Lugubrious

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

Alright, I have something new to posit. But before that I want to seriously question the necessity of 'where is everyone right now and what are they doing because I don't want to read the IC' table. I think my quote just there pretty much sums up what I think of it. And now to the new thing: I'm thinking of involving a Bonus system for character upgrades. Sure, the first round of small things, like adding a sight to a weapon or replacing one that got broken or making a new bit of armor, would be free. But after that, it makes sense to me that substantial upgrades ought to be earned. And the way I'm thinking of doing this is this: More challenges and contests! And few to none of them IC! Let me explain this using my first idea as an example. Let's say I want to create a team of seniors at Beacon that are basically the A-team, a bunch of powerful dudes/gals who're ready to graduate and could rock a Riesen no problem. I would ask everyone interesting in having some creative fun (and earning Bonuses) to create a new character with certain themes in mind, like "theme: beast" and "character must be human". Some sheets would get posted, I'd be all subjective, and the winner gets a OOC Bonus that allows their IC character to make a big upgrade in Armory class. Such a upgrade might be something like a poison-breathing mechanical mouth on your shield, special dust shells to use in your tank, or an alternate form for a weapon already owned. I'd probably also allow advances in Semblance, where a user discovers a new and lucrative depth to their Semblance they've never been able to coax out before. There would also be challenges like 'write in five hundred words a brief story about your character finding his way through a maze and battling guards' and "work with someone else to exchange characters and write a five-hundred word short story from their character's perspective". I've set up a tally vote on the conference document for this purpose. Please take a side; I expect to see twenty-seven votes within the next few days. Just write your username or a comment or "+1". Thank you for hearing me out!

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

@Awesomo actually, you wouldn't notice this unless you've been reading the OOC like crazy, but nobody's in a uniform let. They haven't been issued. Also, none of the students except Sarina know anything about team BAST. I figure most everyone wouldn't care too much about a couple of late arrivals. Let's see about getting this lunch segment wrapped up, people. BAST, grab some food and get going.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

@Loki, if they have prior experience and the teacher's help, it might be doable in a single class. To a student with limited experience, it might be more arduous. Ah, Seven. I've seen you watching this place for a day or two now. It is not necessary to submit a sheet before being put on the waiting list, but I'm fully supportive of anyone who does.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

Missions happen on Fridays IC. We've still got a solid day of classes left before we maybe skip to Friday.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

Thanks for the insight, Forsythe. That's a badass teacher, Narc. Post him into the Characters tab. If you feel up to it, Kaithas, sure.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

That was not very constructive criticism, Scarf.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

@Forsythe, they are NPCs. We don't spend much time with them, we don't develop them, and we generally spend less overall effort on them. But, by having a sheet, we have a reference to all the information we might need about a teacher, and by having only one person play him or her, that person is free of worrying about someone else portraying inaccuracies, and is also free to play with other ways of making a character, and an adult at that. I thought it could be both fun and informative. Coincidentally, from your suggestion on the Doc I feel as if you'd make an excellent Peter Port. You've certainly been doing a good job posting lately, so I'd be more than willing to let you have this high-profile slot. The way each class will work is simply that the person playing the teacher will lead it, and the other people in that class will interact with one another, and not anyone else. Basically we're splitting into groups again, but this time we have more people. Naturally, there need be no sort of collaboration, simple play-by-post format will do just fine. @Kaithas, go ahead and put Ryou in the characters tab and I'll officially link him up. I might recommend using some spacing and bolds in your sheet to make it pop a little more though. And having a 'specialty' section is just fine, we know that Oobleck and Port fight, for instance, and I filled one out for Fullbuster. @Krayzikk, I would be happy if you were to make a sheet for and then play the teacher of Music. You can of course recycle Polyhymnia or create a new Music teacher of your own device. @Mamasushi, While I'd be glad to have you, we have no current spots available. As record-breaking as it might be, I'm not overmuch inclined to start planning for an 8th team, but I'll put you down on the waiting list. If you like, you can put down your sheet on this OOC for appraisal by everyone. If you can think of some sort of special, non-team slot (Like Shadowkiller's Sarina Tala Dei, a teacher's aide) for your character, let me know. @Harine, out of curiosity, wasn't it you who originated the idea of a Practice teacher?

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

I look forward to seeing your sheets. ....aaand BAST is good to go.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

After hearing Shiro's commiserating, Abel gulped down a mouthful of saucy lettuce and ham and flashed him a smile. Among Abel's many expressions, gratefulness was an unfamiliar sight on his face, as evidenced by the slightly-goofy exaggeration to the curvature of his mouth, but it was genuine. “He reached for his milk carton and took a big drink. The sudden flash and aggressive spitting noise surging from Gren's oil fire caught him off guard, and he reflexively leaned back. Mercifully, he managed to avoid sputtering any cow juice down the front of his exquisite blue jacket. “Might be a good idea,” he admitted after the orc finished speaking. “Robert was kinda weedy, though. Don't know if he'd enjoy a good steak.” He straightened up until he was at his full height, and briefly scanned the cafeteria for a tussock of pink hair. When in a few moments he spotted its owner, Abel frowned; Robert stood near his table, angrily addressing a girl Abel could only identify as Priscilla's opponent. Though the dull roar of the throng of students obscured his words, his attitude was plainly discernible from the look on his face. “Now might not be a good time for Robert,” he advised as he sat down. “He's having girl problems of some sort or another.” Immediately upon returning to a sitting position, he noticed that he and Gren were alone. The furry white ears of Shiro had apparently vacated the premises while the guardian had been searching for his sparring partner. “Where...?” A loud clatter answered his question. Abel's eyes widened in disbelief as he spotted Shiro perched upon a table a few spaces over, menaced by none other than his own team's leader. He was struck by conflicting anger and embarrassment for his teammates. In his eyes, the cat really shouldn't have made such a scene of himself, but at the same time if he wanted to do it, he should be able to do so without nearly getting his arteries slit by the person in charge of him. As it was, Abel simply sat, eyebrows compressed, lips slightly peeled back, and teeth shut tight in a look of consternation. He happened to meet the eyes of a slender, black-haired, bow-wearing girl not far off who shared a similar expression. Clearly the guardian wasn't the only one that Shiro's stunt made embarrassed for his sake. What surprised him more was when someone took Shiro up on his offer. Striding toward SASG's table came a cloaked kid in deep red with a mat of dark hair on a mostly-shaved head. Sapphire's opponent he recalled. Was that why she had been with him instead of her own team? Abel flinched when Shiro pointed out his table, but came up with a casual wave. His attention was diverted by the arrival of Indigo and his questions. “Yep, Abel. Nice t'meet you two. Steak?” Abel was determined to keep the situation from becoming awkward. -=-=- Ozpin paced back and forth, deep in thought. Comparatively, Ms. Goodwitch was a statue, though her emerald-green eyes held even more of a critical note then usual. They were focused on the four young people standing in front of her, probing them, analyzing them, even the one scantily clad. This continued for a few moments, before Ozpin made up his mind and turned. “Amaranth Desire, Benjamin Lloyd, Sangue Naga, Trad Oak. It is not lightly that I've made this decision. Ten days ago, the four of you were washouts. There are those who pass the entrance exams for Beacon, and there are those who failed. You failed to make the cut.” A tense moment passed. The expression on Ozpin's face softened ever-so-slightly. “But that didn't stop you. Beacon or no, the four of you banded together, and two nights ago you did something that puts most of the events of the initiation ceremonies to shame. You rushed to the site of the reported Grimm attack, saved dozens of civilians, and held off the uprising of Grimm long enough for team CPLT and the VPD to show up and take over. A heroic act even for seniors, and here you are.” "That is why you four are hereby admitted to Beacon Academy as Team BAST, led by Benjamin Lloyd, who I believe acted as leader during the incident anyway. You've been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here. Do not make my disappointed in my choice to bend the rules. Lunch is underway, so head inside and have a meal before your lives as students of Beacon truly begin. Dismissed.” Goodwitch watched them go. “This is a bad idea,” she declared as the door to the dimly-lit office closed. “A self-proclaimed hero, a snake, a slacker, and a hussy, who happened to be in the right place at the right time. We have entrance exams for a reason!” Ozpin breathed in and out, readjusting his glasses. He tapped the edge of his desk with his cane. “Yes. It is time to see if they are accurate.”

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

Speaking of armory, I made a weapon O:-)

Lore

Long Range Dust Launcher - Blitzkrieg: Portable ballista reloaded from a magazine. Similar to a crossbow in function, it actually lacks the prod. Instead it has two separate, solid arms mounted on torsion springs to provide the force to eject the arrow. The front is fitted with a laser sight, flashlight and a bayonet for close range. The weapon is fitted with a scope that allows for precision firing up to 500 meters away and hitting the target reliably up to 750. It is capable of taking gravity loaded cartridges with 5 bolts each. The torsion springs are primed using an electric motor, taking power from the main dust battery that also powers the rest of the electronics. The folding stock can hold four pieces of ready ammunition. The ammunition is a chapter of it’s own. The bolts are composed of two pieces, the body and the tip. Opal can use either capsule tips for impact fuse dust rounds or poison, and metal tips for piercing effect. The main body can also hold a dust ampule for delayed fuse rounds. To fit the cartridges and barrel, the bolts are made with discarding sabot. Furthermore, Opal has special types of ammo, such as grappling hook, signal flare or a short range cylindrical canister.

@Forsythe

That is seriously badass! What program is that!?