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Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by Lugubrious
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There are almost eight billion people on this planet, but though one sky hangs over them all, the world each person lives in is not the same. Each person’s world is small, but infinitely complex. It is built up by one’s nature, upbringing, principles, beliefs, and by those who give it joy and meaning. On the other hand, so too is it built by one’s needs, fears, responsibilities, scars, mistakes, and by those who, through malice or inaction, work to tear it down. Every action sends tremors through countless worlds, some so strong that it is all many can do to merely survive. How then could anyone, alone in their own small world, understand someone else’s? See their value? Know their true face? And who would be willing to fight to keep your one world alive, except you?

But you are not alone. Never have been. Fear and pain may weigh you down, and you may suffer under the unfairness of life, but despite everything you’re still human. Even at rock bottom you can still climb back up. Within you is the power to change--to fight, maybe not for the world, but for your one world.

Things cannot continue as they are. If you understand what needs to be done, then call my name.




Foreward


My goal is to make not just a Persona RP, but an excellent one, rallying together earnest writers to craft something special. The story’s central themes are suppression (suffering, confinement, the inability to act) versus liberation, the endowment of the freedom to enact one’s will and pursue one’s world.

To that end, everyone will play as characters whose are suffering to some degree, people whose lives are no longer their own. Not good or bad people, just people, trying (and maybe failing) to make the best of things. But things aren’t good. This could be due to poverty, illness, bad relationships, punishment, victimization, overworking, guilt, unbearable responsibility, you name it. Society has driven you into the prison of your mind, and the boiling point is not too far awy.

But there is hope. On a fateful day, the skyfall incident occurs. A handful of people find themselves thrust into the surreal, distorted world of the collective consciousness: the Metaverse. There they must confront the Shadows that are their suppressed inner selves, or perish. Those who are able to accept themselves and realize that things must change will gain a Persona--a mask with which they can face hardship and accomplish great things.

From there begins the campaign. These Soldiers of Fortune, freed from their shackles and armed with the power to change things, can then fight through the trenches of the human psyche to topple the depotism of the Warlords and restore the freedom of the masses.

This RP will take place in Barclay, Texas, in the United States. It is a sprawling metropolis near the Gulf of Mexico, a regional melting pot filled with just about everything humanity has to offer. The PCs must be 18 minimum, and will coalesce at the Barclay Waterfront University, although they can be employees or people there by chance. It is November 29th, and Thanksgiving Break just ended.

The Other Self


I am thou...Thou art I


Personas are spiritual manifestations of one’s personality, awakened by one’s resolution in the face of hardship. They symbolize the resolve to overcome challenges and fight for one's world. Awakenings can take two forms depending on the primary source of your character's conflict: internal or external. An internal conflict will result in an awakening by Shadow, and an external conflict will result in an awakening by Warlord. Either way, the experience will result in your character gaining a Persona





The collective hearts of humanity, known also as the sea of souls, houses the whole of civilization’s archetypal stories. Personas take the form of people, monsters, and in general beings from mythology, folklore, tradition, legend, and famous literary works. For this RP, I have a couple notes:
  • The chosen Persona should have an obvious relation to the story of your character
  • Your Persona will also have one of the Major Arcana of the tarot deck
  • If you choose a literary character, it should be one of both age and cultural significance
  • Your character’s Persona can’t start out as a god/goddess
  • Persona evolution is an option later on down the line
  • We won’t be going into stats, but your Persona will get attributes: a Specialty, an Element (against which it’ll also have a resistance), and a Weakness to allocate as you please that will affect performance
  • Since Personas are a mask to face hardship, Persona users will change outfit while in the Metaverse after awakening


Personas are pretty necessary for fighting in the Metaverse. Discarded weapons litter the place, but they alone won't be enough for an ordinary human. Personas are typically incorporeal but can attack physically and in some cases support the weight of the user, but they can't all, say, just pick you up and float into the sky to fly you around. Using them tires you out. Awakening to one will exhaust you soon after the awakening. In this setting, your Persona can speak with you to give information, support, or just companionship.

All Personas can attack with physical or gun skills proved they have the weapons to do so, although ones with a melee or ranged specialty will enjoy stronger and more special attack skills. Essentially, your choice of both Specialty and Element affect what skills and magic your Persona both starts with and can gain. Skills hurt the user when performed, and spells cost mana; if your Persona is more physical or magical, you'll have more health or magic to work with. With most spell progression, you'll learn a spell followed by its wide-area version before the next strongest spell



To Whom it May Concern


So, the elephant in the room. Most Persona RPs die before anything Persona actually happens, maybe because like some of the games, they take a bit to get going. However, I’m confident that should we get enough people who actually want to write to get off the ground, that won’t happen. If people wanted to write by themselves they wouldn’t need an RP to do it; the point of a GM is to take the players on an adventure. Here’s the plan.



For the character sheet, something I think would be fun would be to keep our characters’ Personas hidden until they awaken IC. So, you’ll complete the entire sheet and PM the final version to me for approval, but when you post it in the Characters tab you’ll leave out the Metaverse section until your awakening, at which point you can edit it back in. Plan around which awakening you want as well, based on whether your character’s core conflict is more internal or external. Stuff is first come first served and will on be 'yours' when your character is accepted

Of course, you’re welcome to put your WIPs in the OOC and discuss Personas, attributes, and Arcana.



If your character route is Rebellion, you'll need a Warlord too. You can either work with me to have your backstory play into one of mine, or make your own.


Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Mistress Dizzy
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This looks awesome. Count me in if there's space. I skimmed the interest check and I'm not sure if you're full or not.
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Potemking
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@Mistress Dizzy

We're most definitely looking for more folks. Feel free to get character craftin'!
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Lugubrious
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This looks awesome. Count me in if there's space. I skimmed the interest check and I'm not sure if you're full or not.


I'm so glad you think so! And yep, we've got plenty of space. Happy to have you along for the ride.
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Mistress Dizzy
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LOL, looks like Chariot was already snapped up, which suited my character perfectly. Is Strength already taken?
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@Mistress Dizzy

From the Int Check, current Arcana in use are Star, Hermit, and Chariot.

Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by SilverPaw
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I intend to go for Death, since I feel that one suits my character the best.
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Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by Mistress Dizzy
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Cool, I'll take Strength then. Here's what I've got so far.



@lugubrious Please let me know what I should expand on or adjust. I will PM you the details of the Persona when I have them worked out.
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Lugubrious
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@Mistress Dizzy What you currently have is functional, but in my eyes the Personality section could be a little broader to give more of an impression of what really makes Jin, Jin. A deeper glimpse into the character's humanity.

Right now my impression is just that Jin is smart but antagonistic. Does sharp-tongued mean an inclination to insult people maliciously, or just sarcastic jokes? Is Jin defensive and vindictive or does Jin actively like knocking other people down a peg with wits and insults? Does that imply resentment for people who have it better than Jin, or just a dislike of idiots/egoists/loudmouths? You could also include things like desires, likes, dislikes. Is continuing (AKA, mere survival) all Jin wants out of life? Is spite the only motivator? Is there maybe more to the character than this outwardly nasty side?
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Mistress Dizzy
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@Lugubrious

That helped me a lot, thank you. PM incoming with Persona details to look over.
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Yankee
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I'm thinking Empress for an arcana for my character concept. I will definitely be looking for some assistance on the metaverse side of things, so once the CS is in a respectable state I'll PM you Lu.
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Lugubrious
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I'm thinking Empress for an arcana for my character concept. I will definitely be looking for some assistance on the metaverse side of things, so once the CS is in a respectable state I'll PM you Lu.


Sounds like a plan!

Incidentally, I'm thinking of reserving an Arcana for a story function. Priestess maybe.
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by MULTI_MEDIA_MAN
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IIIITTT LIIIIVVEEEESSSS
Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by Lugubrious
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The RP's looking good at five out of ten roster spots taken! This limit isn't absolutely final but it's what we're going with for now.

As a heads-up for anyone still looking to make an application, I've got a few notes based on the insight I have from seeing the Metaverse sections of all the approved sheets.
  • As it stands we have a great spread of Specialties, so you don't need to worry about overpopulation of any role
  • We're comparatively light on female characters at the moment, which I don't have a personal issue with but I know people like to fill vacancies
  • A more notable vacancy is that we're also light on characters with external conflicts, whose awakening would result from an encounter with a Warlord rather than their own shadow. While choosing this isn't a disadvantage at the RP's start, it does provide an investment for the future and would allow you to contribute your own Warlord to encounter down the line
  • I would say that we've got enough characters at the moment with the Curse element
  • If you're looking for a unique melee weapons, I'll let slip that we have mostly variants of swords and bludgeons so far


In addition to the Roster section in the characters tab I plan to add a section for notable NPCs, ones who will be actively present in the story and are important for the PCs. If you all want you can put out a quick write-up for your own NPCs and I can add them to the list.

An open question: would people be interested in a Discord server for quick and easy communication once the RP officially begins?
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Potemking
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@Lugubrious

I'd be up for having a server, though I'm fine either way.

Overall things are looking pretty good! I'm excited to see what else we get cbaracter-wise
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by SilverPaw
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I'm also fine either way with the Discord.
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Lugubrious
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If anyone was wondering about the start date for this RP, I plan for it to be no later than this coming weekend. Enough time to fill out the roster a little more (hopefully) but not so much that those who've already applied could get bored. Of course, it's tough to wait; I'm excited to kick things off!
Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by alexfangtalon
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This seems very intriguing.
Hidden 3 yrs ago 3 yrs ago Post by Yankee
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Sorry for the delay, here is my character concept! If there's any feedback please feel free to give it, I think a lot of the times I struggle with getting my ideas into text in a coherent way. As for the metaverse sections, I don't think a Shadow is necessary (but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). For the Persona itself, I have some ideas but I'd love some guidance or any suggestions. I read that in the games "The Empress" is usually ice element. That's cool (heh) with me, if it doesn't overlap too much with others. For specialty, I was thinking Protection or Ranged...? Definitely leaning towards Protection. Not sure what others have got going on. Does Weakness need to correspond to chosen element, like for example if I choose Ice element would Fire be an inherent weakness, or can it be anything?
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Hidden 3 yrs ago Post by Lugubrious
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This seems very intriguing.


I'm glad you think so! If you're looking to apply, I'll be happy to have you.

@Yankee, no worries at all! The first thing that jumped out to me is that your image is broken, but if you remove everything after the .png in the link, it'll be good. As for the character...whoa. A strong premise to say the least. It's all too easy to imagine such tragic circumstances unfolding in such a manner, and that makes for an impactful story. Good work!

To answer your questions...
  • The Shadow section is not necessary if you're planning for your character's primary conflict to be external. That doesn't mean there's no internal conflict, but the principle source of your character's foes would be another person or system
  • For Empress, I don't actually know about there being a connection to ice element myself, since the only Empress character I recall off the top of me head has the Psychokinesis element. I can tell you right now we don't have anyone specializing in ice though, so it's available
  • For Specialty, right now we have a good spread, so you're free to choose whatever you're like
  • Weakness doesn't need to be hard-coded. You could have an ice Persona weak to wind, or a bless Persona weak to elec. Your call
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