The Official RPG Planning Topic

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

It sounds interesting but hard to pull off. What do you have in mind so far?

[Toa Of Anarchy]

Well, I think'in about ten or so years before Mata Nui landed. Everyone can fight in Arena Magna, drive vehicles, fight for a tribe, etc.

I mean, the potential for a Bara Magna RPG is astounding.

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

Yes, that does sound interesting. I'm not sure whether or not it would be my kind of RPG, but I could definitely see a LOT of people liking it. Most Bara Magna RPGs nowadays are technically placed on Spherus Magna. I think it would be a great chance to experiment with the idea. In short, you should definitely go for it.

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

Well, I think'in about ten or so years before Mata Nui landed. Everyone can fight in Arena Magna, drive vehicles, fight for a tribe, etc.

I mean, the potential for a Bara Magna RPG is astounding.

Yes, yes it is.

But, let me go ahead and warn you now: You're going to need to find a major plot to follow. BZP's too small at this point to sustain a full-open world RPG. As GM, you're going to need to be able to find something for characters to do, and keep the ball rolling as long as possible.

Just my bit of input.

Zakaro

[Toa Of Anarchy]

Well, I certainly won't be able to do it alone, anyone want to join in? This would be my first time GMing so if anyone wants to write it with me, BE MY GUEST!

Edited November 17, 2013 by Toa of Anarchy

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

You could make it during the Core War, that would be pretty cool and new.

[Toa Of Anarchy]

Hmm, Core Wars..Yeah I suppose that would work.

[Ehksidian]

alright just wanna see more possible ways I can improve thislet me know if you're interested in the idea, or have any ideas on how to improve.And yes, this was entered last contest. With no planning. I'm going into the next contest a bit more prepared.

 

The Bubble

Aku-Nui. A land shrouded in mystery. No one knows what lies within its impenetrable bubble, created by a Toa thousands of years ago. Some say it is a paradise, much like Arkahta. Others say it is a place more unforgiving than Karzhani. Still others say this is all false, that the island is nothing special.

I live in this Mata-Nui forsaken place. And none of this is true.

The land was once beautiful, fertile, and green. It truly was almost a paradise.

Then our only Toa decided to ‘save’ us.

It was a noble cause, yes. Our island was being assaulted by visorak, and our Toa thought it was best to seal the island in its own dimensional bubble. No one knows how he did it, nor what he used to do it, but the end result was the same: He perished, and our island was cut off from the rest of the world.

We’re lucky nothing broke in. We’re very lucky none of those horrors popped the bubble.

Things are changing, though. Portals are opening on the edges of the bubble, allowing beings from other universes in, but not out. Some are good, and some are truly evil. But no matter what, we all share some things in common: We are trapped here. We’re all hungry. We all want out.

Welcome to the deepest pits of Karzhani, my friends. I hope you enjoy your stay.

-Okajo

Welcome to The Bubble, an RPG set on the ‘idyllic’ island of Aku-Nui. Tensions run high, food runs low, and strange beings appear in strange places. The island remains sealed in its own little dimensional bubble, protected from what horrors lay outside, but the bubble does not protect against the horrors within. No matter where you turn, mistrust and tension awaits you. Darkness slowly consumes the island as more and more portals appear. Are you willing to take the risk, and enter this land?

Setting

Can’t have an RPG without a setting.

Aku-Nui: Aku-Nui could have once been described as a paradise. At one time, the grass was green, the matoran were happy, etc etc. The grass is now dead, the sky perpetually in twilight, and the sky outside the bubble completely dark. A mountain rage separates the island in half, a volcano dominating the center of the range.

Aku-Metru: The central city of Aku-Nui, located west of the Kalar Mountains. It is dominated by tall metal buildings and dirty streets. Many buildings have fallen into disrepair, dirt and grime covering their once shiny surfaces and these buildings are home to the poor and hungry. The rich reside in the highest floors of some buildings, but they are not much better off than the ones living at the bottom. Whatever power station once was here has long since broken down.

Na-Aku: The only other major city on the island, Na-Aku was once a bustling port town, a place where the natives could mingle with those from other islands. After the Bubble formed, though, it quickly became abandoned. Nature took over, and now it is reduced to just a ruin of its former glory. After the portals began appearing, however, the matoran found a use for this desolate city. Now, this somewhat-ruined land is the place where most of the non-natives live. Though overgrown, it is by no means unsatisfactory for living. Toa police the streets, keeping the more rambunctious denizens of Na-Aku under control.

Kalar Mountains: The Kalar Mountains run through the island, essentially cutting it in half. Many small settlements exist here, consisting of at the most 10 individuals. The tops of the mountains are often covered in snow, keeping all but the Ko beings away from the highest altitudes. The east ‘slope’ of the mountains is simply a giant cliff face, leading to The Dark Place.

Mount Vanar: At the center of the Kalar Mountains, Mount Vanar boils and bubbles constantly. It gives heat to most of the island, and in fact is where the food supply is created. The volcano is hot to the point where not even Ta-Toa can handle the heat. It is unknown what can reside there and create the food.

The Dark Place: A mysterious area south of the Kalar Mountains, not much is known about this place as it was never explored. As far as the matoran are concerned, it doesn’t exist, and it never has. Some non-natives, however, believe there are amazing riches and spoils here, or lost technology that can free them. Others think it is simply a land which none are supposed to go, full of monstrous rahi. Whatever lays here, no one knows.

The Bubble: This impassible wall surrounds the island, reaching about 1 kio off the coast. The bubble feels almost solid, but is slightly elastic. Strange creatures attack it occasionally, but they never make it through.

The portals: Gateways from other dimentions, these appear not only on the very edge of the Bubble, but occasionally appear in random locations on the island itself. They open up, deposit whatever being was unfortunate enough to stumble though them, and close. Research is impossible to do on the portals, as there is no rhyme or reason as to when or where they appear.

Other features: Aku-Nui is mainly flat, dead grasslands with a few lakes here and there. A few small settlements exist outside of Na-Aku and Aku-Metru, but they are few and far between.

Gameplay

This is how you play the game.

The Bubble is a story-driven sandbox RPG on the island of Aku-Nui.

Combat

In this RPG, combat is standard. Simply state you’re attacking someone, and the fight ensues. We aren’t doing any fancy rock-paper-scissors element thing; we aren’t doing any sort of dice-rolling. Fights are determined by how one character is against the other, and who is smarter in the fight. A word of warning, however: NO AUTOHITTING. We will go into that in the Rules section.

Factions

What’s an RPG without factions, especially in a place like this?

The Natives: A group consisting of Matoran originally from Aku-Nui, the more radical Natives want nothing more than to eradicate the newcomers, and destroy the portals. Not all of them share this viewpoint, however. One of the largest factions, and the one with the most food, The Natives are one of the only forces to be reckoned with on this island. Lead by Okajo, and located in Aku-Metru.

The Dark Ones: A conglomeration of various different species, ones who worship the Dark Place as if it were a safe haven. The Dark Ones have no wishes, other than to conquer the Dark Place, and lay siege to the ‘Light Place’ once they claim their land. Most everyone finds them absolutely insane, however, and thus have no allies on the island. They rarely appear outside of their caves, and almost never bother outside beings. However, if one outsider made it to the Dark Place by some means, the Dark Ones would more than likely wage an all-out war on the island. Lead by ‘The Dark One’, located in the Kalar Mountains.

The Others: Those who find the Dark Ones absolutely insane, and are not native to the island find some solace in this unorganized faction. Consisting of small pockets of beings that help one another, this group is largely peaceful, save for a few extremists who raid and pillage. The Others have no leader or central base.

Other Factions: You can create your own faction, provided you have more than 3 player characters involved. Simply PM The X this form and your faction will be added to the list.

<place inside code boxes>Faction Name: What is the name of your faction?

Faction Goals: What do they want to accomplish?

Faction Leader: Who leads them?

Faction Base: Where is it found? <end code boxes>

Rules

This isn’t an anarchy RPG. There needs to be some rules.

RULE 1: Follow the BZP/RPG forum rules. Simple!

RULE 2: Respect the staff of the RPG. If you decide to disrespect people of higher authority too much, you will receive punishment.

RULE 3: Talk using IC (In character) and OOC (Out of character). Keep OOC-only posts in the discussion topic, please. Need an example?

OOC: I’m talking Out of Character right now. Below me is me talking In Character. And that certainly is not the truth.

IC: That guy ran down the street, panting and waving his arms saying, “THE RATIONS ARE MATORAN!” Everyone looked at him like he was completely and absolutely bonkers.

RULE 4: Don’t godmod. Godmodding is when you perform some impossible feat, like summoning a laser space cannon to kill the guy directly in front of you, and taking absolutely no damage from said laser. Unless given EXPLICIT permission to do so, you will be punished for godmodding.

RULE 5: Don’t kill anyone who doesn’t belong to you. If you are in a fight with another player-owned character, don’t kill them without permission. And this somewhat applies to NPCs. If you have trouble killing a Toa PC, good luck trying to kill a Toa NPC. NPCs are just as formidable as players.

RULE 6: Do not bunny/autohit/control others. This relates to godmodding, as this also is extremely unfair to others. If you’re in a fight, don’t make all of your hits make contact and all of their hits miss. If you throw a punch at their face, and they’re faster than you it’s fine if they dodge. But it is never fine to say that you automatically hit them, unless they give you permission to do so. Same with controlling characters, only do so when they say it’s ok.

RULE 7: Post characters for approval in the discussion topic. Once approved, post them in the profiles topic. You can have a maximum of 3 living characters at a time.

RULE 8: Have fun. If you don’t have fun, you’ll be automatically banned! I’m kidding.

Punishments

The punishment system works in levels. Depending on the severity, however, you may skip entire levels.

Level 1: In-topic warning.

Level 2: One character is injured. (i.e. loss of a finger, broken arm, etc.)

Level 3: One character dies. Painfully and humiliatingly.

Level 4: Banned for a week. Another character bites the dust.

Level 5: You’re out. Forever. Whatever you did, it clearly violated every single rule and then some.

Character information

This is stuff about characters, and how to make them.

Playable Races:

Aku-Nuian Matoran: These matoran are not your average matoran. Due to strange forces on the island, and possibly due to the isolation on the island, all matoran have powers akin to Av-Matoran in Karda-Nui. They are slightly taller and stronger than the average matoran, and have very limited control over their elements. All are native to Aku-Nui.

Toa: These are the ones that sling around fire, ice, or whatever you want to kill baddies. Or good people. Most abide by the Toa code; however some do not due to their own universes not having it, or they simply prefer to kill. Toa are one of the more powerful beings on the island. None are native to Aku-Nui, having come from different universes.

Vortixx: Tall, lean, black-armored beings hailing from the island of Xia. They have no elemental powers, but are strong, fast, and good with technology. If you give a Vortixx a single-fire bolt action rifle, they probably could make it into a semi-automatic. Given enough time and resources, that is. None are native to Aku-Nui, having come from separate universes.

Skadki: Grinning psychopaths, genetically altered by a Makuta in various universes. They possess a vision power, such as heat vision and impact vision, and can use elemental powers much like Toa can. However, these elemental powers can ONLY be used in conjugation with another Skadki, and since many do not like each other, this rarely happens. Some Skadki have various other powers, but these range from extreme adaptability, to no extraneous powers at all. None are native to Aku-Nui, having come from separate universes.

Other Races: Want to play as an unlisted canon race, or would you like to create your own race? Fill out the form below, and PM it to The X. Custom made races go under extreme scrutiny, in order to maintain fairness.

<place in code boxes> Race name: What is the name of your race?

Race description: What does your race typically look like, and what are their powers?

Race original location: Where does your race hail from?<end code boxes>

Character sheet

This is what you use to make a character. Please post in discussion topic for approval.

<code box>Character name: What is the name of your character? I don’t want any Jimbobs, or thatguy12345, make legitimate Bionicle-sounding names, please.

Gender: I don’t need to say anything more.

Species: Again, enough said.

Element: What element do they control?

Detailed description or image: What does your character look like? How tall are they?

Abilities/Talents: Is your character good at throwing stuff? Can they shoot fire out of their eyes?

Personality: How does your character act? Please don’t put one or two words here, characters like that are extremely dull.

History: Where did your character come from? Were they always like the way they are? How did they get to Aku-Nui? <end code box>

If you wish, you could add more to your character sheet, such as relations to other characters and maybe even age. What is on the sheet, however, is necessary.

Important NPCs

Character name: Okajo

Gender: Male

Species: Aku-Nuian Matoran.

Element: Plasma

Description and image: He looks like this. Slightly taller than most Aku-Nuian matoran, he is somewhat of an imposing figure.

Abilities and talents: Okajo has the ability to create small balls of throwable plasma, but this normally drains him of most of his energy. He is very talented with swordplay

Personality: Very calm, charismatic, and friendly. He rarely fights battles, but when he does he tends to ‘flip his lid’ and becomes an angry juggernaut in the fight. Until he gets hurt, of course. He thinks that the outsiders do not deserve the hatred they get, but he does not like the outsiders, either.

History: Before the Bubble was formed, Okajo was a simple matoran that lead a very simple life. He worked like any other matoran, and did everything like any other matoran. But once the Bubble was formed, he realized the island would fall into chaos without a leader. He quickly asserted himself the leader of the island, taking over the capital city without violence. His charisma helped him keep the position, as did his leadership skills. He became a figure of peace on the island, after stopping a possible civil war from breaking out. Once the portals started to appear, though, people began losing faith in him as a leader, blaming him for letting the outsiders in the island. He is still within the favor of the majority, but his leadership powers seem to be crumbling.The Dark OnesCharacter Name: ‘The Dark One’, real name unknown.Gender: Unknown, most likely male.Species: Unknown, possibly Toa.Element: Unknown, possibly Ice.Appearance: All that is known of how ‘The Dark One’ looks like, is that he wears a dark cape covering his entire body, with two bright red eyes staring out from the hood. Some say he wears a Voltiak, others say he wears a Tryna. No two descriptions of him are alike, though. For all we know, he simply changes his mask often.Abilities and talents: Some say he is strong enough to freeze large groups of people at once, others say he can kill you with a glance. What definitely is known, however, is that he is an astounding marksman and almost seems to have hypnotic abilities.Personality: No one is sure, but most describe him as ‘cold-hearted’ and ‘cruel’. Members of his faction say he is ‘Simply dedicated to his cause’. Most others, however, would describe him as a ‘mad, raving lunatic bent on destruction’.History: Not much is known about The Dark One, other than he appeared very shortly after the first few portals cropped up. He quickly took refuge in the mountains, and saw The Dark Place from the peak of one mountain. He only saw darkness, but it excited him, made him want to explore it. He kidnapped travelers, kidnapped others who came through the portal, and made them believe riches were in The Dark Place. He converted many to his faction, and made them hunt down people to make them join. Soon enough, after a very brief stay on the island, he commanded a large amount of beings. He uses his faction to accomplish a goal that he has kept secret from the rest of the faction, one that no one knows about but him. It may deal with The Dark Place, it may not.

 

I wish you all luck in this unforgiving landscape.

-X, RPG creator.

Edited January 1, 2014 by Ehks

[Geardirector]

Well, I just came up with an RPG setting that I felt like sharing. I aimed for a sort of warped version of Mata Nui, with different elements and such, tell me what you think?

THE ISLAND OF ATARA NUI

An island of mysteries and undiscovered secrets. Where Mata Nui was an Island Paradise, Atara Nui is a place of extremes and philosophies. With six Matoran societies who at first glance seem vastly different from each other, yet still coexist in relative peace.

Iron Realm; Hanga Tunnels

This mostly underground realm is home to the island’s population of Fe-Matoran. Serving as the island main engineers, miners and inventors; The Village of Fe-Koro is located at the mouth of the first tunnel the Fe-Matoran dug in search of the minerals and riches that they pride themselves on. The most technologically advanced location on Atara Nui; you can expect to see mechanical doors and vehicles, automatic weapons and lighted hallways. The Fe-Matoran answer to a democratically elected government, and they swear to the principle of Malleability to go with their inventions and industry.

Gravity Realm; Tei Mountains

The Ba-Matoran of Atara Nui reside in spread communities on the island’s highest mountaintops, where they regularly defy gravity in rope bridges spanning huge chasms, swinging on ropes and making use of gliders, kites and climbing utilities to traverse the treacherous mountains. The Ba-Matoran, as mentioned earlier, live in small villages nested in canyons and valleys across the mountain chain, and leadership varies between them, from Oligarchy, to Democracy, Theocracy etc. The Ba-Matoran believe in the principle of Spirituality, and they are the philosophers and thinkers of Atara Nui

Lightning Realm; Paro Bay

Paro Bay is a place routinely struck by ferocious lightning- and thunderstorms. Which is why the Vo-Matoran are the only race to find the place hospitable. The Vo-Matoran have taken up the duty of fisherwomen and sailors, and even live in a community very evenly split between landlocked and waterlocked. There are entire boating conglomerates that spend almost their entire lives on the high seas, operating out of fishing piers located sparsely across the region's surrounding waters. The landlocked community, in the meantime, spend their day as weavers, tailors and landlocked fisherwomen. Despite their differences, both communities still answer to a single Chieftain. To weather the storms of Paro Bay, the Vo-Matoran employ Fe-Koronan lightning rods. The Vo-Matoran rely on the principle of Practicality, as their environment and way of life allows for little excess.

Plasma Realm; Mt. Rewa

Located under a scorching sun next to the sleeping volcano of Mt. Rewa, Su-Koro is where the Su-Matoran of Atara Nui call home. They are the island’s craftsmen; working with glass, porcelain, ceramics and similar substances. Where the Fe-Matoran have ingenuity and practical application in mind, the Su-Matoran pride themselves on beauty and artistic depth, which comes to show in how beautiful the Koro is. Su-Koro is run by an Oligarchy, and they unite around the principle of Creativity; taught to see creative opportunities everywhere.

Sonics Realm; Paroro Canyons

The De-Matoran of Atara Nui have no central community, living as spread groups of nomads moving around in the widespread canyon landscape. Here, leadership roles are only temporary, granted to those with the most experience and skill. There are a lot of natural formations that cause echoes here, and the De-Matoran are happy to use this natural phenomenon to ward off or confuse dangerous predators. They protect their own ears with Fe-Koronan earmuffs designed to dull the noises. The De-Matoran are the hunters, trackers and Rahi tamers of Atara Nui, and they follow the principle of Honor, bestowing felled Rahi with proper burials of their unused remains and practicing the more archetypal ideals of an "honorable" individual (true to their word, fight for what they believe in, etc)

Plantlife Realm; Whana Forest

The Bo-Matoran of Atara Nui live in two separate (though mutually friendly) communities; one in the treetops who answer to a Democracy and another in the thick vegetation below who answer to a single Chieftain. The treetop community are the carpenters and "entertainers" of Atara Nui, while the ground community are the herbologists and cooks. Both communities practice the principle of Brotherhood, and Bo-Matoran often seek together to accomplish common goals.

Edited January 1, 2014 by Dr. O

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

*rolls in*

Hey-o there all! Just a quick question:

Making a light/dark based RPG, so would you rather:

A) Play only as oppressed people, you must do something to defeat your oppressors

B) Be able to play both sides, oppressed and oppressors.

Option A would keep people together more and allow for more mystery in the oppressors, while B would show both sides and add PC conflict.

Zakaro

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

Hard choice. I thing A would be cool but I'm not sure everybody will think the same. Plus PC conflict is pretty fun especially in settings like that.

[Canis Lycaon]

I would go with Option A, as PC conflict is rather common on BZP.

[Shadowhawk]

*rolls in*

Hey-o there all! Just a quick question:

Making a light/dark based RPG, so would you rather:

A) Play only as oppressed people, you must do something to defeat your oppressors

B) Be able to play both sides, oppressed and oppressors.

Option A would keep people together more and allow for more mystery in the oppressors, while B would show both sides and add PC conflict.

Zakaro

Sounds cool. Definitely A, in my opinion. As long as GM activity level is high, players-versus-game almost always seems to turn out more fun in the end.

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

Alright, looks like most people desire A.

With that, first draft GO. It may not be what you think..

Also: anyone interested in Staffing as to help with said activity? My schedule is pretty clear for the 4 months that I'd be running as far as I know, but ya never know.

Zakaro

[Ehksidian]

Ok, I'm beginning work on revising my RPG to make it better (I wrote that one in only two days) and I have a question:

Would anyone be interested in having a somewhat-player run government advice counsel? In the context of the RPG it would kinda make sense, but I want to get other opinions.

[Ehksidian]

The Bubble

Aku-Nui. A land shrouded in mystery. No one knows what lies within its impenetrable bubble, created by a Toa thousands of years ago. Some say it is a paradise, much like Arkahta. Others say it is a place more unforgiving than Karzahni. Still others say this is all false, that the island is nothing special.

I live in this Mata-Nui forsaken place. And it is truly a horrible place.

The land was once beautiful, fertile, and green. It truly was almost a paradise.

Then a strange Toa from another land decided to ‘save’ us.

It was a noble cause, yes. Our island was being assaulted by visorak, and our Toa thought it was best to seal the island in its own dimensional bubble, so no more Visorak would come. No one knows how he did it, nor what he used to do it, but the end result was the same: He perished, and our island was cut off from the rest of the universe. And now, the sun sits blood-red on the north horizon, constantly on the verge of setting, casting the island in an almost constant red hue. It could be described as a beautiful scene. But one look on the island dispels any idea of this place being beautiful. The grass either lies dead or dying on the ground, and the pools of water are stagnant from no wind. Matoran fight over the smallest morsels of food, shedding blood over someone having a larger patch of ruined earth than them. It truly is a terrible thing to see, and it’s only getting worse. Portals are opening all over the place now, allowing beings from other universes in to our tiny world, but not out. Some are good beings, hoping to help everyone survive and thrive, and some are truly evil, only wishing to cause harm to others. Things assault the outside of the Bubble almost continuously, battering it with their horribly misshapen forms. But no matter what, everyone shares some things in common: We are trapped here, and we all want out.

Welcome to the deepest pits of Karzahni, my friends. I hope you enjoy your stay.

-Okajo

Welcome to The Bubble, an RPG set on the ‘idyllic’ island of Aku-Nui, a land once regarded as beautiful. However, after a Toa attempted to save the populace from Visorak, the island has become trapped in a pocket dimension of its own.

Setting

Can’t have an RPG without a setting.

Aku-Nui: Aku-Nui could have once been described as a paradise. At one time, the grass was green, the matoran were happy, etc etc.

Aku-Metru: The central city of Aku-Nui, located north of the Kalar Mountains. It is dominated by tall metal buildings and dirty streets. Many buildings have fallen into disrepair, dirt and grime covering their once shiny surfaces, and these buildings are now home to the poor and hungry. The rich reside in the highest floors of some buildings, but they are not much better off than the ones living at the bottom. Whatever power station once was here has long since broken down, forcing the residents of the entire island to rely on crops, most of which are grown by Toa of Plantlife. Aku-Metru also is where the Capitol Building is located.

The Capitol Building: The location where government plans are created and discussed by the various factions on the island, this building is a very tall spire, nearly reaching the top of the Bubble. This building is guarded by heavily armed Toa, and very few people are allowed inside outside of government officials.

Na-Aku: The only other major city on the island, Na-Aku was once a bustling port town, a place where the natives could mingle with those from other islands. After the Bubble formed, though, it quickly became abandoned. Nature took over, and now it is reduced to just a ruin of its former glory. After the portals began appearing, however, the matoran found a use for this desolate city. Now, this somewhat-ruined land is the place where most of the non-natives live. It has been restored to a shade of what it used to be, but it is far more ruined than Aku-Metru. Unlike Aku-Metru, however, Toa police the streets, keeping the more rambunctious denizens of Na-Aku under control.

Kalar Mountains: The Kalar Mountains run through the island, essentially cutting it in half. Many small settlements exist here, consisting of at the most 10 individuals. The tops of the mountains are often covered in snow, keeping all but those resistant to cold from reaching the highest non-cut off point of the mountain range. Every mountain exceeds the top of the bubble, save for Vanar, making any methods of going further south impossible.

Mount Vanar: At the center of the Kalar Mountains, Mount Vanar boils and bubbles constantly. It gives heat to most of the island. The volcano is hot to the point where not even Ta-Toa can handle the heat. It is unknown if any Rahi exist on Vanar’s inhospitable slopes, or if any colonies have formed. It is the only mountain not cut off by the Bubble, but the constant heat emanating from it bars any being from going above it. The heat haze also prevents anyone from looking into the Dark Place, though occasionally one might get a small glance.

The Dark Place: A mysterious area south of the Kalar Mountains, not much is known about this place as it was never explored. As far as the matoran are concerned, it doesn’t exist, and it never has. Some non-natives, however, believe there are amazing riches and spoils here, or lost technology that can free them. Others think it is simply a land which none are supposed to go, full of monstrous rahi. Whatever lays here, no one knows. It is completely inaccessible, due to the Kalar Mountains stretching above the boundary of the Bubble. However, small areas do exist where one can see The Dark Place, and yet it is far too dark to see anything, even with Mount Vanar supposedly lighting up the area.

The Bubble: This impassible wall surrounds the island, reaching about 1 kio off the coast mostly, though there are points where it cuts off portions of the island.. The bubble feels almost solid, but is slightly elastic. Strange creatures attack it occasionally, but they never make it through.

The portals: Gateways from other dimensions, these appear not only on the very edge of the Bubble, but occasionally appear in random locations on the island itself. They open up, deposit whatever being was unfortunate enough to stumble through them, and close. Research is impossible to do on the portals, as there is no rhyme or reason as to when or where they appear. In fact, no one has any idea why the portals are forming in the first place. All who come through say that they just appeared on the island, without any mention of a portal opening on them.

Other features: Aku-Nui is mainly flat, dead grasslands with a few lakes here and there. A few small settlements exist outside of Na-Aku and Aku-Metru, but they are few and far between.

Gameplay

This is how you play the game.

The Bubble is a story-driven sandbox RPG on the island of Aku-Nui.

Combat

In this RPG, combat is standard. Simply state you’re attacking someone, and the fight ensues. We aren’t doing any fancy rock-paper-scissors element thing; we aren’t doing any sort of dice-rolling. Fights are determined by how one character is against the other, and who is smarter in the fight. A word of warning, however: NO AUTOHITTING. We will go into that in the Rules section.

Factions

Factions on Aku-Nui are more similar to political groups than warring sectors of the island. Each official faction has three representatives, and always represent a sizable portion of the population. The three representative rule exists to prevent any ties inside a faction, and make sure no single entity leads the faction. There do exist unofficial factions, groups not recognized by the main government, and these groups have no political power until officially recognized.

Factions

The Counsel: Also known as ‘The Natives’, the Counsel is the faction which most native Matoran belong to. It has a wide range of views and goals, but the main goal of the Counsel is to make the Bubble a safe and stable environment. It is the oldest faction, and arguably the strongest because it represents the largest amount of the population. Represented by Okajo, ‘Kewa’, and Xaron.

The Alliance of Non-Natives: The AoNN represents most-if not all-of the non-native citizens of Aku-Nui. This faction exists primarily to preserve and assist new arrivals on Aku-Nui, and to help make the unwilling immigrants of Aku-Nui more welcome on the island. <Leaders currently in progress>

Other Factions: You can create your own faction, provided you have more than 3 player characters involved, as each faction requires 3 representatives. Simply PM The X this form and your faction will be added to the list.

Faction Name: What is the name of your faction?

Faction Goals: What do they want to accomplish?

Faction Representatives: Who represents them?

Faction Base: Where is it found?

Rules

This isn’t an anarchy RPG. There needs to be some rules.

RULE 1: Follow the BZP/RPG forum rules. Simple!

RULE 2: Respect the staff of the RPG. If you decide to disrespect people of higher authority too much, you will receive punishment.

RULE 3: Talk using IC (In character) and OOC (Out of character). Keep OOC-only posts in the discussion topic, please. Need an example?

OOC: I’m talking Out of Character right now. Below me is me talking In Character. And that certainly is not the truth.

IC: That guy ran down the street, panting and waving his arms saying, “THE RATIONS ARE MATORAN!” Everyone looked at him like he was completely and absolutely bonkers.

RULE 4: Don’t godmod. Godmodding is when you perform some impossible feat, like summoning a laser space cannon to kill the guy directly in front of you, and taking absolutely no damage from said laser. Unless given EXPLICIT permission to do so, you will be punished for godmodding.

RULE 5: Don’t kill anyone who doesn’t belong to you. If you are in a fight with another player-owned character, don’t kill them without permission. And this somewhat applies to NPCs. If you have trouble killing a Toa PC, good luck trying to kill a Toa NPC. NPCs are just as formidable as players.

RULE 6: Do not bunny/autohit/control others. This relates to godmodding, as this also is extremely unfair to others. If you’re in a fight, don’t make all of your hits make contact and all of their hits miss. If you throw a punch at their face, and they’re faster than you it’s fine if they dodge. But it is never fine to say that you automatically hit them, unless they give you permission to do so. Same with controlling characters, only do so when they say it’s ok.

RULE 7: Post characters for approval in the discussion topic. Once approved, post them in the profiles topic. You can have a maximum of 3 living characters at a time.

RULE 8: Have fun. If you don’t have fun, you’ll be automatically banned! I’m kidding.

Punishments

The punishment system works in levels. Depending on the severity, however, you may skip entire levels.

Level 1: In-topic warning.

Level 2: One character is injured. (i.e. loss of a finger, broken arm, etc.)

Level 3: One character dies. Painfully and humiliatingly.

Level 4: Banned for a week. Another character bites the dust.

Level 5: You’re out. Forever. Whatever you did, it clearly violated every single rule and then some.

Character information

This is stuff about characters, and how to make them.

Playable Races:

Aku-Nuian Matoran: These matoran are not your average matoran. Due to strange forces on the island, and possibly due to the isolation on the island, all matoran have powers akin to Av-Matoran in Karda-Nui. They are slightly taller and stronger than the average matoran, and have very limited control over their elements. Matoran are the only species native to Aku-Nui.

Toa: These are the ones that sling around fire, ice, or whatever you want to kill baddies. Or good people. Most abide by the Toa code; however some do not due to their own universes not having it, or they simply prefer to kill. Toa are one of the more powerful beings on the island. Toa of Plantlife are seen as incredibly useful, as they do produce food for the island. None are native to Aku-Nui, having come from different universes.

Vortixx:Tall, lean, black-armored beings hailing from the island of Xia. They have no elemental powers, but are strong, fast, and good with technology. If you give a Vortixx a single-fire bolt action rifle, they probably could make it into a semi-automatic. Given enough time and resources, that is. None are native to Aku-Nui, having come from separate universes.

Skadki: Grinning psychopaths, genetically altered by a Makuta in various universes. They possess a vision power, such as heat vision and impact vision, and can use elemental powers much like Toa can. However, these elemental powers can ONLY be used in conjugation with another Skadki, and since many do not like each other, this rarely happens. Some Skadki have various other powers, but these range from extreme adaptability, to no extraneous powers at all. None are native to Aku-Nui, having come from separate universes. (A small note on their 'third power': Please keep it from being overpowered. I don't want characters able to come back from any fight unharmed because of adaptability or something like that)

Other Races: Want to play as an unlisted canon race, or would you like to create your own race? Fill out the form below, and PM it to The X. Custom made races go under extreme scrutiny, in order to maintain fairness.

Race name: What is the name of your race?

Race description: What does your race typically look like, and what are their powers, if any?

Race original location: Where does your race hail from?

Character sheet

This is what you use to make a character. Please post in discussion topic for approval.

Character name: What is the name of your character? I don’t want any Jimbobs, or thatguy12345, make legitimate Bionicle-sounding names, please.

Gender: I don’t need to say anything more.

Species: Again, enough said.

Element: What element do they control/affiliated with?

Detailed description or image: What does your character look like? You can also provide a picture here.

Abilities/Talents: Is your character good at throwing stuff? Can they shoot fire out of their eyes? (This is where Skadki vision and 'third powers' would go)

Personality: How does your character act? Please don’t put one or two words here, characters like that are extremely dull.

History: Where did your character come from? Were they always like the way they are? How did they get to Aku-Nui?

If you wish, you could add more to your character sheet, such as relations to other characters and maybe even age. What is on the sheet, however, is necessary.

Approved elements

Air

Fire

Water

Earth

Ice

Stone

Plasma

Iron

Magnetism

Electricity

Gravity

Sonics

Psionics

Plantlife

Banned Masks

All legendary/unique masks, such as the Vahi, Ignika, Olmak, Avohkii, Kraahkan, and the Mask of Creation.

Any Nuva form of a mask

Kanohi Garai

The Great mask of Elemental Energy

Mask of Mutation

Kanohi Mohtrek

(NOTE: MAJOR NPC PROFILES ARE CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

Current events:(Note: Will be put in discussion topic)

Recently, a small group in the Kalar Mountains has begun to become apparent. Those who enter their domain disappear. We fear the worst, as occasionally body parts are found scattered among the mountains. Only one person has come back from their encounter with this group, who call themselves “The Dark Ones”. Investigations into this group will begin shortly, please report to Aku-Metru’s central plaza for details.

Edited January 3, 2014 by Ehks

[The Lorax]

The island of Katipo was an unassuming place. Sitting alone at the end of an island chain, the last island beyond Nynrah, its native species, the Hirohi, were simple folk, working hard day-to-day to grow food or in the mines that sustained the island’s economy through trade with other lands. In this quiet corner of the Matoran Universe, nobody ever expected much exciting to happen.

 

The island of Destral was a magnificent place. Fresh from their defeat of the Barraki and their League of Six Kingdoms, the Makuta had expanded their seat of power to make it the last word on might and grandeur. Rahkshi and exo-toa patrol the battlements of the magnificent fortress day and night, while inside their dark masters plot their treason. The armies of Destral were beyond compare, the most numerous, powerful and disciplined force in the Matoran Universe.

 

 

And yet, for one Makuta, that wasn’t quite enough. He wanted to build for himself another army, one that was larger and more loyal, stronger and more dangerous. He had a little experiment he wanted to do. He mixed a little of this, a little of that, and before you knew it … he had a great big spider … and then a lot more. And it was on Katipo of all places that he chose to work this experiment and observe the results.

 

 

 

The first visorak invasion in history, though brutal, was mercifully quick. The giant spiders swarmed the Hirohi’s village, killing, capturing, and mutating. After barely an hour had elapsed, a full half of the island’s population was bound up in webs and stretched out cold on the ground. The rest had either fled when the attack first began, or had been away from the village on that fateful day. A good number of survivors collected underground, in the mines where many of them had worked. Hidden from the outside in the maze of tunnels, they quickly saw that of all the places on the island, it was there in the maze-like system of tunnels and caves that they stood the best chance of evading the spiders, or even exacting a bit of revenge.

 

Chirox, meanwhile, was pleased with the results of his experiment. He returned to his laboratories filled with bubbling vats and made his final adjustments before entering the mass-production phase. He worked away quietly for days, building up his numbers and refining the seven different breeds. What did it matter to him if there were still a few native fugitives running around the island or cursing him in the dark? He was a Makuta, a conqueror, and utterly secure in his position. He felt so sure of himself, in fact, that he decided to put on a little game for his own amusement.

 

Every army, after all, needs a leader, and while the visorak horde was certainly effective, the Makuta had better things to do than to command the rahi himself. What he needed, then, was a King of the Horde: someone to watch over the spiders and keep them in line, someone to coordinate their attacks and draw up their strategies. Someone who he could trust to be as ruthless as the spiders themselves.

 

Given the size of the Brotherhood army, he had no shortage of candidates. Beings of all species and islands served the Makuta, and many were keen for advancement. Chirox brought a large group of them to Katipo (now renamed “Visorak” in honour of his creations), gave them each command of a certain number of spiders, and turned them lose with simple instructions: secure the island and eliminate the natives by any means necessary. The aspiring commanders would compete with each other for supremacy, and in the end, one would win control of the entire horde. During the games, Chirox himself might occasionally enter the arena to reward those whose actions pleased him, or to change things up a bit and test how well the commanders could respond to changes, or simply for his own amusement.

 

 

Locations:

 

 

Katipo is a rough and wild place, with only one settlement in the south of the island, shielded on three sides by mountains. Much of the rest of the island is near-constantly whipped by high winds and crashed upon by rough seas.

 

The village, simply known as “Town” by the inhabitants, is bisected by “The River” (Hirohi are great at naming things). Two bridges link the two halves of town. One is known as The North Bridge, and the one in the south is (you guessed it) The South Bridge. The long stone arches are Town’s main feature, and if the Hirohi ever need to gather, they will do so at one or other of the bridges. The only other community building is the Judge’s house (The Judge is elected every 10 years as someone whose judgement the Hirohi trust to settle disputes between them that cannot be resolved by those involved), but it is not large enough for large gatherings. Otherwise, all of the other buildings are houses or businesses of the Hirohi who live there. It is normal for up to ten Hirohi to live together in one house, forming family-like groups of close friends.

 

To the west of Town are the twin mountains, Riro and Ruaho. Ruaho is the higher of the two, but only because a large landslide removed the top from Riro several centuries ago. There is little value in their bare and rocky slopes, so for the most part, these mountains are left to packs of wild hapaka.

 

To the north of Town is Mount Krahn, the volcano that dominates the centre of the island, and beyond that, named true Hirohi style, is The Wild Forest. It is a thick jungle full of gnarled trees and dangerous rahi, many of which are poisonous. For this reason, few Hirohi ever venture there (and with a volcano in the way, why bother?). It is ruled by the rahi, and their dominion is only challenged when they venture too far south into the Hirohi’s lands. A large cull ever century or so is usually sufficient to keep them where they belong.

 

To the east of Town lies the great underground wealth of Katipo. Scattered throughout the interior of Mount Mururawa and among its roots are metal ores, lightstones, fine crystals and gems, and an awful lot of stone. The Hirohi’s mines there are extensive, providing the bulk of trade with other lands. In an unsusal burst of creativity, mines were colloquially referred to as “The Web” even before the spiders came, on account of their layout. On each level, hollow tubes of stone form tunnels that radiate out from a central column, with circular tunnels running around each level in rings. This creates a pattern of roughly rectangular sections, surrounded by tunnels on all sides, reminiscent of a spider’s web.

 

 

Once this pattern has been built into each new layer or expanded outwards within a layer, the rectangular sections are harvested, creating huge caverns a hundred bio high. Within each cavern, pillars of stone are left untouched to support the roof and all of the layers above. Near to the central column, the rectangles are small, and the tunnels close together, so this isn’t so vital. Towards the edges, however, the pillars are vital in maintaining the integrity of the entire underground structure. Into the edge of each pillar, a spiral staircase is cut, about a bio wide. These provide easier access to the higher parts of the cavern while they are still being mined, and many paths between levels once extraction has been completed.

 

 

The complexity of the mine, with its twelve levels (the widest at the top and the narrowest ring at the bottom), combined with the numerous caverns and passageways within each and the hundreds of pillars linking them all has proved an obstacle to the visorak army. While the locals know it like the backs of their hands and can move easily from one hiding spot to the next, every tunnel or cavern looks the same to the invaders’ eyes. A systematic search might be the only way to find all of the fugitives, but can the spiders block every passageway to stop any Hirohi from slipping past the searchers as they move down? That remains to be seen.

 

 

Factions

 

The Hirohi

 

The Hirohi (also known as Tobduk’s species) are the natives of Katipo. They stand 10 feet tall on average and can wear and use great kanohi. While they lack elemental powers, each Hirohi can gain physical strength by feeding on various feelings, both in themselves and those around them. There is much variation in which feelings give strength to a particular Hirohi. Examples include anger, sadness, joy, pain, excitement, fear, courage and confusion, though others are possible.

 

At the current time, the Hirohi are scattered and largely uninformed about happenings above. They occasionally get news from those who only escaped down into the Web more recently, such as the one who brought news of Chirox creating a large glowing crystal and naming it “the heart of the visorak”. This has sparked some interest among those who have heard the news, and some believe that if they were able to find the heart and steal or destroy it, they might be able to defeat the visorak, or at least make them leave. Others were not so positive. They said that fighting the spiders was suicide, and fighting their way to the Makuta and his treasured possessions doubly so. They would prefer to remain hidden and, if the spiders came too near, evacuate, possibly to the north or preferably off the island entirely. Still others decided that their best shot was to surrender and offer themselves up to the mercy of the Brotherhood. That particular group has not been heard from since.

 

The Brotherhood of Makuta Army

 

While the visorak horde is relatively uniform beyond the seven breeds, their would-be leaders are as diverse a group as you could hope to find in the universe. They come from every island and people, seeking to share in the power of the masters of shadow or to help defend their homelands from threats like the barraki. In either case, they have now been given an unprecedented opportunity, if only they can prove themselves worthy. The candidates for king must contend with the Hirohi and each other to prove their worthiness to their dark master. Alliances will be formed and broken, but there can only be one winner.

 

Each PC Brotherhood soldier will begin with 10 visorak NPCs (the choice of breeds is up to them) to test their skills as a squad leader. If they impress Chirox, more troops will be awarded to them, while failures are likely to be punished.

 

 

Other Information

 

Timeline

 

This game takes place in 77,000 BGC. As a reference for players, this section includes important events that have and have not happened yet.

 

Have Happened:

• The Hand of Artakha has come and gone, being replaced by the secretive Order of Mata Nui.
• The League of Six Kingdoms has also risen to power, and then fallen in spectacular fashion.
• The first Toa Team, lead by Lesovikk, is formed and serves for some time before being killed by Zyglak.
• The Matoran Civil War on Metru Nui raged for 400 years, before ending in the Archives Massacre.
• Toa Jovan and his team found and used the Kanohi Ignika to restore Mata Nui’s health after the Great Disruption.

Have Not Yet Happened:

· Ancient and The Shadowed One claim Odina and found the Dark Hunters

· Spiriah experiments on the Skakdi of Zakaz, granting them new powers but turning their peaceful society into a collection of eternally warring tribes.

· Mata Nui and his Order bring about the Time Slip.

· The Makuta evolve from their physical bodies into gaseous antidermis.

· Kanoka disks are invented in Metru Nui.

 

Hordika Venom

 

In this game, characters on both sides of the conflict can be mutated by hordika venom. The poison of the Visorak affects both mind and body, making the victims more rahi-like. While this can have advantages in increased strength, sensitivity or the acquisition of natural rhotuka launchers, the mind becomes more bestial, prone to anger, violence and suspicion. The changes increase eith time, and eventually, those injected with hordika venom may become entirely rahi. At this early stage, however, the final stages of the mutation remain unknown. The venom simply hasn’t been around long enough for anyone to have been mutated for that long. There is currently no known cure for Hordika venom.

 

When Hirohi are exposed to hordika venom, they grow slightly in size and strength, and some senses become more acute, particularly hearing and smell. Their fingers and toes elongate into claws. While their strength-from-feelings ability remains intact, their kanohi fuse to their faces and lose their powers. As if to balance this, they grow natural rhotuka launchers in their wrists or behind their shoulders. The powers of the rhotuka vary widely between individuals, as much or even more than their kanohi powers once did.

 

Some would-be kings of the horde have also, deliberately exposed themselves to hordika venom, either to demonstrate their zeal or because they think that being half-beast might make them better warriors. One such being is Karehe, who was formerly one of Chirox’s Toa Hagah team. From this, the effects on Toa became known. They too, lose their kanohi powers, but remain able to use their elemental abilities, if only through the rhotuka launchers that grow on their backs. The mental effects seem to be the same as for anyone else.

 

Technology

 

The technology used by the Hirohi is not greatly advanced, being in such an isolated location and having lived through only 23,000 years of the Matoran Universe’s history. Kanoka disks, kanoka blades, plasma canons and Nynrah ghostblasters are all yet to be invented, and even if they had been, it is unlikely that the Hirohi would have even heard of them.

 

What they do use is mainly for use in the mines or for growing crops, and is powered by steam or water wheels. These machines are not fancy or even greatly reliable, but they work well enough that the Hirohi persist with using them.

 

It should also be noted that before the invasion, it was rare for Hirohi to carry weapons. They carried equipment with them, certainly, but they were tools used in mining, building or agriculture. The only call for violence on Katipo was when they were culling rahi from the north, and in those situations the time and date of the expedition was known well in advance. They had time to return home and polish the rust off that old axe and get it ready for use again. For this reason, most of the weapons that Hirohi fugitives are now using to defend themselves against the Visorak are improvised from whatever happened to be near to hand when the spiders struck. Hammers and picks, fishing spears and oars, kitchen knives or just an old walking stick. For the less fortunate ones, nothing but their fists. These are the new weapons of war for the Hirohi.

 

The brotherhood soldiers, on the other hand, aspire to be kings of the horde, and are well used to weaponry that is fit for kings. Each will have their own preferred weapons, and probably no small skill in using them. If they have been in the Brotherhood army long enough and hold rank, those weapons may even have been purchased from the top smiths of Xia and Nynrah who work exclusively for the Brotherhood.

 

Chirox

 

Since, for the Makuta, this RPG constitutes the ultimate reality tv show, he does not want to miss a second of it. He will be in the comfy chair in his lab wearing an akaku with a really powerful scope so that he can see events happening anywhere on Katipo, even underground, without getting up. This makes him pretty much omniscient, able to check on his underlings' progress at any time of day or night, as well as spy on their targets. From and OOC perspective, this means he will know of and be able to stomp on any inappropriate behaviour very quickly.

 

Characters

 

Characters in this game can be any intelligent being on Katipo. They could be natives, brought here by the Makuta or even have some other reason for their presence.

 

To create a character, fill out this character profile and submit it for approval. This layout is only a suggestion, so feel free to change the format if you wish.

 

Name: Make it BIONICLE-sounding.

Gender: Male, Female, unknown, neither, somewhere in between.

Species: Something from the MU, or create your own custom species. No Makuta.

Faction: Hirohi / Makuta Army / Other?

Element: If applicable to the character’s species.

Kanohi: If applicable to the character’s species. Custom masks are OK if approved by the GM.

Other Powers: If applicable to the character’s species.

Appearance: What do they look like? A MoC, drawing or description will do.
Equipment: What do they have with them?
Biography: About their life.
Personality: What are they like? How do they act?

Skills/Strengths: What are they good at?
Weaknesses: What are they bad at? What hurts them?

 

There is no limit on how many characters a player may control at a time.

 

Canon characters (those ones who might plausibly be present anyway) are playable by negotiation with the GM. However, players should keep in mind that this game might take place in an alternate universe where the canon character they are playing dies early. Original characters are, of course, encouraged.

 

Powers:

 

As with any RPG, there are some canon powers that cannot be used. These include:

• The legendary masks, for obvious reasons.
• The olmak, avohkii, krahkan, olisi and mask of elemental energy, all of which are unique. There are none of these masks in existence other than the ones shown in the canon story.
• The elements of light and shadow (though some light or shadow-based powers may be allowed in custom species).
• The mohtrek, because insta-armies are annoying.
• The mask of undeath, because unkillable zombies are no fun.
• The komau (great mask of bunnying), the sanok (great mask of auto-hitting) and the mask of clairvoyance (great mask of meta-gaming) are all off-limits. While it is possible to use these responsibly in an RPG, I’d rather save everyone the trouble of sorting out how they should and shouldn't be used within good RPing etiquette.
• The mask of conjuring, because it is ridiculously overpowered.

 

Rules

• All BZP rules apply, obviously.
• In general, don’t do anything that detracts from other peoples’ enjoyment of the game. All the usual RPG fallacies fall under this, such as god-modding, meta-gaming, bunnying, auto-hitting and the like. For more on these, see the BZPRPG, where you will find some great descriptions and more details on the subtleties of these.
• Use IC and OOC to separate what your character(s) do from you talking.
• Do not wreak huge destruction on the island. Both sides still want to have an island when this is over, so going nova and sinking Katipo beneath the silver sea is no good for anyone. Cause a bit of destructive mayhem if you have to, but please, no apocalyptic, island-destroying attacks.
• Do not kill or injure somebody else’s character without permission. The same goes for (character) life changing events.
• GMs have the right to do anything they see fit in the IC world. This includes punishments for rule-breaking and rewards for making positive contributions to the RPG.

Edited January 5, 2014 by The Lorax

[Toatapio Nuva]

I like the idea of The Bubble. I'm a bit iffy about Matoran having powers though, but at least you have good story explanation for it.

Edited January 3, 2014 by Toatapio Nuva

[NorikSigma]

Questions about The Web:

 

1.The Hirohi don't know that there are BoM commanders turned loose to wipe them.out right?

 

2.BoM commanders can run anywhere?

 

3. Would it be a good idea to allow BoM commanders to attack other BoM commanders and kill or defeat them, allowing the victor to control the loser's Visorak and increasing his army?

 

4. Will Chirox directly.give missions to the commanders for them.to fulfil?

 

Thanksy in advance.

[Ehksidian]

I like the idea of The Bubble. I'm a bit iffy about Matoran having powers though, but at least you have good story explanation for it.

Actually, the main reason they have powers is so that the Matoran aren't completely useless in combat.

Adding banned masks and such now, I still need to create all 7 important NPC profiles for The Bubble.

[The Lorax]

Questions about The Web:

 

1.The Hirohi don't know that there are BoM commanders turned loose to wipe them.out right?

 

2.BoM commanders can run anywhere?

 

3. Would it be a good idea to allow BoM commanders to attack other BoM commanders and kill or defeat them, allowing the victor to control the loser's Visorak and increasing his army?

 

4. Will Chirox directly.give missions to the commanders for them.to fulfil?

 

Thanksy in advance.

 

1. They've worked it out. When a bunch of giant spiders wipe out your village, most people who venture to the surface don't come back and occasionally groups of spiders are seen wandering around, usually with a non-spider who appears to be in charge, it doesn't take Krekka to deduce that you are being hunted. And Krekka can't even spell "deduce".
2. Yes.
3. Yes. Though they should keep in mind that they were sent after the Hirohi, not each other. Chirox will not be pleased if constant battles between his commanders allow some Hirohi to escape.
4. Chirox has given his orders: find and subdue the natives. How each commander chooses to go about that is up to them. Each will have thier own plan and steps they will take to implement it. That said, though, this tournament is for Chirox's amusement. If there were a really juicy opportunity for him to come in and give extra orders to really spice things up, he might succumb to temptation. I should also add somewhere that during all of this, Chirox will be sitting in the comfy chair in his lab wearing an akaku with a really powerful scope, so he can observe events anywhere on Katipo, even underground. For the purposes of this game, he will be effectively omniscient.

Your're welcome, thanks for your interest.

[NorikSigma]

Yeah, I haven't been this excited for an RPG since IoP or Requiem IV. Will you be entering this in the competition or next one?

[The Lorax]

Well, thankyou.

 

To be honest, I'm not sure. For the current contest, I may enter this one or City in the Dark, which is probably the most suitable of the RPGs I have made before. I had the ideas for both around contest 25 (the one with the underground theme) and they were developed side-by-side and took ideas from each other as they grew, like the web-shaped mine, the name "Katipo" and spoiler spoiler spoiler. See, this is the problem with making a mystery RPG. Most of the work that goes into creating it can't be seen in the entry and you can't talk about it with anyone.

 

So yeah, it's about a 50/50 at the moment for which one gets entered. Though I suppose if people like you greatly prefer one over the other, that will have to change. The point of these contests, after all, is to select those games that players want to play.

[Canis Lycaon]

Xaron- I would recommend adding some spacing between sections, as right now it is really cluttered and hard to read.

 

Lorax- Does this game take place in the Web alone, or all of Katipo?

[The Lorax]

All of Katipo, though I imagine that most of the action will centre on The web, since that is where most characters are at the moment. If, during the course of the game, things shift away from there, then that's fine with me.

[Ehksidian]

Xaron- I would recommend adding some spacing between sections, as right now it is really cluttered and hard to read.

Yeah, right now it's a rough draft, I plan on fixing the formatting after I get all the profiles done.

Formatting shouldn't be too hard to fix, it's just I had to copy and paste it from Google Docs, and I guess the formatting kinda screwed up on the way over.

[NorikSigma]

All of Katipo, though I imagine that most of the action will centre on The web, since that is where most characters are at the moment. If, during the course of the game, things shift away from there, then that's fine with me.

Um, where does it say most characters are in the web?

[The Lorax]

Here.

 

A good number of survivors collected underground, in the mines where many of them had worked. Hidden from the outside in the maze of tunnels, they quickly saw that of all the places on the island, it was there in the maze-like system of tunnels and caves that they stood the best chance of evading the spiders, or even exacting a bit of revenge.

 

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

Here, guys. Have an RPG.
It's practically done, buut I figured I'd toss it through here first and then hit Submissions.
Also: If this seems slightly like Shadowhawk's Condemned, it's cause this inspired him as he's my Staff sooooo yeah xD

Fallen from the Light

"Dark in Light, and Light in Dark

Once you're down here, you're left to rot

He doesn't want you, but he's left his mark

He's let you live, you're not what he saught

So you fell far down, deep into the Dark

Where we, the Fallen, make our lot..."

"Hullo, stranger. I expect you've been woken by the singing of our resident song-Gukko, eh? She's got a beaut voice, wouldn't you say? But who knows, each to their own.."

"I'm supposing you'd like to be knowing where you are? It's simple, you're in the Dark. Yes, that's the name of it. Nothin's much of a better name for it, cause that's the only thing it'll ever be called by the Light. That's a place as well, the people who brought you here. To say it simply, the Light is supposedly a paradise: Beautiful beaches, amazing jungles, crystal-clear waters, yessir that's what it be. Ya might've known that if your one o' them that actually search for the gate. But perhaps you haven't heard of it. Maybe you were just kidnapped by one of them faceless Nuvagah, with their helms of pure light. Ha! Light indeed.."

"But it don't really matter how or why you got here, you did. And obviously you saw him. The Avoa. Their leader, the one behind all of this. Just as faceless as the rest of 'em, and hates us just the same. He'd do anything to keep us 'Kramas' down here, though we've got no idea why. We're no worse than any ordinary Matoran, most of us.. heck, half are perfectly normal Matoran that did nothing worse than wander around alone. For your information, as well, called us the Fallen. The Avoa simply finds it funny to call us shadow beasts."

"I'm getting off track, aren't I? Let's see.. ah, yes, the Dark. Our area. The place we can call home. Home sweet home, don't mind the Rahi. Hope you don't have fear of enclosed spaces, stranger. That's the only space we have. It's horrid, creepy, decorated with beautiful designs of balls destroying everything in paradise, equipped with the deepest-sleeping destroyer balls in cans, water, lava, perhaps ice in the right place.. did I miss anything, Gurik?"
^"NO!"
"So there you have it. Help? ...No? Perhaps a map could help?"

"How's that? ...You want me to explain the locations, now? GURIK! HE'S ASKIN' FOR LOCATIONS!"

"No need to shout, Hipqum. I'm just next door. Ho, stranger. You're asking about the marks? Tis simple."

"The Hole is where you fell from, the only place where a few beams of natural light can sometimes shine down into the Dark. The top is heavily guarded by Nuvagah, the sides are coated with slippery slime, and someone's always watching to make sure none of us get out. Anyone who's tried is now ashes, if they're lucky."

"There's but one tunnel leading away from the Hole, and it's one of the largest. It leads down to where you are now, Kra-Koro. The Village of the Dark. It's better lit than anything else down here by two green lamps in a wall, but don't try to open the gate. There are true Manas just outside, angry and dangerous at the fact that some Condemmed long ago actually forced them out of here, and they'd do anything to get back in and murder all our faces off."

"Moving along the endless tunnels one could eventually stumble upon our farms, where we grow our food. It's the only place in the caves that supports it due to the strangely fertile earth that must've falled down from the Light at some point, and it's the reason we're still alive. Do be wary, however, the Ta-beings there keeping the fires stoked aren't always the friendlyest."

"The Lava Lake is where things begin to get truly dangerous. Kofo-Jaga are absolutely everywhere, lava boils underneath ever-shrinking land bridges, and don't even get me started on the Hikaki nests. The one main reason it's visted is because it's lit up, the lava forever glowing, and light makes people feel better than the cold, concealing darkness of everywhere else. And also people lava-surf. Don't ask me why, they've got nothing better to do or just want some enjoyment in this Karz'n place."

"The Ice Cavern is home to-you guessed it-more Rahi and ice beyond what one could ever need. The area around it is slightly colder than some of the other tunnels, but if you have a torch the displays the ice makes in the caverns themselves make are beautiful. There's always bound to be a Ko-Matoran or two there, scratching something into the wall or pondering the meaning of life."

"The Depths. Think of them this way.. Take the Lava Lake, but remove the lava. You're left with land bridges over a deep, dark, haunting pit likely filled with bloodthirsty Rahi at the bottom. It's avoided for the most part, other than Kromia. She's crazy though."

"The Raging Lake, also home to more monstrosities that most people didn't even know existed. While there's water, it's dark, dank, wet, and has things that can eat you in but a bite. Not a fun place, though fishing there is always an adventure."

"The Sands of Scorpions are more tunnels, but now filled with sand and nasty things that can sting you and make you lose a leg! It doesn't hold much value but for the rumor that it's possible to somehow get up to the Light from there. Most people just call it a rumor, though. Like there'd be another way out of this Karz."

"Lastly we have the nondescript tunnels, with carvings and all as Hipqum already told you. You may come across a nest of sleeping insect ball-things, but don't worry. Even if the tunnels show everything being destroyed, they haven't woken up yet."

"Good enough for ya, Hip?"

"Yea, yea, I'll take it from here. Anythin' else ya want to know, stranger?"

"Who's in charge, how things go? This is the Dark, stranger. You work together to survive or lurk the caves alone and loot others. Do anything you wish, really. Do something in public and expect it to be done to you in return. It's about that simple. Heck, try to get out. That'd be good for a laugh. Or join up, make your own group. Fight Rahi. Grow food. Whatever you want to do, it's yours. If you've got nothing, the sign-post is always a good place to start."

Able bodied beings needed for scouting parties! Discover new land, map it out, and mark it as ours. Apply just down the road.
Job: Tell Kromia she's fired for wandering off again. Reward: Her job.
Guards needed for expedition to the Raging Lakes to obtain seaweed for Kra-Koro marking paint. Turn around, largest building.
Expedition through the Lava Lakes! Requirements are to be able to withstand the heat, and lava-surf. Meet at the western entrance.
Due to the increase in Rahi attacks, extra protection is requested at the Ice Caverns for the philosophers.
We could always use a hand growing food. Just show up and you will be paid.

"Last things last, stranger. Here. Take this form, fill it out. It puts our resident insane Turaga at slight ease."

Name: "The Turaga likes normal names, so even if you don't have one use one here. He'll flip overwise."
Species & Gender: "Do I need to explain everything, stranger?"
Powers, Abilities & Skills: "What can you do, stranger? What are you capable of?"
Equipment: "What'cha got on ya, stranger? Anything you'd like to pick up?"
Who: "This one is simpler than it seems. What'da look like, and how'da act."
Background: "Where ya from? How'd the Nuvagah get ya, or did you find the portal on your own?"

"All done? Come along, now. Might as well tell you about the Turaga and some of the few rules he's made, though it's all the writings of insanity to me."
"Here we are, the Turaga's office. His name's Zakaro. Keep it in mind, he may be insane but his staff hurts. He's employed a being named Shadowhawk to help him out. If ya want you can look at some of the 'better' forms that've been filled out, they're lying around."

(INSERT PROFILES FOR GM&STAFF CHARACTERS)

"And over on that wall are Zak's rules. No idea what most of 'em mean, but ya never know."

RULES
1. Follow all other rules. They apply here.
2. Respect your elders. They have domain over you, and respect others as well. It will take you far.
3. Speak in the common tongue, and speak it well.
4. Work hard. Do not stray too far into being goofy or romantic, this world has no time for such things.
5. You are equal. You are not Mata Nui. You are not him.
6. 1 Toa per person, and 5 beings per person in total.
7. Enjoy oneself.
Consequences shall be decided with the frequency and harshness of the broken rules.

"There you have. A 10-minute guide to the Dark. Enjoy your stay, stranger."
And he walks away, leaving you alone, down in the Dark.

 

Tada.

Zakaro

[Shadowhawk]

Also: If this seems slightly like Shadowhawk's Condemned, it's cause this inspired him as he's my Staff sooooo yeah xD

May I point out, I'd actually been mulling over a 'dark underground labyrinth, used to entertainingly kill off convicts' story idea long before I even joined BZPower. But yes, prior to reading the first draft of Fallen from the Light, I'd never really thought of turning it into an actual RPG. After that, it was like, POW! Spontaneous idea evolution and frenzied channeling of literary creative energy when I should have been studying my chemistry textbook! So, a big chunk of credit goes to Zakaro... but not all of it. Not all of it, by any means.

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

Okay so this started out as an idea for a video game, then became an idea for an RPG, and then became an idea for a video game again, but I believe it's finally settled itself as an idea for an RPG for two reasons. One: I'm already working on an Indie game and have no time at all for ANOTHER, and Two: The RPG contest is coming kinda sorta maybe soon (it could be going on right now and I wouldn't know) and I'm thinking of joining.

 

So here goes:

 

Index

A Bionicle T.B.R.P.G.

By ToaOfAwesome

When they sent us here… they told us that we needed to survive. Huh, it all seems so ironic now. It’s almost funny, actually. You know in a dark way, of course. I think I might have laughed just now, actually, but I don’t know; everything is so surreal now. When we got here we soon discovered that dying wasn’t an option. That was when we realized that survival isn’t just about staying alive; it’s about staying a person.

 

I’ve seen what it’s like to die in this place first hand. It’s a horrible feeling to be dying, whether your organs are failing or there’s a piece of shrapnel going through your broken body… and so much… so much pain… not physical but emotional, knowing that your body will survive but yet you won’t. I had the luxury of being cured, but I don’t think all of me has recovered. I’ve seen things nobody should have to ever see. I’ve done things nobody should have to ever do. I’ve become things nobody should have to ever be.

 

Oh yes, I’ve become terrible things in this place, monsters even. Monsters who’s eyes should never be your own; monsters who’s mottled, emaciated flank should never be what your forearm feels when it brushes past the side of your body.

 

But the worst part isn’t how you look outside, but inside; for when you become like this, you won’t care. You may even enjoy it. It… whatever it is… it devours you inside - it devours your soul - And in its place it plants a seed of darkness. These things aren’t predators, they’re demons… they must be.

 

I end this message with a simple request. You tell those who sent us here not to tell the world we died or were lost or whatever technical term they use for covering up mistakes such as this, because I know that they will. I want you to make sure they tell the truth to our loved ones and the rest of the world. You tell them that they have sent us, an entire ship full of innocent beings, each with loving friends and family straight down to the FIERY PITS OF—

 

Transmission lost. Address: “██████” cannot be found.

 

 

 

 

You are a crewmember of the Starship ██████. Your mission was to find out what happened to the crew of the deep space exploration starship, █████, who was sent out to investigate and study a strange structure on a planet in the █████ system. After having been in stasis for three months you are finally released into the structure. You and the other crewmembers have each been supplied with minimal information and were each sent armed to the teeth with military grade weaponry for unknown reasons. The ship was fully automated to keep anybody from finding out the location of this planet.

 

Upon entering the structure a rockslide crushed twelve massive city-sized chambers and made it impossible to fly the ship out of it. The ship has tapes of transmissions from the previous crew in it, however almost all of them have been censored and are virtually useless.

 

You have now been trapped here with the others for months, and have discovered a strange organic environment growing in a huge section of the structure with no lights. This is due to the fact that all known power cables leading to that section (the “Dark Section”) have been corroded by something. Strange creatures were spotted lurking in the darkness within only a few weeks. A few weeks after that they started to attack crewmembers and drag them into the darkness. When they returned they were completely normal at first before disappearing into the darkness and taking more victims along with them. Sometimes a victim would return covered in unsightly injuries and covered in strange mold. These returnees become violent and are nearly invincible.

 

Nowadays, you have names and causes for these:

 

If you die in the structure for any reason other than being killed by a creature, you will come back as a “Shuffler,” a zombielike creature who looks like they did before death, but covered in Nesting Mold (what the organic environment is made out of). Shufflers are nearly invincible but very slow in both thought and movement. The only forms of speech they can convey are fits of agonized shrieks and groans. They are in constant pain as well for unknown reasons. They have claws that are tipped with Nesting Spores, making their claws, teeth, and bodily fluids infectious. Within recent weeks, a cure has been developed in the form of a shot that can only be administered when the Shuffler is sedated. Shufflers are important, however, because they can secrete Nesting Mold and create nests.

 

If you infect somebody as a shuffler or are killed by one of this creature, you become a Drone. Drones are brutal slimy creatures covered in a thick coating of Nesting Mold so dense that at first the crew thought they were a strange form of Nesting Plant (a common plant growth in Nests that, when consumed, will heal creatures). They are incredibly fast and strong and can see in the dark. They snarl, roar, and drool infectious, foamy, and thick saliva constantly, however, making it impossible for them to be stealthy. When killed they will come back as a shuffler. They can shoot infectious darts from slits in their hands, and have Nesting Spore covered claws, wrist blades, teeth, and spines.

 

The final and most dangerous creature can only come to be if you are killed by one or have infected two people as a drone. This is the Shapeshifter. Shapeshifters can look like anybody they killed or their original form. When killed twice they become a drone. They can switch into creature form at any time. In their creature form they are fast, can see in the dark, and have teeth, claws, spines, and a barbed tail that can infect people. If you look at a Shapeshifter in its creature form directly you cannot make out its features, therefore nobody has ever come up with a fully accurate image of a Shapeshifter in its creature form yet. When a shapeshifter dies it reverts back to creature form.

 

When any creature dies a duplicate of its body remains where it died while it is regrown in the nest.

 

WEAPONS:

The following weapons are the only weapons you have been supplied with on this mission. There is at least one for everybody, and many more on the ship along with a machine capable of making more. Also each weapon is capable of channeling elemental, non-elemental, and kanohi powers.

 

-Tactical Knife: A basic but effective weapon, this six-inch blade can retract and come back out.

 

-Protodermis Rifle: The Protodermis Rifle launches bolts of energy conducted in a protodermis core. It comes with many attachments including laser pointers, scopes, silencers, bayonets, blast enhancers, rapid fire, long range, and explosive shots, however it can only use three attachments at a time.

 

-Protodermis Grenades: Working with the same principle as the Protodermis Rifle, these explosives are about the size of a marble but have a blast radius of approximately three feet. They can be implanted with elemental or non-elemental powers to aid in explosions.

 

-Baton: Another simple but effective weapon, this weighted metallic protodermis stick can be extended, shortened, barbed or sticky. They can smash through a two-inch solid steel test barrier with a few good smacks, not to mention an enemy’s armor.

 

CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION:

Use this template:

 

Name: Can be any name not taken.

Species: This can be a Toa/Matoran (Turaga would not be sent on this mission), Vortixx, Skakdi, Glatorian, Skrall, or any of the three creature species mentioned (except for Shapeshifter)

Kanohi (Accessible to anyone, as some have been made for other species): (See list) Make sure that you do not choose an “immoral” mask if you are a Toa/Matoran

Associated Element: Can be any element except for Shadow or Light.

Skakdi Eyebeam Power (Only for Skakdi): (See list)

Skakdi Third Power (Only for Skakdi): Must be reasonable

Weakness: This is required.

Gender:

Personality:

Age: Optional

Description:

History:

Other:

 

 

KANOHI:

Kanohi Hau The Mask of Shielding

Kanohi Pakari The Mask of Strength

Kanohi Miru The Mask of Levitation

Kanohi Kakama The Mask of Speed

Kanohi Akaku The Mask of X-Ray Vision

Kanohi Kaukau The Mask of Water Breathing

Kanohi Huna The Mask of Concealment

Kanohi Ruru The Mask of Night Vision

Kanohi Matatu The Mask of Telekinesis

Kanohi Rau The Mask of Translation

Kanohi Pehkui The Mask of Diminishment

Kanohi Kualsi The Mask of Quick Travel

Kanohi Calix The Mask of Fate

Kanohi Kadin The Mask of Flight

Kanohi Sanok The Mask of Accuracy

Kanohi Iden The Mask of Spirit

Kanohi Zatth The Mask of Summoning

Kanohi Arthron The Mask of Sonar

Kanohi Volitak The Mask of Stealth

Kanohi Tryna The Mask of Reanimation

The Mask of Healing (Can heal creatures temporarily)

The Mask of Rebounding

The Mask of Sensory Aptitude

 

EYEBEAM POWERS:

Heat Vision

Impact Vision

Infrared Vision

Laser Vision

Thermal Imaging

Telescopic Vision

X-Ray Vision

 

TOOLS AND GADGETS:

These items may be found in the main ship. They are for all intents and purposes unlimited.

 

-First Aid: There are many basic first aid kits throughout the ship of varying sizes, along with a large infirmary with medical equipment, medicine, supplies, automated doctors that can do simple things like diagnose ailments and prescribe medication, etc.

 

-Kanasi: An experimental device that can be worn over or in place of a Kanohi. It will keep you from inhaling Nesting Spores and has a wide range of capabilities including a functional HUD with a targeting system, physics calculation holograms, intercom, night vision, thermal vision, etc. It also speeds up brainwave activity slightly, allowing you to respond to things as though you were wearing a very weak Kanohi Calix.

 

-Flashlight: These flashlights run on crushed lightstone dust, thus they never burn out and can shine very brightly. Their brightness can be dilated and can also give off warmth in cold situations.

 

-Other: There are many other tools, items, etc. as well. If you would like to make any significant one up please have it approved first (NOTE: You do not have to ask for approval of something obviously mediocre and not overpowered like a pack of food.)

 

RULES:

 

-Make sure to use “OOC” (out of character) and “IC” (in character) in your posts properly. Do not make an all OOC post.

 

-Make sure you don’t godmod, autohit, cheat, etc., it ruins the fun.

 

-If you are a shapeshifter, don’t go around telling people who the other Shapeshifters are for no reason. (You still can if it’s part of the story or something and they torture you or whatever.)

 

-Shapeshifters, Shufflers, and Drones have acute senses of smell that work so well they can sense non-infected people through small walls unless their sent is clouded by nesting mold. This means you cannot pretend to be a shapeshifter and expect others to believe you.

 

-Don’t break the fourth wall by knowing something about somebody else that your character could not possibly know.

 

-It is okay for one of your characters to develop a relationship of any kind with any of another players’ as long as they agree.

 

-If you are about to post what you think might be a “Game-Changer” (pretty self explanatory, basically just a really important thing like blowing everything up) make sure you get permission first.

 

-NOBODY CAN DIE HERE. If one of your characters dies they become a creature. If they already are then they become a lower form. If they are a Shuffler they are regrown still, but they are still a Shuffler.

 

-You cannot leave the structure, you are all sealed in.

 

-If you enter the “Dark Sector”… well just don’t, your pretty much dead. If you do don’t expect to live long without help from others. Also, if you do so, make sure to acknowledge the fact that you will be facing jump-scares and brutal creatures galore at every turn.

 

-If you are cured, you cannot remember anything about when you were a shapeshifter, meaning NO SPILLING THE BEANS ABOUT OTHER SHAPESHIFTERS. This, however, does not bypass masks of telepathy, psychommetry, etc. which can reach into your subconscious or use other means to find suppressed memories from when you were a shape shifter. Note that these memories are very cloudy, and you can’t learn all of the shapeshifters’ names this way, if any.

 

MAP:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CDhZOK-YWG8/Us48OQ8R-cI/AAAAAAAAA0E/u_dwfSckvWs/w1397-h786-no/Index+Map.png

Edited January 9, 2014 by ToaOfAwesome

[Mr. House]

The first sign that trouble was in the air came from a lonesome isle on the very edge of society. Lhikan, Metru Nui's farthest and most isolated colony. It was when a fisherman by the name of Aizar Shajs entered a local bar. Starved and half mad, he screamed of a massive storm that would bring the end of the world.
Naturally, the authorities explained it as a ramblings fueled by dehydration. The sailor was sent to a hospital and his words forgotten.

It was only two days before Lhikan was wiped from the face of the earth.

Once communication was lost between the Metru Nui and its colony, a small scout airship was sent to the area to see what had happened. After a month. the returned with news of a gigantic storm heading steadily north, which had nearly destroyed the zepplin and its crew. Chaos followed the storm's discovery.

Sea gates were closed, but to no avail. The storm blasted through anything trying to contain it. Within six months, half of the Southern Continent was swept under the sea. Desperate refugees had no choice but to flee north. With so many new mouths to feed, the land free from the storms slowly starved.

In a last ditch effort, the survivors tried to open the gate to Mata Nui. But mysteriously, it wouldn't open. They were trapped, and Matoran Universe was doomed to be swept into the water.

 

Maelstrom

A bite sized Apocalypse RPG!

 

Story: After the Destiny War, peace came to the world. The Makuta were destroyed, Mata Nui was awakened, and a golden age of progress came to the Matoran. It was as all expected the future would be. The great realms of the Matoran, Metru Nui chief among them, spread forth to the south, Colonies farther and farther in the remote lands were established, sending wealth and resources north.

 

Two hundred years later, the doom came.

 

No one knew where it started, whether it was the wrath of Mata Nui, or the vengence of Makuta. It is a wall of wind and water, it is the Maelstrom. Covering all of the horizon, surging from the south, it consumes man and beast, earth and sky. Millions it has taken, and entire civilizations it has killed. It has killed the Nuva, scores of Toa, and the greatest scientists in the universe. All attempts at teleportation have faltered.

 

The storm has, by now, taken the southern edge of the Tren Krom Peninsula. Scores upon scores of beings now seek their final refuge in Metru Nui and Karzahni. Food is scarce, government is nonexistant. Armies of warlords fight over what remains, while a scarce number of beings cling to hope, and try to find ways to flee the doom beyond them. No one knows if Mata Nui is dead, asleep, or the cause of The Maelstorm. This is what remains of the modern world.

 

Gameplay: Gameplay in Maelstrom is simple. You either survive, try to thrive, or work to escape the Maelstrom. There are no staff factions, and few staff characters. It will be up to the players to decide whether the survivors do, in fact, survive. If the players choose to fight each other to the death, the storm will eventually wash over them all. The fate of the world is in the player's hands.

 

Locations: There are two locations, Metru Nui and Karzahni. Both are not at all different, and will be better defined by the players.

 

-Metru Nui: Metru Nui, once a thriving city with six distinct districts, is completely unrecognizable. Most building are burned, ruined, or otherwise ruined. Each block is densely packed, and filled with armed marauders. It is bad enough that it would take a trained eye to tell Ga-Metru from Ta-Metru.

-Karzahni: Seperated from Metru Nui by a vast sea, Karzahni, wiped clean by Toa Gali centuries ago, has been turned into a gigantic tent city by refugees. Fresh water wells, fields of foodcrop have been established by local warlords. But most are out of reach for the majority of the population. It is a more unstable place than Metru Nui, by far.

 

Faction Creation: Factions are easily created in Maelstrom. They are more akin to gangs, in truth. Each player is entitled to one faction per character, of any alignment and any type, with a limited amount of NPCs.

 

Name: (Your Faction's Name)

Location: (A Metru in Metru Nui. If in Karzahni, describe a camp where your group is to be located)

NPCs: (Factions will start with the high number of fity, with an extra fifty for every player. This will have to be updated with every player)

Membership Requirements: (What does it take to join your faction? Does the character have to be a certain species, or so forth?)

Misc: (Anything extra. Be it history or other interesting factoids)

 

Character Creation: Players are allowed an unlimited number of characters. There are, of course, rules.

 

Name: (Your character's name.)

Gender: (Male/Female/None/Unknown)

Species: (No Makuta, or those of other overpowered species. This includes Brutaka's species. Custom species allowed, with limits.)

Powers: (Kanohi/Elemental Powers. Custom elements allowed.)

Equipment: (Weapons, Masks, armor. All such items. No overpowered weapons and masks.)

Appearance: (What your character looks like)

Bio: (Your character's history. Make it believable)

Weakness: (At least one glaring weakness)

 

Rules: Rules and punishments.

1: No godmodding, auto-hitting, or other such offenses. Play it fair and polite. A proper description of these terms can be seen here.

2: Use the In-Character (IC) and Out-Of-Character (OOC) marks in every post.

3: Keep romance in humor limited.

4: Don't flame, spam, or troll.

5: Warnings are simple. First warning, your character will be harmed in-game. Second warning, your character is killed. Third warning, all characters are killed and the player is banned. Note that these will be preceeded by a verbal warning.

6: If two players and factions cannot decide who wins a battle, the staff decide.

 

Staff:

-Rhaegar Targaryen (Game Master)

 

Any ideas on how to improve the game?

[NoReturnPoint]

So I know that you guys just had an RPG contest, but I wanted to gage the response to this idea. I've only got the basic intro written, but I thought I'd go ahead and put it out there for peer review:

 

Wish You Were Here

 

It was a night to remember. Ra-Metruian citizens had gathered in masses for the one-night-only performance of Balso and co.; masters of element manipulation who combined their elemental powers in a performance that encompassed dance, sparring, gymnastics, and special effects. Their entertainment style was so unique, it had inspired a category all it’s own: the art of the toa-dance. Matoran of all walks of life had scrounged their savings for weeks to attend the once in a lifetime event. The show had not disappointed. The troupe had already spent two hours retelling the ancient tale of the fall of Makuta, yet none of those watching had even considered leaving. Finally, the curtain had fallen, giving the audience a short intermission to stretch and speculate about the next act. The crowd chattered excitedly, waiting for the curtain to rise and reveal the next act: a three-way “battle” between three toa kaita. Suddenly, a bell rang, and the curtain rose to reveal-

 

-nothing. Absolutely nothing. No one was there. The toa had vanished, completely and utterly gone.

 

For days afterward, the sudden disappearance of Balso and co. was the talk of the town. An official investigation was launched by the Ra-Metru security force; which led nowhere. It wasn’t a kidnapping; all of the performers’ belongings had disappeared with them, and they had seemed to know they would disappear. Most had made up wills for their remaining possessions in the last month. But why had they disappeared? Where did they go?

 

 

These questions were left unanswered; as one by one, Toa of all types began to disappear…

[25K Now!]

Might be a bit late, but let me guess this straight: long after Makuta had been defeated, Toa begin to just ... poof into thin-air, leaving the Matoran to fend for themselves and try their best to discover the mystery behind the disappearances?

 

Sounds interesting, although there's not much really to comment on.

[The Lorax]

So, here are a few bits from an RPG idea I had, provisionally titled Kojol's Legacy until I can come up with something better. It's based around those viruses that The Shadowed One found on Xia, the ones that were introduced in Destiny War and then got abandoned when that plot never really went anywhere. It's basically what might have happened with them, had things been a bit different.

 

Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

I had another idea as well, one involving lots of interdimensional travel, evil clones, a magical wish-granter and a large splash of Vezon-insanity. It will probably have to wait, though, since it's not as developed just yet.

 

 

 

Prologue:

 

Fifteen hundred years before the Great Cataclysm, Makuta Kojol visited Xia with a number of viruses, in order to have one of them incorporated into a weapon. That trip would be his last, and he died as the last of his Brotherhood to know the location of Artakha.

 

As a prolific creator of rahi an experimenter with energies, Kojol left behind many experiments, prototype creations and, especially, viruses. Some of these were reclaimed by Makuta Antroz, who supervised that island. Others were covertly taken by the Vortixx to study their weapons potential, but some few remained unaccounted for. For a long time, it was assumed that they were incinerated along with the Makuta of Artakha, but they were not. They were merely hidden and, in time, they were found.

 

For five hundred years they lay quietly in a protosteel box, until Xia experienced a bioquake that felled a small warehouse, a building that had once been used by the Brotherhood of Makuta. It had been sold off after Antroz built his new fortress on the island, but, hidden among the foundations, Kojol’s legacy remained. He had told no one of its hiding place, and so it came as a great surprise to the three Vortixx workers who unearthed it: Whiro, Tirea and Hoata.

 

The box was locked, but the symbol of the Makuta, burned into its lid, was enough to rouse their curiosity, and the lock was soon broken. They found three vials inside, each containing a different virus, and to each was attached a small memo, written by Kojol. Ambitious as Vortixx are, the three saw great opportunity in the find, the chance to leave behind their humble lives as factory workers and pursue greater dreams of power. They each took one of the vials for themselves, swore to keep them secret, and went their separate ways.

 

Their pact was soon broken, however. Whiro celebrated her good fortune at a local tavern and, while inebriated, began to spill the story in company she thought she could trust. If she could have seen the consequences, she might have held her tongue.

 

Rumors travel fast on Xia, and barely two days later, Whiro was found dead in an alleyway. She appeared to have been attacked by some large creature and her body bore many claw-marks, but of her attacker, there was no sign. Her virus, too, had disappeared without a trace.

 

Tirea and Hoata were wiser. They what was happening: their secret was betrayed and powerful beings were now taking an interest in the story. It was not hard to discover who had been working with Whiro on the day of her find, and they would be next. Both quickly went into hiding, and Tirea even managed to leave the island.

 

Sadly, when her ship reached Stelt, a local lord and his bodyguards were waiting to arrest the stowaway and take the virus for themselves. Having secured their prize, the Steltians sold Tirea into slavery. She lasted nearly a week in gladiator fights before meeting a grisly end at the hands of a Skakdi.

 

That left only Hoata, alone and hunted. Knowing that her time was short, she gave herself up to one of the most influential Vortixx on Xia, offering up her virus in exchange for her life and protection from others who were after her. Roodaka gladly accepted these terms, and claimed the last virus for her own.

 

 

 

 

The Story:

 

A month later, there was still no sign of Whiro’s virus, but the other two have shaken their islands to the core. It was Lord Patu, the Steltian, who was the first to discover the function of his virus. The note that accompanied it was this:

 

M.I. Virus Batch 137F

Use at first convenience on prototype Kaha Eagle.

Could provide powerful counter-balance mechanism for powerful rahi, should it become necessary.

If successful, set them on those [illegible] snakes!

 

Enticed by the lure of a power great enough to defeat the war-beasts of the Brotherhood, Patu eagerly consumed the virus, but noticed no immediate effects. In fact, he seemed to have lost power, as he was no longer able to summon his rhotuka, nor fire his lightstone rifle.

It soon became apparent, however, why Kojol had thought his eagles would be able to defeat catapult scorpions, kahgarak, kraawa and crystal serpents. For even though Patu lost access to his own powers, no other being or object was able to use their power in his presence.

 

Although it was inconvenient to have lightstones wink out when he entered a room, the advantages that the virus gave him were clear. Steltians, though physically powerful, had always lacked magical clout, and this had limited their influence in a universe filled with highly magical beings, and ruled over by the mighty Makuta. If he no longer had to fear Dark Hunters who could walk unseen and toa who could kill with a thought, he would become the most powerful lord on Stelt, a king like they had never had. Even the island’s Makuta would have to show him respect.

 

Quickly, Patu hired the greatest gladiators on Stelt to become his personal bodyguards. Thus assured that he was safe from both magical attack and his enemies’ swords, he set about subduing the other Steltian rulers and bringing them under his sway. Soon, he had all the major lords aligned under his banner and an army of Steltians bearing his emblem.

 

 

Meanwhile, in the north, Roodaka had wasted no time in studying the potential applications of her own virus. Kojol’s notes on it were:

 

M.E. Viruses batch 58F and 204F

For general use in rahi creation.

Allows quick transfer of pre-existing capabilities, side-effects removed.

Larger chamber of vial contains single-use virus, smaller for a permanent effect.

Potential for misuse by hostiles. Keep secret.

 

The Vortixx took a much more scientific approach, studying both versions of the virus in laboratories and learning to replicate them rather than simply consuming the viruses as Patu had. Combined with the clues from the notes, they had deduced its effects in barely a week: it allowed for the permanent transfer of magical abilities from one being to another.

 

A rahi or Vortixx with the virus active within them could assimilate any magical power they came into contact with, whether it came from a being, a mask or some other object of power. The power they gained did not fade with time, and while assimilating a power, the magic would not affect them. The immunity seemed to be short-lived, however. If a power was directed at them a second time, they would feel its effects in full. The single-use virus allowed for only one power to be gained, though the permanent effect virus remained active within a being, allowing them to assimilate and use any power they came across.

 

With the scientists having done their work, Roodaka began putting the knowledge to use. To say that the ability to confer powers on beings as she wished compounded her influence in Xian society would be a wild understatement. Having first consumed the permanent effect virus and gained a large number of abilities herself, she set about using a careful mixture of bribery and blackmail, force and cajoling, good contacts and simple wealth to make herself the undisputed ruler of Xia. The promise of powers to her supporters and death to her detractors proved highly effective, and soon the empowerment of the Xians began in earnest.

 

Roodaka kept the permanent-effect virus for herself, but, under her watchful eyes, other Vortixx were allowed to receive the less potent virus. Xian soldiers of Roodaka’s new regime received up to two shots of the virus each, and other powers were doled out where necessary to improve weapons production in her factories or to reward her most important supporters. Each Vortixx to receive powers was thoroughly scrutinised in order to prevent the virus from falling into the wrong hands, and the factory where they were produced was placed under heavy guard. Despite these restrictions, the empowerment spread quickly, and Xians gained powers of all types – elements, masks, kraata and rahi powers, even abilities from magical weapons. They became strong, and Roodaka was pleased. Her ambition was greater than simply ruling over her homeland. She wanted to expand outwards.

 

 

It began with a letter addressed to Lord Patu of Stelt, requesting the return of Xian property to its rightful owners, along with any copies that had been made of the virus.

Patu responded that that would happen over his dead body. No Vortixx owned his virus and any who tried to take it would lose their hands. They also might learn to be more respectful towards the new power in the region, or have their island conquered.

Roodaka responded that over Patu’s dead body was a rather agreeable situation in her eyes, and that any Steltian who set foot on Xia would be annihilated and their remains fed to The Mountain.

 

And so the war began, with each nation fighting for control of the viruses. The Xians are strong, now wielding both magic and their advanced technologies. The Steltians found technological parity in a deal with Nynrah, but are slowly forced to yield ground to the magical might of the Vortixx. Where Patu and his guard fight, however, the Xians’ magics fail them, energies guttering out in their hands. Then the Steltians surge forward, using their superior strength to great advantage. Above all, both sides seek for any hint of the third, unknown virus, believing that it will hold the key to victory and dominance of the Matoran Universe.

[Some Random Phrase]

Oh man, that sounds cool. Are you going to post what rule that RP will have if it wins teh contest? Because right now I can see a lot of places where people could be OP.

[The Lorax]

First of all, thanks for the encouragement. It's good to know when I've done something right.

 

Actually I don't have a set of rules for what powers characters can and can't get (I assume we're talking about the Vortixx here), but what I do have on character creation, I've quoted below. Virus-activated Vortixx can get their powers from anywhere, so if I were to list every power in the BIONICLE universe that I didn't want in the game, that list would be huge, and even then I'd be likely to miss a few. In other words, I'm finally bowing to those who say that it is best to trust the players a bit and then approve characters and powers on a case-by-case basis. People know I won't let their characters gain the powers of the ignika, so they won't even bother to ask (I hope). Anything that's borderline, I can discuss with them and come to an agreement before the character is OKed.

 

So yeah, that's on character powers, but if there was some other loophole to OPness that you've spotted in the story or other game mechanics, please let me know so I can fix it. (I should probably add that I know that Roodaka's permanent-effect virus is gigantically OP. That's the point, it needed to be for the story's sake. Now if a PC were to somehow find a way to get that for themselves through IC play... actually, I think I'd let them have it. If they're going to put in the effort and planning to pull off something like that, then, well, they've earned some in-universe power and good on them.)

 

Characters

 

Characters in this game can be any being living in and around Xia and Stelt, though this should not be taken to mean “Voirtixx and Steltian species”. There are beings of other species living on both islands, particularly Stelt. They are also open for play.

Original characters are encouraged, though canon characters may be played if negotiated with the GM and said canon character has a plausible reason to be involved. There is no limit to the number of characters any player can control.

To create a character, fill out this character profile and submit it for approval. This layout is only a suggestion, so feel free to change the format and add/remove fields as you wish.

 

 

Name: Make it BIONICLE-sounding.

Gender: Male, Female, unknown, neither, somewhere in between.

Species: Something from the MU, or create your own custom species.

Faction: Xia / Stelt / Other?

Powers: If applicable to the character’s species/rank. Vortixx should note unused shots of virus here too.

Appearance: What do they look like? A MoC, drawing or description will do.
Equipment: What do they have with them?
Biography: About their life.
Personality: What are they like? How do they act?

Skills/Strengths: What are they good at?
Weaknesses: What are they bad at? What hurts them?

 

[Canis Lycaon]

When does this RPG take place in the timeline?

[The Lorax]

1,000 BGC. The info is in there, but I will make it more explicit.

 

Fifteen hundred years before the Great Cataclysm, Makuta Kojol visited Xia with a number of viruses...

 

...

 

For five hundred years they lay quietly in a protosteel box, until...

 

[Some Random Phrase]

 

First of all, thanks for the encouragement. It's good to know when I've done something right.

 

Actually I don't have a set of rules for what powers characters can and can't get (I assume we're talking about the Vortixx here), but what I do have on character creation, I've quoted below. Virus-activated Vortixx can get their powers from anywhere, so if I were to list every power in the BIONICLE universe that I didn't want in the game, that list would be huge, and even then I'd be likely to miss a few. In other words, I'm finally bowing to those who say that it is best to trust the players a bit and then approve characters and powers on a case-by-case basis. People know I won't let their characters gain the powers of the ignika, so they won't even bother to ask (I hope). Anything that's borderline, I can discuss with them and come to an agreement before the character is OKed.

 

So yeah, that's on character powers, but if there was some other loophole to OPness that you've spotted in the story or other game mechanics, please let me know so I can fix it. (I should probably add that I know that Roodaka's permanent-effect virus is gigantically OP. That's the point, it needed to be for the story's sake. Now if a PC were to somehow find a way to get that for themselves through IC play... actually, I think I'd let them have it. If they're going to put in the effort and planning to pull off something like that, then, well, they've earned some in-universe power and good on them.)

 

Characters

 

Characters in this game can be any being living in and around Xia and Stelt, though this should not be taken to mean “Voirtixx and Steltian species”. There are beings of other species living on both islands, particularly Stelt. They are also open for play.

Original characters are encouraged, though canon characters may be played if negotiated with the GM and said canon character has a plausible reason to be involved. There is no limit to the number of characters any player can control.

To create a character, fill out this character profile and submit it for approval. This layout is only a suggestion, so feel free to change the format and add/remove fields as you wish.

 

 

Name: Make it BIONICLE-sounding.

Gender: Male, Female, unknown, neither, somewhere in between.

Species: Something from the MU, or create your own custom species.

Faction: Xia / Stelt / Other?

Powers: If applicable to the character’s species/rank. Vortixx should note unused shots of virus here too.

Appearance: What do they look like? A MoC, drawing or description will do.

Equipment: What do they have with them?

Biography: About their life.

Personality: What are they like? How do they act?

Skills/Strengths: What are they good at?

Weaknesses: What are they bad at? What hurts them?

 

 

I have forgotten what I saw in terms of OPness, but this seems pretty good. And the signup seems to indicate we can be Nynrah Ghosts. Is that correct?