Character Information

CHARACTER INFORMATION

Bending Limits

The number of techniques one knows can determine whether one is a master bender or not. In addition, people can start bending as early as 4 years of age, but those tend to be the truly talented individuals. The number of bending arts one can start off with is determined by their age group. After starting though, one is free to purchase arts for them as they continue to RP.

Non-Master Level
Ages 4 to 8: may start off with 1 bending art
Ages 9 to 12: may start off with 3 bending arts
Ages 13 to 16: may start off with 5 bending arts

Master Level
Ages 17 to 24: may start off with 6 bending arts & 1 master art
Ages 25 to 49: may start off with 8 bending arts & 3 master arts
Ages 50+: may start off with 10 bending arts & 5 master arts

A person is considered a "master" after they have learned at least 6 bending arts and 1 master art.

In addition, there is a bending art cap. Basically a maximum number of arts one can learn in their entire life time. While this may contradict a universe where one's own limitation is their imagination and bending skill, this is set to prevent every character from being a carbon copy of one another. Remember, the bending of a person evolves based on their individuality and personality.

Any one character can have a maximum of 12 regular bending moves and have a max of 7 master bending moves.

Lastly, non-master level benders may only start off with their native element, and must work to gain any sub-elements. A master level bender may start off with more than just their native element. The maximum number of bending disciplines (including sub-elements) any character can have is three.

For Non-benders it's a little bit different. While the same limits apply to them, it is less likely that they will constantly fill the non-bending art quota as using 5 different weapon skills will more than likely tear down their ability to master any ICly than it would help. However any member is allowed to make more arts for their character so one can find their own way to mastering a non=bender.

The Avatar

For the Avatar, things are a little different. The Avatar must start off at age 16. Whether it is about to be their birthday or whether it's right after (or during) can be up to the RPer. Once they have been told of their avatar status on their 16th birthday, they may begin their journey any way they like.

They will only be able to start off with their native element as well (so no Korras). The Avatar can have up to six bending disciplines. Four must be the native four elements, and the next two can be of anything else (e.g. metalbending and swordsmanship (non-bending).) Because they are required to master the four elements, their bending art cap is higher than regular members. The maximum is the same as a regular (non-)benders, except it is applied once for each of the native arts (so four times).

When it comes to the Avatar State, one is capable of going into it through fits of rage naturally, but just like in the series they will not have control over their actions and will act irrationally and mostly out of character. To obtain mastery over the Avatar state will require lots of spiritual discipline as well as other factors which will be dictated by staff, as each Avatar's lives will be affected differently. The Avatar will only be a fully realized Avatar once they have mastered the four basic bending disciplines and the Avatar State themselves, which will be acknowledged by staff discretion.

It should be briefly noted that the Avatar is not necessarily the strongest bender in the world. What makes the Avatar so powerful is their ability to be versatile by wielding the four basic bending disciplines, either one at a time or simultaneously. The Avatar can be bested by other bending masters of the other elements though, especially if facing a bender of much more experience.

Non-bending Arts

A number of these arts are available to benders and non-benders alike. While sticking to the limits listed above, a bender could potentially have all of his sub-skills listed under a non-bending art except their native element. The only non-bending art that benders are not allowed to use is Chi Blocking.

When it comes to Airbenders, there is an exception to the glider use as a glider is an integral part of their heritage and one of the basic bending skills a nomad learns in their training. Thus they do not require a non-bending art to use them.

Special Abilities

A section of the character app lists "special abilities". This section is reserved for skills a person can perform that doesn't always use bending. It's a bit of a grey area, however there are premade special abilities listed under all the bending and non-bending arts. The Spirit World Access ability is limited to those who are very spiritual. When adding special abilities to your app, put what it's called and then detail how well your character is with that ability. Many abilities will have varying levels of mastery over them, while others may be universal around the board.

Starting limits for special abilities for humans is: two (2) for non-master level characters, and four (4) for master level characters.

For spirits, there is no starting limit for how many special abilities they can have, as as many spirits have lived stagnant for hundreds to thousands of years without growth. However what they can and can't do may decide whether they are a major or minor spirit.

Creating Spirits

The spirits are divided into three: the Avatar spirit, Major spirits, and Minor spirits, but this section will only cover Major and Minor spirits. When making a spirit, it is important to know what defines the two, and how both groups are affected by the two worlds.

Major spirits play a pivotal role for the two realms and the death of one may have severe consequences for one or both of them. Depending on whether or not they have given up their immortality, the existence of a Major spirit is important. They have played a great part in how the human world has been shaped. For immortal Major spirits, they exist within the spirit world for the majority of their time. Some may manifest in their natural form into the physical world for short periods of time though. For mortal Major spirits, they live their entire lives within the mortal world. An immortal spirit may give up their mortality to bound themselves in a physical form in the mortal world (e.g. Tui and La giving up their mortality to create the Oceans and Moon respectively). Though mortal, they can live as long as any immortal, but they can be murdered by humans and spirits alike. If a Major spirit were to be killed, there would be varying consequences to the world. The light may be over taken by the dark, the Moon may cease to exist, the oceans would vanish, or the faces of every living thing would all become one (exampels of major spirits include: Vaatu, La, Tui, and Mother of Faces).

Minor spirits play no role in the grand scheme of the world, and are typically localized to a single area in either realms. Almost all Minor spirits are mortal, as a Spirit may give up their immortality for the sake of the physical world in some way shape or form. Minor spirits have far less spiritual power than Major ones, so a Minor spirit usually may only give up their immortality for the sake of a small group of humans. Because of their minor importance, they usually localize themselves to small areas in the world, such as the guardian of a local forest, or a stalker located near a spirit oasis (examples of minor spirits include: Hei Bai, Wan Shi Tong, Knowledge Seekers, and Koh the Face Stealer).

Lastly, a member can make up their own spirit, or can play one from the canon, some of which were listed above.

Non-combatants

There can and will exist characters who are both not a bender and not even a combative character, but a simple civilian. These charcters can even lead countries (e.g. the Earth King). Some may be fortune tellers, others cabbage merchants, and some may be spiritual leaders. It's up to the members what they wish to make.