Marissa Damodred-Strykia


 * "The Emperor claims to have started the New Order to ensure our freedom. For him, freedom is just another word for nothing left for us to lose."
 * -Marissa Strykia

Marissa Strykia was an Antrixian noble who was a noted member of the Jinsai Order and the High Lady of the Antrixian Commonwealth during the waning years of the Galactic Republic and through the Clone Wars. A strong Force-sensitive, Marissa passed the Damodred bloodline Force trait on to four of her five children. Surviving the Antrixian Purge and the Great Jedi Purge, Marissa went into hiding to avoid the minions of the Darth Sidious during the years leading up to the Galactic Civil War.

Born to House Damodred on Relka, Marissa began a storied career within the Jinsai Order at a young age, eventually becoming the Consular to the Jedi Order for the Jinsai. Marissa was the wife of Artur Strykia, the High Lord of the Antrixian Commonwealth during the end of the Old Republic and to the end of the Clone Wars. She was the mother of Dontaine, Draygan, Graydon, Allyson, and Arina Strykia.

Marissa watched in horror as her eldest son, Dontaine, fell to the dark side, began a civil war within the Commonwealth, and eventually urdered his own father. A firm believer in the Desmora Prophecy, Marissa had planned for the events that eventually led to the Imperial occupation of the Commonwealth and saw to it that most of her family was placed into hiding, including herself. In a later confrontation with Dontaine, Marissa was blinded by one of his attacks which allowed him to escape. Marissa roamed the galaxy to avoid the Emperor's Jedi hunters. She also searched for Dontaine to extract justice for his crimes against the Commonwealth and the murder of Artur.

Early Life
Marissa was born into House Damodred in 57 BBY to Lord Herod Damodred and Lady Rayna Damodred as the oldest of two daughters, with her sister Anise being the youngest. Within her first year, Marissa was discovered to have latent Force-sensitivity. Marissa and her sister were a sign of restoration of the Force-sensitive bloodline that the Damodreds prided themselves on, which had skipped the two prior generations in the family bloodline.

During her adolesence, she was tutored and raised on Relka in the same manner as any other child of a Major House of the Antrixian Landsting. At 8 years of age, Marissa was initiated into the Jinsai and spent a year on Odya training prior to returning to Relka to continue her training under the tutalage under the Jinsai Master Ailan Tarkand, a Jinsai attached to House Damodred.

Upon her return to Relka, Marissa was introduced to the young wards that her father had taken in as his Jinsai apprentices, Artur Strykia and Leeto Draydess. She learned that her father had formed a betrothal agreement with High Lord Kayl Strykia for Artur and Marissa to marry. This would secure the Damodred line into any bids to succession for the High Seat of the Commonwealth, should an heir not be found. Marissa met this with trepidation at first, but within three years, Marissa and Artur were quickly becoming childhood sweethearts, with prodding from Leeto to move both of them along.

Marissa and Artur married when Marissa was 17 years of age and within the second year of their union, Marissa gave birth to the family's oldest child, Dontaine. Shortly after this, Artur ascended to the High Seat as High Lord of the Commonwealth. Marissa focused on being the best mother she could while always being the utmost High Lady of the Commonwealth that she could be. Marissa gave birth to Draygan almost two years later. It would be another ten years for the Strykia's to welcome the youngest members of the family, the fraternal twins Graydon and Allyson.

Even with her time taken up with training Dontaine as her first apprentice and her motherly duties, Marissa still was a shining example of a High Lady to the Commonwealth. Marissa was always present at state functions, right beside her husband, regardless. If was often said that if there were two more hours in every day, Marissa would find more tasks to fill the extra time. She was tirelessly devoted to her family and people.

The Coming of War
Years prior to the beginning of the Clone Wars, Marissa proposed a training agreement with the Jinsai Tribunes and the Jedi Council concerning the Strykia twins. Both Graydon and Allyson were to be trained as the first Jinsai/Jedi in the history of the Commonwealth. But as the Clone Wars started and then went on, Marissa became more and more concerned that the Jinsai Prophecy, known also as the Desmora Prophecy was going to come to pass soon.

Conflicts throughout the galaxy began to find their way into the Commonwealth, especially the disputes on commerce with the Trade Federation. Marissa spearheaded talks with the Republic, the Commonwealth, and the Trade Federation, limiting shipments passing along the Ithic Corridor, unless under direct supervision of Antrixian Military escorts. The Jedi and Republic Counsular vessels were allowed safe passage without limitation. Angered, the Trade Federation, and later the Separatists, viewed the Commonwealth as hostile entities of the Republic.

By the opening slavos of the Clone Wars, the Commonwealth, along with the Jinsai, including Marissa, had engaged in scrimmages with the Trade Federation Droid forces on more than one occasion. Speaking on behalf of the Jinsai and the Commonwealth, Marissa stood at the forefront of the Clone Wars conflict to ensure that the people of the Commonwealth were in support of the military actions that safeguarded their homes. While her involvement in the actual battles was limited, Marissa was always an ambassador for her people, speaking with Republic Senators and the Jedi Council.

The Antrixian Purge
Marissa's feelings of impending doom continued for months and her concerns began to be legitimized after a meeting between her husband, Artur, and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Her sense of the Desmora Prophecy began to take on an urgency.

When events took place that heralded in the beginning of the Prophecy, Marissa was ready to act in the only course of action that she knew. Witnessing her son, Dontaine, begin his course down the path of the Dark side, with his involvement in the Antrixian Civil War, the murder of Artur, and the attacks on the Commonwealth, Marissa put her plan into action. Utilizing Moraine Strykia and a few others, Marissa set in motion plans to put individuals whom she felt were of great importance into hiding, away from Dontaine and the soon-to-be-called Imperials.

Life Post Antrixian Purge/Occupation
Once Marissa knew that the twins were safe with Moraine,fleeing off-world, she fled the Commonwealth to place her niece and nephew, Torryn and Therryn, into hiding with a Commonwealth couple that was heading to the Outer Rim. She briefly united with her sister, Anise, before going to the Outer Rim territories. Although her heart longed to be with her children, she knew that going to them, even once, could prove disastrous.

After a couple of weeks, Marissa secreted back to Antrixies to find what she could. Exploring the battered palace, Marissa uncovered the damaged family droid, T-3R1. Leaving the Commonwealth, Marissa traveled to Nar Shaddaa where she had T-3 repaired. While there, she encountered a former aide to Senator Amidala, Moteé, who was also in hiding from the Imperials. With T-3 repaired, Marissa and Moteé left for the remote world of Lothal where they hid.

Unexpectedly, Marissa found that she was pregnant with the last of the Strykia children to be born, Arina Pryia. Marissa named her new child in honor of her late husband and his mother. After Arina’s birth, Marissa sought out an old friend and Jinsai Blade Master, Magnus Tarkand, to watch after Arina and protect her while Marissa began her personal quest of seeking out Dontaine. It was one of the few times that Marissa made official contact with another member of the old Antrixian regime, although she had looked in on Arina from time-to-time, always from a distance.

The Hunt Begins
While Marissa was hiding from the Imperial Jedi Hunters, she was also actively hunting her eldest son. Dontaine had initially fled to the Outer Rim territories after he was double-crossed by the Imperials and branded a traitor by the Landsting. Marissa knew this, but had little in the way of leads to track him down.

For years her hunt became a double-sided game of cat and mouse. Most of the time it was Marissa hunting and tracking, but Dontaine also pursued her from time-to-time. Sometime around 9 BBY, Marissa came across a fellow Jinsai Gai'din in hiding, Master Les'sa Drima. The Knyden Jinsai willingly agreed to assist Marissa in her hunt and the two began to formulate a plan to confront Dontaine.

Marissa and Les’sa set a trap on an old mining facility, baiting Dontaine to come in search of the twins. The resulting confrontation found both Marissa and Dontaine gravely wounded and Les’sa mortally wounded. Les’sa, using the Force to maintain herself, managed to get a very wounded Marissa to safety, sacrificing herself to ensure that Marissa survived.

Marissa recovered on Carosi XII and fell under the watchful eye of her cousin Corryn Damodred and her niece, Rashara Damodred. Marissa’s injuries from the duel with Dontaine left her blind and scarred. Over time, Marissa learned to use the Force for her sight, much the same way the Miraluka did. Eventually, with Corryn and Rashara by her side, Marissa left to go into hiding again.

Hiding away on the nearly deserted world of Morellia, Marissa focused on training Rashara and learning to use the Force for her sight. The trio stayed hidden away, biding their time until they felt they were ready to begin the hunt for Reaper again.

Jinsai Training
While Marissa obtained the same training that other Jinsai received, she was also schooled in many of the techniques similar to the training that Jedi received. As a Gai'din, Marissa was taught to use the Force for the good of the people and defense of others.

Her beliefs in the Force led her to be a proponent of the Living Force concept, although she gave credence to the Unifying Force concept also. Marissa always tried to ensure her actions were done to achieve the best outcome, aware that how she interacted in a situation could ripple out into future events. Even with this personal belief, she was still strongly wary of visions she had had concerning the downfall and betrayal within the Commonwealth. It was because of this that Marissa formed a secret group with her sister and sister-in-law, sometimes including the Jedi Bronn Holcom, to plan for the eventuality of the Desmora Prophecy coming to pass.

Involvement with the Jedi Order
During the years leading up to the Clone Wars and the Fall of the Republic, Marissa spent a considerable amount of time acting as a liason to the Jedi Order on behalf of the Antrixian Commonwealth and the Jinsai. Due to her status as High Lady of the Commonwealth and as a ranking Jinsai Gai'din, Marissa assumed stately duties such as negotiating the ease of restrictions for the Jedi to pass through Commonwealth Space unhampered by Antrixian Military Forces.

Marissa was also instrumental in formulating the deal with Thyferra allowing Bacta shipments to pass through Commonwealth Space by way of private enterprises when the Trade Federation disputed Antrixian restrictions on the Federations passage through the Commonwealth Sectors. These events brought her into contact with notable Jedi such as Jedi Masters Qui-Gon Jinn and Yaddle.

Marissa helped to further foster relations between the Jinsai and Jedi by setting up training observation for both groups with each other. Although the Jinsai resisted joining the Jedi Order, it was Marissa that kept a close, diplomatic channel open between the two groups to ensure mutual aid agreements with each order. In 30 BBY, Marissa was appointed Jinsai Ambassador by the Tribunal to the Jedi, in order to bridge the gap between the two Orders.

It was due to this close tie with the Jedi Order that guided Marissa in the decision to agree to have her youngest children train as both Jedi and Jinsai when she discovered she was pregnant with Force-sensitive twins.

After the death of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, Marissa formed an informal contact with the newly appointed Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. The two kept in contact over the course of the years leading up to the Clone Wars and shared ideas on training styles for each others' apprentices. Through her relations with those Jedi, Marissa developed and fine-tuned her perspective of the Living Force. She believed that the Force was present in all living things and that living in the present rather than the past or the future best served the Force. Marissa was mindful of her actions and how they may cause ripples in the way the Force guided events, affecting future events. This was part of the reason she became so focused on the Desmora Prophecy.

Appearance and Personality
Marissa Strykia was known as a determined stateswoman and moral defender to her people and the freedoms of the galaxy. Calm and just, she was often seen as a pillar of justice and rights during a troubled time within the galaxy. Achieving almost celebrity status throughout the Inner Rim, Marissa was tireless in her pursuit to bring equality to the galaxy and peace during conflict. Marissa could be quite stoic at times. However, her emotional control was both a coping mechanism for dealing with her visions of the Desmora Prophecy and a useful technique she employed in her training of her Force-sensitive children.

Marissa had always put duty before her own personal needs, making her the perfect High Lady to her people and mother of the Strykia children. She was known for having great compassion for her friends, and would go to great lengths to help them, whenever she could. Her personality and methods affected her son Graydon the most out of all her children, breeding the same type of selfless dedication in him. This trait would go on to be passed down to future generations of Strykias and eventually be the model for the new, remodeled Jinsai Order.

RPG D6 Stats
Type: Jinsai Gai'din

DEXTERITY 4D

Blaster 4D+2, Dodge 9D, Lightsaber 7D, Lightsaber: Form IV: Ataru 6D+2, Lightsaber: Form VI: Niman 6D, Melee Combat 7D, (s)Melee Combat: Shao'dengia 12D

KNOWLEDGE 2D+2

Alien Species 4D, Bureaucracy 6D+1, Cultures 5D, (A)Force Deterrence 5D, Intimidation 4D+2, Languages 5D+2, Meditation 9D, Planetary Systems 4D+2, (S)Scholar: Shao'dengia 9D, (S)Scholar: Jedi Lore 6D, (S)Scholar: Sith Lore 3D, Survival 7D, Willpower 6D

MECHANICAL 2D

Astrogation 3D+1, Communications 3D, Beast Riding 3D, Repulsorlift Operation 4D, Starfighter Piloting 5D+2, Starship Gunnery 4D+1, Starship Shields 3D+2

PERCEPTION 4D

Bargain 5D, Command 5D, Investigation 5D+1, Persuasion 6D+1, Search 6D+2, Sneak 7D

STRENGTH 3D

Acrobatics 5D, Brawling 6D+2, (s)Brawling: Shao'dengia 12D, Stamina 4D+2

TECHNICAL 2D+2

Computer Programing/Repair 3D+1, Droid Programing 3D, Droid Repair 3D, First Aid 4D, Lightsaber Repair 5D+2, Melee Weapon Repair 4D

Special Abilities:

Shao'dengia Martial Arts: Maneuvers: Backfist, backflip, back strike, blade kick, crescent attack, disarm, dislocate limb, flip, flying kick, foot sweep, high kick, iron fist, weapon block, weapon steal. Melee Maneuvers: Crescent attack, dazing blow, disarm, double sweep, jab, riposte, slash, thrust.

Lightsaber Combat Form I: Shii-Cho: -1D to all rolls when facing an opponent using any other forms. Advance, brawl, defensive stance, disarming slash, heavy strike, push, quick strike, sarlacc sweep.

Lightsaber Combat Form IV: Ataru: May perform one acrobatic maneuver or one movement enhancing Force power and attack once without the penalty for an additional maneuver. However if restricted in movement (due to space, wounds, etc.) any actions done with Ataru receive a -1D penalty. Hawk-bat swoop, saber swarm, spinning attack, tumble strike.

Lightsaber Combat Form VI: Niman (persuasion): +2 to defense rolls, while attack rolls suffer a -2 penalty. +1 bonus to attack and defense for each die in persuasion (maximum of four per roll). Double attack, draw closer, heavy parry, pushing slash, vicious stare.

Force Skills: Control 8D, Sense 8D, Alter 5D.

Force Powers (these are the known powers that Marissa possessed):

Control: Absorb/Dissipate Energy, Accelerate Healing, Concentration, Control Disease, Control Pain, Detoxify Poison, Emptiness, Enhance Attribute, Force Of Will, Hibernation Trance, Reduce Injury, Remain Conscious, Remove Fatigue, Resist Stun, Short-Term Memory Enhancement.

Sense: Battle Sense, Combat Sense, Danger Sense, Instinctive Astrogation, Life Detection, Life Sense, Magnify Senses, Postcognition, Receptive Telepathy, Sense Disturbance, Sense Force, Sense Path, Sense Surroundings, Shift Sense, Translation.

Alter: Force Wave, Injure/Kill, Knockout/Stun, Telekinesis.

Control & Sense: Farseeing, Life Bond, Lightsaber Combat, Projective Telepathy.

Control & Alter: Accelerate Another’s Healing, Control Another’s Disease, Control Another’s Pain, Control Breathing, Control Pregnancy, Detoxify Another’s Poison, Inflict Pain, Place Another In Hibernation Trance, Remove Another's Fatigue, Return Another To Consciousness, Transfer Force.

Control, Sense & Alter: Affect Mind, Enhanced Coordination, Force Harmony, Telekinetic Kill, Telekinetic Stun.

Sense & Alter: Cloak, Dim Another’s Senses, Lesser Force Shield.

Story Factors:

Blinded: Marissa was blinded in a lightsaber battle with her son, Dontaine. She has lived with her blindness for so long that she no longer needs to roll to use the Force to sense surroundings and it does not count toward her multi-action penalties. The power will only drop if she is knocked unconscious and only needs to roll to reactivate the power unless she is willing to wait until healed or no longer affected by stun.

Blood Lust: Once yearly, Antrixians have a chemical reaction within their body that causes their hormones to be affected adversely. Due to this, Antrixians may be afflicted with out-bursts of emotions. Roll 1D to determine the degree of emotional outbursts: 1-2 slight emotional outbursts, 3-4 no effect, 5-6 intense emotional outbursts, -1D to PER and all related skills. This can be dropped to slight outbursts with a Moderate willpower check. Roll 1D to determine length of time the effect lasts: 1-2 one week, 3-4 three weeks, 5-6 one month.

Force-Aging: Due to the high midi-chlorian count interacting with a Antrixian physiology, Force-sensitive Antrixians age, physically, at a far slower rate. After a time, the individual begins to take on a ageless, graceful look. Most persons would have trouble placing an age of a Antrixian Force-user.

Jinsai Honor Code: Most Antrixians receive some schooling and training from Jinsai early in their lives. Due to this, many Antrixians hold the honor code of the Jinsai in high regard. Truth and just actions are the cornerstones by which many Antrixians live their lives.

Isolation: Due to the affairs of galactic politics and underworld citizens, Antrixians tend to keep to their own worlds, rather than having to deal with the troubles brought by others. Jinsai are the only regular exception, often choosing to go off-world in search of noble causes or to assist allies with conflicts.

This character is Force-sensitive.

Force Points: 12

Dark Side Points: 0

Character Points: 40

Move: 10

Equipment: Street clothes, Lightsaber (5D, Very Difficult, amethyst blade), Fancloth cloak (distorts and reflects light away from its surface, a wearer of the cloak appears to appear and disappear from view, +2D to sneak and hide skills when standing still and +1D to their sneak roll while moving), Artur Stykia's Custom Warblade (STR+3D+2, resistant to Lightsaber damage).