Twelve Person War

S

Snowdrop

Guest
Original poster
So the "zodiac sign" trope is probably completely beaten to death about now, but I have an idea I think is really, really interesting that involves said zodiac signs and a Hunger Games-like concept, so I'm just going to throw it out there and gauge the response. The story is relatively simple, but you have to be okay with potential character death. Here's some mood music.

Long ago, there were twelve Gods and Goddesses, here on out referred to as the Zodiacs; they were selfish, childish, boastful, and corrupt. They each desired children, so they consulted each other in a meeting and created the idea of the human. When a new human is born, it will be adopted by a Zodiac. They agreed, and created the inhabitable Earth as well as the first humans. All was well.

A long, long time afterwards, the Zodiacs decided that they were each stepping over boundaries that they should never cross. They were each fighting over their adoptions, mad at each other. Their property confused, they simply never knew who owned what. They called another meeting, this time creating the idea of the day of birth determining the human's Zodiac. They saw this as good, and all was well once more.

However, as mentioned before, they are corrupt Gods. They each claimed that their children were the best; Virgo obviously had the most mentally capable children, but Scorpio's children were strong-willed and efficient. Cancer's children were empathetic and emotional, and so on. They decided that the only way to settle this argument was a fight to the death between chosen representatives of each star sign. They made an executive document detailing this new order:

A child will be blessed by their Zodiac to be a representative in war. A weapon will be given to them, and they will be required to strike down every other blessed child with said weapon. Only one child is allowed to be chosen by a Zodiac, and only one weapon (or set of weapons, like dual-wielding daggers) is allowed to be given to a child. If a winner is not chosen within a month, then all current representatives will be killed and new representatives will be chosen. This will be repeated until a winner is chosen. ("Child" in this context is only meant as the child of a zodiac sign, not age. They could pick a ninety year old senior citizen and it would be their "child.")

And that's where our characters come in. One way or another, you have been chosen by your Zodiac for this competition, and are visited by them in a heavenly dream, explained the rules of the game in a most surreal way, and bam, you're now targeted by eleven other people for murder. The twelve person war has begun. The current list of weapons is here. Be sure to check it out.

So would anyone be interested?
 
Cancer's children were empathetic and emotional my arse!

My two cents:

- This sounds more like Mirai Nikki than Hunger Games to me, or are they in an arena? Though, it doesn't sound like an arena from what you've written.

- These characters are either going to need abilities, or they're going to need to be allowed to use any weapon they want. At the moment, Sagittarius is going to absolutely slaughter everyone else simply because they have the longest attack range, followed by the Chakram wielder and the Throwing Knife wielder. All the melee weapons don't stand a chance because a semi-decent user of any of those ranged weapons will kill them long before they get within melee range.
 
Cancer's children were empathetic and emotional my arse!

My two cents:

- This sounds more like Mirai Nikki than Hunger Games to me, or are they in an arena? Though, it doesn't sound like an arena from what you've written.

- These characters are either going to need abilities, or they're going to need to be allowed to use any weapon they want. At the moment, Sagittarius is going to absolutely slaughter everyone else simply because they have the longest attack range, followed by the Chakram wielder and the Throwing Knife wielder. All the melee weapons don't stand a chance because a semi-decent user of any of those ranged weapons will kill them long before they get within melee range.
"Cancer, the fourth sign of the zodiac, is all about home. Those born under this sign are 'roots' kinds of people, and take great pleasure in the comforts of home and family. Cancers are maternal, domestic and love to nurture others. More than likely, their family will be large, too -- the more, the merrier! Cancers will certainly be merry if their home life is serene and harmonious. Traditions are upheld with great zest in a Cancer's household, since these folks prize family history and love communal activities. They also tend to be patriotic, waving the flag whenever possible. A Cancer's good memory is the basis for stories told around the dinner table, and don't be surprised if these folks get emotional about things. Those born under this sign wear their heart on their sleeve, which is just fine by them." Source: Cancer Sun Sign - Zodiac Signs

I'm a Virgo myself, so I have no idea what being a Cancer is like. I looked something up and bam, there it was. So don't get mad at me about it. :(

As for Mirai Nikki/Hunger Games, yeah, basically. It's a lot like both. They're not in an arena. Imagine if you were handed a gun and told to kill somebody without getting caught while still going through your daily life (school, work, whatever).

Abilities are something I've thought about. Yeah, long-range vs. short-range weapons is an issue too. This is why it's an interest check and not a sign-up thread. Give me some ideas~
 
Interesting concept, though maybe more freedom with the weapons of choice per each Zodiac, let people trade out the weapon if they can come up with a better one or something?

I don't really think the range issue would be that big of a deal. No one has a gun, so you can't really say that it's an insta-win. Of course, giving the children powers helps I guess. Super speed would help dodge arrows. Good reflexes helps you, too. Simple stuff like that, I suppose. You could base it off of the zodiacs.

And it also depends on if you want to go for an anime or a realistic approach. Anime physics kind of allows you to easily combat a long ranged weapon with a shorter ranged one.

And it also depends on if they can use sabotage. Explosives? Poisons? You can kill Sagittarius Sniper with a nicely placed poison, or a sneak attack, or a flank, or whatever. I'd say, if you let this guy snipe everyone down, everyone else deserved the loss.

Have these people been trained? In their weapon specifically? That also is a factor.



The Cancer sign is characterized as being empathetic and emotional, but emotional being they are more in tune with their emotions and express/understand emotion easier. They are stubborn folks, they are moody, but loyal and dependable. They need support and they offer support. They're kind of the dependent but supportive person. As much as they understand others they also need to be understood. Calling them empathetic and emotional doesn't mean that they're weak.
 
"Cancer, the fourth sign of the zodiac, is all about home. Those born under this sign are 'roots' kinds of people, and take great pleasure in the comforts of home and family. Cancers are maternal, domestic and love to nurture others. More than likely, their family will be large, too -- the more, the merrier! Cancers will certainly be merry if their home life is serene and harmonious. Traditions are upheld with great zest in a Cancer's household, since these folks prize family history and love communal activities. They also tend to be patriotic, waving the flag whenever possible. A Cancer's good memory is the basis for stories told around the dinner table, and don't be surprised if these folks get emotional about things. Those born under this sign wear their heart on their sleeve, which is just fine by them." Source: Cancer Sun Sign - Zodiac Signs
Don't trust this website. It's wrong.
[spoili]
I'm a cancer; yet I'm the most apathetic and indifferent person I know. Hell, my Aunt died yesterday and I'm not even upset - infact, I'm just a bit miffed that I have to go on a 3 hour drive there and back to attend the funeral. I can't stand people (IRL - on the internet they're OK) and I'd love more than anything to never have to speak to anyone IRL again so yeah, large families and communal activities are right out. The patriotism is true though. BRITAIN FTW! As is the memory, but it doesn't remember stories; it remembers information.

Went on the website just for the lols; found this "If their well-documented kindness and gentleness doesn't do the trick, however, they're not above using emotional manipulation to make things happen." Kindness and gentleness lol. Though the manipulation is pretty fun, at least - so much so that it's my first call, long before any of this 'kindness' and 'gentleness' that I definitely have and isn't just blunt and insensitive.

ANYWAY rant over; as you might have noticed I'm not the biggest believer in the zodiac to say the least, but I do think the concept makes a good setting for RPs. I often find myself wondering, when such a topic is brought up, how much someone is determined by their zodiac, and how much they shaped themselves to conform with the expectations of them given by their birth sign. Personally, I imagine being a cancer is exactly the same as being a Virgo, you just have your birthday in a more opportune point of the year - slap bang 6 months between it and Christmas either side. [/spoili]

Don't worry, I'm not mad at you :P I'm slightly irked by the idea that someone's personality could really be dictated by the position of Earth in relation to balls of gas billions of kilometers across the cosmos. None the less, I won't deny that it's theoretically possible - there is still after all, a hell of a lot we don't know about the universe.

So, it seems to me that this RP could get very lone-wolfy, which isn't something you want in an RP. It's already PVP-centric, which is a fragile path to walk in the first place, but you're seriously reducing interactions by pitting everyone against one another and there's really very little motivation to keep someone posting, especially when one false step could potentially cause a whole bunch of OOC arguments due to the PVP part. As such, I suggest making it team-based. Something like, characters have complimentary powers and find it most efficient to work with one another instead of trying to survive completely alone.

Abilities-wise: Giving ability archetypes based on the zodiac's creature or associations would fit the theme well. For example, a Cancer's ability would allow them to create defensive barriers (like a crab's armor); a Scorpio might be able to inflict a withering poison on a target that slowly decays their speed and agility (ie the tail stinger of a scorpion); a Gemini might be able to create a spectral clone of themselves from their shadow (cuz gemini is 'the twins' and is all about opposites as far as I know)

Additionally, each character should gain general increased endurance and speed, perhaps regeneration - otherwise, even with abilities, the Archer is still going to take down a melee attacker very easily, with maybe the exception of Cancer's armour, if not caught off-guard.
 
I don't really think the range issue would be that big of a deal. No one has a gun, so you can't really say that it's an insta-win. Of course, giving the children powers helps I guess. Super speed would help dodge arrows. Good reflexes helps you, too. Simple stuff like that, I suppose. You could base it off of the zodiacs.
Don't underestimate weapons, my friend. As a big fan of death, I can assure you, a semi-decent archer is a force to be reckoned with. Archers have access to a large variety of arrow heads for a large variety of jobs, making a bow much more multipurpose than a gun. A broad-head, serrated arrow and a well placed shot is all you need to sever a Carotid artery and kill someone instantly. Same applies for Throwing knives and most other ranged weapons - a bit of accuracy is all you need.

And it also depends on if you want to go for an anime or a realistic approach. Anime physics kind of allows you to easily combat a long ranged weapon with a shorter ranged one.
Anime physics is usually something to avoid in RPs that pit characters against one another. The particular law of Anime Physics in question here is the one that states "A main character will always be in the most suitable position for the next event, even if they defied physics to get there." The character doesn't so much as move up to the ranged attacker but can be considered to actually reduce the distance between themselves and their target by warping reality. Unfortunately, this same law also means that if the MC was the archer, they'd be stretching reality to prevent enemies from reaching them. Since both the archer and the swordsman are Main Characters, this cancels out and you're basically left with normal physics again.

And it also depends on if they can use sabotage. Explosives? Poisons? You can kill Sagittarius Sniper with a nicely placed poison, or a sneak attack, or a flank, or whatever. I'd say, if you let this guy snipe everyone down, everyone else deserved the loss.
I believe earlier it said the kill must be made with the zodiac bestowed weapon.

The Cancer sign is characterized as being empathetic and emotional, but emotional being they are more in tune with their emotions and express/understand emotion easier. They are stubborn folks, they are moody, but loyal and dependable. They need support and they offer support. They're kind of the dependent but supportive person. As much as they understand others they also need to be understood. Calling them empathetic and emotional doesn't mean that they're weak.
This is basically why I think Astrology is a load of bollocks - I'm a Cancer and yet I'm basically the opposite of this. The only trait I have in common with that description is being stubborn.
 
Interesting concept, though maybe more freedom with the weapons of choice per each Zodiac, let people trade out the weapon if they can come up with a better one or something?

I don't really think the range issue would be that big of a deal. No one has a gun, so you can't really say that it's an insta-win. Of course, giving the children powers helps I guess. Super speed would help dodge arrows. Good reflexes helps you, too. Simple stuff like that, I suppose. You could base it off of the zodiacs.

And it also depends on if you want to go for an anime or a realistic approach. Anime physics kind of allows you to easily combat a long ranged weapon with a shorter ranged one.

And it also depends on if they can use sabotage. Explosives? Poisons? You can kill Sagittarius Sniper with a nicely placed poison, or a sneak attack, or a flank, or whatever. I'd say, if you let this guy snipe everyone down, everyone else deserved the loss.

Have these people been trained? In their weapon specifically? That also is a factor.
Interesting concepts.

What if they aren't given a weapon? What if it was just an assassination game similar to Mirai Nikki? Would it still be as interesting though? I'm not entirely sure. The idea of some characters playing aggressive and murdering ruthlessly, while others being tactical about it and placing poisons and bombs, is fun to think about.

So the biggest issue as of now is probably the weapon thing.

Don't trust this website. It's wrong.

Don't worry, I'm not mad at you :P I'm slightly irked by the idea that someone's personality could really be dictated by the position of Earth in relation to balls of gas billions of kilometers across the cosmos. None the less, I won't deny that it's theoretically possible - there is still after all, a hell of a lot we don't know about the universe.
Thank ya. And I always thought of Zodiac signs as so: your birth month determines the times you grow up in, and therefore shape your personality. Say you were born in summer, like me, but therefore, you grew up in Winter, and stayed inside most of the time. I figured it shaped the homebody sort of aspect of my/maybe other Virgos' personalities. I dunno. It's not relevant anyway, this is a role-play. :angel:

Yeah, PVP and lone-wolf aspects are very hard to role-play. I understand; there are probably more dead "fight to the death" role-plays than I can count, honestly. But I really, really want to try this out, because it sounds super cool to me, and hopefully other people as well.

Also, teams? How would that work? We could pull a slight Hunger Games sort of thing and put two Zodiacs together on a team.
 
What if they aren't given a weapon? What if it was just an assassination game similar to Mirai Nikki? Would it still be as interesting though? I'm not entirely sure. The idea of some characters playing aggressive and murdering ruthlessly, while others being tactical about it and placing poisons and bombs, is fun to think about.
I think actually, not giving weapons at all would make it a lot more interesting. Instead of just going "yeah, I got a weapon I guess", characters have the opportunity to find weapons that suit their style, perhaps even make some.

Yeah, PVP and lone-wolf aspects are very hard to role-play. I understand; there are probably more dead "fight to the death" role-plays than I can count, honestly. But I really, really want to try this out, because it sounds super cool to me, and hopefully other people as well.
It's definitely a cool idea, but it's likely to cause an Absolute Attack / Absolute Dodge scenario... these kind of things often do because no one wants to lose. It might work better if written by only one person as a novel.

Also, teams? How would that work? We could pull a slight Hunger Games sort of thing and put two Zodiacs together on a team.
The way I see it, is that this is an RP which is equal parts playing a game and telling a story. This particular RP is risking forgetting the telling a story bit, at the moment. Let's take some hypotheticals here. Imagine you were reading Hunger Games. Now imagine that Peeta and Rue didn't exist - the entire story was just Katniss. It's really boring now, isn't it? There's no character interaction except to kill one another. There's no emotional struggle or anything like that. It'd feel like you were just reading a bad fanfiction written by someone who didn't like writing about emotions. Now imagine Mirai Nikki, in which Yuno didn't exist. It's just a sad little kid wandering around who ends up getting murdered in episode 1 because no one is there to save him. My point being; interaction is necessary in every story. A story about a lone wolf that wanders around stabbing stuff and otherwise not talking is very boring and flows just from combat to combat.

Perhaps teams are done like so: There are 12 Zodiacs; 3 correlating roughly to each season. What if each 'Season's' zodiacs decided they needed to team up? So, the summer characters would be in one team, the winter ones in another, the autumn in a third and spring in a fourth. That provides interaction, and also makes fights more interesting than just one on ones - a group of 3 melee fighters would easily be able to take down that problematic archer from earlier if they used teamwork to do so.

Thank ya. And I always thought of Zodiac signs as so: your birth month determines the times you grow up in, and therefore shape your personality. Say you were born in summer, like me, but therefore, you grew up in Winter, and stayed inside most of the time. I figured it shaped the homebody sort of aspect of my/maybe other Virgos' personalities. I dunno. It's not relevant anyway, this is a role-play. :angel:
No, it's not particularly relevant, but it's an interesting discussion, is it not? That logic is quite unfounded because there's significant evidence that the brain is completely rewired at age 2 anyway, which overrides anything from before. To test that, try to remember something from before you were 2. Bet you can't do it. Remembering a photo of the event doesn't count. Plus, each human is a compound of all their experiences, not just a few months from when they were barely half a year old. Additionally, how does that apply to other locations? In Australia, their seasons are reversed but the zodiac is the same. A Virgo in the southern hemisphere would be spending the same part of their life primarily outside because to them, it would be warm and sunny. Surely then, a Southern Virgo should be much more like a wintery zodiac would be in the North?
 
No, it's not particularly relevant, but it's an interesting discussion, is it not? That logic is quite unfounded because there's significant evidence that the brain is completely rewired at age 2 anyway, which overrides anything from before. To test that, try to remember something from before you were 2. Bet you can't do it. Remembering a photo of the event doesn't count. Plus, each human is a compound of all their experiences, not just a few months from when they were barely half a year old. Additionally, how does that apply to other locations? In Australia, their seasons are reversed but the zodiac is the same. A Virgo in the southern hemisphere would be spending the same part of their life primarily outside because to them, it would be warm and sunny. Surely then, a Southern Virgo should be much more like a wintery zodiac would be in the North?
Haha, I don't remember anything before I was five. Woops. I guess I'm a late bloomer. Yeah, I see your point.

Perhaps teams are done like so: There are 12 Zodiacs; 3 correlating roughly to each season. What if each 'Season's' zodiacs decided they needed to team up? So, the summer characters would be in one team, the winter ones in another, the autumn in a third and spring in a fourth. That provides interaction, and also makes fights more interesting than just one on ones - a group of 3 melee fighters would easily be able to take down that problematic archer from earlier if they used teamwork to do so.
That's actually a really cool idea. If put into play, the following zodiacs would be together:

SPRING
Aries
Taurus
Gemini

SUMMER
Cancer
Leo
Virgo

FALL
Libra
Scorpio
Sagittarius

WINTER
Capricorn
Aquarius
Pisces

But the problem is, not every zodiac is trusting. If I was in a competition like this, I would definitely try to off my teammates after we've bitten off a good piece of the competition (I'm not foreshadowing or anything, I'm talking completely hypothetically). So maybe there's another executive order similar to this where if you kill a teammate, whether accident or not, your team is now void and eliminated.

It's definitely a cool idea, but it's likely to cause an Absolute Attack / Absolute Dodge scenario... these kind of things often do because no one wants to lose. It might work better if written by only one person as a novel.
The only way I can think of counteracting this is to have a name generator choose who dies/lives in a scenario. If there are "UGH COME ON REALLY"s about it then they should've made a character they're comfortable with offing, as detailed in the first paragraph of this thread.

(Sorry for dealing with the points you made in an awkward order, I react to things the way I read them and it's just how my mind organized it.)
 
But the problem is, not every zodiac is trusting. If I was in a competition like this, I would definitely try to off my teammates after we've bitten off a good piece of the competition (I'm not foreshadowing or anything, I'm talking completely hypothetically). So maybe there's another executive order similar to this where if you kill a teammate, whether accident or not, your team is now void and eliminated.
A zodiac's core nature is really quite a minor point here though. I mean, you've been approached by a deity, told to team up with people you've never met, use magic powers you didn't know you had and kill 9 people who for all intents and purposes are completely innocent. That's enough to make anyone distrustful. I could be the happiest and most friendly person in the world and I'd still be watching my back in that.

Now, another point I just noticed, I don't know if you planned anything or not - rewards. What do the children actually gain from fighting? Why do they fight? just because they were told to? No, that's not how it works. No one kills just because they're told to. Either, they don't kill because they don't like killing, or they don't kill because they hate following orders. As such, just how HG had the offer of living in relative luxury and MN had you become God, there needs to be a prize to motivate the characters to actually fight. What that is will probably determine the need for that no killing teammates rule.

The only way I can think of counteracting this is to have a name generator choose who dies/lives in a scenario. If there are "UGH COME ON REALLY"s about it then they should've made a character they're comfortable with offing, as detailed in the first paragraph of this thread.
A good way to do this might be to try and settle it through discussion first, but in a controlled manner - Each party presents the reasons their character should be the one that lives, and they only get one chance to do so. Once each party has used this chance, each party gets exactly 1 more post in which present counterarguments to anything brought up. If an agreement has not been made after this; use the random name generator.
 
Now, another point I just noticed, I don't know if you planned anything or not - rewards. What do the children actually gain from fighting? Why do they fight? just because they were told to? No, that's not how it works. No one kills just because they're told to. Either, they don't kill because they don't like killing, or they don't kill because they hate following orders. As such, just how HG had the offer of living in relative luxury and MN had you become God, there needs to be a prize to motivate the characters to actually fight. What that is will probably determine the need for that no killing teammates rule.
Immortality and life in the heavens with the Zodiacs, maybe? That could be a cool prize, but it might not apply to every person in the same way. If that doesn't work out, perhaps the Zodiacs would grant the winner(s) one infinitely-powerful wish.
A good way to do this might be to try and settle it through discussion first, but in a controlled manner - Each party presents the reasons their character should be the one that lives, and they only get one chance to do so. Once each party has used this chance, each party gets exactly 1 more post in which present counterarguments to anything brought up. If an agreement has not been made after this; use the random name generator.
Yeah, that sounds good too. A sort of controlled discussion where each person presents arguments as to why their character would win in the situation (of course taking the situation itself into account), etc. etc.

Also, thought about the weapon thing for a while. We'll repeal the part where you have to kill the other blessed children with your Zodiac-given weapon, and in turn, allow the free use of all weapons, man-made.
 
Immortality and life in the heavens with the Zodiacs, maybe? That could be a cool prize, but it might not apply to every person in the same way. If that doesn't work out, perhaps the Zodiacs would grant the winner(s) one infinitely-powerful wish.
I like the wish idea. I wouldn't really want immortality, I don't think, but I could see them fighting for a wish. How about this: The winning team is granted the one thing they each most desire (although they don't actually know what that is). That way, the people fighting get a little extra side-topic potential for slower moments - trying to figure out what their desire is.
 
I like the wish idea. I wouldn't really want immortality, I don't think, but I could see them fighting for a wish. How about this: The winning team is granted the one thing they each most desire (although they don't actually know what that is). That way, the people fighting get a little extra side-topic potential for slower moments - trying to figure out what their desire is.
Yeah, I can see that being good. Perhaps, mix both. Three (or less, depending on if a teammate dies) wishes granted to each winner, who, in turn, can decide what the wish is (and therefore, what they each most desire).
 
Yeah, I can see that being good. Perhaps, mix both. Three (or less, depending on if a teammate dies) wishes granted to each winner, who, in turn, can decide what the wish is (and therefore, what they each most desire).
But the point is, they don't KNOW what they most desire. They could keep telling themselves they wanted a ferari with a V200 engine that can go at twice the speed of sound, but their true desire could be that they've always wanted a shiny gold toothpick. A bit of a radical example, but hopefully you get my point. The idea is that they don't fully know what they're fighting for, which would allow for more interesting interactions than constant combat.
 
But the point is, they don't KNOW what they most desire. They could keep telling themselves they wanted a ferari with a V200 engine that can go at twice the speed of sound, but their true desire could be that they've always wanted a shiny gold toothpick. A bit of a radical example, but hopefully you get my point. The idea is that they don't fully know what they're fighting for, which would allow for more interesting interactions than constant combat.
Hmmm... okay, I see your point. So, you mean... they each need to have time to consider what they most desire and what they're going to be given, and as such, why they're even fighting for a gold toothpick? (Still laughing over that, thanks for making my day.)
 
Hmmm... okay, I see your point. So, you mean... they each need to have time to consider what they most desire and what they're going to be given, and as such, why they're even fighting for a gold toothpick? (Still laughing over that, thanks for making my day.)
I make a lot of weird comparisons and meta shit like that :D Not so much giving time to consider (although that would come into it) as having them fighting mainly on faith. They don't actually know what their reward is going to be, so they'd be able to explore whether or not they really wanted to fight etc.
 
Cancer speaking. I have a sort of "White knight Syndrome" soooooo.... Yeah, empathetic and emotional. And hella greedy and needy.

Long story short, I'm interested.
 
I make a lot of weird comparisons and meta shit like that :D Not so much giving time to consider (although that would come into it) as having them fighting mainly on faith. They don't actually know what their reward is going to be, so they'd be able to explore whether or not they really wanted to fight etc.
Okay, I get it now. Yeah, that works pretty well. I think we smoothed over a lot of the rough edges that the idea had. I'll try to work on a revised version of the story that allows for the mechanical changes we made.

Also, new proposal: we might shorten this to just a 3-6 person role-play of one or two teams of the War, simply because I think a 12 person role-play might get a little hectic. It depends on how many people will decide to join, so... I mean, yeah.
Long story short, I'm interested.
Cool, noted~