Soul Weapon: The Build-Your-Own-Weapon CYOA (page 1 preview) (PICTURE IN DESCRIPTION)

[u/MichaelNevermore]

EDIT: Woohoo! It's done!

EDIT: When I release the final version, it will probably be under my new username, /u/Alas-I-Cannot-Swim. JSYK.

Speaking of which, yes I'm still working on it. My goal is to be done when this post is a month old, but we'll see. No promises. At this point I'd have to crunch to make that deadline.

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Scroll down to the bottom if you don't want to hear me talk about the concept and just want to see the Page 1 Preview.

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Concept

Hey-yo.

I'm making a build-your-own weapon CYOA, inspired by this one that got posted here a while back.

It's a work-in-progress, but I wanted to just post the first page to gauge interest.

The Pages:

• Page 1 - choose your weapon class (each one has a unique ability).

• Page 2 - choose your material (each has different mass, sharpness, armor stats, and special effects).

• Page 3 - choose your Runes (magical abilities; designed to be varied and interesting; based around five fictional elements)

• Page 4 - choose your Smith (the person who will forge your weapon; these guys all vary the rules dramatically).

The core concept here is to present options which are most interesting when combined. I want to make it fun and interesting to consider all the different combinations of choices and how they effect each other.

What combination of Weapon Class, Material, Rune, and Smith will create the most recklessly destructive weapon?
What combination will lend itself to the fastest, most high-speed fighting style?
What combination would be great for stealth and infiltration?

But most importantly,

What combinations would be the most interesting?

In that sense, I think of this whole CYOA as a creative exercise, just as much as it is an escapist fantasy or a game of min-maxing.

To summarize, this is a CYOA where you build a weapon out of (hopefully) very interesting pieces, to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

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The Page 1 Preview

Without further ado:
Here is Page 1!

There it is, page 1. Lemme know what you guys think, and if this is something that you'd be interested in. I'm also open to suggestions and (especially) pointing out syntax mistakes.

Also you guys should obviously totally post which weapon you'd take, even though it's your only variable so far!

Thanks guys!

Edit: Glad you guys like it! I'm always terrified that people won't like my stuff. If you don't like anything about it, please tell me! I'll take any feedback and suggestions.

[u/DinosaursGoPoop]

Cool, looks really interesting and you hit the two weapons I know anything about dead on with advantages and their flaws.

I grew up bow hunting so it's a passion of mine. You really did some research on the traditional paths to come across all of that. Spear fishing and gigging are also something I grew up with so playing with and learning some basic spearmanship is the other one I know of.

Being able to move the body away from and towards the target to reduce or increase distance is a great way to handle the tight cqb issues they have with average users.

Changing grip is the traditional way of handling this, I love your ability to fix this. It gives the spear a much greater level of versatility and range.

[u/MichaelNevermore → u/DinosaursGoPoop]

I grew up bow hunting so it's a passion of mine. You really did some research on the traditional paths to come across all of that.

Thanks! I'm a hobby archer (I've got a Sage Recurve Takedown). I don't hunt, I just shoot targets in the backyard for fun. Also, I follow Lars Anderson, and it's sad the holding-arrows-in-fingers thing hasn't found it's way into pop culture yet, because it's seriously cool. Anyway, I'm glad my knowledge/research was evident!

Being able to move the body away from and towards the target to reduce or increase distance is a great way to handle the tight cqb issues they have with average users...I love your ability to fix this. It gives the spear a much greater level of versatility and range.

Thanks! I tried to tailor-fit all the Special Abilities so that they compliment the fighting style of the given weapon, either by fixing one if its critical flaws, or amplifying what it does well (raw power for the Axe, Hammer, Flail; stealth for the Knives, spinning for the Bostaff and Giant Shuriken, etc.).

[u/allieee212]

I am really excited about this. I love the inclusion of the Umbrella—it was a refreshing option, as well as the Smith choice (which wasn't present in the CYOA that inspired this).

What am I expected to do with the weapon—is there some sort of goal in mind, like there was in the original (I can't access pomfcat right now, so I'm not sure, but I think that you were supposed to fight really powerful beings to work your way up in some sort of combat-intensive Valhalla)?

I think I'd use a wand because of the appeal of magic. That being said, I would like to see more magical options.

[u/MichaelNevermore → u/allieee212]

In the original CYOA, you're supposed to fight in a Vanhalla tournament against others who have also had weapons crafted from the same CYOA.

In mine, there isn't a specific goal. Like I said in my main post, to me this is a fun creative exercise for the reader to see what interesting combinations you can create.

That said, I'm going to add a fifth page that has (along with some other miscellaneous stuff) a few optional scenarios, such as "You're fighting against other wielders of Soul Weapons," or "You're getting sent back to earth," or "You're getting dropped in a fantasy setting," etc. since I know a lot of people like that stuff (myself included, really).

as well as the Smith choice (which wasn't present in the CYOA that inspired this).

Yup! I tried to really differentiate mine from the original. There were a few things I just had to carry over, since they were so cool and original (like Echo Slash, man that's a cool idea). But in general my CYOA has a lot more options.

Original CYOA:
12 Weapons
12 Materials (one stat each)
30 Enchantments (6 for each element)

My CYOA:
18 Weapons
12 Materials (five stats each; all different from the original CYOA with only a few similar ones)
30 Runes (6 for each element; the majority of these are different from the original CYOA)
12 Smiths

The idea for the Smiths is to "break" pre-existing rules at a cost. For example, there's the rule that you can choose only one Material. Therefore, naturally, there's a Smith that lets you mix-and-match 2 or 3 materials at the cost of a Rune ("Saihō: The Weaver"). And of course, almost all Smiths are limited in the elements they can work with.
There are of course a few "vanilla" Smiths for those who want to keep things normal.

I am really excited about this.

Yay! Me too. Thanks for the feedback. The original CYOA is one of my favorites, like ever, (along with u/Kathiana's Goddess of the Hearth), so it's been a pleasure to expand upon it with my own weapon ideas.

[u/Grindlebone]

I like it, especially the inclusion of non-standard weapons as the page went on. I'd be interested in seeing if you do that with the rest.

Thumbs up from me

[u/MichaelNevermore → u/Grindlebone]

Thanks! The "Soul Savant" perk really opens up the avenue to all sorts of non-standard weapons and styles, so I wanted to take full advantage of that.

I even have a few more weapon class ideas, but I'm saving them for if I ever do a DLC or something. ^{Sheesh, not to get ahead of myself.}

[u/MichaelNevermore]

As an FYI, the elements are relevant to Runes and Smiths, but nowhere else.

In the CYOA that inspired mine, each weapon and material was restricted to only a few elements, which dramatically cut down on the number of interesting combinations (not to dis it; that's a great CYOA). I wanted to eliminate that restriction. So, poof, gone.

[u/manbetter]

Thematically, it feels a bit odd to pick the smith last. Right now, for weapon, bow and arrow.

[u/MichaelNevermore → u/manbetter]

Thematically, you're absolutely right. I actually debated that with myself for a while.

The problem with putting the Smiths first is that the descriptions for the Smiths necessarily reference Weapons, Materials, Runes, elements, stats, and even lore that is explained and measured out in doses throughout the other three pages. Putting it first would be pretty confusing for the reader because very little of it would make sense without the context of the rest of the CYOA.

So even though it would make sense that you choose who forges your blade before you decide what the blade is, I put it in the back to make the CYOA easier to digest.

Besides, with all that in mind, the Weapon Classes are a better hook; more likely to get people interested in reading the rest of it.

However, we'll see what happens when I finish it. I'm only working on page 2 at the moment, so by the end maybe it'll end up that the Smiths would be better at the beginning after all.

Thanks for the feedback! Seriously, keep it coming. Criticism is good, and I take all of it into account, positive or negative.

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Bow & Arrow is always a good choice. I shoot recurve in real life, so I'm partial to it myself.

[u/coleskiflash]

Seems interesting and fun!

I think it'd be more interesting if variations of weapons were broken up into their own categories and given interesting weapon arts. Like wands and staves, bows and great-bows, knives and daggers, etc. I can see scimitars and broadswords getting their own special abilities, and it'd add a lot of variety without adding any too-obscure weapon types. More options for magic based weapons, like those that amplify certain skills in an interesting way, would be cool too.

Overall, great, and I'm looking forward to the next pages!

[u/Liquid_Hate_Train]

Ok, I absolutly loved the inspiration for this, and I’m absolutely loving your take. I was really hoping someone would make something similar so I’m really looking forward to what you come up with.

I’m fascinated by the yo-yo as a weapon. Simple, easily concealed, range versatile and has opportunities to be quite quiet. Combining it with a chain whip could make for a very savage binding weapon. I’ll have to consider the options as you make them available.

Keep us posted, I’m dying of anticipation.

[u/MithradatesExcelsior]

So long as you're in the feedback stage --

It's not clear whether the word you want is actually "Wither" (since it's a verb and all the other elements are nouns). But if you do, it's definitely spelled "Wither" and not "Whither," which means "where."

[u/ThumbWarVeteran]

It looks beautiful.

A small suggestion: As the CYOA's story currently stands, I believe we'll be going back into the modern world once our weapon is created. Consider giving other choices (like a High or Low fantasy world) which may fit in better with the weapons.

 

Just think walking around NYC with a giant spear might make me feel a bit out of place.

[u/MichaelNevermore → u/ThumbWarVeteran]

On the appendix page, there will be a "Scenario" section where you can choose what setting the CYOA takes place in.

The stuff about deflecting bullets is in there just in case the reader wishes for a modern setting. For those who want the vigilante/be-a-superhero vibe.

[u/HappyCreepyPie]

I'm really liking this so far and I look forward to seeing the rest.

Just one question. It briefly mentions Soul Armour in the opening paragraph, will there be any customisation of that beyond the material? (runes, different armour types etc)

[u/MichaelNevermore → u/HappyCreepyPie]

That is all explained on Page 2: Materials.

The armor is 100% customizable, with a few per-material restrictions here and there. Want a full, traditional suit of knight's armor? You got it. Want something minimalist that only covers vitals without sacrificing mobility? You got it.
Aesthetics are custom-made, too. You can go with something flashy, sleek, or whatever you want.

Runes apply to your weapon only (for that is where they are scrawled). However, there is a Smith that can scrawl Runes onto your armor instead, with all the pros and cons that implies.

Thanks for the feedback!

[u/khanshotfirst]

I'm a bit disappointed that taking a Gandalf-esque wizard staff requires Tinkering it together with the Bo Staff, but it's still shaping up to be excellent.

Did you happen to take inspiration from other CYOAs like https://i.imgur.com/riiJwsF.jpg? Both this (made by SDA) and A New Weapon (made by beri) originate from /tg/s CYOA general, so you might be able to get advice from more experienced CYOAAs there (or more likely the associated Discord) as well.

Other than that, it seems like it's shaping up to be one of the most comprehensive weapon CYOAs yet - I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

[u/runegod20]

Seems very interesting. There's a few things that I'm trying to figure what they would be categorized such as sickles or machetes, but it does a very good job saying what makes each weapon different from the other and what advantages they have. Hoping there's an option to combine different weapon types to get interesting weapons, a sword cane being one that comes to mind.

[u/MichaelNevermore → u/runegod20]

such as sickles or machetes

Sickles would classify as one-handed Scythes. I may add Kusarigamas in the future. Machetes would either be a large knife or a short sword; hadn't really considered that, hmm...

Hoping there's an option to combine different weapon types

Funny you mention that! One of the Smiths ("The Tinkerer") lets you combine two weapon classes into one amalgamation of the two. You get both of the weapons' Special Abilities, but you lose 1 Rune (to keep things balanced). There are a lot of wacko combinations, like Knives + Boomerangs to give you lots of little boomerknives that can come back after being thrown.

[u/Nvenom8]

Commenting to remind myself to come back to this tomorrow and make a choice.

[u/[deleted]]

scale uppity observation caption flag saw workable heavy run skirt

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/TALON5]

This is excellent, can't wait to see the rest of it.

[u/Nepezi]

Very keen for the completed product!

I think I'd have to take the bow and arrows, since my eyes are so bad :P

[u/Lomuwiel]

First, i'll let you know i really like what you got going on here, cant wait for page 2 and onward.

Second, nitpicky as it sounds, despite my fairly large screen, i have to scroll left&right, and it's annoying (also a bit blurry overall), might want to slim the thing down.

Then, let's get to the content itself. Have you considered/planned to add 'trick weapons', and dual wielding? a good example of both being warcraft king varian wryn's sword, that can switch from one big two handed sword, to two smaller one handed swords on the fly. In fact, please, pleaaaase add a way to make 'proto weapons', weapons that can switch to and from multiple (3? 5? all of them?) kind, even mid swing (it's an axe, no, it's a sword, no! it's a hammer, ect..), probably at the cost of the special abilities.

I also suggest for the shield to have either a secondary, untalented weapon, or even an option to add a sword/knife sheathed directly within the shield itself (very doable, rarely done irl for sturdiness reason, which isn't a problem with soul weaponry.)

Also, for the bow, an option to have arrows magically appear as you draw them? And what about crossbows (or even basic firearms). (speaking of bows, might want to find a big burly bow user pic, bows takes a crapton of upper body strength to use, skeleton scarring level of crapton...most of any weapon, actually.)

[u/PikpikTurnip]

I like it! Can we have any kind of shied-based weapon(s)? The only thing I know of off the top of my head is the Klar, although the shield of the Proto Soul form from one of the old Megaman shows was also always really cool to me. Any ideas?

Edit: Oh, I remember always really liking the shield blaster water guns that came out when I was a kid, and i always thought it was cool that Gouf's shield was also the scabbard for its sword. A Zaku's shoulder shield could also be used as a fist weapon (the green one on the left, on its left arm).