Plot
Dreams are not meant to last for fifty years.
Half a century has passed since Mewt Randell and his friends Marche, Doned, and Ritz used the power of the mystical Gran Grimoire to transform the small town of St. Ivalice into the fantastical land of Ivalice, home to exotic creatures, five unique races, and real magic in the form of ether manipulation. Although Marche fought hard in his attempts to escape the dream world, he fell in battle with Prince Mewt's forces before he could successfully destroy all the dream threads and restore the real world. Despite initially preferring the dream world, Ritz and Doned eventually sought escape as well, and met the same end at Mewt's hands. The boy simply could not bring himself to leave the dream and accept reality; here he had a kingdom, and most importantly, two parents to love him and care for him. If his friends couldn't learn to submit to the dream, then they had to be eliminated. Simple as that.
Alone with his dreams and fantasies, Mewt lived on in the Grimoire's illusory world and set about molding it to his whim. Now king, Mewt has done away with the antiquated ways of clans and rogue adventurers; a great nation needed a strong military and developed infrastructure (not to mention he couldn't risk clans following Marche's lead and banding together against him). For decades Ivalice flourished under the wise and just rule of Mewt, who had become so infatuated with the dream that he became obsessed with mastering it and providing for his many people, who praised him as a king among kings.
This prosperity couldn't possibly have lasted forever. The new Queen of Ivalice, Matoya, became the public voice of the Ivalician royal family shortly after marrying Mewt, and used her power to turn Ivalice into a mere shadow of its former glory in a manner of years. At present, however, such political worries are the least of the dangers facing Ivalice; powerful forces work in the shadows, plotting to bring about the destruction of Mewt's withering kingdom.
Setting
The plot will take place about 50 years after the events of FFT:A, in an alternate universe from the events of the game. In this continuity, Marche, Ritz, and Doned all died early on in their quest to escape Mewt's dream world, leaving Mewt free to enjoy his dream world in peace, coddling himself in his childish escapism through his reign over Ivalice. Mewt, now King, has established a reputation as a kind and generous ruler with the best interests of the Ivalician people in mind. While adventuring clans had been popular as a lucrative and exciting career option for seasoned and willing adventurers, Mewt recognized the potential threat large organizations of powerful and wealthy warriors could pose to his rule and sought to reduce their prominence. Mewt established a centralized Ivalician Army and contracted many of the larger clans as mercenaries and auxiliary forces. Mewt also opened several arcane universities and knight academies across Ivalice to provide an alternative to those seeking to become powerful warriors who would normally be apprenticing with a clan.
Small, independent clans soon fell out of fashion due to a lack of demand; why pay a clan to do what the army does for free? They just seemed unnecessary. Ivalice was now a safer, quieter place, and few resisted the change to a more peaceful and prosperous future for the kingdom, especially with King Mewt's wise and just rule in place.
This period of prosperity came to an end roughly five years ago, when a mysterious woman named Matoya arrived in Ivalice as one of several visiting dignitaries from a different continent. In his nearly forty years of ruling King Mewt had never shown any interest in finding a wife to become queen and continue the royal line. However, immediately upon meeting Matoya, Mewt fell hopelessly in love with her and married her within a month. Shortly after their marriage, Mewt gradually began to appear in public less and less, with Matoya (now queen) serving as the public face of the Ivalician Royal family. With Matoya in control, the Ivalician Army quickly went from being the righteous and law-bringing force of good in the kingdom to serving as the instrument of oppression and control by which Matoya kept the kingdom in line. The peace that Mewt had worked so hard to establish fell to pieces; monsters and brigands now roam freely in the fields of Ivalice, and the cities aren't much safer. The guards and soldiers that were resistant to Matoya's new policies were stripped of their ranks and released from service; those who stayed and pledged their loyalty were given handsome salary bonuses and promotions. Corruption, crime, and poverty have been steadily increasing since Matoya rose to power, and although the kingdom is not in a state of outright crisis, many worry for the future of Ivalice and criticism of the queen is commonplace.
As a result of a now corrupt and inefficient army, clans have recently returned to prominence. Trust in the government to effectively keep its many settlements safe is at an all time low, so the need for independent mercenaries has become more than a little apparent. My character will be attempting to start a new clan in the city of Cyril. Your characters will be applicants responding to his recruitment posting, members of other clans in Cyril, someone who lives in Cyril, or otherwise someone in Cyril for some reason. I will try my best to accommodate everyone's character as best I can, but I would recommend making a character who would believably be able to go off on an adventure and would be able to offer something to the group.
That's the extent of the set-up so far but obviously we can all assume that something's up with Matoya and she's got some sneaky shit planned that we're all gonna be worried about. You may have guessed from the title that at some point the Dragon King Bahamut will be summoned (or attempted to be summoned) and we're gonna have to get some shit done to deal with all that crazy business.
Rules
~The Rules~
- No godmodding. This should go without saying, given this is High-Casual.
- No metagaming. This is especially important given the free-form nature of this RP. Many players will have ulterior motives and secret plans, so make sure to keep OC and IC knowledge separate. No one likes to have their carefully crafted master plan deduced in seconds, so please don't metagame and be that guy. Tolerance on this matter is very low.
- Major monsters (basically, anything mini-boss level and above) are to be spawned and controlled by moderators unless permission is given otherwise. Minor monsters can be spawned and controlled by the players, but anything mini-boss level and above are to be controlled by the GMs. Town Guards, Knights, or warriors of other races are NOT minor monsters.
- All loot dropped, stolen, found in chests, etc. is to be determined and set by a GM or co-GM.
- Please try to get posts up within two days of when it becomes your turn in whatever posting rotation you're involved in. If you get swamped and you're super busy, that's fine, but just pop on and post in the OOC so I know you're not just gone forever or whatever. If you'll be taking an extended leave of absence, please designate someone to control your character in your absence (it can be me if you want). If you don't post within three days and I've heard nothing from you, I reserve the right to puppet your character until you get back. If you disappear for a week or two with absolutely no notice I can't guarantee I won't write your character out completely.
World
The annoying thing about Ivalice is that it doesn't really have a set world map; in FFT:A, locations are placed on the world map at the player's discretion, and as such there are hundreds of thousands of possible map configurations out there. Luckily we have this conveniently numbered mostly blank map to use for reference, and we can place locations as we go anyway. Here you can find a list of all the locations used in game, and some descriptions that give you the gist of what they're about. I don't want to write up details for every location in the source material to start off with, but I will do so on request. So if you have a certain place in mind and you think your character should know about it and you want to reference it in some other way or you just want to know what it's like in the current setting as opposed to the source material, request a write-up on it and I'll take care of it. As the group is taken to new places on the map I will do write-ups for the places we travel to for your reference purposes. I'll start off with descriptions of the major towns and other important places.
Bervenia: Capital of Ivalice, and the seat of Mewt's kingdom. At the center of this grand, walled city is Bervenia palace, a heavily fortified but also beautiful and visually impressive masterpiece of architecture (and constructed entirely of gleaming white marble to boot). In addition to being the largest city in Ivalice, the marketplace found here is the practically the center of the Ivalician economy with its variety of exotic shops, skilled artisans, and shrewd businessmen looking to amass great fortune. Bervenia is home to the headquarters of the Ivalician Army, the Fortress of Cid, which is basically its own district. All Ivalician officers are trained there, and serving as a guard in Bervenia is considered one of the most honorable and sought-after assignments. Although not as large as the one in Baguba, Bervenia also has a bustling airship port due to its role as the economic and political center of the nation. The only city in Ivalice to have a relatively even racial distribution, Bervenia is a cosmopolitan and highly cultured city, although it is quite expensive to live there. The city is located on it's own island in the northwest of Ivalice (located on the city icon on the island in the northwest on the map). Two bridges on the northern and southern ends of the island are the only way to enter Bervenia.
Cyril: A city in the southern central region of Ivalice, with a predominately Hume population but a good mix of the other races. As the second largest city in Ivalice, it occupies an important spot as a waypoint for those traveling along the southern coast. Although not as fortified as the massive walls of Bervenia, Cyril is still a walled city and is undoubtedly one of the safer places to live in Ivalice. The streets are not as numerous or as tightly packed as Bervenia, but the city is busy in its own right and maintains an active economy. Despite being home to a small Ivalician army outpost, Cyril is a popular choice as a base of operations for adventuring clans, as it's a great place to pick up rumors and quests without having to deal with the expense or crowding of Bervenia. Cyril also hosts branch of the Mage Academy, specializing in the instruction of Black and White Magic. Located on the spot with the town icon between 18 and 19 on the map.
Sprohm: Mountain town in the north of Ivalice, relatively small and mostly populated by Bangaa. Despite not having walls or military outposts, Sprohm is literally built out of the mountainside and occupies a thoroughly defensible position (notably, Sprohm is the only Ivalician city that has never been successfully besieged). Because of how long and treacherous the climb to Sprohm is, it is rare to travel there unless you really need to. A large portion of Sprohm's population comes from criminals kept in the prison found here, which is home to Ivalice's most dangerous criminals. In an attempt to improve Sprohm's economy, Mewt commissioned the construction of a grand arena inside a large cave he discovered while traveling through the mountains, dedicating it to the god of combat, Gilgamesh. Every two months, warriors come from all over to do battle in the Sprohm Arena, sometimes for money, sometimes for honor, and usually to the death. Sprohm is the only place where Dragoons and Gladiators are trained in all of Ivalice. Spot 6 on the map.
Muscadet: A town built entirely on tree tops in a vast forest in the east of Ivalice. As the city has traditionally been considered a secret sanctuary for Viera (who still account for most of Muscadet's population), few even knew about Muscadet's existence until roughly 30 years ago when Mewt negotiated a peace agreement between Bervenia and the Muscadet elder council. Although non-Viera are not allowed to hold permanent residence in Muscadet without special permission, Muscadet is open to travelers and merchants looking for shelter along the eastern roads. The town is protected by a guard force of Viera archers and mages who protect both the citizens and the health of the forest itself. The Mage Academy maintains a branch in Muscadet, as the magical creatures of the forest and the magical plants that grow within it are both excellent subjects for research. This branch specializes in the instruction of Elementalists and Summoners. Spot 25 on the map.
Cadoan: A desert town located on the inland edge of the Western desert of Ivalice. Home to a great many Nu Mou living simple but pleasant lives despite the harshness and barrenness of the surrounding desert. Comprised of more tents than real buildings, Cadoan is the first stop for travelers looking to cross the Western Desert and is home to a large bazaar where one can be said to find magical trinkets and ancient artifacts... as well as completely useless junk. Despite its less than ideal location, the flagship branch of the Mage Academy and its most prestigious institution, the Babus Swain Institute for Arcane Development is located in Cadoan, and all the greatest scholars and magicians flock to this otherwise unremarkable desert town because of the wonderful magic school. Spot 13 on the map.
Baguba: A moogle city along the southwestern coast of Ivalice, third largest in the land in terms of population (predominately Moogle). Baguba is one of the more dangerous cities in Ivalice, and it is known for its many thieves and criminals. Despite this reputation, Baguba is the most technologically advanced city in Ivalice and boasts a massive airship port on which much of the Ivalician economy depends to distribute its goods. Spot 21 on the map.
Balance Mechanics: Jobs, Abilities, and Magic
This will be a high-casual RP set in the universe of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, utilizing a loose version of its jobs, skills and magic system for the purpose of character creation. Rest assured, we will not have numerical stats or any kind of EXP system; the progression of your character's abilities will be handled in-story, and our use of the established system found in the game will mostly be limited to character creation and will chiefly concern your selection of a job and your available skills/spells in that case.
It is my intent to make the character creation process convenient for everyone and manageable for people who have never played the game before while also maintaining a level of balance that will allow the combative, strategic, and mechanically deep nature of the Tactics series and the Final Fantasy series as a whole to shine in a play-by-post roleplay setting. While my primary concern is obviously to present a compelling and interesting narrative in the context of a rich and exploration-conducive environment, the fact that this roleplay will be grounded in a video game that was based around combat and questing means that there will be a necessary focus on combat, questing, and adventuring. That doesn't mean I won't have a grander overarching plot or ancillary side-plots in play; Final Fantasy has such a rich and broad collection of lore that it would be a waste of this setting to not involve effective storytelling.
Please note, these uses of the game's elements are only meant to serve as a vast reference tool to enhance your roleplaying experience, not to hinder it or overcomplicate it. I am intent on interpreting the game's mechanics very liberally and I'm more than willing to make exceptions for good reason, especially when pertaining to elements of the game that wouldn't make sense in practice. For example, in game, certain jobs are only available to certain races despite the fact that it would be perfectly reasonable in-universe to assume that some race would be able to choose that job. This leads to weird cases where Soldier and Fighter are human-exclusive races despite the fact that a Bangaa could easily obtain the skills necessary to do that job (and they often do have overlap in job abilities, armor, and weapons). Nu Mou are the most magically adept race in Ivalice and yet they cannot be Red Mages, Blue Mages, Summoners, Elementalists, or Bishops. The Judge and Law system in general is wholly irrelevant and illogical to a roleplay setitng and will be ignored almost completely.
I am also open to allowing the inclusion of jobs, abilities, spells, items, and races from other entries in the Final Fantasy series on a case-by-case basis as long as they are reasonable inclusions and will fit with the established setting. If you are not familiar with the plot of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, don't let that discourage you from applying. The feel of the story will be classic medieval Final Fantasy sword and sorcery adventuring, with conventions and mechanics borrowed from the lore of the entire series despite it being grounded in the setting of this particular game. This just happens to be my favorite setting from the universe and it also has a robust class system that lends itself well to this format.
Keep in mind a few things; your job is kind of a meta-classification for character creation and balance purposes, and it won't really be a strong or exact label in-story. It shouldn't prevent you from roleplaying the type of character you want to play. For example, a melee character with a sword could be a Soldier, Warrior, Gladiator, Fighter, or a Defender, but in game you would refer to them like "oh, look at that swordsman over there" or "he seems to be a warrior." A stealthy character with the job of Thief could wear all black and wield a katana and one would think "he must be a ninja" despite the fact that he would not actually have to be a ninja for us to recognize him as one. He may even think of himself as a ninja, despite the fact that he wouldn't be able to use any of the trademark ninja techniques like the Veils or whatever. Unless you're actively broadcasting what job you are (i.e. "look at that spellcaster wearing all white, healing his allies. he must be a White Mage" or "that heavily armored Bangaa wielding a spear and leaping all over the battlefield is probably a Dragoon") it won't be a distinction that really comes up in the storytelling. In universe, jobs will be treated like combat disciplines or martial arts styles; for example, if you're being formally trained at an arcane university, then you will most likely be aware of what kind of magic user you are (sage, elementalist, arcanist, alchemist, etc.), but if you're just a mercenary warrior type dude with a sword then your character probably won't have a formal label for themselves unless they're using a lot of distinctive skills of a certain class.
Second, I'm willing to be lenient with your ability choices and those balance decisions will certainly be made according to my best judgment. Your formal job title will not severely limit the kind of character you want to roleplay and I am willing to work with you to reach a middle ground that makes everyone happy as long as you're willing to understand why I make the decisions I make in order to maintain balance.
With spellcasting, your character is exercising their magical abilities to rearrange the ether naturally present in the world in order to affect change in the way of magical spells, which do damage, heal, and inflict and remove status ailments typically. Your character's Magic stat is a relative measure of their skill with manipulating ether and is directly correlated with the strength of your character's spells. The MP stat controls your character's capacity to use their own spiritual energy to assist them in the manipulation of ether; a low MP stat means a lack of spiritual energy, and will severely limit your character's ability to cast successfully spells once this energy is all used up.
The efficiency with which your character casts spells with regard to MP use depends on two factors. First, efficiency depends on whether or not the spell being cast falls under the purview of your character's usual job. For example, a Black Mage may be able to learn a Time Mage spell like Slow with special instruction, but he will not be used to manipulating ether in the way the Time Mage does, and as such he will have to expend more MP to achieve a successful casting due to his unfamiliarity with that kind of magic. Second, efficiency can be harmed if your character begins casting too many spells too quickly, as repeated strain on your body's magical energies will force the magician to work harder to call upon said energy to cast spells. Just like swinging a weapon, it is better to pace yourself so as to avoid tiring yourself out -- unless your MP pool is very large, like any spellcaster's should be.
Spellcasting requires focus and preparation; attempting to cast spells while you're actively being attacked or in other situations where it is difficult to maintain concentration will often result in spell failure and hefty MP waste. It is for this reason that mage characters are best supported by warriors to keep attackers far away, and if a mage must truly fight alone, they'd better finish off any foes before they can get close enough to be a hindrance.
Character Sheet
I have included the character sheet with instructions below. I know it looks daunting, but it's really not that hard to fill out when you actually get down to it.
You can find a pre-formatted, blank version of the character sheet below for when you have read all of the above info and are ready to fill out the sheet.
The story so far...
To be filled in when we get some sick nasty adventuring done, yo!
~
That's all there is to it! Let me know if you have any questions. If you posted a character sheet in the interest check, please move it to the character sheet tab when you get a chance. I will then officially approve characters after reviewing them again.
