Power and Charm {Witch/Magical Girl Planning Thread}

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Marionette

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This planning thread is for a witch-themed and/or a magical girl group roleplay. There are three possible flavors: Witch World, Magical Girls, and Combo Pack. That is, we can run the two as separate games (maybe with a crossover on down the line), or we can combine them into one. [Update: General consensus is that we will be doing a single RP as a Combo Pack.]

Sorry if the format of the thread is a little confusing, but I figured it would be better to make one thread rather than make two and then figure out later we only wanted one game all along. x3

Input is more than welcome! Feel free to throw out your plot ideas and concepts. That's what this thread is for. :3 What I do will be informed by your opinions and ideas. Also, if you have character concepts in mind, let me know. That way, we can figure out if it matches the world(s) and tailor details to your characters.

Setting

Witch World Magical Girls Combo Pack

  • Witches live in the world of witches, an otherworld filled with magic users. Its inhabitants are mysterious and often powerful. One does not quarrel with neighbors lightly in the witch world. After all, a contest of magic is never predictable, and not all witches are kind souls. Indeed, sometimes the best policy is to keep to one's self. Many witches live in isolated places, working their craft and living the lives that they desire. Others dwell in the comfortable privacy of circles and covens, while some are far more social, forming entire communities.

    The technology level is a bit flexible. Right now I'm not envisioning modern technology, though this is negotiable. Rather than fashion and customs from a specific time period, I'm envisioning a blended, anime-esque "kitchen sink" of elegant and interesting elements. I'm really reaching for a certain feel here.

    The workings of magic are not currently well-defined. It could be good to establish things like "does something like mana exist? can a witch run out of power temporarily?" I'm also envisioning familiars existing, though it's not something every witch has. These could either be creatures/beings a witch created or whom the witch made an agreement with, usually protection of the familiar in exchange for service for the witch.

  • Magical girls (and other genders) come from modern Earth, a fictional American city. The physical location is pretty straight-forward. We can flesh it out to have whatever locations we desire. Relatively large but mostly peaceful... until recently, of course.

    We know there are magical girls, but we have to figure out why. Where did those powers come from? How do they manifest? Are there one or two central themes (like elements or food), or can a magical girl's powers relate to anything? They would definitely have a transformation sequence and need to be transformed to use all or most of their powers (because it's magical girl of course :P). We should also work out whether there are any realms besides Earth that are involved here.
  • If we combine the games, the magical girls would probably wind up in the witch world. We could have the witches come to Earth instead, which would be equally interesting, but I'm feeling the reverse at the moment. It's open for discussion, though.


Story

This is a little up in the air -- the thing we really need to work on, I think. As noted above, character concepts might help with that if you have 'em.

I'll provide some ideas I've mentioned in the interest check already, but we are not limited to these at all.

Witch World Magical Girls Combo Pack

    1. There could be a magic surge causing spells or creatures to go berserk.
    2. An area that was previously safe could have been soaked with unpredictable magic or covered in a dark spell that makes it very dangerous.
    3. Someone important in the witch world could have gone missing under mysterious circumstances, and it's vital that they be found.
    4. Things could be changing in strange ways, and a problem has to be solved before things can return to normal.
    5. Someone who doesn't belong in the witch world has appeared, maybe even someone without magic (or with a different kind of magic). Can they be trusted? Could they make things better, or are they trouble themselves? If some witches choose to trust and help them, what will happen if other witches decide they don't?

    People have expressed interest in #4 so far, which works! But it's vague, and it could be combined with any number of other ideas. In fact, it's possible that we could use all these ideas simultaneously.

    1. A magical being needs their help to collect a bunch of items, but doing that takes a lot of work and magic (a la Cardcaptor Sakura or Houkago no Pleiades).
    2. Good old "monsters are appearing (or people being turned into them) and attacking the city." We'd want to expand on this a bit and give it a context, but as a basic mode of play, it works.
    3. The magical girls are noticing anomalies in their world. Little things are suddenly not the way anybody remembers, and then bigger things, yet the rest of the world acts as if nothing has changed. It turns out that something magic is at fault and has to be fixed.
    4. The magical girls are regaining bits and pieces of memories from past lives or other worlds, but they don't know if these are their own memories, someone reaching out to them, or a side effect of magic. Not a whole plot by itself, more of a possible detail.
    5. A being from another realm has come to Earth, fleeing those who want to stop or kill them. But the being has an important mission, and they need the magical girls to help and protect them.

    Interest has been expressed in #4. If we go with this, we'll need to figure out what, exactly, those other worlds and/or memories would be, and whether they would actually belong to the magical girls themselves. This could also be combined with any of the other ideas here, and we'll definitely need a more tangible conflict.
  • This could intersect with witch idea #5 if the magical girls wind up in the witch world. Magical girl ideas #4 and #5 could also relate to this somehow. And, again, multiple story ideas can be combined pretty seamlessly.

    If this happens and the magical girls do wind up in the witch world, we'll need a) something for them to do there and b) a way for them to stand a chance against witches, who can use their magic all the time (though may be limited by some kind of mana or circumstance). I figure some witches might help the magical girls and others might be in conflict with them.


Expectations

Certain things are true for pretty much all the RPs I run. These will apply to all ideas.

  1. There's no post minimum. There is a focus on quality, creativity, and game advancement over length. In Iwaku terms, this game is probably Intermediate through Advanced.
  2. This may be a slower game, so please keep that in mind. It's nice if everyone could try to post once a week. More is great, of course, but I"m pretty understanding. Please just warn us and move your character off to the side if you know you're going to be gone for a while. If you disappear for a long time without warning, I reserve the right to gently do this for you.
  3. No sex or extreme violence. This will be posted in the regular forums. Reasonable levels of violence and mild suggestive themes are okay within Iwaku rules, but we do need to keep it PG-13.
  4. Be excellent to each other. :3 IC jerks are fine, but no one likes that OOC. You can talk to me about any problems you're having or anything you're not happy with in the game.
 
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Right, here's something that I've been mulling over recently. Feel free not to use it.

The magic that witches employ are centralized towards exchange and sacrifice. The only form of mana that they can use comes from 'life', either in the form of killing plants, killing animals, or using their lifespan. As a result, despite the 'naturally' long lifespan of witches, most of them die young, their lives more akin to fireworks than a candle, with the magical recipes they've crafted during their lives becoming their legacy. Spells are stored in liquid form, which leads to most witches preparing extensively for any situation. Better have things that they don't need than not have things that they do need.

This will naturally run in counter to magical girls, who can just shit out magic from their ass with relatively no cost at all. Perhaps the conflict known as jealousy could be born from that? Would imagine that the whole thing about how magical girls only use their powers to destroy monsters and not enhance living standards as a whole could be a problem.
 
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Hmm... I have very interested in a Witch World RP, though I have a few questions:

What races are available for play? Vanilla human or can some of us take on different races?

Could we play as a familiar? If so, what are their abilities/limitations? Where do they come from?

Also including abilities, I know that no one ever likes discussing power levels but just how experienced are we as witches and/or familiars? Could we also have high skills in other areas that isn't magic?

Because I have an idea for a potential familiar if you're willing to hear him out. He is, essentially, a demonic orc from another world (As in, another RP). He would arrive to this world during one of his many vacations, though I would hope that he retains his memories/abilities despite it. I can tone down his powers/change them seeing that this world isn't the same as the one he came from, though even without them he's a physically powerful demonic orc with many "Regular" skills. If he can access his magic they are what I call "Demonology", magic revolving around the use and summoning of demons. I also have a more in depth guide of what exactly Demonology does as it's more than just summoning demons.
 
~Magical Girls/Boys Supporter


We could base their powers of off;
  1. Weather
  2. Animals
  3. Emotions
  4. Colors >My vote<
  5. Planets
  6. Subjects (Math, Tennis, horticulture, cooking)
  7. Fairy Tale Characters (Cinderella can sweep up bad guys, Aurora can put them to sleep, ect.)
  8. Candy
  9. Flowers

We could even mix two of these ideas to make it more unique.

Also If we do combined, or not and have it as a random thought, witches can be fallen Magical Girls/Boys.
 
Is the header image not showing up for anyone else? I'm at work (on lunch, I'm not slacking :P) so it may just be this computer, but it looks broken here. P:

@ERode Hmm, that's an interesting idea. It does sort of tread on ground I wasn't aiming for this time around though. That is, it means having and using magic is innately harmful (for witches). If killing plants/animals is the only other way, but the witch's lifespan can be used, then it leads me to think killing other witches should work too. Thus, the oldest and most powerful witches would probably be the most evil -- the most willing to kill other things and people. The other way a witch could be long-lived would to simply not use magic, thus making them weak... and easily killable by the unscrupulous witches, so few would survive. This is definitely a cool idea.

But I'm not sure if it works 100% for this particular game, since it's going to kind of box witches in and cause a "being powerful is either being evil or sacrificing yourself" situation. Sort of similar to Madoka's
concept of either letting humans die and preying on other magical girls by relying on the witch "food cycle" or going the Sayaka route
(spoilers thar).


@Lucius Cypher @Charlie's 4th Angel
Sorry, my lunch break is about over, but I'll get back to you in a few hours! I overestimated the time I had. xD
 
It's cool. And I can see the header image just fine.

I have my own propositioned for how magic can work in our world, suggested below. Adapt as you wish.

Righto, so witch magic works in what's called "Vacian Magic", which some of you may know as 'The Magic style of wizards in Dungeons and Dragons and what not". Slightly altered in a few ways however:

For starters, while most witches do not have a strong innate magical ability (Or at least not as strong as a magical girl's), they are capable of learning a large variety of spells either through research, cooperation from other witches, or through Familiars (More on that later). Additionally Witch Magic does not rely on one's own life for magic, but various components, such as Somatic (Hand gestures), Materials (Such as having a handful of components or a magic focus), or Verbal (You need to say "Fireball" to create a fireball). Certain spells only require certain components, and those spells may require specific gestures, items, or words. Additionally, a witch cannot simply use any spells that she knows without first "Preparing" it. This not only includes having the required components for each spell, but channeling the magic through one's self so that they can evoke it when the time comes. This is what separates a witch from some smart ass who knows a lot about magical lore.

Of course some of these magic can also be given and/or circumvented through the use of a Familiar. A Familiar is similar to a magical girl in that their magic is an innate ability of theirs, with all the benefits and flaws that comes with it. However unlike a magical girl, Familiars are capable of giving Witches their magical abilities through rituals and contracts. Familiars are not exactly forced to serve a witch in that regard, though some may do simply out of whimsy or other motives. Witches can also make their own familiars with the correct ritual, infusing their creature of choice with their magic. With either method, a witch can cast spells from her familiar without preparation: spontaneously. However this does have the flaw in that a Witch and her Familiar are "Life Linked"; this allows a few additional benefits as well as flaws. A benefit is that this Life link allows a Witch and her Familiar to communicate with each other telepathically and be aware of each others location constantly. A flaw however is that if any death or vital harm occurs to either the Familiar or Witch, the other suffers a lesser but no less painful reaction, but to even death if the other familiar and/or witch dies.

So in summary:
Pros -
  • Can learn a large variety of spells
  • Can access Familiars for additional powers
  • Only requires the right materials and knowledge
Cons -
  • Has to prepare the spells she wants to use and thus limited to those spells
  • Familiars can be risky for multiple reasons, such as them getting hurt and/or betraying you
  • Needs to spend time to gain her skills and magic

Now magical girls are different from witches in that they are choke full of magic. Even untrained magical girls could evoke their powers, albeit accidentally. Still like anything else training can help them control their powers and hone it. That being said, their magic is both a boon and a curse.

Magical girls powers typically revolve around a single subject (Some are focused around fire, others animals, some might have a more general 'magic' but it has to be a specific type of magic, like illusions or something). These Magical Girls are capable of great amount of power within their subject of power, capable of casting their spells with little components, though having them do help. However due to the intense amount of magic in a magical girl, their choice of magic is highly limited. A magical girl of fire, for example, will have a very hard time learning how to use healing magic and simply can't use ice or water based magic. Additionally unlike a witch, a magical girl's magic power comes from their own stamina. For them, casting magic is as strenuous as swinging a sword. While these means that more energetic girls are capable of casting longer than more sedentary magical girls, it also means that any harm that comes to them is capable of weakening their magical powers, or at least making it harder for the magical girl to cast it. Magical girls are also incapable of utilizing Familiars as their intense magical powers makes it impossible for a familiar to add their own magical essence to a magical girl's own already considerable essence.

So in summary:
Pros -
  • Are capable of high powered spells of a specific type
  • Requires only training to control their powers
  • Relies only on their own stamina

Con -
  • Are limited to spells of their specific type, with great difficulty learning from others if not outright impossible
  • Harm to the Magical Girl would lower her magical ability
  • Cannot utilize familiars
 
@Marionette Is it really evil though? Life itself is based off killing other things, whether it be mowing down tons of trees to make space for buildings, or slaughtering herds of cows just so people can eat. I mean, geez, traditional witches have that whole thing about tossing in frogs and herbs in pots before making magical potions. XD

I'm just bored of seeing random incantations and casual references to mana. Would be nice to see something more structured and 'scientific'.

But hey, if you're afraid of boxing them in, then sure, go the normal mana-using route. Though, in regards to your last point, being powerful would be more related to your knowledge, not mass murder, as powers come in the form of recipes/formulas.
 
I could see a couple of other routes than just "energy" or "using others' life force", if that's the concern. Taking life like that could be an interesting conundrum, and I guess could even become the basis for how the witches' society is ordered. Certain witches only agree to drain power from plants, or from animals, and so on.
 
I'd imagine that there would be witches who are really just farmers, raising up plants and livestock for the usage of magic. XD
 
Hmm... Well, I suppose that both Witches and Magical Girls could have a method in which they could use to use the life of others to bolster their magical abilities. It wouldn't be a stretch for witches to use ritual sacrifices to bolster their magical abilities, by killing on those who are inherently magical already. Say for example, magical girls. As for magical girls themselves as I've put in my example of magical practice, they rely on their own stamina to produce magic. I suppose they could have the means, however, to drain the life energy from other living beings and use those to fuel their magics while maintaining their own stamina.

The only issue with the above methods are that they're optional; I'm not making it required that someone has to do this in order to be a powerful mage. Certainly something that would give you an edge however.
 
@Lucius Cypher Damn, mang, that idea is even darker than mine. XD

But let's establish something first.

Are witches and magical girls completely different 'races'? Or do they have the same roots?
 
Well, substitute "Magical Girls" with "Demons" and everything is peachy! Like I said, it only needs to be on creatures who are inherently magical. Magical Girls just tends to be more powerful, though I imagine that demons are easier to cultivate with less moral ramification for processing them into raw magic energy. Of course, if you want the good stuff, you go after Magical Girls. Demons are fries, the girls are burgers. Now I'm going to go get a taco.
 
It'd be interesting if, assuming we use a combined setting, the witches were learned magic users and the magical girls were inherent. Magical girls might see witches as imposters, "stealing" power that the magical girls have the innate knack to create themselves (or get out of a contract or something), while the witches would see magical girls as dangerously overpowered and potentially irresponsible, or else something to exploit and gain more power from.
 
Maybe less about 'dangerously overpowered' and more about 'completely insane and uncontrollable'? If we go with the assumption that magical girls
can do whatever they want with their magic, and use emotions as nitro to give their powers an extra kick, it'd be like...the interactions of a scientist/apothecary (witches) and a pyromaniac who homebrews moltov cocktails (magical girls).

And meh, I personally don't dig the whole 'use magical lifeforms only' idea, as I doubt frogs are very magical, but that'd depend on Marionette's view on the subject matter.
 
It'll also depend on just how wide spread magic is. If it's not a part of common life I'd imagine that there are a lot of "Witch hunts" for both witches and magical girls, though if there is a common use in magic I reserve the right to create a Corporate character. Hell, it may even be that Demonic Orc Familiar I wrote up a while back.
 
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@Lucius Cypher
So basically if we want to wield more powerful magic we have to summon a demon (which would require magic?), kill it/sacrifice (with magic?), and use it's power to cast out a spell? By the time they are ready to cast out the buffed up spell though wouldn't they've drained a lot of "magical energy" in preparation for it? Unless they harvest the magical energy so they can use it for later use? Store it in a magical item or familiar? Otherwise it would extend the battle scenes like Dragon Ball status where it takes 201938120 episodes per battle lmao. We also have to think about the pace of the RP is it fast or slow? because right now it's cooking up to be a slow paced RP with lots of writing.....not that I don't mind but just saying :3

@ERode
Your approach reminds me of Fullmetal Alchemist's Law of Equivalent Exchange, "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost." A scientific approach although very interesting I personally would feel would make more sense in a Steampunk RP and Alchemy magic, but if that's what everyone wants to roll with then I can work with it.
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One thing that I'd like to stress is that I would hate for anyone to barf out magic like it was the easiest thing in the world. If you want to use magic there has to be a sacrifice of something... otherwise turn this into a God/Goddess RP. I really don't care how its done as long as everyone has limits and consequences.

Please understand that I am not trying to hate on anyone's ideas! XD I am just trying to understand what's going on and put my 2 cents in.
 
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Personally, I don't want the scientific approach. It's a little too restricting, and I don't want to be restricted to only being able to cast at certain times of day. Honestly, I don't really want to be restricted period, which is why I went for magical girl. The only restrictions a magical girl tends to have are the limits of her powers, which are determined by the theme of her powers.
 
Woooah! Lots of activity. It's going to take me a few minutes to get to everyone, sorry. xD

But let me say that in general, I'm burnt out on stories where magic is innately a destructive thing which will ultimately destroy its user/lead to suffering in many cases. I mentioned that in the interest check, but I forgot to put it in this thread, which is my fault. >w>;; I'm open to darker storylines, but I'd like for it to be in a different way besides "power innately destroys you" or "you have to do terrible things to have power" or "power unhinges you" unless you're Madoka. It's just such a common plot with magical girls now (and witches here by extension), and it can be hard to pull off. I started off really enjoying Yuuki Yuuna is a Hero, for example. Then in attempting to implement this kind of plot, it did it clumsily and destroyed everything I actually liked about it before. Because of experiences like that, I wanted to put some distance between myself and these kinds of plots.

But these are cool ideas, and I still might want to explore them, so it's a bit tough to say. xD And I don't mean to shut everyone down because this is developing in some interesting directions. I just feel conflicted about basing my own game around them because of the aforementioned reasons. I don't want to start playing and continue to feel burnt, then not feel motivated to run the RP, and let people down. I hope that makes sense. P: I might be happier to play a game like this (with the power itself being destructive) if I weren't running it.
 
@Marionette If you are not liking what you are doing then it'll really turn you off from continuing to play and the RP will not last very long. I would suggest, since you started this, that you go with what you want and if we like it then great...if not then that's ok too :). Unfortunately, we can't really please everyone sometimes lol.
 
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