[Meta thread] Iron's PokeRole Adventure: The Skull Ruins

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Bonny and Clyde were a couple, Windos. Hmmm....

[Lord Windos]

Bonny and Clyde were a couple, Windos. Hmmm....

What are you suggesting, dear? *Raises their eyebrow in curiosity, with an almost invisible smile on their face*

@Iron : That would be thrilling, if nothing else! Mwhahaha! Of course, I wouldn't do any overt thievery until I had at least a few strong Pokémon ready to crush those trainer and the local law enforcement, but that is just a distant possibility now....

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Bonny and Clyde were a couple, Windos. Hmmm....

What are you suggesting, dear? *Raises their eyebrow in curiosity, with an almost invisible smile on their face*

Ohhh, nothing. Nothing at all.~

I'll be off then for the night, but feel free to include Shiva in some way until I'm back. Iron, if I rememer correctly, there is supposed to be a storm this night... Ah, found where.

[Lord Windos]

@Dragonstrike : Ventus understand what Nathan is trying to get across to him, he just simply disagree with him on that. To him, the ends justify the means when it comes to him and the rest of the party, so trying to talk him down from that is not going to happen. He's going to certainly be more aware of his actions and words for now on, and be far more careful on how and what he does in retaliation with those that cross his him, so there is that at least. That, and he's not going to murk the shit out of the Pinsir guy, which I call a major win on Nathan's and Shiva's part. You do not know how much it hurt him to concede on that point...

[Dragonstrike]

@Dragonstrike : Ventus understand what Nathan is trying to get across to him, he just simply disagree with him on that. To him, the ends justify the means when it comes to him and the rest of the party, so trying to talk him down from that is not going to happen. He's going to certainly be more aware of his actions and words for now on, and be far more careful on how and what he does in retaliation with those that cross his him, so there is that at least. That, and he's not going to murk the shit out of the Pinsir guy, which I call a major win on Nathan's and Shiva's part. You do not know how much it hurt him to concede on that point...

That's about all Nathan can ask of Ventus for now, really.  He hopes Ventus can eventually come to resort to less...drastic means, but he sort of gets why Ventus would act like that, knowing his backstory.  Ventus not thinking about the consequences that could harm not just him, but the whole group, is what's worrying Nathan the most right now.  Which is rather counterintuitive to what he's trying to do.

Nathan hopes these recent events and this discussion have left a positive impression on just what it was he'd been trying to get across...

[Lord Windos]

That's about all Nathan can ask of Ventus for now, really.  He hopes Ventus can eventually come to resort to less...drastic means, but he sort of gets why Ventus would act like that, knowing his backstory.  Ventus not thinking about the consequences that could harm not just him, but the whole group, is what's worrying Nathan the most right now.  Which is rather counterintuitive to what he's trying to do.

Nathan hopes these recent events and this discussion have left a positive impression on just what it was he'd been trying to get across...

Perhaps in the future, if Shiva and Nathan managed to really reign him in, but not right now. Ventus is acutely aware of the consequence of his actions (usually), so if he has to commit a serious crime he going to think it through Steps A-Z, and come up with a way that it either does not lead back to the group, or only leads back to HIM.

As for the impression...its helped a bit, but he is far from reluctant or repentant of his actions at the lake. He still wants to kill the Pinsir guy, but he's stopped for your chara shake, despite his philosophy of 'the ends justify the means'. Take that as you will...

[Dies Irae]

Very true. 5e is the closest I've played so far and wizards are still beastly.

There are a few systems I've played which have tried to balance the inherent discrepancy.
Savage Worlds manages as a system by keeping Magic very understated. Dragon Age and any of the Warhammer 40,000 based RPGs punished you upside the head for trying to get overly flashy with their magic equivalents (Then again, Warhammer 40,000 just punished you upside the head on principle for existing).

If you wanted something light, understated and whimsical and almost Ghibliesque, Kotodama Heavy Industry's "Ryuutama: Natural Fantasy RPG" does the job very well.

Most fun I've had with a Magic User in a D20 was playing a 3rd party setting called Amethyst which positioned science and magic as two diametrically opposed forces meaning that the two were liable to foul up in the presence of the other, which in turn made spellcasters a lot more unreliable and therefore dependent on party support. And also, fireball and cloudkill lose a lot of oomph if the other party members are lobbing chem grenades and firing frag rounds. I remember there was something similar with the Iron Kingdoms D20 setting as well before Privateer Press went with a proprietary system where spellcasters took some amount of non-lethal damage every time they cast, making them less likely to break out the big guns.

That said, I've actually seldom seen the supposed 'Problem Mage'.
Not because the local groups can't pull it off, but because the social contract in the culture locally is strong enough that while it's funny once or twice, being THAT guy who basically solos entire adventures while telling the rest hit the showers eventually leads to people tacitly not being invited back after a while.

[Lord Windos]

You sure know how to play with Ventus emotion, Dragonstrike. Of course, given all the stress my chara puts yours through, it only fair really! We get along like grease and fire, don't we?

[Dragonstrike]

You sure know how to play with Ventus emotion, Dragonstrike. Of course, given all the stress my chara puts yours through, it only fair really! We get along like grease and fire, don't we?

Yeah, it's a bit of an endless cycle, but it'll hopefully burn out eventually.  Nathan's definitely got Ventus's back on this, though.

...provided Ventus can avoid losing his Trainer License before this is resolved...

[Dies Irae]

Music: The Scientist Reveals the Truth

Exhaling the breath he had been holding, Ventus gave the young trainer a small smile. "You are right, of course, but I wanted to reinterate the severity of the information I'm about to revel. Now that everyone is of one mind, I'll began. Hold all questions until I am finished speaking about this, as I want you all to be fully aware of my involvement with Genesect." The researcher then placed the black book on the table, and flipped it open for everyone to see what was on the first page.

It was a full page picture, shot length wise in high definition. In the photo was Ventus himself, dressed in a bright white labcoat, with a serene expression on his face. He was standing ramrod straights, one hand resting by his in a relaxed manner.
The other, however, was resting up against a tall, purple metallic structure. As everyone eyes travel up the picture, trying  to figure out what that object was, their eye found it at last.

Croaching right beside the eccentric researcher was Genesect, in all its glory and power.

"Four years ago, shortly after I had finished my education at Castelia University, I was approached by man dress in a formal black business suit that spoke 'Government Spook'. I was wary of interacting with the U.S.S.A , for reasons that are ilrelavant to this discussion, but suffice to say I was not pleased to see him at first. I ask, quite frankly, 'What in the good name of Kuyrem do you want of me?' The response I got quickly grabbed my attension, however. The Unovian government, in recognition of my unique empathy, extensive experience handling problematic and vicsous Pokémon, and his high standing within the Unova Scientist Committee, had decided that I was worthy enough to serve as a part of a top secret research team. They wouldn't not tell me what I was going to study, nor my role in such a presitgous group, but I was free to refuse the offer with no drawbacks or retribution."

"The job, however, offered me plenty of money, power, and affluence with several high ranking officals within the Unovian government and top distinguished scientist of the region, so despite my heavy concerns about this endevour, I accepted  their offer. Right then and there I told to put on a blind fold and noise cancelers (He offered them straight away), and was escorted to a then Unknown location over the course of several hours, or so I inquired. Its hard to judge time when you are suffering from temporarily self-inflicted sensory deprivation, after all. I later found out that the research site was located in the general vicinity of Lacunosa Town, hidden within the thick forests of the area. Since the locals and travelers rarely ventured far outside of their town at night, it was the perfect place to conduct its operations."

"Upon arriving at the facility, I was introduced to the research team, the technician staff that worked to keep the facility online and functional, and the CO of the operation, and was debriefed of my assigned task : I was to be the handler and social contanct to the Legendary Pokémon known as 'Genesect'. I was shocked that I was studying something so important and dangerous, and I had several questions on how they captured it for study. The CO, whose name I don't want to revel in fear that he might somehow find out I uttered it, gave me the complete case file surround the metallic bug. Turns out that after Neo Team Plasma was dismantled by the region hero and the Unovian Task Force, they found the Legendary located in a secret, secure, and extremely damaged section of the building. It was asleep upon first contanct, but it soon awoke when they tried to bring it in for study. It was a bloody, drawn out battle in bringing down and capturing Genesect, and several of the top Trainers brought in lost their lives in battle against the beast. They were able to subdue it, thought, and quickly transport it to its current location. As the Pokémon was highly aggressive, it attempted to attack all the other researchers on multiple occasion, and it made frequent attempt to escape captivity. It was no only increadibly viscous, but had a keen intellect to match, as each and every escape attempt was different from before, and were more damaging than its last one. Genesect was a problematic Pokémon to study and contain, to say he least."

"The Unovan government searched for any possible solution to calm the beast down and tame it, and they so happen to come across my name in the community. They had other prospective canidates for the position, but I was there first choice, and they were quite elated to see that I accept, despite my...dubious standing with them. So, from day one, I was essentially assigned to be Genesect friend. Our intial relationship was...violent. Like every other scientist, it attempt to gut me upon coming to greet it, but I caught its attension when, rather than fleeing its presence, I gave it a hug. A lot of the staff there thought I had gone mad, and I think I heard one comment that I was attempting the most elaborate suicide ever, but Genesect was far too confused to even react to my cuddling. I introduced myself to it, saying that I have come here to be its best friend and handler, and started to become friends with them. From then on, me and Genesect began to develop a special relationship between us. I was their friend, confidant, and intermediary between it and the scientist, in exchange for not being smooshed by it. They, on their end, had to listen to my suggestions, 'talk' to me about its feelings, and to cooperate with the science team.

"Over time, I ended up becoming greatly attached to Genesect, and it seemed to be fond of me as well, despite being one of its hated captors. Around the time when our bond had become its strongest, though, is when my standing in the research team began to rapidly deteriorate. While I agreed to being the Legendary Bug's handler, I thought that keeping in captivity was a fool game, and I voiced that thought to the CO repeatedly, which he'd either ignore or reprimand me. In addition, the tests and research the conducted on Genesect was highly invasive at some times and/or brutal at time, as the Government wanted to know the full capabilities of Team Plasma's self made Legend, something I found distasteful and unnecessary. As I grew closer to the bug, my complaints grew in strength and volume as I began to just ignore the responsibilities of my job in an effort to protect Genesect.

"All of this came to a head when, while having my daily cuddle session with them, that my CO march in and demanded I cease my rebellious attitude, or face the consequence. In response, I punched him straight in the face, and Genesect almost blasted him to smithereens had I not told them not to. I knew my right then my hours were numbered, so I said my good byes to Genesect, and told it to remain strong and find someone to get through this. Soon enough, I was detained, had all my clearance and rights to the Genesect Study revoked, and was promptly fired from my job and escorted out of there. The CO choose not to throw me in maximum security because he thought it would be a waste of good talent, and that despite my eccentricies he had come to respect me. He warned me, however, that I was not to tell anyone about my time on the project, or I would languish in prison. A nice prision for political dissidents, but a gilded cage none of the less. I was followed by the U.S.S.A for about a year afterwards, and my home and place of worked was bug like you would not believe. Eventually, once they realized that I was not going to cause a riot or anything, they greatly decreased their scrutiny, removing said bugs and assigning only on agent to check in on my case only occasionally.

"However, I never forgot about what I learned there, having committed everything I learned to memory long, long ago. This black book of mine is my personal copy of all the information obtained during the study pertaining to Genesect, hand written in secret as a form of insurance against my former employers. In it is a detailed description of the Drive System and the Techno Cannon, all the possible moves it can learn, its Physical and Intelligence parametters, its usual behavior, mood, personality, and disposition...everything that was gathered in my one year and one month study of the Legendary Pokémon. If you wish, feel free to read through the book yourself to familiarize yourself with Genesect full capabilities," Ventus concluded, finally wrapping up his story about Genesect.

He let silence fall upon the group for a few moments, just enough for the information he told to sink in, before saying :"Now that I finish recounting my experience with the Legendary Pokémon, do any of you have question you'd like to ask for me?"

Wow. Is this actual campaign canon?