Sign Up EarthBound: The Day They Returned

[Wondershot]

[color=red]Let's see, I'm now eighteen years old, I saved the world when I was thirteen, I live with a little sister who is, according to my mom, far more responsible than me, since she is able to keep track of hundreds of small goods that her customers send for her to store, and I still can't keep my closet straight. I still don't know where my dad is, as I have not seen him since I turned thirteen, and he still calls me on that little black telephone in my living room that rings so annoyingly and indefinitely that my dear mother and sister, knowing it's my dad, tactfully ignore the phone until I pick it up to talk to my dad, who, speaking in the same old cliché of the father figure, tells me that I'm doing great, and how much EXP till my next level, whatever that means.

It's all good, though, as he always gives me money whenever I beat up a bad guy. It's still a mystery to me where the money comes from, but my dad must work really hard for it, since, as I said before, I have not seen him in over five years. My journey to save the world began conveniently after my dad gave me an ATM card, and deposited money for me to start my quest. Eventually, my savings grew and allowed my to buy ridiculously overpriced baseball bats that allowed me to fell grown men, animals, even cars and dinosaurs in only a few blows. Guess I don't know my own strength.

Oh, sorry, my name is [/color][color=yellow]Ness,[/color][color=red] and I have the oddest habit of never mentioning that to anyone, yet, somehow, they are able to understand even if I don't say anything. Bizzare, considering the fact that I'm supposed to be the one with telepathy.

Oh, forgot to mention that, too, I am a psychic, no, really, I am. I have been able to move objects with my mind since birth, and I have no explanation for it, since, my ever-sarcastic mother pointd out to me, it cannot be simple brain power, as my test scores are still abysmal. I can read people's minds, and, during the course of my quest, I learned to fire deadly psychedelic fireworks from my hands to beat the bad guys, now, since there are no more bad guys, that skill has been reduced to nothing more than a simple party trick, but maybe not, since I'm still paying the guy back for the damages to his house since his last party.

Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself again. Anyway, if you are reading this, you've probably decided to embark on a quest to save the world, as I did in my teen years. It isn't the easiest job, mind you, but you will get to see lots of cool people, maybe with psychic powers, and you will get to see lots of great places, even if some of them can't be reached by the local pizza guy. You'll get to do lots of cool stuff, meet cool locals, some who want your friendship, others who want your money. Even the money guys are okay, and even if they do end up saying the same things over and over again, you know that you'll never meet anyone like them again.

Well, the best advice I can give you is to search your house thoroughly for anything you can use on your adventure, check out the neat places in your town, even those places with "Do Not Enter" signs plastered on the walls, and take a nice nap at home once you're all done, and if you're lucky, a girl with psychic powers whom you've never met will send you a telepathic plea for help while you sleep, and you'll have to battle the local blue-clad cult and a strange balding guy who can control the weather in order to save her. As I said, it's not an easy job, but if you wanted an easy job, you should put down this book and go work in an office or something.

Well, all I can say now is: Go get em!

[/color][color=yellow]Ness[/color]

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For those of you who have played EarthBound before, you'll probably recognize a lot of statements in the above intro, if you haven't, don't worry, you can still join this RPG.

Still, it is recommended that you know a little about EarthBound if you want to play, if you have questions, PM me or go to [url]www.starmen.net[/url] for help.

This story takes place some five years after the EarthBound story, the Earth's savior, Ness, has just finished writing his book on saving the world, and, as part of the fun, distributed pages from the book around the world to old friends of his, as well as complete strangers, challenging them to get together so they can read the whole book. No one is sure why Ness chose to do this, as there are hints that the world may be in danger again sometime soon, but people have no need of fear with their psychic guru and all his page-finding buddies there to save the world in it's darkest hour. Until that day comes, however, the lucky few with pages to Ness' book will be on their diligent treasure hunt for more pages of the book, and perhaps the answers to the question on everyone's mind:

What if I could save the world?

Signup Requirements: I reserve he right to reject people whom I don't feel will do well in this RPG. I feel that I've been around long enough to tell who is a good RPer, and who isn't. I don't want to sound elitist, I just want to make sure that whoever joins this team will have what it takes, so do your best, people!

Signup (storyline):

Name: Something realistic or slightly comical, just nothing out of this world.

Age: between 10 and 18, as this was the age group of EarthBound

Description: Attached picture will do, as will a good word description.

Location: The following locations are available, in following with the EarthBound universe:

Onett: the hometown of the great hero, a little place with few cars and people, where the sun shines everyday. A great place to come when you need to get away from the hassles of city life. Features such attractions as the local arcade and the Giant Step, a hillside region with a small plateau in the center, highlited by the impression of an enormous footprint in the ground. A great place for people to escape to for the beautiful view and possibly supernatural nature, but the caves leading up to the place are infested with nasty crawling little bugs that attack travelers without warning.

Twoson: A slightly larger town than Onett, mainly because of it's almost-famous Department Store, featuring two floors and all the items one would need when embarking on a journey to save the world. Furthermore, one might get lucky and come into town on the night of a big show at the very classy Chaos Theatre, where all the local stars, especially blues musicians come to play. Speaking of play, there is also the wondrous outdoor bazaar in Burglin Park, where locals and out-of-towners alike flock for a year-round swap meet where the lucky can score big when looking for a rarity.

Happy-Happy Village: Secluded in the mountains, this little town has little connection with the outside world, as there are often horrible accidents when trying to cross the Peaceful Rest Valley into Twoson, including animal attacks, broken bridges and avalanches. Even for a small town, crime is surprisingly high, as members of a cult calling themselves the Happy Happyists try to change the little village into their base of operations as they seek their ultimate objective, painting the world blue. Maybe one hero is capable of trouncing the gang, but hopes are not high among the locals.

Threed: Often plagued by the mysterious threat of the supernatural, Threed is probably a place that is considered great to visit, but horrible to live in. For example, pollution often trails in from the neighbouring city of Fourside, clouding the sky and turning the grass brown. Not even the dead can rest, as there are several reports in Threed of errie apparations appearing in the graveyard at night, and buses from nearby cities are unable to go through the tunnel to the town, as strange and terrifying spirits flock around passing vehicles, warning their drivers that death and the great beyond await at the end of the tunnel. Once again, a hero might be able to save the town, but who can do it?

Dusty Dunes Desert: Although technically not a town, the road between Fourside and Threed passes through this place, where traffic is often held up by stampeding wild buffalo. There is a small dry goods shop and inn at the roadside, but should one venture further into the desert, the would find a diamond mine smack in the middle of the place. The miners there have little luck finding hteir fortune, and often find wild monsters more often than they find treasure. Despite the small population, the place is always lively, and people are taking advantage of the incredible heat to form a tourist attraction, so far, though, It's not working.

Fourside: The bustling city of Fourside is a great place to visit, if one can stand the trek through the Dusty Dunes Desert. The city boasts the world-famous Department Store where the customers can shop within the four-story building to their heart's content, and heroes may find useful items sold by the small arms dealers in the building's storerooms. However, the town istelf is plagued by corruption, as the mayor Monotoli The Second uses his wealth and influence to push crime rates up and cut spending to important assets such as schools and hospitals to line his pockets with gold. This mad mayor must be stopped, and hwo better to hold the unoficcial impeachment than a local hero?

There are other locations, but all on different continents, so these five will do.

Biography: As our characters are young, a terribly lengtly bio is not necessary, just include the fact that you own a few pages of the book, and why you might have received them.

Personality: Always a must, just a few things about your character, in terms of relationships with others, as well as strange quirks, if any.

Signup (RPG style)

Traits/Abilities: Whatever unique traits or skills your character might possess that would make him a good hero. Anything from repairing broken items to telling great jokes to using psychic powers is acceptable. (I would prefer to keep Psi powers more limited in this RP, so only the best signups will incluse Psi powers. If I think you are not fit to wield the power of Psi, I will PM you and ask you to change your signup accordingly.)

Weapon of Choice: In keeping with the EarthBound theme, all the usual weapons are reduced to toys. For example, instead of a sword, you would use a baseball bat, instead of a flail, a yo-yo will do, as deadly war hammer becomes an ordinary household frying pan, and so on. At a stretch, small arms such as BB guns or knives are acceptable, but try and keep it in the EarthBound theme.

Psi Skills: This is only for those who included Psychic powers in their signups, all others need not apply. Psi can be divided into "groups" of sorts, and, for the sake of this RP, I've attached point values to each of the Psi groups, and the total point value of your Psi skills cannot exceed 8 points.

Psi - Point value - description

Special - 5 points - As mentioned in the page from Ness' book above, these are the "psychedelic fireworks" he spoke of. This is the deadliest Psi skill in existence, and therefore has been attributed the highest point value. It has no defining traits, it is simply raw power channelled through the waves of the mind into a brilliant blast of energy that can vanquish even the toughest foes. This Psi skill is nameless and faceless, and only the most skilled Psi users can give it form and shape, as well as an adequately fitting name. ([color=red]Note: Only one person in this entire RP will be allowed to use Special, and they will also be allowed to give the spell a name. I'm not necessarily saying that it'll be me, but I can still judge who will be chosen to use the special power.[/color])

Starstorm - 5 points - Who can harness the incredible powers of the celestial bodies floating infinitely high in the heavens? Only the most diligent practitiouners of the pysterious Psi powers are able to use the destructive power of Starstorm. When cast, this amazing fireworks display sends white flashes all over the area, disintegrating parts of your opponent's body until there is nothing left. ([color=red]Note, same rules for Psi Special apply, only one person in this RPG can use this skill, and it will go to the person who I feel is best fit for using it. Thanks to StrikeGundam for PMing me reminding me about this.[/color])

Light - 3 points - This skill is probably one of the lesser known forms of Psi, and also works in the strangest ways. A flash of Light Psi can have strange effects on foes, blinding them, dazing them and rendering them unable to tell friend from foe, even vaporizing their bodies in one brilliant explosion. However, Light Psi is not easy to control in the least, and one tiny lapse in concentration can turn the spell against his own allies, having similar adverse effects.

Fire - 2 points - Self explanatory, this Psi fires from the fingertips of the user, having effects ranging from a small burst of heat to a searing-rolling flame that can incinerate all in seconds flat. This skill must be practised, however, lest it go cold (no pun intended.)

Ice - 2 points - This skill is more of a single-target bomb, that can devastate even the most heavily armoured opponents one at a time. This skill becomes more and more powerful with practise, and the most diligent Ice Psi users will be able to end chills down their opponent's spines with use of this skill.

Lightning - 2 points - The most devastating and unpredictable Psi attack, Lightning calls down a bolt of pure energy from the Earth's upper ionosphere, frying their opponents to a crunchy crisp. However, this skill is very hit-or-miss, as, since the shots are fired from so high up, they can land somewhere else, and leave their targets unharmed. To this end, Lightning, despite it's great power, should be used with caution.

Shielding - 2 points - A solely defensive Psi skill, this ability helps to weaken, nullify, or even retaliate against the effects of your opponents attacks. The weakest forms of this skill allow you to cover yourself with curtains of light, reducing damage to parts of you body. With practice, the most able Psi conjurers will be able to create massive walls of energy around their bodies, and the bodies of their allies, not only protecting them from damage, but reflecting it against their hapless opponents! A useful technique indeed!

Mental - 1 point - Mind over matter, as they say, and the use of this skill will allow you to befuddle your opponents with your skillful manipulation of the physical plane with your mind. For example, you can get inside the heads of your opponents, and use hypnotic skills to put them to sleep, or turn them against each other, or lock their joints in place, rendering them unable to move! Furthermore, this skill can be used on your allies, using your mental energies to bolster their physical force, allowing them to attack with greater strength and stamina, and defend with more endurance and quicker reflexes. Very nice.

Healing - 1 point - Who needs medical attention when one has this ally-friendly Psi power? Using simple conjuration and tapping into the mental state of the patient, Healing Psi can effectively disinfect and close the wounds of your friends painlessly, and even help them get over such viral adversaries from normally incurable or crippling disease to the common cold! No shots or long-term prescription drugs required!

RPG System:

For this game, I have given some thought to working with a classic RPG engine with experience levels and quantitative attributes. These details will be given to people once their signups are complete, so feel free to hint at whatever attributes one possesses when they sign up. On the other hand, if anyone would prefer not to do this, it means less work for me and I won't bother doing it if the majority of people are against it. Naturally, we will do this by vote, and if you would like to use this system, please say so at the end of your post. If not, then please say so, again, at the end of your post, and I won't do it. If you have any other comments, please add them, or PM me, I would like to hear some opinions on this.

Essentially, after you sign up, I'll either PM you or post your attributes up here, with some extra point that you can distribute as you please. The attributes will probably look like this:

HP:
PP (Psychic Points, only for those with Psi):
Strength:
Endurance:
Mental Focus (Psi only):
IQ:
Speed:
Extra Pts (to be distributed as you like among your other points):

That's about the size of it in terms of the engine. People will gain levels and points after battles and I will inform them when such an event has occurred, based on their writing skills. Again, if someone has something to add, please PM me or include it in your post.

Again, should anyone wish to know more about the EarthBound storyline, please PM me or go to [url]www.starmen.net[/url] for assistance.

Good luck, heroes of the world! (my own signup soon to follow)