Anywhere, USA - The Sign-Up Thread

[Whale Biologist]

Here we go, folks, it's the signup thread!

Please fill out the following information, for my own personal files:

Forum Name:
Character(s) To Be Played:
Show / Movie / Game They Are From:
Specific Episode (if necessary):

Now, I would encourage people to NOT go with demons / devils / beings capable of wholesale destruction, and instead go for more plot-, character- and dialogue-driven characters. The heart of this game is the character interactions, and not the extremely small amount of combat. Examples from a previous game (I found some e-mails)

Red Kryptonite Clark Kent, from Smallville - Except for a brawl with Hellboy, all he did was be a jerk and vandalize storefronts, stealing stuff for Lana.
Ellen Ripley - Taken from just after everyone got sealed into their tubes at the end of Aliens, she had just defeated the Queen, and was looking forward to going home...
Samurai Jack - Sent to this strange land apparently by Aku, from near the end of the series.
James Bond - Abducted from just after Goldfinger, I believe, he never even drew his gun for the entire game.
Hellboy - Yay, sarcasm! Except for a brawl with Red Kryptonite Clark Kent, he was mostly just a talking character.
Dr Who - Half the game took place in the TARDIS, when no-one could find their way out.
Terra - From Final Fantasy 6, after she morphed and took off in a crazy rage, she woke up here, and keeps accidentally casting magic. Also kept getting hit on by Clark Kent, and got into a catfight with Lois.

Allrighty... if you wanna play groups (someone wanted Jay & Silent Bob) that's great, if you can handle the extra talking. If you want to play two opposed characters (before I joined the game, someone was playing Riddick AND Johns, both hunting eachother), then that's also cool, if you can handle being with TWO groups in the same game.

I look forward to seeing who signs up here!

[Marinan]

Jakob Wasson
Universe: Nobilis
A war taking place between the Excrucians, who plan to erase all of reality, and the Nobles, (somewhat like angels) each entrusted with a particular force.
Powers: Warcraft- Jakob Wasson is a Noble of Warcraft. Not the real life skill, but of the franchise. As such, he has powers pertaining to that universe.
He has a power called the Gift of the Sovereign, which allows him to perform signature abilities of his domain without effort. He is has metahuman capabilities in all physical strengths, including brain capacity, and he has a special defensive ability called an auctoritas, a shield which defends against all mediocre attacks. He also has the ability to do rituals in order to absorb energy so he can do his magic.
(You mentioned no god-like beings, so I'm assuming that I cannot quite do real miracles that a Noble could do without doing something important)

Bio: Coming from Earth, Jakob Wasson is a Noble who was given superhuman power to defend against the Excrucians. Only around 17, he lives a carefree life, living happily with his girlfriend, studying, going to parties, church, etcetera. Now he has worked about a year as a Noble, a being of power entrusted with a domain of their Imperator. He thought that was strange, but now he cannot get out of THIS reality, and back to defending the universe.

[Whale Biologist]

Uhm.... the hell? That's not even slightly close to what I was hoping for. That's a character I can't find online from an obscure game Universe, and as such, it's likely no-one will know the slightest thing about him. Characters are supposed to be pop culture... popular culture.

You can try to convince me, but it's gonna take some real convincing.

[Marinan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobilis

Nobilis is a role-playing game created by R. Sean Borgstrom in which the player characters are "Sovereign Powers" called Nobilis; each Nobilis is the personification of an abstract concept or class of things such as time, death, cars or communication. Unlike most roleplaying games, Nobilis does not use dice or other random elements to determine the outcome of characters' actions, but instead uses a Karma-based system for task resolution. (See GNS Theory, Jonathan Tweet)

Contents [hide]
1 Setting
2 System
3 History
4 See also
5 References
6 External links



[edit]
Setting
Nobilis draws on many sources, including Christianity and Norse mythology, but adds numerous unique details to its setting. Though the everyday world in the game appears much like our own, it is actually only the Prosaic Earth, a lie that the world told to itself in a desperate attempt to explain suffering, and a rationalized delusion which conceals the true reality that would plunge most mortals into madness: the Mythic Earth, an animistic world where everything has its own sentient spirit. In the Mythic, the earth is really flat, and hangs somewhere among the vast boughs of the "world-tree," Yggdrasil. Countless worlds dot the branches of this world-tree, but at the top is Heaven, which is inaccessible to all but the angels (only one human soul in a billion is not turned away) and is the source of all beauty. Beneath the earth, in the roots of Yggdrasil, is Hell, the source of all corruption. Around Yggdrasil, except above heaven (where it is open to the stars), is a mystical impenetrable curtain of blue flames known as the Weirding Wall.

Every class of objects and every concept is represented by a being of god-like power known as an Imperator. Each Imperator may govern from one to several of these Estates, and has effectively limitless control over them. The Imperators are engaged in a deadly struggle with the Excrucians, terrible beings from outside the Weirding Wall who wish to destroy reality; this struggle is known as the Valde Bellum. This war keeps Imperators busy in the Spirit World, so in order to maintain their affairs on Earth and in the other worlds they invest a shard of their soul in a human (or occasionally another animal or object), creating a Nobilis. Each Nobilis represents one of the Imperator's Estates; the group of Nobilis this forms, known as a Familia Caelestis, is typically loyal, both to each other and their Imperator.

The Imperator Lord Entropy oversees the actions of the Nobilis and enforces the Code Fidelitatis, the five laws he has established for them, in his Locust Court. The most notable and notorious of these, and the one most often broken, is the Windflower Law which states that no Noble is allowed to love another being. Ironically, Nobilis can turn other humans into Anchors, whose every action they can control, but in order to do this they must first love or hate the person.

To protect their physical forms from the ravages of the Valde Bellum, Imperators take a part of reality and partition it off into a self-contained, unique world which can take any form. This world, called a Chancel, both houses their physical bodies and is a spiritual reflection of it. Much like in the myth of the Fisher King, if the Imperator suffers, so does their Chancel.

Flowers have great significance to the Nobilis and their Imperators; earthly flowers are reflections of their heavenly counterparts and each has a meaning. For example, the gamemaster is known as the Hollyhock God because, in the world of Nobilis, hollyhocks represent vanity and ambition. This is because, according to the in-game story, the angels used flowers as a tool to control and direct the brunt of their powers when they created Reality. Each Nobilis and Imperator has a flower that represents them, and flowers are often used in their magical rites.

[edit]
System

The cover to The Game of Powers, which provides live action role-playing rules for the game. The cover depicts a sculpture by Maurice BouvalUnlike most role-playing game systems, Nobilis does not use random elements in determining success in characters' actions. Instead, Nobilis uses a resource management system; players may spend Miracle Points to succeed at certain actions, but otherwise they rarely fail at what they set out to do. Instead of the action centering on whether or not the characters succeed, the emphasis is instead on the consequences of those actions. Since combat between Nobilis uses up Miracle Points very quickly and a Nobilis can easily defeat even great numbers of humans, social roleplaying is encouraged over combat. Though the characters may seem to have limitless power, in reality they must take into consideration both the outcome of every act and what other Powers or Imperators they may offend in the process.

Each character has 4 attributes: Aspect, which governs their ability to perform superhuman physical and mental acts; Domain, which covers their power over their estate; Realm, which determines how much power they have in their Chancel; and Spirit, which describes how much magical power the Nobilis has. Spirit creates the Auctoritas, a shield that protects them from the Miracles of other Powers. A character's Spirit also determines how many Anchors they may have. Each attribute has a number of Miracle Points associated with it.

The character creation system also makes Nobilis notable by giving players an unusual amount of control over the setting. In addition to creating their own characters -- a process which already allows for considerable customization -- the players create their Imperator and Chancel. Players receive a number of points to invest in their Chancel equal to the total amount they spent on their characters' Realm; they may use these to buy special attributes for their Chancel such as special technology or magical inhabitants. They do not receive any points for their Imperator, so they must take a corresponding drawback for every special attribute they wish their Imperator to have. Each Nobilis also has an Affiliation, which is a moral code they follow in order to regain Miracle Points, as well as character flaws called Limits and Restrictions. Much like their Affiliation, these allow the character to regain Miracle Points when they become an inconvenience.

[edit]
History
Nobilis has had many publishers. The first edition was printed on demand by Pharos Press in 1999. In 2002 Hogshead Publishing printed the second edition. When Hogshead Publishing shut down in 2003, the rights to the book returned to Borgstrom, but arrangements were made with Guardians of Order to publish the second edition.

The second edition is a coffee table-style book with a ribbon bookmark; it is called the "Great White Book" by Nobilis fans. Full-page black and white art was commissioned for this book; Borgstrom's flash fiction, set in the game world, fills its large margins. This edition won the Origins Award for Best Graphic Presentation Book Format Product 2002 and the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming. A single sourcebook was published, The Game of Powers, which provides rules for live action role-playing. Attempts to publish a second sourcebook, to be entitled A Society of Flowers, were unsuccessful.

Guardians of Order ceased operations in 2006, with an announcement that they would attempt to find other publishers for their games.

[Whale Biologist]

Abstract god-like beings with ill-defined abilities from an obscure role-playing system probably aren't allowed... sorry.

[Marinan]

Eh. Hmm....Nnnnkay.

Dhoul Magus

Universe: Dragon Quest VIII

Description/Bio: A follower of the god of darkness Rhapthorne, enemy to the Goddess, Dhoul Magus had the power to ressurect the dark god singlehandedly. Evil, cunning, and vile, Dhoul Magus is a murderer, and a cruel monster. Rhapthorne's followers and priests had become evil spirits after they died, waiting for centuries in the Dark Tower in order they may serve Rhapthorne again. Dhoul Magus transformed an entire kingdom into a jungle like mass of thornes and monstronsities, transforming the princess into a horse and the king into a toad like, trollish creature.

Powers:

Dhoul Magus has the power to split into three instead of one target. He also has the power to command lightning bolts, bursts ice, explosions, sleeping gas, and healing spells. He isn't a stereo typicaly wimp mage either, as he is strong enough to kill and stab with his blunt staff through armor. He also has the power to curse his enemies by trapping them in eternal torment with wickedly sharp barbed vines. His second form, that of a demon, has fiery breath, can fly, breathe very strong ice, and heal. He also has much greater strength.

Before you say he's too powerful...erm...He's weaker than Superman..lol.

[Whale Biologist]

Oi.... *shakes his head*

I don't think you fully understand the goal of this game. Perhaps we'll wait for a few other people to sign up, and you can get a feel for it.

[Inbred Chocobo]

Character(s) To Be Played: Bender!
Show / Movie / Game They Are From: Futurama
Specific Episode (if necessary): Like hell I will tell you.

Thats pretty straight forward. Here is hoping I don't butcher him.

[Ryanderman]

I'd like to try to sign up to play Dr. House from... House.

Thing is I've never done RP before; I wouldn't be trying to join this game except the chance to try to play Dr. House and come up with clever insults at all the other characters is too good to pass up. I can be a pretty decent writer when I put my mind to it... at least, that what my professors say. I understand if you don't want a completely new player in your game though.

[Whale Biologist]

Completely new players? Always give them a chance.

Playing my all-time favorite god-damn character from a FOX TV show, when I am one of the forum regs on the House forum at TWOP? Oh, HELLS yes, you are so welcome to give that a shot! :)

And yay, Bender!

[Marinan]

Whale, do y0u have any idea what Dragon Quest VIII is?

[Whale Biologist]

Yes, it's a video game that I never played, and you wish to play a nigh-invulnerable massively-powerful demonic character with little to no personality or dialogue to draw upon. Against characters like Dr House, and Jay & SIlent Bob, you realize that you would have absolutely zero to do?

[Ryanderman]

Yah... Marinan? This is supposed to be a personailty drive game. It's not about magic abilities, or fighting prowess. It's about characters. Sure Dr. House can't slay a dragon or destroy the universe, but he can fling sharp comebacks with ease, and utilize his Holmesian observational skills figure people out and solve mysteries. Can your Dragon Quest character or demi-god do that?
In a game that's mostly composed of character interaction, the ability to shoot lightning bolts is irrelavent. Yes it can come in handy at some point, but fighting ability and magical powers are not the primary focus of this game. Superman might be a good character to play, not because of his strength or heat vision, but because he is also Clark Kent.
You need to pick a character based on their personailty, not their powers. Pick a character that everyone knows. Stop trying to draw upon obscure RP's or video games. Here are a few suggestions:
Worf, Han Solo, Aragorn, Adrian Monk, Buffy Summers, Samuel Vimes (now I think I may want to switch characters), Arthur Dent, Kaylee Frye, etc.


*For the record, I'll stick with House, though Vimes is tempting

[Whale Biologist]

Since I'm playing, now I wanna play Vimes. I just read Fifth Elephant and Jingo back to back (for, like, the ninth times each) and I got mad at Terry Pratchett for being a better writer than me. GRR!

Nah, I won't be Vimes... I'm going to let my character be a surprise. :) Mwahahahhahaha!

Also, thank you for summing up the bent of the game better than I was doing...

[Marinan]

Alright. How about Frasier Crane?

[Whale Biologist]

Interesting choice... :) He can get snippy with House.

[Marinan]

He'd lose. But He'd lose with that Frasier cool...

[Marinan]

Just for the record, whoever considers the Dragon Quest franchise obscure by this point deserves to be slapped upside the back of the head.

[+1 Name]

Character(s) To Be Played: Rincewind
Show / Movie / Game They Are From: Discworld
Specific Episode (if necessary): The Color of Magic

[Demonlink2]

Character(s) To Be Played: Megaman.EXE
Show / Movie / Game They Are From: Megaman Battle Network
Specific Episode (if necessary): MMBN 1-6

[Ryanderman]

Just for the record, whoever considers the Dragon Quest franchise obscure by this point deserves to be slapped upside the back of the head.
I apologize then. I was referring mostly to the RP, though I've personally never heard of the game till now.

[Marinan]

K. Maybe I overreacted a bit.

[Whale Biologist]

I might have to look that one up... MegaMan has personality, but I left off in the SNES days... :)

[Bailey]

Forum Name: Newb
Character(s) To Be Played: Announcer Man
Show / Movie / Game They Are From: Lots of stuff. You've heard those dramatic announcements in things, right? That's Announcer Man.


I am Announcer Man! WITH THE POWER TO ANNOUNCE!

[Whale Biologist]

... Interesting. Not sure how JJ Mackay would fit into this game, he doesn't really DO anything... but he sure sounds good doing it.

[Bailey]

Okay, so maybe I should flesh out the Announcer Man persona before using him.

Lessee...

Alright, Announcer Man has to know what he's announcing somehow, right? So he has the power to see, say, five seconds into the future, and read surface thoughts. He also can talk loud enough for everybody in the city to hear him, because otherwise they wouldn't hear what he was announcing.

He also announces everything he does as he does it. This can get fairly rediculous when he's trying to sneak around.

And I'll give him a catchphrase too!

"Announcer Man knows only small amounts of fear!"

[Tarrin]

I would like Jay & Silent Bob, Being able to play two characters and only have one that talks (well most of the time anyway) shouldn't be too hard.

I'll be looking at Mallrats era, As Silent Bob Was more of a gadget man then as opposed to later movies.


I will probly tone down Jay's colourful language a bit for the Rp so as not to upset other players.

[Whale Biologist]

Well, allrighty then. It was worth a shot. I think we need more people...