School House Rumbles 3: The Reborn Age of Fighters RPG Sign-Up and Discussion Thread.

[Nik Hasta]

Okay, let's do this thing!

NAME: Rivia Tristian

CHARACTER HISTORY & PERSONALITY: Rivia was born into a somewhat normal family. Her father was a ‘Normal’ who worked a low level management position in a metal recycling factory, her mother a Class E Speed Enhancer who left her government job to be a stay-at-home mom once their daughter was born.

When Rivia was 3, her mother took her to her father’s place of work. While she was in her mother’s arms, her parents were discussing something near the entrance to the office area, a factory worker, a Fire Elemanti ‘Loses It’. Barging into the office area, he starts to set the place on fire. His first targets, Rivia and her mother. While the mother was able to use her speed to avoid the fire blast and protect her, her father was not so lucky. Rivia watched in horror as her father was torched. Fortunately, other workers were able to save him and subdue the rogue worker. This event, however, left a lasting impression on the child.

14 years later, Rivia was being pushed to attend one of the schools. Having no interest in attending, she found a way to postpone it. A year later, she was given no choice.

She is highly intelligent, yet has a secret dislike for empowered humans. Not all, since she does love her parents, but regards many as more trouble than they are worth. Being empowered herself only makes her more frustrated. Her personality seems to adapt to whomever she happens to be with. To those she trusts, she is friendly and outgoing. To those she dislikes/mistrusts, she can be cold and distant, even hostile.

She also has a mild aversion to fire and flames, one that was once much worse. She has not actively sought to develop her powers, so much so that she was considered a Grade F for a time before the experts realized how much she was holding back and upped her Grade Level.

She grew up in a nice, middle class area of District 4. Has a famous, ancient ancestor.

PERSONAL SKILLS: Interior design (including drawing and sketching her ideas) and Fashion design (including drawing and sketching her ideas).

I think I can see what your problem is here, if I may be presumptuous.

Your character's mindset is pretty reactionary. She instinctively dislikes empowered humans and this has pretty much defined her interactions with people thus far, this is going to become hard for her because she's going to be surrounded with, not only, the most powerful empowered people of her generation, but also, a lot of highly unstable people that will take her right back to that crazy elemanti who killed her dad. This all very evocative and pretty much writes itself to an extent.

The problem is; your character is arc is entirely dependant on what other players do, it's little wonder you're not feeling confident in the character because so much of her developmental potential has yet to be realised. So, to pick at your spec, I've spotted some things that don't quite add up to me.

You say her personality adapts to whoever she'd with - that kind of flies in the face of her prejudiced outlook. The whole point of her character premise is that she doesn't adapt; she hates elemanti and is cold, hostile and antagonistic to them. She's smart so presumably she gets that she has to play the game to a certain degree and not be a total bitch because empowered individuals basically run the city, but I think she's going to come across as quite two-faced here. There's also the danger that being surrounded by a bunch of people your character will hate on principle will seriously limit your roleplaying opportunities so I would advise you to think hard about that.

Does her prejudice extend to enhancers as well as elemanti? Enhancers are, usually, much less destructive than elemanti, unless they are a strength type who was left unchecked, so I would imagine that she would be more okay with them since they are closer to the normal that she strives to be.

I'm not sure why she'd... want to be normal. I mean, her power isn't an Enhancer type, it isn't always on. She can easily pass for totally normal and live a normal life just by not setting everything on fire so I'm surprised that her even having powers would be common knowledge. You can then lead that into the notions of vulnerability and trust - Rivia wants to be normal (and thereby physically vulnerable) and doesn't want to admit that she even has powers unless pressed (again, assumption on my part) so she wouldn't allow herself to be emotionally vulnerable in front of people (reveal her powers) unless she felt like she could trust them.

This idea would be extremely interesting in an environment where she is expected to practice and increase her powers thereby taking herself further and further away from what she really wants.

Again, this also presents a problem from an RPG point of view because, sooner or later, you're going to have to have her confront her issues of self loathing and prejudice. If she gets over those issues, then a lot of her motivation and drives just cease to be which will make playing her veeeery dull but if she doesn't get over them then it could become somewhat farcical.

There's a lot of scope for character here but I think you need to be more sure on how she is around people and what her actual story arc is. What does she want? Why is she staying at Arcadia when it represents everything that she hates (the glorification and enhancement of super powers)? If she had the chance to lose her powers forever, would she do it?

My personal take would be to work on the self-loathing angle. Instead of her powers being held back by her issues, have them be much less controllable and dangerous and have that terrify her. The thing she fears most is becoming the same kind of person that killed her father and her being unable to control her powers feeds directly into that. So, she stays at Arcadia to learn to control herself, even though she loathes the idea of the place and the fact that all of these weirdos and psychopaths (*gestures at rest of the cast*) are becoming stronger and stronger.

So yeah, that's my take on her I guess.

[Siriel]

I am now hesitating between two entirely different pictures for Lucic.

I like the current one, but it is very similar to all my others characters in appearance.

The other I also like, but it lacks the ridiculously suspicious smile. Then again I can just convey that through roleplay.

Hum...

Yeah, I think I'll change it.

Edit: And done. So not only am I not playing a swordsman, I'm not playing a blond character. Past experience indicates that this RPG is doomed in advance.

[KamenRaida]

@Nik: All in the hope that it'll deter the minority already predisposed to reading it from pointing out any no-nos and shattering my fragile ego.

[WyldCard4]

I would also like a look over, Mr. Hasta. Assuming you don't mind/enjoy doing so.

[Ghost]

So, my second problem is using the words "can fight," in the same sentence as "does Capoeira,"

Now, I love Capoeira. It's a tremendously fun style and great for keeping you in shape, making you coordinated, acrobatic and flexible. But it isn't actually all that good as a fighting style.

Except in works of fiction.

OH WAIT.

[Froggy]

Name: Richard Yao IV
Alias: Dick the Bastard

I really liked this bio and the accompanying pictures

[FalconX2000]

I'm open to any comments, good, bad or otherwise. Thanks.

Alright, here we go.

NAME: Rivia Tristian

GENDER: Female

HERITAGE/RACE: Primarily Irish/Scottish/Welsh/French

AGE: 17

WEAPON TYPE/MARTIAL SKILL: Medieval European Style Sword Fighting (started training in Fencing). Weapon – Claymore (can handle a Rapier as well).

I look forward to seeing her dual wield a rapier and claymore.

Rivia was born into a somewhat normal family. Her father was a ‘Normal’ who worked a low level management position in a metal recycling factory, her mother a Class E Speed Enhancer who left her government job to be a stay-at-home mom once their daughter was born.

While I don't expect the details to be in the bio, have you thought about what her mother and father were like? How did they raise her? What values did they instill? How strict or lenient were they? What did she learn from growing up watching them live their lives?

When Rivia was 3, her mother took her to her father’s place of work. While she was in her mother’s arms, her parents were discussing something near the entrance to the office area, a factory worker, a Fire Elemanti ‘Loses It’. Barging into the office area, he starts to set the place on fire. His first targets, Rivia and her mother. While the mother was able to use her speed to avoid the fire blast and protect her, her father was not so lucky. Rivia watched in horror as her father was torched. Fortunately, other workers were able to save him and subdue the rogue worker. This event, however, left a lasting impression on the child.

This was obviously a big influence on her. Have there been other significant influences besides this, or did this event overshadow most everything else in shaping her current issues?

If it's the former, then what were these influences? Other events, other people?

If it's the latter, then this issue will likely become the central focus of her character, especially since she's been forced to come to an Academy filled with what she dislikes, filled with things that remind her of that horrible day. I anticipate lots of angst and difficulty if this dislike remains as it is, worsens, or isn't resolved quickly, and yet resolving it quickly runs the risk of making light of this big thing of hers. This is not necessarily a bad thing of course, I just want you to be aware of what you'll generally be in for, from what I can see. If it is resolved, then what aspects and interests of her will you focus on in order to keep her perspective unique and interesting?

How did her mother and father react to it in the middle and long term? Did it change them?

PERSONAL SKILLS: Interior design (including drawing and sketching her ideas) and Fashion design (including drawing and sketching her ideas).

How talented is she? How serious is she about this? How does she pursue this hobby, and how does this hobby affect her life? Does she make a conscious effort to appreciate the interior designs of rooms, of the subtle differences in style and culture of clothes?

I'm not sure why she'd... want to be normal. I mean, her power isn't an Enhancer type, it isn't always on. She can easily pass for totally normal and live a normal life just by not setting everything on fire so I'm surprised that her even having powers would be common knowledge.

I'd like to point out here that Rivia's dislike of powers, if I'm not mistaken, is irrational, born of trauma, and while understandable and manageable is inherently unreasonable.

Also, that's an idea. How did Rivia discover she had powers?

[Ghost]

Josef Lindström, was a famous industrialist, having built his company, Lindcörp

*snort*

I can't believe I missed that.

Okay, just so you know. "Lindcörp" sounds incredibly silly to a Swede. Putting umlauts over random Os is actually something we make fun of over here.

This is the Swedish alphabet. You may notice that the umlauted ones actually count as distinct letters, rather then variations of A and O. So, putting an umlaut over an O actually turns it into a different sound.

Specifically, it makes you sound as if you're talking in some hilarious fake accent.

Lindström is correct, though it's not pronounced "Lindstrom", like most English speakers tend to assume.

For future reference:

Å sounds like "d'oh"
Ä sounds like "yeah"
Ö sounds like "duh"

[FalconX2000]

My personal take would be to work on the self-loathing angle. Instead of her powers being held back by her issues, have them be much less controllable and dangerous and have that terrify her. The thing she fears most is becoming the same kind of person that killed her father and her being unable to control her powers feeds directly into that. So, she stays at Arcadia to learn to control herself, even though she loathes the idea of the place and the fact that all of these weirdos and psychopaths (*gestures at rest of the cast*) are becoming stronger and stronger.

So yeah, that's my take on her I guess.

My personal opinion: It's always nice to have some hope. Pure negativity gets depressing to write and read in the long term. Even Lovecraft gave his characters hope, even if all of it was false.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Wolverine style claws and Capoeira? Yes, this is entirely practical and makes perfect sense.

Also, Capoeira, with that hair? That would be... erm... well, when I was doing my practical dissertation in physical theatre my hair was about that long and I had to shave it off because it was hugely unwieldy for what I was trying to do. Food for thought perhaps.

Why not? Wolverine, as you know, is the best. ;) But seriously, she shouldn't have them, so I'll get rid of them.

Anyhow, character:



Okay, immediately I'm kind of confused here.

Max is a coward, fine. Max hides behind her bodyguard to resolve all situations and is essentially the epitome of a sheltered rich girl so logically that follows. What makes less sense is the following; firstly that she'd learn Capoeira at all. I know plenty of rich girl dancers and most are versed in ballet, tap and modern dance, the three usually being taught in conjunction with one another from a young age. This totally fits with her position in society as a girl of privilege so I have no problem there.

My issue is that Capoeira is, in terms of dancing styles, closest to breakdancing and street dance. It's much more confrontational and breakdancing has a massive amount of cultural heritage attached to it. I was involved in the breakdancing community and the whole "street," quality of it is totally engrained into how the art is taught, practiced and performed. Capoeira is closest to that so... my gut feeling is, if she knows Capoeira, she's going to either know something about "street," culture or at least the elements that bleed through into breaking which extend to how you speak, what you wear and how you view the notion of performance.

When you break, it's almost exclusively against someone else. You throw out your moves and the other guy tries to beat you, it's very combative and, if Max is cowardly, I don't know whether she'd go for it or, if she did go for it, be any good at it.

I mostly chose Capoeira because she has a dancing background. I actually didn't think about it having a breakdancing style, and that that would clash with her classical dancing background. I'll have to get rid of that, which actually would serve her cowardice better.

So, my second problem is using the words "can fight," in the same sentence as "does Capoeira,"

Now, I love Capoeira. It's a tremendously fun style and great for keeping you in shape, making you coordinated, acrobatic and flexible. But it isn't actually all that good as a fighting style. Even if Max was confident and willing to fight, which she isn't, Capoeira would not lead her to winning any fights except against total novices.

So, you might want to rethink that a little.

See above response.

So... moving on. You should definitely rethink the whole 9.0 Earthquake thing. That's an earthquake on the scale of the fourth largest earthquake on earth ever and the same as the one that caused the Japanese Tsunami last year. If Max caused one of those in Eden, we wouldn't have a city right now and I'm pretty sure a brand new elemanti, especially one who is only half earth oriented. doesn't have anywhere near that level of power.

Like Siriel said, I was thinking that Eden had better ways of dealing with earthquakes. In fact, I had Max's father have some kind of high tech anti-earthquake devices in the theater that was leveled. I'll have to rethink the entire block being leveled, but I'll lower the intensity of it to about 5.0 or so. That'll be enough to level the theater but not cause massive damage.

Also, you've kind of skipped three years of her life in her bio. Sure, she was this spoiled, somewhat snobby, dancing rich girl until the age of 14, but then she woke up one day with super powers. Now she's 17 and starting at Arcadia. What happened in those three years? Did her powers change her? Did they cause her to become more confident due to her newfound strength or is she scared of using them since she did inadvertently destroy a building with them? You say that "everything changed," after that incident but then don't say how. Was she encourage to use her powers or restricted? Were her parents pleased or shocked?

Honestly, I never thought about that until a few days ago. I'm writing something up right now about that, and I'm debating making it into a flashback scene or summarizing it and adding it to her bio. But I have thought about this.
So, this feels like a bio for Max prior to getting her powers rather than the person we're actually going to be dealing with in game.

Kind of indicates that she practiced with her powers specifically with a mind towards becoming more combat efficient which conflicts with your cowardly character trait. Why would she train to fight if she hates fighting? Fighting is undignified and not ladylike, why should she bother to learn?

Mostly because she has no choice. I was thinking that she would have no practice, but once she starts training at Arcadia, that'll be what she'll be able to do.

Heck, this calls into question your; "She will fight if pushed," comment. She's the ultra-privileged daughter of a billionaire, when on earth would she have been pushed into fighting with anyone? She has a bodyguard with her at all times who, I imagine, is paid a lot of money to never let her out of her sight or effective range of protection. I find it somewhat baffling that Max would have ever come against a problem that wasn't immediately taken care of by either he bodyguard or her father flashing some cash.

If she's ever seperated from her bodyguard, which I imagine will be the case at some point. But yeah, the comment at this point is kinda unnecessary.

Also, if she's a cowardly dancer, when and why on earth would she have learned to use Wolverine Claws?

Because Wolverine.

So yeah, I feel like this bio needs more development because... well, if Max pre powers is point A and Max actually attending Arcadia is point C, we've had nothing on what Max is like at point B. Before I can make a call on potential directions or story arcs before I know who I'm actually going to be playing with.

Thanks for the pointers, man. I'll add in some things about the point B as soon as I'm done writing them up.

Not that she has access to that money because I would imagine it's in a Trust Fund that she won't get access to until she's a legal adult at aged 18.

That's true

[FalconX2000]

Why not? Wolverine, as you know, is the best. ;) But seriously, she shouldn't have them, so I'll get rid of them.



I mostly chose Capoeira because she has a dancing background. I actually didn't think about it having a breakdancing style, and that that would clash with her classical dancing background. I'll have to get rid of that, which actually would serve her cowardice better.

Keep in mind that this is 1000 years after the apocalypse. Any culture involved with Capoiera will have had plenty of time to change. Might even be fun to roleplay her as part of an upper class where Capoeira is the new Ballet.

[Nik Hasta]

@Nik: All in the hope that it'll deter the minority already predisposed to reading it from pointing out any no-nos and shattering my fragile ego.

We have a pretty driven bunch around here, I wouldn't bank on it working too well. ;)

I would also like a look over, Mr. Hasta. Assuming you don't mind/enjoy doing so.

Oh yeah, you were the last guy I had waiting before Japan and then I totally forgot that. I'll get right on it for you.

I'd like to point out here that Rivia's dislike of powers, if I'm not mistaken, is irrational, born of trauma, and while understandable and manageable is inherently unreasonable.

I get that, my point was more... while she has these powers it's entirely her decision to use them. They aren't like enhancer powers that are always on. Elemanti can choose to live an entirely mundane life if they should so desire. She doesn't need to feel jealous or envious of normal people because she can be just that. I'm aware that she might well feel that way because emotions and suchlike but it's worth putting out there.

It would temper her self-loathing insofar as she can think; "At least I can control it and I don't have to show it,"

My personal opinion: It's always nice to have some hope. Pure negativity gets depressing to write and read in the long term. Even Lovecraft gave his characters hope, even if all of it was false.

Oh there's hope, I never said that there wasn't. That's what a character arc and roleplay is for. By making her problems more a little more self-centred, it's easier to perpetuate her ongoing issues with her abilities and it makes more sense thematically as she'll see growing stronger (and thereby more controlled) as a positive thing rather than a gradual accumulation of a trait about herself she actively despises regardless of control.

Keep in mind that this is 1000 years after the apocalypse. Any culture involved with Capoiera will have had plenty of time to change. Might even be fun to roleplay her as part of an upper class where Capoeira is the new Ballet.

Breakdancing would be a better choice since it isn't a martial art and therefore more likely to enter the "ballet," spot but is still similar. It wouldn't help so much since both forms are diametrically opposed to the idea of Max as a coward as we've discussed above.

[WyldCard4]

Oh yeah, you were the last guy I had waiting before Japan and then I totally forgot that. I'll get right on it for you.

Well I went through a good deal of character revision since then, so I am actually glad it you didn't look over my first attempt.

[Nik Hasta]

Alrighty, let's rock.

NAME: Jordan Harrow

WEAPON TYPE/MARTIAL SKILL: Jordan tends towards a couple different weapons. He does use a scythe, which he finds very effective in attacking without harming himself. Simply cut veins and soft parts, areas with little resistance, slowly cutting enemies down. He also carries several knives for similar purposes. Jordan also favors a taser, usually using it as his first resort. Finally, Jordan takes great pride in stealing the weapons of his enemies and using it against them.

Do you mean a... *looks at picture* ...yes you do mean a full size harvest scythe.

*Rubs bridge of nose*

Quite apart from where you'd even get one in a futuristic techno city where classical arable farming techniques have had a thousand years to evolve - this is even more impractical than Capoeira with Wolverine claws. I highly suggest you reconsider this because... you can't reasonably use a scythe as much of a weapon because... well look at the damn thing. Knives are good, if you're going for a street kid character, knives make sense. They are practical, deadly and easy enough to transport and conceal.

Obviously it's your call, but I implore you to get rid of the scythe. Moving on.

CHARACTER HISTORY & PERSONALITY:

Mother, died. Father, blew his brains out. That's all Jordan will say about his parents, unless pressed. Usually you do not want him to give the details.

Jordan is much more open about his siblings. His older sister is a doctor, growing all the limbs and babies in tanks. Not many people sustain injuries these days, and most of the medicine is automated, so being a doctor is a much less prestigious position in Eden then in ages past. They had enough. Kid brother is in school, and idolizes Jordan.

That's not a good thing.

Jordan got his powers early, progressing quicker than normal. He always does things fast. He figured out early on that he would go to one of the academies, and decided to make the best of the time he had left. Jordan learned what he could do, and spent his time getting into trouble. It was fun enough. But eventually he crossed the line from juvenile mischief right into getting involved with a dangerous cult. He still isn't quite sure how chatting up the pretty girl with a golden key around her neck led to him standing in a circle wearing a red robe singing a hymn about the Moon rising, but it did.

Jordan soon found himself falling deeper and deeper into the Black Circle. A nice group of kids, mostly. Just with some odd ideas, and he didn't really have many friends. The Black Circle was a very small group, just six kids and the nice man who claimed that he was teaching them about old pre-Eden history. Jordan never actually believed any of it, but it was fun. All they wanted him to do was track some people. Jordan found out he was very good at it. It was amazing what he could do if he actually paid attention. Too bad he never did so to the cult's leader.

He is still not sure how he ended up speeding a screaming girl with a stomach wound to his sister's hospital before calling the police about a forced abortion. As far as he could piece together, the Black Circle was some kind of training ground for resistance against Eden. Not having any problem with Eden, or real interest in "uncovering the lost treasures of Fae and Forget, returning to us the Blood of Atlantis and the power of Old Arcadia" he found it easy to turn the old man in. He still keeps contact with some of the Black Circle, while others have disappeared.

Well, Jordan figured it was time to get himself into an academy. Apparently the Black Circle had enemies, and that meant so did he. He is hoping to get himself nice and safe in an academy until he can figure out what went wrong, and hopefully get strong enough not to worry about whatever had happened. He still wears his old red robe, he likes the look, though the scythe is only for show.

Ha, that last sentence contradicts the section you wrote on your fighting style. Lewl.

PERSONAL SKILLS: Jordan is a good investigator when he puts his mind to something, though his trusting nature means he often fails to. Jordan also has a good understanding of future medicine, though the state of technology he is familiar with means his first reaction is always that they should just get to a hospital. A lot of the old non-emergency care has been lost from memory for lack of need. He does know all the medicines that are around, and can diagnose injuries well.

POWER TYPE: (Elemanti, Enhancer, or Elemancer)
-Speed (9)
-Air (1)

Sky Walking: Jordan can fly, kind of. He can compress the air underneath his feet, allowing himself to walk/run upwards and across and terrain he wishes, even such terrain that may normally be ill advised. This effectively makes Jordan's movement three dimensional and more flexible than most speedsters. This gives Jordan a single, rather useful, combat tactic. He can grab someone with his normal strength, bring them up high, and let go.

So... Jordan initially seems quite easily led.

It's quite odd, for a comparatively large bio, this actually doesn't tell me all that much about Jordan as a person. He's a bit of a delinquent who seems to just go with the flow rather than decide anything on his own. He doesn't engage with ideas on an intellectual level, or at least not critically, hence his falling into a cult but not being indoctrinated. He's generally pretty street smart but doesn't galvanise himself to do much of anything until something traumatic happens.

I think the main points of interest are going to come from how he interacts with some of the more radical members of the student body. If someone can enlist him to their cause or gives him a focus for his abilities, he could be kind of a man of consequence. Currently though he looks quite passive, slightly recalcitrant, a little anti-social and not a person who will instigate conflict or catalyse other characters exactly.

Does he feel bad about his involvement in the cult? Did it effect him in any way? Does he want to prevent other people getting hurt or does he just want to look out for himself?

I don't know, there's not a huge deal to work with here. You've got a kind of anti-social loner with no real drive to do much of anything hiding out in the Academy until the heat dies down. It feels like you're more relying on the circumstances that come with Jordan to support and drive him as a character and without the whole cult thing he'd be... well pretty dull.

Obviously this is all said without any real view into the character's mind or worldview so I might be way off base here.

What Sector does he come from? His sister is a doctor so that suggests something in single digits but his family died in kind of mysterious circumstances so that could be something to do with the criminal districts. I'm having trouble placing him exactly.

Yeah... so... that's what I got.

[FalconX2000]

Eh, impossible weapons tend to work in Cleric RPGs. You don't need to spend extra DP like in Anima.