Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
Champions of Order and ChaosALWAYS ACCEPTING NEW PLAYERS!(But please, no more Fire-types until further notice!)GM(s) – Ampharos
Co-GM(s) – None
Pictured: The Gods of Time and Space alongside the mythical Temporal Tower."Ten thousand years ago, our world came to a tragic end. We do not know what happened or why it happened, but we refer to this apocalyptic event as the Great Cataclysm. Whatever the Great Cataclysm was, it caused the planet to stop spinning, and ultimately, one half to burn and the other to freeze. The side that burned, the one facing the sun, became an inhospitable desert. Meanwhile, the side that froze, the one facing away from the sun, became an arctic wasteland. Only narrow strips of land in between the two sides remained habitable. They were close enough to the sun to feel its warmth but far enough away to not cook beneath it. In the present day, civilization has returned to the world, surviving where it can. Ground-types, Rock-types, and Steel-types dominate what is now the Inferno Desert, and Dark-types, Ghost-types, Water-types and Ice-types rule the land now known as the Eternal Tundra. Meanwhile, Grass-types, Bug-types, Poison-types, and even Normal-types have managed to survive in the collection of hamlets, villages, and even prospering cities located in the habitable zones, known colloquially as the Eastern Dawn and the Western Dusk." - Kulero, the Great Seer
The StoryWhat if one day you woke up and you were a Pokémon? You awaken in a strange new world with new memory of who you are, where you are, or how you got here. All you really know for sure is your name, that you were once human, and that you now inhabit the body of a Pokémon. You do not know it yet, but you are to become one of a handful of champions summoned to this world by the Great Seer. As the Greet Seer will tell you, there is an empire deep below the surface that has uncovered the device that caused the Great Cataclysm ten thousand years ago. The emperor and his generals intend to activate this device and use it to take over the surface world! However, something is missing, something that is stopping them from following through with this plan. Thus, your goal will be to recover both the device and the mysterious key to activating it so that the Great Seer might find a way to harness its power to reverse the effects of the Great Cataclysm, ending a ten thousand year era of darkness!
As the player, you will be part of a fantasy adventure game with the added twist of playing as a Pokémon! You will have the traditional tabletop experience, but instead of knights and mages fighting dragons, you will be Charmander or Pikachu fighting Kyogre, God of the Sea. I am looking for a medium-sized cast of dedicated players who are interested in both group adventures and solo adventures that revolve around fighting legendary Pokémon, uncovering lost treasures, and of course, saving the world! I am especially keen on accepting players with experience with casual and high-casual games that are willing to see this game through as long as they are able. If interested, please read through the rules and fill out the character sheet below! Thanks for reading!
The WorldThe Great Cataclysm that occurred ten thousand years ago caused the planet to stop spinning. Subsequently, half of the world burned, and the other half froze. Meanwhile, the oceans of the world were pulled to the North Pole and South Pole, creating one large ocean at the top of the world and another at the bottom of the world. By extension, there exists one large super-continent at Earth’s equator, similar to a large rubber band wrapped around the planet’s center. The inhabitants of the world refer to the half of the world that faces the sun as the Inferno Desert and the half of the world that faces away from the sun as the Eternal Tundra. Likewise, the ocean at the North Pole is known as the Northern Ocean, and the Ocean at the South Pole is known as the Southern Ocean. Then, two habitable zones between the Inferno Desert and the Eternal Tundra are known as the Eastern Dawn and Western Dusk.
Scholars think that the Great Cataclysm was a tidal locking event where the planet’s rotation became equal to the time it takes to revolve around the sun, and thus, one side of the planet always faces the sun and the other side always faces away, the same way that there are a near-side and far-side of the moon. In addition to the elimination of the day-night cycle caused by one side always facing the sun, the cycle of the seasons has also ended, probably because of an unknown shift in the planet’s positioning within the solar system.
Mechanics of the GameWe will use a system that is a combination between traditional casual games and tabletop games. For the most part, you will be free to determine your course of action and how you interact with the world around you. However, when you are adventuring or interacting with important NPCs, you will attempt your actions and then the GM will roll to see what happens. Likewise, when battling PCs and important NPCs, the GM will determine whether or not your attacks land and what kind of damage is done. The character sheet uses a barebones version of a system called Fate Accelerated (FAE) which will ask you to fill out various attributes about your character that may impact his or her chance at success at certain tasks. Overall, I am attempting a combination of freestyle play and dice, not enough to classify this as a tabletop game but still enough to allow for a more fair and balanced game where your characters do not always succeed at what he or she does.
How Combat WorksSimply state what move you are using and describe yourself attempting to use that move. Then the GM will perform a dice check. If your move is an offensive move, it can hit, miss, become a critical hit, or become a critical failure. Another dice check will be performed if your move hits and has a chance of causing a
status condition or lowering either your or your opponent’s stats in some way. The GM will state what happens, specifying how one or both parties are affected by the attack. If your move is not an offensive move, e.g. stat boosting, then the GM will simply stat the effects of your move on you, your opponent, or both. After this, it will be your opponent’s turn, in which case, he or she attempts to use a move the same way you did.
You and your opponent will go back and forth until one or both parties are defeated.
The GM will determine post order at the start of the battle. Generally, Pokémon of higher level with more points in the "Quick" approach will go before those of lower level and fewer points in the "Quick" approach. If one of the participants chooses to use a priority move, e.g.
Quick Attack, then he or she needs to make this known prior to the start of the turn, either by reserving a post in the IC thread, stating that he or she intends to use a priority move, or by posting in the OOC thread that one is using a priority move. If both participants choose to use priority moves, then the participant with a move of the highest priority goes first. If both moves have the same priority, then traditional post order is maintained.
In general, it's advised that you communicate with both your fellow players and the GMs so that post order is maintained.
If you choose to not use one of your one to four moves, you may use a generic Normal-type move similar to
Tackle. You may choose what kind of generic attack you perform. You may choose to bite, scratch, punch, kick, or otherwise hit the opponent through any available means. At some point in the game, you may acquire various
toss items such as Graveler Rocks or Cacnea Spikes act as long-range generic attacks.
Below is a simplified example of how combat works:
(Again, this is simplified. Posts should generally be a couple paragraphs in length, as per this section's standards.)
GM: Kulero moves first, followed by Ombro.
Kulero: I use Calm Mind!
GM: Kulero raises his Special Attack!
Ombro: I use Hypnosis!
GM: Ombro uses Hypnosis, and Kulero falls asleep!
Kulero: I attempt to wake up and use Psychic!
GM: Kulero is fast asleep!
Ombro: I use Calm Mind!
GM: Ombro raises his Special Attack!
Kulero: I attempt to wake up and use Psychic!
GM: Kulero wakes up and uses Psychic! Kulero hits! It's super effective! Ombro faints!
Here is another example with two teams:
Rules- Please use complete sentences and proper grammar.
- Even in your CS and in the OOC, please write complete thoughts.
- Please be courteous to the GM and your fellow players.
- Please inform us if you need to take a leave of absence.
- If you need to drop out for any reason, please let us know.
- Have fun! You're doing this as a leisure activity, after all!
Character SheetThe character sheet is based on a game called Fate Accelerated and focuses on outlining your character’s personality and quirks. Once you decide on your name, gender, and species, as well as list your species-specific abilities, you will be prompted to come up with a concept, which is somewhat similar to a class and then a trouble, which is a predetermined quirk that you have. Then, you will distribute points to your approaches, or how you typically deal with situations. Finally, you will put together a single sentence stating your level and what moves you presently know, which may be found on your species’ Bulbapedia page. To make things easy, I have provided an example sheet beneath the template.
It should go without saying that your concept, trouble, and approaches should all make sense together. For instance, if your concept is “Lazy Genius” then your trouble shouldn’t be “Highly Unintelligent”. It would likewise make sense for you to have the most points in “Clever” if you are a “Lazy Genius” and few, if any, if you are “Highly Unintelligent”. If you have any issues with this or any questions regarding what makes sense or what doesn’t, please feel free to ask.
Here is a link to
Bulbapedia. Simply search for species' name for information regarding its abilities and moves.
Name: What is your name? In this world, names are fantasy-themed, so consider how names from Dragon Age, Elder Scrolls, and even names from popular tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons, Exalted, Pathfinder, etc, are derived. You may simply create your own names or use a generator like the ones found
here,
here, and
here.
Gender: What is your
gender? Your gender must correspond with your species such that you must be female if you are from a female-only species, male if you are from a male-only species, or genderless if you are from a genderless species.
Species: What is your
species? You may start as any Pokémon that evolves at least once, has not already evolved, and does not have any unusual characteristics that would make it unsuitable for adventuring, e.g. Diglett's inability to leave the ground or Onix's immense size. If you have any questions regarding this, feel free to ask.
Abilities: What are your
abilities? Abilities are powers unique to your species which can be found on your species' Bulbapedia page. If your species has more than one ability, e.g., Eevee with both Adaptability and Runaway, you may start with both. However, you may not start with your species' Hidden Ability, e.g. Eevee with Anticipation.
Concept: What is your concept? Concepts are similar to classes and are short phrases that neatly describe who you are, what you do, and what your "deal" is. Are you the Awkward Heroine, the Idealistic Hero, the Misguided Thief, or maybe even the Jealous Anti-Hero? Please state your concept and then describe what it is and how it effects your character.
Trouble: What is your trouble? Troubles are any kind of personal weakness. Are you Anti-Social, Highly Unintelligent, Extremely Frugal, Quick Tempered, or even a little Maniacally Evil? Please state your trouble and then describe what it and how it effects your character.
Approaches: How will you distribute your approaches? Approaches represent how you accomplish tasks and deal with situations. You have 9 points to distribute among 6 approaches with a maximum of 3 in any single approach to determine how effective you are at each approach.
Careful: You are a cautious individual, making sure that everything is done just right.
Clever: You find crafty solutions to the problems that you face.
Flashy: You are loud and showy, usually to the point of being superfluous.
Forceful: You take everything head-on, overcoming obstacles with brawn over brain.
Quick: You solve your problems as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
Sneaky: You are sly and prefer that people don’t even know you were here.
Stunts: What are your stunts? Stunts refer to your level and the four moves you have available for use. You will write it as a simple sentence: “Because I am a Level N [Species], I know X, Y, and Z moves.” For instance: “Because I am Level 5 Charmander, I know Scratch and Growl.”
You start at Level 5, and know any moves that a Level 5 member of your species should know. You can find out what moves you have available at Bulbapedia. If you belong to a species that does not have any offensive moves at Level 5, e.g. Abra, then the GM will assign you one.
Name: Chavek
Gender: Male
Species: Charmander
Ability: Blaze
Concept: Headstrong Hero – Chavek is a typical hero who will rush into battle to save the damsel in distress. He believes that everybody is worth saving, no matter who they are or what they have done. He also believes that Pokémon with power have a responsibility to defend those who do not. Therefore, according to him, if a strong Pokémon sees a weak Pokémon in need, then it is the strong Pokémon’s responsibility to help, even if that Pokémon does not get anything in return. Chavek can also be somewhat idealistic, seeing the good in everyone he meets and always giving second chances, even if his decision ends up biting him in the tail.
Trouble: Wildly Reckless – Chavek has a tendency to rush into things without thinking, often at the expense of any kind of forethought or strategy. If he sees a Pokémon in trouble, he will run straight over to help, no matter what other obstacles may be in his way. Likewise, if he sees the light at the end of a dark cave, he will rush towards it, not stopping to consider what possible traps or ambushes may be waiting for him up ahead. His headstrong attitude also makes him somewhat short-tempered, meaning that he is likely to snap at somebody who says something mean and just as likely to fight somebody who challenges him, no matter how much bigger or stronger they might be.
Approaches: 9/9
Careful: 0
Clever: 1
Flashy: 3
Forceful: 3
Quick: 1
Sneaky: 1
Inventory: None
Stunts: “Because I am a Level 5 Charmander, I know Scratch and Growl.”