SAO + Log Horizon Crossover

Leidolf

Well-Known Member
#1
I came up with an idea for an SAO + Log Horizon Crossover and wanted to post it here to get some help in developing it from people familiar with both series since my knowledge is limited to the anime.

Overview
Due to the events of Sword Art Online Incident and Alfheim Kidnappings, all NerveGear and AmuSphere devices were banned from public use and RECT closed its doors. With their loss, Kirito moved back to playing the long-running Elder Tales series, as a former member of the Debauchery Tea Party. He logs in with a few of his friends just as the latest expansion pack is launched and they end up inside of Elder Tales.

The story mostly focuses on the SAO survivors and their efforts to survive in the new world they found themselves in.

Plot
I have an initial arc planned, namely Asuna and Kirito reuniting and setting up an overarching plot, but not much else for the moment.

Initial Arc (Back in the Game)
Chapter 1
Kirito meets at the Dicey Café with Klein, Silica, Lisbeth, and Agil. During this time, they discuss a bit of what they’ve been doing since RECT closed its doors and some exposition about how things are different than canon and the Elder Tale’s expansion pack coming up. It’s been a few months since Klien and the others have been playing the game, while Kirito was a veteran and had been helping them using the <Teaching> function. Asuna and Yui are on Skype as well, with her on a trip with her parents and Yui on her laptop. Later that night, it shows the relevant characters being sucked into the game.

Chapter 2
Kirito and the others meet up inside the game, with them wondering how they ended up like this again when it was supposed to be impossible. Recalling how things were in SAO, they expect an announcement and decide to stay in the city since it is in their eyes a [Safe Zone] until they know more. He also talks to Asuna through telepathy and encourages that she does the same since they are on their friend’s list. But Kirito goes out into the surrounding area and recalls that, despite as horrifying as Sword Art Online had been and how he felt betrayed by Kayaba, who he admired, he treasured some of the time he spent there. He begins practicing with his weapon as he encounters a mob, recalling the feeling and then using a technique likening it to SAO’s sword skills, and then he goes through the steps for Starburst Stream.

While out in the field, he also encounters Shiroe and the others, who he recognizes. Shiroe recognizes him as well, and they talk about the similarities and difference between this and SAO, such as pain. He then talks what they will do next, but neither are really sure and add one another’s Friend’s List.

Chapter 3
A few weeks later, Asuna is talking with Yui and sees a younger player being bullied by a member of Plant Hwyaden and tries to intervene. She ends up getting killed and sent to the Cathedral, feeling angry at herself for being too weak to defeat them outright because she’s at such a low-level, even if she has her experience from SAO. With how the town has slowly started becoming oppressed and Plant Hwyden she and a few other players want to do something but need the strength to do so and can only end up getting sent to the Cathedral.

One of them notes that <Plant Hwyaden> can hog the hunting grounds and PK other guilds, gathering up Gold and stopping others from leveling. They state that not only are they acting like a dictatorship, but soon they may be able to buy something like the Cathedral and stop them from reviving completely. So they decide to relocate for the time being and head to one of the other player cities to gather the power to claim the city.

Minami is where Plant Hwyaden is located, so that’s out. Susukino is worse from what she learned from Kirito told her from what he learned from Shiroe, so that leaves Shibuya and Akiba. With that, they group up and begin a mass exodus with some remaining behind while they make a plan to go to Akiba to arrange for reinforcements to liberate the city along with the resistance. Kirito tells her he’ll meet her halfway.

Chapter 4
Kirito and his group head out to meet them at a halfway point, having bought some supplies for the players, so that they can aid in clearing out the pathway for them Akiba. There’s a joining them are Naotsugu, along with a few other volunteer players in the high levels.

Asuna stands along with the rest of the group in defending the caravan as they traverse the dangerous terrain, having a map in front of them as they plot a path and the more experienced players listing the dangers along the way. The higher-level players note that defending against the Kobolds will be tedious because they’re rather simple, but there’s a base along the path that will obstruct them.

The horses pulling the lead caravan fall into a trap set by <Kobolds> and come under fire as <Kobold Casters> lay down elemental fire in the distance. Some of the high-level players go out to get rid of them, but end up leaving the caravans unprotected as <Kobold Hunters> attack from another side to draw out more of the high-level players. Both are protected by <Kobold Heavyarms> and the <Kobold Parizans> hinder them.

This ends up leaving them vulnerable as the <Kobold Leader> orders the main attack, a group of <Oobold>, backed by <Kobold Medics> on their shoulders as they are dropped near the caravans that circled together to leave less openings by a crane, led by an <Oobold Dinsword>.

The high-level players see it coming too late as traps are sprung that leaves them unable to get back in time due a controlled fire being lit up, burning <Crimson Maple> leaves for a thick and obstructive poison leaving them unable to protect the caravan with the younger and weaker players as the poison and fire slowly saps their strength, leaving it up to those left behind to protect their supplies.

Chapter 5
The attack continues, and one of the Summoners in the group is high enough to summon a Stone Golem to act as a tank, but only one won’t be able to hold them off for long. On top of that, and one of the Level 40 players who’s a Guardian cast <Anchor Howl> to lure them to him while the Golem uses <Guardian Fist> to keep him from taking damage, allowing him to hold most of their attention. But, no matter how they look at it, they can’t win in brute force, but they can wear them down through death of a thousand cuts.

They decide to stack status effects and look to an Assassin who is also a poison-user to help, however, he—like many others—is afraid to fight now that they have to use their bodies for real. Asuna tells them if they don’t fight then they will end up back at the Cathedral and they can’t go back for them. Rosalyn threatens him just to move fast and poison them before darting away, because if she gets sent back she’s going to make his life a living hell, and the Enchanter with the group gives him a <Reflex Boost> to move fast enough to avoid getting hit.

Recon is then ordered to draw a sigil around the caravans and he has some pixie dust chalk that can be used as a catalyst, but the magic power is weak and a defense won’t really last long enough. Asuna doesn’t want it to be protection, but to place a status effect on them to slow them down. While he does that, the Enchanter works to add to the collective damage with <Electrical Fuzz> for continuous damage.

Asuna then decides to head out, and Rosalyn, a bard, uses her <Resonance Beat> to enhance Asuna’s strikes, in addition to a Slash Card Charm from Recon to increase the damage, as well as a <Reflex Boost> from the Enchanter giving her a boost to her reaction speed, allowing her to strike quickly and damage them. While darting through enemy ranks and laying on strikes, she feels as though she’s once again <Asuna the Flash>.

Some <Kobold Cranes> deliver more of them onto the field to attack, literally throwing enemies into their ranks. So they next have to take it out and they have Recon blast them now that he’s done laying down the Sigil and when some of the enemies begin attacking him, a Carbuncle is summoned to protect him with barriers while Asuna continues assisting in striking them down.

Once all the cranes are destroyed, the <Oobold Dinsword> and <Kobold Lord> step forward to attack the group who are exhausted from dealing with the numbers. They attack with the same strategy until the kobold uses his spear to casts the monster equivalent to <Dissonance Scream> and leaves them confused and open to attack. The Assassin gets hit hard and sent back to the Cathedral, before the Druid can use <Cure Bloom> to purge them of the status effect, while the Enchanter uses <Astral Bind> to hold the Kobold before it can kill Asuna since she earned the most Hate.

The Oobold uses the distraction to get close to the Caravan and trips the sigil, which hits it with a brief Daze status, and Rosalyn sacrifices her weapon using <Final Strike> to strike the Oobold and stagger it long enough for the Summoner to get in front of the group and then use <Castling> to switch with the Golem, which punches it and exchanges blows with it until its destroyed. Recon casts a spell in a panic and blasts the Oobold, killing it.

Asuna meanwhile helps keep the Kobold Lord distracted along with the Guardian. They gang up on it, with its confusion weapon being canceled out by the Druid and <Heartbeat Heal> keeping their health up, while Carbuncle soaks the damage with barriers. When the Kobold Lord appears to be down to 25% it uses a new sonic attack that knocks back all the defenders and leaves them all dazed. That’s when the party leader shows back up and cleaves it in half, killing the boss.

Once the boss is dead, they storm the base to kill off any remaining ones to avoid any more surprises and loot their supplies. They also wonder how they could have gotten so smart, but they liken it to the changes in the system until they come across one of the People of the Land and learn that the Kobolds can understand English and a Beast Tamer brought them from all over to obstruct the path and prevent people from leaving.

This leads them to the theory that they were put there specifically to stop players from leaving. They allow the Lander to come with them, and the party leader has Recon give Rosalyn the [Howling Spear] from the Kobold Leader for her good work and to replace her destroyed one, and the [Discordant Blade] from the Oobold Dinsword to the Guardian for holding the line. When asked about the Assassin, the party leader tells them that he had one of the people who remained there pick him up from the Cathedral, so he’s safe even if he can’t join them again.

The chapter ends with Kirito learning of the report through their telepathic link and telling her they’ll be there for them soon, before he lets Shiroe know, who also agrees that it’s a possibility that someone conscripted the Kobolds to do it by bargaining with them, explaining why they had better equipment than normal and were able to come up with a strategy like that.

Characters

Kirito
Kirito played Elder Tales and occasionally joined the Debauchery Tea Party during Raids, though not as extensively as Shiroe and the others before it disbanded and the Beta of Sword Art Online was released. He was a Lv. 90 Swashbuckler - Fencer Build pre-SAO, but switched to a Dual Blade after he rejoined the game. Because he was located in the Saitama Prefecture, he was sent to the town of Akiba along with most of the others.

He also has a Lunar Shade wolf mount that he got during an event and can use via a special whistle, stating that he liked the black color and the whole Lone Wolf theme. Kirito later gains the Overskill: Aincrad Style, allowing him to use any of his Sword Skills from SAO due to muscle memory and practice accumulated over two years.

Asuna
Asuna played the game and was also trapped inside, although she was traveling with her parents and playing on a laptop when it occurred, leading to her ending up trapped in Nakasu when the game goes online. Along with her is Yui, who was connected to her laptop when the expansion pack went online and regained her <pixie> form, giving her access to their magic. Asuna is a Level 34 Human Swashbuckler who uses a Rapier and has a sub-class of Chef.

Klein
Klein played the game as a means of stress relief from his job, although unlike before he didn’t have his guild with him in the game as the events of SAO left them more traumatized compared to him. He landed in Akiba along with Kirito and parties up with him to go and meet-up with Asuna. He’s a Level 37 Wolf-Fang Samurai. Klein has a sub-class of Rune Knight, allowing him to use and make sigils to enhance his weapons. He chose it because he wanted some variety.

Silica
Silica was online at the time of the expansion pack release, trying to finally establish the contract with a young dragon. She succeeds and names it Pina, right when it goes online and she ends up in the town of Akiba, She’s a Level 23 Summoner Were-cat - Beast Tamer Build, with a sub-class of Animal Trainer.

Summonings and Pets:
Salamander – (Elemental Summoning)
Carbuncle – (Phantasmal Summoning)
Pina – Waterfowl Dragon (Tamed Pet)

Leafa
Leafa joined the game in an attempt to remain closer to Kirito after the events of Alfheim led to its closure. Despite knowing that her cousin will never return her affection, she still feels strongly for him. She often hangs out with Silica and they work together in the game. She’s a Level 29 Kannagi – War Shrine Maiden Build who can support the members of her party, but focuses on mixing it up, and her race is Half-Alv.

Minor Characters:
Recon - Leafa’s classmate, he joined her in playing the Elder Tales game as Sorcerer with the Race of Ritual as his playable race. This, combined with his Talismancer makes him useful when it comes to magical combat and providing talismans that can offer effects such as a minor barrier. He was visiting family during the events of the story and ended up in Asuna’s party as they made for their exodus.

Rosalyn (Rosalia) - Rosalyn is actually the former SAO player Rosalia, who played the game for the same reason she played SAO, a reason to escape from her life as a waitress. In the real world she is in a rather uncomfortable place, more so because after SAO she had to find a new job at a low salary. She became an Human Bard with a Courtesan subclass because the combination allowed her to easily charm her way through the game, because she always wanted to be a singer and believes that women should be elegant. Ending up in Nakasu, she works alongside Asuna’s party on the exodus because she knows that at her low-level and with her looks, things won’t be easy for her since there is nothing stopping men from groping her (and more than a few attempts had been made between the Cataclysm and joining the exodus party), though she does still intend to get Kirito back for sending her to jail.

Things I needed help in developing:
  • Timeline of Log Horizon: I need a decent timeline of how things went to line up the story.
  • Characters (SAO survivors as well as Log Horizon): I can use some input on who to include in the story, but they should have a reason for playing at the time and realistically speaking, no one from Alicization should be an Adventurer. People of the Land, maybe.
  • Future Plot leading up to reclaiming Nakasu. I don't want the characters to completely overtake the Log Horizon crew's accomplishment. If it's something like the Goblin Battle then they can be part of it.
  • Skills, Classes, and Sub-Classes: Let me know them. I want to incorporate them into the story.
 

Leidolf

Well-Known Member
#5
Question for anyone willing to listen, but how does this look for the summoning system?


Summonings
Summonings are creatures often called up by those of the Summoner-class, though other classes like Druids have the ability as well.

The contract between Summoners and Monsters (or Demihumans if being technical) is a magical one that binds their spirit together. In terms of the Spirit Theory, it links the monster’s soul and psyche to that of the Summoners, who can cast the summoning spell to gather essence from the surrounding area and reconstructs the body. Thus when the summoning are killed in battle or destroyed, they can be reborn or resurrected with the same set of memories to the same summoner unless the contract is broken. Because of this, summonings can become more intelligent over time and a relationship can be forged with them.

The method of forging a contract often depends on the species of the summoning and any conditions.  Some only require weakening the monster and then using the Contract Spell in order to bind it into the Summoner’s Crystal every Summoner has as part of their Key Items until the spirit within is subdued and subsumed by the Summoner’s (if they aren’t at a high enough level the spell will fail as a safety measure so the Summoner doesn’t end up enslaved instead).

For others, a requirement such as taming or defeating them in a certain manner is needed so that the Summoner can assimilate their spirit. Beast Tamers can often do this, such as raising young monsters until they become willing to submit their spirit to the Summoner’s.

Summoning-Classifications
Servant Summons are summonings that serve the player and remain on the field when called until dismissed or killed, often boasting different attacks and abilities. Most Summoner-class abilities like [Summoner’s Whip] and [Soul Possession], and [Castling] will work on these.

Combat Summons are summoings that appear during battle for one specific-use and then disappear, lacking the duration of a Servant Summon. They are usually reserved for combat, as suggested.

Mystic Summonings are summons that appear to have an effect on the player for a certain duration after being summoned. These include helping with production speed (Brownie) or boosting luck. Production Guilds often employ Summoners with these abilities to help out.

Examples of Summonings

Salamander – [Spirit - Servant Summon – Fire Elemental] – A Rank 2 Monster flame spirit that appears in areas where there are strong sources of flames and heat, it fights up close with claws and fangs. The requirement for this is to defeat a Salamander in the wild and capture its soul inside of a Summoner’s crystal, whereupon it will be enslaved and tamed over time provided the Player is at a certain level or higher so that their spirit is capable of subduing its spirit when integrated. Capable of Elemental Ray, Elemental Blast, and Elemental Bolt.

Carbuncle – [Phantasmal – Servant Summoning] – The summoning every new Summoner starts with through a crystal that comes with their starting equipment, Carbuncles are capable of healing, a phantasmal beam-attack, and basic abilities but aren’t very strong on their own. They can be modified by equipping gemstones accessories that the Carbuncle embodies. Capable of Phantasmal Heal, Phantasmal Ray, Phantasmal Barrier, and Taunt.

o With the Topaz Ring it gains a boost in defense, Taunt is strengthened, and it cast a barrier around itself while strengthened against Earth element, making it a tank.

Waterfowl Dragon Pup (Pina) – [Contract Monster – Servant Summoning] – A Rank 2 Monster located in a small spring in part of the Fourland Dukedom, it’s rough terrain for low-level players because of the lack of Player Towns. The requirement for Waterfowl Dragons is that they have to be tamed young and only players under Level 30 can obtain them through this means by waiting for the mother to leave the nest and feeding it a number of times. For players over that level, killing the mother and then taking and raising an egg is the primary means of doing so. Upon reaching a certain level they reach the next stage in their life.

o Capable of using Healing Mist, Water Bomb, Bite, and Storm Call. The first imbues the moisture around a set area with magic that recovers HP on contact for the duration of the magic, the second gathers moisture into a sphere that it fires at an enemy with minor splash damage within a limited area of effect, and the third is a simple biting attack that does little damage.

o The last is an exclusive skill only available to those tamed in the wild and taught by the mother dragon, it calls forth rain that boost Healing Mist and Water Bomb. When combined with Healing Mist it increases recovery rate and area of effect, and with Water Bomb the size of the sphere increases and charging time decreases.


Shikigami
Shikigami are exclusive to the Kannagi-class. The paper-gods once used by famous Onmyoujin in the past, a Kannagi can gain new Shikigami through appeasing the many Kami and spirits that roam the Yamato server and thus gain the ability to call them forth for five minutes at a time through slips of paper or origami. Upon summoning them, the paper explodes into countless scraps that take on the form of the Shikigami, and once the time elapses the paper immolates itself.
 

Leidolf

Well-Known Member
#9
I finally got back into this. The next chapter is out here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11308291/9/Back-in-the-Game
 
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