That's an interesting tag you have. I run into the opposite problem with things like the Nanoha quest I follow. When you don't have enough power you have to make hard choices. Dealing with people in a civilized manner only works if you aren't one bad die roll from dying. If a single bad roll can cause the entire quest to go pear shaped I'm going to advocate for whatever it takes to prevent it. Morals run straight into survival.
That's not an issue in this quest. Jacob has enough power that he doesn't have to be absolutely ruthless. I mean he is to those he feels deserve it, but he's not out torturing his friends. Because, he doesn't need to. He's not destroying buildings and city blocks because he's not likely to get one shotted.
Actually in this case the optimal way IS to play along with the good guys for now, because there's too many powers in the city, if you aggro them you'd be crushed even if you were powerful by being Public Enemy #1.
But this is simply playing the less profitable side against the more profitable sides. The 'evil' factions of each line are the sort that nobody, not even their own side, gives a shit about if they die or go missing.
I feel like any hypothetical Motorcycle Golem would less be an actual tool Ebon feels the need to ever use, and more a vanity project to play with his engineering skills and give Jacob a sick 'mundane' vibe that plays up his delinquent status. Because let's be real gentlemen, we don't really have much practical use or need for a weaponizable motorcycle.
If we need a fast mount that is on the ground? We have our crazy awesome Warbeast of WTF. If we need a stealthy insertion? Well sub-sonic is still going to be faster than what we can feasibly achieve on the ground with a motorcycle. Weaponized mount? Warbeast again. And we can hide that one's existence easier than a transforming motorcycle out of combat.
Don't get me wrong, it's cool, a motorcycle fits Jacob, and it might actually be a bit useful in certain situations for him- but let's not pretend compared to so many other things it's a vanity project.
I figure the motorcycle is an awesome diversion. You show up with a cool ride, people will take efforts to target said cool ride on the basis that it's important.
That you didn't need it, and then the angry motocycle transforms into a robot ninja is a plus.
In Cardcaptor Sakura, I believe the topdeck was Windy(which Sakura accidentally activated to blast everything to Freedom), followed by, in unclear order, Darkness, Light, Earth, Water, Fire and Wood.
Of which Wood never really went very far, but the other elemental powers did.
(Blame Dresden Files. Then my imagination. As usual my ending trails off. I took out the part with Jacob as it didn't fit.)
Edit: Mac was originally going to be our Ninja but he didn't fit and I had to leave work.
Ebon had built the Bar to launder his income, and have a place to deal in emotional energy. But as they say, "Big things have small beginnings."
These days A.N.T. was the hangout no matter the age or faction. A place where a Mage could sit next to an Exorcist, or even a Ninja. A Demon a table over from the gaggle of Mahou Shoujo.
One day the bar had just appeared between two buildings. Enough magic to draw the eye of any sensitive to its use, even those untrained. More than enough to keep out any truly ordinary folk.
The outside was a seemingly ordinary brick wall front with steps down into a faintly extraordinary Redwood door. For those of the keen eyed persuasion they may notice the walls black symbols laid out in a Fibonacci sequence. Though few would be able to notice that they were laid out in a multi-dimension overlay. Most saw what the owner wanted, a place of comfort. That which to draw those of the supernatural eye. From a cheerful new teen-preteen hangout, like that new arcade coffee shop at the local mall. To a glimpse at home on Earth.
The Redwood door itself followed the trend of being eye catching, yet being passed over. At a casual glance the door was an arched double door with a window set in the middle and heavy black adornments. The closer one looked as with the front the more was seen. First that the adornments were not iron. They were a material recognized by those who had visited Atticus's store or a few Company employees. It was the highest class of enchantment material ever seen.
However even Atticus could only figure out a majority of the enchantment. A 'minor' recognition charm. A spell to draw any attempt to get in through the wall at the door. The next one being that to break the door would require breaking the wall. Which if it worked right causes a causality and the door merely opens with no damage… don't ask.
The ones that Atticus could not discern were surprisingly simple teleportation markers. Just of a type he would never have seen.
Which leads us inside.
The simplest way to describe the inside would be 3, 7, and 13.
Truly it was that and their multiples. 3 areas with 7 tables and 21 stupidly comfortable chairs. 13 pillars place in such a way as to absorb and direct energy in the bar. And 49 chairs placed around the bar.
Each room separate and yet together. Overlaid as they were they allowed for a separation of ages. 21 and under. 49 and under. And the rest, cause at that point you should have a little wisdom by sheer dint of age.
The décor followed the same vein of supernatural designs inlayed in the rich Redwood furniture. And dark warm fabrics. Subtle ostentation obscured by tasteful comfortability. In one room heroic characters vanquishing powerful foes, many known, some unknown. Another the 'truth of good vs evil' on display as they battle for dominance in a world of gray. Others holding the tales of Greater beings, some known, others not.
The final bit of decoration to note was the plaque as a being entered and from what the establishment drew its name. The Accord of Neutral Territory. All tenants of which were enforced at this bar.
NO EXCEPTIONS. Even towards the friendly, adorable magical girl that attacked a demon. Nor the demon for retaliating.
One of the more interesting things was in addition to, or in replacement of cash. A patron may spend Energy for energy or goods.
Are you a Magic girl who wants to feel better about a bad day. A Ninja after a good hall of loot. A demon engorged on energy looking to celebrate. You have a choice, spend cash, magic or, some negative energy.
As one would expect several individuals had attempted to take advantage of the various goods traded at this fine establishment.
None had succeeded. Despite the seeming lack of aggressive defenses. Though they did exist. A combination of mage, ninja an Ebon traps.
For the last thing to take note of was none other than the bartender. 5'10" average build dark of hair and eye, nothing distinctive about him at a glance. Mac as he would introduce himself if asked. Was a man of few words. A man who had never been heard to say more than two words at a time other than grunts and body language.
Despite this he had a presence that made one pay attention. A quiet competence that a being knew not to mess with. Those that had seen him take care of violators could attest to the truth of this statement.
There is more to be said about this bar but well some stories need not be told.
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Jacob's Wonderful Adventure in Questland (????) (+10)
This was supposed to be a calm, uneventful day. And everything suggested that it would turn out to be such. The sun shone brightly, with the breeze blowing lightly, cooling just enough to be comfortable. There was a rain during the night, leaving a pleasant scent. Sadly, you couldn't really smell it anymore, what with the thick mist and constant explosions all around.
"They were supposed to be a bunch of genin!" You shout in irritation at Yuudai.
Dodging yet another kunai, you see the seal behind it release a log, which turns into an angry ninja girl, Hulk's long-forgotten sister. She swings at you, ignoring your spear driving through her torso. Barely managing to block it, you try to fly away, but water whips are already all around you, draining your energies.
Gening for damn sure don't employ that goddamn many special techniques! You pull back against the whips, which surprise the stout boy, who is floating in the fucking air.
"How do they fly, anyway?!" You keep taking out your frustrations on your imbecile of a spymaster. How can you fail so hard at recognizing the Stone Cold Killers?!
"They are standing on air, Lord." Renata quips in between blows traded with the other kid, half his moves feints or traps.
You'd make a sarcastic reply, but there are far too many explosions to hear anything. How many explosives did they take with them, anyway? You'd think they want to make a repeat of Whirlpool here!
Summoning another cavalcade of dolls, Evetta tries to at least stall the massive armored lizards ("They're mammals!" Whatever) rolling at her, and maybe get the annoying kid commanding them.
Well, at least you aren't your poor clone. He's just stuck there with the short lady, screaming in agony. Hmm. Better him than you, at least.
Okay, enough of that! Time to summon the Big Guns! You didn't hire all those artisans for nothing, after all!
Stopping for just a second, you focus. Several contraptions materialize in the air around you, the entire battle stopping for just a split of a second.
It took many seal masters, and many seal failures (and far too many limbs growing out of walls), but eventually you found out how to make a gun fast enough for a ninja.
The battle was over shortly after. Not that they didn't try to fight back. The ice-girl especially proved to be annoying, somehow managing to dodge the shots and land a kunai in your back.
You really wish you could just take their bloodlines for yourself. In less than a week you'd be completely unstoppable. But even if you can't take their powers, you can take their memories...
And they are certainly worth it.
Now you just need someone to implement them.
o-o-o-o
Sitting at MADAME TANAKA'S HOUSE OF WHORES AND CIGARS(which turned out to be surprisingly classy, in spite of it's name) you hold a lit cigar, staring at your 13-year old daughter, Yuui.
"It's so nice for you to invite me here. It was such a long time since I've had a break a from work." You say in your raspy voice, grinning widely, all five of your teeth showing.
"Everything for you, Papa!" The young girl beams at you. You could almost believe it's just a normal kid, and not your snarky spymaster.
"Do tell me, however..." You let out a puff. "What happened to that boy... Tokawa, who gave you the doll? It's been a while since I've seen him."
She fidgets in the spot, blushing and trying to look anywhere but at your face. "Ummm... he's... his mom was sick, so he had to stay at home and take care of her."
You savor the taste of smoke, then let it out in a long sigh. "Ah, that is truly sad." You put down the cigar. "Do you wish to invite him, dear? He'll certainly appreciate company after such work."
She looks dumbstruck for a moment, but then grins again, nodding her head energetically. "Mhm! Thanks, Papa!"
You'll have to order him to report this way from now on. It's just too funny.
o-o-o-o
You sit cross-legged at the lowest level of your manor. You regard fondly the walls around you. It wasn't easy making a mansion like that. There are currently four people in the world who know of it's current layout and architecture. There used to be plenty more, but a tragic accident took many of their lives and, in case of the rest, memories of ever working here.
In front you sits a 12-year old boy. Or, to be more precise, the sealmaster Yuudai talked about.
"Thank you for helping this old man. Those old bones are not what they used to be..." You whine, still a 60-year old, pouring two glasses of wine.
The boy just eyes you warily, or really eyes the whole room, trying to find any traps or subtle clues that it's a trap.
"Now, now. There's no need to be shy, boy." You chide him lightly, and in blink of an eye you turn to your normal self.
Boy is very clearly surprised, as there is no smoke that normally accompanies the transformation. You just smirk at him. You don't use any normal techniques, after all.
After a moment, the boy disappears in wisp of smoke, turning into a grown man. He strokes his graying beard, looking at you with equal fascination and suspicion.
"Radius Vicelot, at your service. I heard you needed someone for..." He narrows his eyes, as if confirming you aren't a henged skysquid. "...demolition work. "
"You heard correctly. We have a variety of projects in planning phase, but require someone to bring them to life."
You hand him a singular scroll, which he unrolls energetically. After a few moments, he snaps his head towards you, a wicked grin on his face.
"Yesss..." He strokes his beard more furiously, his glasses glinting in spite of the surrounding darkness. "I pledge my allegiance to you! Let us destroy the world together! Those stinkers won't know what hit them! Hahaha! HAHAHAHA-!"
You give Yuudai a long, hard look. He just shrugs. You have to agree- he has exactly the right skills and mindset for the job.
Let's just hope that there will be anything left of the Elemental Nations when Black King returns.
XP AWARD: 100
...
Paths of Ebon
[X][Main] Black Temple
[X][Secondary] Study The Wish Stone
[X][Secondary] Expand Slave Cultivation
"What is best in life?"
"To slaughter unbelievers, ground them to fine soil, and watch their fields and homes burn down to the ground."
"Such is the way of the Black Kingdom, and when people live to these ideals, the Ebon Emperor offers his blessings."
"Such is the way of the Black Kingdom."
Blood flows through the lands, vehemic energy can be felt in the air and entire LasAngeyoto Valley burns in rage and conflict. Neighbor against neighbor, brother against sister, allegiances of old matter little here. Your border guards are having a field day with every deserter or unfortunate soul who stumbles onto your territory. The slave cages are nearly bursting from overcrowding!
With all that happening all around, your armies are yearning to join the fray and let their bloodlust be fulfilled. You'd have to agree- you are itching for some real action as well.
Bloody conflict -> Total War
The Black Rites now applies, costing 2 Blood per turn. If run out of Blood, colonies can spend up to 2 growth each per turn to reduce the risk of peacefully ending the conflict, and ending the ritual.
Not very likely to reduce back to Bloody conflict, but no penalty for doing so. 12 more Blood required to completion of The Black Sword.
All the stragglers caught fighting on your borders allowed to replenish your rapidly dwindling workforce. In fact, there were enough bodies to fill your new plantation with. Ebon Power flows plentifully, without any further shortages. Quite a lot of this power was used up by Evetta, but for a good cause- with one, powerful spell she managed to finish the inner chamber of the Temple. Needless to say, you are impressed.
Megaproject Completed! Black Temple
A place for universal praise and worship of Ebon Emperor, the Black Temple acts as a centre for the faithful and a training place for mages and warlocks.
Opens up new social plans, alters actions, and provides +1 Magic a turn until either destroyed or rendered obsolete by more sophisticated theology.
Select a bonus
[] [Temple] Know that the Black King is always watching (+1 Stability, +1 RA)
[] [Temple] See that the spell used will be properly examined (+3 Magic, New Spell)
[] [Temple] Let the screams of your sacrifices be heard far and wide (+1 Prestige, Neighbors less likely to declare war on you)
You yourself were busy as well. Examining the gift from organization proved to be challenging, albeit extremely rewarding. Not only did you replicate it's wish-granting power, but made a far superior version!
Gathering your most loyal and promising subjects, you wonder- who should be given such immense power?
A young heir, who wishes to save her family from bloody succession fights. The power of the star would enable her to simply dominate her siblings.
Every one knows the Whirlwind of Cults. What they don't know is that in spite of her aptitude, she still yearns for something greater than herself.
The oldest is the sole inheritor of a wealthy artisan workshop. She does not care about that in the slightest, wishing only to meet yet another challenging foe on the field of battle.
Who should be the bearer of the Star?
[] [Star] Helping her family is a noble cause (Good Admin and Martial, Excellent Diplo)
[] [Star] The one without purpose shall find one with us.(Poor Diplo, Great Martial, Heroic Mystic)
[] [Star] Let her drown in the blood of our enemies. (Mediocre Admin and Diplo, Heroic Martial)
Walk softly...
[] [Diplo] Coerce the Company to cooperate (Sec Trade Mission + Sec Terrify)
[] [Diplo] See who's receptive to your blessings (Main Jewelry Gift, untargeted)
[] [Diplo] Hire out Demon mercenaries (2xSec Hire Demons)
...and carry a big stick.
[] [WAR] This is the end of your radiance! (Main War Mission- Radiant Witch)
[] [WAR] You had your chance, Ando. (Main War Mission- United Ninja Clan)
[] [WAR] It is time to extinguish the lingering Light. (Main War Mission- Republic of Light)
...
Ebon in the Dusk: A City Governor Quest (2K)
Turn Seventy-Eight Nineteen Months since the Founding of Black Kingdom
Seven Day turn
Currently the Evil Alliance is in the middle of the largest war it has fought to date, with over a thousand soldiers engaging with three times their number of Angels on almost two dozen streets.
The campaign is going better then you anticipated, with the early death of the Archangel spelling the end of coordinated defenses and breaking the morale of remaining troops.
Yet despite this there are still over a thousand Angels remaining, defending blocks that they have spent hours or days fortifying. You expect to have taken all but the two blocks within five days at the longest. Otherwise Renata is ready to begin the next stage of her 'reforms' of the Company, a process she expects to be very slow and where a single mistake could potentially send the Magical Girls into a civil war, which has the potential to cause a lot of problems. However a more 'loyal' Company will allow you to make full use of their impressive resources, which you are starting to believe may be necessary for the future conflicts.
Renata has been leading the war efforts with her usual zeal and dedication. She was so into it that during some battles the less pious defenders just didn't bother, running away before the first contact. In other news a recent assassination attempt during a bath of all times pushed her brawling skills (and sense of privacy) to a superhuman level.
Renata gains trait AngelFall (+2M, +1C, +2 D with demons, - 2D with Angels +25 to all rolls against Angels and other divine beings)- Renata has slaughtered angels, saints, priests, and pretty much anyone who has closer connection to Light. At this point even high-ranking demons recognize her prowess and many angels simply flee upon seeing her.
Renata upgrades trait Master Brawler (+1M, +1D, +1I, +5C, +50 to combat rolls with improvised weaponry) into Grandmaster Brawler (+2M, +2D, +2I, +8C, +80 to combat rolls with improvised weaponry, is never considered unarmed) – Renata developed a fighting style turning everything in her hand into a deadly weapon. After countless battles, she's able to down an elder mage with nothing but a chair and few bottles. It doesn't matter if it's physically possible or not, she'll kick your ass either way.
Choose two
Minion Coordination Training- While your minions are a powerful force, they are still pretty much a rag-tag bunch of random creatures, with no coordination whatsoever. Renata wishes to bring all those forces together and train them in mock combat situations to see possible synergies and problems with such diverse army.
Time: 1 week.
Chance of Success: 70%
Cost: 1,500 Bottle caps, 1,000 Ebon Power
Reward: +20 to combat rolls with minions of more than one type. More options unlocked.
Cheating Fate- Recently Evetta and Renata have come up with the idea of investigating the wish-making magic that goes into Ebon Stars. Renata especially wish to know how exactly is her wish supposed to be fulfilled, and whether one can still change said fate.
Time: 2 weeks. (must be taken by Headmaster Ridcully, Archmagos Explorator Tranth must have taken and Examine Sub-Systems action this year)
Chance of Success: 50%
Cost: 7,000 Thrones, 15 Artifact Material, 150 Ebon Power, 1 Wishing Stone.
Reward: Learn more about wish-making magic and artifacts. Further research options. ???
Oversee Minions- While Fury is the main overseer and 'takes care of' all the golem affairs, he's still just one... man. With your force expanding rapidly, it's a good idea to check up on them and see if they are slacking off or having no idea what to do.
Time: 1 week
Chance of Success: 100%
Cost: Free
Reward: +15 to rolls involving your minions for next month
Campaign: Angels- The current campaign is now going to shift to attack the core forces, filled with clerics and other support. With Black Kingdom's forces spearheading the assault on what was recently Kazag's Domain.
Time: 1 week
Cost: 2 Baby Cannons, 10 kg of pure gold (enchanted), 200 Ebon Shadows, 20 Neoshadows, 4 Diminutive Shadow Things, 30 Golems (big), 200 Ebon Power.
Reward: Renata assists during the attack. +20 to combat rolls for entire Evil Alliance.
Yuudai is continuing to work wonders in the campaign against Christina's army. Using every trick in the book and many invented on the spot, he makes his opponent's life a living hell. The fact that many soldiers refuse to leave their beds or toilets unguarded is speaking volumes about the impact he has made on enemy morale. Recently he became fascinated with your latest invention- Phase-Roomba, capable of transporting small loads (like golems) through even thickest walls. He wishes to train an entire regiment of 'riders', capable of infiltrating and sabotaging enemy bases with scary efficiency.
Yuudai gains title Master of Deception (+3I, +2D)- Yuudai reached a deep understanding of deception in all forms. Be it war, spying, or blatantly cheating at cards, he is able to fool everyone around him.
Yuudai gains trait Magic Scholar (+1P, +2L) – Yuudai has conducted a serious study of conventional magic literature and how every known type of magic is utilized in order to better prepare himself, and in order to learn from their methods. He seemed particularly interested in the work of Shadow Warlocks, of all varieties.
Choose two
Propaganda about Black Kingdom: (Faction)- Yuudai has suggested that he'd use the intelligence network that he commands to push a positive view of the Black Kingdom on the average faction member. This is a type of operation that the Ninjas are well trained in (or so he says) and he is certain that he could convince almost any population in the LasAngeyoto to have a slightly better opinion of your little organization.
Time: 2 weeks.
Chance of Success: 75% (fail by more then twenty leads to issues, add spy network bonus to roll)
Cost: 10,000 Dollars, 3 Shinobi, 10 Golems (small)
Reward: Better attitude towards Black Kingdom in chosen population.
Dedicated Spy Network (Faction)- While you have a decent spy network on many groups it is a rather general thing not focused on getting any information in particular. Yuudai has proposed that he'd build dedicated networks designed to gather information about a particular target faction.
Time: 1 week.
Chance of Success: 70% (major issues if you fail by more than 30, size of diplomatic issue varies with chosen group)
Cost: 20 Phantom Seekers, 2 Shinobi, 2,000 Dollars, 500 Ebon Power
Upkeep per year: 300 Dollars, 50 Ebon Power,
Reward: Basic Spy network on chosen faction upgraded to Dedicated Spy Network, +60 to all investigate actions on chosen faction, can discover secret information.
Mage Hunting- Yuudai is willing to personally oversee the search for magically able people. This will allow for the hunt to proceed more efficiently and with more bounty, albeit it will draw him away from other tasks.
Time: 1 week.
Chance of Success: 50%
Cost: 1,000 Yen.
Reward: +15 to rolls for Mage Hunters for each success, can be taken multiple times.
Phase-Roomba Riders: Golems(small) -One of the ways in which you could deploy Phase-Roomba Riders is to create independent companies of them that will act at as elite scouts and saboteurs, making full use of the abilities of their mounts. This will open up a range of new tactical options that were previously limited to the far rarer Shinobi Regiments. Yuudai wants to train twenty five riders to begin with.
Evetta is currently occupied... being a mother. While always motherly, she has never directly took care of a child, until now. Said child is a familiar, by the name of William. While still managing most of her duties, she is often distracted and delegates her duties to some smarter dolls. On top of that she has made several albums worth of photos and asked you and Renata for advice (Yuudai is apparently "too much of a loner", which he took less than perfectly). At this point you are tempted to ask your parents for help, as embarrassing as it would be.
-10 to all rolls for next ? weeks
1 locked, choose 1
Motherhood?- Evetta has... 'adopted' one of the familiars- William. Now she wishes to spend as much time as possible with her 'son' in his 'formative years'. While she can already spends far more time with William then you ever did with Ciri, due to her skill in delegating jobs to her smarter dolls, she would like to spend even more if possible. While it weirds you out, it does make her happy. On top of that it seems he has an innate talent in learning magic, which means she'll be able to pass some of her skills onto him.
Time: 1 week
Chance of Success: 100%
Cost: Free
Reward: Increased chance of Evetta passing her stats and traits along to William Blackstone.
Locked – One out of ? weeks completed
Research: Power of Music- The recent joint research project between Evetta and Renata made several major discoveries, one of which is that certain melodies on appropriate instruments are capable of increasing the power of certain spells. While the exact mechanisms of this increase are as yet not understood Renata thinks that she will be able to figure out how to compose melodies for most of her powers. Rock on!
Time: 2 weeks
Chance of Success: 60% (uses average of Learning and Piety)
Cost: 3 Guitars, 10,000 Rubles, 15 Artifact Materials, 1,000 Ebon Power.
Reward: Renata figures out how to compose a melody that matches her power better. Can use music to empower certain spells.
Research: Grimmoire Grimm- Evetta has recently gained access to the magical book that the Alice girl has been keeping all this time. We will need to start working on researching that immediately as it will be a very difficult task, and an expensive one too. However Evetta tells you that it could be very well worth it, as the book holds immense power, in more ways than one.
Time: 3 weeks
Chance of Success: -10% (70% after bonuses, problems if you fail by more then 25)
Cost: 20,000 PLN, 20,000 Ebon Power, 10 Artifact Material, 1 Shinobi.
Reward: Learn what you can from this book, possibly corrupt it for your own usage. Chance of losing the book.
I had it on my mind for the longest time.
At first it was supposed to be "Quests react to Ebon's presence", even going into Negaverse for Ymaryn (Now those hippies summon demons! With better iron!). Buuut writing it this way was more fun to me.
Last time something like that happened was to The Tomb of the Night Sky. What was primarily a research and archival tool became a regenerating weapon of mass destruction.
While replicating/scanning the page is one thing, I'm actually ok with giving it back. In exchange for us extracting her linker core of course...
Last time something like that happened was to The Tomb of the Night Sky. What was primarily a research and archival tool became a regenerating weapon of mass destruction.
While replicating/scanning the page is one thing, I'm actually ok with giving it back. In exchange for us extracting her linker core of course...
It's from the show in which the federation (Called the TSAB) has banned all "mass weapons" like guns or nukes. Because "anyone could use them." Unlike their totally not a WMD ship based beam cannon. Since everything is instead determined by magic, it's a society that's fine with using 9 year old child soldiers. Oh, and their military doesn't have any nepotism rules, since it's fine for one of the child soldiers to be commanded by his mother.
Those are the good guys. Bad guys include a TSAB admiral that deliberately gave a magical WMD* to a innocent girl, then worked to activate it. All so he could trap the girl and the WMD forever. His punishment, retirement to his home.
It gets worse from there.
For instance, it's heavily implied that the enemy child solider (who was tortured by her own mother) is working for the military in lew of a prison term.
The third season seems to indicate that the TSAB has federation levels of dislike for genetic engineering and cybernetics. Yet, the original founders are brains in jars funding a mad scientist who kidnaps little girls, replaces working organs/limbs with cybernetics, then implants clones of himself in all their wombs after mind controlling them.
Oh, and Anti-Magic is a thing. In a setting where guns, and bombs don't exist...
> There's a very magical book, in a setting where magic is computers but they're still actually magic
> Somebody tries to corrupt the magical book
> It goes cray
> Every time it ends up in new places, it sends out these stereotypical energy collecting villain guys
> They collect Energy stereotypically
> When they're done, it'll kick off some sort of super apocalypse or something
> They are stopped.
While chocolote12 covered most of it, here's another way of looking at it. The Tome Of The Night Sky is the thematic basis for the Book of Ebon.
It is a book that requires draining magical power to fill pages. It can then use the spells of anyone drained. Since Nanoha goes the powers as programs route it comes with 4 magical guardians (who look human). Their job is to protect the book and the owner, while collecting mana.
However, the book is broken. Until it is completed, it leeches power from its owner. Which makes them weak, and slowly paralyzes them from the feet up. Worse, the books "protection program" is corrupted. So, once it's completely filled it manifests as a giant monster that kills everything.
Nanoha season 2 has an Evil admiral become a sweet 9 year old girl's "guardian", has her live by herself, and makes sure she gets this book. The girl is blissfully unaware that her four friends are out collecting energy in the hopes that the book will stop killing her once it's full. Since there are no Evil wizards they do this by attacking the good guys.
Since it's a magical girl show with major mecha influences, the main character is stomped during the first episode. Then halfway through she gets a mid-season upgrade, and starts kicking butt. After the book goes on a rampage it's revealed the evil admirals plan was to imprison it and the girl it's absorbed. The heroes eventually lure it high enough that the ships (totally not a WMD) beam cannon can destroy it without nuking the city. It turns out the book is really a nice fairy, but it's "corrupted protection program" will regenerate and go on a rampage again. So, the book fairy sacrifices herself so everyone else, including the girl and the books nice 4 guardians live.
The admiral is allowed to retire to a nice secluded home on Earth, with his two extremely powerful catgirl familiars. That's literally his only punishment for severely injuring many people, causing huge property damage, and trying to imprison a 9 year old girl. Not to mention, basically setting off a magical WMD!!!
The Book of Darkness was a wandering Dimensional Hazard. It had been activated, Repeatedly, for Centuries.
Gil Graham personally witnessed the Book kill Admiral Harloawn and his ship. He swore to insure the Book would never do anything like that to Anyone ever again.
As far as I recall, he never gave the Book to a state. The Book chooses its own master at random from nearest compatible users. He just found it with Hayate.
And yes, he decided the only way to stop the Book was to allow it to activate, then freeze it with some kind of massive caryo stasis bomb.
The bomb wouldn't have killed anyone. Killing Hayate would have just set the Book loose to find another owner and start over. It would have frozen her until such time that the TSAB could figure out how to permanently deal with the Book.
Given what ultimately happened, the Book being permanently destroyed instead of merely frozen, Gil's plan was proven unnecessary yet still somewhat successful.
He effectively caused the destruction of one of the biggest threats to TSAB stability, and an age old wandering WMD. Sure, some people got hurt, but it Worked.
He gratefully accepted retirement after his life's work was finally over.
People vilanizing Graham ain't cool, ya dig. He had his fare share of screw ups, but the only reason things turned out so well is because Nanoha a beast and the whole thing is a magical girl show.
I'd like to note that I actually do like most the TSAB officers seen in the show. The Captain and her son are nice people. It could be that they're in the boonies and it would take time for backup to arrive, but it's not really mentioned.
Things like child soldiers (even if they are prodigies) is a systemic societal problem. Just like a world that doesn't believe in "mass weapons" even for its military. These are conventions that have to be there for the show to not shuffle the main character off to the sidelines when the adults show up. Instead of showing her as an exception the writers instead decided that, "child soldiers are normal," was the route to take. I wonder if they thought through the implications of that.
It may be that Admiral Graham's life work was a noble one. However, the entirety of season 1 was about a woman trying to bring back her daughter using powerful artifacts. Sure she was a horrible person, but there was literally a full out military assault to stop her. Saying that the guy who's plan to stop a WMD by setting it off, then freezing it is a good guy just isn't something I can agree with. It's on the level of trying to use a bomb to take out another bomb (a valid tactic), but not evacuating the crowded building first.
Season 3 was an attempt to move the show to new characters because the old cast had grown up and become too powerful. For the most part it failed for the same reason Gundam Seed Destiny did. The new characters just weren't that interesting and, the writers tried to do planetary disaster level conflicts when the powerful old characters were still there.
The new characters' tragic backstories just ended up making the whole TSAB look like a sham democracy run by an evil triumvirate. The fact that the TSAB are shown as the good guys just requires an entirely different set of moral values than is taught in the western world. Once again, I don't think it was deliberate on the writer's side, but rather a consequence of them trying to write a story around the protagonists.
However, the entirety of season 1 was about a woman trying to bring back her daughter using powerful artifacts. Sure she was a horrible person, but there was literally a full out military assault to stop her.
Still, amused that we have become both a supporting NPC and nebulous antagonist for all but one (so far) of Jacob's friends. I may try seeing how these anime pitches would work if they were actually a thing.
