(A little bit of a backstory for this, I wrote a story for myself of this back in 2008, then a few months later, found out about Fate and was upset. This was supposed to be a Card Game with a regular anime for it to be based on. The story was exceptionally similar to fate, and you'll notice quite a few parallels unfortunately. If you have questions or want to suggest anything, let me know)

Long ago, before humans and the creatures of myth were born, there was the light among the cosmos. Each of these lights teemed with immeasurable magical power, and soon birthed a race of beings from themselves known as gods. The gods arrived upon their world and with none to rule over, they used their magic to create subjects of their own, humans. Over millennia the humans would war with one another to appease their gods, that is until one subject with loft goals sought an end to the god ruled world.
Being born of the gods, a latent magical force, Pneuma, lay deep within humans, and only those with a strong enough intellect and will could draw it forth. The subject soon was feared by the gods and some sought to make an ally of them. However, being mortal, the subject feared the one thing that the gods could stave. Death. For a mortal had but one life time, while a god had innumerous.
The subject, along with many trusted companions, some divine, some mortal,and even others infernal, ventured forth to find a way to dull Death’s icy blade. In their adventures, they gathered a force which could contain the comic light’s power, a chalice to hold the powers of the Sun itself. But it came at a terrible price.
With cup in hand, and power at last, paranoia soon beset the group. Why share the power to ignore death? What would become of the rest of the world? The Cup soon was the focus of another war which destroyed god and man alike, until the Subject’s most trusted companion drank deeply from it, invoking a flood to wash away all that had been, to start anew.
The Chalice was lost, but the people of the world were not. Many had been spared, having survived upon great mountains, and soon the waters subsided. With the gods scattered and destroyed, many of their civilizations had little interaction with their gods, until, no longer needed, they accepted fate, and faded.
Centuries later, and the Chalice was found once more, it’s power but a fraction of what it once held. This time, a group of thirteen had found it, These thirteen would eventually rear what would be known as the Thirteen Great Magus Bloodlines. The power of the Chalice allowed them to once more draw forth the power of Pneuma, Realizing this could lead to disaster, should the Magic of Pneuma be spread, the thirteen vowed to only teach those within their bloodlines the ways of Pneuma.
The chalice’s power was great, and would grant power, fortune, and wealth upon the family that held it. Dedicated to balance, the thirteen had created a magical rule that would be protected by the Chalice. That the Chalice would switch hands every ten years to the strongest bloodline. In doing so, they had created a game.
The Mage’s Game.
Every ten years each of the Magus families would have seven of their own chosen by the Chalice to compete in a battle royale with one another, the Chalice giving them each a living weapon to fight with known as a Vormund. The Vormund were near-perfect replicas of deified fallen and popular images that had gathered form from the collective consciousness of the world. However, each was molded by the image the Magier held of that person.
The Vormund would not know their identity, and as part of the game, creatures would be hunted down for their Pnuema, to increase the power of the Vormund. Once enough power was gathered, a limit was unlocked from the Vormund, allowing them to regain part of who they were, until they regained their once near godlike power.
The Vormund, as protector of the Magier, would do battle for the Magier, though a magier could fight for themselves as well, a Vormund increased the chances of victory.
Upon victory, the family that won the game would receive the Chalice, and those that competed would be given one Wish spell. However, like with all wishes, they needed to be careful with how it was worded.
Be that as it may, the power of the Magier’s is not limitless, and four of the families had been wiped out due to fear from the common folk. Due to this, a wish was once made that allowed the Magier’s Game to continue without notice from normal humans. This allowed an illusion to be placed upon the Chalice’s selected battlefield. When Pneuma would clash, humans would see it as various tragedies. A gas explosion, mass disappearance, car crashes, etc.
Now, with the 537th game about to commence, we wait with baited breath to see who will win, and what dark and sinister changes will occur this year.

TERMS:

Magier: This is a person who can perform magic by using a focus and Pneuma. These Focuses can be a number of things, but the Spiel Association has created a common focus in Spell Cards.

Pneuma: A magical life force within all people and animals. This force can be drained by using magic, but can replenish itself over time.

Vormund: A bodyguard and weapon for the Magier, created from the spirits of the dead, and the dreams of those that don’t exist. The Magier’s conscious and subconscious mold the Vormund’s appearance. Because of this, someone like Nobunaga could be summoned as a woman, or George Washington could become a young boy. The limit of a Vormund is not just historical figures, but also pantheons, and literary characters (within reason).
A Vormund begins life as a Base Class, a large pool of classes that can expand when the need arises, that hold a generalized form of what the Vormund is. Be it Warrior, Tactician, Mystic, Traveler, ranger, cavalry, tamer, Rogue and many more.
Once a Vormund has defeated an enemy Vormund, or gathered enough Pneuma from fallen creatures, they gain a Limit Up, which allows them access to more of their skills and abilities. This also gives them a Specialized Class, focusing more towards what they were in life. For example, A Spear using Warrior may evolve into a Rune Lancer, should magic be a more well known part of their life. Or perhaps a Ranger from a more modern war might become a Cannoneer due to their familiarity with the weapon.
If a Vormund is able to slay ten Vormund OR Magier, they will be given their true name back, allowing access to their full powers. As there are only 63 Magier in a given Game, the total number of Full Power Vormund is limited to 6 unless by other unspoken methods.
More than one of the Vormund’s namesake can be summoned, but not as the same class.

Magic Cards: A type of focus that allows one to channel a magic spell through the image on it. In doing so, this gives the Magier a more detailed image in their mind to create. Magic Cards are not necessary, as are any Focus, but do help alleviate the Pneuma cost of a spell.
Focus: An item that is used by a Magier to channel Pneuma through and give it form. Many throughout the years had used Crystals and Staves, making them the core of the spell.

Spiel Association: An organized group of Magier’s that maintain a close watch on all matters of the games, and even capitalize on them in order to set up merchant shops during them.

Creatures: Magical creatures of yore that are created by the Chalice and unleashed upon the Battlefield that are used as Fodder by the Magiers in the game. However there are special Creatures that are worth prizes and money, depending on their challenge rating.

Bloodlines: The bloodlines of the original 13. While they have been spread over the years, and some have even found their way into multiple bloodlines, there is one starting bloodline that also allows ease of use of certain elements of Pneuma. While a Magier can use any element, they are more naturally gifted with their bloodlines type. The bloodline of the Magiers that remain are:
Ferron: (Metal)
Gaian: (Wood)
Pyrees: (Fire)
Und (Water)
Soil (Earth)
Luft (Wind)
Zif (Lightning)
Nos (Light)
Din (Dark)

Lost Bloodlines:Those that have passed. While their bloodlines are gone, some diluted blood exists in a rare few. Their magics have been nearly lost, with sparse few having studied and recreated their magic to a weaker extent.
Merian (Puppetry)
Globe (Blood)
Mord (Healing)
Vitale (Poison)

CS:
Name:
Age:
Appearance:
Notable Quirks:
History:
Specialized Magic:
Bloodline:

Vormund:
Name: (Only for you and the DM until late game)
Class: (Use the above, unless you have one that you don’t know if they fit, then you can create one as DM allows)
Appearance:
Abilities:
Stats:
Str: (Strength) F-S Agil: (Agility) F-S
Will: (Will) F-S Com: (Command) F-S
Bod: (Body) F-S Fth: (Faith) F-S
Luck: (Luck) F-S

NOTE:
A magier, while weak, can be seen as a rough equivalent of 10 well armed people when properly trained.
A Vormund, can range from the strength of a Magier (F) all the way to a threat to the planet (S).
Agility is a mix of both speed and dexterity.
Will is the ability of a Vormund to mold their Pneuma and use it to perform magic.
Command is the Vormund’s natural charisma, and the air that they command when speaking.
Body is the strength of a Vormund’s body, how tough and strong they are.
Faith is a Vormund’s draw towards Pneuma and the Gods. A high Faith is held by those that worship the gods and attain sainthood, but the gods themselves have little to no Faith themselves.
Luck is the luck of the Vormund, a number of random oddities that affect them. Those that were born with little and raised to the top are seen as very lucky.

Three Vormund choices already taken are:
George Washington (Ranger)
Percival (Guardian)
Benkei (Guardian)

THIS RP TAKES PLACE IN THE MODERN WORLD.