Prepare for the #LodanRespawn2024 Existing characters may choose to be displace from/have memories of different timelines, thereby allowing returning members the option to retcon their whole character. These changes are the result of the "Unnatural Fog" plot device that is running between now and the Respawn. The plot is simple: no matter where your character is, that place is shrouded in a thick fog that suspends time, but not thoughts or memories, so even if they're repeating the same day over and over again, they continue to remember, so each time feels like a new day. For those retconning OCs; this is where new versions of themselves have the opportunity to replace the old versions. Official lore and tree updates will be announced asap
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Dec 10, 2015 7:08:39 GMT
Aura Log - A Guide on Andersweltler Magic
A compilation of notes and research on Andersweltler magic, its basic properties and relation towards technology. Writen by Edelweiss Fjäril
From my personal experiences, although magic can be classified into specific branches that share basic similarities, it's by no means exact like math and engineering aim to be. Every spell, although the same in its essence, will be cast differently depending on the person utilizing them - final results and uses tend to be somewhat similar, but appearence and initial effects vary according to amount of skill and personality of the individual.
At the core of the issue, the main similarities that can be recorded are:
1- No Ander can wield tech, just as no Human can wield magic.
2- Magic flows within and throughout all Anders, independing of age, gender, race and how many spells they've learned.
3- This constant magic flow forms an aura around the Ander, similarly to a magnetic field, which is what causes technology to malfunction in Ander grasp. Humans and halfbreeds of human prevalence do not have this aura.
The lenght of an Andersweltler aura varies according to how much magic they master. Someone who can cast tier 5 magic has a wider aura than someone who never learned any spells.
In normal conditions the aura is retracted and invisible to the naked eye. Depending on the caster and spell, however, the use of magic may cause the aura to be momentarily visible. This is specially common to observe for Health and Necromancy spells.
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Dec 10, 2015 7:10:27 GMT
Differences in appearance may occur when the same spell is casted by different people. The reasons why this occurs aren't clear, but individual personality seems to be an important factor in how each magic user harnesses the energy for their spells and how they appear externally.
Example: two different users casting the first tier of Kinetics.
User 1's spell extends below their feet as a luminous platform, allowing them to 'step' on and jump again. User 2's spell spreads throughout the legs and stops at the feet's soles, concentrating there as a surge on energy that propels them in a second jump midair, with no further visible effects.
Starting from a point where no spells are being cast, the point in common for any and all Anders is no direct touch means tech won't break. If there is magic being cast, however, the aura flares to the full of the caster's skills. Any tech within the flaring range will show its usual signs of malfunctioning due to Ander-exposure.
Lv 1 - Skin lenght. The aura is barely out of the skin surface.
Lv 2 - A couple inches of lenght.
Lv 3 - Elbow lenght.
Lv 4 - Wrist lenght.
Lv 5 - Arm's lenght. The aura flares at the distance of an adult man's stretched arm.
When an Ander dies, the aura of their bodies is slowly dispersed into the ambient and fades within a period of around five minutes. Within this time, Health V can still be cast. Afterwards, any magic present in the body will be gone and revival is deemed impossible (while humans have no magic whatsoever, the 5 minutes rule of Health V still applies to them). After the aura is gone, Anders stop affecting tech. A clock placed in a dead Ander's hands will not break.
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Dec 10, 2015 7:12:02 GMT
Spells are a conscious manipulation and projection of an Ander's magic aura in relation to themselves and/or the environment's energy. Those can be external, affecting targets other than the caster, or internal, affecting only the individual who casted them.
There are 3 main categories of external spells (the names are not oficial, but I'll be using them in these notes for easier understanding): contact, hover, and distance/ranged.
1) Contact types are spells which require direct touch to be cast onto a target (example: the first tiers of Toxins). When cast on tech, the tech may show malfunction signs according to the level of the spell cast, but that's due to the Ander's aura. *You cannot actually poison a machine in the same sense as a living being. Tech does not catch sickness.
2) Hover types are spells which don't require direct touch to work, but still need to be in the target's proximities (example: Health). When cast on tech, the tech shows malfunction signs according to the level of the spell cast, but that's due to the Ander's aura. *You cannot actually heal a machine in the same sense as a living being. Tech does not have cells nor a self-regeneration rate and therefore can't naturally recover from damage, even with magic aid.
3) Distance or ranged types are spells that can be cast from a distance (example: Deceit). If cast on tech outsde of the caster's aura reach, most technology will be unaffected. However, clockwork dolls and other machines that have sensory input will show some mild signs of malfunctioning.
There are differences in how diverse spells affect tech for the same reason fire and frost have different effects on a sheet of metal. Freezing a gun, overheating it, sticking sand/mud in it all can stop it from being usable but don't have the same effects on the gun per se. Health and Toxins do not affect machines in the sense those cannot turn ill nor heal, elemental magic causes elemental damage, etc.
When the matter is Deceit, as it's a mind-related spell, the effect is cast on the machine's "mind". It doesn't work the same as in a person since the machine doesn't have emotions, nor do they have the same sort of mind that a person does. Because of this, a Deceit spell will never actually deceive a machine: instead it causes minor malfunctioning, without actually breaking it. In general results, the machine's sensors turn temporarily impaired, with any information gathered scrambled and some other minor effects.
Also, as Deceit needs a target mind to affect, it won't work on 'mindless' machines. A mage can get results casting on a clockwork doll or robot, but not on a clock, vehicle or gun.
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Dec 10, 2015 7:14:11 GMT
There's a limit to how many spells can be cast by a single person within a period of time. At each spell cast, and the stronger the spell is, the aura temporarily diminishes until there's not enough to cast anything else - an effect occasionally referred to as "running out of juice" by Anders making indirect allusion to their magic. The aura replenishes itself back to its full capacity within a period of 24 hours, but once it's reached a depleted state no spells are feasible to cast until that time is up.
During a period of depletion, an Ander's aura is faint enough to lessen their malfunctioning effects towards tech (though it by no means is annuled completely). An example would be holding a small winded wristwatch and causing it to stall rather than breaking. *Usually there aren't further effects to an Ander being magic-depleted other than being unable to cast anything, but some complain/can show symptoms of fatigue, migraines or vertigo.
One exception to this rule: hiding a Winged Andersweltler's wings in the form of tattoos on the back as well as the inverse process of unfolding them back into view doesn't drain any considerable amount of casting energy from the Ander when compared to other spells. The same applies to magic not learned through the Skills Merchant.
It's not clear why that is so, but it possibly happens due to being a really minor type of magic or because, differently from the other known spells from diverse magic branches, hiding or showing wings is chanted magic, requiring words to work instead of being possible to cast in silence.
As almost to none other significant chanted spells were properly recorded from the time the last mages passed through the gate to Lodan and the passage was sealed, the answer for if this hypothesis is correct or not remains shrouded in mystery.
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Apr 18, 2016 7:13:34 GMT
About the matter of sensing auras in their invisible states
1) Some Anders have a natural born ability to sense magical energy being harnessed around them. • This is a rare trait that not many Anders possess. • They cannot sense another Ander’s aura. It’s too faint. - Exception to while being in direct contact with it, such as touching the person while their aura is flaring.
2) They can sense magical spells being cast; the higher rank of the spell, the more noticeable it is. • The range for sensing magic is about 1 meter. However, high ranking spells can sometimes exceed this and, alternatively, spells that are limited to affecting only the caster will generally have a smaller range. • The range can also vary slightly according to the person casting the spell, but not by the sensitivity of the non-casting Ander.
3) Normal humans are unable to sense magical energy. • The only exception to this are humans that have been infused with technology in some way, as magical energy affects the machinery. • Humans with technology are not able to tell what kind of spell is being cast near them (unless the spell has obvious visual effects).
4) Anders born without the natural ability can train themselves to sense magic. However this is very difficult to learn, requiring many months of practice, patience and observation.
5) Generally speaking, Anders who can sense magic will still be unable to sense what kind of spell is being cast until it’s actually produced. Since the appearance and feeling of spells are individual to each caster, foreseeing what kind of spell someone is casting is highly unlikely. • It should be noted that if you study a specific Ander or spend a lot of time with them, it can be possible to tell what spell they are casting before they set it off; this comes from knowing the person and not from any natural magical-sensing abilities a person might have.
6) There are only two cases which would allow an Ander to foresee what spell is being cast before it is actually produced: • The first exception is in spells that have a clear visual component; a fireball is clearly a fireball, but that’s noticed from visual recognition and not magical-sensing abilities • The second exception to this is in spells that an Ander knows very well and has studied closely; someone who has mastered Health might be able to tell when a Health spell is being cast near them, however it’s not always guaranteed to be recognizable in this way.
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on May 7, 2016 6:15:20 GMT
Of Their Physiology and Peculiarities
1) Any Andersweltler can be born with a lot of magic. However, the manner of how their aura flows and how naturally they can harness and control energy diverges between races.
2) General Anders look, biology-wise, almost identical to humans - except for their black blood - although they're often considered alluring or beautiful and may catch attention in a crowd (exceptions to this exist, especially among half-breeds).
Their flow of magic is well distributed throughout their bodies, and tends to be smooth and sensitive, as well as being rather malleable and easy to self-manipulate for a variety of uses.
They're particularly good at controlling the energy they harness, and detecting the smallest nuances in it, which overall makes them fast learners and better at precise spell-casting compared to other races. Because of this, many general Anders appear to be very “in touch” with magic and are almost always the ones coming up with new and creative uses for spells.
More so than any other race, they’re also the ones who can usually pick up various spell uses simply from being told the idea, while others will generally need a demonstration or some other form of teaching.
3) Winged Anders diverge from humans by (as the name implies) their wings - or the back tattoos that hide them.
Their aura is more or less evened out throughout the body while the wings are exposed, however while they're hidden magical energy tends to concentrate heavily on the Ander's back, mainly around the area of the shoulder blades.
When it comes to spell-casting, Winged types tend to be good at 'explosive' magic (quick/sudden focalized bursts of energy, like the type they need to pull their wings in and out), but also have particular trouble in mastering and controlling the energy they harness.
Their proficiency with explosive magic can be assumed to link to the large concentration of energy ever on their shoulders.
4) Feline Anders diverge from humans by their claws and faintly glowing eyes.
Whether or not their aura is related to their physiology peculiarities is uncertain, but magic accumulates mainly around the eyeballs and fingertips - sometimes the hands and feet as a whole too. Feline Anders are often more agile and physically dexterous than their magical peers and humans, but have the hardest time changing the disposition of the energy they possess or harness.
That being said, it by no means make them bad mages. But Felines have a particular difficulty with making their spells unseen, and magic which is already naturally bright and/or colorful will look even flashier.
Overall, while they’re good with the magic they know how to use, they seem to lack the adaptability that General Anders have. They make up for it in their ability to form and cast spells quicker than other Anders on average.
5) It's worth remembering Generals do not have the physical advantages the other Ander races possess (like ability of flight, night vision, claws). Their natural prowess at magic seems to compensate for that handicap, in manner that all races' strenghts turn to be balanced in total and overall equal between themselves.