Housepets!

Same, really. I want this RP to keep going and I'm invested. Sorry for not posting in a bit. I haven't come up with a reply to Einar that I'm satisfied with. If we need a metaphorical AED I can get put up something.

Honestly, even if the person looking to leave did leave, we'd still have enough players for a viable RP. It only needs four.

I'd be OK with taking over GM duties. I was pretty much already GMing this game anyway. The problem is continuing with so many players and characters suddenly missing. There needs to be a reason why so many of them are leaving. Something to explain it In Character.

Yeah, the usual technic for leaving characters where they’re just retconned out of existence won’t really work here. Anyone got any idea for why Game and Busters characters would suddenly leave? I have an idea for why Alan and Luke would leave, but it’s reliant on something I never got around to establishing in game, so I’m not sure I should use it.

CyberDragon wrote:I'd be OK with taking over GM duties. I was pretty much already GMing this game anyway. The problem is continuing with so many players and characters suddenly missing. There needs to be a reason why so many of them are leaving. Something to explain it In Character.

My first thought was they get called away to work for a different guild, but that wouldn't be very immediate and there's a mix of new and veteran members that need to be dealt with. We do have a MissingNo. at our disposal so they could vanish because of glitches, but I don't think that's a Pandora’s Box we want to open.

I would say go ahead and use it. Perhaps it's not something you introduced yet, but if you'd like to bow out, I'm sure any method you use will be better than anything we string up.

As for the others, I sent Cyber a list already, before I knew who was wanting to leave.

But, to copy the relevant ones, here's what I suggested:

Rose & Baja: Rose doesn't trust that being surrounded by so many high energy Pokemon will help Baja, and so wants to try a smaller guild.

Scallop & Atum: Word through the grapevine that Scallop's mother has been found alive, something something chasing a trail from a new place. Doesn't need to be specific.

Luke & Alan: Luke is sent to stay with grandmother for a time as his father is sent to look into something.

Ironically enough if my character Lance is back up for grabs and you need more players I can join?

That's fine with me as long as Lego is ok with it.

That’s sounds great to me, and I like Leaf’s suggestion for how to get rid of the other two. I just need to figure out how to write their exit in a way that feels natural.

Actually if you want to keep Lance you can keep him. You have been using him for awhile.

I will make an adventurer, to be in a team.

Lego is planning to leave the game, Grim. He's not going to be playing Lance anymore.

Yeah, and I can see why I bowed out the first time ^-^u You guys have way more knowledge and the mechanics are FAR more extensive than I've ever really bothered to keep with, Mystery Dungeon or Pokémon games either.

I apologise for my contributions to going way too deep into the mechanics. I love the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games, and am just stoked to have a place to apply what I know. I can tone it down and/or attempt to better explain them from here.

You're doing fine, Leaf.

I do have a question for everyone. With so many people leaving, we now have only about four guild recruit characters. Two are going on one mission, two on the other. With so few characters, splitting them into two assignments seems like it would be spreading us thin.

In one or two posts, I can explain the absence of a few characters and rearrange things so everyone is going on the same assignment. That keeps the players and characters together and synchronized. Would people prefer I do that?

I was actually going to suggest that. The entire reason I suggested the escort for Chailyn in the first place was so we didn't have two teams, with a total of seven characters, on one mission, possibly competing. We no longer have so many recruits. She herself even said she can do the trip alone, it would just take longer.

On my enthusiasm though, I know I'm not breaking rules, but I hate to think that my eagerness to analyze and extrapolate lore implications from the game mechanics is making others hesitant to join or continue play. If it would be more comfortable were I to dial it back, I'll gladly do so.

Just an FYI, Grim sent me a PM that he won’t be playing Lance again. Not sure why he didn’t post that here, but whatever.

Given circumstances, I think it's time I request formally to move Chailyn to secondary character. Her design better suits it now that the team(s) are going to be entering the field.

I'm very happy that Rescue Team DX gives us unique pictures for each item, which we can use to give descriptions to orbs, seeds, and wands. This will be very helpful to immersion, descriptive writing, and more. Very glad to have this new addition to the series.

I'll be working to collect them as fast as I can myself, but I suspect the images will pop up online soon if they haven't already.

Alan and Luke have officially left the story. This post was absolutely not my best work, but I was just tired of putting it off and I rushed through it so it could all be over with.

I'm sorry it got to that point for you. Good luck with whatever you put yourself to from here.

I'd like to make a respectful poke to get a show of hands for those still interested here. I've not put up a reply in character to let everyone adjust to things since the start of the pandemic, but I'm starting to worry interest has waned.

I'm waiting for you and for Deske. I'm still willing to go on, but only one person has moved since my last post.

Sure, I'll put something forward. Figured Deske might still need some adjusting time, but they might actually be waiting to have T follow Einar's example. Can't say I know the plan there.

Sorry, I honestly thought I'd posted and never actually went back to check. My bad!

Sorry for neglecting this game for so long. After both other GMs left the game and Buster left, I got a bit discouraged. Didn't help that my job kept me really tired.

I recently got Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX on the Switch for Christmas, and it gave me the inspiration I needed to continue this.

I'm willing to help out. I love the series, and having a "piece your world together" version is exciting as all get out for me.

And you have a lot of these that you're part of, so I'm sure it's easy to lose track of any of them.

Sorry to bother, just curious about the state of this RP - life, accepting new folks, all that...

Hey! Sorry for not replying sooner.

A new player might just be what this game needs to get rolling again. I've been trying to resuscitate it.

If you want to join, then I'd be happy to have you here! Go ahead and make a character.


To everybody else: What are we waiting on? Is there something I need to do to give you guys something to respond to? I'd really like to keep going with this game.

Don't mind if I do~

Character Name: Ilex
Color: Holly
Type: Main
Species: Servine
Age: 24
RP: Pokemon

Appearance: Ilex's green coloration is considerably darker than average, with his vanity leaves and tail leaf more rigid and ending in small, spiked points. His collar is more orange than yellow, but it's not obvious without clear lighting. When using either vines or Aromatherapy his collar spreads outwards slightly, allowing the vines/scent to rise through the space between the collar and his neck.

Personality: "Hey, you. You’re finally awake... Feeling any better?"
Gentle. Ilex dislikes pain, either his own or others, and will often cave to demands just to avoid a fight. He also has a tendency to forget to eat/pack food, which, thanks to photosynthesis, is never a problem out in the sun - but in dungeons...

Other notes: Ilex is considerably averse to physical combat, relying on status or Special moves to ensure his opponents keep their distance. His real motivation for joining any sort of Guild is to have a dedicated garden area, not to fight or explore, but he's happy to help others with the latter. He's well-acquainted with his evolved form, having been a Servine for some time, but his aversion to combat has left him at level 17 for years.

Ability: Overgrow (When in dire straits, boosts grass power! Out of combat, pairs with Grassy Terrain to markedly boost the growth rate and harvest amount of nearby non-sentient plants/heal nearby Pokemon faster.)

Special Moves:
Grassy Terrain
Aromatherapy

Dynamic stats:
Level: 17
HP: 52
Attack: 30
Defense: 31
Special Attack: 30
Special Defense: 38
Speed: 38

Static stats:
Perception: 5
Charisma: 8
Intelligence: 4
Luck: 7

He's coming from yet another escaped confrontation, so he can be pretty much anywhere he's needed that isn't fatal to plant life.
And/or this one!

Character Name: Marble
Color: Rose
Type: Main
Species: Growlithe
Age: 15
RP: Pokemon

Appearance: Marble's build is lither than expected, though this is often hidden by the puffiness of her coat. In bright light, there's a reflective subtle pink tint to the whites of her eyes.

Personality: "Please... is that all you've got?"
Hardy. Instilled in Marble is a fiercely chivalric spirit, as though she were born to protect people from the evils of the world. Anyone looking for help needs only to ask, but getting her to bite back her pride and accept help for something she can do herself is an ordeal. She has a strong respect for authority and law, and will attempt to uphold both in any situation they're threatened in.

Other notes: Marble's father is a renowned criminal who often attacked rescue parties for the challenge and their Poke. He was beaten and jailed by an Espeon tactician who, after his eventual release and a ridiculous amount of challenges after, would propose to him. Marble followed soon after and once the initial stigma was pierced she was readily accepted by the hamlet they'd settled in. She will never talk about her family, seeing the entire story as profoundly embarrassing, and any reference to it is one of the easiest ways to shake her focus.

Ability: Justified (When hit by a Dark Type move, Strength boost! Out of combat, Marble will never deliberately harm another without being hit by them first.)

Special Moves:
Morning Sun

Dynamic stats:
Level: 20
HP: 58
Attack: 39
Defense: 29
Special Attack: 39
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 35

Static stats:
Perception: 4
Charisma: 7
Intelligence: 8
Luck: 5

Marble's coming straight for the guild. She may have been interrupted on the way and is probably somewhat injured.

Edit: Marble's name is Marble, I... I'm not sure how I got that wrong?

I was hoping Deske might post, though I might be being too generous with the time I'm willing to wait before posting. :T

Yeah my bad. I got reliant on looking at the top of the page and I didn't scroll down to see the rest so I let it fall to the wayside too easily. Threw up my own post. I'll try to keep up better, but I don't have the best posting habits.

DdeeStar, those characters look good! If you'd like, I can give you an entry point for one or the other in my next post.

I'll plan on writing my next update tonight.

That'd be greatly appreciated! Thanks again for your help~

I used to do character design like that. Throw things at the wall; see what I like and what feels awkward, forced, or out of touch with the character's overall design; touch up; and go with it.

The thing giving it away is you called Marble "Kiara" in the description and 'other notes.'

I also like the designs, they show two different intentions and writing directions, meaning they're going to be holding different reactions and will be likely to influence the setting uniquely.

Moreover, Marble's background could easily be played with to occasionally give alternative ways through a situation, while Ilex's personality lends to giving the world greater depth for interaction depending on how is used. I would like to see how it goes.


For Deske: What helps me notice when a post is made is that I use the "my posts" page, and refresh at least every other day. Then I scroll through to find a thread I haven't read and work my way to the top. Easy way to check on multiple threads with minimal tabs.

Yeah I absolutely managed to call her both Marble and Kiara in the same section. Super sorry, I promise I'm normally better with details
Marble was going to be Kiara but I liked having the names have something to do with them as creatures better - Ilex is literally another name for the holly bush and Marble is a metamorphic rock, so it seemed more fitting.
Hopefully they'll be good additions, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where they're led!

Though I'll admit the note of you having used to design that way leaves me a mite curious...

I haven't really stopped to be completely honest. In reality I'm just a lot more rigorous in re-reading my character sheets and refining the ideas, but I used to not be anywhere near as good at designing interesting and flexible characters.

You can find some examples of that here on the site, but I'll leave you to find those if you really want.

I will say, I get the impression Einar and Marble will make fast friends.

I still have a good bit of trouble getting a real sense for a character before they get a few rounds in, and because of that I tend to run with what the sheet means over what it actually says... which is helpful to no one at all!
Time and practice, that's what I've got for a solution.

I'll run through some searches and look at what you've done, maybe I can glean some new insights or themes that'll help! Worth a shot, and some research on the forum's time before my arrival is never a waste.

And as long as Marble manages to avoid being seen as a barbarian again there's a good chance! Hard not to appreciate someone sensible as a teammate.

Typical Leaf "I didn't sleep well so here's world building."

Technical Tomes wrote:Technical Tomes are written by teams of Smeargle. The ink they use is carefully placed on the pages, and writing a single TT can take years as the remaining ink from learning a move is limited. Those that trace moves they already know to use the extra ink simply to sell TTs are often looked down on, so the practice is often avoided. This accounts for some of why TTs are expensive. Including the remnants of the ink used to trace a move is considered to be the artist's signature.

As artists, Smeargle often don't consider tracing moves such as "tackle" or "growl" as an accomplishment worth recording. This artistic standard is why they also respect the sanctity and secrecy of more elusive moves, which is why those lucky few who get the chance to record unique moves keep the secrets to themselves, if they ever trace the move in the first place. This is why there are moves that don't have TTs.

The ink retaining some the power of the original trace is what gives these books the ability to impart the knowledge to pokemon, though often to a greatly limited extent. This practice is an old tradition, though none know when it was started. Stories on how the practice began differ, often greatly, dependant on the Smeargle you ask.

((Edited a few times to fix up grammar, spelling, and consistency, as well as to adjust paragraphs so some information isn't sitting awkwardly inside entirely unrelated details))

That's really interesting... it explains how the TMs show up in mystery dungeon games even though there's little technology to produce them.

I mean, I figured they needed some kind of in universe justification rather than just being something we carry over from the mechanics of the games. We went hard at beds, why not TMs (and our low-tech substitutes, TTs)?

Minor correction, Growlithe, not Flareon. We (I) do know who you're talking about though.

I'd also like to be clear, Einar did the equivalent of throwing a geopebble, and did not use Rock Throw. He's got about ten levels before then.