Realistic or Modern The looming of Gálgviðr

[Fairfax]

Are you a fan of darker interpretation of the Magical Girl genre like Madoka Magica, then this roleplay might just be for you.

In this take on the Magical Girl genre modern ordinary individuals are blessed with extraordinary powers. They encounter mythological entities called Patrons in their dreams, granting them the powers to transform into magical warriors through a phenomenon known as "Apotheosis."

They shine and sparkle with new power, but their transformations aren't limited to charming graphics; they're also thrown headfirst into a world on the brink of chaos. The plot revolves around these magical warriors trying to navigate a world that is now teetering on the edge, filled with concealed enemies and ethical ambiguities.

The magical transformation plunges them into strange troubles and shadowy conflicts, challenging their grit to survive and protect the world they knew. Every thrilling battle will not only test their spectacular powers, but also their human strengths - their ability to make tough choices, stand by their friends, and uphold hope amidst despair.

Get ready to join a world where the Magical Girl tropes are challenged, reality is intertwined with mythical chaos and even the brightest magic can't illuminate the darkness found in humanity's heart.

If this sounds like it could be for you, please let me know.


FAQ I realize that I'm pretty bad at writing interest checks, so I've decided to include a FAQ in the hopes of clarifying some things regarding the setting and this roleplay in general. If anything else is unclear, please don't hesitate to ask.

Magical Girls? I'm really only using term for the sake of simplicity. Player characters can have any gender identity you want.

And if you want a gender-neutral term to use, then you call your character a Mythic Warrior.

How does magic in this setting work? Magic in this setting is pretty straightforward.

Essentially, a magical girls magic is derived from the myth that their Patron represents. A Patron that represents Zeus, for example, might give their magical girl the ability to throw bolts of lightning (since Zeus is a lightning god after all), while a Patron that represents Ares might give their magical girl the ability to manipulate chains (in reference to the Spartan Statue of Ares being bound in chains).

So in short, you can give your character any powers you want as long as you can somehow connect them the myth their Patron represents (as long as it isn't too big of a stretch, obviously. You can't have, say, a Patron that represents Ares grant the power of blood manipulation on the basis that Ares is the god of war and people occasionally bleed to death in battle)

There is one exception to keep in mind though:

You can't give your character's based on other gods than your Patron. Even if that god is/was considered an aspect of the god your Patron represents (in other words, you can't give your character whose Patron is Hermes abilities that revolve around mummification on the basis that the Greeks considered Hermis and Anubis to be the same god).

I don't know the first thing about mythology, will that be a problem?No, it won't. The mythological aspect of the magic system doesn't need to run any deeper than what can be found on Wikipedia.

And if you have a power set already in mind for your character but can't find a Patron that would make it work, just talk to me and we'll figure something out.

What's the deal with Patrons? Let's adress the elephant in the room first, the Patrons aren't actually the gods they take the form of. They are as bound by how humanity views the gods their take the form of as vice-versa.

In other words, a Patron that takes the form of Kronos can grant time related abilities to their magical girl not because Kronos was a god of time (though he absolutely was and I'll die on this hill) but because people think he was.

This is also why there's Patrons of gods like Chernobog and Ixtab even though those gods didn't exist.


Will there be a Discord Probably not. I'm not exactly the biggest fan of off-site OOC's for a number of reason, but if the majority of those who expresses interest in this want one then I'd cave to their will.

That said, even if I created an Discord for OOC it would not be mandatory and there would still be an OOC thread on this forum.

What's the posting requirement? At least a paragraph every four days.

You sure like this magic system huh?Yes, how could you tell?


List of reserved Patrons: Rusty of Shackleford : Kagatsuchi
Fairfax : Tlaltecuhtli

 

[Rusty of Shackleford]

I might be super up for this! Love me some mythology!

Thinking of a character with Odin as their patron, their ability being Sacrifice. They can temporarily "sacrifice" a part of their body to boost themselves. For example, temporarily blinding themselves in one eye to make the other one able to predict the future, removing a hand to make the other one much more dextrous, etc.

Would that work? It's mainly a reference to Odin sacrificing one os his eyes for greater power

 

[Solivagante]

Oooh, this sounds neat. I'm interested! Two questions -
- Any geographic or other limitations on patrons? (IE, since their powers come from humans believing in them, do they need to be well-known?)
- Plot-wise, will characters start out as part of a team or as loners brought together by an early incident?

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

Okay, this definitely has my attention, and I love the mix of Isekai, Rick Rirodan, and Magical Girls. Very ambitious and definitely something I wanna try.

One question, Do fictional gods from things like videogames or manga count as patrons, or do they have to be more based on actual gods and deities?

 

[Fairfax]

Welp, I have to change the name of this roleplay. Turns out Vígríðr has some less than stellar connotations these days.

Terrible sorry if anybody took offense at the name, I really should done a bit more googling first.

Edit: The current name is just a placeholder, I'm aware that it doesn't make any sense.

Thinking of a character with Odin as their patron, their ability being Sacrifice. They can temporarily "sacrifice" a part of their body to boost themselves. For example, temporarily blinding themselves in one eye to make the other one able to predict the future, removing a hand to make the other one much more dextrous, etc.

Would that work?

That sounds great.

Any geographic or other limitations on patrons? (IE, since their powers come from humans believing in them, do they need to be well-known?)

The is one limitation on Patrons and that is that they have to be from a real world mythology.

- Plot-wise, will characters start out as part of a team or as loners brought together by an early incident?

I was thinking on the latter being the case. I'm planning on, when I get the OOC thread up, to have a poll on different incidents that could bring the player characters together and have you vote on which you'd prefer.

One question, Do fictional gods from things like videogames or manga count as patrons, or do they have to be more based on actual gods and deities?

They have to be based on figures from real world mythologies. Sorry, I should have clarified it from the start.

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

I'm definitely gonna join.
I think it'd be interesting to make a Magical Girl that has Quetzalcoatl for her patron.

 

[Wilder28]

Magical Girls and Mythology? You've got my interest! I don't usually do groups, but I inclined to make an exception for this one!

For a patron, I had Loki in mind at first, but now I'm thinking of going a little more obscure and rolling with Tezcatlipoca. That god in general just gives me lots of inspo and I've got ideas for my character already.

Relevant questions: How powerful can our characters be and how many abilities can they have? Like, if your patron has multiple different domains (like how Poseidon has the sea as well as horses and earthquakes, etc.), can you have powers based on more than one of them? And what about weapons? Could a patron of Thor get some watered-down version of Mjolnir, for example? Or a patron of a war god like Athena summon any weapon in general?

And finally: If the patrons aren't actually the gods of old, what does that mean for other mythological elements like monsters or other realms? If there's Hades, is there an Underworld too? Would there be a Cerberus or Hellhounds or anything like that? Just thought I'd ask for clarification!

Slightly less relevantly:

Welp, I have to change the name of this roleplay. Turns out Vígríðr has some less than stellar connotations these days.

Terrible sorry if anybody took offense at the name, I really should done a bit more googling first.

I did some googling and scrolled for like several minutes and only found pages relating to the original Nordic location. What other connotations are you referring to? They can't be all that well-known; chances are most people who'll see this page will only think of the field, if they recognize the name at all.

If you're really concerned though, you could try using Óskópnir instead since that's an alternative name for the place.

a Patron that takes the form of Kronos can grant time related abilities to their magical girl not because Kronos was a god of time (though he absolutely was and I'll die on this hill) but because people think he was.

People know he was; the debate isn't whether or not he's a god of time, but whether or not that god of time (Chronos, primordial personification of linear time) is the same god as Zeus's father (Kronos, leader of the Titans). General consensus is that they were actually two different gods representing two different concepts, at least at first; but due to the fluidity of ancient mythology, they might have experienced some merging or conflation over time.

 

[Solivagante]

I did some googling and scrolled for like several minutes and only found pages relating to the original Nordic location. What other connotations are you referring to? They can't be all that well-known; chances are most people who'll see this page will only think of the field, if they recognize the name at all.

I assume some kind of neo-fash garbage. They do like to appropriate Norse mythology for their dogwhistles.

Anyhow, very interested in how this is developing so far. My first thought was something Babylonian so I will need to do some research. Either that or an Arctic deity like Sedna... lots to consider.

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

There's alot to choose from. Reading over Quetzalcoatl, I am not feeling it for him to be my character's patron.

I do want a non conventional deity though. Is there like, a different mythological dragon to use?

 

[Wilder28]

I assume some kind of neo-fash garbage. They do like to appropriate Norse mythology for their dogwhistles.

That's what came to my mind too; I just looked it up with that tag specifically and found out that it's apparently a neo-fash org based in Norway, but they're practically unheard-of and don't seem to have done much of note in over a decade at least. I'd still say the original name was alright since it's paying homage to the OG term which is orders of magnitude more well-known. (Though I'm also open to being corrected if anyone does turn out to be offended by it.)

Anyhow, very interested in how this is developing so far. My first thought was something Babylonian so I will need to do some research. Either that or an Arctic deity like Sedna... lots to consider.

Ooo, I actually thought of Sedna! I'd totally go for it, she's an interesting one and I don't see First Nation folklore featured all that much these days.

There's alot to choose from. Reading over Quetzalcoatl, I am not feeling it for him to be my character's patron.

I do want a non conventional deity though. Is there like, a different mythological dragon to use?

Chinese, Japanese, and Korean mythology have a bunch! Mostly of the water-based variety since their conception of dragons was different from ours, but a very viable option nonetheless.

 

[Rusty of Shackleford]

Damn lot of posting!

Yeah it's an unfortunate thing, sometimes to choose a name that sounds cool and fits thematically then you realize it has some er...bad implications.

I'm also VERY tempted to go for Kagatsuchi, with a similar idea to Odin, except he basically emits fire from his body that can hurt him as well. Or maybe even the ability to heat and manipulate metal? Because Kagatsuchi was also the patron God of smiths

 

[Fairfax]

What other connotations are you referring to?

It's apparently the name of a neo-nazi organization in Norway.

I doubt anyone else actually cares about it, to be honest. But I feel a bit iffy about it myself.

Relevant questions: How powerful can our characters be and how many abilities can they have?

Character can have 3~ powers at the start. The actual number depends a bit on the strength and complexity of the powers you choose.

As for how powerful they can be, it's a bit hard to say. Probably as strong as they are in early One Piece if that helps.

Like, if your patron has multiple different domains (like how Poseidon has the sea as well as horses and earthquakes, etc.), can you have powers based on more than one of them?

Yes.

And what about weapons? Could a patron of Thor get some watered-down version of Mjolnir, for example?

Yes, but any special abilities an item you character has still takes up one of your power slots.

And finally: If the patrons aren't actually the gods of old, what does that mean for other mythological elements like monsters or other realms?

Monsters and other realms still exist.

I do want a non conventional deity though. Is there like, a different mythological dragon to use?

How about Kanna kamuy, the anui god of thunder? He's some times described as a dragon. And he has some connection with fleas if you'd like some powers that involve that.

Typhon is also called a dragon (although I suspects that's mostly so he'll fit into that Storm God vs Dragon motif).

There's also Bakunawa, a dragon from Filipino mythology that ate 6 of the earth's 7 moons. He occasionally tries to eat the remaining one (thus explaining what eclipses are).

Alternatively, you can use one of the variation of the Rainbow Serpent. They are sometimes called dragons.

 

[Wilder28]

It's apparently the name of a neo-nazi organization in Norway.

I doubt anyone else actually cares about it, to be honest. But I feel a bit iffy about it myself.

Fair enough; the alternative still stands in any case.

Character can have 3~ powers at the start. The actual number depends a bit on the strength and complexity of the powers you choose.

As for how powerful they can be, it's a bit hard to say. Probably as strong as they are in early One Piece if that helps.

I never watched One Piece so it doesn't help exactly, but I'm getting "anime level" from this response

Typhon is also called a dragon (although I suspects that's mostly so he'll fit into that Storm God vs Dragon motif).

There's also Bakunawa, a dragon from Filipino mythology that ate 6 of the earth's 7 moons. He occasionally tries to eat the remaining one (thus explaining what eclipses are).

While cool options, Typhon and Bakunawa are both kinda evil aren't they? Granted it was never said that evil gods couldn't be patrons, so hey.

Typhon's also trapped underneath Mt. Etna though isn't he?

Also, both deities aren't dragons per se, at least in the sense that we commonly think of them, but both are heavily serpent-based and that's enough for some people to make the connection. Especially since dragons are traditionally also very serpent-based and the definition of 'dragon' in general is a very broad one folklorically speaking.

 

[Rusty of Shackleford]

Okay I've settled on Kagatsuchi. His specific ability is basically Magneto, except one, it superheats whatever he manipulates, and it HAS to be commonly used forging metals like iron, steel, nickel, etc.

 

[Fairfax]

Typhon also trapped underneath Mt. Etna though isn't he?

Yeah, but that's not really relevant.

Your Patron can even be a dead god if you want, so being stuck under a mountain shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Wilder28]

Yeah, but that's not really relevant.

Your Patron can even be a dead god if you want, so being stuck under a mountain shouldn't be a problem.

Fair enough. I also figure that even more malevolent deities could act as patrons so that they'd have agents carrying out their nefarious deeds; Tezcatlipoca wasn't exactly an upstanding guy himself so I've been having ideas in that department.

On that note: Do we get any hints at who the antagonists will be? Monsters, evil gods, or other Mythic Warriors perhaps?

 

[Solivagante]

After a bit of a wiki walk I'm leaning towards the Cailleach instead of Sedna; as interesting as I find Sedna, she's maybe a little too much associated with the ocean to be useful, depending on the way the plot goes/what the setting is. Also, the Cailleach would lend herself well to playing an older character, which could be a fun angle.

 

[Ayama]

-waits patiently in the wings with Freyja gal in reserve- ._.

 

[Nellancholy]

I'm quite ready to give this a good try too

 

[Nellancholy]

I don't generally like to lock down character details before the CS is even up,but I might make my character's powers based on Snegurochka from Russian folklore or Phenex from the Ars Goetia this time around. Probably gonna wait to see what everyone else settles on first,though.

 

[PainterFight]

Hmmm... gonna try dipping my feet into this one. I'm thinking of a character with a patron based on Izanagi (or Susanoo). But I haven't think of the mythical warrior's ability based on the patron.

 

[Gundam Watcher 27]

How about Kanna kamuy, the anui god of thunder? He's some times described as a dragon. And he has some connection with fleas if you'd like some powers that involve that.

I recognize the name. Its the name of the smol dragon child in Kobayashi's Dragon Maid.

I wonder if I can get away with using her for my magical girl form and make her civilian form a grown up woman.....

 

[Fairfax]

Ok, this is definitely more than enough than interest. I'll have an OOC and character sheet thread up tomorrow.

Do we get any hints at who the antagonists will be? Monsters, evil gods, or other Mythic Warriors perhaps?

At the start of the roleplay, it'll mostly a combination of monsters and mythic warriors.

 

[Fairfax]

Rusty of Shackleford Wilder28 Gundam Watcher 27 PainterFight Solivagante Nellancholy Ayama

Sorry it took a while. Here's the OOC thread and here's the CS thread.

 

[Wilder28]

Alright gang let's get it