Post by Cocoona Larvana on Apr 7, 2024 15:54:28 GMT -5
PART 1: ANALYSIS
Having spectated fusion debates across basically every single iteration of WoD from Souls upwards, I've noticed that there's one central problem that's at the root of basically every single idea for fusions: how do you make it so that fusions aren't something that people do all the time? Or, alternatively, how do you make fusions balanced? I don't think this is the only contention with fusions, but I think it's the one that's been hardest to solved. Designing a fusion mechanic that isn't complicated isn't that difficult--we don't need to create new accounts guys--and how exactly it's gained should be that hard. But how do you make it fair?
One of the reasons why this problem exists is that Dragon Ball Z doesn't really have any solutions that would transfer to WoD:
- Fusions being permanent? Not only would this be unfun and unfairly favor people who want to get rid of their characters, how does that work outside of the thread fusion is used in? Is a new fusion account created? Do the two players share an account? Unfeasible.
- Fusion being hard to perform/learn? WoD is unfortunately not an rp designed out techniques being easier or harder to learn: if you've got the EXP, you get the tech. The Afterlife Tutor system is another great example: there are zero rules on a minimum thread count or word count for gaining that Sparking+. Hell, you could hypothetically have a three-post tea party with 'em and get that tech! So Fusions being uniquely hard to learn/perform can't be implemented either.
- Fusions being temporary even mid-battle? This is the most straightforward balancing factor that Fusions could have, but the issue is that using this as the sole cudgel for balancing fusions against just regular ol' "two fight people fight separate" still makes actually balancing fusions incredibly finnicky. Either the power boost is so great that they'll always win in that duration, or it's too shitty to be worth it beyond rp flavor.
In general, trying to make fusions mechanically fair is tricky because, well, mechanics are really complicated! The moderators already have a tough time balancing the existing options as is: buddy builds versus item builds, Konatsians versus Saiyans, variant shenanigans, et cetera. It's a really intricate system that, though balanced well enough (thanks staffbros) is far from perfect. Fusions throw a million different wrenches into that idea and would require an absurd amount of tweaking, brainpower and restructuring to be balanced--if that's even possible in the first place.
With all this in mind, it's easy to see why WoD has mostly given up on Fusion. But I got a bit of inspiration in the Discord today: what if, instead of trying to make Fusion balanced to other options, we just...didn't do that? What if we made Fusion special?
PART 2: Fusion In-Battle
I'm obligated to explain what a Fusion would actually do in the first place. I'm not using exact numbers here because I think conveying the general idea works better, though I'll give examples. The goal was to make them a raid boss: not necessarily one-shotting everyone, but tanky as hell.
- Power Level: Both fighters base PL combined * [number]. 0.6?
- Health: Instead of being 250% of their current PL, it's something far bigger! 400% seems okay: significantly bulkier than the two fighters operating individually, but not so much that they can't be killed.
- KP & MP: To make up for their weaker action economy, I'd suggest giving the fusion 7 KP and 7 MP total. We can also make them gain 1 extra KP per turn naturally.
- Transformations: The Fusion uses the strongest transformation the two fighters have pre-fusion and then gives that transformation a boost; let's say x2. So if two Super Saiyans fuse, the fused fighter has Super Saiyan (x20).
- Traits: The fusion can pick Three Core Traits, 2 Optional Traits and 2 General Traits from the two fighters' arsenals, as well as an extra general of their liking.
- Items: They can use any item from both characters' repertoire, but item rules are normal otherwise.
- Techniques: The fusion can use any technique from either combatant.
Not the most elaborate plan, but I think this is intuitive and importantly fairly simple. You can glance at a fusions' stats at any given post and understand what's going on.
As for how they work from a posting perspective, each player just takes turns acting out the fusion as if both of their characters are in control, which is hilarious--or alternatively, the two players work together to make a cohesive new personality, which is awesome. The Fusion has the same number of actions as a regular character, so the fusees should be splitting mechanical actions across their posts (which should be right next to each other). If one of the two fails to post, then the other can just post again--IC, they just picked up the pace after their other half dropped the ball for a moment.
If the Fusion is knocked out in battle, both fighters defuse and are both immediately knocked out/wounded; they can then be killed if it's possible. The earrings used to fuse break after one usage in an AT: they can be used outside those for the purposes of threads where characters train their fusions.
Finally, in the context of ATs, only one Fusion is allowed per side, and only two fusions total can exist in vicinity of each other. Attempting to fuse while two already exist will cause a violent feedback from the earrings.
PART 2: FUSIONS OUT OF BATTLE
The TL;DR of what I'm saying is that instead of trying to make Fusion something that anyone can do at any time, it should instead operate somewhat similarly to the legendary items from WoD:Souls. It's a technique that's deliberately stronger than the stuff around it, something that really forces opposition--but to gain it, you'll have to work for it as if it were a Dragon Ball, and you can only use it once!
How are Fusions gained? Simple--get Potara Earrings! Every several months or so, the staff could set up a dragon ball hunt-like event for Potara earrings; let's say about 6 of them, maybe 8 (you only need one earring for each fighter to fuse).
- You buy an ancient mystical artifact capable of seeking out earrings (with exp).
- You spend more exp to roll for different earrings, maybe like 1-2 times a week. If you get one you don't have--congrats! You can either grab it, or--if it's already taken--seize the earring by force.
- Any individual account can only possess one earring.
- There's a small grace period of maybe a week or two after getting an earring where it can't be taken from you, so that people can actually use these do-hickeys.
- You cannot hunt down earrings yourself while possessing an earring, though you can join in other people's challenges if you're on the same planet and are on their side (like, properly working with them).
- There might be big cool-downs between hunts: that way, it's harder for big factions to just steamroll the hunts and hoard all rings.
- A person that's already fused cannot fuse again until the next Potara Earring hunt comes along. The already fused also can't help get earrings: IC, we could say the potara earrings latent energies will instantly knock out anyone that's already fused trying to touch them, as a god-sanctioned method for preventing abuse.
- If an earring is not used within a month or two of being acquired, they permanently escape the grasp of not only their owner, but everyone that helped get it! No earring hoarding that makes it so that big factions exist in a stalemate. Fuse it or lose it!
So...yeah! That's it! Instead of just being a regular technique, they're a one-time superbuff that can spice-up battles on the site. It won't make them kaiju, but it's strong, flashy and awesome in the way that fusions are supposed to be. Not so complicated that people find them impossible to use, but deep enough to make them interesting.
alright that's all babes. peace