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[OUTDATED]

THE MALFLAME GUIDE

HOW TO ROLEPLAY INFERNAL BURNS

Malflame. The signature offensive means of the Infernal Magics and Creatures alike within the world of Lord of the Craft; over the years Malflame has become more and more commonplace to run into on one’s time on the server, be a person playing a commoner in a human nation, a noble-class elf of a regal society, a dragonkin slaying mortal and undead alike, or a vampire feeding off the many- it is likely almost all walks of roleplay will lead to encounters with such.

And yet, it has grown increasingly more convoluted to understand; people mis-roleplay the short-term and long-term effects of it alike. This guide is created with aims to make understanding Malflame and its associated burns easier, with this post serving as an easy-to-access guide. If you are a Naztherak/Inferi player- save this post to send to those you hit in CRP with your spells, so its easier for both you and them!

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SYNOPSIS

As stated within the Naztherak lore, Malflame is: “Perhaps the most renowned form of art within the High Hells, Naztherak are capable of summoning accursed, demonic hellfire at the will of their grimoire. Far from the likes of any mundane, man-made fire, Malflame possesses unique soul-burning properties, leaving those unfortunate enough to encounter its scourge susceptible to utter torment.” Yet, that description is immensely vague; so let’s have a quick synopsis.

Malflame, at its core- is the pseudo-fire that is used by Naztherak (Infernal Warlocks) and Inferi (Infernal Demons)- contrary to normal fires, rather than burning the physical flesh directly, it burns the soul rather than the flesh- which then, reflects upon the physical form. That is to say, beings without souls are immune to Malflame. Malflame takes [1] emote to be patted out; but it cannot be 'patted out' just using a hand, as it'd spread to the hand patting it out if bare. The burning area(s) need to be fully smothered/submerged by a third party (water or cloth) for a full emote to be put out.

Malflame can take on a vast array of visual depictions, being a unique color for every Naztherak or Inferi that wields it- and may be tweaked to have more customized visual aesthetics; however, these are both non-combative under all causes, yet it should be noted that the color of the Malflame carries over to the burn’s inherent coloring.

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MALFLAME CANS  & CANNOTS

To clear up some major misconceptions of Malflame, here is a list of what it Can and Cannot do.

Malflame Can:

— Prevent Attacking/Casting: Pain from Malflame prevents only Attacking and Casting actions until it is put out.

— Create Long-Term Burns: Being hit by Malflame creates long-term burns. [See Malflame Burns]

— Be Cancelled w/ Air Evocation & Kani: Air Evocation spells of [T3+] can dispell Malflame, whilst Kani can abjure it.

— Burn Other Naztherak/Inferi: Naztherak/Inferi are only immune to their own Malflame, not that of others.

— Spread on Material w/ a Soul: Unless Malflame is put out, it spreads across all soul-bearing material.

— Corrupt Nephilim: Malflame that directly contact Nephilim skin corrupt their Dragonsflame units.

Malflame Cannot:

— Stunlock: Malflame’s pain cannot continuously stunlock someone.

— Prevent Sprinting: Malflame’s pain cannot block sprinting; yet one cannot both sprint and extinguish it. Extinguishing Malflame should be the primary concern.

— Burn Zar’akal: Zar’akal are immune to all Malflame.

— Kill Someone: Malflame can cripplingly burn someone, yet cannot kill them, no matter how much it spreads.

— Burn Beings w/o Souls: Malflame can only burn things with souls; Homunculi and most constructs are immune.

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MALFLAME BURNS

One of the biggest misconceptions (created by a large series of miscommunications) is that of defining and roleplaying Malflame Burns properly. Here is an overview of what these do overall.

Malflame Burns feel as if the area affected is being pressed against a hot iron. Malflame will slowly spread across skin as if it was a flame spreading across paper until nothing is left, but it cannot spread past/beyond cloth, armor, or other skin coverings. Malflame Burns will appear as blackened patches on one’s skin and will gently glow the color of the Malflame which inflicted the burn.

Malflame Burns cannot naturally heal- the damage is to the soul-blueprint, not the flesh. That means cutting off a limb and using Tawkins to get a new limb will not work. The effects and pain of Malflame may be alleviated by Holy Magic and may be treated, to a lesser degree, by medicinal painkillers; Shamanism curing is the most simple way in current lore to do so.

Malflame Burns will have random flares of pain for up to [3] OOC days after the attack, this may be roleplayed by the victim as they see fit. Pain may be mental anguish as well. If a Malflame Burn is cured before then, these will stop. Malflame Burns may also be acquired if an Inferi Soul-Saps a willing being, causing a burn on the flesh where the exchange occurred.

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MAGIC-SPECIFIC INTERACTIONS

Numerous Magics and Creatures alike interact in specific and unique ways when contacting Malflame: if these correspond to your characters, read this next portion; if not, merely ignore it.

NEPHILIM

Easily the most adversely affected by Malflame, being hit by it corrupts Nephilim's dragonsflame units. Corruption only occurs if it directly hits a Nephilim’s scales; once [6] units have been corrupted, a Nephilim becomes a Corrupted Nephilim, which follows all redlines of: [✓] [CA Race] Nephilim - The Lesser Dragonkin. Below is a list for which Malflame spells corrupt how many units per hit:

MYSTICS

As stated in Mysticism lore; Mystics and Wights will feel [2x] the pain from Malflame; this is made to be roleplayed as severely debilitating; do not powergame this.

EPIPHYTES

Similarly to Mystics, as stated in Epiphyte lore they will feel [2x] the pain and severity from Malflame; this is made to be roleplayed as severely debilitating; do not powergame this.

ARCANE SCIONS

Similarly, Arcane Scions as well feel more severe pain when afflicted with Malflame burns. A Scion exposed to Malflame is met with severe pain as it forces the external soul to fuse to the body- forcing them to be stunned in place for [1] Emote after contact, breaking any focus, connection, thought or action they would be or might have been performing in that time. They however, do not experience any increased damage from the soul effect, simply a stun, interruption, and agonizing pain.

SOUL TREES

As stated in the Soul Tree/Treelord lore; Malflame will burn their Soul Trees as opposed to normal flame being unusable agaisnt it; Malflame is able to kill it with ease over a steady flow. Depending what type of malice is used, differing rates of destruction can be found; Havoc or Revolt would make quick work, while Desolation or Woe may take much longer (Ultimately, this is up to the individual supervising the destruction of the Soul Tree).

PALE KNIGHTS & LORDS

An Eidola's stone exterior and their Menhir Tools will melt if met by [3] emotes of Malflame. This will create a hole where the fire has made contact, and although the same spot must be contacted by the flame to become weakened, the emote timer does not reset should the flames not be constant; hence, three separate fireballs can all contact the same point over the course of numerous emotes, and have the same effect as a constant stream over a few emotes.

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PURPOSE

Giving a purpose isn't quite needed to be written here as this is moreso a player-guide rather than an official one- yet I quickly wrote up this so there’d be a more simple way for people who get hit by Malflame Burns within combat to easily read over a single lorepage rather than scrolling randomly through the Naztherak lore. My intent is that this can just be sent over to people hit by Malflame in CRP to understand how it works; hope this helps people!

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CREDITS:

PALLODIUM - WRITER

LORE PIECES:

[✓] [CA Creature + NPC Lore] The Infernal Compendium

[✓] [Magic Lore + Playable CAs] Naztherak

[✓] [CA Race] Nephilim - The Lesser Dragonkin

Hello, welcome to a personal project of many months.

All Pages linked below contain some tie-in to the Void in some way, be it by being a MA/FA, directly relating to the Void & the Veil, or otherwise fundamental to the ecosystem of Voidal Casting. All in All, there are 56 currently accepted forum posts on Voidal Lore scattered across the forums, and nowhere to view them all in one place. Obviously, if you want to understand the lore you should read the hyperlinked piece in detail, but I’ve added footnotes for a brief overview. 

Forewarning: Guide posts are heavily outdated as of the posting of this and likely will not be updated for some time. They tend to be missing some spells, though they do include example spells. If you really want to understand the lore, it’s best to just read the lore post itself and ask someone with a MA in it. Additionally, ST may deem some lore pages as “inaccurate” that are currently accepted. Finally, this is an OOC resource - please do not refer to this IRPly. If you believe I am missing a page or have incorrectly summarized one, please let me know!

Posts are hyperlinked, and formatted by Date of Submission | Date of Acceptance. Rare Knowledge requires a Mage be taught the process in a particular manner, while Open/Common Knowledge means any Mage can undertake the process if they discover the process on their own. If you would like an accurate record of Voidal Lore/Voidal MArt submissions, let me know!

-Primnya

Disclaimer: This is Player-Made and a summary - please consult ST if you have actual questions about Lore, Do Not Cite this page as something concrete.

Voidal Magics and Feats

The single most interacted with part of Voidal Lore, containing the MAs and FAs of Voidal Lore. There are 8 MAs (and guides) and 6 FAs (and 5 guides) as well as two stand alone lore pieces for a grand total of 29 posts on Voidal Magic and Feats.

Magics

The foundation of all Voidal Magic - to be deemed a mage and partake in most Voidal activities, a character needs at least 1 accepted Voidal MA. Currently, there are 8 Voidal Magics with varying combative and non-combative applications.

Feats

The next step up from the Voidal Magics - Voidal Feats require a mage to hold 3 active Voidal MAs, and typically have their own ritual and requirements in order to be taken on. Currently, there are 6 Voidal Feats - 4 of which are exclusive and cannot be held with one another, and 2 of which can be freely held with any of the other feats.

World Lore & The Void

These 17 posts contain Lore that pertains to the Void in various ways - from Space and the Veil, to Magegold and the Yisar, the Void influences the Material World in a multitude of ways and with a range of permanence.

Event Locations

Locations that cannot be made by players hands directly, these exist as a direct consequence of meddling with the infinite Void, or pure chance of a happening of Voidal Energies upon the Material.

Materials

These Metals, Gemstones, and even Herbs offer a various range of Benefits to Voidal Magi, or are directly created as a byproduct of Voidal Activities. Most are capable of being directly made by players, though some prerequisite other Voidal occurrences to be gathered or made.

NPC Creatures

These Creatures are capable of being created, used, or otherwise interacted with by Players without ST supervision.

Event Creatures

These creatures are not capable of being freely made, and either require a prerequisite structure or ET to be played or found.

Voidal Creations

These 10 post contain Lore that Players can engage in on their own agency, ranging from the creation of simple aids like Arcane Foci and Obelisks, to the creation of Atronachs and Wizard’s Hat, all the way to the obscene Voidal Tears and potent Magnum Opus.

Atronachs

Atornachs are a board set of metal enchanted with Voidal Magic, permitting it the capability to be used in ways not commonly possible.

Formatted By

PrimnyaQuorum

Changelog:

RED – Core Reagents [Link]

BLUE – Cannibal Alchemy [Link]

PURPLE – Infernal Alchemy [Link]

BLACK – Black Powder [Link]

GREEN – General Botany [Link]
YELLOW – Beastial Brews [Link]

Life:

Death:

Swiftness:

Slowness:

Agility:

Impediment:

Strength:

Weakness:

Growth:

Reduction:

Endurance:

Curtailment:

Vigor:   

Lethargy:

Connection:

Separation:

Purity:

Poison:

Heat:

Coldness:

Burning:

Freezing:

Peace:

Rage:

Grace:

Rigidity:

Sound:

Silence:

Order:

Chaos:

Courage:

Fear:

Balance:

Instability:

Clarity:

Blindness:

Light:

Dark:

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Updates:

        Before I begin this guide, I want to address something that I know is going to show up in the comments of this thread. Voidal Magic, in its current position, is very flawed both structurally and thematically. The Void, a metaphysical body that holds terrors and cold, bitter truths incomprehensible to the average joe, is being misappropriated to serve as a narrative explanation as to how Mages sling fireballs around. Additionally, many of the Magicks encompassed in Voidal Magic have their own flaws and inconsistency. This, I all acknowledge and am in concurrence with. I wish for change just as much as you do. That being said, I believe it wise to make the best of the situation you're given, which is why I have decided to write this guide for an objectively flawed subtype of Magic.

The Mage's Influence on New Players

        What goes unrealized by many on the server is how Mage personas impact fresh players that have just joined. I wanted to get this out of the way, as I consider this a cornerstone of why this guide is necessary. Simply put, new players often look to Mages for roleplay guidance. Picture this:

        You just logged onto the server after learning you got accepted. Excited to find people to interact with, you quickly rush out of the Cloud Temple after setting up your character card and find yourself confronted by an Orenian human, aiming to recruit you for the ISA. You consider the offer in roleplay and exchange Discord tags, then continue on with your journey. After running down the roads for awhile, you run into about four players, all exchanging emotes with one another. Among them is a Mage, muttering an incantation and hurling a large ice spike towards the presumed aggressor's chest. Immediately, as an impressionable new player, you're amazed at the scene. This person is a mage, they must be caught up in SOME sort of interesting situation since they're doing Magic RP, you think. Once the altercation settles, you eagerly begin talking to the Mage and querying their Arcane ability, hungry to know more. Before you know it, you're following them into the local tavern for further conversation.

        Of course, this is often not the case, but due to LotC's notoriety for Magic related lore, new players may generally look to Mages for guidance in the new world that they're immersing themselves in. Chances are, you, a Mage, may have more influence over what a new player's next action is over a human or dwarf that's trying to recruit them. This is why it's so damn important that Mages set a good precedent for roleplay. The way you present how Magic is roleplayed on the server and how your character interacts with it will quite possibly be their first impression of the server, and possibly even roleplay as a whole. This isn't a jab or assertion of superiority over non-magical playerbases, but its just a common trend and it is what it is: new players are very very often drawn to Magic roleplay.

So What's the Problem?

        Listing every difficulty with the current Voidal Magic playerbase would take away the purpose of this guide, so I'll simply point out what I believe to be the key issues as to why Mages are played so poorly as of the past few years. I've narrowed it down to three core problems:

        - The trend of Magic being scientific in roleplay and little attempt to break away from it

        - A lack of player-created cultures/motives

        - Its use as OOC Empowerment and minmaxing

"Scientific" Magic Roleplay

        If you don't understand what I'm talking about when I say scientific Magic roleplay, I mean the most common descriptions of Voidal Magic by Mages. The kind of things you hear in roleplay that go along the lines of "Evocation is a subtype of Voidal Magic that allows the user to manifest pure elements by picturing them in the Void and drawing them into the material realm," or "Transmutation is a subsect of Transfiguration that gives Mages the ability to manipulate the Mana makeup of an object, such as changing its temperature, shape, color, and density," and stuff that looks like it came straight out of a lore post without any regard for in-universe interpretation.

        To be completely fair, this problem isn't unique to recent Voidal Mages. This is the result of older Mages and the precedents for roleplay they set—some of which have expressed regret for aiding in the creation of this style. This style was passed down from teacher to student through several generations, and as a consequence, has led a very bland and non-whimsical way of Magic roleplay—hardly even "magical" due to how over explained it all is.

Be Vague and Whimsical

        It can be difficult to change the way you express something in roleplay, but the best advice I can offer as a solution to over-scientific Voidal Magic roleplay is to take a step back and look at what makes Magic so enjoyable in other media. Let's take Star Wars as an example (spoilers ahead for the +40 year old movie franchise). In the Original Trilogy, the Force is displayed as something otherworldly and autonomous, acting in mysterious ways. It may be as subtle as sending visions to characters when danger draws near, or seen as crude displays in which its users may channel the Force to manipulate people and the environment. There isn't ever a solid, defined explanation for what the Force exactly is. All the viewer and characters know is that is just is. 

        However, this changes with the Prequel Trilogy that came out a little over twenty years later. It was "revealed" that one's ability to use the Force was now determined by the amount of microorganisms—dubbed "midichlorians"—they had in their body. This drew away from the mystical and ominous nature of the Force, as it now seemed that one's prowess with such was much more scientific and less "magical." I see this as similar to the problem Voidal Magic roleplay is plagued with at the moment. Too much science and overelaboration leads to a dull experience. It's much more fun to fill in the blanks yourself rather than have some stuffy explanation forced down your throat.

        Try to put yourself in this mindset. Have your character come up with their explanations and theories on how Magic works that don't operate off of over-scientific tomfoolery. Have debates over it in roleplay, write books about it, share those books, incorporate your character's theories and theses into their teaching, passing the knowledge down to your apprentices for them to build upon and teach. When someone asks you, "what is Evocation?" in roleplay, maybe you'll say "Evocation is the manifestation of elements dependent on your emotional well being and willpower" or "Evocation is a gift that my family have been passed down for generations as a tool to enact our will and keep our bloodline prospering." In essence, don't just reword what the lore says—put yourself in the shoes of your character and create some sort of analogy or logic in their eyes that explains why they have their Magic and how it works.

Lack of Culture and Motive

        One of the most common complaints I see among Mages is that the Lore Team never wants to give them anything interesting to do with their Magic, and that the Lore Team only mean to constantly beat down on Voidal Magic like a worn out punching bag. This is not the case. Voidal Magic encompasses what are effectively neutral Magicks that have no obligation to Dark or Holy beings, and thus are perfect for persona interpretation and the creation of culture. This sort of goes hand-in-hand with the problem of over-scientific roleplay. Because everyone is stuck in this mindset that Magic must be roleplayed one specific way, unique cultures fail to develop among groups of players, and when they do, they don't last long usually.

        Just as often as I see a presence of culture, I rarely see quality incorporation of Magic into a character's goals or motives. This results in people basing their character entirely around Magic and nothing else. Ideally, your Magic shouldn't define your character, but your character should define Magic.  Your character's actions shouldn't necessarily be act towards Magic, but instead your character's goals and motives could be influenced and enacted through Magic.

Incorporation of Culture and Motives into Roleplay

        As I said, the fact that Voidal Magic is very loose and abstract in how it may be interpreted, there's nothing stopping your character from building up cultures around such. Maybe among your Mage associates, create a sort of hierarchy that allows Mages to be seen through a different lens. In another example, a group of elitist Mage aristocrats could form a political party within a city, the aim being to take control of it and better it through the use of the Arcane.

       These sort of motives and cultures can be even more easily expressed and create narratives of RP than can affect everyone with the introduction of recently accepted world lore and Feats that give Mages even more freedom, allowing a myriad of intriguing narratives to be produced. Take Voidal Tear lore, for example. Although there isn't direct motive or reason to create a Voidal Tear within the lore itself, a Mage may have numerous reasons personalized to their own hopes and objectives, such as an old wrinkly elf sorcerer giving up hope in the world, and thus looking to open Voidal Tears as a means of drawing an apocalypse nearer, or a crazed dwarf seeking communion with Horrors, and ripping holes in the Veil as a medium of potential contact.

       To summarize, the most dynamic way to incorporate culture and character motive into your Magic is to make things up (so long it doesn't break any lore). Think about the bigger picture and how your narratives could not only impact you and your fellow Mages, but other personas outside of your cliques. There's plenty of room for Voidal Magic to create interesting narratives. You're the painter, and Magic is simple the brush.

OOC Empowerment and Minmaxing

        Let's tackle the elephant in the room—minmaxing and empowerment of your character for OOC reasoning. If you're unfamiliar with the term "minmaxing," it's a meta term on LotC for the act of filling up all five of your Magic "slots", often quickly, with arts that are the most expansive and/or may provide an ideal advantage in combat. This phenomenon is not unique to Voidal Magic, but is most commonly seen in Voidal Mages. Instead of promoting roleplay, collecting Magic like baseball cards becomes a sort of game to get an edge in a particular sector on the server. It should also be noted that just because all of one's slots are full, does not always have a correlation with that player minmaxing. Minmaxing is something that will never be entirely eradicated on the server as it is entirely based on what kind of player you are, but it is best to be constantly decouraged.

        The issue with minmaxing is that it largely waters down roleplay and turns any sort of Magical discussion in character into an argument over who has the best Yu-Gi-Oh cards. What could be a tasteful discussion between two Mages on their own theories and study is instead a superiority contest based on who has more slots filled or "better" Magic, which not only hurts your own characters' narratives, but those around you.

        Be Thematic and Consistent

        I'm guilty of having minmaxed too, I won't lie. That being said, through my wrongs, I've found that OOC-based motive for power be averted through limiting your character's MA slots and being incredibly chaste when your persona picks up a new magic. I would like to clarify that this doesn't mean it's bad, per se, to occupy all five of your slots, but each selection should be considered carefully from an OOC perspective. The reason being that through picking up Magic that often goes hand-in-hand with the theme of your character, you are limiting how much room you have to minmax and pick up "ideal" Magic.

       To further elaborate on this, let's say that your Mage is a thirty year-old farfolk. He's garnered lots of experience and wisdom through the past twenty years, and gives off a very calm and collected demeanor, deeming it best to act with effective, yet organized means. This attribute is reflected through his use of Water Evocation—a very fluid, serene, yet effective means of Magic in combat. Now, let's say that upon entering a city and meeting some new folk, he's offered Fire Evocation by a teacher. Would it make any sense thematically for one who is calm, composed, and wise to pick up something as destructive and volatile (literally) as Fire Evocation? Sure, it would be an ironic contrast, but it wouldn't make much sense for the character at their current age and state.

        This isn't to say that a Magic couldn't be picked up as an intentional polar opposite of their character's personality, (such as a very gullible, naïve, push-over Dark Elf learning Earth Evocation, which is durable and tough) and could actually work quite well if executed correctly. However, the reality of the situation is that most Mages pick up Magic offered to them with no regard for how their characters may actually perceive the Magics. They accept MAs because they want them, not the character itself.

        When all is said and done, you're much more likely to create interesting, complex characters through limiting your Magical knowledge intentionally and being conservative in what sort of arts your character decides to practice. Maybe your Mage doesn't know every spell in the lore, or maybe your Mage wasn't aware of the effects of a niche Magical creation that you just heard about in roleplay. You don't have to be the "scholarly Mage" that knows everything and has the capability to DO everything.

Things to Remember

        - Don't feel trapped within the standard of roleplay that old Mages have built up and contemporary Mages continue to enforce.

        - Be creative and have your character create their own theories and laws surrounding Magic, even if it's ridiculous and easily falsifiable from an OOC perspective.

        - When you read Voidal Magic lore, read in-between the lines and ponder on what sort of narratives could be crafted—don't limit yourself to just what the lore intends/allows (don't powergame, that's not what I'm asking you to do).

        - Don't let Magic define your character, let your character define their Magic and incorporate it into their motives and long-term goals.

        - You don't have to know everything about your Magic in roleplay. If your character wasn't taught a specific spell and they see another Mage use it, act intrigued or surprised.

        - Be chaste when selecting Magic to learn on your character and ensure that it ties in with their own personality/attributes in some way.

        - Create narratives not strictly for your own enjoyment or empowerment, but keep a bigger picture in mind and think about how you can impact roleplay outside of your niche/group.

Purpose

        As I said in the beginning of this post, Voidal Magic is in a rock and a hard place right now. We hope for a resolution, but in the meantime I want to give misguided Mage players a push in the right direction and broaden their perspective a tad. As someone who had been doing the exact opposite of what I've specified in this guide for around the past three years, I like to think that I know what I'm talking about, and I hope that my experience can be carried on and passed down to others as fuel to correct bad habits within Mages and produce narratives that can bring something to the table that most people can enjoy.

Credits

Isaac - Author

Pundimonium, Spoon, Snow - Helped me organize my thoughts a bit better

ScreamingDingo - Various rants in Lore Discord that gave me an idea of what needed to be addressed in this guide.

Connection to the Void. 

To those that have been greedy enough to accept the so called boons of the Vast Empty. It is your fault that voidal tears now ravage the lands. Prolonged use of voidal connection has always lead to the creation of void tears. It is through your greed and lust for power that the void welcomes itself into our home. It walks into our home, puts its feet on the table and demands a refreshing beverage. 

You are quiet literally to blame for the rapid invasion of the Vast Empty. It is through your darkest of arts that reality itself is under attack by creatures from the plane you drew your magical powers from. The Shades do not create massive breaches in reality, although be them creatures not worthy of life. Nor do Daemonic fiends, and the sort. 

It is indeed you wielders of evocations, and such magics that bring forth the armies of the Eldritch horde. 

After Sealing The Tears

Should Arcas  be able to repel the current Eldritch invasion, the threat will always linger as long as voidal mages connect to the void. Time and time again they shall welcome the void, until such a time that the Eldritch horde overwhelms us all. What say you? Your darkest of arts causes the very cracks in reality. How do you defend your art? When it is the very cause of reality bending to the whim of Eldritch creatures from within the Vast Empty. 

What will Arcas do? Will it allow the art to spread and spread until such a time that we are no longer able to withstand the Eldritch horde. The continued use of voidal arts will only welcome the invaders time and time again as history itself has come to serve. Yet you are allowed to remain with open arms, although you help aid the void with your connection and bond to it. 

What say you?

Magical Artifacts, What They Are, & How To Make One

So, you’re interested in wasting your time making a magical artifact for a Premium Minecraft Roleplaying Server? Well you’ve come just to the right place to do so! Here we will cover both what is a Magical Artifact, or a MArt for short, and what making an MArt is like, be it an Event Team member making one for an event, or a player character making a neat piece of equipment to use against unsuspecting foes in combat.

What is a Magical Artifact?

Put simply, a magical artifact is any unique, special, or otherwise differentiated magical or special artifact or device that does a number of things beyond the regular restrictions and redlines provided by lore, be it bypassing the rules of fire evocation, or being a reward from an event that isn’t quite worthy of its own lore post being made for it. Two examples of this would be the Arcanist’s Breastplate, made by yours truly, which is a player made MArt that bypasses regular Arcanism magic lore and utilizes portions of conjuration and shade magic, both of which the character had knowledge of, to allow the player character to make a magical limb that can turn into armor. This would be considered a Magical Artifact since it bypasses regular redlines of the magic, can still be explained with how it alters the magic lore, and is reasonable. An example of another MArt would be a reward from a long event line, in which you are given a sword that when whispered to allows you to live another twenty years. This would be considered an artifact since it’d not be anything regularly possible, would have a unique, strong, or lore-lacking effect, and cannot be done throughout any forms of magic, which in this case classifies it as less of a “Magical” Artifact and more of a “Special” Artifact that would still be reviewed and processed by the Magic sect of the Lore Team, although an explanation of how it works could simply be a screenshot provided of the artifact along with its ET description and signature. For a more bulletin-like list of what qualifies and what does not qualify as a Magical Artifact, see the list below taken from Mephistophelian’s guide.

-It is something that cannot be explained as occurring non-magically

-It is something that cannot be fully explained with current magical lore, red lines or boundaries. It is something that goes beyond magic lore, within reason.

-It must be explainable with current lore and magic lore

-Voidal artifacts must be explainable using the current voidal magic lores and/or lore on the void or relating to the void

-Deity artifacts must be explainable using the deity they are bound to/represent and/or the deity magic that created them

-Dark magic artifacts must be explainable using the current dark magic lore and/or lore on the sources of dark magic

-Event items that fit into these criteria must also be submitted. These event items may have a screenshot used as proof instead of any explanations.

How Do I Make A Magical Artifact?

Great, you now know what a Magical Artifact is, but you’re still wondering how in the world am I supposed to make one, incandescent magic team? That’s what you’ll learn here, with a quick rundown of each part of the MArt Application and an example of each!

Now that you’ve seen the basics of what goes into a MArt, what does this look like in practice? Well, let us look at two artifacts, an accepted, and a denied one, and analyze why they were accepted or denied.

Accepted:

What did the author of this artifact do right? For one, the artifact is clearly defined in its capabilities and limitations, and second, the method of its function is also concisely explained in the “Explanation of effects” section, giving the MT no reason to think that artifact is either unreasonable, unfair, not possible with how much lore is bent, or anything else disastrous. This is an example of a solid, well written artifact that would be accepted easily ninety-nine out of one-hundred times.

Denied:

So, jokes aside, why would this one be denied? For one, the name of the artifact does not hold any signifigance to separate it from others, and also doesn’t give any insight into what the artifact is itself. Second, the effects of the artifact cannot be done, even with bending magic lore, as voidal shifting simply does not work like that. Third, many of the effects, such as boosting the strength of blood magic, or shooting water at you, or being unremovable, are not explained at all in the effects or the red lines. Fourth, the effects, explanations, and red lines do not coincide whatsoever. Fifth, the number of duplicates is completely unreasonable, if it were that common, it may as well not be an artifact. Finally, he did not promise to keep us updated on its whereabouts! So, all of these reasons, albeit obviously exaggerated ones for this guide, would contribute to its denial.

So, that’s it folks! You now know how to identify and create Magical Artifacts! Any questions, comments, or concerns can be left below in the thread as responses, in which we’ll answer to you expediently.

Unlike some other deities, the Aspects have a severe dislike for the void as it’s classed as the most unnatural thing to their perspective, and due to this they choose wholly to rely upon their own pool of natural energy to fulfil their task. Unfortunately, due to the size of their pool, it would of been a very slow process for the Aspects to endure, however they continued to persevere and through such, showed great dedication to their task at hand. Due to this, Nature and the Aspects, formed an unbreakable bond with each other and for the greater good, did all of nature agree to pool their own natural energy for the Aspects to tap into as to fulfil their task at a more easier, albeit still difficult, pace.

Now once someone is attuned, they are having their own natural energy pool connected to that of Nature, thus explaining how they immediately are bombarded with the voices of it all, as this would be the most personal connection one could form with another. From this, it also explains how communing is neither simply talking to an animal, or a plantation, but something much more intense, and also explains their ability at a more experienced level to be able to control various natural things. However, that explaining both communion and control, it doesn’t entirely explain how nature’s healing, nor blight healing. With them two, instead of simply drawing from the pool that Nature is assisting with, the druid in question is pushing past that, and connecting directly into the Aspects personal energy flow, thus explaining how it’s such a difference from simply communicating with nature, to being able to manipulating the differing elements of plantation. Shapeshifting, in a sense, is completely disconnected from this whole ordeal as it’s surrounded by a ritual, rather than just the connection of a druid.

This entire thing, would explain many things about the druids, that otherwise simple existed without reason. For one, the Aspect Stones, instead of the Aspects creating them for no intent purpose other than, more power. This would give them the idea that the Aspects were aware of their limited pool, but also knowing that overtime it regenerates back into their being, thus creating these for the druids to be able to tap into, if the need arises. Another, would be the Faerie Rings, where the area is simply a place where the energy-pool is at it’s thickest and seeping through for those to experience how it would feel if connected, because at that moment they are in a sense.

The following is a professional drawing of what I am getting across;