BESM Metaverse (4E): 2 Players for GM

[Malkavian]

As the other BESM thread is being used to organise another campaign, I figured I'd start a new one here, tailored towards something more specific.

TheHangedMan and myself are looking for a GM, or a GM and one or two other players, to join us in a game of 4th Edition BESM. At this time, both TheHangedMan and I have made up two characters that we're keen to play (both made using the Heroic Power Level and totaling at 96 points each): a Usagijin (i.e. bunny girl) Skeleton Key and her protector - an old, living Royal mech that she found and awoke in order to protect her from the individual who's been hunting her relentlessly from place to place.

We'd be looking to use the BESM Metaverse as a setting, which would allow for the inclusion of characters from a multitude of different places and origins. Also, my playing a Skeleton Key would give the GM the tool to move the two (or more) PCs from place to place as needed, as her control over World Gates allows the group to go anywhere in the Metaverse that the GM wishes.

Character stats for both characters can be provided for the GM to look over immediately; if said GM wants to take on more players other than TheHangedMan and myself, I'm happy to share more character details ahead of time here, too, as required. We are more than happy to play a game with just us two as players, however, if that's easier/preferable!

In terms of smut: personally, I'm not going into any game with the assumption that smut involving my character is guaranteed, but will instead let it happen IF it occurs naturally. Just figure this is worth stating ahead of time.

[TheHangedOne]

Hi there! I am looking forward to using Royal Guardian - Experimental Unit A-3. A Giant Living Robot that's been heavily modified to fulfill the role of a bodyguard for high priority targets. Among a lot of other factors, he is smaller than the average Giant Robot, at 3 meters tall; so now he can fit into buildings (maybe), instead of being the building.

Of course~ our beloved 'Key's first task will be finding an actual name to replace that silly designation~

[Muse]

*peeks* 

Do you have room for a third if you can find a GM?  An anime multiverse game would be really awesome. 

[Malkavian]

Provided TheHangedMan, and any GM who steps forward, doesn't mind it, I don't either! Would be their choice, however.

Out of interest, did you have an idea in mind for a character, one who might have reason to travel with a Skeleton Key and miniaturised Royal mech from ancient times? I like variety and diversity as a GM, and as a player, but any individual GM who steps forwards will likely have their own guidelines - I'm merely curious.

[TheHangedOne]

Hi Muse~ I'm cool with it.

[Muse]

Well, just off of fthe top of my head, would a 17 year old magic girl wit her guide--a shoulder angel--be a good editing? 

Or on the concept of a girl from a magical world traveling wit this group, a young woman who is a gentle hearted healer, but caries a few enchanted daggers and can call upon potent fire magic when the innocent are threatened?  :) 

[Malkavian]

Or on the concept of a girl from a magical world traveling wit this group, a young woman who is a gentle hearted healer, but caries a few enchanted daggers and can call upon potent fire magic when the innocent are threatened?

Pretty sure there's a world with sword and sorcery, so a white mage with potent fire magic seems pretty easy to justify. Koro and Praetorian (the Key and mech) could have come across you during a trip to this world; or could meet you there as part of the story if the GM wants to cover that meeting in game.

Assuming we're all aiming for the same point total (both Koro and Praetorian have 96 points and use the Heroic Power Level Benchmarks*), then you can make a pretty decent mage I think.

*Koro's Portal and Unique Attribute ability do breach the Benchmarks, but are part of the Skeleton Key template and link to its core premise (travel to wherever the GM needs, and the idea that a Skeleton Key can destroy World Gates). All other benchmark limits are adhered to for STATs, Attributes, Combat Values, Health and Energy, and Damage.

[TheHangedOne]

Mage would help. Getting hit by Praetorian is a bit like getting run over by a truck, though his combat capabilities are pretty limited to unarmed. Healing will be good for Koro-ojo~ and your character, too, of course (GLRs have regeneration, and a whole ton of Armor, so it's hard to hurt 'em).

[Malkavian]

Healing will be good for Koro-ojo~ and your character, too, of course (GLRs have regeneration, and a whole ton of Armor, so it's hard to hurt 'em).

Let's hope it won't be needed as often as is likely!

Though Koro can't heal, she can reincarnate, like all Skeleton Keys; beyond her race specific powers (from SK and Usagijin) her strength lies in how charming and inspiring she can be (she has levels in Inspire, which represents her natural charm - this can develop over time if she ever takes to leading), how fast and mobile she is (her movement speed, leaping distances, and initiative are very impressive), and her intelligence and spiritual prowess (high Mental and Soul STATs). She's fascinated by ancient technology - which explains her interest in Praetorian, and why she might seek out an older mech as opposed to a newer one - and is a massive lover of stories, old and new. Though not a fighter (she can leave the bulk of the violence to Praetorian) she is no push over either; in time, she will likely develop a fighting style that relies on utilising her very powerful legs (which already allow her to leap and run at impressive rates, as mentioned above). She is cute, but not enough to provide her bonuses to rolls (she has Feature: Appearance (Cute) as a descriptor but with no ranks, resulting in zero bonuses, as per the book).

[TheHangedOne]

Praetorian may be based off of the Giant Living Robot, but he's only 'large'. A smaller model, designed to be able to escort their ward into places that something bigger wouldn't be able to, Praetorian makes up for his reduced size with a far more impressive fighting style (Brutal, lethal Blow, Judgment, Blind Fighting) that utilizes a special sensor and computer algorithm to determine an approximate threat level of an individual. The algorithm is so strong, that it can even compensate when he is deprived from some of his sensors (blind fighting).

He's primarily made of an amazing, and highly valued self-replicating metal that restores itself to its original form (Regeneration). However, underneath the hard armor are more delicate and fragile components that have been damaged from centuries of disuse. Not only that, but some of his databases have been corrupted with age, resulting in a lackluster array of stats.

After (mis)identifying Koro as a "Princess" and his ward, he began referring to her as Koro-ojo. His primary directive is to ensure her safety, at the cost of even his own life. His secondary directive is to repair himself, and a tertiary objective is to recover his lost memories. Rather than becoming better at skills through experience and training, his "leveling up" is better represented as pieces being repaired and replaced, and software becoming operational once more, unlocking his true, full potential.

Praetorian has an "interesting" way of speaking, perhaps due to some faulty software; or mayhaps the previous user of it enjoyed it.

[Malkavian]

After (mis)identifying Koro as a "Princess" and his ward, he began referring to her as Koro-ojo. His primary directive is to ensure her safety, at the cost of even his own life. His secondary directive is to repair himself, and a tertiary objective is to recover his lost memories. Rather than becoming better at skills through experience and training, his "leveling up" is better represented as pieces being repaired and replaced, and software becoming operational once more, unlocking his true, full potential.

I do like this approach. Will be fun to see what his full potential was back when he was in active service.

[Malkavian]

I might have another player interested in this - a friend of mine who's been considering joining the site. If he does, and is approved, then I'll direct him here.

[TheHangedOne]

Cool~ does he have a concept?

[Malkavian]

None yet, though he's a fan of Tokyo Ghoul, so likely something tied into a similar premise (the powers they have, rather than the flesh consumption). He's not had a chance to look through the rulebook, or even confirmed 100% that he's signing up, but this is just here in case he does. 

[Muse]

*pops up and waves*

Time to see if i can be a bit more decisive in case we can find a storyteller...

Edit: 

Probably better to have an anime portrait for a BESM game...

[Muse]

Okay!  I've got an awesome concept now!

With a really long back story...  I hope you don't mind: 

Growing up in Tokyo, Tammy Harper didn't know anything about her life before she was found at an orphanage at the age of three except for her name.  She celebrates her birthday on the day that the orphanage four her.  Based on her name and her ethnic characteristics, she's believes she's a mixture of Asian and Caucasian ancestry--a 'haflu' as some of her classmates called her.  By the age of seven she was taken in by a prosperous foster family who didn't have children of their own.  They were loving enough, if a bit busy.  Tammy had a bright mind and worked hard, so she did well in school, but it was generally agreed that she wasted too much time on fantasy novels to achieve her full potential. 

   Odd things occasionally happened around Tammy--mostly involving light reflected at really wierd angles when she really needed it--like into the stairwell when the light bulb burned out, or into that bullies eyes when she needed to run. (This was good because Tammy was afraid of the dark.) 

   The weirdest thing, though, was discovering a huge leather bound book called The Riddle of Moonbeams under her bed on the morning of her sixteenth birthday.  It must have been a birthday present, but no one would admit to giving it to her--and her foster mother really didn't like her reading fantasy novels anyway. 

   It was a fantasy novel, but written as a journal.  It was about a girl named Tamara.  Tamara was a fisherman's daughter who learned as a little girl that she could make the moonlight peel up off of the bay and dance. 

   When Tamora was a teenager the Arcmage Renard--one of the Legate's most trusted advisors and strongest champions despite still being in his thirties--took Tamora as his apprentice.  Not only did that mean she could learn magic, it actually made it very likely that Tamara would become Renard's heir.  Renard taught her many things.  Magic was the most amazing of them.  He taught her to enchant magical items.  He taught her to develop her innate control of moonlight.  He taught her poetry--first as an art form, but soon for it's magical applications.  Magic, Renard explained, was an inborn gift to those who could use it, perhaps a blessing from the Weavers, anyone with the gift could learn an almost infinite array of spells.  A broad array of methods and techniques had been developed over the centuries to shape and channel this gift.  A given person's aptitudes made them better able to use one method or another. 

   Renard was a lyric thaumaturge--he worked wonders by reciting poetry.  In this fashion, he learned an almost infinite variety of ways to shape magic.  Some poems he'd made an innate part of himself and could call upon any time.  Others, he recorded in his journal.  By spending some time meditating on specific poems he could gain access to other poems.  Though he was powerful and highly skilled, even Renard could only retain a few poems like this at a time, so he consulted his journal often to bring the right poem for the right situation, and also crafted a variety of powerful magical tools. 

   Tamara discovered she was falling in love with her teacher, and sometimes she wondered--from the heat in his cheeks and the tremor in his touch--if he was coming to love her as well. 

   As Renard's apprentice, Tamara traveled with him to a different country--a neighboring Shard of the Empire ruled by a different legate.  The Legate there was sponsoring a grand tourney, but the tourney was actually organized by the High Harper.  The prize was the service of the High Harper's son as his advisor.  Over the course of the tournament, Renard and Tamara worked together to perform earth shaking deeds.  They bonded more closely than ever before.  On the second to last night of the tourney, though the seventeen year old girl was twenty years younger than her master, the two could no longer deny their feelings.  They made love and pledged to marry. 

   The next night, they were victorious together, overcoming the apprentice of the host legate to win the prize. 

   The Harper Samuel returned with them and guided them with wise council, political know how, music, and the secret lore of the other worlds on the Web. 

   In the years after Tamara's wedding her journal took a darker turn.  The Legate who had hosted the grand tournament fell ill and eventually died.  His apprentice--Brandoberis--turned his eyes upon neighboring nations with avarice.  his magicians and his demons rallied the monster tribes and turned them against his neighbors, softening them up for the invasion to come.  The secret of that invasion was that he had struck an alliance with a Demon Lord of Bazaroth, and hoards of demons fought alongside his armies. 

   19 years after his marriage, Arcmage Renard felt age beginning to steal his strength.  he had his wife had each taken a new apprentice.  Though they had a war to fight, Renard began composing a spell that would restore his youth, and his wife's as well, so that they could share a life together after the war-- a full lifetime, where they would die together surrounded by grandchildren--instead of Renard passing away while Tamora was still in her prime. 

   This was not to be.  Besieged on all sides by monsters, soldiers, sorceress, and demons, the elderly Legate was forced into a surrender, his nation compelled to become an instrument for the profit of his overlord.  As part of the terms of surrender, several dozen of the nation's finest sorcerers lives were forfeit--men were to face the headsmen and women to be chained in his harem. 

   Tammy was horrified by this turn, but she was still nowhere near the end of the book.  More, every few pages, poems that were supposed to be spells could be found.  Tammy didn't dare try...  Part of her was so certain she could make them work that she knew her heart would break when they didn't. 

   Rather than permit his beloved Tamara to suffer this fate, Renard cast his spell to youthen her to three years of age, sealed her magical tools inside her magical bracelet of storing, and bid Samuel to take her far, far away where Brandoberis's evil could not harm her. 

   With his secret power, Samuel took the child and fled along the world gates.  Samuel was the Key to Earth, and it was to Earth he took little Tamara.  He left her at an adoption agency in Tokyo, with a short note saying that her name was Tammy Harper and the Agency could give her a better, safer home than her family could...

   Tammy dropped the book. 

   She stared. 

   She fled. 

   But three days later, she picked it up again, and for days she read in her own words the story of her own life--the Arcmage Tamara, youthened to a child, having lost her memories, and now living the life of Tammy Harper.  The spells she had woven into her journal included a mirror-fragment of her soul that recorded both the spells she learned and lyric portrayals of her own life without conscious effort on her part. 

   On her sixteenth birthday, Samuel Harper returned from Ikarus to plant the journal under her bed so that she could learn who she was and reclaim her birthright. 

   Tammy read the journal up to the present, and she found, at the moment where the present became the future, the words, "And then Tammy discovered the spell that would call her Bracelet of Storing to her and allow her to call forth her staff, her robes, and her memories... 

   The poem was right there. 

   The last words of the journal were, "And so she cast the spell." 

[Malkavian]

Pretty cool concept, and a nice twist on the standard Ikarus mage! Explains too why she'd only be around 96 points.

What are you thinking statistic wise? Or are you going to wait for a GM before trying to add numbers to the concept? Both Praetorian and Koro are finished in that regard; I can send over Koro if you'd like a look, to help ensure our group has a bit of diversity? (Though I doubt an Ikarus mage, a sentient mech, and a Skeleton Key will have much overlap.)

[Marie Reynolds]

Well if all  the players and  the potential gm don't mind.  I would not mind throwing my hat in for this game.

[Malkavian]

I personally don't mind having a fourth player, though it would be up to the GM. Can't imagine an issue, though.

Did you have a concept in mind that might join our growing motley of Usagijin Skeleton Key, living mech bodyguard, and Ikarus mage?

[Marie Reynolds]

Nothing solid  yet might toy around  with being a  gate  guardian.

[Malkavian]

Nothing solid  yet might toy around  with being a  gate  guardian.

Someone who protects a World Gate?

Edit: I'm wondering if it's worth me sharing our completed character sheets here now that there are more people interested? What do you think, TheHangedMan?

[Marie Reynolds]

Yep, a guardian of a  world gate.

[TheHangedOne]

I think it might be worth sharing. That way, our new additions can start thinking over what they want, and we minimize the risk of overlapping specializations.

[Malkavian]

Agreed. In that case, meet Koro! (Note for the GM: I can forward you the Usagijin template that I used for her, and explain any/all choices made below, if needed. As mentioned before, her Portal and Unique Power Attributes do breach the 5 Attribute maximum for Heroic, but these are taken direct from the Skeleton Key template - which helps us move between non-World Gate holding worlds as part of any storyline that requires it. All other statistics adhere to the Benchmark limits.)

[Marie Reynolds]

So if  i did the match correctly  you started Koro with 88 points?