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zenderael_ooc2011-09-23 01:50 pm
zenderael_mods) wrote in zenderael_ooc2011-09-23 01:50 pm
Entry tags:
Guilds & Classes
Guild Leaders
Class Abilities
Weapons and Gear Restrictions
Guilds
•Alchemist
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Assassin
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Berserker
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Cleric
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Druid
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Hunter
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Mage
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Paladin
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Rogue
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Spellsword
↪Headcanon/Skills
Guild Leaders
The original ten heroes who felled Xumurdad each consumed one of Its god-organs and gained a portion of Its power. They became the first ten Guild Leaders, able to grant others a small taste of that power.
Throughout the years, the role of Guild Leader has been passed down through ritual cannibalism, each guild with its own system in place for inheritance of a god-organ. After consuming a god-organ, the new Guild Leader gains an extension on their lifespan of 100 years, the powers granted by that god-organ, leadership of the guild, and, of course, a new organ in place of the old.
People join guilds by meeting with a Guild Leader and petitioning to join. Each guild has its own standards for new members, and Guild Leaders actually have very little choice in the matter due to politics surrounding the guilds. As long as someone meets the qualifications, they are accepted. (The specifics of this can be discussed between the players involved, but its purpose is to prevent situations where a GL character might ICly deny a petitioner due to strife between the characters, or OOCly due to strife between the players.)
Class Abilities
Zenderael is not actually an MMO. Real people inside the game are not restricted by gameplay mechanics. 'Builds' as such do not exist, however, they serve a purpose as a guideline for the sorts of skills that character has concentrated on learning. Characters are not restricted to one build's skills--for example, a support paladin may have a selection of offensive skills. However, splitting one's focus between several areas does mean being less skilled in any one of those areas.
Abilities are widely varied within a class, and even within a specific build there's plenty of room for variance. We encourage players to come up with their own ability names and effects to flesh out classes.
Please keep in mind that simply saying an ability exists does not mean all characters of that class and build share that ability. It is perfectly reasonable for one druid to be able to talk to animals while another cannot. There is no ability that all members of a class must have. Do not feel forced to incorporate new abilities into your character's builds, as it is entirely reasonable for them to have simply never learned those abilities.
Weapons and Gear Restrictions
Characters who are no longer solely under player control are also no longer bound by game mechanics. A cleric could wear plate, a mage could wield a gun. However, without the training for it, a plate-wearing cleric would find the armour heavy and restrictive, and the mage would have poor aim with no gun-based skills to help them.
Essentially, they can use weapon/armour types that are not preferred by their class, but they won't be very good at it without any of training.
Guilds
While some guilds may have overlap in skills (stealth between assassins and rogues, or healing between clerics and paladins), each class is defined by their guild's philosophy more than by the skills granted to them by the blessing of the god-organ.
Below are general ideas and limitations for each guild, but ideally there is enough room to play and come up with new ideas. Players of Guild Leaders are encouraged to take these concepts to their logical extremes, because that's the power granted by the god-organ.
It is necessary to accept some retroactive concepts as new players build new ideas, but because of the variation, some characters may simply have focused on a side of things others did not. It is okay to be different!
Alchemists:
Overview: Potion makers and tinkerers! Alchemists have the ability to bring out the most in natural ingredients that a normal person could not, and Xumurdad's power gives them better perceptions and the ability to work with devices more intuitively. They come highly varied compared to many classes, some focusing on potions--and specific kinds of potions such as those for healing versus potion bombs--and others on weapon building or homunculi constructs. Their constructs are limited to rudimentary AI, but their purposes may be just as varied as potions.
The blessing of Xumurdad does not give alchemists improved physical ability, instead focusing on improved mental abilities. There is an element of magic to alchemy, and putting all the right ingredients together in the right configuration will get you nothing if you're not an alchemist.
History: The founder of the Alchemists was Khshathra, who ate Xumurdad's brain and gained Its knowledge. With this new understanding, he discovered that all he wanted to do was sequester himself and work on science. To this end, the first Khshathra founded Safta, with the Spellswords to protect it and the Mages to catalogue its works.
The Alchemists have a business partnership with the Rogues. Rogues sell them components at black-market discounts, and they sell Rogues their creations significantly marked down. This is something of an open secret; everyone knows it happens, but nobody will admit to it.
The current Khshathra, also the Sharifa of Safta, is both head of her Guild and leader of the country. She takes great care to remain neutral in all international dealings. She is a good-humoured old woman with long white hair, thick glasses, and a loud, obnoxious laugh.
Summary:
Leader title: The Khshathra, Sharifa of Safta
God-organ: The Brain of Xumurdad
Builds: Combat, Support, Disrupt
Armor preference: Mail
Weapon preference: Medium, Ranged
Complement-pair: Rogues
Members:
Artemis (graveyardmoon)
Nova (transfer_student)
Assassins:
Overview: Usually stealthy and acrobatic, but not necessarily so. Poison is their key feature, and assassins can magically enchant their blades with it and cast minor poison and dark spells. They often employ tools such as smoke bombs, or nonmagical poisons from vials to coat their weapons. Their speed can be superhuman.
Because of their work with poisons, they are trained to know a lot about them and many have a way of either detoxifying themselves or a natural resistance/immunity.
History: The Armaiti ascended to power after devouring the liver of Xumurdad in the back country of Pakerion. Without fail she took the deceptive powers granted to her and began dismantling what she saw as an unjust distribution of power and pretension in Zenderael.
The current Armaiti is a dark, spindly woman with empty eyes and sharpened teeth. She is without mercy in personality and in decisive action.
Summary:
Leader title: The Armaiti
God-organ: The Liver of Xumurdad
Builds: Combat, Disrupt
Armor preference: Leather
Weapon preference: Medium; Dual-Wield
Complement-pair: Paladins
Members:
Gunnar (deathbell)
Iravati (assassinot)
Lynea (ghostlyheiress)
Siegmund (bloodonthestones)
Berserkers:
Overview: Physical combat and melee masters. Berserkers are often blessed with abilities like increased strength and durability, pain resistance, and growing stronger the more injured they are. Increased strength allows more endurance, better jumping, etc. There have been examples in-game of berserkers punching the earth to cause small tremors or fissures.
Fury is their unique skill, letting them enter a battle state of increased power. They will stop at nothing until the battle is over, win or lose. Using fury is typically exhausting.
History: The berserkers were founded by the Ahura, who ate Xumurdad's stomach and gained Its vigor. She retreated to the wild lands of Pakerion, where she established a guild of like-minded fighters who believed that enlightenment lay in the thrill of battle.
The berserker guild accepts all comers, but the training is so intense that few make it through. Those who finish and come out as guild-certified berserkers are the toughest, most stalwart people Zenderael has to offer.
The guild largely keeps to itself, though many find their services indispensable. Berserkers are often hired out when requested, and many make a living as mercenaries. It's not uncommon to find berserkers drafted into armies.
Power in the guild is traditionally passed down through annual tournaments, the winner getting to fight the Ahura for his title. The current Ahura is Rhys Elena (brokencrescendo).
Summary:
Leader title: The Ahura
God-organ: The Stomach of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Plate
Weapon preference: Medium, Heavy; Shield
Builds: Combat, Defense
Complement-pair: Spellswords
Members:
Leader: Rhys (brokencrescendo)
Alex (socarnivorously)
Go (berserkbitch)
Virelai (bantambrawl)
Clerics:
Overview: Clerics specialize in healing and holy magic. They are the best healers and the only guild capable of resurrection, but only at the highest of skill levels. They're able to heal wounds and diseases, though some have foregone the study of healing to focus on smiting, exorcism, or battling the undead.
Compared to paladins, their holy magic is more potent and direct.
History: The Clerics are the only class with documentation of their existence prior to the fall of Xumurdad. Back then, they were not magical; they were merely a temple culture that focused on worshipping the leader of the land. The Clerics were the last to deign to eat the fallen piece of their God, and so received the heart of their great lord, and unimaginable power.
The current Vahishta is an angry man, they say, but he always seems to pleasant to outside interaction. He's got feathery blonde hair and a pretentious mustache.
Summary:
Leader title: The Vahishta
God-organ: The Heart of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Cloth
Weapon preference: Light
Builds: Combat, Support
Complement-pair: Mages
Members:
Ashtaroth (vast_oceans)
Benedict (fatedecree)
Druids:
Overview: Nature's magic casters and summoners. Druids can summon spirits and most have a permanent spiritual companion. They can cast many nature based spells and summon lesser spirits outside of that companion. Most are categorized by the four elements: fire, wind, water, and earth.
Some have the ability to speak with animals and trees, and some can bewitch monsters to become allies temporarily.
The default elemental for each build-type are listed below. Most druids bond with only one of these and stick to lesser elemental spirits for backup.
Defense - An Earth-elemental. A giant rock turtle, he creates a defensive glow around the Druid summoning and has several devastating, but devastatingly slow, ground attacks.
Combat - A Fire-elemental. He appears as a slender humanoid with flaming hair.
Support - A Water-elemental. He appears as a slender humanoid with dread-locks and spindly fingers.
Disrupt - A Wind-elemental. She appears as a slender, curvaceous humanoid with a wild mess of leaves for hair and clothes forever tussled in an imaginary storm.
History: Druids have often been outliers in Zenderael, courting the outskirts of proper society. Though polite, religious individuals, their communes with both animals and spirits have often set the rest of the community ill-at-ease.
They're relatively respected, outside of by the Hunters, who have always seen the Druids as invading the natural world. Historically, the first Vohu devoured the womb shortly after the first Mano.
The current Vohu is unknown.
Summary:
Leader title: The Vohu
God-organ: The Womb of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Leather
Weapon preference: Light, Medium; Shield
Builds: Support, Combat, Disrupt, Defense
Complement-pair: Hunter
Members:
Evelyn (endofthetale)
Hunters:
Overview: Though typically ranged attackers, what makes a hunter a hunter are the nature based powers they've been granted. Some, including the Mano, have impressive sight capabilities. Others can be inspired by nature to increase their own physical abilities or the abilities of those around them ("animal buffs"). They are designed to live off of the land and seek out their prey easily, often trained in survival skills.
History: Xumurdad's fall and further devouring left but two organs remaining, and the uterus and penis of the dual-gendered weren't going to get eaten anytime soon. Except, of course, by the first Mano, who had heard of the virility found within the organ. His choice to devour the penis of Xumurdad bestowed upon him forever-sight, and so his followers lusted after the ability to strike any target with perfect accuracy.
The Guild is at best scattered, at worst a rag-tag set of loners that occasionally share a meal.
An unknown incident left the Hunters stationed in the dead center of the Holy Land but with a bit of a distrust for the Holy itself, leading an interesting contrast. Most Hunters dread visiting home-base, and find themselves out of place in religious talk. They're a bit more simple, and find strict organization shifty, at best.
The current Mano is Jordan Hayes (cloverstone).
Summary:
Leader title: The Mano
God-organ: The Penis of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Leather
Weapon preference: Medium, Ranged
Builds: Support, Combat
Complement-pair: Druid
Members:
Leader: Jordan (cloverstone)
Noelle (catchingseasons)
Rayu (justabard)
Sascha (alexandrhunted)
Mages:
Overview: Mages are masters of magic. This includes the shaping of elemental magic, but they are capable of breaking reality and reshaping it in several ways. Restricted from mages is the summoning of spirits, as that belongs to druids.
Unique to mages is their ability to see the oddities introduced to the world by the game itself. They can physically see strings on played characters, hear whispers, and notice other details. (If you're not certain, ask!)
The ability to cast portals was restricted from players by the game originally, but in reality any mage can learn this with some time and dedication. Extensive warp and portal magic should be considered its own major school of magic, so it would be difficult for one to learn this and be a master of fire magic, for example.
Becoming a mage can mentally break the weak willed and the weak minded.
History: The founder of the mages was the Asha, who ate Xumurdad's lungs and gained Its courage. He quickly formed alliances with the Alchemists and Spellswords, and together they founded Safta.
Still headquarted in Safta, the mages offer their services to both the Alchemists and spellswords, sharing the finer points of magical theory with both guilds. The Asha is in charge of a magical research institution which also houses the World Library, a collection of knowledge so extensive it's a massive labyrinth. Mages working as administrators of the World Library are called Mogh, collectively Moghan, and the Asha is called the A'zam Mogh.
Being a mage is not for the faint of heart. Only those with the courage to face the truth behind reality can grasp the theories behind the magic the guild practices. The idea of ripping into the seams of reality, seeing the universe at its core, and stitching it back together to one's whims is an inherently terrifying one in practice. Many guild candidates can't handle the revelation of what the world is like beneath the surface, and go mad. Those who face it with courage come out on the other side as mages.
The current Asha is a quiet young man with a stern stare behind a pair of glasses. His knowledge is extensive and he acts as an advisor to the ruler of Safta.
Summary:
Leader title: The Asha, A'zam Mogh of the World Library
God-organ: The Lungs of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Cloth
Weapon preference: Light
Builds: Combat, Disrupt
Complement-pair Clerics
Members:
Alessia (arsmoriendi)
Majestica (frombelow)
Reilanin (winterwhite)
Paladins:
Overview: Holy knights. Paladins hold up principles of virtue and justice, and breaking these principles can rob them of their powers without the Spenta being there to take it from them.
Like clerics, they possess holy magic abilities, though not to the same extent. Paladins cannot heal diseases the way clerics can, and their offensive magic, while potent, pales in comparison to a cleric's. Xumurdad's power often grants them more durability than the average person. Even without their defensive magics in play, they can take a beating.
History: The first Spenta first ate a piece of Xumurdad on the run from the Armaiti, the newly awakened leader of the Assassins. In a panic he ate the colon of Xumurdad, hoping against hope for some sort of power. Luckily, the defensive strength he acquired prevented his untimely demise.
This war against the Assassins is still reflected in the day-to-day workings of the Paladin. They are taught the first and foremost sin is to murder, though they often take lives at their hands. The distinction between a just kill and a disgusting murder is drilled into early cadet's heads by the Spenta.
The current Spenta is Ezra Amos (coolmonsoon)
Summary:
Leader title: The Spenta
God-organ: The Colon of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Plate
Weapon preference: Medium, Heavy; Shield
Builds: All
Complement-pair: Assassin s
Members:
Leader: Ezra (coolmonsoon)
Acher (fearnoreproach)
Anais (vallinar)
Eileen (feedtherain)
Rasmus (bulldozer)
Ravindra (paladont)
Rogues:
Overview: Similar to an assassin, but with less functional magic. Where assassins are designed to kill and murder, rogues are designed for theft. They're mobile, they pick pockets, they've often got fast tongues and charming voices. Some rogues have managed to use Xumurdad's blessing to make themselves sound truthful even when they are lying, removing the body's subtle cues.
Rogues are able to hide in plain sight and are incredibly acrobatic, like assassins. They are more likely to be trained in ranged weapons as well.
History: Based in Pakerion, the rogues are a disorganized bunch who stick to their own devices but will come together if the guild requires it. Most of them are lone wolf types, or they'll band together in small gangs. They deal in black market everything: magic, goods, even information. They are known for their stealth abilities, not as good as the assassins', but still formidable.
The current Vairya is a vibrant red-head with a silver tongue. She can get you out of anything: your house, your wallet, your marriage...
Summary:
Leader title: The Vairya
God-organ: The Tongue of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Mail
Weapon preference: Medium, Ranged
Builds: Disrupt, Combat
Complement-pair: Alchemists
Members:
Edward (sashaand)
Nayan (senecio)
Tristan (heyshorty)
Spellswords:
Overview: Magic knights. Spellswords are a balance of magic and melee. They do not have as much power in their spells as a mage would, but are skilled with weapons. Their weapon is used to channel and amplify their magic. (Spellswords do not have to actually wield swords as their weapon of choice, to note! They can channel magic through other melee weapons.)
While Spellswords cannot see the strange reality of the world as mages can, they can see magic in general, and very, very well. They would be skilled at combating mages because of their ability to see a spell as it comes together, and what those spell threads mean. This ability to see magic turns their eyes gold, which is considered to be their defining trait.
History: The founder of the spellswords was the Mazda, who ate Xumurdad's eyes and gained Its insight. She quickly established a relationship with the Alchemists, and set up her guild to be their sword.
Headquartered in Safta, the spellsword guild serves as the core of the country's military power. All members must complete two years of mandatory service in the Amber Gaze, so named for the distinctive eyes of the spellswords. Afterward, guild members are free to stay enlisted or leave as they please, though they will always remain beholden to the guild. In times of need, those who have left service may be called back. However, since Safta is a neutral territory, there is rarely need.
The current Mazda, also the Admiral of the Amber Gaze, is a middle-aged woman with greyed hair and Xumurdad's piercing gaze. She is militant and commands her guild with an iron fist. She does not tolerate nonsense or failure.
Members of the Amber Gaze, known as Ambereyes, rank above the rest of Safta's military. They have a reputation as fierce and strict enforcers of the law. They are greatly respected, or at least greatly feared, and anybody who may dislike the Amber Gaze would never express it to an Ambereye's face.
Summary:
Leader title: The Mazda, Admiral of the Amber Gaze
God-organ: The eyes of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Mail
Weapon preference: Medium, Heavy; Dual-Wield
Builds: Support; Disrupt; Combat
Complement-pair: The Berserkers
Members:
Marlene (marleneonthewall)
Nadir (bittersaint)
Class Abilities
Weapons and Gear Restrictions
Guilds
•Alchemist
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Assassin
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Berserker
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Cleric
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Druid
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Hunter
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Mage
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Paladin
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Rogue
↪Headcanon/Skills
•Spellsword
↪Headcanon/Skills
Guild Leaders
The original ten heroes who felled Xumurdad each consumed one of Its god-organs and gained a portion of Its power. They became the first ten Guild Leaders, able to grant others a small taste of that power.
Throughout the years, the role of Guild Leader has been passed down through ritual cannibalism, each guild with its own system in place for inheritance of a god-organ. After consuming a god-organ, the new Guild Leader gains an extension on their lifespan of 100 years, the powers granted by that god-organ, leadership of the guild, and, of course, a new organ in place of the old.
People join guilds by meeting with a Guild Leader and petitioning to join. Each guild has its own standards for new members, and Guild Leaders actually have very little choice in the matter due to politics surrounding the guilds. As long as someone meets the qualifications, they are accepted. (The specifics of this can be discussed between the players involved, but its purpose is to prevent situations where a GL character might ICly deny a petitioner due to strife between the characters, or OOCly due to strife between the players.)
Class Abilities
Zenderael is not actually an MMO. Real people inside the game are not restricted by gameplay mechanics. 'Builds' as such do not exist, however, they serve a purpose as a guideline for the sorts of skills that character has concentrated on learning. Characters are not restricted to one build's skills--for example, a support paladin may have a selection of offensive skills. However, splitting one's focus between several areas does mean being less skilled in any one of those areas.
Abilities are widely varied within a class, and even within a specific build there's plenty of room for variance. We encourage players to come up with their own ability names and effects to flesh out classes.
Please keep in mind that simply saying an ability exists does not mean all characters of that class and build share that ability. It is perfectly reasonable for one druid to be able to talk to animals while another cannot. There is no ability that all members of a class must have. Do not feel forced to incorporate new abilities into your character's builds, as it is entirely reasonable for them to have simply never learned those abilities.
Weapons and Gear Restrictions
Characters who are no longer solely under player control are also no longer bound by game mechanics. A cleric could wear plate, a mage could wield a gun. However, without the training for it, a plate-wearing cleric would find the armour heavy and restrictive, and the mage would have poor aim with no gun-based skills to help them.
Essentially, they can use weapon/armour types that are not preferred by their class, but they won't be very good at it without any of training.
Guilds
While some guilds may have overlap in skills (stealth between assassins and rogues, or healing between clerics and paladins), each class is defined by their guild's philosophy more than by the skills granted to them by the blessing of the god-organ.
Below are general ideas and limitations for each guild, but ideally there is enough room to play and come up with new ideas. Players of Guild Leaders are encouraged to take these concepts to their logical extremes, because that's the power granted by the god-organ.
It is necessary to accept some retroactive concepts as new players build new ideas, but because of the variation, some characters may simply have focused on a side of things others did not. It is okay to be different!
Alchemists:
Overview: Potion makers and tinkerers! Alchemists have the ability to bring out the most in natural ingredients that a normal person could not, and Xumurdad's power gives them better perceptions and the ability to work with devices more intuitively. They come highly varied compared to many classes, some focusing on potions--and specific kinds of potions such as those for healing versus potion bombs--and others on weapon building or homunculi constructs. Their constructs are limited to rudimentary AI, but their purposes may be just as varied as potions.
The blessing of Xumurdad does not give alchemists improved physical ability, instead focusing on improved mental abilities. There is an element of magic to alchemy, and putting all the right ingredients together in the right configuration will get you nothing if you're not an alchemist.
History: The founder of the Alchemists was Khshathra, who ate Xumurdad's brain and gained Its knowledge. With this new understanding, he discovered that all he wanted to do was sequester himself and work on science. To this end, the first Khshathra founded Safta, with the Spellswords to protect it and the Mages to catalogue its works.
The Alchemists have a business partnership with the Rogues. Rogues sell them components at black-market discounts, and they sell Rogues their creations significantly marked down. This is something of an open secret; everyone knows it happens, but nobody will admit to it.
The current Khshathra, also the Sharifa of Safta, is both head of her Guild and leader of the country. She takes great care to remain neutral in all international dealings. She is a good-humoured old woman with long white hair, thick glasses, and a loud, obnoxious laugh.
Summary:
Leader title: The Khshathra, Sharifa of Safta
God-organ: The Brain of Xumurdad
Builds: Combat, Support, Disrupt
Armor preference: Mail
Weapon preference: Medium, Ranged
Complement-pair: Rogues
Members:
Artemis (
graveyardmoon)Nova (
transfer_student)Assassins:
Overview: Usually stealthy and acrobatic, but not necessarily so. Poison is their key feature, and assassins can magically enchant their blades with it and cast minor poison and dark spells. They often employ tools such as smoke bombs, or nonmagical poisons from vials to coat their weapons. Their speed can be superhuman.
Because of their work with poisons, they are trained to know a lot about them and many have a way of either detoxifying themselves or a natural resistance/immunity.
History: The Armaiti ascended to power after devouring the liver of Xumurdad in the back country of Pakerion. Without fail she took the deceptive powers granted to her and began dismantling what she saw as an unjust distribution of power and pretension in Zenderael.
The current Armaiti is a dark, spindly woman with empty eyes and sharpened teeth. She is without mercy in personality and in decisive action.
Summary:
Leader title: The Armaiti
God-organ: The Liver of Xumurdad
Builds: Combat, Disrupt
Armor preference: Leather
Weapon preference: Medium; Dual-Wield
Complement-pair: Paladins
Members:
Gunnar (
deathbell)Iravati (
assassinot)Lynea (
ghostlyheiress)Siegmund (
bloodonthestones)Berserkers:
Overview: Physical combat and melee masters. Berserkers are often blessed with abilities like increased strength and durability, pain resistance, and growing stronger the more injured they are. Increased strength allows more endurance, better jumping, etc. There have been examples in-game of berserkers punching the earth to cause small tremors or fissures.
Fury is their unique skill, letting them enter a battle state of increased power. They will stop at nothing until the battle is over, win or lose. Using fury is typically exhausting.
History: The berserkers were founded by the Ahura, who ate Xumurdad's stomach and gained Its vigor. She retreated to the wild lands of Pakerion, where she established a guild of like-minded fighters who believed that enlightenment lay in the thrill of battle.
The berserker guild accepts all comers, but the training is so intense that few make it through. Those who finish and come out as guild-certified berserkers are the toughest, most stalwart people Zenderael has to offer.
The guild largely keeps to itself, though many find their services indispensable. Berserkers are often hired out when requested, and many make a living as mercenaries. It's not uncommon to find berserkers drafted into armies.
Power in the guild is traditionally passed down through annual tournaments, the winner getting to fight the Ahura for his title. The current Ahura is Rhys Elena (
brokencrescendo).Summary:
Leader title: The Ahura
God-organ: The Stomach of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Plate
Weapon preference: Medium, Heavy; Shield
Builds: Combat, Defense
Complement-pair: Spellswords
Members:
Leader: Rhys (
brokencrescendo)Alex (
socarnivorously)Go (
berserkbitch)Virelai (
bantambrawl)Clerics:
Overview: Clerics specialize in healing and holy magic. They are the best healers and the only guild capable of resurrection, but only at the highest of skill levels. They're able to heal wounds and diseases, though some have foregone the study of healing to focus on smiting, exorcism, or battling the undead.
Compared to paladins, their holy magic is more potent and direct.
History: The Clerics are the only class with documentation of their existence prior to the fall of Xumurdad. Back then, they were not magical; they were merely a temple culture that focused on worshipping the leader of the land. The Clerics were the last to deign to eat the fallen piece of their God, and so received the heart of their great lord, and unimaginable power.
The current Vahishta is an angry man, they say, but he always seems to pleasant to outside interaction. He's got feathery blonde hair and a pretentious mustache.
Summary:
Leader title: The Vahishta
God-organ: The Heart of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Cloth
Weapon preference: Light
Builds: Combat, Support
Complement-pair: Mages
Members:
Ashtaroth (
vast_oceans)Benedict (
fatedecree)Druids:
Overview: Nature's magic casters and summoners. Druids can summon spirits and most have a permanent spiritual companion. They can cast many nature based spells and summon lesser spirits outside of that companion. Most are categorized by the four elements: fire, wind, water, and earth.
Some have the ability to speak with animals and trees, and some can bewitch monsters to become allies temporarily.
The default elemental for each build-type are listed below. Most druids bond with only one of these and stick to lesser elemental spirits for backup.
Defense - An Earth-elemental. A giant rock turtle, he creates a defensive glow around the Druid summoning and has several devastating, but devastatingly slow, ground attacks.
Combat - A Fire-elemental. He appears as a slender humanoid with flaming hair.
Support - A Water-elemental. He appears as a slender humanoid with dread-locks and spindly fingers.
Disrupt - A Wind-elemental. She appears as a slender, curvaceous humanoid with a wild mess of leaves for hair and clothes forever tussled in an imaginary storm.
History: Druids have often been outliers in Zenderael, courting the outskirts of proper society. Though polite, religious individuals, their communes with both animals and spirits have often set the rest of the community ill-at-ease.
They're relatively respected, outside of by the Hunters, who have always seen the Druids as invading the natural world. Historically, the first Vohu devoured the womb shortly after the first Mano.
The current Vohu is unknown.
Summary:
Leader title: The Vohu
God-organ: The Womb of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Leather
Weapon preference: Light, Medium; Shield
Builds: Support, Combat, Disrupt, Defense
Complement-pair: Hunter
Members:
Evelyn (
endofthetale)Hunters:
Overview: Though typically ranged attackers, what makes a hunter a hunter are the nature based powers they've been granted. Some, including the Mano, have impressive sight capabilities. Others can be inspired by nature to increase their own physical abilities or the abilities of those around them ("animal buffs"). They are designed to live off of the land and seek out their prey easily, often trained in survival skills.
History: Xumurdad's fall and further devouring left but two organs remaining, and the uterus and penis of the dual-gendered weren't going to get eaten anytime soon. Except, of course, by the first Mano, who had heard of the virility found within the organ. His choice to devour the penis of Xumurdad bestowed upon him forever-sight, and so his followers lusted after the ability to strike any target with perfect accuracy.
The Guild is at best scattered, at worst a rag-tag set of loners that occasionally share a meal.
An unknown incident left the Hunters stationed in the dead center of the Holy Land but with a bit of a distrust for the Holy itself, leading an interesting contrast. Most Hunters dread visiting home-base, and find themselves out of place in religious talk. They're a bit more simple, and find strict organization shifty, at best.
The current Mano is Jordan Hayes (
cloverstone).Summary:
Leader title: The Mano
God-organ: The Penis of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Leather
Weapon preference: Medium, Ranged
Builds: Support, Combat
Complement-pair: Druid
Members:
Leader: Jordan (
cloverstone)Noelle (
catchingseasons)Rayu (
justabard)Sascha (
alexandrhunted)Mages:
Overview: Mages are masters of magic. This includes the shaping of elemental magic, but they are capable of breaking reality and reshaping it in several ways. Restricted from mages is the summoning of spirits, as that belongs to druids.
Unique to mages is their ability to see the oddities introduced to the world by the game itself. They can physically see strings on played characters, hear whispers, and notice other details. (If you're not certain, ask!)
The ability to cast portals was restricted from players by the game originally, but in reality any mage can learn this with some time and dedication. Extensive warp and portal magic should be considered its own major school of magic, so it would be difficult for one to learn this and be a master of fire magic, for example.
Becoming a mage can mentally break the weak willed and the weak minded.
History: The founder of the mages was the Asha, who ate Xumurdad's lungs and gained Its courage. He quickly formed alliances with the Alchemists and Spellswords, and together they founded Safta.
Still headquarted in Safta, the mages offer their services to both the Alchemists and spellswords, sharing the finer points of magical theory with both guilds. The Asha is in charge of a magical research institution which also houses the World Library, a collection of knowledge so extensive it's a massive labyrinth. Mages working as administrators of the World Library are called Mogh, collectively Moghan, and the Asha is called the A'zam Mogh.
Being a mage is not for the faint of heart. Only those with the courage to face the truth behind reality can grasp the theories behind the magic the guild practices. The idea of ripping into the seams of reality, seeing the universe at its core, and stitching it back together to one's whims is an inherently terrifying one in practice. Many guild candidates can't handle the revelation of what the world is like beneath the surface, and go mad. Those who face it with courage come out on the other side as mages.
The current Asha is a quiet young man with a stern stare behind a pair of glasses. His knowledge is extensive and he acts as an advisor to the ruler of Safta.
Summary:
Leader title: The Asha, A'zam Mogh of the World Library
God-organ: The Lungs of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Cloth
Weapon preference: Light
Builds: Combat, Disrupt
Complement-pair Clerics
Members:
Alessia (
arsmoriendi)Majestica (
frombelow)Reilanin (
winterwhite)Paladins:
Overview: Holy knights. Paladins hold up principles of virtue and justice, and breaking these principles can rob them of their powers without the Spenta being there to take it from them.
Like clerics, they possess holy magic abilities, though not to the same extent. Paladins cannot heal diseases the way clerics can, and their offensive magic, while potent, pales in comparison to a cleric's. Xumurdad's power often grants them more durability than the average person. Even without their defensive magics in play, they can take a beating.
History: The first Spenta first ate a piece of Xumurdad on the run from the Armaiti, the newly awakened leader of the Assassins. In a panic he ate the colon of Xumurdad, hoping against hope for some sort of power. Luckily, the defensive strength he acquired prevented his untimely demise.
This war against the Assassins is still reflected in the day-to-day workings of the Paladin. They are taught the first and foremost sin is to murder, though they often take lives at their hands. The distinction between a just kill and a disgusting murder is drilled into early cadet's heads by the Spenta.
The current Spenta is Ezra Amos (
coolmonsoon)Summary:
Leader title: The Spenta
God-organ: The Colon of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Plate
Weapon preference: Medium, Heavy; Shield
Builds: All
Complement-pair: Assassin s
Members:
Leader: Ezra (
coolmonsoon)Acher (
fearnoreproach)Anais (
vallinar)Eileen (
feedtherain)Rasmus (
bulldozer)Ravindra (
paladont)Rogues:
Overview: Similar to an assassin, but with less functional magic. Where assassins are designed to kill and murder, rogues are designed for theft. They're mobile, they pick pockets, they've often got fast tongues and charming voices. Some rogues have managed to use Xumurdad's blessing to make themselves sound truthful even when they are lying, removing the body's subtle cues.
Rogues are able to hide in plain sight and are incredibly acrobatic, like assassins. They are more likely to be trained in ranged weapons as well.
History: Based in Pakerion, the rogues are a disorganized bunch who stick to their own devices but will come together if the guild requires it. Most of them are lone wolf types, or they'll band together in small gangs. They deal in black market everything: magic, goods, even information. They are known for their stealth abilities, not as good as the assassins', but still formidable.
The current Vairya is a vibrant red-head with a silver tongue. She can get you out of anything: your house, your wallet, your marriage...
Summary:
Leader title: The Vairya
God-organ: The Tongue of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Mail
Weapon preference: Medium, Ranged
Builds: Disrupt, Combat
Complement-pair: Alchemists
Members:
Edward (
sashaand)Nayan (
senecio)Tristan (
heyshorty)Spellswords:
Overview: Magic knights. Spellswords are a balance of magic and melee. They do not have as much power in their spells as a mage would, but are skilled with weapons. Their weapon is used to channel and amplify their magic. (Spellswords do not have to actually wield swords as their weapon of choice, to note! They can channel magic through other melee weapons.)
While Spellswords cannot see the strange reality of the world as mages can, they can see magic in general, and very, very well. They would be skilled at combating mages because of their ability to see a spell as it comes together, and what those spell threads mean. This ability to see magic turns their eyes gold, which is considered to be their defining trait.
History: The founder of the spellswords was the Mazda, who ate Xumurdad's eyes and gained Its insight. She quickly established a relationship with the Alchemists, and set up her guild to be their sword.
Headquartered in Safta, the spellsword guild serves as the core of the country's military power. All members must complete two years of mandatory service in the Amber Gaze, so named for the distinctive eyes of the spellswords. Afterward, guild members are free to stay enlisted or leave as they please, though they will always remain beholden to the guild. In times of need, those who have left service may be called back. However, since Safta is a neutral territory, there is rarely need.
The current Mazda, also the Admiral of the Amber Gaze, is a middle-aged woman with greyed hair and Xumurdad's piercing gaze. She is militant and commands her guild with an iron fist. She does not tolerate nonsense or failure.
Members of the Amber Gaze, known as Ambereyes, rank above the rest of Safta's military. They have a reputation as fierce and strict enforcers of the law. They are greatly respected, or at least greatly feared, and anybody who may dislike the Amber Gaze would never express it to an Ambereye's face.
Summary:
Leader title: The Mazda, Admiral of the Amber Gaze
God-organ: The eyes of Xumurdad
Armor preference: Mail
Weapon preference: Medium, Heavy; Dual-Wield
Builds: Support; Disrupt; Combat
Complement-pair: The Berserkers
Members:
Marlene (
marleneonthewall)Nadir (
bittersaint)
ALCHEMISTS
HIBI HIBI HOW DO YOU POTIONS
The components we all know and love are categorized into specific types of "agents" which act on the potion in specific ways. One of the most important types of agent is a "purifying agent," or in other words an ingredient that helps cancel out the inherent toxicity of like every potion ever. These are important because otherwise the effect of every potion would be "vomit and maybe die" and although assassins would probably buy potions like that,there are cheaper ways to cause that particular effect.
The connection between an ingredient and what type of agent it might be is hopefully semi-logical, so purifying agents would tend to come from flora or fauna with holy, light, or water type aspects.
Some other notable types of agents I thought up, but we can keep adding to the list:
Dampening Agent: Cancels out a specific effect held by existing ingredients in a mixture. For example a certain dampening agent might cut the paralyzing effects of Tuberessence goop (a substance which can cause both paralysis and sleep) in order to create a potion specifically geared for producing only the sleep-inducing effect. A completely different dampening agent would be able to cut the sleep effect if you wanted a paralysis potion instead.
Extension Agent: Extends the duration of a potion's effects. In case anyone's wondering, my headcanon is that plastic and other earth synthetic materials tend to have extending effects.
Mixing Agent: Helps break down dry ingredients into a liquid mixture. This would usually be an acid. A magical acid.
Catalyst: Some components, like venom, pretty much already do in nature what you'd want them to do in a potion. For the rest, you need a catalyst to bring out the desired effect. A catalyst is a magical or nigh-magical component which can awaken dormant effects in a desired ingedient or make select combos of components mix spontaneously into a cool new thing. A catalyst will take the latent alchemical essence of a non-reacting component and make it literal.
Separating Agent: Partially solidifies ingredients back into their original forms, allowing you to make a start at discovering what went into an unidentified potion. I don't think you can "undo" combined ingredients fully, though.
Acting Agent: AKA the active ingredient. The component that produces some cool effect which you would like to try out on a friend or a monster. Acting agents can sometimes be combined for unexpected results, but most potions are probably inspired by some natural property of Zen's plant or animal matter.
A major challenge of making potions is that everything in nature has one effect you do want, but then tons of ambient effects you don't want. As an alchemist, you need to identify, balance, and cancel out those undesired effects without also stifling the intended effect.
One of the "under research" aspects of alchemy, and part of what separates those who are better at their craft, involves distilling components down to more simplified forms (using Actual Science) to cut down on all those wasteful extra qualities in your potion that require you to water it down with dampeners and purifiers. Basically, the good alchemists can mechanically distill many of their ingredients before they ever start mixing, allowing for a potion that's closer to the desired end product from the outset, and therefore cheaper to produce and more concentrated.
Additions? Tweaks? Headcanon clashes?
ALCHEMIST-ONLY POTIONS
As such these potions have fancy names (such as Dragon's Milk) and exotic effects! In gameplay, some of them have a multiple choice of about four different possible effects that set based on your character build, to account for the personalized bonding. Maybe this is a combat advantage sometimes since it'd be a surprise exactly what the potion does to anyone who hasn't seen the alchemist use it before.
The most common "exotic" effect of an alch-exclusive potion is area effects! These are possible in mass consumption potions but the exclusive ones can provide extra perks like greater range or identifying allies vs enemies.
The way these potions become exclusive from a story perspective is that catalysts, being magical in nature, can form a bond with either the specific alchemist who awakened them, or simply the broader essence of their alch abilities that awakened the catalyst. That means that the potion itself is smart in a somewhat magical way, and won't activate unless the intention of an alchemist can be sensed.
Some of the same principles apply to constructs and how they can bond with and take orders from specific people or groups.
It might also be possible for an alchemist to use certain techniques to make a construct or regular!potion respond exclusively to a specific non-alchemist. This could not be done with a potion that is already alchemist exclusive, though -- those catalysts are fussy and only like alchs.
CONSTRUCTS
A construct is a mechanical creation built around a magical power core. Alchemists are cool with having this magic all up in their science; they know the world is magical and they roll by utilizing magical materials in supercool technologies!
The core typically has some sort of elemental affinity -- water, ice, fire, light, shadow, and so on. It is either a catalyst itself or an amalgamation of catalysts and other materials.
Constructs have power levels that can drain down and need to be refilled periodically, but since they are independently mobile, a construct can usually charge itself unless it drains down to nothing. They do this by pulling ambient energy from their element of affinity -- your water construct might take a swim in a lake, your air construct will seek high elevations, and your shadow construct might curl up in a dark corner, etc.
Likewise, opposite elements can drain their energy reserves quickly, so you wouldn't expect an alchemist who lives in the desert to own an ice construct unless they were super-eccentric and loved having to hustle to keep it from shutting down all the time. Earth constructs hold their charge the best, for obvious reasons, but will still slowly deplete unless they can burrow down somewhere cozy.
Mages are able to charge or de-charge constructs with spells of the correct element, so it would usually be dumb to attack a mage with your construct unless you felt like hauling it home to charge.
When they run out of energy, constructs don't die. They're essentially the Zen equivalent of robots. You'll find owners who treat them like beloved pets or even friends (people can be weird), but the integration between the core and the body of the construct is not as complete as with a golem and while there is a spark of magical "life" to every construct, it's arguable whether that magical essence cares very much about what the construct's body gets up to.
However, depending on how independent they are, constructs may display behaviors that suggest concern for their makers' or owners' well-being or interests, due to the magical bonding. As such, advanced constructs will default to selfless behavior and don't have a self preservation instinct when it conflicts with protecting their owners unless it's imposed by their maker or owner externally.
Behaviorally and "mentally" they're a lot like well-trained and very capable pets. They cannot communicate verbally but can understand spoken commands and sometimes respond to people's wishes if they're bonded with them.
Probably obvious, but the bigger your construct, the more charging it will need. The kind of construct that could pummel enemies for you will probably need to "sleep" as much, if not more, than you do. Simple constructs -- like the kind created to fetch and carry -- won't really demonstrate any of the complex behaviors described above, only the more sophisticated ones will do that. A small, dumb construct will need only minimal maintenance, though.
No matter how simple they are, people still bond with them like pets sometimes, even if all they ever do is pick up vials.
If your construct gets smashed into smithereens it will cease function unless repaired. If the core is broken it may or may not be repairable, and depending on how much the creator/owner has sentimentalized about their creation, they might consider it "dead" at that point.
ASSASSINS
BERSERKERS
Skills:
Hurricane Fury: offensive, channel energy into a physical outburst that damages all targets in close range.
Whirlwind Blade: offensive, cut the air in front of you with both weapon and energy.
CLERIC
Skills:
Bless: buff, enchants a target with holy energy, causes damage to undead/unholy enemies that attack the target, single target.
Holy Wave: offensive, expanding wave of holy energy that damages all undead/unholy targets within range, AoE.
DRUID
Skills:
Ensnare: debuff, summons vines to immobilize a target.
Bewitch: bewitches a target monster into an ally for a set period of time.
HUNTER
Re: HUNTER
phantom shot -- an arrow/bullet composed of mana
^original skill in the game
In real life, the ability can be expanded to create an complete bow and arrow/firearm and round, but the mana pull is intense and generally wouldn't be used unless it's a last resort or something. The way I'm going to play it is that the idea just doesn't occur to alts because they're so used to only being able to conjure the shot.
Requires technical knowledge of the weapon they're conjuring. (ex. Noelle could conjure a bow, but not a firearm.)
Skills:
Constitution of the Bear: buff, temporarily increase status resistance bonus.
Vitality of the Boar: buff, temporarily increase vitality.
Wisdom of the Owl: buff, temporarily increase the ability to not be a dumbass.
Rabbit's Luck: Buffs movement speed (few sec duration).
Viper's Call: Buffs critical hit rate (few sec duration).
Mongoose's Resolve: Dampens the effects of poisons.
no subject
A: Sort of. Passively, they're naturally adept at blending in with their surroundings. Actively, they can become effectively invisible against their environment.
Support Headcanons
The animal based buffs don't call animal spirits, like a druid, but are more a power born of observation. They take in the way nature works and adapt it for themselves, etc. It takes a kind of mana power and is much like magic, but for the most part is enhancing something a person can already do and sharpening the senses.
For example, Rayu can't heal/cure diseases and poisons, but he can boost the body's ability to deal with it or slow down the effects while it does.
They also have similar debuffs in attacks to cripple opponents and lower their stats or poison/sleep them, but it's all power born of mimicry and knowing where to strike. This may or may not look fancy with ethereal animal cues depending on the hunter.
I like them okay.I have also played Rayu with a kind of supernatural tracking skill at times. He can only keep an eye out for one kind of creature at a time (undead, beasts, demons, humans, etc), but it gives him a sort of radar when they get near, even if they are stealthed. It gets more precise the closer they are.
on enchanted ammunition
For example, Alex wearing anti-holy rings: the anti-holy enchantment will trigger as soon as a holy spell is directed at him, dampening its effects based on the strength of the anti enchantment. However, if he were to be hit by a holy-enchanted bullet, the anti enchantment would lag, and he would be hit with the full strength of the enchantment on the bullet before the anti-holy rings have a chance to drain the effects.
MAGE
some disrupt mage skill ideas
Stop - stop time for a single target; very short duration, and immobilizes the caster
Float - cause the target to float several feet off the ground; temporary
Vanish - cast invisibility on one target; usually only of sight, but can be cast to trick all the senses, at the risk of the target vanishing for real (this would only happen while alts are playing themselves, ie it's not a skill mechanic from a player's perspective)
Absorb (magic damage) - if cast at the right moment, will absorb the attacker's magic spell; the caster then has the option to reflect the spell back on their attacker OR replish their mana with ~70% of the original mana used by the attacker
Teleport - warp the caster only to a bind point; requires concentration, cannot be done as a means for evasion, for example
Transform - turn the target into an animal
Curse removal - single-target
Shadow hold - control movement of the target by controlling their shadow; requires physical contact with target's shadow
Dispel - strip all buffs from target
Skills:
Lake of Fire: offensive, fire spell, AoE.
Freezing Wave: debuff, slows enemies, no damage, AoE.
Volcanic Eruption: offensive, volcano erupts from the ground, fire damage with burning effect, AoE.
Rain of Fire: offensive, summons fireballs from the sky, fire damage, AoE.
Chain Lightning: offensive, lightning bolts leap from caster's fingers to bounce between targets, level affects target limit, can be cast continually.
no subject
A: Basically, no. The Asha could, but it's very much a power level thing and most mages are simply not powerful enough to manage matter on a level that mirco.
Mostly, mages just alter states of matter and rearrange (classic) elements to do what they want.
PALADIN
Skills:
Righteous Fury: offensive, single-target, knockback effect
Seraphic Radiance: offensive, summon pillars of holy light to deal damage in targeted area, AoE.
Smite: offensive, summon a slash of holy light to deal damage to a single target
ROGUE
SPELLSWORD
Skills:
Wind buffs - increase speed, strength
Ice buffs - increase focus (aim and casting speed)
Earth buffs - increase defense, durability
Regen - a touch-spell that gives several days' worth of natural healing over the course of a few minutes, very weak compared to other class's healing and the only heal spell available to spellswords. The prerequisites for it are so heavy only support spellswords bother to get it.
Earth shield - raise a wall of earth between you and the monster
Ice shield - a dome of ice to protect an area around the spellsword from blows. Channeled, spellsword must concentrate to maintain the shield
Earth debuff - slow an enemy
Mana restoration
Support spellswords, while lacking in the physical heals department, make up for it in the magical heals department. They can give portions of their mana reserves to others, using their larger mana pool to restore another person's smaller mana pool. This makes them especially useful in a team with a mage or a DPS spellsword, because they can effectively keep those spells coming indefinitely by restoring mana whenever the damage-crew runs out.
However, spellswords who aren't careful about using this ability can easily find themselves suffering from mana burnout after draining their reserves too deeply.
Spellswords also have the ability to restore their own mana, but it requires a trade. Essentially, HP for MP. In gameplay it's a simple enough self-damage/mana-heal. In reality, a spellsword will spill their own blood and turn it into mana. This ability can get dangerous if overused, and is one reason spellswords work best with a healer in tow to heal for blood lost.