FujiwaraPhoenix

From the Ashes (A JRPG-esque RP) — Interest Check

Huh, fast interest. Time to start addressing questions.

@Lugubrious: If you've ever played FFVI, I'd say it's around that tech level. Magitech, firearms, the whole shebang.

@Obscene Symphony: Start with latter, converge towards former.
If you wanted more on the Suryana, I based them (sorta obviously) off the Hindu asuras when I was spinning them up in my mind. In terms of culture... I will be the first to admit that I hadn't actually delved much deeper than that (for most of the races, really), so feel free to take some liberties on that front if you're intending to stick around. I just wanted to stay away from the 'brutish wrecking ball' archetype when trying to set up the race, so if that statement helps any... Well, all the better.

Edit: Okay, that's actually more people tossing interest than I had expected. I suppose I'll curate forms and do a rolling entry/waitlist thing once this goes live.

From the Ashes (A JRPG-esque RP) — Interest Check

The White Inferno had swept across the continent of Strahn centuries ago, dragging everyone within into fire and brimstone as the great city of Velchi had once attempted to harness the power of the Four Protectors to bring its neighbors to its knees. The long-since destroyed ruins left to rot in the sands that consumed the city and the lands around it were left without life were a testament to their folly, and it was said that the nation fell in but a day, leaving those left unscathed to remember them as but a cautionary tale. Of course, with the Protectors having returned to the lands that they held dear, those same people were left to grow prosperous in the wake of that very destruction. Though the people of each nation may have held ambitions of their own, the existence of 'a line that should not be crossed' was firmly etched into their minds.

Of course, with the rise of a nation comes its inevitable decline. The kingdom of Iltana, once reputed for their strength of heart, has grown fat in indulgence, and unrest within its borders only seemed to grow as the years went on. It is at one of the towns near the outskirts of Iltana that the heroes of this journey meet; where it will take them, of course, is yet to be seen...

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This RP is intended to accommodate for a small group (~4-5 players, maximum) and intends to pursue a more classic JRPG vibe in terms of both worldview and execution. There are no 'game elements' and no isekai shenanigans to be found here, so if you've come here seeking that... Well, I'd advise you to look elsewhere.

The framework of the world itself is mostly in place, but to try and mimic the feel of exploration, I'm not going to be putting detailed information about the continent up front. As I have said, though, this is a framework, which means that you have some room to go creative with things. As GM, though, I will have the right to veto if I so choose.

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The world is inhabited by a great many races, but for the sake of convenience, I'll list the playable ones thus.

• Humans: Standard fare. They inhabit much of the world, and are about as diverse as they come.
• Elves: With their lithe bodies and sharp ears, elves seem to be the epitome of alert—and for good reason. Rather than living in the forests or fields, the elves of Strahn instead took to the wintry tundras of the north and, surprisingly enough, the desert sands left in the wake of the White Inferno. Hunters at heart, the elves value skill and talent more than any sort of heritage. This is not to say that they are stuck in their old ways, of course; adopting the recent trend of magitech advancement, however slow, has allowed them to both upgrade their old weaponry and take up new arms entirely.
• Dwarves: The stout and sturdy dwarves are just as apt to be found dotting the world as humans, though many in Strahn have taken to the coasts and, more recently, the floating island above the western half of the continent. Not content to simply mill about upon the land, dwarves have actually taken to the seas and skies to eke out their own homes on uncharted lands.
• Dreil/Risho: Fundamentally draconic races, both the Dreihn and the Risho have lizardlike tails, horns, and scales that cover their body. Though the two do share fundamentally similar roots (if taken from a geneological perspective), mistaking one for the other would be rather difficult. On average, the Dreil seem to lean more 'lizard' than 'man', with sharper horns, slit pupils, and more scales to on average when compared to their Risho counterparts; the Risho, in turn, often have deerlike antlers in lieu of the sharper horns that the Dreil grow.
  The Dreil occupy the lands to the northwest of Strahn, making plentiful use of the stone and metals abundant within the land to build themselves up; the Risho, on the other hand, hail from another land entirely, and have only begun to move to Strahn in the last few centuries. There is animosity between the two, of course, but that much is only to be expected.
• Suryana: A race of giant six-armed humanoids, the Suryana have a reputation for being warlike and savage. Of course, that only really stems from their enemies, who have had the misfortune of drawing their ire in the first place. Though their homeland is firmly situated in the forests of eastern Strahn, the Suryana do often travel the world, be it for pilgrimages or simple adventure. Their six arms obviously make them a force to be reckoned with in physical combat, but having four more arms than most other (sapient) beings makes them surprisingly well suited for more than simply swinging multiple weapons at someone's face.
• Lucani: With wolflike ears, tails, and defined canines, the Lucani are fierce hunters that have since grown accustomed to (and even thrived in) the tundras to the north of Strahn. Their senses are sharp—strikingly so, in fact—which makes them difficult to evade out in the field. More than a few leave their homelands to stake out their lives elsewhere, be it as mercenaries or otherwise, which in turn leads to their somewhat ruthless and unflattering reputation at times.
• Jihu: Compared to the similarly-canid Lucani, the Jihu, with their more vulpine ears and tail, look far less rugged and wild. Hailing from the western forests of the continent, the Jihu are seemingly more proficient with the manipulation of mana, be it for actual magic or the usage of delicate tools that require said mana. They are somewhat reclusive compared to the other races on the continent, but the quality of some of the works of craftsmanship they create means that those who succeed in gaining their favor often have a striking amount of sway elsewhere.
• Automata: The sole remnant of the Velchi (bar the ruins of the city), automata had, at one point in time, looked more like mechanical robots than the more humanoid form they have taken on thus. The fall of Velchi had brought with it the necessity to coexist with those of other races, and with their former masters wiped from existence, the automata had, slowly but surely, grown to slowly replace their weary old parts with those less 'inhuman' to the eyes of others. Of course, these automata slowly began to propagate as well, building new ones to replace those lost to time or injury. Nowadays, they seem somewhere between man and machine, and with no 'masters' to drive them, they have taken to finding their own ways in the world.

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Questions? Concerns? Anything else? Feel free to ask. This is an interest check, but given I'm only looking for so many people, I may as well put this form out there for people to use now.

Form

[list][*][u]Name[/u]:
[*][u]Age[/u]:
[*][u]Race[/u]:
[*][u]Appearance[/u]: (Feel free to use an image or a text description, as you please).
[*][u]Personality[/u]:
[*][u]History[/u]:
[*][u]Abilities/Skills[/u]:
[*][u]Other[/u]:[/list]

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

With a nod of understanding, Misaki quietly followed behind Nobunaga as Akando led them to the 'chief' that they had heard so much reference towards in the time that they had spent here. It was, admittedly, quite convenient that they could so easily see the person who was the de facto head of the settlement (hearing the words 'of sorts' twice when referring to him could only lead to her assuming as much), but rather than the man himself drawing her attention, it was the pile of scrolls and literature that caught her eye. A location like this did not exactly seem like a place for such things to exist, and if there was anything that she was used to, it was scouring through old documents for information.

In other words, there might be information about their current predicament that she could glean from those, if not at least more than a rudimentary understanding of the world that they had been thrust into.

Given that Nobunaga had more than enough reason to take the helm in these discussions, though, the foxgirl simply opted to simply wait at the warlord's side as she spoke. It didn't seem as if there was much else to say at the moment, after all...

Well, other than a few cursory words of thanks; it wasn't like she had actually done much in the last encounter...

@Rune_Alchemist@Crimson Paladin@VitaVitaAR

Fate/Eternum — Reboot

There are a few things going on behind the scenes, and I'm trying to get them sorted out. RP isn't dead by any means, so long as I can force that stuff through.

So, like, half-hiatus, I guess? Severely reduced pace is probably the best descriptor of the situation at the moment.

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Anything further to be gained from talking to Lazirha was immediately put to the side as Misaki watched Nobunaga and Novak fell the crazed beast, and though she instinctively winced as it unceremoniously fell to the earth, the victory that the two of her companions had brought forth was ample enough opportunity to give them some clout to those who had watched. Of course, the subsequent flight of the young girl who had guided them here meant that pulling any further information would have to wait, had the apparent leader of the hunters not introduced himself to the three of them. The foxgirl nodded her head as she watched the former run off, a half-smile on her face as she turned towards Akando. Of course, simple inference allowed her enough room to assume that Enli was the 'Kadisht' that Lazirha had mentioned, and though it was likely that Nobunaga was much more apt at any manner of diplomacy than either of them were, there wasn't any reason for all three of them to not go.

"I... Well, that's a bit blunt, I'd think," she said in response to Novak before scratching the back of her head. "Of course, I see no reason why we shouldn't go meet with them, so..."

Maybe it was a good thing that she looked as young as Lazirha; the possibility that the residents of the village could jump to conclusions about the three of them and their relationship dynamic could easily work in their favor. Of course, it was mostly up to Nobunaga to take the reins, but given who she was, that part wouldn't be too difficult to sort out.

@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin@Rune_Alchemist

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

"To the north, a canyon... To the south, a mountain... Okay, then I suppose that there are some natural barriers in place that might help us out if we set up base here..." the foxgirl mumbled to herself quietly as she listened to Lazirha's half-explanation before shrugging and returning the comments with a weak smile. Talking her way out of this by means of half-truths seemed to be getting less possible as things continued on, which only served to feed the small seed of worry that had nestled itself in the back of Misaki's mind. But given how the rest of the people she was traveling with were, it did honestly seem like concealing information would be the only viable way of sidestepping any of the big issues at hand.

More interesting than the possibility of getting outed, though, was the idea that the 'Kyrnith' was simply rampaging about. Lazirha's own comment about the creature with respect to her tail (however poorly concealed that was) also made it clear that the two shared some sort of connection. Prying into it and stopping the sporadic attacks upon the village obviously seemed like enough of a basic plan of action to be debated upon later, but that could likely be handled after they weren't being stared at by the residents of the village.

Or, well, handling the attack of a rampaging beast, but that was something else entirely.

As much as she wanted to help in the battle in front of her, Misaki herself was less than incapable of actually accomplishing anything—or maybe it was the fear of messing something up and making the situation worse than it already seemed that caused her to simply remain a bystander. In the end, being protected in a situation like this gave her a bit more time to think, at least, but the way that the beast seemed to be fighting back made it seem like that much would take a bit of work.

Seeing Novak jump into the fray only seemed to rub salt in the wound, though; if she was going to help out at all here, there had to be something she could do that didn't necessarily involve throwing herself into the fray... Or, at the very least, being able to afford help without necessarily being relegated to the role of 'useless baggage (carrier)'.

"Hm... Well, in that case," she began, lowering her voice so that only Lazirha could hear, "once this has all blown over, I'd like to hear a bit more about the situation. Killing a rampaging beast without knowing the cause might only delay the arrival of a new problem, so if we could look into things, maybe..."

Trailing off as she spoke, Misaki made sure to let the young woman's mind fill in the blanks for what they might accomplish. Of course, she'd have to get the other two on board for an investigation, but as far as she knew, that didn't seem wholly impossible...

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Lazirha's apparent lack of the concept of 'personal space' was a bit concerning to Misaki, who subtly slid back ever so slightly as the girl moved closer to her. As far as she could tell, Nobunaga had the situation under control—all the better, really, given how she was almost wholly incompetent as a combatant herself. She might have been able to mimic the motions of people in videos she had seen while wandering the internet, yes, but with lives at risk, it was far more logical to stand back and watch.

Of course, the young woman's comments about her only seemed to highlight her own inability to do... Well, much of anything. Putting the matter off for later, at the very least, would give her some more time to think of a proper set of excuses to feed Lazirha for as to why she was traveling with the combat competency of a child.

Not like she needed to with Novak's own quips, though. In a way, that honesty was fine—she didn't exactly have any face to lose—but it was still a little embarrassing to have it said out loud like that.

"I... Well, I can't deny that, but I'd rather you not generalize me as someone only good for having fur," Misaki added, flicking her tail away from Lazirha as she glanced at the beast Nobunaga was taking on again. "But... Usually docile, you say? Is there any reason as to why they've decided to lash out, then...?"

It was a long shot to see if Lazirha had any information about why they were agitated, but maybe if they found out the source of the problem, they could try to resolve it.

Maybe.

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Being used to the social structure of the modern-day globalized world did not make things any better for Misaki as she followed Lazirha into the village; the odd stares from those who lived here made it obvious that they were foreigners, and some part of that irony was not lost upon her given how Japan usually was. Of course, being aware of that which was 'foreign' was but human nature, and so she couldn't necessarily fault them for much of anything. Rather, given the current situation (and how they didn't seem to be going after them in any meaningful way), it seemed best to let sleeping dogs lie.

At least, for the moment.

"Your house? Well, if it wouldn't be any—" she began to say, only for the arrival of a massive beast to stop her mid-sentence. Of course, it wasn't like she could do much of anything about it; the arm that fell from its maw only solidified that idea within her mind. Going after it for the moment would be tantamount to suicide, and though the various spoils of previous hunts adorned the village, the exasperation from one of the apparent hunter at seeing one sent mixed signals. Regardless of that, though, it wasn't as if there was much she could do regardless.

"Sorry, but I've never held a weapon in my life," she said, taking a step back as she shook her head. Seeing Nobunaga move so confidently forward to take on the beast, though, gave her a bit of reprieve in that regard. Escaping death thrice over in a single day was already insanity enough, given how she had already crossed that boundary once already...

@VitaVitaAR@Rune_Alchemist@Crimson Paladin

Fate/Eternum — Reboot

Oh, I forgot to mention when I posted last night: the Waver set will be updated when we have an update from Artoria (just so things flow a bit more easily). Everything else should be more open after that follow-up post, too, so please wait warmly until things are done preparing.

Fate/Eternum — Reboot

Uehara Mitsuki

"No phone number, huh? That's a bit unusual, but..."

The young man trailed off as he took in the blonde girl's words, considering the best way to find someone who might teach a class here. Of course, given the aforementioned Mystic Code at her side, it didn't take much for Mitsuki to presume that the target of their pursuits was one more inclined towards teaching magecraft. The way she spoke of the Clock Tower's Lords in so casual a manner only gave further credence to his assumptions of her status being higher than he had expected, but that didn't exactly change the current situation in any meaningful way.

His Servant's words (and reaction to the blonde girl's teasing) were not left unnoticed, though, and a slight frown and furrowed brow crossed the young man's face as he gauged the Archer's reaction. It wasn't anything to call out, per se—and if she didn't want to finish her earlier thought, then so be it—but it seemed that their thoughts were as one with regards to finding the girl's relative.

"Well, I guess we should just head to the center of the city, then," Mitsuki stated simply, shrugging his shoulders. "It's probably the best place to start, given how many colleges and universities have set up shop there."

Even so, there was a sinking feeling in the young man's stomach that this matter wouldn't be so simply resolved by finding that girl's 'elder brother'...

@KoL@VitaVitaAR

Alter Ego — Meltryllis

The sight of the Shadow Servants recovering so easily from her own strikes was nothing too jarring for the Alter Ego, given that she had experience dealing with a few who had much of the same constitution before. It was almost comedic, how much damage they could take from a Servant before falling apart at the seams.

Not like it really mattered at the end of the day, though; in the end, what had piqued her interest was the word 'sister'. There were only a few people that matched such a description (if they could even be called people), but as far as she could tell, two of them were far too distinct and naturally destructive to even consider as being the ones in question. It would, however, explain BB's directive to send them here in the first place.

"Hmph. Is that all?" she asked, tapping her foot for a moment as she glared at the Servant in front of her, the slightest of smiles appearing across her face. "I suppose insects like you only exist to be a nuisance. No matter; swarm all you wish, but the result will not change."

With that, Meltryllis leaped forward, planting her knee into one unfortunate soul's face before he promptly melted into nothing more than a puddle on the ground. A simple sweep of her leg took out two more, sending them crashing with force into the nearby wall. The bullets and blades, she simply danced around, their own speed as wielded by a human nothing more than a feeble attempt at resistance.

The sadistic grin that had begun to spread in turn as she cut through the opposition as if toying with them said more than any words could.

With that said, though, the ghosts that had risen from the opposing Servant's shadow seemed to be doing nothing except posture aggressively and move forward, which made them far less worrisome to the Alter Ego at the moment. The fact that they were ghosts and not giving her much in the way of amusement didn't exactly give her inclination to strike out at them. The same could not be said of the shadow Servants, however, as they once again attempted to charge at her despite their grotesque deformation from her earlier strikes. Given that she did not wish for their presence to continue to attack her eyes as they did now, Meltryllis did what she assumed would be the best usage of their own ill-gotten existences: crush them, completely and utterly, and turn them into 'experience' for herself.

Of course, that could come back to bite her later, but it wasn't like she was so foolish to strike out at stationary targets when she had others aiming to strike out at her in the first place. Of course, their growing number beyond the few that had already spawned were slowly causing them to become a bit more worrisome in the back of her mind...

@VitaVitaAR@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99