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View Full Version : Campaign as Nobodies From Kingdom Hearts (Idea)



Leliel
2007-12-29, 06:32 PM
Like many KH fans who also play D&D, I have often thought about running a d20 game in the universe created by the magnificent Nomura. However, I am somewhat apprehensive about giving Keyblades to the PCs, not before we get the canon explanation for the many Keyblades seen in the secret movies (I...don't know their names). That's when I got an idea, straight from the "Maverick" part of my brain: "If you need powers straight from the KH universe, sans 'Lost-caliber' fan theory, why not make them something which is canon? Or rather, nothing?" So, to the point...

How would you, the posters, go about creating a campaign where the PCs are heart-needing, barely-existing, color-lacking, self-loathing (I assume), only-half-a-person Nobodies? Besides the fairly obvious "get heart", what would be the goals of such a campaign? How about some good villain ideas? How should the PCs approach interactions with the townsfolk? On a scale of 1 to 10, how much "Emo-ness" should you allow from the players as "good RP", and what is deserving of a sometimes-literal punch to the face?

Of course I will put out a few guidlines:

1)This Is A Non-Evil Gummi Workshop: This is partially due to my NG imagination, partially because of much better RP potential, mainly because of the nature of the games. If you want to play an evil Nobody, I hear the Org. XII's recruiting for suicide missions against a certain Keyblade user. Wanna join?

2)Do Not Call The Dusk "Emotionless", It Makes Him Feel Bad: It is implied in the game itself that Nobodies actually have emotion, and are actually prone to mood swings due to the uh, "depressing" (i.e. "PTSD-worthy") nature of their existence.

3)I Know How To Upgrade The Junior Heroes, Don't Try To Help Me: I've already visualized a level progression for the PCs from a basic Dusk, to a Unique, to Nearly-Human, To Human-Formed, To Xemnas-Caliber. I haven't got any stats for this progression, but I can easily ask homebrew.

[Customary Witty Line Asking For Responders]

Naihal
2007-12-29, 07:12 PM
You know, I always wondered in that game what made the Organization XIII evil. They try to kill the PCs, but aside from that they only seem to be seeking self redemption.

Which leads to this idea for a good-aligned campaign: by defeating Heartless, Sora brings the Nobodies closer to non-non-existence, right? Only, the job carries a certain amount of risk, and if the Keyblade bearer goes down the PCs can kiss their chances at existing again goodbye. Therefore, it's in the PCs best interest to keep him alive. However, they can't overtly help them because everyone who isn't a Nobody attacks Nobodies on sight. So, create a splinter faction of Nobodies who helps Sora behind behind his back.

An example task might be in most of the worlds in the series; the Heartless have a base on the world and the Keyblade keeper has arrived to take them down. However, unknown to him, there is a second Heartless base on the world, and as soon as Sora runs off to kill the first group of Heartless, the second base chases after him, catching him in a pincer grip between both groups. Surrounded by Heartless, Sora will fall, unless the PCs can eliminate the second Heartless group to prevent Sora from being caught in the trap.

There's also tons of discontinuity in the series that the PCs could be behind. How did the Beast get to Hollow Bastion in the first game? Maybe the PCs were behind that. I'm sorry if I got any of the details about the KH setting wrong, but it's been over a year since I played the game.

Xefas
2007-12-29, 08:12 PM
Well, if you disregard the idea that they're emotionless, they have very little reason to want to be human. In the game they want to become human so they'll be able to feel again.

Honestly, what's not to like about an ageless form, invincible against anyone who isn't an obscenely important NPC, with Greater Teleport at Will, a nigh-infinite legion of minions, AND the ability to enjoy it? Not to mention the whole host of unique abilities that they seem to get just by being a Nobody (geeky scientists spontaneously become laser-shooting badasses).

It'd be like giving everyone an Archfiend, putting them on the Material Plane and yelling "go nuts!".

You'd be robbing them of the one restraint or motivation they have. I blame Axel. Clearly his player was a dumbass who didn't read the campaign setting.

Leliel
2007-12-31, 06:11 PM
Well, if you disregard the idea that they're emotionless, they have very little reason to want to be human. In the game they want to become human so they'll be able to feel again.

Honestly, what's not to like about an ageless form, invincible against anyone who isn't an obscenely important NPC, with Greater Teleport at Will, a nigh-infinite legion of minions, AND the ability to enjoy it? Not to mention the whole host of unique abilities that they seem to get just by being a Nobody (geeky scientists spontaneously become laser-shooting badasses).

It'd be like giving everyone an Archfiend, putting them on the Material Plane and yelling "go nuts!".

You'd be robbing them of the one restraint or motivation they have. I blame Axel. Clearly his player was a dumbass who didn't read the campaign setting.

Actually, it's also implied by the second part of Halloween Town (in KH2), that all beings that are truly sentient and without hearts instinctively feel incomplete without one and seek one out. Thus the reason the Experiment stole those presents (As Sally stated to the effect of, "Presents are a form of giving your heart to your beloved", so to a robot's ultra-logical brain, by obtaining presents, it would gain a heart). Plus, I find it hard to imagine how to roleplay a completely emotionless being.

And Naihal: Y'know, I also have trouble imagining how a group of people whose plan to gain completeness involves releasing bloodthirsty monsters who reproduce by eating people could be evil.:smallsigh:

I still like that idea of yours, though.

Xefas
2007-12-31, 06:38 PM
Actually, it's also implied by the second part of Halloween Town (in KH2), that all beings that are truly sentient and without hearts instinctively feel incomplete without one and seek one out. Thus the reason the Experiment stole those presents (As Sally stated to the effect of, "Presents are a form of giving your heart to your beloved", so to a robot's ultra-logical brain, by obtaining presents, it would gain a heart). Plus, I find it hard to imagine how to roleplay a completely emotionless being.

Well, the Nobodies didn't even roleplay themselves all that well. They're suppose to be incredibly intelligent scientists (or at least lead by several of them) and yet they did one of the dumbest actions I've ever seen a Disney villain engage in.

They left their castle.

If they'd have just stayed in their castle, and let Sora beat up Heartless, instead of going out and being killed by him they'd have all been completed without Sora ever having even known. There was absolutely nothing to be gained by attacking him at all.

It'd be like if Belle had just told Gaston "Hey, if you can be a narcissistic ******* for the next 24 hours, I'll marry you" and then Gaston immediately puts on 300 pounds, applies to become a Catholic Priest, and then kills himself.

But, I digress. I believe what they were saying was that they feel incomplete because they have no emotions. The robot felt incomplete because it didn't have emotions, but had the sentience to realize what emotions were. I believe one of the Nobodies actually says something akin to "We have no emotions, but we remember what it was like". I'll have to look around for the exact quote...

Ivius
2007-12-31, 07:03 PM
Sounds like a decent idea. I'd join.

Dragunov
2007-12-31, 07:59 PM
About being emotionless or not, it's hard to tell.

On one hand, they do repeat, right at the start, that Nobodies fake emotions in order to confuse their opponents and that the whole goal of Organization XIII is to, once again, gain their hearts - aka, their emotions, virtues and everything else that makes them human.

On the other one hand, Naminé and Roxas were Nobodies and both clearly displayed emotions. Roxas struggled with what he was, with having to give up his existance to complete Sora, and Naminé struggled against all odds in order to help Sora and the others.

However, there's a difference between the two. Organization XIII's Nobodies are basically all that is left from their original selves. Their hearts are somewhere in the form of some random Heartless and their bodies are gone. Roxas and Naminé, however, were just split from their original selves - both Sora and Kairi had their bodies united with their hearts. Maybe this allowed those two to retain some of their humanity?


Another thing I've noticed is how Nobodies seem to have an opposite personality to their original selves. Not in a good-evil, complete antagonistic manner but rather in terms of personality traits. Sora is brave, selfless and stoic while Roxas is hot-headed, selfish (he had to struggle real hard with his fate, after all) and always trying to find an easy way through problems. Kairi is gentle and direct, while Naminé works through riddles and mysteries, even if ultimately benevolent.


Anyhow, about your campaign... what could a bunch of well-meaning Nobodies do? Well, lots. They can seek to find a way to restore the hearts trapped in the heartless, help foster relations between worlds, help refugees find their way back to their world, foil the plans of inumberable villains.. I mean, anything.

However, if all in your group are familiar with Kingdom Hearts, they'll be disappointed for not having Keyblades. Seriously. They'll feel like the side-show - secondary characters. Even more if you Sora or some other keyblade master prancing around in some high and mighty quest to find the lollypop queen or something.

If you want to know the reason why suddenly alot of people have keyblades, it's because there really is no one keyblade. When a heart is strong and seeks to destroy darkness, the heart manifests the implement known as Keyblade. Keychains are merely focii that augment and modify the energy of the heart. That's why Nobodies and Heartless can't have keyblades.
Of course, not everyone can manifest a keyblade. It takes a strong and dedicated heart.
It also explains why the individual can't be given (it's manifested from your heart) and how it can appear suddenly.

According to KH3's trailer, it appears that there are also keyblade-shapped weapons. They're not actual keyblades, just shapped like them, made of iron or steel or whatever you feel is best.

Eldritch_Ent
2007-12-31, 08:19 PM
A nobody understands the concepts or ideas of emotions, but have none themselves. In short, they can have CHA scores, but it's only in two of the three categories- Force of Will and Appearance. Raw emotional power? No. They want to be able to FEEL.

Also, since when have Nobodies ever attacked people? Aside from the PC's, all I remember them doing is guiding heartlesses around to convenient locations where they could attack people, then be destroyed to release all the hearts they have claimed... IE Making more negative energy, since destruction of said negative energy beings releases Positive energy (hearts).

Basically, to use Freud-

ID- Are the Heartless. Immediate satisfactiona nd instinctive drive. Their goal? "Get haertz to get smartz". Heartless that have collected sufficient or powerful enough hearts (as XP to gain HD) eventually regain a semblance of humanity, including an ability to plan and scheme, (IE an intelligience score of more than 2. But in the end, reclaiming their old heart and rejoining with their nobody would probably be the best solution.

Ego- The Heart. Connects the Heartless and Nobody parts of somebody's existence, and puts them in a cohesive whole, aka a "Person".

Super Ego- The Nobody. Lacking in emotion or instinct, pure cold calculated planning. They want to get reattached to the Id.




Anyway, a few mechanical suggestions-

Heartless are basically the KH equivalent of Spiritual Undead. Ghosts and Wights and Spectres, but with physical form. Nobodies are like Corporeal Undead. Skeletons and Zombies and Ghouls and notably vampires. One uses the soul (or lack thereof, more like an empty outline of the soul), the other uses the discarded soulless body. Both can be created and controlled, but follow the usual rules for Controlling Undead. (They'll all turn on you immediately if you let their HD climb too high, which happens easily in worlds covered, or in the process of being covered by, the darkness.)

Heartless "Commoners", AKA Shadows, have an intelligence score of 0. Heartless PC's should get an intelligence score of 2 upon their first class level or HD beyond the first, and automatically increase it by 1 each level or HD they gain thereafter. Heartless are more inclined to increase their HD and use raw power over technique.

Nobody's ("Dusks" as Commoners), work the same way, but for CHA. They run on instinct rather than their own will. Nobodies rarely increase their HD, and almost always take class levels. However, exemptions such as the "Twilight Thorn" exist.

Edit: As a sid4enote, Nobodies probably lean towards Lawful alignments, and Heartless Chaotic alignments.

Ehh, I'm rambling so I'll stop. Interesting idea, but to be honest KH as a series kinda turned me off because of the Disney Elements. I think it would have been better had it been straight up, but still, easy enough to cut out those pieces of fluff if wanted.

Ghal Marak
2007-12-31, 08:26 PM
Cool. I'd play it. I've always like the KH series, and the Nobodies are awesome. :smallsmile:

Leliel
2008-01-01, 05:24 PM
Yeah, about the concern that being Nobodies would make the players feel cheated...I'm not actually planning on bringing Sora, Donald, and Goofy into the campagin. You see, I was thinking about the space of time that the campagin takes place in to be after KH2 but before KH3. Obviously, Sora can't do much if he's on the Destiny Islands, so the players have to make due themselves.

And will we please stop with the discussion about whether a Nobody has feelings or not? I've already pointed out that I think playing an emotionless creature would be...difficult RP wise, so I went with the "having emotions" interpetation for this game.

Starsinger
2008-01-01, 07:12 PM
And will we please stop with the discussion about whether a Nobody has feelings or not? I've already pointed out that I think playing an emotionless creature would be...difficult RP wise, so I went with the "having emotions" interpetation for this game.

I rather agree that they don't have emotions.. but they can fake them. Sort of like how in Pirates of the Caribbean, the pirates can't taste food or anything, but they still eat once in a while because they can remember what it was like.

Oh.. and Leliel, awesome idea. :smallbiggrin:

Dragunov
2008-01-02, 06:20 PM
Yeah, about the concern that being Nobodies would make the players feel cheated...I'm not actually planning on bringing Sora, Donald, and Goofy into the campagin. You see, I was thinking about the space of time that the campagin takes place in to be after KH2 but before KH3. Obviously, Sora can't do much if he's on the Destiny Islands, so the players have to make due themselves.

Of course. The thing is, Keyblades are inherently cool. You'll see, no matter what kind of cool items you fork over, your players will want a keyblade. Even if it is a fake one. Because it is kind of like saying "Okay guys, we'll play a Harry Potter game - and you guys will play as muggles!".
Well, that's how I would feel. If your players think it'll be fun and you guys have a blast, that's awesome! Roll with it.


And will we please stop with the discussion about whether a Nobody has feelings or not? I've already pointed out that I think playing an emotionless creature would be...difficult RP wise, so I went with the "having emotions" interpetation for this game.

It's a forum, we discuss stuff. And the whole thing about Nobodies, what sets them apart from Heartless or Creatures is that they are always searching for their own hearts so they can feel again.
If they already have feelings then... it's kind of moot. What's the kick out of playing a nobody if you can't mope around and long for your feelings (which, if you think about it, must mean they have at least some feelings. How can you desire something without having feelings about it?) that you lost? Is it just about Darkness powers? Is it the cool hair-dos and belts-and-zippers look?