Persona: Secundum Vestri Umbra

Started by Hikari, March 26, 2010, 05:37:33 AM

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NotoriusBEN

hmm, something to look at... 1st ed or 2nd ed exalted?

Hikari

2nd Edition.  This is sort of a rough mock-up, and obviously I'll need to fool around with the Abilities and Charms quite a bit, but it should give you an idea of the general direction for character creation:

Persona Character Creation

Step One: Concept

Arcana
The Fool: Wild Card
The Magician: Art (Craft)
The Priestess: Computers
The Empress: Medicine
The Emperor: Politics (Bureaucracy)
The Hierophant: Academics (Lore)
The Lovers: Popularity (Presence)
The Chariot: Athletics
Justice: Integrity
The Hermit: Occult
Wheel of Fortune: Tactics (War)
Strength: Fitness (Endurance)
Death: Survival
Temperance: Awareness
The Devil: Performance
The Tower: Delinquency (Larceny)
The Star: Socialize
The Moon: Stealth
The Sun: Drive (Ride)
Judgment: Investigation
The World: Linguistics

Motivation

Step Two: Attributes

6/4/3 for Character, 8/6/4 for Persona

Step Three: Abilities

Each Arcana has one Favored Ability.  The player may select any other six abilities to also be Favored Abilities.  The character receives 10 dots to divide amongst Favored Abilities, and 12 additional dots to distribute amongst all available Abilities.  As normal, Abilities beyond 3 dots and any Specializations must be purchased with Bonus Points.

Persona do not select Abilities normally.  They receive one combat Ability (Melee, Unarmed, Ranged, or Thrown) at a rating equal to the character's rating in their Arcana Ability.  They also receive a rating in Dodge equal to the character's highest non-Arcana Favored Ability.

Step Four: Advantages
Each character receives 11 dots to distribute amongst the following Backgrounds.  Persona do not receive Backgrounds of their own, though some character Backgrounds influence Persona.  Note that high ratings in many of these Backgrounds may be difficult to justify for characters, given the nature of the campaign!

Allies
Animus (Cult)
Club/Team (Backing)
Contacts
Followers
Influence
Resources
Social Link: This new Background can be taken more than once--up to one time for every existing Arcana, or 22 times total--and provides several benefits.  First and foremost, the character's Persona may use the appropriate Social Link in place of its Arcana Ability when determining ability to use Charms.  Second, the character receives a progressively strong Intimacy with the Social Link partner at no cost, which does not count against his or her maximum starting/total Intimacies.  Third, the Social Link increases the Persona's Peripheral Essence Pool.

Each Persona begins play with 10 Charms.  The Persona's ability to learn Charms is determined by either the character's rating in the relevant Ability or his ranking in that Ability's Social Link Background, whichever is higher.  A Persona may not use its own Abilities to determine whether or not it is eligible to learn a Charm.

Each character receives 5 dots to distribute amongst the four Virtues: Empathy (Compassion), Diligence (Conviction), Temperance, and Courage (Valor).  The player's choice of his character's highest Virtues is linked to his Psychosis.  The Persona does not have its own values for Virtues; it uses those of the character where applicable.

Each character begins play with Sanity equal to his or her two highest Virtues added together.  Persona do not have an individual Sanity score; situations which call for the use of the Sanity value use the character's own.

Intimacies are largely unchanged, but note that characters may develop a special Intimacy as a result of taking dots in the Social Link Background which has considerable impact on the nature and capabilities of their Persona.

The character begins play with an Essence rating of 1, and no Essence Pools.  The Persona begins play with an Essence rating of 2, a Personal Pool equal to ([Essence x3] + Willpower), and a Peripheral Pool equal to ([Essence x7 + Willpower + [the sum of all Social Links]).

Both characters and Persona begin play with the normal seven boxes for Health Levels.  Please note that characters heal at close to normal (mortal) human rates, whereas Persona are capable of healing much more quickly than even Exalted.  (Unless otherwise noted, they heal all damage taken between the end of one Dark Hour and the beginning of the next, no matter how long or short that period is.)  Persona are also much easier to heal through Charms such as those in the Medicine tree.

The character receives 15 additional Bonus Points to distribute as desired.  These points may be spent to raise the Attributes of, and purchase Charms or Combos for, the Persona; otherwise they can be used only to improve the character themself.

----

As you may note, none of the Arcana have combat Abilities as their linked Ability.  That's because I want to make sure every character's Persona is a competent fighter, regardless of their chosen Arcana and Social Links.  For the most part, Abilities have simply been renamed where appropriate, though notably Sail has been dropped in favor of Computers.  The Fool is special: The Fool does not get an Arcana Favored Ability, but may use whatever the character's highest Favored Ability is in place of an Arcana Ability for purposes of determining the Arcana's primary combat Ability.
The wait is over,
I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough


-The Strokes, Reptilia

TheHangedOne

Looks pretty cool to me. And don't worry, Redrick's pretty damn neurotic. XD
A&A's and O&O's *Status: Here and there | Games: Aiming for punctuality*
"In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends."
"In the ocean of knowledge, only those who want to learn will see the land."
"Before you roar, please take a deep breath."
Check out my poet tree!

Crovonovin

It'll probably take me a bit to wrap my head around all that, but I'm pretty sure I get the general idea.  I wouldn't say that Hirukawa is prone to panic attacks or sudden fits of anger or anything like that, but she does have some minor control issues that could get under her skin if things don't go the way she expects them to.

Hikari

Don't worry too much if the Exalted stuff goes over your head.  You won't be required to have a fully-furnished Exalted character sheet to begin, we'll start as soon as I have enough prepared character concepts.  The Exalted stuff won't come into play heavily until we start dealing with Persona Combat.
The wait is over,
I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough


-The Strokes, Reptilia

NotoriusBEN

do we still get 15 bonus points, or are 11 of them tied up in backgrounds?

Hikari

The 11 Background points are "free" points.  You still get 15 Bonus Points as well.
The wait is over,
I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough


-The Strokes, Reptilia

NotoriusBEN


Hikari

Keep in mind that Social Links are Backgrounds, so even though you might not be able to glut yourself on Artifacts and Manses, you can still burn through Background points pretty quick.  Though it probably goes without saying, to convert the value of Social Link Background to its equivalent in Persona 3/4 terms, you multiply it by two.  (3 dots is equal to Rank 6, around the point where romances start.  5 dots is equal to Rank 10, the unbreakable bond.)
The wait is over,
I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough


-The Strokes, Reptilia

ReijiTabibito

This is fantastic, since I've got the 2nd ed Exalted books, making a character (the technical aspect of it, anyway) is much easier.  Just to check, though, two questions:

1 - The skill that you list next to each Arcana (which I'm assuming is the Arcana Skill).  How does that work, and what does it do?

2 - Which Arcana do we have so far?  There's Shihong, who is Emperor; Hanged Man, who is Moon; and BEN, who is I forget.

NotoriusBEN

Quote from: Hikari on June 20, 2010, 09:31:04 AM
Keep in mind that Social Links are Backgrounds, so even though you might not be able to glut yourself on Artifacts and Manses, you can still burn through Background points pretty quick.  Though it probably goes without saying, to convert the value of Social Link Background to its equivalent in Persona 3/4 terms, you multiply it by two.  (3 dots is equal to Rank 6, around the point where romances start.  5 dots is equal to Rank 10, the unbreakable bond.)

DDD:

ok enough with emotes now...

I am chariot, reiji

ReijiTabibito

I see.  Also, Hikari, the Hanged Man doesn't seem to appear on that list...what exactly is Hanged Man's Arcana Skill?

TheHangedOne

Quote from: ReijiTabibito on June 20, 2010, 10:44:20 AM
I see.  Also, Hikari, the Hanged Man doesn't seem to appear on that list...what exactly is Hanged Man's Arcana Skill?

I'm there.


Quote from: Hikari on June 19, 2010, 05:17:03 AM
Arcana
The Fool: Wild Card
The Magician: Art (Craft)
The Priestess: Computers
The Empress: Medicine
The Emperor: Politics (Bureaucracy)
The Hierophant: Academics (Lore)
The Lovers: Popularity (Presence)
The Chariot: Athletics
Justice: Integrity
The Hermit: Occult
Wheel of Fortune: Tactics (War)
Strength: Fitness (Endurance)
Death: Survival
Temperance: Awareness
The Devil: Performance
The Tower: Delinquency (Larceny)
The Star: Socialize
The Moon: Stealth
The Sun: Drive (Ride)
Judgment: Investigation
The World: Linguistics

A&A's and O&O's *Status: Here and there | Games: Aiming for punctuality*
"In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends."
"In the ocean of knowledge, only those who want to learn will see the land."
"Before you roar, please take a deep breath."
Check out my poet tree!

Crovonovin

Haha, I believe Reiji was talking about "The Hanged Man", which is another Arcana.   ;D

TheHangedOne

Quote from: Shihong on June 20, 2010, 10:58:51 AM
Haha, I believe Reiji was talking about "The Hanged Man", which is another Arcana.   ;D
Oh, right, I totally spaced on that. Whoops.
A&A's and O&O's *Status: Here and there | Games: Aiming for punctuality*
"In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends."
"In the ocean of knowledge, only those who want to learn will see the land."
"Before you roar, please take a deep breath."
Check out my poet tree!

ReijiTabibito

Yeah, I meant the Arcana, not you, man, sorry.  >_<

And while there are plenty of Arcana to pick for characters (there are still 18 left to choose from), something about Hikari's system makes me think that we need a skill associated with that Arcana...

NotoriusBEN

oh awesomeness.

The exalted 2nd ed. wiki has additional Virtue Flaws in a nice list with game mechanics in it. I figure it'd help people come up with something other than what's in the book.

Hikari

Yes, I always encourage people to come up with their own Virtue Flaws even in regular Exalted, and here I especially do.  Basically just ask yourself, "If my character was overstressed to the point of a mental breakdown, what would that look like?" and we'll find a way to marry game mechanics to that.

I'm not sure how the Hanged Man got left off that list--tsk, always abandoned, that one--but I'll go back and fix it later tonight.  The basic Exalted rules for Favored Abilities apply to Arcana Abilities: you must have at least one dot in your Arcana Ability, and you receive price breaks for using Experience/Bonus Points to raise it or buy Charms from it.  That said, it doesn't have to be you highest or most used Ability, though it's a fairly good idea to have it at a reasonably high level, since your Persona's main attack skill (Melee, Unarmed, Ranged, or Thrown) will be mirrored off it.  A minimum of 3 dots is a pretty good idea.  Also note that in addition to your Arcana Ability you choose any five other Abilities to also receive Favored Ability status.  These Abilities also have to have a minimum of one dot to start out, but otherwise there are no restrictions on your choice here.  A person of The Lovers Arcana could, for example, choose Melee, Unarmed, Ranged, Thrown, and Dodge as their additional Favored Abilities.  (I'm not sure why you would, but you could!)

That said, you have a lot of dots in just about everything for a high school student.  Keep in mind that you aren't Exalts, and there aren't any running around in this setting; you aren't comparing yourself on the scale of earthbound gods.  A rating of 5 dots is basically as good as it gets at whatever that is, and even 3 dots is a fully professional level.  A character who has 3 dots in Athletics and an appropriate Specialization or two could easily be a star player on the team; a rating of 4 basically means a guaranteed scholarship and possible pro career, and a 5 means you may someday be the best in the world.  A character with 3 dots in Academics is probably at or near the top of their class and will have no problem passing college entrance exams, while a 4 is at or near the top of the school, and a 5 is Light Yagami-type "genius" student status.

For Attributes, a 2 is middle-of-the-road, while a 3 is above (adult) average; a high school student with 3 Strength or Manipulation is nothing to scoff at.  Again, a 4 or 5 is very impressive.  There's an expectation here that your characters, as the protagonists, are more than just run-of-the-mill average students in some regard, though it's largely up to how you decide to use your Bonus Points what that is.  They could be star athletes, superb academics, art prodigies, or something a bit more esoteric--for example, a character who spends Bonus Points mostly on Virtues and Willpower might be hard to define in such simple labels, but there's certainly something special about him.

If you did want to play a fairly normal high schooler, the best way is probably to spend your Bonus Points on Social Links and additional Essence/Charms for your Persona.  You'd still be uniquely talented, just not in a way normal people would ever be able to perceive.
The wait is over,
I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough


-The Strokes, Reptilia

NotoriusBEN

So here is a preliminary character sheet for Ben Bishop.

Im going to use some of Hikari's ideas from our PMs, but that will be added tomorrow.

Persona Character Creation
Quote

Player: Ben Bishop
Arcana: The Chariot: Athletics
Concept: Reluctant Martial Arts Student
Motivation:
Persona: Siegfried

Attributes:
Strength 2     Charisma 2       Perception 3
Dexterity 4    Manipulation 2   Intelligence 2
Stamina 3      Apperance 2      Wits 3

Abilities:                                                           
Athletics 3         Academics 3
Martial Arts 3      Socialize 2
Dodge 2              Integrity 1

Archery    Performance    Politics        Art(Cooking) 3    Awareness 2
Melee      Popularity     Linguistics     Investigation 2   Delinquency
Thrown     Resistance 1   Drive 2         Medicine          Stealth
Tactics    Survival       Computers 3     Occult

Backgrounds                 Virtues        Psychosis
Club/Team 2                   Empathy 2      Mental Retreat
Resources 2                   Diligence 2
Social Link(Hierophant) 3     Temperance 2
Social Link(Empress) 3        Courage 3
Social Link(Death) 1                     
Social Link(Emporer) 1                     

Willpower 6
Essence 1
Essence Pool NA
--------------------------------------------
Persona: Siegfried
Attributes:
Strength 4     Charisma 3       Perception 4
Dexterity 3    Manipulation 1   Intelligence 1
Stamina 4      Apperance 3      Wits 3

Abilities:                                                             
Melee 3
Dodge 3

Charms:
Call the Blade
Iron Raptor Technique
Ox-Body Technique
Body-Mending Meditation
Bufu
MaBufu
Counter
Sukukaja
Tarukaja
Cleave

Essence 2
Essence Pool
Personal 12
Peripheral 28




Intimacies are largely unchanged, but note that characters may develop a special Intimacy as a result of taking dots in the Social Link Background which has considerable impact on the nature and capabilities of their Persona.

Both characters and Persona begin play with the normal seven boxes for Health Levels.  Please note that characters heal at close to normal (mortal) human rates, whereas Persona are capable of healing much more quickly than even Exalted.  (Unless otherwise noted, they heal all damage taken between the end of one Dark Hour and the beginning of the next, no matter how long or short that period is.)  Persona are also much easier to heal through Charms such as those in the Medicine tree.


Vergil1989

Hey, I hate to be a bother since this is another Persona game, but I have a RP of Persona based around mostly 4 I'm having trouble getting moving along.  Scya pointed me here, and I have to agree that I might have to ask around but I feel weird doing it on another thread that has the same idea to it lol.  Sorry to be a bother if this is interrupting anything, but I would have felt more weird sending PMs to people i didn't know.  My sig has the link to my own Persona game, so check it out if you wish.  See you around and if it doesn't take off I may just join this one lol.
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