Archer

True story, Dumbledore's Army was the working title for TUBA before we settled on our current one. It was scrapped for obvious reasons. (People would have thought we were referring to Dan Aykroyd.)

I'm pretty sure we voted in favour of one's position in a guild matching their character's position. I don't think it was discussed much afterwards though.

Sure. Then it can go in the final bio.

My forte isn't Epics, but that looks well thought out to me, and reasonably powered. Well done. I still like the power plausibility idea, but it didn't get established. Still, from my perspective, certain backstories are OP. Eg. Called up my main man Ruin and he hooked me up with a spike because he owed me a favour. But so long as you have a reasonable backstory for them, it's acceptable in E3.

Noted!

@kenod Well defended. I think you understand the power level of your character, and acknowledgment of its potential to do so is one of the better ways of preventing power creep, so I'm fairly confident you won't make it a problem. There's always ways one can upgrade their character to OP levels, no matter how strict we are in the bio creation stage, so I'll leave it to you to make sure that doesn't happen, and approve the character (subject to change yada, yada, yada). You've got the green light. @AxeliustheGreat That's an improvement. 150 breaths is more reasonable. It's still a powerful pair twinborn combo, but they're different, so it'll probably be okay. For character development reasons, it would be good to get some more detail about the boon/bane. Did she undergo any other changes besides her investiture? And does her bane impact her much? (You could even use that to balance your character more, since that magic is designed to be a weakness.) Overall, I like what you've done so far. Good job.

If you choose the Church, then it gets a government seat*. A guild only needs one person to get status. You could be that person... *EDIT: See Mac's comment below. Turns out these technical terms have meanings. Who knew?

Thank you! Thanks! While you're here, we were wondering what guild you'd like to be counted under for the Guild Census. You just choose a single guild, and your membership in that guild gives them cool powers in this government thing we're setting up. I've got a list going (see last page).

The combat potential on a full feruchemist is pretty powerful. Not to brag, but Feruchemist Mace lasted a whole two minutes against Rhazien in a duel once. And the potential of combining zincminds and copperminds is great as well. I'd allow it, but I'd like something that ensures they don't get involved in combat, or put themselves in positions where they make people want to fight them. Lack of combat training isn't enough, it would have to be a passivity promise or something similar. The ideal setup would be something like the DA thread, where they use powerful stuff all the time, but it's contained so it rarely impacts other RPers. It would probably be best if this character isn't your main, and you RP them like Nohadon does Devaan (keeps them in their thread, interacting with people who specifically come to meet with him).

REMINDER: You may choose any guild to be affiliated with, even if it's not on the list yet. Technically, you could make up a guild, and by virtue of your membership, it would be an official part of the government. Even guilds with a single person in them count. So feel free to choose options that aren't on the list as well. C'mon Light Alley resurgence... Update: TUBA: Xinoehp, Axelius, Karnatheon, Bitbitio, Silva, Steel Inquisitive Ghostbloods: Sorana, Itiah, AonEne, Life&Death, BooksBeforeDeath, Dr. Dapper, Rashek of Bridge Four Rouges: Gancho Libre Dark Alley: Kenod The Keepers: Ken Kanaki, Furamirionind, Ark1002, @Ookla the Palindrome The Craftsmen: Mac The Black Crusade: Darth, Grey Knight The Gilded Rose: Ookla the Meeker The Diagramists: King Taravangian, Meta Canton of Combat: Nohadon Church of the Stick: Snipexe, whattheHoid Unaffiliated: Arith Matic It's been a little bit confusing readjusting to everyone's new names, but I think these are the people I have yet to hear from: @whattheHoid, @Mraize, @Ookla The Clyde, @Ookla the Memelord, @The Forgetful Archivist, Elephant Earwax, @ShardBreaker, The Grumpy Elantrian, @Rashek of Bridge Four, [and some of the very new people].

I think I saw a WoB that said tattoos have ink in them anyway. It's an interesting concept. I don't know how much he'd be able to store in them, but I leave the details to you to flesh out. Several years later: "Look out, it's Makckcck!"

*puts on fake mustache and disguises voice* He's got a point. Why can't we all just be one big, happy family? We'd never have these arguments if we were all part of the same guild! Let's just all become DA members, for this poor fellow's sake. Do it for the Books.

Quickly addressing everyone's comments: - @Sorana No, your characters are not too strong for E3. - E3 will begin shortly after E2 ends. - @Gancho Libre Enjoy your IRLing! - @Grey Knight With no other investiture? I think that would be okay. The devil's in the details, but this is a tentative yes, that'd be reasonable. The catch here is that I don't know what you mean by 'super-shardplate'. If it's armour with tech upgrades (like the one Jac wants Silas to have), then we start getting into OP territory for E3. If it has much greater capabilities than regular shardplate, it'll probably need to be toned down or have better weaknesses. - @Life&Death No, that's perfectly reasonable. Hear me out on this one. Technically, I can kill everyone. I'm physically capable of stabbing everyone if they all line up and don't resist. Additionally, I can't prove I'm not immortal. I can predict that I am mortal, based on the experiences of other humans, but I'll never know because if I prove it, I won't be able to notice. Am I OP? No! I don't even have any investiture. So if someone like me is what you meant by a character that can literally kill everything and never truly die, it's not OP. - @kenod The bio is well written and thought out. But kandra have a lot of potential. If they wanted, KanMien could grab a diamond body and clean house. This could lead to power creep etc. Kandra are just powerful creatures. Is there a way of ensuring it stays reasonably powered? - @Blessing of Potency: My compliments to your friend. It's a good start, but I would like to see more detail given in the bio. This ensures the power level isn't OP and the character is thought out fully. Meeker posted a good Epic bio for his E3 character (you can find a copy in the second post of this thread under the spoiler tag). I'd like to see an outline of what types of things the Epic power is capable of, similar to what he did (although he went above and beyond. You don't have to do quite that much.) Based on what you've said, the character isn't OP, but to avoid power creep etc. in E3, it's good to have the full picture going in. - @Ark1002 (Was that a serious character? I'll comment as if it is.) Algernon's bio has not been developed enough to comment on, or warrant them being included on the list. They might as well just be an NPC. More detail needs to be provided so that people can get an understanding of who the character is. I'll quote my previous comments here about underdeveloped bios, since they apply. (This isn't meant to be a rebuke of your ability to write. I've seen your work, I know what you're capable of. Unfortunately, his is not it.) A character's history makes them who they are. Their job impacts what shape their body is in. Their economic status changes the way they view the world, their motivations, their If they don't know their history, that makes even more questions that need to be answered. When did they start remembering their history? Do they have memory loss? How, or was, it healed? Did they grow up with the optimistic worldview of a successful person, or did life treat them badly, making them pessimistic and conservative? Did their childhood events make them a confident person? A shy one? A fearful one? And do they realize they exhibit these traits, or did they forget that too? Details matter. - @Dr. Dapper Overall, good bio. Can you explain the 'metalmind tattoos' capabilities? The character bio is good. It's on the higher level of what's acceptable power-wise. It's a tough call. I'd prefer if they had another weakness, or something of the sort. - @MacThorstenson I was sure you'd have run out of ways to spell 'Mac' by now. I am pleasantly disappointed. I think the concept is great, but it's such a unique character it's hard to tell. My biggest concern would be it's difficult to RP. You'll have to work out some laxer limits about godmodding if someone else bonds them.

My preferred method for comparing superheroes/characters/magicians is to do two mental matchups. The first is the standard test where you pit them against enemies and try and guess how many they could defeat. The second is a test where the subject is dropped in the desolate wilderness and told to survive for as long as they can. That way the people with the power to create, not just destroy, get their time to shine. To be clear, I'm not recommending we use this system. It's only good for theoretical comparisons when you get bored.

That was one of the things we voted on. The question was worded to give us wiggle room on that, but the general idea that was approved was to allow GGs to be able to raise armies and such. Ideally, five members will be enough to dilute any crazy plans anyone has for them.

Voidus does. He's been an integral part of the Reckoners RP for years. However, he's on hiatus for the next while, so you'll have to talk to him later.

NOTE: Subject to change due to Power Level talks etc. etc. And remember, unless specified, I have to assume that all weaknesses are middle-of-the-road. If you are going to make them have a serious impact on them (eg. visions vs constant hallucinations) specify that. @Ookla the Meme-Thief In addition, due to her childhood she is less restricted by morals, a 'perfect killing machine', and presumably competent with both magic types. Her shortness is offset by her acrobatic ability. But this Era my standard is for power is an experienced twinborn. By that marker, all those other abilities on top of that (eg. Awakener) make her OP. A-chromium has good offensive potential, and F-steel more so. She has the potential to use them. There is nothing stopping her from using her powers. Unless I have explicit guarantees the character is non-interventionist, or their weakness prevents them from using their powers, I have to assume that they can and will use their powers. I don't know the extent of her emotional instability. It could make her into an even better killer, or cripple her and make her unable to function. The pollen allergy has no effect on her ability to use her investiture. For that, I also don't know how serious it is. It could be one easily managed by medicine, or one that kills her instantly. The ideal weakness is one that lowers her power level to the standard I'm looking for. These are insufficient. @Ark1002 (regarding Silas) Because F-duralumin isn't a powerful investiture, I'm fine with them having F-steel and A-cadmium. Combined with 'skillful martial artist, also trained to take out people in less than ten heartbeats', that's about the maximum power level I'd like to accept. All other investiture and abilities, like the arm stuff, are extra. The weaknesses don't impact their ability to use their investiture, or to act competently. As I mentioned before, if they only had the suit I'd probably let it slide. But it's like having investiture, it increases your speed and strength, and has loads of extra upgrades like the disguise function. The explanation that he can't use his investiture in it doesn't excuse its power. Think about it, fighting someone of equal power level, he could fight until the suit drops, then step out and keep going with his other investiture. It's like having twice as much as everyone else. Then there's all the equipment eg. awakened cloth. And he's seven feet tall. The little things add up really quickly. My recommendation is go for either the suit or the investiture. Having both is OP.

Which one?

I understand these are all works in progress. Here's my (very) short comments on the characters that have been proposed since I last made of post of this sort: @Ookla the Kirby Master Zaren Mentiz: OP for E3 (re: too much investiture, no weaknesses) Davad Orren: OPness depends on decisions made relating to that. Contentious Mercedes (Mercy) Atherton: OPness depends on decisions made relating to that. Contentious /all more detail preferred (see comments about three pages ago about detail in bios) @Ookla the Meme-Thief Tena: OP for E3 (re: too much investiture, weaknesses don't balance) Seom: Good. Will need to check if Skyward spoiler rules apply @Ookla of Drakeface Quill: Acceptable for E2 or 3. Which should it be added to? Would prefer it be reworked to fit example more for consistency reasons (re: Investiture field). See comments about unknown families. Are you joining the Alleyverse? @Ookla the Guacless Tars: Cool concept. Reserving judgement. @Ookla the Memelord Silas: I would call that OP for E3 based on the investiture alone. As for the suit, if that was their only power I'd probably allow it. Given they have other powers, I'm less inclined to. I was expecting a Google doc.... @Silva Eve: If you want to give them more power, you may do so. Good bio (though there's room for expansion eg. family)

Klasten smiled. The waved the axe, as if he were cutting through an invisible body. Then he realized what he was doing could very easily be taken the wrong way, so he just put the tool back in his bag and uncomfortably shuffled his feet. He pointed at Damaya and gave her a thumbs up. What she said, he wanted to say. Sometimes being the strong but silent type had its drawbacks. A pebble fell on his head. He looked up to dee where it had come from, just in time for another to hit him square in the forehead. I get it, I get, he muttered in his thoughts. With one last apologetic glance towards Araha, he turned his back on here and began awkwardly continuing to walk down the tunnel, hoping his face had turned invisible by now so they couldn't see him blushing.

*checks* Huh. That's true. ... *checks again* GASP! The bio has appeared! It's a Christmas miracle! I've added the character to the Era Two list. When we transition to E3, remind me to talk to you about lowering their age, but they're good for this Era. Sorry for the mix up, I'd thought they were only going to be introduced in E2.

Mamma always said 'to assume is to make an as out of Sue and me'. We wouldn't want that, now would we? Thanks for the conformation, I've added you.

I just realized that I totally dibsed the creation of this poll, when Kenod could have done it. Sorry Kenod, I forgot you could do it too as the maker of the OP. You should have told me to stand down! Anyways, I’m trying something new here. I’ve made the first question's options multiple choice, so for each option, people can vote for multiple answers. The result is it looks like four times as many people voted. But this way we can ask about all the laws and not exceed our three question limit. When reading the data for those ones, treat them like they’re separate questions. Then compare the total number of ‘yeses’ to the total number of voters to see if they got a majority. I'm fairly confident those ones will get through. If they don't, then we can rework them or make a more specific question to see why. I made the Power Increase one separate so that we can get the agree/somewhat agree/disagree options, since we know it's contentious. At Kenod's recommendation, I did not include the first law about reasonableness. As always, tell me (or kenod) if there's any problems with the poll (including badly worded questions or poor choice or possible answers). Here's the link to the laws:

Update on the Guild Census (official results) A reminder, we are asking everyone to PM me or publicly declare what guild they would like to be counted under for this government thing. That doesn't mean you're necessarily participating in it, but your affiliation still has a an impact on the ability of guilds to raise armies etc. Once a guild has five members, it becomes a Great Guild. For more details, see this thread. TUBA: Xinoehp, Axelius, Karnatheon, Bitbitio, Silva, Steel Inquisitive Ghostbloods: Sorana, Itiah, AonEne, Life&Death, Gancho Libre, BooksBeforeDeath Dark Alley: Kenod The Keepers: Furamirionind, Ark1002, @Ookla the Palindrome The Craftsmen: Mac, Meta The Black Crusade: Darth, Grey Knight The Gilded Rose: Ookla the Meeker The Diagramists: King Taravangian I have yet to speak to a lot of people. For example, our new members @Steel Inqusitive, @BooksBeforeDeath, @Chasmfiend#1, @Arith Matic, and some others like @Dr. Dapper, @Ookla the Meeker, @The Forgetful Archivist, @King Taravangian, @Ookla the Gambler, Gancho Libre. If you someone who isn't on the list, please tell them to get in touch. Even if it's just to say they would like to remain unaffiliated. Thank you!

I think the three questions should be something along the lines of: 1. Should we adopt Kenod's laws? (will need to link these in OP) 2. There was one or two laws that were contentious. Should ask about them specifically (whichever ones got a lot of debate. Or just modify the laws to accommodate). 3. Should we adopt the points system? (If it's a yes, we'll get the guys who run the character list to flush it out and start using it for E3) I don't have time to do it now, but I can put up a poll later today if everyone's cool with that.