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Vezzin

Creative Wizard
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About Vezzin

  • Birthday July 27

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    Vezzin

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    America (East coast time zone)
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  • Character Name
    Eldridge
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    Halfling

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  1. Hello! I haven’t posted in a while, but I feel that I need to bring up my klone lore, as I hear it’s been circulating in spite of all the other lore being shelved. I’d simply like it to be known on here-- where someone who doesn’t know me can see for themselves-- that as its creator I don’t support its continued use. 

    1. Show previous comments  2 more
    2. Rickson

      Rickson

      clap emoji

    3. Space

      Space

      extremely odd when people try to maintain some sort of intellectual property over lore they create for lotc.

       

      copyright is a cop steal as much **** as you can

    4. Abyssus

      Abyssus

      7 hours ago, The King Of The Moon said:

      That’s just the way the cookie crumbles, friendo. You’ll live.

      **** you


      your magic is terrible

  2. Puking Toad Tonic While this oil doesn’t injure its unfortunate drinker in any way, it is still rather cruel to administer. Shortly after this potion is consumed, the substance of the oil will slowly expand, and the subject will begin vomiting large slug-like fiends*. The slugs come in punctuated rounds, starting off with lots of big slugs and gradually finishing with less frequent, less numerous smalls slugs. The main portion of this effect lasts about 5 minutes (irp), but every so often over the course of the next 4-5 (irp) hours, the person will spit up another slug. The oil itself is slimy in consistency, and a dark greenish-brown in color. Slugs vary in dull color. *These slug fiends are not inherently hostile because they are just so unintelligent and microbe-like that they don’t feel any emotion at all. After just a day (irp) they are reduced to a motionless sludge that’s hard to wash out of clothes, but until then they wander aimlessly and feel and taste like any usual slug. They can also be disposed of sooner by pouring beer on them. Base: Lard 2 symbols of water (fluidity, life) 1 symbol of air (tremor) 1 symbol of fire (disorder) 2 symbols of earth (resilience, decay) Author: Vezzin LM approval: No?
  3. Does anyone know who's doing the build for the library of dragur in the next map..?

  4. 1505770421561_1_by_vezzin-dbnueax.png

    @Tox he greets u at the gates of hell in these boots

  5. The Soul cannot distinguish between the Original and the Shell unless the Shell is severely mutated. Each of the Shells pull on the Soul all of the time, just a little bit, because the whole is naturally trying to reach an equilibrium and spread the soul out evenly amongst its physically separated parts. However, this can't happen because the Shell Pool isn't actually strong enough to tear the soul apart. Because of these two points, the Shell Pool is created.
  6. The Shells, in a way, form one big whole even though they are physically disconnected on the material plane. Destroying a Shell can be comparable to losing an arm. The whole truly contains the soul, not each body, even though the Soul can only have one Prioritized Shell at one time. This may not be fully understood by characters in rp, I say to those who are afraid that this contains too much science fiction for LOTC.
  7. The Juliet Potion is unable to influence the soul, correct. When one is consumed to perform a transfer, the body's inhospitable state (although in reality just temporary and limbo-like in nature) triggers the Soul's migration into the Shell Pool. Similar to dealing yourself a fatal blow, but without doing any real damage if that makes sense...
  8. I'd like to clarify that my intention was not to bring a futuristic element to LOTC. I see how you can see this as science ficiton because of how Cloning has become popular in the genre, but I intended it to have a Frankenstein's laboratory, old apothecary whose basement is on steroids vibe. I chose to use alchemy for my purpose because I too wanted to give it more lore, and because I didn't want to create yet another creature or magic for LOTC. (Edit: I also didn't want to create another being that gains superpowers of any kind or gives you an advantage in combat.) I included the origin of the word at the beginning of the post to show how this word originated, though I didn't mention that it was coined in 1903. http://www.npr.org/2011/03/11/134459358/Science-Diction-The-Origin-Of-The-Word-Clone I hope this helps with the way in which this lore post is viewed. I do intend to make it open to test subjects by placing some form of advertisement around settlements if the lore is accepted.
  9. "Lady Cora," he said, "sometimes one has to do things which are unpalatable. When great issues are involved one can't toy with the situation in silk gloves. No. We are making history." -Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan Introduction to Kloning {Klone - based on Ancient Greek κλών (klṓn, “twig”) Twigs would be cut from trees and grown into identical trees or grafted onto other trees.} It was originally tested on rats and mice, and after much trial and error, was proven successful. It is possible in theory to klone any living thing- even including plants- but one must be warned that not all things will be able to survive the necessary extractions involved with the kloning process. Upon death, one will wake up in their Shell, to put it simply. A Shell is not ‘alive,’ nor does it have a soul. Duplication of the soul does not occur when the body is replicated in this way. A Shell will not perform basic functions of life such as respiration, maintaining internal environment, growth/repair, intake of nutrients, or excretion on its own. When removed from the chamber in which it is grown, it will begin to decay at the same rate as a normal body. By itself, a Shell is in a way, a corpse that was never lived in to begin with. A ‘Hermit Crab’ is a slang term used when referring to someone who swaps bodies relatively often, or in an ongoing cycle, like how a hermit crab swaps Shells. The Procedures The Original When creating a Shell of something, the body it is being made in the image of is called its Original. Because Shells can be produced using other Shells, “the Original” does not always refer to the body in which a person was born of their mother. That would be called the “True Original” to clarify. THE JELLY AND THE SLIVERS The Jelly is the alchemical concoction which keeps a Shell safe and prompts it to grow. A good portion of the Jelly will be recycled to build the body of the Shell itself with no waste product. It varies slightly in color, but is never vibrant, and is transparent but murky. It will be either a red, fatty off-white, pink, bruise-like violet, or something in between. It is smooth to the touch and difficult to wash off skin but not especially sticky in texture. At the proper temperature for use, it is a thick, slimy liquid, but when solidified, it behaves like Jell-O. It smells funky and meat-like, and tastes like raw flesh with an unsavory metallic aftertaste. The slivers are key, basic pieces of differing materials that make up a Shell’s body. In descendents, the most sound Slivers one can use are hair, skin, muscle, blood, and bone. But one can also use various organ tissues (such as liver) as well if removing bits of those organs will not be lethal. The masses of the slivers should be the same or the Shell will have problems in development. These will coalesce into a structure similar to a fetus, and from there will grow by accumulating mass using the jelly surrounding it as mentioned before. Slivers do not need to be enormous, but should be roughly proportionate to or larger than a raisin when dealing with something the size of a human or elf. Required Ingredients Everybody will require a different mixture of ingredients when creating their Shells’ Jelly. However, there are some important guidelines that you must follow. Here, we will use the mass of the Original as a unit of measurement, abbreviated MO. The base of the Jelly is actually made up of two components: +0.1 MO of blood (The amount of blood in your body) from the Original +2 MO of lard +0.005 MO of cerebrospinal fluid from the Original Blood is a very personalized alchemial base, lard is thick and highly caloric, and cerebrospinal fluid is created by the body to protect the brain and spinal cord. In cases where the subject does not have blood and/or spinal fluid, substitute with other vital fluids. (Some experimentation with others of its species may be required to determine how much is safe to remove at one time.) After the base has been created, begin adding reagents. Jelly requires reagents of all four elements, but primarily relies on air and water symbols. The ratio of elements and symbols differs based on the bone structure and other physical or even mental aspects that are unable to be changed naturally. (Bone structure, a mental disorder, race, a genetic disease, etcetera. Not fat, muscle, or opinions.) A relatively large amount of each reagent will be required, considering the volume of the base. Moderate to incredibly rare reagents are all that will suffice. The specifics of which reagents are used varies from subject to subject; one combination of reagents may work for one, but that does not necessarily mean it will work for another. There are two important ‘sets’ reagents in a Jelly recipe can be divided up into. The first set contains the essential symbols for accomplishing the general growth and functionality of the Shell. 2 Symbols of earth (protection, connection) 2 Symbols of fire (warmth, passion) 4 Symbols of water (nourishment, life, rebirth) 4 Symbols of air (movement, perception, precision) The second set contains symbols that vary from subject to subject. This will usually require specific reagents to be used as well. I haven’t listed specific reagents here though so that these examples can still be used as templates but will not be repeated for two characters by accident... I recommend using 4 to 6 extra symbols for these. Here are a few examples: Example 1: A stocky northerner with big bones and an inherited pain and cold tolerance. 2 more symbols of earth (endurance, hardiness) 2 more symbols of fire (pain, courage) 1 more symbol of water (ice or cold) Example 2: A dexterous and lanky elven lad. 3 more symbols of air (grace, fragility, quickness) 1 more symbol of water (clarity) Reagents should be ground to a very fine dust or smooth paste. Kloning the dead? Kloning cannot bring the dead back to life. If their soul has already departed to the soul stream, then it is too late for them. Shells can be generated from corpses if you wish, for some reason, to have more than one corpse of a person. The only thing is that the subject’s soul will not be pulled from the soul stream and deposited into it, and the Shell will not be part of any Shell Pool. (Shell Pools covered more in-depth later on.) Acquiring the Ingredients Many of the ingredients used in Kloning are siphoned from the Original, and if done without care, extractions can be fatal. One must know how much of each substance is safe to remove at a time, and how long they should wait before drawing more. I recommend you read through the links below to learn more about how to accurately roleplay symptoms of losing your precious vital fluids. Be careful when drawing blood from a major blood vessel. Profuse bleeding can easily lead to deadly hypovolemic shock. (About hemorrhages: https://www.quora.com/How-much-blood-can-a-human-lose-before-dying-of-hypovolemic-shock-blood-loss ) (The following cautionary advice applies to descendents only, due to the fact that different creatures are proportioned differently.) it is not recommended that you draw more than 10% of the subject’s blood at a time due to the risk of developing anemia. An average human male has 10-11 pints of blood, while an average human female has 9-10 pints of blood. You can use these mass to blood proportions to determine average amounts of blood in other descendent races. (About anemia: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anemia/symptoms-causes/dxc-20183157 ) The human brain produces only 500ML of cerebrospinal fluid each day. This fluid is constantly being reabsorbed, so that only 100-160ML is present at a time. Be very careful not to draw too much at a time, because a deficiency in the fluid can have a negative effect on the brain and lead to symptoms from headaches to paralysis. (About cerebrospinal fluid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebrospinal_fluid and https://www.cedars-sinai.edu/Patients/Programs-and-Services/Neurosurgery/Centers-and-Programs/Cerebrospinal-Fluid-Leak/CSF-Leak-A-Curable-Cause-of-Headache.aspx ) “GROWING” AND CARING FOR A SHELL “Growth:” Speed and General Appearance Over Time Once you have gathered the proper Slivers and assembled a Jelly mixture, it’s time to combine the two. Completely fill a large jar or other sealable container with the Jelly so that airspace in the top of the capsule is minimized but not necessarily eliminated. Introduce the 5 slivers, making sure to place them close together toward the center. The environment should be dark or dimly lit, and the Jelly should constantly be kept within three degrees Fahrenheit of the Original’s internal body temperature. (98°F or 37°C in humans.) THE FIRST ELVEN WEEK: If conditions are satisfactory, the Slivers will begin to mesh together and form a lumpy blob. All slivers other than skin will group around the sliver of bone before being covered by the remaining sliver of skin. After the Slivers have fused, we finally refer to the single mass they have formed as the Shell. The Slivers’ initial reaction with the Jelly will be a slow one; taking up to an elven day to display any noticeable changes. If this fails to happen, quickly move the Slivers to a different mixture of Jelly. Development is gradual and slow enough that it isn’t apparent to the naked eye from one moment to the next. It would be like watching a plant sprout. During this first week, it is recommended that the recipe used to make the Jelly is recorded exactly, and only a small portion is created to test whether or not it will take to the Slivers. THE SECOND ELVEN WEEK: Over time, the blob of a Shell will increase in size, and take on the grotesque silhouette of an infant version the Original. Rough features begin to form, but no eyes, nostrils, toes, fingers, ears, sexual organs, teeth, or a tongue will have formed. A cord-like structure begins to sprout from the back of the neck. It will take roughly an elven week to reach this point after the Slivers have formed together. THE THIRD ELVEN WEEK: The Shell will begin to grow hair and fingernails, and continue to develop complex body parts like the eyes and fingers. If no mutations are visible by now, it is recommended that a larger quantity of the mixture of Jelly used for the Shell is prepared so that the Shell can be transferred into a more spacious environment. THE FOURTH AND FIFTH ELVEN WEEKS: The Shell begins to refine its digestive, respiratory, circulatory, and nervous systems, in that order. It continues to grow larger and larger, but it is still not prepared to receive a transferring soul (talked about in the Soul Transfer section in further depth) because its underdeveloped organ systems would cause immediate lethal complications if put into use, putting it on par with a Shell that was stabbed to ‘death.’ THE SIXTH TO EIGHTH ELVEN WEEKS: The Shell continues growing larger and refining its vital organ systems, and while still flawed it is technically ready for use. The brain, especially, is still in development, and the areas responsible for higher mental functions such as concentration, planning, judgment, emotional expression, inhibition, creativity, and long-term memory are not ready. (This is also talked about in the Soul Transfer section.) THE NINTH ELVEN WEEK AND ONWARDS: The Shell is now safe for use if its development went as according to plan. It will continue to grow, entering ‘puberty’ at a usual age and adapting to changes. In the long term, a Shell will grow and mature at the same speed its Original grew. It is also bound to a life span, more commonly referred to as its shelf life. It will become unusable and start to dissolve if left in the Jelly as soon as it reaches the age where the Original would have died of old age. Elves, 1000 years, Humans, 100-150 years, etc. Elven Shells + Dying Jelly While an elven Shell will last for the typical 1000 years, the Jelly will not. Jelly lasts for a very long time, but it does not last forever. 100-150 years from its creation, it will go bad and begin to decay. When this happens, it will begin to get lighter in color and more opaque. Eventually, it will begin to liquify any Shell inside of it, and condense into a dry, flaky crust on the inside of its container. To preserve an elven Shell that’ll last longer than its Jelly, the Jelly will need to be completely replaced with new Jelly of the same exact recipe each time it begins to go bad. Are Shells in Any Way Different From the Original? You will notice as time passes that any features of the Original that were not influenced by genes will not appear in the form. This includes scars, belly buttons, callouses, missing body parts, tattoos, other modifications, etc. Shells are built based on the genetic makeup of the Original, and not the soul. This lack of basis on the soul is also why it is possible for a Shell to develop deformities and mutations. The difference between a deformed Shell and a mutated Shell is that the deformed Shell is still genetically identical to the original. A mutated Shell is not. (More on deformities and mutations will be included in the Botched Shells section and the Soul Transfer section.) There is only one non-genetic structure that will form, however. A mysterious, eerie, root-like network will sprout from the back of the neck, and stick to the inner wall of the capsule the Shell is being “grown” in. It seems to serve a similar function to the roots of a plant; idly absorbing surrounding Jelly to be recycled into the mass of the Shell with no waste product. It takes on a ghostly white tint instead of the skin color of the Shell, as it does not have any blood vessels or bones. However, it does has nerve endings throughout it that are linked to the Shell’s lifeless brain. It isn’t clear whether this is even a part of the Shell, or if it is a part of the Jelly, or if it is a third part all of its own. If a major section of it is cut off or strangled, it will cost the Shell valuable time developing until it forms a new cord or is relieved from pressure. Tampering with the roots does NOT expand a Shell’s shelf life. Monitoring a “Growing” Shell There are a few procedures you should follow when monitoring a Shell’s “growth.” It’s important to know as soon as possible if something is going wrong. One should perform routine inspections on a developing Shell. A few things to note when conducting an inspection are as follows: SKIN QUALITY - It is normal for the body to appear paler than usual, as it shouldn’t be exposed to too much sunlight. Watch out for the appearance of dryness, flaking, cracking, appearance of albinism, visibility of muscles, splotches, lumps, sagging, tightness, and anything else unnatural like that. NAILS - Toenails and Fingernails should lengthen at a normal rate. Make sure the Shell isn’t being poked by its nails where the skin might be punctured from repeated scratching. If nails grow too fast, and take on an unnatural color or appear breakable, be warned. HAIR - Hair should also lengthen at a normal rate. Make sure coils of hair do not strangle the root network. Watch out for unusual hair color, unusual hair loss, unusual receding of the hairline, appearance of dryness, and thinning. EYES - Eyes should be open, but appear restful, as if gazing off into space. Watch out for pinpoint pupils, cataracts, redness, unusual eye color, heterochromia, bugging out, and rolling back into the skull. However, it is usual for them to appear sunken. LIPS - Watch out for puffiness and cracking. It is usual for the lips to appear purplish or blue, but a healthy red is optimal. THE ROOTS - Again, make sure they are not being strangled. You may have to move parts of it around to keep it from tangling around itself. Avoid cutting it, but if you must, be careful not to cut off too much. They will usually be squishy like a water balloon; make sure they do not flatten easily or feel empty. When opening the capsule to tend to any unusual things you may see, be careful not to leave the Jelly exposed to the air for too long, and make absolute sure your tools are clean. This can easily be ensured by building tools for manipulation into the interior of its capsule. Leave any things you remove from the Shell in the Jelly at your own discretion. It is recommended to leave behind clipped hair and nails, though, as they will dissolve within an elven day and be recycled. If an eye, ear, or some other structure that doesn’t regenerate normally in members of the Originals race, do not worry. The wound will be sealed over in under an elven day, and blood expelled from the wound will be dissolved and recycled. Some structures will grow back in time, but anything larger than the forearm will not regenerate. Removing these parts in increments is not an option. BOTCHED SHELLS Not every Shell will turn out perfect, and sometimes whether or not one even ends up usable seems to be hit or miss. However, it really isn’t. The conditions a growing Shell must be kept in and the ingredients used to encourage its growth are more specific than researchers had speculated. It is easy to ruin a Shell though, and the topic deserves its own section. If you’re not careful, you’re at risk for botching a Shell at any time in its creation. Make sure to keep equipment and environment sterile any time the slivers, the jelly, or the growing Shell are going to be handled. Dirt, dust, hair, sweat, flakes of skin, and other contaminants, even in small quantities, can throw off your results. Botching Before Growth Once you have assembled your Jelly and gathered your Slivers properly, and you’re sure no contaminants have come in contact with your work, there is still a chance that the Jelly won’t take, and the body will not form. This can be attributed to a number of factors: +Dust/dirt/foreign blood/pollen/lint/etc contamination +Distancing between Slivers (If too far apart, they will not coalesce) +Excessive exposure to sounds exceeding 120 decibels +Intense light +Overexposure to air (Keep in an airtight capsule) +Rough handling and constant movement +Sudden increase or decrease in atmospheric pressure +Unsatisfactory conditions of cold or heat +Strong magical presences nearby, such as a voidal rift or an archon in transcended form If no change is observed within one elven day, you can be sure that the Slivers are being impeded from forming together, or that they have been permanently shocked out of reacting with the Jelly. Be careful not to wait this long though, as some of the Slivers will begin to decay normally if not in the process of growing! If this occurs, they will no longer be usable. If your Slivers are simply being impeded from forming together, quickly remedy poor conditions they may be under, and consider swifter correction by exposing them to the opposite of what had been a problem. (Ex: Exposing Slivers impeded by heat to the cold.) If your Slivers have been permanently shocked out of reacting with the Jelly, you will have to swap out the Slivers. If this happens, you will probably know what went wrong, because it would have had to be very major. (Ex: Dropping down a flight of stairs, rolling down a hill, freezing/boiling, or leaving open to air for a month.) Botching During Growth Do not congratulate yourself too soon after your Slivers form into the Shell. While a Shell will not stop accumulating mass if exposed to the factors mentioned above, they now risk deformity and mutation. Different contaminants and unsatisfactory conditions will cause different effects on the developing Shell. These are mistakes. They will either be neutral or detrimental; never solely helpful. (This will come up again in the Soul Transfer section.) Mutations Mutations encompass all previously known (irl) genetic disorders and can range from slightly differing hair color to horrifically scarring tumors, extra or missing limbs, cancer, and issues with formation of the brain that can cause severe psychological disorders. They can occur randomly in newly forming Shells and must be rolled for. First, roll a D6. If a 6 is rolled, your Shell will have a mutation. Second, roll a D100 to determine the severity of the mutation. Roll results 1-50 will produce a benign mutation. 51-100 will not. To help an appropriate mutation be decided on from each result, here are some example kinds of mutations to give you a feel for what kinds of mutations can come from a certain roll. 1-10 - Extremely minor mutations such as a SLIGHT change in eye color, hair color, hair thickness, and skin color. No differences in bone structure, ear shape, nose shape, etc. 11-20 - More noticeable versions of the mutations from 1-10. Freckles may be gained, eyelashes may be lighter or darker. 21-30 - Extremely noticeable versions of the mutations from 1-10. Albinism not included in the possibilities for change in skin color. 31-40 - Minor differences in bone structure, ear shape, eye shape, nose shape, the way fat is carried, etc. 41-50 - More noticeable versions of the mutations from 31-40. 51-60 - Relatively small non-deadly mutations such as albinism, blindness, color-blindness, deafness, lack of smell, and very minor mental disorders. 61-70 - More serious yet still non-deadly mutations such as moderate mental disorders, marfans syndrome, osteoperosis. 71-80 - “Less aggressive” deadly genetic diseases and mental disorders such as sickle cell anemia.. 81-90 - Serious malformations and terminal genetic diseases such as cancer, progeria, heart disease, conjoined legs, etc. 91-100 - Extremely serious and over-the-top mutations. Extreme coverage in tumors and/or cancerous lumps, grotesque malformation especially in the facial region and torso, progeria, etc. Deformities Missing External Structures - External structures like limbs, digits, ears and noses fail to form early on This deformity is linked to insufficiency in two or more slivers. Sealed Shut - Orifices fail to form early in development. For example, the eyelids are sealed shut over the eyes and eyelashes don’t form, and the mouth and nostrils are also sealed shut. This deformity is linked to excessiveness in the sliver of skin. Pellucid Skin - The skin of Shells with this deformity is reduced to a thin, semi-transparent membrane. This causes the Shell’s blood vessels and other innards to be visible, while being susceptible to skin damage and infection. Melanin is not necessarily absent from pellucid-skinned Shells, but the skin lacks color and is so thin that it will not be able to protect itself from the sun, causing it to burn easily. Because the skin is so insubstantial, hair loss is also common, and callouses cannot form. This deformity is linked to insufficiency of the sliver of skin. “Skin-tight” Skin - This deformity causes a Shell’s skin to grow too slowly to keep up with the rest of the body, resulting in angry stretch-marks and even tears and gashes. This skin is the equivalent of skinny jeans so tight the wearer is fearful of ripping them when sitting down. Any cuts inflicted upon the body will cause the skin to burst apart a little further due to the release of tension, which can prove to be very harmful and dangerous. This deformity is also linked to insufficiency of the sliver of skin. Parched Skin - The skin fails to produce oils, and the pores are tiny due to the lack of oil flow. The lack of natural oils also prevents the skin from holding water effectively. This results in extremely dry skin that is delicate and prone to damage. Dead skin cells can build up and cause congestion, because there is no oil to push them out. This deformity is linked to dust contamination of the Jelly during development. Absolute Baldness - Hair and nails made of a protein called keratin. In Shells with this deformity, keratin will fail to form. This results in weak, flaky nails and a complete lack of hair, including eyelashes, eyebrows, and body hair. (Alopecia universalis.) Note that eyelashes and eyebrows keep dust out of one’s eyes. This deformity is linked to absence or accidental exclusion (placing a sliver too far from the rest, causing it to be excluded during initial formation) of the sliver of hair. Lack of Nails - A varied version of the perfect baldness deformity; the body will only fail to produce keratin around the fingertip and toe area, resulting in a complete lack of fingernails and toenails. Hair remains normal. This deformity is linked to insufficiency of the sliver of hair. Small Pupil - Light intake is restricted, and the eyes will perform best in strong sunlight and optical flares are suppressed. Vision is also very crisp, due to a lack of light refraction. However, the pupil cannot adjust to see very well in the dark. When the light goes out and the sun goes down, you’re essentially blind. This deformity is linked to overexposure to bright light in early stages of development. Enlarged Pupil - Light intake is so great that sunglasses are almost always necessary. Optical flares are very over-pronounced, and sunlight is painful. However, vision at night is very good, even on the darkest of nights. Shells with this deformity are prone to developing nearsightedness, farsightedness, and/or astigmatism. This deformity is linked to extreme absence of light in early stages of development. Clawed Hands - Fingernails grow extremely thick to the point where the distal bones are displaced downwards, compromising fingertip dexterity. The nail still retains the normal growth speed, and will grow blunted, but there is nothing preventing the nails to from being sharpened into points. This deformity is linked excessive use of earth reagents representing tenacity in the Jelly. Nemerta Rooting - The roots of the Shell seem extremely eager to grow, resulting in the umbilical web continuing to grow even outside of the Jelly. Massive complexes grow indefinitely like hair, but are painful to trim due to the nerve wirings running through them. This mutant root will continue to make attempts at sustaining the Shell, meaning that there may be an advantage to allowing this freakish complex to grow. This deformity is linked excessive use of earth reagents representing resilience in the Jelly. Glistening Skin - The skin produces oils and moisture at an extreme rate. This causes to skin to constantly maintain a wet, oily coating akin to the mucus membrane of a fish. Individuals living in a glistening Shell risk severe dehydration if they do not consume enough fluid. “At my most badass I make people want to take a shower.” This deformity is linked to excessive use of water reagents representing nourishment in the Jelly. Hyper-Melanin - The skin and hair is coal black, with a slightly bluish tint. Extreme resistance to sunburn but no notable resistance to skin cancer. Absent Melanin - Classic extreme albinism. Extremely pale skin, snow white hair, and red or light blue irises. Be very careful when going outside in the daytime, even on cloudy days. Luciferase Nodules - Hard nodules form in the flesh around the fingers, toes, and spine containing isolated luciferase enzymes. These enzymes produce bioluminescence, resulting in glowing spots and patterns in the flesh. These enzymes aren't always active, but they are triggered by symptoms of anxiety, fear, lying, and panic. The color of the glow produced ranges from green to indigo, appearing to come from within, underneath the skin. This deformity is linked to overexposure to salty, humid air, thus it is less common than other deformities. Osteogenesis imperfecta: Brittleness - The bones of the Shell lack a critical collagen bond, which results in fragile bone structure due to lacking density. The risk of fracturing bones is high, especially as the Shell ages. This deformity is linked to insufficiency in the sliver of bone. Osteogenesis Imperfecta: Density - The bones form unusually dense and constrict the marrow. This means the Shell will have a more sturdy and heavy skeletal structure, but will have difficulty replenishing blood, as the marrow is responsible for creating new blood cells. The body will bleed at a slower rate, but will suffer difficulty in repairing wounds due to lack of blood flow. This does not mean the body will not recover, but wounds will have a more difficult time clotting and sealing themselves off, and lost blood that would have taken days to replenish in a normal body could instead take months. The lack of rapid blood replenishment also means that the body may take longer to fight infection. Osteogenesis Imperfecta: Stunting - The growth of the bones is stunted, resulting in dwarfism. The adult height of the Shell will range from between ½ and ¾ of the Original’s adult height, depending on the onset of the deformity’s development. Osteogenesis Imperfecta: Gigantism - Growth of the bones is amplified, resulting in the formation of bigger bones. The adult height of the Shell will range from between 1 ⅓ and 1 ½ the original adult’s height, depending on the onset of the deformity’s development. Webbed Digits - The natural skin membrane between fingers and toes may extend to the first knuckle, creating an amphibian-esque web structure. THE SOUL TRANSFER The Shell Pool & The Prioritized Shell No matter how many Shells you have, the soul can and will only inhabit and grant consciousness and ‘life’ (growth, respiration, and other behaviors of life) to one of them at a time. This one shell will be referred to as the Prioritized Shell until the soul changes its home upon death or transfer. Unlike a normal descendent’s soul, the soul of somebody with one or more spare, usable Shells will not be swept into the soul stream upon death. If one of the available bodies were to die, or the currently inhabited body were to die, the soul does not perceive it as death, rather it perceives it as injury. The soul doesn't admit death because from its perspective death did not occur. Then, of its own accord it moves to inhabit one of the already existing bodies because it perceives those as a part of its self. The Soul cannot distinguish between the Original and the Shell unless the Shell is severely mutated. Each of the Shells pull on the Soul all of the time, just a little bit, because the whole is naturally trying to reach an equilibrium and spread the soul out evenly amongst its physically separated parts. However, this can't happen because the Shell Pool isn't actually strong enough to tear the soul apart. Because of these two points, the Shell Pool is created; the theoretical space between all of its available Shells where the soul goes before randomly selecting a new Prioritized Shell. This is not a literal location or space and cannot be visited/pinpointed/etc. (Numbering your character’s Shells however you wish, typically by order of their creation, /roll D<total Shells minus the one the soul just left> to decide upon the new Prioritized Shell.) The soul will constantly resist the pull of the soul stream and instead be pulled to the Shells until all clone bodies are dead and uninhabitable. Each Shell available to a Soul at one time makes up that Soul’s Shell Pool. There are a few reasons why some Shells may not meet requirements to be included. -The Shell has exceeded racial lifespan -The Shell is under 5 years old (more on this later) -The Shell has been left outside of Jelly long enough to be affected by rigor mortis -The Shell suffered a fatal injury and was never adequately repaired -The Shell is not accurate enough to the genetic makeup of the Shell that was just left (This can be affected by serious mutation, or the fact that the Shell in question was based off of somebody else’s Original or Shells.) A representational animated graphic of what happens upon death to the soul of a normal descendent vs. the soul of someone with 3 spare Shells in their Shell Pool: The “Juliet” Potion (Named after the scene in famous playwright Shilliam Wakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, in which Juliet fakes her death to escape with Romeo by drinking a potion that causes her to appear dead.) This potion is an odd and potent brew comprised primarily of earth reagents. It has a dark, inky plum hue-- appearing, like blood, lighter when spread thin on a surface-- and tastes like a sour berry with the burning sensation like alcohol. While not technically lethal, the body will quickly enter a deathlike state for several hours (30 minutes irl time) upon drinking it. It takes effect quickly, starting with a strong burning sensation in your chest, blacked out vision and lightheadedness, gradually worsening for half a minute or so. The heart will stop, consciousness will be lost, and all bodily functions will cease until the potion wears off. It is unclear what happens during the hours it is in effect, but after that time is up, someone with a Shell Pool will awaken in the body of one of the other Shells in their pool just as if they had died. A normal person who ingests the potion will awaken after that time with a great shock as their heart begins pumping again and their senses return one by one. Recipe Base - Aqua Vitae 1 Symbol of air (lightweight) 2 Symbols of fire (disorder, overwhelming) 2 Symbols of water (rebirth, tranquility) 4 Symbols of earth (death, immobility, patience) Night Sap The Priority Hierarchy Not all Shells are created equal-- mutated or underdeveloped Shell aren’t as significant within the soul pool as a ‘normal’ Shell would be. A mutated or underdeveloped Shell will never be prioritized over a ‘normal’ Shell if one is available in a soul’s Shell pool. In the same way, an underdeveloped Shell will never be prioritized over a mutated Shell if one is available in a soul’s Shell pool. Simply, a Shell lower down in the ‘Priority Hierarchy’ (presented below) will never be prioritized by the Soul during death/transfer over one that is higher up. Deformity will not affect a Shell’s priority. 1. ‘Normal’ Shells 2. Slightly mutated Shells 3. Heavily mutated Shells 4. Underdeveloped Shells 5. Mutated Underdeveloped Shells A transfer into an underdeveloped Shell should be avoided because filtering your memories and knowledge through the underdeveloped, lacking brain of such a Shell will cause permanent memory loss. Unlike with an underdeveloped Shell, transferring into a mutated Shell will not cause memory loss unless its mutation would directly affect the brain in a way that would inhibit memory. However, there will be a shift in the priority hierarchy of the Shell Pool. Once the soul has transferred into a mutated Shell, the soul no longer recognizes it as a mutant. Instead, it is seen as the new example of ‘normal,’ and those that were normal previously are seen as the mutants, being genetically different from what would then become the Prioritized Shell. Mortally wounded/critically damaged Shells, Shells belonging to someone else entirely, Shells under 5 years of age, and any other Shell with complications (excluding the surrounding environment) preventing it from being able to support life for more than a few short moments are basically ‘dead’ and cannot be transferred into even if it is the very last Shell left in a Shell Pool. Some damaged Shells may be repaired and used again afterward. Unordinary Souls All unordinary souls, such as corrupted, displaced, ascendeds' souls, archon souls, soul shadows, etc. are all either unable to have a Shell Pool, or in the case of corrupted souls, unable to use their Shell Pools. When a soul is corrupted, a Shell Pool becomes useless because the Shells are unable to take in the unusual soul. Even new Shells created after the corruption of the soul will behave that way. If the soul becomes unordinary for some external reason while involved in a Shell Pool, its Pool will simply become unusable, and the person may feel an ambiguous sense of loss. The body it resided in at the time the soul became unordinary will be the permanent body. The PK Clause When all of the Shells in a soul’s Shell Pool are destroyed or exhaust their shelf life, Juliet potions will work as it would for a regular person. But if death occurs, the soul is finally surrendered to the soul stream upon death, resulting in a permakill. The Cloud Temple monks will not revive a person who avoided death when it was their time and toyed with their soul through kloning. Suicide permakill rules also apply-- but only in the case of a suicide filled with grief and a true longing for peace in death. A soul will rip itself out of its Shell Pool with the power of its will to leave forever and flow into the soul stream. A suicide without that same kind of desire does not propel the soul with enough force to leave its Shell Pool. The only exception would be the scenario at the beginning of this paragraph. OOC GUIDELINES Roleplay Requirements A further alchemy TA will be required to teach someone else how to create Shells, of course. A further alchemy TA will be required to create a Shell of somebody else because the process is so involved with the subject. A further alchemy SA will be required to create Shells or to get someone to make a Shell for you. This cannot be self-taught because the process is too complicated for the experiments to be reproduced exactly without guidance. OOC consent is required to klone someone else's character. A Step-By-Step-ish RP Guide The first step of Kloning is preparation! This includes building airtight vats where the Jelly will be put. 1. Begin drawing blood and storing it in containers, making sure it doesn’t go bad. The first time around, you’ll need to collect more blood than will eventually be used for the Shell’s official creation, to give room for testing. This will cause anemia if rushed. Cerebrospinal fluid drawing should also begin. (Information in the ‘Acquiring the Ingredients’ section.) Gather reagents and pig lard, being sure to collect a little bit extra of these as well. 2. Only after all of your materials for Jelly are gathered should the Slivers be taken. 3. Each person will need their own unique mixture of Jelly, even identical twins, but the possibilities for that mixture can be greatly narrowed down by following the skeletal build of the person’s body. (Muscles, fat, and other things like that that can change shouldn’t be accounted for.) Once a person’s Jelly mixture has been found, it won’t change. -- If it’s the first time someone or something is being Kloned, test the Slivers in different mixtures of Jelly in small jars, writing down the exact recipe for each. 4. Roll a d4 for each jar of Jelly. The first to roll a 4/4 will succeed. (If this is the second+ time the person is being Kloned, a roll is unnecessary, as their Jelly recipe has already been discovered. The first Shell will always be the hardest to make.) The Slivers will coalesce into a lovely little meatball with skin, and you should start reproducing the recipe you recorded for the Jelly used in that jar on a larger scale and moving the newly formed Shell into a larger tank. This can be done gradually, so long as the Shell never gets too big for its tank and risks strangulation by its roots. The first transfer into a Shell can be made through the usage of a Juliet potion or will happen on its own via death. When this happens, your character will forget consuming the potion or how they died as usual but will be able to infer that something happened to result in their awakening in the new Shell. 1. Senses will begin to awaken one by one, starting with a touch, a tingling sensation in the roots making contact with the contained and the jelly and maybe each other. Next will come the taste of the jelly surrounding the body and within its orifices. Shortly after, scent, then hearing, a ringing in the ears as the brain continues its activation. Finally, sight returns, introducing a straining pain in the eyes as they are used for the first time. 2. All muscles in the body, unless somehow exercised (through electric shock therapy, maybe..?) during development, will all be extremely weak. It may be impossible to push oneself out of one’s own container, and it is not recommended to have the container dump itself out as the Jelly should not be wasted. Have someone on standby who will not be phased by your nudity or horrible stench to help. 3. Leaving the container is all around a painful and strange experience. Most notably, the Roots will be torn or cut away, as they are even more painful to separate from the inner surface of the capsule while the body is conscious. They contain lots of powerful nerve endings, so some subjects may even faint from the pain if prolonged for more than a few seconds. 4. A cognat will be temporarily disconnected from their Horror during a transfer. For the connection to the Horror to be reestablished, the cognat must meditate. For the first elven week of its return, the abilities will be practically useless as the minds go through recalibration, though there is no violent mind trial. 5. The first time a Shell emerges from its Jelly, all voids that would have been inhabited by air will be filled with Jelly. Oddly, it is impossible to drown in one’s own Jelly although the weight inside one’s lungs from it will be very uncomfortable and create an illusion of suffocation. Although it isn’t exactly harmful, the body will still try to rid itself of the stuff by vomiting and coughing violently. Occasionally, a seizure can occur at random with first time transfer. ----- If it isn’t the first time the Shell is emerging from the Jelly, there isn’t a risk of seizure, but some Jelly will still have seeped into the body which will be expelled. 6. When there is a chance, the stub from the removed Roots, likely bleeding slightly, should be capped off to prevent them from growing back if the Shell is returned to the Jelly for preservation in disuse. However, this will not have any effect in hindering that if the Shell is afflicted with nemerta rooting. Adjusting to a new Shell takes about two elven weeks. The muscles of never-before used Shells are very weak in the beginning, but will eventually strengthen with use. When not in use for long periods of time though, there is a high risk for a decrease in muscle mass. 1. During the first elven week of a new Shell’s usage, the muscles must be allowed to gain mass, and thus, voidal magic should be used frugally. During the first two elven days, the muscles will be too weak to crawl or to sit up on one’s own. By the third elven day these can be accomplished, and one can move onto standing with a cane or walker. This will be very difficult at first, but by the end of that first elven week, the cane should no longer be necessary. The person will still struggle with physical labor and activities like running, swimming, climbing, etc. for a while afterward. The minimum time (total) for returning to normal is two elven weeks, with enough protein and exercise. 2. It should also be noted that Shells cannot produce gametes, and are permanently infertile by consequence. Only the True Original may be fertile unless it already has complications. RED LINES: -Kloning cannot be used to bring back the dead. -A Shell cannot have any mutation or deformation that is solely helpful. -You cannot have anything but a regular ‘grey’ soul while having a Shell Pool. -A soul transfer will not be successful before your Shell is at least 5 years old. Memory loss and other mentioned mental trauma will still occur until the Shell is 9 years old. -If all of your Shells are destroyed and you die, it’s a perma-kill. -Jelly expires 100-150 years after creation. -You cannot inhabit someone else’s Shell (unless you have some way of husking it with dark magic, but that isn’t the same.) -The alchemest does not directly manipulate the soul, rather they just abuse an anomaly to cause the transfers. -Permakill rules apply as specified in the PK Clause section. A First-Hand Account At first, all that could be produced from the first rudimentary Kloning experiments were tiny, horrific abominations. Barely recognizable to their ratty Originals, which could be accurately viewed as victims, although the removal of rats from ships to use served the same function as a rat-hunting cat would. One cold winter in the early 1600’s, two alchemists created the first perfect Shell of an animal, a grey rat named Polly. After that first triumph, they thought that the worst of the studies was behind them; that the countless days of picking swiftly and delicately through the untouched interiors of the filthy critters over and over again would give way to a groundbreaking success. However, much of that success was in actuality a result of spectacular luck, as mysterious variables that had not been accounted for had miraculously aligned auspiciously for the development of Polly’s Shell. Giant, leathery mitts pluck me squirming and lashing out in protest from my wire box. They hold me at arm’s length as if trying to distance their owner from the sounds of my clear and obvious distress as I did not want to be carried back to the flat, iron tower; the place I was sometimes taken by the mitts.. just sometimes.. but I could sense their intentions somehow. It is the worst place a person can go. Over a vast checkered canyon the giant’s heavy boots carried its body- and myself- to the room that kept the tower; a bleak, metallic platform lipped at the edges to prevent fluids from leaking onto the floors- fluids like red water. The giant’s eyes were set forwards, not looking down at me as I writhed and yelled, but with sinister intention at the door of the tower’s room. I tried to look past him, back where he’d taken me from, as we got closer to it. The gleaming eyes of my fellows winked back at me with little emotion and as we passed through the door they were replaced by hundreds of jars on shelves that lined the towering walls.. Jars containing a thick sludge, and some of them were filled with other people.. But they never moved, and grotesque roots erupted from their necks and blocked them partially from view. Nobody knows if they’re dead, or sleeping, or are part of an elaborate farming scheme.. But I hate them. When people go missing, rumors start to spread that that’s where they ended up… in one of those jars, so the giants-- there are more than one-- can keep them as trophies. For a moment I had been distracted, but then I felt my back and my feet touching the cold iron tower and I lost control, lashing out again and baring my teeth in fright. I hear another giant jump somewhere outside of my field of vision. It says something in the garbled, hostile tongue of the giants, and I know from its voice that it’s the small one that was usually around.. Always somewhere in the room with its awful eye watching… I’m held down and offered a pungent liquid, but as I struggle away from it the scent changes. It smells so wonderful and sweet- but it was a familiar smell that often led to waking up with mysterious scars and portions of my fur shaved off, but a drop had already fallen into my mouth and I could somehow no longer reject the substance. My senses slipped away into a soothing nothingness. But something was wrong.. Something was terribly wrong, I felt, and the darkness that had comforted me only moments before suddenly suffocated me. The taste of flesh rose in my mouth, as if trying to strangle me from within, and I thought it must be my own. Suddenly, a giant’s mitts pluck me out of the thick sludge, but there is no room for air yet in my lungs. A terrible ringing pain shoots down my spine as a tension pulls at the back of my neck like something had been lodged there that was being torn out. I still couldn’t see what was going on through the foul slime coating my eyes although I tried to blink it away. As I cough and retch to rid my system of the stuff, I can begin to see my surroundings just a little.. I’m on the shelf with the jars.. They’re taking me out of one? Then, who am I? I have some memories, yes, but memories are not solid evidence that something was. I see the iron tower across the room. I see someone else there that looks familiar, but I can’t quite make out her face… No… I know who she is. CREDITS Vezzin - Lore writer and artist Dunstan - Co-writer with immense knowledge of alchemy The Pink Lion - Help with ideas, ooc networking, and proofing for inaccuracy The Fire Mind - Help with ideas, ooc networking, and proofing for inaccuracy Tox - Help with ideas and proofing for inaccuracy Beordan - Help with ideas and proofing for inaccuracy SpodoKaiba - Help with ideas + peer editor Whiplash - Peer editor
  10. Yeet where did my creative wizard tag go :^ )

  11. Why don't the halflings just
    come back to Reedsborough where we've generously been given a huge amount of free land with a beach 

    1. Show previous comments  8 more
    2. Heff

      Heff

      Big land doesn't make a halfling village. A cozy community does and the community of Reeds was clearly exhuasted beyond aid, especially with the splitting of playerbases. To unify the playerbases, we're convening on Pendlemere. Certainly not as large, but size often causes inactivity due to vast swathes of unused land and a decentralization of RP. 

    3. FreeHongKong
    4. Vezzin

      Vezzin

      @Heff Good point there actually, man.

      My character still probably isn't moving to Pendlemere though just due to his preference for general solitude and quiet. For a while Reeds had a huge boom of new players and the land had helped with that, but now that people have moved elsewhere I suppose a land reduction would be good so that someone else could use what's currently inactive. If everyone else really is coming together around Pendlemere and it's helping the halfling playerbase, then that's great. I'd recommend that new players join Pendlemere instead of Reedsborough so that the split between the two villages doesn't pose a problem to that, but I guess I don't see a few older characters sticking to Reeds as a big issue so long as the land is resized to be more reasonable as SquirtGun was saying.

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