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Magic Lore & Guidelines (New System)

Eliel · 16313

Offline Eliel

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on: October 23, 2017, 08:48:52 PM
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The Aether
Everything is comprised of energy. This energy can be referred to as aether. The aether is comprised of the four prime elements: earth, fire, air and water. The manipulation of the aether has several disciplines, methodologies and faiths, but for the purpose of this document, we will refer to all as 'magic'. All magic is in some way derived from the aether, be it using a trait of the aether itself or using one of the elements that comprise aether, such as fire.

The Balance
As above; so below. As within; so without. What you put in, you'll reap. What you take away; you'll pay. The aether maintains a balance always.  All magic has a cost, whether you're pulling directly from the aether or from a personal stash (or equivalent). The cost, or effect, is equivalent to the power of the spell or action used. Example: Life for life. Giving or returning life requires life paid. Be it of another being, or surrounding natural life, as well as the toll on the caster(s) themselves. The 'toll' can be distributed between several practitioners to reduce the individual cost but the cost remains. Some may find ways to cheat the balance, temporarily, but the aether will always collect and restore the natural balance of all.

The Pendulum
The pendulum swing manifests in everything. All things rise and fall, ebb and flow. To everything there is a tide or season. The only factor is time. Manipulation of the aether may take an investment of time but the pendulum swing will bring an equal reaction, either over an equal amount of time, our compounded into one larger effect. In relation to what else is happening in each round, the invested energy and focus on your magic should have an equal reaction.

The Faith
When a great many people believe in something, they give it power. Though Etla is essentially 'cut off' from the deities of other lands, the aether connects all. Those with faith may manipulate the aether much like a caster, but the Balance and the Pendulum are still in effect. Their faith must be unwavering, putting in as much as they expect to get out.

The Rift
The Rift works as a sort of bubble around the island and has an effect on magics as well. Anything that exists within the bubble (fire, earth, light, shadow, time, gravity, life/death to name a few) can exist and be manipulated at 'full-strength'. Things that originate outside the bubble (faith-based lore, time-specific lore, area-specific lore and the like), their existence and manipulation within the rift are diluted. The exact effects or handicaps are up to individual players but there should be a 'hit'.

The Structure
We recommend a 5 tier casting system, halving the old system. We leave the finer details to the flow of the individual RP but the tiered system is as follows. The examples given are for determining scale.
   Tier I (Hurt): Cantrips and minor spells. A small investment of energy for a small reward. Ex: Enough energy to cause or repair intense bruising, or summon a small creature or item.
   Tier II (Wound): Minor to moderate spells. A mediocre investment of energy. Ex: Enough to cause or repair bleeding, or summon a moderately sized creature or item.
   Tier III (Kill): Mid to large spells. A decent amount of investment for decent reward. Ex: Enough to cause or repair major organ damage, or summon a decent sized or more powerful creature or item. (humanoid/natural transformation and self-teleportation included at this level)
   Tier IV (More Kill): Major spell. Major investment for major reward. Ex: Grenade level blast damage. Healing extensive wounds. Summoning larger/more powerful beings and items. (minor mythical creature transformation and teleportation of self +2)
   Tier V (Over Kill): Massive spells. Massive investment with massive cost for massive reward. Ex: Michael Bay level blast damage. Healing massive wounds (think saving from the brink of death). Summoning large supernatural creatures. (major mythical creature transformation, group teleportation and reanimating the dead)
   Ritual: Anything beyond the scope of this tiered system requires a ritual with multiple casters. Includes: Resurrection, creating life, summoning greater/named spirits (only 15% chance of controlling the spirit)
« Last Edit: October 28, 2017, 04:23:44 PM by Eliel »

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Offline Eliel

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Reply #1 on: October 24, 2017, 02:10:39 PM
FAQ:

WTF does this even mean?!
 - All things are the aether. All magic is the aether. The aether is originally comprised of the four base elements. Using magic is still working with the aether, even if you're working with the base elements. Kind of like... at the beginning of time, the 4 elements existed and they decided to all hang out and BAM! Aether. Now everything exists. Everything. Light, Dark, Time, Gravity, Void, Pizza. Mmmmm. Pizza.
 - As a sort of 'natural law' the aether maintains a balance to all things. Using magic, playing with the aether, manipulating things to your own or someone elses personal gain, has a cost. This cost may be paid by the time/effort put into casting it. It may be from drawing from a personal reserve and causing a cooldown effect for the reserve to replenish. It may be some sort of kharmic system that comes back on you later. How you decide to pay the toll of each of your spells and abilities is up to you.
 - The other natural law at play here is the amount of time something takes to build up should have an equal effect. If in one round of posts, 2 seconds of time has passed, then you've invested 2 seconds of time/energy/focus/faith/whathaveyou into your 'casting'. The resulting effect should be equal to what was put into it. Essentially, you can't call down a storm of meteors in the time it takes to sneeze. The pendulum also accounts for the passage of time and the polarity in all things. The 'flow' to nature and the aether: Life - death cycle, seasons, tides.. taking time to learn something or effort put in to get good at something before there is a pay off.
 - Faith is the collective power manifested by the masses. If something exists in lore elsewhere because enough people believed in it (and this counts for gods/deities too) then we are connected to it through the aether. Distant faith-based things have a reduced power in Etla because of the rift (like deities from other realms). This brings about holy and unholy magics, divine-granted powers, etc. Paladins and any other sort of 'faith-based' power user are granted their power determined by their devotion. Meaning, they must pray regularly, or give an offering or otherwise 'pay the price' for their powers just as any other magic user must.
 - Tiers and Preps: The tiers are a suggestion for breaking types of spells down into the amount of time/effort/cost they should require to enact. The actual 'time' as-in number of preps, is up to the players and heavily situational. Each RP will call for different things so this is where we're giving you back a little power. Use your best judgement when casting in an RP with others.
« Last Edit: October 24, 2017, 08:11:54 PM by Eliel »

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Offline Rapt

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Reply #2 on: October 24, 2017, 07:11:52 PM
I have a question about the shifting and how it works with the balance side

There are so many different types! So how does it work to balance with say, a dragon turning human, vs a Therianthrope turning? Or a druid? What is the cost they have to pay?

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Offline Eliel

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Reply #3 on: October 24, 2017, 07:28:47 PM
There's no simple black and white answer. The idea is simply that nothing is free. The balance is more like... If you're drawing from a personal reserve or channeling the aether through yourself, then there's essentially a cooldown effect. You've depleted part or all of your resources to 'pay the price' of the spell and time must pass to restore the balance of energies. However, if you pull directly from the aether or from the island/planet, then the price must be paid some other way. And if you haven't offered up something, the aether may just take it wherever it sees fit (and this ties into a future plot twist >.>)

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Offline Rapt

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Reply #4 on: October 24, 2017, 08:02:01 PM
Oh that is cool!!

So like with Psionics, since it is all your own self it would be likely to cause exhaustion, hunger or possible aneurysm?

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Offline Eliel

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Reply #5 on: October 24, 2017, 08:14:14 PM
Sure! lol. I mean, hopefully not an aneurysm. I suppose they would require time spent meditating or 'recharging' so as to have a full reserve to pull from perhaps? I also added to the FAQ post above to try to break things down into a more 'what-this-means-for-rp' sense.

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Offline Eliel

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Reply #6 on: October 28, 2017, 04:36:07 PM
Added a new guideline around the rift and it's effect on 'outside' magics.
Example: If you are granted your powers from Venus, you are partially cut off from that deity while inside the rift. Your powers are weakened.

This also protects from lore crossover. If all your abilities are from a Japanese-based mythology, then there could be a hit here as well since this is not Japan.
There are always exceptions and loopholes or particular scenarios. We could go into the intricacies of how the Rift moves and shifts through time and space that could potentially give you more power at some times and less power at others, but that seems much more complicated. The general gist here is to account for the existence of the Rift and how it might affect external influences.

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