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[✓] Coupling or 'Circles'


Wendigo
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Coupling or ‘Circles’

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A Coupling or ‘Circle’ is the combination of two or more magi to increase their versatility and accomplish a task beyond the ability set of one lone caster.

 

Discovery

 

Magi for the past few hundred years have been for the most part limited by their own set skills. If a mage needed to get something done he could rely upon his or her own talents to accomplish a task. This however had its limitations. If a mage for example needed to create a powerful ward for which would be used to greatly defend the arcane arts, or if he wished to make a powerful enchantment or another ward for a magic he did not know his/her’s body and mana pool could only produce so much. The mage would have to rely on another to do a mere co-enchantment, or simply abandon the task altogether.

 

Magi and mayhaps many others have sought for synergy in the use of their magic, crafting spells ever greater than a standard mage, or even something which masters and transcended beings could achieve. Their work was diligent, crafting many ideas on how such could work, and that was when the idea of Coupling came to be. This method served as a way to link others, and allow their energies to flow, to be used by the Leader of the ritual.

 

How It Works

 

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Requirements for a Coupling or Circle

For the Circle to be created all magi must be within a reasonable distance of each other, along with a clear line of sight between all participating mages. For the Circle itself to work there must be a common medium of power to work with or manipulate throughout the Circle. When a Circle is created between two or more users only one can guide the ebb and flow of mana or spell. This person becomes the Leader, as the Leader they have the ability to allow the addition of more members or break one from the group. As the Leader it is also up to him when the Circle will be ended. The leadership of the Circle can be passed around within the Circle depending on the task at hand and is up to the discretion of the current Leader of who to pass it to. Once the Circle is formed, depending on the medium that's to be manipulated this is now linked, it is up to the Leader’s discretion where this flow goes. Once the Circle is complete and the enchantment or spell is being attempted adding or removing members during such would likely result in an imbalance. An imbalance would likely cause failure or other consequences.

 

One of the main concerns with this type of link is using too much mana as because most mages don’t have the same size mana pool. But through trial and error a solution arose. Instead of everyone within a circle using the same amount of mana, proportions of everyone's mana is pulled to accomplish the task at hand. With this in mind it’d be improbable for a mage to die or spontaneously combust, as they’d likely pass out of exhaustion before such is the case thus breaking their connection to the Circle . With this being the case, the mages within the Circle combine their power to a certain degree which is then directed by the Leader with one drawback. As the distribution of power is proportional to everyone, it’s not cumulative in the sense that everyone's pool of power stacks on top of each other. Naturally the more mage's within a Circle the less mana is actively being pulled from each.

 

Although the proportional additions of sources of power are somewhat useful, it’s not the main trait of a Circle. If they are not connected, no two magi could consolidate their powers to attempt the same spell. The Leader of a connection can do as such, coordinating numerous streams of force at a solitary spell or enchantment, allowing for the possibility of spells or enchantments that are beyond the skill set or power of a single individual.

 

How the Leader is Able to Channel Power

Both of the participants go into a form of meditation, focusing on their magical energies. The Leader will need to put great focus on such, requiring the idea of the spell they wish to use in mind. Once in this state, the Leader’s mana and the participant’s auras fluctuate greatly, allowing for the leader to focus in on the arcane forces at play, and command the energy available to them. Once so, the meditation ceases, and allows for the spell to be utilized. The flow of power flows through the members in a ‘circular’ manner, the Leader is able to then redirect this flow in a manner of his choosing. In some cases the use of a focus crystal, or several focus crystals may aid this process. Along with crystals, the use of Arcaurum or ‘Mage-Gold’ may help to further funnel the powers at play.

 

There’s a set method on how the Leader should disband a Circle as well. It’s a simple process; the Leader needs to disconnect the sources of mana in the order that they were acquired. In only this way can the ritual be complete. Disconnecting is a matter of will on the Leaders behalf.

 

As the Circle becomes larger so does the proportional amount of mana available, and thusly the amount of chaotic forces at play coming from each individual. The limiting factor of a Circle is the Leader himself and what he is capable of managing when it comes to several flows of power. Naturally managing too many flows of mana is difficult for any individual and thus where the ‘wall’ is reached on the maximum amount of members within a circle. For a Leader to manage more than 15 flows of energy would be nearly impossible to handle, likely resulting in a catastrophic collapse of the circle as the Leader loses focus and control.

 

Red Lines:

  1. All members must be within normal emote distance.

  2. Line of sight is required between all participating members of the Circle.

  3. As of right now the only known use of a Circle or Coupling is with the voidal arts.

  4. Having more than 15 mage's in a circle would likely result in a catastrophic failure.

  5. Once the Circle is formed the mages involved are no longer in control of their mana or medium of power except for the Leader, the Leader controls what magic is being used and where it’s being used.

  6. The addition of power is proportional, not stacked.

  7. Only the Leader can break or add members to the Circle, albeit leadership can be passed within the Circle itself only by the Leader himself. Adding or removing members during a spell would likely result in a failure of the spell.

  8. For a Circle to be properly formed and utilized, appropriate RP must lead up to it. It’s not an instantaneous meditative process.

  9. Mages within the circle still need to properly emote exhaustion relevant to the proportion of mana being used from them along with this their appropriate tells. The proportion varies depending on several factors: Number of mages, relative mana pool size, and task being attempted.

  10. The use of focus crystals or Arcaurum doesn’t increase the power of a Circle merely makes it easier to connect to the other magi within the Circle and funnel the energy towards the spell at hand.

  11. No form of telepathy is formed through this link, nor can one instantly learn magic through it nor communicate.

 

Current Known Circle Uses

 

Conjuration

With a Circle comes a greater possibility for conjurations. Larger and longer lasting conjurations are viable. At these levels of conjuration it’d be possible to impart a greater amount of intelligence to said creatures, giving it some form of sentience.

 

Greater feats of transmutation, enchantments, and wards

With the proportional additions of not only mana, but the skillets of those within the Circle available to the Leader the versatility and power of enchantments, wards, and alteration in general increases. This is where a Circle really shines when it comes to its possibilities.

 

Sensory Illusion

Illusion being one of the least taxing of many known magics there are some pretty interesting possibilities. One of which is large ‘area of effect’ phantasms. Instead of projecting it at an individual, the phantasm  is focused in an area that covers the general region around a Circle. Just like a regular phantasm this will only affect people who are open to the emotion being pushed or not feeling any strong emotions at the time of the spell. An Orc during a blood rage would likely not feel happiness and forgiveness if a large phantasm was produced by a circle. That being said most if not all individuals will feel some sort of effect from this type of spell produced by a Circle, this includes the mages producing said spell.

 

Red Lines

  1. Unless the LMs approve otherwise through a proper lore submission, you can’t transcend the redlines for any voidal art.  

  2. Additions to known uses are open to the public, but finding a new circle use requires study and practice.

  3. If a group wants to create an artifact of magic or a new material, it’d need to be LM and/or GM approved.

 

Consequences of a Broken Circle

 

There are several ways a circle can be broken. One of the main ways is through unforeseen circumstances like one of the members losing consciousness, physically breaking line of sight or distance, and lastly death. Another is purposeful sabotage. Both situations would end in drastic consequences. If any members of the Circle break away from the ritual during an attempted spell, the rest of the Circle is slowly broken apart. The members become fragmented into smaller Circles with their own individual Leaders. Naturally the members in their own meditative state will not be prepared for this. Their concentration will break causing different levels of consequences for the individuals involved.

 

With a ritual of this kind there are several variables that come into play when considering the consequences of a broken Circle. One of which is the quantity of magi within a Circle, another is the amount of mana currently being used to complete the task at hand, and lastly the task at hand itself.

 

During the creation of a Circle when the energies of those involved are being consolidated there is relatively little risk if failure occurs, for instance mild exhaustion. Once the circle is created and everyone is connected this is where the larger problems may occur. If the circle is broken during this stage the exhaustion will become more intense depending on the number of mages involved, headaches may occur for up to several days later, and if close to the maximum members of a Circle are involved unconsciousness to one or two members will likely occur

 

The riskiest part of a Circle is the attempt of a spell. This is where the most severe consequences may occur. There are a lot of variables that come into play as stated previously: The number of mage's, the relative amount of mana being used, and the spell itself. With this in mind naturally the larger the spell, Circle, and mana being used the greater the repercussions. Severe headaches may occur after an unnatural severing from the Circle that will last for several elven days, perhaps hindering a mage's connecting to the void. Intense exhaustion will follow, perhaps even unconsciousness for multiple members when the Circles broken. If it’s an enchantment or transmutation it may destroy the item being worked on, perhaps melting it or outright exploding it with deadly consequences. With the amount of force being manipulated it wouldn’t be uncommon for there to be a backfiring of said mana. A percussive force may be unleashed or worse some form of evocation gone awry depending on the experiment or spell. Due to the chaotic nature of the disruption, there are many many outcomes of it. There have been cases where a horror has appeared, or cases when mages suffer from thaumburn for a few elven weeks, the destruction or warping of body parts, and some of the really rare occasions… the mana flow creates an area ever so close to the void- a node , albeit in the most rare of circumstances with the most powerfully attempted spells. At these levels of a Circle it wouldn't be unheard of for a mage to outright die or spontaneously combust on the spot.

 

Red Lines:

  1. With the addition of each mage, the consequences rise in scale. To ignore these would be considered powergaming.

  2. Once one member of the Circle is broken off by anyone or anything other than the Leaders force of will, the entire Circle begins to break apart causing the above stated consequences.

  3. The likelihood of a voidal horror or a node appearing are slim, even when a powerful circle is involved.


 

How It’s Learned

 

Learning is a simple endeavor only requiring finding a mage who knows how the Circle works or a book teaching the proper technique. Learning what it does on the other hand is a process, requiring constant tests and experiments between everyone involved.

 

Red Lines:

  1. Learning as stated above is a simple process requiring some minor teaching in rp and participation in a Circle. As an alternative finding a book is also appropriate. That being said knowing exactly what a circle does without participation or study would be considered meta and powergaming.

 

((OOC Notes))

 

This lore I believe could create a lot of rp for a variety of different groups. It’s meant to be a means for all mages in lotc to work together and discover new and exciting lore and spells in a way that hasn’t been available before. It’d give a ritualistic aspect to voidal arts. This utility won’t be guild locked nor hindered by an MA. It’ll be openly available in the form of IC books and I want it to be as widespread rply as possible. It’s simply a utility, nothing more.  

 

Lore Contributors/Resources/Constructive Criticism

 

 

KnghtArtorias
Will
Meg - ‘Rasmot theory’(Observe below spoiler)
Farryn
Zarsies
KBR
Billy Sham
Mephistophelian
Shamejax
Mkkk

Connor/Supremacy
BrandNewKitten
ImCookiie
Lego

 

 

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[Notes to be posted below] 

Edits:

10/4/2016 - Changed the maximum amount of people allowed in a circle. My reasoning is pretty simple, after discussing it with several people and looking at the druids and their capabilities when it comes to collective effort I decided to raise it. If anyone feels like this this is too many feel free to PM me or post something on the forums.

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Just now, Boomzerang said:

 

Can I make a golem out of a suit of iron with this?

 

Only if you blow your arm off first. If that was a serious question let me know. 

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I like it!

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11 minutes ago, koko haram said:

I'm not sure how I feel about this.

If you put your feelings into words, I may be able to assuage your fears.

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Just now, Wendigo said:

If you put your feelings into words, I may be able to assuage your fears.

 

It seems like an unnecessary addition that only further empower mages. I sincerely doubt the "drawback" will be roleplayed correctly.

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Just now, koko haram said:

It seems like an unnecessary addition that only further empower mages. I sincerely doubt the "drawbacks" will be roleplayed correctly.

Just like any other magic if people are found to be powergaming they'll either be sternly talked to, or worst case scenario reported. As for your opinion on it being unnecessary I can't really fix that, but what I can say is that in the voidal arts I feel this is something missing I.E rituals and combinations of different voidal arts. This isn't meant to be something combative, as watching a Circle of mages walk around flinging stuff around would be quite comical.  

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This is cool. I like this. 

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Just now, Wendigo said:

Just like any other magic if people are found to be powergaming they'll either be sternly talked to, or worst case scenario reported. As for your opinion on it being unnecessary I can't really fix that, but what I can say is that in the voidal arts I feel this is something missing I.E rituals and combinations of different voidal arts. This isn't meant to be something combative, as watching a Circle of mages walk around flinging stuff around would be quite comical.  

 

I think it is more than a bit much. 6-8 bloodmages alongside transfiguration could literally turn a city into a pile of gold, no?

 

Introducing more magical amplifiers is a very dangerous game.

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Just now, koko haram said:

I think it is more than a bit much. 6-8 bloodmages alongside transfiguration could literally turn a city into a pile of gold, no?

Introducing more magical amplifiers is a very dangerous game.

I specifically pointed out in one of the red lines and in the lore that power isn't stack, it's proportional. It's going to be more powerful yes, but not nearly so much as you think. This lore unless someone else posts lore based off it, won't allow people to bypass other red lines of magic. So...no you couldn't turn a city into a pile of gold, even though that'd be pretty interesting. It's going to allow every day mages to get together and combine their efforts and skills.

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3 minutes ago, Jaeden said:


There are plenty of magics which are lore approved and stated to be capable of levelling cities.
The thing is, a lot of OOC blocks it; including morals. So I completely doubt that anyone would 'turn a city into a pile of gold', or go excessively out of their supposed 'boundaries'. Otherwise, we'd of already seen levelled cities and the like.

 

It was meant to be a metaphor. My opinion remains to stand that this lore adds more unnecessary power to mages with no substantial draw backs or side effects. 

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Yes, I gave a similiar idea to a few lm's 2 years ago about a similiar procedure of using one person, they said it'd be cool but I never got around to make lore for it. Good work however, the only thing I would like to critique is why limit it to only 8 people? I am one to believe that if you can gather that many people say 10 or 15 you shouldn't be limited, or have them hinder the ritual. It should only make it better. 

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