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Isekai plots are probably aplenty on platforms like this, but here I am, freshly throwing my hat into the ring with one inspired by dark fantasy with a sliver of sci-fi mixed into the recipe.

The player characters will take on the roles of spirits from alternate worlds; villains, heroes, nobodies, whatever fits your character fantasy the best, that have reincarnated into a world on the brink of ruin. The memories they carry from their previous lives are broken into bits and pieces; lovers, mentors, lifelong companions, all have their faces clouded and names all but forgotten. One fervently remains is a burning desire that flickered on even as the embers of your life sputtered away in those final moments. That dying wish is what brought you to this world, and even though the characters may not remember the greater details of their previous lives, the skills and abilities they acquired from the past remain.

My intention is to leave the finer details of the world a mystery to the players and slowly reveal them as they interact with it. They won’t know the name of the forest in the distance or what threats lurk within it, maps found through the narrative would be more useful as they would actually give the players more information about where they are and asking NPCs for directions would be incentivized.

But the first step in any group-based storytelling venture is finding people who want to sit at the table.

Hm, I'm curious. Any plans for the power scaling? Asking cause imo, starting out OP or being able to easily level up etc. usually makes things boring.

Hm, I'm curious. Any plans for the power scaling? Asking cause imo, starting out OP or being able to easily level up etc. usually makes things boring.

Character progression is so important, so I agree. I’d probably have the PCs start off with the basics and slowly develop their abilities as they recall memories from their previous life.

interested! i think i know what character i'd use, too; gonna lurk 'til things are ready to kick off YuY

<Snipped quote by SilverPaw>

Character progression is so important, so I agree. I’d probably have the PCs start off with the basics and slowly develop their abilities as they recall memories from their previous life.

Glad to hear it. What with the alternate worlds, is this meant to allow fandom characters? Or is it just a hint that besides making a regular old human from regular old Earth we could make an elf hero king, a demon trickster etc. etc.. Speaking of, what races/species will you allow for the PCs?

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Glad to hear it. What with the alternate worlds, is this meant to allow fandom characters? Or is it just a hint that besides making a regular old human from regular old Earth we could make an elf hero king, a demon trickster etc. etc.. Speaking of, what races/species will you allow for the PCs?

I’d like to avoid pre-existing fandoms just to prevent bringing other power systems into the story. But as for: regular earth, elf king, demon trickster, etc. All of those are viable, the premise is that they’re from an AU that isn’t the one they’re isekai’d to, and while not remembering much about their past, bring some aspects of that world along with them.

All races and species will probably be on the table, but not looking human will have the people in the world they’re going to sus of them. Which could make for cool RP.

I am interested. But before anything, I have a few questions.

1. How basic will our starting ability be?
2. Will it be something like a sandbox game?

I've got my eye on this.

1. How basic will our starting ability be?

Say your character was someone akin to Aladdin or Robin Hood in their previous life:

The character sheet I’m workshopping would have you start off with Legendary Thief and right from the get-go you’d be good at sneaking around and pulling pockets. Progression would then branch out from that as your character slowly remembers more about themselves, like if they were a master archer— or swordsman.

2. Will it be something like a sandbox game?

A curated sandbox where story beats will nudge you in specific directions.

<Snipped quote by Mas Bagus>
Say your character was someone akin to Aladdin or Robin Hood in their previous life:

The character sheet I’m workshopping would have you start off with Legendary Thief and right from the get-go you’d be good at sneaking around and pulling pockets. Progression would then branch out from that as your character slowly remembers more about themselves, like if they were a master archer— or swordsman.

A sort of follow up question, but what in instances of characters who had no particular 'special' abilities? E.g. a 'nobody' might have some applicable skills (or perhaps even none), but remembering their past might not power them up compared to how it would to some legendary hero/villain/whoever. Are there gonna be other ways of learning skills/powering up for them?

<Snipped quote by Redacted>
A sort of follow up question, but what in instances of characters who had no particular 'special' abilities? E.g. a 'nobody' might have some applicable skills (or perhaps even none), but remembering their past might not power them up compared to how it would to some legendary hero/villain/whoever. Are there gonna be other ways of learning skills/powering up for them?

I would probably work with the player to find something that fits thematically for their nameless villager, because while they will be able to learn things from the world naturally, having that extra bit of capability is almost necessary for survival.

<Snipped quote by Mas Bagus>
Say your character was someone akin to Aladdin or Robin Hood in their previous life:

The character sheet I’m workshopping would have you start off with Legendary Thief and right from the get-go you’d be good at sneaking around and pulling pockets. Progression would then branch out from that as your character slowly remembers more about themselves, like if they were a master archer— or swordsman.

Hmm, does the origin of the characters have to be from the world with a similar level of magic/civilization? How fantastical is this world anyway? Your standard Tolkien-like where magic is rare amongst the populace but not really uncommon, or something like Elder Scrolls where a random nobody can shoot a gout of fire?

The character I am designing will not have a speck of magic in her, but she's... unconventional in the isekai genre, to say the least. And here I am hoping she won't be too broken for a starter character.

She will be incredibly strong and durable. Capable of tanking anything that could otherwise kill/dismember people. Not really invincible though since anything magic can disable her, and her durable body still has its limits. I do not plan to have her experience a lot of progression in terms of raw power scaling but rather be focused on the personality aspect.

<Snipped quote by Mas Bagus>

A curated sandbox where story beats will nudge you in specific directions.

I will be honest with you I am not really familiar with a sandbox RP, but I am ager to try this new way of playing. What does the curated sandbox anyway? Could you explain?

@Mas Bagus

They can be from anywhere originally, level of technology and magic or not.

As for the character concept, I’d just keep it in your pocket and throw it into the ring, the worst that could happen is it needs to be tuned a little to make them fit the power scale of others.

Curated sandbox is just me saying that, you can to wherever you want and do what you want to do, but I’ll throw walls at you if you’re going somewhere I don’t want you to.

For now I am glad the concept didn't immediately get the 'No' stamped on it, hahaha. Thanks for answering, Looking forward to see how this will be played out.

Still unsure if this will be the finalized character sheet, but for the 3-4 interested this might give a better idea on what we’re shooting for with character concepts.

Got my eye on this as well! 👁️

I should have the official thread up sometime in the early afternoon tomorrow.

Definitely interested if you've still got room for one more.

Not closed yet, but our main thread is attached to the text post above yours.