The Order of Magick - Registration and Discussion
Hopefully, Ush will forgive me for opening this without his permission. I'm not exactly a newbie or a troll, after all. I'm trying to save this place. 🙂
The order of Magick.
Once upon a time, in the ancient kingdom of Algara, there was a great castle, where the order of magick, a society of wizards, lived. All wizards would study, practice and relax within the castle walls. The king would often call upon the order for aid, for it was widely known that wizards, aside from being scholars, were also great fighters, using their arts to face enemies that mere mortals would flee from. Despite their legendary skills, wizards were still human, and physically weak compared to a common soldier. If not for their talents, they would perish at the hands of even the weakest of goblins. Because of this, the death toll for wizards on the battlefield was sometimes more than the order of magick could bear. One great wizard, whose name is long forgotten, sought to fix this dilemma by searching for the elixir of life. The order was against this, as such an item was considered dark magick, and therefore forbidden. Arguments began, and then fights. Eventually, a young pupil was killed in the struggle, and the wizard was banished from the order of magick for all eternity. His staff was snapped in half, so he could perform no more magick, and he was imprisoned in a faraway place, never to be heard from again.
That was hundreds of years ago.
In the present, life in the order of magick continues as normal. There have been rumors of increased monster sightings throughout the kingdom of Algara. In response, the order has sent of group of distinguished graduates to investigate…
You are one of the wizards sent out to investigate the increased monster sightings. Although skilled in magick, you are inexperienced in real life situations, such as combat, sleeping on the hard ground and dealing with superstitious commoners. It will take more than your magick to survive in the kingdom of Algara.
Gameplay
I've altered this section greatly from the last version of this idea.
You are a part of a group of wizards (male or female) who have just graduated. Cocky, fearless, and totally unprepared for 'the real world', you set out to take on your first mission.
There are various rules regarding magic.
- All wizards have a basic understanding of most kinds of magic. However, in battle, they specialize in only a single type of magic. Most of their spells in battle will be focused on this one aspect, with one or two other spells thrown in for kicks.
- Magick is dependent on the user's personality, past, and current state of mind. An especially arrogant wizard, for example, will not specialize in healing magick, because it is not in their nature. Keep this in mind when building your characters.
- For obvious reasons, a player's spells cant be overpowered.
- For more powerful spells, there are 'ritual spells', which are found in spell books scattered around the kingdom. These spells require one or more players concentrating for a certain amount of time to make them work. They can only be used sparingly, as using them involves tapping directly into the soul, and overuse can permanently damage the soul, which usually results in death.
- All wizards need a conduit in order to perform magick. This can be a staff, a wand, special gauntlets, a gemstone, etc. Without these items, a wizard's magick is very weak, and they will be vulnerable.
- Wizard may carry a melee weapon, like a dagger or short sword, for defense. However, most wizards are not skilled at all in melee combat, so it is more for show than anything else. However, weapons can be enchanted for a brief period of time, should the need arise.
- Studying magick takes a long time, and is always different for each student. A young wizard's power grows and develops randomly, so no one can predict how long they need to study for. However, even in the quickest cases, 13-15 years of study is the minimum training time before a wizard can graduate.
A wizard is often considered to be a one man army. A group of them, a legion. Not because they can wade through rivers of enemies without a scratch. On the contrary, the mortality rate for wizards is exceptionally high. The real reason wizards are so revered is because they are intelligent, learned and quick witted, using their minds and working together to accomplish the impossible. The key to survival in this RP will not be power, but cunning.
That said, there's no harm in showing off occasionally 😛
Rules – Same as always
1. No godmodding. You cannot have an overly powerful character, and you cannot kill or control other people’s characters without their permission.
2. No metagaming. Your character cannot have knowledge that is not available to them in-game, even if you as a player have that knowledge.
3. Only 1 character per player MAX.
4. 'Magick' is spelled with a k. 'magic' is something else entirely. 😉
5. 'Wizard' is an androgynous term, which may refer to either males or females.
6. Make your posts nice and easy to read. It doesn’t matter how long your posts are, as long as the message gets across clearly. Minor spelling and grammar mistakes are allowed, but only if they are mistakes.
Character Sheet
Here is a template of the sheet, and my character as an example of how to fill it out. Remember, your character's magick can depend on what attributes you give to your character's personality and bio, so keep that in mind.
name - Obvious
age - Can’t be under 23 - Magick takes a long time to study
gender - Obvious again
appearance – Pic/description or both
specialization – The main type of magick used in combat
other magicks – Other relatively weak signature spells that are also used in combat.
equipment – Conduit/other equipment
personality – Likes, dislikes, traits, etc.
bio – Character’s story up until the start of the rp
Name – Alexander Kalhazred III – Prefers ‘Kal’.
Age – 26.
Gender – Male.
Appearance – Kal is a tall, thin young man with dark hair reaching to below his ears, and eyes that change colour every hour or so, or depending on his mood. Rather than a robe and hat, Kal wears a fancy white tunic, with light blue trims, coat tails reaching from his belt to just above his ankles, and a draconic circlet on his head. He is never seen without his cane, a memento of his former home, which he has modified to conceal a wand.
Specialization – spectral weaponry. Kal can conjure spectral weapons, either close range or at a distance which are under his control. These weapons can attack physically to kill, or attack the soul directly to incapacitate. The type of weapon can be anything he imagines, from swords to crossbows to shields.
Other magicks –
- Arcane Missile – a simple bolt of arcane energy, which can be manipulated in various ways - For example, splitting into smaller missiles, or seeking a chosen target.
- Burst – a spell that releases a concentrated burst of energy in a particular area. Works especially well on shattering wood, bone, and for breaking locks.
Equipment – Kal has a thin, fancy looking cane he uses as a walking stick (though he is not crippled in any way). In actuality, there is a wand concealed at the top, which he can pull out at a moment’s notice. However, his main weapon is the wand hidden up his sleeve, attached to a spring loaded device of his own creation. He is able to use both wands effectively in combat, often using one as his ‘shield’, casting defensive magick, and the other as his ‘sword’, casting offensive magick. The cane itself is durable and quite heavy, despite its size, serving as a club in the most extreme circumstances.
Personality – curious, experimental, prideful, confident to the point of arrogance.
Bio – Alexander Kalhazred III was born the second son of a duke on the far edge of the kingdom. Unlike his older brother, who was a strong lad, Alex was scrawny and bookish, although he tried his best to keep up with his brother by learning swordsmanship and archery, as well as other various physical activities, with little success. The young noble would have gone on to become a politician, had his power not awakened rather explosively late one night on his eleventh year. Alex was sent away less than a week later, and was publically announced as banished from the lands his father controlled. Rumors grew that Alex has murdered someone, and the secret of his magick was not leaked to anyone.
Fifteen years later, Alex, who had chosen the nickname ‘Kal’ to protect his identity whenever outside the order, has proven himself an exemplary student. His curiosity and thirst for knowledge has made him a studious scholar, with knack for experimentation, and his noble upbringing has given him the confidence (and sometimes arrogance and recklessness) to face any challenge head on, academic or combative. Kal is most noted by others in the order for three things – His unique style of fighting (obvious compensation for his lack of physical ability as a child, but of course, very few people know about his past), his thesis on expanding traditional spells beyond the ordinary (which he has demonstrated with his extensive research on the simple arcane missile spell), and the burst spell, his very own creation, which earned him his graduation one year ahead of schedule.
If there are any other game play mechanics or other things that pop up, I'll explain/deal with them both in character and out of character. Until then, lets start the fun, shall we? 😄