Arga discussion thread.

[O Senhor Leetz]

It seems you are alluding that every human is in a way simply a diluted God, which is pretty cool!
But how did the first strain of mortality enter the divine lineage? Does God+Goddess simply always yield a half-god (maybe due to the conception being on the material plane)?

well not really, some could be, but this is how I picture it (the write up was really quick and by the seat of my pants, so I'll go over it again and clarify things) In the First Age, the gods created mortals, and some of the gods got frisky with the some of the mortals = half-gods.

also, the city of Otha

[ic=Otha - the Pilgrim's Port]Nicknames: The Pilgrim's Port, the Dead God's City
Resources: Paper, ancient texts, religious trinkets
Leader: The Unspoken
Population: 2,500, plus around 8,000 pilgrims at any time

Otha is a city of contradictions, a city of gods and pilgrims watched over by those who are unsure of their existence. A place owned by all yet devoted to none. Like lichen on stone, the present city is built upon ruins thought to date to the Second Age.
[/ic]

ok this will be finished later, writers block and cold hands make typing a bear. but basically, Otha is a city of shrines devoted to every god that is and ever was (some say there are hidden shrines to gods that are to be). it is ruled by a council of agnostics, who claim to be biding their time until they are sure in their decision on the nature of the gods. This is an evolution of the previous Arga's city of Merluna and it's Dead God's Ward.

also, any comments, criticisms, compliments on Arga thus far? anyone?

[O Senhor Leetz]

since we have seemed to be on a guild-wide discussion of magic and stuff, I thought I'd post a list of the "magic" that exists so far in Arga. I'm taking the "mystic mystery" approach to magic: no one's sure how or what it works, where it all comes from, if it's just one source or many, or if it comes from the gods, Arga, or something beyond. I realize there are lots of things unexplained here, but that's how I want to keep it - mysterious, and magical (Something akin to how magic is treated in ASoIaF). I've also been trying to finish up my ArgaFUDGE rules, where these magic types are used like a skill, not on their own separate system.

Verasa, the Sight-Beyong
Verasa is the ancient soothsaying and fortune telling magic of the priestesses of Salsurel. Only females so blessed by the goddess Vin-Shala may take this skill. Verasa can be used to predict the future, read signs and portents that the goddess may send, and explore the clairvoyant mysteries.
   
Phaen, the Wild Flame
The wild and savage magic of entropy and decay. In order to take this skill, a character, at creation, must claim he was born under the dire circumstances that create the Phaen-born, children blessed and cursed with the power of entropy. The Phaen-born have the ability to call on the wild power of chaos as they see fit. Foul fire, rapid decay, and vile transmutations are the realm of Phaen.

Aethra, the Great Nothing
Beyond Arga rest the Void, and through it the Aethra flows. The domain of dark gods long forgotten by all but coldest souls, the magic of the Void is the realm of the Aethramar, the cultist-philosophers of the ebon, alien lords of the realms beyond reality. Only an Aethramar deemed worthy be the denizens of the Void is allowed to tap into the Aethra, the Great Nothing. The powers of Aethra deal with antithesis' and the concept of nothingness.  

Thuerma, the Artifice Boon
Once a great force drawn from the beating heart of Arga itself, Thuerma is the ancient making-magic of the Dura. A mere shadow of what it once was, Thuerma is rare amongst the deepfolk, as many are wary that it was this magic that caused their gilded Machines to turn mad. Still, the making-magic is too useful in the Dura's crusade against their iron demons to abandon. Thuerma reveals it's powers through rune, glyphs, and artifice. While most Thuerma-users are Dura, on occasion the knowledge has been passed onto a trusted member of the Sky-Watchers (surface races).

The Steel-Song
Thought by many scholars to draw it's power from the same source as Thuerma, the Steel-Song '" a rough translation of an unpronounceable Vorr word '" is the basis of the great forge-works of the Vorr. Unlike Thuerma, no race other than the bestial Vorr seem to be able to wield this magic. Weapons and armor forged with the assistance of the Steel-Song are unparalleled in their quality, durability, and beauty.

I would really really like to hear about what everyone thinks about these so far.

[O Senhor Leetz]

[ic=The Anthos, the Wild Mortals]
Nicknames: Mankind, Manlings
Diet: Meat, fish, vegetables, grains
Homelands: The Lost Lands
Gods: Many

The Anthos
The Anthos are a people of contradictions and contrasts. They are short-lived, short-sighted, and short-tempered, but they have founded some of the greatest empires that have ever marked the face of Arga. Their cities are unsurpassed in their size and squalor, but stand as pinnacles of culture and knowledge. The Sixth Age is the time of Mankind.

Unlike the other mortal races who have retreated and safeguarded their ancestral homelands, the Anthos have a penchant for travel and an inborn wanderlust. Ever since the first ships of Manlings arrived from the distant shores of the Lost Lands on the eve of the Second Age, they have spread across Arga, forging kingdoms and cities through toil and persistence. It is said that all Anthos once looked the same - tall and strong, fair of skin and dark of hair. But now, there is little resemblance amongst them. Those from the cold reaches of the city of Kelos are strong and stout, with wind-weathered skin, eyes like pitch, and pale hair. Those of Ib are sinuous, dark, and wiry while those from the Voy Vasa sport smooth bronze skin and eyes of purple or yellow. From city to city, and region to region, the physical appearance of the Anthos changes.

Anthos society varies as much as their appearance. The free-cities of Tezzeret, Argaza, and Milas, the militant fortress of Rigus, and the ebon tower of Illix are just a few examples. In fact, the Anthos place their loyalties to their city or kingdom far before that of their race.

More to come.

[/ic]

[Superfluous Crow]

Although I know how much I'd want general comments on the setting myself, I'm not really sure I have anything to say as such. But I'll tell you if something comes to mind!
Otha seems like an interesting city. Why did it become the center of all religions? Who is the Unspoken? (you seem to have a penchant for leaders with one-word titles).
Magic:
Verasa - The name sounds more like a city than a magical discipline to me, but I might be too accustomed to -mancies and -logies :) Also, I think you spelled Beyond wrong in the title.
Phaen - would probably emphasise the darkness and entropy more. (hard to do with so little text I know, but when you eventually write more on it)
Aethra - Now, I should have some idea what this is about since I helped create the Athemancers, but I can't say that paragraph was helpful on the matter. Exactly what can Aethra do in its current incarnation?
Thuerma and Steel-Song - exactly what can Steel-Song do that Thuerma can't? Also good that Steel-Song falls out of the naming patterns set by the other.

As I understood it, you wanted to take magic in a direction where it was not so much "there are these types of magic" but rather "these guys have developed this magic, to the east we have this magic, this cult has this magic etc". Now, the way you have written this you are still somewhat in the former category. The disciplines sound universal and connected. The names have something of a similar ring to them and you only actually mention the users in the description itself where it seems more like an example than a singular fact that no one else uses that kind of magic.
Instead of drawing attention to the disciplines I would therefore draw attention to the practitioners; the cabals. So that we instead have headings like: the Oracles of Salsurel, the Fireborn, the Athemancers of the Far North etc.
In your old setting incarnation you did this with the Athemancers and they stood out as something unique. To point to someone who have done something similar you could look at Luminous Crayon's magic and the diversity it evokes just by being separate and unique (although it is probably more racially dependant than you should make it)
Well, hope that helped. And that my opinions are useful and I'm not just annoying the hell out of you; I get the feeling that, like with me, your campaign is in a state of flux until you reach that semi-perfect idea, so I reckon it is not much of a problem that I critisize your choice.
Not much to say about the Anthos/humans.

[O Senhor Leetz]

Well, hope that helped. And that my opinions are useful and I'm not just annoying the hell out of you; I get the feeling that, like with me, your campaign is in a state of flux until you reach that semi-perfect idea, so I reckon it is not much of a problem that I critisize your choice.

haha, that's exactly it. and no! please comment, more if possible, because otherwise I think I like something, and then after I built upon I realize it's inconsistent or spotty, so it's best to get criticism right of the bat. haha, you cannot comment enough, trust me!

also, any new BV stuff? what about focusing just on the north for now? Kolyaev (i spelled that wrong I know) was really really cool, and cold, snowy settings are in short supply.

[O Senhor Leetz]

The problem I'm having with magic is finding a middle ground between the regional, varied magic I want for the setting while still being able to turn it into meta-game and keep some semblance of unity. Another is a plot device or reason for people/PCs who would study magic in these specific cities to leave the city. Also, what would keep them from learning multiple schools of magic? If a PC knew like 3-4 different things of magic, I feel like it would get "muddy" and undefined.

Maybe different magics would cancel out each other, making people focus on just one? Some magics could have religious connotations to them. But not all cities have a "magic school" associated with them, and some magics, like Phaen, would be neat if they were universal. (Arga, actually, is just a continent of a much larger world, so there is some sense of cultural unity in Arga. Much like the ancient cultures of the Aegean, unified culturally, but not politically.) Any thoughts? Even questions would be welcomed, maybe I'll think of some answer I haven't!

[Lmns Crn]

Another is a plot device or reason for people/PCs who would study magic in these specific cities to leave the city.

Also, what would keep them from learning multiple schools of magic? If a PC knew like 3-4 different things of magic, I feel like it would get "muddy" and undefined.
[/quote]What do you need to do to be able to use a type of magic? You could set things up so that some/all of the magic schools have different requirements, which are mutually exclusive.

Maybe School A requires your wizard to be the host body for a symbiont magic ghost (god, that is a ridiculous phrase to type), and School B requires your wizard to have a rare crystal to focus his powers through. If ghosts are allergic to crystals, then you obviously can't have one person use both powers!

I mean, obviously this is a terrible, lame example, but based on what I've seen of Arga, you should have no problem at all coming up with more interesting ideas along this theme if you want to.

[O Senhor Leetz]

those could all work well, but I'm still trying to figure out why a certain magic would exist in just one region or city. Again, I come to the use of leylines, but that would mean classifying and organizing different types of magic for the different leylines, something I'm trying to avoid. Having the magic be "divine" *cringe* could explain it as well, but I'm loathe to have gods be tangible and proven.

[LordVreeg]

I do use my void-born sources as trhey are accessable anywhere, and actually welcome the interaction of magic, since the whole game is built to be easier to learn new skills than to get too powerful in a single discipline, especially as the character continues.

I do kind of like the ideas of nationalized/regionalized magic.  Somehow, I'm getting this sports team analogy in my head.

Other sources could include spirits of certain types or races, elemental connections, Historical resonances, ancient artifacts, the Creative Unconsious, The Carnal Urge.

And of course, Lesbianstripperninjas.

[Lmns Crn]

You could have historical reasons for it, or political reasons. Maybe a particular type of magic is prevalent in a particular area because it was invented/discovered/popularized there. Maybe it's absent in other areas because the government has outlawed it (perhaps fearing a threat to their power base), or because the superstitious natives have pushed back against it (maybe because according to their ancient beliefs, it's bad juju).

If you wanted to use religion as a factor, it seems like there'd be ways to do so without proving that religion is correct.

[O Senhor Leetz]

Other sources could include spirits of certain types or races, elemental connections, Historical resonances, ancient artifacts, the Creative Unconsious, The Carnal Urge.

And of course, Lesbianstripperninjas.

I thought something similar to that. Maybe a city was built upon the site where a god/big spirit died, and there are residual energies still left. I was also thinking artifacts or the effects of them, with Arga having 5 previous Ages, it wouldn't be hard to fathom. Having "pools" of energies could also work.

You could have historical reasons for it, or political reasons. Maybe a particular type of magic is prevalent in a particular area because it was invented/discovered/popularized there. Maybe it's absent in other areas because the government has outlawed it (perhaps fearing a threat to their power base), or because the superstitious natives have pushed back against it (maybe because according to their ancient beliefs, it's bad juju).

If you wanted to use religion as a factor, it seems like there'd be ways to do so without proving that religion is correct.

I'd like to try to avoid political reasons that run too deep, but historic, and more interesting, cultural reasons will most likely play into things, like the universal distrust of Phaen (the chaos/entropy magic)

I also should have mentioned this earlier, but I would like magic in Arga to be very similar to how magic is portrayed in ASoIaF

[Superfluous Crow]

Bloodlines is an obvious way to limit the users; only those born with the potential can eventually develop the skill. Phaen seems to be well-suited for this approach. A slight variation of this could be the "mutation" (not x-men) where an anomaly develops once in every million humans born.
Cultural ties are another obvious limiter. Steel-Song would never be taught to humans, and one would think that the Seers would only allow the children of Salsurel to join them.
It could also be explained with a sort of "cultural resonance" where only a specific mindset can align itself with the ideas behind different systems of magic. The systems are consequences of worldviews.  
You can also have enormous tuitions, hidden illegal schools, or theories that take a lifetime to learn even the basics off. Or maybe magic starts seeping out of you as soon as you direct your attention elsewhere. Plenty of options.

(As for my own setting it has always been my idea to focus on the north, and I'm writing something on a new country right now)
 

[O Senhor Leetz]

Bloodlines is an obvious way to limit the users; only those born with the potential can eventually develop the skill. Phaen seems to be well-suited for this approach. A slight variation of this could be the "mutation" (not x-men) where an anomaly develops once in every million humans born.

That could work. I was thinking that those from Salsurel could be able to see the future/past, whether it would be some bloodline thing, blessing, or "something in the water." The Phaen-born would be born under certain auspices, like having the moons aligned, having certain weather, something like that. specific and somewhat dark. Both of these, talking meta-game, would have to be an option chosen at character creation, so it could work.

You can also have enormous tuitions, hidden illegal schools, or theories that take a lifetime to learn even the basics off. Or maybe magic starts seeping out of you as soon as you direct your attention elsewhere. Plenty of options.

I'd really like to avoid using organized schools of magic in the traditional sense, even though I do have the priestesses of Salsurel, which I may axe in favor of a super-free, strange city of all these seers. Actually, I'd rather not have "book" magic in Arga, and instead make it an intuitive thing. Alchemy could take the place of "book" magic with potions and stuff taking the place of some common magic effects.

(As for my own setting it has always been my idea to focus on the north, and I'm writing something on a new country right now.

huzzah!

[Superfluous Crow]

Hmm, I personally wouldn't axe Salsurel. Having a seer-only city seems a bit artificial, so stay with the mixed approach. But I can imagine Thuerma being taught in some way, and the seers of Salsurel being taken in by the priestesses of Vin-Shala. Hmm, why not have the priestesses drug young children while they grow up to trigger their visions or rewire their entire psyche? Maybe it has side-effects. Hypersensitivity is an obvious option.
Phaen would be as unpredictable an anomaly as the magic it governs. It appears without pattern and the wielder either learns to control it or is consumed by its unholy flames (or maybe he just slowly putrefies; magical lepers?).

[O Senhor Leetz]

Hmm, I personally wouldn't axe Salsurel. Having a seer-only city seems a bit artificial, so stay with the mixed approach. But I can imagine Thuerma being taught in some way, and the seers of Salsurel being taken in by the priestesses of Vin-Shala. Hmm, why not have the priestesses drug young children while they grow up to trigger their visions or rewire their entire psyche? Maybe it has side-effects. Hypersensitivity is an obvious option.
Phaen would be as unpredictable an anomaly as the magic it governs. It appears without pattern and the wielder either learns to control it or is consumed by its unholy flames (or maybe he just slowly putrefies; magical lepers?).

oh no, I'm keep Salsurel for sure! I was just thinking about getting rid of the priesthood that ruled the city, and instead making it a more secular, vaguely occult, city of dreamers and soothsayers. Maybe those born with the sight outside of the city are inexplicably drawn to the city through visions in dreams? Or perhaps they sleep-walk/travel to the city, one day simply waking up there. And not everyone in the city would be seers, even most who claim to be are most likely street-charlatans or tarot card readers. A few though, really would have the Gift.

and you're right about the randomness of the Phaen, considering that it's the embodiment of entropy and decay. Random is good. and with your phrase of It appears without pattern and the wielder either learns to control it or is consumed by its unholy flames (or maybe he just slowly putrefies; magical lepers?)., you now know exactly how I want to portray them.