tsukune

Enigma Final Fantasy (Psychological Sandbox RP)

*drumrolls please*

The OOC is now up!

Mahou Taisen: Magic Warfare || Stern, tsukune

Yep, I am currently living in Southeast Asia. The air is better today, but I'm not having high hopes that the haze is over and done with yet.
Sorry that I was away for 2 days to meet deadline.

I can see the connection there: insanity can be associated with chaos, which is often linked to destruction (hence, fire). However, I feel that this interpretation is more on the effect of insanity rather than the cause, so I thought that the ever-changing water would represent insanity better in terms of its chaotic nature, not the destruction that happens after that. (Besides, a tsunami can bring about as much destruction as raging fire.)

As for characters, take your time - I feel that RL should always take priority over a shared hobby and RPing is not a business job, plus this is a 1x1 so I prefer a laid-back approach to plan carefully rather than rushing into starting things and then drop later when problems/disagreements arise. I too have a shitty real life to deal with, so long as my partners don't disappear for months and not responding to my calls (worse, even bumping their interest threads totally ignoring my existence) I can be as patient as my partners whom I really appreciate them not turning RPing into another "work with tight deadline".

For CS:
= Basics like name and profile info - shan't elaborate on this;
= I have no probs using pictures for appearance (obviously anime given the premise) but usually I like to also include a brief word description, not just dump an image and that's all to the character's looks;
= History and personality can be developed in IC, but if you want to write them into your CS before the RP starts, by all means;
= Abilities can be left blank for now until it's developed in IC on how our characters acquire the powers from the Rias, but stat numbers are not required since the focus is on plot and character development rather than battle scenes;
= Any other trivial stuffs can all be put in a hider for organization sake.

For magical weapons - well isn't that one of the most obvious element to define the magical girl/boy genre? :P I'm thinking that the magical weapons would be something more practical similar to FF series (without the creative flair like Lightning's gunblade lol) rather than those fancy staffs like Sailor Moon.
I'm going with card deck for Lost/Air, but still undecided over sword or daggers for Betrayal/Fire.

Enigma Final Fantasy

You had to put it up at 1:15 am?! (Here)

@Crimson Raven

Sorry (but not sorry at all) to all those peeps from America:

It's only 1:20 PM here for me. :P

EDIT: If anyone has burning questions regarding this roleplay, feel free to @mention me or Ryu and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. (Please don't abuse the notification system though.)

Enigma Final Fantasy (Sandbox; Psychological)

Hello! I would love to join this if this is still open. I've only played a couple of FF games, but I'm absolutely in love with the franchise.

@Undine

Of course you're most welcome to join - but remember, you'll need to commit to this in the long run, not on a sudden whim.

Sorry to miss out @Jack Travidi - lesson learned: don't scroll too fast with the mouse. :P

Enigma Final Fantasy

---

CODEX

Terminology

Celestia

A parallel dimension - some say it's situated in the middle of infinity, while others say it's a dream within a dream. This surreal omniverse is the generic stage where you will begin your quest in search of your identity, your past; here's where players will build a miniworld to develop their characters beyond the known canon stories within its astronomic bubble.

"The Voice"

A mysterious entity that you cannot see, only hear in your mind - at times it helps to guide you through this foreign land you are exploring, but whether or not it has an agenda for doing so, only time will tell...

Moogle

If hearing voices in your head isn't weird enough, how about getting another guide - this time a physical one, but in the form of...uh, a floating plush toy? Well, the Moogle (or more affectionately known as "Moglin" or simply "Mog") will be your first traveling companion in this surreal land, but even so you can barely drop your guard - this little one just doesn't make you feel at ease at all with its apparent clumsiness, made worse by its overly helpful nature. No one knows where they come from; they are already your side when you wake up...kupo.

Chocobo

This wild and flashy avian may not be able to fly given their rather large body, but their powerful legs allow them to sprint across the lands of Celestia - there isn't any place where this bird-like creature has yet to set foot on. They can be a great way to ease ground transportation, but only if you have what it takes to tame this free-spirited beast to bend its will to do your bidding.

Sabotender

More commonly known as "Cactuar" in the English games, these cactus-like creatures may seem cute (or even dumb-looking, depending on how you view them) but they are dangerous for their signature "1000 Needles" attack, easily inflicting heavy damage on anyone. However, in Celestia they have a mischievous touch: using their quickness as a weapon, these little flora prey on unsuspecting travelers, looting them for anything they deem valuable. If you're able to stumble upon a Sabotender's lair, the amount of stolen treasures hidden within would easily turn on your instinctive greed, but that is if you can get past the guarding Jumbotenders (a.k.a. "Gigantuar") first...

System

Orbis

In VII, it's known as "materia"; in Spira, they call it the "sphere"; in the Fabula universe, it becomes "phantoma" - the orbis functions the same way as all of those: a type of elemental substance abundant in Celestia, which you can collect for combat uses, to refine your equipment, among many other things.

Astra

Known as "Summons" in most instances - including other names such as "Eidolons" and "Espers" - the Astras are shadowy warlords that reside in the void between the miniworlds (you can see it as a separate plane). They usually lay dormant within this space; you can call them forth via a Summoning Ritual by offering something of equal value to borrow a portion of their power, albeit temporary before they leave and go back to their deep slumber once more. No one knows the true form of the Astras, for they can easily shift their appearance into an image that can be comprehended by the person who sets sight on them.

Timeline

Opus.0 :: To a New World - Celestia

Locations

Here's where you can check and/or keep track of the character's locations (read: the terrain they currently arrive at) to give you some insight to help you with miniworld crossovers.

Enigma Final Fantasy

GM Staff
@tsukune | @RyuHll

---

APPROVED

Cloud Strife - VII - @A Common Hero

Freya Crescent - IX - @Corporal Lance

Marche Radiuju - Tactics Advance - @Phillirino

---

PENDING

None at the moment.

Enigma Final Fantasy (Sandbox; Psychological)

@RyuHll@Crimson Raven@KoL@Redthorn Anvil@Demon Grave@A Common Hero@Corporal Lance@Undine@Altered Tundra

The OOC is now up!

Enigma Final Fantasy

You wake up in an unfamiliar world, without any memories whatsoever. Where you came from, let alone where you're headed, you have no idea, yet all you can do is set forth and walk onward. A mysterious voice calls out to you, guiding you along your path: "This country is the land of Palamitia, a place bereft of any hope. Its people wander in melancholy, their hearts untouched by the Light of Hope."

quote from 'Mobius Final Fantasy'

---

OVERVIEW

Premise

You have seen the various superhero-based or -inspired sandbox roleplays in the Advanced board; you have seen how highly intriguing (not to mention, pretty successful) these games have thrived, attracting the attention of great players, comic fans and curious casual readers alike, transporting you into the Marvel and/or DC world beyond what you know in the canon universe. And then, a random thought of, "If this is possible for American superhero comics, why not a JRPG with lore just as extensive?" gave birth to this rather insane roleplay idea that I present you here, an unique opportunity to build a fantasy world as exhilarating as the comics fandom.

I welcome you to Enigma Final Fantasy, a sandbox-cum-interactive multi-author/collaborative writing roleplay based on Square Enix's Final Fantasy franchise.

In here, you can take any FF character and re-imagine them in a way you can explore further than their established backstory, weaving an original narrative and build your own arcs, reshaping their future into anything you can possibly think of. No events in the original series are considered canon in this game; the only cage is perhaps your own creative mind. Love Zack but distraught at his inevitable death each time you played Crisis Core to the end? Revive him. Dissatisfied with how you're being trolled at Tidus and Yuna's ending in X-2? Rewrite it. Feel that Lightning deserved to be more than just a pretty ice queen? Anything is possible - no one is off-limits here (well, almost): as long as they have appeared canonically in any of the existing game titles released up till the day this roleplay is born, they're free for refurbishment. The FINAL FANTASY world is yours to mold.

Of course, unlike the Marvel and DC universe, the world of Final Fantasy expands beyond the planet we know and live in - into a mystical realm that is only limited by our own imagination. Hey, but wouldn't that be too vague, too broad for us to handle? Yes - and thus our job as GMs is to guide you through the uncharted waters of the seemingly endless horizon to the best of our ability by setting up events that encourage interactions and crossover arcs, at the same time giving you the room to expand and craft the FF world you desire.

Story

You wake up to find yourself in a strange universe called Celestia - some say it's a parallel dimension in the middle of infinity, others say it's a dream within a dream. You have no idea how you got here, or who brought you here... As you try to remember, you realize that you have no recollection of your past, and you do not have the means to return to where you're from.

Guided by a mysterious entity who called itself "The Voice", you will journey through this foreign place to piece back your old memories, at the same time meeting people and creatures alike along the way, creating new memories. Even if you manage to reclaim your past, you can no longer go back who you once were, only to keep moving forward - maybe you might find a way out of this trance-like loop, or you just want to stay in here for eternity. The choice is yours.

However, you will soon find out the purpose why you are brought to this faraway land beyond the realm of your reality, stripped of your old self, trapped in a cycle of events that would force you to question everything you know: what are you fighting for - to protect, or merely to survive? What does it mean to be a hero?

"Who are you?"

---

TL;DR

• This is a high-casual to advanced level roleplay. It's not about quantity like paragraph size and post length, but the emphasis is on quality such as minimal spelling and typo errors, good grammar and punctuation, proper paragraphing and sentence structure. Proofreading your work before hitting the post button is a must. This game would require you to build your own character arcs, so obviously one-liners can't provide the necessary depth in your post, right?

• We do not enforce a strict format on how you should write your IC - whether it's in first- or third-person, customizing your post with colors and pictures... You're free to write in any way you're most comfortable with without compromising the rule above.

• Definite posting frequency will not be imposed on the players as real life should take priority over a shared hobby, and we do not feel the need to make extreme demands with regards to this. However, a minimum of one post per month should be relatively stress-free enough to handle. If you can post more frequently, by all means, but keep in mind to flesh out your miniworld and characters well. (We are not hosting a speed-posting contest here - please take that to the Free section instead.)
  
  On the other hand, this game requires long-term commitment. Once you get your character and start building your miniworld, it's all yours - if you drop out, you're being unfair by denying others the character slot and it's difficult for another player to pick up where you left off, which will in turn kill this game for everyone. Please do consider seriously before joining and not just jump in on a whim.

• Communication is key. Don't barge into other player's arc without their consent, and under no circumstances kill off important NPCs or player-created characters unless given the permission to do so. If you wish to do a cooperative scene with other players you may ask them politely, and be respectful about approaching or possibly interfering with their miniworld. This goes without saying that you have to read all the IC and CS posts before deciding to start a collaboration with any other players, or else things will get very messy and no one would be happy.

• GM staff words aren't exactly the law (hey, we're not evil dictators!) but do respect us and our decisions all the same. We do not wish to interfere with your miniworlds as we value the hard work you put into your creation; we will only step in as a last resort to snuff out any dramatic flames and trolls before they destroy this whole roleplay completely.
  
  Of course, feel free to approach us if you need help with things related to this game.
  
  General forum rules still apply here, remember that. Take all the naughty/bloody stuffs away from public eyes and do them in PMs, please.

• For those curious ones, this roleplay idea is inspired from the following:
  
  • Format - all those Marvel/DC sandbox roleplays you can find in the Advanced board;
  • Setting - partially from Paprika and Inception, the other from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle;
  • Story - Mobius FF, or a fusion of Dissidia with KH: Chain of Memories.

---

APPLICATION

• Character creation will start at one character per player; this can be increased if the GMs find said writer able to handle more characters or has sufficient creative drive. Reservation or claiming of characters in advance will not be entertained. All players are given fair and equal chance to choose the characters they wish to assume, and the GMs will make the final call whether you get the role or not.

• You may choose any canon character from the suggested lists below. For those roles not named in the lists, they will be on a case-by-case basis.
  
  • Playable
  • Guest
  • Notables

    • I: Garland
    • II: Emperor Mateus
    • III: Cid Haze, Sara Altney, Desch, Aria Benett, Alus
    • IV: Golbez, Zemus
    • V: Exdeath
    • VI: Kefka Palazzo, Leo Cristophe
    • Compilation of VII: Professor Hojo, Dr. Hollander, Rufus Shinra, Turks, Genesis Rhapsodos, Angeal Hewley
    • VIII: Ultimecia
    • IX: Kuja, Necron
    • X, X-2: Sin (Yu Yevon, Jecht), Yunalesca, Shuyin, Leblanc
    • XII: Vayne Carudas Solidor, Dr. Cid
    • Lightning Saga: Jihl Nabaat, Caius Ballad, Alyssa Zaidelle
    • Type-0: Cid Aulstyne, Qator Bashtar, Kurasame Susaya, Arecia Al-Rashia, Claes Celestia "Hoshihime" Misca Sancest
  
  Note that characters from the following will not be accepted:
  
  • Player-created roles in Original FF, III (NES ver.), Before Crisis VII, Crystal Chronicles, etc.;
  • MMOs i.e. XI, XIV;
  • Not-yet-released titles i.e. XV, World;
  • Mobile-exclusive i.e. Record Keeper, All the Bravest, Pictlogica, etc.;
  • Unrelated titles i.e. The Spirits Within, Unlimited, Legend (known as SaGa in Japan), etc.
  • Crossover with the Kingdom Hearts series is not happening, ever. Don't bother asking why.
  
  If there's anything you're unsure of regarding this rule, you can go to any of the GMs for clarification.

• Please post all applications in the OOC or PM them to the GMs. Only approved characters can be posted under the CS Tab. The window period for each applied character is 72 hours (or 3 days for peeps who are bad with Math) before the GMs start voting who to get the role.
  
  
  CS Form

  NAME
  Self-explanatory: full name, nicknames, aliases, etc. will all go here.
  
  ORIGIN
  The universe your character is from, and the game title they appear in.
  
  MEMORIA
  If you want it simple you can see this as the "backstory" of the character; however, given the nature of this game, we do not want to see a mere copy-and-paste from the wiki - we're looking at how much you understand about the character you will be playing as, and how you are going to piece together the canonical history of the character as you expand your miniworld.
  
  REPERTOIRE
  As many skills, magic and summons are shared across the various FF titles, you will only be required to list down signature abilities and/or equipment unique to the character you're playing. (You may include brief descriptions for each item listed, but this is optional.) There's no need for numerical stats - the main focus of this game is world-building + plot and character development, and it's not a nation/arena/tabletop roleplay.
  
  NOTES
  Here is where you can elaborate on the extra things you plan to include and develop along with your character - specific setting and lore related to your arcs, NPCs, bosses, even creating original side characters and monsters to expand your miniworld further.
  
  VISION
  What's your main drive to join this game? What are the goals you want to achieve by participating in this game? We want to be safely assured that you're here with a dedicated story to tell, not jumping the bandwagon because you see the "Final Fantasy" tag in the title. Also, you may want to give a brief insight to the arcs you intend to work on, so that we know you do have a plan in mind and we can have the confidence you'll be sticking with this RP actively in the long run.
  
  SAMPLES
  This is for us to make sure you can write at a level suitable for this game. Please provide 2-3 links from other roleplays for assessment. If you do not wish to use IC posts, you can use links from off-site sources such as FFnet/FPcom, Wattpad, AO3, etc. as this roleplay is more on a novel level and not your conventional RP style.

---

NOTICEBOARD

Roster

@RyuHll
Informed that he may be in the process of moving, so online activity would be sparse.

@tsukune
Is flying off to Hong Kong this coming weekend. Trying to get a decent tablet so that he can still roleplay while traveling.

@KoL@Crimson Raven@Corporal Lance
Busy with RL - school, exams, and whatnot. May not respond ASAP.

Updates

2015-10-31

• Starter IC post up.

FAQs

What's with the strict "No Character Reservation/Claiming" rule? I don't want to waste my time making a CS when someone else might take my character!

(This is the most frequently asked question I'm getting about this roleplay.)

Two reasons why this rule is important:

1) To give all players the fair and equal chance to take up the characters they wish to assume.
You will have to show us - and pretty much all other players - that you truly understand the role you want to take up and you are capable of handling the said character well as you develop your miniworld. For this game, you will be making complex, conflicting characters which will stretch your limit as a writer/roleplayer in the art of character development, and this is nothing comparable to the usual kind of characters you make for most other roleplays on this site. Consider this a challenge from me to you people.

2) More freedom in IC means the filtering has to take up a notch in CS.
We're already pretty lax with IC format - as long as the standard grammar rules are there and you do your part to beta-read your post you are given the artistic license to experiment on any writing styles you wish to try out for this game - obviously the screening has to be stricter on the CS. We want to get the right players for the roles, not those who jump in here on a whim and kill off this game before we can even begin.

The omniverse, "Celestia"...and character arcs, the "Miniworld"? What kind of blasphemy is this?

Rather than going with a "solid, real place where our plots are fully ground in a firm setting" which I find it might force unwanted restrictions on how the players can expand their miniworld as they build their arcs (and then things get really complicated when people start fighting over how the world map should look like, which is the last thing I want to happen for this game), I would say I'm more inclined to go with a generic, "spiritual, surreal landscape" that is fluid and can be shaped to your character's needs if required, a multi-layered veil blurring the lines of reality and dream, probably even the idea of life and death. As far as your characters are concerned Celestia is as real as their original canon world (at least, everything they can feel with their five or even six senses), but it's so vast that you can think of it as an astronomic sphere that contains the miniworlds the players created and expanded within its bubble.

"Amnesiac Dissonance": a simple, complete mindwipe...or something else much more sinister?

I want to stay far away from the idea of "strictly a hard and fast, no-memories-at-all amnesia" - rather than brainwashing the characters completely clean, I'd say their old memories are something like a surreal jigsaw puzzle thrown into a mess by whoever brought them to Celestia. Your character will embark on a quest to piece back their past; memories aren't like physical objects with a definite form and they are often greatly influenced by emotions; remember that they are creating new memories throughout this journey which will also affect their perception of their previous life, reevaluating with a different light, so the memory jigsaw in your miniworld may deviate from the original canon. Whether or not your character is able to return back to someone as close as their original self, or someone completely different from who they once were, is entirely dependent on how you develop them in your miniworld.

What about recurring characters, spells and summons? How would those work in this game?

Character wise, we are well aware of certain elements that span across various titles i.e. Cid, Gilgamesh, to name a few. However, these recurrences do have features that change from one game to another or things that make them unique and easily identifiable to a particular title, which you should be taking into account as you develop your miniworld.

For creatures such as moogle, chocobo and cactuar, please check the Terminology section in the IC.

Regarding magic, currently we're developing a generic system that players can use as a base and you can later build upon it to cater to your miniworld's specifications.

As for summons, we're not keen on allowing players to own them permanently as depicted in the Lightning Saga games, hence we'll be employing the "temporary contract" system like those in XII and Type-0: they can be called forth ("summon") by your character for a limited time duration before they go back to the void where they're originally from. Players must give up something of equal value (can be physical items or obscure things like memory or relationship with a certain character, etc.) as offering before these mighty beings can lend you their powers. Also, as the color scheme and more detailed design of the summons vary in each game, to avoid unnecessary debate you can assume that these summons are nothing but shadow silhouettes while retaining the basic form to tell them apart from each other e.g. Alexander = castle, Odin = demonic knight on a six-legged steed, etc. If you really want to go into the details, you may assume that these shadows can shift their look to the character's understanding (something like how the Greek goddess Aphrodite constantly changes her appearance to appeal to those who set their eyes upon her).

Jumping the multiverse

@malmshodes

Hey there, I saw you're bumping the interest check for this RP in 1x1 section. So can I take it that this thread is officially dead then? :)

Anime & Manga Recommendations

I don't know why but out of the blue, I decided to try xxxHOLiC for the first time and I think it's alright. The theme song is cool and the servant is pretty funny. I think it's sort of an "old" anime from the '00s.

@Yin

...Though personally I find the original manga much better than the anime (same goes for Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle). I don't blame the animation studios because I know how difficult it is to make the highly-detailed costumes flutter, but the drastic simplification of those exotic design is quite off-putting for people like me who read the manga first before watching the anime.
Those two are my all-time favorite from CLAMP, other than Cardcaptor Sakura and Kobato. By the way I'm not exactly a CLAMP fan, in case anyone's wondering.

---

For those who like tear-jerker stuff, I'm sure most would have heard of Key's eroge-turned-anime such as Clannad - which I can never get past the fourth episode because it's too slow and boring to me - you can give AnoHana a shot.

As for peeps who are fans of Typemoon's Fate series, you should also try Kara no Kyoukai.

And a few mecha titles I remembered:
Broken Blade (or Break Blade in Japan) <- strongly recommended for those who want a change from the usual Gundam/Macross stuff
Asura Cryin'
Aquarion series
Captain Earth
Eureka Seven
Full Metal Panic
Star Driver <- for those fangirls who like pretty boys (you'll know what I mean once you start watching this...)

EDIT: Just want to say that God Eater has an awesome soundtrack.