Tears of Taija: Short List of Important Demons

[Unknown Soldier]

Looking good, MD. The Sidhe look like fun, but then again I'm partial to fey.

[MDSnowman]

Looking good, MD. The Sidhe look like fun, but then again I'm partial to fey.

Yeah way cooler than just making a race of vaguely magical elves.

[Unknown Soldier]

For those inquisitive minds who have to take their time when making a character, is there anything you know about what you want your PC's to be? Level, PP, etc?

[MDSnowman]

lol I have yet to decide. I do know my first campaign will begin in a Beleme prison specially made for witches, political prisoners, and other unsavory types.

[Unknown Soldier]

A prison, eh? Curse you for temping me so. I've been coming up with character ideas since Tuesday. I got caught in Animal Physiology writing powers down rather than notes. The professor just looked confused.

[MDSnowman]

A prison, eh? Curse you for temping me so. I've been coming up with character ideas since Tuesday. I got caught in Animal Physiology writing powers down rather than notes. The professor just looked confused.

I used to do that in a graduate course on teaching social studies. Fortunately I was good at teaching that before the class.

[MDSnowman]

A Treatise on the Nature of Magic

By Lady Helene Disato
High Sage of the Obsidian Citadel, Sorceress Supreme (A list of titles continue but in increasingly small print)

Recently my Steward has informed me that many of the would-be sages arriving at the Obsidian Citadel for training are entirely ignorant of the true nature of magic. Considering they cannot be expected to do much more than clean up after my more enlightened followers without this knowledge I have taken valuable time out of my schedule in order to teach a very basic truth of the universe to supposedly learned men and women.

The first thing one must know is that despite what anyone tells them there is only one type of magic. There is no holy magic, nature magic, elemental magic, dark magic, witchcraft, psionics, or whatever labels are popular during the era of history you happen to be reading this in. There is only magic, a primal force of the universe that permeates every single object in creation both animate and inanimate. It is so pervasive that trying to define it beyond that requires a great deal more explanation than I am prepared to waste on apprentice sages such as you. The key is to avoid being wrapped up in the semantics, what one labels magic is dependent upon social forces that do not effect what magic actually is.

One must be born with magical talent in order to practice magic. Such people manifest their first magical power at the onset of puberty, but occasionally as late as middle age. So if you’re reading this expecting me to teach me you how to make it rain in your home village or something to that effect don’t bother unless you can already create a little moisture on your own. I understand that the post-imperial period (which the steward informs me I am writing this during) that a great number of people born with magical talent never receive any proper training. In such cases these people either manifest one power. A person can choose to focus their minds and use their imaginations to expand this one power into a grouping of related powers. To them this forms their “school” of magic. I prefer to think of it as a theme. Therefore a Druid would have manifested a simple nature related magical power, and through personal exploration learned several other nature related powers. One of the old Elemental Scions of fire would notice a simple ability to spark flames and through hard work would learn a myriad of flame related powers. Certain schools or themes are more common among certain people than others. My research has shown that racial norms and environment both have an effect on what the theme of someone’s powers may be. For most people this stage of magical training is more than enough for them, and allows for the mastery of a great many other skills as well. Here at the Citadel we refer to such talented people as Adepts.

However, should one feel that this is not enough they must seek out a person who knows the deepest secrets of magic, of which the Obsidian Citadel has a great many. Such a person can lead a student, over many years, away from the hard focus of their natural theme and into the ability to use magic in broader ways. Such students, which we call Mages at the citadel, are true masters of magic and are very resourceful, able to make almost anything possible given enough time, skill, and concentration. However the amount of time such training normally takes (Steward learned in a mere 25 years, but he was always a sharp one) means that one seldom has many skills besides those that directly relate to their mastery of the primal force of the universe. It also means that many mages are usually on the elderly side (though we take pride in finding our way around that in many cases). In this era there are precious few people and organizations qualified to train someone to this level of magical mastery.

Next we move onto the topic of magical items. Regardless of the era magical items a powerful resource as it allows any Tom, Dick, or Harry to use magical powers. Let’s get this out of the way quickly; no two magical items are alike. Two swords may have similar effects, but will be of different design, power, and temperament. Yes, I said temperament. You see magical items are created by people who already have magical talent. Such magically talented people must know the techniques used in this process, which requires some training. Someone builds the item’s physical form and the magically talented person in question imbues the item with a portion of the magical power that they control. In the case of Adepts item takes on powers relating to the object’s physical form, and the theme of the Adepts’ power. Therefore an Adept with mastery over ice may imbue a breastplate with a hardened form that gives the wearer resistance to cold related spells. A Mage, by virtue of their superior training, can imbue an item with nearly any kind of effect. Such item creation does not come without a cost. By imbuing an item with one’s own magic energy it weakens one magically. Someone will find that their magic has less raw force than it used to. This side effect can last anywhere from a few days to several years depending on the nature of the item created. Furthermore the item itself becomes a repository for the creator’s state of mind when they made it. The actual effect may vary, in most cases the item will appear inanimate under all circumstances but may work better or worse in certain circumstances all depending on what was on the magical donor’s subconscious while he or she imbued the item. In the most pronounced cases the item may contain a full blown echo of the donor’s personality, going so far as to communicate with the wielder. The most skilled magic artificers know how to steady their mind to minimize these effects, but no one is ever perfect all the time (or so Steward informs me).

My final topic does not relate to magic, as much as it does on the nature of any kind of power. Power corrupts. You have doubtlessly heard stories of magic users going mad with power and doing “unthinkable” things like creating the undead or summoning demons from the burning pit. Magic, as a force, is neither evil, nor good, but the longer one wields such power the more irrelevant everything else becomes in comparison (it’s why I live in a tower built on the ruins of a city destroyed by a volcano). A good follower of the magical arts never forgets that all that separates them from anyone else is a quirk of birth, and that as powerful a force as magic is the will of a sentient being is far more powerful. This perspective keeps one balanced and prevents their power from controlling them instead of vice versa.

Now that I’ve explained something you lot should have been taught in your universities I’ll leave it to you to decide what to do next from here. Doubtlessly the more religious of you want to have harsh words or worse with me, some of you are confused, and the rest are letting it soak into their skulls. If you fall into this third group feel free to talk to the Steward and he will give you your living assignment. The rest of you are welcomed to turn around and leave. I recall designing the front door so it’s big enough where you can’t miss it.

[Unknown Soldier]

I now make it my goal to have sexual relations with this woman in your game.

[MDSnowman]

I now make it my goal to have sexual relations with this woman in your game.

I don't know how to respond to that without triggering a downward spiral that will end with this thread being locked down like a prison about to riot.

[Unknown Soldier]

It's probably for the best. Regardless, I'm enjoying your updates.

[MDSnowman]

Magical Theory: The OOC Edition

So as the lady sage said magic users in this campaign world generally come in two varieties.

Adepts: Most players with magic would fall under this category. They usually have a single power or a small tightly packed array of similarly themed powers. Using some of the examples from the races entries that including things like plant-related powers for druids, wind related powers for elemental scions, powers related to a specific animal for Shamans. These things aren’t strictly controlled by the GM. If you want a power, or array that doesn’t conform to a social norm for your character’s society there’s nothing wrong with that. After all, a human character with wings is still as much an adept as one who throws fireballs, or summons demonic minions.

Mages: These are the characters that sink most of their points into their powers usually built up around a powerful array, or two, and a few independent powers. In a comic book setting these would be the characters like Dr. Strange. Players with this kind of character are encouraged to either avoid focusing on one type of energy or instead choose one esoteric enough where it seems different than an adept’s magic. They bolster their versatility with the use of feats like ritualist or artificer. Since they’re focusing so much on powers and skills to make their feats work best they’ll usually have to rely on attack specialization to meet their caps.

Now onto the topic of magical items…

Magic items are always devices. As a matter of fact there are only two kinds of devices, magical items and high end engineering creations. All rules that normally apply to devices apply to magical items; for all intents and purposes the terms are interchangeable. Anyone with the artificer feat can create a temporary magical item, creating a permanent one is more of an RP concern, but should involve the artificer feat and include a lessening of one’s magical powers. The muffling of powers associated with imbuing a magical item with power is a complication and lasts as long as the GM sees fit. This however gives the player the expected bonus of more hero points to use. However if you’re using the artificer feat to create a temporary magical item the GM should not penalize the creator’s powers. The item itself is fleeting so any drain on the creator’s powers should be minor to non-existent.

So with that taken care of lets look at the reasonable sources of powers in this campaign world.

1. Magical Powers: Very wide ranging with almost anything being allowed with GM Okay. This is pretty much the default source of power in the game. Since most powers will be magically based in this game things such as countering will be based more on descriptor than source.

2. Racial Traits: A Kryn’s claws aren’t magically based, nor are a minotaur’s massive size and strength. These are powers that you’re born with and aren’t magically based. The type and scope of these powers are more limited however. In the case of supernatural creatures the line between magic powers and racial traits tends to get very blurry.

3. Devices: So you’ve got a magic cloak that lets you teleport through shadows? A specially engineered rifle that shoots explosive shells and steel spikes? An intelligent magical sword able to cleave through any material? A suit of steam powered armor that vastly increases your strength and endurance? These are all devices. The line between magical item and mundane item is usually very clear. Engineering on the other hand is less so. At the time of this writing I haven’t delved too deeply into the subject of engineering. I’ve yet to declare what is readily available and what is on the hairy edge. However, I do have a good idea of what kind of insanity most definitely counts as an engineering based device when I hear it pitched to me.

[Psistrike]

Great details on how things work in the campaign setting. Loved the treatise on magic, great read. So, the minotaur able to turn into stone example you gave in the first post of this thread would be an adept with stone/earth-based powers he could expand on from just turning to stone. Interesting.

[MDSnowman]

Great details on how things work in the campaign setting. Loved the treatise on magic, great read. So, the minotaur able to turn into stone example you gave in the first post of this thread would be an adept with stone/earth-based powers he could expand on from just turning to stone. Interesting.

Yep, but given his race and how effective alternate form-solid would be for him he wouldn't have much cause to take alternate powers on it. He'd likely power stunt in a pinch.

[MDSnowman]

Organizations: Part 1

Name: The Witch Hunters

Nicknames: The Hunters, Hounds, Those Bastards

Symbol: A Flaming Hammer over a Closed Book

Structure: Two to six man cells answering to a national head; five national heads operating as a governing body.

Description: Established at the end of the Imperial era the Witch Hunters were the Church’s first attempt to stamp out magic use throughout the continent. They would license adventurers to hunt down witches throughout their home countries and pay a bounty after the confirmed death of a witch. This structure was great to get many of the armed violent people of the lands to work in a hurry. The initial results were very good, as magic users were killed in droves. As time went on, each nation began to institute their own specific laws on dealing with witches and the easy to find witches had been long ago dried up leaving the organization bloated with fewer targets to hunt. When the church withdrew their support the Witch Hunters nearly collapsed. With most of the members gone those remaining formed the current structure. Each nation would have a lodge that followed the Witch Hunting guidelines set forth in that nation. Anyone wishing to become a Witch Hunter would need to register with the lodge in their nation. Currently the Beleme lodge of Witch Hunters is the strongest. Despite this current set up, and the smaller numbers, Witch Hunters are still considered littler better than hired killers in many circles.

Sample Member: Anton Blanchard

***

Name: Holy Knights of Limberry

Nicknames: The White Knights, Taija’s Right Hand, Dawn’s Light

Symbol: A pair of large feathered wings with an ornate long sword in the middle.

Structure: Cadres of anywhere between 4 and 100 knights answering to the Elder Priests in Limberry.

Description: The militant arm of the church was established soon after Taija’s worship became the law of the empire. The organization is currently booming with nearly ten thousand highly trained members. Their primary purpose is to keep the peace in Limberry, but the most skilled members (including several magic users), are often loaned to nations with problems dealing with heretics or other religious matters. Like all organizations in the church magic users who join are given much more leeway in using their powers, and as such many such men and women are members. They answer to Elder Priest Braddock Lightmane, a former member whose exploits as a member of the Knighthood’s highest order are almost legendary in Limberry.

***

Name: The Riders of the Coming Dawn

Nicknames: The Black Riders, The Dawn’s Wrath, Brothers of Dust, The Doom Knights

Symbol: A black sphere with a red sword in the center.

Structure: Unknown.

Description: Fifteen years ago a fire raged in the skies above Saltash. Many of the local villagers swore they saw something fall from the sky. The next morning a local fisherman discovered a huge tower sticking out of the swamp where it had not been before. The fisherman ran back to the village to tell everyone only to find the village under attack by heavily armed men and women in black. Few survived this attack and they continued throughout the countryside for months, with the black riders retreating to this new tower every time. Local adventurers occasionally fought these Black Riders back, but everytime a group entered the tower to end their reign of terror no one returned. Eventually the church sent someone to investigate, a Saltashian Bishop named Gregouri DeNuitrue. Despite protests he went into the tower alone, the first one to attempt to do so. When sundown came and the Bishop did not return everyone expected the worst. Days went by, weeks, the Bishop did not emerge, but neither did the riders. Eventually, after nearly a month the Bishop stepped out of the tower, with three Black Riders at his side. He had converted the entire group during that time and offered them a place in the service of Taija. Apparently the group had very deep beliefs on the nature of universe, and how it was supposed to end. When the Bishop explained Taija’s destructive side to these riders they found something they could agree upon. From there the Bishop used his silver tongue to convert the group. They went to work doing the most dangerous, and immoral, work the church had available, and since Bishop DeNuitrue was the church official that they liked the most he rode their success to a position as an Elder Priest.

Sample Member: Eli Cromlich

[JoshuaDunlow]

Nice Got some great detail and depth. Something i have a hard time coming up with.