Bleach in The Playground: Renewed Revolution (Setup And Discussion)

[KerfuffleMach2]

Originally Posted by Tebryn

Really the only question I have is....why does she have wings? That seems...odd for a Shinigami.

That's pretty much it. Something different. I felt like it.

[DiscipleofBob]

Originally Posted by KerfuffleMach2

That's pretty much it. Something different. I felt like it.

Probably the same reason Komamura has a dog-head and Kiba has wolf-ears. /shrug. I mean from what we've seen, most Shinigami can sort of fly anyway by standing in the air, or does that only work in the mortal realm? It was never very clear.

Anyway, I'm definitely going to scrap Mizuki (sorry, AnimeKid, but at least you could take that anchor idea if you still wanted it) and probably make a captain for the Science Division provided no one else beats me to it. Should I wait for a write-up on that or other Divisions or go ahead?

Also, more character submissions. Was going to make a bunch of hollows for early fodder, but got distracted so only made these two. One was the guy I was going to submit as the (temporary) leader of the Arrancars, though he could just as easily work otherwise.

Name: Victor Vicente Alto Ramirez
Age: 77
Gender: Male
Race: Arrancar
Death Aspect: War
Appearance:

Spoiler

Mask Fragment: What looks like an iron plate below his mouth around his jaw from ear to ear.
(coming soon)

Personality:

Spoiler

(coming soon)

History:

Spoiler

Victor Vicente was born the son of a warlord and a slave in some long-forgotten South American state. He'd never known his mother, the latter, but instead grew up as the child of a cruel and ambitious dictator. He was raised as a soldier among many brothers. He had no sisters, for his father had no use for women in his personal army of heirs. At ten years old, he and his brothers were forced into a battle royale, fully armed with any weapons they could desire.in diverse terrain on the warlord's estate. After eight days of brutal survival tactics and trench warfare in the wilderness, Victor Vicente emerged the sole survivor. Afterwards, he was personally groomed by his father to be the heir to the planned regime, trained in tactics and leadership. At 16, Victor Vicente, after ensuring that he had the loyalties of the troops, assassinated his father and assumed control. From then on, he spent a long career in guerilla warfare, sometimes in power, sometimes taking it. There was never absolute victory, there was and would only ever be war. After 60 long years of fighting, becoming a local legend and tyrant. Notoriety has its drawbacks. His enemies united against him. After exhausting all of his resources in a long and bloody war, only after all of his soldiers were sacrificed, was he finally captured. After a long incarceration, Victor Vicente was finally executed, but not before poisoning the leader of his captors, killing two members of the firing squad with improvised smuggled weapons, and setting off a bomb in the facility at his death. So the legend of the tyrant ended.

But the legend continued in death. The lost souls of Victor Vicente's army, his enemies, his victims, his family all congregated on his death to quickly consume the legend. Hundreds of hollows swarmed him all at once to claim the tyrant in death. Victor Vicente somehow emerged victorious. Absorbing all those hollows and angry spirits put Victor Vicente on the fast track to becoming a true Arrancar. Not only did he have a head-start in gaining his power, but his leadership let him command his own personal army of hollows. He worked his way quickly to the top of the hollow world, and now he has his sights set on Soul Society.

Abilities:

Spoiler

Victor Vicente is an arrancar, and as such, has superior strength, agility, and endurance to the point where he can conceivably take on a Shinigami captain. He is well-versed in the tactics of guerilla warfare and easily commands the respect of his troops, especially when his troops are murderous soul-eating monsters. His Sonido and Hierro are what you would expect from an Espada-level Arrancar. When not using his Zanpakuto, Victor Vicente's experience as a guerilla fighter makes him more comfortable with ranged combat relying on his Bala and Cero.

Bala Disparo - His Bala while much smaller can be fired with sniper-level precision and accuracy and can be fired several times in succession, effectively giving him the spiritual equivalent of a semi-automatic rifle.
Cero Disparo - His Cero is smaller than a normal Cero as well, but just as destructive and more precise. The concentration of energy makes it even deadlier when hit.
Gran Rey Disparo - Victor Vicente is of course capable of the Espada-level Cero and its destructive power.

Zanpakuto: Gloriajunta

Spoiler

Release Command: "Bombard,"
Appearance: The Zanpakuto strongly resembles a machete, albeit one with a far more ornately carved handle and blade. It normally rests in a camouflage-patterned sheathe.
Resurreccion: When released, Victor Vicente grows heavy armor and becomes a sort of cross between an armadillo and a tank. He hunches down on all fours, and grows heavy layers upon layers of armor until he is about the size and shape of a tank. In this form, his new four limbs can alternate between actual bestial claws, fold up into jagged wheels, or even tank treads. A heavy mask adorns the front of the tank just above a large plow on the front meant for ramming targets. The vulnerable parts of his body are small and well-protected beneath the heavy armor. He can also sprout anywhere from one to nine tank cannons at various points all over the tank as well as an indeterminate amount of smaller cannons. The smaller cannons fire Balas Disparos, the larger cannons fire Ceros Disparos, and the one largest cannon on top fires Gran Rey Ceros.

Segunda Etapa:

Spoiler

Maybe. Haven't decided yet.

Plans for Character: Step 1: Attack someone tough, Step 2: Die quickly, Step 3: Possibly cause a vaccuum of power within Hueco Mundo with his death, Step 4: ???, Step 5: Profit.



Name: Cutie Pie
Age: Probably 4 or 5 by guess.
Gender: Adorable
Race: Hollow
Appearance:

Spoiler

By hollow standards, Cutie Pie is really cute. Hardly menacing at all. Cutie Pie resembles a tiny grub-like creature whose mask has two small dotted eyes with a tiny little derpy smile making it look almost like a Pokemon. It's hard not to feel at least a little affectionate for the little guy.

Personality:

Spoiler

Cutie Pie speaks with the high-pitched voice that could conceivably belong to a boy or girl. It acts completely innocent and very affectionate, often changing its behavior patterns to best suit its intended target. It whimpers, cries, cooes, and cuddles. If it gets attached to someone, literally and figuratively, Cutie Pie becomes extremely protective of the host, and lashes out at perceived threats.

Abilities:

Spoiler

Cutie Pie is a hollow and can normally only be seen by spiritual beings or those with acute spiritual awareness. However, Cutie Pie can selectively reveal itself to a person regardless of their spiritual awareness. Once Cutie Pie is noticed by the target, Cutie Pie makes sure to be as cute and adorable as possible in order to win the affections of the target. Hopefully, the target will get curious and touch, possibly even picking up Cutie Pie. At which point, Cutie Pie burrows its way into the target's heart (metaphysically. No actual gorey reverse-aliens stuff going on here). The process is painful and actually kind of soothing. From that point on, Cutie Pie feeds little by little off the soul of the target, but can stretch the process over long periods of time, possibly even years, without harming the intended target. Using other abilities tends to hasten the process however. Cutie Pie can manifest itself in its adorable form at will, only visible to the host or spiritually aware beings. If the host feels threatened, Cutie Pie can act in defense of the host, instead manifesting as a large man-sized centipede that sprouts from the host's chest and attacks the target(s), often consuming their souls as well. Over time, Cutie Pie can affect the personality of the host, creating a psychological addiction and codependency to the point where the host is completely compliant with Cutie Pie's wishes.
History: Not much is known about Cutie Pie. Likely he/she/it was the result of an unfortunate accident that resulted in the death of a child, said child becoming a small, insignificant hollow with few memories about its past life. It avoids detection from predator hollows and exterminating shinigami by hiding in the hearts of innocents, feeding and growing stronger, albeit at a small rate. Should Cutie Pie ever theoretically grow to an arrancar state, then the results would no doubt be adorable, if terrifying.

Plans for Character: This or the host could be that character with potential for evil Frozen Feet mentioned, or Cutie Pie could get killed quickly, but really, how could you kill something so adorable?

[Eiko]

Since I have received no large objections to the character I pitched as a potential leader, allow me to pitch my vision of Las Noches with hopes this may up approval for my selection for the role :

Spoiler

Las Noches, The White City in the sand

The Grand city of Las Noches is built in a giant circle, made of four separate rings, the outermost two each divided into smaller segments. The outermost Layer is divided into 12 equally sized segments, or districts, the next into six, the penultimate forming one solid district and the palace of its Lord forming the centre of the circle. It is protected by enormous white stone walls, some 15ft thick and dominates the landscape around for unmeasured distance.

Outer Ring, City of the Hollow:
The outermost districts of the city, behind the impressive walls of the city is the area free and open to all hollows who serve under Dainichi, be they arrancar or simply waiting to be converted; though the former are most decidedly second class citizens. The various districts here form a bizarre facsimile of what might be expected from soul society before its time of war. This ring provides for the everyday needs and administration of Las Noches, be it entertainment, industry or otherwise. Accommodation is spread dispersed throughout the districts, some containing much more than others. Each individual district is either dedicated to an ideal, or a purpose and is reflected by those who frequent them; some districts are understandably much less used than others but Dainichi orders that they be maintained.

Any hollow entering the city must do so through the 11th district, where they will be evaluated for their worth and motives and then moved on either to the 12th for storage or 10th to begin the slow process of arrancarification. Those too weak for even that are assessed for worth and assigned menial work in another district.

The entirety of the outer ring is organised under the direction of a number of Arrancar who proved more suited to bureaucracy than war, though few laws are maintained past what is needed for basic cooperation such as a ban on unsanctioned violence or theft. The law itself is enforced by a cadre of Arrancar with simple featureless masks covering their faces, they rarely speak and little is known of them but it is said they answer directly to the king himself.

The twelve districts are as follows, flowing clockwise round the city:
1: The grand Library
2: Industry
3: Philosophy
4: Education
5: Art
6: Administration
7: The Grand Arena
8: Farming of animal hollows
9: Science
10: Conversion
11: Entry to the City
12: Prison

Central Ring:
The central ring is made of 6 evenly spaced and sized districts each of which belonging to one of the Espada, the six strongest Arrancar who answer only to the king himself. The districts are each separated by walls as grand and thick as make up the outer walls, but these are hollow and the space within them is used to traverse between the inner city and the outer districts, as well as the domains of each espada.

In each district are buildings and purpose as dictated by their ruling Espada, having been granted total authority and freedom within their walls to do as they please. Thus each of the six districts varies in style, layout and what type of denizens exist within.

[Further details to be added by any who wish to claim a district]

Inner City:
The inner city is exclusively for arrancar, and only those who have proved themselves with loyalty, prowess or knowledge to one of the masked servants of the King. This is the domain of those powerful arrancar who form the backbone of Las Noches' fighting and scientific forces, a great deal more luxury is afforded to its denizens. They are free to visit other districts as they please and most fill their time either in the outer ring, or working for an Espada they have for whatever reason chose not to live in the domain of.

Central Palace:
The grand palace Inhabited by Dainichi Nyorai, none may enter without approval of the masked police force who guard it. Few know of the interior that lurks beneath the plain spiralling shape of its exterior.

[Tebryn]

So, since I'm doing the R&D Division, I have to ask. How Gadgety can I be? Batman seems like a good High End level and I assume people will want me to stay away from "Utility Belt Safety" powers and things like that.

[Zarah]

Originally Posted by Terry576

Also: Please, please, please remember that Captains will only very rarely enter combat - if you're scrapping a captain for a captain of an opposing division, one completely at odds with your original, keep in mind that a Healer/Science is even less likely to fight than the Joint Combat ones.

I like the sound of this. This sounds like it'll work perfectly with what I had in mind for my captain. That is, more of a "political" focus on his plots.

Being a captain isn't jumping to the front lines and being the most awesome-est person there. Well sometimes it is. But most of the time? It's managing people. It's paperwork. It's dealing with the inner-politics of the Seireitei itself. And that's the kind of thing I'd like to explore a bit with my character. I don't expect everybody to be on the same page as me, but anybody who wants in is more than welcome. The more people we get playing politics the more interesting things will be.

[Terry576]

Originally Posted by DiscipleofBob

I'm kind of confused with the last statement. If the Shinigami were really in a war-setting against Arrancar and Segunda Etapa, why wouldn't they fight? It seems like they'd have to, as anyone not captain-level would instantly be flattened. Especially if Soul Society was being attacked by an army of arrancar?

...

Okay, let's assume you are in the Army. You are a generic soldier.

Does your General fight alongside you? of course not.

The Captains are the Generals. You will be politicing for the most part.

Most of the Captain interaction is going to be me and Zarah doing back and forth subtle threats, if he's going to be politicing - because that's exactly what Sally'll be doing for most of the game. Politics.

S'why I'm gonna have Sora and another character trotting around - so I can have fun.

Akemi Aoko - The Red Whirlwind

Spoiler

Gender: Female
Age: 86, appears about 17.
Height: 162cm
Weight: approx. 165 lbs.
Reiatsu: Twisting and turning, brushing past your senses before dancing away.


Appearance:

Spoiler

When fighting against those she considers villains,

History:

Spoiler

Aoko was born in Zaraki. She lived in Hell.

Hell took no easy road - it burned her and shaped her as she lived, altering her into whatever form it wanted.

She met a boy once. When she first arrived. They grew up together, roaming the streets and stealing and laughing.

He died at the hands of a madman in an iron mask - ripped to pieces before her very eyes.

As she drew her knife - the one that marked her as her, he was captured, and taken by the Shinigami. Moments too late.

So she trained. She trained and trained and trained.

And she killed. She was the Goddess of Zaraki, the Red Whirlwind, and the White Devil. No one crossed her. They dared not cross her.

She fought a Shinigami one day. He defeated her, and dragged her back, spitting and cursing, to the Gate.

And he lay there, moaning and pleading, as she slid her knife into his back. Seireitei did not venture out to Zaraki after that; it was easier to ignore Hell then venture into it.

Aoko detests Shinigami. She hates Seireitei. Their uniforms, their personalities, their very existence.

Personality:

Spoiler

Aoko is silent, and fairly brooding. She does not trust easily, and plays her cards close to her chest. When she opens up, she is intelligent and more carefree, smiling and laughing hesitantly, but willing to talk and discuss as well.

General Abilities:

Spoiler

The Red Whirlwind: Aoko's skills with a knife are legendary in Zaraki, and she moves faster than most people can see. Aoko prefers short, quick attacks.
The White Devil: When Aoko dons her kimono, none leave their houses. They stay inside, peeking from windows at the goddess with the sword, whose blade cuts with the force of ten swords. Aoko's sword skills are fast, precise, and deadly.
Spirit Particle Manipulation: Aoko is capable of manipulating the spirit particles surrounding her in the air to form whatever she pleases - knives, swords, shields, walls, as long as she has the capacity for it. Aoko's ability loses potency the larger the object is, as well as the more objects she creates. She can create around 20 objects in rapid succession before she has to stop for a long period of time.
Strength: Aoko is fairly weak, and it is only counterbalanced by her speed and skill with weapons.

[AnimeKid]

I don't see what a general has to do with politics. Generals are looking over battle operations and ways to avoid their soldiers getting killed. The look at logistics and tatics.

Also in a army a general isn't 3 to 4 times stronger than a generic soldier. If politicing during a war that your losing is the priority of a captain then someone has their head on backwards. No Seireitei, no politics to gives subtle threats over.

[Tebryn]

Originally Posted by Terry576

...
Does your General fight alongside you? of course not.

Benedict Arnold
Julius Ceaser
Charlemagne
Napoleon


Ya know...just saying.


I'm not playing a Captain so this doesn't matter really. The Captain of the R&D Division, renamed The Order of Eibon because...the R&D Division is a boring name , will have been killed in action in the fight that occurred in the 78th District.

[Terry576]

Half of your captains shouldn't have bankai. Because most of the old ones, as said in the OP, were promoted.

Also half the men in that General list are dead.

EDIT:

Tebyrn: ...I can work with that. Just, everyone keep in mind that almost nobody was there - it was a civilian slaughter.

[Tebryn]

The Order of Eibon: They Blinded Me with Science

Known through out Soul Society as the main force for new technology and studies of Kido, the Order of Eibon was founded at the start of Soul Society by the powerful Shinigami sorcerer Eibon, who is said to have founded the Dragon Spiral Tower and researched the intricacies of Zanpakuto before his death. The Dragon Spiral Tower still stands though the grounds around it have changed with the times, massive sprawling testing ranges and labs dotting the landscape while the ancient Sorcerers continue to maintain a balance between buildings and the natural world around the Tower and it’s environs. Being one of the busiest Division leaves it’s mark on the Division Grounds, at any time a number of Researchers hurrying to and fro to various meetings or testings. Despite this, as one might expect, the Order of Eibon’s grounds are not only well maintained but the roads and buildings are designed to ease any congestion that may occur by so many moving bodies at any time. A peculiar and perhaps ancient mainstay of the Order Grounds is the presence of food vendors and large single roomed hotels that give brief respite and food to the busy members of the Order. Some whisper one could eat a full day with a single hours pay in the Order Grounds before curling up with a companion to last the night. These rumors are unverified due to the Order’s secretive nature which remains a mainstay from their ancient roots.

However, this secrecy does not come without a price nor without strict policing of their Grounds which has only caused further distrust with their comrades. Dark rituals and insane experiments are said to occur openly in the Order Grounds, some even whispering that the Order has captured hollows that they study and torment to unlock the secrets of the most hated enemy of all Soul Society. Order members refuse to allow even other Captains onto their grounds without constant supervision save for the Commander Captain herself though they insist that it is for the safety of the Captains and the Order members and not because they are carefully keeping prying eyes from their secrets. The Order opens the streets of their Grounds during the day more often than not, charging admission for any who wish to use the gardens or generally enjoy a day out in a peaceful locale though many insist that they feel constantly watched even if they’re alone. And they’re not wrong, the ever present eyes of the Order cast over their grounds for any information or disturbance that could occur. Those who damage the Grounds are removed immediately and their superiors advised to keep a closer reign on their members with a sternly written letter. Along with this strict policing, the Order is eager to recruit any and all who show interest in their Division however a grueling entrance application is required to even get a foot in the door.

The Order accepts only the best and brightest, strict moral compulsions or strength in combat are not tested during the aforementioned exams. Expertise in Kido, Mortal World Technology, Architecture, Hollow Physiology and Psychology and Shinigami Physiology and Psychology are subjects the Order is interested in, and depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the Applicant they are shuffled into the varied work stations scattered around the Order Grounds.


Major Locations of the Order of Eibon

The Dragon Spiral Tower: In times past the Dragon Spiral Tower was the home of the Eibon and those who sought to study the ancient secrets of the Demon Arts and the true depths of their Zanpakuto. A massive and sprawling tower with gardens and bathes interspersed through out it’s many floors give the Dragon Spiral Tower an almost chaotic and disheveled look not helped by the passages of time. Now a days the ancient tower is a testament to the power of the Order, laboratories and meditation rooms having replaced many of the more dubious areas though the scent of opium still stain the wood. Robes have been replaced with lab coats and guttering torches replaced with soft lighting more easy on eyes focused on intricate machines and subtle magics. The top of the Dragon Spiral Tower is a massive sprawling garden of cherry blossom trees, access forbidden to all but the Eibon, his Advisor and the Sohei.

The Vaults: Considered to be new by the older members of the Order, the Vaults have existed since at least a four hundred years as the Order moved from the more esoteric to the more modern. New Vaults are constructed on a needs basis and are built deep underground to shield them not only from attack but to keep the surface safe. The Vaults act as both research facilities for more dubious works and storage lockers for the Orders many contraptions. Automated defenses keep the Vaults safe while some whisper that more bizarre creatures prowl the halls and act as muscle to move the ill advised creations about.

Leadership

Eibon: A title similar to Kenpachi, created in honor to the original Shenryu Eibon of old. Currently, there is no Eibon in control of the Order, having been killed in the attack on the 78th District.

Advisor: A more recent creation, in times of old the Eibon was the sole master of the Order. However, due to the influx of members in the Order, the Advisor position was created to help move much of the worked on the Eibon. Yasunobu “Kurohime" Sawada is the current Advisor

Lead Researchers (Seated): Like the Advisor Position, in times of old those in the Order were merely called Sohei. The Sohei remain as the top five Lead Researchers.

Junior Researchers (Unseated): Created alongside the Advisor and Lead Researcher Position, the entire distinction was created when the influx of membership required a distinction between more learned members of the Order and new members.

Originally Posted by Terry576

Tebyrn: ...I can work with that. Just, everyone keep in mind that [i]almost nobody was there[/b] - it was a civilian slaughter.

I'm billing that as the reason he got slaughtered so easily. His home was in the 78th and he was there on a visit. You said that the Shinigami got complacent so he had no reason to think that he'd be attacked on a social visit. The Hollows invaded and while he put up a fight he was easily over run despite releasing his bankai. He just couldn't fend off the assault on his own.

[DiscipleofBob]

Originally Posted by Terry576

...

Okay, let's assume you are in the Army. You are a generic soldier.

Does your General fight alongside you? of course not.

The Captains are the Generals. You will be politicing for the most part.

Most of the Captain interaction is going to be me and Zarah doing back and forth subtle threats, if he's going to be politicing - because that's exactly what Sally'll be doing for most of the game. Politics.

Here's the thing...

Normally, I'd agree with you, the captains stay behind, process paperwork, politicize, and aren't even allowed to release Bankai without special permission, and that only comes under special circumstances.

However, these are very special circumstances. Last I checked, the flavor was still being at war with a force of Arrancars who have multiple people with Segunda Etapa.

An Arrancar is Captain-level and only the weaker of Arrancar were defeated by people who were not Captain-level. Often it took multiple Captains with Bankai or Bankai-level abilities just to take down ONE Arrancar. And that's not even bringing in Segunda Etapa, which Ichigo couldn't defeat with his Bankai or even his hollow mask and had to resort to that final hollow form thing.

There's a reason why the Captains in canon Bleach are drawn to the front lines so often.

So to recap:

Hollow side has plenty of Arrancars and multiple units with Segunda Etapa, far stronger than they were in the canon, which was pretty strong.

Shinigami side has half as many captains, only half of which are even truly "Captain-level" and capable of Bankai, and what few people have Bankai aren't allowed to enter the front lines, despite the Captains being the only people with even the slightest chance to repel the Arrancars.

If you are changing the power definition of Arrancar, Segunda Etapa, etc. so that it's even remotely possible for a group of non-Captain shinigami to beat even one Arrancar with or without Segunda Etapa, that's fine, but that clarification hasn't been made yet. And if not, how the hell is Soul Society not a pile of ashes yet?

[Frozen_Feet]

Originally Posted by AnimeKid

Also, maybe I missed something but whey are we not going with the fact that it was the Gotei 13 at first and then got shifted?

That is what the current version states. People, remember to keep an eye on the registry! I update the descriptions of the sides as well when new information is decided upon in OOC.

Originally Posted by Tebryn

I'll do a write up for the R&D Division later. On reflection, I'll just switch Sawada to the Vice Captaincy there. I don't think it should be called that though. Thinking of things as we go. I've also changed it on Sawada's Character Sheet.

That's the canonical name and best description of what they do. What would you suggest? "Order of Eibon" is flavorful, but doesn't sound like something a military Division would officially call itself.

To give a rough real world analogy: medics are made to swear the Hippocratic Oath, but instead of being "Order of Hippocrates", any real world medical company is just a medical company. I have no other gripes with your write-up, again, it's just a naming issue. Gotei is a military force, and military forces tend to have blunt informative names for their departments. Even the canon follows this, with each Division being called either by a number or their function. ("Kido Corps" doesn't leave much room for guessing, for example.)

Originally Posted by Tebryn

So, since I'm doing the R&D Division, I have to ask. How Gadgety can I be? Batman seems like a good High End level and I assume people will want me to stay away from "Utility Belt Safety" powers and things like that.

As gadgety as Mayuri and Urahara. The guys who have:

1. Designed Gigais
2. Designed artificial souls.
3. Made artificial souls into pretty candies due to customer demands.
4. Created working regeneration serum
5. Turned his hand into a wire-guided missile/grappling hook thing.
6. Hidden a kusari-gama in a headress.
7. Made an opposite sex clone of themselves.
8. Created various nasty toxins.
9. Place antidotes for said toxins inside said clone.
10. Created a reality-distorting orb.
11. Created special gauntlets for fighting Aizen.
12. Placed said reality-distorting orb inside someone's soul.
13. Experimented on Hollowfication serum.
14. Invented inflatable dummy Gigai to serve as a combat decoy.

Hint: the answer is "very".

Originally Posted by DiscipleofBob

I mean from what we've seen, most Shinigami can sort of fly anyway by standing in the air, or does that only work in the mortal realm? It was never very clear.

Airwalking was called out to be hard in and around Seireitei, due to the anti-magic walls. Everywhere else, such "flying" is fair game, including other places in Soul Society.

Commentary on your last post about the war:

Arrancars are not quite as powerful as you make them to be. Rukia easily won over a rank-and-file Numeros, and managed to one-shot an Espada who let his guard down. Up to Privaron-level Arrancars (former Espada, that is) were dispatched by characters who were obviously less powerful than Captains (Namely, Chad and Ishida...)

It was only the Espadas who displayed overwhelming power and had to be dealt with by multiple Captain-level opponents.

Roughly, a normal Hollow is equivalent to a common Shinigami. A Gillian-level Hollow is equivalent to a Vice-Captain. It's from Adjuchas and up that things start to get dangerous for Captains. The important point here is that all canonical Espada were Arrancars made from Gillian and up, and several Arrancars made from Gillians were done in by Shinigami weaker than Captains.

What I think we need to decide:

1. How powerful are Arrancars made from Gilian-level Hollows and down?
2. How many Arrancars from Gillian-level and up do we have as NPCs?
3. How many non-generic non-Arrancar Menos do we want as NPCs?
4. How great is Hueco Mundo's numerical advantage over Seireitei?
5. And most importantly, how are Hollows organized?

My suggestions for answers:

1. A common Arrancar is about as strong as two or three common Shinigami. This gives them a notable edge, but doesn't make them flat-out invincible. With clever tactics, the underdog can fight on.
2. My suggestion is none. All the really powerful Hollows are PCs. This helps keeping the sides even, and makes sense considering food chain of evil the Hollows have going on. Aizen went searching for Vasto Lordes - he only found 4! For contrast, Hitsugaya mused 10 would've been enough to walk over Soul Society.
3. Not many. Last game had high-level Hollow players treating Adjuchas as sort of a baseline, but this doesn't actually make sense. High-level Menos should be rare - they are major strategic factors, but they aren't numerous enough to win the war all on their own.
4. I suggest about two times more Hollows than Shinigami. Why? Because a real world truism of combat is that the attacker needs to have at least thrice as many men as the defender to be succesful. Remember: Shinigami have homefield advantage! Seireitei is a fortress city with nigh-impregnable anti-magic walls. Even if they are invidually and numerically at a disadvantage, Shinigami still have many benefits that'd allow them to fight on for a long while. (Powerless inhabitants of Rukongai on the other hand...)
5. This, I don't have a good suggestion for. I'm waiting for Hollow players to come up with something. However, one thing needs to be decided: why are Hollows acting as one. Remember: Hollows eat each other! They are their own first enemy! Mere hatred against Shinigami would not be enough to cause a mass attack. We don't have Aizen in this game, so who or what made Hollows vanish for 50 years and come back unified?

Originally Posted by DiscipleofBob

If you are changing the power definition of Arrancar, Segunda Etapa, etc. so that it's even remotely possible for a group of non-Captain shinigami to beat even one Arrancar with or without Segunda Etapa, that's fine, but that clarification hasn't been made yet.

As talked above, there is plenty of evidence for non-captains to able to fight and win against Arrancars, even Espada who are (according to Data Books) Vasto Lorde level.

As for Segunda Etapa, it's clear that a single Captain-level opponent was not enough to tackle that. The key here is the word single. At no point did more than one character fight against Ulquiorra at a time. We can not extrapolate from canon material how a large group of characters, Captain-level or otherwise, would fare. If you really want to stretch it, we could say it took one Captain-level person and two non-captains to win over one Segunda Etapa user - Ishida and Inoue did have their part in the event, especially Inoue since it's doubtful if Ichigo could've come back without her.

Note: I'm not counting Ishida as Captain-level, because the only instance where he clearly was at that level (or beyond) was when he used Letzt Stil.

Originally Posted by DiscipleofBob

And if not, how the hell is Soul Society not a pile of ashes yet?

Tchk, you people are so hasty. Maybe they just haven't gotten there yet. Just because the premise has an obvious logical conclusion, doesn't mean we're there yet. I already provided one possible reason for what might have stalled Hollows - disorganization in their ranks. Until the time someone presents a working organization model for them, I see not problem with that explanation.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Well, if nobody has any objections, I'll go ahead and put Arianna in the registry later today.

[Tebryn]

Originally Posted by Frozen_Feet

That's the canonical name and best description of what they do. What would you suggest? "Order of Eibon" is flavorful, but doesn't sound like something a military Division would officially call itself.

To give a rough real world analogy: medics are made to swear the Hippocratic Oath, but instead of being "Order of Hippocrates", any real world medical company is just a medical company. I have no other gripes with your write-up, again, it's just a naming issue. Gotei is a military force, and military forces tend to have blunt informative names for their departments. Even the canon follows this, with each Division being called either by a number or their function. ("Kido Corps" doesn't leave much room for guessing, for example.)

Actually....to give a few examples of Military Orders that did call themselves similar things to the Order of Eibon. The Knights Templar. Order of the Dragon. Teutonic Knights. Livonian Brothers of the Sword, Order of Dobrzyń. The list isn't just these. The Order of the Thistle. The list goes on and on. I'm happy to change them to the Sorcerers of Eibon. It's flavorful and it lets people know what they do. But...ya. Historical precedent proves that Military Orders are more than happy to call themselves utterly silly things given the chance. I just don't like the R&D Division. It's so overused and boring and while it sums up some of what they do...who cares? It's still boring.

The Canon follows this because Tite Kubo is an utter moron when it comes to more or less anything involving anything.

As gadgety as Mayuri and Urahara. The guys who have:

1. Designed Gigais
2. Designed artificial souls.
3. Made artificial souls into pretty candies due to customer demands.
4. Created working regeneration serum
5. Turned his hand into a wire-guided missile/grappling hook thing.
6. Hidden a kusari-gama in a headress.
7. Made an opposite sex clone of themselves.
8. Created various nasty toxins.
9. Place antidotes for said toxins inside said clone.
10. Created a reality-distorting orb.
11. Created special gauntlets for fighting Aizen.
12. Placed said reality-distorting orb inside someone's soul.
13. Experimented on Hollowfication serum.
14. Invented inflatable dummy Gigai to serve as a combat decoy.

Hint: the answer is "very".

Good to know.

[DiscipleofBob]

So if we have about six captains, three of which have Bankai, and maybe a handful of Vice-Captains who are close to that level...

If a Captain with some of his better officers at least stand a chance against Segunda Etapa, then that's at least reasonable.

I'd say, no more than three Arrancar capable of Segunda Etapa. (We've got two out of three already, I'll probably scrap Victor Vicente as a candidate for SE. Doesn't make much sense with him.) Besides them, maybe four to seven who could be considered Espada level. There's still Fraccion to consider, roughly 3-4 per Espada-level Arrancar and up, but those guys are usually weak enough that a seated officer could at least pose a threat. Then an indeterminate amount of the lesser hollow classes that is still about double the amount of basic shinigami. Does that sound about right?

That's still more than enough to utterly wipe out Soul Society should they get their act together, but as was stated, that's probably the only thing keeping Soul Society alive at this point.

I'd personally argue the bit about canon Arrancar power-levels, but that's kind of getting off-topic for now.

As for the Hollow Organization, Hollows are essentially slightly sentient predators. For the most part, they're feral. They respect power and only power. Also, the powerful a hollow becomes, the more human-like they get all the way to the Arrancar stage. In order for the hollows to be organized, it would take for one extremely powerful arrancar to be able to basically corral the hollows and train them like pack animals. The top brass don't fight each other because they recognize that even if they won, they might not finish the battle unscathed and then one of their other rivals could finish the job. An Espada's Fraccion is often similarly protected, attacking one of them could be seen as attacking the Espada (though some might care more or less about the condition of their subordinates). The Hollows can only be controlled as long as they don't have to struggle between themselves to survive, so supplies and nourishment must be provided to the Hollows, specifically souls, either from the mortal realm, other less important hollows, or an attack on Soul Society. As for why they attacked Seireitei, perhaps the top brass needed more souls to feed their troops, so the whole thing was a raid. Perhaps the top brass of the Arrancar were aware that Seireitei had diminished in strength in recent years, and attempted to exploit it. Maybe even the reason they didn't push the attack is because they don't want to exhaust their new food source too quickly.

Re: Eiko: Honestly a better villain than my submission, Victor Vicente, but that could still kind of work. I intended VV to be more of a face-villain, someone who gets offed early because the real leader is too smart to join the front lines so quickly. The only thing is that Nyorai is still kind of unfinished, what with no Segunda Etapa to go over and review. A few criticisms though: his attacks all have kind of specific weaknesses that could be easily exploited. Klesa-mara relies on the opponent's psychological state and whether they could confront their own issues, or if the words that appeared would even register. Hell, most hollows and ethically-challenged shinigami probably wouldn't even care. Mrtyu-mara is completely useless against mortal characters. And how exactly does Skandha-mara work? What "five aspects" is it targeting? It's unclear. Also, can't really criticize Segunda Etapa when there isn't any.

As for flavor bits, I'm not sure that many hollows even as Arrancar would adapt Nyorai's philosophical stance. They do still need to eat people, and are probably more concerned with survival and gaining power than the academic pursuits. Similarly, I think your city's going to be pretty barren. There probably won't be that many Arrancar to inhabit it, certainly not enough to form a civilized society. Suggestion: the current write-up of the city is actually Nyorai's goal: to create a world where arrancar actually can become civilized.

Any criticisms involving my two hollow characters? Or have they gotten lost to the pages?

I'm currently coming up with a captain for the R&D Division. Details are to follow, but he won't have Bankai since he has plenty of SCIENCE! to make up for it, and while he'll be well-meaning, he'll definitely be a little screwloose. If you absolutely hate that name, what about the Science & Sorcery Division, or the Science & Magic Division if you want to slip one past the radar? After all, they're more than just Kido and magic users, there are also the researchers, inventors, scientists, etc. I have a few bits to add to the division write-up, but I like what you've got so far. (I see that Soul Eater reference you got there )

[Tebryn]

Originally Posted by DiscipleofBob

I'm currently coming up with a captain for the R&D Division. Details are to follow, but he won't have Bankai since he has plenty of SCIENCE! to make up for it, and while he'll be well-meaning, he'll definitely be a little screwloose. If you absolutely hate that name, what about the Science & Sorcery Division, or the Science & Magic Division if you want to slip one past the radar? After all, they're more than just Kido and magic users, there are also the researchers, inventors, scientists, etc. I have a few bits to add to the division write-up, but I like what you've got so far. (I see that Soul Eater reference you got there )

So...should I just totally delete the history of the "R&D" Division where the Captain is dead then?

[DiscipleofBob]

Originally Posted by Tebryn

So...should I just totally delete the history of the "R&D" Division where the Captain is dead then?

Not at all. My character would be new to the position. It makes perfect sense that the previous Captain only just kicked the proverbial bucket.

[Tebryn]

I'm confused, so he got promoted past Sawada?

[DiscipleofBob]

Originally Posted by Tebryn

I'm confused, so he got promoted past Sawada?

I'm still ironing out the details, but basically I had in mind that he (or she, haven't decided which would better yet) belonged to a different division and was promoted for his/her experience in the science portion of the job while Sawada still focuses on the Kido aspect. Said Captain would also be proficient in Kido, though possibly not as much as Sawada.

Btw, here's some more flavor bits I thought up for the (whatever we're calling it) Division:
(Obviously the name is still pending whatever the final decision is.)


- In order to better protect the various technologies and research of the S&S Division, it's actually spread across Seireitei in various laboratories, warehouses, and vaults, some of which are well hidden. Not even the current Captain knows about every dirty little secret the S&S is hiding. In fact, by this point no one does, and there could very well be some ticking time bombs figuratively speaking hidden around Seireitei.

The Brain Trust
The Brain Trust is a room only the Captain of the Division is allowed access to, and while there are rumors of the Brain Trust within the S&S, knowledge of it is only truly known to the current Captain. Deep underground, not connected to any buildings but the main division laboratories, is an impossibly tall cylindrical room. Despite all logic, there are no signs of its wherabouts on the surface. When the Captain is present, slots in the room open up to reveal row after row of jars with brains suspended in a strange, greyish-green fluid. These brain jars consist of the greatest and most dangerous minds in the history of Seireitei. Many past Captains of the division are stored here. The brains have limited range psychic abilities, and share their vast knowledge with the Captain. A Captain could spend a thousand years in the room and still not be able to process all the information it has to offer, and the information comes in random, sometimes unhelpful jumbles. Included are the various misdeeds of past researchers, covered up conspiracies, and the results of failed experiments. When not needed for other duties, the Captain often spends most of their free time here trying to glean more knowledge, but it comes at a price. The current Captain is often left mentally damaged, due to the conflicting personalities constantly pumping psychic energy into their head. The Brain Trust also provides a dampening psychic field that protects the Captain from possible psychic attacks, and protects the room itself from detection.

The Archive
The S&S has the largest collection of tomes, books, scroll, literature, and knowledge probably in all of eternity, containing works that predate the written word of man, some thought to be lost of all time. Knowledge from lost civilizations all over history of the mortal world as well as Soul Society and some say even Hueco Mundo are gathered here. The Archive itself is completely inaccessible in a hermetically sealed vault, protected by thick layers of the same material that makes up the walls of Seireitei, deep beneath Seireitei the city. In order to access it, members of the S&S Division carry around what look like blank tomes. By whispering the name of the work they want to access, text automatically fills the blank tome from the selected work until the user is done reading. Access is strictly controlled, however, and the tomes seem to recognize whoever is trying to access them and act accordingly. Often the blank receptacles will say a work is not in the collection even when it is, if only due to access restrictions. Even the Captain of the S&S does not have total access to all the works in the Archive, which only makes one wonder: who possibly does?

[Tebryn]

Originally Posted by DiscipleofBob

I'm still ironing out the details, but basically I had in mind that he (or she, haven't decided which would better yet) belonged to a different division and was promoted for his/her experience in the science portion of the job while Sawada still focuses on the Kido aspect. Said Captain would also be proficient in Kido, though possibly not as much as Sawada.

I...don't expect that to sit well with either Sawada or the Division as a whole. To be honest.

Btw, here's some more flavor bits I thought up for the (whatever we're calling it) Division:
(Obviously the name is still pending whatever the final decision is.)


- In order to better protect the various technologies and research of the S&S Division, it's actually spread across Seireitei in various laboratories, warehouses, and vaults, some of which are well hidden. Not even the current Captain knows about every dirty little secret the S&S is hiding. In fact, by this point no one does, and there could very well be some ticking time bombs figuratively speaking hidden around Seireitei.

The Brain Trust
The Brain Trust is a room only the Captain of the Division is allowed access to, and while there are rumors of the Brain Trust within the S&S, knowledge of it is only truly known to the current Captain. Deep underground, not connected to any buildings but the main division laboratories, is an impossibly tall cylindrical room. Despite all logic, there are no signs of its wherabouts on the surface. When the Captain is present, slots in the room open up to reveal row after row of jars with brains suspended in a strange, greyish-green fluid. These brain jars consist of the greatest and most dangerous minds in the history of Seireitei. Many past Captains of the division are stored here. The brains have limited range psychic abilities, and share their vast knowledge with the Captain. A Captain could spend a thousand years in the room and still not be able to process all the information it has to offer, and the information comes in random, sometimes unhelpful jumbles. Included are the various misdeeds of past researchers, covered up conspiracies, and the results of failed experiments. When not needed for other duties, the Captain often spends most of their free time here trying to glean more knowledge, but it comes at a price. The current Captain is often left mentally damaged, due to the conflicting personalities constantly pumping psychic energy into their head. The Brain Trust also provides a dampening psychic field that protects the Captain from possible psychic attacks, and protects the room itself from detection.

The Archive
The S&S has the largest collection of tomes, books, scroll, literature, and knowledge probably in all of eternity, containing works that predate the written word of man, some thought to be lost of all time. Knowledge from lost civilizations all over history of the mortal world as well as Soul Society and some say even Hueco Mundo are gathered here. The Archive itself is completely inaccessible in a hermetically sealed vault, protected by thick layers of the same material that makes up the walls of Seireitei, deep beneath Seireitei the city. In order to access it, members of the S&S Division carry around what look like blank tomes. By whispering the name of the work they want to access, text automatically fills the blank tome from the selected work until the user is done reading. Access is strictly controlled, however, and the tomes seem to recognize whoever is trying to access them and act accordingly. Often the blank receptacles will say a work is not in the collection even when it is, if only due to access restrictions. Even the Captain of the S&S does not have total access to all the works in the Archive, which only makes one wonder: who possibly does?

I am...really not a fan of these. I assumed the Vaults were already scattered around not just Soul Society but the Mortal world as well. The Brain Trust...is way more Sciency than I intended the Division to be on the surface. Think more...Black Science and a focus on Kido over...SCIENCE! with a touch of Wizardry.

[DiscipleofBob]

Originally Posted by Tebryn

I...don't expect that to sit well with either Sawada or the Division as a whole. To be honest.

I am...really not a fan of these. I assumed the Vaults were already scattered around not just Soul Society but the Mortal world as well. The Brain Trust...is way more Sciency than I intended the Division to be on the surface. Think more...Black Science and a focus on Kido over...SCIENCE! with a touch of Wizardry.

As for the name...it's just that. A name. It's been the name of the Division since it's founding long ago at the start of Soul Society. Everyone in game should know that the Order of Eibon is the main research and development section of Soul Society. For players coming in...the OOC is here for questions and players should be willing to say "That character looks like it belong in X". We're already changing things up for new players by not sticking to the Gotei 13 after all. Some explaination is going to be needed. Then there's actually reading the Write up of the Division itself which, if there's any other questions, should be cleared up swiftly. If it it seriously that big a deal, I'll just keep it the R&D Division and....just deal with it I guess.

Sorry, wasn't trying to undo anything you wrote up. I was thinking it'd be more 50/50 Kido/Science. I have absolutely nothing finalized on the Captain character if you'd like to help flesh out the background or just want to veto it altogether. If it's all right, I would still like to keep the mad scientist aspect.

Honestly, and I apologize if this warrants further changes, but I almost think the Kido Division, or Order of Eibon, and the R&D should be different Divisions. They are two very different flavors. That would bring us to 7 Divisions, which I feel is a nice number.

[Tebryn]

Would you like to do the Write up for them? I can just bump Sawada down to an Unseated and we can scrap the whole Captain dying and keep who ever you want to write up as the Captain from the get go.

[DiscipleofBob]

Well, let's see, I've got to redo the write-up for the Combat Division, if I do go with my mad scientist archetype, I'll probably ask that the Kido Division (Order of Eibon if the name sticks) and R&D be separated into two separate divisions. You can keep what you've currently got, and if needed I'll do a separate write-up for R&D.

That is if everyone else is okay with that.

[Tebryn]

I question why we need a Mad Science Division.

Evolved from the esoteric Kido Corps once responsible for dwelling deeper into mystical arts of Kido, R&D has become a much more modern establishment during the last century or so. Okay, so it still has its share of incense-huffing hippies, but they're balanced by a healthy dose of madmen willing to apply the scientific method to everything and anything, morals and ethics be screwed! (Why yes, other Divisions have bit of a dim view of R&D. What hinted you?) They are one of the busiests Division as of now, doing their best to design new arms and armor to be used against them Hollows.

That is what is on the Character Registry. I tried to keep the R&D Division close to that. Maybe it leans a little more on the "Incense Huffing Hippy" aspect but it's still modern. It just doesn't have the MAD SCIENCE Aspect to it.

[DiscipleofBob]

Originally Posted by Tebryn

I question why we need a Mad Science Division.

Because the various technologies that it develops are essential and R&D would be a vital part of any organization. Perhaps not all the science is mad science, but science nontheless.

That is what is on the Character Registry. I tried to keep the R&D Division close to that. Maybe it leans a little more on the "Incense Huffing Hippy" aspect but it's still modern. It just doesn't have the MAD SCIENCE Aspect to it.

It seems you're reading that paragraph and getting the "Kido Incense Huffing Hippies with a slight touch of SCIENCE!" vibe while I'm reading the same paragraph and getting the "SCIENCE! with a slight touch of Kido Incense Huffing Hippies." I think this is the classic conundrum of is your chocolate in my peanut butter or is my peanut butter in my chocolate? Dammit, now I want a Reeses.

[Tebryn]

Couldn't it...be the former rather than the latter?

[DiscipleofBob]

Originally Posted by Tebryn

Couldn't it...be the former rather than the latter?

Why can't it be 50/50?

To me it seems that either of those alternatives leave at least one character archetype out in the cold, unless they're either integrated evenly or separated into different divisions.

[Tebryn]

Because the Order doesn't neglect Science? It's just not got a heavy Mad Science feel? I guess it really doesn't matter. I'll just drop the Order and you can write the R&D Division and I'll keep Sawada as it's Vice Captain. I'll drop the Captain dying to the Hollow Invasion bit too since it's not going to mean much with the changes.

This, I don't have a good suggestion for. I'm waiting for Hollow players to come up with something. However, one thing needs to be decided: why are Hollows acting as one. Remember: Hollows eat each other! They are their own first enemy! Mere hatred against Shinigami would not be enough to cause a mass attack. We don't have Aizen in this game, so who or what made Hollows vanish for 50 years and come back unified?

Eiko posted one.

[Terry576]

I swear to god...

Whoever is playing the R&D captain writes that write-up. Whoever plays the Combat division captain writes that write-up. There is no double duty.

Also, Vicente or whatever was a terrible villain. He was 77 years old and had Segunda Etapa? As in, Ulquiorra quoted saying "hundreds of years of training" Segunda Etapa?

Hahahahaha

[DiscipleofBob]

Originally Posted by Terry576

I swear to god...

Whoever is playing the R&D captain writes that write-up. Whoever plays the Combat division captain writes that write-up. There is no double duty.

Also, Vicente or whatever was a terrible villain. He was 77 years old and had Segunda Etapa? As in, Ulquiorra quoted saying "hundreds of years of training" Segunda Etapa?

Hahahahaha

Master of constructive criticism. Right here.