Re:EDMG (magical girl military chat RP)

R-9 Pilot

R-9 Pilot

Edgeknight
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
Posting Speed
  1. One post per day
  2. 1-3 posts per week
  3. One post per week
Writing Levels
  1. Beginner
  2. Elementary
  3. Intermediate
  4. Adept
  5. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Female
  2. Futanari
  3. Primarily Prefer Female
Genres
Scifi, anime, mecha, magical girl, superhero, cyberpunk, yuri
OOC Thread here

The Premise Expectations and Similar Themes and Inspirations Mutants and Masterminds

  • Humanity has entered a new era of prosperity. Magical and technological advances have led to many wonders that would have been thought impossible. Space travel is at an all-time high, and colonies have been founded on or around many worlds in the solar system. Mankind had truly begun to expand, and seek its destiny among the stars.

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    The first encounter with alien life was disastrous, to say the least. Monstrous creatures appeared, asking no quarter and offering none. They arrived with no warning, appearing from hyperspace to descend upon and decimate an entire exploration fleet. Only a few rare survivors managed to escape the carnage and madness of that day. Those survivors brought back the first valuable samples of monstrous flesh, and a name: the Bydo.

    The first contact wars are over. Humanity earned peace through bloodshed, and the advantage granted by their magic-wielding troops. For whatever reason, magical attacks were not something the Bydo could easily defend against, and so they were pushed back. They're still out there, but the only encounters with Bydo have been pockets of resistance in areas they have previously claimed, and no major assaults have surfaced.

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    What will you do when one man's ambition resurrects the nightmare?

  • If one has taken a look at some of my previous RPs, this is probably quite familiar. If one hasn't, here, go look at a couple: Magical girls, closer to what this is going to be and cyborgs versus space monsters. It's the same sort of themes, but in a format I'm more comfortable running.

    And so, I shall be up-front about as much as I can for how I'll be running this RP. Posting expectations and such won't quite be a thing, because it's chat-based. But, I am expecting everyone to be able to commit to a weekly sessions that last a good 3-4 hours. I am willing to work with players to arrange a time that works best for everyone, although I would strongly prefer some time on the weekends my time (US Eastern, GMT-5H if I remember correctly, may be an hour ahead due to daylight savings). I highly doubt I will be able to accommodate everyone, but I decided long ago it's best to do what I can for the majority just to avoid spending weeks trying to figure out the time slot.

    I do expect dedication. I'll likely run this for the long haul, even if I'm down to just two or three people. I'd prefer that doesn't happen. So please at least let us know what's up ahead of time if you have to miss a session, or decide you need to drop.

    I'm looking for a fairly small group, up to six. However, due to things such as time conflicts or dropping, I am happy to have more than six people interested. I'm also not likely to just grab the first six who show up, so it'll depend largely on who has interesting characters ,who can make the time, and who sticks around. I may create a waiting list for those interested but unable to join in, in anticipation of future drops.

    And lastly but probably most importantly, I am going to run this as a dice-based game. I'll be using the Mutants and Masterminds 3rd edition rules. I'm more than willing to help people make characters, and will do my best to explain the rules. They aren't very difficult in play, although creating a character can take a while. But, it's a really good system for anime-styled adventures and fighting. I also encourage discussing characters between players, so I'd encourage talking as you work in the OOC. The first session may also be character creation.

  • My major inspirations for this are Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (and similar magical girl shows), Knight Run, and I'm blatantly taking ideas for the enemies from all manner of shmups.

    The overall themes for the game are closer to Nanoha. The tone of the game is more bright, people aren't likely to die, enemies can become allies with enough work, and so-on. This isn't to say it will always be sunshine, rainbows, and friendship lasers. Things can get dark at times.

    The main focus of the game will be various missions that are likely to be combat-leaning, as the PCs are assumed to be members of the military. There will be a bit of a focus on combat, although I intend to do "downtime" sessions between missions, for characters to have an opportunity to interact, or for you to pursue your own things. It's often when the most fun happens.

    There will also be at least some political intrigue. Even in Nanoha proper, there are factions who don't always agree. Powerful mages are celebrities and potential political figures in their own right, and may also be feared and distrusted by their own organization.

    If you might be interested in a darker overall tone, I'm happy to oblige you guys. The most obvious is that death would be a little closer on everyone's heels. People die, magic may not be always non-lethal, and so-on. There may also be worse or stranger political issues, but I'm not really sure how well I can run any such intrigue conflicts.

    Other darker themes may include sanity loss, or corruption.

  • The game system I'll be using, Mutants and Masterminds, is a d20-based system with some roots in the days of D&D 3.x's open game license. The third edition moves away from said roots a bit more to be its own game, and also modifies things in places to be much more sensible and harder to break.

    The basic mechanic is, you roll a d20, add your bonuses and other modifiers to the roll, and you want to have a high number to beat a static difficulty or the other guy's roll. M&M doesn't use HP, but instead uses a "Toughness" save for avoiding damage. I find it does a very good job of emulating anime-style fights just as well as it does the superhero genre it's intended for. Another reason I like the system is that it allows for "minion" enemies who are easy to beat, but otherwise need not be so weak they aren't a threat.

    Now, let's say you want to do some really cool or badass moment, or just really need something to go in your favor, but the dice aren't cooperating. Hero Points are the solution. You can spend a hero point to, among other things, reroll on an attack, save, skill check, or whatever else, and your reroll is guaranteed to be decent (you add 10 to any result on the die less than 10). You earn hero points by letting your complications inconvenience you, or otherwise by the whims of your fickle GM. I'll try to keep you guys in a decent supply of them.

    The...challenging part is that some of the difficulty in learning the system is front-loaded. Actually playing the game is really straightforward. But making a character can take a while, particularly making a character that works the way you want them to. While you're learning, this can be a challenge, albeit one I am here to help with.
 
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So it's R-Type but with magical girls instead of starfighters. Gotcha.
 
Yep, pretty much exactly that. Do magical girl things, hang out, befriend enemies, sometimes fight horrible space monsters.

Oh yeah, I did forget to mention the last time I ran this, I alternated between missions/combat-focused stuff and downtime to just go interact or whatever else one might want to do.
 
Woo, let's go through hell again~

Hopefully I still have Hero Lab on my comp.
 
If you don't I certainly do. I've prototyped characters for people before, will do so again.
 
You're free to join. I don't forsee any reason you wouldn't be able to.
 
I can't say much for when things will start until I've collected my players. And I will probably do at least one round of asking what times are convenient to try and organize things a bit. So, right now? No clue. Stay tuned for updates.
 
Ah, ok. I'm up for any time during the weekends honestly since i'm only an hour or two behind you. (Using mountain standard time (AKA denver time))
 
More or less done? Well, outside of name/appearance hijinks.

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Removable, Indestructible Device: Fortress Maiden
Forcefield 5:
Removable, Impervious, Sustained
Movement Array
Flight 7:
250miles/hr, 05miles/round, Wings, Uncanny Dodge, Evasion 2

Teleport 4:
500ft/move, 200lbs, Increased Mass 2, Accurate, Turnabout, Noticeable (Explosion of Light and Sound), Unreliable (5 uses)

Queen of Catastrophe, Power Array
False Utopia (Illusion 8):
DC 18, Illusion Area: 500cft, Sight/Touch/Hearing, Distracting

Lunacy Driver (Blast 10):
DC 25, Improved Critical 4, Homing: 1 extra attempt, Range: Perception, Distracting, Inaccurate: -2

Thousand Stars (Blast 10):
DC 25, Range: 2000/4000/8000ft, Multiattack, Resistible: Will, Power Attack

Mind Crush (Mental Blast 10):
DC 25, Alt Resist: Will, Range: Perception, Reversible, Subtle 2: Undetectable, Distracting, Unreliable (5 uses)

Telekinesis (Move Object 7):
DC 22, Range: 175/350/700ft, 3 tons, Damaging, Duration: continuous, Split: 3 targets, Improved Hold, Resistible: Dodge
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Here's the SRD, which explains the mechanics., and here's the download link to the application I used for character creation. You can just use the demo. Just note that you can't save.
 
I'm also willing to help, so if you have any questions about the system, or aren't sure how to do something, PM me about it. Between us, we can probably make sure whatever powers you want work the way you want them to.

Also, please don't feel like you need to start working on a character now. I am mostly looking for interested people.
 
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Because I feel like it, updating with more setting stuff.

Humanity and the USC Magic The Bydo

  • Humanity is doing quite well for itself. Earth has been left behind long ago, although the Home system is still quite well-developed. The Earth itself is still populous, and colonies have been established on or in orbit around just about every major planet out to Saturn. People from anywhere in the Sol system are generally viewed as well-off, and many are involved in administration at either a large corporation or the government. The Earth is no longer the seat of government for the Human hegemony.

    The Unied Space Corps, often known simply as the USC, are the official military for all of humanity. The united government they answer to is a loose body similar to the UN or EU at best. Smaller regions in space have their own governments and miltaries they maintain separately. The USC is primarily a large space navy, and has remained large after the recent necessities of war with the Bydo. Some have expressed growing concerns over its refusal to disarm down to earlier standing levels. Mages serve in the USC, usually as elite units acting on their own. After their instrumental role in the defeat of the Bydo, combat mages have become their own special branch, although they serve closely with the other branches.

    The general level of technology for most people could be considered one typical in Star Trek or a comparable setting. Quality of life is very good, computers and other technology are very good, and in many places, magic and technology are seamlessly integrated. The culture and preferences of individual worlds can vary wildly, with some enforcing strict limitations on building or technology.

    ...Why yes, in general it IS a generic SF setting, thanks for asking.

  • Mages can separate themselves primarily along two broad categories. Some specialize in ranged combat, and others on melee combat. Mages who focus on their melee skills are sometimes referred to as Knights, particularly if one is from the region historically occupied by the Kingdom of Belka. Most mages are trained in one or another of the major schools, and are usually identified by their school affiliation.

    Although seen mostly as traditional, a Mage Council exists as a sort of governing and advisory body which exists separate from the primary government. It has risen to greater political power after the recent war, though the Council prefers to avoid clashing with the official government.

    Most combat mages know a flight spell of some sort, although only some truly excel at aerial combat. all mages can manifest a special defensive garment or armor, colloquially referred to as a "barrier jacket." This magically-enhanced and manifested garment protects the wearer, and its protection goes beyond the obvious, as barrier jackets extend an invisible field of force across the wearer's skin. It is this simple magic technique which renders mages quite safe from threats of inadvertent exposure to Bydo tissue, although decontamination measures are still highly encouraged.

    Many mages prefer to channel their powers with the aid of a special magical device. These devices can take any form, from swords and spears, to staves, to even guns. Some devices are passed through families as heirlooms. Most devices are equipped with some way of aiding their wielder in channeling magic, and many are artificially intelligent, in the modern era. In many ways, the familiars of old have been supplanted by the AI installed on a device.

    On a pure gameplay note, you are assumed to have that minimum protective barrier regardless of your powers. Same goes for life support in space, should the situation call for it.


  • The Bydo are an alien enemy who seemed hell-bent on destroying humanity. A force of strange monsters who are often poorly understood, they travel freely in space, often in gigantic living ships capable of hyperspace through their own, organic means. Their general nature appears to be biomechanical, and they often meld aspects of machinery and living things within their appearances.

    Studies so far indicate that the Bydo may exist in part in another dimension, or be native to one. This may be one explanation for their incredible vitality. Most Guardian weapons are designed specifically with affecting the Bydo in mind, however, and can defeat them regardless of whatever esoteric defenses they may possess. Bydo are known to be able to possess and control human technology, and even human beings themselves, driving them mad or turning them against their comrades, and into...something else entirely.

    They're still out there, lurking past the borders of human space. Like barbarian hordes of old, they occasionally pressure civilization, but there has yet to be a second all-out push into war. For most people, it's welcome enough to know that though they be surrounded by monsters, those monsters shy away from the light of civilization and its protectors.


Also, a question. Would anyone like to see some example characters, or anything else? I'm not sure what else might be useful or productive. Well, outside of consolidating all of this into an OOC thread and just going for it.
 
Welp, hell or high water, this is happening now. Because I made a thing.
 
Starrnico said:
This looks interesting
Click to expand...
Cool. OOC's already up (see link in the first post, also my "I did a thing" post above), although a lot of the information there is the same as here. It does have a little more on character creation, though.
 
It's a thing that can happen. Not...really sure what else to say, though it's probably from an assault of many walls of text.

Well, and being pretty up-front about the actual caveats. Because I got no reason to hide them.
 
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