Well, here’s another try. I’ve already once tried an Ascended RP, but it failed. So, here’s another start at one. I’ve developed it further, but I want to take the opportunity to test it again. It’s still beta stage, so it will be confusing as hell, but hopefully it’s workable enough to play. As always, ideas are welcome and encouraged.

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The Ascended of Earth

-History-

The history of the Ascended closely reflects our own through the centuries. After several wars millennia ago, the Ascended became reclusive, rarely coming up during the rest of human history. During this time, they established fairly stable systems of self-government, most loosely bound under an organization known as the Ascended of Earth.

These governments worked together for three goals. First was to help an Ascended integrate or separate from the rest of society as needed or wished. Second, they concealed the existence of the Ascended from the rest of humanity. In this second task, they often held government office. Third, and perhaps the most important, they deterred those elements of Ascended society who were criminally prone. Fortunately, Ascended criminals often wished to remain aloof of those they frighteningly referred to as “sub-human.”

All worlds were changed in the early 20th century. It was World War II. Germany was in the middle of a seemingly unstoppable roll across Europe. Once the Americans joined the war effort, the Allies began to turn the tide. For a time.

Reports began coming in, slowly at first, but in increasing number. At first, they were ignored, though exaggerations by field-shocked troops and officers: tales of people immune to bullets, moving faster than should be possible. Some even described single soldiers flipping tanks and trucks then flying away. Stories initially ignored proved to be horribly true.

A violent extremist group of Ascended, known by the innocuous name of The Cardholders, had allied with Germany. They shared the same goal; genocide in the pursuit of the perfect human race. They provided soldiers for Germany.

The Ascended of Earth could not stand by. As soon as The Cardholders’ plans began unfolding, AoE revealed itself to Allied governments. Providing soldiers of their own, AoE assisted the Allies in again turning the war.

Though they helped win the war, the Ascended society could no longer remain hidden. Though they remained under the public eye – many Ascended lived with normal humans without anybody being the wiser, just as before – humanity now knew of the Ascended, and there was no turning back.

Using their public resources carefully, they helped create an image that would sooth the predictable public fears. After a few decades, human society had adapted, and but for a few, the general public lived without major concern of the Ascended.

-Powers-

Ascended powers are manifested in two ways: Holding and Projecting. Holding is increasing and utilizing the energy inherent within the Ascended body. Projecting is generating energy to affect the external environment. Though the ratios are individual, the amount of energy being held directly relates to how much energy can be projected.

Holding energy gives the Ascended his or her strength, speed, endurance, durability, and most notably, the ability to fly. Because the Ascended’s energy tends to disobey accepted laws of physics, an Ascended can accelerate and move far faster than should be possible. They can also use their energy to anchor themselves so they can lift large and heavy objects with greater ease. This same effect can be used to move an Ascended’s body too, which allows them to fly.

Holding energy can also cause physical transformation. At a certain point, an Ascended’s energy level will go critical, and do one of two things. One, transform the body into a form more capable of handling high energy levels. Two, stop going up. Transformation increases all abilities exponentially.

First form: Normal human form. Tends to be athletic, and lacking too much fat; obese Ascended are unheard of. A couple times stronger than normal humans. Faster reflexes. Resistant to damage, and heal faster.

Second Form: Second form at higher energy levels tends to bleed energy, causing a pale blue aura to surround the Ascended. Otherwise, the energy causes hair to stand on end, causing Ascended who frequently go Second to cut their hair to accommodate this effect. More pertinent effects are increase strength, speed, and durability. A Second can lift a car easily. Small caliber bullets have a hard time penetrating the skin, and even larger caliber bullets inflict minor wounds. Knives wielded by a normal opponent bounce off. Poor quality knives shatter.

Third Form: Few Ascended can make Third Form. The present aura turns gold, and the hair lightens and gains a gold tint. All abilities rise exponentially from Second. A Third Form can easily juggle large SUV’s. Bullets of any size bounce off like rain. They can move faster than the normal human can see. Third Form Ascendeds are unparalleled fighters.

During extreme moments of charging and raising forms, enough energy can bleed to have environmental effects. Rocks skitter or fly. Concrete and rock might crack. At higher levels, electrical circuits are affected, causing lights to flicker and computers to crash. Training reduces the energy bled, keeping environmental impact at a minimum.

Ascended can sense other humans, and other Ascended in particular. With this sense, two Ascended could conceivably fight with their eyes blindfolded.

Projecting takes form in two ways. Projecting is also the name of the first way, and Threading is the name of the second.

Projecting is the most powerful, but the clumsiest. Projecting, whether raw energy, telekinetic waves, or simple light, can only be energy emitted away from the body. An Ascended can easily knock boulders over, cut through walls, or use themselves as great light bulbs.

Grace is found in Threading. Remote strings of energy are formed, unattached to the body. Their purpose is the same as projecting, but far weaker. With pure Threading, small objects can be lifted and otherwise manipulated. To Thread, one only has to visualize the placement and form of the Threads wished. The more Threads maintained, the harder to control.

True Projecting is found in combination of Projecting and Threading. Threads are used for a particular effect, while energy is specifically projected to enhance the Threads’ strength.

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The possibilities are far greater than I can encompass in anything short of a book. So, use your imagination, and ask questions.

I’m loosely basing combat abilities on Dragonball Z, so you can get ideas from there. There are ways to make the energy heal or interact with electrical interfaces too. So don’t keep your scope TOO small.

Character Creation:

For the purposes of this RP, all characters will be Ascended affiliated with the military AoE branch (unless, for some reason, you have a REALLY good idea). Whatever your role, you need to be field capable, though “capable” can broadly be defined.

I’ll introduce a character of my own later. I know that’s not always done, but I’m doing it.

I know this is vague, but it’s already too large to read quickly. To detail all the abilities and possibilities, I’d need to write a small book. So please, ask lots of questions. I’m doing this to try and design my own RP system and universe. Of course, fun and practice are factors as well…

Hmmmm, sounds interesting, JM. Question about the Projecting. Are the charcters already proficient with their "First Level" abilities? I'm assuming so, since they'd be soldiers and all. Second, Do the Projecting have a second/third form that is similar to the Holding? And on the topic of Projecting, they can have any form of enery, or is it a specific type? You mentioned TK, light, and raw energy. What about something like Plasma, electrons/protons would be interesting, as well... Just thoughts. I'll most likey play, just right now I have to much work to flesh out a decent character...

Yes, all characters will be proficient at projecting. Think of it as having hands. They all function the same, but everybody has different skills with them. Basic uses are unconcious, just like using your fingers. But skilled dedicated uses - like playing the piano - require practice. You'll all have "specialties" you'll be good at as well.

All projecting abilities and holding/projecting ratios stay the same in the various forms. Only overall power and speed increase as the forms go up.

And yes, an Ascended can use their energy to create EM waves of various kinds, as well as electrical fields. For example, if you wanted a "lightbulb," you could thread a spherical web of sorts specifically made to change Ascended's energy to photonic energy. The Ascended could then emit a small stream of the Ascended's generic energy (if you're a Trekkie, think tachyon particles, the swiss army knife), which would ignore any other matter and energy fields, but would be absorbed by any threads that have been designed to absorb and/or utilize Ascended energy.

Projecting is limited to energy types only created by Ascended, so no EM waves or simple beams of light. TK is one such form. Another form is simply raw beams of energy that do all sorts of interesting things to matter (creating plasma, for one). Raw energy can be used as a weapon, though is the Ascended form of a club or something, lacking in grace Energy can also be emitted so it ignores everything EXCEPT for threads designed to utilize it.

All kinds of energy manipulations are possible with threading. This is one reason it would be difficult for me to describe them all. The problem is compounded in that I can't balance it until I play with it. It's an open-ended thing, The important thing is to remember that creation of these threads is instinctual, much like walking or smiling. Using them effectively is the tricky part, so experimentation will be needed.

I know this is a clumsy explaination. I'll come back to it and specifically address some examples of how threading and projecting can work and combine.

Hmmmm, I think I get it. I'll have to PM or IM or something to get it better, me thinks, though. Any time when you want characters posted/start playing. Because my week was just filled with work in one fell swoop. (Thank you Dr. Klemow. ) So it may be a while before I can get an idea together/talk to you about it....

That's OK. I'm going to work on a story to demonstrate a variaty of applications of the Ascended's abilities. Also, I gonna work on a technology description, as I have forgotten to include it. You see, though no technology has yet been able to directly utilize an Ascended's energy, there are ways, albeit limited, to detect Ascended activity with technology. And, of course, with some of the fun threading tricks, some devices are designed soley to augment these tricks. For example, threads can make GREAT electrical conductors. Have two laptops with networking cards, but no cables? That's OK, arrange some threads just so, and you've got a wireless wired network! Of course, threading requires you pay at least SOME attention to maintainance, but there are other uses for this simple trick...

Name: Wolfgang Schlagger
Age: 27
Height: 6'7
Weight: 282 Lbs
Build: Muscular
Ascended ability: Holding
Bio:(will do later if you want, i don't care)

Name: Marcus Robertson
Age: 24
Height: 5'8"
Wieight: 185 lbs.
Build: Compact Muscular
Ascended Specialty: Threading darkness.
Bio: Nothing amazing for Marcus. He joined the AoE Army and has always enjoyed the cover of darkness. He practices covering himself and the area areound him in a web of darkness. This is not easy, as he has to emit light at an amplitude as close to inverted of what is near him as possible, while keeping the frequency the same. Marcus enjoys the company of humans, but has had a problem keeping friends when they find out what he is. In combat, Marcus relies more on speed and agility than raw strength. He strength is probably not what it should be, due to this, but his philosophy is you don't need to be strong to win a fight, you need to be quick.

[OOC: How's that?]

Name: Kaine Bael
Age: 21
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 190 lbs
Acended ability: Projecting
Specialty: Focusing Heat
Bio: Errr, I'll get to this. Eventually. Once my work gets done. Mainly holding my place here.

Name: Arimith Leonhart
Age: 22
Height: 6'00"
Weight:210
Acended Specialty:Threading (Ill be more specific when I can think of the way to word what I want)
Personality: Usually hyper, and likes to make jokes. Can be caring and compasionate to his friends and those he considers his equals (Even to some humans) but is ruthless and cunning to his enemies. On the battlefield his personality changes completly, and is bloodthristy. However, he does retain his compassion for his friends and constantly checks their position to see if they're ok.
Bio: As a child, Arimith would watch older Acended in awe. He never realized the extent of his own skills until one faithful day. At his home, he remembered his mom working outside. She was once a powerful Projector, but her skills diminished when she married her husband. As she worked, a man came up and started hitting on her. She tried to ignore him but he got violent, and forced her to the ground. In horror, Arimith saw his mom getting raped. In a fit of rage he somehow commanded Threads to attack the man, and they did. At one moment he was forcing his mom to the ground, the next his entire left hand was missing. He screamed and pain and looked at Arimith in amazement and horror. He got up and took off. Arimith sat down, exahusted. But he now knew his skill. From that point on he trained and trained until he joined the military and gained some Holding potential. But this unique form of threading has always been his trade mark.

Mmmk, first off, I don't think I made myself clear. I must have just assumed the connection, but I'll state it now. Holding, threading, and projecting are integral to each other. If you're Ascended, you can use them all. Compare them to your fingers, hands, and arms. Each play their own role, and pretty much everybody has them. But some people are extremely adept with their fingers, others clumsy but massively strong, and yet others are strong AND agile. I'm writing a long piece on the other half of the Ascendeds power (concerns healing, and it's far more specific). In addition, I'm planning three storys to demonstrate various situations involving Ascendeds using their powers.

In one, a team of three Ascended infiltrate a fortified facility to rescue a prisoner. Their goal is stealth. The point is to demonstrate how an Ascended can use their power for stealth and evasion, and combining their powers with technology.

In another, it's a simple brawl between Ascended. It's obviously to show some basic techniques for Ascended battle.

The final is to demonstrate the first awakening of an Ascended's powers. It's like the X-Men. They often don't manifest until puberty.

All the stories will be rather heavily fighting-oriented, but it's appropriate for the storyline I'm using for now. Believe me, I'm trying to make it simple, but until I figure out HOW to make it simpler, I'm gonna have to wade through this the hard way.

Almost forgot...

Also is the area of metalurgy. Ascended's energy somehow can fundimentally modify the structure of metal. Though not incredibly useful, there are some applications that have been discovered. I'll detail this later. But I want to finish my piece on healing first. There's some very important elements there that explain exactly what Ascended's are, what makes them different.

JudgeMental";p="480783 wrote:Also is the area of metalurgy. Ascended's energy somehow can fundimentally modify the structure of metal. Though not incredibly useful, there are some applications that have been discovered. I'll detail this later.

You're kidding right? That sounds like one of the most powerful abilities these ascended have!

Heh, it SOUNDS impressive, but it's not. Basically, normal metal reacts to an Ascended's energy like it would any other; bending, melting, etc. However, metal after contacted with Ascended energy is subtly changed. There are two prime uses for it. Blades, and Ascended activity detection equipment.

In the former, blades of various kinds are forged with Ascended's energy. Once formed, the blade is as any other. In normal hands, it's simply the metal it is. However, an Ascended can channel energy through it in a way that normally smelted metal cannot. Instead of melting, it gains strength. An Ascended sword properly energized smashes through any other. Helps lower maintainance costs too, as the edge dulls much more slowly.

A few of the most powerful Ascended have distained using blades in this fashion, though. Instead, they simply forged light rods and fastened a hilt to them. In Third Form, they could channel enough energy through it that it became like a simple rod of energy, burning and melting through things with more ease than any other blade. This is very rarely done, as only the absolute strongest Third Forms can channel enough energy to create the effect and still be able to do anything else. You see, it takes a exponential amount of energy to increase the strength/energy of the sword in a linear fashion.

Second, metal touched by an Ascended's power remains sensitive to an Ascended's energy. It is very difficult to detect, but a small current run through an appropriate metal bit (one that has been touched with an Ascended's power) can detected the metal's reactions to nearby Ascendeds. Obviously, it reacts more when an Ascended is actually USING their powers. It has similar range to another Ascended's innate sensing ability, but with one weakness. It cannot sense direction. Thus, triangulation is nearly impossible. At best, it's a proximity detector.

Other than that... Possibly powerful, yes, but not THAT powerful. It IS, after all, somewhat distracting to constantly have to channel energy into your weapon. It can be done, but there are other methods that are easier, yet just as effective. It's a matter of taste.

No, that's it. It was border line stupidity before, now it's gone over the edge. I withdraw my application and pity any and all who join this rp.

Mmmk, can you be more specific? If it's the whole idea, that's OK. But if there are any specific elements you... dislike... please say so.

Heh, now this sounds like the odd lovechild of DBZ and Star Wars. Not that I won't play, I'm just saying. I'm fairly RPG starved at the moment.