[✗] [Feat Rewrite] The Blessed Children of Ixris

[Navigator 4260]

 

“Along the shore the cloud waves break,

the twin suns sink beneath the lake,

strange is where black stars rise,

strange moons circle through the skies,

song of my soul, my voice is dead;

die thou, unsung, as tears unshed.”

 

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O r i g i n s

ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴅ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇ

 

Spoiler

Known by many names; ‘ra’liivengor’ or - ‘the blessed’ - by inferi, which recognise their craven forms as an allusion to their own, ‘cursed children’ and ‘fiends’ by many of descendant-kind, or more recently ‘devils’ as the majority of the modern afflicted have chosen to style themselves. An appropriate yet intentionally distinct term from ‘demon’, as they are often mislabelled. Whilst there is no true correct label for these creatures, devil is what will be used for the remainder of this piece for its simplicity.

 

The first known devils came to be as a product of the Zar’rokul’s final Bane; the Curse of Infernal Mutation (“zevirlat thaznitnak”), a spell gifted to the Naztherak of yore that had pledged a portion of their soul to the greater infernals: Velkuzat, Drazhana, Kiiztria, Kholidav and Zathairn respectively. When marked upon a descendant, the curse malformed their offspring to appear demonic, paying cruel homage to the zar’rokul and other inhabitants of Moz Strimoza. This first generation born of the plight became known to many as ‘cursed children’, shunned by most civilised peoples of Atlas and forced to wander an unforgiving world, typically hunted and mistaken for the very demons which mutated them.

 

Some accepted their position and sank into the dark arts, whilst others attempted to reject it; hoping to someday prove themselves worthy of respectable society. The majority cloistered themselves into obscurity, settling into lives of solitude as hermits, away from the mob. Their existence was not dependent on the practices of warlocks in their plane, and so when naztherak fell into obscurity in the wake of the Voidal Event prerequisite to the invasion of Arcas, the devils remained.

 

The origin of these malformed lines begins and ends there in the minds of most descendants, though beyond the smouldering borders of the High Hells lies a more nefarious truth. Whilst the souls of devils are whole and descendant, inheriting the same curses and blessings as the races of their ancestry, a remnant of the parental mark still stains their soul. 

 

In death the mortal souls of devils are obliterated. Whilst a naztherak may be twisted into an inferis and injected into the infernal climb in their afterlife, devils are guaranteed no such continuity. The whole, maleus-rich souls of devils gathered by the zar’rokul and their agents are offered directly to Ixris, serving as a steady tribute to he who sits atop the infernal climb who consumes the souls upon arrival. Undoing them for eternity. This is a fate which can be gleaned by naztherak or the ponderings of mysticism, as well as a mark which can be uncovered and understood by slotted seers of Vaasek. 

 

This fate can only be prevented by undeath, should the devil be resurrected in transit through the soulstream (a journey which takes one year as understood in passage of Aos and Eos time) or by seeking salvation from another cause before their demise. Should a devil become themselves warped by practicing naztherak or being transformed into a demon prematurely, their continued existence is guaranteed as an inferis. 

 

Alternatively, a devil might have Ixris’ stain cleaned or circumvented from their soul by answering the call of another god: devils which become heralds, druids, two-slot seers or another variant of non-holy deity mage in life, they will be spared their consumption and instead by snatched into their appropriate afterlife by the divines that would otherwise claim them. These guarantees are forfeit should a devil be disconnected from their affiliated deity before their demise, in which case Ixris’ mark would return. This is known to make staunchly loyal servants of devils that understand their fate, often obeying their chosen deity’s words to the letter in favour of the horrible alternative that would await them in death. This is also true of devils who become undead and are later slain, which are condemned to Ebrietaes as with all others that have tried to cheat Aeriel’s constructs.

 

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C r e a t i o n

ʀᴀ'ᴋɪᴇʟ ʟɪɪᴠᴇɴɢᴏʀᴛᴀʀ

 

Primarily, there are two ways a devil is made, both tied directly to the False Princes and their borrowed power. The lingering taint of the Hells upon the souls of Naztherak as well as a twisted ritual learned when they further dedicate their souls to the Pentacle are the mentioned ways; one is either born a devil, or one is cursed to live as one. However, as the ra’liivengorka spread throughout the world, and as the influence of the zar’rokul seeded itself deeper and deeper in the hearts of False Prince and Blessed Child alike, a third pathway opened; the Infernal Bloodlines.

 

𖤐 CURSED EXISTENCE: The firstborn child of a False Prince, after their pacting with the Pentacle, will inadvertently be touched by the Red Prince’s influence, and they will be born as a Blessed One. They will inherit the skin hue of their hell-touched progenitor; in the case that the Blessed One is a child of two Princes, the one whose soul possesses the larger infernal influence will be from where the devil inherits.

𖤐 INFERNAL BLOODLINES: A relatively newer concept, brought about by the spread and overwhelming presence of Blessed Ones upon the world, infernal bloodlines refer to the very tainted blood that runs in the veins of Cursed Children. Should a Blessed One have offspring, their child will, no matter what, be Blessed themselves, regardless of the possession of a non-devil parent.

𖤐 THE LORD’S BLESSING: The infernal ritual learned by Princes who devote their souls to the Pentacle, the Blessing is used to create ra’liivengor from existing Men, where the curse takes hold of their soul and warps their body, condemning them to live as a Blessed One for the rest of their lives, irreversible. There is no minimum or maximum age for one to be blessed; held back only by the malice of the false prince.

 

Additionally to the infernal traits that will be expanded upon, should a cursed child be born from Naztherak parents - not cursed children parents - they will also inherit the racial traits of their parents, with the exception of the afterlife in the Seven Skies guaranteed to Humans. A cursed child born from elven parents will have long ears and infertility, and so on.

 

REDLINES:

Spoiler

⛥ Regardless of the method which the Cursed Child came about, their primary progenitor (that being the Naztherak in the case of cursed existence or lord’s blessing, or one of the Cursed Children parents in the case of Infernal Bloodlines) will be noted as the “teacher” in the Feat Application.

⛥ Cursed Children require an approved Feat Application in order to be played, which includes their underlying race (Elf, Human, Orc or Dwarf) and their creator (Naztherak or Cursed Child parent).

⛥ In accordance to Racial lore, a Cursed Child will inherit the boons and banes of their underlying race, be they “pure” or mixed.

⛥ Cursed Children cannot be born to non-descendant parents, such as Kharajyr, Wonks, Hou-Zi, et cetera; similarly, these creatures cannot be turned into Cursed Children.

⛥ In the case of the magical creation of cursed children via the Narthruzhka ritual, all 3 participating Naztherak must include their MAs underneath the FA, as well as be listed as the teachers.

⛥ Connected Naztherak will only bear [1] Cursed Child naturally. If a Naztherak wishes to spread their influence and the Blessing, the Lord’s Blessing ritual will be required.

⛥ Disconnected Naztherak still bear the taint of the Infernal upon their soul. As such, if they did not have a child when still connected, their first-born post-disconnection will bear the touch of the Hells.

 

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P h y s i c a l i t y

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴠɪʟ'ꜱ ɢᴜɪꜱᴇ

 

Perhaps the most well-known fact about the Blessed Children of Ixris is their striking appearance. Due to their nature and the nature of the curse that lingers upon their soul, the Cursed Children carry the physical appearances tied directly to several aspects of the one that cursed them, cursed their parents, conceived them, or their cursed ancestors. These aspects are:

𖤐 MALFLAME COLOR: Tied directly to the False Prince that originally cursed one’s bloodline, the color of the malflame dictates the skin color of a Cursed Child. The tone can vary, just as the tone of a Prince’s malflame varies wildly, but the “base” color will always be the same. From striking, fluorescent greens to dulled, grim yellows, the colors from which Cursed Children come will vary as much as the color of the Malflame that cursed them.

𖤐 PENTACLE’S INFLUENCE: Tied directly to the False Prince that originally cursed one’s bloodline, though this aspect can also be inherited from an Infernal Bloodline, this physical aspect has to do with the Pentacle of demon lords - the zar’rokul - which rule over the Hells. They influence the physicality by embedding onto the body of the Cursed Child a minimum of three animal-esque traits, related directly to the animal associated with the Lord. These infernal mutations can be, but are not limited to:

𖤐 Forked tongues.

𖤐 Slitted, goat-like, small, large or entirely absent pupils.

𖤐 Coloured or translucent eyeballs.

𖤐 Serpentine tails.

𖤐 Scaly, snake-like skin which periodically sheds.

𖤐 Translucent, yet still unnaturally-colored skin.

𖤐 Hair and nails which bleed when cut, alopecia, a lack of nails or nails which grow black and pointed.

𖤐 Webbed digits.

𖤐 Horns of keratin protruding from the head.

𖤐 Keratin spikes which jut from the collarbones, shoulders, elbows, knees or all of the above.

𖤐 Feathers anywhere on the body.

𖤐 Goat, bat, snake, crow or feline-like facial structures and nasal shapes.

𖤐 Cloven hooves of keratin in place of feet.

𖤐 Pointed, fang-like canines.

𖤐 THE INFERNAL BLOODLINE: Elaborated further upon in their Infernal Soul, the Infernal Bloodlines that Cursed Children carry result in inherited traits and mixtures that are unlike the original. This is thanks to the genetics that Cursed Children are still subject to, meaning that, should two Cursed Children conceive children of their own, or should they come from Bloodlines of their own, this will result in the creation or prolonging of an Infernal Bloodline. For instance, if a red-skinned devil with Goat-like traits were to conceive a child with a green-skinned devil with Snake-like traits, the child would be a mixture of said colors, and a mixture of said traits, and so on.

 

REDLINES:

Spoiler

⛥ Devilish mutations cannot be utilised to gain any sort of combat advantage beyond what can conceivably be done by the likes of horns, pointed-nails, and so on.

⛥  Alchemy cannot be used to any extent to hide devilish mutations.

⛥  A devil’s mutations are part of their soul blueprint. Tawkin Klones of devils will always regrow with the same mutations as the original unless altered to do so by established lore.

⛥  Infernal Bloodline mixtures cannot be used to mimic or otherwise appear like any approved, shelved or defunct MA, CA, FA or Creature.

⛥  Infernal Bloodline mixtures are decided upon OOCly by the Cursed Child and their progenitors.

 

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M e n t a l i t y

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴠɪʟ'ꜱ ᴍɪɴᴅ

 

The curse that assails their soul, placed upon them by those insidious corrupted dragons, has latent effects upon their mind, as well as their body. The infernal taint carried by the malicious Pentacle of Moz’Strimoza has a latent effect upon their psyche in two ways; one more concrete and the other more subliminal, those being the devil’s Malice, and the devil’s Urges. 

 

The former is more concrete, and ties directly to the naztherak who originally cursed a Bloodline, and will be expanded upon. The latter is subliminal, and happens within a devil’s subconscious. It is worth mentioning, however, that of all the taint the Pentacle has placed upon these poor cursed souls, this is perhaps the only one that a devil can actively resist against, for these urges are innately unnatural. The malice, however, is intrinsic to a devil’s psyche, and is a flaw they will forever carry.

 

The Urges include, but are not limited to;

𖤐 The urge to consume, tied to the malice of Velkuzat. Be it consuming knowledge, power, magic or even people.

𖤐 The urge to terrify, tied to the malice of Drazhana. A latent necessity to be feared or to know individuals find themselves uneasy or anxious around the devil.

𖤐 The urge to indulge, tied to the malice of Kiiztria. Describable simply as a latent necessity to indulge in mind or body-altering substances, magics, venoms or potions.

𖤐 The urge to plague, tied to the malice of Kholidav. Perhaps the more broad of the urges, it applies the broader meaning of “plague”; one may choose to “plague” someone with sadness, or the literal act of spreading a toxin or disease.

𖤐 The urge of misfortune, tied to the malice of Zathairn. An unnatural happiness drawn from observing another’s misfortune, misery or disgrace.

 

Although these examples are tied to the Pentacle and their particular malices, devils may have individualized urges that draw from their own psyche and their own behavior - this is to say that urges develop over time, just as malices do - which is how the devils are able to identify their unnatural aspect.

 

REDLINES:

Spoiler

⛥ Although highly freeform and aesthetic, urges may not be related in any way, shape or form to the sensation of “lust” or anything related to the topic.

⛥ Urges develop over time at the discretion of the cursed child’s player, though generally following the timespan of; No effect from 0 to 5 years old, minor effects from 5 to 10 years old, medium effects from 10 to 15 years old, noticeable effects from 15 to 25 years old, and constant effects from 25 years old onwards.

⛥ Urges can be resisted by devils without much strain. It is an aesthetic, character-enhancing trait that, while “required” to roleplay - meaning that, even the act of resisting it needs to be roleplayed - is not mandatory.

⛥ Urges cannot be used to bypass, ignore, mimic or otherwise affect the mental effects of any MA/CA/FA that the cursed child comes to bear. Furthermore, should an urge overlap, conflict or “combine” with any of the said mental effects, the MA/CA/FA takes precedence over the Cursed Child’s own.

 

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M a l i c e

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴠɪʟ'ꜱ ᴄᴜʀꜱᴇ

 

Directly tied to the naztherak who curses a bloodline, or a child, the Malice a devil carries is, despite the curse, their own. Uninheritable and wholly tied to an individual’s soul, it behaves in much the same way it does in naztherak; a nascent feeling at the beginning that eventually develops into a personality-defining trait, with this growth being noticeable as it becomes more and more mind-consuming. The growth of a malice on a devil, however, is not to the extent it is upon a naztherak. A false prince plagued with the malice of Madness will, eventually, be wholly and completely insane - whereas a devil with the curse of Madness is able to recognise the unnatural aspect of their curse, and may resist it; trying to tell reality apart from their illusions and hallucinations.

 

These Malices are divided into the six malices of Naztherak, which are;

𖤐 Lies; the inherent and compulsive need to tell lies, half-truths, to deceive and mislead others, to create webs of intricacy and mystery that never end.

𖤐 Revolt; the powerful disgust that Descendant-kind utilises to discern what is right from what is wrong, is flipped on its end, establishing it not as pattern recognition, but as tool for practice, finding the mundane, the right, the wholesome, wholly disgusting.

𖤐 Temptation; the compulsory necessity to obtain one’s deeply coveted prize, acting out in earnest desire and twisted perversion. Desires both material and immaterial that lead one cursed with temptation to act with little thought in the name of such desires.

𖤐 Woe; the latent melancholy that afflicts Descendants is elevated to the Nth degree. Misery and distress become facets of life, becoming dependent on the feeling of hopelessness and desolation to the point that happiness, joy and mirth become alien feelings altogether.

𖤐 Desolation; the wasteland that is the Descendant mind when uninspired rings true in the psyche of a devil cursed with Desolation. Often withdrawn from others and having trouble recalling even the simplest of things, often coming to forget cherished memories, casting aside such fondness.

𖤐 Madness; the mind is a fragile thing, and even those untainted by the touch of the Infernal can only contend with so much violence, stress, hatred and pain. These devils cursed by madness are often the ones who, deep down, possessed some level of malice within their own hearts, whereas the latent madness of the Hells merely brings it out, through vivid hallucinations that loosen the barrier of reality and fiction.

 

REDLINES:

Spoiler

⛥ Malices are chosen by a Cursed Child upon posting their FA, and may not be changed later on.

⛥ The Temptation malice does not imply lust whatsoever.

⛥ Unlike Naztherak, Cursed Children may resist their malices. Although there is still some mental strain, it is not anywhere to the degree of mental strain a False Prince goes through.

⛥ The concept of Malices is not inherently known nor acknowledged to exist in roleplay, but can be inferred due to developing overtime and altering one’s personality to noticeable degrees.

 

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I n f e r n a l   S o u l

ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴅ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇ

 

The Red Prince, known by many as Ixris, the conjoinment of two malicious Spirits into one, a being of consumption, of dread, of sheer evil and the desire to conquer, is not one to allow beings to live carefree lives. The touch of Moz’Strimoza, the “realm” that consumes realms, is directly tied to the influence of the Red Prince. Much as his cruelty is shown through the Malices of the Pentacle when a Naztherak further pacts their soul to these infernal powers, it is through the direct meddling of Ixris that the devils, his Blessed Children, carry a personal touch of his own, the Infernal Soul. 

 

Fundamentally, a devil’s soul is, as any Human, Elf, Dwarf or Orc, a Greater Soul - though it is blemished with the taint of the Hells. Whereas regular Descendants are born and possessed of a soul capable of holding [5] Magic slots, Cursed Children - through the meddling of Ixris and his desire to see them either returned to the Hells via becoming Naztherak, or consuming their soul, has sapped them of a portion of their soul; this means that devils are born with a soul capable of holding only [4] Magic slots, whereas the [1] that is lost via the Red Prince’s touch are “reserved” should the Cursed Child choose to follow the curse that created them, and dedicate that part of themselves to Naztherak.

 

This is to say that Cursed Children have an unnatural predisposition to seek the brand that all Naztherak carry in order to liberate their soul to some extent, and avoid the consumption of Ixris that awaits them at their death and the passing of the soul. However, just as connection to Naztherak would afford them this release, so would connection to a Deific magic. As such, Cursed Children that become Shamans or Druids may utilise the “locked” magic slot to these magics, reclaiming them from Ixris’ influence.

 

Another fundamental part of the Infernal Soul is the Infernal Bloodline, from which devils form families, lineages and prolong the effects of their curse upon their descendants. Much in the same way the Houses of Humanity, Talonii of Elves, and the Clans of Orcs and Dwarves, carry inherent genetic traits - both physical and mental - so too does an Infernal Bloodline carry inherent traits tied to the progenitor of a bloodline; be it the naztherak who cursed a child, or the first-born devil of a line.

 

Bloodlines are rather simple; where a Cursed Child without a Bloodline will carry only the skin-color of the flame that cursed them and the physical aspects of the Lord that cursed the Prince, a Cursed Child that is part of an Infernal Bloodline will have wilder, more variable traits. As stated before, should a devil be born from a red-skinned serpent-like devil, and a blue-skinned goat-like devil, the child will possess a combination of traits from their parents. As the line continues, children are welcome to choose specific traits to keep. A Bloodline may come to be known for their ram-like crown of horns, or their distinct aqua-colored skin, or even the intrinsic pattern of their pupils combined from goat-eyes and snake-eyes. The aesthetic is entirely freeform, limited only by the established physical redlines of this piece.

 

The last aspect of a Cursed Child’s infernal soul has to do with the language of the Hells, the dreaded and vile Ilzakarn. Although a devil is not born with the inherent knowledge of the language, unlike other descendants, they do not experience discomfort or repulsion to its speech, and do not experience the burning sensation upon the eyes when faced with Ilzakarn script. Furthermore, their inherent connection to the Hells allows them to learn Ilzakarn through exposure to the language, be it via script or via speech.

 

REDLINES:

Spoiler

⛥ Cursed Children are born with [4] Magic Slots, whereas [1] remaining slot is “locked” and may only be regained if dedicated to the following magics (except in the case of MArts or approved exceptions):

⛥ Naztherak.

⛥ Druidism.

⛥ Shamanism.

⛥ Ordained Heraldry.

⛥ Ixris’ taint upon the soul cannot be cured by the aforementioned magics, except via approved MArts/exceptions.

⛥ Transformative CAs, such as Nephilim, Machine Spirits, etc, overwrite Ixris' taint upon the soul, reliving it of the slot loss, wherein the devil's soul follows all rules, redlines and stipulations of the CA.

⛥ Infernal Bloodlines and the mixture of traits cannot be used to mimic or otherwise appear like any approved, shelved or defunct MA, CA, FA or Creature.

⛥ The mixture of traits can, however, draw inspiration from animals and creatures native to Azuras or other realms that are related to or tie to the following archetypal animals related to the Pentacle, those being: goat, bat, snake, crow and cat.

⛥ Should a Cursed Child connect to Naztherak, the nature of their soul and their inherent connection to the Hells allows them to start Naztherak at [T2].

⛥ In the same way as Descendants may learn Al’tahrn-durngo via proper roleplay, Cursed Children may learn and speak Ilzakarn via proper roleplay learning. 

 

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P u r p o s e

ᴀ ʟᴏɴɢ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ

 

Hi! =) I want to start by saying that, admittedly, I’m not confident this will pass. I did this mostly on my own, with barely any help, and I tried my best to consult CC players that I’m personally familiar with that possess a variety of different opinions. This has been a long time in the making and something I’ve purposefully kept under wraps, but, as I said, I’m not confident - but I’m shooting my shot either way.

 

Although the currently approved lore piece around Cursed Children is quite good, and I have immense respect for Mordu and the work put into that piece, the timing with which his write dropped and the later on Naztherak rewrite, the Infernal Compendium, and more recently the Zar’akal rewrite have turned CCs into something a little obsolete. I chose to maintain the origin segment originally written by Mordu because I believe that, off everything, that was the only thing which did not warrant change.

 

Onto the actual purpose; I believe that, over time, Cursed Children stopped being Cursed Children and devolved into an aesthetic of pretty-boy/girl/person tieflings without any inherent ties to Moz’Strimoza and Infernal lore. I want to make it abundantly clear that I do not care if your preferred method of roleplay is Slice of Life, and I think I made it clear through this piece that most of the “drawbacks” - mental or otherwise - are able to be resisted/opted out, and serve only to enhance characters and give avenues to CCs who wish to further pursue their infernal roots. This rewrite aims to bring the “Curse” to Cursed Children, and make them feel like more than just glorified tieflings.

 

C r e d i t s

Spoiler

ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ & ꜰᴏʀᴍᴀᴛᴛɪɴɢ - ɴᴀᴠɪɢᴀᴛᴏʀ

ᴄᴏɴꜱᴜʟᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ - ꜱᴘᴀᴀᴢᴍᴀᴛɪꜱᴍ, ʟᴇʏᴅ, ᴛʀxᴠɪꜱᴛʏ, ᴀꜱᴍᴏᴅᴇᴜꜱᴊɪɴx.

 

[_Leyd 1010]

I should preface by saying I had no real hand in working on this, I gleaned maybe one or two blurbs and tossed around an idea with Navi previously, so as of today I was reading this proper for the first time.

Devils needed a rewrite and I feel like this honestly fits the theme relatively well. - Previously, CC lacked any real substance beyond being fucked up looking, hardly and fluff or much else to drive character stories save for the general 'go forth and do evil' vs 'go forth and break free' tropes that many players have done (very well, mind you.) - I feel like this allows for those archetypes to persist while adding more possibilities to stories moving forward. 

At the very least, this will show us where ST stand on pieces like these, and will allow us to conjure up something that might fit into the server's lore. 


 

[SethWolf 2340]

Malices are chosen by a Cursed Child upon posting their FA, and may not be changed later on except via approved exceptions.

Malices should not be changeable, for the same reason Naztherak cannot change theirs. 

 

 

⛥ Cursed Children are born with [3] Magic Slots, whereas [2] slots are “locked” and may only be regained if dedicated to the following magics (except in the case of MArts or approved exceptions):

⛥ Naztherak

⛥ Druidism

⛥ Shamanism

⛥ Nephilim.

I'm 50/50 on the magic slot restriction. If a deific patron could give you your magic slots back, then you could argue they could remove your curse aswell. Naztherak 'lose' their magic slots to the magic because their lord physically takes them from you in exchange for power, and adding it to Cursed Children makes them seem too Naz-adjacent when they have little connection to the magic outside of their curse. I'm leaning more towards removing this.

 

Otherwise, I overall like the changes proposed by this re-write.

[xo31 3979]

22 minutes ago, Navigator said:

⛥ Cursed Children are born with [3] Magic Slots, whereas [2] slots are “locked” and may only be regained if dedicated to the following magics (except in the case of MArts or approved exceptions):

 

What happens if one is already a CC who has all 5 magic slots filled ? Also, perhaps seer could be put here as well

Also, as seth said, this feels a bit weird as - as far as i know, devils still have full souls, they are just claimed by ixris. Naz kind of get their souls bitten off a bit in exchange for power (though I am not a naz player, just a CC player - and even then, I do not consider myself apart of the Devil Community)

[Navigator 4260]

Changelog Post ! ! !

- removed the possibility to change malice from redlines to reflect naztherak malice redlines since the system is based off of naz malices.

- changed 'nephilim' to 'ordained heraldry' in infernal soul redlines

- changed the slot loss from 2 slots to 1 slot. ccs are now born with 4 slots, with 1 'locked'

- added the following redline for clarification: Transformative CAs, such as Nephilim, Machine Spirits, etc, overwrite Ixris' taint upon the soul, reliving it of the slot loss, wherein the devil's soul follows all rules, redlines and stipulations of the CA.

 

 

why did they MERGE

1 hour ago, xo31 said:

What happens if one is already a CC who has all 5 magic slots filled? 

I'll include a disclaimer that existing CCs will not be affected by the changes because these are some big changes and I don't want to ruin storylines/impose on existing characters with the rewrite, though this is something that can also just be communicated to Management should this pass.

 

1 hour ago, xo31 said:

Also, perhaps seer could be put here as well

Vaasek's relationship with the Hells and the Pentacle is of extreme and abject hatred to my understanding. I don't see why Vaasek would care to 'save' or 'restore' the soul of something inherently infernal, specially when he can just gobble up the rest of it for himself - this was the thought process behind leaving out Seers.

[xo31 3979]

6 minutes ago, Navigator said:

Vaasek's relationship with the Hells and the Pentacle is of extreme and abject hatred to my understanding. I don't see why Vaasek would care to 'save' or 'restore' the soul of something inherently infernal, specially when he can just gobble up the rest of it for himself - this was the thought process behind leaving out Seers.

as far as I know Deeplore Wise he'd use CCs as an opportunity to **** with the hells plots. A seer Naz/CC is a Naz/CC under his control and he's less of a hateful being and more of a paranoid lunatic

[Panashea 3323]

43 minutes ago, Navigator said:

This is a fate which can be gleaned by naztherak or the ponderings of mysticism, as well as a mark which can be uncovered and understood by slotted seers of Vaasek. 

Shamans too please? Otherwise looks good

[_AzureLexi 766]

I'm luekwarm on the magic slots change, I think it's kinda double-edged. I like it lighting a fire under the asses of devils, but non-deific devils are already punished by the constant threat of oblivion after their death.

 

As someone who does (or, did at least) play a "slice of life devil," it has still been my firm opinion devils need more "meat" to their actual cursed nature, and I really like the mix of "Lord's urges" and malices here! Even for characters who "overcome" them, they will always be a ticking shadow in the back of their mind. You don't need to be playing a conflict-oriented character for the "cursed black sheep" vibes to give fun narrative pressure.

 

Overall, +1, I like any amendment to make Cursed Children more cursed.

[spaazmatism 1017]

i played a cc once i guess. 👍 all good changes

[Halfirate 135]

HOLY BASED +1

 

HOWEVER,

I'm going to give a hard agree on removing the magic slot thing; the 'temptation' Cursed Children face toward being driven toward going Naz or choosing a Deific magic to subvert their curse should be wholely an IRP push that is given to them based on the characters around them, and such a push already exists for Cursed Children without the slot restriction. The hells already call for them, and the addition of these mental effects further pushes them toward that path as it is. They're weird, strange, and ostracized in most locations as a reminder of what the hells can do to someone.

 

As somebody currently playing a CC, I love the idea of having the curse persist throughout their bloodline as a permanent reminder. By having two slots locked from the start though, it severely takes away the freeform potential of this and diminishes the impact of going that route as a choice. FOR example, you can't go fully into Bardmancy / Kani / Housemagery, or even clear the threshhold to make a Voidstalker! (A current possible route for escaping the hells)

 

55 minutes ago, _Leyd said:

Previously, CC lacked any real substance beyond being fucked up looking, hardly and fluff or much else to drive character stories save for the general 'go forth and do evil' vs 'go forth and break free' tropes that many players have done (very well, mind you.) - I feel like this allows for those archetypes to persist while adding more possibilities to stories moving forward. 

 

It also manually shoehorns them into the "follow your fate or subvert it" trope as a requirement if they are going to use all of their slots. If deific magic can 'free' them as a mechanic here, then why are they still not accepted by 'true' holy deifics? (I.E. Templars and Clerics)

 

Anyway, Without any magic, Cursed Children ARE just weird-looking freaks who are only vaguely connected to something greater, and they should be allowed to follow whatever path they like with the knowledge that if they don't pick a side, they're doomed. This is especially true in this instance, where the potential for actual bloodlines is a possibility.

[lemonke 6014]

57 minutes ago, Navigator said:

Vaasek's relationship with the Hells and the Pentacle is of extreme and abject hatred to my understanding. I don't see why Vaasek would care to 'save' or 'restore' the soul of something inherently infernal, specially when he can just gobble up the rest of it for himself - this was the thought process behind leaving out Seers.

Vaasek doesn't give a shit. Even better if he can have an unseen spy in hell- that's how he is been sowing chaos across demonic armies. Is someone is a seer but is destines to go to the moz, they still go to hell but still with vaasek's unseen influence

[ClassyDryad 2367]

Everything seems good but the slot change, this seems like its just punishing devils for trying to interact with any dark/void magic that isn't naztherak and would only serve to pigeonhole them into a couple paths. Also I am unsure if obtaining an CA drops this feat or not, and if it does not- do CA's that soulclaim you like machine spirit/epiphyte/nephilim not return your slots? This would also be doubly important for cursed children turned into inferi, does the inferi go to the hells or are they destroyed?

[Navigator 4260]

Going to answer to all the comments regarding the slot change with one single comment because they generally touch on the same points regarding the worry that it shoehorns CCs into a path and explain why I chose to turn this into a mechanic rather than leave it as a purely IRP push.

 

Why not a purely IRP push?

For the same reason Naztherak has many things that are mechanical pushes: I simply don't trust that CCs will follow that IRP push, because they haven't been. By making it a concrete mechanic, the key focal point of CC lore and the main narrative point that should surround CCs has actual drive and potency aside from just being an avenue that people can opt out of. Out of all the lore in the server, Moz'Strimoza/Naztherak/Infernal lore or Infernal-adjacent lore tends to be the most tyrannical in theme and this is observed across multiple pieces (Infernal Compendium, Naztherak, Zar'akal) and I sought to continue this theme by bringing it to CC. I wholly disagree that CCs should be loosely connected to Naztherak; this piece sought to bring Naztherak and Cursed Children closer together, while still providing avenues for other stories to stem from Cursed Children (Shamanis, Druidism, Heraldry, as well as just attempting to completely say '**** you' to Ixris and take up other magics, knowing you'll be hindered by the nature of your soul). All in all, yes, it is punishing and it is admittedly shoehorn-ish, but that is the way it was intended to be. I am willing to lower it to 1 slot instead of 2, as I recognise almost half your slots just for existing is a bit harsh, but I believe the feature itself should remain.

 

What about transformative CAs?

I should've added a disclaimer about this, but as a general rule of thumb, I'm going to utilise Azdrazi/Nephilim as the reference; should a CC become a transformative CA, wherein their Soul is dedicated to the CA's creator/deity/patron, then the soul is no longer in reach of Ixris, and is thus unaffected by the Slots lost, following all rules established by the transformative CA.

 

tl;dr:
- I'm willing to nerf/change the slot loss from 2 to 1 to appease, but imo the feature should remain.
- Transformative CAs will be added to the redlines as a means to 'escape' Ixris' effect on the soul.

 

@ClassyDryad @Halfirate @_AzureLexi I hope this answers and addresses primary concerns regarding the slot change =)

Edit: Changes reflected in the changelog post above. Slots reduced from 2 to 1, transformative CA redline added.

[Rig 17580]

I appreciate the way this piece has been expanded to produce more avenues of role-play for Cursed Children that are more clearly defined. I'm a bit too tired to get into the weeds about it, but I think this will bring about positive change for the Cursed Child feat. 

[PrimnyaQuorum 3999]

mrow