Timageness

The BS01 Kraata Variations page only says that they are in constant communication with their respective Makuta when they reach Stage 6; whether this is executed via telepathy or Shadowspeak (how Makuta and Umarak communicated in G2, which I believe was also present in G1) is not explicitly stated. Either way, if it was going to be implemented, I would assume that it would only be for conversational purposes, where the knowledge conveyed would be limited at best, but that's something we would still have to discuss. The Makuta are already OP enough as it is, however, so I'm not really looking to give them anything extra.

True. The only things we really have over the average sellsword at the moment are a base that used to be the old Ko-Wahi cable car station (which we used to charge a toll for), and an alliance with Ihu-Koro and Ta-Koro to help make sure that those pesky Makuta-worshipers don't end up crossing the Tren Krom Break and into Ta-Wahi, which so far, not much even remotely related to that has occured. Oh, and an entire armory filled to the brim with standard, non-tech weapons. And a prison for people we don't like, provided that we feel generous enough not to just straight-up kick them into the nearby river of lava in the first place. And an indoor bar that still charges people for drinks, though the player running it hasn't posted in a while. And other, like-minded individuals who will (probably) have your back when it's time to go out on missions. And the best part is that the entrance fee is only trial by combat $9.95! But yeah, solo mercs totally have access to all that stuff as well, so you might actually be better off going it alone.

"Full disclosure: We're actually FBI." - An unnamed agent, perfectly willing to endanger the life of someone he's supposed to be guarding for Witness Protection, simply because some random guy (who totally wasn't a hitman or anything) knocked on the back doors of his vehicle and handed him a box of donuts laced with sedatives so he could come back later and steal his clothes. And yeah, I sort of picked up on that... about ten seconds after I typed up my post and almost immediately decided that I was too lazy to change it.

Actually, the Blank Heroes are the exception to the rule, as they contain no core, but still possess an alternative power source of some kind. Completed Heroes, on the other hand, rely soley on their Quaza Cores to keep themselves up and running, so it's safe to assume that they end up replacing whatever was previously being used to fuel their bodies and basic A.I. functions sometime during the final stages of their construction. So if it's removed, destroyed, or completely runs out of juice, they are, in all likelihood, effectively going to die.

Verulas might start trying to recruit people for The Outsiders sometime soon, since, you know, pretty much everybody else seems to be caught up in one state of inactivity or another. There's also a train heist currently going on over in Po-Wahi.

Feel free to supply us with a list of her deeds and accomplishments, and we'll get back to you at some point. It's been a while since I've seen her in the game, and the search function only goes back so far.

They're also a fairly obvious weakness in their construction; if they're destroyed, removed, or ever completely run out of energy, said Heroes either end up dying or having new cores transplanted into their bodies, and their previous A.I.s and personalities are completely lost forever in both cases. Makes you look at Core Hunter in a whole new light. No wonder why they didn't put him in the Breakout episode; he effectively steals their souls.

I'll always remember exactly where I was on September 11, 2001. I was ten at the time, attending middle school in Belmont, NH. It started off like any other day, one where my friends and I used to sit behind our desks and screw around while we were supposed to be learning, mostly talking about Gundam and Dragon Ball Z (which Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block used to play every day around after we returned home, along with others, such as Outlaw Star), purposely scraping the paint off of those little Hotwheels cars, and of course, geeking out over a recently launched Lego theme going by the name of Bionicle. We were just about to switch subjects, though I can't seem to recall what they actually were for the life of me, when one of the faculty, likely the vice-principal, stepped inside our fifth grade classroom and asked if he could speak to our teacher in private. While everyone else started goofing off as soon as they left the room, throwing paper airplanes and doing other things that children were prone to do, I couldn't help but watch their silenced conversation through the glass of the door, my mind racing and trying to figure out just what exactly they were talking about. A few moments later, she walked back inside and told us that something terrible had occured and we were having an early-release day because of it, so we all started packing and getting ready to be sent home not too long afterwards, none the wiser to what had actually happened. When I was eventually dropped back off at the end of our driveway, I stepped inside and proceeded to enter our living room expecting to watch some cartoons, seeing as to how I had a few hours to kill before my dad came home and started nagging me to go do my chores, only to find my mom standing in front of the television watching the news. That's when she told me about the attack, about how the flights were hijacked and flown into the towers of the World Trade Center, about how they were still sending in rescue workers, and about how it was still unconfirmed exactly how many people lost their lives that day. And of course, being the kid that I was at the time, still trying to wrap my head around the news, the first thing that came out of my mouth was me asking her if someone was going to try to crash a plane into our house. Little did I know that what I had said was actually a metaphor for the events which transpired on that fateful day, as the impact of the attack left behind a shockwave that was felt all across the country, and by extension, the world. To all of those who have lost loved ones in the attacks, the wars, and the tragedies that came afterwards, our hearts and minds will always be right here, mourning alongside you as we take the time to remember those who have fallen. May they be granted the rest that they so rightfully deserve.

OOC: Taranis and Tenjin from Onu-Wahi. IC: Taranis and Tenjin - The Iron Mahi (Passenger Car) To be perfectly honest, Taranis was starting to have second thoughts about this. When he and Tenjin had finally returned to Po-Koro, thirsty, hot, and without a widget to their name, he was almost as ecstatic as his twin when they had first stumbled across this gig. Sure, fencing the gold would likely be problematic, and just getting it in the first place definitely wasn't going to be a walk in the park, especially since they didn't know its exact location, but they were pretty much willing to do anything at that point if it meant that they wouldn't have to worry about money for a while. Now that they were actually about to go through with the plan, however, he was beginning to notice a few more issues now that they had started to become even more readily apparent. First of all, the space within the interior of their car left a lot to be desired; if things went downhill, and, in all likelihood, they were probably going to, keeping themselves out of harm's way was going to be that much more difficult in the event that things ended up dissolving into a straight-up bloodbath. Doubly so for the Skakdi in specific, due to being quite literally attached to one another from shoulder to hip. While they did have their fair share of experience maneuvering around the inside of jail cells in the past, doing so here had become exceedingly ridiculous, as simply walking down the aisle proved to be a rather uncomfortable affair, mostly because of how the corners of the seats persistantly had a habit of digging into their sides. Secondly, the number of passengers they had planned on dealing with had thus far exceeded his expectations. The number of guards, give or take a few bodies, were practically a given, mostly due to the nature of the cargo they were supposed to be protecting, but what had taken him by surprise was the exact amount of people who had chosen to board the very same section of the train that they were now currently occupying. Despite the possibility of the rather cramped quarters potentially amplifying his elemental attacks, something he wasn't too keen on experiencing himself because of his hearing, he was left wondering whether or not the duo's signature move would even be enough to affect that many at once, let alone incapacitate any of them. One thing was for sure, however; if things didn't go as planned, it wasn't going to be long before he had his answers. Finally, the third, and by far the most important factor he had to take into consideration, was Tenjin himself. The Vo-Skakdi had certainly voiced his displeasure upon discovering that Taranis was planning to drag him back to Po-Wahi, taking issue with pretty much everything from the sun and the heat to the people and the prison food, and never once ceased his complaining throughout every step of their journey. If he had his way, they'd probably be sitting in a bar somewhere in Ko-Koro right about now, using the backs of some unfortunate Matoran as footstools after a night of pillaging and either waiting for a decent fight to break out or simply looking for some ignorant Karz-Head to rob. On the other hand, the De-Skakdi knew that the village of ice was nothing more than a ticking time bomb; clustering all of the island's criminals together in one place meant fewer opportunities to apply their craft within the actual walls themselves, and while the Makuta-worshippers likely had no shortage of honeyed words or coin to help secure them allies, he also knew that they'd gladly stick their knives in the backs of freelancers like them, whether in an effort to save their own skins or just simply for the amusement of watching them bleed out in the snow. No, like it or not, they'd be sticking to the more civilised places of the island, as even potentially dealing with Rahi in the wilderness would've been the preferable option, though this would do little to quench his brother's thirst for violence. Because of this, Taranis dared not to even think of what was going on inside his head, as knowing his luck, he was probably planning on trying to murder absolutely everyone he could get his hands... err, hand on. Seeing as he'd most definitely be sharing any sentence that his brother could possibly be subjected to, the only solace he found in his current situation was the fact that he'd get to enjoy watching him go through withdrawals again. You know, in the event that they didn't end up dying, of course. Returning the nod before giving his weapons a quick once-over, he suddenly shifted himself to the right, causing his twin to abruptly inhale a potion of his beverage. A few seconds of coughing and an angry glare later, and the duo were ready for action. Whether or not they were truly prepared for what was about to happen, however, was another matter entirely. IC: Zenithex - Blackrock (Ruins) For a moment, Zenithex was silent, though not for the reasons one might assume at first glance. To be quite frank, the Lesterin's actual time amongst the other members of the Brotherhood had been... limited to say the least; while he was able to catch up on a lot of their history after his escape during the first sacking of Blackrock, and was sufficiently filled in about their recent activities regarding the region of ice and snow, there were still many things that he hadn't had the chance to learn before being separated from them once again, and chances were that now he never would. As such, the announcement of the Bo-Toa's name had little impact on him, aside from them using it to introduce themselves, so he simply shook his head in respone to the other being's question. No, what he was really concerned with was how best to explain away the mission he was given by the Archangel himself. As a former serial killer and now completely reformed ritual killer, it was rather obvious that one should never introduce themselves as such if they wished to prolong their work. Seeing as to how his work was now also the work of Ak'rei'an, that went doubly so. Still, if he chose to say nothing, that would in turn draw suspicion upon himself, and having their deity's last two living servants on Mata Nui at each other's throats simply would not do, as they were already teetering on the brink of extinction. What he desperately needed was a way to say as little as possible while still showing that he was trustworthy at the very least, and, after much deliberation, he finally decided how best to properly acheive this. Slowly reaching up towards his face with both hands, he proceeded to draw back his hood, revealing both the vice shackled around his head and his lipless maw as he let the fabric receed until it came to a rest down around his shoulders. "And I am Sir Zenithex, last surviving Knight of the Brotherhood of Ak'rei'an. None who follow the ways of the Archangel need fear violence from me; only those who seek to stand against him and his flock."

Considering that the character in the post is a new arrival, and we've only approved one character for him recently, I think it's safe to assume that he's playing as Tombstone. It probably just slipped his mind, due to the fact that it's been a while since any new profiles were approved. Personally, I'm still amazed at how long it's been myself.

Ah. Sorry for the confusion, then. Reading and posting while I'm on the verge of passing out obviously doesn't agree with me. Dahl approved x3.

If there's any more issues there, shout them out. Also, changed variant to mind-reading, because I'd probably find a way to screw up Magnetism. Seems okay now. Approved x2. Technically, this is mostly just a collection of various traits from across the Souls games that've been rolled up into a single character, so I don't think we can justifiably classify this as an expy. The problem I have here is with the sheer amount of weaponry this guy is packing, along with the specifics of said weapons in question. As of right now, he has 5 - 7 currently on him (depending on whether or not you group the scimitars and gloves into one individual slot, respectively), including one which arguably relies on above-average tech and offers no explanation of how it came into his possession. To be perfectly honest, anything exceeding the 3 - 4 range should really only be acquired in-game. Fair enough, I suppose. Three for three works until we can get everything else sorted out. I'll be holding off on submitting stuff for my own personal use until then, though.

If I remember correctly, one of the staff pointed out that village dwellings were mostly constructed around Matoran, seeing as to how they're currently the most populous species on the island. By this logic, structures built around other species would be exceedingly rare in comparison within the walls of a Koro. People (myself included) sometimes forget that this is actually supposed to be a thing when it comes time to RP though, which can unfortunately lead to a lot of inconsistencies with our posts.

Oh. Huh. So what happens when one of us wants to introduce a new (student) character? Do they automatically start off with a +1 and only need two approvals? Because that really doesn't seem all that fair to everyone else...

Seems okay to me. Approved x1. Pretty sure you only really need 2/3. Unless I'm mistaken, that is, in which case, I'm off to a great start. Hopefully, someone else will either confirm or deny. Speaking of which, I just took another look at Luffy, and, aside from the issues that were fixed, it's my professional opinion that he's spent enough time in the de-expyfication chamber as well. Approved x1.

Time to go to work... Simply for the record, ditto on Luffy being an expy. Kri, on the other hand, gets an extra approved x3. Go ahead. I'll just start smiting and reposting them all over in the HF RPG Discussion Topic for you to deal with later. Again, Strider beat me to the punch on pretty much everything related to this so far.

I'm actually a little iffy when it comes to her poison. To be perfectly fair, it does look balanced enough for actual gameplay purposes (more stick, weaker ick), but opening the floodgates for multiple variations on the already impressive list of 42 pre-existing power sets feels like a tad bit too much in this case, despite the fact that I'm generally open to the inclusion of custom stuff in other RPGs. However, given the fact that the rest of the profile seems to be in order, and Click does have a reputation of playing fairly and sticking to the rules, I am willing to overlook this, as I also don't see it as being enough of a reason to not give the profile a passing grade either. Just felt that I wouldn't be doing my job properly without including a perfectly honest review. Additional and now completely unnecessary approved x3.

Silvan's in charge over the entirety of Po-Wahi. Tyler currently holds the position of Head Staff Member.

Speaking as one of the players who have actually done this, or, in my case, still continue to do so, I simply view it as my own little reminder to keep myself honest. And yeah, I'm probably the only one who makes my characters earn their money as well, but hey, to each their own. Personally, something about pulling an unspecified amount of widgets out of my characters' backside with little to no explanation as to how it got there in the first place just doesn't sit right with me.

The way I see it, I've been a MoCist since at least 2001; I've enjoyed the figures and builds and the characters and story just like everybody else for the most part, but in all honesty, I couldn't (and still can't) keep an official set together to save my life. Taking that into consideration, I personally feel that rushing out to get the component sets for Makuta when I already have them, only to have him torn apart again anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 days later, would simply be a waste of time, as I would be shelling out money pretty much soley for parts I have no plans to use at the moment instead of those that I actually need. Had Lego released the model as an actual set, I would've bought it just for the MoUP alone. As it stands right now, however, the most interesting aspect of G2 Makuta for me is watching others reverse engineer the figure's build, since remembering the basic layout and connections might be useful when it comes to making my own stuff.

Alright, then, I guess. Just trying to keep the peace is all.

Would be interesting to see Tridax again, but he is kind of OP, especially in comparison to the lower level students. While we could nerf the Makuta by making a few simple tweaks (1 Kanohi, Element of Shadow, and 1 - 3 active Kraata Powers (can only be swapped out for inactive powers after a period of 6 consecutive posts has passed by without any power usage whatsoever), for example), it might be better just to shelf them entirely for the time being in the interest of fairness. Doesn't mean we can't make up underlings of another species, though. I actually suggested that we should start having people submit requests, including a record of their character's deeds, to have their characters level up. That way, we'd only have to look things over and confirm that they actually happened before making a decision. And yeah, the GMs shouldn't be exempt from this method either. As I recall, the characters in question received those quick-succession level ups because they'd actively and consistently engaged in major events and accomplished impressive achievements - they formed Kaitas, fought Dark Hunters, saved the lives of their fellow rahks from Matoran attacks, performed well in Makuta-supervised assignments, and so on. And even then, there were several occasions where characters were denied level-ups because of how recently they'd received their prior ones. Frankly, I think the current system works fairly well. If our interim GM's tried to make it 'harder' for higher level characters to level-up further, then it's going to become near impossible for anyone to advance past level 4/5. I seem to remember this being the case as well, actually, but if Ghidora can supply us with hard evidence to the contrary, then we're still obligated to hear him out. Actually, it was Icarax who did the deed; all Grim did was detain Subject. While I'm not saying that you should hold resentment for another player because of their actions, placing the blame on someone who had nothing to do with the decision to kill off your character isn't exactly cool, either. Have to agree. Sorry. However, if Subject was to have found himself inside his Makuta's armory one day, sometime before his arrival at Corpus, and had just so happened to accidentally bump into an odd-looking... spear while he was down there, then I suppose you could technically resubmit him for approval without him being dead...

On how things should work, I still envision the role of interim GMs as relatively simple and minimal (as Wyrd's tended to be, really): they should collectively approve profiles, level up characters, and play the staff when necessary to do things like keep order, hold assignments, or appoint Prefects. I agree that there should probably be multiple interim GMs - probably three, five sounds like too many but it should be odd so there can't be vote ties. As for nominations, I think Timageness could do a good job, along with Scorp and Click if they're willing. I don't know about the idea of classes. Corpus Rahkshi seems like more of a place where students can seek learning, rather than have it handed to them. If we were to start them, it should probably be only one at a time (so everyone's at the same one), each held only once (as opposed to several separate lessons, because several lessons on poison or stealth would be boring), and participation-based - but that's pretty much an assignment. As for keeping law and order, that's basically what Wyrd was getting at in appointing prefects. So I think it would be consistent there to appoint additional prefects, possibly with more specific location assignments (or maybe set up some sort of system of shifts, where they rotate through locations). If I remember correctly, players used to actually be allowed to either temporarily bunny Palma, or, at the very least, apply a relatively minor time-skip in order to get their characters healed and out of the infirmary in the event that Wyrd wasn't around to type up a proper post pertaining to the action in question. Staff characters wouldn't necessarily need to be controlled unless the current situation specifically required it, such as interacting with students, handing out punishments, or generally keeping the peace within their assigned areas of the building. Nominating more prefects is always a possibility, but seeing as how they're usually implemented as more of a mobile option when it comes to disciplinary figures (as in they're likely to be found in areas where students normally frequent aside from rooms where a staff member is primarily located, such as the halls, refectory, dorms, etc.), it couldn't hurt to add in a few other Brotherhood allies/underlings as well, just so the ones we already have aren't spreading themselves too thin or potentially letting future troublemakers slip through the cracks. From my understanding of assignments, however, they were effectively school wide events, and in at least one case I recall (might've been Gorast's attack on Phantom or something), the porters were actually sent out into the halls in an effort to force students to attend, meaning that everyone was more or less expected to participate on some level in-game even though there weren't any punishments being doled out to those who failed to do so. What I'm actually suggesting here are more along the lines of side quests made availabe for characters who deem them relevant enough to warrant their participation. For example, a more honor-bound character such as Paladin or Fountain would probably frown upon the hunting class, since that would involve stealth and taking enemies/prey by surprise, where as others such as Rail or Shark would jump at the chance to improve their technique. And yeah, while holding only one at a time would probably be best for management purposes, a class in question could pop up again at a later time; all you'd really have to do for this to be possible is to change the subject matter/layout of the actual lessons. Potential rewards, aside from leveling progress, would also be unique and relavent to particular lessons as well (i.e., Poisons would open up a larger variety of natural toxins and injection methods, where as Hunting would prioritise on ranged or sneakier weapons), allowing one to better min-max the playstyle of an individual character instead of just simply calling dibs on whatever happens to be approved or dropped.

In all honesty, we might actually want to determine how exactly things should work out first before we start looking for volunteers, but since everyone seems to be stepping backwards when it comes to actually considering themselves as a GM, we apparently still have some time to properly discuss this matter. Personally, I'm thinking that there should really only be around 3 - 5 available positions, preferably going to those who have a surplus of time on their hands to help out with, are fairly knowledgeable about the game and are relatively fair when it comes to interactions and decision making, and have at least some experience regarding helping people out with their profiles in the past. As for approvals and leveling, these would probably best be handled via a vote between those who'd be running things in Wyrd's absence. As for ideas regarding a potential increase in interaction, I've noticed that there's a sort of obvious lack of classes (which, like the assignments of old, could grant some experience towards leveling, though on a much smaller scale due to them taking place within a relatively safer environment) in what's essentially supposed to be a high school RPG for Rahkshi, so maybe starting there wouldn't be such a bad idea. Things like Poisons 101 and Proper Weapon Handling, Tactics: Increasing Your Odds of Survivability, or even Hunting: The Art Of Stealth, for example. Also, Corpus could probably use some more in-game faculty members as well, such as an actual Librarian, mostly just to ensure that the students don't go around trashing the contents of the more common areas of the building whenever they want, in addition to possibly decreasing the feeling of complete and utter lawlessness. Who knows? There could even be an Engineer thrown into the mix, giving characters the opportunity to eventually create some advanced tech (within reasonable parameters, of course) of their own at some point. That being said, since nobody else is currently nominating themselves as a potential candidate, I suppose I could lend a hand with approving profiles and brainstorming at the very least until someone more qualified decides to throw in their hat, as I pretty much have the time prerequisite locked down.

IC: Septima - Ga-Koro (Docks) "From the sound of things, whatever was happening in there seems to be over now. I'm sure we'll be fine if we just knock on the door and see if the shopkeeper's alright...," the Fe-Toa said, raising her eyebrows slightly before innocently following up with, "Or we could simply cower in the presence of a few mighty splinters, go find some rooms to rent out, and spend the majority of the evening hiding under our beds while fending off spiders with a newspaper. Either way, I get to sleep on an actual bed tonight instead of the ground, so at least I have that to look forward to."