Though it's still a bit of a WIP, I've had this idea brewing for a hot second, so I figured I should drop this around hereabouts and see what kind of traction it gets.
50,000 years ago, the world came to an end at the hands of an unstoppable calamity, a hostile existence beyond true comprehension. Yet, from the ashes of its victory, humanity rebuilt from scratch, rendered ignorant of the foe they had once opposed till the very end. It was as it had been for countless ages, the purging of a failure and birth of a new cycle, a fresh start and the latest perpetuation of a twisted Samsara. Empires rose and fell, humans lived and died. Civilization waned and flourished. And all the while, the overseer exerted their pressure. Natural disasters, plagues and hoards of monsters. It sent them all, presented challenges, and as humanity united and adapted, tempered by trial after trial, so too did it increase the pressure time and again. And so it would remain until they finally inevitably stumbled and failed. All was as had been seen... and would surely be seen many times to come.
But this cycle had a bit of a hiccup...
The previous Samsara, the Previous Era, had come close to defeating it, closer than any before them. Tenacious, talented and lucky, failsafes were developed by humanity, and so it would come to be that the aftershocks of their work affected the Era to follow, not only in the form of technology, but in hibernating survivors... and even modifications to the very gene pool of humanity itself. They had not won, but they had laid the groundwork for their successors to perhaps succeed where they did not. The 50,000 year Samsara had not been broken... but it had been cracked.
The year is now 2011, and humanity is at war. Though you'd often hardly know it. Civilization flourishes upon the planet of Earth, and the global national and political scene remains a familiar one to a far less supernatural one, just about all the countries you'd expect where you'd expect to find them. In this day and age of the Current Era, normal people still live normal lives and remain the majority. Yet, underneath the surface, all is not as it seems.
It has been millennia since the first whispers of the term "Honkai" were spread across history by remnants of the Previous Era. Nowadays, it is nearly a household name, something most people don't wish to think about but certainly something that can be researched and discussed online. What was once responsible for mere disasters now assaults settlements of all sizes with heartless monsters from beyond reality, along with a supernatural sickness with a horrific fatality rate. Against this foe, from amongst the sheep and the ignorant, humanity has long since marshaled its forces, creating organizations and supersoldiers to combat this global and ever escalating threat.
You are one of those soldiers, a Valkyrie, infused with the Honkai's own power in order to fight against it... with all the benefits -and risks- that entails. Whether by passion of misfortune, you have found yourself one amongst many under the banner of Fire Moth, one of the premier Anti-Honkai organizations and global peacekeepers. Though they are rumored to have had many less than moral dealings in the past, the results of their work cannot be denied, and so you are one of many who -for their own reasons- have thrown their lot in with them. Now, all but freshly graduated from Valkyrie training, your latest test results have deemed you worthy of field work, and you have been placed upon a new squad with other fresh graduates.
While none of you are considered particularly strong -as fresh off the presses as you are, there is something to be said for safety in numbers, and those that survive long enough to prove themselves something other than cannon fodder will come out the other end tempered into fighters more than capable of facing the forces of Honkai alone.
The world before you is wondrous and dangerous in equal measure. The Honkai looms omnipresent, as shadowy interests pursue their own ends behind closed doors. It is a world on the brink; yet very few are aware. It is a world in need of saving, but that naturally begs the question of who can do it. You? Hah. Who knows? Such things are for the future. In the now, perhaps before trying to save anyone else... you should worry about saving yourselves.
For those familiar with the setting, this is not the Current Era you may know. Though, it does have some connection to it. Instead, this AU asks what would have happened if Kiana and the crew failed, Project STIGMA collapsed and the Honkai won yet again and reset the world.
This, players, is the Third Era.
Due to the nature of the Finality Samsara effectively being a time loop, however, some events, organizations and people have at least managed to come into existence again, in name if not actions and personality. Naturally, however, as this is a disturbed time loop with remnants of the previous eras having made it past the end times, the world developed accordingly. So, yeah, there's probably a few canon characters from the Second Era out there in some form or another. In fact, I guarantee it. They aren't intended to be a focus, but the possibility of meeting them is there.
This RP will be run primarily on narrative with a supplement of a custom stat system to provide a framework for PC capabilities and maintain balance amongst the team (at least early on). To simplify things in a post-by-post format, I also intend to have a mandatory header that will contain certain critical information to keep track of during battles and such. Making sure that's tracked and displayed will make things much simpler on me and other players, avoiding the need to constantly comb through character sheets over every little detail. The inclusion of stats is in the pursuit of stakes, as I find hard "numbers" to be a reliable way of keeping things honest. Narrative will perhaps take a stronger lead over stats later on, but starting out, I feel it's appropriate for a bunch of rookies to be more "grounded" compared to the supernatural titans of the series.
In regard to plot structure, you'll start in a team that gets sent of various missions, some of which you may get to choose, which will otherwise generally be sandbox within that framework. And at some point, the "main plot" will creep to the forefront instead. Between missions, expect downtime periods where the plot allows to give PCs more chances for character interaction and provide an opportunity to allow training and other methods of self-improvement to incrementally increase PC's capabilities.
If that all sounds good to you, then welcome aboard.
I plan to take on roughly 8-10 players at most before cutting things off.
For those new to the setting, see the Honkai Impact wiki here for where I am primarily drawing core info for this setting. Of course, as this is an AU, not all of this is useful, but as an overview of the setting lore, it's pretty good if you want to dig in. There will also be a Discord to facilitate better OOC communication and discussion. I do have potential plans to have that available for character building if anyone is interested in working on it on there.
The birthplace of the multiverse and a higher dimensional construct, the Imaginary Tree is responsible for the creation of most universes and is the source of the Imaginary element. This all-powerful tree holds the worlds of the multiverse in its branches, each one represented as a leaf. If a leaf falls, it is considered the end of that particular world; though, some worlds manage to persist for a while beyond that as Bubble Universes.
The Imaginary Tree -at some unknown point in time- first emerged from the Sea of Quanta and immediately began an unending rivalry with it, determined to consume the Sea and continue growing. The Sea of Quanta protested. And so the Tree would continue to extend its roots and drink deeply of the Sea, and the Sea would swell and attempt to reabsorb the Tree. This rivalry would persist for an unfathomable amount of time, during which, a branch of the Tree grew a new bud. This was the birth of human civilization. Time flows in the trunk of the Imaginary Tree and branches out into an infinity of worlds. Every branch is a form of civilization, while every bud is their past and present etched onto the dimension of time. Each twig is a world timeline, and each leaf is a universe. The Imaginary Tree is, in part, a construct of time that brings order to chaos, providing a way for time to flow linearly where it wouldn't otherwise.
Some speculate that the Honkai is a form of natural "pruning" mechanic in the Tree that helps breed, nurture and test worlds to determine which are worthy of expending the Tree's resources to maintain, but this is only speculation with no particular certainty behind it. Regardless of the truth, the Honkai's influence is practically omnipresent and inescapable, and humanity has no choice but to press on or else fail and become wilted shadows in the Sea of Quanta.
A churning kaleidoscope of existence, the Sea of Quanta is the primordial soup of reality. It is from it that all things ultimately emerge, and it is to the Sea that all things eventually return to be recycled for the new. The Imaginary Tree was born from the Sea of Quanta. Since these two were the only living things in the multiverse and diametrically opposed to the other's purpose, they quickly began an eternal rivalry. The Tree wishes to absorb the Sea, while the Sea wishes to drown the Tree. In order to facilitate this cycle, worlds "grow" as leaves of the Tree, and when they fail to persist, "fall" from the Tree and into the Sea, becoming bubble universes. Being exposed to the raw energies of the Sea of Quanta has the potential to leave a defining mark on the recipient's existence, changing them irrevocably, which can be a source of the Quantum Type.
Much of the Sea's chaos and erosion effect can be traced back to the lack of linear time flow. If the worlds of the Imaginary Tree are like multiple overflowing glasses of different drinks, then the Sea of Quanta is the puddle of mixed liquids, a chaotic amalgamation of mixed data and ideas flowing in all directions at once, cast adrift by the loss of connection to the Imaginary Tree. Unlike the Tree that has order and can sustain data, the Sea lacks the one-directional time flow required to give any sense to it. Hence, it has no form or properties of its own and requires an observer to make any sense of it.
The Sea of Quanta is also known to manifest beings called Quantum Shadows to deal with particularly resilient invaders or other existences within it, taking the form of starry voids in the shape of various Honkai beasts, complete with similar and enhanced abilities. These creatures normally exist in a "superposed" state of various "Quantum Layers" that makes them incredibly resilient. This state can be collapsed by the skilled usage of Quantum energy or with timely use of Time Fracture, collapsing the creature to a single dimensional layer and rendering them decrepit and vulnerable. If this weakened state isn't capitalized upon, however, the Shadow will eventually reconstitute its superposed state.
Please keep in mind that you are playing Valkyries in a team of roughly equal individual strength (specialties depending). You should be generally new on the block, none of you old or overtly experienced. About the most remarkable achievement to your name is the fact that you actually have Stigmata at all. You are humans and novice psychics. Herrschers and MANTIS/ICHOR soldiers are not allowed (at least starting out).
Regarding lore information your PCs may know, generally speaking, the true nature, goals and functions of Honkai and Herrschers are completely unknown to the public, and those that do know have kept that information classified at the highest levels, as the Honkai has historically retaliated extra hard against information being dissiminated about its biggest secrets. Pretty much all you know as the average person and Valkyrie is that Honkai is bad and has been around for centuries, super monsters kill people, and Honkai radiation is no laughing matter. Herrschers are disasters that have been hushed as an existence, and the average Valkyrie isn't even aware they exist or what they are, since they don't appear very often.
If you have ideas regarding anything that hasn't already been addressed or are looking for a slight exception for the sake of a good idea, don't be afraid to ask questions. I can't promise satisfactory results, but I'll try to consider them. Honkai Impact 3rd has an incredibly high power ceiling and a power system with ridiculous potential for shenanigans. I would like to use every aspect of it and have those aspects available to players in some form down the line, but I'd like to be careful and generally fair how I go about it.
Appearance: A tall young woman with ashy-grey hair and oddly purple eyes, her perpetually pale skin often brings into question how much sunlight she gets, yet does not seem to burn under its light. This nearly doll-like pallor is accompanied, however, by most every other sign of exceptional health, her honed and shapely body speaking to an appreciation of hard work, the genetic lottery or some combination of the two. Her armored dress of a battlesuit gives off the image in battle of a black knight, as she zips around to slice and dice her foes.
Name: Jessica Richter
Nationality: American
Faction: Anti-Entropy.
Age: 19
Valkyrie or Chevalier: Valkyrie
Origin: Human.
Rank: C
Grades:
Type: Quantum
Element: Ice. Ice can freeze enemies (or parts of them) solid to hinder movement and provide breathing room. It can also counter the burning condition and counteract the effects of extreme heat. These are not the only things it can do, provided some creativity is exercised, but they are the primary and simplest ones.
Discipline: Blade (short/katana).
Weapon: Pulse Katana Type-17
Stigmata: Natural Stigmata
Battlesuit: Void Knight
Burst: Quantum Heatsink
Skills: List any notable mundane skillsets or talents you might have, but do keep them within reason. As a rule of thumb, I expect your backstory to explain or otherwise easily imply exactly where each skill originated from. Example skills could be wilderness survival, cooking, piloting planes, any languages you know (at least passable English should be among them as a mandatory skill), and any particular acumen with technology (whether constructing or manipulating it).
Gear: Include notable assets, utilities and other equipment here. You are free to draw from any existing Present Era tech from the series within reason. Keep in mind you are low-ranking Valkyries, and the resources you can requisition for your missions are limited until you prove your worth. You should typically keep this within what you can carry on your person, either on hand or in your battlesuit's subspace.
Personality: You know the drill. Give us an idea of what they are at least like at a casual impression. What drives them? What annoys them? Likes? Dislikes? Dreams? Consider the Kakashi introduction as a template for the absolute minimum. A single paragraph is fine, of course, but more than that certainly wouldn't go amiss.
Biography: A couple paragraphs preferred. You don't need a novel, but this section should answer such questions as: What lifestyle did they grow up under? Why did they become a Valkyrie? Please note that whatever your backstory, your character should remain by the end of it a relative rookie to fighting the Honkai, pretty much freshly graduated/ranked up to a point where you're allowed to fight. Playing an "experienced senior", "ancient hero" or other archetype that would narratively only justify exceptionally honed skills and abilities is not allowed.
You can add whatever other bells and whistles you like as long as your headers have everything listed here in this format. For best results, please copy/paste the header code from Raw.
Health: ?/? (Maximum equal to your Endurance stat. This starts out full.)
Honkai Corruption: 0/? (Maximum equal to your Endurance stat. This starts off empty.)
Burst Charge: ?/? (Maximum determined by your Burst stat; your starting charge determined by Burst and Honkai stats)
Time Fracture: ? (Simply list Yes or No to keep track of whether or not it's off cooldown. Starts out "Yes")
Health: 4/4
Honkai Corruption: 0/4
Burst Charge: 3/5
Time Fracture: Yes.
PREFACE
50,000 years ago, the world came to an end at the hands of an unstoppable calamity, a hostile existence beyond true comprehension. Yet, from the ashes of its victory, humanity rebuilt from scratch, rendered ignorant of the foe they had once opposed till the very end. It was as it had been for countless ages, the purging of a failure and birth of a new cycle, a fresh start and the latest perpetuation of a twisted Samsara. Empires rose and fell, humans lived and died. Civilization waned and flourished. And all the while, the overseer exerted their pressure. Natural disasters, plagues and hoards of monsters. It sent them all, presented challenges, and as humanity united and adapted, tempered by trial after trial, so too did it increase the pressure time and again. And so it would remain until they finally inevitably stumbled and failed. All was as had been seen... and would surely be seen many times to come.
But this cycle had a bit of a hiccup...
The previous Samsara, the Previous Era, had come close to defeating it, closer than any before them. Tenacious, talented and lucky, failsafes were developed by humanity, and so it would come to be that the aftershocks of their work affected the Era to follow, not only in the form of technology, but in hibernating survivors... and even modifications to the very gene pool of humanity itself. They had not won, but they had laid the groundwork for their successors to perhaps succeed where they did not. The 50,000 year Samsara had not been broken... but it had been cracked.
The year is now 2011, and humanity is at war. Though you'd often hardly know it. Civilization flourishes upon the planet of Earth, and the global national and political scene remains a familiar one to a far less supernatural one, just about all the countries you'd expect where you'd expect to find them. In this day and age of the Current Era, normal people still live normal lives and remain the majority. Yet, underneath the surface, all is not as it seems.
It has been millennia since the first whispers of the term "Honkai" were spread across history by remnants of the Previous Era. Nowadays, it is nearly a household name, something most people don't wish to think about but certainly something that can be researched and discussed online. What was once responsible for mere disasters now assaults settlements of all sizes with heartless monsters from beyond reality, along with a supernatural sickness with a horrific fatality rate. Against this foe, from amongst the sheep and the ignorant, humanity has long since marshaled its forces, creating organizations and supersoldiers to combat this global and ever escalating threat.
You are one of those soldiers, a Valkyrie, infused with the Honkai's own power in order to fight against it... with all the benefits -and risks- that entails. Whether by passion of misfortune, you have found yourself one amongst many under the banner of Fire Moth, one of the premier Anti-Honkai organizations and global peacekeepers. Though they are rumored to have had many less than moral dealings in the past, the results of their work cannot be denied, and so you are one of many who -for their own reasons- have thrown their lot in with them. Now, all but freshly graduated from Valkyrie training, your latest test results have deemed you worthy of field work, and you have been placed upon a new squad with other fresh graduates.
While none of you are considered particularly strong -as fresh off the presses as you are, there is something to be said for safety in numbers, and those that survive long enough to prove themselves something other than cannon fodder will come out the other end tempered into fighters more than capable of facing the forces of Honkai alone.
The world before you is wondrous and dangerous in equal measure. The Honkai looms omnipresent, as shadowy interests pursue their own ends behind closed doors. It is a world on the brink; yet very few are aware. It is a world in need of saving, but that naturally begs the question of who can do it. You? Hah. Who knows? Such things are for the future. In the now, perhaps before trying to save anyone else... you should worry about saving yourselves.
EXPECTATIONS
For those familiar with the setting, this is not the Current Era you may know. Though, it does have some connection to it. Instead, this AU asks what would have happened if Kiana and the crew failed, Project STIGMA collapsed and the Honkai won yet again and reset the world.
This, players, is the Third Era.
Due to the nature of the Finality Samsara effectively being a time loop, however, some events, organizations and people have at least managed to come into existence again, in name if not actions and personality. Naturally, however, as this is a disturbed time loop with remnants of the previous eras having made it past the end times, the world developed accordingly. So, yeah, there's probably a few canon characters from the Second Era out there in some form or another. In fact, I guarantee it. They aren't intended to be a focus, but the possibility of meeting them is there.
This RP will be run primarily on narrative with a supplement of a custom stat system to provide a framework for PC capabilities and maintain balance amongst the team (at least early on). To simplify things in a post-by-post format, I also intend to have a mandatory header that will contain certain critical information to keep track of during battles and such. Making sure that's tracked and displayed will make things much simpler on me and other players, avoiding the need to constantly comb through character sheets over every little detail. The inclusion of stats is in the pursuit of stakes, as I find hard "numbers" to be a reliable way of keeping things honest. Narrative will perhaps take a stronger lead over stats later on, but starting out, I feel it's appropriate for a bunch of rookies to be more "grounded" compared to the supernatural titans of the series.
In regard to plot structure, you'll start in a team that gets sent of various missions, some of which you may get to choose, which will otherwise generally be sandbox within that framework. And at some point, the "main plot" will creep to the forefront instead. Between missions, expect downtime periods where the plot allows to give PCs more chances for character interaction and provide an opportunity to allow training and other methods of self-improvement to incrementally increase PC's capabilities.
If that all sounds good to you, then welcome aboard.
I plan to take on roughly 8-10 players at most before cutting things off.
For those new to the setting, see the Honkai Impact wiki here for where I am primarily drawing core info for this setting. Of course, as this is an AU, not all of this is useful, but as an overview of the setting lore, it's pretty good if you want to dig in. There will also be a Discord to facilitate better OOC communication and discussion. I do have potential plans to have that available for character building if anyone is interested in working on it on there.
INFORMATIONAL
The birthplace of the multiverse and a higher dimensional construct, the Imaginary Tree is responsible for the creation of most universes and is the source of the Imaginary element. This all-powerful tree holds the worlds of the multiverse in its branches, each one represented as a leaf. If a leaf falls, it is considered the end of that particular world; though, some worlds manage to persist for a while beyond that as Bubble Universes.
The Imaginary Tree -at some unknown point in time- first emerged from the Sea of Quanta and immediately began an unending rivalry with it, determined to consume the Sea and continue growing. The Sea of Quanta protested. And so the Tree would continue to extend its roots and drink deeply of the Sea, and the Sea would swell and attempt to reabsorb the Tree. This rivalry would persist for an unfathomable amount of time, during which, a branch of the Tree grew a new bud. This was the birth of human civilization. Time flows in the trunk of the Imaginary Tree and branches out into an infinity of worlds. Every branch is a form of civilization, while every bud is their past and present etched onto the dimension of time. Each twig is a world timeline, and each leaf is a universe. The Imaginary Tree is, in part, a construct of time that brings order to chaos, providing a way for time to flow linearly where it wouldn't otherwise.
Some speculate that the Honkai is a form of natural "pruning" mechanic in the Tree that helps breed, nurture and test worlds to determine which are worthy of expending the Tree's resources to maintain, but this is only speculation with no particular certainty behind it. Regardless of the truth, the Honkai's influence is practically omnipresent and inescapable, and humanity has no choice but to press on or else fail and become wilted shadows in the Sea of Quanta.
A churning kaleidoscope of existence, the Sea of Quanta is the primordial soup of reality. It is from it that all things ultimately emerge, and it is to the Sea that all things eventually return to be recycled for the new. The Imaginary Tree was born from the Sea of Quanta. Since these two were the only living things in the multiverse and diametrically opposed to the other's purpose, they quickly began an eternal rivalry. The Tree wishes to absorb the Sea, while the Sea wishes to drown the Tree. In order to facilitate this cycle, worlds "grow" as leaves of the Tree, and when they fail to persist, "fall" from the Tree and into the Sea, becoming bubble universes. Being exposed to the raw energies of the Sea of Quanta has the potential to leave a defining mark on the recipient's existence, changing them irrevocably, which can be a source of the Quantum Type.
Much of the Sea's chaos and erosion effect can be traced back to the lack of linear time flow. If the worlds of the Imaginary Tree are like multiple overflowing glasses of different drinks, then the Sea of Quanta is the puddle of mixed liquids, a chaotic amalgamation of mixed data and ideas flowing in all directions at once, cast adrift by the loss of connection to the Imaginary Tree. Unlike the Tree that has order and can sustain data, the Sea lacks the one-directional time flow required to give any sense to it. Hence, it has no form or properties of its own and requires an observer to make any sense of it.
The Sea of Quanta is also known to manifest beings called Quantum Shadows to deal with particularly resilient invaders or other existences within it, taking the form of starry voids in the shape of various Honkai beasts, complete with similar and enhanced abilities. These creatures normally exist in a "superposed" state of various "Quantum Layers" that makes them incredibly resilient. This state can be collapsed by the skilled usage of Quantum energy or with timely use of Time Fracture, collapsing the creature to a single dimensional layer and rendering them decrepit and vulnerable. If this weakened state isn't capitalized upon, however, the Shadow will eventually reconstitute its superposed state.
When a leaf "falls" from the Imaginary Tree into the Sea of Quanta, it becomes a fragmented version of itself, called a bubble universe, with some having more stability than others. No matter what level of stability they appear to have, however, their time is ultimately finite under the wear and tear of the Sea of Quanta, which forever seeks to chew up and assimilate them back into its primordial soup. Being now cut off from the Imaginary Tree's direct supply of energy, in order for them to continue to exist, bubble universes must either have a surplus of Imaginary energy to fall back on or attach themselves to more abundant worlds and feed off the energy in those ones to sustain themselves. Otherwise, they will falter and dissolve under the Sea of Quanta's erosion.
Within the Sea of Quanta, bubble universes do not always follow conventional sense or contemporary rules. Some people's memories are enough to create entirely new bubble universes, and creating such bubble universes is even a skill that can be learned with enough exposure to and experimentation with the Sea. Some can be artificially created and maintain stability through an Ether Anchor. An Ether Anchor is what tethers and holds a bubble universe together. It holds the world in place but cannot do much to combat the lifespan of a bubble universe. It is possible for a bubble universe to be disconnected from the Tree yet held out of the Sea of Quanta's reach for a time, but this is an especially unusual phenomenon.
Within the Sea of Quanta, bubble universes do not always follow conventional sense or contemporary rules. Some people's memories are enough to create entirely new bubble universes, and creating such bubble universes is even a skill that can be learned with enough exposure to and experimentation with the Sea. Some can be artificially created and maintain stability through an Ether Anchor. An Ether Anchor is what tethers and holds a bubble universe together. It holds the world in place but cannot do much to combat the lifespan of a bubble universe. It is possible for a bubble universe to be disconnected from the Tree yet held out of the Sea of Quanta's reach for a time, but this is an especially unusual phenomenon.
Based out -and encompassing most- of Europe, Schicksal was founded by three families that carried Stigmata Bloodlines: House Apocalypse, House Kaslana and House Schariac. Together, these Three Houses have led the organization for centuries with House Apocalypse as the hereditary leader -lacking power but blessed with intellect, and Houses Kaslana and Schariac as their knights -blessed instead with extraordinary strength. An organization of legacy and prestige, they have existed long enough that their founding escapes much of human record, dating back to an unknown BC period. While at one time, they masqueraded as a religious organization that had presence across nearly the entirety of Asia as well, corruption and ambition led to a crusade that would heavily damage their forces and reputation, driving their presence back to merely European territories. Since then, ambitions checked, they have come under more reasonable leadership and are working to restore public trust. With their focus on Stigmata bloodlines, Biologic fighters often hail from here.
In their constant "holy war" against the "demons" of Honkai, Schicksal is historically perceived to be highly associated with the Catholic Church, and their motifs and generally acknowledged religious authority support this. While this aids them in some ways, in others, it only leaves them stained by the association of such events as the Crusades. In the 1400's, they were acknowledged as the largest Anti-Honkai organization in the world, and even to this day, that perhaps remains the case.
There is something to be said for the idea that success smooths over all sins, however, as no matter their past mistakes, it's undeniable that the "protection" they offered -and still offer- is genuine in quality. They are the largest source of Valkyries on the planet, whether they wield Natural or Artificial Stigmata, boasting staggering superhuman manpower and no small quantity of S-Rank Valkyries. Combined with their possession of a large number of "holy artifacts" they have unearthed over the centuries to arm their greatest warriors with and otherwise study to create lesser derivatives of, they are truly a titan on the world stage and wield massive influence just about anywhere they go, even if it's often begrudging outside Europe.
Schicksal has a rather chilly relationship with Anti-Entropy, many members seeing them as deserters and "rebels" that abandoned the pride of their heritage and "holy bloodlines"; as a result, they tend to be rather condescending towards them. By contrast, the School of Taixuan is treated cordially, to the point you might even call if sickly sweet, and naturally, the Taixuan have remained suspicious at nearly all times, no matter what mask of cordiality they wear in return. World Serpent is respected as a competitor and rival... and simultaneously eyed with greed and hunger for the ancient knowledge they possess.
In their constant "holy war" against the "demons" of Honkai, Schicksal is historically perceived to be highly associated with the Catholic Church, and their motifs and generally acknowledged religious authority support this. While this aids them in some ways, in others, it only leaves them stained by the association of such events as the Crusades. In the 1400's, they were acknowledged as the largest Anti-Honkai organization in the world, and even to this day, that perhaps remains the case.
There is something to be said for the idea that success smooths over all sins, however, as no matter their past mistakes, it's undeniable that the "protection" they offered -and still offer- is genuine in quality. They are the largest source of Valkyries on the planet, whether they wield Natural or Artificial Stigmata, boasting staggering superhuman manpower and no small quantity of S-Rank Valkyries. Combined with their possession of a large number of "holy artifacts" they have unearthed over the centuries to arm their greatest warriors with and otherwise study to create lesser derivatives of, they are truly a titan on the world stage and wield massive influence just about anywhere they go, even if it's often begrudging outside Europe.
Schicksal has a rather chilly relationship with Anti-Entropy, many members seeing them as deserters and "rebels" that abandoned the pride of their heritage and "holy bloodlines"; as a result, they tend to be rather condescending towards them. By contrast, the School of Taixuan is treated cordially, to the point you might even call if sickly sweet, and naturally, the Taixuan have remained suspicious at nearly all times, no matter what mask of cordiality they wear in return. World Serpent is respected as a competitor and rival... and simultaneously eyed with greed and hunger for the ancient knowledge they possess.
- Factional Benefits/Knowledge: To hail from this faction is to have the potential to hail from any of the bloodlines of the three Noble Houses. If you are part of this faction, have a Natural Stigmata and decide to choose one of these bloodlines, your stats are altered in different ways than normal. Kaslanas gain +2 Endurance. Schariacs gain +2 Honkai. Apocalypses gain +2 Intellect. They do not gain any other stat boost in exchange for a single massive boost to a one stat. In addition, due to the unusual commonality of Natural Stigmata here within bloodlines, you don't count against the normal limit of Natural Stigmata in the party. Outside this, Schicksal has the greatest access to Divine Keys, weapons forged from Herrscher Cores in the ancient past, along with the Sacred Relics -weapons developed through study of the former, and if your character proves themselves worthy and hails from this faction, they could be bestowed with one.
Compared to their competitors, Anti-Entropy is a fairly young organization amongst those that hunt Honkai. Nonetheless, it has more than 60 years under its belt and is no less effective for it. Originally founded by dissatisfied elements of Schicksal, who were becoming increasingly disillusioned with the corrupt titan, they used their experience in that organization to build their own and sever ties. One of the biggest catalysts of this eventual severance would be the discovery of the Core of Reason... and the influence of the Herrscher consciousness still preserved inside. More attuned to modern sensibilities and technologies and largely lacking the "legacy" of old and established Stigmata bloodlines, they style themselves a "forerunner" of human ingenuity, sporting a high focus on Mecha-type methods of fighting the Honkai. Their arguably peerless laboratories and reputation draw intellectuals for all over, looking to seek greater heights of learning and make their own mark in the war against Honkai. Mecha type Valkyries often hail from here.
Anti-Entropy has a reputation as something like arms dealers in the public eye. With their heavy focus on mechanized and cold unfeeling infantry to blow up the enemy in a firestorm of ammunition, they sacrifice reputation for effectiveness in many respects. It doesn't help that they are based in the United States and get associated in more than one respect with the global superpower's penchant for "peacekeeping". As such, their leadership perhaps spends an inordinate amount of time having to court high political society to ensure their backers remain nice and secure while also making their own investments on the technological patent spheres.
Anti-Entropy generally holds mistrust and thin tolerance towards Schicksal. Similarly, they are wary of World Serpent but not outright borderline antagonistic they way they are towards Schicksal. They are, however, generally very accommodating and respectful towards the School of Taixuan and -by extension- are more inclined to friendliness towards World Serpent for also managing to stay in Taixuan's good graces.
Anti-Entropy has a reputation as something like arms dealers in the public eye. With their heavy focus on mechanized and cold unfeeling infantry to blow up the enemy in a firestorm of ammunition, they sacrifice reputation for effectiveness in many respects. It doesn't help that they are based in the United States and get associated in more than one respect with the global superpower's penchant for "peacekeeping". As such, their leadership perhaps spends an inordinate amount of time having to court high political society to ensure their backers remain nice and secure while also making their own investments on the technological patent spheres.
Anti-Entropy generally holds mistrust and thin tolerance towards Schicksal. Similarly, they are wary of World Serpent but not outright borderline antagonistic they way they are towards Schicksal. They are, however, generally very accommodating and respectful towards the School of Taixuan and -by extension- are more inclined to friendliness towards World Serpent for also managing to stay in Taixuan's good graces.
- Factional Benefits/Knowledge: AE are led by the Herrscher of Reason from the Second Era, Bronya Zaychik. Through this, behind closed doors, the higher ups have learned much of what has been and what is doomed to come, and they are scrambling to make preparations for it. For this reason, they are also the least prejudiced faction against Herrschers and the most willing to attempt to save and recruit the humans possessed to create them. They also have in their possession several Herrscher cores from the Second Era or otherwise have some idea where to find them, just waiting for the right trustworthy hosts to take up their power in defense of humanity. Anti-Entropy also hold control over a special undersea facility known as The Deep, which contains a portal to the Sea of Quanta, something that can facilitate the justifiable acquisition of the Quantum Type for those that seek it.
An organization that once worked from the shadows and engaged in less than moral activities, the revamp of its leadership has seen the modern iteration become a figure upon the public stage in the fight against Honkai. Even so, some roots of their clandestine nature remain, with high-ranking officers often operating from behind masks and animal code names. Founded once upon a time by the being known as Grey Serpent, in this Era, it's initial reformation was at the hands of the ELF, Klein, having survived the destruction of Earth twice over through stasis. The ELF rebuilt what was lost, keeping some things that were useful and discarding some things that were less... palatable.
While the organization has seen a complete turnover with the death of even Grey Serpent, the legacy of the past members has remained in the borderline fanatical devotion of even today's followers towards the Thirteen Flame Chasers. Klein has done her best to temper this, but her efforts have seen little success in the face of the survival and eventual leadership bestowed upon two of the surviving Flame Chasers. Both now ancient beings that have survived planetary annihilation twice over, they are seen as borderline gods by most members of World Serpent.
On the world stage, World Serpent makes an interesting habit of being almost philanthropic, acting as a source of a steady trickle of advancements and improvements to quality of life across the world. As such, despite their name and less than heroic aesthetic, in the public eye, they are perhaps ironically one of the most trusted of the factions, their formerly clandestine methods leaving them with no untoward history to stain their reputation once they went public.
While the organization has seen a complete turnover with the death of even Grey Serpent, the legacy of the past members has remained in the borderline fanatical devotion of even today's followers towards the Thirteen Flame Chasers. Klein has done her best to temper this, but her efforts have seen little success in the face of the survival and eventual leadership bestowed upon two of the surviving Flame Chasers. Both now ancient beings that have survived planetary annihilation twice over, they are seen as borderline gods by most members of World Serpent.
On the world stage, World Serpent makes an interesting habit of being almost philanthropic, acting as a source of a steady trickle of advancements and improvements to quality of life across the world. As such, despite their name and less than heroic aesthetic, in the public eye, they are perhaps ironically one of the most trusted of the factions, their formerly clandestine methods leaving them with no untoward history to stain their reputation once they went public.
- Factional Benefits/Knowledge: With access to the vast archives of the Ark, World Serpent has the greatest leg up on uncovering the ancient technologies of the First Era. For example, while others like Schicksal have inklings of the process and even limited success, no other faction shares even half the mastery WS does at creating MANTISes. And should one wish to submit themselves for candidacy for the project, no other faction is more likely to accept, nor as likely to succeed. World Serpent has spies planted in both Anti-Entropy and Schiksal, and so key members are generally aware of what they know should a member seek classified info derived from another faction. Unbeknownst to the other factions, the current Overseer of World Serpent, Mobius Ormr, and her second in command, Griseo Ormr, are both legendary MANTISes from the First Era. Between the former's unrivaled ambition to improve humanity in any way possible and the latter's altruism and positive influence on the former, these factors have pushed World Serpent from the shadows into... some semblance of light.
A supernatural martial arts order, based out of Asia upon Mt. Taishan (commonly referred to as Mount Taixuan after the primary occupants), the School of Taixuan boasts 7 different sects spread across China, India and Japan, each one led by one of the seven disciples of the Celestial Emperya, who resides upon Mount Taixuan and only leaves to address major threats to the land. These disciples, in turn, each manage derivative schools that host between 100-200 students apiece, around a third of which are accomplished enough to be considered graduates ready to face the Honkai. For indeed, that is the primary purpose of the School of Taixuan, to teach humans to defend themselves against and exterminate Honkai beasts.
The order teaches a form of highly efficient Honkai manipulation that's purpose is to get the greatest effect for the least amount of risk of corruption. To do this, they use the legacy technique from the First Era, SWARA (Subliminal Weaponization & Artificing Of Reflex Arcs), to radically increase the muscular strength and neural responses of candidates, allowing them to carefully cultivate increased Honkai adaptability and utility. The true beauty of the subliminal hypnotic therapy inherent to SWARA is that it is something that can actually be taught, despite originally originating as merely the modifications applied to a single person. Through martial arts and teaching students to identify the Honkai energy within them as "Ki" and carefully and gradually stoke and master it over time, students learn to alter the flow of Honkai energy in their bodies, forever changing them into superhumans that cannot be technically considered "Valkyries", even though the vast majority of people do not perceive this distinction, given that there is functionally no difference between them in combat.
That being said, in order for this training to work, students must be taken on as early as possible and dedicate just about their entire lives to the Art. A potential student that has already passed puberty is considered a lost cause, and only those experiencing -or yet to experience- puberty are seriously considered and taken on as acolytes. If a student shows consistent promise and improvement, on average, they are considered a "graduate" of the school by age 18, becoming known as a Disciple of Taixuan. Greater mastery still sees them worthy of being promoted to a Blade of Taixuan, which is equivalent to being considered a Master. Disciples are considered accomplished enough to face Honkai beasts without risking being corrupted and comprise the majority of representatives you'd expect to see in Fire Moth, such is the adventurous and often foolhardy nature of youths.
Despite the traditional nature of the order, they have a surprisingly cordial relationship with World Serpent. Though their ideals do not always match up, the two factions usually take extra care not to come to blows and generally stay out of each-other's way. Similarly, they are generally warm towards Anti-Entropy but neither offer nor tolerate interference in the other's business. Conversely, they treat Schicksal with thinly veiled distaste, long memories far from pleased by the territory disputes they've shared in the past. On the world stage, the School of Taixuan has a relatively positive reputation. Given the tangible and public results of their training, they cannot be dismissed as kooks or crazies, and their oath to fight against the Honkai and defend the helpless associate them with the legends of mythological heroes, getting by with hard work and righteous hearts. Whatever some may say about them being "outdated", their results cannot be denied, and global acclaim and admiration belongs to their members as a result, with them widely regarded as the most difficult but safest path to obtaining the power to fight Honkai.
The order teaches a form of highly efficient Honkai manipulation that's purpose is to get the greatest effect for the least amount of risk of corruption. To do this, they use the legacy technique from the First Era, SWARA (Subliminal Weaponization & Artificing Of Reflex Arcs), to radically increase the muscular strength and neural responses of candidates, allowing them to carefully cultivate increased Honkai adaptability and utility. The true beauty of the subliminal hypnotic therapy inherent to SWARA is that it is something that can actually be taught, despite originally originating as merely the modifications applied to a single person. Through martial arts and teaching students to identify the Honkai energy within them as "Ki" and carefully and gradually stoke and master it over time, students learn to alter the flow of Honkai energy in their bodies, forever changing them into superhumans that cannot be technically considered "Valkyries", even though the vast majority of people do not perceive this distinction, given that there is functionally no difference between them in combat.
That being said, in order for this training to work, students must be taken on as early as possible and dedicate just about their entire lives to the Art. A potential student that has already passed puberty is considered a lost cause, and only those experiencing -or yet to experience- puberty are seriously considered and taken on as acolytes. If a student shows consistent promise and improvement, on average, they are considered a "graduate" of the school by age 18, becoming known as a Disciple of Taixuan. Greater mastery still sees them worthy of being promoted to a Blade of Taixuan, which is equivalent to being considered a Master. Disciples are considered accomplished enough to face Honkai beasts without risking being corrupted and comprise the majority of representatives you'd expect to see in Fire Moth, such is the adventurous and often foolhardy nature of youths.
Despite the traditional nature of the order, they have a surprisingly cordial relationship with World Serpent. Though their ideals do not always match up, the two factions usually take extra care not to come to blows and generally stay out of each-other's way. Similarly, they are generally warm towards Anti-Entropy but neither offer nor tolerate interference in the other's business. Conversely, they treat Schicksal with thinly veiled distaste, long memories far from pleased by the territory disputes they've shared in the past. On the world stage, the School of Taixuan has a relatively positive reputation. Given the tangible and public results of their training, they cannot be dismissed as kooks or crazies, and their oath to fight against the Honkai and defend the helpless associate them with the legends of mythological heroes, getting by with hard work and righteous hearts. Whatever some may say about them being "outdated", their results cannot be denied, and global acclaim and admiration belongs to their members as a result, with them widely regarded as the most difficult but safest path to obtaining the power to fight Honkai.
- Factional Benefits/Knowledge: If you're part of the School of Taixuan, you are no Valkyrie. You have no Stigmata and instead receive stat boosts from your SWARA training in the Taixuan Martial Arts. Even without a Stigmata, the "Ki" flowing through your veins grants you equivalent abilities. The Celestial Emperya is also known as the Immortal Phoenix and -by close acquaintances- Fu Hua. Despite her reclusive and traditional nature, she is known to be unusually positively minded towards the leaders of the technological behemoths, Anti-Entropy and World Serpent.
Otherwise known as MOTH (Myrmidons of Taskforce Honkai), this organization was developed as a form of compromise between competing interests. Overseen by such entities as the United Nations and ASEAN and endorsed by all the major Anti-Honkai organizations, it is a place where they pool their efforts, comprised of members from all walks of life and organizations. In Fire Moth, politics are (ostensibly) tossed to the wayside for practicality, no other concern to remain than the collaborative extermination of Honkai. For this reason, MOTH has global presence and influence, sending teams anywhere and everywhere that they are needed to face humanity's long-time enemy. Ostensibly, through membership in Fire Moth, you can access the resources of any of the three factions that act as its patrons. In practice, however, they still keep many of their cards close to their chests, not sharing all their trump cards and individually feeling out the other members of the trio's intentions, always wary of untoward interests.
- Factional Benefits/Knowledge: Being a member of Fire Moth is more than just being a defender against the apocalypse. It also means being a representative and agent of whomever might have sponsored your entrance into the organization. Usually, this is one of the big names, like Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, World Serpent or the School of Taixuan. As long as you remain in good standing with your faction and pursue their interests, your deeds may earn you enough trust to not just avail yourself of the more high quality resources and assets of your faction, but to also vet outsiders -like other members of Fire Moth- to also recieve similar accommodations, even if they hail from competing factions. As a member of Fire Moth, you otherwise generally recieve respect and accommodation in most places you go worldwide just by having your insignia and identification on hand, your duties acknowledged as being of utmost importance as long as you don't make a nuisance of yourself.
Powerful warriors, who have high Honkai resistance and who either have natural or artificial stigmata. Due to the constant exposure to the volatile Honkai energy and Honkai Beasts, many Valkyries are at risk of losing their lives not only in battle but due to the possible Honkai cascade as well, which is a phenomenon when a human with mild adaptability is corrupted by the Honkai and turns into a zombie, mindlessly seeking to destroy humanity.
Valkyrie ranks run from D to S. D-Ranks are generally relegated to a support role at HQ and do chores, support and logistics duties far from any real fighting. C-Rank is the minimum required to go on missions to fight even the lowest level Honkai beasts (usually under the supervision of a higher-ranking mentor/watcher Valkyrie. While B-Rank and above is an acknowledgement that you're strong enough to fight on the frontlines of major incursions, most often in teams but even solo. S-Rank is assigned to only the most powerful Valkyries, who are often in some ways more comparable to forces of nature than mere superhumans.
No matter what rank they are, all Valkyries are explicitly superhuman to some degree, the vast majority of them capable of easily overpowering even peak human combatants. Trained to use Honkai energy to enhance themselves and empower their weapons and battlesuits, Valkyries can massively outperform any mundane soldier in stamina, strength, agility and durability by leaps and bounds, able to shatter materials that might otherwise take a bullet's and artillery to penetrate, leap buildings and take inhuman punishment. The average B-Rank completely nullifies most mundane weaponry through sheer speed and reflexes or durability alone.
Valkyrie ranks run from D to S. D-Ranks are generally relegated to a support role at HQ and do chores, support and logistics duties far from any real fighting. C-Rank is the minimum required to go on missions to fight even the lowest level Honkai beasts (usually under the supervision of a higher-ranking mentor/watcher Valkyrie. While B-Rank and above is an acknowledgement that you're strong enough to fight on the frontlines of major incursions, most often in teams but even solo. S-Rank is assigned to only the most powerful Valkyries, who are often in some ways more comparable to forces of nature than mere superhumans.
No matter what rank they are, all Valkyries are explicitly superhuman to some degree, the vast majority of them capable of easily overpowering even peak human combatants. Trained to use Honkai energy to enhance themselves and empower their weapons and battlesuits, Valkyries can massively outperform any mundane soldier in stamina, strength, agility and durability by leaps and bounds, able to shatter materials that might otherwise take a bullet's and artillery to penetrate, leap buildings and take inhuman punishment. The average B-Rank completely nullifies most mundane weaponry through sheer speed and reflexes or durability alone.
Massively Augmented Neo-Tech Integrated Soldiers, abbreviated to MANTIS. A procedure once thought lost to time and remnant of the First Era, it was rediscovered and revitalized in the Third Era. In a way, this can be considered the precursor to the far milder procedure that creates Valkyries. In the Present Era, while the project has been refurbished, it has seen far less success compared to the Previous Era, largely due to -of all things- an overall drought of sufficiently powerful Honkai beasts to be worth using for it.
The procedure involves extracting DNA from Honkai beasts and integrating them into human soldier using ICHOR (Intra-Chromosomal Honkai Gene Repeats) in order to grant them superhuman abilities and innate Honkai resistance. Before they were wiped out nearly to the last by the Herrscher of Binding, the First Era had been successful in making dozens -even hundreds- of MANTISes to defend humanity. There is a balance to play, however, as those that survived having truly powerful Honkai beasts integrated were vanishingly rare, and even when they did, often times, it came with some form of consequence or imperfection, including physical or mental mutations.
A successful MANTIS becomes generally superhuman all around to a similar degree as a Valkyrie. They have a strong innate resistance to Honkai radiation, able to naturally feed upon it, and in most cases, they stop aging, only known to perish due to being slain or from complications with their Honkai DNA. All MANTISes gain some measure of power from their beast, usually able to use any unique abilities the beast once possessed to some degree or another. It is for this reason that powerful Honkai beasts of at least Emperor-class with unique abilities are preferred for the costly and dangerous procedure. After all, if you only have one shot, best to gamble on the best possibility each time. Of course, weaker beasts are possible to use too, but the mediocre results are often considered to outweigh the risk.
The Active Honkai Reaction (AHR) is the final ability all MANTISes possess. It transforms them into a beast-like form either identical to -or drawing traits from- the Honkai beast that was infused into their DNA. Doing so, however, reveals a MANTIS's true nature, that they are no longer truly human but rather a Honkai Beast in the shape of a human that just happens to have a human mind. Unleashing this form, however, destabilizes that balance, the surge of Honkai power and instincts being allowed to run wild, as the alien DNA is brought to the forefront. Furthermore, unleashing this form risks heavily irradiating the area with Honkai energy, which can be dangerous to anyone with little to no Honkai resistance, like mundane allies. Most MANTISes cannot control this form and so avoid using it, lest they go on a rampage and need to be put down like any other Honkai beast. Those that can control it consist largely of those with iron will and focus.
The procedure involves extracting DNA from Honkai beasts and integrating them into human soldier using ICHOR (Intra-Chromosomal Honkai Gene Repeats) in order to grant them superhuman abilities and innate Honkai resistance. Before they were wiped out nearly to the last by the Herrscher of Binding, the First Era had been successful in making dozens -even hundreds- of MANTISes to defend humanity. There is a balance to play, however, as those that survived having truly powerful Honkai beasts integrated were vanishingly rare, and even when they did, often times, it came with some form of consequence or imperfection, including physical or mental mutations.
A successful MANTIS becomes generally superhuman all around to a similar degree as a Valkyrie. They have a strong innate resistance to Honkai radiation, able to naturally feed upon it, and in most cases, they stop aging, only known to perish due to being slain or from complications with their Honkai DNA. All MANTISes gain some measure of power from their beast, usually able to use any unique abilities the beast once possessed to some degree or another. It is for this reason that powerful Honkai beasts of at least Emperor-class with unique abilities are preferred for the costly and dangerous procedure. After all, if you only have one shot, best to gamble on the best possibility each time. Of course, weaker beasts are possible to use too, but the mediocre results are often considered to outweigh the risk.
The Active Honkai Reaction (AHR) is the final ability all MANTISes possess. It transforms them into a beast-like form either identical to -or drawing traits from- the Honkai beast that was infused into their DNA. Doing so, however, reveals a MANTIS's true nature, that they are no longer truly human but rather a Honkai Beast in the shape of a human that just happens to have a human mind. Unleashing this form, however, destabilizes that balance, the surge of Honkai power and instincts being allowed to run wild, as the alien DNA is brought to the forefront. Furthermore, unleashing this form risks heavily irradiating the area with Honkai energy, which can be dangerous to anyone with little to no Honkai resistance, like mundane allies. Most MANTISes cannot control this form and so avoid using it, lest they go on a rampage and need to be put down like any other Honkai beast. Those that can control it consist largely of those with iron will and focus.
An alien force of nature not incomparable to a living (and hostile) law of reality.
The Honkai is not just the monsters it creates but a force that provokes apocalyptic disasters, and it was responsible for both the black plague and the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. The Honkai scales its attack to the resistance before it, with each following attack adapting to counter the counter or attack from a new devastating angle, increasing in both frequency and intensity over time.
It spreads monsters, heralds (known as Herrschers) and influence through invisible, one-way gaps in reality, corrupting whatever it can reach with a miasma spread by the selfsame monsters and heralds, which also empowers Honkai creatures in the area as the corruption grows. The radiation spread by the miasma is aggressive, contagious and deadly to non-Imaginary beings, which as it happens, is generally everything except the Honkai. Even a brief encounter (as in, merely passing a monster on the street) is enough to be infected with the deadly Honkai Radiation, which rapidly induces fatigue, crippling pain and irreversible organ failure. Once contracted, the sickness painfully kills most patients in days if they are "lucky", if not hours or less with continued exposure. For the unlucky, sufficient exposure can transform them into zombie thralls, lesser beasts of the Honkai and puppets of destruction.
The only real defense against the infection is immediate amputation of the corrupted flesh/limb. Outside that, the only known proper cure is a vaccine that needs the condensed antibodies of 1,000 subjects, a one-shot miracle cure that can purge a normie victim of the corruption... or even lessen a Herrscher's power enough for the human consciousness within to take over once more and have a fighting chance.
The Honkai is not just the monsters it creates but a force that provokes apocalyptic disasters, and it was responsible for both the black plague and the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. The Honkai scales its attack to the resistance before it, with each following attack adapting to counter the counter or attack from a new devastating angle, increasing in both frequency and intensity over time.
It spreads monsters, heralds (known as Herrschers) and influence through invisible, one-way gaps in reality, corrupting whatever it can reach with a miasma spread by the selfsame monsters and heralds, which also empowers Honkai creatures in the area as the corruption grows. The radiation spread by the miasma is aggressive, contagious and deadly to non-Imaginary beings, which as it happens, is generally everything except the Honkai. Even a brief encounter (as in, merely passing a monster on the street) is enough to be infected with the deadly Honkai Radiation, which rapidly induces fatigue, crippling pain and irreversible organ failure. Once contracted, the sickness painfully kills most patients in days if they are "lucky", if not hours or less with continued exposure. For the unlucky, sufficient exposure can transform them into zombie thralls, lesser beasts of the Honkai and puppets of destruction.
The only real defense against the infection is immediate amputation of the corrupted flesh/limb. Outside that, the only known proper cure is a vaccine that needs the condensed antibodies of 1,000 subjects, a one-shot miracle cure that can purge a normie victim of the corruption... or even lessen a Herrscher's power enough for the human consciousness within to take over once more and have a fighting chance.
Former humans granted godlike power by the Will of Honkai, they possess both a True Stigmata and a Herrscher Core that grants them control over an individual concept or otherwise defined word, their abilities being only roughly limited to their imagination and what they can justify falling under their Authority with mental gymnastics.
When humanity simply is becoming too organized and tough a nut to crack, the Honkai can make these special heralds, called Herrschers, who are former humans at their lowest, offered power and then possessed by the Honkai to enact genocide in a more direct fashion as generals, beacons and summoners for the lesser Honkai beasts. Herrschers usually result from a cumulative series of misfortunes and tragedies, culminating in "one bad day" and then being imbued with the power and will to end all life. Preferred candidates are those that didn't just have "one bad day" but those that have grown to actively hate the world and humans around them, which is then extended to encompass everyone else and turn them into zealot godling harbingers of the Honkai collective. It's possible for the human consciousness to take back control and usurp the Honkai power they've received to fight for humanity instead, but it tends to be no simple task and often requires outside interference.
Interference which, mind you, will have to succeed while not getting slaughtered by a being that commands a fundamental concept of reality. The 7th Herrscher of the First Era wiped out the entirety of Australia in a week with its control over "molecular acceleration" with a focus on flame and plasma. The continent burned. The Herrscher of Earth of the same era one-shot a whole continent with a black hole. Meanwhile, the Second Era Herrscher of the Void hurled apocalyptic meteors at the earth by making portals to deep space and could have destroyed humanity with just that if they weren't sadistically playing around. This is without even mentioning that they are each massive living power plants of Honkai Radiation, to a degree that can accidentally wipe out a city just from their presence if they lack either control or the desire to hold back.
Generally speaking, Herrschers (assuming one simplifies things to the pre-existing rotation used by the Will of Honkai) follow a set series of concepts. They do not necessarily appear in any particular order except for whichever of the set seems most appropriately devastating for the target civilization.
Known Are:
1st - Herrscher of Reason/Truth - Instantly (de)construct any creation that a civilization has ever achieved. Superhuman mental processing.
2nd - Herrscher of the Void - Portals, control over void-space, flow of time, distance. Ability to control/bend the imaginary space.
3rd - Herrscher of Lightning - Can control and generate all forms of electromagnetic currents.
4th - Herrscher of Wind - Manipulation of molecules in the gaseous state. Weather control. Can create the ideal fluid.
5th - Herrscher of Ice - Can de-energize matter, slowing movement to near absolute zero temperature. May be able to freeze time.
6th - Herrscher of Death - Can deconstruct/disintegrate and compose/regenerate matter.
7th - Herrscher of Flames - Can accelerate atoms to high speeds to generate massive amounts of heat, flames and explosions.
8th - Herrscher of Sentience - Can read and manipulate minds on a grand scale. Illusions, dreams and even memetic mind plagues.
9th - Herrscher of Earth/Stars - Can control and manipulate mass/gravity and can create black holes large enough to one-shot a continent.
10th - Herrscher of Domination - Can spread self/power among 1,000 bodies. Can manipulate/mimic/redirect other Herrscher powers.
11th - Herrscher of Binding - Can create a field that nullifies opposing Honkai energy and affects other energy forms to various extents.
12th - Herrscher of Corruption - A sentient infection that can corrupt/possess/hack anything, be it biological, artificial or psychological.
1st13th - Herrscher of Human Ego/Origin - A "mistake" that allied with humans. Has no innate "authority" but does have broad talent/capacity to manipulate Honkai energy. Eventually developed the capacity to personally restore a Herrscher's human ego/consciousness to primary control over the body. Doesn't need a human host/body to manifest and is self-sustaining until slain.
14th - Herrscher of Finality - Has/is the source of all other Herrscher powers. Meant to end an Era and reset for the next. Can control time.
Given that they are ultimately created with only the knowledge of their hosts for the most part, Herrschers don't tend to start with full mastery of their powers. While they have an innate understanding of what they can do, there's still a learning curve and certain amount of gaining experience involved. A young Herrscher is one at its most vulnerable, often drunk on power and arrogance. It is in their earliest days that is the best time to slay or otherwise remove a Herrscher from the board. As such, they have a bit of a defense against this. A newly born Herrscher most often unleashes an initial, wild burst of their power, which causes mass devastation and mayhem, attracting and spawning Honkai beasts to act as diversions/minions, along with corrupting the land and killing/corrupting any living being it can into zombies with Honkai radiation.
This devastating event, the initial awakening of a Herrscher, is what is known as a "Honkai Impact" namedroptitlecardhoh or "Honkai Eruption". Though, a Honkai Eruption can still occur without a Herrscher due to the usual escalation from Finality, a Herrscher's awakening usually integrally initiates one.
When humanity simply is becoming too organized and tough a nut to crack, the Honkai can make these special heralds, called Herrschers, who are former humans at their lowest, offered power and then possessed by the Honkai to enact genocide in a more direct fashion as generals, beacons and summoners for the lesser Honkai beasts. Herrschers usually result from a cumulative series of misfortunes and tragedies, culminating in "one bad day" and then being imbued with the power and will to end all life. Preferred candidates are those that didn't just have "one bad day" but those that have grown to actively hate the world and humans around them, which is then extended to encompass everyone else and turn them into zealot godling harbingers of the Honkai collective. It's possible for the human consciousness to take back control and usurp the Honkai power they've received to fight for humanity instead, but it tends to be no simple task and often requires outside interference.
Interference which, mind you, will have to succeed while not getting slaughtered by a being that commands a fundamental concept of reality. The 7th Herrscher of the First Era wiped out the entirety of Australia in a week with its control over "molecular acceleration" with a focus on flame and plasma. The continent burned. The Herrscher of Earth of the same era one-shot a whole continent with a black hole. Meanwhile, the Second Era Herrscher of the Void hurled apocalyptic meteors at the earth by making portals to deep space and could have destroyed humanity with just that if they weren't sadistically playing around. This is without even mentioning that they are each massive living power plants of Honkai Radiation, to a degree that can accidentally wipe out a city just from their presence if they lack either control or the desire to hold back.
Generally speaking, Herrschers (assuming one simplifies things to the pre-existing rotation used by the Will of Honkai) follow a set series of concepts. They do not necessarily appear in any particular order except for whichever of the set seems most appropriately devastating for the target civilization.
Known Are:
1st - Herrscher of Reason/Truth - Instantly (de)construct any creation that a civilization has ever achieved. Superhuman mental processing.
2nd - Herrscher of the Void - Portals, control over void-space, flow of time, distance. Ability to control/bend the imaginary space.
3rd - Herrscher of Lightning - Can control and generate all forms of electromagnetic currents.
4th - Herrscher of Wind - Manipulation of molecules in the gaseous state. Weather control. Can create the ideal fluid.
5th - Herrscher of Ice - Can de-energize matter, slowing movement to near absolute zero temperature. May be able to freeze time.
6th - Herrscher of Death - Can deconstruct/disintegrate and compose/regenerate matter.
7th - Herrscher of Flames - Can accelerate atoms to high speeds to generate massive amounts of heat, flames and explosions.
8th - Herrscher of Sentience - Can read and manipulate minds on a grand scale. Illusions, dreams and even memetic mind plagues.
9th - Herrscher of Earth/Stars - Can control and manipulate mass/gravity and can create black holes large enough to one-shot a continent.
10th - Herrscher of Domination - Can spread self/power among 1,000 bodies. Can manipulate/mimic/redirect other Herrscher powers.
11th - Herrscher of Binding - Can create a field that nullifies opposing Honkai energy and affects other energy forms to various extents.
12th - Herrscher of Corruption - A sentient infection that can corrupt/possess/hack anything, be it biological, artificial or psychological.
1st13th - Herrscher of Human Ego/Origin - A "mistake" that allied with humans. Has no innate "authority" but does have broad talent/capacity to manipulate Honkai energy. Eventually developed the capacity to personally restore a Herrscher's human ego/consciousness to primary control over the body. Doesn't need a human host/body to manifest and is self-sustaining until slain.
14th - Herrscher of Finality - Has/is the source of all other Herrscher powers. Meant to end an Era and reset for the next. Can control time.
Given that they are ultimately created with only the knowledge of their hosts for the most part, Herrschers don't tend to start with full mastery of their powers. While they have an innate understanding of what they can do, there's still a learning curve and certain amount of gaining experience involved. A young Herrscher is one at its most vulnerable, often drunk on power and arrogance. It is in their earliest days that is the best time to slay or otherwise remove a Herrscher from the board. As such, they have a bit of a defense against this. A newly born Herrscher most often unleashes an initial, wild burst of their power, which causes mass devastation and mayhem, attracting and spawning Honkai beasts to act as diversions/minions, along with corrupting the land and killing/corrupting any living being it can into zombies with Honkai radiation.
This devastating event, the initial awakening of a Herrscher, is what is known as a "Honkai Impact" namedroptitlecardhoh or "Honkai Eruption". Though, a Honkai Eruption can still occur without a Herrscher due to the usual escalation from Finality, a Herrscher's awakening usually integrally initiates one.
WIP, so be aware that any stat ratings are subject to change.
Honkai Beast Sizes/Classifications:
Honkai Beast Sizes/Classifications:
As terrifying as it might be to consider, there exist even beasts above Judgement-class. These creatures are closer to a force of nature than a mere monster and can rival a Herrscher in power.
Standard Variant Threat Grades: [Error: Standard Grading Unavailable]
Standard Variant Threat Grades: [Error: Standard Grading Unavailable]
- Power: NA
- Endurance: NA
- Agility: NA
- Intellect: NA
- Honkai: NA
- NA.
Varying in size and form, these Honkai beasts are walking calamities that have the power to end an entire nation or civilization, usually created in response to instances of unusually accelerated and widespread advancement of Humanity.
Standard Variant Threat Grades: [Error: Standard Grading Unavailable]
Standard Variant Threat Grades: [Error: Standard Grading Unavailable]
- Power: NA
- Endurance: NA
- Agility: NA
- Intellect: NA
- Honkai: NA
- Benares:
- Chiyou
Typically tower over ten meters in height. Anti-tank weaponry levels of force are the required minimum to penetrate their armor. Can shrug off multiple hits from a main battle tank gun.
Standard Variant Threat Grades:
Standard Variant Threat Grades:
- Power: B+
- Endurance: B+
- Agility: B+
- Intellect: D
- Honkai: B+
- Ganesha
- Son of Dawn (pink)/Son of Darkness(blue)
- Assaka (pink-blue)
- Imperator/Queen/Flame Emperor(orange)/Frost Emperor(blue)
A singular Flame Emperor is tough enough to take on an army of 10,000 fully-armed mundane soldiers, including tanks, and slaughter half of them before dying to attrition.
Towering up to 4-5 stories tall, these beasts are armed with a massive tower shield on one arm and have a spear for their other. They can levitate above the ground and despite normally being slow moving are agile enough to leap into the air.
Standard Variant Threat Grades:
Standard Variant Threat Grades:
- Power: B
- Endurance: S (A from behind)
- Agility: C
- Intellect: E
- Honkai: F
- Storm Templar: A variant with even greater defenses and paralyzing attacks, rippling with electricity.
A horse-like creature that carries a Honkai zombie on its back, which is in turn armed with a lance capable of punching giant holes straight through armored mecha. Highly mobile and best avoided in a head-to-head confrontation.
Standard Variant Threat Grades:
Standard Variant Threat Grades:
- Power: C (B if charging)
- Endurance: C
- Agility: C (B if charging)
- Intellect: E
- Honkai: F
- WIP
The most common Honkai beast, these gorilla-like beings are generally slow and clumsy but strong, pummeling victims to death. Stands about 1-3 stories tall.
Standard Variant Threat Grades:
Standard Variant Threat Grades:
- Power: C
- Endurance: C
- Agility: E
- Intellect: F
- Honkai: F
- Chariot
Slow & clumsy standard, but strong enough to bulldoze through a stone overpass. - Alloy Chariot
Has a highly mobile pounce and can release a roar powerful enough to deafen a Valk for over 2 weeks. - Blazing Chariot
Explodes on death. Passively releases enough heat to cripple armored mecha. - Frost Chariot
Mostly spotted in cold areas. Fighting it up close risks severe frostbite.
Their thin yet ultra-dense silicon-base carapace is tough enough to make them virtually immune to small-arms fire. They typically appear in large numbers and attack with their sharp wings. They can fly at high speeds and are able to release short-range energy blades from their wings that can cleave through solid brick.
Standard Variant Threat Grades:
Standard Variant Threat Grades:
- Power: D
- Endurance: D
- Agility: C
- Intellect: F
- Honkai: E
- Archangel/Cassiel(armor)/Scarlet Uriel/Baradiel
The result of a human with some resistance to Honkai radiation that is overwhelmed by it or a Valkyrie that experiences cascade, these creatures possess none of the intellect and humanity they once had, merely seeking to destroy and kill like any other Honkai beast.
Standard Variant Threat Grades:
Standard Variant Threat Grades:
- Power: E
- Endurance: E
- Agility: E
- Intellect: F
- Honkai: F
- WIP
1.) Cooperative storytelling comes first.
2.) I won't tell you not to godmod within the bounds of reason, as this setting's power system is rather... flexible at the upper levels, and you'll need every advantage you can get. However, I will warn you that your primary enemy basically has godmod countering built into it. So, you know... play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
3.) In principle, auto-hits/successes that are not mechanically backed are not allowed. Declare your intent, and the receiver's post will decide the result, whether that be the GM or another player. To avoid this devolving into constant games of "can't touch me", however, there will be a mechanic for determining if your opponent falls within autohit/autododge territory; if they qualify, you do have otherwise unspoken permission to style all over them unless specifically told otherwise. This will go both ways, however, so play it careful.
4.) A backstory that fits various 'story beats' doesn't make your character good if their purpose is to defeat everyone and establish themselves as a superior top dog in an RP arms race. If you're not going to use your backstory to make a good story, expect to be retaliated against appropriately IC. Assuming it isn't just vetoed before it ever hits the IC.
5.) Powerful characters will be permitted (eventually), as the PCs grow to match stronger foes and learn and adapt from each battle. Various special items and circumstances may also provide individual PCs a boost, provided they take the appropriate steps IC-ly to not have it blow up in their face. The expectation is that power will be granted down the line, so don't be in a rush.
6.) Keep it cordial OOC. Nothing complicated.
7.) Post length is 2-3 multi-sentence paragraphs minimum, but longer posts are encouraged and welcome. That said, bear in mind, a shorter post is better than no post at all, just as long as it moves your character along and responds appropriately to the most critical IC stimuli.
8.) GM's ruling is final, but that goes without saying. Polite negotiation is one thing, but if I don’t budge, that’s that.
9.) I’m generally flexible on posting speed, but posting at your easiest convenience is preferred. Strictly speaking, the IC will move as fast as works for the majority, and anyone that's holding up the party will get passed over or sockpuppeted as necessary to move along. I don’t like doing this, so I’ll only resort to it if necessary. And I will inform the relevant player when doing so, if at least to give then one last chance to make a short post.
2.) I won't tell you not to godmod within the bounds of reason, as this setting's power system is rather... flexible at the upper levels, and you'll need every advantage you can get. However, I will warn you that your primary enemy basically has godmod countering built into it. So, you know... play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
3.) In principle, auto-hits/successes that are not mechanically backed are not allowed. Declare your intent, and the receiver's post will decide the result, whether that be the GM or another player. To avoid this devolving into constant games of "can't touch me", however, there will be a mechanic for determining if your opponent falls within autohit/autododge territory; if they qualify, you do have otherwise unspoken permission to style all over them unless specifically told otherwise. This will go both ways, however, so play it careful.
4.) A backstory that fits various 'story beats' doesn't make your character good if their purpose is to defeat everyone and establish themselves as a superior top dog in an RP arms race. If you're not going to use your backstory to make a good story, expect to be retaliated against appropriately IC. Assuming it isn't just vetoed before it ever hits the IC.
5.) Powerful characters will be permitted (eventually), as the PCs grow to match stronger foes and learn and adapt from each battle. Various special items and circumstances may also provide individual PCs a boost, provided they take the appropriate steps IC-ly to not have it blow up in their face. The expectation is that power will be granted down the line, so don't be in a rush.
6.) Keep it cordial OOC. Nothing complicated.
7.) Post length is 2-3 multi-sentence paragraphs minimum, but longer posts are encouraged and welcome. That said, bear in mind, a shorter post is better than no post at all, just as long as it moves your character along and responds appropriately to the most critical IC stimuli.
8.) GM's ruling is final, but that goes without saying. Polite negotiation is one thing, but if I don’t budge, that’s that.
9.) I’m generally flexible on posting speed, but posting at your easiest convenience is preferred. Strictly speaking, the IC will move as fast as works for the majority, and anyone that's holding up the party will get passed over or sockpuppeted as necessary to move along. I don’t like doing this, so I’ll only resort to it if necessary. And I will inform the relevant player when doing so, if at least to give then one last chance to make a short post.
Stats: Generally speaking, regarding physical stats, F is roughly human, with E-rank as clearly superhuman with a minimum of peak human. D-rank is more blatantly superhuman, boasting feats like being able to shrug off small arms fire with only bruises most of the time. At C and B-rank, it's getting genuinely questionable if mundane means even have an answer to you. And at A-rank and beyond, it's probably easier to pray. More ethereal stats like Intellect aren't quite so simple, but it's a good rule of thumb.
Health: Your HP is equal to your Endurance stat with a minimum of 1 at F-Rank. At a C-rank, you would have 4. At A-rank, you'd have 6 and so on. Losing a health point is a big deal, not something a superhuman like you will lose from little things like cuts and bruises or even necessarily getting smacked around, but from a major injury like a lost or broken limb, gunshot wound, or other blow to a part of the body that would typically be considered lethal. You regain lost HP with appropriate medical care and downtime.
Being at 0 HP: Being at 0 HP doesn't necessarily mean you are dead, but it does mean you're incapable of continuing to fight/resist. So, you could potentially be conscious, but the most you can do is drag yourself away. Until someone helps you regain your strength, you're out of the fight. So, going to 0 isn't an insta-kill unless someone basically executes a finisher on you after the fact (which is still possible, of course). For most enemies, 0 is still insta-death, however.
Taking/Dealing Damage: Outside narrative influence and conditional circumstances/extenuating factors, as a rule, damage is a simple contest of Power vs Endurance. As long as you have equal Power to the Endurance you wish to overcome, a successful strike can by default deal a single point of damage +1 for each additional point that you Power exceeds the defense. This is, of course, mitigated by how well the participants write out their responses. While, on the surface, a C-Rank Power could not harm a B-Rank Endurance, if the attacker is smart and/or the defender careless, they can use such things as weak points to still harm them as if they were an equal rank. That said, if the rank difference is 2 ranks or greater in the contest, it is a gap that simply cannot be closed or overcome without exceptional circumstances.
Stat Contests: This goes for pretty much all contests, whether it be damage, dodging or status effects. Equal stats and a successful hit from an attacker grant an effect worth 1 point.
Status Effects: A contest of Honkai vs Endurance. To inflict a status effects, you must build up successful stacks of your element on the target. This can happen even if you otherwise deal no damage to them. On a successful hit with your weapon/attack/element of choice, you can attempt to inflict your elemental effect. If your Honkai is equal to the opposing Endurance, you automatically earn one stack, along with another for each level further that you exceed their Endurance. Once the target has accrued stacks equal to their maximum Endurance/Health, they are afflicted with the status effect. Status effects can be inflicted as a team effort, with multiple users of the same element able to contribute their stacks to the same attempt to inflict the effect,
Honkai Corruption/Exhaustion: Tracked separately from your health, you have a threshold at which your body simply cannot risk intaking more Honkai energy without experiencing a Honkai cascade and becoming a mindless zombie or otherwise simply burning up from strain. Once you reach your threshhold, you begin to cascade, becoming completely incapacitated, either through unconsciousness or a failing body. If this corruption progresses to completion, you die, full-stop. You gain a point of Corruption whenever you are overexposed to Honkai energy, either as a result of the environment or from your own abilities, and you are cleansed of points either via specialized treatment or extended downtime, allowing your body to filter out the excess. Higher Endurance grants you a hardier constitution against this, but the risk is always there. Death or madness. Pick your poison.
Honkai Miasma: When you fight the Honkai, often times, the area will be irradiated by Honkai energy. This will be noted by such things as "Miasma Level 1", and while inside such an area, your effective resistance to Honkai energy is lowered, as your body will already be occupying part of its resistance fighting against the passive area effect. Where normally, you might could use your Burst without any risk to yourself, in such an area, you may be vulnerable in ways you weren't while training.
Health: Your HP is equal to your Endurance stat with a minimum of 1 at F-Rank. At a C-rank, you would have 4. At A-rank, you'd have 6 and so on. Losing a health point is a big deal, not something a superhuman like you will lose from little things like cuts and bruises or even necessarily getting smacked around, but from a major injury like a lost or broken limb, gunshot wound, or other blow to a part of the body that would typically be considered lethal. You regain lost HP with appropriate medical care and downtime.
Being at 0 HP: Being at 0 HP doesn't necessarily mean you are dead, but it does mean you're incapable of continuing to fight/resist. So, you could potentially be conscious, but the most you can do is drag yourself away. Until someone helps you regain your strength, you're out of the fight. So, going to 0 isn't an insta-kill unless someone basically executes a finisher on you after the fact (which is still possible, of course). For most enemies, 0 is still insta-death, however.
Taking/Dealing Damage: Outside narrative influence and conditional circumstances/extenuating factors, as a rule, damage is a simple contest of Power vs Endurance. As long as you have equal Power to the Endurance you wish to overcome, a successful strike can by default deal a single point of damage +1 for each additional point that you Power exceeds the defense. This is, of course, mitigated by how well the participants write out their responses. While, on the surface, a C-Rank Power could not harm a B-Rank Endurance, if the attacker is smart and/or the defender careless, they can use such things as weak points to still harm them as if they were an equal rank. That said, if the rank difference is 2 ranks or greater in the contest, it is a gap that simply cannot be closed or overcome without exceptional circumstances.
Stat Contests: This goes for pretty much all contests, whether it be damage, dodging or status effects. Equal stats and a successful hit from an attacker grant an effect worth 1 point.
Status Effects: A contest of Honkai vs Endurance. To inflict a status effects, you must build up successful stacks of your element on the target. This can happen even if you otherwise deal no damage to them. On a successful hit with your weapon/attack/element of choice, you can attempt to inflict your elemental effect. If your Honkai is equal to the opposing Endurance, you automatically earn one stack, along with another for each level further that you exceed their Endurance. Once the target has accrued stacks equal to their maximum Endurance/Health, they are afflicted with the status effect. Status effects can be inflicted as a team effort, with multiple users of the same element able to contribute their stacks to the same attempt to inflict the effect,
Honkai Corruption/Exhaustion: Tracked separately from your health, you have a threshold at which your body simply cannot risk intaking more Honkai energy without experiencing a Honkai cascade and becoming a mindless zombie or otherwise simply burning up from strain. Once you reach your threshhold, you begin to cascade, becoming completely incapacitated, either through unconsciousness or a failing body. If this corruption progresses to completion, you die, full-stop. You gain a point of Corruption whenever you are overexposed to Honkai energy, either as a result of the environment or from your own abilities, and you are cleansed of points either via specialized treatment or extended downtime, allowing your body to filter out the excess. Higher Endurance grants you a hardier constitution against this, but the risk is always there. Death or madness. Pick your poison.
Honkai Miasma: When you fight the Honkai, often times, the area will be irradiated by Honkai energy. This will be noted by such things as "Miasma Level 1", and while inside such an area, your effective resistance to Honkai energy is lowered, as your body will already be occupying part of its resistance fighting against the passive area effect. Where normally, you might could use your Burst without any risk to yourself, in such an area, you may be vulnerable in ways you weren't while training.
Character Building
Please keep in mind that you are playing Valkyries in a team of roughly equal individual strength (specialties depending). You should be generally new on the block, none of you old or overtly experienced. About the most remarkable achievement to your name is the fact that you actually have Stigmata at all. You are humans and novice psychics. Herrschers and MANTIS/ICHOR soldiers are not allowed (at least starting out).
Regarding lore information your PCs may know, generally speaking, the true nature, goals and functions of Honkai and Herrschers are completely unknown to the public, and those that do know have kept that information classified at the highest levels, as the Honkai has historically retaliated extra hard against information being dissiminated about its biggest secrets. Pretty much all you know as the average person and Valkyrie is that Honkai is bad and has been around for centuries, super monsters kill people, and Honkai radiation is no laughing matter. Herrschers are disasters that have been hushed as an existence, and the average Valkyrie isn't even aware they exist or what they are, since they don't appear very often.
If you have ideas regarding anything that hasn't already been addressed or are looking for a slight exception for the sake of a good idea, don't be afraid to ask questions. I can't promise satisfactory results, but I'll try to consider them. Honkai Impact 3rd has an incredibly high power ceiling and a power system with ridiculous potential for shenanigans. I would like to use every aspect of it and have those aspects available to players in some form down the line, but I'd like to be careful and generally fair how I go about it.
Appearance: An image is preferred, along with a physical description in text.
Name: You know the drill. Any monikers should also be here as alternate names.
Nationality: Valkyries operate globally and draw their talents from just about anywhere as a result.
Faction: Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, World Serpent, or School of Taixuan. Choose your faction and have your resources (and perhaps reputation) determined accordingly. This will likely be where you primarily received your Valkyrie training. You may also choose "other", and we can hash out the details of a custom option. However, be aware that it will be inferior to any of the major factions. You are also automatically assumed to be part of Fire Moth, no matter what option you pick.
Age: The work of a Valkyrie is not a profession for the old. The wear and tear of Artificial Stigmata has a nasty habit of killing the host as much as any monster they're fighting. As relative newbies, your age should range from somewhere between 16-19 years old. Age is barely a consideration in determining who is old enough to fight in the perpetual struggle against Honkai, but pure rationality dictates avoiding sending out those that aren't fully physically developed. 16 is therefore the absolute minimum to enter battle, no matter what "genius" traits or talents they might hold, but the majority of new fully-fledged Valkyrie range closer to 18-19 as graduates.
Valkyrie or Chevalier: Valkyries can be female or male, but due to the fact that Stigmata are more attuned to female genetics, females are generally noted to be more compatible with Honkai energy. If you play a male, you will be in the minority, and a cap will be enforced on how many male PCs can be in the whole party to reflect this rarity. Generally speaking (at least statistically for this), only 1-3/10 Valkyries are male. It will generally be first-come, first-serve on playing a male PC. If you're going for female, you can ignore most of this and do as you will. A male Valkyrie is instead known as a Chevalier. If you are from the School of Taixuan, this limitation still applies, and -though it is not technically correct- you are still referred to by one of these two terms.
Origin: Human, Psychic or Disciple of Taixuan.
Rank: You start at C-Rank and will have opportunities to be classed higher later, upon proving your metal. Playing a higher rank or "experienced senior" type is explicitly disallowed. You are all rookies. You may choose to play a D-Rank if you wish, but be aware that it will severely limit your combat opportunities until you rank up.
Grades: How you were ranked upon your last testing period, the score that said you were ready for field work. Grades for the typical Valkyrie run from F-A with particularly exceptional abilities being worthy of the S (Special) grade. You start with an average of "points" enough to have a D in every statistic, which you may adjust as you like. To have a "passing grade", you must have at least some semblance of competence in just about all areas, so only a single stat can be dumped further than an E. Conversely, no stat may be higher than C (unless the bar is raised by your Stigmata).
Type: Choose from among Mecha, Psychic or Biologic. Quantum and Imaginary are not necessarily absolutely restricted starting out, but due to their exotic nature, they cannot be taken casually, requiring a sufficient lore-compliant justification for them that doesn't overstep other character creation restrictions. Your type determines the delivery method of your element.
Element: Choose from among Fire, Ice, Lightning or Physical and theme your other abilities appropriately. Each element provides appropriate utilities and advantages. Fire can set things on fire and generally inflict additional damage over time, able to inflict a searing heat that can ignore Endurance. Ice can freeze enemies (or parts of them) solid and provide breathing room, slowing or stopping foes. Lightning can paralyze foes with a large enough shock or enough cumulative blows. Physical can inflict bleeding wounds and lower physical integrity in a supernatural way, dealing damage with raw brute force. These are not the only things these elements can do, but they are the primary and simplest ones when channeling them with Honkai energy.
Discipline: Dual Pistols, Blade (short/katana), Heavy (cannon), Two-Handed (greatsword), Cross, Fists (gauntlet), Scythe, Lance, Bow or Chakram. Your character may have competent skill in the usage of a single one of these disciplines, which comes with an innate understanding for handling any weapon that falls under that type with either equal skill or an intuitive understanding of its operations at minimum. You can wield any weapon from your discipline with at least a bare minimum of competence if you so much as pick it up, and with time to study its functions, you can use it as well as any other you've acquired. By contrast, you are unable to use weapons outside your discipline efficiently, and you won't be able to use their unique supernatural abilities, only wield them in their most basic surface capacity as a weapon.
Weapon: Choose or otherwise create your weapon. Your weapon will be equivalent to a three-star in-game. It's possible for it to have a unique ability of some stripe, but nothing crazy. You can pick an in-game weapon (this is preferred), and I will help decide what that weapon's ability translates to in narrative, rather than stats. Or if you want to go completely custom, we can perhaps work something out. Available weapons can be found on this wiki.
Stigmata: Choose from among Artificial or Natural Stigmata (if qualifying). Stigmata (singular Stigma) are the visual indicator that a human has mutated to have Honkai adaptability. Your Stigmata may potentially provide narrative abilities, based off in-game abilities altered to equivalent benefits or from a standing lineage, like Kaslana or Schariac. Your Stigmata is the primary source of your ability to manipulate Honkai energy, making you inclined to a specific element, and you recieve stat changes based on which one you have. This stat change effectively lowers and raises the maximum starting threshold for certain stats. For example, an Artificial Stigmata means the maximum starting Endurance is C instead of B. Conversely, however, a +1 will allow you to overcome the normal statistical threshold for your rank, and it can allow you to have a starting stat at B if you wish to invest that far. Even if you don't use the increase to go above the threshold immediately, it is still raised, and you can invest a point later into that empty spot. Mark any alterations of this sort as (+1), (-1), (+2), etc in your stats section.
SWARA: If you aren't a Disciple of Taixuan, remove this section. Otherwise, delete the Stigmata section instead. If you have SWARA, your martial training has taught you to manipulate the "Ki" inside your body to gradually cultivate and improve your natural adaptability to Honkai energy. Through extensive hard work and mystical teachings, you learned to alter the flow of Honkai energy within you, forever changing you into a supernatural existence. As a benefit of allowing your body to gradually adjust, you suffer none of the reduced lifespan issues Artificial Stigmata inflict. Conversely, however, your more grounded human nature leaves you more vulnerable to Honkai corruption than a Natural Stigmata would provide, and you are -generally speaking- a lot more "squishy" than a Valkyrie, relying far more on skill and not getting hit at all to carry the day. +1 to two stats of choice other than Endurance or Agility (cannot be the same stat), +1 to Agility, -1 to Endurance.
Battlesuit: Where the Stigmata acts as the power source, a Valkyrie's battlesuit provides the structure for their abilities, channeling the Honkai energy flowing through their bodies in the ways they desire. Whether it was developed in a lab or summoned from the Imaginary ether, your battlesuit is always on hand, able to be stored in a form of subspace while not in use and summoned back onto your body at a moment's notice. Battlesuits are rather unusual in the capacity of "armor", as they are less focused on protection and more on channeling Honkai energy safely. This, as a result, tends to mean they come across as "skimpy", as they are often designed to leave "breathing space" for excess energy to escape to not cook the wearer alive inside them like a microwave oven. After all, what use is there in protection from outside threats if the wearer suffers cascade from their own power? Of course, this is simply the commonality rather than an absolute rule, but the results speak for themselves, leaving most Valkyries to come across as rather eccentric in appearance. Your battlesuit provides no statistical benefits, being more like a work uniform than armor. Whatever protection it could provide is assumed to be inferior to the Valkyrie's own durability. However, most Valkyries cannot use their elemental supernatural abilities without donning it.
Burst: The special move of your battlesuit, a release of power that can typically only be pulled off sparingly. Your burst is a custom move or ability over which you have full creative freedom (within reason), either releasing the normal safety constraints upon your battlesuit or otherwise using a gathered excess of power to exert a higher tier of ability for a short time. You gain points of Burst modification for each point of your Burst stat, which you can use to determine how your burst strengthens you. This is typically a very draining effort that takes a toll on the body and puts you at greater risk of Honkai corruption. Your burst energy reserve charges over time, requiring preparation. Typically, it charges by post and is available (or otherwise held in reserve) approximately every five rounds, so use it tactically. This length can be modified by your Burst stat. Your Burst does not begin recharging until a previous use has fully resolved. Be warned that if your Burst rank is higher than your Endurance rank, every time you use it, you will take points of Honkai Corruption equal to the difference. You can mitigate this by deliberately casting your Burst at a lower rank, weakening it but subsequently making it safer. This way, it is available to you in some form even in areas with extremely high Honkai Miasma lowering your effective resistance to corruption.
Psionics: If you have chosen the Psychic race, this is where any talents derived from your nature will be described. While broadly speaking, you have creative freedom, your abilities here should remain within the bounds of the typical "cerebral" abilities you'd expect from a psychic. That means stuff like telekinesis, empathy, telepathy, remote viewing/scrying, and even perhaps precognition. Of these things, you are innately inclined to one or two and no others. Psychics are specialists that individually access only a limited few "skill trees" from amongst those available to their kind. Your rank of investment in the Intellect stat will partially influence what level of power and flexibility your abilities may have. It's also worth noting that psychic abilities are considered "useless" against the Honkai in most cases, so be sure to account for the fact that you can only fight Honkai with them indirectly. Psychics are best at anti-human operations over anti-Honkai. That being said, however, this means they have a potential niche use against Herrschers, who are simply humans empowered by the Honkai. If you didn't choose the psychic race, delete this section.
Skills: List any notable mundane skillsets or talents you might have, but do keep them within reason. As a rule of thumb, I expect your backstory to explain or otherwise easily imply exactly where each skill originated from. Example skills could be wilderness survival, cooking, piloting planes, any languages you know (at least passable English should be among them as a mandatory skill), and any particular acumen with technology (whether constructing or manipulating it).
Gear: Include notable assets, utilities and other equipment here. You are free to draw from any existing Present Era tech from the series within reason. Keep in mind you are low-ranking Valkyries, and the resources you can requisition for your missions are limited until you prove your worth. You should typically keep this within what you can carry on your person, either on hand or in your battlesuit's subspace.
Personality: You know the drill. Give us an idea of what they are at least like at a casual impression. What drives them? What annoys them? Likes? Dislikes? Dreams? Consider the Kakashi introduction as a template for the absolute minimum. A single paragraph is fine, of course, but more than that certainly wouldn't go amiss.
Biography: A couple paragraphs preferred. You don't need a novel, but this section should answer such questions as: What lifestyle did they grow up under? Why did they become a Valkyrie? Please note that whatever your backstory, your character should remain by the end of it a relative rookie to fighting the Honkai, pretty much freshly graduated/ranked up to a point where you're allowed to fight. Playing an "experienced senior", "ancient hero" or other archetype that would narratively only justify exceptionally honed skills and abilities is not allowed.
Name: You know the drill. Any monikers should also be here as alternate names.
Nationality: Valkyries operate globally and draw their talents from just about anywhere as a result.
Faction: Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, World Serpent, or School of Taixuan. Choose your faction and have your resources (and perhaps reputation) determined accordingly. This will likely be where you primarily received your Valkyrie training. You may also choose "other", and we can hash out the details of a custom option. However, be aware that it will be inferior to any of the major factions. You are also automatically assumed to be part of Fire Moth, no matter what option you pick.
Age: The work of a Valkyrie is not a profession for the old. The wear and tear of Artificial Stigmata has a nasty habit of killing the host as much as any monster they're fighting. As relative newbies, your age should range from somewhere between 16-19 years old. Age is barely a consideration in determining who is old enough to fight in the perpetual struggle against Honkai, but pure rationality dictates avoiding sending out those that aren't fully physically developed. 16 is therefore the absolute minimum to enter battle, no matter what "genius" traits or talents they might hold, but the majority of new fully-fledged Valkyrie range closer to 18-19 as graduates.
Valkyrie or Chevalier: Valkyries can be female or male, but due to the fact that Stigmata are more attuned to female genetics, females are generally noted to be more compatible with Honkai energy. If you play a male, you will be in the minority, and a cap will be enforced on how many male PCs can be in the whole party to reflect this rarity. Generally speaking (at least statistically for this), only 1-3/10 Valkyries are male. It will generally be first-come, first-serve on playing a male PC. If you're going for female, you can ignore most of this and do as you will. A male Valkyrie is instead known as a Chevalier. If you are from the School of Taixuan, this limitation still applies, and -though it is not technically correct- you are still referred to by one of these two terms.
Origin: Human, Psychic or Disciple of Taixuan.
- If Human, your supernatural abilities most likely stem entirely from your Stigmata; you were born with a natural resistance to Honkai energy that makes you one of the precious few that can survive this process and (relatively) safely use the powers it provides afterwards. Unlike a psychic, it's possible that you have a Natural Stigmata, but the trait is still very rare and will be treated as such.
- If Psychic, you are still human and still likely use an implanted Stigmata, but you are a distinct variant of human. You may have a unique psychic ability or talent of some type, the details of which should be hashed out with the GM, but if your ability is anything other than unrefined and/or weak, your Type will automatically be Psychic to reflect this focus in your training. Psychics are about as rare as male Valkyries and will be restricted similarly in number.
- Disciple of Taixuan: It's also possible that your abilities are derived from receiving SWARA training and that you have no Stigmata at all. You are still human. You have simply undergone extensive training to cultivate the natural Honkai adaptability of your body. If you choose this, remove your Stigmata section entirely and use the optional SWARA section on the sheet.
Rank: You start at C-Rank and will have opportunities to be classed higher later, upon proving your metal. Playing a higher rank or "experienced senior" type is explicitly disallowed. You are all rookies. You may choose to play a D-Rank if you wish, but be aware that it will severely limit your combat opportunities until you rank up.
Grades: How you were ranked upon your last testing period, the score that said you were ready for field work. Grades for the typical Valkyrie run from F-A with particularly exceptional abilities being worthy of the S (Special) grade. You start with an average of "points" enough to have a D in every statistic, which you may adjust as you like. To have a "passing grade", you must have at least some semblance of competence in just about all areas, so only a single stat can be dumped further than an E. Conversely, no stat may be higher than C (unless the bar is raised by your Stigmata).
- Power: Governs physical strength or weaponry. The general capacity to do damage. Contested by Endurance.
- Endurance: Governs damage resistance, overall "health pool", resistance against status effects and constitution. Also governs how resistant you are to the corruptive properties of Honkai energy.
- Agility: Governs a combination of swiftness and precision. Generally contested by the selfsame, but can be used to get around Endurance to a degree through sheer skill and/or weak point targeting.
- Intellect: Skill with knowledge-based pursuits. Governs psychic strength if the user has the potential. Also partially governs mental fortitude against certain types of trials, contributing to resisting mental influence and attacks, like from a Herrscher Ego or a MANTIS AHR.
- Honkai: Governs manipulating Honkai energy, energy pool and inflicting status effects. Displays how skilled at manipulating Honkai energy you are with or without gear. This effects how much Honkai energy your body naturally gathers and can safely hold on the day-to-day, and the higher the rank, the more you have to work with at the start of combat. When battle starts, you get a one-time discount on the rounds needed to use your Burst at a rate of 1 round per rank above F.
- Burst: How often you can use your "Burst" with a base of 5 rounds. A lower rank than D increases the required rounds. Higher than D decreases them. This stat also governs your Burst’s potency. Every point above F grants a “modifier point” for the Burst, representing the release of suppressed power, and you have one modifier point by default for a minimum of two. Your Burst stat limits how far effective boosts from it can go, and your burst cannot raise any stat beyond a single rank higher than your Burst level (ie. A D-Rank Burst can raise a D-Rank stat to C temporarily but no further, no matter how many points are dedicated to it).
Type: Choose from among Mecha, Psychic or Biologic. Quantum and Imaginary are not necessarily absolutely restricted starting out, but due to their exotic nature, they cannot be taken casually, requiring a sufficient lore-compliant justification for them that doesn't overstep other character creation restrictions. Your type determines the delivery method of your element.
- If you're Mecha, you probably use machinery and other pure high-tech; you rely on your equipment and have the training or some other capacity necessary to maintain and repair it.
- If you're Psychic, you've likely got the rare natural trait that allows you to manipulate things with your mind and naturally tap into a sort of spiritual energy; you rely on your mental stamina and intellect.
- If you're Biologic, you fight with primarily physiological traits, being the most physically dominant type of Valkyrie; you rely on your honed body and physical training to get by, fighting with brute force, agility and skill.
- If you're Imaginary, your abilities draw from a closer connection to Imaginary Space and the Imaginary Tree. Imaginary is exactly as it says: literally imagination wielded to impose a personal view on reality, usually subconsciously. In a lot of ways, they have many similarities to other types, but the fundamental reason behind your abilities is different. However, all Honkai energy is generally Imaginary in nature, so what separates a true Imaginary type from the crowd is that they usually look at the world in an unusual or inhuman way. It might not even be incorrect to call them "deluded", except that the nature of Imaginary imposes the user's own reality, thereby making them not delusional. Suffice it to say, this type is very strange and extremely uncommon. Fundamentally, Imaginary abilities hew towards a nature of "creation and control", and it is the type closest to the nature of the Honkai itself.
- If you're Quantum, you have been exposed to the Sea of Quanta in some capacity and been changed by the experience. It is quite possible that you are no longer entirely "grounded" in reality, attuned to the nature of things that exist in more than one place at once. To say the least, the opportunities for this to occur are vanishingly rare, but the results speak for themselves. Like the Sea of Quanta, your abilities hew towards destruction, chaos and dimensions. You rely on manipulating space in some fashion.
Element: Choose from among Fire, Ice, Lightning or Physical and theme your other abilities appropriately. Each element provides appropriate utilities and advantages. Fire can set things on fire and generally inflict additional damage over time, able to inflict a searing heat that can ignore Endurance. Ice can freeze enemies (or parts of them) solid and provide breathing room, slowing or stopping foes. Lightning can paralyze foes with a large enough shock or enough cumulative blows. Physical can inflict bleeding wounds and lower physical integrity in a supernatural way, dealing damage with raw brute force. These are not the only things these elements can do, but they are the primary and simplest ones when channeling them with Honkai energy.
Discipline: Dual Pistols, Blade (short/katana), Heavy (cannon), Two-Handed (greatsword), Cross, Fists (gauntlet), Scythe, Lance, Bow or Chakram. Your character may have competent skill in the usage of a single one of these disciplines, which comes with an innate understanding for handling any weapon that falls under that type with either equal skill or an intuitive understanding of its operations at minimum. You can wield any weapon from your discipline with at least a bare minimum of competence if you so much as pick it up, and with time to study its functions, you can use it as well as any other you've acquired. By contrast, you are unable to use weapons outside your discipline efficiently, and you won't be able to use their unique supernatural abilities, only wield them in their most basic surface capacity as a weapon.
Weapon: Choose or otherwise create your weapon. Your weapon will be equivalent to a three-star in-game. It's possible for it to have a unique ability of some stripe, but nothing crazy. You can pick an in-game weapon (this is preferred), and I will help decide what that weapon's ability translates to in narrative, rather than stats. Or if you want to go completely custom, we can perhaps work something out. Available weapons can be found on this wiki.
Stigmata: Choose from among Artificial or Natural Stigmata (if qualifying). Stigmata (singular Stigma) are the visual indicator that a human has mutated to have Honkai adaptability. Your Stigmata may potentially provide narrative abilities, based off in-game abilities altered to equivalent benefits or from a standing lineage, like Kaslana or Schariac. Your Stigmata is the primary source of your ability to manipulate Honkai energy, making you inclined to a specific element, and you recieve stat changes based on which one you have. This stat change effectively lowers and raises the maximum starting threshold for certain stats. For example, an Artificial Stigmata means the maximum starting Endurance is C instead of B. Conversely, however, a +1 will allow you to overcome the normal statistical threshold for your rank, and it can allow you to have a starting stat at B if you wish to invest that far. Even if you don't use the increase to go above the threshold immediately, it is still raised, and you can invest a point later into that empty spot. Mark any alterations of this sort as (+1), (-1), (+2), etc in your stats section.
- Artificial Stigmata: Developed to mimic natural stigmata, these imperfect stigmata are made through DNA sampling and artificial DNA of a compatible bloodline infused with Honkai energy. While this method does allow for higher Honkai energy adaptability, allowing people to fight that never could otherwise, it significantly shortens the life of the user and also has a higher risk of cascade as time continues. It is only used on Valkyries that are not Stigma Awakened. You do not gain any stat boosts from your Stigmata, as your starting stats are assumed to already be partially the result of it. +1 to a stat of choice other than Endurance; +1 to Honkai; -1 to Endurance.
- Natural Stigmata: These stigmata are naturally found on individuals with high Honkai adaptability. They are often passed through bloodlines, such as the Kaslana or Schariac families. Those that naturally develop a Stigma are known as Stigma Awakened. Those with these Stigmata are immune to Honkai cascade, able to live normal lives with regular lifespans if they wish. That said, they can still be burnt out by the overuse of Honkai energy; the only thing their mutated blood really defends them from is a fate worse than death. Psychics do not develop Natural Stigmata. +1 to Endurance; +1 to Honkai.
- True Stigmata: These stigmata are granted to humans who have the potential to become a Herrscher. A True Stigma acts like a visual marker but can cause pain and emotional instability at high concentrations of Honkai energy. Owners of these do not experience normal Honkai cascade but instead fall prey to their Herrscher Ego, who may take over the body until suppressed. True Stigmata are often mistaken for Natural Stigmata. In fact, it's quite possible for a "Natural" Stigmata to turn out to have actually been a True one, awakening and becoming more powerful under the right conditions. They are generally restricted entirely and may be privately discussed/bestowed or otherwise granted upon appropriate candidates at GM discretion. In addition, your cascade threshold instead scales off the average of Intellect and Endurance, rounded up, as for you, Honkai energy is not at all harmful but rather a highly intoxicating substance. +1 to stat of choice, +1 to Endurance; +1 to Honkai; +1 to Burst.
SWARA: If you aren't a Disciple of Taixuan, remove this section. Otherwise, delete the Stigmata section instead. If you have SWARA, your martial training has taught you to manipulate the "Ki" inside your body to gradually cultivate and improve your natural adaptability to Honkai energy. Through extensive hard work and mystical teachings, you learned to alter the flow of Honkai energy within you, forever changing you into a supernatural existence. As a benefit of allowing your body to gradually adjust, you suffer none of the reduced lifespan issues Artificial Stigmata inflict. Conversely, however, your more grounded human nature leaves you more vulnerable to Honkai corruption than a Natural Stigmata would provide, and you are -generally speaking- a lot more "squishy" than a Valkyrie, relying far more on skill and not getting hit at all to carry the day. +1 to two stats of choice other than Endurance or Agility (cannot be the same stat), +1 to Agility, -1 to Endurance.
Battlesuit: Where the Stigmata acts as the power source, a Valkyrie's battlesuit provides the structure for their abilities, channeling the Honkai energy flowing through their bodies in the ways they desire. Whether it was developed in a lab or summoned from the Imaginary ether, your battlesuit is always on hand, able to be stored in a form of subspace while not in use and summoned back onto your body at a moment's notice. Battlesuits are rather unusual in the capacity of "armor", as they are less focused on protection and more on channeling Honkai energy safely. This, as a result, tends to mean they come across as "skimpy", as they are often designed to leave "breathing space" for excess energy to escape to not cook the wearer alive inside them like a microwave oven. After all, what use is there in protection from outside threats if the wearer suffers cascade from their own power? Of course, this is simply the commonality rather than an absolute rule, but the results speak for themselves, leaving most Valkyries to come across as rather eccentric in appearance. Your battlesuit provides no statistical benefits, being more like a work uniform than armor. Whatever protection it could provide is assumed to be inferior to the Valkyrie's own durability. However, most Valkyries cannot use their elemental supernatural abilities without donning it.
- Features: Outside its ability to channel Honkai energy, your battlesuit is typically possessed of a conglomeration of other utilities, including communications, GPS and sensors to measure local Honkai Miasma levels. Whatever weapons or other tools you use can be stored within or retrieved from your battlesuit's subspace storage, which can hold a limited amount of possession and automatically absorbs the wearer's normal clothes and possession into it when the battlesuit is summoned. Most modern battlesuits also grant you access to the Time Fracture ability.
- Time Fracture: A legacy ability from a past Era, this technology and technique was developed after extensive study of the core of the Herrscher of the Void, eventually culminating in a mimicry of a single aspect of its abilities. Time Fracture partially displaces the user's temporal and spatial profile, casting the world around them into shades of purple from their viewpoint and -furthermore- into slow motion while leaving the user -from their perspective- moving at normal speeds. When a Valkyrie uses this ability, they effectively increase their Agility by one level for a single post or about 5-10 seconds, whichever is shorter IC, giving them the opportunity to dodge some form of peril and potentially retaliate in the same timeframe. Time Fracture accrues a very particular kind of strain, and as such, it has a large enough cooldown that it can usually only be used once per battle.
Burst: The special move of your battlesuit, a release of power that can typically only be pulled off sparingly. Your burst is a custom move or ability over which you have full creative freedom (within reason), either releasing the normal safety constraints upon your battlesuit or otherwise using a gathered excess of power to exert a higher tier of ability for a short time. You gain points of Burst modification for each point of your Burst stat, which you can use to determine how your burst strengthens you. This is typically a very draining effort that takes a toll on the body and puts you at greater risk of Honkai corruption. Your burst energy reserve charges over time, requiring preparation. Typically, it charges by post and is available (or otherwise held in reserve) approximately every five rounds, so use it tactically. This length can be modified by your Burst stat. Your Burst does not begin recharging until a previous use has fully resolved. Be warned that if your Burst rank is higher than your Endurance rank, every time you use it, you will take points of Honkai Corruption equal to the difference. You can mitigate this by deliberately casting your Burst at a lower rank, weakening it but subsequently making it safer. This way, it is available to you in some form even in areas with extremely high Honkai Miasma lowering your effective resistance to corruption.
- Rank: Equal to your Burst stat.
- Duration: 1 round +1 for each Burst rank above F. You can sacrifice rounds of duration for more modifier points, creating a more powerful but short-lived burst. You can lower this to a minimum of one round.
- Modifier Points: 1 point +1 for every rank above F. A point is required to be spent for every "notable feature", which will be determined by GM review.
- Effect: Describe your custom ability here. Keep in mind, your ability should stay "on brand" for your type and element, and anything that strays into the domain of outside ones will likely be vetoed.
Psionics: If you have chosen the Psychic race, this is where any talents derived from your nature will be described. While broadly speaking, you have creative freedom, your abilities here should remain within the bounds of the typical "cerebral" abilities you'd expect from a psychic. That means stuff like telekinesis, empathy, telepathy, remote viewing/scrying, and even perhaps precognition. Of these things, you are innately inclined to one or two and no others. Psychics are specialists that individually access only a limited few "skill trees" from amongst those available to their kind. Your rank of investment in the Intellect stat will partially influence what level of power and flexibility your abilities may have. It's also worth noting that psychic abilities are considered "useless" against the Honkai in most cases, so be sure to account for the fact that you can only fight Honkai with them indirectly. Psychics are best at anti-human operations over anti-Honkai. That being said, however, this means they have a potential niche use against Herrschers, who are simply humans empowered by the Honkai. If you didn't choose the psychic race, delete this section.
Skills: List any notable mundane skillsets or talents you might have, but do keep them within reason. As a rule of thumb, I expect your backstory to explain or otherwise easily imply exactly where each skill originated from. Example skills could be wilderness survival, cooking, piloting planes, any languages you know (at least passable English should be among them as a mandatory skill), and any particular acumen with technology (whether constructing or manipulating it).
Gear: Include notable assets, utilities and other equipment here. You are free to draw from any existing Present Era tech from the series within reason. Keep in mind you are low-ranking Valkyries, and the resources you can requisition for your missions are limited until you prove your worth. You should typically keep this within what you can carry on your person, either on hand or in your battlesuit's subspace.
Personality: You know the drill. Give us an idea of what they are at least like at a casual impression. What drives them? What annoys them? Likes? Dislikes? Dreams? Consider the Kakashi introduction as a template for the absolute minimum. A single paragraph is fine, of course, but more than that certainly wouldn't go amiss.
Biography: A couple paragraphs preferred. You don't need a novel, but this section should answer such questions as: What lifestyle did they grow up under? Why did they become a Valkyrie? Please note that whatever your backstory, your character should remain by the end of it a relative rookie to fighting the Honkai, pretty much freshly graduated/ranked up to a point where you're allowed to fight. Playing an "experienced senior", "ancient hero" or other archetype that would narratively only justify exceptionally honed skills and abilities is not allowed.
Appearance: A tall young woman with ashy-grey hair and oddly purple eyes, her perpetually pale skin often brings into question how much sunlight she gets, yet does not seem to burn under its light. This nearly doll-like pallor is accompanied, however, by most every other sign of exceptional health, her honed and shapely body speaking to an appreciation of hard work, the genetic lottery or some combination of the two. Her armored dress of a battlesuit gives off the image in battle of a black knight, as she zips around to slice and dice her foes.
Name: Jessica Richter
Nationality: American
Faction: Anti-Entropy.
Age: 19
Valkyrie or Chevalier: Valkyrie
Origin: Human.
Rank: C
Grades:
- Power: D
- Endurance: C (+1)
- Agility: C
- Intellect: E
- Honkai: C (+1)
- Burst: D
Type: Quantum
Element: Ice. Ice can freeze enemies (or parts of them) solid to hinder movement and provide breathing room. It can also counter the burning condition and counteract the effects of extreme heat. These are not the only things it can do, provided some creativity is exercised, but they are the primary and simplest ones.
Discipline: Blade (short/katana).
Weapon: Pulse Katana Type-17
- Ability: Channeling a practically trivial trickle of Honkai energy through this weapon, it launches 6 ethereal blades, each blade dealing Ice DMG and greatly slowing enemies struck with them for a single post or 2.5 seconds, whichever is shorter. The ice creeping through their veins lowers their Agility stat by one rank for the duration of this effect. While this duration isn't impressive, the negligible Honkai energy cost and relatively "okay-ish" damage makes it plenty useful if well timed. This ability counts as a status effect and can be resisted with Endurance contested by your Honkai.
Stigmata: Natural Stigmata
- Natural Stigmata: These stigmata are naturally found on individuals with high Honkai adaptability. They are often passed through bloodlines, such as the Kaslana or Schariac families. Those that naturally develop a Stigma are known as Stigma Awakened. While those with these Stigmata are not immune to cascade, they are highly resilient to it. Psychics do not develop Natural Stigmata. +1 to Endurance; +1 to Honkai.
Battlesuit: Void Knight
- Features: Communications, GPS, subspace storage, and sensors to measure local Honkai Miasma levels.
- Time Fracture: A legacy ability from a past Era, this technology and technique was developed after extensive study of the core of the Herrscher of the Void, eventually culminating in a mimicry of a single aspect of its abilities. Time Fracture partially displaces the user's temporal and spatial profile, casting the world around them into shades of purple from their viewpoint and -furthermore- into slow motion while leaving the user -from their perspective- moving at normal speeds. When a Valkyrie uses this ability, they effectively increase their Agility by one level for a single post or about 5-10 seconds, whichever is shorter IC, giving them the opportunity to dodge some form of peril and potentially retaliate in the same timeframe. Time Fracture accrues a very particular kind of strain, and as such, it has a large enough cooldown that it can usually only be used once per battle.
Burst: Quantum Heatsink
- Rank: D
- Duration: 3 rounds.
- Modifier Points: 3 (+1 Corruption Cleansing, +2 area effect)
- Effect: Calls forth a chilling cold by opening her body as a gateway to the Quantum void, coating her near vicinity in frost. This gate to the void has a special effect in that zone, as the radical temperature drop can counteract Honkai corruption, the rapid decrease in thermal energy "freezing" the particles to halt the imminent cascade and drawing them away. Her connection to the Sea of Quanta allows her to do as it does and consume and shunt Imaginary energy. For every round that an ally remains in her zone of cold, a single point of Honkai corruption is cleansed. This also effectively lowers the Honkai Miasma level in her vicinity by 1 for the duration.
Skills: List any notable mundane skillsets or talents you might have, but do keep them within reason. As a rule of thumb, I expect your backstory to explain or otherwise easily imply exactly where each skill originated from. Example skills could be wilderness survival, cooking, piloting planes, any languages you know (at least passable English should be among them as a mandatory skill), and any particular acumen with technology (whether constructing or manipulating it).
Gear: Include notable assets, utilities and other equipment here. You are free to draw from any existing Present Era tech from the series within reason. Keep in mind you are low-ranking Valkyries, and the resources you can requisition for your missions are limited until you prove your worth. You should typically keep this within what you can carry on your person, either on hand or in your battlesuit's subspace.
Personality: You know the drill. Give us an idea of what they are at least like at a casual impression. What drives them? What annoys them? Likes? Dislikes? Dreams? Consider the Kakashi introduction as a template for the absolute minimum. A single paragraph is fine, of course, but more than that certainly wouldn't go amiss.
Biography: A couple paragraphs preferred. You don't need a novel, but this section should answer such questions as: What lifestyle did they grow up under? Why did they become a Valkyrie? Please note that whatever your backstory, your character should remain by the end of it a relative rookie to fighting the Honkai, pretty much freshly graduated/ranked up to a point where you're allowed to fight. Playing an "experienced senior", "ancient hero" or other archetype that would narratively only justify exceptionally honed skills and abilities is not allowed.
You can add whatever other bells and whistles you like as long as your headers have everything listed here in this format. For best results, please copy/paste the header code from Raw.
Character name and/or image should be displayed. Maximum vertical image height of 300.
Power: ?; Endurance: ?; Agility: ?; Intellect: ?; Honkai: ?; Burst: ?
Health: ?/? (Maximum equal to your Endurance stat. This starts out full.)
Honkai Corruption: 0/? (Maximum equal to your Endurance stat. This starts off empty.)
Burst Charge: ?/? (Maximum determined by your Burst stat; your starting charge determined by Burst and Honkai stats)
Time Fracture: ? (Simply list Yes or No to keep track of whether or not it's off cooldown. Starts out "Yes")
Jessica Richter
Power: D; Endurance: C; Agility: C; Intellect: E; Honkai: C; Burst: D
Health: 4/4
Honkai Corruption: 0/4
Burst Charge: 3/5
Time Fracture: Yes.
