[Reflections of Reality] The Dungeon Master

Also referred to as the 'Weaver of Fate'. The Dungeon Master is the leader of the Dungeon Lords, an alliance of the Outerworld natives and is the link between Tokyo and the Outerworld. It can be male or female. The Dungeon Master is known by a small shard that resembles a 20-sided die.

The Dungeon Master...

• ... is chosen by the shard that senses those with high Imagination.
• ... has the ability to create monster shards, extracting the souls of actual monsters or make a copy which makes a Shadow Monster, which is the monster at 1/3 of its real power.
• ... have the ability to create True God Shards, which are shards that contain extraordinarily powerful monsters, yet it requires souls of adventurers and the Shard Bearers, hence why Shard Bearers may be hunted and will be found comatose.
• ... are able to call forth Alternate Tokyo at will.
• ... are able to weave the reality as they see fit.
• ... have their own tower based on their Imagination.
  
• ... are granted a class that represents them but they also are able to change into a monster at will.
  

Should a person kill the current Dungeon Master, then they more than likely become the next unless they manage to fight the power. Then, the die will disappear and find another source with a high Imagination.


The Dungeon Master Shard...

• ... leans towards the corrupt with high Imagination and if not, then the shard works to perverse their nature.
• ... is a cursed relic. Anyone who holds it is drawn to the fate of its corrupt nature.
• ... tends to have a life of its own at times. This is very prevalent when it tries to take in a new Dungeon Master after the previous one is killed by the person's hands.
• ... is able to be destroyed. Somehow. It is unknown how.

Imagination: This is highly sought because this allows the person to create reality as the person sees fit. Those with narrow imagination can barely weave even an image of a small object. In a sense, it is a child-like ability that is typically associated with thinking outside of the box. It is a person's essential thought that is unrestricted by the daily routine of society.

[Reflections of Reality] Monster Shard

(Monster Shard User Battle: Inspired by the Avatar battle of .hack//G.U.)




These are different from the shards of past adventurers. They contain the reflected souls of the monsters.

Common Characteristics: The creature manifested from the shard...

• ... takes the form of creatures such as animals, insects, or non-humanoids with the exception are demonic and angelic beings.
• ... is gargatuan, no matter what it is based off of.
• ... isn't truly the monster, but a reflection of the monster.

When the person takes hold of the shard, it will expose their life, allowing them to be manipulated.

In order for a person to use it, the Shard requires two things:

• Negative Emotions
• The user's deepest desires.

All who dwell nearby the User will notice that Alternate Tokyo chances to a look at their life, or rather, the most familiar event to the User.

When the user activates the shard, Alternate Tokyo changes to the shape of a space-like plane. All involved in the battle will find themselves floating in the space-like plane.

The User will be encased in a crystal at the heart of the monster they transform to while another crystal is suspended in the air. That crystal represents the false illusion.

The monster will fight as if it would normally fight if it was its real self while the user remains in their delusional dream. This is known as 'Trance Bliss'. This protects the shard from being destroyed through a barrier surrounding it.

However, when the crystal that operates the illusion is destroyed, the User enters a 'Trance Wrath' state. The barrier is destroyed. This synchronizes them with the monster that they merged with. This is the state where the User is fighting as the monster, rather than the monster's mindset. This is a dangerous state for a few reasons.

• The creature fights in an enraged mode to match with the user's rage.
• Should the shard be destroyed while the person is still in the Trance Wrath stage, they will not become comatose, but will die instead. The cause of the death in the real world is through heart failure.
  

However, it is easier to snap a person out of the rage and pull them out before destroying the shard. One of the ways is that the Spirit Guide finally manifests itself briefly to launch a Light of Truth into the target.

LIGHT OF TRUTH:

[House-Ruled only to the Spirit Guides in battle vs Monster Shard Users]

The Spirit Guide leaves the Shard Bearer briefly to charge up a beam of light. This takes an entire round to do. When the beam is made up, the Spirit Guide launches it out. Unfortunately, if the monster strikes the person charging it, the user loses that concentration and has to start again. The Monster User can sense when it's being used and will likely charge after the user.

You roll a 1d20 + Charisma or Wisdom Modifer vs Monster User's Will+5. Pretty much, whichever is your higher one, base it off of that.


In some cases, the Light of Truth will reveal the person's reason for using the monster shard. A visual flashback, essentially.

In review, there are three stages:

Stage 1:

The creature behaves similar to the being that it is made from. With the User in a 'Trance Bliss' state, an orb that keeps the illusion of their bliss is hidden somewhere. With a spot check, the orb becomes visible and can be destroyed.


Stage 2:

With the orb destroyed, the User enters a 'Trance Wrath' state. Now the creature behaves off of the User's wrath. If the shard is destroyed, the User dies of a heart-failure. However, one can open up the path to confront the user through a Light of Truth blast. The User has to be 10% health.


Stage 3:

Should the Light of Truth be used, the party will be taken to a plane where they see the User trapped in a crystal. Still in the Trance Wrath, the User will lash out, striking anyone and all that comes its path. Every step is a trap. Should they reach the crystal, they can break the crystal and calm the User down, destroying the Monster Shard for good.



ALTERNATE USE OF MONSTER SHARD:

The alternate way of using the shard is if the user wills and dominates the monster within the synchronization rather than becoming dominated. The user is exempted from the Trance Stage and immune to the Light of Truth, but is subject to death should the shard be destroyed.

[Reflections of Reality] The Lost Souls

These are users that have been 'killed' in battle. When they are killed in their Avatar form, the Shard is shattered, causing the Spirit Guide to finally 'die' while the Shard Bearer is put in a comatose state in the real world. In reality, both of their souls have been taken somewhere, yet it is unknown where.

These cases have been diagnosed as 'Lost Souls'.

[Reflections of Reality] Shard Bearers

What I am establishing on the shard is something mandatory on all Shard Bearers. This occurs when they are interacting with the real world or at least, not in their transformed state.

All Shard Bearers...

• ...have a degree of protection, higher than normal people.
• ... possess a Gift that is granted by the shard, whether it is active or passive.
  
• ... Can communicate with their Spirit Guide as well as other Spirit Guides of the Shard Bearers. This has potential for interesting role-play when they learn about their guides' past lives.
  
• ... can see the supernatural around them when they are not in their transformed state. This allows them to sense 'The Encounters' and anything else magical/ki/psychic energies in their actual world and such. (This disappears when they are in their Avatar form, forcing whoever has the ability to do a ritual of detect magic).
• ... can turn an item from the Alternate Tokyo/Outerworld into something to match the regular Tokyo world(bag of holding will appear as a backpack and a potion will appear as a soda pop).
• ..., if have a familiar, that familiar will change into a regular animal and can only communicate to all of the Shard Bearers through telepathy.

The Gift:

However, each Shard Bearer have a unique gift based on the class that they represent. This is what they use in the normal world in their non-transformed state. It is from subtle-to- semi-subtle. It cannot be blatant. Passive are a bit minor, but is not so limited on the prolonged use. Active abilities, however, are quite limited. Depending how powerful it is, it can range from 2-3 times a day.

Based on the Shard Class, the Shard Bearers of...

• Clerics & Paladins can heal people wounds that people suffer. This can be used twice a day. [Active]
• Druid & Rangers are granted the ability to communicate with animals(like dogs, cats, birds, etc). [Passive]
  
• Swordmages have a magic sword implement that allows them to use anything that is like a sword pretty well. If they use a baseball bat, for example, they can bat really well with it(and make a lot of homeruns. [Passive]
• Warlords and Bards have the ability to inspire ideas into people or inspire them to do things that they have been scared to do. Useful for getting a guy to ask a girl out. [Passive]
• Shamans have the ability to talk to the spirits. [Passive]
• Psions are able to send telepathic messages out an individual in 25 words or less and they are able to respond in kind. This can be done three times a day. [Active]
• Warlocks draw the ability to pass through walls for the duration of 30 seconds. This can be used once a day. [Active]
• Wizards can use each of their Cantrips(Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, and Prestidigitation) only once a day. [Active]
• Avengers can actively track down a specific location as long as they know the name and what the person looks like. Once per day. [Active]
• Artful Dodger Rogues can perform Parkour feats from gymnastic flips to even wall backflips. [Passive]
• Scoundral/Ruffian Rogues can utilize any weapon to make a rattling noise, which will cause fear in anyone around and can get them to flee. Can be used three times a day. [Active]
• Barbarians are granted the ability to channel their Rage. This gives them the ability to take more blows and dish more blows(useful in street fights). This has the duration of a minute and can only be used once a day. [Active]
• Artificers have the ability to quickly assess any mechanical problem ranging from a skateboard to a jet. This can be used three times a day. [Active]
  
  

Now, I am lost on an ability for these classes: fighter, sorcerer, invoker, warden, and monk.

[Reflections of Reality] Setting of the World

Setting:


It is the year 2009 on Earth. Tokyo brims with activity like always. Yet, it experiences a strange phenomenon called 'The Encounter', where creatures lurk in the city and those caught within it are usually found dead. The news broadcasted casualties from head-related trauma while others have been found comatose with fragments of a shard next to their bodies.

The Shards are found at random parts of Tokyo, each of them containing a spirit guide. Those spirit guides were once adventurers from another reality that died but their heroics earned them a place in history. Those that find the shards are called the 'Shard Bearers'. They are able to see and battle the supernatural that invade during 'The Encounter'.

The strange event takes place in Alternate Tokyo, yet it can affect Tokyo itself by inducing the citizens with a headache and can progress to a Cerebral Hemorrhage. It is also a link between Tokyo itself and an Outerworld.

The Outerworld is a new world where the world is like a typical fantasy world by the books. Yet, the monsters are stranger and more vicious. Various unknown Outsiders exist. The most prominent set of Outsiders are the Dungeon Lords, the rulers of various kingdoms and keeps. The leader of the alliance is known as the Dungeon Master. And not all Shard Bearers are good ones either. Nor do all shards contain just heroic warriors.

[Reflections of Reality] Introduction to Theme - D&D 4E Based

Influences: Persona 3, .hack//G.U., and D&D in general!


SYNOPSIS: There exists many planes. However, the ones in particular focus are three places: A modernized Tokyo, the alternate Tokyo, and the fantasy world.

There exists an oranization that seek to bring the worlds together to rule it as one. They are called the Dungeon Lords. They are comprised of Lords/Ladies of the respective dungeon or keep. The leader is the Dungeon Master, an individual who is likely from Tokyo itself.

The motivations of the Dungeon Master can differ from who is the created Dungeon Master. More in detail will be given in the Dungeon Master's own section. (In an actual game, this allows the Dungeon Master to RP as well, but he should take consideration of the players. Do remember, the Dungeon Master is to let the players have fun in this intriguing story).


PLAYERS: They are all from the modern Tokyo area. This can range from being high school students to a cop or so Each of them possess a strange shard. The shard contains a spirit partner. The spirit partner is a deceased adventurer who made a great impact when s/he was alive, or at least, hailed as such when s/he was alive. Taking the ideas from one player’s suggestion, the influence comes from Shaman King: The players allow a mental pact with their spiritual partner to become their avatar. Maybe a partial mental take-over comes in place as well.

In normal Tokyo, I imagine that they can have a conversation with their spiritual partners. Only those that bear the shard can communicate the other spiritual partners.

Because I am a bit against the whole 'chosen one' deal, this is more of towards the fact that they're just average joes that are just (un)lucky enough to find the shard. This means that they, are for the most part, expendable. This is dependent on them being able to work together and work in unison. What separates the shard holders from just 'average joes' is that they can make a huge difference in the fate of humanity.

How races and classes will be handled: OOCly, I believe people should choose the race and class. ICly, the class/race is their affinity. In normal Tokyo, they are all humans with no special powers.

ENCOUNTERS: There is a phenomenon that occurs within Tokyo called 'The Encounter'. This is when the reality from Alternate Tokyo bleeds into Tokyo itself. Those with the shards will be able to transform into the fighters to defend the people.

The world populace are affected by the ongoings of the battle. For example, a collateral explosion will create mild-to-moderate headaches due to the mild overlap between the normal and alternate worlds. Enough collateral damage can cause cerebral hemmorages or worse. This could give players a reason to choose their battles to avoid the injury of civilians.

Alternate-Tokyo will be resolved when all of the encounters have been resolved. It can also be a gateway between the fantasy world where the other Dungeon Lords are from. This is a useful tool for creating quests and different story arcs.

DEATHS: When the player dies in the Alt-Tokyo world, the shard shatters and the character slips into a coma in the real world. This is influenced from .hack//’s comatose deal.


WORLD INTERACTION: Well, it is generally preferred to maintain minimal magic influences in the real world. Things are to continue as always. However, players can use their Shard's Gift to pull some things in their favor or to help someone.