So we're just mashing in everything into here until I can get a more organized system. Thankee.
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Some guidelines for roleplaying:
--If you want anyone to be able to join, label the thread as an open RP ([ORP]). If it's private, label it [PRP].
--Don't godmod, or control someone else's character.
--Don't be super-powerful and demigodly.
--No killing off other people's pets randomly.
--Use some way to distinguish In Character from Out Of Character talk when you're roleplaying.
Here are some pointers on the Maneki Neko world:
Roleplay Settings
All non-Heaven’s Plains roleplay takes place on Earth--plain old ordinary Earth. This means that any human characters you play must be plain old ordinary humans, not elves or vampires or anthros, and they can have no special powers like magic use, psychic abilities, or the like. Your human character may gain minor magical abilities due to its experiences with their Maneki Neko, but otherwise, cut the supernatural. You can also not have magical items, or super-futuristic stuff.
Who You Can Roleplay
You may only roleplay human characters, your Maneki Neko, and their spirit guides. Feel free to join in the roleplay with a human character even if you don’t have a Maneki Neko! If you have a spirit guide but not a Maneki Neko, there are no restrictions on roleplaying it all by itself so go ahead.
Note that you don’t need to roleplay a human if you don’t want to. Lone Maneki Neko and spirit guides are perfectly acceptable.
Maneki Neko and Their Powers
The Maneki Neko are newborn spirits from Heaven’s Plains, brought to Earth. When they start as figurines, Maneki Neko only have the magical ability to subliminally influence the thoughts of those in their spiritual aura (10-15 feet when a figurine, grows progressively smaller as the Maneki Neko matures). Maneki Neko can begin to learn other abilities--such as the ability to talk telepathically, influence elements, create illusions, heal, or attack with magic, once they are adolescent. Typically, Maneki Neko only specialize in one type of magic. Do not make your Maneki Neko super-powerful.
Spirit Guides
Spirit guides can be roleplayed on Earth or Heaven’s Plains, but they cannot move from one to the other on their own. When bonded to a Maneki Neko, they will each have a dim awareness of each other’s location and whether they are healthy. Spirit guides can be bonded at any time in their life, so having a backstory of the spirit guide before they bonded is perfectly acceptable. Spirit guides have different magical powers, depending on the species, that they can use. The exact way they use magic varies from individual to individual, but each spirit’s species has a specialty that they are confined to. Do not abuse these powers and make your spirit guide super-powerful, and do not give them magical powers drastically different from their specialty power.
You can roleplay your Maneki Neko just about anywhere you want on Earth. Here are some notable locations in the Maneki Neko world:
The Maneki Neko Shop
A shop that looks small but is actually quite spacious on the inside. Its display shelves are filled with Maneki Neko of all shapes and sizes. A sign over the door reads “Maneki Neko” and under it is a notice, “All cats welcome.” You can always find a few people inside chatting, and bobtail cats roam freely around the display stands. A door in the main shop leads to a large back room where owners and Maneki Neko come to meet and chat. Michiko and Keiko reside in this shop, and are happy to assist new Maneki Neko owners with their pets.
Okugi Park
This park can be found a few blocks away from the Maneki Neko shop. It is a popular place for Maneki Neko and their owners to meet. The concentration of Maneki Neko spirits has caused quite a few other supernatural entities to gather in this park as well... there are rumors of a Kappa that has taken up residence in the small pond, and on the moonless night, some say that ghostly kitsune-bi--fox-fire--lights up the playground, though nobody has ever seen the source of the magical flames.
Heaven’s Plains
A place in the spirit realm that is the home of all kami, and also where Maneki Neko originally come from. As its name suggests, a good deal of it is flat, but towering forests rise to the east, and a mountain range can be seen in the distance beyond those forests. Things look and operate remarkably similarly to the real world in Heaven’s Plains, with the exception that there are obvious supernatural phenomenon like giant monsters and tiny sprites and magic all around. The place is inhabited by both good and evil spirits, and these spirits have settlements and cities just like people do in the physical world. (Most spirits will be based on Japanese folklore.)
The spirits of Maneki Neko come from this place, and they can only travel back and forth again once they have grown to adults. To do so, they concentrate their spiritual energy and use a spell to open a small portal into the world. It takes a bit of practice to master but is not extremely hard. Humans can travel through the portal into the plains with the help of their Maneki Neko--their physical bodies temporarily vanish and they enter the realm as spirits.
Origin Town
It was found long ago that all undirected Maneki Neko portals from Earth open within 100 feet of a certain spot in Heaven's Plains. One smart Tengu thought of opening a Ramen shop to cater to travelers coming from the area, and soon a whole town sprung up around the profitable spot. You can find hotels, shops, souvenirs, and all kinds of merchants floating around this sprawling town. Keep on your guard, though--more than one unsuspecting owner new to Heaven's Plains has found themselves fleeced by a swindling con artist.
