Fate/Refraction [FSN-Quest]

Thanks in advance for Facehugger on SB for writing the original version of this. Totally yours and I borrow this with every respect possible given.

The Game
The year is 2005. Ten years ago, the 4th Heaven's Feel ritual, colloquially known as the 4th war for the Holy Grail, was fought in the traditional place - a Japanese city known as Fuyuki.

In this war, seven magi paired with the ghosts of mankind's mightiest heroes made manifest for the right to claim the Grail. Any tactic was endorsed, no matter how many died as collateral damage... For the Holy Grail had one power. Once fully manifest, it could grant two wishes, one for the victorious servant, and one for the victorious master.

The problem is the 4th war ended... Inconclusively. There was a massive fire that left a huge portion of the city gutted, and the rebuilding has only just finished. Of the grail itself... None can say. By the end, most of the participants were dead, or had vanished to parts unknown. None of the participants are sure what exactly happened to the legendary object, or at least those who are aren't talking.

But there's too much invested in the grail - the lure of a wish is too tempting for the magi to dismantle the system. And the grail itself was designed with magecraft unimaginable in the modern age. It still exists, and when the stars are right, it will send out the call to claim it once more.

In the normal state of affairs, the grail only manifests every fifty years. But now, the grail is manifesting again. Something is wrong. The 5th war for the Holy Grail is beginning early. New masters have heard its call. The grail has begun searching the throne of heroes - the legendary place where the souls of mankind's mightiest heroes are stored - in preparation for the bloodshed to come.

You, my players, shall take control of one of these heroic spirits, and lead them through this much-changed war.

The System
The game shall be organized as a quest; that is, each player votes on the character's course of action, and I implement the one with the most votes. This is not your standard RP. Think of it as a group version of a Choose Your Own Adventure book, or a Visual Novel for those of you aware of the game. To elaborate I will present you with a hand full of options such as

[ ] Choice A
[ ] Choice B

Say you want B to happen as you think its the smarter option then you go:

[X] Choice B

I will leave the vote open for a while, while you the players discuss the pros and cons of each possible option and then when a consensus is reached and a majority vote is had I will update the game writing the results of your decision be them for good or ill. Should your character die, or you reach encounter a problem that removes your character from the game in a meaningful way you will have Bad Ended - a game over where then depending if I am feeling generous you may reroll a new character. Having said that no one decision will lead to a Bad End and it will take lots of mistakes on top of each other to reach something like that.

With that having been said time for you to make the very first decision in this game of mine. Choosing your character. Each option is balanced against each other with strengths and weaknesses. What one Hero might struggle with, another might crush with frightening ease. And vice versa. Choose wisely, for even at this point your decision has consequences. This game may have infusions from series other then Nasu, so depending on the choice you may play an already established protagonists if you are smart enough to catch it.

[ ] A sorcerer of the modern times. One of the few worthy of the status of Heroic Spirit in an age supposedly long having since possibly lost the ability for new Heroes to join the Throne. As this man you to save that wish to save what can be saved, and stop the less scrupulous from reforming reality with the Power of the Grail for all who seek its power are neither kind nor benevolent.

[ ] A legendary warrior and king from a time during the beginning of the Age of the Gods. The forger of the original peace treaty and master of one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen you as this character seek nothing less then to restore yourself and your kingdom to life and prosperity.

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[Post Reserved For Character Sheet]

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Story Thread

Hrm. Tough choice.

To play a Kingly King or the snarky wizard (assuming I have recognized the first option correctly.).

Tentatively voting

[X] A sorcerer of the modern times. One of the few worthy of the status of Heroic Spirit in an age supposedly long having since possibly lost the ability for new Heroes to join the Throne. As this man you to save that wish to save what can be saved, and stop the less scrupulous from reforming reality with the Power of the Grail for all who seek its power are neither kind nor benevolent.

Quick thing.

The King is definitely the stronger of the two physically but the wizard has more utility at the cost of being squishier.

If I do not receive any more votes in an hour or so I'll just use a random number generator to decide. Vote closing soon, so if you want a say in which character you guys play get in quick.

The Sorcerer. I pick the Sorcerer.

Okay locking it in for Sorcerer... Harry Dresden.

Kinda disappointed that I have only two players/votes so far but what can I do? Hopefully activity will pick up once I start churning out the IC posts and it attracts a following of readers.

Character Generation Beginning....

You have chosen Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden - Knight of the Unseelie Court of the Fae, Wizard of the White Council, Slayer of the Red Court, and Warden of Demonreach. Harry seeks the Grail to return life to himself and those lost in the struggles found in his lifetime. He is a tall man at 6'11, a jutting chin and a trench coat and clearly is not japanese.

Harry Qualifies For the Following Classes:

Saber, Caster, Rider, Berserker, and Assassin.

Your stats will be determined once you choose your class and epithet.

As Harry you have access to the following basic abilities and Noble Phantasms.

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Soulfire - the Flames of Creation

The power of Creation that was used by the Angel's in the first days of the universe this ability was granted to Harry by the Archangel Uriel when the Knights of the Blackened Denarius broke the rules governing the interference of the Fallen in there bid to capture the archive.

Functionally this Noble Phantasm allows Harry Dresden to boost the versatility and sheer metaphysical weight of the Mystery empowering his magecraft allowing it to approach near to the impossibleness of True Magic at the cost of stamina.

Harry can safely use this power three times a day without suffering ill effects. Overuse of this Noble Phantasm will result in severe injury to the bearer and eventually death if over extended.

Rank: B
Type: Support

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Pure Eyes - The Sight - this form of Pure Eyes is uniquely powerful, stripping all forms of glamours, illusions, and deception from the sight of the user, revealing the naked truth of reality without exception. What is viewed with the Sight is forever engrained into the memory of its bearer never to be able to be forgotten.

This Personal Skill is a double edged tool as while its incredibly useful, viewing something like an Eldritch Abomination could drive the possessor insane due to the mind-shattering revelation associated with such.

Rank: B

Harry also possesses his miscellaneous Foci, such as his staff, blasting rod, revolver, shield bracelet, and pentacle necklace. All of these are considered to be at the rank of "F" and while capable of in theory harming an enemy Servant are not potent conceptually speaking and are not Noble Phantasm as a result.

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You may also choose three Personal Skills for Harry to possess. They start at C-rank and are modified by the class and epithets chosen.

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Independent Action - the ability to remain independent even when rejecting the prana supply from the Master. At the higher ranks it is also possible to remain for extended periods of time in this world without an established contract. At C-Rank the possessor is capable of remaining in this world for one day without an established contract.

Disengage - The ability to break away from combat. At C-Rank it has bonuses towards returning conditions to what they were pre-battle.

Eye of Mind (True) - is the heightened insight that was refined through experience. At C-rank the user is capable of calm analysis of battle conditions even when in danger and deduce an appropriate course of action after considering all possibilities to escape from a predicament. So long there is even a 10% chance of a comeback, this ability greatly improves the chances of winning.

Protection of the Fairies - is a blessing from Fae; the capacity to increase one's Luck in dangerous situations. Activation is limited to battlefields, where it is possible to perform feats of arms. Harry has a natural disposition towards this ability if the Winter Knight Epithet is taken which will result in higher rank then normal.

Bravery - the ability to negate mental interference such as pressure, confusion and fascination. Not usable under the effects of Mad Enhancement, the class ability of Berserker.

Battle Continuation - is the strength of vitality for predicaments. Also, the ability to withdraw from combat and reach allied territory alive after being defeated.

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You may select and apply two (2) Epithets to Harry Dresden, and it is indeed encouraged for two to be picked as selecting fewer then two does not provide Harry any benefit whats-so-ever.

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Harry Dresden: Winter Knight - This epithet highlights the aspect of Harry's tale when he became the Knight and Consort to the Unseelie Fae a position in which he served for a number of years.

This potent epithet grants Harry access to the power of the Winter Mantle Personal Skill, which he can use to amplify his spell that fall under the domain of Winter, boost his physical abilities by one rank each when invoked, and call upon the Little Folk that swore allegiance to Winter and himself when he joined Mab.

Additionally this epithet boosts the Personal Skill Protection of the Faeries if both are taken, and causes Harry to have a conceptual weakness to Cold Iron. Likewise for those who know what to look for, he will appear as Fae-touched which may cause certain reactions in those people based on biases and dispositions.

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Harry Dresden: Vampire Slayer - This epithet is the crystallization of one of Harry's most outrageous feats; the time he single handedly annihilated the entire Red Court of the Vampires when they stole his daughter with the intention of unleashing a massive bloodline course on top of him to slay him and his kin.

This epithet grants Harry a conceptual ability over any being that defines itself as "vampiric" where he can mandate the death of any such individual at will, removing them from the existence of undeath.

Likewise it grants Harry the following Noble Phantasm.

Reversal of Fortune - In perhaps the greatest feat he has accomplished in his lifetime, Harry Dresden single handedly managed to end the entire Red Court of the Vampires by turning their own bloodline curse against them, when they attempted to end his life by using his daughter as the sacrifice to instigate that curse.

This Noble Phantasm is the crystallization of that event. Any attack defined as a "curse" is made null against Harry Dresden and reflected back against the one who cast it in full and equal measure.

Rank: B
Type: Anti-Unit

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Harry Dresden: Wizard of Chicago - Embodying less a single event as it does a large portion of his career as a professional wizard this epithet is fairly well rounded between utility and raw power.

Boosting the Class Skills of the Caster class it provides bonuses towards Item Construction and Territory Creation. Likewise it allows for Harry to call on the Spirit of Air and Intellect as a familiar to assist in his ritual work for working complex actions in the Art. Once more it allows Harry to access the massive engine of destruction the Noble Phantasm...

Sue - Zombie T-Rex - A Ghost Liner and the highest class of summoned familiar, this Noble Phantasm allows Harry Dresden to call upon the titular zombie dinosaur, the same one he resurrected when he stopped a gaggle of Necromancers from obtaining Necromantic Godhood by sacrificing everyone in Chicago so many night again in the ritual known as the Dark Hollow. Functionally Sue is immune to all but the greatest of High Thaumaturgy, capable of tanking what should be mortal wounds in her nature as an enchanted corpse.

Unfortunately to control her Harry requires either a drummer or himself to maintain the beat so she does not get lose and rampage around which limits her tactical ability somewhat as a result. Summoning Sue is incredibly mana-intensive and is not an action taken lightly.

Rank: A+
Type: Anti-Fortress

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Harry Dresden: Warden of Demonreach - This epithet represents in some ways what makes Harry one of the most dangerous and endangered wizards on the planet... being the chosen warden of the Island of Demonreach, the guardian of the Well where nameless abominations are held entrapped in the foundation, kept in check by the Genius Loci that resides there.

This epithet grants Dresden access to the dangerous, and potent power of the Reality Marble. Allowing him, for a brief time manifest the Island of Demonreach wherever Dresden may be, effectively making both the real world and the Island one and the same.

Demonreach - Prison Of The Abyss - This Reality Marble, this inner world, crystalized by his Legend into being allows Harry to call his chosen field of battle into existence for such a time.

Once the Island is summoned Harry receives a conceptual bonus against any foe he faces, and access to the ability of Intellectus, a unique personal skill that very few mortals have possessed that gives him absolute knowledge of his location and everything on it.

Once the Reality Marble brings along not just the Island and the Genius Loci... but its Prison and Inmates held below as well. Harry has the sole discretion over the inmates of the Island and he may choose to take prisoners... or release them upon any that dare remain on Demonreach's shores though opening the Barred Doors surely would trigger tragedy not seen since the Old Bad Times.

Upon luring his enemies into his Reality Marble if he so chooses he can command Demonreach to take an enemy Servant underneath the well effectively removing them from the war until such a time Harry releases them or he dies himself causing both his own self and his captured prisoners to join the Grail.

Rank: EX
Type: Anti-Army

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Bump.

Why no responses people?

OP time. OP time. If I may jump onto this, these would be my choices.

Establish Harry as a Saber class.

Eye of the Mind - True, Disengage and Battle Continuation as Personal Skills.

As for Epithets, give him Warden of Demonreach and Vampire Slayer.

Okay so, I am swamped with work but as soon as I can get away and have time to put in my two cents I'm going to twink the shit out of Mr. Dresden here.

Or something like that.