Gallic

I feel more or less indifferent to the lore proposed here, with a few exceptions. Overall, I support the effort that was put into this and I like seeing people happy, so I hope things go well and you keep working until it's accepted. Anyway, so my concerns. I feel like the strength increase is a little wonky. Maybe they should, y'know, be as strong as they appear, capping at a certain point. Saying that they're stronger than a normal human in their 'true' form in addition to their ability to change forms at will makes it seem too powerful, like the writer's putting a little too much love into their creation. Additionally, the magic. Same as above; They can already change forms. Their soul is all wiggly and squishy. They're also altered. Magic at all would probably be very dangerous or at least difficult for them, not just deific magic. and finally if you want your lore accepted, don't name them shapeshifters Shapeshifters already exist, not just in theory but by that very name. I'd propose that you name them Changelings, or something similar. Y'know, like the ones from Eberron: http://eberron.wikia.com/wiki/Changeling

Casting is hard for regular people-- Druids, however, are already attuned to the energy that flows through them, and thus when they enter something akin to powersharing occurs. The ring is created by and teeming with the same stuff that is used in their spells, magic nature mojo from the aspects or nature in general or spirits or whatever. A regular person entering the fairy ring is attuned to the wilds in a very brute-force janky way. They gain druidic insight, albeit impossible to comprehend. A Druid entering the fairy ring is already attuned to the wilds, and entering the ring just makes them more attuned to the wilds, which can be somewhat dangerous if they aren't ready for that yet. Also fairy rings have always helped Druids it's just there wasn't a precedent for how much they help them.

when y'all gonna look at the response I made to the feedback and help me work on the thing that was denied to make it more acceptable grr

Considering Wights are powered by gHooOoOst SpOOOk I feel as though a little overlap isn't too bad as long as they aren't copying eac-- Wait but since when can wights inhabit a haunted teapot? There has already been RP like this; Ghosts haunting specific objects, following along with them, kind'a going dormant around them. This would make that easier to RP and more validated. I feel like such RP would be enjoyable... Provided an actual person is RP'ing the ghost and not an NPC mysticism-spawned ghost. I can understand where you're coming from if that's what you mean; I don't want to see mysticists with a spooky blender aura because they just say that there's a poltergeist inside of them scratching anything that gets near them. Everything else you say, I pretty much agree with; Them's valid balancing concerns and threats to the lore getting accepted. I want to use this cool stuff.

I agree with the gang saying hand-cannons would be a better idea. I also agree with the people saying that this would be very troubling to impliment because it would lead to a long chain of compromise. And I also agree with the folks saying that we need some level of progression to technology. Overall I would +1 the lore, but I'm too tentative to commit to it. But I certainly don't dislike it. also

As somebody who RP's a ghost ( though not as often as I'd like ) I greatly approve of this addition. I hope the ghostmasters like it as well. +1

also the lore references said rat race multiple times and stems from it

I'd definitely play a ratperson; It's something different than the pre-existing animal races. Namely two things; It's really hard to fetishize something that looks literally like an upright rat, not an anthropomorphized cat, and their origins are seperate from the others that exist, giving them a unique sort of demeanor. Also, ratpeople have always interested me among universes where beastpeople exist. As always, I think you should try to keep it playable, even if it starts out as players helping out the ET and LT for a trial run at first. That sound like a good compromise? You'd also do better rewriting this to fit with the upcoming map, rather than this one. Make them a native of that one. This one already has a lot of natives, and it's close to death. You could ask for help from the people who are working on it, though they might be reluctant to give any spoilers out. Aaaaand finally... Perhaps the easiest point to rectify: Polish this thing up a little more. Formatting, paragraphs, headers, proofreading, all that stuff. If you want it to be a playable race, it's got to be easy to find the information you need, as a player, on the page. And keeping everything clumped into entire big paragraphs with tiny titles makes that slightly more difficult.

I'll try my best to address the points, I suppose! This little bit, 1, does not result in the proper recreation of a hag; Hags themselves cannot reproduce. They create mockeries of themselves using magic, but never the real thing. 2, that was based on IRL folklore wherein haggy things would take kids and try to make them their slaves forever and whatnot. -- Their greed and selfishness stems from their purpose as beings of higher power and intelligence, wisdom and learning and such. They were intended to lead, to be powerful, and to serve as more direct agents of the Aspects, but as with other creatures who moderately display those traits in the wilds, they were given their negative ones as well-- And they were exaggerated along with their intelligence and comprehension. For instance; A crow displays an impressive capacity to learn, understand and comprehend its situation, to the extent of even understanding simple exchanges when it's trained or has observed them from other crows. However, on the other end; Crows will sometimes steal objects of interest to display to their mates, use clever ploys to swindle food from other animals (hiding morsels from wolves as they're distracted by eating, and so on), preferring to go it alone if something goes wrong in their community, or ganging together and ceaselessly assaulting someone who they heard threw a rock at one of their comrades. Exaggerated, as with a Hag; Perhaps they'd display an impressive wisdom and intelligence, even having a propensity to striking bargains rather than fighting, however they'd also exaggerate the negative traits of the crow, such as filling their lairs with stolen objects, preying on others using tricks and cruel traps, thinking of themselves before anyone else, and possessing burning, ceaseless vengeance. That'd be a really flanderized example of what an anthropomorphized, borderline-evil crow would be, but that's exactly what was intended to be portrayed; Nature's potential to be nasty and greedy. Furthermore, as with the current attempted rewrites of the Eternal Forest/Ethereal Forest/Aspects Realm, their realm is a lot more experimental then the mortal realm as they fiddled around with things, some of which didn't fit, ss in; The hags weren't meant to go anywhere else, except in rare instances. -- What was stated was that they were enigmatic, and could easily be either or; In some cases serving as a disruptive presence, or seeking to serve their purpose. The reason it isn't one or the other is because it depends on the specific hag and the circumstances of their presence, not their nature by creation. At their most basic, they are intelligent and clever, with a desire to seek their own interests. That could swing either way; Their interests could fall in line with the Aspects' mission, or they could be entirely in the opposite direction. Thus, two examples were given, not two absolutes that exist at the same time. -- That was the point, it's an event magic; Something kept vague on purpose so that they'd have something to play with that can be imaginative. There's a whole section about how it's vague in character, and impossible to understand. Also there were several examples given. -- The hags were stated as specifically not being soul-altered, only the children who they took, as they were the corrupted ones, not the hags themselves. 'cause the hags and their children are different creatures entirely -- EDIT bonus: man what are you talking about literally all the other fae are described as being exactly elves but with animal parts and these are designed to be totally different from any other humanoid D;< -- If you feel like I addressed the points well enough, perhaps you could hit me up and try to work with me to make them a little more obvious, so that it's less confusing?

+ Ethereal Forest = Fae realm yes. + More Fae, especially a dominant folklore-fairy type Fae. + Music magic for the Fae. + Actual map. + Doesn't overcomplicate or apply restraints to existing concepts, but instead adds new ones. + Can't wait to help add more stuff, hit me up yo. - No changelings to replace the babies they took, but I guess that can be talked about later. - Adults could be useful to fairies for servants and dancing partners and exotic wives, as seen in irl folk tales. - Does this piece invalidate mine? :c - Didn't include me in writing it, I tried asking around for a while but couldn't find anyone working on it. :c - Nemiisae is a real Aspect. +1

This was actually something I was pushing for for a while as a Druid! Like, this exact idea! To the extent of getting permission to use it IC in a few instances. This definitely deserves a big ol' +1, it really opens up a lot of RP avenues.

EDIT: If this needs to be modified at all for the incoming Fae Realm lore, just tell me and I'll try my best! -- The Hag -- -By Adrian Smith I'm pretty sure, @artofadiansmith - -( Source, can't find the original artist. :c )- Habitat: Most hags are native to lonely places in deep forests near small communities, though they will often live elsewhere if they can sustain themselves there, founding strange cottages and odd covens in the most obscure of places. Size: Small to Large, anywhere from 4ft to 10ft. Ugly and chaotic things, their height and weight is highly variable across locale and incomprehensibly numerous breed. Diet: Omnivorous with a penchant for meat, most times not above the consumption of sentient life. Some prefer rotten food, some like to eat sprites despite their toxicity- They tend to have very unique tastes between them. A common theme, however, is that someone will find it detestable, probably. Temperament: Highly enigmatic creatures, largely hostile and solitary, though on occasion known to have benevolent streaks of wisdom-sharing or quest-aiding. Whether such a thing directly benefits them or they simply enjoy helping an odd mortal or two, most often they do so for their own pleasure in the end-- If it is from the 'kindness of their heart', it is so that they feel kind and charitable, not for any benefit of the subject of their generosity; Their psychology is built on such tendencies. Self-serving, greedy crones, very often shifting one day from chowing down on a hapless traveler to helping their grieving family the next. Their conscience is strange and alien to much of mortalkind. Thus it is foolish, obviously, to rely on the kindness of a hag without warrant. More often than not, they are repugnant, inside and out. While they prefer the comforts of a life alone, forming communities with their own kind is not uncommon when the arrangement is mutually (and significantly) beneficial. Most covens are seen in sets of three, with a number of hagspawn tagging along with them. That selective association isn't to say that they do not enjoy eachother's company though, as they will often form large gatherings with nearby hags to share esoteric knowledge, abhorrent tales, and disgusting treats. As creatures of the Ethereal Forest, they do often become displeased with those who wantonly disrespect the wilds, however they are most often not on our plane to devote themselves solely to its protection-- They are here for themselves, by their own power, and may not care enough to head out to protect the wilds at large. Brief summary of the creature: Repugnant, homely, icky old crones, renowned for their magical powers and their enigmatic natures. They hail from the darker mires of the Ethereal Forest, where the Aspects' most venomous creatures call home. Among the legions of undiscovered Fae that dwell there, they are one of the grisly few who were born from nature's ugly, greedy, chaotic and wrinkly side. With a self-serving attitude and penchant for disobediently placing themselves over their duty to the wilds, they are far from the loyal Cervitaur or bountiful Sprites; They are cast into the shadows, unused, very rarely called upon by the Aspects to serve and be woven into the fabric of man's world. But allowed to remain they are, for on very rare occasions, they are ideal and powerful agents for the wild. They carry a wide variety of appearances over their race, from squat, fat old women to tall, blue-skinned and bird-like crones. No two have the same face or set of traits, although some appear similar should they worm their way through to our realm in the same locale. Notably, another common trait is that they will consider their own hagliness to be an entirely seperate breed of hag and the prime example of their race, and can occasionally get into tussles over this fact. Proclaiming themselves appellations such as a "Dusk Hag" or "Woodland Crone" is common, like a childish reflection of a Druidic Totem. Characteristics: Behavior: Hags are highly variable creatures, chaotic and selfish by their very nature, often their apathy of mortalkind, topsy-turvy views of beauty and ugliness, and savage origins meaning the common hag will sooner enchant and kill a man than tell it a tale. Like others of their species, they enjoy tricks and music, though they have a tendency toward torturous jests and discordant tunes rather than harmless merry. They carry a remarkably high capacity for hate, and magic to woe the subjects of their ire. The uncommon, but still numerous 'good' hags have in the past gained the respect of ancient cultures, sometimes even enough for their two worlds to work together. Often seen as grandmother-ly figures or fearsome entities, common is the practice of mortals granting them tribute to beg for their blessings and spells. With superstitious tales of witchcraft and the emergence of God among widespread human culture, their kind, along with other once-common Fae, became fewer and fewer, succumbing, eventually, to the pitchfork and torch despite all their power. Those that remained were hermits or enigmatic old women at the outskirts of those villages that retained their belief in the Old Faith. Their relationship with their fellow Fae are also as variable. Sometimes, a Hag will be seen as a figure of fear and ire; Something similar, but fearsome, disrupting the wilds for their own greed. A fugitive. Those sorts tend to hang strings of spriggan hearts, drink ent sap, bottle sprites, and grind up satyr hooves. Other Hags serve their intended purpose, though most times unsolicited; Leaders, grandmother-ly ladies and guides for communities of Fae, using their gifted knowledge of being one of the few breeds of Fae to remember the Ethereal Forest as a source of wisdom to educate them on their origins and purposes. Reproduction: Hags are a unanimously female race, with their male counterpart either unseen today or nonexistent. Even then, should a mortal or indeed other Fae feel depravity deep enough to attempt to sire offspring with one, they would find nothing but failure. For this reason, Hags cannot reproduce. Conventionally, anyhow. When a Hag feels her motherly urges (or grand scheme) tingle in her cold, shriveled heart, she will instead elect (most times) to kidnap a darling young baby from the comfort of their mother's crib, late in the night. The Hag scoops up the child and places a strange root in their place, somewhat resembling a foul bunch of ginger, which shifts its shape to bear the likeness of the child, although sickly and pale. Of course soon the root begins to rot back into its original form, but by the time the illusion is dispelled and it's made clear that the child had in fact been swiped, the Hag has already carted off the child in a bucket or some other crude method of kidnapping. What the Hags do with their children is mostly a mystery to the mortal folk, but when they intend to raise a child as their own they are said to subject them to cruel manipulation and sorcery to mould their young mind against mankind and to remain loyal to their precious, wrinkly mother. Throughout their life, starting from the first full moon after they are taken, the child is touched by the magic of the Hag and taken through anywhere from four to thirteen rituals of dark magic and mystery to create a creature known as a "Hagspawn"; A pseudo-fae similar to a Dryad who is capable of casting the same esoteric magic that their mother does, however lacking any of their other otherworldly powers, such as any boon in strength or their pseudonatural attunement to the wilds. Hagspawn exhibit characteristics similar to the Hag that took them in, IE green skin, leaves of bracken, strange height, a preference for human flesh, or other strange and icky features. Younger Hagspawn show only meager changes and inclination toward magic, as it is only when they reach full adulthood that their final ritual is complete and they sacrifice their humanity to the will of their sweet, innocent mothers. Until then, they are often treated like pets or servants, with a rare few being considered legitimate progeny, though they can seldom see past their ensorcled perception of her. Should any of the rituals be disrupted before the final spell, all the Hag's work will be unwound and they will return to normal. For that reason, a hag is very protective and secretive about their snatched children. The magical ability of a Hagspawn is not nearly as potent as the Hag itself; It requires training and discipline to master, as it isn't an innate craft to them. Hagspawn can be either male or female, but females are far more common, and males are only taken should they exhibit something special to the Hag. Gathering food: While a Hag is strong both magically and physically, they possess only meager hunting ability, being lazy and and apathetic if forced into physical persuit of prey; Thus they are a cunning predator, rather than a noble one. They rely on traps, tricks, lures and guile to find their prey, magic often playing no small part in the process of their predation. Some find even lazier methods of sustenance such as keeping gardens and livestock or somehow garnering offerings of food from a local populace, while other, crueler Hags take more active approaches, such as sneaking up on unsuspecting prey and making short work of them with their strength. Magic: A Hag's magic is almost completely alien to the realms of man; Something spawned from the Ethereal Forest itself, which migrated across the very planes to find very small niches in our world in the form of covens. It is from this magic that stories of witchcraft first arose, and as such it is a reliable practice to look to old tales and song for what power it may hold. Flying brooms, dream-weaving, turning people into frogs and the lot. It is a truly strange and foggy magic that most mortals are not able to grasp, lacking something in their very essence that facilitates its actuation- It does originate from an entirely different plane, after all. Their spells seem to draw power and influence varying sources and subjects, with different covens having sometimes entirely different approaches to their power, and different themes. Common is the use of cauldrons or altars across all of them, but otherwise it is a mystery as to how exactly it works. Tales have been told of witches who eat dreams and weave nightmares, hags who tear out a tribesman's heart and replace it with a bear's, and crones who boil toad warts to brew the fabled love potion. They are commonly in possession of objects enchanted with this alien power, their magic being difficult to apply directly or on-the-fly, and this is one of the many reasons that adventurers hunt them and unsavory folk strike deals with them; Their glorious and otherworldly loot. In addition to their mystical spellcraft, however, the Hags also have some innate pseudonatural abilities in them, such as breathing underwater or seeing visions of the future. Those are only their tertiary abilities, though; Across all hags, they bear one common ability: The ability to change their form. While it takes complex spellcraft and premeditation in order to utilize this ability at will, there is one condition in which a Hag will involuntarily shift form: Upon the moment before death. Should a Hag be slain under any circumstances, their dark magic will, rather than banish them to the Ethereal Forest, shift their shape into the form of a small creature to attempt to flee, in a straight, frenzied beeline toward the nearest escape route. This will often free them from ropes or other binding and heal their wounds, however it will not supernaturally assuage whatever brought them so close to death in the first place. ( This is, of course, with exception to Hags who were manifested naturally and not through invasive means, who will regrow similar to a Cervitaur rather than be banished back to their natural plane. ) Origin: As said above; The Hag is a twisted and ugly Fae born of the reflection of Nature's greed and malice, a trait often displayed in opportunistic predators or mischievous apes and birds. More often than not, they do not suit the purpose of defending the wilds, and are not welcomed into them. The Hags were woven into life as powerful, mystical agents of the Aspects, set to lead and advise other Fae, and to protect sacred sites. However, with power, knowledge and free-willed essence came the ugly shadow of the sacred Forest's mire. They took on the traits of Nature's ugliest souls. With all the other boggarts they now rest; Bad Fae, the sort that wants to wreak havoc and do all kinds of nasty things to the people of the mortal plane. They are not prisoners, as the Aspects are either apathetic or love their creations big and small. They are, however, useless for their dogma of preserving the wilds, and thus remain in the muck, unused. An abysmal number hags are loyal or dutiful enough to be manifested within the mortal wood, so the rest-- almost all of them-- remain in the mire indefinitely, purposeless and bitter. For these reasons, very few of them exist upon the mortal plane-- And fewer still are there by the Aspects' command. They find their way there because the Hags, in their wisdom, have a knack for finding ways to escape their planar bounds and descend onto the mortal world. This is often done by the power of their alien magic and esoteric blood rites rather than the consent of the Aspects. Holes from which they escape are often made in places where the other Fae do not look-- In the bottoms of wells, in wardrobes, in the bark of a sickly tree... For, if one connected to the wilds were to lay eyes upon the scar their passage left, they would be able to track their presence down across any distance and know that they were not meant to be here, regardless of if they know what they are or what their implications mean. An alien, chaotic aura surrounds them. Though they are immortal, being slain true would cause their essence to return to the Ethereal Forest, to start the dance again. This is something that they despise greatly, rationally or not, and so they naturally fear the scar of their travels being found. Weaknesses: - Mortal weaponry pierces their flesh with ease, though they are strong and formidable opponents. Gold offers no innate advantage against them, however the presence of meteoric iron in a weapon can cause a Hag's magic to fizzle, their strength to wane, and their final escape attempts to fail-- Meaning, it not only weakens them significantly, but banishes them far easier. - In addition to their weakness to meteoric iron, a Hag suffers from the natural aversion to voidal magic that other fae do, and it proves exceptionally effective against them, provided the Hag hasn't ensorcled some way to protect themselves from it-- Even then, that would only work against certain approaches. - Should a Druid or other Fae (or possibly a Shaman?) lay eyes upon the gateway that a Hag entered through, they will, from that moment on, have her trail to the ends of the earth, and find that her illusions will no longer cloud their perception of her. - Sub-weakness: Hagspawn are likely weak to Ascended Magic, as well, being creatures with altered soulstuff. They are more than likely not subject to the Aspect-Aeriel pact, and thus free game for their fire. LM Approval Required: Yes? If playable, what are redlines? Intended for ET use, Hagspawn and all!

One sapling seems a little draconian, but otherwise this is pretty alright! I believe the previous limit that was in mind when this was discussed was 3.

why do you hate druids so much that you need to heckle them every time As with many other things in Druidism; It comes down to the creativity of the one who's using it, and good communication with the MT. I've seen normally useless and impotent plants become vital healing tools by imbuing power to the latent potential within them, I've seen Druids utilize herbs that are normally too volatile to safely have a practical use, and I've seen it enhance plants with outstanding utility as-is into herbs with supernatural effects. Not to mention some Druids who can pull things like mend skin with leaves or replace limbs with branches (although apparently that's just blight healing now with this revision which is something I'm not supportive of but I don't care enough about to protest)... Further; Its ritual use and RP potential, which has seen it gain much more utility than a simple healing tool. Many herbs do many things which aren't thought of. Things get really interesting when you pair druid plant magic with alchemy, though. Stuff gets weird. Cauldron rituals and witch-y spells; Potions that do some real funky stuff. But, that requires strict organization with the MT, so who has time for that? ... On another note, I'm going to miss the potential for direct healing. I've literally never seen a Druid, including myself, do it, but it was fun to argue with people that it was possible. edit: I forgot to mention that I will accept this revision albeit with a heavy heart for the loss of argument fuel.

Now that, right there, is a good retort. I don't have any time to actually make a big response right now, but you made good points anyway and I can't really argue them well. I respect this dude. The primary idea I fear is that this would disrupt pre-existing spooky cults respecting Nemiisae who believe she is the one responsible in maintaining the eventual death of all things, hates undead, and to a lesser extent unnatural healing. Her indifference to how something dies, indifference to even murder enacted in her name. Her whispered worship. You get the picture. But that's just an IC thing that would be confusing, not really an OOC conflict. Oh also not the murdercults to Nemiisae. The less successful, less popular ones. I'm sleepy.

Hey, this is cool and I really like it. You wrote well and I mean that. But, there is one thing. Most of what you described here is already seen, more or less, in an interpretation and IC history of Nemiisae (Druidic version, not spooky ooky cave elf one- Same god, different worship and interpretation), if not her actual personality in lore according to some people. Do you think they'd conflict?

The Aspects created Soul Trees, though, and their state of being is inherently magical.

Half the post details why that idea would be concluded. edit: also don't blame me blame the gm who wanted it set to that I just wanted my race changed alright

And there's a few players that disagree and a big ol' debate that can be had about it, hence this post. Flam was the one who encouraged me to make it, yo. edit: Also, most recent judgment on the matter was suspended until this was posted I think, but don't quote me on that.