Note to fans of Re:Zero: Although taking place in the same world, and making use of many of the same lore and world building aspects as the original work, this Roleplay is by and large an Alternative Universe game. Outside of the world and concepts within it, there will be very little in the plot connecting back to the canon story of Re:Zero. I hope this doesn't cause you to reconsider your potential interest.
Note to Anime Only viewers: for the reasons stated above, there should be practically no fear of being spoiled about future events of the story via the plot of this Roleplay. Though I cannot speak to conversations held by players, and certain minor spoilers based in world and magic elements, rest assured knowing that the story this Roleplay follows is significantly different to the events of the canon work.
For the majority, the Roleplay will follow the setup of the original story: individuals are summoned from Earth to the world of Re:Zero, for seemingly no purpose, with nothing but what they had with them at the time of summoning, and no unique abilities except the power to return to a point in time before their inevitable and untimely death. The story will follow the struggle, pains, and triumphs, of those unfortunate individuals, as they attempt to make a place for themselves in the world, against odds that invariably wish to seek their destruction.
As stated, though the concepts and world building elements of Re:Zero remain in tact for this story, the plot, and means by which that plot unfolds, is and will be drastically different to the story you are familiar with. Very few important characters from the canon work remain, and very little of the past remains. Perhaps the only true returning plot points are the Royal Selection, and the legend of Satella, the Great Calamity, and her eventual sealing at the hands of the Sage, Reid, and Volcanica.
Much like Subaru himself, the characters of this Roleplay possess a single unique ability - Return By Death. Although, it features a few changes.
Dying for your characters is not permanent. In fact, death as a fact of life no longer applies. Of course, if you are stabbed in the heart, or burnt alive, or drowned, or suffer any of the innumerable methods by which death can occur, you will still experience it as "death"; the pain, the fear, the chill, the darkness. But in the moment of your "death", when consciousness has faded completely, and the only thing remaining is the void, you will live again, unharmed, and possibly, in a better position than you were before.
Unlike the Return By Death of Re:Zero proper, the moment a character dies, they will instead be returned to the exact moment before their death, abruptly unharmed by whatever attack or effect snuffed from them their light. Other people with Return By Death will see you die, and suddenly return to life again as though the sword swung to decapitate you missed by mere inches. And the ones without, who witness the death and immediate revival, remain none the wiser, assuming in almost every case that somehow, you avoided the reaper's call.
Should a certain number of the Return By Death group be killed within a single checkpoint, time will loop. Every member of the RBD group, no matter if they died during the previous loop or not, will be returned to the moment the last checkpoint was saved, and time will play out exactly as it had without their interference. From a GMs perspective, I feel this fits a Re:Zero Roleplay better than a black and white death to reset system, since that can leave certain players left out of certain events, and therefore potentially the Roleplay proper. It also gives you the players a great deal more time and chances to actually figure out what is going on in any individual moment, providing potentially more information and helping along with some of the more difficult mysteries, so that the Roleplay doesn't begin to stagnate on reset after reset. It is also worth knowing that it does not have to be individual deaths that reset the arc. A single person could be responsible for every death on that counter, and cause a reset completely on their own.
If a member of the Return By Death group attempts to speak to somebody from the new world about their ability, the fact that they can loop time, or the fact that they have been summoned from a different world, they will be exposed to some fairly unpleasant feelings and penalties. They are free to discuss amongst themselves anything related to this, provided there's nobody unqualified within earshot, but everyone else is a no-go. The penalties will be shown upon a person crossing that bridge, but one consistent factor is that the quantity of Witch's Miasma, or Witch's Scent, will increase on their body. Some people can sense this, and may associate you with the Witch Cult, but it will also attract Demon Beasts, so beware.
In the style of Re:Zero, the Roleplay will be broken down into Arcs, which each Arc covering a significant event or portion of the story at large. Within these Arcs there will be checkpoints, places to which the characters will return to upon a loop reset. These isn't necessarily a single reset point per Arc, and it is not always set at the very beginning of each either.
During each Arc, you should expect there to be at least one loop. While it is technically possible to pass any given Arc in a single attempt with enough planning and dumb luck, it is very likely that that won't be the case. Understand that I will be as fair as possible in the massacre of your characters, and will not kill them unfairly, or without good reason. It's very likely that, for example, the first time a character encounters a certain attack, it will do significant damage, because they are unaware of how to properly avoid or counter it. In subsequent loops, or even the same one, characters will be quicker on the uptick, and will be able to better avoid death as a result of experience. This will likely take time, and as such heavily benefits from the multiple death reset system.
Keeping this in mind, understand that I won't be holding your hand through the Arcs. It is up to you and your characters to figure things out, and while I may give hints both OOC and IC if progress begins to dry up, I have no intention of solving any given problem for you. This also means that, if you so chose, you could allow any character you wanted to die. If an Arc was completed perfectly except for a single NPC being wounded or killed, it is entirely your prerogative to choose to continue, and leave that NPC unsaved, regardless of how important or beneficial they could be to the party. Just keep that in mind.
When an Arc is finished, or between certain blocks of Arcs when a major overarching series of events has been concluded, there will be moments of time when the characters are free to interact and do as they please, with both each other, and the NPCs around them. These blocks of time, to the player's discretion, can involve training, which will increase their likelihood of receiving a better power increase at scheduled strengthening points. This can include Divine Protections, Authorities, unique or additional spells, and simply improved skill at a specific task. It's up to you who and how you choose to learn, and in general, up to you how well you character does.
Q: Can I make somebody native to the world?
A: On a fairly fundamental level, I'm very likely to reject any native characters. This is a choice simply out of my own convenience, because if a person is going to play a native, then I will be compelled to have them be involved in past events, so as to give them a reason for actually being involved. If you are undeterred and wish to create one regardless, PM me about it with whatever ideas you have regarding their history, so I can make the call as to whether fitting them in can be done without causing issues elsewhere. 99% of applied natives will be denied, but try not to think of that fact as me finding fault with your character or application.
Q: Can I start with a Divine Protection?
A:Not in the slightest. All characters will be more or less bottom of the barrel in comparison to people of this world, and while there may be a chance, and a way, for characters to obtain Divine Protection down the line, it won't be available to everyone, it is most certainly be a decent ways into the story.
Q: Could I join this with no prior knowledge of Re:Zero?
A: Sure you can. All of the information you need to know before joining will more or less be spelled out in the OOC, and anything else can be asked and answered by either me or the players. And, as stated, there will be no major story spoilers within the plot itself, so you're more than free to join, and experience the canon story of Re:Zero alongside your participation in this Roleplay.
Q: How much of the story has actually been planned?
A: Currently, there is a plan for nine or ten Arcs depending on character decisions, including NPCs, the history of the world, and the chain of events and decisions that inevitably led to the appearance of the Return By Death group. That is, provided you don't gallivant off and leave all the important NPCs to be killed. In that scenario, there'll be like four Arcs at a maximum, so let's pray that doesn't happen.
Q: You didn't really talk about combat all that much. How will it work with Return By Death?
A: In general, I'll have the final say in what attacks and other actions succeed or fail during combat encounters. NPCs, both ally and enemy, will more or less be fixed in their chances at succeeding in any specific action. The RBD group, on the other hand, will perform better or worse depending on how many times they have experienced that specific action. If a spell is cast which could easily and quickly reduce a person to a bubbling grease, and the character it is being cast at has never seen or been on the receiving end of it, they are very unlikely to succeed at dodging it. On the other hand, a character who has been killed by, or witnessed, the spell, will be more likely to escape and survive. Think of it like advantage and modifiers in D&D, except there's no dice rolls because I'm just calling out random numbers.
When it comes to Return By Death, your character will die, and then be alive again. It'll be jarring - they will experience every scrap of pain up to the moment their vision goes dark, and in a split second, they will be stood again, alive and well, having, in the eyes of those around them, narrowly avoided something that should have stolen from them their life. Those people will be confused, especially the person or thing that killed you, as to how exactly you managed to survive. Some will believe you dodged, while others will believe it to have been something supernatural. The conflict between appearance and truth wont always be so easily parsed in the minds of onlookers, and some may attempt to pry into the uncanny knack for escaping the proverbial guillotine, but that's a bridge to be crossed after it's built.
When it comes to Return By Death, your character will die, and then be alive again. It'll be jarring - they will experience every scrap of pain up to the moment their vision goes dark, and in a split second, they will be stood again, alive and well, having, in the eyes of those around them, narrowly avoided something that should have stolen from them their life. Those people will be confused, especially the person or thing that killed you, as to how exactly you managed to survive. Some will believe you dodged, while others will believe it to have been something supernatural. The conflict between appearance and truth wont always be so easily parsed in the minds of onlookers, and some may attempt to pry into the uncanny knack for escaping the proverbial guillotine, but that's a bridge to be crossed after it's built.
Q: I'll be able to get a Divine Protection later, but what about an Authority?
A: There might be chances for Authorities to be gained down the line. However, remember that there's pretty much a hard limit of nine Authorities at any one time not including Witch Factors that can't be obtained by the characters for whatever reason, so not everyone will be able to have one. Just know that anyone without compatibility will receive other benefits, so as to keep the power level even across the party.
I hope so. A fair amount of planning has gone into this, and hopefully a fair number of people will be partaking, so any feedback, concerns, suggestions, or even just words of encouragement and excitement are well and truly appreciated.
