[OOC] Symphony on High

[BrokenPromise]

@The World Yes, that works.

[BrokenPromise]

Alrighty then.

In case it wasn’t apparent (it won’t be for some characters), a few espers have gotten their PR improved this post cycle. Ashley, Asher, and Cirilla may all improve their PRs by one grade and enjoy the improved special/larger loadout that comes with it.

Also a reminder to everyone who hasn’t submitted a glamor upgrade yet, remember to get that to me. These operations are tough enough when you’re equipped for them, and being under equipped could spell disaster. Probably. So make sure to do that.

And this is optional, but guys are also free to make bronze backups! Find a friend and start brainstorming.

There won’t be a GM update next week, but don’t be idle. Some of you have a bit of work to do before your characters are in order.

But I’m not just giving you guys time off, I need some time to update the notes in the DoCS. Here’s some stuff that’s coming down the pipe.

Blink/Transplace is getting its (hopefully) final rework, and cast notes are getting definitive cast times.

Blink has always been a weird one. It’s something that feels like it needs to be in the RP, but it’s hard to balance just because of how it functions. I won’t bore you with the details, but what’s made it kind of broken is it has few counters and lots of applications. It doesn’t even really matter what grade you cast it at.

So to fix this we’re doing two things:

#1: We’re giving Blink/Transplace a delay between when the effect activates and when the teleportation actually happens. It’s still a viable movement tool at lower levels, but you'll need to use more mana if time is of the essence or to minimize the chance of getting intercepted.

#2: Cast times are going to become more concrete. I’ve been keeping it kind of nebulous, but as time goes on, it’s becoming more apparent that having definitive time for all cast notes to activate is useful for making judgements. This really shouldn’t change how they function in the RP very much.

Quicken will make melodies cast instantly.

It’s underutilized, likely because there’s been no definitive cast time for melodies… Until now! This should make a fair number of melodies much harder to dodge and justify that grade drop associated with it. We’ll keep an eye on it moving forward

Summon Rework

Summon is one of those things that nobody really used until recently, so I haven’t had a lot of data points to use for making adjustments. It’s not an expensive note, but for now we’ll drop the price a bit. While it has potential for some big shenanigans, it does take some time to set up. Beyond that, it’s going to get better defined, and notes you cast with it will allow you to have the summon apply those effects on touch. We’ll be keeping an eye on this one.

Purify/Dispel Rework

Purify/Dispel have been famously difficult to tell which one works in which situation, so it’s going to function as such: Purify removes physical/chaotic ailments inflicted by monsters and physical weapons, and Dispel unbinds magical effects, such as magical buffs, magical debuffs, and magical constructs such as arcane constructs, spells, etc.

With the movement towards removing “all or nothing” mechanics, Purify/Dispel are going to primarily be used to weaken effects rather than outright remove them. This will be applied to other notes down the line, but there’s quite a bit happening this update and I don’t want to over promise and under deliver. *Points at username*

And that’s not all…

Hunts are coming back!

For those that don’t know, in the past I would let players team up their espers and go on small side operations that are made for two people. It’s good for going on a romantic date teaming up with espers that you normally wouldn’t get a chance to. More details will come around next week, but if you are interested in participating in an operation that is smaller in scale when compared to the mainline ones, then keep an eye out for them. They can also tie into the main plot. Dante and the were tiger mafia were introduced in hunts during the old RP, so don’t look at them as mere busy work. I mean you can, but it would be wrong to do so, and Majora would laugh at you.

[ERode]

Witch Hunt
For monsters, exorcism and execution. For witches, prohibition and imprisonment.

Grade: Gold
Element: Light
Notes: [Reveal (2), Purity (4)] Mana Burn (6), Magic Sense (4), Blink (4), Dispel (6), Damage (2), Stabilize (0), Shield (4), Scatter (2), Full Extend (4), Restrain (4), Enhance (2), Quicken (0)
Special: SACRAMENT OF CENSURE - Mana Burn, when cast, counts as one Rank up. At the start of an Operation, choose one of two effects to append to SACRAMENT OF CENSURE:

Against Espers, Mana Burn seals the usage of a specific category of notes that Estelle chooses at the start of the operation, based off of the categories denoted within the Doctrine of Combat.
Against Monsters, Mana Burn causes all the monster's stats to count as one rank lower.

[BrokenPromise]

@ERode Slap that in there.

[BrokenPromise]

Hey hey people, the new DoCS patch is live! Give it a look if you're curious about the changes. Summon might be overtuned for the cost, but we'll be keeping an eye on how it performs in the next operation. The temptation was to sneak in a craft update, but I feel like there are enough balance changes in this “patch” that it wasn’t necessary.

Hunts and information about how to join them should be up later this week. In the meantime, I gotta get some character sheets updated and participate in some collabs.

It’s gunna be an exciting week.

[TaintedMushroom]

GENRE:

Indomitable Rage

Asher’s rage has become a force of nature, an indomitable force of will that seeks to pummel any form of opposition and brush off any who dare attempt to quell the inferno. Fires of retribution and vengeance made corporeal seek to protect those who can’t protect themselves by leaving no opposing force standing.

GRADE: Gold
ELEMENT: Fire
NOTES: [Ignite, Fervor] Damage X, Damage, AoE, Puddle, Sky Call, Powerful, Scatter, Shield, Blink, Full Extend, Purify, Restrain
SPECIAL: Flames of Retribution // When choosing to eat an attack meant for someone else Asher may cast Fervor automatically, IF choosing to retaliate against the attacker in his next attack any melody or physical attack is raised by 1 rank, mana costs for fervor and the following melody are halved.

[BrokenPromise]

Hunts are live! Just peer into the zeroth OOC post for a gander.

But before you participate in them, some of you may wish to upgrade your glamors first.

@The World@TaintedMushroom I feel like we discussed or even finished discussing them, but your character sheets have not been edited yet?

@Nakushita@FamishedPants@Vertigo I don't think I've heard any ideas from any of you yet. might wanna get on that.

@Kero You get an upgrade because an operation has concluded. that's what happens when you app for an rp months in advance smh my head.

And then I need to do mine, once I get done setting everything up.

Also remember that you guys can make bronze backup glamors, haven't seen anyone going for those. y'all need more friends huh?