TVTropes builds a campaign setting!

My idea for their being exploitable nodes on the Spine was the idea was that their was a single great big old leyline running right down the middle from pole to pole.

The vocal arts

The Vocal arts are very similar to martial arts in the fact that they each developed independently of each other across the world. While many believe it to be a bardic art due to the high population of bards that use it it is in fact used by many different schools of magic.

The basic principle exists behind it and that is taking the magic within oneself and projecting it outward through sound, (more often than not a vocal sound) giving it a special effect which differs it from a simple spell. While sound based, it is not hearing based a creature with no ears can easily be effected the same as a person with perfect hearing.

Several different arts exists each very specialized, and each using a different from of sound to deliver the spell.

Warcaller - Originally developed by the Nomadic orcs, Warcallers create bellowing shouts which often carry the spells farther than most. Warcallers even have the ability to make it so that the spell itself only effect those who do not speak their tongue. Warcaller's spells usually do two things demoralize and break objects, making them perfect for raiding parties.

Fea-breathed, an art developed by the elfs, the title given to it is looked down upon by fea as they had no part in it's creation.

Fea-breathed, speak in a whisper which is often unheard but travels far and directly to a targeted area or in a arc shape. It is often used for subtle things, opening locks, pushing objects but it can be used in more destructive ways.

Shirkers , developed the art on a misty isle node. It was used by necromancers to create shirks which can paralysis or stun their victims while they prepared spells. It's short ranged usually only going a few yards but can cripple multiple attackers.

Clappers, one of the non-vocal vocal arts. clappers, cast their spells by clapping with a spell prepared amplifying the spell in a straight line with also giving it a secondary cone effect of a lesser power.

Bellowers , developed in human lands. They use bass tones to create super sonic effects, instead of using sound to enhance spells they use spells to enhance sounds. Creating a wide but focused tunnel of sonic sound, they are also one of the only vocal art that requires a certain vocal range to pull off.

You forgot one...

Sorry, sorry! *beats back silly side with a stick* Seriously now: interesting ideas. In fact, sound-basic magic would likely be among the first types developed, given how making sounds is so natural and important to people.

edited 5th Feb '12 2:46:30 PM by Sijo

Mystic Curses 01

Die of a Broken Heart The mystic can see upon one a curse that will cause the victim to die of a heart attack if they suffer emotional trauma from a romantic angle.

edited 5th Feb '12 6:18:21 PM by God_of_Awesome

If you're going to do spell lists, do a dozen or so at a time.

It's more an example of what a mystic magic tends to look like.

Ah. So, something like the Geasa of old, IE "If condition X is fulfilled, event Y will happen?"

Alright then, here's a proposition. The spells won't have to go through a big voting process so long as they seem to fit the general idea of the caster. They will be placed under the Magic Heading, under an "example spells" subsection, under the name of their caster; the full name will not be lised, as it would take too much room, rather, simply bracket them in numbers.

And you'll do this yourself, to save Sijo some effort.

edited 6th Feb '12 3:23:01 AM by Exelixi

I'd appreciate that, yes.

In any case, I'll have to do the next voting list soon. But first:

Musical Magic

Not long after sound-based magic was discovered, people realized that you could combine it with spellcasting- resulting in poems or even whole songs with magical effects! This became popular with certain groups, however it is not as common as regular spellcasting for the simple fact that, in addition to having inborn magical talent, you also need natural singing/oratory talent to use it.

There are two types of Music Magic: there's the basic type which simply heightens the effect of singing, doing everything from inspiring fearlessness to shattering fragile objects with high enough notes. Then there's the more complicated form, which can be used for almost anything, but requires complex compositions eg. a curse on a family line would require an epic poem to be read in front of the targets. Of course, the more complicated the spell the longer it needs to be, and if your target is aware of what you're doing most likely they won't let you finish. They are especially impractical in this age of long-range weaponry.

Death Curses

Death Curses are named such because they are typically cast with one's dying breath and the recipient is usually set to die, but neither of these are required prerequisites. Death Curses are mystical, the very nature of the the Aether reacting to singular intense emotion of an individual that it actually shapes itself to their will. The emotion need not be even be negative and therefore not even a curse, but the concept is the same. The intense emotion and then the words, the parameter of the curse, are spoken and set into stone.

Several things can make it more powerful, actual magic power for one. That is, wizardry behind the mysticism. Gathering raw magic power with the intense emotion to further back the words. The words being spoken over or by an individual crossing the barrier between Life and After, a birth and death, are another. These two things make killing a wizard a risky prospect, who may level his Death Curse against his killer if he's able.

Dwarves

Closely related to brownies, they have similar simian physical attributes, short and of excessive body hair. They have no tail though and they are a great deal larger, more like gorillas then chimps. To differentiate from Duegar, they are called Mortal Dwarves. Their defining trait is none of these though, but that their race has had Gifted since recorded history. Nearly all of their population has a Gift, although a smaller percentage has a strong Gift which still makes them equal in number to other races. It believed that it is their heritage spread across the humanoid pool that has given other's Gifts.

Iziko Shajaku The Rising Tide of Blades

Iziko is a half-dwarf that hails from the Forest, the other half being the incomprehensible mix of human. When her Gift emerged, her entire body changed into an amorphous shapeshifting mass. She can regain her original form and retain it easily, but she becomes a puddle unconscious. She can create any shape from her mass and add to her mass as well given enough material, physical harm against her is like trying to slice the ocean. She suffers the Curse of Madness, and when she gets worked up, she becomes extremely manic and delusional. Unfortunately, she is addicted to the feeling and works as a criminal mercenary, wanted in the Black Empire, the Eastern Dominion and beyond. However, she is prone to sudden bouts of altruism and when her actions are beneficial, some authorities look the other way, some still try to arrest her. Sometimes the Emperor Hrod arrests her only to hire her for a job.

"Minion, why is my Taxation Office smoldering ruins?"

"Iziko, sir."

"I suppose she's looking for a job, then."

-Emperor Hrod and Dolian 'Minion' Jokojok

Ozris Garl'gezmond Thunder Cry

In the north-western portion of the Black Empire, near the Emperor's point of emergence, there lies the city of Grimholme, a crime ridden heap ran mostly by the Garl'gezmond Crime Family. They are Sylvan from the Dark Lands, Hrod's former home, and the Garl'gezmond Dark Sylvan, black skin, white hair, red eyes, the works. Ozris was the second child of Godmother Garl'gezmond, the only one of her purposely bred children not to manifest the Gift. He became a black mark on the family's pride and what was worst he was pacifistic layabout, Dedicated to the pursuit of music. He also turned out to be one of the Lucky, for by chance or fate he came into possession of a whole band's worth of magic instruments possessed by elemental spirits. He impressed them with his ability and they bonded to him and he turned from a pacifist to a rebel against his mother, against crime. He became Thunder Cry, one of the great legend heroes of the Black Empire and his sound spreads over the world. Then he disappeared twenty years ago, after he convinced the rest of his Gift siblings to end the reign of their mother.

Gabrella Ness VI Prince of Arms

A hereditary title, originating in a nation aggressively occupied by their neighbor. A resistance movement was born and a single woman, disguised as a man, became Dedicated to the pursuit of mastering every weapon and fighting style their could be and freeing her country. Her sex was eventually revealed, but by then she earned the title of Prince of Arms and every firstborn daughter for three generations hence has been trained to take it up. The symbol of 'office' is a magic cloak that access a demiplane, the Armory Principality, that holds every weapon the Prince of Arms has gather and collected over the generations. The current Prince is also called War Princess, for she has embraced her femininity as well as her responsibilities and is dangerous warrior in the name of Queen and Country.

Freybjorn Querk Dragoknight

Freybjorn bears the Gift of the Shaman, giving him the power to hold a spirit in his body and draw upon its power while remaining in control. He has permanently bonded with the ghost of a dead fire dragon called Petruci. He is a barbaric legend hero hailing from cold tundras, well respected by his own people but other lands he ventures regard him as an unstable backwards berserker. Indeed, his bonding to Petruci has laid upon him the Curse of Rage, for if he draws too much power from the dragon their minds will grow much to close, and the sum of both minds is raging mind. He still cares to leave his lands to dodge rumors of inappropriate relations with his own sex but in other lands he more notably a knight obsessed with old chivalry ideals regarding women, hence Dragoknight.

We have Dwarves. Say it with me. We. Have. Dwarves.

We have Dwarves.

We have Dwarves.

   We have frickin' Dwarves.   

OK, I'm making the list of current proposals now, because it's growing faster than I expected. In fact, I'll try to post it every Monday evening so as to keep them as short as possible.

• Anduriel, The Sangrophage
• Warlocks
• Ashbleidd, The Blood Guardian
• The Celestial Struggle (between Anduriel and Ashbleidd)
• The Tale of The Hero Of Light
• Dragon aspect or The Aspected
• Repair-mages
• The Primal Blade
• Ken, The god of swordsmanship and blades (The Broken god)
• Dominion Ethnicity and race
• Orremna
• The Seven Unnamed Isles
• The Nobody Atoll
• The vocal arts
• Mystic Curses 01 (Die of a Broken Heart)
• Musical Magic
• Death Curses
• Dwarves
• Iziko Shajaku "The Rising Tide of Blades"
• Ozris Garl'gezmond "Thunder Cry")
• Gabrella Ness VI "Prince of Arms")
• Freybjorn Querk "Dragoknight")

Votes due by Sunday at the latest. Votes must be by individual item. Anything that's not a clear Yes will be counted as a No.

edited 6th Feb '12 4:16:45 PM by Sijo

Hey Exel, chill out. Here watch this! [1]

But seriously now, I am open to reinventing the Dwarves as we did the Elves. It isn't as if we have done much with them either, and to be honest I never liked the whole cannibal/deformed aspect of the interpretation.

Yes to: Anduriel, Warlocks, Ashbleidd, the Celestial Struggle, Dragon Aspects, Repair mages, Primal Blade, Ken, Dominion ethnicity/race, Orremna, Seven Unnamed Isles, Nobody Atoll, Vocal arts, Music magic, Death curses.

Still considering: the named Dwarf personages. However, Freybjorn's bit about "improper relations with the same sex?" No. We're not doing that. Just like how "there was never any oppression against women" is an acceptable break from reality in fantasy settings, there is no stigma against homosexuality. Period. Capeesh? Fix that shit.

On the matter of the mystic curse number one, as I said, I suggest we don't vote on those. Just post them, and if there's nobody immediately going "okay, what is wrong with you," go ahead and place it on the page yourself. Making Sijo do such a huge amount of unnecessary work is something we can avoid.

On the Dwarves. . . yes, with two conditions. The first is that you have to do more for them than just biology and a few celebrities. The second is the reinforcement of the race moratorium- until everything we've got is comprehensive and organic and then we decide we need a new race, no more races out of nowhere. On that point, I appologise in the case of the Orremna- I'm not saying don't vote for them, just that I should have made sure we weren't missing something before the original moratorium was placed.

edited 6th Feb '12 5:59:22 PM by Exelixi

Eh? No homophobia at all? That seems... aw well.

I think what Exel means is that yes, such stuff must happen, but that we shouldn't bring it up because its too controversial. And I agree; Sceal is a project we're making for the fun of it and for other people to use, and we should avoid anything that might cause serious arguments (not just homophobia, but sex in general.) Other stuff we might want to avoid: any references to (real life) religion or politics.

I think it's best if we avoid real-world controversy as much as possible, and homosexuality is one of the big ones. NINJA.

Hm, not actually on-the-job here, so to speak, but I have a couple of personal questions for you gents:

First, would you be interested in running/playing an actual campaign with this setting? Possibly online?

Second, what game systems and editions do you play/want to play (freeform counts as a system for this purpose)?

edited 6th Feb '12 8:47:49 PM by Exelixi

What, I'm a Ninja now?? (Yes I know what that means.)

As for playing, sure, I'd love to, though I'm not sure the setting is ready yet. I really want to appraise it, make sure everything fits together and that nothing is missing eg. character classes, full map etc.

As for system, I'm open to anything though to be sincere, I rather enjoy playing rules-free Forum RPs these days.

edited 6th Feb '12 10:03:32 PM by Sijo

Well, 'course it won't be for a while. We're. . . Maybe not quite half done, at best.

edited 6th Feb '12 10:04:59 PM by Exelixi

Spell Code and modern wands

Spell code is much like this world's Morris Code. It is a series of dots and dashes, with translate to runes and spell.

This tech while primitive has shown it's potential. When combined with a cartridge which both translates the code into runes and stores the magic to use the spells, and the scrolls which can carry multiple spells on them, instead of just one.

They have draw backs though, both the cartridge and the scroll begin to slowly burn up upon it's first use. The magic only has about a minute or two before both the cartridge and scroll need to be replace. On top of this, The dead cartridge is red hot if removed right after use, but has a high chance of melting if not removed very soon after use. Causing many a user to have third degree burns. While any person who knows the code can make the scrolls even without magic, the cartridge are both tedious to construct and require spellcasting to empower them.

Currently these cartridge and scrolls are only viable within a large wands or staff. While normal wands can be used and often are used, newer wands made just for the cartridge are popping up.

These focus wands as they're called are often made from materials less likely to burn up while the cartridge is being burned, like metal. They also are often not enchanted themselves having the cartridge being the only magical component. In addition to this they tend to have a flat top with a gem or sometimes even glass as a focusing device giving the wands their name. These wands also have a kinda tumbler within them and trigger which allows non-mages to use them as well. Some even have the ability to eject the cartridge.

Many mages view this as their answer to the guns, while others see them as something which could reduce them to public service workers or artisans instead of advisers to kings.

Being a new-er device, The chances of running into one or it's user often depends on both how urban and how rich an area is. Several powerful mages, nobles, royals and even adventures have them, but they are a pretty uncommon sight within a city. Most people still favoring old wands or guns, and an even rarer sight beyond cities many rural areas having never seen them, even ones with high magic user populations.

Votes:

• Anduriel, The Sangrophage: yes
• Warlocks: yes
• Ashbleidd, The Blood Guardian: yes
• The Celestial Struggle (between Anduriel and Ashbleidd): yes
• The Tale of The Hero Of Light: Sure.
• Dragon aspect or The Aspected: yes
• Repair-mages: Yes
• The Primal Blade: Yes
• Ken, The god of swordsmanship and blades: yes
• Dominion Ethnicity and race: Yes
• Orremna: yes
• The Seven Unnamed Isles: yes
• The Nobody Atoll: This one just confused me. So No.
• The vocal arts: yes
• Mystic Curses 01 (Die of a Broken Heart): no
• Musical Magic: yes
• Death Curses: sure
• Dwarves : No, our dwarfs need a retcon but the ancestor worship and creepy honor thing have grown on me, just not the cannibalism and mutations.
• Iziko Shajaku "The Rising Tide of Blades: No.
• Ozris Garl'gezmond "Thunder Cry": Yes
• Gabrella Ness VI "Prince of Arms": Sure.
• Freybjorn Querk "Dragoknight": Kill It with Fire!, same reason Ex gave.

edited 7th Feb '12 7:34:15 AM by Vyctorian

Ancestor worship and creepy honor implies One Race One Creed.

Our cultures need some traditions or else they'll come off as unrealistic.

There's nothing wrong with developing an unique culture for a racial group as long we point out it isn't the same for every member of it. eg. when you talk about say, African culture, it gives people a good idea of what you are talking about, despite the fact that there is no single African culture, but dozens. It's a convention for easy of use.

Also, Dwarves, being largely subterranean, would develop in a much more isolated and therefore uniform environment, and the culture produced therein would take a long while to fade completely. See: Japan.

Also also, people that immigrate in large numbers tend to carry and preserve their own cultures, which then slowly develop to form an hybrid or entirely unique culture. For example, ethnic Jewish people, those small towns you see in the middle of cities called "little (whatever)."

Point is, making a racial culture not universal doesn't mean there would be no hint of a racial culture at all.

And finally, it would be possible to transplant some aspects of the established Dwarves into the new template, or vice-versa.

God, is there a particular reason you feel your dwarves are superior to the original to the point of warranting a retcon?

edited 7th Feb '12 12:45:59 PM by Exelixi

About Nobody Atoll, I came up with the idea while thinking about how many ley nodes would be located out at sea in the Broken Lands. But then I decided it would work better as a mystery ala the Bermuda Triangle for each individual GM to solve (or just use as local color.) The name is just a terrible pun I used because as usual, I couldn't come up with a good one.

PS: I'll vote after I have reread all the entries. (I'm a slow reader. Sue me.)

edited 7th Feb '12 6:17:31 PM by Sijo

Exelixi: I thought I read people weren't into the deformed cannibals.

edited 7th Feb '12 6:56:35 PM by God_of_Awesome