Choice 3: Perhaps characters form some sort of ideological or political bonds based on choosing magic or technology?
Name(Forummer): JaveHarron
Contact Methods: IM (AIM is javeharron)
Character Name: Giovanni Risona
Character Race: Vinci, Maian (was with Giacomo's expedition when Doge leveled it)
Age and Sex: Late 20s/Male
Profession/Class: Vinci inventor with a strange habit (see below)
Appearence: The first thing Risona notices is that his face and head are covered by a gasmask and metal helmet (much like a Venucci conscript). The second thing one notices is that his body is covered by strange mechanical armor with gears and clockwork components all over. The third thing one notices is that every square millimeter of Risona's skin is covered by metal or leather. One does not see the man. One sees a mechanical steel shell that holds what's left of the man.
Personality: Risona is focused on the ideas of self improvement almost religiously. His desire is to know "everything" he can find on science, and then use it to make himself more efficient. While bored with Vinci technology after a while, he sets his sights on Cuotl technology. In particular, he is interested in the cloaking device, as stealth is one area he has been working to improve. His current goals are heading back to the Cuotl jungles to find some more advanced technology.
History: Risona was from the Maian middle class, and was conscripted for a while in the Maian army. There, he became familar with Vinci weapons and tactics, often working on repairing damaged clockwork spiders, and worked on improving the Clockwork Men's self repair mechanisms. During the war with Venucci, he helped Petruzzio design the Scavengers. While Petruzzio was focusing on creating an army from scrap, Risona had grander ambitions. He wanted to bridge the gap between man and machine completely. The Scavengers were a prototype for "self aware machine."
However, his ambitions were almost cut short by a blast from the Doge's Hammer. While serving with Giacomo on the assault on Venucci, his unit was blasted by the Doge's chemical shells. He was the only survivor, though barely. Being obsessed with machinery, he had Petruzzio do him a favor: put his battered, barely functional body into a mechanical one. Clockwork prosthetics were known to the Vinci, like the artificial leg given to General Carlini. Petruzzio had even put the brain of the Great Inventor into a mechanical shell he called "Zeke." However, the design behind his friend's body was a bit more humanoid in result. Using some captured Venucci gasmasks and helmets, he was able to create a respirator like device based on schematics like Pulitore's. However, Risona's were all internal.
At a glance, he would look like a completely armor clad individual. In reality, though, he was bristling with all sorts of gadgets and machinery. Risona is fairly knowledgeable on Vinci history, and learned a bit on other nations' histories due to a brain-augmentation. While no expert, he does know broad ideas (IE "Alin are masters of fire, sand, and glass magic" or "The Cuotl technology resembles magic" but not "The Alin Efreet is summoned from another plane" or "Sun Idols are constructed at a Sanctuary.") One major drawback is his complicated parts can jam at times, especially in the desert or tundra. Extremes of temperature reek havoc on his metal body.
Special Skills: A few interesting devices are placed inside Risona's body. He has a shotgun mounted in one arm, but it is a fairly weak weapon useful for last ditch defense. He does have some arm-mounted spring blades, but they are more suited for cutting wood or through jungle foliage than enemy soldiers. In addition, he can fire his blades like a grappling hook, an ability useful for escaping or even grabbing onto a fleeting aircraft. Risona does not need to worry about breathing, as his suit is pressurized to ensure his fluids do not leak everywhere. His lungs might be gone, but the chemical-recycling system he has in their place does an even better job. Risona also carries a standard rifle with him, though he often uses special ammunition, such as "shocker rounds" (small electrified darts), and tranquilizer darts (for when he wants stealth and non-lethal force). Risona can set up his rifle with a special device that operates like a mini-turret as well. However, such is only useful while he is prone or recharging. Strangely enough, some Scavengers tend to not attack Risona. Some Scavengers have even been sighted fighting alongside Risona, but this ability only works when Risona is less than a mile from nearby Scavengers.
Weaknesses: Such abilities do have costs, however. Risona's main source of power is bioelectricity, or the electrical energy his remaining tissues produce. Kept alive by a strange chemical concoction, the tissues recharge Risona's power supplies. That supplies him for a few days, until which he must recharge. When Risona recharges, he requires a whole day of little or no activity. This makes his reaction times and speed sluggish. While recharging, Risona will seek out a safe spot to "hole up in" like a cave or in a tree. Likewise, his parts can sometimes jam or fail. In such cases, Risona takes time to repair himself. While he has some self repair capacity, in depth repairs on a machine as intricate and complex as him can take even longer than recharging, depending on what's hit. A near fatal blow to the head takes a longer time to repair than a jammed hydraulic leg. Likewise, a breech in his suit's innermost parts can also spell trouble. Likewise, he is also not very stealthy, at least not until he gets a cloaking device.
Inventory: Rifle, special ammo, some replacement parts and mechnical tools in backpack, plenty of room for interesting samples or specimens