Post by Cherri on Jan 3, 2014 21:51:39 GMT 9
Abilities are defined as capabilities. This can mean anything from 'being capable of summoning thunder from the Heaveans' to simply 'swordsmanship' or 'using an axe'. Despite what is written though, abilities can be so much more and have so much depth. They could also sound much more threatening than they actually are, as, after all, they are self-proclaimed. A character could have in their profile 'capable of scaring humans' but actually find that hard.
Abilities usually have a lot to do with the characters occupation or location. A character could be extremely skilled at knife throwing, but not state it as their ability, even if it goes to superhuman capabilities. They could have a primary ability eg. 'capable of manipulating time' and even though they could fight almost solely with their knives, not state as so and simply put 'knives' as their weapon.
Abilities can be as powerful and come from almost any source that you like, but they will never be the most powerful thing ever because of the Spell Card Rule:
Spell cards appear to play an important role in casting powerful character-specific magic. During a spell card trance, the user's offensive and defensive capabilities appear to increase greatly. In some cases, the user becomes completely invincible for the duration of the trance. However, the user may only cast the spell that was specified by the spell card until the trance ends, limiting its overall usefulness. The spell card system was developed by Reimu (however, the original draft being written on a youkai contract has called this into question) and first used in the Scarlet Mist Incident. They were designed to give even weak youkai and humans a chance to win, as well as to provide youkai a way to defeat the Hakurei Shrine in a fair duel. They are described as pieces of paper bearing the descriptions of their respective spells, along with the possible approval of the shrine maiden.
They are in terms similar to a regular duel: You must dodge your opponents or be crushed by them. However, the difference between spell cards and a normal duel is that "the most beautiful one wins. It's a very mental contest. "beautiful" in part means without dirty tricks. As it seems in the following, spell cards regulate rules for the time a duel is held such as: Used equipment, a time limit, winning and losing conditions and restrictions (mostly for the dodging part). Spell cards however don't seem to be limited to magic. Everything that can be used as an attack counts as a spell card, including everyday objects. Even potatoes. Yes, you heard me. Potatoes.
The spell card law is written as;
"Duel between youkai are cause for fear that the small land of Gensokyo may collapse.
However, if youkai are unable to fight, their power will gradually vanish.
Therefore, I propose the following contract to allow duels."
"That youkai can easily cause disasters.
That humans can easily resolve disasters.
That deciding victors solely based on strength is unacceptable.
That there is nothing superior to elegance and thought."
"- Give a name and a meaning to the elegance of each duel.
- The number of naming duels to be fought must be announced beforehand.
Relying on stamina and repeating an attack is not allowed.
- Do not use meaningless attacks.
Meaning is equivalent to power.
- If you are defeated in a naming duel, acknowledge the loss even if you have remaining strength.
If victorious against a human, you may not kill them.
- Write down the name of the duel on paper like a contract.
With that, all of the aforementioned regulations become absolute.
That paper will be called a "spell card."
For more specific details on the duel process, discuss with the shrine maiden later."
The Official Draft of Spell Card Rules:
"Although the shrine maiden decided on these rules,
the original draft is written on the same paper used for youkai's contracts.
Did some youkai propose these rules to the shrine maiden?
I wonder who could have written them."
Abilities usually have a lot to do with the characters occupation or location. A character could be extremely skilled at knife throwing, but not state it as their ability, even if it goes to superhuman capabilities. They could have a primary ability eg. 'capable of manipulating time' and even though they could fight almost solely with their knives, not state as so and simply put 'knives' as their weapon.
Abilities can be as powerful and come from almost any source that you like, but they will never be the most powerful thing ever because of the Spell Card Rule:
Spell cards appear to play an important role in casting powerful character-specific magic. During a spell card trance, the user's offensive and defensive capabilities appear to increase greatly. In some cases, the user becomes completely invincible for the duration of the trance. However, the user may only cast the spell that was specified by the spell card until the trance ends, limiting its overall usefulness. The spell card system was developed by Reimu (however, the original draft being written on a youkai contract has called this into question) and first used in the Scarlet Mist Incident. They were designed to give even weak youkai and humans a chance to win, as well as to provide youkai a way to defeat the Hakurei Shrine in a fair duel. They are described as pieces of paper bearing the descriptions of their respective spells, along with the possible approval of the shrine maiden.
They are in terms similar to a regular duel: You must dodge your opponents or be crushed by them. However, the difference between spell cards and a normal duel is that "the most beautiful one wins. It's a very mental contest. "beautiful" in part means without dirty tricks. As it seems in the following, spell cards regulate rules for the time a duel is held such as: Used equipment, a time limit, winning and losing conditions and restrictions (mostly for the dodging part). Spell cards however don't seem to be limited to magic. Everything that can be used as an attack counts as a spell card, including everyday objects. Even potatoes. Yes, you heard me. Potatoes.
The spell card law is written as;
"Duel between youkai are cause for fear that the small land of Gensokyo may collapse.
However, if youkai are unable to fight, their power will gradually vanish.
Therefore, I propose the following contract to allow duels."
"That youkai can easily cause disasters.
That humans can easily resolve disasters.
That deciding victors solely based on strength is unacceptable.
That there is nothing superior to elegance and thought."
"- Give a name and a meaning to the elegance of each duel.
- The number of naming duels to be fought must be announced beforehand.
Relying on stamina and repeating an attack is not allowed.
- Do not use meaningless attacks.
Meaning is equivalent to power.
- If you are defeated in a naming duel, acknowledge the loss even if you have remaining strength.
If victorious against a human, you may not kill them.
- Write down the name of the duel on paper like a contract.
With that, all of the aforementioned regulations become absolute.
That paper will be called a "spell card."
For more specific details on the duel process, discuss with the shrine maiden later."
The Official Draft of Spell Card Rules:
"Although the shrine maiden decided on these rules,
the original draft is written on the same paper used for youkai's contracts.
Did some youkai propose these rules to the shrine maiden?
I wonder who could have written them."
