Post by Consequence on May 5, 2014 15:45:15 GMT -5
This guide is intended to help provide you with a basis for expressing the power you've claimed through stats and skills. This guide uses mostly comparative thinking and while it's obvious that a bigger number, in this context, represents expanded and increased ability, you may not have any reasonable idea as to what that means. I decided to write this about a month ago but I figured it was silly to immediately have to change a major part of it due to stat overhaul. Your questions are welcomed, and while all of you are entirely free to disregard my conclusions, the only thing I ask if that you do not try to tell me that you and your buddy figured out that X stat means Y during some three-beer conversation two years ago. This is my guide, not theirs.
Please understand I am not attempting to tell you how to act based on a reiatsu measure, or a rank of a skill. This is a community with multiple moving parts and you need other people to play with you in order to make a fun and engaging story. I hope these numbers help someone with "what to expect" as they climb the ladder and it is my sincerest hope that it comes in handy for at least one person to provide a detail for a story.
Disclaimer. This is one man's interpretation and is by no means a definitive collection of expectations. This is just a suggestion for how to express your stats and skills in a 'realistic' way as may be applicable on a site about ninjas in pajamas fighting desert monsters that eat souls. I and I alone use this table and it has no endorsement from staff or the Approvals Department, although it is modeled with their expectations in mind.
Brief Table of Contents
I. Reiatsu
II. Skill Ranks
III. Power and Precision
Reiatsu
Everything animate piece of our world exudes at least a small amount of reiatsu. Most things do it passively with no more control over it than you have control over how your blood flows. As the strength of the creature and the strength of its soul increases, so too does the flow of reiatsu and generally, so too does the ability to control reiatsu. I consider Reiatsu to be both an expression of your cohesion as a soul --your one-ness with your potential-- and the raw capacity you have. Let's be honest, not all people have the same potential. While our site may have rules governing reiatsu and stats, most of these do not apply to weak/mundane humans who could have stat totals approaching 40, but a reiatsu of 10 or less (in my book). Please note this differs from Player Characters.
0-10 ; This is all the more significant most mundane Humans will ever grow to. It affords you no influence of power outside the scope of being 'normal'. This could, possibly, take the form of better 'luck' as this number grows.
11-20 ; Certainly an achievable state for Humanity, but quite rare. This would be the echelon the most 'powerful', mundane Mortals slip into. A shaman, an old woman who reads fortunes, or something else borderline 'mystical'. This is the territory required for a Mortal to start seeing 'ghosts', although it is likely not reliable nor is it controllable.
21-40 ; Now we're getting somewhere. This is the territory of a spiritually sensitive Mortal in all their right. Someone who achieves this level of reiatsu probably has the ability to unlock "player like" levels of power later in their life. This is the wheelhouse where understanding can finally begin to take place. If you were in the Rukongai with this level of reiatsu, you would stand out over your peers and *possibly* be asked to join the Academy, if it were an otherwise thin crop. This is also the bracket we would start to see the Demi-Hollow.
41-80 ; This is the area you would find most dedicated students of the spiritual pursuits. A Shaolin monk like out of the movies, or a student at the Spiritual Arts Academy. If you weren't already in it, this would be the range that would pretty solidly get you nominated to the school. You should graduate somewhere near the top of this range, if not higher. At this level, folks of all races are 'at risk' for manifesting their power, although to be able to do this reliably or without intense focus would be exceedingly rare. This is the bracket you would encounter most Sub-Menos class Hollows as they work their way up the food chain.
81-110 ; Think of this as the status that you would expect a person to be at after they finished college. They have finally taken large steps of awareness personally and professionally and maybe, just maybe, they finally have an idea of who they are. While their powers likely are not second nature yet, someone in this bracket should understand what it is, and be able to use it with proficiency although probably not for very long. This is a Human fully initiated into a Spiritual tradition, or a full fledged, graduated Shinigami. This is the domain that you start to see 'normal' Hollows , although this is probably too low for a Gillian.
I apologize, but here is where we have to divert from references to most Mortals. They lack the convenient ranking structure that Shinigami have and their journey is highly personal, however, if you are a Human, it is easy to compare for your own frame of reference.
111-150 ; Mostly Unseated members of the Gotei occupy this band although it is not inappropriate or unexpected for some specialization and rank to develop at you go through this rank. People in this range are usually quite a bit shy of their maximums but are merely spending time figuring out more about themselves and what their strength means. Breaking out of this rank is all about how you apply yourself. Furthermore this is the bracket where you run into significantly stronger Hollows, and perhaps even the occasional Gillian.
151-180 ; Alright, you're definitely worth mentioning now. Odds are better than 50/50 that you've achieved some sort of Seated position in whatever division you've slid into, provided you've made an effort to establish a career. Gillian might be a common problem for you and this is where you might start to see Numeros for Arrancar. Someone at this level of strength is expected to have considerable control and mastery over their own body and while they may still be growing in strength, they understand their limitations work well to maximize what they do have. If someone in this range Releases, you are going to notice, although it will likely be a lot of lights and flash rather than terrifying might.
181-200 ; Much like the above although just...better. Here we start to see people who are developing serious Mastery over one or two of their primary skills. People in this bracket are serious contenders to wreck your day if you happen to find yourself fighting one. We now find ourselves getting away from Gillian and encountering some Adjuchas. Likewise, we start to see the appearance of Fraccion, as well as stronger Numeros. A Shinigami in this bracket is likely Seated with a low number, 2-6, or would qualify as a 'weak' Lieutenant (I speak purely in terms of reiatsu). Some members will begin to unlock there Second Power by this point.
201-225 ; You qualify as a mild badass and you should feel good about it. You likely have a reputation among your peers for being a serious force in one or two skills/styles. When you release, you effect your environment in minor ways such as by seeing rubble and stones rise up into the air of their own accord. Someone who releases with this level of reiatsu should be able to overpower anyone 150 or less without much difficulty, if not outright suffocating them with comparative strength. Adjuchas are common here and we find most Fraccion in and around this band. Second Powers, while not common, become less rare.
226-275 ; Hey Captain! Or at least, probably. Only the strongest, most capable souls will find themselves in this band and it can take many centuries to reach it. They possess a litany of Advanced skills and you are unlikely to find them 'weak' in any area that they have not precisely considered it is okay to be weak in. At this range you have to seriously be mindful of when and where you release as your raw power will not only begin to suffocate lesser beings immediately, but also cause destruction in a minor scale. It is normal for someone in this range to possess a second release, although it is by no means a right of passage nor is it a requirement. The strongest Adjuchas occupy this band and we have the chance at glimpsing true Espada.
276-350 ; There aren't a lot of good adjectives for this group. It's unheard of for a Shinigami to achieve this sort of power without a long time to get it right and access to the sort of resources afforded by being a Captain, or at least being good friends with one (or two). Here we begin to see Souls expand into the level the site considers Prestige, where they finally break those last major barriers holding them back from becoming all that their form was meant to be. Vasto Lorde occupy this strata as well as the strongest Espada. This would be the expected range for the Captain Commander, or at least one worth respecting. Releases of this strength hold block-leveling wells of power. Letting your reiatsu flow unrestrained might vaporize mundane humans within a few yards of you and would extend to be felt for several miles. Some of the more famous names in Bleach sit in this range.
351-400 ; Okay, you're at the pinnacle of your form. You've stretched the definition of Shinigami or Arrancar to its highest limits and I can't really tell you what that means, other than to imply that all weaker life should tremble at the thought of you being mad at it. You command levels of energy that simply defy comprehension. With the appropriate dedication, you could release in a manner similar to that of a 1 Megaton Bomb (A tactical Nuke is in the range of 4-10 Megatons) At this level, your reiatsu would expand out to cover dozens and dozens of miles. This is the bracket for Yamamoto and his peers.
401-500 ; lolbro. You defy explanation and as such it's not really fair to talk about. This is the ground reserved only for 'gods', or as close as BG can really get. Royal Guard fits here as well as a rarefied few other beings. As of the time of posting, only 3 beings on our site have achieved this level of spiritual power and there is a good reason. Your mere presence can warp reality without even the slightest intention. In some cases, just because you decided someone should be dead or something shouldn't exist is enough to remove it from existence. I would consider crazy butterfly Aizen to probably be at the bottom of this bracket.
500++ ; Nope. Got nothing for ya. Somewhere up here are literal, actual, disengaged and indifferent beings that you should politely refer to as gods, if you refer to them at all. The Soul King treads up here and anyone else who does? Is for all intent and purpose, unknowable. When you are a being of such egregious power, your very presence threatens all weaker life unless you take the utmost care and focus to restrain yourself which is a thing that beings of this level are likely very proficient at. If you were to release, I encourage you to google "Tsar Bomba" for a relevant effect. Your reiatsu could be felt from thousands of miles away and your very thoughts begin to bend and control reality. I won't place too many words on this because...well..it's not really something that can be understood. And if you've achieved this level of power, you are already well aware of what this should imply.