Ordinal Scale


 * This article is about the in-universe game. You may be looking for the movie or the arc.

Ordinal Scale (オーディナル・スケール) is an Augmented Reality Massively Multiplayer Role-Playing Game (ARMMORPG) for the Augma.

Story
In the third decade of the twenty-first century, the Earth began to be invaded by a parallel world named Unital. Unital opened dimensional gates in various cities on Earth to send in displaced biological weapons known as Displaced Biological Arms (DBAs), intending to launch a full scale attack once enough of them had been gathered.

Having predicted the upcoming invasion, an international organisation known as «The Order» developed a dimensional tuning device, called the «D Tuner», to find the invisible Displaced Biological Arms and destroy them through the use of special «D-weapons» that were created for this goal. The Order then began recruiting Adapts, people compatible with these devices, from the civilian masses for a large-scale Earth defence operation.

Adapts were tasked with using D Tuners to collect energy crystals known as «Materials» that were byproducts of Unital's dimensional gates, and destroy any Displaced Biological Arms lurking in town. Based on these contributions, Adapts are given a Ranking Number that determines the strength of their D-weapons. This Ranking System also allows Adapts to steal Materials from other Adapts, which resulted in conflict among the three factions of The Order, the leadership of which decided to employ a strategy of watchful waiting and not interfere in the internal conflicts.

The Order
«The Order» (ジ・オーダー) is an international organisation founded to defend the Earth against dimensional invasions from Unital. Due to being the sole organisation capable of producing the dimensional devices known as the «D Tuner» and «D-weapons», even major governments cannot interfere with their affairs. Any data about the location of their base as well as their higher-ups is concealed. A person known as a «Commander» (コマンダー) leads the defence force in each nation, though there are rumours that the person could actually be an Artificial Intelligence.

Adapts of The Order's Mobile Troops have formed three distinct factions. Originally, the three factions were a mutual help organisation for training newcomers and cooperating to defeat the Displaced Biological Arms, but due to a difference in principles, the organisation eventually split into three.

Guardians
The «Guardians» (ガーディアン) are the largest faction in The Order. The faction forbids attacking other Adapts except in self-defence, focuses on finding and exterminating the Displaced Biological Arms, and excel at organised tactics.

Aggressors
The «Aggressors» (アグレッサー) are the second largest faction in The Order. The members of this faction considers their work within The Order to be a means of earning money, thus they are willing to attack both Displaced Biological Arms and members of other factions alike in order to earn points. They are considered to be criminals by the other factions, but due to being paid a salary from their faction in addition to the rewards from The Order, their numbers are by no means low.

Arbiters
The «Arbiters» (アービター) are the final faction in The Order and the most puzzling one of them all. Their top priority is to solve the mysteries of the multiverse, as well as Unital, and there have been rumours that their leadership is aiming to co-exist with Unital. The faction has few members, but due to customisations made to their D-weapons with their unique technology, the faction's power cannot be underestimated.

Unital
«Unital» (ユナイタル) is one of the countless multiverses in existence and is assumed to be attempting to unite all universes. Nothing is known about its civilization or its inhabitants and even the name Unital was created by terrans. Unital possesses high-grade dimensional technology and sends living weapons known as the Displaced Biological Arms to Earth through dimensional gates.

Adapts
Adapts (適合者) are people compatible with D Tuners. They constitute only about five percent of the entire population. Adapts are recruited by The Order through free examinations performed at designated medical institutions that confirm if they are compatible with the D Tuner. Due to the possibility of a rather high payment for the work without any danger to one's life during battles against Displaced Biological Arms, the number of young volunteers is by no means low. People who join The Order are officially known as the «Mobile Anti-DBA Troops», but they are frequently called «Adapts» or the «Troops».

Displaced Biological Arms
Displaced Biological Arms (DBAs) are living weapons, a majority of which are based on creatures from Earth, sent to Earth by Unital. At the present moment, they are slightly displaced from Earth's dimension, thus becoming unperceivable by regular people and, in principle, unable to cause any destruction on Earth. However, it is believed that they would materialise the moment more than a certain number of the creatures are gathered. Possibly because of an error, there have been very rare instances of individual creatures materialising, thus bringing about large damage to the surroundings.

D Tuner
The «D Tuner» (Ｄ・チューナー) is a dimensional tuning device, developed by The Order, that is equipped on the head like a headset. By using the device, it is possible to detect Displaced Biological Arms. However, not everyone is capable of using it, as a certain compatibility factor is required.

D-weapon
The «D-weapons» (Ｄウェポン) are weapons developed by The Order that are capable of attacking Displaced Biological Arms. The weapons are divided into three categories: the «Blade Type» for close-range attacks, the «Gun Type» for long-range attacks, and the «Wand Type» for support. Only Displaced Biological Arms and other Adapts in tuned state can be attacked. By distributing dimensional energy, it can also be used to create armour.

Materials
«Materials» (マテリアル) are energy crystals, believed to be generated secondary to Displaced Biological Arms being sent through dimensional gates by Unital. Like the DBAs, the crystals are displaced, thus, they usually can neither be seen nor touched. They are an energy source for D Tuners and D-weapons, thus collecting them is an important mission of the Adapts. There are several varieties of the crystals and they can be either used to customise one's D-weapon or sent to The Order base for points. It is also possible to receive them by dealing damage to the DBAs or to D-weapons held by other troops.

Ranking System
The player can acquire points by collecting «Materials» in the real world or by defeating monsters (Displaced Biological Arms) or other players (Adapts). Depending on the points each player has, all players are given a Ranking Number. The higher the player's ranking, the stronger their D-weapon and armour will become. The stats of a player and their equipment are not displayed.

Combat
Players can choose from three types of D-weapons: close-range, long-range, and support. As players take part in combat using their actual bodies, feedback to the player is sent through the vibration of their D-weapon and a virtual sense of shock created by the Augma upon dealing or suffering damage. When the player's hit points reach zero, their weapon, armour, and dimensional tuning are temporarily disabled, thus excluding the player from battle. In player versus player battles, damage is only registered via hits made with a D-weapon, displayed in augmented reality as blades or bullets. Direct physical attacks are forbidden by the rules.

Battles against monsters are carried out in special fields that are created beforehand. If the player leaves the field, their dimensional tuning will be cancelled, resulting in monsters disappearing from their sight. Although the player can no longer be attacked, intentionally escaping the field results in a point loss as a penalty.