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Over Under- or why the city sways and no one will do anything about it

Started by Mason, August 03, 2011, 01:28:24 PM

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Mason

Fog King come
show us the way
give us flesh
and make them pay!

-Collected Nursery Rhymes of Nobles Children

What is between stone and flesh? The fog...but truly, all else is between the fog!
-Prophet of the Yellowing Skin

The Fog kings realm is that between life and death...true death to be exact. The point of no return is final. But before that is a shadowy still-here sort of place. Drab. Sad. Cold. Shades of former lives walk here. (or float about depending on who you ask). He was a man once, that old King but died before his destiny could be fulfilled. It is said if a life is ended in anger or unjustly, if their is still a debt to be paid or a favor to begot, then the Fog King comes and drapes over your quickly cooling shoulders the shroud of his own fog.

I've touched on the fog king and his shades before, but I've narrowed down the rules a bit more...a shade has a second chance (not at life) but rather at finishing tasks left untended. Once the task is completed then the shade is free to move on to true death, i.e. whatever happens next. The inhabitants of the world are as clueless to the afterlife as any creature can be...but they are certain of the fog realm in between life and death.

The Mourning Quarter embraces the faith of the Fog King. They are all dying, sickly or already dead. A cult has arisen in the Mourning Quarter that lends aid to a shades quest. (A shade may reside in the fog realm for days, months decades...however long it takes to not only complete that one last all important task, but in some cases, truly figure out what that task was). more on the cult later...

Thinking about Ever Far (the land where the Molochie come from) a little more. It should be mysterious, romanticized in popular culture (imagine novellas about far off EVERFAR in the hands of nobles) - much in the same way the Orient was found to be mysterious in Marco Polo's time. I suppose it is a catch all for all the weird and strange creatures and customs in the world...for example:

Third Eyes Third Eyes are the floating disembodies eyes of the ancient king Narmar of the Thousand Eyes, Ears and Mouths. This king was so brutal in ancient EverFar that his own bodyguards eventually murdered him. They left the body unattended while trying to figure out who was going to be king next, and the next day found that Narmar was quite alive. (so the story goes). Anyways. Narmar magically 'implanted' in his bodyguards 999 of his own eyes, mouths and ears so that he would become privy to any plots against his persons in the future. He reigned for another 1000 years or so before he vanishes from the EverFar histories.

Third eyes do just that-float around until they find a likely candidate and then implant themselves in the foreheads of the creatures or take over one of the two (normal) eyes. They have purple iris' and always close at night. Third eyes sometimes take complete control of the subject, sometimes bestow special abilities on the creature, and sometimes drive them mad (usually ending in the creatures death, but the eye is unharmed; it simply plucks itself out of the corpse and moves on).



Steerpike

Parasitic floating eyeballs?!?  Why didn't I think of that!??

EDIT: are the Ears and Mouths around as well in some capacity?  Can one use a Mouth and Ear to speak to the lost King?

Mason

Quote from: Steerpike
EDIT: are the Ears and Mouths around as well in some capacity?  Can one use a Mouth and Ear to speak to the lost King?

Why didn't I think of that!??

...and yes. I'll work on that.

SA


Mason

A couple random things....

Nobles of the Silverhand dip limbs in silver to produce a frightening fashion statement. This renders the limb completely useless but some are cast in molds in the shapes of knives, cudgels, hammers etc. depending on the noble family. Silverhand is an elitist Masonic like cult that is shrouded in mystery. To solve their problems and get things done they simply throw money at it.

Certain....stigmas are known to appear in Over Unders populace....One who is Cloudspun is afraid of touching the ground.

Certain minerals can achieve magical effects. For example Amethyst prevents the wearer from becoming intoxicated and also allows better vision in Fog-ridden areas (usually worn as goggles) Hematite (also known as Blood-ore) can bring defensive properties to the wearer. Jade is know to give invisibility etc...

EDIT: People who are addicted to the magic might try and consume the stones faster...I'm thinking Iron Jaw implants (rock-chewers?)

I might add more on stone-magic properties later. I think it's a cool concept and goes along with the stone/building theme. I'm basically stealing from this page.


Mason

Quote from: Magnus Pym
Good stuff :)

Should I continue with the 'stone' magic stuff?

[ic=A sample Noble Family]
The Vivectii Family never outgrew their military roots (recall that the majority of nobility in Over Under are descendants of the Monarchs military elite). The oldest lineage is traced to Fortinbras Vivectii, a general tasked with guarding the all important trade routes to and from EverFar.  Fortinbras made a fortune levying unsanctioned taxes on merchants traveling the ancient Chrysoprase (literally Green-Gold) Road.
   Fortinbras' grandson continued the tradition after the fall of the Monarch, but secured direct trade relations with a fledgling religious sect called the Molochie, which had seized power from the old kings of EverFar. It was rumoured this Vivectii willingly gave away twenty of his daughters to the Molochie in order to secure both a male heir for himself (ensuring no sibling rivalry) and to strengthen trade relations. With the fortune made on the Green-Gold market, he bought a dozen blocks of land just outside Sanctuary from which to rule his Mercantile Empire.
    The current Vivectii, Olivia despises the Molochie and her ancestors for giving away her potential grandmothers. She uses her resources to covertly sabotage their missions in Over Under and fund opposition to the Molochie order in EverFar. She reveres Ordis, an obscure god of war that her Great Ancestor Fortinbras revered.

Mason

A thought:

What we might call Magic in Over Under is scientific and Logical. Extensive charts, formulas diagrams and schema are used to produce predictable, stable results. The mechanics of which have been studied for centuries. Unfortunately a great deal was lost sometime around the deposing of the Monarch (that was quite the event no?) and now contemporary Magicians or Magus Magi? spend a great deal of time trying to fill in all the missing parts of their most sacred texts at the Academy of Magic (omg that name sucks).

The Academy is responsible for not only preserving and restoring the 'old works' on magic but also in searching out new formulas and knowledge about this power. The Academy funds expeditions and performs experiments to gain ever more knowledge. Magic is also studied rigorously at the Academy at the end of which licensure is granted. Rogue practitioners of magic can be imprisoned, fined, exiled and even executed in some cases.

Why would someone go rogue with magic? The cost of Academic training is outrageous. The nobility of course can finance such an education, but the regular working people would never be able to afford such training.  Once a year, full scholarship is granted to a member of non-noble lineage (i.e. not wealthy enough to afford the tuition) This is one of the rare arenas where nobility and non-nobility are free of any social stigmas. Once a Mage, always a Mage-no matter the stock.

Sorcery on the other hand, is supernatural and unpredictable. It is not necessarily evil-but the two schools of thought are at odds with each other morally and ethically. It could be likened to the tension between religion and science in the real world. (that is a bit sketchy but wth-would like thoughts on that)

Like most things strange and terrifying, Sorcery has its origins in ancient times. Most of the skill has trickled into Over Under by way of the aforementioned Green-Gold Road from Ever Far. Sorcerers are like the cowboys of the old west, tolerated-until they do something craaazy.

Legends usually speak some truth about the old Sorcerers methods. In Ever Far, Sorcerers regularly take on pupils, usually 1-2 per lifetime and the bond created between pupil and master is legendary. Some say that a Sorcerer who practices but does not teach in his lifetime is doomed to a horrible afterlife.


Most sorcerers live by a code of ethics, regardless of what the Academy would have people believe. Some in truth are evil bastards and would like nothing more for all the towers to come tumbling down-but the Academy has those as well-and they are usually better funded.

[ooc] Not the most original stuff...[/ooc]

Edit: Stone magic (if I keep it) would be considered magic.

Steerpike

The Mage Academy might be a tad uninspired in name and overall feel, but what about creating a series of Colleges - much as Oxford University consists of a whole bunch of Colleges, somewhere between Hogwarts-style Houses and standard university Departments, responsible both for housing students and for providing tutorials - with much more outlandish customs, quirks, idiosyncrasies, and whacky names?  Rivalries and architectural oddities would, of course, abound.

I imagine magic as being really freaking weird in Over Under, with a lot of strange disciplines.  How about mages that specialize in changing something's size, mages who can commune with buildings (sub-specialties including the Attic Mage, the Basement Mage, the Fireplace Mage, etc), mages who divine things from pigeon droppings and plumes of dust, mages who make doors and windows lead to places they shouldn't, or mages that specialize in physical affection (a kiss that endows great strength, an embrace that heals wounds, a caress that maims)?

LD

Quote from: Steerpike
Parasitic floating eyeballs?!?  Why didn't I think of that!??



Not playing enough Terraria, then. :D. Though admittedly their eyes aren't parasitic as far as I understand.

Mason

[ooc]
Not sure if this is going to make sense...but I'll give it a shot.
[/ooc]

Chrysoprase is an incredibly unique mineral found exclusively in EverFar. It is almost indestructible but can only be manipulated inside (Fog?) Geodes. Fog Geodes are naturally hollowed out spheres found in the earth beneath OverUnder...The mineral from which these geodes are formed are similiar in appearance to Chrysoprase but lack the luster and the neigh indestructible quality.

(Grumblers believe these geodes to be spiritual in some form or another...more on that later)

Some genius figured out that Chrysoprase is easily transformed into armor, weapons, amulets and almost anything imaginable inside a geode. Smithies operate inside these naturally forming geological formations.(that would be a cool visual) Once the item is removed from the geode is 'solidifies' and can only be manipulated/broken inside/in close proximity to a geode. The tricky part is mining the Chrysoprase in EverFar (where there are no geodes). This precarious balance of geode/chrysoprase industry is heavily regulated.

The point is that Chrysoprase is incredibly useful for high-end market weapons and armor. It is believed that 10 pounds of Chrysoprase could be hammered out 1/4 of a mile while still maintaining its resilient qualities. Of course 10 pounds of the material would cost several large fortunes.


EDIT: To make this a little more Over-Under-ish I'm thinking there is an Absinthe-esque drink that is distilled from a byproduct of the metal working of Chrysoprase. The Hallucinations would actually take physical form..ala C.S. Friedmans Coldfire Trilogy.

Mason

Quote from: Steerpike
I imagine magic as being really freaking weird in Over Under, with a lot of strange disciplines.  How about mages that specialize in changing something's size, mages who can commune with buildings (sub-specialties including the Attic Mage, the Basement Mage, the Fireplace Mage, etc), mages who divine things from pigeon droppings and plumes of dust, mages who make doors and windows lead to places they shouldn't, or mages that specialize in physical affection (a kiss that endows great strength, an embrace that heals wounds, a caress that maims)?

Very interesting! I like the idea of communicating with buildings...."who knows what these walls have seen!!??" Wizard: "I do."
Perhaps mages could team up to combine effects for a spell....I will think about this more; I am a little dry on ideas for now but thanks for your input Steerpike!

[ooc]
Here is a quick sketch meant to convey what an architect might look like. Notice the clocks on his shoulders, all meant to measure time and distance, his left hand has a mechanical false-arm used for breaking rocks and lifting (also holding onto ledges). On his right hand is a glove with all sorts of surveying devices. His waistcoat is kinda messed up but you get the general feel for the profession
[/ooc]


[spoiler=Professional][note=Architect]
As I mentioned before, Architects are very adventurous, seeking out new lands and ideas for architectural features. An architect is first and foremost a designer, but a wide array of sub-professions is acknowledged in builders circles. An architect should always be prepared to absorb as much information about a place as possible and many choose traditional studies such as geology, zoology, biology and rudimentary chemistry-in essence they are true renaissance men, preferring to know a little about a wide range of subjects rather than everything in a single field.
[/note]


[/spoiler]






Mason

[spoiler=Moloch]


Don't feel like home, he's a little out...
And all these words elope, it's nothing like your poem
Putting in, inputting in, don't feel like methadone
A scratching voice all alone, there's nothing like your baritone
It's nothing as it seems, the little that he needs, it's home
The little that he sees, is nothing he concedes, it's home


-Nothings As it Seems , Pearl Jam

(What I was listening to when I drew this)
[/spoiler]

O Senhor Leetz

that's fantastic art - matches the settings vibe perfectly. Diterlizzi would be proud.
Let's go teach these monkeys about evolution.
-Mark Wahlberg

Numinous

Quote from: Sarisa
[ooc]
Not sure if this is going to make sense...but I'll give it a shot.
[/ooc]

Chrysoprase is an incredibly unique mineral found exclusively in EverFar. It is almost indestructible but can only be manipulated inside (Fog?) Geodes. Fog Geodes are naturally hollowed out spheres found in the earth beneath OverUnder...The mineral from which these geodes are formed are similiar in appearance to Chrysoprase but lack the luster and the neigh indestructible quality.

(Grumblers believe these geodes to be spiritual in some form or another...more on that later)

Some genius figured out that Chrysoprase is easily transformed into armor, weapons, amulets and almost anything imaginable inside a geode. Smithies operate inside these naturally forming geological formations.(that would be a cool visual) Once the item is removed from the geode is 'solidifies' and can only be manipulated/broken inside/in close proximity to a geode. The tricky part is mining the Chrysoprase in EverFar (where there are no geodes). This precarious balance of geode/chrysoprase industry is heavily regulated.

The point is that Chrysoprase is incredibly useful for high-end market weapons and armor. It is believed that 10 pounds of Chrysoprase could be hammered out 1/4 of a mile while still maintaining its resilient qualities. Of course 10 pounds of the material would cost several large fortunes.


EDIT: To make this a little more Over-Under-ish I'm thinking there is an Absinthe-esque drink that is distilled from a byproduct of the metal working of Chrysoprase. The Hallucinations would actually take physical form..ala C.S. Friedmans Coldfire Trilogy.
Regarding minerals, I once mused on the notion of a rock that could be used alternately as gunpowder, magical reagent, and drug (similar to your absinthe notion, which is why I'm mentioning this).  The reasoning behind tying all these functions to a mineral was the ability to introduce steampunk elements to a magical setting without always having to account for armies with large quantities of guns.  The rarity of the material makes trains and guns exotic, accessible for players and villains, but still rare enough to not be everywhere.  Just some ideas I was tossing around that might help with this.  Totally love the location specific manipulation by the way, brings the material out of the city itself, where it would be most valuable in practice, I imagine.
Previously: Natural 20, Critical Threat, Rose of Montague
- Currently working on: The Smoking Hills - A bottom-up, seat-of-my-pants, fairy tale adventure!