Welcome to DAL Alternate. If you're arriving here straight from the Interest Check, then you likely know the deal already. However, if you're a fresh, new person who just happened to be dropping by, allow me to explain. This is a roleplay based on the Date-A-Live series, set in an alternative or parallel dimension where all canon characters like Shidou, Kotori, Tohka and Origami are non-existent. The Anti-Spirit Team (AST) was never bought by Deus Ex Machina Industries (DEM) and thus remains as a branch of the JSDF (Japan Self Defense Force). Aside from these minor changes to the world and story though, the rest remains largely untouched - the story takes place in the same city, same year, with the same locations you're all familiar with.
If you're not familiar with Date-A-Live but still want to join, I'd recommend you either go read the novels, the manga or watch (at least) the first season of the anime. There are a lot of terms and devices that won't be explained in the RP, as I will assume that those who join it are familiar with the franchise. For everything else, there's a (weak) Wikipedia dedicated to DAL that you can all look up and read over if there's confusion or question about a certain topic or such, I will put a link to it at the bottom of this post.
Introductory things:
You're all anxious to get to creating your characters, no doubt, but before we do that, I'd like to take a moment to explain some things and establish some rules so that we can avoid confusion and needless messes. Please take the time to read all of the information below before you start working on a character, as you may find that making a character of a certain type might not appeal to your style of play.
The Factions:
- Ratatoskr: A philantropist-like group, masquerading as a company with its hand in many different markets and businesses, it's true face is taht of an underground association, dedicated to the peaceful pacification of Spirits. Ratatoskr values life, both human and Spirit, and are working towards a way to seal any and all Spirits' powers so that they can live as normal, harmless humans in society, without the need for violence. While certainly a wealthy organization, Ratatoskr does not - due to their policies - excel at fighting or combat, and their personnel and members are usually not trained in such matters. Their prefered method of operations is through stealth and covert operations, using their mobile airship as a command center to relay orders and instructions to their operatives in the field. Ratatoskr uses a newly developed device, known as a Sealing Crystal, to nullify and seal away the power of Spirits. These crystals are look like small gemstones and are typically set into rings, bracelets or other jewelry that is easy to wear. Be warned, once a Sealing Crystal is worn by a Spirit, trying to take it off can cause severe pain, and the Sealing Crystal can also break if a Spirit becomes too mentally unstable or upset,, at which point it will need to be replaced.
- Anti-Spirit Team: The AST has one goal and one interest only - the complete eradication of Spirits. They do not view Spirits as humans, but rather as something aking to living weapons or walking, breathing, natural disasters. The fact that some Spirits also attack humans have led them to label all Spirits as evil and malevolent, regardless if they try to just run away when attacked or not. They make no distinction between regular Spirits and Human-turned-Spirits, and will attack both. However, AST does not mindlessly assault their targets, and will not engage in large-scale operations if there are civilians around, nor will they risk harming regular humans. While not all AST members may consider Spirits to be evil, they are generally in agreement that Spirits are too dangerous and unstable to be allowed to wander around as they please - and as such, they hunt them down. AST has access to a large variety of weapons and equipment meant for battle.
- Spirits: Spirits are extra-dimensional creatures who take on the shape of human females. Their arrival in our world is usually heradled by, or accompanied by, a Spacequake that - to varying degrees - causes large-spread destruction in our world. Spirits have very different personalities and are most certainly individualistic, as some are very peaceful and timid, while others are brash and loud, while others still are violent and bloodthirsty. Spirits are jhowever constantly hounded by the AST and DEM whenever they appear, meaning their lives are always at risk. Some Spirits try to hide and blend into human society, opting to pass themselves off as humans. However, due to their powers being linked to their mind and mood, spirits can sometimes cause incidents or disasters unwillingly or unwittingly. There are also two kinds of Spirits, the regular kind that hails from their own dimension, and another variety which are actually humans who've been possessed by a Spirit. Spirits come equipped with an Astral Dress, a special garment that not only protects them, but also gives them many other abilities - flight, being one of them. They also each have their own 'Angel', a being that can comes in many various shapes and forms, and grants the Spirit a unique and special power.
Gender distribution and character limits:
Keeping in tune with the theme and setting of the world, we've opted not to change this. In short, this means that all spirits and all members of AST are female. You cannot bypass this rule. If you want to make a male character, you will have to make him a member of Ratatoskr.
You may make up to two different characters for this roleplay. However, you may not make two characters belonging to the same group (i.e not two spirits, two AST soldiers or two Ratatoskr operatives), your characters are also not allowed to help or otherwise benefit one another. You may not use one character to unfairly favor one side (i.e making a Ratatoskr agent who tells/reveals all their plans to your other character who belongs to AST).
Certain powers and abilities when it comes to Spirits have been disallowed, meaning you aren't allowed to use them. Below is a short list of powers you may not have - note that this list may expand over time.
- Time manipulation
- Space manipulation
- Death manipulation
- Gravity manipulation
- Mind control
At the moment, we're only allowing three[ Spirits in total among our players. There is no way to reserve or save a spot for this, you will simply have to come first and get your sheet accepted. And that's another thing, even if you submit your Spirit before someone else, if it's not accepted and you don't make the necessary edits before the next sheet is surveyed, you may lose out. Keep this in mind when making your Spirit.
Rules and boring stuff:
1. Obey and listen to the GM, and any Co-GM if such are appointed.
2. Do not flame, post destructive criticism or otherwise behave like a douchebag towards others in the RP.
3. No God-Moding, Auto-Hitting, Ever-Dodging, Mind-reading, Meta-gaming, Character Hijacking or other such dickery.
4. If you're busy, going on a trip or for some other reason will be away from the RP for a while, leave a message telling us about it! Failure to do this may lead to your character(s) untimely and irrevocable demise.
5. No one-liner posts. At least one full paragraph (five sentences).
6. No flood-posting, wait for at least two other people to post before you post again (only applies to the IC).
7. Have fun, socialize and talk about your favourite things!
These rules are subject to being edited, removed or added to upon my discretion.
Character Sheets and You:
Well then, let's move on to the part that really matters, shall we? Below here, you will find two different templates, one for humans and one for spirits. Sections marked in bold are mandatory and must be filled out, but things in italics are just flavor-items and can be left out/removed if you don't want to bother filling them out. Make sure to use these templates and not your own, home-made version - sheets not using the templates will be ignored. Because we're dicks like that.
Character List:
AST:
Kyoko Maya - drewcapp
Chou Wakahisa - Mr Nim
Ratatoskr:
Suichiro Hamani - drewcapp
Mayumi Inoue - CondorTalon
Nigel "Erin" Gladstone - LowKey123
Spirits:
Yoshikuni Kageshiba - Mr Nim
Reika Kuroki - TheWindel
Kouhime Tachibana - CondorTalon
Links and other useful things:
DAL Wiki
Afterword:
That is all for now. I hope you've enjoyed reading through the OOC and if you have any questions or ponderings, please feel free to ask and I'll get to answering them as soon as possible! For now, go ahead and make your character(s) and I hope to see you soon!
