Ichthys

Coven: Shattered

I would give a tentative no, as it seems, if some certain individuals don't post soon, I may have to consider them no longer active in the RP which would open up a spot or two. I can't guarantee that though. Plus, we already have a large bunch, and I fear making this too big.

Still, make a character sheet. I'm not promising anything, but at the very least, if/when we have a good spot open, you'll already be ready to go. Plus, you can always partake in the OOC with us until then.

Coven: Shattered

Coven: Shattered

1) It's fine. You don't need to change it, as I originally said. It was just an observation that really is what led me to "2)".

2) I guess that's all fine. I'm flexible; I'm here to make this as immersive, fun and collaborative as possible. :)

3) Cool. Sounds like a plan.

4) Magic is inherent, yes. But magic is rather aimless in the natural. That's why humans have souls to use rational thinking in order to actually utilize magic, thus making a spell. I guess, if we perceive it in the right way, communicating to a spirit doesn't necessarily need knowledge for the living being, as the dead being has a soul in their own right. Still, I encourage you read the FAQ on spirit, soul and body. No dead is without a spirit or soul; it always has both, just one can be rendered inactive. ;) Again, you don't really need to change anything, if we just approach this in the right way.

Coven: Shattered

Well, no other objections or questions were made for you, so I take it that it is generally accepted. Congratulations, Reaper! Mind PMing me on how you would like to enter the RP, so we can get it to happen as soon as possible?

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Pete, four things:

- His name seems pretty anachronistic. I'm not asking you to change it; it was just surprising to me, and I thought I'd point it out.
- Speaking of anachronisms, Colton seems to just live a bit /too/ in the future, compared to the time period, which is roughly equivalent to that of our own Dark/Middle ages (Medieval time). For one, fiddles (violins) weren't invented in our own world until sometime during or after the 16th century, being descendants of older versions of stringed instruments (such as the Vielle). I would suggest looking over Colton and changing some things that are too recent (to help, cigars would be another thing that seems to 'modern' for my personal taste).
- Regarding his role, you may want to PM and coordinate with Raptorman who plays Vexia, as Vexia is already considered to be the Crypt Warden, and originally, Vexia was alone in that role (or so was my assumption). You may want to get something squared out.
- I'm not sure whether you understand the magic system. No magic (that is a spell) is inherently accidental, as described in the FAQ, You wrote that Colton first heard the dead by chance and accident, but that wouldn't make sense considering the lore we've built. I suggest re-reading the FAQ (or reading it for the first time, if you haven't), then extrapolating, clarifying and editing his history and magic a bit so that it is more canon. Feel free to ask questions! We love discussion and debate here! <3

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Beautiful players, if you want to use Giovanni in your collabs, I give you permission to do so, as he was a player character formerly but is no longer. If you want to use him as a means, feel free to do so. To respect Giovanni (and Dead Cruiser), I encourage that you stick to what you think Giovanni's character would be like, and try not to use him as a scapegoat or "meat shield"; treat him as a proper character.

And good luck on the collab!

Coven: Shattered

I suggest making a character first, then we'll see if we can fit them into the RP as soon as possible. I'm quite flexible, and there should be plenty of opportunity for some characters to make their entrances (and others, their exits). :)

Coven: Shattered

Castor said Who is Viola? As a Viscountess, where does her influence come from? Is she popular only among nobles or do the general Coven have the same respect for her?

- Viola is the Viscountess of the D'Cerf coven. Her influence and nobility, as with the other nobles, comes from genealogy and hereditary, which is also how she keeps her title. It's very difficult for a noble to lost their status (especially without the Lord and Lady to do so), unless actually removed from the coven. Her ancestors were among the founding members of the coven, having good relations with the D'cerf family, never really having been a part of open conflict. Particularly speaking, her father was a very popular noble in his life, working as an ambassador to other coven, spending most of his time travelling for diplomatic reasons (albeit some of these acts of "diplomacy" were asking for tributes from the coven and etc.). In terms of mere nobility, she herself was never of exceedingly good or ill repute, until recently, what with the power vacuum. Since then, she has become much more prevalent in the D'Cerf coven, known for her obvious "campaigning" and blatant nominations of herself for the throne. As of yet, her motive for wanting the throne is unknown.

Speaking of Viola as a person (and not as a mere noblewoman), she assumes no formal occupation, being both a woman and noble. That said, she is known to be very meticulous and has been known to excel in various forms of art (painting, calligraphy, etc.), when she's not out doing her best to sway the opinions of others in her favor. As a witch, being a noble and thus having a better opportunity at an occult education, she's not to be underestimated. Although hardly ever getting her own hands dirty, rumor has it that her father taught her various spells from foreign coven, when he would return from his journeys; her actual ability has yet to be fully gauged.

Of the nobles, she is the most prideful, but she is in no way the 'nastiest'. She just thinks she's better and can do everything better, but she's actually of the least manipulative (although whether this is because she's nice or just doesn't trust others to do her bidding well enough is unknown). This isn't to say she's a model citizen in the least, though; she has definitely backstabbed more than a couple of individuals, but really a whole lot of them have.

For all you know, the Viscountess maybe the 'friend' in the situation. Who knows? Well, that not true, I have a general idea/authority over that, so I guess you could say that I know :p You surely don't though.

Castor said Also, this is happening in the middle of the night, right? How did they managed to assemble all these nobles given the circumstances? Who are the nobles that are attending this trial? Do they all have the same motives - get rid of D'Cerfs?

- Yes, this is happening in the middle of the night. How they managed to assemble all of these nobles is unknown, although it's obvious that something must be (or must have been) afoot, considering the circumstances. I actually explicitly stated this in the post: "They had been awaiting their arrival. How they had been informed of the situation was unknown."

And really no one has the particular motive to rid of the D'Cerfs (except maybe the Vilicus), meaning the actual coven, the family ties are too deep. They just want to assume leadership of it. That said, if to get them to the throne, they have to uproot the actual D'Cerf family line (and not the actual coven; that is, the community), then some might. At this point, especially with the growing pressures of the Vilicus and possible war, most are willing whatever means to achieve the end of finally bringing the coven back into stability.

Castor said What if we turned the nobles on each other? ... We can feed the doubt .

- Who knows? Might work. Remember not to metagame all too much though; only use the conclusions that Vincent himself would have reached. Plus, you'll have to somehow get the other's to help you. I don't know what preordained relationships you guys made for your characters, but unless you all trust each other, then things won't be that smooth.

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I'll leave the discussion open for the Illusion magic to receive some final input from the players, then I'll do my final judgement. For me, I think you've clarified things sufficiently, but the others may have some concerns still. Thanks for the patience and for being so diligent! It will be rewarded in the end. :)

Coven: Shattered

So then, since the wolves do not flinch when struck, meaning they are not completley controlled by the caster, what is the process to control an illusion? Are the orders for the illusion preordained, upon conception? Or is an illusion dynamic, as in it acts as the proper thing that it actually is?

On another note, are illusions completely a deception of the senses, or can they, to some degree, have physical properties? In other words, are all illusions completely intangible, unable to be interacted in all circumstances?

And finally, on a somewhat related note, considering the illusions' natures are in the belief of the victim, are the illusion's subjective, meaning they are different for each person (some see it, some don't, depending on the belief of the person)? Or are they objective (everyone sees the illusory wolf, and the ones that don't believe the lie just /know/ it's illusory)?

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I hope you don't find the questions to be too much. I just need clarification, because, honestly, I love the idea. In fact, one of my first ever RP characters worked with illusions (a form of magic I thoroughly enjoy), and I know firsthand how powerful (and sometimes extremely irritating and obscure, when opposed or questioned) such an ability can be. These clarifications are necessary to keep any problems at bay, in the future. Sorry though, for how prodding it seems I am.

Coven: Shattered

You guys have fun on the collab! I'll just do my best to make time whenever, considering you might need the response of the nobles in the dialogue. I'm in the MST timezone (UTC -7) right now, so as of the time of this point for example, it is roughly a little before 8:30. That's just to help orient you on what time I'm working on.

Coven: Shattered

Reaper said Nope. It's basically psychosomatic pain, in a sense. The problem is when you're fighting an imaginary wolf and flailing on the ground because you think it had your leg, for example, when she has a very real sword.

So what prevents her from creating the illusion of some sort of unbearable pain (say, a horde of wolves) that puts the person in shock or some other form of handicap, and just waltzing up and actually dispatching of her victims easily? What are the restraints to her abilities? As mentioned previously, magic is inhibited by the knowledge of the caster. What is the extent of her knowledge on illusions and the senses? This is what I was asking in my first question, pertaining to her understanding. :p I'm trying to get an estimated maximum for her spell prowess currently, gauging if she can be considered unbalanced or not.

Milieu said Did they disarm the seven?

No. They only binded them, although the binding did "disarm" them momentarily, as in restrain them from using their equipment easily. Once the restrains came off, they'd have their original capacities and potential for using items and all that. The main reason for this is because so many of the seven are some form of nobility themselves; even despite the allegations, no one wants to make an explicit sign of aggression or violence (such as disarmament) for fear of being the spark that ignites the very possible reality of actual war among the coven, in a sort of domino effect. The lines are very gray and obscure, which is why most "taking care of the competition" is done under the guise of shadows and lies; everyone is just beating around the bush and dancing around the line. No one wants to be considered a murderer or oppressor (more than some already are), else the those in lower standings may uprise as well.

Milieu said Also, is there any sort of trial by combat feature that the players could use as a last ditch effort?

There has never been a formal trial by combat, as believe it or not, before all of the conflict started, the D'Cerf was actually renowned for its kinship and community. No arena was ever built, so there was never much use of combat trials or other gladiatorial like practices. The closest thing would be the training area for the guardsmen and knights, in their little section of the castle. Still, I could definitely see some nobles being all for that option, considering how the times have changed.

Milieu said What would also be some of the rumors spread about these politicians that might contain a nugget of truth? There must be something we can use to acquit us of immediately being condemned to death. A sort of political or occult loophole that we can exploit.

The following are truths (and other tidbits of information) regarding the nobles, your predicament, and their rumors:
- You were caught carrying an unconscious priestess; the cause (to them) is unknown.
- There is no actual evidence of any sort of coup or rebellious involvement. One could try pressing for the evidence, to prove that none exists.
- There may be a small handful of nobles who are against execution - not all of them are overly vain, some could very well be friendly or at least neutral. It's up to each player to decide if they would have a friend among the nobles. Keep in mind that a majority is still probably keen on bettering their chances at the throne though.
- You have the very brother of the deceased Lady in your rankings. One could use that as weight. Would anyone want to permanently end the family line of their beloved Lady? I don't know. Perhaps.
- And there is one final thing, but I will only disclose that to the curious, via PMs. Raptor already knows what this, so I'd be willing to share this important snippet to others, if they utterly want to. You'll find out sooner or later, regardless, as it will come into play later.

Coven: Shattered

Candidly, there's little way out of this if each of the characters works individually. Still, not all of the nobles are as bad as the lot of them. Plus, as I actually told Raptor in PMs, "We write the RP as one... Immersion over my original intention," so if you have an idea that you think could actually sway them, let me know so we can work things out. ;)