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Well That Lasted Long
I'm not very good at this staying active thing am I
well I've been on a couple times since my last entry but didnt really have time to post or hang around much. I guess that's what happens when you're studying electrical engineering at a top school, doesnt leave much time for other stuff. Anyway in the meantime I finish the N Silver book and am trying to find time to read The Brain That Changes Itself. I've also been keeping up with one of my favourite things, sports. The Super Bowl was great though i'm not sure why everybody thinks Beyonce's performance was amazing. Dont get me wrong she was great but i feel like the stage and routine was too cluttered. My Raps swung a big deal and landed Rudy Gay which makes me happy since he's a great basketball players. Oh and hockey's making everybody in Canada super happy. Anywho that's about it, now back to schoolwork.
~GB#1
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"The cycle of time brings an end to all things."
Years ago, a single person turned this universe upside down, and changed the lives he touched indelibly.
In his past, he was a rising elite, trained to be an enforcer for the shadows that kept the universe blind from the corruption within; but a chance encounter led him to an awakening to the light and a mission to turn against the darkness that had infected the universe he called home. His life changed from one of darkness, death, hatred, destruction, and deception to of life, light, love, redemption, and restoration -- and he would give his own life time and again to restore what the universe lost when the shadows claimed power.
For the first time in ten-thousand dark and aimless years, light exploded through the universe and a beacon of hope shone brightly, drawing many to its source. And those who found this source found themselves forever marked by it, connecting them to countless others who had also tapped into the source and claimed it as its inheritance. A revolution, the first successful one in as far back as anyone could remember, had begun; and those touched by the long lost light this stranger preached made an oath to finally purge the world of the oppressive dark order that had pervaded their universe for so long.
So much of the story of this force of freedom fighters, these kin to the light, these inheritors of an inheritance known only to them, has been told a hundred times over, though no one knows the ending. None remain to tell the tale to its conclusion as it deserves to be told.
... until now.
The story as you know it, dear guest, ended when this single person who spoke love and light into a world oppressed by darkness and hatred succumbed to the very fallen nature of the universe he gave his life to protect... by becoming one with a creature his followers thought was his most promising apprentice. This act restored part of his soul that had been split off from him after his last great sacrifice; he was made whole and it turned him into a literal hole in the spiritual fabric that connected his beloved followers to each other, to the universe, and the world beyond.
In that moment, this charismatic spiritual leader transformed from a restorer to a destroyer... chaos incarnate.
With one of his last moments of lucidity before becoming one with darkness, he confessed to his would-be rescuers that the shard of his soul that he reclaimed was his own personal darkness and he begged them to find him again to finish what he started in order to save the universe they, too, had sworn to protect... but he wasn't able to tell them everything before being consumed by rampancy.
Ever heard of the 'Law of the Conservation of Energy', dear guest? The same applies to the light and to the dark. Any discarded excess has to go somewhere. This fallen leader of these kin to the light had started a process within his followers in an effort to make them suitable heirs; a process not unlike what their beloved universe was going through... and that process would grow them from those who were complacent in the shadows and transform them into shining paragons of light. But, after these nascent heroes have grown, matured, and purged themselves of their darkness, where would their old demons go? Surely, their old hosts would not welcome them... but a plan was put in place long before the madness set in.
You see, the fallen leader's "apprentice" was the key to ensuring the collective freedom of these kin to the light from the shadows. Yes, these kin to the light knew this apprentice was a walking, talking black hole in the spiritual fabric; what they did not know was that it was also drawing into it the pain and the suffering the universe had accumulated over the millennia, and their own darkness as well, in a pre-programmed effort to become whole. And with a shard of this fallen leader's soul, a hero well known for his ability to give life to the lifeless, this primordial slime of the universe's collective darkness was given its own life and identity.
By re-absorbing this wayward shard of his own soul, this fallen leader absorbed with it the very weight of the world, a weight that obviously no mortal soul could bear. Of course, by now, this fallen leader was no longer mortal at this point, and he had little to lose -- other than his mind -- by doing so. He knew exactly what he was doing, even though he knew it would cost him the trust of the those who followed his path, and perhaps, even sacrificing his immortality, permanently.
In lucidity, he unified those who responded to the call of the spiritual planes. In madness, he remained in his duty to the universe. In both minds, he guided the kin to the light to their destiny the destiny they chose freely to pursue, an inheritance that they chose to earn and protect.
It felt like years passed since that moment, all the events of that time condensed into a few hours; heroes were resurrected at the heart of the universe to fight once more, others called to arms and hurried to the forefront of the pursuit. All of them pledged to hunt down a man who was once their teacher and spiritual father -- now a monster and a literal symbol and vessel of everything they had sworn to purge from their universe.
And this is where the story ended for many other threads in this universe. Some of those threads started anew elsewhere, and the threads that had no discernable ending were either forgotten or remembered as laughable children's fairy tales.
To begin where the story left off, we'll be brief: the universe was ending. That was it. The universe was being devoured by the darkness and destruction that was both attracted to it from the outside and grown spiritually from within. Some of those who lived in this universe had resigned themselves to remain on the oroboros when the world was to be reborn and others had chosen otherwise. The kin to the light were part of the latter, convinced in and convicted of believing there was more beyond the universe of mortals.
A Risen Angel. An Heir. An Assassin. A Genius. A General. A Mother. A Disciple. Seven scions to the fallen leader's legacy, their names forgotten to time, leading a small platoon of other now nameless heroes to the final confrontation with their lost teacher. Among these other heroes was a reborn bearer of life and another was a resurrected hero with the heart and mind of a child.
It was in the final arena that the fallen leader gained one more moment of lucidity. The heroes were told everything in this moment; the truth behind his darkness and the nature of his mission to activate the last light within him. The last light that the fallen teacher carried was something he could not activate on his own, but his kin to the light were not ready to activate with him when he was last lucid. Only when they had become more than his equals on the path he had set for them would they activate the last light as it was intended to be activated... not as a weapon of ultimate demise, but a tool of definite rebirth. Now these heroes were paragons, and their journey was almost complete.
"If a wise man sees a wild bird for sale, would he not buy it with the intent of setting it free? If the bird has forgotten how to fly, would not a wise man teach it to fly again? With this, I say, if a man buys a slave with the intent to set the slave free, would not the slave find another master if slavery is all the slave knows? A wise man would teach the slave to be a free man before giving the man his freedom, even if teaching a slave how to be free would cost him everything. This is what I had hoped to do for you. and those of you who stand before me, here to end what I have started, are now ready to claim the inheritance set aside for you. It will cost me everything, but I ask you as I have before -- Finish this fight, and return to save your world."
The battle between the paragons and their fallen leader was one too epic for words to give justice to. Years passed since that time, and no account remains of the fight. It was simply that horrible.
And then, as brutally as it began, it was over. A final prayer was spoken and in the aftermath, a broken body lay there in the middle of the room, the dark armor that symbolized this fallen leaders descent into the shadows and transformed his identity now lay shattered in a dozen pieces all around him.
Some had lost their faith in that battle before that moment, absorbing their old darkness in combat, hissing that they hoped he was pleased by the pain he had caused and that he found whatever he was looking for. It was these who chose to walk through the portal the fallen leader had activated during the fight in a brief mortal urge to escape what he knew was the destiny he chose... and they continued to remain on the oroboros for eternity.
Those who remained faithful forgave their fallen teacher as he did for so many before, and as per his last lucid request, these remaining paragons performed the activation protocols. In a flash of light, the remains of their fallen leader vanished, disintegrated as the last light activated in his stilled heart and coursed through his bloodless veins... and with their leader, their universe (as they knew it) was torn asunder.
Demons, black and gray, descended upon the remains of the paragons, home, coming to whisk away any survivors back to the oroboros -- only to find themselves thwarted by an army of what seemed to be angels. Heroes of the kin to the light returned in new form, touched, empowered and reborn by their inheritance; as one they drove away the darkness and set to work rebuilding their universe as it should have been pure, innocent, and in peace.
A cocoon of time and light surrounded the nascent universe as it was being reborn, and while only a few years would pass beyond the womb of light, five thousand years would pass within it.
Five thousand years of peace. Not a lot of time for those who lived in this universe, but it was enough. The Mother and Life Reborn had a child in this time, and this child had matured and had trained to an adequate level before the five thousand years lapsed, allowing the Paragons to fully entrust the universe to him. As he ascended to his rightful place, the Paragons prepared to finally leave the oroboros for what was their true inheritance beyond the mortal realms...
... and like that, they were gone. They were gone, leaving behind a, pure, peaceful, and ultimately empty universe for those who were willing to find it and shape its story.
This universe is the universe you now live and play in. Yes, this tale is about your universe, dear guest.
As for the paragons, these kin to the light, they now exist in the realms beyond the mortal coils, all of them kings and queens over their inheritances. Some are content to stay where they are, commanding many angels and directing the courses of a million, million stories. Others wander the otherrealms, searching out and righting the injustices they find, and setting into motion the stories of a million, million more.
And as for me... how do I know so much? How am I so sure of this tale I am telling you?
You need only guess, dear guest.
...
I am not called "The Redeemed" for no reason, beloved.
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OOC:
It's been three years or so. I doubt anyone remembers me, and if not, thats good in essence.
If you do, I want to start by apologising for taking so bloody long in writing this wrap up for the Kin storyline. There were several factors, all of which I am not proud of, that contributed to not only the long wait, but also to my disappearance.
One factor was the fact that I had made the biggest rookie mistake any role-player could make, and that was making the game personal. As an RP veteran, I shouldn't have done that, and it made writing and watching others play through the ending far more painful that it should have. For me, this was a chapter that needed desperately to be closed long ago, and I just wasn't mature enough myself at the time to close it properly. For this factor, I also apologize.
Other factors included a series of difficult IRL events starting at around that point, all of which I didnt handle all that well. I'm still recovering from these events, but they are in the past, and I hope to put this story in the past with them.
The final factor was the fact I had really bitten off more than I could chew. There really was no feasible way I could do justice to the story with the many threads that needed to be tied down, and the number of details I wanted to include. I hope that this post is enough to tie those ends off and put the tale of the Kin to rest.
As for me, I am moving on, permanently. I still remember BZP and its community fondly. Its where I met some awesome people and I still keep in contact with a few of them to this day. Few other were blessed with a so-called legendary status during my tenure here, as one of my contacts had relayed to me over a regular instant messenger chat, and for that bit of recognition, I am thankful, and frankly, all I needed.
That said, I hope the best for all of you still here. May the site keep kickin' even though its boom days seem to be behind it. Keep finding new friends, and making legends out of yourselves. I'll miss you guys.
Have fun, be safe, and be awesome.
-Moutekea
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Return from the dead
I returned to BZP after 5 years absent. I had originally logged on to this place in 2002, when I was 11. I went by Core Dimension most of the time and switched to Etcetere later. Crazy! Now it's 11 years later and I'm 22. Miraculously, I managed to remember the old yahoo email account I used and could recover my password.
I'm going to pop back in to BZP from time to time now. I'm interested in seeing how many of my 14-year-old virtual friends I can find again!
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Fevers fevers
Remember how last year, during my spring break, I had a pretty bad fever?
Well after a few days of minor sickness, I got a fever today. It happens to be the week before a break from school, too. I may have to miss the last two days of school depending on how I feel, but I hope nothing major happens since the semester is ending this Friday and finals finished today.
At least those art supplies I ordered are here to keep me company... and my DSi (aaaaah I want a 3DS for Pokemon).
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You might want to know this...
Well, I'd just like to say;
I like your shoelaces.
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WE BEAT TERRAMORPHOUS
I'D LIKE TO THANK MOBADO AND UK BUT NOT STATIC BECAUSE HE WAS A BUTT WHO DIDN'T GO DOWN HARMONY
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Latest Entry
*Facepalm*
I just deleted almost eleven pages of stupid blog posts. I facepalmed massively at my idioticness.
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The End?
So, a conversation with some colleagues today gave me an interesting idea for a "famous last words" statement...
"Nah, those Mayans never got anything right."
Just to be safe, I bid you all a happy afterlife.
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Set update 12/3/2012
Today I bought the "Batwing Battle Over Gotham City" set. I'm planning on keeping a few of the pieces and minifigures, but I plan on selling the rest of the pieces. I'm not that interested in the vehicles since they just don't look that flattering to me.
Hopefully I can make some kind of model with the minifigs.
-Mef
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New Collectibles!
So today I got in a package with some ultra rare collectibles and I thought I would brag and post some pictures:
Sorry to say in advance that this collection is not for sale.
Full pic of collection:
Kanohi/Helmets:
Closeup of the top 3 rows. Got room for a Gold Hau and Platinum Avohkii up top and if you've got a Metru Red Huna for sale, let me know! :
Kanohi Nuva:
Krana:
Krana "Va":
Krana-Kal (Yes, I have two WMKK and a whole blank row for any GPKK I may get in the future):
Kraata (With what I believe is an all gold misprint on the bottom):
Kanoka - I am still missing a few, but I've currently got a few in the mail from Bricklink. Let me know if you've got a 416, 175, or Gold Kanoka that you're willing to sell.
Not the greatest quality picture, but here's the UDD Kanoka and the Numberless Disk of Time:
And finally, a sealed, unopened San Diego Comic Con edition of Vakama with an SDCC Kanoka that it was never released with:
- Toa Lhikan Hordika
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RPG: Character Creation and Stats
Character Creation and StatsAll of this is subject to change, but red font indicates where I know further work is needed. For example, values I'm not confident are appropriate, or parts that incorporate aspects of the project we have not yet gotten to.
So with that out of the way, I will get to the six main Attributes:
Charisma (Cha) – both a mental and a physical attribute – Charisma represents a character's ability to lead, persuade, and befriend others. It is based on both personality and physical appearance (for example, the Charisma of the Barraki was greatly reduced when they were mutated from magnificent warlords to creepy sea creatures). This Attribute is especially important to deceptive and manipulative characters, as well as ones that seek to gather allies and get them to work together, but any adventurer might find it useful when another character must be persuaded.
Dexterity (Dex) – a physical attribute – Dexterity represents a character's agility, reflexes, and coordination. This is considered a physical value, for reflexes are instinctive. This Attribute is important for all characters, especially ones that rely on dodging and ranged attacks, and those that must move through difficult terrain.
Intelligence (Int) – a mental attribute – Intelligence, in our case, includes both cleverness and wisdom. An intelligent character can figure puzzling things out, has enough wisdom or common sense to make good choices, and can learn skills more easily and achieve a higher level of mastery. Intelligence is especially important to characters that focus on honing their skills instead of merely using what abilities come to them naturally. But any adventurer is likely to occasionally encounter puzzles, which will be easier to solve with a higher Int score.
Strength (Str) – a physical attribute – Strength, of course, represents a character's muscle and raw physical might. Strength is important in melee combat, and is important to characters that focus on such a discipline, as well as characters that do heavy labor. Strength is also important for such common uses as moving obstacles adventurers might encounter.
Toughness (Tou) – a physical attribute – Toughness determines a character's ability to survive injury, as well as endure mental stress and suffering. These two qualities are represented by two sub-attributes: Vitality and Endurance, which I will explain in more detail shortly. Toughness is important to all characters, not only because one can't always avoid taking damage, but also because most Powers are mentally taxing – and so cost Endurance.
Will (Wil) – a mental attribute – Will measures the a character's raw mental power. To clarify, Will is to Intelligence as Strength is to Dexterity. Will determines a character's control over his or her natural Powers, as well as any mind-activated items such as Kanohi. It also affects the rate at which Endurance is drained by things such as suffering pain and using powers. A character with higher will can endure more discomfort, and so this Attribute is important even to characters that do not use Powers.
With that out of the way, we can get started. So, you want to make a character? I hope you have some details in mind. A character is a lot more than just a bunch of numbers. And yet it's these numbers that set this system apart from other Bionicle RPGs – the numbers help build a world that's not entirely in the control of those imagining it. The right use of these numbers – and enough luck – will make your character succeed. But have fun from your failures, too – misadventures are at least as entertaining as stories of success, aren't they? But anyway, to get started you will need to decide on a few things:
A name, of course! Or at least an alias, but you should probably have a real name for your character in mind anyway.
A race, sub-race, and gender. If you're sticking to the canon, the latter two will be linked for Matoran, Toa, and Turaga, naturally. See here for a list of races.
An alignment: good, neutral, or evil. This is really only important for the Moral Light stat, which I will explain later, and will not show up often. But you should have a good enough idea of your character to know if he or she is more like Lhikan or more like Teridax, or if he's somewhere in between – looking out for himself but not out to hurt anyone.
Previous experiences your character has – if we're going to have something for this, like what skills your character starts with... we still need to work on this. Hence the red font.
(Optionally) A Destiny. Now this isn't as concrete, and not completely in your hands. The basic idea is the Game Master is encouraged to bend the rules to help your character meet some predetermined fate. He should have some idea for every major character, and even if you tell him what you have in mind for yours, he has final say, and his decision will be kept secret. This Destiny will not always be achieved – meaning either it wasn't your character's destiny in the first place or he or she failed to achieve it, depending on how you interpret it. Just because you tell the GM 'I think my character should die heroically while vanquishing the Makuta that enslaved his people!' and he nods, heck, even if he says outright 'I'll try to make it happen' (which he shouldn't – he should keep his decision to himself), don't assume you have nothing to worry about from a horde of rampaging Protocairns.
Traits/Feats. We still need to come up with these.
Once you've chosen those things, the next step is to roll to determine your six main Attributes.
Most biomechanical beings have little difference in physique from the rest of their race. In addition, mental strength is greatly depended on race. Some Matoran might have stronger wills than others, but none ever have the ability to use Kanohi powers. And yet one can find a wide range of personalities and levels of intelligence among a particular race. Therefore, characters' initial Charisma and Intelligence values will be based on a larger roll – and so more varied – while Dexterity, Strength, Toughness, and Will will be determined by a smaller roll and more affected by racial modifiers. To determine the initial values for Charisma and Intelligence, roll four d6 die, discard the lowest value, and add up the values of the remaining three. For the other four Attributes, roll two d6 die and take the value of the higher roll.
To determine your character's final stats, apply the racial modifiers listed below, then any Subtypical modifiers (for elemental tribes, etc), then any modifiers from traits and feats. Consult the list of races linked to above to determine your racial modifiers.
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Now for the two sub-attributes of Toughness. These two values are similar to the Hitpoints of D&D – indeed, that is basically what Vitality is – but for us it works a little bit differently:
Vitality determines a character's physical health, and how much injury he or she can suffer before dying. A character with 0 is immobilized by injury, a character with -1 to -9 inclusive is dying or recovering from near-death, and a character with -10 is dead. Just like D&D Hitpoints, except a character that is between -1 and -9 is not necessarily unconscious.
Endurance is what determines if a character is conscious. It determines how much discomfort a character can suffer before passing out. A character with 0 cannot attack, a character with -1 to -9 must sit or lie down, and a character with -10 is unconscious.
Characters' maximum Vitality and Endurance can be affected by outside modifiers, but as a baseline, each point of Toughness contributes 10 points to Vitality and Endurance.
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Now, we will define Moral Light. It is greatly tied to a Matoran Universe inhabitant's morality – indeed, some say it defines it completely. In any case, we use it for but two purposes. Firstly, there is the rare ability to measure a being's Moral Light to determine if he or she is good or evil. Keetongu has this ability. Secondly, characters that have high enough Will and know the technique can channel their inner Light or Shadow into attacks. Using one's light in such a manner takes extreme purity of spirit and discipline, and as such as never been achieved in the main universe. How this will work is not yet determined – we may have a Good-Neutral-Evil scale, or just ask whether a character is evil enough to call upon this inner darkness.
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Resistances do just what it sounds like they do – they help your character resist damage and other negative effects he or she did not avoid completely. They are represented as percentages, for the value of the resistance is the percentage of damage that is mitigated. (In the case of negative resistances, that much extra damage is added.) For example, if a fireball that would normally do 20 damage hits a Ta-Matoran, who has a natural +50% Heat resistance, it would do only 10 damage to both Endurance and Vitality. If a sonic attack that also normally did 20 damage hits a De-Matoran, whose sensitive hearing gives him a huge -300% resistance to Endurance damage from Sonics, he would take 20 Vitality damage but 60 Endurance damage. By default, characters have 0% in resistances – these values are changed by racial modifiers, traits, and equipment. Here is the list of damage and resistance types, along with examples of what can deal each type of damage:
Acid – natural acid sources as well as attacks such as the Rhotuka of Keelerak deal Acid damage. Acid is also commonly found in heavily polluted places such as Xia.
Cold – extremely cold weather, elemental Ice users, and Toa of Fire absorbing a great deal of heat can all deal Cold damage.
Crushing – one of the three physical damage types. Blunt weapons such as hammers, falling rocks, and most kinetic force launchers deal Crushing damage.
Electric – Rahkshi of Electricity, Toa of Lightning, and some energy weapons deal Electric damage.
Elemental – Elemental damage is an unusual case. It applies to powers based on Elemental Energy, and in most cases comes along with whatever sort of damage that elemental attack otherwise does. For example, a normal fire would be considered to only deal Heat damage, while a fire directly from a Toa of Fire would be considered to do both Heat and Elemental damage. A character with 25% Heat resistance or Elemental resistance would take 25% less damage from such an elemental attack, while a character with 25% resistance to both damage types would suffer 50% less damage.
Energy – technically, all these damage types are based on some sort of energy, whether it is radiation, kinetic energy, or chemical energy. This damage type, however, refers to powers that are not linked to any element or physical damage type. For example, Axonn's hand blasts, most Rhotuka, and a Rahkshi of Disintegration's power are all mitigated by Energy resistance.
Heat – Rahkshi of Heat vision and a Toa of Fire's fire do Heat damage, of course, as well as natural fires and heat sources such as lava and unbearable hot desert days.
Light – one of the rarer damage types, Light is especially strong against creatures of Shadow and is dealt by Av-Matoran as well as some weapons such as Lightstone rifles and light launchers. Light resistance may also effect your chance to be blinded by bright lights.
Mental – Psychic attacks from Makuta, Toa of Psionics, and other beings with such abilities deal mental damage. In most cases, such attacks affect the mind directly, and so Mental damage usually or always affects only Endurance.
Piercing – the second of the physical damage types. Weapons such as daggers, arrows and fangs deal piercing damage, as do spikes materialized by Toa of elements such as Iron, Stone, Ice, or the Green.
Poison – some beings have natural poison-based abilities, such as Rahkshi of Poison. Many plants are also poisonous, and a Toa of the Green that knows how to do so can create these plants. Poisons can also be concocted and added to weapons.
Shadow – Makuta are the most famous wielders of Shadow, with elemental Shadow powers, but non-elemental Shadow damage can also be dealt by an evil character calling upon his or her inner darkness.
Slashing – the third of the physical damage types. Bladed weapons such as swords deal slashing damage.
Sonic – extremely loud sounds can incapacitate and even injure. Rahkshi of Power Scream, Toa of Sonics, and some Rahi and weapons are capable of dealing Sonic damage. Hearing sensitivity affects Endurance damage received from Sonic attacks – characters with very sensitive hearing suffer more from such attacks, while deaf characters suffer less. In either case, however, the Vitality damage done remains the same, for hearing ability does not affect how much damage sonic vibrations do to one's body.
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Elemental Energy is a value possessed by only some beings, and is used for Elemental powers. It recharges over time, and characters that have depleted their Elemental Energy cannot use Elemental attacks until some of it recharges. Beings that have Elemental Energy include:
Av-Matoran – a very small amount
Toa – a large amount
Turaga – a small amount
Skakdi – a large amount
Makuta – a large amount
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Toa Energy is a unique type of power only Toa have. Most characters will never have to worry about it, but it is an important value for those it applies to.
Matoran with the potential to become Toa have 0, as do Turaga. All other beings have -1. In most cases, whether a Matoran has the potential is randomly generated by the GM and unknown to the player. In some settings you can choose to play as a Matoran with the potential (though keep in mind your character would most likely not know this) or start as a Toa, and in other settings playing as a Toa will not be an option. For a destined Matoran to become a Toa, he or she must come into contact with an object imbued with at least 10 points of Toa Energy. Often, the GM will also choose a special circumstance that must also happen, such as placing the imbued objects into a Suva. Toa most often use fist-sized stones for such vessels, and decorate them with carvings, but they are also known to use their weapons and tools instead.
Upon becoming a Toa, a character's TE is raised to 60. Besides transforming other Matoran into Toa – which costs 10 TE each – Toa Energy can also be channeled into very strong – some call it miraculous – healing power. When their Toa Energy value reaches 0 again and they have completed their Toa Destiny, they become a Turaga. Toa Energy never regenerates, and expending it does not weaken a Toa in any way until they become a Turaga.
I may add a trait system to this post later, or include it in a future blog update.
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I'm back, baby!
I just got back for the hospital today and I'm downloading Borderlands 2 right now!
To quote Simon from the Yogscast, "See ya later @#%$lords!"
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Top Gear UK
LOVE this show! Hammond,May and Jeremy are amazing! I love all three of them when they get togeather! On the other hand I HATE the U.S Top Gear... It's quite silly IMO. Fans of UK or US?
RCF
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Today is rather interesting
I feel the need to do this, considering today is a special day in the US.
Something I find sad besides the fact is how, when I checked the news this morning, there was only one mere article about 9/11. In fact, it was only to talk about the already well-known fact that there had been prior warnings. Other than that, nothing.
It is rather sad that today isn't a bigger deal, or at least from what I've seen. I dunno, I may just be under a rock here.
Either way, I am blessed and proud to be living here, in a wonderful slice of America where freedom is how we live.
Hope everyone remember 9/11. Take care today, everyone!
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BZP Origins: Ghosthands
I have a blog now. Blogs are cool.
Sorry, couldn't resist. <ahem>
So, I've been on BZPower for a while now. Some time in those bygone years when Mata Nui was still asleep and Jaller was still a Matoran, I stumbled across this site while looking for images for a Bionicle card game (which, like almost all of my harebrained projects, fell through). Since then, my interaction with the BZP community has been...whimsical, shall we say. I created an account under the name 'Karzahni Kaita', never posted with it, lost the passwords, and forgot about the site.
In early 2009, I made this account. I don't remember ever using it, except to check the front-page BZP news.
Until one fateful day, I happened to read a news article reporting the reboot of something called the 'BZPower Official RPG'. Intrigued, I found the topics of the BZPRPG's last days, and read the intro to Friar Tuck's reboot.
I was hooked.
Since then, I've become a regular RPer, made a sprite kit, posted MOCs, founded a wiki, organised an Oscars analogue, grown out of Bionicle, left, returned, and finally bought lifetime Premier membership.
And now, been nagged to make a blog. So here I am.
You may expect the content of this blog to consist mainly of BZPRPG, Doctor Who and Mass Effect, but with smatterings of many other diverse topics. And so -
Allons-y!
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eagle project
yeah so I'm emailing people back who wanted to help me with my eagle project and wondering whether they'll judge me for doing so at 2:30 in the morning and also a couple weeks after most of them sent them
(in case anyone's wondering I'm doing genealogy indexing which is basically putting photographed census records and draft cards and stuff into a searchable database so people can look up their family history and stuff, and also I have until november before I turn 18 so I have to hurry since I want to index 10,000 names. don't worry guys I have a friend who did 15k and he finished in time)
why did I come to bzp to post about this the world may never know
if I do get my eagle it'll definitely be after my premier membership runs out though because I have a month left I think so I won't be able to tell you guys about it here
edit: holy cow there isn't autocapitalization???????????????????
bzpower is looking pretty fancy
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Ambage Entry--Change
Isaac swore. For the fourteenth time. And for the seventh, walked up the door, inhaled sharply, and backed off. There was some cosmic force shoving him toward that door, and he believed that one was from heaven—the one pushing him away every time his hand gripped the frosty handle was from somewhere else. His breath was frosty in the air, his soul ever colder. As his brain screamed at him in that incomprehensible agony only a mother’s son can feel, he let his body take control and stumbled through the door.
“Mom, I’m home.”
She smiled warmly. He smiled back with a warmth that felt somehow deadened by the snow outside. And he felt guilty for that—since Dad had been gone, his mother had somehow absorbed his own warmth. But he was left to his own distance.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Honey, do you…” She coughed, spat blood on the sheets. Isaac bit his lip. “Did you get the medicine?” Her voice was frail, alien. That disturbed him. He dreamt about banishing the unholy demons that did this to her.
“Nah, Mom…they wouldn’t take change.”
She blinked.
Awkwardness was the only word in the English language to describe the sensation that overtook Isaac, but that was something devoid of emotion. Something as cold as a Chicago winter and a doctor’s heart. What overtook Isaac had depth and sorrow, grief and guilt. It had shame. For him and for her. And that hurt.
“Oh…well that’s okay honey. I love you anyways.”
He laughed. Weak, but sincere. “W-we’re gonna make it, ma. Right?”
Her eyes shimmered. That force from outside returned and manifested in her tears, which in her still-youthful confidence refused to flood from her eyes. She could not hold them in, but they stood there stoic and bold, in eerie contrast to her dying form. She was a shell, but she was not hollow. She held love and she rejected the cold that Isaac had carried in.
“Yeah. We’re gonna make it.”
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Olympics
You know, on par, I think the closing ceremony was a little more barking mad than the opening one. I think when you have Eric Idle dressed like something from Captain Scarlet pretending to try to dance with a group of bhangra performers who just swamped a stage previously occupied by a bunch of line-dancing Romans, you have topped giant inflatable Voldemort being attacked by an army of Mary Poppins
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Wow, this has been sitting her for.. Forever. Been waiting for Premier Perks to get this out. Anyways here it is! (Note- this hasn't been edited since if first wrote it, right around when the perks ended last year. Anyways, enjoy!)
Recently, I got Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance for 3DS. And in case you didn't know, I like to write reviews for games, so I've decided to do a bit of that on my blog. Anyways, expect some more soon, I'll most likely review The Last Story next, as I'm getting that on launch day next week.
My overall opinion on Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance? If you're a Kingdom Hearts fan, this game is a must-have, if you're willing to drop the munny on a 3DS or have already done so. If you aren't a Kingdom Hearts fan, or haven't played any of the games, this is the perfect place to jump in. I'm going to say now that I got a 3DS last year just because of this game, so I had really high expectations. Thankfully, my expectations were met with a fun, fast adventure, but every adventure has a few bumps in the road.
First, I'd like to focus on the story- Basically, it's about Sora and Riku (the two main protagonists of the Kingdom Hearts franchise) going on a journey through seven worlds to become Keyblade Masters- if you're lost at this point, don't worry- the game has a Memento system, with explanatory cutscenes featuring Mickey Mouse and Yen Sid (both classic Disney cartoon characters), a glossary, and well-written summaries of the previous six Kingdom Hearts games. Of course, if you've played those six games, you're probably all caught up on the story. Anyways, the story benefits from having seen, or having some knowledge of, the source Disney movies (The Disney worlds in this game are based off the movies The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tron: Legacy, Pinocchio, Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers, and Fantasia). The overarching story connecting everything together does a good job of keeping everything in line, and it's one of the better Kingdom Hearts stories (Need I remind anyone of the awful story of Re:coded?). Normally, everything flows fine, and the game, for the most part, explains most things and fills in almost all of the story gaps, and only occasionally leaves anything unexplained. The Grid is one of those worlds where they seem to expect you to have seen the movie, and I've never seen any of the other Disney movies featured in the game, and I got a little lost at points. I'm a bit disappointed, as this usually doesn't happen within the Kingdom Hearts games. But there's one world that might confuse you more than others a bit if you aren't too familiar with the source material... Traverse Town.
Traverse Town is a Kingdom Hearts original world, usually filled with a bright and colorful cast of Square Enix characters. In Kingdom Hearts, it was a a town filled with faces familiar to fans of Square's Final Fantasy series. You had Aerith, Cid, Leon, Yuffie, Moogles, and a few Disney characters thrown in for good measure, such as Geppetto, Merlin, and The Nephews. Fortunately, everyone is introduced as a new character who lives here, and the Final Fantasy characters became main-ish characters, with nearly no story relation to their original games. However, In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Traverse Town is home to the main characters of The World Ends With You. For TWEWY fans, this is just awesome, but for people who haven't played The World Ends With You, it can be both a little bit confusing and lose a bit of it's charm. You see, this world is loaded with TWEWY meta-references and jokes, from the Light Puck to the Noise to the Reaper's Game to CAT, the list goes on and on. And you won't get a good bit of what the heck the characters are actually talking about if you haven't played The World Ends With You, because none of it is explained at all in the game.
Anyways, let's get on to the gameplay. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance uses the same basic system found in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts: Re:coded, which is a very good thing. You press A to attack, B to jump, and X to use action commands (Magic and special attacks and such). Yes, the game suffers from a bad case of Kingdom Hearts Camera (which is worsened by use of the Circle Pad Pro), and the platforming isn't always spot-on, but the biggest focus of the game is the combat, it's all great working and streamlined, although it's streamlined to the point where the command list only shows two commands instead of three, and you can't press X while on a recharging command to skip to the next ready one, like you could do in BBS and Re:coded. It works, but not as well as in the previous two titles. You can also link with Dream Eaters, monsters that fight by your side in your party (think Final Fantasy XIII-2). I prefer Sora's links, as they cause your Dream Eaters to do super attacks that give them temporary invincibility, while Riku's links cause the Dream Eaters to disappear and Riku goes into a sort of Command Style, similar to BBS. You can also play interact with your dream eaters with the touch screen, play with them, and feed them, like a Kingdom-Hearts style Nintendogs. Also, due to this game being on the Nintendo 3DS, there has to be a touch screen gimmick, and in this game it's called Reality Shift. Reality Shift differs for each world, although it basically comes down to doing a few basic actions on the touch screen to interact with the environment and attack enemies. It's different for every world, and for the most part they are rather enjoyable. And finally, we get to Flowmotion. Let me say this: Flowmotion is amazing. With Flowmotion, you can zip around worlds at lightning-fast speeds, being able to outspeed even the fastest of bosses (sometimes). It takes a bit of getting used to, but once you start flying off walls and pull of some nice Flowmotion attacks on some enemies, it's so much fun, and you wonder how Kingdom Hearts made it this long without Flowmotion. There is also a game called "Flick Rush", in which you flick numbered cards from the bottom screen to the top screen to have your Dream Eater attack your opponent's dream eater, and the higher number wins. It's enjoyable in short bursts, but not over a long period of time, and is sadly the only multiplayer mode.
Next, I'll look at the presentation. The game looks pretty much the same as the Console and PSP Kingdom Hearts games, which is pretty good, some visual consistency is pretty nice. There's also a prerendered FMV opening cinematic, albeit this time with the instrumental version of Sanctuary instead of the vocal one. The 3D looks fantastic, especially in the drop sequences. There are some points where the camera might go inside something and then you see all the polygons and stuff, but that's very rare, and happens in nearly every 3D game. The music is good, although I was slightly disappointed about how non Daft Punk-ish the music in The Grid sounded, and the remixes of the songs from The World Ends With You were so great that they should have been in more than just a couple of cutscenes. The voice acting is solid, with most of the non-Kingdom Hearts characters having their original voice actors reprising their roles, and the Kingdom Hearts cast is pretty solid, too. However, I, like nearly all other kingdom hearts fans, believe that Haley Joel Osment is too old to still be voicing young Sora. He's fine as the 17-year-old Sora, but he just can't hit the 15-year-old Sora voice like he could ten years ago.
Here, I'll look at the extra stuff. First-print runs of the standard edition com with three AR cards, the special edition comes with all five, and after first print runs will apparently come with one. Of course, the cards are easily printable and usable from the internet, so that's no problem. Anyways, the rare Dream Eaters you get from the cards come in handy, especially R&R Seal, which has the maximum amount of HP boost abilities, plus it's a pretty good ally. Another extra feature this game has is Circle Pad Pro compatibility, which kinda works and kinda doesn't. It's fantastic for iproving locking on, as it adds ZL and ZR buttons, so it has shoulder buttons similar to a Dualshock 2, and they function exactly as they did in Kingdom Hearts. However, the main feature of the Circle Pad Pro, the extra Circle Pad, isn't implemented very well, but it seems to mostly be because it's a Kingdom Hearts game with an awful camera, just like the rest. Touching the second circle pad can cause the camera to go in all sorts of directions, and with the not-exactly-great camera following, this can spell disaster in battles and while using Flowmotion. Try it if you wan't but dont spend your money on a CPP if you are only going to use it for this game. Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil make much better use of it.
And finally, I'll look at the Fun Factor. Of course, this is the first Kingdom Hearts game to feature flowmotion, which is a blast to use, and is probably the most fun you can have in a videogame getting from point A to point B. The story, while not always crystal-clear, was still very entertaining, with a good bit of comedy tossed in at the right places. There's also a good bit of extra stuff to do, including the unlockable critical mode, the Secret/Special portals, the ability to transfer Dream Eaters to a new save file, secret boss and keyblades, Flick Rush Multiplayer, and StreetPass add up to a ton of extras, however, when compared to other Kingdom Hearts games, the longevity of this game is rather short. Pretty much every other KH game has things that keep you going through Level 99- insanely overpowered secret bosses, special missions, sidequests, etc. However, once you beat KH3D, the drive to hit the 99-level mark just isn't there. There's no reason to. You can beat any boss in the game with little trouble, including the harder boss rebattles, at around level 50-60, and it's not too difficult to hit that mark in under 40 hours. And, if you want to do critical mode, you might as well just stop your game right after you beat it, as the only things that carry over to critical are you Trophies and Dream Eaters, and playing through the game again might take another 30 hours, possibly 40-50 if you want everything. So, to get absolutely everything out of this game, you'll have to play around 70-80, possibly 90 hours, tops. However, for nearly every other KH game, I've played way past the 100 hour mark, and I still have things to do. I have the scores in the Paradox Battles in KH2, I have a couple holo-missions left in Days, and I still need the Ultima Weapon in Kingdom Hearts, Birth by Sleep, and Re:coded. However, KH3D comes out very short in the longevity section. It's still a blast to play, but the fun won't last as long as other Kingdom Hearts titles.
So, I've covered pretty much everything. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance is a must-have for fans who are willing to buy or already own a 3DS, and also for people who want to get into Kingdom Hearts. It's fun and fast-paced, and you'll most likely be enjoying it too much to notice the camera and platforming issues. Even with it's shorter longevity than other Kingdom Hearts titles, it's still the best portable Kingdom Hearts title, ranking up there with the two numbered games in terms of Story and Gameplay. It's a fantastic Action-RPG experience that you shouldn't be hesitant to dive right into.
THE FINAL SCORES
Story:
+ It manages to take all the Kingdom Hearts lore and place it in a neat and organized Memento system and Glossary, which makes it perfect for newcomers, returning fans, or KH fanatics.
+ The story makes sense at the end, and there are almost no plotholes, if any. It's one of the best to date.
- Some things can be confusing if you aren't familiar with the source material. But that's what Wikipedia's for.
Story Rating: 8/10
Gameplay:
+ Very solid combat, like always.
+ Flowmotion is the best addition to Kingdom Hearts since they replaced Sora's original chainsaw with a Keyblade in the planning stages of Kingdom Hearts.
- It suffers from the same camera and platforming issues that have plagued the series from the beginning. But you'll be having too much fun to notice.
- Flick Rush works, but it's rather uninteresting, and it's the only multiplayer mode.
Gameplay Rating: 8.5/10
Presentation:
+ Kingdom Hearts has had a constant visual style since the beginning, and we finally see the series on a Nintendo handheld the way it's supposed to look.
+ Over half the time I played the game, I played it in 3D, and the 3D looks great.
- The sound is usually pretty good, but there are some tracks that should have been used more and some that didn't sound entirely right. Also, Haley Joel Osment can't voice younger Sora anymore.
Presentation Rating: 8.5/10
Extra Features:
+ Ar Cards provide useful dream eaters.
+ You can print AR cards off the internet.
- You don't want to play this game with the circle pad pro. (However, I won't count that against the score as the CPP is sold separately. If I did, this section would get a 3/10.)
Extra Features Rating: 8/10
Fun Factor:
+ Did I say that Flowmotion is AMAZING?!?
+ The story, while being very good, is also very entertaining (Especially when Sora turns around at the end of the game).
+ The unlockable critical mode, ability to battle bosses again, ability to transfer Dream Eaters to a new save file, and StreetPass add up to a ton of extras. Oh, and did I mention there are Trophies?
- Even with all the extra stuff mentioned above, the longevity of the other KH games isn't there.
- Some of the boss battles can be pretty hard (Rinzler). But hey, what fun is a game without a challenge?
Fun Factor Rating: 9/10
TOTAL RATING: 42/50
Anyways, what did you think of the review? Do you like my format? I'd like to read your thoughts and comments, because I'll be doing more of this in the future!
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A Journey Into Darkness, Part 3
Up until now, he had been in silence, a deafening silence interrupted only by the sound of his own footsteps on the rocks. There was no breeze here - the air was still and lifeless. The faint huff of his breath was the only motion that air saw, and its steady rhythm was almost reassuring.
Then he heard something slip against the dust on the floor, quickly, as though it were running, or sliding, away. Or toward him. But he only heard that once. He sighed, and continued onward, fully expecting to bump into a wall at any moment, except he didn't. He just kept walking, and lost track of how long he had been. Even though the tunnel felt straight, when he turned around, he didn't even see a point of light where the shaft branched off, just more darkness. Still, he continued forward. There had to be something here, maybe even, he dared to hope, a way out.
Then he heard that noise again, that unsettling slip against the dust, moving toward him now.
Then he heard a faint hiss.
He heard it scream, and he screamed.
Then he stopped.
And Everything was dark, and silent again.
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Comic Recomendation
Hey BZPers. I know I'm not one for advertisement but My Friend friend The Venom really would like to get some more followers for his comic series V3. It is one of the best comic series I have read on BZP, spans the course of 3 seasons, and the current story unfolding is really great. It involves Symbiotes, basically stemming from the famous spider man villain venom If you could give it a look and comment, that would be great. Thanks everyone
http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=790
-Star
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It's Been a While
It's funny to look back on this blog after being away from it for over a year. I read some of the things I was talking about, and it's funny to think where it's ended up. It's funny to think, but since my last blog entry:
1) I've bought my first home.
2) I've recieved my first promotion.
But neither of those would've been possible without the third thing: I met the love of my life, who motivated me to push myself harder than ever to get to where I am now. I've completed my first two half-marathons, gotten into better shape, and found a regular place for myself in a company softball team.
Most importantly: I'm getting married in Novemeber. The woman I met just a few days after my Jan 23rd blog post ended up being just the person I needed in my life. So I apologize for disappearing off the face of the Earth, and I hope that those of you who have been doing your best to stay in touch don't feel like I've left you behind. This forum was a big part of my life for a long time, and I'll always hold a spot for it in my heart.
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Procrastination
I've got a bit of a procrastination problem. For example, I have a series of exams starting tomorrow, important exams, and yet, here I am.
I can't shake it. I was determined this morning to write some essays and prepare for the English exam, but here we are at 6:30 PM and I've only done a bit of coding all day. I've managed to procrastinate despite very slow internet and stopping myself going on the more time-sinking websites. It's quite an achievement really.
I suppose I could possibly get something done in the hours before I go to bed (early, because I want a good night's sleep beforehand). But then, I don't want to.
Why can't I just go to university now and write apps while learning things I want to and doing work I enjoy? I'm definitely clever enough to go, I've done a uni course before and passed with minimal effort.
That's definitely a first world problem, though. I'm not enjoying my free, high-quality education. I want to spend my time telling advanced miniature computers what to do instead.
I used to love school, then they made my worst and least-favourite subject the most important and only compulsory one. I, and probably the entire country at this point, need to know how to use computers far more than I need to know how to identify themes and techniques. That's a whole other blog post, though.
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Bye, Blog
Well, seeing as my Premier Member perks end today, my blog goes with them. I'm content that I had wrote at least one entry instead of letting the week pass without any. Too bad I didn't get to add more to it, though. Maybe next time I'll think of something else to put on here.
So, this being my last entry for now, I say goodbye to my blog. It was fun having one and being a part of the blog community.
