A tower at the heart of a ravaged city, a fortress we had been ordered to claim.
I think we knew how it would end at the very start, from the moment we set our eyes on it.
It was a tower with no exit, a maze with no prize.
Those that went up would not come back down.
We were no exceptions to that rule.
We all knew that, we just never talked about it.
Nightmares and Dreams both end in the same way.
It was our final mission.
Our way of defying the fate that had seemed to claim everything else.
Destroyers? Saviors? Even we didn't know what we were anymore, even so...
We were ourselves.
That choice was ours.
That is the truth of the defiant.
This is the tale of how the 0th Division met it's end.
Hollow World
-Owari no Kakera-
_____________________________________
Aoyama, Tokyo.
A place of high-end fashion and wealth, a neighborhood that thrives in class and culture, a timeless place that shines with clean streets and brightly lit hearts. It is a place where entertainment and joy should naturally manifest, and yet...
November 13th, the year is 2000, the first year of a brand new millenia.
---The sound of a piercing roar accompanies the rise of the sun; it is a roar that almost seems to shake the planet, a roar so loud and piercing that it’s cry awakens the primal fear of the absolute end, a void that appears to shatter the hearts of the citizens of Tokyo.
The cause of that roar is the Kyuubi, a grand spiritual beast of absolute destruction, the ultimate vengeful spirit that exists as humanity’s own curse upon themselves. If left alone and unopposed it will bring the world to it’s end, and on that day...
You, as a member of Japan’s Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division, were dispatched to defeat it.
However...
The enemy that you truly wound up crossing blades with...
Wasn’t quite what anyone had expected when they had first set out in response.
-----------------
Hollow World is a forum roleplay that serves as a prequel of sorts to one of my other projects, Ga Rei: Exodus Nine. While it’s exact relationship to the other project is somewhat more complicated than a pure prequel (as will become more clear in time) it can be observed as one easily enough from a player perspective.
The players take on the roles of Squad Zero of the SDCD, a group of elite exorcists who use experimental technology in order to bolster their power far beyond the normal limits of the supernatural community. They are the best of the best, those that are dispatched when what one needs is a miracle. When an act of supernatural terrorism results in the release of the Kyuubi from it’s prison, you are dispatched on an S-Rank mission in order to defeat it, but are shot down from their plane only to awaken (what seems to be) hours later in a completely abandoned Tokyo, one ravaged by a beast that no longer seems to exist.
With a strange tower now present in the heart of the city, the last orders the squad leader received from base are clear, if somewhat vague:
“---The Kyuubi’s vessel must be stopped. Break into the tower by any means necessary. Terminate the one at the top. If anyone gets in your way, you are authorized to terminate them with extreme prejudice. Save the world at all costs.”
“---Seven days. Act quickly. There’s not much time left.”
While Exodus Nine was focused around the development of characters, Hollow World, in contrast, could be thought of as a sort of boss-rush RP that shines more of a light on ‘other’ aspects of that same world. Here reality is at it’s bleakest, the game starts off in the midst of what is essentially a ‘bad end,’ and while shonen spirit may still remain a solid ally, the reality is that the time for peaceful solutions is probably long past.
Those enemies that appear are resolute in their decision to be so, they are not likely to be talked down, and in that regard the only ones you should truly trust are your squadmates.
As a mostly combat focused RP, the progression of the story will be mission based. Enemies whose deaths are necessary to invade the tower will be given to the players as a list of targets, who will be chased down and ‘dealt with’ in a manner similar to that of the Megaman series of games. While the PCs will be powerful, this RP is designed as the “hard mode” of Exodus Nine, reflecting a world that has seemingly lost it’s capacity for forgiveness, to the point where even plot armor has ceased to function.
Too many mistakes will absolutely result in deaths, but perhaps...
Hope shines brightest at the end of the darkest shadows.
But even then...
Hope can often be bittersweet.
Character Creation and information about the NPC members of the 0th Division can be found here.
---
Q: Why? A: I feel like it don't question me/My Other RPs are moving rather slow at the moment/I want to test certain aspects of the system I made for Spirit Pulse. There's a number of answers to that question, and all are true to some extent-!
Q: It's a prequel so we're doomed right? A: Possibly AU exodus prequel in a very broad sense. The nature of the setting isn't quite as simple as it looks, and people familiar with Exodus might notice some discrepancies in the Kyuubi incident already. So only mostly doomed.
Q: How many slots? A: Probably five or so. Don't want too many, this RP is designed to be pretty fast all things considered, so only apply if you intend to post on a consistent basis.
<~Katie> dude who gives a fuck about girls being gay, sometimes girls aren't gay and that decision should be respected
Spoiler:
[12:21.40] that might be a top tier post[12:21.45] frantic[12:21.47] post of the month, even[12:21.48] this right here[12:21.49] is MC [12:21.56] johnny has nothing on this dude[12:22.00] he's the MC of the nisio half[12:22.12] so wait[12:22.15] [ ] is, after all, my rival character[12:22.16] am i the gag heroine[12:22.20] yes
To confirm, Ga-Rei was a crossover between the actual Ga-Rei and SMT, right?
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(Just so that I'll know how much SMT/Persona I should use.)
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Also, if I were to awaken Dream of Butterfly, I would end up with an unceasing and irrepressible drive to kill everything that was important to me, right?
Last edited by Draconic; October 4th, 2018 at 10:38 AM.
Likes attention, shiny objects, and... a ball of yarn?
F/GO Supports
I joined two years too late...
Originally Posted by Hymn of Ragnarok
That makes me think of Rin as a loan shark.
Originally Posted by Hymn of Ragnarok
Admittedly, she'd probably be the hottest loan shark you'll ever meet. She'd probably make you smile as she sucked you dry.
Exodus is a Ga-Rei/SMT Crossover yes, although the demons wont have quite so active a role in this endgame.
And everyone has both "Awakening" and "Dream of Butterfly." Awakening is just the trait humans get for being humans (they are the uwoooo race, after all) while "Dream of Butterfly" is an innate trait Division Zero alone has, but they're not aware of possessing it or any effects it might have; in a sense it's a mystery-plot trait for the protagonists that makes them the protagonists.
It's actual effects will become clear later on.
EDIT: Let's set the sheet deadline for the tenth.
EDIT2: If anyone has any other questions feel free to ask here, I should be around for most of the day.
Last edited by Airen; October 4th, 2018 at 10:39 AM.
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
Life Energy and Spiritual Power are interchangeable, using spells as a COMP User over extended periods of time drains away at your body's stamina, so Vitality kinda doubles as the spirit power stat in this case.
In terms of power as in force of spells, that's dependent on spell rank.
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
Auxiliary are the easiest type to break since they're meant mostly as support devices, so you could technically have it in the shape of a melee weapon, but it's not recommended to use them in that way.
If one's COMP is destroyed you're in trouble.
Auxiliary Users normally use spells to make their own weapons, or have a separate non-COMP weapon to compensate for it.
Example Spells (Not many are 'common' in this time period, but these could be considered basic)
-Aura Blade- Rank: E Element: Spirit Cooldown: N/A
Projects a weapon made out of one’s spiritual power. Size and Shape of the blade is determined by the Caster at the time of creation, and cannot be changed afterwards without taking a moment to ‘recast’ the spell. Normally used by non-weapon type COMP Users in order to arm themselves quickly, the blades do not have any particular qualities outside of being supernaturally durable, but also aren’t particularly stressful for a COMP to manifest for long periods of time.
A number of custom spells use this one as a base; amongst them, it is said that a certain COMP user has a B-Ranked Variation that “rends the sky in a single swing.”
-Aura Shield- Rank: E-C Element: Spirit Cooldown: 0-2-4 Different from the Karn and Wall Families of Spells, which could be said to guard against “spells” themselves, Aura Shield is simply a barrier of spiritual power one places in between themselves and the danger in question; a projected shield that can only absorb so much damage before shattering. As a spell it relies more on the skill of the user in order to utilize it effectively, as it can only defend in a single direction and thus requires active participation from the User. Particularly strong against projectiles such as bullets or low ranking elemental spells, as well as weaker Melee Attacks.
Rank of the spell determines how much power was put into the shield, and thus how dense of a barrier it is and how much power it can stop; on the flip side, the denser a barrier it is, the harder it is to move it effectively. Lasts until it is broken by an enemy attack, and even if it breaks, is capable of reducing the damage from spells somewhat by acting as a dampener.
As a warning: Users lacking in physical strength might be physically blown away by the sheer force behind powerful attacks in spite of defending against it with the shield, due to having to physically hold it in order for it to be effective. This can cause them to lose their balance and be opened up to subsequent attacks in other ways. Cannot directly defend against ‘Pierce’ effects, but if the user is skillful enough, can be used to parry strikes that carry those effects.
---
Originally Posted by Draconic
Also, does the SDCD deal exclusively with supernatural threats, or would there also be human organizations that they work against?
They mostly deal with supernatural threats. Humans that are messing around with supernatural artifacts might also be targets, but targeting other humans would be a comparative rarity.
Of course COMP users are kept secret for the off-chance they have to fight some other country's supernatural forces one day, but they haven't been involved in any human wars yet.
Last edited by Airen; October 4th, 2018 at 12:43 PM.
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
Actually I do have a minor question. How is the cooldown time for spells (for instance, the 0-2-4 of a standard barrier spell) quantified? Number of turns until the spell can be cast again?
Forgive me if this is something the OP or Doc file made clear, but I couldn't find it anywhere.
Using the shield as an example the E rank has no cool-down, so even if it breaks on the turn you cast it (and it probably will if you're not using it tactically) you can recast it immediately; D has two turns, C has four turns, etc. (With some variation, like if it's multi-element or not.)
Higher ranked spells put the particular circuit they're installed in into a cool down state, where running anything else through it would break that circuit. There's an (unlisted) mechanic where you can attempt to cast the spell anyway, but the process destroys it's circuit (and sometimes messes with other circuits) and also results in a somewhat weakened version of the spell (although it might be worth it in a pinch.)
Can't throw out the multiple city block busting spells casually.
Last edited by Airen; October 4th, 2018 at 07:06 PM.
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
I've been asked it a few times, so I'll answer here:
If they don't come from a direct exorcist family, new recruits into the organization are normally found by other SDCD members while they're on cases. Since exceptional spiritual powers are rare they stand out to people with a strong sixth sense of their own (as well as being attractive to ghosts or other monsters, which only people with a strong sixth sense can even see), and then you're noted by on site agents and approached by other Agency members sometime later for a "part time governmental position."
Pay is pretty good, benefits are pretty good, death risk on the job is present but not overwhelmingly so (normally.)
In other words, if you're spiritually strong in Japan, you're gonna run into them sooner or later. Their staff is limited due to spiritual powers being rare, so they pursue most leads they get.
Naturally, a lot of recruits are survivors of youkai attacks.
EDIT: If among these other prodigies you have a soul of a certain strength level, you get tested to see if you can use a COMP without suffering severe physical and spiritual backlash; if you can, you get thrown into Squad Zero.
Last edited by Airen; October 4th, 2018 at 07:25 PM.
Exodus (Complete)
Even if the author is silenced, the performance is stilled and the actors leave the stage, the story will never truly end.
Regardless of the form it takes, as long as there are memories of it's existence, the story will continue on.
In a small ward in the heart of a once devastated town, life carries on as it always has...
Because of you.
Please, remember it warmly.
We'll continue to walk down this path for eternity.
Using the shield as an example the E rank has no cool-down, so even if it breaks on the turn you cast it (and it probably will if you're not using it tactically) you can recast it immediately; D has two turns, C has four turns, etc. (With some variation, like if it's multi-element or not.)
Higher ranked spells put the particular circuit they're installed in into a cool down state, where running anything else through it would break that circuit. There's an (unlisted) mechanic where you can attempt to cast the spell anyway, but the process destroys it's circuit (and sometimes messes with other circuits) and also results in a somewhat weakened version of the spell (although it might be worth it in a pinch.)
Can't throw out the multiple city block busting spells casually.
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Originally Posted by Airen
