Lore Variants

[squakhawk 7303]

Lore Variants

This thread covers the stance Story Team has taken on Lore Variants. Lore Variants are defined as “Antithesis” magics, “Alt” magics, or “Variant” magics. These are lore pieces which take after another piece, offering a sort of subsect or branch of that original lore which has spun off into it’s own direction. Think of Dark Shamanism, as example.

 

 

Over the years a number of lore proposals have popped up that were “dark” variants of existing magics. “Dark” druidism, “dark” paladins, “dark” shamanism, et cetera. Conceptually, these dark alternatives are meant to be another route to take for the magic that is “dark” or “evil” and/or are meant to act as the antagonist towards the already existing version of the magic, such as dark shamanism’s relationship with shamanism.

 

However, a common issue with these pieces is that they don’t really offer anything that the other magic doesn’t and tend to just be aesthetically different variants of the existing piece made so that a person doesn’t have to deal with the current powersource or group. Another is that they ignore that a lot of these magics are morally ambiguous. Druidism is fully capable of being “dark” if the character using it wants it to be that way, there’s no reason to have a new lorepiece to justify just having evil druids. 

 

For magics that are not morally ambiguous, such as holy magics, an argument can be made to have a “dark” alternative for those that wish to RP as rogues or a darker variant of the magic. Currently if you attempt to do that, you essentially get targeted over by groups disconnecting your character. However keep in mind, that is creating good conflict roleplay, so creating an entirely new magic simply for that purpose is iffy. If you are attempting to create said “dark” variant, you should also make sure that it is providing some kind of roleplay for the other group that isn’t purely antagonistic, and goes into it’s own direction that allows the two groups to work together to make an interesting narrative and story between them.

 

These submissions can also be more subtle, going into directions of subtle additions, amendments, or simple variants which offer something else to the aesthetic of the lore. An example is how Azdrazi could become corrupted, granting them different mechanics, abilities, and so on; far from an “Upgrade”, it’s a vastly different direction in the lore’s way, and aims to accomplish something very different from originally intended. Submissions going into this variant direction are favourable, and often aim to provide something different from the original group, both functionally, aesthetically, and mechanically. While different, they certainly are not their own magic.

 

When working on a Lore Variant, consider deeply. “Is this something I can accomplish already?”

If you can say yes, then it’s likely a poor lore variant. Further, answering “Yes, but it could be better if I had these tools” - it becomes tricky. However, most likely, it is probably a frowned upon lore variant. This is because this is additive, and not transactional. You are not trading parts of your lore, but instead just giving yourself more tools to go into this different avenue of roleplay. This effectively leaves the original piece unfinished without this “DLC” variant piece.

However, if you can say no, then there may be some idea there. A variant should be a similar piece, certainly, you’re not writing a different lore! You’re trying to write a lore that may go into a different direction, or accomplish a different goal. 

 

Another example of a good lore variant is the Voidal Feats (Voidstalking, Arcane Scions, Voidal Artificery, Voidal Eminence). The voidal feats do not fundamentally change how one performs their magic mechanically, but each guides them to developing their characters and how they perform them. Adding flair and individuality to every user, encouraging them to do different types of roleplay with some new spells and abilities which focus specifically on their niche. While not significant, or even enough for their own magics, they are small pieces of lore that encourage players to develop their roleplay and define their characters with certain aesthetics and abilities without affecting, detrimenting, or downgrading from regular voidal mages.

 

Overall, think of how this may affect the original group, and how this may affect this lore’s roleplay and impact on the server. Ideally, a lore variant should go into a different direction, co-existing with the prior. While there may be some conflict between the two, it should not be the primary purpose of the lore variant. The lore variant should have goals elsewise which allow the two to, on a meta scale, coexist and be looked upon as similar, yet distinctly different.