Post by dorkknight23 on Jan 2, 2010 22:12:29 GMT -5
There is not just one reality. There are an infinite number of alternate universes, some of them would be familiar to us as the worlds of fictional characters: the Marvel Universe, Hyrule, Cimmeria, the galaxy of Star Wars, so on, so forth, etc. Each bound by its own rules and laws, each inhabited by its own heroes, and its own villains.
This is a story of five heroes unhinged from reality linked by the mystical Tallus, and passing through the Siege Perilous, becoming the dream, becoming stories, passing from world to world, trying to defeat the Great Darkness that lingers between worlds and threatens to consume them all. As they travel from world to world, they learn more and more tricks, techniques, or skills that help them against larger and larger forces.
Some different strategies for character development that seemed immediately apparent to me (these are just examples, and there’s definitely some potential bleeding between these strategies, besides it gives me a chance for some tone samples and some ideas of what kind of stuff to expect…) :
The Bricoleur
The tiny red plumber moves with agility belying his portliness and strong jumping legs. He pulls out an orange flower from his pocket and a blast of flame burns a nearby troll. The ogre mage leading the gang is surprised, “Your magic items may be mighty, outworlder, but I am magic.” With that he vanishes. Invisibility was a trick Mario was familiar with, and he drops the infrared goggles over his eyes and watches the Ogre’s heat signature. In one swift motion he grabs a capsule from his pouch and breaks it open. Breathing in the mist, he begins to grow.
”Pym particles,” he scoffs, as he body swells to a gigantic size, dwarfing even the ogre mage. “It’s-a-me…bitch,” as he roundhouse kicks the ogre in the face.
The Briocoleur borrows what he can and takes a little bit of everything around him to. He’s sort of a generalist, grabbing bits and pieces of the different worlds, but still retaining a good deal of his original ‘flavor.’ He might have a few favored “trinkets” from the worlds the group visits, or a “trick” or two (or seven) he picked up, but in any event, he’s taken what he’s found and made it his.
The Hammerer
”If the magic isn’t happening that just means the rules are different,” Hermione says as she whips open her Computer Book. “Let’s see, where are we again? Earth-616, right? Hmm, hmmm…” Her friends hopefully provide the cover fire she needs as, “Got it. Okay… I summon the Crimson Bands of Cytorrak!”
When all you have is a hammer everything starts to look like a nail. So says the Hammerer, who relies on using his own skill according to the different rules of different universes. Be it magic, superscience, psychic powers, whatever, the Hammerer learns the differing rules or techniques, adapting to the situation at hand, but always trying to find a way to use his one particular skill advantageously.
The Purist
”Zombies, somehow I knew it would be zombies,” Deadpool opens fire. “Hot lead! There’s no problem that it can’t solve! Except maybe running out of ammo. But that’s what swords are for!”
“Good, bad, I’m the guy with the gun. Hey, 20 bucks if any of you clowns actually know who said that. Besides me, of course.”
The Purist is a character who, no matter what worlds he visits, is still fundamentally the same character. They might just see their own strategy as working, regardless of what new alternatives come their way or they might just not be able to grasp other systems as working.
The Reborn
Simon’s core drill buzzes against his chest even as he holds his Green Lantern ring out on his outstretched hand. The Decepticons are unfazed. “Slag this little boy,” Starscream hisses.
“Boy?! Boy? It is my destiny as a Spiral Warrior to defeat the forces that will keep me from drilling my path to my own destiny! Just who the hell do you think I am?!”
A glowing green mech manifests around him as he screams loudly, drills popping out everywhere. Starscream is quickly reconsidering his statement.
The Reborn is a character who has taken the next logical step and acquired some superpower that would seem unfeasible in his native reality, and integrated it with his overall strategy. Be it Jedi training, a Green Lantern ring, or something else that would be particular to one world (and not the one the hero belonged to previously,) they have taken it and run with it.
CHARACTER CREATION:
MURPG 2.0 rules, using my Retread rules over on the Core. (I’ll help with the stats.) Stone counts, however, aren’t going to be fixed, but there’s going to be a system in place to encourage lower-power characters (at first.) Characters built over 40 stones (+challenges) will receive a net loss of 1 line of experience per 5 stones over the limit (rounded up) until they hit a flat rate of 1/Issue. Getting significant power-ups in game would also cause a drop in experience. Characters under 40 stones will be able to improve quicker, as I’ll use those leftover stones towards that end, mitigating potential gains.
Any pre-existing fictional character is fair game, although I’d prefer heroic or anti-heroic characters, and a wide variety of sources. You can also build your character from a certain period in their lifetime if you want to make them more feasible (for example, Son Goku from Dragonball Z would probably be a 100+ stone character at his peak, but if plucked from a certain point in the story his powers would probably be significantly lower [say, at his first “death” in the beginning of the Vegeta Saga, for example.])
Questions/comments/ideas/mocking? I’m game for ‘em!
This is a story of five heroes unhinged from reality linked by the mystical Tallus, and passing through the Siege Perilous, becoming the dream, becoming stories, passing from world to world, trying to defeat the Great Darkness that lingers between worlds and threatens to consume them all. As they travel from world to world, they learn more and more tricks, techniques, or skills that help them against larger and larger forces.
Some different strategies for character development that seemed immediately apparent to me (these are just examples, and there’s definitely some potential bleeding between these strategies, besides it gives me a chance for some tone samples and some ideas of what kind of stuff to expect…) :
The Bricoleur
The tiny red plumber moves with agility belying his portliness and strong jumping legs. He pulls out an orange flower from his pocket and a blast of flame burns a nearby troll. The ogre mage leading the gang is surprised, “Your magic items may be mighty, outworlder, but I am magic.” With that he vanishes. Invisibility was a trick Mario was familiar with, and he drops the infrared goggles over his eyes and watches the Ogre’s heat signature. In one swift motion he grabs a capsule from his pouch and breaks it open. Breathing in the mist, he begins to grow.
”Pym particles,” he scoffs, as he body swells to a gigantic size, dwarfing even the ogre mage. “It’s-a-me…bitch,” as he roundhouse kicks the ogre in the face.
The Briocoleur borrows what he can and takes a little bit of everything around him to. He’s sort of a generalist, grabbing bits and pieces of the different worlds, but still retaining a good deal of his original ‘flavor.’ He might have a few favored “trinkets” from the worlds the group visits, or a “trick” or two (or seven) he picked up, but in any event, he’s taken what he’s found and made it his.
The Hammerer
”If the magic isn’t happening that just means the rules are different,” Hermione says as she whips open her Computer Book. “Let’s see, where are we again? Earth-616, right? Hmm, hmmm…” Her friends hopefully provide the cover fire she needs as, “Got it. Okay… I summon the Crimson Bands of Cytorrak!”
When all you have is a hammer everything starts to look like a nail. So says the Hammerer, who relies on using his own skill according to the different rules of different universes. Be it magic, superscience, psychic powers, whatever, the Hammerer learns the differing rules or techniques, adapting to the situation at hand, but always trying to find a way to use his one particular skill advantageously.
The Purist
”Zombies, somehow I knew it would be zombies,” Deadpool opens fire. “Hot lead! There’s no problem that it can’t solve! Except maybe running out of ammo. But that’s what swords are for!”
“Good, bad, I’m the guy with the gun. Hey, 20 bucks if any of you clowns actually know who said that. Besides me, of course.”
The Purist is a character who, no matter what worlds he visits, is still fundamentally the same character. They might just see their own strategy as working, regardless of what new alternatives come their way or they might just not be able to grasp other systems as working.
The Reborn
Simon’s core drill buzzes against his chest even as he holds his Green Lantern ring out on his outstretched hand. The Decepticons are unfazed. “Slag this little boy,” Starscream hisses.
“Boy?! Boy? It is my destiny as a Spiral Warrior to defeat the forces that will keep me from drilling my path to my own destiny! Just who the hell do you think I am?!”
A glowing green mech manifests around him as he screams loudly, drills popping out everywhere. Starscream is quickly reconsidering his statement.
The Reborn is a character who has taken the next logical step and acquired some superpower that would seem unfeasible in his native reality, and integrated it with his overall strategy. Be it Jedi training, a Green Lantern ring, or something else that would be particular to one world (and not the one the hero belonged to previously,) they have taken it and run with it.
CHARACTER CREATION:
MURPG 2.0 rules, using my Retread rules over on the Core. (I’ll help with the stats.) Stone counts, however, aren’t going to be fixed, but there’s going to be a system in place to encourage lower-power characters (at first.) Characters built over 40 stones (+challenges) will receive a net loss of 1 line of experience per 5 stones over the limit (rounded up) until they hit a flat rate of 1/Issue. Getting significant power-ups in game would also cause a drop in experience. Characters under 40 stones will be able to improve quicker, as I’ll use those leftover stones towards that end, mitigating potential gains.
Any pre-existing fictional character is fair game, although I’d prefer heroic or anti-heroic characters, and a wide variety of sources. You can also build your character from a certain period in their lifetime if you want to make them more feasible (for example, Son Goku from Dragonball Z would probably be a 100+ stone character at his peak, but if plucked from a certain point in the story his powers would probably be significantly lower [say, at his first “death” in the beginning of the Vegeta Saga, for example.])
Questions/comments/ideas/mocking? I’m game for ‘em!