Takashi

Wandering Beyond the Fireflies | A Rurouni Kenshin RP

So, my idea for the antagonist. He is the master of his dojo and has several badass "instructors" under him, who will be the ones participating in the tournament. Personality wise, I'd say sexist brute works. Make him abusive to his students, especially the weaker ones. He extorts businesses for what they have, but moves on to another town once the authorities start putting pressure on him. He uses his dojo both to recruit new thugs and to launder his extortion money. He could have a son and a daughter, but gives his son preferential treatment since he is naturally stronger and better suited to his style of swordsmanship. His daughter secretly enters the tournament to prove herself to her father. Could be a bit of drama there as well; will she be reformed, or fall in with her corrupt father and brother? As for his name, how about Ryuuto Tajima?

Eastern Fantasy

So, here's a CS so that you guys can use to start working on your characters. Feel free to post them if you finish and I'll look over them.

Name: (Include given name and any aliases/nicknames)

Race: (You can be either human, or any creature from Eastern mythology)

Age: (Let's be reasonable. Humans have human life spans. Spirits... keep it under 300)

Gender: (This used to be a simple question, but these days, who knows.)

Appearance: (Pic or description is fins. Spirits, be sure to include your human and spirit forms.)

Skills: (What things are you good at? Know Kung Fu? Expert tracker? Put that stuff here)

Powers: (What magical abilities do you have? Let's keep the powers relatively tame. There will be room to grow)

Weapons/Equipment: (Any weapons, armor, or materials go here, magical or otherwise.)

Bio: (Include history, personality, and motivations. Why did you join the guild)

The next step I think will be to finally set up an RP thread. Still open to names for The Guild or the city/region/world. If nobody makes any suggestions, I'll just come up with them.

Shine City II: The Next Season

I'd jump in on season three as well.

Eastern Fantasy

@Rune_Alchemist@Ashifili On gun powder. I know for a fact that not just gunpowder, but guns were a thing even before the Edo era. Oda Nobunaga's effective use in guns were a major factor in his success. However, I feel like they undermine fantasy elements and are very difficult to balance. I think the only reason we need as to why we wouldn't have it is that technology took a different course in this world. In other words, the government represents the edo era, but the technology is lagging behind it in some respects.

Eastern Fantasy

Okay, so it seems that everybody is in pure agreement about wanting a pure Eastern fantasy, so we'll go with that. I wasn't planning on making this a historic RP, but I think the best analog to Japanese History would be the height of the Edo Era. There would be one ruling body that unifies the region. We can call it a shogun or an emperor, or whatever we want. I'm fine with steel age technology, but I'm hesitant to allow firearms. Guns tend to break high fantasy settings.

I like @Haeo's idea involving talismans instead of forehead tattoos. It could be a permanent piercing of some kind that brings out one of the spirit's inhuman features, making their race obvious. Also, since we're going pure Eastern, we can call them youkai.

As far as player death goes, I'm not sure. The threat of death adds excitement and makes players think about the repercussions of their actions, but at the same time it's not very fun losing a character you spent a lot of time making. What do you guys want?

So, since we've got everybody on board for the plot or setting, I think I'll post a CS for you guys tomorrow. Let me know if there are any more questions I've left unanswered.

Eastern Fantasy

Okay, let me elaborate on the branding a bit more since it is a hot-button issue. First let me explain the fear of spirits and the rationale behind the brands. In this world, there are many violent and powerful spirits that DO cause destruction. Just like with people, you have friendly spirits, and malevolent spirits. However, with the ability to hide in human form, it is difficult to track them down and retaliate should they decide to hide. With the brand, it makes it impossible for these malevolent spirits to hide who they are. Plus, it puts people's minds at ease knowing that the person you are talking to is being honest about their species.

Now, many of you are comparing The Guild to magical Nazis. Let me make a few distinctions. First, and perhaps more importantly, is the fact that spirits are generally a lot more powerful than a human. This power dynamic means that mortals may want to know if they are walking up to something that could literally be their natural predator. Much of the fear of spirits derives from this very real imbalance of personal power. Second, no special legal restrictions are put on spirits once they accept the brand. The Jews in Nazi Germany had far more restrictions: they had to live in segregated communities, they had special curfews, they couldn't own automobiles, etc. No such restrictions are put on spirits. So, with that explained, I don't really see the scenario as analogous to magical Nazis.

With that said, yes, there are social consequences to the brand. Some mortals are just, believe it or not, racist. However, many others see those spirits who accept the brand as honest and forthcoming and would rather befriend the people with magical powers rather than piss them off. There is also resistance in the spirit community. Many see the brand as demeaning and insulting. As @Narcotic Dollie pointed out, the forehead it prime real estate. Not everybody steps forward, thus the reason for The Guild. It should be noted, that spirits do have representation on the council, so they have political power as well and The Guild really does try to get spirits to comply before hunting them down.

I am well aware that good and evil are not clearly defined, even with all of this considered. I do not consider The Guild to be a bright and happy organization, but rather an organization doing dirty work for the sake of peaceful coexistence. It should also be noted that I love me some moral ambiguity.

So, with all that explained, if you guys still don't like the idea, I'm always open to suggestions.

Also, you mentioned griffins, orcs, and elves. Those are all extremely western fantasy races; orcs were codified in Lord of the Rings, and griffins originated in Greece and the surrounding areas. If your goal is to have a Japanese setting, you should exclude traditionally western races.

@IncredibleBee

Well, based on the feedback I've been getting, both in the thread and privately, I decided to go with the hybrid fantasy option. This will be a fictional world containing elements from both Eastern (and not just Japanese) and Western fantasy. Even so, I'd still like to hear the ideas you have.

Eastern Fantasy

So, here is the idea I have in mind so far. It's an older idea I had that I'll try to rehash. Feel free to tell me anything you like or dislike about it.

* * *

In this world, mortals live alongside the various races of supernatural beings called "spirits." Spirits are the term given to magical beings of all kinds. Dragons, griffins, kitsune, oni, and all manner of innately magical sentient creatures fall into this category of beings. Spirits are generally long lived, dying to illness or injury before they feel the effects of old age, and usually have some kind of magical ability. Spirits also possess the ability to appear as a mortal. For many generations, people never knew if the nice old man selling them their clothes was a spirit in disguise. This allowed spirits to live among mortals peacefully, but also kindled apprehension, fear, and hatred towards their kind when they were discovered.

This all changed when "the brand" was created. Mortals created a way for spirits to willingly step forward and reveal themselves in exchange for equal treatment. The brand is a tattoo that is put across a spirit's forehead in their mortal form that designates their race. While no spirit has ever reported the brand causing any negative side-effects, it was mandated that all spirits step forward to be branded or they will be hunted down and executed. In order to enforce this law, The Guild was created.

The Guild is a group of warriors, tradesman, and yes, even spirits, who have banded together to enforce these and other laws. Their duties include seeking out spirits and delivering ultimatums, hunting down those that cause trouble or refuse to accept the brand, and whatever other jobs society may call on them to accomplish. The Guild is a fortress located in the heart of the world's largest city. They have just recently been established and their influence only extends across the city and neighboring regions, but it is steadily growing in power. The Guild is governed by a council who determine what tasks the members will perform and negotiate payment. Anyone may join The Guild, but they are required to consistently accomplish tasks or they will be kicked out and blacklisted. Likewise, anyone my leave at any time, but they will be blacklisted.

* * *

So, if you like this idea, let me know and we can expand on it. I have plenty of ideas for potential plots with the world, and yes, the brand is a controversial among mortals and spirits. I use the term "mortal" here because I figure races like elves and orcs are more akin to humans than the other more fantastical stuff, and so those would be considered mortal races. Also, I'm open to suggestions for the name of The Guild, the city, the region, etc. Throw your lore at me. Otherwise, I have plenty of lore of my own that I can implement.

Eastern Fantasy

Okay, there's a lot of good conversation going on and I'm getting a good feel for where everybody stands. I'll post a concrete idea tomorrow and we can work off of that.

Eastern Fantasy

@Narcotic Dollie@MyCatGinger Well, you could always play a combat novice, that way you can find a character to mentor you. Or, a support character that doesn't fight but has some kind of special ability. Also, I'd be happy to personally help you along so you can join in.

Eastern Fantasy

@Rainmaker Hello and welcome. You bring up a good point with PvP. I've been doing combat RP for about a decade now, have experienced many systems, and have also ran into many players that, frankly, suck at combat. I am confident enough in my experience with PvP combat that I'm sure I can make it enjoyable if that's what people want.

So, Let's have everybody take a vote on a few options:

1.) PvP anywhere anytime.

2.) PvP only in "combat areas."

3.) PvP only with two consenting parties

4.) No PvP.