Pengin 292 Popular Post Share Posted December 2, 2024 =| Sprites |= - the faeries of a thousand whims - Spoiler Spoiler In the event this rewrite is accepted and implemented, we would like to request that all players with an actively accepted sprite CA receive the chance to tweak, or totally overhaul should they choose to, their sprite's design. This is to ensure older sprite players would get a chance to utilize the full extent of the aesthetic options the CA would receive in this rewrite. Also please delete this spoiler if the rewrite is accepted 👍 -| Origins |- by Gilbert Williams Amongst the sprawling, twisted, erratic lands of Eternal Forest is life as wondrous as it is confusing. Strewn with the threads of life unbound from mortal logic, fae-kin are more often than not beyond whatever mundane concepts are held by mortals. Sprites are among the most prime examples of this, fairy-like creatures that break every boundary of reality that descendents hold dear within their minds. Whispers from across the realm theorize what sort of otherworldly forces may have led to their creation, the truth of such woven deep within the secrets of a land beyond mortal concepts. Beginning as nothing more than a handful of scattered seeds, the first sprites were sparked to life by an archaic fae curious about curiosity itself. Upon the first full moon to pass since the scattering of the seeds, the first generation of spritelings would blossom beneath the moon’s blessing, arising from the land as they took in the essence of life that surrounded them. Embedded with a deep sense of insatiable curiosity and wonder, the sprites embarked on a journey, roaming the fae realm as they flipped every rock, tasted every flower, and watched every fae they chanced upon. With each encounter, the spritelings further their fascination with the world around them, each sprite’s muse seemingly different from the rest of their kin. Their melodies would resonate with the world as they explored, their forms slowly coming to replicate that which intrigued each sprite the most, whether it be fungus, plants, critters, beasts, or even other fae, taking on an increasingly otherworldly look with each adaptation made. As their journeys grew longer and the moon cycle circled once more, the fae rings would once again begin to beckon them. As the veil between the fae and mortal realm thinned, the sprites would feel the allure of the unknown once more. One by one they would disappear into the wayportals, flocking to the otherside like moths to a flame so as to discover what lay beyond. Once again would they embark on a venture, this time experiencing the oddities of the mortal realm and the descendents within. By the time the moon rose over the mortal plane, most sprites would find themselves disenchanted by the conflict, chaos, and clunky creations of mankind, fleeing to the fae realm to escape the array of dark arts, voidal corruption, and pollutants that mortals spread across the land. A handful would, however, find respite amongst the world before them, feeling a pull towards the everyday lives of the inhabitants within. These sprites would become some of the first fae to reside semi-permanently within the mortal plane, and while they would inevitably return to the fae realm as their kin already had, their intent to frequently linger within the mortal plane would never cease. Witnessing the estrangement of their choices, the fae would become satisfied with their endeavor, shifting into a state of dormancy once more. Every so often, however, another handful of seeds becomes scattered throughout the fae realm whenever the archaic being grows bored once more, bringing forth a new generation of spritelings to rise from the land. This event, deemed the Sprite Moon by the inhabitants of the fae realm, continues to this day, occurring several times a century without warning. While how many will appear and where they shall go is unknown to all but the sprites and their creator, each sprite moon grants the certainty that mischief will rise across the lands, both fae and mortal, as the spritelings venture forth once more. Spoiler - Sprites are inherently unaware of their creator and may not possess any backgrounds, memories, or opinions regarding them. Their only comprehension of their origins is spontaneously awakening within the fae realm. - Sprites may not have any background which involves lore-relevant entities, such as Mani. -| Mentality |- by John Anster Fitzgerald Behavior Being bound to seek what fascinates by the hand of the fae who created them, sprites are reliably unpredictable when it comes to their personalities and mannerisms due to their individual fascinations. Sprites adapt traits from flora, fauna, and fae that they derive their interests from, their personalities being wholly reliant on mimicking what they’ve encountered for a short while after their formation. This changes once they’ve wandered for a while, however, and start to determine what they favor over others. From this point onwards, the sprite’s mindset will probably form and sapience will be birthed, enabling them to push beyond shallow thoughts and start to develop more complex thoughts and emotions. Upon pushing past the threshold of sapience, the behavior of sprites greatly shifts. They will begin to seek out life which aligns with their developed fascinations, continuously driving forth in pursuit of this fascination. When combining this with their fae nature, which causes them to be far more aligned with nature than mortals might, it grants them a rather whimsical directive that is incomprehensible to many. This tendency to solely pursue their muses gives sprites their estranged reputation, their erratic focuses leading them to collect random trinkets and junk, create dens filled with bits of flora and fauna, explore wherever intrigues them without regards for a location’s inhabitants, and host nonsensical conversations over interests with those who pass by, amongst a plethora of other peculiarities. ✦ Trickster’s Tendencies The oh-so associated mischief of sprites is not an innate behavior embedded within them, the fickle-minded fae often first learned from observing fae, animals, and humans playing. Once a certain type of game sparks a fae’s interest, they adapt their own values to them before reciprocating them to others they meet. Combining their erratic penchants and mortal misunderstandings only amplifies these means, such as when a sprite may hide a sentimental or precious object in a simple game of hide and seek, to which a mortal may become enraged at what they see as thievery. These negative reactions are often viewed as engagement by the sprites who have yet to comprehend ill-intent, leading them to create more complex forms of mischief as they come to accidentally associate the irritation of mortals with amusement and fun. These tricks, while usually mundane, can occasionally be severely dangerous and even life-threatening due to the differences in morals and concepts between sprites and the mortals they’re toying with. Beliefs While a sprite who reaches the threshold of sapience holds intelligence on par with descendants, their inner thoughts are inevitably far from aligned with mortal races. The limitations of physics, laws, and general lack of magic within the mortal realm is lost upon a sprite’s logic, those who do make home amongst descendants never managing to fully comprehend the mundane restrictions that most life is placed under. Concepts treated as severe by mortals, such as death, laws, wealth, and other intricacies, are more trivialized by the mind of sprites due to their tendency to apply the standards and expectations of their own existence to others. These differences tend to lead to the wrongful perception of sprites as being child-like. When it comes to conversation and language, sprites hold similarity skewed capacity. While they host an innate comprehension of chatter by creatures within the fae realm due to their ability to commune, which often involves the direct translation of concepts, topics, and emotions themselves, tongues of the mortal realm are something they have to adapt to over time. Despite being able to pick up on the basics of languages like common within months, learning the dialects of more unique languages can often take much longer. Their tendency to view the world solely through their own experiences and notions causes them to improperly perceive metaphors, phrases, jokes, and references alike, typically skewing, misinterpreting, or rephrasing them to fit their own whims and intents. Additionally, mannerisms translated from their fae tongue, such as names being used exclusively when referencing individuals, tends to give people the further notion that sprites are incapable of proper speech. These traits tend to lead to somewhat distorted speech patterns, common speech habits being referring to all individuals, including themselves, in third person, constructing utterly nonsensical attempts at metaphors and jokes, and generally incomprehensible statements from thoughts that can’t be properly translated into mortal tongue. ֎ Merchant’s Motives One of the most famous known traits of sprites is their habit of bartering, a trait born from their heartfelt enjoyment of trading trinkets and items of their fascination. As one of the few concepts that translates well between mortal and sprite behaviors, it has become one of the most common interactions that sprites have with descendants. Despite being a rare common ground, sprites almost always fail to recognize mina as being exchangeable for goods and services, finding no value in currency which has no sentiment behind it. More often than not viewed as an insincere trade, attempts to barter Minas, or other currency equivalents, yield irritation and confusion in sprites who are offered it during attempts to trade. -| Physiology |- by Iris Compiet Anatomy While the true of sprites are ageless, incorporeal fragments of nature’s song equivalent to a Lesser Soul, each one hosts the ability to form a physical vessel to inhabit and experience the world through. The physical make-up of a sprite’s vessel is simplistic in essence, yet complex in possibility. All sprites have two marble-sized organs within their vessels which help facilitate body functions. The first one which is located in their head, always taking the appearance of a type of seed, helps to facilitate greater thought and perceive basic senses. The second is a glass-like core within the center of their torso, which helps transmutate nutrients into raw energy to supplement their vessel with. Sprites require both for their vessel to function, their vessel perishing should either be heavily damaged or lost, effectively ‘killing’ the sprite until they eventually reform. The seed within their head houses their spiritual form, the bodies of sprites quite literally sprouting from it and growing into an appearance favored by the sprite. These bodies, while always humanoid in overall form, are greatly varied in nature, capable of replicating the prospects of any natural or fae entity a sprite has encountered even just once prior. This leads to a slew of appearances for sprites, different traits including feathers, scales, mushrooms, flowers, moss, fur, flora, chitin, and more. These bodies can take an array of shapes, sprites able to possess multiple arms, legs, eyes, and other miscellaneous appendages, such as antennae and tails. A sprite may crudely mimic vocal chords by reverberating energy throughout their form, offering an estranged voice unique to the sprite. While not applicable to all sprites, many have a mixture of soft thrums, hums, and echoes within their words. Some occasionally adopt traits native to other creatures as well, such as speaking with the pitch of songbirds or slurring their words with depthful grumbles akin to a snarl. The endurance of a sprite’s vessel is rather low, the durability of their body ranging from that of a herbaceous stem for general portions of their form to durability on part with a beetle’s exoskeleton for traits such as scales, horns, and chitinous plates. Sprites may maintain their bodies indefinitely by absorbing natural energies from their environment, the energy stored within a sap-like blood that flows throughout their vessel. Sprites may bolster their energy by consuming natural substances related to the composition of their vessel. An example of this is a sprite with chitinous bits snacking on bugs while one that takes after a bird would favor munching on dropped feathers. In the event of injuries, a sprite will survive so long as their brain and core aren’t heavily injured , passively recovering damage taken to their vessel while [Out Of Combat]. Minor or moderate injuries, such as lacerations and loss of body parts, can regenerate over the course of [One Narrative Hour], while major injuries, such as a bisected vessel, will be recovered over the course of [1 Narrative Day]. This process may be expedited by the sprite over-eating, rapidly converting excess energy into materials to reconstruct their vessel. They may also be rejuvenated by a Druid with Blight Healing through Blooming, bringing the sprite back to its ideal state at the same energy expense as restoring a small bush. ઈ Spriteling Wings [Flight] The most recognizable trait of the sprites, their wings, serve as method to explore without restraint. While their appearance tends to vary in shape and quantity, the design doesn't impact their ability to fly. This is because a sprite’s flight is not physically bolstered, but rather magical in function, allowing them to seemingly levitate, float, and flutter around irrelevant of the motions their wings make. This capability is lost in the event their wings are damaged or destroyed, only being returned once the sprite has had time to regenerate. ҉ Faerie Dust [Magic Aura] The unique manifestation of a sprite’s magic, their dust, is a byproduct of their tendency to materialize mana. Faerie dust takes on coloration that resembles a sprite’s current vessel and hosts a sand-like consistency and kuila-like appearance. When a sprite channels their fae magic for any purpose, faerie dust is formed where their mana flows, replacing the usually ethereal tells of most mages with flowing patterns and streams of dust around a sprite’s body in a pattern reminiscent of a sprite’s appearance. Should a sprite cease using magic, then the faerie dust fizzles into thin air. The sole exception to this, which grants sprites a notable reputation, is when a sprite flies. The mana circulated with a sprite’s wings crystallizes as part of their vessel, slowly sapping sprites of their energy and exhausting them should they fly for great durations of time. This dust then breaks off from the wings due to their unstable formation, remaining materialized as it scatters to the ground. Faerie dust’s luxurious quality, behavior of constantly shimmering and glowing, and common misconception that it can grant wishes gives it a status as a highly valuable material, usually being sought after by those who wish to display their wealth or try to line their pockets with coins. Spoiler - The aesthetics of sprites may replicate any natural or fae traits, although they must always be definitively fae in presence. Please do not try to be a Tinkerbell ripoff, at least make your skin blue or something. - Extra appendages may have application within limitation. Extra limbs and functional appendages, such as more arms, antennae, or a prehensile tail, may function freely while [Out of Combat]. While [In Combat], the mental strain will nullify any functions of extra appendages, limiting the sprite to [2] arms and [2] legs. - Faerie dust is a delicate substance which loses its shimmering quality should it be crushed or ground up beyond its original formation. - Faerie dust materialized during casting will dissipate upon nearing something physical, making it impossible to blind or harm people with it. - Faerie dust is a player-signed reagent that must be gathered from sprites should one wish to use it in crafts. Attempts to loophole or abuse the CA to mass produce faerie dust may warrant ST intervention. - Sprites must have a recognizable humanoid shape, but deformities and unnatural proportions are allowed. - Sprites are effectively immortal should their fae seed and core remain undamaged, being able to eventually recover regardless of how tattered their vessel becomes. However, should the connection between the two is severed, such as if a sprite is beheaded, then the vessel will still perish. - A sprite's corpse leaves behind material remains of their body, although it will decompose over time akin to any other organic matter. Moonlit Forms The vessel of a sprite serves as its manner of interaction with the world around them, but the extent a sprite can manifest its energy is only so lenient. To circumvent their limited forms, sprites hold an inherent art which enables them to alter the size of their vessel depending on their intents, altering what feats their vessel can perform. A sprite may spend [2 Emotes], or [3 Emotes] while [In Combat], to expand or condense their vessel, letting them shift between their Waning and Waxing forms as they please. [Focus] [Begin Shifting] [Finishing Shifting] ☾ Waning Form [Mobility] The more stereotypical form associated with sprites is their Waning Form, being a mere [6”/15cm] to [10”/25cm] in height. Sprites are capable of freely fluttering about within this form, able to fly up to [5 Blocks/Meters] above a surface. Combining this with their lightweight nature, sprites can comfortably traverse most landscapes, both of the wilds and of cities, often bounding along vertical surfaces to scale cliffs or buildings they’d be otherwise incapable of flying up to normally. ☽ Waxing Form [Interaction] The larger, less-prevalent form of sprites which is utilized to interact with things they’d be otherwise incapable of interacting with. While incapable of flight, this form stands from [2’/60cm] to [3’/92cm], the increased size allowing sprites to handle and carry items and trinkets that would be too clunky to grasp in their smaller form. Spoiler - Flight may not be used to bypass mechanical barriers without explicit permission (locked doors, high walls, etc.). Access to capitals and lairs require PRO approval of said realm or lair. Access to non-capital settlements requires RO approval. - ET may permit sprites to fly beyond their limited height during events. - Interrupting a sprite’s form shift will cause the sprite to rebound to the form they were in. - Injuries will shrink and grow alongside a sprite’s current form. Being in a certain form does not make an injury more or less lethal nor does it change how long it takes to recover. - Sprites may not throw potions in their Waning Form, nor may they accurately drop them on people while [In Combat]. Do not try to bomb people like a B-52 during CRP, this is not allowed. -| Sprite Abilities |- by Charles Vess Nature’s Communion [Passive] [Druidic Communion] Sprites possess a natural affinity to resonate with nature’s song, able to passively echo a melody of their own. Through this sixth sense, a sprite may freely communicate with nature, fae, and druids alike within [15 Blocks/Meters]. Sprites may transmit emotions, messages, and abstract visuals through this, as well as passively perceive and interpret the songs of other flora, fauna, and fae. It was through this means of broadcasting their emotions that Sprites initially learned how to communicate. Even though many of them pick up body language from descendants or even animals, their innate natural melody will always take precedence. Because of this, their emotions often seep into their surroundings, causing the natural world to react accordingly. A Sprite full of anticipation and excitement might cause flower buds to bloom or bees to dance in the air. On the other hand, the grass surrounding a disheartened Sprite might lose color or lean away. Spoiler - Communion is limited to conveying simplified versions of their emotions and intentions while in combat. An angered sprite may share the concept of their rage and display the reason behind it, but cannot elaborate through communion on it. - A Sprite may attempt to convince a creature to calm down or perform an action, but their willingness to obey is up to whoever is roleplaying as the creature, whether it be another player or ST. The creature’s natural instincts and how they view the Sprite will always come first. They might find it easier to convince a butterfly or rabbit than a wolf. - Animal companions may be used in combat as long as they follow server guidelines concerning pets. - One must take into account the available senses and thinking capabilities of a creature or plant when communicating with them through this ability. For example, a tree might provide more conversation than a flower, but it still cannot see, hear, or smell like a dog. - Sprites may target specific entities within their communion’s radius if they are aware of the entities they wish to specifically commune to. - This ability may not be used to metagame character deaths, character locations, or otherwise any information they wouldn’t be able to obtain normally. - Animals or beast-like beings created artificially or by deities other than the Aspects (such as Hou-zi, Kha, conjured animals, etc) do not possess a song, and as a result cannot be communed with. If the creature’s lore explicitly states they bear a song, this redline may be ignored. - The reflection of a Sprite’s emotions on their environment has a 3x3 block radius around them. The effects must be minor and can never bring harm. Foundry of Fascination [Combative] [Appearance Alteration] [Camouflage] Just as descendants may hold an array of attire to wear, sprites possess a means to shift their appearance to their daily desires. Sprites may trigger a shift in their melody over the course of [2 Emotes], an echo resonating throughout their vessel as their appearance begins to shift. While not able to change the base of their vessel, they may alter the matter it mimics and small miscellaneous traits upon it. These changes may be small, such as a sprite sprouting a horn, or large, such as a sprite whose body consists of flower petals changing to look like they’re made of mushrooms. [Channel] [Catalyze Change] [☾ Waning Form Exclusive] As an alternative to a permanent change in their appearance, sprites in their waning form may also use this art to temporarily disguise themselves as part of flora. Once a sprite has chosen what to warp into, they may distort their body to appear as part of the plant, such as deeply mimicking a rose on a rose bush or a patch of bark upon a tree. This state is often used by sprites when they sleep, enabling them to remain safe within the wilds while they rest. This state is automatically undone when a sprite breaks away from their hiding spot. [Channel] [Meld into Flora] Spoiler - This effectively serves as a change of wardrobe for sprites, a sprite must still remain roughly identifiable as themselves throughout all non-camouflage changes. - The base of a vessel consists of the amount of functional limbs and appendages a sprite is described to have upon the approval of their CA. This consists of the amount of eyes, arms, legs, and tails a sprite may have. Minor aesthetic features such as horns, hair, the shape of a hand, etc. may be changed as desired still. - Sprites must remain roughly similar in size while camouflaging themselves, keeping their general body proportions and aesthetic features, such as excess limbs. They do not become an exact replica of what they camouflage as, but warp their body to become as close as possible to it. - Small or short movements will not drop their camouflage, but moving too far from their original position will still break the camouflage, requiring them to redo the transformation. - Sprites cannot fly while camouflaged. Any attempt to do so will cause the camouflage to be undone. Wealdweaver [Non-Combative] [Active] [Feat Enhanceable] Being fae entities born from seeds, sprites hold a particular connection to flora. Sprites may channel their energy for [2 Emotes] to enter a state where they may perform minor manipulation of small flora within [20 Blocks/Meters] of themselves. This state lasts indefinitely until the sprite is disrupted or chooses to end it, letting them grow or shrink flora in small bursts, alter their positioning, or force them to yield byproducts such as fruits and seeds. This art is most effective on flora around the size of a flower, but may manipulate small parts of larger flora, such as twisting the branches of a bush or causing part of a tree trunk to ungrow, leaving a hollowed hole within it. This art is typically used by sprites to sprout snacks from berry bushes and fruit trees or to warp nature into an ideal den. [Channel] [Connect to Flora] [Indefinite Wealdweaver State] Spoiler - While not particularly draining for a sprite to utilize, overuse will still lead to exhaustion. - Sprites may not grow or shrink flora more than [2’ / 0.6 Meters] tall or wide, being restricted to manipulating only portions of anything beyond such a size. - Blighted flora may not be manipulated. Flickerwick [☾ Waning Form Exclusive] [Combative] [Utility] While often fond of going wherever they please, sprites don't hold the ability to see in the dark. As a remedy to this, sprites can temporarily distort their vessel to become fully bioluminescent. By channeling their energy for [1 Emote], they can cause their body to glow vibrantly in a color of their choice, appearing as a pulsating glowing orb to any onlookers. This glow illuminates up to [10 Blocks/Meters] away from the sprite in a sphere, its glow seemingly fizzling away at the edge of its range. This state may last indefinitely once entered, sprites being able to alter the range of the illumination each [Emote] they spend in the state. The state can be cancelled by spending [1 Emote] to stop glowing. The fae light produced by this ability holds unique properties, capable of illuminating magical darkness and causes all entities with at least an inferior soul to shimmer within its illumination range. Additionally, illusions within the light will be unraveled, revealing whatever truths the illusion once hid. This enables sprites to not only safeguard themselves against common trickery, but also those who are with them. [Channel & Illuminate] Spoiler - This ability is not blinding in any capacity, nor does it hurt or strain the eyes of those who see it in any capacity. - Whenever the range of Flickerwick is altered, the new range must be stated in the emote it was changed within. - If the range of Flickerwick is decreased to [0 Blocks/Meters], then only the sprite’s body will be illuminated, causing them to stand out against any background. - Being inside the range of Flickerwick does not prevent people nor the sprite from being subjected to illusions, it only reveals that something is an illusion if within the light. Illusions outside the range will not be revealed as so unless they enter Flickerwick’s range. Sprite in Flickerwick State Source Dance of Dust [☾ Waning Form Exclusive] [Combative] [Evasion] Sprites are often perceived as shifty, slippery creatures with more than just a bit of justification. By spending an [Emote] tapping into their fae magic, sprites can enter a Dust State, in which they briefly convert their vessel and items upon their person into pure faerie dust for up to [3 Emotes] afterwards. During this state, a sprite’s body may phase through anything with a gap, such as cages and nets. Attempted physical interactions, such as grabbing them or striking them with a weapon, will phase through them and do no harm to the sprite whatsoever. Once a sprite has run out of time in their Dust State, their vessel will reform at the beginning of their [Next Emote], although may opt to end the state early and reform at any point in one of their three emotes of duration. [!] This ability may only be used [1 Time] per [Combat Encounter]. While [Out of Combat], however, this ability has no cooldown and may be immediately recast after it ends, akin to the sprite blipping in and out of the state. [Channel] [Dust State] [Continued Dust State] [Final Dust State Emote] Spoiler - Dust State may not be used to bypass mechanical obstacles such as city gates, doors, or otherwise inaccessible areas, although it may be used by sprites as an IRP alternative to /lockpick. With PRO approval, or with permission from those involved in a RP scenario, this redline may be bypassed. - When converting items into dust alongside their vessel, a sprite may only convert an amount of mass equivalent to their form’s Carry Capacity. - Only items being worn by a sprite or held firmly within their grasp may be converted, one cannot convert an item they are touching with one finger or are attempting to wrestle from another’s grasp. This redline may be bypassed with OOC consent from the player the item would be taken from. - Magical strikes, fire, and alchemy will still affect a sprite in Dust State. Physical materials that sprites have a weakness to will still apply their effects upon contact. Being injured by any of these means will knock a sprite out of Dust State, forcibly causing them to reform early given they aren’t killed by whatever struck them. - Large physical strikes, such as a shield bash, may still shove, although not harm, a sprite in Dust State if they can encompass the sprite’s entire body. - If a sprite in Dust State has their mass split up in a way where there is less than 60% of their body mass connected, then they will automatically end the state and reform wherever the largest mass of dust is. - Sprites can’t enter people’s bodies through this method. Why would you even want to do this? Do not do this. - Cannot cast any other ability while in Dust State. Promise of the Pixie [Non-Combative] [Magically Binding] Traders by nature, sprites rarely give or receive without bartering in the process. A common sight amongst sprites is to enforce their trades through magical promises. While the binding is not powerful enough to cause any grandeur harm, it often leads to descendants mindlessly making, then breaking, promises with sprites after thinking little of them. While the consequences of a broken promise tend to fade away quickly, some can last years, or even decades, after a promise was broken, causing great inconvenience to whomever made light of making a deal with a sprite. Sprites may make a magical promise between themselves and another willing individual by channeling their energy for [2 Emotes]. Before the promise can be made, however, a sprite must declare the exact terms of the deal to be made, after which they may begin channeling once the would-be promise-partner has IRPly agreed to the terms through any clear means of acknowledgement. The sprite starts by condensing the promise’s concept into an orb of energy, which includes both the rules of the deal and the punishment should it be broken, soon splitting into two glowing motes of energy with an ethereal threading bonding them together. After absorbing one mote for themselves, they will inject the mote into the body of their promise-partner, binding it to their soul. Should either break the promise, then they will fall victim to the punishment sealed within the promise at its creation. Should the sprite acknowledge that the deal was successful, then the promise will begin to fade away [1 IRP Year] after being made. Should it be broken, however, then whoever broke it will be subjected to the punishment embedded in the promise at its creation, or a random one should no specific punishment have been decided upon. While the punishments embedded within these promises are often more tedious and inconveniencing in nature than anything genuinely harmful, they are still greatly varied in potency and effect due to the proficiency of sprites in this particular form of trickery. Punishments can include minor things, such as causing individuals to become paranoid over eating their favorite foods, to more severe, such as hallucinations, or chitinous growths upon their skin. These punishments often last several years before fading away, the effects fizzling away seemingly overnight once the duration ends. Sprites may cancel any active promise of their creation by spending [2 Emotes] to sever the promise’s thread. The promise-partner must be OOCly alerted if their promise is severed, although they’ll remain IRPly unaware of it. If two sprites simultaneously promise each other for a deal between themselves, then the promises will be binded together. Neither sprite may sever their promise on their own, they may only be cancelled if both sprites sever their own individual promises at the same time. Transcendent Druids may sever these promises and relieve individuals of punishments as they see fit by spending [2 Emotes] to pry the fae affliction from them, although they must be aware a person is binded to a promise, or affected by a punishment, before they can do so. [Manifest Promise and Punishment] [Bind Partners Together] Spoiler - The logic behind the terms of the deal are subjective to the sprite’s understanding of them when being applied to the promise. - Punishments last [3 OOC Days] minimum before fading away on their own, although they may be kept for a longer duration, even indefinitely, at the discretion of the affected player. - Punishments cannot cause physical harm, alter memories, induce positive emotions, nor dull senses like pain. One cannot exploit punishments for combat advantages by doing things such as ‘removing fear’ as a punishment. They ought to be whimsical, mildly inconveniencing, and RP-enhancing. - The punishment does not need to be stated in roleplay, but it does need to be decided by the sprite at the time of creation. The punishment must be told to the promise-partner after the promise has been made. If no specific punishment is decided upon, then the punishment will default to the example table. - The side-effects of punishments are never strong or distracting enough to interrupt casting focus. - Promises cannot be made with conditions that bring harm or torment to other characters, such as having another person killed. [d20] Example Punishment Table Spoiler The following table is a list of examples that can be defaulted to when one doesn’t wish to select a punishment or doesn’t feel comfortable creating one on their own. This list isn’t a representation of the extent of what punishments can be, and sprites are encouraged to create their own whacky punishments which aren’t included in this list. [1] The punished individual's eyes become a solid color, their vision becoming lightly tinted in the color their eyes were shifted to. [2] The punished individual loses their ability to see a specific color and all its shades, instead seeing it as whatever color is opposite to it on the color wheel. [3] The punished individual occasionally feels something crawling, slithering, or skittering below their skin, causing mild discomfort. [4] The punished individual hears auditory hallucinations of joyous giggles and whispers nearby when they try to sleep, making it difficult to rest. The giggles and whispers slowly start to sound closer when they close their eyes, but become distant again whenever they open their eyes to check for its source. [5] The punished individual’s skin develops random patches of color across their body, often being inconsistent and visually irritating to look at from an artistic perspective. [6] The punished individual’s vocal pitch is raised or lowered by a noticeable amount. [7] the punished individual’s trachea will become laced with low-quality faerie dust, being expelled every time they cough or sneeze. They are additionally more prone to both coughing and sneezing. [8] The punished individual is afflicted with a random kind of color blindness (Protanopia, Deuteranopia, Tritanopia, etc.) [9] The punished individual loses their sense of taste and perceives everything they eat to be crunchy texture-wise. [10] The punished individual finds themselves tasting all food as soggy and cold, even if it’s hot enough to burn their mouth (although they will feel their mouth burning). [11] The punished individual has their hair naturally stick out as if it was electrified. This applies to hair on all parts of the body, although the force is not very strong, clothing or a hat is enough to weigh down the frizzy hair. [12] The punished individual finds everything around them to smell off and out of place, always being bothered by at least one scent around them. [13] The punished individual occasionally feels as if they got pinched on a random part of their body. [14] The punished individual is prone to sleepwalking, always waking up outside in an area where nature surrounds them. [15] The punished individual finds themselves randomly starting to speak in melodic tunes or singing in the middle of conversations. [16] The punished individual acquires a sprite’s sense of taste, being magnetized to sweets, treats, fruits, and bugs. Food that would be otherwise palatable to descendants will seem out of taste or lacking, even if it’s their favorite meal. [17] The punished individual often finds themselves unable to determine the direction they’re heading in, additionally having trouble determining the direction. They will randomly associate directions with incorrect or non-extant names, such as attributing both North and South to being called ‘Weast’ or ‘Est’ and the West and East to being called ‘Nouth’ or ‘Sorth.’ [18] The punished individual begins to hallucinate, occasionally interacting with food, small trinkets, toys, and even small weapons as if they were their close friends, believing them to be alive. The individual will be snapped out of this misconception should it be brought to their attention, but will resume the behavior after a few days have passed. [19] The punished individual finds themselves mispronouncing the names of people when they speak to them, unable to properly say their name no matter how hard they try. If they attempt to write the name, then their name will be scribed in gibberish. They can, however, refer to them by titles they may possess. [20] The punished individual finds themselves often distracted by trivial things, such as butterflies or minor goods in shops, and overly prone to wandering around once they’ve become distracted in this way. Second Whim [Non-Combative / Combative] [Passive] [Lifeline] While their evasive prowess and trickery tends to compensate for their vessel’s weakness, sprites would not be proper fae without a final trick up their sleeve should the worst come to be. While [Out of Combat], a sprite may forcibly assimilate the natural energies of fauna or flora of similar or smaller size than themselves, stashing the energy within the core of their vessel over the course of [3 Emotes]. Sprites will, rather notably, take on the traits of any entity they have assimilated. One with a mushroom within them may prefer darker, damper spots, while one who assimilated a hummingbird may find it hard to stay still, always wanting to fly about from spot to spot. Only one entity may be assimilated in this manner at any given time, and should a sprite assimilate a new entity, it will replace the energy of whatever they had previously stored within them. [Connect to Target’s Energy] [Start Siphoning Energy] [Finish Siphoning and Stash Energy] Should a sprite ever receive a fatal blow while possessing an assimilated entity, then they will be granted a second wind rather than certain death. Their vessel will split apart as the sprite inherently consumes the energy stored within them, warping up to [4 Blocks/Meters] away in a direction of their choosing before fully reforming their vessel. This process occurs over the course of [2 Emotes], the first of which triggering upon their would-be death, and second of which being their relocation and reformation, which immediately follows up their vessel’s destruction. [Destruction of Vessel] [Reform Vessel after Relocation] [!] Once Second Whim’s passive has been triggered, a new entity may not be assimilated for [1 OOC Day]. Spoiler - Can only assimilate entities with soul essence or very weak inferior souls with size comparable to their Waning Form. ‘Very weak inferior souls’ implies entities like small animals, such as birds and frogs. - Cannot assimilate anything that’s dead or unnatural, only living mundane and fae entities. - RP must occur for an animal to be assimilated, whether it be done while RPing with others or as self-RP. This process cannot be done as ‘background RP.’ - Any assimilated entity, be it a flower, a beetle, a bird, or a tarantula, will grant the same effect when triggering the death passive. There is no difference in the quality of revival depending on if you absorb something with ‘slightly more energy.’ - Behavioral traits derived from an assimilated entity do not linger if a sprite consumes their energy to revive themselves. The traits are gone the moment Second Whim triggers, and will only return if the sprite assimilates another entity of the same kind once their assimilation cooldown ends. - Death caused by corruption, such as Azhl or Voidal Blight, will prevent Second Whim from triggering when the sprite dies. - Any death which bypasses Second Whim’s revival will discard the stashed energy, requiring the sprite to assimilate a new entity after their rebirth. See The Endless Journey for more details on rebirthing. - Death caused by corruption, such as Azhl or Voidal Blight, will prevent Second Whim from triggering when the - Traits derived by assimilated entities are exclusively mental and behavioral, granting no combative advantage whatsoever. -| The Endless Journey |- [Rebirth] by David Wyatt Despite being heavily reliant upon their vessels to interact with the world around them, sprites aren’t reliant on them for survival. Should a sprite’s body be destroyed through any means, whether physical, magical, or through blight, their spirit will instinctively flee to a place of dense natural energy to recover and reform from the nearby flora. Even though a sprite may recover from ‘death,’ they cannot escape the consequences of their vessel’s destruction, losing their most recent [Narrative Day] worth of memories upon death. Despite losing their memories which would’ve led up to their death, sprites will usually develop a temporary fear related to their cause of death. While most sprites will have this fear fade away after several years, severely traumatizing deaths may ingrain such fears for decades or centuries, potentially even for the rest of their life. Spoiler - Sprites are effectively unconscious while deceased, only being capable of locating the nearest ideal resurrection point. - Post-death fears may not be specific enough to be considered metagaming. If killed by a knight with an axe then a sprite may become afraid of knights or axes, but not the specific knight or axe which killed them. - Only one fear will develop per death, usually regarding whatever stood out the most to the sprite prior to their demise. - Sprites have no lifespan, being capable of living indefinitely and rebirthing countless times. Sprites can still be permanently killed in scenarios such as ST events, such as if their soul is torn asunder, corrupted beyond salvation, or lost in another plane. -| Weaknesses |- By Shyam Art Corruptive Magics Magics of voidal or corruptive nature cast within [12 Blocks/Meters] of a sprite cause great discomfort within sprites, an innate sense of wanting to distance themselves from the source embedding within their mind. If cast within [8 Blocks/Meters] of them, their senses will become moderately distorted, a mild pain riveting throughout their body. When cast within [4 Blocks/Meters] of a sprite, they will feel a deep sense of dread and a large amount of pain, often trying to escape the vicinity of the corruptive arts at all costs. Greater sources of corruptive magics, particularly dark magic, which spread blight can cause sprites within [4 Blocks/meters] of their casting to be passively afflicted with blight. which will set in over the course of a [Narrative Hour]. A blighted sprite will have its vessel slowly wither away over the course of a [Narrative Day] unless treated. Spoiler - Sprites cannot determine the type of magic used or the exact location it was used from. They merely know that something corruptive to their beings were cast and the general direction it was cast from. - Sprites will not be affected by dark magic that lacks corruptive properties, such non-combative flavor spells. - Magic that's disguised by illusions or behind a wall/barrier will not be detected. Azhl An antithesis to all things natural and fae, azhl anemia will set in within [4 Emotes] after being wounded by azhl. If not treated within a [Narrative Day], then the sprite’s vessel will wither away. If a moderate or major wound is received, then a sprite will instead begin to immediately wither away, perishing over the course of [3 Emotes]. Additionally, sprites will feel a severe sense of dread exposed to azhl, often trying to distance themselves from any azhl they perceive. Thanhium Wounds received from thanhium will temporarily disable a sprite’s innate magic and silence their connection to the natural world around them for [8 Emotes]. Their abilities will be temporarily suppressed, unable to cast anything, and the sprite will be forced into the waning form if not already within it. While silenced in this manner, sprites will often express a severe amount of discomfort, becoming paranoid and depressed, until the thanhium poisoning wears off. Fire Being inherently floral in composition, sprites are often quick to light aflame. While burnt parts tend to fizzle off quicker than they can spread, a sprite’s vessel will rapidly burn away should a large portion of it catch aflame. Should a flaming sprite not be doused within [4 Emotes], their vessel will be burnt away and yield a death. Contact with fire will always yield burns one degree higher than what it might normally yield on a descendant, charring the sprite wherever it touched. Holy Magics As fae with abnormal souls, holy magics cannot heal sprites, nor grant them any beneficial effects. -| Compatibilities |- by minazoko0 While sprites possess a Lesser Fae Soul, which bars them from learning and practicing most magical arts of the mortal world, they aren’t inhibited from all of them. Their innate talent in manipulating mana allows them to quickly pick up on some of the less straining mortal arts when taught them. While sprites can manipulate mundane mana in addition to fae mana, it still ends up being channeled in the form of their faerie dust. This is a list of valid compatibilities sprites have with various magics and feats as well as special interactions with other lore present on the server. Any magic or feat not listed here should be presumed incompatible. Anything which is to be compatible with sprites will either require it to be specified in their lore submission or amended with valid reasoning. Sprites must learn compatible magics or feats from a valid TA-holder. They may not self-teach themselves any compatible magic or feats, teach it to other sprites once learned, or make a TA for anything they obtain. - [Magics] - Bardmancy Sprites may learn all facets of Bardmancy. Housemagery Sprites may learn all facets of Housemagery. - [Feats] - Herblore Sprites may learn Herblore due to the similarities it has to their inherent talent in floramancy, being capable of mimicking all facets of the feat through their [Wealdweaver State] with proper guidance. - [Miscellaneous] - Special interactions sprites have with various lore pieces on the server. Any magics or feats listed in this section are unable to be learned, merely interacted with. Kuila Crystals Kuila chunks, crystals, and dust within 3 blocks of sprites will react with a low glow due to their passive communion. Singing Trees Sprites may interact with singing trees without the usage of an index, although they may only read memories within it, being unable to add or remove memories. Fae Rings Sprites can utilize fae rings to freely slip between the mortal plane and fae realm while a full moon is present on the side they are currently within. Once they’ve swapped realms, they’ll need to wait until the next full moon to slip through a fae ring once again. Spoiler - While the fae ring mechanic may be used for narrative enhancing self-rp or to explain shelving of a sprite, it may not be exploited for secretive knowledge of the fae realm. - Sprites may use this to follow along on a Walk of the Aspects, although they will have to wait an [OOC Day] to return to the mortal realm if they do not return with the druids when they depart. Sprites accept the PK Clause of WotA by joining in on the event. A sprite PK’d due to this will lose their ability to reincarnate. - Sprites may not encounter any important figures within the fae realm or have backstories involving interactions with them. -| General Redlines |- - Sprites may not possess any genitalia nor may they FTB. This should be self-explanatory, but it’s listed anyways because there are bound to be freakbobs who would try to do it elsewise.🤡 - Be whimsical and have fun. Having fun while playing a sprite is actually mandatory <- real. - Sprites require a Creature Application to be made, and then accepted, before one can be played. -| Purpose |- To be blunt, sprites are in a rather mediocre state right now. They are meant to be a whimsical, easy-going CA which fills a niche for fae trickery, shenanigans, and light-hearted fun. While they do embody this in their current form, they simultaneously manage to fail rather harshly, for numerous reasons, at bringing the intended RP fantasy of the CA to life. This leads players who do pick it up to often abandon any commitment to the character once they start encountering the CA’s flaws. While sprites will likely never be a mainstream or popular race, it should at least be consistently engaging for the players who do choose to play them as a side-character, and especially for the rare sprite mains. To start with the most notable flaw, sprites have no ability to feel like a main character in their own adventure. Once players begin playing it, they slowly burn themselves out trying to exhaust their options to sustain RP, only to discover there is none. Prior methods of encouraging engagement and exploration, such as the alchemy reagent system, prove useless in the current rp atmosphere of LOTC (especially after herbs were rebalanced). They are unable to communicate, unable to provide meaningful engagement to others, unable to contribute to storylines they want to participate in, and unable to progress their own character in the ways literally every other race and CA on the server can. They have been reduced to being perceived as one-off gag characters by any non-druidic group due to their inability to interact with them, and yet they still find themselves unable to do much within druidic communities aside from flying around eating sugary hand-outs while others do meaningful RP. This rewrite brings sprites more in-line with the narrative power of Imps, becoming utility characters which can hold up on their own while having an overarching goal of being supportive to storylines they find themselves within. We hope to have achieved a total overhaul of their anatomy, behavior, and abilities to provide stronger foundations for RP, give a better sense of character progression, encourage healthier behaviors when engaged in CRP, and possess more reliable patterns as utility characters in events. Credits Authors - @Pengin & @Fleur___ Spell Advising & Balancing - A special unnamed individual General Review, Feedback, & Proofreading - @ClassyDryad , @Tav , @chaoscorvus, @DizzyGrey Imp & Sprite Consultants - @Turbo_Dog, @Periphonics, @Mikaelia, @Moumins Inspiration for Promise of the Pixie - @Agy References Previous Sprite Lore - https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/191706-✓-ca-race-lore-sprites/ Epiphytes - https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/217365-✓-creature-lore-epiphytes-the-dryad-curse/ Agy’s Sprite Amendment - https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/235446-sprite-fjarriagua-ability-addition-seasoned-dealmakers/ Changelog Spoiler v1.01 Lowered the distance that corruptive magics affect sprites from at all levels. Added redlines to clarify how their detection of it works and specified that casual spells from dark magics don't spook sprites so long as the spell isn't corruptive. v1.02 Added reference image for Flickerwick inside the redlines. v1.03 Removed Aurum weakness due to sprites being fae souls, not altered souls. v1.04 Added a redline against sprites accurately utilizing potions while inside of combat. No B-52 Bomber sprite meta. v1.05 Specified that Flickerwick, as a magical light, can illuminate magical darkness. v1.06 Assorted fixes to grammar, flavor text phrasing, and formatting. Removing contradicting portions of lore within Anatomy. Added two new redlines to Anatomy which detail what happens if a sprite's vessel is severely damaged as well as when a sprite is killed. v1.07 Minor grammar fix to Anatomy, as well as rephrasing of Spriteling Wings to be more coherent without changing its contents. 48 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GloomyGomi 197 Share Posted December 2, 2024 SO EXCITED TO PLAY MOTH MORE! on another note, as someone who’s been playing a sprite for 3ish years(?), it’s been a little tiring! people randomly decide to take your lil guy and torture them just for fun, and the current lore means you can only cry and scream as you die 😭 it’ll be nice to have ways to actually disguise oneself or get away/defend yourself! another thing i love is the means of talking more, as having to constantly telepathically commune with others gets tiring 😔 also having an irp purpose (bargaining) is going to be SO fun! it really fits the vibes of the fae well! hoping this gets accepted 💚🧚♂️ 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mi_Ni_Mi 11 Share Posted December 2, 2024 Period we love to see it 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrimnyaQuorum 1769 Share Posted December 2, 2024 32 minutes ago, Pengin said: Corruptive Magics Magics of voidal or corruptive nature cast within [20 Blocks/Meters] of a sprite cause great discomfort within sprites, an innate sense of wanting to distance themselves from the source embedding within their mind. If cast within [10 Blocks/Meters] of them, their senses will become moderately distorted, a mild pain riveting throughout their body. When cast within [5 Blocks/Meters] of a sprite, they will feel a deep sense of dread and a large amount of pain, often trying to escape the vicinity of the corruptive arts at all costs. Greater sources of corruptive magics, particularly dark magic, which spread blight can cause sprites within [5 Blocks/meters] of their casting to be passively afflicted with blight. which will set in over the course of a [Narrative Hour]. A blighted sprite will have its vessel slowly wither away over the course of a [Narrative Day] unless treated. hello void mage here - the lore looks wonderful! To be specific, however - Voidal magic is general is not corruptive, nor does it emit some radius or aura that creatures might be able to inherently detect. The only living thing that produces anything close to what you describe is a Voidstalker who has at most a 5m Radius of decay for only flora. While Obelisk/Tears/Hollows do have some form of a radius, their lore does describe how they function. It is a bit of a nitpick, but it is not really fair to say all void magic emits some unseen, unreferenced radius that only druids/fae entities can detect, despite the total lack of such references in any other lore or any similar effect across magic lore in general. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayalia 368 Share Posted December 2, 2024 I'd actually make a sprite CA with this lore. Shenanigans must be had. Someone hold me accountable to this statement if it passes. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pengin 292 Author Share Posted December 2, 2024 13 minutes ago, PrimnyaQuorum said: hello void mage here - the lore looks wonderful! To be specific, however - Voidal magic is general is not corruptive, nor does it emit some radius or aura that creatures might be able to inherently detect. The only living thing that produces anything close to what you describe is a Voidstalker who has at most a 5m Radius of decay for only flora. While Obelisk/Tears/Hollows do have some form of a radius, their lore does describe how they function. It is a bit of a nitpick, but it is not really fair to say all void magic emits some unseen, unreferenced radius that only druids/fae entities can detect, despite the total lack of such references in any other lore or any similar effect across magic lore in general. It's not a nitpick at all, it's rather helpful to have that pointed out. I'll make some changes to the weaknesses list when I get a chance and separate voidal arts from corruptive magic so they can have a more proper description. The weakness for this was taken from Epiphyte's lore page and amplified some, which actually specified some of these. I had generalized the weakness while modifying it for sprites without realizing the importance of its clarification. Corruptive Magics: Epiphytes have a natural disdain for voidal magic and dark magics natural to all of their fae cousins. The casting of a dark or void spell within 10 meters of them will cause the epiphyte to grow somewhat nauseous. This nausea becomes too debilitating to focus within the range of a proper voidal influence, such as a voidstalker, voidal obelisk, or voidal tear. Greater sources of these, or spells which corrupt specifically, might blight the epiphyte akin to a tree lord. When blighted (which takes at most 2 weeks after exposure) the epiphyte will become a feral and violent husk of their former selves until cured by druidic means. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzzie 419 Share Posted December 2, 2024 Yes PLEASE... I've wanted a fae CA and sprites as they are are such dead ends,,,, 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo_Dog 2398 Share Posted December 2, 2024 3 hours ago, Pengin said: Corruptive Magics Magics of voidal or corruptive nature cast within [20 Blocks/Meters] of a sprite cause great discomfort within sprites, an innate sense of wanting to distance themselves from the source embedding within their mind. If cast within [10 Blocks/Meters] of them, their senses will become moderately distorted, a mild pain riveting throughout their body. When cast within [5 Blocks/Meters] of a sprite, they will feel a deep sense of dread and a large amount of pain, often trying to escape the vicinity of the corruptive arts at all costs. Greater sources of corruptive magics, particularly dark magic, which spread blight can cause sprites within [5 Blocks/meters] of their casting to be passively afflicted with blight. which will set in over the course of a [Narrative Hour]. A blighted sprite will have its vessel slowly wither away over the course of a [Narrative Day] unless treated. does cantrips count or only purely combative dark magic? Also can they pin point the source with this or just know a general area? 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agy 627 Share Posted December 2, 2024 SPRITES!!!! : > I am so very happy to see the fated rewrite at long last and I wish all of you the best of luck! Sprites have always been such an interesting CA in the fact that they are quite simply one of the very few Magical CAs that aren't just altered descentants, but rather entirely new beings with their own wholly different nature. :} Suffice to say, I am very much rooting to see this lore piece succeed and thrive, they deserve all the funtimes that this rewrite would objectively offer them and more! <3 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werew0lf 16641 Share Posted December 2, 2024 13 hours ago, PrimnyaQuorum said: hello void mage here - the lore looks wonderful! To be specific, however - Voidal magic is general is not corruptive, nor does it emit some radius or aura that creatures might be able to inherently detect. The only living thing that produces anything close to what you describe is a Voidstalker who has at most a 5m Radius of decay for only flora. While Obelisk/Tears/Hollows do have some form of a radius, their lore does describe how they function. It is a bit of a nitpick, but it is not really fair to say all void magic emits some unseen, unreferenced radius that only druids/fae entities can detect, despite the total lack of such references in any other lore or any similar effect across magic lore in general. This is incorrect. 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MayRndz 1401 Share Posted December 2, 2024 17 hours ago, PrimnyaQuorum said: unseen, unreferenced radius that only druids/fae entities can detect, this already exists is the thing, treelords schizo out in the presence of casting too. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luxury 726 Share Posted December 2, 2024 Just now, Werew0lf said: This is incorrect. I have separate thoughts on this from Prims, but I invite you to show an approved Voidal Submission that states that a Voidal Fireball would have added 'Void' damage beyond it's Elemental nature. Several submissions, I.e. Sprites, Epiphytes, and even the latest Cleric submissions are using a template that includes Voidal Magic as a overwhelming weakness, where there is nothing necessitating it. Voidal spells, particularly the Evocations are by design counterparts to natural Elements. That should be the start and finish of these interactions. They are clear in what they do / do not do in most cases, and where they are not it should be addressed on the associated Lore Pages. I state all this in defense of the staple fantasy Mage class, that I believe is continually mishandled via Lore interactions in pieces beyond Voidal ones. Each submission that is approved with lines like what is included here is progressively harming the intended state of Voidal Magic as a Neutral Magic. I have similar criticisms of Tree Lords and Epiphytes, but I concede to the idea that they are simply made to be uncomfortable with nearby casting - yet even that is unnecessary to achieve the desired contrast between Nature x Void. Druids and Mages have coexisted for years without there ever being Lore officiated 'Void magic Corrupts Nature' statements, and have still created beautiful philosophical dialogues in opposition to one another. I've had the pleasure of roleplaying in many Void Magic communities, and have gained a general litmus test of the common player who uses the lore for their characters. Generally I don't believe we need to include opposition to every single Deific Magic concept (shamans/spirits, druids/nature, paladins/order, clerics/purity) in Voidal Lore. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marslol 1095 Share Posted December 2, 2024 1 hour ago, Luxury said: Several submissions, I.e. Sprites, Epiphytes, and even the latest Cleric submissions are using a template that includes Voidal Magic as a overwhelming weakness, where there is nothing necessitating it. Voidal spells, particularly the Evocations are by design counterparts to natural Elements. That should be the start and finish of these interactions. They are clear in what they do / do not do in most cases, and where they are not it should be addressed on the associated Lore Pages. I state all this in defense of the staple fantasy Mage class, that I believe is continually mishandled via Lore interactions in pieces beyond Voidal ones. Each submission that is approved with lines like what is included here is progressively harming the intended state of Voidal Magic as a Neutral Magic. I have similar criticisms of Tree Lords and Epiphytes, but I concede to the idea that they are simply made to be uncomfortable with nearby casting - yet even that is unnecessary to achieve the desired contrast between Nature x Void. Druids and Mages have coexisted for years without there ever being Lore officiated 'Void magic Corrupts Nature' statements, and have still created beautiful philosophical dialogues in opposition to one another. people co-exist with colds and other diseases all the time, im not sure if this is the statement to make? fae creatures and/or nature CAs are not ALWAYS druids and vice versa - a normal person with druidic magics and a normal person with voidal magic are, at the end of the day, normal people. they are still made up of descendant flesh and blood and bones, hence why they do not keel over and die like things of natural composition might. while it might not be necessary, it is perhaps an already well-stated and known fact that the voidal is the antithesis of all things. 'abundance of' vs 'lack of', which is where the voidal weakness of paladinism came from also. voidal taint via tears and hollows are examples of how voidal magic corrupts and blights the current plain of existence, as stated by prim, but that does not necessarily change the fact that voidal energy at it's core is inherently corruptive. it is less about the nitpicky parts of the spell and it's mechanics, and more about it's battery, so to speak. sprites in this case, are not descendants in any way - they were never descendants to begin with, unlike treelords, or epiphytes. they are specifically FAE creatures that hail directly from the FAE REALM, with bodies nearly-entirely composed of floral material besides their organs. if you want an example of more proper voidal corruption examples, i would implore you to read the Mani Summoning lore too, in which a group of voidal mages can in-fact corrupt a Mani, or a druidic demigod in such cases, whom also come directly from the Fae Realm. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luxury 726 Share Posted December 2, 2024 31 minutes ago, marslol said: people co-exist with colds and other diseases all the time, im not sure if this is the statement to make? fae creatures and/or nature CAs are not ALWAYS druids and vice versa - a normal person with druidic magics and a normal person with voidal magic are, at the end of the day, normal people. they are still made up of descendant flesh and blood and bones, hence why they do not keel over and die like things of natural composition might. When I state co-existence, I mean the communities of players. Players who use Voidal Magic, and player who use Druidic magic. I wanted use this section to highlight the fact that differences have historically been strictly cultural, for years and years and there was a kind of harmony that was present between the communities I feel has degraded with the modern submissions. 32 minutes ago, marslol said: while it might not be necessary, it is perhaps an already well-stated and known fact that the voidal is the antithesis of all things. 'abundance of' vs 'lack of', which is where the voidal weakness of paladinism came from also. voidal taint via tears and hollows are examples of how voidal magic corrupts and blights the current plain of existence, as stated by prim, but that does not necessarily change the fact that voidal energy at it's core is inherently corruptive. it is less about the nitpicky parts of the spell and it's mechanics, and more about it's battery, so to speak. This section in particular might be better informed by the opening line of the recent cosmology lore. I'll quote it here ""In the beginning there was nothing - a true state of nothingness - THE VOID. Though The Void existed as an abstract concept, it did not exist in reality. For without creation there could be no comparison; it was everything and nothing. And though it is now considered by most to be a source of great powers and energy, it is more accurately described as the potential thereof. Neither was this primordial state bound by time. Though living beings may perceive the slow burn of decades and millennia, the time before time was simultaneously infinite in its duration, and of no length at all. Suffice to say, what came before is simply incomprehensible to mortals linked to the forward temporal flow."" This section states what Voidal Energy is, Potential. That is the key term to help wrap our heads around it - it's incredibly abstract, and with good reason. 50 minutes ago, marslol said: sprites in this case, are not descendants in any way - they were never descendants to begin with, unlike treelords, or epiphytes. they are specifically FAE creatures that hail directly from the FAE REALM, with bodies nearly-entirely composed of floral material besides their organs. if you want an example of more proper voidal corruption examples, i would implore you to read the Mani Summoning lore too, in which a group of voidal mages can in-fact corrupt a Mani, or a druidic demigod in such cases, whom also come directly from the Fae Realm. I will concede that a group of Magi channeling quantities of sheer potential energy (as defined by Cosmology lore) into a Mani would / could change the being. In the same way that such a process could change any being. It also requires the intent to do so and ritualistic means, and is not consequential to ordinary day-to-day casting. It's a moot reference here but I am glad it is brought up, as I think Mani expresses a far more healthy interaction between Nature and Void magic that is fairly in line with accepted Lore. Simply, a Rock conjured of Voidal Magic is not some mote of sheer and vast Voidal potential Energy and does not damage (Nature or Fae beings) any more than throwing a normal rock at a plant would. It's energy that was once Potential Energy, that has been moulded and shaped into something in the same way that Cosm lore implies all of Reality was done. I'm sure these topics can be kicked back and forth quite a bit. My only real advice is to be mindful of which Voidal Lores explicitly state interactions with Nature, as some of the assertions being made about Void Magic being corruptive and blighting, namely any of the Subtypes (Evocation all the way through Alteration) are perhaps a bit misinformed. There are extreme outliers that are more likely to have the wanted effect, such as Voidstalkers and Voidal Tears. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.gif.31ccc16142e21b620ad6c6f6da6545e3.gif)
Recommended Posts