ToodIes

y'all really missed the OOC consent part of a geas, huh but there are other valid criticisms that i might write later

I hope you can make a clean break, friend. You deserve that much.

>Archons Although now that I think about it, anyone can RPly say anything, it doesn’t make it true.

Pleasantly Peasant 10k Of Sins and Virtues 10k Discord: Toodles#1481

Might as well kill you instantly, then, if it can be easily slipped into food, induces symptoms easily mistaken for something else, and to cure it requires essentially metagaming. I don’t know what the LT was trying to do by wiping poisons, but I hope it wasn’t to clear the way for ones like these. Also, now that I look more closely at it, Kholidav’s Frenzy is nonsensical, too. Druids don’t have any way of “enhancing” large sections of land- they have herblore and infusions, both of which work on individual herbs or artifacts. Saying that it’s ineffective on druidically-enhanced land is therefore moot, and it can’t act as a counter for it. A potion that causes plants to totally ignore druidic healing-- which is what blight healing is supposed to do-- and can only be cured by other alchemy is ridiculous. Let blight healing do what it’s supposed to do, and don’t have alchemy be the end-all be-all when it’s a feat that doesn’t use any slots.

Four measures of goblin’s ivy? You only need one to purge the contents of someone’s stomach, adding three more won’t do anything. And why Desert Berry Bush and Frost Vine? The two have no curative properties when ingested by themselves. It seems like a completely arbitrary combination.

When have Archons ever been anything but a powercreep for a specific group lmao, keep them dead

“Snakes of unusual size? I don’t think they exist,” says Ithuriel.

@ScreamingDingo

Well, you do have to do two different tells. If someone doesn’t notice either of those, it’s kind of on them.

~+ Mental Magic +~ Origin (ripped directly from the last rewrite.) (you can skip this part) The concrete origin of mental magic, as with most other voidal magics, has been lost to history. All we have now are tales, inscribed in dusty scrolls. One such tale was written by Jon Evaglno, generally held to be the founder of modern mental magic. “In Asulon, there is a place that all living creatures avoid at all costs: the Wretched Grove. This forest of snow and ice has existed in Asulon for many centuries, and its corruption has led many to fear it. However, this forest is not truly what it seems. It was once home to a people known as the children of the forest. These people were unlike the other races that existed in Asulon, in that they kept no place to live. They did not need one, as they were born of trees, and could survive without a roof over their heads. The children of the forest were connected to the trees, for the trees were their ancestors who guided the race in everything they did. The children of the forest had a power over minds of trees and animals alike. The people loved peace, and hated anything that threatened it. The council of trees soon decreed that all the children of the forest should not reveal themselves to anything in their true forms, be it an animal or another Asulonian race. Many came through the grove, and none learned of the children of the forest, so they soon passed out of memory and into legend. There was a terrible nation in Asulon that had just dawned. It developed beasts of fire that needed wood to survive. Before long, the nation had destroyed many forests, leaving harsh deserts where lush forest once was. The nation came across what would be later known as the wretched grove. They brought their lumberjacks with fire and axes to clear the forest and burn its wood to feed their beasts of fire. The eldest tree, known as the Tree of Minds, saw the urge to destroy in the people's mind, and entered every being's mind that it could, and drove many away. It could not get all the minds, so it called upon the children of the forest to defend their home. As soon as the children tried to attack, the men brought their beasts of fire to end this squabble. The beast roared, and shot smoke, and threatened to destroy the peaceful grove the children had worked so hard to protect. After a long and arduous battle, every child of the forest had been killed, and only the Tree of Minds still stood. Even then, the tree was wounded, and continued to fight. However, the losses were not of the children's alone. Almost every person who attacked was either driven away or killed, leaving only a small band among them. The tree changed what they saw, and turned brother on brother. After all had been slaughtered except one, the tree allowed the final one standing to see what he had wrought. In seeing what his fit of madness had caused, he fled, and nothing came to the tree for a long time. After this event, the Tree of Minds was filled with anger. It cast out everything that came near with violent hallucinations. Eventually, the wound it took healed, and its rage subsided. The tree now appeared to be dead, but was the center of the now almost lifeless forest. It continued to force out almost all creatures. Some creatures, however, were allowed into the tree's inner grove to learn the ancient art of the children of the forest. They were chosen for their curiosity, knowledge, wisdom, or intelligence, and were granted the power to see into other's minds and change their senses. The very few who were granted this power were then cast out to keep the vicious peoples of the axe away from the only source of Mental Magic still existing. Then, a calamity ensued, destroying the Asulonians slowly. Many of the masters of the tree's art died out and were lost to history. The visitors to the tree became far and in between. Eventually, it could find no intelligent beings, and was alone in Asulon for some time. Then, the descendant races arrived from Aegis. After having been alone for such a long time, the tree quickly repelled all that came near the woods, now using more frightening images than it had during the time of the Original Asulonians. It only saw a squat and war-like people, and people who were fixated on destroying whatever they could to make themselves larger. After finding so many of these people, it found a tall, twig-like person. This person had neither intelligence, nor wisdom, nor knowledge in a great enough degree, but it had an ample amount of curiosity to be taken to the inner grove where the tree was. Here, the twiggy mind was taught the art of mental magic, and sent off, never to find the place again. It is unknown whether the tree has had visitors since this twiggy mind, but this is a place for them to come forward, and reveal their places of hiding.” Magical Explanation The Void, while a place from which power can be summoned, is also a conduit. Objects may travel through the void via translocation, people through shifting. Mental magic is the transference of one’s thoughts through the void, the endpoint being the mind of another. A mental mage will connect to the Void, lock onto their target’s mind via line-of-sight, and then infiltrate their mind through their Voidal connection. Once there, they can wreak all sorts of havoc through mental jolts or inducing catatonia; but they can also use their connection for more benevolent purposes, such as telepathy or the healing of mental illnesses. As the years pass, and the Void shifts, the abilities of mental magic have changed. No longer can mages read their victims’ mind like a book; only information that targets wish to divulge can be divulged. Thusly, mental barriers are ineffective, as there is no need to guard ones’ private thoughts. However, mental mages do have extensive tools to make their targets squeal. Also, the ability to press illusive images and sounds onto an awakened target has been lost, along with the ability to alter memories. Mechanical Explanation Mental magic requires a great deal of cooperation between the target and the caster. There needs to be a lot of OOC communication, preferably in /msg, between the two. Connecting to another’s mind requires two emotes, and one /msg command. The mage must have their first tell to display that they are connecting to the void. Their next emote must be a separate, different tell, to display that they’ve connected to their target’s mind. Upon connection, the caster must also type up an emote in /msg to their target, informing them that their character feels a presence within their own mind. The target will always be aware of this, unlike in the old lore where it could be subtle. When using abilities, the caster must both emote in /msg, following the normal emote count of combat, and inform the target OOCly of certain things. These will be detailed in individual redlines. Mental magic works on anything that possesses a mind capable of processing thoughts and that can be seen by the caster. Its effectiveness does not vary from person to person- it works just as well on a Shade as on a sprite. Mental magic, as it no longer reads the target’s mind, is unhindered by the presence of a Shade, Druidic voices, a voidal horror, or anything else that used to make it difficult. Mental barriers are likewise null and removed. Mental magic can no longer cast illusions on its target. This has been replaced with mental jolts. Mental magic still retains the power of memory removal and memory restoration, but the ability to manipulate memories has been removed. This could be re-added if someone comes up with good enough rules for it. Mental magic uses one slot. Abilities Telepathy (non-combat) Telepathy is the nonviolent insertion of thoughts into the targets’ mind. To the target, clearly-foreign thoughts begin popping up inside their own stream of thought. The target can respond telepathically if they wish, but only thoughts they want the mental mage to hear are heard. Telepathy only requires the two connection emotes to initiate, and then proceeds with the normal flow of RP. It takes place in /msg, and cannot be faster than a normal spoken conversation (i.e., keep to normal emote turns as you would when speaking out loud.) It can be initiated so long as the caster can see the target in Minecraft. Redlines: Telepathy cannot be used to shock a person, or to halt casting. It’s very mellow, and simply for communicative purposes. Telepathy can only be used to convey words and images. No feelings or sensation. Telepathy proceeds at the same speed as a spoken conversation, emote-wise. You can’t speed-emote with a friend in /msg while combat is going on. Telepathy requires line-of-sight, but has no maximum range. The caster must OOCly inform the target that they can communicate through thoughts, but only thoughts that the target wants the caster to hear. Mental Jolt; or, Aggressive Telepathy (combat) A mental jolt is telepathy intended to physically stagger an opponent, or interrupt their focus while casting. The caster martials a “burst” of highly-disruptive thoughts, which completely halts an opponent in their tracks with sheer distraction. An emote example of this is in the guide. Mental jolts require three emotes to cast, like your garden-variety fireball. They last for only an emote, thoroughly disorienting the target. Mental jolts can halt a warrior swinging a sword, or cause a mage’s shield-wall to dissipate (assuming said shield-wall is arcane and requires active focus to maintain). When used on a casting mage, it resets them back to their first emote-- so, a voidal mage affected by a jolt would still be connected to the void, but their fireball would dissipate and they’d have to summon it again. When used on a charging swordsman, all of their momentum would abruptly cease, staggering them a step or two back or onto their knees. Mental jolts require another three emotes to cast again, preventing someone from locking their opponent into a chain of jolts. Redlines: Jolts have a range of 20 blocks, and require line-of-sight. Jolts cannot be used in quick succession, requiring a full three emotes for each. (Two emote buildup, one emote stun). Jolts do not cause any pain or physical harm- they merely disorient the target for an emote. The caster must OOCly inform the target that they’ll be temporarily stunned for an emote, and their magical/physical momentum neutralized. Catatonia (combat) Catatonia is inducing unconsciousness, by overloading a target’s mind with thoughts and inputs. It takes a long period of unbroken focus for the caster to perform, but is well worth it. Upon completion, the target simply falls to the ground, helpless and sleeping for as long as the caster maintains focus. Many spells can only be performed from a state of catatonia. Catatonia takes a while to cast, akin to other powerful spells. It firstly requires the two connection emotes of mental magic, followed by three emotes of unbroken focus; the target is reduced to a sleeping state on the sixth emote. It can be avoided by breaking the focus of the caster, or by exiting the caster’s range or line-of-sight. The target is aware that some sort of spell is being casted on them, but may not necessarily know how to avoid it. The target is fully able to run and jump and cast while the spell is being casted, only becoming unconscious on the sixth emote. Redlines: Catatonia requires five emotes to cast, and the target falls unconscious on the sixth emote. The target must be within twenty blocks. If they leave this radius the spell will be canceled, although the caster will remain connected for telepathic purposes. The target must also be within the caster’s sight at all times. Catatonia requires constant focus from the caster, even after the target’s fallen asleep. Interruption of this focus causes the target to awaken after a few minutes. The target cannot be awakened by any other means. The caster must OOCly inform the target that their character feels some sort of spell building, but is otherwise unhindered in combat. Catatonic Illusions (non-combat) While normal mental illusions have been removed, catatonic illusions still remain. The target, while asleep, finds themself in whatever environment the caster desires. The caster can do whatever they imagine within this dreamlike environment, and the target is powerless to affect any change. There is no emote count for any illusions, nor limitation on what illusions can be manifested for the target. Any sight, sound, smell, physical feeling, taste, or sensation can be evoked onto the target by the caster. It’s essentially a lucid dream, where the caster is the lucid dreamer. They take place in /msg. Redlines: Catatonic illusions can only be cast on a target affected by catatonia, or a target already asleep through normal means. Catatonic illusions follow the same timeline as realtime emotes. No compressing an eternity of torture into one emote. Catatonic illusions cannot cause physical harm to the target. If they “die” during a catatonic illusion, they’ll be perfectly unharmed in real life. CATATONIC ILLUSIONS CANNOT BE USED TO BREAK ANY SERVER RULES. I hate that I have to write this. Catatonic Torture / Healing (non-combat) While not technically a separate ability (being included under catatonic illusions), catatonic torture and catatonic healing are used to do exactly what their name implies. Torture is used as a replacement to the removal of mind-reading. As it is no longer possible to simply read the mind of a target, catatonic torture uses the unlimited resources of catatonic illusions to make a target squeal. Catatonic torture can also induce mental illnesses, as normal torture can. Catatonic healing, on the other hand, is meant to soothe and alleviate mental illnesses from damaged minds. It can also detect magical curses that affect the mind, but may or may not be able to remove them. Catatonic torture and healing have no required emote counts. At their core, they’re enhanced torture and therapy that use the unlimited potential of catatonic illusions. Catatonic healing requires OOC consent to relieve a target of their mental illness, whereas catatonic torture requires OOC consent to induce mental illness. However, it is powergaming for a target to resist catatonic torture in order to keep secrets. No character has the mental fortitude to resist torture by someone who is, effectively, omnipotent. Catatonic healing can detect mind-affecting magical curses (like a shamanic or necromantic curse) but cannot remove said curse unless stated in the lore of the magic which the curse is from. Redlines: Catatonic torture requires OOC consent to induce mental illness. Catatonic healing requires OOC consent to alleviate mental illness. Catatonic torture cannot be resisted by a target, when the caster is looking for information. If you’re captured for long enough that you must be released because of server rules, or that you need to go OOCly, the information must be divulged by then. The caster must OOCly inform the target that resisting catatonic torture is powergaming, that the inducing of any mental illnesses requires their OOC consent, and that the healing of any mental illnesses requires their OOC consent. Memory Removal (non-combat) Memory removal is a kinder alternative to killing someone. The caster will reach into the mind of a catatonic target, and forcefully rip out new memories or old. This is a highly painful process, requiring a great deal of focus from a powerful mental mage. The most powerful mages can wipe a target’s memories entirely clean, casting them into the Void forevermore. A target will not be aware, upon waking up, that their memory has been wiped-- another mental mage will be able to discover the hole in their recollections, however, if they put the target into a catatonic state. Memory removal can only be performed on a catatonic or sleeping target. Memory removal requires four emotes to perform, atop already rendering the target catatonic. It causes a great deal of pain to the caster, necessitating unbroken focus. A caster can only remove a memory the caster already knows is there. Redlines: Memories from the last OOC hour, or memories that the target would forget upon death, can be removed without the OOC consent of the target. Long-term memories can only be removed with the OOC consent of the target. The caster must be aware of the existence of a memory to wipe it. They cannot “search” through the memories of the target. Memory Restoration (non-combat) If a mental mage becomes aware of a “hole” in their target’s memory, they can attempt to retrieve said memories from the Void. This is a haphazard process, even for the most skilled of practitioners, and often only a fraction of a memory will return. If too much time has passed, the stolen memories may be lost from the world forever. Memory restoration requires six emotes to perform. It can only be performed on a catatonic or sleeping target. The caster doesn’t necessarily need to be aware of what they’re restoring- they merely found a hole in the target’s memory, and are attempting to patch that hole. Redlines: Memory restoration can only be performed 3 OOC days after memories were removed, without the OOC consent of the remover. With the OOC consent of the remover, memories from any time may be restored. Memory restoration only restores memories removed by memory removal, not memories removed by death. After having their memories erased, the target will not be aware that their memories were erased unless told IC; it is metagaming to go have your memories restored when not informed that any were removed ICly, unless your character regularly has their memory checked for holes every three days. The caster must OOCly inform the target that removing a memory beyond 1 OOC hour or what the target would forget if they died requires their OOC consent. Tier Progression T1: Mage learns how to connect to the Void, and to the mind of the target. Brief, fuzzy telepathic communication can be achieved, but they’re likely to collapse after a few moments. Lasts for two weeks. T2: Mage can hold telepathy for up to ten RP minutes. Mage can learn and perform a single mental jolt, before collapsing into unconsciousness. Lasts for two weeks. T3: Mage can learn and perform catatonia on a target, and can cast catatonic illusions for up to ten RP minutes before collapsing into unconsciousness. Mage can perform four mental jolts before collapsing into unconsciousness. Mage can perform telepathy indefinitely. Lasts for two months. T4: Mage can learn and perform memory restoration and memory removal once before collapsing into unconsciousness. Mage can perform catatonia twice, or can maintain catatonic illusions for up to two RP hours before collapsing into unconsciousness. Mage can perform ten mental jolts before collapsing into unconsciousness. Mage can perform telepathy indefinitely. Lasts for two months. T5: Mage can entirely wipe the memory of the target (with OOC consent) before collapsing into unconsciousness. Mages can perform memory restoration and removal once without collapsing, but it tires them significantly. Mage can perform catatonia thrice, or can maintain catatonic illusions for 12 RP hours before collapsing into unconsciousness. Mage can perform fifteen mental jolts before collapsing into unconsciousness. Mage can perform telepathy indefinitely. General Redlines Mental magic requires line-of-sight at all times. If the target hides entirely behind something, the connection is broken and any spells being performed cease. Mental magic requires focus. If this focus is broken, through injury or something else, whatever spell is being performed ceases and the connection is broken. Mental magic requires two tells, one while connecting to the Void, and one while connecting to another mind. Each require one emote. Mental magic uses mana, and proper exhaustion must be roleplayed. Mental magic induces physical weakness in any who use it, as with all other Voidal magics. This must be roleplayed. Mental magic cannot be applied to any enchantments, but can be warded as per normal warding rules. Mental magic can be used while possessing any other magic, or while being any creature, unless stated otherwise in the lore of that magic or creature. Purpose Mental magic’s been a part of the server for a while, and I was sad to see it shelved over issues with mind-reading. So, I decided to rewrite it due to the lore games, streamlining and adapting and outlining a lot. Mental magic still serves its utility-focused role, with secure communication through telepathy, investigative RP through catatonic torture, a nice alternative to just killing people (and thus ending RP) through memory removal, healing RP through catatonic healing, and so on and so forth. I made catatonic torture the alternative to mind-reading, as it creates RP as opposed to simply slipping into someone’s mind and asking a pointed question out loud. I removed mental illusions so it’d no longer step on sensory illusion’s toes. I added mental jolts, for additional (but limited) combat functionality to complement the utility status of the magic and to compensate for the removal of illusions. All in all, I hope that this lore’s accepted, and mental mages can get back to messing with hapless people. Citations The last (outdated) rewrite: link. Credits Toodles, for rewriting everything Everyone who provided feedback Everyone who wrote or rewrote mental magic in the past Jesus Christ

I unironically like this iteration a lot more. Props to you, @Dunstan

[!] A notice is sent out to the Druids of the Mother Circle, a posting appears on the Grove’s bulletin board, and a small tome can be found in the library. ~{| Laws of the Mother Grove |}~ Preamble All Druids of the Order are permitted to enforce reasonable punishments of their own choosing against outsiders- for all purposes, they are considered “guards”. Reasonable punishments shouldn’t include the death of the criminal, unless it’s in self-defense or in extenuating circumstances. Punishments against members of the Order for breaking the law will be determined by Archdruids. An act of the following in the Mother Grove will be considered a violation of the law: Casting voidal or dark magic Theft Harassment Destruction of Property Harming of Nature Assault Kidnapping Murder Refusing to leave when ordered by a Druid Entering while Shunned (without Archdruid permission) Entering while banished (without Archdruid permission) Entering while a dark creature (such as a Lich) (without Archdruid permission) Entering while an unnatural creature (such as a Golem) (without Archdruid permission) [!] The notice, the posting, and the book are signed by the three Archdruids of the Mother Circle at the time: Autumn Druid, Nivndil Duskhollow Scorpion Druid, Elenora Zytiaear ❤️ Sable Druid, Ithuriel Tathron

[!] A little birdie flutters around, carrying a brief note. ”After discussion, it has been decided that a Mother Circle Druid who has been attuned for an elven year may nominate and vote on the nominations of Hierophants.”

[!] A notice is sent out to the Druids of the Mother Circle, and a small, thin tome appears in their library. It is dated to 1700. ~{| Moot Guidelines |}~ Only Archdruids can call a Moot. Anyone can approach Archdruids if they want a Moot to be called for whatever reason. Anyone can attend a Moot, except Shuns and banished (unless their presence is specifically requested). Archdruids have the right to remove anyone at their discretion. Archdruids lead the discussion at Moots. Attuned Druids may speak freely unless told to stop. Dedicants and outsiders may only speak if they raise their hand and are called upon. Any dedicant who speaks out of turn will be reprimanded. Some decisions will be made at Moots, although many are made by Archdruids. These decisions can be made by a simple majority vote among all the Druids attending, a majority vote among all Mother Circle Druids, or a majority vote among all Inner Circle Druids (Guides, Archdruids, and Hierophants of the Mother Circle). Nominations for Guideship or Hierophancy are made at the end of Moots. Nominations for an Archdruid are made immediately after that Archdruid retires. Nominations for Guideship may be made by any attuned Druid of the Mother Circle (including Archdruids). Nominations for Hierophancy may be made by any Inner Circle member, or any Mother Circle member who has been attuned for an elven year. Nominations for Archdruids may be made by any attuned Druid of the Mother Circle, except for current Archdruids. Nominees must be asked if they accept their nominations. Nominees for Archdruid and Hierophancy must be present at the Moot. Nominees for Guide need not be present, if they have previously indicated that they would accept their nomination. Only attuned Druids of the Mother Circle may vote on Guideships. Only Inner Circle members and Mother Circle members attuned for an elven year may vote on Hierophancies. To pass, a guideship or hierophancy must simply have more “ayes” than “nays”. Only attuned Druids of the Mother Circle may vote on Archdruids (except for current Archdruids). To be confirmed as an Archdruid, a candidate must have the most “ayes”. A “nay” removes an “aye” from a candidate. Shuns and unshuns may occasionally be decided via Moot, but are mostly decided amongst the Archdruids. Anyone may propose topics for discussion, subject to Archdruid approval, after all Archdruid-led topics have been discussed. They may come up to the podium to speak if the Archdruids allow them to. [!] The notice, and the book, are signed by the three Archdruids of the Mother Circle at the time: Autumn Druid, Nivndil Duskhollow Scorpion Druid, Elenora Zytiaear Sable Druid, Ithuriel Tathron

Iconoclasm isn't a weakness if the magic's shelved. Considering how it's the only magic they're vulnerable to while spectral, and it doesn't exist, this seems like a pretty big oversight.

What’s your MC Name? Toodles (might be using an alt account for this character, though) How long have you been a part of this server? Since February 2016 Have you played an Orc before? Have you ever been interested in playing an Orc? I haven't played an Orc before. I was interested in playing one back when Smawton was Rex in Vailor, and I'm interested in it again now. How much do you know about Orcish culture? Would you feel comfortable on your own? I know the basics, what you can get from old forum posts. Hopefully there'd be a bit of IC instruction.