August Prince

{{#if:TaylorDrone 23.2|

“	His fighting style was graceless, without any particular fluidity. He held the mace with two hands and swung it, and then took seconds to recover. An opening to strike, and my body refused to follow up on it.	”
{{#if:Taylor| —Taylor{{#if:Drone 23.2|, Drone 23.2}} }} }}

<infobox> <title source="name"><default>August Prince</default></title>

<image source="Image"></image> <image source="image"></image> <group><header>Basic Information</header> <label>Civilian Name</label> <label>Aliases</label> <label>Gender</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Death</label> <label>Age</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Post-timeskip</label> <label>Ward start</label> <label>Relations</label> <label>Family</label></group> <group><header>Professional Status</header> <label>Occupation</label> <label>Classification</label> <label>Unique Features</label> <label>Alignment</label>

<label>Status</label><format>

Unknown

</format>

<label>Location</label> <label>Teams</label> <label>Previous Team(s)</label> <label>Base of Operations</label></group> <group><header>First Appearance</header> <label>Worm Debut</label> <label>Ward Debut</label></group> </infobox>August Prince is a child supervillain who works alongside Bambina and Starlet.

Personality

A former child star who was previously a victim on all sides, his power enables him to act without fear and work as a mercenary.<ref name="playtest eHistory" /> However, August Prince remains quite susceptible to indirect emotional and mental manipulation. To maintain self-worth and cope with difficult emotions, he employs psychological projection as a defense mechanism, i.e., he inflicts misery onto others to feel better.<ref name="playtest eFlaws">Flaws/perks/personality:

Child - Base physical stats are lower. Underestimated.

Prone to (indirect) emotional/mental manipulation - effects that would lower morale are effectively permanent. Effects that would later psyche or other emotions last twice as long. Can only lose effects by inflicting misery on others. - Playtest Capes</ref>

Appearance

Weaver describes August Prince as a small child with a widow's peak and a serious expression.<ref name="23.2 e1“>She was flanked by two other small children, one a male with a widow’s peak and a severe expression for his age, ten or so, the other a girl of about twelve, in overalls that ended at the knee, a star at the chest, and far too much makeup. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2</ref> His costume is especially stylish and has pockets for storage.<ref name="playtest eSkillAsset" />

Abilities and Powers

Primary Ability

August Prince's power stops individuals with the intent to target him<ref name="R2">If there's intent behind the action, you can't do it any more than if you were shoving him into an open fire. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref> from proceeding with an action whose final result could directly harm him either physically or through general deleterious effects.<ref name="playtest ePower" /> For example, although Arbiter could aim at him, his power stopped her from shooting a sonic blast at him.<ref>She leaped down, holding August Prince’s hand, and Arbiter took action. The heroine directed a sonic blast at Bambina with one hand, but Bambina kicked the wall, changing the direction she was moving. Arbiter blocked her with a forcefield, then raised a hand to shoot again-

And stopped, standing still instead. A look of consternation appeared across her forehead, above her mask. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2</ref> Taylor could move her bugs towards him, but his power stopped her from moving her bugs to blind, sting, or bite him.<ref>But maybe I didn’t need to be feared here. I could do something as Weaver. Confidence. I didn’t back down as the August Prince approached. I sent butterflies his way. No problem.

Tried to move them so he would be blinded… and found they didn’t listen.

Tried to bite and sting with the nastier insects I’d hidden inside the butterfly swarm, and again, no response. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2</ref> Note that for all practical purposes, this does not have a range limit.<ref name="R1">It does not have a range. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref> The Prince's power also stops these individuals from proceeding with an action that they know will immediately trigger a cascade of events whose final result could directly harm him (e.g., giving orders to harm him).<ref name="playtest ePower">Power: Diplomatic Immunity - Cannot be targeted. Attacks that would include him in the area cannot be made if there is a choice. Includes indirect harm (giving orders to harm him, setting events in motion to harm him). Includes general deleterious effects that don’t do physical harm. - Playtest Capes</ref>

If an individual without the intent to specifically target him has an area-of-effect attack that they have some element of control over, and is also aware that the Prince is in their immediate area, then his power will stop them from proceeding with that area-of-effect attack whose final result could directly harm him.<ref name="playtest ePower" />

The effect of his power does not break when he attacks an individual.<ref name="rpg">It doesn't break when he connects. - Comment by Wildbow on rpg.net</ref> For example, when August Prince got his hands around Taylor's neck, she and the other heroes could not directly fight to pull him off Taylor because it could have hurt him.<ref>It was a mistake. He let go and tackled me, gripping my leg, hauling on it to put me off-balance.

I couldn’t fight to pull him off, couldn’t use my bugs.

This was annoying.
[...]
I tucked my chin against my collarbone, preventing him from getting a decent hold, and he started clawing at me, struggling to get fingers, a hand, between my chin and my neck.
[...]
The others were helpless to assist me, due to the peculiarities of the Prince’s power, but they could direct their focus to Bambina and Starlet. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2</ref>

Usher's power does not provide immunity to August Prince's power.<ref name="23.2 e6">“Rime’s out of commission!” I said, my voice strangled as Prince did his best to choke me. “Your power isn’t affecting her. Give it to me!”

Usher focused his power on me. I felt it ripple through me, felt something, but it didn’t break the spell. I still couldn’t turn the slightest amount of aggression towards the kid.

“No,” I said. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2</ref>

Vulnerabilities

It is possible to set up a Rube Goldberg machine that could harm him if triggered, though his power would stop the specific individuals that know its end result from taking an action that would immediately trigger this machine. While the Prince was trying to throttle Taylor, she wrapped one end of a silk thread around his neck,<ref name="23.2 e5">The rules about interacting with the Prince were strictly defined. I could hold him, but I couldn’t hurt him. Which category did silk fall under? I had some on my person. Twenty feet in all. Twenty feet disappeared fast when it was wound around something.

I chose his neck. Not hurting him, not directly. His power allowed it. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2</ref> and then wrapped the other end around Usher's leg (i.e., these actions did not directly harm August Prince). The Prince's power stopped Taylor from starting this machine: she could not tell Usher to run as she knew it was the final step to setting events in motion that could directly harm August Prince.<ref name="23.2 e7">And Prince… was harder to deal with. Usher approached, and I tied thread around his leg.

I tried to tell Usher to run, knowing what would happen with the thread around Prince’s neck. My voice wouldn’t come out, and it wasn’t due to the feeble but persistent attempt at strangulation.

So many heroes around me, and they couldn’t touch this little bastard. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2</ref> However, when Taylor notified arriving reinforcements that Pretender was in danger, the unaware Usher triggered the machine by moving away to assist them, thus unknowingly causing August Prince to choke which stopped his attempt to strangle Taylor.<ref name="23.2 e8">“Help us!” Vantage called out. “Rime’s out, and we can’t save Weaver!”

Satyr didn’t speak. He glanced at the ship. He couldn’t see from the angle he’d approached, but the woman inside had pulled the lever, and the door at the back was slowly closing.

I drew out words on the side.

Pretender in danger

The heroes turned, eyes going wide. Satyr, Blowout and Leonid rushed forward, joined by Vantage.

Then Usher stepped forward to help, and the August Prince choked, giving me a little slack. I sucked in a gasp for air. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2</ref>

Indeed, incidental damage works against August Prince. For example, Bonesaw's omniphage<ref>“Please don’t get blood on my car seat.”

Riley looked up from her work, the surgeon’s end of a twenty-four inch set of complex dilators pinched between her lips because her hands were full. The working end of the dilators were set in the open surgical site of her own thigh, where she had cut past skin, muscle, adipose tissues. She’d also had to cut and-or use the dilators on prior alterations she’d buried in her leg, including the subdermal ‘skin’ she’d grown around the the maille sheath she’d set around her femoral artery some time ago, and three spherical eggs she’d implanted in her thigh, in case she was ever in an emergency severe enough to literally cut them loose.

Or, she supposed, if someone caught her off guard and did enough damage to her that they got loose on their own. Either way, her inner thigh would be cut open from hip to knee, or it would be obliterated in some other fashion, these critters would be free and awake in seconds, and the threat would be regretting his or her existence, unless that threat was one of the fourteen individuals she knew of that should survive the attack. Three of those fourteen individuals would at least be distracted, potentially buying her time, and there were two more she had other countermeasures for. - Last 20.e4</ref> and plagues have no concept of intent. Wildbow speculates that unless she had the intent to specifically target him with a plague or she was aware he was in her immediate area, she could successfully proceed with an action to release a bioweapon that could incidentally harm him.<ref>Kippos: Thoughts on those immune to omnom?
[...]
Seregraug: August Prince?

Wildbow: No intent

Seregraug: Although, wouldn't Bonesaw being aware of him prevent her from unleashing it?
[...]
Wildbow: If he was there or she was unleashing a plague with intent to get him, or awareness he was in the immediate area, she couldn't
Incidental damage is fine.

Seregraug: Ah okay, so just knowing about him wouldn't stop something targeted at everyone.

Wildbow: If he crossed your mind while you were targeting everyone, maybe. Would depend. - Conversation with Wildbow on Discord</ref>

After August Prince stopped strangulating Taylor, Arbiter could now throw a forcefield between the two. She then effectively trapped the Prince by sandwiching him between her forcefield and the ground.<ref name="23.2 e9">Arbiter heard, whipping around, and threw a forcefield between us. I pulled away.

She managed to sandwich the little bastard between her forcefield and the ground. I rolled away, sitting up. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2</ref>

It is possible to dodge<ref name="23.2 eFightingStyle" /> or intercept<ref>I didn’t hear the rest. I was more focused on the little kid who was striving to cave in something vital.

The Prince swung at me, and I caught the mace.

It was a mistake. He let go and tackled me, gripping my leg, hauling on it to put me off-balance. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2</ref> his attacks provided these specific actions do not cause direct harm to him.

Other Abilities

As a child, people tend to underestimate what August Prince can do.<ref name="playtest eFlaws" /> He has some skills with aiming, investigation, and situational awareness.<ref name="playtest eSkillAsset">Skills:

• Accuracy 2 (+1 to hit if free to aim, can make called shots)
• Awareness 2 (+1 to spot/listen/sense foes if unmolested. Can still make checks in round following a foe’s disappearance.)
• Investigation 2 (+1 to find evidence, can roll post combat to info gather)

Assets: Pistol, tier 3 costume (+style, +style, storage), knife, syringes (sedative, cyanide). - Playtest Capes</ref> However, his fighting style is graceless and telegraphed according to Taylor.<ref name="23.2 eFightingStyle">He closed the distance to me, swinging at my knee with the mace. I ducked back out of the way.

His fighting style was graceless, without any particular fluidity. He held the mace with two hands and swung it, and then took seconds to recover. An opening to strike, and my body refused to follow up on it.

That would be his power then. Something in the same department as Imp’s ability. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2</ref>

Equipment

Wields a mace-like scepter to go with his royalty theme.<ref name="23.2 e4">“Can’t touch the Prince, can you?” Bambina asked. “Go, August.”

The little boy advanced. He held a scepter, different from Regent’s. More of a mace. - Excerpt from Drone 23.2</ref> He also packs a pistol, knife, and several syringes with various sedatives and poisons.<ref name="playtest eSkillAsset" />

History

Background

As a child actor, the boy who would be the August Prince was exploited by everyone around him in one form or another. After he triggered the boy gained abilities that made him immune to malice and malfeasance by anyone he meets. He can now move among the hardest customers with no fear for his life, while putting the same fear in others.<ref name="playtest eHistory" />

Story Start

Formed a partnership with Starlet and Bambina but did not accompany Bambina against Leviathan. The scope of his powers was unknown to the authorities at the time.<ref name="23.2 c1">The PRT didn’t fully know either – even Arbiter and Prefab were caught off guard by their inability to act. – Comment by Wildbow on Drone 23.2</ref>

Post-Echidna

August Prince and company would be hired by the Las Vegas Protectorate to free Pretender. This was in exchange for large amounts of money and a favor with deliberately unspecified restrictions.<ref name="23.2 e2">Prefab let go of the older woman, leaving me with the burden as he faced Bambina square-on. “Lots of attention on Pretender all of a sudden.”

“Paying pretty well,” Bambina said, “And he promised a favor, too. He set some rules, but considering how we’re going above and beyond the call of duty, I’m hoping he’ll bend them. You know how fucking awesome it is to have a favor from a body snatcher? He zaps himself into some hunky celeb that’d never touch me otherwise, then…” - Excerpt from Drone 23.2</ref> Prince gave Weaver no end of trouble trying to strangle her,<ref name="23.2 e6"/> and was only prevented from doing so by Weaver's silk<ref name="23.2 e7" /> and some luck.<ref name="23.2 e8" />

Gained the enmity of Weaver from this encounter.<ref name="23.3 e1">If you need someone in Vegas to deal with thinkers and strangers, I can hold my own, the embarrassment with August Prince aside. - Excerpt from Drone 23.3</ref>

He and his entire team were taken into the Protectorate's custody, with hopes that he would be recruited into the Wards.<ref name="23.3 e2">“We collected the three members of Bambina’s group. Not a complete loss.”

“They’ll get free and continue their rampage,” I said.

“Most likely. We’ll strive to hold on to Bambina at the very least. With luck we’ll be able to recruit the little prince, maybe Starlet as well.” - Excerpt from Drone 23.3</ref>

Chapter Appearances

Worm Chapter Appearances

{{#if:Drone|{{#if:Drone|Drone|Drone}}|Drone}} 1. Drone 23.1 {{#switch: debut=Debut yes=Appears pov=Point of View flash=Flashback f=Fantasy c=Clone s=Spirit m=Mentioned sc=Screen d=Death co=Corpse sh=Shadow Absent}} 2. Drone 23.2 {{#switch:debut debut=Debut yes=Appears pov=Point of View flash=Flashback f=Fantasy c=Clone s=Spirit m=Mentioned sc=Screen d=Death co=Corpse sh=Shadow Absent}} 3. Drone 23.3 {{#switch:m debut=Debut yes=Appears pov=Point of View flash=Flashback f=Fantasy c=Clone s=Spirit m=Mentioned sc=Screen d=Death co=Corpse sh=Shadow Absent}} 4. Drone 23.4 {{#switch:m debut=Debut yes=Appears pov=Point of View flash=Flashback f=Fantasy c=Clone s=Spirit m=Mentioned sc=Screen d=Death co=Corpse sh=Shadow Absent}} 5. Drone 23.5 {{#switch: debut=Debut yes=Appears pov=Point of View flash=Flashback f=Fantasy c=Clone s=Spirit m=Mentioned sc=Screen d=Death co=Corpse sh=Shadow Absent}} x. Interlude 23 {{#switch: debut=Debut yes=Appears pov=Point of View flash=Flashback f=Fantasy c=Clone s=Spirit m=Mentioned sc=Screen d=Death co=Corpse sh=Shadow Absent}}

Trivia

• August Prince's ability to go among enemies untouched crosses the classification barriers of Master (affecting actions of others) and Stranger (untouchable and able to gather information). In this case, the two classifications are inextricably linked; this is indicated by a slash(/).<ref name ="PM1">The two aspects are irrevocably linked, thus the slash. - Part of a private message by Wildbow, archived on Spacebattles</ref>

References

<references/>