New Players pretty much always welcome! We'll sort out details here OOC.
During battles, you can talk/do "free actions" out of turn, but don't do anything that influences the battle unless it's your turn. An exception is non-actively-fighting characters in the immediate vicinity. For example, once per turn, a character like that can, say, "throw a rock" or "tell <so and so> to be careful". If those characters intend to do damage or defend a player, they will need to follow the action rules above.
You can trade/move items amongst yourselves, but do so in a very clear way. Make sure you ask clearly so both you and the person you're moving items around with know what's being moved. The most important part is that everyone knows what items they have and don't have. :)
Story
Startere is a sleepy, "all-American" town situated in the middle of Nowhere. There are no paved roads into or out of the town, and there's just desert all around--temperate desert, but a wasteland all the same. Along the main road, there's the general store, mostly stocked with local woodwork from tables and chairs to toys though it sometimes has some factory-made things when a rare shipment comes in; there's the farm stalls once a week where everyone trades the fruits (and vegetables and eggs and other farm things) of their labor; and a bunch of other useful things like the tailor, a diner, and the big, elaborate Town Hall building. Most of the time, most people are found just milling around this main street, but they're always sure to get their work done.
For the past couple of weeks, the residents of Startere have been complaining about loud noises and bright, colorful lights coming from the sky at night. A few people have stayed out at night to see what was causing it, but the sound was so loud and the lights were so bright that they couldn't actually see what was causing it. Rumors about aliens started going around, and a general unease settled on the town.
But the mayor finally had enough. Just last night, he went out shooting blindly into the night with his shotgun when the lights showed up again, and after a few shots, the lights began to flicker and the noise shifted, closely followed by a fiery explosion out to the south of town. Now a small group is gearing up to go check out the crash site...
Gameplay
General
This is just like any other RP except that there are battles. You can walk around and do what you like and manage your reactions and go where you please, but let the GM describe the locations and places you go. If you keep it within reason, you can decide to go somewhere completely different! Like if you're in a forest, you can "investigate the cave" even when it hasn't been pointed out/expected by the GM. We want to focus on world and character building while pushing the adventure forward.
Fighting
Dice Roller (Open this in a new tab!)
The battles are not random--just like in Earthbound/Mother you can see your enemies and decide if you want to fight or avoid them, though your chances of avoiding the enemies depends upon where you are (i.e. is it an open space with lots of room to walk around or a narrow hallway) and often upon the roll of a die (6-sided - the GM will decide what you need, typically 4 or higher). Each battle is turn-based, and the order of the turns depends on your character's Speed stat.
When your turn comes, announce what you would like to do first, and then roll a 6-sided die (a digital die will be provided for all your die-rolling needs) and write your result. The higher your roll, the more successful your action, with a 6 being a SMAAAAAAAAASH for attacks or a highly effective healing PSI move. The opposite is true as well, with a 1 being anything from a miss to a backfire. Based on your roll, write your action's outcome. Be fair, ok? The GM(s) will roll for the enemies and will follow the same rules.
To best emulate Earthbound's rolling HP counter, there will be no HP. Just be fair and know when you've died. If it's clear that a fatal blow has been dealt (and the GM should always say if it is), the GM(s) will probably announce your death the next time the enemy's turn comes around. Within that time, however, a healer can heal a party member with PSI or items and keep them from dying. There's no easy way to do this in this format, so just be fair, OK?
The same goes for special attacks, particularly PSI attacks. There is no PSI amount to keep track of, but they must be used within reason. Let your character "run out" of PSI or energy once in a while. Don't just spam the same attack unless it actually seems reasonable.
During battles, you can talk/do "free actions" out of turn, but don't do anything that influences the battle unless it's your turn. An exception is non-actively-fighting characters in the immediate vicinity. For example, once per turn, a character like that can, say, "throw a rock" or "tell <so and so> to be careful". If those characters intend to do damage or defend a player, they will need to follow the action rules above.
Pockets (Inventory)
You can carry up to 16 items total in your pockets. The catch is that you carry everything in your pockets--both healing items and equipment--and items do not stack. This means that if you have 3 hamburgers, each hamburger takes up 1 of your 16 item slots, so you'll need to be careful with what you want too keep. You can use items any time--on your turn during battle (in place of an attack/guard) or outside of battle as long as it's relevant. It's your responsibility to keep track of your items in your character post by editing it and updating your pockets there (because the GM can't). Keeping your pockets updated will help everyone (especially you!) remember what items you have and can use.
You can trade/move items amongst yourselves, but do so in a very clear way. Make sure you ask clearly so both you and the person you're moving items around with know what's being moved. The most important part is that everyone knows what items they have and don't have. :)
Characters
Your character can be of an independent age (that's a huge range, I know), but they've got to be human. Make sure you're as descriptive as you can be in your character post so you and everyone know what your character is like. I probably don't need to say this, but take your character seriously! Don't do things in game that your character wouldn't do, and of course, do things they would do.
Use the following template and allot 10 skill points to the stats of your choice. In addition to the stats listed below, you can also give your character up to 3 custom stats! It can be anything to help fill out your character. For instance, it can be "Cooking" or "Cow Tipping" or whatever. You will still need to distribute your skill points across them from the same pool of 10 points, so be careful!
Suggestion: Let your stat distribution influence how you describe and act as your character. Interpret that suggestion as you please.
You can also pick 3 special attacks/skills to use in (or outside of) battle. Let what you choose be influenced by your character's "Quality" (see below). Also, describe what your skills do. Be creative! Because there's no HP, just describe what it does (i.e. heals a party member a lot/heals all party members a little).
Note: You don't need to have PSI attacks! You can just use general skills like "Focus" or "Wild Swing" if you want.
Rules
- The players decide where to go and what to do, but the GM(s) handles the descriptions and explanations of what happens.
- Don't worry too much about #1, the GM(s) will not be dictators about this. Just be sure to discuss OOC before you do anything drastic.
- Your characters will be confined to their own skills and skills directly related to who they are. For example, if your character's main weapon is, let's say, a frying pan, keep your skills related to that.
- Don't cheat on your die rolls. That's just lame.
- Be at least reasonable with what you decide to pick up. For example, you can pick up a pencil, but you can't pick up a motorcycle (unless you're a crazy body builder or something).
- Keep track of your stats and items! Off the top of my head, I'd recommend keeping your character sheet open in another tab and editing it to keep your inventory (pockets) and stats up-to-date. The GM(s) will keep track of your things based on that.
- The essential rule: Don't be a jerk! Be respectful to each other. Banter is OK in character, just make sure you're OK with each other bantering and don't take it seriously. If you get into a real, actual fight, take it somewhere else.
- Let's keep this RP at most PG-13.
- Try to be here with some consistency. It's no fun if it's your turn in a battle and you're gone for a week and nobody can fight. If you are gone that long, the GM(s) will have to take your turn into their hands and make you, like, be drooling or picking your nose instead of taking an action. Just make sure if you need to be gone, let us know in the OOC tab. Otherwise, make sure you're subscribed to this topic so it doesn't get lost in Casual's constant flood of newer posts.
Links & Additional Things
Link: NPC Character Archive (Archive of initial stats and items)
Bestiary
