So, as most of you are actually already perfectly aware, I had an idea I'm toying with. The player characters are demons each representing a major sin where they work against other demons, angels, among other things. The setting takes place in the Netherworld, and technologically, they are roughly caught up into the human era, though largely, still focus on the power of magic. Depending on what realm it is, technological growth may be encouraged, outdated, suppressed, or combined with magical might. As far as combat goes, even low level demons are generally much stronger than tougher than most human weapons or vehicles, and missiles while generally more than enough to kill most low level demons, are just minor nuisances to the higher orders of demons. If guns and explosives are used in the demon world, they are almost certainly magically empowered and imbued(Meaning they also run off of elemental affinities.) It's direct relation to the mortal world is...bizarre. Depending on what realm or part of the Netherworld, certain realms can exist in entirely different timelines in relation to the mortals. Generally, where time is most stable, is right at the verge of the Netherworld at the Gate. Where exactly a dimension portal is opened can play an adverse effect on where and when they'll end up. The game itself revolves around the players as one of the seven Archdemons of sins. More of the idea still needs to be deliberated on, but the Archdemons would typically belong to the same family line, though it's still entirely possible for a holder of a Crest to be some random demon off the street if they're strong enough, or a rival family. The place of origin isn't typically too emphasised other than by some of the most traditionalist demons, since if the Crest has already chosen someone as an Arch Demon to bear it, then they've already been shown to be worthy of it and as far as the Crest is concerned, that demon is a noble, if they could claim it. Examples include, butlers who simply wanted to hold onto the weapon in question, for safe keeping for their master until they were ruled a much better fit and took the status of an Arch Demon themselves. Or con artists who tricked the wielder into giving them their Crest and never faced any punishment if the Crest was impressed by their cunning enough(Usually though, these kind of attempts end up as the person becoming a puddle, but there's always those who remember the one time it worked and feel like they're smart enough to be another exception.) Sometimes even just a childhood friend of a powerful demon can find themselves ending up with it, one day. How it happens or when the Crests decide in some situations this person is valid and not others, is a question, but it's generally accepted that it's more than possible. Archdemons act as vassals to the current King or queen of the age. While there's many Archdukes, lords, and ladies, the Archdemons are second only to the ruler of the Netherworld themselves. But there's always those looking to usurp a new position or the Arch Demons of the Old Pantheons looking to reclaim their place. This is a rough draft of how things work, and not a committed final idea. I may revise some of it if people feel like it's too unnecessarily complicated. Name: Class: The class of demon is represent in a few groups: Old Pantheons: Former Crest Bearers. Either retired, disgraced, usurped, or some other means they are no longer the current reigning Arch Demon, but not necessarily any less powerful. Arch Demons: Current wielders of a crest and the official reigning Arch Demon of the age for their respective sin. Usually born from royalty on account from generally being some of the strongest demons by default, but every once in a while, a demon from outside the family or another house can find themselves in such a position. Claimant: A demon that doesn't bear an already occupied symbol, but has a very real claim to it as a potential wielder. It can happen from a Crest feeling someone is potentially worthy of it. Not uncommon when some of an Arch Demon's siblings also prove to have the same power and show a great affinity for an already assigned Crest. A few times a demon that's made it's name for itself as a general or just a savvy and wealthy enough businessman have found themselves selected by a Crest to become the new wielder because of their worth. A Claimant would typically own power roughly on the same footing of an Arch Demon, if they are serious enough candidate that the Crest would consider them. As a result, the Arch Demons might have not met them personally, but will still know who their potential rivals are due to the Crest at the same time, using it's abilities to inform the Arch Demon of a potentially equal or better wielder. After all, the best way to see whose truly the superior demon is to see who will ultimately come out on top. Branch of Sin: Branch of sin and the player's house. It doesn't bar a demon from engaging in other sins, or even having standards they might not stoop too. A greedy demon might still draw the line at starving workers to save profit(Just have the price of food come out of their pay), and nothing stops a lust demon from being incredibly wrathful and vindictive. The Branch of sin does also have a tendency to reflect the more abstract powers a demon is capable of. Sloth demons are quite good at manipulating dreams and nightmares or inducing weariness in others. Wrath demons aren't just good at battle, but also potentially inciting killer instinct in other people. While the power of High demons isn't entirely infinite, the things they can accomplish within the sphere of their domain is impressive. How to limit what exactly they can and can't do, I need to think about. Exclusive to Old Pantheons: Gloom, Vainglory, Acedia(Replaces Sloth), Avarice(Replaces Greed) Crest(If applicable): The Crests themselves are...bizarre. Despite the name, they are the living weapons wielded by their masters. Powerful weapons with minds of their own. A common misconception is they alone are the source of an Arch Demons powerful. In actuality, they just make already powerful demons, better. The shape they take isn't necessarily the same for another holder. but the things are...fickle...and once they set a shape for a wielder, they lock into that form for good. Not that this is much of a set back with being just about unbreakable and powerful weapons. They can range from balls and chains, to spears, the occasional sword umbrella, and just about anything. These will have some stat points on their specific abilities. They aren't necessarily the most powerful weapons, but are universally recognized as the symbol of authority none the less. What to give non holders to balance it yet, I dunno. Affinity: (Fire, Ice, Light, Dark, Physical, Psychic, Poison, those kinds of things.) An element or kind of force that the demon shows a lot of power in. Two. Passions: Borrowing an idea from the King Arthur Pendragon RPG(Honestly didn't get super into it, but it did at least have something that looked kind of like a good idea to it.) Passions are what a character believes in, and when acting in their passion they are at their strongest when acting within their passion. "For my King, I will cut down a thousand men!" "I will die before I let my people come to harm!" These enable a character to become especially skilled and powerful when they are putting their abilities towards that goal. Examples include, but are not limited to: Loyalty (Lord) Love (Family) Hospitality Honour Concern (my commoners) Hates Humans/Angels(The example from that game would be Saxons, but for our game it would obviously be different.) This is a kind of a passion that makes a character especially strong when encountering a certain type of enemy. I'm not sure how many would work for this game. Possibly two would be fine. Achilles Heel: Even demons aren't entirely invincible. For various reasons. Three. One from each group. Elemental Weakness: One element or force they are particularly physically susceptible to. Code: A certain moral or ethic they will not compromise. Be it to never go back on their word, never take more than their fair share, or to never be to hard on their servants, they will not tolerate attempts to sway them into betraying the moral standard they set for themselves and will only consider going against it in the most extreme of circumstances where the situation cannot possibly get any worse. Sometimes not even then. Mental Vulnerability: A dangerous thing among demons, is showing what you're most afraid of. Being alone, needing constant approval, a superiority complex, many demons make a point of outwitting more powerful opponents by taking the weak points of their psyche and using it to play their opponent into their hands. Unsurprisingly for most demons, their branch of sin can also usually end up as a weakness when a wrath demon is too reckless in it's destruction or a lust demon is too hedonistic to think past their current pleasure. However this can also lead to things like collapsing under pressure when there's too much attention on them. So that's my current thoughts on this idea, I don't know if people like it or not, and if I do decide to properly go with it, I'll probably aim for a more weekly post thing than a daily thing to try and keep it alive through real life's inevitable attempts to screw me.
It's an interesting idea, but I'll probably pass - I'm not getting any good ideas for characters I would like to try.
Angry Demon Rides Again? Spoiler I don't mind the idea, but i'd be curious about what we'd be doing. Would it be an intrigue game? Adventure? A bit of both? A Horny Game where we lewd everything with legs and an appropriate orifice?
Totally possible to do that character if you wanted. Then presumably this ends up inadverntadly as a prequel to a degree. Kind of. I was aiming it to be more focused on repelling an invasion and possibly some intrigue against npcs, but probably not aimed towards other players. As it stands, I have ideas for some of the major npcs but want to see what people chose first prior. I’d want probably three or four players, at most before I start making things properly. I love everybody here, but can’t manage big crowds easily. My working idea and it’s subject to change, as major faction leaders. Aversa the Dark Wind-Gloom-Old Pantheons Dimitri-Lord of Nine Hells-Wrath-Current Ruler Thief King Yegen-Greed-Claimaints Dimitri seals Aversa’s magic. Yegen steals Dimitri’s Strength. Aversa’s magic destroys Yegen's mind. Spoiler Dimitri’s sister, Enyo, Archdemon of Sloth, beats all three, but doesn’t care enough to plot or scheme. That was my general idea for faction leader’s but it’s subject to change if it interferes with other people’s ideas. Edit: Changed the one to be a female demon lord instead. Names of possible npcs might be subject to changes at this stage.
Still deciding on how to revise the template or how followers and realms ruled by npcs and players should work.
(Not finished yet, but this is what I'm going with. What do you think?) Name: Ravenor - Scourge of Dishonor Class: Arch-Demon Branch of Sin: Pride Crest: Axe of Domination - An ancient weapon that grows more powerful, the more the user's ego has been bruised, though it also makes the user more likely to take offence to the people around them. Affinities: -Melee Combat -Fire Passions: -Ego -Honour Achilles Heel: (Not quite sure about this. Is this a physical weakness, like Achilles' literal heel?) Elemental Weakness: Water Code: Ravenor, as someone who cannot abide having their own pride insulted, is greatly angered when they see others being treated in this way. If people are being unfairly maligned or humiliated, Ravenor will step in to remedy the situation, generally with violence. Mental Weakness: When Ravenor is insulted or humiliated, their quest for vengeance is generally executed in a headstrong, brash manner. Because of this, they are exceedingly easy to provoke, and often enter situations without thinking of the consequences. Appearance: Spoiler: Male/War Form Spoiler: Female Form (What do you think? Any issues?)
S Seems good. I just hope I get at least two other people if I want to go ahead with it. I’m still not sure how to balance living weapons against other groups that don’t have them.as for Achille’s heel, not a literal one. More I meant as an umbrella term for the character weaknesses section, so you did that right. I didn’t make that as clear as I could have. My only real thought is if the male and female names have different variations of names used for one form, since Ravenor is a fine male demon name but, seems a little awkward to me for their female form.
Giving this a shot because I kinda had a brief idea and wanna see if it makes any sense with the game you're proposing. Spoiler: Levendi Name: Levendi Class: Claimant Branch of Sin: Gluttony Affinity: Dark and Poison Passions: Love (Humanity): Her particular form of Gluttony tends to be instilling an out-of-control sense of Momento Mori in her victims, driving them to recklessly engage in ill-advised behaviors they might not normally do because they could die at any time and they should do things nownownow! She loves how inventive some of them are and genuinely gets attached to some of her victims (possibly "sparing" them by ultimately making them her servants when they would have otherwise died). This makes her oddly protective of the human race and if something is a genuine threat to them, well... corpses aren't very fun at all, are they? [Second Passion to come later] Achilles Heels: Elemental Weakness: Light Code: Never Lying: The truth of the matter is that all things great and small eventually die. This is a universal truth and, in that same sense, Levendi can only tell the truth (or at least what she believes is the truth based on her own knowledge of a given situation). Mental Vulnerability: Since Levendi's Gluttony is about inducing the need for loud, bold action, she is pathologically afraid of silence in turn. She always needs some form of noise going on around her, even when sleeping, or else she is completely shut down by anxiety attacks.
I think something like that totally works. I realize the system isn't the typical formula we generally use for games, but also it's nice to experiment a bit I think and find out what does and doesn't work. Just because we're used to doing things a certain way, doesn't mean there aren't ideas that couldn't be borrowed or try to improve on it. Is my system, perfect? No, but I do feel like seeing if any of the concepts are worth considering for future games is good. The passions idea that I borrowed from the Arthur games I actually feel like there could be something to that with rp games, anyway. As for the character, it looks good. Seeing more of her background would let me know what her relationship is to other people and what makes her especially notable to make a proper claim would be helpful for giving her stuff to do, and if you have thoughts on what you want to see as other lords and ladies or rivals, I'd welcome it. I'm working on gathering character art now, but I'm wondering if I should do an information page on important npcs before the game starts for more background and people can decide what they are interested in, or let that come more naturally.
Name: Capris Class: Claimant Branch of Sin: Lust Affinity: -Water -Earth Passions: -Nurture (life): To see things grow, flourish and teem with life. Whether it is plants, humans, monsters or anything in between makes little difference. -Love (Fallen Angels): The heavenly host would stifle lust, with their ideals about chastity, moderation and shame. He feels a special kinship with all angels who have broken their chains and have become free. Achilles Heels: Elemental Weakness: Ice Code: Live to the fullest - Indulgence and lust for life in all its forms are the highest good and anyone restricting or snuffing them out are enemies. Death is abhorrent, especially necromancy as it is the end of all passion. Mental Vulnerability: Slavery, ascetism or sensory depravation. He can be easily manipulated in doing someone's bidding if it means regaining his freedom. Appearance: Spoiler: Male form: Spoiler: Female form:
