Gladuos

Small Primer: A Cycle of Rebirth [Ritual by AgentWills] -An artist’s painted depiction of the relative center, a place wherein all souls pass to their eternal afterlives. ~~~ Aeriel in her domain looks down on the many souls left lingering, over-populating and discontent. They are left in complete stagnancy, forever trapped beyond the Veil. To them, Aeriel is a kind mistress, and a solemn one. Little do they know a mercy she can afford them, however. A Secret held deep within her golden city. ~~~ Reincarnation: Reincarnation is the process by which dead souls can find their way back into the material realm as new beings entirely. This includes the souls which are left stuck in the soul stream gathered up by the Caretaker of Souls Aeriel in her golden city or even the souls which refuse their earned afterlife in favor of returning, albeit changed. Aeriel in her mercy or honor, sometimes offers these souls a method to re-enter the system as a whole, healthy soul. Why Aeriel does this is not entirely known, though it is likely she chooses to do this over letting souls remain separated from the natural cycle. For the honored dead, likely out of respect in letting them return to the beginning of the soul’s journey instead of staying complacent beyond the Veil. When a soul is made reincarnated by Aeriel’s choosings, it is effectively stripped entirely bare save for some of its core essence. This essence is rearranged and invisibly sent to the mortal realm to be fused with the fledgling essence of an infant at conception. In this way the soul is reforged into something entirely new, yet with pieces of its previous existence deep and dormant within itself. The being is then left behind to be reborn, allowed to grow up and experience life again as they wish: as a different, complete spirit and person. Put shortly, it is effectively Aeriel soul-recycling people to be born again instead of letting them sit around in the soul stream. Given as a gift to the worthy dead (neutrals or holies) upon request so they may be born again to live another life. This wouldn’t affect all souls in the soul stream as Aeriel treats it as a rarer mercy or gift, and even the Caretaker, as powerful as she may be, couldn’t round up all the souls of the dead there. This doesn’t mean all new souls entering the world are recycled ones either, it’s meant to be a more uncommon occurrence. ~~~ [Reincarnation by Jort Braam] -A wandering soul being restructured and stripped by the powers of the Arch-Aengul herself. ~~~ Effects on Roleplay: Anyone brought back in this way would experience nothing of their former self. All the reincarnated are made into entirely new people, ones with their own feelings, thoughts, emotions, and memories. There is almost no trace of what was the prior soul, broken down and intermingled with the energies of the parents which bore them. To them, it is as though they are no different from the myriad spirits inhabiting Aos or Eos. This is how it would seem, however there are a few minor and nigh-unnoticable effects reincarnation can have on a new descendant. They may have a tendency towards the same mannerisms or ideals as the essence which helped make them. Small things such as a positive outlook on life or a fascination with blacksmithing to a former metallurgist. Even a particular twitch they had in their past life. This can be physical too such as the same birthmark, though nothing big. This can go even further with the retention of one or a few very vague recollections which they cannot place happening anywhere in their life. These will always be few in number and extremely ambiguous. It’s as though a memory exists but they can’t place its details. Things such as faces or the words being spoken are always lost; the only remnants being the base feelings and imagery of the memory. Sometimes these memories don’t even consciously exist, laid dormant only to suddenly come rushing back from specific stimuli. The person themselves will not have anything else from their previous lives; no alterations to the soul which were previously there. Any semblance of deific power or otherwise are lost in favor of being a mundane, natural soul once more. In the end there isn’t really any advantage to being reincarnated except the chance to come back to the mortal realm. The previous soul is even entirely destroyed in the process, never able to move on to the afterlife as they were before - though they can as this new person. The interactions from reincarnation go even further when Ascended or Aeriel are entered into the mix. Any reincarnated person if examined by an Ascended via their magic would seem a bit different than the common descendant - if at least only in their soul. The reincarnated soul is only minorly different, like a blemish which is felt subtly deep within. An Ascended could recognize this small blemish, but wouldn’t necessarily know how to place it. It’s not felt as an unnatural alteration of the soul, it might even be very easily unnoticed. An Ascended could recognize this as the mark of a reincarnated, if they had previous experience deducing the nature of such a thing. If somehow brought to the attention of Aeriel, she may choose to reveal the entire truth of this blemish (being that they are a reincarnation and of who). If she so chooses, or deems it necessary. She can decide not to explain any of it, and merely confirm it’s a natural thing. ~~~ [Grave Eater by ChrisCold] -A titanic apparition in its visible form stalks through Ebriaetes, seeking more power, seeking an escape. ~~~ The Mongoose once attempted this mercy on the black beings lingering deep in Ebriaetes. At first it had seemed to work, and the mistress smiled. She was happy for another chance to these damned souls. Unfortunately, when they had grown, terrible fates befell those around them. A mistake Aeriel made, and one she will never make again. ~~~ Dark Spirits: Any stuck within Ebriaetes as black corrupted versions of their former selves cannot be reincarnated. Or perhaps more accurately, never chosen to be reincarnated by Aeriel again. This includes any type of dark practitioner in life which acted to the point where it made an impression on their soul. This includes Necromancers, Mystics, Shades, Frost Witches, Drakaar-Oriented, Dark Shamans, and Dark Deific Users such as the old Undead. Furthermore, it includes mortal individuals who became a Dark creature such as liches, darkstalkers, paleknights, dreadknights, frost witch-oriented types, Strigae, Wraiths, Wights, Daeva, and other related creatures as dark spirits. Soul-Shadow beings such as ghosts, gravens, and morghuul remain anchored to the material realm and never pass to the soul stream. Their original souls might have passed on, uncorrupted, to the afterlife and thus are eligible for reincarnation. Purpose: The point of this isn’t necessarily to bring back old characters. I’ve written this explicitly to help dissuade that aspect of reincarnation as it would ruin the weight of permanently killing your character. Anyone who comes back in this way would become an entirely new character with varying thoughts, feelings, emotions, etcetera with barely a trace if any of their other life. The main point was to give a fun flavorful option to players to tie in old PKed characters with their new ones, things that could potentially spark RP down the line for them if they so pleased. It doesn’t give any inherent advantage over a regularly born character either. In fact, it’s moreso a lore post which could cohesively validate the various religions on LotC that have belief in reincarnation - mainly farfolk ones which parallel Hinduism or Buddhism. Finally, it puts Aeriel into more of a neutral light instead of as the cold warden of Ebriaetes. Applications: Normally I wouldn't want to put a restriction on this type of roleplay, but it seems to be necessary for everyone's peace of mind. This affords more to a character than just creating an unofficial "reincarnated" persona. This lore can give vague, unimportant memories as well as interactions with Ascended or Aeriel, so it is necessary. In order to play a reincarnation, you must apply for a magic feat on the forums detailing the previous PKed soul, and the new persona it is being turned into. Subsequently after acceptance, the application will be immediately hidden to prevent meta. If problems ever come up regarding players creating carbon-copies of former characters, or abusing the rules to get what they want out of roleplay, a staff member can always go back to these applications to keep record. They can be revoked, or even blacklisted from creating a reincarnation ever again should the offense be abusive enough. On a case by case basis, it may even call for a staff-enforced PK of the reincarnated character, to ensure they don't continue in their shenanigans. Redlines: -To create a reincarnated character, it must be from the soul of a PKed character. This obviously requires OOC consent. -Must submit a magic feat application to play a reincarnated character, which will be hidden on acceptance. Be wary that should you abuse this lore, you are accepting a possible staff-enforced PK clause by the revoking of your application. -PKed souls made into reincarnations are erased from existence, never to return again as they once were - only as the new person they’ve become. This means the former soul can’t move on to the afterlife, though they can move on as their newer selves. -May inherit similar traits, mannerisms, or ideals as their past lives but memories will always be vague. No recollection of faces, words, important details, etcetera may be recovered even with the aid of magic. Cannot have a large amount of memories either, only a select few (meaning around 3 maximum). -Reincarnations are entirely new people from what they were except those small exceptions. I.E. This is not a method to bring back PKed characters. Any magics, soul alterations, majority of previous personality, bodily appearance, etc. are lost by being reborn. Effectively a new, raw, and vanilla soul/person from top to bottom. -Ascended can't confirm the previous identity of a reincarnated person, and without prior knowledge, can't recognize if a blemish means they are a reincarnation. -A PKed character eligible for being a black spirit in Ebriaetes cannot be reincarnated this way, their soul far too gone to ever be effectively salvaged. Look to the section 'Dark Spirits' above for more clarification.

Well Ascended are by default a more holy creature physically-speaking with a patron very specifically about protecting souls. I think that's fair enough. Edit: I support removing soul puppetry from the Void 1100%.

It's all fair and what not, but I still understand the loss of consequence by having the option to return to mortal body. It's a tough call.

Don't be stupid. Never! EDIT: DRUIDIC runesmith Sharr incoming?! Dharok the Wretched? Of Gielinor!? The main changes I see are the altar and ability for deific users to learn runesmithing, yes? I totally agree with this. If mages such as wizards are able to learn runesmithing despite the extreme amount of variability in their skillset, a druid or whatever should also have access to it. +1

It's called alchemy and fantasy science. It isn't magical per say in the LotC setting but works off scientific properties of the realm which don't exist IRL.

The flesh is weak.

You can't taint land with thulean druidism afaik.

Nah, inherent connection is still there when exhausted but is pretty much useless since there's no energy to make use of. Put shortly, no the burn on contact fails to work if tired.

Pst since it seems basically like all this would accomplish is a new method of tainting lands, consider my idea I posted earlier? Bless.

It'd be pretty awesome if you added a little more to this piece to separate it from Necromancy blight (with unique aesthetics). Maybe you can also mutate animals to appear malformed and become malicious entities. Perhaps not with any more power than they originally had, just more aggressive and spooky as hell looking! @Smaw

This is cool and all but I think you should come up with a different name than "dark druids". That's something that already exists in the form of druids truly protecting the balance by the views of the Aspects albeit with questionable morals (Thuleanism being an example of these druids). This is legit harming the balance due to being deceived by a servant of the deity of deception. They're actually more like unintentional draoi, so you ought to just change the name to avoid confusing this with groups that already exist IRP. Otherwise, I've not read it all yet, but it looks pretty cool so far!

Debatable. This is no more interference than Tahariae giving his blessings as it is. Considering they're still mortal fleshy beings, aren't inherently heightened in power, and still have access to their normal forms.

This guy is pretty emo but in a hardcore way. Neat.

Ya'll fell for drfate's shitpost. So here's me also falling for it. Also nah, it's deceiving. This lore doesn't actually have a lot but repeats a ton of the same paragraphs for EVERY. SINGLE. SPELL. FOCUS ON PRAYER TO TAHARIAE AND WILL FOR LIGHT TO ENTER TARGET WHILE YOU IMAGINE THE THING HEALING BLAH BLAH BLAH repeated 400 times. Each spell isn't a unique ability but the same ability described with slightly different functioning. I.E. healing bruises, healing cuts, healing muscles, healing bones when it could've all been simplified as one technique of healing that gets stronger over time. Not to mention there are entire sections just about history and rules a cleric must follow instead of mechanics or "more spells". Silly silly man. EDIT: Also yes don't take Suticans as the baseline examples. What you described has never been possible by-lore and was Kary literally just powergaming. Smh

Not sure if you meant 'experienced' the multiple times you said experimented or not. Also saint years is IRL years so 40 of those may be well beyond the server's longevity. Otherwise seems good to me.

God have mercy he's making me comment at 4am . . . JK, good job Fury. As slow as any rewrite appears to be happening, it's nice to see a consolidation of current canon which is (slightly) more concise. Maybe learn from our predecessors and don't use so many spoilers though, they'll be broken easily. +1

The dark elven race created by a highschool-tier meek romance, by GOD.

Thanks for giving some alternatives. I'll change it to sanctified form when I get home from work. As for paragons being a dwarven thing - paragon is just a word meaning a person with preeminent qualities, a role model. If you wish to distinguish them, these are Paragons of Tahariae/Purity.

Oh don't worry, I definitely wrote in several traits that are good for fighting undead and that sets them apart from regular people (aesthetics count for doing that!), but I'm not going to make them objectively better than normal clerics. The OPness of certain predecessors are a big reason for their failings in the past. As for the other guy. It's not all cosmetics, maybe read more than the comments. This has affects, but it's more for RP's sake than being some dumb powerhouse fantasy. Sorry for that, ghoulydude.

Foremost about aesthetics and RP flavor, but it still gives some abilities alongside their weaknesses. It can be a fun thing a cleric is rewarded with for dedicating into the RP wholly. As much as it'd be neat every cleric gets this, it probably shouldn't just spread like wildfire (nor be kept in a small group - hence no cap).

I'm sorry DAD. Got any ideas?

Summary of Edits for the LT: Paragons of Purity [Archangel by Lorenz Basuki] -A cleric of Tahariae prepped for battle against the impure while in her sanctified form. ~~~ Suffering plagues the Descendants. It rends their flesh with claw, tooth, and taint. The most innocent and pure wither in the presence of the Darkness. Tahariae, in His glory, decides otherwise. With the gifting of a boon, His children are given resolve in the face of utmost adversity. ~~~ Paragons: Paragons are clerical servants of Tahariae who have been given the ability to enter another state of being. Through a widening of their connection to Tahariae, a set of newer boons are added to a cleric’s skillset. While this may be true, their powers do not necessarily increase in potency and the cleric is still left as mortal as when they began life’s journey. The god of Purity, as much as he wishes for the suffering of this world to end, would not wish to create utterly unnatural and prolonged lives in his servants - only add to their tools to defeat the Darkness. In a similar fashion as when first connected to become a cleric, Tahariae or a Paragon sends their light into the prospective being’s soul so they may alter their connection with Tahariae. The difference in this connection is that it becomes perpetually open without the need of concentration, allowing holy aengulic light to course through the new Paragon’s body at all times. This gives a number of effects which will be outlined below. A cleric made into a Paragon this way may opt to enter this state where their connection is always opened, or narrow it again to be similar to a regular cleric’s. They will have two separate forms depending on the state of their connection - as when it’s fully opened the holy light will have various effects on their physical appearance. When it’s more narrowed like a regular cleric’s, they will be exactly as any other holy servant of Tahariae, physically or magically. ~~~ [Dwarf Cleric by TentaclesandTeeth] -A Paragon while in natural form, invoking the power of Tahariae. ~~~ Abilities: Through deep and focused meditation, a Paragon may will for their connection to alter between its two new states: widened or narrowed. While narrowed they're in their natural form; the Paragon identical to any other mortal cleric in almost every way. When widened they enter into what is known as their sanctified form. This will give them a few extra abilities not normally possessed by a cleric as well as a couple weaknesses. As such, a cleric must be wary with what form they choose as they cannot shift so easily, taking roughly 5-10 emotes while outside of combat and impossible to do while in conflict. The holy power while in this sanctified state resonates within their physical body and starts to enact change to their flesh, causing aengulic mutations to gradually sprout into existence. These changes are almost always entirely aesthetic, offering no true advantage to the Paragon other than the charisma of appearing as an aengul might. This could allow non-functioning wings to grow from their back that lets them hover at best, or cause their eyes to take on a holy glow that remains at all times. Their skin might change to the tint of their light’s color, or they could emit some light from their body that forms into the appearance of a halo (always too dim to be useful). So long as it doesn’t offer true value in capabilities and appears holy, it is a possible mutation. Not all Paragons have to look exactly the same, but those are the precedent options for physical change. Should a Paragon narrow their connection again, these physical changes revert back to their natural bodily look. A Paragon has a perpetual connection to Tahariae while in sanctified form, causing light to always course through their body. Alongside the physical changes, they also no longer need to spend time forging their connection or praying to Tahariae to begin casting. This might scratch off one emote from clerical casting, but otherwise gives no type of advantage save for that one. The light coursing through a Paragon’s sanctified body also numbs much of their pain if they ever become physically wounded. It doesn’t stop any of the bleeding or damage from being done, it only soothes the Paragon from the sensation of injury, allowing them to continue their mission or heal themselves without as much strain. The last relevant ability afforded to a Paragon while in sanctified form is what occurs when Dark magics or taints contact with their light-infused bodies. Due to the light inside their bodies, Paragons have protection from most forms of impure powers making direct contact with them. This is more of a defensive shield as it only prevents things such as necromancy drains, or soul puppetry for example, from targetting the Paragon rather than being able to burn a dark creature on contact. The holy light is just not potent enough to burn impurities in such an aggressive manner as that. At most, dark creatures would feel a mild discomfort while touching a Paragon. It should also be mentioned that any of the passive abilities possessed by a Paragon still drains from their personal pool of power. If they are ever to over-rely on it to the point that it exhausts them, the abilities cease to function and they merely retain sanctified appearance without the boons of having light coursing through their body until they recover from the strain. They can still keep their inherent connection though, even if it might be useless without any energy. ~~~ [Redemption of the Fallen Angel by DreadJim] -A Paragon laid low with fatigue and injury, the last of his power simmering by his feet. ~~~ Weaknesses: Primarily Paragons can be wounded just like any other creature. They are made of flesh and bone, able to be crushed or rended with the same resistance as a descendant counterpart. They can bleed out and be poisoned, their organs can fail and they can lose consciousness. Tahariae wished for his Paragons to not be too far off from descendant-kind so they would not be unnatural lifeforms, allowing them to always understand the plight of Man. They still need to eat, breathe, drink and sleep to stay adequately living just as anyone else. Whatever kills a regular man could likely also kill a Paragon unless countered by one of their aforementioned abilities or an ability afforded by clericism. Although being a cleric and Paragon gives a resistance to most forms of dark magic, there is one antithesis they must fear. The strength of the abyss acts as a direct counter-measure to their radiant existence, causing immense physical pain to their body should it be used against them. The abyss and light battle vehemently within a Paragon’s sanctified body, causing them to burn as though subjected to acid. They can feel this too as though nullifying their passive pain numbing ability. Should a practitioner of strength of the abyss persist in attacking a Paragon with their magic, the cleric will eventually die and dissolve away as it eats at their very being. However, abyss seeds are far less corrosive, causing a Paragon's sanctified form physical weakness for the entire time while stood within the radius. They become half as strong and two times slower, moving lethargically in speed. Iconoclasm is likewise a powerful ability to be used against a Paragon, though nowhere near as violent. Should a Paragon while in sanctified form be subjected to an iconoclast’s mists, they will gradually feel themselves weaken. After prolonged contact of up to 5 emotes within the mists, the Paragon will become entirely paralyzed and incapable of moving until released from the mists. A Paragon becomes entirely infertile while in sanctified form - male or female. Though they can bear children while in natural form, shifting to their holy state will kill their child. Unfortunately, the power of Tahariae's light was not meant to course through infantile bodies in an uncontrolled manner such as this. Finally, a Paragon's sanctified form has one final weakness in the shape of mundane darkness. When a Paragon finds itself in complete natural darkness, or light with a brightness dimmer than one torch, it will begin facing adverse effects. Immediately after entering a space without light, the Paragon's holy light will wane in potency as though reliant on its typical radiant ambience. All of the sanctified-specific abilities will become so weak that they no longer work in any significant fashion. They start being able to feel pain again, the connection to Tahariae becomes as slow as a regular cleric's, and they find themselves no longer warded against dark energies. In this way, a Paragon is most powerful while in the light of day as opposed to its antithesis of night. Should a person ever wish to fight a Paragon on more equal footing, removing them from any relevant light sources would be a good start. ~~~ [Celestial Forest by Kanizo] -The luminous avatar of Tahariae. Forever watchful. Forever judging. Forever guiding. ~~~ Behavioral Changes: If a cleric remains in sanctified form for too long, they may begin to feel changes in their mental state. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it acts almost like light-therapy, causing the cleric to linger their thoughts on more peaceful and happy things. Diseases of the mind start to flake away if they were there in the first place, causing the Paragon to embody more of what Tahariae wants out of the mortal realm. They become more placid, if at least towards those that are not impure in their deity’s eyes. When in the presence of the impure, the light inside their form bubbles and writhes, causing an intense natural anger to gradually over-come them. This isn’t an active possession of rage like the bloodlust of orcs, but can cause a Paragon to be easier to lash out against the impure. They may find themselves lingering on negative feelings against undead, ghosts, demons, or anything of those categories. The natural wrath of Tahariae’s light eases their mind in that direction just as much as its benevolent tendencies do for anything else not impure. This may not be an instant change, but can happen over the course of months to years being a Paragon. This can be avoided more easily if the cleric chooses to remain in their natural form far more than the sanctified one. This doesn’t give a radial understanding of what is or isn’t impure either - the Paragon merely reacts this way with the knowledge of impurity. Reasoning: With the lack of a lot of holy creatures on this server, I felt there was a bit of a vacuum waiting to be filled. Mainly the only form left on the holy side I can think of is Ascended which are elevated from the get-go. And no, I don’t consider Druids a holy-type group. Deific yes, but not holy. The clerics haven’t had something like this in a very long time, so I thought I’d give it a try. I wanted to write this without it being a blatant power creep, something which gives as much weakness as it does benefits. A magic transformation should always be about enhancing roleplay, something that a person should aspire to because they’re fully dedicated to the type of roleplay they’re in rather than just for the power. I wanted this to mainly be about aesthetics, things that’ll give interesting flavors without really having to be hugely overpowered. I made them not have immortality or resurrection powers because I feel that’s extremely over-done on this server at this point - not to mention needlessly adding to power. Though this still gives some abilities, I hope I accomplished that vision. Regardless, thank you for reading! Redlines: -Requires a CA to become a Paragon, taught by an already-existing Paragon with a TA. Must also be T4 in both war clericism and priest healing to be eligible. -A Paragon must learn how to create other Paragons from an existing teacher, necessitating a TA. This means you can’t create other Paragons just by being one. -Takes time to enter or exit sanctified form. 5-10 emotes while outside of combat only. -Paragons are not immortal or ageless. Likewise they can die physically just as easily as any other descendant unless stopped by some ability. Cutting, crushing, suffocating, poisoning, etcetera may all work. -Paragons require the same things to live as the descendant races. They must breathe, eat, drink, and sleep. -A Paragon in natural form is identical to before they became one. They have no extra abilities when like this - although none of the weaknesses either. -Physical alterations in sanctified form are entirely aesthetic. One cannot fly or glide with their feathery wings, but hovering is fine. If glowing, it must be an inconsequential light - not even as bright as a torch. -Their intimate connection will at best scratch off one emote from casting, and won't be any faster compared to a normal cleric when already connected. -The casting of a Paragon is not more potent than a non-Paragon. A T5 war cleric Paragon has just as much power as a normal T5 war cleric, for example. -Sanctified form has pain numbing, but is not immune to it. Should their muscles begin to fail or their brain starts lacking too much oxygen, they will falter, faint, or even die. -A sanctified form's body, being infused with light, is shielded from dark magics or taints making direct contact with it. This light is not strong enough to be used as a weapon against dark creatures, only as passive protection. -Using any of the sanctified form’s abilities will gradually drain away one’s power until exhausted. Any boon requiring light to fuel (being all of them except connection) will become null until adequately rested again. -Strength of the Abyss burns like fast-acting acid when touching a Paragon’s sanctified form. Prolonged contact can eventually dissolve and kill the cleric entirely. Abyss seeds only cause physical frailty for a Paragon, becoming half as strong and half as fast. -Iconoclasm weakens a Paragon over time when directly contacting the mists. After a period of 5 consecutive emotes, a Paragon’s sanctified form will become paralyzed until released. -Rendered infertile while in sanctified form. -A Paragon will lose all of their sanctified form's abilities while in an area with darkness dimmer than a torch's (the brightest starry night isn't enough for this). This means losing pain numbing, and dark magic protection while simultaneously having to spend an extra emote focusing to cast - as a regular cleric would. They also still retain all their other weaknesses, which may stack on top of this one. -Any combat scenarios involving a Paragon remain at the time of day as when it started unless agreed upon by the players to move time forward. This is because of minecraft's quick day-night cycle, and how that would affect the Paragon's weaknesses sporadically. -A Paragon will feel behavioral changes if they remain in sanctified form long enough. Peaceful and benevolent under normal circumstances, with a growing disdain towards the impure.

Yeah they shouldn't tbh. At least not ferals in feral form oy vey oml.

Nah, check the link I commented earlier. BGBuster's lore was just moved into the overall orc summary lore, which is found in the racial lore subforum.