If I remember correctly, a bit of insanity is actually beneficial. Still, I suppose something like being *only* half-insane would be a good balance point.
Yeah, being 100% sane is not normal, and makes magic impossible. Normal, healthy, down-to-Earth people tend to be around 70-80% sane. Magical girls and potential magical girls have lower sanity even when they're not actively traumatized.
Yeah, being 100% sane is not normal, and makes magic impossible. Normal, healthy, down-to-Earth people tend to be around 70-80% sane. Magical girls and potential magical girls have lower sanity even when they're not actively traumatized.
Not going to put this in Red because it's kinda hard to nail down and tightly define, but the gist of it is that absolute sanity means accepting what your senses and knowledge tell you reality is, nothing more or less.
To use stargazing as an example, assuming a modern, educated person...
At 100% Sanity, a person will not be able to romanticize the stars. They'll see them in them in a purely scientific light, and will be able to see constellations only through textbook memorization.
At 75% Sanity, they're beautiful and have a bit of a mystique to them. Constellations are something to look for, because it's fun.
At 50% Sanity, the stars are like beacons calling out to them, making them feel like they can reach out and grasp them in their hands, but they know that isn't true...right? The constellations are just patterns, they know, but Orion seems to be standing there in the sky, watching over the world.
At 25%, the stars are audibly calling out to them. Orion is not a pattern of stars, instead being a translucent figure in the heavens who looks down on them protectively. Occasionally, they talk to him, and rarely they hear something in return.
At 0% they are floating amongst the sea of stars and getting to know those others souls cast into the sky like they have been. Orion walks beside them, and the Earth seems a distant and sad place.
This also translates into practical matters, though...a person with 100% sanity will not pursue something they do not believe they can achieve, no matter how much they desire it.
A person at 75% will go far for something likely impossible, if they care enough about the goal.
A person at 50% will be blind to the improbability--it's not that they're willing to take the risk for a small chance, but that they're believing it's readily possible in spite of evidence.
At 25%, they start believing that they're absolutely going to do it, and that it's just a matter of time.
At 0%, they think they've already achieved it, and their perceptions warp to suit that.
Magic is powered by insanity, though--you're forcing reality to fit your perceptions and beliefs, instead of just believing in what your senses are telling you.
So a Magical Girl close to 0% can pull some very bizarre stuff off, because they believe that what they're doing is entirely natural, while one near 100% will be trying to understand why the planet is outside of Time Stop, even though Homura's standing on it (the answer being "because that's what makes sense to Homura"), and how magic can fit into the laws of physics.
Edit: This really misses some stuff, and isn't super clear. I'll try to post something more cohesive later.
So a Magical Girl close to 0% can pull some very bizarre stuff off, because they believe that what they're doing is entirely natural, while one near 100% will be trying to understand why the planet is outside of Time Stop, even though Homura's standing on it (the answer being "because that's what makes sense to Homura"), and how magic can fit into the laws of physics.
It kind of reminds me of Espers in the ToAru-verse. Their abilities look grounded in physics at first glance (well, anime-physics at least), but are really more about working the way the ability wielder think it should work - meaning that being a bit unstable might actually be an advantage - to your power, if not to your social life.
It kind of reminds me of Espers in the ToAru-verse. Their abilities look grounded in physics at first glance (well, anime-physics at least), but are really more about working the way the ability wielder think it should work - meaning that being a bit unstable might actually be an advantage - to your power, if not to your social life.
Sounds about right. Still need to study that Verse.
This is also why Symbols Are Important. For Homura's Attimo Finale, for example: She couldn't imagine a simple energy blast being strong enough to kill Berserker, but she could believe in a Tiro Finale pulling it off...so she used that symbol to justify making something far more powerful than she could otherwise think reasonable.
It also ties into Magical Girls' regalia and weaponry. It would take an amazing, fantastical hero to defeat a Witch, so a Magical Girl's tranformation includes fantastical clothing and weaponry that they are able to imagine giving them the power to win...because wearing something simple and practical would make them feel more human, weak, and fallible, which would actually MAKE them more human, weak, and fallible.
Espers are implied later in the light novels to essentially be an exotic application of magic, since they meet all the descriptors(Personalized individual magic, limited scope, potentially fatal consequences for using other magics) of Telesmic magic.
Its just that you COULD totes apply the scientific method to magic. If its personalized to your mind, body and soul? Well...mind and body are things that can be shaped...
That actually makes me wonder: if a magical girl's... well, magic... is influenced by her sanity level, and that the lower the sanity, the more esoteric displays of magic can be, what happens if the sanity level change? Let's say Homura manage to pull off something out of her usual wheelhouse on a particularly stressful day. Would she be able to replicate the feat once she's well-rested and thinking more clearly, or would she simply be unable to be in the right state of mind to do it again? (I realize the vagueness of this hypothetical scenario probably means the answer is: 'it depends')
That actually makes me wonder: if a magical girl's... well, magic... is influenced by her sanity level, and that the lower the sanity, the more esoteric displays of magic can be, what happens if the sanity level change? Let's say Homura manage to pull off something out of her usual wheelhouse on a particularly stressful day. Would she be able to replicate the feat once she's well-rested and thinking more clearly, or would she simply be unable to be in the right state of mind to do it again? (I realize the vagueness of this hypothetical scenario probably means the answer is: 'it depends')
It depends, but the general trend is that it's easier once you've done it once. So, one day you're at 5 San and you killed a Witch by binding it's existence to a giant, abstract clock made of your own crystallized blood, dooming it to die when it strikes twelve. Later, you might do that at 20, because you know it's a thing that can be done, but at 50 you just don't have the ability to warp your mind that far anymore. You don't even have that much blood in your body, after all, and clocks don't work without all the right parts--those gears didn't even make sense!
So, one day you're at 5 San and you killed a Witch by binding it's existence to a giant, abstract clock made of your own crystallized blood, dooming it to die when it strikes twelve
... I think we just found a new mission objective that we have to accomplish somehow. I mean, can any ending be considered Golden without this happening? I don't think so!
Not going to put this in Red because it's kinda hard to nail down and tightly define, but the gist of it is that absolute sanity means accepting what your senses and knowledge tell you reality is, nothing more or less.
That sounds highly problematic for someone whose senses and knowledge is actively and knowingly (for the person) being messed with, although that I guess would lower your sanity if you have knowledge of someone/thing messing with it now wouldn't it?
Also does this mean kybey isn't at 100% (or higher) sanity? or is the scale only for homura here?
That sounds highly problematic for someone whose senses and knowledge is actively and knowingly (for the person) being messed with, although that I guess would lower your sanity if you have knowledge of someone/thing messing with it now wouldn't it?
Also does this mean kybey isn't at 100% (or higher) sanity? or is the scale only for homura here?
A fully sane person tends to immediately accept illusions as real, unless they've been informed otherwise. Once informed, their responses can vary vastly.
If their head is messed with sufficiently that they are unable to be sure of a definite reality due to doubt and confusion, then their Sanity has dropped, yes. Like, the moment they know their memories have been altered, they are more-or-less doomed to drop below 100% within a few moments.
Kyubey is 100% sane, yes, and the incubators work very hard to keep the entire collective in that condition, quarantining any minds that slip lower, among other things. They only experience emotion and (generally) long-term insanity if they are using a defective body or are heavily influenced by outside forces (such as magic).
100% sane humans still experience emotion, but they experience it as a detached sensation and dismiss it. They can usually be treated as emotionless for practical purposes.
100% sane humans still experience emotion, but they experience it as a detached sensation and dismiss it. They can usually be treated as emotionless for practical purposes.
Higure, that would mean that anyone that doesn't doubt the reality they see is saner than anyone who asks 'is what I'm seeing real?' regardless of circumstances. That's... really terrifying to anyone who has ever had to question their previous opinions and conclusions on the basis of new evidence.
Higure, that would mean that anyone that doesn't doubt the reality they see is saner than anyone who asks 'is what I'm seeing real?' regardless of circumstances. That's... really terrifying to anyone who has ever had to question their previous opinions and conclusions on the basis of new evidence.
It should not be, since sanity (as handled in this system) is in no way an inherently good thing. Sanity is not a measure of mental health, instead representing a combination of cold rationality and lack of perceptual distortion. A person at 100% sanity would be considered mentally ill by human standards.
It's not exactly accurate, but it might help to think of it as a spectrum between "Incubator" at 100% and "Witch" at 0%.
Besides that, changing beliefs based upon new evidence is incredibly normal at high sanity--if anything, it's easier than normal, since max sanity means less emotional engagement and attachment to existing ideas. A 100% sane person would believe some truly absurd things if they were shown sufficiently well-faked evidence (because they have little attachment to their preexisting idea of reality), and would swiftly abandon those beliefs the moment it became clear that evidence was fake.
[ ] Seems like Nanoha was investigating Kyouko. Time for a visit to her old church.
-[ ] Take Ruki with you.
You pull out the shaded paper from earlier, flourishing it, "We follow her. She's looking into Kyouko; I'm not certain why, but I think it worries me. So we're going to the church."
Ruki's brow furrows at that, "Church?"
You nod, leaving the restroom as you begin hiding the signs of your presence, "Kyouko's father was a priest. Nanoha seems to have hunted down the address, and I am worried what she might be doing there."
You hear a crash, followed by a yelp, and quickly look around for the source--it seems to have come from the bathroom, and you hurry back in, worried.
Ruki is standing over a broken drinking glass, looking very embarrassed, "…Sorry, Senpai. I thought you said "Nanoha" for a second. Lost my grip. We…probably need to hide this, huh?"
You nod wordlessly, "We should. Can you fix it?"
She blinks at you, "Fix it? Uh…hmm…now that you mention it…"
She summons her wrench, frowning, "Yeah, I guess I can. Kinda weird to be working on a random piece of glassware, but…it isn't like I can only fix ships or something."
The fragments of glass glow faintly orange as a hexagon of orange light forms above them. She latches onto it with the wrench, and begins to turn it--as she does, the glass fragments move back together, and eventually reform into the original drinking glass.
Picking it up and putting it back where she presumably found it, she looks back to you, "Sorry about that. So, what did you actually say the girl's name is?"
You smirk, "Nanoha."
"No, really."
"Nanoha."
She facepalms, "Who the hell takes a fictional character's name like that? Like, I'm assuming her parents didn't pick it, so…what, she's a fan?"
You chuckle, taunting her, "You'll see soon enough. Let's get going."
With everything in order, you quietly exit via the balcony, locking the door behind you, and head towards the Sakura family church. Noi! Noi! Fallen!
It's pretty far out of the way, and it takes a good thirty minutes to reach it, but you eventually arrive, Ruki landing quietly beside you, "Wait, this is the place? I remember hearing something about this place…isn't it haunted or something?"
You sigh, quietly cursing that rumor. Kyouko had always hated it.
"No. It's just old and worn, not haunted. Let's go, but be wary. Nanoha might be here, and I'm not sure what to expect from her, right now."
She nods, glancing over her shoulder self-consciously, only to go suddenly still.
"Is something wrong?"
She relaxes, shaking her head, "Nothing, just a cat. Let's go."
The two of you creep inside, finding the door already open. Noi! Noi! Springen!
The nave seems empty, but you proceed carefully, looking for any sign of Nanoha.
Ruki's voice echoes in your mind as she joins you in your search, 'This place…it's pretty worn down, huh? Kyouko just left it like this?'
You shake your head silently, but don't clarify. You can't know the reasons yet, in this loop, after all.
Satisfied that the nave and sanctuary are indeed empty, you make your way deeper into the church, heading towards the chapter house, but keeping an eye out for any signs of passage along the way…and eventually noticing faint, dusty footprints. Kyouko hasn't swept in a while, it seems.
The problem is that there are two sets. One leads, away from the chapter house, while the other set stops at the door.
'So...which set are we following?' Ruki asks. You pause, contemplating the issue…only for it to be decided as the door to the sanctuary creaks open, revealing a scared-looking girl, maybe ten or so, with pale white hair and yellow-brown eyes.
"Ah! Wh-who are you? I-I'm not causing trouble, I promise, I--Kyouko said I could sleep here on Saturday nights, if I needed to. You're…are you friends of hers? You…" She looks over your regalia, "…what…?"
She trails off, clearly confused by the situation, but you're not paying too much attention, because something in the back of your head is screaming at you to pay attention to this girl. Saying she's important. You…you know this girl. You feel like you've always known her, just like Sayaka, or Kyouko, or…or any of your other friends, but you're not sure why. You faintly remember having seen her here before…but that doesn't seem like the right memory, for this deep, abiding nostalgia. Nagisa
"Who are you?"
The girl is staring at you, you notice, seemingly dazed, and jumps a bit as you speak, "Nagisa. Nagisa Momoe…we've met before, haven't we…? You seem familiar. How…how about we talk inside?" She opens the door to the sanctuary, inviting you in.
Medical:
Cardiology Texts [Amateur | Medical] [3/3]
+5 to Medical when Treating Heart Disease
Intro to Medicine [Amateur | Medical] [5/5]
Standard First Aid, CPR, and AED. 5th Ed. Jeff Rendall. [Amateur | Medical] [0/2]
Home Biochemistry, Book 1. 1st Ed. Takemi Tae. [Amateur | Medical] [0/5]
Home Biochemistry, Book 2. 1st Ed. Takemi Tae. [Skilled | Medical] [0/5]
Mechanical Expertise
Beginning Watchmaking [Amateur | Mechanics Expertise] [0/5]
The Glory of Clocks. 17th Ed. Helena Akemi. [Amateur | Mechanics Expertise] [0/17]
Historical Weapons Design. 3rd Ed. Vern Engers. [Amateur | Mechanics Expertise] [0/3]
Electronics Expertise
Beginning Programming. 2nd Ed. Jim Rivens. [Amateur | Electronics Expertise] [0/4]
Practical Electronics for the Home Inventor. 1st Edition. [Skilled | Electronics Expertise] [0/5]
Research
A Guide to Basic Research and Information Analysis. 1st Ed. Honya. [Amateur | Research] [0/7]
Other:
Untitled Book [???]
Grandfather's Pocket Watch
+1 Sanity/hour if kept close while sleeping.
Laptop
Contains various essential software and allows internet access. Contains nothing related to your life as a Magi.
Monthly Planner
Unlocks Calendar
Heart Scans
Homura receives a +5 Bonus to Medical Checks when treating her Heart Condition.
Kyouko and Mami's Cake
Gives Sanity when eaten. Gives more when eaten with friends.
High-Quality Sake
Payment for Yuuko's time.
Yuuko's Business Card
Gives instant access to Yuuko's shop.
Negates a single attack entirely.
Cost
X EE
X is equal to the Power of the attack negated.
Fire an energy blast from your Shield.
Instant Attack
100% Accuracy
Undodgeable
100 Power
Low Damage
Cost
20 EE/Second; Rounded Up
Fairly easy to alter, with a little work.
Fire a sphere of crystallized magic from your Shield.
Charge Time: 3 Seconds
Fast Attack
100% Accuracy
1000 Power
Massive Damage
Cost
300 Grief
Adds to or alters the abilities of an object. Different effect have different costs, and must be discovered and studied in order to determine what works and what doesn't. As always, proximity to your natural magical talents lowers Cost and Difficulty.
The costs listed below are the costs to enchant a handheld item. Vehicles cost 5 times this amount to enchant, and larger objects (buildings, warships, etc.) cost 5 times as much as a vehicle (25x the listed cost). All Enchantment Costs are rounded up.
Automation: The object or device will act on its own according to your will. (Cost: 5 EE/Hour)
Increase Power (1 EE/Power point. Max 20.)
Increase Speed (10 EE to double speed. Max 4x Speed.)
Increase Durability (1 EE/Durability point. Max 20.)
Increase Damage (30 EE to increase Damage scale by 1 step. Max 1.)
Enhance Other Ability: Examples include allowing plane to fly freely in hurricane, improving the sight enhancement from glasses, and making medicine more effective. Extremely exotic effects may be achieved through study, experimentation, and practice.(Cost: Varies).
Grant Supernatural Ability: Allow an object to do something that it normally can't. The stronger the relationship between the object and the effect, the lower the Cost and Difficulty will be (Homing Bullets and Auto Reload are relatively cheap. A Homing Cello, on the other hand...)
Homing Projectiles (1 EE/Projectile)
Auto Reload (5 EE)
Flying Sword/Knife: 30 EE
Ego
Enchantment allows you to apply your full Ego score to attacks with enchanted mundane weapons, just as if they were created through magic.
Cost: 5 EE
Use Magic to distort the past slightly, averting a single disaster before it occurred. Very powerful, but has limits.
Cost
500 Sanity
500 EE
Active Effects:
[Enchantment: Increase Heart Performance. Cost: 5 Grief/Hour]
Primary:
1 Grief Seed of Sachiel (3 Charges)
Books:
Medical:
Cardiology Texts [Amateur | Medical] [3/3]
+5 to Medical when Treating Heart Disease
Intro to Medicine [Amateur | Medical] [5/5]
Standard First Aid, CPR, and AED. 5th Ed. Jeff Rendall. [Amateur | Medical] [0/2]
Home Biochemistry, Book 1. 1st Ed. Takemi Tae. [Amateur | Medical] [0/5]
Home Biochemistry, Book 2. 1st Ed. Takemi Tae. [Skilled | Medical] [0/5]
Mechanical Expertise
Beginning Watchmaking [Amateur | Mechanics Expertise] [0/5]
The Glory of Clocks. 17th Ed. Helena Akemi. [Amateur | Mechanics Expertise] [0/17]
Historical Weapons Design. 3rd Ed. Vern Engers. [Amateur | Mechanics Expertise] [0/3]
Electronics Expertise
Beginning Programming. 2nd Ed. Jim Rivens. [Amateur | Electronics Expertise] [0/4]
Practical Electronics for the Home Inventor. 1st Edition. [Skilled | Electronics Expertise] [0/5]
Research
A Guide to Basic Research and Information Analysis. 1st Ed. Honya. [Amateur | Research] [0/7]
Other:
Untitled Book [???]
Arsenal
31 Handguns [214 Clips]
21 Machine Guns [253 Clips]
5 Sniper Rifles [112 Clips]
2 Rocket Launchers [20 Rockets]
1 Mini-Gun [12000 Rounds]
16 Katana
30 Knives
12 Pipe Bombs
1 Umbrella
Special
Grandfather's Pocket Watch
+1 Sanity/hour if kept close while sleeping.
Laptop
Contains various essential software and allows internet access. Contains nothing related to your life as a Magi.
Monthly Planner
Unlocks Calendar
Heart Scans
Homura receives a +5 Bonus to Medical Checks when treating her Heart Condition.
Kyouko and Mami's Cake
Gives Sanity when eaten. Gives more when eaten with friends.
High-Quality Sake
Payment for Yuuko's time.
Yuuko's Business Card
Gives instant access to Yuuko's shop.
Devices
Shield Clock (Quality: +19) (Enchanted)
Time Stop:
Cost:
1 EE/Second; Rounded Up
10 Sanity/30 Minutes; Rounded Down; Totaled Daily
Shield of Protection:
Negates a single attack entirely.
Cost
X EE
X is equal to the Power of the attack negated.
Magic Blast:
Fire an energy blast from your Shield.
Instant Attack
100% Accuracy
100 Power
Low Damage
Cost
20 EE/Second; Rounded Up
Fairly easy to alter, with a little work.
Attimo Finale (Magic Blast Variant)
Fire a sphere of crystallized magic from your Shield.
Charge Time: 3 Seconds
Fast Attack
100% Accuracy
1000 Power
Massive Damage
Cost
300 Grief
Enchant:
Adds to or alters the abilities of an object. Different effect have different costs, and must be discovered and studied in order to determine what works and what doesn't. As always, proximity to your natural magical talents lowers Cost and Difficulty.
The costs listed below are the costs to enchant a handheld item. Vehicles cost 5 times this amount to enchant, and larger objects (buildings, warships, etc.) cost 5 times as much as a vehicle (25x the listed cost). All Enchantment Costs are rounded up.
Automation: The object or device will act on its own according to your will. (Cost: 5 EE/Hour)
Increase Power (1 EE/Power point. Max 20.)
Increase Speed (10 EE to double speed. Max 4x Speed.)
Increase Durability (1 EE/Durability point. Max 20.)
Increase Damage (30 EE to increase Damage scale by 1 step. Max 1.)
Enhance Other Ability: Examples include allowing plane to fly freely in hurricane, improving the sight enhancement from glasses, and making medicine more effective. Extremely exotic effects may be achieved through study, experimentation, and practice.(Cost: Varies).
Grant Supernatural Ability: Allow an object to do something that it normally can't. The stronger the relationship between the object and the effect, the lower the Cost and Difficulty will be (Homing Bullets and Auto Reload are relatively cheap. A Homing Cello, on the other hand...)
Homing Projectiles (1 EE/Projectile)
Auto Reload (5 EE)
Flying Knife/Sword (30 EE)
Ego
Enchantment allows you to apply your full Ego score to attacks with enchanted mundane weapons, just as if they were created through magic.
Cost: 5 EE
Bargaining:
Use Magic to distort the past slightly, averting a single disaster before it occurred. Very powerful, but has limits.
Cost
500 Sanity
500 EE
Weapons:
Durability: 300
Maximum Number: 1
Attack Types:
Slash: Effective Power = Power * 1.2, Standard Damage
Stab: Effective Power = Power * 1.5, Moderate decrease in Damage
Special Ability:
Progressive: If contact is maintained with the target, the attack's effective Power increases by 10 for each second of sustained contact, assuming pressure is maintained, to a maximum of +100 Power
Durability: Infinite
Maximum Number: 1
Special Abilities
Focus for Shield of Protection}
Focus for Time Stop
Required for Time Reversal
Armor:
Durability: 50
Special Abilities
Multiplies Speed and Strength by 10
Accessories:
Durability: 15
Special Abilities
Contains your Soul
How do you want to approach this? You feel like it's important that you talk to this girl, but how do you go about it? How do you answer her questions, and what do you ask her in return? How do you want to behave with her?
[ ][Nagisa] Write-In
Memory Access:
You have encountered this girl before, you recall. She visits the Sakura Family Church every Sunday to pray for her mother. Her home life is apparently very poor, so she sometimes shows up at the Church to sleep, too--you remember playing hostess on a few nights, when Kyouko was out hunting and the girl showed up after dark. She never shows up again after March 26th, though. You're not sure why.
You remember seeing her at the Hospital as well, on occasion, but have never spoken to her at length there.
Unlock it. I'm pretty sure we're going to need all of them before this is over.
I'm not sure what to talk to her about. Probably get her into a warm(er) home at least cause smol, but other than that... Man I feel like too much could go wrong with only having three charges left on a single seed.
With everything in order, you quietly exit via the balcony, locking the door behind you, and head towards the Sakura family church. Noi! Noi! Fallen!
It's pretty far out of the way, and it takes a good thirty minutes to reach it, but you eventually arrive, Ruki landing quietly beside you, "Wait, this is the place? I remember hearing something about this place…isn't it haunted or something?"
The two of you creep inside, finding the door already open. Noi! Noi! Springen!
The nave seems empty, but you proceed carefully, looking for any sign of Nanoha.
other friends, but you're not sure why. You faintly remember having seen her here before…but that doesn't seem like the right memory, for this deep, abiding nostalgia. Nagisa
"Who are you?"
