[✗] [Feat] Conduits of Enlightenment: Av-Taeleh

[TreeSmoothie 4938]

Spoiler

 

 

Sages, soothsayers, shamans, savants, scholars.

When each branch of magic had been claimed and corrupted in the vices of the evil and violent, it was the sages – the scholars – that hid away, watching and learning. Watching as bitter men grew into power and watching as their empires crumbled in an instant, as history repeated and repeated.

 

“. . . A King issued a challenge to his citizens; whoever could settle the tempestuous valley beside his kingdom would be named the lord of that land. So, a wiseman and a knave man came to the valley to live. 

 

Seeking safety, the wiseman roosted high above the clouds upon a pillar of stone. 

Seeking luxury, the knave man roosted at the river upon its beach, on pillars of sand. 

 

When a storm came and nourished the river, it was the pillars of sand that were swept away.”

 

Within an Elven monastery, a mali’thill awaited his punishment for breaking meditation. He was locked away in a room until he’d freeze to death. The first day he wailed and punched at the wall. The next day, he’d grown too weak to protest. The third day, his will crumbled. With his knees tucked beneath his legs and his head dipped, he closed his eyes and awaited to succumb.

 

On the sixth day, the abbot entered the room expecting to be greeted by his cold corpse. Yet the mali sat straight, cloaked in a dull glow as he spoke beneath his breath some prayer. Somehow, he had lived.

 

The Mali would later go off on his own, earning a following and teaching his method to other former ne’er-do-wells; he and his people became known as the ‘Av-Taeleh’ – literally, ‘Mind Wanderers’ in Elven. Gurus today preach of his story as they teach about consciousness and mind, and only hope to teach his process to the most attentive.

 

Explanation ✦

☽ Conduits of Enlightenment is a Misc-Magic feat that requires either: a teacher that has had their FA for Two OOC Months OR a post detailing the character’s journey on enlightenment to learn. This post should have effort put into it, not a simple 1-2 paragraph jotting.

 

☽ All races may learn this feat so long as they have a soul and mana. Undead (ghosts, dragur, darkstalkers, etc) or Infernal beings cannot learn this feat.

 

☽ Characters beneath the age of at least 35 cannot learn this feat, as it requires ‘knowing yourself’ and deep, long-term meditation, spiritual journeys, etc. Children cannot be born knowing this feat, nor can it be hereditary. If being taught the feat by another character, the minimum ages reduce to 25.

 

☽ If the character suddenly goes through abrupt change in their life – varying from sudden mental changes from magic or suddenly developing mental illness, experiencing a largely traumatic or upsetting event, etc. – they gain the opportunity to lose connection to their Enlightenment. This is up to the player, though is encouraged.

 

The Savant ✦

 

Tiers ✦

Tier 1

The Savant is new and inexperienced. They must spend this time breaking down their Mindscape’s gate and practising meditation.

Lasts 1 OOC Weeks - Has Access to Introspection [cannot enter others’ minds, cannot bring others into their mind]

 

Tier 2

The Savant has broken down their gate and begun to experiment with Mindshaping.

Lasts 3 OOC Weeks - Has Access to Introspection [cannot enter others’ minds, can bring up to 1 person into their mind], Mindshape

 

Tier 3

The Savant has reached their peak, and can now stay within their Mindscape for long periods.

Lasts 4 OOC Weeks - Has Access to Introspection [can enter others’ minds, can bring up to 3 people into their mind], Mindshape, The Infinite Stay

 

Features✦

 

Construction of the Mindscape

Once connected, the first thing that a Savant will encounter is their Mindscape and its gates. These can manifest in whatever way – sometimes, literal gates blocking their entry in. Sometimes, mists or difficult terrain. These should somehow relate to their character and trials they face.

 

The RP sessions (either given by a teacher or done alone/in presence of others) should detail how they face this challenge (i.e. a wood elf facing the difficult terrain of a forest, having to rely on muscle memory to manoeuvre, or a bard playing a difficult song to get their audience to leave).

 

Once past the gates of the mindscape, they are, at last, in. The mindscape can look however it may relate to the character, like a location that was important to them (a city they grew up in that looks a bit ‘off’, a cloudy realm filled with bubbles that contain things they often daydream of, etc). As they learn more of themselves and meditate, they become able to use Mindshape and become capable of bringing others in.

 

Redlines

Spoiler

- Conquering their unique Gate should take 1+ meaningful RP session after acquiring the feat. Users are encouraged to write a post about it, but not required.

 

The Mindscape

A mindscape varies vastly between all savants. It can be as small as a house or as expansive as a whole continent (or three), growing with them in detail and size as a person. Even though the Mindscape is vast, it most noticeably lacks other entities – leaving the savant alone. After acquiring the ability to use Mindshape, however, they may meld their own Mindscape however they please: going as far as to reenact certain memories or forge new ones. Some savants create entities to keep them company or make themselves kingdoms of fake peasants to rule over. 

 

Whilst capable of bringing others into their mindscape via Introspection, visitors cannot be granted the ability to use Mindshape there unless they are also a Savant. Exposed Darkspawn (individuals the Savant has personally seen cast/transform with dark magic) will gradually corrupt their Mindscape as they spend more time there. Should it continually worsen, the Savant might experience paranoia, hallucinations, or even something as bad as disconnection from enlightenment.

 

Redlines

Spoiler

- The Mindscape can be changed however the Savant wishes. Though, even if they create a battlefield or spar in their mindscape, they nor others will ever come out injured or endure pain. All wounds are treated as illusions of the mind and can simply be mindshaped away whilst inside.

- Neither party can be taught rare feats/smithing processes/magick/etc whilst inside the Mindscape.

- Neither party can FTB within the mindscape.

- Darkspawn corrupting the Savant’s mindscape cannot be used to metagame. The Savant must already explicitly know, via seeing them directly cast/transform/etc. Corruption can be roleplayed via bits of the mindscape ‘glitching’ or being obstructed with smoke, whatever the Savant fears obscuring portions, etc.

- The Darkspawn’s player may also willingly emote corruption, even if the Savant is unaware of them being a Darkspawn. This is always merely an option and their player should in no way be forced to.

- Darkspawn able to corrupt their mindscape include: Ghosts, Voidstalkers, Necromancers, Naztherak, Mystics, Wights, Liches, Azdrazi, Frostwitches, and others. Corcitura are not included.

 

The Mind’s Body

Within the Mindscape, everyone appears how they most imagine themselves, sometimes more exaggerated than others. Someone who thinks poorly of themselves will often appear blotched in shadows, exaggeratedly fat or sickly thin, too tall or too short, etc. where someone that thinks highly of themselves might appear much taller, in perfect health, etc. Some resemble whichever animals they favour or an embodiment of many different things. Some just … appear as they always do in life.

 

Redlines

Spoiler

- Obviously, only takes effect within Mindscapes.

 

The Corruption [Darkspawn Exclusive]

Savants are, normally, good-oriented and either lack magic or only possess ‘good’ or ‘neutral’ oriented magicks. However, when a Savant either becomes a Darkspawn or is one and learns this feat, their Mindscape becomes blatantly warped.

 

The aesthetics of this may be chosen by the player, but should somehow relate to what kind of Darkspawn they are. Necromancers might always appear disgusting and their Mindscapes forever murky & desaturated, or Mystics may be prone to their own swarming with influence from their bound-ghosts. This effect cannot be hidden nor changed, always present within their mindscape.

 

Because Darkspawn are also often unstable, their connections suffer. A light shake or loud talking will disrupt their Introspection.

 

Redlines

Spoiler

- Darkspawn include Ghosts, Voidstalkers, Necromancers, Naztherak, Mystics, Wights, Liches, Azdrazi, Frostwitches, and others. Corcitura are not included.

- This corruption cannot be hidden or changed, always sticking around in some form.

- Whilst this cannot be used to metagame if the Savant is blatantly a darkspawn, it is also their choice who they do let into their Mindscape – characters are within their right for being suspicious or wary of someone with a disturbing Mindscape, able to assume they are in some way mentally disturbed.

 

Abilities✦

Introspection [Noncombat]

Via meditation, one may enter their own or another’s mindscape.

Their surroundings must be non-obstructive and relatively quiet, and the Savant must be calm. Many achieve this via smoking Cactus Green or other medicinal herbs, drinking tea, or using certain drugs. Others simply enjoy meditation alone.

 

In order to enter another’s mindscape, they must have permission by the individual, and they must follow the same procedure of meditation.

 

A Savant may take up to 3 others with them into a Mindscape.

 

Redlines

Spoiler

- Follows all Mindscape & Mind Body redlines and mechanics.

- Cannot invade someone’s mindscape without their will, as they must be in meditation.

- If entering someone else’s Mindscape, the FA-holding player must inform them of the general mechanics and ask them to provide a description of the mindscape.

- Nobody can cause any kind of harm at all in the mindscape, be it physical or magical.

- The Savant and Passenger(s) are all aware that they are currently in the mind of another, and cannot be tricked into thinking that it is the real world. 

- The practitioner must keep in physical contact with passengers, with a hand, preferably over the heart or on the head of the Passengers.

- Introspection can be ended via any of the participants being roughly shaken, stabbed, or being screamed at up-close.

- After exiting, the participants will feel anything from grogginess to feeling as though they’d been woken up from deep sleep, at their player’s discretion.

- Any conversations in the mindscape are also muttered aloud in the 'real world', represented by you emoting in whisper. If someone gets close enough without waking you, they can hear your conversation though they cannot see whatever’s going on inside the mindscape.

 

 

 

Mindshape [Noncombat]

Whilst inside a Mindscape, the Savant may change anything within it (their own, or another’s, so long as they are granted permission OOCly). This includes their or other’s forms, the landscape, etc. Savants are also capable of this in their own regular dreams.

 

Redlines

Spoiler

- Cannot somehow be used to trick someone into thinking what they’re seeing is ‘real’, nor can it harm them (i.e. trying to induce a seizure via bright, flashing lights).

- Cannot control another’s Mindscape without OOC permission (and the possession of a Conduits of Enlightenment FA.

 

The Infinite Stay [Noncombat]

When a Savant becomes so entrenched in the stories they weave within their Mindcape, they might become so absorbed that they decide to stay. After a week of being inside their Mindscape, their body will enter a state of dormancy not unlike what the First Av-Taeleh endured. Sustaining themselves on their mana alone, the Savant will enter a comatose state, unable to be roused without nigh-fatal damage or the Savant willingly choosing to leave. Welcome to Hotel California.

 

This acts as an alternative to the Theorem of Midpoint shelving method, or as another flavorful shelving method.

 

Redlines

Spoiler

- Follows the same general principle of Shelving & the Theorem.

- Cannot be used to escape combat / ‘become immortal’. 

- Should they begin to bleed out, be crushed, etc. they will be forcefully re-awakened.

 

 

Purpose ✦

Had a discussion with someone this morning about how absurdly abused Conduits have been. I’ve witnessed people force others into their mindscape, force prophecy RP on people (without telling them they’re using Conduit lore), generally do a lot whilst purposefully being vague about redlines/mechanics, RP as 10 year old Conduits, and much more which practically goes against everything the present lore stands for. So, I whipped this up in just a day, formatting, lore, dividers, and all (though I’ve been wanting to rewrite it for a while anywho). F*** it we ball. 

 

Conduits was in need of a revamp either way, so I figured I’d try my hand at a rewrite rather than many amendments. This write aims to expand much more on Conduit lore, whilst fixing some issues I’ve observed over the years (namely, people not knowing whether or not it was a Feat, abusing sparsely redlined abilities, etc) and hopefully stopping the rampant feat-collection I’ve seen.

 

Credits ✦

TreeSmoothie – Writing

Timberbuff – Current Conduit lore, 2021

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/203574-✓-world-lore-conduits-of-enlightenment/ 

Booklight12 – Original Conduit lore, 2015

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/121243-lore-conduits-of-enlightenment/

 

 

Changelog ✦

Spoiler

11/21/23 - Discarded personality redlines, lessened restrictions

 

[Air 649]

14 minutes ago, TreeSmoothie said:

I’ve witnessed people force others into their mindscape, force prophecy RP on people

not trying to argue or anything but just saying that you should report anyone blatantly breaking redlines

• Passengers must be willing, cannot bring an unwilling subject into the mindscape.

• Passengers may exit at any time.

• The practitioner and Passengers are all aware that they are currently in the mind of another, and cannot be tricked into thinking that it is the real world. 

[TreeSmoothie 4938]

Just now, Air said:

not trying to argue or anything but just saying that you should report anyone blatantly breaking redlines

 

• Passengers must be willing, cannot bring an unwilling subject into the mindscape.

• Passengers may exit at any time.

• The practitioner and Passengers are all aware that they are currently in the mind of another, and cannot be tricked into thinking that it is the real world. 

I did

If a handful of people break a redline, that's a them issue: but if that many people keep breaking the redline, it's a lore issue, imo

[ClassyDryad 1733]

I'd argue the age needed should be equalized for all races since implies aging and metal differences to different races that aren't existent (and ones st has tried to remove due to some people playing elves like children well past adulthood.)

 

I do like the idea of someone becoming so enlightened they go into stasis for a few decades though.

[Wizry 435]

I feel as if this is kinda unneeded.

"Had a discussion with someone this morning about how absurdly abused Conduits have been. I’ve witnessed people force others into their mindscape, force prophecy RP on people (without telling them they’re using Conduit lore), generally do a lot whilst purposefully being vague about redlines/mechanics, RP as 10 year old Conduits, and much more which practically goes against everything the present lore stands for."

If conduits lore, in your witnessing, is being used in such a way where people are abusing it while ignoring the purposeful redlines - it's up to you to outright state that it is being abused and make a request against them or bring it up. Timber's lore is an easy lore that is easy to comprehend while granting to its users some minor abilities that don't need a feat. This overcomplicates what was a lore that was relatively vague with some redlines.

To be blunt, I think this application goes against what the present lore stands for, "The true power of the mind is not in its capacity for suffering, but its capacity for telling a story.". And this would kill much story-telling potential by being overzealous in its need to 'structure'-ize something that doesn't require it. I, as a user of the Conduits lore, would honestly much prefer that the current lore's redlines are just enforced better rather than make this a feat with these guidelines.

[bloomtiara 368]

 

Quote

"The personalities of savants & sages will vary widely, though all have some things in common: ☽ They react little to insults and have a moral code; this can be anything, from a defined set to more typical ‘do not harm, do not steal’, etc and should not change often. ☽ Physical ‘things’ (i.e. money, land) mean little to the savant; they are hesitant, and usually downright repulsed, by over-the-top romance or extreme power."

 

i heavily dislike this, from multiple things, but more or less ^^^ this part. it takes away some emotional freedom from characters using it, as in my opinion, you can know yourself and still be over the top. it's an inner emotional thing, not an outer thing or showcase of stoic-ness. I also dislike it because it's essentially pushing people away from the freedom that it was, and all characters that have it being morally strict and less emotional. knowing yourself doesn't mean you should be less emotional because of it, people vary greatly, and making all characters with this the "sage" kind of stoic archetype, even if freeform, doesn't sit well with me.

[TreeSmoothie 4938]

4 minutes ago, ClassyDryad said:

I'd argue the age needed should be equalized for all races since implies aging and metal differences to different races that aren't existent (and ones st has tried to remove due to some people playing elves like children well past adulthood.)

I based it off how long races live, just trying to make it so they have to be reasonably old - and may or may not have forgotten about the retcon for elves LOL

 

2 minutes ago, bloomtiara said:

 

 

i heavily dislike this, from multiple things, but more or less ^^^ this part. it takes away some emotional freedom from characters using it, as in my opinion, you can know yourself and still be over the top. it's an inner emotional thing, not an outer thing or showcase of stoic-ness. I also dislike it because it's essentially pushing people away from the freedom that it was, and all characters that have it being morally strict and less emotional. knowing yourself doesn't mean you should be less emotional because of it, people vary greatly, and making all characters with this the "sage" kind of stoic archetype, even if freeform, doesn't sit well with me.

Thank yall for the feedback!! was thinking abt this whilst writing, I'll def cut the bits about Personality out

[Air 649]

25 minutes ago, TreeSmoothie said:

26 minutes ago, Air said:

I did

If a handful of people break a redline, that's a them issue: but if that many people keep breaking the redline, it's a lore issue, imo

 

not necessarily, esp when the redline is as clear as “you literally cannot do this or else you’re breaking lore”

 

id understand it being a lore issue if the redlines were more vague, but i cant rlly speak on experiences with people powergaming this lore because i dont normally run into people using it. only some friends and the original lore writer Booklight (who made a very unique and interesting rp scenario using it)

[Rayalia 287]

This feels nothing like what the original (and the updated) mindscape lore was going for. The attempt to improve it is appreciated but, personally, I feel this restricts the freedom of mind far too much. If someone is abusing the current lore, that's to be reported and taken care of on a case to case basis. I have rped with many players that use mindscape rp and I haven't seen anyone who has broken a redline (and I am a stickler for following redline rules). Perhaps you're just rping with the wrong people?

[Turbo_Dog 1442]

Would the age requirement be even for klones that have become younger? Or would it go inactive until the age is reached again?

[MeteorDragon 2851]

I pretty much have to agree with everyone else on this. It feels like it's restricting people far too much for something that isn't even a feat in it's current stage. From the age requirements to the fact that some creatures are unable to be "enlightened" even though they have souls(some undead are listed as being unable to be enlightened while also saying they can have corrupted mindscapes), I just don't like the way it's going. It feels weird as well to force certain personalities on people who just want to have some fun with mindscape RP, I generally just don't like it.

As others have said, if people were abusing it, then report them for abusing it. It's not an issue with the lore, it's an issue with who is using it. All this will do is make people write a little before they become a Conduit. You can add as many redlines as you want, but if people are ignoring the redlines in the current write, who's going to stop them from ignoring them in this write?

[bloomtiara 368]

Also, while the attempt to spruce up old lore is very cool and all, I also don't understand this section either. The old lore is world lore, and is extremely freeform. So how would this be tracked and turned into a Feat, given how it stands now? How would they begin this? There's little to no way to track it other than going through however many people's logs, unless we're grandfathering world lore or something along those lines. It's very freeform to begin with, restricted only by people's storytelling imagination, and I don't think should be restrained like this. If people are breaking the old redlines, then they should be reported for it.

Quote

"Conduits of Enlightenment is a Misc-Magic feat that requires either: a teacher that has had their FA for Two OOC Months OR a post detailing the character’s journey on enlightenment to learn. This post should have effort put into it, not a simple 1-2 paragraph jotting."

 

[TreeSmoothie 4938]

6 minutes ago, Turbo_Dog said:

Would the age requirement be even for klones that have become younger? Or would it go inactive until the age is reached again?

 

1 minute ago, MeteorDragon said:

I pretty much have to agree with everyone else on this. It feels like it's restricting people far too much for something that isn't even a feat in it's current stage. From the age requirements to the fact that some creatures are unable to be "enlightened" even though they have souls(some undead are listed as being unable to be enlightened while also saying they can have corrupted mindscapes), I just don't like the way it's going. It feels weird as well to force certain personalities on people who just want to have some fun with mindscape RP, I generally just don't like it.

As others have said, if people were abusing it, then report them for abusing it. It's not an issue with the lore, it's an issue with who is using it. All this will do is make people write a little before they become a Conduit. You can add as many redlines as you want, but if people are ignoring the redlines in the current write, who's going to stop them from ignoring them in this write?

 

 

1 minute ago, bloomtiara said:

Also, while the attempt to spruce up old lore is very cool and all, I also don't understand this section either. The old lore is world lore, and is extremely freeform. So how would this be tracked and turned into a Feat, given how it stands now? How would they begin this? There's little to no way to track it other than going through however many people's logs, unless we're grandfathering world lore or something along those lines. It's very freeform to begin with, restricted only by people's storytelling imagination, and I don't think should be restrained like this. If people are breaking the old redlines, then they should be reported for it.

 

In the end I wrote this because I thought it was a much larger issue; but I see that def isn't the case, I'm glad for the quick feedback!! I'd be glad to rescind the post, though, before that, I'm wondering what the consensus is on the main issues I spoke about in the Purpose section: should there be an amendment instead detailing that children shouldn't be able to inherit/learn it at their age? Or are both of those fine?

[Andustar 2128]

52 minutes ago, TreeSmoothie said:

Personality

The personalities of savants & sages will vary widely, though all have some things in common:

☽ They react little to insults and have a moral code; this can be anything, from a defined set to more typical ‘do not harm, do not steal’, etc and should not change often.

☽ Physical ‘things’ (i.e. money, land) mean little to the savant; they are hesitant, and usually downright repulsed, by over-the-top romance or extreme power.

I feel like this subtracts from the concept of having a unique mental landscape by imposing a mental code and total harmony. Imagine the aesthetic options people could explore with say a more radical or harsh mindset. A swelling anger they can control through sheer will and concentration, manifesting as something akin to a wartorn or volcanic region, littered with battered banners, weapons and fire.

Furthermore, what about mindscapes in which people are thinking of themselves as ther rulers of their own worlds? Imagine a greedy mental landscape of gold or riches. E.g. a vast vault of perceived or desired wealth. Even if we did not go that far, 'attachment' to physical things could make for an interesting set of details in a person's mind. Say they were a blacksmith whose mindscape possessed a standing copy of every weapon they might have forged? I think that could make for some really interesting roleplay and I believe you are missing something here.

As for the romantic distance aspect, it looks to me that this is an attempt to expand upon simply saying 'No FTB'. Instead of forcing people to become hermits, I reckon it would be better to keep it simple and block the degeneracy, or just outline that romance in general is impossible within the mindscape. Whilst I appreciate you are trying to stop deplorable RP, I think it is a bit much in this case. 

[Wizry 435]

6 minutes ago, TreeSmoothie said:

 

 

 

In the end I wrote this because I thought it was a much larger issue; but I see that def isn't the case, I'm glad for the quick feedback!! I'd be glad to rescind the post, though, before that, I'm wondering what the consensus is on the main issues I spoke about in the Purpose section: should there be an amendment instead detailing that children shouldn't be able to inherit/learn it at their age? Or are both of those fine?

Kinda isn't that big a deal honestly. Again, it's not a lore that's meant to be anything but for story-telling.

Children are often more imaginative with their heads than adults. If someone wants to use this lore to express that, they should be able to.