Guideline of How to Make a Technique

[Miki Tenshi]

So you want to create a technique

A walkthrough for making your first technique, getting ideas for more, or just looking over to check your own techs against. Note: this is intended for real use AFTER you have had your application approved, as well as having had your base stats figured out. However, you are free to read this (of course) even if you're not quite ready to start. However, as with your Stats you should not actually write techs until your approval, in case you have to change your character to be approved. As always, it is strongly, strongly recommended encouraged demanded that you read the rules. If you haven't memorized every single word in that board, you're normal. But that doesn't mean another read-through wouldn't be helpful.

We're creating techniques, so let's first look at their basic structure.
>Name
>Effect
>Cost
>Limitations
>Cooldown (if any)
>Level(s) of release the tech is available at

This is all fairly basic, but we're going to go in-depth with all of it. Well, not the name portion. That's up to you. A NOTE before we go on: this is all just suggestion. These stamina costs, for example, are NOT set in stone. Want a tech with higher or lower cost than the ones I've presented here? Go for it. The purpose of this section is not to tell you what you can and can't do, merely to show you some examples.

EFFECTS and COSTS

Alright, so this is the main part of all techniques. And we're going to devote a lot of space to it. The first thing we need to look at is…

>TYPES OF EFFECTS
Most techs fall into several distinct categories: Kidō, Buff, Defense, Heal, Illusion, Offense, Drain, Debuff and Other. We're going to run through them all.

>>KIDŌ techs duplicate a spell that normally a character would not have. A Shinigami could thus learn Garganta, for instance, or an Arrancar a Hadō. Similarly, perhaps there's a spell in your racial list you just have to get. Here's another way to learn it! On the other hand, this could be a yet-undiscovered Kidō. Have an idea for a perfect spell that Kubo never bothered to use? go for it. STAMINA COSTS are dependent on the power of the spell. If it's an existing Kidō, or is like an existing Kidō, use its existing stamina cost (if not more). If it's new, estimate. With more than one instance of a spell, it naturally needs to cost more at that ratio.

>>BUFF techs are the simplest and most common of all techniques. Buffs merely increase a stat at the cost of stamina (NOT another stat). STAMINA COSTS differ depending on how much the tech increases your stat(s). Generally, a 10SP increase costs 7ST, a 20SP costs 15ST, etc. Try your best to keep a .75 Stamina : 1 SP ratio.

>>DEFENSE techs do exactly what their name suggests. Often they're keyed to a certain type of defense- made to block spells, physical attacks, or whatever- but on rare occasions will be "perfect defense" techniques. On determining STAMINA COSTS, the important thing to note is how much power it can defend against. Hence, the defensive technique should cost about as much as the offensive one it protects against would.

>>HEALING techs are made to recover damage, an example of which being High-Speed Regeneration. Healing can come in many forms, but remains an important part of any character's list, especially since wounds are roleplay-based. STAMINA COSTS should reflect the amount of damage the tech heals. As an example, cuts could cost 3ST, a limb 10ST, and organs/complex parts 20ST. Remember that there are certain conditions a person, no matter how strong, cannot survive. So there's no healing a lost head, or a pierced heart, or anything that might auto-kill you.

A different type of healing technique is one that heals your stamina. This is one area that we staff watch VERY closely. You may want to request help from a staff member if you have your heart set on creating one of these.

>>ILLUSORY techs are the rarest and most difficult to use properly. Whenever you move into "the other player sees this," you enter a gray area. Be forewarned, we watch these sorts of techs very carefully. If we can trust you to handle the power, we'll approve it. If we can't, show us why we should in your subsequent posts. But such techniques can be useful to say the least, often giving a character enough time to set up his next attack. STAMINA COSTS should reflect the technique's power and how fully it encapsulates the victim, as well as include a turn-by-turn cost. For example, a technique that merely causes the enemy to see pink dolphins where people are might cost 5ST to initiate and 1ST per round to keep up. A more powerful illusion, like one that puts a character inside an illusory world, should cost more like 10ST to initiate and 3ST per round.

>>OFFENSIVE techs are a hack-and-slash character's bread and butter, and they fall into several further subcategories: ranged, close, and weapon. These are all fairly self-explanatory; ranged techs project missiles or the like to attack an enemy, close techs attack an enemy within closer range, and weapon-based techs just follow the theme of your racial weapon. STAMINA COSTS should reflect, as always, the technique's power. An arrow should cost around 4ST, but a dozen arrows should cost 6ST, and homing arrows should cost more like 10ST. Closer techs should cost about the same, and weapon techs depend on you. Remember, the goal here is to balance the tech. If you make your strike explosive, it should increase its cost appropriately.

>>DRAINING techs damage an opponent's Stamina, limiting their longevity in a fight. Note that you may NOT take their stamina for yourself. STAMINA COSTS should be fairly high to prevent players from just draining another character's stamina and ending the fight then and there. 10ST for 10ST generally seems fair. Alternately, you could have a low cost but only be able to do it a limited number of times. See below.

>>DEBUFF techs lower an opponent's stat(s) at the cost of a fairly large amount of your Stamina, or a constant ST drain as long as you keep the tech up. Generally STAMINA COSTS run near 5ST for a total of 10SP decrease, 10ST for 20SP, and onwards.

>>OTHER kinds of techs abound at Bleach Gotei, products of inventive minds too creative to be constrained by normalcy. Don't think you're tied to this list; though long, this part of the guide is just meant to show examples of more common techs. Have an idea this doesn't cover? Go for it! We welcome creativity. Just be sure to give it fair attributes!

Whew, that was quite a bit to read. Now that we have that down, let's move on to…

LIMITATIONS
Here is the next, very important part of a technique. We very much don't want to Godmod (more on that below), so to avoid that whole mess the best thing to do is it is mandatory to include a way the opponent can escape from a tech. In some, it might not be necessary (as in an offensive/defensive tech) because stats will determine that in any case. But in most, it's a very crucial part. Take illusionary techs for an example, partially because they are the ones most needful of a limiter. Remember how Aizen had this crazy illusion ability that pretty much auto-hit and no one could ever escape? Remember how even very accomplished people tried to break the illusion (even knowing it existed!) without any success? Yeah, that's what we don't want. With everything that controls another character or presumes they get affected you need to give them a way out. There are three common ways to do this. First,

>STATS/DOMINANCE compares your stats against your opponent's. One way to use this method is by saying "if I have higher strength than my opponent's defense, it works." A more flexible balance is reached by using Stat Dominance rules; players add a clause for pertinent levels their stat is above/below their opponent's, the tech having more/less of an effect accordingly.

>SKILLS allow a similar sort of approach, this time focusing on an opponent's skill level. Usually, this is used with illusions, which depend on Reiatsu Perception to be noticed. Here is where a clause for appropriate above/below skill ranks would be helpful.

>SITUATIONAL limitations work on specifics of the two characters and their surroundings. Take a water tech for example. It can't really work when it's not around water! Furthermore, say it turns the ground into ice, thus slowing opponents. Well, if they're flying, it doesn't really matter, does it? That's just an example- more variations abound.

>BACKLASHES can happen in the event of extremely powerful techniques. Just like how you can overexert yourself one day, gaining strength and stamina you did not have, so can your character. And, of course, the "next day soreness" happens for them, too… but with techs, much faster. Take for example a tech that outrageously increases a character's strength, perhaps by 30SP. It takes a gigantic piece of Stamina, but there's also a rebound effect. The price of such a powerful technique can be a reduction of the stat after its use, as well as RP consequences such as bleeding and torn muscle.

DURATION
Here's another easy one. There are really only three different durations: one round, continual, or a set number of rounds. Rounds are a full rotation of posts, starting with the technique's activation and ending on that character's next turn. The cost of a technique should reflect the duration; a continual tech should cost continual stamina, and there's usually no sense in having a one-round tech cost stamina after its conclusion.

COOLDOWNS
Sometimes a tech is so powerful it needs to recharge before it can be used again. Sometimes it's just natural to have a limit. And sometimes, you just need to put some breaks on a tech to keep yourself from abusing it. Whatever the case, a cooldown is often a necessary part of a technique. We won't go too in-depth here; we trust you to recognize when a tech needs to be restrained, and we trust our staff to inform you when you miss it. Let it simply be said that if it can be abused, if it's exceedingly powerful, or if you just don't want to let yourself use it too much, restrict it. We recommend counting posts or turns (every character posts), not time or actions.

LEVELS
Finally, a technique needs to state at what release(s) it is available. Generally speaking, there are 3 releases for each race (a 4th counting Exalted), different to each. These are meant to signify a character tapping new wells of power within themselves, naturally gaining new abilities and techniques. As a general rule, if a technique is keyed to your Second Release abilities, but not your First Release's, then it's better to have it at Second and up. Or, just Second.

THEORY
And here you thought we were finished! Well, before we can truly wrap up we need to address several concerns.

First, Godmodding. This happens when a character's techs can so overpower an opponent as to make his resistance laughable. Not to mention there are several places we just won't allow techs to venture. Take Time for instance. If you could travel in it, you could have anything you wanted happen without your opponent even being able to react. Hence, we disallow any techs that could do so. Illusions are another slippery slope, and our Staff may decide you need to reword an illusory tech to keep it reasonable. Other Godmodding can occur with truly cosmic techniques. Letting characters mess around with Nuclear Strong Force is obviously a bad idea, and others of that sort will be denied. Remember, we (and you) want a tech that makes fights more interesting and fun, not pointless.

For more on theory (and combat in general), go here and here.

APPROVAL
So you've made these perfect techniques and can't wait to use them, right? Now what? Well, our staff has to approve them before you can use them in a thread. Using un-approved anything in threads is a good way to raise our ire, and we're very scary people. VERY scary. Who handle the approval process. Want us to review your techs more quickly? Try asking us (POLITELY) to take a look at it. Remember, though, you're one of dozens who've just asked the same thing. If we take longer than you'd like, be patient. We're unpaid and hungry. After we've finally approved it, though, you're free! Go out and frolic!

One other important note- if you have created a technique, got it approved and are all ready to use it, be aware that you shouldn't really have it until your next thread. For any threads you're currently involved in, ASK FIRST. Make sure you have permission from all participants. How fair is it if someone creates a new technique to counter a threat he just encountered? Techniques are the product of careful diligence and work in-character.

DISAPPROVAL
Uh oh, you made a mistake! Or maybe you just need to reword something, or maybe your technique falls under our "No entry" Godmodding sphere. Whatever the case, follow the staff's instructions. If they've denied it with a reason, fix the problem and try again. If they haven't given one, ask. Perseverance is key! So get out there and have fun with it!

Code:


[b]>Name:[/b]
[b]>Effect:[/b]
[b]>Cost:[/b]
[b]>Limitations:[/b]
[b]>Duration:[/b]
[b]>Cooldown (if any) :[/b]
[b]>Level(s) of release the tech is available at:[/b]