The people, such as they are, have spoken. Muse Aegis will be "restarted" with the Grand Cosmos system. I will walk people through the slightly altered system. Fate Points will be retained, and each of you will have however many you currently do plus one. Grand Cosmos attribute scale (Very Low to Very High, Crippled to Godlike, and Strength, Endurance, Reflex, Keen, P. Ability, Intelligence, Charisma and Willpower) will be used. Bonus attributes will likely be turned into Merits, indicating non-numerically what they used to numerically: Growing skill that is improving more like an attribute than at the slower, crystallizing rate of abilities.
The key change is that Race and Class have been replaced with the Archetype Point system. It's fairly simple: All Archetypes out there (except for Kin - Kin and Master of Imagination functioned to reduce point costs and that is no longer an issue) are developed with Archetype Points.
Top Heaviness Limits are right out. Just as in conventional Grand Cosmos, massive stat imbalance is unwise, but that's more informally determined.
I have taken the liberty of altering sheets somewhat to get to the goal. Fred's sheet has already been changed. You will be happy to know that it is shorter both in form and content.
What transpired to get here:
Black and Mario coordinated across the juncture of space and time to defeat the Cruel and Might Gigases. With a resounding, flaming fist and a burning lightsaber, both Melchior and Belthasar were freed. As Black entered the Cleft of Dimension, Fred appeared. Being able to escape the Sinistrals' monitoring, Fred "kidnapped" Belthasar with the intention of bringing a Trojan horse into Doom Island itself: The Guru of Reason, able to broadcast the technology of the Sinistrals and begin to stop Doom Island.
Fred, Redfox and Black continued forward into the Cleft. Fred avoided telling Redfox the truth about his condition: Redfox was Fred's Nobody, created by Fred's "Heartless" act of becoming the Sinistral of Destruction. Battling demon after demon, Black soon came to a point where only he could go. Fred and Redfox took their own ways back, as Black braved the shifting sands of the desert of the Void (or perhaps, some would argue, the desert of the real) to find Kaylie. She had become imprisoned in a massive sand castle that seemed to warp and shape in response to Black's doubts, fears and weaknesses. Black shattered the castle by sheer force of will and strength, in the process demonstrating the final lesson Kaylie had been trying to teach him. "The first person any Redeemer redeems is themselves. I was lost in hate, anger, sorrow and confusion when my parents got killed. I blamed the Hunters, Carpenter, whomever I pleased at the time for failing, or even for killing my parents directly, as if they had made the zombies do it." In the quiet of the penumbra of the Void, Black and Kaylie cradled each other, and Black became the Redeemer.
Joe spoke to the Austrian government and managed to secure a deal: If he could defeat the beast commander of Germany and Austria, the Austrians would help him secure the materials to rebuild the Holy Lance. Joe slew the commander perfunctorily: The creature had become fat and complacent, an easy target for the budding angel of the Knight Teutonica. Though the Austrians had in essence bluffed, a deal was a deal, and the Austrians grudgingly allowed access to the Schatzkammer. The Vatican managed to bring together the rest of the material, and after battling Islamist terrorists, demons sent by Franco's demon handler, assassins sent by the Sinistrals and numerous others, Joe secured the Holy Lance.
Brian's bugs kept track of Darth Bitchious and the Juggernaught. When they attempted to siege a tech company in San Jose, Brian held them off long enough for other "vermin" to join the fray, as the Juggernaught (the mecha chick) put it. This impromptu Kin force repelled the two women. His monitoring was far less effective at tracking the eco-terrorists that had destroyed his home. But, speaking to the Predators, he managed to secure the aid of a small Predator flotilla to assault Doom Island. The constant bombardment kept Doom Island destabilized, its barrier in constant protection mode.
Mario assisted Melchior, becoming the apprentice to the Guru of Life. Belthasar's data projected from the heart of Doom Island became the blueprint for weapons and a spaceship called The Dagger. The Dagger functioned as a massive spiritual amplifier.
Redfox and Mario finally managed to pin down Dual Blade in Video Game Land. It was in a nexus space lying between multiple worlds. Located in a hall of mirrors, Redfox soon realized it was populated with nothing, no reflections, no images. He realized that he was nothing. Nobody. He nearly lost himself to despair and confusion, but Mario rallied him. Redfox knew that his existence was predicated on the plans and machinations of another, but it was still his memories and his existence. He may be Fred's Nobody, pure soul, but he was somebody in the truest sense of the word. He secured Dual Blade, and soon the familiar resonance was heard by the Sinistrals.
Franco, Cory, Feickert and Glenn in their own ways continued a guerilla war. Beast commanders, Sons of Amon, Daughters of Erim, Gramercy escapes, Those Who Know Daos... none were safe, being slowly whittled away.
Ray trained his Bahamut suit to its highest known level, achieving the Gigaflare Hyper Beam. Using this, he blasted Kax into oblivion and sent The Cuttlefish, a far more experienced villain, scuttling away for dear life.
Soon, it was time. Organizing a massive concert, Brian, Redfox and Men with Flavors were able to rock out with Wild Stallyns, Dethklok, the Radical Dreamers, Cool Tapes, and many more. The power of rock functioned to amplify human spiritual resistance, a unified wave of six billion souls creating an energy form that battled at the Sinistrals' very nature.
Belthasar's broadcasted data allowed the nations of the world to form a counter-offensive. Bombardment with the Sinistrals' own high technology let the Dagger slip in undetected.
And Brian's monitoring had found something quite interesting indeed: A boy with the Grand Grimoire who was wishing with all his heart for the world to return to normal. Mario brought him on board the Dagger, and from inside Doom Fortress the power of the Sinistrals waned to 1%.
Waves of monsters were cut down rapidly. Soon, Brek, the first of the four, faced them. Brek began with a supervillainous speech to get his role down, but Mario in quite authentic anger began the fight with a punch. Even at 1% power reduction, Brek was no pushover, but eventually a perfect Vile Spear blew out his heart.
Amon raged with his Galactic Lancer techniques, but he was brought down by the Omniwave that only scratched him before, blowing his energy into the wind.
When Erim appeared, Redfox recognized from his childhood memories the woman named Seena who had left him with Dr. Light. In a moment, he knew that she had been on their side from the start, doing whatever she could to help against her own kind. She said, "Just like Maxim, this fight determines whether or not human beings can live without the guidance of super beings. This is a battle for your own fate, to see if you can control it." After a brief but intense battle, Ray uttered, "Control this, bitch", and blew off Erim's head with his Gigaflare Hyper Cannon.
Finally, Daos awaited. In rage at his brethren's death, he forced the team to watch as he destroyed city after city. Nairobi in Kenya. Baku in Azerbaijan. Vienna and Berlin. Stockholm. His power of terror kept them immobilized, until Brian's insect song played a tiny fraction of what had transpired earlier. Franco stabbing Daos in the back didn't hurt either. The battle raged anew, but eventually Daos stood prostrate in front of Dual Blade, the Holy Lance skewering him to the wall, light exploding from his chest. Redfox beheaded him with a cross slash, finishing the job the Power of Christ started.
Knowing what would come next, the team prepared for the remaining Sinistral energy waves to appear. Daos was summoning the other three to form Guard Daos.
But Fred's last move was revealed. The Saint Horcrux returned him to life at the last moment. Erim's lack of cooperation severed the energy form entirely.
The Sinistrals had been beaten, their energy forms dispelled.
As the tense yet somehow jubilant moment continued, the shadow of Daos appeared once more. "Not bad... An incomplete man and young boys beat Daos of Terror... But I can perform one last testament to my very function. Doom Island will crash onto California and kill millions. The resulting explosion will cause an ice age that will end human civilization. Welcome to the new dark ages..."
Redfox and Fred faced each other. Fred asked, "Did you have a happy life?" Redfox considered, and said, "Yeah, I-I-I guess I did. I'm Captain Nintendo now, I have friends, I found out who Seena was and who I am, who created me... I'm all right."
The team rallied. Belthasar informed them that they had no time to lose. "We three Gurus stand outside space and time. But the power of Doom Island could be used to recreate the world in conjunction with the Grand Grimoire. The world could be made safe, many of the deaths caused by the violent emergence of the Imagination Force mitigated. We Gurus will remember what you did, but you will be free of the burden of your sacrifices." Dumping everything they had into taking control of the crystals controlling Doom Island, the Kin closed their eyes and imagined a better world...
Somewhere down below, Avi smiled as the world began to shift. "They did it. They got control of the Story." He was suddenly returned to teaching at Berkeley, no longer trapped in his own paranoia.
In general, the last five years were rewritten. Everyone retained some of their powers but with far more mastery and experience on how to use it. The Sinistrals' technology did not go to waste: The general technological level of the world is now twenty years ahead at least. Deaths from easily treatable diseases and starvation are at 1/100th of their level before. War occurs at a much lower rate, and while the events of September the 11th still transpired, the Iraq War did not, with Saddam Hussein stepping down peaceably enough thanks to overwhelming international protest and a (admittedly troubled) democratic state took his place. The sub-prime crisis did not occur, and the world is now in a boom. Energy resources are ten times what they were previously, and much more efficiently used. The Sinistrals were reincarnated into human bodies, but the team presently doesn't know where they are (or even that they fought them).
The upshot of all this...
General:This is an opportunity to redefine your characters. If you liked what you had going, fair enough. If not, you can trade in any power, piece of equipment or anything you didn't like for one of two things: A particular change in the world (say, your Dad actually being the President of an airship company), or a change in Archetype and so forth.
Everyone will need to do at least this: Convert their Archetypes into Archetype Points, work on their new Attributes and Affinities (I can do this for you), and choose one world you want holistically integrated into our own. For example: If someone selects the Warhammer 40K universe, Earth will be in contact with the alien species from that universe and will have Space Marines being produced.
I will also need collaboration on what the team is doing now. Given that we've rewritten history, long-time plans (beginning the forming of the Jedi Council, making a PI / superhero agency, etc.) are all feasible.
Power level is going to drop drastically.
Access to the End of Time has been retained. Melchior appears to just be an old man living in Nevada City.
Many of the events that occurred remain. Iruga, Dakshi and Naraga were revived, and instead of being pawns for Gades they were simply beaten and retreated. Hills Flat and the archmage mansion still occurred.
Scenarios can be continued, and will be at the current power level.
Earth will have integrated into it numerous continuities, including but not limited to:
*Hael (Fred's choice)
*Rifts Earth (not the apocalyptic part)
*Golden Sun
*Star Wars (to some degree)
*Street Fighter
*Hunter: the Reckoning / World of Darkness
*Ninja Gaiden
*Lufia (just no Sinistrals)
Brian:Eco-terrorists still blew up your home, sorry
.
You should be able to retain most of what you had before.
Mario:You may retain your ring with no charge. You may turn Iruga's lightsaber and / or Yoda's lightsaber into your own lightsaber if you choose to. You may retain Elemencium Bound with no penalties. And you may retain the Keyblade, Sharingen and Spiderman training.
Aside from this, you obviously need to choose what elements you keep (Jedi, superhero, etc.) and what you trade in.
Ray:You may keep either your Chozo suit or your Bahamut suit, or both.
Your suit will lose its many technological upgrades that were purchased. No Boom Gun, I'm afraid, unless you purchase it
.
Joe:Your blade and armor will stay around, but will lose many features and will be substantially weaker.
Black:You can definitely redefine your character, picking whatever elements you like and don't like and exchanging things in.
Feickert, Franco, Kevin, Marshall, Cassidy, Casey, Glenn and Cory:Almost no change. Your power levels are going to be roughly the power level we're operating at at the moment.
Feickert will probably gain a few psychic powers and can trade in some spells for psychic abilities.
Any questions?