Thinslayer

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

@Zyx
Enslaving the gods, eh? I look forward to seeing how he pulls that off. I imagine some contract shenanigans would be involved, like some expertly worded fine print that backfires on the patron at some point. If you can get your hands on a Bane weapon, it may be possible to kill the patrons outright. True Bane weapons are blessed by the gods, like actual highest-level gods (i.e. beyond demigods), to condemn to the afterlife whoever receives of them a mortal wound, regardless of any other mortality considerations. So if you were to smite a demigod's avatar with it, their soul would immediately lose all its authority and gravitate to the afterlife, even if that individual would normally have the Divine Authority to live beyond death. Bane weapons are really only effective against higher beings, since mortals are already dragged to the afterlife upon death, so a Bane weapon wouldn't affect them any differently.

True Bane/Godbane weapons capable of indiscriminate slaughter of demigods are little more than a myth right now. However, Regret was able to create Demibane weapons from her own lifeblood capable of canceling the inherited immortality powers of her contractors. They only work on those empowered by Regret (though not on Regret herself). They're mandatory for killing Yddrog again, so the players will eventually get their hands on these. There's also a lesser version, Rot weapons, that cancel all cell division in the injured area and poison the target's body with enchanted Blood of Regret. Normally her blood would grant immortality to whoever it flows through, but she can flip its effect with an enchantment to sap life instead. The target will visibly age and rot away as the poison makes its way through their body. So anyone with unascended/biological forms of immortality, like vampires or zombies, will rapidly fall to this weapon.

Yddrog has his own equivalent, Dragonbane weapons, that can pierce any inheritor of Yddrog's blood by "commanding" it on contact to make way for the king. Take a wild guess who it's meant for! e_e

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

That's fair. Speaking of which, I should probably start nailing down some aspects of the world we'll be playing in.

Roggwall

Roggwall is one of the major underground cities of Yddrog's empire. The pillars holding up the roof of this vast subterranean city are actually primitive arcologies, based largely on the designs of the ancient arcologies that once dotted this world. Magic is the primary power source for the city's inhabitants, and its duergar artificers are known to be among the best in the world. You'll find all sorts of magical tools and knickknacks here, as well as numerous priests who are more than willing to introduce you to their patrons - for a price, of course.

Sounds like heaven for neophyte adventurers in the Dark Dragon's employ, yes? Normally it would be, except that nobody really likes you. You may be homonculi born and bound to Yddrog's service, but at the end of the day, you're still human to them, both in visual appearance and in how you think. Anti-human racism runs rampant here, so you'd better watch your back.
_____

Bestiary

Dark Shifter

Contrary to popular belief, they are not inherently evil. Formerly known as Voidspawn, the Dark Shifters fled to this universe through a dimensional portal to escape the impending heat-death of their own universe. Had they been more civil to the natives instead of greedily stealing any energy they could get their hands on, perhaps they could have lived in harmony with humanity. Alas, it was not to be, and the last remnants of them driven into hiding by Regret now hone their skills to a fine edge, sampling any genetic material they can get their hands on to prepare themselves for revenge.

As their names suggests, they are shapeshifters. Trillions of years ago in their home universe, they were actually humans once, but looming energy shortages combined with insane technological advancements prompted them to seek alternative ways to live. Their artificial bodies are designed to break down and analyze the genetic code of any creature they consume, and to modify themselves so they can mimic those creatures' forms and abilities. They can be absolutely horrifying to face, and the only saving grace when fighting them is that they are still incapable of contracting with demigods (and thus incapable of using magic).

As an advanced race that relies on genetic engineering for most of their endeavors, their homes are closer to living organisms than inanimate structures, kind of like elves in the way they try to harness nature. Unfortunately for them, a great deal of knowledge was lost during the Lonely War, so they are largely restricted to manipulating existing life forms rather than tailoring new ones. A few pioneering individuals have begun incorporating inorganic engineering into their designs, but those are treated as pariahs amongst their kind.

Orc

Orcs are monsters that ascended to mortality from their monstrous goblin ancestors. Orcs come in all shapes and sizes, but what they all have in common is an insatiable appetite. Whether that's an appetite for power, food, money, or what have you, they are greedy for it, and will stop at nothing to obtain it. Those with more tolerable kinds of greed can sometimes form civil relationships with humans, but they are uncommon. Most have allied with Yddrog because he satisfies almost every kind of vice orcs are greedy for.

Like the goblins they evolved from, they are highly intelligent sapiens, but unlike goblins (or any other creature, really), they tend to retain any musculature they build. This makes them frighteningly powerful if they're allowed to live for very long. Orcs are the most common type of Yddrog-allied creatures to go adventuring.

Dark Elf

Believe it or not, elves are not a natural species. They are all homonculi, like the player characters, who were specifically created to be avatars of the gods. They have given themselves over completely to their patrons, having sacrificed all of their free will to become agents and mouthpieces for their deities. Dark elves, or "drow" as they're sometimes called, are demon-aligned elves whose bodies have physically darkened in response to their total corruption by the dark demigods they serve. Due to their intimate communion with their patrons, they can cast magic as easily as they breathe. Fortunately, there are precious few of them, but the few that exist are veritable forces of nature. Meeting an elf, dark or otherwise, is widely considered an omen of things to come.

More to come!

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

@Zyx@SilverPaw
I just had a eureka moment: if we go with the tragic second-paragraph plotline, what if Zyx's character was a citizen of SilverPaw's kingdom, perhaps even the king's bodyguard, brother, or friend? Because, for someone to feel such an intense level of vindictiveness against the gods and conviction in the betterment of humanity, I imagine something incredibly tragic must have happened to them and the people around them. The demigod Yddrog slaughtered everyone he ever loved, and the demigod Regret was the one who created him. And lest one think that the other patrons are more acceptable, perhaps Yddrog's mages were responsible for the devastation. That kind of experience might cause anyone to swear off all demigods entirely - and drive him toward Regret in search of power and time to exact his revenge.

Just an idea.

Edit: If we want to cut down on the tragedies and go for a more upbeat tale, then the first-paragraph plotline of the kingdom joining the alliance opens up a different set of possibilities. People don't always need to experience tragedy before they'll feel a strong conviction for something. Oftentimes, a really good upbringing will do that just as well. Perhaps Zyx's character did extraordinarily well in life; maybe he was a commoner who got rich enough to buy into nobility, or an inventor who managed to change the world, or even just a priest who, after having met thousands of good, strong people in his life, learned the rich wellspring of strength that humans were capable of without demigods to support them.

Which brings me to a question: do you have a story idea in mind for your character, Zyx?

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

@SilverPaw
Ooh. I'm liking this character already. I think you've got a knack for this. Wanna make him a former king of Aetherion? If we're looking to make the state of his kingdom uncertain, perhaps his domain is a smaller nation that got absorbed into the larger kingdom. Maybe his kingdom joined an alliance which later transitioned to a state within Aetherion's constitutional monarchy. Or, perhaps a war broke out that got his kingdom conquered and absorbed, whether by Aetherion or by a rival state.

For a more tragic scenario, maybe the entire domain fell under Yddrog's rule, its human population enslaved and replaced with monsters or allied mortal races (like orcs). Perhaps one small, dwindling human settlement remained in hiding within a cave, and Yddrog could throw the prince a bone by giving him authority over the settlement. Maybe something like, "As long as you can procure me a pure maiden to sacrifice every ten years, I see no reason not to allow their pitiful existence. What a generous ruler I am, yes? Feel free to thank me."

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

@SilverPaw
Got an idea of what kind of character you want to play?

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

You mentioned our characters memories with Regret are lost. Then, have they also absolutely zero recollection of their previous life initially?

@SilverPaw

This element is primarily a plot device added to give me leeway to introduce your characters to Regret over time, since granting them full knowledge of their former patron will make choosing her too easy and complicate my efforts to characterize her properly (because how do you convey an entire relationship with a friend in a few paragraphs?). But I also think they should retain some knowledge of their past lives before they met Regret so that their personalities can properly form. So given the specificity with which their memories were lost, I'll have to say Yddrog probably wiped them on purpose during their creation/summoning ceremony.

Do they they regain their memories over time? Or does it vary case by case, maybe even depends on whether they try to remember or other factors?

@SilverPaw

My working plan for this is to roleplay out "character memories" between the Champions and Regret whenever they accomplish something significant. But I've rarely known RPs to pan out the way I intended, so this is subject to change. In short, it'll vary and may depend on various other factors. Off the top of my head, I can envision them recovering their memories through things like:
* Adjusting their bond with her
* Meeting people she associated with
* Doing things she'd appreciate

When did Regret become involved with Aetherion, when she was still human or afterwards?

@SilverPaw

Several thousand years ago. She was an ordinary human colonist back then, a microbiologist paid for her contributions to terraforming endeavors. When a Rift opened and the Voidspawn started pouring out to conquer her world, she shifted gears to become a doctor and help the war effort, and eventually took on additional roles as the situation grew worse. Long story short, humanity lost that war and was driven to extinction. Regret was the last human standing on the entire planet. She bargained with her god to grant her power and immortality so she could avenge the fallen, challenging him whether the extinction of humanity and victory of evil was truly his will. She got her wish, and over the next thousand years proceeded to hunt down the Voidspawn one by one until she'd wiped the planet clean of them. The abilities she developed during that lonely war are the ones that'll be handed down to the players - Healing and Rot, Adrenaline Rush/Hysteria, and Offensive Reincarnation being the three key ones.

Does she consider it 'her' kingdom/does she show it preference?

@SilverPaw

That was part of her second bargain with her god at the conclusion of her Lonely War. When she'd finally avenged humanity of its enemies, she challenged her god once again whether a barren, lifeless world without man was truly his will, and offered to restore new life to the world in exchange for undying life of her own. She got her wish, trading away her power in exchange for increased authority and keeping her immortality, and continues to nurture the world as its mother and guardian to this day. Aetherion in particular is a nation grown from her direct descendants, so it holds a special place in her heart.

How influential is she as a demigoddess?

@SilverPaw

Uniquely so. As the only patron with a physical, mortal presence on this world, and one who grants immortality at that, her name is widely known here, though her level of influence depends on whether they have a good opinion of her. In Aetherion, her word might as well be law.

I take it Yddrog is an unusual exception as a contractor in how much he can defy his patron (and creator)? Is that because Regret was too lenient in their contract, gave him too much power for 'free'? Or did he also manage to rebel because of his innate will?

@SilverPaw

Yeah, he's an unusual case. She was a fairly new Ascendant back when she created him, so she was inexperienced with the creation of magical contracts. Her contract with him did not include anything that bonded their minds together, so his will was almost entirely free of external influence. This proved to be her undoing. Naturally, she did not make the same mistake again when she contracted with her Champions.

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

Yes, the easiest way to acquire magic power is to contract with Regret. You will receive immortality and a handful of synergizing abilities in the bargain.

As for whether you can have more than one patron, absolutely. That's the premise of this RP, in fact - and it's to demonstrate the reason why people usually don't contract with more than one patron. That reason is because, if your patrons' priorities conflict, the consequences could be deadly for the contractor. Now, if you know from the outset that you'll be taking on multiple patrons, you can certainly include language in your contracts to resolve any conflicts that arise. So there are safe ways to do it if you come prepared.

And yes, any preexisting contracts would still be valid unless stipulated otherwise. It is the contractor's responsibility to ensure all their patrons are satisfied.

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

@Zyx
The gods are essentially forces of nature, with their respective characters embodied in the laws of nature. As such, I'm not sure whether ascension to godhood proper is possible in this universe's lore. There's certainly no precedent for it.

Oh, and there's one limit to magic I forgot to talk about: Authority. While I don't want to bog it down too much in numbers and rules, as a rule of thumb, demigods have enough magical authority (think mana) to do something that'll slightly affect the whole world. When divided up between their contractors, it's usually sufficient to do something flashy and overpowering once per encounter. It's strong, but you won't be burning holes to the planet's core without incurring backlash.

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

@SilverPaw
They do. The bond goes both ways. Sometimes, your patron might even feel your own experiences better than you do yourself, especially if they're on the verge of possession. For Regret, she can read your emotional state through the bond, and it can affect her mood if she's not careful. It's part of the reason she likes to give her contractors attentive love and care, because she'll definitely feel it if they're suffering.

The Faraway Land: Dragonbound (9 players interested as of 11/23/22)

Yep, you've got the gist of it. There are numerous angels and demons available for contracting, many with unique and varied powers like the examples you mentioned. Funnily enough, you managed to hit on the exact two powers that have lore relevance to this story. One of the seven Ascended demigods possesses the power to reverse time by a limited amount, while it was a war against a Void demigod (shapeshifter type) that ultimately drove Regret to ascend. So yeah, there's absolutely all kinds of demigod spirits to contract with.

What makes Ascendants like Regret stand out from all the rest is that they are the only ones with mortal forms. As such, Regret is the only demigod you can contract with whom you can actually see in person with your own eyes.