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.
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.
