@Scarescrow Oh, it looked like you just said "Interested" Well, basically: >What are the positions presented on the pirate boat? One Piece crews don't resemble real life naval crews in the slightest, so you can be whatever you like! Oh, but you probably shouldn't be a computer programmer, unless you plan to invent the computer. >How many skills are we allow to pick in the beginning? Up to eight points of skills! Of course, if your character knows how to do something and just isn't very good at it, you can write it up as a skill with 0 ranks. >Are there any scale of power as some of the characters in the story could literally blast an island into nothingness? Sure, all you need is to become a high-ranking marine and issue a Buster Call! Word of warning: This is generally considered "not cool", and may put you at odds with your fellow players. >Would Haki count as a skill or a "superior skill"? Technically, each individual type of Haki would be classed as it's own superior skill, but that's mostly a semantics question because nobody in the first half of the Grand Line uses Haki to begin with. Frankly, even within the confines of the story it felt like it went against the core points of the setting and was forced in purely to nerf logia-type fruitmen, so I don't think it'll ever come up in this game.
So, quick explanation: I found a system that could actually make forum play work, and I wanted to try it, but I didn't know what to run. The system, Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine, is painfully anime. So I asked myself: "Self, what's a cartoon everyone likes?" After a while, I thought "Yeah, Kinnikuman would be rad as heck" but I don't think I could run a game made entirely out of tournament arcs, so instead we're playing One Piece. Would some friends like to come aboard and bring along all their hopes and dreams?
Wealth, fame, power... Gol D. Roger, the king of the pirates, obtained this and everything else the world had to offer and his dying words drove countless souls to the seas.
"You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one piece! Now you just have to find it!"
These words lured men to the Grand Line in pursuit of dreams greater than they've ever dared to imagine! This is the time known as the 'Great Pirate Era'!
For nearly a year, the meteoric rise of a small band known as the Straw Hats threw the power balance of the world into chaos until suddenly vanishing in a marine raid. The damage, however, remains- the ranks of the Seven Warlords and the Marines have been thrown into chaos, notorious criminals from Impel Down's darkest depths prowl the seas, and Blackbeard rises to power as one of the most dangerous men in the world...
...In other words, the perfect time for some up-and-coming pirates in the making to hit it big!
For reasons of your own: A childhood promise, a long-held ambition, an elaborate revenge scheme or maybe just an insatiable desire for money and women. Whatever your reasons, you've decided to sign on with the crew of one Dudley Evory on an adventure to find treasure beyond your wildest dreams!
We're going to try using a diceless system called Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine, which is geared towards forum play. The actual book is like 600 pages and an absolute trainwreck of formatting so I'm going to do my best to boil it down. For those familiar with it, we'll be using the Mundane Character ruleset.
1. SKILLS 1A. WHAT ARE SKILLS: Skills are numerical measures of being good at a given thing or series of things. All strenuous actions- winning a fight, patching up a boat, sneaking into the women's changing room- require an expenditure of Skill + Will, which can add up to a maximum of 8 total. Upon completing a Skill + Will action, 1 Will is returned to your reserve. A skill's effectiveness for a given task is represented by the Obstacle value, which acts as a malus on said Skill + Will check.
1B. SKILL BENCHMARKS: This is a list of what you can accomplish with no net loss of Will when unobstructed 0. You can do the thing and think you're helping 1. You can do the thing to accomplish a given task in a sloppy, haphazard fashion 2. You can do the thing well enough to pass muster and impress others who cannot do the thing 3. You can do the thing well enough to be effective and move you closer to your overall goal 4. You can do the thing well enough to be actively productive and make your life in general better for a bit 5. You can do the thing well enough to not only do a spectacular job, but to look cool as heck while you do it even if what you're doing is actually really lame
1C. SUPERIOR SKILLS: You can also take Superior Skills, which are like skills but they allow you to do things normal people can't do, like fly or shoot lasers out of your eyeballs. They work exactly like regular skills, but you just append "Superior" to the name, Like if you wanted to be some kind of man-sized spider you'd take "Superior Spiderosity" at somewhere around 3, which would mean, by virtue of skill benchmarks, that you can effectively be a spider whenever you want with minimal effort.
2. BONDS, AFFLICTIONS, CONNECTIONS AND CONVENTIONS 2A. BONDS: Bonds are deeply-held convictions your character's existence is defined by. Bonds will always have a positive effect overall, even if they seem like they would be a hindrance. Generally, a Bond is defined by your Arc. Bonds come in roughly three types: Something that you'll never do Something that you'll always do Something that you're driven to do Characters start with a level 2 Bond tied to their Arc
2B. AFFLICTIONS: Afflictions are functionally similar to Bonds, but the primary difference is that unlike a Bond, and Affliction represents something like fate or the will of the cosmos- its enforcement is entirely out of your character's control. Like Bonds, Afflictions come in three types. Something you can't do Something that you must do Something that you're driven to do Characters start with an Affliction tied to their Arc's rating
2C: CONNECTIONS: Connections are like skills, but they only work within the context of a person or place. They're easier to get than skills, but also more restrictive because they only work within a context of communicating with and working well within a specific context, namely a person or place. Characters start with a level 1 connection to any other PC whose player agrees their character should know them personally
2D. CONVENTIONS: Conventions are ironclad rules of a given setting, treated as a level 2 Affliction on all characters within said setting. For this game, the conventions are listed under the CONVENTIONS tab. Additionally, some island may have their own island-specific conventions.
3. MIRACLES 3A. WHAT ARE MIRACLES: Miracles are a kind of special ability that allow you to Do A Thing at a level beyond ordinary mortals. These are primarily gotten through Arcs. Miracles have a cost in MP, or Miracle Points, instead of Will.
3B. HOW ARE MIRACLES DIFFERENT FROM SKILLS: Unlike skills, which can fail, be contested, and are subject to obstacles, Miracles do exactly what it says on the box every time, barring interference by another Miracle. Miracles also do not replenish MP upon resolution.
4. HEALTH LEVELS AND WOUNDS 4A. HEALTH LEVELS: You have three classes of Wound to worry about, Surface, Serious, and Deadly. The descriptors of Wounds are as follows: Surface Wounds: This is stuff you can survive relatively easily- fists, mob stabbings, flintlocks, etc. It's little stuff, stuff that can hurt you but doesn't have the level of narrative significance needed to actually kill you. Serious Wounds: This is stuff that really packs a punch- exotic poisons, giant exploding cannonballs, or magma fists. It's got some real weight to it and, if you don't play your cards right, it could actually kill you! Deadly Wounds: These are wounds from stuff that can really, absolutely kill the heck out of you, stuff that's so incredibly serious that just surviving it is a heroic act. Deadly wounds do not recover over time, and require the completion of a middling-length Quest to heal.
4B. TAKING WOUNDS: When you fail to contest an event or action that would injure you, you lose the appropriate health level. Tough health levels, however, cannot be depleted by anything less than a Serious wound. You can get shot, stabbed, or beaten all day, but so long as it's not an especially impressive instrument of death you're basically safe. Likewise, one can use a Normal health level to soak a Serious or higher wound so long as they have one. Take a Serious wound when you're out of Normal health levels, though, and you're on your last legs. When this happens, you recover both Normal health levels, but after those go you'll be incapacitated or worse. An important note to make is that, were someone to take an action that would do something to your character (trap them, slow them down, destroy one of their items, etc.) you can instead choose to take a wound, thus allowing you to dictate how that action has effected your character differently.
4C. EFFECTS OF WOUNDS: The mechanical act of taking a wound is for the most part out of your hands. When you do take a wound, however, you get to decide how, exactly, that act has effected your character. As long as one sustains a wound and chooses to actively acknowledge it, they can receive a related bonus of some kind. Likewise, one can simply tough it out like the grim man of the sea they were always meant to be, but in that case would not gain a bonus. Surface Wound: +1 Tool Bonus on actions when playing up the wound | A level 1 Bond related to the wound | In some cases, a temporary level 2 Superior Skill related to the wound Serious Wound: +1 Tool Bonus on actions when playing up the wound | A level 1 Bond related to the wound | A level 1 Affliction related to the wound | In some cases, a temporary level 3 Superior Skill related to the wound Deadly Wound: +2 Tool Bonus on actions when playing up the wound | A level 2 Bond related to the wound | A [Arc] level Affliction related to the wound | In some cases, a temporary level 3+ Superior Skill related to the wound | A Miraculous ability
5. QUESTS, ARCS, PERKS, AND ISSUES 5A. QUESTS: Quests are abstract representations of personal or communal objectives that you spend XP to complete, thus resolving them. XP for completing a Quest generally comes from four sources: Your Genre's Bonus XP Actions, your character's Bonus XP Emotions, Quest Bonus XP, and Goals. Quest Bonus XP can generally be earned 1/scene by fulfilling some specific act or working in a catchphrase of some kind. It makes more sense in context, trust me. Goals are basically concrete objectives that define the Quest's ultimate goal and give large bonuses towards completion, usually something like 5 XP or so. A character can be assigned up to 4 Quests at a give time.
5B. ANYTIME QUESTS: Anytime Quests are a kind of quest that has no concrete objective, and thus no Goals. They're not tied to a specific story- it's just something you're working on personally, like training your kung fu or working on an invention or writing your manifesto. You start with an Anytime Quest by default, under Basic Quest on your CS.
5C. PERKS: At the end of a Quest, your character will often gain a Perk that relates to your overall Arc. You can only have a maximum of eight Perks at a time.
5D. ARCS: Your Arc is a measure of your character's overall progression, represented by one or more Arc Traits. The type of Arc you're currently on defines what Perks you can get from Quests, as well. Whenever you complete a Quest, it's XP counts towards your current Arc as well- generally it can take anywhere from 120 to 250 XP to complete a given arc. Upon completing an iteration of an Arc, you'll secure permanent access to the Arc Trait's abilities even if you later abandon it for another type of Arc.
5E. ISSUES: Issues are a sort of anti-Quest that builds by itself at the end of each Chapter. They represent problems that happen in the game's background, gradually building in urgency until they reach a point where they must be confronted and resolved (usually once they reach level 4 or 5). Upon resolution, they reward 1 MP and 4 XP.
6. GENRE AND BONUS XP ACTIONS 6A. GENRE: Genre is basically a descriptor of your game's standard conventions and determine what kind of bonus XP action you can take. As far as we're concerned, our genre is a slightly modified "Adventure Fantasy", which is the closest the book gets to standard battle/adventure shonen comics.
6B. BONUS XP ACTION: Bonus XP Actions are actions one can take at any time. Upon taking a Bonus XP Action, a character becomes preoccupied with said action and "fades out" for one or more scenes, unable to take strenuous action. Generally, one can take two Bonus XP Actions per Chapter. XP Actions generally define what Issues you recieve at the end of the Chapter. The Bonus XP Actions for this game are as follows: Be In Trouble: A threat approaches! You can take this action by being overwhelmed and/or outmatched, either by an opponent or an obstacle. Figure It Out: You think you've figured it out! You can take this action by putting forth an idea/loophole/desperate hope/exposition and putting it into practice. Decisive Action: Talk is cheap, but it's time to put your chips on the table! You can take this action by doing something definitive, something you can't back out on even if you want to. Mandated Incompetence: You screw up, but it's not just regular screwing up. You walk into a trap, get caught up in a vice of yours, or just conveniently forget your own superpowers for a bit; something that puts you out of comission for a little while.
6C. BONUS XP EMOTION: On creating your character, you'll pick a type of Bonus XP. This is an emotional state your character is meant to evoke from an OOC standpoint. When you do, you get a free point! The source material says this should be gauged based on autonomic responses but that's not really doable so this will probably just be handed out arbitrarily.
7. TAKING ACTIONS 7A. WHAT IS AN ACTION: An action is Doing The Thing. Actions are generally phrased as "I [predicate] [subject]", such as "I feel anger" or "I punch that marine", but they can be as complex as you like. You should try to phrase actions in this manner because you're meant to be roleplaying and roleplaying means putting yourself out there- or that's what the book says, at least. You can have a sequential series of actions that happen all at once, but try to keep it confined to only things that are actually physically possible to do at the same time. When taking an action to effect the world in some way, one must expend at minimum of 1 Will.
7B. CONTESTING ACTIONS: When contesting an action, either from an NPC, an obstacle, or another player, normal turn order does not apply and one can declare a new action to foil or prevent the other's action if they would like.
7C. EFFECTS OF ACTIONS: Upon completion of an action, you replenish 1 Will assuming your action resolved properly. Abandoning an action halfway through does not reward Will back.
8. TIME 8A. SCENES: A Scene is exactly what it sounds like: A singular scene. Chapters generally consist of N to N*2 Scenes, where N is the number of players. Upon taking an XP Action, a character will "fade out" for one or more scenes, and be unable to act effectively for a period.
8B. CHAPTERS: A Chapter is where the current "episode" of our game reaches a resolution, usually by resolving the primary Quest. Upon completion of a Chapter, Issues are raised (or sometimes lowered) appropriately, Will and MP are fully replenished, and Normal health levels are recovered.
8C. BOOKS: A Book lasts several chapters, generally the duration it takes to complete one large story arc. Upon completion of a Book, Tough health levels are recovered.
9. MISC CLARIFICATIONS ETC. 9A. RECHARGE TOKENS: Recharge Tokens are items of personal significance occasionally given out at the end of a Quest. By spending a Recharge Token, one can gain a second wind, replenishing MP and Will to their maximum.
9B. TOOLS: Tools are items or conditions that give a direct bonus to a specific action or under a specific condition. Commonly, they are found as part of an Arc. Tools are unique because they are the only persistent bonus that stacks with a preexisting Skill.
9C. EDGE: Edge is like an Obstacle in reverse, where you have an advantage by virtue of superior equipment and/or context.
Please submit all characters over PM.
This game takes place during the two-year timeskip following the battle with Kuma.
If you wish do drop, please attempt to do so between Chapters (preferably between Arcs, but I understand this may be difficult)
Please try to wait your turn when posting
Likewise, please attempt to respond within a timely manner when posting
Please bring up any issues you have directly within the OOC or over PM. That's what it is for.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine, feel free to ask and I will explain as best I can
Remember, the main objective when roleplaying is not to entertain yourself with a power fantasy, but to entertain others with a fun, interesting contribution and be entertained in turn by the fun, interesting contributions of others. Try not to be selfish, and read other people's posts properly.
Please try to avoid long collaborative posts, they always end up being unreadable textwalls that exist to shut out your fellow players.
Who are you?:
What are your defining characteristics?:
Why did you sign on with Captain Evory?:
What did you do before signing on?:
What's your goal?:
Will: 8/8
MP: 1/1
Health Levels: N | N | T
Skills: (Eight points. The maximum a skill can go is five. A sentence or two of description explaining what each skill pertains to would be appreciated.)
Connections: (To any PC whose player agrees you should have one.)
Miracles: None
Bonus XP Type: (What emotional response should your character evoke?)
Basic Quest: (This will be discussed individually)
Arc Trait: (This will be discussed individually)
Bonds: (One level 2 Bond to start)
Afflictions: (Tied to Arc Trait)
Perks: (You can have up to eight)
Stuff: Things your character always has on them. Try to keep it reasonable.
Tragic backstories are extremely common The ocean hates everything, but devil fruits the most of all You can do anything if you work hard enough at it People don't die unless it's important
@Blackstripe The metaphysical ramifications of having more than one of an idea that encompasses all things that exist, have existed, or will ever exist aside, even the DC multiverse doesn't consistently have analogues to those people. In fact, even within the post-Flashpoint Orrery of Worlds, the only multiversal constant is The Atom for reasons nobody entirely understands. It stands to reason that a separate multiverse wouldn't have any analogues to DC stuff except by pure coincidence, right? So if we go by those rules then, for example, Lady Arcana would just be a version of Lady Arcana that superficially resembles Captain Marvel, rather than the other way around, right?
So why are you centering this on DC when you've got a setting all your own right there in the opening post?
I wouldn't say it's a bad setting, all told. If you just had a little confidence in what you could do this could easily stand on it's own. All you'd have to do is drop those weird forced references to "Earth-1" because, I'll be straight with you, it's very misleading when there's already an Earth-1.
So why don't you give it a try? Just, you know... drop all this bait and switch stuff. "Heroes Reborn - A Blackstripe Universe Roleplay", or something. Maybe that's a little narcissistic, I dunno. But it can't be any fun being on the defensive like this all the time, right?
