STATUS:
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. -John 16:33
10 yrs ago
Current
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. -John 16:33
Could one of you guys read the abilities section and say if its good or bad? It's late here and while feeling ill I may or may not write the best.
It's fine. Looks good for the most part. One thing though, Rune Magic is already a type of magic used frequently. In fact, Felix uses a type of rune magic to get from place to place. Also, I will at some point have Felix make inferences of the gem magic based upon the description you have given it once he sees you use it. Something along the lines of using manalysis to see how mana interacts with your gems, how you use them as your focus, stuff like that.
Male 40 Appearance 6'6 Deathly Pale. Shaved head. Dark stubble, seemingly always having a couple days of growth. A tattoo in the center of his forehead. Left sleeve. Right sleeve. Heavy scarring on fingertips, palm of hands, and wrists. Mismatched eyes, the "Scrying Eye" has a greyed sclera, a blackish blue iris, and a ravaged pupil. The second eye is a dull green, usually bloodshot due to poor sleeping habits. Smells faintly of alcohol and cigarettes nigh constantly
In his one man crusade against the Cult of the Enlightened John has collected quite the ugly bag of tricks, both figurative and literal. Many of his spells fall under the category of black magic and are fairly harmful to those who come under his fire. Most of these spells were gained in his younger, more hate filled years. Curses and hexes, horrible little things that scar, hurt, and traumatize their victims if they survive. However, age has blunted John's hatred and he does not use them unless he is in dire need. For the most part he leaves the serious fighting to others, and instead uses the remainder of his skills to finding answers. Astral projection, communing with spirits, rituals, and a handy knowledge of potions, poultices, and basic first-aid to help his fellows.
Dagger: A wicked, cruel thing. This dagger was used in the slaughter of John's coven, he aims to put it in the heart of the one who ordered it.
Scrying Eye: A magical eye, given in exchange for his own. This eye allows John to see things one can't normally see, like auras and residual magical energies. At the cost of temporary blindness John can shoot a bolt of magical energy at an enemy, usually fatal.
Assorted Salts: Pure salt to ward off malevolent spirits. Fire salts, or dragon salt, is a magical salt that burns impossibly hot when charged with mana and has a multitude of uses. Black salt, when used correctly it will aid the inexperienced in entering the astral plane but if burnt the smoke will put you in a death like coma. Purifying salts, when added to a liquid, usually water, the liquid is purged of impurities and can help with illnesses however the taste is terrible.
First-Aid: Basic first aid filled with gauze, alcohol, stitching wire, and painkillers.
Brass Knuckles: Effective and easy to hide.
In a simpler time John Barrows was just a simple man, working a simple job. In fact him and the entire coven lived simple lives under their patron, The Adversary. Unfortunately, as things tend to go, John's life took a nose dive into the horrible as the Cult of the Enlightened sacrificed his friends and family to fulfill the wishes of their asinine gods. Either through some fluke or miracle John escaped and in the wake of this atrocity he was filled with nothing more than hatred and rage, all aimed at the Cult. For many years John made sure to be a thorn in the side of The Cult, always bringing terrible vengeance to whatever members and cells he could find.
After nearly a decade of his one man war one thing became apparent, he wasn't accomplishing anything. Their activities never ceased completely and new members seemed to pop up whenever one was taken out. In addition, over the years his fire had died down and smoldered down to nothing. With little to drive him he almost gave up and instead went back to his old home and began gardening, becoming something of a non-standard doctor to the locals. Life became quiet once again, almost peaceful. For several years he stayed in his little house undisturbed besides the occasional local asking for something to ease an ailment. That is, until a man named Felix asked for help.
If you could describe John in one word it would be tired. It's in the way he moves, how he talks, and he acts. But most of all, it's in his eyes. John has been hurt and has hurt others in equal measure, full of past regrets. He makes no illusions that he was or is a good person, in his age all he wants to do is do something worthwhile. But in the end, even though he may not like it, John is willing to do the dark and dirty to get the job done.
John isn't a fan of sadists or the self righteous, especially the church given his pagan beliefs. In his spare time he tends a small garden, listens to metal, drinks hard liquor, and smokes cigarettes.
I like your character, you're in. All you have to do ispost your character in the character section, and then make a first post with your character going about his daily business in the ic. I will have Felix visit your character after you make your first post.
I think I might like to make a character who is a cultist. I'm thinking of him as an eccentric, rich, young bachelor who uses his money and influence to "promote global enlightenment".
Well, just so you are aware, the plot setting for created characters in the RP is that Felix is gathering up magi from his list. So, you won't be actually helping any of the factions, technically we are making our own faction the faction of Guardians. But your character can have a Cult background.
So, a friend and I started this RP and we wanted more people but no one joined. We forgot to start an interest check so we are going to try that and see what happens.
When it is said, this word evokes the idea of illusions and parlor tricks. Perhaps it also evokes thoughts of unexplained phenomena in the days of yore. It might even evoke the idea of spirituality; surely invoking the miracles and powers of the unknown has a spiritual connotation. However, in our universe, magic is simply nothing more than our imaginations grasping at the answer for what we cannot comprehend. But consider for a moment a universe much akin to our own. A world interlaced with real magic; a universe where everything spiritual, everything religious could be explained by magic. This such universe is the universe where our Roleplay takes place.
Enter the universe of Paragon’s End.
Sorcery can be traced back as far as history has been written. Although the crucifixion of Jesus Christ sparked a major Magi movement, it was not until the early 4th century when Constantine the Great adopted Christianity into Rome that the most powerful Arcanocracy arose (government ruled through occult means). Although the Vatican is the largest Arcanocracy, every religion has their own forms of magic and theology. The occult and arcane are dismissed in popular opinion as myths and legends. Though unbeknownst to the general populace, the occult is very much a reality. The secrecy of arcana is intentional. Although everyone can eventually learn an aspect of arcana, not everyone is born with a sensitivity to the ebbs and flows of mana. Most people would have to dedicate their entire lives to even achieve a tenth of what a natural born Talent can achieve. There have been many hundreds of times in history where those who were Untalents rose up against Magi, even hunting them to extinction. The secrecy of arcana was necessary to preserve the lives of those with knowledge. This secrecy has created an underworld of societies; an entire web of sub-societies with their own politics, their own bartering, their own wars. This underworld is only known to those who are a part of it. And you, you are a part of it.
Creating a Character
In this universe there are two types of people, the Talents (those born with the natural ability and sensitivity to mana) and the normal Untalents (those without the natural ability and sensitivity to mana.) Everyone is born with a small amount of mana within them, but it takes a large natural amount of mana to be constituted as a Talent. Though there are those who devote themselves to the occult that are Untalents but it takes years of devotion to increase the amount of mana a person naturally holds. Only about 0.01% (around 740,000 people total) of people born are Talents
Factions:
There are five main factions to choose from when creating a character (although there are five as of now, you are not limited to these five and I am open to the idea of others if they are fleshed out enough)
Church of the First Company
Catholicism is the single biggest faction in Paragon’s End. As stated earlier Talents only make up about 0.01% of the population, Catholicism has the largest amount of Talents at about 40% of the total number of talents (around 296000.) With the knowledge to sense Talents and locate them, Catholic scouts enlist Talent’s at young ages. Once enlisted, the Talents are taught the basics of arcana within the local Cathedral until they reach the proficiency level of Magi. Once they reach the proficiency level of Magi, they are able to embark upon missions for the Vatican. Catholic Magi think of magic as simply God’s miracles working through them. It is common amongst the Arch-Magi to think of any other magic usage outside of the church as heresy, that those who use magic who are not catholic use the power of Satan. Proficiency Level titles from least to greatest Novice Apprentice Anointed Magi Grand-Magi Arch-Magi Papal-Magi (of which there can only be one elected from the arch-magi after the death of the previous Papal-Magi)
(Anyone can make only up to a Grand-Magi character. Arch-Magi are story relevant and to achieve Arch-Magi status is the highest regarded status aside from Papal-Magi which is not attained through power but through election)
Societas Academia
Societas Academia is a religiously unaffiliated school of magic. The academia accepts both Talents and Untalents, and even has Untalents as some of its chief officers. Societas Academia has more Talents than Untalents. This has created a hierarchy amongst the student body wherein the Talents are popular and the Untalents are seen as social outcasts. Once a student has become a graduate, they can choose to either become a professor or an enlister. The professors teach the students, and the enlisters scout out potential candidates and enlist them at the school. Out of the 0.01% of Talents they have around 20% (148,000) of the Talents. They have different smaller institutions all across the world, but the largest main institution where they study aspect training is in Northern California hidden in the Redwood National Park. Proficiency level titles from least to greatest Primary schooler Secondary schooler Aspect trainee (once finished with secondary school, the student is allowed to choose one of four aspects to specialize in Scholar [this is a research role, mostly dominated by Untalents. They go on expeditions to find ancient knowledge all around the world. They right reports and create new spells and sub-aspects] Cleric [this is a medical role, they specialize in learning to heal all types of infirmities] Ruin Mage [this is a combat role, they specialize in learning destructive spells that cause devastation to their enemies] and Knight Mage [this is a combat role that specializes in using close quarters spells to gain the upper hand in melee combat] Even though a student can only specialize in one aspect, students are already expected to know enough general spells that would fall into each aspect before specializing. )
Graduate [Professor/Enlister]
Dean (the dean is elected from professors and enlisters. The professor or enlister has to be older than thirty years old to qualify for election. Once the previous dean retires, or dies, an election takes place to vote in a new dean from the pool of middle aged applicants)
Disciples of Salem
While the Underworld does its best to hide itself from the world, not everyone that is not a Talent is clueless to the occult. The Disciples of Salem is an organization of Untalent witch hunters. They see Talents as abnormalities and have dedicated generations of effort into creating an art that can counter magic so they can hunt all Talents down and kill them. Instead of utilizing a large well of mana within themselves, they rely on manipulating the mana that nature provides. With the small amount of mana a normal person has, they can use that small amount of mana as a control point to manipulate the mana in nature itself. Most if not all of their spells (Disciples of Salem call them Arts) have to do with mana nullification and spell nullification. They are all trained in hand to hand combat, and are very dangerous to Talents. They’ve got about a hundred thousand members, and their membership is quickly growing. They have bases of operations spread out all across the united states and some in Europe, but the main base of operation is in Danvers Massachusetts (originally Salem.) Proficiency level titles from least to greatest. Initiate Fighter Scout Tracker Hunter Witch Hunter The leader of the Disciples is always chosen from the descendants and living relatives of Abigail Williams, who was the first to start developing the abilities needed to hunt Talents. The current leader is Will Snyder the great great great great great grandson of Abigail Williams.
Cult of the Enlightened
The Cult of the Enlightened is a cult who believes in ferocious beasts of limitless power called The Old Ones. The cult’s entire purpose is to do the bidding of the Old Ones all in order to bring back The Old Ones from the realm they are contained in. Once the Old Ones are released they will bring genocide and enslavement upon the world. The cult does not have a hierarchy of proficiency; they see everyone who is a follower of the cult as equals. They have around 10% of the world population of Talents (around 74000)
Protestant Magi and Pagan Magi
The protestant and Pagan Magi make up the rest of the 30% of the population of Talents. Because they are so dispersed within their organization and beliefs, they are lumped together but not treated as a single entity. By themselves there are over 200 different subgroups with different beliefs.
The Story Begins With...
31 year old Felix Glasius has been with the Catholic church his whole life. Rising through the ranks of Magi at an early age, he became an Arch-magi after creating his own spell and fighting style, Manaegis! Even though he dedicated his life to this organization, he began to have his doubts about their authenticity when, during a summit, a fellow Arch-mage Thadeus suggested they focus their efforts on finding ancient artifacts of power called Paragons to ensure Catholic supremacy. The motion was voted down by the Papal-magi, and Felix thought that had been the end of it. Four months later, the Papal-magi died, and Thadeus's brother Cornelius was voted in as Papal-magi. Thadeus brought the motion to secure the Paragons up once more at the summit after his brother was voted in. This time the vote was in favor of the conquest. Although, Felix had very bad feelings about the new mission, he continued his job as normal. One night, Felix had a dream, a dream of a great suffering that came from the Paragons. The dream showed Felix that the Vatican was not the only entity searching for the Paragons. In the dream a powerful voice told him that many forces of evil were attempting to gather the Paragons, and Felix needs to gather together a group of guardians to stop those who wished to bring the nine Paragons together. When he awoke, he was sitting at his desk in his room, with a pen in hand and parchment in front of him. The parchment had names, and the locations of the guardians he needed to gather together all written in his handwriting.
This is where the story begins. Your character is one of the guardians that Felix wrote down during his vision. Are you ready to fight for the world?
RULES
Grammar and typography are a must. If your post looks inadequate you will be warned. If your post continues to look inadequate you will be kicked.
Characters have to have a fleshed out character design, no gary/mary stu/sues (character depth), not overpowered, and can not be direct ripoffs of a already well established character in popular media. (Original)
No God Modding! If you are writing a post that has a direct effect on another person's character, make sure they are okay with the effect and outcome. If you do not want to do this, leave you interactions with other player characters open ended. Collaboration is a major part of making an RP thrive, so talking and collaborating with other players outside of the RP to dictate the actions of your characters is highly encouraged.
Post length needs to be at least three sentences. It is deeply encouraged to write more well thought out posts with many words and paragraphs, but it is not mandated. Three sentences is the minimum amount a post should contain. I will make exceptions for certain posts if you absolutely cannot come up with something, but I am of the belief that three sentences is not difficult to write at all.
This RP has some religious influence in the lore, but I do not want to see any debates over religion here. This RP is purely fictional, so leave all prejudices behind. Don't do anything fourth wall breaking or passive aggressive about it either.
Be civil towards your fellow Role-players. You don't have to like each other, but you have to at least act like you respect each other. I do not want to see infighting of any kind. If I see infighting, it will result in a warning. Two warnings and you are out on the third. Don't be a jerk, just don't do it.
Name
Sex Age Appearance information related to appearance under the bolded Appearance header.
Pictures related to appearance or more info related to appearance.
"W-Well pick him up." Guard left commandes hastily. Both guards were facing down he hallway awar from the door. That's when Felix struck. He rushed nimbly out the cell and came right up to the back of guard left. He then struck out with a swift light punch that would not have done much if he hadn't been wearing manaegis. But since his fist was covered in a manalloy gauntlent, the resulting punch rocked his head to the point of knocking him out completely. Silently, he guided the guard's body down to the ground. Then he raised the guard's right hand and swiftly sliced it off at the bangel. After he sliced the hand off, he removed the bangel and removed his own manaegis gauntlet, and placed the bangle on. After he put the bangel on he put the gauntlet back on. The. He looked at the left guard whose stump was bleeding profusely. He then grabed the hand and placed it next to the stump and haved his hand over the wound. A green light came from Felix's hand and the guard's hand was reattached.
At this time guard right was having trouble picking up Nemo, he was not very physically fit so picking up an entire human, even one thar had been wasting away, seemed to begiving him a hard time. But as soon as Felix used healing magic the green light was bright enough to make the guard drop what he was doing and turn around. At this time it was too late. Felix had already readied a blackout spell and shot it at the guard's head. The guard crumpled in a heap next to Nemo.
Felix waved his hand over Nemo removing the restraint spell.
Felix watched as Nemo took position at the side of the door. Felix briskly walked over to the front of the door and cleaved the thick steel with two slashes, carving a cross into the thick metal. Because of the perfection of the cuts, and the fact that the door weight thousands of pounds, the door did not crumble on the spot, which is what Felix was banking. Within a second of making the cuts, Felix punched the door at where the cross lines intersected with his manaegis gauntlet.
The manaegis did not make Felix physically stronger. Felix was in good shape, but not enough to move thousands of pounds with a punch. The ethereal material that manaegis is made from, aptly dubbed Manalloy by Felix, is a special material with special properties. First off, normal physical matter is incompatible with Manalloy. This makes the makes contact between the two repellent in nature. This makes jumping much easier, and makes much more force from impacts cause more devastation. The other special property is that manalloy, once formed into the solid manaegis, can not have its form changed. This makes it impossible to scratch, dent, or bend manalloy. Instead, every time manalloy receives certain damage, the mana that is used to create begins to slip away into mana waves. Once it has received enough damage, the manalloy evaporates into mana. This can be used in many ways but is the reason why Felix's sword can cut through things with such ease. Felix has willed the the size of the blade edge to be an atom thick. Because of the fact that manalloy can not lose its form once made into manaegis, the blade retains its shape and does not crumble. This allows Felix to separate the molecular bonds holding the steel door together. This only works on items that aren't charged with mana or made from mana. If Felix were to, say, attack an enemy who was using an enchanted weapon, the weapons would clash harmlessly. This is due to the fact that manalloy is made from mana energy, and a weapon enchanted is infused with mana energy, the physical properties of mana energy counteract with each other resulting in a repelling force of which is equal and opposite to the energy used to propel the weapons forward.
Once Felix's fist came in contact with the door, the steel fell apart in a loud grinding screech. As soon as the door fell apart, Felix hid to the side, letting Nemo take it from here.
The guards quickly turned to face the crumbled heap that was the cell door. The darkness from inside the cell, in tandem with the light from the hallway made it very difficult to see anything from the cell except pitch black.
"Hey... this is Xero the Devourer's cell isn't it?" The guard on the left said to the guard on the right in Italian. It was clear they were both Italy natives, or just lived long enough at the Vatican that it became second nature to speak the language.
"Yeah... they say he kills people by eating their souls." The guard on the right said shakily. "Say... didn't you say the other day that you are better at seeing in the dark than me?" Guard Right pointed out, "maybe you should take the lead."
"Screw you man, I have a wife and kids. You are the single virgin here. You take the lead" Guard Left hissed.
Too afraid to enter, both guards leaned in as close as they dared to inspect the cell.
"I am trusting you. Do not make me regret this decision." Felix said. Then he swiftly and skillfully used his long sword to cut through Nemo's shackles like they were butter. He did it with suck accuracy that not even a hair was out of place even after he sliced off the choker shackle.
Felix then closed his eyes and focused feeling the mana waves. Felix could feel the presence two magi posted as guards outside the thick runic steel door to the cell. As he concentrated further he could feel the presence of at least thirty other magic waves intermingled on the higher levels. He formulated a plan and then opened his eyes.
"Here is the deal. In addition to the runic shackles they use on prisoners, the entire prison is engraved with a scripture spell. The spell makes it impossible for spells to be cast unless you are wearing the runic bangle with the counter spell the guards wear. The runic bangles are nearly impossible to forge, as the only ones who have seen the incantation for the enchantment are the warden and the papal-magi. The only way to get one is to take it off a guard. And the only way to take it off the guard is to... kill him. There is another way to take it, severing the arm. There are two guards posted outside this cell. I am going to cut down the door but I need you to distract them directly after the door falls. If they see me, they will focus me, and it will make this more messy than it needs to be. After they have their focus on you, run. Dodge a few spells to make it look convincing but get hit by one. They are only authorized to use restraint spells, so getting hit by one isn't going to be a big deal. After you are restrained, one of them will have to pick you up. That is where I will come in. I will surprise the other one with a quick strike to the head with a manaegis punch, it should knock him out silently enough while the other's back is turned picking you up. I will then... extract the runic bangle, put it on myself, and use a spell to knockout the other guard. That will alert the other guards due to the magic register system. But we will be gone before they arrive. After reattaching the guard's severed limbs with a healing spell. I will transport us out of here before any of the other guards arrive." Felix explained. "Any questions?"
