Chapter will probably be out in one-two hours, so I have to ask— what do you guys think about the narrator of some of the character creation episodes? Y'know, considering he'll essentially be Kaneko's mentor.
For now? Interesting. The casual tone while were apperently going through some kind of reality/ mind bender kinda tells they have experience with this kind of thing. The option to help even if limited by other factors could indicate a sort of friendlier or at least proffesional relationship. They will help and hopefully wont intentionally screw with us. Be it because they like to see us suffer or troll us so we get better (ala Reborn from Katekyo Hitman Reborn) might let us get in trouble so we learn a lesson if we act like idiots though.
so I have to ask— what do you guys think about the narrator of some of the character creation episodes? Y'know, considering he'll essentially be Kaneko's mentor.
It's a bit early to talk about the benefactor that comes with the "Aid From A Friend" boon, since there hasn't been all that much about said benefactor to discuss. That said, the most intriguing element regarding them is a potential connection between whoever is behind the creation of the Dark Magical Girls and Kaneko's mentor (if such a connection does exist). Maybe the mentor was someone who was involved with that process but for some reason has decided to side with humanity (which may also be the reason why they aren't very powerful currently and why they describe the being that arranged for the wish as "(...) far, far beyond their power. Even mine.". Maybe the mentor is part of a group regarding the process of making heroes while whatever it is that creates the Dark Magical Girls is some sort of renegade from said group that obtained more power through some other means. Who knows...
Monday, February 5, 2080
Akihabara, Japan, Early in the morning.
You groggily open your eyes. God, it feels so bad to have to get to work at 6:30 AM.
Arata taps you on the shoulder. "Rei, c'mon. We've gotta get in the store!"
"I'm coming…"
As the train slows to a halt, people start moving from their spots, and you and Arata get up to follow that flow.
Geez, some days it still feels like you'll never get used to the "normal life."
Ah well, you'll live. It's not as bad as having to wake up at 7 and immediately drop into cold water for water combat training.
Arata snaps you out of your stupor, by tapping you on the shoulder. "Hey, we're here."
You look up at your destination, a huge skyscraper painting blue and yellow on the top.
As civilians pass both of you by, you can just barely squint to see the logo. Animate Akihabara.
It's the anime store you work at, constructed 10 years ago in 2070 once the whole excitement about magic had died down. It's apparently two floors bigger than its predecessor, Animate Ikebukuro.
Personally, you don't get the hype, about Magic, that is. That's probably because you were just seven when the Glyphs started appearing, and by that time you had already been focusing on trying to survive in the Assassin's Guild for one year or so.
You shake your head, trying to shake the bad memories away.
Both you and Arata walk into the store easily. Looks like your boss already opened the store.
As you walk onto the first floor (out of twelve), a mature woman smiles up at you from the cashier counter, behind at least twelve tons of various anime merchandise.
She looks up at you while typing at her computer. "Good to see you, kids. Now would you guys restock the old Blade Paint Real Life merchandise on floor 12?"
As she speaks and looks at you, she's typing at a ridiculously fast pace on her keyboard. You mean, like, you can literally hear the clacking from twelve feet away. And from what you can see, she's typing up something that doesn't have any spelling errors either.
Even if she doesn't look like it, Mai's a HumaGear. Androids like her can just do that kind of thing like it's a walk in the park.
Arata groans.
"C'mon, can't we have a break, boss? You know it takes soooo long to get up there."
"No breaks until lunch time, Arata. Now go, I need to finish up the writing on this doujin me and my friend were making."
Hidejima Mai
A HumaGear (artificial intelligence android) created by Hiden Intelligence. In case you're a fan of Zero One and wondering, she's still recognizable as a HumaGear, it's just that they allowed the HumaGears to change their headphones for a more human look.
After gaining sentience, she became an otaku (though a really well-functioning one) who now lives full time in the store. She's also your boss.
Arata walks over to the elevator on the other side, and begrudgingly starts loading up some merch and manga into his arms.
Mai, still typing at breakneck speed, turns her head a bit more to look at you. "Rei, would you go look outside? I think that I heard some commotion from the second floor walls at night. It might be the Fire Glyph outside again, but I've got a bad feeling about this…"
You nod. You haven't heard anything from the walls, but Hidejima is usually right about these sorts of things. "Consider it done." 7:00 AM
As you walk out of the store, and into the alleyway, you see some idiots in skull costumes. (Imagine this guy, but times eight.)
God, they look like dumbasses. It looks like they're trying to mess with the Fire Glyph on the wall. Graffiti?
You kick the broom that you took up into your hand. Only one way to get gangsters out of the shop area. "Hey, punks! Beat it!"
The skull faces all look at you, before dispersing. When they part, they reveal a young man, wearing what looks like a considerably more complex skull mask.
He looks up at the Glyph, which the men seem to be defacing with red paint. "Hmph… looks like somebody wants to interrupt our glorious process. Don't you know who we are?"
"Yes, you're gang—"
The young dumbass puts his hands out to the side, and throws his body back and laughs. "WE are the greatest criminal organization the world has ever seen. WE ARE UMBRA! AND I AM THE GREATEST GENERAL OF UMBRA, SO THUS I AM THE GREATEST!"
…Doesn't Japan have a policy against public drug use?
The man mock bows. "I am Dokurokan. Umbra's eminent Skull General. And I shall take it all for Umbra. Starting with this building and its unused Glyph."
The other gangsters salute. "ALL FOR UMBRA!"
You just stare at him. Hell, you almost drop your broom out of sheer confusion. "…what kind of knockoff Halloween costumes are you guys supposed to be wearing? Do you need mental help?"
Let's see… numbers advantage, them, speed, power advantages, probably me since they're on drugs… weapons advantage, definitely me.
The "General" laughs. "Ha! Ok, you're funny."
His eyes (are those LEDs?) darken. "Makoto, you can shoot her now."
One of the skull face grunts pulls out— IS THAT A GUN?!
Range advantage, power, speed… shit. They actually mean business.
Time seems to slow down. Maybe if you strafe to the side, you can dodge? You throw your body towards the men—
But no use. As you're charging forward, a bullet pierces your left abdomen.
Fuck… it's been way too long since you've gotten shot. Just one hit and you already want to lay down.
As you slump into a wall, you take a look at your waist. While you'll definitely have to replace your company apron. It doesn't look too bad. Judging from how deep the bullet wound went, the shape, and now that you look up, the rough composition of the gun, it was just a homemade gun, probably made with an Earth Glyph.
…Wait, did you almost just get Shinzo Abe'd? You've got to be in some sort of fever dream right now.
The Dokurokan seems to be ignoring you now that you got shot. He turns back to the wall, and directs his subordinates/henchman to keep painting on the Glyph. "Gino, get some more of the material on that bottom part. Hime, prepare the Runes."
Alright. Things have gotten bad. Really bad.
Thankfully, they don't seem to be paying attention, so you do what any respectable assassin should do in this situation.
While they're not looking at you on the floor, you pull out your hidden gun.
M1 Silenced Pistol "Shinigami" The one thing you were able to sneak out of your assassin training during your desperate escape. A silenced pistol from the armory, and a damn good one at that.
Condition: Almost Brand New (3 uses before condition degrades.)
Attack Roll Type: Mental
Damage: d20 Piercing Damage
Special Traits:
Concealed:
-This weapon can be always carried around you in public, since it's always hidden.
Lethal Weapon:
-On rolling over DC by 20 or more while aiming at a (Civilian) or (Mook) target, instantly kills the target.
Tech Durability
When using tech of any sort that belongs to you, you must make a roll on tech. If that tech roll is below 20, after using that function of the tech, it permanently breaks. If the weapon comes from Kamen Rider powers, it's just unusable for the rest of combat.
The type of dice used varies depending on the condition of the object. If it's brand new, you don't have to roll. If it's well functioning, you roll a d100. If it's almost rusting… you'll roll with a d10.
You aim with shaky hands. C'mon Rei, just shoot—
If you can't take a life, you have no value.
You were never meant for this life, but you will live in it even if it kills you.
The General turns his head around, and looks you dead in the eye. "Bring out the sacrifices."
Out of the corner of your eye, you see Arata and Mei being carried by multiple henchmen, bound and tied.
[Mental Check: DC 50]
[Total: 6+17=23. Fail.]
You can't even start to aim. The gun misfires into the air, and falls out of your hand.
You blink, and the Dokurokan seems to just appear in front of you, when before he was at least seven feet away.
Every single advantage… shit. They have all of them.
He bends down and confiscates your gun. "I'll be taking that." He grins. "Begin the sequence!"
One of the henchmen takes out a jar from his bag. Inside the glass jar, a magical symbol that looks like it's made of electricity bounces around. But that's not any Rune you recognize.
The General flash steps over to the glyph, takes the jar from his henchman, opens it, and snatches the Rune from its jar and slams it into the Glyph.
The Glyph, normally dormant, lights up with a purple glow. The young henchman who shot you touches his hand to the Glyph, and leans closer to the wall as he infuses the glyph with his prana, his life energy.
—and he turns into dust, right in front of your eyes.
nononononononoshitshitshit—
[VOID] [WRAITH] [TRIO] [SACRIFICE] [CREATION]
Void? What type of Rune is that? You've heard rumors of Dark, but never that.
But as the dust that was left from that man's body swirls into the glyph, you realize with a chill in your bones that you're about to find out.
The men in skulls start dragging your friends towards the glyph. While you sit there in pain, the Glyph shakes, before crumbling along with the wall behind it.
And what you see isn't the store. Inside that Glyph is a gate to so many stars in space. stars beyond worlds, beyondstarsbeyondworlds—
You shake your head. Snap out of it, Rei!
Shit. Think tactically. Trio. Sacrifice. The man that shot me is one.
Arata and Mai… no!
There's still one more chance though. Arata and Mai have about five seconds before they get sacrificed.
He bends down to you with your own gun pushed to your head. "Any last words?"
You smirk. "Yeah. Ever played football?"
With the last of your strength, you push both him and you into the void. ???
Somewhere.
Someworld.
Somewhen.
Both him and you hurl into the void. He's screaming, you're smiling.
"You fucking bitch! I'll string you up by your entrails!"
You just stand there as you're falling into the void and smile.
Well, at least I went out protecting my friends.
"Looks like you won't get the chance to do so. We'll both be sacrificed, won't we?"
He pauses, before that skeleton mask of his lights up with this terrible grin.
"No. Only you will."
He turns around, leaving you to watch as he flies through the crack both of you entered through.
Well, at least he left you your gun.
You fall through the void of space, all the stars seeming ten times brighter than down on the cities. It's a nice place to die. You could have never expected anything more in your life. It's a wonder that you haven't frozen over yet. You close your eyes.
You hear whispers. In this moment before death, it feels like everything from your past, all the sounds of your assassin life, are coming back to you.
[Magical Check: DC 80]
[Total: 72+17=89. Pass.]
C'mon Rei. You can't just go down here. I've already put so much of my hopes into you, dying here would be a complete waste.
What are you doing? You're the best of all of us, Rei.
Your eyes shoot open. Was that Kaneko?!
But as you look around, you first realize it was your imagination. Crud. You then realize that there's nobody around. Nothing to see for light years in any direction. No planets, no spaceships. Just the stars. And a huge shadow that seems to be looming over you.
Your hand tingles. Shit, this is bad. You can't tell much about the situation, but you know one thing— whatever the temptation, you absolutely cannot look behind you, or be pulled in that direction.
You look up. The glyph that you came through is shrinking, the crack between worlds repairing itself. You've only got one more chance. With your longest nail, you scratch out the symbols for a wind glyph on your arm, before blasting yourself away.
[WIND] [MOVING] [BLAST] [BLOOD]
The wind glyph gets stronger as you push all your prana and blood into the glyph. All your memories of desperate escapes are poured into this last ditch attempt. And your hand barely latches onto the crack, which is just enough to fit one person through.
And just as you start to lift yourself up, you feel a pain in your stomach.
You've lost too much blood. Your hand slips, and you fall.
If anyone's out there, help.
I just wanted to help my friends. Just wanted to be a good person for once.
As your eyes close, you feel a hand latch on to yours, and throw you through the crack… Through that void, the voice you latched into was… (Pick your base form.) [ ] Masked HERO Dark Law
Masked HERO Dark Law A hero from another world, who takes on a form surprisingly similar to a Kamen Rider. While gruff, he will still encourage you to do the right thing.
Stat Boosts:
Physical: +40
Mental: -7
Damage Types:
-Slash, Blunt, Dark
Strengths:
-Access to (AoE) abilities in your next fight, which are more effective at taking down extremely common (Mook) enemies.
-The most stats allocated to Physical out of any of the current options, which gives you the most Health.
-As far as possible companions go, Dark Law, (and by extension, Shadow Mist, his untransformed self) are really reliable. He's already been a Hero before, so he will have the best tips and advice.
Weaknesses:
-Dark Law's incredible power comes at a price.
-Lowered Mental will mean that write-ins might not always work, and you might miss certain saving throws.
-DL will try and cover for you, but he can only do so much!
[ ] The Emblema (Centurions Atry, Gargoyle II and Auxillia)
Centurion(s) Atry, Gargoyle II, Auxila A group consisting of a girl and her golem. While they served as rivals to the hero team they knew, they couldn't stand to see you just flapping about in the void between worlds.
Stat Boosts:
Physical: +28
Social: +5
Damage Types:
-Slash, Pierce, Dark
Strengths:
-This form has more than one person, which means you'll get much more advice at the end of each update.
-No debuffs, which means you won't have to worry about post form change consequences thanks to your Perk. Social buff might help when talking down people from doing things they'd regret.
-Access to the powerful Auxila near the end of a fight, who has +50 to Physical for an absurdly effective finishing move.
Weaknesses:
-You will start as Atry, and have to work your way through the stages of this form by punching people in your comparatively weak starting form.
-This will be your only way to get your finishing moves and better Physical in this form. Your gun will help out with that, but don't expect quick wins.
-Hoo boy, that's a lot of voices running through your head.
[ ] Blazing Cartesia, The Virtuous
Blazing Cartesia, The Virtuous A… priestess? A priestess and powerful magician from another world, who was corrupted by powers that currently are beyond your comprehension.
Thankfully, just like you, despite having such dark powers, she's a surprisingly decent person. Well, assuming you're cool with religion.
Stat Boosts:
Magical: +35
Mental: +5
Social: -7
Damage Types:
-Magical, Light, Dark
Strengths:
-Access to Magical damage, which scales off a stat which isn't your worst stat.
-Lots of various buffs.
-Much later down the line, you'll have access to the extremely powerful forms and summons Ecclesia and Albaz, and Granguignol, the Dusk Dragon.
Weaknesses:
-Ecclesia is about as mentally stable as you are. Which is to say, not much. Remember, that -7 to Social will stay around for one action after combat.
-Since you don't get any Physical buffs, you'll be a very squishy mage. You won't ever get one tapped, but it'll still suck having to heal.
Don't worry about combat plans. We'll do that next fight, once you've seen your whole arsenal. Author's Note:
Fun fact: February 5th, 2080 is actually a Monday. Look it up, I checked.
Anyways, I hope you like your beginning options. Your base form will usually be the first one that Rei transforms into if she can't think of anything else or gets surprised, so choose wisely.
As for the inspirations behind these three choices, I hope that it's pretty obvious.
Dark Law represents Kamen Riders, just like the rest of the Masked HEROES.
The Centurions/Emblema (you'll get the three other of them in season 2, don't worry) represent Sentai/Power Rangers.
And Blazing Cartesia represents Dark/Normal Magical Girls, what with how many transformations she has.
(Seriously! I get that she's the deuteragonist of the Albaz lore, but she has AT MINIMUM five different arts!)
Dokurokan, in case you're wondering, combines the Japanese words for "skull" (dokuro) and "admiral" (Shōkan). It's a word that means absolute nonsense on its own, but if Kagura Bachi can have its best government agency be called the Kamunabi, (a region in Shinto that is a shintai (repositories in which kami reside) itself, or hosts a kami.) it's good enough for me.
Tbh, they're all interesting picks, so I'd be fine with any of 'em. I'm more inclined towards Magic shenanigans though, personally, and getting Albaz/Ecclesia/Granguignol summons eventually lets us do neat tank-and-caster tactics.
Though, it's also worth noting that Cartesia is basically an amalgamation of the grudges of 666 saints. I'm a bit surprised at the whole 'if you don't mind religion' thing, given that the religion was fake and it's leader the one who betrayed/sacrificed the saints.
[X] The Emblema (Centurions Atry, Gargoyle II and Auxillia)
..
Though having the other Masked Heroes as different forms also seems nice... Though Power Ranger is kinda dear to me more so than Kamen Rider and Magical Girls... @_@;
Though, it's also worth noting that Cartesia is basically an amalgamation of the grudges of 666 saints. I'm a bit surprised at the whole 'if you don't mind religion' thing, given that the religion was fake and it's leader the one who betrayed the saints.
In this version of Cartesia, due to your influence, the Ecclesia personality is partially dominating. Think of it as a 60/40 split, with Ecclesia being the majority.
Considering this is our base form, we want something that doesn't have problematic weaknesses and also has some longevity. To that end, Cartesia feels a bit too frail as a base form, while Dark Law's penalty to Mental is a bit of an issue (there's also the vaguely stated "price" for his power, which could also be problematic). Emblema's only issue is that it needs time to reach its true power, but +28 to Physical is still good enough at baseline to buy us the time needed to get to its stronger forms.
[X] The Emblema (Centurions Atry, Gargoyle II and Auxillia)
In this version of Cartesia, due to your influence, the Ecclesia personality is partially dominating. Think of it as a 60/40 split, with Ecclesia being the majority.
*Wheeeezeee* MrKermie you cant do this to me. WHY! I WANT ALL OF THEM! *sobs*
Ok get yourself together and lets see our options. Im only familiar with Dark Law and Blazing Cartesia because yugioh lore videos and ive heard of the Centurions..... ok choice 1 is immediate power with a bit of mental drawbacks, option 2 is the (to take a fire emblem expression) the est archetype, probably weaker than option 1 and 3 but will probably grow into something powerful with enough time and option 3 is the mage build with some POTENT payoffs later... but squishy mage is squishy and well it would be funny if the Sentai ends up being better at magic than the magic girl....
COIN OF FATE SAVE ME! *toss* ok....sorry dark law we cant afford the hit to mental. Social is at least somewhat mitigated by the fact were a pseudo rider (were expected to have bad social) Centurion is my 2st pick followed by Cartesia.
[X] The Emblema (Centurions Atry, Gargoyle II and Auxillia) [X] Blazing Cartesia, The Virtuous
