IC: First/ Second Person Cabal of Sorcerers

[Cirus]

In short, quick and easy, is anyone interested in writing a first person correspondence thread between various characters in their attempts to erect a Cabal of Sorcery?

If anyone is familiar, this is inspired from the techniques of the letter-writing game De Profundus and roughly the scenario of Ars Magica.

I envision the writing to be either straight correspondence, journal entries, parts of manuscripts, accounts, journals, any first or even second source- all connected somehow.

If I get some responses, I'll write an example below.

[Red Leaf]

Oh, this sounds VERY good - I really like the concept of epistolary games, and, though I've had a few opportunities to do that during larp downtimes etc, this sounds like a fantastic setup. Count me in!

[mai]

An epistolary game sounds fun, although I'm not familiar with either De Profundis or Ars Magica. For the uninitiated, can you give us a bit of an overview about how we can expect this to work mechanically and what the premise of the plot is?

[Cirus]

To those that would be the Cabal,

Through these cartouches and symbols I risk all for the sake of founding our Cabal, our circle of power against the growing darkness that most can barely perceive.

I use this strange medium, this web of spells, extend my consciousness into your own. All of you question, as intelligent people must in these days of darkness and ignorance. But to combat this darkness is the true purpose of our circle, our Cabal.

Weaving through the tangle of silk that is this virtual world I have found two references that may help in our pursuits.

Know that we will be drawing words "Of the dark" and thus we must utilize the system of spells in DE PROFUNDIS...

De Profundus Premise

[The game has almost no game mechanics. There is no wargame apparatus, no die rolls, no statistics, no gamemaster. The game is like freeform role-playing games in that its rules are minimal, but differs from them in that players provide their own character details, there are no referees, and players interact via mail rather than face-to-face. If freeform RPGs are like improvisational theatre, De Profundis is like an improvisational epistolary novel.]

Our power will come from magic, from a pocket world that is filled with the magical arts thus ARS MAGICA...

Ars Magica Setting

Imagine an age where myth is real and where the superstitions of the common folk hold true: faeries dance in forest glades, angels protect the Church, demons corrupt the weak, and wizards wield magic beyond the ken of other mortals. You play these magi, gathered in covenants with your allies and servants, unlocking secret powers and creating wonders. You and your friends will also portray the loyal companions and grogs who stand with the magi, as a buffer between them and the mundane world that often misunderstands their power and motives. When adventures draw you out into the medieval world of Mythic Europe, your stories are the stuff of legend.

Our first step is to gather but a few more, but we three may be enough. Beyond that we shall define the parameters of this imagination in the form of a society sheet, an agreement of genres (plot, setting, time, goal etc.) on how we shall proceed...

I await your runners and packages with great interest.

Sirius the Constant

[mai]

Sounds interesting. I might have to track down the sourcebooks to get a better idea of the setting and such, but I'm tentatively in.

Edit: I've done some reading on the default setting for Ars Magica, do we plan to use that or change things? I have a character concept assuming a mid-1200s setting but I could easily rework it if we wanted to do some other time.

[Cirus]

That is not set in stone, nor do we even have to use earth. We can create as we go. i only saw Ars Magica as inspiration more than setting.

If you have the covenant book, it was the center of my idea.

[mai]

I'm completely fine to use Ars Magica's setting, but if everyone else wants to use something different I won't object.

[Cirus]

~OOC~

I think we can begin with three, as most things begin with three things...

I propose a discussion on the following- what will be our?

Title of Society...
Genre:
Time and place:
Plot: 
Society (what members belong to):
Additional rules: ?
Tables: ?

Besides this I think we should talk about what interaction we will have, are we all together in a center, are we separated by rivers, continents, the void of space? Also we can write journals, or even write from the point of view of scholars who have found all these papers centuries after they were written.

[Cirus]

Feel free to chime in any ideas.

Title Im thinking Magicas Profundis or something of the sort, high fantasy?

We can use Europe, Earth or anything else. We can build the world as we go too.

One thing I want to ask is, will this all be in the past? We are reviewing all these letters? Further, are we writing these letters to each other, or others?

[mai]

Earth works for me. The character concept I was working with was going to be from the crimea, so I'd like things to be a bit broader than just Europe (narrowly conceived), but I can be flexible if people have something else in mind.

I assume that since we're writing letters, we'll write in the present tense (since that's how people tend to write letters), and that the primary correspondence would be between the characters in the game (although if someone wants to write a side-letter to some NPC or other I certainly wouldn't complain)

[levant]

Normally I despise first person as the perspective of plebeians, but this actually seems like a lot of fun. Consider me officially interested.

Title of Society: The Summit
Genre: High fantasy
Time and place: either modern, medieval, or Victorian. World itself varies accordingly, with things being more "abstract" in different time periods, such as having floating islands or whatever else
Plot: Relatively chill, "slice of life" at first, though given that we're powerful wizards who by default have no sense of right or wrong the game can only last so long before somebody starts making big changes
Society (what members belong to): The most powerful mages in the world, as defined by the ability to "connect" to the summit in the first place. The Summit itself is a magical McGuffin high up on a mountain and surrounded by wards capable of holding infinite knowledge. Makes for a great message board if you can crack the wards
Additional rules: Anybody in the world is welcome to the community so long as they connect, regardless of what field of magic they specialize in, and so long as they don't directly threaten The Summit itself (the mcguffin, not the group).
Tables: Round, periodic, and dinner...what's this field supposed to be for?