Ferakoss - Discussion

[DeeL]

I think I just came up with a solution to a number of minor cunundrae.

Why is it that if Fedric Fewbrains the Sorcerer and Wendy Witful the Wizard each develop or refine the spell Alarm, the spell has precisely the same effects and properties as the same spell looked up in the Library of Spellbooks at the Arcane Guild, or whatever?  Same range, same area, everything.

And why exactly do sorcerers gain spells at all?  There is occasional chitchat about 'force of will', but that's really a property of Wisdom, not Charisma.  The meta-game reason is 'to make Charisma more important', but what's the in-game reason?

And does nobody see that the spell Alarm, once cast, demonstrates the same kind of intelligence as a Weird spell?  It thinks for itself, it discriminates between persons, it interacts with the minds to which it is tuned.  

I think I found a hint in the Tome of Magic - specifically, pactmaking.

In pactmaking, the binder cuts a deal with a supernatural intelligence.  It's terribly simple.  The binder gives the intelligence, referred to as a vestige, an interval of real existence.  In exchange, for that interval, the vestige gives the binder a set of supernatural abilities.  

In Ferakoss, this is the oldest form of magic.  Vestiges aren't necessarily the remnants of creatures that once were powers or gods, but are perhaps 'misfired gods', entities that might have been divinities but that lost some of their capacities before they could ascend to true deification.  The result is that they are now the guardians of damaged portfolios, able to give them only to people who interact with them in a certain way.  Unable to become objects of worship, they can still transact for their limited magical skills, taking what they can get in return.

So what if spells are the same thing?

Part of the cosmology of Ferakoss involves mighty spirits at the beginning of creation being rather undifferentiated numbers, and distilling themselves into gods and other kinds of immortal powers over time.  What if some of these lesser numbers became Spells?

My crude beginning theory is this - over time, some of the dawn spirits were bound to the supernatural essence of magical creatures like fae and dragons.  They became the guardians of specific powers, like Resistance and Charm, ministering to those very specific needs of the mortal creatures under the leadership of the true deities.  

Over time, some of these beings became vaguely conscious - previously they had been a bit like lesser elementals, machinelike organizers of their own abilities.  But as some grew more intelligent, they began to hunger for a greater variety of expressions, and so became what we would know as vestiges (now rather poorly named.)

But others, while they might not be truly intelligent, became more flexible in their manifestations.  Before this development, they could only be Alter Self (for example) for a particular race of fae, whereas now they could be Alter Self for anyone who invoked them - that is to say, anyone who prepared and cast the spell.

These beings would function for anyone who became connected to them in some way - either by researching their nature and refining this connection as a kind of contract (that is, Wizard learning), or by inheriting this connection (that is, as a Supernatural or Spell-like ability), or by attracting the minimal powers of attention these beings have by, well, being attractive.  Like sorcerers.

All of them together would comprise a kind of 'Akashic Record' of spells.  Some would be associated with certain deities and bloodlines - indeed, the ones associated with healing might be exclusively controlled by divine power, hence the inability of wizards and sorcerers to use healing spells.

This bank of spell-spirits - lets call it the Arcanic Record - would be open to any sorcerer or wizard, and to druids and clerics as well although their spells wouldn't be transacted for directly but through their deity.  This explains why Wendy and Fedric (from the opening paragraph, see above), when searching for a spell that would tell them if the objects or areas on which it was cast were meddled with, wind up with the precise same spell in Alarm (metamagic feats notwithstanging.)  In essence, as they search, each in his or her own way, a tiny strand of barely sentient but coherent magical will makes itself known to them as the bundle of effects for which they seek.

So what should these spell-spirits be called?  Does anyone have ideas on the terminology here?  'Vestiges', with its suggestion of something left over from the collapse of something else, wouldn't quite cut it.

[DeeL]

I've decided that the Incarnum in Ferakoss was introduced a long time ago when the Dusklings, the descendants of exiled psionics-using fey, returned to Ferakoss from the High Planes and settled in the lands of the Mishtai, then a simple reptilian folk.  Through the efforts of the Dusklings, the Mishtai became supremely powerful meldshapers, and set themselves the task of achieving perfection of form.

I've decided that Mershaulk, the current god of the Yuan-ti, was a Mishtai, the very one who suggested using a combination of psionics and meldshaping to link the minds of the Mishtai such that they would all be able to contribute to the coming perfection.  This was a ruse; the technique used would subject the Mishtai race to the will of Mershaulk, making them his creatures.

I've decided that the Dusklings would have misgivings about the whole effort, possibly even knowing directly of Mershaulks plan.  Some of the Mishtai attempted to reject the 'planned perfection', and perhaps they allied with the Dusklings when they strove to foil the plot.  

The catch is that for some reason, the only way to stop the plot in time was to remove the focus of the telepathic link from the Acceptors - the Skarn - to the Rejectors - the Rilkans.  In the course of this shattered ritual, the Incarnum was bound to the Wellspring, a slab of pure Incarnum perhaps located in the caldera of the great volcano of Coallu.

This would not only result in the creation of the creatures and phenomena found in Magic of Incarnum, or perhaps merely their forebears.  They would also engender the Shadar-Kai(from Fiend Folio), as well as the Yuan-Ti and the Jade Phoenix Magi(as found in Book of Nine Swords).  Perhaps Mersshaulk is the Serpent the Jade Phoenix Magi are trying to keep imprisoned/somnolent.

My question is, how much history should I try to nail down all the events of this?  Or should I just lump it all under a mysterious time known as the Twilight Event, and let people work it out for themselves?

[CYMRO]

My question is, how much history should I try to nail down all the events of this? Or should I just lump it all under a mysterious time known as the Twilight Event, and let people work it out for themselves?

At least a rough historical outline, say a year by year with the highlights only.  That gives you a framework if needed later.

I can't really comment more than that as I have not given Incarnum a once over...

[DeeL]

Okay, after months of distraction and creative block, I'm back.  And I've got a clue.  Kind of.


The basic form of magic is binding.  The transaction between binder and vestige is the template for all magical effects that aren't 'natural' to the user.  And that means I finally know what a spell is.

At the beginning of all things, the Creator engendered mighty spirits but did not name them.  He declared that their naming would be in the hands of the peoples who would dwell in the world of mortal matter, and that so named they would have a hand in creation itself.

Some of these spirits, the mightiest of them all, eventually became gods (this wasn't the only path to divinity, merely the most primal.)  Others strove to become gods, but found themselves inadequate for whatever reasons.  These became vestiges, and begged the marshall of creation, Io, for a place in existence.  This was permitted, but the vestiges were cursed, thus - in punishment for their impatience, they would never exist of themselves, but only insofar as a mortal permitted them to share existence.  

As these vestiges immersed themselves in the little life they were permitted, other unnamed spirits came to percieve the existence of a vestige as something enviable, however limited it might be.  They begged for a chance to become vestiges themselves, and pledged that they would forever serve the gods who granted them such a small place.

Io was pleased at their humility, and granted them a subtler gift - they would become veritiges, tiny fragments of truth that would link the Prime Material Plane to other planes in subtle patterns at the service of mortal creatures.  The first veritiges served the dragons, Io's favored children, as the spells of sorcery.

A veritige is a disembodied spirit of vast power but extremely specific purpose.  Essentially, a spellcaster who prepares a spell is contacting the veritige of that spell and striking a bargain therewith - the spellcaster will grant the veritige the opportunity to take part in reality, and in return the veritige will give the spellcaster the boon implicit in it's pattern.  

This would seem to me to explain a great many things about the nature of spellcasting.  For one thing, certain spells very often seem to have a limited intelligence of their own.  This might be partly explained by the notion of a spell taking part of the spellcasters intelligence for its duration, but there seems more to it than that.  How precisely does Explosive Runes know to not detonate until it is read?  When you cast Divination, what precisely is it that answers?  (Oh sure, you can say it's a 'servant of the cleric's god', but that doesn't completely answer, does it?  What, Tiamat keeps a few devils around just to chit-chat with random priestly inquisitors?)

More fundamentally, it explains why spells with the same intended effects have the same traits regardless of their source.  Hold Person, for example.  If a cleric prays for a 2nd lvl spell for restraining movement, he gets a Hold Person.  If a wizard researches such a spell for himself, he gets the same Hold Person as if he had looked it up in a higher level wizards library.  If a sorcerer decides that being able to lock down an adversary would be a good trick to have, the spell he 'knows' is Hold Person.  The gestures, words and arcane focus might be different, there might be a distinguishing visual effect - maybe the clerics version causes the symbol of the divinity to appear over the held subject - but it's always good for 100' + 10' per lvl, and its duration always corresponds with the personal power of the caster.

In my schema, this is not merely a convenience of bookkeeping.  There is actually a veritige, Hold Person, barely sensate in itself but capable of lending it's immobilizing power to a caster in exchange for being allowed to take that part in existence.  It is hardly a god, or even a complete vestige, but it is still a being of truly vast power - if every possible caster in existence were to prepare and cast Hold Person at the same time, the veritige would not be 'overloaded', simply very pleased with itself.  A bit like a dog that has just done a trick it didn't realize it could do, and been petted by its master.

This also explains why some spells are strictly divine, and others strictly arcane.  The various permutations of Cure Wounds should be well within the complexity and power limits of wizards or sorcerers repetoires, but it may be that the veritiges of such spells will only transact with casters who already have an arrangement with divine will in some form.

This is the way magic is going to work in Ferakoss.  So?  Any thoughts?  Criticisms?  Refinements?  

Edit:  Yes, I know I just paraphrased what I posted months ago, but now I have a name for the phenomenon, and I needed to dust off the cobwebs anyway.

[Endless_Helix]

Wow. Aside from the sheer volume, I have to say the progression makes sense. Pact magic is like a crude form of divine magic. I'm not entirely certain I like the concept of having spells be sentient pseudo-entities, but it is an interesting idea and does explain the abitrary arrangement of spells.

[DeeL]

It's coming.

I'm finally going to get off my can, and start the concentrated work of putting the Ferakoss setting proper on these boards.  One thing over which I'm hesitating is format - I figure I'll start by reserving a load of posts at the beginning.  On the WotC boards, I've been doing a book-by-book approach, but here I think it would be more convenient to go by category.  They should go in the following order -

Timeline
General History
Player Character Races
Core Classes
Prestige Classes/Organizations
Spells/Magic Items/Phenomena
Monsters/Non-Player Races
Geography/Maps

Am I leaving anything out?  Here's a preliminary timeline.[spoiler=Timeline in Progress]All dates given in BA (Before the Accord) and YA (Year of the Accord).  These dates are the common dates used by the Accord historians.  Dragons keep their own system which is far more precise, and is occasionally used by the elves.  The goblinoids insist on keeping their own dating system, which only goes back about 3,000 years.  

pre 800,000 BA - prehistoric ages.  There are some draconic records from this time, but they are neither consistent nor complete.  There is a strong implication that the order of planar energies was different then, and that aberrations invaded from the Far Realms in force.

c. 800,000 BA - Io establishes the current mystical configuration of alignments, possibly even arranging the Great Wheel.  The Cerulean Sign is made extant to counter and imprison the remaining aberrations.  Planar gates open up connecting the various plena, manifesting as the Silver Roads in Ferakoss.  Io establishes the first pantheon, consisting of himself and 17 gods, 1 for each of the kindreds of dragons extant in that age.  Little is recorded of these primeval gods, but one of them was Tiamat.  Chronepsis was certainly in existence at this time as well, although it appears he was not part of the pantheon proper.  Several of the original 17 kindreds of dragons are extinct - the brown dragons appear to have had a direct hand in the destruction of their patron god, and of the cobalt dragons nothing remains but the name.

c. 60,000 BA - The elves and halflings of Coallu begin to extend their influence world-wide.  The elves of this age are fundamentally similar to the elves of today; the most reliable records indicate that the halflings of this age were arboreal in their living habits.

c. 20,000 BA - The dragon pantheon is reorganized into its present form, and the dragon races stabilize into their current 10 kindreds.  As a result of this new arrangement, the metallic dragons abandon Sorian to the elves.  Although lesser communities of elves exist elsewhere, Sorian becomes the grand homeland of elvenkind.

The scattered bands of halflings have by this time developed into the recognizeable ancestors of dwarves, gnomes, and neanderthals, as well as the halflings themselves in their modern forms.  

c. 5,000 BA - The sharakim begin their history in the southern reaches of Porgaron.  They are clearly older than this, and there are signs that they were artificially altered from neanderthal stock.  The great number of the population of the sharakim eventually descended into the modern race of orcs; some sharakim remain, but their numbers continue to dwindle.

The families of the titans and djinni, known as the Exile Wave, emmigrate to the Third Plenum and settle in Ferakoss.  Finding the land already somewhat settled, the peoples of the Exile Wave produce the Empyrean Cores, which permit clouds to be solidified into skyborne islands and continents.  Within a century, the descendants of the Exile Wave become recognizeable as the giants, and descend to the land in ongoing alliances with the dragon nations.

c. 3,000 BA - The Drakojovian Wars have begun.  Sorcerous empowerment is in use by the dragons to increase the power of their giantish servants.  The Sorianic elves begin to transact with the gods for spells of clerical magic.  The elves use their new clerical powers to grant sorcerous power to themselves and their halfling confederates.  Soon afterwards, the halflings discover that careful study of written sorcerous spells - scrolls - will allow non-sorcerers to cast the relevant arcane spell.  This is the development of the wizardly professions, which is quickly shared with a great number of the elves allies.

c. 2,800 BA - Neanderthals captured by dragons and giants for extensive arcane hybridization.  This project is instigated by the chromatic dragons at first, but is sustained and modified by the metallic dragon and giant nations.  Ethereal filchers have clearly been engendered at some point prior to this, and have a significant part in the spread of human-related arcanological processes throughout various dragon kingdoms.

c. 2,500 BA - The gnomish peoples develop the druidic tradition.  They share this as best they can with their own allies; the elves make less effective use of this newfound power than the neanderthals and halflings.

c. 2,300 BA - Modern humans are extant as slave warriors in the service of all of the dragon and giant nations.  They have also developed their own form of dragonsong which eventually becomes bardic traditions.

2,000 BA - The first free nations of humans are established in places concealed from the dragon and giant nations.  The first distinctly human gods emerge, beginning to make themselves minor parts of the Ioic pantheon.  The elves of Sorian, having mastered the knowledge of wizardry, begin to actively conceal free humans from the combatants of the Drakojovian Wars, and encourage their allies to do likewise.

The athach have been engendered an unknown interval previous to this.

1500 BA - The enslaved humans and the secret nations of humanity begin to develop a common culture, mythology and language, under the guidance of a powerful sect of bardic spies, the descendants of which are known as the Fochluchan Lyrists.  This ongoing process makes humans less tractable; humanities days as the principle slave stock for dragons and giants are thus numbered.

1000 BA - The diminished stock of slaves begins to tell on the armed forces of giants and dragons, neither of whom are sufficiently prolific to rely on their own numbers.  The giants begin an organized program of undead development, whereas the dragons begin to attract more and more powerful outsider allies to their cause.  These disparate approaches accelerate the ongoing discord between dragonish and giantish interests; giants have long since ceased to be beholden to the dragon nations, and now begin to pursue their own goals in earnest.

800 BA - The elves of Sorian, through careful examination of the trends of the Drakojovian Wars, determine that unless drastic steps are taken Ferakoss, and perhaps the whole of the Third Plenum, will be consumed by war and rendered too badly damaged to permit conscious lifekind.  Reluctantly, they decide that the elf races are too scarce and passive overall to enact the necessary policies to avert this.  Humanity is selected as the best candidate for the successor race; the human bardic tradition is remade into the Fochluchan Lyrists proper, whose mission is not only to keep humanity safe and stable but to prepare humanity for a formative role in a future multi-racial civilization.

700 BA - Devourers arise from giantish experimentation.

500 BA - The humans remaining in thrall to the dragons are almost now extinct, having been hybridized with various outsider interests - dragon armies are not principally half-fiend and half-celestial, whereas giantish armies are rounded out by various forms of  undead.  Meanwhile, the nations of humanity continue to secretly grow in numbers and sophistication, refining the weapons and tactics that will assure them victory when they truly join the battle.  Bards of various races begin the subtle work of instigating unease and dissatisfaction in the great number of the dragons half-breeds.  The elves, meanwhile, begin to prepare a ritual which will volatize the outsider and undead forces of the Drakojovian armies.

1 BA - The bardic work bears fruit, and the various half-breeds, upon receiving a quiet signal, desert the Drakojovian Wars for the lands of Coallu, where they remain to this day.  This sudden mass desertion causes confusion in the principle armies; the dragon and giant forces are just beginning to marshall for an invasion of Coallu by years' end.

Late Winter, Year of the Accord, First Year of the New Reckoning - The elves withdraw in great numbers from Sorian to Arvandor, and enact the ritual of the Sorian Sacrifice.  Sorian is annihilated.  A pulse of mystical power subjects every undead and outsider to a potent dismissal; the main dragon and giant armies are decimated with a single stroke.  Interplanar structures are slightly realigned - the Silver Roads are slammed shut, summonings are rendered extremely difficult for over a year, and deep subterranean gates to the Far Realms are 'loosened'; some of these are subsequently opened by remaining communities of native aberrations.

Springtime, Year of the Accord - The nation of humanity arises as a group, using sufficient force and resolve to compel the leaders of the great nations of the world to attend the first Grand Conclave of the Accord.  (So far this is the only such Grand Conclave; the Accord is structured such that there will only ever be another if the entire Accord and each of it's associated nations is under direct and evident threat.)  Storm, cloud, stone, fire and ocean giants and all the metallic dragon nations, as well as the blue and green dragon nations, sign the accord along with the remaining elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and other associated nations.  Black dragons and hill and frost giants never sign as citizens in significant numbers; the red dragons reject the Accord utterly and declare unending war thereon.

10 YA-20 YA - The newly formed island chain in the Aggean Sea is settled by a mysterious people from the astral plane calling themselves the Shazhal Kou.  

32 YA - The first Paladins become evident within the enforcement arm of the Accord; the Accord begins to assume supernatural power of its own.[/spoiler]

[DeeL]

There should also be a 'rules' section, and one for 'trivia'.  Mounts should have an entry of their own, but perhaps they should be under 'Trivia' or 'Monsters'.  Anyone have any suggestions on that point?

[Raelifin]

Reserve an extra one. You never know. ;)

What exactly is "trivia"? It seems a bit broad and unimportant. After all, trivia is trivial. I'd put mounts under equipment.

I have a chapter in my book outlined for nothing but rules variations. If you're into homebrew (I haven't read Ferakoss, sorry) I suggest that you go through with the "rules" idea.

[DeeL]

Trivia would include things like the escule plants - plants that can feed anything - gnomish timekeeping, constellations and other stellar bodies (might put that under the geography tab), everburning candles, ... you know, trivia.  In game terms, unimportant.  Just little things here and there that make it a distinct setting.

[Raelifin]

Okay. You're asking for help so I'll say what I'd do with those.

I'd make an intro post and have word data (timekeeping, astronomy, etc.) in there. I'd put neat items in the equipment section. If herbology is important I'd make a tab for that in your monsters post (I generally think of monster books as bestiaries/biology tomes). If you have other facets of culture that are important to the world, include them in cultural sections. Non-important stuff, IMO, doesn't make much sense to include. Either it's important to you to include it, or it shouldn't be included. If it's important to include it, don't brand it as trivial.

I came, I read, I suggested.

[DeeL]

Thanks Rael.  Pretty good suggestion, especially on the combining of Beast and Plant categories.  I have a feeling that  no matter how long I go over this, I'm going to start off with the feeling that I'm forgetting something, like wondering if I've turned off the stove when taking off for the weekend...

[DeeL]

Whoops.  Finally put up the second part of the Magic Of Incarnum post on the WotC boards, and accidentally placed the warforged in the category of 'future developments.'  I didn't really catch it until I was finished, so here I am belatedly asking if there are any warforged fans out there who want to see their favorite androids in yet another homebrewed setting.  Any thoughts?