[✗] Kani - The Art of the Oscillit

[FreeHongKong 934]

 

KANI

The art of the Oscillit

Written by

Bestscarface76 (Writer)

&

Aehab (Proofreader/Editor)

 

The One With Tarnished Lungs

As with anything known by the descendants their must have been a discovery, a first time and first person to use. Among the Oscillits it is spoken of one with damaged lungs, lungs that were scarred by flame, lungs that created difficulty in the regular act of breathing. This individual's patterns in breath were irregular, taking great amounts of effort to mimic the breath of the average person, a breath that often didn't supply enough air. But what it took was for him to notice a curiosity, his own curiosity to explore said curiosity, and then the determination to push, leading to the birth of what would be later titled Kani.

 

The Resonant Anomaly

Resonance is a curious effect within the metaphysics of the formless engines of mana, in which the energy of mana displaces another and in turn displaces that around it, creating an effect similar to a sound wave. As mana exists within everything it can translate to physical effects on the environment, as well as curious interactions with mana based forces.

 

With certain harmonisations of Resonance it leads forth to a control of inertia and friction. Liquids are the most receptive to these effects, while large solids are the least receptive with a rule that can be explained in simplicity. A solid is less receptive to manipulation. If a single particle in its construction moves all other particles must move simultaneously, whereas a liquid does not require this, meaning waves of resonance may more easily form. The less tangibly solid a medium the more it may be manipulated by frequencies, meaning things such as liquids, powders, and fabrics are easy to manipulate while a solid block of hardened steel the least. Naturally this effect isn’t one or two, it's one two and every decimal in between, meaning every material is affected slightly differently. By following the rule between a hard solid and a soft liquid, it shouldn’t be too difficult to understand how a material would respond.

 

The Resonance effects having a basis in mana it can be assumed that there will be effects upon such, and in which there are. With the Resonant effect stemming from a Oscillit’s body, it allows for a form of contact and interaction with mana. Now as with mana’s existence within every factor of reality that which exists in the air, the walls, and the ground won’t be any more tangible than as it already is, it's when mana exists outside of the normal physical forces that this effect comes into play; Mana anchors of a mage, non-physical beings of mana, an abundance of mana due to some areas effects. Really it isn’t practical to list every single phenomena involving mana, but the point remains. The Oscillite must also be Resonating in some form to bring forth these effects, meaning interaction is selective and varies in intensities.

 

Resonance happens across a large range of frequencies that can be controlled by the Oscillit. The two main ranges are passive and aggressive, but they do not act in a binary fashion. The distinction between passive and aggressive stems from an effect in the aggressive resonance range where mana begins to act as though it were tasked mana, thus being considered active and burning away into aura as active mana tends to do. With the ranges not being fully binary, a resonant frequency can slightly enter into aggressive ranges with a slow burn, or delve fully in and create a brightly burning aura with powerful effect while passive ranges burn no mana and produce no aura.

 

The Aura produced from an aggressive Resonance frequency regularly deviates from the regular smokes, glows, and wisps of typical aura. Due to the nature of Resonance it tends to manifest in more chaotic patterns such as arcs of electricity or licks of flame. Really it may appear as almost anything imaginable in any combination of color so long as it never produces enough light to interfere with vision, is respective in intensity to how intense of an aggressive frequency it stems from, and comes from the locations in which the resonance is occurring. Often times more creative examples of Oscillits will purposefully train to tune the shape and color of the aura into their own artform.

 

As the Oscillit’s abilities stem from mana which is already present in the environment the usage of their pool does not tire them like that of a typical mage. The normal mage’s mana pool stems from the soul, while an Oscillit’s pool does not, it stems from the environment. When an Oscillit’s pool runs low, it manifests as mana in either (or both), the body and the environment thinning out until it reaches a point where it simply won't respond to attempts at inciting Resonance. With the natural functions of the world, the mana will eventually restore after extended periods of time, but in extremely rare circumstances it may restore faster. Typically it's an unnatural occurrence caused by something outside of the Oscillit’s control, but the specific details belong to other lores.

 

Note: All states of mana are susceptible to the resonance effect except the post burn state. Post burn state counts as aura produced from active mana (or any other form of mana that has been used up) not aura produced by passive mana in excess sweeping itself away (or any other form of mana leaving a host for similar reason). Also detail is left out on things that are irrelevant to the knowledge required to play this and that would be repeating information located in other lores.

It’s important to note that an Oscillit’s Resonance has range, though it’s very difficult to give exact numbers considering the myriad of materials and elements in the world with varying solidity and toughness, along with the flexible nature of the art. The manipulative range of water would be roughly six meters, whereas the manipulative range of hard solids tends to be a few millimeters.

 

 

Rough Abilities

Note: This exists to establish a rough balance and how it should be played. Any and all actions within this section are not to be played rigid as it does not cover every possibility. Effects may be combined, so long as it follows lore and the rough limits provided.

Spoiler

Delaying of Inertia

Spoiler

Force is delayed for a short period on a striking point, an aggressive aura will engulf the Oscillit’s weapon/fist and a faint aura will begin to grow upon the point that's struck. As more force is channeled into the striking point the aura will become more intense before flashing away when the force is released. Each consecutive strike against a chosen point will essentially reset an unseen timer placed upon it, a timer that scales with the material being struck. Something that is the epitome of solid will maintain a two second timer while a liquid will maintain a ten second timer.

 

Metaphysic

The frequency of resonance is tuned to such a specific point that it creates an echo within the area of impact. The resonant waves collide with one another, persistently canceling force and passing it unto the next wave. The medium that is host to this reaction provides interference to the waves of resonance, essentially causing them to taper off, at which point the accumulated force will translate back into normal physics all at once.

 

Selective/Penetrative Inertia

Spoiler

It is possible to cause force to bypass an object. It's easy to think of this in a similar manner to a Newton’s cradle where a single weight strikes a series of weights who don't move until ejecting the rear weight, except with the manipulation of resonance it may reengage force in the center of a series. This allows for a penetrative effect towards armor, while it won't damage the armor the force passes as if their was no armor. With ultra hard solids, like carbon steel, the force may penetrate up to 3/16th an inch (7 gauge) and with softer solids, like hardwood, it may pass up to two inches. (If you can’t conjure a clear picture in your head, the measurements are well past what could reasonably be worn as armor and exist in the lower ranges of what would be considered structural.) In its own curious manner this effect does not produce the desireable effect when torque is brought into the equation, meaning nothing of importance would happen should one attempt to channel this through a large stick and strike an opponent across the head. Meanwhile, a direct strike from one of the body’s extremities, such as an Oscillit’s fist, carries the effect just fine. The effect is only possible in the aggressive ranges, making the feat impossible to perform without burning off mana.

 

Metaphysic

In a Newton’s cradle there is a phenomenon where waves of pressure form between the suspended spheres that travel much faster than the spheres themselves, often times traveling the whole length and returning several times before the visible reaction truly carries. By tuning resonant frequencies at higher hertz it causes the propagation of force to fail in the physical realm while continuing in the metaphysical, often times making small leaps through lack of medium, continuing to oscillate. Eventually the metaphysical resonant waves will align with where they should be in the truly physical and allowing force to propagate at that point, thus having skipped past a portion of the series and allowing the Oscillit to control reengagement through the frequency of resonance. Forces such as torque prevents the waves from realigning and propagating due to waves skewing off at separate angles, thus never hitting the aligned point.

 

 

Hardening

Spoiler

It is possible to cause liquids and softer solid matter to temporarily harden. While creating a durable membrane out of the surface of a pond for easy passage would call for a passive frequency, a fabric fixed to behave as armor would require aggressive resonance. By using more aggressive frequencies it is possible to further the influence of the effect. A good five feet could be achieved on fabric while a 9 feet could be achieved in liquid. Hardened matter behaves similarly to what would be an extremely sturdy rubber. Piercing and cutting instruments would not bounce off without a mark, they’d cut into the material, but face heavy amounts of resistance.

 

Metaphysic

The resonance is tuned to induce a fundamental frequency, overriding the true fundamental frequencies that would occur within a true medium. In reality the fundamental tone, or first harmonic, is simplified as a frequency where a single wave travels back and forth through the medium. In the metaphysical ‘world’ of mana, the fundamental resonance may oscillate at a higher frequency than reality without losing its fundamental status. The results in the medium housing the mana to become synchronized in relative space, meaning the molecules in a liquid or soft solid material lose their ability to move relative to each other. This means that a material loses fluidity, elasticity, and plasticity. Fluidity and elasticity are the first to be lost, molecules will not freely pass each other and once displaced in any manner will not make any attempt at returning to original position. Plasticity comes on quickly with a tapering rate, meaning properties similar to a moist clay appear almost instantly and quickly rises up towards a hot metal with more aggressive frequencies. It is theoretically possible to run a frequency aggressive enough to make a perfect solid but doing so would burn valuable mana at an extreme rate. As such, it remains a simple theory.

 

Friction

Spoiler

Addition of Friction

An amount of friction may be added to a surface, whether this be a martial purpose of planting one's footing or a feat of scaling a waterfall. A simple amount of friction required to prevent one from slipping on a surface may be done within passive resonance while something that carries body weight will require aggressive resonance. It would be impossible to scale a sheer 90 degree stone wall regardless, as the material simply isn’t receptive enough.

 

Subtraction of Friction

A surface may be made more slick but on your average flooring this effect doesn’t have enough influence to affect any individual other than the Oscillit themselves. While on a surface that consists of a receptive material it may be done to cause something beyond oneself to slip, but doing so would require the usage of an aggressive resonance and more aggressive resonance with the more range required.

 

Metaphysic

Friction is caused by imperfections in an object's surface interfacing with another object's surface and creating resistance when they attempt to move past each other. Resonant frequencies are tuned to interact with these surfaces and either amplify the imperfections of a surface, creating more friction, or minimise them, causing less. This effect slightly rearranges the molecular structure of a surface, either removing or creating imperfections.

 

Persistence with Mana

Spoiler

Tasks that mana has been forced to partake in may be extended or forced to freeze. This means that an evocationist’s bolt may be forced to persist in reality and in a form of stasis.  Even if the original source of mana is removed it will persist, although tapering off with time. This effect only manifests in aggressive ranges.

 

Metaphysic

Certain frequencies of resonance can stimulate mana, often causing it to seize up. In relative observation it appears that it, in a way, has frozen itself in time. With this assumed stasis, most effects halt as well. Transfers of thermal energies halt, transfers of kinetic energies halt, and if for whatever reason it is normally effected by gravity, it will not fall. If the stimulated mana was being fed and was cut off from its source its total lack of current function means it only fades out at a considerably slow rate.

 

Tangible Mana

Spoiler

Through resonance a tangibility can be created in mana that isn’t bound into a physical part of reality. At passive frequencies the response is similar to a syrup with the Oscillit’s extremities able to easily pass through while creating distortions as the resonant source is dragged through. At aggressive frequencies the reaction is much more intense, causing the response to occur as though it was a solid. If aggressive frequencies are engaged while the source is already within a significant amount of mana it will cause an anchoring effect.

 

Metaphysic

Tangibility is a matter of feed back. If one were to place a small object on a vibrating surface they might see it bounce away or spontaneously drift towards its edge. It is in the core concept of this effect that the metaphysical tangibility spawns. This does not cause the metaphysical to ping off into infinity as a resonant wave does not function in a singular direction, it oscillates. Every push has its own pull and every pull has its own push. What this does is it creates a physical relativity between the source and the affected.

 

Condensing

Spoiler

Through resonance it is possible to cause granulets and particulate matter to condense together. Matter is made to stick together when eventually making contact. Thus something heavier than air and at rest, such as sand on a beach, will condense must faster than something floating through the air, such as smoke. What results is particulate matter condensing around a resonant source within a few millimeters.

 

Metaphysic

The act of condensing runs off the same core effect that allows for tangibility within mana with very few differences. The core difference is that the pull is slightly larger than the push. The mana bound within matter naturally wants to remain bound, and thus resists the push but remains fully receptive to the pull. Because of this each time two particles contact they begin to stick.

 

Note: It is established in lore that the immortal planes are linked to the void and Aengudaemons channel their powers through links to the void. Spells and energies that are channeled through deific sources are subject to voidal metaphysics. Deific forces that directly manipulate the physical realm, such as druidism, are subject only to the physical interactions stemming from the metaphysic. Lifeforce is an element of the mortal planes and qualifies as physical. When lifeforce is within living matter there is no method to interact but when it is present in the environment it by default acts as a gas, unless otherwise specified.

 

Armor and Weaponry

Large amounts of heavy solid armor inhibits resonance by being both a non-receptive material and increasing the complexity in which the Resonance frequency must travel through. The interference of strong solids vastly cuts down upon potence and range of Resonance while also cutting into the control the Oscillit has as the common shapes of armor begins to distort frequency.

Light gear and non-solids provide less interference than heavy solids. With varying levels of rigidity and density will have various levels of interference but in simplicity less direct protection means less interference.

A depiction of an Oscillit wearing more traditional garb.

 

In addition, it is easiest to incite Resonance within an object through physical contact with the Oscillit’s extremities. Though they may use weaponry, attempting to incite Resonance through a wooden club (Just as an example) into something else would dampen the effects.

 

Progression

Since learning Kani is an experience of learning how to create and use Resonance, as well learning an unarmed martial art, it’s difficult to give a learning time. The floor limit would be three months, but in most cases it would be much longer. To make progress, a student must roleplay training, on top of that they’d need to train with other Oscillits.

 

T1- The soon-to-be Oscillit is just learning proper breathing techniques, along with how to incite Resonance.

T2- The Oscillit is able to create and manipulate the more passive ranges of Resonance (Referred to from this point as Passive-range Resonance), but not without an active effort and full concentration.

T3- The user has gotten the basics of manipulating Passive-range Resonance down, able to perform passive tasks with only mild difficulty, and is now taking their first steps into more aggressive ranges of Resonance. This tier would be spent learning the proper breathing techniques, along with optimal movements.

T4- The user is able to harness and manipulate Passive-range Resonance near effortlessly, commonly performing tasks subconsciously with muscle memory (Without direct thought and effort). They have learned to create and properly utilize Aggressive-range reverberation, though by no means have perfect form. Reverberation may be used too lightly or heavily in some areas, producing potentially erratic results. Creating and roleplaying your own flaws is encouraged.

T5- The user, now a master of both Passive and Aggressive-range Resonance, they can harness and manipulate any range of Resonance with ease.

 

Red Lines

• Being physically unable to breathe would prevent you from being able to learn Kani.

• An Oscillit cannot create resonance in the air past a few inches. (In other words no, you cannot shoot Ki Blasts)

• An Oscillit cannot use Resonance to ‘bend’ elements. They may influence an object, but not to such a refined point that they could manipulate it as though they were using transfiguration or elementalism.

• Touching back on the previous red line about air, Resonance cannot be directly used for ranged attacks. Indirect methods are possible by using Resonance to interact with certain objects in the environment, though you’d have to get quite creative.

• As the magic relies heavily on breathing, speaking will upset your breathing rhythm, preventing you from inciting Resonance.

• Resonance does not scale the strength of your strikes.

• Does not arbitrarily make punches stronger.

 

Continuous Resonance

Note: This is a feat that may be taken after reaching T5 in Kani

 

Continuous resonance is a technique that may be taken upon by someone who is skilled with Kani, but still wishes to study the arts of the void in their full extent. By training oneself to maintain a minor state of passive Resonance in the body through daily life it is possible to resist the corruptive forces of a strong voidal connection while bolstering one's physical condition, effectively negating the typical mage weakness. This does not fully nullify any down sides but merely shifts the downsides into another factor. With a state of constant resonance you begin to develop a constriction on your own ability to pull from the void while the continuous frequency causes mana leaving from the regular mage pool to burn. This provides the effect that resonant aura accompanies casting, casting times are doubled (three emote becomes six), and mana pool is halved. (If you could do it four times you now can only do it twice, round down on odd numbers.)

 

Spoiler

Forgive us father, for we have sinned

Sorry not sorry.

 

[Mr. Etan 2837]

+1 Fistmancy

[Babehab 289]

Editing this was like dancing around in a claustrophobic cave.

[Ford 1990]

FISTICUFFS ***** 

 

YES

[Imam Faiz Kharadeen 3166]

i support this, lets beat the *** out of magic users with fists

[_Jandy_ 3174]

Looks dope

[Summorox 55]

Yes please

[Gladuos 857]

Seems pretty cool, but I'd prefer more abstract magics cause some of this pseudo-science stuff is too much for me and likely a lot of others. lol

[BrandNewKitten 2788]

15 hours ago, Gladuos said:

Seems pretty cool, but I'd prefer more abstract magics cause some of this pseudo-science stuff is too much for me and likely a lot of others. lol

 

Punching biches tho. 

 

EDIT: It isn't even that it is too science-y. It just involves a lot of context. Perhaps add some scenarios? Situations and Roleplay examples of what it is actually doing followed by explanations. 

 

EDIT2: Actually a lot of this is difficult to read. Your sentence structure is a bit muddled but I think its because you are trying to over-explain a lot of things. What do you mean when you talk about aura? Is this aura not their own but rather the reaction of resonance towards different targets? I.E. If you strike a mage and their aura color is purple will purple aura be expelled resonance? 

 

In regards to aura, and if this happens to matter, each individual will only have one aura color and you do not have direct manipulation over what it does. It is inherently unique to each individual.

[Babehab 289]

1 hour ago, Sir K Andruske said:

Actually a lot of this is difficult to read.

I understand your pain

[FreeHongKong 934]

2 hours ago, Sir K Andruske said:

EDIT: It isn't even that it is too science-y. It just involves a lot of context. Perhaps add some scenarios? Situations and Roleplay examples of what it is actually doing followed by explanations. 

Uhh... You want me to show the Oscillit in ideal situations or something else. The abilities are a bunch of tools that don't directly make you attack harder but with enough creativity and strategy create the opportunity to deal with most things.

 

2 hours ago, Sir K Andruske said:

Actually a lot of this is difficult to read. Your sentence structure is a bit muddled but I think its because you are trying to over-explain a lot of things.

Yeah... With the whole metaphysics idea is does create a lot of complexity because i'm basically creating a new form of physics. Admittedly I could have wrote an entire physics text book worth of info if I wanted but that is obviously too much. Especially if the lore is meant to be more about the d20monks magic rather than a big fluffy expansion of existing lore.

 

2 hours ago, Sir K Andruske said:

What do you mean when you talk about aura? Is this aura not their own but rather the reaction of resonance towards different targets? I.E. If you strike a mage and their aura color is purple will purple aura be expelled resonance? 

The aura has no connection to the Oscillit's soul but is indeed a by product of resonance. Basically its supposed to artistically appear like how an aura like thing would appear in your typical 2d fighting game. Alot of the metaphysics stuff stems from modified wave physics, which if you open up a Wikipedia article on you might cry. The idea of it being chaotic patterns stems from what happens when you put a liquid or non-Newtonian fluid on a speaker mixed with the fighting game aesthetics of special moves making cool effects. The color idea stems from light being wave lengths and that varying that changes its color so it make sense that if someone tried hard enough they could "tune" it and make it into something all of its own.

[_Sug 2554]

I dig it. +1

[Gladuos 857]

Spoiler

>When nothing is said on a thread for about a week and you see something new was posted.

>Insert generic short-winded support comment

>FeelsBadMan

Just meming, my friend.

 

Also how would this monk stuff be implemented? It doesn't seem like something that would fit a monk theme IMO. As it seems you'd need to be a scientist that knows how this frequency shiz works rather than the typical spiritually-inclined nature of classic D&D monks.

[Babehab 289]

Why not be both

[FreeHongKong 934]

10 hours ago, Gladuos said:

Also how would this monk stuff be implemented? It doesn't seem like something that would fit a monk theme IMO. As it seems you'd need to be a scientist that knows how this frequency shiz works rather than the typical spiritually-inclined nature of classic D&D monks.

 

7 minutes ago, Babehab said:

Why not be both

Well metaphysical things would be extremely difficult to measure so its up to individuals to treat it how ever they perceive it IC. So yeah, both.