Middle sister of the prophesied Charmed Ones, Piper is known in some circles of the supernatural for the grand destiny of her lineage. She is known in the mundane world as a skillful chef and caterer.
Personality
The peacemaker and middle sister, Piper most often tries to defuse tension and antipathy in any situation. However, she's also possessed of an especially wry wit that shows itself in moments of greater confidence. She tries very hard to achieve what she can and make her way in life, though she often feels like she can never live up to Prue's level of achievement and focus or Phoebe's ability to live life freely and enjoy it. That insecurity tends to be sublimated through her love of cooking, creating something that she can call her own.
Piper is marked by uncertainty in herself, her life, and the feeling of instability due to their great destiny. She tends to cling to those around her who seem more stable, often retreating behind the more decisive or assertive, and overall she prefers if someone else deals directly with a problem. When she has to, though, Piper is an excellent decision-maker...it's just hard getting her to step up to the task.
Piper makes friends easily, though she's not always a very good judge of character. Her family comes first, even if she isn't entirely aware of how important her role is to them. She's still a good friend, even to those who might not value her as much as she does them. In general, most tend to find Piper enjoyable to have around for her usual pleasant humor and ability to balance difficult situations.
Background
The second born of the three Halliwell sisters, Piper grew up with middle child syndrome, always trying to act as peacemaker between her sisters, who were frequently at odds. Their mother died early on, their father left after repeated clashes with their grandmother Penny, and eventually their powers were bound due to unavoidable circumstances and their memories erased.
Piper lived a fairly unexceptional youth, though she became very close to Penny and learned many things from her, including her excellent cooking ability and a number of other home crafts. She stayed home for college, primarily because she was too insecure to go away for school. Again failing to embrace her true desires or work towards a personal goal, she became an accountant at a bank for a time instead of pursuing her dream to become a chef.
Eventually, however, Piper did pursue that profession and secured a place at a restaurant called Quake. It was about that time that Penny died, Phoebe went away to New York City, and things became tense...until Piper invited Phoebe back when there was nowhere else for her to go. Soon after Phoebe's return, the three's powers were awakened, and they learned about their destiny. While Piper had many questions and doubts about it, eventually she has learned to accept that she is a witch, which doesn't make her evil, and that her destiny as one of the Charmed Ones can help so many people.
SKILLS
ALCHEMY: Expert - Piper can craft potions by brewing reagents and other ingredients for a specific purpose. Most potions Piper can craft are for a single purpose and a single use. Even so, she is able to craft batches at the same time. With her lifelong love of cooking and kitchen chemistry and her training as a professional chef, Piper is an excellent alchemist and naturally took to potion-making, easily becoming the strongest of the three sisters in that area of their craft.
ATHLETICS: Basic - Piper keeps herself fit and exercises regularly. Though she doesn't engage in intensive exercise, it is a priority to her to keep fit, usually with the equipment such as a stationary bike, in the small room dedicated to exercise in the manor.
COOKING: Expert - Piper is a world-class chef and able to do amazing things with modest means. She can even add last-minute touches that improve a dish significantly, and she knows what works and what doesn't. She is generally only limited by her resources and equipment.
FIGHTING: Novice - Piper doesn't like to get into physical conflicts, but she can throw down with the rest if she needs to. Most of her ability in fighting is essentially just brawling, using whatever happens to be on-hand to defeat her foes. More often, she relies on her abilities and quick thinking to get her through.
HANDICRAFTS: Competent - Piper is highly able in terms of handicraft and can sew, affect small repairs, knit, and perform a variety of sundry crafts. In her spare time, she usually prefers to knit, which has allowed her to become very good at it.
OCCULTISM: Competent - The occult Craft includes herbalism, spellcraft, research, the preparation and performance of rituals, awareness of the supernatural world, and more. A practicing witch is competent and versed in all these things, understanding the properties of plants and their role in magic, knowing a variety of spells and how to use them, and certainly knows how to seek out information they don't already have. Whether based on their own knowledge or using a grimoire, they are able to recognize, analyze, and counter spells, and even come up with original spells or alter existing ones.
Piper possesses an excellent working knowledge of witchcraft and the world she and her sisters have been thrust into as witches. Experience has taught her various other things, and a down-to-earth, pragmatic attitude have helped her to apply them well to the situations the three often encounter.
STRATEGY: Competent - Piper is good at planning things and general strategy. She can think tactically, whether it's for catering a party or trying to turn a disadvantage against an advancing force of evil nasties.
ABILITIES
WITCHCRAFT: Enhanced-level Magic - Born with a talent for magic, a witch can accomplish quite a variety of effects through spellcraft. These range from conjuring, enchantment, transformation, warding, or illusion to the summoning or banishment of spirits or creatures, to a variety of other effects. For thematic, role-play, and plot purposes their abilities are nearly endless so long as they have the right spell available. For practical purposes, their castings all operate at the Enhanced level in most instances. With ritual preparation these may all be expanded, but any exceptional use would have to be approved by staff.
Piper is a competent witch and can cast a variety of spells. Neither the best nor the worst in this, Piper is proficient and able in the magical expression of spells.
MOLECULAR CONTROL: Enhanced-level Power - Piper has the power to slow and stop the motion of molecules, in effect freezing time in an area. The larger the area, the briefer and less powerful the effect, and nothing can be suspended for an indefinite period of time. She is also able to use her power to speed up molecules, which tends to cause things to explode or catch fire. Freezing things is much easier to Piper than making things explode, and she is typically reluctant to use her power in such a destructive and risky way.
Other generally good-aligned witches and sufficiently powerful supernatural beings are not affected by Piper's powers.
SCRYING: Enhanced-level Power - With the use of a tool such as a pendulum, crystal ball, reflective surface, or something similar, Piper can locate objects and beings in various planes. Her scrying ability is strongest in the physical and astral planes.
ADVANTAGES
BOOK OF SHADOWS - The Book of Shadows is a large, thick family grimoire filled with more than three hundred years of arcane knowledge and information on witchcraft. It is a power unto itself and a huge boon to the Halliwell sisters. When it comes to seeking knowledge of the occult and obscure as well as details on many long thought forgotten potions, spells, and rituals, the book provides an invaluable collected resource. It is added to by every witch of the Warren line who has ever had access to it, making it an artifact of great power to any who can use it. Only beings of generally "good" alignment can touch it; it will teleport itself away from contact with evil.
FAME - The Halliwells are known as the Charmed Ones and, as a result, they are instantly recognized in some circles as great witches of prophecy. This can open many doors for them, and some who know of them may trust them much more easily than they would just any witch, providing assistance, information, or resources.
HALLIWELL MANOR - Halliwell Manor is in the center of five sacred elemental sites. Its precise location makes it a powerful nexus for the arcane. Not only is the manor home and a safe haven, it also functions as a source of great power because of its exact position.
POWER OF THREE - Witches are well known for the "Power of Three." That is, they are especially adept at combining their individual strengths in order to cast much more powerful, impactful magics. Some of the most powerful spells a witch can cast require a circle of others to cast, and a circle is usually formed out of triads of witches, each wielding the Power of Three. Power of Three spells can be done by any three witches, but they have to have the same focus on their goal and ideally be on the same page. Witches who are at odds with each other may even have the spell fail or go wrong. For even greater effect, various groups of three can assemble into larger circles of nine or twelve, and a circle of thirteen is particularly potent.
WEAKNESSES
BEES - Piper is allergic to bee stings.
FAME - The Halliwells are known as the Charmed Ones and, as a result, they are instantly recognized in some circles as great witches of prophecy. Because of this, they effectively have targets painted on them. Fame is a double-edged sword, and it's all the more dangerous when the unknown can hold great risk. The grand destiny of the Charmed Ones directly threatens a number of beings and places others in uncomfortable and uncertain situations. More than a few of these beings would jump at the chance to take the Charmed Ones out of the equation entirely.
NORMAL LIFE - Piper's fundamental insecurities have made her craving for a more normal life into a greater burden on her mind. With the prize of a normal life calling to her, she can be tempted towards unwise choices and poor judgment. At times, it can even come off as delusional and may alienate those around her, especially if they are aware of the greater world.
PERSONAL GAIN - The Charmed Ones are not supposed to use magic for what is termed personal gain. While the definition of the term has a broad application, they are generally forbidden from using magic for self-serving ends, such as petty or vengeful goals. When magic is used for personal gain, it has a greater chance of either failing or going disastrously wrong.
POWER OF THREE - The Charmed Ones are able to tap into their grand destiny when they are together and of one mind and goal. Separate them, and they are only as strong as their own resolve and power. Undermine their unity, and they are just as weak, even when together; the three-corded rope begins to unravel slowly.
SISTERS - The sisters would do anything to help each other. For Piper, there is a profound desire to make peace between them and enjoy the happiness of a family life at least without mundane conflict. She cares deeply for her sisters and, with her insecurity as middle child, is more willing to put herself in danger than she is to allow Phoebe or Prue to be the target. It could easily be used against her.
