Tri-Mon Crossover (Shin Megami Tensei, Digimon, and Pokemon in a Shared Universe!)
I. Intro
II. How does this all work?
III. Magic, Technology, and How Humans Can Match 'Mons
IV. Character Sheet
V. Rules
1.) No godmodding, powerplaying, metagaming, etc. etc.
2.) No getting raunchy with OCs under 18, please. With OCs above 18, just be careful not to do anything above non-descriptive nudity.
3.) No OOC feuding! If you must argue, be respectful. IC, meanwhile, you can hate each other as much as you like as long as it doesn't seep over to OOC.
4.) Please notify me if you will be gone longer than a few days, I will let you guys know if I will be gone.
5.) Abide by the magic interference limits, please. We do not need 12 ‘Mon and 2 mages running around at the same time in one fight, nor some guy whipping out an army of disposable exploding Koffing. Gentlemen's agreements for less ‘Mon in a fight are very common in-universe since commanding a bunch of ‘Mon simultaneously is very demanding and messy. 3 on 3 fights (not including trainers) are for battles to the death and those trying to acclimate to such a format.
OOC Discussion Discord
I. Intro
A Japan where reality is shattered, and Pokemon, Digimon, and Demons compete and coexist.
Demons possess fundamental powers of Creation, which allow them to bring forth new objects from nothingness. However, they can be changed and altered by Human beliefs. Not merely that, but Gods, or even Capital-G God, the Creator of the Universe, can be downgraded into Demons by those same Human beliefs, and there is a cottage industry engaged in doing just this so that Demons can be controlled by Human 'Summoners'. Today, most demons no longer live up to their reputations as gods due to a loss of faith resulting from the messy and/or conflicting mythologues forced upon them. However, that is not to say that they are powerless, nor that all of them suffer equally from humanity’s attempts at rewrites.
Pokemon originated from an attempt at making artificial Demons resistant to attempts to change them through belief. However, even they need energy from Human bonds to gain real power, which is why many of them, even Arceus, the first Pokemon, form friendships with Humans that they draw energy from; sometimes, however, weaker Pokemon can be disadvantaged by those friendships and abused.
The Digimon, meanwhile, are fully independent beings capable of human speech like Demons, drawing energy from Human relationships like Pokemon, but cannot be changed by just believing different things about them. In fact, as Digital Beings, they can reshape Demons as well as Humans can, which they use to transform Demons into Digimon. This is a terrifying development.
As for Humans? They are the real rulers of the Universe, yet subjugate each other with 'Mons as their tools. They want meaning and belonging from being part of a greater cause, yet do not want to accept that they have subjugated and altered every being that was once worth their worship. Now they make war with each other in a Japan similar yet different from our own, hoping to shape a new Reality where one set of beliefs is on top, hoping it would grant them satisfaction...
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Yes, a Pokemon + Digimon + Shin Megami Tensei RP that tries to meld the settings together. This will be an Open World RP, within reason, where you guys get to play in multiple places and have multiple plotlines with each other, maybe across multiple threads. However, there will be a lot of violence, including violence towards Pokemon, so do not expect this setting to be, well, child's play.
Demons possess fundamental powers of Creation, which allow them to bring forth new objects from nothingness. However, they can be changed and altered by Human beliefs. Not merely that, but Gods, or even Capital-G God, the Creator of the Universe, can be downgraded into Demons by those same Human beliefs, and there is a cottage industry engaged in doing just this so that Demons can be controlled by Human 'Summoners'. Today, most demons no longer live up to their reputations as gods due to a loss of faith resulting from the messy and/or conflicting mythologues forced upon them. However, that is not to say that they are powerless, nor that all of them suffer equally from humanity’s attempts at rewrites.
Pokemon originated from an attempt at making artificial Demons resistant to attempts to change them through belief. However, even they need energy from Human bonds to gain real power, which is why many of them, even Arceus, the first Pokemon, form friendships with Humans that they draw energy from; sometimes, however, weaker Pokemon can be disadvantaged by those friendships and abused.
The Digimon, meanwhile, are fully independent beings capable of human speech like Demons, drawing energy from Human relationships like Pokemon, but cannot be changed by just believing different things about them. In fact, as Digital Beings, they can reshape Demons as well as Humans can, which they use to transform Demons into Digimon. This is a terrifying development.
As for Humans? They are the real rulers of the Universe, yet subjugate each other with 'Mons as their tools. They want meaning and belonging from being part of a greater cause, yet do not want to accept that they have subjugated and altered every being that was once worth their worship. Now they make war with each other in a Japan similar yet different from our own, hoping to shape a new Reality where one set of beliefs is on top, hoping it would grant them satisfaction...
------
Yes, a Pokemon + Digimon + Shin Megami Tensei RP that tries to meld the settings together. This will be an Open World RP, within reason, where you guys get to play in multiple places and have multiple plotlines with each other, maybe across multiple threads. However, there will be a lot of violence, including violence towards Pokemon, so do not expect this setting to be, well, child's play.
II. How does this all work?
The Great Will, also called The Axiom, created Humanity, and gave it the power of Observation, which means that what Humanity collectively believes about Gods and other mythological beings becomes real. So as Humanity grew and evolved, they 'Observed' the supernatural landscape around them, reshaping them according to their changing beliefs and local cultures. Even YHVH, the foremost avatar of the Great Will/Axiom, the creator of the Universe, and the God of Law and Monotheism, was affected by the very power given to Humanity even as the latter praised and worshiped him.
In Japan, this had consequences, where, except in various areas of Kyushu Island, YHVH is transformed into an evil tyrant opposed by Lucifer, who according to most Japanese is the benevolent sort of rebel. This is generally not the case in other areas of the world, where it is seen as the reverse. Eventually, as the various nations of Humanity forged global connections and began to compare and contrast notes, they realized that they could create and control their Gods, and so experiments in creating their own, more consistent 'Monsters' were kick-started.
This resulted in Pokemon being born from alchemical experiments melding Demons and biological life in the Sengoku period (Oda Nobunaga fully united Japan in this timeline), and Digimon being born in Great Britain in the 1940s when computer technology was advancing at a rapid pace. Now, Demons, Pokemon, and Digimon are commonplace throughout the world, although Demons are more common in places where traditional beliefs are strong.
The consequences are that Japan and the rest of the world are more divided; Japan's Imperial Diet is almost as powerless as the Emperor, as entire cities and prefectures use the power of Pokemon, Digimon, and Demons to defy the central government's decrees. The country is in a low-level civil war, albeit one where the most powerful 'Rogue Regions' have made it clear that they'd unite against any obvious foreign interference.
And this, my dear Demon Summoner/Digimon Tamer/Pokemon Trainer, is where you come in.
Are you a warlord, using the power of Bishamonten to slaughter your foes?
Are you a corporate executive, masterminding the creation of new, stronger Digimon?
Or are you a Pokemon Trainer who's just using his Pokemon to farm?
...Maybe you're something else; we'll see - Either way, Japan is your oyster.
In Japan, this had consequences, where, except in various areas of Kyushu Island, YHVH is transformed into an evil tyrant opposed by Lucifer, who according to most Japanese is the benevolent sort of rebel. This is generally not the case in other areas of the world, where it is seen as the reverse. Eventually, as the various nations of Humanity forged global connections and began to compare and contrast notes, they realized that they could create and control their Gods, and so experiments in creating their own, more consistent 'Monsters' were kick-started.
This resulted in Pokemon being born from alchemical experiments melding Demons and biological life in the Sengoku period (Oda Nobunaga fully united Japan in this timeline), and Digimon being born in Great Britain in the 1940s when computer technology was advancing at a rapid pace. Now, Demons, Pokemon, and Digimon are commonplace throughout the world, although Demons are more common in places where traditional beliefs are strong.
The consequences are that Japan and the rest of the world are more divided; Japan's Imperial Diet is almost as powerless as the Emperor, as entire cities and prefectures use the power of Pokemon, Digimon, and Demons to defy the central government's decrees. The country is in a low-level civil war, albeit one where the most powerful 'Rogue Regions' have made it clear that they'd unite against any obvious foreign interference.
And this, my dear Demon Summoner/Digimon Tamer/Pokemon Trainer, is where you come in.
Are you a warlord, using the power of Bishamonten to slaughter your foes?
Are you a corporate executive, masterminding the creation of new, stronger Digimon?
Or are you a Pokemon Trainer who's just using his Pokemon to farm?
...Maybe you're something else; we'll see - Either way, Japan is your oyster.
III. Magic, Technology, and How Humans Can Match 'Mons
Magic exists in the world, and in Canon SMT, most Humans are incapable of it without aid from a magic item, demonic ancestry, or having a demonic magical item implanted into them like the Magatama. Needless to say, this rule is relaxed in this Roleplay, and you can be a Mage as well as a Pokemon Trainer, Digimon Tamer, and Demon Summoner, albeit with this limitation:
The Grand Restriction: More Powerful Magic, Less Powerful 'Mons
Magic feeds on the very same emotional energy that Pokemon, Digimon, and Demons depend on. If you use your Magic to cast a spell, you can't use that energy to fuel your 'Mon's powers. Being a Mage at all reduces your initial Team size to 5, with greater powers limiting your team size further. Depending on the power, they may limit the amount of ‘Mon you can effectively field at the same time, unless your character holds back on their powers. (and has powers that allow them to)
There are 4 main limitations to you and your team in this RP:
Starting with the initial team limit, you and your team of ‘Mon must cost no more than 6 “points”:
This is solely for your character's initial team; your character can grow as a mage and your collection of 'Mon can expand beyond your initial selection. While special pokemon and high-grade demons aren't allowed on starting teams, your character can capture legendary or mythical pokemon, or high-grade demons within the RP. That being said, you are expected to take a bit more than a single post before achieving such developments for your character. Even if it’s for ordinary ‘Mon, they might as well be counted against your starting team's point limit if there’s nothing leading up to catching them.
The second and third limits - 6 'Mon per team and 3 'Mon in combat at once, are simple and largely self-explanatory. Too many 'Mon tied to one person leads to magical interference, which causes 'Mon attacks to fizzle out. If your character catches a seventh 'Mon, all 'Mon on their person will struggle to successfully execute attacks, and if they send out a fourth mon in battle, attempting to use all four 'Mon within a short period of time (i.e. Even if they abide by the magic limit below) will cause most if not all of their attacks to fizzle out.
The fourth and final numerical limit is to the amount of magic that can be expended at once. This limit is 4. Although this RP does not have turn-based combat, it can be useful to think of this limit as "per turn" when planning out how much done at once is too much. Depending on how powerful your character's abilities are, your abilities may cost more than 1 magic, and thus if you have 3 'Mon out, not all of them will be able to attack alongside or combo with such abilities. If your attacks are comparable to 'Mon attacks (See: Agidyne) they will generally cost 1 magic. If your ability tends to be comparable to unique and/or powerful 'Mon abilities, (such as Luster Candy) they will likely require 2 magic to use, even though ‘Mon only need 1 magic to use them. If the distinction is unclear, consider how teammates are balanced in Persona games (i.e. Dragon Hustle and Hyakka Ryouran are unique abilities) rather than how the main character is balanced. We'll be going case-by-case, so there may be exceptions to the rules. If your character lacks magical abilities, you can either look for other ways they can be useful in combat, such as looking up weaknesses with a Pokedex or enchanted Spyglass, or getting their hands on a magical gun.
For 'Mon, magic is generally consumed at a higher rate by:
Since Dynamaxing and Terastallization are region-specific, they will not be available within the RP.
The Grand Restriction: More Powerful Magic, Less Powerful 'Mons
Magic feeds on the very same emotional energy that Pokemon, Digimon, and Demons depend on. If you use your Magic to cast a spell, you can't use that energy to fuel your 'Mon's powers. Being a Mage at all reduces your initial Team size to 5, with greater powers limiting your team size further. Depending on the power, they may limit the amount of ‘Mon you can effectively field at the same time, unless your character holds back on their powers. (and has powers that allow them to)
There are 4 main limitations to you and your team in this RP:
- Your starting magical capabilities and your starting team - 6
- The number of ‘Mon that can be tied to a single source of magic (you) without causing magical interference - 6
- The number of ‘Mon capable of simultaneous action within combat without causing magical interference - 3
- The power of the magic you and your ‘Mon are able to wield simultaneously - 4
Starting with the initial team limit, you and your team of ‘Mon must cost no more than 6 “points”:
- 1 point for your character having any magical capabilities that are even slightly relevant in a battle. This includes willpower abilities, such as SMT phys or gun skills.
- 2 points (instead) if your character’s magic isn’t pathetic, such as being able to cast a tier 2 SMT spell such as Agilao, or being able to cause some damage to harder/sturdier ‘Mon (e.g. steel pokemon) via punches or bullets.
- 3 points if your character’s magic is actually quite strong, such as being able to cast a tier 3 SMT spell such as Agidyne or the utility to deal with most forms of attack or defense. It is around this point that your unarmed character tends to be more dangerous than a dude with a gun, but not so strong that a dude with a gun is a complete non-issue to them.
- 4 points if your character’s magic tends to lean towards “They win if it is used successfully”, or if they are otherwise capable of affecting a particularly large area. At this point, your character’s abilities have strong effects, but even if they don't, they might belong here if there are few conventional (non-magical, non-’Mon) means of countering it.
- 5 points If your character scrapes the limits of what is allowed; able to single-handedly cause large-scale catastrophes with their powers. The form that catastrophe takes need not be physical, or even a catastrophe, but the influence your character wields over the world puts the vast majority of ‘Mon to shame.
- 2 points per Ultra Beast, Paradox Pokemon, Sublegendary Pokemon, or Pokemon in the 600 club. (Which includes pseudo-legendary pokemon and Archaludon)
- 1 point for all other non-legendary, non-mythical pokemon
- 2 points for a digimon currently capable of digivolving into a mega form
- 2 points for digimon fusions (aka DNA Digivolutions, because they are just two digimon in a trenchcoat)
- 1 point for all other digimon
- 1 point for any grade 79 or lower (4 star or lower) demon in dx2
- 1 point for any demon with a grade of 50 or lower in a mainline SMT/Persona game.
This is solely for your character's initial team; your character can grow as a mage and your collection of 'Mon can expand beyond your initial selection. While special pokemon and high-grade demons aren't allowed on starting teams, your character can capture legendary or mythical pokemon, or high-grade demons within the RP. That being said, you are expected to take a bit more than a single post before achieving such developments for your character. Even if it’s for ordinary ‘Mon, they might as well be counted against your starting team's point limit if there’s nothing leading up to catching them.
The second and third limits - 6 'Mon per team and 3 'Mon in combat at once, are simple and largely self-explanatory. Too many 'Mon tied to one person leads to magical interference, which causes 'Mon attacks to fizzle out. If your character catches a seventh 'Mon, all 'Mon on their person will struggle to successfully execute attacks, and if they send out a fourth mon in battle, attempting to use all four 'Mon within a short period of time (i.e. Even if they abide by the magic limit below) will cause most if not all of their attacks to fizzle out.
The fourth and final numerical limit is to the amount of magic that can be expended at once. This limit is 4. Although this RP does not have turn-based combat, it can be useful to think of this limit as "per turn" when planning out how much done at once is too much. Depending on how powerful your character's abilities are, your abilities may cost more than 1 magic, and thus if you have 3 'Mon out, not all of them will be able to attack alongside or combo with such abilities. If your attacks are comparable to 'Mon attacks (See: Agidyne) they will generally cost 1 magic. If your ability tends to be comparable to unique and/or powerful 'Mon abilities, (such as Luster Candy) they will likely require 2 magic to use, even though ‘Mon only need 1 magic to use them. If the distinction is unclear, consider how teammates are balanced in Persona games (i.e. Dragon Hustle and Hyakka Ryouran are unique abilities) rather than how the main character is balanced. We'll be going case-by-case, so there may be exceptions to the rules. If your character lacks magical abilities, you can either look for other ways they can be useful in combat, such as looking up weaknesses with a Pokedex or enchanted Spyglass, or getting their hands on a magical gun.
For 'Mon, magic is generally consumed at a higher rate by:
- Z-moves (2 on the "turn" it is used)
- Mega Digimon (2 per "turn")
- Certain exceptionally powerful demons or pokemon, (Arceus, Mega/Primal Legendaries, Metatron, Lucifer, etc.) May require 2 magic per "turn". People will be notified if it becomes relevant in the plot.
Since Dynamaxing and Terastallization are region-specific, they will not be available within the RP.
Aura, Digisoul, and psychically-gifted humans exist and are subject to the same restrictions as Magic. Crests allow you to empower your Digimon as long as you feel the emotion or virtue associated with them. Good on you if you have the Crest of Hope, bad if you have the Crest of Envy.
Guns exist and are now legal in Japan, and can wound or kill a majority of Pokemon. With enough belief and willpower (the equivalent of the Gun Skill from various SMT games), they can harm Demons as well, although a Digimon is resistant to them unless the guns double as Anti-Data Energy Weapons (think the Yuggoth from Tamers). The grand majority of Guns in Japan are American and European Models, although Japan has cornered the market in Anti-Data Energy Weapons. Magical guns exist, and while a bit harder to come by, they can absorb the latent magic from their user, allowing them to fire off low-level spells even if the user is otherwise magically incapable.
Pokeballs exist. The cities have the fancy teleportation tech from Shin Megami Tensei I and II. Bullet Trains Exist. Digivices exists. Holograms from the Digimon Ghost Game Anime exist. Name a piece of technology seen in a canon series and I and potential Co-GMs can decide if it's too strong.
IV. Character Sheet
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b] (can use a picture or just a description)
[b]Powers:[/b] (remember, keep it reasonable)
[b]Weaknesses:[/b] (no exceptions)
[b]Bio:[/b]
[b]Faction:[/b]
[b]Theme Song:[/b] (not required, but I figured it would be nice to have the option)
[b]Team of Mons:[/b] Refer to the Magic section for limitations on your initial team.V. Rules
1.) No godmodding, powerplaying, metagaming, etc. etc.
2.) No getting raunchy with OCs under 18, please. With OCs above 18, just be careful not to do anything above non-descriptive nudity.
3.) No OOC feuding! If you must argue, be respectful. IC, meanwhile, you can hate each other as much as you like as long as it doesn't seep over to OOC.
4.) Please notify me if you will be gone longer than a few days, I will let you guys know if I will be gone.
5.) Abide by the magic interference limits, please. We do not need 12 ‘Mon and 2 mages running around at the same time in one fight, nor some guy whipping out an army of disposable exploding Koffing. Gentlemen's agreements for less ‘Mon in a fight are very common in-universe since commanding a bunch of ‘Mon simultaneously is very demanding and messy. 3 on 3 fights (not including trainers) are for battles to the death and those trying to acclimate to such a format.
OOC Discussion Discord
