Plot

The year is 1039. In the past few years, incredible leaps in entertainment technology have led to the first ever fully-functional virtual reality chamber, a technological marvel once thought to be decades, if not centuries away. Because this was done with the combined efforts of many nations, members of many nations have been gathered to the the united states, in Washington DC. These people, already experienced in gameplay testing, are going to be the first ever to test this remarkable new technology. The name of this game is Astral Axe.

Ground Rules
- Depicting your character’s accent is optional, but not required.
- It is assumed that all characters, regardless of their country of origin, have a good understanding of the english language.
- While you may theoretically be a robot in this RP, this will bar said character’s participation in Astral Axe, because the game is not designed for robots.
- Equipment has been designed to increase the mental functioning of pets and allow them to understand (but not speak) english. These devices are known as Dilge Collars (named after the inventor, Robert Dilge). However, this technology is very expensive, and said pet will still have far less capacity for intelligence than human. Those who wear this technology are known as Dilge Pets. When this collar is taken off, the effect goes away again.
- You may have up to four characters (insignificant characters, such as family members, do not count toward this limit), but only one character may actually be a Main Participant of Astral Axe. However, there may also be a Side Participant (essentially, a sidekick of that main participant).
- If you are going to have a character from a country other than your own, please do some research on that country first. At least enough to get a basic understanding of the culture.
- You can be a demon in Astral Axe. You cannot, however, be a demon in the real world.
- If you want to co-DM this, PM me and I’ll consider you for it. After all, it gets boring if I know all of the twists and turns of the plot before they happen.
- The rules about custom race and unique power-ups are left open-ended for a reason. I expect you guys to be creative with those.
- Last, but not least, you may stick a to be completed into the Backstory section of your bio. However, you will not be allowed to participate in the virtual game until all your characters’ backstories are completed. If your backstory is a secret, you may PM it to me.

Where You Start

A four-star hotel room has been provided to your characters, courtesy of the programmers of Astral Axe. However, if your character wishes to stay elsewhere, they may turn this offer down. The game starts on the morning of the first test run, which starts at 2:00 PM.

The Virtual World

Astral Axe takes place on the distant planet of Zarbon, where many different types of creatures reside, though humans are the most predominant there. This world is fairly low-tech, about the level of technology as seen in the middle-ages. However, there is magic to make up for this. The style of combat is sort of a combination of D&D-esque and ninja/samurai.

The Virtual Rules

In the virtual world, you have three things to worry about on your HUD: Points, Hearts, and Lives. Whenever you concentrate on looking at your HUD (or, for that matter, anyone else’s), it will appears before your eyes. Otherwise, they will remain out of your sight at all times. Your heart count will also appear in front of you for one second whenever you lose/gain a heart. Similarly, your life count will appear when you lose/gain a life.

You start out with three hearts (your maximum) and three lives. After taking significant damage (what is considered significant damage may either be all at once or accumulated, and will be at the DM’s opinion), falling into a hazard (acid, spike pit, lava, bottomless pit, et cetera), drowning, or being crushed, you will lose a heart (and, if necessary, respawn nearby). Lose all three hearts and you lose a life, and respawn nearby. Hearts will be reset to three at the beginning of each level. Lives will not, obviously. Also, any power-ups or weapons will go away at the end of each level.

All around the stage, there will be various things laying around: Hearts, extra lives (very rare), power-up tokens, and weapons. These will automatically be used by the first person who touches them. The exceptions are: (1) If a person with all three hearts grabs a heart, (2) if a person grabs a unique power-up type that does not apply to them, or (3) if a person grabs a weapon, which are wielded, not used per se.

The rules for Side Participants are a bit different. These entries only have one heart, cannot use powerups/hearts/1UPs, but have infinite lives. However, these characters take thirty seconds to respawn after being killed. And if the Main Participant they are supporting is killed, the side participant also gets a game over.

Each stage is ended by grabbing the mystical orb in that stage. Last, but not least, each 1000 points awards a 1UP.

Bios





Bios



Note: This RP is subject to minor revision, as it is fairly late and I will probably find mistakes tomorrow.

Normal Bio wrote:

Name: Zijya- "Zei-Gee-Yah"
Ziji- "Zee-Jae"
Model: --
Specie: --
Appearance: Black hair, that is pink and spiky on her left side, black miniskirt and tank top which has a glittery red heart broken in half on it, pink elbow/knee length gloves/leggings, pink scarf and snow boots.
Age: 18
Nationality: Japanese
Gender: Female
Education: High School of Course, in which she took many AP courses including, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, and AP Psychology.
Occupation: Freeware Game Creator, Website Comic Artist
Backstory: You shall have it later
Although both of Zijya's parents are Japanese, Zijya was born and raised in America. Her mother is an actress, and her father works for NCIS,(that is National Crime Intelligence Service). So naturally she spent much of her time alone. She used this time to study and later dive into the video game world. She became a video game tester to earn extra cash, then write reviews on her website along with her comics. Much like xkcd.com, (the comics).


Astral Axe Bio wrote:

Name: 'Ziji' or 'Devoutress'
Race: Is human.
Special Talents:
Contact Poison: When Ziji loses a life, if she lost it from a melee kill, the killer loses one heart.
Shadow Veil: While in the shadows Ziji may become 'Ethereal'; She can not cause damage or take damage through normal means.
Crippling Kiss: A melee attack that causes no damage, but causes paralysis. Used primarily for evasion instead of offense.

Appearance: See normal bio, She wears a dark purple cloak, nearly black, and the glove on her left hand is replaced by a twin blade 'claw'.
Gender: ...Female of course.
Unique Power-ups: Viral (Effects that cause paralysis, poison, blindness, ect.), Purple.

Call me on anything off.

Shadow Veil should be toned down a bit (as it would offer her an indefinite advantage if in a shadowed fighting area), but other than that, it is good.

Any magic would still have full effect. Blades and arrows and the like aren't effective.

Let’s say that your character can also be grappled by normal means, though not damaged, while in shadows.

Hmmm... that would work I suppose.

It feels so weird applying for someone else's RP. I usually run things... >.> well, if you'll have me, I'm sure I could be a great asset.

Normal Bio-

Name: Raymond Spruce
Specie: Human
Appearance: Dark amber hair; blue eyes. Wears a blue sweater jacket with a zipper (always unzipped) and a black t-shirt underneath. Black slacks for lower body and black sneakers with silver strips on either side.
Age: 20
Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Education: College Undergraduate
Occupation: N/A
Backstory: Raymond Spruce was born like any other child in 1019. His parents were as normal as they got, the father being a mailman and the mother a stay-at-home wife. As he grew, his mind was stimulated by the usual sources: school, social acquaintances, and the occasional mind boost application. After a very uneventful life, he graduated high school and took two years off for a much needed vacation. Any friends he had made were easily lost after he stopped leaving his house. His parents worried he had fallen victim to drugs and constantly hounded him.

His sleep cycle changed dramatically; nights were spent gaming and days were slept away. His parents seldom saw him out of his room and eventually decided to put a stop to it. They enrolled him at the local college and forced him to go back to school. His schedule returned to normal and he regained some of the worldly consciousness he had lost.

One day, when he was perusing the shops around town, he noticed a flier advertising a game testing position. He was intrigued by the prospect of playing games before they're initial release and decided to delve deeper. The owner of the developing company welcomed him before he could even state his business and set him to work on his first task. He was to play through several games in a matter of three weeks and report on any and all bugs/glitches.

Three weeks passed and Ray returned with his full, 15 page report. The developer was astounded at the detail. Not only had he found each bug, but he had described the most efficient way to eliminate them. Sensing potential, he quickly asked what the boy's plans were for the future. Not having a clear scheme, all the developer could say was "Excellent!" He immediately sent an application in to the agency centered around the Astral Axe project. Raymond was accepted and was shipped straight to his new quarters in the nation's capital...


Astral Axe Bio-

Name: Hardy
Race: Human
Special Talents:
Learning: Passive. An ability that allows the user to "learn" his enemy's skills. A skill may only be learned if the attack has been cast on the user and successfully damaged and/or affected him in some way. The skill will not be added to the list if the user does not defeat the enemy in his next attack right after being hit with the intended ability.
Keen Eye: Passive. Enemies equal to or smaller than the user can be detected from around corners or behind objects. The ability also increases accuracy of all bladed weapons, but decreases strength slightly.
Blue Magicks: Action. The actual list of acquired enemy skills.
Appearance: Click here for picture.
Gender: Male
Unique Power-ups:
Blue Power Up- Grants temporary random stat boosts.