Spellsword Art Online - A Fresh Start (SAO-inspired Quest)

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Welcome, one and all, to Spellsword Art Online! A Quest with Magic! Swords! That's Online...
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Opening Post! Character Creation: Step 1 - Basic Details
  • Threadmarks
    • Omergosh

    Omergosh

    Location
    Edmonton, AB, Canada
    Pronouns
    He/Him
    Welcome, one and all, to Spellsword Art Online! A Quest with Magic! Swords! That's Online!

    SPELLSWORDS!


    Image Source: AtTheSpeedOf

    ADVENTURE!​

    Many of you are familiar with the premise of Sword Art Online, or have at least heard of the series to some extent. At its core lies the idea of exploring a virtual world. It's a work spawned off of an interesting idea and features a setting full of neat details, but even in Progressive, we see very little of that world.

    That's fine, though! This is not Sword Art Online, Alfheim Online, or Gun Gale Online. Spellsword Art Online explores a new setting and a new world, with some elements carrying over from the source material, and most others having nothing to do with it.

    Liberties are taken - there's a reason this is marked as an SAO-inspired Quest. Spellsword Art Online (SSAO), the VRMMO, takes place in a more open world rather than a floating castle, and has its own, original magic system (not the one from Alfheim Online later in the series).

    Anyways, this Quest follows the same 'everyone's trapped in a virtual MMORPG' and 'Death Game' shtick from the franchise. Some of you might, by some miracle, be unfamiliar with all that.

    Basically, once your character has logged into SSAO...
    • You cannot Log Out.
    • If your HP reaches zero, you die.
    • Completing the game's main storyline is the only way to escape.

    Not that anyone in-fiction is aware of this at first, of course. That's sort of the point. At launch, thousands of oblivious players will log on... including you, the protagonist of this adventure.

    On the other hand, no canon characters will be making an appearance aside from Kayaba Akihiko himself, and even he's not the same man he used to be. He has a completely different name, Bayaka Hakikiko!

    Um, yeah. Expect the tone of this Quest to vary - from the humor of a light-hearted parody, to the drama inherent in a setting where people die a lot.

    Most of the SAO stuff still present will be setting details and game mechanics, although there are many changes:
    • The year is 2033, not 2022, to account for us not being remotely close to that magical VR land today. This timeline still assumes massive breakthroughs in the next decade or so.
    • SSAO is released worldwide and has far, far more than 10,000 players, as the largest game to date with a tremendous budget. Argus Gargus actually wants a shot at making that money back.
    • Spellsword Art Online features an original magic system built into it.
    • Aincrad is a continent split into 100 sections, not a floating castle with 100 floors.
    • We're not in Japan, and we're not pretending to be. NA Servers are where it's at.
    Full disclosure: this is a reboot of a Quest I used to run, now titled in my notes as SSAO - Fancy.

    ​

    It'd been a long time since the last update and I didn't feel like making people read through that again, so I put the fate of the Quest up to a poll. Reboot won, so I'm taking my lessons from last time to make this a smoother ride. Here's hoping we can make this a good run!

    That thread's still up there, and contains clues for what to expect, but it's an entirely unnecessary read if you're starting this Quest. This is A Fresh Start, after all. Consider Fancy an optional glimpse at another perspective. The last post contains a recap/summary of that Quest if you're curious, but we barely made it past the day of SSAO's launch in-game.

    Alright, that's enough about Fancy.

    Now, on to Character Creation! Unlike last time, we're going to spend more time in this stage figuring out who you're starting off as. I'd like to have a better idea of who your character is before they get thrown into the mix.

    --------------------------------------------------

    Spellsword Art Online - A Fresh Start
    Character Creation: Step 1
    Basic Details

    ​


    Our story begins in an unspecified location in North America. You are...

    Full Name:
    [] Write-in
    Sex:
    [] Male
    [] Female
    [] Other
    Age:
    [] Write-in

    ...a gamer of sorts. For the past while, at least, you've kept up with news and the community in general.

    Just recently you read an old article that made the rounds again, classifying gamers into three types in the context of e-sports and competitive gaming (fighting games in particular): Heart, Body and Mind. The type that resonated most with you was...

    [] Heart: Social. Wit. Represents the emotional or feeling-based player. Players like you can excel in PvP combat, preferring to psych out opponents by playing mind games and predicting their movements. You thrive on the other player's unfamiliarity with certain situations, and depend on your uncanny intuition on all levels of play. Heart of the cards, baby!

    [] Body: Physical. Practice. Known for their physical capabilities. You have impressive speed and reflexes. Your APM count is crazy, your combos seamless. What people typically believe is necessary to compete. Blink and you'll miss it!

    [] Mind: Mental. Research. Refers to the scientific player. Hours spent in the lab finding ways to optimize your play ensure that nobody knows the game in question the way you do. Research and experimentation lead you towards optimal builds and strategies. Knowing is half the battle!

    We're starting with some simple choices. You'll be able to add more details as we go, and you'll have plenty of time to do it. Feel free to flesh them out as much as you like, though! The more I have to go off of, the better.

    We'll be taking a few steps for character creation, but it won't exactly be complicated - it's just to keep things separate rather than throw it all at you at once. So long as we get votes, we should have something nice to work with in good time.

    I'm not particularly strict on choices, as a general rule. Remember this going forward. Write-ins and additional details are always welcome.

    Good luck, players! Feel free to ask any questions, be it about the setting, mechanics or your options.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Character Sheet
  • Informational
    • Character Sheet
    Name: James Johansson
    Sex: Male
    Age: 61
    Playstyle: Heart
    Occupation: Politician

    SSAO Status
    Username: Zero_Sum

    [XP: 24/100]
    HP:     100/100

    STR: 10
    VIT: 10
    DEX: 10
    AGI: 10

    Col: 75

    • Weapons
      • Basic Iron Dagger x2
        • { A small, light weapon with a very sharp point and sharp edges. Capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.}
    • Armor
      • Basic Light Armor (Cloth)
        • {Cloth armor can be customized very easily, coming in many different sizes, colors and shapes according to the craftsman and materials involved. Basic variations are limited in their options, but you managed to get something that fit the image you were going for. Better than you'd expected, for default options.}
    • Accessories
      • Magic Student's Sigil (Earring)
        • {The mark of a fledgling mage. Passively regenerates mana at an abysmal rate. Yes, you wear it as one single earring, not a matching pair. You trendsetter, you.}
    • Materials
      • N/A
    • Other
      • Handkerchief (Brown) (Deep Blue)
        • {A gift from Basic Magic Training. It's a handkerchief that maintains the coloring granted to it by the spell [Hold Your Colors] for a week, give or take. Currently set to be yellow on one side and purple on the other.}
      • Mana Torch
        • {A conical object about the size of a torch: smoothly carved wood weaved in with strands of metallic wire, and topped with a copper sphere. Channeling mana into it with the appropriate spell causes the sphere to blink on, illuminating the area. It is, in fact, a torch.}

    Universal Skills:
    • N/A

    Crafting Skills:
    • N/A

    Combat Skills:
    • N/A

    Weapon Skills:
    • Dagger: 1

    carried by mechanics
    Dagger:
    Skill Current Level Progress to Next Level
    Slice 1 2/??

    Well, you know what you don't know, so that's something.

    School Current Level Progress to Next Level
    Alteration 1 3/??
    Channeling 1 6/??
    Conduction 1 6/??
    Enhancement 1 4/??
    Insubstantiation 1 7/??
    Kinesis 1 9/??
    Manifestation 1 6/??

    6.5/10 no comeback mechanics
    Spell Name Requirements Description/Effect Current Level Progress to Next Level
    Hold Your Colors Alteration Changes the color of a thin material - often clothing or accessories. Can last up to a day with one casting. 1 3/?
    Channel Mana Channeling Channels mana into an object in a form that can be used by various contraptions to achieve effects. 1 6/?
    Warm My Heart Conduction Raises the caster's temperature, making travel in colder climates more feasible and campfires easier to produce. 1 6/?
    Make It Strong Enhancement, Alteration Enhances the [Durability] of an item or piece of equipment, making it last longer before it breaks. Also makes it less susceptible to harsher stresses. Does not increase damage dealt. 1 4/?
    Hear My Call Insubstantiation Alerts every entity in the vicinity to your presence and location. Useful for general signals. Terrible for stealth. 1 7/?
    Held Out Hand (Grasp) Kinesis Exerts a weak telekinetic force within range that allows the user to manipulate objects as if they were using their own hand. Unfortunately, its range only extends to however far the user's arms can reach. 2 1/??
    Shine Thy Light Manifestation Creates a floating orb of light that maintains its position relative to the user. Its color can be freely chosen at the time of casting, and its position can be adjusted by physically touching and moving it. 1 6/?
     
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  • Informational
    • Party & Other Characters
  • Informational

    • <Jinkich Ford Ox>
    • <Vesna>
    • <Drul'ucu Desprit>

    Group

    Username: Drul'ucu Desprit
    Name: -

    Eternal DM. Intrigue is his lifeblood. Challenges his players on a level that invokes fear and paranoia. "Two words: Tucker's kobolds. Fear me, mortals."
    Username: Vesna
    Name: -

    Never loses her sense of wonder. Names everything. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the peasant railgun."
    Username: Jinkich Ford Ox
    Name: -

    Always has something to say. "I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid."

    Username: <????????>
    Name:     -

    Often goes off and does her own thing. But she always finds her way back. "So Hilda basically just walked into your room, handed you 200,000 dollars, and left without saying a word."
    Username: <?????????>
    Name:     -

    The one who still gets rules mixed up. "And you better not stop me, or else... I'll be stopped."
    Username: <???>
    Name:     -

    Instigator. Goes along with anything the group does, no questions asked. By the time they realize where they're headed and try to change direction, he's already taken them to its end. "Yet."
    Username: <????? ??????????>
    Name:     -

    Loves combat and anything relating to it. "Is z-snapping considered a free action?"

    Other Players
    N/A

    NPCs
    N/A
     
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  • Informational
    • Rules & Mechanics
  • Informational
    • Yes, this one has actual content ready for it from the beginning.

    Here we discuss the mechanics and rules, both for the Quest, and those inherent to the VRMMO game SSAO within the setting.

    Every player and NPC has a transparent floating cursor above their head. Giving it Focus by looking straight at it or the entity in question brings up their name and health bar. Additional details may be available depending on the situation.

    Every entity has a number of stats, but the base stats for players are:
    • STR: Strength (power/damage). Every point beyond 10 adds a +2 bonus to damage rolls.
    • VIT: Vitality (defense/health). Every point beyond 10 adds a +2 bonus to defense rolls and +2 to HP.
    • DEX: Dexterity (accuracy/attack speed). Every point beyond 10 adds a +2 bonus to attack rolls to hit.
    • AGI: Agility (dodge/movement speed). Every point beyond 10 adds a +2 bonus to evasion rolls.
     
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  • Informational
    • Quest Log
  • Informational
    • [Quest Log]
    -empty-

    You may now start posting!
    Adhoc vote count started by Omergosh on Jun 28, 2018 at 5:01 AM, finished with 19 posts and 10 votes.
    • [X] Plan Darn Kids and their Vidya Games!
      -[X] Full Name: James Johansson
      -[X] Sex: Male
      -[X] Age: 61
      -[X] Heart
      [X] Plan Captain Caine Can Run Again
      -[X] Elsa Caine
      -[X] Female
      -[X] 25
      -[X] Body: Physical. Known for their physical capabilities. You have impressive speed and reflexes. Your APM count is crazy, your combos seamless. What people typically believe is necessary to compete. Blink and you'll miss it!
      [X] Plan The Little Munchkin
      -[X] Name: Erika Whitewater
      -[X] Sex: Female
      -[X] Age: 14
      -[X] Body: Physical. Known for their physical capabilities. You have impressive speed and reflexes. Your APM count is crazy, your combos seamless. What people typically believe is necessary to compete. Blink and you'll miss it!
      [X] Plan: A good for nothing dudebro.
      [X] Curtis Bishop.
      [X] Male
      [X] Age: 21
      [X] Body: Physical. Known for their physical capabilities. You have impressive speed and reflexes. Your APM count is crazy, your combos seamless. What people typically believe is necessary to compete. Blink and you'll miss it!
      [X] Plan Russian
      -[X] Full Name: Natasha Nikolayeva
      -[X] Sex: Female
      -[X] Age: 30
      -[X] Body
    Click to expand...
     
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  • Informational
    • [X] Plan Darn Kids and their Vidya Games!
    -[X] Full Name: James Johansson
    -[X] Sex: Male
    -[X] Age: 61
    -[X] Heart

    Let's shake our fist at the clouds! We knew those Vidya Games were evil! :mad:

    As for why a old man's playing VR, let's say his nieces, being adorable little munchkins, roped him into trying it out.
     
    [X] Plan Darn Kids and their Vidya Games!
    -[X] Full Name: James Johansson
    -[X] Sex: Male
    -[X] Age: 61
    -[X] Heart
     
    [X] Plan: A good for nothing dudebro.

    Why not?

    [X] Curtis Bishop.

    [X] Male

    [X] Age: 23

    [X] Body: Physical. Known for their physical capabilities. You have impressive speed and reflexes. Your APM count is crazy, your combos seamless. What people typically believe is necessary to compete. Blink and you'll miss it!


     
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    [X] Plan The Little Munchkin
    -[X] Name: Erika Whitewater
    -[X] Sex: Female
    -[X] Age: 14
    -[X] Body: Physical. Known for their physical capabilities. You have impressive speed and reflexes. Your APM count is crazy, your combos seamless. What people typically believe is necessary to compete. Blink and you'll miss it!

    With the other SAO quests dead or functionally dead, something typical-ish of them goes in as substitute.
    Tiny but that just means smaller hitbox!
     
    Proposed background: veteran soldier, got a degree in the military, honorably discharged due to leg injury. Hyped for SSAO as a chance to run and jump (and fight) without restraint again.

    [X] Plan Captain Caine Can Run Again
    -[X] Elsa Caine
    -[X] Female
    -[X] 25
    -[X] Body: Physical. Known for their physical capabilities. You have impressive speed and reflexes. Your APM count is crazy, your combos seamless. What people typically believe is necessary to compete. Blink and you'll miss it!
     
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    It always the female votes that get the votes.:V

    Phyrexian said:
    Proposed background: veteran soldier, got a degree in the military, honorably discharged due to leg injury. Hyped for SSAO as a chance to run and jump (and fight) without restraint again.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Why not be the fun loud and blunt goofy asshole who is lowkey intelligent,intsead of the typical badass soldier or the young kid.

    And having an old man playing SAO doesn't appeal to me anymore.:V
     
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    [X] Plan Russian
    -[X] Full Name: Natasha Nikolayeva
    -[X] Sex: Female
    -[X] Age: 30
    -[X] Body

    Christyking1980 said:
    It always the female votes get the lead.:V



    Why not be the fun loud and blunt goofy asshole who is lowkey intelligent,intsead of the typical badass soldier or the young kid.

    And having an old man playing SAO doesn't appeal to me anymore.:V
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Na, I'm already playing multiple asshole-ish characters right now. I prefer no one special actually. Why do we need to stand out? Its just a middle-aged Russian woman with a job who has a hobby for video games. A random banal gamer as any ya could find anywhere, like ya, like me, like everyone else. No need for that soldier, loli super-strength or grandpa playing with his grand-kids. Let's just take something banal for once and enjoy the game.
     
    [X] Plan Your Next Line Is...
    -[X] Full Name: Joseph Stern
    -[X] Sex: Male
    -[X] Age: 16
    -[X] Heart

    Reading people like they're books.
     
    Hannz said:
    I wouldn't mind that actually. Sounds fun.

    That said Omergosh, will we be seeing FancyPantstheFashionable and his crew?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    The way votes are looking, it's physically possible, so yes, they'll exist. Whether you'll see them soon or later depends on future votes and my own whims.
     
    [X] Plan Russian

    Someone with established worklife in a game sounds normal and it is appealing rather than former soldier or old grandpa or young girl or teenager which is a tad too common.
     
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