The Peerage

[Bordermarcher]

[ooc]More to come soon. Just wanted to know what you all thought of the writing style and general concept.[/ooc]

The Peerage

To say that the Sorcerer Lords and Ladies hold their titles and lands by right of breeding is no poetic flourish, for there is a power inherent in their blood, an infernal taint that elevates them to their noble position. That allows them to subtly pluck at the warp and weave of reality's tapestry, to ensnare the hearts, minds, even souls of others, or to unfetter their own. That gives them the authority to conjure forth demons and spirits, to bind and subjugate them to their own wills, to banish them back to their own realms when their usefulness is at an end.

It is this arcane nobility that forms the Peerage, the ruling class. Every Peer who has come of age rules over an expansive estate, and within this domain their authority is absolute, each a sovereign beholden to no one but themselves. The tenants who live on their lands are as much a part of their property as the fields and hills, and every Peer has the right of "pits and gallows": that is, the right to imprison or execute any of their subjects as they see fit. Some rule as enlightened despots with benevolent philosophies and codified laws, but just as many are tyrannical landlords governed by their most fleeting whims and moods. They also have the right to raise a personal guard to protect themselves and their lands, for the borders of their estates seldom go untested. If a Peer cannot stop a rival from seizing his land, then he was clearly not deserving of it, and it is common wisdom that spilled blood keep the fields fertile. Peers may not slay one another outside of a formal duel, for which the challenger is expected to provide significant evidence. However, should a Peer be murdered, their friends and kin are obligated to seek bloody revenge on their behalf. These tenants, and many lesser ones, form a Code which has never been put to paper, yet which every Peer observes.

The Familiar

Key to the power of the Sorcerer Lords and Ladies are their familiars. While they are capable of working spells on their own, they are limited to invisible, subtle magics. To affect more overt changes, they require the assistance of a familiar, a spirit, almost invariably a demon, bound to the Peer themself. The familiar does not suffer the same restrictions as the sorcerer and so are capable of far more vulgar magics: conjuring flames, granting invisibility, inflicting poxes, levitating objects or persons...there is very little limit to what they are capable of, given the right spirit.

Most familiars exist as incorporeal spirits, fetches, visible only to their summoner and those who have expanded their perception through spells. While normally incapable of physically affecting the world around them, they are capable of manifesting directly, if temporarily. Some familiars, otherwise called imps, do possess corporeal form, though they are never larger than a child.

Demons

Demons are spirits alien and utterly hostile to mortal reality, though they come in varying degrees of wickedness. Their forms, ephemeral and physical both, are always awful or grotesque in some way. Despite this, they are the favored familiars of sorcerers both because of the potency and versatility of their magics, and because those that cannot simply be dominated can be easily bargained with.

Ghosts

Imperfect echoes of the deceased, ghosts are the unquiet dead. The personalities they once had in life are inevitably warped and twisted, first by the trauma of death, then by the cold, grey stasis of the Underworld. When summoned, they invariably manifest bearing a mask, which supposed contains some cryptic symbolism. While their powers are often limited, they are often more useful sources of information than the capricious demons, even if their memories are tarnished.

Daimons

Daimons are conjured not from any otherworldly realm, but from the sorcerer's own inner psyche. More often than not, they embody one of the Seven Inescapable Faults, resembling a warped, caricatured version of the summoner.

[ooc]The world as a whole resembled a mashup of Regency, Victorian, and Edwardian-era culture, fashion, and architecture.

Technology is extremely idiosyncratic: most homes are lit by gaslight, there are few (if any) firearms, and advanced technologies like the telephone or automobile function by spirits bound within their mechanisms.

I know it's not much yet, but I'll keep updating as much as I can.[/ooc]

[Ghostman]

I think by the 'tenants' of the code there you meant to write tenets.

I find no faults with the general concept, but so far the setting comes across as a rather vanilla haughty magocracy w/ demonic bargains. One thing that might make it stand out more is the odd setup of technology briefly mentioned in the OOC box.

[Mason]

This reminds me of the little known Bartimaeus books, a series about magicians in an alternate history England that summon demons and djinni to provide them with magical powers-the only catch being that the summoned familiars want to kill the magicians, and would if they could break out of the summoning protection spells. I digress..

I agree with Ghostman that it is all a bit vanilla. You have a great premise for a world that you could take in your own unique direction. I want to know more about the Peerage, the hierarchy (if there is one) and why they have Infernal blood in their veins. You mention demons being powerful...what sorts of things would a demon want if you were to bargain with one?

I would also like to hear more about Daimons and the Inescapable Faults. (on a side note Daimon and Demon are pretty similar terms-maybe think of another name for the psychic-manifested spirits?) This is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the summoning magic system you have the groundwork for. I would like to hear more about this part...

The fact that Ghosts have masks when they manifest is incredibly cool as well. I immediately pictured those creepy ancient Sumerian statueswith the giant eyes..

If the greater technology works by bound spirits, what would happen if an automobile crashed? Would the spirits escape? Are there spirit bounty hunters for rogue spirits? Are all spirits inherently evil? Are some pranksters? Facetious? Insane?

This is a good start with many interesting possibilities/ideas to explore. Looking forward to more and welcome to the CBG.

[SA]

Did the first sorcerers acquire their tainted blood by accident or design? Are any of the Peers' demonic ancestors "alive" today? Do the Peers feel any sense of kinship with demons? Do their tenants know the source of sorcerous power? If so, what do they think of it?

Does the right of pits and gallows extend to a sorcerer's own children? Can Peers become "unblooded", either literally or symbolically, and thereby subject to the perils of mundane existence? Do the Peers have a moral code? Is there any principle or power to which sorcerers are accountable?

Given the Peers' arcane insights, why is it only "common wisdom" that spilled blood keeps fields fertile, rather than an acknowledged truth of the setting's metaphysics?

What do familiars think of their masters? How free are they to act in their own interest, if at all? When familiars become corporeal, where do they get their substance from? Is a demonic familiar safe to keep around the house? Do demons have an antithesis?

Can ghosts become people again? Do sorcerers ever travel to the Underworld, and if so, how dangerous is it? Do all souls end up in the Underworld, and if not, where do they go?

The Seven Inescapable Faults: are they faults in the human character or faults in the fabric of the world?

[Seraph]

I really like this idea.  I'd like to see how a world ruled by Faustian mages develops.  You've already received a lot of questions, so I won't overload you with more just yet, but I will be watching this.  It definitely has potential.

[Bordermarcher]

I guess I'm next, then. And I was totally prepared to let this topic sink to the bottom of the forum and die a quiet, entropic death.

Well, here you are.

Did the first sorcerers acquire their tainted blood by accident or design? Are any of the Peers' demonic ancestors "alive" today? Do the Peers feel any sense of kinship with demons?

The narcissism of the Peerage is truly impressive; as an institution, it displays an almost contemptuous attitude towards histories that date before the individuals' lifetimes. As such, there are no complete records or accounts of how the infernal taint first entered into the bloodlines. The various dynasties each hold to their own, often-contradictory traditions, some of which state that their ancestors intermingled with demons intentionally, others claiming that they were instead the victims of rapacious predation. Some refuse to dwell on such hypotheses altogether. The legendary demons who supposedly sired the Peers may well yet exist in the deepest bowels of their wretched dimension, the greatest of sacrifices made by the shadow and mystery cults made in their awful names.

Do their tenants know the source of sorcerous power? If so, what do they think of it?

The peasants who dwell on the Peer's estates are acutely, horribly aware of where their powers come from. While this cowering terror is entirely justified by the empirical evidence of just how hideously a demon can mangle or kill an upstart tenant, it often blossoms into exaggerated superstition. Most of the lower class is not, for instance, aware that the Peers' magic is almost entirely dependent on their familiars: the common assumption is that their inherent abilities are far more potent than they actually are. In the face of such power, some among the peasantry rage and plot, but in doing so risk terrible punishment. Most tenants simply endure their trembling, paranoid existence and seek to avoid the attentions of their landlords whenever possible.

Does the right of pits and gallows extend to a sorcerer's own children?

One of the petty curses of the Peer's blood is that it is incredibly difficult for them to conceive children, with many different herbal potions and treatments required simply for the seed to take root. Even then, the fruit that develops is often morbidly tainted. It is because this unfortunate fact that Ladies traditionally give birth blindfolded, so as not to have to look up a twisted, hideous stillbirth...or worse.

But when the child is healthy and viable, they are, from the moment their cord is cut and they are severed from their mother, one of the Peerage. They are expected to be treated as such, though they are equally duty-bound to show deference to their elder family until they come of age.

Far easier is it for Peers to sire children with peasants. Such bastards rarely express any inkling of sorcerous power; those that do may be accepted into the Peerage, while those who do not are treated as any other tenant, which includes sharing their status under the right of pits and gallows. Several Peers have exercised such rights to keep their indiscretions from becoming known.

Can Peers become "unblooded", either literally or symbolically, and thereby subject to the perils of mundane existence?

Do the Peers have a moral code? Is there any principle or power to which sorcerers are accountable?

If there is a central tenet to which all Peers hold themselves, it is this: do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law. Everyone is responsible for his or her own actions, permitted to do whatever they desire but expected to accept the consequences of their actions. An addendum to this broad code would be the principle of talionis: blood for blood, bone for bone, an heir for an heir, a wife for a wife.

Given the Peers' arcane insights, why is it only "common wisdom" that spilled blood keeps fields fertile, rather than an acknowledged truth of the setting's metaphysics?

While the elder demons in the bowels of the Nameless Spheres shriek and chatter with delight at the bloody sacrifices offered down to them by the mystery cults, it does not keep the land fertile. No, Peers to not assemble bands of men-at-arms and invade each other's borders, hungry spirits beside them like baying hounds, to slay a handful of their rival's tenants and usurp their lands as part of some arcane fertility ritual. They do it to expand their own estates, to increase their own reputation as a sorcerer to be feared, and to invigorate themselves and escape the entropic lure of absolute power. All other reasons are merely florid justifications concealing base motivations.

What do familiars think of their masters? How free are they to act in their own interest, if at all?

The ritual by which a spirit is bound as a familiar is a profoundly intimate one. The sorcerer slices off a miniscule sliver of their own soul and feeds it to the spirit, binding the two on an existential level. As such, no familiar ever holds a moderate opinion of their master. They are doggedly obsessed or fumingly embittered, slavishly devoted or furiously insubordinate. All, however, are obedient, though some may be more active in their attempts to subvert the spirit of their commands. Bound as they are to the sorcerer, familiars can be magically compelled to action they refuse to undertake willingly, but most retain their own distinctive personalities and are often very vocal in expressing their opinions, good or ill.

When familiars become corporeal, where do they get their substance from?

When a demon coalesces in the material realm, it adopts a form comprised of the Hateful Element, a substance native to the horrid realm from which they are spawned. Ghosts assume bodies of ectoplasm; eidolons, condensed psychic energy; and elementals are obviously composed of one of the seven natural elements: air, earth, water, fire, sulfur, salt, or mercury.

Is a demonic familiar safe to keep around the house?

The make life a living hell for the staff, if that's what you're asking.

Do demons have an antithesis?

It is a quiet fear amongst the Peerage that there exist higher realms every bit as alien as the Nameless Spheres below, home to entities hostiles to demons and by extension, the Peers themselves. As of yet, such paranoia has proven to be mercifully-unfounded.

Can ghosts become people again?

A ghost is but a hollow shell of what was once a living soul, their personality a distorted echo. When the body dies and putrefies, so too does the spirit it contained, all warmth and vibrancy sloughing off until all the remains is a spectre wearing the masque of the person it once was.

Do sorcerers ever travel to the Underworld, and if so, how dangerous is it? Do all souls end up in the Underworld, and if not, where do they go?

To drop the in-character tone, I'm actually considering doing away with the idea of the Underworld as a distinct realm altogether. I was inspired by a quote that supposedly originated from an actual exorcisms: "the living are surrounded by their dead."

The Seven Inescapable Faults: are they faults in the human character or faults in the fabric of the world?

The Seven Inescapable Faults are the tragic flaws inherent in all people, but most of all in the greatest among them, the Peers. Hubris, Lust, Wrath, Avarice, Gluttony, Sloth, Envy: the meek revile them, for they can drive men and women to acts of unspeakable wretchedness, but they can also elevate them to works of unparalleled greatness. They are the seven dooms all Peers seek to avoid, but knowing they are powerless to do so, endeavor to face on their own terms.

[SA]

I guess I'm next, then. And I was totally prepared to let this topic sink to the bottom of the forum and die a quiet, entropic death.

BWAHAHAHA! No-one escapes.

Is a ghost's mask a better reflection of the person than the ghost itself? What is beneath the mask? Can the mask be separated?

"A wife for a wife" suggests patrilineality. Are there female Peers? Are they held in the same esteem?

Do Peers feel love? Do they practice charity? Do they wear their corruptions like garments, or is the taint more subtle? Is it shameful?

What happens to the malformed newborns? Are they destroyed? Kept as pets? Recycled for parts? Banished to realms unknown?

Do the seven elements have conceptual/symbolic properties in addition to their material ones? If so, what are they? Is the Hateful Element harmful to the touch? What colour is it? Is it lighter than air or heavier than lead? Is it pure hate - HATE HATE HATE - and nothing else?

Are the Seven Inescapable Faults components of sorcery? Is each one tied to an element? How does each flaw uniquely contribute to Peer society?

Most Importantly: What do the players do in this world of conscienceless amorality? What forces oppose them, giving context to their lives and a reason to struggle? What do the Peers seek to accomplish, as agents of player will? What mechanisms are built into this setting to prevent players running around in circles?

And A Suggestion: Having the protagonists allied with malign faustian demons provides for interesting conflicts. I recommend elaborating on the "entities hostile to demons", because a setting driven by metaphysics should have a significant metaphysical threat. I am intrigued by the idea of the heroes allied with "evil" against something worse than evil... Or, more intriguingly, allied against something nobler than themselves.

Just a thought. :wink:

EDIT: Also, in the interest of plagiarism, you might want to check this out. Steerpike pretty much wrote the book on the Dark and the Amoral here in the CBG.

[Bordermarcher]

"A wife for a wife" suggests patrilineality. Are there female Peers? Are they held in the same esteem?

I'll answer this right away, if only because I totally sent the wrong message with that. I originally wrote it as "a husband for a husband", but that felt way too clunky and I never much liked the word spouse to begin with. The Peerage is near-perfectly egalitarian, in terms of gender. Women are accorded the exact same levels of status and esteem as men. They dress in the same livery and ride out to battle wielding gleaming lance and terrible hex. In a society where sexual characteristics have no bearing on whether or not a Peer can literally draw the soul from your body, gender roles among the elite are more or less nonexistent. I guess I'll also mention here that homosexuality is viewed as, at worst, an amusing eccentricity, with copulation between partners of the same sex serving no reproductive function. Usually.

Yeah, let that sink in for a moment.

And I've written no less than three PMs to Steerpike apologizing for plagiarizing, possibly plagiarizing, or thinking about possibly plagiarizing his work. Please don't make me write more. 

[SA]

It sunk in. Now I wish it would resurface and fly away.

*shudders*

And I've written no less than three PMs to Steerpike apologizing for plagiarizing, possibly plagiarizing, or thinking about possibly plagiarizing his work. Please don't make me write more.

I endorse plagiarism. This whole message board is a cesspool of conceptual inbreeding. Steal every gem you can, from everyone you can.

[Bordermarcher]

Is a ghost's mask a better reflection of the person than the ghost itself? What is beneath the mask?

The mask worn by a ghost embodies (if such a term should be applied to the incorporeal) the person they once were. The longer the shade has been dead, the more complex and exaggerated the features of this façade becomes, gradually taking a shape that is less and less recognizable as human as the spectre forgets what it was like to exist as one of the quick.  Those Peers who excel at necromancy suggest that it is possible to divine the nature of a ghost through careful examination of even minor details: the circumference of the eyes or the precise angle at which the corners of the mouth curve up or down, for instance.

Can the mask be separated?

To remove the mask from a ghost is to obliterate utterly their personalities and consign them to oblivion; such a feat requires powerful necromantic magics. When a spirit is 'unmasked', their remnants calcify in the form of a literal, tangible mask. Such 'death-masks' are considered the part of a talented, if ruthless, necromancer and make for much conversation at masquerades.

Do Peers feel love? Do they practice charity? Do they wear their corruptions like garments, or is the taint more subtle? Is it shameful?

Though they bear an infernal patina, the Peers are still very much human, the taint offering no protection against the vagaries of the heart. They experience the entire spectrum of emotion and feeling every bit as intensely as any peasant, perhaps even more so. The culture of the Peerage reveres that which sets them apart and above the untainted peasantry: the popular nickname "Great Beast" is one ostensibly born of respect and admiration. Though they may be celebrated for behaving as monsters, they are expected to be rational, dignified monsters.

Despite this, not every Peer thinks the lives of their tenants have no worth beyond the tribute they provide, or cares nothing of taking the life of their lessers, or feels comfortable trafficking with the more malign of demons. Such opinions, however, rarely survive the 'enlightened awfulness' of the Peerage unblemished and uncompromised.

Are the Seven Inescapable Faults components of sorcery? Is each one tied to an element?

The Seven Inescapable Faults are less of absolute metaphysical truths and more of a broad philosophy seeking to explain why men and women act as they do, even when such actions will inevitably end with their downfall. They are simultaneously reviled and exalted, but more than anything, they are seen as just that: inescapable. The Peers consider it a simple fact of their condition that they feel the influence of the Faults more acutely than the lower class, so productively or artistically embracing them is a proper, even enlightening, thing to do...so long as one avoids the doom that often accompanies them. Consciously avoiding them altogether is seen as noble, in a naïve, humorous so of way, but ultimately shortsighted.

Important to remember is that they are the Seven Inescapable Faults, not Flaws: when you cut an unremarkable stone into a glittering diamond, you strike along the faults.

How does each flaw uniquely contribute to Peer society?

Hm. I honestly don't know; I'll get back to you on that. Any suggestions of your own?

As an existential threat: The Courts of the Fey dwell in the strange realm on the other side of the Border Marches, the path to which can only be found in wild, arcadian reaches. Goblin merchants emerge bearing fantastic wares to trade with members of the Peerage: strange fruits and spices, exotic brews, faespun textiles, enchanted spears and mirrors, and all manner of petty trinkets only they can produce. Some Peers also endeavor to make Contracts with them, for the oath of a Fey is of irreproachable worth and great power. In return for such boons, they often demand grim compensation: humans, infants most of all, are the preferred payment, though the traders can occasionally be convinced to accept something less macabre, but often immensely rarer.

But the Fey do not always cross the threshold with intentions of peace. Sometimes, they ride out from the Border Marches in force, on monstrous steeds, wielding their own strange magics, changeling footmen and hobgoblin war-beasts marching beside them. There are few, Peer or peasant, who do not fear the awful ring of the Wild Hunt, for it comes to kill and plunder and ravage without rhyme or reason, dragging the shrieking survivors back to their own lands in fetters. It is one of the reasons so many tenants willingly accept subjugation by the Peerage, for their infernal spells and familiars are far more effective against the otherworldly invaders than mortal arms. Indeed, doing battle against an incursion of the Wild Hunt is an easy way for a Peer to earn a reputation for military prowess, for the battles are deemed much more 'legitimate' than the half-ritualized skirmishes between rivals.

[ooc]The rest to follow later, along with some new material. Thank you so much for these questions, Exegesis; you're really giving me the impetus to think about my setting a lot more intensely and critically instead of just dumping setting details onto a page. Keep it up! And definitely don't feel like you can't grab a lance and stab the setting full of bloody holes...though I honestly doubt you do.[/ooc]

[sparkletwist]

And I've written no less than three PMs to Steerpike apologizing for plagiarizing, possibly plagiarizing, or thinking about possibly plagiarizing his work. Please don't make me write more.

What Exegesis said. :D

Just remember to spread it around.  :grin:
(And then, you too can be shamelessly plagiarized!)

Anyway.
I like the feel of it. I've always enjoyed the Regency and/or Victorian look and feel, especially when you start throwing in weird elements. I do have to admit I'm not a huge fan of settings where there's a certain class that is inherently "better than you" by virtue of bloodline or whatever, though. Perhaps it's still too much influence from the fantasy archetype (that D&D etc. are decent at emulating) of the peasant farmer rising out of the dirt and becoming a great warrior, or mage, or whatever.

I'm also somewhat skeptical about the social order. As I understand it, part of what allowed Europe to develop socially were concepts like human rights, property rights and the notion of sovereignty. Of course, it hasn't always been so strong in practice, but at least having the pretense allowed society to progress. The notion of "you can do whatever you want on your land, until someone else comes and grabs it" is, of course, how it really works-- at least when we are being at our most cynical-- but a society that actually promotes that ideal will tend to have pretty stunted social progress. For anyone who isn't a Peer, life probably sucks bad. And since it's all by blood-- there's no way out, is there? That's kind of depressing and, truthfully, probably boring. It seems like a bit of social upheaval would make things a lot more interesting.

I'm sorry if this review seems rather negative. It's just that constructive criticism is often the most useful. In general, I do like it.  :)

[Bordermarcher]

sparkletwist: Yeah, I probably over-emphasized the oppressiveness of the Peerage and under-emphasized that while the Peers pretty much exclusively authoritarian in how they run their estates, they're not all "a boot stamping on a human face -- forever"-level totalitarian dictators. To a large degree, the setting's a willfully-anachronistic mashup of various historical tropes; so while the look and feel is broadly Regency/Victorian/Edwardian, the whole social system has a definite touch of Medieval feudalism. But, like I hinted at and really should have clarified better, plenty of Peers inhabit the area of "enlightened despots"  who don't necessarily see their tenants as disposable sources of income, but who also aren't particularly enthralled with the idea of free democracy and are still willing to use force to maintain their authority. For the good of the estate, of course. And just because peasants have the legal standing of cows or trees doesn't mean that Peers don't become attached to any of their servants.

Sorry if that's a very rushed, cursory response; I'm utterly swamped today, but still wanted to let you know I looked at your comments. I'll definitely be taking everything you said into account as I expand the setting further. Don't feel bad for giving me harsh constructive criticism. Like you said, it's one of the best ways to know what works and what doesn't.

[Seraph]

Have you read Girl Genius?  Admittedly it works with Steampunkish Technology, but the Peers do remind me somewhat of the Sparks in that comic.  It's got quite a bit of the Victorian/Edwardian aesthetic, and a good deal of the technology is indistinguishable from magic.  Then there is the "Heterodyne" bloodline that gets a lot of attention.  If you haven't it would be worth looking into, and at least seeing if there is anything that clicks.