“This is where the end ends and the beginning begins.”
It always starts with a Holy Grail. There are many worlds. Timelines. Universes upon universes, wrapped around each other like molecules in a vast ocean of existence. At the center of it all lies Akasha. The Akashic Records. The Void. Heaven. Hell. All of it. None of it. It is the place where all souls are bound to, and from whence all lives originate. It is the past, present, and future. It is the place where wishes can be granted, and where dreams go to die. It is the dream of every magus to one day arrive there, and unravel its secrets--to be the first to grasp a new, true Magic. A very long time ago--during the year of 1790--a group of great men convened to summon a gate to Akasha, using a tool ancient beyond antiquity--the Holy Grail. They were successful. They were more successful than they could ever have dreamed. They created not only a gate to Akasha, but a wellspring from which magecraft could flourish and evolve beyond its wildest dreams.
It was then that the world ended. At once, the world became as one and then as none. Reality could not bear this transgression, and chose altogether to bury itself in an eternal Mystery. Impenetrable, and unfathomable.
But, fear not, for this was not our world. This was another world. Had it not so deeply affected our own, we would not have even known of its existence.
Today--during this year of 1790--a group of magi convened to summon a gate to Akasha. However, there was only room enough for one of these men. The Holy Grail was not so much a gate as they had originally surmised, but more like a tollbooth. One pushed through, and what they saw was unspeakable. They did not see the path to a new Magic. They did not see the Swirl at the Root. They did not step foot in the annals of the Akashic Records. Through the gate, they had found a great, Mysterious thing. An entire planet, shrouded in an ancient, ineffable strangeness. They had found what was lost to the hubris of another self, simultaneously having been for as long as being could be, and being as fresh and nascent as a newborn. The gate that they had stepped through was now open--permanently. The Holy Grail was no more--it could be no more. It was as it always was, and as it had never been. A Gate to Mystery. The Universe Between Universes. At the very moment that Mystery lodged itself in the path to the Swirl of the Root, all timelines--all universes--came undone at once. Its mere existence set every other existence off of their preordained course. It is an aberration--a thing that should never have been. In that moment, time itself became a convoluted thing; what was once 1790 became nonexistent, as past, present, and future became but concepts--irrelevant creatures that heralded no weight nor presence. There is only Mystery, and upon it, the battleground of ages.
Take up arms, O Servants. Make thy name known to the world, O Masters. This is the Heavenly Grail War.
~Your Role~
Mystery is an aberration of time and space. It is a planet that is at once a part of Akasha, and the very furthest thing from it. Lodged squarely in the path the Holy Grail created, Mystery has destabilized every timeline, every universe. In doing so, the collective unconscious of the Earth and the primal will to survive of Man--Gaia and Alaya--have all at once coincided, through every universe, creating a temporary battleground in an effort to dislodge the anomaly and bring time back to its rightful course. This, in the simplest terms, is why you are here. Passing through the gate not of your own free will, but rather because there are no worlds to come home to, you are one of the 42 Masters that inhabit the world of Mystery--and you are destined to fight for the right to your own future. The Heavenly Grail speaks of granting a single wish, and destroying the Mystery that so destabilizes the flow of time. Led by a Ruler, you and your compatriots will aim to bring the other six factions to their knees, and in the process feed the Heavenly Grail its sacrifices and bring Mystery to its final oblivion.
~The World~
Akasha, or the Root, is the center of all space and time. It is, in the simplest sense, the very beginning of the universe, and the essence of reality. It is a metaphysical location that records all the information processed by space and time, and acts as both the termination point and the origin point of the soul. It is the reason Magecraft exists, and the objective of the Second, Third, and Fourth Magics. It is also known as the Void, Heaven, the Throne of Heroes, and the Akashic Records. It houses all the events and phenomena of the universe, and is, as a result, the single greatest force ever to exist.
Mystery is both a place and a state of being. It is important to make note of this distinction, as the two are used interchangeably within the world of Mystery. Mystery--in worlds where Mystery was once a thing rare and altogether unseen--was a power that grew with age, and when two Mysteries intersected, the stronger would always overwhelm the weaker. It is the source, moreover, of all supernatural phenomena, making the land of Mystery a strange place indeed. It is, moreover, the origin of Magecraft. Mystery, the location, is a world created for the Heavenly Grail War. This dimensionless plane wraps in upon itself, creating a mobius strip upon which the Faction Lands exist. There is no “top,” no “bottom,” nor “side,” there is merely Mystery and the Heavens. As a result of this strange shape--and its small size--much of Mystery is visible from any point along its surface. Mystery sits directly in the path to Akasha, acting as a plug of time and space--as a result, time itself has come unwound.
The Heavenly Grail is the source of energy and the stabilizing force that forces Mystery’s continued existence. It is best classified as a “gate within gates,” or, perhaps more accurately, a “False Root.” Its existence is twofold: it is the Heavens that surround Mystery, and the shining star by which day and night occur. The Heavens are bounded by a field created by the infinite wills of Gaia and Alaya, and, to this end, it could be said that Mystery is, in and of itself, not just a but the Reality Marble.
Within the world of Mystery, there exists 7 Factions. Each of these Factions consists of 13 souls--6 Masters, and 7 Servants. This seventh Servant is both the leader and Ruler of its faction, standing in the place of Servants such as the Azure Saber, or Argent Rider. They are both the greatest weapon and greatest weakness of their creed, as their death spells certain doom for their constituents--a great deal of the power and territory of most of the Factions are manifested and controlled by its Ruler. Each Faction represents one of the Classes that Servants tend to follow, and as a result, are granted boons associated with that Class.
The Saber. Widely regarded as the strongest Class among the seven, they are characterized by their knightly stature and enviable versatility. The Azure Faction follows this chivalrous nature to its very core--its land, the Keep of Blades, is every part as imposing and regal as the Faction that inhabits it. Many of the Azure Masters are folk from times long past, and as such the Keep stands firm as a relic of antiquity.
The Lancer. The most reliable of the classes, they are known for being distinctly above-average in every regard. In this instance, you are all Servants and Masters of the Scarlet Faction. Your domain is for you to create as intimately--or as distanced--as you choose. Each of the Scarlet Servants are closer to their main Classes than their Faction, moreso than any other Faction. As a result, the Scarlet Faction is the most versatile of the Factions, and is capable of the most variety.
The Archer. The free spirit--the ranger without boundaries. Known for their independence, the Gilt Faction houses itself within the Fabled Wild--a massive forest that spans their entire Faction domain. The Masters are made up of free spirits; believers in the inviolable human right to their own personal freedom. All of the Gilt Servants employ some form of ranged weapon, though some more than others.
The Berserker. Beings of chaos--more beast than man. Trading sanity in favor of immense power, Berserkers are characterized by their violent natures and erratic, unpredictable behavior. The Badlands are where they make their home, and it--suiting a creed of wildmen--is a wasteland where the mighty ravage all comers. All of the Clay Masters are in some way unhinged, and they--along with their Servants--are essentially led by the leash by their Avenger. All of the Servants suffer from some sort of Mad Enhancement, and the Clay Faction is the only faction that lacks a Ruler.
The Assassin. Unique among the Factions not only for their location, but the origin from which all of the Servants spring; every last Sable Servant is counted among the Hassan-i-Sabbah, and their domain is the Old Man’s Mountain itself. While the Sable Faction is physically weaker than the other Factions by orders of magnitude, what they lack in ability they more than make up for in subterfuge. The Masters, of course, are all morally malleable in one way or another--criminals from all corners of time.
The Rider. Possessed of preternatural skill with their steeds, the Argent Servants are characterized by their extreme mobility--whether by land, by air, or by sea. Residing in the vast Silverwater Straits, the home of the Argent Faction is ever-moving, and constantly amidships. The Argent Masters consist of conquerors and war heroes, and their Servants are much the same--beings that birth empires. The most mobile--and perhaps most aggressive--of the Factions.
The Caster. Housed in the Prolix Realm of Cambridge, what Casters lack in combat potential they more than make up for in their potential as magi. Schemers, witches, warlocks--all masters of esoteric and strange Magecrafts. All of the Violet Servants ply some form of Magecraft that further enhances their natural Class capacities, and each and every one of them are blessed with the gift of Territory Creation--as a result, Cambridge is the most expansive and enigmatic of all of the Faction Lands. All of the Violet Masters, moreover, are magi of some renown--and while the playing field was leveled by Mystery’s proximity to the Root, their intermingling beliefs in specific Mysteries have placed their potential in a league of their own. The Violet Faction, in that sense, is a Faction where the Masters and Servants have the smallest gap in power.
Magecraft (or Thaumaturgy), in short, is the method by which a supernatural phenomenon is reenacted using a Mystery as the source of its power. In the past, it would require a modicum of energy from the Root--which, in the case of the planet Mystery, is so close and easily accessible that the ancient fears of too many magi drawing on magical power is essentially meaningless. In the past, widespread belief in a Mystery was required in order to properly evoke a Thaumaturgy in its vein, but now that the number of humans in the world are reduced to 42, it merely takes personal belief to give rise to a Thaumaturgy. In even shorter terms, Magecraft is now a system by which energy from the Root is allowed to flow through the body in order to enact a magical effect fashioned by the user; while Thaumaturgy is now much easier to achieve, the user must be certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are capable of the Magecraft that they are trying to invoke. As a result, magi are generally limited to 1 or 2 schools of Thaumaturgy. However, in this limitation, you are granted a great deal of freedom so long as you do not violate the law of Equivalency. An Elemental Affinity does not count towards this total, though the possession of multiple Affinities does.
Modern Magecraft no longer functions in the manner that it did when the worlds were stable. It has become an altogether more streamlined thing, as the laws of the world change to suit the Mystery that pervades its every inch of being. Gone are the days of rigorous and constant magical research; there exists only Mystery, and it is in perfect balance with the beliefs of the Masters that live upon it. As a result, the old schools of Thaumaturgy are now a great deal more conceptual in nature, and now simpler, greater Magecraft can be achieved. There is one great rule of Thaumaturgy, given these circumstances: it must follow the law of Equivalency, in that something must be given--somatically, vocatively, materially--in order to initiate an effect. The world will not simply change of your own will.
It is important to note the distinction between Magecraft and Magic. True Magic--of which exists Five--is a beast all on its own. First, Magic is passed by way of heirship, rather than simply being practiced by any and everyone; it only ever has a single practitioner at any given time. It is said that the beginning First changed everything, the following Second acknowledged many, the resulting Third showed the future, the linking Fourth concealed itself, and the final Fifth had already lost its meaning. Someone once said, "Had it only ended at the Third." Magic is the immutable existence of life beyond the natural order, and is in and of itself a thing not practiced by any of the Masters, nor their Servants. While the Magecraft of Servants from the Age of Gods is laudable and nearly on the level of Magic, it is a different thing entirely for it to truly be Magic. For something to be truly Magic, it must be impossible to replicate by any other given being in the time period, even given infinite time and resources. As a result, Magecraft and, more specifically, Mysterious Magecraft can be defined in retrograde as “anything that could be replicated given infinite time and resources, hastened through the use of the Root.”
Often, Magecraft is divided into what the practitioner believes makes up the building blocks of the universe. For instance, in terms of the Westernized Thaumaturgy (and its Holy Sacraments), the major elements are wind, water, fire, earth, and void. For the East, however, it is wind, water, fire, wood, and metal. Furthermore, these are usually derived into applications of positive and negative nature--the difference between healing hands and a curse. These are not the only elements, either--so long as it embodies a concept, it is usually within reason. On the subject of concepts, most Magecraft is the actualization of a concept--like temporal perception, gravitational force, internal enhancement--through the usage of these elemental building blocks. It is moreover important to note that certain magi from certain timelines may ply an entirely different craft, often using Mystic Codes--physical objects that enhance magical capabilities--to supplement a magic they never had.
A Master is someone who has pacted with a Servant. This pact is done by way of a Summoning Rite, which every Master performed shortly after their arrival in Mystery. A Master need not be a magus, but most Masters are magi. Within the confines of Mystery, Masters are capable of originating from any time during the Age of Man--that is to say, after the Age of Gods (Which took place before 0 AD). For example, Abraham would not be able to be a Master, but Jesus might. That being said, any being who is already a Heroic Spirit and recognized as having a seat upon the Throne of Heroes is precluded from being a Master. (Jesus is counted among them, and only serves as a recognizable example in this instance.)
Every Master is presented with 3 Command Seals. Command Seals are three-part insignias etched onto the body--often the hand or arm--of the Master, that represent three inviolable commands that their Servant must follow. These are imbued with a great deal of power from the Root, and serve, moreover, to allow a Servant to break their own restrictions and perform acts that would be infeasible without the onus of a Command Seal. When the final Command Seal is used, the Master is deemed no longer a part of the Heavenly Grail War. In this case, without any further anchor, they will simply cease to exist. Servants, however, are not necessarily doomed to the same fate, because of the unique nature and circumstance of Mystery.
The nature of Mystery allows for a great deal of variety in the Masters that dwell within its boundaries. First, it should be noted that Masters are capable of carrying their own rare and powerful artifacts, just like a Servant--except their artifacts are usually quite a bit weaker, and almost definitely fewer in number. Masters can come from any cut of cloth and almost any point in time during the Age of Man, and vary wildly in origin and skillset. Oftentimes, they are some degree of magi, though that is not a prerequisite for Mastership. However, every Master, in order to anchor themselves in the world of Mystery, has summoned a Servant--immediately upon entry into the world. Second, it’s important to note the existence of Mystic Codes. A Mystic Code is something like a magical artifact; it supplements magecraft with its own power, and is often used as a catalyst for greater invocations. The Azoth Sword stands as the most obvious example of a Mystic Code, as it is used by most folk within the Mages’ Association. Its major use is as a wand--a conduit to form magical circles or bring to form physical divine Mysteries--that is, to cast spells. Often, a Mystic Code has its own lore and story behind it, and is usually some sort of heirloom or other object with an air of Mystery due to age and magical origin. They come in two varieties--Amplifiers and Specialized Mystic Codes. The former is used to enhance thaumaturgical spells, whereas the latter has a specific functional use that is wholly unique to the item. Most object Noble Phantasms are of this variety. Generally speaking, it is reasonable for your Master to have one or two Mystic Codes of variable strength--anything more than that is something that will have to come with more explanation than merely having a magical background.
Here’s an example of a Mystic Code’s background: the Distillate Chalice. This withered old thing--a decrepit object, hardly capable of holding liquid within its container. Yet, by the grace of its runic inlay, it acts as a Bounded Field that separates the liquid within from the world without. As a matter of fact, it can only contain liquid--as such, any solid forms of any size, even bacteria, will be immediately expunged from its form. This Bounded Field can be expanded by the assistance of a magus, turning it into a cylinder of water that excludes all solid matter from it--essentially the perfect parrying tool. It was found in an ancient monastery by the sea, surrounded by desiccated, toothless corpses--it’s surmised that their teeth ripped themselves from their skull in attempting to partake of the water within.
Because of the nature of Mystery, Masters do not need to come from any of the timelines within the Fate/ universe. As such, please do not create a Master with relations to any of the major characters within the Fate/ franchises--though it is perfectly fine if they come from a timeline where events such as the Great Grail War took place, or even timelines where entirely different Grail Wars occurred--or none at all!
A Servant is a being who has achieved some form of greatness or renown within their life, and has found their place on the Throne of Heroes as a result. They are separated into 7 major Classes--6 of which are a part of each of the aforementioned Factions, accompanied by a Ruler who acts as a greatly enhanced version of the final major Class. These Classes are subdivided into the Three Knight Classes and the Four Cavalry Classes.
Sabers are characterized by their extreme prowess on the battlefield and immense power. Their Class Skill is Antimagic, rendering most Magecraft almost totally harmless--they stand as exemplars of one-on-one combat, and as such have great advantage over those who would use Thaumaturgy rather than combat skills. Usually quite powerful in each of the major attributes. They are, however, required to use a sword--placing them at a disadvantage as far as clever combat goes. By far, the most straightforward Class.
Second only to Sabers in terms of natural power, Lancers are similarly efficient combatants, with a minor twist. First and foremost, Lancers are exceedingly agile, moreso than their Saber counterparts. Secondly, they have a far greater berth of abilities and Skills, and often have weapons with secret, deleterious effects like the Gae Bolg, or Gae Dearg. Also blessed with Antimagic as a Class Skill, along with a degree of Independence--allowing, as a base, for all Lancers to function for a full day without the energy from their Master. They must, however, use some sort of polearm--making them similarly dedicated to close combat, like the Saber.
The final Knight Class, Archers are distinguished by their usage of long ranged weaponry. While they are weaker than Lancers or Sabers, they are blessed with a startlingly high Independence Skill--allowing Archers to go completely without their Masters for days at a time. Moreover, their Noble Phantasms often totally outstrip all others. They are capable of using long ranged weapons, though it need not always be the case--most of the time, though, they are artillery specialists that rain hell from extremely long distances.
The first and most fitting Cavalry Class, Riders are the conquerors, the warmasters, the trailblazers. Extremely mobile and characterized by their Riding Skill, Riders are capable of synergizing with their mounts in ways that give them immense advantages in the field. Other than having said mount, Riders also often have exceedingly strong Noble Phantasms, and, moreover, no weapons to which they must adhere like the Knight Classes.
Berserkers are the most phenomenally powerful Class. Exchanging their sanity for the Mad Enhancement Class Skill, Berserkers are masters of slaughter--while their Noble Phantasms are often passive in nature, it is usually in order to grant them immensely greater power on the battlefield, or even stave off death. Masters almost always end up using at least one Command Seal when in possession of a Berserker Servant.
Assassins are one of, if not the most esoteric Class. Usually consisting of the Hassan-i-Sabbah, the first assassins, this Class is characterized by its opportunistic nature. Bearing low combat skills because of their lack of illustrious legends, Assassins prefer to target Masters over other Servants, using underhanded tactics in order to achieve the upper hand. A very technical Class, blessed with Presence Concealment--a common tool among assassins.
Casters--the plotters, the tacticians, the schemers. The final of the Cavalry Classes, they are the most magically inclined class by a great measure, and in being so, they are also the weakest physically. Casters are often from the Age of Gods, but more specifically, Casters are fashioned from the tales and legends of great magi and amazing minds that astounded the world with their magic and intellect. Given Terrain Creation as a Class Skill, Casters often fashion for themselves a domain--a Workshop of sorts where they can create their wonders and bring woe upon their enemies. The Class for the clever and mischievous.
There are few as memorable and immensely gifted as the Rulers. Rulers were, in the context of normal Holy Grail Wars, arbiters of the Grail that would protect the sanctity of its trial at all costs. In this instance, a Ruler is an arbiter of the enigmatic Heavenly Grail, and as a result is not alone--seven conceptions of the Heavenly Grail exist, and with it seven Rulers, all vying for the completion of the War. Within the confines of the Heavenly Grail War, Rulers stand in as the greatest summon of a Faction--the Scarlet Lancer, Sable Assassin, Argent Rider, Azure Saber, Violet Caster, and Gilt Archer are all counted as Rulers. Rulers are granted two Command Seals for all of the Servants within their given Faction, and all of them possess a greatly weakened version of True Name Discernment--while they are capable of discerning the names of their constituents, and Classes of other Servants, they cannot learn the names of other Servants. Generally speaking, Rulers have Skills that are often in a class all their own--and while these Skills aren’t usually offensive in nature, they are nonetheless to be greatly feared.
Servants who never should have existed. Each Avenger is distinct among its peers, and Class Skills are hardly indicative of what an Avenger is capable of. In this regard, the Clay Berserker is an Avenger. Little is known about its characteristics beyond its existence. Its status as a Ruler, moreover, is unknown; it may or may not have Command Seals.
In the Fate/ franchise, there is an attempt to categorize beings by their Parameters, which are graded on an E-A scale. Much of this scale is redundant and asinine, and will not be used. In exchange, parameters will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and it will be generally assumed--in most cases--that Servants are around the same power level within their same Class. In lieu of Parameters, we will be using a Strengths, Weaknesses, and Fatal Flaws system, coupled with a simplified Attribute system. Attributes are a greatly pared down version of the Fate/ Parameter system--of which your character will have 3 “positive” and 2 “negative” Attributes. These Attributes are Physique, Skill, Agility, Mana, and Luck. Having a “positive” Attribute means that they will, of course, supersede another Servant’s “negative” Attribute during relevant combat encounters. Two Servants who clash with Attributes that align--two “positive” or two “negative”--will cancel each other out, and will need to take a different approach. Moreover, Attributes can be buffed and debuffed into Neutral, Double Positive, or Double Negative states, the effects of which are self-explanatory.
Strengths are--obviously--the vital abilities that substantiate a Servant. Combat skills, diplomatic abilities, Magecraft, physical prowess, dexterity, speed--all of these are examples of Strengths that Servants can possess. Knowledges, similarly, are considered Strengths. The peerless combat of Arturia Pendragon, for instance, is a Strength, as is the Magecraft of Semiramis. These Strengths are useful for doing unorthodox moves or performing physical and magical feats beyond what the Attribute system can express. Weaknesses are places where Servants falter, capacities that can be exploited to gain the upper hand against a specific Servant. Just as Strengths are meaningful, so too must be Weaknesses. These are vulnerabilities that must be accounted for, and should be related to their defeats and failures in life. For every two Strengths, there should be at least one Weakness. Optimally, I’d like a 3:2 ratio! Fatal Flaws are the equal and opposite facet to the Noble Phantasm. All heroes, eventually, come undone by the hands of time, fate, or another. Fatal Flaws are deep weaknesses that severely hinder--or even outright kill--a Servant. Every Servant has at least one, usually related to the quality of their being or the cause of their death. Every Servant must have one Fatal Flaw. The Fatal Flaw is easier to suss out once they have activated a Noble Phantasm, or their True Name has been otherwise revealed.
Skills are, in short, preternaturally attuned abilities that all Servants carry in one way or another. This can be anything from the Mind’s Eye--the ability to perceive the unseen and avoid dangers--to Terrain Creation, the ability to manifest and fashion zones of one’s personal domain. These are usually preternatural in nature, and it is perfectly fine to use ones from the Fate/ wiki article on the subject. Noble Phantasms are immensely powerful abilities that hearken back to the story of the Heroic Spirit--as a result, they are also the method by which True Names can often be discerned. Often, Servants have three Noble Phantasms, each one stronger than the last. For the sake of simplicity, I have divided the many nomenclatures of Noble Phantasms into five categories: Anti-Being, Anti-Status, Treasure, Thaumaturgical, and Esoteric Phantasms.
I.Anti-Being Noble Phantasms are Noble Phantasms that target people specifically--they are the most direct kind of power, and are intended to kill, maim, or debilitate other Servants or Masters--or even bystanders, depending on its function. These also include Phantasms that target specific aspects of a being, such as the mind or the soul. II.Anti-Status Noble Phantasms target qualities of being--that is to say, Divine beings or objects, or Draconic beings or objects, or so on. These Noble Phantasms can also target other Noble Phantasms that fulfill its prerequisites. III.Treasure Noble Phantasms are simply that--immensely valuable objects that often carry passive effects--or even activated effects--that set them apart from normal objects. These can be weapons, jewelry, even prosthetics--should the Servant have a story revolving around the loss of a limb. Simply holding one of these Phantasms can sometimes be enough to trigger True Name Discernment in a Ruler, but that is only for particularly famous weapons. Otherwise, they must be activated first. Treasure Phantasms can activate in the capacity in any one of the other four archetypes. IV.Magecraft Noble Phantasms are directly related to Thaumaturgy, amplified manyfold by being a crystallized Mystery. These can consist of a variety of different effects--immensely powerful curses, the fashioning of overwhelmingly large and powerful domains, or even creating Reality Marbles. V.Esoteric Phantasms are the strange and powerful Phantasms that are hard to fit into any other category. Conceptual Phantasms, which embody a concept, such as the concept of undeath, or the concept of impalement, fall under Esoteric Phantasms. Transformative Phantasms, moreover, also fall under the umbrella of Esoteric Phantasms.
A good example of a Noble Phantasm: The Impenetrable Necropolis. A domain created by the Caster Khafre, it is the replication of his final resting place--one of the Great Pyramids of Giza. From it, Khafre can manifest great and ancient Magecraft, and it serves to hold dominion over his own death. Within the Crypt, he is simultaneously a mortal being and an aspect of pharohood, and as such cannot be killed by regular means. Instead, one must either strip him of his divinity or strike him down with an anti-divine weapon. Within the tomb, he can summon jackals, cranes, and other auspicious beings of Egyptian myth to bring woe upon his foes, and bring the many statues and carvings to life. This, moreover, includes the Sphinx.
Currently, the Scarlet Faction is open for characters to create, save for the Scarlet Ruler. I endeavor to have control over three of the total Rulers, and leave the rest for single players to take over. Rulership is something like a co-GM, in that you act as the leader of one of the other Factions, and I will approach you if I want to offer you a spot as a Ruler!
~The Rules~
1. No Gatekeeping! The Fate/ series is big. It has a lot of people who have invested themselves in varying amounts to the fandom and their understanding of Fate/. What I don’t want to see is people snubbing others because they don’t know some obscure fact about the Nasuverse! 2. There are no dumb questions. I tried my very best to make this setting as approachable as possible, but even then there are things I missed or failed to properly explain! Please ask questions if you have them--the Discord is a great place to get to know others and ask me anything you’d like to know. 3. Your party is your friend. I really can’t stress this enough. Please join the Discord and please get involved with other players! We can’t make this story happen without you. Everyone’s equally valuable--I’m just the GM that put this story together! It’s nothing without people to get involved in it. 4. “Have fun” is not a rule! If you’re not having fun, or not feeling involved, you gotta talk to people! I am absolutely dedicated to helping people feel like they’re having a good time, but I’m not perfect and I’ll do everything in my power to accommodate you. 5. Do what you love. Don’t make a character that you think I’ll like--make a character that’s uniquely you and makes you happy and excited to write. This isn’t a talent show or a competition--I want to give every player a fair shake and a chance to do the crazy stuff they feel like they can’t do in other roleplays. That being said… 6. Don’t be a creeper! I know, Fate/ is a historical waifu simulator, but I really don’t want people to go around buying girlfriends like it’s 2000s Runescape. This is, at its core, a real deal venture and creeping other people out is a big no-no! Please make an effort to make your character feel larger than life, rather than making them feel like a pinup. 7. Don’t think “power.” Think “interesting.” While Fate/ is very, very easy to turn into a high-power excursion into just how easily the universe can be broken, I’d really like it if people would exercise restraint in favor of characters being balanced and interesting! I’m much more interested in weird powers than I am outrageous ones. Taking rule 5 into account, this means that while I want you to express yourself, remember that the power level needs to be within reason, and any extravagant powers need to have reasonable drawbacks! If you ever have a question about power levels, I handle things on a case-by-case basis--we’ll talk it out and see how everyone else feels, and ultimately I’ll come to a decision! The nature of Servants makes their power levels a little nebulous and flexible, so it kind of has to go by feel rather than objectivity.
~The Sheets~
Name: [Not as important as a True Name, but it’s not likely that your parents named you “Master!”] Servant: [The Servant that you’ve pacted with. This will be filled in once you’ve paired up with someone, so don’t fill it in before you’re approved!] Age: Gender: Appearance: [Images are fine, but I’d like a description too, if you can manage it!] Height: Weight: Personality: [Who are they? People are more than a list of traits. Be complex!] Strengths: [What are they good at? I’d like this to be the same ratio as Servant Strengths and Weaknesses.] Weaknesses: [What are they horrible at?] Background: [Please include when your Master came from, too!] Abilities: [What can they do that isn’t magic? Martial prowess, technical skills, all of that goes down here.] Thaumaturgies: [Remember: up to two major Magecrafts without talking it over with me first! Moreover, by the nature of Mystery, this number can increase as time goes on.] Elemental Affinities: [Everyone has one!] Command Seals: [You get 3. I’d like this to be a running counter along with a description of the seal’s location and its general appearance--image or described!] Personal Effects: [Swiggity swag, what’s in your bag?] Mystic Codes: [Remember, you get 2 max unless you can justify it in the background! Feel free to make them weird.]
Class: [In this case, please prefix the name with “Scarlet.”] True Name: [The actual name of your character! You can DM me if you want to keep this secret, but I--as the Scarlet Ruler--do have to know.] Gender: Appearance: [Images are fine, but I’d love to see some description too!] Height: Weight: Personality: [Who are they, as a person?] Strengths: [Remember: 3:2 ratio.] Weaknesses: [Where do they falter?] Fatal Flaw: [All beings come undone. How does this effect you, as a Servant?] Origin: [This is the biggie--remember that Fate/ allows for some historical revisionism. Feel free to tell the “whole story” if it adds drama. Also, remember that there exists multiple timelines--Heroic Spirits can make different decisions in life that lead them down very different paths from the stories we know.] Attributes: [Remember! 3 plus, 2 minus.] Physique: [+/-] Skill: [+/-] Agility: [+/-] Mana: [+/-] Luck: [+/-] Skills: [Please keep it to six or less! Also, remember that Skills exist to greater and lesser degrees. While you don’t have to use the grading system, I would like it if you’d put a plus or a minus next to the name to signify whether it’s a “strong” or a “weak” Skill, just like attributes.] Noble Phantasms: [Three or less! Make ‘em fun.] Belongings: [If only everything a Servant had on hand was a magical tool of mass destruction! What elements of home do you carry?]
Fantastic~ Happy to see I've got so many comers! I think I wanna wait for at least one more person--get half of the total twelve--and then I'll start up the OOC!
(Also, to anyone who's reading this--feel free to drop by the Discord and get a feel for everyone if you're still on the fence about joining! Everyone's tossing around concepts at the moment--you're still very likely to fit into whatever niche you want!)
I don't mind terribly if you do, @KawaiiKyouko, as long as you're invested in playing them! I'm happy if you're playing something you feel strongly about and want to try something new or interesting with.
Also, to everyone else, we just got a whole bunch of you, so I'm gonna go ahead and start up the OOC tomorrow after doing a little bit of wrap-up!
