esuna • final fantasy inspired

aliasmiddy, midnight
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Esuna is an original fantasy roleplaying adventure with heavy inspiration from various Final Fantasy games including: X, XII, XIV, Explorers, Crystal Chronicles and Tactics. And probably more! Anything Final Fantasy to be honest. This is the third time I've tried to get some hype for this site, and while it has had hype in the past, I keep thinking of new things to implement or change, and so it has just constantly been in a WIP state... xD But I hope to change that. I've finally discarded most of the technical & system stuff, and everything is way more freeform now. Simply because I'm getting old and I just want to write. I have stories to tell. So, third time's the charm!

[attr="class","esuna_title"]the plot

Terra is the planet on which our story takes place. It is a vast world and not everything has been explored. It is believed that the world was created by two Deities, Solas of Light and Noxus of Dark. The battle between light and darkness has waged for centuries. Noxus released a dangerous mist called Miasma into the world, and to combat that, Solas created Grand Crystals that would keep that Miasma at bay. Noxus then retaliated by summoning great Eidolons to guard and take over these crystals and keep the inhabitants of the world from discovering them and using them. Terra has only ever known the battle between light and dark.

In the beginning, the people of Terra worked together to bring down the Eidolons, and after their defeat, great civilizations would rise up around the Grand Crystals. However, Ordalia, an Empire that is always creating new magitek, discovered that the Grand Crystals can be manipulated and their power siphoned into their weapons. Little did they know, but slowly the influence of the Grand Crystal has waned as its power has been utilized. Only those higher up in the Empire, like the Sages and Judges, know of this consequence... And they do not intend to reveal such secrets.

Instead, they hyped up the prospect of exploring new lands. And though it was dangerous, eventually the new continent of Amostra was discovered, and a new settlement erected to begin a new life on the island. Fledgling adventurers see it as an exciting time to be alive, but there's always those who lurk in the shadows for eviller intentions.

[attr="class","esuna_title"]some tidbits

  • Activity will be pretty lax, save for boss battles. I don't want them to take months and I don't want them to grow stale so those will have requirements but other than that, very lax!
  • FC's will be of anime/manga/video game nature. Though if you have a XIV character, feel free to use them! Gpose and mods can produce lovely images so feel free to use them. General fantasy races will be available to make, with a few more to be revealed as the plot goes on!
  • There is no true "combat" system. It's freeform and we will use the honor system. Feel free to create a fledgling magic user, or someone who has studied the arcane for their entire life. You're even free to make your own "class" (ie Paladin, Red Mage, Necromancer, etc) and custom "Limit Breaks" that are basically big, flashy and powerful attacks to show off in combat threads. However, you don't have to have a combat character at all, either! You'll have the option to be an Artisan (crafters, painters, etc), a regular Civilan, or even a member of the Empire (like Royalty, Government Officials, etc). So anything is possible! And everyone has their place, don't worry!
  • The world is very malleable. Areas and places will open up as the plot thickens, and as people explore. I even am allowing an item in the shop that once purchased, a member can submit their own "area" to add to the site's lore! Amostra is wholly undiscovered save for some grassy plains surrounding its small main city. There could be so much more to discover and I'd love to have members be involved in that too.
  • Unlike before, the site will be Jcink Premium! There are so many cool features I'm discovering that I'd like to implement. One of those being:
    • • • A "Custom Member Group" option to make your own Free Companies/Guilds! I'm still messing with the system, but it appears Jcink allows the feature of members to create member groups that others can join. It's perfect for Clans/Guilds/Free Companies, and upon creation, your very own board is made for you to house information about your Free company!
  • There is a skin up, but I'm still going through and fine-tuning it to match the theme and add images and such!


[attr="class","esuna_title"]the help

I'm currently just searching for some people to help me world build and perhaps bounce ideas off of! Also, maybe someone else who is experienced with jcink that can help me set up some of the boards and awards and such! Almost everything that's left is in my head, or is something like the Shop/Awards so there really isn't too much left...

I'd appreciate if anyone steps up to help be a staff member, too. Staff members will be called "Moogle Mods" and just for funsies, will be named after a Moogle in the Final Fantasy series. I claimed Gurdy because she's super cute but xD Even generic moogles are okay. I don't know if this is enticing or not lol!

I do have a Discord server set up already, so if you'd like to be invited, even if it's just to hang around. Click me!

Feel free to ask questions or offer input? Or even offer ideas? ♥ Anything to make this place fun and exciting for all!

Please look forward to it.TM


[googlefont=Merriweather]
[newclass=.esuna_post]border:solid 1px #e5e5e5;background-color:#f9f9f9;width:500px;border-radius:5px;padding:24px;text-align:justify;[/newclass]
[newclass=.esuna_title]text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:2px;font:12px 'Merriweather';[/newclass]

coming soon.
aliasmiddy, midnight
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Bumping this! I went out of town for a few days and I didn't bring my laptop, but I'm back home now and still have a few days of vacation left. That being said, the site is nearly done! I just have some claims & directories to make, and get the shop system/badge system going! And I need to set up the Discord more, too... xD

Thanks to those who have joined the Discord already and have offered your input! I am still looking for more helpers and possible staff members, so please let me know if you're interested~

coming soon.
aliasmiddy, midnight
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Okay, all! The site is nearing completion. The skin is up and ready, all of the info templates are in and everything is looking pretty! I just have a few informational threads left to do.

One of them being... Guilds.

As I have it now, I do have a few "default" Guilds that members can join, if they'd like. They will each have their own story lines in the plot which I think might be fun!

However, I have been fiddling with a feature I found on jcink for members to create Custom Member Groups... And it doesn't take away from their normal group.

I thought it'd be a neat idea to have members be able to make their own groups! The way it works current, is once a member creates a group, a sub-board is automatically made in the Guilds board and that is where information about the specific guild can go. Basically, if someone wants to lead a Guild, that is the Guild's "development board."

But while I think this is a neat idea, and might make things a bit more relaxed for staff and their involvement, there are some issues that could arise.

What if a character is part of a Guild but they don't want to be the leader? Would they need to be responsible for that entire Guild? Should there be requirements so people aren't just making willy-nilly Guilds with one or two people in them? What about inclusive-ness and if someone restricts certain people from joining?

I've had a discussion about this with one other person, and I am still on the fence about having custom ones or not.

If anyone has any input, please vote in the poll and let me know! I'd love to hear any ideas, feedback or critiques. My main goal is for everyone to have fun and be included. C: So I don't want to implement or restrict something that could have an effect on that~
last edit on Aug 28, 2021 21:15:11 GMT by NIGHTBLOOM

coming soon.
aliasmany - just ask!
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I have no problem mentioning what I voted for, which was 'Yes, with limitations'.

As you mentioned, guilds/free companies are nice to have. It helps give members autonomy and allows them to feel like they are fleshing out the world. However, I can see where your worry comes in with... the issues that you mentioned. You brought up some good points. While I don't know if any of these will be the correction answer (spoiler: we'll never know!), I do believe this might help you with some of your decision.

What if a character is part of a Guild but they don't want to be the leader? Would they need to be responsible for that entire Guild?

That begs the question if you are planning on incorporating player-made guilds into your plot or not. I'd personally err on the side of not allowing them in any site-wide plot and keep core staff-run guilds as the bread and butter for those events.

Should there be requirements so people aren't just making willy-nilly Guilds with one or two people in them?

Yes. A thousand times, yes. Even in games, there are normally requirements for making guilds. Since you mentioned a shop in your original post, you could use that as part of the requirements. I'd also factor in post count to act as an activity gauge. While someone could potentially have reach the required quickly, the post count should help alleviate some issues. (I'd probably also limit this to IC posts and no OOC posts as well.)

What about inclusive-ness and if someone restricts certain people from joining?

There's always going to be some sort of clique mentality forming. So, this would be a knock against not including player-based guilds at all. If someone is rejected based on characters not working, that's one thing. But if it's the player themselves, that would need to have staff get involved.
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In general the more options players have when it comes to factions, the less weight factions tend to have. Not allowing customs gives you more control of themes and political landscape, allowing it gives players more control. It’s not really a binary choice as much as it is a dial and the right balance depends on what you are after.
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TBH, in my experience anytime players make their own faction 89% of the time it never really gets off the ground.

The only time 'player-made' factions truly get any spotlight is when the leader of the faction is actually involved with the staff or is staff themselves to the point where the 'player-made' faction basically is a site-adjacent canon faction. Not saying that it can't work, because perhaps once or twice I've seen player made factions actually make a difference/make their mark, it just doesn't seem to happen a lot in my personal experience.

It also depends on whether factions are going to be a huge part of the rp or not. TBH, the Free Company/Guild Aspect of FFXIV and FF/medieval fantasy adjacent I think would be better if were allowed to yes, organize however they want, it's just that they can't supposedly effect site status quo unless they do get really big and established. On any rp site, there is a natural difference between site work ups and what the players actually end up doing lol

Now it doesn't seem like the purpose of these guilds is conflict-centric, but instead camaraderie and teamwork focus. And naturally, there probably will be some rivalry but nothing like warring factions or states. I think it would be an actually really cool aspect to have it somewhere on your character profile to say you are part of x guild, even if some guilds might just consist of two people. The one thing that might be wary of is guilds just wanting to focus on themselves and members of other guilds not finding reason to interact with other people outside of their guild bubble (IE cliques). You could have guild centric events that focuses on guilds either battling each other or having some sort of contest with each other.

In essence though, site-canon guilds/factions should still be the main focus as to keep everyone on a similar page in terms of context and content. The involvement of player made guilds really just falls heavily on the player, and so I'd say that only more 'established' characters should have the qualifications to officially make a guild. IE the site shop is probably a good way to build off of rep/currency to make your own org.
aliasmiddy, midnight
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I think it's about time this poll is closed. I have plenty of input just with answers, and thank you to those who replied!

So then, I am inclined to leave "canon" guilds as joinable for any member if they want, and if someone does want their own guild, it'll be a purchasable item in the shop with some requirements (ie, they need a few existing members already probably). It won't be so hard to obtain that it is impossible, but it will require dedication so that it won't be an issue of "I'm gonna make a guild and then leave!" type thing and clogging up rosters and such. xD;

Another update! The site is nearing completion. The skin is fully done, all templates are made, I just need to fill out said guild info and add a bit more lore and areas. But then after that, I guess I'll have to decide when to launch!

I can't really give an ETA since I'm just kind of working on this as I have time since I've been doing it solo. So... yeah. Hopefully by the end of the month, it will be open! Could be sooner, just depends on if I get a rush of inspiration.

If anyone would like to sneak peek the site, please send me a PM. I will share the link and you can offer input if you'd like. Or another way to do it is to join the Discord, where I have the site linked as well. ^^

I know this project has been a long (and I mean long...) time coming and I am excited to share it with the world!

coming soon.
aliasmiddy, midnight
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I'm happy to report that the site is done, ready to launch, and will be in a soft opening phase within the next few hours or possibly tomorrow!

I want to thank everyone that has helped me so far, your ideas and inspiration and ENTHUSIASM have helped me greatly!! It has really been a long time coming, but I just wanted to make sure everything was at its best!

This being said, I am still looking for a few staff members. Mainly people who can help me update lists, advertise and keep the general mood of the place uplifted! Also, if anyone would like to be a DM, and help run quests and monster battles and such, that can be a separate duty, and not necessarily staff, so I'll be looking for these too!

I hope you all will enjoy what I put out. Even if you don't join, just root for me on the sidelines. ;w;

coming soon.
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Good luck for the site, Nightbloom! I am honored that you decided to use the graphic for the site, and I wish you a happy and thriving roleplay. I'm rooting for you!

last edit on Oct 9, 2021 9:08:54 GMT by Mizo

aliasmiddy, midnight
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Good luck for the site, Nightbloom! I am honored that you decided to use the graphic for the site, and I wish you a happy and thriving roleplay. I'm rooting for you!



OMG OF COURSE!! I'm really sorry it took me so long to finally use the pretty adverts! ;w; Thank you so much, that means a lot to me!

coming soon.