Guardians & Summoners [5e] - IC Live

[Jezabelle]

Guardians & Summoners [5e]

IC: Camp
OOC Thread

The Summoner brings their Guardian Spirit into this world—but can they control them?

This will be a  <_Non-Con Exotic_>  game.

Concept

Summoners (Level 3 Casters) summon and bond with Guardian Spirits (Level 7 Martials \ Half Casters), outsider spirits ranging from Angels and Daemons to Elementals and Fey.  This Player Character duo works together to battle strange creatures from beyond time and space, from individual spots of incursion to the very rift between existences they threaten to come pouring out of, the edge of the world.

Unique mechanics are centered around this relationship between Summoner and Spirit.  Neither chooses the other (IC, OOC you'll pair up here), and so odd mismatches or unexpected unities can emerge.  What happens to one impacts the other, and the Summoner can see and feel everything their Guardian Spirit does. 

If you are interested in this game, I would appreciate if you'd indicate your preference for either being a Summoner or a Spirit.  While we may have more than one Spirit per Summoner (if we need to), we can't have more Summoners than Spirits without some people taking a back seat.  NPC Guardian Spirits as player companions will only appear in the case of dropped players.

Fast FAQs

• Pace: 72hrs without an IC post or OOC post requesting more time will result in Character Control potentially occurring (at my discretion your partner may choose your move).  Should you drop out (here defined as a week+ w/out communication), I will assume complete control of your character.
• All Welcome: Crossplay/Queer/etc characters are welcome.
• Main Fetishes: NonCon, D/s, "Exotic" Partners, Corruption\Transformation
• Tagging: Tagging will be used, including GM tagging; if I need to do something or you take an action that alters the world state in some way (i.e. lighting something on fire) tag me too.
• Smut: Sex has mechanical benefits\ramifications\risks, so you can expect it to occur with some regularity.  Level of detail is up to parties involved.  If it's getting to more than 2 or 3 posts per coitus, I recommend a "moment out of time" Solo\pm thread to fully enjoy the scene without the time pressure.
• On\Offs: While I will be perusing your O\Os to be check any content I introduce, there will be OOC Consent sections on the character sheet so that other players will be able to easily reference acceptable encounters.  This is for everyone's benefit and in the interests of having a good time, my apologies if anyone considers this redundant.
• General Setting: Fantasy world threatened by invading mysterious force that wants to use\subvert\convert\breed them.

Fluff


(Potential) Initial Plot

The border between Ruritania and the Kingdom of Berika is a strip of steppe and desert.  A handful of border forts dot this region, but between them all, an ancient keep rises out of the plains.

This ancient fortress is hotly contested by both the Ruritanian Republic and the Berikans, but the most recent attempts by both forces to occupy the keep have ended in disaster.  Those who go there return changed, abandon their missions, and seek to "spread."  After it became evident to both sides what was happening they agreed to a ceasefire and summoned the Particii.

Short on Summoners, the Particii are forced to sent the PCs shortly after their Grand Summonings are performed.  They are sent along with a senior adviser to find the incursion and end this breakage into the world.  But both Ruritania and Berika maneuver to take advantage of the political situation, the "ceasefire" threatens to breakdown before the PCs can even arrive, and their "senior" adviser may find himself a bit out of his depth once the team hits real resistance. 

With the fate of millions on their shoulders, the Summoners and their Guardian Spirits enter their first true battle as partners.

General Lore

World & Places

This is a diverse fantasy world with any kind of society/region\theme you could be looking for in a (semi)stock character.  The "Known World" is approximately three fourths of the planet, whereas one fourth of it "a void."  The ocean plummets into nothingness at the Edge of the World.

Summoners & the Particii

Summoners' Marks manifest across a variety of magic users from all walks of life.  They are instantly known to the Particii, an ancient order dedicated to defending the world against extra-dimensional forces.  Because that's in everyone's best interests, common sense / agreement ensures that Summoners are granted (partial) pardons for any wrongdoing and safe transport to the Partition's Seal, a rift at the edge of the world where the Particii have their headquarters.

Here Summoners train to hone their magickal talents for one day participating in a Grand Summoning, where they summon a powerful entity "from above, below, or elsewhere" to defend against incursions.
But there's a catch—he Summoner cannot influence in any way what Guardian Spirit they will summon with their Grand Summoning, a feat they may perform only once.  Guardian Spirits are powerful entities, and if one is not careful the barrier between Summon and Summoner can erode or totally disappear.  Some Guardian Spirits will actively seek this, but even if they don't want it, they'll wind up Possessing their Summoner if they prove too frail or reckless.

While some Guardian Spirits and Summons appear natural fits, others are completely at odds; fiend-pact Warlocks summoning Angels, chaste clerics summoning succubi, et ketera.  This will invariably impact the two in some way, but which way they will "turn" is not always clear.

Guardian Spirits

Guardian Spirits are Angels, Daemons, Elementals, Fey, and more who are beckoned by the call of a Summoner's Mark.  These entities normally can only be summoned for a brief time to the material plane, as part of rituals or unique occasions.  While the Grand Summoning is a unique opportunity for them to dwell longer in the land of mortals, it is not a consensual thing—they are plucked from their native plane of existence by the Grand Summoning ritual.

When the Guardian Spirit materializes in the prime material via Grand Summoning, they have a corporeal form and a link with their Summoner, who senses and feels everything they do.  This and their special spiritual connection allows the Summoner to cast as though they were precisely where the Guardian Spirit is.  While some Guardian Spirits are not happy about this course of events, they cannot directly disobey the orders of their Mark's bearer.

The corporeal form you take upon being summoned is not always precisely what was depicted in the Holy Texts, so a rock elemental could appear as a Goliath, or a Daemon could appear as a hellish Elf.

Summoning in Detail

The Particii's many-chambered citadel spread out for as far as the eye could see through the cascading waters of the ocean, crashing in mighty falls over the Edge of the World.  The architecture here was imposing, all tall arches and rooms that seemed to great in scale to make sense even for giants.  Vestibules, bathing halls, studies, nooks and crannies all sorts festooned its lower layers.  The vast winding stairways that took one beneath the waves were always thrumming with an echo of falling waves, near or far, crashing across rock or sliding down into nothingness.  The rooms closer to the Void always had massive cutouts in the wall, if there was wall at all on that side of the room, to peer out through the cascading waters into the nothingness beyond.

At just below sea level, these rooms were reserved for the Grand Summoning rituals.  The Particii scoured the globe for those capable for performing it, ever the bridesmaid but never the bride themselves, and brought them here to train.  Then in one of these vaulted, marbled halls bedecked with anything from vibrant fresco to intricate carving in what seemed natural cut rock to blank nothingness or webs of suggestive meaning in otherwise normal granite, the act would transpire:

First a room was chosen, cordoned off, and a vast circle large enough to house a manor within its bounds was drawn.  The process took two dozen Particii days to complete for an exactingly precise series of lines needed to be drawn onto the floor.  Grand-masters checked and double-checked the process with redraws ordered at any section with even a hint of improper line work.  Then, all but the Summoner vacated the room, and vast doors inlaid with silver and lead.  Using all of their power and focusing their mind, body, and soul: standing at the center of the massive summoning circle they let out a hue and cry as their Summoner's Mark alights with a profound energy.  It may spread, glow, or otherwise react volatiley.  The boiling of skin and singeing of fur is not unheard of.

The Summoner is drawn "shallowly" into another plane of existence, often a place of pure energy where they will experience hallucinations and experiences that defy later understanding by means of human perceptions.
Other times they will appear in a place very much like our own world.  The consistent element is that another entity comes into being, over the course of minutes or hours or days (a Summoning is not considered a definitive failure until two weeks have passed by the Particii's reckoning), and communes with them.  This is their Guardian Spirit.  It is the only one they will or can ever Summon, though they may be bound to others later should their Summoners perish or otherwise unforeseen events come to pass.  First meetings between Summoner and Spirit are sometimes the subject of ribald jest or deepest secret that neither Summoner nor Guardian would reveal, even on pain of death or worse fates. 

Some fight, some fuck, some dance, and some merely pace about one another.  Both usually have a surreal experience where their senses change, especially the Guardian Spirit that is materializing.  After this initial encounter concludes, known to the Particii as the Terminal Exchange, the shallow world around the Summoner and Guardian Spirit fades, returning them to the Edge of the World.

Crunch


Gameplay/Chargen

Summoner/ed Mechanics

Blood Sacrifice: as an Action, a Summoner may heal their Guardian Spirit using as many of their available hit die as they care to use.  When they do this, their Summoner's Mark (wherever it appears on their body) begins to bleed lightly.  Every use of this ability elicits a Constitution Save from the Summoner, the DC raised by 5 for every additional hit die spent (i.e. spending 3 adds +10 to the DC).  On a failure, they suffer variable negative statuses.  On a failure of 5 or more, they suffer those same negative statuses and temporarily lose Sovereignty.

Sovereignty: Summoners must be Sovereign if they are to avoid a breakdown of control and, eventually, Possession (merger of the Summoner and their Guardian Spirit into the same entity).   So long as the Summoner remains Sovereign, their Guardian Spirit cannot disobey a direct command.  Unique magickal circumstances may threaten Sovereignty, but under normal conditions, only Blood Sacrifice risks the Summoner losing Sovereignty.  A Summoner is at greatest risk of Possession whilst they've lost their Sovereignty.  Once lost, Sovereignty may only be regained by the Summoner taking a Long Rest where they meditate and focus upon their Summoner's Connection.

Summoner's Connection: Summoners can see and feel everything their Guardian Spirits do, and the two may telepathically communicate.  The Summoner may cast as if though they were standing where their Guardian Spirit is, including those with a range of self.  They may also cast spells with a target of Self upon their Guardian Spirits.

Possession: if the barrier between Summoner and Guardian Spirit is not properly maintained, the two begin to fuse, regardless of either's desires.  This fusion process is known as Possession.  It has a transformative impact upon the body of the Summoner.  Most Possession is the result of overusing Blood Sacrifice.

Standard Stuff

• Accepted Content: Official WotC Only
• Stats: PB | Standard Array (15/14/13/12/10/8) | 4d6k3 Rolled
• HP: Max
• Starting Level: 3 for Summoners, 7 for Guardian Spirits
• Equipment: Standard, no magic items
• PvP:  In the event that a good faith, friendly PvP occasion arises naturally or pre-planned b\t players in RP then we'll have a relevant discussion in PMs and then bring everyone else on board in the OOC thread.  I'm not wanting this to happen or expecting it, I'm laying out a protocol so it doesn't feel like I'm "yanking the leash" if I tell someone "no you don't stab him in the back."  Because I'm (probably) not going to tell you no, but you are going to tell us before it happens.  Consider this the Blood Covenant.

Special Rules

Quick Resting
Characters gain the effects of a short rest in a matter of minutes if they engage in one of the following activities (normally must occur out of combat and take ~10 minutes):

• Sex: DC 20 Con Save (18 if Athletics or Acrobatics proficient, 16 if both).  One partner may take on more of the burden for Disadvantage, conferring Advantage to their partner.  Failure results in 1 Level of Exhaustion or one shift towards Obsessed sexual alignment.  You'll need to declare which failure state you'll take before attempting the save.
• Drinking: DC (X) Con Save, where X is set by alcohol consumed.  Advantage against Poison saves counts for the purposes of this Save (i.e. Dwarves gain advantage).
• Smoking: DC (X) Int Save, where X is set by substance smoked.  Variable effects for failure\success.  Advantage against Poison saves counts for the purposes of this Save (again, Dwarves).

One Way Stimulation
Manual stimulation and oral sex allow a character to facilitate another character's Quick Rest.  This will be an Acrobatics or Athletics test, whichever is higher, with (dis)advantage decided by Sexual Alignment of both parties (whichever Alignment is right between them, shifting further right in case of an even split).  If successful the other party processes as if though sex occurred.  The respective partners may trade (dis)advantage as though sex were being had.

Arousal & Seduction
Handled as Wisdom saving throws conferring the Charmed effect.  Certain species will have additional effects due to pheromones, magical properties, or other factors.  Players and the GM may simply decide the target automatically fails due to the role-play appealing very much to their character.

DCs will be set by the attacker.  Dis/Advantage will be determined by Sexual Alignment.

Sexual Alignment
A measure of how sexual\perverse\easily aroused a character, it is an oversimplified caricature of the real complicated mess that is human sexuality and not intended to reflect on any real orientations\people\etc.

This will never be used to disrespect OOC Acceptable Encounters, nor to otherwise push O\O boundaries!  It is simple by design and I will use my discretion to avoid situations that go against the RP.  Feel free to PM me to contest a call made in this regard, or inform me that you feel uncomfortable and do not want it to occur.  I will honour these requests without further explanation.

Obsessed - Inclined - Neutral - Asexual - Repulsed

Obsessed characters always fail Wisdom saves to resist anything sexual.

Inclined characters always have disadvantage.

Neutral characters receive no benefit or malus.

Asexual characters gain advantage.

Repulsed characters autopass.

As you may have noticed there is a way to "slide left" but not "slide right" codified in the rules above.  Sexual Alignment shifts not part of the Quick Rest system can be discussed with the DM, and should reflect the roleplay.  I will not second guess your desire to shift one way or the other, however you will want to discuss this with your Guardian Spirit / Summoner so you're both on the same page.

Sexual Alignment and Summoners

Whenever a Summoner or Guardian Spirit undergoes a Sexual Alignment shift, their counterpart makes that same shift unless they struggle to resist it.  If they struggle to resist, they make a Charisma Save with a DC of their partner's Charisma score + 5 per alignment difference after the shift (i.e. if a Repulsed Guardian Spirit's Summoner becomes Obsessed, the DC is 20 + the Summoner's Charisma score).

Death & Bad Ends 
When a Summoner dies, their Guardian Spirit leaves the world within 24 hours unless another Summoner chooses to bond with them.  When a Guardian Spirit "dies" they are just dismissed to back from whence they came.

However, your enemy will not always seek to kill you, often seeking to instead subvert and pervert you.

Character Sheet

Code Select Expand


[u]Avatar[/u]: [float=right][img height=200 width=120] image url goes here [/img][/float]
[b]Name[/b]:
[b]Race[/b]:
[b]Gender[/b]:
[b]Age[/b]:

[u]Sexuality[/u] (IC): (the sexuality of your character)
[u]Acceptable Encounters[/u] (OOC): (is gay/non-con permissible? Always or by request? Etc)

[u]Physical Description[/u]:
[u]Personal History[/u]:

[b]Sexual Alignment[/b]:
[b]Addictions[/b]: n/a

[b]Sheet[/b]: (link, embed, solder onto, or whathaveyou your character sheet here)


[Jezabelle]

• Guardian - Summoner


• Jasthalen “Jas” Silverwing - Valarna the Invincible
• Dame Meow Silverfur - Lucifel
• - Myra
• Kalev of the Living Flame -

[Rajah]

That's a crazy-high DC for sex; normal people might as well not even bother, and even powerful and experienced Guardian Spirits with 20 Constitution are unlikely to make the save with both Acrobatics and Athletics unless Constitution is in class. Certainly a Summoner is going to fail pretty much always. It's not really a mechanical issue - if you have time for 10 minutes you probably have time for an hour, as I've found by setting regular short rests to 15 minutes and finding it makes almost difference with how often my players taken them - but it does disincentivize having sex when you could be doing something far more likely to benefit you, like taking a nap.

I guess that's got some roots in realism, buUut... 

I'd recommend setting it to something more like 13, with Acrobatics or Athletics granting you advantage and if you have both granting your partner advantage, which makes it reliable enough to want to do it without it being automatic. Only a few classes get Con proficiency by default and everyone else is probably adding +2, maybe a +3, so failures can still happen (even on an advantaged roll!). I know this is kinda pedantic, it's just if there's ever like a serious fight coming up, it seems a bit tragic if smart players are the ones saying "no, I have a headache" while FUN players end up just debuffing themselves. 

[ZameRagues]

-Plants interest-

[Jezabelle]

That's a crazy-high DC for sex; normal people might as well not even bother, and even powerful and experienced Guardian Spirits with 20 Constitution are unlikely to make the save with both Acrobatics and Athletics unless Constitution is in class. Certainly a Summoner is going to fail pretty much always. It's not really a mechanical issue - if you have time for 10 minutes you probably have time for an hour, as I've found by setting regular short rests to 15 minutes and finding it makes almost difference with how often my players taken them - but it does disincentivize having sex when you could be doing something far more likely to benefit you, like taking a nap.

Prior experience on E with the system has shown the risk and reward more or less balanced out, but I agree the DCs are a bit high. 

I'll consider lowering them, but given some of the other subsystems here, it's going to be most relevant for short-rest centric classes.

[Xurtan]

Potential interest. Wondering what the 'plot' is, I suppose, insofar as what players will spend their times doing? Is it focused on battling things that come out? Focused on turreting up/base building near those rips in the void or whatever? Focused on the 'pairs', and everything else is peripheral? Trying to get a better idea of the scene and what the world looks like.

[Jezabelle]

Potential interest. Wondering what the 'plot' is, I suppose, insofar as what players will spend their times doing? Is it focused on battling things that come out? Focused on turreting up/base building near those rips in the void or whatever? Focused on the 'pairs', and everything else is peripheral? Trying to get a better idea of the scene and what the world looks like.

The initial "pilot" plot is going to be heading out to a Kingdom where there has been an incursion, after the Particii has just finished training the Summoners and the Guardian Spirits have just been summoned.  There'll be a more experienced NPC along for the ride but they don't have a Guardian Spirit and will act more in an advisory capacity.

I'm aiming for a good mix of character dynamic, role-playing in and around the various locations you'll be sent to (from various kingdoms to the void between, et ketera), and intense objective-oriented battles.

I would be quite interested in doing a base building arc but I think to begin with we'll go with a more straightforward "go in, win, it closes" approach.

Overall the world is your High Middle Ages + magick fantasy.  Magic in the world overall isn't too high, hence why level 3 Casters (admittedly specially chosen ones) can be significant movers and shakers, and level 7 Martials\Half Casters are supernaturally gifted.

Would you be interested in being a Summoner, or Guardian Spirit?

edit:
Added this to the OP,

initial plot

The border between Ruritania and the Kingdom of Berika is a strip of steppe and desert.  A handful of border forts dot this region, but between them all, an ancient keep rises out of the plains.

This ancient fortress is hotly contested by both the Ruritanian Republic and the Berikans, but the most recent attempts by both forces to occupy the keep have ended in disaster.  Those who go there return changed, abandon their missions, and seek to "spread."  After it became evident to both sides what was happening they agreed to a ceasefire and summoned the Particii.

Short on Summoners, the Particii are forced to sent the PCs shortly after their Grand Summonings are performed.  They are sent along with a senior adviser to find the incursion and end this breakage into the world.  But both Ruritania and Berika maneuver to take advantage of the political situation, the "ceasefire" threatens to breakdown before the PCs can even arrive, and their "senior" adviser may find himself a bit out of his depth once the team hits real resistance. 

With the fate of millions on their shoulders, the Summoners and their Guardian Spirits enter their first true battle as partners.

[Xurtan]

A useful answer, thank you. :) It's definitely an intriguing idea, and I've always been fond of 'pair' games such as summon/summoner, familiar/witch, dragon/rider, etc. How do you intend to handle combat? 5e tends to slow things down to a crawl (as do a lot of combat systems within a pbp atmosphere, I'll admit) in battle, so always curious as to what houserules there are, if any, and how things will be kept going at a decent clip.

Where does magic come from in this setting? Is it internal? Leyline based? Drawn from the void? Etc.

I'd probably lean Guardian Spirit, though have almost as much draw to a Summoner. Still, there's a lot of potential within the various "types" of potential Guardians. I'd likely look at the Half-Casters, possibly an Artificer, perhaps a Lightning Element or something along those lines... I'd have to fiddle with it.

[Jezabelle]

A useful answer, thank you. :) It's definitely an intriguing idea, and I've always been fond of 'pair' games such as summon/summoner, familiar/witch, dragon/rider, etc. How do you intend to handle combat? 5e tends to slow things down to a crawl (as do a lot of combat systems within a pbp atmosphere, I'll admit) in battle, so always curious as to what houserules there are, if any, and how things will be kept going at a decent clip.

In my experience it's quicker than you'd expect due to high systems familiarity.

In general avoiding strict initiative (there will be a Bad Guys Go phase \ Good Guys Go phase, initiative really just being rolled to see whose team gets the jump on the other) has done me well in the past.  That and the 72hr window allowing CCing, a caveat I'll basically only use to keep scenes from stalling out due to lack of pivotal character replies, combat being one of those, should keep things moving.

Honestly the transitional period between interesting things / scenes is where I tend to see more fall off than combat, although of course it can be of glacial pace.  I'm going to avoid making your enemies damage sponges, eschewing that element of 5e design in favour of making the threats unique and tactically interesting.  After all, Guardian Spirits are meant to be generally tougher than the foe, it's more a question of what insidious tricks they'll be up to next...

Where does magic come from in this setting? Is it internal? Leyline based? Drawn from the void? Etc.

A good question!

The cheeky answer is "not here," the more earnest answer is that spiritual energy/entities are not "of this world," nor are any of the sources of magic and preternatural abilities (other than a Monk's Ki, and even then debatebly the quintessence of life isn't native to the prime material).  There are several cosmological explanations like yours being "the Shore between Worlds."

I will say that people trying to use magick that comes from the same place these invaders do is certainly a (sub)plot I expect to cover if the game takes off.

I'd probably lean Guardian Spirit, though have almost as much draw to a Summoner. Still, there's a lot of potential within the various "types" of potential Guardians. I'd likely look at the Half-Casters, possibly an Artificer, perhaps a Lightning Element or something along those lines... I'd have to fiddle with it.

That sounds pretty exciting~one challenge with this is going to be pairing off, and then fixing the pairs after the inevitable drop-off to keep the game going.  So it's good to know who's interested in what, though I appreciate that both ideas appeal to you, should you wind up joining~

[Xurtan]

Fair, and about what I expected. Initiative definitely helps in that regard, and being aware of the issues it can cause certainly helps to remove them from play to begin with. Definitely approve of unique and tactically interesting over damage sponges, though. A high AC and a ton of health never makes for a very interesting enemy.

Good to know as far as magic, too, and an intriguing response. That could cerainly be fun to play with. Hm.

Other questions/thoughts as I work through them in my head, how long does Summoner training take? Is there an expected point/age that they tend to do a Grand Summon? Equally, as far as Guardians go is there something in the material plane or the ritual that puts them into a humanoid form, or is it just sort of expected for game contrivance that they will? Either is fine, obviously, just trying to get an idea as to how 'human' the Guardians actually are/how they think/how old they are. There's certainly some fun challenges in playing a Being(TM) from another plane who has no experience with humans, but I don't know how that translates into actually writing.

Consequently is there an expected level of humanity to the Guardians, or do they sort of pop in and are made human enough mentally via the Summon? Or is there even a 'standard' for that sort of thing?

On the Summoner side, what exactly would we know/be trained in as far as the lore behind the rifts, the Particii, etc? Wondering at the Order's background.

Out of curiosity, sex wise are you expecting it purely between the paired partners, or also between summoners/summons/a mix?

I could definitely go either direction as far as Guardian or Summoner, so if I end up tossing my hat in I might chill and see what sort of numbers on either side the game ends up with. *pokes at ideas for both ponderously*

[Jezabelle]

Other questions/thoughts as I work through them in my head, how long does Summoner training take? Is there an expected point/age that they tend to do a Grand Summon? Equally, as far as Guardians go is there something in the material plane or the ritual that puts them into a humanoid form, or is it just sort of expected for game contrivance that they will? Either is fine, obviously, just trying to get an idea as to how 'human' the Guardians actually are/how they think/how old they are. There's certainly some fun challenges in playing a Being(TM) from another plane who has no experience with humans, but I don't know how that translates into actually writing.

Somewhere north of a year, but it depends on the magic user.  The marks appear seemingly arbitrarily, and a Wizardly scholar is easier to educate than a fiery Sorcerer who just likes to burn shit and was born with it.

The ritual materializes them into this world in one, which is both contrivance and part of the ritual.  Some may exist in an analogous form where they come from, others take other forms or exist as beings of pure energy beyond a mortal's conception of 3D space.

The Guardians range from "born yesterday" (as fully mature adults) to Eternal.  Vast majority have never been summoned before, though, so their knowledge of the prime material may be limited depending on their origin.

I'd say people can play up the alien aspect as their leisure but otherwise anticipate a fairly smooth transition.  They'd also have time to have the basic 411 talked over back at HQ after the summoning, so we don't need 10 pages of people asking shit like "what's a horse?" etc, unless that's just the RP someone's looking to do.

Consequently is there an expected level of humanity to the Guardians, or do they sort of pop in and are made human enough mentally via the Summon? Or is there even a 'standard' for that sort of thing?

I'm expecting them to range but for the lewd side of things we're gonna need them to be humanoid and, probably, not furry.  That's just how these things shake out on E, I'd need to've basically put it in the tagline otherwise.

Lorewise you can summon anything from a specific daemon who has taken a very human body before to something that looks like a PC race in most regards natively to the concept of fire or something equally abstract, that is then condensed down into humanoid form.

On the Summoner side, what exactly would we know/be trained in as far as the lore behind the rifts, the Particii, etc? Wondering at the Order's background.

So the Particii are not Summoners, and they don't tell Summoners everything.  By the end of training you'd know they consider themselves to have been founded "at the Beginning of the End of the Beginning," whenever that was, and that they're generally reclusive magic types with esoteric interests and a stringent lifestyle.  Their headquarters is at the literal edge of the world teetering on the abyss so signing up for a lifetime stint withem just sort of requires a certain personality, and it's not what one would call social.

Summoners would know that the rifts have traditionally been rare and of various origin but in modern times (re: past few centuries) been from the same place and increased in frequency and ferocity.  Everyone would be made aware of the fact that the "thing" beyond is trying to get into this world for reproduction purposes and to guard against lustful thinking, because that's how they intend to worm their way into your skulls so they can subvert you.  They tend to avoid referring to them as anything but "the Enemy," although veteran Summoners have a few names for them.

Out of curiosity, sex wise are you expecting it purely between the paired partners, or also between summoners/summons/a mix?

A mix of (depending on how fights go) enemies, partners, and basically any PC.

I could definitely go either direction as far as Guardian or Summoner, so if I end up tossing my hat in I might chill and see what sort of numbers on either side the game ends up with. *pokes at ideas for both ponderously*

Awesome, I appreciate the flexibility.  I imagine what Summoner / Guardian Spirit concepts people throw out will also generate reactions.

[Xurtan]

Overall definitely sounds like my jam. Thanks for humoring me. :) I'll definitely be watching the thread, see what all people throw in as ideas. Certainly gives me a few things to muse on character wise. Hrm, what would I play as a Summoner... maybe a Genasi. What's the world like on the whole? Relatively peaceful? There's Kingdoms, so presumably war just because... well, people. How do resources look? Are people on average prosperous? With it being standard fantasy, presumably there are tribal societies? Perhaps a Fire Genasi from a Djinn worshiping Desert-dwelling society if I went Summoner.

Speaking of furries, does that count out things such as Lizardfolk and such as well? There are definitely some odd WotC races. While not particularly tempted towards any of them myself, it's an interesting question.

[Jezabelle]

Overall definitely sounds like my jam. Thanks for humoring me. :) I'll definitely be watching the thread, see what all people throw in as ideas. Certainly gives me a few things to muse on character wise. Hrm, what would I play as a Summoner... maybe a Genasi. What's the world like on the whole? Relatively peaceful? There's Kingdoms, so presumably war just because... well, people. How do resources look? Are people on average prosperous? With it being standard fantasy, presumably there are tribal societies? Perhaps a Fire Genasi from a Djinn worshiping Desert-dwelling society if I went Summoner.

Oh, what can be said of 2/3rds of a globe?  From the Incans to the Italians to the Indians, that's just the letter I.

There are polities, there are resources, there is conflict.  I'm going to flesh out the places you go to, but they're not going to be massive map spanners.  Think more the size of a state of the Holy Roman Empire, or maybe modern Greece.  Average wealth, most peasant farmers have never touched a gold coin in their lives, but eat well enough so long as the rains come and the snows leave in timely fashion.

As regards Ruritania, it's a merchant republic with a Mediterranean clime in its west.  Their armed forces consist of peasant levies and urban cavalry who pay for their own upkeep, earning the privileges of citizenship for doing so (like voting).

Berika is Kingdom very much in the pre-Reconquista Iberian vain.  Fertile fields and sparse shrubs with the occasional desert, like the one on the border.  They have a gender neutral eldest total inheritance system, and are not as rich in trade as their neighbor, though their woods and fields produce far more lumber and food.

Both vie for the borderlands not for its resources, which are scant few, but for the overland trade.  This overland trade is largely conducted by nomadic peoples, who the Republic and Kingdom jockey for favourable deals with.  The nomads are content to play both sides against each other, changing allegiances as better deals roll around.  You could picture them with the Berbers' merchant sensibilities and a more eastern steppe aesthetic suiting the Mongols or Huns.  Right now the Volshka, a matriarchal group of raiders, are bought off by the Berikians.  A rival group of caravaneers, the Olaq, aide the Republic in return for tax exemptions.



You might not have guessed it from the spartan OP but I'm very into worldbuilding.  I reigned myself in on this one because I didn'think anyone would read it and didn't wanna scare people off but I've clearly gone too scant here, there is a reason for that though:

My intent is for people to be able to say "perhaps a Fire Genasi from a Djinn worshiping desert-dwelling society" and my response isn't "well where the fuck am I gonna fit that," but rather "certainly, I can see that existing."

Speaking of furries, does that count out things such as Lizardfolk and such as well? There are definitely some odd WotC races. While not particularly tempted towards any of them myself, it's an interesting question.

I think the Reactionaries(tm) tend to cool their titties about scalies.  People are generally content to just not fuck them personally.  For some reason, when there's fur involved, that decorum just doesn't hold true for vast swaths of the 'net.  Not saying Elliquiy isn't an accepting place, but basing off my prior E-sperience, best to avoid.

[pdragon]

Well I wouldn't be a proper JoJo fan boy if I ignored the stand battle dnd game. I would be interested in playing a guardian personally, in particular something angelic.

[c0i9z]

Also planting my interest. I'd be interested in playing a Guardian Spirit.

[Xurtan]

<lore snip>

Hah, awesome. Yeah, modern E is often about brevity being the soul of wit, but I'm used to large info dumps and tend to write that way myself for recruitment threads. Good to see there's a fair bit of thought put into the game, and that definitely all makes me very intrigued.

Randomly, any idea on what the leveling speed is liable to be like? Are we doing XP or milestones? Looking like I might be focusing on the Summoner side of things, I might poke at ideas there. I take it the general tech level is typically very low? Wondering insofar as Artificer and such, pondering options.

[TwistedKitsune]

Sounds very interesting. I would be up for playing as a summoner or as a guardian spirit which ever is needed.

[Jezabelle]

Randomly, any idea on what the leveling speed is liable to be like? Are we doing XP or milestones? Looking like I might be focusing on the Summoner side of things, I might poke at ideas there. I take it the general tech level is typically very low? Wondering insofar as Artificer and such, pondering options.

Milestones, all the way.  Do not expect rapid advancement.  We'll do one pilot adventure, with the potential to tick up to 4/8 afterwards, and go from there.  Going to be playing it by ear.

Yeah low tech, unless you wanted to re-theme to be more of a geomantic ritualist, one would assume the Artificer being a little more Galileo/da Vinci.

Sounds very interesting. I would be up for playing as a summoner or as a guardian spirit which ever is needed.

Wonderful!  Looking like Summoners may be in demand, although we can go over on Guardians but not on Summoners, so you might consider hedging that way as well.

Well I wouldn't be a proper JoJo fan boy if I ignored the stand battle dnd game. I would be interested in playing a guardian personally, in particular something angelic.

Cool!  If you don't feel content re-flavouring a 5e race for that I could whip something up custom.  It wouldn't go beyond what vanilla races offer to avoid imbalance. 

[pdragon]

I don't really mind adapting a pre established race. Though either way would it be possible to incorporate wings/flight into it? I haven't played anything above 3rd level 5e really, so I'm not sure when/if that becomes a viable thing.

[Kathyan]

Totally interested too. Both as a summoner as a guardian spirit.

There's a few questions I'd like to ask:
You put a warlock as an example but they are not full spellcasters, don't gain spellcasting per se and not considered that way under multiclassing either so I wondered if they would be summoners or summoned (maybe warlocks could have their summoner behave as their patron?).
How about artificers since they are mentioned as half casters too?
I get we get to make the regular choices (race/class/background/etc) when building a guardian spirit character but we then reskin them as outsiders/fey/etc, right?
Can we play evil? not planning anything that leads to PvP though just thinking the possibility of being a mean domme or a mischievous spirit.



Btw pdragon I'm a fan of Jojo too, maybe we might discuss something related to that.

[Jezabelle]

I don't really mind adapting a pre established race. Though either way would it be possible to incorporate wings/flight into it? I haven't played anything above 3rd level 5e really, so I'm not sure when/if that becomes a viable thing.

If we reflavoured a SCAG variant Tiefling or you played Aarocka.  There's also a Dragonborn Feat, at level 7 you've got ASi's to burn.

I know lots of GMs throw their hands up over flight speed.  It's no big deal to me, although you will need to actually have space to fly, so if you happen to be in a narrow tunnel... probably not gonna help.  Not planning to put the Pilot adventure predominantly in that kind of terrain just letting you know it's not gonna be a hand-waved levitation.

You put a warlock as an example but they are not full spellcasters, don't gain spellcasting per se and not considered that way under multiclassing either so I wondered if they would be summoners or summoned (maybe warlocks could have their summoner behave as their patron?).

Warlocks are, as you point out, an edge case.  I don't normally fall back so extensively on the full / half caster dichotomy so I may have been quick to label.

Warlocks have lots of great flavour and the Patron relationship potentially being woven into the story is simply too spicy to resist, so I'd say Warlocks could be considered borderline and be allowed in either role on a case-by-case basis.

How about artificers since they are mentioned as half casters too?

They get cantrips and ritual casting but otherwise seem to me a half-caster.  I'd be willing to consider an argument either way case by case, so that class probably falls on the borderline like Warlock.

I get we get to make the regular choices (race/class/background/etc) when building a guardian spirit character but we then reskin them as outsiders/fey/etc, right?

Pretty much.  I'm interested in working to give custom options, but in my experience the E! community is shaky about too many custom player options, so we'll go for reskins before attempting to cobble together frankensteins.  I love to create from whole cloth, though, so we'll see how people feel in this group as interest forms.

Can we play evil? not planning anything that leads to PvP though just thinking the possibility of being a mean domme or a mischievous spirit.

Totally!  Domme Summoner/Guardian Spirit, Devil/Demon, all on the table.  Pair up with submissive chaste choirboi/nun for maximum mileage. 

We'll be avoiding PvP, but I want at least some characters to be afraid of what might happen if they lose Sovereignty over their Summon.

[Chulanowa]

I'd say people can play up the alien aspect as their leisure but otherwise anticipate a fairly smooth transition.  They'd also have time to have the basic 411 talked over back at HQ after the summoning, so we don't need 10 pages of people asking shit like "what's a horse?" etc, unless that's just the RP someone's looking to do.

But like, when you think about it, it's like, woah, what is a horse, man? *bong rip noise*



Where do bards fall on the caster / half-caster scale?
Also with the spirits, are they just standard player races, but 'fluffed" to be more otherworldly, or what?

[Jezabelle]

But like, when you think about it, it's like, woah, what is a horse, man? *bong rip noise*



Where do bards fall on the caster / half-caster scale?
Also with the spirits, are they just standard player races, but 'fluffed" to be more otherworldly, or what?

I fully approve of 420 Vapelord characters, especially if you play a sentient vape cloud.  I'd find a way to make that work without breaking standard stuff too hard.

Bards... get full spellcasting progression, which I guess at the back of my brain I knew, but is kind of surprising?  But also not?  They're never overly hurting for slots.

I think I'm going to need to create a formalized list in the OP of what classes go where.

Martials are unambiguously Guardian Spirit territory, followed by Paladins.

After that we've got some kind of gray zone.  I'd say if you'd like a Bard'ian Spirit, hit me withe concept and I'll probably approve.



More or less, and something like a Valkyrie may be fairly indistinguishable.  Other stuff might require some custom aspects to make the concept work, i.e. the Vapelord Cumeth.

[pdragon]

@Jezabelle

I think an Aarocka would work, obviously reskinned to be more humanoid. I kinda like the slashing unarmed damage thing. I think it'd be cool to play angels as instead of having swords or armor or other mortal based gear, their mere touch is enough to act as a weapon. So when they fight they're just kind of gently tracing their fingers to cut things. I like the idea that instead of just using whatever the modern version of whatever technology mortals use (like why would angels be limited to swords and spears just because that's the most complex things humans could make at the time?), heavenly beings use weapons/abilities that are beyond normal comprehension.

@Kathyan

I'd be down for some JoJo-esque flavoring. Also if you wanted to play an evil character that could make for a fun pairing with an angel. They'd literally be the angel on your shoulder.

[Xurtan]

Milestones, all the way.  Do not expect rapid advancement.  We'll do one pilot adventure, with the potential to tick up to 4/8 afterwards, and go from there.  Going to be playing it by ear.

Yeah low tech, unless you wanted to re-theme to be more of a geomantic ritualist, one would assume the Artificer being a little more Galileo/da Vinci.

Sounds good! I'm leaning Summoner, unsure on what specifically but I am rather partial to Artificers. Not being a fan of da Vinci style I'd probably consider them more magically focused, perhaps coaxing flame into gems or something in a quasi-sort of 'living flame' golem style of magic? Still playing around with ideas, but I do really like Genasi and desert homelands are always comfortable.

And yeah, Bards are generally one of if not the best spellcaster in 5e, if we're talking purely optimal. It's kind of amusing. They certainly have a wealth of good flavor with the potential for reflavor, imo.