Phantom of the Black Parade
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Post by Kuroya on Jul 6, 2015 15:27:14 GMT -8
As you can see from my signature, I'm doing some work for an original noncanon DanMachi site. For those of you unfamiliar with exactly what that is... DanMachi is the short name for Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, which finished up its first season a week or two ago. It was actually a fairly good series, and I really enjoyed it while I was watching it. And I really loved the idea, so... I started working on Familia Myth.
For those who are entirely unfamiliar with the series, the background of the site is that you make a contract with a god or goddess no, not like that PMMM fans to form a "familia", which functions much like a guild. The people in these familias, known as adventurers, venture into the Dungeon to gather the magic stones dropped by monsters when they die. As you go up in your stats and gain new skills and spells, you're able to take on stronger monsters, and you "level up" by defeating a powerful monster during an adventure. So yeah, as you might imagine, it's very MMO-esque, but in actuality, there's no MMO or anything, it's just your standard high fantasy with the traditional races of elf, dwarf (prum), catpeople (chienthrope), and humans - along with the gods and goddesses, of course.
I got some stuff together for the site lore-wise, but I'm still working with it (particularly when it comes to the skills and magic, I am not amazing with systems). I'll put them out below once I have them more nailed down, but for the moment, I'm mostly looking for some feedback from people who have and have not heard of the series. Here's the rest of the short stuff for it.
- No complex stat or battle systems. There's going to be levels for the players, yes, and I might tier the skills and spells so they grow with you, but that's as far as it goes. No stats, no HP, just freeform. - As fitting the canon, leveling and tiering would be really simple. It's a simple level one to five, tier f to s. You can buy the upgrades and more skills and magic as you want as well. - PvP allowed provided things don't get nasty. The greater focus is gonna be on more building and growing with the site, taking on some of the twists and turns of the dungeon, and interacting with people. - Gods and goddesses are playable. As with the canon, gender will not be required to remain the same and the gods will have no powers. They name one "domain" they have in myth, but they can't control it. - Rules will be nice, common sense type. Death will be allowed only with permission given, though if you do something stupid, there will be consequences. - The Guild will give out quests, like they do in canon. It'll be a lot of kill x amount of monsters or take out xyz powerful monster for the most part, but players can also submit quests for use. All will be repeatable. - I'm leaning very very heavily towards Jcink. I want the subaccounts function, and the fact that I can't get complicated with the systems is one more reason why I like it. Add to that the fact Jcink has in the works a tagging system and I'm ready to do the thing. Also I have the URL and that's important.
So yes. If you have experience with systems and wouldn't mind helping out or a mind to help staff or skin or even just want to help me bounce ideas or express interest to help me get things in order, feel free to hit me up, yeah?
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Phantom of the Black Parade
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Post by Kuroya on Jul 6, 2015 15:27:34 GMT -8
Here's the basic, core type lore such as the plot (or premise in this case), the species, and the roles.
Premise:
No one is quite sure where the Dungeon came from. Some say it was created by the elves, the true elves, searching for a relief from the tedium of their endless lives. Others say it was a product of the gods' folly, something they had created and failed to maintain until it had grown beyond even them. A few even whisper that it was first created on the whim of a goddess whose name has long since been forgotten after her attempt to destroy the mortals.
What is known is that the danger posed by the Dungeon threatens everyone.
It is of little surprise that the divinities who had left Heaven seeking excitement, the hardships and inconveniences of life in the lower realms, could not long sit by as monsters from the Dungeon ravaged their children. Although they themselves could not do anything, having cast aside their divinity in order to enter the lower realms, they could give their children the weapons they needed in order to fight back. And so it was that the first Blessing of the Gods was bestowed upon the first adventurer. The adventurers would go into the Dungeon, bearing their stats on their backs and their weapons at their fingertips as they used every skill and spell they could muster in order to push back the horde. Some died. Some didn't. But something began to change.
The gods and goddesses had grown closer with the adventurers that they would take in and update, learning the skills and spells alongside their mortal children. A bond was formed, one stronger than simply a divinity and a worshipper. They had become familia, a bond that would endure between the two as long as they both drew breath. As time went on, gods and goddesses rose and fell with their familias, their names slowly forgotten as the divinity faded from the world, but their sacrifices lived on. They had pushed the monsters back, maintaining the peace of the world, and slowly becoming an adventurer did not mean a death sentence. The monsters would spawn at rates that allowed for growth instead of slaughter. The magic stones they dropped with their demise fueled the world. Familias closed off, gaining the name of the god or goddess at the core and squabbling amongst each other for power and prestige. The times of slaughter seemed so distant to the divinities, as though looking through the deepest mist.
But the time of heroes has come again to the places the Dungeon touches.
Orsino, the labyrinth city, is one such place. A bustling city organized around a large tower, it has long been the home of familias who seek to grow within the Dungeon. Boasting the best familias in the world, as well as a large organization known as the Guild to organize expeditions into the Dungeon and assist adventurers in their dealings, the city has gained quite the reputation for fostering brave adventurers. But something is changing. Even as the familias push deeper into the Dungeon than ever before - who would have dreamed the Dungeon had a fifty-fourth floor? - the monsters are not the same. They are smarter, harsher, crueler... a single miscalculation has always meant death in the Dungeon when venturing that deep, but never like this.
As if those tidings were not grim enough, the monsters on higher floors are acting almost as strangely. They are beginning to act cohesively, almost as if they are actively seeking the surface once again. Larger and more powerful monsters are increasingly being seen on higher floors, causing havoc to the less experienced adventurers, and the Guild has even begun to take notice, documenting each occurrence with growing alarm. They have not shared their concerns with the familias yet, not when the Dungeon's magic has never quite been understood and when it's proven prone to fluctuations before, but things are seeming more dire with each passing month as the monsters grow stronger and more adventurers find death within the tunnels that they had found them in during the old tales.
The a time of heroes has come again... and the time of the Familia Myth.
Races:
Divinity: The eldest of all the races, it is said that the divine beings were the ones to create the world and everything in it. A divine being is meant to live in Heaven and watch the affairs of the mortals, but seeking excitement, many descended into the human world, where they decided to remain forever alongside their children. Each divine being is the master of one aspect and one aspect only that the mortals named for them, although the humans have since added more; similarly, the divine being may not even be the same gender or share an appearance or personality to the being in myth. All divinities must give up their powers upon reaching the lower realms, live life with all of its hardships and inconveniences. A divinity adopts the appearance of one of the other four races, something they will keep until the end of their days due to their immortality and capacity to instantly heal themselves if they use their divine form.
Half-elves: Long ago, it was said, all the world was populated by a race of unnaturally beautiful men and women capable of performing extraordinary feats of magical skill. These people, the elves, were the first creations of the gods, possessing eternal life and youth. They were the original creators of the Dungeon, expending much of their magic into the core of the structure. They wished for a challenge in their endless days; however, the dungeon proved too great a risk for the other mortals of the realm, and so the gods took away their immortality and much of their magical talent, transforming them into half-elves and leaving no trace of their forebearers save for the pointed ears and proclivity towards magic.
Prum: If there were ever a race where smithing would be considered a past time, it would have to be that of the prum. Bearing a keen eye for the appraisal of valuables and an affinity for finding said valuables, it's of no surprise that most rarely develop any magical talent, instead preferring the heft and reassurance of good quality steel in their hands. Although it is whispered that it was they who originally created the structure of the Dungeon, they have long since repaid their debt for creating the shell that was animated into its current form. Prum are characterized by being shorter in stature than the other races, but don't let their size fool you - they're actually quite deadly in a fight when they have the want to be!
Chienthrope: Speculated to have arisen from elves who longed so fiercely to become one with nature that they used magic to partially transform themselves, the chienthropes often are referred to as "animal people" - and for good reason. As befitting of the term, many possess the enhanced balance and dexterity of an animal, as well as an increased sensitivity to their surroundings thanks to their enhanced hearing, sight, and smell. For this reason, they are often prized for their fighting prowess, despite that many also fall prey to the natural pheromones in the air given off by themselves and those around them. All chienthrope bear additional animal appendages, and although mammalian ears and tails are the most common, horns and wings are also not unheard of.
Human: Despite being the youngest race of the world, humans are far and away the most common. Although they're not nearly as magically gifted as the half-elves, as skilled in smithing as the prum, or as in tune with the world around them as the chienthropes, the humans do have one asset that sets them apart from the other races: adaptability. They are versatile, quick to change for better or for worse, and there is little doubt about there being a nugget of truth hidden in the rumor that the reason the divine beings first considered casting aside their divinity in no small part because of these fragile, strange, hopeful, fleeting, fascinating creatures.
Roles:
God/Goddess: As the name implies, a god or goddess is a divinity who has became a part of the lower realms. Since they are forbidden to use their powers, in order to survive - and many because they do not have the heart to watch their children suffer - they will make a pact with mortals in order to bestow upon them the Blessing of the Gods. This Blessing is what forms the core of the familia, which a god or a goddess builds up and considers his or her own family to protect. These so-called "children" of the familia protect and care for the respective god or goddess who the familia is named after; as might be imagined, the standing of a god or goddess in the world is often determined by the size and prestige of those inside of his or her familia. Gods and goddesses will occasionally take other, unattached divine beings under their protection if they need to - or do favors for one each other - and although it is common for a familia to follow the lead of its god or goddes, it is not unheard of for the gods or goddesses personally to settle a dispute between their familias.
Adventurers: An adventurer is a term designating anyone who has made a pact with a god or goddess to receive the Blessing of the Gods. This blessing is what allows them to unlock their full potential, streamlining the way to new abilities while simultaneously equipping them to withstand the trial of the Dungeon. Once the blessing has been bestowed, the adventurer is now part of that god or goddess' familia, as well as allowed - and encouraged! - to enter the Dungeon alone or in groups known as parties. The bond between an adventurer and his or her familia endures as long as they both shall live or until the blessing is revoked, typically by the god or goddess but in extreme cases by a sympathetic god or goddess using the will of the adventurer in question. All adventurers have markings upon their backs listing their level, stats, magics, and skills - this status is updated by the god or goddess using a drop of divine blood, which is how an adventurer grows in order to defeat more powerful monsters - although a god or goddess cannot actually affect this status, merely inform their adventurer of what changes have occurred.
Supporter: By tradition, a supporter is someone who has not received the Blessing of the Gods yet chooses to enter the Dungeon anyway in order to assist an adventurer, usually by carrying supplies, collecting loot, or warning of unexpected dangers; many times, the adventurer is part of a familia that the supporter is allied with in one way or another. That being said, however, a supporter is actually anyone who is not an adventurer or a divinity. Thus, all adventurers were at one point supporters, even if they did not consider themselves one. A supporter can enter the Dungeon alone if he or she chooses, but without the Blessing of the Gods or an adventurer, prolonged time in the Dungeon has always proven a death sentence. Interestingly, "weak" adventurers or those who choose to learn the art of blacksmithing or follow paths towards more of a supporting role within a party have been called a supporter as an insult, although this trend has been for the most part put to a halt thanks to the efforts of the Guild, who manages the Dungeon.
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Phantom of the Black Parade
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Post by Kuroya on Jul 6, 2015 15:27:47 GMT -8
Abilities:
Abilities will be done as either skills or magic, as befitting of the canon. These abilities are ranked from F (the lowest) to A (the highest) according to their power. Abilities will all be written with a general name and description, and then underneath will be all the things from using it that you need to include such as: effect (damage, buffs, debuffs - basically, an mmo-style listing of what would happen if you used it), cooldown (post-based and scaled), and anything else you might feel is necessary such as post duration (how long the effect is active for buffs/debuffs/ailments) or range. The name and description would remain but as you ranked up, the effects and all that would get stronger.
You would have the option of writing your own abilities or selecting one that's already been approved. All approved abilities are listed out in a thread upon approval. To keep things moving, members app abilities and biographies separately, so only adventurers get to add them in and all that. The money system would be used in order to purchase either ranks up or entirely new abilities; obviously adventurers get the ability to have one free of charge with their application, but from there, they have to purchase to up the ranks or to get new abilities. I'm not sure yet whether or not I'll be allowing other roles to also buy these as well.
Whether that does happen or not, however, supporters and gods/goddesses would be able to pool their Valis for adventurers within their familias to tap. Outside of this function, there will be no tapping of alternate accounts in order to obtain new abilities.
Levels:
Everyone would be able to level up. Yes, even supporters and gods/goddesses. Why do they have levels, you ask? Because with the Dungeon finally having some organization in the guild, they also have extended the level classification with the help of some of the other deities in the city. Levels are primarily used by adventurers in order to determine how deeply they can venture into the Dungeon and how strong they are, but supporters also make use of them in order to determine how strong they are and whether or not they might consider a change of role. Gods and goddesses also judge each other based upon their levels since a god or goddess with a higher level is generally assumed to have a larger familia.
Leveling up is something that's going to be exceedingly rare though. Leveling will go from one, at the lowest, to six as the highest. As might be imagined, it will grow increasingly harder to level up as you go higher. Further, you will not be able to tap other accounts in order to level up. With leveling up, however, you also are purchasing the chance to have a level quest, or in other words, an in-character chance to level up by "having an adventure". You can pick any existing quest you like, or create a new one, but during the course of it, you will face down something exceptionally challenging that you have to overcome. You can choose to waive this and merely take the level up, but you'll miss taking extra rewards for completing the quest.
Quests:
All quests will be repeatable. Essentially quests will be little ways to get some extra Valis and have a little fun getting parties together outside of open threads. A few of them will be done by staff, but the vast majority will be provided by the members. And the quest requirements themselves will be pretty loose. As in, you get a task to do and you have to accomplish it by hitting or surpassing a certain total word count. For example, you would have a party of two or three cleaning out a floor of hobgoblins in 1500+ words total (which goes for all of them combined, not that amount for each) or a group of two killing some rogue minotaur searching for a missing amulet in 1000+ words total.
Limit would be two quests per character at a time. The sole exception to this would be any "level quests", which are used in order to level up ICly. If you have a level quest, you cannot take another until the current level quest has gone inactive or been completed - with the preference being completed, of course. A level quest could be any average quest that you take on, you just have to do so in a manner that pits you against a foe that's stronger than you would expect to see. The level quest exception only applies if you are using it to level up, not if you are participating in someone else's.
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Phantom of the Black Parade
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Post by Kuroya on Jul 6, 2015 15:27:59 GMT -8
additional placeholder in case i need it
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Post by Mad Madisson on Jul 6, 2015 15:51:45 GMT -8
I like Jcink as well, but doesn't proboards technically have a switching account thing as well? It's just really small at the bottom right of your browser window. But yeah, you've got so much done and Jcink is looking promising. :3
I personally tend to shy away from systems cause they get way to complicated way too fast, but it's nice that you've tried to simplify this as much as possible.
I want to add more, but I gotta rush to work. I'll see if I get a chance after. Best of luck to you!
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Phantom of the Black Parade
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Post by Kuroya on Jul 6, 2015 16:00:51 GMT -8
They do, as I've learned well enough in my time with v5 since I've been dealing with it since it came out. However, Jcink's is actually much friendlier for that, and like I said, putting it on Jcink will likely force me into a KISS method rather than anything complicated.
And yeah, I usually shy away from systems too if they go beyond anything uber simple. And for the most part, the "levels" is for fluff purposes, since the canon makes a big deal out of leveling, and even the skills and spells are pretty optional given that two of the three intended roles of the site can't use them even if one of those roles can turn into the other role that can use them.
But yes, thank you for input and the wish of luck!
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Post by ★Star on Jul 6, 2015 20:09:50 GMT -8
omfg seeing this just killed my everything <3
I want to make a cute lil blacksmith so badly
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Post by Ginger on Jul 6, 2015 21:54:30 GMT -8
I would be interested, but Jcink, you guys go ahead n' have fun. I have too much real life searching anyway...
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Phantom of the Black Parade
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Post by Kuroya on Jul 7, 2015 4:13:29 GMT -8
★Star - Thank you! The show really killed all my everything, so I'm excited for it. And the way I'm working the site right now, a blacksmith can be either an adventurer or a supporter so there's gonna be so much more fun for them
Ginger - Jcink on a member's side isn't actually too different from Proboards once you know how to work with it. I could probs walk you through it on the member end of things, but I'm also probs gonna have a thread in the member lounge or something for going Proboards to Jcink to help find a few of the shortcuts it's taken me nearly three years of playing to find.
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As another note, I've put up the species, roles, and premise in my second post, so feel free to browse around that. It's not likely to change very much, to be honest, since I'm pretty confident that it's solid.
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Post by ENISHI on Jul 7, 2015 8:33:28 GMT -8
Sign me the F^UP!
I've been craving a DanMachi site for ages! Even contemplated on making my own, but stats and levels just never inspired me. I do love the idea you have here and I am very excited for it! ^_^
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Post by Ginger on Jul 7, 2015 20:18:39 GMT -8
Kuroya Alrighty, though if I get lost trying to find the pm system asking for plots, I am throwing octopuses at you.
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Phantom of the Black Parade
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Post by Kuroya on Jul 8, 2015 12:36:35 GMT -8
ENISHI - I'm glad you're excited! I'm excited for it as well, and while it's a bit slow going since I'm bad with systems and I'm trying not to put deadlines on myself, it's coming. Slowly.
Ginger - But octopi are our friends :c
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Post by Ginger on Jul 8, 2015 12:39:53 GMT -8
Ginger - But octopi are our friends :c
and they like being thrown, right George? "bloop bloop" That means yes Disclaimer: she has no idea what it said, and no animals will be harmed... in the throwing... sometimes
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Post by ENISHI on Jul 8, 2015 13:49:28 GMT -8
ENISHI - I'm glad you're excited! I'm excited for it as well, and while it's a bit slow going since I'm bad with systems and I'm trying not to put deadlines on myself, it's coming. Slowly.
You can do it, Hon! Believe in yourself! Believe in your skills! Believe in me! *aherm* I went there and quoted Hestia ;D
I do like the idea for the basis of the "stats".
-Do you plan for the guild to be the ones updating the character's tiers/levels or do you plan to use the gods to do that (like an IC thing)?
- Will the Dungeons be starting from the earliest level or you plan to open them at the higher levels? Starting a 54th level dungeon floor with newbies is gonna be full of bad-assery and a lot of dead.
-Another thing is... Do you plan to create some sort of economy system? After all, the basis for the people to be grinding and scavenging inside the dungeon is to trade in the crystal gems for valis? Perhaps, this could be use a leveling tier for those blacksmiths, healers, etc players who don't want to dirty their hands in the dungeons.
- How do you plan to deal with Familia vs Familia (PvP)? Do you plan to do it like the manga? Where a specific arena needs to be chosen for the familia games to happen, before the winner takes or distributes the wealth within the familia members?
I have a lot of questions >.>
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Phantom of the Black Parade
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Post by Kuroya on Jul 8, 2015 14:20:46 GMT -8
Ginger: ... George said all kinds of things. Yes was not one of them.
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ENISHI
I, uh... probably won't be doing much OOCly with the stats. More of a "we acknowledge their general existance but we aren't tracking them" kind of thing. In the series, the gods and goddesses always did that, so they'd be the ones to do any stat updating and all that sort of thing. I sort of think of it as like... during a level up screen, all the things have been assigned, but until the gods or goddesses do the metaphorical hitting the button, they don't update. Which seems to fit pretty well with what is shown in canon in the second and third episodes.
I was planning on starting with the lowest tier of floors. Since I really don't like making boards for days, I was gonna tier the floors to be like "1-9" as the beginner floors and "10-18" as the middle floors, more or less. Which the middle floors start at 13 in canon but eh I'll tweak a little just to make things even. I really hate when sites have all the boards no one can use right out, so I probably wouldn't add more floors until we got some level twos to challenge the middle floors.
We do have a sort of economy system planned? Jcink really only allows for one money system (thank the Maker) so everything's gonna be getting valis OOCly. You can get valis from posting, for sure, and I might add some bonuses via completing quests or finishing theads. Valis can then be used to "purchase" leveling up quests and new skills/spells (and level them up if I tier those out). From here is where things get tentative. I'm thinking what I might do is allow for supporters and gods/goddesses to pool their money if they're in a familia to use to give boosts to adventurers within their familia. I might also allow for purchasing new subboards or stuff like that, I don't know.
As far as blacksmiths and healers go... a healer would actually be an adventurer under the role system I have in mind, not a supporter. A blacksmith could be either adventurer or supporter, though most would tend to be adventurers as well.
PvP as individuals would probably be discouraged outside of tournaments since I really don't want to come up with a battle system. It'd be really freeform and I'd death-glare anyone who started throwing fits. As far as a familia ranking system, I've not thought too much about it yet - as I stated early on, I'm not a systems monkey, I hate systems - but I might make it where that's another "money sink", where familias donate valis to rise in the ranks (and can also gain favor by finishing threads too, idk). Like I said, it's really rough since I really hate systems with a passion.
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