[Pokemon/PTU] What if the Extremists won?

[Kuro Dmon]

I was talking with a few friends while on a trip, and some how the conversation, while in Pokemon, lead to us talking about the differences in Evil Teams; how in particular some of the more recent ones had been misguided, or public menaces, or otherwise not actually that threatening, as opposed to the Criminals we used to face in Pokemon; those ECO Terrorists and Yakuza and Madmen literally wanting to shape the world the way they want to, sometimes to catastrophic ends.

And it gave me an idea for a game pitch (though not one I've got the chops to math out and think about enough to be able to run myself): what if they won?

What if some team got their hands on their Legendary of Choice, and succeeded at what they intended to do with them? A group like Team Rocket might have been more subtle about manipulating things from their positions of power, but they're still pretty cruel. Magma and Aqua were somewhat well intentioned if I remember correctly, even wanting to reverse what they had done when they succeeded, though certainly clashing enough with each other when both were active...

More to the point of this idea, though, are some of the others. Team Galactic, Team Plasma, Team Flare... They had much more nebulous and potentially disastrous plans in mind for the Pokemon World... Imagine being an up and coming trainer in their upper teens (because this idea is of course meant with a bit of realism, and it's a bit more adult than sending out 10 year olds into professional dog fighting), contemplating your future adventures or career with Pokemon, when you hear news reports or see sirens going off... maybe you don't even get a warning, other than looking over the horizon and seeing the sky a much less natural color than it has any right to be.

I'm not super into grimdark, but playing as the folks trying to help rebuild the world, or at least survive after it had been laid to waste by some psycho's machinations, honestly sounds like a fun time. The former hopeful trying to find a new way, maybe some oldies wishing they had done more than spectate the affairs. Maybe some repentant criminal types who didn't realize what cause they had been serving, or some more self-serving folk trying to hide just how much more liberating the new world is.

TLDR: a Pokemon themed game, set in a Post Apocalyptic Setting.

Certainly sounds like an interesting game idea to me; wonder if anyone else would be interested in this? Mind, the hardest part is always trying to find someone also willing to run such an idea...

Quick Edit: system wise, I'm used to just PTU in regards to Pokemon, but doing something less rules intense, such as a variant of Fate, for the sake of roleplay focus, also sounds fun.



DM has been found, and interest is already closed... don't know why I can't seem to edit the tag, though...

[Paladin12]

Love this system, and have always wanted to play, but, unfortunately, have not played most games, do not know the plots, and have low gming experience. Plan to run a game in a league setting soon, just working o the adventure.

[DasIrrlicht]

I should have posted here earlier.
I am always interested in a PTU game, as a player.
When a DM is found however, I do wanna know how they plan to do combat before joining up.

[Paladin12]

What do you mean by how they do combat?

[DasIrrlicht]

What do you mean by how they do combat?

In PbP. How do they deal with ranges, is there a map, how long do people have time to do their turns, do they roll to hit and roll for damage in the same post or do they have to wait for confirmation on the hit, ecetra. Or does one instead agree on a time all players are vaialable and deal with combat within a handfull of irl hours?

[Paladin12]

In PbP. How do they deal with ranges, is there a map, how long do people have time to do their turns, do they roll to hit and roll for damage in the same post or do they have to wait for confirmation on the hit, ecetra. Or does one instead agree on a time all players are vaialable and deal with combat within a handfull of irl hours?

I would do abstract differences,1 day, yes, and I would just do regular pbp combat

[Cerespirin]

Plus-one to the "potentially interested" pile. I would like to abstain from pitching a character concept until I know more about what the GM has planned, but ideally I'd like to play the child of a major villain with conflicted loyalties and feelings about the whole situation they find themselves in.

[Paladin12]

I am currently starting a ptu game on here, if anyone s interested.

[Kuro Dmon]

What do you mean by how they do combat?

A note here that hasn't been pushed in your other thread,


I am currently starting a ptu game on here, if anyone s interested.

and the reason why I'm not applying to it as a substitute to this idea, is that there's a much different matter of Tone, between "Young Adult League Romp" and "Rebuilding the World Post Catastrophe". I'd imagine "league official" matches wouldn't be as much of a concern in the Pokemon equivalent of Mad Max with people picking up the pieces of their once shattered lives. Threatening other trainers directly, stealing from and hurting humans if need be; probably a lot more dirty fighting; those sorts of things would be reprehensible if we were just cruising along trying to get our 8 Gym Badges, but might come quite naturally to people who are doing whatever they need to to survive.


Plus-one to the "potentially interested" pile. I would like to abstain from pitching a character concept until I know more about what the GM has planned, but ideally I'd like to play the child of a major villain with conflicted loyalties and feelings about the whole situation they find themselves in.

Case in point. Child of a Major Villain is a fun idea (see Silver), but the nuance between someone who has parental issues while society is still in place, I imagine, would be quite different to someone torn up by being part of that parent effectively damaging the entire world, and maybe even forcing them to help with it.

[BaconTomato]

Likewise potentially interested. Agreed with Cerespirin though, more info needed.

[Kuro Dmon]

I wonder if this might get more GM interest, at least midway through the Holiday season...

I swear I remember seeing ideas for darker/gritty Pokemon Games being popular in the past, even if I'd hope this could have a hopeful element to it...

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

So, this does give me an idea. I still plan to run another game using PTU, so I might make a version of FATE core or accelerated for this.

Long ago, the WORLD was home
to two kinds of creatures:
HUMANS and POKéMON.

They lived in peace,
depending on each other for
fighting and self-expression.

Over time, the humans grew
jealous and possessive of
their companions.

They did everything they
could to control them, and
commanded them as tyrants.

Angered by their arrogance,
a SAGE found and gathered
three LEGENDARY POKéMON.

Together they created a
SECOND WORLD, and banished
the humans there.


Many years later . . .

[Paddywagon Man]

I'd honestly be happy to run this in PTU, I just won't have the time at least until mid-December or January. If another GM steps up before then I'd certainly join as a player though.

[Cerespirin]

So, this does give me an idea. (...)

It is not clear from this pitch what game game would be about. I am also very skeptical of using Fate for a pokemon game, speaking from the position of having tried to run a game in the system before.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

It is not clear from this pitch what game game would be about.

Yeah, I see your point. It doesn't say much about what's actually happening in the game, huh? :smalltongue:

The "Red" version of what I've been working on is a game I started a while back, which I am now revising to restart it soon. In Pokesona Red, the setting is mostly based on the Persona series, using Pokemon's monsters and mechanics.

The plan for this new idea would be to do that the other way around. It would be a game that takes place in the Pokemon universe, but due to the shenanigans of Team Evil, the pokemon aren't around so much. I'm torn between the post-apocalypse version where you're dealing with the world's crumbling economy and infrastructure, or the Modern version where pokemon have been mostly forgotten and the problems arise from some of them coming back.

Either way, things will have been altered to the point where it feels like a different game entirely. Hence the idea of using a non-PTU system.


I am also very skeptical of using Fate for a pokemon game, speaking from the position of having tried to run a game in the system before.

Interesting! I admit I already figured we'd have to bolt on some weighty extra rules to make it work. What happened when you tried to run it, and what made it feel so off?

[Cerespirin]

Ah! Usually the portmanteau I see is "personamon" and not "pokesona." I've actually both played and run a Personamon game apiece in PTU and come up with various systems to make it work. I even have a mapping of types to the Major Arcana and mechanics for triangle fusion based on shadow purification from Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness. I have a lot of ideas for such a game I never got to use.

A PokeFate conversion only really needs to be as complicated as you want to make it. The best possible PokeFate approach, I think, is to translate the five key stats Pokemon stats into approaches based on their contest stats; Tough, Cool, Cute, Clever, Beauty. That gives you a wider spread of actions and you could even use the same mechanics for PCs if you want. Furnish with two-to-three aspects for types and a general description of the pokemon, and a few stunts for signature moves and abilities. The problem I found is that there is so much more to pokemon than just what you can represent with what's on Bulbapedia and eventually you need to start making **** up. In my experience most GMs can't homebrew their way out of a wet paper bag, so I find it better to just default to PTU because it has out-of-the-box support for stuff like athletics, phasing, mounting, etc. I don't know, though; it just... never felt right to me, especially knowing PTU is right there, y'know?

[Kuro Dmon]

Heh. Now that my biggest project has more of a direction, I can give this another poke, as well as others in general.

I definitely didn't want to twist the idea around. The Pokesona/Personamon idea is a separate venture, and while still interested in it, that's not what this was going to be about.

Still don't mind someone adventurous trying to do it in homebrew if they had an idea, or relying on and working with PTU, workable warts and all.

Just a matter of finding someone interested in a hopefully idea wrapped in a darkish setting. Particularly now that the holidays are over, anyway...

[tonberryking]

I actually had an idea long ago for a “what if Team Rocket won?” scenario for a game and pictured like… a cruel oligarch regime/police state now in control of the Kanto region and looking for any excuse to expand. The players would be the very last trainers the Rockets had either tried to arrest or were force conscripting them. A subplot would entail you rescuing your separated Pokémon.

Of course… I have way to much on my plate at this time to try running this but I would love to play in anyone else’s post apoc or distopian adventure over another league campaign.

[DasIrrlicht]

Just a matter of finding someone interested in a hopefully idea wrapped in a darkish setting. Particularly now that the holidays are over, anyway...

I am very much willing to give this a shot as a GM (Persona is not my cup of tea anyways, I rather have it slightly more traditional Pokémon), the question would be what Villainous Teams success I should focus on if we do it. I am gonna throw in the following options:


Team Rocket - Their main goal was always consolidating Money, Influence & Power. In this dark future, your safety is under the boots of grunts with no skill but raw strength. Its their Admins that keep them from infighting, and as long as they stick together the league lacks the strength to tackle them.
Team Aqua - There is to much of a good thing. The Region is flooded in what is best described as a Wind Waker scenario. Aqua members rose to traditional Piracy in this world but have only a lose grip over the places there still are. A group calling themself Magma has some ideas on how to return the sunken lands.
Team Magma - There is to much of a good thing. The drought has hit the region so badly that the coastlines retreated and the plants inland wilted, causing additional threats of starvation. A few Powerful Magma members still belive this world to be superior and fight the attempts of the Aqua Organisation to restore the old balance.
Both Magma & Aqua - The Weather is simply put, a catastrophy. Human Life is restricted to the few towns that managed to hold fast against the weather, as well as some enclaves on remote instalations and of course, the Mauville City Complex. Aqua and Magma are reduced to the members that managed to hide away as their fights made them to weak to be a opressive force of themself, yet they still interfere when people wander into the wilderness to find ways to better their situation.
Team Galactic - Cyrus deleted humanity, there is no game.
Team Plasma - Team Plasma has managed to split people from Pokémon... And abused the situation to grab for power. Between the ones that are true to their stated goal and the ones that are true to their actual goal a civil war started. A fight between knights in shining armor with their willing partners and ruthless rulers with subjugated monsters, and with Pokéballs now near non-existant outside of Ghetsis-Plasmas hands, the odds are heavily favoring the mastermind...
Neo Team Plasma - Unova is in peril. Neo-Plasma has frozen over vast stretches of the region, and uses the threat of their airships to keep the rest down under their heel. Open revolt is not a option as to much heat will simply result in whole towns being destroyed. However, there is plenty of discontent, and if one could eliminate the threat of the ice, the people could be willing to fight back...
Team Flare - A incoherent thematical mess. Does commit a omnicide so not really a option to do a after Flare.
Lusamine - The uncontroled release of Ultra Beasts started to collapse eco-systems all around the world. Some places are hit worse then others, but the constant threat of yet a greater monster attacking has to be countered someway. Even groups that traditionally do not get along are more focused on saftey then fighting each other, but tensions stay on the edge as nobody was able to properly stop the opening of wormholes yet.
Team Rainbow Rocket - Simelar to a Rocket Victory, but with a heavier Cyberpunk approach and streaks of ultraspace enduced chaos.
That Rose Guy - Yeah, either its a Gigantapocalypse or just business as usual in the electricity sector.
Volo - Unpredicatble to me, not exactly a thing left to do.
Professor S - PTU is not properly updated for Gen 9 last I checked. Otherwise, Time Traveling Pokémon do the Lusamine thing instead of Ultrabeasts.
Professor T - PTU is not properly updated for Gen 9 last I checked. Otherwise, Time Traveling Pokémon do the Lusamine thing instead of Ultrabeasts.
Other - That is hitting the big ones. Given, there is plenty of more out there but most are just slight flavour variations of the bog ones in that regard.

More details would naturally come once the basic direction is decided on. Like accessibility of stuff, or a few minor historic moments characters should know, maybe a proper outline of whatever regime is doing. Normal Stuff. Big 16 basically.

[tonberryking]

I would be down for either of the Rocket scenarios. Magma and Aqua feel like we’d possibly need to factor in Pokémon mounts or vehicles, personally.

[Kuro Dmon]

I am very much willing to give this a shot as a GM (Persona is not my cup of tea anyways, I rather have it slightly more traditional Pokémon), the question would be what Villainous Teams success I should focus on if we do it.
Heh. I shouldn't be so pleasantly surprised, and yet here I stand. :smallwink:

Hm... I would have imagined that even some of the more apocalyptic scenarios could still be on the table, though obviously instead of everyone being dead, the world would have just been heavily scarred from it. To use Galactic as an example, I would have imagined something from the Platinum side of the table, where maybe the portal that Giratina opened never closed, and those ripples heavily influenced the land...

But that's just a knee-jerk reaction to it. Looking through the list a couple of times, I feel like I like the Emerald-Saga Scenario (both Magma & Aqua) or the Wormhole Conundrum, though Neo Team Plasma and Team Rocket Classic would be my runner-ups. With most of them, a somewhat diverse effect on the environment seems favorable for adventuring struggles and roleplay, but I also apparently like Plasma enough that I've accidentally called other groups Team Plasma. :smalltongue:

I could go with any of those directions or similar, with an emphasis for players to be crafting, if not able to defend those who can. Maybe both. Other matters would depend on narrowing scope down a bit further, and maybe some input from anyone else with an opinion on the idea. I'm just here for Pokemon x Mad Max / Fist of the North Star.

[tonberryking]

I'm still leaning towards a Rocket-pocalypse, personally, but I do feel that Plasma would also be a good enemy faction.

But as you said, that would make crafting an issue if those guys have banned/hoarded all the poketech, leaving us to catch pokemon with our bare hands without means of keeping them safe from Plasma grunts with a bunch of pokeballs, unless we all took that...talent I think that lets us make pokeballs from woodland materials.

Rocket still feels like the easier way to go. They're flat out criminals, and while buildings/society would still be more intact than any settlement Kenshiro would wander up to in a full blown apocalypse, it could still be really chaotic and unpredictable if Admin A is running Lavender as a factory town where the people are no better than serfs and over there Admin G is running Viridian under martial law, etc. etc. It would give us choices/more options on how to deal with the problem opposed to Plasma having a more centralized seat of Power we'd have to pick apart slowly.

[Volthawk]

Oh nice, this got a GM. Taking the opportunity to state interest, then - I saw this thread before but kinda forgot to actually post until I noticed it got bumped up.

As far as the scenarios go...

The Gen 3 based ones have the "Gen I played the most as a kid" bias and the environmental nature of the threat could lead to some interesting challenges and really make use of how PTU factors in the non-combat abilities of Pokemon...but at the same time, between the nature of said environmental problems (particularly if going for just one Team winning, like the Aquapocalypse strongly encouraging everyone to get a swimming+mountable mon ASAP) and the ecological effects it causes, might have an undesirable effect on Pokemon and team diversity. Bonus points for being able to dunk on the Teams for being total idiots (meant in the most affectionate way, love those morons).
The straight-up bad guys in charge scenarios (Rocket, Neo Plasma, Rainbow Rocket) are probably the easiest to structure a game around without running into many issues. Out of them, I'd say it'd probably be best to go with original Rocket and keep the focus on the Team members as the threat.
Plasma gets special mention for doing kinda interesting things to the Pokemon-catching dynamic (presumably our starters would be around because they like us, and then team expansion would either require narrative stuff to get the Pokemon on-side or making apricorn ball crafting a key part of the process) and the internal civil war angle is pretty interesting too.
Lusamine and the Ultra Beasts are pretty interesting as far as enemies goes, and when you factor in the ways PTU has of mixing things up and/or making Pokemon stronger in more interesting ways than just high level there's a lot you could do with them as threats. Might have less to work with when it comes to relatable/interactive antagonists, though.

[DasIrrlicht]

[...]

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Three players would feel appropriate for PTU, being that it has a naturally slow combat system. Especially with priority and interrupts being a thing.
My personal favorite would be the Gen 3 themed scenarios, followed closely by the plasma civil war and then the traditional bad-guy-in-charge.

So if for the climate catastrophes 'getting a mount/vehicle' is your biggest concern I can calm that one down. There is little to no point in not giving the option, and the Mountable Capability is strictly a list of suggestions and not a rule. A lot of Pokémon can be argued to be mountable that do not have the capability, or otherwise be utilized to help. To quote the corebook: "A school of Magikarp could hold a mattress up and make a raft." So don't feel to restricted for that.

Regarding Team Diversity, Pokémon are hardy little creatures, but the Magma scenario in specific could have some imbalance as grass & water types would have a exceptionally hard time, unlike the Aqua scenario where one can argue for the diversity offered by islands.
The plain 'Evil-Team-In-Charge' does keep the regions more in-tact... mostly... so there would be a bias regarding the mons available.

However I think it feels far to say that anything we play would be set at least a few years after things have gone down. Close enough for Characters to remember the better times, far enough that life is starting to adapt.

Regardless what we would aim to go for, I do want to throw in some important mechanical notes and a important question:

I would probably start you at TL 5 with one or two Lvl 10 mons, depending on what scenario one goes for. Starting money & equipment pretty much dependent on scenario as well.
To ease the combat slightly, Trainer Turns simply happen at the same time as their Pokémon Turns. This possibly gets some unforseen consequences but should speed up combat rounds significantly. (Taking the Pokémons speed for initiative for ease of play.) [Obviously, League Rules never apply, cause you know, setting.]
The big question: Tone? Every of the scenarios has potential to be played with more or less cruelty. Is knockout the standard or do the villains aim to murder anyone opposing them? Should the good guy players even consider killing a enemy as a option? If yes, is any enemy fair game or just the bosses? Puts the stakes of every encounter into some perspective.
Also, you mention 'Fist of the North Star' and after getting caught up on that via the medium of movies that is Mad Max but martial artists can make heads explode, and I am curious how you envision that translated to Pokémon.

[Volthawk]

My personal favorite would be the Gen 3 themed scenarios, followed closely by the plasma civil war and then the traditional bad-guy-in-charge.

Those scenarios as the main contenders works for me. I'd say out of those, my preferences in order would be Magma+Aqua/Plasma/Aqua/Rocket/Magma/others. So doubling down on what makes the Gen 3 scenarios unique, then the Plasma scenario's whole premise being quite interesting, then island hopping waterworld sounding kinda fun, and then the rest (Magma behind my frontrunner for ruling-type teams since, well, the drought environment doesn't feel that interesting to me, as much as Groudon is my boy).


<diversity and mount stuff>

All fair enough points, just felt like it was worth mentioning.


However I think it feels far to say that anything we play would be set at least a few years after things have gone down. Close enough for Characters to remember the better times, far enough that life is starting to adapt.

Yeah, that makes sense to me.


Regardless what we would aim to go for, I do want to throw in some important mechanical notes and a important question:

I would probably start you at TL 5 with one or two Lvl 10 mons, depending on what scenario one goes for. Starting money & equipment pretty much dependent on scenario as well.
To ease the combat slightly, Trainer Turns simply happen at the same time as their Pokémon Turns. This possibly gets some unforseen consequences but should speed up combat rounds significantly. (Taking the Pokémons speed for initiative for ease of play.) [Obviously, League Rules never apply, cause you know, setting.]

Those changes make sense. I suppose trainer and pokemon turns being simultaneous makes sense too since, well, these settings are probably ones where trainer combat isn't that uncommon (and from what I remember of PTU discourse, trainer combat is pretty good).


The big question: Tone? Every of the scenarios has potential to be played with more or less cruelty. Is knockout the standard or do the villains aim to murder anyone opposing them? Should the good guy players even consider killing a enemy as a option? If yes, is any enemy fair game or just the bosses? Puts the stakes of every encounter into some perspective.

Yeah...this is a tough one. I'd rather not go full edgy on the whole, but I suppose these settings are all ones where killing being on the table makes sense, and even it being the norm would be workable. So I guess my preference would be knockout normally, but with killing on the table for bosses and unusual situations and the like? That sounds...about right, I think.

[tonberryking]

It feels like a Gen 3 scenario is the favorite here.

So if I had to pick one of them, I'd go with "Magma+Aqua" over "Aqua Wins" or "Magma Wins" in that order of preference.

All the mechanics discussed here also seem okay with me, but I do plan on trying to see if I can get a mount or a future mount among my pair of Pokemon. My only questions are A): Are supernatural/GoT Classes on the table, and B): regardless of how much starting money we get, would we get any sort of freebies like free tent/camping gear or even an evo stone if we could use one at this "stage"?

As for tone...

While anybody who knows of my PTU track record is aware I tend to play one specific character, repeatedly, I am going to try to make a Non-Sophie PC, but they would still be combat oriented if at all possible. Meaning they fight pokemon and people. But I'm with Volthawk: Let's keep things below lethality most of the time unless something is escalated or we're up against a Boss. A few steps below *actual* Fist of the North Star "everybody who isn't Kenshiro head-explodes sooner or later" levels.


Things are dismal and oppressive, but we're on a quest to make friends with pokemon and repair a broken world. It should feel like we have, however small, a chance to persevere.

[Kuro Dmon]

I normally slice together quotes, but I'ma be lazy and just do thoughts.

@Teams: The main reason Team Rocket isn't higher up in my rankings is because I always imagined, even since the beginning of bringing up this idea, that the Yakuzies would be the team most likely to support the world being normal. They liked to rule from the shadows, or at least over a society they can properly benefit from. Giovanni and his ilk didn't strike me as Extremists. Not that they aren't willing to touch too much science, such as with Mewtwo (or in the Manga, things like the BirdFusion). I just didn't see it as well. Even less so for Rainbow Rocket, but I also don't know enough about them.
But yeah, Giovanni might be arrogant and rule the world, but I don't imagine him trying to take overt control of it. Big shadow type. Frankly, becoming an official League Gym Leader, as if making a play to gain political power from making a grab towards championship, seems like the sort of thing he'd have done.

But, I can be convinced. And ultimately, which ever dystopian future we were to get thrown into, the flavor of them shouldn't conflict too heavily with the "Dark but hopeful" tone. So while I have preferences, I guess the only ones not really viable are the outright apocalyptic ones... and the only ones I'd say should also be struck off are individual Gen 3 ones, since the conflict is probably more interesting for both Role and Roll play. I'm imagining a trainer with a green thumb who has to work to help grow crops when possible, and some days the weather cooperates, and some days it's made way more difficult, be it too much water/sun, or not enough.



@Mounts: Regardless if there were a massive drought or constant flood, or even in some of the other scenarios with Ultra Space or Temporal Shenanigans or what ever, I'd be upset in *any* game if we didn't have the chance to ride our Pokemon. Some might be better at it or at doing combat with it or what not, but it's such a ubiquitous idea from the moment we as gamers first used Surf/Fly, let alone when Ash got to experience aerial combat on that Charizard.



@Diversity: not much to say, just a nitpick that some Grass Types would absolutely flourish under the Magma Scenario. Growth, Solar Beam, Chlorophyll, Flower Gift, Solar Power, Leaf Guard, Harvest... we got plenty of options there to make up for the increased fire power. :smallwink:

I would also agree that a world set at Ground Zero for these effect isn't what I had in mind. I figured long enough for the Extremeness to have formed into some twisted sense of normalcy, with a mix of folk trying to survive and contemplate doing something to fix it. At least, back when this idea came up in October...



And as for Tone; I did mention Hokuto No Max, but largely for the visual of walking wastelands sort of vibe while trying to survive. I would never push for something quite so dark as to expect killing each other to be the complete norm in Pokemon (though I'm open to that level of violence potentially occurring, and people contrasting each other on what to do with enemies could be interesting for roleplay...). Very much wanting knock out to be the main option for us "Nonvillains", if only because we're the ones wanting and willing to fix the world around us, not exploit it for money or destroy it for some stupid philosophical point.
The other main reason I referenced Mad Ken is just to remove any ambiguity on the idea of trainers being put in danger. League Rules are for casual sparing between allies or maybe the more sensible folk trying to decide a circumstance "1v1 and if you win, I'll trade you for 60% of the hall. I win, 40%." sorta thing. Even as I actively consider building someone who *can't* easily defend themselves as a trainer (if only to contrast the previous 2 PTU games where each trainer were more than willing to throw hands alongside their Pokemon), I understand such a trainer would be at a deficit in a world where enemies could easily catch me, put a knife to my neck, and demand an ally surrender their stuff in exchange for my safety (assuming this support-y trainer endeared them enough for their lives to have a worth).
But at the same time, aside from matters of questioning if something too dark is even allowed to be on the forum, it's also not as fun for me to play. Picking up the pieces, trying to get small wins at reclaiming some semblance of sanity in the world, having some hope and reason to continue on; that's a lot more fun. The Darkness is just there set the stage for the type of challenges, but not be the end-goal. At least not how I see it, anyway.

I guess it's the ultimate example of Villains Act, Heroes React. Some selfish, foolish person literally destroyed out world. But we're still alive and in it, so let's see what we can do with what remains down the line.



.... I said I was gonna be lazy, and ended up writing a Theseus Statement...

I will note, it's funny to imagine Hoenn being the one that gets picked, when those leaders were the ones that *did* succeed, only to immediately regret it afterwards. It's why I initially ruled them out... but that's how it goes sometimes. :smalltongue:

Did I ask 16 related questions, for info aside from if 3 is the max player count and if I should close this now, DasIrrlicht?

[tonberryking]

Also, after musing on it, if GoT and Supernaturals are allowed, I'mma make an Apparition/Ninja combo.

[DasIrrlicht]

Let me just glue together the big 16 quick:


1. What game system are you running (D&D, Call of Cthulu, Palladium, GURPS, etc.), and if applicable what edition (Original, Classic, Revised, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 10th, etc.)?
PTU
2. What 'type' or variant of game will it be (i.e. "Shadow Chasers" or "Agents of Psi" for d20 Modern)? What is the setting for the game (eg. historic period, published or homebrewed campaign setting, alternate reality, modern world, etc.)?
Hoenn Post-Apocalypse: The Weather is WACK. The Emerald Scenario run to the extreme of never being resolved made travel and life in the Hoenn region exceptionally problematic. Many towns became unable to sustain themself and have been abandoned, and the clusters of civilisation have to send out parties to retrive anything useful to hold on and out. After Six years, the chances that the weather ever normalises again seem slim, but humanity never stops working.
3. How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many?
The Three already here.
4. What's the gaming medium (OOTS, chat, e-mail etc.)?
This forum. A IC & a OOC Thread.
5. What is the characters' starting status (i.e. experience level)?
5th Trainer level. Two Pokémon each at Level 10. Underdog not required but you are encouraged to be reasonable. If they can evolve at that level, they may be evolved.
6. How much gold or other starting funds will the characters begin with?
7500P seems reasonable. No gear is pre-provided and you have access to all shopping before gamestart. After that local availability possibly becomes relevant.
7. Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc. that you want... or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes?
Core, GoT, the three Errata & DPDoM's Jailbreaker are considered fair game. With the exception of ball cases, DPDoM Equipment is considered double the listed price.
8. What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species?
The PTU dexes up to Hisui (Given, if you use Hisui mons you should be able to explain it) are fair game. There will be no Fakemon for the sake of sanity, but assuming you have the correct feats I am open to agure about typeshifts.
9. By what method should Players generate their attributes/ability scores and Hit Points?
N/A - Please use the semi-automatic google sheet, you know the one.
10. Does your game use alignment? What are your restrictions, if so?
You are the good guys! Or at the very least, morally opposed to curlty and murder. This does not exclude Taskmaster, depending on how you run the class.
11. Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it?
Standard
12. Will you be doing all of the die rolling during the course of the game? Will die rolls be altered, or left to the honor system? If players can make die rolls, which ones do they make, how should they make the rolls, and how should they report them?
Roll in the OOC Thread and mention while rolling what you roll for. You then can describe the details of it in IC.
13. Are there any homebrewed or optional/variant rules that your Players should know about? If so, list and explain them, or provide relevant links to learn about these new rules.
As mentioned: "To ease the combat slightly, Trainer Turns simply happen at the same time as their Pokémon Turns. This possibly gets some unforseen consequences but should speed up combat rounds significantly. (Taking the Pokémons speed for initiative for ease of play.) [Obviously, League Rules never apply, cause you know, setting.]"
14. Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)?
You are all old enough to remember the time before the legendaries awoke and started fighting with the region in the crossfire. It would be nice if the characters know each other before IC starts so one can avoid the most akward meet & greet. Remember to mention your pokémons backstory/personality with a sentence as well. You are in control of them afterall.
15. Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above?
It is hard to predict, but I want to say a mixture of fighting, helping and figuring out the right course of action at any given moment. Not much what I would traditionally call a puzzle however.
16. Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters?
Killing God and absorbing their powers is not planed at the moment. You are free to reference 'Blessed and the Damned' for religious or archeological purposes if you so desire.

[tonberryking]

Would weapons be commonplace and thus the cheaper prices in the equipment section?

[DasIrrlicht]

Would weapons be commonplace and thus the cheaper prices in the equipment section?

Average Price, and crude ones are naturally free. While the world has gotten more dangerous, it is not exactly prime time for people to pick up blacksmithing or figure out fletching. Given, the features for that are available if your character has decided to pick such a thing up...
Gonna open a OOC once you three all re-affirmed interest. It would be easier to coordinate backstory there then.

[tonberryking]

I’m not only in, I’ve completed most of my sheet which… I can’t post from my phone, sorry.

But I’m sticking with apparition/ninja, shifting between stealth and (reach) combat with a pair of ghost Pokémon.

[Volthawk]

Oh sorry yes, consider my interest reaffirmed. Finding myself being a little indecisive concept-wise between a few contenders, guess I'll narrow that down with the OOC and seeing what the others have in mind.

[DasIrrlicht]

And since Kuro Dmon edited the first post, I am gonna assume they are also confirmed 'In'.
So here is the Out (Of Character) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?663548-The-Emerald-Cataclysm-PTU-OOC&p=25940803). The name is the best I could come up with I am afraid.