Unsound Magic Guide

[youdude 104]

Original lore: 

Unsound magic is a rather difficult one to roleplay, as it’s disadvantages can easily be underplayed, or roleplayed wrongly. In this guide, I will do my best to elaborate upon any unclarities and set a firm baseline. Notably, there is plenty of wriggle room, as each unsound mage has a different mind, and a different voidal observer. Things can differ to a reasonable degree.
 

How to become voidtouched, obtain unsound magic:

Spoiler

 

 

For one to be considered voidtouched, their mind and consciousness must have been exposed to the tampering presence of a greater, or arch voidal horror. Any contact with these beings does not mean that the mage is forced into this state, and while the probabilities are high, it is never guaranteed. This can happen in two ways.
 

The first is for a would-be unsound mage to find a teacher, gain their trust and convince them to impart this ‘blessing’ onto them. How this is done varies from person to person. Some might create elaborate rituals, while others simply do what must be done. The would-be apprentice enters a state of meditation, connecting their minds to the void. The teacher then does the same, then connects to their voidal observer, and touches the would-be student. The voidal observer might call out, or mayhap the presence simply draws in others to the open vessel. The exact details are foggy to those on this plane, yet the results are always the same. The would-be apprentice finds their mind invaded, pushed through and wringed for information and memories. A  nightmare-riddled coma follows, and once they awaken, they’d feel the presence of another, and find their magic distorted. They have successfully been voidtouched.

 

The second is a more rare occurrence. Any physical interaction with a strong and intelligent voidal horror on our plane would give the mage an extremely slight, persistent voidal taint. It does nothing on it’s own, having no effects on the person who bears it. Yet, it works as a beacon for any other voidal denizens, calling out towards them whenever that particular, ‘marked’ mind is within the void, and draws them towards it. The lucky might never be reached, while the unlucky mind find that one day, when they connect to  the void, their mind is assaulted by this foreign presence, pushed through and wringed for information and memories. A nightmare-riddled coma follows, and once they awaken, they’d feel the presence of another, and find their magic distorted. They have successfully been voidtouched.

 

 

 

The effects of being voidtouched:

Spoiler

 

 

Physiological  effects:

Spoiler

 

 

Madness comes to each unsound mage. How it affects them though, is completely dependant on the individual. Each mind is unique, and each instance is different. When roleplaying it, keep in mind to how your character would react to having this constant, looming feeling of never being alone, the feeling that there is something else pressuring the back of their minds, and that it’s watching their every move. Whispers seem to occasionally litter one’s mind, as well as foreign thoughts that clearly don’t belong to the mage. While directly understanding the voidal observer is impaired by the language and planar gap, delusions of understanding their desires is quite common, and often times quite accurate, though never perfect. Crippling paranoia, loss of individuality, compulsive needs are all quite common, but not necessary. This mental affliction only grows worse with time.

 

 

 

Physical  effects:

Spoiler

 

 

The strain and deterioration of being a mage is nearly doubled for unsound mages. They find themselves barely able to lift swords, pathetic in combat save for their magical abilities. Bony limbs and sunken in features, fatigue of sleeplessness and susceptibility to illnesses often make an unsound mage stand out in a crowd. Anything more than robes impairs their movement, and anything more than daggers and light, short weaponry is too heavy to use.

 

 

 

 

Altered spellcasting:

Spoiler

 

An unsound mage’s spellcasting is disrupted, altered and shifted. It becomes destructive, useless for anything but disruption and causing harm. The spells change in appearance, and are roleplayed as rather difficult to control and contain. Despite their unstable nature, a curious property is that the creation is harder than sustaining them, and so while creating a large mass drains the magic user considerably, sustaining it is rather easy. This may be because how weakly the crafted creations are tethered to this plane, why physical disturbance so easily causes their untimely implosion.

Evocations are shifted in color, and while the original post stated purple, different mages can easily have different colorations. If you lack imagination, purple is the default! Though it’s never truly normal, and is one of the ways skilled combatants can discern an unsound mage from a normal arcane user.

 

Illusions are often times rejected by the mind, only existing for short, disturbing and extremely disrupting moments, altered in the way aptly described in the original post.

 

The mana-sapping materials caused by users of alterations are only truly hindering in large quantities. Even someone who has never expanded their mana pool and has never dabbled in magic could hold it for quite a while, only feeling steady discomfort and fatigue; As long as the quantity is small. Notably, the size of that volatile material corresponds to the mana required to keep it from losing stability. Large chunks are dangerous, small pebbles are near-harmless, and syphon at a much slower pace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pseudo-attunement to the voidal observer:

Spoiler

 

 

As one attunes to the being that altered their voidal connection, their worm would visibly shift. Those nearby would feel a pulse of discomfort, one which is intensified for those capable of arcane spellcraft. Though it’s never quite disrupting to the point of being distracting, unless one is on edge enough to be put off by it. But that’s their own fault!
The shift of form would come with a rather unnervingly joyful expression as the bliss of being ‘one’ with their voidal observer overtakes the mage, as well as whispers and stray thoughts. Eyes darken into a starry black, and veins bulge underneath the skin.

 

The mage wouldn’t feel the strain of their spellcasting within this state, capable of manipulating anomalies as they wish. These dangerous, material-destroying masses would require a lot of mana to sustain, made easier if they can sap mana from nearby living beings that’s syphoned into the spell. While this certainly alleviates some of the stress, it is never a effortless ordeal, and the distance from which it can do this is once again correspondent to the size of the conjured anomaly.

 

While they don’t feel the strain, their bodies do; and in their manic state, it’s not uncommon for them to overlook the fact that they’re barely standing upright. Pushing oneself over the edge, falling unconscious is a rather easy mistake to make, something that lower tiers do near-constantly, and even the high tiers occasionally fall for.

The moment they disconnect from their vodal observer, the mental backlash is severe. Headaches, aching muscles, suffocating fatigue, and a gaping feeling of emptiness. The severity ranges from something a strong-willed mind can push through, to something that simply overwhelms even the most disciplined of minds, all corresponding to how far the unsound mage had pushed their bodies. If they simply connect, and do not conjure any anomalies at all, a simple headache and faint, brief depression ensures.

 

 

 

Rp tips:

Spoiler

 

 

-Always have ooc consent if using the destructive properties of your magic to alter the world. If it’s in the wild, or rather minor, go ahead though.

 

-Not feeling fatigue doesn’t mean you don’t feel pain. And because attuning to your voidal observer is much the same as connecting to the void, a distraction can rip you out of both states, causing the backlash early.

 

-Unless you’re in a situation where the time between emotes doesn’t matter, connect, attune and cast in separate emotes. This slowness is a rather glaring weakness you have to work around if you don’t wish to simply get speared.

 

 

 

 

Frequently asked questions:

• Does this magic take up one of your magic slots?
  Indeed. While you do actually just take your magic and slap on the unsound magic changes, the additional power (and drawbacks) are enough to justify a slot being taken.
• Does any interaction with any voidal horror do? And do I 'have' to learn it if I interact?
  No, for the sake of limiting the magic somewhat, only greater and arch horrors may mark someone. Those are unable to be played outside of events. As for having to learn it; ICly, it is indeed forced upon you, whilst oocly you can decide not to learn it, and simply claim that your mind rejected the presence.
• Do anomalies instantly 'eat' though anything? How do they work?
  This is a question I've been getting a lot, and it seems I've been a bit sloppy on the clarification. Anomalies are heavily mana hungry blobs of voidal energies, which slowly eat away at matter. They work by forcefully creating an effect similar to that of voidal translocation, by breaking down whatever they touch and flinging it into the void. Living beings have mana, which it drains because of the nature of voidal horrors, one that is transferred to the casting itself. This means that it is easier and quicker to eat through living matter, but still not instant. Imagine it as a strong acid, which gradually eats through everything. It's slow and strenuous with non-organic material, and rather quick but still not instant with organics.
• How does this 'second connection' work?
  To achieve it, one must first be connected to the void itself. Then, they must simply open their minds to the voidal observer, reaching out whilst allowing it to reach towards them. The minds intertwine, and you can begin casting through it. The sensation of being connected with this creature is supposed to be ecstatic, the power one wields nearly always causing them to act careless. But, if they disconnect either by strain, lack of concentration, or simply because they are finished with whatever they were doing, the mental backlash is crippling. Headaches, a looming feeling of emptiness, and general disorientation. Common, but not necessary is the weight of one's magical casting coming crashing down, as all the strain they would normally feel when casting anomalies is kept at bay from the mind. Once it breaks from the voidal observer, and returns to the body that has been bearing the burden, it can be rather devastating. Depends on the extent of which one has pushed themselves.

 

The current lorekeeper for the magic is Youdude (IG: GenericManslave).

Any direct questions are to be pointed towards him.

[BonesOfTheEarth 2252]

Does this take a magic slot? I've actually grown interested in learning this once Im T3 in electromancy.

[Devie 398]

On 4/2/2016 at 10:56 AM, Fury_Fire said:

Does this take a magic slot? I've actually grown interested in learning this once Im T3 in electromancy.

I think it would...

[BonesOfTheEarth 2252]

1 hour ago, Devdog said:

I think it would...

Ye, just that It seems to be something that just.. happens, not spending 6 irl months studying the magic. ^^

[Stag 3229]

I am pretty sure it doesn't take a slot, it just switches your existing magic into new stuff. Btw could you add the specific changes to each magic on here?

[Luxury 1082]

2 hours ago, BrandNewKitten said:

I am pretty sure it doesn't take a slot, it just switches your existing magic into new stuff. Btw could you add the specific changes to each magic on here?

 

I'm not certain about that. It has it's own separate spells too.

[1 1393]

On 4/2/2016 at 1:56 PM, Fury_Fire said:

Does this take a magic slot? I've actually grown interested in learning this once Im T3 in electromancy.

It indeed takes a slot.

[Jentos 9422]

A good new magic guide! +1

[wytch 870]

Cool magic, and a good guide! +1!

[youdude 104]

26/4/2016: Added some frequently asked questions answers, also a link to the original magic post.

[Guest]

Moved to the Archive. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.