[✗] [Magic Lore] The Armiger

[BlessChu 181]

 

For long the dance between a swordsman and his blade has been described as a very personal act. The blade, acting as an extension of one's body like a limb has been taught fore-long, however there is more truth to this sentiment then the Descendants had thought. A caster who’s blade flies through the air, capable of swordplay alongside the one who wields them is called an Armiger, “one who bears arms”. 

 

The birth of Armiger began with a conscripted housemage. This man was not a soldier, however he had spent so many days at war that he became more familiar with the sound of a blade being drawn from it’s sheathe than the rhythmic sound of sweeping broomsticks he had been used to at home.

 

In battle, he lost a close blood brother who he had promised to teach his housemagery too during gentle respite between battles. The soldier held his comrade's blade close weeping at the thought of what calm, homey pleasantries they would never experience again. While imaging his confidant, grin on his face at the thought of his brother first mastering how to manipulate a mop into doing a task the soldier unintentionally imbued the fallen brothers blade with a mana pool creating the first Combative Vessel.

 

It’s believed by those who’d studied the history of the Armiger art that the soldiers familiarity of Housemagery greatly aided the discovery of this magic, as it similarly contains the ability to move objects through mana. Those familiar with the history will sometimes refer to Combative Vessels as Fallen Brothers, although this is lesser known terminology, only aware by those who’d study the arts history thoroughly. 

 

 

 
Image courtesy of Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/340092209343393863/
"Hexblade Warlock by Veronika Dobrzhanska"

 

Those who have a true understanding of an object control the power of a Vessel. Unlike conventional weapons or objects these arms and objects move through the world at the Armiger’s whim. 

 

When something is imbued with a large amount of mana by an Armiger, the object gains its own mana pool. As every user of mana has a unique Aura, this mana pool shares this unique signature and can only be connected by its creator.
The Vessel will float around essentially “following” its Armiger if not physically holstered, until a consistent flow of mana is sent into the Vessels mana pool allowing the Armiger to control it at will. To learn this is the study of Armiger.

 

There are two types of Vessels, Combative Vessels and Mundane Vessels. Combative Vessels are used in combat, taking the form of varying types of weaponry. Mundane Vessels however are everyday-objects, and can range from a miners lamp and pickaxe to a seamstress’ sewing needle and measuring tape. The difference between a Mundane Vessel, and a housemagery item is that Mundane Vessels are more mobile, not being limited to a household or single location.
Due to the straining nature of keeping constant connection to a Vessel, and fighting, it’s impossible to connect to multiple combat Vessels. An Armiger can connect to up to two Mundane Vessels however. 

A Vessel can take on any appearance, however will always (Unless hidden with a cloaking spell) show the effect of the Armiger’s Aura. For information about Mana Aura’s, see https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/199959-✓-the-aura-of-mana/

Armiger must be taught to someone by a player with a valid TA. It takes up 2 spell slots and requires a mana connection to learn.

 

Image courtesy of Pinterest
https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/187462403228691100/
"Agent of Fates by Matthew Stewart"

 

 

Mana Burnout

To utilize Mana in most Mana-based magics will cause exhaustion and the magic of the Armiger is no exception. However, to use Vessels an Armiger is not only creating a mana pool in an object but tapping into a constantly flowing connection between Caster and object while the Vessel(s) are in use. Because of this, there are varying consequences that come from using certain spells. These consequences primarily affect your characters roleplay outside of combat, and are listed under some spell effects, as well as under later Tier progressions when the Armiger is capable of connecting to more Vessels at once.

 

Image courtesy of Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/437975132493690858/
"Suit of Swords by Sara Kipin"

 

 

Materials, Spells and Vessels

What materials a Vessel can be crafted from are very limited, however weapons made from different materials can have unique effects when they come in contact with a Vessel.

Volatite/Boomsteel

• If a Vessel comes in contact with the blast of low density Boomsteel, the Vessel will shatter (and be destroyed) causing the Shatter spell effect and harm anyone in a 2 meter radius.

Thanhium

• When a Vessel comes in contact with Thanhium, the material's mana-absorbing properties will cause the Vessel to lose its connection to its caster. After 5 direct strikes from a Thanhium weapon, the Vessel will return to the state of a regular weapon or object.

Abjuration

• Similarly to Thanhium, when Abjuration is cast upon a Vessel it’s constant mana connection to the caster will be harmed. Abjuration cast by a Tier 4 mage would take 2 direct strikes of Abjuration to return a Vessel to the state of a regular weapon or object.
  Abjuration cast by a Tier 5 mage would take 1 direct strike of Abjuration to do the same.

Auric Oil

• When exposed to Auric Oil during combat, a Vessel’s connection will waver for a short period of time causing it to return to the same state as a regular object or weapon until the end of combat.

  • When exposed to Auric Oil outside of combat, the above effect lasts 1 IRL hour

 

• Small Vessels;

  • Dagger, Short Sword, War axe, War scythe,

• Medium Vessels; 

  • Mace, Shield, Warhammer, Longsword, Spear, Glaive

• Heavy Vessels; 

  • Greatsword, Greathammer, Greataxe, Pike, Lance

 

• When a Titan’s Eye gemstone is fashioned into a weapon or object before being crafted into a Vessel, it will modify the Aura surrounding the Vessel.

  • E.G: If a blue Titan’s Eye gemstone is fashioned into a Vessel dagger, the dagger will produce the gemstones blue aura weaving and mixed throughout the casters aura. 

  • If Cloak is cast, the Titan’s Eye’s Aura will not be hidden. Only the casters Aura will be cloaked.

• Keep in mind while crafting that all Vessels can only move as fast as the average human could swing. Also keep in mind that Mundane Vessels can not cause harm.

  • If swinging an object would physically harm the average human, then that object would be inanimate as a Vessel and be incapable of movement. E.G; An Anvil would make for a useless Mundane Vessel, as they would cause harm to the caster if physically swung held and therefore cannot move at all as a flying Vessel.

 

• Thanhium, Azhl and Boomsteel cannot be crafted into Vessels.

• Vessels must be ST signed and require a ticket to be crafted.

• If the Imbue spell is cast upon an enchant weapon or object, the item will lose its enchantment.

• A Vessel cannot be crafted until the Armiger has been taught the Imbue spell by a teacher with a valid TA.

• To craft a Vessel, the Imbue spell must be used upon the desired object; [ 1 Connect, 1 Charge, 1 Cast ]

• A player cannot craft a second combat Vessel until the one they are currently bound to has been shattered or destroyed. The ST taking the ticket will ask for the shattered Vessels item and delete it before the player receives their new Vessel.

  • Likewise, a player cannot craft more Mundane Vessels than their tier allows (T2: 1 Vessel, T3: 2 Vessels, T4, 3 Vessels) unless one or more of their Mundane Vessels shatter.

• After a Vessel has shattered, it may be repaired with the appropriate rp (The Imbue spell that created the Vessel in the first place) or, a new Vessel may be crafted in its place.

• A Mundane vessel cannot be larger than something the average human could lift without harming themself.

 

• Combat Vessels cannot be used until the Awaken spell has been cast. 1 emote to connect, 1 emote to cast.

• Vessels can hover/fly up to 1 blocks away from the player at Tier 2, 2 blocks away from the player at Tier 3, and then up to 3 blocks away from the player at Tier 5.

• Vessels move (fly/hover) through the air as fast as the average human would be capable of moving/swinging the Vessel physically.

  • Likewise, the strength of a Combat Vessel’s swing is equal to the strength of an average human's swing.

  • You cannot throw a Vessel.

• Vessel Durability and movement speed:

  • Small Vessels: Can sustain 5 direct strikes before shattering. Casters movement speed is reduced to 3 blocks per turn.

  • Medium Vessels: Can sustain 6 direct strikes before shattering. Casters movement speed is reduced to 2 blocks per turn.

  • Heavy Vessels:  Can sustain 7 direct strikes before shattering. Casters movement speed is reduced to 1 block per turn.

• Shattering: When a Vessel breaks and shatters, the Vessel is left destroyed and returns to the state of a regular weapon. A shattered Vessel will not cause harm to anyone unless stated otherwise (E.G; It comes in contact with a Boomsteel blast.)

• When fighting with a combat Vessel, you cannot both attack and defend in the same emote.

  • When fighting with a combat Vessel, you cannot use both a weapon physically held, as well as their Vessel in the same emote. An emote should focus on one or the other.

  • You cannot use a Vessel in combat during the Connect, Charge or Cast emote/turn of a spell. This includes spells from other magics, emotes to prepare or cast a spell from another magic must be in their own emote/turn.

 

 

Imbue [ Non-Combat ] 

The Armiger imbues mana from themselves into an object, turning it into a Vessel.

• 1 Connect, 1 Charge, 1 Cast

• After casting this spell, the caster will experience exhaustion and tiredness that stops them from doing any intense physical activity for the next IRP day. 

  • The above effect does not apply to Imbuing Magegold, which is significantly easier to Imbue.

• Imbuing a weapon, or object into a Vessel must follow all Redlines for Crafting Vessels.

• Taught Spell: This spell must be taught to the caster by someone with a valid TA, and is not naturally known like base spells. 

• An object or weapon must be imbued before any other spells can be used.

 

Awaken [ Combat ]

The Armiger tugs on the connection between their Vessel and their own mana pool, allowing Vessel combat.

• 1 emote to connect, 1 emote to cast

• An Armiger cannot use any combat Vessel until they have connected to their Vessel with this spell.

 

Feint [ Non-Combat  ] 

The Armiger imbues a pulse of mana into a Vessel, causing the effect of their aura to burst outwards explosively from a Vessel momentarily.

• 1 emote to connect, 1 emote to cast

• Feint has a radius of 1 block.

• Feint is a purely aesthetic spell, and cannot blind or harm.

 

Cloak [ Non-Combat ]

The Armiger hides their Aura from their weapon while holstered, causing it to appear like any other common armament.

• 1 emote to connect, 1 emote to cast

• Allows the caster to hide their Vessels From others by removing the visible aura that surrounds them.

• Weapons must be physically holstered on the casters body to maintain the spell, and cannot float at the casters side like it can without this spell.

• Upon entering a combat encounter, the effect of Cloak ends.

 

Arcane Specialist [ Non-Combat ] 

The usage of Mundane Vessels for the Armiger has become second-nature. They can now set looping motions with little thought.

• 1 Emote to connect, 1 emote to cast

• This spell allows the caster to set an object to do an action repeatedly without having to emote the action every turn.

• The two emotes required to cast this spell should explain exactly what the Vessel's looping action is doing, so that players and ST know that the action is happening. An action or movement of a Vessel can never be assumed or inferred to be happening without explanation.

 

Reinforce [ Combat  ] 

The Armiger sends out a pulse of mana into their Vessel, instantly repairing some of the damage that has been previously dealt to it.

• 1 emote to connect, 1 emote to charge, 1 emote to cast

• Repairs the damage of 1 direct strike at Tier 4, and 2 direct strikes at Tier 5.

• After combat has ended, the caster will experience exhaustion and tiredness that stops them from doing any intense physical activity for the next IRP day.

• This spell can only be used once per combat encounter.

 

Shatter [ Combat ] 

The Vessel points itself toward it’s target, flying forth and shattering into small glass-like shards mid air. Because this spell maims the caster just as badly as this spell can harm the victim, and disarms them from their Vessel entirely, this spell is usually considered a last resort.

• 1 emote to connect, 2 emotes to charge, 1 emote to cast

• 3 shards the size of a steak knife that fling towards 1 limb on the targets body (a leg, an arm, the torso, head)

• The shards move as fast as a thrown dagger.

• The shards are capable of embedding into wherever they hit, and have the same effect as being stabbed with a dagger.

• After combat has ended, the caster will experience exhaustion and tiredness that stops them from doing any intense physical activity for the next IRP day. 

• The shards cannot pierce through plate armor.

• The Vessel is destroyed upon shattering, maiming the caster in the process causing the inability to use magic as well as immense pain equivalent to losing a limb that impacts the ability to fight until sufficiently recovered.

 

Blade Dance [ Non-Combat ] 

A harmless but showy ability. The Armiger clears their mind, allowing their Vessels (both Mundane and/or combative) and their Aura to move in spectacular, flashy ways around the Armiger’s person with precision and flare.

• 1 emote to connect, 1 emote to cast

• A purely aesthetic spell.

• The spell's range is limited to a 3x3 area of effect centered on the caster.

• This spell cannot be used to blind or harm.

• If another player is within the range of Blade Dance, the Vessels will weave around them with ease.

 

 

 

• Only Descendants are able to pick up Armiger magic with the exception of Kha.

• Mundane Vessels cannot cause any harm.

• Any magic that stops a character from being able to utilize or connect to their Mana cannot be used with this magic.

• An Armiger may carry at Tier 5, 1 combat Vessel and up to 3 Mundane Vessels in their inventory. An Armiger can not possess or create any more than this.

 

Tier 1
[ Tier 1 lasts for 2 years IRP, or 2 IRL weeks. ] 

A connecting Armiger cannot yet craft, fight, or wield any Vessels of any kind. During this stage, they will spend their time connecting with their inner mana.

 

Skill Level
The caster is not capable of casting any spells, or utilizing a Vessel yet. They must learn to first juggle combat and the use of floating objects at the same time, by practicing these individually.

 

Tier 2
[ Tier 2 lasts for 3 years IRP, or 3 IRL weeks ]

The Armiger is now capable of learning how to imbue their first Vessel, and will begin to familiarize themselves with manipulating the Vessel at their will. 

 

Spells: Imbue, Awaken, Feint

 

Skill Level: The caster is capable of crafting and connecting to 1 Combat vessel, and 1 Mundane Vessel. Vessels have a range of 1 block from the caster.

 

 

Tier 3
[ Tier 3 lasts for 4 years IRP, or 4 IRL weeks ]

The Armiger has begun to show confidence with the use of their Vessel, whether it be in combat or for mundane use.

 

Spells: Imbue, Awaken, Feint, Cloak, Arcane Specialist

 

Skill Level: The caster is capable of crafting and connecting to 1 Combat Vessel, and 2 Mundane Vessels. Vessel range increases to 2 blocks away from the Caster.

Mana Burnout: 

• When the Caster has a Combat Vessel and 2 Mundane Vessels connected to them, they will experience minor memory loss during their everyday life and outside-of-combat RP.  

  • Examples: Forgetting a task they’re doing while they are doing it. 

  • Forgetting people they do not constantly see and know.

  • Forgetting where they are the majority of the time. 

 

Tier 4
[ Tier 4 lasts for 6 years IRP, or 6 IRL weeks. ] 

The Armiger has become impressively skilled in both Combat and Mundane Vessel usage.

 

Spells: Imbue, Awaken, Feint, Cloak, Arcane Specialist, Reinforce

 

Skill Level: The caster is capable of crafting and connecting to 1 Combat Vessel, and 3 Mundane Vessels. Vessels have a range of 2 blocks away from the Caster.

Mana Burnout: 

• When the Caster has a Combat Vessel and 2 Mundane Vessels connected to them, they will experience minor memory loss during their everyday life and outside-of-combat RP.

  • Examples: Forgetting a task they’re doing while they are doing it. 

  • Forgetting people they do not constantly see and know.

  • Forgetting where they are the majority of the time. 

• When the Caster has a Combat Vessel and 3 Mundane Vessels connected to them, the Caster will experience auditory hallucinations (For example; their name being called out) during their everyday life and outside-of-combat rp.

  • Examples: Hearing their own name being called out when it hasn’t been. 

  • Hearing the sounds of creatures or beasts that are not present. 

  • Hearing a high pitched squeal at random intervals. 

 

Tier 5

The Armiger is a spectacle to behold, skilled in both Combat and Mundane Vessels.

 

Spells: Imbue, Awaken, Feint, Cloak, Arcane Specialist, Reinforce, Shatter, Blade Dance

 

Skill Level: The caster is capable of crafting and connecting to 1 Combat Vessel, and 3 Mundane Vessels. Vessel range increases to 3 blocks away from the Caster.

 

Mana Burnout: 

• When the Caster has a Combat Vessel and 2 Mundane Vessels connected to them, they will experience minor memory loss during their everyday life and outside-of-combat RP.

  • Examples: Forgetting a task they’re doing while they are doing it. 

  • Forgetting people they do not constantly see and know.

  • Forgetting where they are the majority of the time. 

• When the Caster has a Combat Vessel and 3 Mundane Vessels connected to them, the Caster will experience auditory hallucinations (For example; their name being called out) during their everyday life and outside-of-combat rp.

  • Examples: Hearing their own name being called out when it hasn’t been. 

  • Hearing the sounds of creatures or beasts that are not present. 

  • Hearing a high pitched squeal at random intervals. 

 

During our time on LoTC many of us have dreamed of roleplaying with flying magic swords alongside one another. It’s been a conversation I’ve had many times with many people, and the demands for such a magic undeniably exist. However it’s well known to be a very difficult thing to balance and implement fairly. Therefore, many of us have been working together to try our hand once more at putting together a fair lore that can offer something new to one's roleplay experience.
We hope that with the broader scope of what can become a “Vessel” will allow more flying doctor-strange cloaks and charmed musicians to join the fray, and with tighter and clearer redlines we bring a balanced enhancement and flavor to CRP martial combat.

 

 

- My thanks goes out to the following; Crines, RinIsSalty, Imstuckinhell, Hylofear, Xocolataphobia and Basicdoctor for their feedback, thoughts and having fun in general thinking up how to make a balanced, cool feeling combat magic with me in the initial version of the lore. And to the Lore team who has to put up with my persistence, and making them re-observe this in another loremag. 
 

The special thanks goes to Charbi and Qizu who made the artworks for titles and headings, and to Unduibatily and Squak who gave a lot of insightful advice and feedback on what mindset all of us involved in writing this lore should adopt going into it.
 

And a final, grandiose thanks towards Americansimp and Qizu who had also written a very similar concept lore. The two of them created this rewrite alongside me with a lot of feedback from brainstorming, and the feedback  both of our lore pieces received -

V.3.1

[Unwillingly 11106]

I've always been a fan of this type of magic as a concept, so I'm looking forward to reading the piece :^) best of luck

[Northtitan 245]

give me the magic floating sword lore please me want cool swords 

 

[XOCO 502]

+1 BIG UP THE HOMIE EXUL

[cappor 545]

pictures look cool, +1. will give a better response once read

[MokoMochi 422]

LETS GOOOOOOO+1

[Glade 521]

THIS LOOKS VERY SHARP

[oryP 957]

I want floaty sword magic

[christman 2216]

it would be cool and hot

[E__V__O 1984]

Might I ask why this constitutes two magic slots to learn?

[BlessChu 181]

Just now, Jenny_Bobbs said:

Might I ask why this constitutes two magic slots to learn?

Sure thing, I've been asked that in my pm's too so it'd be good to have it posted here :)

In accordance to LoTC's magic submissions page, it states the a 1 slot magic is a magic that has 5 to 10 spells. Now, while Armiger would technically be a 1 slot magic under this definition with 8 spells, it's primary boon is allowing players to use a melee weapon, and up to 3 objects at a distance to enhance combat or roleplay respectively. So I decided that the magic is probably giving players enough to warrant a second spell slot. 

 

[Suicidium 1295]

Highly excited with seeing the potential of this. +1 

[King_Kunuk 888]

AbjUrAtIoN oNlY wOrKs On VoId MaGiC

[BlessChu 181]

13 hours ago, King_Kunuk said:

AbjUrAtIoN oNlY wOrKs On VoId MaGiC

Yeah, I can't say I'm the most familiar with Abjuration. Initially the magic didn't have Abjuration as having any effect on Vessels. It was a feedback dot point on my last submission to add it though 

[wowj 2744]

I hate the Palebeast