(Final Fantasy VIII) Balamb Garden: Relaunch Recruitment Open

[Fenrir]

The Premise:
It is thirty years after the events of Final Fantasy VIII and this game follows the lives of the students at Balamb Garden, an elite military academy, that trains young adults to be mercenaries. There are many reasons children are accepted into the ranks of any one of the three Gardens: Balamb, Trabia, and Galbadia.  Enrolling between the ages of five and fifteen, some students come as orphans, some to gain power, some fame and fortune, and some for a better life.  Whatever the reason almost all students are accepted into the Garden and complete their training between the ages of fifteen and nineteen, depending upon their ability, perseverance, and skill.  There are three ranks or stepping stones within every Garden- Cadet, Candidate, and SeeD- and if a student has not reached SeeD status by the age of twenty they are dismissed from the Garden.  Those that are released typically enlist in various armies and are highly valuable despite their lack of SeeD title. 

All three Gardens are now politically neutral: typically fighting on either side of a disagreement as long as that side has the money to pay for their services.  Before the defeat of Ultimecia, Galbadia was firmly on the side of the Galbadia army and actually on the side of the Sorceress Edea at some point.  They were given the option to become neutral or risk being removed from Garden Status.  It was an easy choice, to ensure they maintained their power they agreed to a neutral standing on all issues: even giving up their rights to grant SeeD status.  Balamb Garden is currently the only Garden able to officially grant SeeD status, Trabia having lost the ability to do so as well with the missile attack thirty years ago.  The other Gardens are able to train Cadets and Candidates and most students transfer to Balamb when they wish to apply to become SeeD.  It is also the Garden that houses the most abundant number of SeeD mercenaries, holding the most weight as a political power because of its exclusive rights and regulations of SeeD members.

SeeD status individuals are essentially property of the Garden and have high status in most situations due to the Garden's backing and rarely get a choice in missions or sides to pick from.  If a SeeD mercenary is demoted from their position they will find themselves shunned by most of polite society due to the Garden's reputation as a professional business but the criminals and the desperate are not above picking up the dropped fruit. 

Things To Know:
This is a relaunch of the previous attempt at a Balamb Garden Group Game: as it stands those that were active in the game previously have had the first dibs on characters/weapons/Guardian Forces and the like and now we are recruiting for new blood.  This is a free form game: this means characters/monsters and the like to do not have stats to work with.  This also means that a player must be careful and aware that not every hit is going to land and not every bad ass move is going to work out correctly: please try and write accordingly.  There is a plot line and there will be missions that characters will need to complete throughout the game.  Some missions will tie directly into the plot line while some will be entirely for fun.  The GM will be handling NPCs for missions as well as enemies characters will met in combat but aside from missions and the planned plot there should be plenty of 'free' time for the characters.  All characters created for this game will fall under the rank of Candidate or Cadet (explained in the Information Guide).  Throughout the continuation of the game characters can apply to become a SeeD at a later time.

Any other questions can be posted here, PM'd to Fenrir, or addressed in the Information Guide.

Characters and Guardian Forces:
We are currently welcoming male and female characters: though no cannon characters are allowed.  There are also, currently limitations on specializations and weapons that will be accepted due to the over abundance of current characters with them.  Weapons not currently accepted: guns, gun blades, and fists (this includes gloves or gauntlets: regular or magical).  Going almost in partnership the specializations no longer available:  hand to hand combat, marksmanship/sniping.  These tend to be the favorite for people but there are TONS of other ideas for weapons as well as specializations.  Unused weapons include: bow, lance/spear, chakram, sai, axe, kama, nunchucks, tonfa, all kinds of swords etc.  Specializations has a long list of available categories as well: tactics, interrogation, weapon repair, defense, communications, stealth, etc.  You are not bound by either of these list and each weapon/specialization does not have to be completely unique by any means but there are a lot of holes that can be filled as far as weapons and specializations go!  Feel free to be creative with both.

Characters we are in need of would be magical characters.  As most video games role playing games go: we tend to be light in the magical department.  There is black, white, and gray (status) magic within this RP and though everyone can use magic to a certain extent we do not have many characters that are studying magic.  Now, just because your character is spending a bulk of it's time in magic does not restrict them to a staff or scepter: they are more than welcome to have a fun weapon as well (they will just not be nearly as effective with it as someone else that might have the same weapon and studies physical combat).

As far as Guardian Forces go: there are plenty still up for grabs!  We welcome cannon Guardian Forces as well as created ones but once a guardian force has been taken it is no longer available to other applicants.  Guardian Forces are handled different ways by their characters: some are used more as companions while some only use them for battle.  It is possible to have your guardian force 'be it's own character' and make it's own post if it is away from your normal player character: however this is not required- I just think it's fun! If your GF is from Final Fantasy mythology I request that its special attack stay fairly similar to at least one of the games: I don't want an Ifrit that suddenly has frost flare or something so far out of the Final Fantasy realm.

Character Sheet:

Code Select Expand


[b][size=14pt]CHARACTER APPLICATION[/size][/b]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Enrollment Age:[/b] Between 5 and 15
[b]Gender:[/b]
[spoiler=Theme Song](Include, Youtube video Theme Song)[/spoiler]

[b]Weapon:[/b] Name [b]Weapon Description:[/b]
[b]Specialization:[/b]
[b]Current Ranking:[/b] Cadet or Candidate
[b]Victory Motto:[/b]
[b]Limit Break:[/b] Name [b]Limit Break Description[/b]

[b]Personality:[/b]

[b]Backstory:[/b]

[b]Appearance:[/b]

[size=14pt][b]GF APPLICATION[/b][/size]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Established Connection:[/b]  This means, how have you interacted with this GF so far- are they new? Have you yet to meet them? Have they been your GF for years?  Etc.
[b]Element:[/b]
[b]Description:[/b]
[b]Bonus:[/b]  These bonuses *must be passive*
[b]Special Attack:[/b] Name [b]Special Attack Description[/b]

[spoiler=Character Journal]This is where you can choose to 'record' events or extra facts about your character for other's benefit: either from the beginning or throughout the game[/spoiler]


If you are interested in applying to be in Balamb Garden please fill out the above character sheet and either post it here: or PM it to Fenrir to begin the approval process.

[BlackestKnight]

CHARACTER APPLICATION
Age: 17
Name: Malcolm Murdoch
Enrollment Age: 10
Gender: Male

Number One by Hazel Fernandes (Ichigo's theme)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj4z51PNHXE

Weapon: Bladerangs Weapon Description: A mid-length blade specifically designed to be hurled like that of a boomerang.

Specialization: Ranged warrior with a dash of status buffing magic. His magic offense and defense leaves something to be desired, though he's a reasonable attacker with some status debuffing options. He possesses an unorthodox weapon style and a unique limit break which can prove useful.

Current Ranking: Candidate

Victory Motto: "Now I feel like number one"

Limit Break Peerless Limit Break Description- Malcolm hoists his bladerang triumphantly rotating it a few times before lowering it to meet his opponent in a taunt-like motion,  gaining temporary invincible status for a duration of 1 turn and inflicting the enemy with a provoke command. During this time, he is enveloped with a green aura to signify his peerless status.

Personality: Malcolm is as calm, level-headed and responsible as one can expect a seventeen year old to be. In situations that require decisive action, he radiates professionalism and confidence much like that of a soldier. Despite this though, as a leader, he is still quite reactive to danger and obstacles in the team’s way. He has yet to develop the savvy and forward thinking that many of the more experienced SeeD officers seem to possess.

Despite being naturally charismatic and a reasonable judge of character, Malcolm has no desire to be a leader. At the moment, he has only accepted the role because he's done so this far. It wouldn't be right to step down unless he had a rightful replacement.

Malcolm is your typical nice guy who managed to make something out of himself despite his traumatic origins. He does show lasting signs of post-traumatic stress from the "incident"  in which he was introduced his GF. Despite being a fairly friendly personality , he has an inability to connect with people at times. He has a tendency to push others away instinctively. Malcolm also has a soft spot for kids and harming one is one of his berserk buttons ,  though he never really had a chance to be one himself...

Backstory: As early as he could remember Malcolm has been a ward of the state or that's how far he cares to remember about his early childhood. He wouldn't have been old enough to remember what kind of people  his folks were, but little things like his mothers voice and his fathers cologne he can recall with some imagined effort , though as each day pass they become more figment to his imagination. Malcolm isn't the type of person to dwell in the past. Though his story is quite an epicone.

Malcolm lost his parents in the war around the age of 4...or 5.

He was at that adventurous "big boy" stage. He could walk, he could talk, but he was still an infant in many ways and unable to fend for himself, not long after losing his parents, Malcolm was approached by some local kids who shared in his orphan-hood , they decided that they could look after each so for awhile Malcolm joined their group . Around this time the war officially ended, and people were starting to notice Malcolm and his many brothers and sisters who roamed the streets, taking what they could from who or whatever. Someone decided something should be done and then some men in blue came and broke up the kids.

Some nice people decided that it would be in Malcolm's  best interest if he stayed in a house made for other kids like himself.

At his new home he met what would be his third family though he wasn't very liked by many of his new brothers and sisters except for one who talked endlessly about a special hero academy that accepted kids like himself.  Malcolm found the idea ridiculous at first, but the kid seemed nice enough so he didn't rain on his friends parade.

The two became close almost as if they were real brothers, and when one was adopted the other insisted the other be adopted too, Malcolm felt a bit uneasy about the adoption but with his little brother with him,  he thought he could overlook this uneasiness he felt.

The people who adopted him  were...strange to say the least.  They lived in a compound full of other strange people with adopted kids who all followed the same teachings. They all believed in someone named Ultimecia as the one true savior, he didn't care for Ultimecia and openly showed it, which earned him a lot of lashings for his rebellious display, the other kids submitted, Malcolm did not. The other kids turned on him for not believing, he knew it was all just lies. Even Malcolm's little brother submitted to the authority of the adults and their lies. 

His time at the compound was grueling, he hated every minute of it, Malcolm was left to his own devices in isolation from the rest of the community. What he didn't understand at the time was that the children who were brought to the compound were ritual test vessels for a guardian force by the name of "Leviathan". He didn't know what to make of it all, but kids were going missing and he hadn't seen his brother in awhile so he ventured to find answers himself.

He learned of all the secrets from eavesdropping on one of the cult leaders until he was caught.  He learned of the rituals and the many failed discarded test vessels including the friend that was like a brother to him, though he was a dirty heretic, they wanted to make an example out of him, they performed the ritual on him like they did so many other children but something was a bit different with this test subject, he seemed to communicate with Leviathan. Harnessing the power of the sea king.

A freak tsunami hit the compound sometime in the night killing all but one, news of the freak tsunami spread but Malcolm had all ready left the compound before he could be detained and questioned. All he could think about was all the children who were needlessly sacrificed and why the guardian force seem to favor him.

Remembering the conversations he had with his close friend. Malcolm enrolled into Balamb at 10. The rest I believe you have on record.

Appearance: Malcolm appears to be a young dark skin male of roughly above average height (6'0) and weight (170lbs) with a lean but athletic physique. He has light blonde closely tapered hair, high cheek bones, and intricate ritualistic serpent tattoos which span the course of his back upper back and stop just short of his wrists.

Appearance

(Malcolm wielding his trademark bladerangs, right)

GF APPLICATION
Name: Dark Leviathan
Established Connection:  Malcolm established contact with his GF by way of ritual, Malcolm was one of many war orphan slaves hand picked for experimental rituals conducted by occultist followers of Ultimecia. He was lucky enough to establish compatibility, the others not so much...
Element: Water
Description: Leviathan, also known as Leviatan, is a summon that appears in the Final Fantasy series.
A giant sea serpent, it first appeared as a monster that swallowed the party in Final Fantasy II, and went on to become one of the most prominent summons in the series alongside Bahamut, being known by titles such as "the Sea King", or "Lord of All Waters".

Leviathan

Bonus:  Attack+, Speed+, Accuracy+
Special Attack: Leviathan's trademark attack is Tidal Wave, also known as Tsunami, which calls on a massive wave of water to damage all enemies.

Character Journal

This is where you can choose to 'record' events or extra facts about your character for other's benefit: either from the beginning or throughout the game

[Saruine]

Please reserve me a female spot in this I love the concept.

[Fenrir]

BlackestKnight, I've sent you a PM concerning Malcolm!

Saruine!  You have a female spot reserved, post the sheet here or PM it to me when you've come up with a solid idea and we can go over it!  I'm glad you like the concept as much as I do ;)

[Irishfire87]

I'm working on a Female White Mage/Healer right now.  I'm filling out the app but I think I'm going to be interrupted soon. 

[Silk]

I'm considering this :)

[Lockepick]

Posting here:

Talking to the GM now about making a male Grey Magic specialist. General support character: Recon, communications, etc.

[kckolbe]

So I see that players from the original game will be given priority, but are all the players from the character list involved in this game, or were those tjust from the last game, with some already inactive?

[Fenrir]

I'm working on a Female White Mage/Healer right now.  I'm filling out the app but I think I'm going to be interrupted soon.

Take all the time you need Irishfire87- I should be pretty available the next few days to go over sheets.  So no rush!

I'm considering this :)

Posting here:

Talking to the GM now about making a male Grey Magic specialist. General support character: Recon, communications, etc.

I've talked to Silk and lockepick through PMs but I feel obligated to mention them!

So I see that players from the original game will be given priority, but are all the players from the character list involved in this game, or were those tjust from the last game, with some already inactive?

Actually, the players from the original game will not be given priority, they were simply given the option to revise old characters or create new ones before I opened up recruitment.  I'm not sure I understand your question though: are you referring to the list of those in the Accepted Character Sheets thread listed on the Information Guide?  Because, yes that is an official list of the characters that will be active in this rendition as well.  The previous list was forgone for a new one: to avoid confusion.  Currently there are no inactive characters within the current version of the game- (excluding those that have yet to start, of course!)

[kckolbe]

Currently there are no inactive characters within the current version of the game- (excluding those that have yet to start, of course!)

So there are inactive players!  I worded my question oddly, but you did answer it.  Thanks.  I am currently thinking of a mage as well.  With the exception of lockepicke, who's a cool guy, all the mages appear to be female, so my char would be in good company.  Does one have to specialize between black/white/gray?  With six spells, one could have a couple of each.

[Lockepick]

@kckolbe: The Magic Section explains that Specializing in one 'color' gives you access to a higher Tier of spell once they reach Candidate/SeeD. In my conversations with the GM, they mentioned that specializing in a color will also make that 'color' more effective. So at Cadet: Specialization is a more ephemeral bonus; but once you're past Candidate/SeeD, it unlocks whole new Tiers of spells, as well as the ephemeral bonus.

[Fenrir]

So there are inactive players!  I worded my question oddly, but you did answer it.  Thanks.  I am currently thinking of a mage as well.  With the exception of lockepicke, who's a cool guy, all the mages appear to be female, so my char would be in good company.  Does one have to specialize between black/white/gray?  With six spells, one could have a couple of each.

I would say there is a difference between inactive characters and characters that have yet to activate: but that's getting a bit nitpicky.  Either way, I'm happy I managed to answer your question!  Also, lockepick did a very good job in explaining the magic specialties. 

You are welcome to specialize in all three magics but they will be weaker in comparison to other magics of someone specializing in just one.  For example: if I created a character that specialized in black magics and you had one that specialized in all three: my black magic spells would be more powerful than yours.  You are welcome to pick a main magic and a secondary magic if you would rather: this would put your priority magic on a level fairly close to one who solely specializes in it: the secondary magic would be less than that: and then the third magic would be weak in comparison.  There has to be a pretty good balance between the three.

[kckolbe]

I was just teasing about the "inactives."  Thanks for the explanation on magic, and I also like that magic specialization doesn't limit weapon selection.

[kckolbe]

CHARACTER APPLICATION
Name: Nivek Larsen
Age: 19
Enrollment Age: 11
Gender: Male

Theme Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrWSkQMWlAY

Weapon: Firestarter
Weapon Description: Short sword and Buckler
Specialization: Black Magic (Poor at casting healing)
Current Ranking: Candidate (Just passed exam)
Victory Motto: "Unrealized talent..."
Limit Break Spark of Inspiration
Limit Break Description Nivek generates a single spark, which floats from him and toward his enemies before erupting into a giant fireball.

Personality: Nivek exudes a lot of confidence, a strong change from the previous year when there was close to none.  He has a general optimism about the future as a result of his recent success.  He knows he'll only have, at most, two chances to become SeeD, but thinks that is one more than he will need.  Aside from casting magic (his new favorite thing in the world), he enjoys reading obscure information and flirting (another new favorite as a result of recent gains in confidence).

Backstory: Nivek has been a habitually late bloomer.  While healthy, he displayed none of the physical prowess or natural aptitude to make him SeeD material.  At the age of eleven, he showed signs of impressive magical ability, specifically with healing spells.  Naturally, Gardens became interested.  He spent several years at (???) Garden.  Unfortunately, as he went through puberty, his gift seemed to disappear.  Some professors claimed it was still buried somewhere, but there was no luck getting it to show.  He wasn't even able to cast a Cure spell, making him significantly behind his peers at what was supposed to be his strength.

At the age of 17, he was transferred to Balamb Garden, still only a Cadet.  Magic was almost non-existant for him, though he had at least learned to cast Black Magic spells to minimum requirements.  It seemed likely he would spend the next couple of years displaying the same lack of talent and be released, and he spent considerable time fulfilling that expectation.  Fortunately, while out walking in the Training Center by himself (in what may have been a passive suicide attempt) he encountered a GF.  It might be fairer to say that the GF encountered him.  The GF, Muse, inspired him, and convinced him to stop chasing the abilities he did not have, and to embrace those that he did.

Within days, he was a different man.  Once he stopped worrying about White magic and cast his Black magic with confidence, instructors immediately considered his specialization declared.  He was permitted to take his candidacy exam and passed with little difficulty.

Appearance

GF APPLICATION
Name:  Muse
Established Connection:  Muse has been his GF for a little over a week.
Element: None

Description

Bonus: +Magic, +HP, +Status Defense
Special Attack: Second Wind
Special Attack Description Muse heals allies a small amount and hasten the caster.

(Left original school blank in case anyone wants to have known him from there)

[Teo Torriatte]

I would love to get in on this if I could... I'm going to sleep and I'll work on an actual sheet very soon, but my basic idea for her is a girl that is mostly stealth-based, with a kusari-gama as her weapon and some status magic to go along with it. Her GF would be Nightmare, a midnight black horse that comes riding in from the sky and can either stick around as her mount, or maybe lead some kind of stampede as its special attack.

[Fenrir]

I sent you a PM regarding your character kckolbe!

Luna! There is room for you to get in on things ;D  We do not have a stealth based character yet- the closest thing is a Infiltration and Extraction specialist but really she's good at getting in and out of places she isn't supposed to be and slight of hand.  The GF sounds interesting- I would allow it to lead a stampede of horses as it's attack but GFs aren't used for mounts in battle- I might be alright with it outside of battle: characters have all sorts of relationships with their GFs but in battle GFs purely have their one attack.

[Brazen Endeavors]

Still open?  I'd like to join.   Read through a lot and it seems like a fun game.  Plus I love ff8.

[Fenrir]

Still open?  I'd like to join.   Read through a lot and it seems like a fun game.  Plus I love ff8.

Yes Brazen, (if it's alright that I call you that, of course).  We're still accepting characters, so feel free to submit a character to me- or an idea and we can see where we end up!  ;D

[Brazen Endeavors]

Yes Brazen, (if it's alright that I call you that, of course).  We're still accepting characters, so feel free to submit a character to me- or an idea and we can see where we end up!  ;D

Brazen is a fine and fitting namesake ;)  I was just doing some research to try and come up with a few of my own ideas for a character.  Hopefully, I'll have something soon.

[TheBlackThrone]

If you're still accepting, I'd like to join this game. :) I will get up a profile soon and PM you a question.

[Brazen Endeavors]

Profile... almost done.  I'm having a hard time finding a character pic that pleases me with this particular girl.  Also, still need to draft the personal history.  Everything else is filled out.

[kckolbe]

My character (Nivek Larsen)is pretty short on history tie ins if you want to work something.  He's been at Balamb for the last two years and could have been at Trabia or Galbadia garden before that. 

[Brazen Endeavors]

My character (Nivek Larsen)is pretty short on history tie ins if you want to work something.  He's been at Balamb for the last two years and could have been at Trabia or Galbadia garden before that. 

Possible.  My character will be transferring from Galbadia.  PM me, neh?

[Saruine]

Saruine!  You have a female spot reserved, post the sheet here or PM it to me when you've come up with a solid idea and we can go over it!  I'm glad you like the concept as much as I do ;)

I humbly thank you for your reservation. I am working tirelessly on this character and her GF so that it does the idea justice. Though before I go to far with the GF I want to make sure that it is indeed allowed to make ones own GF I do not wish to step on your toes. If not I have a cannon GF that would be compatible with my concept. I am very excited about this game.

[kckolbe]

You are definitely allowed to make your own GF.  I and several others have.