Anyway.
@Everyone: First wave of missions is complete. Y'all have 1-2 weeks to post collabs or single posts of character development while I finish the ball room post.
Q: Transitions?
A: Ask me for it over a PM and I will link it to you. It's a collaborative post between me and Tempest, between Lust and Gluttony, that displays some of the inhuman debauchery, as well as hinting at one of Lust's planned weapons to use against the players. Mind you however, it contains adult content, and while I tried to censor it, no censored version could do it justice, so... If you want to read it, again, PM me, or ask for it over an instant messenger, and I will link it to you. Otherwise, due to the site's rules about adult content, I can't link it directly here or in the IC.
Q: Achievements?
A: This is part of how the system works. Achievements are added bonuses your characters get for doing notable things. Someone with experience and training at stopping blows is more effective at it than someone with just training, for instance.
Q: So how do level-up?
A: Simple formula.
REGULAR TRAITS: Pick 1 new trait, upgrade 1 existing trait. (I will give you the description for the trait you choose to upgrade.)
CUSTOM TRAITS: Create 1 new trait, upgrade 1 existing trait. (This is the only time it will work this way. In level ups after this, it'll be add a new trait OR upgrade an existing one, so keep this in mind.)
ACHIEVEMENTS: To be distributed in this post.
Laenaia:
--Purple Ribbon: You took a hit for Queen and Country, and have learned how to better handle pain. (Minor bonus to dealing with damage, less likely to fall into shock or succumb to injuries.)
--Inspirational Speaker: You've convinced NPC's to do something for you, and as such, you've figured out that talking is sometimes superior to just genocidally killing everything. Neat! (Minor bonus to convincing NPC's to do as you wish.)
Kasim Ambilus:
--Purple Ribbon: You took a hit for Queen and Country, and have learned how to better handle pain. (Minor bonus to dealing with damage, less likely to fall into shock or succumb to injuries.)
--Lucky Ego: You don't care about the odds, you know you see an opportunity, and things line up just the right way to make it happen so you can justify being a braggart... (Minor bonus to spotting opportunities, such as weaknesses in enemies, or holes in the walls, etc.)
Zinnarath "Zin" Corsys:
--Inspirational Speaker: You've convinced NPC's to do something for you, and as such, you've figured out that talking is sometimes superior to just genocidally killing everything. Neat! (Minor bonus to convincing NPC's to do as you wish.)
--Bullshit Detector: "That is not a Ghost! That is an illusion! Also, God is dead, Santa Claus isn't real, the tooth fairy is actually a pedophile, and keep your children away from candy dealers!" Needless to say, you have an uncanny ability to tell when a con artist is performing their trade. (Minor bonus to detecting lies and illusions.)
Draza:
--Inspirational Speaker: You've convinced NPC's to do something for you, and as such, you've figured out that talking is sometimes superior to just genocidally killing everything. Neat! (Minor bonus to convincing NPC's to do as you wish.)
--Bullshit Detector: "That is not a Ghost! That is an illusion! Also, God is dead, Santa Claus isn't real, the tooth fairy is actually a pedophile, and keep your children away from candy dealers!" Needless to say, you have an uncanny ability to tell when a con artist is performing their trade. (Minor bonus to detecting lies and illusions.)
Abida Qisaf:
--Mighty Cleave: "With one great swing the King laid dead, and all his kingdom mourned. With a second great swing, so too did Kyria, and that ended any hope, of a land: Forsworn." Like the mighty Archangel Typhon, you have a potent swing, and put a little more strength into it than most do. (Minor bonus to damage output & armour penetration.)
--Teamwork I: You work well with others, and are growing accustomed to doing so. You have a greater chance of success in any action if you perform it with an ally, rather than alone. (Minor bonus to anything when done with a compatriot, to a reasonable degree.)
Rayvon Krayvitch:
--Purple Ribbon: You took a hit for Queen and Country, and have learned how to better handle pain. (Minor bonus to dealing with damage, less likely to fall into shock or succumb to injuries.)
--Mighty Cleave: "With one great swing the King laid dead, and all his kingdom mourned. With a second great swing, so too did Kyria, and that ended any hope, of a land: Forsworn." Like the mighty Archangel Typhon, you have a potent swing, and put a little more strength into it than most do. (Minor bonus to damage output & armour penetration.)
Maeven Lucre:
--Mechanical Apprentice: After working tirelessly and seeing the fruits of your labour maimed by others, you've found yourself frustrated, but that won't stop you from making the best Mechanist Dragon of all time. Ever. Perhaps the only one of all time, really. (One free upgrade to Fafnir.)
--Playing Possum: You can't kill what you think is already dead, or so you hope. (Minor bonuses to escaping the attention of enemies.)
Aëyr:
--Teamwork I: You work well with others, and are growing accustomed to doing so. You have a greater chance of success in any action if you perform it with an ally, rather than alone. (Minor bonus to anything when done with a compatriot, to a reasonable degree.)
--Sharpshooter: You've become accustomed to aiming, then firing. Nifty. (Minor bonus to accuracy.)
Esyllt Boudica:
--Guardian: When protecting another, you have a greater chance at successfully defending both yourself and the person or thing you are hoping to keep safe. (Minor bonus to defense when guarding someone or something.)
--Golemancy I: After seeing a magnificently sized golem get blown to bits, you have realized that if you can build one, and bring it with you, then you might not have to summon one on the fly, and risk its destruction before it can finish forming. (Can now start a mission with a golem premade. While it has a sustained cost like other golems, it does not continue to drain the user to keep it active.)
Alicia, The Blood Duelist:
--Purple Ribbon: You took a hit for Queen and Country, and have learned how to better handle pain. (Minor bonus to dealing with damage, less likely to fall into shock or succumb to injuries.)
--Counter Strike: You've found that dueling is more effective when you use your dexterity to attack something after it has attempted to hit you. (Minor bonus to hit chance and armour penetration, if countering an attack with another attack.)
Maher Adonai:
--Lucky: You took a guess, and it turned out correct... (Minor bonus to random actions, especially if they take luck.)
--Ghost: Where most took the limelight in one form or another, you stayed back, and while you contributed, you did so in a way that made you less likely to be targeted. You remembered this, and how to do it again... (Minor bonus to not being targeted or noticed by enemies.)
Nadira Adonai:
--Lucky: You took a guess, and it turned out correct... (Minor bonus to random actions, especially if they take luck.)
--Ghost: Where most took the limelight in one form or another, you stayed back, and while you contributed, you did so in a way that made you less likely to be targeted. You remembered this, and how to do it again... (Minor bonus to not being targeted or noticed by enemies.)
Zayn:
--Combat Negotiator: This character has a way with words, and enemies are more likely to listen to pleas for mercy or to stand down. (Minor bonus to convincing enemy NPC's to do as you wish.)
--That's Mine!: Mission important objectives, or just straight up notable and/or powerful items, just seem to fall into this character's lap. (Minor bonus to finding and acquiring items. Enemies also have a subtle tendency to lose theirs around this character.)
Murderok:
--Teamwork I: You work well with others, and are growing accustomed to doing so. You have a greater chance of success in any action if you perform it with an ally, rather than alone. (Minor bonus to anything when done with a compatriot, to a reasonable degree.)
--Lucky: You took a guess, and it turned out correct... (Minor bonus to random actions, especially if they take luck.)
Gryff:
--Teamwork I: You work well with others, and are growing accustomed to doing so. You have a greater chance of success in any action if you perform it with an ally, rather than alone. (Minor bonus to anything when done with a compatriot, to a reasonable degree.)
--Lucky: You took a guess, and it turned out correct... (Minor bonus to random actions, especially if they take luck.)
Andrea Llolth'Allin:
--Purple Ribbon: You took a hit for Queen and Country, and have learned how to better handle pain. (Minor bonus to dealing with damage, less likely to fall into shock or succumb to injuries.)
--Mistress of Webs: You know exactly how to talk to beasts and animals, especially those related to arachnids in one form or another, and can often soothe them through magic. (Minor bonus to soothing animals, and to taking command of arachnids.) (Note: Webs also make for a useful ropes, or handcuffs... :unibrow)
Ceann:
--Purple Ribbon: You took a hit for Queen and Country, and have learned how to better handle pain. (Minor bonus to dealing with damage, less likely to fall into shock or succumb to injuries.)
--Sharpshooter: You've become accustomed to aiming, then firing. Nifty. (Minor bonus to accuracy.)
Naream Baenre:
--Minion Master: You're a craven fellow, but your knowledge of how to command magically created entities is growing. (You know your thresholds: 5 Skeletons, 15 maximum in one mission. They have upkeep: To keep them going past a combat scenario is taxing on you. Skeletons now have a small chance of having randomly assigned GM bonuses.)
--Purple Ribbon: You took a hit for Queen and Country, and have learned how to better handle pain. (Minor bonus to dealing with damage, less likely to fall into shock or succumb to injuries.)
Aslo:
--Counter Strike: You've found that dueling is more effective when you use your dexterity to attack something after it has attempted to hit you. (Minor bonus to hit chance and armour penetration, if countering an attack with another attack.)
--Lucky: You took a guess, and it turned out correct... (Minor bonus to random actions, especially if they take luck.)
Mars:
--Weaponized Stick: You're particularly good at taking everyday objects or pieces of nature and turning them into horrifying weapons. Booze? Flammable! Sticks? Stabbable! Boring politicians? Perfect for annoying neighbours! (Minor bonus to improvised tools and weapons.)
--Teamwork I: You work well with others, and are growing accustomed to doing so. You have a greater chance of success in any action if you perform it with an ally, rather than alone. (Minor bonus to anything when done with a compatriot, to a reasonable degree.)
*Note 1: Everyone on the Raven's Inn mission got Lucky. Gryff and Murderok had nothing else applicable, while Aslo, Maher, and Nadira all did indeed take lucky guesses in their actions. (That the poison would work at the right dosage, that the Adonai twins picked the right disarming code.) I figured it was a flexible enough trait to apply mission-wide in the absence of other things I could provide. The next wave of missions are longer, so, don't be surprised if this sort of thing doesn't happen again.
*Note 2: Some of you might notice "unique" achievements. Some characters needed a little bit of extra love, due to their uncanny nature system-wise. Their traits are no stronger than yours, and even if they were, that would be properly accounted for.
*Note 3: Traits do "level" if you repeatedly get them. So if you repeatedly acquire Purple Ribbon, it'll upgrade to Purple Heart, Purple Medal, and so on, and the bonus will stack up over time.
*Note 4: AOE abilities like Guardian and Teamwork I do stack, but become less effective with each additional one added to the pile. So attempting to "mass stack" guardian to become invincible, for instance, doesn't work, but having more than one on a team is not a waste.
Starting with the opening to the Ball, your characters may begin to gain "contacts." These are characters who you've developed relationships with, that may drop in to help you in one way or another during your missions. You may even be able to win over some of them to stand by you permanently in missions, or otherwise, though the stronger the character is, the harder this is to achieve.
Contacts will also play a role in certain missions in the future: If you have a contact the Princess of Liveria for instance, she might send elite Witch Hunters to help you quell a small cult from creating a demon gateway early in the invasion.
Basically: The more you talk with people and develop actual meaningful relationships of some type, the more likely they are to help you in the future.
As always if you need anything at all: Collaborative posts, questions answered, etc, just ask. I will be around on Steam and Skype. Also, in two weeks, I'll have five days vacation (technically three days + a weekend.) So if you want to get any massive character developments done but are afraid it might take too much time, don't worry, soon I'll have so much time I won't even know what the hell to do with myself.
As for those waiting on The Last Bastion, I need to pay my rent this month and pick up a new transit pass, but I should have at least a small morsel up pushing us towards a proper ending to those missions soon, so that upgrades akin to these can appear in TLB's system.
Good luck, and have fun, everyone.
Oh, and yes, this does mean that the normal posting order rule is abolished until the Ball starts. Post as many times as you like, within reason. (Don't spam my IC but, you get the general idea.)
