Tales of Zeal: Niflheim's Final Stand (FULL)

[Azura Cantarella]

We are no longer accepting applications, sorry.
From here on it'll be invitation-only.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Tales of Zeal, a roleplay based in the Tales of Symphonia universe, set on the world of Aselia.
It is also a Multifandom Crossover, allowing characters from other fandoms!

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Story
3. World Map/Info on the Corrupted Areas
4. General Rules & Guidelines
5. Character Categories/Profile Coding
6. Application Rules & Guidelines
7. Notices
8. FAQ
9. Cast List: Tales Series
10. Cast List: Other-Fandom Canon Characters
11. Cast List: Original Characters
12. Addendum
13. Character Suspensions

 

[Azura Cantarella]

STORY

xxzeal /zēl/
xxxn.
xxxxxxFervent or enthusiastic devotion, often extreme or fanatical in nature, to a cause, ideal, or goal and tireless diligence in its furtherance.

«««❂»»»

Very little is it known in this time that Niflheim is a realm deep beneath the earth; close to the core if not the core itself.

Shortly after the events of Dawn of the New World, Ratatosk looked upon the sealed-off domain of demons very intently. He could feel it—as if the realm itself was enraged by its binding, and struggled viciously against the barrier that kept it contained. Every strike it made sent a shock all the way to the seal that the Lord of Monsters guarded. To make matters worse, there isn't enough mana to make the rest of the barrier as strong as it is at door in the Ginnungagap.

In his concern, he sent a message to Emil Castagnier through a dream, filling him in on his observations and requesting that he travel around to see how things are going on the surface. The young man's sights would be relayed to him. Emil went on to additionally pass along what the Summon Spirit had spoken of to his friends, so that they could keep a lookout as well.

During the several days that followed, an earthquake rocked the world of Aselia. Caverns were reported to have cracks through which a poisonous gas—which scientists dubbed as miasma—leaked. The calamity went on to force the world's population of Dwarves from their underground homes to the surface. And monsters everywhere seem to have grown more savage for no apparent reason.

There have also been reports that certain areas are blanketed in a strange shadow; strange in the sense that there isn't anything up in the sky that could be casting it upon the land. The atmosphere within these shadows is devoid of mana and full of an "evil" energy. Demons seem to materialize, and any native monsters caught under this shadow mutate and go berserk, even siding with the demons. Any unfortunate people caught in the shadow are instead subject to poisoning by the evil energy, but can recover merely by prolonged exposure to mana.

These shadows have been dubbed "Shadows of Corruption".

Attempts to find the sources of these shadows have been made. Few ever come back to deliver any sort of report. There have been no successes in identifying the sources thus far, due to the conditions within the shadows. Some affected areas are large, some are small, but thankfully, they don't cover any of the cities and villages. Some are dangerously close, however. The Gaoracchia Forest is one such area.

Furthermore, unbeknownst to even Ratatosk, the shocks experienced in the Ginnungagap shook the Otherworldly Gate as well. The result is that fluctuations in time-space have been emanating from it, creating tears in its fabrics that spirit away people from whole other worlds. Will these unsuspecting "captives" help heal the world...or will they add to the chaos?  

[Azura Cantarella]

WORLD MAP

To help remind us where we are and figure out a destination point, as well as help newcomers determine a starting point.

The areas shaded in purple are areas currently covered in Shadows of Corruption.
The areas shaded in gray are not covered yet, but are planned.
Both are subject to change—Shadows can expand, or we may relocate them.

INFO ON THE SHADOWS OF CORRUPTION

At the center of every shadowed area is its source, a jagged black crystal cluster from which it emanates. The objective, should any characters or teams wish to do this, is to figure out some way to get right up in there and destroy it.

Note: Not even anyone on the Symphonia/Dawn cast knows this (yet), though!

The specific effects of staying in these shadows for too long include:

● Hallucinations linked to negative memories (i.e., betrayal, death of a loved one, etc.) that trigger intense rage or despair. Such emotions could even be blown out of proportion depending on the character's personality (or at your discretion).

● Poisoning. After a while in (maybe several minutes), entire parties will be afflicted with Poison status. This manifests as feeling dizziness, nausea, increasing fatigue, and/or headaches.

xxxxx● Enchanted items (accessories, charms, talismans, etc.) and cures (antidotes, Panacea Bottles, etc.) will only work
xxxxxxxfor a limited amount of time. After which, the items would break down and ingested cures would simply wear off.

xxxxx● Exceptions:
xxxxxxx○ Poison and Steel-type Pokémon.
xxxxxxx○ Divine beings. And I mean real divine beings, as in characters that are practically real gods or demigods, or
xxxxxxxxxare associated with them. By this I mean characters like Kratos and Yuan are absolutely not exempt from
xxxxxxxxxthe poison effect. While characters like Lippy, who's classified as a divine sprite that is servant
xxxxxxxxxto a goddess, are.
xxxxxxx○ People who have some kind of divine protection on them, be it possessing an artifact with divine power or
xxxxxxxxxliterally a god's blessing, or being blessed themselves.

● Lowered visibility the closer you get to the source. When your character(s) are very close, it's almost pitch black.

● Magic energy replenishment is possible with the use of gels and potions. Characters should not somehow have an endless supply of these, however. I'd put the limit at about 10 per character. Talismans and accessories meant to replenish magic energy over time absolutely won't work.

● Health regeneration via spells and medicine items still works, though characters surely would want to use spells sparingly because of the no-energy-regeneration effect.

Now, how are the shadow source crystals supposed to be destroyed?

Because of the above making getting there a challenge, destroying these things will actually be fairly easy, to balance things out.

● Enough physical force should do the trick. However, once the crystal is shattered, the shards will condense shadow energies into forms of monsters trying to protect the crystal's base while the crystal tries to re-form. Physical force is also enough to deal with these monsters. To kill them, one must shatter their crystal-shard core.

xxxxx○ In effect, the shadow's area of coverage shrinks in order for these monsters to be spawned.

● A barrage of spells and/or energy-flinging artes (like Beast) are even better. It's the power of mana that's going to patch up this "hole" coming up from the Underworld.

● And of course, Mystic Artes would decimate these. No questions.

● Other methods would involve making things that can produce mana independently somehow. I believe this would be of interest because of the possibility of characters just plain running low or even out of juice once they reach a source.

xxxxx● Example: I do know that my character plans to alchemize a one-time use object that'll work like a Molotov cocktail but with mana.

xxxxx● You guys can play with the idea, and they don't always have to turn out for offense uses. Like, maybe someone can produce
xxxxxxxsomething that generates a small but strong field of mana so that a small group can venture into the shadow more safely.

xxxxx● Of course, I'd like to review these ideas before you all actually put them into practice. I mean, just to make sure some
xxxxxxxideas don't come off as too godmoddy.

I'm aware these guidelines might make things a little too difficult. I'm open to discussing more ideas in the OOC thread, including what aspects should be nerfed and how to loophole around things.  

[Azura Cantarella]

GENERAL RULES & GUIDELINES

1. The Guild Rules apply. Of course. Especially Rule #4. Like it says, playing out romance is fine, just keep it to hugging and kissing. Anything beyond that and not only are you gonna be kicked out of the RP, you'll also be kicked outta the guild.

2. This is a given, yet it cannot be stressed enough. No godmodding, it's terribly annoying to deal with. This includes auto-hitting, controlling another player's character without their consent, anything a Munchkin would do.

3. No flaming, both here and in the OOC Thread. This is in direct violation of Rule #1 in the Guild Rules. Please try to resolve your differences as peacefully as possible. If you just can't avoid drama, please take it to PMs.

4. Please be a committed RPer. Especially if you have taken up a Symphonia canon character. Don't just join and only post once or a few times and leave for a while, expecting the others to wait for you. I understand people have lives outside of Gaia (I'm pretty busy myself lately), but most of the RPers here can check in regularly, so it's not fair to them. If you leave people waiting for too long, character suspensions will happen. If you joined thinking you could keep up, but later find that you actually can't, then please find a way to write your character(s) into exiting the plot.

5. Read the previous posts so that you know what's going on and not confuse the other RPers with your new posts. Find something in the others' responses to build your replies on, so that it shows you're paying attention.

6. If there is an interaction to take place that isolates anybody in the party or has no significance to the plot that you would like to expand on, please take it to the Skits Subforum with the tag [Tales of Zeal] in the thread title. And be sure to give us notice of this break-off by linking to those threads within the RP between OOC markers (( )). An example of this is a private conversation between two people that shouldn't be heard by certain others.

7. You don't have to be extremely perfect in your spelling and grammar, but please make sure you're understandable at the very least. That means NO TXT TALK.

8. Decorative post formats are not a must. Personally, I think they're excessive and unnecessary but I'm not going to ban them. If that's how you want to roll, then I won't stop you.

9. #8 aside, this is optional but it would be nice if this simple formatting is included in your replies:

[align=center][img](url of 100x100 icon here)[/img]
[b][color=(whatever color you'd like)]Character Name[/color][/b]
[b][size=16]══════════════════════════[/size][/b]
[size=11][b]Location:[/b] (place character is currently in) | [b]Company:[/b] (other characters being interacted with)[/size][/align]

I just feel it'd be helpful in keeping track of where everyone is at a glance.

10. Last but not least, HAVE FUN!  

[Azura Cantarella]

CHARACTER CATEGORIES

The characters you plan to play in this RP can fall into three roles:

Main - Simply put, characters in this category would be participating the most in the plot, traveling with a party, taking part in conversations that happen during the journey, and fighting battles.

Minor - This kind would make recurring appearances; pretty much whenever you'd like. If anything, they could be there to strengthen a Main Character's arc or serve as a side ally but not have that prominent of a presence. They wouldn't be traveling with any parties, or they'd mostly be hidden away if they function like Summon Spirits.

They are still allowed to participate in battles, but for this reason, you must provide a profile for them. This is to keep powers in check.

Cameo - This kind could make one-time or recurring appearances. You do not need to make a profile for them, but for this reason, they are not allowed to make a big impact on the main plot or participate in battles. They're just there for fun.

PROFILE CODING

[b][u]SECTION 1: BASIC INFO[/u][/b]
[b]Character Name:[/b]
[b]Character Gender:[/b]
[b]Character Age:[/b]
[b]Race:[/b]
[b]Occupation:[/b]
[b]Protagonist or Antagonist?:[/b]
[b]Alignment:[/b] (Lawful Good, Chaotic Evil, True Neutral, etc.? This is optional.)
[b]Main or Minor?:[/b]
[b]Description/Picture:[/b] (Please put in a spoiler tag if it's a large picture.)

[b][u]SECTION 2: ORIGINS[/u][/b]
[b]Canon:[/b] (game/anime/manga/etc. universe that your character is from)
[b]Canon Point:[/b] (Was your character taken before, during, or after their game/anime/manga/etc.'s events?)
[b]Means of Arrival:[/b] (How did your character turn up in Aselia? Only needs to be filled with " is a native resident of Aselia." if your character is from the ToS universe to begin with.)

[b][u]SECTION 3: REPERTOIRE[/u][/b]
[b]Class:[/b] (Dual Swordsman? Mage? Healer?)
[b]Fighting Style:[/b] (A short description of how your character fights.)
[b]Weapon(s):[/b]
[b]Skills/Magic:[/b]

[b][u]SECTION 4: PERSONAL DETAILS[/u][/b]
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Fave Food Type:[/b]
[b]Bio:[/b]
[b]Other Notes:[/b]

[b][u]SECTION 5: QUOTES[/u][/b] (Optional, does not affect the review of your profile and can be filled in later.)
Victory -
Low health -
Repeat battle (same enemy) -
Downed -
Revived -
Strong enemy -
Weak enemy -
Defeating an enemy -
Fleeing -

 

[Azura Cantarella]

APPLICATION RULES & GUIDELINES

1. If you wish to join, please post your character's profile in the Roleplay Resources Subforum, then PM the link to Azura Cantarella for review and approval.

2. You are only allowed to have four Main Characters, but there's no limit to Minor Characters and Cameos. However, the canon characters among the main Symphonia/DotNW cast, should you decide to pick up any one of them, will not count toward your Main Character count. Meaning, if you have 4 Main Characters but one of them is (for example) Genis, you are still considered as having 3 Main Characters and thus have room for one more other-world Main Character. But be sure you're not biting off more than you can chew!

3. Please read the Notices section, as it contains information about characters you might have been thinking of taking.

4. This probably goes without saying, but we will only accept ONE version of ANY canon character. For example, if someone claims Sonic the Hedgehog from the games' universe, we won't allow someone else to play Sonic from the comics' universe. Reason being, we don't want duplicates running around, that would kind of get too confusing.

5. We will only allow purely canon versions of canon characters from all fandoms. Reason being, if we allow someone to play an AU of a canon and someone else to play a purely canon version of another character from the same canon, there is the issue of clashing background details. Canon characters that may have character relations with OCs are very iffy, and will be discussed with you via PM.

6. We will certainly not accept characters that are practically godmoddy by default, like Flandre Scarlet from Touhou or Jack Noir from Homestuck. This should be self-explanatory.

7. To keep to a level of fairness for everyone, as reflected in the plot, it is mandatory for characters who are overpowered (or very close) to be modified to conform to the nature of the ToS universe and be on par with everyone else's characters. If you do not want to agree with that, then we cannot accept your character(s). We are aware that not everyone has the same perception of what's overpowered and what isn't, so the general RPing mods will correspond with you via PM regarding feedback on your character's abilities.

8. When it comes to making OCs, do beware of making Mary Sues or Gary Stus. It's a good idea have a look at the Guild Guide to Original RP Characters for tips on keeping yourself from doing so and building your characters in general. If you're going to stretch things a bit (like race, etc.), be ready to back it up well. Pitch your ideas in the OOC thread, and build your characters based on the feedback.  

[Azura Cantarella]

NOTICES

The Symphonia canon cast are all CPCs (Collective Player Characters) playable by anyone unless otherwise stated. This is so that in the event someone who has taken up one of them as a Main hasn't responded in too long or decides to leave the RP, any player in the vicinity of that character can temporarily write for them in order to move things along.

There is no need to make a profile for any Tales canon character, since it is obvious that they fit within the universe's rules and thus do not need any power-checking. It is a must, however, for minor characters whom we've never really seen the battle prowess of (i.e., the Wonder Chef, Dirk, Jozette Cecille, etc.). Here's the profile format for such characters:

[b]Character Name:[/b]
[b]Tales of...:[/b] (Tales game that character was in)
[b]Canon Point:[/b] (Was your character taken before, during, or after their game's events?)
[b]Means of Arrival:[/b] (How did your character turn up in Aselia? Only needs to be filled with " is a native resident of Aselia." if your character is from the ToS universe to begin with.)

[b]Protagonist or Antagonist?:[/b]
[b]Main or Minor?:[/b]
[b]Other Notes:[/b]

[b]Class:[/b] (Dual Swordsman? Mage? Healer?)
[b]Fighting Style:[/b] (A short description of how your character fights.)
[b]Weapon(s):[/b]
[b]Artes:[/b]

[b][u]Quotes[/u][/b] (Optional, does not affect the review of your profile and can be filled in later.)
Victory -
Low health -
Repeat battle (same enemy) -
Downed -
Revived -
Strong enemy -
Weak enemy -
Killing an enemy -
Fleeing -

Richter Abend is out of this, sorry. Unless you can convince us pretty damn well that there's a way to take him out of his place as the seal of Niflheim for a while. After some discussion between the mods, we decided the most we can do with Richter is leave him an CPC. There will be a point in the RP when he'll be visited and...perhaps something is going to happen at the seal. Keep your eyes peeled. c;

I also think Yuan can't be Mained either. In times like these, I doubt he'll ever want to leave the World Tree. But if you can convince me pretty damn well how he would, then he's yours for the taking.

We will not accept Pre-Kharlan War Mithos, Martel, Kratos, and Yuan on the premise that keeping them from meeting would undo the events of Tales of Symphonia, thus we can't be where we are today. Pre-Kharlan War OCs, however, are eligible as long as there is no implication that they did something significant regarding events leading up to or within the Kharlan War, especially anything that would affect the mentioned four. OCs from the future are eligible as well.  

[Azura Cantarella]

FAQ

If there's another issue that you feel should be addressed in this section, don't be shy to pitch me a question about it. (: It'll be added here.

Q: I'm not really feeling a character anymore and I want to drop them. Is that okay?

A: Sure! Just give a heads-up OOC that you intend to drop the character, then play up to an opportunity where they can say they want to go off to do their own thing. By default, it'll be assumed that some time after, they've been blinked back to their own world.

Q: I've suddenly got a lot of school/work/life issues to deal with and I don't think I can be as active anymore. Is it okay if I back out? If so, How?

A: Sure you can, real life always takes precedence over RP. Just write an exit for your character however you like. It doesn't have to be complex; it can be as simple as just stating that your character stumbled upon another portal that sent them home.

If you leave but have the intent to return sometime, I suggest having your character going off to do their own thing. That way, the other players whose characters have become grouped with yours can keep things moving, and you don't necessarily have to backread pages and pages upon your return.  

[Azura Cantarella]

CAST LIST

(Crossed-out names = Suspended Characters. May be removed in time.)

Tales Series

Main

Symphonia
Lloyd Irving - Azura Cantarella
(played under the account -I Lloyd Irving I-)
Kratos Aurion - Azura Cantarella
Emil Castagnier - Sirea Angelie

OCs
Rhone Craft - Fedora Warrior
Zaul Oleander - Azura Cantarella
(played under alternate account)
Fusso - ShadeKyubi

Abyss
Tear Grants - Sirea Angelie
Jade Curtiss - Azura Cantarella

Graces
Pascal - APH-Fem Canada-APH

Minor

Symphonia

Yuan Ka-Fai, Colette Brunel, Sheena Fujibayashi,
Raine Sage, Genis Sage - Azura Cantarella
(played under various accounts)
Presea Combatir - Sirea Angelie
Zelos Wilder - Fedora Warrior

OCs

(none)

CPCs
(*Please see the Notices section for further explanation on the following.)

Regal Bryant
Marta Lualdi
Richter Abend

Cameo

(none yet)

 

[Azura Cantarella]

Other-Fandom Canon Characters

(Crossed-out names = Suspended Characters. May be removed in time.)

Main

Final Fantasy
Aeris Gainsborough [VII] - Sirea Angelie

Legend of Dragoon
Dart Feld - Sirea Angelie

Star Fox
Krystal [Adventures] - Sirea Angelie

Minor

Legend of Dragoon
Rose - Sirea Angelie

Yu Yu Hakusho
Hiei - Sirea Angelie

Cameo

Gaia Online
Jack Frost [Bitter Frost CI] - Azura Cantarella

Klonoa
Klonoa - ShadeKyubi

Sonic the Hedgehog
Tails Doll - ShadeKyubi

 

[Azura Cantarella]

Original Characters

(Crossed-out names = Suspended Characters. May be removed in time.)

Fandom-Based

Main

Gaia Online
Azura Cantarella

Sonic the Hedgehog
Fiora Blackthorn [Fleetway Comics] - ShadeKyubi

Minor

Gaia Online
Chartreuse Verdantine - Azura Cantarella

Cameo

(none yet)

Pure Originals

Main

Lutz - ShadeKyubi
Scythe - ShadeKyubi

Minor

Azriel Serafina-Donovan - Azura Cantarella (played under alternate account)
Eloysio Donovan - Azura Cantarella (played under alternate account)

 

[Azura Cantarella]

ADDENDUM

(These are notes about minor additional elements in the roleplay.)

Stragglers

Unbeknownst to both the Aselian and otherworldly heroes alike, little bits of the latter's original worlds have followed them there, caught up in the random rifts that the anomalies shrouding Aselia creates. Namely, in the form of other living creatures native to their worlds---meaning enemy monsters and the like.

You're allowed to spawn such whenever you'd like during the RP. They won't require a profile, but because of this they ought to be defeated within the battle they're involved in. Some significantly strong creatures could even be brought in for side "boss battles", but they shouldn't have too much bearing on the plot. They'll only serve as evidence of otherworldly beings leaking into the world of Aselia.

Also, if caught under a Shadow of Corruption, the creatures will undergo the same effects as the monsters native to Aselia. They'll mutate, bulking up and taking on twisted forms signifying that they have greatly increased in strength, and start to take on a bloodlusty, berserk demeanor.

> Side Note: Scythe's Chaotic Handiwork

Just a heads-up. ShadeKyubi will sometimes bring in random monsters from random fandoms of his choosing since his antagonist character, Scythe, linked more worlds to Aselia. For the record, the monsters he chooses will never be from the rest of our characters' original worlds.

Pokémon Bonds

Wild Pokémon are trickling into Aselia as well. Therefore, this opens up the possibility of your characters forming bonds with any Pokémon of your choosing. This is completely optional, meaning you don't have to do it if you're not feeling it.

Once your character starts having a Pokémon in their company, you must provide this short profile under their Other Notes section:

[b][u]Pokémon Bonded With[/u][/b]

[b]Pokémon:[/b] (species name)
[b]Nickname:[/b] (optional)
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Known Moves:[/b]

Of course, there are limits:

● Legendary Pokémon are excluded. They're too overpowered to have, period. And it's not as easy as saying "oh I'll just have them not fight then". When a Pokémon doesn't have the option of running away or letting others fight in its stead, it will attack in instinctive self-defense.

● Mega Evolution is allowed, but I don't want characters finding Key Stones and Mega Stones way too quickly and easily. Space out these events fairly. Furthermore (and gameplay mechanics aside), Mega Evolution shouldn't work if a Pokémon's bond with a character isn't strong enough.

● Non-Trainer characters can only bond with a maximum of two Pokémon. Reasons being:

Quote:

When you think about it, that's practically up to six little characters (if having a full team were allowed) traveling along with your main character, with their own little personalities and therefore unique reactions to situations. Even though your character would be the focus, that still makes for quite a crowd if you'll have them join other people. Furthermore, Non-Trainer characters would not have the convenience of Pokéballs to hide them away if trying to manage responses for them all starts becoming overwhelming.

Quote:

Non-Trainers also haven't lived with Pokémon. Having more than one or two would be overwhelming. Trainers spend their entire childhoods hoping to have a Pokémon; many often learn ahead of time how to care for a Pokémon.

If you have any more questions about this, please don't be afraid to ask! smile  

[Azura Cantarella]

CHARACTER SUSPENSIONS

Okay, I admit that this likely seems like a pretty rude move. But it's happened far too often that it's made me wanna put my foot down.

I have implemented a system that "freezes" inactive players' characters so that those of us left can move on.

I remember being suggested that inactive players' characters can be treated as "in the back of the party", which would be fine, but...there's still the matter of the current interactions yet to be concluded. And like...as we've all observed...conversations have a tendency of taking months to finish...due to people forgetting this guild and RP are here, or perhaps interest in Gaia entirely is dwindling. I used to send PMs frequently, but to be honest, I eventually got tired of it. Still am.

I get that life happens, but those of us who are left also have that too. And yet still take care to check in often and keep each other updated about whether we can reply ASAP or not.

So, this "freezing" system goes like this. If some people have been left waiting a month at most with no notice as to why, I'll make a post in the RP that the characters involved in interactions that have been left hanging that long have vanished before the others' eyes. Dimensional distortions are happening all over the place, after all. That way, characters belonging to those still consistently active have a reason to move on. The characters on the inactive side are in some sort of suspension, frozen in time. Should these people decide to return, the characters can get unstuck, but find themselves having jumped to a future time for some reason. I could elaborate further if needed.

You could still give us a heads-up, but bear in mind that things will still move forward with or without you in a month. If you don't know when you'll be free to reply again, then it's best that you make your characters exit the RP yourself.

If another month has transpired from the time the Suspension Event Marker has been posted without any kind of reply from you, then your characters will be removed entirely from the roster.

SUSPENDED CHARACTERS

(Currently None)

REMOVED CHARACTERS
Hubert Oswell
Gaius and Muzét
Euphema Hope Estheim
Soul Eater Evans and Maka Albarn
Seishin
Sesshomaru and Rin
Crow
Richard (and Lambda the Zorua)
Mikhail
Hiccup and Toothless
Yohan (Yvonne Estheim-Pristi'Sofia)
Issun Kulai and Daemorai
Daermod and Chani Arlic
Byakuya Kuchiki and Senbonzakura (and Cherrim)
Mikhail
Likaia
Repede
Elle Mel Kresnik
Nia Teppelin
Maiku Yamayaki

 

[Azura Cantarella]

(reserved)  

[Azura Cantarella]

(reserved)