Don’t hate the player, hate the game!
~Ice-T
Symphony on Highschool (SoH) Is a highschool roleplay with a twist. I could tell you what the twist is, but I think it would be more fun if we played a game: I would like you to guess the twist. Yup, right now I’d like you to close your eyes and think about what the twist is. Just a few seconds is all I ask.
Well? Did you do it? I can't tell, given this was something I had to write before you read it. I’m just going to pretend you did anyway. Which is fine, because I’m also going to pretend I know what your answers are.
You thought I was going to say “It’s a magical school!” And while that’s correct, I hardly consider that a twist. That one Hogwarts game is selling like hotcakes, and nobody in this day and age does a regular school RP. So that’s strike one. Lame guess. I’ll give you another chance, but really think this time.
Oh! You think I’ll let you play as faculty? I mean, I will. But only if you want to. You still missed the mark. I want you to think hard about your third guess. You’re not getting another shot.
So let me get this straight, you think I’m going to host an RP where I, the GM, just sit back and let things unfold? Effectively making an RP where there is no GM and they players get to decide everything? I can’t believe it! You got it! Have a cookie!
Note to self, give this kid less chances next time. I don’t feel nearly as smart as I did a few seconds ago.
But yes, "Good" GMs are strict, power hungry, masochistic jerks that keep an iron grip on an RP's direction. They give you the illusion of choice while guiding you to their end goal, like some evil mastermind or normal politician. How many great RPs came to an end just because the GM decided to call the whole thing off? Clearly GMs are a blight on mankind, and real RPs won't be able to flourish until they are dealt with.
While GMs really have no business deciding how the world should be, I’m going to create some lore for us to work with. And by create, I mean copy several projects and smash them together.
The RP takes place in a fictional version of our world. While it looks mundane to most people, there are supernatural forces/energies that hide just out of sight. Monsters, Espers, and everything in between often try to operate away from prying eyes.
Magic is a largely unknown thing. Magi have only recently been able to study it thanks to advancements in technology. There’s still so much they don’t know about it. Mostly what they have is an idea about magic called “memory theory.”
Memory theory states that mana is made up of memories. Mana is made in the brain while a human is alive and is released upon their death. There was some speculation that mana might have been proof that human souls exist, but this was later disproved when the levels of mana in people with forms of memory impairment made less mana over the course of their lives.
The more mana that’s in our atmosphere, the more likely it is for supernatural events to happen. This means more monsters, but also more magi to fight them.
But we shouldn’t have to worry about that too much.
The bulk of the RP will (hopefully) take place in and around Sullivan Academy. A British boarding school that secretly teaches kids from around the world how to hone their magic. It use to go by a different name, but a fight between some Merlin wannabe and a full fledged turbo magus forced a change of leadership. There’s probably more details to fish around for, but who really cares? Most of the students are all about casting spells or something. Attention spans of youngsters these days.
Sullivan Academy’s students are primarily aspiring magi, which is just a catch all term for wizards and witches. And magi is the plural form of magus, just in case you can’t be bothered to call a witch or wizard by their correct title. Or maybe they don’t identify with a particular title and would prefer you call them a magus. I know a demi-wizzard that looks like a witch but would turn you into a toad if you ever called them as such, and quite rightly too. So always be polite.
Regardless of title, this is probably who you’re going to be playing as. A human that’s been blessed with the ability to use magic.
While any magus can cast any spell in theory, most lean into a genre or niche. The more specific it is, the more powerful the magic tends to be. As an example, a pyromancer’s spells will not be as powerful as that of a magus that focuses strictly on creating lava. The pyromancer has a much more versatile skill set, and can make everything from explosions to jets of flame and even lava. But a lava mage’s lava will be able to power through any of the pyromancer’s abilities, but those abilities are fewer in number and limited to the forms lava can take. This example assumes they are equally skilled.
And yes, circles of magic are called genres. The first magi were entertainers who could use their songs to conjure spells. Much of the terminology stuck. Spells are called melodies, and a spells components are often called "notes" as just a few examples.
You may have noticed I was careful to say that you were probably going to play as a magus. But if I’m not going to interfere with the RP, that means that you are welcome to play anything you can think of, and the lore must accommodate this choice!
Sure, most aspiring magi are just as I described them. But there are other things that inhabit the academy.
Sullivan Academy exists in a world, and that world is part of a multiverse, which is part of a greater omniverse! Some of the other inhabitants of the academy include maids, dimensional leaping dogs, astronauts, magi with wildly different magic from this world, space marines, mountain sailors, a cat that can walk on its hind legs, Bobba Fett, Elvis, Johnny cash as the wizard of oz, if you can think of it, it exists.
Do be aware though that the world has a certain balance to it. For every force, there is an equally great counter force that keeps it in check. More about that in the warp section, which happens to be the next section.
It’s basically a portal. If something happens that doesn’t make sense, just blame the warp. It came from there.
Another detail with the warp is that things from other worlds can come from it. While having a gaping hole in space time located near your school can be a problem, it manages to balance itself out. Universes have a tendency to reach an equilibrium of sorts. If something too strong comes along, something else will likely show up to counterbalance its presence. This is all assuming the principle doesn't wipe it out of existence with one of her spells the second it shows up. She is the great equalizer, like your mother when you fight with your siblings.
While I’m going to be taking a pretty hands off approach to the RP, I do think we need a few rules.
~ There is a waifu tax for joining. You must post at least one picture of an anime/cartoon/cgi girl in the OOC if you’re going to join the RP. This is more important than a character sheet, but you can post one of those too. Under some circumstances I may let you pay a “husbando” tax in place of a waifu tax. Just remember that your character’s face claim does not count towards the waifu tax.
~ Be excellent to each other!
~ If you feel like someone’s godmodding you, just god mod them back if you can’t talk it out.
~ Don’t grief weaker characters. I’m giving myself the strongest character in the setting for the express purpose of dealing with this ICly. I also like power fantasies, and other people’s power fantasies get in the way of that.
~ Don’t forget the waifu tax.
Q: Is this an april fool’s joke?
A: Not really.
Q: I can’t find any waifus to pay the waifu tax with.
A: That’s a statement, not a question. But you can just use artstation if you really can’t find any. Just be a little original and don't grab the first one that shows up on the first page. And of course, don't try to use someone else's waifu to pay the waifu tax.
Q: Is a section like this necessary?
A: Get off my back.
Q: Sooooooo, When is Symphony on High starting?
A:It's been going, dingus. Go there if you want something a bit more serious.
