Kat's eyes were momentarily overwhelmed as they passed through the gate, a chill coming on immediately afterwards. Lights flickered in her vision as she tried to blink the stinging sensation away, and only after she rubbed them could she see the world ahead of her. Blank distances were replaced with blue skies, with dirt roads, and with lush trees. Normally these surroundings would be normal for someone that lived in London, but seeing it appear all of a sudden gave it a mysterious, awe-inspiring quality, and the detective couldn't help but admire it. The air smelt fresh, and she relaxed as the wind blew past her face.

...Wait, wind?

"W-what happened to the truck?" Ernest asked, realizing what Layton had just realized. The two were so engrossed in the realm around them that they only just now noticed that their ride had changed; in place of the truck drove a roofless carriage, carried along the track by horses made of bronze. The gears within the mechanical equines clicked and whirred and they galloped, steam blowing out of their noses like an angry train. Instead of a wheel, Erastelle now held a set of reins in her hands, and her confident look indicated that she was used to that change. Behind them, a large wooden platform with wheels had been chained to the main part of the vehicle. Now that there were no longer any walls to block her view, Kat could see the countless amounts of seafood piled on top of it. The fish, lobster, crabs, shrimp, and oysters were sealed within separate little mountains of ice-- at least that's what she thought they were until one of the frozen stacks raised up its serpentine head to look at her.

"Pay it no mind," said the shark, glancing at the assistant whom had fallen silent in surprise. "These sub-verses try their hardest to keep their technology level consistent. So more modern things tend to change when switching verses. Here in Camelot, everything is usually run by stuff you'd find in medieval times-- plus a lot of magic."

That statement finally shook Ernest out of his surprised stupor. "Camelot?" he asked, growing giddy. "You mean THE Camelot? The one with King Arthur and all that?"

"Yes, it's that Camelot. Not sure you'll find Arthur, but I'm betting it'll be mostly the same as your version of it."

"Wow..." The lad returned to soaking in the scenery, eyes aglow. "I can't believe we're actually going to Camelot! I still remember all the stories I've read about it as a little boy. It almost seems so surreal... isn't it exciting, Miss Layton?"

Katrielle stayed silent for a moment before answering. "It'll be interesting, that's for sure."

"You don't seem too happy about this."

She sighed, glancing over at her partner. "Don't forget I was brought here against my will. Camelot is probably gonna be really cool, but I have unfinished business back at home."

"Hey," the trucker butted in, "I should probably tell you this now so you don't get your hopes up: you're probably not going home for a long time. Only Omni can decide when you can leave, and I've heard of Primes that have been living here for decades. The best thing you can probably do right now is to get yourself established-- get your name out there, earn a reputation, make connections. Maybe you'll find a way out of here one day. Who knows? But you should prepare to live the rest of your life here."

While Layton was determined to return to her world, she had to admit that Erastelle was right; she lacked the power and resources to do so. The thought that she might not see London in years sent her spirits plummeting, but she managed to work up the energy to ask the shark "So do you know any good places to set up here?"

"In order to get to my restaurant, I have to go through Minas Tirth to get to one of the nearby duchies; I can drop you off there. You'll like Tirth-- it's a pretty accepting place. And given that your little friend here seems to like mythology, I'll bet he'll absolutely adore it there."

Kat nodded forlornly. "...Alright. I can't thank you enough for this. I'll have to pay you back someday."

"I certain we can figure out a deal."

"Hey, one last question?"

"Shoot."

"Have you seen anyone named Professor Hershel Layton? Kind of a short guy with a giant top hat?"

"I haven't. Sorry."

Nothing.

  Everything was dark, the blackness almost suffocating Cade. It felt like a nightmare, one of those terrible ones where you can’t run away or scream. All you can do is stare the monster in the face and pray to God it doesn’t get you. He tried to remember, to think, to speak, but whether it was the fear, the anger, or the dream physics, he couldn’t move a muscle. Then it came. The source of his anxieties, that textbook horrifying dream monster that would chase him across hell and back.

  It was small…ish. Child-like. Gangly arms and legs were folded around its ivory body and a twisted grin was plastered over its face. Its body seemed to glow, although in the absolute and empty blackness that was impossible to confirm. Cade tried to speak, tried to challenge it, but his vocal cords were frozen solid. He was getting less scared and more angry. He hated dreams where he couldn’t fight back. Then, without any sort of warning, windup, or inhalation, it spoke.

“My name is Omni. This is not the world you know. This is the Omniverse. You interest me, so I have made you part of it. The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.” 

Cade had no choice but to oblige, terrified and confused as he was. The… thing’s hand extended, holding an ever-shifting orb of color. It was akin to living rainbow, each hue blending into the other like a galaxy inside a glass ball. Cade’s body reacted on an instinct that was not his and took the orb. It felt like nothing, yet everything in his hands. The light it produced shone gently on his chest and face and almost comforted him, but was not warm.  

“This is Omnilium. It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.”

The orb melted, blending into Cade’s skin. He wanted to panic, to hit something, but he was enamored by the light. He tried to stay calm. He couldn’t move anyway.

“You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they too desire Omnilium. Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn.” The creature’s grin refused to shift its unsettling expression as it stared at Cade despite its lack of eyes. “That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.” 

The shadows swallowed the figure, its smile the last thing to disappear. Cade desperately grasped at his memories, hoping to figure out why ad how he had gotten to where he was. Then the blackness swallowed him.

  Nothing.

The vast, empty fields of Camelot swiftly passed by beneath Clownpiece. Gentle, temperate winds stirred the grass beneath her, and though the air did push against her as well, it did nothing to hinder her flight. Far ahead of her, a white dot appeared on the horizon, slowly rising over the gentle hills. A large grin spread across the fairy’s face. She was almost there. All she needed to do was pass through that gate, then the one to the foresty place, and the real fun could begin.

Pure excitement blossomed in the child’s chest. She just couldn’t wait to fight at Dane’s side again, show him some of the new tricks she’d learned. And who knew, maybe he had something new up his sleeve as well? A small giggle escaped her, and she tried to push herself to fly even faster, to no avail. Man, that guy had no idea what madness was about to come down on him.

A thought occurred to Clownpiece, briefly interrupting her moment of excitement. What was the guy they were attacking like, anyway? And for that matter, how was she going to find them once she got there? The little she saw of the forest showed that it was very dense. Finding someone wasn’t simply a matter of flying high enough to spot everyone wandering about. With those thoughts in mind, she dug the phone out of her pocket and brought up the messenger again. Dane’s most recent text popped up on the screen, and the fairy couldn’t help but smile. Looks like I struck a nerve~

Putting that aside for now, she set about to carefully composing a follow-up. A simple little thing asking about where he was. Hopefully he’d give her a heads up and the finding part wouldn’t be too difficult. She hid away her phone again, and turned her attention back to the travel in front of her. Just in time for her vision to be consumed by white.

---

Clownpiece’s head spun as she was thrust headlong from the portal, her vision dancing in one big formless white blur. Suddenly her right shoulder struck the ground, driving the wind out of her lungs, and she was thrown head over heels. A small groan escaped the fairy, and she slowly forced herself back into the air, a thick fog settling over her mind. Her chest heaved with large, steady breaths as she swiftly got over her tumble. With the world slowly righting itself, she turned towards the forest gate not too far in the distance and set off once again, cheeks flushed. She really hoped no one saw that.

---

The trip through the second gate was much less of a farce than that first attempt. Something for which Clownpiece was incredibly grateful. A fall on the spotless nexus floor was one thing, and she did not need dirt up her nose before she got to the fight. Setting herself gently on the forest floor, she cast a quick glance around the vaguely familiar clearing. The grass swiftly gave away to dense woodland, which she was undoubtedly going to have to start searching through.

“Dane!” she called carelessly into the woods, lifting just off the ground and floating into copse. That was as good a tactic as any, she supposed.

CHARACTER NAME: Dr. Mordin Solus

CHARACTER SOURCE: Mass Effect

CHARACTER HISTORY: Dr. Solus is a respected geneticist, doctor, scientist and agent of the Salarian Special Tasks Group (STG). He was directly involved in the creation of a chemical weapon that neutered a dangerous species with a high birth rate. Recently, he joined a ragtag team on a suicide mission to the center of the galaxy, which he survived. He was taken to the Omniverse after he attempted to correct the mistake of the chemical weapon he made, being summoned just before an explosion would have killed him.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Salarians are humanoids whose appearance and physiology are not unlike Earth’s amphibians (with some mollusc-like aspects). Some Humans dismissively call them “salamanders”. Mordin specifically looks like this:



STATS:
ATK: 2
DEF: 2
SPD: 1
TEC: 5

STARTING PROFICIENCIES: Ranged (1000), Area Defense (400), Debuff (1000)

STARTING POWERS: Insight (1600)

STARTING MOVES:

M-12 Locus (Ranged) – 300 OM
A machine-gun pistol weapon which can be used while moving. It fires two bullets per second. It has a magazine size of 20 bullets and takes only a second to change out the clip. Mordin can carry up to twelve magazines on his person - he can replenish these when he has enough time to summon more between fights. Mordin stores this at his hip, so it can be grabbed on the fly. It's fairly accurate, but the bullets themselves do little damage.

Incendiary Ammo (Ranged, Debuff) - 300 OM
An add-on to Mordin's guns. He can set his weapons to fire off one magazine's worth of flaming bullets, which will cause lingering burn damage to his opponents. He can only use this on one magazine at a time and there is a one minute cooldown before any guns can fire them again.

Kinetic Barrier (Area Defense) - 300 OM
A repulsive mass effect field that surrounds Mordin to the shape of his body. It takes about a second to activate. When activated, These shields safely deflect small objects traveling at rapid velocities. It is most effective against ranged attacks but can still block a weapon melee strike, as well. The shielding does not protect against extremes of temperature, toxins, or radiation. It will be disapated by a strong attack (or several weaker attacks) or by Mordin himself. It requires a minute to cool down if it is destroyed by an attack.

I confirm that I have read and agreed to the Rules of Conduct.

I'll use this thread to request staff approval for OM transfers anytime I need to pay someone for completing a faction quest for me. Seems like a better option than making a thread for each new instance.

To kick it off I'd like to pay Dawnika Snow 300 OM for completing the "Hunt Their Blood" quest three times during this year's Dante's Abyss

The IC transfer happens here
- http://omniverse-rpg.com/showthread.php?...#pid118675

and in this dataverse message
- http://omniverse-rpg.com/showthread.php?...#pid118679


Do I need to note this in my roster/log or will it be deducted from my actual OM count?

Hey there, my lovely little murderer.

I just got back from that little excursion we had in the Koopa Kingdom. It was fun, but I ended up getting a bit too excited and ended up on the wrong end of an explosion. Anyways while I'm laid up I ended up watching your run through that Dante's Abyss thing, and I have to say I am damn impressed by your performance. Kinda makes me regret not signing up myself, but eh, cest la vie as they say. At any rate here's a little something from your pal Kuzu, I can't let your bloodshed go unrewarded now can I?

Cheers,
Kuzuru

Quote:Transferring 300 OM to Dawnika Snow, provided the staff approve such a transfer

Resurrection was no stranger to Kuzuru. After all he had spent the majority of what one could call his “youth” throwing himself upon stranger’s swords. In the demon’s infancy he only had a rudimentary understanding of combat that extended no further than “hit guy really hard”, but each death brought a certain understanding with it. Where most babies learn to walk by falling the demon learned battle by dying. This immortality stemmed from the same cosmic powers that gave birth to him. So long as mankind cultivated strife and death he would continue to draw breath. However his resurrection in the Omniverse was the will of Omni and no other factor besides the deity's favor was involved. Regardless this rebirth, and its accompanied maladies, held a familiarity with Kuzuru.

As demon stepped through the Ashen gate his body took on a physical countenance. Hot air filled his lungs and the scent of char and smoke tickled his nostrils. A smile slipped across his lips as he surveyed his domain. The Steppes were an inhospitable wasteland that served to house the aggressive extremophiles of the Omniverse. While Kuzuru could give or take the unrelenting heat he relished the darwinistic nature of the verse. Those well adapted to the hellish landscape prospered while all others were burnt to a crisp. He reached down and scooped up a handful of the red earth, pulling it up to his nose and inhaling deeply. He was home.

Kuzuru held out his hand and closed his eyes, collecting his omnilium into an easily managed orb. He opened his eyes and frowned. The rainbow orb that floated above his palm was barely larger than a marble. He mouthed a curse word and tried to pour more of his energy into the disappointing sphere. It rippled and grew larger, but not by much. The demon’s body shuddered and he found himself winded. What had once been natural to him was now an exhausting a frustrating chore. Perhaps resurrection did have its unintended side effects. The demon spent about half an hour concentrating his omnilium into a usable chunk and by the end of it he was sweating profusely.

He pointed the orb outwards and it floated a few feet away. Mentally he pictured a custom-made offroad motorcycle and willed the miracle substance to fulfill his desire. Again the demon found himself pressed against an invisible wall. Where summoning had been akin to molding clay he now found himself shaping frozen taffy - technically malleable, but good luck. Were it not for the intense concentration required he would have been swearing up a tempest. Once it was all said and done the demon had spent the better part of an hour creating what amounted to a pile of metal shit with an engine and wheels strapped to it. With sour contempt he mounted the monstrosity and kick-started it. A plume of black soot sputtered out from the exhaust pipes as the engine chugged to life. Kicking up a tower of dirt the demon laid into the throttle and zipped  off towards the horizon.

His journey across the Steppes was one that was filled with close calls and mechanical failures. More than twice did he have to stop and perform a field repair on the unfortunate death machine. Upon reaching the entrance to his fortress he dismounted the bike and deconstructed it into its base omnilium. Destruction came much easier than creation, but the process still left him winded and weak. Kuzuru sighed and eyed the stairway that lead to the fortress’s entrance. He ascended the stairs and placed his hand on the stone slab that barred entrance to all except the Blades. Unseen mechanisms groaned and creaked as they shifted the slab aside and allowed him passage. He stepped inside and made his way to the heart of the Ashen Fortress.

As much as the demon hated to admit it battle was out of the question until he had fully recovered from his resurrection. So with that in mind he linked his dataverse device to the TV and opened up the Omnivere’s most recent competition, Dante’s Abyss. While watching others fight was akin to watching porn instead of actually having sex he did enjoy it nonetheless. There was certainly no dearth of content; Syntech had done a painstakingly thorough job of capturing every moment of the contest. He found himself following each fighter individually as they survived on the island, taking in every scrap of violence he could. However the most intriguing contestant was one of his own. Dawn had entered and proven herself to be a more than capable warrior, having acquired three kills before the entire thing was ended.

Kuzuru paused his binging and pulled up Dawn’s contact information. He tapped out a message and channelled a bit of omnilium into the device before hitting send. He’d be damned if his sycophants were not rewarded for shedding such exquisite blood.

Now before I come across as any more pompous than usual, let me clarify that this thread is intended to be a discussion, not a lecture. I do intend to express my own (somewhat lengthy) opinion here, though, in the understanding that I have no actual authority or control over the actual efficacy of what's discussed.

Now then, it seems to me like there's been a surplus of debate recently about why the Omniverse has numbers, powers, Omnilium and the rest of it if so much of actual combat comes down to writing skill and non-literal factors. The mentality that numbers and moves need to represent hard, steadfast datapoints for usage in combat is commonly referred to here as "gameyness". I feel like a lot of disgruntlement in our more gamey writers stems from an inherent misunderstanding about why combat and Prime building has structure in the first place.

Let me start with a relevant anecdote: my primary roleplaying site before the Omniverse was a completely open-ended RP that had almost no hard rules about who you could be or what you could do. Obviously, this format is a double-edged sword, because while it DID allow for interesting and epic IC moments, it was more often the case that reasonable, self-resricting writers would be easily overruled by pushy, power-hungry authors who refused to let their characters die. Even losing was considered regretful in these more enterprising writers, so the entire OOC chat was often awash with salt and finger-pointing about who was being more egregiously overpowered. The irony, of course, was that it was impossible to be overpowered, because there were effectively no limits.

Cut to the Omniverse. Coming from my previous setting, I was glad to see a system like the one our Staff has set up, because my previous experience helped me understand what it was really meant to do. The leveling up, the purchasing of moves, the power caps, and the stats; none of it is here to give our Primes power. It's written the way it is to control and balance that power.

Now, from a purely literary perspective, the word 'control' can be construed as somewhat dirty, but I assure you that it is vital to maintaining the single most important part of the Omniverse: Consistent Narrative. The only way to maintain a living, breathing open-world format like Greg and Alex have constructed is to have a system that denotes what Primes are able to affect in relation to the world around them, and by dint of association, to one-another. Too much freedom would lead to wanton chaos and a lack of cohesive stories. Too many systems and numbers would make it hard to write actual stories. The key, as ever, is balance.

The point of the the game rules are not to define what each and every Prime is capable of. It's to prevent fights from devolving into games of 'he said, she said'. Instead of having, say, a younger writer assume he can outrun Cirno because his Prime is a catperson, he can instead look at Cirno's overcranked SPD stat and determine that his 3 is not going to outperform her 5.

They're both still fast, that much is certain, but there is clearly demarcated proof thaf Cirno is faster. This maintains structure, which allows for better writing. Likewise, Cirno's lackluster defense may be no match for catboy's attack, so if he does get his claws on her, it's going to hurt. Now the point of the fight becomes "how do I get my hands on the damn fairy?" Just because Cirno is fast, doesn't mean she ALWAYS outruns slower Primes. Maybe they have a trick, maybe she makes a mistake, maybe she gets cocky. Now the fight is dynamic, instead of two people at keyboards spamming hotkeys and rapid-clicking.

This is where moves start to come into play, because they should (ideally) be able to create opportunities to circumvent these harder numbers. This is where the maintained framework can have its boundaries pushed, to an extent, as long as it's conducive to a solid narrative and a better story. Trying to introduce moves that rely too much on intricate qualifiers or usage dynamics actually suffocates the literary quality of a given scene, and essentially forces other writers to conform to rules they did not agree to when they signed up. In summary the best way to push out from our constraints is not to create new rules, but expand in the directions that the rules do not cover.

I'm not talking about loopholes, either. I'm talking about choices the writers can make that are not explicitly controlled by our rules. Things like environment, motivation, bystanders, existing injuries, IC history etc. These can also create opportunities where numbers would otherwise seem to indicate impossibilities (not that they ever categorically do so in this format).

I could go more into specific instances, such as why certain powers are priced the way they are, or why numbers DO matter in some instances, but I think I've made my point. At the end of the day, the rules exist so it's easier for writers and staff to look at a situation and say "Yeah, that makes sense" or "That doesn't seem right" while still allowing enough contextual freedom to allow for enjoyable creativity.



Discuss.

Since I shouldn't have all the fun, here you may sign up to the avatar exchange.

Step 1: Give an avatar and user title to the person above you.
Step 2: Whoever posts after you gets to set your avatar user title to whatever they want. You have to actually go do this yourself, though!
Step 3: You must keep your avatar and title for at least a week!

As with donations, please nothing TOO gross/lewd.

First person has to be a willing volunteer, since mine is set by donation already.

It's dumb that I have to say this, but if you don't want to play, don't play! You might get an avatar you hate ... that's kind of the point! Regardless, if you participate but don't follow the rules, you'll get banned from playing.

Banned players: Aaron, Harlan

Maybe I'm missing an obvious button, but in my faction's forum is there a way to sticky threads or create an "important threads" sections similar to how the OOC threads are formatted?