Dragon Ball Gaiden

[Double]

A role play for those who wish to tell a wholly unique story while still following the core rules of the Dragon Ball setting. No canon characters will be appearing, save for a few villains with whom I'm going to be taking some liberties. More details later when I get off work, but for now I'm putting this out there so people can post their interest if they feel so inclined.

[mattmanganon]

Sure, i'll see where this goes.

[Double]

Okay, now that I'm home, let's start pumping out a few more details:

1. The standard races from the series and most of the abilities associated with them will still apply. However I do plan on adding a few things, particularly to the Earthlings so they don't feel like they are perpetually falling behind. And on the subject of races, I'm going to try and make each of the races feel as unique as possible, with each potentially having their own unique options available to them so that each might have their own appeal.

2. Saiyans. They are indeed a thing. No, they are not completely extinct, in fact there will be a few more of them present than in the canon series for reasons I will go over at a later time. However, I may implement a nerf here or there for the Saiyans to keep them from becoming as disgustingly overpowered as they got in the canon series.

3. Power Levels. This one's a bit trickier for me to explain, because while they will technically be present, I also want to stress they are not by any means going to be the end-all-be-all of what a character is a capable of. In fact I have no intention of implementing any strict rules regarding numerical power levels. Even though there will be people with Scouters who will read power levels from your characters, those numbers aren't really going to be all that meaningful. Much like the show, your power levels are going to be rising and falling based on your control of Ki among other factors, so they will quickly lose their relevance anyway.

4. The Dragon Balls themselves. Honestly, I'm considering the possibility of not including them at all. If nothing else, this will create a much more intense feeling of stakes since death would now be much more of a permanent fate and thus carry more significant weight to it. This point isn't set in stone, though, so if anyone feels we should include the Balls then feel free to say as much. I'll probably base my decision on what the general consensus ends up being.

5. Sagas and Arcs. Yep, we'll be using the structure of telling the story over a series of Arcs and Sagas - yes there will be a difference. Arcs will be shorter and sometimes more fillery, while Sagas will be longer and more plot relevant. I've already got a decent idea what the first two will be (The first being an Arc, the second being a Saga) and possibly a third though it will be delayed until later on. But feel absolutely free to suggest ideas for Arcs and/or Sagas. They can be used for exploring characters' personalities and backgrounds and be the platforms from which their character arcs can launch from or progress to. In other words, I very much want them to be just as character driven as they are sweeping and epic.

With those points in mind, the opening Arc will, as tradition dictates, be about Saiyans arriving on Earth - though not for the reasons you might be thinking of. For you see, though Planet Vegeta and its King have indeed been killed off, from there is where things will be completely different. For one thing, the Saiyan King left behind not one but two sons, and the older of the two wants nothing more than to kill his younger brother so that there is no one to threaten his claim to being the new Saiyan King. He sends out the few survivors he managed to gather to find a new planet for the Saiyans to take over, and in the process hunt down the younger brother and kill him. Said brother just so happens to be on Earth, having landed there 5 years ago and has been living there among the humans in a self-imposed exile. And I think I'll leave it there for now, wouldn't want to give away everything right off the bat.

[mattmanganon]

How many characters per player?

[Headhunter]

I love dragon ball. Here are some thoughts:

1. I like the idea of earthlings not falling to the power scale wayside. It'd be refreshing if they could even be on par with Saiyans. Obviously not able to compete on their level for long, and will have severe consequences for attempting it. This is where companies like Capsule Corp are vital for maintaining their physical condition with rejuvenating tech for long term health.

4. Don't know about everyone else, but I think it wouldn't feel right if actual dragon balls weren't involved. Maybe they can make them more harder to obtain? Like each one is protected by a powerful guardian. Also, what if the stakes intensified about their usage and only one wish can be used?

Either way, consider me intrigued!

[Archmage MC]

I've got a character I'd love to use here. hope it goes far.

[Double]

@mattmanganon I think that will ultimately depend on how many people end up joining. If it's a small group then sure, I'll likely allow players to use a second character. But if we end up with a bigger group, then most likely I'll be limiting us to one per player to keep the character roster from becoming too bloated.

@Headhunter Utilizing Capsule Corp tech is a fine idea, but it's also something that anyone could do regardless of their race. I'm going to try and give Earthlings something more inherent to their biological race so that it's something only they can do. At the moment my idea is that they can learn and master techniques more easily due to human potential and human spirit and such. That would effectively mean that anytime the players would be allowed to add a new technique to their character sheet, an Earthling character specifically would be allowed to add two instead. The idea would be that even if Earthlings lack the raw power often displayed by Saiyans or Namekians, they would have the edge in being more versatile thanks to having more techniques at their disposal.

[IceHeart]

@Double Kudos for pointing out power levels will not be such stringent requirement for battle prowess. In other role plays I've seen that is often quite a limiting factor that should be avoided, which you are trying to do. The anime is often pretty bad at this once it gets into Z territory though the manga shows how technique can triumph over pure power.

I feel Arcs can happen pretty much at any time and even during Sagas at times. I would say it would be a good idea to have some kind of Arc board people can look at. Since Arcs could be made by individual character stories that would be a good way to keep track of who is doing what and know what Saga is currently happening. Also it should be clear who is leading a particular Arc so people don't get confused. Well don't worry about it too much, just try to avoid any training arcs unless there is a story element involved.

Anyway finding some time now so I'm at least interested.

[mattmanganon]

@IceHeart power levels have always just been a means to justify the "Rule of Narrative"

"No matter how powerful Character A is, if the story cannot progress unless they are defeated by Character B, then they will be defeated by Character B."

Honestly, I much prefer writing my characters getting the shit kicked out of them, it's a lot of fun.

[Double]

@IceHeart Yeah, I'm most likely going to be setting up some kind of Discord later for the purposes of discussion and having a place where we can track Arcs and Sagas.

@mattmanganon@IceHeart@Archmage MC@Headhunter

About the only thing I'm missing before I can make an OOC is the Races. I mean sure, we've all got a clear idea on what Saiyans and Namekians can do, plus I've already hinted at how Earthlings will work. But that leaves me with the question of other races. Beastmen are a thing from the original series, but the only thing I can think of that makes them wholly unique is having the option of possessing natural weapons (claws, fangs, etc) that can be used to augment whatever Martial Art they use. As for the Freeza Race, I'd like to include them but I feel like they need to be kept on the backburner and brought in at a later time so as not to overshadow the Saiyans who will be getting the focus during the opening Arc. And Majins? I have no idea what to do about those, barring a complete rewrite of their origin since without Majin Buu, they can't actually exist.

[mattmanganon]

@Double The race that i think should be included would be Demons... Not the Namekian ones, necessarily, but i think they can make for some interesting "One with the Weird Powers" characters, probably better fold the Majins into this, as Buu is TECHNICALLY a demon.

[Weird Tales]

I'd like to join. I've been looking for a dragon ball rp

[Double]

@mattmanganon@Weird Tales@IceHeart@Archmage MC@Headhunter

discord.gg/8zyNzTA

[mattmanganon]

@Double I dont have Discord...

[Double]

@Double I dont have Discord...

@mattmanganon

Or course not... *sigh* Well, you don't have to join server, but you'll be doing yourself a disservice since that's where I intend for the bulk of the planning and brainstorming to happen. That said, the ball's in your court.

[Senseless]

You still accepting people? Because if so I'm interested.

[Double]

You still accepting people? Because if so I'm interested.

@Senseless

Yep

[Double]

@mattmanganon@Weird Tales@IceHeart@Archmage MC@Headhunter

OOC is up