[Amendment] Wight creation and destruction

[MysticalWeasel 910]

 

Original Lore:
Rite of Consumption

Though the will of the mortal spirit often far exceeds corporeal limitation, the road may be tread for only so long upon the shackled feet of man. In a perilous effort to undo this wretched fate, a devout mystic may seek to achieve a greater state of undeath alike to the very phantoms they commune with; assuming a higher role at the cost of their oneness.

Spoiler

 

Mechanics:

 

To enact this rite, an occultist must subdue an apparition, whether found naturally or wrought by the Synod’s own enclave. Once it has been weakened sufficiently through draining, the to-be wight must wreathe their blade in ectoplasm through saturation, before striking the creature with the finishing blow. Then, with the apparition brought low and near to second death, three other mystics must begin to weave the apparition’s ectoplasm from the phantom and bind it to the aspirant. This would reawaken the spectral agglomeration within the mystic, sending them spiraling into a state of lethargy and madness as their body struggles with the apparition.

 

Over the course of 1 IRL week, the cultists body would begin to grow progressively weaker, unable to walk after the first day. Upon the second day, the occultist will be rendered unable to talk, and on the third day, they would be paralyzed, left totally vulnerable, and requiring the care of others lest they be slain. At this point, the character is left unplayable for the remainder of the week, completely unresponsive to the outside world.

 

This husk is then rendered the wight’s phylactery, their mortal body forever frozen in horror and malice as they reflect a twisted image of what once was. These fell constructions stand as a testament to the life once lived, never again to sleep, blink, or draw any breath — its rigid surface cold as ice forevermore. Housing the wight’s spirit, the phylactery acts as their tether to the mortal realm, and without it, the wight is unable to manifest, motivating wights to take great caution when hiding their phylactery. Should the core of the phylactery be pierced by any weapon imbued with voidal, holy, other otherwise spiritual magic, it would shatter and spill forth the apparition in a deluge ectoplasm. At this, the wight, wherever they may be in the mortal world or otherwise, would find themselves to furiously rupture and disperse — their soul forever banished to the Soulstream where it toils, ceaselessly hunted by the apparition to which it is bound, and inevitably consumed by Mthyul Tlan. But so long as their phylactery remains, should the wight demanifest under any circumstance, their ectoplasm would agglomerate at the site of their phylactery, gradually reforming itself over the course of one IRL week - thus bound never to truly die. 

 

Phylacteries must be physically present in the world via a mechanical build or some other structure found in-game. It is not an item, and thus may not be stored away in a chest. The phylactery will be rather difficult to destroy, similar to a Menhir, though successfully shattering it will force the wight to be permanently banished and consumed by Mthyul Tlan; unable to be revived by any means.

 

The location chosen must be accessible by the wight both in-roleplay and mechanically, and may only have a reasonable amount of security. 

• Upon successfully consuming an apparition, a player character will undergo a transitory period wherein they are made incredibly sickly and frail. 
  • Should the occultist die during this period, they are subject to an irreversible PK as their soul is consumed by the apparition. 
• Apparitions require an ST sponsored event and are incredibly difficult to subdue.
• Respawning at a phylactery does not circumvent general rules regarding character respawn, including that the wight may not recall events leading to their death, cannot return to the place they died for 30 IRL minutes, etc.
• A wight’s phylactery must be physically present in the world via a build or some other tangible structure found in-game. It may not be an item stored away in a mechanical chest some eighty meters underground.
  • ST Management may apply their own reasonable judgement should they suspect improper placement of phylacteries. 
• Should a phylactery be destroyed, the wight would be permanently PK’d.
• Phylacteries must be signed by the ST to ensure validity and proper tracking.
• For the purposes of the Rite of Consumption, Mystics may forcefully create an apparition that is weaker than normal - at roughly 15-19 souls, as opposed to a full-fledged 20 soul apparition. While Wightdom acquisition should be a challenge, it should not be rendered impractically difficult or outright implausible.
• Knowledge of this rite and how to perform it must be marked on one’s MA/TA. Wights created will attain the knowledge of this rite as part of the process automatically.
• The knowledge of the rite must be marked on the MA/TA prior to undertaking the ritual and must be presented to the ST upon request. The Rite of Consumption also cannot be taught during combat.
• When marking the Ritual of Consumption on the MA/TA, the teacher of the Rite needs to be marked down as well.

Change too: 
 

Rite of Consumption

Though the will of the mortal spirit often far exceeds corporeal limitation, the road may be tread for only so long upon the shackled feet of man. In a perilous effort to undo this wretched fate, a devout mystic may seek to achieve a greater state of undeath alike to the very phantoms they commune with; assuming a higher role at the cost of their oneness.

Spoiler

 

Mechanics:

 

To enact this rite, an occultist must subdue an apparition, whether found naturally or wrought by the Synod’s own enclave. Once it has been weakened sufficiently through draining, the to-be wight must wreathe their blade in ectoplasm through saturation, before striking the creature with the finishing blow. Then, with the apparition brought low and near to second death, three other mystics must begin to weave the apparition’s ectoplasm from the phantom and bind it to the aspirant. This would reawaken the spectral agglomeration within the mystic, sending them spiraling into a state of lethargy and madness as their body struggles with the apparition.

 

Over the course of 1 IRL day, the cultist's body would begin to grow progressively weaker, and after the end of the day, their body would be rendered into a stone husk. Should the cultist be slain during this [1] day period, they will be Hard PK'd as their soul is dragged and sundered within the wastes.

 

This husk is then rendered the Wight’s last remnant of their humanity. This husk no longer holds true value. Now they grow fearful and cautious of their fellow kin. For they know of a rite to rip their conjoined souls apart. Causing them great discomfort to work with unfamiliar wights or unknown mystics. 

 

• Upon successfully consuming an apparition, a player character will undergo a transitory period wherein they are made incredibly sickly and frail. 
  • Should the occultist die during this period, they are subject to an irreversible PK as their soul is consumed by the apparition. 
• Apparitions require an ST-sponsored event and are incredibly difficult to subdue.
• Respawning as a Wight does not circumvent general rules regarding character respawn, including that the Wight may not recall events leading to their death, cannot return to the place they died for 30 IRL minutes, etc.
• A wight’s phylactery must be physically present in the world via a build or some other tangible structure found in-game. It may not be an item stored away in a mechanical chest some eighty meters underground.
  • ST Management may apply their own reasonable judgment should they suspect improper placement of phylacteries. 
• Should a Wight be [Mystic Sapped] by [3] other Wights, they will be Hard PK'd and unable to return to the world.
• Should [5] Mystics, [3] of which must be tier 5 and know the rite of conjoinment sap a Wight, the Wight will be rendered incorporeal and unable to interact with the material world for [1] OOC month. Unable to cast or use any mystic spells or abilities imbued by being a Wight. Only able to observe the world around them. In a similar manner to that of a Revenant, yet will be unable to engage in combat.
• Phylacteries must be signed by the ST to ensure validity and proper tracking.
• For the purposes of the Rite of Consumption, Mystics may forcefully create an apparition that is weaker than normal, at roughly 15-19 souls, as opposed to a full-fledged 20-soul apparition. While the Wightdom acquisition should be a challenge, it should not be rendered impractically difficult or outright implausible.
• Knowledge of this rite and how to perform it must be marked on one’s MA/TA. Wights created will automatically acquire the knowledge of this rite as part of the process.
• The knowledge of the rite must be marked on the MA/TA prior to undertaking the ritual and must be presented to the ST upon request. The Rite of Consumption also cannot be taught during combat.
• When marking the Ritual of Consumption on the MA/TA, the teacher of the Rite needs to be marked down as well.

 

Reasoning: I have been reading over the lore and the change of opinion around phylactery mechanics for a while now. And think this is a better choice for Wights' playerbase. One, so there aren't random vaults that no one will ever find, and two, to have real punishment for Wights fighting other Wights, as currently it's a stalemate unless they somehow find the super-hidden vault of their statue. As well as the fact that someone can just stumble upon it and just hard PK a character with no interaction. The lore is just dated and doesn't reflect current lore sentiment on phylacteries or Hard PK mechanics. In all just a small change, just making it so there is more ways to deal with Wight's. 

[Xergarok 811]

Replacing phylactery with chaos DC is definitely interesting. Doubt people will go for it because they want to find and destroy phylacteries. I like this amendment, I do wonder if other Chaos DC's of other magics can be executed by the non-CA practitioners? Can Heralds delete Azdrazi, or Naztherak delete Zar'Akal in a similar way as put forward here? If not, I'd also not include it here. If their Chaos DC suffices with only CA, it should suffice here.

 

Also; Sapping will have to be clarified I assume. How many emotes? Is it similar to normal sapping? Do the Mystics (if this part is kept) need a specific tier (5 T1's seems a bit silly; perhaps 2-slot mystics..?). Is it done in combat, post-combat, etc? 

[MysticalWeasel 910]

6 minutes ago, Xergarok said:

Replacing phylactery with chaos DC is definitely interesting. Doubt people will go for it because they want to find and destroy phylacteries. I like this amendment, I do wonder if other Chaos DC's of other magics can be executed by the non-CA practitioners? Can Heralds delete Azdrazi, or Naztherak delete Zar'Akal in a similar way as put forward here? If not, I'd also not include it here. If their Chaos DC suffices with only CA, it should suffice here.

 

Also; Sapping will have to be clarified I assume. How many emotes? Is it similar to normal sapping? Do the Mystics (if this part is kept) need a specific tier (5 T1's seems a bit silly; perhaps 2-slot mystics..?). Is it done in combat, post-combat, etc? 

NAztherak can strip a zar'akal yes by using the DC mechanic which requires no tiers, leaving them unable to cast for a long time and weak. 

Ive edited it so, 1 of the mystics must know rite of conjoinment 

[Curry 115]

I don't see an issue with this, it is a highly outdated mechanic. However I do agree with @Xergarokthat it would be silly seeing 5 tier 1 mystics suddenly sapping this wight. 

If anything, while I think they could very much assist in the sapping, there should be a Tier 3-4 that should be leading it. 

(Edit) I just saw the addition that one should know conjoinment. +1

Edited May 15 by Curry

[PrimnyaQuorum 4001]

This should be a soft-PK shelfing, not a random 2 month timer. Zar'Akal works fine-as-is [with the weird caveat ST seemed to dislike how rigorous used it for some reason]. Likewise, this should be a function that MUST be led by a wight, and MUST be aided by other T4/T5s.

 

Otherwise, eh. ST don't like phylactories, the fewer the better. When are we going to remove the other 4-5 lore phylactories?

[rathat 868]

While I enjoy not having to worry about my phylactery anymore, imo this would only make wightdom more insular because people will be even more careful about who they ordain to protect their hide- OR make an extreme influx of wights by each rival coven to try and play chess in order to defeat each other. Not sure how I feel about it, but food for thought.
I also think if wight were to get this treatment, maybe the other similar endgame CAs should get it too, whatever they are.
(Why is there a giant space under this reply I can't get rid of)
 

[MysticalWeasel 910]

11 minutes ago, rathat said:

While I enjoy not having to worry about my phylactery anymore, imo this would only make wightdom more insular because people will be even more careful about who they ordain to protect their hide- OR make an extreme influx of wights by each rival coven to try and play chess in order to defeat each other. Not sure how I feel about it, but food for thought.
(Why is there a giant space under this reply I can't get rid of)

I understand the sentiment but you should inherently seek to root out opposing covens, and with the current lore there is no way to really do that outside of finding a secret vault all the way out in the ocean locked behind 3 redstone doors and a parkour course. Making the notion of truly becoming dominant or dispatching opposing covens a fever dream. 

[MysticalWeasel 910]

Better defined observing within the redlines.

[Xergarok 811]

4 minutes ago, MysticalWeasel said:

you should inherently seek to root out opposing covens

 

Not my cup of tea to see this dynamic in every niche of dark spawn. Even though this goes for literally anyone (wanting to destroy your enemies), the decimation of other covens doesn't need to be facilitated by lore per say. Chaos DC is better because it's more interactive than a phylactery, not because it allows you to eradicate covens just because that's the RP some people like. But that's perhaps not a discussion I'll have here, as it moves away from the amendment itself. 

 

 

[King_Kunuk 3022]

Slop Level: Mystical!

 

As cool as phylacteries are I get why no one likes them in modern LotC. So approved by me.

[Hawkeye_Gough 624]

14 minutes ago, PrimnyaQuorum said:

Ok I re-read this and this is slop.

Endgame CA btw, as PKable as a homunuclus/Zar'ei? What's wrong with Zar'akal's mechanic being a shelfing by other wights?

 

Likewise, let's be real; the DC redline in Zar'akal is a relic from the naztherak rewrite when the first denied zar'akal rewrite was posted. It doesn't make sense in any sense of the world [Greater demon losing their ties to hell because...5 guys said so?].

 

This change just benefits the coven with the most mystics/wights, and promotes them all to raise more of each. Coming from you especially with what your group is doing, none of this strikes me as a well-meaning amendment and more as a pre-emptive measure to capitalize off this change. 

I agree. This feels less like a mechanical fix for Wights' very real problem and more like allow mass production of wights to become a "main" or only significant mystic coven- and even if I benefit from that I don't like it

The mention of how one "should" seek out destruction of other wights for being in other covens seems to me to confirm that, but as I don't know of any current phylac-hunting operations by existing wights I may just be paranoidposting

[MysticalWeasel 910]

29 minutes ago, PrimnyaQuorum said:

Ok I re-read this and this is slop.

Endgame CA btw, as PKable as a homunuclus/Zar'ei? What's wrong with Zar'akal's mechanic being a shelfing by other wights?

 

Likewise, let's be real; the DC redline in Zar'akal is a relic from the naztherak rewrite when the first denied zar'akal rewrite was posted. It doesn't make sense in any sense of the world [Greater demon losing their ties to hell because...5 guys said so?].

 

This change just benefits the coven with the most mystics/wights, and promotes them all to raise more of each. Coming from you especially with what your group is doing, none of this strikes me as a well-meaning amendment and more as a pre-emptive measure to capitalize off this change. 

The fact that you accuse me of wanting to make an amendment for the sole purpose of self-gain is actually kind of hurtful. I am making it to mimic other CAs of the current era. I can change it to soft PK but then that would require new mechanics rather than keeping it simple to the lore as it stands. This system promotes better ways to resolve RP conflicts between wights without making them impossible to handle. As well as seek to remove the issue of the fact someone can have their entire character killed with 0 way to interact. 

This system creates interaction and leaves it in the community's hands to handle those they feel should be removed, just as with every other CA. I do not understand the comment that I am trying to make an amendment in bad faith. 

[wowj 9747]

hello

[MysticalWeasel 910]

24 minutes ago, Hawkeye_Gough said:

I agree. This feels less like a mechanical fix for Wights' very real problem and more like allow mass production of wights to become a "main" or only significant mystic coven- and even if I benefit from that I don't like it

The mention of how one "should" seek out destruction of other wights for being in other covens seems to me to confirm that, but as I don't know of any current phylac-hunting operations by existing wights I may just be paranoidposting

I said opposing covens... Opposing as in opposition as in your enemy as in your two groups conflict with one another. 

[Hawkeye_Gough 624]

2 minutes ago, MysticalWeasel said:

I said opposing covens... Opposing as in opposition as in your enemy as in your two groups conflict with one another. 

 

I recognize that, yes. Opposing covens, then. Sentiment still remains, but thank you for the correction