Superpower Lottery in a School Setting

• Number Three: Doesn't have to be a squishy wizard.
• Number Four: Let him hijack cellphone communication lines, internet access, hell, the school itself if it's sufficiently tech-y enough. I need to know more about the setting, but if it's set 20 Minutes into the Future there's lots he'd be able to do. Additionally, you can have him use simple robots.
• Number Six: Personally, I'd avoid Religious Studies. Too broad, too vague. Unless you have a clearly defined power set in mind. No, Symbolism Magic doesn't count because that heavily depends on interpretation and you might have a way of viewing it that justifies a power to you but makes it seem random to readers. Plus it's kinda like GMRC.

Some issues I have:

• GMRC is an easy subject and I'm not sure why only the protagonist can get GMRC-based powers so awesome they become anti-magic.
• I need some clarification on the power system, I think:
  • Is your ability based purely on the entrance exam?
  • If your ability is based on Subject X, how will having good grades in Subjects Y, Z, etc. affect the ability?

Knowing good and evil is easy, but actually doing it is not. And sometimes, fate makes it harder or impossible for you.

However, the only plausible way I could think of to determine a student's personality is to add a sort of personality quiz in the entrance exams. The problem is there's no way to determine whether the students are truthful in answering questions or not. But one way to exploit this problem is to have the hero and One's brother get high personality scores from both ends of the spectrum, so that Hero gets high Nice Guy points and One's brother high Jerkass points.

To explain further the power system:

• The student's ability is based on the entrance exam results, so that s/he gets the ability corresponding to his strongest field at the time.
• If the student gains mastery of a different field, it simply adds an attribute to hir ability to make it more powerful.
• Overall scores determine Power Levels, and is therefore important in determining the seven emperors of each year level, since students are not ranked based on raw power.
• The Hero and One's brother gained an obscure ability due to an anomaly in the system. The power system is supposed to give them an ability corresponding to their strong subjects, but the student may suck so much at everything or be so awesome at everything that it does not know what ability to give him. As a fail-safe, the devs snuck in an obscure prize in the Superpower Lottery which is much more Difficult, but Awesome than the others to avoid abuse once any student knows how to trigger the Game-Breaking Bug to his advantage, which fortunately is very difficult to pull off.

edited 14th Aug '12 9:44:01 PM by judasmartel

Possible solution... have the headmaster/guidance counselor/head prefect have a power - namely to be an empath to discern honesty. The personality quiz is actually a Secret Test of Character in which those who are dishonest either flunk out or receive some form of penalty. Perhaps the aforementioned fail-safe? In which case, the plot goes something like this: The Hero lies during the entrance exam personality test in an attempt to live up to his brother's reputation, resulting in the mess he now finds himself in.

As for Number Four, how about an internet-based ability? Perhaps give him the ability to teleport via the internet (e.g. from one computer/phone/hotspot to another) or to have his mind access to the internet as long as there is a local wi-fi (i.e. he can hack, access Wikipedia and surf for porn without a need for a phone or computer).

edited 14th Aug '12 10:38:37 PM by peasant

It's not The Hero's brother who got the same powers as the hero did. It's the older brother of the Number One emperor who went insane before the events of the story. The only reason why Number One went to Esper Academy is to find out what really happened to his brother, as this resulted into him becoming the next head of the family back home. He's definitely not amused with that.

Fortunately, though, the ability system only takes the student's strongest subject into account when handing out powers. So in my setting, most of the lower-tier students have Charles Atlas Superpowers since they're generally more physically fit than even some emperors themselves (except Number Seven, of course). Over time, though, the emperors realized they must at least try to get in shape in order to use their powers more effectively. Because as you know, the Mage Killer is an increasingly common trope nowadays because, really, when we think of superpowers, we think they're so broken they're nigh-undefeatable.

The first entrance exams didn't have personality tests to begin with. It's when Uno's brother didn't gain an ability that the devs thought about a fail-safe. So since then, the entrance exam now has a personality test on it. And yes, it's so much better to give exam admins the ability to detect honesty, but only as long as they're inside the VR field so they won't go insane from Power Incontinence. Cheaters would most likely flunk the exam and never get another shot for Esper Academy.

Once the students are there, they can't get away from cheating as well. Cheating or using abilities to cheat or distract other students will result in zero points and decrease in Power Levels for the test.

edited 14th Aug '12 11:48:04 PM by judasmartel

Thanks for the clarification.

Some thoughts I had this morning:

• I named the unknown prize in the Superpower Lottery "Null Ability" or simply "Null". This appears to be nothing, but it's actually Anti-Magic which Power Level is based on the user's total test scores but it deducts a certain value per activation unlike the other abilities which do not, so that he has to use up his Power Levels to block attacks or make himself Nigh-Invulnerable but constantly depleting his Power Level as a result. Thus, in order to sustain it for a long period of time, the user must have very high scores. But since the hero is bad at academics though not necessarily an Idiot Hero...
• So Number Three should be a Magic Knight? I would still prefer to have her play distance since her body in the real world is rather frail and she dislikes fighting up close.
• I agree with Number Four being a Robot Master who can summon Mecha-Mooks or a Humongous Mecha for hir to ride on. Hir ability is activated through an assembly language compiler initially, but as he gains higher scores in language subjects he gains an ability to use higher-level programming languages so s/he could control hir bots much easier and more effectively. Here are examples of its use:
  • Summon a Mecha-Mook by initializing a program. Issue commands to it so it could attack and defend. The OR command makes it attack, the AND command makes it defend. Mathematical operations simply increase or decrease its power level, depending on Number Four's design. Disengage the mook by terminating the program.
  • Other commands perform different functions, so that code efficiency determines the mook's speed. Thus, Number Four can make longer codes to issue commands to make it a Mighty Glacier, and shorter codes that do the same thing to make it a Lightning Bruiser. Storage is the only possible way to summon more mooks in assembly language (which means s/he can only summon up to three, corresponding to accumulator, x, and y). More mooks can only be summoned if Number Four can use higher-level programming languages, so that a Zerg Rush can be performed using loop commands in say, C or higher.
  • Humongous Mecha are extremely long to make, so Number Four writes a huge program code beforehand, and then just loads it into the ability system to summon it. Same mechanics as above, but Number Four writes codes such that he can only disengage if he wishes to.

Since this is more likely a boarding school, there would be two students per room. Thus, I'm having considerations as to whose roommate would be who.

• The Hero / either Number Seven or a mid-tier student with an ElementalPower, preferably fire or lightning.
• Number Three / a weaker student.

• Number 3 doesn't have to be a Magic Knight. She can play distance; she doesn't need to have high DEF, she can make do with agility and speed.
• You can pair up the Hero with someone really strong, probably someone in the same class too, so he can have someone to tutor him and help him in fights.
• Still have issues with Religious Studies.

• Sure, if mini-cyclones could give her Super-Speed and Not Quite Flight.
• I'm thinking number 3, but since there's only one emperor per class, roommates should be of the same sex, and Number Three is female, I guess a high-tier classmate would do. I'm torn between a thermodynamics specialist so that he could control temperature, or a chemistry specialist so we could have an alchemist character a la Edward Elric.
• I don't think she would be important, but I'm wondering about Number Three's roommate's ability and personality. I think a phys ed specialist would work so that she could help Number Three get in shape.
• RS, I'm still thinking about it. I found out that it's much easier to think of a Game-Breaker ability first, then add more and more limitations to balance it, but not as far as making it outright useless. Right now I'm thinking of Terra of the Left.

edited 16th Aug '12 2:16:41 AM by judasmartel

• Yeah, the hero's roommate can just be a high-tier classmate. I'd suggest a chemistry specialist, because alchemy is cooler than just changing temperatures.
• You actually should define Number Three's roommate. If anything, Number Three's roommate should be somewhat important. She is after all privy to Number Three's private life, kinda. Even if she only acts as someone Number Three bounces ideas off on. Heck, she could be a way of contacting Number Three, even helping or hindering the Hero with the romantic venture. Or she could even become an antagonist, or a hostage, or something. Basically, there's lots of plot threads to be made from a roommate, so definitely give her a character profile, even if isn't extensive.
• RS isn't bad because it's a game breaker, it's bad because it's vague.

edited 16th Aug '12 2:33:34 AM by fillerdude

• Cool, I'm set for the hero's roommate: an Expy of Edward Elric!
• I'm thinking of a Comically Serious Samurai Girl as Three's roommate, something similar with a Sword and Sorcerer pair from Mahou Sensei Negima. Being born from a family of samurai, she's the resident Master Swordsman of the story who pledged Undying Loyalty to Three for some good reason (maybe being touched by Three's kindness) I believe I can get maximum lulz by having her hinder the hero's advances on Three in quite hilarious ways, but I'm not sure how would she make a good Beta Couple with the alchemist.
• Here's some symbolism magic based on the Seven Deadly Sins:
  • Pride - Reflects attacks back to its source. It's not automatic, so the user must react first to an attack to use it, and it can only be used for as many attacks the user's Power Levels can allow at a time.
  • Greed - Creates a Sphere of Destruction which acts as a moving Invisible Wall between the user and the target, effectively making it an Advancing Wall of Doom.
  • Lust - The user will appear as an opponent's loved one, but it does not work if the target feels betrayed to sense their loved one as an enemy, therefore inducing Unstoppable Rage instead.
  • Wrath - Grants Super-Strength and Blood Knight status to the user.
  • Envy - Copies the current opponent's ability, so it only works for one target at a time.
  • Sloth - Slows down a target's time, effectively giving Super-Speed to the user.
  • Gluttony - Summons a Sphere of Destruction to suck in the opponent towards the user.

• Please don't think of pairing up the roommates just because they're roommates of the main characters. It's so very contrived. At least write it well if you're set on it. On that note, your idea for Number Three's roommate is excellent.
• Re: RS powers I see. Could make for a good puzzle boss. So please, if you really want Religious Studies, stick to that power set! At least for that character.

• Well, duh. Of course, I could write different characters to serve as the Beta Couple for the main one, like Guiche X Montmorency to Saito X Louise.
• As you have stated, RS powers are kind of vague, so giving Number Six all the possible symbolisms would make her very overpowered. I have considered either granting her access to one symbolism at a time, or simply giving her one symbolism entirely.
  • Option A seems to be a good choice if I should make her a Puzzle Boss, so that each of her opponents must guess what symbolism she has used so that they could get an idea how her present ability works. Thus, the chances of two opponents facing the same ability would be as high as Number Six wants it to, so that she could never use the same symbolism twice, or she could but would not do so unless she has no other symbolisms to use.
  • Option B works as well. the problem with the RS power I have formulated above is that it's quite underpowered compared to the abilities that other top-tier characters have, such as the top three emperors. I must research more about religious and mythological symbols to give her an ability suitable for the sixth emperor. Unless of course anyone else thinks the Seven Deadly Sins are quite powerful enough.

Otherwise, any other nice symbolism suggestions (Christianity or otherwise) would be appreciated.

edited 18th Aug '12 7:19:58 PM by judasmartel

Cool religious motif? Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

• What I thought of the horsemen motif:
  • Conquest - Summons a Zerg Rush of horsemen.
  • War - Grants Super-Strength to the user.
  • Famine - Deals Standard Status Effects.
  • Hell - Converts the battlefield into a Lava World, and grants the user the ability to use Hellfire.
• Or a non-Christian one: The Four Gods, in the form of colored pills. One could ingest any one of the pills which would work for 5 minutes at a time, or throw their containers across the battlefield to conjure an Area of Effect Kill Sat later. Each colored pill grants the following properties to the user:
  • Seiryū (blue) - Glass Cannon
  • Suzaku (red) - Lightning Bruiser
  • Byakko (white) - Mighty Glacier
  • Genbu (black) - Stone Wall

I guess you can just take those powers up to eleven.

I'm set on the Seven Deadly Sins. Just need to take it Up To Eleven and at the same time making it less broken than the top five. Thanks.

Seven deadly sins, eh? Good times.

So I just thought...

• An international school with students of different nationalities or an obscure local school with students of the same nationality?
• I thought of Number Four as a Korean, so is this okay or should I write her as a different nationality which has something to do with technology, like China, Japan, or Germany?
• After watching The Law Of Ueki again, I thought I wanted my battles to be very tactical, but I realized you really can't do anything much with Anti-Magic, at least the inherent variety. Good thing I didn't make it inherent so it won't be that broken. So any fighting tactic suggestions for non-inherent Anti-Magic, say, against telekinetic powers?

edited 26th Aug '12 9:57:27 PM by judasmartel

In order:

• Either way. Which one do you think is more interesting to write? Do you have any plots that would rely on the students having the same nationality? Having different nationalities?
• Doesn't really matter, but making Number Four hail from a tech-happy country would be amusing.
• I would have to ask how the anti-magic works. Does he have to make contact with the magic, or can he project an anti-magic field?

I already gave names for the seven emperors:

• #1 - Chang Shen (China) - Vector Field - Also nicknamed the White Dragon due to his white Chinese garb and relation to his brother Long Shen (ex-wielder of the Null Field ability) the Black Dragon.
• #2 - William Robertson (USA) - Spelling Field
• #3 - Ayame Takihara (Japan) - Weather Field (Not sure if it's even a valid surname, I just thought, she must be an heiress to a very influential Japanese corporation).
• #4 - Hee Shin Kang (South Korea) - Gear Field
• #5 - Indira Aishwanathan (India) - Mental Field
• #6 - Gabrielle Villetiere (France) - Demon Field
• #7 - Emmanuel Barias (Philippines) - Power Field
• The Hero - Pedro Dimaano (Philippines) - Null Field

I have a new idea: Why not make Test Points the power source? You run out of Test Points (TP), you can no longer use your abilities. You can get more TP by getting good scores in regular tests and exams. In this way, actual power rankings are not based solely on test points but on the students' creativity in using the one power each of them have, with all the limiting conditions attached.

@Anti-Magic - He needs to get in contact with the ability first before he cancels it, so that he simply needs to touch the attacks or the affected areas to cancel them, at the cost of his meager Test Points, of course; or he could make himself invulnerable to ability attacks for as long as his puny TP can hold anyway.

The reason why Long Shen was able to use Null Field so effectively was that he had so many Test Points to use for it.

@Mental Field - She actually can't use her abilities on humans in Test Battles, so another use of her ability is to animate any object as long as it cannot be normally controlled remotely, so it won't work on machines, either. Thus, it only works on things like toy soldiers and dolls.

edited 27th Aug '12 1:33:40 AM by judasmartel

• Re: emperors: Lookin' good.
• Re: test points as power source They must have a lot of exams then.
• Re: anti-magic Well the only way to fight tactically with that is to reserve it until the fatal blow. He'll have to be a combat pragmatist, or use his environments extensively. Basically he'll have to rely on non-ability stuff.

So my plan's going to work then. Hero would start off as a Badass Normal, but as he becomes more awesome in class he can afford to use his Anti-Magic more often. Awesome.

Yeah, pretty much.

Any ideas on the lower tier enemies?

I'm thinking of Test Battles Baka Test style, wherein participating students are allowed to take as many tests as possible for a certain period before and after the Test Battle.

Re: Lower-tier enemies: Not sure really. It's much easier to make broken characters, after all. Though I made up a team-up tactic with Pedro and Ayame similar to what Touma and Stiyl used against an Amakusa swordsman.

Ayame aims for Pedro with any of her Elemental Powers, then Pedro cancels it on the last moment so the opponent would expect Ayame's attack just to get caught off-guard by Pedro's Anti-Magic punch. If the opponent sidesteps Pedro's punch, he'll take a hit from Ayame's attack if it connects on both sides. If opponent jumps over Pedro to avoid his punch and Pedro expects it, Pedro would just cancel Ayame's attack which would now be aiming straight at him.

And I call it the Emperor and Soldier combo! As long as our class empress is paired with Soldier-class Pedro Dimaano, she's invincible!

edited 27th Aug '12 8:33:13 AM by judasmartel

Re: tests Ah, okay.

Re: lower tier enemies Really? I instantly do mental facepalms when I make a broken power, unless that was what I was going for.

Re: last paragraph Looks like a good basic strategy, but has a lot of holes so it probably wouldn't work on more skilled opponents.