous amount of willpower. He preferred to simply inject himself if he needed small amounts of blood, usually from mutant to sample their powers. The master didn’t know quite what a test this was for Hunter.
Or maybe he did...
Tentatively Hunter took hold of Anil’s wrist and elbow in his shaking hands. His fangs extended once again and he gently bite into the man’s arm. The warmth of the blood flowing into his mouth was euphoric. He tried to take his time, to drink slowly, but instead he was gulping the blood down. His strength was returning to him and he was soon fine. Now was the hard part. Every fibre of his being wanted to do nothing more than keep drinking. To let go now was a horrific idea, to give up this was almost inconsivible. Steeling himself Hunter began to force himself to release. At first nothing happened, and then slowly he began to pull away. His body screamed at him to stop. This was what it needed, what it wanted. How dare he deny it? Unconsciously he tongue lapped at the blood welling on Anil’s arm from the bite until he finally released the monk’s arm and wrenched his head away.
He was breathing hard, but the change was apparent. Before his struggle to catch his breath came from weakness. Now it was from tremendous exertion. He felt strength returning to him again. Not as much as he was used to, but much more than there had been. Looking up he saw the master giving him a warm smile, almost like a proud father.
“Good, you have past the first test,” he said, “You may now join the temple.”
Hunter was invited to eat with the master that evening and they talked at great length, primarily about him. The master inquired about his need for blood, and Hunter told him all he knew. Listening intently the master eventually decided that Hunter would no longer be allowed to feed from humans. Instead he could feed daily from animals. While Hunter had told him that this wasn’t a viable long term solution the master claimed that with work it could be and given time he would not need blood at all. While sceptical Hunter did not argue the matter. There were further questions about his abilities, but none about his past or why he had come here.
The following day he had a meditation session with the master. It was during this session that what the master intended became clear. While they meditated he felt the mater touch his mind. The master was a mutant, a psychic to be precise. While meditating the master could use his abilities. Wordlessly the master explained his plan. He would change Hunter’s own psychic abilities, turn them inward. The master intended to use Hunter’s own power to inhibit his other abilities and thus eliminate the need for blood. It was a strange process, and not an easy one. Hunter’s mind was centuries old and remodelling his mental powers was a challenge for the pair of them. Their exploration revealed that Hunter’s ability to mimic mutant powers was indeed psychic even though blood was needed to trigger it.
It took over a month, but eventually they were finished. They hadn’t realised the difficulty of the task that they had before them and had to make radical changes to Hunters psychic abilities. His mesmerising powers had, for lack of a better term, been cannibalised to build the new inhibiting ability. So too had his ability to copy other mutant powers. Nothing short of a psychic rebuild would allow him to access those powers again. Hunter was pretty certain the only person in the world capable of such a task was sitting before him, and the master would never undo the changes he had just done. Now came the hard part, using this new psychic ability.
Normally meditation would be to enhance ones senses, but instead Hunter was trying to do the opposite. His senses were superhumanly sharp, allowing him to perceive things that others could not. The process took over three weeks, but eventually Hunter managed to lower his senses to human levels through concentration. He was not simply ignoring information from his enhanced senses, but had apparently actually lowered them. It took four more weeks to be able to maintain that level of concentration indefinitely while doing other things. The master’s plan was seemingly working. Hunter had used his newly forged psychic ability to restrain his senses.
To his surprise Hunter found that animal blood was feeling more invigorating with his senses restricted. Next for them to work on was his physical abilities. While doing mundane tasks Hunter didn’t function at a level above human. However, the potential was always there and unrestrained. Moving at peak human levels was effortless for Hunter, showing that his powers were working. Holding back wasn’t enough. He needed to make his muscles less efficient. The aim was to truly bring him down to human levels, not simply imitate them as he did now.
It was a painstakingly slow process, for it required a mix of meditation and physical activity while maintaining his senses at human levels. Even for a mind as ordered and disciplined as Hunter’s it was a monumental undertaking. It was over three months before any change was seen and he was beginning to doubt his new psychic abilities. He was running through a martial arts session with Anil, who had become his partner for these sessions, when he suddenly noticed that it was no longer effortless for him. When he nearly missed a block he realised that he actually had to work. Not a huge amount and it would be hours before he tired, long after Anil had, but for the first time there was a sign that this was working and his psychic abilities were up to the task.
It took another month and a half to finally bring his abilities down to human levels. Day by day it became harder and harder to beat Anil. Finally he found Anil beating him, yet it was still clear that he was running at a level beyond human. This was when he had a profound realisation. He was not nearly as skilled as he had believed he had been. There are many moves in many styles that are just easier with superhuman abilities. Simply because he could beat any master did not make him superior. Even when he thought he was restraining himself to their level it was clear that he was still using his abilities. While he may have moved no faster and hit no hard than those he fought, it was significantly easier for him than it was for them. It was that ease that let him win. His abilities, not his skill, had let him best martial arts masters the world over.
And so as he reigned in his physical abilities he also began to improve his martial arts skills. It was clear that he was by no means a novice, in fact Hunter was one of the best in the temple. But he wasn’t the best. Despite over four centuries of experience to draw on there were people here a fraction of his age that were beating him, and he was still slightly, if noticeably, superhuman. For the first time ever Hunter was truly sharpening his skills and improving himself. Finally he reached a level that wasn’t noticeably superhuman. While it was still likely that he was performing at a level beyond human, it was close enough that the master was satisfied. Now he had to find a way to maintain this state indefinitely.
It took almost as much time as it had to reach this state of lower abilities to maintain it. Now that he had done so Hunter only needed to drink from an animal one a week. Taking a chance to reflect on what he had achieved it was truly remarkable. Only one challenge remained. His healing factor. Hunter’s body repaired itself at a phenomenal rate from any wound that wasn’t inflicted by wood. This was something that truly seemed impossible. Every manner of exercise to do this that anyone in the temple dreamed up was tried, but every wound sealed up at the usual remarkable rate. After six months with no success it was deemed beyond his ability and was abandoned. A few weeks later Hunter awoke to a strange unpleasant feeling he’d never had before. He was soon diagnosed with a fever. Somehow the exercises had suppressed his immune system. Not knowing how or why Hunter redoubled his efforts and found that it was possible to suppress his healing factor but unlike his senses, physical abilities and immune system it is a significantly more difficult process. When wounded Hunter needs to dedicate tremendous focus to stopping the healing and maintaining it is tremendously taxing. It is however doable.
Unlike his other abilities the only part of his healing factor that is continually on was his immune system, and that he has now suppressed to human levels. If unharmed and he keeps his focus Hunter is basically human. He no longer needs to drink blood, human or animal, unless he lifts the restraints on his powers or is wounded and doesn’t suppress it.
But personally for Hunter there has been a bigger change. He has found peace. No longer does he seek new thrills, generally at the expense of others, to stave off the boredom of eternity. There may no longer be eternity before him, as only time will tell if he has successfully suppressed his immortality along with his other powers. After over a year and a half away Hunter is looking to return to New York and to try and right some of the wrongs he has done.
Tales from Hunter’s Past is a selection of stories about Hunter and his various exploits over the years.
Hunter and Katherine is an indepth look at the most meaningful relationship of Hunter's life.
RoleplayWhere did you learn about this site?: Google
Do you have any other characters on MRO, if so who: Used to, but I’ll stick to Hunter for now, don’t want to overdo it at the start.
Sample RP:Take a look at any of my old threads
