RP ideas for adoption.

[Snowy_One]

As some of you may know, I have decided to enter semi-retirement for RPing. I'd rather not get into the reasons here, but basically, as soon as RotE and one other RP are done, I will hopefully be done with RPing.

However, I very much enjoy making RP's, both the world and the systems behind them. As of now I have four things on my comp RP-related that have either never been completed, used, or fully realized. I would very much like it if these ideas could be used for something, be it turned into an actual RP by someone with less fear than me, or serve as inspiration for someone else. I would even wish that, with luck, there is enough of a positive response that I turn one of these into reality, but that is not my hope. My hope is for other people.

The ideas will be listed followed by a small italicized reason as to why they were left... unfulfilled.

[spoiler=Dark Magical Girl RP]I was there when it all started. I remember it clearly. It was a hot, muggy, day in the middle of summer. I was up in my room, sitting down and chatting with my friends on Skype. I don’t even remember what we were talking about now, but I do remember that Carly had her television on in the background and that it was tuned to the news. I don’t think she even knew it as it was a breaking story. At first I ignored it, but it started to intrude more and more.

“Carlos.” said the reporter, a woman in her late twenties wearing a professional-looking suit. “I’m here in lower Queens where several SWAT teams have been called in. From what we understand inside is a death cult that is about to kill themselves. Negotiations have already failed and the SWAT team is readying to charge in.”

I didn’t know what it was at the time, some internal churning in my stomach, a chill crawling up my spine, a bad case of the willies, but something told me that this was important. More important than what I was talking about now. More important than anything else. I quickly told Carly I’d call her back and hurried downstairs to the television.

The house seemed like any other house in Queens. Small, two storied, painted white with a red tile room and a chain link fence along a driveway. Outside was a police SWAT van, several barricades, and news vans. The team was ready and I watched as they first fired gas canisters into the house, then burst inside. For a moment no noise came, and then...

*BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG*

I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard those six shots. Cries of fear and panic erupted as the newswoman dove forwards to hit the deck as a sudden salvo of bullets shot out of the front window. Then one of the SWAT members was launched through the roof of the house.

The front door burst open in a shower of splinters and shrapnel, the doorknob striking the camera and causing it to shake and shudder, as a monsterous being stormed out with a feral roar. It was huge, massive, lumbering on two legs, two arms like an ape, with two other arms free and sticking out from it’s left side, one of which bore SWAT armor. It’s flesh was putrid, stained grey and green, as if all the blood had been drained from it’s body. It was clearly made from multiple body-parts, but they weren’t sown or stitched together, but rather almost... melted, like someone had used hot glue made of flesh to piece the horror together. It’s head, that of some poor man, possibly the owner of the house, screamed with an inhuman fury before it launched a spearlike tongue out that ripped through a police shield to impale the man behind it. It also wore pants. I don’t know why I even remembered that, but it wore pants.

What sounded like fifty rounds shot towards the monsters head, splitting it wide open, as cries of ‘Zombie!’ filled the air and the woman and her crew tried to run away as the woman cried to her camera guy to ‘keep shooting’. The beasts head suddenly churned and burst apart before it yanked the policeman it had speared close and ripped his head, his crying, terrified, head off and slapped it where the old one had been.

I remember the blood draining from my body as I felt like I was going to vomit. Not only were zombies real, but shooting them in the head, the one thing we knew from video games and movies was the one way to truly stop them, was useless. Then a beam shot across the screen to strike the zombie full in the chest. It screamed out in pain as if it had actually been hurt as the camera panned wildly about, searching for the source of the blast as I screamed in joy!

A young girl stood on a nearby rooftop. She looked about my age, and she was dressed in a wonderful, extravagant, outfit. Her hair was green and laced with flowers while, behind her, a wondrous wreath like a sun full of flora flowed forth and a dress, seemingly made of grass and blossoms, covered her body. She almost seemed like a nature goddess. She raised her hand and several large daisies appeared in the air about her. “Floralibus trabes!” she cried out and the flowers burst forth, each shooting a beam similar to the one before.

The zombie cried out in pain as one of them struck home on it’s flank before the fleshy spear shot out again towards the girl. As it reached the rooftop she suddenly moved, gliding through the air like a leaf on the breeze. The spear turned about, shooting back towards her, aiming to impale her in the backside.

“Florem flore!” And then she wasn’t there anymore. Instead, she was on the ground as what I could only describe as a massive rose blossom shot out of the Earth with her inside it. The tongue struck the hard petals, causing it to burst apart into a thousand shards! Then, she raised her hand, a scepter I had not seen in it before made from vines and flower blooms held high. “Floralibus ultimum spiritum!” she called out as a gigantic daisy made of light appeared behind her and started to spin faster and faster.

Something told the zombie that this was it. As the ray spun faster and faster, streaks of flowers flowing about its rim, it reached up and ripped its own head off with its lopsided hands. Then, with a pitch worthy of a sports team, threw its own head at the girl. It rocketed forwards until it struck the girl, unable to dodge as she was charging her attack, hard in the shoulder. Then, the beam fired and the screen went white.

I was sitting on the ground, practically kneeling with my face to the television, watching, waiting. Had the girl won? Did the zombie bite her? As the light faded, I saw the girl, standing still and upright before an empty street that was overflowing with vines, grasses and flowers. Down the street stood people, their bodies covered in plants, but unharmed, and no zombie. But the girl was bleeding. A crescent-shaped mark on her shoulder was oozing blood. She had been bitten. Shock came across my face as I watched the police approach her, scared, guns raised. They knew what a zombie bite meant.

She watched them, tears streaming down her cheeks, as they approached her. She seemed perfectly nice, kind. I think I even recognized her as the daughter of the florist whom went to my school. She was a kind, loving girl, always smiling, happy, though struggling in math and PE.

I turned around, heading into the next room as I heard her voice. “Please.” she said, a sob in her normally kind voice. I didn’t need to watch to know what was about to happen.

*BANG*

The following day felt empty. School was not called off, but an announcement was made that a special memorial event would be held for one of the students. I didn’t even know her name. How could I attend?

On my way home that day, tensions were high. I could see police patrolling the streets with much gusto as even the low-lifes seemed to avoid going out. As I walked down the streets, a man came forwards. He was wearing a white labcoat with a small golden cross hanging from his neck. Thick glasses hung upon his face and a small badge identifying him as a police forensic scientist was on his chest. He asked me if I wanted to do something. If I wanted to help fight the zombies.

And I said yes.

2) Table of Contents.

1) Intro
2) Table of Contents
3) The World
4) The Undead
5) Being a Magical Girl
6) Sign-up sheet
7) Q&A

3) The World

Hello and welcome to Magical Girl Saga. The time is now and the place is Long Island. Recently a series of Death Cults have been sweeping across the first-world nations. People filled with greed, sorrow, and regret over the state of the world have been meeting in houses too put an end to it all. They often do not know each other, do not care for each other, and have nothing in common beyond their desire to end their lives. The method of suicide is different, but the outcome is the same every time. They will meet, take their lives... then get back up again. The undead have come.

The world has been utterly shocked. Many people aren’t even sure that it is the undead and not some mass hallucination, publicity stunt, or something similar. Though few have been fought, conventional weapons seem incapable of stopping them; but a new force has appeared that can. Across the land people between the ages of 10-17, usually girls, have been approached by strange beings. Sometimes they are men, sometimes women, sometimes animals, and sometimes immaterial voices that have been bestowing upon them objects that grant them immense magical powers. These magical powers seem to be the only things capable of stopping the undead for good.

But immortality and immunity to becoming one of the undead did not come with the package, nor have all of the gifted ones exactly been upstanding role-models. Some have taken the calling and gone to the frontlines to fight, some have been slain, and some have used their new power for their own selfish goals. All the while the governments of the world try to control both the chaos and these magical items and the people wielding them.

A month has passed since a zombie attacked Queens and was quickly defeated by a magical girl. Since then there have been no major outbreaks in NYC, but around the world isolated reports of similar incidences have been coming in. A death cult, a zombie, and a magical girl stopping it. Most of the time she manages to survive, some of the times she doesn’t, but it all ends the same. The governments of the world have posted bounties for information on either while companies in New York have started to try and draft these girls to serve for private security to protect their own interests and their customers. No one is sure, however, if the undead are real, or if something else entirely has happened. But if something happens in America it will likely happen in New York, the trade city of the U.S. It’s not a question of ‘if’, but ‘when’.

4) The Undead: The undead are ferocious beings. It’s not entirely clear what, exactly they are and what forms them. The bodies of the recently deceased as well as skeletons and bones long-since decayed have been rising up alike. They seem to hold no true weakspots to conventional weaponry and, unless utterly destroyed or rendered totally inert, they will seek to reform themselves, taking, parts from other people, even animals have been seen used.

The zombies are far from shambling husks however. Often times they will form together in grotesque mockeries of the living, using parts in random ways. However not all are violent and destructive. Some have shown hints of intelligence, sanity, even remembering their prior lives, though all have eventually resorting to attacking the living.

It is unclear just how the undead plague spreads at the moment as the number of incidents is still low and none have been willing to endure a zombie bite to see if it can turn them.

However, there does seem to be something capable of stopping them. Magic has proven to be effective against them and capable of stopping a zombie without requiring total obliteration. Wounds inflicted by magic seem to prevent total regeneration and have proven to be effective.

5) Being a Magical Girl/Boy: Power comes to those who answer the call. There is no way to know how many people it has been calling of late, but you are one of the few who has answered the call. How, exactly, you answered it varies, but the basics remain the same. Recently, ever since the first reports of undead started appearing, you were approached by some being. Maybe it was a man, maybe it was a woman, maybe it was an animal, or maybe it was an immaterial voice. It offered you a choice, a chance at great power that could be used to fight the undead, and you accepted. As you accepted some sort of magical item or animal was given to you. This item is the source of your magical powers and is known as a ‘Soul Item’. So long as you can keep it close you will have immense magical might.

What you do with this power is up to you. Will you utilize the might bestowed upon you to fight the undead, or will you use it to bully your way around? Besides keeping your soul item nearby there are no obligations it seems. However, the government is keen on finding someone who holds a soul item, possibly to draft them, possibly to study them. Private companies are more than willing to take in a rogue magical person and finance and supply them in return for having them fight for the company. Meanwhile others have other goals in mind, from using their power to serve as prophets, to simply trying to pass their finals and stay out of the fight.

Each Magical Girl/Boy functions in largely the same way. They have two (on occasion more) distinct forms. A civilian/‘everyday’ form in which they consume no magical power and pass as normal human beings, and a ‘Soul Form’ which they take when they use their powers. The latter is often very extravagant with strange hair colors, wondrous designs, and sometimes impossible-seeming clothing. At times their physical form can even change slightly. All of this serves a duel-purpose. Both to hide the ‘civilian’ identity of the person from the public eye, and to allow for improved combat capabilities. A floral arrangement behind a person may seem impractical for dodging, but it may offer wonderful usage of flower-based magic beam assaults in return. The power-draw on maintaining a costume is usually fairly low, so unless a magical person gets captured and is unable to escape there should be no problem maintaining it in a fight.

While in their Soul Form each magical person is capable of unleashing a host of magical abilities upon their foe. These can range from simply enhancing their physical body and forming armor and magical blades to allow them to go toe-to-toe with the undead, to amazingly strong blasts of magic, or even stranger abilities. However, in general, people in their Soul Form are capable of falling at a slower rate (enough so as to not hurt themselves when falling off a building, at least when controlled), are physically more durable than the average human, possess at least slightly faster reflexes, a minor healing factor that can fix at least superficial wounds overnight, and the ability to sense undead in a roughly 100-yard area around them.

Using magic puts a strain upon the magical person and, obviously, the more magic expended, the harder it is to maintain. Using very powerful magical abilities may allow one to defeat a foe that couldn’t be killed otherwise, but can also result in a person using all their mana. Using all of ones mana will NOT result in death (not that it’s impossible, but no ability should be anywhere near strong enough to result in this. Least on the PC side), but it will result in dropping out of ones Soul Form as well as becoming unconscious, possibly comatose depending on the amount used.

Lastly, being a magical girl/boy does not grant one freedom from tests or house chores.

6) The sign-up sheet:

Name: Obvious

Gender: Female is preferred, but male is acceptable.

Age: 10-17 range would be ideal for this.

Appearance (Normal): How the character appears in every-day life.

Appearance (Transformed): How the character looks like when shifted into their Soul Form

Magical Aid: What item is their magical aid?

Spells/abilities:

Backstory: Should include how they arrived on Long Island, what caused them to become a magical girl/boy, and what’s happened since then.

Contacts: AIM names and the like. Not needed, but useful.

7) Q&A. A few questions I can see coming I want to answer now.

1) What is a ‘Dark Magical Girl RP’?

A) I’m sure most people are aware, at least in part, of the concept of a ‘Magical Girl’ show. Shows like Cardcaptors and Sailor Moon would be the most well known. A ‘Dark Magical Girl’ functions in a manner very similar to them except, where in normal ‘Magical Girl’ shows things usually turned out alright (more or less), that is not guaranteed to happen here. Death is entirely possible and it won’t be pretty. There will be characters motivated for selfish reasons, and the enemy is more than willing to make personal blows against the characters. This doesn’t mean that there can’t be a ‘happy ending’, just that it must be worked for and failure is a very real thing.

2) Do I HAVE to play a girl/magical character?



A) No, you do not HAVE to. There is nothing stopping you from being an average joe or using technology to fight as opposed to magic. However, as the undead cannot be killed without magic or being totally destroyed and the focus of this RP is supposed to be on the magical characters, I would recommend making one at least to start. Additionally, your character does not *have* to be female to be magical. There were magical boys as well (Tuxedo Mask and Shaoran for example) but they were more often the exception instead of the rule. 



3) Do I have to start in Long Island?



A) For simplicities sake, yes. No one ‘exact’ location will be required; though Queens would probably be a decent point to default to unless you have another place in mind.



4) What happens if someone is Godmodding/being a bully/trying to kill my character?



A) They will be asked to stop. If they do not I will intervene. For the record, though, some characters will, almost certainly, be bullies IC. This is fine. What is not fine is picking on people for OOC reasons or similar manners.



5) Do I HAVE to name my attacks/give them names in other languages?



A) No. I just did that in the sign-up for fun.

Unlike the others, this RP was made but was not realized as it was posted to a place known for slow posting times resulting in it dying due to the average poster taking two to three weeks to reply. As such it didn't get far (though much farther than other RP's there) and never got close to being 'realized'.

[spoiler= Fall of the Tiger Empire]

1.0) Once, in a time only the divine beings remember, the world was a wild land. Huge beasts the size of towers roamed the land, full of might and power, and mankind was forced to flee like rats before their mighty gaze lest they be devoured. For every child born, one would die, and none could rise up against the primal power of the beasts of the wild. Man would pray to the gods, spirits, and demons for hope, salvation, and survival. From the heavens above, the ruler of the gods, spirits, and demons looked down upon mankind and wept, for man was the creation of his son, and as a son cries, so does his father. The Ruler of the Heavens wished to see his son cry no more, so he summoned the King of Beasts before him and told him to command his beasts to hunt man no longer. The King of Beasts was furious and, in his rage, lashed out at the Ruler of the Heavens. The Ruler of the Heavens sent a star down to the Earth below with the command to wipe out the beasts. Yet the star pitied the beasts and, though it slew many, it let many live as well, those beasts who promised to no longer seek to wipe man from the Earth.

Freed from the beasts, man prospered and quickly grew, swelling from the scattered tribes to the great multitudes. With the great numbers came great discord and, before long, man set to war with man. Horrified, the son of the Ruler of the Heavens descended to Earth, bestowing his favor upon one man to unite all others. With his mandate, man became unified, and the first Empire, the Empire of Dragons, was born.

However, man did not understand the world in which he lived. The fear of the beasts remained in his memory, and the songs of discord could not be so easily silenced. Man set upon the world, poisoning it, hunting down the beasts as punishment for their actions. The King of Beasts approached the Ruler of Heaven and revealed his fear unto him as the spirits cried out in pain from the poisoned world. Though it pained him, the Ruler of Heaven sided with the King of Beasts against his son and forced the Mandate to be returned to the heavens.

Angry spirits, eager to both heal their world and punish those who had hurt it, set upon man, scattering him like grains of sand. However, in their fury, both man and beast died in multitudes. The King of Beasts approached the son of the Ruler of Heavens and, together, both approached the Ruler of Heaven to plead for the salvation of their people. The Ruler of Heaven agreed and gave permission for his son to descend his favor back down to mankind again, but on the condition that he must indwell the ruler of man, to ensure peace lasts forever, and thus, the second Empire, the Tiger Empire, was born. With the death of each Empire, the son of the Ruler of Heaven indwells the eldest son within his line, passing from father to son.

However, the chain has been broken. The twenty fourth Tiger Emperor, Jun Fang, bore no son as his firstborn and, rather, had a daughter. The Son of the Ruler decreed that he would pass to her husband, and then to her son, so that the chain would last. However, Guo Dong upon the conception of her child, poisoned her husband and demanded the throne for herself. When her father refused, she slew him, silencing the Son of the Ruler of Heaven before he could indwell her unborn child.

Guo Dong had two brothers. The second in line, Keun Fang, was a master of metal and had been exiled from the Tiger Empire for his foul creations which poisoned the air and riled the spirits. He fled to the endless deserts to the west and, upon hearing of the death of his father, returned in force to claim that, as the eldest son of Jun Fang, he was the rightful heir to the throne.

The youngest child, Bei Hu, was born not to the wife of Jun Fang, but rather to a servant from the eastern provinces who had won a single gift from the Emperor for her hard work and, chosen as her reward, to have a son through him. Raised in obscurity he was exposed to the ideals of the Forbidden Kingdom to the far east, returning upon the death of his father to claim his rightful place upon the Throne and to unite the Forbidden Kingdom with the Tiger Empire.

<b>Table of Contents</b>

1.0) Opening
2.0) What is this RP?
3.0) The World as it is
3.1) The Phoenix Empire.
3.2) The Lion Empire.
3.3) The Empire of Man.
4.0) Metal, Weapons, and the Bans
5.0) The Martial Arts
5.1) Thunderous Stone
5.2) Flowing River
5.3) Heavenly Strike
5.4) Raging Fury
5.5) Gentle Breeze
6.0) The Three Main Schools
7.0) Magic
8.0) The Heavens, Spirits, and Celestial Bureaucracy
9.0) Sign-up Sheet

2.0) <i>What is this RP?</i>

This RP is rather unique in that it is going to be largely player-driven. At the start each character will be part of one of the three empires (most likely the one they come from) and will be tasked with certain missions, such as the retrieval of a powerful artifact. However, characters from the other empires will be granted conflicting tasks and whichever of the empires finally manages to complete its task will win the mission! With enough victories it may even be possible to remove one, two, or maybe even all three empires from existence! Side with an empire? Go rogue and try to find your own way? Try to track down a deity for immense magical power? All are possible.

3.0 <i>The World as It Is.</i>

The Tiger Empire has been shattered. From its remains have come three great nations, each headed by one of the children of the Tiger Emperor. To the vast north, the Phoenix Empire lead by the daughter of Jun Fang, Guo Dong. To the west, the Lion Empire ruled by exiled son of the emperor Keun Fang. To the east is the Empire of Man lead by Bei Hu. To the far north, beyond the Phoenix Empire, is the frozen north within which lawless exiles rule and struggle to survive in harsh, unyielding tundra. To the west, beyond the Lion Empire, is a vast desert. Though harsh and unyielding, it is not inhabited. Living along rivers and oasis are a tough and secluded people who control the only trade routes with the far west. Trade is difficult at best though, meaning direct contact between the remains of the Empire and the West is scarce at best. Most people do not even know that there is a land beyond the great desert. To the far east, beyond the Empire of Man, is the Land of the People that claims that their emperor is the one and only God who makes all men equal in his gaze.

For many hundreds of years, the Tiger Empire has been in a state of relative peace. Prosperity has flowed across the lands under the rule of the Tiger Emperors. In the past 500 years since the formation of the Tiger Empire there have been only two conflicts of note. The Separation of the Land of the People from the Tiger Empire one hundred years ago, and constant border skirmishes with the people to the north. With so little in activity, much focus has turned to minor instances of daily and local life. As a result of the more laid-back lifestyle, the old ideals of the past in which men were considered ‘superior’ to women have largely faded away and equality between the genders is found across the land in all but one place. Within the Palace of the Tiger Empire, the line from father to son is still retained. No woman shall ever become the new Emperor, for that is the decree of the Heavens. Even combat has become less of a method to fight and more of a art and form of meditation. However, with the death of Jun Fang, the empire has fallen into chaos. Many people have revolted against the sudden change of power across the land and, in each nation, the possession of weapons has become outlawed by their rulers to try and keep the populace under control. All three children are unabashed in their desire for power and the throne of Jun Fang.

3.1) <b>The Phoenix Empire</b>

The homeland of Guo Dong and the traditional seat of power for the Tiger Empire as well as the location of the capitol of the Tiger Empire, Nijing. It is a lush land full of thick forests and mountains that mesh for artistic views of the landscape. Seen as the seat of culture, science, and religion, it is a important place in the hearts of all people. However, beyond Nijing and the cities in the southern part of the Phoenix Empire, there is cold and frozen land reaching up to the barren tundra from which the people of the North continually struggle with the Empire. When Guo Dong seized power the people across the empire revolted, but it was in the north that she retained enough followers to form her own army. She quickly mobilized this army to clamp down on anyone who rejected her right to rule, only to see it backfire and for people to rally against her as a tyrant. She quickly mobilized her followers and clamped down. Anyone caught wielding any weapon was swiftly killed, anyone in their family young enough to fight forced into military service, while anyone too old or young was killed or ‘recruited’ into her ‘schools’ designed to ensure her power. Still, dissent remains, and worse, her brothers have seized new and powerful weapons and outnumber her. However, as the only one of the children of the emperor who is not influenced by a external source, defectors from the other two lands flock to her, if grudgingly so, to support her.

Within the Phoenix Empire is a very rigid caste system. Children born into a family are expected to follow in their parents footsteps and become the same thing with little chance to move about. A child born into the family of a farmer will be expected to be a farmer when they grow up without question and trying to become something else rarely happens. There are only four ways for a person to change their caste. Join the military and hope for promotion, get offered to become a member of a different caste by someone with a large amount of standing in another caste, receive an official declaration from the Court of the Phoenix (how most people became martial artists), or sell ones self into slavery. Slavery is rare though as only the best people are taken to become slaves and few people can afford to purchase a slave. Those who do treat their slaves well though as only the highest of government officials can afford to support more than one or two. A slave is held roughly the same in value as a well-bred horse of notable quality and almost never wasted.

Seeking to solidify her place of power, the Empress has started to seek out skilled martial artists in order to form a group called ‘The Talons of the Empress’. This special group was formed to serve as a secret police and private army to the Empress herself. Responding only to her beck and call, they are meant to hunt down dissenters and serve as her hand across the Empire. Some have used this power honestly, some have used it to try and ease the pain across the land, but some have used it as an excuse to do as they please so long as they can justify it as serving the cause of the Empress.

3.2) <b>The Lion Empire</b>

Bordering the vast desert, the Lion empire is ruled over by Guo Fang, the exiled prince. For all intents and purposes, he is a stranger in his own land, and even the name he has chosen for his empire reflects this, choosing an unknown animal from a foreign land to symbolize his land. Having crossed the great desert and returned bringing with him strange customs and tools; most notably the previously unknown technology of guns and cannons. He is seen as ‘odd’ at best by his people though, however, as the eldest son to the Emperor, he is expected to receive the mandate. He dismisses this notion though as ‘superstitious silliness’ and, instead, forces his people to progress. This has not gone over well in the west which has been more conservative than the other lands. Resenting a exiled king who does not know his own people and uses strange weapons, the people have revolted, resulting in him banning the use of all weapons, often accented with gunfire, to enforce his rule and to keep his tenuous position as the head of the Lion Empire secure.

Guo Fang has done his best to eliminate the old ‘caste’ system, declaring it a feudal way of life. However, the tradition has become well-engrained into the people and few know how to transition into a new lifestyle easily. This is made even harder by Guo Fang instituting roles completely unknown to the people and insisting that they follow his ‘modern’ way of life with no regard to the people he is forcing it on.

As part of what Guo Fang considers ‘progression’, he has instituted the notion of hiring various free-lance warriors to form entire squadrons to which he issues missions and bounties. These people, known as ‘mercenaries’, have been unknown in the Empire and few have taken to it. Of those whom have taken to it, martial artists and students seeking to earn a bit of money have been among the largest applicants. Despite this, Guo Fang has been open in his dislike for the ‘primitive ways’ and often throws these freelance fighters at problems with little regard for their safety, often to obtain metal for his powerful weapons.

3.3) <b>The Empire of Man</b>

On the eastern end of the empire there is much farmland, resulting in many people moving there and a high population. Life has been very laid-back and simple, people often not caring about what happens beyond their town, until the murder of the empire. As the only non-exiled male child of the emperor, Bei Hu has established himself as the emperor almost immediately. Even though he is not the child of the queen, and some people suspect not even of the emperor himself, he has claimed to have already received the mandate of heaven and to be the new emperor. Claiming to desire to bring about a new age in which there is no ruling class, he has seized all the land within his empire. Everything belongs to Bei Hu. Though the most numerous, he commands a army of peasants and farmers, and as such, has enacted harsh drafts and curfews to field as large a army as possible, hoping to make up for experience and power with numbers. In his first battle, he fought against Guo Fang’s armies and won, seizing some of their guns and cannon. With no strong claim to the throne and harsh rule, he has become disliked by his own people and even breathing a word of dissent can result in being thrown into a prison camp, a tactic he has picked up from his neighbors to the far east.

Bei Hu has kept the caste system intact, but has reformed it into three distinct branches. Worker, military, and scholar. Workers pool all their resources and items into a communal pool from which the military and scholars draw what they desire, leaving the workers to pick up the scraps of what’s left.

In order to keep his military might as strong as possible, Bei Hu has started to draft many of the trained martial artists from the School of Bei Hu and claimed them to be supernatural foes of great power, doing his best to frame them as super-soldiers. Martial artists from schools that refused to bow to Bei Hu have all been ordered to be exterminated in public duels by the powerful warriors from Bei Hu’s school. Since defeating one of his military, no matter how honorable, fair, or accidental, is punishable by death, most people are left with only two options. Either resist and be claimed an enemy, or submit to whatever punishments are deemed appropriate. Those who follow Bei’s ways are often rewarded with higher status.

4.0) <b>Metal, Weapons, and the Bans</b>

Since the fall of the Dragon Empire, metal has been rare within the Tiger Empire itself. According to many tales the Dragon Empire mined the Earth dry in a fevered pitch to try and make as much as possible from metal. When the spirits raged, most of the metal was either buried too deep within the earth to reach or washed out to the depths of the ocean, reducing what was available to a tiny percent of what had been taken from the earth. A metal pot is easy worth twenty times a clay pot of equal size and superior craftsmanship. What little metal exists is used for outright necessities, such as tools, knives, and similar items. Very little is used to make weapons. As such, a weapon made from metal, such as a sword, is often seen as a blessing and ascribed mystical powers. However, if such weapons are found in the hands of a commoner, they are assumed to have stolen it and shunned, regardless of the truth.

In place of metal, most tools and weapons are made of wood, stone, and clay as a replacement. Instead of a metal cooking pot, a pot of clay or stone is used. Instead of a metal spoon, one made of carefully carved wood is used in place. Most weapons are carved from wood and stone with spears serving as the main weapon. Instead of coins made from gold or silver, currency is handled via notes upon slips of paper that are passed around and considered to have a certain value in relation to gold.

Recently, bans have arisen on weapons in all three parts of the empire. This has further raised the taboo on weapons to such extreme levels that even knowing someone who owns a personal weapon is a cause for fear. The only weapons allowed are those used for hunting, and even those are strictly monitored. Spears, swords, mauls, and generally anything that only has a use as a weapon and is not used for hunting can result in swift imprisonment and death.

The arrival of guns has caused further shunning of items made of metal. Far more lethal than bows and arrows, guns have proven to be a mighty force capable of equalizing battlefields previously unbalanced. However, making even a single gun requires a relatively large amount of metal, a cannon even more so. In order to field as many as possible, both the East and West have started to impose search and seizures for any items made of metal deemed ‘not important enough’ to the common person to try and fabricate more guns and ammunition for the weapons. These new weapons and ammo are then turned onto any common folk who dare to speak out against their new governments, resulting in further disdain. Only in the north do such methods not exist. However, it is believed that this is because the North has yet to seize and make their own firearms and many of the people within dread the day that the North acquires such technology.

5.0) <b>The Martial Arts</b>

The art of fighting with ones bare hands has been long honored and revered within the Empire since the day of its founding. People who take up the long path to becoming a martial master are considered to be strong, powerful people within the Tiger Empire and are treated with great respect. The art of fighting is considered to be an extension of ones self, a personification of belief, strength, and the very soul mixed into one. Often times, whole philosophies and world views give rise to forms of martial arts that reflect their ideals. In personal matters and disputes, there is no dishonor seen through a resolution reached through martial arts. Criminals and vagabonds wielding cruel, metallic, weapons are often defeated by a lone monk wielding nothing more than his bare hands, often outsmarting them before the battles even begin in many tales, plays, and songs. The life of a martial arts master is one often filled with very high respect. Masters are revered as saints and often looked to for guidance and wisdom. However, it is not a easy path to follow.

Many hear the call and go seeking to become a powerful master. Many are motivated by greed, seeking only the glamor and fame of the master while shying away from the many years of dedication and training, only to find themselves suffering as there is little income for students and the costs of simple things, like food, slowly puts them in debt, causing them to leave the schools. Those few who make it, though, often become leaders within the world.

In general, there are five primary styles of martial arts with many individual mixings and personal teachings. Thunderous Stone, Flowing River, Heavenly Strike, Blazing Fury, and Gentle Breeze.

5.1) <b>Thunderous Stone</b>

Thunderous Stone is a style focused on defensive power and strong single strikes. The style gets its name from the manner in which its practitioners take blows that would stagger or seriously harm a normal man without flinching before deciding the fight with a blow as mighty and loud as a lightning strike. It is said that one of the masters of this style, Master Bao Li, once challenged several of his students to wail on him with staves in single combat. After taking repeated blows to the head, neck, elbows, knees, groin, toes, and buttocks without flinching, he merely shrugged and sent all the students flying.

In actuality, the style focuses mainly on legwork and defensive strikes. A strong stance is taken with the legs positioned so as to provide as much power and support as possible while the user slowly pushes through an opponents oncoming blows, blocking them relentlessly, until he can get a opening. At this point he will often strike with enough power to break bones and rupture internal organs. The style is known as one of the dominate styles against single opponents and has been known to even be banned from some local sparring matches due to its sheer power.

Notes: This style is based off of things such as Hung Ga Kung Fu where stance and power is usually strong and considered important. Please notice that the main focus in this style is strength and defensive power.

5.2) <b>Flowing River</b>

Flowing River is a style focused on momentum and taking on multiple opponents at once. When used in actual combat, the user will often move around opponents in smooth, arching motions, striking at all of them, using each movement to build momentum until their strikes become strong enough to fell even users of Thunderous Stone in quick succession. Throws, both of the enemy and using the enemy to help build momentum, are very common within this style and are used well. It is not unknown for a user of Flowing River to initiate a fight against five opponents by dodging the first strike and then moving around the first opponent to his behind before using him as a spring board to launch towards the second foe, whom they quickly grab and throw at the fourth opponent before using what momentum they gained from the throw to knock out the third with a swift kick to the head, leaving only one standing opponent and a lot of gathered momentum.

However, Flowing River has its flaws. It is entirely dependent on momentum and, if stopped for any reason, be it getting hit or simply running out of opponents to fight, they have trouble starting up once again. Additionally, the style is dependent on multiple opponents and will often struggle when faced with only a single enemy to fight.

Notes: Flowing River is based off of styles revolving more around motion and balance such as Tai Chi and such. Please note that the main focus in this style is motion and momentum.

5.3) <b>Heavenly Strike</b>

Look to the skies and die! When one thinks of any sort of air-based combat within the Tiger Kingdom, Heavenly strike comes to mind. One of the most aggressive styles, users of Heavenly Strike often focus on jumping into the air in order to land mighty blows on descending opponents that are often difficult to guard against. Jumping kicks, punches from the stars above, and other such things are all trademarks of the Heavenly Strike style. Some masters have been known to be able to jump so high as to make people accuse them of using strings to lift them that high into the air.

Heavenly strike is one of the hardest styles to guard against. Even if it is successfully ‘blocked’ the full weight of the person coming down behind the strike can cause a unprepared person to collapse or be unable to maintain their guard. However, users of Heavenly Strike note one key weakness with their style, namely that they hold few strikes for when they are on the ground. As a result, many users of this style rely on speed, trying to slip away from an opponent long enough to spring up into the air once again. People who have fought against Heavenly Strike style are often noted to have an unusually large, foot-shaped indentation on their jaw when found.

Notes: Heavenly Strike is, technically, not based in reality but in the fictional aerial fights seen in movies. ‘Wire-Fu’ as it were. Please note that this does not mean learning the style will give you flight; just the ability to jump high and fight in the air well.

5.4) <b>Raging Fury</b>

By far and away the most aggressive style. Raging fury is about one thing; breaking your opponent any way you humanly can without giving in to blind rage and becoming a useless and flailing mass. While not ‘dirty fighting’, users of this style will often use anything they can to win. Grappling opponents to the ground, lashing out with arms and legs at once, things that other styles do not usually consider. However, Raging fury has, and as a result, is easily one of the deadliest styles out there. Being grappled by a user of Raging Fury is often the end of the fight.

Little is taught to users of raging fury in terms of defense. The idea that a downed opponent cannot hurt you is strongly encouraged as a means of defense. This style tends to be favored by unsavory types as it is much easier to fit skills learned in street fights into this style as well. However, those few who master the style often learn to focus their strikes, turning to a series of rapid blows instead of falling back on grappling.

Notes: Raging Fury is based on various military-style martial arts where the goal is to subdue an opponent as quickly as possible. Krav Maga and such would be ideal examples of this archtype.

5.5) <b>Gentle Breeze</b>

Often mocked by newcomers, Gentle Breeze is considered the style of pacifists and people unwilling to fight. Why? Because it is a style that focuses on harmony and internal balance. The idea that, when one can attain a balance both internally and with the world around them, even a gentle breeze can be more than enough to stop an opponent permeates this style. It is not a meaningless belief. Stories tell of a master of the style being waylayed by bandits seeking his money. He promised to give it up, but only if he could walk to the center of the group first. As he moved, the bandits felt a thin breeze covering their bodies before a hundred bruises and shattered bones caused them to collapse. Supposedly, the monk had moved so fast and struck so many times that they did not even see a single one happen.

In actuality, Gentle Breeze is a defensive style, similar to Thunderous Stone. Except while thunderous stone relies on sheer power and tenacity to handle opponents, Gentle Breeze relies on redirecting blows and turning their enemies might against themselves. A simple punch might be gently deflected to the side leaving a opening for the user to quickly slide in a punch while his opponent recovers from the overshot blow, feeling little more than a gentle breeze on his skin as the blow is redirected before the strike hits.

<b> Other Styles</b>

People have been known to mix and match various elements of martial styles to form their own, unique, methods. For example, someone copying the strong ground stances of Thunderous Stone and the aerial strikes of Heavenly Strike might call their style Thunderous Strike. While having some of the advantages of both, they tend to be weaker on the whole in either style than people who dedicate themselves fully to the style. Additionally, many minor masters teach their own, unique, styles in smaller schools that have yet to catch on in the empire at large.

6.0) <b>The Three Main Schools</b>

Within the Empire there are three schools that are notably larger than others. All of the five main styles are taught within these schools, as well as some minor variations. Even being accepted into these schools is often considered a march of prestige and reverence, let alone progressing far enough within them to graduate from the level of a student.

Within the Phoenix Empire is the Grand School of the Warrior Tiger, situated in Nijing and run by Master Bao Li. Master Bao Li keeps a tight rope on his students imposing strict rules and ordinance upon his students. He is seen as unyielding and holds the law as absolute above all else. Even social actions are monitored strictly. Being caught snickering at the master’s name results in the student taking his stance at the gate of the school as Master Bao Li attempts to kick them. Failure or dodging results in being kicked out of the school, literally. Students are encouraged to devote extra-ordinary amounts of time to sparring with each other with the strongest and toughest forced to defeat their own masters in order to graduate. However, if one can prove his power, he is often considered above the rules of the school and, so long as he can maintain his power, capable of doing what he or she wants that normal students cannot; staying out after curfews, stealing extra rolls, though laughing at the masters name still results in being kicked out.

Within the Lion Empire is the High Mountain School, located in the North-Western part of the Lion Empire and named for the high mountain top upon which it sits. The school is run by Huan Shui a master of the Raging Fury style of martial art, and a self-proclaimed scholar of the skies. Seeking a more refined method than that of the two other schools, Huan Shui has broken down learning of martial arts into a series of courses intended to enhance the individual components of his students. Upon completion of these courses, students are graded on how well they have preformed and, if they are good enough, allowed to progress to more advanced studies. Huan Shui’s style has caught the interest of Keun Fang who sees inherent value in using such methods to try and raise up the common folk. However, Huan Shui has been a outspoken critic of Keun Fang, accusing him for working against the will of the heavens and unleashing terror upon the populace with his new weapons, resulting in high tension between them. Already two attempts have been made on Huan Shui’s life by Keun Fang and it is only the threat of a third attempt that has kept the teacher from raising his voice yet again.

Within the Empire of Man is the School of Bei Hu (until recently known as the School of Wandering Waters). Lead by Bei Hu, the emperor has appointed the schools former master, Xiu Wen, as his surrogate teacher as Bei Hu spends his time dealing with more important matters. The school has become largely secretive with classes available to the public eye consisting of simple meditation exercises and only a small amount of martial arts. However, late at night within the closed gates of the building, Xiu Wen has taken to mixing the classes seen by the public to refine the students into strong warriors. During the day, even the best warrior of the school is no match for a soldier. During the night, strong warriors prowl the streets. Bei Hu has even started to spread rumors that these, seemingly inhumanly strong, warriors care nothing for human life, but can easily be killed by driving a bamboo shaft into their bodies, removing their inhuman qualities. Left unattended, they will sneak into your house, sleep with your spouse, and drain the blood from your children. Sales of bamboo have skyrocketed within the Empire of Man as a result.

7.0) <b>Magic</b>

The art of manipulating the supernatural to ones will. Magic does, indeed, exist within the world, though little is known about it. Many philosophers debate if magic is simply an extension of the natural world or if it is truly outside of nature. Few dare to practice its art and what few do are usually far from wise enough to answer such questions. What is known is this; that in order to gain any degree of magical power, something of great value to the person seeking the power must be given. This is not monetary value, but rather something treasured dearly by the person. A husband who is proud of his eagle-like vision whose wife has been poisoned may have to give up his sight entirely in order to gain the ability to cure the poison, and even then it will only stop it from doing more harm, not fix the damage already done. Secondly, there is no actual ‘upper limit’ to magic, only prices so absurdly high that not even the gods themselves can pay them. Legends tell of gods and spirits of the world who have fallen in love with mortals whom have grown old and in order to preserve or save them, the divine have given up their immortality or other things of immense value so as to keep them alive.

As a result of these absurdly high costs, few even dare to seek out magic in the first place. Scholars desiring to gain even smidgens of power are often offered said power with their intellect as the price, and even those willing to sacrifice so that their peers can study often end up lacking enough power for any conclusive work. However, what tales from the Dragon Empire that remain describe a few willing to make such sacrifices as having immense power. Fireballs large enough to wipe out armies, men capable of moving fast enough to snatch arrows from thin air, regrowing limbs, and such are known. The cost for such feats, however, is not. In the Tiger Empire, most magic is people who have sacrificed parts of their body or persona to gain the ability to heal or a few men dedicated to martial arts whom have paid similar prices to enhance their abilities beyond what they could achieve normally. One thing is certain, the price is always great, and only those truly determined are even willing to pay it.

Those seeking to gain such power and pay such a price must seek a way to contact the heavens themselves before paying such a price in the first place. Mostly this happens through heavy prayer and offerings given at temples and shrines, though intense emotions have been known to attract those beings who admire said emotion to them, allowing for such bargains to take place. A happy water spirit may be drawn to a joyful wedding, a demon to a place where great tragedy has occurred, or a greedy spirit to someone who desires something great and offer their terms to the people involved.

***NOTE: As the cost for magic is so high, it is advised that you do NOT start off with any magic of the sort if at all possible***

8.0) <b>The Heavens, Spirits, and Celestial Bureaucracy</b>

There are two primary types of supernatural beings within this world. Spirits and Souls. Though related, the two are of immense difference. Spirits are usually embodiments of nature who personify the world about them while Souls tend to be the personification of more abstract concepts. However, when one gets down to it, they are the same thing... technically. There is nothing actually stopping a spirit for becoming embodied as a soul or a soul from becoming a spirit beyond simple disdain for each other. Let us handle spirits first.

Spirits are the personification of the world that they live in. The living beings, land, life, death, and everything. They can be of forests, cities, rivers, cats, dogs, anything that physically exists within the world has a spirit that defines it. There can even be multiple spirits for the same thing. A forest may have many trees within it and one guardian spirit who watches over the forest as a whole and personifies everything within it, yet each tree within the forest has its own individual spirit as well. These spirits reflect the physical essence in its simplest form of whatever they personify. A spirit of a clear, strong river might appear to be in good health and clear as well as physically strong and attempting to solve it’s problems through strength and power. However, one of a polluted, but slow-running river would appear sickly and weak, slow to move and act, but relatively level-headed. Spirits are not inherently good or evil in any way, shape or form and are as mortal as the thing they represent. To kill a spirit is to kill what it represents, and to kill what it represents is to kill the spirit.

Souls represent abstract concepts. Though they are of the same cut as spirits they are not the same. Every living being has a soul, every concept a soul, and every idea a soul. A person has a soul that is every thing about them put into supernatural form, as does a concept (such as honor), and animals. Souls that are paid great honor and respect ascend to the level of Gods, the bosses and rulers of heaven, in charge of maintaining the world below them. A soul is only as good or evil as the thing it represents, no more or less.

Both Souls and Spirits are part of what is known as the Celestial Bureaucracy. The Bureaucracy is in charge of maintaining the world, heaven, and universe as a whole. Ensuring everything is in its place, and that everything runs smoothly. The Ruler of the Heavens sits in authority over the Bureaucracy, doing his best to ensure that everything is maintained and in its place, striving to make the entire universe better as he works through the many layers within. He is defined by the concepts of the Divine and Order and draws power from them and uses this power to ensure that life and death happen when they are supposed to.

It is important to note that neither spirit or soul is truly immortal. However, neither can anything truly die either. Upon ‘death’, the spirit and soul are released to the Bureaucracy upon which they take their place in a never-ending cycle of reincarnation.

9.0) <b>Sign up sheet</b>

Name: As should be obvious, the name given to your character should be of an Asian theme. I do not expect you to be experts of Chinese/Korean/Asian/whatever else though. One idea is to search the web for a site that lists baby names in other languages. http://www.behindthename.com/usage.php <- Good start. If you actually know someone who can speak one of the Asian languages or can speak it yourself, all the better.

Age: 16 year minimum.

Gender:

Physical appearance: While not strictly chinese, the people of this land are typically of a brownish complexion and hair that is different from black is considered to be rare. Clothing consists usually of simple robes for those without money and the people with money will often make their clothes have extravagant designs on them with various forms of artwork

Land of Origin: Where you come from, be it the North, East, or West. This will be considered your starting area and the Empire you have loyalty to unless otherwise noted.

Fighting Style: Pick one of the five suggested or make your own.

Details: Describe it a bit if it is not one of the five listed (combinations of the five need to be listed as well).

Notable abilities: I don’t expect you to catch everything at first, but anything your character can do that you feel is worth noting. Being a skilled dancer, knowing first aid, being capable of cooking well, or horribly enough to poison eaters, not being able to rhyme on purpose, anything really notable that you think would matter.

Backstory: Where your character has been. What their notable accomplishments in life have been, what they have done, what their purpose is, and so forth. Not terribly hard to understand.

Things that will result in rejection or removal for the RP: I try to keep a forgiving mindset available for all. This is about having fun, not being a rules-monger after all. However, there are some things which you should be aware of that are considered reasons for rejection and/or removal of your character from the RP.

Godmodding: I want to clear this up first. Godmodding is NOT having a character who has a lot of power and it is NOT a character always winning a fight perfectly (though those are usually good signs of god-modding going on). Instead, when you are having a character god-mod, you are having them preform feats that should be beyond their reasonable power level or anticipating things that they could not possibly anticipate or similar things. Thunderous Stone is the strongest style defensively and Gentle Breeze is the weakest offensively... this does not mean a person using Thunderous Stone is completely impervious to Gentle Breeze. Nor does it mean someone with tons of skill and experience in Gentle Breeze will suddenly deflect every strike thrown at them with perfect ease. Even masters get hit and take damage from time to time when fighting novices and it is no fun at all to be stuck fighting someone against whom you can’t even hit. If someone believes you to be Godmodding, and if it can be shown that you are, you will be warned once. If you intentionally break this warning, you will be removed.

Mary/Marty Sue’s: It’s okay to want a character who is special. We rarely want to be considered just ‘part of the crowd’ and it sucks to have a character who has nothing special about them. However, do not go overboard on this. If something conflicts between the story and your character, the story wins. Be sure everything is explained and reasoned out and try to not have things that reach levels that are simply implausible. If you have your character some amazing feat (say, becoming a master at age 15), attach some flaw to counterbalance it (they have a plethora of phobias). While not strictly required, the flaws should make sense and reflect the taken advantages (so if someone was a youthful prodigy, maybe their high skill has caused them to become a social outcast and poor at social situations). Try to follow the world as best you can. Please note the following: This does not mean you can’t have someone with something special without some huge drawback in of itself. Just that it is one of the signs of a Mary Sue (which will likely be rejected) and some advise on how to avoid it!

This is not a competition. Do not become obsessed with winning so much that you end up making your character too powerful and/or caring only about fights.

Do not bully people. Sometimes people need a bit of help. Sometimes they honestly don’t know, and you should offer them help. However, if they say that they do not desire the help or ask you to back off, that is the end of the discussion. Wait until a GM is on and bring the issue up with them. Do not start calling them names or other such things.

Make sure your characters fit in with the world. This is a RP happening in Asian-inspired setting in a time of turmoil. Having a Englishman walking around with his ‘vastly superior gun’ is not likely something that should be happening. If you want a character that is abnormal in this regard, like a ageless warrior from the Dragon Empire, bring it up with a GM. If you don’t, your character will be rejected.

This was passed largely out of fear on my part. Aside from being too busy, when I wasn't I was too afraid of failure to attempt it. Plain and simple.

[spoiler=Gladiator RP]Stats

There are six stats.

Strength: Physical abilities and direct combat.
Charisma: How well you can play to the crowd and emperor.
Skill: How capable you are at wielding weapons and passing challenges.
Cunning: How capable you are at tricking others.
Luck: How lucky are you.
Will: How much punishment you can take, both mentally and physically, before collapsing.

To find out your stats in these areas roll 2D6, divide by 3, and round down. You are free to switch around stats if you are looking to play a certain character, but it’s suggested you try to switch as little as possible.

Types

Roll 1D6 twice to determine your types. These types should reflect your gladiator. You can get the same type twice. Once again, you CAN opt to pick if you don’t think you can roleplay the character, but keeping it random is suggested.

1: Gambler: Luck +1, Strength -1. You are known for taking huge risks, putting it all on the line, and trying things no one else would try. Your reliance on luck has left you a bit weaker than normal.
2: Quick: Cunning +1, Will -1. Do you know the intricacies of Swordplay? No? But if you started training now you could figure out enough to put up a decent fight before the match. However, being confronted with a challenge you struggle against tends to dishearten you.
3: Charismatic: Charisma +1, Cunning -1. You’ve played the crowd your entire life? You may not know exactly what the evils of the empire ARE, but by the GODS you can rally people against them!
4: Survivalist: Skill +1, Charisma -1. You have undergone rigorous training throughout your life. You can survive in the wild far easier than those mindless brutes! However, your isolation has kind of left you uneven around people.
5: Brutish: Strength +1, Skill -1. There has yet to be a problem your muscles couldn’t solve, and surely if you met one you couldn’t solve, all that means is you didn’t have enough muscle! GRAAAA!
6: Heroic: Will +1, Luck -1. You know right from wrong. You know what must be done. You refuse to let yourself squander away in the pits. You WILL survive, even if the world seems set against you!

Special Qualities.

Your gladiator gets two special qualities. Roll 1D66 (Two D6’s side by side with the left representing 10’s and the right 1’s) and go to the tables to find your special traits. Remember, you can pick if you don’t think you can play the qualities.

11: Foreigner: You come from a land other than the Empire and came here of your own free will.

12: War Hero: You fought for the Empire in the past as a might warrior!

13: Another Faith: You don’t follow the Empire’s religion. It’s not why you were brought in though.

14: Hidden Secret: There is something you’re hiding from your fellow gladiators. It may be something as simple as a pet bird, but you’re afraid others will learn you have it.

15: Tattoo: You have a tattoo on your body with some history behind it. You’re proud of it though.

16: Time traveler: You’re oddly clean, well cared for, and versed about things that haven’t happened yet. You claim you are here for the ‘history’ but no one seems to quite grasp what you mean.

21:
22
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25
26
31
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33
34
35
36
41
42
43
44
45
46
51
52
53
54
55
56
61
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65
66

Extra:

Backstories: Every person in the arena has a reason for being there. It is not something that simply happens by random chance and is rarely by choice. This section is designed to give you a quick overview of the reasons why someone might become a member of the arena as well as provide a quick and easy way to generate a backstory. Your background DOES affect your character and their terms for freedom, so be sure to read them!

1. Criminal: You are a criminal. Throughout the Empire there are many criminals who get caught every day. Some for crimes such as shop-lifted, while others for murder. Criminals charged with the more sever crimes are often condemned to die, often in the arena. Being a Criminal means that the required favor for freedom is increased by 10% (rounded down), but you get an additional 1 HP per point of will at character creation.
2. Heretic: There are many faiths in the world. The pantheon of Zeus, the Norse pantheon, Christianity, and such. Not all of them are looked upon favorably and, even within the Zeus pantheon, saying certain things can be... less than ideal. People who say such blasphemies are often thrown to the lions without a second thought! Heretics must have their first battle be a death-match against beasts, but can reroll once when they try for a random event for half the favor cost.
3. Slave: So long as there have been slaves, there have been slaves made to fight each other for fun and profit! You were bought at a slave auction, possibly as a child, and trained for one purpose alone. Fighting. You live for the crowds and revel in their glory! But it’s also difficult to please them as many see you as something less than human. Slaves take a -1 penalty when being awarded favor, but their hard training allows them to reduce any blow to their health by 50% (rounded down) once per battle.
4. Entertainer: You live for the glory! You willingly joined the arena knowing it was a way to get your name out there! You willingly gave up your freedom for the chance of glory in the ring! Entertainers get a +1 bonus on all favor awards, but all favor costs are increased by 1 (doesn’t go over the maximum possible).
5. Debt: Money is tight and sometimes people have to do things they don’t want to to pay off the debt. Fighting in the arena is one of those things. Leaving means paying off bills you couldn’t possibly afford, but maybe, just maybe, you can earn enough to pay your debts. People with debt start off with half the favor of a normal character, but have all Health losses outside the arena reduced by 1 (minimum 1).
6. Other: There are many other reasons why someone would fight in the arena. Feel free to make up your own and offer a suggestion for a bonus and a penalty.

Special abilities: Find your highest score (if two are tied, pick whichever) and roll a D6 on the proper table. If the total of all your attributes is less than 9 you may pick a second.

Health and Favor: Favor is the favor of the Gods and spending points can give you the edge in a fight that may be against you. You gain favor by completing optional objectives, stimulating the crowd, and pleasing the Emperor, and you lose favor by breaking rules, killing foes outside of deathmatches, and giving boring fights. Your starting favor is equal to your Charisma X2.

Health is how much damage you can take. It gets healed between fights. If it drops to 0 your character will DIE. Your starting health is equal to your Will X10.

Combat: There are three types of combat. PvE, PvP, and PvPvE. PvE is Player vs. Environment and is fairly simple on the whole. The GM will devise a challenge, say climbing a small mountain of crates. The GM will then list the challenge level of the task. For example, since climbing crates is easy, it has only a challenge level of 4. Our Gladiator decided he wants to try and simply yank his way up using his strength stat which happens to be a 3. He rolls his dice and gets a 3 for a total of 9, allowing him to climb up the first layer easily.

However, the emperor finds this boring. He orders his archers to take aim and fire at the Gladiator. Our Gladiator tries to appeal to the Emperor. The GM decides that the Emperor has had a really bad day and doesn’t really feel like listening and lists the challenge at a 10. The Gladiator’s Charisma score is only a 2 and he rolls the dice and come up with a 4 for a total of 8. He fails the challenge and suffers a minor blow to his ego of two health (the difference between his roll and the challenge level), but he now has arrows incoming.

The Gladiator then decides to lift up one of the boxes to use as a shield. They are pretty heavy boxes, but it’s not impossible to do so. The GM lists the challenge at a 10 again, but the warrior has a whopping 3 in STR, so he decides it’s not impossible. He tries to lift the box, but rolls a 3, causing him to miss! He faces the arrows, but decides that this is going to be far too much for him to survive. He decided he needs the favor of the gods to accomplish this task. The player then spends an amount of favor to increase his dice roll by 1 point (rules for the amount spent will be discussed later). This makes his dice roll a 4 for a total of 12, letting him lift the box to shield him from the arrows.

PvP combat is very similar to this and follows many of the same rules. The only difference is that, instead of the challenge being decided by the GM, it’s decided by the players rolls. If two gladiators decide to arm wrestle and both have a STR of 3 and the first one rolls a 2, that makes the challenge of the wrestling a 6 which the second player now has to beat in order to successfully ‘defend’ against his arm wrestling skills. However, two opposing stats do not always need to be pitted against each other. Returning to the arm wrestling example, assume the opposing gladiator has only 1 STR. He decides he can’t possibly win in a straight-up fight, so he opts to defend via distracting him with a shiny coin. He makes a roll with his cunning stat which is a 3 and gets a 3 on his roll allowing him to defend.

PvPvE is the same thing as prior but with some sort of goal. For example, two competing players seeking to defeat a captive tiger with the slayer winning the match.

If a player fails a difficulty challenge or fails to defend against another players attack he takes the difference in damage to his health. Any stat can be used to be pitted against any other stat, but it needs to make sense. The GM decides if something is simply too absurd or not. If they decide it’s too absurd you take ALL the damage from the attack.

Favor: Favor is acquired via completing goals and objectives. For example, completing a challenge of defeating a tiger might grant 2 favor from the Emperor and a good, close, fight might give an additional 2 favor for a total of 4 favor. Favor can be spent in one of five ways. You can spend one favor to heal 1 health (this can heal you from a negative health to 1, but if your turn ends with you having less than 1, you die). You can spend it to raise a dice roll by the amount of the roll (So to raise a dice roll from a 3 to a 4 you need to spend 4 favor. From a 4 to a 5 is 5 favor, and so-on). You can use it to perminatly raise an attribute by 1 by spending an amount equal to the new level X10 (so to raise yourself from a 2 to a 3 you would need to spend 30 favor). You can spend 1D6 favor to envoke a random event. Or, if you ever get an amount of favor equal to the total of all your stats X5, to buy your freedom from the arena.

Weapons: Weapons, for the most part, are purely cosmetic. This doesn’t mean that they are useless though, just that the focus is not on them. However, say that a gladiator enters the ring against a foe he doesn’t think he can beat. He then decides to plead to the crowd for a weapon. The GM decides that this has a difficulty factor of a 13 and the gladiator has only 3 Charisma. He rolls his dice and comes up with a 6! One of the crowd members tosses him a shiny new sword that boosts his STR by 1 for the remainder of the fight!

At the end of the fight all weapons acquired are removed by the guards, however.

Lasting damage: Even though fights are not *usually* to the death, it IS possible to deliver some lasting damage! If, for any reason, a player takes half or more of his maximum health in a SINGLE blow, he is inflicted with a lasting wound. Lasting wounds to the head reduce rolls with Charisma by 1, wounds to the arms reduce strength rolls by 1, legs reduce Skill by 1, and torso reduces your maximum health by 5. These penalties can be removed by visiting a specialized healer who will list a price to remove the penalty, but the price is whatever the GM desires.

Leaving the Arena: When you first arrive at the arena you will not be able to leave it. However, when you’ve won at least one battle and have an amount of favor equal to half your health, you are allowed to leave the arena. Damage from challenges and PvP here lasts until the end of the next battle, but there is a lot more out here. Don’t think of leaving the main city though. There are archers on the walls and military guards and they will fire on sight if they see you. Risking escaping is only worth it if you really think you’re up to the challenge.

Killing someone: You are a gladiator. You fight for honor and glory! Not kill counts. If you kill an opponent, either by accident or on purpose, and it is not a death-match, you instantly lose an amount of favor equal to what your opponent had. Secondly, you will become targeted by every guard. Surrender is possible, but in the arena this means a punishment that lowers a stat by 1 and outside of the arena it means a punishment plus never being allowed to leave again.

This one was made for a friend, but things changed and I simply ended up struggling to complete various sections, never mind come up with a coherent story. It was meant to be a PvP-focused Rp, but not 'deadly' of necessity and allow freedom outside of fighting, but I never finished it.

[spoiler= Unnamed and recent RP]

There are eight combat stats. Health, Mana, Strength, Magic, Hit, Agility, Defense, and Resistance. Each of these stats can be directly adjusted and modified as well as having various skills affect how powerful they are. At the start you can only put up to five levels into any stat or skill, though you can go beyond this by questing.

Health: For every 1 point spent in health, your character gets 5 HP.

Mana: Mana allows for the use of higher-end abilities. For every point spent in mana you gain 5 energy. Any ability that has two or more attack types, has certain special effects, or of exceptional power will cost energy.

Strength: Strength deals with how much damage a character can do with melee-style hits. This does not mean that characters who rely on guile or speed must have low strength. It is merely a measure of how much damage is dealt.

Magic: Magic deals with how much damage a character can do with any sort of arcana-based ability. This does not mean characters who rely on physical weapons must be unmagical. It is merely a measure of how much damage is dealt.

Hit: Hit deals with how well a character can place a shot. For every point of hit, the character deals an extra 4% damage against an evading foe. If a foe does not evade the damage % gets added to their damage after reducing defenses.

Agility: Agility deals with how well a person can avoid or parry incoming skills. For every point in agility damage while evading is reduced by 5%.

Defense: Defense allows you to reduce the damage taken from physical-type attacks by however high your defense is. This reduction happens after evasion.

Resistance: Resistance allows you to reduce the damage taken from physical-type attacks by however high your resistance is. This reduction happens after evasion.

Abilities: All players start with two abilities of which one ability must be a default ability.

Combat system.

Basics: Each character gets 2 action phases on each turn. During each of these phases one of four possible actions can happen.

- Default Ability

- Special ability

- Evade

- Use Item

Each of these actions takes up one slot except for Special abilities, which may take up two slots depending on the ability.

For every turn that a similar offensive damage type is used (I.E. Slashing attack to slashing attack), gain 1 offensive combo point. All offensive combo points are lost entirely if a person does not use the same damage type for one turn.

For every turn that a different offensive damage type is used (I.E. Slashing to Fire), gain 1 defensive combo point. A defensive combo reduces all damage taken by 1 in addition to other effects. All defensive combo points are lost if a player uses the same offensive damage-type is used on the next turn.

If an attack deals two different elements of damage and one remains constant between turns while the other does not, the player may choose to gain one offensive or defensive combo

When an evade is declared the player selects one element. All damage from abilities with that element are reduced by 50% (rounded up). One damage must always be delt upon a successful hit (after defensive reductions). A person may not declare an evade for both their actions.

Stats: There are eight stats. HP, Mana, Strength, Magic, Skill, Speed, Defense, and Resistence. For each point spent in HP or Mana, 5 points of the corrisponding stat are gained. For each of the remaining, 1 point in the corrisponding stat is gained. Strength attacks against Defense, Magic against Resistence, Skill against Speed. Keep the basic 3d6 (will probably change later).

There are X primary types of damage, each with their own special modifier.

[slashing] For every 2 points of an offensive combo, gain +1 damage and +1 hit. If an enemy evades against slashing, lose -1 to hit for every 2 points.

[Piercing] For every point of an offensive combo, ignore 1 defense of an opponents. If an enemy evades against piercing, they avoid 75% of the damage (1 damage must always be delt on a successful hit)

[blunt] For every point of an offensive combo, gain +1 damage. For every 2 points of an offensive combo, take 1 additional damage.

[Fire] For every 2 points of an offensive combo, gain a charge of fire. Upon a successful hit the player may opt to place a DoT on the target that deals that amount every turn for 3 turns. Damage from the DoT can be evaded. For every 2 points of an opponents defensive combo, reduce the damage fire deals by 2.

[Water] For every 3 points of a players defensive combo involving water, restore 1 HP. For every 2 points of an opponets defensive combo, special abilities involving water cost 2 mana more,

[Wind] For every 2 points of a players offensive combo, increase damage delt against evading foes by 10%. For every 2 points of a players offensive combo, reduce damage dealt by wind attacks by 10%

[Arcane] For every 2 points of a players offensive combo, reduce the opponents mana by 1 upon a successful hit. Arcane may only be part of a defensive combo if part of an ability with a different element.

[Light] For every 2 points of a players defensive combo, the player gains +1 hit and +1 damage. For every 2 points of a players offensive combo, the player gets -1 hit and -1 damage.

Additionally enemies may use other elements not normally avalible to players.

The problem with this is that I just couldn't get the evade, hit, and agility to gel right. Originally this was to be an RP focused around small-team combat with a central mercenary fort from which teams of five or less could be sent out on missions. There was to be things like 'loyalty' which could be given to others for extra actions in a turn (a player couldn't use their own loyalty) to encourage team-forming and abilities and the like focused on maintaining, boosting, reducing, and altering combos as well as setting up blows for allies (I.E. an ability that makes it so that the next player who strikes the foe with a slashing weapon deals X extra damage, but the ability can only be used on the last action of a players turn). Things just refused to gel though and, thusly, it was pushed aside.

So there you have it. I hope these ideas can be adopted or inspire others in some manner.

[Shin]

Whilst it's clear that you've put a lot of time into these, I'm not sure if anyone's really going to be willing to use any of them.

The first seems like a Sailor Moon fanboy's attempt at playing as a teenage girl, which probably has some sort of market in some community somewhere, but not here. You've also thrown in zombies, which looks like a horrible genre mismatch. The martial arts one failed because it was clear you had no knowledge of martial arts outside of what you've probably seen in anime or films. You've described many of the styles incorrectly and some of them are far too contemporary to even put in something like this. The Gladiator one is underdeveloped, although it lacks the myriad of errors the others have so it's probably got the most potential out of them. The last is basically a system, again which is underdeveloped but was probably only a fleeting idea.

One issue I've seen throughout your RP career is that you can't quite blend well with other players, either as a GM or as a fellow player. I recall there being several disputes that you've had over relatively petty things in several RP's. I think your problem is less about fear and more with being too caught up with making your own characters the most important and desirable, expecting everyone around them to notice them and revere them. I'm sure if you were willing to resolve this issue and improve your attitude towards other RPers you'd actually be able to carry out something fairly decent.

[Snowy_One]

The whole point with the martial arts RP is that it isn't realistic. I mean, there is a whole style devoted to wire-fu type martial arts. Most people aren't going to know martial arts in any serious detail and delving into the intricacies of one would be a needless complication. The reason I listed the 'real' styles was to give people a basis to draw from, not to confine them to said basis. After all, it is a fantasy world and, even if the styles are 100% 'realistic' who says fantasy Krav Maga is going to be the same as real-life Krav Maga in every move?

[Shin]

I think you've missed the main message of my reply, I think you'd be better off considering the last paragraph. The martial arts you've referred to are often nothing like the ones you're trying to liken them to. I'm not even going to touch upon your idea of fantasy martial arts. It's alright to omit the level of detail to simplify things, but to introduce an incorrect system which is just as detailed seems rather longwinded.

[roymbrog]

While it's admirable that you're trying to talk sense into Snowy, I can tell you that unfortunately it's falling on deaf ears. Snowy's been like this the 5 years I've known him, and longer than that if the testimonies of other parties I've been around can be trusted. Your time is probably better spent elsewhere, lol.

[Shin]

While it's admirable that you're trying to talk sense into Snowy, I can tell you that unfortunately it's falling on deaf ears. Snowy's been like this the 5 years I've known him, and longer than that if the testimonies of other parties I've been around can be trusted. Your time is probably better spent elsewhere, lol.

Whilst I appreciate your input, I'm afraid it's fallen on deaf ears! I have plenty of time, you can come visit us at the old people's home in 60 years time if you want proof of that!

[roymbrog]

I was just giving advice based on my experience with this topic, but it was just a suggestion and you don't have to listen if you don't want to. If you do manage to get through to him though, you'll be my hero. Good luck.

[Baldrick]

obligatory injoke

you can come visit me at the old people's home in 0 years time if you want proof of that!

[Snowy_One]

So, I've done some thinking and, well, I really want to either squash this idea or make it bloom. Since the first was kind of the whole point of making this topic in the first place, may as well ask here.

Would anyone be interested in any of these four ideas? Even with the unfinished ones it's not that I can't finish them, but between a lack of confidence and a focus on RotE and other things my attention was elsewhere. But if someone is interested I could finish them up/modify them and try to run an RP with them. In particular it's the third one, the gladiator RP, that's been gnawing away at the back of my mind of late.

If you aren't interested/think it would be a bad idea, fine. I won't bring it up again. But otherwise, well, I have a bit of hope/optimism right now and I hope it can bloom.