In the past I tried out some IRC RPG's. I used this character in there.

The image:

This is both a traditional and a digital piece, for the traditional part (the sketching) probably the most interesting thing to note is that it was drawn out in the Bukk mountains. Probably I was sitting on a treetrunk, sure not at some human - built camp as I tend to avoid those when I want to be alone, far away from the city. All I remember that I finished it due to that I was already shivering, it was on some cold autumn day.

The RPG:

The story was set in the future, but magic was also common. I only vaguely remember the exact plot, it was the aftermath of some war involving evil mages, who returned, and opened portals in some abandonned parts of cities trying to release monsters from anarchic locations (one of those was the entire east coast of America). We as players were soldiers in an organication who were supposed to control magic, to keep these activities at bay.

The setting gave the possibility of both equipping normal weapons like guns and swords, and using magic. The characters, as i remember, could distribute a certain amount of points to four or five mayor skills or traits, and they could as well specialize to some extent (Well, this was probably more than 3 years ago, no wonder I can not remember).

The backstory of Batian involved an experiment of evil mages who using magic gave the power of thought to an animal for the purpose of assasining certain people without too much risk. Why especially a cheetah? They are the fastest animals what could be cruical in some missions, and in the war the abandonned zoos gave a good supply of any animal for someone looking for such. The experiment with Batian however turned out wrong: on the very first real mission he disappeared, and was never found again.

Later in some slums of one of the citys under reconstruction rumors of a cheetah using some sort of fire magic caught the ears of the members of the magic controlling authory. A cheetah of the nights who would show up when you were helplessly lost in the dark, and with a little candle of fire over the head, would lead you out from the nowhere, back to the world, then disappear, like if he never was there. As with any magic activity, they had to investigate this matter, and with the help of the children they finally found this mysterious animal, who could even talk a bit.

As the investigation gone, they found that this cheetah is actually a wise animal with a complex mind even though he had not got too much knowledge on the human civilization. At first he could barely speak, but even without words he knew the intentions, and was willing to participate, to actively assist in simulated battles not only with fangs and claws, but with moderate fireballs as well.

Batian's stats & propeties:

Health: Below average, not really durable
Magic: Moderate skill, mostly fire magic
Aligity: High, good speed, high capability to dodge attacks
Other: Good night vision

Spells:
Fire light: A small burning fire over the head which is cheap to call, and can last for a hour, it can be used as illumination source, to light up things (then the flame expires), or to grow a fireball at a lower cost.
Fireball: A small fireball which Batian can aim and throw at any enemy. Has a moderate cost.
Speed: Batian has two actions for two turns, he can call it in advance if he senses battle (then it can queue until the battle starts for a few minutes), moderate cost.
Focus: Raises aligity a little, it is an aura magic (friendly characters near Batian also get it's benefits), moderate cost.
Magic defense: Raises magic defense a little, it is an aura magic (friendly characters near Batian also get it's benefits), moderate cost.

Equipment:
Light leather & metal shield which protects Batian's front (See the image). His equipment is affixed to this; he needs assistance to take it on and off.
Small gun with 20 ammonution. This is affixed to his right leg, and he can operate it with the teeth (Aiming with his leg). Little damage, mostly for strategic movements.
Retractable metal claws, can be used in close combat (for both front legs). Does light damage, but he can strike with both at once for an aligity loss.
Radio affixed to the right ear, he can communicate with the party using it when he does some exploration alone.

Role:

The RPG was action - oriented, so many battles were fought between which the game master threw some puzzles in (for making us planning strategies). With Batian when the others could wait for it, I was willing to do some silent exploration; when in battle, I mostly tried to assist with my aura spells, then with fireballs trying to help the stronger characters in carrying out their attacks, or alternatively even with close combat covering physically weak mage characters.

----

Well, such RPG's are sure an interesting thing to burn up some time with, too bad recently there is no way I could play such.