The Fourth Comicvine Holy Grail War: Operatio Aylesbury
Basics:
Locations:
Locations in the scenario itself will be extremely variable, and up to the participant. Since the two groups of servants are likely being summoned in different places, there's no real point to bringing that up. However, the bulk of the scenario will take place in this corner of England, to the North-West of London and centered around the town of Aylesbury:
Advancement Time:
Each twenty-four hour period will be split into six separate four hour advancements:
- T-One: 0000-0359
- T-Two: 0400-0759
- T-Three: 0800-1159
- T-Four: 1200-1559
- T-Five: 1600-1959
- T-Six: 2000-2359
In general each advancement will take a week but can take longer in some situations. (If there are multiple encounters going on)
Actions:
Servants can accomplish much in just four hours, Armies can be built, territories can be established or grown, items can be created, and battles can be fought. There is no limit to the number of actions which can be undergone within a specific advancement, but the minimum is one unless your course of action is already known to me. Advancements do not need to be posted on the main thread unless I specifically require it, and you'll be informed when you make the action whether it needs to be posted on the main thread.
Any skill that references "with time" requires a full action to accomplish.
Damage (Servants):
Servants' mana circulation is damaged more than their physical bodies, making it more dangerous for them to use their abilities, the physical appearance of Servant injuries is the same as a normal human's injuries:
Level 1, Superficial: No true effect
Level 2, Minor: minor damage to the mana circuit, Increases mana costs by 10%
Level 3, Moderate: damage that inhibits the circulation of mana, Increases mana costs by 25%
Level 4, Severe: Serious damage to the circulation of mana, Increases mana costs by 50%
Level 5, Critical: Massive damage to the mana circuit, cannot be easily healed increases mana costs by 100%
Level 6, Fatal: Catastrophic, irreversible damage to the mana circuit, spending mana depletes all current mana
Battles: The Phase System
Battles in a Grail War do not need to always go to the death, having the full extent of any drawn out fight decided in a single debate also makes properly judging the mana spent impossible. To combat both of these the scenario will attempt to implement a phase system, where any combat encounter between two parties will be split into several phases. This allows for concrete judging of mana spent and damage taken at each phase of a fight, as well as giving participants the opportunity to change their strategies mid fight the way a character might based on events that have “already happened” instead of just debating under the assumption that you have to consider and argue for every single possible outcome. As an example we will consider three encounters between a Saber and Lancer which would be split into the following phases, with voting occurring after each phase.
Encounter #1: Lancer ambushes Saber
Phase #1: Lancer attacks Saber with his Noble Phantasm, Saber argues he can sense Lancer and activates his Noble Phantasm to counter.
Outcome: Saber successfully senses Lancer, both activate their Noble Phantasms and neither takes any damage
Phase #2: Saber flees, Lancer allows him to do so
Encounter Result: No Damage to either combatant, both spent a use of their Noble Phantasms
Encounter #2: Saber saves his Master from Lancer
Phase #1: Lancer attacks Saber's Master, Saber argues he can intercept and stop Lancer. Lancer wants to draw Saber out so he agrees.
Outcome: Saber and Lancer are in melee with one another
Phase #2: Lancer uses an item to disorient Saber, Saber counters with using Mana Burst to blow away Lancer. Lancer uses Shapeshift to counter.
Outcome: Saber and Lancer are still in melee, Lancer sustains minor damage (physical) and uses Shapeshift, Saber sustains moderate damage (mental) and uses Mana Burst.
Phase #3: Lancer retreats due to succeeding in disorienting Saber, Saber allows him to do so as he's succeeded in his goal of protecting his master
Encounter Result: Minor damage to Lancer, Moderate damage (mental) to Saber
Encounter #3: Final Battle between Lancer and Saber
Phase #1: Saber and Lancer both use their Noble Phantasms and attack.
Outcome: The Noble Phantasms are perfectly matched, both take moderate damage
And the battle continues...
Encounter Result: Saber sustains critical damage spending mana on his Noble Phantasm, Mana Burst, and Noble Phantasm again, Lancer dies.
This method for battles was extremely successful in the previous iteration of this scenario, where it was new to every participant as well as myself. Now there is more understanding on both sides around the format and it continues to show its advantages over the standard battle format. There have been slight changes to the format from last time, with the inclusion of a narrative recap of the phase in addition to the standard results.
Format: Two Kinds of All-Star Servants
This scenario will have every participant create an all-star servant build (one of the strongest servants present in the Throne of Heroes), all master builds will be NPCs controlled by me. However, the all-star servants will be split into two separate groups, which you will specify when signing up, those being "true" and "false" servants. These denominations do not have an affect on the strength of the build, both true and false servants will be choosing from the same pool of classes, the same pool of skills/noble phantasms, and have access to the same initial number of build points. The only differences are that the true servants will be summoned first (Advancement Zero) while the false servants will be summoned 1-3 advancements later (depending on events in the scenario). The second is in relation to what comprises the identity of an "all-star" servant. There's no fast or easy way to define this, but one thing I've found helps is taking an identity you're thinking about and asking yourself these questions and if any is a no, consider what special circumstance is different for this specific identity:
- Is their story at least 600 years old?
- Are they a key figure in the history of their region?
- Is there something about the figure a random individual might recognize?
- Is there a reason for this figure to be summoned and be in the same ballpark in strength as figures like Achilles, Alexander the Great, Lancelot, Zoroaster, Arjuna, or Beowulf?
That last question is the most important obviously, if you can't answer yes to that, I strongly suggest reconsidering the identity. Now there are a few more questions you should ask about a "true" servant identity as those are specifically being selected by the grail for a few other characteristics. Those questions are as follows:
- Is this figure a hero?
- Does this figure have a vested interest in the continued life, liberty, and happiness of humanity?
- When this figure is confronted by danger and a threat to either themselves or others, do they choose to stand up and fight for what they believe is right?
- Does this figure have experience with the unnatural and inhuman side of the world?
These differences in personality and legend are the second difference between true and false servants. It can be simplified even further by saying that False Servants are strong servants, but True Servants are strong heroes.
Mana:
Mana is the magical energy that allows servants to both exist in this world, utilize their abilities of legend, and what powers all forms of magecraft. There are extensively detailed values for almost anything imaginable that can be found in the table section of the in-depth clarifications, but the vast majority of the time the only required knowledge will be what's contained in this section.
Servants are inherently tied to mana, requiring its use both as a constant cost to maintain their connection to the world, and a variable cost based on the skills/magecraft/noble phantasms which you elect to use at any given time. If a servant falls to 0 mana they are not desummoned from the world, not until the connection cost would push them into negative mana are they despawned.
The constant costs for servant upkeep are as follows:
| Classes | With Contract (per day) | Without Contract (per day) |
|---|---|---|
| Saber, Gatekeeper, Saver, Beserker | 200 Mana | 1000 Mana |
| Lancer, Archer, Avenger, Shielder | 150 Mana | 750 Mana |
| Rider, Pretender, Foreigner | 100 Mana | 500 Mana |
| Caster, Assassin | 50 Mana | 250 Mana |
This cost is paid continuously, it is not a flat deduction of X mana every three advancements, it's something that you will need to keep track of to avoid fading away prematurely. Every advancement I will provide an update on each servant's current mana status to them and only them.
Alternative Mana Restoration Methods:
Outside of the mana restoration ritual there are alternative ways for Servants to access mana. One is to connect to a Ley Line, if one can be found, and draw mana from that directly. This process requires at least E ranked Magecraft to undergo. A faster method is to kill another living being and take their mana from them directly, this occurs instantly upon their death. However, you must be present to collect the mana, and you must have the intention to kill with for the purpose of regaining mana.
Victory Conditions:
These vary wildly, they may be revealed over the course of the scenario, or they may be revealed at the very end. Generally living is a good thing to strive for :)
Helpful Links
Sign-Up Thread (and In-Depth Clarifications)
Material Cost Table
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