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[i]The world is a safe place.

What, you thought I'd say dangerous? Hell no, not when we've got [b]heroes[/b] running around.

I mean sure, there are monsters and demons and natural disasters and heart disease, but I'm sure it's like that in every world! What I mean is we never face any apocalyptic threats. Prophecies of the end times, visions of demonic conquest, they're all thwarted by our beautiful and powerful Goddess, thanks to her[/i][color=E589C3]「[/color][i]Heroic Selection Odyssey.[/i][color=E589C3]」[/color]

[i]Actually the HSO is coming up pretty soon, ain't it? Yeah, every hundred years or so she emerges from Agartha to awaken that heroic spark in people and get them on board to travel the world and help their fellow man. They say the best of these fledgling heroes goes on to stop whatever the next world-ending disaster would have been. Buuut the way I see it, the reason everyone aims for the top spot isn't for the chance to get their name in the history books. Nah, it's gotta be pure [b]greed.[/b] 

I mean, getting rich from adventuring? Having kingdoms indebted to you? Building your own harem of followers?
[color=E589C3][b]Getting your deepest wish granted by the Goddess herself?[/b][/color]

Who [b]wouldn't[/b] fight for that?[/i]

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[center]And the protagonist of this story, this century's greatest hero? Why, it's...

[table][row][cell][/cell][cell][color=tomato]"Me!"[/color][/cell][cell][color=orchid]"Me!"[/color][/cell][cell][color=6ecff6]"Me!"[/color][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][/table][h3][i]"Me!"[/i][/h3][/center]

[hr]
What is this, you ask? Hey, good question, I wanna know too! What I think it is, is a casual fantasy RP with a low pressure OOC atmosphere, with several players taking the role of "heroes" of the land and all writing with the mindset that [i]their character is the [b]protagonist[/b] of the story.[/i]

Explore a shared setting where anyone can contribute to the world map and lore, develop evolving power paths for your character, and hopefully have fun writing a hero who gives in to their greed in order to become the best among their peers! It's my intent to also explore other facets of a hero's personality besides their drive to do good, so all characters will have a secondary, personal goal to chase besides becoming the legendary hero of their generation.

✽ [b]Collect Hero Points (HP)[/b]
[indent]The Heroic Selection Odyssey is part life's calling and part competition. Clearing dungeons, defeating monsters, helping villagers with quests, swaying the hearts of the people to your side, and doing all kinds of good deeds will earn your character HP - Hero Points! HP is a rough measure of how strong (or more accurately, how heroic) a hero is. At the end of the HSO, the character who has the highest HP value becomes the next [i]Legendary Hero![/i] Taking the top spot is also a sure fire way to fulfill a character's greatest desires, so aim high! ★[/indent]
✽ [b]Player vs Player vs Environment[/b]
[indent]Playing against the GM is not the only way to gain HP. Heroes will be able to see how much HP other heroes have, which they can use to decide to avoid, team up with, or even challenge another character. To promote the most growth of the powers of her heroes, the Goddess incentivizes duels between them. Characters can steal HP from each other by defeating each other in combat, games, races, quests, or any other type of competition one can think of. Don't worry, hitting zero HP does not take anyone out of the running![/indent]
✽ [b]Rival System[/b]
[indent]Because what is a protagonist without their rival, after all? Especially useful if a character is falling behind, declaring a rival and outperforming them nets bonus HP! The farther behind a hero is, the more bonus HP they get for beating their rival! Rivals do not have to be mutually exclusive, and they can change over time. If you're too shy to pick a fellow player as your rival, then just ask me for one! I will create an NPC rival for you to fight and bond with! [s]Until their usefulness has passed and I cruelly throw them into the void of character development![/s][/indent]
The vibe of this RP is intended to lean more towards lighthearted action and a fun, somewhat goofy atmosphere that follows characters with big personalities while they get stronger and stronger. However, anyone that knows me also knows that I love whump and angst, so no promises that it won't start veering into that direction if character arcs warrant it. In particular, heroes [i]do not have to be typically heroic[/i]. A "hero" is anyone whose power was awakened by the Goddess - a scumbag of a person can become a hero, and they can commit villainous acts and chase dark desires, but only doing good deeds will give them HP... unless they end up challenging other heroes to try and steal HP from them instead.


[hr][right][h3]✽ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙚𝙨. 𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡.[/h3][/right]
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[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3BzWE68L94[/youtube]

[hr][hr][hr] 

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⫸ [b]Start with your power concept! Heroes awaken with one power.[/b]
[indent][indent][color=lightgray]Choose one starting power that you will have the most fun with, ideally one that doesn't overlap too much with another character's starting power. Starting powers level up with the accumulation of HP, gaining additional applications. For example, the ability to control flame might level up to include [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/648dab5b7dcc.gif]fire-based flight[/url], or pave the way for obtaining other elemental abilities. 

A character's powers don't necessarily have to reflect their past or personality, especially once they start evolving. As powers grow they might start overlapping with others, but its alright if power paths are similar, so don't worry about planning a path ahead of time. Also, at this time there is no ban on potential powers. Feel free to choose things like necromancy, time control, mental manipulation, etc. if you have a solid concept - it will start weak, and we'll work together to make it fair for everyone. Also feel free to get weird with it if you come up with something fun.

Every character's power comes from their Heroic Awakening. World magic and racial traits are very minor. Being connected to the bloodline of past heroes can give a character other weak inherited traits, but only insofar that they might be a little tougher, swim a little faster, or be a little more tolerant of the cold than your average joe, but they hardly give anyone an edge over fellow heroes.

Oh, I almost forgot! Make sure to give your power a proper name/title![/color][/indent][/indent]

⫸ [b]Give in to your greed! Choose your character's desire.[/b]
[indent][indent][color=lightgray]Heroic Awakening does not just result the emergence of powers in people. Without exception, every Heroic Awakening also sparks an intense [i]desire[/i] deep in each new hero's heart. It can be noble or wicked, specific or vague, something they've already been working towards, something they never knew they wanted before, or something they've tried to deny about themselves. Whatever their desire is, it now sits at the front of their thoughts. It would help to choose something they cannot easily obtain. Becoming the top hero in the HSO might just be the quickest way to get it, so make sure your character has at least some drive to compete. That is kinda the whole point of the game, after all. Selfishly go for the goal![/color][/indent][/indent]

⫸ [b]Now let's see what we're working with physically. Age, gender, race...[/b] 
[indent][indent][color=lightgray]Heroic Awakening is triggered by the Goddess' ascent to the world above, and only then. This means that when it happens, heroes awaken at whatever stage of life they're in, young or old. There isn't any age minimum or maximum besides being a little reasonable when creating your character. However, I'm not against pitches for Super Infant or Great Battle Granny. The Goddess also does not discriminate based on gender, sex, or race. The jury's still out on whether or not she direct chooses who awakens in the first place or if it's completely random, given there are so many who awaken during each Odyssey cycle. 

This is a fantasy world! Feel free to go with something other than human. As of now there is no official list of race options, so pick whatever you like or come up with something new and we'll incorporate it into the (minimal) world lore. 

Awakening does not change the awakened's appearance, save for one thing: a symbol will appear in the center of each new hero's forehead. Called the Goddess Eye, this mark is said to be the way that she sees everything her heroes achieve in order to reward them. It also enables each hero to get a rough estimate of their comrades' and rivals' HP. The basic mark is red-orange and [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/f8dab1039aae.png]simple[/url], but if you're so inclined feel free to go with another interpretation. It's not that unusual for heroes to have Goddess Eyes of different shapes and colors, even with many detailed parts, though all are vaguely recognizable as eyes.[/color][/indent][/indent]

⫸
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⫸ [b].[/b]
[indent][indent][color=lightgray].[/color][/indent][/indent]

[hr] 
When you're finished, write your character concept down in a character sheet! It can be as simple or as fancy as you want! You can also include as much extra information as you want, just be sure to include everything from the creation guide. 
Here's a super basic sheet with the minimum required information!

[quote]Name:
Age:
Gender: 
Appearance:
Before Awakening:
Desire:
Power Path:[/quote]