Stern Algorithm

Mind, Magic, and Monstrosity

"Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered if every star was the hungry eye of some malevolent being? And if this is truly the case, what could we ever do to oppose that legion?"

The world was not always in harmony. Our gods used to quarrel, and we, their worshipers, used to war on their behalf.

The world was not always in chaos. Through the bravery of a small band of heroes, the anger of the gods was quelled and great shrines erected to all six gods so that we may forever recognize their greatness and that they will never want for worshipers. We knew peace for 500 years. The races mingled and traded, and shared in adventure and exploration. Together, we raised the great twin cities, The Bay of Prosperity and The City of Light, so that all our great civilizations would be connected.

Perhaps we will know peace again. Then the Behemoth came, a malevolent star, screaming and burning as it fell into the ocean. The ensuing floods were devastating, but we had dealt with floods before. We were not prepared for what came after. The Behemoth housed monstrous insects, machine men, and specters, yet these, these could be fought with a degree of success. What could not be challenged, however, was the madness. It seized us, struck us down with terror, and turned us. Those who turned called themselves the Pathfinders. As we retreated to strategize a counter attack, the Pathfinders infiltrated. Beyond that...chaos. Reports differ from city to city how they fell. Communication between the great civilizations has been lost, as wave after wave of refugees pour into the City of Light. For twenty years, we have huddled together in fear. Reduced to a slum under siege, it is anyone's guess how much longer our glorious city can hold out...

---

Welcome to Mind, Magic, and Monstrosities, an RP in which a fantasy world is being invaded by eldritch horrors. Your story begins in the City of Light, the last bastion of hope. As the eldritch horrors laid waste to your homes, you were touched by the darkness, but by the mercy of fate, you were overlooked, and you were not turned, and you eventually made your way to The City of Light with one of the numerous trains of refugees. In their attempts to root out all forms of alien corruption, the Light's Watch, the city watch of the City of Light, eventually detected you and threw you into the dungeons for observation, expecting full well for the madness to consume you. But the madness never came. And now, in a desperate bid, the Council of Light has called upon you and your Cursed fellows to engage in what will most likely be a suicide mission.

Information on the world

For a zoomable version, visit this link.

The world has six, sentient races, each with their own nation, and elemental god:

Humans founded The Free Guilds, and worship Omega Mammon, scarab god of gold and commerce.
Dwarves founded The Dwarven Republic and worship Thrombur, turtle god of earth and industry.
Merfolk, a race of amphibious lizard people, founded Lacerta, and worship Hosumar, whale god of water and sailing.
Harpies, a race of flying bird people, founded Es Harpina, and worship Lathesa, eagle god of air and music.
Orcs founded Orcland and worship Sarm, dragon god of fire and combat.
Elves founded The United Elven Tribes and worship Flandasyr, elk god of wood and agriculture.

In each of the national capitols: Omega, Thromburg, Hosumaria, Lathesa's Roost, Sarm's Tears, and Flandasyria, the Great Temple to the corresponding god can be found. Through these temples, the gods spoke directly to their worshipers. In The City of Light, a new Grand Temple of Light has been constructed in order to attempt communication with the gods in these trying times.

What is known of the 'Gods of Darkness'

Often referred to as the 'Gods of Darkness', The Deep Space Dwellers are eldritch beings of immense power and even greater malice. Together they number twelve and conspire to eliminate or subjugate all life in the world. Very little is known about them, though some information has been collected from the mad ramblings of a captured Pathfinder.

Shpenthis, The Amalgam
Lavtannoth, The Prison
The Shreel, The Primordial Ones
Brangog, The Twisted

Granzazel, The Behemoth
Simyanaymis, The Self and The Other
Kraxiel, The Vice
Raumphenth, The Devourer

Annuiyntar, The Untouchable, Lord of the Annu
Gammaton, The Judgment, Lord of the Automatons
Skrarlaphim, The Swarm, Lord of the Skrarl
Halgdurion, The Seeker, Lord of the Pathfinders

Each of you has been cursed by one of the Deep Space Dwellers, granting you a unique skill that comes with a cost.

Character Mechanics

We will be using a 'loose' stat system. You have four traits:

• Race
• Job
• Magic
• Curse

You will pick your race, your job, and your magic, and you will be given 5 points to distribute among your job, magic, and curse. Traits max out at level 5.

The base character skeleton has 3 Health Points and 3 Sanity Points, and each trait starts at level 1.

Racial bonuses are as follows:

• Humans: +1 to job class, +1 to curse
• Dwarves: +1HP, can burrow
• Merfolk: Amphibious, +1 to magic
• Harpies: can fly, -1 HP
• Orcs: superior combat, -1SP
• Elves: +1SP, fast and nimble

Your job determines what tasks you are proficient at. The more points in your job, the better you are at job-specific tasks.

As an example, I am a lvl 1 Barbarian, and I can take on two enemies simultaneously in a brawl. At barbarian lvl 5, I can take on ten enemies simultaneously in a brawl. Whether or not you are proficient at a task can be negotiated, but the job class is intended to be multi-faceted.

Your magic determines which of the six elements you have an affinity for: Metal, Earth, Water, Air, Fire, and Wood.

As an example, I am lvl 1 Fire affinity, I can enchant my weapons with my element and create enough fire to throw a baseball-sized fireball or light a campfire. At lvl 5, I can set large patches of ground on fire. In general, what you can do with magic is up to your imagination, and the level only determines intensity and power. As a general rule, the magic must flow from your body towards your target (like Avatar bending), so no giving someone a hemorrhage just because you can stop the blood flow in someone's brain.

Your curse is determined by me and goes as follows:

• craycray, your character carries the curse of Shpenthis.
  You can learn 'skills' from ingesting the flesh of other beings.
• Fiya, your character carries the curse of Brangog.
  You can release a concussive shockwave from your body.
• Geos, your character carries the curse of Kraxiel.
  You can perform telekinesis.
• Tricheus, your character carries the curse of Annuiyntar.
  You can project a shield of invulnerability.
• tekkaiwallace, your character carries the curse of Gammaton.
  You can make metal spines protrude from your body.
• sanKaiser, your character carries the curse of Halgdurion.
  You can launch your body in any direction.

Like magic, the power of your abilities scales with level. For example, at lvl1, tekkaiwallace's character can produce inches-long spines, inches apart from each other, from their body. at lvl5, spines can be meters long and completely cover their body, and can also be manipulated to a certain degree.

When HP falls to 0, your character is incapacitated, and on death's door. When SP falls to 0, your character falls under the sway of the Deep Space Dweller whose curse they carry, resulting potentially in insanity or full-on mind control. It is possible to recover from 0 HP and from 0 SP, but SP recovery is significantly more difficult. Various horrific and psychic events may test your SP. using your curse also uses your SP according to the following mechanic.

When you use your curse ability, a coin is flipped. On success, you sustain no SP damage. On a failure, you lose 1 SP.

I will allow a mechanic known as a 'coping mechanism', which details how your character copes with the madness. This should give your character some sort of detriment, but allows them either a way to abuse their curse ability more frequently, or recover SP more easily. For example, someone could engage in self-harm, and will ritually cut themself and lose HP, but regain SP. Details will be negotiated as necessary.

Character Sheet Template

Character Name

Name:

Character name

Age:

Your Age

Race:

Your Race

HP:

❇❇❇

SP:

❇❇❇

Job:

Your Job and lvl#

Magical Affinity:

Element and lvl#

Curse:

Curse of (Deep Space Dweller Name) and lvl#

Appearance

Description of your character's appearance (optional).

Personality

Description of your character's personality.

Background

Is your character old enough to remember a time before the coming of the Behemoth? What was their life like before? How did you come to be in The City of Light? How long have you been in The City of Light? Were you lucky, and able to live in relatively decent conditions, or were you unlucky, sinking to the bottom with the rest of the forgotten, scraping by for survival?

Coping Mechanism

(Optional) To be negotiated with GM.

Character Sheet Code

[center][h1][color=a187be][b]Character Name[/b][/color][/h1]

[img]image url[/img][/center]
[color=a187be][b]Name:[/b][/color][indent]Character name[/indent]
[color=a187be][b]Age:[/b][/color][indent]Your Age[/indent]
[color=a187be][b]Race:[/b][/color][indent]Your Race[/indent]
[color=a187be][b]HP:[/b][/color][indent]❇❇❇[/indent]
[color=a187be][b]SP:[/b][/color][indent]❇❇❇[/indent]
[color=a187be][b]Job:[/b][/color][indent]Your Job and lvl#[/indent]
[color=a187be][b]Magical Affinity:[/b][/color][indent]Element and lvl#[/indent]
[color=a187be][b]Curse:[/b][/color][indent]Curse of (Deep Space Dweller Name) and lvl#[/indent]

[color=a187be][b]Appearance[/b][/color][indent]Description of your character's appearance (optional).[/indent]
[color=a187be][b]Personality[/b][/color][indent]Description of your character's personality.[/indent]
[color=a187be][b]Background[/b][/color][indent]Is your character old enough to remember a time before the coming of the Behemoth? What was their life like before? How did you come to be in The City of Light? How long have you been in The City of Light? Were you lucky, and able to live in relatively decent conditions, or were you unlucky, sinking to the bottom with the rest of the forgotten, scraping by for survival?[/indent]
[color=a187be][b]Coping Mechanism[/b][/color][indent](Optional) To be negotiated with GM.[/indent]

Spectators:
miizmei
krumbits
nisamai

The rolls for our campaign will be carried out here.

XD

Character complete!

Tabrasa\- Born of Chaos.

Gammaton would really like everyone to attend, so given how many people are in absentia, Gammaton may simply explain his reason for the assembly, and ask everyone to reconvene after everyone else has been recruited.

Everyone?

XD

Mushirou

Mushirou

"Die, criminal scum~!"

_{[ ❇ ] S Y N O P S I S}

---

_Name

Mushirou

_Age

23

_Gender

Male

_{Starter Pokémon}

Weedle

_{Home Region}

Kanto

_{[ ❇ ] C H A R A C T E R I Z A T I O N}

---

_Appearance

With fair skin, long, flowing dark hair tied back in a ponytail, a friendly, gentle smile, and a straight, svelte posture, Mushirou looks just a little too soft to be a police officer. Still, he carries himself with the demeanor of one who has been trained his whole life to be regimented, exuding a noble, refined, aristocratic air that hides the cognitive dissonance brewing between his ears.

_Personality

Mushirou is placid and motherly to his family, friends, and allies, but this is merely a fragile exterior. He maintains a calm serenity as long as what he perceives as order is maintained, but when pushed to the edge, and he is easily pushed to the edge, he begins to reflect the dark truths of his upbringing. To those he perceives as enemies, he is sadistic and ruthless, and tries desperately to return things to a sense of order, believing that the best way to solve a problem is to eradicate it entirely. He idolizes the concept of law, and fantasizes about a dystopian future where everyone knows their place. He is the kind of person who will speak like an abusive mother chastizing her child, while his enemies are slowly succumbing to his pokemon's poison, all while wearing a placid, loving smile on his face.

_Background

Mushirou is the fourth son of a traditional military family, his father having served alongside the illustrious Lt. Surge. As a child, Mushirou was always physically weaker than his brothers, having a more feminine build. To his father, Mushirou was a disappointment and learned discipline and obedience the hard way. His greatest failure was when he was rejected from officer academy, unlike his brothers. Unable to prove his strength, Mushirou took his mother's suggestion and went to study under Fuschia Gym Leader Koga, learning that strength was a state of mind, and that ruthlessness and proper conviction was often enough to take down any foe, regardless of physical strength.

Though he was unable to join the army, Mushirou took the next best thing and joined the police force. Now, due to his discipline and lawful ideals, Mushirou has been sent to Orre to root out corruption and crime, and to participate in Professor Krane's new pokemon project, acting as a liaison between Krane's project and law enforcement.

_Theme

Battle Music

_{[ ❇ ] M I S C E L L A N E O U S}

---

_{Items on Hand}

Nothing.

_Pokébelt

Weedle

Species: Weedle

Moves:

• Poison Sting
• String Shot

Ability: Shield Dust

_{Personal Computer}

Nothing.

XD

Can my starter be Weedle, and can my character exclusively use bug pokemon?

Jigokuraku Academy

@Zelosse

Mari's reaction to power chord:

Jigokuraku Academy

Haruishi Mari

Attempting to rescue a dummy in Zone 5

@KoL @TheWindel

Mari blushed suddenly, realizing her faux pas. She had no intention of stealing her fellow test-takers' points, but the cat's arguments were valid. "I...I..." Mari stuttered, finally, FINALLY, at a loss for words. And while some of Minami's statements were infuriating, Mari could only focus on her own mistake, though Houki softened the blow somewhat. After stating that they'll only help each other if necessary, Minami and Houki left to rescue civilians on their own, leaving Mari with Kaito, who was offering her a boost.

@Zelosse

Somewhat deflated, Mari turned to Kaito, "Sure, I could really use a boost right now." Not knowing what to expect, Mari reached out her hand. Unsure whether a simple high-five would suffice for the quirk to activate, Mari chose to clasp hands with Kaito.

Hand Clasp

Inside Mari's head

A surge of power went through Mari's body as a faint, smooth purring emanated from her chest, something she had never noticed before. "This...this is amazing!" She called out, "Th-thank you!" This was the best thing that has happened to her all day! Looking around, she noticed there were an abundance of dummy civilians, but they were all trapped under debris. She headed to one trapped under a car. Even if she had twice her strength, she couldn't dead-lift a car by herself, but she had another plan, and this car would be her test subject. Getting some distance on the car, Mari took a deep breath, before dashing at the car, getting up to 60 miles-per-hour. She expected lightning to blast out of her shoulders at this point, and was planning to slow before actually reaching the car so that she didn't electrocute the dummy, yet no lightning came out, puzzling Mari. Still, she decided to roll with the punches, and kept her speed up. When she reached the car, she slowed enough to pivot her body and aim a kick at the underside of the car, hoping to get it to roll off the dummy. If it did not roll off completely, she would quickly try to take advantage of the momentum, and aid it all the way off the dummy. If the dummy were freed, she would proceed to fireman carry the civilian, and race back to the bus. She just hoped that the treatment wasn't too rough, since she still held on to the belief that they were being graded on 'bedside manners'.

The Crystal Gems

"Protection Protocol Activated. State Passcode or appropriate reasoning for lodging or be eradicated." the projection said in a monotone voice that lacked any and all emotion.

@rocketrobie2

"I-I...have no a passcode...but I have an appropriate reason! I am responding to a summons from this...beacon..?" Amber declared with no confidence.

"Hello! Is any gems in here?" Serendibite call out to the voices.

@sassy1085

"Y-yes! I'm down here!" Amber called out to Serendibite's voice, then turned back to the defensive projection, "S-see? More gems have come responding to the summons!" Still, she surreptitiously took a few steps away from the projection, readying herself in case it decided to fulfill its promise to eradicate her.

The Crystal Gems

Yeah, sorry, I'm back. Will get a post up soon

Tabrasa\- Born of Chaos.

@Rune_Alchemist

Would Gammaton be aware of the arrival of 'friends'?