application to soul_campaign.

Apr 26, 2011 01:41

[ PLAYER INFORMATION ]

Player Name: Sammich
Age: 26
Timezone: Mountain Standard Time
Personal Journal: hezul
Contact Information:
Instant Messenger: AIM - terrorfortune
Email: melodyoflogic @ gmail.com
Current Characters: n/a
Activity Checks: n/a

[ CHARACTER INFORMATION ]

Name: Cao Pi
Age: 27
Gender: male
Fandom: Dynasty Warriors
Timeline: End of Wei's story mode, Dynasty Warriors 7.
History: http://koei.wikia.com/wiki/Cao_Pi

Character Personality: In Dynasty Warriors, everybody fights, but not everybody fights for the same reasons. The warriors of Shu fight for honor, virtue, and their desire to create a "land of benevolence." The warriors of Wu fight for their family.

And the warriors of Wei, led by the Cao family? For them, it's all about ambition, and Cao Pi is no exception.

Cao Pi is very, very much his father's son. Cao Cao was one of the most ambitious and audacious warlords in the Three Kingdoms, conquering the north and making himself the power lurking in the shadows behind the imperial throne; when he dies, Cao Pi picks up right where his father left off and flatly states that he wants to surpass him. Instead of contenting himself with pulling the emperor's strings, he ousts the emperor and takes the throne himself. Although he's seen questioning whether he and his father share the same vision at times, from the moments when they each explain themselves throughout the series, it sounds like they do have similar goals -- they both describe their plan for China as being an orderly world where everyone has their place and can live up to their potential. And their own place...just happens to be on top, because they have the talent and drive to make it happen. Cao Pi's insistence that he has his own vision seems to be less a statement that his plan for China is different from his father's, and more an affirmation that he's not just doing it because it's his father's dream -- it's something he wants to do for himself, and he'll do it bigger and better than his old man would ever have managed.

His relationship with his father, as it happens, seems to be one of mutual respect but not much affection. He's a loyal son, and he is absolutely committed to the duties he's given while his father still lives. Cao Cao, for his part, clearly has confidence in his son's abilities and talents and takes pride in his accomplishments. But there's nothing warm and fuzzy about either of them, and aside from calling each other "father" and "son," and the fact that they are both maybe a little more free with praise for each other than for others (and even that is debatable), they mostly treat each other with professional civility and nothing more.

This family dynamic is probably the root of a lot of Cao Pi's behavior -- he's not a very friendly person in general. To almost everyone around him, he's cold, detached, and somewhat arrogant -- not to the level of some of the other characters, granted. He won't start waxing eloquent about his own awesomeness without provocation, but there's a very casual, pervasive element of "why yes, I am totally awesome" in his behavior that's hard not to notice, and it's also quickly obvious that it's very tough to earn his respect. He definitely won't strike most people as very likable.

There is one big exception to this rule, however, and that is: his wife, Zhen Ji. He's clearly head-over-heels for her; he's much quicker with praise, protective of her when she joins him on the battlefield, and there's actually a bit of dialogue where an officer from another army basically interrupts their battlefield chatter to complain about how mushy they're being in the middle of a fight. So he's not incapable of softer feelings...but good luck finding them, unless you happen to be his wife.

He's pretty shrewd, to match his ambition and his cold personality; he's very practical about looking for the most efficient means to accomplish his goals, and putting it into action. He doesn't concern himself with notions of honor or virtue, because he feels that the ends justify the means. He's also very aware that this behavior exists in other people; in some of his scenes with Sima Yi it's clear that he realizes that the other man is too ambitious to place much trust in. At the same time, though, Cao Pi's not one to let something like "I can't trust that guy" stop him from putting a perfectly good resource to use; in DW6 he spares Sima Yi's life even after a betrayal, and bluntly points out that he could still use his skills. (Though the scene does still leave one with the impression that if he's betrayed again, heads really will roll next time.)

He's also very even-tempered; he doesn't even seem to raise his voice very far in most of his battlefield chatter, and even when he's in trouble most of his quotes are still remarkably calm, along the lines of "it seems I must impose for some assistance" rather than "HELP GUYS I NEED REINFORCEMENTS RIGHT NOW." He's equally unruffled by great successes, though -- even on the verge of victory, it doesn't warrant much more than a smirk and a slightly more smug tone than usual.

Overall, Cao Pi is a cold, calculating, ambitious man, who wants power over his country and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty taking it. He's arrogant, but his pride in his abilities isn't entirely unwarranted, as he's also talented and cunning enough to take and keep power in a setting where warlords rise and fall like the tide (Zhang Liao at one point tells him that he of all people would know that arrogance and greatness often go hand in hand). He's just...kind of a jerk. (Unless you're his wife.)

Character Abilities: As expected from a playable character in a hack-and-slash series, Cao Pi is a proficient fighter; his style prioritizes speed and technique over raw power. His preferred style is dual-wielding a light pair of blades (in DW5 they can be joined together into a blade-staff thing), but DW7 allows for weapon-switching and it can thus be assumed that he's passable with a variety of weapons. (The game does have ranked proficiencies, though, so it's clear that he's better with some than others -- his three-star proficiencies are mostly in the lighter, faster weapons, and he has lower scores with most of the heavy, powerful stuff.) His movesets also generally include some energy blast type attacks, usually ice elemental, and he has Musous (ultimate attacks that can only be used after filling a separate energy meter) that involve pummeling surrounding enemies with ice and temporarily freezing them in place.

His abilities as a warrior aside, however, he's also a cunning man with a good understanding of politics and leadership, and he's the one who takes the Cao family up the final rung of the political ladder and becomes the first emperor of Wei. He has an eye for talent but at the same time he's smart enough not to trust his retainers too far. While he's not a great strategist in his own right, he does have a reasonable grasp on it and he's not stupid -- there's a scene in DW5 where he sees through one of the major factors in Wei's defeat at Chibi, and criticizes his father for not figuring it out.

Character Weaknesses: Cao Pi's most significant weakness is probably his pride; although he's smart and doesn't usually do anything blatantly stupid because of it (and he has the sense to notice when flattery is just that, rather than taking it on faith), there's just no denying that he's got an arrogant streak, and it sometimes skews his perception. Although he respects talent that's allied with him, he can be pretty dismissive of his opponents. Usually he doesn't let this get the better of him badly enough to lose battles over, but it's still there.

His very ambitious, ruthless means of wielding power can also act against him under some circumstances; although he won't let himself be tied down by those nagging little things like "honor," it also means that anyone who's dealt with him will soon come to realize that they shouldn't trust him too far, and in combination with his arrogance, it means he's more likely to be feared than loved -- he's basically the kind of guy to take Machiavelli as a how-to manual. This has its uses, but it also has its drawbacks.

In terms of combat weaknesses: in DW7 especially, he's a low-powered character. He's quick and has great technique, but once his skill tree is fully unlocked, his stats are given as Power 30, Speed 80 (out of 100). So while he can outpace many opponents with ease, it'll take him longer to wear down a very tough or well-defended one.

[ SOUL CAMPAIGN SECTION ]

What are the abilities that your character will retain in Soul Campaign?: The only ability he has that goes outside the bounds of normal human capability is the random energy blasts/smack things up with ice type skills. Those he would not be able to keep. But aside from that, he's just a smart, fast human with good technique and ambidexterity, which I don't forsee as being a problem.

What are the weaknesses that your character will lose or gain in Soul Campaign?: No particular weaknesses lost; he's still a Machiavellian jerk with an arrogant streak who doesn't hit all that hard. One other thing I do imagine would be a problem for him, on top of that, however: he's used to being on top and having a lot of resources at his disposal. I would hesitate to call him spoiled or say he expects things as his due -- because he fought alongside his father in a series of long military campaigns in order to gain all of the authority and power that their family wields by the time he becomes emperor. So he does understand quite well that authority and power aren't his birthright -- they're something to be taken for oneself. But it'll still probably grate at him to be at the bottom of the pile when he's used to having all the armies in northern China to throw at his enemies.

[ MEISTER ONLY SECTION ]

Why your character should be a Meister: Despite being a fighter who's able to kick ass in his own right, it's not really his personal ability to kick ass that gets Cao Pi ahead in his canon. Instead, it's his ability to lead, direct, and to utilize the talents of others in order to achieve his goals -- which I tend to think of as him wielding an army the way a Meister might wield a Weapon. The army has the raw combat potential, and he's instead a source of direction to bring out the best of that potential.

Meister Ability:
Icy Soul

[ SOUL INFORMATION ]

Soul Description: Cold, ambitious, shrewd, ruthless, confident, cynical.

Soul Appearance: Dark blue; the "tail" bit is longer than usual and not as zigzaggy as most of the linked examples -- it's shaped a bit more like his ponytail.
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