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[Pet Project] Persona HERO


pointyman2000

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Hey guys, just thought I'd upload some of my notes for a HERO campaign set in the world of the Persona RPG for the Playstation (and now Playstation 2) for your comments and suggestions.

 

For those unfamiliar with the series, you can find a synopsis of the games over at it's Wikipedia Entry

 

Persona HERO

 

BeYourTrueMindHero.jpg

 

Theme and Mood

 

Theme: Discovering the Self

 

Persona has always been fixated on the concept of the Self. Characters are adolescents / young adults that are in the stage of self-discovery and defining who they are. It is through their adventures that the characters are tested, and hopefully emerge from the crucible changed for the better, having attained the confidence to be who they really are.

 

Mood: Confusion, Obscurity, Suspense, Uncertainty, Independence, Responsibility

 

Persona's setting is a world that has all the hallmarks of paranoia enducing situations. A town, cut off perhaps from the rest of the world. Demons prowling the streets in search for humans to enslave or consume. At the same time, it is one where there are no straight answers. Authority figures are rendered helpless or dead, while even natural laws of physics change.

 

Under such conditions, normal people would be content to take the horror movie route. Hide, stick together and pray. People with Personas, the characters are motivated to go out and seek to change their situation. By doing so, they change the world around them with their actions. Every action has a result, good or bad.

 

Character Guidelines:

 

Heroic Level Characters

Base: 100

Disads: 100

Total 200

 

Campaign Limits:

Characteristcs: 10-30

SPD: 3-5

CV: 4-8

DC: 4-10

Active Points: 40-60

Skills: 10-30

Skill Roll 8-15-

Def/rDef 12/6

 

Normal Characteristic Maxima

 

Unless adequately explained, Characteristics must be purchased as such, and not as Powers.

 

Disallowed Advantages:

- Reduced Endurance (at 0 END) is only allowed for equipment builds

- Invisible Power Effects for Personas is not Allowed

 

++++++

 

All characters will have one Persona. Each Persona is usually a form of Mythical / Religious or Demonic entity. In addition, these Personas are also classified according to the Tarot's 22 Major Arcana.

 

* 0 - The Fool

* I - The Magician

* II - The High Priestess (or The Popess)

* III - The Empress

* IV - The Emperor

* V - The Hierophant (or The Pope)

* VI - The Lovers

* VII - The Chariot

* VIII - Strength

* IX - The Hermit

* X - Wheel of Fortune

* XI - Justice

* XII - The Hanged Man

* XIII - Death

* XIV - Temperance

* XV - The Devil

* XVI - The Tower

* XVII - The Star

* XVIII - The Moon

* XIX - The Sun

* XX - Judgement

* XXI - The World

 

- All characters must take the "free" Disadvantage:

 

0 Pts - Distinctive Features: [Arcana] (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable Only By Unusual Senses)

 

This is primarily because most Demons react negatively or positively to similar or opposing Arcana. This might make negotiating with certain demon types easier or harder.

 

+++++

 

Other Persona Traits:

 

In addition to the Tarot Assignment, Persona also display other traits that have to be defined by the player. Among them is a Persona's elemental attributes. Rules-wise, elements are treated as a form of special effect. For reference, the Elements available are:

 

* Fire

* Water

* Wind

* Earth

* Chill / Ice

* Lightning

* Heat - note: Plasma and Lasers fall under this category

* Darkness

* Light

* Almighty - Magic is usually sorted under this category

* Guns

* Swords

* Bows

* Axe

* Spear

* Whip

* Physical - This is a catch-all for things like Blunt Weapons / Martial Arts, etc.

 

 

While admittedly the elements are strange to look at, Persona are granted 1 "free" resistance, statted out as:

 

0 Pts - Strong Against [element]: Physical (or Energy) Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% (15 Active Points); Set Effect [Only works vs. Element](-1/4)

 

On the flip side, any persona is also susceptible to an element, and must take a "free" Disadvantage to their characters:

 

0 Pts - Vulnerability to [element]: 1 1/2 x STUN (Common)

 

Naturally for the sake of balance, It is not allowed for characters to be Strong Against one Element, and then be Vulnerable to the same element.

 

+++++

 

That's all that I've got for now. I'll be working on fleshing out the setting next. Any comments or suggestions on what I should add so far? :)

 

EDIT: mention of working on setting next

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Re: [Pet Project] Persona HERO

 

Thanks!

 

The Persona series is a very obscure offshoot of the popular (in Japan anyways) Shin Megami Tensei RPG series. The basic premise for it is that a group of teens or young adults are given the ability to summon their other "selves" to fight for them. These Personas take the forms of Gods, Mythical heroes, demons and other things.

 

Empowered by the use of their Personas, they're out to save the world from an apocalyptic event that mirrors the trauma in their lives. It's pretty creepy taking a lot of bizzare horror schticks from Asian Cinema.

 

I think a more comprehensive display of the characters and plots from the old series for the Playstation 1 can be found here in this Article.

 

One of the most defining aspects of the series is it's artwork: (excuse the large image)

 

persona2is2.jpg

 

The two here are Tatsuya and Maya, with their personas Apollo and Artemis (I think, Atlus never translated this to english)

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Re: [Pet Project] Persona HERO

 

Hmm... I missed 2 kinds of Elemental Attributes

 

*Status

*Healing

 

Persona Powers Guidelines:

 

Personas grant their weilders a variety of strange attacks, and are ususally tied thematically to the form taken by the Persona. Unfortunately, Persona are not capable of granting movement abilities to their users. Personas are also unable to project themselves away from their users for more than a split second, often being rooted to where they manifest just behind and above the user.

 

Therefore attacks that features a Persona teleporting in front of a target and striking it would be built as an Energy Blast vs. PD rather than a Hand Attack.

 

All attacks are also assigned an Elemental Attribute as a special effect.

 

Hand Attacks would be best used to simulate actual weapons wielded by the User and not the Persona.

 

Example 1:

 

The Persona "Lancelot" attacks, disappearing from the user's location to the front of it's target, spearing it with his silver lance twice in rapid succession.

 

36 Pts. - Dual Stab: Energy Blast 6d6, Armor Piercing (+1/2) (45 Active Points); Incantations [call to / direct Persona] (-1/4) END Cost 4 Spear Element Attribute.

 

Example 2:

 

The Persona "Siren" sings a song to put a demon to sleep.

 

40 Pts - Lullaby: Ego Attack 4d6 (Demon and Human classes of minds) (50 Active Points); Incantations [call to / direct Persona] (-1/4) END Cost 5 Status Element Attribute

 

Powers will most likely end up in Multipowers or Elemenal Controls.

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Re: [Pet Project] Persona HERO

 

Demonic Negotiation Persona-style

 

Take the fact that HERO has several interaction based skills:

- Conversation

- Persuasion

- Seduction

- Oratory

and

- Interrogation

 

Now, each method of interaction may or may not make the demon more interested in the character (hopefully enough to make them give a spell card). This is where we veer away from the HERO system a bit and start applying some elbow grease.

 

Say that each demon will be convinced more easily by appealing to whichever stat it has highest.

 

High STR - reacts negatively to Interrogation, reacts well to Seduction

High DEX - reacts negatively to Conversation, reacts well to Persuasion

High CON - reacts negatiely to Seduction, reacts well to Conversation

High BODY - reats negatively to Oratory, reacts well to Conversation

High INT - reacts negatively to Seduction, reacts well to Oratory

High EGO - reacts negatively to Oratory, reacts well to Interrogation

High PRE - reacts negatively to Interrogation, reacts well to Persuasion

High COM - reacts negatively to Conversation, reacts well to Seduction

 

Any attempts to establish negotiations that don't draw a positive or negative reaction doesn't go anywhere.

 

At the end of a 3 attempt negotiation phase, the primary negotiator must make a PRE attack, with dice bonuses/penalties granted by how well the negotiation has gone.

 

Results are:

Less than Demon's PRE = Demon is dissatisfied, intiates or continues combat as normal. No other Diplomacy attempts are allowed for the duration of the combat.

Equal to Demon's PRE= Demon chooses to leave you alone, combat ends with the demons leaving.

PRE+10 = Demon chooses to leave, and gives you an item or advice before they go

PRE+20 = Demon leaves and decides to give you a spell card

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Re: [Pet Project] Persona HERO

 

Thanks, Question Man!

 

I was supposed to put up a sample character build but it got wiped out twice by power fluctuations that knocked my pc offline.

 

In lieu of that (and to spare myself the agony of seeing it wiped out again, here's a sample build for a persona template)

 

Persona

Melpomene, the Muse of Tragedy

 

Melpomene appears as a woman with long flowing hair and wearing ancient greek clothes. A Tragedy Mask hangs from her belt, a sword held in her hand, and a lyre in the other.

 

Arcana

The Devil

 

Strong Against

Darkness Element Attacks

0 Pts - Elemental Resistance: Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% (15 Active Points); Set Effect [Only vs. Darkness Element](-1/4)

 

Weak Against

Light Element Attacks

0 Pts - Vulnerability to Light Element: 1 1/2 x STUN (Common)

 

Powers

 

52 Pts - Melpomene: Multipower, 65-point reserve, (65 Active Points); all slots Incantations (Call to / Direct Persona; -1/4)

 

5u Tragic Mask: Drain PRE 6d6 (60 Active Points); Incantations (Call to / Direct Persona; -1/4) END 6 Status Element

 

Image: Melpomene throws her Tragedy Mask into the air, where it dissapears and manifests in front of the target's face. The target feels all courage drain from his body, certain that doom is about to befall it. The mask fades and returns to Melpomene's belt.

 

5u Backstab: Energy Blast 10d6, Indirect ( Always from behind the target; +1/4) (62 Active Points); Incantations (Call to / Direct Persona; -1/4) END 6 Sword Element

 

Image: Melpomene appears not directly above and behind the user, but instead behind the target, her sword held at the ready. She swings/thrusts at the target before fading.

 

4u Et Tu...: Mind Control 11d6 ( Human and Demon classes of minds) (65 Active Points); Set Effect (Only to cause target to betray his allies; -1/2), Incantations (Call to / Direct Persona; -1/4) END 6 Darkness Element

 

Image: Melpomene sings a song with no words, and the target suddenly feels the urge to take revenge upon an ally. Emotions are twisted to maximum effect, with the slightest annoyance turning to grave insults, and admiration converted to homicidal obsession.

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Re: [Pet Project] Persona HERO

 

 

 

persona2is2.jpg

 

The two here are Tatsuya and Maya, with their personas Apollo and Artemis (I think, Atlus never translated this to english)

 

 

Yes they did. I own it.

 

Unfortunately, Atlus only brought over Persona and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. Persona 2: Innocent Sin has never been released outside of Japan. (I wonder why the decision to not release Innocent Sin in North America..)

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Re: [Pet Project] Persona HERO

 

Nicely done. I especially like how you handle the demon negotiation. I have a few questions though.

 

How do you plan to deal with the Characteristics of the Personas affecting (increasing or decreasing) the characteristics of their host? Or do you plan to ignore that aspect?

 

Are you planning to limit the characters to simply one Persona only, or is that one Persona at a time? If each character only has access to 1 permanent Persona, then what would be the point of demon negotiation (considering in the game, the main reason to negotiate with demons was to recieve Arcana with which to create new Personas)

 

Now for a comment. I would do the manifestation of Persona attack powers slightly differently. Where you have Persona unleashing Energy Blast or RKA powers, even in the case of a Hand to Hand style attack by the Persona, I would have the Persona itself use a Hand Attack or Hand Killing Attack coupled with the Ranged and possibly the Indirect advantages.

 

Persona is a campaign setting that I've long wanted to emulate in Hero. You may just have inspired me to continue work on a future campaign. (in anycase, I will be stealing your demon negotiation method. Good stuff!)

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Re: [Pet Project] Persona HERO

 

Thanks for the comments, NuSoardGraphite!

 

I stand corrected on that one, I forgot that they did bring out Eternal Punishment. I wish that they had brought out Innocent Sin as well. :(

 

Now on to the comments/questions

 

How do you plan to deal with the Characteristics of the Personas affecting (increasing or decreasing) the characteristics of their host? Or do you plan to ignore that aspect?

 

Hmm... That's actually a good question.

 

Thinking about it, since humans have Normal Characteristic Maxima, I might add Characteristics bought as powers to the Persona Template instead. They suffer from not contributing to derived stats, but I think it'll fit nicely.

 

I'm guessing that a persona can give no more than 6 active points worth of stat boost/drain upon the creation of the template. Again, points are

 

This however can be offset by the Deductions made from their stats too, as long as the total adjustment is +6 active points, max

 

Perhaps something like:

 

0 Pts - Stat Bonus: +6 STR (6 Active Points); Conditional Power Only when [Persona] is equipped (-1/4)

 

0 Pts - Stat Bonus: +2 DEX (6 Active Points); Conditional Power Only when [Persona] is equipped (-1/4)

 

0 Pts - Stat Penalty: Drain CON 2d6 (standard effect: 6 points) (20 Active Points); Self Only (-1/2), Conditional Power Only when [Persona] is equipped (-1/4)

 

Calculation:

+6 AP from STR

+6 AP from DEX

-6 AP from CON

---------------

+6 AP total

 

I'm not really too hot on deducting stats when you "equip" a particular persona though.

 

Are you planning to limit the characters to simply one Persona only' date=' or is that [i']one Persona at a time[/i]? If each character only has access to 1 permanent Persona, then what would be the point of demon negotiation (considering in the game, the main reason to negotiate with demons was to recieve Arcana with which to create new Personas)

 

I'm still sorting out how to best implement the Spellcards and forming of new Personas. In my inital draft, I was thinking that everyone would only have 1 persona, gaining spell cards only for one shot spells, or for shooing demons away. I actually have an initial draft up on how they work.

 

+++++

 

Spell Cards

 

Spell Cards are single-use objects given to characters by monsters after a very successful negotiation. As a rule, spell cards contain a single unrecoverable charge of one of the demon's abilities, and are built with:

 

Obvious, Accessible Focus: A spell card is literally a card with the demon's picture on the face, and a geometric pattern on the back. Persona users can activate these cards at will. The card emits a supernatural light, and a projection of the demon manifests and casts the spell tied to the card.

 

Independent: A spell card is an object that can be stolen or taken away and the characters do not get any plot immunity for these cards (similar to equipment)

 

Charges: A spell card only has 1 charge that cannot be recovered. After use, the charge is spent and the card disappears.

 

Incantations: To activate, the user must still call out the demon from the card.

 

+++++

 

As to combining them to forming a new Persona, I think it's possible, but there would be a ton of variables involved, and I haven't quite sorted it out just yet.

 

I'll get back to you once I figure out a good system for merging two personas.

 

Now for a comment. I would do the manifestation of Persona attack powers slightly differently. Where you have Persona unleashing Energy Blast or RKA powers' date=' even in the case of a Hand to Hand style attack by the Persona, I would have the Persona itself use a Hand Attack or Hand Killing Attack coupled with the Ranged and possibly the Indirect advantages.[/quote']

 

That's a valid build. My choice to have personas rely on non-Hand Attacks is because the Personas don't use the characters STR to deliver the blow. It might not matter in the long run, but it felt "right" to me somehow :o I could be very, very wrong though. :D

 

Persona is a campaign setting that I've long wanted to emulate in Hero. You may just have inspired me to continue work on a future campaign. (in anycase' date=' I will be stealing your demon negotiation method. Good stuff!)[/quote']

 

Well, steal away! I'm glad it's helping in getting a campaign off the ground. I'll be trying to see if I can come up with a good Persona cross-breeding mechanic. :D

 

EDIT: added calculation for clarity

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Re: [Pet Project] Persona HERO

 

And for our next conversion installment:

 

++++++++++++

 

Persona Fusion / Upgrade

 

Personas are constantly evolving beings, changing even as the user that wields them improves. However, there are ways to nudge them along.

 

There are certain conditions to perform an upgrade:

 

* The character must be in the Velvet Room

* The character must have a spell card with the desired spell

* The spell card must be of the proper level; that is, the power in it should not have a higher Active Point cost than the Persona's Framework (usually a multipower) allows.

* The character must have enough experience left over to "buy" the slot.

 

 

The user calls his Persona, which is then melded with the Spell Card, resulting in an upgraded persona.

 

**Note, this isn't the only means to upgrade a persona. You can technically spend experience and just buy a power of your own design. This method is for those wishing to slap on thematically "odd" spells to an existing persona. Say, a Healing spell on an attack oriented Persona.

 

++++++++++++

 

More than one Persona?

 

Personas are not exclusive. In fact, it is possible for someone to have more than a single Persona, and there are people who are rumored to have the ability to switch between Personas as the situation calls for it.

 

To simulate a character who has managed to attain enough mastery over his Personas to weild more than just one, a player may opt to buy his character a second multipower similar to:

 

36 Pts - Persona Cache: Multipower, 45-point reserve, Limited Power Max 2 Slots (+0) (45 Active Points); Limited Power Only for Personas (-1/4)

 

4u Form with Alternate Persona 1: Multiform (200 Character Points in the most expensive form) (Instant Change) (45 Active Points)

 

4u Form with Alternate Persona 2: Multiform (200 Character Points in the most expensive form) (Instant Change) (45 Active Points)

 

The alternate forms will share the same Personality, Characteristics, Perks, Talents, Martial Arts and Disadvantages as the primary form (as the user hasn't changed, only his Persona has.)

 

In game, the character should have at least had 40 experience (to buy the multipower and 1 alternate form) before he can attempt to manifest a second persona. I highly recommend for the GM to work closely with the player to work out the stats of the new persona.

 

In game, the character should have at least had 40 experience (to buy the multipower and 1 alternate form) before he can attempt to manifest a second persona.

 

While a second Alernate Persona will only cost 4 points, I encourage the GM to let the player work with improving the new alternate first.

 

From a campaign standpoint, I'd also require that a new alternate persona can only be generated if the following requirements are met:

 

* The character must be in the Velvet Room

* Enough experience to purchase the Persona Cache

* Three spell cards to be spent to power the creation of a new persona, and to form the new persona's starting spells.

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Re: [Pet Project] Persona HERO

 

Well, I'm glad people are liking it so far. I'm looking to rewrite these notes into something more readable soon. Maybe on a website somewhere. :D

 

Oh, to the guys who are familiar with the Persona games, are there any things that I missed or you would like me to try my hand at converting?

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Re: [Pet Project] Persona HERO

 

How will you do the combine aspect from the cards?

 

I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what you meant. Were you looking for rules for how to combine 2 cards into a new persona?

 

In the game, it's actually handled by a Persona Cross-Breeding table.

 

Class|1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
     --------------------------------------------------------------
1. ND|X  M1 D2 J1 J2 S3 S1 D1 H1 E1 X  E1 L  S3 M1 H3 P  J2 L  M1 X
2. FY|M1 X  M1 M2 E2 H3 H2 C  H3 H1 X  M1 P  H3 H3 P  M1 T1 J1 M1 X
3. FA|D2 M1 X  M2 W  T2 D2 T1 M1 M2 X  L  J1 T1 J1 H3 M2 E2 M2 D2 X
4. ED|J1 M2 M2 X  C  T2 C  H2 C  H2 X  E1 D2 P  W  J2 J2 S2 W  W  X
5. CB|J2 E2 W  C  X  E1 F  S3 M2 J1 X  J2 S3 E2 S3 P  E2 E1 S3 M2 X
6. WM|S3 H3 T2 T2 E1 X  F  S3 E1 T2 X  T1 P  C  H1 C  S3 S2 H3 J1 X
7. WD|S1 H2 D2 C  F  F  X  J2 M2 H2 X  E1 F  H2 E2 S2 E2 H2 D1 H3 X
8. EM|D1 C  T1 H2 S3 S3 J2 X  C  F  X  E1 D1 J2 J2 H2 E2 S1 S3 W  X
9. EG|H1 H3 M1 C  M2 E1 M2 C  X  L  X  L  H1 W  L  C  E2 W  D1 W  X
10.OL|E1 H1 M2 H2 J1 T2 H2 F  L  X  X  T1 P  W  L  M1 P  S2 M2 S1 X
11.SM|X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X
12.SD|E1 M1 L  E1 J2 T1 E1 E1 L  T1 X  X  L  E1 S3 E1 J2 L  T1 L  X
13.AL|L  P  J1 D2 S3 P  F  D1 H1 P  X  L  X  J1 M1 P  H2 W  H2 J1 X
14.DN|S3 H3 T1 P  E2 C  H2 J2 W  W  X  E1 J1 X  C  W  E2 H2 T2 S3 X
15.BD|M1 H3 J1 W  S3 H1 E2 J2 L  L  X  S3 M1 C  X  S1 H3 E2 J2 J1 X
16.MA|H3 P  H3 J2 P  C  S2 H2 C  M1 X  E1 P  W  S1 X  T1 C  T1 T1 X
17.DW|P  M1 M2 J2 E2 S3 E2 E2 E2 P  X  J2 H2 E2 H3 T1 X  P  M2 T1 X
18.DD|J2 T1 E2 S2 E1 S2 H2 S1 W  S2 X  L  W  H2 E2 C  P  X  H3 S1 X
19.GT|L  J1 M2 W  S3 H3 D1 S3 D1 M2 X  T1 H2 T2 J2 T1 M2 H3 X  J1 X
20.ZE|M1 M1 D2 W  M2 J1 H3 W  W  S1 X  L  J1 S3 J1 T1 T1 S1 J1 X  X
21.SS|X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X

   KEY:
       C= Chariot      H2=Heirophant    P= Priestess     X=None
       D1=Death        H3=Hermit        S1=Star
       D2=Devil        J1=Judgement     S2=Strength
       E1=Emperor      J2=Justice       S3=Sun
       E2=Empress      L= Lovers        T1=Temperance
       F= Fortune      M1=Magician      T2=Tower
       H1=Hanged man   M2=Moon          W= World

 

Working with what we have, you take 2 Spell Cards from different kinds of demons (I know I'm skipping something very important :o ) and then check the chart (the numbers on top correspond to the number's on the sides), to see what arcana your new persona is going to be.

 

Normally I this would be a fantastic thing for reference, but I'm stumped over one little niggling detail...

 

I have no idea what the demon codes on the side mean :o

 

As far as I can tell from the game, some of the codes are easy enough to decipher. FY class demons include various Fairies, Elves and Queen Mab, so I'm guessing that it stand for "fairy" or "fae"

 

Most of the zombie monsters are classified under ZE.

 

As for the rest... I have no idea. I'll try to do a little search fu. Once I find it I'll be able to answer this question much better. (and start making templates for demon opponents)

 

heh, I guess this means once I have it, Question Man will have his update:)

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Re: [Pet Project] Persona HERO

 

Wow, that was fast... thanks to the power of wikis, I found a wiki page that gives out all the demon codes, as well as what they correspond to.

 

I'll clean it up when I get home (almost closing time at work right now) and I'll drum up some rules as to how they work, in addition to some demon creation rules. :D

 

Google-Fu is good.

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Re: [Pet Project] Persona HERO

 

And I'm back.

 

+++++

 

Demons fall under 22 different categories:

 

1 ND 夜魔 (YAMA / Night Demons)

 

Night Demons are creatures that generally arise at night to do their business.

 

* Incubi

* Succubi

* Nighmares

 

2 FY 妖精 (YOUSEI / Fairy)

 

Fairies are known for their fickle natures. Persona fairies are more similar to the old tales, mischevious creatures that keep long and often deadly grudges.

 

* Pixie

* Jack Frost

* Jack O' Lantern

* Dark Elves

* Titania

* Oberon

 

3 FA 堕天使 (DATENSHI / Fallen)

 

To be honest I'm having a hard time identifying these guys are more than just demons in the general sense. They seem to be demonic nobility.

 

* Alastor

* Barbatos

* Berith

 

4 ED 邪竜 (JARYUU / -- / Evil Dragon)

 

These are demons that take the form of dragons.

 

* Fafnir

* Wyvern

* Kiyo-Hime (a maiden in Japanese Folklore who turns into a Dragon)

 

5 CB 凶鳥 (KYOUCHOU / Raptor)

 

Raptor class demons are avian in nature, though not necessarily completely birds

 

* Alecto (a name of one of the Erinyes, or Furies)

* Hraesvelgr (a giant who creates the wind by beating his wings while in eagle form)

 

6 WM 妖獣 (YOUJUU / Wilder)

 

Another vague classification, Wilder class demons seem to be monstrous beasts of one sort or another

 

* Fenrir

* Scylla

* Cath Paluk (A giant cat which was cast adrift at birth and then raised by the Sons of Palug on Anglesey.)

 

7 WD 妖鬼 (YOUKI / Brute)

 

Humanoid demons that are benign? Can't really find a good way to classify these guys.

 

* Yaksha

* Picollus

* Purski

 

8 EM 邪鬼 (JAKI / -- / Dark Brute)

 

I'm guessing that these are humanoid demons of a truly evil bent as compared to their less... malign WD counterparts.

 

* Ogre

* Rakshasa

* Hecatonchires

 

9 EG 悪霊 (AKURYO / -- / Animus)

 

Ghosts, actually. This one seems pretty straightforward.

 

* Ghost

* Poltergeist

 

10 OL 外道 (GEDOU / Foul)

 

Hmmm... from what I can tell, the Foul class of demons are formless beings.

 

* Kokkuri-san

* Slime

* Shadows

* Doppelgangers

 

11 SM 人間 (NINGEN / Human)

 

Well, this is where most of us are. As such they don't really have Spell Cards to give, nor can they really be fused.

 

12 SD 妖魔 (YOUMA / Yoma)

 

Elementally aspected demons

 

* Haoka - Souix hunting and storm god

* Tengu - Japanese wind spirit

* Xiuhtecuhtli - Aztec god of light and fire.

 

13 DM 魔人 (MAJIN / Fiend)

 

Fiends are a special class of demons in the Shin Megami Tensei / Persona mythos. They can be pretty much anything, but they're the strongest demons in the game.

 

14 AL 天使 (TENSHI / Divine)

 

There are also demons that you can encounter in this series that represent things from the judeo-christian side of things

 

* Angel

* Archangel

* Dominion

* Cherubim

 

15 DN 竜王 (RYUUOU / Snake)

 

The DN class is reserved for mythological serpents

 

* Oto-Hime

* Ouroboros

* Mizuchi

 

16 BD 妖鳥 (YOUCHOU / -- / Wild Bird)

 

These are similar to the Raptor class but are strictly birds.

 

* Ba

* Rukh

 

17 MA 魔獣 (MAJUU / Beast)

 

the Beast class seems to refer to animal demons

 

* Dawon - the Tiger ridden by the goddess Durga in Tibetan myth

* Orthrus - Brother of Cerberus

 

18 DW 鬼女 (KIJO / Femme)

 

Okay.. the Femme class refers to evil women. Sorry, but that's the best way to describe it

 

* Salome

* Rangda

* Arachne

* Siren

 

19 DD 地霊 (CHIREI / Jirae)

 

I can't be too sure, but the Jirae class seems to be pertaining to evil fairies... if there is such as distinction.

 

* Knockers

* Duergar

* Kobold

* Leprechaun

 

20 GT 幽鬼 (YUUKI / Haunt)

 

Haunts are demons which have a particular attraction to a physical object.

 

* Gaki

* Vetara - a ghost in Hindu mythology that haunts graveyards

 

21 ZE 屍鬼 (SHIKI / Zombie)

 

Well... zombies. Shambling (or running) dead people.

 

22 SS 降魔 (GOUMA)

 

The Gouma class are demonic representations of the Christian 7 deadly sins.

 

* Greed

* Lust

* Pride

* Gluttony

* Sloth

* Envy

* Wrath

 

+++++

 

Now, that we've identified the various types of demon classes, we can now pretty much use the chart I posted earlier to make a sample cross breed persona.

 

Say we get ourselves a Pixie's spellcard (FY), then cross it with something from say... a Salome (DW). Consulting the chart, we see M1 = a Magician Persona will result from this match.

 

Next up, I'll be putting up rules on demon creation, as well as how to actually merge 2 demon Spell Cards into a new persona. :)

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Re: [Pet Project] Persona HERO

 

demons 101

 

metatron.jpg

Metatron, the voice of God

 

Persona is a series well known for having demons (and gods) from many different religions as opponents. Since Personas are generated by fusing Spell Cards granted by two demons of different types together, my conversion wouldn't be complete if I didn't have rules set down for the demons.

 

Demon Traits

 

Demons have 3 traits that all demons exhibit. The first is that they all belong to a certain Class (any of the 22 I listed in the post before this one). This determines what kind of Persona their spell cards can help create.

 

Mechanically, it's represented by the demons having a "free" Disadvantage,

 

0 Pts - Distinctive Features: [Class] (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable Only By Unusual Senses)

 

The other trait common to them is that they have an irrational dislike for people of a certain Arcana. It's up to the GM to dictate which kind of demon hates what kind of Arcana, but it might be a good rule to think of the demon's psychology. Femme class demons for example, might dislike people with Emperor Arcana Personas, since the Emperor is the most "masculine" of the Arcana. Likewise, Divine class demons won't get along with people using The Devil Arcana Personas. Demons get another "free" Disadvantage:

 

0 Pts - Psychological Limitation: Hostile towards [Arcana] (Common, Strong)

 

The last trait doesn't really have a power build, but was outlined in my earlier post. Based on the highest stat the demon has, it will react in different ways to the different forms of negotiation. (see: Demonic Negotiation, Persona-Style)

 

Making a new Persona using Spell Cards

 

Personas can be generated by fusing two demons together with the use of their Spell Cards. To do this, a character must meet the following requirements:

 

- Be in the Velvet Room

- Have 2 Spell Cards

 

The act of creating a new persona through the spell cards is done with the following steps:

 

1) Compare the 2 Demon Classes of the Spell Cards to determine the new Persona's Arcana. (refer to the Persona cross breeding chart in the earlier post)

 

2) Get the average number of points granted by both demons, and divide the resulting pointage by half again, rounding up.

 

For example:

 

If one spell card belongs to a 100 point FY Jack Frost, and the other, a 175 point WD Yaksha = 275 points / 2 = 137.5 / 2 = 68.75 = a 69 point Heirophant Persona.

 

If the resulting persona costs more points that you can currently afford, you can choose to keep it in storage until such time that you can equip that Persona.

 

+Option: Persona Dismissal+

 

But what if you don't want to add a persona, and you just want to replace your existing one? That's possible too. As long as the character is in the Velvet Room, he can choose to dismiss his current Persona. What this does is that the character's current Persona is permanently erased, and all the points spent on the persona return to the character, ready to be used for a new one, if the character so chooses.

 

This may be a valid option if the GM chooses to run a campaign where characters are disallowed from having more than 1 Persona at a time. Hence, someone with the 66 point "Melpomene" Persona I statted out earlier in this thread could choose to dismiss "Melpomene" and pay an extra 3 experience to pay for that shiny new 69 point Heirophant persona they got.

 

+Option: Persona Locker+

 

Another option would be to specify the Storage option in the Velvet room could be "rented out" to Persona Users. Much like in the manner people change clothes, a character could swap out his current persona, put it in storage (and regaining points used for that persona) and equip a new one, paying experience costs if necessary.

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Re: [Pet Project] Persona HERO

 

Exactly what I was asking for. You are doing alot of work for this. Are you going to do all of this in a PDF or even a Word format?

 

BTW I owe you rep.

 

Cool. :) I have most of this in a document on Writely.com so that my lab rats, ahem, gaming group can look it over and edit stuff that they see wrong.

 

I'll be converting this all into PDF format once I'm done with the rewrite. I'm not too good at technical writing, so my posts tend to sound like I'm rambling. I'm hopin that a fresh pass at rewriting these rules will make it more readable. :D

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  • 5 months later...

Re: [Pet Project] Persona HERO

 

I didn't want to just make a bump with a picture, so here's some conversion notes for Persona 3 for the people who plan to get it when it comes out next year.

 

++New Persona Summoning Method++

 

Persona Pistols

 

Not much is known about the game aside from it's basic premise, but one thing that really catches people's attention when they see footage from the game is that the protagonists now rely on using pistols to summon their personas.

 

More specifically by firing pistols to their heads.

 

For an example of how it looks like, check out this sample in-game movie of it in action:

 

I'm assuming that, like the game the concept of shooting yourself in the head isn't exactly something that's particularly easy to do, but I'll write that up as an optional build.

 

First off:

 

A Persona can now be built into an OIF: Persona Pistol.

 

+Option+

Summoning the Persona may also require an EGO Roll to override the natural human instinct to NOT kill itself. The GM may opt to allow players to reduce or buy off this particular requirement of the power if the character has been sufficiently desensitized by doing it enough times.

 

-----

 

To those wondering about what the heck happened in the movie, the Protagonist shoots himself in the head and manifests Orpheus, his initial persona. Orpheus hovers overhead for a few scant moments before the Protagonist's other (Final?) Persona, Thanatos rips out of Orpheus' body to mutilate the opponent, before fading back into Orpheus. I'm guessing this is a glitch in the part of the Protagonist's psyche :P

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