Too Quiet Around Here: A Selection Thread

[Teal Mage]

Like the title says, the RP forum seems a little too quiet lately. So! I've decided to fix that with my NPF GMing début. Most of the people who hang out in this subforum probably recognize my name, so I'm hardly new to this RPing thing - I've also helped other GMs out periodically with their games (not to mention running my own, somewhere else) so I know what I'm getting into.

That said, I can't decide what to run! But I've narrowed the selection field to three options; might as well let the players make the final call on what game gets played, right?

Of course I'm right.

Now then, without further introduction!

Soul Reaper Academy or Magical Teacher Professor Landry! In a High-School drama-style RP, Players will find themselves as students in a prestigious school for the gifted, under the possibly unprofessional eye of Rebecca Landry, Professor of Love and Fightiology! Originally constructed as a Bleach RP, where players learn how to use their respective powers in the Soul Reaper Academy, the setting would be so heavily modified players may be more interested in ditching the Bleach idea altogether. In which case, the RP becomes something of a giant crossover, featuring all kinds of supernatural creatures, ghosts, vampires, ninja and mages! If you'd like to play this, please vote for one of the two settings.

Although I've already said it, I've been advised to stress something about the Bleach setting. It is not the same as the Manga. If you don't think you can deal with heavy setting liberties, don't select it. Things will be different! For instance, all players will be alive.

And that's just the starting point.

For people who don't know anything about Bleach, the gist of it is: People with magic (and transforming) swords fighting other people with magic swords. There's other kinds of fighters too, like summoners and laser firing archers, not to mention the varying degrees of mutants, shapeshifters and mages - but a surprising amount of them have magic swords for some reason.

Comparatively speaking, the differences between Soul Reaper Academy and Magical Teacher Professor Landry would probably best be summed up by saying that the former is more structured than the later, and Professor Landry's role would be less in Soul Reaper Academy. On the other hand, characters will have the ability to be more diverse in Magical Teacher Professor Landry (as in, less transforming magic swords) and the setting will be more light-hearted too.

But I've spent enough time on those two options. If people are still interested but have questions, feel free to ask.

Now, for something entirely more serious!

Fields of Ash, a High Fantasy set in the magical country of Theolisa. This setting contains a fairly complicated and well established constructed world, complete with its own magic system, history, religions and a fairly wide array of NPCs. It'll be complicated, so expect to do a lot of reading in the set up. Players will start as servants or visitors in the Manor of Lady Katleen Elistar, who (depending on who you ask) is either the one who single handily ended the war thirty years ago, or, a ruthless and ambitious villain who used the war to become one of the most powerful figures in the country.

Whichever camp you belong to, she's paying your bills - or at least putting a roof over your head - so it might be best if you act civil.

But, that might be the least of your problems. The war may be over, but the country remains greatly diminished by the losses it suffered during it, and the plague that followed. Things are fragile. And, needless to say, ambitious forces in the country are more than willing to seize this opportunity to achieve their own goals - whatever they may be.

In other words, you'll be starting out as people without much power or influence, and will have to build it up as you progress through the game. Since the setting's High Fantasy, it means that magic'll be a big part and technology...not so much. Otherwise, if it has magic in it, there's a good chance it'll work in this setting. Players won't need to be mages of course, but, it'll be pretty difficult to get through this game without using any magic whatsoever; that stuff's pretty pervasive! Anything remotely superhuman uses some sort of magic as fuel, but it doesn't always look magical at first glance.

You'll get a better idea of what I mean if you play it. Or you could ask questions in this thread, that's fine too.


So, there you have it. Not as many choices as Toastburner usually offers in his interest threads, but these are probably my best ideas, in terms of development and balance at least.

Did I mention I intend to do everything in my power to finish an RP on the NPF? Because I do.

Anyway, thanks for your time and have fun voting!

[Wizardcat]

Teal says votes that aren't posted don't count.

Vote: Fields of Ash

THERE ARE YOU SATISFIED NOW TEAL :crossarms:

[Overcast]

Ever since Eclipse Phase complication seems to equal fun so give me a bit of that.

Vote: Fields of Ash

[SinrXIII]

Vote:Magical Teacher Professor Landry.

Cause damn that sounds funny. Long silly name is long and silly.

I like it.

[Menarker]

I'm fine with either Fields of Ash or Magical Teacher Professor Landry. Not so much on the Bleach one though.

[DanteFalcon]

I'm fine with either Fields of Ash or Magical Teacher Professor Landry. Not so much on the Bleach one though.

My thoughts exactly

[Krylo]

I'd probably play whatever, with a slight anti-preference for the Bleach one 'cause despite thinking the setting would be pretty cool if it weren't for Kubo writing it, I can't divorce the setting from the characters and writing in my mind, and ugh.

[Arhra]

Wherever in the universe this will be going, I am there.

[Arcanum]

I'll throw my vote in for Fields of Ash.

[CABAL49]

No love for Bleach? Come one! Think of all the back up plans we could pull out of our ass! Vote for Bleach!

[Menarker]

@Cabal: Well, with 3 people directly saying they don't care what they want as long as it is not Bleach (in a row for that matter) and everyone else listing specifically one of two choices that is NOT Bleach, I'm pretty sure that unless there is a huge surge of Bleach lovers, that choice is dead.

Also the current winner seems to be Fields of Ash, since everyone except SinrXIII who chosen a specific RP chosen that one. And the ones who didn't choose a specific ones don't mind it either.

[krogothwolf]

Field of Ash or Magical Highschool Bleach works for me!

[dementedmongoose]

Fields of Ash, por favor. Seems like a load of fun.

[CABAL49]

@Cabal: Well, with 3 people directly saying they don't care what they want as long as it is not Bleach (in a row for that matter) and everyone else listing specifically one of two choices that is NOT Bleach, I'm pretty sure that unless there is a huge surge of Bleach lovers, that choice is dead.


I am just thinking Bleach could be the funniest RP ever. Think about it.

[Teal Mage]

Also the current winner seems to be Fields of Ash, since everyone except SinrXIII who chosen a specific RP chosen that one. And the ones who didn't choose a specific ones don't mind it either.

For people without a preference between Fields of Ash and Magical Teacher Professor Landry, would it matter if I said that Fields of Ash is likely to be the longer of the two? Not sure how much longer exactly, but I expect it have a substantial run time.

I'd probably play whatever, with a slight anti-preference for the Bleach one 'cause despite thinking the setting would be pretty cool if it weren't for Kubo writing it, I can't divorce the setting from the characters and writing in my mind, and ugh.

Was the reason I decided to try and use it! But it doesn't surprise me that people aren't all that crazy about playing it - the source material isn't exactly the best.

I said it would be different from the Manga for a reason, though I can't blame anyone for being leery of the thing.

I am just thinking Bleach could be the funniest RP ever. Think about it.

Sorry to burst your bubble Cabal, but there's a good chance it wouldn't be like whatever you're thinking. The setting would be different from the Manga! And more balanced. Yes, a lot more balanced.

'course, if you weren't thinking that, then I have no idea what you were thinking.

Oh, and I'm still going to leave this thread open for a while - something unexpected might happen!

[Krylo]

For people without a preference between Fields of Ash and Magical Teacher Professor Landry, would it matter if I said that Fields of Ash is likely to be the longer of the two? Not sure how much longer exactly, but I expect it have a substantial run time.Nah. I suspect they'll both die before they're done anyway.

That's the NPF RP forums for yah!



Was the reason I decided to try and use it! But it doesn't surprise me that people aren't all that crazy about playing it - the source material isn't exactly the best.

I said it would be different from the Manga for a reason, though I can't blame anyone for being leery of the thing.S'Why I said slight anti-preference. I realize it'd be different, and I'd still sign up and play it, I'd just be a bit more leery about it than the other two that aren't including shinigami.

[Menarker]

Length isn't an issue, since I'm currently playing an RP that is still ongoing since February and loving it. ^^

Also, I'd be willing to take a look either way regardless of the setting. It'd take a fair bit of improvements to make me consider Bleach though, as prejudiced as I am given how much I fallen out of favor with it. The anime/manga had an interesting setting on the afterlife, their particular magic system "Kido" and the chain of command and how society was structured and such. But most of it was set aside for Bankais, Captains and spamming the same techniques over and over, and how Reiastsu (another name for ki, chakra or spiritual energy) could be used as anything from empowering your weapons to having broken level of endurance (Kenpachi). Doesn't help that practically none of the mortals ever think of asking specific questions about the afterlife.

Anyhow, the only characters classes that were explained in much details were the Shingami and the Quincy to a lesser extent (unless we decide to look at anime specific stuff like the Bountos who were effectively elemental doll users). Orihime and Chad were more or less not explained as to their power's origins (aside from the fact that their exposure to the main character empowered them), so why they gained the specifics powers they did as opposed to being another shingami seemed like something that would have been great to go into details... if the series wasn't so focused on specific characters or specific powers (Like Orihime's powers which developed to the point of basically being a cop-out suitable only for a GM).

But I imagine you probably have thought of those things already. I'll take a look at whatever you present.

[Krylo]

Orihime and Chad were more or less not explained as to their power's origins (aside from the fact that their exposure to the main character empowered them), so why they gained the specifics powers they did as opposed to being another shingami seemed like something that would have been great to go into details...

I don't really like the series and it's been awhile, BUT I'm pretty sure I remember this being explained as Orihime and Chad having had high spiritual power, and therefore were able to instinctively shape it into abilities when push came to shove. They didn't develop into shinigami or quincy or whatevers because you need training to do that.

A real world example would be asking why a street fighter developed his 'punch you in the balls style' instead of learning shaolin style kung fu after being punched in the face enough times.

Take that with a grain of salt though, 'cause like I said I haven't watched/read anything in quite awhile and my memory may be faulty.

[Teal Mage]

Nah. I suspect they'll both die before they're done anyway.

As the GM, I must be optimistic! It could happen!

Besides, I've noticed a lot of RPs die around here because GMs vanish or lose interest. If nothing else, I'll do everything I can to make sure that I stick around until things end; wouldn't make sense if the GM stopped suddenly, no?

Of course it doesn't.

Anyway, might as well talk a bit about the Bleach version - I feel a little bad about how little interest there seems to be in it! Like a tiny puppy left out in a snowstorm. So sad! Maybe some people will change their minds about it with a little more information.

Not that I particularly care, mind you. I like all three games enough that I couldn't decide which to play.

The anime/manga had an interesting setting on the afterlife, their particular magic system "Kido" and the chain of command and how society was structured and such.

I would have liked to stick closer to Bleach's original setting, but there were a lot of limitations that I didn't like that kept coming up, so I had to adapt the game pretty heavily. For instance, setting it mainly in the human world limits enemies mainly to Quincies and Hollows. While setting it in the Soul Society would make it difficult for players to be non-dead things. There are ways to work around those limitations of course, but it made more sense to just change it completely instead of looking for loopholes. The High School for all races gets around a lot of the problems, so, that's why I settled on it.

Plus, you know, the Soul Society's just weird. Everyone on earth spends eternity in feudal Japan when they die? Really?

But most of it was set aside for Bankais, Captains and spamming the same techniques over and over, and how Reiastsu (another name for ki, chakra or spiritual energy) could be used as anything from empowering your weapons to having broken level of endurance (Kenpachi).

Balance was one of the places I put a lot of thought into, especially since Bankai, Flash Step and certain aspects of Spirit Energy control were entirely broken (your example of Kenpachi works well). Not to mention other things were either underpowered (pretty much everything without Bankai) compared to Soul Reapers or under used (like Kido) so I thought about ways to even the playing field. Making Bankai something that players would need to work hard to earn, finding race specific alternatives to Bankai, allowing for custom Kido and limiting the number of times Reiastsu manipulation or Flash Step could be used were some solutions I came up with to the problems.

I'd go into more detail, but then I'd need to explain the system I'd be using for that game's bios and that would be a lot of text that people might not be all that interested in reading.

I don't really like the series and it's been awhile, BUT I'm pretty sure I remember this being explained as Orihime and Chad having had high spiritual power, and therefore were able to instinctively shape it into abilities when push came to shove. They didn't develop into shinigami or quincy or whatevers because you need training to do that.

Unfortunately, Kubo's changed his explanation at least once (I prefer yours honestly). Now, they got their powers because they wished on Aizen's magical McGuffin Orb.

For the RP's purposes of course, the explanation you put down would be the one I'd use for Humans with Spiritual Powers. Like Menarker said, Kubo's left a lot of information about the non-Soul Reaper races out of canon, so I almost have to deviate from the canon, or leave (what I see as) glaring plot holes in character creation.

Oh, and yeah, I'd leave the Bount(o)s in. I just like 'em. Probably include Mod Souls too - if I can find a way to keep them balanced that is.

Anyway, information about the least popular RP! Isn't it great!? :dance:

[Astral Harmony]

I vote for the Magical Teacher Professor Landry, mainly because it allows for a much larger freedom for character creation than the other two.

Failing that, I'd be up for Fields of Ash, though I'm hesitant to actually do that. As you know, I am the GM for Pokemon Umbral which has been notorious for taking a good deal of time. I'll just have to look at it once you post it and see if I could keep up.

As for the Bleach one, I just couldn't. I'm not a fan and I know less than dick about it.

[Magic_Marker]

I can't be the only person who read that as "A Seduction Thread,"

Someone back me up.

[Menarker]

I'm changing my vote for Magical Teacher Professor Landry, for much the same reason as AB put it.

[Teal Mage]

Well, seeing as no new votes have come in recently, now seems a good time to announce the winner!

After going through a painstakingly complicated and entirely mysterious decision-making process, I hereby decree that Magical Teacher Professor Landry! has enough support to win. It really was very close though! If it wasn't for a handful of well timed betrayals, Professor Landry probably would have been incinerated.

Which just goes to show you that there's nothing wrong with flip-flopping.

Anyway, I've been working on Professor Landry's Set-Up for the last few days, but it isn't finished yet. I'm sure it'll be up sometime this week, so watch for it. Making good Sign-Ups is hard!

In the meantime, I'd recommend that players interested in the game add me to their preferred IM service. Lets me answer questions about the RP quickly and keep track of my players, among other things, which is good for keeping a game going at a reasonable pace. You don't need to, of course, but that's what I'd advise.

Anyway, I'll either post in this thread or PM the people who've said they're interested in Professor Landry when it's done. That is all.

[Overcast]

Already got you there, course this means I have to start regularly checking that thing now. Curses.

[Astral Harmony]

*cue Final Fantasy victory theme*

[Teal Mage]

Man, I hadn't meant to stay up so late to finish this.

Anyway, after many days of waiting, the game (almost) begins! (http://www.nuklearforums.com/showthread.php?t=38409)

Be happy and get your reading glasses.

Funny how I said it was less complicated than Fields of Ash. >> <<