Misbalanced Scales (Fantasy isekai

This is an interest check and signup for this game, unfortunately titles can't be edited to include what was lost. Oops.

"Oh great hero, I have called you from your world so you might face a great evil."

These are the words that Other Worlders hear when they are summoned by the Goddess Dalla, afterward being gifted a unique power that defies even the greatest arts wielded by mortals. From there they will gather groups, face enemies, and and gain fame throughout the lands without ever reaching the end of their mission. This is of course the point, a cosmic joke the heavens play on the people of the world of Novis.

The gods first created man so that they may worship them, granting the gods greater strength. But man eventually outgrew the gods and turned their backs upon them. And so the gods created monsters and demons to torment the people so they would seek salvation from these horrid foes. But eventually the demons learned of their place and took control of the monsters, withdrawing to their own lands.

Uneasy through it was the peace once again resulted in less prayer for the gods, and so they reached across the worlds and summoned the souls of the departed from higher planes and gifted them with both a unique power, and one shared across all Other Worlders.

The hidden skill known as Protagonist. This skill subtly effects the minds of people around them, making them into puppets to act out the fantasy of the Other Worlder summoned to them, and through their deeds and praise those summoned by the gods will see prayers returned. For the heroes were told the gods were 'good' and the demons were 'evil'. And thus with their tools at the front new wars began all over the world.

Against the divine blessings of the gods themselves the demons and monsters were forced to retreat again and again. Until finally the Underworld Queen developed a countermeasure to the divine blessings and the skill granted to Other Worlders.

The Curse series and the skill Antagonist. The curse acts as a powerful tool tied to the power of the world, requiring sacrifice for its user. Antagonist on the other hand allows the chosen of the demons to absorb the power of the heavens, corrupting the blessings of the divine into their own unique power.

All that remained was the choice for who should carry this burden, and the answer was reached within their world. Or rather their Underworld. The souls of those manipulated to evil by the skill of the Other Worlders would be called up once more, granted new bodies along with their Curse and the skill Antagonist.

"Hear me souls lost to the machinations of the gods, rise once more and reclaim your life. Cast down the tools of the gods and see them returned to the balance of things."

@$^@#$^@#^#@$%@#$@#

Welcome to your second chance at life, cursed by demons and given the chance at revenge for the corruption of their minds. Gonna go ahead and throw some quick terms at you then a character sheet.

• Other Worlders- Souls of the dead summoned from a far off world by the gods, granted a blessing and skill by the gods to act as their unwitting puppets.

• Blessing- A powerful skill, ability, or weapon granted to Other Worlders before being incarnated into the world of Novis. The destruction of these tools can be accomplished through the 'Antagonist' skill granted to those called upon by the demons.

• Curse- A specific power granted to those revived by the demons, while not on par with a Blessing they allow them to stand before an Other Worlder and stand a chance.

• Revenant- Those summoned up by the demons after their deaths either directly or indirectly caused by an Other Worlder. Mainly focused on those who were the most twisted by their skill.

Character Sheet

• Name:
• Age:
• Race: (Any sort of fantasy race is acceptable, from goblin to elves. And of course just normal human is fine as well)
• Personality:
• History:
• Curse: (Your characters unique power, through it comes at a cost. The ability to manipulate the ground at the cost of your sight while active. A legendary sword that burns through lifeforce. Be creative but always remember the price.)
• Equipment: (Any tools that your character might use.)
• Magical Skill: (Any specific school of magic that your character might have access too._
• Appearance:
• Etc:

Edited by Kingxana0 on Apr 23rd 2022 at 11:00:00 AM

I'm interested.

I have a question about curses though: how severe should the cost be?

I'm currently thinking of playing a character who got mindfucked into a really slimy noble. The kind that's implied to want to sexually assault one of the MC's girls but never actually does because readers can be pretty weird about virgins and the author needs to keep it PG.

Like those nobles from SAO Alicization.

The actual character would be really freaked about being made to do... all of that. His Curse would be something like Charm Person or Emotion Control at the cost of deadening his own emotions. The idea is that he doesn't want to use his Curse but still wants to get revenge, so he'll have to improvise rather than rely on it.

Speaking of which, can an Antagonist kill a Protagonist without relying on their Curse? I have a backup character concept if this one won't work.

That sounds like the perfect drawback to a charming ability, gain and loss should be about equal in things.

And yeah Revenants are able to defeat Other Worlders through any method of their choice, it's just their Curse is meant to put them on equal footing and not force their minds to twist to their skill.

Name: Leo

Age: 18

Race: Human

Personality: On the surface Leo, seems to be your archetypical snobbish aristocrat. The sort who looks down on everyone who is of lesser status than them (which, considering he's the heir of a ducal house, means everyone but actual royalty). His words and mannerisms gives the impression of someone who abhors he very existence of commoners.

For most anyone who isn't completely deluded, this impression doesn't last. His actions reveal the content of his character.

Leo deeply cares for the well being of everyone beneath him, from the highest of noble lackeys to the lowest of commoners. He would not ask others to do anything he wouldn't do himself, and he would remember the names and faces of each of his subordinates. He treasures his family and his friends, prioritizing them over his own wants almost instinctively. On his own, Leo has the soul of a scholar and mage, spending his free time reading books and learning about both the world and the principles by which it functions.

Leo values loyalty above all else, both from others and from himself. He despises traitors, and has a vengeful streak a mile wide.

History: Born Leovric Prarvus Ashward Vhangam III, Heir of Ducal House of Vhangham, Leo never really cared for his status preferring scholarly pursuits over things like territory management and aristocratic slap fights. He cared about his family though, including his sisters Mera Aare Vhangham and Risa Malki Vhangham, so he put up with whatever he needed to to make sure House Vhangahmn would flourish. In the course of that, Leo was betrothed to Lady Ethrie Vivis Dustflame Xevosh of Ducal House Xevosh to strengthen both Houses.

Neither Leo nor Rie (she demanded that he call her by nickname if he wants her to do the same) cared much for their betrothal, but they didn't really fight against it either. Arranged marriages are common in the aristocracy, moreso the higher ranked you are, so the both of them expect to be wed off to someone. They didn't hate each other, in fact, both were willing to put effort to better their relations and understand one another. It wasn't much to start with but there was some hope that the two of them could find it in themselves to love each other. Love bloomed in even the most unlikely of places, after all, and their case was more hospitable than most.

Unfortunately, not everyone sees it that way.

An Other Worlder saw arranged marriages to be cruel and unfair. In their mind, Ethrie was entrapped by her cruel family and her fiancee. Forced into an engagement against her will, because why woulddn't she fight against something so cruel?. Truly, Lord Leovric must've been despicable scum who forced the beautiful Lady Etherie into marrying him. And if he was cruel to Lady Etherie he was likely cruel to his equally beautiful sisters Mera and Risa as well. Surely, he would beat whoever would defy him, be they Noble Ladies or his Servants, surely he would force them into relationships against their will, surely he would force everyone to keep quiet through the force of his status and whatever forbidden magics he learned in that library of his.

Surely, if the Other Worlder is the Hero then Leovric Prarvus Ashward Vhangam III, Evil Lord of House Vhangham, was the Villain.

Surely, the Heroic Other Worlder casting down and killing Evil Lord Leovric was well-deserved justice.

Him taking Etherie, Mera, and Risa into his harem was a reward for a job well done.

Curse - Charm: Charm is a very simple Curse. At the cost of shutting down Leo's ability to feel emotions for a length of time, he can cause one target in his line of sight to fall in love with him. Using this Curse several times in quick succession is possible at the cost of extending the period of time Leo spends without emotions. Charmed targets would do anything Leo would ask of them, up to and including offering up their own lives and the lives of those they care about. Charm's effect cannot be detected, dispelled, or resisted as it is not magic. Those afflicted by Charm can act as if nothing has changed.

Equipment: Leo had learned to make simple magic equipment through his studies, and so uses a number of them for his plans. These are things like marbles that give off a blinding flash off light, gems that engulfs an area in magical darkness, and small knives that inflict minor elemental damage. Things that, leveraged correctly, can fell giants.

Magical Skill: Leo is well learned in magic, but as he was raised as an aristocrat, and furthermore as the lord of House Vhangham, he doesn't know much in terms of direct combat magic. Still, he's learned enough of Enchantment magic to create his own magic items, and can use Illusions and a smattering of spells from other schools very well.

Appearance: Leo is a handsome man with piercing blue eyes and striking black hair. A pretty boy riajuu any greasy otaku would cheer to see fall into ruin.

Strategies and Tactics: Leo's Curse is both not suitable to direct confrontations and, furthermore, is completely reprehensible to him, meaning that he has to rely on his other skills to fight. Trickery is the name of the game, and Leo can be pretty sly when he needs to be.

Edited by drearyArchon on May 1st 2022 at 11:08:20 PM

What does the Antagonist Skill do exactly?

Edit: Actually, can I have more clarification on how Protagonist works as well?

Edited by drearyArchon on May 2nd 2022 at 1:30:58 AM

Antagonist as a skill has two abilities under its umbrella. The first being that it prevents the skill Protagonist from working on its user, the second is that once an Other Worlder is defeated it can return their Blessing back to the world while absorbing a lesser ability into the skill users body.

Protagonist as a skill is a passive form of mind control that effects both the Other Worlder and the people around him. For instance if a skill holder and his party entered into a peaceful demonic village they would see it as a war camp and the people as trying to attack even when they turn and run. Because those chosen by the divine tend to be good natured individuals they don't have a direct idea of the harm they are causing, through their sometimes selfish or misguided actions can still cause great harm by changing how people view someone opposed to them, much like your character.

TLDR, Protagonist mind controls its user and the world around them, and Antagonist keeps that skill from effecting its user and allows them to properly defeat an Outer Worlder without their power simply being returned to the gods.

I see, so Antagonist is a level up mechanic of sorts.

Alright, then. Is there anything in my Character Sheet that I should add/remove/clarify?

I'm getting some ideas so I'm going to express interest, but I don't have anything solid enough to do a full signup just yet.

Nope your signup was perfect! Hopefully we get a few more sheets, even just two more honestly.

I’ll express interest too, because I really like this concept

I'm really looking forward to seeing sheets from you guys, feel free to hit me up with any questions you might have!

Can we have some more of the broadstrokes of the setting?

Obviously, I assumed that aristocracy is a thing. But like, what are the general (non Proganinist) opinions on Demons and Monsters? What sorts of magic exists, JRPG magic, D&D magic, or something else? What level of Cheat Skills are given to Other Worlders?

Edited by drearyArchon on May 7th 2022 at 7:13:46 PM