End of Aura Sign Ups and OOC discussion

Synopsis:
Aura is a world of magic. Magic in this world comes from three different sources, ceremonial, the dark arts, and natural. All three come from a form of contract of a higher being, who represents the magical arts.
Our story takes place in the small trading empire of Ushas, a kingdom whose wealth miraculously appeared in two years. Truth leaked through from the previously poor trading empire. Apparently there are rumors of a return of a goddess there, her name is Urd, the goddess of fate. This wouldn’t be much worry, except for the famous legend of the end times, that starts with a return of a god.
This will be a mostly player-driven RP, I am fine with those who want to create villain characters. Why do you think there is dark arts, if not for stereotypical villains and demonic characters? If you want to run a more powerful villain just run it by me and state on the sheet under his name if he is a villain. You can PM me and we can discuss plans for the villain character you created. The last thing I mentioned was suggestion, about PMing me. It isn’t necessary but just in case feel free to do it.
The setting of the world is going to be heavily generic fantasy, so feel free to add to the story. I may be the ‘GM’ but I’d rather be a fellow player and enjoy a player driven RP. Feel free to add locations to the world or monsters, just do it within reason. Making up an entire country is fine, but no other realms or planets. We aren’t having aliens.


The Prophecy:
“A god in red cloak shall appear when Dum’s awakening. The god shall declare the end of mortal realm, the end of all things. The god’s arrival is the only sign that Ragnarok will awaken. The devil of olden days shall once more awaken. He will destroy the starlit realm, that you name the gods’. He will burn the mortal realm, painting it in black fire and ash. Beware mortals, time is short.”


Magic:
The three sources of magic are a relative to their contractor. Ceremonial magic is given by a god, from a ceremony dedicated to that god. This is the most common and widespread magic in the world as it has the most variation. Ceremonial magic includes summoning of magical beasts, enchanting of weapons, communication with animals and spirits, conjuration, potion making, levitation, dispel magic, creation and use of talismans, the use of emotion magic, and healing. Dues to it’s widespread nature, ceremonial magic is easily accessible to practically anyone who sanctions and commits a ceremony to gain the magic abilities vested from a god.
The Dark Arts are devilish contracts, blood contracts made with demons in order to acquire their magical abilities. Each contract is unique to the parties, the demon who giving the power and the being who is receiving the power. The being who made the contract with the demon always loses something of value to themselves, possibly breaking their heart depending on its value and the demon who designed the contract. There is no limit on how many contracts a being can hold with the dark arts, the only limit is how many they can fulfill. The dark arts bestow powers of Necromancy, Transfiguration, Illusion, Witchcraft, Psionics, Hellfire, and Blood Magic.
Natural magic is the most limited of the magic sources. It is gifted to being by elementals, fairies, nymphs, or the treefolk. The contracts are more of pacts of friendship or agreements, even an earned treasure gifted for deserving cause. Natural magic is more fluid and friendly compared to the others, there are usually no set terms or set objectives on must do in order to gain the power. The power of natural magic could be gifted to a being for just being their friend. Those with natural magic will find themselves with elemental magic, transmutation, agrokinesis, may acquire familiar spirits, fauna magic, and telepathy with wildlife.
Any of those with magic will generally gain powers relating to the being that gifted them the powers. For example a demon who is a trickster gave a human powers, they would most likely end up with illusion magic, blood magic, and/or psionics. They would not gain every ability listed in the magic source, instead the magic they wield is similar to the being that gave them magic. Another example is with a god of fire giving a mortal magic, because the source of magic is ceremonial they would gain spells that would fit a fiery theme, for example a fire enchantment for weapons, or a talisman that creates a fireball. The only exceptions is with natural magic, in which it is given to the being, gods can give mortals natural magic, but it would mean that mortal is special to that god and might have a relation to the god. It is allowed though very rare.


Pantheon


[details=Gods]Urd, goddess of fate: Urd is the goddess of fate, she is known to be able to see the past present and future all at once. Whenever she speaks a prophecy it could have already happened, or is happening, or will happen. Few times will she mention the past, unless she believes it will repeat itself. One thing to note, Urd sees all possibilities of the future and branches of time, things that she says are what is the most likely to happen, unless it is happening, or has already happened. She often appears as a white-tailed doe, a typical deer on the forests. She chooses a human form, when interacting with mortals.

Prometheus, god of dishonorable flames: Prometheus is one of the gods of fire. He was deemed a traitor after he fell in love with a mortal and gave her natural magic equal to that of a dragon. His flames are known for their green color, strange but beautiful. He is known to take a pheonix form, when he is in the mortal realm. Before he became the dishonorable good of fire, Prometheus was the god of steadfast flames. Prometheus is often in an elf form, rather than his pheonix form.

Ahti, god of the roaring seas (Leviathan): Ahti is the god of the sea and king of the oceans. Ahti is considered to be the most mysterious and unpredictable god. He is the reason why the pantheon found out about Prometheus’s dishonor among them, for taking a mortal lover. He is known to be cold, but at the strangest times, when you don’t expect it. Ahti just might come to your aid if you are his follower. He is the caretaker of the elder seafolk, often speaking to them in a form of a dolphin. Ahti often wanders the waters with the seafolk, rarely showing any mortal form, though if he does, it is always of a seafolk.

Agni, god of the consuming flame: Agni is the god of consuming flame. He is most known for his eternal hunger and desire to satiate his starvation. Anything he burns becomes his meal, he is for his white flames that eat everything. Agni is one of the less social gods, but he will never reject a party invitation, even if he’s only there to eat all the food. Those that are given power from him often feel hunger at all times, though it is not near the level of starvation, instead they will never be satisfied by any mortal food. He is often represented as a titan fire dragon, in the myths. Agni chooses not to appear in a mortal form, instead he is always in the titan dragon’s form.

Bran, god of the birds and birdfolk: Bran is the god of the birds and birdfolk. He protects his people and treasures freedom. He often expresses his carefree nature in a form of a owl. He is known to summon a flock of crows, while he watches the mortal realm by night. In mortal form, Bran can often be seen as a birdfolk, with autumn colored feathers.

Dagda, god of the ancient earth: Dagda, god of the ancient earth, is a lover of knowledge and laws. He often appears as a giant badger who can tunnel through the ground and stone. Dagda is often in solitude in the mountains. He does go into mortal form, like the rest of the gods, often choosing the appearance of a dwarf.

Disma, goddess of warmth and light: Disma is the goddess of warmth and light, though the mortals often treat her as the goddess of motherhood and of love, despite that Disma chooses not to relate to those two. She appears in a red fox form, most of the time. Other than that she takes the form of a small sprite.

Eos, goddess of the sun: Eos, goddess of the sun and high ruler of the gods. She was the one who dealt punishment to Prometheus, when he dishonored the gods. She takes the form of a lioness and of a mortal, golden-scaled dragonborn. She is often considered brash and quick to anger, among the gods.

Erebas, goddess of the underworld: Erabas the goddess of the underworld. She is the gatekeeper for all who die. She is often quiet and is quick to make decisions, no matter how decisive they might be. She has an animal form of a stoat, or a short tailed weasel. Her mortal form is that of a sprite with shadow-like wings.

Faunus, god of nature: The god of nature, Faunus is quire the quirky one. He’s ambitious and kind, often considered to be the most father-like god of the pantheon. In his early years as a god, Faunas was known to conjure lies that could trick any god or demon, as if they were a natural mirage. He used the lies to gain power in the pantheon. He often appears as a brown bear, though his mortal form is of a human.

Gaea, god of knowledge: Gaea, the god of knowledge, is a tactful and quiet soul. He is polite with any being he is with, willing to explain most things at the being’s pace. To allow that being to fully comprehend the knowledge and wisdom of his teaching. He is one of the eldest gods, often called the first god. He is kind to the mortals and monsters equally, showing no favor to either of them. He takes a form of a wolf, grayed with age, and the form of a silver hair dwarf.

Govad, god of winds: Govad, the god of winds, is a trickster among the stars. He is as silent as a passing breeze to as flamboyant as a roaring wind. He takes the form of a finch, and his mortal form is a elf.

Iaha, goddess of the night: Iaha is the goddess of the night. She is a beacon of hope to the mortals and other beings, acting as a mother figure to many. She is kind and protects many mortals and monsters on Aura, appearing in a form of a white feathered dragon with blue eyes. She takes a form of a silver dragonborn with blue eyes as her mortal form.

Yami, goddess of revenge: The crow of the night, the raven of death. Yami calls down hatred on all who cause harm to those who worship her. She provides their revenge, watching her targets in a form of a raven with crimson eyes. Her mortal form is one of a birdfolk with brown and black feathers.

Sita, goddess of harvest: Sita is the god of harvest. She is the most socially active god, often many of the fights happen at her parties. She is a lover of wine and mead, often blessing harvests with abundance of grapes and honey, so more can be made. She takes the form of a red squirrel, she claims they’re the cutest things around and she rarely appears in a mortal form, if she does it’s a sprite.

Saga, god of potential: Saga the youngest god of the pantheon. He is a mysterious god, often refusing to speak entirely and appears shy in his weak moments. Saga looks at any being and only see potential, potential for good and potential for evil. He often helps anyone who interests him, hiding as an annoying bluebird. In his mortal form he takes the form of a young human around their early twenties.
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###Tales of the Gods:

The Tale of Dum’s curse
The gods of Aura are beings born from Yel, the primordial being that molded the realms, mortal, starlit, and underhearth, otherwise known as the underworld or demonic realm. In the early days of Aura, there were no other beings beside the forerunner gods and the demons. Both lived in harmony, though small disputes would arise in time and challenged that harmony.
All fell apart when Govad was born. He was the son of Dum, a treacherous demon, from Dum’s unionship with Iaha. While the two lovers did enjoy some peace, it was only the peace before the storm. The god, Faunus, became extremely jealous of the two’s relationship and strove to drive them apart. His plans at first did the opposite, but he soon devised a scheme that fell into his favor. He manipulated and tricked Yami, goddess of revenge to fall in love with him. That was the first part of his plan.
Faunus hid is schemes well, for most believed him to be truly in love with Yami, including Yami herself. The few who were cautious of his claims were three of the demons, Dum, Ragnarok, and Dalia. Those three easily recognized a liar whenever they saw one. Their wariness was eventually proved to be right.
It was the night of his scheme, everything was perfect. Faunus believed there to be no possible mistakes. He and Yami had gone to the waterfalls of Yan, the Beautiful. The waterfalls were a popular spot in starlit realms, where one could consider to be a perfect romantic avenue. Faunus created a mirage that changed his appearance to be that of a low species, that was still developing in the starlit realm. As the low being he acted as a guide, when Iaha and Dum appeared. Both were fooled by Faunus disguise. He guided them to a separate section of the garden, also mirrored on the other side. He called Dum to follow and he lead Dum around, telling him the story of Yan’s creation, since he was a demon from the underhearth.
Faunus led Dum to Yami, who appeared as Iaha in a mirage. He left them be, as he figured that Dum would do nothing since Yami was asleep under a tree. Faunus returned to Iaha and pondered aloud, telling her that her love was only starlight. The lower being shape, Faunus took, left him and he appeared as Faunus, god of Nature. Iaha stood up and questioned him, where Dum was. Faunus simply answered that Dum was led to where his heart desired, and that they shouldn’t disturb the two. That who knows what might happen under the moon.
Iaha discovered the two under the tree asleep. She blew in an extreme rage, unable to think clearly she cursed Dum to stay in the Underworld, until her death. Dum was dragged by shadow and was thrust into the underworld. Dum grew a hatred for Faunus, as Faunus had tricked him. Yami and Faunus separated from the event, they never spoke to each other again.
Two centuries later, Faunus was able to convince Iaha to marry him, and they became the parents of Govad. This news was the last straw for Dum, causing him to completely turn to rage and plans of destruction. He vowed to destroy every last treasure of Faunus and Iaha, for he believed Iaha to also be included in the treachery.

The Tale of Prometheus’ love and dishonor
The dishonor of Prometheus happened after the arrival of the mortals. He fell in love with a mortal named Amara. Prometheus made it a regular practice and habit to visit Amara and her parents. He appeared as an elf before her family and took a new name, Pesmus. He became a good friend to the family and found happiness in their company, though the light didn’t last for long. Prometheus was soon discovered by Eos, ruler of the gods. She was the one that banned the gods from loving anything other. She was enraged to learn of Prometheus’ secret.
Prometheus was taken into the starlt realm and bound to the mourning cliffs, the Dierdre. From the Dierdre he could see all that happened in the mortal realm. Time passed and he was released when his love passed of age. Prometheus went to the mortal realm as a phoenix, he flew above her grave for seven years, before he went his way.


Races


Humans: The most prosperous race in Aura, they have the average lifespan of one hundred and twenty years. They have no natural ability, though they are quite adaptable with hard labor. Humans have the most average lifespan of any race.
Elves: The eldest race in Aura, they have the longest lifespan of three hundred years, they consider any elf under thirty years to be what is the equivalent of a teenager or adolescent, because they take longer to grow and mature into adulthood. Elves are known for their keen hearing and night vision. Elves are a more fragile race compared to the rest, though they are very agile.
Dwarves: The rowdiest race in all of Aura. The dwarves don’t know when to take a break from their work. Their average lifespan is eighty years, a little less than a human. The dwarves are known for their expert knowledge knowledge of direction, you’d be hard pressed to find a dwarf who didn’t know his directions. They are also the sturdiest race in all of Aura and can take a beating.
Birdfolk: The birdfolk are one of the natural flyers of Aura, their wings can carry twice their weight. The birdfolk have an average lifespan of forty years, though some barely live longer. The birdfolk can see with amazing clearness and have an excellent sense of smell. They mostly look human, except for their feathers and more bird-like bodies.
Seafolk: The only race gifted with the ability to breathe underwater, able to fully live their lives under water. They almost resemble humans, except for their gills on their necks and fish-like scales and fins, that help them swim quickly in water. The seafolk have an average lifespan of one hundred and fifty years.
Sprite: The smallest race in all of Aura, the sprite, or lesser fairy, barely makes three feet actually three feet is pretty tall for the sprites. They also have the ability to fly with their fairy wings. The sprites are known for their excellent taste and sense of nature, they can sense what a plant feels by touching the plant. The sprites have a tiny lifespan of twelve years. They are the most fragile race, next to the elves.
Dragonborn: The least human-like race in all of Aura. The dragonborn have dragon-like bodies, though humanoid. They have element resistant scales, depending on the color of their scales. The dragonborn have the most excellent sense of smell, being able to smell meat cook clearly, for a mile. If a dragonborn has red or orange scales then they have heat resistance, if they have blue or white/gray then they have cold resistance. Unique colors like green, yellow, or purple are magic resistance. The more earth colored scales give the dragonborn a tougher body.


Character Sheet:
Name:
Allegiance: if needed, needed if character is a villian
Race:
Appearance:
Magic: magic source (ceremonial, dark arts, or natural), contractor (being or god that gave your character the magic)
Magic Abilities: spells given by the contractor
Abilities and Equipment: if they have special abilities or equipment
Bio: feel free to add locations to the world and monsters and other named beings


rules


  • Be nice, don’t autohit or autododge. I know it’s tempting to dodge every hit, pretty much don’t autododge if the being attacking your character is about the same combatic level, at that point it’s merely about strategy and how well your character fights. The main reason for the rule is in case of a ‘boxing match’ where the two characters are fighting each other, it’s hard to imagine that one of them can dodge every attack, if they are around the same combative level.

  • Be creative, but no OP characters, you don’t need them to be creative. There are plenty of options and ideas to choose from, just create something that you’ll have fun with.


World Map:


Map of Ushas:

Feel Free to add locations.


Demons:

  • Dum, lord demon of treachery:
  • Ragnarok, overlord demon of destruction:
  • Dalia, demon queen, ruler of all demons:
    to clarify there are more demons, these are the demons that directly interact with the above prophecy.

#Players:

@L.O.S.S-KAL

@Bramsley

@TheOnlyGuyWhoLikesMistika

5 Likes

Uh oh…elves

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it’s not like elves are apart of nearly most fantasy or anything

it’s more my…opinion towards elves

don’t worry it’ll just lead to interesting character interactions

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Name:Boutart Dior
Allegiance: Bounty hunter
Race:Human
Appearance: Surcoat colours are white and red

MagicGun: “marteau” a specialised musket with 16 pre loaded barrels that can be swapped in and out for quick reloads

Magic AbilitiesGun abilities: Due to the pre loaded barrels “marteau” can fire 16 times before needing a traditional musket reload, it can also be used to crack skulls with the stock.

Abilities and equipment: Boutart is capable of reloading a musket traditionally in just under a minute, he carries an arming sword for close quarters duelling and wears a suit of chain-mail with a surcoat and “sugar-bowl” style great helm

Bio: Boutart Dior has from a young age had good eyes, which lead him to develop a passion for shooting eventually leading him to enter “the silver hammer” a tournament in which musketeers would compete against one another in tests of skill, speed and even strength (the cannon lifting competition was very funny to watch, Boutart’s record was 3.7 inches for 6 seconds). Boutart was one of the best making it all the way to the semi finals, unfortunately he would meet his match against an opponent that utterly humiliated him: an elf who was using a crossbow, since his tragic defeat Boutart came to resent elves and develop a foul hatred towards them.

1 Like

Accepted


also if this wasn’t voiced enough, feel free to add new countries and cities, or other small villages and towns.

Name: Aep Irulan Lockheed

Alleigance: Independent (His fishing village), Leviathan (His God/Contractor)

Race: Half-Elf

Appearance:

Magic (Source): Ceremonial; Aep’s magic is derived from Leviathan, an ancient sea god (rumoured to be a very large fish), whom he worships in the form of animal sacrifice and libations of wine and milk. He has also tattooed his body with symbols and runes, through these he channels the magic of Leviathan.

**Magic(Abilities):**Aep is capable of forming portals to the Ocean through bodies of water and summoning sea creatures, depending on the size of the bodies also determines the size of the creatures. However, the kind of sea creature summoned is largely at random (from a pot of water he could summon eels, a turtle, a small octopus etc).

Abilities and Equipment: Aep is armed with a Glaive and ritual bone dagger, both are used to carve sigils and runes into containers (so that he can use them as portals) as well as conventional weapons.

Aep with his Glaive

Aep’s Bone dagger

Bio: Prior to his life as an adventurer Aep was a fisherman in a small and reclusive village in the south of Ushas. During his Village’s annual festival to Honour Leviathan he was one of the lucky few to ask his divine Benefactor any question he desired, naturally he asked what his benefactor what his purpose was in life (As a half elf he felt his place amongst people was unclear), the god replied “To paint my scripture upon thy flesh, and spread my word far and wide” standard stuff really. With this information Aep’s body was tattooed with the sacred texts of Leviathan and he set off out into the world. Unfortunately the name Leviathan was a little ominous to some and consequently perceived as an ancient and powerful demon . Consequently, Aep felt considerably less confident in spreading the word.

Aep is a reasonably skittish person, given his status as a half elf and (falsely) presumed demon worship, as a result his behaviour is often paranoid. However, he can be affectionate and warm to those he feels “safe” around.

2 Likes

Would you mind if I take the name Leviathan as another name for Ahti a previously established sea god in the first post under the drop down called “God’s”
At the top of the Pantheon section?

1 Like

Definitely! I had an idea awhile back (when I worked on D&D campaigns) of the same God being worshipped under different names, as a result the ‘new’ God was a facet formed by the worshippers interpretation.

Edit: Here is a sketch I did of how Leviathan/Ahti was perceived by Aep and his Village as well as a mini shrine.

1 Like

It just makes it easier for me. How many portals can Aep create?

One at a time, and they require sigils carved in a circle around the area (unless its open water). The largest thing he can summon would be an Orca. Though summoning large sea creatures is physically taxing on Aep.

1 Like

Fair enough, your character is accepted.


To clear things up, this guy is my character, not some NPC.

Name: Zorkhan Li Degan
**Allegiance:**He is aligned to the demon, Arak, demon of the moonless nights.
Race: Seafolk
Appearance:
Zorkhan has a bluish skin tone, and a scaled head. He stands a head taller than most humans and has very visible gills on his neck. He wears more oriental clothing and plenty of ornaments strung on his clothing.
Magic Source: Dark Arts, contractor Arak. He committed a blood sacrifice of five innocent lives in order to gain such powers. His magic flows through his blood, acting according to his will according to the contract.
Magic Abilities: The dark arts grant Zorkhan the ability to manipulate a body of 200 gallons of liquid, this is not exclusive to water, but the liquid cannot be a semi-solid. This technically means he can control blood, however if it’s in a cold and “near-frozen” state it wouldn’t work. 200 Gallons equals 26.74 cubic feet. His range is determined by what he can clearly see, so about 50 yards away.
Equipment: Zorkhan carries a ceremonial dagger, mainly for his dark art practices, since he his required to kill 1 life every year
Bio:
Zorkhan was a mislead boy. He fell in love with the story of demons and began to worship them. around the age of twenty-three he made a contract with Arak and gained access to the dark arts, but now he needs to fulfill the contract once every year on a moonless night.

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Name: Artemis Tentoria
Allegiance: Antagonist but he is manipulative
Race: human
Appearance:

https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/002/017/454/large/daniil-kozlovsky-char-darkmage-01.jpg?1456047800&dl=1
Magic: dark arts, Yami gave him powers
Magic Abilities: he’s pretty powerful in the dark arts he also uses his wits and is very cunning
Abilities and Equipment: a magic staff that shows the darkness of even the lightest of souls, strong armour, poisons, ancient serums that can quench thirst, hunger and give him a small power boost
Bio: Artemis was once a kind young fellow, but in his age, he desired more power, he believes that others are unfit for what they have, he turned to vengeance and believes ragnarok shall cure people

what magical abilities would he know? As in specific spells, such as an alchemist-based power that relates to Yami, like how the spell fireball relates to Prometheus or Agni.

Saying he’s powerful in a type of magic doesn’t exactly give a scope of his abilities.
@TheOnlyGuyWhoLikesMistika

I used heroforge to create the current line-up

2 Likes

Here’s some art I did of Zorkhan.

2 Likes

Can a character have pacts with multiple gods at once?

It would be limited to how many ceremonies a person could perform, as multiple ceremonies would most likely be a strain on a mortal’s body. Also in some cases to there might be ceremonies that would contradictory, for example a water god’s ceremony and a fire god’s ceremony would most likely be opposites of the other.

I’ll allow it, but expect it to be limited to two or three depending on the drawback of having to perform multiple ceremonies.

Can a character have multiple types of magic? Specifically ceremonial and natural magic?

I’m going to say no on that for mainly one reason, power-balance, other than that, I would think it would be difficult to find a god who would be exactly “OK” with their servant gaining a power source that was unlike their own, I know they would be furious if a mortal tried to gain powers of the dark arts, and would be likely to say no, mainly for that reason, despite who the mortal wanted to also gain powers from, they would be more likely to allow this with another god, since the gods for the most part are on the same side.