Magic users used to feature prominently in ancient human history until the greatest magicians summoned hordes of armies to do battle with their enemies. The bloody conflicts that arose nearly eliminated mankind, and as punishment, the gods erased magic from history, reduced the number of magic users, and limited the power of the magicians. The magicians continued their trade in secret throughout the ages, held together by insecure peace and a pact of secrecy. The day came in the 1900s when the gentle balance was threatened by instability in the world during the First and Second World Wars. The devastating events of the 1900s and beyond and the subsequent problems that arose led to wars breaking among the magicians who practiced in secret. Your characters are among the new people who are soon to be pulled into the fray.
Before glass obelisks pierced the skies, there were many gods who dwelled in the mortal world among mankind. That Cradle was blessed, where the four rivers diverged at Eden and where creation leapt from every crack in the desert to populate the barren Earth. Families became clans, clans became tribes, and tribes became nations until every peak of that corner was settled.
In those days, the gods bestowed upon mankind the gifts of their holy countenances: great fertility, long life, enduring peace, and enchanting miracles. The gods in such times saw fit to award humanity new dominion over the earth as reward for the devotion and righteousness of the men who smote the wicked under the blessing of the gods. And by the word, it was done. Men glowed with the new dominion over creation that they then had, and they used such powers to bring happiness and goodness to their lands. However, without discipline new powers beget corruption. Men coveted power for themselves and lorded armies to fight their enemies and conquer the Earth. Their unbridled depravity earned punishment from the gods, and the gods took magic away from most of mankind. Mankind would thenceforth have no memory of magic and see such activities as evil rituals, and the last of the conquerors empowered by magic had their abilities reduced, and they were cast into exile.
As time passed, the remnants of the lowest wars in human history disappeared until they were long forgotten. The old gods returned to the heavenly realms, but generation after generation fate found new disciples for the great conquerors. Squabbles were fought in secret, and no one kept record save the spirits and the gods themselves. So it goes. Times came when the disciples were seen as miracle workers, others came when the disciples were pilloried as heretics and apostates. They became heralded leaders and secluded wisemen. Each generation saw something new, and each generation continued the old work. Youth would be drafted into the task of learning the art and teaching it to the next generation. And the gods saw it was good in their eyes that the secret societies blessed by the Essence of Magic remained secret and that regardless of morality, they acknowledged the responsibilities of the powers.
But nothing is forever, such is the flow of time. The same applied to the fragile peace that the magic users had. The great sufferings felt in the time before and during the dawn of the millennium caused disillusionment, and new rivalries and factions came from the fire. Revolutions and bombs, gas chambers and revelations, revivals and rebirths all shaping a new era in history. Magic users once again embroiled themselves in a great conflict that raged in secret, but this time, the veil of secrecy may fall, threatening the delicate balance of all men know.

• Current interest: 6 people.
• Target interest: 5 people.
• Players: 3 to 10 players.
• Medium to High Casual, Low Advanced.

Count me in.

Welcome aboard, Tancuras.

Thought I'd go ahead and make it clear that I'm open to suggestions and questions, and I don't mind answering them. If we exceed 5 people, I think it'd be best to have us roleplay in separate locations (Dallas, London, Tokyo, Berlin, etc.). I think I'm willing to increase the max number of players to 10.

For sure. Hopefully we can get at least a couple more people.

Out of curiosity are we given a good amount of freedom with what magic we practice(within reason of course)

Out of curiosity are we given a good amount of freedom with what magic we practice(within reason of course)

Ah, yes, thanks for asking!

I haven't fully enumerated the way magic works in the universe, but the best answer I can give you is that, yes, you will have a pretty fair amount of freedom with magic. I can also say that your ability to use magic has much to do with training and practice. You won't be instantaneously good at certain crafts, and some crafts will be such an enigma to you that you'll never master them. The idea is that you must learn and hone magical skills before you reach your full potential. I want to make magic balanced and fair to all magical users in the roleplay, and the simplest way of doing so is limiting magic's capabilities and making learning and understanding intrinsic to magic. The other way I'll be accomplishing that is by making roughly all magic counterable in some way—it would make no sense if an incredibly stupid and undisciplined character could split continents like they were nothing or defeat his foes by way of sheer power alone. Plus, what fun would it be if someone was simply born with great power, no training necessary?

Like I said, I'd limit the capabilities of magic in the roleplay. If it's ridiculously overpowered or if it can be easily abused, it's not allowed. Magic can be used to augment things people are already capable of. For example, if a talented singer was magically enabled, then they could empower their music with magical abilities, i.e. singing to put the audience to literal sleep, singing to freeze the water that feels the vibrations of the sound. Magic can also provide abilities unlike any human skill and grant powers like control over water, control over temperature, communing with life, creating portals, etc. I wouldn't take them too far though. For example, if someone wanted to make a portal to a different location, they have to be very familiar with the other location in order to make a portal to the place they want to go. Otherwise, it will lead them to a location vaguely near the intended destination, or the portal just won't open at all. Understanding is key to successful magic.

I'll work out more details about magic in the IC and flesh out the system more clearly for everyone, but that's the gist of it. You have creative liberty to use magic as you please, and the only limits that exist are the ones that keep players from doing anything unfair or godmoding. Between now and then, I'll also try to modify magic to make it both fair and fun.

If you'll have me I'm in, this sounds like exactly what I'm looking for.

Welcome aboard, then, @yeti100!

I'm in.

Welcome to the party, Natsu.

Bumping again for visibility.

If you will take someone a tad rusty I would like to join.

@deadpixel101: Sure! I'm willing to as long as you can be an active part of the roleplay and write well enough.

@deadpixel101: Sure! I'm willing to as long as you can be an active part of the roleplay and write well enough.

Well I will sure be as active as I can be.

I'm in the start of my first year of college so we will see...But I do promise to try my darndist.

Good luck in college! I'll totally understand if you get too busy to reply.

Aside from that, do you (or does anybody else, for that matter) have any questions about the roleplay?

All right, I'm interested.

On second thought, I think I've fallen out of practice.

All right, I'm interested.

On second thought, I think I've fallen out of practice.

No big deal, I don't have extremely high expectations for ability.

Thanks for the interest!

<Snipped quote by Letter Bee>
No big deal, I don't have extremely high expectations for ability.

Thanks for the interest!

You're welcome.

It seems you have your 5, and I don't want to spread things out too thin but if you do decide to run with more, or someone drops out, I think the premise is great.