ActRaiserTheReturned

Forgotten Sands: A Divine Journey into the Unknown

@Vec I'm curious, we have a star god/light god, but I am the god of the sky. . . should Orranoth and the other guy clash, he'd have stronger control over the stars would I have none?

Forgotten Sands: A Divine Journey into the Unknown

Orranoth

Orranoth

God Concept (3-5 sentences):
A god of magic, and of the powers of the sky. (The Domains of Magic And Sky) This deity is the provider of Esoteric knowledge and the provider of blessing from the wind and rain. He is a god who is both a caring provider AND wise teacher, and is the divine manifestation of seeking out inspiration and the unknown.

Appearance:
His eyes are like stars that shine in the night sky, to some. To others his eyes are a deep glowing blue within blue. He is dressed in a long flowing white robe symbolizing the clouds, and of course he has the stereotypical white beard and moustache. Different mortals see him differently.

Motivation:

He is there to gift mortals with the powers of the sky and magic. He wants to ensure people use magic responsibly, and not abuse others for it. He also blesses the earth with his rain.
Magic, in Orranoth's ideal world, would only be a source of beauty, blessing and provision for the people. Mortals would prosper and the only difference between the mortals and gods would be that mortals would be just lesser divine beings.
Those realms that exalt Orranoth above other gods will have their lands blessed with the wind and rain, and will be a haven for magical knowledge.

Roleplay Example:

Orranoth smiled as his worshipers gave him a sacrifice - A strong adventurer offered him the Lion on the alter. An old man offers him all that he owns, his entire herd of camel. A wise little girl could only offer the divine father a couple of bags of seeds, offering them to the god of skies in her prayers, asking the Wise One to transform them into a forest. The curse of drought over the world was lifted, and he, the Sky Father Orranoth blessed the land, bringing the wet, relieving rains, and the seeds would become his Enchanted Forest.

The seeds were planted, and the soil began to glow. Instead of taking centuries, decades, or years, the massive forest grew in three days. Unicorns made their homes in this hallowed place. Benign and wise witch folk hid here from persecution of the ignorant, and the rarely virtuous dragon, likewise made this their home as well. (Thus guarding the creation of the wise Orranoth.)

Availability: At least three times a week, Probably more.

Experience:
I have been role playing for many years, with mixed success, but when I really manage to hit my stride, I'm usually very good at it. I sometimes have trouble keeping up with very indepth role plays but since this is in Casual interest checks I'll probably do well with it.

Mythic Path

Okay folks. Anyone else want to put someone in the charater tab?

Forgotten Sands: A Divine Journey into the Unknown

@ActRaiserTheReturned Even if there does end up being a Discord, we'll still need an OOC and IC thread on here.

Better keep it as much on this site as possible too in my experience, makes it easier to both archive stuff that happens, and for prospective players to know what's going on.

That last part's just my opinion tho

@Rekkuza

Of course, but it's fun to have a medium where we can have free flowing conversations.

Forgotten Sands: A Divine Journey into the Unknown

In general matters, now that we have:
@BingTheWing
@ActRaiserTheReturned
@Rekkuza
@Stanifly
@Cmmelody
and possibly @Theyra

6 people that have either gone through the process of drafting a character or have expressed an interest in the RP. I will start preparing the OOC thread for us to migrate over to whilst waiting for the rest of the spots to fill up.

@Vec

May I host this on my Discord, in case you don't have a Discord for it?

Forgotten Sands: A Divine Journey into the Unknown

@ActRaiserTheReturned I like your idea of magic, really like it. I think there's great potential and I am already theory crafting by myself how to develop it further, however I can't really do that if you walk back previously agreed changes. It could be that you missed it or forgot, and I am not blaming you for it, but it really reads like carelessness to me and Magic of all things should not be introduced into the setting in a careless way.

@Vec

I think what happened is I thought I had edited everything with the agreed changes and I copy pasted everything, thinking so.
But I forgot to edit everything correctly. I apologize for the misunderstanding.
And I agree to the changes.

Forgotten Sands: A Divine Journey into the Unknown

The Four Studies Of Magic
The Four Studies of Magic are fields of study that mages use to cast spells by channeling The "Ideals". Ideals are the Abstract and Perfect: Ideals are not physical objects; they are abstract ideals that embody the perfect version of qualities such as beauty, justice, and equality. For example, while many beautiful things exist in the world, they are all imperfect copies of the Ideal of Beauty itself. Forms are timeless and unchanging concepts, basically existing outside of our space and time.

In a way, Ideals are extra "domains", only they don't belong to gods per se. A domain is basically everywhere in the universe, but Forms, or "Ideals" as they are also called, are outside time and space. Thus, a mage can't manipulate Domains, though a Priest/Cleric can. A mage CAN however, call upon these Ideals/Forms for their power.

Alchemy
Alchemy is basically a form of philosophy called "Ideals(s)". Ideals are concepts that represent true reality, which exert their power over the flawed reality of the physical world. This doctrine of Ideals states that every alchemical ingredient has attributes, which indicate the possible powers it may yield when blended in a potion. Alchemy needs physical ingredients to function, which differentiates it from magick. Alchemy is not merely cheap magic, or potion brewing, but a way to exact change in the world, and in themselves through said potions.

Magick
Magick is the most classical "Use hand gestures and spoken words for power" type of spell casting. In order to create a magical object, or to enchant one's self or someone else, rituals have to be performed perfectly. The reason for this is that Magick is basically channeling The Ideal(s) that the Mage knows into reality. Most Mages combine Alchemy and Magick together to cast spells. Think of Magick as whispers of Ideals. Magicians that learn Magick typically earn their knowledge from scrolls, spell books, and other inscriptions, rarely, but sometimes through oral recitations. The "magic words" are given power through these rituals and repetitious spell castings, rather than by being innately powerful like the spells of Wizardry.

Magicians are given the power to manipulate reality through channeling these Ideals, and depending on their level of expertise and skill, they can generally do so only a few or maybe several times a day before their spells begin to drain their strength or even their life force.

Wizardry
While the other spells can be used from different languages, Wizardry it'self is cast by words that are innately magical. Spells from wizards are words that are innately powerful. Master wizards rarely cast spells of this form of magic with more than three words in a chain at once. Even three Words in one spell is equated to that of a master. Wizardry speaks Ideal into existence directly.

Wizardry is a process of studying Ideals. Proper study of Ideal(s) will allow the Wizard to learn more about magic, making the Wizard more like what they study until they are no longer just studying The Ideal, but infuse themselves with the power and esoteric qualities of Ideal(s) it'self.

There comes a cost to accruing too much knowledge and power through Wizardry. This is why proper Wizards require years, decades or sometimes even life times to Master, and why they are often depicted as wizened old men. Mastering more than one Ideal exacts the cost of acquiring the characteristics of said Ideal. If the proper precautions - rest, focus of technique, and meditation are not practiced regularly, the Wizard is no longer the same man or woman.

"Through madness, ethical, philosophical and other such psychological changes, and in many cases even physiological changes such as petrified skin—in the case of Wizards of Earth—in the Wizard, they change into a different person, thus they are effectively lost. Some Wizards may even find themselves sacrificing their very lives in order to cast a desperately needed Wizard spell, whatever the reason, as without the proper casting, Wizard spells can be very dangerous."

Witchcraft
Witches learn power from the Ideals via a special intermediary called a Patron. A Patron is an intelligent spirit like being that represents The Ideal. While Wizards and Mages are like people who melt ice and snow to drink water directly, the Witch's Patron are like water filters.
Boons and Hexes are spells that effect changes representing the witch's interpretation of what the Ideal is,
but aren't always as strong as a Mage or Wizard's spells. On the other hand, the lack of potency from a Witch's spells might actually be an advantage rather than a deficit. Reality won't punish the witch as harshly as a Wizard of Mage.

But this easier access to magic can be tempting, and is still dangerous with over use. If witches should for some reason lose access to their Patron or anger them, they lose access to their magic.

Forgotten Sands: A Divine Journey into the Unknown

hallo, this all looks really interesting. I'm still building my cs, but I'm thinking of making a god with the domains of dreams and oblivion, someone who welcomes the delusional and the desperate when they lose themselves in him to run away from their problems. will have the cs up within the next couple of days, hopefully.

@ActRaiserTheReturned your magic system is very interesting. would you mind if I built off it a little? just in terms of how people could possibly use the 3 studies of magic to reach or interact with my god's domain, that sort of thing. @Vec do let me know if this is okay too.

@Stanifly

Witchcraft has been added to the other three studies of magic, too. :

Mythic Path

Mr. Warlow - 5th Period AP Literature Teacher (and mage)

Name: Thaddeus Warlow
Age: 52
Appearance:

An older man with gray, short well-trimmed hair. He has dark olive skin, a grayed out beard, and bags under his eyes. He is well put together and wears his hair elegantly slicked back; he takes pride in his appearance. He used to wear standard civilian clothing, just a long sleeved shirt and a sweater vest and a nice pair of pants. But ever since he was isekai'd into Mer, he's taken on a more dramatized appearance--dressing more like Dracula, long red high-collared cloak and all. If magic is real, then he should at least have fun and look the part.

Background:

Warlow was always a good kid, maybe a bit eccentric with a heavy interest in drama and gossip, but a good kid. In high school, he was most likely a "theater kid"; very loud, melodramatic, and always trying to take center stage. Regardless, he was well-studied and generally liked by all his teachers for his attentiveness in class. Yes, he was both a theater kid and a top student. It was the only thing that kept him sane.

And his theater kid nature remained as such during his time in university as he studied...

Teaching.

He was gunning to be an English teacher! He'd spice up his students' life with plenty of theatrics and show them the drama of non-fiction, fiction, and everything else! A noble idea, though it was a boring and stressful period of his life. After graduating, he taught at a high school to mixed reception. Either seen as highly annoying or extremely hilarious by his students, he was a bit disappointed, but it was his duty as a teacher to accommodate his class. For some, he was more 'serious' and to the point, for others; he was more theatric and jokey.

During his late 30s as a teacher, he married another co-worker. The marriage was average--nothing special, nothing really "great". They had a single daughter, but the love was already fading due to workplace drama and eventually his co-worker left him for another man.

And he was not able to take care of his daughter nor his students as he was unceremoniously pulled into Mer.

Other Information You Want Us To Know:

Heavily inspired by Dr. Orpheus from Venture Bros. Couldn't resist it. also I'm totally cool with adding some kind of limiter in case he's too powerful magic-wise as a spell master/archmage, I'm thinking he NEEDS a staff or another kind of weapon to channel his magic through as using his own body as a conduit is hyper dangerous (could accidentally blow himself up casting magic missile from his hands or something of the sort), but I'm open to other ideas.

Generally my greatest limiter for these kinds of characters is making them highly flawed, if not a bit stupid. So I do anything goofy or strange during the RP, that's just kinda what I do to keep myself from being too OP if the situation calls for it.

Archetype: Spell Master Wizard
A generalist, Warlow takes pride in being able to cast at least one spell from each and every school of magic. He is a jack-of-all trades in terms of magical prowess.

Mythic Path: The Archmage

Perhaps an isolating path, the way of the Archmage is one of intense studying. Wizards undertake a solitary oath to focus on nothing but their magic. In that, they become all-powerful, much more so compared to other mages. After their studies; they are teachers, scribes, and the carriers of all things magic. Of course, they are also the strongest in their field of magic, excluding a few other hyper-specialized mythic paths.

Warlow walks the path of the Archmage; he specializes heavily in his spells and surpasses standard magical limitations through intense practice and honing of his powers. This, in addition to his generalist magic powerset, grants him an incredibly versatile skillset in the battlefield.

While high versatile and powerful, using multiple schools of magic at once is hard on Warlow's mind as an Archmage. When using multiple schools of magic at once (i.e. conjuration, necromancy, and illusions), each spell will be weaker compared to specialist Archmages.

Progression

Level 1
Hand of the Apprentice
Warlow infuses his weapon with magic to fly from his hands and strike a foe before returning to his hand. This can also be used in more general-sense; such as knocking over high/far away objects with his weapon or surprising enemies from a safe distance.

Level 2
Magical Imbuement
Warlow can imbue creatures and people with his magic, allowing them cast minor spells such as, but not limited to: fireball, minor restoration, mage armor, etc for a short period of time. This imbuement will prevent Warlow from accessing techniques level 5 and onward until the effect wears off or he transfers his power back to himself.

If Warlow imbues another magical practitioner with his magic, they will gain access to stronger spells and have an increased level of magic for a short period of time. (Stacking buff, basically.)

Level 3
Overdue Extension
Warlock can double the duration of any magical effect. He can extend the duration of invisibility spells, growth and shrinking spells, flight spells, etc. Any buff or debuff spell you can think of, he can double the duration.

Level 4
Double time
Warlow can freely double the effects of any spell. It's exactly what it sounds like, and he does it at virtually no cost.
This is replaced by Triple time at level 7.

Level 5
Spell Empowerment
Once a day, Warlow is capable of empowering a single spell to the highest degree to maximize it's effectiveness. It can turn the simplest of fireballs into a controlled mini-nuke, the weakest of ice spells into boulder-sized glacier, and can even turn the frailest of summons into a mythical beast (in a metaphorical sense, of course).

Level 6
Metamagic Mastery
Warlow is capable of extending the range of his spells to the highest degree. Need a shield from another zipcode? All he needs is sight of you, some focus, and bam! You got it! Need fireball casted but the demon you're fighting is high up in the sky and you can't reach? Don't worry, Warlow's got you!

He needs line-of-sight for this spell to work. Blindness/smoke/darkness/swarms that block vision will negate the effects of this and prevent him from extending his spell range.

Level 7
Triple Time
Any spell that Warlow casts is tripled. If he summons one dog, he now gets three. If he applies one barrier to an ally, it's now three barrier spells cast on the same person. This technique does not apply for necromancy's raising the dead.

Level 8
Body of the Apprentice
Warlow can enchant his staff further and change it's form to suit his needs. He is now capable of using this transformed staff to act a makeshift sword, corpse, familiar, and person should it be needed. Should he ever need to cast a quick "raise the dead" or support another necromancer, he'll be able to turn his staff into a corpse to raise the dead.

Of course, he is also capable of transforming his staff back into a staff after the fact.

Level 9
The Final Chapter
Warlow can freely combine any two schools of magic at once without any penalty to damage or spell effectiveness. This merging of two schools is less stressful his mind and becomes almost natural.

Level 10
The Grandest Climax
Consumed by arcane knowledge, Warlow becomes a walking pillar of magic. He combines each and every school of magic into itself--a rugged fusion of everything he's ever learned--without penalty. He is overflowing with power and should he cast magic without a proper conduit, the surrounding area will be harmed. Greatly. No one shall be spared from his arcane wrath, nor will any enemy of his live to see the mighty Archmage.

@Auragreedia

I'd put this in character tab now. And maybe replace your first level with a better power. :D

Forgotten Sands: A Divine Journey into the Unknown

<Snipped quote by ActRaiserTheReturned>

Do witches summon these spirits and cast their magic through them, or can they cast their magic without the aid of the spirit? I quite like the former, but not so the latter.

@Vec

More so the former rather than the latter. Patrons are entities that half way exist in the universe and half way don't. Without access to the Patrons, the witch loses her/his power.