LeoRabbit99 360 Share Posted September 18, 2018 (edited) Spoiler Introduction “Let me explain to you what it means to be a true alchemist, pupil. An alchemist hungers for success. They’re eager for it. Where others draw boundaries for victory, a true alchemist will stop at nothing to succeed. No scar is too big, and no sacrifice is too great. You will find the deeper you delve into alchemy, the more your values will be called into question. How far are you willing to push those boundaries? Tread carefully, young apprentice, or else you may lose yourself, as many have before you.” -Teacher to student Since the discovery of symbols and the weaving of their manifestations, mankind has since enjoyed bending nature to their intentions with a craft known to many as alchemy. Men tend to find something appealing in twisting what surrounds them. It is a custom that finds its way into the hearts of many descendants, be it used for good or evil. But in aspiration, atonements must always be made. Gain must be “fueled” by loss. Value must be traded with equal and alternative value. Everything has a price, and the bill always comes due. Such is the theory of equivalent exchange--a core concept that administers a foundation to alchemy. Many have been driven into madness from this phenomenon, sacrificing even their humanity to enact their pursuits. Some may be noble of heart, and some may possess a heart of stone, but nonetheless, where powerful ambition exists, desperate means may follow. And where desperate means exists, monsters are created--and in the case of alchemy, sometimes quite literally. Many have heard tales of the mysterious homunculus, and many less of the fabled “klones” of descendants, but neither strike fear into the hearts of men with viciousness and savagery as the terrifying chimera do. It is only those who truly work so low that would be willing to create such a calamity--a spit in nature's face. A monstrous chimera that attacked Haense in 1672 Creatures of Chaos: Chimeras Chimeras are creations of only the most daring of alchemists who wish to push the limits of nature into something truly destructive. They are creatures of chaos incarnate--two or three unfortunate animals fused together into a single entity in a metamorphosis. They are melded together in body, mind, and soul, their very existence a life of instability. Types Chimeras are classified in two different ways. First, there are descendant chimeras and bestial chimeras. Descendant chimeras are joined together with at least one descendant and can only be fused with one other creature of the creator’s leisure. They are typically less hostile than bestial chimeras, but are still far more mentally unstable than most normal descendants. Bestial chimeras are solely fused with animals, and three subjects can be fused at a time. The other type of classification includes the following: aerial chimeras, aquatic chimeras, and terran chimeras--aerial chimeras having the capability to fly, aquatic animals being chimeras of water, and terran chimeras being land-dwelling, and also being the most common. Physical Characteristics Concerning their physical attributes, the first feature to consider is their lifespan. For many years, chimeras have lived short lives because of their acquired instability. Recently, a way to evade this condition has been discovered. Because of this discovery, they may live up to the mean of both/all the creatures’ ages they were fused with. When you create a chimera, it will be no pretty sight. They will have traits accumulated from both/all the creatures participated in the metamorphosis, usually emerging warped. This includes corrosion where the skin fused, patches fur, crooked teeth, and many other kinds of disfigurements. When a chimera is created, it will possess all the appendages previously owned by the original animals. For instance, a large spider fused with a small bird would keep all eight legs, two wings, and at least one head. It is not completely unknown for a chimera to have more than one head, however it is a common misconception that all chimeras have this trait. This is typically a very rare occurrence. Finally, if not evident from their physical appearance, chimeras cannot procreate. Their warped bodies simply aren’t compatible with each other, thus lose reproductive abilities State of Mind and Soul Another element to consider in examination of chimeras is their psyche. This includes the condition of their mental fluctuation and soul. in regards their state of mind, there are a few things to consider. When you meld two or three creatures together, their very consciousness melds into one. Their thoughts and feelings, once secret, are now shared--deprived of their privacy. This can be maddening, especially in the beginning to newly created chimeras. Primarily because of this, they are known for their temper and will lash out for even the most minuscule of reasons. For this reason, it takes a very skilled trainer to “tame” a chimera, and it is near impossible to tame anything larger than a medium-sized dog. This is obviously not always the case, varying on circumstance to circumstance. For instant, despite it being larger, something fused with a horse will be easier to tame then something fused with an alligator, since horses are naturally more peaceful than alligators. When fusing an animal for a chimera, they can either be considered domesticated, prey, or predatory. Each has a different value of points, which ultimately determines if the chimera is tamable or not. Domesticated animals are equal to one point, prey are equal to two points, and predators are equal to three points. When you fuse the animals, find the sum of all the points. If it comes equal or less than three points, it may be tamed. If it is seven points or above, it will be a monster on a warpath, attacking whatever it sees. On account to their chaotic and maddening minds, it’s much more difficult to penetrate the mind of a chimera. Mental mages must take an extra emote to infiltrate the mind of a chimera with three or less points, two extra emotes with a chimera of four or five points, and three extra emotes If the chimera has six or seven points. If it has eight or nine points, it’s impossible for a mental mage to penetrate. Being creatures that completely go against the fundamentals of nature, an interesting relationship exists between chimeras and druids. If a druid were to communicate with a chimera, they would both enter a state of mental trauma and agonizing physical pain as both their souls hollered in misery. It is typically because of this that the two are constantly at odds--one being a keeper of nature and the other a twisted creature made from unnatural exploitation of science--two polar opposites. When a descendant chimera is made, in addition to being seen as monster in society, they also have an internal struggle to quell their bestial side--always prying to take control and make actions of instincts. Often it takes years, decades even, for a descendant chimera to get a mantle on their animalistic half. It is never truly sated, however, thus descendant chimeras typically avoid distress to keep it concealed. However, if one were to find themselves in combat, they would be put at risk. Once combat is initiated by either side, the chimera player rolls a d20. If they roll a five or below, then they will lose control, attacking everyone in sight. They will also get a small increase in speed/strength, equivalent to as if one drunk a lesser potion of strength, a lesser potion of celerity, and a lesser potion of acuity at once. Clerics with the spell to pacify have a very potent effect on frenzied chimeras, able to tranquilize most chimeras very efficiently. Other magic that quells, such as an enchanted necklace of sensory illusion, can aid a descendant chimera in keeping control, reducing the roll to frenzy from five and below to three and below. Spoiler Creation The creation of chimeras is a long and complicated process, requiring extensive research and repetitive trial and error. A player must make a FA application to learn. Although it is far easier to acquire the skill through direct instruction of a teacher, it is possible for an individual to teach him or herself, but at double the time. It will take one in real life month for a character to master the craft with a teacher and two in real life months to master the craft without one. Choosing Creatures Before an alchemist can create one of these monstrosities, they must first obtain two or three creatures to fuse. There are several prospects they must keep consistent, lest they wish their creation to die upon success. Both/all the creatures must be of the same gender, both/all the creatures must have the same type of digestive tract (carnivores and herbivores cannot be fused; omnivores can fuse with both but their diet is narrowed purely to the diet of the other creature(s) unless they were fused with another/other omnivore(s)), and both/all the creatures must have the same respiratory tract (air-breathers and water-breathers cannot be fused). The creature must also be similar in size. For instance, while a wolf may be able to be fused with a cougar, it is not compatible with a house cat. The Process The creation of chimeras is an elaborate process and must be perfectly conducted to the letter. The main ingredient to create chimeras is a substance known as the essence of life. A pool of essence of life This solvent is soul soluble, meaning it has the properties to dissolve the soul of creatures. The substance, however, cannot dissolve the souls of living subjects since they are too attached to their vessels. For this reason, they must be exterminated and quickly brought through the process of metamorphosis as the soul is departing the body. It is also because of this that creating chimeras is a risky procedure. In the likely outcome of failure of an inexperienced individual, the alchemist could kill both/all the creatures for nothing. It is almost guaranteed that a new practitioner will fail, usually requiring the deaths of a few creatures to practice their skill until they’re good enough to succeed. Because of this, chimera creation is often looked down upon and perceived as a dark craft. Essence of life is created with liquid mana and several powerful symbols of life. Although it is occasionally used for the evil deed of creating chimeras, essence of life also has rejuvenating properties as well as spiritual bonding properties. If one bathed in it for over five minutes, they would find all their current wounds sealing up and scars beginning to heal. This is not to say that it’s as potent as a potion of regeneration in that it could heal entire severed limbs, but for those who have access to one, it can often provide a better alternative to a greater potion of healing. It also helps illness to some extent, although not completely. As for its bonding properties, if two individuals were placed together in it, they would feel an incredible sense of compassion for the other sitting within. Tribal cultures have often used this to spiritually connect with their brothers and sisters for a short time, and newly married couples have used this ceremonially to become closer with each other. Once the creatures wished to be fused are slain, they should immediately be placed into a vat of the solvent twice the size of all the creatures being fused together so that they may be spread out evenly with some space in between. Along with that, several powerful symbols of balance, rebirth, fluidity, warmth, steadiness, perseverance, and dependency should be mixed in. This part of the procedure can be very difficult when attempting to pinpoint the precise dosages to compensate for the sizes of the creature, which is the main reason for a low success rate for new practitioners of the craft. Once all the ingredients are in, the alchemist must stir everything, the time varying on the size and number of the creatures. They will slowly move closer to each other, their flesh and soul molding and binding together. When it's complete, it will lay in hibernation for the first day as it rejuvenates. When it wakes, its old life is left behind and made anew...in the form of a chimera. Spoiler OOC: This rewrite is an attempt to expand on the idea of chimeras a bit more and to describe them in more detail. As of now, chimeras aren't really too defined in regards to how they're created. What is the essence of life? What makes it so special? Here, I try to give it more meaning, as well as make chimeras more interactable and fun to play even after the creation process. I also tried to not limit the lore to just mad scientists types. @Keefy and @Snelfma helped me out with the druid part and their tamability, so thanks to them. I made them self learnable because I feel having it required to be taught by a teacher just makes it stale. No one really gets a TA in it, and even fewer actually teach it. It's nothing super super complicated, so I don't see why people wouldn't be able to learn with lots of trial and error. Also this is my first lore piece, so if there's anything I mislooked, that's why. I understand I'll likely have to make some adjustments, so just let me know. I'm completely ready to be **** on. Open to questions. P.S If I need to change, remove, or add anything new, I'm literally just a ping away. Edited July 31, 2019 by LeoRabbit99 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDPR 014 23 Share Posted September 18, 2018 What changed? Save for elaborating on crafting the essence of life? Apologies for missing anything. I appreciate you want chimera back and can respect the effort you put into this 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeoRabbit99 360 Author Share Posted September 18, 2018 (edited) 10 hours ago, The_Broken_God said: What changed? Save for elaborating on crafting the essence of life? Effect with druids, the combat feature, among a few other things for further clarification. I believe that they together will make chimeras more fun to play after they're made. I was told this was an issue and was the reason why they were shelved in the first place, which is why I rewrote it with these things implemented. My generally goal was to A, solve this issue, and B, give more clarification to not only the essence of life, but define a few things more thoroughly. Edit: Also thanks Edited September 18, 2018 by LeoRabbit99 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elennanore 2713 Share Posted September 18, 2018 You should develop Descendant Chimera more as they are somewhat lacking compared to other creatures. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarGazzer 286 Share Posted September 18, 2018 i like this alot! chimeras are something really cool. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTri 378 Share Posted October 14, 2018 Yes please Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodEmperorFlam 3447 Share Posted August 19, 2019 This lore has been denied as per this thread: click me. 2 weeks were given to reformat and correct the submission to match the current criteria, which were not done. If you believe this is a mistake (as this was a big sweep, yours may have been overlooked), please contact me over the forums here: click me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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