Poké Souls [PTU] [PBP] [Roll20] [CLOSED]
May 29, 2017 22:31:58 GMT
Seya, lordfhalkyn, and 3 more like this
Post by lordfhalkyn on May 29, 2017 22:31:58 GMT
In ancient times, the land of Unova was a fractured place, ruled by various petty tribes, kings, and warlords. Twin brothers arose, and with the might of their dragon, united Unova into a single, mighty kingdom. But the brothers each had a different vision for the kingdom- the older, driven by a search for truth, and the younger, living in accordance with ideals. The differences proved irreconcilable, and the kingdom split in civil war. The mighty dragon who served the brothers split too, becoming the entities known as Reshiram and Zekrom.
As has happened many times in the past, the people prepared to enlist their Pokémon to battle alongside them, but the brothers refused to allow this; aside from Reshiram and Zekrom, no Pokémon was to be dragooned into the war effort, and none were to be intentionally harmed by the fighting. Thus, the Pokémon could only stand by and watch in silent horror as their humans butchered each other upon battlefield after battlefield. Soon, humanity had become a race severely diminished, but no wiser, and was effectively extinct from Unova.
But the balance created by Arceus long ago was upset by this conflict. When Pokémon were destroyed and only humans remained, humans suffered greatly by starvation and natural disasters. But now humans were gone, and without their guiding temperance, Pokémon have begun degrading into savage monsters, turning into hollow shells of their former selves (both figuratively and literally) in a process humans have referred to as “Hollowing.” Unova is being overrun by Hollow Pokémon, and the monsters are spreading to lands beyond, taking the Hollowing plague with them as they go.
Faced with this unacceptable outcome, Arceus took the remains of the fractured dragon, and fashioned a new creature: Kyurem. Kyurem was made with a single, unshakeable purpose: to reunite with its warring halves, and restore peace to Unova.
But many have tried to defeat the brothers, either to end the war or to claim Reshiram and/or Zekrom for themselves or Kyurem. To date, none have succeeded, and Kyurem is going Hollow from despair.
And that’s where you come in.
You have been drawn to Unova for your own purposes: the acquisition of wealth, reversing the devastation of your homeland, a chance at glory or a noble death (but who says they’re mutually exclusive?), or some other, lesser, reason. But though you don’t know it yet, your personal goals will become secondary to your attempts at reuniting Kyurem and its warring halves. You’re not the first to try, but the way things are going, you may be the last.
Application dates: the last day to apply is June 25, at 11:59 PM (or 23:59), EST. The lucky three or four applicants will be chosen by June 30.
Posting: At least once per day.
Combat: Handled on Roll20.
Starting Level: Trainers start at level 1; you have one Pokémon at level 10 (your starter), and one Pokémon at level 5.
Starting equipment: you have $10000 to spend on items and equipment. This monetary amount is an abstraction; gold and silver coins are worth less than similarly sized rocks (as they’re made of soft metal, they cannot be used effectively as weapons), and only hold value for a person interested in such curios. Any money not spent is lost.
Starters: Almost any first form Pokémon will do. No single forms, fossil Pokémon, pseudo-legendaries, or legendaries.
Pokémon Restrictions: this is obviously a fantasy world. As such, Pokémon based on modern devices or made from modern technology are not found here. The Pokémon not allowed or found here are as follows: the Porygon line, the Magnemite line, the Grimer line, the Trubbish line, the Voltorb line, the Elgyem line, Castform, Rotom, Throh, Sawk, the Sandygast line, the Type: Null line, and the Ultra Beasts.
Fakemon: None. Normal Pokémon may be type shifted (i.e., Gollurk armor that is ghost/steel)
Playtests: We’ll use them all. Yes, even the Alola one.
Restricted Books/Classes: DPDoM is not allowed. Researcher, Coordinator, Hobbyist, Fashionista, and Chronicler from the core rulebook are not allowed. BoD cannot be taken from the start; you must find the legendaries you wish to serve. Think the Covenants from Dark Souls.
Backgrounds: I’ve taken the Dark Souls 3 classes and converted them into backgrounds as best as I could, complete with suggested starters. Use them for yourself, or use them as inspiration. One rule when creating your background is that you must describe it similar to the way classes are described in the Soulsborne series. Read the descriptions I wrote for an example.
Technology level: Apricorn balls are about the pinnacle of technology as we in our modern world know it. Conveniences like PokeDexes, air conditioning, elastics, x-items, and so forth are not to be found here.
Special Rules
Potions and Herbs
Bonfires
Hollowing
As has happened many times in the past, the people prepared to enlist their Pokémon to battle alongside them, but the brothers refused to allow this; aside from Reshiram and Zekrom, no Pokémon was to be dragooned into the war effort, and none were to be intentionally harmed by the fighting. Thus, the Pokémon could only stand by and watch in silent horror as their humans butchered each other upon battlefield after battlefield. Soon, humanity had become a race severely diminished, but no wiser, and was effectively extinct from Unova.
But the balance created by Arceus long ago was upset by this conflict. When Pokémon were destroyed and only humans remained, humans suffered greatly by starvation and natural disasters. But now humans were gone, and without their guiding temperance, Pokémon have begun degrading into savage monsters, turning into hollow shells of their former selves (both figuratively and literally) in a process humans have referred to as “Hollowing.” Unova is being overrun by Hollow Pokémon, and the monsters are spreading to lands beyond, taking the Hollowing plague with them as they go.
Faced with this unacceptable outcome, Arceus took the remains of the fractured dragon, and fashioned a new creature: Kyurem. Kyurem was made with a single, unshakeable purpose: to reunite with its warring halves, and restore peace to Unova.
But many have tried to defeat the brothers, either to end the war or to claim Reshiram and/or Zekrom for themselves or Kyurem. To date, none have succeeded, and Kyurem is going Hollow from despair.
And that’s where you come in.
You have been drawn to Unova for your own purposes: the acquisition of wealth, reversing the devastation of your homeland, a chance at glory or a noble death (but who says they’re mutually exclusive?), or some other, lesser, reason. But though you don’t know it yet, your personal goals will become secondary to your attempts at reuniting Kyurem and its warring halves. You’re not the first to try, but the way things are going, you may be the last.
Application dates: the last day to apply is June 25, at 11:59 PM (or 23:59), EST. The lucky three or four applicants will be chosen by June 30.
Posting: At least once per day.
Combat: Handled on Roll20.
Starting Level: Trainers start at level 1; you have one Pokémon at level 10 (your starter), and one Pokémon at level 5.
Starting equipment: you have $10000 to spend on items and equipment. This monetary amount is an abstraction; gold and silver coins are worth less than similarly sized rocks (as they’re made of soft metal, they cannot be used effectively as weapons), and only hold value for a person interested in such curios. Any money not spent is lost.
Starters: Almost any first form Pokémon will do. No single forms, fossil Pokémon, pseudo-legendaries, or legendaries.
Pokémon Restrictions: this is obviously a fantasy world. As such, Pokémon based on modern devices or made from modern technology are not found here. The Pokémon not allowed or found here are as follows: the Porygon line, the Magnemite line, the Grimer line, the Trubbish line, the Voltorb line, the Elgyem line, Castform, Rotom, Throh, Sawk, the Sandygast line, the Type: Null line, and the Ultra Beasts.
Fakemon: None. Normal Pokémon may be type shifted (i.e., Gollurk armor that is ghost/steel)
Playtests: We’ll use them all. Yes, even the Alola one.
Restricted Books/Classes: DPDoM is not allowed. Researcher, Coordinator, Hobbyist, Fashionista, and Chronicler from the core rulebook are not allowed. BoD cannot be taken from the start; you must find the legendaries you wish to serve. Think the Covenants from Dark Souls.
Backgrounds: I’ve taken the Dark Souls 3 classes and converted them into backgrounds as best as I could, complete with suggested starters. Use them for yourself, or use them as inspiration. One rule when creating your background is that you must describe it similar to the way classes are described in the Soulsborne series. Read the descriptions I wrote for an example.
Technology level: Apricorn balls are about the pinnacle of technology as we in our modern world know it. Conveniences like PokeDexes, air conditioning, elastics, x-items, and so forth are not to be found here.
Special Rules
Potions and Herbs
Herbs as described in the core rulebook exist. Potions, however, have been replaced by Estus Flasks. These rare flasks cost $2000 each, and only one can be owned per player- however, one is all you need. As a standard action, you can give a dose Estus to your Pokémon, which takes the effect of a normal Potion, Burn Heal, Paralyze Heal, Ice Heal, or Antidote (your choice); Estus works on humans and Pokémon with equal efficacy. After five uses, the Flask is empty and must be refilled at a Bonfire (see below). Holding a Flask in the Bonfire for one minute refills it completely.
The Flask can be upgraded by Fire Keepers to improve its healing efficacy and the number of uses; doing so requires the remains of powerful entities.
The Flask can be upgraded by Fire Keepers to improve its healing efficacy and the number of uses; doing so requires the remains of powerful entities.
Bonfires
While Pokémon Centers as we know them do not exist, they have been replaced by Bonfires. Icy blue and radiating a gentle cold (or heat, depending upon the environmental circumstances), these are points of light glittering in the darkness. Built within small shrines that serve double duty as a healing center and safe resting place, their cold light is a welcome sight to the weary traveler and anathema to Hollows; unless they’re actively pursuing prey, Hollow Pokémon will not venture into their light. Spending the night here is the equivalent of being healed at a Pokémon Center in modern times. The fire, despite radiating heat or cold, is harmless.
Bonfires are tended to by women known as Fire Keepers; each suffers from some kind of chronic condition (blindness, deafness, or an inability to speak are the most common). Fire Keepers keep the bonfire lit by allowing it to burn away at their soul; while they do, they suffer no infirmities of old age, are immune to disease, and their Pokémon cannot be Hollowed. Should the Fire Keeper die, their Bonfire will go dark and no longer be safe for travelers, unless the Fire Keeper is either replaced or restored to life. As such, it is considered a grave crime to harm one of these women, and their Pokémon tend to be on the powerful side.
Fire Keepers can cure Hollowing (as described below), can tutor moves as if you used a TM or HM, and can keep Pokémon in excess of six with them, similar to a PC Storage system. Building a team greater than six, however, is difficult, given the preponderance of Hollow Pokémon in Unova.
Bonfires are tended to by women known as Fire Keepers; each suffers from some kind of chronic condition (blindness, deafness, or an inability to speak are the most common). Fire Keepers keep the bonfire lit by allowing it to burn away at their soul; while they do, they suffer no infirmities of old age, are immune to disease, and their Pokémon cannot be Hollowed. Should the Fire Keeper die, their Bonfire will go dark and no longer be safe for travelers, unless the Fire Keeper is either replaced or restored to life. As such, it is considered a grave crime to harm one of these women, and their Pokémon tend to be on the powerful side.
Fire Keepers can cure Hollowing (as described below), can tutor moves as if you used a TM or HM, and can keep Pokémon in excess of six with them, similar to a PC Storage system. Building a team greater than six, however, is difficult, given the preponderance of Hollow Pokémon in Unova.
Hollowing
Without Pokémon, humans are left at the savage mercies of nature. Without humans, however, Pokémon lose all sense of who or what they once were, degenerating into literal shells of their former selves. Hollow Pokémon are little more than spirits, weighing only a fraction of their former weight. Consumed by savagery brought on by despair and grief, they violently attack and destroy all non-Hollow beings they encounter. Easily recognized by the unnatural red glow of their eyes and their fragile, withered bodies, these monsters cannot be caught, and shatter upon reaching 0 hit points- regardless of whether or not the blow was intended to be fatal.
No Pokémon is immune to Hollowing and nothing can cure it, yet Apricorn Balls are a perfect means of staving off the curse, at least for a time. While outside of Ball, Pokémon slowly but surely degenerate, but while within, further Hollowing is prevented. Hollowing is measured on a sliding scale from 6 to 0, similar to loyalty scores. Your starters start out at Hollowing Level 6.
When a Pokémon is killed, it can be revived at a Bonfire, but doing so requires special items to do so, and the Pokémon within must be within an Apricorn Ball to be revived. When a deceased Pokémon is revived, it loses one Hollowing level (if a Pokémon was at Hollowing Level 6 when it died and was revived, for example, it is now level 5.) When a Pokémon dies at Hollowing Level 0, it instantly rises at full hit points as a Hollow Pokémon, and cannot be caught again or cured; if it had an Apricorn Ball, that Ball is now free to catch other Pokémon.
Hollowing Levels can be set back to 6 by a Fire Keeper (effectively resetting the clock for the afflicted Pokémon), though doing so taxes her greatly. The greater the Hollowing Level, the more it taxes her; reversing anything from Hollowing Level 2 or lower succeeds, but kills her instantly.
Humans cannot go Hollow, and a human who dies stays dead, unless powerful magic is on hand to revive them.
Bosses cannot be captured. You will always know when you fight a boss.
No Pokémon is immune to Hollowing and nothing can cure it, yet Apricorn Balls are a perfect means of staving off the curse, at least for a time. While outside of Ball, Pokémon slowly but surely degenerate, but while within, further Hollowing is prevented. Hollowing is measured on a sliding scale from 6 to 0, similar to loyalty scores. Your starters start out at Hollowing Level 6.
When a Pokémon is killed, it can be revived at a Bonfire, but doing so requires special items to do so, and the Pokémon within must be within an Apricorn Ball to be revived. When a deceased Pokémon is revived, it loses one Hollowing level (if a Pokémon was at Hollowing Level 6 when it died and was revived, for example, it is now level 5.) When a Pokémon dies at Hollowing Level 0, it instantly rises at full hit points as a Hollow Pokémon, and cannot be caught again or cured; if it had an Apricorn Ball, that Ball is now free to catch other Pokémon.
Hollowing Levels can be set back to 6 by a Fire Keeper (effectively resetting the clock for the afflicted Pokémon), though doing so taxes her greatly. The greater the Hollowing Level, the more it taxes her; reversing anything from Hollowing Level 2 or lower succeeds, but kills her instantly.
Humans cannot go Hollow, and a human who dies stays dead, unless powerful magic is on hand to revive them.
Bosses cannot be captured. You will always know when you fight a boss.
