BleachITP Reborn: Discussion & Setup

[nothingclever]

His current personal goal is to pass high-school and go on to college to meet girls. Growing a goatee wouldn't hurt either. Oh, and to own a motorcycle. Because they are what he calls "Badass" (incidentally up there with tattoos and swords.)

I'm loving this character's straightforwardness. I smiled when I read this part.

I'm liking all these "average" high-school characters with various awakened powers.

So am I. I'm starting to want an excuse for Ken to meet them.

On that note, I'm beginning to get some ideas for the basic opening plot. Want me to elaborate on them now? Or wait until I get some more things mapped out?

Sure, why not?

[Fan]

I love the higher focus on the Spiritually Aware human types.

It's makes me want to hug you all for being so damn awesome.

/Is INSANELY happy right now.. FF XIV beta.. SC II Beta, and Final Fantasy XIII returning on his hopes definitely has nothing to do with this.

[KnightDisciple]

Before we get too deeply into the "Who's Who" of Captains, perhaps we should discuss Soul Society itself?

Are we going with a strictly canon organization of the structure? Are we changing anything major? Are we making minor changes?

What kind of "attitude" will Soul Society have? What kind of policies? What kind of law enforcement? How do we decide (in universe) how someone is qualified for Captain? What actions might they have to take for said slot?

Most importantly: How big of a role will Captains play in this upcoming Role Play?

We don't need to answer every one of those, but I think we should address them before we get Captain-crazy.

Bumping, since it might have gotten lost in the page-turnover shuffle.

[strawberryman]

Before we get too deeply into the "Who's Who" of Captains, perhaps we should discuss Soul Society itself?

Are we going with a strictly canon organization of the structure? Are we changing anything major? Are we making minor changes?

What kind of "attitude" will Soul Society have? What kind of policies? What kind of law enforcement? How do we decide (in universe) how someone is qualified for Captain? What actions might they have to take for said slot?

Most importantly: How big of a role will Captains play in this upcoming Role Play?

We don't need to answer every one of those, but I think we should address them before we get Captain-crazy.

First three: I was under the impression we were keeping it the same.

Attitude, policies, and law enforcement... I would think much more detachment to things not directly affecting the Seireitei; they might send a squad of Unseated with a Seated officer leading to the Mortal World, if necessary. As well as the 13th's general upkeep of the Mortal World.

As for Captains... well, I'd think leadership and administrative skills should be more in consideration as well as no real marks for insubordination/rebel streaks. That's me, though.

As far as how big of a role... I think that Captains should mostly just be able to control and give intelligent, well-thought out commands to their division. Actual fights will be severely limited. That isn't to say we can't completely avoid playing them... in fact, I set up several of Ryouichi's traits so as to provide RP potential in his relative inexperience as commander. But, as said, Captain fights should be extremely rare, so I'd caution those considering such a role to understand that "rule".

[Fan]

I have to agree with Strawberry...

The Captains are a great minority.. and last time this pretty much blacked out a lot of larger plot involvement for the lower powered peoples.

Not to say they shouldn't be played, I just think this should focus on the vast majority that is the lower seated, and mortal world spiritually aware peoples.

[Sucrose]

First three: I was under the impression we were keeping it the same.

Attitude, policies, and law enforcement... I would think much more detachment to things not directly affecting the Seireitei; they might send a squad of Unseated with a Seated officer leading to the Mortal World, if necessary. As well as the 13th's general upkeep of the Mortal World.

As for Captains... well, I'd think leadership and administrative skills should be more in consideration as well as no real marks for insubordination/rebel streaks. That's me, though.

As far as how big of a role... I think that Captains should mostly just be able to control and give intelligent, well-thought out commands to their division. Actual fights will be severely limited. That isn't to say we can't completely avoid playing them... in fact, I set up several of Ryouichi's traits so as to provide RP potential in his relative inexperience as commander. But, as said, Captain fights should be extremely rare, so I'd caution those considering such a role to understand that "rule".

I agree with most of this, save that I think there should be ways for those with great power to assume the position of Captain even without any real administrative skills, for reasons that I outlined in OOC, basically coming down to not wanting the instability of having the people who make a point of strengthening themselves resenting the system in any way.

[Zarah]

I'm going to hold off on any plot ideas I might have right now, since I just thought of some more to work in. Also, it's probably a better idea to see a little more hard details about the actual universe before I get carried away. On that note...

Are we going with a strictly canon organization of the structure? Are we changing anything major? Are we making minor changes?

I think we should keep most of the canon structures, probably with some of the changes we made in our previous game as well. I also had another idea for something specific, however. Since Kujo disappeared into the mortal world, I wondered if Soul Society wouldn't have some kind of dedicated group with the sole purpose of tracking down and finding him. Maybe it could be a small group of two or three people, or maybe it could be a side-project of one of the divisions.

What kind of "attitude" will Soul Society have? What kind of policies? What kind of law enforcement? How do we decide (in universe) how someone is qualified for Captain? What actions might they have to take for said slot?

As far as Soul Society's "attitude," I think it should be similar to the one from our previous game, although maybe a little sterner, especially given the whole cold war aspect with Las Noches. As for everything else you mentioned there, that would fall under the responsibility of the Central 46. We have yet to decide whether or not we want to use the model I proposed a while ago, but either way, the Central 46 will have control over that aspect.

Most importantly: How big of a role will Captains play in this upcoming Role Play?

Simply: Plot guides. They're free to do whatever they want with other characters on the same tier (for the most part), but as far as interacting with the lower-powered characters, they should be there to drive the major plot threads forward. They're the ones who hand out orders and plan from behind the scenes. Eventually, they can likely take more active roles in the conflict, but again, these moments will probably serve to move the story ahead rather than to show off.

The one thing I don't want is for the people who take these positions to be forced to sit back and do nothing while we focus on the lesser-powered characters. They should still have some things to do in the meantime, although most of it should try to stay tangentially related to the major plot arc at best. I've played a character who has basically been forced to sit out of the action, and I can vouch that it's not really that much fun.

[KnightDisciple]

I also had another idea for something specific, however. Since Kujo disappeared into the mortal world, I wondered if Soul Society wouldn't have some kind of dedicated group with the sole purpose of tracking down and finding him. Maybe it could be a small group of two or three people, or maybe it could be a side-project of one of the divisions.

Offhand, it sounds like something with at least some 2nd Division involvement. Even in canon, hunting down rogues seems to be a thing for them. If it's a long-term group, I can imagine it being a cross-Division Task Force.

As for everything else you mentioned there, that would fall under the responsibility of the Central 46. We have yet to decide whether or not we want to use the model I proposed a while ago, but either way, the Central 46 will have control over that aspect.

I fully and totally support the previously presented Central 46 idea.

Simply: Plot guides. They're free to do whatever they want with other characters on the same tier (for the most part), but as far as interacting with the lower-powered characters, they should be there to drive the major plot threads forward. They're the ones who hand out orders and plan from behind the scenes. Eventually, they can likely take more active roles in the conflict, but again, these moments will probably serve to move the story ahead rather than to show off.

The one thing I don't want is for the people who take these positions to be forced to sit back and do nothing while we focus on the lesser-powered characters. They should still have some things to do in the meantime, although most of it should try to stay tangentially related to the major plot arc at best. I've played a character who has basically been forced to sit out of the action, and I can vouch that it's not really that much fun.

I think this is a very good way to go about it. It's what I was roughly thinking, but it's good to see that everyone's pretty much on the same wavelength.


As far as universe building: I think it's good to re-mention the idea that was presented, that of writing a sort of "history/timeline/backstory" for a Division that a person is captain of. If we don't have enough Captains, we should likely have some sort of general consensus on a story. I'd also say any such backstory should be run by the community; that way, someone doesn't bring something out of nowhere to "surprise" people. I realize it may "spoil plots", but the fact of the matter is, it's something that needs to be done.

Communication extends beyond just fights. While every detail of a person or group's plot need not be revealed, some basic information should be shared. If it has an impact on the "power level" of the game, or involves other people's characters, Divisions, etc, talk to people about it. I think that's been a source of stress for some in our current game. Suddenly springing a full-grown plot out of nowhere isn't always the best idea.

[Callos_DeTerran]

I'm of a similar opinion on the role of a captain but for a slightly different reason. The Captains (and conversely Espada) SHOULD represent the top of the ladder that characters climb and there's little fun to be had if the captains (already powerful beings) continue to evolve into more and more powerful beings. I've always been of the opinion that the better story lies in those trying to surpass the mightiest.

Also, Dorizzit, did you notice my post about your 'forge' character or no?

[Hadrian_Emrys]

Here comes yet another left field idea: What if Captain spots were not so much "claimed" as they were voted into office? If everyone who had an interest in playing one put up their character for OOC election in a private vote, the masses themselves could decide who they feel would best fill the leadership ranks. Given that the Captains appear to be serving a more administrative/political role (at least until random arrancar pop up and need to be squashed), it makes sense to me that the ones calling the shots should be ones the majority feel are most qualified to do so. I mean, no soldier willingly follows the lead of a fresh West Point grad when a field promoted NCO is available. Why not give characters and/or players the chance show that they really have what it takes to actually do the job before putting them in a position to call the shots?

For the primary Hollow faction, I can see much of how they determine pecking order resting upon a similar approach to how the canon 11th did things. I mean, they actually freaking eat each other for Bawb's sake! It just wouldn't make sense for those on top of the metaphorical food chain to not also be on the top of the literal one. One would think that the Shinigami (you know, the theoretical "good guys") would generally be a great deal more civilized than that. If both sides have amassed powerful enough forces to result in a standoff, it would stand to reason that the Gotei probably has quite a few people at the power level to fill the ranks by force. So what (assuming that the shinigami in this game will actually be actually be half-decent people), save for actual leadership ability, sets one candidate apart from the others? If the good guys are actually good guys, then the ARC's ranking system should work just fine. There very well could be powerhouse unseated lead by charismatic, bankai-free Captains that know how best to utilize their forces.

The stuff that I'm saying in this thread is primarily food for thought born of serious thought put to figuring out how to avoid the same chaos/stagnation problems that riddled the first game. I do not expect every idea I toss out to be gold, but perhaps my mental dumps will inspire better answers. *shrug*

[Dorizzit]

Also, Dorizzit, did you notice my post about your 'forge' character or no?

I did, and I changed his Zanpakuto's abilities, as well as his level of spiritual power.

[Frozen_Feet]

I think we should keep most of the canon structures, probably with some of the changes we made in our previous game as well. I also had another idea for something specific, however. Since Kujo disappeared into the mortal world, I wondered if Soul Society wouldn't have some kind of dedicated group with the sole purpose of tracking down and finding him. Maybe it could be a small group of two or three people, or maybe it could be a side-project of one of the divisions.

Potential tie-in for things thus far presented:

Seireitei wants Kujo dead; Kujo wanders on Elder's domain, drawing unwanted attention to it; spiritual pressures of the two are partially responsible for spike in the amount of spiritually aware mortals. Las Noches, too, wants Kujo, Elder, or both dead, and are thus drawn to the same area; this strains relations between Seireitei and Las Noches, threatening to turn their cold war into hot one. Thoughts?

EDIT: About Elder's relations with Las Noches; I didn't think much of it before because I didn't know what kind of faction Hollows would form in the new RP when I created the character. In the light of recent developments, here's my idea:

Elder lurks solely in the Mortal World and is very hostile towards other Hollows. It tends to hog all souls of an area for itself and has a history of helping Shinigami and mortals to fight off other spirits. In this light, I'd think Las Noches hates him as much or more as Seireitei, but they can't fight him with force either because doing so would draw attention of the Shinigami and risk a war.

[Callos_DeTerran]

I did, and I changed his Zanpakuto's abilities, as well as his level of spiritual power.

Thank you Dorizzit. And the change looks interesting as well! I have a question, or rather a request, about his shikai power though. Would it be possible to get an example of his ability to manipulate objects as strong as they would be at game start and an example of him doing the same late game?

[Dorizzit]

Sure. A game start example might be, say, tearing some wood out of a wall and reshaping it to form a balanced cudgel or fixing a broken object from its pieces. Late game he'll be to affect larger objects with more complexity, such as turning a building into a large, human-shaped construct and bringing all of the metal out of it to plate its exterior.

[tgva8889]

I assume no comments on my characters is a good thing...

I'm all for voting on Captain positions. I'm also all for Captains not getting stronger. It's a point that I thought was problematic in the last game.

I'm thinking I might abandon one of those Shinigami to go after a Mortal World-er, but I'm not thinking of anything really interesting to go with for now.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Sure. A game start example might be, say, tearing some wood out of a wall and reshaping it to form a balanced cudgel or fixing a broken object from its pieces. Late game he'll be to affect larger objects with more complexity, such as turning a building into a large, human-shaped construct and bringing all of the metal out of it to plate its exterior.

Yeah, okay, that sounds pretty cool. ^.^; Sorry Dorizzit, I DM/GM more often then I actually play so I'm paranoid about stuff like that which (in my own head) seem like they might disrupt the game. No offense intended, of course.

[Dorizzit]

None taken. It's an extremely versatile ability, and could very easily be broken if mishandled. It's important to keep the game balanced.

[Zarah]

Seireitei wants Kujo dead; Kujo wanders on Elder's domain, drawing unwanted attention to it; spiritual pressures of the two are partially responsible for spike in the amount of spiritually aware mortals. Las Noches, too, wants Kujo, Elder, or both dead, and are thus drawn to the same area; this strains relations between Seireitei and Las Noches, threatening to turn their cold war into hot one. Thoughts?

Well, I was under the assumption that Phoenix Town was going to be another spiritual hot spot, which explains why so many mortals are developing their own powers. Of course, the introduction of outside forces will help as a catalyst, but it's mostly just the fact of where the people live more than anything. The same abundance of spiritual power in the city would also explain why there might be various factions vying for power in the region even from the beginning.

Also, about the idea of the cold war turning hot, I like that plan. I like it a lot. It fits perfectly with Kujo's intentions, and is more or less what I was planning to work toward anyway, so I'm giving it a hearty thumbs up.



Also, I'm reposting my Central 46 idea, since it got lost two OOC threads ago, and it's far more relevant here. So once again:

Anyway, we've been going on about all of this and that in the Bleach universe, but I came to the realization that we completely forgot about a little group of people hiding away in Soul Society: The Central 46. Probably because in both canon and our game, they've done next to nothing other than... Well, die. However, I felt that if we were going to go with a new setting, why not actually make them practical?

Here's what I suggest: We nominate three or four trusted players to act as the Central 46. Any of these people can post as the entire body, and essentially act as an administrative organization both in and out of character. You might think that doesn't make sense, but in actuality, the duties would cross-over a lot more than you might imagine. For example, say a player wants his character to be promoted to a captain at some point in the RPG. The Central 46 would be the ones who analyze the situation and make a decision, but they'd have to look closely at both the character and the player to see if they're ready for the responsibilities. As another example, imagine that a group of rogue Shinigami appear in the mortal world and start causing trouble. The 46 would decide whether or not Soul Society goes to war with them, and thus whether or not any of the more powerful characters get involved in the plot. Think of them like a set of unofficial moderators for the RPG, who keep things in check both ICly and OOCly.

I think it could also add a whole new layer of role-playing opportunities. Let's say a group of low-powered academy students are training in the mortal world when one classmate decides to do something reckless and ends up getting them into dire straits. They make it back to Soul Society alive and in one piece, but now they have to answer to the Central 46 and explain their actions. Having actual players behind the council instead of just mindless NPCs (or corpses) makes it a bit of a nagging threat in the back of people's minds, and could even indirectly prevent players from going overboard. Since I know that if I were sitting on the council, I would not be a gracious host.

EDIT: I forgot to mention. I wanted to do something with the central 46 that wasn't "kill them all," and this seems like a pretty practical application of them.

[KnightDisciple]

Regarding the above proposal: I approve of this product and/or service.

[Dorizzit]

Agreed. It seems like a good plan.

[tgva8889]

I agree as well.

[Frozen_Feet]

Same here.

[nothingclever]

I also agree with Zarah's post.

[Moon Wolf]

Make that another agreement for me, please.

[horngeek]

I'd agree with that as well.

Also, waiting for some translations from Kasanip before I get my Captain application in.

[Shades of Gray]

Well she's on holiday, and she does not seem to have internet on her vacation, so you will be waiting for another 5 days or so.

[Moon Wolf]

EDIT: Kasanip will be back on April 4th.

[horngeek]

That's okay. I can wait.

[Shades of Gray]

EDIT: Kasanip will be back on April 4th.

Oh? I thought she said it was just a week-long vacation...

[Innis Cabal]

Oh? I thought she said it was just a week-long vacation...

She said it was 2 weeks