[@UberBlutwurst] Hiya! Good to see ya!

[quote=@Dud]I'd assume we're expected to each catch more than one mushimon? [/quote]I think yes. There are two types of catchable creatures: the average critters that naturally inhabit the plane-between-worlds, and the Ancient Monsters of Godly Origin. You'll need a small army of average critters (who can be pretty tuff in their own right) to weaken the Ancient Monsters of Godly Origin enough to seal them up.

[quote]Will we all be human?  I mean, we'll be technically undead (reliving?), but will species play a part too?[/quote]Everyone shall be human. Just from personal experience, all the RPs I've had where different/unusual species were allowed were the very same RPs that died the quickest. I will go ahead and blame the weird species, haha. But also, it's one less thing I'll have to keep track of, so it's a selfish preference.

[quote]Will the characters remember their pasts?  Will they still live at home, with the spouse and kids, eating dinner with them every night, but maybe on a special diet of ethereal essences?  Or will it be a top secret government conspiracy, giving everyone new identities and sticking them in a sort of witness protection?[/quote]The characters will remember their pasts, but they probably will be brought back to life far away from home -- geographically and/or chronologically. The group that brings them back from the dead will probably try to keep their identities as secret as possible, especially from anyone who might recognize that they had died. You guys want code names, like the X-Men? Totally doable. But to answer the question, no, they will not be able to continue their old lives. They're welcome to try, but in that case I will be forced to wave my magic GM wand of doom.

[quote]How many evil factions will there be?  Obviously there will be other groups, guarding shards and whatever temples they're housed in, like you said.  You mentioned various cults cropping up over the years; is there one unified front attempting to obtain the pieces of the dead god, or various groups at war with each other to see who can rule the world first?  That could be neat.[/quote]There is one unified group whose goal is to find and unify the pieces of the dead god (otherwise herein known as the Ancient Monsters of Godly Origin). This singular group is responsible for the hell that is befalling civilization. You bring up an interesting idea, though -- perhaps a few of the other cults have come to an agreement that this unified organization is running against their interests -- and although these cults are generally bad news for most people, they're also fighting against the Big Bad. Dilemmas abound!

I need to come up with solid names for all this, probably by directly ripping off Lord Dunsany for a lot of it. Will keep you guys updated.