Question 18

[Elithanathile he/him]

Fire Emblem, a SRPG video game series. The main character of the very first game (and subsequently the common mascot for the series) uses a Falchion as their special weapon. In a later sequel this character's descendants are still using the sword. You might know them if you play Super Smash Bros. (Marth and Lucina are the characters). The game series treats "Falchion" as the name of that specific sword, and not as a generic type of sword.

 

Ah. I've heard of the series, but never played it, and had no clue the "Falchion" existed. I just knew it was a type of sword, and sounded really cool. So sword knowledge, not knowledge about the game.

 

 

No reason he can't still have the swords, even be reasonably decent at using them, it's just the claiming that he has mastery over them all that was problematic. As I mentioned before for practical purposes he doesn't need to be a master of a weapon in order to use it effectively against opponents who are mostly completely unarmed or at most have a gun (Which doesn't do well against defending against swords however ineptly wielded they are)

I think I mentioned before he was very proficient, and I had tried to stay away from the actual term, "Mastered." It was someone else that first brought it up. But I could be wrong. It probably is still more realistic to limit him down to maybe 4 weapons though.

 

P.S. Editing in quotes stinks.

Edited February 10, 2016 by Bridge Boy

[Blaze1616 he/him]

I really prefer it this way, keeping OOC stuff in another thread. It makes the story flow a lot better. I read a lot of light novel translations too and I always get annoyed when the translators insert stuff in the middle of the text rather than just referencing it and listing the notes at the end.

 

Honestly, it works here because of the latency time between posts, as I know I often read a few posts back before a new post to get myself back into the right mindset. Most other online RPs often involve one post a day per user, if not more, and so OOC doesn't break the flow day-to-day because everything is fresh. Now, if you were to go back and read it all, there might be flow issues. Plus, remember that most forum websites don't give entire forums for an RP like the Reckoners has here, and having two different threads floating around the top 3 pages on a popular forum website can be difficult for players to keep track of, and so it's just easier for OOC to exist.

[Mailliw73 he/him]

Coma, you can go ahead and post with Taylor if you want.

[RippleGylf she/her]

Great idea. Would you mind maybe me playing the other twin, just to get different perspectives?

 

 

Persoanlly, I'd advise against splitting up characters that closely connected to each other unless you have a lot of confidence/experience RPing together with that person.

 

That sounds like a great idea! It would probably involve a lot of collab posts, but that shouldn't be a downside. I could send you a PM to discuss the characters, if you'd like.

[Paranoid King he/him]

So earlier I brought up a planned epic, Cannon Fodder, (can create henchmen and minions,) and he was rejected for being too much like mitosis. Could he be accepted by having him create copies of random armed people instead? (If they're carrying a weapon, they can have a copy made of them and anything else below a certain size they're touching. Closer people are more likely to be selected.) Then he wouldn't have a cloning power, but would still have the same functionality.

Edit: and no, copies of epics wouldn't retain their powers.

Edited February 11, 2016 by Paranoid King

[Blackhoof]

Well it is nothing like Mitosis, so I would be more ok with that.

How many copies can he make? are the copies identical to their originals personality wise or are they slaves to him? are they still as intelligent as their originals as well?

[Voidus]

Story is happening in Salem.

[Paranoid King he/him]

Well it is nothing like Mitosis, so I would be more ok with that.

How many copies can he make? are the copies identical to their originals personality wise or are they slaves to him? are they still as intelligent as their originals as well?

He can make up to 100 minions and 10 henchmen. The minions are suicidally obedient to him, while the henchmen obey the spirit of his commands while acting to preserve themselves or carry out his commands more effectively.

 

The copies do not retain the personality or intelligence of the originals, although they do retain proficiency at their held weapon. The minions can only remember up to 5 words, so when commanding them, he's limited in effectiveness. The Henchmen can remember much more detailed commands, and as such, appear to be more intelligent.

[Elithanathile he/him]

I've got a couple epics I thought up recently, and I figured I might as well share them here for you guys to give me feedback on. I don't plan to play these characters, they're just ideas I wanted to get out there. First:

 

Ballad(That Old Dude)

Epic Name: Ballad (Also known as “That old dude.”)

Real Name: Don Smith

Age: 85



Appearance: old, with a white beard and far too many wrinkles. Frail, with asthma, heart attacks and diabetes. Fights just fine though.



Primary Power: To imbue a piece of equipment he has with mythological power, giving it a power of the same type of equipment from mythology. Can do this with clothing, jewelry, and weapons. Has to have a piece of equipment first though, and imbuing time differs depending on how powerful the item is. (i.e. holds boots, takes about 5 minutes imbuing them while thinking of the myth, and he gets seven league boots.) Imbuement holds out for about 24 hours.



Secondary Power: Increased physical capabilities. (Slightly faster stronger and tougher, with faster reflexes, than a marine.)



Defensive Power: (I know this is kinda like the Protagonists defensive power, but I hope it's not too close, and I tried not to be influenced by it.) Divine Destiny. Air currents around his body, that push away blows, projectiles, and basically everything. If the blow has enough force or is centered on his body, he'll be find. It'll get pushed, but still hit. This also defends against his weakness, but if it's dropped with enough accuracy or force, it will still go through. (It is wind after all.)



Weakness: Getting hit by falling objects. (Falling. Shot does not count. Dropped. From a high place.)



Equipment: Depends on what he chooses to wear/use for the day. He's kinda like a girl going on a date about it. He has body armor, swords, spears, bows, boots, assorted jewelry, cloaks, etc. He only wears one set a time though, so one weapon, some or no armor, and some accessories.



Abilities: He knows a bunch of mythology stuff... And that's just about it. He was a professor, after all.



Backstory: Was a mythology professor at a college and loved the material. One day he was in his office where a bookshelf he hung a bunch of paraphernalia was bumped into and dumped a bunch of weapons and armor on him. A sword went through his stomach, and he almost died. He cleaned his office after that. It got messy again when he became an epic though



Personality: Considers himself to be above everyone else, including other epics. Extremely arrogant. Paranoid, but thinks of himself as invincible. Heroes can't die after all. And Legends never die. (So many quotes I could put there. “Good men don't become legends” anybody?)

 

Babyface McGuire

Epic Name: Babyface McGuire

Real Name: NA

Age: 1.5 yo.

Appearance: He's a baby. Doesn't really have hair yet, or anything. Wears a little mini suit he had someone make. With a tie and a bowler hat. And a plastic tommy gun. He has a sense of humor.

Primary Power: Telekinesis. He can pick things up with his mind and move them with a pretty good modicum of skill.

Secondary Power: Extreme Intelligence. Is very good at strategizing, and plotting, not to mention having about adult human knowledge, allowing him to speak just fine as a baby. Still can't walk though.

Weakness: Drinking milk.

Equipment: He has a baby chair he manipulates with his telekinesis to fly around with.

Abilities: He can't really do anything, being a baby and all. His muscles aren't developed enough for it.

Backstory: Being born was a scary experience. He was made an epic about a month after he was born.

Personality: Sarcastic, domineering, but dislikes being "babied." He sees himself as fully capable to care for himself, and will refuse help even if he needs it. Of course, he has plenty of minions. They don't count.

[Curious Anamaximder he/him]

Has anyone noticed that Warriormark16's title is "Has more epics than Voidus."?

[Edgedancer he/him]

Uh, Ripple, you're kinda God modding. It's fine, just want to remind you. Also, I can hurt you.

 

Just out of curiosity, how is she god modding?

 

Has anyone noticed that Warriormark16's title is "Has more epics than Voidus."?

Dirty lies, all of it.

[Blaze1616 he/him]

Just out of curiosity, how is she god modding?

 

I have to concur, I'm not seeing any God modding at all. Character perception and reality are two different things, after all.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

I'm with Edge and Blaze here. For reference, here's an example of godmodding: 

 

Lord Pifferdoo waved his hand over Scarlet Skater, removing her ability to feel any sort of animosity toward him. Scarlet Skater smiled. He could see the fight leaving her eyes. When next she spoke, she would be entirely under his power. 

 

In that example, Lord Pifferdoo's player is effectively taking control of Scarlet Skater to increase their own advantages. They're depriving Scarlet Skater's player of the chance to put up any sort of a fight, essentially saying, "I win this fight, okay?" before it's even started. Of course, powers like Lord Pifferdoo's wouldn't be allowed in this game anyway without some modifications, like so: 

 

​Lord Pifferdoo waved his hand over Scarlet Skater, targeting her feelings of animosity, soothing them down. He watched her carefully, waiting to see if the fight would leave her eyes—or rear up again, ten times stronger than it was before. Using his powers this way was always a risk, but it was one he was willing to take. 

 

There. Now we see that Lord Pifferdoo has tried to remove Scarlet Skater's agency, but that it may or may not work. Scarlet Skater's player can either go along with Lord Pifferdoo's plans, or they can have Scarlet Skater grow angry at the attempt. 

 

TL;DR: If a post leaves no room for Player 2 to do anything except what Player 1 wants, it's godmodding. If it allows Player 2's character to retain their agency and gives the player a chance to decide what they want to have happen next, it isn't godmodding. 

[Edgedancer he/him]

I'm with Edge and Blaze here. For reference, here's an example of godmodding: 

 

Lord Pifferdoo waved his hand over Scarlet Skater, removing her ability to feel any sort of animosity toward him. Scarlet Skater smiled. He could see the fight leaving her eyes. When next she spoke, she would be entirely under his power. 

 

In that example, Lord Pifferdoo's player is effectively taking control of Scarlet Skater to increase their own advantages. They're depriving Scarlet Skater's player of the chance to put up any sort of a fight, essentially saying, "I win this fight, okay?" before it's even started. Of course, powers like Lord Pifferdoo's wouldn't be allowed in this game anyway without some modifications, like so: 

 

​Lord Pifferdoo waved his hand over Scarlet Skater, targeting her feelings of animosity, soothing them down. He watched her carefully, waiting to see if the fight would leave her eyes—or rear up again, ten times stronger than it was before. Using his powers this way was always a risk, but it was one he was willing to take. 

 

There. Now we see that Lord Pifferdoo has tried to remove Scarlet Skater's agency, but that it may or may not work. Scarlet Skater's player can either go along with Lord Pifferdoo's plans, or they can have Scarlet Skater grow angry at the attempt. 

 

TL;DR: If a post leaves no room for Player 2 to do anything except what Player 1 wants, it's godmodding. If it allows Player 2's character to retain their agency and gives the player a chance to decide what they want to have happen next, it isn't godmodding. 

I'm not sure if I like the name Lord Pifferdoo or Scarlet Skater more.

 

Anyway, Voidus, do you want to keep the conversation in Astoria post by post or handle it another way?

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

I'm not sure if I like the name Lord Pifferdoo or Scarlet Skater more.

 

Anyway, Voidus, do you want to keep the conversation in Astoria post by post or handle it another way?

 

I'm just waiting on Voidus to refine their powersets.  

[ChickenPlague he/him]

I'm just waiting on Voidus to refine their powersets.

I shall now do the Voidusing and refine the powersets for I am confident in my ability to do so.

Lord Pifferdoo-

Soothing- see Breeze.

Wine creation- Can create any canisters containing wine he has seen before. He has to have seen the canister at least half-full of wine.

Scarlet Skater-

Redcargluepower- She can glue her feet to any automated transportation devices. Anything she glues her feet to becomes red and she gains control over it's steering and stuff.

Edited February 11, 2016 by ChickenPlague

[Quiver he/him]

Just out of curiosity, how is she god modding?

 

I think it might have been misread. I admit, when I looked at the post, I thought it sounded like Glyff was saying that Countdown 'nodded subserviently'.

Looking at it again, Heartsleeve was the one doing it; but my guess is that, considering her emotional manipulation, it was misread.

...by the way, should I have Sentry arrive on scene, or do you guys want to talk a bit?

[Paranoid King he/him]

Here's cannon fodder's updated info:

Name: Cannon Fodder

Description: Original form is 4'10", bald on the top of the head, black hair on the sides, wears black cape. About 40 years old. (looks somewhat like Vizzini)

Epic power 1: Ability to create minions. By focusing for 4-5 seconds, he can cause a a copy of a random person to appear next to him. This power can only select people who are armed, and nearer people are more likely to be copied. When a person is copied, any objects they are carrying or wearing are copied as well. His minions cannot be separated from the gear they were carrying when they were created, and have the same proficiency with them that the original person had. (If an epic was copied, they do not retain epic powers.) They can be given new gear, but will ignore it in favor of their original equipment. After his minions are created, he can issue them a command consisting of up to 5 words, which they will immediately attempt to carry out. His minions are completely obedient. When any blood leaves their body, they say, "poof", and turn into a small puff of smoke. He can have up to 100 minions at one time.

 

Epic Power 2: Ability to create henchmen. He creates these in much the same way as the minions, but before creating one, he must remain still for 30 minutes. After creating one, he can issue it more detailed commands than he can to minions. Henchmen are obedient, but free-willed to an extent that allows them to carry out orders more effectively. If an epic was copied, henchmen have none of their powers. He can have up to 10 henchmen at one time, but usually has less.

 

Personal strengths: He's a good planner, he's patient, and he tends to stay focused on his goals. He keeps a realistic assessment of his vulnerabilities.

 

Personal weaknesses: Paranoid, overly fond of traps, single-minded. No prime invincibility.

 

Epic Weakness: Being told he's wrong

 

Backstory: Grew up in Idaho interned to an engineer. He was smart, but his ideas were often ignored. He continued to work in an engineering department, and often grew resentful of how his talent was wasted. When he became an epic, he had his clones storm the building and destroy it. He then laid traps and ambushes for his supervisors that were not in the building, after which he set up a lair and began manipulating the city.

[RippleGylf she/her]

Uh, Ripple, you're kinda God modding. It's fine, just want to remind you. Also, I can hurt you.

 

I am also confused. If you're referring to the nodding subserviently, that is Heartsleeve, not Countdown.  Also, her speculation into his powers not affecting her is purely her own speculation. I can clarify those things if you want.

[Blackhoof]

Here's cannon fodder's updated info:

Name: Cannon Fodder

Description: Original form is 4'10", bald on the top of the head, black hair on the sides, wears black cape. About 40 years old. (looks somewhat like Vizzini)

Epic power 1: Ability to create minions. By focusing for 4-5 seconds, he can cause a a copy of a random person to appear next to him. This power can only select people who are armed, and nearer people are more likely to be copied. When a person is copied, any objects they are carrying or wearing are copied as well. His minions cannot be separated from the gear they were carrying when they were created, and have the same proficiency with them that the original person had. (If an epic was copied, they do not retain epic powers.) They can be given new gear, but will ignore it in favor of their original equipment. After his minions are created, he can issue them a command consisting of up to 5 words, which they will immediately attempt to carry out. His minions are completely obedient. When any blood leaves their body, they say, "poof", and turn into a small puff of smoke. He can have up to 100 minions at one time.

Epic Power 2: Ability to create henchmen. He creates these in much the same way as the minions, but before creating one, he must remain still for 30 minutes. After creating one, he can issue it more detailed commands than he can to minions. Henchmen are obedient, but free-willed to an extent that allows them to carry out orders more effectively. If an epic was copied, henchmen have none of their powers. He can have up to 10 henchmen at one time, but usually has less.

Personal strengths: He's a good planner, he's patient, and he tends to stay focused on his goals. He keeps a realistic assessment of his vulnerabilities.

Personal weaknesses: Paranoid, overly fond of traps, single-minded. No prime invincibility.

Epic Weakness: Being told he's wrong

Backstory: Grew up in Idaho interned to an engineer. He was smart, but his ideas were often ignored. He continued to work in an engineering department, and often grew resentful of how his talent was wasted. When he became an epic, he had his clones storm the building and destroy it. He then laid traps and ambushes for his supervisors that were not in the building, after which he set up a lair and began manipulating the city.

I think 100 minions is way too high. Considering how easy it is to make more from a mere look at another person, he has an inexhaustible, invincible army that can overwhelm anyone eventually. Even some high epics could be overrun and trapped under a pile of bodies.

I think he should be weakened- maybe a combination of making it harder for him to make minions, and lowering his limit to something like 20-40. That way, he can have his cannon fodder army, but he cannot too easily keep replacing them as they die.

What does everyone else think? This is just my 2c

[Paranoid King he/him]

I think 100 minions is way too high. Considering how easy it is to make more from a mere look at another person, he has an inexhaustible, invincible army that can overwhelm anyone eventually. Even some high epics could be overrun and trapped under a pile of bodies.

I hadn't thought about it that way. I could probably lower the minion count to 40, as he could still set up elaborate traps, he'd just be more exposed. On that note, I also feel like 10 henchmen is too many, and I'm lowering the number to 5.

Edit: on second thought, I'd prefer that the minions take a full minute to make, but there can be 75 of them. I can do a lot of fun stuff with them, and they're really much easier to defeat than you make it sound. (Being pricked with a pin will kill one.)

Edited February 11, 2016 by Paranoid King

[Blackhoof]

Yeah it just sort if clicked with me too how powerful he could be.

I mean, my own character Iconoclast can build an army too, but he needs to capture people first, and none of them can be armed.

Amd maybe make it one minute to make a new minion. That way it isn't too hard for him to retreat and make more if his minions die, but he can't just sit back and endlessly zerg rush his enemies to death.

[Mailliw73 he/him]

I'm not sure if I like the name Lord Pifferdoo or Scarlet Skater more.

 

Anyway, Voidus, do you want to keep the conversation in Astoria post by post or handle it another way?

Lord Pifferdoo was a user here who used to play SE. Not sure if that was intentional or not...

[Voidus]

I'm not sure if I like the name Lord Pifferdoo or Scarlet Skater more.

 

Anyway, Voidus, do you want to keep the conversation in Astoria post by post or handle it another way?

I like both, have I mentioned before that I suck at coming up with names?

I'm fine either way, as long as responses don't get too short I'm happy to do it post by post.

[Paranoid King he/him]

Yeah it just sort if clicked with me too how powerful he could be.

I mean, my own character Iconoclast can build an army too, but he needs to capture people first, and none of them can be armed.

Amd maybe make it one minute to make a new minion. That way it isn't too hard for him to retreat and make more if his minions die, but he can't just sit back and endlessly zerg rush his enemies to death.

I edited my above post to show what I want him to have. Yes, he now has a one-minute cooldown.

 

Yeah, Iconoclast can build a bloodthirsty army of ghouls that he can mind-control to do his bidding. He also has a prime invincibility and disguise abilities. Cannon fodder can copy people with weapons, sure, but those people will literally disintegrate from a deep papercut and can only be issued limited instructions when they're first made. I want to give him enough minions to work with.