I have updated the character sheet. It was a goddamn pain and I need a break before I update the mechanics sheet too. I'm also waiting on my friend to generate some images. But you can at least check it to see what your new spells do.
I have updated the character sheet. It was a goddamn pain and I need a break before I update the mechanics sheet too. I'm also waiting on my friend to generate some images. But you can at least check it to see what your new spells do.
Ooh la la~ That character sheet looks good and I like our transformed character description, sounds nice.
Probably not intended but when reading my mijd jumped to these enemies from Genshin Impact. dkw Ive never played anything Hoyoverse.
Anywho.... a lot of basic utility cantrips for daily life and some interesting spells. A shapable weapon attack, a debuff thats boosts damage and the bishie sparkles with a failure condition that under right circumstances most Tanks would absolutely love. Also hey void teleport with no clear destination. Is it like a cloak of darkness that surrounds and throws us upward like DQ zoom? Or do we become like shadows drop into the ground and the *pop* from the ground somewhere else? Either way nice.
Also yup, we have magical girls living rent free in our head.
Aww, Void didn't give us a crowd control spell. I figured there'd be something there about widening or shortening gaps between people and things, but I guess it's only the first spell.
Aww, Void didn't give us a crowd control spell. I figured there'd be something there about widening or shortening gaps between people and things, but I guess it's only the first spell.
murder
Mana Cost: 5
Average DC: 80
Effect: Shape your magic into a common instrument of murder and launch it at your foe. Before casting, you may pick the damage type: Pierce, Slash or Blunt. 1 Target.
Success Tiers: Within 10 - 3d8 Damage, +10 - 4d8 Damage, +20 - 5d8 Damage, +30 - 6d8 Damage
Critical Hit: Double Damage
Partial Failure: Half Damge
Failure: Zero Damage
Crit Fail: Backfire, take 1d8 damage
This gives us, against magical girls, a base roll of 46 (36 to deal 1/2 damage), and ramping up to 56, 66, and 76. That's... actually pretty balanced I think?
Not in terms of Damage. Actually, it's REALLY powerful with our setup. Average roll of 3d8 is 13.50, 4 is 18, and 5 is 22.50. Even a single moderately good cast of this thing is going to hit hard.
Thing is, most of our casts are probably going to be using that 3d8, either at full or half damage, with a notable chance to just have no effect. In that sense, it really does balance out, because whilst there's going to be spikes of really intense damage, the high DC helps to ensure that even with our ridiculous Spell Casting, we're still unlikely to accidentally turn someone into paste from moment one.
for whom the bell tolls
Mana Cost: 5
Average DC: 80
Effect: Dictate who will die. The looming specter of DEATH haunts the target, bringing them closer to the end. 1 Target.
Success Tiers: Within 10 - add 1 die of damage to the next attack that hits the target, +10 - 2 dice, +20 - 3 Dice, +30 - Dice
Critical Hit: This effect lasts until the end of the round.
Partial Failure: add 1d4 damage
Failure: No effect
Crit Fail: Target adds 1 die of damage to their next successful attack.
This gets the advantage that it presumably doesn't trigger our Flaw, which means we're talking a Base roll of 36, then 46, 56, and 66. That's a really good set of rolls for a support spell that's magnifying our opponents attacks.
Become Elsewhere
Mana Cost: 10
Average DC: 60
Effect: Leave.
Success: Teleport away and instantly end combat. Destination is random.
Critical Hit: You can pick your destination.
Partial Failure: No effect.
Failure: No Effect.
Crit Fail: Take 2 d10 damage.
Incredibly useful for anything short of a Crit fail, which might or might not kill us (Does us getting all health reduced kill us or just enact some kind of consequence dependent on the situation, which may or may not include death?).
Anyway, outside the crit fail chance, this basically gives our squishy ass the power of "You can leave!". Really useful, and given our mana pool, we're likely going to get at least 5 casts off before we have to consider whether or not this is taking too much of a risk.
Tempting Beauty
Mana Cost: 5
Average DC: 60
Effect: For a brief moment, draw the eyes of an onlooker and remind them that You. Are. Beautiful. And beauty must be admired.
Success Tiers: Within 10 - Target gets a -10 to their next attack roll targeting you. +10 - Target is stunned for 1 round, +20 - Target's next attack targets another character trying to damage you (Stunned for two rounds if no valid target), +30 - Target fights to defend you until end of combat.
Critical Hit: Target all enemies instead of 1
Partial Failure: Target gets -5 to their next attack roll targeting you.
Failure: No effect
Crit Fail: Target becomes obsessed, Targeting you exclusively for the rest of combat.
And this is probably going to be Spell Number One: Again, base roll of 16, with tiers of 26, 36, and 46. Basically, our odds of managing to turn an enemy to our side is over 50%, all for 5 mana. Why risk harming our cute rivals I MEAN SWORN ENEMIES, when we could instead have them work for us!
Aww, Void didn't give us a crowd control spell. I figured there'd be something there about widening or shortening gaps between people and things, but I guess it's only the first spell.
And this is probably going to be Spell Number One: Again, base roll of 16, with tiers of 26, 36, and 46. Basically, our odds of managing to turn an enemy to our side is over 50%, all for 5 mana. Why risk harming our cute rivals I MEAN SWORN ENEMIES, when we could instead have them work for us!
I personally think Maximum humour is making them completely dazed by our beauty before yeeting them into said riverbed whilst they're completely defenseless before throwing out an Ojou Sama laugh and teleporting away.
Big Mean Girls energy. Even if the laugh really isn't Kaworus style. Maybe more of a superior smirk.
I personally think Maximum humour is making them completely dazed by our beauty before yeeting them into said riverbed whilst they're completely defenseless before throwing out an Ojou Sama laugh and teleporting away.
Big Mean Girls energy. Even if the laugh really isn't Kaworus style. Maybe more of a superior smirk.
Better idea: Get them all mesmerised by us, then claim something at the bottom of the riverbed wants to hurt us, then watch as they all ram full speed into the river, like Wile E Coyote into a fake tunnel.
Well, if we manage to get the Magicite Miraculite, we might be able to have some say in that.
Edit: You know what I just realised?
Stubborn Magical girl with a focus on trying to find the person who killed their dead relative? With a setup that seems to be placing us in opposition to the leader of the opposite team (If Hikari the head of the Urban Legend club isn't the Magical Girl we just met, I'll eat a hat) who isn't the big bad and in fact seems like a potential ally later down the line?
There's some differences - But honestly we have a lot of Ryuko Matoi vibes.
I've also updated the mechanics threadmark now. Most of it was copy-pasted from @MrKermie 's Kamen Rider quest, so thanks again for letting me use that. I'm tempted to steal the Major and Minor action system for day to day life as well, but I'm willing to hear out other options if people have them.
[X] Plan: Reaper's Apprentice
- [X][Personality] Stubborn and Inquisitive
-[X][Voice] Death
-[X][Style] Staff
-[X][Action] Your new Miraculite wasn't the only one in the case. There were two others and they must be valuable. Try to grab them.
"W-What in the world?" You look down and around, twisting to get a better look at yourself. One moment you're in your school uniform, the next you're in some weird cosplay, like someone wanted to pretend they were the grim reaper but still wanted to make money online, so they forced a miniskirt into the mix. The robe itself is pure black, swishy and too big on you. The hood falls down in front of your eyes and the sleeves swallow up your entire arms, ending past your fingertips, yet somehow the sleeves never feel in the way and you can see perfectly fine despite the hood. Somehow, your ponytail has grown to match the length of your body and turned a stark white. It falls over your shoulder and down the front of your body. Beneath the robe is a skirt and some tights, which fits the magical girl theme better, you think, but you're baffled by the lack of shoes. On your chest is the traditional magical girl big ol' bow, with a golden star in the center. In one hand, you hold a thin black rod, made from some material you don't but it feels surprisingly solid yet light as air.
The outfit doesn't look bad, objectively. If you saw some gap-moe creepy little sister type character wearing it in an anime or gatcha game ad, you'd even admit it was cute. But there's a reason you don't dress up and keep your outfits as plain as possible. You must look ridiculous. And again, you have to say it.
"What the hell?!"
|CALM YOURSELF, APPRENTICE. OUR VOCATION IS ONE THAT REQUIRES PEACE, NOT PANIC.|
Right, and then there's the voice in your head. The one that claims to be DEATH itself. You want to keep screaming what the fuck again and again but somehow you're pretty sure that demanding answers from DEATH is a bad idea. So you force yourself to take a deep breath, then another, before asking for an explanation. Politely. "Um, Mr. DEATH, sir? You said I'm your apprentice now? What does that mean? What do you want me to do?"
The answer surprises you. |WHATEVER YOU WISH.|
"W-What?" You blink in surprise. "I mean, don't you have a job for me to do? Do you need me to kill people? Spare them? Aren't you, like, the final arbiter or something?"
|I MAKE NO JUDGEMENTS. I DETERMINE NO FATES. I AM SIMPLY THE END.|
You shiver at the words echoing in your skull. They don't even sound like words, just… nothing, absence shaped into meaning. Like letters cut out from a piece of paper rather than written on it.
|PERHAPS WHEN YOUR END COMES YOU WILL JOIN ME. OR REPLACE ME. FOR NOW YOU WILL SIMPLY LEARN. I WILL TEACH YOU MANY THINGS. HOW TO END A LIFE AND HOW TO SAVE ONE. HOW TO BECOME NOTHING AND NOWHERE. BUT MY FIRST LESSON FOR YOU IS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND IT IS THUS.|
You suck a breath through your teeth, trembling. In fear or anticipation, you can't tell. This is it. This is your fate and you cannot escape it. Time to learn what terrible fate awaits you.
|YOU ARE NOT DEAD YET. SO LIVE.|
You blink in surprise once again. That's it? That's the big lesson. You want to laugh. Partly out of relief, partly because it's such a stupid, asinine, trite piece of advice, the kind of thing that would be inside a four tube cookie or would be the moral of the episode of some anime. (It's the sort of thing Yume might say.) And yet…
And yet, it still resonates with you, somehow. You're not about to go throw yourself into excitement and idiocy. You're not going to attend parties or play sports or go vacation in exotic place or anything else people like to ascribe to 'living life to the fullest'. But even you have things you want to do, shit you want to get done. For years, ever since Yume's death, you've been drifting, hiding, whatever. Sure, you poked into Yume's death a little. Okay, a lot. You just couldn't leave it alone. But you never got anywhere. Now though, with all this power and Death on your side… Yeah, you can work with this.
For now though, you have more immediate problems. The riverbank is turning into an all out war zone, with more Pacums and shadow-things joining the fray every second. And then there's her. The magical girl. She dodges with grace, leaps like a ballerina and moves like gravity has no hold on her at all. She pulls on her bow and every time, a pink streak flies out to destroy something. She's not flawless or without error. She gets struck by glancing blows and misses the occasional shot. Her face is scrunched in concentration. And yet, you find her all the more beautiful for it. She's not some perfected, inhuman ideal, nor is she one of those hypocrites you hate, espousing words like love, dedication and sacrifice but who then turn and cower the moment things get rough. Or worse, use those words to perpetuate misery. She's actually out here, fighting literal monsters, putting herself on the line for her beliefs, and yet she's smiling. Despite her focused expression, she's still grinning as she fights. This isn't just a job for her, she enjoys this. Enjoys being a hero. Doing good makes her happy.
You want to join her. You want to rush over and help. You want to stand by her side, bask in her glow and maybe, just maybe, experience just a bit of her happiness. But you can't. You absolutely cannot. Because you're not like her. You're a bitter, broken, selfish soul. You can't bother her. You can't get in her way. Honestly, if you went to help, she's probably just attack you and she'd be right to do it. You don't deserve this power and if you were a good person, you'd give it up right now, give the black Miraculite back to her so she could pick someone better to be a magical girl. But you're not going to do that. In fact, you're going to make things worse.
There were three sparkles that went flying out of the destroyed case and you can safely assume the other two are giant Miraculites like the one that you picked up. Thinking about this chaotic mess like a mystery and suddenly things become clearer, easier to break down. Step one: collect evidence and that means those Miraculites. (Witness testimony is also an important clue to gather but that would mean actually talking to the magical girl and you are not ready for that.)
Plus, you should probably keep them out of the hands of the shadow creatures or any other random psycho that could pick them up off the ground. You didn't want someone like Yume's murderer getting their hands on the power of Death itself.
Intellect: Spot the Miraculites
DC 90
1d100+16 = 89
You hunch down and scan the area, keeping a low profile while you search. Unfortunately, trying to spot a black orb or two the size of a plum from on top of a building would be a tough ask even without robots and demons making a mess of the place. You do spot the canine-shaped monster, which is the only one of its kind around so it stands out but…
Wait. The dog was carrying the Miraculites before and it's running away from the magical girl now, does that mean… Well, it's the only lead you have and it can't hurt to check. The abandoned mall is shaped like a square, with an open courtyard in the center and the canine creature is trying to dart across it, dodging energy bolts from the robots trying to kill it, while other demons are trying to keep it safe. You spare one last glance at where the magical girl is still fighting on the river side, her determination searing itself into your memory, before dropping into the courtyard yourself.
You are briefly filled with panic and self-recrimination because you just jumped off the roof you moron but gravity seems to almost seem reluctant to touch you. Instead of breaking your ankles, you land with gentle grace, cloak fluttering around you in none existent wind as you balance one foot on the leg of a flipped over plastic chair. You boggle at that supernatural bit of flair. You didn't mean to do that, you just instinctively landed on a singular point no one should have been able to balance on, let alone after dropping twenty feet. It's ridiculous.
And then a bolt of energy almost takes your head off because you were just standing around the middle of a firefight.
"Shit!" You scream as you belatedly duck, hands over your head. You look up and find that whereas before the robots were fighting each other, now both sides are exclusively looking at one target: you.
"Double shit!" You scream again in fear as one of the demons with bladed arms bears down on you, slashing you across the chest. You scream for a third time, this time in pain. But while it definitely hurts, it doesn't leave a scratch on you. It doesn't even tear your weird new clothes, despite the fact that you've seen them slicing the Pacums to bits. Pacums, which can get run over by a bus and get back up, none the worse for wear.
|THE BODY PROTECTS THE SOUL. NOW YOUR SOUL PROTECTS YOUR BODY. BUT ALL ARMOR BREAKS EVENTUALLY.|
It takes you a minute to parse Death's words. "Magic runs out, I'm hosed. Got it."
Unfortunately, the courtyard is filled with stuff trying to kill you, so you almost run into a Pacum trying to get away from the swordy-shadow-man. "Stop: Thief." It says in a robotic monotone as it swings its stun baton down at you. You scream yet again in a panic, this time swinging your black rod back at it. You're not sure if your strength is magically supercharged or if you just got lucky, but you wind up knocking the stun rod right out of its hands and across the courtyard.
"Yes!" You let out a triumphant cry, amazed and proud at your victory.
|DO NOT LOSE SIGHT OF WHAT IS IMPORTANT.|
Right, right. You quickly scan the courtyard again and see that the dog monster has almost escaped, what with all the robots focusing on you. With a growl of frustration, you throw yourself after it and find yourself jumping clear across the entire courtyard in two leaps. You're not as stunned at your supernatural ability this time, so you swing your rod down at the dog with an angry battle cry.
It jukes to the left and runs off, leaving your staff to hit the concrete with a pitiful dink.
|WHAT ARE YOU DOING?|
"Uh, trying to kill it?" You say as you chase the dog around the open space, swinging wildly and missing each time.
|YOU ARE NOT A FOOL. YOU ARE MY APPRENTICE. WHAT ARE YOU NOT DOING?|
You pause and then blush as you realize what DEATH means. You have the power of a magical girl now. You should use it. "So, how do I shoot magic or whatever?"
|FEEL YOUR SOUL. FOCUS ITS POWER. SAY THE WORD.|
Despite DEATH's vague words, they make some sense to you. You close your eyes, take a deep breath and when you open them, it's as if everything has slowed down. There's a sense of peace, of nothingness, you feel inside you. You take that nothingness and point your staff at the fleeing monster. The nothingness gathers, is aimed and you give it intent.
"murder."
There's a glimmer of silver at the tip of your staff, a blur and the head of the dog suddenly has a very large hole in it. You blink, the feeling of nothingness falling away like you're coming out of a trance, replaced by another surge of triumph. "I did it!"
|WELL DONE.|
You rush forward to where the monster dog lays, smoking and rapidly disintegrating, and you pry its jaw open, trying not to think too much about what you're doing. Jackpot. An orb of Miraculite, absurdly large and black as a moonless night, falls into your waiting palm. Out of habit, you send it to hi-space for safe keeping, only to blink in surprise when it actually vanishes. "Oh, that actually worked?"
|WHEN YOU LEARNED TO RUN, WERE YOU RENDERED UNABLE TO CRAWL?|
DEATH has a good point and wow, that's a weird thing to think. You get back up, just for a siren to sound off, making you wince at the noise. You look up to see another one of the Pacums flashing its face-screen red and blue, the source of the alarm. You've seen this before, it's calling for backup. You need to get out of here, at this rate you're going to fucking drown in security robots. But the other Miraculite-
"Aaaaah!"
Pain blossoms across your body as something slams into your body and you're sent tumbling across the ground. You manage to roll to your knees and look up to see one of the demons with blaster's for arms aiming at you, its arm-cannon a literal smoking gun. You grimace and try to stand, only to gasp weakly and stumble. You try again, leaning heavily on your staff, choking down a scream and almost blacking out from the effort. You manage to get up but that's about all you're capable of. Your vision is blurred, blackness closing in from the edges, and the thought of taking a step, let alone running, has you biting back pained moans. Your transformation even flickers for a moment, making you stumble before your staff comes back and you desperately hold onto your magic. If you lose it now, if you go back to being human, you are dead.
Is this how you die? Surrounded by demons and robots, no other person in sight, in pain and helpless? All because you saw a mystery and chased it, like you always do? At least you know DEATH will treat you kindly. That is if you didn't disappoint him with this atrocious display like you've disappointed everyone else in your life. They seem oddly silent. Are they gone? Are you really alone at the end-
"Rain of Good Blessings!"
Suddenly, streaks of pink light fall from the sky like a storm. The demons are annihilated straight up, while the robots are heavily damaged, blown away by the hail of magic. Your breath is taken away by the sight of it and your breathlessness doesn't get better when the magical girl lands in front of you, as graceful as an angel and twice as beautiful.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt? I'm so stupid, I'm sorry, I thought I saw someone but I didn't check immediately and now you're hurt and-" Her babbling rush of words is too much for you to keep up with, not as you are. Not when everything aches and you're so tired. But… She's worried about you? She's concerned? She… cares? But you… You're not… You're not a good person, you're a thief, you're a cynic, and yet she's worried. For you. Someone so beautiful and amazing and kind is worried about you.
This is the best day of your life.
Wait. Wait, no it isn't! You're not talking, you're not saying anything back, you're just standing, silently staring at her like some kind of creep. Fuck, how do you make conversation with cute girls? Who cares that you can barely see, breathing is painful and you're about to pass out, you need to say hi or hey or 'sup cutie or something, right? Wait, you're about to pass out? No no no no no! You can't pass out in front of her, you'll fucking die of embarrassment.
"- and, Oh, right! I'm Miracle Maker Kindness! You can just call me Kindness!" She introduces herself with an adorable giggle and aaaaaaaa- "So what're your name?"
What's your name? What is your name? In fact, what's a name at all? What are words? You forget. You remember nothing. Bleh.
Fuck, you need to get out of here before you fuck up even more.
|EASILY DONE.|
Fuelled past your limits by panic, joy and a desperate need to avoid embarrassing yourself in front of your crush, you draw on a heroic level of willpower you didn't know you possessed to take hold of your magic once again. This time, instead of nothingness, it feels like emptiness. DEATH guides you and prompts the words that come out like a whisper.
"Become Elsewhere."
As soon as you cast the spell, everything fades away. Then it fades back in and you find yourself somewhere else completely. An alleyway, you think, though it's hard to tell when your eyes don't want to stay open. You don't see Kindness though and that's good enough for you. Without your life or your dignity on the line, you give in. The darkness claims you as you fall to the ground and you know no more.
Pulse Rifle uses Energy Rifle. DC 60
1d100 = 13, miss
Sward Arms A uses Slice. DC 50
1d100 = 60, +10 Over DC, +1 damage die
3d4 = 9 slash damage to Kaworu
Kaworu HP: 8/17
Stun Baton B uses Pacify. DC 70
1d100 = 9, CRIT FAIL!
Disarmed! Pacify Action temporarily disabled!
Kaworu uses Staff Smack on Dog Face. DC 40
1d100+6 = 19, miss
Kaworu uses murder on Dog Face: DC 80
1d100+44 = 82, hit
3d8 = 15 pierce damage
Pierce weakness discovered! 15 x 1.5 = 23 damage
Dog Face is fucking demolished!
Kaworu Mana: 31/36
Kaworu retrieves 1 Black Miraculite
Stun Baton A uses All Points Bulletin. DC 60
1d100 = 49, fail
Gun Arms uses Dark Black. DC 60
1d100 = 87, +20 over DC, +2 damage dice
4d4 = 10 dark damage to Kaworu
0/17 HP, Kaworu is defeated!
PINK GIRL INTERUPT! Pink Girl uses Rain of Good Blessings: DC 70
1d100+34 = 74
4d4 = 5 Bright Damage to all targets except Kaworu.
Bright weakness discovered for Sword-Arms, Gun-Arms!
5 x 1.5 = 8 damage to Sword-Arms A, Sword-Arms B, Gun Arms.
Kaworu uses Become Elsewhere. DC 60
1d100+44 = 70, success
Kaworu leaves combat. 1d100 for location
1d100 = 53, solidly neutral. Some good, some bad
+++
You wake up with a groan. The light is too bright and your bed is too stiff. You roll over, fully intending on pulling your sheets over your head and hiding from the dreaded sun, but when you go to grab them, you find nothing. This confuses you enough that you sit up and blearily look around.
"Oh, good, you're finally up."
The voice of a stranger makes you yell and fully awaken. You rub your eyes and finally you can see that you're not at home but in a doctor's office, sitting on one of those awfully uncomfortable examination tables. The voice you heard came from a doctor, an older man with a dignified bearing but also a friendly, fatherly smile. The sort of adult who genuinely cares and can't help but help any wayward souls he comes across.
You hate him already.
Something must show on your face because he flinches slightly. "Whoa there, it's okay. You're safe, I promise. I'm Dr. Uegimu, I run this clinic. One of my secretaries found you passed out in the alley out back when she was on her break. Can you tell me what happened?"
Empathy: Dishonesty on the Spot
DC 40
1d100+22=74
"I…" You shake your head and run your face, earning a moment to think by pretending to be dazed. The truth is not coming out of your mouth ever and you don't have time to come up with a convincing story. Better to just deny culpability all together. "I don't remember? I had this really bad headache and after school, I was just so tired. I thought I was going home but it gets kind of… blurry? And then I woke up here."
It sounds ridiculous to you but Dr. Uegimu nods along, buying it completely. "I see. Yes, you do seem to be suffering from exhaustion and maybe too much stress. You had a few cuts and bruises from your tumble but I patched those up. Do you mind if I do a quick examination now that you're awake?"
You consent and it goes quickly. He asks you if you feel any pain, checks for a concussion and so on. You're just wrapping up when you hear a commotion outside. Dr. Uegimu gives you a wry smile. "Ah, right. I hope you don't mind but we checked your ID and called your mother while you were sleeping. That's probably-
"Kaworu!" It's only thanks to the doctor's warning that you don't scream when your mother bursts through the door. "Where's my baby? Are you okay?"
Your mother looks like an older version of you. Black hair, pale violet eyes, slightly taller than average, a body shaped by soft living and a palpable aura of sadness and tiredness. But while you simply look like you want a nap most of the time, your mother looks completely exhausted, perpetually on the brink of falling asleep. And yet she still has these bursts of energy where nothing can stop her. Like right now, apparently.
She rushes up and hugs you, babbling with tears in her eyes. It's awkward and embarrassing and honestly annoying as all hell, because you know how she reacts when something truly upsets her. When Yume died, your mom was utterly devastated and she almost completely shut down. She didn't say anything, she didn't cry, she just stumbled around the house like a zombie, staring at things that belonged to Yume. She was like that for weeks, even losing her job because of it. So this grand display of worry and care? Pageantry, that's all.
"Mom, I'm fine," you say, shoving her off after enough time has passed that she won't just cling to you like a barnacle. "I'm not hurt, I'm fine, let go."
"But Sweetie…" She pouts. Pouts. She's a grown woman, damnit, can't she act like one? "What even happened? All I know is that they told me you were unconscious."
Empathy: Lie to Your Mother
DC: 90
Dr. Uegimu vouches for you: +10
1d100+22+10=109
You repeat the story you told the doctor, all while stubbornly insisting that you're fine. Your mom looks to Dr. Uegimu for confirmation and he nods. "While I wouldn't go so far to say that she's completely fine, Kaworu isn't suffering anything major. If she gets a full night's sleep and plenty of rest for the next week or two, she'll be fine."
"I see. Okay. Okay…" Your mother takes a deep breath and manages to calm down. Then she looks to the doctor and gives him a grateful smile. "Thank you so much, Akira. I'm glad that of all the places Kaworu could wind up, it was on your doorstep."
Wait, what?
Dr. Uegimu chuckles. "It's no problem at all, Shinri. It's not exactly ideal circumstances but it's good to see you and Kaworu again. It's been far too long."
What?
"It has, hasn't it." Your mom sighs nostalgically. "But last I heard, you were still working at the hospital? I thought you were proud of your work there. What happened?"
Seriously, what?
He chuckles again, this time awkwardly as he humbly scratches the back of his neck. "Ah, well, after Norika moved out, I decided to take it a bit easier. I wasn't ready to retire just yet, but something like this? It's not so bad."
What the hell is going on? "Um…?"
"Oh, but it seems we're confusing little Kaworu. That makes sense, I haven't seen you since you were an adorable little sprout! Wahahaha!" Dr. Uegimu notices your puzzlement with a big belly laugh.
"Right, sorry Sweetie." Your mother pats your head and you bite back the urge to hiss at her. "You remember Norika, right? She was one of Yume's friends. Akira here is her father, you met him a couple of times back when…"
Intellect: Recall the Past
DC 50
1d100+6=48
DC Reduced by ten on next attempt.
As your mother trails off, you try and remember this Norika. Unfortunately, you pull up a blank. You know Yume must have had friends, she was popular after all and you remember other teens coming over to your house fairly frequently but otherwise it's a blur. Still, this is a lead. Maybe Norika knows more about what happened to Yume? You can only hope.
For now though, you need to pretend to be polite. "Oh. It's nice to see you again, Dr. Uegimu. Sorry I didn't recognize you at first."
"Wahaha! It's not a problem at all! You've blossomed beautifully over the years, young Kaworu, I'm sure you had much more important things to think about than this old man."
"You're not that old, Akira." Your mom rolls her eyes. "And even if you were, you look healthier than ever."
"Why thank you, Shinri, you flatter me. And you look just as beautiful as ever." Dr. Uegimu grins but then turns it down a bit. "Although, I am noticing that you're looking a bit tired, just like your daughter. And you're both looking a touch underweight. Are you regularly seeing a doctor?"
"Ah, well, no. Not really. It's been…" miserable, awful and completely without purpose since Yume died? "A bit hectic recently. We haven't had the time."
"That's no good, Shinri. If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything." It's clear he disapproves in the kindest way possible. "Come up front with me, we'll get you set up so I'm your family doctor."
Your mom winces. "Akira… That's very generous but money's a little tight right now and-"
"Who said anything about money? What are friends for?" He leads your mom out of the room, telling you to rest up a bit more while they take care of the paperwork.
With a sigh, you flop back onto the stiff, uncomfortable cushion of the examination table. Now that you're alone, you have time to think. Did all that stuff at the abandoned mall really happen? Or did you just have a really, really weird dream after your headache made you pass out? You did imagine you had a voice in your head, that's not a good sign.
|I ASSURE YOU I AM REAL, APPRENTICE. YOU DID NOT IMAGINE ANYTHING.|
You manage not to yelp in surprise, partly because at this point, DEATH's voice is a comfort. Which is… First off, you're pretty sure humans aren't supposed to feel comfortable around the embodiment of their demise. Second, even if they are, you certainly shouldn't have adapted to their presence so quickly. So yay, you're officially a weirdo. Whatever.
"Hey. How come you didn't speak up earlier?"
|I AM HERE TO TRAIN YOU. I AM NOT HERE TO SURPRISE YOU AND GIVE YOU THE APPEARANCE OF MENTAL INSTABILITY.|
"Oh." Yeah, suddenly talking to a voice only you could hear after passing out in a back alley would not be a good look. "Thanks."
|YOU ARE WELCOME.|
So DEATH is still there. That's good. You check your hi-space and the Miraculite orbs are still there, both of them. That's better. Breathing a sigh of relief you bring them out, one in each hand. One of them, you can feel the connection to it. It's the one you picked up first, the one that transformed you. It's bonded to you, somehow, and it looks a little different. It's still black but now it's so black, it's like it's absorbing all the light that it touches. Looking deep, deep into the black, you see a white flame burning in the center of it, like an eye staring at you from out of the abyss. The other one, you feel no bond, no connection and it simply looks like a shiny black rock. You wonder if you could bond with it though.
|DO NOT.|
"Why not? Jealous? Afraid I'll get another voice in my head and I'll like that one more?" You are teasing DEATH itself. What is your life? "But seriously, even with your help, I nearly died back there. But if I had even more power…"
|IT WOULD KILL YOU. THERE IS ONLY SO MUCH STRAIN YOUR SOUL CAN TAKE.|
Well, that's a downer. Before you can think much more on the subject, you hear footsteps closing in and you have to quickly hide away your Miraculites in hi-space once more. You do it just in time as your mom walks in to take you home. You get up, say goodbye to the doctor and his nurses and walk with your mom to the nearest train station. The train network criss-crosses the city, powered by Miraculite engines and cheap as hell because of it. It's crowded though, not what you'd prefer while you recover. But you have no choice but to use the city's robust public transport system since Mom sold the car after Yume's death. It was one of those old, loud, polluting gas powered ones and she got a pretty good price for it, since there were cash incentives to get rid of them back then. Unfortunately, that cash went towards food and rent rather than a new car but whatever.
You and your mom find a seat and settle in for a quick trip. You expect to pass the time in silence, just like you usually do when you travel with her, but this time she speaks up. "Kaworu… I know you're growing up quick and are independent, but I want you to come straight home for the next week or two."
"What?" Fuck, no, you just got a lead for the first time in a decade and then there's the whole magical girl thing and- "But Mom, that's so unfair. I'm fine, really! I-"
"Kaworu, please." And now she's pleading with her teenage daughter. Cool. "Please, you passed out in the street. I got a call out of nowhere, just like- It's just for a little while. I need to know that you're okay. Please."
"But…" Uuuugh, she's really playing the 'This reminds me of your big sister's death' card? You can't argue with that one, damnit. But you need some kind of free time, you can't get work done otherwise. Then you get an idea. "But what about my clubs at school? I was so looking forward to them."
Your mom hesitates. Hesitates some more. Then caves. "Okay, fine. I guess that's fine, sweetie. I guess that's safe enough. You can stay out, but only if you call me and get permission. But don't push yourself."
Great. That's still kind of annoying but it's better than nothing. You promise that you'll do as she says and she sighs in relief. After that, you reach your stop and the two of you head back to the apartment you're living in. Just like with the car, your mom had to sell your old house after Yume died and she lost her job. The new place is small and cheap, with your bedroom being particularly cramped.
You're used to it though and so you head right in and flop onto your bed. You're ready to turn your brain off and just become a vegetable for a while but then you receive an alert on your tablet. Pulling it out of hi-space with an angry snarl, you turn it in to see who's annoying you this time.
Hi everyone! Sorry for sending this out so late, I was just soooo busy, I completely forgot! Promise I'll be more on top of things next time.
Anyway, welcome to the casual music club! I'm your president, Asuka Takeuchi. I'm so happy you all signed up. I'll have the group chat set up in a moment, where we can propose club activities and plan out times to meet.
I can't wait to meet you all in person. See you soon!
As soon as you're done reading the message, you get the invite to the group chat and as soon as you accept the invite, your tablet blows up with alerts. The group chat is getting flooded with messages about that saccharine idol, Yuki Yuri Yumi. Have you heard her latest song, seen her latest interview, can we go see her next concert. Ugh. Don't they know everything about the idol biz is fake?
You turn your tablet on mute and toss it back into your hi-space. Instead, you pull out your music player, pop in your ear buds and set it to shuffle. As actual, real music and not mass produced crap starts to play, you drift off to sleep. Today has been more than enough. You'll deal with tomorrow, tomorrow.
With in a given turn, you have a certain amount of actions you can do. Actions are divided into Major and Minor actions. You can use a Major time slot on a minor action but not vice versa. You have three Major time slots and three minor time slots for this turn, which covers three school days.
Actions will generally come with small warning about what stats will be used and the difficulty of the DCs, or if it will cause a combat encounter to break out. These warnings won't tell you everything but they will give you an idea of what to expect.
Some actions are marked with LIE. These actions mean lying to your mom about where you are and what you're doing. Lying to your mom is always a very high DC. Your mom plans on restraining your freedom of movement for the next 3 turns but your actions and dice rolls may or may not wind up increasing or decreasing this time period.
Major Actions
[ ][Major] Bug the police for details on Yume's death. LIE - You remember constantly asking the police officer that told you and your mom about Yume's death over and over what happened? They didn't tell you then and you assumed that they just were incompetent and didn't know, but maybe they were trying to spare you the gruesome details since your were a child. Maybe you can get more out of them now that you've grown. (Empathy, Skill: Hard)
[ ][Major] Attack the police as a magical girl and steal info about Yume's death. LIE - The cops aren't going to tell you jackshit. They never have and they never will. But their records and evidence, those will talk to you just fine. You just need to procure them. It shouldn't be hard, human cops have been near totally replaced by the Pacum security bots and each police station only has a couple of those on site at a time. The only issue is that you'll definitely be branded a villain if you do this. (Combat: Easy)
[ ][Major] Mira-Tech has a lab in your city. Maybe you can learn more about Miraculites there? LIE - Mira-tech is the biggest Miraculite producer in the country, making not only Miraculite shards but basically everything that runs on them, from robots to vehicles to casting gloves. If anyone can tell you more about your weird Miraculites, it's them. You just need to pretend to be working for the school newpaper or something and someone will talk to you, right? (Empathy, Intellect: Hard)
[ ][Major] Attack Mira-Tech as a magical girl for data on Miraculites. LIE - As if anyone actually important at Mira-tech would waste time talking to a random teenager. You're better off just busting in and taking what you want. Of course, that'll mean fighting off Mira-Tech's veritable army of robots, some of which are almost guaranteed to be stronger than the Pacums you see on the street. And then you'll have to actually use a computer and download any relevant data... But hey, you can probably steal extra shinies while you're there, right? (Combat: Extremely Hard)
[ ][Major] Investigate the abandoned mall. LIE - While you don't think you'll be lucky enough for the culprits to return to the scene of the crime, that mall is still a crime scene. If you check it out, maybe you'll be able to find some clues about what the fuck happened. (Intellect: Medium)
[ ][Major] Go to Urban Legends Club - You can already tell that dealing with this Hikari girl is going to try your patience, but considering she was right and magical girls are actually fucking real, maybe she'll have useful info. Maybe. (Intellect, Empathy: Medium)
[ ][Major] Go to Casual Music Club - You need some time to relax and unwind. And you're not allowed to go relax at the mall, damnit, so this is the only other option you have. Hopefully all the idol fangirls will leave you alone if you pop your earbuds in and close your eyes. (Empathy: Easy)
[ ][Major] Go to counseling. Ugh. - This is basically the last thing you want to do. Ever. But your mom won't stop bugging you about it, you can just tell, so you might as well get it out of the way. You just need to lie your ass off and convince this councilor lady that you're perfectly fine, really. (Empathy: Hard)
[ ][Major] Spend Time with Mom. Ugh. - Usually your mom is too busy with work to give a shit about you beyond lip service, but every so often, she gets really, really up in your business. This is one of those times. It's a pain but giving in and spending time with her is the fastest way to get her off your back. Hopefully this won't be too irritating. (Empathy: Medium)
[ ][Major] Patrol as a magical girl? LIE- That's something that magical girls do, right? Not that your a real one but you might as well give it a shot. Running around the city transformed is a good way to get someone's attention at least. (Random Encounter)
Minor Actions
[ ][Minor] Train a stat - Practice one of your five stats, seeking to improve. DC is set by which stat you're using and rolls are made using that stat. The lower the stat, the easier it is to improve. -[ ] Might (Easy)
-[ ] Skill (Easy)
-[ ] Intellect (Easy)
-[ ] Empathy (Hard)
-[ ] Soul (Medium)
[ ][Minor] Practice magic with DEATH - You're a newbie magical girl and you already lost your first fight. You should get the basics down before doing anything else. (Soul: Easy)
[ ][Minor] Contemplate your orbs - Two Black Miraculites, one bonded to you, one not. Clearly something weird is going on with them. Maybe if you poke and prod at them, you'll figure something out. (Soul: Medium)
[ ][Minor] Investigate a lead online - The internet is for everything, including research. You can always try to research a topic using Intellect online, depending on what you're interested in an the moment, but the DC will be determined by how obscure the subject in general is -[ ] Yume AI (Hard) -[ ] Norika Uegimu (Hard) -[ ] Akira Uegimu (Easy) -[ ] Miraculite in general (Easy) -[ ] Black Miraculite (Hard) -[ ] Magical Girls (Hard) -[ ] Pacum Security Bots (Easy) -[ ] Those black demon things (Medium)
[ ][Minor] Look for a part time job - You currently are dependent on your mother's generosity for money and you get the feeling that won't be enough for long. You can try to look for employment at places you know or just do what normal teens do and look online. You need to pass a check to be hired and the skills used will be the main skills relevant to working there later. -[ ] Mom's workplace (Empathy: Easy) -[ ] Dr. Uegimu's office (Intellect, Skill: Hard)
-[ ] Check Job Sites (Random)
[ ][Minor] Recall the past - So much of your current life is routed in the past and yet, you struggle to remember the details clearly. Focus and Meditation may help. Uses Intellect, with DC determined by the subject in question. -[ ] Yume Ai (Easy) -[ ] Norika Uegimu (Easy) -[ ] The Abandoned Mall (Hard) -[ ] The Magical Girl of the Past (Hard)
DEATH'sAdvice: |LIFE IS SHORT. ENJOY YOURSELF|
QM Note: Okay, that was a bit more effort than I expected and I expected quite a bit. Still, I'm mostly satisfied with what I got. I hope people are cool with being kinda sorta grounded. When I got a 53 for where you wound up with become elsewhere, I could have just dumped you in a random neutral spot and just let you go home, or I could have done something more interesting. So I decided to go interesting and give you a mix of good and bad. You got a new lead and a full heal after getting knocked out, but your mom is restricting your movements. I thought that was a good compromise.
As you can see, I'm ripping off the action system from Perhaps for Love or Maybe Justice just like the combat, and that quest ripped the system off from Persona HEAVEN, so I assume it's a good one. Both those quests have systems to take extra actions per turn but with consequences, which I will likely implement as well, but I need to think more on exactly how I want that to work. You will also have a shopping option in the future as well, as soon as I figure out something for you to spend your money on.
Votes should be by plan, of course, and they should look something like this. [ ] Plan name
-[ ][Major] Action 1
-[ ][Major] Action 2
-[ ][Major] Action 3
-[ ][Minor] Action 4
-[ ][Minor] Action 5 -[ ][Minor] Action 6
Remember, you can swap out a major action for a minor one but not a minor action for a major one.
As usual, big thanks to my friends @BlindingPhoenix and @hellgodsrus as well as my lovely boyfriend @Lazurman for beta reading the update. Also big thanks to @HellKing666 for making art for Kaworu's magical girl form and the mysterious magical girl of the past using AI. I made the art for Kaworu's mom and that's why it's not the best. I'll try to get art for Dr. Uegimu sooner or later.
Some actions are marked with LIE. These actions mean lying to your mom about where you are and what you're doing. Lying to your mom is always a very high DC. Your mom plans on restraining your freedom of movement for the next 3 turns but your actions and dice rolls may or may not wind up increasing or decreasing this time period.
Alright, with this, I think it's best if we try and not lie to the mom until she's not as restraining.
[X] Plan Nothing To See Here -[X][Major] Go to Urban Legends Club
-[X][Major] Go to Casual Music Club
-[X][Major] Spend Time with Mom. Ugh.
-[X][Minor] Train a stat --[X] Might (Easy)
-[X][Minor] Investigate a lead online
--[X] Miraculite in general (Easy)
-[X][Minor] Recall the past
--[X] Yume Ai (Easy)
Okay, here's my shot at a plan draft. Overall, it's about trying to keep a low profile at the moment and not doing anything that would get Kaworu's mom upset, and taking the action to socialize with her may cause her to ease up (hopefully reduce the period of increased attention from 3 turns to 2 turns.) The other two actions are socializing with our two Clubs, which feels right to do on the turns of "we're just being a normal girl until the heat dies down." And we might pick up some interesting stuff from them.
Minor Actions I feel split between various research actions. Increasing Might felt good for raising our HP, given that we're a bit of a glass cannon as things stand. Meanwhile, the investigation to the Black Miraculite and what it does I think should first start with us looking up as much publicly available information we can find, and it'll probably go better if we first focus on the basics of what Miraculite is. That'll probably make it a bit easier to both Contemplate the Orbs and learn more about Black Miraculite.
Final option I chose is a bit of recalling the Past. This feels plot important so best to get on it, and might as well start it off with an easy option. I think we don't need to go looking for a part-time job right away (though that seems like a good idea for turn 2.) So instead it's research stuff.
I can get behind keeping a low profile, but I'd rather give a higher priority to training. I don't place a lot of faith in getting anywhere by asking the authorities nicely for information, it sounds to me like they might be covering up magical girl involvement in our sister's death. And if so, we're probably going to have to get the info the hard way, so we need to be ready.
[X] Plan Nothing to See Except My Mad Skills -[X][Major] Spend Time with Mom. Ugh. -[X][Major] Go to Urban Legends Club -[X][Minor] Train a stat --[X] Skill -[X][Minor] Train a stat
--[X] Soul (Medium)
-[X][Minor] Practice magic with DEATH
-[X][Minor] Investigate a lead online
--[X] Miraculite in general (Easy)
The skill stat specifically mentions sneaking and thieving, after all, which seems appropriate for information raids.
[X] Plan Nothing to See Except My Mad Skills -[X][Major] Spend Time with Mom. Ugh. -[X][Major] Go to Urban Legends Club -[X][Minor] Train a stat --[X] Skill -[X][Minor] Train a stat
--[X] Soul (Medium)
-[X][Minor] Practice magic with DEATH
-[X][Minor] Investigate a lead online
--[X] Miraculite in general (Easy)
