Reapers? (also, Dear Charles:)

RP-related discussion otherwise not covered in the Character Closet.
Geesi
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Reapers? (also, Dear Charles:)

Unread postby Geesi » Mon Apr 16, 2007 3:10 pm

So, the discussion of ghosts has gotten me curious about the being and nature of Reapers.

There are two PC reapers that I see (Zea and Ayra), who seem to have earned their levels the hard way. They also used to be not-reapers. Are these the exception, or does everybody start out as something before they set to reaping souls?

There's also one in a fiction who was dead before starting on the collection business, so is Reshtaha flexible about where he gets his agents? And do they all remember their origins?

Celestials take divine intervention to resurrect; is the same true of reapers?

Can they go knocking on the Man Upstairs' door for powerups and backup if they can't handle the current situation?

How does the soul collection process work, anyway?

And what's the power level of your average reaper? Is it over nine thousand? Could it be? Are there elites in the business?

Answers to any of these would be grand, but non-answers are just as good. Some things are better off left unknown and all.

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KingOfDoma
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Unread postby KingOfDoma » Mon Apr 16, 2007 6:21 pm

... that was a lot. But OK.

1. There are two PC reapers that I see (Zea and Ayra), who seem to have earned their levels the hard way. They also used to be not-reapers. Are these the exception, or does everybody start out as something before they set to reaping souls?

These two are the exception. Reapers are, for the most part, previously ghosts who Reshtaha deems worthy, or ghosts who are too hard to place in either side of the afterlife. For the worthy, it serves as a way for them to serve their deity. For the unplaceable, it serves as time for them to tip their scales one way or the other.

2. There's also one in a fiction who was dead before starting on the collection business, so is Reshtaha flexible about where he gets his agents? And do they all remember their origins?

Reapers. Is he flexible about where he gets his REAPERS. Reapers and agents are entirely different things. But I'll finish that answer later.

And as to flexibility... yeah. If you're a soul who would do a good job collecting souls, you will be considered. No one is rejected for any reason, though the lion's share of reapers tend to be previous followers, or unaffiliated folks (Yeah, like an ASHURAN is going to reap souls!)

And they ALL remember their origins. It's part of the package. Ghosts tend to break down if they stay in the mortal world for too long, so Reshtaha made the form of the reaper more stable for his purposes.

3. Celestials take divine intervention to resurrect; is the same true of reapers?

No. Reshtaha will not return someone to life without express permission from his sister, Ashura, as it is officially her domain. Any requests to resurrect a person must go through those channels. However, plain' ol reviving someone who's freshly dead is not as big a deal, due to the fact that, well... if you are intended to die in Gaera, you will STAY dead. Reshtaha knows the difference between gettin' back in that body real soon and taking up permanent residence in the hereafter.

4. Can they go knocking on the Man Upstairs' door for powerups and backup if they can't handle the current situation?

If necessary. A situation has not come up yet that the alloted amount of reapers could not handle due to danger, but if necessary, a prayer could possibly summon the necessary backup. Power-ups, however? Probably not. There's no NEED to "uber" up a reaper when it's just as easy to send him help.

5. How does the soul collection process work, anyway?

Very very well, actually. Before the actual subject passes on, a reaper is assigned to collect their soul. They will be given the person's name, general description, time of death, general location of death, and form of death. This will eliminate any confusion as to the target, and cuts way down on accidental reapings. The reaper reaps the soul via his scythe, which usually takes the traditional form, but can be any weapon (there are reapers who have been known to use swords, arrows, and even lassoes). When the soul in question is captured by the scythe through physical contact, the soul is shunted into an "inbetween" dimension called Processing. Essentially, this is the waiting room for the deceased. The reaper can enter this dimension at will, and usually does so once the soul has been captured. It is the reaper's job then to talk to the soul, calm it down, and let it know what is happening. They then show them to Kevin, who is essentially the secretary for soul collection, who informs them of which door they should take. TRADITIONALLY, to the right is the eternal blackness of separation, and to the left is joy unending, BUT some souls need a little sleight-of-hand to get them to the right area.

Additionally, there is a place where a soul can argue its case. In between the two doors is a door to Reshtaha's home offices, which houses prayer collection, research and development, The Agency, and several other key services, such as Complaints. If a soul is lucky enough to pull itself from their final home, they can head to the Complaints department and argue for their lot in unlife to be changed. (Surprisingly enough, you do get the odd person who demands to be send to the black end of things.)

6. And what's the power level of your average reaper? Is it over nine thousand? Could it be? Are there elites in the business?

A reaper is usually able to take souls, fly, pass through solid matter, travel to and from Processing (and to any of the areas beyond from there), among other notable qualities that are only truly remarkable in mortals. And yes, there ARE "elites" in Reshtaha's service: Agents of the Agency, as mentioned before, who are the death god's shadow-aligned angels. They serve as middle management, taking on tougher jobs, and acting as go-betweens and supervisors/trainers to the reapers, amongst other responsibilities. And whereas Reshtaha usually has as many Agents as he needs, there is room for advancement from reaper to Agent.

Well! I hope that answers all your questions (and some you didn't even have). If you have any more, just IM me. The button's at the bottom of the post, and if that don't help you, the AIM name is PapaTymisonn. Talk to you soon!
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KingOfDoma
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Unread postby KingOfDoma » Mon Apr 16, 2007 6:36 pm

Oh! One more thing.

This is a good collection of most of the defining reaper RPs. Feel free to read and peruse them of your leisure. But watch out! There may be NON-REAPER RELATED RPs lurking in there, so be aware!
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Kai
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Unread postby Kai » Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:11 pm

A lot of the plotted reaper-info RPs are held here.

That's most of the info I have. Charles is the final authority, since he "owns" Ashura and Reshtaha, but I could answer questions about ghosts and various technical bits regarding reaping since I play the mad scientist reaper.

If Charles isn't around and I am, feel free to poke me as well.

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Unread postby Geesi » Wed Apr 18, 2007 6:22 am

Thoroughly informative!

Some more specifics will be IMed later, but a couple of follow-up questions because I just love you both that much.

Charles! The impossible happens and somebody or something kills (re-kills?) a reaper. Maybe it was a load-bearing boss and a massive magical explosion takes out everything within the mile. Maybe the spirit of the wizard was angry, vengeful and retained all his (her?) spellcasting powers. Does Resh tend to restore them after this sort of thing happens?

Ashley! Could the spirit of the wizard, while angry and vengeful, retain all his spellcasting powers? What differentiates the different strengths of ghosts? (For instance, John seems both more long-lasting and more powerful than your average specter.) Lifespans? Could one, through magic or otherwise, extend their lifespan, stave off decay, that sort of thing?

Charles again! Describe the tougher jobs that an Agent is better suited to handle than the rank-and-file. Also, how tough do they tend to be (PS terms or otherwise)?

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KingOfDoma
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Unread postby KingOfDoma » Sat Apr 21, 2007 8:49 pm

1.

If the reaper was alive to start with, they'd just shift their status to one of the normal no-longer-alive reapers. Probably. If this is one of those "soul obliterating" magical explosions, the soul would NOT be obliterated. They've been made to last. But, something like what you're describing would probably put a soul in a state that it'd be in after a thousand years of decay. Now, in previous times, yes, a soul is as good as done for. But thanks to Zea's restoration techniques, such a soul, after considerable recharging, can be restored, whether reaper or no. Heck, thanks to the way reaper souls are structured, it'd be even easier to recharge them.

I don't know how Ashley's gonna answer, but I'll let you know this. John is not a ghost. I'll let her explain.

And as to jobs only Agents are suited for... well, load-bearing bosses come to mind. Past that, I'll let you know soon.
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Unread postby Geesi » Sun Apr 22, 2007 2:17 pm

Ahh, that will do nicely. Thanks much!

Aso, re: John, I'm not really hunting after spoilers (unless such has come out already), just a general rule of thumb to estimate things by would do.

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Kai
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Unread postby Kai » Mon Apr 23, 2007 12:19 pm

"Being online" issues. Sorry for the slow response.

Ashley! Could the spirit of the wizard, while angry and vengeful, retain all his spellcasting powers? What differentiates the different strengths of ghosts? (For instance, John seems both more long-lasting and more powerful than your average specter.) Lifespans? Could one, through magic or otherwise, extend their lifespan, stave off decay, that sort of thing?

A wizard could retain spellcasting powers. Individual basis, really. Just about everything is individual basis, since becoming a ghost is all about the individual in question.

John is not a ghost. John would be better described as a shadow elemental, though that's something of a can of worms in itself.

As for staving off decay, it's often a real bitch to do it even if you're a reaper. If they aren't used to dealing with ghosts in an official capacity, I'd say it's highly unlikely that most researchers or casters would find a way to keep a ghost from deteriorating, though it's certainly possible.

It's difficult to gauge a ghost's "lifespan" anyway. I mean, it's hard to tell at the onset how long a ghost will last. A responsible reaper will not take that chance.

A note. Ghosts are not appropriate PCs 99.9999% of the time. They make good NPCs and plot devices, and they do exist in Gaera. However, as undead go they're probably going to be pretty tricky to balance and the rate of decay thing and and and and... So yeah. While it would be interesting to, say, play a bazillion year old archmagus who's retained his magic and has been studying all these years... most of the time it's going to run into the same issues as a PC lich. Too powerful, and potentially a pain in the ass to stat out. So, while vampire PCs and suchforth are not unheard of, and we've even got other kinds of undead scampering about Gaera, a ghost is probably not a playable "race" for the most part.


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