[WAR] RP Plot Teaser (Draft stage)

[bronislav84]

Thought I would post the plot in it's current state for people interested in the RP to start preparing their character ideas. This is NOT the Sign Up thread. At least not yet, though it might get edited into that. Please do NOT post your characters here. Not all the rules are included yet, either. Like the title says, it's still a draft and a couple of things have yet to be finalized. Until that time, please feel free to ask questions. I don't bite. Much.

Staff please sticky this thread until the real SU thread goes up, which will be within a couple of days or so. Gonna tag a couple of you that I talk to often, heh. :) @Pokemon Trainer Sarah @HKim @Shadow Tracker Max Thanks in advance.


ARCANE POKÉWORLD STORY

It all started 80 million years ago, far beyond recorded time and even before prehistoric Pokémon like Aerodactyl, Kabutops, and many of their kind roamed the world. The world was inhabited by dinosaurs and animals that could have evolved into the Pokémon of the modern era. The only traces of humanity that existed in these long, almost forgotten days were protohumans.

The Sun this world depended on, Arcstar, suddenly changed it's cycle and was on the critical brink of becoming a supernova. If left to run it's destructive course, it would have decimated the entire solar system and would have nothing but burnt shadows in it's wake. The cataclysmic signs were detected by the Xeth, a highly advanced race of aliens that had the power and the means to manipulate the laws of physics, logic itself, and even dictate the course of existence. The Xeth, while not truly gods, had the power and techniques that could be considered godlike. Upon examining the unstable and potentially devastating course the Arcstar was heading toward, they used their powers and techniques to stabilize it and in turn, prevented what could have been a tragic disaster if left unchecked. As a result of their benevolent efforts, fate ran a different course and the Arcstar was forever changed, now illuminating the world with a bright white and lightly violet-colored illumination.

This is where the story begins. This is what is known as The Dawn of the Arcane Sun.

As a result of the Xeth's efforts, the Arcstar was able to continue it's cycle without risk of apocalyptic devastation. Life and prosperity continued for 15 million more years and in time, new evolution had set it's course, eventually becoming the Pokémon we recognize of the modern era. These creatures known as Pokémon, armed with the power, skills, and techniques to harness the elements and supernatural forces thanks to the Arcane Arcstar, were able to claim dominance, resulting in the end of the dinosaurs that could not command the same forces they could. These Pokémon were the first practitioners of what would eventually be called Magic.

Following in the footsteps of their flourishing Pokémon brethren and companions, the early protohumans were the next to evolve, learning how to harness magical forces and energies from the Arcstar be means of concentration and willpower. Soon, like Pokémon, they began to inherit the basic and fundamental skills of the Xeth thanks to the transformed Arcstar.

But what was supposed to become human never came to pass. Instead, the early protohumans were evolved by the Arcane Sun as well, becoming distinct races but all being collectively called humans due to having the same ancient ancestor. In time, as the ages and eras marched on, humans learned Magic from their Pokémon companions as well as through their own dedicated research into harnessing the power and energies of the Arcstar in new and creative ways.

This is the story of how Magic had risen through the Arcstar and soon enough, became the central influence on civilization, culture, norms, research, and technological development. The creation of tools, weapons, and structures had undergone a completely different breed of industrial revolution, relying on the fundamentals of supernatural magic as opposed to the utilization of scientific principles despite how these same principles like gravity, conductivity, and the like are still present. As the ages of civilization marched on, technology was built around the magic these humans knew best, and magical technology, called Magitek for short, resulted in the creation of enchanted mechanical tools, equipment, and devices that perform the same functions of technology today, but are powered by the forces of magic as opposed to using the principles of science.

NIGHT OF BLOODFALL AND THE NEW TEAM TRAINER CONTINGENCY

The High Magi Council. The Celestial Circle. And the Order of the Crimson Flame.

All 62 world leader members assigned to keep the peace were assassinated in a single night along with their assigned chain in command. It escalated into a vicious and heartless attack that would be forever scarred into the history books as the Night of Bloodfall. It was unknown who launched and coordinated the attack, but the investigation concluded all leader members were violently stripped of their magical abilities before they were executed. None of the assassins were caught or identified, but the limited witness testimony and evidence concluded it had been a band of Mechari assailants responsible for the assault. The attackers were labeled as the "Repressors" for their strange ability to strip magic out of their targets.

When the news of the Repressor attack hit the media through the Maginet and the Mirror broadcasts, immediately the hysteria resulted in Mechari being branded as traitors, flawed devices, and "rebellious machines without souls." Citizens began to question the meaning of their existence, while others attempted to defend the machine race by arguing not every Mechari was a Repressor out for anarchy nor did they support the Night of Bloodfall, although there were plenty of sympathizers for the Repressors and felt it was a "much-needed cleansing long overdue." However, the shaken and unstable political theater were only making the situation critical and law enforcement that much more difficult. With rioting and looting on the rise because of these events, what was once a perfect world paradise was rapidly collapsing.

The only lead in terms of determining who should be established as the new order was found in the Celestial Circle's Decree documents, establishing that if the Circle should fall, the faction known as Team Trainer would be the next in line to assimilate authority. Meanwhile, the High Magi Council and the Order of the Crimson Flame had nothing left after their assigned chains of commands had all been eliminated in the Bloodfall assault.

With no other official documents and successors to go by, Team Trainer was established as the new emergency world order. However, despite Team Trainer's righteous and good intentions, not everyone saw the mission from their point of view. Many felt their individual identity and culture were threatened, and not everyone recognized the authenticity of the Celestial Circle Decree. Even in the mist of the already costly Bloodfall riots, others were far too skeptical and portrayed the Decree as a conspiracy theory forgery that hit the airways and tabloids hard. Meanwhile, others believed Trainer was not capable of stopping the "Repressors" from striking again, wherever and whoever they are...

The world has become a darker place. The question of who should lead the world of magic is in shambles, and the hunt for the Repressors is a trail rapidly going cold. The Mechari are fighting bigotry and racism from all directions, while rebellion factions rise up against the authority of the questionably established Team Trainer order.

It is unknown whether the world can return to the state of peace and paradise it had once enjoyed. What is known is that the flames of war have been lit, and many will be taken in its demand for sacrifice...

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ARCANE WORLD AND THE STANDARD ONE

Flight Spells - Individuals have access to flying spells, which was an early discovery. As such, buildings and structures have access balconies that grant access at any level. Devices like parachutes and hang-gliders were obsolete before they even existed. Work, life, and even sports have been changed due to this ability to fly freely.
Flying Cars and Vehicles - Used for faster travel, as well to assist with the shipping of heavy goods and as mass transit.
Pokémon Carrying Crystals (PPCs) - Instead of Pokéballs, these crystals are used instead, offering a stronger, more comfortable, and more rejuvenating container for companion Pokémon.
Healing Spells - Used in place of healing medicines.
Travel - As a means of getting from one place to another, a portal network exists, replacing train lines and metro stations with a portal network. Walking into a portal of one town in another region will allow you to emerge to a town in another region in no time at all. There is still travel time, as the passenger will be in a stasis while in the Travelscape. They will be allowed to think, see, and hear, but not physically move. The only allowed use of portals is strictly limited to these "Portal Metros." Any other unauthorized use of portal spells or teaching of portal spells is regarded as highly illegal due to the ability to use them for trespassing.
Pokémarts - These retail outlets have been changed to sell Pokémon healing spells, as well as the Pokémon Carrying Crystals needed to contain them. A spell only needs to be brought once, much like a book that only needs to be brought once but can be read multiple times. Most Pokémarts make the majority of their revenue from PCCs, although the spells are always available for new rookie trainers that are only just starting their journey.
Magic Shops - Magic that isn't Pokémon-related is sold here. Magic has been around since ancient times, so new research and development into new spells is rare (but still possible). These vendors will sell mainly the books and resources needed for practical spells, as well as self-defense, trades, crafts, and many other purposes that are needed in everyday life.

Science Gadgets we Expect:

The Maginet - The magical rendition of the Internet. No need for wi-fi hotspots or worrying about data plans with this. You can access it anywhere and everywhere.
Smartphones - Have been implemented as Mirrors, also connected to the Maginet. These perform the same functions we are familiar with it terms of phones, and they're significantly cheaper to mass produce. Everyone has one, unless they lost it the way one does with car keys or their wallet.
Televisions - Televisions are a derivative of Mirrors and can be altered in size to suit the owner's preference and accommodate the room. In that same light, Mirrors also take on the form of video players and gaming consoles for entertainment, given they have they have been enchanted with the desired game or movie spell.

RACES

All races are considered humans as a collective whole, but these are the sub-categories (think in terms of Hispanics, Caucasians, Asians, and so on). The magic they specialize in is similar to those of Pokémon attacks and moves, although each race can still cast spells in all other fields.

Mechari - Mechari are sentient Megitek machine humanoids, and were originally created by the other races as servants many years ago and continue to be created today. In addition, new Mechari are created by a partial magical donation of the personality and appearance to the one they wish to create. Being enchanted machines themselves, Mechari understand Enchanting magic the best out of all the other races, and make outstanding craftsmen. Mechari can take on a male or female appearance, but do not reproduce sexually. Mechari specialize in magic related to Steel, Normal, and Ghost type sources.

Granok - The Granok are sentient, golem-like people formed out of living rock. Strong, sturdy, and adamant, Granok can take excessive physical punishment in combat, and are exceptional at utilizing spells focused on earthen manipulation and plant manipulation. As a result, the Granok are the best at Grass, Rock, and Bug spells.

Chua - The Chua are the shortest of the races, taking on the form of rodent humanoids based on such creatures similar to rats, rabbits, mice, and guinea pigs. Often eccentric and unpredictable, the Chua are skilled with Ice, Ground, and Fire magic. Because of this, they have natural resistance to heat and fire, and can handle working in stifling conditions far better than the other races. Moreover, they are the least affected by extreme weather, able to transverse scorching deserts and frozen tundra areas more comfortably than anyone else.

Neko - Neko are feline humanoids that are fast, nimble, acrobatic, and agile. They have prehensile tails and are typically considered attractive by most other races. Most Neko work in the entertainment industry, but there are still plenty of exceptions. Female Neko are typically taller and have upper body strength while males are shorter and have better lower body strength. Neko specialize in Fighting, Dark, and Psychic magic.

Angel - Angels are the most recognizable as the humans from the normal Pokémon world, taking on an appearance that looks exactly like humans except for a pair of feather wings they have on their backs. Angels are the only race that can fly without use of a flying spell, and have strong proficiencies in Electric, Flying, and Dragon magic.

Merfolk -Mermaids and mermen, collectively called Merfolk, appear as half-human, half-fish humanoids while submerged in water and have incredible swimming ability. Meanwhile, they have perfected most of their tools, technology, and equipment to work perfectly underwater. If need be, they can emerge from the water and after arriving on the surface, their fish tails will become human legs for a temporary amount of time. They can stay like this and walk on the ground for about three days before they start to become dehydrated and dizzy and need to return to the water. Merfolk specialize in Water, Fairy, and Poison magic.

COMBAT

• Unlike Harry Potter, wands aren't present. Fighting with magic can be done in the form of enchanted melee strikes (like a fire or thunder punch) or as projectiles like a fireball or ice beam. Fighting without magic, such as using a melee weapon like a pipe or a sword, is possible, but will be seen as quite primitive (on the level of bringing a knife to a gun fight).
• If you cannot speak, you cannot cast (hence, taking a hostage by duct-taping their mouths is an effective way to suppress their magic, much like blindfolding a sharpshooter temporarily nullifies most of their skills). Spells that cause the opposing caster to be muted are possible, but only last for a temporary amount of time and have very high rates of failure when attempted to be used in rapid succession.
• Though your character can have a library of spells to work with, the general idea is they can only use one spell for every post. Spells are limited by two things: fair play and imagination. The second one means as long as it's not god-modding, it can be used. As before, everything has strengths and weaknesses that can be exploited. Bigger is not necessarily better, as we all know.
• Spells take on many different forms, such as elemental bullets being fired from the fingers in a gun-like fashion, and healing spells that are typically the material of fantasy RPGs. Also, the typical performance enhancer spells (buffs) are possible also.
• Just about every Pokémon attack is a spell. Some are exclusive to Pokémon however, and have no use to humans.
• Conjuring large spells or effects is possible, but takes time. Summoning creatures, devices, and the like are also possible, but have a limited duration of existence and must return back to where they were summoned from eventually.

RULES

• Please follow the Pokémon Crossroads Community Rules and the Pokémon Crossroads Role Playing Rules. Following these rules would include:
  
  • No godmoding.
  • No bunnying other characters.
  • No instant teleportation. Travel across great distances requires at least one post of travel.
• When the GM feels the rules have been broken, he will immediately invalidate the post in question and ask the poster to change it.
• If, following prior warning, or if done flagrantly, rule-breaking will be punished with a strike. Three strikes equals an immediate ban from the Role Play.
• If the incident is particularly heinous, we reserve the right to ban you from the RP without prior warning or strikes.
• There is a 48 hour cooldown on posts, meaning you can only post once every two days. Please keep track of your own timer. This is to ensure most people can keep up with the RP and don't get left behind.
• Please start each of your posts off with the following header for everyone's convenience:

Character Name
Team
City, Region
Affected RPers:

THE 1.5 ATTACK RULE

This rule was created to make attacking and defending actions more fair and more realistic, meaning your character can only do so much in a single post to address defending themselves against attacks and making reprisal attacks of their own.

These actions do not have to be done in this order.

ACTION 1: A CHANCE TO DEFEND/TAKE DAMAGE

When your character is being attacked, you get the chance to do one of the following:

• Take damage/allow your character to be hit
• Dodge the attack (use this sparingly and don't dodge everything)
• Parry, deflect, block, and so on and so forth (again, sparingly)

Again, your character should take damage every now and then, especially after repeated attack attempts. This does not necessarily mean they have to die, but they should take a few burns, bruises, and wounds keep it more realistic.

Also, you get this action each time your character is attacked. So if three people are attacking your character at once, you get the chance to respond to each of them, but bear in mind, if your character is being attacked that many times, at least one of them should do some kind of damage. Dodging/blocking all three without a scratch is unlikely. The more your character is ganged up on, the more they should be taking damage.

ACTION 2: A CHANCE TO ATTACK/RESPOND

You can attack another character or named NPC however you'd like (unnamed NPCs don't count toward these allowances, albeit you shouldn't wipe out excessive amounts of these kinds of NPCs in a single post). Once you've decided on your target and how you want to attack them, that's your attack.

Do not say your attack hits or declare it to be successful if the target is in the hands of another RPer who never authorized you to land a successful attack on them. That's still for them to decide. Otherwise, it's bunnying and nobody likes that.

Your response could also be in the form of running away from the battle or taking defensive cover without returning fire. Someone who attempts to run away without attacking in response would be more successful and clear more distance than someone who tries to both run away and return fire at the same time.

ACTION 3. ONE MINOR OFFENSIVE/MINOR ACTION

Besides your attack, you can do some other combat/support action that does not attempt to directly damage a living target, such as healing your character, prepare a weapon, use a device/equipment, and so on, provided it can be done relatively quickly.

If you choose, you could sacrifice your entire attack action to perform several support actions by breaking away from the fight and using that post to use or set up weapons/equipment, heal, and other non-combat actions in a single post.

OR

You can perform a minor combat action, such as a fast and weak attack against another target, which would be along the lines of throwing/shooting a weapon that would realistically take less than three seconds, or use a quick melee attack against a target that's very close to you. In order to do this, your character should not be traveling to have to perform it, and should not be able to travel anywhere after said attack is made. In other words, you can't make your quick attack and then run away. Not to mention this attack is quick and you don't have time to take careful aim.
---------------------

So with all these in mind, you could do the following for example:

• Dodge an incoming fireball - Your DEFEND action
• Throw a boulder at a target - Your ATTACK action
• Throw a quick explosive charge on a building to collapse it - Your MINOR SUPPORT action (detonating it would have to wait until next turn).

Another example:

• Getting struck by an incoming electric attack - Your DEFEND action
• Throwing a suppressing net on an enemy - Your MINOR SUPPORT action
• Attacking the same netted enemy with a thrown explosive - Your ATTACK action

Another:

• Blocking a grenade by taking cover - Your DEFEND action
• Attacking Target A with a rocket launcher - Your ATTACK action
• Attacking Target B's rifle in an attempt to disable the weapon - Your MINOR SUPPORT action

And finally:

• Dissipate a fireball attack by using a wind attack on it - Your DEFEND action
• Summoning creatures as support allies - Your MINOR SUPPORT action (this does not include ordering them to attack, which would count as an attack action. Here they would only be on standby to be used next post)
• Hot-wiring a nearby vehicle - Another SUPPORT action taking the place of the ATTACK action

Sign-Up Form

Name: (Your character’s name. First and last name is required.)
Gender: (Male, female, or whatever else you think fits. We here at PXR are progressive.)
Species: (What race your character is. Either Mechari, Granok, Chua, Neko, Angel, or Merfolk. There are no humans, but going Angel is the closest choice to human.)
Age: (Age in years. In order to maintain believability, please keep the ages above 17 years old.)
Team: (You must be on a WAR team to participate. For more information on that, check out the Groups and Clubs board).
Description: (Your character’s physical appearance. Pictures are greatly welcomed for supplement but should not be a substitution for worded description (and if someone else made the picture, please give them credit). This should be at least a paragraph long.)
Personality: (Your character’s mental state and emotional intelligence. This should also be at least a paragraph long.)
Background: (Your character’s history and background prior to the events of the RP. This should be at least two paragraphs long).
Pokémon: (Choose up to six Pokémon. One cannot start with legendaries, but may capture them as the RP progresses).
Other: (Any other details about your character, such as what weapons they may be carrying, what vehicles they may have in their possession, close NPC companions that may accompany them, and so on.)

[Saraibre Ryu]

Few things:
You might want to clarify what kind of time setting the RP is in. I'm getting future to steampunky vibes and nothing really appears to point definitively to one or the other.

Do you have an already planned conflict that isn't in the draft? Right now I don't see any kind of conflict.

Thirdly you mention the world is a paradise however I'm wondering, despite that magic heals the sick and injured, that leans more towards physical illness with injury. As magic I would assume takes physical and mental stability and training to do, what about mental illnesses? Are those healed with a magic touch too? If so I would imagine that would be a strain on the healer/doctor attempting to cure that. Mental illnesses can be ten times as complicated as physical ones.

Also just a random one but why do Chua have efficiencies in Dragon magic? That seems really out of place to me.

Also next time you want a sticky in the RP boards try mentioning an RP mod just sayin'

[bronislav84]

It's present day show/games with some RL mixed in where applicable, just different setting origin and implementation. Maybe a couple of technologies that would otherwise only make sense in a magical setting, but other than that it's not meant to be fururistic.

The lack of a conflict is the big reason why this is still a draft. Neo and I have been scratching our heads on this since I came up with the idea, and it became even harder when no evil team would be in the event. Magma has zero RP representation. We had planned to make conflict based off the evil team, but this past week we've been trying to figure out a logical way to have good teams want to fight each other. It's hard. It might not launch on time because I'm drawing a blank and Neo will be busy all weekend. That's open to suggestions. We thought of an NPC faction but that's easy to defeat, and a resource war wouldn't really work either.

Mental illnesses aren't able to be healed by magic. I had wanted to stay away from RL issues that are otherwise incurable without genetic manipulation, which we don't have access to IRL. Mental retardation/bipolar and the like. We can assume genetic issues like these are cured by genetic manipulation after birth, and babies born with physical deformities are healed as well. That's one thing that would make sense in a setting like this.

Issues that require psychologists or counseling would be treated as IRL, but mind entering spells do exist to allow entering patients minds and "fighting" their mental problems in a dreamscape setting. This is highly dangerous though.

Neo created the 'stats' of the Chua race. Direct that question to him. I also haven't been able to decide on a magic proficiency for Neko. EDIT: Neo says we can chop out the Dragon efficiency. Consider it chopped in the final version.

And sorry for not mentioning you Sabi, I posted that at like 1am and it was late. Even though I stay up later it just completely slipped my mind.

[Death's Spook]

Nekos would probably fit best with Psychic spells, maybe Fairy as well. They have the beguiling thingy going on for them, and it enhances their mystery and therefore appeal, as well.

[Dash]

To go along with what Death has already said, I personally think that Nekos would be great at manipulation magic considering their overall perspective and the such.

[Aberforth]

It seems really interesting. Perhaps your conflict could have something to do with a limited ressource. IRL, it is the most common cause of conflict among nations. For instance, magic itself could be a limited ressource with each faction having to compete against the others to earn its fair share. :]

[WinterVines]

This looks pretty cool! I may be Magma's RP representation this year.

As far as major conflict goes, you mentioned "primitive" things a few times. What if there was a split in the world between technology lovers and haters; those who want to return to primitive and those who want to advance even more? Could maybe even tie in some connection to Xeth and the ritual that started it all? It might be possible to pit teams against each other this way, if you still wanted to do that.

Woo brainstorming!

[bronislav84]

A resource battle would be hard to implement, but if that's what people want we could do that.

When we say primitive (We as in Neo rewrote most of it and this part is his work), we mean fighting without magic. Technology as we understand it doesn't exist in this world, at all. Like full stop. There's no electronic/computer programmed items. Everything is magic enchanted, called Magitek. This has been the case since before the dinosaurs. As far as everyone knows this has always been the case. Before recorded history kind of thing.

That said, I'm not against a faction that hates magic and wants to end it. The only way to do that would be to extinguish the sun though. The aliens aren't known about because they visited before recorded history, nor is there any space exploration or space travel. There was no ritual, just them using their powers. To them it was just a normal day.

It would be hard to implement though. Since magic was around from before recorded history and everyone has been irradiated since ancient times, everyone has the potential. It's not a Bender versus Non Bender situation a la Korra Season 1. There are no "Non Benders" and these people would have to have purposefully chosen to not engage in magic.

Winter if you do join Magma I could easily insert my original conflict plan in. "Insert Evil Team here" assassinated the world leaders in a well coordinated plan, starting world conflict for who should rule. Good teams want to restore a semblance of world order, and Magma wants to be the only ones in charge.

[Lord Celebi]

It seems really interesting. Perhaps your conflict could have something to do with a limited ressource. IRL, it is the most common cause of conflict among nations. For instance, magic itself could be a limited ressource with each faction having to compete against the others to earn its fair share. :]

The problem with RPs is that the resources are reasonably infinite. If you start to quantify things, it becomes an extended game of Dungeons and Dragons.

Bron, perhaps if you want to brew some PVP Conflict, take a good look at the so-called "good" teams participating and see where their goals and views on justice don't necessarily align. Then craft a conflict that pits the different teams against each other in order to enforce their brand of justice. Good and evil are a false dichotomy. Ultimately, people are people and will do whatever they think most fits their self interest.

EDIT:

Okay, I looked into it myself and here's a quick summary of how I think you should do this.
Team Trainer: Lawful good. Team Trainer believes in the idealistic, almost naive, why-can't-everyone-get-along within the means of the law kind of good. Primarily making decisions with a long-term plan in mind (ie if we don't feed our people this week we can feed everyone for a year!)
The Phoenix Battalion: Chaotic good. They don't believe in inefficient or slow ways of doing good. They want forceful change now. Short-term thinkers (ie if we don't feed our people this week, they will die).
Prism League: Neutral good. Religious zealots that have a very specific, uncompromising, and dogmatic sense of justice.
Team Awesome: I have no idea what tickles XaiakuX's fancy these days.

Just create some catastrophe that only allows for a singular solution and have the good teams duke it out over who gets to implement their sense of justice upon the world.

[bronislav84]

Believe me, I've been thinking hard about it since inception and taking the team ideas into account as they came up. I'm coming up with zero ideas I personally like or think would work for 8 weeks.

At this point the only way to start signups on time is if someone else writes a viable conflict for the teams we have, optionally including Magna but not focused on an evil team in the center of the conflict as originally intended. Regardless of other factors, we need world governments to collapse.

Fortunately Winter and Sabi seem to be on the same page without originally realizing it and their idea seems mostly viable. The only hole I see is there's no people who aren't able to use magic, so why anyone would be anti-magic and wanting to remove it like Equalists I can't figure out.