Ohm
Alisdragon911
Scrawl Banditta
N3v3rM0r3
BrokenPromise
Here you will find various questions that have been asked and answered. Please always browse this section first before asking a question.
Is North Bennington a big or small city?
It is rather small. And Shipden Peak itself is just a district a bit further off on top of a big hill.
Wait, so witches can't use their magic on others? How does that work?
The rules by the US are a bit... outdated. Technically a law exists forbidding witches to use magic on others. But in reality, some forms of magic are tolerated. Such as healing. Only with consent though. It is a slippery slope. The lived reality also includes that witches don't report witch-on-witch magic, especially within coven seatings such as Shipden Peak. There also is of course an exception for school - if you study magic, you can use your magical abilities on other witches with the permission of the teacher.
Would there also be workplace applications for magic?
If the contract of employment specifies what kind of magic is being used and under what restrictions the witch may perform it, it is possible to use your magic in a work environment. For example in a hospital for healing purposes.
Can regulations/laws be different in other countries?
Absolutely. In other parts of the world, laws and regulations on magic as well as performing magic may look different. The school system is essentially the same in all the western countries with maybe slight changes - a school system would most likely imitate that of human schools in a country. The performance of magic is also the same in western countries. (Example of a difference: In Germany, any law restricting the education of magic to certain years has long been outlawed, the US is slowly catching up here.)
What is the overall opinion on Necromancy?
The essence of the widespread opinion on Necromancy is that it is (at best) a complicated balance of morality, ethics and restrictions. Moreover, it is seen as an invasion on the natural order of life and death, many moral questions occur and most believe Necromancy is best left alone. Most people, including witches, find Necromancy to be a complicated and perhaps unmoral form of magic. Mostly when it has to do with raising the dead in any shape or form or when it has to do with altering the life essence of a being. Necromancy is known to produce the most curses and can even on a relatively low level of understanding cause sickness and weakness in others. This is a big part of the reason why it is so strongly regulated in the US. It is also one of the hardest schools to master and study, alongside Amalgamation and Animagi (both transmutation).
It is rather small. And Shipden Peak itself is just a district a bit further off on top of a big hill.
Wait, so witches can't use their magic on others? How does that work?
The rules by the US are a bit... outdated. Technically a law exists forbidding witches to use magic on others. But in reality, some forms of magic are tolerated. Such as healing. Only with consent though. It is a slippery slope. The lived reality also includes that witches don't report witch-on-witch magic, especially within coven seatings such as Shipden Peak. There also is of course an exception for school - if you study magic, you can use your magical abilities on other witches with the permission of the teacher.
Would there also be workplace applications for magic?
If the contract of employment specifies what kind of magic is being used and under what restrictions the witch may perform it, it is possible to use your magic in a work environment. For example in a hospital for healing purposes.
Can regulations/laws be different in other countries?
Absolutely. In other parts of the world, laws and regulations on magic as well as performing magic may look different. The school system is essentially the same in all the western countries with maybe slight changes - a school system would most likely imitate that of human schools in a country. The performance of magic is also the same in western countries. (Example of a difference: In Germany, any law restricting the education of magic to certain years has long been outlawed, the US is slowly catching up here.)
What is the overall opinion on Necromancy?
The essence of the widespread opinion on Necromancy is that it is (at best) a complicated balance of morality, ethics and restrictions. Moreover, it is seen as an invasion on the natural order of life and death, many moral questions occur and most believe Necromancy is best left alone. Most people, including witches, find Necromancy to be a complicated and perhaps unmoral form of magic. Mostly when it has to do with raising the dead in any shape or form or when it has to do with altering the life essence of a being. Necromancy is known to produce the most curses and can even on a relatively low level of understanding cause sickness and weakness in others. This is a big part of the reason why it is so strongly regulated in the US. It is also one of the hardest schools to master and study, alongside Amalgamation and Animagi (both transmutation).
So I can play two characters, right?
Everyone can have 2 characters total. Each character must be approved individually. Your first character must be on the "good" side of things and part of Shipden Peak. Your second character may be anyone else of any age and any background or species, as long as I approve them in the end.
You mentioned side characters as PCs?
There will later be the option to play side characters that pop in for a while and then depart to go their own way. You can make another side character once the first popped out and so on. Characters may pop in and out as the plot dictates. This is always at the GM's discretion.
Can I make other species, like a half-demon or fairy?
No, I'm sorry. Those wouldn't work for this setting.
Can my character be an emissary from the local court?
Any official court in the US would be human-ruled. Witches in those positions are highly unlikely. They're barely letting witches have a say in politics as it is. So in short: No.
Do characters have to be born in the United States?
No. You may choose any country of origin.
How many abilities can I pick her school of magic?
You may pick 2-4 abilities per school. However, please avoid actually picking 4 abilities for all three of your schools if possible.
What is an "ability"?
"Ability" refers to a specific "move" or "spell" that falls into the school of magic which your character is really good at or specializes in. The idea is that every witch can (theoretically) perform all 8 schools of magic, but usually, you have a "skill" for 1 specific school and then choose a secondary school.
Magic is a very broad thing in this world. It is unlikely that any one witch has the same skills as another, even if they have the same schools of magic. Mainly this comes down to personality, determination and simply the attunement you get born with.
Is skill level 5 the average?
A skill level of "5" is average for a person who has studied the type of magic for 5-6 years. For your main school of magic, it is most common to have a skill level of 7-9. For your secondary, it is most common to have a skill level of 5-6. For your minor it is most common to have a skill level of 3-5. It depends a bit on whether your character concentrates on evenly studying the schools they picked or if they try to specialise in one or two things.
What does a higher skill level translate to?
The higher your skill level, the more precise and controlled is your magic. With a higher skill level, you may choose more advanced abilities.
Just to be clear, witches are born witches?
Yes. They are born.
How do I choose a name for my ability?
You can go simple and name it as what it does. Or you could google and see if anything comes up that makes sense. Alternatively, our discord server is a good source of help.
Would it make more sense to have skills be useful or can it be whatever?
Abilities can be anything. They usually have to do with personality, determination and an innate ability/skill for that specific ability.
Should we invest in offensive spells?
Offensive abilities make sense but most of the time they aren't solely offensive. Something like melting someone's brain wouldn't be taught in schools. But something like making bone constructs might be taught for Necromancy and could be used offensively if done right. You could pick abilities that can be used offensively.
Everyone can have 2 characters total. Each character must be approved individually. Your first character must be on the "good" side of things and part of Shipden Peak. Your second character may be anyone else of any age and any background or species, as long as I approve them in the end.
You mentioned side characters as PCs?
There will later be the option to play side characters that pop in for a while and then depart to go their own way. You can make another side character once the first popped out and so on. Characters may pop in and out as the plot dictates. This is always at the GM's discretion.
Can I make other species, like a half-demon or fairy?
No, I'm sorry. Those wouldn't work for this setting.
Can my character be an emissary from the local court?
Any official court in the US would be human-ruled. Witches in those positions are highly unlikely. They're barely letting witches have a say in politics as it is. So in short: No.
Do characters have to be born in the United States?
No. You may choose any country of origin.
How many abilities can I pick her school of magic?
You may pick 2-4 abilities per school. However, please avoid actually picking 4 abilities for all three of your schools if possible.
What is an "ability"?
"Ability" refers to a specific "move" or "spell" that falls into the school of magic which your character is really good at or specializes in. The idea is that every witch can (theoretically) perform all 8 schools of magic, but usually, you have a "skill" for 1 specific school and then choose a secondary school.
Magic is a very broad thing in this world. It is unlikely that any one witch has the same skills as another, even if they have the same schools of magic. Mainly this comes down to personality, determination and simply the attunement you get born with.
Is skill level 5 the average?
A skill level of "5" is average for a person who has studied the type of magic for 5-6 years. For your main school of magic, it is most common to have a skill level of 7-9. For your secondary, it is most common to have a skill level of 5-6. For your minor it is most common to have a skill level of 3-5. It depends a bit on whether your character concentrates on evenly studying the schools they picked or if they try to specialise in one or two things.
What does a higher skill level translate to?
The higher your skill level, the more precise and controlled is your magic. With a higher skill level, you may choose more advanced abilities.
Just to be clear, witches are born witches?
Yes. They are born.
How do I choose a name for my ability?
You can go simple and name it as what it does. Or you could google and see if anything comes up that makes sense. Alternatively, our discord server is a good source of help.
Would it make more sense to have skills be useful or can it be whatever?
Abilities can be anything. They usually have to do with personality, determination and an innate ability/skill for that specific ability.
Should we invest in offensive spells?
Offensive abilities make sense but most of the time they aren't solely offensive. Something like melting someone's brain wouldn't be taught in schools. But something like making bone constructs might be taught for Necromancy and could be used offensively if done right. You could pick abilities that can be used offensively.
Can witches detect souls as part of Necromancy?
Souls are protected by layers and layers of other "fabric". One of the outer layers being someone's aura. So detecting aura would be easier and likely more accurate. Souls can leave "imprints" which are a form of "aura" and can be detected by some witches. This would fall into Divination.
What is aura anyway?
There are multiple layers of aura. The most easily detected (unless somehow protected from this) is the magical aura. Someone may detect your primary and possibly secondary school of magic because of your magical aura. This also goes for objects. Another layer is something like emotions. Yet another, very entangled with emotion, is intention/motivation. This one's a bit hard to discern cause emotions are easier to read, thinking of it like emotional aura being bright colors and intention being tiny little threads of dulled colors in-between.
Would a witch be able to identify the nature of magic if they were to touch it or study an object affected by it/an effect created by it?
All magic creates a certain aura. Including those who practice magic. That aura is usually not strong on objects unless they're filled with extreme amounts of it (like curses or some very strong magical items).
A witch might be able to identify the school of magic of a caster if that school is at least a 5/10. A witch might also identify an item or object as magical, infused with magic, or cursed. They might also identify the school of magic here. However, many magical items are actually made in a way that they do not emit magical auras, especially when cursed (duh!). Detecting those magical auras falls under Divination.
I'm thinking of Divination as a school, what should I know about it?
Divination in western society is mostly done without "traditional" (aka stereotypical) assistance of objects such as Tarot cards, blood, bones, ashes, runes, tea leaves, etc. Those ways are seen as outdated. Still much used for divination are pendants for focusing, candles and some calming tea to still the mind. But not everyone requires these. Divination is rarely an exact thing. You may be able to see fractions of the past, present or future. You may spot magical auras. Divination may rely on star constellations or cloud formations, but those are often seen as superstitious and outdated as well.
Is it possible for abjurers to "block" certain kinds of magic? For example, could they purify a person/area to remove illusions, enchantments, alleviate curses, or keep the dead at rest?
They can create certain wards to protect an area. Including against certain types of magic or creatures, depending on your skill level. Creating stable wards is something rather complicated as you would need to weave the magic around an area, hold it somehow and also dictate what it is meant to ward off. If you're looking to remove illusions, for example, that would be easier than actually warding an area against illusions. One is a dispel essentially and the other is an area effect you create and need to uphold.
Is a soul made up of life energy/life force
No, it isn't. It is essentially the thing that ties the soul to the body. A soul is not made of life force. However, life force and souls are closely connected. By harming someone's life force via Necromancy, you can essentially rip the soul from someone's body. (This is highly advanced Necromancy as well as forbidden under US law, so schools would not teach this.)
Does life force regenerate over time if somehow lost/taken/used?
Yes. Life force always tries to balance itself out. It takes some time but as long as the individual is not dead, it will attempt to regenerate.
How are magical objects created?
I will not go into the entire process here. It depends. There are some rather "mundane" magical items - those usually just get imbued with a certain magical ability. It's a transfer of sorts that's happening. Those are easily made, easily detected and easily destroyed. Transmutation would work similarly. You use your magical energy to transform an object. Instead, when creating a magical object, you transform its innate aura and energy by placing magical "molecules" on top of already existing ones. To then make those magical molecules react in the way you want (for example, ward you from spirits or warn you if undead are near) you need to (a) have that skill yourself and (b) know how to layer it. Creating stronger magical items or even cursing them requires time, effort, and high skills (and oftentimes other ingredients such as the right runes). Your character would not be able to do that.
Are animagi capable of doing partial transformations? Would it be an easier or more advanced technique?
Animagi can only turn into the full animal. However, it has been noted that on very rare occasions animagi have some featuristics that align with their animal form, such as the ears. As a rule of thumb, I would say don't give your character those characteristics. (I believe we already have one person doing this.)
What animals can an animagi turn into?
An animagus can only turn into one animal. They don't "choose" which animal that is. The animal would be a representation of their personality. So someone who is generally shy wouldn't be able to turn into a lion or an elephant. Those would draw too much attention. If you wanna play someone who can use animagus magic, make sure to do some research on the animal you wanna pick.
Can transfiguration users be a metamorphmagus?
They can. Metamorphmagus is limited to non-animalistic features. Any change of appearance would need to be upheld. This means 1) the changed features would fade away when asleep or unconscious and 2) smaller changes would require less energy and concentration than, say, pretending you're an entirely different person. Note: The character would need a separate ability to mimic voices or sounds, changing appearance does not include changes to voice or tone.
Does magic require somatic, verbal, etc. components or things like that, or is it largely just done?
Magic always requires purpose and concentration (exceptions are the few passive abilities that might exist). Some use somatic components, some may use gestures, some may use runes (albeit this is outdated and very medieval times). Essentially, it comes down to flavour. Something like animagi doesn't require somatic or verbal components. But something like willing the wind to turn into a storm would require a chant or some other verbal component. At your discretion, you may make that call yourself. But please stay reasonable. The stronger/harder the magic, the more likely it is that the caster requires a little "assistance" through verbal, somatic or other means.
Can you elaborate on the "producing creatures" part of Conjuration, please?
Calling: You are essentially able to call a creature to you from a space or sphere you know and can connect to. For example, if you're able to "banish" or "hold" creatures in a sort of pocket dimension/plane, you'd be able to call upon them to appear where you are. It also works with a physical spot that you've chosen and prepped. Say, you have a cage in your room and you magically bind it to be the spot that your calling ability calls upon - any creature within this cage may then be called to you.
Creation: These spells manipulate matter itself to create an object or creature. Most, but not all of these spells require more magic to hold the creation together after it has been made and when the magic of the spell wears off, the creation simply disappears and the matter returns to its original form, whatever that may have been. (This is Transmutation more than Conjuration but thought I'd list it anyway.) Example: You turn a pile of sand into ants.
Teleportation: You may pull a creature to you or into a closer radius of you by magical means as long as you can see the creature (for more advanced casters this might not require visuals but only the knowledge of the creature's location). This is more short-ranged. You could catch animals this way or summon all bugs from a tree to your enemy's coat... sorta like that.
(Summoning also falls into this but is not really usable in everyday life or combat. It takes longer and it can only summon specific creatures - like a very specific demon for example. It wouldn't work on animals or the like. Disclaimer: I am not saying demons exist. It was the first example that came to mind.)
What is the difference between Conjuration and Transmutation?
Conjuring is calling a creature or an object from place A to B. And transmutation is making thing A into thing B. Example: If the bird was a bird before and was somewhere else before, that's conjuration. If the bird is coming from a pile of sand in a pouch, that is transmutation.
Souls are protected by layers and layers of other "fabric". One of the outer layers being someone's aura. So detecting aura would be easier and likely more accurate. Souls can leave "imprints" which are a form of "aura" and can be detected by some witches. This would fall into Divination.
What is aura anyway?
There are multiple layers of aura. The most easily detected (unless somehow protected from this) is the magical aura. Someone may detect your primary and possibly secondary school of magic because of your magical aura. This also goes for objects. Another layer is something like emotions. Yet another, very entangled with emotion, is intention/motivation. This one's a bit hard to discern cause emotions are easier to read, thinking of it like emotional aura being bright colors and intention being tiny little threads of dulled colors in-between.
Would a witch be able to identify the nature of magic if they were to touch it or study an object affected by it/an effect created by it?
All magic creates a certain aura. Including those who practice magic. That aura is usually not strong on objects unless they're filled with extreme amounts of it (like curses or some very strong magical items).
A witch might be able to identify the school of magic of a caster if that school is at least a 5/10. A witch might also identify an item or object as magical, infused with magic, or cursed. They might also identify the school of magic here. However, many magical items are actually made in a way that they do not emit magical auras, especially when cursed (duh!). Detecting those magical auras falls under Divination.
I'm thinking of Divination as a school, what should I know about it?
Divination in western society is mostly done without "traditional" (aka stereotypical) assistance of objects such as Tarot cards, blood, bones, ashes, runes, tea leaves, etc. Those ways are seen as outdated. Still much used for divination are pendants for focusing, candles and some calming tea to still the mind. But not everyone requires these. Divination is rarely an exact thing. You may be able to see fractions of the past, present or future. You may spot magical auras. Divination may rely on star constellations or cloud formations, but those are often seen as superstitious and outdated as well.
Is it possible for abjurers to "block" certain kinds of magic? For example, could they purify a person/area to remove illusions, enchantments, alleviate curses, or keep the dead at rest?
They can create certain wards to protect an area. Including against certain types of magic or creatures, depending on your skill level. Creating stable wards is something rather complicated as you would need to weave the magic around an area, hold it somehow and also dictate what it is meant to ward off. If you're looking to remove illusions, for example, that would be easier than actually warding an area against illusions. One is a dispel essentially and the other is an area effect you create and need to uphold.
Is a soul made up of life energy/life force
No, it isn't. It is essentially the thing that ties the soul to the body. A soul is not made of life force. However, life force and souls are closely connected. By harming someone's life force via Necromancy, you can essentially rip the soul from someone's body. (This is highly advanced Necromancy as well as forbidden under US law, so schools would not teach this.)
Does life force regenerate over time if somehow lost/taken/used?
Yes. Life force always tries to balance itself out. It takes some time but as long as the individual is not dead, it will attempt to regenerate.
How are magical objects created?
I will not go into the entire process here. It depends. There are some rather "mundane" magical items - those usually just get imbued with a certain magical ability. It's a transfer of sorts that's happening. Those are easily made, easily detected and easily destroyed. Transmutation would work similarly. You use your magical energy to transform an object. Instead, when creating a magical object, you transform its innate aura and energy by placing magical "molecules" on top of already existing ones. To then make those magical molecules react in the way you want (for example, ward you from spirits or warn you if undead are near) you need to (a) have that skill yourself and (b) know how to layer it. Creating stronger magical items or even cursing them requires time, effort, and high skills (and oftentimes other ingredients such as the right runes). Your character would not be able to do that.
Are animagi capable of doing partial transformations? Would it be an easier or more advanced technique?
Animagi can only turn into the full animal. However, it has been noted that on very rare occasions animagi have some featuristics that align with their animal form, such as the ears. As a rule of thumb, I would say don't give your character those characteristics. (I believe we already have one person doing this.)
What animals can an animagi turn into?
An animagus can only turn into one animal. They don't "choose" which animal that is. The animal would be a representation of their personality. So someone who is generally shy wouldn't be able to turn into a lion or an elephant. Those would draw too much attention. If you wanna play someone who can use animagus magic, make sure to do some research on the animal you wanna pick.
Can transfiguration users be a metamorphmagus?
They can. Metamorphmagus is limited to non-animalistic features. Any change of appearance would need to be upheld. This means 1) the changed features would fade away when asleep or unconscious and 2) smaller changes would require less energy and concentration than, say, pretending you're an entirely different person. Note: The character would need a separate ability to mimic voices or sounds, changing appearance does not include changes to voice or tone.
Does magic require somatic, verbal, etc. components or things like that, or is it largely just done?
Magic always requires purpose and concentration (exceptions are the few passive abilities that might exist). Some use somatic components, some may use gestures, some may use runes (albeit this is outdated and very medieval times). Essentially, it comes down to flavour. Something like animagi doesn't require somatic or verbal components. But something like willing the wind to turn into a storm would require a chant or some other verbal component. At your discretion, you may make that call yourself. But please stay reasonable. The stronger/harder the magic, the more likely it is that the caster requires a little "assistance" through verbal, somatic or other means.
Can you elaborate on the "producing creatures" part of Conjuration, please?
Calling: You are essentially able to call a creature to you from a space or sphere you know and can connect to. For example, if you're able to "banish" or "hold" creatures in a sort of pocket dimension/plane, you'd be able to call upon them to appear where you are. It also works with a physical spot that you've chosen and prepped. Say, you have a cage in your room and you magically bind it to be the spot that your calling ability calls upon - any creature within this cage may then be called to you.
Creation: These spells manipulate matter itself to create an object or creature. Most, but not all of these spells require more magic to hold the creation together after it has been made and when the magic of the spell wears off, the creation simply disappears and the matter returns to its original form, whatever that may have been. (This is Transmutation more than Conjuration but thought I'd list it anyway.) Example: You turn a pile of sand into ants.
Teleportation: You may pull a creature to you or into a closer radius of you by magical means as long as you can see the creature (for more advanced casters this might not require visuals but only the knowledge of the creature's location). This is more short-ranged. You could catch animals this way or summon all bugs from a tree to your enemy's coat... sorta like that.
(Summoning also falls into this but is not really usable in everyday life or combat. It takes longer and it can only summon specific creatures - like a very specific demon for example. It wouldn't work on animals or the like. Disclaimer: I am not saying demons exist. It was the first example that came to mind.)
What is the difference between Conjuration and Transmutation?
Conjuring is calling a creature or an object from place A to B. And transmutation is making thing A into thing B. Example: If the bird was a bird before and was somewhere else before, that's conjuration. If the bird is coming from a pile of sand in a pouch, that is transmutation.
