Sorcerio

I'm not saying you need to let darkspawn live. You absolutely should be driven to kill them without relent in RP. But when it comes down to encountering one, if a paladin player needs to a darkspawn OOCly to progress in the magic, then they're going to be much more adamant and unyielding OOCly when it comes narrative flexibility. For example, they would be less willing to let darkstalker flee, or even losing the battle - why? Because otherwise they wouldn't be able to progress. There's an element of good faith which this particular amendment doesn't really foster. On the other hand, if players can choose to just drain a student to progress instead, then the mechanic is redundant and unnecessary, and only serves to be inflammatory when chosen as an option. If the problem here is the lore already requires the killing of darkspawn to mechanically progress, then amend that. The solution is to get out of the hole, not dig deeper into it.

Not quite sure how I feel about this. While culturally I totally vibe with the killing of darkspawn and the progression of cultural trials, I don't think ascension through the ranks of paladinism should require killing of a specific community in-lore. Targeting dark CAs with magics is fine, but if you have to kill someone of a certain playerbase to ascend then it really just becomes an OOC motivation rather than a narrative one. In my mind, hinging roleplay on something like that will only serve to promote animosity and discourage good faith between darkspawn communities and holy ones (e.g. "I need to kill you to improve in my magic therefore I'm unwilling to yield or make compromises for roleplay OOCly.")

TO THOSE WHO SEEK GLORY IMPERISHABLE To men of Almaris who would harken this call: For generations our people have been witness to the atrocities of other mortal men! For too long have their puerile sort sought their own vainglory by waging pathetic wars on one another with no true design. For too long have we watched them meddle with powers beyond their control, toying with the threads of divinity and indulging in the throes of voidal oblivion. In light of those events, some might say that all is lost. But take heart descendants, for there is hope; hope in warriors immemorial. For there are tales of knights and soldiers renowned for their deeds, their works so profound that they might be blessed to attain immortality and further their commitment to their precepts. Such was thought to be the stuff of legend and fable, granted only to those who performed deeds in the ancient days. But ‘lo!, the devices of antiquity have been realized once again in the coming of the Second Age, and those who prove their worth might be made privy to its secret. There is but one thing which those of you are demanded, and that is service; service to men, at the behest of my command, to unite them in faith and blood to come under one banner. Any who wield the sword and are studied in its practice are called to this vocation; whether warriors of might who have conquered in another age, or those of fury and youth seeking to make their mark. The blood of kings, heretics, and martyrs alike shall be spilt, and the task may be treacherous – yet prove thyself before me, and my master shall grant you a place amidst eternity. [ This is a recruitment post for a militant group I am organizing. If you wish to participate, you may fill out the format below and I will reach out to you in-character and offer more detail as to the cause. Chosen candidates will progress further through roleplay interaction. Be warned, this is a serious RP order, and while both new and old roleplayers are invited to participate, we do expect a certain amount of character and narrative quality. If you are not fond of conflict, risk, or violence RP, or are unwilling to have permanent changes made to their character, then this is probably not for you. If you wish for your application to be hidden to prevent metagaming you may submit it privately through forum messages. ]

A knight is disappointed, but remains vigilant to await the gradual recovery of his dear friend.

This looks pretty neat! Personally, I'd maybe give the cure a bit more of a notable drawback, if not a long-term one. It doesn't have to be huge or largely debilitating, but it would be cool if something was left in-RP to remind people of the fate they had narrowly avoided. Otherwise, I don't mind this too much.

If there is one thing you'd want to have accomplished during your time on the server, what would it be?

Based.

Finally; kidnapping made easier!

Not bad.. but please just make an amendment to the main metallurgy page tbh. if I have to pull up copper lore to ensure Im not breaking redlines I might cry.

My lore... cannibalized.. but yeah, this looks pretty decent overall considering it's supposed to be a simple basis for further expansion. I do still have a couple things to suggest that the core lore should still entail. Clerical light, in my opinion, should cause clerics harm if excessively used. This is a scrutinous, alien light which permeates their limited mortal bodies after all, and while wouldn't be immediately harmful, overuse would surely cause holy burns or even death if one goes over their maximum capacity. Setting the foundation for the overall effects of the light are important, especially in this reboot since the nature of the light itself likely won't change in the future, only its applications through clericalism. In that vein, maybe a focus of sorts could be used to mitigate these effects? This could be added later on of course. Other big thing I recommend is some form of chancery or hallowed ground the Clerics can come together to make. More than other holy magics, I definitely feel like clerics are more of a 'coven' type deal and should thus be encouraged to seek out places to meet. These can, of course, be simple at first, but I think are still crucial to setting the foundation for future pieces. Later on you can add rituals and stuff which they can engage in with one another, but the creation of these grounds, even if their effects are benign at first, would be a good thing to add. Good work otherwise. I look forward to seeing where this goes. ((Also, just seeing this, but let Clerics use blood magic. They can be disconnected as a result of this of course, but blood magic itself could reasonably be used despite its dark stigma as it does not inherently taint the soul and is solely mortal in is basis)).

The player Sorcerio has been granted official permission to receive all TAs, MAs, and CAs which this lore entails. (I win). Thank you for your cooperation.

Yoo these are actually incredible!

Delicious

Thank you for your input! Most of these were just oversights and I clarified all of them. With the dragon bones, that is a component in making Archliches from the old lore. Archliches are definitely supposed to be a more rare CA and should be difficult to achieve, at least relatively to other CAs. However, depending on the ST's stance on the matter I am willing to compromise to something less extreme; it's more so just meant to be a harder-to-obtain component, and not something I'm dead-set on. Also pardon my lack of eloquence; forum formatting literally takes my soul away from me.

Necromancy: The Gift of Widukind Necromancy is among the few primeval arts which has based itself within the mortal realm since the days of antiquity, festering as some rotting tumor within the unlit corners of the world. Those who dare to tamper with its power are the sort recanted in woeful tales and fables seldom sung, amassing great legions of undeath and crumbling empires all in the pursuit of their own empowerment. But over an age the art adopted a more subtle role, inspiring its practitioners to amass in unseen convocations, quiet and reserved as they enact their blasphemous rites, fashioning for themselves a foothold in this realm so that when the time came to rise again they would not so easily be weeded out. Now, illuminated by the flames of revelation, the necromancers and their wretched cabals have once more sought a means of expanding their fell gospel, propagating their legions of undead to pave a road for their Promised Lord to come forth in all his glory. Explanation Those who seek to evade the grasp of death are marked as an accursed lot; doomed to be inevitably quelled by the hand of their own craft, for the lifebanks ultimately reclaim all back to itself, and even those who toy with life are no exception. Fear absorbs each step, and every breath pulls the necromancer closer to the brink, with the pale visage of death looming behind each corner. For this reason, these foul occultists are forever ushered to flock back to their decaying crypts along with their dark fellowship for fear of what might transpire should they remain alone, spurning companionship that lies beyond their dark, somber walls and deep, hidden vaults. Lifeforce and Heith-Hedran Necromancy is powered by the esoteric substance lifeforce, the primordial energy which passively flows through all living things in an eternal cycle, unseen. From mortal men, to insects and grass, each and every creature is filled with an esoteric vitality that grants them the privilege of life. This energy cannot be created or destroyed, but rather, when a lift is at its close and all vitality has expired, lifeforce will return to a metaphysical reservoir deep below the earth to replenish itself. Necromancers have learned to harness this raw energy to fuel their dark sorceries, rupturing the metaphysical veil which confines lifeforce to its primordial cycle and thus turning it black and malignant. Thus they may use it, not only to control the life to which it would flow, but to grant modus to things that would otherwise be dead. In the land where the veil between the lifebanks and the living realm is torn, the world is choked by the grasp of the undying. Forces of death seep into the land itself, plaguing it with famine and disease. Blackened bile seethes from the ground, arising in a culmination of tumors, cancers, and maladies on the land, before consuming the sun in a tenebrous shadow of thin, blackened haze. What’s left behind is a quasi-ethereal wasteland where fiends and ghoulish horrors flourish. It is where death itself has become visible in the realm of men, where the esoteric residue of life can call upon forsaken souls, where one may simply reach out to pluck the damned themselves from the heavens or hells below. It is the necromancers of Rh'thor that have learned to utilize the scars of this reservoir, dubbed by Rh’thorean sects as Heith-Heidran, permitting them to conduct their soulrending sacraments and use the power here to fuel their insidious art. Through this weakened fabric of the lifebanks, a necromancer can fuel their power here, molding vitality and life to be twisted into death. As a rule of thumb, each mortal typically possesses 2 units of lifeforce, and will be rendered unconscious upon fully draining 1 unit. Upon draining two total 2 units consecutively, the individual will shrivel up into a dried husk and perish. While lifeforce is found in nearly all living things, certain entities lack such esoteric energy, typically as a result of being animated by some other force. These include, but are not limited to, machine spirits, constructs (i.e. golems, sorvians), and Voidal Horrors. Incorporeal undead still possess lifeforce just as corporeal undead do. Inversely, certain creatures possess an abundance of lifeforce as a result of magical saturation, such as Tree Lord Husks and Azdrazi; both of which possess larger than average lifeforce pools. These creatures will state so in their respective lores. Darkening A perverted sign, shunned of Rh’thor, Darkening is a wicked, albeit primary instrument of Necromancy which embodies the occult desire to consume. It is this vile testimony to the darkness, passed down from heretic sects and malignant guilds, that remains a staple of the necromancer’s power, permitting them to tear lifeforce from the living and sew it among the dead. Maledictions The earmark skills of the necromancer, who in their defiance of the natural, may bequeath grotesque invocations and anathematic weavings to sow suffering among mortal men. Though delicate in practice, the scythe of death is unforgiving, and woe to those who’ve been plagued with such misfortune as to have themselves set in the presence of he who has delved into the arts of undeath. Reanimation The power from which Necromancy derives its name: the revival of the dead in order to serve their wicked master. It is by reanimation that a necromancer may feign life within corpses and cadavers, creating their own faux children born of undeath in the dark, secluded places of the earth. No doubt the practice is tedious, and men so bold as to call themselves necromancers go about weaving bone as if it were clay and flesh as though it were thread, for to the heretic lots of Rh’thor this is an art, and with it even the dead are made anew with a perverted perfection in mind. Plaguecrafting Necromantic pathomancers and plague doctors have long sought the fabled "Infinite Malady" as a means to inspire great suffering — an affliction that harbors every type of disease simultaneously. Though no such devices truly exist within the realm of men, this foul pursuit gave birth to many other dark and deathly afflictions that may appeal to the necromancer’s fancy, thus allowing them to instill terror and misery within the living. Through weaving their own stagnating lifeforce, necromancers may exploit life to become twisted and vile, divorcing it from its natural flow and function to instill these dark maladies. Woe to the man who hath killed a necromancer’s mercy, but vengeance to the tribe that wrought the ire of death. The Apocryphynium Inherited by each generation of necromancers, the Apocryphynium is a tainted compendium of forgotten scrawlings and forbidden lores, each hand to which it passses furthering its iniquity. The knowledge contained within such a volume pertains to that of necromancy’s most intrinsic practices, deeply revered and passed from each timeworn master to budding apprentice. Detailed within its weather-bound and ancient pages is each and every rite and reagent which might allow one to further empower their black craft. Any individual who inherits this deposit of the occult, no matter their mastery, is obliged to expand upon it, sustaining it further so that future generations might know — recalling that which eternally binds them. Dark Reagents The Apocryphynium details most known reagents of the dark craft of Rh'thorean Necromancy, each of which hold some raw use or contain latent power that is necessary to expand upon the power of the occult. This knowledge, shared with acolytes of necromancy and added to by their masters, is commonly known throughout practicing covens and often reproduced several times over, allowing them to employ its wisdom in intercessory rituals and sacramental rites alike. Intercessions Severed from the living, the dead and those who command them have none to turn to save for their brethren, with the vile agents of death congregating in both meager covens and vast assemblies of their own fallen ilk. United, these wayward sorcerers form mighty and baleful circles which may perform innumerable feats of darkness and undeath, from ordination upon acolytes, to mastery over the fabrics of life and death itself in heinous, blasphemous fashion. Yet they must all be wary, for even amongst their own kin they only rival to their power remains within the coven itself, imperiled by the apostates and serpents which are drawn to these impious assemblies — and one must fear not to anger their accursed servants, for the dead do not forget. Black Sacraments Though through intercessory rites necromancers may indulge in malignant corruption, such rituals are far inferior to the true power harbored by its art. The Black Sacraments are what truly grants necromancy its notoriety, enabling covens to gather to bring about terrible feats, namely those which foster, nurture, and empower the undead. But whereas generations of necromancers once thought themselves to hold dominion over death, it was soon revealed that those mortals who toyed with lifeforce harbored a more particular role, and that death had in fact made servants of them. Tier Progression Tier One – The necromancer has just been attuned, their soul and body beginning to take on the toll of Heith-Hedran. Not only would they be left mentally unsound for a time due to the dramatic experience of their own demise, but they would also become lethargic and weary. Their hair might gray as if they had succumbed to an intense stress, whilst still maintaining the general appearance of those within their age range. The necromancer would develop a greater hunger for rawer meats, whereas other delicacies might taste more bland and leave them dissatisfied. During this stage, the necromancer may begin to draw upon their lifeforce and study the anatomy of smaller creatures; such as insects, rats, squirrels, and so forth. Tier Two – Two weeks have passed since the necromancer’s attunement, their appearance becoming more decrepit and aged as bags form under their eyes and wrinkles are borne upon the skin. They might appear more anorexic and pale, as if they were stricken by some obscure illness, as their utter craving for raw lifeforce consumes them further, driving them to consume greater quantities of raw meat. During this stage, the necromancer may manipulate their lifeforce in a more outward fashion as opposed to merely draining, and allowing them to move onto the embalming and reanimation of basic creatures scaling up to the size of a descendant child or halfling, albeit somewhat crude. At this tier, they may be taught how to more expertly weave their lifeforce, allowing them to perform the arts of Reverse Tethering and Boneforging. Tier Three – The necromancer has reached a one month period since their first immersion within Heith-Hedran, allowing its malignant touch to have seeded itself more firmly within the necromancer’s spirit, and thus tarnish the body. Upon reaching this tier, the necromancer would appear two decades older than their true age, as they are stricken by incredible insomnia, and thus fostering paranoia and irrational train of thought. During this time, the necromancer may begin to practice Fleshsmithing, as well as the creation of more durable reanimated creatures. They would also be taught to weave their lifeforce maliciously within the bound thralls of another necromancer, or even their own, thus creating lesser witches. Tier Four – The necromancer has reached the two month mark of being endowed with the gift of Heith-Hedran, their body now appearing as some infirm and decrepit thing. Whilst a mortal man in his thirties might appear as any other, a necromancer at that age may appear within their sixties or higher, strained by the lifeforce that weaves within them. Their craving for lifeforce is nigh insatiable, almost constantly present within the back of their mind as they would seek by any means to indulge in it. At this point in time, the necromancer may be marked as a master amongst the coven, soon allowing them to apply to teach new necromancers should they be deemed worthy. With this, they may be capable of leading certain rituals should they know them, and their ability to sew malediction would only grow more potent. Tier Five – The necromancer has honed their skill for three months. After passing from tier four, few physical changes ultimately present themselves, as the body of the necromancer simply continues to age. Either they shall remain in this pitiful state for the remainder of their mortal life, or perhaps they shall ascend to Archlichdom. Either way, their mind would be wracked by the ravages of age and the dark practice they dabble in, for now the necromancer has become mastered in every branch of knowledge offered by the art and may be officially granted the title of elder. With this, they may move on to teach their own prodigy within the guidance of their coven, or simply sit upon their dark secrets and hoard the knowledge for themselves. Credits, Purpose, and Citations

A-again..?

You've successfully established the character drive of pretty much every holy mage in a single spoiler. How do you feel?

Lifeforce and the Lifebanks Lifeforce is the paramount essence which sustains all living creatures and things. It is a naive energy, malleable and moveable and present in all life, whether true, young, and ornery; or false, fleshless, and undead. When life manifests or is mended, lifeforce flows to it and sustains it; the birth of a child, a cleric’s mending of wounds, and a druid’s coaxing of nature to bloom are all examples of lifeforce granting healing, rejuvenation, and new life. Inversely, when a beast falls to the hunter, or a warrior to battle, their lifeforce will begin to seep aways, flowing back into an antipodean spring to be renewed. Once it has replenished itself, lifeforce will once again rise up from the earth to grant life elsewhere. This font of lifeforce, known as the Lifebanks, is the wellspring from and to which all life flows. Though it has been said to lie within the earth, in actuality the Banks are not physically present within the realm, but is separated by a thin, metaphysical veil which confines the unseen energy to its vibrant cycle and order. Only when torn from its cycle is the raw and primal nature of lifeforce revealed, assuming the appearance of an oppressive black mist – a feat achieved only by those who meddle with death. In this form, lifeforce cannot replenish or grant life, but instead spreads malignant tumors and growths in its wake, leaving the earth permanently scarred by decay yet unable to fully perish. Though oft unseen, there are some materials that can interact with this esoteric substance, chiefly that of Aurum. Gold can store lifeforce within itself, saturating itself with it so as to discontinue lifeforce from its cycle. This was often employed by ancient Gravelords who sought it as a means of stopping the flow all together, or even witch-hunters seeking to banish the dead. Key Points: Lifeforce exists as an energy which powers all organic life in the mortal realm; even the dead, who do not harbor ‘life’, require it to pilot their decrepit frames, When a living being dies, most of their lifeforce will be lost, though some amount of it will remain, gradually seeping gradually into the earth. Even long-dead corpses, so long as they are not entirely decayed, will have very trace amounts of lifeforce saturating their bodies. Lifeforce cannot be created nor destroyed. Lifeforce may be displaced and its flow damaged, causing it to become “stagnant”, but can be readjusted given the proper means. Lifeforce is considered a "mortal" energy just as is genus or ectoplasm. It may be superficially exploited by deities and other entities, though it ultimately has no true master. Only necromancers may directly draw upon pure and unadulterated lifeforce. Stagnant Lifeforce When lifeforce is forcibly pulled from its deep and eternal cycle, it is no longer able to flow to the Banks and thus becomes "stagnant". Unable to pass from death nor grant life, the blasphemed lifeforce creates a peculiar limbo in which the land becomes sick and stifled, and the world is choked by the grasp of the undying. Necromancers have learned to tear fissures similar to these, dubbed by the men of Rh’thor as Heith-Hedran – a fabled and malformed darkness where the curtain of life has been pulled back, and the banks are made raw within the mortal realm. These fissures, once opened, expel unprecedented surges of raw and unruly lifeforce, warping the world around them into a dark and desolate wasteland. Where the expanse lies, the fields grow barren, and the skies shriek with anomalous storms of black lightning and roaring thunder, shadowing the land in an unnatural twilight. Cysts and festering tumors grow upon living things, and the pungent aroma of rot poisons the water and the air. No manner of rest can be mustered here, and various maladies, both physical and mental, will begin to afflict those who enter the embrace of stagnated land, worsening the longer they remain. To those who are keen to the voice of the land, the earth does not scream out in agony but is plunged into eerie silence, retaining only a sickened heartbeat – like a wounded animal merely pleading to be put down. Creatures particularly susceptible to corruption will find themselves to be physically and mentally impaired within the reach of stagnation their health degrading until they are eventually overcome. Key Points: Lifeforce is made stagnant and raw only when forcibly torn from its cycle, most commonly by feats of necromancy. Stagnant lifeforce entails lifeforce which ‘animates’, but no longer flows in and out between life and death, thus giving way to rot and perpetual decay without release of death. Sickness runs rampant, and disease is commonplace. Nothing new can grow nor be born where the stagnation lingers; trees will wither away and yet remain, leaving gnarled and decrepit husks where great oaks once stood; and the heartbeat will slowly dwindle up until the brink of death, but will never be allowed to cease. Stagnant land is not a ‘spreading’ corruption in and of itself. The extent to which land stagnates is based on the size of the originating wound, typically being a necromantic rift. The greater the wounds become, the more its stagnating influence expands. Creatures susceptible to blight will find their lifeforce stagnated more quickly than that of regular mortals, corrupting as described in their respective lores. Mending the Wound While stagnant land itself can easily be purged, the festering corruption is merely the symptom of an even greater disease, and any attempt to banish it without removing its source will simply result in the land twisting itself again after a short while. To truly banish the spoilage of the earth and allow lifeforce to flow once more, the heart of the stagnation must first be located and sealed before attempting to heal the land. Upon locating the heart of the blight, a group of competent Farseers or Druids may gather to repair the tear in the Banks, ‘grabbing’ the metaphysical fringes of the rift before weaving their magics to bind it shut like suture over a wound. Yet even a full assembly of shamans or a council of druids would struggle to repair the same wound that only a handful of necromancers were able to rupture – depending on the scale of the rift and the extent to which it has twisted the land. Should the rift be sealed, the flow of life would once more be made possible, but the scar wrought upon the land would still take time to fully mend; for just as the stagnation was not immediate in its arrival, so too will its expulsion be a lengthy process. Trees might finally be allowed to fall and die, but new ones will still take decades to grow; stagnated rivers would flow again, but the rot would need time to wash away from its banks. Though not consumed by agony as before, those attuned to both spirits and nature would hear the earth issue a languishing cry as they nurse her wounds, one which does not subside until the once-stagnant land has been fully suitable for grass to grow, trees to sprout, and flowers to bloom. Key Points: Healing stagnated land without healing its source will cause the stagnancy to return. Wounds in the Banks may be sealed by Druidic Blighthealing, or a Farseer’s blessing of Scorthuz. The number of individuals and the level of skill is roughly determined by the size and influence of the wound, the mechanics for which are described in the Necromancy lore. While adjacent land may be allowed to heal following a rift's sealing, the process will take an incredibly long time – anywhere from years to decades if left to heal on its own. Even with the aid of druidic magic, this process may at best be shortened to several years.

It's incredibly unfortunate that you had to experience something like that so early on. The sad reality is that there are many who seek only self-preservation and the fulfillment of their own goals over contributing to narrative or giving to the community. It's not wrong for a community to have their own vision or aspirations, but if it reaches the point where they to toxicity and OOC targeting to achieve their goals, then I think the best thing to do is simply find another community. LOTC is incredibly transient and fickle, and both the server and its communities are constantly undergoing shifts in leadership and vision, and the bottom line is that to take root in that community means you have to risk things that may be upheaved. Does that mean it's all hopeless and not worth your time? Absolutely not. We can still make long-lasting things and impactful relationships with other individuals, but when things do go south, we also need to be willing to pick ourselves back up and not take it too much to heart. It is a game after all. And, as I said, the community changes very quickly, and there are tons of new communities that pop up all the time. Theres a wide range of groups willing to take in just about anyone. Find one that suits and welcomes you — or even multiple if you like! In the end, we can't really enforce the ideal on every single player — people have tried and failed. But we can try to live out that ideal ourselves with the hope that we can lead by example. Learn from how others might hurt you so that you don't end up doing the same. Be welcoming to those who might be new and looking for a new community or home. Treat others the way you want to be treated. These may sound as nice anecdotes that offer no real solution, but I can almost guarantee that if you manage to do these things you will make more meaningful friends than you will spiteful enemies. You just need to keep your chin up and move on.