Letter Bee

The Ghosts of Napoleon

Sorry for the delay in posting; just hit writer's block.

Letter Bee's Magic System v2

III. Magic System (Venedig Version)

How Magic Works

There are two disciplines of Magic, defined by human belief. However, in this universe, just because sapient beings' belief can make Magic work does not mean that Reality is relativistic; objective, observable reality still exists despite being changeable by Magic, which in turn has limits.

Traditionalist/Ceremonial - Traditionalists use words, rituals, and symbolic tools (aka items which are less practical than current tech; obsolete tools) in order to cast powerful spells which defy scientific understanding, like fireballs, instant healing, precognition, and blessings/curses. The advantage of this is that Traditionalists can use their magic right away, with just a word or gesture, they don't actually need the items they use, and they can do things without advanced technology or which are still impossible with current science. In short, what they lack in the reach and range of their effects, they more than make up for by being their own tools in an emergency.

"Enlightened Invention" - Enlightened Inventors used to believe that their Magic isn't Magic at all but 'Natural Philosophy', and some of them still believe it today. But the truth is that their inventions, though recognizably technology, still use Mana, the reality-altering substance which allows Magic to exist in the first place. However, Magitech has one big advantage over Traditionalist/Ceremonial powers: Anyone can use it even if they are not an Enlightened Inventor and it can be combined with actual technology to create mass-produced wonders. However, the drawback is that without tools, objects, or anything resembling technology, an 'Enlightened Inventor' is useless.

Attempts have been made to hybridize these two disciplines before, but the only successful examples involve the Mage being trained while still young, before their brain fully develops. This allows the Mage to switch between the radically different mindsets needed to use both ways of Spellcasting...

What Can Magic Do?

Mages (both Traditionalists and Enlightened) divide Reality into eight areas, six which can be affected by Magic, and two which cannot except in very rare circumstances. The six 'Open Areas' are High, Underworld, Mind, World, Change, and Dimensional, while the two forbidden ones are Fate and Timespace.

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, fuel devices and create 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.

Mind - This magic deals with controlling minds and altering the emotions of both humans and animals, as well as creating illusions, and mental compulsions, and even erasing or editing memories. This can also alter one's own mind to temporarily increase learning time and allow for perfect memory, as well as create and program sapient AIs. A very powerful magical discipline, but its flaw is that it can be resisted with strong willpower, whether from Human, Xul, Elf, Dwarf, Dragon, or some other unknown race...

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, speak with ghosts, and 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...

World - World Magic is control over the physical elements of the world. Do you want to create Fire? World Magic. Do you want to alter Gravity to make yourself float? World Magic. Do 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 reanimate/control beings which are already dead. That belongs to another school, the magic of the Underworld.

Dimensional - This is the Magic that allows access to Hyperspace, which Traditionalists call the Astral Plane, the Spirit World, or the Otherworld. Basically, Dimensional allows one to create portals, summon and make contracts with Nature Spirits, and even, with enough preparation and magical energy, travel to other universes resembling our own. However, the drawback of Dimensional-based spells (aside from making portals) is that Nature Spirits have wills of their own and look very badly at people trying to order them around...

Note: A lot of individual spells are very broken by nature, and would fundamentally destroy the game’s balance if implemented. If you’re touching these spells, please make sure you have some limitations added to them. If you’re not sure, look no further than your GMs! They will be happy to answer your question/address the balancing of your powers.

The Forbidden Areas

The Forbidden Areas cannot be affected by Magic whatsoever unless you sacrifice literal billions of people or build artificial structures as large as Saturn's rings (impossible in a Medieval/Renaissance Setting).

Fate - Alters luck and probability and allows for blessing ones' efforts so that they succeed, or cursing them so that they always fail or carry a high cost.

Timespace - Time travel, time stop, and true bullet time (actually slowing down time instead of just one's perception of it and ability to physically respond to it). Making physical distances longer and shorter without using Hyperspace/The Astral Plane. Flawless Teleportation where you can instantly appear without any warning signs, such as the color and light made by portals (which using the Dimensional School of Magic always gives).

Spell Mastery

Spell Mastery

Pretty self-explanatory. Each spell your character possesses has its 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 Area> Mastery trait. How many spells, you ask? That depends if you are a Traditionalist or Enlightened Inventor; Traditionalists can master any Area they have 3+ Spells in, and furthermore instantly cast spells in that Area with only words and gestures. Enlightened Inventors, meanwhile, can master as many Areas of Magic as they have Spells (which they call 'Functions'), but each Spell/Function has to be tied to an advanced gadget/weapon and they lose their Mastery when losing their device.

And yes, an Enlightened Inventor can put all their available Spells/Functions into one gadget.

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 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

For Traditionalists, Enchantment requires High Magic and a spell that you or another party member knows, along with an item to be enchanted. 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, but birch cannot. This is the same for metals, and the strongest of spells can only be enchanted into 'Perfected Electrum (more below)'.

For Enlightened Inventors, Enchantment is merely the creation of new 'devices' and the addition of new 'Functions' to an existing one, and they do not need High Magic to do this. However, they do need a workshop and materials and their works must at least look like technology or better tools...

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 can be 'perfected', aka transformed into metal as hard as a 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. The Reich des Goldenen Grahles has a monopoly of Perfected Electrum due to its patronage of 'Enlightened Inventors'; not that it helped them win the war.

Group Spells/Projects

Group Spells/Projects

Basically, multiple spell-casters with different areas can do things that would strain a single Mage. This also helps in compensating for single Magi's weaknesses in specialization. Note that Traditionalists can only do Group Spells with each other, same for Enlightened Inventors, who call their spells 'Projects'.

Pariah

Hidden for Size

Not Realistic Picture

Hidden for Size

More Realistic Picture

Name | Andrew Belmont
Alias | Merlin
Age | 19
Gender | Male
Appearance | Andrew prefers fine clothes of silk which give off an anachronistic, almost medieval feel, and keeps himself well-groomed at all times.
Notoriety | Noble.
Danger Level/Variant Type | Level 4 Distortionist/Architect.
Abilities |

Nature to Mana Transmutation - Andrew can drain nearby plant life of its vitality and transform the siphoned life force into a silvery-white, faintly glowing substance called 'Mana', which he can 'inscribe' into books and pieces of paper/parchment/cardboard/any feasible writing material and transform into 'spells' bound by his imagination. These 'spells' can in turn be used to create fireballs, heal others' wounds, instantly repair machines, and even buff other people's abilities. However, there is a drawback: Said spells must be prepared beforehand; each spell takes a minute to five to 'inscribe' depending on their power, and more powerful spells demand more willpower than Andrew alone can muster.

Not just that, but all spells must be picked out from the List of D&D Wizard Spells, and Andrew cannot pick any spell higher than 5th Level for his 'List'. Not just that, but Andrew cannot fuel spells beyond 3rd Level with a single garden, forest, or tree; he has to drain a square kilometer's worth of wetlands/bayou to fuel a single 4th Level Spell, and ten square kilometers' worth of wetlands bayou filled with plant life to fuel a single 5th Level one.

And yes, Andrew can just drain a little vitality from plants and algae and not wither them completely; this means he has to drain a wider area of ground, but it also means less outrage from the EPA. Oh, and Andrew, being an Architect, can also 'lend out' his spellbooks for a fee (namely letting him drain vitality from other people's gardens).

[Gear]
Attire | As in the pictures, but Andrew prefers the clothes shown in the first one.
Armament/Equipment |

- Omni-Tool/Smartphone.
- Passport and Official Papers identifying him as a US Citizen, Registered, and Noble.
- Credit Sticks containing enough cash to maintain a wealthy lifestyle for several months.
- Bulletproof vest.
- Taser.
- Ceramic Revolver decorated with a mother-of-pearl and electrum (an alloy of gold and silver)-plated handle.
- Self-Driving Limousine /w bulletproof glass windows.
- Ten 'Spellbooks', nine of them blank and the tenth inscribed with a new list of spells every day for different situations.

[Temperament & Lifestyle]
Affiliation | Independent.
Personality/Habits | Andrew does not really care about whether his powers are real Magic or not; what matters is that they function like real Magic and that he could do what he wants with it, which in turn is explore the possibilties inherent in such a strong power. He is also a bibliophile and despite his powers draining plants, an enthusiast of gardens and parks, forests and nature. Not just that, but he is quick to assume that other people who share his interests in books and plants is a friend and is much more likely to lend out his 'Spellbooks' to them.
Occupation/Trade | Rich businessman who helps run a landscaping, garden supplies, flowers, and forestry business. Is a book collector in his spare time.
Skills/Talents |

- Bachelor's Degree in Botany.
- Graduate's Degree in History.
- Fencing.
- Shooting.
- Graduate's Degree in Business.
- Associate's Degree in Art.
- Driving.
- D&D.

Family | Laurent Belmont (Father), Louise Belmont (Mother), Elise Belmont (Older Sister), Charlotte Belmont (Younger Sister)

Background | Andrew Belmont had always been bad around plants, yet fascinated by them. Discovering his Variant powers early when trying to bring his favorite bonsai tree back to life (but winding up draining it further), the boy used his knowledge of D&D as the lens to explore his powers, realizing that the substance he produced while draining plants can be used to create spells that can do almost anything beneath 5th Level, where the cost was just too much for him.

Of course, his family had mixed feelings about Andrew's new obsession, but the worst it got was his father telling him 'not to drain the family garden and drain the bayou instead'. So Andrew went on frequent trips to the undeveloped land to the east, draining stretches of Bayou for his experiments with 'Magic'. Of course, the EPA complained, so Andrew's father got him a license to act as a Noble and told him 'Do heroics; it'll improve our PR and allow you to access other people's plants and gardens'.

And so Andrew has been conducting heroics, sometimes fighting alongside the Glorious Alliance, other times fighting on his own, and sometimes lending out his spellbooks to other people in exchange for access to plants and gardens, and generally being happy...

Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans - Altered Cast

@Letter Bee

I had to go look and was kinda worried I wouldn't be able to do Orga justice. The leader and all that right? I dunno.

I can try and figure out an original idea sure. I'll think on it.

@BigPapaBelial

Thanks! I can provide leadership for the OC group with NPCs, then.

Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans - Altered Cast

@BigPapaBelial

Not necessarily direct alternates; I only proposed them because players might find them easier. If you have a more original idea, you can make them as well.

Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans - Altered Cast

@Rin, question two: Do you have Discord?

Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans - Altered Cast

I guess we could see how that turns out. Might be tempted to at least try for the Mikazuki replacement but we'll see I guess.

@Rin

Thanks! Waiting for Belial now, then.

Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans - Altered Cast

@BigPapaBelial, @Rin:

Perhaps the two of you can be enough? At minimum, we need an Orga and a Mikazuki equivalent; I can provide the equivalents of everyone else myself.

Pariah

Mikael Peacemaker: Anadine District

The paperwork was done, the Company was officially listed in the city archives, and Mikael purchased office space in New Haven's Business/Midtown District in order to store archives relating to employees' resumes, accounts of income and expense, and basically record everything related to administration, management, and finance. He had purchased land for a laboratory elsewhere; it was an amateur mistake to have both the business and research ends of any given firm in the same building, especially with terrorists moving about and razing any attempts at researching one's way to resolve the coming tensions between Variants and Non-Variants.

Where did he plan on setting up said laboratory, by the way? It was initially going to be in Vines, but Anadine was easier to overlook by both legitimate businessmen and wannabe criminals alike. And the Breaking News had shown up on his Omni-Tool as his Self-Driving Limousine drove to the site where behind a grove of old oaks, an old schoolhouse was being repurposed into a state-of-the-art laboratory. This was where his research was going to be done, where he'd prove to the world that peace was possible between Variants and Non-Variants by replicating the powers of the former, resulting in a new age of symbiosis. All he had to do was wait, hope... And get a decent partner.

Even as his car drove up and parked at the building, Mikael was sending a flurry of online messages to potential allies and contacts and a few actual friends, requesting info on various Nobles and Vigilantes who were not too public but had both a strong powerset and a lot of combat experience. He also put in a request for more information on the disappearance of 'Maximus' and 'Kid Kilowatt'; he was suspecting that this was a program of deliberate kidnapping, not murder, otherwise their bodies would be floating up in the Bayou by now.

Yes; he was willing to pay, his family wasn't descended from Gilded Age Industrialists for nothing. He noticed the small woosh of his car's doors opening, allowing him and his security detail - All normal folk for now - to walk out and inspect the building as a small renovation and construction crew, paid extra to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement which was as binding as it could be without breaking the law, installed an ammonia-powered generator at the back of the former schoolhouse.

The foreman was a nice person, a resident of the Warehouse District trying to keep his family away from Shanty; Mikael knew that he was competent enough to deserve help in that. So the small blond boy approached the tall black man in worker's overalls, a polymer vest that was incidentally bulletproof, and a hard hat that was much the same, waved his hand in greeting, and asked, "Hey, Pierre, how's it going?"

Pierre responded a little gruffly, "Shift's almost over; it's getting late. Also, have you seen the news? Fire in Midtown; laboratory like this one got burnt down."

Mikael's eyes widened a little in response as he asked, "Worried about anything? I can increase security arrangements..."

Pierre looked at him as though he was an idiot and said, "You should be more worried about yourself, kid. You're sixteen; Noble or no Noble. Get a bodyguard; Ignoble might spare us if he or she attacks but not you." He sighed and said, "Kid, you've been good to us; better than most other employers. But the world will chew people like that and spit them out if they're not careful, so get someone who can watch your back."

The boy nodded and said, "Most folk who fit the bill are from the Pariah Underground; I don't think I can hire them. And I don't trust most Nobles; they like being special." He then looked at Pierre and said, "Been thinking of 'sponsoring' a Street Kid. Getting them registered and taken care of in exchange for them helping me."

Pierre nodded and said, "I know the rumors. Some kids named Remy the Rat and another named Flip are roaming around the less well-off districts using their fancy powers to do what they want. Don't tell anyone this, but I think Flip's an 'illegal'; you might have luck catching him with the promise of a Green Card and cash." He chuckled, "Not to stereotype, though. That said, fair warning; I'm a working man, not a gossip column, and definitely not a 'trafficker'. If you want eyes trained on them, that's your circus; keep me out of it."

Mikael was now speed-typing on his phone, offering $150 for any bit of discreet information about Remy and Flip, and $200 for videos of them using their abilities to various 'interested parties' looking for a quick buck. But deep inside, he had decided against trying to employ Remy the Rat except in the most desperate instance. No, after reviewing what he could about Flip, the latter could serve his ends well, but just in case, Mikael also sent a message to his contacts in the US Immigration Service inquiring about Variant Illegal Migrants or Asylum Seekers...

@Eclektik@Expendable@RBYDark

Pariah

@RawrEspada4 @Teyao@Smike@PatientBean@The Man Emperor@RBYDark@Letter Bee@Lewascan2@DClassified@Blizz@Expendable

First IC is up!

Just FYI, I don’t expect absolutely everyone to be doing the same thing, since we have a large roster, so I’m not forcing everyone to jump into the event I posted. But make sure any other event you post makes since with what’s going on. As always, if you gots questions, I will clear the fog.

Have fun!!

@Eclektik

I was planning on holding my own mini-event, actually...