Hammering Out Details for a Fic

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Apologies if this isn't the right forum to place this topic, but, as the title says, we're working on actual materials for a fanfic, this seemed more appropriate than the "Ideas" forum.

Okay, now onto the various categories (I think that's the right term) of material we need to work out. The first would have to be this: what type of "campaign" should we go for; "Chains of Destiny" or "Whims of Fate". In other words, linear or random. In the first format, there's a single major "plotline" already outlined, and the various escapades the characters get into are tied into that- think "Lord of the Rings"; though the different groups get into all sorts of scrapes, it's all set against the backdrop of the need to stop Sauron and his armies. The second format is that used by the Conan series or the D&D cartoon show; though the characters have their own specific goal that drives them on (in this case, primarily the goal to find a way home), they tend to wander into all sorts of messes. Using Conan as an example, though all he really wanted was wealth, wine and women, he kept having his soliders slaughtered, having to fight monsters and evil magic users or getting involved in plots to conquer kingdoms, etc.

The second thing to work out, from there, is the actual world/setting itself for the "campaign" to take place in. If we end up picking the CoD version, we just need to detail those areas important to the plot, with perhaps some brainstorming for other locales that might be of some interest (NPC origin points, explain where trade was conducted to/from, that sort of thing). The WoF version requires a more detailed world structure, as the characters will literally be going all over the place.

Third of these important questions is precisely how the heck Ranma, Shampoo and Ukyo end up in this world in the first place.

Fourth thing to work out what D&D classes we should have the trio "multiclass" into once they become more used to the ways of the new world. I have some vague ideas, but I'll keep them for when we reach this area of conversation, which is the last one I can think of off the top of my head.

[Gideon020]

I like Whim of Fate because there is no guarantee that the group will be able to go straight to the end-game, in fact I like the idea that they find the means to return home immediately but are forced to wander and quest around because said way home requires specialized materials, tools and even people to make it work properly.

As for how they get there, perhaps instead of a magic item being used in Nerima, the three are pulled in by a ritual gone wrong or perhaps gone right in the D&D world involving an ancient stone door set into the floor of an ancient temple?

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

I'm personally partial to the "Whims of Fate" version myself, as, like you just said, that gives a lot of room for potential ideas. They might approach a particular wizard in hopes he'll send them home, but first he needs them to gather certain artefacts/components, and when they finally get them and return he's either a fraud (or otherwise lacks the power to help), dead/captured (which means they'll need to find someone else or try and rescue him, as appropriate), or he was suckering them and actually plans to use the items they gathered for world conquest etc... well, you get the drift.

And while the idea of having the transportation be something on the World's fault instead of something going wrong in Nerima makes a nice change, we need to work out precisely why it grabs these three in particular. The vague idea approaches that they are transported by a summoning spell meant to call upon the descendants of one to three legendary heroes who left the World long ago, but that's more suited towards a Chains of Destiny type setting. So, any ideas on how/why they might get transported? A planar conjunction would probably work as the simplest (that is, they walk into a place at the wrong time; they just happened to stumble into it during the specific cosmic event that renders it a one-way portal to the World), but even then we'd still need to explain how Ranma and his two 'other' fiancees alone walked into it...

[Daniel Jess Gibson]

The first would have to be this: what type of "campaign" should we go for; "Chains of Destiny" or "Whims of Fate".
In the first format, there's a single major "plotline" already outlined.
The second format is though the characters have their own specific goal that drives them on (in this case, primarily the goal to find a way home), they tend to wander into all sorts of messes.

There's a third, which is where they can get home fairly easily, the real maguffin is something that lets them stay home. That also allows interaction with some of the other cast (and the ability to change out some of the characters. E.g., on the eve of a great battle, the trio leaves for home, and are soon pulled back, but it's Kasumi, Shampoo and Ukyo who return to the other world, leaving Ranma to sweat it out (and everyone to blame him) for her absence. Three weeks later, Kasumi shows up in Valkyrie armor (spear, winged helmet, chain mail bikini, and two sauce pan lids), singing risque Dwarven drinking songs, and a very shell-shocked Shampoo and Ukyo are only willing to admit that their side won, and refusing to talk about any other details of the battle.)

The second thing to work out, from there, is the actual world/setting itself for the "campaign" to take place in.

Unless you're going to put the trio in the councils of kings right off, they are going to basically be wandering the countryside with little actual knowledge of what's going on. Or they could be so far away from the action that the great war doesn't really affect them, initially

Third of these important questions is precisely how the heck Ranma, Shampoo and Ukyo end up in this world in the first place.

They don't have to ever find out, it could be completely unimportant, or it could be multiple causes. Unless you've already decided that they can't go home because they were summoned by the One True Tablecloth and until they've broken it's power by feeding it to the Magic Badger of Nadger Woods. In that case you already have your answer, the question then becomes how do they find out, and where is the table cloth, and where is the badger . . . and how do they feed enchanted vegetable material to a strict carnivore? (Yeah, the trip back cost me an arm and a leg.)

Fourth thing to work out what D&D classes we should have the trio "multiclass" into once they become more used to the ways of the new world. I have some vague ideas, but I'll keep them for when we reach this area of conversation, which is the last one I can think of off the top of my head.

Unless you're going to follow strict D&D in your story with everyone wearing a name tag saying 'I'm a character class', they are all probably going to call themselves fighters, that's what they've all trained their whole lives to be.

On a side note, I played an assassin for years, who claimed he was a Ranger, but the DM was in on it and I never betrayed my adventuring party. Always useful to have an alibi, and a Paladin willing to storm the Gates of Hell with you (again) makes a great character witness.

While Shampoo might claim village champion, and Ranma might realize he's also a thief, the D&D classes don't really apply to them. Shampoo and Soun have both worn armor, Ranma prefers open hands, but can use anything as a weapon, and all of them use chi-based techniques that are magical/psionic in their seeming effects (if not in their casting). They don't really fit neatly into any of the classes.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

First up, working out the layout & history of the world is less for the characters' benefit and more for our benefit. It keeps us from making mistakes like declaring they're heading southeast to the treacherous Mire of Mourning when we'd previously said that those were to the southwest and southeast was the Desert of Dead Gods. Or that the empire of Sul Daneir was a magocracy when we'd previously stated it was a theocracy, and it was the wrath of the gods that blasted the homeland and created the Desert in the first place. It just helps us keep things straight is what I'm trying to say.

As for classes, they won't "wear a nametag", as you put it, and they won't be multiclassing in the literal sense- it's impossible, not to mention stupid. The idea is that they'd naturally take advantage of the different opportunities here to acquire useful skills, with their personalities leaning them towards the different classes. Gah, I can't articulate what I'm trying to say- this story idea first 'bloomed' in a topic in the Ideas forum; if you'll read there, you should find out why I decided to have them start following a D&D 4E class instead of just staying "martial artists".

And working out how they got to the world is kind of essential if we want to open with the actual events that transported them. Even if we decide to open with them already on the World and trying to figure out just how the hell they got here, we need to have some possibilities for them to toss around as they try and figure things out.

[Heaven's Deamon]

For a "humourous botching" you could possibly have a wizard of somesort try to summon lackeys for one reason or another, get them, then try to order them around only to find the they have no control over the trio, cue beatdown followed by the trio demanding to be sent home, only the wizard only bothered to learn how to summon things to his plane, not how to send them back......

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Possible, possible, and I actually listed a number of extra plot points that could stem from trying to get a wizard to send them home before, so that might be a good idea.

While I'm thinking of them, my original thoughts on the trio and D&D classes was that none of them are likely to pursue a class based on the Divine source- so, in the first three, that's neither Paladin nor Cleric. The basis of these classes is that they worship a powerful entity and, in return for that, receive the ability to draw upon some of that entity's own power. Doesn't seem right for them, don't you agree? The Warlock, under the interpretation that the pact lets them tap the "pacted's" power in the same way, is also a no-go, though the other interpretation (the entity you pact with simply teaches you how to manipulate magic in the same innate, if limited, fashion as it does itself) might work. Having one of them take the Wizard class (either Shampoo or Ranma seems to 'click' best for some reason; Shampoo as kind of a dig at the fact she's the girl who uses magic the most in the anime version, Ranma because it seems likely he'd like to stop being magic's whipping boy and start using it to whip other people) seems... strangely apt, though I don't know why.

[Penguin-sa]

First up, working out the layout & history of the world is less for the characters' benefit and more for our benefit. It keeps us from making mistakes like declaring they're heading southeast to the treacherous Mire of Mourning when we'd previously said that those were to the southwest and southeast was the Desert of Dead Gods. Or that the empire of Sul Daneir was a magocracy when we'd previously stated it was a theocracy, and it was the wrath of the gods that blasted the homeland and created the Desert in the first place. It just helps us keep things straight is what I'm trying to say.

I can't applaud your idea enough. In most epic, world-spanning fantasies I've heard of, the author knew far more about his or her world than they ever revealed. It gives them a feel for how people react and make for a much richer reading experience.

As for Classes, I figure Ranma might be a Fighter with a martial arts Feat package and Feats devoted to Chi use. Shampoo could be a non spell Ranger. She's a heck of a tracker, fights two weapons frequently and has some hiding ability. Ukyo might be a Rogue. The mini-spats, the traps and all those skills (swimming, acrobatics, cooking, business, disguise, trap making, Alchemy(the bombs in 38.) ).

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

At first glance, I thought you disapproved of my reasons for wanting to make sure the World was fully fleshed out (anyone else notice I keep capitalising the word "world" when I'm referring to the D&D planet? Must be from the Wizard's Presents books...) funny how the eyes play tricks, eh?

And I'm not intending to translate what they are in the Ranmaverse into D&D terms; they'll simply remain what they were (which means something of a surprise for anyone else they encounter- who's expecting a wizard to be able to leap 10 feet straight up and bust every one of your ribs on the way down?), but begin "expanding" into D&D type powers. So, basically, in game terms, they start as level one "adventurers", but they've got Base Attack Bonus, Skills and Hit Points much higher than normal.

I do agree that Ranger and Rogue seem a good fit for Shampoo and Ukyo as they are in their own dimension though. Technically, Ukyo might also qualify for Ranger if she atively tracked Ranma & Genma down and didn't stumble upon their location by accident. If you want to 'use' that trope that Shampoo is, by virtue of being Cologne's great-granddaughter, a future leader of the village, the Warlord class might fit her. Ranma is technically a multiclassed Fighter/Rogue by 4E rules, at least that's what I think (Fighter for the ability to pound folks, Rogue for the emphasis on speed, agility and mobility).

[Penguin-sa]

Ah, I understand, I was just sort of getting their baselines as they entered the world, but I can definately see where you're coming from not setting them up as characters in their world.

As for classes in the D&D world, There is a delightful little 3.5E class called the changeling. It allows the character to shift abilities around somewhat on a given day, a little magic one day, increased fighting another, a bit of thievery on Wednesday. I think this would appeal to Ranma and his Anything goes Style. Two races can learn the Class, Humans and Dopplegangers (shapechangers). Ranma could sort of qualify as both!

I could definately see Shampoo as a Wizard, or even a Sorcerer. The latter have a little dragon blood in their veins. Shampoo is distantly related to Herb?

As for Ukyo, well I, I got nothing, sorry.

As for how they get there, it might not be an accident at all. Ranma and Shampoo may learn that "nothing on Earth can lift their curse", so they are led to someone how can let them travel, ala the Dimension Witch in Tsubasa. Only the willing fiances accompany Ranma. Akane refuses (and regrets) and they don't want Kodachi.

[Heaven's Deamon]

I think Rogue/Fighter would be a better way of phrasing it since overall Ranma acts more like a "Striker" than a defender. And for some reason, the though of Ranma seeing a warlock do various things, and then trying to recreate them using his chi does seem appropriate for his character. If they were summoned by a wizard that they then beat up, perhaps Shampoo could aquire a spellbook from them before the trio left to start learning magic......

[Gideon020]

Hmm, stealing a spellbook sounds about right, especially if it's the wizard's main grimoire with just about every spell he knows and has acquired from his travels and trades inside it, it could lead to the trio learning spellcraft from just about all known spell disciplines from conjuring to illusions. Besides, it just isn't D&D without one character learning Magic Missile and Fireball.

I think Shampoo would be better suited starting as a Ranger at the start of the adventure as a Warlord character is by virtue a leader and Shampoo hasn't gained the experience or authority.

[Uldihaa]

I'm really, really surprised no one has mentioned Monk. I'll admit it's been a very long time since I've played D&D, but the Monk class is the closest to what Ranma can do of all the classes I can remember. The whole 'lawful alignment' thing could be a bit of a sticking point, but since you mentioned that it won't be a strict interpretation of the D&D ruleset, you could probably safely ignore it. And if you plan on using Ranma from close to the end of the manga, it would probably place him quite high in level as a Monk (somewhere between 16 and 18 I'd think), so Ranma 'multi-classing' wouldn't even be much of a problem.

As for Shampoo...Sorcerer? She's kinda hard to call really. Ranger would probably come close though.

Ukyo strikes me as more of a Rogue though. One that uses rather odd weapons The only thing that really throws that off is her big spatula.

Since we never see any of these three in anything resembling medium or heavy armor, I'd at least recommend a class that can't use those armor types.

Those are my suggestions anyway

[Penguin-sa]

I'm really, really surprised no one has mentioned Monk. I'll admit it's been a very long time since I've played D&D, but the Monk class is the closest to what Ranma can do of all the classes I can remember. The whole 'lawful alignment' thing could be a bit of a sticking point, but since you mentioned that it won't be a strict interpretation of the D&D ruleset, you could probably safely ignore it. And if you plan on using Ranma from close to the end of the manga, it would probably place him quite high in level as a Monk (somewhere between 16 and 18 I'd think), so Ranma 'multi-classing' wouldn't even be much of a problem.

As for Shampoo...Sorcerer? She's kinda hard to call really. Ranger would probably come close though.

Ukyo strikes me as more of a Rogue though. One that uses rather odd weapons The only thing that really throws that off is her big spatula.

Since we never see any of these three in anything resembling medium or heavy armor, I'd at least recommend a class that can't use those armor types.

Those are my suggestions anyway

Remember SpaceKnight is asking about classes for the trio after the arrive in the World, what they would learn in the World (now he's got me doing it). The classes may or may have anything to do with what they were in the R 1/2 world. Or least that's my understaning.

[Heaven's Deamon]

Um, Uldihaa, Penguin-sa, I'm afraid that some of your sugestions aren't as helpful as they could be. I just checked the idea topic this was spawned from to make sure (though it probably should have been restated in the fist post of this one considering said Idea topic was fairly far down on the first page) And the DnD world in question is supposed to be based on the 4th Edition rules, which don't have monk or sorceror classes. (at least not yet, they might be part of later releases)