Omnibus Academy

[AnimeLover_Princess]

I edited it Kaga, I think I cleared everything up. is that good? is there anything else I need to change? anything not clear enough?

 

[chaosheart13]

Is this name supposed to be an acronym for something? Or is there another reason why it's always spelled in all-caps like that? If it's an acronym, you might as well include what it's supposed to stand for.

Other than that, though, this looks good! Interesting stuff, too. The digital realm sounds like it has a lot of thought put into it -- I suppose I could ask you to elaborate more, but you've got enough here to get a pretty good idea of how all of this works, so, your current version of it is fine, I think. If anyone ever has questions about all this, well, that's why we have ambassadors. XD

I'm sure this'll be all-good to accept once we get that one detail about the name straightened out.

I happen to have Internet access at the moment, so I can get right down to this, though I still may not be able to do major posts.

The GRID name... Well I was trying to think of a good acronym for them but in the end I couldn't think of anything. :'D So yeah, GRID is just GRID, no acronyms. Also, I saw that I needed to put down how one enters and exits the realms and I fixed my sheet to reflect that. Hope that's okay!

 

[Eon]

...Ok, I might be nitpicking, but, who exactly considers them that?


Ok... saying that dragonkind "once dominated the planet" is iffy, but I might've let it slide if not for the fact that you referenced dragons still being able to command humans like this and have them obey them. But... humans do not know about magic or magical creatures in this world. So... yeah. I mean, if you want to get really technical, you could argue there's still nothing wrong with this description, but... it sort of implies that dragon/human interaction is a bit more commonplace than it should be.


Ehhh... I'm not sure how much I like the idea of something so bestial being a playable race... ideally, all students at Omnibus should be sapient enough that they aren't just "monsters with the minds of animals". :/


Oooookey... soooo... if you want to do something like this, there are some things that need to be addressed:

1. In order for things to stay secret, any evidence of the Draconian Empire's existence would essentially need to be erased from history. ...Save for like, maybe a few things that could easily be written off as myth or just weird unexplained phenomena. How would all of this disappear?
2. So... this plague that kills magical beings... I'm assuming it would've died out by now? Also, now that I think of it... this would force everyone else to make sure that the histories of their own races account for this plague, but... eh. I think that's fairly doable, depending on the time frame of it.

Although, now that I think about it, what does bother me is the fact that everyone else would have to account for the fact that dragons were apparently the kings of the multiverse for quite a good long while, and I'm not sure I'm keen on the implications of that. Giving them a presence in other realms? Eh... we can work with that, I guess. But having them rule earth... meh. The nice thing about having that whole humans-don't-know-about-magic thing is that it provides a nice default setting for everyone to put their race's into. If a certain race isn't hidden and is as clearly present in the world as these dragons were, then that means everyone else has to account for that when creating their races (and their general understanding of this whole world), which could make things very complicated very quickly. So, I kind of want to avoid doing that sort of thing whenever possible, so that the potential conflicts between everyone's lore stays at a minimum. Much easier to make everything fit together that way, you know?

Edit: ALSO!! I don't exactly have any hard rules against super-powerful races, but the way the dragons in particular are written is really setting off a lot of my red flags when it comes to godmoddy potential. @_@ If you want dragons to be huge and ferocious and really powerful, that's cool. But the long lists of everything they can do and all the things they're immune to, all of which leave them with seemingly no weaknesses and a really ridiculous resume... yeah, it might be best to cut down on a lot of that.

Edit2: I'll look at your character later. Not only do I want to get through all the races first, I have a feeling that major changes in your race sheet will also mean that your character sheet may call for some edits to be made...

I'm totally willing to make changes, but I'm gonna address some stuff first, because I spent a long time writing that, and I'm being lazy and don't want to dig back into it again right now. With that out of the way, here we go, in order:

I didn't really have a set author in mind, but I assumed that there was some sort of academic chronicle of the various magical beings. The real reason for this statement is to state that they aren't beings craft of pure mysticism, but something that evolved due to natural selection, in a fashion similar to humanity just...with a higher peak.

With this next one, you're right. It doesn't make much sense that while dragons predated humanity, humans still have an instinct to submit to them. I'll fix this, because it's dumb. The idea was never that dragons still have some sort of state power, and more that they're big, scary, and trigger some sort of deeply ingrained evolutionary desire. This however, is dumb, since dragons and humans were never on earth at the same time.

With the white dragons being bestial, I guess I could change them. But maybe nobody will want to play something so animal-like, and so we can just quietly sweep this under the rug?

As for the lack of evidence for the Draconic Empire, there's a time-gap of millions of years. I don't think it would be that weird to say the buildings simply decayed and were picked clean over the many years since then. Otherwise, eventually there's got to be a meteor and some volcanic eruptions to cover stuff up. I mean, we're talking millions of years of weather and natural disasters to wear down any structures. Any fossilized bones would likely be assumed to just be a new species of dinosaur,

Well, since the plague came as a final 'gotcha' move from some terrible lovecraftian entity, it would make sense if it mostly stuck to attacking the creatures that had killed it, but I figured that there'd be other races that could figure out something to cure it, or perhaps it didn't spread as quickly among them, or some combination of factors.

Next up, the Dragon's were kings of earth, and a couple other nearby planets, such as Mars and Venus. They made small trips to other realms, but only established a couple of small colonies outside of Earthrealm. It's not like they were some sort of multiversal empire of unstoppable power. They were the most magical thing when earth was in it's infancy, and they kicked some ass around the solar system, only sometimes poking their noses into the affairs of other realms. They had some trade interactions with other magical kingdoms, but didn't really bother the other magical races, wanting to wait until they had spread across their own reality before moving to other ones.

As for the powers and immunity, some of it is kinda' required. Like, if Black Dragon's aren't immune to their own super acid, then how the hell do they not just die from it? It's kinda' the same for the other types. If you breathe fire, but scorch the fuck out of your mouth when you do it, then it's like, what's the point? As for weaknesses, I mean, they're physical beings who can be killed, assuming you tape enough guns together. I'd wager that modern weapons would be a credible threat to a dragon well into the 500s. Plus, it's not like every dragon has a huge amount of abilities. Each different sub-type has a different breath weapon, a unique skill, and immunity to the effects of their own powers. Dragons aren't all immune to fire, just the red ones. Sure, while they don't have a specific kryptonite, none of the other races did, and I didn't think it was necessary. If you'd like, I would be perfectly willing to implement a "Dragonsbane" to the lore, as just one more throwback do D&D.

Speaking of D&D, that's a pretty good power source on the scaling for these dragons. For the first 200 years, you could get a few sufficiently equipped and trained people together and kick their teeth in. After that, you'll definitely need some magic users, at least for healing. Though you could get away with just one if you had some pretty good gear, and a couple extra men. Past the 500 mark, and you'll need a full, well balanced party of a cleric, fighter, wizard, rogue, and one or two more close combat classes like a monk or paladin if you want to get out with no casualties. I didn't want to get into the specifics in the race sheet, because it seemed too meta. Besides, even the green dragon's psionic powers would have like, a saving throw or something.

 

[Luma]

Say, would anyone mind if I made two races to start? I was preparing to write out the sheet for angels and I wanted to explain their god, so I ended up writing out a whole race as a result xD

 

[Yorika]

OH hold on, I forgot one thing. I'll post it again later

 

[Kagayours]

With this next one, you're right. It doesn't make much sense that while dragons predated humanity, humans still have an instinct to submit to them. I'll fix this, because it's dumb. The idea was never that dragons still have some sort of state power, and more that they're big, scary, and trigger some sort of deeply ingrained evolutionary desire. This however, is dumb, since dragons and humans were never on earth at the same time.

Well, I mean, you can't say that dragons and humans were never on earth at the same time -- or else, how would you have dragons in this RP...? :P

But yeah, if the dragons were supposed to exist during, like, dinosaur time, then that definitely changes things. The whole bit about humans having an instinct to submit to them made it sound like dragons would've existed when humans were evolving, or perhaps when they'd already 'finished' evolving but hadn't really formed societies or anything yet. And if that's when the dragons were supposed to have thrived, then, well, you can see how that's an issue. XD

If the time gap is that big, then that actually solves most of the other issues I had with this. That being said, you should really edit your race sheet to make it clear when exactly the Draconian Empire was a thing. Like I said, the only thing I recall seeing in there that painted any picture of what time frame this was supposed to be, was the misleading bit about humans evolving with an instinct to obey dragons. o_o"

With the white dragons being bestial, I guess I could change them. But maybe nobody will want to play something so animal-like, and so we can just quietly sweep this under the rug?

Ehhhh... I guess....? I dunno, man, I guess I'll think on it until you can re-write your race sheet and all that.

As for the powers and immunity, some of it is kinda' required. Like, if Black Dragon's aren't immune to their own super acid, then how the hell do they not just die from it? It's kinda' the same for the other types. If you breathe fire, but scorch the fuck out of your mouth when you do it, then it's like, what's the point? As for weaknesses, I mean, they're physical beings who can be killed, assuming you tape enough guns together. I'd wager that modern weapons would be a credible threat to a dragon well into the 500s. Plus, it's not like every dragon has a huge amount of abilities. Each different sub-type has a different breath weapon, a unique skill, and immunity to the effects of their own powers. Dragons aren't all immune to fire, just the red ones. Sure, while they don't have a specific kryptonite, none of the other races did, and I didn't think it was necessary. If you'd like, I would be perfectly willing to implement a "Dragonsbane" to the lore, as just one more throwback do D&D.

Yeah, and some of the descriptions for individual types of dragons aren't that bad, but then the general description for dragons as a whole is like,

They possess physical strength, speed, durability, and regenerative capabilities far beyond any life native to earth. There is no color of light they cannot see, no frequency of sound they cannot here. Their sense of smell makes a bloodhound look like a human with a cold. All dragons possess an innate talent for magic, and an immense pool of mystical power from the day they hatch. A dragon experiences no negative effects from the passage of time, and instead will only grow more and more powerful as the years go by. This applies to all of a dragon's physical, magical, and mental abilities. There is no set cap on how strong a dragon can grow, with the most ancient among them having nearly limitless magical and physical power.

There's a lot to talk about here, so I'll use bullet points:

• You literally declared that their physical strength, speed, durability, and regenerative capabilities go far beyond any life native to earth. That's a whole lot of qualities to make them definitively outranked in. Like, ok, you want to make dragons super strong? That's cool. But definitively saying that nothing on earth is better than them in all of the listed categories? I don't know if I like that -- especially since dragons aren't the only magical creatures native to earth, and it seems a bit unfair that the dragons can claim dibs at being "literally the best at almost everything"
• "There is no color of light they cannot see" -- I'll admit, the first time I read this, I thought you meant wavelengths of light -- which definitely made this part sound pretty ridiculous, as I can only imagine what an acid trip it would be for every wavelength on the EM spectrum to appear as visible light. :P But then I realized you technically didn't say anything about wavelengths, only colors. But that begs the question... what would it be like to see every color of light? We humans can only even conceptualize the limited range of colors that we can see -- and that limit comes from both the number of color-receptors in our eyes, and the range of EM wavelengths that are visible to us. A mantis shrimp, for example, has far more color receptors than we do. We cannot even imagine what colors a mantis shrimp sees. But if we assume that more color receptors means being able to see more colors, then that implies a theoretically infinite number of colors. How would we ever be able to say that any creature can see "every" color? I'm going off on a bit of a tangent here, but, the point remains, this is just one example of how everything's worded to put dragons at peak perfection... even when it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
• "no frequency of sound they cannot hear" -- I don't know quite enough about the science of sound to evaluate whether or not that statement makes any sense, but, my point remains -- there's a whole lot of "the X ability of a dragon is 100% perfect and cannot be bested by anything" in this description...
• The whole thing about dragons only growing more powerful as they age is... meh. When you think about it, it really does allow for the possibility of a dragon's power really spiraling out of control and reaching precisely the ridiculous levels detailed here, but, eh... so long as they aren't generally described as being so perfect, I might let it slide.

And the worst part is, being supreme magical and physical beings doesn't even seem that central to the concept of a dragon... Like, yeah, dragons are definitely supposed to be strong and incredibly magical, according to most lore. But a lot of this description makes them sound like gods more than anything else.

And, the reason why I don't want to put any hard limits on what sort of power levels things can have is precisely because I wouldn't be surprised if we have characters later on who are literal gods. In which case, them having a ridiculous amount of power is considerably more excusable, because, well... having limitless power is sort of central to the concept of a god.

And even then, the way I judge godmoddy potential has more to do with the way that something is written than anything else... It's possible to write a race sheet for gods without harping on every little thing that's so perfect about them. You can say that a being is incredibly powerful without making it sound like you're trying to cover up every possible chink in the armor. But this race sheet is written such that it sets off those red flags of trying to make this creature sound like it is the literal best at absolutely everything, and listing all the ways that it is completely un-matched. And unlike literal gods, the dragons don't even have that good of an excuse, imo.

You can make them strong. That's fine. Just not... absurdly perfect, you know?

The part about them having a super-strong sense of smell is fine, though. I didn't see anything wrong with that statement.

 

[Kagayours]

Say, would anyone mind if I made two races to start? I was preparing to write out the sheet for angels and I wanted to explain their god, so I ended up writing out a whole race as a result xD

...Well, speaking of race sheets for gods...

I mean, that's fine, I guess? EddiEddi already has three race sheets in the works, so...

 

[Kagayours]

I edited it Kaga, I think I cleared everything up. is that good? is there anything else I need to change? anything not clear enough?

I think the part about the males having physical bodies and the females being ethereal should be included in the 'physical description' bit. Seems like an important thing to have there.

Also, you did say that the thing about 'hunting' the yuki is only superstition -- but it's still phrased like, "the humans hunt them, and that's why they stay in pairs, because the females are weaker, etc etc", which just doesn't make a lot of sense. If no one's actually going out of their way to kill these things, then saying something about the yuki living in pairs for protection from this non-existent threat just doesn't make a lot of sense.

 

[Yorika]

Ok take 2-
*fingers crossed*

Name singular:

• Synthos
• Athys

Name plural:

• Synthos
• Athys

Powers/Abilities:
Synthos

• To pass into different realms and to take over a new body

Athys

• Phasing is the ability to pass through solid objects. It allows the Athys to pass through as many objects they are able to in a few minutes. They can continue phasing as long as they want when doing so intervals.
• Invisibility is pretty self explanatory, but it only lasts for an hour at most.
• These abilities can be used at the same time, but it takes much more effort to do so.
• The retained ability will vary on the being the Synthos takes over.

Lifespan
Synthos:

• Eons, though most don't wait that long to find a new body

Athys:

• They can live up to 200 years. Why they slip onto their new bodies, a bit of their Symthosian lifespan stays with them to allow their bodies to stay alive this long. Their bodies begin to decay around that time. That is the longest their borrowed body can sustain having a soul that isn't the original.

Full Description:

• Synthos have no memory of who they were, or if they were even someone to begin with. Synthos are incomplete beings; they lack a complete soul to be exact. Mostly they are a collection of emotions, wandering through the Divide. The one thing that all the Synthos have is the desire to become a complete being and to be able to accomplish that, they have the ability to pass into one of the realms. Once in a realm, they are not able to return to the Divide but instead they are now able to try to become a complete being. They are often mistaken as ghosts or spirits, but are more like shadows. That movement in the corner of your eye or the shadow you thought you saw are more than likely the Synthos. For a Synthos to become a complete being they must find another that will accept them. These two beings must come to an agreement and from there a Synthos can take over the body of that other being. It's not totally clear what happens after that, either the other being's consciousness breaks up or they are absorbed into the consciousness of the Synthos. For a Synthos, their entire meaning of 'life' is to become a complete being. So once a Synthos takes over another being, they are no longer a Synthos.

• This new being is called Athys. Athys are not very common. It is not very often that there is a being willing to give up their body. But if they agree, an Athys is granted two powers; the first is to change into a phantom like form. In this form, Athys are able to pass through solid objects and become invisible. The second is a retained trait from the previous body's host and their retained trait can become an extra power. There are limits to this retained power though; it's not as strong as its original. Athys had the ability to see the Synthos, though they choose not to associate with them. Who the being was before does influence the Athys to an extent. Their new personality is mostly their own, but the knowledge, experiences, and feelings of who the being once was still live on inside the Athys. Athys have fragmented memories of when they were a Synthos; bits and pieces of their previous exsistance. They have a vague sense of their previous forms, but not much is known about by the Athys otherwise.

Physical description:

• Synthos have no solid physical form. They are similar to a ghost or shadow.
• Athys take on the form of whatever being they take over. They do have one distinct characteristic; their hair is always white in color. It's sort of a symbol that the body they have taken over is no longer in the control of it's original owner.

Cultural description:

• The Synthos don't have much of a culture. They are rather lonely creatures and don't tend to socialize with each other.
• Athys on the other hand as very social creatures, they tend to be rather out going; pretty much the opposite of their predecessors. Athys blend in rather well with regular society, regardless of the type of society. The knowledge they gain from the previous host helps in this.

Realm: The Divide is a space between the realms. It's a place filled with pitch black darkness, but the light of the different realms guides those in the Divide. The Synthos are drawn to the realms because of this light.
Other:

Short description: A Synthos is a bodiless, soulless being that exists in the space between realms. Athys are the result of Synthos taking over the body of another and becoming a complete being.

 

[Kagayours]

Name: Fox

I... feel like there should be some sort of added adjective or prefix or something else to their names that separates them from just plain "foxes". It's ok if they're typically just called "foxes" for short when it's obvious that this is the type of fox that you're referring to, but, yeah, the full name requires some sort of distinction, I think.

If the origin story is just myth, then, I'll be honest, I'm skipping it for right now. If you want me to actually be able to get through the race sheet tonight, then I'll have to spend my mental stamina only on the parts of the race sheet that count.

Foxes, in their first animal form (1st Life Phase), have little actual power. They are capable of thinking and understanding and communicating in higher forms than humans have come to believe. They are very sociable with their own families, affectionate and warm, but untrusting of anyone from the outside. Choosing to create mischief in the night, their nocturnal vision is excellent and they have a keen sense of hearing. Tricksters by nature, they can't help but set disorder to the world in small ways by moving things around or digging holes to fall in or tearing up plants that others depend on for food. They particularly enjoy targeting chickens and pond fish and will flip a turtle every time they see it, just to thwart the possible success of their possible God kin, even if they don't believe in the legends. Tradition is still tradition, after all.

Foxes, as a rule, do not have long lifespans, but contrary to popular belief, it is not because they are naturally short-lived. They are simply careless and often take unnecessary risks to achieve their goals, or they simply use up too much of their body's energy running around creating havoc. A fox that manages its time and energy well, one who calculates before it acts, can actually survive until its fiftieth birthday, at which time its heart will give out and its soul will leave its fox body to enter the next phase of its life.

Waaaait hold on... are you suggesting that these foxes literally are regular foxes? And that all foxes have the potential to enter this '2nd phase' of life as magical creatures?

Not sure how I feel about that bit...

This is when a fox is born again into human form. It will always be born to other foxes in human form, and just as a child learns to speak with no memory of how or when the spoken word became common knowledge, a fox will regain memories of its past animal life over time and will remember the story of the Nine Tailed Goddess and the trials of life that are cursed upon their kind. To learn and to live; it is the only goal of a fox, that and the need to seek out vengeance on those who may carry the spirit of Tortoise and Coy and Rooster.

A fox, in human form, must pass through seven full, one-hundred year lifespans before they can ascend to the status of a God (as the legend is told). They gain a new tail with each life as a rite of passage, and their abilities increase as they grow closer to ascension.

Also, if they're being continuously reborn as humans, then what does it mean for them to "gain a new tail"? I suppose you could argue that their spirit is gaining more tails, but if they just keep getting reborn into human bodies, then... I don't see what difference it makes.

*5th Human Life: All of the above, but with more obvious animal morphs (can sprout full fox ears, tails can become physically visible to the naked eye, teeth are long and pointed, fingernails turn to claws). Instead of just maintaining communication with 1st Phase foxes, they can now command their will, sending them on missions to carry out that the animal fox will have no memory of once released by the elder fox's power. While 5th Phase foxes are considered to be spiteful and cruel, 6th Phase foxes are labeled as purely aggressive and dangerous.

Hang on a second: all of this means that they can change parts of their body to have more fox-like features, right? They don't just have them by default?

Because if they did have those fox features by default, then I'm not sure how magic could be kept a secret...

*7th Human Life: This is the last of the mortal lives a fox must see to its one hundredth year before it can supposedly obtain God status. It is uncertain whether any fox has actually made it this far (their careless thirst for revenge and pointless death often leads them to their own demise in the demon phase, which in itself is a difficult phase to reach). It is said at the 8th Phase that once they reach adulthood, foxes can shed their physical bodies and take on full fox spirit form for limited amounts of time, allowing them possession of other human bodies to do with as they please. There are ancient Chinese myths of this happening, but there have been no such reports in any recent history. Possession is said to be taxing on the fox's spirit, but it may also be the only thing that can cleanse the spirit's soul of its centuries-long hatred. If a fox possesses a gentle, kind, forgiving human, it may have hope of rising to Godliness with a peacefully balanced mind. If it possesses a human of equal cruel nature, then it will only add to the fox's bitterness, and ascension into Godliness will surely lead to the end of the world at large.

Sooo what happens to the fox's body while they're in spirit form? Is the body just sort of... sleeping, for lack of a better term?

**Avg lifespans decrease as the fox ages despite the fact that its power increases for the same reasons that 1st Phase foxes rarely see themselves to the full possible lengths of their lives. They tend to be reckless and burn a lot of energy, and oftentimes foxes in their later phases are simply so tired of walking the Earth that they cease to care about that which may threaten them. They are also more likely to be killed simply due to their own vile natures, other Beings (both human and supernatural) generally not enjoying their presence on the Earthly realm. So few foxes make it to those upper levels simply due to the fact that their personality types are generally self destructive.

Um... When I ask for "lifespans", I'm asking how long they would normally live for, barring accidents or anything else that would cause them to die prematurely. I'm not asking for a life expectancy based off of statistical averages. :P So, uh, if a fox has to live several-hundred years in order to make it to the next phase? Then, logically, their lifespan would have to be at least that amount of time.

 

[Kagayours]

Well, I have one of my races finished before I head off on my vacation, hopefully it'll be alright but I'll fix any mistakes when I come back.


Name singular: GRID

Name plural: GRIDs

Powers/Abilities: Shapeshifting, ability to go back and forth between the digital realm and the real world, regeneration as long they stay in their true form, can feed on data, any ability of the form they take ex. Taking the form of something that has superhuman strength grants them that strength

Lifespan: Up to the 100s

Short description: A shapeshifting digital race that is widespread in their realm, they try to uphold the laws of the digital realm and take matters into their own hands when the peace is threatened.

Physical description: Their true form is a ball made up of grid lines that can reach up to 20 ft in diameter, the lines being something akin to grid lines when working on an animation. However, they can shapeshift into any form they want, so long as they have information on the species they're imitating. Generally their forms are monstrous in appearance and more humanoid forms is frowned upon. They're a sexless species in their true form, and genderless regardless of what form they take.

Cultural description: Most circles have on average 40 to 50 members and raise their young until they are old enough to be on their own, which is usually when they're 6 to 10. They lay a clutch of 4 to 12 eggs and the children stay in their true spherical form until they are about 3 to 5. GRIDs aren't considered adults until 18-21 years of age, it depends on their circle. They don't marry unless the two GRIDs that had children together breed three times, though doing so two times has them acknowledged as a couple. Their form of government is a council that is elected every 5 years and oversees the going ons of their circle, though if there's something major such as war, they send out messengers to each circle they are in contact with. Most worship what they believe to be the first GRIDs to exist, Amalee, Brekker, and Cirrus, though Brekker is seen as the devil alongside his mate, Zentha, and Amalee and Cirrus as the goddess and god respectively.

Realm: Digital realm- A realm that exists within the Internet. Everything is made out of data and the layout of the land resembles Earth's, with cities and plains, mountains and jungles. When interacting with computers from the real world, the land becomes just a white expanse with various blue bits of data streaming to one area or another. To enter the digital realm one must need a chaperone that comes from said realm. Their method of entering is usually jumping right through a monitor screen, turning into bits of data before reemerging on the other side.

Other: Most GRID circles are at war with the 1-0s, viewing them as viruses and trojans that need to be "fixed."

They've driven a race into extinction before and most wouldn't hesitate to do so again.

Looks good to me! I'll add this to the list. ^^

 

[DANAsaur]

So... does this mean that there are no noticeable physical differences between young sylphs and young humans?

Technically no. I mean, sylphs will look pale and delicate all the time but..yeah, there will be no noticeable physical difference between a young slyph and a young human. There will only be a difference when the sylph accepted its heritage (that's when the marking shows up)

Wait, what? Are you saying that, if a sylph rejects their heritage and doesn't want to join their own kind, they'll be turned into a human?

If so, I feel like that should really be clarified earlier on, rather than being a tiny footnote like this. o_o

Also, does this mean that young Sylphs still have that breeze following them even when they think they're human?

Yes. I did my own spin on slyphs. I mean, wikipedia and other sites said that they're immortal and stuff but I thought it would be fun to make changes.

Once sylphs denied their true heritage, they will turn into humans. That means they won't have any powers and they won't know what they truly are unless they accept their heritage. I feel like sylphs should have a choice about their destiny. XD

And yes, young slyphs (unaware or not of their heritage) does have a light breeze following them around but that will soon died down when they are coming of age and decided to stay at the human realm.

So then, if sylphs spend their childhood unaware of the fact that they're sylphs, do they have any of these powers? Or will they be unable to use them until they're adults and join their own kind?

at a young age, yes. But the are completely unaware of it so I don't think they can use those powers. Once they are coming of age and decided to stay at the human realm then their powers died down and poof! They become a regular human

If this is the case, then I really don't think it needs to count as a "realm" at all. Earth itself counts as a realm -- and I'd say this counts as staying hidden on Earth.

Also, even if you did want to count this as a realm, I still feel like all the instances of the term "human realm" elsewhere in your race sheet would be a bit confusing... It really paints the picture of it being more of a parallel-dimension sort of situation. I know that we GM's have been using the term "realm" to refer to things that probably wouldn't match most definitions of the word, but that's really to give us an easy way of grouping together all these non-Earth places that various races could be from. Odds are, many of the locations on the "realms list" would not actually be called "realms" in the RP's canon... If the Sylphs live in a forest, then leaving that forest and visiting human society doesn't need to be called "entering the human realm". It just means leaving a forest. :P Does that make sense?

Yep. It does makes sense. I'm going to edit it out once we clarified things ^_^

Yeeeaaaah... it should go without saying that people should read the first post before making a CS. All that info is... kind of there for a reason. XD

And you should definitely read the rules list and disclaimers!! I'm starting to get the feeling that most people don't actually read those, in any of my RP's, which is why I really want to emphasize it this time around. >:/

Well, I haveto admit.. Most RPs I joined, I rarely read the rules and first post unless its really needed like "put blah blah in your CS if you read the rules" that kind of stuff.

But I swear, I read everything this time. I don't want anyone to be mad at me >_<

 

[Roose Hurro]

Is this essentially the same thing as the TARDIS's "translation circuits" in Doctor Who? Where everyone hears their own native language, regardless of what language everyone around them is actually speaking?

Yep, indeed it is. Though Nism have the ability to "turn off" this ability, if they wish to have a "private" conversation with members of their own species.

This is probably going to really annoy you if you haven't seen this show, but, is this comparable to the "perception filter" from Doctor Who? Where the person using the perception filter is technically not invisible, per se -- it's just that everyone around them usually fails to notice them?

I have to go now, so I'll look at the rest of the race sheet later -- I just figured I might as well post this part up now, since you seemed to eager for me to take a look at it, and I wouldn't want to keep you waiting. :P

Again, yep! I've been a Doctor Who "fan" for quite some time. And thanks for the quick look-see... would have responded earlier, but I've been out.

So... what would happen if a Nism decides they don't want kids? Or is that heresy? :P Seriously though, is there anything really preventing such a scenario? Is there a reason why not a single bloodline has died out after all this time?

Also, now that I think about it, I'm not sure how all of these bloodlines could remain "pure", so to speak, without some serious inbreeding. o_o" I imagine that, inevitably, you'll have members of one bloodline breeding with members of another -- and at that point, which name is passed on? And even if they always have enough offspring to ensure that every bloodline name gets passed down (and that's a big "if"), is there really much point in keeping track of these "bloodlines" anymore if they would all inevitably become homogenized through interbreeding? Moreover, if the names are always passed down father-to-son and mother-to-daughter, what would happen if poor Henry VIII doesn't bear a son, so to speak? Also, if combining bloodlines means combining their respective names as well... I imagine that, five million years down the line, we'd have Nism with surnames long enough to make Vash the Stampede blush.

No, not heresy, just that Nism have no reason NOT to want kits. Oh, which reminds me: Nism females have the ability to control their own fertility... yeah, built-in birth control. Probably should have mentioned that! But I'm old, and I forget stuff. You see, for Nism, having kits is a way to honor their Creators. So, no, the idea of not having kits is pretty much an "alien" concept.

As for the whole Bloodline thing, the original Thousand Pairs were created as brother/sister pairs, so there is, as an example, not only a male "Ahvviyinn" Bloodline, but a female line, as well. Nism never mate within the same Bloodline. And they keep quite extensive genealogical records. And know who their relatives are. Not to mention, every Bloodline has a male/female characteristic that is passed from father to son and mother to daughter, so, no matter how "mixed", everyone knows which Bloodline they can trace back to (males of the Ahvviyinn Bloodline have blood-red, blue-tipped shroudruff feathers). Also not to mention... heh... when the Creators were still about, they instituted a quite "liberal" breeding program, to ensure thorough genetic "mixing". Reason they gave male Nism such generous nads (yes, this is taken from actual biological science... males from "promiscuous" species have this "distinction" in their anatomical profile - rats are a good example. Though Nism presently practice monogamy).

If you wish, I can just copy/paste all this in a separate entry within my original Race/Character sheet post, for easy reference.

Oh... forgot! No combining of names. And yes, it is possible a couple might have all daughters. Or all sons. But that only affects that individual, not the entire Bloodline. Of which there are scads more males to pass on the Bloodline name. Or scads more females, for that matter.

So then, what brings the Nism to earth?

Well, when you were a teenager, and you got your driver's license (and the keys to a car), didn't you ever go out on a drive? When a Nism teenager gets the "keys" to Threshhold, yes indeed, they go for a "drive"! Nism just so happen to have access to a means of transportation that allows them to "step" from one world to another, quick and easy as stepping through a doorway.

Oh... heh. Deen was probably looking to order Chinese take-out. Hard to get that elsewhere in the Universe.


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[Kagayours]

Yes. I did my own spin on slyphs. I mean, wikipedia and other sites said that they're immortal and stuff but I thought it would be fun to make changes.

I didn't say you couldn't change things (heck, I don't even know enough about traditional sylphs to know what's 'normal' about them). I just wanted to make sure I was understanding you correctly, since that seems like something that should be clarified earlier on instead of being this tiny thing tacked onto the end somewhere that kind of throws you for a loop.

at a young age, yes. But the are completely unaware of it so I don't think they can use those powers. Once they are coming of age and decided to stay at the human realm then their powers died down and poof! They become a regular human

So... they have these powers as children... they just don't know about them?

Well, I haveto admit.. Most RPs I joined, I rarely read the rules and first post unless its really needed like "put blah blah in your CS if you read the rules" that kind of stuff.

Well then, real talk: you really should read people's rules lists. Straight-up ignoring them is really disrespectful to the GM -- not only that, but it can be a headache when people aren't following the rules that were put in place for a reason, and then the GM has to go out of their way to tell people about a rule that they should already know about.

Like, the rules I use in my RP's are largely based off of strategies that I've picked up over the years that can really help keep an RP going. Failure to heed these rules makes a mess of things and just leaves the GM with more work to do in order to prevent the RP from dying. And like, on the one hand, I don't want to give people a ton of stuff to read, but like, I also need to explain how important these rules are so that people don't just ignore them because they all exist for very good reasons!

Like, I'm glad you read my rules, but, like... surely I'm not the only GM who has rules lists that exist for a reason, and who has rules because they really want those rules to be followed. What are you going to do if you never read rules lists? Allow yourself to break rules without even knowing that the rules exist? Annoy the GM because you're doing something that they explicitly told you not to do? Did you really think the GM put a rules list there just as decoration?

*sigh* I'm sorry, it just... really bugs me knowing that so many people just do not read these kinds of things. @_@

 

[Kagayours]

No, not heresy, just that Nism have no reason NOT to want kits. Oh, which reminds me: Nism females have the ability to control their own fertility... yeah, built-in birth control. Probably should have mentioned that! But I'm old, and I forget stuff. You see, for Nism, having kits is a way to honor their Creators. So, no, the idea of not having kits is pretty much an "alien" concept.

As for the whole Bloodline thing, the original Thousand Pairs were created as brother/sister pairs, so there is, as an example, not only a male "Ahvviyinn" Bloodline, but a female line, as well. Nism never mate within the same Bloodline. And they keep quite extensive genealogical records. And know who their relatives are. Not to mention, every Bloodline has a male/female characteristic that is passed from father to son and mother to daughter, so, no matter how "mixed", everyone knows which Bloodline they can trace back to (males of the Ahvviyinn Bloodline have blood-red, blue-tipped shroudruff feathers). Also not to mention... heh... when the Creators were still about, they instituted a quite "liberal" breeding program, to ensure thorough genetic "mixing". Reason they gave male Nism such generous nads (yes, this is taken from actual biological science... males from "promiscuous" species have this "distinction" in their anatomical profile - rats are a good example. Though Nism presently practice monogamy).

If you wish, I can just copy/paste all this in a separate entry within my original Race/Character sheet post, for easy reference.

I mean, instead of copy/pasting, I would prefer if parts of the race sheet were re-written to better clarify these things (as, overall, that would read a lot easier than your original version plus this response tacked onto it somewhere). But yeah, editing your race sheet to clarify this would be a good idea.

Well, when you were a teenager, and you got your driver's license (and the keys to a car), didn't you ever go out on a drive? When a Nism teenager gets the "keys" to Threshhold, yes indeed, they go for a "drive"! Nism just so happen to have access to a means of transportation that allows them to "step" from one world to another, quick and easy as stepping through a doorway.

Then that there bolded part is something to include in the race sheet. :P

 

[Kagayours]

Ok take 2-
*fingers crossed*

Name singular:
Synthos
Athys
Name plural:
Synthos
Athys
Powers/Abilities:
Synthos-To pass into different realms and to take over a new body
Athys-
Phasing is the ability to pass through solid objects. It allows the Athys to pass through as many objects they are able to in a few minutes. They can continue phasing as long as they want when doing so intervals.
Invisibility is pretty self explanatory, but it only lasts for an hour at most.
The retained ability will vary on the being the Synthos takes over.
Lifespan:
Synthos- Eons, though most don't wait that long to find a new body
Athys-They can live up to 500 years. Their bodies begin to decay around that time. That is the longest their borrowed body can sustain having a soul that isn't the original.

Full Description: Synthos have no memory of who they were, or if they were even someone to begin with. Synthos are incomplete beings; they lack a complete soul to be exact. Mostly they are a collection of emotions, wandering through the Divide. The one thing that all the Synthos have is the desire to become a complete being and to be able to accomplish that, they have the ability to pass into one of the realms. Once in a realm, they are not able to return to the Divide but instead they are now able to try to become a complete being. They are often mistaken as ghosts or spirits, but are more like shadows. That movement in the corner of your eye or the shadow you thought you saw are more than likely the Synthos. For a Synthos to become a complete being they must find another that will accept them. These two beings must come to an agreement and from there a Synthos can take over the body of that other being. It's not totally clear what happens after that, either the other being's consciousness breaks up or they are absorbed into the consciousness of the Synthos. For a Synthos, their entire meaning of 'life' is to become a complete being. So once a Synthos takes over another being, they are no longer a Synthos.
This new being is called Athys. Athys have no memory of what it was like to be a Synthos, but they know they were one. Athys are not very common. It is not very often that there is a being willing to give up their body. But if they agree, an Athys is granted two powers; the first is to change into a phantom like form. In this form, Athys are able to pass through solid objects and become invisible. The second is a retained trait from the previous body's host and their retained trait can become an extra power. There are limits to this retained power though; it's not as strong as its original. Athys had the ability to see the Synthos, though they choose not to associate with them. Who the being was before does influence the Athys to an extent. Their new personality is mostly their own, but the knowledge, experiences, and feelings of who the being once was still live on inside the Athys.

Physical description:
Synthos have no solid physical form. They are similar to a ghost or shadow.
Athys take on the form of whatever being they take over.
Cultural description: The Synthos don't have much of a culture. They are rather lonely creatures and don't tend to socialize with each other. Athys on the other hand as very social creatures, they tend to be rather out going; pretty much the opposite of their predecessors. Athys blend in rather well with regular society, regardless of the type of society. The knowledge they gain from the previous host helps in this.
Realm: The Divide is a space between the realms of time. It's a place filled with pitch black darkness, but the light of the different realms guides those in the Divide. The Synthos are drawn to the realms because of this light.
Other:

Short description: A Synthos is a bodiless, soulless being that exists in the space between realms. Athys are the result of Synthos taking over the body of another and becoming a complete being.

*deep breath* ...I'm going to have to put this off till tomorrow, unless one of the other GM's would like to take a crack at it (which I would appreciate).

Apparently I've already lost track of how late it's gotten. So much for trying to get into the habit of going to bed earlier to prepare for school...

 

[Luma]

Well, when you were a teenager, and you got your driver's license (and the keys to a car), didn't you ever go out on a drive? When a Nism teenager gets the "keys" to Threshhold, yes indeed, they go for a "drive"! Nism just so happen to have access to a means of transportation that allows them to "step" from one world to another, quick and easy as stepping through a doorway.

Oh... heh. Deen was probably looking to order Chinese take-out. Hard to get that elsewhere in the Universe.

Lol, I love this answer. Delightfully quirky

 

[DANAsaur]

I didn't say you couldn't change things (heck, I don't even know enough about traditional sylphs to know what's 'normal' about them). I just wanted to make sure I was understanding you correctly, since that seems like something that should be clarified earlier on instead of being this tiny thing tacked onto the end somewhere that kind of throws you for a loop.


So... they have these powers as children... they just don't know about them?

Yep.

Well then, real talk: you really should read people's rules lists. Straight-up ignoring them is really disrespectful to the GM -- not only that, but it can be a headache when people aren't following the rules that were put in place for a reason, and then the GM has to go out of their way to tell people about a rule that they should already know about.

Like, the rules I use in my RP's are largely based off of strategies that I've picked up over the years that can really help keep an RP going. Failure to heed these rules makes a mess of things and just leaves the GM with more work to do in order to prevent the RP from dying. And like, on the one hand, I don't want to give people a ton of stuff to read, but like, I also need to explain how important these rules are so that people don't just ignore them because they all exist for very good reasons!

Like, I'm glad you read my rules, but, like... surely I'm not the only GM who has rules lists that exist for a reason, and who has rules because they really want those rules to be followed. What are you going to do if you never read rules lists? Allow yourself to break rules without even knowing that the rules exist? Annoy the GM because you're doing something that they explicitly told you not to do? Did you really think the GM put a rules list there just as decoration?

*sigh* I'm sorry, it just... really bugs me knowing that so many people just do not read these kinds of things. @_@

No.. I understand..completely. I didn't mean to upset you or the other GMs out there.. I was being a jerk.. Sorry.

 

[Kagayours]

Yep.

Ok. Just make sure to clarify that in the CS.

 

[Roose Hurro]

I mean, instead of copy/pasting, I would prefer if parts of the race sheet were re-written to better clarify these things (as, overall, that would read a lot easier than your original version plus this response tacked onto it somewhere). But yeah, editing your race sheet to clarify this would be a good idea.

Will do!

Then that there bolded part is something to include in the race sheet. :P

I thought I had, under Powers/Abilities. As in, Threshhold being their method of travel/storage. So, yes, perhaps a bit brief (AKA, not the same words).

Lol, I love this answer. Delightfully quirky

Why, thank you! You'll probably get what it means to "pull a Deen" when the time comes.


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