-Dice- FFRPG uses several kinds of dice: d6, d8, d10 & d12. Most situations in-game use a pair of d10. The other dice are used for determining damage and character gains.
Percentile Rolls are the most common type of roll used, the results called Percentile Dice or d%. The player rolls in a 1-100 range by rolling two d10. One d10 is the 'called die' and picked before the roll. The result of the 'called die' determines the tens digit, while the other die becomes the ones digit. Ex: Called d10 is 9, other is 3, so the result is 93. The goal is to roll equal to or under a target number called a Chance of Success (CoS). Harder tasks have a lower CoS.
Botches and Critical Successes are two types of special result that can occur. A Botch is whenever a d% comes up between 95-100 and a Critical Success is between 1-10. On a d% result, 10 is "0". Ex: Rolling two 10's is "0, 0" and a Botch (result 100), while 1 & 10/0 or 10/0 and 1 are Critical Successes (result 10 and 1 respectively). These mean the character acheives a spectactular result, failing or succeeding. Ex: Critical Success on an Etiquette check might impress nobles enough to obtain favors, while a Botch could be offensive enough to spark a Duel of Honor! The exact effects depend on context and the GM, but are usually within reason and not excessively dramatic.
The Rule of 10 prevents a CoS from lowering to the point of impossiblity, as rolling within a Critical Success range always allows a character to succeed. However, because of the difficulty of the task, it isn't treated like a Critical Success. Instead it is treated as an immensely impressive, barely pulled off feat despite the odds. The Rule of 10 does not apply in all situations, such as performing feats of strength that the GM declares outright impossible for a character. Ex: Hurling a castle at a monster.
-Statistics- Character abilities in FFRPG are in part measured by statistics or stats. These are called Attributes and Combat Statistics.
Attributes are the physical and mental caapbilities of a character in and out of combat. There are six Attributes:
Strength or STR governs physical vigor and muscle mass and helps determine how much damage a melee weapon such as a sword inflicts.
Vitality or VIT governs physical endurance and stamina and how resistant to damage, disease and fatigue a character is.
Agility or AGI governs physical dexterity and coordination and helps determine how much damage a ballistic weapon such as a crossbow inflicts, as well as Overall weapon accuracy.
Speed or SPD governs both physical quickness and reaction time.
Magic or MAG governs any mastery over a mystical force such as Chi, Mana, or the Elements and helps determine the effectiveness of spells and abilities.
Spirit or SPR governs both spiritual strength and mental fortitude and how resistant to magical damage and other effect a character is.
Attributes range between 1-30. The higher a character's score is, the better that character's abilities in that area are. This value is mainly used for damage calculation. Use of raw muscle, speed, or brainpower they use what is called an Attribute Rating. These range between 13-100 and have their own section below.
Combat Statistics determine a character's battle performance and include their ability to deal and receive damage. FFRPG characters have 7-11 combat statistics depending on their profession:
Hit Points or HP governs general physical condition and damage subtracts from this total, until reaching 0 and characters fall unconcious.
Magic Points or MP governs the general resevoir of mystical energy and use of spells and other magical powers reduces this total.
Evasion or EVA governs reflexes for dodging or parrying physical attacks.
Accuracy or ACC governs the basic ability for a character to land an attack.
Dexterity or DEX governs the accuracy of special agility-based attacks and is not a value every character uses.
Armor or ARM governs defense against physical damage and reduces how much damage is received.
Magic Evasion or M. EVA governs resistance to harmful magical energy.
Magic Accuracy or M. ACC governs accuracy in using mystical abilities and determines the effectiveness of magic.
Mind or MND governs the accuracy of magical special attacks and is not a value every character uses.
Magic Armor or M. ARM governs defense against magical damage and reduces how much damage is received.
Expertise or EXP governs skill at a specific profession and is not a value every character uses.
These Combat Statistics are mainly used reactively during play instead of directly in order to accomplish a task.
-Skills- Skills are a variety of tasks and abilities a character can be capable of and how proficient they are at it. These values are called Skill Ratings and range between 1-100 wit higher value indicating greater skill. Rating and proficiency in skills is roughly as follows:
A skill belongs to one of eight groups based on usage. These groups are Artistic, General, Scholastic, Social, Technical, Thievery, Weapons, and Wilderness. Skills are discussed in more detail in their own section.
-Task Checks- When a a character uses an Attribute or Skill to accomplish as task, this is called a Task Check. Which skil to use for a task should be obvious, while for Attributes it is usually a raw feat of ability. Examples include using STR for lifting heavy objects, VIT for fighting fatigue, AGI for dodging traps, SPD for running, MAG for solving a logic puzzle, and SPR for resisting mental torture. Task Checks are all based on the difficulty of a task, which is deermned by a Conditional Modifier ranging between +80 and -80. How this lines up is as follows:
A Conditional Modifier being assigned to a Task Check takes into account base difficulty and the context surrounding it. Ex: Climbing a mountain in pleasant weather is easier than doing so in a storm without gear. After the Conditional Modifier is decided, it's added to the relevant Skill or Attribute Rating of the character performing the task. If the total is 100 or higher the character automatically succeeds without moving on to the Task Check itself. If it's less than 100, a character rolls a d% with a COS equal to the total of the Skill/Attribute Rating and the Conditional Modifier. Like a Percentile Roll, getting equal or under this number means you succeed and getting over means you fail. An especially complex task may require multiple rolls in order to succeed, with the Conditional Modifier reduced accordingly to account for this. Some tasks may be team efforts and require Task Checks from each character involved. Ex: The party defending itself during a trial hearing with the Negotiation Skill, the final verdict being determined by the number of successes and failures. Sometimes a successful character may assist or take over for another character in the given task.
Failure at a Task Check doesn't always mean you can just try again or sometimes results in putting the character or party in a worse situation than before and increasing the Conditional Modifier if they try again. This is reliant on context, as well as the amount of time spent attempting to accomplish a task. Ex: Something that takes 10 minutes is easier to try again than something that takes a full day of work.
Opposed Task Checks are when two or more characters use a Skill or Attribute Rating on each other. Sometimes these are the same Rating, while other times the characters will use a different one. Ex: A perceptive soldier in an Opposed Task Check against a spy's deceptive act about being royal emissaries. Opposed Task Checks function identically to regular Task Checks, though the CoS may either be the same for all characters involved or vary. Participants roll their d% at the same time, and everyone must roll even if they would normally be excepted because of a CoS of 100 or higher. Whoever scores the farthest below the Task Check CoS wins. Ex: A result of 26 on a CoS 40 Task Check will beat a result of 22 on a CoS 30 Task Check despite the latter being a lower result. A Botch or Failure removes a participant from the contest unless all participants also Botch or Fail, in which case all participants reroll unless one side forfeits. Similarly a Critical Success wins the contest unless other participants also get a Critical Success, in which case the lowest roll determines the winner.
-Scenes- In-game action in FFRPG is divided into Scenes that are composed of a varied and wide range of events and developments. Ex: Shopping in a town, confronting a villain, and an exploration of a dungeon are all Scenes. Each scene is composed of three phases: Initiative, Action and Status. These phases are often background elements that are only specifically brought up if needed. Scenes end with either a change of location or an adequate amount of time passes.
The Initiative Phase is used when the timing of actions is important in a scene. Ex: A character running to catch up to a departing airship. During this phase anyone involved in the scene rolls a d10 and adds the result to their SPD Attribute, the result being called their Initiative and determines who acts when. Once the lowest Initiative in the order has been reached, the phase moves into the Action Phase.
The Action Phase is where the timing of objects or other events is important and the GM assigns fixed Initiative to these things. Ex: The Airship will leave on Initiative Count 10. This phase is further divided into Turns. These are where participants carry out Actions, usually Task Checks. Turns are conducted in the previously established Initiative Order with the highest going first. Sometimes there will not be a preceding Initiative Phase and participants will discuss amongst themselves who takes the lead. During their Turns, participants may make one or more Action depending on context. If several sets of Actions are required then Initiative is generated again. Once the Action Phase has been resolved it moves into the Status Phase.
The Status Phase is the Conclusion of a Scene. Here characters discuss their situation and decide their next course of action provided they have the option to do so as well as the time in which Status Conditions come into play. Some Status Conditions are beneficial while others are harmful. Ex: Haste increases Reaction Speed while Poison decreases HP over time. Status Conditions are further discussed in their own section.
Most Status Conditions only have a limited duration called Timers and are always listed in bolded parentheses. Ex: Inflicts the Status Condition Sleep (6) means that effect has a Timer of 6. Most Timers are 2, 4, or 6 but some are (∞) and mean that effect has an Unlimited Timer. Once action has been resolved and the scene ends, the effects of Status Conditions are resolved and their Timers decreased according to the elased amount of between the end of the scene and the start of the next one. This is discussed in more detail in its own section. At times players may be allowed to treat Status Conditions and injuries during the Status Phase.
-Classes and Jobs- Every character has a Class that determines their basic abilities broken up into Warriors, Experts, Mages, and Adepts. Each of these four Classes is further broken up by Subclasses known as Jobs. Ex: Mage Jobs include Black Mages and White Mages while Warriors include Monks and Dragoons.
Abilities are what distinguishes Jobs from each other and range from the ability to cast White or Black Magic or unleash powerful special attacks on enemies. All Jobs start with at least one Ability and gain more as they advance, the collection of abilities available to a Job being known as an Ability Set.
All Abilities are divided into one of Five groups: Fast, Slow, Reaction, Support, and Magic. Fast Abilities take place immediately while Slow abilities require preparation before they are used. This is represented by a Charge Time in bolded parentheses. Ex: Slow (4) means a Slow Ability has a Charge Time of 4. Charge Times and how they effect combat are discussed more in their own section. Reaction Abilities are used automatically when their trigger conditions are met and usually have a limited CoS. Reaction Abilities can trigger another Reaction Ability except when the two Reaction Abilities share the same trigger. Support Abilities are always in effect no matter what and do not need to be used. Magic Abilities use mystical energies and the most common of these is Spells, which use MP although not all Magic Abilities do so.
Almost all Abilities have a limited Area of Effect known as a Target, which is broken up into five basic types:
Self means the effect only applies to the caster.
Single means the effect only applies to one eligible target selected by the caster.
Group means the effect only applies to a formation of targets.
Party means the effect only applies to the caster and their allies in the immediate vicinity although in some cases the character using the Ability is exempted.
All means the effect applies to everyone indiscriminately.
Targeting is discussed more in it's own section.
Some abilities have a CoS that is listed in the Abilities description, with Reactions being the most common but techniques that inflict a Status Condition also frequently having one. The basic CoS formula is "(Base CoS + Modifier), EVA/M. EVA" with the latter being the defending Combat Statistic. Ex: "(M. ACC - 50), M. EVA" means the final CoS is modified by subtracting the target's M. EVA value from the d% result.
Sometimes a CoS is simply as a number, most commonly "30%" or "60%", known as a Flat CoS. A Flat CoS is never modified. Ex: A Flat CoS of 60% will always be a success on a roll of 60 or lower.
Some effects are given as bolded percentages such as "hits for +25% damage" or "is at -25%" with the ability itself explaining what is being modified. Ex: "Damage" alone indicates the Damage done by a basic Attack Action. Because of the number of possible modifiers there can be multiple percentages in one effect. If so they are added together before being applied.
All percentages are given in increments of 25% for ease of calculation:
25% - Halve the number in question, then halve it again. 50% - Halve the number in question. 75% - Calculate 25% and 50%, then add them together. 125% - Calculate 25%, then add it to the number in question. 150% - Calculate 50%, then add it to the number in question. 175% - Calculate 75%, then add it to the number in question. 200% - Double the number in question. 300% - Triple the number in question.
Always Round Down in FFRPG.
-Combat- Battles are treated as Special Scenes that are further divided into a smaller number of sequences called Rounds that contain their own Initiative, Action, and Status Phases. This is discussed further in it's own section. The goal of a Battle is to defeat ones opponents through various attacks and abilities, most of which have a limited chance of hitting an opponent and require Percentile Rolls against skills or a pre-determined CoS that is modified by subtracting the targets EVA or M. EVA. The most common Skills used in Battle are the Weapon Skills. A successful hit reduces the targets HP or MP after accounting for ARM and M. ARM.
Every attack has its own distinct Damage Code based on a Damage Scale or DS and a Damage Die. Ex: An attack with a Damage Code of "(3 x STR) + d10" has a DS of 3 and a Damage die of d10. Damage inflicted is determined by multiplying the DS and the Attribute in use and then rolling the Damage Die and adding it's result to the total. Having a characters Damage Code precalculated speeds up combat.
Attacks in FFRPG are either Physical or Magical with Physically attacks usually using STR or AGI Attributes to resolve damage and Magical attacks usually using the MAG Attribute. All Physical Damage is modified by the target's ARM Rating and is Guarded against by EVA while All Magical Damage is modified by the target's M. Arm Rating and Guarded against by M. EVA. In addition to this an attack can also be Elemental and inflict Elemental damage tied to one of nine Combat Elements: Earth, Fire, Air, Water, Lightning, Ice, Bio, Holy, and Shadow. These all have varying effects on the Target. Ex: Holy attacks burn demons and creatures of Shadow while Ice is extremely crippling to creatures of Fire. These special effects towards certain targets are called Weaknesses, Resistances, Immunities, and Absorbances. If a target has a Weakness (W) towards an Element then all attacks of that Element deal +50% Damage before modifying for ARM or M. ARM while if they have a Resistance (R) towards an Element it will deal -50% damage before modifying for ARM or M. ARM. Immuninty (I) means a target cannot be hurt by that Element and all damage is immediately reduced to 0 while Absorbance (A) means that Element instead heals them for the amount they would have been damaged after modifying for ARM or M. ARM. Combatants can have multiple Weaknesses, Resistances, Immunities, and Absorbances and they will often act in a complimentary fashion. Ex: A monster weak to Lightning may be resistant to water. This is further discussed in Appendix II. Physical and Magical attacks with no Element are simply "Physical Damage" and "Magical Damage" respectively.
There is a Damage Cap of 999 HP including modifiers for the Target's ARM or M. ARM Rating as well as Barrier Status Effects. This is important for dealing damage with effects based on the Target's HP as an attack that causes 50% Target HP Damage can still only deal a maximum of 999 HP removed. EX: Using a 50% Target HP Damage attack on a Target with 10,000 HP still only deals 999 Damage to their HP. This rule also applies to attacks that damage a targets MP. There are exceptions to the Damage Cap rule and attacks that do so will state this trait in their description. As a counterpart to the Damage Cap, damage done by an attack cannot be reduced to less than 1 HP by modifiers and is called the Rule of 1.
Once all of one side have been knocked out, fled, or otherwise dealt with, the battle is over. Whoever comes out on top is the victor and gains the rewards of the encounter. Encounter rewards typically include items, money, and Experience Points or XP. A character who aquires enough XP will advance a Level and gaining more strength and abilities. Characters may begin at Level 1 and can advance up to Level 99 if they manage to survive long enough. This is discussed further in its own section.
-GLOSSARY RECAP: CLIFF NOTES HARDER-
Spoiler
Ability: A special power possessed by a Job.
Ability Set: All Abilities available to a given Job or character.
Absorbance (A): Used to designate a combatant’s ability to absorb a given category of Elemental damage.
Action Phase: Phase during which the participants act.
Attribute: One of a number of stats tracking a character’s physical and mental capabilities.
Attribute Rating: Number measuring a character’s ability in a given Attribute.
Botch: A critical failure on a Percentile Roll. Occurs on unmodified rolls of 95 to 100.
Charge Time: The delay between when a character decides to use a Slow Ability and its activation.
Class: A generalised profession.
Combat Elements: The Elements of Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Ice, Lightning, Poison, Holy and Shadow.
Conditional Modifier: Modifier applied to Task Checks based on how easy – or difficult – the task at hand is.
CoS: Short for ‘Chance of Success’. A target number for most task resolution rolls in the FFRPG.
Critical Success: An unusually good result on a Percentile Roll. Occurs on unmodified rolls of 1 to 10.
d%: A die roll using two ten-sided dice to generate a total ‘percentage’.
Damage Cap: Restriction limiting the amount of damage done by any one attack to 999 HP or MP.
Damage Die: Die – or dice – rolled and added to an attack’s damage.
Damage Scale: Multiplier that gives an attack’s basic damage.
Elemental: Associated with the Combat Elements.
Fast Ability: An Ability that requires no preparation time.
Flat CoS: A chance of success that always remains the same.
Immunity (I): Used to designate a combatant’s immunity to a given category of Elemental damage or Status Condition.
Initiative: Score that determines when actions are taken.
Initiative Phase: Phase during which the order of the participants’ actions is determined.
Job: A specialised profession.
Level: A reflection of a character's experience level. Based on the total number of XP that character possesses.
Magic Abilities: Spells and spell-like Abilities.
Magical: Magical damage not associated with a Combat Element.
Opposed Task Check: Task Check in which two or more participants make a d% roll.
Percentile Roll: A roll made using a d%.
Phase: Segments of a Round. Most Rounds have three.
Reaction Ability: An Ability that only triggers under certain circumstances.
Resistance (R): Used to designate a combatant’s resistance to a given category of Elemental damage.
Round: Basic unit of time in FFRPG combat. A battle will often be made up of multiple Rounds.
Rule of 1: Rule stating that the smallest amount of damage any one attack can inflict is 1 HP.
Rule of 10: Rule stating that the lowest a CoS can be reduced to is 10 – making the roll under these circumstances is not a Critical Success, but an against-all-odds one.
Scene: Basic unit of time in the FFRPG. A scene ends with a change in location or the passage of time.
Skill: A particular body of knowledge used by a character, measured via a numerical rating.
Skill Rating: Number measuring a character’s proficiency in a given Skill.
Slow Ability: An Ability that requires preparation time.
Status Conditions: Special conditions – positive or negative –that can affect a character’s capacities and abilities.
Status Phase: Phase during which book-keeping for Status Conditions takes place.
Support Ability: An Ability that is always active.
Task Check: A Percentile Roll used to determine the success or failure of a task using one of a character’s Skills or Abilities.
Timer: Expression used for the duration of a Status Condition or special effect.
Weakness (W): Used to designate a combatant’s weakness to a given category of Elemental damage.
XP: A measure of a character's growth in experience and personal capabilities, increased by certain actions and achievements within the game.
The Final Fantasy Role Playing Game Third Edition: Cliff Notes Version!
Table of Contents 0. Introduction - This post! 1. Playguide -Post 2!- ○ Dice ○ Statistics ○ Skills ○ Task Checks ○ Scenes ○ Classes and Jobs ○ Combat 2. Character Creation -WIP- ○ Advancement ○ Experienced Characters 3. Races -WIP- ○ Human ○ Bangaa ○ Cremiere ○ Dwarf ○ Elf ○ Galka ○ Mithra ○ Moogle ○ Nu Mou ○ Qu ○ Ronso ○ Tarutaru ○ Varg ○ Viera ○ Yeti ○ Differentiating Races 4. Jobs -WIP- ○ Warrior Jobs ○ Expert Jobs ○ Mage Jobs ○ Adept Jobs 5. Skills -WIP- ○ Expanded Rules ○ Groupwork ○ Artistic Skills ○ General Skills ○ Scholastic Skills ○ Social Skills ○ Technical Skills ○ Thievery Skills ○ Weapon Skills ○ Wilderness Skills 6. Equipment -WIP- ○ Equipment Basics ○ Weapon Slot ○ Shield Slot ○ Body Slot ○ Head Slot ○ Hands Slot ○ Accessory Slot ○ Inventory Slot ○ Materials 7. Combat -WIP-- ○ The Basics of Combat ○ The Initiative Phase ○ The Action Phase ○ The Status Phase ○ The Spoils of Battle ○ Special Circumstances 8. Magic -WIP- ○ Spell Classifications ○ Black Magic ○ White Magic ○ Time Magic ○ Red Magic ○ Blue Magic ○ Spellblade Magic ○ Intuitive Magic 9. Adventuring -WIP- ○ Rest and Recovery ○ Towns ○ On The Road 10. Gamemastering -WIP- ○ GM Basics ○ Building an Adventure ○ Building a Campaign ○ Creating New Races ○ Creating Equipment Appendix I. Skill Supplement -WIP- ○ The Basics of Technical Skills ○ Invent ○ Gadgets ○ Repair ○ Crafting Weapons and Armor ○ Practical Crafting ○ Cooking ○ Explosives ○ Alchemy ○ Mix Appendix II. Monster Creation System -WIP- ○ Monster Profile ○ Attributes and Statistics ○ Attacks ○ Action Abilities ○ Spells ○ Job Abilities ○ Movement Abilities ○ Support Abilities ○ Reaction Abilities ○ Field Effects ○ Boss Abilities ○ Rewards ○ Converting Monsters Appendix III. Summoning -WIP- ○ The Basics of Summoning ○ Using Evocation Magic ○ Using Summon Magic ○ Summon Profiles Appendix IV. Storytelling -WIP- ○ Key Points ○ Traits ○ Planning Appendix V. Game Sheets -WIP- Glossary -WIP-
0. INTRODUCTION -How to use!- This Cliff Notes Version of FFRPG will be organized under one thread, broken into multiple posts by section. As this is the "first post", the Table of Contents and Introduction are going to go here. The second post will have the Playguide, and so on. All of which are going to be the Cliffnotes versions, which hopefully will be done well enough to not need to turn to the original PDF too often! That said, the entire Introduction from the original PDF will be replaced with campaign-specific details excepting a few common themes from Final Fantasy and how they will fit into the setting.
-Campaing Setting- Still a Work In Progress, but the setting for this campaign of FFRPG is going to have signifigent Sci-Fi elements! Magic will still be prevalient, and many of the technologies at work will lean more towards Magitek than straight technology. More will be added later.
-Key Elements of Final Fantasy- As the setting is going to be something a little original, the following are important concepts linked to the trends of Final Fantasy; Note that these do not particularly mean there wont be suprises, twists, or subversions regarding these things!
Mythos: Drawing inspiration and making references to various mythos and folklore. The specifics in this campaign are undecided, so feel free to make suggestions!
Keyword Is Fantasy: Magic and surreal objects, people, or places isn't rare in Final Fantasy, although the potency can certainly vary. Because of this, the setting will be grandiose and fantastical and not limit itself to the realms of real-world possiblity. It will still make sense internally, of course, but expect the unexpected! As with the previous, suggestions are more than welcome!
Summons: While Magic doesn't always involve summons, they are often as much a part of the setting as they are battle mechanics. As of now, the summons haven't been given an established role in the setting, so feel free to share ideas!
Airships: While it varies how common they are, and exactly what they are is yet to be defined for this setting, the party getting a nifty mode of transport is also a staple of Final Fantasy. Similarly is the link between Airships and a 'Cid' character, who is often a scientist or engineer.
Chocobo: They might as well be the mascot of the series, so we have to have them. Their specific role remains undefined, but they are often beasts of burden or war mounts.
World Crystals: These crystals embody elements of the world, and quite literally are what allow those things to function. Normally they consist of Fire, Earth, Water and Wind. Their precise role, function, and nature in the campaign has yet to be decided.
The Mook Duo: Biggs and Wedge, in some capacity, always appear. If Chocobo's, or perhaps Moogles, weren't Final Fantasy's mascot, it'd be these two clowns. Their role in the campaign, however small or large, is undefined.
The Big Bad: Be it small scale or large scale, those responsible for whatever evil or misdeeds being done is almost always a single person. While they can have a number of resources and mooks at their command, or even powerful allies who are bosses in their own right, there is always a Big Bad pulling all the strings. Sometimes it's not even who you think it is!
Bonus Feats: Bonus 1: Weapon Finesse(Ex): Use Dex modifier for determining damage with one light weapon, or a rapier or spiked chain weapon.
Flaw 1:
Trained Feats:
Class Abilities: Weapon & Armor Proficiency: Swashbuckler's are proficient with all martial and simple weapons, and can only wear light armor.
Racial Abilities: Suffer -2 to all checks when out of water for more than an hour. Swim speed of 30’ & can “run” when swimming in a straight line. +8 Racial bonus to Swim checks. Can always Take 10. Able to breath water. Darkvision 120’ Automatic Languages: Aquan, Common
Transportation: Size Sails Capacity Max Crew Solo-able Sailboat 30x9ft 1 20 Tons 8 Yes Name: Black Moor Description: Current Crew: 1 Captain/Owner: Noirre Do'Lande Cargo: Chest, MISC: Using a crew gives a +2 per crew member on relevant checks.
Home Community – Lived in Temperate weather aboard the ships of a Large Merleon Fleet, though like all Fleet-raised Merleons, she spent more time in the water than on the ships themselves.
Family – Wealthy Upper Class members of the Fleet, often producing great Warriors – And known for often having a full clutch survive, and “Great Three's” being a familial legacy. Known for their Fair Ethics in both personal and public dealings, and have a good reputation thanks to this and their supportive views towards their society's policies. They have a matriarchy, and are known to hold enmity towards learned magic, divine and sorcery regarded in different lights. Their good standing is in part thanks to ancestors known in their family history as the “Legendary Three” - Siblings of a 3-clutch, who all became great warriors in their own right. Though considered a villain and looked down upon, one of the three was a male who attempted to take all of Merleon society under a patriarchal dictatorship – Despite his clear defeat and failure, he is regarded as an impressive male warrior, and often regarded as it being a shame he wasnt born a female. The other two committed similar grand deeds, though less culturally or politically inclined – One ridding a settlement of a longstanding foe for good with brilliance and bravery, and the other settling a long-considered uninhabitable area of the deep sea. After this it became coincidentally common place for 3-clutch Merleon's of the family to be noteworthy figures.
Education – Learned to read and write in her early childhood, and was taught to Sing by a member of a group of sentient whales that were long-time allies of the Fleet. She underwent the standard Military training for a Merleon as well.
Life Events – In her Youth she learned the basics of real battle, but separated from her fleet with her clutch-siblings on a Sailboat in order to seek adventure/means of proving themselves the greatest of Merleon Warriors, and that the Legendary Three tradition doesn't mean only 3-clutch Merleon's can be grand.
Relationships – Her parents are alive, unusually having only one father, as are the other seven siblings of her clutch. She has a set of three thirteen year old siblings, another full eight clutch of eight year old siblings, and another set of three two year old siblings. Her entire clutch are all identical twins, looking nearly precisely the same aside from nurture-related differences. She has one living grandparent, who is considered a formidable warrior for living into her old age. Her extended family is huge, and she is in contact with many of them – At least those who are still a part of the same fleet. She has many light friendships, but no particularly strong or close-knit bonds with her peers. She learned to sing war and celebratory songs from a sapient whale, who often served as such an instructor. While she had many competitions with her peers, as is natural in their society with budding warriors, she has a particularly passionate rivalry with one of her clutch-sisters, Renoir, and often the two attempt to show each other up to be known as “best of the clutch” (a common element of growing up in a Merleon Fleet).
City 1438 Outskirts; Forest; November 23rd, 4:11 PM
The tale tell flash of light from DeadNet's systems flared once again, depositing a young woman with tanned skin and a limber frame into the formerly empty space on the forest floor. Purple eyes curiously looked around, not a hint of unease or alarm. Her hair matched her eyes, all but unruly bangs pulled back into a ponytail that dangled down to the small of her back. The theme did not end there, a purple t-shirt adding color to the white jacket and denim pants; entirely non-combat designed sneakers, white and purple, adorned her feet and completely the excessively casual outfit.
Did you blink in the middle of a Light Dive again?
The question resonated not from nearby nor the depths of her mind, but from an intangible location that could not be equated to any physical location. The words, for there was not even a voice attached to them, simply were and she simply understood them.
"Did I even Dive?" She thought to herself, mentally forming the thoughts into pronounced words by habit as she tried to remember what had happened immediately before with her arms crossed over her chest and lips pursed in confusion.
You were complaining about the line only a minute ago.
She sheepishly scratched her head, giving a chuckle of admittance to the implied accusation.
"People are just way too slow in lines..." She gave a mental sigh. She was extremely prone to skipping the "line" part of things out of impatience. She paid whatever for the entry, so why should she have to hang around while people took a million years to shuffle ten feet? She shook her head after a moment as something came to her attention, frowning as she murmured her thoughts out loud. "Wait, nothings messed up. Not even a little. I couldn't have accidentally dove here."
Then something else is going on.
Purple eyes narrowed and the light snapping of her knuckles being cracked sounded as she contemplated that.
"Then it's time for Xanthariel to kick some ass!" A mental fist-pump accompanied the thought.
Sariel... We're still not the same person... Were the words capable of giving off a tone, it was likely they would be sighing in resignation.
"Well the name is awesome, so zip it." She mentally stuck out her tongue, the ensuing moment of silence confirming her victory in the briefly lived debate.
The Temple of the Sea-side Mountain was as it always had been; pleasant weather and the peaceful sounds of both the ocean waves and mountain air, accompanied by the ordered sounds of fists impacting wood, stone, and the sturdy flesh of sparring partners. The monastery had sat atop this mountain long enough that it's precise history had been muddled by time, it's origins told in dusty old tomes kept locked away as important artifacts of the order and rarely read. From the steps to the small buildings to the training grounds, all had been carved from the mountainside itself. Small pools and ponds dotted the landscape, stonework bridges allowing passage across the larger ones.
As the name would imply the temple overlooked the ocean and were one daring and a capable jumper, from some of the lower cliffs it was possible to dive from the edge of the mountain into the salty depths below. This was known because it was a thing the monks often did, considered simply another part of their training. Despite being a feat to make sane men balk, it was rare to be truly injured or to die. All training was done as safely as possible despite their intensity and inherent danger. For those who followed the teachings of the One Thousand Paths there was no goal greater than to achieve physical perfection and complete mastery of their art, the pursuit of which demanded nothing less than challenging the very limits of mortal endurance.
That was why a halfling woman by the name of Rosaly currently knelt across from her master, an old dwarven man with a gray beard as long as he was tall and not a hair upon his head elsewhere. There were several masters that lived at the temple, those who had decided to return to teach others. The dwarf, who held no name as far as she nor anyone else knew, was her master above the others. He had spent the most time training her, showing confidence that her short stature and lack of strength would do nothing to prevent her from excelling at the art. He himself was one of the most physically powerful people at the temple and built like a barrel, but was nonetheless almost as short as she was. Perhaps that was why he had taken such a liking to her, and why he had trained her with as much intensity as any other disciple without regard to her shortcomings.
"Rosaly." The dwarven master spoke evenly, arms folded across his chest, his back to the steps leading down the mountain as he gazed upon her. A twinkle in his eye betrayed his stony expression. "You have lived among us for twenty long years. In my years here, of the pupils I have taken, I have never had any so dense."
The dwarf paused, and she looked up at him with a sheepish grin before bowing back down. A wry smile graced the bearded monk's lips as he continued.
"Nor one so eager and determined. Not once have you complained about your training in these two decades, no matter how tough it was to undertake. To stay here has been hard with the wanderlust boiling in your blood, so you may think of this day as your reward." The dwarf finished and she rose to her feet, smiling and eager.
"I've been looking forward to it." Rosaly laughed lightly, relaxed. Her order was not big on ceremony, perhaps as a result of their proximity to what could be considered little more than wildlands. Even if it were, the halfling was not one who could reign in her energetic attitude for long.
"I'm sure Ullioth has as well," The dwarf snorted with a chuckle. "That woman puts far too much emphasis on scrolls and philosophy, so I am sure she will be glad to only having to deal with just my snoring during her lectures."
Rosaly laughed again at the fond memories. Ullioth was a half-elf who held that the spiritual and philosophical would shape and mold the body. Not an unpopular belief and certainly held it's merits, but one that ran counter to most of the monks at the monastery. Especially herself and her master, and she had long suspected the latter's snores were faked simply to annoy the woman.
"I'm sure I'll get the chance to nap during her lessons again when I return." She commented, striding towards the steps. Her master raised a skeptical eyebrow, no doubt wondering if the halfling actually would return or not. He had no doubt she would survive and perfect the art, he had trained her well after all and he had spoken the truth earlier. She was none too bright, but she was gifted and blessed with a strong will. As she peered down the many steps, the call to wander beating harder in her pulse, the dwarf clasped his thick and calloused hand upon her shoulder.
"Before you go, one last training lesson." He commented, a tone that held an ominous playfulness. He shoved her with his immense strength, sending her clear over several stairs before leaping after her with a loud yell. She landed with ease, skipping out of the way and further down the stairs. An energetic twinkle was alight in both of their eyes, slipping into stances for their parting spar.
"Let's see if you can reach the bottom before the sun has set."
City 1438 Outskirts; Open field; November 23rd, 4:09 PM
Nymt gave a confident smirk as the man vanished, a conical blade of glassy energy generated by her gauntlets forming around her hands. She swung her arm out, expecting to intercept him, but the blade caught nothing but air. Instantly warning bells went off as she caught the slightest waver of thought betraying his true intent moments before a steel plated fist slammed heavily into her helmet. She pitched forward, as if stumbling in mid air, and narrowed her eyes. This guy was definitely clever, if a jackass for taking such a cheap shot like that. Well, she mused as a determined smirk formed on her lips, she'd just have to take him slightly more seriously then.
Diving forward into her mid-air stumble, despite the slight ringing in her ears, the psionic jets in her greaves pulsed as she swiftly arced towards the ground. That small moment of forewarning hadn't been enough to get a true barrier up in time to intercept, but it'd certainly softened the blow and kept her from being knocked senseless. At least the helmet was actually good as a helmet instead of just a psychic aid, a mistake weaker and stupider psionic types made all the time, she mused. Gracefully she curved across the ground before bursting back up to complete her impromptu loop with an extra dash of speed, arms at the ready to try and cut the man in half before he could land or pull something else.
City 1438 Outskirts; Open field; November 23rd, 4:09 PM
Nymt zipped in just behind her opponent, pulling to a stop and hovering in place as a flash of light revealed the form of the formerly invisible combatant. He was certainly tall. Though in this day and age far from the tallest person she had seen, he was still held a decently impressive stature. The wild mess he called hair and relaxed, grinning demeanor he carried himself with exuded the same cockiness he displayed in his challenge to her. She doubted she even needed to be psychic to figure that part of the man's personality out just from her brief interaction with him already. His invisibility was apparently a result of having picked a union as the source of his abilities, if the ears, eyes, slightly wolfish tone to miscellaneous other features, and most obviously tail were any indication. Which meant he likely had some other tricks that came with the package instead of being a one-tricky pony.
"Not bad," The Saegin summed up coyly, crossing her arms loosely. Extremely loosely, in fact, because of the bulkiness of her suits chestplate and gauntlets getting in the way. "It's almost a shame I'll have to wipe that cute smirk off your face along with the rest of it."
She had not had a chance to read his mind much at all, and so was not yet aware of anything he could or couldn't do, but she doubted it would be anything she couldn't handle. She did know he was at least quick enough to avoid her attacks, but despite his invisibility it'd be infinitely easier to deal with that than that obnoxious teleporting ninja. Who, she noted with annoyance, had managed to get a couple of light shots in during her brief moment of unawareness. Not enough to get through her suit, but she definitely had a bruise or two. The jerk was probably dead or ran away by now anyways, so she put it out of mind.
"I'll let you start," Nymt offered, the mental tone to her psychic words showing the apparent silliness of her following statement was not lost on her. "Give you a chance to try and surprise me."
City 1438 Outskirts; Heavily forested area; November 23rd, 4:08 PM
"Oh, I'm sure it'll be quite interesting for you."
Nymt replied, the mental emphasis on "you" making the playful taunt clear. With an amused smirk the pudgy woman tilted forward, a small burst of psychic energy propelling her after the invisible wolfman. If he wished to get his butt whooped in private, she had no problem obliging and it was simple enough to follow his mind. It was lucky that she did, as a loud thunderous bang sounded out followed near instantly by the screaming of a bullet tearing through the air where her had had been moment prior. Her eyes widened in surprise as she realized she'd forgotten about the "ninja" that was still present. Whoever it was possessed some method of teleportation, which was always annoying. She could pick up their mind as easily as always, but the use of such abilities always made her lose track momentarily. It also made them irritating to finish off, always vanishing out of the way of her attacks. Luckily she knew just the trick for that type of opponent.
"Ah, one moment." Nymt mentally called out, swiveling around to face the precise location of the hidden ninja. The exposed teal crystal on her forehead and along her collarbone both began to glow as she focused intently on the mind of her target. The hum of the Z-Exo began once more, though no outward energy appeared this time.
For a single instant, her physical senses were swallowed up by her mental ones. She focused her thoughts and energies on crafting a hellish "sound", sending it burrowing across the unfortunate man's psyche. People were far more accustomed to the "manipulating the physical" type of psychic, so she doubted this random person would have the ability to put up much resistance to her mental assault.
Then her awareness snapped back to normal and she once more aimed her palms towards the no-doubt writhing man. With a slight huff of exertion, she rapidly discharged several psionic bolts. Each was only about the size of a baseball, but numbered at about a dozen and easily capable of shredding a small swath out of the forest in their way. The strain of attempting to incapacitate opponents while outwardly attacking them at the same time was always a difficult feat, even with the help of the Z-Exo.
"That should take care of that." The Saegin noted lightly, as if she had simply paused to fix her hair. The hum and glow dying off, she zipped off after her soon-to-be-defeated challenger.
City 1438 Outskirts; Heavily forested area; November 23rd, 4:07 PM
Nymt's eyes narrowed as she felt the tree-lurking mind briefly pop out of existence before appearing safely out of the way. She blinked in surprise as the calculated observation from the illusive combatant was picked up across her attempts to keep a psychic lock on him, and offended huff escaping her lips. She was hardly chunky! She was curvaceous, more so than the average person to be sure, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with her figure! Locking her forearms together in front of her, a glassy field of psychic energy formed a barrier that intercepted the shadowy spike. Focusing intensely, the shield shimmered brightly along with a rapid hum as the spike attempted to force it's way through before the person-sized collection of energy blasted across the same trajectory the elemental attack had come from, unraveling it as it went.
She let out a small puff of exertion. Even with the boost the Z-Exo gave her, something like that would be difficult to pull off on a regular basis. The familiar tingling of thoughts directed at her caught her attention, drawing her focus back to the presumably invisible opponent. A challenge? A confident smile formed on her face, the 'ninja' forgotten for the moment, putting her hands on her hips as she faced where she was sure the combatant was after dodging her attack.
"I'm one of the strongest psychics around." She replied telepathically, the smug and playful tone coming through clearly. "Better hope you can put your money where your mouth is."
City 1438 Outskirts; Heavily forested area; November 23rd, 4:07 PM
Nymt's dive below the treetops halted with a graceful, telekinetic flip to right herself in a hover a little over ten feet above the ground. She cast another glance around, spotting not sign of anybody. Not that that meant anything. Focusing inwardly, she cast out a small wave of psionic energy that would resonate with any sentient creature nearby. She had heard such tasks were more difficult for people imbued with psychic abilities, but for Saegin it was one of their most basic techniques. Two minds flared out as bright as beacons, both nearby. One was lurking amongst the trees while the other was supposed out in the open below her, an almost primal hunters focus bleeding through the brief momentary connection.
She gave a smirk, knowing full well whoever it was down there must be invisible. Raising both her arms out, one aimed down below and the other towards the treetops, she paused only for a moment to make sure she had the location of those minds correct. A small humming whirl of energy was the only warning sound as an almost glass-like manifestation of raw psychic energy blasted from her palms and rocketed towards their respective targets. She was hardly going all out with either, but there was enough kinetic force packed into the basketball sized attacks to rival being hit by a large truck.
City 1438 Outskirts; Heavily forested area; November 23rd, 4:06 PM
Above the dense treetops a hovering figure seemed to pop into existence in the clear blue sky. Casting a glance around, light glinting off the sweeping red spikes of the person's helmet, a puzzled pout of a frown formed on their face. Was this some kind of trick her opponent had cooked up? She fancied herself the strongest psychic around and the person she had been fighting hadn't displayed abilities even close to hers, much less capable of an elaborate illusion like this. She wasn't even detecting any psychic energy at all, either, and there was no way to really hide it in something like this that well.
Nymt's puzzled frown deepened as she realized she was a sitting duck in her confusion. Against the bright blue sky, her armor might as well be a giant beacon. A gray bodysuit that was perhaps more snug than it was intended to be would stand out enough on it's own. The heavy black armored helmet, chestplate, gauntlets and greaves certainly didn't help. The thing that really made it so even a blind person could spot her was that the psionic-enhancing Z-Exo's attachments were a bright crimson red and only added to the bulk of the already heavy armor. Were it not for the fact she was using her psionic power to do so, she'd hardly be able to move.
Deciding to find a place to lay low for a moment, she gracefully flipped upside down and a small burst of psychic energy from the Z-Exo's jet system propelled her down into the trees with only a slight rustling of the branches and leaves betraying her presence.
Add-On Reference for Table 2-4 CONDITIONAL MODIFIERS Teacher's Skill Rating in Skill being taught less than 50: -20 Teaching Intuitive Skill: +20 Teaching Learned Skill: 0 Ample time (10 or more days): +20 Sufficient time (5 days): 0 Inadequate time (2 to 3 days): -20 Extreme time pressure (1 day or less): -60
Alternative Skill Research Method for Table 2-4 CHARACTER'S LEVEL---COST PER SKILL 1–20 --------------- 300G 21–30 -------------- 750G 31–40 -------------- 3000G 41–50 -------------- 7500G Learned Skill ------ 500G
Add-On Reference for Skill Research Method CONDITIONAL MODIFIERS Researching Intuitive Skill: +20 Researching Learned Skill: 0 Ample time (10 or more days): +20 Sufficient time (5 days): 0 Inadequate time (2 to 3 days): -20 Extreme time pressure (1 day or less): -60
My own thoughts: Given that they're more equality types, it could be that they see the war as a collective, cooperative effort between all of them as individuals, and rather than orders, they simply try to assist each other and organize plans together rather than some kind of subordinate/superior system.
I like this line of thinking, however a ranking system may exist solely based on the "skill"/"strength" of a persons psionic abilities. Like, someone who can simply pick up surface thoughts would be not as powerful as a person who could search an entire room of people for a specific piece of information.
For a more in depth thing regarding how they might fight though, I imagine the mage's would have Golems and other magical creatures/summons/creations as their "heavy units" while mages slinging spells would be their basic infantry. The steampunks probably use all sorts of weird technology and weapons, a lot of it probably air-oriented. The Psionics, I would think, would have their own psychic-tech and just plain psychic powers, so probably a lot of telekinetic stuff going on - A thing they might focus on is using their powers to be amazing at long range, having scouts and such relay precise information telepathically to a submerged weapon out in the ocean, or to help guide long-ranged weaponry towards a target.
"This went from bad to worst pretty damn fast..." Ceallach sighed, readying his spear and shield. He tilted his head to glance down at his Star Imp companion, giving a surprisingly light-hearted comment and ignoring the once-more blue haired man. "Aea, this is the last time we accept a job from a magical cult, alright?"
Aea blinked, but nodded with a grin. "Goons don't even pay all that well anyways."
"Well then, lets wrap this disaster up." The blonde mercenary stated, a suddenly incredibly serious demeanor replacing the almost casual one that had been displayed moments ago.
Without further delay or a hint of hesitation, Ceallach bolted forward. The demon say him coming quite easily, and swung it's sword in a horizontal sweep across the bridge at him. The mercenary jumped over the blade with surprising agility, and to surprising heights - Reaching eye-level at the apex of his jump with the demon. Pulling his spear back, as if to throw it, a white light began to gather in the crystal blade of the weapon. The demon's blade arm still out wide, having just completed the missed swing, it reached out with it's free hand to interrupt whatever attack the puny human was planning.
Just as the clawed paw moved to close around him, the white light gathering in the crystal-bladed spear shone brightly, obscuring Ceallach's form. An instant later, the entire light suddenly burst into motion at incredible speeds, shooting at a downward angle and escaping Fjumvndolr's grasp. The bolt of white light struck down into the beasts lower torso, the light exploding outward on impact. The demon roared in pain from the searing light, Ceallach taking the opportunity to bounce off of the creature to get some distance and landing with a deft roll back near Aea.
Unfortunately, the attack seemed to have only dealt burns to the impossibly powerful beast, which quickly began to heal.
"THAT IS IT!" Fjumvndolr roared in rage. "I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS ANY LONGER!"
Sadly for The Voracious Ones pride, this was stated just in time for a yellow blast of intense heat to strike it - the same area as the regenerating burns - resulting in another pained roar. This had a little more effect, but the damage quickly regenerated as the searing light wore off.
"Damn, he's too tough for that." Aea grumbled, slightly discouraged by the monsters apparent invincibility.
"RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRRRRRR!" Fjumvndolr roared, shaking the glass bridge from the sheer force of the creatures rage, fully recovered from the mild injuries. It seemed all they had done was manage to severely piss it off.
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