[OOC] Cradle of Divinity (signups always open)

[JohnSolaris]

(In case you're interested, the font used in the logo above is Endor.)

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Introduction

Introduction

"From this moment onwards, you are more than human."

These are the first words you hear as you return to wakefulness. Or perhaps you're dreaming still? The world around you is one of endless darkness, such that you aren't even sure if your eyes are open, if not for the lone woman floating in the void before you.

The words you've just heard come from this woman, but they seem to more aptly describe the woman herself than a (formerly?) mundane human such as yourself. She superficially resembles a young woman in her early to mid twenties, though an impossibly, inhumanly beautiful one, fair of skin, with sky-blue eyes and waist-length hair of a glossy silvery white. She is clad in a pristine white bodysuit that hugs her perfectly proportioned figure from the neck down, made of some unknown material, decorated by myriads of faintly luminescent lines of blue and purple, forming futuristic circuit-like patterns. A pair of wings extend from the woman's back, angelic yet vaguely mechanical in shape, their each individual feather made of what appears to be solid white light. A soft white glow emanates from her being, lighting up the otherwise impenetrable blackness.

But more than her beauty, you can feel the power within this woman. Though her presence is almost the epitome of gentle and soothing, you can't be more certain that she is capable of erasing you from existence without the slightest effort.

A goddess. That's what she must be, a deity who has appeared before you for reasons only she can fathom. Or maybe it's you who has appeared before her? Has she taken you away from your home and brought you here? You try to open your mouth and ask, but find your whole body paralyzed, as though you haven't quite yet fully awoken. You can only listen.

"I have brought you to my world, the Cradle of Divinity, so that you may ascend beyond your human limits and become something far greater," the goddess continues. Her voice is sweet and melodious, exactly as how a being of inhuman perfection should have. Does she mean to transform you into something like her? The notion seems more far-fetched than anything else you've ever heard in your life. "In fact, it has already begun."

And then you feel it. Somewhere deep within yourself, not physically but something more curious altogether, there is a power that you're quite sure hasn't been there before. It is something words cannot quite accurately describe, something both new and intimately familiar, pulsing in sync with your every breath and heartbeat. In fact, now that you're aware of it, you realize that this strange power has already permeated every fiber of your being. Despite your current inability to move, you feel strong and healthy, better than you've felt in a long while.

"You are now gifted with the power to manipulate the elements with your mind," the goddess says. "In your human society, power like this is beyond your current understanding of science, and would be assumedly called 'magic'. In time, with practice and experience, these powers will only grow stronger. However..."

For a moment, the goddess closes her eyes. Suddenly, her entire visage shifts, the radiant light transforming into an all-consuming darkness that somehow stands out against even the featureless black background. Her hair has become jet black, as has her bodysuit, its circuit-like patterns now glowing red and purple and shifted to more closely frame her alluring curves. Her formerly angelic wings are now still mechanical, but demonic and bat-like, with membranes made of the deepest darkness. When her eyes open again, they are now red as blood, as the goddess's previously gentle and serene expression changes into a seductive yet sinister smile. As the eyes of this dark deity stare into yours, you feel a chill down your spine. But you can't look away.

"Many forms of power come at a price. And the price for yours... is your freedom." The goddess's silken voice echoes through the depths of your mind, a sweet temptation that you fear will lead you to utter ruin. "You belong to my world now, to me. You will no longer age past your physical prime, and should you die to any other cause, you will simply reawaken at one of my many shrines." Her smile widens into an unmistakably sadistic grin, as though you're nothing but a toy to be used and abused for her amusement. "But I should tell you two things... Might makes right, and there exists nothing in this universe that is absolute. Do you wish to regain freedom? Do you want to return to your previous life? Or perhaps you desire to bend planet Earth to your will using your newfound powers? If so, there is a way..."

The dark goddess waves her hands, and a number of shapes seem to materialize out of the background void. To the goddess's left, three dark figures: a demonic statue made of hellishly blackened embers; a writhing mass of dark slime with the vaguest hint of a humanoid female shape within; and a scythe-carrying form cloaked in shadows and wisps of deathly cold. To the goddess's right, three figures of light: a majestic dragon with wings of brilliant fire; a man with crystalline tree branches growing from his back and a lower body of adamantine roots; and a delicate young girl seemingly frozen in a monolith of the purest ice, yet moving as though the ice is water. Behind the goddess, three figures of raw elemental power: a young woman with the lower body of a sea serpent, swimming in boiling acid; a slender girl with three pairs of fairy-like wings, surrounded by motes and sparks of ethereal light swaying in a gentle breeze; and a man made of liquid metal, possessing a glint so cold that it seems to freeze the air around itself. And finally, above and far behind the goddess and the rest of the figures, a man clad in some sort of futuristic armor, his entire form blurry and indistinct. Though the face of anyone except the goddess is too hard to make out, you can feel their gazes on you, analyzing you, like the test subject that you are. And you can sense the power from every single one of them, making you feel like a tiny ant in their presence.

"Seek out the powerful beings in this world, defeat them, consume their essences, and take their powers as your own," the goddess speaks. "Become strong, so that you may one day challenge my pantheon and I, the gods of this world. We are the ones keeping you trapped here, so it should be clear what you must do, shouldn't it?" She gazes down upon you, her crimson eyes gleaming with cold delight.

And then the world begins to fade away. The other figures meld back into the featureless black expanse, which begins to brighten and crack, like a dream about to end and give way to the waking world. The dark goddess once again assumes her angelic form then, bathing you in a soft white light as she smiles.

"I assure you, there is a reason why all of this is happening. However, you are not yet ready... The truth will only be revealed to you once you earn your freedom. Until then, I sincerely wish that you enjoy your stay here."

Your eyes do truly open this time, to take in the sight of an unfamiliar metallic ceiling decorated with faintly glowing lines similar to those on the goddess's clothing; you aren't sure if those are supposed to be circuits or magical runes. Through the window, you can see a lush, verdant forest, in stark contrast with the various machinery in the room that look as though they come from either the future or a sci-fi movie set. You yourself are in a medical pod of some kind, and through the transparent lid you can see a number of people in similar pods around you, all waking up at this time. The pod opens without resistance. As you check again, you're certain that the power you've felt within yourself before is still there. In fact, you feel like you can accomplish feats of "magic" at this very moment, if you so desire.

Your previous life is gone. You are more powerful than ever, but trapped in an unfamiliar world, and you aren't sure if you even qualify as human anymore. Nascent godling, what will you do?

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Game Overview

Game Overview

In this RP, the player characters are ordinary humans from a fictional version of modern Earth, who have been abducted by what appears to be a goddess, granted superhuman magical powers, and taken to a new world called the Cradle of Divinity. They're told to seek out, defeat, and consume powerful beings in this world to become stronger, so that they can challenge the gods and regain their freedom. The player characters are expected to explore the Cradle, interact with its various inhabitants, and gradually find out more about the truth of this world and the goddess's motives.

This game takes place in a fictional universe shared by all original works of fiction produced by me, with its own laws of physics, of which magic is a part. A detailed explanation of magic in this setting can be found in sections 2 and 2.1.2 of this document, and I suggest that you at least give the appropriate sections a skim. Overall, magic is not too different from the magic in other settings that use an “MP meter”, though there are subtle differences that may arise in specific situations, which should have been addressed in the links above.

To prevent any magical ability from being overpowered, all abilities are subject to limitations described in section 2.2 of the document describing magic. No one is exempt from these limitations, not even the gods that the player characters are ultimately expected to defeat.

Note: The document above makes references to "the Worldsphere", the setting that my novel takes place in, which is not the same setting as the Cradle of Divinity. The Worldsphere is a different planet altogether, in a different solar system. It's in the same universe as the Cradle, and has the same laws of physics, which is why I linked to that document here. But the Cradle is otherwise completely unrelated to the Worldsphere, so please don't get them confused. Aside from the stuff about physics, magic, souls, etc., nothing else in the Worldsphere applies to the Cradle.

Elements

Elements

In the Cradle of Divinity, magic is heavily focused on the manipulation of elements. There are nine of them, which can be combined with one another to create more complex effects. The elements will be described below.

The most common elements in the Cradle are the six "natural" elements, which are arranged in a circle similar to the red-green-blue color wheel. Three of them are the elements of "energy": Heat (red); Life (green); and Cold (blue). The other three are the elements of "matter": Earth (yellow); Water (cyan); and Air (magenta). Each element of energy can be combined with an element of matter, and vice versa, to produce a "composite" element, i.e. a more complex elemental effect.

Wheel of natural elements

Most of the natural elements are fairly self-explanatory, but some are not, so they'll all be briefly explained here.

• Heat: The element of thermal energy and melting.
• Magma (Heat + Earth): The element of lava and explosives.
• Earth: The element of rocks and minerals.
• Plant (Earth + Life): The element of vegetation and nature.
• Life: The element of growth and decay.
• Slime (Life + Water): The element of sludge and poison.
• Water: The element of water and liquids.
• Ice (Water + Cold): The element of ice and freezing.
• Cold: The element of cold energy and stasis.
• Frost (Cold + Air): The element of cold wind and blizzards.
• Air: The element of air and gases.
• Fire (Air + Heat): The element of plasma and combustion.
• Acid (Heat + Water): The element of corrosion and dissolution.
• Electric (Life + Air): The element of electricity and magnetism.
• Metal (Cold + Earth): The element of metal and machinery.

The remaining three elements, less commonly found in the Cradle, are the "spiritual" elements, which have no counterparts in non-magical energy or matter. They can be combined with the natural elements to mix their effects, but these combinations have no specific names. The spiritual elements will be briefly explained below.

• Light: Broadly speaking, this element represents the altruism in one's soul. It resembles typical "white magic" in fantasy, but is not inherently good. It is good at healing, cleansing, strengthening, and restraining, but can also smite with holy light.
• Dark: Broadly speaking, this elements represent the selfishness in one's soul. It resembles typical "black magic" in fantasy, but is not inherently evil. It is good at cursing, weakening, siphoning, and corrupting, but can also directly harm with dark energy.
• Aether: This element represents neutral, unaligned magic. It governs many effects not related to physical matter or energy, such as space, time, the mind, and raw magic itself.

Setting

Setting

The Cradle of Divinity is a roughly spherical world, with a radius of about a thousand kilometers. The surface of the sphere is a force field of shimmering energy, dubbed the Great Barrier by the Cradle's inhabitants. It completely encloses the Cradle, preventing anything from entering or leaving. All attempts at breaching the Great Barrier have failed, and none of the Cradle's inhabitants know what lies beyond.

The Cradle's equatorial plane, its ground level, is known as the Middle World. It is a circular area approximately a third of the size of the United States. Much of the Middle World is permeated by strong elemental energies, and is thus highly dangerous and hostile, requiring strong magic to survive in. It has a wide variety of different biomes, arranged in a wheel corresponding to the six natural elements. A (very rough) picture is provided below.

The Middle World

Out of all the biomes in the Middle World, only the mountains, temperate sea, and plain (i.e. the biomes corresponding to the elements of matter) are safe and stable enough to have large-scale settlements of intelligent beings; all other biomes are limited to small villages and towns interspersed in wilderness where monsters of bestial intellect roam. The Heat, Life, and Cold zones (i.e. the biomes corresponding to the elements of energy) are exceptionally dangerous even compared to the other biomes, and very few know what they're like. The Tech zone at the core of the Middle World provides a center of stability for the three "safe" biomes surrounding it, but no one has entered this biome and safely returned; it is widely assumed that the Tech zone is the most dangerous area in all of the Cradle.

In the sky above the Middle World is a series of floating islands, collectively called Heaven, aligned with the Light element and inhabited by angels. Deep beneath the Middle World are numerous underground caverns, collectively called Hell, aligned with the Dark element and inhabited by demons. A simplified illustration of this arrangement is shown below.

Heaven and Hell

Each location in Heaven tends to have tints of some of the natural elements, depending on where in the Middle World it is above. For example, the part of Heaven above the desert, i.e. the Fire and Air area, will be aligned with Fire and Air in addition to Light. The higher you go, the stronger the alignment in Light, but the weaker the alignment with the natural elements. Similarly, each location in Hell is aligned with the natural elements of the area of the Middle World it is situated below; Dark alignment increases and natural elements alignments decrease as you go further down.
At the very zenith of Heaven, corresponding to the north pole of the sphere, is an extremely strong source of light that acts as the Cradle's Sun. It slowly brightens and dims as a part of the Cradle's day and night cycle, and is the brightest at noon. At night, the light is dim enough that it resembles the Moon, and it is also dim enough to allow light from the other floating islands in Heaven to be seen from the Middle World; these resemble the stars. Eclipses are possible if one of the islands moves to block out the Sun's light. No one knows what the Sun actually is, or what's inside it, as its Light elemental energy is far too strong to allow anyone inside safely.
At the very nadir of Hell, corresponding to the south pole of the sphere, is an extremely strong vortex of darkness called the Abyss. It seems to devour anything that falls inside, and no one has ever escaped from it. Thus, similarly to the Sun, no one knows what the Abyss actually is or what's inside it.

Character Progression

Character Progression

All player characters start out as ordinary humans from a fictional version of modern Earth. Upon arrival at the Cradle, each character has her body permanently strengthened by magic, such that she no longer needs to eat, drink, breathe, sleep, or excrete waste, though she may still choose to do these things. She now survives by absorbing ambient energy from the environment to sustain herself, though food and drink may still restore energy more quickly if she's tired. The character also has all physical illnesses and impairments removed, and is rendered immune to all mundane diseases, toxins, and other harmful substances (though not if the harmful substances are empowered by magic). The character will no longer age past her physical prime, and will stop aging altogether if she's already past her physical prime. However, the character is still far from invulnerable, as her body is no stronger than that of a normal human until her magic becomes more powerful.

Familiars

Familiars

Each player character can have a number of familiars, which are magical creatures bonded to the character's soul; these are all controlled by the player who controls the character. The character maintains constant telepathic contact with all of her familiars, and can summon and unsummon them at will, potentially even against a familiar's will. However, a familiar has its own free will, and is not compelled to obey its master's commands. The character is thus expected to learn to work together with her familiars. While unsummoned, a familiar exists as a mental presence in its master's mind; the familiar can be unsummoned and returned to such a state from effectively anywhere. If its body is killed, the familiar returns to being a presence in its master's mind, and cannot be summoned again until the familiar recovers from its severe energy loss upon death.

A player character can make a contract with any creature found in the Cradle to make the creature her familiar, provided that the character's soul has an acceptable amount of magical compatibility with the creature's essence. If both the character and the creature are willing, the contract will be established smoothly. But if either of the two is unwilling, the unwilling one must be beaten into submission and exhaustion before the contract can be forcibly established. A contract can also be broken, which returns a familiar to being an unbonded creature. The process of breaking a contract relates to willingness in the same way as establishing a contract, though breaking a contract is in general much more difficult.

If a creature is already intelligent before establishing a contract with a player character, the creature retains its personality upon becoming a familiar. If the creature is not intelligent, then it will become intelligent after becoming a familiar, and develop its own personality; the development is typically influenced by the character's personality.
(Note: If you make a contract with an intelligent NPC creature, but aren't confident that you'll be able to roleplay the NPC properly, you can choose to let me keep roleplaying as the NPC, even though normally you should control all of your own familiars.)

If a character does not want to make contracts with pre-existing creatures, she may create a familiar from scratch by finding and consuming an extremely rare gemstone called an essence stone. After being absorbed, the essence stone will react with the character's soul, and become a familiar that is the manifestation of an aspect of the character's personality. This guarantees that the familiar will be highly compatible with the character's soul.

A character's power is divided between herself and all of her familiars. Thus, a character with no familiars will be relatively very powerful by herself, but lack the tactical advantage of having multiple fighters on her side.

All familiars are sustained by their masters, so they do not need to eat, drink, sleep, breathe, or excrete, even if they were not exempt from these needs prior to becoming familiars.

A character cannot have more than six familiars at the same time; her soul cannot sustain that many.

You must obtain my approval each time you gain a familiar.

Abilities and Essence Absorption

Abilities and Essence Absorption

Each player character may either start with a small number of magical abilities for herself but no familiar, or start with a single familiar with some magical abilities but no abilities of her own. There is no strict limitation to how many abilities you can start with, but please try to be reasonable. As a general rule of thumb, don't start with more than five abilities. Note that some abilities may be passive, e.g. a layer of rock carapace that covers your character's skin as protection.

A character or familiar may gain new abilities through experience and practice, or through situations of extreme physical or mental duress, though those are important plot events that shouldn't happen too frequently.

In addition to the methods above, a character or familiar may gain new abilities by absorbing the essences of defeated creatures. Upon absorption, you will gain one or more of that creature's abilities, provided that the creature's power level is a significant fraction of your own; you won't gain much from absorbing weak creatures. The player characters and their familiars are expected to gain most of their abilities this way. A single creature's essence may also be divided among multiple characters and familiars.
However, if you absorb the essence of a creature that is much more powerful than yourself, your mind will likely be permanently warped by the creature's power. For example, if you absorb the essence of a powerful fire demon of rage, you may find it more difficult to control your own anger. Too much of this, and you may become no longer yourself.
It is also theoretically possible to absorb the essences of familiars, belonging to other people or even yourself... But this will only be elaborated further when it comes up in the plot.

As a character or familiar gains abilities, her appearance may change. Therefore, if two different people make contracts with two of the same type of creatures, the two familiars may evolve to become drastically different.

You must obtain my approval each time your character or familiar gains a new ability.

Note: A character or familiar's raw power level is independent of her abilities. Power level is typically increased by the same actions that grant new abilities, but that doesn't mean the two are directly related.

Elemental Masteries

Elemental Masteries

A character or familiar has a "mastery level" in each element, which determines how skilled she is at using abilities of that element. The more skilled you are, the more easily you can modify an ability on the spot to use it in different ways and combine it with other abilities. If you learn an ability but have no mastery at all in the ability's elements, then you cannot modify the ability in any way, though it will still scale in magnitude relative to your power level.

Example: Suppose you have high mastery of Heat, mediocre mastery of Air, and no mastery of Cold or Water. Suppose you learn a fireball ability, which involves Heat and Air. Your high Heat mastery allows you to adjust the temperature of the fireball, how much energy you put into it, and how concentrated the fireball's power is. Air mastery allows you to adjust the size and shape of the fireball, the rate and speed at which you shoot it, and whether it delivers any physical impact, but your lower Air mastery means you cannot adjust these properties as much as you can adjust the Heat-related properties. And if you learn an icicle spell, it'll always be a fast, sharp ice projectile that deals a small amount of damage relative to your power level, due to your lack of mastery in Water and Cold.

A character or familiar's elemental masteries are determined by her elemental cores. Each core gives a large amount of mastery to its own element, and a small amount of mastery to elements "adjacent" to it on the elemental color wheel. The elemental masteries given by each core are listed below.

• Heat: 1/4 Air, 1 Heat, 1/4 Earth, 1/6 in each spiritual element.
• Earth: 1/4 Heat, 1 Earth, 1/4 Life, 1/6 in each spiritual element.
• Life: 1/4 Earth, 1 Life, 1/4 Water, 1/6 in each spiritual element.
• Water: 1/4 Life, 1 Water, 1/4 Cold, 1/6 in each spiritual element.
• Cold: 1/4 Water, 1 Cold, 1/4 Air, 1/6 in each spiritual element.
• Air: 1/4 Cold, 1 Air, 1/4 Heat, 1/6 in each spiritual element.
• Light: 1 Light, 1/6 in each natural element.
• Dark: 1 Dark, 1/6 in each natural element.
• Aether: 1 Aether, 1/6 in each natural element.

A mastery level of 1 in an element means you're as skilled as the average specialist of that element. The masteries of multiple cores add together, and they can go above 1.
To those who worry about this kind of thing, each core gives a total of 2 mastery points. And if you obtain one of each core (though you won't be allowed to have that many in the game), you'll have a mastery of 2 in each element.

Each player starts out with two elemental cores, chosen from the list above. The cores aren't unique objects, so multiple players can have cores of the same elements; you can even choose two cores of the same element. There are also no restrictions on choosing two cores of "opposing" elements, e.g. Heat and Water, Light and Dark. If you start out with a familiar instead of abilities of your own, your familiars will have the same cores as yourself.

During the course of the game, you and your familiars will have the chance to gain more elemental cores. It is possible for your familiars to end up with different cores than yourself.

You do not have to keep track of your mastery level in each individual element. You just need a list of your elemental cores; let me worry about the exact individual masteries.

World Interactions

World Interactions

When interacting with anything that isn't controlled by a player, you must wait for either me or @BCTheEntity, the co-GM, to decide the results of your interaction. More specifically, BC and I will be controlling various antagonists that the player characters may need to defeat. Since we determine the outcomes of interactions, we do not have player characters of our own. Don't worry about any potential disputes between BC and I; we'll always work these out in private.

When interacting with another player character or one of her familiars, you may work out the results of the interaction with the other player, as long as it doesn't break any rules. Alternatively, you may choose to let BC or me determine the results.

It is (usually) not possible to die in this game. Littered around the Cradle of Divinity are numerous tech-shrines of Syn-Theia, the goddess who brought your character into this world. Whenever your character's body is killed, she will be resurrected at the last shrine she visited; all of her familiars will be unsummoned and returned to her mind as well. Each shrine is surrounded by an extremely powerful barrier that prevents anything other than a human or a familiar from entering, and you can teleport to any shrine you've already visited, so you generally don't have to worry about being "spawn-camped" by monsters.

However, while you can't die physically, it is still possible for you to "die" by losing your very identity... I will speak no more of this matter until it becomes more relevant in the plot.

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Rules

Rules

To avoid possible disputes, there are a few rules in this game that must be obeyed at all times. Breaking one of the rules for the first two times will only result in a warning, but breaking a rule a third time will result in you being banned from this game.

-2. All forum rules apply. Obviously.

-1. Do not respond to anyone who is attempting to derail this thread, or the main game thread. Report the person and move on.

0. I am always right. I am allowed to break any of the rules after this one because I am the GM. Don't even try to argue with me or twist the rules and use them against me, because I am always right. You can ask me to re-evaluate a decision, but ultimately I always get the final say. If I say a discussion is finished, it is finished; attempting to argue further is breaking this rule and you know what that means.

1. Don’t be a jerk. Try not to do anything that may possibly cause anyone to spit profanity at you. That includes but is not limited to killing, controlling, maiming, depowering, or doing anything unpleasant to another player's characters without the player’s permission, or derailing the characters' subplots. If a dispute occurs, try to resolve it via PM. If that doesn’t work, PM me.

2. All posts can be edited. If a conflict occurs, one or both sides will have to edit their posts. If I tell you to edit one of your posts, you have to. If you refuse to do so, your post will be declared invalid, non-canonical, and will be ignored by everyone else; responding to such invalidated posts also counts as breaking this rule.

3. Don’t be overpowered. If I spot your characters doing something they should not be capable of doing, you must edit your post. Otherwise your post will be considered invalid; retcons will be used if necessary. There is a link above describing the limitations of magical abilities in this setting, in the Game Overview section.

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Signup Sheets

In this game, each player is limited to one character, and up to six familiars. The character and familiar signup sheets will be included below.

Please post your character and familiar sheets in the OOC tab first, then move them to the Characters tab after they've been accepted.

Also, please update your character and familiar sheets as you progress through the game, e.g. when you gain new abilities.

Character Sheet

Name: Self-explanatory. Put aliases, nicknames, and titles here too if you want, but please do make it clear which is your character’s main name.

Sex: Self-explanatory. Includes all possible variations on human sex, e.g. both male and female, sexless, changed from male to female or vice versa. Note that this indicates biological sex; things like gender identity go in the Personality section.

Age: Self-explanatory. Must be limited to plausible human ages.

Appearance: Self-explanatory. Please describe both your character’s physical appearance and clothes.

Personality: You can flesh out your character as you roleplay along, but it’s still a good idea to give a general description of his or her personality. If you don’t know what to put, think about virtues, vices, intelligence, temperaments, religious, philosophical, and moral beliefs, sexual orientation, quirks, habits, etc.

Biography: Briefly explain your character’s life before the game began. Remember that your character was a human living on Earth in the year 2015.

Skills: What mundane, non-magical skills does your character have? Examples include but are obviously not limited to singing, cooking, and martial arts.

Elemental Cores: As described in the Game Overview section. You start with two cores, but will gain more as the game progresses.

Abilities: This section contains your character’s magical abilities. Please read the document listing the limitations of magical abilities, linked immediately above the Elements subsection of the Game Overview section. Your character can start with up to five abilities, but only if she doesn't start with a familiar; she will gain more abilities as the game progresses. Also, please indicate the elements that each ability involves, to see which elemental masteries apply.

Familiars: List all of your character's familiars here. Your character can start with one familiar who has the same elemental cores as herself, and up to five abilities, but only if the character herself doesn't start with any abilities; she may gain more familiars as the game progresses. It will also be helpful to indicate the elemental cores each familiar has.

Possessions: List any items of significance that your character has in her possession. You do not start with any possessions, but may gain them during the course of the game.

Familiar Sheet

Name: Self-explanatory.

Sex: Self-explanatory. Unlike your human character, your familiar is not limited to human sexes.

Age: Self-explanatory. If this is the familiar that your character starts with, or a familiar created from your character's soul via an essence stone, then its age is technically 0. Otherwise, the familiar's age will be revealed to you within the game when its contract is established.

Race: What kind of creature is your familiar? Only a short phrase here, please; more detailed descriptions go into the Appearance section. If your familiar is some kind of alien thing that doesn’t resemble anything in real life or fiction, put "N/A".

Appearance: Self-explanatory.

Personality: Self-explanatory. If your familiar is created from your character's soul (i.e. her starting familiar and ones created using essence stones), or if it is a previously non-intelligent creature that has become intelligent due to the contract, its personality will be a manifestation of some aspects of your character's personality; you get to choose. Otherwise, you will be told of the familiar's personality before its contract with you.

Biography: Self-explanatory. For your character's starting familiar, and familiars spawned from her soul, the familiar will have essentially no biography. However, it will have access to your character's memories, meaning it has about as much clue about what's going on as your character herself; it will also know that it is an entity spawned from your character's soul. Otherwise, the familiar's biography prior to establishing its contract with your character will be revealed to you.

Skills: If this familiar was your character's starting one, or otherwise spawned from her soul, it will have the same skills as your character, and may have skills your character has witnessed but doesn't have (e.g. the familiar may know martial arts from the tournaments its master had watched). The familiar may also have certain intrinsic mental qualities that your character herself may not have, e.g. intelligence, empathy. Otherwise, the familiar is a pre-existing creature, and its skills will be revealed to you.

Elemental Cores: Your starting familiar must have the same cores as your starting ones, and an essence stone will create a familiar who has the same cores as you currently have. Pre-existing creatures will have their elemental cores revealed to you when you make contracts with them. Familiars will also gain more elemental cores as the game progresses, and they do not have to be the same as yours.

Abilities: The same limitations as your character's abilities apply. Your starting familiar cannot have more than five abilities, and a familiar created from an essence stone cannot have more abilities than the member of your party (i.e. you and your familiars) with the highest number of abilities; you decide what abilities they start with. Pre-existing creatures that become your familiars will have their abilities revealed to you. In all cases, familiars will gain more abilities as the game progresses.

[Magnato]

Character Sheet

Name: Meredith Sanna.

Sex: Female.

Age: 19.

Appearance: A pale tall lass with bright green eyes and a long and wavy hair. Usually dresses in loose clothing. Ever since she arrived in this world her skin took a lime color and her hair became dark-green, her teeth also became a bit sharper.

Personality: Distant yet direct on her way of speaking, she is a person who will at times outright ignore direct social contact. She has an odd fascination with the natural and the circle of life. Collects all sorts of pets and trinkets and used to have a room full of frogs, cans and ruined books. Smells really bad.

Biography: Meredith lived with her parents in a bog. It was a simple life, and she would spend a lot of her time helping her parents with chores or fishing. Slowly she developed a certain fascination for the wild life in the swamp. At a time she decided to start to skip school and go into the bog instead where she started to become more and more wild in nature.
She had left her parent's home decided on living a hermit's life, but a little after she was called into the cradle by some sort of goddess

Skills: A good swimmer
Has a set of survival skills

Elemental Cores: Water and Life (Slime)

Abilities:

(Life) Fertile Aura / Pestilence : Life blooms around her. If she touches wet stone it might have a boom of moss growing over it, if she walks barefoot the ground may grow with flowers, weeds and thorns, if she touches a wounded or dead creature all sorts of infections and vermin might quickly overtake the creature and a live creature if touching her might soon find itself ill due to a boom in the number of bacteria and parasites in its body.

(Water) Water adaptation: Changes in her skin and organs made her almost an amphibious creature. This ability does not give her the power to breath underwater but it does change her to be a better swimmer. Made for the fresh swamp water not the ocean water.

(Slime) Moss Barrier: Slowly creates a moss like mucus around her body primarily for stealth and protection, however if given enough time to prepare itself it can create little slimy tentacles which tie with the next ability

(Life) Absorption: Takes a life form smaller than her and slowly incorporate it on her body, the difference between this and digestion is that this one may also take some of the mana vessels into her body, giving her a chance to absorb some of the mana from the soul itself before it fully goes away. Since this is a hard process which requires the target to be still her main toll for doing this is using the Moss Barrier skill, due to that however she can only think of using this on smaller creatures.

(Slime) Acidic Slime: Turns stomach enzymes into balls of slime which she can spit out, they react with the exterior ambient and explode a few seconds after. Both the ball and the liquid it expels are very acidic and will melt bare skin and will oxidize some lesser metals.

Familiars:

Possessions:

[gammaflux]

Character Sheet

Name: Azorel Attus

Sex: Male

Age: 19

Appearance: Azorel is a very thin young man standing at about 5' 10". He does not have any body hair to speak of on his slender frame, nor does he have any facial hair. His skin is rather soft and smooth, with almost no blemishes to speak of whatsoever. He has dark brown medium length hair, and dark brown eyes. His natural skin color is a light tan. His body as well as facial features are rather feminine looking, so much so that some people have stated as well as teased that he'd make for a very convincing girl if he tried his hand at cross-dressing, much to Azorel's dismay. In fact there are some people who have outright believed he was a girl until he later corrected them.

Personality: Azorel is a rather soft-spoken individual. He is reserved around people he doesn't know well, and has trouble talking to people he's attracted to. He can also be a bit awkward in social situations, as he is not exactly sure how to act. He has strong morals, and while he doesn't like breaking the law, he would do it if he feels like it is the right thing to do. He is not above killing people if he considers them evil or a danger to himself or others. He's not all good though, and oftentimes thinks rather harshly of others, proclaiming to hate them or even wanting to kill them. Though he doesn't actually want to think like that, and tries to push these thoughts out of his head. When nervous, he tends to scratch his cheek with his index finger, or scratch his head. Once he considers someone as a friend he becomes a bit attached to them, and likes hanging out with them. He is somewhat of a curious guy, and often asks questions. He can also be a bit unsure of himself, and can be self-conscious. He gets scared easily while in combat, afraid of getting hurt or dying (even if dying is just temporarily). This drives him to do better in a fight, but may also cause him to act unreliably and miss opportunities for fear of retaliation.

Biography: Azorel Attus is somewhat of an outcast. He has had very few friends in school, and a lot of people have teased him, partially for being awkward and shy, and partially because of his feminine appearance. He was average in school for the most part, but did excel in math, and slightly in physical education when it came to dodgeball or tennis. When teased by other kids in his school, Azorel would usually try to ignore it, but sometimes trying to ignore it was just impossible. There were quite a few instances of this, particularly one case in which Azorel's clothing was stolen and replaced with female clothing in the school's swimming locker rooms. School felt like a prison to Azorel, especially since few people actually liked him. Jokes about his masculinity, and sexual orientation were passed around classmates, and every now and then, there'd always be some guy pretending to hit on him, or some girl inviting him to go shop at the mall and scout out some cute guys. All Azorel could do was try and ignore it, which didn't really help all that much. The teachers themselves didn't care, or didn't really seem to notice.

When Azorel finally got out of high school and entered college he felt like a great weight was lifted. Sure, he still got teased every now and then, but it was a lot less frequent, and much more tolerable.

His family on the other hand, loves him very much, and he has a decent relationship with them, though his sister (who is 3 years younger than him and his only sibling) can be a bit mean at times, calling him stupid and such. Still, this is a lot better than the kids in school by comparison. Even as a child Azorel had to deal with this, but back then he was much more sociable. Over the years the constant insults caused Azorel to form a shell and keep to himself.

As a child he was actually mistaken for a girl quite a lot. His undeveloped body, soft facial features, and light high voice (not that his voice is actually manly or deep as it currently stands.) really helped to sell this fact. It wasn't until he reached puberty that he was seen as a boy most of the time. A very feminine looking boy, but still a boy. Every now and then there's usually someone who mistakes him for a girl entirely.

Skills: Reaction Speed: Azorel is quick to react, whether it's because he's noticing an approaching projectile, or senses an opening in his opponent's defenses. (Though of course he doesn't actually know how to fight well enough yet to make full use of it in battle)
Good balance: Azorel has good balance, both when it comes to standing/moving on unstable or thin terrain, or staying on his feet during a fight after taking a heavy blow.
Driven by Fear: If Azorel becomes frightened or is put in a dangerous situation, he can channel more energy which he can use in his attacks/abilities. Doing so increases their power, but later he may become tired due to overexertion.
Crossdresser: While Azorel doesn't actually crossdress of his own accord, he can easily pass as a girl if he wears female clothing, and can even change his voice to an extent giving it a more feminine touch.

Elemental Cores: Water, Life

Abilities: N/A

Familiars:

??? The Slime

Name: None currently. N/A

Sex: None

Age: 0

Race: Ooze

Appearance: A green blob of slime, reaching up to about two feet tall and wide. Inside of its body there appears to be currents of energy which slowly move throughout the slime's body. This is it's base form, however it can distort it's body in many different ways, and can even shape-shift into another form entirely. It speaks magically, and does not have any organs.

Personality: The slime is incredibly curious about the world, and likes asking lots of questions trying to obtain as much knowledge as possible. It does not have any real concept of morals, and does not know right from wrong. The slime feeling connected to Azorel, is both protective and attached to him. It usually doesn't take battle to seriously, and often likes to shapeshift into the form of it's opponent, just to confuse them. It prefers tricks and misdirection rather than full on attacking. It likes cheering others up as well, but is not always the best at it, and may say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Biography: N/A

Skills: Reaction Speed: The slime is quick to react, whether it be by noticing a projectile, or attacking immediately as soon as an opening is spotted in it's opponents defenses.
360 degree vision: The slime can see in all directions, and can not under most normal circumstances be caught off guard from things like sneak attacks. It's also pretty adept at dodging attacks from multple angles, or fighting hordes of opponents coming from different sides.
Poor Eyesight: The slime's sight is someone limited, and it has trouble examining things that are far away, or smaller objects that are moving at a very high speed unless they're a certain distance away.

Elemental Cores: Life, Water

Abilities:
Shape-Shift: The user can shape shift into a myriad of forms, (this includes changing it's color, voice, and to an extent its size.) and since it is a slime, it can even distort it's own shape to a large degree. (e.g. flattening out on the ground, or creating holes in its body to allow projectiles to pass through) The more complex the shape is, the harder and longer it takes to distort it's body. It can even take on the form of another human or monster, though this (As of now) will be an imperfect copy. By imperfect copy, I mean that the slime will not be able to form any organs, breaking the outer layer of the slime will also cause it to shed green ooze, rather than blood colored ooze. Additionally the appearance and voice won't be exactly the same, unless the Slime has spent a lot of time practicing as said entity, or has spent a large amount of time with said entity. (Slime/Water)

Absorption - (passive): The Slime's body can absorb kinetic force to a degree and is quite resistant to physical damage. (Slime)

Toxic Body: By secreting toxins in it's body, the user can attempt to dissolve anything it touches. This skill may heal or energize the user if used for a sufficient amount of time on an object or entity. (Slime/life)

Hyper Slam: The user can attempt to rubber band itself off a floor or wall into an opponent at high speed dealing a decent amount of damage. This attack can be used in quick succession, but doing so may tire out the user. This is a high mobility skill and as such makes it easier to dodge or break through an opponent's guard. (Slime/Physical)

Slime Shot: The user fires out multiple shots of pressurized slime from it's body. Any residue that touches an enemy will deal minor acidic slime damage. The slime residue also disappears after a short time, hitting the same spot multiple times with this move increases the duration. The slime residue isn't necessarily sticky, but it can be a little difficult to remove. (though it doesn't really last all that long anyways) (Slime/Water)

Possessions: Sneakers, Jeans, and a Simple plain blue t-shirt

[JohnSolaris]

@Magnato: Please be more specific with your character's biography. What bog did she live in? How did she fare in terms of education?

As for the abilities...

Pestilence probably won't work like how you want it to. Most beings don't contain enough harmful bacteria for this ability to make a difference, especially for stronger creatures, and the life-granting effect is more likely to heal the target. I suggest that you either change this to an outright healing ability, or change this to a toxic energy that interferes with biological tissue and mana vessels.

Water Adaptation is a bit underpowered. I suggest you change it so that it allows your character to move easily in water and most other liquids, including viscous liquids. It would also make glues less effective against her.

Everything else looks fine.

---

FYI, @BCTheEntity's "GMPC" is going to be an antagonist, in case the character sheet doesn't make it look obvious. He's not going to be a true player character like everyone else, nor is he even going to stay with the party. I meant it when I said BC and I won't have standard player characters.

[Dead Cruiser]

...continuing our discussion from the previous thread.

I would be willing to participate in designing a system that takes after actual chemistry, since you wish for your magic system to function similarly to science. Perhaps with some classical alchemy mixed in for flavor. Perhaps the various "elements" of the proposed system could be modeled after elementary particles and forces.

Elements could include Quarks, Leptons, Bosons and Photons as the "matter elements," and Electromagnetism, Gravity, Weak Force and Strong Force as "interaction elements." Naturally most would be renamed to be easier to understand, but hopefully not in such a way that all of chemistry (which, ostensibly, should comprise the entirety of the "elemental" wheel) is considered to be equally diverse to "slime."

[JohnSolaris]

...continuing our discussion from the previous thread.

I would be willing to participate in designing a system that takes after actual chemistry, since you wish for your magic system to function similarly to science. Perhaps with some classical alchemy mixed in for flavor. Perhaps the various "elements" of the proposed system could be modeled after elementary particles and forces.

Elements could include Quarks, Leptons, Bosons and Photons as the "matter elements," and Electromagnetism, Gravity, Weak Force and Strong Force as "interaction elements." Naturally most would be renamed to be easier to understand, but hopefully not in such a way that all of chemistry (which, ostensibly, should comprise the entirety of the "elemental" wheel) is considered to be equally diverse to "slime."

@Dead Cruiser

Sorry, but no.

First of all, I can't completely overhaul the elements system at this stage; it's just not realistic.

Secondly, this universe explicitly does not have the same laws of physics as real life. That means the subatomic particles aren't the same. I do actually have a system of subatomic particles for my setting, but I don't really want to mention it here, since it's unnecessary and will make things even more complicated than they already are. The subatomic particles of this setting is nothing like the ones in real life, and there are no quantum effects here, so it's impossible to use real life particle physics to model the elements in this game. I can say that the current system of elements does in fact closely follow how the subatomic particles in my fictional universe are set up.

I don't want to sound rude here, but I can't completely change the elements system just for the sake of one person. If you don't like some parts of the system, I'm afraid you'll have to take it or leave it.

[ravenDivinity]

It's fiction anyway. It doesn't have to follow a model or be entirely realistic, and stylistic choices are all made by the creator.

[Dead Cruiser]

Just making suggestions is all. I am more than willing to help alter the more egregious parts of the system (which I mentioned previously).

there are no quantum effects here

@JohnSolaris

This alarms me a bit, though. You're saying that there is no electromagnetism (which governs nearly all of macrochemistry as we know it), no gravitation (which should speak for itself), no strong force (which allows atoms to exist) and no weak force (which allows chemical interaction)?

Anyway, ignoring that, I've actually spent a good hour and a half looking over the chart, trying to see how it can be refined without taking it apart. Taking sources mostly from classical alchemy, much of the system falls apart due to it resting on an axis of three elements rather than four. "Life" is also a major wrench in the works, as it is not matter, energy or an interaction. But, regardless, I do have some suggestions.

"Ice" may become "Crystal" (representing solidification and atomic geometry in solid forms).

"Plant" may become "Salt" (representing the baseline element of life, and solid organic substances).

"Life" may become "Vigor" (representing animation in physical bodies, and the removal thereof).

"Electric" may become "Ion" (representing dynamic matter in an excited state).

"Slime" may become "Elixir" (representing primordial organic matter and the process of putrefaction).

"Chemical" may become "Azoth" (representing chemical "perfection," the pursuit of which, and the ideal substance for dissolution).

Hopefully that works out for everyone involved. Me personally, I would also give out pseudo-Greek/Latin names to the remaining elements, just so they fit stylistically.

[JohnSolaris]

Just making suggestions is all. I am more than willing to help alter the more egregious parts of the system (which I mentioned previously).

<Snipped quote by JohnSolaris>

This alarms me a bit, though. You're saying that there is no electromagnetism (which governs nearly all of macrochemistry as we know it), no gravitation (which should speak for itself), no strong force (which allows atoms to exist) and no weak force (which allows chemical interaction)?

@Dead Cruiser

By "no quantum effects", I mean matter is not subject to the uncertainty principle, and does not exhibit the kind of wave-particle duality we have in real life. There is no quantum wavefunction, no superposition, no collapse, no being at multiple locations at the same time.

You also still seem to be treating this universe as though it's made of the same "stuff" as real life. It isn't. Matter is made of completely different fundamental particles, governed by completely different forces. Said fundamental particles are held together by magic, not by the thing we call the strong nuclear force in real life. Something superficially similar to electromagnetism exists, but isn't the same as real life, isn't limited to the speed of light, and isn't responsible for most of chemistry. The weak force as we know it doesn't exist either, and its effects on chemical interactions are replaced by forces we ostensibly call "magic". Gravity is still the curvature of spacetime caused by mass, but no event horizons, because no relativistic effects, because no limitation of speed of light, because electromagnetism is different, etc.

Bottom line is, don't treat this like real life physics. It's something completely different. It's probably best to just throw up your hands and say "it's magic"; you're not the one who has to worry about how it all works.

Anyway, ignoring that, I've actually spent a good hour and a half looking over the chart, trying to see how it can be refined without taking it apart. Taking sources mostly from classical alchemy, much of the system falls apart due to it resting on an axis of three elements rather than four. "Life" is also a major wrench in the works, as it is not matter, energy or an interaction. But, regardless, I do have some suggestions.

@Dead Cruiser

Uh... I'm sorry that you spent over an hour on this, but... I can't accept these suggestions. As I said above, you're still treating this like real life physics and chemistry, which just doesn't fit. Please just take the current system or leave it. I really don't think I can tweak it any more than I already have, especially at this stage of the game.

Though... I'm going to change the name of the Chemical element to "Acid", so that it doesn't sound like it comprises all of what we see as chemistry in real life. Do remember that the names of the elements are just words, and words don't usually describe things with perfect accuracy.

EDIT: To clarify, the Life element represents a specific type of magical energy that is found in the bodies of organic lifeforms, which is usually called "life energy". It is related to electrical energy, which is why Life combines with Air to make Electric. It isn't an abstract concept; none of the elements are.

[ravenDivinity]

What sort of abilities could one get when combining aether with ice or with water? I know what aether may be used for on its own, but not what aether may do when it is paired with another element.

[JohnSolaris]

What sort of abilities could one get when combining aether with ice or with water? I know what aether may be used for on its own, but not what aether may do when it is paired with another element.

@ravenDivinity

Hmm... I can't immediately think of any ways to combine Cold or Water with mind or spacetime magic. On the other hand, Aether also deals with magical energy itself (I'll update the element description to match). So... Here are some ideas.

Aether + Cold: An energy that freezes up the circulation of magic in the afflicted area, making magic harder to use. May also slow down and damage energy-based beings.

Aether + Water: A magical liquid that efficiently conducts many different kinds of magical energies. Allows for different energy types to be dissolved into the liquid to give it different properties.

Aether + Ice: Similar to the magical liquid above, except the energies are preserved in a crystal of frozen magical liquid. Crystals containing defensive energy types could be used as shields, and ones containing offensive energy types could be used as bombs, or something like that.

Those are just some rough ideas.

[ravenDivinity]

@JohnSolaris: Thanks for the timely response! I think I'll go ahead and steal one of those ideas. I'll try to have a sheet in by tonight.

[Magnato]

@JohnSolaris

Okay, the following things have been changed

(Life) Marsh's Aura:
Life blooms around her, except its not exactly the kind of life you would want to see. Passive changes happen around her, plants get thornier, bushes get ticker, dead beings deteriorate faster and venomous beings become stronger, however the true danger happens when she is actually focusing on something, her sharp nails (see the next skill) hold a myriad of bacteria, some can even predate on a person mana vessels, however these bacteria are linked to Meredith's Aura and should the farther the infected being is from her the easier it will be for the body to react and heal.

(Water) Water adaptation:
Changes in her skin and organs made her almost an amphibious creature. This ability does not give her the power to breath underwater but it does change her to be a better swimmer thanks to a slick, slimy skin and flippers on her feet and hand. Also, Her hand's nails and her teeth become sharper and stronger.

Biography:

Meredith was born in Eastern Europe and since she was young she would go fishing with her parents on the bogs near the city, however she started to like that ambient so much that she would often go there without her parents for camping and other activities. She wasn't a really social kid and that showed up in school, she was considered scary enough to not be bullied (The few kids who dared to anger her would be oddly prone to have dangerous encounters with venomous toads, wasps nests and poisonous herbs) and even so she was still annoyed by that ambient.

The talking annoyed her, the giggling annoyed her, the constant crying over the silliest scratches annoyed her, the kids who pretended to be dark and talked about death as if it was cool annoyed her, the talk about how they were all meaningless in the universe annoyed her. They knew nothing, she had seen the truth, the circle of life was a merciless and beautiful thing, it was neither cool nor sad, it was just there, and to belittle such complexity because its is smaller than some useless galaxy in the sky was offensive for her.

Around her teenager years she started to have bad grades in her school, the only topic she had interest was biology, everything else felt meaningless to her. Previously she tried to make an effort but as she got older depression started to settle into her mind, she had stared at life very closely but it truly scared her at one point, she knew she was amazing, a miracle of evolution, but she feared the nothingness that she was sure to meet one day, it was nice to think about how her body would feed a million lives but the fact her mind would be gone caused her a lot of discomfort and doubt. That was the time where she started to use some poisonous herbs from the marsh to induce hallucinations

Things didn't became better over the years, depression turned into an odd mysticism over souls and circles, she started to believe the drug induced dreams she had were visions and when life became too hard at home she left for a life of hermitage in the swamps. Her great plan was to slowly learn to live without anything human, her vision was that if she returned to a primal form with no clothes, no socialization and no humanity she would stop having an unquiet mind and thus would no longer fear death. She was slowly starting to get rid of her supplies and tools when it happened, she had the oddest and most real vision she had ever had, when it was over the world around her had changed and she had changed with it.

---

So, does this fixes the problems we had?

[JohnSolaris]

@Magnato: Yes, that's much better now. Your character is accepted.

FYI, all player characters don't need to breathe, so you don't need to worry about the Water Adaptation ability not giving waterbreathing.

Also, I should clarify that familiars don't need to eat, drink, sleep, breathe, or excrete either, even if they were not exempt from these needs prior to becoming familiars. Player characters and familiars absorb ambient energy from the environment to sustain themselves, though food and drink may still restore energy more quickly if they're tired.

[Grimoire]

be working on a cs, just a heads up of interest

[Flora]

Nathaniel Mouri

Name: Nathaniel Mouri

Sex: Male

Age: 17

Appearance: His short, scruffy, dirty blonde hair allows for the majority of his slightly pale face, sharp features and hazel eyes to be exposed. A simple white and blue tartan button-up shirt, blue jeans and worn-out slippers are what he arrived in.

Personality: He likes analyzing how things work together to create a whole, though he is stubborn, not easily shaken in his conclusions even if they are flawed. Generally passive, he dislikes it when people forcibly push ideals onto him, or make him do something he doesn't want to do.

He is a bibliophile who reads what he can get his hands on, valuing little above a good book, while liking his own alone time. He also likes the prospects of adventuring and exploring, often ignoring the thought of danger for the experience it give.

Biography: Living in a manor with his parents and three older siblings, he lived a life where he could easily get what he wanted, within reason. There were no qualms to be had, since he could just keep to the manor and had plenty of free time between private lessons.

A frequently sick boy, it was not unknown for persons in the family to be more prone to illness than other family members, since his eldest sister was the same way. It was at the age of fifteen when he started to show some signs of a particular illness. Starting with numbness of the feet, it gradually progressed up his legs, and as time wore on he found it harder to walk around the manor unaided.

Nathaniel soon find it easier to keep in his room, occupied between tutors by messing around with what he could get his hands on, be it book or electronic, and finding bliss in escaping into a different world while waiting until his family could find a doctor which could diagnose and cure his ailment.

By the time he was seventeen, little progress was made and he could barely walk from his bed to a nearby desk, but he was not ready to relinquish his ability to walk.

Then, one day, he was then called to the Cradle of Divinity.

Skills:
- Above-Average Memory
- Analytical Mind
- Amateur Tinkerer

Elemental Cores: Air/Water

Abilities:

Current Shot (Electricity/Air) - Creating a dense sphere of electrical power in his palm that grows as Nathaniel charges it, can be released in two different ways. By launching the sphere either in a straight line, it maintains the majority of its power while splitting it into multiple, weaker spheres launches said spheres in a scattershot pattern, which spread can be adjusted before firing.

Fireball (Fire) - Creating a ball of fire a foot in diameter, the sphere itself can be tossed with a top-spin or thrown straight ahead in an arc.

Frozen Air Slash (Frost/Air) - Slashing in a straight line, Nathaniel create a single white, crescent-shaped form accelerates from the location of the slash. Cutting into whatever it hits, it follows up by subsequently chilling where it cut. The cut itself has little penetration.

Ice Hammer (Ice/Air) - Nathaniel creates a bulk of ice around his hand, using it as a crude bludgeon while using Air magic to create drafts to more easily maneuver the ice form.

Heal (Light) - With a soft glow emanating from his palm, it knits together skin, stops bleeding and removes blemishes/scars directly underneath the light.

Familiars: N/A

Possessions: His clothes and prescription glasses.

[Laue]

John Eidreon

Name: John Eidreon

Sex: Male

Age: 32

Appearance:


Personality: John is a man with little morals and great ambition. John judges other people as either assets or liabilities. And he disdains liabilities. To him, progress is everything, scientific progress. He sees himself as a historic figure, who paved the way for groundbreaking discoveries, elevating humanity to new heights. John loves sarcasm and mocking others, especially if he sees them inferior to him, which is mostly everyone. He loves attention, and such naturally tends to attract it, for better or worse. He is also a rational man and rather open minded. He is willing to believe anything, provided there is sufficient proof for it. Very few people know that John also has no regard for human life, though he absolutely loves various animals.

Biography: Born to wealthy parents already in the pharmaceutical industry, John faced little hardships in life, and displayed a bright, if not egoistic mind. His education went very smoothly, though he never could make friends - he didn't want to have anything to do with "idiots". His friends were his various "pets", which he genetically modified himself at the age of 23. After the conclusion of his studies and several PhD's in bioengineering and genetics, he got a job at the same company his parents worked, only to invent several new treatments for previously problematic diseases. Eventually, he became the chief bioengineer, and he used this position for his more ambitions projects, which the military took great interest in. Working on something he jokingly called "Captain America Serum", he never got to finish it since he got spirited away to Cradle.

Skills:

• Scientific background - John has a very deep understanding of genetics and the human biology. This allows him to identify and/or research various biological anomalies.
• Pharmaceutics - While John is used to modern pharmaceutical equipment, he can also use basic tools to create various concoctions from Cradle's flora. However, this requires knowledge of said flora, which may not be easy to obtain.
• Anatomy Knowledge - Textbook knowledge of human anatomy allows John to do various very, very nasty things to other human opponents. That includes torture.

Elemental Cores: Life & Dark

Abilities:

• Black Blood[Life + Dark] - John's blood is altered, violently spraying from wounds. While Black Blood speeds up the healing of wounds for John, it prevents such thing on the wounds of others. Should a wound be sprayed with Black Blood, it will fester and decay, and be generally very hard to cure.
• Regeneration[Life] - John has accelerated regeneration, allowing to recover from injuries at least twice as fast than normal. This includes recovering faster from various illnesses.
• Black Scales[Life + Dark] - John changes his skin into pulsating, nearly slithering scales, which grants great protection from slashing, piercing and heat attacks, though concussive force is barely affected. When hit by enough force, the acidic substance within the scales bursts forth, melting flesh and clothing alike. This spell needs to be actively maintained by John.
• Tyrant's Talons[Life + Dark] - John morphs his hands into huge, extremely sharp bone claws, coated by mild paralytic. While the claws themselves can't really get through decent armor, even the slightest scratch makes it a race against time for John's opponent.
• Superiority[Life] - Focusing all his magical energies towards his brain and limbs, John enters a state where his brain processes information at least twice as fast, and his body moves at twice the speed as well. For John, it appears like the world around him slowed down significantly. This mode rapidly drains mana, and can only be sustained for a short while.

Familiars: None

Possessions:

This is really interesting tbh. Hope I didn't go too overboard with my character.

[JohnSolaris]

@Laue: There are a few problems with your character sheet.

1. I guess I should clarify this more in the first post, but "the Worldsphere" is not the setting that this game takes place in. It's an entirely separate planet in a different solar system that my novel takes place on, so it's completely unrelated to the Cradle of Divinity aside from being in the same universe. I only linked to the document because the two settings have the same laws of physics. So yeah, please change all instances of the Worldsphere to the Cradle.

2. This is only 2015, so it might be a bit far-fetched to have already developed cures for previously incurable diseases, in your character's backstory. At most, the drugs should still be in the experimental stage.

3. The Cradle's flora is very different from the Earth's flora (e.g. magical plants), so it's highly unlikely that your character can craft potions using just knowledge of Earth plantlife. He can learn the potionmaking skill later, but he can't start with it.

4. Your character starts with nothing but the clothes he's wearing. That means no smartphones. This may seem like a trivial point, but it'll become kind of important later.

Everything else about the character is fine, though.

[ravenDivinity]

Character Sheet

Name: Darius Sterling.

Sex: Male.

Age: 17.

Appearance:
The boy's physical form is best described as a peculiar amalgam, a fine combination in a body of average proportions, a smooth and soft person made strong and independent by assets that create a sense of empowerment in his figure. Darius Sterling stands at a normal height, neither the tallest nor the shortest of men his age, and the composition of his body is comparable to that of lean cattle - slender, but not altogether thin or underwhelming with a layer of worked muscle veiled by a little fat. Given his appearance, he isn't incredibly strong; however, he can exert a good degree of force when he truly applies himself. His legs are long and muscled whereas his arms are shorter and less strong, but his shoulders are broader than most men's shoulders and may carry their fair share of weight. His back is more erect and stiff in a manner that belies Darius's otherwise dynamic and relaxed posture that shifts his balance to one side of his body when he stands still; this strong backbone of his offers more conviction to his opinions despite his speciously carefree personality.

His basic facial structure detracts from the typical features found in the common man with a subtle level of femininity in his features: high cheekbones, rounder face, and softer skin. The young Sterling's more masculine traits are equally more prominent. A square jawline sets off the round aspect of his face lined with the beginning scruff of a full short-boxed beard, a flat nose with a convex arch sits between his two dark amber-brown eyes, and his thick eyebrows create the large variety of expressions his face is capable of. His lightly-tanned white skin is soft, but not completely clear, and the medium-length, blackish-brown hair on his head is layered into an undercut, parted to the right side of his face. Darius also has a slight overbite, straight teeth, and a set of small, full lips that often must speak up to be heard. As of his arrival in the Cradle of Divinity, Darius's muscles have become more defined, and his skin has become more flushed. His default body heat has also decreased to around room temperature. He also lost his glasses and now wears the clothes he wore when he came to the Cradle, cargo shorts and a plain white tight T-shirt with some simple blue flat shoes.

Personality:
Above all else, Darius esteems the virtues of love, charity, patience, kindness, and humility. These virtues rule most aspects of his beliefs, his philosophy, and his personality. They, along with rationality, govern his positive actions. His fits of anger and depression, stubborness, melancholy, procrastination, and low self-esteem may cloud his vision at times and prevent him from making good choices; in sweeps of negative emotions, Darius often loses sight of his most precious virtues. Regardless of his bouts of emotionally-distressed irrationality, his intelligence and mental fortitude are high, beheld above the common man and humbled below the genius.

He is inclined towards enigmatic unpredictability, defying the expectations of other people and other times exceeding them. He may be analytical and observant of new things, but he is an adventurer at heart who is not afraid to investigate further or pursue something. For this fact, Darius is extremely adaptable to new environments and reacts calmly to most things unless he is enraged, overjoyed, or anxious. Against his constant emotional turmoil, he is an overall jovial and amiable person to be around. His procrastination is just as convicted and tenacious as he is, and this may lead to distractions or losses of focus, a habit of his that Darius continues to try to defeat. His Greek temperament blends the sanguine and phlegmatic aspects.

At the junction of his homosexuality and intense passion, Darius is a questioning Catholic, caught between gnosticism and agnosticism. He feels extremely connected to spirituality above all things, thus seeing all people as interconnected to each other in all manner of ways. This part of himself leads him to high optimism, a belief in the inherent good of humanity, existentialism, and a belief in the purpose of all things. His religious beliefs bring him to see all people as deserving of a level of care, whether he hates them or not. On a moral level, he sees murder as inherently wrong unless it is necessary for the common good to do so for the protection of many people. He understands that lies may protect or harm, but Darius feels that it is usually better to tell the truth. To him, it is wrong to do something to or to violate someone against their will, and he refuses to make promises that he cannot keep.

Biography:
Darius Sterling grew up in the ideal suburban town, one of few of its kind in the United States, a small prosperous affair appearing untouched by poverty and hardship. His formative years were full of emotional turmoil and instability under the roofs of divorced parents and the pressure of harsh classmates. Until after his last year of middle school, he was an introverted atheist, seeing the world as an inhospitable, hard place bent on making people like him disappear and go away, an identity shaped by the cruelty of fellow students and a pessimistic, narcissistic outlook on life. Darius had a hard time discerning his purpose, feeling that the odds were against him and that everything that had led to him was a mistake, that he didn't belong. Times changed as the years passed, and before he had begun high school, the young man experienced an extreme shift in his ideals and beliefs while he was on vacation in another country visiting his relatives. In the blink of an eye, he'd transformed from a cold shell of a human being into a living fiber of the great universe, like everything had fallen into place. This positive change in his life caused him to seek individuality in all its forms and beauty in all things, to become a pleasure-seeking individual turned to a postmodern view from the absolutism that once characterized human thought. Although he then looked upon his past with a sort of grateful spirit and continued to see himself in a negative life, things had seemed more positive than before despite more frequent conflicts with his parents and the internal turmoil of adolescence. Since the shift in his life, he had cried more, laughed more, smiled more, frowned more; all that happened allowed him to see the passion he had for life, even with all the depression and the anxiety. But after one of his lowest days, he was brought to the Cradle of Divinity, taken from his wild life, in what has yet to be seen by him as either a positive or negative development.

Skills:
- Powerful, appealing speaker
- Beautiful writer
- Decent cook
- Quick learner
- Good eyesight
- Decent singer and dancer

Elemental Cores:
- 1 Cold
- 1 Aether

Abilities:
- Cooling touch: Darius may cool any object he touches at will. (Cold)
- Water jet: Darius is capable of producing a jet of water from his palms using magic of varying size and strength. (Water, Ice)
- Wind gust: Darius can use this ability to make a gust of wind by manipulating the currents in the air. (Air)
- Sculpt ice: Darius may sculpt ice into walls, blocks, monoliths, icicles, and the like, but the forms are usually rough. (Ice)
- Charged crystals: Darius may generate and preserve different magical energies in ice crystals for different purposes. (Ice, Aether)

Familiars:
None yet.

Possessions:
None yet.

Here it is. Let me know of any problems.

[JohnSolaris]

@ravenDivinity: Your character is accepted. Good job on the detailed descriptions; I can tell that you put a lot of effort into them.