As I've been relatively inactive on here as of late, I'd like to post a little bit of a status update. It's been rough for me to balance site making with my midterm schedule, but I managing to make some progress.

- In regards to the setting, I've decided to pick an existing town in our world and adapt it to a fantastical setting. The fleshing out of this has been going smoothly and is always finished.

- I'm using the title "Dream Lantern" as of now, though this is still subject to change.

- I've decided to remove the abilities from Team Links, and instead incorporate them into the existing social links. Teams are still going to be something that's tracked, but there won't be any increasing ranks involved with being on a team.

- After examining what needs to get done, I've decided that incorporating Navigators and Social Stats are pretty low on my priorities, so they are going to be shelved for now. They will either be implemented after significant progress is made on the main product, or in a future update to the site.

- Exploration has not changed much and is still following the same model laid out in my last update. I've not had time to lay out the specifics of the systems or mechanics involved, but I am going to soon start work on laying out the bestiary for the dungeons.

- The skill compendium is all compiled and I only need to write up a quick guide to how they work before that mechanic is completely taken care of.

- The character and Persona applications are all planned out and such, they only need to have a proper code created for them.

- I am currently finishing up the site's actual architecture itself, though this subject to change many times between now and any sort of opening.

Now one of the other major reasons that I am creating this update in the first place is due to the fact that I am now searching for help. I shouldn't need that much help or anything too crazy to get the site itself done, but I am mostly looking for people who can help me actually run it. Things such as running NPC encounters/events, managing character applications, and assisting any new members are the key tasks necessary. The ability to design/critique systems, create site events, and assist with the actual site's creation would be large bonuses. Having some sort of experience with skinning or coding would be helpful, but not really required. I'd expect any staff member to have a decent knowledge of the Persona series, a love of roleplay, and be willing to stick around for the long haul. If you would like to provide assistance, don't hesitate to message me here on Pixel Perfect.

Please know that I am doing my best to make this site a reality, and hope to not disappoint any of you. Wish me luck!

3

- Summarize your site to me in 2 sentences.


A Persona roleplay site focusing on balancing having a successful social life/developing a character along with improving your character's capabilities in combat. Designed to be a hybrid between the typical freeform and stat based sites.

- What's the goal?


The goal is to create a similar experience to playing the Persona games, while allowing for interaction with plenty of other players going through similar experiences.

- What's it based on?


It takes influences from all over the SMT franchise, but primarily points of inspiration are Persona 3, 4 and 5

- What do you have done?


I've got a solid plan for how I'd like most of the mechanics to operate, and a general structure of how the board will be presented. Most of the information as of now is in a separate planning document and not on the actual site as of now.

- What do you need done?

My primary objective for right now is to finalize values for each of the mechanics and get all of the information for how the site works onto the actual site. I am also in the process of developing a setting that I believe will work best for this RP, and have been running into some complications in that regard.

For more detailed information on the site, here is my interest check.

its bad when I come here to take notes on how to staff

Sooo little status update on how the site is going and the feedback I received.

- I've decided that the setting will be a particularly Asian influenced district of San Francisco, as a sort of compromise.

- I've got a pretty solid idea of how to create intrigue beyond the dream world, and it will most likely boil into some big site event later down the line.

- I am probably going to forgo the class system at least for the moment. I will still be incorporating wild cards, but they will be their own thing and appear at a later date.

- I'm definitely going to include social stats now that I think about it, and the system I have in mind is pretty cool.

- As for the title, I've come up with a few since I last updated here. I like the idea of using "Dream Lantern" both as a reference to my favorite song, while also encompassing the idea of exploring dreams. The generic one I thought of was just "Dreamcatcher" as a reference to the items of the same name. "Delirium" is a pretty cool word too, and a simple way of conveying the message. I'll probably need to think about it a bunch more and get more suggestions before I actually decide though.

Now as for the current things that I am working on and additional details of whats going on with the project.

- I am currently attempting to write out all the rules and systems in a way that conveys the information well while also fitting another idea I had. All of the staff member accounts are going to be based off Velvet Attendants, so each of the information threads is structured like a visit to the Velvet Room, which is kinda rad. (Registration is forging a contract).

- Also working on actually developing a solid idea of what the setting is going to be specifically. I'm debating between making this original city inspired by San Francisco, or doing my best to recreate the city faithfully. Either way I'm doing a bunch of research into both San Fran and Tokyo, trying to figure out which elements from each I want to incorporate.

- As for an update on Exploration, I've got a solid idea of how the Dreamscape is going to work from a mechanical perspective. Specifically there are going to be four primary areas to the dungeon.
- The first of which is going to be some sort of train station or something which acts as the central hub free of shadows. This is a place where teams can plan out strategies, Persona users can meet to talk, or they could just try to learn more about the realm.
- The second of these areas is going to be directly outside the Train Station and be called Dreamy Districts or something. It will essentially be a recreation of the city normally, except as a labyrinth full of shadows. Anyone will be allowed to go here, and will have plenty of levels of progression.
- The third area is going to be the player Character's Dreams themselves. This is where players will initially awaken to their Persona, and their dream can be accessed by anyone who has a social link with them, along with the person themselves. You can get to someone's specific dream by taking a train from the station. You can acquire a ticket to someone's dream with both their full name, and a reason to go there. The player is allowed to design their Character's Dream however they choose, and staff would also be available to assist if needed.
- The final area that players can explore is going to be NPC's Dreams. You can get to these dreams using the same method as the player's dreams, involving the train station and all that. These dreams can either be designed by players or there are some premade ones created by staff. These dreams can include just about anyone from the city, whether it be someone close to a player character, a plot relevant character, or just someone completely random. Just about anyone is free to go to one of these dreams if they have the info to do so.

- In regards to Personas, I've got a solid idea of how the creation process and mechanics are going to work. I'm currently designing a way to include Navigators to the site, though I've hit a bit of a roadblock from a creative perspective. While it would be awesome for Navigators to exist in a team setting, I'm not sure how to make it so the Navigator player can still get enjoyment by being alone. I'd imagine they would be unable to safely explore the Dreamscape by themselves, which would be a bit disappointing. The best solution that I've come up with is to make any Persona able to double as a Navigation Persona, though that seems like it would defeat the point to me.

- Another thing that I'm going to start working on soon is organizing the skill system a bit. The plan is to just look through all the skills in Persona 5, and adapt whatever need to be adapted for this site, while removing whatever needs to be removed. I've decided that SP is going to be directly tracked during exploration, but HP isn't. I'm attempting some sort of hybrid of stat based and freeform at the moment, but I'll have to see how it looks in practice before I commit to it.

- In regards to the various links, they are progressing quite nicely. I've pretty much finished the Social Link system, just need to apply specific values to increasing ranks. When it comes to Team Ranks, I'm still trying to narrow down what sort of abilities they actually provide. So far I've got 3 mechanics from the games (All Out Attack, Hold Up, and Baton Pass), and one original (some sort of SP sharing system). I'm open to just about any suggestion in regards to things that teams can do for each other.

- As for some miscellaneous info, I've decided that the time is mostly going to be season based. Essentially any post made in a certain set of months would be in a particular season. This would be the only real metric of time, cuz liquid time is pretty rad. The transitions between seasons are probably gonna come with some kind of event for funsies.

Sorry for the big info dump, but I like to keep people informed! As always, don't hesitate to let me know if you have any sort of suggestions or questions. I'm afraid I can't answer any in regards to the appearance of the site as of now, but rest assured that it'll look great! Have a nice day!

"I am thou... thou art I..."

Mysterious happenings have been plaguing one community for a few weeks now. People suddenly drift off into deep and seemingly endless Dreams, with seemingly little cause. They become trapped in complex and chaotic Labyrinths devised by the person's own subconscious. All the while they are endlessly pursued by demons known as Shadows. Yet when they awaken, it seems as though Nothing happened. However there are those strong enough to rage against these dreams. Those capable of seeing the False Realm for what it is, and fighting to return to Reality. These people awaken to a different kind of demon, one that represents the manifestation of their inner self, a Persona. 

"Can you wake up?"

Mechanics:

The Dreamscape - Our primary dungeon for this story is known as the Dreamscape. Similar to the Midnight Channel or the Metaverse before it, it is shrouded in mystery and seemingly boundless. Normally people are confined to their own dreams within this realm, but someone can explore freely upon acquiring their Persona. The dreams themselves vary greatly depending on the person, and can have all manners of positive or negative connotations. They could represent what someone wants to become, their dark desires, how they see the people around them, or just something completely separate from their own life. Only Persona users are able to enter the Dreamscape and actually remember what they've seen inside afterwards. Entering the Dreamscape can either happen at random as a character sleeps, or a Persona user can enter it manually with a phone app.

Personas - The actual Personas that your characters use is completely up to your discretion. You could design something completely original, or just use any of the demons from the Megami Tensei series. The only restriction is that your Persona needs to be based on some kind of known figure, whether it be historical, mythological, literary, etc. Skills, Weaknesses, Resistances and such are mostly based on those found in Persona games. As for awakening to your Persona, it can be done after your character has a few introductory social posts done. There is no exact model to how these awakening threads have to go, but there are some key elements. That being that your character needs to end up in their dream within the Dreamscape, and somehow get the strength to wake themselves up from whatever falsehood they encounter. 

Social Links - As with the main series game, a lot of focus is spent on balancing the social and combat sides of your characters. As your character interacts with specific others throughout the site, they gain levels in a particular stat known as Social Links. The bonuses that you gain from these Links are dependent on the other person's Arcana, and can also vary based on the specific character (such as learning a particular skill that character is proficient in). In addition to this, the stronger the social link, the more effective the two characters are at fighting together in the Dreamscape. These bonds can grow after a certain amount of posts between the two characters, and are managed by staff members. 

Teams - Exploring is always better together, so why not go with your group of friends? Specifically a team is a group of characters with a common goal deciding to venture into the Dreamscape together. You do not need to be in a team to explore with somebody, but you get various stat bonuses from being in a team. These come in the form of a variant on Social Links called a Team Link. Developing these Team Links allow you to perform more synergistic maneuvers in battle, such as All Out Attacks, Baton Passes and Hold Ups. Its important to note that its impossible to raise Team Links through just exploring. You'll need to hang out in real life and develop your bonds as a group. Not all members needs to be present for a Team Link to develop, but the more that you have, the faster it will grow. 

Combat - The combat on this site is going to be relatively stat oriented, but with freedom for creative expression. Shadows with each be one from the series, and have various levels and stats to match those of the player characters. Things like skills, weaknesses and resistances will be enforced fully, but the rest is open for interpretation. Make a good story out of it. Use all of the various tools at your disposal from Social Links, Team Links, etc to overcome stronger enemies. Upon a Shadow spawning, they will be given one of three danger levels. All three of the levels can be handled by the player, but Shadows of higher levels will require more creativity/external tools to win. 

A bit about me:
Hello! My name is Neppit and I am the original creator of this idea. I have been roleplaying for about 4-5 years now on various sites, though I've never really found a site which I believe captures the spirit of the Persona series. It has easily been my favorite RPG for ages now, so I thought it was only right to try and do it justice. This is my second attempt to create a site, after my first one failed due to personal factors which were beyond my control. I am currently a college student, and will do my best to make time for whatever this site needs to get created. I am currently working with pharaoh leap as my skinner to make this site the best that it can be!

Strengths:
Systems Design, Scenario/Plot Design, Moderation, Organization, Busy Work

Weaknesses: 
Skinning, Coding

Questions for you:

Sooo I've been working on this idea for awhile, but there are some ideas that I'd like some input on before I continue forward.

1.) Setting - I've been racking my head trying to figure where I actually want to set this story. I'm debating whether or not I should stick with it being set in Japan, or trying to move somewhere else in the world. If I stick with Japan, it will probably be set in some district in/near Tokyo. If we go elsewhere, it'll probably be either somewhere in America or a Western European country. 

2.) Motivation - I've been trying to think of some way that I can encourage characters who might not be as interested in exploring the Dreamscape some reason to go in there. I could definitely see there being the sort of characters who'd want to avoid that sort of thing, but that does involve avoiding a large part of the site's content. The tentative idea that I'm running with is making it so people sometimes the Dreamscape randomly in their sleep even after their awakening, but I'm more up in the air with that idea. 

3.) Class System - I think that it would be cool for people to make all kinds of different characters, but I'm not sure how I could flesh out a possible class system. The first initial classes that I think would make sense would be Persona User, Wild Card and Civilian, but I'm not too sure beyond that. Past that I would most likely be looking at some specific cases from previous games such as having the Anti-Shadow Weapons be a class. Any feedback or suggestions for this sort of system would be helpful. 

4.) Social Stats - Another system that I think would be cool to lift from the main line Persona games would be the Social Stat system from 3-5 (Knowledge, Guts, etc). However the main barriers preventing from developing it further is that I'm not sure how to actually track increases in a particular stat, and how to implement checks where it would actually help the player to increase them. I was thinking that we could have events like midterms and such where a stat check would come into play, but I think that would be a bit too infrequent to make it that reliable. 

5.) Title - As of now the title is super up in the air. I'm not sure how I feel about the current ideas going around my head, but I can't think of much better. Ideally I'd like the title to either incorporate the theme of dreams or reality in there, or just be something more general to Persona. I'm open to just about any suggestions for a new title. 

If you've got any questions or suggestions for me, don't hesitate to reply with them! If you are interested in helping or something like that, just shoot me a quick message. Though no promises that I'll actually take anyone that messages me. As of now the site is in a very early alpha phase, and it will most likely be a decent amount of time before I need any testers or anything like that. 

Sent you a message on discord

The current idea that I am working on is for a roleplay based on the Persona series, focusing on an original scenario and setting. I'd like for it to be relatively systems and plot-based, with plenty of freedom in regards to how players can interact with the world around them. The hope was that I could incorporate systems typical to both social based roleplays and battle based ones, considering the way that Persona is as a series. This would be my second attempt to make a roleplay site, after my first fell through due to some circumstances outside of my control. 

I have recently began with the production of this site, and from what I have so far, the town is going to be a simple coastal town. A tight knit community with little excitement to be found in the traditional sense. Pretty stereotypical all things considered.