Antagonist Starting Ranks
The Battle Fantasia universe has a degree of gray morality, but for the most part the battle lines of good and evil are fairly clearly drawn.
As our application indicates, there is a distinction between being designated as an Antagonist, or not. Antagonists are more likely to be allowed to start at Master Rank B, and some few Dark Queen-types might start at A. Some even start (and will stay, for the duration of their villainous career) at S. They still gain character points through roleplay. Antagonists should not expect to never lose, or to always remain a power tier above the rest of the game; in the end, most stories end with the magical girls gaining in strength, coming of age, and delivering their antagonists' comeuppance, after all. Antagonists who become protagonists (or who are sufficiently unantagonistic) may have their Master Rank reduced to that of their cast's protagonists at the discretion of the staff.
Many Antagonists start at Master Rank C. Antagonists are especially likely to start at C if they expect to become a protagonist within their first year of roleplay; others are simply not powerful enough within the setting to justify an increased Master Rank; still others elect to start at Master Rank C because it's more fun to be able to rapidly and continuously advance. However, to help Antagonists maintain an edge over their foes, all Master Rank C Antagonists receive the Antagonist ability; this gives them an extra 30 Character Points to build their characters on. (When the advancement-normalized minimum CP on the game becomes 265+, B-ranked antagonists will receive the Antagonist ability as well.)
Some Antagonists also have the Power of Darkness ability. This grants an additional 50 Character Points at the cost of being susceptible to Banish and Purify-flagged attacks. Whether an Antagonist is a Power of Darkness depends on the nature of their theme as well as the nature of their powers.
The Antagonist and Power of Darkness abilities provide a unique way to spend more Character Points than a Henshin Rank's maximum would ordinarily allow. A Master Rank C, Henshin Rank C Antagonist can spend up to the normal 264 CP on a given form (if they've earned the CP for it), +50 CP for PoD, +30 CP for Antagonist. This does not make them Master Rank B, nor the Henshin Mode Rank B, in any sense; most notably, they still build attacks on Master Rank C attack points, and continue to accumulate Character Points as a Master Rank C.
Many Antagonists would not be powered combatants if it were not for their dark patrons. If such antagonists are redeemed, they lose all their powers and become a regular civilian. This is a fairly common fate in the genre, but on Battle Fantasia, not a final one. If they wish to re-join the battle on the side of love and justice, they will have to find new a Path to Power and begin their career anew at the very beginning of Master Rank C, built on 180 Character Points, no matter how many Character Points they'd previously earned in their villainous career. The slate has been wiped clean, and their power has been reborn completely. (For more information, please see: Paths to Power)
For Example: The Four Ayakashi Sisters (and essentially the rest of the villainous cast) of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, Princess Kraehe of Princess Tutu, the Dark Five of Futari wa Pretty Cure, Alyssa Searrs of Mai-HiME
Other Antagonists' power is their own, simply turned to (and often heavily enhanced by) a dark cause. They are often on the trajectory of, to use wrestling or tropes vocabulary, a Heel-Face Turn: dramatic redemption, and then a career fighting with the heroes for love and justice (or whatever other ideals they choose). Such Antagonists are far more likely to begin at Master Rank C with the Antagonist (and if appropriate, Power of Darkness) ability. When they cease to be an antagonist, they will lose the Antagonist and Power of Darkness abilities, and accordingly have to rebuild themselves on fewer points. Narratively, this represents the turmoil in their hearts, and logistically any resources they previously had access to, now denied, temporarily decreasing their capability in combat. In the long term, they will far surpass their former potential. There is no brighter light than love, no stronger force than friendship.
Conversely: In the event that an Antagonist's cast has caught up to them in power, but they are still far from changing sides (and are, canonically, still significantly more powerful than the rest of their cast), if the character in question has satisfied all requirements for a Master Rank increase except for the time limit (please see Advancement), the possibility of that limit being waived may be reviewed by the staff on a case-by-case basis.
For more information, please see: Ranks, Starting Ranks, Chargen, Powers of Darkness, Advancement
