Paleta Md20 Pitch pt. 2

As the final day of your long voyage into the heart of Paleta, the hidden jewel of the Mushroom Planet, a vision appears to you, clear as day, as you slumber.

"Oh...heroes...
       brave....heroes...listen loud...
and....      listen clear...oh...heroes...
..
...Yes, hello? Is this thing on now? My apologies, we get terrible reception in these shoddy castle walls, I swear that's the last time I rely on immigrants from Sarasa...Oh, sorry! How decidedly un-royal of me, *ahem.*
Greetings, lost souls. I am Princess Parsley, kind ruler of the Parsley Kingdom. I have appeared to you in a dream  to guide your weary spirit to the ways and customs of the great landmass known as Paleta.
Anyway, oh brave heroes, at last your journey is soon to come to an end. It was long and hard, but at last you shall claim the reward you ever so deserve after trudging through mountaintops, hills, and lakes, stomping your enemies and jumping where no being has jumped before, all in the name of truth and justi...hmm. Silly me. I keep forgetting you aren't so much 'noble heroes,' and more 'buncha unlucky dunces drenched in the most darning debt of the decade.' Ah yes, the entire Noki population and sheep farmers in the Mushroom Kingdom will never be the same after that 'incident,' among many others. But hey, at least you managed to escape from being buried under 30 feet of petrified garlic sauce with all of your limbs intact. Shame I can't say the same for those poor Strollin' Stus...
Ah, but I'm sure you'd rather take your mind off that, wouldn't you? As soon you shall finally be rid of your massive debt, as well as be able to legally show your faces in about 13 different regions in the Mushroom Kingdom and the entirety of the Pudding Continent. For I, the wondrous Princess Parsley, shall handle all that mumbo jumbo for you!

Of course, all you need to do for me is to properly deliver that box. You remember my instructions, right? It's a large box for sure, but it's conveniently wheeled and sturdier than a Buzzy Beetle's shell. So long as you can accomplish this very simple task, things should go well, right? Right?

*Sigh*So yes, this game..." The princess adjusts her glasses and takes out her pointer rod as a blackboard materializes behind her. "The increasingly artifact-titled Paleta Md20 is a tabletop campaign quite unlike anything else, yet remarkably familiar in many aspects. For one, it runs on the Fantasy Craft system by Crafty Games, a system with the same heart and soul of the usual 3.P affairs, but very much an entirely different experience throughout. After making the switch from Mario d20 proper, I think you'll find this system far more tailored to the high-flying, puzzle-solving, and collectable-hoarding action of this game than the actual system designed to run Mario games." Parsley lets out another long sigh. "But I digress. The differences go a bit further than that you see, and of course are all subject to change.
The first thing you should notice is that Paleta Md20 is structured much like an actual video game. If I were to explain it in simple terms, I'd describe it as a traditional Mario RPG with many elements from classic 3d Collect-a-thons such as Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie, old point-and-click adventure puzzlers, and a liberal dash of Just Cause 2 and Mercenaries: World at War. *Ahem* Not that I'd expect anyone here to have played those games..."
Parlsey adjusts her glasses, looking around suspiciously before snapping back to her usual teaching position.

"Almost every explorable location in the game is literal mapped out, stuffed to the gills with NPCs, encounters, and Easter eggs. Players of early Pathfinder and PTA games should find themselves right at home again, much like seeing an old friend during a nice fall day. Sure he may have been a slow old bird, but is that really an issue?

Of course, Paleta takes this setup and cranks it up just a few more notches. Your main way of getting around, collecting goodies, and just about everything really, is by going through set 'levels.' When you hear the term 'level' in the context of an RPG, the first thing that comes to mind typically isn't your usual platforming affair, and yet here we are...
A level, board, stage, whatever you want to call it is more often than not a single map screen. And like a typical dungeon crawl, it's up to you to use your skills, wits, and sometimes blind luck to overcome the challenges that lie within. But don't think for a second that you'll be set for days just by blindly smacking away at things. No, these levels are far more varied; In addition to the usual combat scenarios, you'll also have to avoid hazards, solve cryptic puzzles, hunt for goodies, butter up some particularly stingy NPCs, and so on. Death will ride in quick for those who charge in guns blazing."

The white, empty room your humble teacher stands in begins to turn an unsightly shade of red as a suspicious shadow rolls down her noble face.
"Oh, and die, you probably will. Compared to other tabletop experiences, the Paleta Superkingdom is surprisingly fraught with danger, and helpful items are very limited for those unwilling to explore. The enemies and bosses are relentless and devilishly tricky, and will test you to your absolute limits.
Oh, I'm sorry, are you saying this all seems unfair and unfun? Worry yourself not, because it doesn't -have- to be this way.
Before each and every level, a helpful guide of sorts will let you decide on the "intensity" setting. Intensity is basically the difficulty setting for the level, on a scale from 1-10. Not only does this alter the threat level of the stage, but also the nature of the challenges as well. On lower intensities, the enemies and puzzles are fair and forgiving, but still not entirely pushover material. On higher levels though, the challenge gets cranked up considerably; foes will resort to dirty tactics, the puzzles get more cryptic, and trials will abound in far more places. In exchange however, a more intense setting will garner you higher amounts of EXP, rewards, and allow access to other sections of the levels containing some incredibly useful treasures. These rewards will especially come in handy during sections where altering the intensity isn't an option to fall back on.

Even on lower settings through, your demise is still an ever present possibility. But don't worry yourself just yet, as death is very much a part of the game.
When any individual character loses all strength to fight on, they're put into the 'fallen' state. No matter how far your wounds fall while fallen, there's still no actual death. However, the only way to be revived from this state is with an item such as a Pick Me Up or a Life Shroom. Once you make it through the level, any fallen party members are automatically revived with 1 Vitality and 1 Wounds. But if every player somehow ends up falling, then no matter what...it's Game Over!

There's two separate kinds of Game Overs: In a situation where you can reasonably survive and be dragged off to the nearest safe zone, the only things lost will be some coins, items, and a good deal of your pride. But in most cases where a Game Over would result in death (or worse!), the party's progress will be reset to the nearest Save Point. Typically these save points are sprinkled around dungeons, often before a boss, and the game autosaves when you enter and exit a level. All items, coins, and EXP gained since the last point will be lost, as well as any story progress. While you can always just try and reclaim whatever loot you lost before by just replaying the section, the same can't be said for any plot-related events that go down the drain. When the story progress gets reset, replayed events have the potential to occur in an entirely different fashion, changing the course of the story entirely, for better or for worse."

The Princess puts her pointer away and wipes her brow. "*PHEW!* That was a lot of explaining for a situation that probably won't happen. You can't say I'm a princess who goes unprepared. Hmm, but something still tells me I'm missing something..."
The blackboard behind her flips over, revealing the chalk outline of a large star.
"Oh my! I almost completely forgot! Well, I'm not sure if I should tell you this, but..." Parsley scratches her head in embarrassment. "It seems that, in a fit of rage, a certain someone who I won't name ended up losing my entire collection of Power Stars!

What are Power Stars? They're a vital source of energy around here, powering the very will and spirit of the Parsley Kingdom's people. Normally I wouldn't let anyone get their grubby hands on them...but it seems I have no choice in this regard. *Sigh.* Just be careful not to break them, okay?
Power Stars are useful for two reasons: Unlocking areas and collecting Star Points. Yes, if you want to access more areas of Paleta, you have no choice but to collect an adequate amount of Power Stars to progress to bigger, badder levels. Additionally, collecting a star will net you a single Star Point. You decide who keeps this point yourself. Star Points are useful for a few things, but the most important use for them is to well...hand them over to me!
Yes, if you offer Star Points to me, I'll be sure to reward you with perks and magical items you can't find anywhere else. Traditionally, my rewards tend to lean towards the more clerical side, offering many defensive and healing tools to make your journey a less painful one overall.
Of course, if you're looking for more varied rewards, you could always just give those Star Points to someone else..." Parsley smacks her pointer directly onto the palm of her hand as an ominous shadow looms over her face. "But you wouldn't do something a foolish as -that,- would you?" The princess sighs with a hint of defeat in her voice.
"Well whatever your choice is, you're sure to earn some Brownie points with whoever you give those star points to. Even if you don't care for them, buttering them up with some star points will open up a multitude more options and quests to go on, meaning more opportunities for those rare magic items. And trust me, you're gonna need all the help you can get!"

The purple-haired royalty adjusts her glasses and takes on a more serious tone.
"In addition to those, there are another, far more dangerous breed of Stars. We call them the 'Shadow Stars.' One day they appeared long ago, and threatened to swallow the world in unending darkness. And leading the charge was the black-hearted sorceress who unleashed them, the malicious Oregana.
Oregana's sole purpose in life was to corrupt the hearts and dreams of every living thing to meet her own twisted ends. To see this through, she cast away all shreds of goodness left in her and summoned the woeful power of the Shadow Stars. The stars' names are:
Conquest, the star of power-hungry rulers.
Life, the star of revival.
Valor, the star of brashness and pride.
Peace, the star of singularities.
Sacrifice, the star of self-harm.
Justice, the star of revenge.
Spirit, the star of unbound recklessness.

Thankfully, with the help of the great Star Spirits, Oregana and her Shadow Stars were banished to the vast abysses, never to be seen or awoken again. Be thankful you'll never have to deal with these things, or who knows what kind of trouble we'd have on our hands!"

Parsley lets down her pointer and reverts back to her usual smiling self. "So that's just a lot ado about nothing. So long as you get that package to me, following my close instructions, you should remain home free. I can trust you with that, right? *Sigh*"
The visage of the princess slowly begins to fade away.
"Alas, it appears you'll be waking up soon. Be sure to keep all of this in mind...except you probably won't remember any of this at all. In fact, you definitely won't. What was the point of all this, then? It's a sure mystery for the ages..."

You finally wake up, fallen face-down onto the floors of this rickety boat. Don't worry, that happens all too often.