Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne [Interest Check]

[TheReddFoxx]

Call it what you will. A revelation from 'God', or a curse of the Demon King. The fact remains that our world came to an end.
A Heretic called upon an unearthly light, and devastation ensued. Chaos crawled out of the depths of the ocean; from the black Abyss.
Death upon death. Nothing but Death in this barren land. Who can we pray to? Only demons and fiends remain here.
A voice in the dark Beguiles me.
"Truth is a mystery, unraveled by the candle's 'Flames'."
From the Journal of a man who wandered into another world.

From the silence comes a woman's voice. It echoes in my head like a dream; like a thought put into my head from somewhere else.

"A world that loses its power will fade away into nothingness. If such is the fate of this world, then I shall return it to its mother's womb. The world must first die, for it to be born again...
...That is the only way to salvation, as recorded in an ancient prophecy.

The world will fall for its sins, and humans will all disappear... But, I don't want you to meet the same fate. I want to help you hold on to your life. To do so, I need to know your name. Will you tell me who you are...?"

This is not a story to save the world. This is not a rebirth of the world as it once was. The world has already ended. Everyone who was there is now dead or morphed into an unholy creature with a will bound to a god. Forced to gather "Magatushi", or pure power itself, in the hopes of presenting it to the Grand Amala to recreate a new world in their vistage.

This is not your story. As the world came to an end, you find yourselves in the epicenter of the end of the world; dubbed "The Conception." After surviving the initial event that purged the world of all life, you find yourself in a spherical world; with the ends of Japan upended from the world itself and fused together like a scene out of a movie. At the top of this spherical world is a tower pointing to a blinding white light.

A woman with a small boy dressed in black calls you to the roof, where you are forever changed to a new lifeform, never heard of before by the creatures that now populate this strange land. As these creatures call you "Demi-Fiend," they seem to say the word with fear. What it means could be anything. All you have to go off of is broken memories, an old man promising you power, and a Candelabra that seems to attract powerful demons. With the free will of a Human, but the unlimited powers of demons, untold mysteries lie within this world. Where will you go? What is your story?

Okay! So! With the big ol lore and plot drop out of the way, how about I get to explaining the plot, eh? The basic idea is that you are a human who survived the end of the world. You weren't supposed to, but you did. Suddenly, this weird woman and child pull out a demon looking worm that bites a hole in your face, burrows, heals you, then throws you into a coma as your body fuses with the demon magic.

You've been out for roughly a year or so, but are unaware of this fact. You just know you've been asleep long enough for the world you just saw end to suddenly get populated with Demons, angels, and rampant gods looking to create a new world.

Demi-Fiend is a general term, meaning Half human, half demon. Demi-Fiends in the game have to swap between Magatama to equip certain elements, resistances and so forth. For sake of simplicity, Fiends have full magical access all the time. Wanna slap an oni with cursed flames then hurl an almighty spear after? Sure. But each magic requires a toll of some form. Exhaustion, burnt skin, bits of frostbite or signs of dehydration, that sort of thing. Swapping magic also takes time. I.E. you need to actively have your fiend swap from fire to ice if you want to freeze the ground after breathing fire.

Status effect spells like fog Breath or poison is also cool. Pretty much just stay within the parameters of the game, but in all honesty, no prior knowledge is needed. The idea is to have the MC's thrown into a world they know nothing about, and my fiend will basically be the "I know how to explain this question" exposition drop.

We'd be following the premise of the game, but with my own little twists and Modifications to where we go and what happens. The end goal is not to recreate the world, but instead to find out the secrets and motives of the strange woman and child (whom is now suddenly an old man in a wheelchair) who bestowed your powers to you; and why.

A small group is what I'm going for really. 1 or 2 characters per person, since I myself will technically have 2 entries. But one is gonna end up being a big bad.

I know it's a pretty long wall of text for an interest check. But I hope you stuck it through to here. Let me know if it sounds interesting, and if there are any questions. If enough people to start the story are interested, I can post a sign up thread.

[TheReddFoxx]

Beep?

[vitamins]

I am interested in this roleplay.

I can play as a demi-fiend or any type of necessary character if it becomes a group RP.

My questions:

1. Is this freeform RP, or will we be using game mechanics in the RP, or even game elements like dice?
2. Will the RP be dialogue heavy, or will it be focused around exploration? I don't mind a mix of both. I'm curious what type of scenarios you're wanting to focus on.

[TheReddFoxx]

I am interested in this roleplay.

I can play as a demi-fiend or any type of necessary character if it becomes a group RP.

My questions:

1. Is this freeform RP, or will we be using game mechanics in the RP, or even game elements like dice?
2. Will the RP be dialogue heavy, or will it be focused around exploration? I don't mind a mix of both. I'm curious what type of scenarios you're wanting to focus on.

@vitamins

It's actually a mix of both. There is a story and a narrative. And I will have plenty of obstacles lined up. I actually tried this theme with someone before, but we have since stopped talking.

As for what you will play, go nuts! The game will dictate the element bases like fire, ice, curse, bless, lightning, physical, and that sort of thing. But you won't need to swap magatama to do so. I.E. you don't need to ingest Hifumi just because you had Nirvana to take on an Oni the fight before. You just focus on your physical magics and boom. You can punch hard, resist or even nullify physical strikes, and so forth. I also am not overly familiar with the sites rules on dice rolls, so, honestly, you're okay to just nyx them. As long as you don't make your character untouchable. Sapping life from enemies and healing magics will recover pretty much any injury you sustain, especially post fight. As long as the action is realistic, you're fine.

Basically what I mean is you don't have to roll to dodge the spear that was hurled at you, but if you weren't expecting it as a character or didn't see it, chances are it will hit you or at least graze you. So just make it believable.

But! While using your physical magics, you cannot use another at the same time, until you learn to do so vua honing your skills. I.E. you get a plot drop or something like that. Demi-Fiends are the only ones who have full spectrum magic. Anything else follows game stat rules in terms of magics. With a catch.

Bless and Curse work differently. Both of which can be mixed into your base magics when taught how by a curse or bless user. Although noth lethal, something like "Curse Flame" exists. It's effectively a purple fire that mixes with regular fire. It's effects weaken and drain your opponent, rather than risking just instant killing them. I personally thought auto kill skills like mudo or hama were OP in a game sense, let alone an rp sense.

So, tl;dr no instant kills but bless and curse still exist. You just need to be taught it as a Demi-Fiend. If you pick a demon that knows curse or bless stuff, then you know curse or bless.

I'm also open to modifications if it fits the plot. In the previously mentioned attempt, I played a Hua-Po that taught the MC curse flame. When she died, he was granted her power since she bound her will to him. Which was my representation of the recruiting and fusing part.

Fusing demons won't be a thing. Too complicated. But we can absolutely recruit demons if the party does not get too expensive.

[TheReddFoxx]

Thread is up

roleplayerguild.com/topics/184044-shi…

[vitamins]

"It's actually a mix of both. There is a story and a narrative. And I will have plenty of obstacles lined up. I actually tried this theme with someone before, but we have since stopped talking."

Response: Good to know. I suppose I'll provide feedback depending how the roleplay goes. Are you adaptable or is the story's pace set in stone? I don't know if we'll be able to find others for the group, so it just might be me and you. And I don't mind if you DM the whole RP if that's what you prefer, but I can also help with the story. However, my knowledge of SMT 3 isn't as new as SMT 4. So I'll need to refresh.

"As for what you will play, go nuts! The game will dictate the element bases like fire, ice, curse, bless, lightning, physical, and that sort of thing. But you won't need to swap magatama to do so. I.E. you don't need to ingest Hifumi just because you had Nirvana to take on an Oni the fight before. You just focus on your physical magics and boom. You can punch hard, resist or even nullify physical strikes, and so forth. I also am not overly familiar with the sites rules on dice rolls, so, honestly, you're okay to just nyx them. As long as you don't make your character untouchable. Sapping life from enemies and healing magics will recover pretty much any injury you sustain, especially post fight. As long as the action is realistic, you're fine.

Basically what I mean is you don't have to roll to dodge the spear that was hurled at you, but if you weren't expecting it as a character or didn't see it, chances are it will hit you or at least graze you. So just make it believable. "

Response: Thanks for the clarification. I'll try to keep in tune with the lore and mechanics, but if I do mess up let me know and I'll rewrite it.

"But! While using your physical magics, you cannot use another at the same time, until you learn to do so vua honing your skills. I.E. you get a plot drop or something like that. Demi-Fiends are the only ones who have full spectrum magic. Anything else follows game stat rules in terms of magics. With a catch."

Response: Does this mean, I can't use magical magic, if I'm using physical magics? Or is there something related to acting multiple times within a time frame, such as agility/luck? I understand that if I play as a demon, I'd be limited in the magics I can use.

"Bless and Curse work differently. Both of which can be mixed into your base magics when taught how by a curse or bless user. Although noth lethal, something like "Curse Flame" exists. It's effectively a purple fire that mixes with regular fire. It's effects weaken and drain your opponent, rather than risking just instant killing them. I personally thought auto kill skills like mudo or hama were OP in a game sense, let alone an rp sense."

Response: I agree mudo or hama wouldn't make sense, if we're neglecting miracle magic for revival. I wouldn't mind them, but I suppose it would make roleplaying the scenario tedious, boring, or repetitive.

"I'm also open to modifications if it fits the plot. In the previously mentioned attempt, I played a Hua-Po that taught the MC curse flame. When she died, he was granted her power since she bound her will to him. Which was my representation of the recruiting and fusing part.

Fusing demons won't be a thing. Too complicated. But we can absolutely recruit demons if the party does not get too expensive."

Response: I'll offer up modifications probably in the future. I don't have any for now, as I would want to see how the roleplay is progressing before suggesting stuff. So far, I find your explanation of the mechanics and plot premise suffice enough. If I do need clarification, or want something changed, I'll let you know. I don't mind that form of recruiting, but I would prefer being able to have multiple demons rather than the will being bound in the MC's power. Understood about fusing demons, I'm fine with that.

Thank you for answering my questions, I'll check the thread and make a character this week. Are you planning to run this RP, if it's only you and me, or do you have a set amount you need before starting the RP? Thank you.

@TheReddFoxx

[TheReddFoxx]

@vitamins

I am hoping to have at least one more perosn sign up before starting up, but I'll just start up the rp if no one else signs up by sunday night.

For the recruiting, tbh I really don't mind if you wanna recruit. Just put up a full character sheet like what I have for Hua-Po in the characters section of the main thread. Limit is 3 per fiend, unless you make more than one fiend. Keep it akin to the game mechanics. Demons can be cast aside, killed, or used for your own needs as necessary. But just don't clutter up the rp lmao.

For the magic and fighting, the only thing limiting you is the element. You don't have to exclusively use throw ice or fireball. You can freeze the ground, breathe fire, hurl a ball of flame, cause an ice bomb, punch something with an electro charged punch, use a flame whip, go nuts. I'm not sticking to specific spells or spellcasting. Just the elements. The world is your oyster and nothing is the limit. As long as you follow the one element at a time rule (sans curse or bless) you're fine.

There's no turn based combat rip really. The writing aspect is meant to give us the freeform to create the scene without the limitations of a game engine. So no. There is no magic that increases your turn count or anything like that. But you can increase your speed or defense. Or even swap to an element/physical aspect and choose to instead take the incoming blow and resist or null it. Which is kind of my take on void, resist, weakness, etc.

[vitamins]

@TheReddFoxx

I am hoping to have at least one more perosn sign up before starting up, but I'll just start up the rp if no one else signs up by sunday night.

Response: Got it. I'll be sure to complete my characters by the end of this week.

For the recruiting, tbh I really don't mind if you wanna recruit. Just put up a full character sheet like what I have for Hua-Po in the characters section of the main thread. Limit is 3 per fiend, unless you make more than one fiend. Keep it akin to the game mechanics. Demons can be cast aside, killed, or used for your own needs as necessary. But just don't clutter up the rp lmao.

Response: Yeah, I'll probably do 2~3 demons for my fiend. Do you want me to do the character sheets for the demons I plan to recruit, or just write it up when I plan to recruit a demon for the RP?

For the magic and fighting, the only thing limiting you is the element. You don't have to exclusively use throw ice or fireball. You can freeze the ground, breathe fire, hurl a ball of flame, cause an ice bomb, punch something with an electro charged punch, use a flame whip, go nuts. I'm not sticking to specific spells or spellcasting. Just the elements. The world is your oyster and nothing is the limit. As long as you follow the one element at a time rule (sans curse or bless) you're fine.

Response: Got it. I got confused when you were talking about magics (Thinking that physical attacks couldn't be used if focusing on magic), but I understand how it applies for demons (Limit to one) vs. demi-fiends (Full spectrum) with this clarification.

There's no turn based combat rip really. The writing aspect is meant to give us the freeform to create the scene without the limitations of a game engine. So no. There is no magic that increases your turn count or anything like that. But you can increase your speed or defense. Or even swap to an element/physical aspect and choose to instead take the incoming blow and resist or null it. Which is kind of my take on void, resist, weakness, etc.

Response: I think I understand it, but I'll probably get a better grasp of it once we RP a combat scenario.

For now, I'll work on my characters. Thank you for answering my questions.

[TheReddFoxx]

@vitamins
Awesome sounds good.

As for the demons, pre-writing at least the first ones you plan to have would be nice. But I don't mind if you write them as they come relevant. Just no OP ones like thanatos, Thor, or anything like that. Like characters, I reserve the right to veto demons.