The Tower - Age of V

[King V]

The Age of V

Legends speak of a tower built in the middle of nowhere, rising up into the stars. Everything you could possibly want is at the top of the tower, riches, glory, and power that transcends fate. A benevolent king rules from atop the tower, giving aid to the poor and the needy with his immense power and influence.

Recently, a war to decide the fate of the Tower has concluded. At the end of the war, the King of the Tower returned, bringing with him a new age of peace and prosperity. As everything slowly returns to normal, once again people gather for a chance at fame and fortune, power and influence. Once again, people have gathered to climb the Tower.


Rules and Setting

The Tower is a game that will be played over a long period of time. The game is heavily inspired from the manhwa Tower of God, similar characters or plot elements may appear in the game, but the storyline will be completely original. One ‘session’ will be hosted per week, and these will typically be ‘tests’ to advance players to the next floor. Due to the nature of the game, some floors may be skipped over, and some lower floors may be accessed later on after advancing to higher floors. The remaining time of the week will be spent on ‘free time’, which can be used to explore floors, interact with players and NPCs, and perform specific free time activities. Free time will be subjected to the mastermind’s availability, some days will have a long period where I am here and can answer questions, and other days I may not be present at all.

The Tower will be a season which primarily features combat, but will not have a specific focus on combat unless players decide to do so. Each floor can be cleared with minimal fighting, but being strong combat-wise will grant players a significant advantage. The Tower will use an original combat system and rules which can be found here.

Applications

In your application to The Tower, please include the following. Please note that if your character dies partway through the game, you may create a new character at the last floor you cleared.

Your character’s name
An image of your character
A short backstory detailing why your character is climbing the tower
Your character’s heritage
Choose 4 activities your character undergoes before entering the tower

Activities (you may choose the same activity multiple times)

Physical Training (improves base stats)
Skill Training (grants a unique passive or active skill)
Trading (grants a large sum of money)
Treasure Hunting (grants a unique item)
Shinsu Control (grants the ability to use shinsu from the start of the game, consumes 3 activities instead of 1)

Heritage

Your character can be a normal regular, they can be a descendent from one of the Great Families, the King, or they can be an irregular. Giving your character a heritage will grant you an immense number of advantages, but there are also many drawbacks, as you may be involved in unfavorable political circumstances, power struggles, and assassins may come after you for various reasons. You can choose a heritage from one of the following.

Zahard Family

Pros:
Extremely high overall stat growth (+3 growth to Attack, Hp, Speed, and Shinsu)
No skill restrictions
+5 Shinsu Resistance
Shinsu Control automatically unlocked

Cons:
The most hated family in The Tower, there is no end to the number of enemies the Zahard Family has accrued
Immense loss from the most recent war


Arie Family

Pros:
High physical stat growth (+2 growth to Attack, Hp, and Speed; +1 growth to Shinsu)
Arie Style Swordsmanship
Powerful Sword based skills

Cons:
Limited capabilities outside of sword based skills
Immense loss from the most recent war


Koon Family

Pros:
High overall stat growth (+2 growth to Attack, Hp, Speed, and Shinsu)
Powerful Attribute Skills (Lightning, Ice, Light, etc)
Powerful Spear Skills
Expansive information network

Cons:
Infamous for having one of the most descendants out of all the great families, many internal family disputes break out among descendants, often leaving the weaker branch families bereaved of heirs
Limited skill capabilities outside of attribute based skills and spear skills


Ha Family

Pros:
Extremely high physical stat growth (+3 growth to Attack, Hp, and Speed; +1 growth to Shinsu)
Powerful physical skills
+3 Shinsu Resistance

Cons:
Limited magical capabilities
The Ha family is a matriarchal family, males in this family are looked down upon


Eurasia Family

Pros:
Extremely high shinsu stat growth (+3 growth to Shinsu; +1 growth to Attack, Hp, and Speed)
Powerful magical skills
Shinsu Control automatically unlocked

Cons:
Strange mental conditions may occur from controlling shinsu (i.e. you need 18 hours of sleep per day)
Hated by the Poe Bidau family


Poe Bidau Family

Pros:
High shinsu stat growth (+2 growth to Shinsu; +1 growth to Attack, Hp, and Speed)
Unique items are available at workshops
Shinsu Control automatically unlocked

Cons:
The Poe Bidau family retains ownership of many workshops throughout the tower which sell items, any incidents related to these workshops will also implicate the Poe Bidau family
Hated by the Eurasia family


Yeon Family

Pros:
High shinsu stat growth (+2 growth to Shinsu; +1 growth to Attack, Hp, and Speed)
Powerful Fire based skills
Shinsu Control automatically unlocked

Cons:
Limited capabilities outside of fire based skills
The Yeon family is a matriarchal family, males in this family are heavily looked down upon


Lo Po Bia Family

Pros:
High overall stat growth (+2 growth to Attack, Hp, Speed, and Shinsu)
The ability to communicate with animals
Powerful Animal based skills

Cons:
The Lo Po Bia family has a rigid structure of branch families, most involved in internal power struggles to become the most influential branch family, these struggles will often spill over onto the regulars climbing the tower
Lack of social skills (too much time spent talking to animals)


Tu Perie Family

Pros:
High shinsu stat growth (+2 growth to Shinsu; +1 growth to Attack, Hp, and Speed)
Extremely high proficiency with Items and Lighthouses
Extremely high sensory capabilities
All-Seeing information network

Cons:
Cannot see in the dark
Physically inept


Hendo Lok Family

Pros:
High physical stat growth (+2 growth to Attack, Hp, and Speed; +1 growth to Shinsu)
+3 Shinsu Resistance
Powerful Defensive skills

Cons:
Due to a deal struck with a guardian, a curse drains the life energy from all descendants of the Hendo Lok family to extend the life of the family head
Generally disliked throughout the tower due to the curse


Ari Family

Pros:
High physical stat growth (+2 growth to Attack, Hp, and Speed; +1 growth to Shinsu)
Ari Needle Style
Powerful Needle based skills
Winner in the most recent war

Cons:
Limited capabilities outside of needle based skills
Some question whether the Ari Family should even exist due to their small numbers, lack of influence, and low rankings


Grace Family

Pros:
High overall stat growth (+2 growth to Attack, Hp, Speed, and Shinsu)
Spells are automatically unlocked
The ability to see spirits and commune with the dead
Winner in the most recent war

Cons:
A hidden family of the tower, pledged to serve the royal family at any cost
FUG


Prince/Princess of V

Pros:
Extremely high overall stat growth (+3 growth to Attack, Hp, Speed, and Shinsu)
Extremely powerful skills
+5 Shinsu Resistance
Shinsu Control automatically unlocked
Winner in the most recent war

Cons:
The most politically involved family among the Great Families, very high expectations are placed upon descendants of the king
It is common for multiple attempts on a prince or princess’s life to be made


Irregular

Pros:
Unworldly stat growth (+5 growth to Attack, Hp, Speed, and Shinsu)
Unworldly powerful skills
+10 Shinsu Resistance
Shinsu Control automatically unlocked

Cons:
Contracts with Guardians are impossible to make
Extremely difficult Irregular exclusive battles
The Tower despises your existence

[Funny Valentine [Silentgod]]

Name: Zahard Funny Valentine

Heritage: Zahard

Backstory: Once, Funny Valentine had tried to climb the Tower. But he quickly grew bored and left to other versions of the Tower. But because Funny Valentine never died, one from the other worlds found himself transported here. At first he considered leaving and returning home. But he then realized that the Zahard family had fallen after losing the war. Outraged, he has decided to climb. And reclaim the glory of the Zahard family!

Activities: 2 Physical, 2 Skills

[Xaniks]

Name: R. Halrown Acheron

Backstory: As one who was raised to honor the glory of the coming King Zahard, R███ naturally enlisted in the radical army when the promised King arrived into the Tower and seized the throne. The war against the seemingly decadent V Family was short-lived, and the King whom his family's hopes and dreams laid with was vanquished. With his fight finished before it could truly begin, Halrown resolved himself to shed his worldly attachments and embark on an ascetic journey—and thus his spirit was driven up the Tower.

Heritage: Zahard

Activities: Physical Training (3), Treasure Hunting

[Chatt]

Name: Sen Verdel

Heritage: Prince of V

Backstory: The Verdel Branch has a custom of sending only 1 regular up every 300 or so years. That regular has a spirit of a fallen ranker from the previous generation to guide them and potentially protect them if needed. After reaching the top of the tower, the 2 duel in ritual combat with the winner taking over the body and taking the power of the other. Through this way, the Verdel branch provides a powerful ranker/high ranker to the V family every time one is sent up, leaving the rest of the branch to be able to do whatever they wish. It is a great honor to be chosen. And this time it's Sen's turn. He's 14 btw. Ritual forces his body to fit his ranker. 14.

Activities: 2 Physical, 1 Skill, 1 Treasure Hunting

[Barrett Bear, esq.]

Grace Magdalene
"Magda"
The Disciple

Heritage: Grace

Backstory:
A self-made orphan whose latent psionic abilities devastated her branch, Magdalene fled the Grace family at a young age to pursue further mastery of her psychic powers. Her mind ambled and stumbled and discovered an enormous aberration embedded deep within the Tower: A mass swallowing the souls of the dead and growing like a vast tumor. This entity intrigued Magda, it was like a vacuum that pulled at her whenever she closed her eyes. She would often find herself meditating, searching for this being time and time again. Of course, to no luck. But by mimicking the presence she felt, Magda's powers grew. Magda evolved.

When she returned home, eager to serve the royal family using her new capabilities, she was welcomed back with minimal questioning. Not long after, a young princess had single-handedly vanquished Zahard Aemulus and cemented herself as the 'Hero of the Tower.' Magda was enraptured. For the first time, she saw the path to a new era. A world beyond the king they'd known for so long, a rightful heir. Naturally, when the princess' retainers valiantly defeated Zahard himself and won the war, Magda prepared to climb. To discover the secrets she had once pulled at. To meet the personal goddess for whom she would upend everything.

Activities: 3x Shinsu Control, 1x Skill Training

[Stella Magna Nulla]

[Credits to the God artist Klea!]

Name: Stella Magna Nulla

Backstory: An Eldritch God born as a concept of "The Sea of Stars." Her disguise is that of the Dragon race of her world and she has 3 other sisters. She's been sucked into the Tower with no way out as she's the only one among her sisters can who travel dimensions easily, but her powers here have greatly been weakened. She climbs the Tower with the intention of solving its mysteries and finding a way out back to her own world.

Heritage: Irregular

Activities: 1 Treasure Hunting, 2 Physical Training, 1 Skill Training

[Karenina]

Name: Yuuna Nivalis Grace

Heritage: Grace

Backstory:
Yuuna's immediate family is small, but closely knit. A little collection of virtuosos who have adapted to a unique way of spellcasting through music and sound. A way to amplify their already existing connection to the spirits, and magical capabilities alike. Likewise those of Nivalis like to carry a small musical instrument with them, like a flute or a lyre when going out on missions. Yuuna has yet to recieve hers. The beginning of her mission was not quite planned ahead. As such, she relies on the sound of her voice instead, finding it quite annoying that she hasn't mastered the controlled flow of shinsu quite yet. She was quite ill prepared.

Yuuna's father served as the original protector of Sen's spirit up until Sen was ready to climb. He was also supposed to be the one watching over their journey from the shadows and see it to it's conclusion. For reasons unknown to Yuuna, he suddenly disappears without a trace and never comes back home. Try as she might, Yuuna never gets an answer to what truly happened. 
Being the only one left in her family who can take upon her father's previous duties, Yuuna steps in to climb the tower alongside Sen. While being in Sen's (and his spirit ranker's) service and taking upon the heavy duties within a very short time, Yuuna will push on in hopes to find her father once again. Whether in spirit form, dead or alive, it does not matter. She needs to know.

Activities: Shinsu Control (x2), Skill Training (x2)

[Daiwa Scarlet]

Name- Alice
Heritage- Poe Bidau

Backstory- Nothing remains of her childhood, or any time prior to her being sealed in the Abyss where all the “sinners” go. Having to witness daily horrors until she grew numb, she wonders whether she can even consider herself human anymore. During one bloody day like any other, she found a strange pocket watch in a pool of blood. From it came a melody of her distant past. Realizing that familiar experiences could bring back memories, she escapes the Abyss to climb and search of her lost self.

Physical Training
Skill Training x2
Treasure Hunting

[Satori]

Name: Maple

Heritage: Hendo Lok

Backstory: Maple is a simple girl, but her defining traits are her air-headedness and love for fun. She isn't that competitive and doesn’t hold grudges against anyone, viewing nearly everyone as a potential friend. For Maple, Life is short especially for a Hendo Lok which is why she decided to climb the Tower but not to gain any wealth or power but just simply to experience the thrill and adventure while having fun and making new friends and randomly getting OP stuff along the way. 

Activities: Physical Training, Skills, Treasure Hunting (2x)

[Hans]

Name: Lo Po Bia Ren “Yuga”


Heritage: Lo Po Bia

Backstory: The latest child from the Lo Po Bia family has entered the tower! Hailing from the Snake Lo Po Bia branch, this lighthouse addict specializes in leeches. He thinks his parasites are so ugly that they’re cute, and he thinks they have great potential in helping others! He’s adopted the alias of his favorite character from his favorite author’s book, disinfected his hands and anima, and is ready to climb!


He’s learning to better his craft as a medical “professional” and light bearer, alongside exploring what he can do with his leeches! Hirudotherapy? Check! Fixing imbalances? Check! Parasitization of man and animal to circumvent modern laws of medical consent? Check! At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much they scream or how messy the operation table gets as long the job gets done right!


Activities: Shinsu Control (3), Physical Training (1)

[Grug]

Name: Clifford Yeon

Backstory: Clifford sees nothing but weakness in today's regulars. He doesn't like that. He doesn't like that they're weak enough to let irregulars run amok too. That needs to change.

Heritage: Yeon

Activities: Physical Training (3), Skill Training

[silviu200530]

Name: Ryller Merel

Backstory: A FUG agent that enters the Tower for undisclosed reasons, presumably with a sinister motive related to the dead. Ryller uses his magic in relation of being a ninja, even though it's rather unusual if one would take a look at his heritage.

Heritage: Grace

Activities: Shinsu Control (3), Skill Training (1)

[The City [EclipseZwolf]]

Name: Pandora Eurasia
Heritage: Eurasia
Backstory: A simple scion of the Eurasia family. Pandora has little interest in the affairs of the Tower, spending most of their time in pursuit of the only two things they find of particular interest. Sleep and Causation. Or rather, One aspect of Causation that occurs when one object is launched into another at speed and the ensuing chaos. Equipping herself with techniques and tools suitable for sending everything pinballing around the room had her more serious compatriots dub her as the 'pinball mage' or 'Pindora' for short. Now she enters the tower, waking up from slumber to turn any particular room she finds herself in into a veritable pinball machine, 'Pindora's Box.'
Activities: Physical Training, Skill Training(2), Treasure Hunting

[Arie Camillia]

Name: Arie Camillia

Heritage: Arie

Backstory: Following the massive losses incurred by the Arie family for their support of Zahard, Camillia enters the tower. She intends on restoring faith in the Arie family and their status in the tower by doing something for the greater good. Perhaps by becoming a servant of God and by serving a purpose greater than herself.

Activities: 1 Skill Training, 2 Physical Training, 1 Treasure Hunting

[Quindecim/Scott]

Name: XIV

Nickname: The Silent Samurai, but you can call him Scott.

Heritage: Arie

Backstory: There is no backstory here, only his goal and ambition. To make the Arie family great again, to find the One Piece treasure, and to cement himself as the Greatest, Strongest Swordman Ever/Alive the Tower has ever seen. (Not in order.)

Activities: 2 Physical Training, 1 Skill Training, 1 Treasure Hunting.

"Please, lead the way."