Jinni
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| You must have wished for excruciating pain... | |
| Jinni | |
| Player: @SusieBot | |
| Origin: | Magic |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Scrapper |
| Security Level: | 19 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Arezou |
| Known Aliases: | None |
| Species: | Jinn |
| Age: | 1422 |
| Height: | 5' 10" |
| Weight: | Indeterminate |
| Eye Color: | Violet |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | None |
| Occupation: | Licensed Super Hero, Jinn |
| Place of Birth: | Baghdad, Persia |
| Base of Operations: | Undisclosed Location, Paragon City |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Unknown |
| Known Powers | |
| Magical Fire | |
| Known Abilities | |
| ' | |
| Equipment | |
| Flying Carpet | |
| No additional information available. | |
A 1400 year old jinni's master makes a single dying wish -- that she go out and fight crime.
The Jinni is a Silver Age character that is a genie, complete with all of the trimmings: baggy pants, curly shoes, magic lamps, magic carpets, the works.
Contents |
Powers
Magical Fire
The Jinni's body is comprised of "smokeless fire", a magical flame that she can manipulate at will. In battle, she will surround herself with a corona of flame that can melt bullets, turn blades, and absorb energy. The Jinni will also form weapons from magical fire, including flaming scimitars and fiery gauntlets, and can even breathe fire at her foes.
Unfortunately, the magic fire can still be extinguished, even with traditional weapons. As she was once human, the Jinni is cursed with a human's frailties -- sufficient damage to her flame form will incapacitate her, sending her back into the lamp. Luckily, the Jinni, by concentrating, can draw on the other-worldly source of all magic fire to replenish her energy.
Equipment
Flying Carpet
The Jinni is almost always seen riding on her flying carpet. The carpet has the appearance of a persian rug of immense age and exceeding quality. It appears and disappears at the Jinni's will. She is very skilled at riding the carpet into battle, and it heeds her commands at all times. As a last resort, the Jinni may use the carpet as a shield to turn weapons fire.
Weaknesses
While a Jinn's powers are formidable, is is the nature of the Jinni's curse that her full power may only be used to fulfill the wishes of her master. Left to her own devices, the Jinni is a being of modest power, limited to the inherent gifts of her magical form.
The Jinni's greatest weakness, and her greatest secret, is the existence of the Lamp of 1000 Devils. She is bound to the lamp, and any who possess it are granted three wishes that the Jinni is forced to deliver. Additionally, her will is bent to that of the master of the lamp, rendering her incapable of action contrary to her master's commands.
The Lamp of 1000 Devils currently resides in a locked vault in the sanctum of Professor Weird -- a crime-fighter of the 1940s, whose secrets have thusfar remained hidden. But should the sanctum ever be discovered, and the Lamp claimed, the Jinni would become a servant of the Lamp's new master.
Background
The Jinni's Curse
Some time around 700 AD, in the city of Baghdad, did reside a powerful necromancer by the name of Javed. An advisor to kings, a keeper of secrets, and a master of all things dark and forbidden, Javed lived in a tall tower on the outskirts of the city. There he dwelt alone with his libraries of forbidden lore and dark rituals, but for a single serving girl -- a young woman from a poor family named Arezou.
For many years, Arezou diligently served Javed, suffering the lonely tower and its bizarre occurrences. In time, it became clear that she would never be released from Javed's service -- indeed, it seemed clear that the necromancer would one day claim her as an undead servant, one of the horrible, chittering things that she had seen in the upper levels of the tower. She resolved to escape from the wizard, and furthermore to secret away one of the tower's many treasures as compensation for her years of silent suffering.
One evening, she crept into one of the lower libraries and slipped into her robe the Ruby of Barzoom -- a glittering gem the size of a man's fist, rumoured to be a source of great power for one that knew how to unlock its secrets.
Unfortunately, Arezou did not even make it out of the tower. As she approached the outer gate, the wizard Javed appeared before her, his eyes two pits of indignant fire in a dark and cruel face. As punishment for her disobedience and willfulness, Javed unleashed upon her a horrible curse. In a lengthy ritual, her body was slain, and her soul bound to the form of a Jinni, a spirit formed of smokeless fire. Her essence was trapped in a tarnished silver lamp, the Lamp of 1000 Devils, and Arezou was forced to eternal servitude to whomever possessed the lamp.
In time, even mighty Javed died, and the lamp passed from hand to hand across the ages. Arezou granted the wishes of the great and the humble, the good and the evil -- every passing year a torment of servitude.
The Adventures of Professor Weird
In 1944, a mystery man named Professor Weird became somewhat known in the streets of Paragon City. A master of mystical arts, Weird battled crime using an assortment of ancient artifacts. He would often disappear for months at a time, returning with some new trinket for his arsenal. His adventures are chronicled in the annals of the Midnighters, including a significant case in which he solved multiple abductions and prevented the summoning of a demon known only as the Lord of Blood.
His life extended by multiple artifacts, Professor Weird was active well into the 1970s. During one of his last expeditions, Weird obtained the Lamp of 1000 Devils in a bazaar in Marrakesh. Recognizing the lamp for what it was, he easily summoned Arezou, but resisted the urge to make a wish -- Jinn are notoriously deceitful creatures, and the cautious crime-fighter dare not make a wish until he had determined the nature of the creature granting it.
Weird soon became distracted by other matters, and Arezou and the Lamp of 1000 Devils lay forgotten in a safe in his sanctum. And so many years passed...until, at long last, Professor Weird approached death's door.
Weird's Wish
In 2008, now old and doddering, Professor Weird spent most of his days picking through the collection of artifacts within the depths of his sanctum. He was cataloging the contents of one of his many vaults when he was finally overcome by a heart attack.
The elderly crime-fighter toppled to the floor, grasping the Lamp of 1000 Devils. Arezou appeared before him, filled with concern for her long-absent master, but there was aught she could do for him without a wish made. With his last breath, Professor Weird bade her continue his battle against injustice. And with that, Professor Weird passed from the land of the living.
Left with considerable leeway given the open nature of her master's wish, Arezou ventured forth from the Sanctum and began to familiarize herself with the Paragon City of 2008. In time, she began her crusade against evil as the Jinni -- first with minor skirmishes against street gangs, before conquering Frostfire and Atta while exploring the mysteries of the Hollows. Her adventures brought in her in contact with the demented Dr. Vahzilok, and enmeshed her in the machinations of the many groups vying for control off Faultline.
But ever in her mind is the Lamp of 1000 Devils, held in the skeletal grasp of Professor Weird, hidden within his sanctum in the depths of Paragon City. Should the lamp find a new master, the Jinni would be bent to his or her will...and her true power unleashed with a single wish...
Trivia and Notes
Costume
The CoH costume creator has seemingly boundless options for creating a genie -- I've never had a costume turn out so close to my mind's eye picture. Simply put, there were no compromises required to create the Jinni's costume. Let's pick it apart:
- The boots: With the addition of the Jester costume parts, it became possible to make silly genie shoes. With the Korean pants concealing the bulk of the boot, the curly toes rock a very convincing shoe.
- The vest: The vest is one of those costume parts that looks bad on the rack, but looks great when you're cruising about the city. In the costume creator, the trim looks awful -- but when it's in motion, you can see that the trim is actually raised from the rest of the vest, making it look very cool.
- The body: Blue with pointy ears was obviously lifted from the Genie in Disney's Aladdin. The remainder of the look -- the vest, the veil, the poofy pants -- were lifted from I Dream of Jeannie. What, you were expecting originality?
Inspiration
I wouldn't say that the Jinni was inspired, so much as she just happened. I certainly didn't set out to create a Jinni, and I don't recall why I even checked if the name was available. There aren't a whole lot of genies in comics -- her only real predecessor is the Green Genie from Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich (a very cool character -- the flying carpet bit is a lift right from her). There's the Thunderbolt, but he's so different from the Jinni that I don't consider them in the same class (the Thunderbolt is more a traditional jinn, with the whole wish-granting thing).
That being said, the Jinni has assumed a ridiculous hold over me -- I think it's because the character is so common and simple that it's engrossing. In marked contrast to your usual, incredibly unique, niche hero (of which I am quite guilty -- a giant robot built by an 8-year old? Really?), the Jinni is a strikingly traditional type that could easily be at home in any golden- or silver-age comic book. She's a genie. What's her name? The Jinni. Pow!
I chalk it up to the availability of the name. Is she was "The Great Genie" or "The Genie of the Lamp" or even "Genie Girl", I would probably not be so thrilled. But "The Jinni" is such a bare bones name, it makes the character really interesting to me. That, and the fact that the CoH universe is so diverse that you really don't run into too many genies, so even though the name and look are rank cliche, it's still pretty easy to feel unique...ish.
Musings
Oh, Fire/Fire scrapper...you make a Dark scrapper look well-defended by comparison. Admittedly, I haven't gotten that far into it, but I already have the flavor of Fire/Fire, and I'd say that Dark/Dark is the most apt comparison. Damage aura? Check. Cone attack? Check. So-so resistances and no defense? Check and check. Crazy build-up power? Check. Gaping holes in mez resistance? That would be a check.
Which I totally dig -- if Fire/Fire was easy to play, everyone would be doing it. It took me a long time to figure out how to play Dark/Dark, but I think I finally figured it out. Fire/Fire is going to be even more challenging, as it lacks the advantage of any sort of mez. It's just damage, damage, and more damage. What does your primary offer? Damage! What secondary effects do your attacks have? More damage! What does your secondary give you? Damage! What would you like for breakfast? Damage, with a side of damage, and a cup of damage to drink -- black, two damages! My expectation is that Fire/Fire will get outclassed on really hard targets, but will absolutely plow through groups of riff-raff like it's going out of style. Not a bad way to go through life -- 90% of the game, after all, is riff-raff.
Such a slave to concept am I that I will not be taking the Leaping pool. Honestly, who ever heard of a leaping genie? Instead, we'll be muddling through with Hover for knockback protection (to be supplemented with an IO), and Burn for immobilize protection (which should be immensely amusing). Will it work? Well, I'm sure it will do something. It may even be tolerable. Stay tuned!
More later, as I learn new and magical things about...stuff!
