Progressive Arcanum

[TheHangedMan]

Imperfectionist said
I was confused when I first looked at this, but I assume it's a typo. You meant "Magestrava/Magestravi", right? Ah, it's fantastic. Basically, it's M:tA set in the Renaissance, the Technocracy took over. The mystics and the technocrats are on much more even footing, making the conflict less one-sided... I'd highly recommend picking up a copy, if you can find one.

Oh. Oops. Didn't notice that. Yeah, it's a typo.

Leotamer said
Hangedman, you never answered my question. Do fairies exist, and I don't need a lot about them, just the general feel of them since they can range from good, to chaotic, to flat out evil.

Sorry if I left you . . . Hanging *bdm-tss!* Ehem, bad puns aside, Faeries exists, but they are classed as Greater Divine Beings, and exist outside the dimension of the RP. Their logic is fundamentally different from humans, but from our standpoint, they are chaotic-good.

[Leotamer]

Basically, I am thinking about having a character with some interaction with the fay and went off the deep end because of it.

[Imperfectionist]

Komamisa said
Highly proficient in Outsorcery, an athletic character that also has a keen interest in Pythomancy. There would be interest in Ouramancy, but the aptitude and predisposition just aren't there. Despite what being athletic and skilled in outsorcery may imply, the character is more than muscles.

Well, that's kind of funny, we've come up with opposites. I'm intending my character to be a rather frail and sickly Ouramancer, without a lick of talent in Outsorcery (though not for lack of trying). She studies Pythomancy in hopes of partnering with magical creatures to substitute for the outward, physical magic she lacks (and for protection from unseen forces... she's a bit paranoid), and would be very jealous of someone like that.

Having spirits, ancestors, gods and devils in your head from an early age isn't the healthiest way to grow up, and she has some distinct instabilities and neuroses, again being jealous of someone who can so easily control the world around them...

[TheHangedMan]

It's pretty cool to see you guys already thinking up character concepts before the RP's even started :)

Any way, I'll be done with everything soon. Also, additional information:

Sepcarim - these are special cases in which a person can manipulate only one of the Maian, so while they technically aren't Magestrava, they aren't exactly normal either. Sepcarim consists of around 2% of the population, so as you can tell, are rare:

Monks' - people who can only manipulate Xi. They are generally recognized by there robust physicality and great strength, Monks typically make excellent bodyguards or watchmen.

Shamans' - People who can only manipulate Karma. While their ability to manipulate the elements is fearsome it is severely limited. It cannot cause destruction on the same level as normal Magestravi - this is because nature abhors destruction. Also, rather than bending the energy to your will to get a desired outcome, it is more like Shamans borrow power from nature, and it is at their discretion whether or not to give you that power.

Sykers' - Are people who can only use Sakra. They are adept at many things involving the mind. They can see across countries, predict the future, predict who is predicting the future, read minds, cause mass-hypnosis, and even alter memories en-mass. A downside, however, is that Sykers generally tend to be frail of health, as their body is trying to compensate for their abilities.

[Imperfectionist]

Does magic run through bloodlines? For example, could my Ouramancer come from a line of such Magestrava, with the talent skipping generations every so often?

Is it more metaphysical than that?

EDIT: The idea of nature abhoring destruction confuses me...

[TheHangedMan]

Imperfectionist said
Does magic run through bloodlines? For example, could my Ouramancer come from a line of such Magestrava, with the talent skipping generations every so often?Is it more metaphysical than that?

Magic is more of a mutation in the normal populace, while Ouramancers need bloodline and history to be born with the talent - but yes, they can come from a line of Magestrava, so long as there is indeed Ouramancer blood somewhere there.

[Komamisa]

Note that everything I say is purely theoretical or observational, and always based on my own conjecture and/or understanding of what has been said. I don't claim to be representative in any way of TheHangedMan's opinions, ideas or established lore.

---

From what I understood, a bloodline can also gain the Ouramancer disposition by having a history of interactions with Magical Beings, or having a sufficiently powerful ancestry for the spirits to form a minor guardian deity.

That being said, both situations require plenty of luck, or ludicrous amounts of hard work that won't even pay off for the immediate participants. On that note, due to my planned character backstory (should it be approved), it's quite possible that my character's possible future children, grandchildren, etc. would inherit the ability to perform Ouramancy.

Imperfectionist said EDIT: The idea of nature abhoring destruction confuses me...

May not be the answer our dear GM would make or have in mind at all. But in a sense, the spirits/energy of nature tend to prefer a "natural order" to things. That meaning: nature is a fickle thing. While natural disasters naturally occur, forcing something as vast, moody and powerful as nature to take an unnatural course through magic is like trying to control fate itself. So, in a more direct definition, the destruction brought about by a natural disaster is just a matter of course, while destruction using forces of nature via manipulation of the Karma that constitutes it is destruction—otherwise, it can also be thought of as the destruction of the natural order.

If we wanted to get truly philosophical, we could start inquiring as to whether or not the actions of humans constitute the "will" of natural order, or if humans are innately unnatural and all actions taken by humans are subject to nature's scrutiny. But, I'd rather not go there.

Leotamer said
Basically, I am thinking about having a character with some interaction with the fay and went off the deep end because of it.

Essentially, that entails a, "Congratulations on stumbling upon the domain of fairies!" award. Fairies are... interesting creatures. If TheHangedMan is influenced by the lore I think he's using for the fae, then they're a particularly strange species that have no sense whatsoever of human values and typically can not be seen by humans. They live in an entirely different world, a sort of parallel dimension that they'll only come out of for their own devices or if someone of particularly strong aptitude in magic (or extraordinarily good/bad luck) contacts them to gain some form of artifact.

More on your topic, getting brain scrambled by the blue and orange morality fae is pretty plausible, whether the character had purposely contacted them or merely stumbled upon them.

[Imperfectionist]

Komamisa said
From what I understood, a bloodline can also gain the Ouramancer disposition by having a history of interactions with Magical Beings, or having a sufficiently powerful ancestry for the spirits to form a minor guardian deity.

That being said, both situations require plenty of luck, or ludicrous amounts of hard work that won't even pay off for the immediate participants. On that note, due to my planned character backstory (should it be approved), it's quite possible that my character's possible future children, grandchildren, etc. would inherit the ability to perform Ouramancy.

Mm, my idea for Ouramancers is that if a bloodline that has gained such abilities continues to practice the mysticism they originated from, every child in that line who would have been a general Magestrava become Ouramancers instead. So, they are much rarer than the general populace, but the numbers are altogether more predictable, as there are only a few families in each area who boast such power (maybe magic, specifically Ouramancy, is more common among these families, as well?).

:) As for your character background, do you think you might be able to blend it with mine a little? After all, my character's family is one of the few in Lismos with the "gift", as it were, and yours (she? he?) would have to have observed it in action somewhere, right? What if they knew each other before being enrolled in the Academy? I always like it when characters have pre-established rapport.

Komamisa said
May not be the answer our dear GM would make or have in mind at all. But in a sense, the spirits/energy of nature tend to prefer a "natural order" to things. That meaning: nature is a fickle thing. While natural disasters naturally occur, forcing something as vast, moody and powerful as nature to take an unnatural course through magic is like trying to control fate itself. So, in a more direct definition, the destruction brought about by a natural disaster is just a matter of course, while destruction using forces of nature via manipulation of the Karma that constitutes it is destruction—otherwise, it can also be thought of as the destruction of the natural order.

If we wanted to get truly philosophical, we could start inquiring as to whether or not the actions of humans constitute the "will" of natural order, or if humans are innately unnatural and all actions taken by humans are subject to nature's scrutiny.

Reasonable, except that Magestrava are specifically noted as being able to control the forces of nature quite well, seemingly without repercussions beyond the problems with overuse of Karma... Maybe that's what makes them so badass? Because they have access to all three forms of energy, Outsorcerors can just flip Mother Nature the bird and throw as many fireballs and lightning bolts as they want. Hmm.

As for the actions of humans, I've honestly never heard any inquiries of that sort. From my experience, it's civilization, and its progenitor, agriculture, that are considered unnatural. Humans, after all, are just animals. It is when we tame the planet for our own selfish needs that the nature spirits would probably get pissed.

[TheHangedMan]

Imperfectionist said
Mm, my idea for Ouramancers is that if a bloodline that has gained such abilities continues to practice the mysticism they originated from, every child in that line who would have been a general Magestrava become Ouramancers instead. So, they are much rarer than the general populace, but the numbers are altogether more predictable, as there are only a few families in each area who boast such power (maybe magic, specifically Ouramancy, is more common among these families, as well?).:) As for your character background, do you think you might be able to blend it with mine a little? After all, my character's family is one of the few in Lismos with the "gift", as it were, and yours (she? he?) would have to have observed it in action somewhere, right? What if they knew each other before being enrolled in the Academy? I always like it when characters have pre-established rapport.Reasonable, except that Magestrava are specifically noted as being able to control the forces of nature quite well, seemingly without repercussions beyond the problems with overuse of Karma... Maybe that's what makes them so badass? Because they have access to all three forms of energy, Outsorcerors can just flip Mother Nature the bird and throw as many fireballs and lightning bolts as they want. Hmm.As for the actions of humans, I've honestly never heard any inquiries of that sort. From my experience, it's , and its progenitor, agriculture that are considered unnatural. Humans, after all, are just animals. It is when we tame the planet, for our own selfish needs that the nature spirits would probably get pissed.

Aah, wait, I see what you're going on about. Yeah, it's easy to see why you're confused about the Shamans.

Koma's got most of it down, to be honest, but if I were to elaborate further: A Magestrava can indeed use the elements to their will, but in comparison to Shamans, you can call what Magestravi do as a second-hand imitation. When a Magestrava uses Karma to create an element, he is in a sense, fooling 'Nature' (plural 'N' as this signifies that it is a collective consciousness of the land) into thinking that this is natural. However, Mother Nature will eventually catch on. This happens when you begin to overuse Karma. It alerts Nature that something is wrong, and the immediate response is this: what you're doing is unnatural, so Nature is going to make it so that it is natural, i.e; they are going to make you a part of nature, usually into whatever element in particular you were abusing.

Shamans, on the other hand, don't have to fear this happening to them, as they have a direct contact with Nature which can be cut by either party at any time.

[Imperfectionist]

Odd. What stops a Magestrava from crafting a bond like that? What if they wish to live as a Shaman, and they don't want to "trick" Nature, as you say? If it's all the same energy, why can't the Magestrava use Karma in the same fashion, without using the other energies? In fact, why can't Magestrava perform the abilities of all of the Sepcarim, if it's all the same energy?

[TheHangedMan]

Imperfectionist said
Odd. What stops a Magestrava from crafting a bond like that? What if they wish to live as a Shaman, and they want to "trick" Nature, as you say? If it's all the same energy, why can't the Magestrava use Karma in the same fashion, without using the other energies? In fact, why can't Magestrava perform the abilities of of the Sepcarim, if it's all the same energy?

Sepcarim are simply born with more. More control, more tolerance, more sensitivity, etc. when it comes to using these energies. They were born with bodies that were crafted through chance that can specifically handle their abilities.

In theory, a Magestrava can do what a Monk and Syker can, but again, only superficially. It will take more than a miracle to reach what they can do with ease. As for Shamans, they are more sensitive to the movement of Nature - their perception of it is largely different from everyone else's, be they Magestrava or not. They can see and interact with it on it's basest form, which is a gigantic living organism. Basically, they can see the Circle of Life and ride on it.

[Imperfectionist]

Ah, very well. Magestrava are magical jacks-of-all-trades, whereas the Sepcarim (and Ouramancers, I suppose) are specialized and limited. While I'm thinking about it, is there another type of magic that Ouramancers can learn, or are they pretty much stuck with what they've got?

[TheHangedMan]

Imperfectionist said
Ah, very well. Magestrava are magical jacks-of-all-trades, whereas the Sepcarim (and Ouramancers, I suppose) are specialized and limited. While I'm thinking about it, is there another type of magic that Ouramancers learn, or are they pretty much stuck with what they've got?

Sorry. Stuck with what they got :) Oh, they can learn other stuff, but at best, whatever they learn can be done by kids . . .

[Imperfectionist]

Well, that's what I thought. Yay for cantrips.

[Shifter_Master]

I get the unfortunate feeling I live in a different time Zone then the majority of you, why do the good ones always have to be out of synch T^T

Imperfectionist said
Indeed. So, how about those characters?We've had a few people mention specific schools they're interested in (Ouramancy for myself, Automancy for Traitor), but what about you, Koma? Do you have a specific branch in mind for your character?

The idea I had for this question kinda leads me back to Mage and to Akasha-Deviancy more specifically. I had the idea that my character had a dream or hallucination or something right before he realized his talent, that has him hellbent on trying to learn Akasha-Deviancy, the whats and whys still need hammering out but the base of the idea is a Jack of all trades trying to become a master of everything

[archie]

I am interested. Peaked my interest.

[TheHangedMan]

Shifter_Master said
I get the unfortunate feeling I live in a different time Zone then the majority of you, why do the good ones always have to be out of synch T^TThe idea I had for this question kinda leads me back to Mage and to Akasha-Deviancy more specifically. I had the idea that my character had a dream or hallucination or something right before he realized his talent, that has him hellbent on trying to learn Akasha-Deviancy, the whats and whys still need hammering out but the base of the idea is a Jack of all trades trying to become a master of everything

Several questions pop to mind:

1. What is his talent?


2. Why is he so driven?


3. In what way is he a Jack-Of-All-Trades?

Just keep in mind that Akasha-Deviancy is the absolute highest epitome of all magic studies. Talent, hard-work and luck mean nothing alone when it comes to this branch; you have to bring all three together, but even then it's not guaranteed. It is the ultimate goal for every Scholarly inclined Magestrava, and I will put you through hell if you even attempt to study it - that's just how difficult it is.

[XNoBrainX]

Well, can I also be a monk? Because I have no idea what a monk character would be studying, at least a character focused on Xi is what I want. Because they're awesome in areas with all kinds of mages xD.

[TheHangedMan]

XNoBrainX said
Well, can I also be a monk? Because I have no idea what a monk character would be studying, at least a character focused on Xi is what I want. Because they're awesome in areas with all kinds of mages xD.

Monks can only use Xi, you know? So he won't be able to cast spells . . .

[Shifter_Master]

@Hanged: I'm still ironing out the idea so these questions are quite welcome, I find it easier to figure them out when I'm trying to answer someone.

1: This is the part I'm getting most stuck on as I'm not quite sure what I could do, a few ideas were a better knack for Mana manipulation (Unlikely as that sounds kinda over powered) Slightly higher then normal reserves in the basic energies, or stronger ability to sense magical energies around him. Ideas or input would be appreciated on this as I'm not quite sure what boundaries are in place at the moment as I don't want to get attached to an idea that is past them.

2: The reason he is driven is multi-fold, part of it is coming from a lower class family and wanting to prove, both to him self and to others that he is worth something, another part is the feeling that he needs to excel over his peers so that he can in turn use these abilities to try and either provide for his family or raise himself to the point where he will never have to worry about being reduced to poverty again, not sure which yet as haven't decided if he will be antagonistic or not. Yet another part is just natural drive and stubbornness but, the last part is a mental image I had that crystallized the character for me. In a vivid dream, or some of the like, he got a sense of what it would be like to have the world in his hands as if it were putty allowing him to change and play with at his whim, of what it would be like to be a God. Shortly after this experience his magical talents were discovered and to him it seemed like a sign of what he could do, if not what he should do.

3: A Jack-of-all-trades in the sense that he tries not to focus on any one school of magic as they all likely have a part of the puzzle, so he will have to master all of them to an extent to learn even where to begin to start learning about the secret that is behind being able to preform even the tiniest portion of Akasha-Deviancy. Go to all the classes, learn all that he can, practice till he can barely stand or barely think and hardly breath and if he is lucky, maybe, just maybe, he will hit upon the first step needed to get to the starting line to start learning that which has eluded all others

I know I've picked the hardest thing for someone to go in to as you even stated it is a theoretical magic, so if all the masters that have come to pass can't conceive of a way to practice it, a student who is just started his learning is going to have a snowball's chance, but he will either learn how or die trying for if he is to back down or change his goal all he would have done is prove everyone right in that he is nothing, that he is worthless and to him that is no different then death for it took every thing he had to get here, But that makes playing him all the better

Grammar and the like