The Great Heracles Hunt ~ Redux (OOC)

[Bird of Hermes]

“He leaked the secret, the ritual is now a worldwide bloodbath.”

“A Holy Grail War? Isn’t that just for people who admit that they’ll never be able to reach the root themselves?”

“Darnic has cost us in countless ways.”

“It isn’t as if we’ve lost our chance at enlightenment – my issue is that those unworthy to be called a Master will steal away our hard earned victory-!”

“We only see the stars by standing on the shoulders of giants after all.”

“He-he-oh. Stupid magi, coming to the slaughter.”

“Surely there’s an obvious candidate, one who will guarantee us victory?”

“The one to attain The Root shall be I-!”


The Great Heracles Hunt

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Greece, 1999


In the wake of the Third Holy Grail War, the Greater Grail was stolen from Fuyuki City by Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia (titled the Eight-Forked Tongue), with the aid of the army of the Third Reich. Sadly, during transport, the Grail was lost without a trace - though, of late, an undisclosed source has leaked knowledge regarding the basis of the ritual, with imitation rituals spreading throughout the world.

However, without the expertise that went into making the original Greater Grail, the imitations are not quite as potent, with many being quite flawed. The best of them can support the summoning of perhaps five Servants - about the minimum needed to make a good sized wish - while the worst can only support three. Subcategory Holy Grail Wars are derivative, smaller Holy Grail Wars based upon the wide dissemination of the inner mechanics of the Fuyuki Holy Grail War to the world of magi. Each of the Subcategory Holy Grail Wars have different origins, however, all of these wars revolve around a Holy Grail.

The Great Heracles Hunt is an RP that takes place in this Subcategory Holy Grail War in Greece upon the turn of the millennium, as a prospective Master – you have the brilliant idea of summoning Heracles, the Strongest Servant, and so have headed to Agrigento, a city on the southern coast of Sicily built on the site of the ancient city-state of Akragas, near which is the Valle dei Templi, an archaeological site that is one of the most outstanding examples of Greater Greece art and architecture in the world - including a Temple to Heracles - with the aim of securing a catalyst.

...sadly, it seems the several other invitees shared your brilliant idea, meaning that the prospective masters for this war have all gathered in one town, so your mission has changed from simply obtaining the Heracles catalyst to doing so while stopping your opponents from securing one as well, and of course, surviving their interference.
Worse, one of you may not be quite what you seem, and after all, in other wars, it is the Golden Age of Hassan...

The war has not yet officially begun, but it seems the killing may soon begin in earnest...

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Attributes

Every character in the RP is given 18 Master Points to spend on their basic talents and abilities.

These attributes are the base parameters of your character, such as their speed, accuracy, and strength. Every character has three physical and three magical attributes. All these attributes are ranked progressively from E (extremely poor) to A (exceptional) with C being the norm for a magus (average).

These attributes are:

STR - Strength is a measure of physical power. Characters with high Strength hit hard, lift heavier objects, travel faster and etc. Those at the lowest ranks will have difficulty with these tasks.

CON - Constitution determines vitality and toughness. Characters with a high Constitution will be better able to cope with prolonged struggles and continuous activity while those without will find themselves more exhausted much faster.

AGI - Agility is the measure of speed and reflexes that the character possesses. Characters with high Agility move faster and have more evasive ability. Those lower are clumsier and have worse reaction times.

PRA - Prana is a representation of your magical stores- the lifeblood of a magus. Characters with high Prana are capable of casting numerous high-ranking spells in rapid succession. Those with lower ranks are lesser magi who will need to resort to other means than pure magecraft to survive.

FIN - Finesse is pure technique, the measure of control and refinement that one can apply to abilities. Characters with higher FIN can use the highest rank spells while those with low ranks will need to rely on lower level spells.

PRP - Preparation is a measure of how prepared the character is for the Grail War. Characters with high Preparation will be able to set up elaborate workshops, have backup support and ally NPCs to work with to some extent. On the other hand while those with low PRP may only have what they have on hand and that being it.

Attributes, in general, are compared to each other when characters do battle.

Strength scores are compared in melee combat for damage as well as parrying/blocking physical strikes. Ranged physical attacks can only be parried/blocked at close range or with beneficial skills. Spells and other supernatural abilities cannot be parried.

Agility determines turn order of the fight as well as the capacity for evasion. Evasion functions similarly to parrying/blocking with the exception to AOE attacks or spells with anti-evasion properties. Furthermore, when casting high-rank spells, one cannot evade.

Constitution compares against damage with opposing attacks to determine damage taken. It also determines the number of wounds your character can take (2+ CON score) with each wound accompanied by either a Minor Injury or a Major Injury, determined by the number of wounds dealt. Injuries are long-term debuffs that require medical attention and reduce the combat capacity of the injured individual. Those who are taken to 0 are immediately incapacitated. Depending on the scenario, one may become unconscious, become crippled or die.

Prana determines the amount of magical energy available to the user, the amounts being: E = 200, D = 300, C = 400, B = 500, A = 600.

Finesse for its part is responsible for being the cap on the rank of supernatural abilities/spells that the user can take (B FIN means that your highest ranking spells are B rank) and also determining the accuracy of your spells.

Preparation has no real combat effect unless one is creative.

Background

The Master’s background represents the numerous groups of individuals present in both inside and outside the framework of the Subcatagory Holy Grail War. Your faction will probably be the most important choice you will make for your character, as it plays a part in almost every aspect of the character, starting from combat abilities and ending up with how other Player Characters and NPCs will interact with you.

Enforcers

“Sealing Designation Enforcers” or Enforcers, as they are more commonly known, are a group of thirty-four combat specialists, who have been endowed with the duty of hunting down magecraft users who have been placed under a “Sealing Designation”. Due to their exceptionally dangerous duty, they are exceptionally skilled in anti-magecraft tactics and almost universally looked upon with inherent suspicion and derision, even by the higher-ups of the Association. The Enforcers place a heavy emphasis on practical combat application over esoteric magical research and it is because of this specialisation on anti-magi tactics that they are known as one of the three “Sleeping Disasters” of the Association.

The Enforcers have the following unique traits:

Due to their exceptional focus combat, Sealing Designation Enforcers receive two additional attribute points that can be spent on physical attributes (STR/AGI/END).

Due to the institutional discrimination present in the Association, Enforcers are extremely hampered in collecting political capital and recognition. Enforcers are capped at C PRP.

Lords

The ruling aristocratic elite of the Clock Tower, the Lords are a group of prestigious family-heads and heirs whose influence and power can be felt in every part of the Association’s power structures. While there are only three major families of Lords in the Association itself (Barthomeloi, Trambelio, Meluastea), these families have a relatively large number of branch families which can be, by this point, considered completely independent lineages of their own. In addition, the families responsible for overseeing the Twelve Departments of the Clock Tower are also considered to be Lords, albeit of a lesser standing than the scions of the three main families.

The Lords have the following unique traits:

All Lords gain +1 FIN and +1 PRP at character creation.

All Lords must have at least B PRA or higher. Due to the inherent prestige involved with the position, all heirs and family-heads must display a capacity for magecraft that surpasses that of common men. As both the number of magical circuits and their quality is a measure of prestige in the association, the Lords often go to almost ludicrous lengths to enhance magical potential in their offspring.

Due to their isolated upbringing and inherent biases, Lords gain the free bonus perk Technological Incompetence meaning they lack the ability to use more complex pieces of technology like computers, cars and smart phones that other people may take for granted. This is mandatory.

Faculty

While the Lords rule and the Enforcers hunt those the Lords deem valuable, the vast majority of people at the Clock Tower belong to neither of these factions. Instead, they belong to the teeming mass of students and staff that are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Clock Tower. After all, the Clock Tower is fundamentally supposed to be an organization of learning and research. While that idea may be somewhat naive, considering the incredible fragmentation and isolationism that exists between the different faculties, the Clock Tower hosts an incredibly large number of different magi with wildly diverging competencies and skills.

Members of the Clock Tower have the following unique traits:

All individuals studying or teaching at the Clock Tower are part of one of its Twelve Faculties – whether as a lecturer or as a student.

Faculty members gain no advantages but also no weaknesses.

Homunculus

An artificial human created through magecraft born fully grown and clothed before even taking your first step. You possess a great deal of knowledge about the ways of the mysteries and how they affect the natural world. There are many places you might have come from, be them a specific magus family that specializes in your type, or a whole section of a faction that favors your abilities to those of normal humans. Nevertheless, from wherever you are, you are still a good candidate as a Master.

The Homunculi have the following unique traits:

Due to their bodies being primarily made of Magic Circuits, all Homunculi gain PRA +1

All Homunculi are built for a specific purpose and come in two configurations, ‘Master’ and ‘Servant’.
o Master-type homunculi can only take one combat-related perk.
o Servant-type homunculi can only take one non-combat-related perk.

Vampire

The horrors of the night, you are one of the creatures that have turned away from humanity through choice or through fate. Nevertheless, you are one a vampire: perhaps a Dead Apostle of your own right, perhaps a recently-awakened former victim, perhaps an agent of the elusive Trismegistus Circle… whoever you are, it does not change that you are, in the end, a monster. Perhaps you became one because you were bitten. Perhaps you became one through your own research. Whatever caused this change is no longer important. What is important is that you have been invited to this war, and in this war, you are a monstrous candidate as a Master.

Vampires have the following unique traits:

You gain access to otherwise unique perks as a Vampire such as Bloodsucker that restores your vitality by sucking the blood of other living creatures and Curse of Restoration that causes the vampire's body to regress through time to its original vampiric state whenever it receives an injury. However, such an ability is also tied to the phases of the moon.

You gain the free bonus perk Vampiric Weakness which causes sunlight to greatly hastens your bodies degeneration and makes you unable to cross bodies of water unaided. This is mandatory.

Player-made factions can also be submitted (but will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the GM).

Magecraft

Magecraft or Thaumaturgy is the artificial reenactment of a miracle, a supernatural phenomenon, using a Mystery. Magecraft is the ability to bring about what is possible through science with supernatural means; although the process is considered a miracle, the end result is not. The limits of Magecraft have changed with time, as science evolved and Magic from the past became possible through science.

There is no impossibility for Modern Magecraft within the rules of the world, and with enough effort and time spent studying the appropriate school, anything within the limits of human intellect is possible. However, because Magecraft acts as the re-enactment of Mysteries that already exist in the world, it is impossible for it to create new Mysteries; even with an infinite amount of research, there is a "wall" that prevents the wisdom of humans from doing so in the current era. The realm past this "wall" is known as Magic. Modern Magecraft remains far inferior to Magecraft from the Age of Gods in terms of magnitude, due to the fact that magi from the past acquired their magical energy directly from the Root. The difference between the Magecraft of the past and the Magecraft of the present can be explained by the difference in civilisations - while the civilisation of the Age of Gods existed side-by-side with the truth, the civilisation of the Age of Man exists in order to search for the truth.

In The Great Heracles Hunt, Magi have access to 1 A-rank spell, 2 B-rank and C-rank spells and 3 D and E rank spells. However ones FIN score will limit these as for example; C-FIN will leave the magus with 3 E-rank spells, 3 D-rank spells and 2 C-rank spells.

The cost of spells is also tied to their rank. E-rank spells cost 20 prana points to cast, with each subsequent rank increasing in cost by 20 prana points, until A-rank spells, which cost 100 units to cast. In addition, each spell is associated with a spellcasting speed, based on the rank of the spell. This represents the heightened concentration that higher-ranking spells require, demanding more and more attention from the spellcaster.

These cast times and their effects are as follows:

Single Action (E-rank) - At this rank, Magecraft can be performed almost instantly and with little to no concentration. The caster can Move, Attack, Dodge, and Parry during the turn that the spell was cast.

One-Line (D-rank) - At this rank, the spell is a single phrase composed of at least one word. The caster can still launch other close-range attacks in addition to casting the spell, as well as dodge and parry incoming attacks while casting, but large-scale movement (such as closing in on a distant opponent) is impossible.

Two-Line (C-rank) - At this rank, the spell is composed of at least two phrases. At this point, the concentration required for spellcasting makes carrying out any additional attacks while spellcasting unviable. The caster can still dodge and parry incoming attacks.

Five-line (B-rank) - At this rank, the incantation required to manifest the magecraft is composed of at least five phrases. Only minor physical movements, such as parrying incoming melee attacks, can be carried out.

Ten-count (A-rank) - An “Instantaneous Contract”. At this level, the spell is composed of at least ten phrases and requires the user’s complete and utter focus. No actions other than spellcasting can be undertaken and incoming attacks cannot be dodged nor parried.

Elements are a part of Nasuverse cosmology and play an important role in Thaumaturgical Theory.

A magus normally has the capacity to manipulate at least one of them. However, there are cases of those who can manipulate Elements that are completely different from any of the ones specified above. Within the Mage’s Association, individuals like these tend to either very selective houses or not be part of the Association at all. Cases of magus who possesses more than one Elemental Affinity, and even affinity to Compound Elements, are also known. The majority of Magi are limited to The Great Five Elements.

In The Great Heracles Hunt, one’s elemental affinity will affect the nature of your magecraft:

Fire

Earth

Water

Wind

Void

Ether

Perks

Each Master in The Great Heracles Hunt is characterised by a set of perks that represent their skills, abilities, personality and past. The amount of Perks of perks that each character can possess is capped at four.

Furthermore, in The Great Heracles Hunt, there is a simplified system whereeach Master is allowed to create the perks for their character. The Master is free to craft these perks as they please; however, each perk must be given a rank upon creation. These ranks will not only determine its effectiveness but also its costs and downsides with some being more immediate and costly than what may seem.

Perks may include (for example); Mystic Eyes, Unorthodox Element, God Holder – Noble Phantasm, Sorcery Trait, Close Combat Tactics, Magic Crest, etc

Command Spell

The Command Spells (also called "Command Seals") are three claims of absolute obedience, the crystallisation of a great magic that a Master has over a Servant in the Holy Grail War system. Unable to normally be controlled by humans, they are burdened by the "absolute condition for materialisation", the authority of the Command Spell carved into them at the moment of summoning. They are holy marks signifying a magi's status as a Master, a system that was created by Zouken Makiri after the failure of the First Holy Grail War. Unknown to most, their true purpose is far more nefarious

Once all Command Spells have been given out, or even if fake substitute Command Spells are created, new proper Command Spells will not be created with the addition of a new contract. Command Spells do not disappear simply with the loss of a Servant, but instead only when one gives up or loses their right to be a Master.

The proof of your status as a prospective Master - and a trump card that may be used to save yourself when all seems lost. Each Master starts with three of these, and may use them at will to "turboboost" a current action, allowing them to defend against a foe they ordinarily could not, overcome an enemy's defences, or such. Of course, if all three are used up, you will no longer be a Master and will be considered to have lost your chance at obtaining the Grail, so be careful...

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With permission from alf, I’m reviving this. I’m borrowing a lot of mechanics and elements from /Reclamation and Moon White because a lot of them worked out really well anyways and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It’ll be focusing as half PvP and half PvE. You can make 2 separate applications but at the end of the application process you will have to select one to go forwards as your final submission. Submissions can should be by PM or Discord.

Deadline Day is March 16th.

[Draconic]

I'm in.

[SpoonyViking]

I'm in! Hopefully, I won't die this time around. :-P
So the old one is officially dead, then?

[Express]

Me me me

[Draconic]

I'm shocked this doesn't have more attention now that it's a full RP with Reclamation and Moon White rules…

[Daiki]

People are a bit burned out about fate and grail stuff.

[Bird of Hermes]

That’s completely understandable and it’s also magus exclusive on top of that. This’ll be something much smaller in scale than /Reclamation though with about 5 players tops.

[Shiki]

I want to join too. Is there a format on how to write the sheets? and a question about the elements, what does the "free energy" mean at wind attribute? also the "flow" at the water? can I ask a more elaborate explanation on how ether works?

[Express]

That’s completely understandable and it’s also magus exclusive on top of that. This’ll be something much smaller in scale than /Reclamation though with about 5 players tops.

Ah, I wasn't aware it was magus exclusive. That makes things easier.
At the risk of changing anything, is it first come first served based on when sheets are submitted, or when we posted about it here.

[Bird of Hermes]

I want to join too. Is there a format on how to write the sheets? and a question about the elements, what does the "free energy" mean at wind attribute? also the "flow" at the water? can I ask a more elaborate explanation on how ether works?

No base format, just do what you feel is right for now.

As for element, they have a little effect on how your nagecraft works; fire is more volitile, earth is sturdy etc

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Ah, I wasn't aware it was magus exclusive. That makes things easier.
At the risk of changing anything, is it first come first served based on when sheets are submitted, or when we posted about it here.

Everyone is looking to get a catalyst to summon Herc so yeah, mages only.

It isn’t first come first served. When the application time ends, whenever that may be, I’ll then pick the winners from that pile.

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Ah, I wasn't aware it was magus exclusive. That makes things easier.
At the risk of changing anything, is it first come first served based on when sheets are submitted, or when we posted about it here.

Everyone is looking to get a catalyst to summon Herc so yeah, mages only.

It isn’t first come first served. When the application time ends, whenever that may be, I’ll then pick the winners from that pile.

[Shiki]

for the applications, i can pm it to you here right? am i understanding it correct?

question about 18 master points, sorry i am new to this but how to interpret and distribute this points?

[Bird of Hermes]

for the applications, i can pm it to you here right? am i understanding it correct?

Bingo

question about 18 master points, sorry i am new to this but how to interpret and distribute this points?

You just allocate the points in each attribute and they determine your strengths, think of it like your base stats in D&D if that helps.

[Express]

Okay but what if I can't think of 10 different spells.

[Bird of Hermes]

Look up what’s in the lore and see what’s available, or alternatively borrow stuff from D&D.

Or just have lower FIN.

[Express]

Submitted. Good luck to everybody else

[Shiki]

Done. Submitted.. Waiting for results

[Draconic]

Is the deadline for sheet submission set yet?

[Bird of Hermes]

I'll be able to give a firm deadline tomorrow.

Also, I have received 2 sheets thus far to fill the 4/5 slots available. I understand wanting more time to work on the sheet but if you want to get your first idea in for feedback, I am available for this.

[Bird of Hermes]

Deadline day is March 16th, so just over a month from now

[Bird of Hermes]

A note to people who either haven't gotten in their first sheet yet or are thinking of doing a second sheet, all sheets have had the same background so far. Interest has been quiet so far but if more applicants do come in at later stages, I'll be looking to have as a mix if possible.