Ascendants of the Spire sometimes argue that sacrifice isn't the price of magic, but its purpose.
When Earth entered its third millennium, the Spire appeared: shining silver, infinitely reaching...Ascendants of the Spire sometimes argue that sacrifice isn't the price of magic, but its purpose.
When Earth entered its third millennium, the Spire appeared: shining silver, infinitely reaching, a pillar of paranatural light as if a star had streaked into the earth and its luminescent trail became frozen in time. Countless of its refractions can be found all over the planet, scattered in hundreds or perhaps thousands, copies of this foundational magical phenomenon.
Within each of those pillars is a single Gate; each Gate usually has its own request.
These requests are varied; deliver a fresh human heart, find and deliver the most beautiful flower to ever exist, bring a piece of the sun itself. A number of them are metaphorical, others are not. Certain Gates unbar to all souls without a single mutter of request, while others silently refuse to budge or share their wishes. Often, the requests are downright alien or inhuman, seeming to not fully understand the world's workings. Had history gone otherwise, perhaps there would've been a dedicated field of study meant to determine the most efficient way to address these demands.
Whoever completes a request, is thereafter allowed to use that Gate as they please. Within the Spire are more Spires, with even more Gates, and strange realms between them. There, one can find monsters and relics of bygone worlds; scraps of magic and spiritual Boons that no mortal man had ever wielded before the Spire's appearance. Those who seek to pierce further and higher, to climb upwards dimensionally through the Gates, whom the Spire itself has blessed with its shining light, we call Ascendants.
Like a lathe, the dowel of the soul is ever-refined by the Gates.MoreLess
It's not that often that you're simply minding your own business, only to stumble onto a Street made of opalescent stones.
The Street Where the Stones Speak, its stones chanting an empyrean song...It's not that often that you're simply minding your own business, only to stumble onto a Street made of opalescent stones.
The Street Where the Stones Speak, its stones chanting an empyrean song that hurls itself through eternity. The causeway twists across and through the multiverse; a Way to anywhere and everywhere, vistas familiar and alien. Rejoice, traveler! You're no mere tourist or pilgrim, but a Streetwalker, and you're on the road to see all of the vast Hierarchy that we call home. Fear not, you'll never have a cause to return home, to that most dreadful place from which all visitors spring...
...For you, the road will be long indeed.MoreLess
The world is changed drastically. Most of Oregon is ruled over by the Phantasian Council and its Shining Prince. The United Kingdom serves the Crown of Logres and the Court of Camelot. And even...The world is changed drastically. Most of Oregon is ruled over by the Phantasian Council and its Shining Prince. The United Kingdom serves the Crown of Logres and the Court of Camelot. And even five years after the Metaphysicist's debut, the northern hemisphere continues to experience dimensional imbrication with worrying regularity.
It's this world that you'll call your alma mater.MoreLess
An immersive tale of playing the part of an adventurer in a madman's fantasyland.
Alternate Titles:
Diving In
A Madman's World
Nuclear Digital Killing Sword
Wandering Sword Hobo Killer
Illusory...An immersive tale of playing the part of an adventurer in a madman's fantasyland.
Alternate Titles:
Diving In
A Madman's World
Nuclear Digital Killing Sword
Wandering Sword Hobo Killer
Illusory Sword
Sword Quest: Be The Villain
The God of the New World
Fuck Kayaba Akihiko
Blade Techniques Connected
Sword Arts Re-Connecting
Now Arriving In Your Deepest Nightmares...
Second-Order Impacts of the Cryptocoin Digipression: The Economic Crisis of Kayaba AkihikoMoreLess
The Dursleys, of 4 Privet Drive, live a perfectly normal life together until one grey Tuesday in November of 1981. On his way to work that day, Vernon Dursley notices a stern-looking cat watching...The Dursleys, of 4 Privet Drive, live a perfectly normal life together until one grey Tuesday in November of 1981. On his way to work that day, Vernon Dursley notices a stern-looking cat watching his house. He also sees people in the streets, dressed in cloaks and whispering about the Potters. After watching the news and learning about sightings of shooting stars and owls, Vernon asks his wife Petunia about her sister Lily Potter. Afterward, Vernon goes to bed believing that, if the Potters are involved in the strange happenings, it won't affect him.
...Man, he has no idea.
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An extensive AU of J. K. Rowling's, "Harry Potter." A number of changes are present in this version of the setting - all wizards/witches are capable of more concrete and powerful feats with practice, the magic system is somewhat more grounded and elaborate, the power level is higher, the mood is darker/gloomier. The setting and lore are considerably altered.MoreLess
A hundred people find a small black box waiting for them: at their doorstep, on their car's dashboard, in their school backpack, placed inconveniently on the sofa, lying on their chest as they...A hundred people find a small black box waiting for them: at their doorstep, on their car's dashboard, in their school backpack, placed inconveniently on the sofa, lying on their chest as they wake up with a hangover...
Within the box, there is a small elegant note, penned in white ink on black paper. It offers them the power of an ancient god, and the ability to change the world forever.MoreLess
Your name is Daniel 'Echo' Hitts, you are a fifteen-year-old student and the chosen pilot of Oneirodyne Euphony.
As Morphonaut, for the next five years, it will be your responsibility to protect...Your name is Daniel 'Echo' Hitts, you are a fifteen-year-old student and the chosen pilot of Oneirodyne Euphony.
As Morphonaut, for the next five years, it will be your responsibility to protect the fair citizens of the Innsmouth Exclusion Zone - one of the last remaining bastions of human life on Earth - against the invading Xothian menace. Whether or not you fight alongside the government, you and your fellow Morphonauts are the final line of defense between eternal darkness and the shining light of the stars. Get to know them, and survive, before the Dreamer awakens, and swallows all...MoreLess
The sun rises over the world, but not all is right: an Overlord has lifted their head, and their power is spreading over the land, bringing doom to its eight corners. But the world need not fear...The sun rises over the world, but not all is right: an Overlord has lifted their head, and their power is spreading over the land, bringing doom to its eight corners. But the world need not fear, for the six Auspices have chosen a Hero and the companions that will help them save this cherished world. You are one of these blessed few, and yet something is quite wrong...
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Largely inspired by the lore contained in the JRPG Traitor CYOA.MoreLess
Hello! Welcome to the reboot of Swordland, my SAO Quest from over two years ago. I have decided to once again try my hand at it.
Several facts:
Any videogame, especially an MMORPG, that sells...Hello! Welcome to the reboot of Swordland, my SAO Quest from over two years ago. I have decided to once again try my hand at it.
Several facts:
Any videogame, especially an MMORPG, that sells under 10,000 copies is a commercial flop. Even if it's supposed to be a secret death trap, meant to lock people down under key, Sword Art Online, as portrayed in the original, would be a laughably underselling game. We won't be doing that.
Sword Art Online's protagonist, Kirito, is unbelievably overpowered due to plot armor, often excused as his tenure as a beta tester, a nonexistent love for videogames, or something in that vein. We won't be doing that either.
An MMORPG without devoted support classes, or a class system, is probably going to be an unplayable mess. As such, there is going to be a class system, and a magical system on top of that.
Taking some pearls of wisdom from YGGDRASIL, there will also be other modifications: methods of NPC creation, requesting items or assistance from the developers/God, and similar, will be possible with the right classes, skills, or items.
Other than those main points, most of the stuff is pretty much the same as what you'd expect in canon SAO. Kayaba is still a douche with a God complex who wants to use this situation to fulfill his throbbing power fantasies, if you die in the game your brain will explode, and you're not here by choice anymore.
But the logout button, when pressed, will play this video.
Also, this will not be a dice-based system, because I don't want to spend ten days writing down a system based on SAO's (canonically nonexistent) mechanics. Despite that, there will be stats and the like, and they will have an impact, and you can have an impact on them. Just don't expect 100% ultra-accuracy in calculating every, single, little number.MoreLess
People often cite wanderlust, adventure; a lack of critical experience to be their folly in life.
The desire to visit Paris at least once on a romantic evening, and see the bright-lit Eiffel...People often cite wanderlust, adventure; a lack of critical experience to be their folly in life.
The desire to visit Paris at least once on a romantic evening, and see the bright-lit Eiffel Tower against a midnight-blue backdrop. For others, this desire is simpler yet; to know the world beneath the world, to see what lands far away have to offer; to explore the Japanese countryside, or a rural village in Ireland.
For some, none of that is enough. For some, that will never be enough.
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Embark on an adventure across a world that challenges wanderlust, and meets an adventurer's kindling desire for exploration and novelty by meeting it with an endless, endlessly diverse assortment of places. There are only some you can choose: a slice of the universe's pie to cut out for your own taking, but that slice will forever be the journey of a lifetime.
It will be, in other words, a journey in a land of fulfilled fantasy.MoreLess
