The Originators: An Original Magic Based Roleplay Interest Check

[Esoterica]

“I believe in the resistance as I believe there can be no light without shadow; or rather, no shadow unless there is also light.” ― Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale

World Building Section

Out of Character Thread

In the Temple

On the Road

Fara's Estate

Please post character sheets in the World Building Section upon receiving your final approval from me. I like to keep everything organized and all in one place.

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[center][u]Player[/u]
Player here
[font=script][size=18pt][color=red][shadow=black,left]Character's name[/shadow][/color][/size]
[u]Alias[/u]
[b]If have alias[/b]
Character Type: Spellbinder, Originator, Mundane
Magical School: If Applicable [/font]

[u]Face claim[/u]
the face claim you choose

[img height=269]http://Insert pic url[/img][img height=269]http://insert pic url[/img][img height=269]http://insert pic url[/img]

[u]Bio[/u][/center]

Your background and pertinent info.

[img height=269]http://for additional pics if needed[/img]







This freeform group roleplay takes place in a place called Ironfall. In this place, clothiers and tailors and weavers have "developed new methods," allowing them to make items of clothing that are normally seen in modern times. This is a medieval fantasy-based world, where Magic exists. The users of Magic are known as Spellbinders. There are five schools of magic, Elementalism, Demonology, Necromancy, Shamanism and Alchemy. A Spellbinder upon coming of age and having their powers awaken, or activate, must choose a school of magic in which to study. This is enforced by the law. Once they select a field of study, they become masters in this field and are unable to cast spells of any other school because of the limitations of the magical mind.

There are far more people in the world who cannot use magic in the world, than people who know and are able to utilize magic. These individuals have been enslaved by the Spellbinders, and serve their masters, typically reluctantly, in the creation and maintenance of the shrines and temples.

Magic-Users are under a curse. All their males and females are essentially sterile. The Spellbinders are only able to have children by a certain tribe of mortals called the Originators. There are male and female Originators. This allows the female Spellbinder to get pregnant, having a Spellbinder child through his assistance, and it allows the male Spellbinder to use the female Spellbinder as a surrogate mother for his Spellbinder child.

There are very few Originators in the world because they are hunted down and killed by Freedom Fighters as a way to control and exterminate the population of Spellbinders. They want to end the threat of Magic Users by indirectly ending their entire race. Because of this, the Spellbinders, when they find an Originator, will kidnap them, send them to the temples, and train them for their roles as Breeders.

Each married Spellbinder couple is assigned one Originator, and a number of Mundane Human slaves equal to their status in society. The Originator is considered a part of the marriage covenant, and the equivalent of a second wife or husband to the couple in question. The family unit is basically polygamous in nature. The only difference between this and a traditional polygamous family is that the Originators are not permanently assigned to a couple. They have two-year assignments, rotating from this assignment to another assignment either when a child has been conceived and brought safely into the world, or when the two year posting as an Originator is complete.

So this idea was basically inspired by Mage the Awakening, and the show the Handmaid's tale. It's kind of a mixed-up marriage of the two ideas in my head. I am not sure how big a group I am willing to run. I usually stick to no more than five people, but this might be something that could be open to a larger based recruitment if people like the idea.

Although I am going to be offering some basic examples of Spells, I am thinking that players that play Spellbinders once they choose their School of Study, can write their own spells, and get them approved by me because most people are capable of and desiring of this kind of thing when I offer it.

If you are interested in this idea, please respond below so I can gauge just how much interest I have and decide whether or not there is enough to run the game.





There has been enough interest expressed that I have decided I am going to go ahead with this game. I am going to limit things to no more than three characters apiece so that everyone can make a Spellbinder, an Originator and a human if they would like or some combination therein. It's not required to make multiple characters, but if you want to do so, it is permitted.

The setting will be Pseudo-Medieval. What this means is, the fashion will be partially drawn from the clothing of the Middle Ages mixed partially with some more modern touches like in the show Robin Hood which I will show pictures of to give you an idea of what I mean. Let me know if you want to go as far as jeans, I know I am going to include like leather jackets.

What there will not be, is cars, computers, or planes for sure. I do not want it to be completely modern, I want it to have a mostly Middle Ages feel while taking place in a fantasy world I create.


I am putting images here that are meant to be inspirational in nature. At the moment, I have not created any actual characters yet so these Robin Hood pictures are still open to grab if you like any of them. Just let me know.


One thing that I have seen in a lot of shows and movies like this, is leather. It is almost Steampunk in nature, but without the technology that I am thinking of for the way the people dress and their culture.


Another example of a movie that has some of the elements I am picturing in my head, is the movie Van Hellsing. If you just forget the weird devices they used and focus on fashion. Particularly I like the idea of it being acceptable for a woman to wear trousers.




I am going to put the rest of my examples in the World Building Section for everyone to look at. This is only a little bit of the inspiration I wanted to share with everyone but this message is getting very long with the edits.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

“Sanity is a valuable possesion; I hoard it the way people once hoarded money. I save it, so I will have enough, when the time comes.” ― Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale

[Esoterica]

I have added some basic spells for the different kinds of magic users. I am not finished yet but I do not plan on having an extensive list or anything too complicated when it comes to this. Enough to have fun but not so much our heads swim and it becomes difficult to set up a character. The list is available at the hyperlink below in the Worldbuilding Section. Visit the link below for more information. Feel free to share any ideas you have for Spells with me in this interest check, but I have a specific idea for how the Magic System is going to work. Psychic Mind Reading Powers, for example, are not going to be a Mainstream thing. The reason for this is going to be so that people's Spellbinders are not way overpowered and so that I can keep the magic system under control in this game.

For inspiration pictures, I suggest using photos from Legend of the Seeker, Robin Hood, Mortal Engines, Van Hellsing, and Game of Thrones, as well as using pictures of festival wear. This is what I used, this should help you find your own.

You may have wondered, how a male Originator fits into the Marriage Covenant in this lore. There are Male Originators, and they can be sent to same-sex female couples, or given to heterosexual couples. The males in the Marriage Covenant do not have to be intimate with the Spellbinder Husbands. Many times they are not, and both men's attentions just happen to be on the female Spellbinder. It's not necessarily frowned upon if the men get involved with each other. Sometimes they do, but not all the time, and it is NOT required in this roleplay. 

A couple of things sprang to mind that might be asked that I want to clarify here. Although Cause Fertility and Render Infertile are Spellbinder rare powers, Spellbinders to this point have not been able to use them to create Originators. This only has worked on Mundanes.

As far as character creation goes, there are going to be a handful of spells that come with the choice of each Magical School. The other clarification is your character can get one extra ability slot for having done a ritual sacrifice at character creation time.

Any other extra powers are going to come at a cost for each of them must be done through a Pact with a Demon, and must be approved by me on the Character Sheet. This is so we don't have overpowered characters.

I am proposing a concentrated effort for everyone to get their hands on a book that is supposed to have the instructions on how to create an Originator. How to Imbue someone and turn them into a Spellbinder, how to mend the Shattered Mind, and how to break the Barriers in place that limit the Magical focus to one School of Magic only. (I hope this stuff makes as much sense to you all as it does to me in my brain. Lol.) So like the Tome of Forbidden Knowledge surfaces and everyone goes on a rat race to get their hands on this book, because ultimately the Mundanes realize they can use this book to make themselves Spellbinders. The only thing left, is figuring out how to break the Curse that makes Spellbinders unable to have children with anyone but an Originator. The history of the curse is in this book, and if there is any way to break the curse, they will be able to use it to break the curse, changing society forever.

So here is a very important piece of lore. The union of two Spellbinders (They can be same sex couples) and one Originator, is called a Triad. The Originators have two year assignments with a Spellbinder Couple. After two years, if the Originator has not gotten pregnant, (or gotten the Female Spellbinder Pregnant if he is a male) he or she is moved to another couple. If there is a Female Originator, she remains in the household until after the baby is weaned. If there is a Male Originator, he is removed from the house immediately and reassigned immediately after the baby is born. So he is allowed to see the child once, before he is sent off to make another Spellbinder baby. The Spellbinders are considered the parents of the Spellbinder Child. They may or may not be told about the Originator that was a part of the Triad that created them. They very likely will never see that child again. This system is in place because it is believed the Originator's role is merely as a Breeder, and not as a Parent.

I have decided that the main story in this world will take place in a kingdom called Ironfall. There may eventually be traveling into other kingdoms in order to raid looking for Mundane Slaves and Originators, but the main story is going to take place in Ironfall.

[Ghrymhawke]

I’d be interested!

[Esoterica]

What do you think you would be interested in playing? Male, female? Spellbinder? Human Slave, Originator?

[Ghrymhawke]

I was thinking either Female Spellbinder or Male Originator.  I'm flexible though, if something needs to be balanced out.

[Esoterica]

I had a little bit of interest expressed privately at this point, so I don't know how that is going to play out quite yet, and who is going to want to do what. I am going to start working on some World Building I think, like I usually do for games now that this idea is coming together in my head more.

[Juggtacular]

I'd also be interested in a male Spellbinder, either with Necromancy or Elementalism. Maybe even Demonology. Lots of subtle ways you can make the base type very different so my brain is all over the place.

[Esoterica]

I am going to start working on a World Building Section for the game. Put my ideas down more concretely. I have some ideas floating around in my brain. There are lots of ways that the base type can be made differently.

Anyway I think a good plot might be an evil Spellbinder Lord that needs to be stopped. Something kind of cliche, but, sometimes cliche is good.

[Caela]

The concept is intriguing, definitely interested in seeing more of what you're thinking.

[Esoterica]

I am going to start working more on characters and such for this. Create a character sheet. Maybe some ideas for powers. That sort of thing. It's starting to come together in my head now a bit more.

[Etah dna Evol]

Interesting concept. I'm interested.

[Esoterica]

Now that I have more time to work on characters. (Anyone else at home quarantined with way too much time on their hands?) I am going to work on a few key characters. That should help pull this together.

[ElayneTrakand]

If you are still accepting I would like to plant a flag of interest!

[Esoterica]

Yep, I am still accepting people for this game. Let me know what kind of character you are thinking about playing. It might be easier after I slap up a few key members of society. I am thinking about creating a Husband, a Wife, and an Originator or two but leaving them unattached and not connected with each other so that when you all make characters you can join the families. I also think I want to add Witch Hunters to this. As a plot idea is beginning to form in my brain now that requires some kind of antagonist.

[ElayneTrakand]

I was leaning towards female elementalist

[KB]

I'm interested in exploring a male Demonology spellbinder.
Though I don't know your idea of the way magic works, in my mind demonology sounds like it might include researching, then either summoning (duh), or taking on power and aspects of demons into yourself (temporarily or otherwise). Might be about making pacts and exchanging favors?

Edit: I dabbled in some World of Darkness, but I know hardly anything about Mage the Awakening.

[Esoterica]

Well this is, inspired by that world, it will not be strictly according to any kind of canon.

[Levi]

I would be interested in playing an Originator

[Esoterica]

Are you thinking a male or female Originator?

[Levi]

Are you thinking a male or female Originator?

I prefer female but can do male if needed

[Esoterica]

I prefer female but can do male if needed

All right. That looks doable right now. I have decided that even though the Originators is based on a cross between Mage the Awakening and the Handmaid's Tale, it is not going to have a ceremony like the Handmaid's Tale did. Really, the norm will be for the Husband, the Wife, and the Originator to be intimate together at the same time, but there. won't be some elders knocking on the door forcing this to happen in this world like there was in the Handmaid's Tale.

Edit: Additionally, I have basic spells and a list of terms up in the World Building Section. The next step will be creating a few NPC's and a character sheet so people can start creating their characters and we can get this together.

Also, this will be very, very loosely based on Mage the Awakening. Basically the only concept and term I took from that was the Awakening. We won't have traditions but five schools of magic in this game.

[RoboCata]

If there is still room, i would not mind joining as a spellbinder.  I could probably play any of the magic types, but my preference is (in order) Necromancy, Demonology, Elementalism, Alchemy, Shamanism.  I am not super familiar with the source material, so i would have to look into it a bit, but your descriptions sounds...fascinating.

[Esoterica]

If there is still room, i would not mind joining as a spellbinder.  I could probably play any of the magic types, but my preference is (in order) Necromancy, Demonology, Elementalism, Alchemy, Shamanism.  I am not super familiar with the source material, so i would have to look into it a bit, but your descriptions sounds...fascinating.

Much of my Source Material, like 90 percent of it, is stuff I created myself only inspired by Handmaid's Tale and Mage the Awakening. I definitely still have room. There is one other kind of Spellbinder Magic type I just added, but I don't need many at the moment. Apostates.

Apostates would be people who do not choose a School of Magic and can have spells from the different Mage Schools. Unfortunately, they are all insane, and also they are Pariahs. But we can't run a Chronicle with like 90 percent Apostates so I hope most of you all want to do something else who want to be Spellbinders.

There is a lot of new information on lore in the World Building Section. Let me know if you have questions and I will do my best to answer them and clarify points for you. I am also going to be putting up Wanted Ads in the World Building Section so that I will not be necessarily playing all the Cool types of characters here.

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=318321.0

[Esoterica]

Here is a guy who is going to be a main character and help drive this plot:

Player
Esoterica
Michael Greyhawk
Alias
The Nameless
Character Type: Spellbinder
Magical School: Nameless One (Formerly Shamanism)

Face claim

James Purefoy

Bio

This man was a Shaman, very well known and respected in the community. He had a position on the Council. He was married to a Female Spellbinder, and had been assigned a Female Originator. He had a business-like arrangement with his Spellbinder wife. He loved his Originator. He attempted to do something that had never been done before successfully. He attempted to Imbue her, so that she could wield Magic, and become his equal.

Unfortunately, this did not work, at all. His beloved Originator died. His wife and son were killed, as was mandated by the law, and he became a Nameless One, and was Banished to the Shadowlands, where he lived alone until just recently.

Recently, he started working with the Freedom Fighters in overthrowing the System so that the Mundane slaves would be freed and order would be restored to the world. He is searching for a way to restore his Shattered Mind and regain his sanity.

Automatic Abilities: Read Aura, Divination, Knockback, Sacrifice, Pact

Learned Abilities:

Healing Totem: Allows the Shaman to Conjure a Totem that heals most wounds that a target will incur in battle.

Shapeshift: (Hawk) Allows the Shaman to Shapeshift into an animal of choice. You must select one type of animal only.

Call Animal: (Hawk) Allows the Shaman to call and control animal of choice. You must select one kind of animal only.

Thunderstorm: Allows the Shaman to control the weather, causing and controlling a thunderstorm overhead.

[Esoterica]

Player
Esoterica
Katherine Malone
Alias
If have alias
Character Type: Mundane
Magical School: Not Applicable

Face claim

Tabrett Bethell


Bio

Katherine is a former slave, turned Freedom Fighter. A woman with a troubled past, she killed several individuals in order to escape and she has continued to kill in order to remain safe and free. She is not above using seduction in order to get what she needs from people. She has a questionable moral compass, but at the end of the day, she is one of the few individuals willing to do what is necessary for the cause.

Items:

Numerous Scrolls that she has stolen from Spellbinders that she uses sparingly in order to use Cantrips against Spellbinders, that have gotten her out of major binds on more than one occasion.

A collection of Magical Potions she has stolen from Spell Binders that she uses sparingly in order to heal the wounds of those who are wounded by the Spellbinders she and the Freedom Fighters have fought against.

She has a special ring that she uses to change her appearance using False Glamour. Many times she will pretend to be a slave so that she can sneak into the homes of Spellbinders and the library and take things she needs.

She has an enchanted sword, bow, and set of throwing knives that she has collected from various Spellbinders that she has killed. The sword has a Flame Enchantment, the bow has a Frost Enchantment, and she has one throwing knife with a Frost, Flame and Lightning Enchantment.

She has the ability to become invisible through the use of an invisibility ring. This is a powerful cantrip, and she has used it many times to sneak into the residences of Spellbinders to steal needed supplies for the cause. She is aware that only the Apostates and the Nameless can see through the enchantments on these rings, but because they are Pariah's, this has never been a problem because she never encountered them before.