WIP

Naruto Mass Isekai 3rd RP OOCOP

[center][h3][b][color=f7941d]An Isekai Upon This Land of Accursed Tropes[/color][/b][/h3][/center]
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It started, as many such tales tend to, with a crash. More specifically, the sort of crash that results when one decides to introduce a fleshy unsuspecting human and a high-speed construct of metal into the same general area. The sort of crash that results when a roller coaster doesn’t get as much maintenance as it should. Or when Truck-kun or Ambulance-kun decided today was your lucky day! This was, needless to say, neither pleasant or painless as far as ways to go for you.

Not for any of you.

Yet, without warning, you soon find your drifting, disembodied soul pulled into a space between spaces, a mysterious goddess -introducing herself only as “Kami”- beseeching your group of misfortunate souls, taken before your time, for aid in saving her world. Unfortunately, she has little to offer you, she claims, in terms of rewards other than the chance to live again (which some might say is a pretty good deal all on its own).

Kami tells your disembodied souls a tale of woe, of a terrible future gone mad, as the natural course of Fate and Destiny was suddenly and mysteriously twisted into an warped mess. She is unable to perceive the cause, nor oppose it directly. According to her, divine treaties presently prohibit the gods from interfering overtly in the mortal plane; yet, what is occurring now, she suspects, can only be the work of another of her kind breaking the covenant. Because of that, she now has a bit of room to work with.

Which is where you come in.

Kami presents herself as the Lifegiver, the master of the Wheel of Reincarnation and the flow of souls. Through this, though she cannot strike living beings in the world dead directly, she has the capacity to incarnate souls into new bodies. Even under the divine treaty, she has retained this much authority to interfere with the world, according to her natural role. Once a soul enters her realm, she has free reign, and she's prepared to reincarnate all of you into her world with your past life memories intact, hoping your presence can disrupt whatever terrible plans may be afoot for her realm.

Naturally, questions are asked by several, and thankfully, Kami had some answers to give. She is able to describe her world and some of the recent events that have occurred on its surface, and upon her doing so, several of you certainly don't fail to notice how familiar it sounds. Kami cheerfully explains that such knowledge is exactly why she has chosen you, knowing that most of you have a rough idea of how things should have been destined to go in the future... and subsequently will be some of the best to identify what is wrong where Kami's clouded sight cannot.

For those that think to ask, Kami provides that she can at least catalyze a reincarnation into a specific family or bloodline; though, she can only do so within a certain reason and only after a certain point in time, unable to precede the Nine Tails attack on Konoha. For those that care less, Kami promises to reincarnate them as close together as she can arrange, so that her champions can most easily unite. Any questions about incarnation into new bodies are rebuffed gently but firmly. Your old bodies are dead, and -more importantly- lack the local chakra systems. The best way to acquire the local tools to survive is to start from the ground up.

And so it would be that for those that heard Kami's plea and chose to accept, you awaken soon after in the body of a wailing infant, a bright and dangerous new world laid out before you to flourish in... should you be up to surviving it.

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[center][h3][b][color=00aeef]INFORMATIONAL[/color][/b][/h3][/center]

In summary, potential players, what you are looking at is a Naruto Mass-Isekai, as a group of unwitting reincarnates soon come to find that the world they might have first assumed was canon... has been warped into something one might define as a "Bad Fanfic abomination", rife with exploitable tropes and fanon. The world's Fate and Narrative sport grave wounds, as the future twists under the machinations of an unknown overarching threat.

Tonally speaking, this RP is potentially to have a few dark or possibly disturbing and/or mature themes, especially several themes that are rather unnerving if you remove them from the vacuum of an eye-rolling "bad fanfic" and actually had to deal with them in reality (if you've had any experience with Naruto fanfiction, you can probably guess what I mean). That's not to say there's isn't room for humor, of course, but the tone of the world definitely leans more to the serious than comedy. Essentially, we aren't writing crack here, and the world won't generally respond amiably if it isn't taken seriously. In fact, in a sense, you could say the world takes itself too seriously in general, deliberately evoking cringe edginess in accordance with the corruption caused by Bad Fanfic Tropes.

This is functionally an open-world sandbox, where the endgame is shaped by the actions of the PCs. To help facilitate the feel of a "collaborative story", players are given a lot more control over the world than you might normally expect, able to create or manipulate NPCs and be the direct cause of major events (within a certain reason). This structure is largely to take much of the burden of micromanaging such an expansive world off myself and allow things to flow more smoothly, without a single poster (myself) being the crux of interactions with the world. Of course, there's limits, and important NPCs, like the Third Hokage, notable villains and most named characters, are generally the domain of only GMs to portray unless permitted otherwise.

Speaking of GMs, knowing myself as I do, I know my muse is a fickle creature, and it's not guaranteed that my inspiration will hold completely steady at all times, which could lead to unfortunate and undesirable delays. To mitigate this, I'm in the market for some co-GMs to help run important NPCs and plan world events. If my muse takes me elsewhere or IRL otherwise drains me too much to write, I'd like to have backups that can keep things ticking in the meanwhile.

If you are totally new or otherwise inexperienced with the Naruto fandom, don't feel afraid to join anyway. Playing a reincarnate without metaknowledge or localized savvy is perfectly viable too and adds some extra flavor to the cast. This RP concept welcomes all comers, so don't be afraid to ask questions if you need any quick or dirty lore drops to help participate.

If all that sounds like a good deal to you, here's some more details on how I hope for this to work.

[hider=Rules]
1.) Cooperative storytelling comes first. Above all else, in concept, this RP is preferably more of a collaborative story than it is a proper RP. Everyone has the freedom to do their own thing, but they should at least make it interesting and be aware of how their actions might affect other players' enjoyment. At least, that's how I'd like it to work, but only time will tell.

2.) I won't tell you not to power-game within the bounds of reason, as this setting's power system is rather... flexible at the upper levels. Powerful characters will be permitted. Of course, you need to justify the growth of that power sufficiently IC, but generally speaking "overpowered" isn't a taboo concept, given the party's primary enemy. You just have to work for it, and make sure it's interesting. Be aware that the world won't just roll over for the PCs by default the way it would for a normal "bad fanfic" protagonist; while the PCs have meta-knowledge advantages, they don't innately have fate on their side. Play stupid games and win stupid prizes.

3.) Due to the interesting way I want to run this, I actually intend to give players a lot more freedom than the usual fair, even to the point of allowing limited control of NPCs. As long as they are unimportant, no-name or original entities, you largely have free reign as long as you give me a heads up first before introducing a new notable NPC. Allowing players this sort of control takes much of the burden off me having to run such a massive/expansive world. Beyond that, however, leave the results of actions open ended unless given the go-ahead otherwise. Basically, (if it comes up) no auto-hits/dodges against other players or powerful NPCs unless it's already been hashed out OOC. While you can't just go out and control or kill important figures (like Danzo, for example), to random civilians on the street or nameless OC shinobi, you have permission to do whatever... within reason. I'll generally try to leave this up to participant's best judgement, but don't abuse the privilege; the power of hard retcon can and will be used to retroactively nullify anything that steps over the line.

4.) Meta-gaming is discouraged. While the OCs are (unless you choose otherwise) assumed to have at least some level of meta awareness of the Naruto setting, they shouldn't be magical mind-readers, able to adjust themselves to dialogue they shouldn't be aware of, like thoughts or events they didn't personally witness/experience.

5.) Keep it cordial OOC. Nothing complicated.

6.) I generally expect a certain level of writing to help with immersion and legibility for fellow participants. As such, preferred post length is 2-3 multi-sentence paragraphs, but longer posts are encouraged and welcome. That said, a shorter post is better than no post at all, just as long as it moves your character along and responds appropriately to the most critical IC stimuli. At absolute minimum, however, a single multi-paragraph post should be expected to respond sufficiently. In short, avoid one-liner posts or long walls of text.

7.) GM's ruling is final, but that goes without saying. I hope to not need to exercise that much, but the biggest thing I will control wholly is what tropes and world-building the setting has been warped by. Anything that would have major or disruptive setting implications needs to go through me first before being approved.

8.) I won't make any particular posting speed requirements, as in my personal experience, the "obligation factor" has the capacity to damage motivation severely. I'll simply ask participants to try to respect their fellow writers by not leaving them hanging where possible or finding a way to narratively disengage the interaction so things aren't deadlocked if you need to take a hiatus. In short, at least trying to wrap up an existing interaction, no matter how abruptly, before dipping.
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[hider=Tropes]
A trope as is relevant to this RP is a specific common narrative theme or occurrence, identified and isolated from the story itself. What is defined as a trope is determined by its presence in the relevant media. It's a replication of a narrative tool or warp slotted into other stories. Tropes are effectively storytelling tools, defined by how commonly they appear, sort of like a meme but in a narrative sense.

It's like "this isn't even my final form" is a trope across ridiculous amounts of fiction, expressed any time the seemingly defeated final boss (or protagonist) reveals another power/transformation under their sleeve. That's a trope.

If you read a ton of Naruto (or any fandom's) fanfics and then sat down and listed out several things you read that remained present across all -or many- of those stories, those things would likely be tropes. Like "pink banshee" Sakura, asshole/"hnn" Sasuke, Naruto getting banished, everyone and their grandma going out of their way to use Japanese honorifics, insults or attack names (often badly translated).

You can create your own tropes, of course, but if you're struggling to understand the concept, here's some examples to hopefully get across what I mean. Though, to preface, it should be noted, that many tropes require a certain amount of foundation or particular circumstances to acquire and can't just be chosen like picking a new spell in a video game.
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[*][b]Crystal Memory:[/b] Flexible and subjective to the series being used for the insert, this is the trope of the reincarnate/insert somehow always retaining perfect -or at least nearly so- memory of their metaknowledge and past life, unaffected by time and what should be the natural degradation of memories.

[*][b]Fandom Omniscience:[/b] Much like Crystal Memory but [i]much bigger[/i]. Rather than the author setting the insert's knowledge at a certain level and leaving it there regardless of developments outside the story to the lore, this plays out almost like the character can effectively just read/watch the manga/series/wiki in their head. Basically, the author probably has those open in another tab.

[*][b]Chakra Awareness:[/b] A classic that manifests in various ways. The trope is that some excuse is made why the MC should be aware of their chakra more keenly than the average person. Usually, this is played out as a hyper-awareness of what they simply didn't have before reincarnating, with chakra basically being a brand new limb that they can't manage to ignore, suddenly being filled and surrounded by it.

[*][b]Early/Stress Induced Bloodline:[/b] The trope of the MC awakening a hidden or condition-gated bloodline due to "exceptional" or stressful circumstances. This trope is usually accompanied by a certain amount of "fudging" the requirements for awakening that certain bloodlines possess.

[*][b]Yin Chakra Imbalance:[/b] Being a reincarnate, with memories of being an adult naturally shifts the chakra balance of these individuals more towards Yin, the spiritual component, than Yang (the physical component) at the moment of birth. This makes them more proficient in techniques that rely more on the spiritual or mind component such as Genjutsu at the expense of having less than average proficiency in pure physical Taijutsu.

[*][b]Unwavering Precision:[/b] Usually a trope with the prerequisite of starting with low chakra reserves. Normally high chakra reserves mean more waste and a harder time with control in casting techniques, and low reserves generally mean the reverse. With this trope, the MC will always maintain the same insane precision they had when they had little to work with, even after they build up their reserves by various or sudden means. Usually, no matter what it is, they never have trouble maintaining their proficiency, almost like they maxed of chakra control as a video game skill.
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As far as character sheets go, these may start off fairly basic, but they should be expected to be updated many times as things progress, accounting for any developments to the characters brought about by the IC. I've done my best to cover what should be necessary without bogging things down, but if there's anything in this template you think I've missed that would be particularly important, let me know. I'm absolutely open to potential improvements.

[hider=Character Sheet Template]
[b]Name:[/b] The name they were given upon their rebirth (though, you can include their past name too).
[b]Titles:[/b] Includes any nicknames they acquire due to their actions, along with their shinobi rank (if acquired).
[b]Gender:[/b] Self-explanatory.
[b]Age:[/b] Self-explanatory. Starts at 0. Update as needed.
[b]Affiliation:[/b] List out any factions they might be a part of (village, clan, etc).
[b]Physical Description:[/b] You can stick with something basic if you like. An image header is an acceptable substitute for this section. There's no particular need to match an image to their age starting out; you can use a FC that depicts how they will most likely grow up too.

[b]Personality:[/b] Self-explanatory, but as a guideline? Try the Kakashi method. Likes, dislikes and dreams for the future. It doesn't have to be in-depth, but at least provide a basic grasp of who the character is. Fair warning, Kami's domain of souls mean she has seen everything about these potential "heroes", and in the pursuit of not actively making the world worse, she will not have provided this rebirth opportunity to anyone that would clearly abuse it and her world for unrepentant evil. Basically, no effectively Chaotic Evil alignments.

[b]Short Biography:[/b] This can be as basic as you like, but it should effectively be a short, clear summary of who the character was in their past mundane life. And it should mention what circumstances they've been reborn into in this new world and life. It should also mention briefly how familiar the PC was with the Naruto world/series prior to being reborn.

[b]Inventory:[/b] What possessions are important to your character? This can include what they have on them and what they simply have available as an easy asset at home or the like. Most likely starts empty. This would include any weapons, sealing scrolls, tools or other materials they have of particular note.
[list]
[*]Holder:
[/list]

[b]Skills:[/b] Both mundane and ninja, update this growing arsenal as needed. You can include skills from your past life, which may potentially provide unique advantages; though, naturally, those skills should be entirely mundane, since your past life lacked any supernatural aspects.
[list]
[*]Holder:
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[b]Tropes:[/b] These are special advantages, unique to this world. They are notably distinct from regular skills and are more like "inherent advantages" or "cheats". It encompasses the act of taking advantage of the warps in reality known as "fanfic tropes". When you have successfully done so, a trope should be added to the list you have acquired. You might start out with a trope or two under your belt right out the gate, depending on your circumstances.
[list]
[*]None.
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[b]Chakra Affinity:[/b] Your chakra affinity is inherent at birth and starts predetermined, allowing you to learn and use jutsu of that type more easily. Given that it's a natural inclination, it's not normally possible to expand your chakra affinity with training, even if you can use other jutsu types, so only one or two elements are usually natural for you. If you're part of a particular bloodline, you may have an additional affinity common amongst your clan.
[list]
[*]Holder:
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[b]Bloodline Limit:[/b] This encompasses any genetically inherited abilities you might have, including the Sharingan, Byakugan, Uzumaki bloodline, Ice Release and Bone Release, amongst many others. These abilities (and the jutsu they often allow) are usually completely unique to your lineage and cannot be replicated even by bloodlines that have the capacity. As far as what to put here, list any bloodline limit you have along with all derivative abilities and jutsu, keeping the latter separate from your main jutsu list. Any clan-unique jutsu -otherwise known as Hiden Jutsu- should go here as well, even if there aren't (technically speaking) derived from and dependent on a bloodline limit to function, like Akimichi and Nara.
[list]
[*]Holder:
[/list]

[b]Jutsu:[/b] The bread and butter of the setting, bullshit ninja magic using the cultivated energy of chakra. Update this as you acquire them. Unless allowed otherwise, you should start out with this section empty.
[list]
[*]Holder:
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[b]Current Goals:[/b] Pretty straight-forward. What sort of things are they planning to do with their new life? Optional, but a nice thing to have perhaps; it can help sort of plot out your character's path.
Short Term:
Long Term:

[b]Extra:[/b] Any bonus trivia you feel it might be neat to include could go here in this totally optional section. If you have any music you used as inspiration for character creation or other tunes that serve as themes for them, feel free to include them too.
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(This next section may be subject to change, as I'm still trying to strike a particular balance of progression that hopefully avoids any real focus on "stats" or anything really "gamer-adjacent". So, I might not be fully happy with this yet.)

[hider=Power Progression]
One of the advantages of going fully narrative and starting from zero is that it puts all participants roughly on the same level. No-one starts out overpowered or shining brighter than the rest, and everyone has to work for what they have available at each notable event. You start with (mostly) nothing and have to work for everything, actively writing out how and when you acquired each resource and ability, rather than just throwing out a backstory and claiming you acquired all these [insert assets/powers here] in that time.

The earliest portions of this RP will consist of the PCs growing up, with each year providing them greater and greater capacity to improve themselves across a wide spectrum of possibilities. This "from zero" structure is also meant to help better manage the potential butterflies caused by the PCs actions, but that's a bit of a digression.

As newborn infants, lacking fine control of your bodies or speech. you have very little control in all aspects of your lives, unable to influence the world around you in any meaningful way. There's not much to do except focus inward. To avoid a narrative slog, the earliest years of each PC's life should be possible to summarize in a single post each. That is, from years 0-1, for example, you should be able to succinctly lay out everything you do that year in a single post. That being said, having little else to do can be an advantage for you, being a baby with an adult's mind. Even if the time you can stay awake is limited by your infant body's need to sleep more, the time you spend awake can be used to accomplish one Major Goalpost.

[b]Major Goalposts:[/b] There's only so much time to train, so many paths you can walk. Depending on how wisely you spend that time, you can accomplish greatness. As such, you can describe ways you might be aiming to increase your personal capabilities, and GMs can award you Tropes and Traits accordingly as occasional bonuses. As you grow and become more capable, you'll gain the capacity to better manage your time and take on more paths of training, but starting out, you'll only have the capacity to succeed in one or two goalposts a year. Each year increases what you can accomplish in that timeframe until you eventually reach a point where you are operating in much smaller time increments to accomplish goalposts, like months or weeks.
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