Shikai Possibility?

[Neji]

That sounds interesting - some of it I already thought of.

But I liked the word "favour"... because you already fight in the graveyard too - to gain favour with your inner self (=zanpakutou)

To fight against enemies is one option, but maybe the TYPE should matter...you fight hollows - you gain normal favours towards shikai control... you are chaotic -> fight brutal and more vicious enemies gives you boons. you are lawful -> well, something (?), neutral is not involved.

Your alignment should matter, therefore. evilly aligned people should enable their shikai through PVP, the good ones through combat training like you described.

All increases favour, but we'd need something to drop favour, too. Depending on the type and form maybe.

After a change of form/type, you start all over, I agree. I will somewhere do a "complete zanpakutou reset" where all gets back to nothing, so people can do a new one from scratch.

"Bond Level" or "Zanpakutou Sync" ... mhm, yes, that should be a new stat --- if you're out of sync, your zanpakutou stops working, no shikai etc anymore, just a weapon (zaraki)

Also, the zanpakutou should get the same alignment you have initially.

[caquricon]

Maybe to drop favour you could make some random events that depending on the outcome it would either drop favour or leave it neutral.
The events could test your loyalty to your zanpakutou, basically your type and form... Maybe similar to the old man event except you run into a bright light and you see a figure that calls itself <insert zanpakutou>.
It would ask you a few questions (maybe based off type, form and alignment, the questions itself im not sure of).
If your zanpakutou likes what it hears it nods and vanishes, if it doesn't it just disappears and you sense that your zanpakutou has become more distant (im not really creative, but this idea might spark something in your head).

For the "Bond Level" or "Zanpakutou Sync" if it was once in sync and you were able to use shikai, once it goes out of sync and you try to use shikai it has a chance of giving you a negative buff or just not work at all.

For the activation via PvP how would that work... after x successful PvPs it would allow access to shikai?... you may have to then make unsuccessful ones have concequences as some people might not use their turns, and because they don't, they won't run into events that lower your favour in the forest.

[Neji]

Well - I tend to think big - and this means a lot of thinking as some things are good for one type/form, bad for the other...

the schematics alone are .... much to code.