Persona (Oseng)

Persona: The RPG

Setting

NOTE: The anime factor for this is high, but not extreme please.

Kurosawa City, Inaba Island
Kurosawa is a fair sized city of about 200,000 people and is the only city on Inaba Island, the largest of a string of islands to the south-west of Tokyo. There are regular ferry trips between Inaba and the mainland during the day, with a one way trip taking about two hours. There was a plan to construct a high speed, under-water train connecting Kurosawa and some of the other islands with the mainland, but the plan has stalled just before construction over funding issues and politics. The only other way on or off the island is via the city's small airport, which generally has flights to nearby major airports.

The island has a fairly strong economy based primary on the industrial sections of Kurosawa and agriculture from the surrounding farms and villages. Over all, it is on a better economical footing then most of Japan though it has only recently recovered from flooding caused by a minor hurricane. However there have been a series of strange disappearances, mental illnesses, murders, and other crimes that has left the Kurosawa Police Department both baffled and jumping to keep up.

Kujikawa High School

Named after its founder, Kujikawa High School is one of several high schools that caters to the youth of Kurosawa and the closest of the villages. While not the the best high school in the area, that honor going to the public Amagi High School and the private Tatsumi High School, it's students have consistently ranked above average on national tests and it is a well regarded educational institution.

Players should be students of this high school in their first or second year (of three going by the Japanese style), either transfer students or natives.

Satonaka Shrine

The Satonaka Shrine is an ancient Shinto Shrine, and the shrine is one of the oldest buildings on the island. The Shrine Priest's house burned to the ground last year, killing the priest and his wife. His daughter, who was out with friends, survived and is currently be cared for by her older brother who returned from studying on the mainland to run the Shrine. The Shrine sets on a beautiful set of grounds and was quite popular before the fire, but few locals visit it now.

Character Creation

• A very big thanks to Bossmuff for this system, which is much better then the one I was working on.
  

• The system needs a fix to deal with a few imbalances. Working on it with Oseng; shoudn't necessitate any further redesigns. --Bossmuff 17:26, 3 December 2011 (PST)

Stats

Basic 1-5 system, 9 points to spend. The same as before.

Athletics

When elsewhere, this is superseded by your Persona's powers. But in the real world, it's all you have to go on.

• 1: 'Feeble'. You're a dying sick girl, or obese, or just a plain old wimp.
• 2: 'Normal'. You get picked in the middle for teams.
• 3: 'Athletic'. You're on the school team.
• 4: 'Champion'. You captain the school team.
• 5: 'Olympian'. Sometimes you miss school because you're competing overseas.

Academics

Don't feel obligated to be a utter moron just because you dropped out, but a genius will be expected to pay for it.

• 1: 'Dumb'. You're probably going to be held back a year, if you're still in school at all.
• 2: 'Normal'. You get Bs and Cs.
• 3: 'Bright'. You get As and Bs.
• 4: 'Smartypants'. You're a straight-A student, or a savant in one field.
• 5: 'Philosopher'. You're doing a university degree at weekends.

Charm

Your power over people.

• 1: 'Intolerable'. You're the lead character in a harem show.
• 2: 'Normal'. Oh him? He's alright I guess.
• 3: 'Charmer'. You have quite the circle of friends and/or hangers-on.
• 4: 'Star'. Dating you is a ticket to admiration.
• 5: 'Casanova'. You're the lead character in a harem show.

In addition to this, pick one quality that defines your character – Wealthy, Martial arts, Connections (something), that sort of thing. No Psychic, that's been removed on account of Gnosis covers it. This doesn't cost or give points; it's purely as an extra trait. There are no negative ones, you can represent that in the stats (Physical 1 for cripples).

Persona

In the other world, your physical attributes don't matter. A frail girl might be the strongest alive, an athlete might be barely able to dent another. While this might seem weird, it's actually quite simple – in the other world, you are not you. Rather, you have been inverted – your inner self, the archetypal being that represents you, is dominant. This is your Persona.

A Persona is not merely a mirror of you. It is a mythological or legendary figure, manifest as a concrete, living entity of great power. It represents your self, your desires and your experiences.

Stats

Identity: Who your persona is, or what. It should something that fits your Major Arcana (and your personality). Be creative.

Major Arcana: One of the Tarot major arcana that your Persona embodies (meaning you embody it in some way). This should be meaningful to you. Everyone needs to have a different one of these, no overlaps. Fool, Death, and the World are special and are not available.

Minor Arcana: These represent the four classical elements: Fire (Wants, ambition and drive), Air (Swords, reason and logic), Water (Cups, emotion and passion), and Earth (Pentacles, material wealth and power).

Ascending Minor Arcana: One of four minor arcana that represent your element. This affects your attacks – your magic does more damage to those weak to your element, and less to those who favour it. Magic of your Element loses two successes of damage after resolution, and negates any bonuses that rely on element (Elemental, etc)

Descending Minor Arcana: One of the four minor arcana, this time used as a weakness. You take more damage from this element; it represents a personal weakness. Can't be the same as your Ascending. You take two extra damage after resolution from this.

Attributes

You get 16 points to spend on your persona's attributes. You must have a minimum of 1 in every stat. Qualities cost 2 points per.

Strength: Raw, physical power. This is the base stat you roll to attack in physical combat, including special attacks by your Persona. You get a number of special attacks equal to the rating, which cost MP to use.

Defense: Your ability to resist damage. Defense applies against physical attacks and damage. This includes environmental hazards. Gives you half its rating + 5 in HP.

Magic: Your energy reserves and mystical knowledge. You roll this stat for magic, and you gain a number of spells equal to it.

Integrity: Your ability to resist magical powers against you, mental or otherwise. Your MP (used for physical and magical attacks) is twice this. Negative Alter effects, Attack spells, and even Domination use this stat rather than mundane defense.

Speed: Your movement abilities, and reaction times. Adds to initiative rolls and is rolled to overcome obstacles in the dream world. Governs stealth.

Perception: The ability to notice things. Can pick out traps, passages, and sneaking enemies. Gnosis users often have high of this, and can extend their perceptions. Counters stealth.

Qualities

Almighty: Your Persona's magic is non-elemental; it does not have an elemental tag. This means your magic is never strong against anyone, but it is also never weak.

Incarnate: Your Persona absorbs attacks of its element. Attacks against you by your Ascending element heal you rather than hurt you for whatever their dice roll is. Only applies to magic, or physical attacks that do elemental damage

Inviolate: Your Persona has no elemental weakness. You don't have to pick a weakness at chargen – no element does extra damage to you.

Gnosis: Your Persona has long-range sensing abilities. You have the power to detect oncoming shadows, to discern the traits of enemies, and to locate secrets, as well as communicate across long distances.

Savior: Your Persona can heal itself and others. You can take Healing or Purify powers.

Powers

Basic attacks: You can make one of two different styles of Basic attack: Physical and Magical. Physical rolls Strength; Magical rolls Magic. The number of successes are resisted by the corresponding resistance stat (Defense for Strength, Integrity for Magic). These don't cost anything.

Your element modifies your Magic attack (unless you have Almighty), but not your physical (Unless you use the Elemental power).

Another action everyone can take is a 'Replenish Mana' action. Taking an action in combat to replenish your mana replenishes 1 mana. Drain is better for actually absorbing mana.

Either of these basic effects can be modified using effects, listed below. Build your spells with these, see above for totals given. Bracketed effects are the point cost AND the mana cost.

Physical effects

• -Enhance (1): Adds one die to physical roll or static effect. Must be purchased multiple times to be used more than once per power; cannot be bought more than half as many times as your Strength, round up.
• -Persistent (1): Target must roll Integrity or suffer the same effect again the next turn. This stacks, though does not extend previous durations (one-turn debuffs are effectively replaced, but don't increase). Damage is not rerolled, merely applied again as the same successes.
• -Elemental (1): Against targets weak against your element, they suffer as if it were a magical attack (+2 sux of damage). Against those strong against it, treat it as a magic attack for the purposes of damage (unless they have Incarnate, in which the extra damage is rolled but counts as healing)
• -Stealth (1): You engage a Stealth attack, vanishing and appearing behind the target to strike. Adds Speed to your attack roll. Enemy rolls perception only to defend.
• -Overwhelming (1): Your Persona strikes the target, knocking the target down and giving it a penalty of your net successes on its next action if it hits.
• -Protect (1): Your Persona guards you or a friend. Add your Strength to their Defense for the next round or until the target faces your Strength in successes.
• -Piercing (2): Your Persona's attack ignores your Strength's worth of the target's Defense.
• -Area (2): Affects a moderate area. Protect can be specifically targetted; other powers cannot.

Magic effects

• -Enhance (1): Adds one die to physical roll or static effect. Must be purchased multiple times to be used more than once per power; cannot be bought more than half as many times as your Magic, round up.
• -Persistent (1): Target must roll Integrity or suffer the same effect again the next turn. This stacks, though does not extend previous durations (one-turn debuffs are effectively replaced, but don't increase). Damage is not rerolled, merely applied again as the same successes.
• -Alter, Positive (1) Increase a stat defined at purchase by 2 (example: Strength).
• -Alter, Negative (1) Increase a stat defined at purchase by 2 (example: Strength) If reduced to zero, you may not use abilities governed by this.
• -Drain (1) Drains MP from the target in combat equal to sux on the combat roll. Does no damage.
• -Heal (1; requires Savior). Your magic roll heals damage to a person, rather than hurts. Treat like Attack for purposes of enhancements.
• -Purify (1; requires Savior). Can negate any Alter effect or negative Physical effect (like Overwhelming).
• -Dominate (1; requires Gnosis). Steal a power from an enemy and use it in battle. The power costs 1 mana every turn its used, and can only be used as long as the enemy is alive. You get a free use the turn you successfully Dominate, and you may choose to copy the opponent's element or use your own.
• -Area (2): Affects a moderate area. Heal, Purify, Alter, and Dominate effects can be selectively targeted; Attack and Drain spells cannot.