Introduction and StoryThis game is a continuation of a forum RPG with a very long history which was started by an old friend on a different forum way back in September of 2010. I've been thinking of creating a game that uses the Black Zenith character creation sheet for quite a while now, but until now I never got around to doing that. Mostly because world building is apparently not one of my strong points. If you feel like learning a bit about the history of the game you can click on
This Link to see the most recent Black Zenith game, which in turn has another link that goes to the game before that. You probably won't get some of the references to stuff that happened in a previous game; that doesn't matter in the least. All you really need to know is that for some reason Unicorns have godlike powers and are evil.
This game is set in an alternate universe from the Black Zenith game, the key difference between this universe and the other one is that in this one Rahien was defeated by the might of the terrifying unicorns! Then the unicorns proceeded to annihilate the world and all that inhabited it. The unicorns then split into two factions; The Destroyers and the Sadists. The Destroyer faction, citing the defeat of GM and DM saw the lesser races as a threat to equine supremacy and believed that they should be annihilated entirely. The Sadist faction saw the lesser beings as their playthings and wanted to keep a population of them alive so that they could torment them forever. In the Black Zenith world, unicorns are not very nice. There is also a smaller third faction known as the Supremacists who don't give half a shit about non-unicorn life who remain mostly neutral.
The Sadist unicorns have revived various champions from different places and timezones to inhabit what remains of the world. Those champions... are you! Your primary goal is to survive, defeat hostile forces of all manner, which the Sadist unicorns refuse to interact with for any number of mysterious reasons and grow ever stronger so that one day you will be able to stop the unicorn menace once and for all!
This game will not be first come first serve, however those tho express an interest within 24 hours of this post will be put at an advantage during character selection because I am hoping to update this game on a daily basis and would prefer having players capable of posting an action within 24 hours of an update. Also, feel free to ask any questions you may have about character creation.
Game MechanicsOrdinary actionsOrdinary actions are your standard 'do this, stab that' kind of thing. If it makes sense and you roll sufficiently high, you can probably do it! There is nothing saying that a fighter cannot cast a healing spell, though if you suddenly get the idea that you can fly, you'd probably have to state a good excuse, such as casting a spell, as well as roll sufficiently, to pull it off. Also keep in mind that casting magic and likewise do not actually cost anything such as mana; If you roll well enough, you pull your move off.
Like the previous games in the Black Zenith series, whether you succeed or not will depend on how I roll a D20, plus a modifier based on your stats. I'll take care of all the actual calculations myself.
TraitsA trait is a representation of something your character is skilled at, such as swordfighting or combining two types of magic for greater results. In general, traits are passive bonuses that provide the defining basis of your character. A good example would be the ability to have a chance to make a 'combo attack' once a round, thus hitting an enemy twice rather than once. Some things are also simply impossible to perform without a Trait to allow it, though such examples are rare at best. Creativity is strongly advised when choosing your traits.
Special AbilitiesA special ability is a particular move only you can pull off. Doing almost anything, special abilities are almost limitless in what they can do; they all share some rules though. Special abilities all need to be activated. Sometimes, doing so takes up your turn, and sometimes you will be able to perform another action alongside your special ability - it depends on the individual special ability.
Special abilities can buff you, debuff the enemy, or just plain deal damage or heal somebody. But that is not the full extent of what they can do - think creative.
All special abilities have a cooldown time. Some are higher than others, thus allowing for that ability to be more powerful as well - its a question of balancing it out to fit you. Most specials would have a cooldown of 7 or 8 rounds, and you can specify if your particular special should have a shorter or longer cooldown, or just a standard cooldown, through it'll affect the power of the special by a bit.
StatsIn this game there are two sets of stats. The first one is Combat stats, which are primarily used for combat purposes. The second one is Social stats, which is highly situational in this game. These are the stats and their effects.
Strength: Affects your ability to do damage with conventional weapons such as swords, bows and firearms. In this game ranged and melee attacks use the same stat.
Crafting: Your ability to perform non-combat related tasks such as building, cooking etc. You won't be fighting 100% of the time.
Affinity: Your ability to use magic. Magic abilities are far more versatile than conventional weapons and can be used for a wider variety of effects. However its raw power is not as high as Strength based attacks.
Constitution: Determines how much health you have, and your ability to shrug off certain effects.
Defense: Your ability to dodge, block or otherwise avoid damage.
Precision: Your ability to not be dodged, blocked or otherwise avoided.
Sincerity: How trustworthy you appear to be.
Guile: How much you appear to know what you are talking about.
Intimidate: How scary your character can appear to be.
Charm: How likeable your character is.
Each of your stats should generally be no less than 4 and no greater than 18. This rule is not set in stone. If there is a logical reason for your character to have a stat of less than 4 then you may have a lower stat; though this will likely cause problems for you in certain situations. Some examples may be that if your character is blind in one eye you may have a precision stat that is lower than 4, if your character is under the effects of a curse in your backstory you may have an affinity that is lower than 4. If your character is a child then you may have a guile lower than 4 etc.
You may also have a stat that is greater than 18. However this is not advised as each point above 18 will cost 2 stat points instead of 1. If you want 20 strength it will cost 22 stat points.
Character Creation SheetName:
Race: (Pretty much anything other than unicorn is allowed)
Gender: (If applicable)
Traits: (Certain things you are skilled at - you have 3 traits to start off with.)
Special Ability: (A special move only you can perform.)
Combat Stats: (You have 65 points to spend on Combat skills. See above for descriptions)
Strength:
Crafting:
Affinity:
Constitution:
Defense:
Precision:
Social Stats: (You have 30 points to spend on social skills.)
Sincerity:
Guile:
Intimidate:
Charm:
Class: (A summary of what your character is about. This does not actually do anything)
Description: (Your characters appearance, history etc. Mandatory if you want a stat lower than 4.)
Author
Topic: Black Zenith: Resurrection (Read 720 times)