Editing Nasuverse (section)

== Nasuverse and /tg/ ==
[[File:Seibasheet_1.jpg|300px|thumb|Lies.]]This article is largely here, because the entire setting has something of a tabletop game logic to it. Characters have their strengths expressed with stats, which almost sound like they make sense to somebody somewhere. Magi have Magic Circuits and lineage. Servants in Fate have an entire statted out character sheet, parts of which unlock as you read the novel. Indeed a week does not pass on /tg/ without some genius starting a thread about his 21 player transdimensional Holy Grail War played by post on Furaffinity.<br>

The problem with such prospects is primarily the author's writing style, which is, for lack of a better term, very self-subversive. Nasu likes to create expectations within the reader and then go against them by introducing exceptions to the rules in the middle of action to have the underdog win. The character sheets are a part of this, meant to hype up a character by making them do something that the 'rules' previously said was impossible. While there is really nothing wrong with this, and it actually works pretty well and isn't done constantly, it happens often enough to make the whole system part of it laughable. It is also the root of many [[Skub|powerlevel discussions]], as the exact dimensions of what a weapon or ability are capable of doing are put into question.

''But how DO I run a game in the Nasuverse?''<br>
- [[Exalted]], if you're just doing servants.<br>
- [[Mutants & Masterminds]] (the brokenness is a part of the charm).<br>
- Something very universal, like [[GURPS]], if you insist on balance, a ridiculous notion in the setting.<br>
- Heavily modified [[WoD]], especially for Tsuki-Side. Kara no Kyoukai is really just a game of Mage.<br>
- The [[FATE System]]'s heavily narrative slant actually works pretty damn well, and the [[Dresden Files RPG]] has a similar urban fantasy flavor. <br>
- Or, you know, homebrew something. There have been a few attempts at making a system, but scarcely presentable enough to share officially.
<br>

Keep in mind that a Holy Grail War means two characters for every Servant and their Master, meaning that a game that's merely of FSN scope would consist of 14 characters that all have to be statted out. Even if every player controls two characters, a 7-player battle royale is something most GMs will find near impossible to run. You may want to consider the players instead being an alliance of two masters and their servants, and NPCing the rest. Which is what most of the well-received installments of the series do anyway.

===So, Statistics===

Much like on a D&D character sheet, each Servant will have a recognizable stat array, with a rank going from E to Ex.  '''Do not let this fool you''', as they only relate how a Servant measures up in that stat ''against other Servants'', and not when matched up against mere mortals. Its pointed out through all settings that a Servant can have a Strength score of D, and yet still be ''ten times more powerful'' than a master-level martial artist.  

Having a score of E however means that, barring the supernatural shenanigans that a Servant can do (like going invisible via their Spirit Form), they're no stronger than a regular human.  Alexandre Dumas the Elder (summoned as a Caster in Strange/Fake) has gone to say that his own ''master'' could flatten him in a straight brawl.

There is an obvious pattern as far as Stats go, in that the further back in history a hero originates, the higher their stats will be, with heroes originating from the time of Myth and the Gods pretty much being broken compared to more "modern" heroes.  Hence while heroes like Gilgamesh or Heracles will always be much more impressive, both in stats AND abilities, compared to, say, William Tell and Spartacus.

Another obvious pattern is that stats are kinda bullshit. Fate/stay night's Saber has excellent stats and yet is defeated by an ordinary human whose fists were magically strengthened (like D&D ghosts, Servants tend to disregard nonmagical attacks) with a fancy fighting style. Heracles's passive Noble Phantasm nullifies all attacks that are "below A-rank", but you can just compensate for B-rank strength with superior skill or a fancy weapon. In general, stats are more akin to fluff that takes a backseat to the story the writer wants to tell, especially considering the nigh-omnipresence of Noble Phantasms that are true trump cards with wacky effects capable of bypassing whatever advantages the other side might have on paper.

===A Special Note about Alignment in Nasuverse entries===
Being influenced by tabletop gaming as it is, Alignments also exist in the Nasuverse, though literally in this case for FATE as often this appears in the summoned Servants' actual stats.  Objectively, it's similar to the [[Alignment]] array one would find in D&D, and at first glance represents the Servant's personality and motivations. Hence we have canonically-statted Lawful Good and Chaotic Evil Servants.

In practice however, as shown by Archer Gilgamesh, who was listed as Neutral Good despite being such a prideful and selfish asshole (to be put mildly), it has rightfully caused all amount of [[Skub]] especially among Western [[Neckbeard]]s.  This is because, while Alignments seem to have been ported whole-sale from D&D, they're not ''treated'' the same way. Some Alignments may persist even if a Servant gets extra characterization that runs against it.

It would be best to consider a Servant's alignment entry as a combination of two traits rather than the single entry that D&D players are used to.  So if someone is [[Lawful Good]], they're actually Lawful PLUS Good, and even then these are tendencies rather than rigid guidelines.  

This is the reason, for example, why we have a very personable and downright goofy Edward Teach/Blackbeard -- he has little respect for traditional societal structures (Chaotic), and in many circumstances can be downright violent and ruthless in his methods in getting things done (Evil), he wouldn't go out of his way to cause a ruckus as expected of a "traditional" [[Chaotic Evil]] badguy for shits and giggles as per the Western alignment definition, and in actuality is a chill and cordial goof who would rather spend his free time either gawking at under-aged girls or building gunpla.

Mind you, there are still. characters that play this absolutely straight (like Artoria/Altria and her Knights of the Round Table), however as one Singularity in FGO demonstrates this doesn't necessarily mean that they're NICE about it.

Some argue that the easiest way of squaring this circle is to take the alignments as less an objective description, and more "how the Servant describes ''themselves''". Further, it doesn't take into account assholery. So, Gilgamesh is "Good" because he defines himself as good, while Blackbeard is "Evil" because he's a criminal through and through, but he's a fairly low-key person as long as money or things he needs aren't involved. Whether this is an accurate method of handling Nasu's alignments is a [[Skub|matter of debate]], obviously.

Of course, the franchise also makes fun of the concept, especially during in-game seasonal events (hence the appearance of joke alignments like [[Chaotic Neutral|Chaotic Summer]] or [[True Neutral|Neutral Balanced]])