Friday, January 20, 2006
Ae'rinus Wiki Created
Today marks the launch of the new Ae'rinus Wiki . It will be the source of all new Ae'rinus Material and hopefully promote more updates from my end. Check it out.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Ecological Development
The last few issues of Johnn Four's Roleplaying Tips have run a little piece on building histories for various critters that you don't normally think about building histories for when you're worldbuilding. The example they gave was for orkish history, which got me thinking a lot about the ecology of the less civilized critters on Ae'rinus.
Ae'rinus, being the turbid world that it is, has seen massive changes in location and magic over the last two millenia. Therefore, the world is still largely in a state of flux in regards to its ecological stability. Humans and elves have prospered and covered much of the surface land, and intelligent humanoid monsters are comparatively rare. The goblinoid races, though still plentiful enough to worry about are largely in decline due to their inability to adapt to the harsh environmental changes that have occurred upon Ae'rinus (Prime Material Plane -> Ethereal Plane -> New Prime Material Plane. Also the Age of Terror, destruction of Que'Taan and Arconia, and the recent fall of magic in 1600 all are key factors). Most Goblinoid races have pulled as far from civilized society as possible; they live in the deep dark forests, hills, wastelands and mountain passes that fill the space between countries. Goblinoids do have potential to rise up to a more powerful position if they were to unify. Unity nearly happened in the Balok mountains near Drachmaar during the late 1590s; however, the demonic insurgance brought on by Drevissh sundered most of the tribes, killing many to near extinction.
Since the fall of magic, there have been an increased occurance of magically altered beings, especially hybrid creatures. Many wizards were physically transformed by the fall of magic, and those that survived the transformations have begun to reproduce, creating new races and "monster" types throughout the land. The wild lands west of Ikathia, particularly, are full of such abominations. About 35% of the new "monsters" retained their intelligence (with others becoming animalistic in their behavior), and may or may not be reasoned with.
The abomination process seems to have been somewhat dependant upon the local terrain and the wizard's previous spell knowledge. One such area that has been the focus of particular study is the River region heading westward into Ikathia from Mercacci. Many took on the appearance of Naga, lizardmen, goblins, cockatrice, or living plant matter. Other variations have been noted. These races are new introductions to the river ecosystem, and, strangely, they seem to be living in perfect concert without destroying the surrounding nature. Sages believe that since magic was elven in creation, and thus tied closely to nature, when it fell out of the sky, it forced certain "nature friendly" modifications upon the landscape.
Ae'rinus, being the turbid world that it is, has seen massive changes in location and magic over the last two millenia. Therefore, the world is still largely in a state of flux in regards to its ecological stability. Humans and elves have prospered and covered much of the surface land, and intelligent humanoid monsters are comparatively rare. The goblinoid races, though still plentiful enough to worry about are largely in decline due to their inability to adapt to the harsh environmental changes that have occurred upon Ae'rinus (Prime Material Plane -> Ethereal Plane -> New Prime Material Plane. Also the Age of Terror, destruction of Que'Taan and Arconia, and the recent fall of magic in 1600 all are key factors). Most Goblinoid races have pulled as far from civilized society as possible; they live in the deep dark forests, hills, wastelands and mountain passes that fill the space between countries. Goblinoids do have potential to rise up to a more powerful position if they were to unify. Unity nearly happened in the Balok mountains near Drachmaar during the late 1590s; however, the demonic insurgance brought on by Drevissh sundered most of the tribes, killing many to near extinction.
Since the fall of magic, there have been an increased occurance of magically altered beings, especially hybrid creatures. Many wizards were physically transformed by the fall of magic, and those that survived the transformations have begun to reproduce, creating new races and "monster" types throughout the land. The wild lands west of Ikathia, particularly, are full of such abominations. About 35% of the new "monsters" retained their intelligence (with others becoming animalistic in their behavior), and may or may not be reasoned with.
The abomination process seems to have been somewhat dependant upon the local terrain and the wizard's previous spell knowledge. One such area that has been the focus of particular study is the River region heading westward into Ikathia from Mercacci. Many took on the appearance of Naga, lizardmen, goblins, cockatrice, or living plant matter. Other variations have been noted. These races are new introductions to the river ecosystem, and, strangely, they seem to be living in perfect concert without destroying the surrounding nature. Sages believe that since magic was elven in creation, and thus tied closely to nature, when it fell out of the sky, it forced certain "nature friendly" modifications upon the landscape.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
On Reviving Magic
First a little history:
In the year 1600, the mainstay form of magic on Ae'rinus, Elven based magic, ceased to exist. Its delicate matrix of stability and support was quickly and permanently dismantled by a lich greatly wronged by elven magic. In the last forty years of Ae'rinus' history, thaumatergic magic has been virtually eradicated. Only a few small sects remain, and those remain only because they held on to the ancient arts of the Arconian Wizards, who were summarily destroyed in the late 1100s. In the meantime, divine magic, and faith in the gods on a whole has increased dramatically. Partially from the influx of now ex-mages in search of ansers that turned to Kaeleb, god of magic (among other things), and partially from a series of Gods Wars waging between the two dominating Pantheons of Ae'rinus and Terrasond respectively.
Although apparently gone, many sages and former wizards knew that the magic, though now stripped from the air, still remained somewhere in another form. Research on discerning the new form of magic went essentially nowhere until 1641, when a pair of researchers found that the so called "wizard rocks," as named by Helena, chosen servant of Halisos, could be used to create a particularly volitile reaction. This reaction, however, killed the researchers, and it would be another year before it was repeated with similar disasterous results. Once this reaction was verified, various sources around Riversedge began scrambling to be the first to create stable magic. In 1643, the Brotherhood of the Raven successfully mimicked a Light spell. In the process, the group learned much about how the fallout of magic affected the current generation of humans upon Ae'rinus. Many were bore with innate magic coursing through their veins; magic that they could bend and use to their advantage. By the end of the year, The BloodRaven school of Magic appeared in Mercacci, Ikathia.
Mechanics
I wanted to make the rediscovery of magic to be a very exciting thing, so I put a fair amount of thought into how it would get pulled off in gameplay. I started with the decision that I wanted my player to be very specific in all her statements regarding magical research. I came across some stuff on using task resolution instead of conflict resolution as seen in D&D on Treasure Tables (article here). The whole "What is your intent?" idea really helped both myself and my player figure out how to go about making magic work out of seemingly nothing. The key to the wizard rocks is that they have to be absorbed to be activated; essentially, they are solidified magic. So once you absorb said rock, you can theoretically push out any result as long as the rock had enough magic in it to accomodate.
To absorb a rock, the caster must know rudimentary channelling. Then until the caster got used to channelling the stone into her body, I gave a success percentage (starting at 1%, and increasing at a rate calculated by the player's wisdom score 1% + 1%/2points of wisdom above 11). Eventually, after a lot of practice, the caster could successfully absorb a rock after 10 minutes of meditation. Not useful for combat applications, but still, something from nothing.
After the channelling part was conquered, the caster could then go forward to creating a reliable spell. If the caster only knows how to channel, the result of the desired spell will be erratic at best. Creating stable spells requires a series of mental checks and balances to manipulate the spell's energy in a constant, even, and predictable manner so that the result of the spell will be as expected. This is where the primary usage of "What is your Intent?" came into effect. I payed very close to the player's intent, and we walked through a dozen or so half-working attempts, before the character started to learn how to put the pieces together and form a coherent spell.
By this time, the character had spent a couple hundred hours of study to get a functioning light spell with adjustable intensity, color, shape, and location after 10 minutes of uninterrupted meditation. The character then began researching a method to decrease the casting time for the spell. After another couple of weeks of work, she could cast the spell within 5 minutes of meditation. At this point she had reached her physical limit of channelling. Without proper channelling training, she is unable to break the five minute barrier. This is because, for a spell to be cast faster, it must consume some of the caster's own energy to help form the magic into a stable form. Without greater knowledge of channeling, this is impossible.
Moving towards actual application
In order to cast spells at speed, the character must learn how to channel her own energy into the spell. This will likely require a channelling expert to assist her with learning the flow. Either that, or moments of extreme stress, where the character doesn't really have any other option. Considering the currently light usage of spells (ie light spells and small cantrip-like spells), I doubt the latter will be much of a case.
To begin facilitating the revival of magic, I will move to the GURPS 4th ed rules governing magic. After reading them, I became immediately aware of how clunky, antiquated, and plain boring D&D style magic rules were--especially for use in the given situation. D&D makes the assumption that magic is an established subject, wrought with research and plenty of surrounding knowledge. This is made apparent by the necessity of tomes, named spells (ie Tenser, Melf, Nystal, etc), established schools, and the whole "must be memorized" bit. Granted 3ed sorcerers can get around a lot of that carved in stone mentality, but the idea here is that no one on Ae'rinus is an inherent mage, and while many folks may have inborn magical traits or abilities, those traits are no easier to use than the wizard rocks, and their overuse could lead to a quick death.
GURPS uses a skill based system, where the caster has skill in an individual spell, just like a proficiency. This works well for pioneering, because it doesn't assume spell levels, memorization, or other structure evident of an established system. In addition, spells are cast by expending Energy (Fatigue/constitution) or Health (HP). Again, in a pioneering field, it should be hard on the caster to create an effect. Thirdly, GURPS offers the concept of Mana levels, which determine the relative amount of magic in the area. Since all the magic on Ae'rinus is pretty much trapped in wizard rocks, or in a format that is undetectable by most, Ae'rinus qualifies for Low to No Mana across the board. Therefore, the only source of mana for spells comes from Wizard Rocks, which by default, are weak (functioning as low mana, and able to support 1 Cost spells). However, as Magic begins to rise, people will learn how to shape Wizard Rocks into more efficient creations, thus increasing their relative Mana rating and Cost storage. In addition, wizards will be able to craft manastones, powerstones, or even learn to draw granules of magic from the very ground they are standing on.
Granted, magic on Ae'rinus is a long day off from returning to its heyday, but in a few years, a lone wizard weilding the equivelant of Magic Missle will be a terror on the battlefield. And this is what I've been waiting to see for some time; magic that is mystical, powerful, and frightening all at once. A truly exciting time indeed.
In the year 1600, the mainstay form of magic on Ae'rinus, Elven based magic, ceased to exist. Its delicate matrix of stability and support was quickly and permanently dismantled by a lich greatly wronged by elven magic. In the last forty years of Ae'rinus' history, thaumatergic magic has been virtually eradicated. Only a few small sects remain, and those remain only because they held on to the ancient arts of the Arconian Wizards, who were summarily destroyed in the late 1100s. In the meantime, divine magic, and faith in the gods on a whole has increased dramatically. Partially from the influx of now ex-mages in search of ansers that turned to Kaeleb, god of magic (among other things), and partially from a series of Gods Wars waging between the two dominating Pantheons of Ae'rinus and Terrasond respectively.
Although apparently gone, many sages and former wizards knew that the magic, though now stripped from the air, still remained somewhere in another form. Research on discerning the new form of magic went essentially nowhere until 1641, when a pair of researchers found that the so called "wizard rocks," as named by Helena, chosen servant of Halisos, could be used to create a particularly volitile reaction. This reaction, however, killed the researchers, and it would be another year before it was repeated with similar disasterous results. Once this reaction was verified, various sources around Riversedge began scrambling to be the first to create stable magic. In 1643, the Brotherhood of the Raven successfully mimicked a Light spell. In the process, the group learned much about how the fallout of magic affected the current generation of humans upon Ae'rinus. Many were bore with innate magic coursing through their veins; magic that they could bend and use to their advantage. By the end of the year, The BloodRaven school of Magic appeared in Mercacci, Ikathia.
Mechanics
I wanted to make the rediscovery of magic to be a very exciting thing, so I put a fair amount of thought into how it would get pulled off in gameplay. I started with the decision that I wanted my player to be very specific in all her statements regarding magical research. I came across some stuff on using task resolution instead of conflict resolution as seen in D&D on Treasure Tables (article here). The whole "What is your intent?" idea really helped both myself and my player figure out how to go about making magic work out of seemingly nothing. The key to the wizard rocks is that they have to be absorbed to be activated; essentially, they are solidified magic. So once you absorb said rock, you can theoretically push out any result as long as the rock had enough magic in it to accomodate.
To absorb a rock, the caster must know rudimentary channelling. Then until the caster got used to channelling the stone into her body, I gave a success percentage (starting at 1%, and increasing at a rate calculated by the player's wisdom score 1% + 1%/2points of wisdom above 11). Eventually, after a lot of practice, the caster could successfully absorb a rock after 10 minutes of meditation. Not useful for combat applications, but still, something from nothing.
After the channelling part was conquered, the caster could then go forward to creating a reliable spell. If the caster only knows how to channel, the result of the desired spell will be erratic at best. Creating stable spells requires a series of mental checks and balances to manipulate the spell's energy in a constant, even, and predictable manner so that the result of the spell will be as expected. This is where the primary usage of "What is your Intent?" came into effect. I payed very close to the player's intent, and we walked through a dozen or so half-working attempts, before the character started to learn how to put the pieces together and form a coherent spell.
By this time, the character had spent a couple hundred hours of study to get a functioning light spell with adjustable intensity, color, shape, and location after 10 minutes of uninterrupted meditation. The character then began researching a method to decrease the casting time for the spell. After another couple of weeks of work, she could cast the spell within 5 minutes of meditation. At this point she had reached her physical limit of channelling. Without proper channelling training, she is unable to break the five minute barrier. This is because, for a spell to be cast faster, it must consume some of the caster's own energy to help form the magic into a stable form. Without greater knowledge of channeling, this is impossible.
Moving towards actual application
In order to cast spells at speed, the character must learn how to channel her own energy into the spell. This will likely require a channelling expert to assist her with learning the flow. Either that, or moments of extreme stress, where the character doesn't really have any other option. Considering the currently light usage of spells (ie light spells and small cantrip-like spells), I doubt the latter will be much of a case.
To begin facilitating the revival of magic, I will move to the GURPS 4th ed rules governing magic. After reading them, I became immediately aware of how clunky, antiquated, and plain boring D&D style magic rules were--especially for use in the given situation. D&D makes the assumption that magic is an established subject, wrought with research and plenty of surrounding knowledge. This is made apparent by the necessity of tomes, named spells (ie Tenser, Melf, Nystal, etc), established schools, and the whole "must be memorized" bit. Granted 3ed sorcerers can get around a lot of that carved in stone mentality, but the idea here is that no one on Ae'rinus is an inherent mage, and while many folks may have inborn magical traits or abilities, those traits are no easier to use than the wizard rocks, and their overuse could lead to a quick death.
GURPS uses a skill based system, where the caster has skill in an individual spell, just like a proficiency. This works well for pioneering, because it doesn't assume spell levels, memorization, or other structure evident of an established system. In addition, spells are cast by expending Energy (Fatigue/constitution) or Health (HP). Again, in a pioneering field, it should be hard on the caster to create an effect. Thirdly, GURPS offers the concept of Mana levels, which determine the relative amount of magic in the area. Since all the magic on Ae'rinus is pretty much trapped in wizard rocks, or in a format that is undetectable by most, Ae'rinus qualifies for Low to No Mana across the board. Therefore, the only source of mana for spells comes from Wizard Rocks, which by default, are weak (functioning as low mana, and able to support 1 Cost spells). However, as Magic begins to rise, people will learn how to shape Wizard Rocks into more efficient creations, thus increasing their relative Mana rating and Cost storage. In addition, wizards will be able to craft manastones, powerstones, or even learn to draw granules of magic from the very ground they are standing on.
Granted, magic on Ae'rinus is a long day off from returning to its heyday, but in a few years, a lone wizard weilding the equivelant of Magic Missle will be a terror on the battlefield. And this is what I've been waiting to see for some time; magic that is mystical, powerful, and frightening all at once. A truly exciting time indeed.
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