- School Mop. - Smartphone. - School Uniform (and underclothes). - Backpack and Textbooks. - Packed Lunch.
Short Bio: Born to well-to-do parents who can give him a decent education, Neil was odd in the sense that he had an Imaginary Friend, 'Niklaus von Hildmann', who looked exactly like him but was a noble of a place called the Barony of Weißer Berg, aka White Mountain. This Imaginary Friend knew things that Neil did not know on his own, such as a full dictionary of what his world knew as German, how to fight properly with swords, and how to ride a horse. Most importantly, he taught Neil a few bits of Magic; nothing that would get him in trouble in his world, aka Earth, but enough to convince Neil that his imaginary friend was both real and telling the truth.
Niklaus regaled him with stories of Weißer Berg and how it was beautiful in all seasons, filled with happy villagers and valiant knights, and how his father ruled over a prosperous and peaceful land, which was in danger from an Emperor who was trying to crush the rights and liberties of his people. 'Nik' also told Neil that he was a magical prodigy, a 'Dimensioneer', who can mentally bond with people from other worlds and eventually, exchange places with them with their consent.
As is obvious to all, only some of that spiel was true, namely the 'Dimensioneer' part. The Emperor was not evil in the beginning, and Niklaus' father was a petty tyrant. Nevertheless, as Neil grew up, he eventually allowed Niklaus to suggest a 'contract' that would allow them to exchange places with each other across worlds and dimensions.
The first exchange was wonderful; Neil was able to enjoy a lavish banquet while Niklaus got him a date with the hottest girl in class. Further exchanges provided even better learning experiences until a guard made a remark about 'crushing a serf revolt' and another talked about hanging children from trees. And it was then that Neil found out that his friend was false; more inquiries revealed that not only was Niklaus' father a cruel, corrupt man, but Niklaus was one himself, having slaughtered innocent villages and extorted huge sums of copper, silver, and gold coins, as well as grain and other food.
Oh, and the Emperor they were rebelling against was someone who wanted to stop that behavior.
When Neil confronted Niklaus about this, the latter laughed at him and said that this was part of his plan all along - On their eighteenth birthday, a secret clause in the contract they made will exchange their places for real, permanently, and he will be able to avoid the fate that was coming once the Emperor inevitably won. Oh, and that there was some sort of conspiracy but he had to find that out from the Church of Existence. Good luck!
And so it happened as Nik predicted; the Rebel Nobles were defeated by the Emperor's Gunpowder Army in the Battle at the Gates of Kaiserstadt, Prince Otto was knifed to death by the imprisoned nobles when he came to assure them of clemency, and the Emperor ordered Niklaus, the last survivor of his family, enslaved in response and sold in Venedig.
Just as luck would have it, Niklaus and Neil turned eighteen just when Nik arrived in the city to be prepared and processed into slavery. Now, Isekai'd against his own will and forced to try and escape his would-be enslavers, Neil seeks help from the Church of Existence... If he can find them!
Starting Faction: N/A
Spell List:
Dimensional Contract (Dimensional + High, allowed by a Character Trait) - Is capable of making a pact with one other person, and only that person, to exchange places with each other across multiple worlds. This pact, however, has been negotiated by someone who inserted a clause permanently changing their places after a certain amount of time. Note that High Magic can Nullify the Contract, but until then, this 'Spell Slot' cannot be used for any useful Magic.
Bond across Worlds (Mind + Dimensonal, allowed by a Character Trait) - Neil can telepathically communicate with Niklaus, his treacherous friend, even across universes, and this communication is two-way, with Niklaus watching over Neil's actions and ordeals.
Portal (Dimensional) - Allows Neil to create a portal to a place he can see with his sight, and this can be used to conduct short-ranged false teleports. However, Dimensional Magic is always flashy, unlike Timespace (a Forbidden Area), and so it is easy to detect him using this.
Mantle of Memory (Mind) - Neil can temporarily alter people's memories to make him feel like a familiar, even friendly presence, and this allows him to go through areas where he normally would not be allowed to go.
Perfect Recall (Mind) - Neil can give himself near-perfect memory of all information he has absorbed since infancy.
Learn Faster (Mind) - Neil can watch someone do something (fencing, shooting, even gardening) through his eyes or a magical recording, and master the relevant skill for one to three posting rounds. This requires that his body be able to endure the requirements of said skill in the first place, but he is athletic enough for most physical work and styles of fighting...
Character Traits:
Dimensioneer - Allows access to the Dimensional Contract and the Bond across Worlds spells.
Fairest of all the ‘Princes’ of the Earth - Neil's face and body are the perfect mix of masculine and feminine traits, strong and smooth, lean yet toned, and all perfectly proportioned. Even on Earth, he is of supermodel-level looks.
Traditionalist Spell Mastery (Dimensional, Mind) - Neil has Spell Mastery of Dimensional and Mind Magic and can cast the spells he has of those Schools with only his words, gestures, or in emergencies, pure thoughts.
Iliad City: A Magical RP in an Original World - Reboot
I. Intro
In another universe, on the planet of Historia, there lies a city filled with magic and spells, of warriors and thinkers. This city, named Iliad, is the last refuge for the Descendants, a group of people who despite their lineage from the person who gained the blessing of The One Deity to advance Humanity, are now vilified as heralds of an apocalypse due to lies of unknown origin, lies which have convinced the other nations of the world to try and kill them all.
Despite this hatred, the city is protected by two Magical Academies which hold greater strength than entire armies, whose students stand strong against a world that hates them. But as an invasion looms from the greatest nations on the planet, the two Academies descended into a quarrel on the best way to save their city.
You are one of the students of the Magic Schools. Or an ordinary civilian who knows a magical spell or two. Or a soldier. Or a refugee from the nations that hate Iliad City and The Descendants. Or any combination of the above plus a Descendant themselves - You have free choice of who to be, just remember that you live under the shadow of doom, and that your next actions can save or doom those whom you love!
In another universe lies the planet of Historia, inhabited by Humans much like us, but blessed with impossible powers that we think of as 'Magic'.
Magic is a daily part of life, existing alongside technology just as advanced as ours', although some integrate magic with science to create advanced inventions. But it is a widely held belief among the people that the highest form of Magic is Storytelling, and that The One Deity, the Creator of the Multiverse, gave Humanity the power to warp reality through the telling of stories.
Three thousand years before the present day, when the greatest storyteller of that time, the Illuminated Poet, sang of the grief and joy of Humanity, appealing to The One Deity to provide a way through their sufferings. In response, The One himself came down and sang his song, the Epics of Making, by which Humanity and whatever sapient beings lived beyond Historia were granted freedom from the will of the divine. The Epic of Making was instructions for the casting of Magic, allowing Humanity to better their lives and that of others at will.
And so the Illuminated Poet taught pieces of the Epic to those who followed him, turning them into the first Magi. He also sired twenty sons and thirty daughters and prophesied that as long as a descendant of his bloodline was alive, Humanity’s destiny and the destinies of all sapient beings across the Universe, would be free from divine interference, and Magic would continue to be accessible to all human beings (and most aliens except for [REDACTED]).
Fast-forward to the present and the majority of the descendants of the Illuminated Poet have suffered purges, slaughters, genocides, and massacres from the various nations of the world due to ignorance and misunderstanding, or even outright lies spread by their enemies. Their one safe refuge is Illiad City, an independent city-nation founded by the freethinkers and outcasts of the world, people dedicated to artistic and philosophical pursuits, as well as worshippers of The One Deity. Despite the hostility of other nations towards it, its access to a greater portion of the Epic of Making makes it equivalent to the great empires of the world in Magical might.
But now, a feud is brewing between the two prime Magical Academies of the city, a feud brewing from how to deal with the world's hostility towards them. Ironically, this feud might be the one thing that brings down the metropolis...
II. The Factions of Iliad City
Marduk Academy for The Mystic Arts, located on Uruk Hill in the western parts of Iliad, holds power over the pieces of the Epic of Making that govern 'Heroic' Magic - The Magic of Light, the Elements (Fire, Water, Air, and Earth), and the power to heal the wounded and the sick with mystic energy alone. Their students are the champions of the defenseless, the honorable knights-errant, and the wise wizards. But confronted with the hatred of other nations towards them, they seek a 'muscular' foreign policy, asking that Iliad City use its magical might to conquer the neighboring empires and repressive states that wish to destroy Illiad City before they grow too strong. However, whispers are being heard that push for more than that - That Marduk Academy should attempt to rule the world so that no nation would exterminate the descendants of the Illuminated Poet once again.
And Professor Ninsun, its Principal, is beginning to listen...
Ishtar School for Creative Minds, on the other hand, holds power over the pieces of the Epic of Making that govern 'Black' Magic - The Magic of Darkness, Entropy, Blood and Death, as well as the power to inflict agony and weaken their enemies. Their students are the spies and assassins, the dark knights whom monsters and criminals fear. Despite this, they used to work alongside Marduk Academy, until Professor Nergal, its principal, began urging for the casting of the Spell of Otherworldly Travel, which will transport Iliad City onto another dimension where its people can live in peace. Problem is that 1.) This requires the pieces of the Epic of Making that Marduk Academy does have, and 2.) Marduk Academy considers Ishtar's solution cowardly.
As the feud simmers, Ishtar does double duty watching out for foreign infiltrators in the Leviathan Port/Mount Ophir in the eastern, coastal part of Iliad City.
The Cassandra Club is the newest faction in the block, a small band of students from both Academies and a larger group from other schools who believe that the brewing feud between Marduk Academy and Ishtar School is being engineered by a 'sinister force' outside the city as part of a grand plan to conquer Iliad City and acquire the full Epics of Making. Not only that, but they believe in asking the question: Why do other nations hate us? What are the lies they've been fed to kill off the descendants of the Illuminated Poet? Do they even know that they are bringing Humanity’s destiny under the control of the Divine again? And if so, who is trying to do so and why are they courting the wrath of The One Deity?
The Cassandra Club is led by the Anonymous Council, a group of 'concerned students and teachers' (PCs have the option to be part of this circle) whose goals are to find out exactly who is profiting from the extermination of Descendants and stop them before its too late. These folk are supported by the Church of The One and meet in the Cathedral of The One.
III. Interesting Places in Iliad City
The Wall - Iliad City is located on a coastal plain from where three peaks with smaller plateaus jut out, and the plain is enclosed by a huge wall, two miles high and four miles thick (Based on the Ark Fortress of Bukhara, Uzbekistan), with four gates where refugees seek asylum from the Hermannreich's oppression, many of whom are admitted into the farmlands, forestlands, and hills inside the wall after a thorough screening, including mind-reading.
Mt. Uruk - Watching over The Wall surrounding Iliad, Mt. Uruk stands deep inside the city's west, bristling with walls and fortifications of its own, including magical shields and guns. Marduk Academy sprawls over all of the mountainside, even digging a reinforced bunker underneath the surface to conceal its own pages of the Epic of Making.
The Leviathan Port/Mt. Ophir - Iliad City's port is where most of its foreign trade comes from, due to the Hermannreich's on-and-off hostility. A bustling structure where great cargo ships dock and depart, the Leviathan Port is watched over by great ranged guns from two coastal forts that guard the entrance to the bay, as well as Ishtar School for Creative minds, whose campus, located on Mt. Ophir, the smallest of the three peaks of Illiad, overlooks the port.
The Acropolis - On a mountain higher than Mt. Uruk and Ophir lies the Acropolis, where a plateau on top contains City Hall (where the Mayor, a Non-Descendant, is constantly pressured this way and that by the feuding academies). Besides City Hall lie the Cathedral of The One, in whose basements the Cassandra Club sometimes meet, and Fort Maccabeus, where the city's formal military, a powerful force of its own, regularly sends out patrols of Gunships, Pegasi, and the occasional Dragon Rider to remind the Academies that they are not the rulers of the City.
Artisan Coffeemakers United Branches - A set of coffeehouses spread all throughout Iliad City dedicated to the production of quality artisan coffee, tea, and pastries at a fair and affordable price. Both Ishtar and Marduk have cafes of ACUB on their premises, with secure internet lines to each other, and it is rumored that students who wish to establish forbidden contact with each other are allowed to use said lines... For a price.
Enchanted Mountain - Iliad's prime amusement park, with a large Ferris Wheel, magitech roller coasters, and virtual reality simulations of any environment one can think of, as well as various restaurants catering to every palate. It is also a 'truce zone' between Iliad and Marduk, due to Professor Gilgamesha having spent time there on better days and not wanting to let the place be stained by the current inter-school conflict.
Kaleidoscope Arcades - A series of arcades filled with the latest games mundane science and magitech can supply, and are thus destinations where both Marduk and Ishtar and students from other schools can be found competing against each other in a halfway-friendly manner.
Paradise Spa - The place everyone who is anyone in Iliad goes to relax, Paradise Spa is filled with treatments both mundane and magical which rely on pleasing every sense possible, from sweet aromas to soft coats of mud to serene sounds and calm colors, along with filling yet tasty smoothies and juices, Paradise Spa is where the troubles of the world fall away, even for a while.
Players can submit new places if they want to.
IV. The World Around Illiad
Iliad City is situated on a peninsula that juts out at the very edge of the Western Continent, one of two major landmasses that make up Historia's inhabited parts. These two continents used to be filled with many city-states, kingdoms, and republics, but those have now been absorbed by two distinct power blocs which in their way, present a danger to Iliad City, even if one of them (Olympia) is one of the reasons reason the latter has not been invaded yet (the other is Iliad City's sheer magical might). These power blocs are the Unified Hermannreich, a gigantic nation that seeks to dominate the world, and the Olympian Federation, which believes they are defending it. These are elaborated on below.
The Unified Hermannreich - The undisputed conqueror of the entire Western Continent except for Illiad, the Hermannreich is also an empire built on slavery and oppression, maintained by a dark alliance between its militaristic regime and the mysterious Custodians. With vast armies at its disposal, it waits for the order to conquer Iliad City and purge the Descendants, but its inferiority in Magic and the need to keep the slave population underneath its heel are obstacles to fulfilling such an order.
That and Iliad City is grudgingly protected by its main enemy, the Olympian Federation across the sea...
The Olympian Federation - A close compact of twelve nations that claim to stand for Freedom and Justice, the Olympian Federation is a naval power that governs the Eastern Continent whose fleets, airpower, and cruise missiles prevent the Hermannreich from destroying Iliad and then crossing over to the east. However, do not be deceived: Olympia is just as Anti-Descendant as the Hermannreich is, it just hides it better. Once Iliad City's usefulness ends to the Federation, the latter will destroy the former itself.
V. How Magic Works (To be itself reworked)
All Magic comes from instructions given in the Epic of Making, which in turn is a long poem or song that details the transference of a part of The One Deity's power to mortal Humanity, and the basic mental exercises used to 'pull' magical power from the depths of one's own soul to make what you imagine real.
The various 'types' of Magic come from concepts common to humanity, concepts that you either come up with or are taught. These, in turn, are powered by the Human heart, will, and soul. There is no way to take magical energy from the surrounding environment, as only Humans (or fully sapient aliens, if they exist) have magical energy.
Anyone can learn Magic, but few have the combination of strength of heart and imagination to be truly good at it. Therefore, Magical Academies are important so that what existing Magi already imagined before can be taught to other people.
There are six disciplines of Magic:
High - Many theories try to explain High Magic. Some say that it is the power of The Divine, it is the power of positive emotions, channeled through the human soul. Nevertheless, High Magic is the power of controlling Magical Energy itself, allowing for the ability to see all Magic, to draw available magical energy from the indestructible and immortal souls of others, create constructs of condensed Mana, create and fuel magitech and enchanted items, ward people and places from magic, and finally, the ability to create bolts of silver-white light that cause damage that cannot be healed by magic to Mages and Magical creatures... But not ordinary targets, whose burns can be healed as normal.
World - World Magic is control over the physical elements of the world. Do you want to create Fire? World Magic. Do you want to alter Gravity to make yourself float? World Magic. Do you want to use lightning to electrocute a person? World Magic. If it has nothing to do with changing one thing to another, or controlling something that isn't wholly of this earth? World Magic is your key. Bending from Avatar: The Last Airbender, but without healing or spiritual arts and with control over gravity.
Change - This is the magic that deals with changing one thing to another. This magic can knit wounds and reverse aging, cause trees to grow fists, and turn vines into whips. This magic can change one substance to another, turning lead into gold, earth into acid, and fire into water. What it cannot do, however, is affect stuff protected by High magic, or mess with things that are already dead. That belongs to another school, the magic of the Underworld.
Underworld - Death is all around us, and the old laws against disturbing the ghosts who chose not to pass on are gone, cast into the wind. Nevertheless, the souls of the departed have to be treated with respect...but it is not the same for their bodies. Underworld Magic is the magic of Necromancy; it is the magic you wield when you want to raise an army of the dead, to control the shadows of the world, to speak with ghosts, and to strike people dead with one blow (this is a high-level spell). You can even use this to transcend death, allowing you continued existence in this world without the need for food, drink, and sleep...
Timespace - The magic of traveling vast distances in a single bound, of teleportation, portals, and scrying. The strongest Magi can even control probability, making a person luckier or unluckier, sometimes to absurd levels. But what it can not do is reverse the past; basically, no time travel. Bullet Time and Time Stop are also possibilities for incredibly strong practitioners but have certain requirements that limit their effectiveness in combat.
Mind Magic - This magic deals with controlling minds and altering the emotions of both humans and animals, as well as creating illusions, mental compulsions, and even erasing or editing memories. A very powerful magical discipline, but strong willpower can better resist its effects...
Note: A lot of individual spells are very broken by nature, and would fundamentally destroy the game’s balance if implemented. If you’re touching these spells, please make sure you have some limitations added to them. If you’re not sure, look no further than your GMs! They will be happy to answer your question/address the balancing of your powers.
Spell Mastery
Pretty self-explanatory. Each spell your character possesses has their own degree of mastery. The more you master a spell, the less effort (Mana, Time, other relevant resources) it takes to perform that spell. If you have enough spells from the same school mastered, you can choose to make it a <Magic School> Mastery trait. How many spells, you ask? Well, there’s not a hard-coded number for that. But I’d say about 3+ spells of the same school. We can lower the number if the spells are difficult enough, or raise it if they’re easier to cast. Having Mastery as a trait makes learning and mastering new spells of that school a lot easier.
How long is it going to take to master a spell: This gives me headaches every time. It really depends. From the length of an arc to the number of times the character practices/uses these spells. I’d say on average 1 spell is mastered every arc as a benchmark, but don’t take this as a gospel. Use a LOT of nuances when interpreting this. We’ll try to adjust and accommodate your needs, just let us know.
Enchantment Rules
Enchantment requires High Magic and a spell that you or another party member knows, along with an item to be enchanted. Note however that the weaker and less durable the material is, the magic you can put into it is more limited; for example, oak can be enchanted to emit laser beams, birch cannot. This is the same for metals, and the strongest of spells can only be enchanted into 'Perfected Electrum (more below)'.
Perfected Electrum
Electrum is a mix of Gold and Silver that occurs naturally but can be made by artificial means. This material, if treated by High and Change Magic by four different Magi (see 'Group Spells' below) can be 'perfected', aka transformed into metal as hard as a diamond yet not as brittle, and whose lightness is that of cloth. But the most valuable property of Perfected Electrum is that it can contain very, very strong spells, except for Resurrection (see below under 'Group Spells'). Iliad City has a monopoly of Perfected Electrum, by the way.
Group Spells
Basically, multiple spell-casters with different Schools can do things that would strain a single Mage. This also helps in compensating for single Magi's weaknesses in specialization.
Update on Group Spells: There’s no longer any rules in terms of how many spells are needed to perform group spells. What combination of spells creating what is down to your creativity. Use your imagination! And a bit of common sense too…
Non-Magical Options
Character Traits (Formerly Exceptional Skills)
Character Traits can both be a few neat bullet points to describe some of your character’s defining traits, and also accommodate your character’s non-magic skills. They essentially describe a portion of your character, and some of them might be capable of special effects that can benefit you and other characters in different ways.
A character Trait consists of 3 parts as described
<Trait Name>: <Trait Description>. <Trait Effects> <Trait Name>: Self-explanatory <Trait Description>: A few sentences explaining what characteristics of your character that this Trait is describing. You can go longer if you wish <Trait Effects>: These are optional, but the most interesting. These essentially encompasses the Ex Skills, but a lot more specific and individual-based.
A few examples of generic trait to illustrate this further
Swordmaster: His extended training with his family’s traditional blade and under their guidance have made him exceptionally capable with these weapons. Greatly increases proficiency when using blades Turtleback: His natural skin of his species allowed him to essentially be a walking mini-fortress. Enhanced resistance against physical attacks.
A Healthy and Focused Mind: Her zen training allowed him to ascend to a higher spiritual state that allows her to act solely based on his instincts. Only usable in a combat situation. Allows the character to ignore mind magic during this time. Only affected when said magic can affect subconscious thoughts. Disgraced Warrior: From a family of traitors, he is received by the public with mistrust. Reduce effectiveness when coercing people through diplomacy.
Supreme Chef: She’s just really good at cooking duh. <Blank> (Yes, you can leave it blank. You don’t have to have an effect for every trait).
Of course, these are generic examples that apply to no one in particular. Your character traits, however, are bound by their background. A character trait has to be connected somehow to your character and what makes them who they are. Unrelated traits will be rejected. Your trait names does not have to follow these format. Feel free to go ham and be creative with the name and description.
What these skills are not, however: They do not fully describe your character. There is and should be more depths to your character than just a bunch of bullet points. They have defining characteristics but they have nuances and more depths to and outside those characteristics. That’s how a great character is made
Some potential questions.
How many traits are needed: There should be no limits to how many traits you have, but please refrain from making too many of them. Remember this is supposed to represent defining characteristics that screams that’s them when mentioned. You don’t want to describe yourself like that. For starters, around 3-4 traits would be a healthy number (this number is preliminary).
What about combat with vague measures to quantify your strength: Well, this is not a tabletop RP to begin with. There is no dice. We have narratives and plots to drive your characters around. How battles would turn out is entirely down to you and your fighting partners. Discuss with your partner how you would want fights to turn out. Maybe this guy have a really cool move that he wants to show off, or this lady is cocky and needs to be slapped down a peg. After all, it’s more about building your character than a game of who gets to win. If you have problem deciding the fight, the GMs can step in and help
Can you bypass these skills somehow: Yes. Having traits that give you enhanced characteristics (durability/strength/speed/etc.) does not make you infallible (unless you opt in for it, to which you would need to give a GOOD justification). Having enhanced resistance against Mind Magic could fall apart if you’re intoxicated/not paying attention. Use common sense and logic at all times.
Gaining/Losing traits: This is possible, as your character changes, but you shouldn’t gain too many traits throughout the journey anyway, so when you want to add/remove/change a trait, contact your GM. Don’t worry we’re friendly
What about Magic Mastery: If you have 3+ spells mastered from the same school of magic, you can gain a mastery trait of that specific school, giving you increased magic literacy for that school. If you CHOOSE to have that trait at the very beginning, and thus giving you at least 3 spells to be mastered, you should contact the GM so we can discuss it.
Technology is equivalent to 21st Century Earth, but Spellcasters are capable of creating devices called "Magitech" which allow even common people to access the benefits of Magic. In Iliad, this has resulted in magical healing being common throughout, with specialized 'regeneration booths' in strategic parts of the city where even grievous injuries may be healed as long as they are not inflicted by High Magic. There is also a set of Magitech Bullet Trains and Nuclear Fusion plants (with magic used in the process), as well as 'Null-entropy fridges' which can preserve meat and fresh vegetables indefinitely.
Military Magitech is also very much advanced, with Iliad City being able to bio-engineer, through magic, entire armies of Pegasi and Dragons, which are fielded alongside more mundane VTOLs and Supersonic Airplanes. They also have Golems, animated humanoid statues of clay and metal, which supplement normal infantry, tanks, and the more usual kind of Magi. The grand majority of inhabitants know some battle magic, including children and teenagers who are trained in spellcasting as soon as they can talk.
However, both the Hermannreich and Olympia are developing not just their own Magitech, but are conjuring up, from almost nowhere, pieces of technology that though they are as powerful as Magic and Magitech, run purely on Science. This 'Super-tech', which includes Lasers, Railguns, and Anti-Gravity devices that can lift up an entire Supercarrier to the skies, is an unwelcome development for Iliad City, and some say it is the harbinger of its fall...
VI. Rules
1.) Do not be an asshole. 2.) Take NSFW to PMs. 3.) No Godmoding or Powergaming, aka no controlling other players' actions, no defeating your enemy in one shot, and no shrugging of all hits without a magical shield. 4.) This game is friendly to m/m and f/f romance.
VI. Character Sheet
[b]Name:[/b] [b]Appearance:[/b] [b]Age:[/b] The usual age for a student is 13 to 18, but characters older than those are permitted. [b]Bio:[/b] [b]Mundane Skills:[/b] [b]Magic:[/b] [b]Character Traits:[/b] [b]Faction (Marduk, Ishtar, or Cassandra Club when it's founded):[/b] [b]Are you a Descendant of the Illuminated Poet?:[/b] Simple yes or no question.
The Custodians were once Angels, of every rank from Cherubim to Seraphs and even one Archangel, who rebelled against The One Deity and were cast down into the Universe, a thousand or so light-years from Historia, after their rebellion. After being cast down, the Custodians were made mortal, albeit with 'Metahuman' powers tied to their genetics, and unable to tap into Magic. Yet despite this, they retained their overwhelming knowledge of the physical world and sciences and used it to found first a civilization, then a Star Empire which oppressed lesser races.
There are two factions of Custodians, with the first being The Collective, which confusingly applies to both the thirteen former Seraphs and single Archangel which were now reduced into Metahumans, and their multitudes of followers and slaves in their Star Empire. The second is a resistance movement, The Repentant, which is led by one former Seraph and their followers, both 'original' Fallen and the children born to the Custodians when they became mortal.
And finally, it is rumored that the Unfallen Custodians, messengers of The One, still exist in Heaven, reforged into transcendent beings with additional powers that allow them to mentor and coordinate 'Risen Martyrs', the souls of mortals whose virtues In life had made them adequate replacements for the Custodians' duties in Heaven and Hell (which in this setting is closer to Purgatory and a place to reform and redeem sinners instead of torturing them forever). These Unfallen are detested by The Collective, who forbids mentioning their names in their dominions on pain of excruciating death.
As for the Fallen Archangel who now leads The Collective? He is now known as Ubersmench, and his powers give him near-invulnerability, and super-strength which can destroy planets, flight, and heat vision as long as he is underneath a Yellow Sun...
Update:
I, Jest, and Windstormugly talked about Custodian Lore a bit more, and we decided to edit the Custodian's lore to make The One less intentionally dickish. Here is the lore in bullet points:
- The majority of Custodians didn't rebel and are still in Heaven. - Only a few thousand Custodians were cast down to the Universe. - Fallen Custodians can breed with other Custodians to make full-blooded members of their race and breed with other species to create Part-Custodians. - Few Custodians ended up in Historia. - The grand majority of Custodians founded a 'Star Empire' a thousand light-years away from Historia. - The reason the Star Empire doesn't just invade Historia is that even with advanced technology, the Galaxy is still very big and it's hard to find one single planet. Thus, they have to be summoned by [SPOILER] or be extremely lucky.
From the soles of his boots and the butt of his spear, jets of fire shot up from Huo Ren's feet, rocketing him upwards through the roof of the bunker; this would have been fatal if not for the fact that he had also cloaked himself in superheated gas, spending his willpower and focus to negate harm from his fire. Now, he was flying in the sky, at the very top of the Mirage Space, and with a gesture of his spear, he showered a dozen falling fireballs at Ernesto and Henri before launching a gushing spray of flames at Cristina, hoping to take her out just in case her Noble Arm was Fire, Heat, or Sun-themed, which his own NA unwillingly empowered...
"Enough of this!" Huo Ren said as he noticed blood dripping from his stomach; that muscled brute had managed to cut him! "Give me Noel Alonso and Nico Makri - Or you will all die!"
The temperature was still rising to the very limits of what a human being can tolerate, even with an Arms Master's enhanced physique...
Noel's scythe clashed with Wei Rui's spear, which could keep up with the eighteen-year-old's enhanced reflexes. As for Myron, the other Arms Master was shooting at Han Rui, Wei's brother, only to find that the latter had jumped behind some convenient sandbags. Knowing the perils of Han's newly-manifested Noble Arm, Myron kept shooting suppressing fire at the enemy soldier's position, even as he flashed back to unwelcome memories...
We had to kill those of us - The Disablers - who manifested their own Noble Arm back when I thought they were family. That, or use them as Cannon Fodder or 'Pawns' like Doc Ripper's own nephew, Leon.
Some resisted the process, and to some of Myron's comrades, the 'Beginner's Luck' that newly-manifested Arms Masters received made them even more revulsed at the thought of becoming one of them. To him, it merely made them more difficult opponents -
The enemy soldier threw his Noble Arm - A primitive bomb - at Myron, and the young man closed his eyes and braced himself for the explosion. He heard his gun, the K1A Compact Assault Rifle shatter into pieces as a wave of hot wind blew on his skin.
Opening his eyes, he saw that his stolen PLA Uniform was tattered, his gun was blown to pieces, but his flesh, Qingshe's extra-durable Teleport Beacon, and his Noble Arm were intact. Good; this meant that he knew what the first power of this man's Noble Arm was and what form the next few abilities might take.
He heard footsteps behind him; it was the confident saunter of one Nico Makri. And Myron knew that victory was possible; he just had to warn -
The enemy soldier had resummoned his Noble Arm and threw it at them again; the shockwaves harmed only equipment, gear (below a level of durability), and wearables but not living flesh, but that was enough to inconvenience traditional opponents!
Liu Xi put up a wall of ice, ice thick enough to withstand the launched staves, but the sheer force of the impact still forced him to stagger backward a few steps while Sui Mang sent forth six snare-like wires of light, intending to loop them around Nil's legs and arms to try and cut them off; it was still two against one, despite Nil's experience and her frantic mood. If Nil somehow managed to dodge or bat away the bright snares, it would still buy time for Liu Xi to recover his bearings and launch a giant snowball (?) that was not meant to damage Nil but cool her down long enough for her to be successfully restrained - Jinghong Dam was going to run out of prisoners otherwise...
As for Ai Chen, she'd chase Sister Marta, raining arrows of light aimed at her shins and shoulders, laughing diabolically and even having the gall to say, "A nun? As an acquisition? This must be my lucky day!"
Blinded by unspeakable desires, the antagonist, the villain of the piece, Ai Chen put herself on Lei Qingshe's crosshairs; both metaphorically and literally...
"Ingrid?" Raven asked after switching to tight-beam comms. "Did you just hear what that Yellow Bastard did? Anyway, here's hoping the enemy has no way to decrypt these comms, but we need to bring down that mountain on the foe - Now is as good a time as any if Tarak uses his jump jets to jump back away from avalanche range."
Brief, maybe even curt by his standards. But if he got Ingrid's agreement, he'd fire his entire available arsenal onto the mountain's side, hoping against hope the Lance would follow his plan. Of course, Ingrid might refuse, and in that case, well, the fight continued and he'd find an alternative target - Maybe the Panther.
Ken couldn't help but smile as his shock faded; the warmth and light of the orphanage, as well as the feeling that he was safe, was finally clawing its way to his senses. He wanted to stay, play with the other children, and maybe try and mend fences with the Elf once his' getting flustered at seeing her expose herself had faded.
He ate in silence, but his eyes darted to the door every few seconds as if expecting a new visitor or an intruder; this wariness was rewarded when this other man, Kellen, entered the orphanage.
Blue stains on his clothes, shaggy hair marred by clumps of dirt, glowing blue eyes that matched the powder he carried, a powder that sounded suspiciously like the narcotics synthesized by both Waltonians and Uverans; Ken knew the signs and what conclusions to make for now. Getting up from his seat after eating the last crumb of bread, he stepped towards Ms. Mayleaf and asked, "Who is he? What do you think happened to him? Maybe we - Okay, I - can help?"
Then his tone grew slightly sharper, heavier, "I know what addictive drugs are; they're a universal problem. If people are trying to push them on innocents, that deserves punishment. So if you can point me to whoever may have hurt your... friend, and tell me whether force will help or if it would make things worse, well... again, I'm happy to help."
He smiled before following up, his voice relaxing again, "We can discuss potential rewards later; heck, I'm even pondering doing it for free just because you were so kind to me and the Elf..."
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