We definitely do need a map,
@ELGainsborough! I was originally going to try and make up myself, until I remembered there's a reason I write for a living, and don't rely on my artistic talents. I'll be taking to Google or Pinterest in hopes of finding something that fits what I have in my head! Definitely looking forward to what you come up with. I also need to finish up my Allaria post - it's been around 80% complete for a few days now, I'm just awful at prioritizing my spare time. Hahaha.
I love all the questions,
@Oni_. Glad to see people are really thinking about how to fit their characters into the lore, and the more questions that are asked, the better grip I have on this made-up universe.
Holy magic doesn't exist in this world, in the traditional sense. There are no spells that allow for the magical mending of wounds or curing of diseases - only creating them through necromancy. I did this because I want adventuring, and monster-slaying to pose genuine threats, and not just minor inconveniences. A broken bone can and will be detrimental, because there's no magical means of fixing it up. Any wounds, illnesses, etc. would have to be dealt with through someone's personal survival skills, or the skills of herbalists and doctors using alchemical medicines.
Religion is also fairly up in the air. I don't intend for gods/goddesses to have any real presence in the world of Illora, and they'll almost never go beyond simple belief systems. A vast majority of Avadonian humans worship a goddess of the oceans, because their culture is so heavily based on life at sea, and they think that appeasing this goddess will give them luck while out on the water, when in reality, there's no proof to suggest this goddess exists or not. Much like in the real world, in a sense.
I suppose, because of this, traditional paladins wouldn't really exist. There would be no heavily-armoured zealots with healing powers, but I imagine there would certainly be people who don themselves in heavy armours and fight in the name of their god. Though, they'd have no real powers over the average Joe, unless you consider strong faith a power in and of itself. If you want to play a fallen paladin in that sense, it would certainly fit in the lore. Perhaps a character who lost his faith in the god of his choice, and has turned to the dark arts in search of some kind of power that he felt he lost upon abandoning his faith? Someone who's turned away from the worship of the gods because he's summoned demons that promise him a greater afterlife? Just some ideas that might fit into what you're looking at playing.
Though, much like I told Kronshi, anyone looking to use magic will have to keep the armour restrictions in mind. In the case of demonologists, there's no rule saying they can't summon a demon, and then put their armour on afterwards. Demons stick around until they die, so the summoning could be just a one time thing, if the character can keep their summoned companion from getting killed. That might also be a direction you could consider taking it, as most people who study demonology do so because the demons are a persuasive sort, and usually convince mortals that they can fulfill their deepest desires. Nasty little creatures, to be sure.
As for your first question regarding the legality of these magics (apologies for the messy pattern of my answers lol), magic is completely legal in Avadon. Other parts of Illora, like the rest of Hathaia (the continent that Avadon belongs to) often ban the use of magic in cities and whatnot, but Avadon is fairly young compared to the other inhabited parts of the world, and hasn't really encountered any major problems with magic, and thus has no reason to ban it. If you do play a character who dabbles in necromancy, demonology, or mysticism, they may be criticized by NPCs, or may receive some rude remarks, or may even be assaulted for their practices, because of how sketchy those schools are. But at the end of the day, none of them are illegal, so your character won't be breaking any rules. And if they're careful about how obvious they make their magical talents, any average Joe doesn't even need to know.
Hope that answers some of your questions!
