ilovefire
2007-08-03, 04:11 PM
There once was a land where magic was rampant. Wizards and Clerics, Druids, Archivists... Wu Jen and Shujenga, Spirit Shamans and Favoured Souls, Dread Necromancers, Beguilers, Warmages, Psions, Wilders, Ardents, Warmages, Sorcerers, Shadowcasters, and Artificiers were everywhere. They were common, they were powerful.
And then, there was a war. A war of magic and might, of the divine, the arcane, the psionic. No one survives today who was there, and the writings of that era are scattered, most destroyed. What is known is that magic changed the very face of this world, and that many millions were killed in this war. The end was sudden, and it is said that a silence louder than a million cannons filled the world. And then, it is said, the gods struck. Angry with their worshippers for the destruction that was caused, and the death, it was decreed that there would only ever be one person devout enough to gain the full favor of the gods, The Heirophant. There would be one chosen to spread the word of the gods, with their blessing, their favoured champion, The Prophet. There would be one chosen to defend nature, the Greenbond. There would be one chosen to keep the ancient lore of the world, The Lorekeeper. There would be one who would shepherd the elements, the Elemental Lord. One to shepherd the spirits, The Spirit Warder. And one to assume the mantles of the deities, The Mind of the Gods.
And when word reached a surviving group of arcanists and studious types, they talked and discussed and agreed that the idea of there only being one was a good one. From then on, there would be only one Wizard, only one Warmage, a single Dread Necromancer. The Beguiler would be unique, as would the Wu Jen. The Psion would be singular, and the Artificier would be only one of his craft. This group sought out others of their trades, and demanded a cease and desist-some agreed. Some did not, and those that did not were hunted and harried until the ends of their days.
And then, there were the ones whos powers were not trained, but born. Sorcerers, Wilders, Shadowcasters. To these, the chosen of the gods conversed and deliberated with the studious ones, and a plan was devised. A curse would be laid, a curse that would prevent any new wilders, sorcerers, or shadowcasters from being born as long as one yet lived. This was quickly put into place, and was found effective after a month had passed.
And so magic left this world, and it began to heal. But having survived so long on naught but magic, the normal people had to adapt to a world where magic was lessened. New methods had to be developed, and so they devised their own plans. They would NOT be wizards, or clerics, or any of that sort. They would make their own--the Vernacular Magic. The Magic of the People. This magic was of many kinds. The magic of language, known as Truenaming, the magic of song, practiced by Bards, and the magic of the soul, called Meldshaping, were among the first developed. Following this, several tribes of people began the totemic worship and imitation of dragons, developing the Twin Paths of the Dragon--creating Dragon Shamans and Dragonfire Adepts. Some Dragonfire Adepts found other ways to develope their powers, by imitating other naturally magical creatures, such as demons, devils, celestials, rakshasha, the fey... these new Adepts began to refer to themselves as Warlocks. A group of monks developed their own form of psionic potential, creating the Soulknives, the Psychic Warriors, and the Lurks, all three founded from the Monastery of the Mentat. A split from the Monastery of the Mentat caused the development of Divine Minds, a group dedicated to the gods and similiar to the now-singular Ardent. This group also discovered a way to allow some divine power to be accessed to mortals, allowing Adepts to flourish. Throughout all this, knowledge of the Outside, where strange nonbeings called Vestiges lurked, was leaked from the elite to the common, and a way was discovered to Bind these Vestiges to the souls of mortals, creating the Binder. Finally, the Sublime Way was created, spontaneously across the world, when one of the greatest fighters this world had ever produced attempted to, and was successful in, slaying the most evil Wizard Lord to date--it is said that the deathblow released a torrent of arcane energies that unlocked a large amount of the collective unconcious.
EDIT: Things I forgot to mention.
This is a world-building project, and while I consider myself the Lead Designer, and will therefore make the FINAL decisions, I'd love to get imput and ideas for both fluff and crunch from the community--and once it is finished, people whose ideas I steal use WILL recieve Credit. And a cookie. Don't you want a chance to get a cookie?
EDIT 2: Mistake with classes. Whoops.
And then, there was a war. A war of magic and might, of the divine, the arcane, the psionic. No one survives today who was there, and the writings of that era are scattered, most destroyed. What is known is that magic changed the very face of this world, and that many millions were killed in this war. The end was sudden, and it is said that a silence louder than a million cannons filled the world. And then, it is said, the gods struck. Angry with their worshippers for the destruction that was caused, and the death, it was decreed that there would only ever be one person devout enough to gain the full favor of the gods, The Heirophant. There would be one chosen to spread the word of the gods, with their blessing, their favoured champion, The Prophet. There would be one chosen to defend nature, the Greenbond. There would be one chosen to keep the ancient lore of the world, The Lorekeeper. There would be one who would shepherd the elements, the Elemental Lord. One to shepherd the spirits, The Spirit Warder. And one to assume the mantles of the deities, The Mind of the Gods.
And when word reached a surviving group of arcanists and studious types, they talked and discussed and agreed that the idea of there only being one was a good one. From then on, there would be only one Wizard, only one Warmage, a single Dread Necromancer. The Beguiler would be unique, as would the Wu Jen. The Psion would be singular, and the Artificier would be only one of his craft. This group sought out others of their trades, and demanded a cease and desist-some agreed. Some did not, and those that did not were hunted and harried until the ends of their days.
And then, there were the ones whos powers were not trained, but born. Sorcerers, Wilders, Shadowcasters. To these, the chosen of the gods conversed and deliberated with the studious ones, and a plan was devised. A curse would be laid, a curse that would prevent any new wilders, sorcerers, or shadowcasters from being born as long as one yet lived. This was quickly put into place, and was found effective after a month had passed.
And so magic left this world, and it began to heal. But having survived so long on naught but magic, the normal people had to adapt to a world where magic was lessened. New methods had to be developed, and so they devised their own plans. They would NOT be wizards, or clerics, or any of that sort. They would make their own--the Vernacular Magic. The Magic of the People. This magic was of many kinds. The magic of language, known as Truenaming, the magic of song, practiced by Bards, and the magic of the soul, called Meldshaping, were among the first developed. Following this, several tribes of people began the totemic worship and imitation of dragons, developing the Twin Paths of the Dragon--creating Dragon Shamans and Dragonfire Adepts. Some Dragonfire Adepts found other ways to develope their powers, by imitating other naturally magical creatures, such as demons, devils, celestials, rakshasha, the fey... these new Adepts began to refer to themselves as Warlocks. A group of monks developed their own form of psionic potential, creating the Soulknives, the Psychic Warriors, and the Lurks, all three founded from the Monastery of the Mentat. A split from the Monastery of the Mentat caused the development of Divine Minds, a group dedicated to the gods and similiar to the now-singular Ardent. This group also discovered a way to allow some divine power to be accessed to mortals, allowing Adepts to flourish. Throughout all this, knowledge of the Outside, where strange nonbeings called Vestiges lurked, was leaked from the elite to the common, and a way was discovered to Bind these Vestiges to the souls of mortals, creating the Binder. Finally, the Sublime Way was created, spontaneously across the world, when one of the greatest fighters this world had ever produced attempted to, and was successful in, slaying the most evil Wizard Lord to date--it is said that the deathblow released a torrent of arcane energies that unlocked a large amount of the collective unconcious.
EDIT: Things I forgot to mention.
This is a world-building project, and while I consider myself the Lead Designer, and will therefore make the FINAL decisions, I'd love to get imput and ideas for both fluff and crunch from the community--and once it is finished, people whose ideas I steal use WILL recieve Credit. And a cookie. Don't you want a chance to get a cookie?
EDIT 2: Mistake with classes. Whoops.