[ryuu]

Lets face it, we all have those characters kicking around that we want to play, but can't because they just don't fit in on most sites. You know the kind...the catgirl half-eldritch horror who can bend space and time...or the ancient evil demon emperor out to conquer all of reality...or the weirdo kid who has the amazing superpower to generate and control cheese. We all have had ideas for characters that where larger than life, over the top,  weird and...quite frankly...silly, deeply unrealistic and probably too powerful or ridiculous for their own good. Well, I got the crazy idea to create a site that could....actually function...when all of us RPers brought our gokus, supermans and assorted weirdos to the table.

The premise of the site? Well, that will take a bit to explain, so sit back, grab some pocky, and relax....this is going to take a while...

The site would focus on a large, futuristic city, the "astral capital" or "Neon Kyoto" which acts a center for the larger multiversal community. The site runs off the concept that while there is no multiverse-wide government, there is many factions that operate on a multiversal level ranging from vast  interplanar empires to giant multiplanar corporations to Gods/Goddesses and their followers to Eldritch Horrors alla H.P. Lovecraft to pretty much anything else you can imagine. The main, and most important to the site lore would be SHRINE. SHRINE is a secretive society that drape themselves in the aesthetics of the Shinto religion and act as a combination of both Dimensional Security(Basically multiverse-wide cops) and a regulatory body that tries to control the spread/advancement of advance technology/magic/superpowers and manipulates the development of civilizations to grow in a "healthy" way as they build  towards becoming advance enough to travel between universes and join the larger multiversal community. While they are peacekeepers devoted to order, their means are not always nice, or even heroic, and while plenty of members are very much heroes, there is also quite a few corrupt SHIRNE agents and even leaders who are in the organization for more selfish reasons.

While SHRINE may be secretive, and at times appear shady, they have none the less done more good than bad, and bad eggs aside they generally have good press. Even further, with the help of another faction, SHRINE devised a system that allowed disputes between beings of cosmic power levels to be managed without massive collateral damage. Before SRINE, battles between cosmic beings would result in the annihilation of entire civilizations, or sometimes even entire universes. Battle after battle lead to more destruction. Chaos was the order of the day, and it all culminated in the creation of the terrible Genocide Maiden, Alice, who threatened to unravel every law of reality and create an existence where the only law was whatever she willed. However, the Divine Overseer, the being above even the deities themselves, was able to defeat Alice, but had to sacrifice himself n the process. The battle between Alice and the Overseer nearly annihilated every reality there was, and after the conflict the Divine Overseer reincarnated as a young miko of massive power in an effort to help guide the multiverse on a more sustainable path. Along with the "Daughters of Alice", a group of 7 "aberrant beings" that where, essentially Alice's remains that lingered as a corrupting taint in reality, the Origin Miko created both SHRINE and a artificial reality. Known as the "Genesis Network," this reality acted like a VR version of the internet in which one could create temporary, contained realities with whatever laws and rules they desired and that could be shaped with thoughts alone. This network became a mainstay of larger multiversal life, and since it's dimensions, known as "spheres" where contained, it allowed for massively high powered battles to be fought without world-threatening collateral damage. Even further, spheres could be created with laws that artificially limit the power of beings, meaning that lower-powered creatures could fight extremely high powered ones on equal terms in friendly matches/spars.

What resulted was a new form of settling disputes. Wars between massive empires where reduced to 1 on 1 fights between capable champions at pre-determined power tiers. Major political and economic decisions that in the past would take a war to settle soon started to be based on these clashes. Fighting Tournaments replaced mass battles and SHRINE had successfully done the impossible and put an end to warfare as we know it.

However, while the wars of old ceased to exist, conflict did not. Old habits die hard; tyrants, dark gods, mad scientists and others who had once conquered worlds with impunity continued to try and seize power and chase whatever other goals they had, except with a new mode of operations. Illegal Sphere creation is a common occurrence, and...more importantly...some individuals have figured out how to hack parts of the network's code and cause all kinds of havoc. Through hacking, individuals could circumvent the rules of spheres, manipulate and attack people through the network, cheat in fights and even further, create beings that while weaker than Alice and her "daughters" none the less where outside the laws of reality like them. Between these hackers, their aberrant creations and the same old villains up to their same old tricks, SHRINE has their hands full...and that/s not even getting into the task of guiding up and coming worlds to a positive, sustainable development path.

Neon Kyoto, the Astral capital, is the city that acts as the home base of SHRINE. SHRINE's finest training academy, as well as their main base are located within. Whats more important, though, is that this acts as the center for the biggest, most flashy and high-stakes fighting tournaments....the ones that decide all the largest and most controversial political and economic decisions in the larger multiversal community. However, while SHRINE keeps the area secure, it is not free from danger. Villains often are acting to rig fights and manipulate things to their advantage. Large corporations are still up to their old abusive tricks. Even worse, a mysterious and feared multiversal terrorist organization, known as the "Shinkai Project" has made the history books by being the first terrorists to successfully stage an attack in SHRINE's front yard. With Shinkai in Neon Kyoto, the fear index of the city is at an all time high and rumors are abound about how the terrorists where able to slip past SHRINE's iron clad security. With the public starting to question SHRINE's competence, or in the case of some their benevolence and terrorists on the move, times in Neon Kyoto are tenser then ever before....and as the various forces at work in the city clash, few realize the dark machinations and sinister plots moving forward in the shadows of the Astral Capital. 



With the setting established...here's how the site would manage it's more powerful characters..

Characters would be ranked from D-Rank(low powered) up all the way to A-Rank(Planet Buster/world destroyer tier), S-Rank(cosmic/god-tier power) and all the letters in-between. Each character would have certain abilities/powers they could access per power-tier they have (So an S-Rank character would have powers from the D-Rank tier all the way to the S-Rank tier) Battles between characters would all happen in "spheres", which are automatically set to the rank of the lowest rank person in the fight. The only powers that can be used in said sphere would be powers of the sphere's rank. (So, if a D-Rank and S-Rank character fought, the S-Rank character could only use their D-Rank powers in that fight) Even further, players would only ever be allowed one S-Rank character. Hacking and using admin functions(something only SHRINE agents can do) is the only way around the laws, including power restrictions, of spheres, though only high-level hacking can circumvent rank restrictions and any fights that involve the use of hacking and/or admin functions that would remove rank restrictions or otherwise "cheat"  have to be agreed upon by all RPers in that fight before they happen, and would only exist for plotting, or character development reasons.

Fights would otherwise be freeform, and totally prose-based...no stats/rolling here.

Other than that, literally any concept is possible...the site's setting allows for maximum freedom. Vampire Princess from a planet that's locked in eternal night? Check. Neko fairy king? Check. Cthulu's great grandson who's a gamer from earth? Check. Evil overlord with the power to mind control anything as long as it's a cute fluffy animal? Check. No matter how messed-up, crazy, overpowered or underpowered your character, it exists somewhere in the multiverse so if you can think of a reason for them to come to the astral capital then any and all are welcome. Members can create entire races, factions and even civilizations, and if enough members like creating content a wiki will be created to collect all of the world info members make. However, for those that don't want to make their own stuff, there will be three major existing factions they can join up with which will be central to the site's major plots..

SHRINE- Dimensional Security and "stewards of development" across the multiverse, they work to maintain peace and order in the multiverse. While they are peacekeepers, they are not out and out heroes, though some of their members may act that way. Their leadership, the enigmatic "Inner Priests" are extremely mysterious and constantly cover their faces with masks. The Inner Priests quite shady, separating themselves from the field agents and "Outer Priests" that act as the more hands-on administration and have reputation for being scheming and removed. While SHRINE does effectively maintain peace, their means may not always be the most honest,  benevolent, fair or just. Despite all of this, they still do more good than harm, and are generally well-liked though some people believe the Inner Priests to have some kind of sinister scheme they are hiding from the multiversal community.

However, despite this, young boys and girls across the multiverse still dream of becoming SHRINE agents one day and admission into the organization's most prestigious training academy, located right in Neon Kyoto, remains a sought after badge of honor. However, with the recent Shinkai Project attacks in Neon Kyoto, SHRINE for the first time in centuries is facing a higher than normal amount of public scrutiny. While conspiracy theorists have constantly speculated about SHRINE's mysterious leaders, nobody paid them mind in the past due to the outlandish nature of their claims. However, with the inconceivable happening of a terrorist attack in Neon Kyoto, SHRINE's tightly-secured front yard, some people are starting to listen to those once thought mad. While public opinion still remains largely on SHRINE's side, their image as "heroes" is starting to slowly but surely be gnawed away and as a result SHRINE  has come to fear the potential security risk that a public turned against them would provide the larger multiverse.

Wonderland 7- The 7 largest megacorps in the multiverse, each owned and run by one of the "Daughters of Alice" all of whom are S-Rank aberrant beings that all look like creepy/evil little girls. The "Wonderland 7" are notably corrupt and lead by beings who literally taint reality just by existing their ruthless underlings, the lot of whom are ruthless corporate executives who would gladly sell you into slavery if it would make them a quick buck. They are one of the main sources of inequality and injustice in the multiversal community, known to commit horrible crimes ranging from terrible exploitation of laborers to a laundry lists of environmental abuses to numerous other vile acts, including using their joint control of the Genesis Network with SHRINE to rig fights for resources and political power in their favor.  However, despite their known corruption, the Wonderland 7 none the less contribute to the stability of civilization by providing all the material needs and wants people have. They produce anything and everything, from medicine to fast food to massive wal-mart esc superstores to energy to WMDs to evil planet-eating monsters to god knows what else; if you can conceive it, they likely sell it somewhere.

While some in SHRINE want desperately to take them down, they are rich enough and had enough of a hand in SHRINE's creation that the Inner Priests look the other way and let them get away with far more than they should. In fact, some even believe that the Wonderland 7 are not so much partners as they are puppetmasters; rumors and conspiracy theories are abound that circulate the idea that the 7 secretly control SHRINE. Some have claimed that the masked Inner Priests hide their faces because they are all well-known Wonderland 13 executives. Even further, a select few have gone as far as to suggest that SHRINE is being used as a tool for the 7 to revive Alice herself, though such talk is considered crazy even after the advent of the Shinkai Project's attacks. However, while such wild theories are generally not taken seriously, some have begun to see the Wonderland 7 and SHRINE as awfully...close...for two vastly different factions. With recent Shinkai Project attacks some are beginning to question the true nature of the relationship between these strange bedfellows and their are hushed whispers of SHRINE being tainted by Alice's dark legacy.


Shinkai Project- The "Shinkai Project" or "God Restoration Project" is a shady group of S-class hackers and their assorted minions, all of whom have the stated goal of creating a second Genocide Maiden so they may destroy reality and re-create it in a new state. Unlike Alice, who sought to make a reality where the only law was whatever she deemed law, the Shinkai Project wants to make a reality that is totally and truly lawless...an existence where anybody can do anything, and survival of the fittest is the only form of governance. They delight in chaos and disorder, and while they have larger goals they are just as focused on spreading fear and anarchy as they are pursuing their larger scheme of making another Genocide Maiden. Ruthless, determined, and feared by the larger multiversal community, the Shinkai Project has recently made the history books by being the first Dimensional Terrorist Organization to successfully stage an attack in Neon Kyoto, creating a firestorm of public fear and, for the first time, shaking people's faith in SHRINE.

With a leader who never reveals his true face or even appears in person to his own minions, the Shinkai Project is shrouded in mystery and  surrounded by speculation. Some say that they got past SHRINE's Iron grasp over Neon Kyoto by infiltrating it's leadership and corrupting them from within. Still others say that SHRINE themselves are behind the Shinkai Project and that the entire organization was created to provide the false flags necessary for SHRINE to legitimately establish themselves as as a tyrannical multiversal government. However, speculation and conspiracy theories aside, SHRINE states the Shinkai Project as it's current #1 target, and the terrorists simply responds with threats of future attacks.


Anyway...yeah...I've likely rambled for far too long...but anyway...would anybody be interested in a site with this lore and setup?