World

Earth, for the most part, is exactly how we knew it in the days of the old west. However, its face is new. Instead of bustling towns, most are deserted, except for Dralokian mining cities above deposits of Versonium, or verso as it is more commonly referred to. A mineral that when harnessed allows the manipulation of magical energy. Those who initially discovered the mineral abused its power unaware of its addictive dampening effect on their emotions. To the first people who harnessed verso, it made them sporadic. They became obsessed with the substance, and began using its powers to manipulate their bodies to live longer, become stronger, and ultimately, wield more power through the use of the mysterious mineral, becoming something entirely inhuman. It is said that the ancient Dralok still live, surviving purely by the versonium human's desperately mine to maintain relative peace.



Humans, the minority in control, wield the youngest yet most powerful magic of all - Emothiaen, but are kept highly in check by the governing Dralok. If a prominent and gifted Emothiaen wielder rose up, often he or she was quickly and ruthlessly assassinated or killed by a feared Dralokian assassin nicknamed the Executioner. Such occurrences are rare, but happen more often then is realized, as the Executioner also hunts those that the power of Emothiaen rests heavily upon. Having not learned all that their form of magic is capable of, wielders and potentials of the young power stand little chance against the old and powerful Dralok.



Though a little is known about the origins of Draloks they are seldom seen, governing instead from the shadows of their black castles through corrupted humans. As result of their secrecy, some towns don't even believe they exist, instead holding to the idea that it was a story created by a governing council of humans to incite fear and maintain control over the lesser peoples.

Emothiaen

Emothiaen is a young magic, no more than fifty years old. A mysterious yet straightforward power born of versonium. It is theorized that after the earth was cracked open by miners exposing verso to the atmosphere its power was birthed. After a few centuries of the human race being exposed to verso, they discovered they were suddenly able to use the strength of their emotions to perform feats of fantastic power. For example compassion, love, empathy, and peace all commonly manifest in healing and utilitarian ways. It is rumored some individuals have found ways to use these positive emotions in offensive ways as well. Anger, fury, hate, on the opposite spectrum, often manifest in bursts of magical energy. Fire, lightning, blasts of kinetic energy, etc, the manifestation often varies from wielder to wielder as all people feel and respond to emotions differently. When someone summons the power of Emothiaen, the emotion they choose to wield is brought to the forefront of their mind, greatly amplifying its intensity.

Harmony
A style of Emothiaen wielding known for its tactical strength. The emphasis is that when the mind, body, and surroundings are in harmony one man can assess and confront many men by utilizing his surroundings… A mental serenity is required. But mastering this magic can increase the power of your five senses and enhance your strength considerably. Some Harmonic Wielders were even thought to have a sixth sense, and could feel, manipulate, absorb, or even redirect magical and physical energy forces. Wielders of Harmony often practice martial arts to gain more control both over their physical and emotional sides. There are stories of strong Harmonics wielders even known to dodge bullets.

Passion
By many fronts this style is the opposite of Harmony. Where Harmony seeks to gain control and peace over its emotions, passion looks to completely embody its strongest emotions. Often resulting in power physical manifestations of energy. Talented Passion Wielders know how to roll through the effects of each emotion as the feelings come. Followers of the path of Passion, are very acquainted with strong emotions and as a result of their unrestricted power, often become victims of the Executioner. Few follow this path anymore do to these killings.

Though both sects have advantages, they are also both flawed. Harmony seeks to control and tame what makes it powerful, and Passion to embody it at the sacrifice of being consumed by it. If someone could balance harmony and passion they would be among the most powerful wielders on earth. They could hold onto a single emotion for longer periods of time… Where as someone who only practices passion, often shifts through different emotions very quickly. Conversely, a harmonics wielder would not delve into the manifested power of passion Emothiaen at all.



Playable characters could include Wielders of either sect or a non wielder if you choose.

The humans maintain peace with Draloks by holding a draft of of-age (16 and older) people to mining versonium. The largest towns are built around deep verso mines, as the resource is depleted the mining town would actually expand under ground following the progress of the miners. The largest of these towns in the world is named Seerithia. After many many years of mining, more city can be found underground than above.

World Weapons & Combat

The world is set to be technologically comparable to RL mid to late 1800s. However in this world, guns are very difficult to obtain under Dralok rule. They are most commonly owned by Dralok human enforcers. To give you an idea of the firearms that might be available during this time you can see here http://www.truewestmagazine.com/22-guns-that-won-the-west/. Many of the humans that are under Dralok rule have been reluctantly allowed to own swords, axes, etc.

I am still developing a lot of these ideas. It would be awesome to get a few people on board to help. We could plan a couple characters, a starting location, etc. But for now, I'd love to just see who would be interested in this. I currently am going to be working nights a lot, so I'll have a fair amount of time to type things out at around midnightish central standard time.

Hmm, I will have my eyes on this

@FantasyChic I appreciate that! We'll see if anyone else is interested. If not, perhaps I shall join someone else's to gain a better reputation. Being new, I suspect some will wonder about me haha.

Carbines and repeating handguns? I don't know, assuming that there's a relatively small population of Dralok and the cat's already out of the bag on that technology--how are mundane humans (let alone empowered gunslingers) still cowed into serfdom?

Putting that aside for now though, if the Dralok are relatively emotionless and interested in maintaining a certain status quo that ensures their existence...wouldn't they be much more agreeable governors than humans? Not to step on any toes, but what if instead of the Dralok being greedy pioneers consumed by a magical addiction...they were just here first?

So human settlers tame the frontier and push an indigenous people off their sacred lands (Or find the remains of a civilization suspiciously absent of people or their remains) They mine and uncover verse for the first time, experiencing a boom likened to the gold rush, digging deeper. Eventually they uncover the Great Dralokian Catacombs, which could exist as anything from mundane burial chamber turned immortal sanctum from exposure to magic underground to a monastic order of deathless scholars. Newly risen (Having previously had neither the tools, need or desire to dig themselves out) the Dralok would immediately be powerful players in a land that is already being divided by colonial powers and displaced tribes--one where being powerful and wishing to do the most good could be a dangerous overestimation of the human character.

Heck, you could even go a whole other route and have the Verse and Dralok discovered by a PRISON COLONY established as a mining hub. Having them declare self-sovereignty with their newfound power. Then it could be a power struggle between old rivalries as the resident inmates via for power over each other while still under the yoke of a strict yet benevolent Dralok rule.

Just a series of thoughts of course.

Could be pretty cool. I'm interested.

@Paraffin Some very good and enlightening critiques. I'll be thinking about them today. To be honest some of the elements I've given the least thought are the ones you've mentioned, which also may have been some of the most important to hold it together.

I enjoy the idea of magic and gunslingers. Would it be better to dial back the time line you think? A prison colony would be definitely an interesting take. God knows I love a good anti-hero. Overall, your input is greatly appreciated and opened my eyes to some plot holes!

Also I love your idea for discovering a chamber of sorts. It adds an interesting mystery and power to the Dralok. Do you mind if I work with some of your ideas into my OP?

By all means, I wouldn't of offered up the ideas if I was opposed to you using them. :P

I don't think you necessarily need to dial back the march of technology to account for magic, just as humans are experiencing magic for the first time this could be the Dralok's first real exposure to advanced 'mundane' technology. Just as humans are harnessing verse you could see Dralok slowly adopt modern firearms, etc etc.

The easiest equalizer would to simply have much of who and what they are and what the're capable of obfuscated by rumor, as I imagine folk would be a touch superstitious after uncovering them. Just list a whole bunch of outlandish claims in the OP and be secretly aware of which ones are true and what's been omitted. 'I hear they can flow through the Verse' like blood through a vein! Billy swears he seen one snatch the life right out of old Auntie Snow.'. That sort of stuff.

@Paraffin thanks man. All very good ideas. I've got my kids for a while here. I'll adjust the OP while I'm at work tonight around midnight CST.

That's definitely the reason why I didn't allude to much of Versonium's power. I wanted it to be mostly shrouded in mystery and hearsay. Perhaps I should think of some other thing verso can be used for it. Upon the discovery of the Dralok 'monks' it is unveiled just how powerful it actually is. What do you think about that?

EDIT: I typed out the revised post foolishly on the browser and accidentally pressed the 'Back' button. Lost it all. So I'm going to type it tomorrow on Word.

@Ajjer Not sure if you've revised the OP or not, but I definitely like what I've read. Magic and Gunslingers isn't something you see very often (more often than not you get the very basic, iron ball and musket type deal), so that's definitely a breath of fresh air. The magic system is pretty appealing as well, and gives me a chance to play a certain type of character I've been itching for--one that lines up with Harmony quite well.

As for the plot idea, and the age old classic of overbearing rulers for whatever reason or another, it's a time tested tradition that still works. It gives you all the room you need to incite some drama, and a reason for characters from all walks of life to find purpose in your world. I like where this is at, and I'll keep on eye on things here.