Arrancar Racial Information

What Are They?
Arrancar's are considered to an evolved species of hollow. They are a race of hollow whom have attained the power of a shinigami. This change of power is what allows them to become humanoid in shape and, on average, attain a much better potency and evolution in their powers when compared to their hollow forms. However, going beyond the surface, these are often considered the epitome of despair, fear, regret, brutality and all things vile as far as most of them go due to their nature as being originally hollows.

How To Become An Arrancar?
There are a couple of ways to become an arrancar in the Platinum Hearts setting.

Method One - Birth: One of the more common methods in the setting. It is possible for arrancar to simply be born into existence through one or both parents being an arrancar.

Method Two - Mask Removal: This is the most common method. Any hollow, as far as Platinum Hearts is concerned, can become an Arrancar at any level. Therefore, the jump is relatively easy to make it and can be done in the history or in thread if you wish to evolve your hollow.

Method Three - Hogyoku: This is considered the most rare method as far as Platinum Hearts lore is concerned. Just like in the canon, it is possible to create arrancar by using this gem. However, this will often be done through staff reviews because those birthed from this gem are usually stronger than the average arrancar due to the power of the Hogyoku. So, more often than not, Hogyoku approvals will be done through admins or multiple moderators.

Appearance & Physiology
Humanoid Form: Arrancar will typically have a humanoid form after tearing off their mask with some variations. While Bleach does only say Vasto Lordes will guarantee a humanoid form, the nature of Platinum Hearts does allow a lot more creative liberty when it comes to this, some may appear up to eleven feet tall or be completely human in appearance. In addition, due to acquiring similar powers to a shinigami the arrancar are subject to similar physiological factors as they demonstrate a vulnerability in their chests - similar to the shinigami's soul chain and soul sleep - where the Chain of Fate would be located.

Hollow Hole & Mask Fragment: Most arrancar will retain a hole in them somewhere, as well as fragments of their Hollow form in the shape of a mask fragment. This is due to the casting off of their mask and sealing the nucleus of their power into a zanpakuto will leave some fragments leftover.

The hollow hole which represents their lack of heart is difficult to remove, to genuinely be without a hollow hole is to be among a strange case where the arrancar has regained their lost heart - such as the case with Nelliel Tu Odelschwank. Alternatively due to the nature of the Platinum Heart setting, an arrancar attempt to cosmetically conceal these attributes but they will most certainly still be there in spirit.

Estigma: Most arrancar have a coloured marking of some sort on their face - some only gain these markings upon the release of their zanpakutō. These markings more or less are leftover marks from their mask that might've been a pattern on their hollow mask before it was cast off.

Behaviour and Attributes
Most Arrancar do not have a defined way in which they act. That is utterly up to you. However, for the general masses of arrancar that exist, they have been noted as being brutal, longing for battle, craving destruction and can fall to impulse and temptation quiet easy. Essentially they embody overall negative qualities and individuals that demonstrate more positive qualities are few and far between.

They take the negative aspects of humanity and amplify it to great levels more often than not. Though, to re-state, Arrancar who possess greater self control or yield high quantities of power will often have more diverse personality sets. And, even if your Arrancar does not, it is up to the player as to how to incorporate these traits.

How To Kill An Arrancar
Arrancar are killed in a similar vein to any other creature, after sustaining fatal damage whether that is hitting a specific vital spot such as the head or heart or after receiving too much damage. While they have a lot of survivability through their dog-eat-dog environment in Hueco Mundo, and if they possess the high-speed regeneration that they carry on from their time as a hollow. Upon being killed, all the souls that the arrancar consumed as a hollow are returned to the soul cycle upon being cleansed, or in the case of Quincy entirely erased.

Powers & Traits
Similar to how Shinigami have Kido and other techniques, Hollows have similar ones that can be either unique or available to all of their race. Hollows are usually capable of gaining this energy for "powers" by devouring souls as a Hollow, then being capable of using powers like Cero and so on.

Other Hollow Attributes: As they evolve and gain greater understanding of their hollow powers, some arrancar can retain previous abilities from the hollows not listed here and even develop them further. Below are the ones that they would reasonably have access too from the get-go.

Cero: This is a very powerful and extremely swift blast of energy that can be made by anyone infected by hollows. It has been shown my some Gillian-class hollows to blast even towns apart, their wide array of power being quite scary. As the classes of hollows goes up, the power of their cero is also quite unique and strong. Most cero of basic hollow have shown to be simply red in colour. A cero can also be shot from a variety of locations, each unique to the hollow in question; this can be the tongue, finger tip, fist or even eyeball if one wished.

Garganta: The method in which all hollows use to travel between different realms. When in use, a black rift literally tears open the fabric of space to pass through. The most common usage is to travel from Hueco Mundo to the living realm, but users whom are more adept at this could try and use it for different means. Normal hollows only use this as a method of transportation, though. Many of the reasons garganta is a very powerful tool is for it's utility and mass transportation which can hold endless numbers of "foot soldiers" or people within it. High-level Arrancar are capable of using Descorrer.

Hierro: By condensing their reiryoku within their skin, an arrancar is capable of hardenining it to be like steel which allows them to reduce oncoming damage and even prevent situations such as being cut from being struck by blades. A general rule of thumb is that the hierro can be in proportion to a user's reiryoku, and so a powerful arrancar with a great deal of spiritual power is likely to have a very powerful hierro although this is not absolute for individuals that pursue greater levels of this ability can be outliers. Additionally, while it is powerful it is possible for an opponent to adapt against a hierro with exposure and factors to back it up.

High-Speed regeneration: Generally self explanatory, all hollows are capable of having the ability to regenerate their bodies in a timely manner. It is said that if they have taken drastic damage to organs and vitals, however, they cannot regenerate these easily which makes them still vulnerable depending in their individual characteristics.

The Arrancar's Unique Powers: It is a worthwhile note to state that most of their powers should represent some aspect of their human life, regret or reason they became a hollow to begin with. These are creatures whom are the embodiment of negative aspects of the human spirit, so it makes sense to have their abilities reflect that.

As many of the Espada do, Yammy Llargo is a fair example to take homage from. The reason for this is because rage was his general theme, and in his Ressureccion, that allotted him enhanced strength the further enraged he became as well as other factors. Coyote Starrk possessed another arrancar as his zanpakuto due to his feelings of lonlieness and so on.

Zanpakutō: An arrancar's zanpakuto is formed when the arrancar tears off their mask or it is removed in some manner before it is sealed into the form of anything really; be it a weapon, an object or a living thing. It is the nucleus of their prior hollow powers and is what the power is sealed into. By activating it, they can reclaim those attributes that were sealed into the zanpakuto..

Resurrección: Upon calling out their zanpakuto and intiating its release, resurrección is the release form that most Arrancar have. This release often brings the embodiment of their hollow powers to the surface. They become substantially more powerful depending on how skilled they are in the resurreccion itself and some arrancar opt to exist in this state permanently to maintain greater power at the cost of their humanoid forms.

Most appearances in Resurrección are often animalistic in a lot of cases. However, it is not restricted to that. The physical form they take when released is ultimately up to you and how you feel it operates with the theme of your Arrancar's hollow attributes. For example, for something simple, you could have your arrancar's eyes, arms, legs and chest be devoured by flames to represent the rage of a life unfilled and transformed into the element of fire or something to that effect.

Resurrección - Segunda Etapa: As far as Platinum Hearts is concerned, Segunda Etapa is considered the last stage of an Arrancar's Resurrección. This is because it serves as an enhancement to their hollow powers and brings it to a higher level of power. Similar to the way that bankai does a shinigami's but to a much more grand and rarer scale.

In terms of appearance? Most Segunda Etapa forms will have some sort of physical change to reflect the symbolism of their aspect of death and hollow powers being awakened to a higher form. For example, going back to our previous example of someone with the ability to produce flames of rage, their whole body could potentially be devoured by flames to induce the unfathomable amount of hostility and aggression their pained spirit expresses when unleashed in this form.

Racial Skills

Cero: An iconic ability of hollows. Where the user gathers reiatsu and fires it off as a blast. Traditionally, it is shot from the mouth until higher levels of power is acquired. The higher a hollow climbs in this field the more powerful, precise and faster a cero or bala can become. Those who reach into the depths of this skill can demonstrate attributes such as faster charging and unique variations of the cero and bala.

Untrained: Almost no ability to utilise cero and any attempt will be more likely to explode in their face. For the untrained hollow, it is typically completely unwanted by the user.

Beginner: At this level a basic cero can be utilised but that's about it. A user of cero at this level will not have the ability to manipulate it meaningfully. At this level the hollow is unlikely to be able to loose more than a single cero within a post.

Adept: At this level, the hollow has some proficiency. This is when a hollow can begin to experiment with how they use their cero and bala, albeit in minor ways. This is more usual for bala due to being smaller and easier to create. A hollow of this caliber typically use their energy blasts more efficiently, due to their greater level of experience.

Advanced: A hollow of this level begins to show a decent level of adaptability such as trying to manipulate the course or trajectory of their bala, firing them off with multiple paths and timings to attempt to hit their target in a more meaningful way. Additionally, if they have any unique properties such as a trait that makes attacks more explosive, these unique properties could be incorporated into their cero.

Elite: By this level, the hollow's level of control over their cero, the amount of energy they can output, and how often they can use their cero are all forces to be reckoned with. They can cause significant damage to the environment with their use cero, and any unique properties they would have towards energy attacks can express itself in their cero and bala. They likely have a range of unique techniques created off this ability.

Master: Reaching into levels untouched by most. Hollows of this level find cero as simple as throwing a punch. Their control is exquisite; doing things like turning the cero into a contained beam of destruction, making it stop at a certain point, or effortlessly firing off a wave of bala from every point on their body to name a couple of examples.

Grand Master: If a hollow develops their cero and bala to this level, they will realistically be unmatched in the field, only met by fellow hollows of this level. They understand the root principles behind how cero works, how to output it, how to make that output stop, and they understand these things on an instinctual level. Essentially, whatever kind of cero they conceptualise they could realistically do on a whim with no prior practice, or minimal in the case of an exceptionally powerful technique. Each hollow with this zenith will develop their own intimate understanding of it, and so hollows will certainly vary.

Hollow Nucleus: How powerful an arrancar's hollow attributes are retained, as one increases in power they are able to draw upon greater levels of their hollow attributes which were lost upon tearing off their mask.

Untrained: The arrancar possesses very little of their hollow side, almost to the point they could be mistaken for a shinigami if not for physiological indicators in the way of mask fragment, hollow holloe and estigma. AT this level their hollow aspect is so weak that the arrancar's shinigami aspect neutralises the negative effect on quincy. An arrancar of this state would have a very basic resurreccion and likely show no changes beyond a small physical change - there is no boost when releasing it at this level.

Beginner: An arrancar that is actually deserving of the title of being a hollow at this point. At beginner one can expect to see the minimal amount of hollow attributes that would've possessed in the past ie. ability to create a garganta, acidic touch and their reiatsu is more distinctly hollow to the point it could threaten a quincy. Upon using their resurreccion an arrancar of this level gains a 100% increase to their capabilities while in the form.

Adept: An arrancar of this level will see a great increase to the effectiveness of their resurreccion, seeing more of their hollow attributes being conjured upon the release of their zanpakuto and a boost of 200% to their overall being. Whereas a weaker individual might see minimal changes to their appearance and only a benefit from a post of power; an arrancar of this level could present with some previous hollow abilities or showcase unique applications such as Gonzui.

Advanced: At this level your hollow traits are quite developed; probably being able to use the more stable Descorrer evolution from the Garganta, display unique forms soul-body separation and/or acid touch if they put the work into it. Upon releasing their zanpakuto and entering into resurreccion, they will see a 300% increase to their abilities and the resurreccion is able to draw on the greater scope of their sealed hollow powers.

Elite: At this level one can be expected to retain all their prior attributes as a hollow if not showcasing unique usages of them, their zanpakuto is a perfect reflection of their status before removing their mask and is truly exceptional. All hollow abilities are retained in full prior to removal of their mask and release of their zanpakuto shows them a 500% increase to their overall capabilities. This is the peak that most arrancar will ever achieve.

Master: You are beyond a level of normal. Your powers are ones that should have been lost or weren't demonstrated beyond a point such as a arrancar being able to utilise negacion which is only shown by gillian. You've achieved the ability to reach into your hollow side and draw out greater power, a point of being able to enter Resurreccion: Segunda Etapa and have an infantile scope of this new form to take and begin to mould into something beyond the normal arrancar; when utilising your resurreccion you see a boost of 750%, entering Segunda Etapa an arrancar has two options which is an indefinite state where they will have a 1000% boost as long as they are in the form or they can utilise Segunda Etapa for three posts and see a boost of 1500% to their overall abilities.

Grand Master: You are beyond what was conceivable. Your Segunda Etapa is expected to be fully formed and their hollow attributes can only be called mutated by how far they have spread from their original nature with your growth. Upon entering ressurreccion, you see a boost to your overall abilities by 1000% as long as you are in it. When using your Segunda Etapa, the arrancar will have the option to use it indefinitely for a boost of 1200% or see a boost of 2000% if they only utilise it for 5 posts.

Regeneration: An ability retained from their status as a hollow, an arrancar retains their ability of high-speed regeneration which allows for the recovery of their body. Most arrancar give this up for the sake of more power due to taking away the energy cost to regenerate their bodies however it is a very valuable trait to keep in many circumstances which lead into their survivability compared to other races.

Untrained: No high-speed regeneration properties present. Likely given up upon becoming an arrancar.

Beginner: Superficial wounds ie. first/second degree burns are healed rather quickly. Greater damage takes a bit longer and may not he healed before the fight is over unless it is an extended bout. Amputations take a great deal of time but can still be regrown within a day or two.

Adept: Deep wounds can be healed very quickly, some maiming such as a hand being burnt beyond repair could be dealt with immediately and be alleviated in the heat of combat as long as it is not too severe but will still take some time and be an issue. Amputations can be expected to heal in half a day.

Advanced: You shrug off damage very quickly, healing almost as soon as you are wounded as long as it does not affect your inner organs or brain. An amputated limb could even be healed potentially depending on if you can get a moment of reprieve in a fight.

Elite: You've reached the natural peak of high-speed regeneration. You heal almost as soon as you are wounded, even whole limbs could be immediately reformed after being damaged. Organs remain difficult to heal but not impossible, expecting to see them regenerated within the same day of being wounded. You are obnoxiously difficult to kill at this level.

Master: You've gone beyond what is normal to see, your wounds heal immediately but unlike the standard you can display peculiar variations of the regeneration such as your organs being able to heal despite receiving damage.

Grand Master: Congratulations, your regeneration has reached a level which is undefinable. It is likely that even the destruction of your brain may not kill you or maybe you bodily material can be taken by an ally and grant them a regenerative factor. The upper limits of your regeneration are unknown and your death is highly unlikely by just how you demonstrate a capacity to regenerate.

Sonido: The high-speed movement and equivalent of the shinigami's hoho, Sonido differs in that it carries a static sound when executed as normal and that it does not exert reiatsu when they move which makes it harder to sense an arrancar when they are using sonido compared to a shinigami which makes it excellent for hit and run style attacks over the other races.

Untrained: You may be better off running. You are essentially incapable of doing any form of sonido with any real form of accuracy, if you do manage to do it well, you might end up going to the wrong place, or hurting yourself in the process.

Beginner: At this point, you are capable of using basic sonido without hurting yourself. However expect it to be clumsy, and you aren’t capable of utilizing it more than a handful of times in a short span without feeling some sort of strain. This still can be a viable method of long-distance travel. The downside to a beginner level sonido is that the typical cracking noise characterized with sonido is very loud, and can be used to discern position.

Adept: With competence, you are capable of using this more than a handful of times in a short period. The amount of noise these make is not as thunderous as before the typical “cracking” noise that is typically associated with a flash step is still audible but is not as loud as the beginner is. You can maybe do a simple variation or unique twist of the sonido technique.

Advanced: You have reached the upper levels of a sonido user, at this level one can begin to start doing more advanced techniques such as applying afterimages to create speed clones or techniques which are fast enough to interfere with a person's senses from the speed at what it is executed.

Elite: After hitting the elite level of sonido you're among the best. You're able to make adjustments to your sonido on the fly, developing unique variations here and there. Jumping between the fight as a blur for those can keep up or being almost undetectable by how fast you can move.

Master: Once you've attained the master level of sonido, And the quickness in which you are able to unleash your attacks will make you a legend in these arts of high-speed movement. You are comparable with being considered a legend amongst your peers and some might even believe you are unmatched by all those below the absolute zenith of mastery only seen by Grand Masters.

Grand Master: Legendary, that would be the best way to describe your level of prowess with sonido. You are capable of utilizing it at a level of mastery that can be considered flawless to those less skilled. Your proficiency allows you to use this skill as easy as one would breath, being able to utilize it an innumerable amount of times as you please without worry of failure or stumbling.

What Are Their Origins?
Arrancar have no set time when they started coming into being, as they are derived from hollows and the removal of their mask. However, arrancar were quite rare and natural arrancar were not incredibly present until the event of Aizen creating the Espada, induing mask removal through the usage of the Hogyoku to create his army where they became more known.

After the defeat of Aizen, the arrancar as a race inherited the position as being the rulers of Hueco Mundo and maintained the Espada up until the point of their union with Sin Fall to become Shadow Fall. Many arrancar joined the ranks of this organisation and for a long time were associated with the demon race as a result.