@JaceBeleren You can have a surname I guess, but it'll be sort of weird for a goblin to have one.
To clarify something in case there was a misunderstanding, the world didn't end or anything, your character just died. I guess their world ended if you look at it that way.
The Gift is fine. Keep in mind, though, that the strength of the Gift is correlated to the strength of the soul. This is the sort of thing I'll explain more when I put the OOC up, but for now just know that the Gift's strength will be pretty low. He'd be able to outclimb someone with similar parameters, but don't expect him to be able to scale cliffs off the bat or anything. The strength of the Gift and its characteristics will grow as the character does.
Two points pierce the world. A strange angry girl had attempted to attack him on her way out; however, she was a fool.
A truly foolish fool.
A peerless fool in her foolishness.
The reason was simple: she had attempted to attack a main character, she had attempted to defy an absolute fate that lay gilded beyond absolute fate itself.
Two attacks. One at the face, one at the Profound Weakness of all men. And yet, Claudius made no effort to dodge, to block, to retaliate. The reason for this became obvious when the strange girl's blows made contact with their target.
Hard. It was harder than it should have been. The strike against his bandana-covered face and the strike against his crotch had not hit their mark, but rather had been stopped by something, the strange girl's attacks only resulting in her potentially injuring herself, depending on how much force was behind those very assaults.
Was it forcefield magic? No, no, there was no indication that magic was used, none of its reek upon the man before her. The truth was something far more powerful, something had perfectly recreated magic without an incantation and without magical energy.
"Gahaha! My E-Rank Barrier Generation Claudiuscrafts have succeeded yet again!"
He had literally been wearing a metal facemask and a metal groin protector beneath his bandana and pants, respectively.
Behold, the transcendent might of Claudius Caligula Westerson.
...
Oh. Another strange girl was talking now as well.
Eh, he'd ignore her. She looked like an NPC at any rate. She was probably a bum, too.
"...wait, I should design a D-Rank Homeless Individual Detection Claudiuscraft."
Already, the mind of the main character had moved on to more important matters.
"Should your Servant fall and you wish to exit the war, you can come here to relinquish your right as a Master. At that point, you'll be under my protection until such a time as you've left the city." Ruler explained, not being able to help the trace of a grin that was forming at the edge of his lips. It was only fitting that the Master of that sort of Servant was thinking of those sorts of conditions, as opposed to brazenly charging forwards with all the gall of a young adult novel protagonist.
Frankly, the thought was nearly enough to make Ruler muse over what it would be like if he were just another competitor in this war. The notion was quelled moments later; even with an ideal Master, he wouldn't be capable of doing battle with a combat-capable Servant. Besides that, his other talents...well, without the unfair advantage accorded to the Ruler class, he wouldn't be anything more than an obstacle to be crushed.
"I suppose you could simply exit the city, but while you have those Command Seals, even if your Servant is dead you are treated as a 'competitor'. That is why you're required to come to me to relinquish that title; without doing so, you haven't exited the war, and as such my protection won't apply. If you do manage to leave the city without doing that, though, then I can hardly imagine another competitor would leave the city to hunt you down. In the first place, that would-"
The Servant cut himself off as something changed in a nearby Servant's status. Had a Command Seal been used? From behind his sunglasses, his eyes narrowed slightly as though trying to see through the walls of the church, the Servant in question, a Berserker, now moving towards him.
A Berserker running towards neutral ground, hm? And one that seemed...empowered, at that. Hostility was likely. Ruler's previous disposition slipped, the trace of annoyance entering his countenance as his right hand released the cane it was gripping. Prana began to flow around him, those sigils that marked him as Ruler thrumming with a pale red light.
If the task is just, if the intention is pure, then none should fear charging forwards.
I look upon the world, and think of its beauty. I lift my hand, and declare a truth that transcends time.
The very earth beneath him seemed to call out, the shadow of "something" forming in the Servant's hand, and...!
-The sound of very civil knocking brought a halt to this. Ruler's preparation for a display of power before a rampaging beast was dispelled in an instant, the flow of prana ceasing as his mouth opened and closed silently before he had composed himself enough to respond.
There aren't "levels" and "skills" like you'd expect from an RPG, but there are elements that you'd expect to see in an RPG. For instance, humanity has developed a spell that they call "Appraisal", which does exactly what you'd expect.
I'm a bit cautious because I've seen this exact interest check posted up by several people before, and none of them have gotten off the ground. That being said, my interest in this RP provided it actually happens hasn't diminished. Count me in.
Fweh, people have been stealing my stuff? I posted the original int check on here over two years ago, didn't think others would have kept running with it since then.
@Moonlit Sonata I assume judging by your post, we'll be free to worldbuild as well? Or would it be GM-only privilege? I'm okay with both ways.
The history of the world and things of that nature are all done by yours truly. You're free to engage in shaping the world of course, but the creation of the world to begin with is strictly GM territory. Finding out the truth of the world is one possible path you can take, if you so desire.
CS has been added. Expect an OOC later tonight. Newcomers are still welcome, of course.
Once, you were a human. Maybe you were a salaryman, or a kid on a skateboard, or a third-grade English teacher. Either way, you're dead now.
As quickly as your soul is placed into darkness, it is pulled back out. Light and sounds accelerate, and your eyes crack open for the first time, in a new body.
You're a Goblin.
Born in a small, remote tribe of Goblins in a forest, lacking any knowledge of your geography, you are thrust into the world. While only a newborn, the instinct and basic abilities of your kind are ingrained into you. How to communicate, how to hunt, what you must do to survive, as well as inherent information to your new world. This is your life, this is your mind. The memories of your previous life, your previous world, they exist but merely as a hazy dream with the conclusion forgotten. With time, sufficient experience and growth will open the option for you to evolve from a goblin to a different branch of monster, but this will depend on your own ability.
Just one thing sets this new batch of Goblin juveniles, your clan, apart from the rest. A single facet of their souls, a single "skill" retained from their past life that they do not even know they had. Perhaps an affinity for a rare kind of magic, perhaps a propensity to lead, perhaps the knowledge of a language they don't recall learning. Will this mistake in the cycle of reincarnation lend them the power to break past their limits, or will they simply fall like wild beasts to the onslaught of the world?
Welcome to the game, and do make it entertaining.
The revamp of something I had the idea for a couple years back. This is a group RP where you lot will play reincarnated humans in the form of goblins. You'll be born with the ability to speak the Goblin language, and rudimentary knowledge on things like "I need to eat". Your group will also have a handful of elder Goblins, who will help rear your generation. The thing is, for one reason or another, each of you has a somewhat unique skill or affinity, the result of something to do with your most recent past life.
With time, sufficient experience and growth will open the option for you to evolve from a goblin to a different branch of monster. The type of monster and its affinities will depend on your skillset; you might even have multiple options to pick from. For instance, from a Goblin you might change to a simple Hobgoblin, a branch of lesser demon, or something based off of any manner of mythological existence. My mod doc with things like a monster catalogue is pretty expansive at well over a thousand different kinds of monsters, so don't think you'll be lacking for options.
The roleplay's to focus on the growth of the player group as they strengthen themselves from a remote tribe of goblins to something greater. Work with your fellow players, try to control them by force, or even try to slaughter them all so you can be the main character. I'm not here to tell you how to play; that's for you to decide. Stay in the starting forest and turn this into a slice of life, adventure to the mountain of the Dragon King and try to ascend to godhood, the world is your oyster. I'll of course be codifying options and providing little catalysts here and there to keep things fresh, though.
Also, I cannot emphasize this enough: none of your characters will have any recollection of their time as a human. Zero. They won't have weird premonitions, they won't have hazy dreams, they won't have flashes of events from their past life, they won't have phobias or traumas that carried over. They will be a 100% blank slate, with the sole exception of their unique ability.
Strictly speaking, from the most general idea perspective it's basically taken from re;Monster. However, the way the universe will work, mechanics for things like magic and ability growth, themes of the story, and so on will largely differ to the point of being completely distinct. For that reason, if you're familiar with re;Monster, I don't recommend trying to apply knowledge from there to here.
Little blurb here to better explain the evolution mechanic for those who want to know in advance.
Basically, I have a very large list of monsters of varying kinds in my wonderful little mod doc for this. It's extensive enough that I can more or less guarantee that you won't be lacking for options. For each style of how you can play your character, there's a different "evolutionary path", if you will. Let's say you're all about punching things. All you do, all day is punch things. You're the frontline melee monster of your group. In that case, after a while you might evolve into an Ogre-class monster as your first evolution, or maybe something with more arms so that you can better punch things. Or let's say you're all about diplomacy and communication, you spend more time trying to communicate with a human group that showed up last week than with your fellow Goblins, or you try to focus on societal bases. You might evolve into a more humanoid-formed Goblin with better communication and diplomacy skills, who learns languages faster and is better at persuading others.
When you've reached the necessary criteria to "evolve", I'll inform you. At that point, you can either accept the evolution, or put it off so you can accept a different one down the road. Think of the evolution process as being akin to Pokemon in terms of how it happens once accepted; one minute you're X, then you're Y. Also, even after your first evolution, the process can continue. In theory at least, there's no cap on how many evolutions you can undergo. It's a branching path that goes on "forever".
(Of course, my monster list does end at a certain point, but I honestly doubt that'll ever be an issue~)
From there, things can get more in-depth. While most of the "first" evolutions you'll undergo, the ones that change you from a Goblin to X, will be pretty simple in nature, the more you carve out your specific style of playing, the more precise and rare your own species will get. In theory, while you start off as a Goblin, in time it's possible to become something completely different, tailored to the theme of your character. Let's say you take the Ogre route I mentioned above. You do X to evolve into an Ogre; there are plenty of Ogres around, most of them being natural-born, but some of them are monsters who evolved into Ogres, just like you. After a couple of evolutions though, you could go from an Ogre, to, say, something extinct like a Hecatoncheir, where you'll be one of a handful of living examples, if not the only one.
There are also a handful of less obvious routes you can pursue, as well. You can compare them to "secret classes" in RPGs, if you want a conceptual parallel. It's obvious how to become a close combat god, or a strategic mastermind, or an archmage, but it's also possible to have the option to take less obvious evolutions, if you clear the requirements for them. For instance, there's one particularly strange evolutionary path that results in you turning into a Hydra, with more possibilities branching off from there. Some are standard fantasy stuff, some are mythological, some are just plain weird. One monster is literally just a sentient bundle of rope. The rarer a monster you are though, and the greater your abilities, the more attention you'll attract.
It's basically a matter of finding a style that suits you, having your character mold themselves to that style in time, and playing the game how you want it. If you decide you want to basically turn into Typhon, kill all your fellow RPers, and declare war on the world, feel free. If you want to be a diplomatic character who gets tied up in interspecies political and military intrigue, feel free. I'm not going to tell you how to play the game; I'm just the one who builds the world, what happens in that world is up to you. Of course, this also includes the consequences of foolish actions, should any be taken~
Name: Self-explanatory. Monsters are inherently made "aware" of their name upon birth, as opposed to receiving it from a parent as occurs with humans. Due to the unique situation of the characters, it is possible that aspects of the previous incarnation's name have been retained, like the starting syllable or maybe even the given name they had.
Gender: Male, Female, or Genderfluid Transabled Apocalyptic Disaster-kin.
Appearance: You're a green-skinned, four foot tall, ugly piece of work. As such, this section is optional, but if you want to mention some distinguishing factors, feel free. I won't demand a properly full description though. Also, I don't usually say this, but I'd rather you don't put an image, considering everything. Obviously things like clothing and body modifications won't be a thing, as you're newborns. Don't worry though, with Evolutions, your appearance can drastically change.
Personality: Describe how your character thinks, acts, and feels. Don't skimp on this, but an essay isn't needed.
Past Life History: This isn't that important, compared to how important it usually is. Considering that the memory of this will be hazy, "growth" that occurred during your past life won't be present, hence why you're largely a blank slate with some human-ness left. If you had a traumatic experience and became afraid of the dark, you won't have that trauma here. If you were born afraid of the dark, though, then you will. As such, the only real reason this section exists is for flavor, and to justify your Gift.
Gift: The rare ability you were born with, as a result of your past life. Ability as in singular; you only get one. If you were an English teacher, maybe you innately know the human language somehow, despite not knowing what a human is, and pick up on languages easier. If you were a creepy occultist, maybe you have a rare magic affinity. Just be reasonable, and don't pick anything that makes you broken from the start. The best kind of Gifts are ones that have the potential to grow conceptually, rather than something that only really has one linear path of expansion.
Ruler's eyes scanned over the Master and Servant who had appeared at the church, lingering on the latter for a moment. Ah, so it was that Heroic Spirit. Ruler could only find it amusing, that he was so easily allowing that sort of man into his territory. Well, he didn't seem to possess the capability to recreate that feat of his, so it was hardly like it mattered regardless. Nodding, the Servant simply allowed the magus and Servant entry into the church.
Ah, so it seemed like this time there was actually a better grasp of the circumstances of the war by this pair. Well, that made this easier if nothing else.
"Half-right. A Ruler will either be summoned if the Grail War is deemed unusual enough that the Holy Grail deems an overseer necessary to supervise the chaos, or if the Grail War has a chance of causing distortions to appear in this war. At the current time, even I don't know which it is, but the former is certainly involved." He explained, shrugging slightly. "Thanks to the work of those two, the Grail has much more magical energy than it should. The usual constraint of seven Servants has been lifted, but-"
-Wait.
Wait wait wait.
He'd forgotten to tell those other pairs who'd come before about the most important part.
...well, this was a problem. This was a rather large problem. This was a tremendous problem.
After freezing up for a moment as he realized that he had, in fact, fucked up, Ruler managed to recompose himself and resumed speaking.
"But it should still be that a wish will manifest after seven Servants die. Even if the amount of Servants summoned is greater than seven, the fact that the Holy Grail 'requires the death of seven Servants' shouldn't have changed."
In other words...
In other words, this fight to the death did not have to function as such.
In theory, every existence possesses a "grudge". A child's grudge to be stronger, a fetus's grudge to be born, a friend's grudge to shoulder the pain of another. In order to be a sapient being without a single grudge, you must be an impossible being. You must be something that has glimpsed what mankind calls "Enlightenment", something that has seen the truth of the world and escaped its laws as a result.
And yet...how did it go?
The name is unfamiliar, the feelings are unfamiliar, but the words, the words can still be felt. Like looking through a pane of misted glass, like a song without a melody, like a declaration for the end of an era.
For after all, a grudge does not have to be hatred, it simply has to be will. It is a part of the soul given form as the tether between the soul and the mind. It is a wish, a prayer that extends outwards to infinity despite knowing that nothing besides its speaker will answer it.
Then, it should be asked, what is magic?
Magic is something not-human. Magic is something Other. Magic is something transcendent. Magic is something "wrong".
Magic is not a force. Magic is not a blessing. Magic is not a damnation. Magic is not an idea. Magic is not a concept. Magic is magic. That is all it can ever be, for the second you take a step outside of that tautological hole, you pay the penalty that lies past the veil. Your mind cannot afford for magic to be anything besides magic.
Call on your power, call on those crystals, call on those foundations etched into the world. Call yourself a scholar of magic if so you dare, but lift not the seal that lays in wait, lest you destroy your own mind with the truth that lies at the path's end.
But after all, humans have moods, vacillations, temperaments, ideals, despairs, hopes. They are a tapestry of mind and body, woven together in an unending dance. So then, something every bit as tautological as the forced human-definition of magic would be equally not-human. Yes, for in order to surpass that alien concept known as magic, in order to break through human limits and become something transcendent, one needed to be every bit as divorced from humanity as that very magic. Shunning its power and carving out a path to "the one and only" that has never before been walked. That is the grudge, the wish, that one such being has oriented itself around.
Wizards. Rulers. Demons. Gods. Sitting so far above mankind upon your thrones, wreathed in flame as you look upon the masses below.
-It's weak.
It's hilariously, incomprehensibly weak.
For if that blade you wield is cut from wrath, if that sling you carry is wrought from piety, if that spear you hold is forged of power, if that mount you command is bound with glory, if that blessing you were gifted is born from justice, if that poison you spread is forged from lust, if that scream you bellow is risen from desire, then those false prophecies will be crushed with nothing more than these two hands.
In this existence's mind, it was not a hero. While it called itself a hero, it knew it was not one.
No, it was something beyond such concepts of heroism. It was something that had escaped the narrative cycle.
It was a hero who possessed "plot armor".
It was a 「Main Character」.
And so, the curtain opened on a lone man, a mad glint in his eyes that rivaled the insanity of one who had learned a truth so terrible they dared not speak it. Striding into the guild hall where chaos has reigned, his bandana flowing in the nonexistent breeze, he spoke, his voice slicing through the air without a moment's pause as the illustrious Julius Styles slammed down against the floor in front of him.
"Gahaha! Those who have dared to submit applications should rescind theirs now, for behold, the great Claudius Caligula Westerson has descended upon this establishment! I shall hold auditions for my Sidekicks at this point in time!"
Personality: In a world of magic users and adventurers, where combat, medicine, and research all pivot around those powers that transcend human mundanity, those without such power are forced to the delegation of side characters or faceless individuals who only exist as a means of moving from point A to point B. This is an absolute fate, and it is this absolute fate that Claudius wages war on. He is an unsalvageable chuunibyou, an outspoken buffoon, and a mad scientist who has dedicated his life to turning the magical into the mundane.
Claudius believes himself to be a "protagonist", a being destined to defeat the magic-archy that he perceives the world around him to be. In the face of tyranny, he stands tall, an unbending oak to weather the storm. In interactions with others, he is recklessly ostentatious and loudmouthed, a ridiculous jester without peer who is prone to monologue at the slightest opportunity.
Viewing all others as subordinates, inferiors, lesser beings, jesters, and the like, he proclaims himself as a being of a higher standing. Even with regards to those who are objectively above him in ability, such as otherworldly monsters from a higher dimension, transcendent gods who exist outside of time, or his childhood tutor, he does not change this demeanor. For those rare individuals who either believe his words or pretend to play along though, he treats them as valued "sidekicks", though they are still of course disposable pawns. As one could imagine, he has the concept of protagonism so hammered into his soul that it cannot be divorced.
Probably great at parties.
Biography: Claudius descends from a relatively long line of wizards, but was born with a total lack of magical talent. His parents were not unreasonable people, and did not view him as lesser for this circumstance, raising him as they would any other child. The trouble came when Claudius was seven and his parents had their second child, a girl, who was blessed with an aptitude for magic at an almost absurd level. While Claudius's parents were not the type to show overt favoritism, they couldn't help but show a trace more attention to their prodigy of a daughter. This was Claudius's turning point; refusing to accept the reality around him, he proclaimed that he would overcome all magic as a concept, and become something greater.
The next decade was filled with Claudius moving to this endeavor. Neglecting his all else, shutting out all others and immersing himself in his work, he tinkered endlessly to realize his dream. His parents, not wanting to dissuade him from his passions, helped fund his projects, and every so often Claudius actually managed to churn out an invention that worked relatively well and even earned some money thanks to it. While not having the most familiar sibling relationship, he did get along rather well with the sister that had caused him all of this grief, mainly because she was just a little kid who didn't realize that her brother was a fucking weirdo.
Regardless, even this was not enough. Proclaiming that he could not stay at home forever, Claudius abandoned his family name and replaced it with a new one, "Westerson" (as well as adding a middle name for reasons unknown), before leaving home to travel the world as an adventurer, see new sights, and perfect his craft. He told his parents that when he saw them next, he would have conquered all forms of magic and slayed the Demon King.
He asked them to keep sending him money, though.
Skills:
Invention God: An inventive mindset coupled with copious amounts of funds from his disdainful parents has turned Claudius into a man who can create new things with only a moment's notice. Despite not being a reincarnated individual, his creations are something that seem to violate logic. To this end, he carries various seemingly random materials on his person. His inventions are made with the concept of "replicating magic", and are nicknamed "Claudiuscraft". For instance, he possesses a "C Rank Flame Manipulation Claudiuscraft", which is a can of compressed air and a match.
Improvisation: Capability to create tales and ideas that make the Silmarillion seem tame, all in the span of a second and a half. A ridiculous existence who can weave complex narratives that not even he can follow.
Monologuing: Capacity to deliver hour-long monologues at the drop of a hat, seemingly without ever pausing to take a breath.
Other: Possesses a backpack that he has nicknamed "Dimensional Decapitator". It is actually a pocket space he bought off of an Arch-Wizard for the sake of storing all of his Claudiuscraft and related materials.
