Ryik

Legion of Heroes

Here he is. Hope he doesn't overlap too much with everyone's ideas.

Arkin

Name: Arkin Rey
Superhero names: Mothman (tentative), other names will depend on the plot
Gender: ♂
Race: Genetically modified human (shape-shifting chimera)
Age: 21 (28 chronologically)
Appearance: Changes based on form

Arkin, given the choice, most often interacts with others in his werewolf form (pictured above) due to having no major physical oddities or obstructive weaknesses. Covered in hair, with an unruly light-brown head of it and golden yellow eyes. Broad shoulders with impressive musculature. Has a strong, distinct body odor one might describe as a mixture of sweat, musk perfume, and dog fur.

Ever since acquiring his abilities, Arkin lost the ability to return to his human form, and thus his appearance differs with his current species. I intend on starting the RP with only a caterpillar form. Most humanoid forms retain his light brown hair, but share little else. Descriptions of his forms will be added as he obtains them.

Power: After absorbing the genetic material of certain animals by biting or being bitten, (and surviving, and just generally having the luck to have it activate) Arkin permanently gains the ability to transform into them. Furthermore, not unlike a pokemon, by meeting certain conditions or gaining combat experience with the form, he is able to evolve, skipping ahead in the animal's life cycle and/or gaining new, stronger, more monstrous forms. He also retains the ability to revisit previous forms, and in certain circumstances can transfer the physical qualities qualities of other forms he has unlocked.

Including the base form, each of his transformations (albeit not necessarily every evolutionary path) has 5 stages, and will always have at least two forms in the 5th and final stage, consisting of at least one humanoid cryptid and one “legendary beast”. Transformation takes only a few seconds for most of his forms, and about a dozen for his legendary beast forms, though the transformation can be interrupted with certain weaknesses.

Planned humanoid forms (other than Werewolf) include Mothman, Vampire, Harpy, Lamia, Mermaid, and possibly Demonoid. I’ve considered a Kitsune form but it doesn’t have enough social weaknesses so I’d rather dangle the prospect in front of Arkin forever without ever giving it to him. Acquisition of a devil/demon form would require contrived luck in the form of another character with demon powers, which I currently have no intention to create myself. Due to a muddled mythologue, Bigfoot/Sasquatch/Yeti/Skunk Ape/etc. is simply incompatible.

Planned legendary beast forms include the Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth, (totally not Mothra) Camazotz, (bat god) Fenrir, Cerberus, Roc, Jormungandr, and Leviathan, though some of them might not be as large or divine as they are historically described.

All of the forms have some level of superhuman physique, but besides staring a Mothman in the eyes, listening to a Mermaid's siren song, getting bitten by a Vampire or Werewolf, or the transformation-within-a-transformation of the Werewolf and Vampire form, they are more or less limited to their physical properties. The legendary beasts might have a bit of extra spice like breathing fire (Cerberus) or creating storms (Roc) or ritualistic curses (Camazots) but are otherwise just varyingly kaiju-sized monsters.

Limitations: First and foremost, Arkin can only acquire the ability to transform into compatible forms, which for him is permanently defined as monsters that can evolve to attain a humanoid form he originally knew of, possibly brought about by his strong desire to return to human society. An insurmountable mental block stops him from accepting any new humanoid monsters as anything but contrived. Having little prior knowledge of foreign mythology, furries, or obscure works of fiction, most of the viable forms are mundane animals that evolve into mythical creatures common in popular culture.

Additionally, each humanoid form has varyingly pronounced psychological effects, and maintains the classical weaknesses of their mythologues:
Mothman - While ironically having the mildest psychological impact, it makes him slightly more detached and unfeeling. Photophobic in the disdainful sense. Has difficulty not becoming disoriented when close to bright lights.
Werewolf - Burned and grievously wounded by silver. Has a strong psychological effect, making him more egotistical, with pronounced anger management issues. Generally loosens his inhibitions and worsens his better judgement. Forced into wolf form on the night of a full moon, losing his humanity until morning.
Vampire - Burns upon contact with sunlight, cannot willingly enter a residence uninvited, does not have a reflection in silver-backed mirrors and cannot cross natural flowing freshwater. (harmed by it. Going over it or on a boat is fine though.) Mild inherent evilness, with a tendency for obsession. Hates dogs.
Harpy - Bird-brained, with a tendency for aggression.
Lamia - A snake is a snake.
Mermaid - Aggressive, possessive, not very mobile on land.

Finally, though his legendary beast forms tend to wield more raw destructive force, they are also the only forms he cannot stay in, quickly wearing him out and forcing him to change into his other forms. The actual time he can remain as one varies with form based on its size and his actions. Camazotz, being around 4 meters tall, can last for several hours, while the godzilla-scaled forms going on a rampage may not last even one hour.

Skills/Talents: A very fast reader, good at puzzles, party games and strategy games, a decent (if unqualified and unconfident) paramedic in a pinch, and while he’s not a particularly gifted cook, his pancakes are without match.

Background/Bio: Was a simple college med student before getting sucked into a mad science experiment by one of his peers whom he never learned the name of. The intended experiment was actually thwarted by the results of a lab accident taking the mad scientist’s life before coming to its completion. He was kept cryogenically frozen for 7 years before the hidden lab was discovered and the self-proclaimed explorers who found it accidentally started part of the experiment back up, turning him into what he is now. A caterpillar. He was able to make it out of the lab alive and well, learning the basics of his bizarre power and circumstances, but after one evolution he has only managed to become a larger caterpillar. He has since revisited the lab, already finding it cleaned out of any details of the experiment, both the one that was supposed to happen and the one that actually turned him into what he is now.

Theme:

Legion of Heroes

I do like writing characters with another form/appearance, though I go for more of a monster-y sort of thing. something akin to Cu Chulainn, Fafnir, or lycanthropes. I am considering on doing something along those lines but It won't really overlap that much with your idea if you want to fulfill that niche.

@Lurking Shadow

Tentative interest, though I was thinking of a character that would overlap with this lol

Pokémon: Legends of Tomorrow

I'm down.

If you're interested, please leave your interest below as well with any questions you may have for me to answer.

1. Starting Items?
2. Starting Moves?
3. Starting Money?
4. Hidden abilities when?
5. How often can we expect to encounter non-Kanto pokemon within Kanto?

Also, here's Kaison.

Kaison

Name: Kaison Locke
Age: 16
Personality: Adventurous, stoic, and generally nonchalant. He might seem idealistic, though it's more accurate to say he's casually optimistic. He hides any troubles he may or may not have behind an unfaltering smile that doubles as a flawless poker face. Not particularly competitive, and usually takes a relaxed approach to problems.
Background: Kaison was born to a highly successful self-made businessman and his beautiful house wife. When Kaison was one year old, his mother died giving birth to his younger brother. Consequently, his father developed depression and a drinking problem. Due to his young age, he was never familiar with his mother, and he’s never known his father to be any other way. Even so, his father maintained his responsibilities. He was a drunkard, not abusive, and he and his brother were generally left alone, if not watched by a babysitter. As such, he's had a lot of free time, growing up, and most of it was simply spent on games, anime, manga, and so on. He's dabbled in creating his own games or writing his own stories, with varied success. Still, he wants to experience his own stories of adventure for himself. He believes that a biography on him should be something worth reading, and to make that not just a possibility but an inevitability, he's decided to go on a Pokemon adventure, if only to see how far he can take it. Traveling around for his father's business has been the norm, but their extended stay in the Kanto region is a great opportunity to get started.
Wallet: 5,000 of his own money, 10,000 in a debit card given to him by his father, to be used exclusively in "emergencies", and an unused coupon for a free casteliacone.
Inventory: A backpack full of necessities, including food, (mostly nonperishable) clothes, camping gear, (including an escape rope) ten pokeballs, and a single potion.

Theme

Pokemon

Name: Samsara the Fomantis
Overview: An aloof hunter, despite being a bit bumbling given her young age. Basically what you would expect out of a house cat.
Ability: Leaf Guard
Movepool:
- Leafage
- Fury Cutter
- Growth
- Aromatherapy

Derika Labs

A prelude to Derika.

Gift classifications

When Gifts can reasonably fall under multiple categories, the categories are (usually) explained and the Gifted in question is asked to categorize themselves.

Physical - Biological creation, modification, or augmentation, including unrealistic bodily capabilities such as strength without muscle and non-specific manifestations limited to bodily forms. A bit of a misnomer, since it pertains solely to the body rather than Gifts with physical manifestations, which usually fall under Elemental or Unaligned.
Examples: Super Strength, animal transformations, or granting objects controllable arms. Most quirks from My Hero Academia fall under this, since they usually have a bodily explanation; other Gift types typically don’t. Organ-based fire breath (or explosive sweat) is a common example of a Gift that could fall under either category between Physical and Elemental.

Elemental - Creating, transforming, manipulating, emulating, or becoming a specific substance, or a specific and finite number of substances, in a deterministic manner. Substances do not need to be real, but If there is no limit to what materials are viable, then it does not fall under Elemental.
Examples: “Darkness” manipulation, energy barrier creation, or consuming the four classical elements to activate four different effects based on the elements.

Mental - Influencing or enhancing the mind or mental processes including exhibiting or granting otherwise unavailable or impossible mental functions.
Examples: Illusion creation, sudden weapon expertise, or direct pain infliction.

Dimensional - Affecting space, time, dimensions, or altering the fundamental laws of the universe directly, without intermediary cause.
Examples: Teleportation, freezing an area in time, or having access to a hammerspace/extradimensional inventory

Unaligned - Effects operating on abstract mechanics or otherwise through a change or changes in causality for an individual or individuals.
Examples: Copying other Gifts, Materialization of any type of object from nothing, or the ability to create fortune cookies with random fortunes on them, (pulled from a list) which come true when the cookies are opened.

Character Sheet

Name: Name of your character, as well as any nicknames or aliases.
Gender: ♂/♀/~
Age: Keep it realistic, please.
Appearance: DO NOT INCLUDE IN CHARACTER SHEET. PM it to me or something.
Choices: Pick a gender and a hair color. Don't worry what this is for. It can be the same or different from the character's.
Gift Classification:
Gift: A summary of your character’s Gift.

Weaknesses/Limitations:

Artifact Wishlist: "i.e. Something to help with..."
Personality: The general vibe your character gives off, and in particular how others may perceive them.
History: Gifts (including their own) and Derika do not exist as far as your character is aware.
Other: Theme songs theme songs theme songs theme songs theme songs

@IceSolstice@Mattie_@vanovick

Derika Labs

You each wake up, finding yourselves in your own glass cylinder that has just been drained of some unidentifiable liquid. You hear a click as some previously unnoticed tubes and needles disconnect themselves from the back of your neck and upper back. For a brief moment, irrational claustrophobia starts to set in as you find yourself trapped before the glass cylinder finally rises into the ceiling, leaving you alone in a heavily dilapidated lab lit only by a thin layer of faintly glowing algae.

Super-powered Killing Game with Randomized Super Powers

I'm very much interested in this.

I'd also like to contribute to the power list, if you're still looking to fill it out more. I love making up complex power sets.

By chance, would players intuitively know what their ability did, or would they have to find out themselves akin to The Hollow?

Pokemon Conflux

"Strong Pokemon. Weak Pokemon. That is only the selfish perception of people. Truly skilled trainers should try to win with their favorites."
-Karen of the Indigo Elite Four.

"It's one thing to enjoy leisurely battles, but real battles can be a severe trial. Truly strong trainers sometimes must be prepared to choose Pokemon that can win rather than their favorite Pokemon."
-Gentleman of the Hoenn Battle Resort.

Truly skilled. Truly strong. Pokemon that can win. Pokemon that are your favorite. It's the frustration brought about by the lack of overlap that led to gene splicing technology. With it, if a Pokemon was incapable of wielding the power necessary to succeed, it could simply be given that power. By combining traits of other Pokemon, it was possible to take the best traits of both. Alternate abilities. Access to new moves. Sometimes, even bodily modification was possible, resulting in a wide range of new, sometimes outrageously powerful fused Pokemon. The rampant Pokemon modification experimentation even led to the Create-a-Pokemon project, bringing about the creation of entirely new species solely intended to experiment with what it meant to be a "strong" Pokemon.

While many enjoy the benefits offered by Pokemon modification, others see it as a crime against nature. Fusion requires two Pokemon, but the end result is that only one Pokemon remains. Only one consciousness is kept through the fusion process, the other only returning with no memories of the interrim if the fusion is undone. Transferring of traits also involves returning the unwanted traits to the donor, which some view as equivalent to imparting it with a disability. By comparison, the Create-a-Pokemon project is often criticized the least, despite the Pokemon scientists involved playing god. Perhaps the precedent of other manmade pokemon has numbed people to it, though their impact on the local ecosystems isn't without consequence either.

This RP is inspired by both Smogon's Create-a-Pokemon project, which uses a series of lengthy voting processes to create pokemon in attempts to experiment with the OU metagame, and Pokemon Infinite Fusion, a fangame with a long-standing community that continuously produces beautiful spritework for the various fusions. All 31 completed CAPs (plus their 34 pre-evolutions, as well as the 32nd CAP, when it's finished) and any Pokemon fusion that has a custom sprite/artwork (which are miles ahead in quality over the hideous auto-generated ones) would be available, although fused Pokemon will be somewhat harder to obtain. In addition, to help out terrible Pokemon who already struggle to stay relevant and tying in with the plot I had planned, granting Pokemon new abilities and moves will be allowed, within reason. Slapping wonder guard or Huge Power on everything isn't gonna fly, but if you want to give Beautifly Drought because it gets Solarbeam, STAB U-Turn, and no other sun setter has a pivoting move, go for it. Might as well give it Weather Ball while you're at it, lord knows Beautifly would still need the help. (Admittedly thin) Thematic justifications, such as Beautifly learning TM Sunny Day and Morning Sun by level up are necessary, though unless it's downright bizarre it's probably fine.

As for the details of fusions, we'll be copying Infinite Fusion's Head+Body system; you select one Pokemon as the head and another as the body. This means there are two possible results for each combination of pokemon. The result uses the stats of the materials, weighted (1/3 to 2/3) so that the body contributes more towards attack, defense and speed, while the head contributes more towards HP, special attack and special defense. The fusion product will have access to any four moves and any one ability of its materials. The fusions continue to evolve as per the evolution requirements of its materials. A Bulbasaur/Pidgey, for example, would evolve into Ivysaur/Pidgey at level 16, Ivysaur/Pidgeotto at level 18, Venusaur/Pidgeotto at level 32 and Venusaur/Pidgeot at level 36. Some combinations might need a balance adjustment, though barring Shedinja fusions and a few others that are extremely difficult to deal with, I'll probably just let it be. The bigger restriction is probably going to be finding a viable combination with the appropriate custom sprite. It's usually pretty glaring whether a fusion has a custom sprite or not.

A few examples of the excellent custom sprites I've seen

The RP takes place in a new region, which welcomes both experienced trainers from other regions as well as new trainers, who will have the unique advantage of being offered one of the 3 starter CAPs:
Fawnifer

Smogecko

Swirlpool


As for the actual forum gameplay, I'm very fond of the gradual build up of progress and I don't really mind keeping track of experience points for everyone, though the aspect of grinding is obviously very bad, so I was thinking of just slapping a huge exp modifier like x5 or x10 on everything and calling it a day. For pvp or important battles, the default is an anime-style battle unless someone specifically prefers a more structured, turn-based format, wherein I can acquiesce using PM inputs (probably through discord for convenience) and a damage calculator, if not simply Pokemon Showdown, depending on the details. For less important battles, players can just control their NPC opponents and handle the battle within the same post, with as little or as many details as they'd like.

Besides balance restrictions, I still haven’t decided on what limitations to put on the acquisition of pokemon modifications or fused pokemon, nor what restrictions to put on the teams of incoming veteran trainers so they don't just sweep the region, so I figured I’d get feedback on that while doing an interest check at the same time.

Our Dying Wish

Ink and Angela

”I said I’d draw it in, not find it for you, so be a dear and keep those eyes peeled Ink” Angela replied, not taking her gaze of the darkened false sky, her tone faintly mocking rather than harshly admonishing as it could have been ”or have you been just admiring the stars this whole time, hmmm?”

There's a certain saying; 'better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.' It was very tempting to confirm that, yes, he was just admiring the stars, because you didn't specify a range, miss Angela. Just staring up at the sky covered most of the airspace above Agartha, technically, and if she needed the dragon to look back at her, all she needed was to create bright lights in the dark, which should be no problem for a fire mage. Well, either way, he didn't feel like getting into it at the moment. Not because he didn't want to start an argument with Angela right before taking on a dragon, but because not being omniscient unironically made him feel foolish. Such is human perception.

In any case, Angela went on to create a series of spotlights on herself, lighting up the cavernous sky like a search helicopter in reverse. So Angela doesn't mind finding it for everyone anyway, huh.

As Angela goes on to taunt the dragon, Rika assures her, in trite heroic fashion:

"No maidens will be kidnapped on my watch, fair lady!"

Rika then says she sees something and stands up before she is unceremoniously swooped off the ground in an instant by a fast-moving shadowy figure.

"...So, is Rika not a maiden, or...?"

"It's hardly polite to speculate darling" Angela Replied disdainfully, before hypocritically adding "though I can't imagine someone of her fame lacks for suitors."

Ink didn't miss the way she casually implied she was speaking from experience. He got up off the grass, dusting himself off. "Takes a celebrity to know a celebrity, huh, miss high society?"

"That it would", she replied shamelessly while pointing a glowing finger up towards the might or might not be maiden, trying and failing to line up a shot that wasn't at risk of blasting the subject of their conversation in the butt, before adding "why? Interested?" somewhere between tauntingly and teasingly

Ink obtusely feigns obliviousness. "In being a celebrity? No thanks. I already get too much attention doing jack shit." Seeing her try to aim at the flying Chameleon while Rika is still on board, Ink shakes his head. "Speaking from experience, I don't think you're gonna be able to avoid collateral damage."

Angela gave a truncated snort of a laugh at his artful dodging of her trap of a question, before listening to his advice on her aiming and then replying, "we can't simply lose the cities darling, now can we? I will have to try something if she doesn't get out herself soon." At which point, as if on cue, the rising star broke free from her captor's grip, which earned her an "ah, never mind, there she goes" from Angela as Rika and the dragon both fell from the sky.

Rika proudly announces that she brought the dragon down before getting its attention, seemingly granting the rest of them an easy opportunity to attack it from behind. Ink rushes forward, brandishing the Inkwell and attacking the dragon repeatedly, testing the durability of its scales.

Our Dying Wish

Ink
As the group made their way to the ranch, Ink remained in complete silence as Rika and Angela filled the aural void. He didn't really have anything to add anyway. He loved meat, sure, but he didn't have the refined palette needed to care about the difference between lab-grown versions and the 'real deal'. Meat is meat.

When they finally arrived, Rika lied, introducing them as her friends, and they had just enough time to admire the bloody gouges left in the field before the lights cut out and Rika decided that now was a good time to go stargazing. Fuck it, he wasn't going to let someone else claim his role as the team's biggest flippant underachiever, so he joined her, a ways away, on the grass, in the dark, staring up at the fake sky. He summoned the Inkwell and span it around idly in one hand as Rika waxed poetic about the genocide of all devils. Certainly, it would be nice to wipe out the only other intelligent race on the planet once and for all. Lord knows they're itching to do the same.

Rika then asked if the others had a wish like that. A bit personal to be asking when they're all mediums, and maybe she wasn't referring to the wish, but she just told them some version of her wish, so it only felt fair to reciprocate. "Honestly, I fucked up my wish. I asked for too many things at once and was too vague about all of them. In the end, the Jinns offered to cover different parts of my wish, and I ended up going with the one who was the most openly vindictive. I don't regret that choice though, since they're the only one who offered the part I cared about most." He paused for a bit, gathering his thoughts before deciding that he didn't want to mention more. Telling them that a part of his wish involved dealing with the demons implied that he didn't choose that as his priority. To this day, he's not sure, with certainty, what exactly the other Jinns would offer, but he can't say that combat ability was foremost in his choice. He went with a truthful yet vague statement instead. "It would be nice to live on the surface. The stars are harder to memorize out there."

---

As conversation died down, Ink decided he should make it clearer he was ready to fight. He prompted his teammate without getting up. "Whenever you're ready, Angela."

Our Dying Wish

Ink
After watching Rika trip over her own fame and flounder for an introduction, she passed the baton off to Angela, who spent most of it tooting her own horn, explaining why she was better than other Valkyries. Although her opinion of herself seemed to be sky-high, she hadn't began openly berating Rika for her awkward brand of arrogance, nor himself for casually admitting that the protection of Agartha meant little to him, as opposed to a box of otherwise unobtainable candy, augmented by magic, and a bottle of Vodka. Maybe she was just being amicable and quietly hated their guts, but it was always nice to be around magic specialists.

"Mr. Lysander is my father," he said with ambiguously insincere demureness. "Call me Ink. I don't know if you've heard any of the rumors about me, but I'm not exactly a model Sorcerer." As if to prove his point, he whips out his bag and pulls out a magic stone. "It's blessing magic, so don't freak out." He holds it out in front of him as if trying to use it against the others in the room, and a magic circle appears. For a brief moment, everything seems to be going as usual, but then the magic circle cracks. It begins to violently vibrate as magic power begins to leak out, and the magic stone seems to start emitting smoke. Finally, the magic circle begins to glow, as if getting ready to explode. Then, all it once, it's gone, as Ink lowers the magic stone and stares at it in his hands. "No matter what, even with magic stones, I am completely incapable of magic. All magic. Even attempting it will literally blow up in my face. That's my curse." Ink brings the magic stone closer to his face. "However..." Ink tosses the magic stone into his mouth and begins eating it with a disturbing crunch. "Tastes like rock candy."

After he finishes eating the magic stone, he continues. "I eat magic, literally and figuratively. Healing magic, blasts of fire, disfiguring curses, I absorb it all. None of them have an effect on me, and I regenerate a bit based on magic I've absorbed. Basically, it's better to include me in your spells as collateral damage, if you can. The job description of a Sorcerer is a medium who counters magic used by the demon army, so I became one on a bit of a technicality. I used to be a Pioneer, but I don't like the taste of elixirs, so it wasn't a good fit..."

Subconsciously, his hand ended up on the back of his neck, a nervous tick he was consciously aware of but helpless to stop. He's had to give the basic rundown of his abilities many times before, but it always makes him feel awkward to explain himself like this. "Anyway, I prefer close combat. My weapon of choice is a cursed dagger that absorbs magic and uses it to curse enemies, so if you're wondering why an enemy is acting strange, it's probably because I stabbed them. A couple of the curses are broken if they get attacked, so use your judgement."

He tilts his head toward Angela. "Besides all that, I don't have anything to add. If you have a way to lure it into a trap, that seems as good a plan as any." He then turns to tattoo girl. "How 'bout you? Why don't you introduce yourself to the class?"