Bakuhatsu Gakuen
kaqk5h.png

A game system and setting by Sister_Acacia, oh god no, why would you do this. Original Content, do feel free to steal.

This game is born as a mishmash of high-school based anime and manga, with elements of Hairy Pottery and that X-Men School one. Acacia being who she is, there are elements of old British boarding schools, but not nearly as much homo-eroticism or caning as you'd expect. Originally it was actually going to be set in Warhammer 40,000 as the Schola Progenum, but this seems more fun than GRIM DARKNESS. So basically, it's a game of supernatural high school students blowing shit up and theoretically preventing more damage than they cause.

It is recommended that people look into stuff like Freezing!, Rosario to Vampire, Ranma 1/2, Jitsu Wa Watashi Wa, Shitsurakuen, Kampfer, and Revolutionary Girl Utena. Not just for this game, it's recommended in general. Also you have to watch Nichijou, again not specifically for this game but just because it's awesome.

The Setting

Then

The year is 2217, and the world has changed. In many ways, for the better, with leaps in technology improving the lives of billions, and in general bringing about a more enlightened people. But not all is well, for one of the big changes is something that was nor brought about by humans: the arrival of what have officially been named Abominations.

Some call them aliens, some call them demons, some call them man-made. Nobody really knows where they came from. Regularly - a few times a year, typically - they appear with little to no warning, anywhere on Earth, and then begin a trail of destruction. The first rained from space upon landing, immediately setting out to ruin everything they could find, specifically wanting to damage things and render everything down to the base molecular components. The Earth's military were quick to mobilise, but the firepower it took to destroy them was frightening, and the damage the Abominations caused was sufficient to raise the question: how many of these can we take before we are wiped out?

Scientific analysis of the remains showed something shocking: the abominations did not consist of living cells, but of a plasticlike mass, hardened carbon shells, and thin electrotransmitter wires that presumably sent messages. It appeared they were not alive, but were simply creations - not simple robots but an attempt at creating something close to life. It confused many, but also gave hope: if it is not alive, there is no moral issue with "killing" it, and furthermore, these things could presumably be controlled or shut down. There must surely be an origin, and if that could be found, humanity could be saved.

However, there were more pressing immediate issues - how to stop them when they next attacked. To make matters worse, the second time the Abominations attacked, they came from the ground itself near where the first had landed, as though the first had also delivered spores or seeds with complex growth instructions. This muddied the issue of whether they were alive, as well as creating doubts about how limited they might be. If they can reproduce on their own, there could be no end to them.

Now

Luckily, Messiah Enterprises had the answer to the first question: they were already a leading company in genetics, and had already isolated what they named the Hero gene - only found in a small part of the population. They were able to do two very important things:
1. Force the gene into expressing its full potential, unlocking incredible powers that were previously thought outright impossible, the realm of pure fantasy.
2. Alter the gene to make it dominant - if someone with an "activated" Hero gene reproduced, all children were guaranteed to possess the gene, thus ensuring another generation of saviours.

The first group were able to destroy an Abomination on their own, with no military assistance and no casualties. As a result, the various world governments were keen to support this - they didn't like the idea of sending small numbers of genetically engineered superhumans into combat, but it was actually the most sensible choice. They provided the funding needed for more research, and for the "production" of more heroes. Upon discovering the minimum age to activate the gene without causing overload and burn-out (early teens - they decided on 14 as a safe minimum), they put forward an ambitious idea: to set up not just a training facility, but an actual high school that specifically catered to those with the Hero gene.

They would be trained in combat and teamwork, as well as conditioned for loyalty towards humanity, while still receiving the training for civilian life in the hopes that one day, the world would return to normal. Upon graduation, the only requirements would be a 4-10 year term of service being on-call, and a promise to enrol any of their children into the academy (without an obligation to actually have any children). A huge weight would be put on their shoulders, but as they had that gift, it was their duty to the society that fed them. And indeed, the lives they would live would be of relative luxury, so the payment could be seen as a fair one.

Obviously the school's production took time - they needed a very damage-resistant place constructed for their own training exercises, and a large space to cover everything. But it did eventually happen, with plans formed so they could be constructed rapidly in the future for more campuses (and replacements). The results were astounding. Although the Abomination attacks have not ceased - if anything, they have increased, making the school an incredibly good idea, given all the heroes produced - humanity once again has hope. There is finally a real weapon to use, and a chance for victory.

The first campus, built in Japan and jokingly nicknamed Bakuhatsu Gakuen (Explosion Academy), was constructed in 2162. It has been going for some time, with more campuses built around the world (and most needing to be rebuilt on occasion), But maybe the time for change is approaching.

If you want even more info on what life is currently like: World of Bakuhatsu

The Basic Mechanics and Game Terms

Terms

The player characters are referred to as the main characters of the game. Collectively, they are referred to as a gang.

The person typically called a Game Master is in this case called the principal, because they are theoretically in charge, but nobody ever listens to them. Also, they're there to help but are seen as an adversary.

The main stats in this game (similar to Skills, Attributes and Ability Scores in other games) are Subjects, and the ratings for these subjects are grades. The characters are actually attending lessons about these things, and using the skills learned in them. Although your Grade in a Subject does equal what your typical grade would be when sitting an exam, and what the character gets on their report card, any given action allows you to roll, not just take that Grade as the universal result.

Making a roll is known as a Test, which is usually Pass/Fail. Occasionally the degree of success/failure will matter. When two characters roll tests against one another, the result with the most marks wins, and that is an Opposed Test.

One session of gameplay is referred to as an Episode, with the whole campaign obviously being a Season.

Finally, a character sheet is called a Report Card.

Rolling Tests

The most basic rule for doing things is to resolve Tests. This is a simple matter of determining what the Test is and what the difficulty is. You then roll the dice and tally up the number of marks (results of 5 or 6). If you meet or exceed the number of marks required, you pass the Test. Often, an action will state what Test needs to be made, but for various things, it is up to the Principal to state the difficulty and suggest the Subject, and for the players to make arguments for using whichever Subject they'd rather use.

The only dice used are regular six-sided dice. For each die rolled, a 5 or 6 results in a mark, and marks are good things to roll. It doesn't matter which one is rolled - if you roll a pair of 5s and a 6, you get three marks all the same. Similarly, the other dice simply don't award marks, regardless of whether they roll a 1, 2, 3 or 4. For every three full dice awarded by your Grade (not bonus dice), you may instead "take" a mark, trading three dice for an automatic mark instead. You may only roll up to ten dice for a test, with bonus dice and dice penalties cancelling each other out

A Grade of F means you get no dice, and automatically roll zero marks and cannot gain bonus dice. If you ever need to roll, you automatically fail. There is no such thing as F+ or F-.
A Grade of D- provides zero dice, but allows for bonus dice to be awarded normally. D grants one die, and D+ grants two dice.
A Grade of C- provides three dice, and you may choose to just "take" one mark. C grants four dice, and C+ grants five dice.
A Grade of B- provides six dice, and lets you take two marks. It also has a minimum of 1 mark on Tests - that is to say, if you roll zero marks (including any taken by trading dice in), you instead treat it as though you had rolled one. B provides seven dice, and B+ grants eight.
A Grade of A- provides nine dice, and lets you take three marks. It has a minimum of 2 marks. A provides ten dice and A+ provides eleven (providing a one-die "buffer" against penalties or allowing you to take three marks and then still roll 2 dice).
A Grade of S grants twelve dice, thus granting a 2-dice buffer against penalties or letting you take four marks instead of rolling. It has a minimum of 3 marks on any Test.

GRADE DICE TAKE MINIMUM TYPICAL MARKS
F 0 0 0 0 (automatic fail)
D- 0 0 0 0
D 1 0 0 0.3
D+ 2 0 0 0.6
C- 3 1 0 1
C 4 1 0 1.3
C+ 5 1 0 1.6
B- 6 2 1 2
B 7 2 1 2.3
B+ 8 2 1 2.6
A- 9 3 2 3
A 10 3 2 3.3
A+ 11 (10) 3 2 3.3
S 12 (10) 4 3 3.3

If something provides a Bonus or Penalty, this is done by adding dice to the pool or subtracting them from the pool. A Grade of F cannot gain bonus dice in this way. If something provides a Grade Bonus (or Penalty), it adjusts your Grade one partial step (ie a B- to a B or a D+ to a C). This cannot reduce an S in any way, increase an F in any way, or reduce another grade to an F or raise a grade to an S. If something provides a Full Grade Bonus (or Penalty), then it increases or lowers by a full letter (from C to B or B- to A- for instance). This can reduce anything in the D range to an F, or reduce an S to an A, or increase an F to a D or anything in the A range to an S.

Any task that could be considered basic or trivial for a character is not worth rolling for - just let people automatically succeed and move on with your life. This also includes things that someone might theoretically fail to do, but would very rarely fail and worrying about it would only slow the game down. For instance, if someone takes a running jump to cross a 1m gap, then sure, in theory they might fail it, but don't ask for a roll in that situation.

Most Tests in day to day life are Basic, have a difficulty of 1. This means a single mark is sufficient to pass, and even a D can pass 1/3 of the time. A C- is enough to succeed by taking a mark, and a B- cannot possibly fail.

A Difficult Test requires 2 marks, meaning a D+ is needed to have a chance, a B- is enough to simply take the marks and succeed automatically, and an A- cannot possibly fail.

An Extreme Test is for those tasks that require excellent training and conditioning or extraordinary luck, and need 3 marks to succeed. This makes it impossible for anything in the D range (without a bonus), and even a B+ needs to roll for it, with only an A- or above being able to take the average. A Grade of S is so far above the normal range that they will automatically succeed.

Finally, a Ridiculous Test requires four marks, which only an S-Grade can simply take the average on, and with a C being needed to have a (very slim) chance. These are not beyond the realms of possibility, but are still tasks that are extremely unlikely for humans to achieve. If something is harder than this, it is Impossible. You could assign it a difficulty of 5 or more marks, but in all honesty, impossible tasks should probably be just that - impossible.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES MARKS NEEDED MINIMUM PASSING GRADE TAKE THE AVERAGE AUTOMATIC
Trivial Doing basic addition, seeing people in front of you N/A F F F
Basic Swerving to avoid drunks, punching someone 1 D C- B-
Difficult Herding cats, forcing parliamentary changes 2 D+ B- A-
Extreme Tightrope walking in a storm, hacking the UN 3 C- A- S
Ridiculous Running across a lake, attaining Zen 4 C S N/A
Impossible Flying unaided through sheer will, lifting a building N/A N/A N/A N/A

When an Opposed Test is made, all participants roll (sometimes using different Subjects), with the most marks winning. In a tie, first see if a tied result is possible (such as crossing the finish line simultaneously in a race). If so, that is what happens. If a tie is not really possible, follow the simple priority system below:
1. Senior Students beat Junior Students
2. Attackers beat Defenders (perception is considered an attack with stealth being a defence in this case)
3. The better Grade wins
4. Re-roll

Sometimes, there might be multiple difficulties listed. Usually this is because an action is typically one difficulty, but an ability or trait changes it to another. In this case, the exception overrides the general case, as it is specifically changing it from the normal. If two or more exceptions occur, both changing it to different values, then if all change it in the same direction (such as a Basic Test being made both Difficult and also Extreme), then use the bigger change. If they call for changes in opposite directions, they cancel one another out and you simply use the regular difficulty. If anything would call for an Opposed Test, this always takes priority.

Any given character may try to assist another character on an action. In combat, this actually takes up your Major Action on your turn. Outside of combat, it just means you are actively helping for the duration of the Test and can't do other things. In general, you need to actually be there and able to help out, so a sleeping character usually can't do much.

To assist someone, explain how it is you are helping them, and why that means you should use a given Subject to help them. roll a Basic Test or Extreme Test - declared before rolling. If you succeed, you grant them a Grade Boost (Basic) or Full Grade Boost (Extreme) for the duration of their Test.

Conflict and Combat

Combat has its own page here: Bakuhatsu Conflict
It is less complex than in many games that have combat, so that's something.

Creating a Character

5znpqg.png

Obviously, the first bit is to think up a vague concept of the character you want to play - this will help you actually make any choices involved. You should consider having a name, as more and more people have been choosing to have these, lately.

After getting some kind of idea, select your House. This determines the main powers available to you.
Select your After School Club, which determines a variety of side perks and opens up more story options.
Next, you have one elective Subject in addition to the mandatory ones, so select that one.
You then assign your Grades to your Subjects, and may need to make selections amongst the benefits granted by your House.
After this, you can choose various Positive and Negative Traits to flesh your character out.
Make any final adjustments, note your Hit Points, as well as the dice normally used for common tasks (to save time).
Decide next on your Rival/Enemy, Best Friend, and Idol/Sempai/Beloved - these are used for story hooks and can also have a game effect. You can completely invent new NPCs for this (naming and describing them, not working out their Report Cards).

Finally, describe your character, do some artwork and so on.

Choosing your House

There are five Houses to choose from, with more details and the powers gained located here: Houses of Bakuhatsu and the Powers are described here: Bakuhatsu Powers

Short descriptions are available here:

House Maiden Knight

These are the magical girls of the setting. I have bad news for males who express the Hero gene in this manner: they are all magical girls. Yes, even the guys. When they transform and the energy rush alters their body, there are certain chromosomal shifts applied to males and well… yeah, they become girls for the duration. Everyone in this House has some kind of alternate form, which could look similar to themselves or not. They might even act completely differently, and some transform with a special suit already formed, as it is very much an effect that relies on their psyche. There is talk about it being some kind of "astral focus", but seeing as they are mostly attuned to elements of varying degrees, it seems like it's a pure manifestation of their own psychic energy and there is no other realm from which they draw their power.

After they transform, powers tend to vary - they're usually fast or strong upon transforming, many gaining flight, but they all have some kind of special energy power. They do not need to keep their identity a secret, but it is suggested they transform in private for the same reason people change clothes in private. Their limiting factor is the transformation - they have to transform in order to use most of their powers, and the transformation won't last forever. However, in this state, they not only gain their iconic power (energy manipulation), but also have a number of side benefits.

House Heart Blade

Held deep in the psyche of everyone from this is some kind of weapon. It is the weapon that they would say "represents me" or the first that springs to mind when a person says "weapon" to them. The Hero gene for these expresses by forming a real weapon based on that idealised one, to be summoned and dismissed at will. Furthermore, with those weapons, they can do more and more outrageous things over time. The strength of the weapon depends on the mood of the user as well as their seniority. Over time, it's not just the weapon they can form, but also shields, armour, and even steeds. They truly become like knights of legend, although the steeds are made of the same "stuff" as the weapons, and aren't alive or sentient, merely existing as an extension of the student's will.

The limiting factor of the Heart Blade is their emotional state: a sufficiently depressed or exhausted knight may not even be able to conjure her weapon, and if the weapon is destroyed, it sends a painful feedback shock to her, that might prevent it being re-created for some time. By the same token, when her spirits are soaring, the weapon becomes stronger, and the other powers show through more easily.

House Lotus Fist

The chi adepts, "martial artists", these people punch you so hard your ancestors feel it. They act as though life were a fighting game, throwing energy blasts and jumping super high and so on. They are always "ready" to fight in that they needn't summon weapons or transform, but it takes time for their battle aura to fire up properly. The longer a fight goes, the more energy that flows into them. Their foes would do well to run away and hide for a while to force their auras to cool down, and don't want to get them more pumped up through the fight by gradually unleashing stronger and stronger effects.

The chi of the Lotus Fist is not just apparent in energy blasts and pressure point attacks, but also through their body: they have what can only be called perfect body control, willing themselves to be stronger, taller, more bendy, more resilient, and even re-shaping their body if necessary.

House Noble Rose

These people are psychics - the majority of the Hero gene activation occurs in their brains, supercharging electromagnetic activity in their heads and linking their thoughts to the world around them through probably electromagnetic waves or gravity manipulation. The fact is, if we could figure out precisely how they did it, we could probably recreate it with technological devices. Although many of the students have what can be thought of as psychic powers (with that being a general explanation for how all the powers of the Hero Gene work for the lay person), the Nobles utilise the more "traditional" psychic power of Subjugation: telekinesis. They are all taught to act like nobility and royalty, and most others hate them for their snobby attitude or adore them for their grace and majesty. Sometimes both.

The limiting factor for the Nobles is that focusing the mind is quite exhausting, and they do not have an infinite supply of concentration. Essentially, they need to take breaks, eat snacks, have naps and make others wait around between bursts of power, so while they are great in a series of quick surges throughout the day, spaced out with rest periods, they suffer greatly for the "long haul". The Subjugation power is often used to fetch things for them, open doors, shove people around or force them to their knees. And also for actually useful things sometimes.

House Divine Spark

The people in this house have powers that are ideal for idol bands, meaning their divine spark is perhaps one of false divinity - but the power is very real. However, they also need to utilise that kind of following idols receive in order to feed their powers. They are psychics similar to House Noble Rose, except in their case it is Majesty: telepathy and empathy taken to powerful extremes. They can read minds and emotions, impress emotions on others, fool the senses, communicate silently with allies, and even utilise shorts amounts of mental possession. However, their psychoactive powers are linked to the minds of others in more ways than just their effects: they are fuelled by strong emotions and powerful thoughts directed at them. They are almost psychic vampires, needing to be loved and adored by those around them, cultivating fanbases to feed their minds.

Choosing Your After School Club Activity

Everyone may join a single club each. Changing clubs is considered very bad form (and can result in assassination attempts), but it is possible, and dealing with assassins is normal anyway. That said, if you change clubs, you swap the benefits completely, you don't just add them all together. There are usually a few weeks at the start of each year where the clubs try to scout new students. Joining a club has various benefits.

Most clubs favour one or more Houses. All this means is the majority of NPCs in the club are likely to belong to those Houses, and being in the "right" House can make it easier to get a leadership position.

There is a page just for the Clubs, because it's huge. That page is Club Activities

Choosing your Elective Subject

The mandatory subjects are Gym (covering most physical tasks), Health (covering hygiene, not dying, and to some extent attractiveness… as well as first aid), History (general knowledge, setting information, and actual study skills), Language Studies (diplomacy, speaking languages, essay writing, speeches), Philosophy and Ethics (resisting mental control, staying awake/alert, resisting temptation), Science (noticing things, attacking with firearms or energy attacks, wilderness survival, producing plagues), and Behaviour Assessment (not a Subject with classes taught. It is included on the report card to show how good you are at appearing to behave - it covers lying and stealth).

With the above in mind, select one Elective subject. Because the Elective is always an A Grade, it can be beneficial to take one that covers the same actions as other Subjects where you're lacking - if you choose to have a D in Science, for instance, then by taking Art, you have an A for noticing things instead of a D. It is deliberate that these classes have some overlap with other Subjects - having poor grades in other subjects need not be quite as much of a burden.

Art

This includes photography, drawing, painting, sculpting, pottery, and all other art stuff. Remember that the paintbrushes are all sharpened like stilettos, and there are various other dangerous surprises lurking everywhere in the supply cupboard. Many see it as a chance to slack off and mess about, and they're mostly correct. This covers:

  • Any kind of photography or video surveillance
  • Noticing things
  • Map-making and doing fast on-the-spot sketches
  • Artistic expression, using works of art to evoke emotions in people in place of giving speeches

You also gain access to the Art supply cupboard.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Drawing a picture that people recognise, copying a picture acceptably, using a camera
Basic Drawing the same character multiple times in different poses, accurately drawing someone you saw, seeing someone who isn't actively hiding
Difficult Subtle photo manipulation, making an accurate map, inspiring an emotion in others, 3D street art
Extreme Creating your own anime wholecloth, photorealistic drawing, noticing a one-pixel mistake
Ridiculous Sculpting a working pistol from clay, painting something that will one day be like the Mona Lisa is today

Computing

All aspects of computing are included, from assembly to software to word processing to networking to Internet usage to filter-bypassing to VPN setup to history-deleting to quick-window-changing to monitor and keyboard cleaning to folder-hiding and password protection… yeah, many take this class to access porn. The downside is they force you to learn how to use databases. This covers:

  • Computer hacking of all kinds
  • Basic computer operation, including research
  • Maintaining computer hardware, as well as assembly
  • Everything related to finding, archiving, and password-protecting pornography
  • The attack rolls for firearms, thanks to playing shooting games

You also gain access to the Computer Labs and, if a Fourth-Year student, the Server Room. This should be allowed to substitute for Health specifically for anatomy, due to… extensive research materials.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Looking up a subject on Goggle, typing up your resume
Basic Password-protecting your porn folder, hacking into your friend's e-mail account, looking up a recipe or translation on Goggle
Difficult Setting up a VPN, looking up a specific software error solution on Goggle and not "halp PC not workign?", making a game with a toolkit
Extreme Hacking into the UN, creating a game from your own programming language, solving a deep OS error without using Goggle
Ridiculous Inventing your own better Internet 3.0 with blackjack and hookers

Drama

This is about acting, comedy and other types of performance except for music and song. Plenty of students use this to enhance their attempts to get out of other classes because "I'm dying of TB" or whatever. This covers:

  • Disguises and acting (and flat-out lying)
  • Public speeches and convincing crowds
  • Athletic leaps and bounds - various Gym aspects other than actually attacking people

You also gain access to the props and costumes room.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Remembering a script, doing an impression of a famous person, convincing the gullible of easily-believed statements
Basic Convincingly playing a basic character role, keeping your calm in front of a crowd, convincing most people of easily-believed statements
Difficult Writing a play that people would enjoy, playing a complex character role convincingly, convincing the gullible of inconceivably ridiculous lies
Extreme Inspiring the same emotion in an entire audience, convincing most people of rather unlikely facts, turning people against their friends
Ridiculous Coming up with the next play of Hamlet level cultural importance, getting an audience to cheer your most vile acts

Forensics

People who take this class do it because crime investigation shows are still popular after all this time. Students are taught how to do everything you'd be expected to do when given a crime scene or evidence of some kind, and the Discipline Committee likes to recruit students who excel at this. This covers:

  • ENHANCE! In fact, it covers all forms of mass-spec use, print-dusting, hair analysis and so on. Yes, even actual realistic things.
  • Simply noticing your surroundings and paying attention to details
  • Proper investigative skills and following clues

You also have the chance to join the Discipline Committee if you so wish.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Noticing a dead body or blood, knowing to look over video footage and dust for prints
Basic Understanding the meaning of directional blood splatters or ligature marks, following one set of footprints, seeing someone who isn't actively hiding
Difficult Matching bullets to firearms based on the firing pin, using a mass-spectrometer, identifying fingerprints
Extreme Tracking someone through a crowded area by footprints, zooming and enhancing grainy footage
Ridiculous Identifying chemical compositions through a taste-test, "The Sherlock Holmes Routine"

Home Economics

Everything you need in order to live life at home, making it on your own as an adult- cooking, sewing, budgeting, fashioning home-made weapons from kitchen appliances, finding loose change in the sofa… so many skills! Many students like this class because cooking tasty meals is always better than the school food. This covers:

  • Cooking and food preparation, even to a near-magical level
  • Budgeting, saving money, resisting the urge to spend and planning ahead
  • Sewing, furniture making, house painting and similar
  • Scrounging around and making improvised weapons

You also have access to the Ingredients Cupboard and the sewing machines and such.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Drawing up a simple household budget, cooking a microwave dish, sewing a button onto clothes
Basic Turning a household item into a weapon, cooking a basic stovetop or oven-baked meal, repairing clothes
Difficult Making clothes and furniture wholecloth, cooking up a fancy meal, professional-level cleaning
Extreme Creating a nice line of fancy clothing, renovating an entire house, corporation-level budgeting
Ridiculous Creating new meals or fashion that will be spoken of in high regard for years to come

Hunting

A wide-ranging Subject, the best bit about this one is that it allows for the most off-campus excursions and camping trips. On the downside, these trips are into places that aren't exactly comfortable. Students who do well in this are sometimes tasked with heading out to bring truants back. But the camping trips are still fun, albeit dangerous. This covers:

  • Setting and avoiding traps
  • Noticing ambushes, tracks and prey
  • Combat with weapons
  • Wilderness survival

You also get access to the Camping Supplies, which includes hunting rifles and high-powered crossbows.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Setting up a tent, surviving in a basically harmless environment, setting up a campfire in reasonable weather
Basic Attacking someone with a weapon, seeing someone who isn't actively hiding, knowing how to avoid the worst weather, tracking deer
Difficult Setting up a trap that will likely catch the right target, avoiding similar traps, knowing what water to avoid without obvious signs
Extreme Tracking one specific rabbit, keeping warm and dry in a downpour, noticing an ambush or incoming disaster based on nearby animals
Ridiculous Tracking an invisible creature that can teleport short distances, keeping comfortable in a cyclone

Music

This also covers singing - and working together to add your individual part to the overall production. This class focuses on the creation of sound to delight people, excelling with specific instruments. It also allows for the composition of music, and students frequently form bands from here. The usual teamwork stuff is espoused all the time. This covers:

  • Performance and capturing people's attention
  • Rallying your friends on the battlefield (gaining the TEAMWORK RA-RA! ability)
  • Influencing the emotions of others
  • Coordinating your efforts with others

You are given an instrument of your choice to care for and play.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Remembering lyrics to a pop song, humming a tune such that people recognise it
Basic Singing in key and not making people suffer with your notes, reading sheet music
Difficult Playing a tune by ear, writing a catchy song, getting people's attention with your singing
Extreme Judging between multiple excellent performers, getting the support of an entire crowd with a performance
Ridiculous Breaking glass with your voice, composing the next Bach's Toccata and Fugue level masterpiece, hypnotising a crowd

Piloting

This isn't just the driving of cars mind you, it teaches students how to operate boats, submarines, light aircraft, hoverbikes and even military vehicles. There's a lot of maintenance training as well. Plenty of students like this class because "racing is totally rad". This covers:

  • Vehicular combat of all kinds
  • How to operate and not crash a vehicle
  • Navigation and the reading of sensory equipment

You are given the keys to one vehicle of choice - not a mecha, aircraft, spacecraft or tank, but basically anything else is fine. You also have access to other vehicles on a case by case basis.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Driving from point A to point B, getting a vehicle started, reading the fuel gauge
Basic Basic checks on oil levels and brake fluids, identifying engine parts, reacting to a car in front of you suddenly braking or swerving
Difficult Taking a sharp corner with minimal speed loss, barrel rolls with fighter jets, running at perfect peak performance or fuel-efficiency for an entire race
Extreme Multi-track drifting, barrel rolls with passenger jets and speedboats, weaving through a crowd without hitting anyone, fixing an engine
Ridiculous Barrel rolls with buses, full operation of space craft and submarines, keeping track of all the read-outs and weapons on a combat mecha

Tech Studies

This covers woodwork, metalwork, circuitry and electronics - all sorts of stuff. You can build your own awesome furniture, or rewire the alarm clock to actually let you sleep in, or repair tanks and build machine guns. Or robots. This covers:

  • Making weapons and armour
  • Attacking with any weapons you personally made
  • Repairing and maintaining machinery
  • Rewiring electronics

You also get access to the workshop and its tools and materials.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Changing a lightbulb completely safely, un-jamming a washing machine
Basic Rewiring a plug, fixing a potential source of surges or electric shocks, building basic furniture, un-jamming a gun
Difficult Fixing a computer's power supply, overclocking an electrical device and overriding safety settings, building safe synthetic sex toys
Extreme Making particularly fancy or technical furniture, building new weapons from scratch
Ridiculous Designing and creating a flat-pack house, building sci-fi weapons or vehicles from scratch

Allocating Grades

Now that your Elective Subject is chosen, go ahead and put an A next to it.
Then list the other seven Subjects, and distribute the following grades between them: D, C, C, B, B, B, A
For any Subject (including the Elective), you may append - to it, adding + to another one. You can do this as many times as you like, but no Subject can by raised or lowered more than once. You might have D, C-, C+, B, B, B-, A, A+ for instance, but couldn't tank one of the Cs into another D to boost all three Bs once each.

The Mandatory subjects are covered in greater detail here:

Gym

These classes include playing different sports for a few weeks at a time, as well as basic fitness and athletics. Students will often be required to literally fight each other to stay in practice. Gym is used for:

  • Any attack rolls if the user wishes - this is considered the default choice (and also affects melee weapon damage)
  • Tests of endurance, jumping over things, carrying heavy loads, and running fast
  • Looking good in a muscular, athletic way so as to attract people
  • Intimidating people physically

Students with an A or better gain access to the Gym Storage Shed keys. This has a handy supply of weapons and is the typical place for making out.

A Gym Genius would win gold in the Olympics (every event) if they competed.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Leaping over a 1-2 metre chasm, jogging for several minutes, lifting a few bricks
Basic Hitting a target who is aware of the attack, jogging for an hour, lifting a television and carrying it for a few minutes, suplexing a child
Difficult Completing one hundred repetitions of an exercise such as push-ups or sit-ups. lifting a fridge to re-position, breaking a wood block
Extreme Breaking a concrete brick, lifting one end of a car, suplexing a shark, leaping 2 metres up or 6 metres across with a run-up
Ridiculous Pulling a truck or jet plane, breaking a titanium slab, leaping 3 metres up or 9 metres across with a run-up

Health

Health is all about looking after your body, staying healthy, and generally knowing how the body works (and how to stop it from working). People like it because it covers sex ed, and that involves talking about wobbly parts, but martial artists and such also see a lot of use for it. Health can be used for:

  • Determining Hit Points, modifying every batch of HP
  • General health care, fitness, hygiene and taking care of yourself - attractiveness and avoiding "the bug going around"
  • First aid (which is remarkably useful in this school), even extending to full medical degrees and neurosurgery.

Being really good at this (A- or better) means sometimes being called to help out in the medical room, which is a chance to be near (and be in the good books of) the nurse. This also grants access to the medicine locker, where the narcotics are kept. Having a D+ or worse means you're injured or sick so often, you're usually getting tended to by the nurse.

A Health Genius would be more of a miracle doctor than House, and much healthier.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Ignoring the effects of a basic cold or headache, cleaning and sealing a small cut, knowing not to mix painkillers
Basic Knowing opiate equivalencies, CPR training, basic wound treatment as found in a standard first aid course (restoring HP)
Difficult Ignoring the effects of the flu, diagnosing common poisons based on symptoms, treating aforementioned poisons, setting bones, treating burns
Extreme Performing surgery, keeping someone alive during a stroke or heart attack, treating frostbite such that amputation is not needed
Ridiculous Neurosurgery, identifying whether or not it is Lupus, ignoring the effects of a stroke or heart attack

History

This is a broad subject that not only covers the actual history of the world, but also research in general, teaching you how to find information. It teaches about the outside world and how it came to be that way, various economic and political systems, and the history of the school itself. This is a grab-bag general knowledge subject that is generally useful. Can be used for:

  • Researching and studying (even for other classes)
  • Any kinds of knowledge other than science or languages
  • Setting knowledge

A History Genius could tell you things that happened long ago that even Wikipedia doesn't know about, and could actually be awesome generals from all the military history they studied.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Remember which side "won" most major wars and which former empires a given country draws its history from, use Goggle for research
Basic Prepare some notes ahead of time, explain the key differences between two given political or economic systems, filter Goggle for useful research
Difficult Memorise factoids by rote, remember the complex factors that led to a war, compare multiple references and judge which is more correct
Extreme Skim-read a Tikipedia article and its references and form a full original report from that, memorise everything you need for an exam
Ridiculous Single-night cramming for perfect test results, curate and properly edit Tikipedia articles, predict military actions perfectly based on prior wars

Language Studies

Primarily this is Japanese, however it also covers "speaking other languages", along with literature and similar things. This class is used for essay writing, speed-reading, and also speaking with people. It is considered a laid-back, if boring, class. It covers:

  • Diplomacy, clever insults, innuendo and coded messages
  • Speaking multiple languages and learning new ones quickly
  • Writing well (including writing essays for other subjects) and giving speeches
  • Translating ancient texts

A Language Studies Genius knows all the languages in the world, and could flip through a thick book and pick out all grammatical errors. They could also talk the shirt off you.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Speak and read and write your own language, talk to another person
Basic Figure out what language someone is speaking based on the sounds or key words, speak basic phrases of a language, pick up on innuendo
Difficult Learn a new language, communicate in basic terms beyond the barriers of language, slip sneaky puns and innuendo into every sentence
Extreme Translate a forgotten dead language, talk a mob down from violence to a peaceful resolution, give an award-winning speech or essay
Ridiculous Create a new and better language, write an essay that straight-up convinces the reader of your point of view, hide a complex secret message in normal speech

Philosophy and Ethics

This class covers various things such as self-control, resisting temptation, considering other people's side of an argument, holding onto the values you consider important, meditation and zen. It covers a variety of philosophies, including some amount of religious studies, but there's a large amount of "make everyone copy books out by hand in silence" and "dig a hole, fill it up again". Students are often taught that the best action to take is that which benefits society, as opposed to "you" or "Messiah Enterprises". This can be used for:

  • Any form of self-control or mental resistance
  • Guard duty situations - staying alert and on task without falling asleep or getting too bored
  • Following through with promises, studying, training montages and ongoing commitments

A Philosophy and Ethics Genius could happily be declared a Saint, and probably reached Nirvana and transcended human needs.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Avoiding dumb temptations, stand guard for ten minutes without being distracted, study for an hour when you have no distractions
Basic Stand guard for an hour without being distracted, complete an assignment on time when the panic-crunch happens
Difficult Stand guard all night while staying alert, resist a really good temptation, study for an hour when the Internet is right there
Extreme Resist self-preservation instincts, complete your training montage schedule
Ridiculous Attain Zen, re-write a religion with perfect understanding that shakes hypocrites out and helps improve awareness

Science

This class covers all the different sciences in one big grab-bag, and is generally considered "the smart kid class". Because of the nature of this school, students who do well in this are allowed to mix deadly poisons or explosives or whatever. Some tests for this will require making a deadly neurotoxin and using it on other students, or creating a killer robot. The classroom for this has walls plated with Tritanium - three times as hard as Titanium! Science can be used for:

  • Producing or identifying poisons, explosives, acids and so on
  • Treating bio-hazards (as a stand-in for Health) as well as creating them
  • Wilderness survival
  • Noticing things
  • Attack rolls with energy beams, blasts and firearms

Students with an A or better gain access to the Chemistry lab.

A Science Genius is the master of the sciences, scoffing at the idea of just majoring in Biology or whatever - "specialisation is for insects!"

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Basic math, knowing what most warning pictures mean, knowing the Earth is vaguely round
Basic Shooting someone with a ray gun, understanding the difference between hypothesis and theory and guess, knowing an explosive reaction by formulae
Difficult Spotting something kind of hard to see that isn't actively hiding, accurately predicting results of a chemical reaction, plotting out snooker trick-shots
Extreme Treating the effects of hydrofluoric acid or radiation poisoning, making heroin or C4 or cyanide, making a ray gun
Ridiculous Building a nuclear weapon, bio-engineering genetic traits into people, plotting out pachinko trick-shots

Behaviour Assessment

Technically this isn't a class. There is no teacher for it and no class time allocated to it. However it is included on the report card nonetheless, not exactly to reflect how well you behave, but rather how good you are at appearing to behave, and with getting away with things. This is graded like a real class, and even the teachers understand that the students are, as a matter of course, going to get up to trouble - that this is really a measure of their ability to cover their tracks. It is used for:

  • All aspects of stealth
  • Lies and deception
  • Picking pockets, picking locks and general espionage and larceny
  • Hiding items really well

A Behaviour Assessment Genius is not only a ninja master, everybody actually does think they are perfect.

DIFFICULTY EXAMPLES
Trivial Blending into a packed crowd, hiding a book in a library, convincing the gullible of easily-believed statements
Basic Convincing most people of easily-believed statements, hiding a lockpick in your mouth, sneaking over carpet
Difficult Convincing the gullible of inconceivably ridiculous lies, escaping handcuffs, hiding in a normal room devoid of people
Extreme Concealing a wasp nest in your mouth, escaping wire shibari or a prison cell, convincing most people of the possible yet rather unlikely
Ridiculous Appearing innocent when holding a knife and covered in blood next to a corpse, concealing a weapon within your body

Character Traits

Select up to seven points worth of Negative Traits, and then an equal amount of points worth of Positive Traits. Bakuhatsu Traits

Final Steps

A first-year character has 10 hit points, modified by their Health Grade (-2 for F, -1 for any D grade, +0 for any C grade, +1 for any B grade, +2 for any A grade, +3 for S).
Every year thereafter, they gain another 5 hit points, again modified by their Health Grade.

Select your Best Friend: they're awesome. Once per Episode, you can help them out by providing Assistance without taking an action or without even being there. Just say how you're thinking of them and wishing them the best or whatever. Alternatively, by spending the action as normal, you can make the Basic benefits Trivial or the Extreme benefits Basic.

Select your Rival/Enemy: you hate this person, but that means you're thinking about them a lot. You always deal +1 damage against them. Also, you gain a Partial Grade Boost on any Opposed Tests against them - if you are mutual Rivals/Enemies then yes, that generally cancels out. You can also, once per Episode, gain a Bonus Die by thinking about them as applies to a given action (such as how they would do the task much better and laugh at you) and how annoyed you are.

Select your Sempai/Beloved/Idol: you're thinking about this person so often, it helps inspire you to greatness. Once per Episode you can declare you're thinking about how much you like them, allowing them an automatic Assistance attempt for you, no matter where they are and what they're doing. You also get a Bonus Die on any attempt made to help them in a direct fashion (providing Assistance, healing them, attacking someone who is attacking them, trying to get closer to them in time, not "being on the same side as them in a fight").

These three characters can be other Main Characters, or they can be established Supporting Cast, or you can Establish them here just by adding them in.

Character Advancement

If you wish to offer a little more in the way of customisation, then every Episode, award everyone 1XP. At the end of an Episode, allow people to spend XP on things:

Purchase XP Cost
Positive Trait Point Value
Remove Negative Trait Point Value
Current Sub-Power 2
Junior Sub-Power 1
New Universal Power 3
Other New Power 5

"Point Value" is the number of Points that Trait is valued at.
A "Junior" Power or Sub-Power is one the character could have taken at an earlier Year Level. Current ones are those gained at their current Year Level.
If a Power or Sub-Power is not normally available to the character (other than a Universal Power), the player must ask permission first - try not to have characters step on each others' toes.
If something is available to a character later on in their career, they cannot purchase it early with XP.

More importantly, however, every Semester (about twenty weeks of school with a 2-week break in the middle and then a break after), everyone receives another set of powers as they upgrade. Two Semesters forms a year, and typically a new year level means more power is gained than the half-way mark. A Semester could be as little as one Episode or as many as the entire Season. Typically it will be somewhere in the 5-10 Episode range, however.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License