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synodiporia_ooc2017-02-04 04:56 pm
powersthatbe) wrote in synodiporia_ooc2017-02-04 04:56 pm
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Pogémon!
Phase Three, Jaunt Two
February 15th-March 27th
Two years ago, a hot new game took the human world by storm--Pogemon, Pog Monsters, was the hit of every schoolyard and even a few business boardrooms as the game's incredible appeal spread like wildfire. But soon, the monsters on the actual pogs started coming to life, causing all sorts of havoc. The monsters actually existed in another world, and the forces behind Pogemon were seeking to bring the worlds together. What these mysterious forces didn't count on was lone Pogemon bonding with human players of the game, the Slammers, and standing against them in order to save both worlds. The worlds were saved, and a gateway between the two was left open and maintained, carefully guarded over, so that Pogemon could continue to come to the human world in order to train and become stronger.
But now, just when it seems like all the danger is long in the past, new threats are starting to emerge. The mysterious Delta Factor is starting to manifest in some of the Pogemon, causing them to evolve in strange and dangerous new ways. The government is starting to take a stronger interest into the activity of the monsters, threatening the human world and the monster world's coexistence. And there are still other, far more shadowy threats to take into account...
CASTING CALL/PLOT ROLE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Hot-Blooded Hero: The youngster who saved the world one year ago, preventing powerful Pogemon from overrunning everything. Pogemon naturally gravitate towards them.
Researcher: The shy and tragically clumsy scientist who has been in charge of Pogemon research ever since the creatures started emerging in the human world.
Slammer Master and Pogemon Partner: The mentorly head of the Slammer's Organization and its research arm, the Pogemon Institute, Slammer Master is devoted to making certain the Slammers remain strong and committed to working with Pogemon. Their partner feels much the same way. This role can be signed up for separately, or by two players as a pair.
Disgraced Slammer: A mistrusted Slammer largely to blame for the powerful Pogemon overrunning the world one year ago, or so everyone would think. Their own Pogemon partner died then. Used to be some sort of prodigy.
Lone Pogemon: This Pogemon has no Slammer and is infected with the mysterious Delta Factor. Is there a Slammer out there who can earn their trust?
The Government Inspector: Part of the Department of Defense, their presence here reflects the government's unease regarding a possible Pogemon threat. They're here to gather data to report back to the government on what should be done about the Pogemon.
PLOT ROLE ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Re: PLOT ROLE ANNOUNCEMENTS
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SKILLS
Pogemon Partner: also what it says on the tin. Keep your NPC Pogemon.
Pogmentation: monster form temporarily grows stronger, must take Pogemon form or NPC Pogemon partner first. Requires less energy to use as a PC if Pogemon Slammer Bond has been taken with another character.
Pogemon-Slammer Bond: partner bond between one character who retained Pogemon form and the character who was their Slammer. Allows the two in the bond to have a general idea of how each other are really feeling. Can range from being vaguely aware of the other's emotional state to physically feeling pain if the other gets hit. Also allows the two in the bond to pool their strength; they will be stronger together than if they were alone. Both parties must take the skill in order for it to count.
Slammer Stack: Powered item that allows Slammers to fight effectively with their Pogemon. Serves as a Pog storage unit, comes with a variety of Ability, Status, and Item Pogs. Outside of this Jaunt, can be used to store and activate Pogs that could be used to deliver special effects (weapons, buffs, etc) to non-Pogemon targets. May not be used on the user; effects must be directed towards someone else. Effects are stronger if there is a bond between two characters (e.g. friends will be able to buff friends more effectively than throwing things at random acquaintances). Outside of the Jaunt, Pog effects can be used twice a day. Also has a nifty built-in digital watch, truly a timeless bonus.
Power of Friendship: Focusing on strong social bonds will allow the user to exponentially increase a certain skill for a brief period of time. May manifest itself as fire burning in the user's eyes.
Heart of the Pogs: Allows the user to become an expert capable of amazing even seasoned veterans in playing one full instance of a single game once a week. Game in question may be a game of skill or a game of chance, it doesn't matter. Random factors will somehow magically work out in the user's favor. Side effects may include observers gasping in amazement and carefully spelling out exactly what is going on to other people watching. If two people use this ability and try to play against each other, the match will always end in a draw. Even if a draw shouldn't be possible, some weird loophole will manage to manifest itself. It's not a subtle skill, and using it will tend to pull attention towards the user.
Delta Factor: Wild, unpredictable power-up of existing abilities. More likely to trigger when the user is in an emotional state. Is transmissible while it is manifesting. Manifestation effects vary but somehow always manage to skew towards the 90’s ideal of “xtreme.”
PRE-JAUNT TIMELINE
Human World
- Pogemon, the normal monster-based pog battling game is first introduced, takes the world by storm.
- The first Pogemon enter the human world by showing up at big Pogemon tournaments--the human energy and excitement there, combined with the power of the Pogs, was, to any human observers, enough to start summoning them.
- At first, the summoning and Pogemon emerging is pretty rare, but the Pogemon emergence rate starts to increase.
- Pogemon Slammers' Union forms in an attempt to get all of this under control/keep some semblance of order/make sure Pogemon weren't being used for evil and also to serve as a governing body for this noble emerging sport.
Pogemon World
- A Rogue Pogemon breaks off from the Council. They want to conquer the humans, while the Council favors this slow stupid children's game plan. There's a huge fight between the Rogue Pogemon and the rest of the Council, and everyone thinks the Rogue Pogemon is dead. The Rogue Pogemon is replaced on the Council.
ONE YEAR AGO
Human World
- Hot-Blooded Hero meets their Pogemon, which is initially unusually tiny and cute and seems borderline useless on first glance. The Pog this Pogemon came from isn't a Pog that was supposed to be released for mass distribution and appeared in the Hot-Blooded Hero's possession through mysterious means.
- Wild Pogemon emergences are increasing to the point that they'll explode off of their Pogs in the ubiquitous Pogemon Vending Machines that are very popular with everyone. These wild Pogemon aren't as intelligent as the ones that have partnered with the humans, and they're wreaking havoc.
- The Disgraced Slammer is at this point the current Pogemon Slammer Champion, strongest of all Slammers and unstoppable with their partner Pogemon. The Hot-Blooded Hero swears a rivalry, everyone laughs it off.
- Hot-Blooded Hero has a great many adventures both in the human world and the Pogemon world. They befriend Pogemon, help Pogemon find human partners, snap rampaging Pogemon out of it, and bring utter defeat to bad Pogemon. As they're doing this, their Pogemon displays a unique aptitude for Pogmentation--the process by which a Pogemon becomes stronger. Their Pogemon may spend most of its time in its cute little mascot form, but it quickly becomes bigger and stronger when it's time to fight.
- The wild Pogemon emergences are traced back to one location in the Pogemon World: the Rogue Pogemon’s Castle. Looks like someone survived.
Pogemon World
- There's a big fight between the Rogue Pogemon, the Disgraced Slammer, and the Hot-Blooded Hero. The Disgraced Slammer's partner Pogemon is killed, causing the Hot-Blooded Hero to dig deep enough to power up their Pogemon for an unprecedented third Pogmentation. It's enough to overpower the Rogue Pogemon, who is seemingly thoroughly defeated.
- Slammer Master ascends to power as the Human World starts to realize they need to be better prepared for this sort of thing and Pogemon and their Slammers need more regulation.
POGEMON INFORMATION
Animal: Pretty much just what it sounds like. Flesh-and-blood Pogemon. Strong against Vegetable-types, weak to Mineral-types. For example, a sharkman that shoots lasers.
Vegetable: Pogemon that take their cues from plants and fungi. Strong against Mineral-types, weak to Animal-types. For example, a gigantic venus flytrap that stuns its victims with toxic pollen.
Mineral: Pogemon that are made from stone or crystal or metal. Strong against Animal-types, weak to Vegetable-types. For example, a rock golem that attacks enemies with a giant hammer.
Note that in all cases, the Rock/Paper/Scissors nature of the Pogemon typing is more of a guideline than anything. It can make a fight easier than it would be otherwise, true, but it is entirely possible for, say, an Animal Pogemon to triumph over a Mineral Pogemon.
The three types usually get along quite well, and the Pogemon Council believes it important to have equal representation. Each member of the triad has their own ties to other Pogemon of the same type, and they've got systems in place to allow for local governments. This varies from Pogemon to Pogemon, and while some have adopted a monarchy, others hold democratic elections or have everyone take a turn at being in charge. Generally speaking, Pogemon are an optimistic lot--when they discovered a new world filled with strange new creatures that could make Pogemon vastly more powerful by exposure, their first impulse was to make friends, not to go conquering. Pogemon tend to be playful, and most of them enjoy the new game that is fighting alongside Slammers. Some have gone for it more grudgingly, willing to do whatever it takes to get a taste of the unusual power the humans could provide, while others refuse to participate entirely. Refusal to participate is fine as far as the Council is concerned, so long as no one gets hurt over it. The willingness to hurt people over it is part of what caused a massive schism in the Council in the events of one year ago, when one of the triad went rogue and tried to conquer (or destroy, they weren't too clear) both of the worlds. The fact that a Slammer and a Pogemon working together stopped this and saved both worlds is all the proof the Council needs to keep going. The Council has yet to contact any of the governing bodies of the Earth; they like the sense of mystery these "randomly" appearing Pogemon create in the human world, and they fear the often divided nature of the human governments of the world.
In order to bond with a human, Pogemon usually first decide that yes, they would like a human of their very own. They then do one of two things--they start watching people play the Pogemon Pog Game, or they portal through to the human world at Slammer HQ and request an audience with prospective Slammers. The former way is more unpredictable and results in friendly Pogemon appearing unexpectedly in all sorts of places; the energy in the game pogs is enough both to let them watch and to cross over between worlds. (Sadly, the humans generally don't seem to realize this, and it's always some mysterious surprise the Pogemon play dumb to.) The latter doesn't get the humans as riled up, but it cuts down on the element of surprise, and occasionally a Pogemon will give up if they don't like any of the humans vying to be their partner...or grab some other random human bystander that never asked for this if said bystander meets their standards (which is usually the mark of a very young, inexperienced Pogemon). These same methods are sometimes used by bad Pogemon crossing over into the human world in order to cause trouble, though those incidents have tapered off since the rogue member of the Pogemon Council was defeated one year ago.
The structure of a typical, officially-sanctioned Slammer's Organization Pogemon battle typically follows the following pattern:
1. The Slammers face each other at the opposite ends of the arena. Action does not start until the referee gives the traditional and very serious Pogemon battle opening cry of, "It's time to slam and jam!"
2. Participating Slammers traditionally yell some variation on "Go, [Pogemon name]” and slam their partners' Pogs down into the Arena, releasing them to fight.
3. The Pogemon begin battling, with Slammers yelling out instructions or suggestions. It's considered a slight and a breach of honor for a Pogemon to outright refuse a Slammer's orders in this scenario--that's not how the competition works. Pogemon are free to communicate with their Slammer, saying what will and won't work, though there are no time outs and there is no chance of a secret communication unless some code has been agreed upon beforehand. There is a lot of yelling in some cases.
4. Slammers may augment their Pogemon with various Pogs. Item Pogs bestow a temporary weapon on the Pogemon, while Effect Pogs enhance some attribute or another.
5. Pogemon battle until one has been rendered unable to fight. Killing the opponent's Pogemon is expressly forbidden, as is going overboard on the damage. Keep it clean, people.
The Pogemon Pog Game, the game that this all sprang from, takes on a similar bent, albeit with each Slammer having multiple Pogemon Pogs, and the battle process is repeated until one player has won three out of five matches. In some cases, holographic battles with multiple Pogemon serve as tournament qualifiers and assessment exams for prospective Slammers. The Pogemon used here are just representations and are not actual Pogemon partners. This game is the one invented and marketed by the Pogemon Council in order to introduce themselves and their world to the humans, and it is still a valued method of scouting out worthy partners.
The Pogemon have recently become afflicted with the Delta Factor. Researchers are not yet sure if it is some kind of microbe or some kind of mutagenic force, but there is no denying the Delta Factor's effects on Pogemon physiology. Pogemon infected with the Delta Factor will become stronger in unpredictable ways while it is manifesting, but they cannot just turn it on and off at will. Bonding with a human means they'll get all of the benefits without the drawback of running wild as a mindless rampaging monster.
INVESTIGATOR ROLES AND INFILTRATOR NON-PLOT ROLES
Investigators will either appear to be rookie Pogemon Slammers who haven't bonded with a Pogemon yet, researchers on the Pogemon project, or tournament staff. Rookie Pogemon Slammers will have the option to get their own Pogemon--can be NPC'd or an infiltrating PC. Characters with pets or spirit animals can have those investigate alongside them as Pogemon. Obviously nonhuman Investigators may, if the player doesn't want them to have "passing for human" Jaunt camouflage in play, get mistaken for Pogemon and taken to the orientation area to find a Slammer, mistaken for a Pogemon with a partner, or mistaken for a solo Pogemon about to attack. It is extremely rare for Pogemon to exist here without human partners. The Lone Pogemon is the only obvious example of this, and they're widely seen as potential trouble. The city's a big place, so the Investigators won't cause too much suspicion unless they're mistaken for rogue Pogemon. There’s also the possibility of being put in Pogemon bodies themselves, if otherwise human-like Travelers want to take a walk on the furry side.
Infiltrators can be Pogemon Slammers, the Pogemon themselves (NPC Slammers or PC Slammers, either way works), researchers, or Pogemon fans there for the tournament.
NOTE: There are still plenty of people in this world who do not have Pogemon Partners, so if your character isn’t the type to have a ‘Mon of their own, don’t feel like you need to give them one in order to Infiltrate OR Investigate during this Jaunt.
CALENDAR
February 23: The Tournament Begins
March 3: Tournament End/The Rift
March 11: Pogemon Invasion!
March 19: The Final Showdown
March 27: return to Liminal Space
LOCATIONS
The Arena - Battle arena complex where all of the tournament-sanctioned Pogemon battles would take place.
The Portal - located deep underground Slammer HQ, this is how officially-sanctioned travel between the human and Pogemon worlds takes place. That's not to say rifts can't open elsewhere...
Slammer School - is also where the Researcher's Laboratory is located; the Lab would be off-limits to anyone the researcher hadn't approved to come in there, though Slammer Master or the Government Inspector could force their way in.
Pogemon World - while it's a world in and of itself, the only plot-important location is the Pogemon Council's castle. The world is relatively small, but some areas are bustling metropolises, others polar wastelands, still others underwater kingdoms. Player imagination is encouraged to define locales should they end up there.
INFILTRATOR DIRECTORY
RESOURCES
There's also the TV Tropes page for Mon in general.
MON ANIME INSPIRATION LIST