Gowi — Roleplayer Guild

D I S C O R D
C O L L A B - P A D

This is a conceptual roleplay set in the Naruto Universe within the framework of an alternate universe. 

What this means though, is that for the most part canonical characters and events are absent from this continuity. There is no Naruto Uzumaki, and as a byproduct there are no events surrounding that character and Kishimoto’s original timeline in this roleplay. This allows a fresh interpretation of the base universe, new ideas to flourish without needing to cross reference every specific fact, and of course creates a constantly building continuity as mysteries and legends unfold before our very eyes. This is a role-play that does not exist with official canon, however while this is so events have branched similarly to some effect. Core characters from aforementioned official canon have been removed from play but their clans continue to be shaped similarly.

Players will begin with an academy student in Konohagakure that is awaiting the results of the genin exams. This is, in part, due to my belief of what Naruto is about as a setting. Basically, I believe at the heart of it that Naruto is about the character's growth as a genin, the camaraderie they create with their friends, the bonds that deepen through experience, and ultimately the path they take. So all CS’s should be marked “genin” level unless you are applying for a jonin-sensei. Players are encouraged to have as many characters as they can handle, but remember quality-over-quantity as well as to be mindful of many characters. I would personally prefer players to have no more than three characters at the start.

With that said, the RP itself will be as equally plot and narrative-driven as it will be character-driven. I take influence centrally from the first Naruto series in this regard. Character development is central to a good story and at the root of it this is just another collaborative story loosely based on the Naruto setting. I will explain more when the OOC goes up in the subsequent weeks, but I wanted to get our momentum going early. If you have questions, concerns, threats, or thoughts it would be apt to voice them!

Otsutsuki Hagoromo, the Sage of the Six Paths, and the prophet of ninshu. 

It is said as the offspring of Otsutsuki Kaguya that the enlightenment of chakra gave him understanding that no other man could comprehend and is the one who repurposed mundane thieves, monks, and ronin into one entity. The places he visited were said to be the ancestral beginnings of the great ninja nations of modern day. Hagoromo however, despite his complex understanding of chakra and ninshu theory he never found the time or vitality to continue his line as such the Otsutsuki Clan would die with Hagoromo, but to that point there was also sort of men that he would call his children— his ten disciples; one of which that would continue the teachings of ninshu whilst the other nine would meet a fate that nobody could perceive: the biju.

The origin of the biju (or tailed beasts) is something deeply rooted into shinobi mythology and are important in conjunction with the early stories revolving around the prophet of the shinobi arts, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo. Various sources cite the biju as beings sent to punish man for trying to challenge the gods while others claim they were always a natural force in the world. Whichever the case, the Sage and his disciples set out to bring peace to the realm and many of them were sacrificed to stop the world from collapsing from the sheer power of the biju. It is said that the sage himself died alongside nine of his disciples against the biju. The canonical and literal aspect of this story is unknown and it has many interpretations, but it is the foundation for all “fairytales” of the biju that are used to scare young shinobi into behaving properly. 

The one surviving disciple, continued to instruct until he too died which decades after his death brought forth the shinobi era.

Also known as the “Warring States Period”, the Konton Period was established following the disappearance and speculated death of Otsutsuki Hagoromo’s sole surviving disciple and the last known ninshu Sage, Tsuchigumo Musashi. After sixty-three years of spreading the ninshu philosophy, teaching the basis of chakra, developing kenjutsu, and forging a variety of swords a loss was felt when Musashi vanished; a disappearance that made many people believe he had passed on. Outside of his teachings (and the teachings of his master), Musashi only left two legacies— his clan and his legendary shinobi swords.

The Tscuhigumo Clan’s temple on Mount Katsuragi and village that would in time become known as Yamagakure would become meccas for the Ninshu faithful— and as Musashi was known as a philosopher, prophet, disciple, and swordsmith it would in time lead many shinobi to travel to the locations for a variety of reasons. However, despite what was to come the Tscuhigumo Clan refused to be loyal to a daimyo or interact in any war; devoted to the beliefs of their founder. 

Beyond the Tsuchuigumo Clan and the Swords of Musashi was the legacy of his teachings amongst three cultural factions— the monks, samurai, and shinobi. Outside of the monks, the factions would find themselves in a completive society where minor lords and people with power needed quick solutions to their problems. This would lead to infighting amongst shinobi clans and rivalries between the samurai clans and for several hundreds of years this continued constantly as a statement of humanity’s sins and false sense of virtue. This would continue until four individuals came to prominence amongst the shinobi in the realm that had become known as “The Land of Fire” following a conquest by the Hono Dynasty. These shinobi would lead to the centralization of the village that was renamed Konohagakure following the end of their rivalries and the rest would shortly become history. 

These shinobi— Senju Idarama, Uchiha Ranmaru, Hyuga Takahiro, and Sarutobi Ujimasa— would set a precedent for the future.

Known as the current era (CE), the Fukugen Period, was established with the foundation of the major shinobi villages and their alliances within the elemental nations they called home. 

The era has been for the most part defined as a time of restoration, change, and rebirth following the devastating warring states era that defined not only the shinobi world but the imperial world as well. Unfortunately, it seems the Fukugen Period is more than willing to repeat the mistakes of it’s predecessor. For the last several years, Konohagakure has been in a tense peace resulting from the peace accords signed by the major shinobi nations— though this hardly is absolute as other major conflicts are beginning to take shape that could bring another great war. It is here in the one hundred and twelfth year of this era that Konohagakure struggles with maintaining neutrality when rivals, enemies, and even allies alike are beginning to see how much they can encroach on before Konoha joins the conflicts outright.

What does the future have in store for the world?

◈ Summer, 112 CE 
Present Date. 

◈ Summer, 112 CE 
Sarutobi Shinichi dies in his sleep, taken by old age; the Elder Council begin talks of his replacement before in the succeeding weeks coming to a decision. Hyuga Tsugumi is elected, she is the youngest Hokage in the history of the village. 

◈ Winter, 112 CE 
Shimogakure supports the claim of Yuki Hideki to restore the Land of Frost despite the province being held by the Land of Lightning. Despite being grounds for war, Daimyo Yamazaki Tadanobu knowing full well of his father’s mistakes in the previous war, decides to hire a missing-nin group to solve the problem for him rather than risk Kumogakure’s shinobi or his own personal army. 

◈ Spring, 110 CE 
Jashinism replaces Ninshu as the dominant philosophy and religion in Yugakure, a sentiment that caused religious extremists to spread in the northern regions. A small neighboring shinobi village, Otogakure, rejects this violent change which ultimately starts a war between the Rice Daimyo and the Hot Water Daimyo.

◈ Winter, 109 CE 
The Water Daimyo, Mikami Yasunari, begins to distrust Kirigakure after a violent coup d’état occurs on the previous Mizukage and thus ending the reign of the “Bloody Mist”. Following the successful appointment of Hozuki Chigetsu as the new Mizukage, Lord Yasunari appoints his most loyal retainer (Yuki Izanami) as a personal envoy and representative to operate in Kirigakure. In turn, Kirigakure begins to believe the Mikami Dynasty doesn’t have their best interests at heart and distrusts them. 

◈ Winter, 107 CE 
Uzushiogakure is attacked by a powerful group of unknown shinobi— the Uzumaki Clan’s blood paints the halls of the village’s shrine and home. There are survivors, but the blow sets a dangerous precedent. Senju Midori flees Uzushiogakure and returns to Konohagakure with her surviving children, fearful for a second attack. 

◈ Autumn, 101 CE 
Following the accords, the Elder Council of Konohagakure looks to begin rebuilding by electing a new Hokage to succeed the late Uchiha Kazunari. They look to revitalize and choose father of Sarutobi Atsuo, Shinichi, a veteran statesman and diplomat to lead the village forward. He accepts.

◈ Summer, 101 CE 
Daimyo Hiryu Yoshiyuki of the Land of Fire and others sign an agreement that ultimately becomes known as a set of peace accords that end the conflicts between Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure. This becomes known as the end of the Shinobi Great War following the defeat of Kumogakure at the hands of the ruthless tactics of Kirigakure. As a result of the end of the violent conflicts ending several lands result to isolationist or classist policies to protect themselves as they look for ways to defend themselves in the future from external hostilities and insurrection. Some nations are critically damaged and their infrastructure crippled. Rebuilding begins. 

◈ Spring, 101 CE 
A violent and bloody spring occurs at what becomes the tail-end of the war— Konoha continues to be the epicenter of the conflicts:

The Day of the Fallen Leaves — Due to their involvement in defending Sunagakure and The Land of Fire, Konohagakure is brutally attacked in a massive shinobi raid led by Iwagakure’s most notable ANBU operative, Bushou Eikichi. Eikichi’s tactical strike team assault the village just before the break of dawn with information that the village’s central threats are away in Kirigakure, Kusagakure, and Sunagakure thus leaving the Village Hidden in the Leaves an “easy” target. Konohagakure’s losses are high and the battle becomes iconic when the Hokage, Uchiha Kazunari, faces off with Eikichi himself. Eikichi uses his mastery of the Eight Gates to eliminate the Hokage and several key targets but ultimately dies when he unlocks the final gate of his technique.

The Night of the Red Dunes — As the majority of jonin and ANBU operatives are assigned to the capital of The Land of Wind, Sunagakure is attacked by the lead ANBU operative of Iwagakure, Kurai Heishi, with a strike team similar in composition of the one sent to Konohagakure. The elderly Kazekage, Chikamatsu Kazuhiza, personally dies on the frontlines while several academy students and non-shinobi flee. Kurai Heishi orders his “face card” (Kamizuru Shigeru) as well as his ANBU partner (Bushou Youki) to headline the assault whilst he personally flanked the village at their shinobi academy. Shigeru is killed in the process. By the time of battle’s end Bushou Youki orders a retreat after Shigeru and many others are killed in the battle. Heishi is presumed dead.

The Assault of the Storm Fleet — A joint task force organized between Kirigakure and Konohagakure to be the critical point of pushing Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning’s fleet out of The Land of Water. Utilizing the natural current of the winds of the sea and shinobi mastery of wind and fire release, Kirigakure’s lead tactician and kenjutsu specialist (Uzumaki Seijuro) utilizes a ruse to cover up a massive fire attack on the Storm Fleet. With total cooperative and cohesion among the task force, history remembers Kumogakure’s critical loss at this battle— and the burning ships that sunk in the shadow of a full moon.

◈ Autumn, 91 CE 
Kirigakure calls on a treaty signed by the Land of Fire and Konohagakure for them to join them in defending their lands against the invasion headed by Kumogakure. Refusing to break a treaty, this puts The Land of Fire as the epicenter of conflict and divides them between two fronts— defending Sunagakure/Wind and Kirigakure/Water. It will in time prove to be a costly mistake.

◈ Spring, 87 CE 
Conflicts continue after a few years of peace when Iwagakure is ordered to attack Sunagakure assets to force the Land of Wind’s hand— Daimyo Ishigaki Daisuke claims it is simply an acquisition of territory that belongs to them that had wrongly been held by its rivals for several decades. This becomes known as one half of a Great Shinobi War after the Land of Lightning invades the Land of Water in the same year.

◈ Spring, 84 CE 
After living a rough life, Yamanaka Inoiko passes on— the injuries sustained from the battles against the Land of Iron proving too much to bear. She is succeeded by an ex-ANBU shinobi by the name of Uchiha Kazunari.

◈ Winter, 84 CE 
Konohagakure and its allies defeat The Land of Iron’s invasion of The Land of Fire— The Land of Iron’s large amount of assets gained during its conquest are liberated and the nation goes into isolationist exile. Unbenowst to the rest of the world, afterward in reaction to the daimyo’s failure he is executed by his lead samurai, Ketsueki Tetsuo.

◈ Spring, 63 CE 
The Land of Iron invades The Land of Fire.

◈ Autumn, 61 CE 
Hyuga Takahiro dies from a plague that infests Konohagakure during an uneventful harvest season— his successor, Yamanaka Inoiko begins to centralize the medical-nin of the village in hopes to come to a solution before the plague kills half of the village and the coming winter kills the other half. This eventually culminates in the foundation of Konoha’s medical shinobi corps and the earliest construction of Konohagakure Hospital.

◈ Winter, 51 CE 
During a harsh winter, the Land of Iron invades the smaller nations in the northern regions in a swift tactical attack meant to precede a larger conquest.

◈ Spring, 44 CE 
The leader of the Kokushibyo, Fuma Utamaro, is killed by a task force from Kohonagakure and the loyal retainers of the Hono dynasty. The Hiryu Dynasty becomes the new leaders of the Land of Fire.

◈ Spring, 39 CE 
A group of nomadic shinobi form a group called the Kokushibyo, intent on capitalizing on the comfortability of the shinobi nations that formed with ruthless opportunism. In their first act they murder the Fire Daimyo, Hono Irasaki, and occupy his palace. This begins a small number of informal conflicts. They become an inspiration to missing-nin and nomadic shinobi alike who wish to bring back the warring states era.

◈ Summer, 34 CE 
Senju Idarama dies in his sleep after fighting a severe illness for several months— his chosen successor, a close friend from the Hyuga Clan looks to expanding the village given the several decades of peace granted. 

◈ Autumn, 11 CE 
The last of the conflict following the “kage decree” and the new foundation of relations between shinobi and daimyo occurs.

◈ Winter, 3 CE 
The Hokage defers to diplomacy over fighting more pointless wars and incorporates the rival villages into Konohagakure— The Aburame, Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka clans become prominent members of Konohagakure and for the Land of Fire, the conflict ends.

◈ Autumn, 1 CE 
Fueled by opposing the “kage decree”, chaos ensues the lands as every shinobi village attempt to align with the elemental kingdoms of their namesake bringing many years of infighting amongst minor villages. 

◈ Winter, 1 CE 
Konohagakure is officially established, even though the village’s existence had existed in some form beforehand during the Warring States era known as the Konton Period. This ushers in a new era of stability as shinobi villages begin a healthy unified relationship with the daimyo of their lands. The first Hokage, Senju Idarama, looks toward the new era with a weary but hopeful outlook.

Senju Idarama, Shodai Hokage (1 - 34)
Hyuga Takahiro, Nidaime Hokage (34 - 61)
Yamanaka Inoiko, Sandaime Hokage (61 - 84)
Uchiha Kazunari, Yondaime Hokage (84 - 101)
Sarutobi Shinichi, Godaime Hokage (101 - 112)
Hyuga Tsugumi, Rokudaime Hokage (112 - Present)

Konohagakure is one of the oldest shinobi villages in the known world and it continues to be one of the largest to this day despite the struggles it has endured throughout history. 

Konohagakure has an erratic history and a storied reputation, one that has led the founding clans to strengthen their bonds and techniques as they work towards ensuring the safety and survival of the village no matter what the consequences end up being. The leading government of the village is a council led by clan elders— specifically that of the Senju, Uchiha, Sarutobi, and Hyuga being the highest on the pecking order of Konohagakure’s long list of noble shinobi clans with the greatest of influence and power. Above the council is the Hokage, whom of which serves as the face of the village though is not completely autonomous in power due to the council’s democratic weight and influence.

The council of elders is currently made up of several noteworthy individuals who have in recent seasons taken up an approach to the state of the realm as a telltale sign that reinforcement of borders, expansion of their presence, and punishment of their enemies is necessary. With the passing of the former Hokage they deem this as an opportunity to remind Konohagakure’s citizens what exactly the Will of Fire means.

Kazekage: Shirogane Hitachi, Age 66
Mizukage: Hozuki Chigetsu, Age 32
Raikage: Chinoike Kaitaro, Age 47
Tsuchikage: Bushou Youki, Age 50

Earth: Ishigaki Daigo, Age 61
Fire: Hiryu Yoshiyuki, Age 69
Frost: Yuki Hideki, Age 32
Grass: Aihara Yusaku, Age 55
Hot Water: Okubo Jotaro, Age 34
Iron: Ketsueki Tetsuo, Age 68 (believed to be Yashin Akihito)
Lightning: Yamazaki Tadanobu, Age 30
Rivers: Kawaguchi Itoku, Age 39
Rice: Muratagi Ryoji, Age 47
Water: Mikami Yasunari, Age 83
Wind: Sabaku Takakura, Age 71

Since the end of the Great Shinobi War eleven years ago, The Great Shinobi Nations have carried on after licking their wounds. Ultimately, villages like Kumogakure and Kirigakure contended with vicious infighting whilst villages like Sunagakure and Iwagakure looked to restore and rebuild— their infrastructure and hierarchy damaged from the war itself. 

However, the true victims of the war and its aftermath were not the great nations themselves but the smaller ones that had found themselves caught in the middle due to minor alliances or failed attempts to be neutral parties entirely. A sentiment that has grown unease in the western regions (within villages such as Kusagakure, Takigakure, Amegakure, and Ishigakure) and has slowly created a distrust between the common folk and the shinobi/daimyo hierarchy that rules over them.

Character creation is limited, but still inclusive.

What this means is I will be accounting for depth, characterization, motives, and capabilities of the character extensively to see if they are appropriate for the vision and tone of the RP— the process will be more critical on characters with higher ranks within their village’s hierarchy. 

Players are expected to create characters that are reasonable in design. Given that the average age of a academy student is around eleven to twelve years of age I will be looking at how the character comes off. Given that this is an anime-based RP there will be a lot of suspension of belief, of course, but ultimately we have to remember that these to-be genin are still children. They may know the violence they are preparing to involve themselves in as a shinobi, but they have not experienced what is going to be their reality. The moderation staff will be looking at CS applications on a moderate level— I don’t want to be over-firm but I don’t want to be overtly accepting everything that might not jive with me to make face. 

In the interest of narrowing things down at least a little to start off, there should also be some ground rules set about Nature Transformations. If you've taken the time to glance over the character sheet by now, you'll see that there's a "Chakra Nature" section. While not necessarily explicitly spelled out there, we're going to hope you have the better judgement to have one chakra affinity, barring some really convincing arguments to the contrary. So, what does that mean for your jutsu list? Well, as a genin, there's a good chance that any chakra using an elemental nature are going to be done using the chakra affinity outlined in the sheet. That being said, in the genin's quest for self-improvement, there is always the chance that they can dip outside of their affinity and become more versatile as a result. Bonus points given if your genin actually learns something from their sensei rather than some sort of vague self-study course.

As long as your CS is reasonable or can be justified you'll likely do fine.

Oh, one more thing: just for semantics and people not pining over google for hours or even a few minutes— genin height should be in the ball park of 4’9”, if you want a shorter genin they’d likely be under that by only a few steps and vice versa for taller genin. So basically if you make a genin who is six foot even I am going to hurt you.

I’m going to be honest, despite the flexibility I offer within characterization there are limits to it. Unless I have had an in-depth conversation with you that leads to me approving a controversial or powerful affinity, technique, or bloodline you are going to get a no. This applies to certain high-level jutsu, jinchuriki, custom kekkei genkai, sage abilities, overpowered curse seals, and so forth. There are only a few exceptions to this restriction but unless you have a good argument or long-term plan I would highly suggest you forget about it.

Body Flicker
Chidori
Edo Tensei
Eight Gates
Mangekyo Sharingan: Kamui
Non-Summoning, Space–Time Ninjutsu
Rinnegan

Jugo
Namikaze [GM only]
Otsutsuki

Masashi Kishimoto is a creative individual who has throughout the publication of Naruto created an extensive list of jutsu of varying levels of power that in a RP could be frankly bullshit. But unlike other Naruto RP’s I will be clear and say sometimes bullshit is okay— if it’s approvable bullshit with a merit to the story progression or character depth. A genin with abilities that can rival a Kage or Sage? Not at all likely. But given the nuances of prodigies, fools, and kunoichi there is a lot of room for margin of suspension of belief. Even in the canon’s earliest (and most sane) moments, we had characters straight out of the academy who had skills/affinities/talents their teammates didn’t.

For example— Sasuke had a variety of techniques that were beyond “Academy Techniques” as he was not only talented but from a prominent clan with various affinities. Sakura had chakra control down so well she could walk up trees whereas her comrades couldn’t. Naruto utilized creative jutsu like his perverse twisting of the transformation technique. If we keep this in mind during character creation we can create clever and dynamic characters that make sense but even more than that are fun to interact with because everyone has their own niche.

How does this apply to “approvable bullshit”? 

That’s a large question— but use your imagination in the character creation process, talk to me and your peers, and see what works and what doesn’t. Hell, if you’re a player I know really well that might not even be necessary. Academy Students should have all academy techniques (or presumption knowledge of them) listed in their E Rank hider. Beyond that they should have 2-3 D Rank abilities, and 1-2 C Rank abilities. If you have a good argument for one more then make it in PM or notation; elsewise this is fairly concrete. Presuming I accept chunin (and jonin) the scale would increase.

Non-canon (aka Custom Jutsu) should be written in with rough description of a fundamental definition, weakness, and general mechanic.

The writing level I expect is somewhere around medium expectations (high school-level equivalent). This means comprehensive understanding of basic grammar and spelling is expected, characterization is important, narrative is important, and detail behind those are appreciated. I’d want maybe two paragraphs as a rule, though if it fits a post that there is enough to respond to and react with in one paragraph than that’s fine, but one-liner’s will definitely be off-base. Keep with the fluidity and enjoy yourself; though quality posts don’t have to be textbooks and I severely doubt I will require a “novel”-esque post. 

A good guideline is this quotation that I adhere to for my own posts:

“Advanced roleplaying should focus on developing interesting and complex characters that become part of plot-lines which catch the imagination and inspire the writer behind them to exercise creativity. It is mature, humorous, imaginative, tragic, terrifying, passionate, and rife with descriptive language and characters with real personality and relatable cares. Quality posting is far better than needless novels, yet one should never neglect detail when one feels the need. However, while word and paragraph requirements ought to be unnecessary, single paragraphs cannot contain enough detail to suffice.”

With that said, I will not be putting posts under extreme analysis nor will I be inciting a “word count”. So just use your personal judgment and we’ll be awesome.

Rule number zero of my perspective is pretty simple; don’t test my patience or be a irredeemable jerk. 

Generally, the idea here is a simplified version of any sort of rules since we are “veteran” members of RPG and we pretty much know the big rules— follow the host site’s rules, communicate, collaborate, and don’t be antagonistic towards others or at the very least keep the toxicity to a bare minimum. Playful banter and crass jokes are one thing; but actively making somebody feel unwelcome is another one entirely. There is a difference between being blunt and being tactless. 

Within the framework of the RP we know that communication is very important, so we should consider a few things in the regard of IC interaction. I will not tolerate sentiments such as “figure out how to defeat my character on your own” as sometimes characterization is above the player’s own ability; so if somebody PMs or opens a discussion about wondering how to defeat your character, help them if it is a good story hook or adds depths to an arc. Though with that said, don’t metagame; even if you know the weaknesses understand your characters own ability as well as what would be best for the story.

Despite Naruto traditionally having an amalgam of modern technologies and feudal Japan framework, this is not how I see Saisei. Perhaps this comes from my study of civilizations and political history, but the short amount of time (even with chakra science) I takes for these kind of advances to occur is ridiculous to me. So due to this, Saisei is still for the most part feudal in terms of technology and cultural advancements despite a longer period than canon occurring between the Sage of Six Paths and the present timeline. 

So no newsletters, computers, and so forth. Books are fine, though.

Post your CS in the OOC as per the template. The staff will review it. I will tell you to put it in the CHAR tab if acceptable. Profit.

If you want to play a jonin-sensei drop the GM team a line (that means PM) as well. I do not want to play every jonin-sensei in existence. I have other RPs.

Potential chunin slots will open when a story can be worked out for them and after genin squads are sorted out.
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