Letter Bee

Iliad City: A Magical RP in an Original World (Resuming)

William is now aged up to 18!

Iliad City: A Magical RP in an Original World (Resuming)

Lore Entry: The Custodians

The Custodians were once Angels, of every rank from Cherubim to Seraphs and even one Archangel, who rebelled against The One Deity and were cast down into the Universe, a thousand or so light-years from Historia, after their rebellion. After being cast down, the Custodians were made mortal, albeit with 'Metahuman' powers tied to their genetics, and unable to tap into Magic. Yet despite this, they retained their overwhelming knowledge of the physical world and sciences and used it to found first a civilization, then a Star Empire which oppressed lesser races.

There are two factions of Custodians, with the first being The Collective, which confusingly applies to both the thirteen former Seraphs and single Archangel which were now reduced into Metahumans, and their multitudes of followers and slaves in their Star Empire. The second is a resistance movement, The Repentant, which are led by one former Seraph and their followers, both 'original' Fallen and the children born to the Custodians when they became mortal.

And finally, it is rumored that the Unfallen Custodians, messengers of The One, still exist in Heaven, reforged into transcendent beings with additional powers which allow them to mentor and coordinate 'Risen Martyrs', the souls of mortals whose virtues In life had made them adequate replacements for the Custodians' duties in Heaven and Hell (which in this setting is closer to Purgatory and a place to reform and redeem sinners instead of torturing them forever). These Unfallen are detested by The Collective, who forbids mentioning their names in their dominions on pain of excruciating death.

As for the Fallen Archangel who now leads The Collective? He is now known as Ubersmench, and his powers give him near-invulnerability, super-strength which can destroy planets, flight, and heat vision as long as he is underneath a Yellow Sun...

Update:

I, Jest, and Windstormugly talked about Custodian Lore a bit more, and we decided to edit the Custodian's lore to make The One less intentionally dickish. Here is the lore in bullet points:

- The majority of Custodians didn't rebel, and are still in Heaven.
- Only a few thousand Custodians were cast down to the Universe.
- Fallen Custodians can breed with other Custodians to make full-blooded members of their race, and breed with other species to create Part-Custodians.
- Few Custodians ended up in Historia as Coyote did.
- The grand majority of Custodians founded a 'Star Empire' a thousand light-years away from Historia.
- The reason the Star Empire doesn't just invade Historia is that even with advanced technology, the Galaxy is still very big and it's hard to find one single planet. Thus, they have to be summoned by [SPOILER] or be extremely lucky.

Iliad City: A Magical RP in an Original World (Resuming)

The Custodians

The Custodians were once Angels, of every rank from Cherubim to Seraphs and even one Archangel, who rebelled against The One Deity and were cast down into the Universe, a thousand or so light-years from Historia, after their rebellion. After being cast down, the Custodians were made mortal, albeit with 'Metahuman' powers tied to their genetics, and unable to tap into Magic. Yet despite this, they retained their overwhelming knowledge of the physical world and sciences and used it to found first a civilization, then a Star Empire which oppressed lesser races.

There are two factions of Custodians, with the first being The Collective, which confusingly applies to both the thirteen former Seraphs and single Archangel which were now reduced into Metahumans, and their multitudes of followers and slaves in their Star Empire. The second is a resistance movement, The Repentant, which are led by one former Seraph and their followers, both 'original' Fallen and the children born to the Custodians when they became mortal.

And finally, it is rumored that the Unfallen Custodians, messengers of The One, still exist in Heaven, reforged into transcendent beings with additional powers which allow them to mentor and coordinate 'Risen Martyrs', the souls of mortals whose virtues In life had made them adequate replacements for the Custodians' duties in Heaven and Hell (which in this setting is closer to Purgatory and a place to reform and redeem sinners instead of torturing them forever). These Unfallen are detested by The Collective, who forbids mentioning their names in their dominions on pain of excruciating death.

As for the Fallen Archangel who now leads The Collective? He is now known as Ubersmench, and his powers give him near-invulnerability, super-strength which can destroy planets, flight, and heat vision as long as he is underneath a Yellow Sun...

Iliad City: A Magical RP in an Original World (Resuming)

-Character Retconned Out-

Iliad City: A Magical RP in an Original World (Resuming)

NPC Character Sheet - Permitted by the Original Maker

Name: Eclair Deimos Edrigan-Ganze

Appearance:


Age: 52 but looks 23

Bio: Alto’s wife. Nergal’s adoptive daughter. Mysterious backstory.

More to follow.

'Eclair' is actually a dream projection by the real Eclair, who had retreated into a pocket dimension within a pocket dimension caused by her dreams and her latent magic.

Mundane Skills:

Magic: Eclair Deimos Edrigan-Ganze has magic even Gilgamesha knows not, and she and Rialto ‘Alto’ Ganze, her husband, are regarded as the main reasons Gilgamesha does not just stomp Ishtar to the dirt. For Eclair Deimos Nergal has a power that can defend against even Gilgamesha, but cannot be used to attack her in turn. This power, Game Magic, is something she developed to protect against opponents much stronger than her and force them into situations of weakness while giving her every chance of losing…

Let’s Play a Game - Eclair warps herself and a number of other folk (up to 100) into a dimensional space programmed with the ruleset of a thousand and one games, some as simple as tag or hide and seek, others as complicated as World of Shadow Running Hammer 40k (fictional tabletop game). Inside said dimensional space, all powers, weapons, and magic are disabled or altered to fit the rules of the game (for example, in a racing game, you get a vehicle with a paint job themed after your powers instead of your powers themselves). Not even Gilgamesha and her hundreds of Artifact Weapons are immune to this ability.

The drawback to this, however, is that no one, including Eclair, can leave until one ‘wins’ the selected game. Nor can Eclair change the rules at a whim, and nor can she cheat, although she can use loopholes and overpowered optimization to eke out a victory. And god forbid that she put you in a Dating Sim/Game…

Needless to say, Alto’s Metahuman Power and Magic allows him to win most of Clara’s games, and he becomes more formidable when he is playing with Clara to ensure that she wins…

Optional Penalty: Death Game - Used only in great duress, Clara can decree that anyone who loses one of her games dies, but the drawback to this is that this applies to her as well - If she declares a Death Game and she loses, she is doomed.

The Deeper World - A second pocket dimension accessible only by 1.) Winning thirteen consecutive games of any type in a row, or 2.) Magic which affects Dreams and Imagination. Here, the real Eclair can be found, drifting in an ocean of pure dream-stuff, her aging slowed to Alto's level.

Personality: Cunning, calculating, cruel, and loves Alto.

Faction (Marduk, Ishtar, or Cassandra Club when it's founded): Ishtar.

Are you a Descendant of the Illuminated Poet?: N

Intrigues of Venedig - Not Running This (Lore Storage)!

Intrigues of Venedig - Fantasy RP

I. Intro

Intro

Welcome to the City of Venedig, the most cosmopolitan place on the Planet of Erde. A metropolis built on land reclaimed from the mouth of the great Wien River, Venedig is known as a place of opportunity, where you can buy anything, sell anything, be anything, as long as you have the triad of skill, intelligence, and wealth.

Take a boat to the Grand Bazaar, and you can smell pepper, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Take a carriage to the Jewelers' District, and you are treated to the sight of necklaces, rings, bracelets and pendants, all worth a fortune. If your preference is books, the Grand Library of Venedig has copies of every book ever made; and an interesting mystery is that when you take out a book, a new one magically appears, right in front of you. To be in Venedig is to listen to a dozen languages whenever you go to a crowded place, to see the canals blaze red in the sunset, and to rejoice in the clean streets, safe from petty criminals.

But Venedig has a darker side. On the planet of Erde, there are few places where slavery is forbidden, and this city is not one of those places. How can it be, when the slave trade is so profitable when selling people for every conceivable purpose is the source of so much money? The rulers of Venedig uphold the natural order, not subvert it!

And in the wider world, their overlord and liege, the Emperor of the Reich des Goldenen Grahles, has taken advantage of that. Having won a civil war against the rebellious 'lesser princes' of his Empire, this ruler, Karl Maximillian XV Schwanhueter, has decided to make an example of his disobedient nobility, in order to impress that the Emperor is the absolute ruler of his nation - instead of being killed, they and their families will be enslaved and sold in Venedig, where they are supposed to vanish into the pages of history.

Six months later, the first batches of slaves, kept well-fed and clean to preserve their looks, are going to arrive in Venedig, where the rich and powerful are gathered to watch these ex-nobles suffer the humiliation of being sold as property. But the fact remains, Venedig is a city where anything can happen, where one can achieve almost any dream, and it applies to these new slaves as well, even if they dream of freedom, justice, and revenge.

But there is a deeper conspiracy behind the scenes, one which orchestrated the entire conflict to bring war and death to the world, and one must not let one's quest for freedom distract from saving the world from such intrigues...

------

Basically, this is a Semi-Open World RP, with a central plot moved by two things: 'City Events' that multiple people can react to in their own ways and a 'Main Party' that moves the plot and can select what City Event they want to participate in (except for one City Event at the beginning of the RP that's only for people who want to join the Main Party.

There will be crimes, riots, terrorist plots, misuses of Magic, and should we reach a certain point, plagues and open war. You can be anything you want as long as it makes for a good story, from a wandering bard skilled in sword and harp, to a wise mage or cleric, or one of the ex-noble slaves, confronting their new fate. Just contribute to the setting!

II. Interesting Countries that Trade with Venedig

Reich des Goldenen Grahles

The overlords of the city of Venedig, the Reich des Goldenen Grahles was born from a boy's broken dream, a dream whose end resulted in a new beginning for the men of the north.

A long, long time ago, the Gods and Goddesses empowered Heroes to fight for them, all except their Queen, the Keeper of the Golden Grahl, from whose cup all magical energies flowed. One day, a young man, Phillip, went to the Holy Vale, where Kaiserstadt now stands, to wonder why this was so. Passing through the Three Trials set by the Keeper, Philip faced the Goddess, who answered his question thus:

"As you have come through my tests, you deserve the truth. The reason I do not raise up heroes and heroines is because I am no Goddess, nor are my family Gods. We are but men and women who have drunk from this Grail," she would present the cup to him, "which in turn draws its power from Existence itself. Therefore, Existence is the only True God."

Outraged at this answer, Philip snatched the Cup away from the woman, and drank from it. And so he became a 'God' himself, and the most powerful of all.

After this, Philip exiled from Erde the Keeper of the Golden Grahl and her brethren, the Gods and Goddesses, before casting the cup into a chasm deep within the world. And this is the reason why anyone with the right knowledge can tap into the earth for magical energy at need. Philip then looked back at the world, and saw his younger brother, Peter, who was learning how to be a healer. Deciding that the age of warrior-heroes was over, he empowered Peter as the first Hero of a New Age, commanding him to unite the people of the Northwestern Continent in worship of Existence, which they are also a part of...

The next few centuries were of expansion and innovation, as Philip, from his realm in the Higher Planes, empowered more 'non-warriors', artisans, thinkers, and even traders, to increase the development and sophistication of the empire founded by his Brother, an Empire that saw the Golden Grahl as the symbol of Existence itself, and who spent every waking moment trying to discover more about the laws that guided it, and how to reshape said laws to their liking.

And so, life was good...until the last direct descendant of Peter, Wolfram the High, tried to conjure up the Grahl from the center of Erde so that he can become a God himself. He failed, and the calamity broke the Northwestern Continent in two, creating the Great Inland Sea, and turning the future site of Venedig into a set of isles in a lagoon.

However, the Holy Vale had enough lingering magic to save a great multitude of people, and from this was continued the Reich des Goldenen Grahles, now ruled by the Schwanhueter dynasty, descendants of Wolfram's Keeper of the Swans, Karl Maximillian I. But not all believed in the legitimacy of this new ruler, and others believed that the Reich as a whole had been a mistake and that the disparate peoples of humanity should go their own way. But Karl Maximillian I and his descendants managed to regain the allegiance of huge swathes of land, including the nascent city of Venedig.

One Millenium Later, the Reich has yet to restore the full extent of Wolfram the High's Empire, and its current ruler, Karl Maximillian XV, was content to let it be so, but less content to bow to the demands of his own nobles, who had been given many privileges by his father and grandfather, so that they would help them snatch up the 'Rebellious Provinces'. And so, after matters came to a head, the nobles rose up in rebellion, which was crushed by the Emperor with the help of a new weapon: Gunpowder.

After this, Karl Maximillian XV was the unquestioned master of the Reich des Goldenen Grahles, but his eldest son, Otto, was stabbed to death with shivs while visiting a cell filled with imprisoned rebels in order to reassure them of clemency. Needless to say, the Emperor was outraged, and promptly issued the infamous Iron Decree, which ordered that all the imprisoned nobles and their families would be sold to slavery in Venedig. And so it was done.

Ironically, the Nobles' fate led to the lives of the common people of Venedig improving, as serfdom was slowly abolished, more power was delegated to the cities and their prosperous merchant and artisan classes, and the printing press and a public school system increased literacy. Gunpowder too allowed the balance of power in the military to shift to the common foot soldier and his musket, as well as the centralized government that could afford artillery. The only dark lining is that the Emperor strives to be absolute ruler over all his people despite being chronically depressed and angry due to the death of his only child and sole heir to the Empire...

Celestial Empire of Tian

"People say the Gods are Uncaring, and that is a general truth. But as it is a general rule, there must be an exception," this was the words of the first traveler from Tian to reach Venedig.

Once, there was a Dragon, who was also a God. This Dragon reigned over a mild land, and watched over its people with a pleasing eye, appreciating the way that they formed societies and organizations. One day, to see them up close, the Dragon took human form, in order to find out more about these creatures.

And what he saw was this: They smiled, they laughed in joy, they cried, they lived and they loved. And he loved them back. But when he turned back into a dragon and went back to the heavens, he saw that no matter what he did, great and small, he would always harm those who looked up to him, either by not doing enough or by doing too much. After that, he cried, and the tears of the Dragon fell down into human lands, dispersing into magical energy, and empowering the first Magi.

And that is the real reason why humans are able to do magic...

With myths and legends that contradict the Goldenen Grahles' and the Confederation's, the Celestial Empire of Tian believe that Love is the true moving force of the universe, and that all pain, all suffering, will be ended once everything in existence, from the lowest insect to the highest God, are united in one harmonious whole. Disunity and Separation, they believe, is an illusion, or at best, a wound, a wound that can only be healed by communion with others, a communion that recaptures, at least for a moment, the greater unity with Love.

But despite this, the citizens of the Celestial Empire do not eschew individuality altogether, or at least, the majority doesn't. Everyone must find their own ways of communing with other people, their own paths to unity, and true harmony comes from realizing that people can change roles, lives, and characters, and yet still remain part of the whole.

Thus, under a good Emperor, chosen from among the descendants of the Dragon, the Celestial Empire of Tian is a good place to live, where food is plentiful, medicine and literacy are widespread, and the roads and borders are kept safe by large, well-organized armies of professional troops. Under a good Emperor.

The current ruler of Tian, Emperor Gao Ming, is anything but 'good'. In the interests of spreading harmony and love across all corners of Erde's globe, Gao Ming had delved into forbidden arts, conducting experiments on blood and souls in hopes of 'condensing' people into raw magical energies, which he considers to be the purest manifestation of Unity. Crushing dissent using an aborrhent artifact of immense magical power, the Whip of Chainbringer, God of Slavery, Gao Ming has sent his armies to expand in all directions, and even sent spies and emissaries to Venedig, hoping to find a way to take control of the city...

The Confederation of the Xul Warrior-Artisans

The Xul Warrior-Artisans are a race of natural survivors and warriors, the most prominent sapient nonhumans on the planet Erde. With a rich store of lore and legends, they have a unique origin myth that emphasizes the importance of mortals in the world:

Long ago, in the Age of Creation, the God Mansbane was exiled by his brothers and sisters so that the latter can claim the rich plains and forests of Erde. Raging at being forced to live in a desert waste, Mansbane sought revenge by seeking to lay waste to the world, and so extend his domain to the areas he had been denied. And so he created his own race, a species of fighters, siege engineers, and tacticians, who would exterminate the other races from the land. With skin and hair the color of the sand, sharp teeth for tearing apart flesh and plants, cat-like eyes that can see in the dark, and strong arms that tire less quickly than most humans', these 'First Xul', our ancestors, would have made a fine instrument for the destruction of life.

However, Mansbane did not realize that his creations had their own hopes and dreams, and when he told the First Xul, whom he had given axes meant to shed the lives of other Gods, of his plans, they turned their weapons against him, realizing that if Mansbane expanded his domain, everyone whould suffer in the end, including them. And so, in the first rebellion against the first tyrant, the 'First Xul' threw off their shackles, and in defiance, added the 'Warrior-Artisans' to their name.

And they had lived alongside the other races, as equals, ever since.

Millennia later, the Xul pride themselves on making the unlivable livable, using their knowledge of irrigation and engineering to create gigantic resevoirs and windtraps to collect water so that they can live, no, thrive, in the deserts of the Southern Continent. Pioneers of the Druidic arts, the Warrior-Artisans are also masters of using grasses and plants to hold back the dunes of their desert home, preventing said desert from advancing. But make no mistake, they are still fierce soldiers, and their axes are the nightmare of hardened warriors.

Following a matriachal culture based on the 'Great Mothers', female Xul who have endured the pain of both battle and childbirth, or followed the alternative path of Drudism, the tribes of the Confederation live in relative peace, with disputes being settled through non-lethal, but still fierce, duels. However, this peace has not dulled the edge of the Xul's axes, for the Great Mothers hire out thousands of mercenaries and engineers to Venedig, some of them bringing the Creed of Survival, whose prime commmands can be summed as such:

"The proper response to suffering is to use tools to remove the cause of suffering. When you thirst, dig a well. When you hunger, plow a field. When you have an enemy - that's what an axe is for!"

Note: Xul look like brown-skinned Orcs.

III. The Factions inside Venedig

Factions

The City Government of Venedig - "Wealth must not lead to lawlessness, lawlessness must not lead to the fall of Venedig." This is the driving belief of the Mayor and the City Council, which are elected by the city's citizens every four years in order to oversee law enforcement, infrastructure, and foriegn relations (as far as the Emperor of the Reich allows). Efficient, ruthless, and hardworking (even their critics admit that), the City Government keeps the climate of peace, trust, and mutual benefit that allows for widespread trade.

The Venedig Marine Knights - Venedig had always been metaphorically married to the sea, the source of its immense wealth. And so, it is natural that its armed forces are able to fight on both land and sea, and the Venedig Marine Knights are best at both. Unlike the majority of knightly orders, the Marine Knights prefer to fight dismounted or on ships, but few who have seen them board an enemy flagship, or hack a kraken into pieces, can doubt their courage.

The Razors' Guild - As long as there are conflicts between people, assassins will always be needed. Barbers by day, killers by night, the Razors' Guild are beholden to the City Government for giving them a place to call home, but not their puppet. Taking money from both their barbershop and assassination jobs, the Razors' guild adhere to a sense of loyalty to their clients, in order to keep the flow of 'customers' going...

Die Kommission für menschlichen Umgang mit Menschen - The Commission for the Humane treatment of Humans (KUM or CHH) - The newest power group to arise in Venedig, the Commission is founded on the belief that if slaves are treated with basic rights and a minimum of respect, they would be more obedient and productive. And so, they lobby and press for laws against the cruel treatment of enslaved people, and despite their name, they do the same for Non-Humans as well. However, some of them are drifting to the belief that the institution of slavery itself is inhuman and corrupting in the long run, but these aren't influential...yet.

The Church of Existence - The Church of Existence is the most common Religion of the Empire, and has been proven to be both factually true yet somewhat compatible with the Tian and Xul teachings. Its main belief is that as Existence is the only True God, and Sapient Beings are capable of consciously altering Existence, then Sapient Beings are the most divine parts of the Universe. This, in turn, spurs a belief in the essential dignity of every person.

The Church in Venedig is very powerful and influential but has attracted controversy by supporting the KUM/CHH despite owning a few slaves themselves. They justify such behavior by saying that their slaves are treated well and are only temporarily slaves; they will get their freedom eventually...

IV. Magic System

Magic

There are six disciplines of Magic:

High - There are many theories that try to explain High Magic. Some say that it is the power of The Divine, it is the power of positive emotions, channeled through the human soul. Nevertheless, High Magic is the power of controlling Magical Energy itself, allowing for the ability to see all Magic, to draw available magical energy from the sky and earth, create constructs of condensed Mana, create and fuel magitech and enchanted items, ward people and places from magic, and finally, the ability to create bolts of silver-white light that cause damage that cannot be healed by magic to Mages and Magical creatures... But not ordinary targets, whose burns can be healed as normal.

Note: High Magic has been nerfed; the last sentence has been edited so that only other Mages and Magical Creatures, as well as magitech, receive damage that cannot be healed by Magic.

World - World Magic is control over the physical elements of the world. You want to create Fire? World Magic. You want to alter Gravity to make yourself float? World Magic. You want to use lightning to electrocute a person? World Magic. Basically, if it has nothing to do with changing one thing to another, or controlling something that isn't wholly of this earth? World Magic is your key. Basically, Bending from Avatar: The Last Airbender, but without healing or spiritual arts and with control over gravity.

Change - This is the magic that deals with changing one thing to another. This magic can knit wounds and reverse aging, cause trees to grow fists and turn vines into whips. This magic can change one substance to another, turning lead into gold, earth into acid, and fire into water. What it cannot do, however, is affect stuff protected by High magic, or mess with things that are already dead. That belongs to another school, the magic of the Underworld.

Underworld - Death is all around us, and the old laws against disturbing the ghosts who chose not to pass on are gone, cast into the wind. Nevertheless, the souls of the departed have to be treated with respect...but it is not the same for their bodies. Underworld Magic is the magic of Necromancy; it is the magic you wield when you want to raise an army of the dead, to control the shadows of the world, to speak with ghosts, and to strike people dead with one blow (this is a high-level spell). You can even use this to transcend death, allowing you continued existence in this world without the need for food, drink, and sleep...

Timespace - The magic of traveling vast distances in a single bound, of teleportation, portals, and scrying. The strongest Magi can even control probability, making a person luckier or unluckier, sometimes to absurd levels. But what it can not do is reverse the past; basically, no time travel. Bullet Time and Time Stop are also possibilities for incredibly strong practitioners but have certain requirements that limit their effectiveness in combat.

Bullet Time and Time Stop Nerfs: Bullet Time can only be activated defensively when confronted by attacks too fast for the mundane body to dodge normally. And by that, it only works when people are shooting bullets at the guy and it can only be used to dodge bullets and other attacks - it cannot be used to attack in turn. This keeps what I want - PCs being able to dodge bullets - without making them overpowered in offense, as well as giving PCs the choice not to shoot bullets in the first place.

As for Time Stop, not only can the 'time bubble' be cut apart by Ex. Swordsmanship, but it doesn't work on sapient beings; it can still be used to stop bullets, explosions, crashing trains, rampaging animals, and lightning strikes, but not melee strikes from sapient beings - neither the user or his opponents can use ranged attacks in a Time Stop. The in-universe reason for this is that having a Soul protects you from unauthorized changes to the timeline.

Mind Magic - This magic deals with controlling minds and altering emotions of both humans and animals, as well as creating illusions, mental compulsions, and even erasing or editing memories. A very powerful magical discipline, but strong willpower can break its effects...

Basically, each PC is supposed to mix and match effects from multiple sources of magic, although specialization is a thing.

Counterspell/Dispel Magic rules.

Countering and Dispelling Magic

Making Anti-Magic spells is a bit complicated, but basically, you first need three High Magic spells, including the Anti-Magic rote, and one spell of the School you want to dispel. For example, if you want to dispel Underworld Magic, you need three High Magic spells and one Underworld Magic spell. As you have six starting spells available, you can theoretically be able to counter or Dispel three schools maximum. You can only counter or dispel High Magic if all six of your starting spells are of that school.

Spell Mastery

Spell Mastery

Pretty self-explanatory. Each spell your character possesses has their own degree of mastery. The more you master a spell, the less effort (Mana, Time, other relevant resources) it takes to perform that spell. If you have enough spells from the same school mastered, you can choose to make it a <Magic School> Mastery trait. How many spells, you ask? Well, there’s not a hard-coded number for that. But I’d say about 3+ spells of the same school. We can lower the number if the spells are difficult enough, or raise it if they’re easier to cast. Having Mastery as a trait makes learning and mastering new spells of that school a lot easier.

How long is it going to take to master a spell: This gives me headaches every time. It really depends. From the length of an arc to the number of times the character practices/uses these spells. I’d say on average 1 spell is mastered every arc as a benchmark, but don’t take this as a gospel. Use a LOT of nuances when interpreting this. We’ll try to adjust and accommodate your needs, just let us know.

Enchantment Rules

Enchantment Rules

Enchantment requires High Magic and a spell that you or another party member knows, along with an item to be enhcanted. Note however that the weaker and less durable the material is, the magic you can put into it is more limited; for example, oak can be enchanted to emit laser beams, birch cannot. This is the same for metals, and the strongest of spells can only be enchanted into 'Perfected Electrum (more below)'.

Perfected Electrum

Perfected Electrum

Electrum is a mix of Gold and Silver that occurs naturally, but can be made by artificial means. This material, if treated by High and Change Magic by four different Magi (see 'Group Spells' below) can be 'perfected', aka transformed into a metal as hard as diamond yet not as brittle, and whose lightness is that of cloth. But the most valuable property of Perfected Electrum is that it can contain very, very strong spells, except for Resurrection (see below under 'Group Spells'). Thus, Perfected Electrum is made only in very small quantities, under the watchful eye of the most powerful states...

Group Spells

Group Spells

Basically, multiple spell-casters with different Schools can do things that would strain a single Mage. This also helps in compensating for single Magi's weaknesses in specialization.

Example Spell:

Resurrection (High, Change, Underworld + materials for a new body) - Three Magi, or alternatively, a single Magi who has six High, Change, and Underworld spells each, can bring back a dead person. High Magic is used to supply magical energy for the permanent return of the Soul (they must always be willing), Change is used to turn inorganic material into organic matter, and Underworld is used to tug back the Soul from wherever it's been. Resurrection cannot be Enchanted into Items.

V. What if I don't want to play a Mage?

Character Traits (Formerly Exceptional Skills)

Character Traits (Formerly Exceptional Skills)

Character Traits can both be a few neat bullet points to describe some of your character’s defining traits, and also accommodate your character’s non-magic skills. They essentially describe a portion of your character, and some of them might be capable of special effects that can benefit you and other characters in different ways.

A character Trait consists of 3 parts as described

<Trait Name>: <Trait Description>. <Trait Effects>
<Trait Name>: Self-explanatory
<Trait Description>: A few sentences explaining what characteristics of your character that this Trait is describing. You can go longer if you wish
<Trait Effects>: These are optional, but the most interesting. These essentially encompasses the Ex Skills, but a lot more specific and individual-based.

A few examples of generic trait to illustrate this further

Swordmaster: His extended training with his family’s traditional blade and under their guidance have made him exceptionally capable with these weapons. Greatly increases proficiency when using blades
Turtleback: His natural skin of his species allowed him to essentially be a walking mini-fortress. Enhanced resistance against physical attacks.
A Healthy and Focused Mind: Her zen training allowed him to ascend to a higher spiritual state that allows her to act solely based on his instincts. Only usable in combat situation. Allows the character to ignore mind magic during these time. Only affected when said magic can affect subconscious thoughts.
Disgraced Warrior: From a family of traitors, he is received by the public with mistrust. Reduce effectiveness when coercing people through diplomacy
Supreme Chef: She’s just really good at cooking duh. <Blank> (Yes, you can leave it blank. You don’t have to have an effect for every trait)

Of course, these are generic examples that apply to no one in particular. Your character traits, however, are bound by their background. A character trait has to be connected somehow to your character and what makes them who they are. Unrelated traits will be rejected. Your trait names does not have to follow these format. Feel free to go ham and be creative with the name and description.

What these skills are not, however: They do not fully describe your character. There is and should be more depths to your character than just a bunch of bullet points. They have defining characteristics but they have nuances and more depths to and outside those characteristics. That’s how a great character is made

Some potential questions.

How many traits are needed: There should be no limits to how many traits you have, but please refrain from making too many of them. Remember this is supposed to represent defining characteristics that screams that’s them when mentioned. You don’t want to describe yourself like that. For starters, around 3-4 traits would be a healthy number (this number is preliminary).

What about combat with vague measures to quantify your strength: Well, this is not a tabletop RP to begin with. There is no dice. We have narratives and plots to drive your characters around. How battles would turn out is entirely down to you and your fighting partners. Discuss with your partner how you would want fights to turn out. Maybe this guy have a really cool move that he wants to show off, or this lady is cocky and needs to be slapped down a peg. After all, it’s more about building your character than a game of who gets to win. If you have problem deciding the fight, the GMs can step in and help

Can you bypass these skills somehow: Yes. Having traits that give you enhanced characteristics (durability/strength/speed/etc.) does not make you infallible (unless you opt in for it, to which you would need to give a GOOD justification). Having enhanced resistance against Mind Magic could fall apart if you’re intoxicated/not paying attention. Use common sense and logic at all times.

Gaining/Losing traits: This is possible, as your character changes, but you shouldn’t gain too many traits throughout the journey anyway, so when you want to add/remove/change a trait, contact your GM. Don’t worry we’re friendly

What about Magic Mastery: If you have 3+ spells mastered from the same school of magic, you can gain a mastery trait of that specific school, giving you increased magic literacy for that school. If you CHOOSE to have that trait at the very beginning, and thus giving you at least 3 spells to be mastered, it’s best you contact the GM so we can discuss it.

V. Rules

Hider

1.) No godmodding, powerplaying, metagaming, etc. etc.
2.) Any mature scenes, aka anything above nudity, must be taken to PMs.
3.) No OOC feuding! If you must argue, be respectful. IC, meanwhile, you can hate each other as much as you like as long as it doesn't seep over to OOC.
4.) You can control NPCs when I explicitly say that you can control them or if they belong to your Custom Faction.
5.) That said, you are allowed to create three PCs each, but only one Custom Faction per player.
6.) Please notify me if you will be gone for more than a week, I myself will let you guys know if I will be gone for that same amount of time.
7.) It's a fantasy world; you can learn Magic - two new spells of any School per City Event/Story Arc, more if you find a willing mentor and time. New Exceptional Skills, on the other hand, are easier to stack, harder to learn - You can double the power of two Exceptional Skills every first arc, and select a new exceptional skill every second arc. Venedig will have Eight Arcs, so you get to stack two skills on the first, add one skill on the second, stack again on the third, and so on.
8.) The primary races are Humans and Xul (brown-skinned Orcs). Elves are a minor civilization and not superior to Humans, and need GM Permission to play. Same for Dwarves and Gnomes.
9.) New Rule: No Real Life Face Claims - You must use Anime or Western Fantasy Art.

VI. Character Sheet Skeleton

Character Sheet Skeleton

[b]Name:[/b] What’s your characters name?
[b]Age:[/b] How old is your character?
[b]Physical Description:[/b] What does your character look like?
Place any photo’s here.
[b]Important items:[/b] What possessions are important to your character?
[b]Short Bio:[/b] Tell us your characters story up to this point.
[b]Starting Faction:[/b] If you're creating your own faction, please describe it here or in a separate post
[b]Spell List:[/b] 6 Spells overall.
[B]Exceptional Skill List:[/b] Replace any number of your 6 Spells with an Exceptional Skill

Letter Bee's Character Sheets

A Song of Ice And Fire - The Bleeding Years

It is 74 years since the Doom of Valyria, and Westeros and Essos are still dealing with the consequences of the disaster.

In the North, the Starks of Winterfell fend off attacks from the Wildlings and rival kingdoms. King Edric Stark, the Spring King, is blessed with a seemingly-able son, Torrhen, and a realm in good order except for the occasional Wildling raid. Through him and his son run the blood of the First Men, which would not brook submission to those mixed with the blood of the Andal Invaders. Facing them are the Arryns of The Mountain and Vale, whose hostility towards him and his line are absolute. Tracing their lineage to the very foreigners of Andalos the Starks are opposed to, the Arryns strive to maintain a beacon of chivalry and martial might that honor their lost homeland, forever gone. But their King only has a daughter, the ten-year-old Sharra Arryn, and thus his house's hold on the throne is endangered.

To the south, the Riverlands are under the control of interlopers from the Iron Islands, who are spending blood and treasure to build the Castle of Harrenhal in order to glorify King Harren Hoare, their oppressor. King Harren intends to make this castle last forever, a testament to his glory and that of his family. The growing power of the Iron Islanders is opposed by Argilac Durrandon of the Stormlands, whose strong arm, backed by fierce and loyal men, is spent trying to fend off raids from all nations around him. The strongest of these nations are The Reach, where the Gardeners reign in great prosperity after a series of good harvests. Their King rejoices at the birth of a son, Mern Gardener, and sees no troubles on the horizon except the Lannisters of Casterly Rock, whose great wealth allows them to equal The Reach in all but numbers.

To the furthest South, Princess Meria of Dorne has reached her middle age but shows no sign of diminishing vigor - Far from it, she looks at events east of Westeros with interested eyes. For Volantis, or as they prefer to call themselves, New Valyria, is showing signs of strain. As her realm enjoys a period of modest prosperity, Meria watches as the Volantenes deal with rebellious sentiments from Lys and Myr, as well as alliances between Norvos, Qohor, and as it is rumored, Braavos and Pentos, the two age-old enemies. Nothing would please her more than to see Argilac 'The Arrogant' sail over to the Disputed Lands to try and prevent the Volantenes from solving their problems, but that is a distant prospect.

But in Dragonstone, a birth occurs that would shake the very foundations of the Seven Kingdoms. A birth not of a Dragon, but of a baby boy, one Aegon Tarageyen...

-------

Basically, this is a Game of Thrones NRP set during the birth of Aegon the Conqueror, with entire houses and dynasties ranging from the Kings in the North, the Sealords of the Braavosi, and the Triarchs of Volantis being playable. Rules are below:

1.) Do not be an asshole.
2.) No Godmoding or Powergaming, aka no controlling other players' actions, no defeating your enemy in one shot, and no shrugging of all hits without an enchanted shield.
3.) Do not make your nation overpowered.
4.) Do not ignore Logistics or Economics.
5.) By the same token, only a few nations can have a 'High' or 'Very High' Economic Strength (see below).
6.) Most Rulers will be OCs. Do not make them Perfect.
7.) Multiple characters are allowed, while as for multiple nations, one player can control one Westerosi country and one Essosi country as long as they are sufficiently distant from each other (aka not right across the Narrow Sea). For example, the Volantis player can take the Starks if they want, while the Mallister player can take New Ghis if they want.

Character Sheet

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Bio:[/b]
[b]Mundane Skills:[/b]
[b]Magic (If Any):[/b]
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Kingdom:[/b]
[b]Is he/she a Ruler?[/b] (Yes or No.)
[b]Heir(s):[/b] (Merchant Republics like the Free Cities can name a non-family member as their heir.)

Kingdom/Free City Sheet

[b]Canon Name:[/b]
[b]Canon Flag/Badge:[/b]
[b]Canon Military Strength:[/b] (Up to 10,000 to 50,000 men.)
[b]Canon History:[/b] (Optional.)
[b]Headcanon History:[/b] (Include stuff you made up to fill in the blanks in Canon, like OC Kings and Nobles and the policies they pursue.)
[b]Economic Strength:[/b] (Very Low, Low, Average, High, Very High, Absurdly Rich - Only Volantis/New Valyria and Braavos can be Absurdly Rich.)

Vassal/Custom House Sheet

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Coat Of Arms:[/b]
[b]Motto:[/b]
[b]Location:[/b]
[b]Vassal of:[/b]
[b]Military Strength:[/b] (Up to 2,000 - 10,000 men maximum)
[b]Economic Strength:[/b] (Low, Average, High, Very High)
[b]History:[/b] (2 paragraphs minimum)

Iliad City: A Magical RP in an Original World (Resuming)

Discussion about the game is still ongoing on Discord.

Iliad City: A Magical RP in an Original World (Resuming)

@Nyxira, Accepted.

Iliad City: A Magical RP in an Original World (Resuming)

IC is about to begin soon.