(If you saw me send an unfinished version of this by accident, no you didn't)
Okay good, because as it turns out, after an AU backstory brainstorming session, I have… a lot of follow-up questions..... I'm also going to ramble about some of my ideas for Frieren just to make sure they're OK to use. Let me know if anything I mention here needs tweaked!
1. I thought about this some more. Just to make sure we're on the same page, would it be okay for Frieren's basic weapon attacks to be of varying power based on how long she's spent charging them? A basic uncharged attack can be fired off instantly, does a small amount of damage and can knock back a Torment. A basic charged attack can either do a moderate amount of damage or take out a Torment in one shot (depends on charging duration/Torment power level). And finally, her signature attack is an extra powerful version of her basic attacks: it has a long charge time (for boss encounters, probably multiple turns) but deals massive damage. …and rest assured, there will be bonking. It's absolutely not her favored method of attack, nor her most effective, but hey, if she's within bonking range, might as well!
2. Sounds good! Frieren's powers are going to revolve around analyzing/locating foes, concealing her magical presence, and looking for openings/weaknesses to deal a fatal strike. She's basically a highly mobile glass cannon who could really use allies to take aggro off her while she charges up her attacks. I'm going to say her actual attacks require her staff, but analysis/concealment don't.
4. Perfect! I've seen a few characters with temporary mimic-type powers but I wonder if it would be possible to buy another character's power and learn it permanently (with player permission, of course)? If I went for this down the line, I would personally toss in an additional requirement of a certain level of CR with the character!
And now for extra questions—
7. Nightmare attacks can cause memory loss, but how granular can this get? For example, could the victim forget just one memory, assuming they were able to fight back at some point? What I have in mind is that Frieren gets attacked by a Nightmare in her backstory, causing her to forget one of her powers (the minor spells one, if that matters) and the method by which she originally learned it. This is… a bit of a hack to work around the fact that I need Frieren to have learned three specific powers from her mentor, but can only start with two, haha. She would learn it back as part of her character arc!
8. Can I say that Frieren based her basic attacks (and, later, her signature move) off of the attacks of the Nightmare that caused her Awakening? Mainly asking this just in case beam attacks just aren't a thing Nightmares can do for whatever reason (I'm not too sure about how varied they can actually be).
9. Could a Dreamer actually die from a normal Nightmare attack? Or disappear?
10. Could a DU Dreamer be assigned the mentor role against their will (i.e. by a superior hoping for them to open up a little) or is it strictly on a volunteer basis? Just looking for an excuse to give Frieren the role in case I can't come up with something else!
11. Are there accommodations for disabled DU workers? I'm going to play Frieren as autistic. While she can live alone and take care of herself well enough, she struggles with doing so in a timely manner. Think sleeping in and taking a long, long time to get ready for the day, resulting in her being late to work… pretty much all the time. Just wondering if DU management would be accepting of this!
12. Is there such a thing as a research position within the DU? I'm planning for Frieren to be a full-time DU worker who goes on Excursions and Torment Hunts, but also studies Nightmares and Dreamer powers and makes her findings available to fellow Dreamers. If this is a thing, would she earn extra money for it? How much? Just trying to gauge how much she'd have to work with!
13. Is giving yourself a Dreamer name and naming your signature move something Dreamers do instinctively upon Awakening, or is it some kind of convention invented by the DU/early Dreamers/whoever else? If the latter is true, how would a Dreamer that breaks those conventions be perceived by their peers, generally?
14. Beyond the obvious "if they're keeping it on the down low, don't out someone as a Dreamer by calling them their Dreamer name in waking life", is it bad etiquette to call someone by their Dreamer name in the Waking World and vice versa? Because depending on the answer above I could see Frieren just… sticking with whichever name she learned first, haha.
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Okay good, because as it turns out, after an AU backstory brainstorming session, I have… a lot of follow-up questions..... I'm also going to ramble about some of my ideas for Frieren just to make sure they're OK to use. Let me know if anything I mention here needs tweaked!
1. I thought about this some more. Just to make sure we're on the same page, would it be okay for Frieren's basic weapon attacks to be of varying power based on how long she's spent charging them? A basic uncharged attack can be fired off instantly, does a small amount of damage and can knock back a Torment. A basic charged attack can either do a moderate amount of damage or take out a Torment in one shot (depends on charging duration/Torment power level). And finally, her signature attack is an extra powerful version of her basic attacks: it has a long charge time (for boss encounters, probably multiple turns) but deals massive damage.
…and rest assured, there will be bonking. It's absolutely not her favored method of attack, nor her most effective, but hey, if she's within bonking range, might as well!
2. Sounds good! Frieren's powers are going to revolve around analyzing/locating foes, concealing her magical presence, and looking for openings/weaknesses to deal a fatal strike. She's basically a highly mobile glass cannon who could really use allies to take aggro off her while she charges up her attacks. I'm going to say her actual attacks require her staff, but analysis/concealment don't.
4. Perfect! I've seen a few characters with temporary mimic-type powers but I wonder if it would be possible to buy another character's power and learn it permanently (with player permission, of course)? If I went for this down the line, I would personally toss in an additional requirement of a certain level of CR with the character!
And now for extra questions—
7. Nightmare attacks can cause memory loss, but how granular can this get? For example, could the victim forget just one memory, assuming they were able to fight back at some point? What I have in mind is that Frieren gets attacked by a Nightmare in her backstory, causing her to forget one of her powers (the minor spells one, if that matters) and the method by which she originally learned it. This is… a bit of a hack to work around the fact that I need Frieren to have learned three specific powers from her mentor, but can only start with two, haha. She would learn it back as part of her character arc!
8. Can I say that Frieren based her basic attacks (and, later, her signature move) off of the attacks of the Nightmare that caused her Awakening? Mainly asking this just in case beam attacks just aren't a thing Nightmares can do for whatever reason (I'm not too sure about how varied they can actually be).
9. Could a Dreamer actually die from a normal Nightmare attack? Or disappear?
10. Could a DU Dreamer be assigned the mentor role against their will (i.e. by a superior hoping for them to open up a little) or is it strictly on a volunteer basis? Just looking for an excuse to give Frieren the role in case I can't come up with something else!
11. Are there accommodations for disabled DU workers? I'm going to play Frieren as autistic. While she can live alone and take care of herself well enough, she struggles with doing so in a timely manner. Think sleeping in and taking a long, long time to get ready for the day, resulting in her being late to work… pretty much all the time. Just wondering if DU management would be accepting of this!
12. Is there such a thing as a research position within the DU? I'm planning for Frieren to be a full-time DU worker who goes on Excursions and Torment Hunts, but also studies Nightmares and Dreamer powers and makes her findings available to fellow Dreamers. If this is a thing, would she earn extra money for it? How much? Just trying to gauge how much she'd have to work with!
13. Is giving yourself a Dreamer name and naming your signature move something Dreamers do instinctively upon Awakening, or is it some kind of convention invented by the DU/early Dreamers/whoever else? If the latter is true, how would a Dreamer that breaks those conventions be perceived by their peers, generally?
14. Beyond the obvious "if they're keeping it on the down low, don't out someone as a Dreamer by calling them their Dreamer name in waking life", is it bad etiquette to call someone by their Dreamer name in the Waking World and vice versa? Because depending on the answer above I could see Frieren just… sticking with whichever name she learned first, haha.