A slight change to SSv2 maybe?

[Arantima Kawada]

So I have been considering the type that I use for quite some time since I've had it. And I think that for the majority of people the Drawback on the personality is what steers people far away from it. I myself struggle with it in most cases and tend to try and avoid releasing in threads with other people because of its rather steep and nearly untenable (socially) Drawback. And There is little to no arguing that i have had hold of the Type as its only wielder for quite some time now.  I actually went and searched for others and found less than 5 including myself in the entire accessible site history. And none of those characters were around for all that long.

I would propose a simplistic change to the Type That involves Two things.

The first being Cutting its release duration back down to standard duration.  SSv2 is capable of Refreshing its release duration and becuase of this the doubled duration just makes it more long lasting than it needs to be in my personal experience.  

The second would be, becuase of this Nerf I would like to propose a Lessening of the personality drawback. Below I have a proposed rewrite of the type that makes the stat allocations more clear for anyone reading the type as well as my proposed Personality drawback changes.


Type: Soul Specialist Version 2


Description: Someone who has focused all of their power into their Release. For this reason, they are extremely weak in their sealed state, but have exceptional power after Releasing. Someone of this Type relies on their Release a lot more then others and is basically useless without it, but they are some of the most fearsome fighters once they have Released.


Advantage:

All Ranks: All bonuses are granted upon activating Release. Triple Strength during Release (100 would be 300) and Triple spiritual pressure During release (100 would be 300). Instead of Spiritual pressure, Arrancar will have their Reiatsu Strength tripled during Release.
Note: When Spiritual Pressure is restored to full value, current and maximum Reiatsu are both increased accordingly. i.e. if 200 Spiritual Pressure is regained, then 2000 Reiatsu will be added to both current and maximum Reiatsu. This only applies to Spiritual Pressure restored as a part of this Type's mechanic. This "Restoration" Can not restore reatsu to the maximum pool more than once per thread.


Disadvantage:
All Ranks: Decrease all Stats by 33% (100 would be 67) in sealed form except for Strength, which is reduced by 75% (100 would be 25). Only allowed one Release level. Energy Sensory cannot go above 0. Characters while in their released State Can not form elaborate plans, These characters are Either overtaken by their Zanpakuto spirits or are driven by Battle instincts. They can not Take Ranks in Battle analysis, War strategy, or Analysis and will always be willing to take a blow to deliver one of their own, potentially putting themselves in a deadly trade.


Race Restrictions: Available to all Races except Beast-Clansmen, Vizard, Mod Souls, Hollows, and Failures.


Initial Weapons: One Starting Weapon (i.e. one Zanpakutō, one Doll, etc.)



Now on a more.. "Dream build" Set up. The below is a secondary proposal that I would also like to put forward for the type that might make it more attractive for those that wish to play this style of character while also having access to a second tier of release Albeit only an overall.



Type: Soul Specialist Version 2

Description: Someone who has focused all of their power into their Release. For this reason, they are extremely weak in their sealed state, but have exceptional power after Releasing. Someone of this Type relies on their Release a lot more then others and is basically useless without it, but they are some of the most fearsome fighters once they have Released.

Advantage:

All Ranks: All bonuses are granted upon activating Release. Triple Strength during Release (100 would be 300) and Triple spiritual pressure During release (100 would be 300). Instead of Spiritual pressure, Arrancar will have their Reiatsu Strength tripled during Release.

Note: When Spiritual Pressure is restored to full value, current and maximum Reiatsu are both increased accordingly. i.e. if 200 Spiritual Pressure is regained, then 2000 Reiatsu will be added to both current and maximum Reiatsu. This only applies to Spiritual Pressure restored as a part of this Type's mechanic. This "Restoration" Can not restore reatsu to the maximum pool more than once per thread.


Disadvantage:

All Ranks: Decrease all Stats by 33% (100 would be 67) in sealed form except for Strength, which is reduced by 75% (100 would be 25). Energy Sensory cannot go above 0. Characters while in their released State Can not form elaborate plans, These characters are Either overtaken by their Zanpakuto spirits or are driven by Battle instincts. They can not Take Ranks in Battle analysis, War strategy, or Analysis and will always be willing to take a blow to deliver one of their own, potentially putting themselves in a deadly trade. Character has half of the normal total release techniques and their second level of release may only have an overall Ability.


Race Restrictions: Available to all Races except Beast-Clansmen, Vizard, Mod Souls, Hollows, and Failures.


Initial Weapons: One Starting Weapon (i.e. one Zanpakutō, one Doll, etc.)

[Tsuyoshi Minamoto]

The only glaringly off-putting thing I see here is the inability to put any ranks into Battle Analysis, War Strategy, or Analysis. It would make more sense, given that this personality deficit is only present when a character releases, to simply consider these skills to be 'at 0' when the character is released, with no way to increase them. This allows for SSv2s to go the route of the off-battle tactician or advisor who has the ability to join the fray at the expense of their controlled demeanor. Making it so that they cannot take points in it at all is unnecessarily limiting, given that this is a change that only occurs in their released state.

I think there is also a better way to utilize the personality shift without creating and automatic berserker who doesn't have any thought in combat, generally.

Might I suggest: All Ranks: Decrease all Stats by 33% (100 would be 67) in sealed form except for Strength, which is reduced by 75% (100 would be 25). Energy Sensory cannot go above 0. Characters in this release state are generally overwhelmed with zeal when released. These characters are unable to form complex plans beyond immediate decision-making when released - generally they are driven by battlelust and are prone to rushing into combat at their own expense or the expense of their allies. When released, the character treats their Analysis and and War Strategy as 0, as well as their Battle Analysis as 0 for anything other than split-second decision making in combat. Character has half of the normal total release techniques and their second level of release may only have an overall Ability.

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

I don't think that it's an unnecessary cut personally; I believe adding in the option for those skills would be over-complicating the type. Given that a Soul Specialist's entire type concept revolves around using their release, so much so to the point that they suffer absolutely abysmal cuts outside of release that it makes combat exceedingly rough to begin with. It'd just be adding in more lines that aren't particularly necessary.

[Tsuyoshi Minamoto]

I think that from a strictly PvP and combat perspective that you're correct, but that from an RP perspective, it is unnecessarily limiting to state that a type who gleans their power and drawbacks specifically from whether they are released or not, should not have skills reflective of their unreleased personality traits unnecessarily cut when they aren't released. War Strategy and Analysis specifically are skills that are meant to have out-of-combat uses, which might be the direction a player wants to take their character in. There's nothing suggesting that a character with SSv2 would have any kind of deficit or affliction preventing them from having those skills when unreleased, given that they are consequences of personality flaws that only show when released.

[Arantima Kawada]

Ok so then why are their stats cut when they are sealed and why arent they just simply at their base allocations when they aren't released?

There are things that are done for mechanical balance that do not and will never gel with every potential option, likewise as a character who is aware that they would lose access to all of that knowledge as soon as they released.. Why would you not let someone who could retain that knowledge and skill no matter what handle that sort of thinking?

If you were a tactician and you were a strategist for what possible conceivable reason would you not immediately send out a defensive powerhouse like yourself? At which point you have deprived your command of your war strategy skills and you can not even utilize battle analysis at all since it requires you to be in a fight to use.

From an RP perspective there are PLENTY of types that remove certain character archetypes from being able to take them, and there are plenty other better types for those character archetypes. SSv1 Allows you to do exactly what you are saying should be allowed. And yet that character could then also benefit from those skills in combat. For a character type like that SSv1 is a much better overall choice. SSv2 is not MEANT to have overlap with SSv1 in that way there is supposed to be a distinct difference between the pair and this is the most faithful to its intentions while also not creating a character who is almost impossible to fight alongside cooperatively.

[Tsuyoshi Minamoto]

Please remember that this is just constructive criticism and observation and that the site that we're all on, as has been stated to me repeatedly, is RP-Centric.

To your first point, none of the statistics listed in Section 3 relate to a character's intelligence or intellectual ability for analysis except, arguably, instinct, and even then, it's in a limited capacity for overall problem-solving outside of combat. Those statistics are related directly to your character's combat ability and physical qualities, all of which can be set behind a transformational-type boost of power, such as what a Shikai or Bankai could give. Using statistics as a relevant metric to mind skills isn't particularly comparable, especially given that one of the skills you're referencing has no combat usage and is akin to a 'Strategist' position, and one of the skills you're referencing has limited combat usage and is overshadowed heavily by Battle Analysis. The only exception to that, as I said, would possibly be instinct, which is generally utilized for processing immediate battlefield information and there's nothing in the statistic that states that it relates to overall problem solving in the case of puzzle-solving or similar.

To your second point: Tacticians and Strategists across history have had various levels of military experience and combat skill when it comes to the battlefield. Having off-field intelligence and forethought or analysis and having on-field intelligence and capability are not mutually exclusive qualities, and in the case of military commanders, often both are required to some degree.

To your third point: Tacticians and Strategists do not always fill the same role in a military campaign or operation, and a Military Commander likewise can still fulfill both a tactician and combat role. There are also very few cases in history where militaries do not rely on a chain of command with multiple people filling roles in combat. There are plenty of examples where War Strategy is useful at the beginning and middle stages of combat, where a Military Commander or Tactician may plan the initial stages of combat and then be forced into a combat engagement later down the line. In fact, a Commander or Tactician that can leave themselves open for engagements is exceptionally valuable, because it is another link of knowledgeable, educated command that can be utilized on the battlefield until they are directly engaged - this is part of the reason for having lower and higher ranked officers with varying levels of combat involvement.

To the fourth point: SSv1 does allow a player to do exactly what I am saying should be allowed. As do many other types. But my criticism is not in referencing those other types - that isn't the point. Perhaps what most specifically depicts my point is the following contradiction in the SSv2 type itself:

Characters while in their released State can not form elaborate plans. These characters are Either overtaken by their Zanpakuto spirits or are driven by Battle instincts. They can not take Ranks in Battle analysis, War strategy, or Analysis and will always be willing to take a blow to deliver one of their own, potentially putting themselves in a deadly trade.

In the case of this description, if you wanted mind skills to be limited outside of release, why would their inabilty to formulate elaborate plans only extend to when they are released. If what you're saying is the justification, then it would make more sense for this personality change to simply be present all the time. If they are able to formulate elaborate plans when they aren't released, then it doesn't really make sense to also limit their ability to take those skills when they aren't released.

If the end justification for this is simply: because this is what I want the type to be, or this is for mechanical balance to offset the benefits, then that's fine. The observation I'm making is that there isn't a lot of descriptive continuity for it, and the listed skill cuts and their parameters don't line up with the description itself.

Sealing someone's physical and spiritual characteristics behind their release can be explained as their inner abilities simply being locked behind their release and the level of power that comes with their release.

Locking aspects of a character's mental and social attributes as a result of releasing, and then locking the associated skills that could be used all the time, just doesn't hold a lot of continuity. The problem also could be solved by stating that the character is unable to formulate elaborate plans or engage in complex plotting ever, instead of only when released. Either way would solve the continuity issue from a descriptive standpoint. But again, if the justification is for 'Mechanical Balance' or 'Because this is what I want for the type', then that's fine. This is just constructive criticism and observation from someone with well over a decade and a half of experience across multiple RP mediums.

[Arantima Kawada]

The flat limit on those skills is there to provide mechanical balance yes, but it is easily enough credited to an in character reasoning of "Not wasting time on these skills becuase half the time they will be useless to me". If you are going to take time training for battle, you would lean into your strengths. And yes Your examples of real world equivalency are completly valid.. For the real world. Here, we are talking about beings that lay waste to armies single handedly. Specifically with this type, They are not someone who gets sent in to command a squadron of troops. They "Are" The squad that gets sent to deal with a problem.

Locking out complex thought permanently is not the goal, The goal is to take the current drawback of the type and make it more open and accessable to group dynamic play without forcing the character to stay sealed and completely useless in a fight. And while yes this board is RP centric, it is Also HEAVILY combat focused, and thus you have to take into account that focus when looking over typing and overall wording for balances. A character who knows and is fully aware that for them to be considered anything of use in an engagement would be forced to lose access to all ranks in any and all of those skills they have taken, why would you even consider doing something that does not suit you at your fullest. In any situation you want to lean into your strengths, not spread yourself out thin so you can do something about 1/3rd as well as anyone else.

If you were a person who knew that every fourth time you fired a gun, of any kind it jammed. Would you ever pick up a gun? Would you ever consider that gun play was a calling you secretly had? Or would you take up some other option? Yes, you could become the worlds greatest marksman, But every fourth shot you wouldnt just miss, your gun would have to be disassembled and cleared before being able to be used again. There are some people out there with that sort of strange drive. That drive that says "Fuck you. imma do it becuase you said no" attitude. but That sort of mentality of doing it just becuase its harder.. Doesnt prove anything at the end of the day.

Likewise this site is not set up for, nor does it have a rich history of large scale war events. The biggest battles are on average less than 10 total combatants, if they even get THAT large. Mostly 1 v1 or 2v2. I think Ive seen a 3 v 2 before but I am not 100% certain.

Those are the more RP Centric reasons Also coming from someone with over a decade and a half of RP experience. Not sure why this was a needed addition, It seemed like a strange flex but.. yeah I have just as much RP background.

For other outside reasons, it stops people from trying to cleverly insert those skills where they don't belong. It also stops people from "Forgetting" Or Legitimately forgetting that they shouldn't be using those skills, and from opponents forgetting that while their opponent is released that those skills don't count. It is a all in one catch all bit of wording that covers Mod ruling bases and opens up a lot of released level interactions for a type that.. right now has seen less than 5 total uses in its entire history on this ten year old site.. For the exact reasons why I am proposing this change.

[Tsuyoshi Minamoto]

Not all characters strictly train for battle - there are other available avenues to all characters other than field combat. As far as leaning into your strengths is concerned, you could easily argue that finding another strength in order to complement the strengths that you do have is an equally viable tactic. War Strategy does not necessitate large numbers of combatants - it can be as simple as someone providing advice or guidance from an onlooker's perspective. War Strategy could be used by, say, a ringside coach in a duel (most combat sports), or a sports coach leading a team. It can also be used by an overseer or mentor guiding two younger combatants or warriors. It can be used to plan an infiltration, it can be used to plan invasions. It can be used to plan all kinds of things and, to what you mentioned - given that the purpose is not to remove complex and intricate thoughts entirely, it seems like it would be ideal to leave at least Analysis (for puzzle solving) and War Strategy (for out-of-combat strategizing) in, based on that information.

Regarding your metaphor, this again doesn't really apply to a Soul Specialist v2. A Soul Specialist v2 is not someone who misfortune happens to on a predictable basis. An SSv2 is someone who, in fact, has complete control over when and where they decide to release, like most characters. An SSv2 is more akin to the concept of a Rifle with a Bayonet. A person could be an absolute crack shot with a rifle and, yes, ideally they should never have to get into close range, but once in close range it can be beneficial to have the bayonet (or other similar object) at their disposal. What you're describing is more akin to a Struggler with an Osen, not an SSv2. An SSv2 is, actually, in the unique position of being able to do two things incredibly well because one is afforded to them as a 'natural talent' (their release), and the other is a skill that they hone. They have two different avenues for use.

Thus, there are plenty of RP Centric reasons to leave it in, supported by the entire point of not wanting to limit complex thought at all times.

As far as mechanical balance is concerned, if that's the decision that's made then there's not much critique to be had. Trying to account for user error by artificially limiting someone does a disservice to those players who can build and manage a character that way, and an argument could be made that a player building a character for exactly that purpose has to keep track of just as much as someone who, say, plays a character focused around Auras, or plays a character with area-of-effect abilities that they need to keep track of, or someone who picks a more all-encompassing support role. Restricting all players prematurely based off of a possibility that someone might have a hard time keeping track of something is grounds for certainly more than SSv2 to get changed.

The only question I have from a mechanical standpoint is whether or not it's intentional to leave it for SSv2 to have their Battle Analysis, Analysis, and War Strategy skills augmented by other characters when they are released. The current way it is written, another technique, item, or release can simply give them ranks in those skills and bypass the drawback of the type. Stating that their Battle Analysis, Analysis, and War Strategy are considered to be '0' when they are released would avoid that scenario, but if the idea is to allow characters to be 'gifted' those skills by something else down the line, then it doesn't matter.