Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirron
I'd like to make a character, but I have a few questions.
1. Is there an actual RP topic, or is this more to stretch creative ideas?
2. Is there any sort of list of explanations on the magic system? I can't find an English database of Nanoha information, and Wikipedia is only so-so in terms of use. I'm watching the strikers part of the series, and should be done fairly soon. I'm primarily interesting in the Belka system, although I've also seen it typed Velka, so I may use that.
3. What are the limits, in terms of rank, things like that? I read the intro but I'd like some personal perspectives on this.
Thank you in advance. I'm really glad I got into this series, and I really love it. It's one of my favorite shows.
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Welcome to Nanoha OC, fondly referred to as Outer Cadia! As one of the senpai here, I'll be more than happy to answer your questions.
1) OC is mostly a place to stretch creative ideas, and not really for RP. The last time there was a moderate attempt at RP it didn't turn out very well.
OC is pretty much a place to test out ideas and concepts, introduce charecters and worlds, and where idea settings are tested and examined. Upfront, I'd just like to point out that the majority of OC works take place in a shared universe that as much as possible tries to stay as close to canon as possible... which I note tends to have the effect that most OCs interact peripherally with the Aces.
My
Task Force Six project is working on that a bit...
On a note: Be prepared for close examination of whatever you put up. The haxxbusting process, where charecter concepts are grilled, broken down, and then built back up, is something all of us have gone through, and emerged the better for it. But as long as the charecter ideas are reasonable, and not, say, ports of Son Goku or Sailor Moon, or god knows what other overpowered shounen anime charecter, you should be alright. Hell, I ported over Master Chief and Johnson, and managed to rewrite their histories to keep them true to their origins while still fitting into the Nanoverse. (I
did have to nerf a fair number of Chief's abilities...)
2) List of Explanations on the magic system: there's no big overarching database that I know of; what's happened is that there's some sorta gestalt-group hivemind shared knowledge of the magic systems, where everybody knows a bit and they bring that bit to the table. Potluck magical knowledge, as it is.
That said my memory isn't too hot after just waking up in the morning (worked the night shift and closing up last night), so generally what's best is to ask your query and then sit back and watch the replies scroll in.
Off the top of my head, a few things to note: the Linker Core is - unlike what some other cadians would have you believe - an organ present
only in mages that converts carbohydrates into mana. Which is why mages tend to go for hi-carb diets. (Which explains why NanoHayaFate have those busts, I suppose.) And beamspamming cartridges is NOT how you gain power - you can only charge up to 6 cartridges at a time for any given spell; any more and you risk blowout. (It's like loading 6 tons onto a truck that can ccarry 6 tons - it can hold the weight, and do repeated trips carrying 6 tons, but anything above 6 tons and the suspension blows).
3) In terms of rank, SS is the maximum, since that's what Hayate is. In terms of rank and ability, the Aces are the highest tier: any charecter equal or more powerful than them will receive greater scrutiny. SSS is a theoretical rank limit and is not used because we have no clue how powerful SSS is, which means balancing is rather diffucult.
In terms of rank and skill and military rank, there's no hard limit, really. All of these are approached on a case-by-case basis. That said AAA to S-rank is the practical limit for most OCs; but IIRC most OCs are around A-AAA, with only a few S-rankers running around (I can only think of Eric, and he's more of a desk guy nowadays, despite, or perhaps because, of his Jet Magnum.)
For me, I tend to write middle-tier charecters. Of my OCs, only Johnson and Naomi Jaeger are AA. Franz Jaeger, my main OC, is an A-rank, and Chief is B-ranked. It's really a matter of personal preference, but note that high ranks will be scrutinised, especially if you've got, say, an AAA-rank in the Ground Forces leading other AAA-ranks.
When all's said and done though, the main purpose is to have fun and create charecters. At the end of the day, it's a shared sandbox we're playing along, so give and take and compromising is required. That said the line between stubbornness and sticking to your guns is a very fine line indeed... which is why haxxbusting is done case by case.
Basically, just be reasonable, and use common sense, and think, and you'll do fine...
AND BE PREPARED TO LISTEN. I cannot stress the last enough. If you insist on ignoring what everyone is saying, then IMO you're better off making an AU - which is what one other poster is doing.
Sorry, but I had to make that very clear. Apart from that, again, welcome to OC.
On the timelines, something I want to note:
Alpha is pretty grim and dark at the beginning. This is due to evangelion - Kagerou and I grew up, so the speak, in the Evangelion fanfiction community... which pretty much collapsed when Top Dog Random stopped writing. I predict similar things vis-a-vis Nanoha and Satashi but that's neither here nor there. The First Half of
Alpha Timeline is rather dark. But then Nanoha levels up speccatularly and gets a new BJ form and kicks much ass.
That said the general mood and feel
is rather reminiscent of Halo. And Xenogears.
EDIT: FFS beaten by Kha. Damnit Beanbag! And beaten by shou! Damnit shou!
Also, if you want more help, I'd suggest the #outercadia channel at
www.mibbit.com. Set your username to whatever you like, and channel to #outercadia. You'll find a lot of us in the channel at any one time - most of the haxxbusters are on at this time as well, so you can quickly run concepts and ideas by them.