Post by Quickstride on Nov 10, 2006 18:50:54 GMT -5
Okay, so there's this game series that I really like: Namco's "Tales of" series. It's a series of fantasy role playing games from Japan that have a very anime-like art style and stories that are generally independent of each other (there are exceptions where a game is a sequel or prequel to another, but the Tales games mainly share only elements like the battle system and general style.) Anyway, I just beat the most recent game last week, and the ending was so open that I felt lost and needed something constructive to do with my frustration. Whether or not this is constructive is debatable, but it prompted me to do some work on a crossover I've been meaning to do for a while: a "Tales of" story set in Dinotopia.
Since I'm assuming that most (if not all) people on this board are unfamiliar with the Tales series, there are a few things I'd like to point out before I post what I have:
1. Since there's magic involved and canonical Dinotopia doesn't involve magic, this should be considered one giant alternate universe. The reasoning for the magic in this story (all Tales games have some explanation for their magic) is that the sunstones produce effects which can be channeled into magic-like abilities.
2. This story is set during the early years of human contact, when Dinotopian civilization had not been fully established and violent encounters between humans and the native fauna were presumably occuring. However, I'm fudging things a little bit by placing sunstones and strutters around this time, as well (I suppose that we could say that these things existed before Poseidos, and that they only "rediscovered" them, but I thought that I'd point this out.)
3. It's hard to reconcile a game series centered around combat with a book series about peace and harmony, but I think that the paradox of "fighting for peace" is going to come up in the story. In any case, this can be considered a "storming" phase of Dinotopia's history, where there was lots of strife and irrationality to go around.
4. Given that RPG stories are usually massive, I may only "novelize" some key parts and summarize the rest.
5. All of the "Tales" elements are copyright Namco-Bandai. All Dinotopia elements are copyright James Gurney, of course.
I don't know how well this is gonig to work, which is why I'm considering this an experiment all. Feedback is certainly welcome!
I'm going to start by posting a brief "teaser" for the beginning of the story and "playable" character descriptions. Please note that the stilted writing is deliberate- I'm trying to mimic a translation from the Japanese (the actual story won't be written like that, so don't worry.) There's also a lot more story in the works, but part of the fun of RPGs is learning it little by little as you go along. If the characters seem a bit flat, that's also deliberate- it's not uncommon for Tales characters to start out bland but become more interesting as they develop and you learn more about them. (Character development is one of the series' strong points.) Normally characters would be accompanied by character art, but I can't draw so I'll give some written descriptions later. For now, though, I wanted to post this before I chickened out. I hope that you enjoy!
For millions of years, the island of Dinotopia has been inhabited by intelligent, peaceful dinosaurs, sheltered from the world of civilization. However, as humans have started coming ashore and colonizing the land, conflict has arisen and war is looming. Aidan Delfim, a castaway with no memory of his prior life, finds himself caught in the middle of events that will settle once and for all Dinotopia's uncertain future.
Aidan Delfim
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Fights With: One Handed Sword
Aidan was shipwrecked on Dinotopia at the age of five. Retaining no memories of his life prior to this event, he is self-trained with the sword that washed ashore with him- the only connection he has to his mysterious past. He is eager to prove that humans have something positive to contribute to the island and can work together with dinosaurs toward a bright future.
Gail Brody
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Fights With: Staff
Gail is the daughter of a healer who is studying to follow in her father's footsteps. An adventurous and bold young woman, she oftens travels the dangerous countryside to offer help whereever it may be needed. Nevertheless, she feels that she will never be as skilled as her father.
Cae Swiftclaw
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Species: Deinonychus
Fights With: Greaves
Cae is Aidan's best friend and grew up with him almost as a brother. Although he sports a cocky attitude and can often be stubborn or bossy, he is actually very uncertain of the world around him and what he thinks of it. He practices his martial arts in the hope of becoming the best that there is.
Merrin Keldo
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Species: Heterodontosaurus
Fights With: Two Handed Sword
A young Heterodontosaurus with a profound dislike of humans, Merrin's proficiency with the sword is highly unusual for a dinosaur. She strives to maintain a serious demeanor, but sometimes a lighter side to her nature shines though.
Percy & Akior Strider
Age: 15 (Both)
Gender: Male (Percy), Female (Akior)
Species: Human (Percy), Gallimimus (Akior)
Fights With: Lance
Percy was found orphaned as a toddler by a tribe of Gallimimus dinosaurs. Born with a weak leg, he usually rides upon Akior, a blind Gallimimus, serving as her eyes while she serves as his legs. Together they patrol and defend the tribe's borders from predators and unfriendly humans.
Amber Dunn
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Fights With: Mask
Amber is part of a band of travelling performers whose livelihood has been adversely affected by the spreading hostilities. Always cheerful and optimistic, she joins the party so that she may travel in relative safety from place to place, eking out a living until peace returns and her troupe may move freely again. She is always accompanied by Dart, her performing partner and best friend.
Barri Conch
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Species: Tsintaosaurus
Fights With: Music
A scholar by trade, Barri is the island's foremost expert on sunstones and the elements. Rather soft spoken and gentle, he dislikes fighting but his knowledge makes him an invaluable ally. He is also quite an accomplished musician.
Falcha
Age: 28
Gender: Female
Species: Smilodon
Fights With: Fangs
Falcha was part of an envoy of ambassadors representing the prehistoric mammals that settled on the island a few thousand years ago. After being seperated from her group by an attack, she joins Aidan's party in the hope of meeting with the leaders of the various factions and completing her mission. A seasoned warrior who bears the marks of many battles, she seems to have taken a liking to the younger members and takes it upon herself to train them so that they may better defend themselves.
Dart
Age: Unknown
Gender: Male
Species: Dimorphodon
Dart is Amber's constant companion and friend. Although small, he is a master of languages and is able to speak and understand almost all major dialects. The problem is usually getting him to be quiet.
Since I'm assuming that most (if not all) people on this board are unfamiliar with the Tales series, there are a few things I'd like to point out before I post what I have:
1. Since there's magic involved and canonical Dinotopia doesn't involve magic, this should be considered one giant alternate universe. The reasoning for the magic in this story (all Tales games have some explanation for their magic) is that the sunstones produce effects which can be channeled into magic-like abilities.
2. This story is set during the early years of human contact, when Dinotopian civilization had not been fully established and violent encounters between humans and the native fauna were presumably occuring. However, I'm fudging things a little bit by placing sunstones and strutters around this time, as well (I suppose that we could say that these things existed before Poseidos, and that they only "rediscovered" them, but I thought that I'd point this out.)
3. It's hard to reconcile a game series centered around combat with a book series about peace and harmony, but I think that the paradox of "fighting for peace" is going to come up in the story. In any case, this can be considered a "storming" phase of Dinotopia's history, where there was lots of strife and irrationality to go around.
4. Given that RPG stories are usually massive, I may only "novelize" some key parts and summarize the rest.
5. All of the "Tales" elements are copyright Namco-Bandai. All Dinotopia elements are copyright James Gurney, of course.
I don't know how well this is gonig to work, which is why I'm considering this an experiment all. Feedback is certainly welcome!
I'm going to start by posting a brief "teaser" for the beginning of the story and "playable" character descriptions. Please note that the stilted writing is deliberate- I'm trying to mimic a translation from the Japanese (the actual story won't be written like that, so don't worry.) There's also a lot more story in the works, but part of the fun of RPGs is learning it little by little as you go along. If the characters seem a bit flat, that's also deliberate- it's not uncommon for Tales characters to start out bland but become more interesting as they develop and you learn more about them. (Character development is one of the series' strong points.) Normally characters would be accompanied by character art, but I can't draw so I'll give some written descriptions later. For now, though, I wanted to post this before I chickened out. I hope that you enjoy!
For millions of years, the island of Dinotopia has been inhabited by intelligent, peaceful dinosaurs, sheltered from the world of civilization. However, as humans have started coming ashore and colonizing the land, conflict has arisen and war is looming. Aidan Delfim, a castaway with no memory of his prior life, finds himself caught in the middle of events that will settle once and for all Dinotopia's uncertain future.
Aidan Delfim
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Fights With: One Handed Sword
Aidan was shipwrecked on Dinotopia at the age of five. Retaining no memories of his life prior to this event, he is self-trained with the sword that washed ashore with him- the only connection he has to his mysterious past. He is eager to prove that humans have something positive to contribute to the island and can work together with dinosaurs toward a bright future.
Gail Brody
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Fights With: Staff
Gail is the daughter of a healer who is studying to follow in her father's footsteps. An adventurous and bold young woman, she oftens travels the dangerous countryside to offer help whereever it may be needed. Nevertheless, she feels that she will never be as skilled as her father.
Cae Swiftclaw
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Species: Deinonychus
Fights With: Greaves
Cae is Aidan's best friend and grew up with him almost as a brother. Although he sports a cocky attitude and can often be stubborn or bossy, he is actually very uncertain of the world around him and what he thinks of it. He practices his martial arts in the hope of becoming the best that there is.
Merrin Keldo
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Species: Heterodontosaurus
Fights With: Two Handed Sword
A young Heterodontosaurus with a profound dislike of humans, Merrin's proficiency with the sword is highly unusual for a dinosaur. She strives to maintain a serious demeanor, but sometimes a lighter side to her nature shines though.
Percy & Akior Strider
Age: 15 (Both)
Gender: Male (Percy), Female (Akior)
Species: Human (Percy), Gallimimus (Akior)
Fights With: Lance
Percy was found orphaned as a toddler by a tribe of Gallimimus dinosaurs. Born with a weak leg, he usually rides upon Akior, a blind Gallimimus, serving as her eyes while she serves as his legs. Together they patrol and defend the tribe's borders from predators and unfriendly humans.
Amber Dunn
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Fights With: Mask
Amber is part of a band of travelling performers whose livelihood has been adversely affected by the spreading hostilities. Always cheerful and optimistic, she joins the party so that she may travel in relative safety from place to place, eking out a living until peace returns and her troupe may move freely again. She is always accompanied by Dart, her performing partner and best friend.
Barri Conch
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Species: Tsintaosaurus
Fights With: Music
A scholar by trade, Barri is the island's foremost expert on sunstones and the elements. Rather soft spoken and gentle, he dislikes fighting but his knowledge makes him an invaluable ally. He is also quite an accomplished musician.
Falcha
Age: 28
Gender: Female
Species: Smilodon
Fights With: Fangs
Falcha was part of an envoy of ambassadors representing the prehistoric mammals that settled on the island a few thousand years ago. After being seperated from her group by an attack, she joins Aidan's party in the hope of meeting with the leaders of the various factions and completing her mission. A seasoned warrior who bears the marks of many battles, she seems to have taken a liking to the younger members and takes it upon herself to train them so that they may better defend themselves.
Dart
Age: Unknown
Gender: Male
Species: Dimorphodon
Dart is Amber's constant companion and friend. Although small, he is a master of languages and is able to speak and understand almost all major dialects. The problem is usually getting him to be quiet.
I was planning on explaining the monsters in a little more detail later on, when the story's magic is also explained a little more. There's also a bit more to the monsters than meets the eye, and I want to develop it a bit more later on. In any case, from the standpoint of Aidan and the villagers spinebacks, whatever they might have once been, are not dinosaurs- they are incapable of reason and irrationally violent- to a point beyond even the most dangerous of "normal" animals (kind of like rabies, actually...)