[M] Fate/Abyss
Almost 300 years ago, three families of Magi came together to create a ritual that goes on even until today. The Einzberns; a family of Homonculi desperate to achieve Heaven's Feel, the third True Magic, were the ones who created the vessel – The Holy Grail. The Tohsakas; a family obsessed with reaching Akasha, the root of all creation, were the ones who created the link to Akasha in order to pull the Heroic Spirits from the Throne of Heroes. The Mutous; led by a zealous family head who, at the time, had purer intentions, were the ones to formulate the creation of the Command Seals to control the powerful Spirits summoned.
And so began the first Grail War, a ferocious melee between seven Heroic Spirits of vast power labelled as Servants.
Saber.
Archer.
Lancer.
Rider.
Caster.
Berserker.
Assassin.
The city of Fuyuki has seen its fair share of blood already with three prior Grail Wars, all already forgotten to the annals of history. Despite its importance in the magical world, the Magi Association and Church both only took it seriously when the city was in danger. Nevermind the Familiars of immense power wandering the streets at night under the beck and call of their Masters, it was all a waste of time in the higher up's eyes.
But not yours.
You have a wish, something that's otherwise impossible to grant. Why else would that red brand have seared itself into your skin? Why else would you have spent those hours researching into what the Grail War was? It's simple, you wouldn't have. You would have never received that mark in the first place, you would have gone on living your dull, pathetic life.
This will be the most important chapter in the history of your life, in fact; it could be the closing chapter of the story that is your life. But that is precisely why you are here, for where there is a great reward, there is also terrible risk.
So step forward, Master, and seize your fate while you still have the chance. Push forward to the end, win the Grail War and see your wish granted. Anything is possible with the power of the Holy Grail in your hands...correct?
Spoiler: Rules1) Abide by all RP rules, along with the Mature RP rules.
2) I am the GM, and Fran Rho Lachon is my co-GM. What we say goes, preferably without argument. Treat us and others with respect, and you will receive respect in turn.
3) Please use 3rd person in IC, and put at least two literate paragraphs per IC post. Three is preferred as a minimum, but I understand that circumstances change. The more you write, the more we have to write about!
4) Don't you dare godmod. We get it, you guys are scary mages, and your heroes are all crazy powerful. That doesn't mean you get to pull off every punch you throw and come back unscathed.
5) When you are engaging in battle, Franny and I will act as "judges." We will make sure that everyone is playing fair, and we will decide the outcome of each individual spar if you guys can't take at least a few hits.
6) Characters (and heroes especially) will die. You need to be okay with that. Although not all of your Masters will die, I would prefer if at least a couple of you are ok with them dying (don't worry, we will PM you beforehand to sort out your character's death). There will be a clearly defined winner at the end. With heroes, only one shall survive. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE oh shit wrong RP
7) If you are going to be inactive for a week or longer, let us know in here. If we have to wait on a post from you for a long time (like, two weeks) without any notification from you, then your character and hero will be killed off.
8) This takes place during the 4th Grail War , but no canon characters. We are replacing the canon 4th Grail War with our own. If you want to be part of either the Tohsaka or Mutou bloodline, PM me or Franny with your idea. Otherwise, canon characters are banned.
9) We are in the Mature roleplay section, not the Battle Arena, meaning this is not about who wins and who loses. This is about making a great story from great characters with great players. This also means that although we have given you CSs that require various stats (along with your hero CSs, which have lots of stats), your actions will not be regulated super closely to the stats. They serve more as guidelines to tell you what you can do and tell me and Franny what your character can and can't do. So don't worry about them too much, just keep them in the back of your mind.
10) Do you have a concern/idea? PM me or Fran Rho Lachon! We are open to any idea you may have, and if we like the idea, then we will undoubtedly work it in. Communicate with us a lot! This RP will be intensive in player-GM communication.
11) Have a good time...and good luck.
Please place "People die if they are killed" at the top of your CS after reading these rules.
Spoiler: Rho/Franny's Guide to the Nasuverse's Magic!Spoiler: Thaumaturgy – A Brief HistoryWhen it comes to magic, there is a rich history that anyone could spend a brief novel delving into. I, however, am going to focus on a couple of key points that stand out rather blatantly in the Nasuverse's history.
Age of Gods – To anyone who watched Fate/Zero, Gilgamesh is from this Era. Pretty much any Magi that existed in this time period was something akin to a God and therefore had godlike powers. Magic didn't exist here as it does now and as such, there's no one alive who can use the magic from this period. The only exceptions to this rule are Heroic Spirits, otherwise, everything from this period is forgotten.
Current Age – In between the Age of Gods and “now”, not much has changed. Many different types of Magecraft have risen, only to subsequently fall not too long after. Some of these crafts are called “True Magic” and are as close to Age of Gods magic as one can get – but users of this magic are so rare that you could quite possibly count them on two hands.
Spoiler: Magecraft – How does it work?The basic usage of casting any type of magic falls down to chants. These chants are composed of 'lines' or 'verses', which determine both how long it takes to cast it and generally how powerful it is. The weakest being one-line, while the strongest is ten-lines. Verses are just a way of grouping lines together into pairs of three, so one verse is three lines, two verses are six and so on. After chants are Lesser and Greater Rituals, these however normally take a long period of time with both constant chanting and multiple people.
While chanting is in itself unnecessary, it is mainly used to put the Caster in a 'trance'. This trance is used so that the Caster may focus on casting the magic without making any mistakes. It only takes a slight error for a spell to horribly backfire, and as such it takes many years of hard training before a Magi will even attempt to cast simple magic without uttering a word.
What is spoken is up to the Magi's personal preference, as it exists only to put them into the trance-like state. Quoting passages from historical or religious texts is common, as is speaking words from dead languages such as Latin.
A number of minor rituals, such as the Servant summoning Ritual, has pre-set conditions for its chant. Oddly enough, the chant for the Servant summoning ritual is actually unnecessary – but most do it because it's written down that you have to. Go figure.
Spoiler: What's used as energy for Magecraft?Magus use an energy known as prana to fuel every spell, however prana is the converted form of two different types of energy that are naturally occurring.
Mana – This is the “greater” source of energy and used in the majority of spells. At any place or point on Earth, there is mana available for usage. While it regenerates at a very slow pace, it is rare for a Magi to use all of the mana available in a handful of spells.
Od – This is the “lower” source of energy and used in practically every spell. Od is the internalised form of magic and is generated by the magic circuits in the human soul. Every person is capable of storing, on average, about 25 units of Od at any given point. While seemingly small, Od is typically only used to start the ignition cost of a spell, whereas the rest is taken from mana in the surrounding air. The only spells that are used with only Od are things such as Projection or Reinforcement.
Spoiler: How do people determine how powerful they are?This wasn't in my original explanation that I pitched, however I feel it needs a little delving into.
How many circuits a Magus has and the quality of those circuits are not usually left up to chance. “Magic” is, quite literally, a mutation in the human genome. 99% of people don't have circuits, and of that 1%, about 80% have so little Od production that they're next to useless. That remaining 20% are people that are, quite literally, breeding for the best circuits possible. You wouldn't be wrong in thinking that the Magi world is run by people who have had magic in their families for generations upon generations. It's rare for new families to pop up, simply because they will never reach the heights of some of the already pre-set families.
But I digress.
More, high quality circuits = More powerful
Having a family crest > Not having a family crest
Now I have to explain what a family crest is, don't I?
What's a Magic Crest?
This is where the knowledge and skills of every generation before you is contained, usually passed from family head to family head before they pass on. The stronger your family line, the more knowledge will be accrued in this nifty little thing. It basically “shows up” as a series of circuits that are given a more tangible form so that thaumaturgical knowledge can be imprinted into it. If you're a part of a family, you better be hoping or assuming that you have this thing, or some people will just walk over you.
No Magi can expect to make any proper breakthroughs in just one lifetime, hence why these things even exist.
Spoiler: What types of Magecraft are there?
Formalcraft – Formalcraft is popular for both Magi learning Thaumaturgy for the first time and those who have poor or nearly non-existent circuits. Utilising mana and preparation to its fullest, formalcraft focuses almost entirely on things such as bounded fields, runes and rituals. A Magus that is extremely skilled in formalcraft can be one of the most deadly opponents you'll face, as they're likely prepared for any eventuality.
Elements – As with any fantasy setting, there are elements. However, while a Magus can cast any type of elemental spell in theory, everyone has something called an 'Elemental Affinity'. This means that the Magus can cast spells from their affinity with far greater success and at a cheaper cost. For instance, if it would take a normal Magus 3 units of prana to cast a fire spell and their affinity was water, they could cast a spell of similar strength for, say, 1 prana.
Reinforcement/Projection – A fan favourite used by Emiya Shirou from Fate/Stay Night, this magic is used for the purpose of reinforcing and creating things respectively. Projection can create nigh on any material or object the caster desires, however it only lasts for a short period of time – usually until the item reaches a “breaking” point or a certain time elapses. Reinforcement is literally filling 'cracks' in an object with prana, making it more efficient at its task. A cup will be able to hold more water, while a sword will be sharper, swing faster and last longer.
Healing – Don't be a fool in thinking that healing is an easy art, in fact, it is one of the most complicated and gruelling of Thaumaturgy. Almost impossible to achieve during combat due to its intense concentration, healing is on a completely different level from most fantasy settings. Those who are truly skilled in healing can achieve feats that are impossible, such as bringing people back from near death in a matter of minutes.
True Magic – To date, there are 5 different types of True Magic, which I'll briefly go over here.
The First – Only the most noble of Magi families know the specifics of this magic, however “we” (The fans) know that it involves ether clumps.
The Second – Zelretch or Kaleidoscope, the ability to access parallel worlds.
The Third – Heaven's Feel, materialisation of the soul.
The Fourth – Unknown.
The Fifth – Blue, most will say it is directly related to time travel, however this is still totally speculation.
Other – There are a LOT of different types of Magecraft in the Nasuverse that I simply don't have the time to go into right now. If you have any queries, send me (Franny Lachon!) a message and I'll do my best to go into specific details on anything or answer any questions. Most types of magic in the Nasuverse don't fall into one particular category, but are totally unique or just fall under “Thaumaturgy”. If you need to cross-check if your magical ideas are okay, just message me – I won't bite.
Spoiler: How Servants and Prana work!A Servant is, ultimately, similar to a Magus in that they utilise prana. How they use it is usually different. While there's the obvious usage in their Noble Phantasm, a Servant also “burns through” prana in order to keep themselves from dissapearing and to keep up their overall strength. Without a nice stockpile of prana, a Servant is likely to have a hard time fighting toe to toe with another Servant, regardless of whether they're technically stronger or not.
Spoiler: Other stuff!As a general rule, before you put your character into a situation where they're using magic, you should ask yourself something first. Could my character really do this? And if you waver for even a second, don't do it. There are a lot of random rules and concepts that I've conveniently left out – both for your sanity and mine. What little I've given you here should be followed as strictly as you can manage, unless you've cleared and discussed it with me first. The Doc's got me here to make sure you don't blow yourself up, so that's what I'll do.
Please, PLEASE ask me questions as you come up with them. I don't want you guys just running around with the bare bones the whole time, but there's a lot of stuff to cover and I can't do it all. Doing it on a case-by-case basis is a lot easier and I can easily recycle pre-asked questions/answers as they pop up. You won't be bothering me, I'm familiar with all of the material and have access to a few resources that even an intrepid googler wouldn't be able to get their hands on. Why I don't just give you access to the resources I have available is because most of it is jargon and links to websites/places that aren't appropriate for me to link here on RPA.
Spoiler: NPCsSpoiler: The OverseerName: Lachlan O'Riley
Age: 34
Personality: A cheerful, yet clever man who attempts to enlighten those around him via figuring out their sins or problems through casual conversation. He's become strangely good at it, to most people's concern.
Spoiler: Appearance
Generation: N/A
Number and Quality of circuits: 15 low-quality
Affiliation: The Church
Brief Skills:
Executor Training
Full Skills: ?
Brief bio: O'Riley is the latest Overseer of the Holy Grail War, brought in to replace the suddenly departed Kotomine Risei. There are rumours that he was excommunicated from his position as an Executor due to bad blood between him and the Vatican, however he denies all these claims with a smile on his face. Whether or not he took the position of Overseer voluntarily or was forced into the position is up to speculation.
Full bio: ?
Spoiler: The Homunculus - Dead
Name: Irisviel von Einzbern
Age: Appears in early 20's
Personality: A rarity for a homunculus, Irisviel is one of the more recent members in her family to have actual emotions. She uses this often to annoy her partner, David, but she does understand how he feels about the War and is only doing it to keep him from falling into his own form of despair. Always ready to give a smile and her thoughts to those around her, Irisviel could be seen as an open and happy person. Should the situation call for it, however, she can be quite serious.
Spoiler: Appearance
Generation: ?
Number and Quality of circuits: Many “perfect-quality”
Affiliation: Einzberns & David
Brief Skills:
Creation and Forging of Matter
Healing
Vessel of the Grail
Full Skills:
Creation and Forging of Matter: The ability to create and manipulate long strands of pure prana that one can use to create “imitated life” or immobilise one's enemies.
Healing: Healing thamaturgy of a high-grade, can heal life-threatening wounds in several hours of treatment.
Vessel of the Grail: Created with a direct connection the Greater Grail, Irisviel has a near infinite source of prana available to her at any time. This also means that after death, her body can be broken down into another form of the Grail with a small ritual.
Brief bio: A homunculus created by the Einzbern specifically for the War, Irisviel has spent her entire life in preparation for her purpose as the Lesser Grail. Her introduction to David was a simple one, however the time they've spent together has helped her to mature into both her role and as a person. Despite his cold personality, there have been moments where he warmed to her and helped teach her as much as he could about both the world and herself. Taking his teaching on board, she fancies herself an expert on him because of their going-on-2 years together.
Not much can be said about her as an individual, as before meeting David she barely even has a past to speak of. Her skills are particularly noteworthy, however they are unsuited for combat and leave her to only fill a support role for her partner. There are rumours that she and David are actually in a relationship, but neither of them would bother to confirm or deny it.
Full bio: [DATA REDACTED]
Spoiler: Master CS (courtesy of Franny)Please send me your full character sheets, but leave "full skills" and "full bio" blank for now. You will fill those in bit by bit as information is unveiled in the IC. Also, post with your Master CS your Servant CS (that I sent you), but leave everything blank that has not been revealed yet. Fill in the Servant CS with the information as it is revealed in the IC, including name, skills, and noble phantasms. Remember, only write in the stuff that is available to the other characters!
Name:
Age: Magi can live to very old ages, for the record. If anyone puts anything above 150 here, though, I'll personally stab you.
Personality: If anyone tries to make a carbon copy of Kiritsugu or Kirei you'll be first on my target list for a beheading.
Spoiler: AppearancePut your picture here. Picture is required (must be at least somewhat anime style), text addition is optional.
Generation: What generation Magus are you? The higher, the more powerful. - No generation 10's or beyond.
Number and Quality of circuits: 20 is the average and quality is how you'd expect it to work.
Affiliation: Are you a member of the Magi Association? A rogue Magus? If you need further examples, message Franny Lachon.
Brief Skills: A brief list of your skills, without explanations. See below for examples and full explanation.
Full Skills: Not quite the same as Servant skills, this will be here to list all types of Thaumaturgy your character is particularly skilled in. It'll be expected that your character can light a candle and so on, so use this to state your character's specialization and how skilled they are at it. The more things you're skilled at, the less skilled you will be at them. - Examples include Formalcraft, elemental magic, healing, puppeteer, forbidden crafts and alchemy.
Brief bio: Give a brief description of your character that everyone will be able to see from the start of the RP. - In example: George is an esteemed member of the Magi Association in good standing who received his Command Seals a few months before the War started. Having spent all his time preparing, not much else is known about his state of affairs.
Full bio: Use this to give as full a description of your character as you feel necessary.
Masters and Servants:
Ayame Mizuki, Master of Saber played by TheDoctor and Fran Rho Lachon --BOTH DECEASED--
Michael Dumane, Master of Archer played by Bionicllama --BOTH DECEASED--
Lyle Ambrose, Master of Lancer played by chief --BOTH DECEASED. UPDATED INFORMATION FOR LANCER HERE--
Maria Abrams, Master of Rider played by Summer Warmth
Axel Valentine, Master of Caster played by TheDoctor --SERVANT DECEASED--
David Pavlic, Master of Berserker played by Fran Rho Lachon --BOTH DECEASED--
Almiira Laaksonen, Master of Assassin played by Fleija Croze --BOTH DECEASED--
All spots in this RP are currently full.
Originally Posted by Light Fantastic
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