Magical Landry Sign-Up Part Deux - The Landrying!

[Teal Mage]

Hello there NPF!

After spending several months in Hiatus (while I wrote papers), Magical Teacher Professor Landry is officially back. And it brought the World Primer - a handy guide book which explains the system that the Landriverse follows - with it. It is really the perfect introduction to this world.

What better time to try out a Recruitment thread to pull some new blood in? Never, that's when! So, if you're interested in playing a game that's basically the Magic School Bus meets Anime - in a Horror Movie/Dating Sim - keep reading.

It'll be fun.

You might want to check out the official Professor Landry edupad (http://edupad.ch/utWD6aU2Aq) while you do that too.

Setting: Magical Teacher Professor Landry is set in a world that's deceptively similar to our own. The history, countries, religions, pop-culture figures and world leaders of this alternate earth are identical to our own - but the similarities end there. Guns are far less lethal. Beings from legend - demons, spirits and angels - all exist, most in isolated and magically concealed communities, but a handful live among humans using their special abilities to blend in. Reality warping phenomena is widespread, but little noticed, especially by the humans responsible for it. The Masquerade, enforced by powerful and hidden factions of a magic-using minority of humanity and their non-human allies, ensure that all these irregularities remain under the radar - a job that has been made far easier with the ascendance of science in modern society. Most people wouldn't believe magic existed if it bit their faces off.

Amaranth Institute for the Gifted: The bulk of the story will take place here. The Amaranth Institute is a private High School/College hybrid, dedicated to the pursuit of excellence. Run by Head Mistress Sophia Amaranth, the Amaranth Institute is physically located on the West Coast of Canada, surrounded by the city of Ansidor on the west and its old growth forest to its east. Through means of confusing legality, the School actually exists as an independent city-state and follows its own laws. It houses around a thousand students in its educational complex at any given time, and roughly half that number in faculty. All students and most faculty live on Campus, in assigned dormitories. Most students end up sharing these with two or three others, but the wealthier (or more dangerous) among them are assigned their own private room. The only area of the campus the school is contractually obligated not to bug or monitor is inside these dormitories - a detail that you may find useful, given the degree of electronic monitoring that goes on around the school. For your safety, of course.

Among the mundane world, the school has a reputation for turning out excellent students, but the sheer complexity of the disclaimers in its viability contract makes most parents hesitate to send their children there. Effectively, by sending a student to Amaranth, students waive all legal rights to hold the school responsible - even in the event of death. In spite of this, attendance numbers have remained relatively stable since the school's creation - which ought to speak well for how valuable an Amaranth education is, particularly to the talented and ambitious. Even a year attending this place looks great on résumés and post-secondary applications. For that reason alone, most students enroll for a year, then get out as quickly as possible. Less than half of the first year students progress to Amaranth's second year. The compliment of third year - graduating - students is smaller still.

To the supernatural community, Amaranth fulfills a very different function. Through careful recruitment, the school ensures that there are always a fair number of Blacks on campus, forcing the Magically Aware student population to be extremely careful with how they use their abilities. However, the high expectations of the classes make it virtually impossible to avoid some magic use on the parts of the students. The end goal is to produce magic-users who are able to use their powers responsibly enough to still benefit from them in modern society, without blowing the Masquerade apart. Thus far, things have worked out quite nicely!

If you haven't caught on yet, Players will be students in a particular class in Amaranth. Moving on!

The Masquerade: The formal name for the conspiracy which ensures that magic does not become common knowledge. As far as conspiracies go, the Masquerade is a remarkably inefficient one - the shadowy council at its heart is plagued with in-fighting and wields primarily symbolic power. The Guilds represented by the council are largely decentralized and self-policing, with the majority of enforcement carried out on the initiatives of its members. Government organizations have gradually become more and more prominent in monitoring magic-users over time, thanks to their superior funding capacity, but the continued existence of the Masquerade is more a result of happy coincidences, lack of serious threats and Black magic more than any all-encompassing conspiracy. The Masquerade is far from fangless of course - see Enforcers.

The Guilds: The Wizard's Guild, Witch's Guild and the Eastern Spiritualist Association (ESA) are the main representatives of the Guilds. Each Guild listed above is made up of magic-users who police themselves, share information about magic, and at times, work together to deal with threats. Most Guild Members, additionally, work regular jobs and pay a tax to their organization in order to support its more secretive institutions and relatively few paid positions.

Wizard's Guild: Of the three, the Wizard's Guild is the largest and most powerful. Its reach extends the world over, and has absorbed many smaller organizations - notable among them are many branches of the Christian Church - into its hierarchy. The Guild has established Wizard Academies the world over to instruct young magic-users in the appropriate use of their powers. Unlike Amaranth, the hallmark of such Academies is rigid discipline and control - magic is quite dangerous, after all. Officially, the Wizard's guild only practices pure Blue magic - in the form of Wizardry - and holds dim views of less refined disciplines - particularly innate, demonic or old magic. However, the Wizard's guild is not above dabbling in these areas when it is useful. The guild has strict laws against Dark magic however, and will go to great lengths to enforce them. Most members of the Wizard's guild are human (gender is irrelevant). While there is no formal rule preventing demons from joining - indeed, a surprising number of Wizards have some degree of supernatural blood in their veins - demonic power is viewed as a taint, which needs to be controlled, if not outright eliminated.

Witch's Guild: Witches are those willing to pay the ultimate price for power - or, at least, that's what the Witch's Guild exposés. Historically, the Witch's Guild was always hunted, either by the Wizard's or the Church and resorted to Dark magic, alliances with demons and old magic to gain an edge over their hunters. Though they no longer find themselves fighting for survival, the guild retains strong ties to demonic, traditional and Eastern magical communities and casts itself as a neutral and progressive organization. Unlike the Wizard's guild, the Witch's Guild formally endorses Dark magic - provided the cost is always paid by the spellcaster themselves. The Witch's Guild does not have schools of its own - but does have close ties to the Amaranth institute. Similar to the Wizard's guild, gender is irrelevant to Witch's guild membership.

Eastern Spiritualist Association: The E.S.A. for short, the Eastern Spiritualist Association is a loose association of various Eastern schools of magicians, martial artists and demons. Though originally founded in response to the threat of Wizard's Guild domination, the E.S.A. remains a very decentralized organization that rarely acts in unison. Each school is, for all intents and purposes, still independent. For this reason, the E.S.A. has yet to become a significant actor - it does fulfill self-policing, coordinating, and diplomatic functions between its constituent parts, though. Most human schools within the E.S.A. run their own dojos. Outside of the Far East, this organization has relatively little sway - though it does have strong ties to the Witch's Guild.

Government Supernatural Organizations: Each Government in the world has at least a small department devoted to the monitoring, policing and control of supernatural threats. In the more affluent countries of the West, these Departments have sufficient resources to be more effective at their jobs than the Wizard's or Witch's Guilds could ever be. Outside of policing the Guilds, most Departments have similar mandates and objectives: To reduce the power and reach of the Guilds by researching ways to retain the benefits of magic without relying on mages. In Canada, the Ministry of Research and Development is the Government Supernatural Organization.

Enforcers: The Fangs of the Masquerade. Charged with ensuring the Masquerade remains in place and effective, these individuals specialize in killing rogue mages, Blacks who are viewed as too dangerous to be left alone, and any White they see. Enforcers are agents of the Guilds, and generally speaking, limit their own targets to the Magically Aware and the more insane Whites. Government Organization's have a different title for their Enforcers - Agents. This distinction is largely meaningless, but it has been noted that Agents are usually not magic-users in the traditional sense. They rely on drugs, modern weapons and machines to deal with supernatural threats. Enforcers, on the other hand, are mages in the traditional sense - most of specialize in magic cancelation or absorption. Thus far, there have been relatively few clashes between Agents and Enforcers.

Races: Players in Magical Teacher Professor Landry will be either Human, or Non-Human (Half-Human is still non-human). Here's some details on how these races breakdown, as well as some notable sub-classes of demons. This isn't an exhaustive list by any means, of course.

Humans: The dominant species on Earth. Magic, to most humans, is a quaint and antiquated notion which people clung to in the past to explain that which they did not understand. Overtime, this scepticism has resulted in the development of a low grade magical-resistance on the part of humanity - especially with regard to mental manipulation. However, humans raised in mainstream society also have more difficulty learning the basics of magic than demons - though all are fully capable of it. This fact is one of the primary reasons for the existence of the Masquerade. Were humanity to reach its full magical potential, the results would be catastrophic - particularly for the minority of supernatural creatures that exist. Naturally, humans are limited to physical augmentation with their magical power. Wizardry and other disciplines practiced by humans were developed to address this.

Demons: All things that aren't human are classified collectively as demons. Most demons exist in isolated communities made primarily of their own species, where magic is accepted and widely practiced. Consequently, demons have an easier time learning magic, but are also more sensitive and vulnerable to its effects than the average human. On the whole, demons also have easier access to both martial and magical training than humans. This, coupled with their own innate capacity to manifest overt supernatural effects (see: Demonic Magic) and long life spans constitutes their primary edge over humans. However, as the potentials of fully trained demons and humans really differ very little, this advantage would count for little if the Masquerade were to fall apart. Additionally, all demons suffer from highly inconvenient, racially specific, weaknesses (such as a strong aversion to sunlight, in the case of vampires) which can be exploited against them in battle. The taint that allows demons to use their individual demonic magic is responsible for this weakness - it's the price of being able to manifest spells - sometimes extremely high level techniques - without human shaping techniques, like Wizardry. The taint also enables demons, in general, to better cope with techniques like shapeshifting, which are extremely painful and difficult for humans. However, it also makes human spells, which are designed for the neutral magic they use innately, far harder for demons to use.

Exceptions: Humans and demons don't always fit into the generalities outlined above. Some demons live among humans in modern society, while some humans live in small and isolated communities, where magic is commonplace. In the case of the former, demons - particularly those who are raised from birth as humans - develop a resistance and insensitivity to magic normally associated with humans. In the latter's case, humans develop magical vulnerabilities and sensitivities normally associated with demons. Sometimes, they develop racial weaknesses too - making them more demon than human. Half-demons - children with both human and demon blood in them - also occur periodically, either through natural or unnatural circumstance. Typically, half-demons have unusual eye, hair and skin colours, similar to their demonic parents, but are otherwise able to pass for human. They have tainted magical power, like demons, but this taint is diluted by their human blood, making demonic magic more difficult for them. The same is true of their racial weaknesses - they exist still, but their human blood dilutes it somewhat. Whether or not half-demons are resistant or sensitive to magic depends on their upbringing. Hybrids of different races of demons are also possible. They're similar to half-demons, functionally.

Ghosts: A type of demon created when something dies. Should a ghost be killed, the being is destroyed completely. Naturally, ghosts are immaterial and invisible beings without the ability to move from the exact spot they died. Only through the use of magic can they move or interact with the world. However, like most demons, ghosts have tainted Will, so even a master magician in life is nearly powerless in death. Most ghosts pass over into the next world naturally (a function of their tainted magic) anyway. Those who can't, or won't, become the responsibilities of beings known as Psychopomps - Death Guides. Because ghosts possess even less of a resistance to magic than most demons, they are often captured and used as weapons or servants of living magicians. Psychopomps, charged with the protection of the dead, usually take a dim view of such practices. How they address them varies heavily between them, though. Zombies and other undead are ghosts which, through magical means, have possessed or been sealed into a body. Players who want to play a deceased character are heavily encouraged to consider one with a body, not a ghost.

Greater Spirits: Everything that exists has a spirit. Most aren't self-aware and exist only as creatures of instinct. A minority of them, known as Greater spirits, are self-aware though - these sorts of spirits are available as races at Character Generation. In their natural states, greater spirits are diffuse and incorporeal manifestations of consciousness, most corresponding to large territories of land, water or air. The true body of these spirits is the landform they represent - damaging the landform damages them. Most style themselves as the protector of their territory and employ their Demonic magic to take a corporeal form and protect it when it's threatened. These forms usually aren't made of flesh and blood. A water spirit's corporeal body, for instance, would have red water in place of blood. Though fundamentally different at an atomic level than a human's blood, this red water would exhibit all the qualities of human blood - in addition to all the qualities of water. A similar principle would be at work in the rest of their body. Again, in the case of Water spirits, simply existing at the extremes of temperature would damage them, among other unpleasant things. Once in corporeal form, spirits become very vulnerable - they're as easy to kill as any human. If the spirit representing a territory dies, the area will suffer for a short time - but a new spirit will be born shortly after. Greater spirits, it should be noted, are all actually composed of the countless lesser spirits that make up their territory - stripping these away would, slowly, kill the greater spirit permanently (and catastrophically affect the landmass they make-up too).

Magic System:

Basics: Will is roughly analogous to the concept of Mana. It is what fuels magic in the world of Magical Teacher Professor Landry. In its natural state, Will is without form, shape or substance - it does not even exist. All beings, human, god, fairy, peasant or king, have the same amount of Will, which can not be raised by any means. Under normal circumstances, Will is expressed whenever an individual interacts with the world around them - breathing, lifting a fork, or firing a gun all expend Will. Therefore, every action, even existing, takes Will, and may be considered a spell. Demons possess tainted Will which varies with their species, while Humans Will is neutral. For the purposes of this game, Will expenditure is only significant when used for supernatural effects that could not normally be realized. These 'special' expenditures are catalogued in your character's Spell list. The use and creation of Spells is the discipline of Magic. Naturally, Magic is an instinctive rather than a conscious activity. Only through Awakening – when a Black is made aware of and comes to believe in magic – or Snapping – a sharp disassociation from reality triggered by trauma – may this be changed.

Magical Exhaustion: In-game, Will is expressed as a total out of 50. As this total decreases, a character will begin to show signs of Magical Exhaustion - a gradual depreciation of physical and mental abilities, eventually culminating with explosive bleeding and internal damage, after a character tries to cast spells with 0 Will remaining. Experienced mages are able to continue casting spells after passing 0, but each cast causes additional, painful, damage to their body. Such practices are life-threatening and should be avoided.

Magical Backlash: The strength of a magic-user is not measured in the damage their spells can do - anyone, with the proper knowledge, can level cities. A powerful magic-user is someone who can expend dizzying amounts of Will, without experiencing Magical Backlash. When a spell is cast, externally or internally, the user's Will travels through what amounts to magical pores before manifesting. If the spell in question forces too much Will through those pores, it causes explosive haemorrhaging. This bleeding is Magical Backlash. A powerful mage, therefore, is someone with unusually large magical pores. Through special training, a magician may increase the size of their pores - and reduce the chances of magical backlash. This process usually comes at the cost of a magic-user's resistance to magic, however.

Auras: When Will is expended in unusual quantities a magical corona of coloured shadowless light appears around the magician. These coronas are Auras. Generally, this only occurs when casting spells, but states of high emotion or intense focus can also cause auras to appear as well. The colour of an Aura is the collective hue of all spells known by the magician, in addition to the base shade of their Will. Objects created or enchanted with supernatural powers will carry the aura of the one who created them. Auras are only visible to the Awakened or Snapped.

Black Magic: The vast majority of humans (and a small minority of demons) possess black auras and are known, collectively, as Blacks. Blacks are those outside of the Masquerade - they don't know about, or believe in, magic. Consequently, even if exposed to an overtly magical event, Blacks are likely to rationalize it as anything but magic - science is a mysterious thing, after all. In spite of this, Blacks are fully capable of using spells. Black magic is an instinctive, subconscious and emotionally driven variant of magic which subtly warps reality to match the perceptions or desires of the caster. Black magic usually takes on a life of its own, adapting and improving itself independent of its owner's will, with the objective of protecting the Black in question. Unless doing so conflicts with protecting the Black, Black magic never allows its user to learn about magic or their own powers.

Half-Awakened Magic: Awakening, the process by which magic becomes a conscious, rather than instinctive, thing has never been a strict binary - it's actually far closer to a continuum. Half-Awakened magic exists in the murky and confusing middle of this continuum. Individuals who only believe in a particular kind of magic, or who do not accept magic per se, but suspend their scepticism long enough to be convinced that there are forces in the universe which they can not understand but can take advantage of, are both examples of the Half-Awakened. Mages who have recently been Awakened and are in the process of learning to control their instinctive abilities are also half-Awakened. That said, it is entirely possible for people to be stuck in this stage indefinitely. The Half-Awakened have darkly coloured auras.

White Magic: The power to overwrite reality as a god. White magic-users are created when a Black completely disassociates from reality, usually resulting from a traumatic emotional shock, or a slow process of sanity degradation. Put another way, White magic-users are insane. Unlike Blacks, they possess full knowledge of their own unique and special abilities. Most Whites are also aware of Magic's existence, but rightly perceive themselves to be outside of its rules. Roughly a hundred Whites exist in the world at any one time, but most die within five years of their birth. These people are at the top of the magical food chain - if you see one, your best bet is to run. Note that it isn't impossible for an Awakened mage to become a White, but such an event is almost unheard of in rarity.

Grey Magic: Snapping is either something that occurs in an instant, or as the result of a slow process of sanity degradation. In the case of the later, the magic-user sometimes develops Grey magic. The specifics of Grey magic are extremely murky - it requires the user to recognize that they have an ability of some sort that is unusual and special, in a very specific circumstance, which does not apply to other areas of life. However, once a Grey spell is developed, it generally isn't long before the Grey experiments further in other circumstances. Most experiments like this prove successful - and Snapping entirely is not far away. Unlike the Half-Awakened, it is rare for Greys to remain Greys indefinitely.

Awakened Disciplines: Auras that are red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple (or some combination of those shades) belong to the Awakened – magic users in on the Masquerade. The way the Awakened use magic and shape Will varies quite heavily between disciplines – this section is a list of some of the more common (or at least, more well known) forms of Awakened magic in the Contemporary World of Magical Teacher Professor Landry. As mentioned above in the Witch's Guild write-up, hybrizing disiciplines is fully possible.

Innate Magic: Without the shaping techniques found in other Awakened disciplines, human Will has no form or substance - it is merely power. The discipline of Innate magic directs this force and uses it to infuse the caster's body to augment the user's natural attributes. Though easier to learn than Red and Blue magic, it is also profoundly limited - humans are not naturally able to manifest supernatural phenomena outside their bodies, making overt spells extremely difficult.

Demonic Magic: According to human legends, demons were created as weapons of War. For this reason, their Will was tainted in order to allow them to manifest spells outside their bodies, without the need for human shaping techniques. Demonic magic varies heavily with the race of the user, but each possesses very finite limitations. To get around them, some demons choose to augment their natural powers with human arts. However, their tainted Will makes this a difficult, and frustrating, experience, to say the least. While some races have developed extremely refined forms of Demonic magic, it is technically still a version of Innate Magic.

Wizardry: The quintessential Western magical art. Wizardry is the art of shaping Will through complex arrays of symbols, lines and shapes. Will, in its natural state, is merely potential power - Wizards use their spell circles as lenses to reshape this power, enabling them to manifest virtually any kind of phenomenon, provided they know the correct set of symbols to create it. In ancient times, Wizards used physical objects as lenses, such as rocks or circles drawn in the dirt. Contemporary Wizards create spell circles from their auras alone - a process which requires a great deal of mental discipline, because the slightest error can cause the spell to fizzle, or worse, backfire entirely. Wizards are the most common form of Awakened magic-user in the modern world.

Onmyodo: A form of magic primarily practiced in Japan. Onmyodo draws on the sacred properties of nature to cast spells. Omnyoji - the practitioners of this art - do not shape Will into spells on their own. Instead, they rely on nature spirits known as kami to do so. Most require written inscriptions to communicate their desires and transfer Will to their spirit ally, the advanced practitioners - known as the Enlightened - are capable of direct interaction with the kami without the need for such intermediaries. The power of Onmyodo users is reduced the further they are from nature. Most Onimoji live in Japan – outside of it, they're rare.

Katsujinjitsu: More commonly known as Chi, Katsujinjitsu roughly translates to the Life Arts. Katsujinjitsu manipulates Life energy, both outside and inside the user, when casting spells. Onmyodo and Katsujinjitsu are often practiced in concert because of their similarities - both primarily draw power from outside their user - but Katsujinjitsu manipulates this force directly. Consequently, this is a mildly easier, though more limited, discipline. It also comes far closer than Onmyodo does to the principles of Dark magic. Katsujinjitsu users are most common in the Far-East, though even there, they are firmly in the minority.

Old Magic: All forms of ancient magic, Alchemy, Druidism, Song magic, etc. fall under the collective heading of Old magic. Most forms of it have all but died out. Old magic is the art of shaping Will through physical lenses to cast spells, or, the art of infusing objects with Will, to enhance their properties. The key distinction between Old magic and contemporary disciplines is that the lens used exists physically - it is not a purely metaphysical construct like aura-based spell circles or the immaterial kami.

Shamanism: An ancient form of Onmyodo still practiced in remote communities. Where Onmyoji commune with spirits of the world itself, Shaman work with the spirits tied to physical objects - rocks, printers, rats, etc - to cast their spells. Most spirits that are invoked by Shamans are not fully self-aware, nor do they typically have a grasp of the human language, so communication is often mental or semantic, with verbal and written commands generally limited to bestial sounds, or more rarely, simple symbols. Shamanism is exceedingly uncommon in the modern world and is technically classified as Old magic.

Dark Magic: Dark magic has been known by many names throughout history - Purple magic, True magic, Witchcraft in the West, the Death Arts (Satsujinjitsu) in the East. Regardless of their name, all forms of Dark magic follow the same logic: There is power in sacrifice. When something dies or is destroyed, energy is released - energy that Dark magic-users make use of to empower their spells beyond what they are normally capable of. Dark magic is a classification for spells, not a magical discipline into itself - a Dark magic user must also practice a normal magical discipline to use their powers.

Combat: While Battles in Magical Teacher Professor Landry usually take quite a long time to play out, actual combat – especially exchanges that occur in melee – is both fast and brutal. Fighting is hard and – generally speaking – should be avoided. The people around you may be stronger, faster or smarter than you – and you really won't be able to tell until the battle begins. That said, sometimes fighting can not be avoided. Being able to defend yourself will help a lot, since one of the more significant power-gaps in this game is between untrained fighters and trained ones. Even so, do not expect easy fights or handholding – nasty things can and will happen when swords are out. Remain calm, think things through and play to your character's strengths. Nothing in this world is truly invincible – but fighting a master martial artist in straight-up combat probably won't work. It'll be up to you to figure out what will. I promise, the outcome will be fair – to both you and your opponent – if nothing else.

One Turn-per Week: Roleplaying games like this take a very, very, long time. In an effort to keep things moving, I'll be doing my best to post once a week. This means if you're involved in a scene you'll need to do the same. If you can't, or just don't, I will assume you passed your turn. Outside of combat, the ramifications of that are pretty mild – it'll usually mean your character just doesn't do anything that turn. In combat, the consequences for hesitating are usually worse. If you don't post but are heavily involved in a fight, I'll select an action that makes sense for your character in that moment, in order to keep the game moving. I should also say that off-screen action is only alright with GM permission – if it isn't posted in game, it didn't happen. You can contact me via PM or IM if you need more time, but I won't promise to give it to you. I might allow you to select what your character does, though.

Reaction Commands: Sometimes, when I'm working on a post, I find a small area which requires player input (such as whether or not you trigger a relevant reflexive defensive ability or not). When that happens, I send out an unfinished copy of the post, stopping at the place where the player has a chance to influence the scene, and allow them to dictate what their character does. Similarly, sometimes when resolving a particularly action – usually a scuffle in melee combat – I'll request player input on how their character capitalizes on a particular situation. Players, generally speaking, will get around 24 hours to decide what their character will do in that moment – your character doesn't have more than an instant to decide, after all, so more than that doesn't seem fair. I won't be unfair about this (especially not if you tell me that you need a little more time because) but I really don't want the game held up too long because of Reaction Commands. They're meant to keep things moving, after all.

Meta-Gaming: Do not use information that your character can't have access to (IE: Out-of-character knowledge). Play in-character. Doing otherwise is cheating, and I really don't like cheating. If you aren't sure what this means, ask. You really don't want the GM to be mad at you.

Non-Lethal Principle: This is a caveat to be kept in mind when fighting. Guns, bows and all long range weapons are non-lethal; most of the time, bullets and arrows will only shallowly pierce a target's skin and deal (heavy) blunt damage. The exception to this rule occurs when an individual desires, with all their heart, to kill someone (this is a function of the way Will is expended when firing a bullet, even in a mundane weapon) and does not waver in this desire until the bullet strikes. With long-range weaponry, rage is usually the easiest way to get around this principle. Melee weapons are an entirely different beast – and far more lethal, by comparison.

Spells: Under normal circumstances, magic is extremely difficult to use. It requires careful concentration, years of training, a close attention to detail, access to altered states of consciousness and spell components - none of which is particularly easy to manage when being shot at. Spells are techniques designed to get around this. Through meticulous rehearsal and practice, Will can be trained to fall into particular templates quickly and reliably, in order to evoke supernatural effects without concentration. Different structures of templates are required to evoke different effects and Will may only be directed into a single spell template at a time. Auras are the collective catalogue of spell templates available to a Mage.

Compound Spells: Will may only be directed toward a single spell at any given time. Basic spells only do one thing - Compound spells are an advanced spell, designed to get around the 'one magical effect at a time' limitation. Through careful control and coordination, magicians are able to construct spells which evoke two distinct magical effects at the same time. The metaphor of a river flowing both north and south (at the same time in the same place) fits a Compound spell - it ought to be physically impossible. Because most spells are able to be turned on-and-off reflexively, Compound spells are generally not pursued if there's a viable alternative. They're really hard. Compound Spells, at minimum, are Grade 2.

Grades: All spells may be rated on a grading scale. Most start as Grade 1 - they're an application of Will to do one specific thing, like making something explode with a touch. Grade 2 spells add a second effect to a Grade 1, such as enabling you to blow an object up from a distance, increasing the size of the explosion, or making the explosion release poisonous gas as well. Higher grades continue this pattern. To work out what Grade a spell is, you need to break down what it does, and then count the steps involved.

Growth: Players will begin the game with a relatively short list of low Grade abilities. Through practice and experimentation (see: Spell Refining), new abilities can be added to the list, or old abilities can be improved. This takes a fair amount of in-game time. So, just to be clear, power-levels will increase slowly for the most part, with the largest increases occurring off-screen during time skips. There will be in-game events where spell Grades spontaneously increase, but don't expect them to happen often. From an in-game perspective, events that have that sort of power are extremely uncommon - and are usually associated with Dark magic.

Spell Refining: Is the process by which mages can increase the Grades of their spells. Mages of different disciplines have to do different things to refine spells. Generally, though, the process can be boiled down to experimentation to find a way to successfully alter their pre-existing spell, then continuous practice until they can cast the new spell in their sleep. Spell Refining is a long and frustrating process, which can also be extremely dangerous - more than one unlucky magician has been killed by an experiment gone awry.

Spell Degradation: Magic is hard. In order to use spells effectively in battle, magicians must devote hours of their lives to the practice of their discipline, much like Martial Artists. However, between experimentation to design or improve on new spells and the demands of living in a modern society, practicing spells often falls by the wayside. When this happens, the slow process of Spell Degradation begins. Like any skill, when spells are not frequently used, they become rusty. Typically, this takes the form of a slight delay when casting a spell, or an increased chance of spell failure. Generally speaking, a magician never forgets a spell they knew in its entirety, but lengthy periods of disuse certainly take their toll. Try not to let this happen when using important spells.

Free Casting: Spells are extremely practiced, fast, applications of magic designed for battle or other situations where concentration is a luxury that can't be afforded. Sometimes though, the spells a magician knows are insufficient. In such situations, Free Casting - the use of magic without a spell template - is one of the tools available to mages. Free Casting may be used, in battle and out, to develop new spells or adapt an existing one. However, magic is not easy or safe - attempts at Free Casting are frequently characterized by fizzles or, if the mage is unlucky, fatal backfires. Being slow and careful, not to mention having a wide array of casting components and ritual devices, increases the chances of a Free Cast being successful - which is why most attempts at it are done inside a magician's workshop, not in battle. When hurried, even simple spells or adaptations contain a significant chance of failure. Free Casting in battle is generally viewed as a very desperate act. Most mages avoid it for good reason - those who rely on it die. Extreme caution is advised.

Enchantments: Spells which apply prolonged magical effects to objects, with or without an associated drain of Will, are referred to as Enchantments. Colloquially, positive effects are referred to as Blessings, while negative ones are referred to as Curses. Such classifications are inherently poor for subjective reasons, however. There is no objective mechanical difference between a positive or negative enchantment. Enchantments can be applied a variety of ways - battle based ones (usually possessing short durations) are usually thrown like projectiles and appear to be invisible to the Unawakened, but glow brightly to the Awakened. Longer effects, like those applied to enchanted weapons, usually require longer rituals and greater magical expenditure.

Barrier Fields: Barrier Fields are a closed space that separates everyone within their boundary from everything outside. The most common form of them creates a copy of the environment which it encloses, moves it half a dimension away, and takes all living things with it. Effectively, once a Barrier Field is activated, everyone within its boundary vanishes. However, the specifics of this - whether it is selective in only taking the Awakened or not, for instance - vary quite heavily between Fields. Breaking a Barrier Field is quite difficult from the inside, but the most reliable way is to kill the magician who set it up, or destroy whatever talisman is anchoring it. Outside, the easiest method is to disrupt whatever boundary (sometimes as simple as a line in the sand) created it in the first place. Certain spells may also be designed specifically to eliminate Barrier Fields. The realities of the Masquerade make Barrier Fields a relatively common phenomena, when magic is involved – you'll see more than a few of them.

[Teal Mage]

With the main part of the Primer out of the way, this post is for Character Sheets.

New players (and old Players who want new characters) will be making students for the Amaranth Institute for the Gifted who have been recently acquired by Professor Rebecca Landry. It is currently late October - the end of the second month of the school year. You might be transfers from Wizard's academies. Or maybe you were in a different Professor's homeroom. Maybe you were just walking down the street going to a normal school this morning. Either way, Professor Landry now has her talons in you, and there is no escape from Love and Fightology.

Name: Your Character's name. Keep cultural background in mind when selecting this.
Race: For humans, just say Humans. For Non-Humans, put down your specific race. If you want to try and classify it as Half-Demon, Demon (or something more specific, like Ghost, Undead or Greater spirit) put that in brackets. If not, I'll figure that out myself.
Gender: Male or Female, I guess? If you want to play a non-Gendered, Hermaphrodite, Transgender or Crossdresser, I suppose you'd clarify that here.
Aura: You can try to guess at your Aura color - but its probably best to leave this section to me. Its the sum of all your spell hues.
Age: First in appearance, then in brackets, actual age.
Appearance: Include height, build, hair colour, length, typical style, eye colour and skin tone. Typically clothing style would also be appreciated, but it's expected that'll change daily. Players who are demons should use their section to describe how they look when blending into society – whatever that means.

Spells: This will probably be the hardest section. Here's where players will put in a list of the spell templates their characters have memorized. At these stage, each spell will be more of a proposal than a finished product – I'll probably have something to say about everything in these sections. It's alright if you don't quite understand the mechanics behind the spell too – I'll work that out with you once I have the concept/proposal. If you want to try and guess what the spell's colour is, put it after your spell's proposed name and follow it with ‘Elemental, like so:

Proposed Spell Name, <Colour> Elemental.

Spell Hues: A spell is considered Yellow when there is no shaping mechanism, or, when the shaping mechanism is physical but located inside the caster. Spells are Red when the shaping mechanism is independent of the caster, metaphysical or immaterial and outside the caster. Blue spells are those shaped outside of the caster, but not independent of them, using metaphysical or immaterial lenses. Green spells are shaped outside of the caster, not independent of them, but with a physical lens. Orange spells are independent of the caster, shaped outside of them, with a physical lens. Spells become Purple whenever Dark magic is employed - whenever something is sacrificed to fuel the spell. When the sacrifice was made only by the caster, the spell is Indigo. When it's made by another, it's Magenta. Should Yellow magic be involved in Dark magic, the spell becomes Lavender. Black spells are instinctive or not viewed as anything unusual. White spells are conscious, but viewed as special and unusual. Colours may also be mixed normally - if a spell draws on both Red and Blue techniques, it's Purple.


For new players, I'd say that you should start the game with between five and seven grade 1 spells. I'll judge how many spells I feel it's appropriate for your character to have once I see your background and proposed spell list. As a rule, the more complex or powerful your character's spells are, the more difficult they'll be to learn and maintain - which means you'll have less spells in total to work with. I'll deal with higher grade spells on an individual basis, but I want to stress they are very hard to learn. You'll need a very good reason for your character to have learned them - especially if they have more than one grade 2 (or one 3+) spell. I'm not likely to give out more than one (maybe two) higher grade abilities, though.

Each of the spells your characters have should reflect on their background. It's appropriate for some of your abilities to be battle-based (say, three of them), but the rest of their spells ought to address challenges they meet frequently in their daily lives. Unless your character fights a lot, most of their skills should be related to hobbies – whether or not they have battle applications is entirely beside the point.

Oh, and a word of caution! It's tempting when designing spells to create far-reaching and highly adaptable abilities. But, under the Landry system, such abilities are usually less advantageous than they seem at first glance. To use an example: Elementalism, the ability to freely control an element. In the Landry system, this ability has been divided in two: Elemental Generation (the ability to transform the caster's Will into the element in question) and Elemental Manipulation (the ability to control the element of question using Will alone). Further, both are subject to very serious range limitations at Grade 1 (roughly arm's length). It's better to select more specific spells, like Shoot Fireball, than to try and rely on broad and extremely adaptable abilities, because the latter group will always have extremely serious limitations on them. This sort of principle holds true for all spells in the Landry system - illusions, shapeshifting, etc.

That said, here are a few examples of spells you might want to consider for your character.

Summoning Spells: In modern times, it's considered eccentric - if not outright illegal - to carry a sword or gun wherever you go. For weapon-users (and Monster Summoners), Summoning Spells are the answer to this problem. Summoning techniques are designed to bring an object or entity normally located elsewhere - be it your closet or another dimension altogether - to the user. Most disciplines have their own variant on Summoning techniques, but they are generally more economic than throwing fireballs around. The standard Summoning Spell is reflexive and allows the user to dismiss and recall their object quickly and at very little cost. If a summoned object is damaged while in use, it is slowly repaired to the state it was in when the spell was originally designed, after it is dismissed. Additionally, summoned creatures registered to this technique are usually smarter and stronger than their natural cousins. However, adding special abilities to a summoned object beyond this increases the spell's grade.

Will-based Ammunition: Projectile Weapons, when summoned, have a theoretically infinite pool of ammunition to go with it. The catch is, each bullet is formed directly from their Will and drains them whenever they're fired. Cosmetically, each piece of ammo glows extremely brightly to the supernaturally sensitive, in a colour matching the aura that spawned them. The ammo, like the weapon in question, vanishes when dismissed. Projectile Weaponry is slightly harder to learn to Summon, as a note.

Surges: Passive Abilities don't exist in Professor Landry. Abilities like 'enhanced strength' are mainly handled through a mechanism called Surges. Surges are typically Yellow spells, which send magical energy to a particular part of the user's body, reinforcing it and enabling the magic-user to perform supernatural feats. Such surges only last for an instant - roughly long enough to strengthen the next action taken. This sort of technique is generally quite physically taxing, however - repeated uses can damage the user quite badly.

Mode-Shifts: Mode-Shifts occur when a magic-user fills their body with supernatural energy for a sustained period of time. The boosts provided by Mode-Shifts are generally less powerful than Surges. Additionally, so long as the Mode is active, the magic-user is unable to new cast spells - unless the spell happens to be designed to work in concert with this mode (see: Compound Spell). These are slightly closer to passive abilities than Surges, in some regards, but they also drain the user's Will very quickly. Note: Shapeshifting is not the same thing as a Mode-Shift, unless the user's attributes are enhanced in their new form. In which case, then yes, it is a Mode-Shift.

Instant Movement: A classification of spells dealing with the near instantaneous movement of a caster from one point to another. Like Summoning abilities, Instant Movement techniques come in nearly all shapes and sizes - most disciplines have a version of them, though not all are equally easy to learn and use. Flash Step - a Yellow technique - is the most commonly practiced form of Instant Movement - it's a Mode-Shift which reinforces the user's lower body enabling them to dash at impossible speeds in straight-line bursts. Though the movement appears instantaneous, its not teleportation - walls and obstacles still stop it. In spite of this ability's obvious advantages, it's usually associated with evasion, travel or repositioning, not combat. While in Flash Step, the user is unable to perceive their surroundings so paths must be determined before the technique is used. Secondly - and perhaps more importantly - the sudden change in velocity at the move's termination leaves the vulnerable for a moment, and unable to react. It also has a high physical energy drain associated with it - repeated uses will quickly tire the user out. Most Instant Movement techniques are subject to similarly inconvenient drawbacks. I've included a small list of other Instant Movements below, but it is far from exhaustive. More details can be provided, if desired.

Flash Step, Black Elemental.
Magical scholars believe that Flash Step was based on a similar Black ability, colloquially referred to as Black Step. Functionally identical to Flash Step, Black Step is a mode-shift which enables the Unawakened to dash extremely quickly between points - without realizing how fast they're moving. When in use, the Black's perception shrinks until they're only focusing on their goal. The more sensitive among them experience a feeling of everything moving in slow motion - a detail their powers quickly force them to dismiss. Though time seems to pass normally for them, to everyone else, they're almost a blur. In a blink, they're usually at their destination. Generally, Black Step only activates for short bursts, and is actually slightly less quick than Awakened Flash Steps - but the difference is small enough to be irrelevant. This ability has a high physical drain associated, and only activates in response to emotional needs - it can not be triggered willingly.

Flash Action, Yellow Elemental.
An adaption of Instant Movement techniques. Flash Action is a type of spell with enables the user to perform a single, pre-set, action nigh instantaneously. Different Flash Actions are necessary for different physical movements - a vertical slash with a sword and a horizontal slash with a sword would be completely different actions. Adapting Flash Actions are extremely difficult, since unlike most spells, these rely on practiced motions - even slight alterations to stance or the weapon used can throw these off. Has a high physical drain associated, but can be extremely useful. Flash Actions are prominently used in Iaido.

Flash Move, Blue Elemental
A form of Instant Movement most commonly associated with Wizardry and Blue Magic. Flash Move enables teleportation between two spell circles, though places great physical stress on the body - stress which escalates the further the two circles are from one another. At Grade 1, spell circles can only be established within reach of the magician - physical contact isn't necessary, but the caster must be able to touch them, should they desire. If this spell is activated extremely quickly, it leaves the user disoriented and motion-sick. The spell fails if the boundary created by either circle is disrupted or occupied.

Flicker, Blue Elemental
A variant of Flash Move. Flicker creates a single spell circle beneath the caster which, when activated, transports them to a pocket dimension. The user remains within it for as long as they are able to sustain it. Relatively little physical stress is placed on the user of this technique, though the magical strain is high. The basic form of this spell prevents the user from interacting, in any capacity, with the real world while in their pocket dimension. Unless the dimension is altered, it has no air or light within it as well. Adding these things increases the drain associated with the spell, almost disproportionately. If the boundary of the spell is broken while being cast, the technique fails. Alternatively, if the original circle is occupied when the spell lapses, backlash occurs, making it generally unsuitable for melee combat.

Leyline Contraction, Red Elemental
Widely considered the most powerful and impressive Instant Movement, Leyline Contraction is a technique virtually exclusive to high-level Eastern magic-users, like the Enlightened Ominoji. Leyline Contraction enables instantaneous long-range travel between two points of 'sameness,' as easily as taking a step. Most users of Leyline Contraction are limited by geographic formations, but masters of this technique can travel to any location on the planet, regardless of obvious similarities or differences. Generally associated with Eastern magic - lesser forms of this spell are referred to by the same name. Starting characters won't have access to the fullest form of this ability.

Bio: This is where you tell us about your character. Don't give me your life story – try to be concise. But you do need to tell me a little about your character's upbringing, where they learned their special skills (magic, fighting, how to sing like that, etc), why they're in Amaranth and, if they've been here for a while, what they've been up to. This last point may require some collaboration if it involves the supernatural! But a little high school adventure is to be expected.

Clubs: This is the section where you list your clubs! Along with its reputation for excellent students, Amaranth is also known for its uniquely structured classes. Through its comprehensive Club system, the school offers an extremely wide range of electives to students, enabling them to build a very personalized selection of classes - which are each called a Club. All Clubs are extremely intensive and cover a wide range of subject matter, ranging from historical and theoretical aspects of the discipline to more practical concerns and anything else the school feels is related to it. These connections are often remarked as extremely tenuous by students - like learning about geology and soil composition as a Cheerleader. Clubs meet anywhere from 1 - 5 times a week and their meetings can last anywhere between ten minutes and four hours. In order to facilitate this, Amaranth has a full compliment of Club Coordinators who, miraculously, ensure that all students are able to attend most of their club meetings without scheduling conflicts. Homework is also usually assigned on top of meetings, though the quantity and type varies with each club, the average amount of time spent, per week, on out-of-class assignments in four hours.

In addition to Clubs, each student is assigned to a Homeroom Class of 10-15 students (You are in Q-11, with Professor Landry). These begin at 9 am Monday-Fridays, and end at 12 pm, for lunch. Clubs are scheduled in the time remaining until 6 pm, when supper is served. Some clubs continue to meet after 7 pm, but for most students, this is free time. To facilitate practice and homework, some clubs with special facilities, like the Pool, remain open until 10 pm, but most close at supper time. Should be noted that food and meals are supplied by the school free of charge. Students can also request groceries or club materials from their Home Room Teacher, or Club Director, which if approved, will be supplied for free as well.

First-year Clubs tend to be very general, with the intention of exposing students to a wide variety of situations, problems and techniques, in order to help them develop their own preferences and talents. Advanced Sections are more specialized, and usually exclusive to Second years. A current list of clubs may be found below - if you don't see something that you think should be there, say so. Each first year student is required to have a minimum for three clubs at the beginning of the year, but only needs to get high marks in two of them to pass. Four is the maximum. Students may start their own clubs at any time (called Student Associations), with the approval of their Homeroom Teacher. Associations gain full access to school resources in the pursuit of their objectives. The Social Club is the most notable one - Second and Third-year students hang-out in its restaurant-and-lounge often. It has the highest membership out of all Amaranth associations.

First Year Clubs:
Aikido: A martial art's club - learn to fight defensively!
Anime: Watch Anime with Professor Landry!
Archery: Learn to handle long-range weaponry - sometimes, in melee combat.
Art: Learn to draw, paint and use other forms of traditional artistic media!
Band: Learn to play an instrument.
Baseball: The Baseball Team. Practice and fitness are mandatory!
Basketball: The Basketball Team. Practice and fitness are mandatory!
Birdwatching: Observe and learn about animals and plants.
Book: Read. A lot. Or else!
Capoeria: A martial art's club - learn the Brazilian Art of dance fighting.
Cheerleading: The Cheerleading Squad! Practice, fitness and prettiness are mandatory.
Chemistry: Learn to mix chemicals! This is also known as the Science Club.
Choir: Singing class. Dancing is sometimes involved.
Computer: Learn to use computers, design programs, and play video games!
Crafts: Learn to build things from wood, metal, leather, plastic and other materials.
Cultural: Learn about other cultural traditions! Professor Shuyin used to teach this.
Dance: Learn the great art of the dance! Emphasis is placed on formal styles.
Drama: Learn to act!
Fencing: A martial art's club - learn to use one-handed swords in the Western Style.
Fitness: A club about learning to live a healthy lifestyle! Annoys everyone else.
Gardening: Learn to take care of plants properly, and about their properties. Also known as Botany.
Home Ec: Learn to sew, cook, clean, and in general, about domestic arts!
Ice Sports: Contains elements of all sports that use ice - like Hockey and Figure Skating.
Karate: A martial art's club - learn the Eastern striking art!
Kendo: A martial art's club - learn to use two-handed swords in the Eastern Style.
Meditation: A very spiritual take on a martial arts club. Become one with the universe and all that jazz.
Mixed Martial Arts: A martial art's club - learn to fight and win any way you can!
Movie: Learn about, watch, and create, movies.
Writing: Learn to Write in various styles, poetry, narrative, song, essay, etc, and about English Literature.
Publicity: Spread the word about the great things happening on campus! Sorta like a Reporting Club.
Riding: Horseback Riding club!
Soccer: The Soccer Team. Fitness, practice and strong legs are mandatory!
Strolling: For people who like to walk aimlessly around the campus, lost in thought.
Swimming: Contains elements of all water sports!
Tabletop: Contains elements of card, tabletop and board games. Strategy is a must!
Veterinary: Learn to take care of, and heal, animals. Closest thing to a medicine program.
Wilderness: Camping club! Learn to survive in nature.
Winter Sports: Contains elements of all snow-based activities - like Snowboarding, Igloo building and Sledding.

Advanced Sections:
Metalworking (Craft/Art)
Shark Fighting (Swimming)
Sculpture (Art/Crafts)

Student Associations:
Social Club
Relaxation Club
Mystery Club
Occult Club
Pop Culture Club
Psychology Club

Further details about any of these will be supplied upon request!

Just to restate, two is the minimum required, four is the max. The school, and I, recommend four. The Clubs you select will heavily influence the sorts of spells your character will learn. Additionally, you can propose a new First-year club if you don't see something your character would be interested in on the list. Alternatively, if your character is already really good at something, you can try to convince me (and the school) to put them into a specific Advanced club for it. I'll only allow one Advanced club – at a maximum – per character, though.

Notes: A section for quick referencing miscellaneous points that need emphasis. Racial weaknesses, non-magical equipment that your character frequently carries around, items that your character's been given as gifts which are magical but have limited uses, special skills or details about their clubs are also suitable.

Relationships: This is where you get to design NPCs for me to add to the world! Pretty straight-forward stuff, give me a short description of characters who would be significant in some way to the one you're playing – friends, roommates, family – and I'll add them to the world. Don't go too crazy here. Oh, and remember, all characters outside of your PCs are under my control in-game.

Name: Adeline Fletcher
Race: Lab Experiment (Half-Demon)
Gender: Female
Aura: Black
Age: 17
Appearance: Adeline stands at roughly 5'7, with a lithe build of corded muscles from the intense physical training of the Amaranth sports clubs. She has heterochromia – one of her eyes is amber, the other is hazel. Her brown hair is long and hangs down to the middle of her back and usually styled into a long, thick, braid. She changes her clothes, and styles, daily – some of her outfits speak of money, others are pretty worn. Yellow appears to be her trademark colour. Since she enrolled two months ago, she's replaced her old orange knapsack with a standard issue Amaranth sports bag - a cylindrical red-pink bag with white trim and a black shoulder-strap. It has the Amaranth crest - the flower of the same name - on it.

Spells:

Find: Shortsword, Black Elemental
A standard Black summoning technique. Whenever Adeline's in danger and needs a weapon, this ability activates. Under normal circumstances, it subtly warps probability to place an object within easy reach of Adeline which could serve as a sword. The object needs to be logically obtainable in the circumstances – a fallen tree branch would make sense in a forest, for instance, but not in a locker room. In situations where reality has become extremely frayed – usually a result of overt magical displays – this ability brings her prized short-sword directly to her hand. In such cases, her perception will be altered to prevent her from noticing this anomaly. The blade itself is of Japanese design, made from steel, single edged and roughly as long as Adeline's forearm forearm. A strand of yellow leather, which is starting to show some fading from use, is wrapped around the handle. This ability always shows preference to bringing Adeline's sword to her – if there's a logical way for it to be present, it will appear.

Lucky Throw > Adeline Special, Black Elemental
An instinctive ability. When Adeline throws an object, this ability activates and the throw becomes improbably lucky. Projectiles enchanted with this ability have an usually high chance of striking their target, finding weapon spots, being unhittable or, in general, being improbable. Extremely useful for trick throws. The Improbability enchantment only affects the projectile itself – not outside forces or the target's positioning. This ability does not always activate. Chances of activation increase as the seriousness of the situation grows. Additionally, if used at a high state of emotion, Adeline Special gains the ability to shatter, dispel and otherwise nullify supernatural abilities which could impede it – by exploding. The Will cost of this ability varies - the more improbable the throw, the more draining.

Improbable Edge, Black Elemental
An instinctive ability. When Adeline holds a bladed weapon, Improbable Edge activates and surrounds that weapon with probability warping energy, increasing its cutting power to just slightly greater than what its physical peak ought to be. The net effect is generally not very noticeable - but it does give Adeline the ability to nick and damage almost anything, magically reinforced or not. Will is drained by this ability at a constant, but extremely small, rate - which increases if Adeline stress is placed on the blade. Theoretically, with this ability active, Adeline's swords can chop through diamonds - after a few hours of hacking, that is.

Smoke Bomb, Black Elemental
Using the power of Science! Adeline can craft smoke bombs using a secret family recipe. When thrown, these ping-pong sized black balls – which seem to be made of thin plastic – always burst harmlessly, expelling a thick cloud of non-toxic smoke, which smells vaguely of burnt wood. Has no additional properties. Using these bombs has a negligible Will cost, but creating them is surprisingly exhausting – creating three in a single sitting usually makes her pass out. Adeline usually doesn't carry more than one at a time – even with precautions, they have a tendency to break open at inconvenient times. The less she has to worry about them, the better.

As One, Black Elemental
Adeline's been riding horses since long before she arrived at Amaranth. This spell developed from her familiarity with these animals. As One creates an empathic bond between Adeline and a horse she's familiar with, once she's in close proximity to the animal. The bond instinctively carries Adeline's commands directly to the animal, translated into emotional impulses, facilitating a kind of mental communication between rider and horse. Will drain is extremely minor. As One only allows one way communication – from rider to horse. Mental commands do not compel obedience.

Clue, Black Elemental
An instinctive ability. Manipulating both probability and perception, Clue draws Adeline's attention to a particular detail - be it a facial expression, a tone of voice, or a tear in someone's shirt. When activated, Adeline's amber eye glows golden and the pupil narrows to a cat-like slit. This ability seems to activate automatically whenever Adeline would otherwise miss a clue her powers view as relevant to her. The more different the detail is to notice, the higher the Will cost associated is. Clue only finds the detail, Adeline must interpret it herself. It does not force her to consider the detail significant.

Improbable, Black Elemental
An instinctive ability of unknown grade - it's the result of the experiments which led to her birth. Probability is frequently warped where Adeline is concerned - events that are extremely unlikely to happen to other people, both positive and negative, are very likely to happen to her. The outer limits of this ability are unclear, but its effects become more overt and powerful when Adeline is endangered or threatened. Interacts with her own powers - and possibly others as well. As an aside to players, this sort of ability will not generally be allowed.

Bio: The unwillingly appointed class president of Q-11, and possibly its most normal student. Adeline's a girl from Quebec (French Canada). Her well adjusted attitude belays her unusual upbringing - she was raised in a lavish gated community by a pair of mad scientists working for the Ministry of Research and Development, the Canadian government's supernatural organization. Her uncle, a member of the E.S.A. (and a ninja) instructed her in martial arts from a young age - a hobby she stuck with, even after the Ministry deemed her experiment a failure and declined to bring her into the Masquerade.

Prior to coming to Amaranth, most of Adeline's education was handled by private tutors - this is her first experience with a 'normal' school since her experiment was dropped by the government. Unfortunately for her, Amaranth isn't anything like she expected - a fact she's become more or less resigned to, after two months attending the school. Still, her unusual upbringing has served her well in the intense Amaranth clubs - she's taken to her selection like a fish in water. Now, in addition to her duties on the student council, she's the equivalent of the captain of the baseball team (one coup d'état later) and getting to be quite popular around campus. Things would certainly be looking up for her! - if she hadn't been attacked by her jello last week.

Clubs:

Baseball Club
Fencing Club
Riding Club
Wintersports Club


Notes:

A proficient swordfighter - something her time in the fencing club has only improved. Unfortunately, she's still not very experienced in real battle situations. She seems about average, as far as Fencing club students go.
Her preferred position in baseball is pitcher - but she's getting better at batting too.
Adeline's taken to carrying her sword inside her sports bag.
She's a klutz! But a very lucky one.


Relationships:

Rebecca Landry: The auburn haired, bespectacled Professor Landry. Eccentric, even by Amaranth standards, Rebecca Landry specializes in Love and Fightiology - which apparently means spending three hours a morning lecturing students about her version world history, waving weapons around and letting her students fight her battles for her. Adeline swears the woman is insane - but grudgingly admits her lectures are more accurate, detailed and more interesting than most books on the subject. Her usual outfit, a long, form fitting, white lab coat over top of a min-skirt, single color top and pair of high heel shoes, has shown little variation to date. Surprisingly enough, her reputation for being eccentric isn't taken very seriously by students outside of her class - she seems no worse than any other Professor in the Anime Club she runs. Despite working in Amaranth for ten years, she's firmly in Black territory.

Tosin Mori: A fellow first year-student, member of the baseball team and Adeline's best friend. Tosin's got mid-length white hair, blue eyes, a slim build - which is starting to show some muscle from his baseball work outs - and is of Asian descent. He's quiet, but smart and was the one who pushed Adeline to kick Jay off the team. Adeline doesn't know it, but he's actually a Wizard, with a speciality in wind and ice magic. He takes sports clubs less seriously than Adeline, but is competent enough - even if he relies on magic to keep up with the others. Tosin's also in Adeline's Wintersports club.

Jay Miles: A first year student in Professor Landry's class and the ex-captain of the Baseball team. There isn't much love lost between these two - Adeline can't stand him, and Jay thinks she's a heartless cut-throat bitch. Adeline's perfectly happy never to speak to him again - but less than enthused about his decision to replace Baseball with Archery, and his quickly growing proficiency with a gun. Jay's new found hobby of challenging everyone he can to fights isn't making him many friends around campus - and neither is his unpredictable, intense and manipulative personality. Jay's a short kid with slanted dark brown hair, brown eyes, a wiry build and a slight tan. Its hard to tell what his ethnic background is - seems to be a pretty complicated mix. He's a Black, and outside the Masquerade - but might not be too far from Snapping.

Antonia D'Amour: Another first year student in Professor Landry's class. Antonia and Adeline's relationship isn't very complicated - Adeline thinks she's as crazy as her teacher, and Antonia thinks Adeline's hilariously normal. Toni's a cheerful adrenalin junky who loves a good fight and doesn't seem to take any of Amaranth's weirdness seriously - in fact, she goes out of her way to enable it. Antonia's a girl of aboriginal descent from Canada, with reddish-brown skin, blue eyes and long raven coloured hair. She shares the Fencing and Wintersports clubs with Adeline, and is her superior at swordplay - which isn't surprisingly, considering Antonia's far from above using her magic to cheat. She's in on the Masquerade.

Oh, and here are a list of links to the current PC's profiles! They're not all standardized to the new bio format here yet, but you might enjoy looking at them still! Perhaps they will give you ideas for your own characters? Also, this is another link to the Edupad. I highly recommend bookmarking it, since important things are discussed on it!

Official Landry Edupad (http://edupad.ch/utWD6aU2Aq)
Kohana Akecheta (SinrXIII) (http://tealbandits.wikispaces.com/Kohana+Akecheta)
Sean Castevet (Bard The 5th LW) (http://tealbandits.wikispaces.com/Sean+Castevet)
Jackson Hall (Dracorion) (http://tealbandits.wikispaces.com/Jackson+Hall)
Johanna Imirsdotter (Arhra) (http://tealbandits.wikispaces.com/Johanna+Imirsdotter)
Shinobu Meguro (Girasol of Chaos) (http://tealbandits.wikispaces.com/Shinobu+Meguro)
Dalbhach Nuada (Krylo) (http://tealbandits.wikispaces.com/Dalbhach+Nuada)
Sao Opallios (Riin Whitewind) (http://tealbandits.wikispaces.com/Sao+Opallios)
Diana Tear (Steel Shadow) (http://tealbandits.wikispaces.com/Diana+Tear)

Now, with all that done, are there any questions?

[Wizardcat]

Interest.

[DanteFalcon]

Okay for sure interest now. I have...ideas that I'll flesh out and probably ask you about later today Teal.

[Riin Whitewind]

For a text-heavy game, a text-heavy opening post(s) is fitting in its own way. It's like a light version of the corebook for a pen-and-paper gig. :3:


Glad to see it up and running again.

My character sheet could do with a make-over, I'll see if I can get that knocked out by tomorrow.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Sean's ready to go! I'll probably write him up to match the new Character Sheet later today.

[Girasol of Chaos]

Fresh meat! Shin's definitely going to need a changed character sheet, and I will be sure to provide that soon.

I'm super excited to see this get rolling again.

[Red Mage Black]

Didn't take any motivation from Mahou Sensei Negima, did you, Teal? ;)

I thought that the first time I saw this and before your hiatus. Guess I'll make up something of my own a little later. So... interested.

[Steel Shadow]

Time to get this show back on the road! I'll need to talk with you about fixing up Di's character sheet, Teal, but we've discussed most of the changes already.

New people! Don't worry, it wont hurt to much. Maybe. Come join us on the Edupad! Which reminds me, we need to get around to posting those omakes up at some point...

[Lillium]

I've been instructed by Steel Shadow that I have to post the word "Interest".

[Red Mage Black]

Name: Nasir
Race: Half-Demon (Incredibly Distant Relation to the Sumerian Deity, Enlil, "Lord of the Air")
Gender: Male
Aura: (Guess I'll let you figure this one out.)
Age: 18 [18]
Appearance: 6'1", skinny and not too muscled, heterochromatic eyes(One black, the other white with a black outline) strange eyes, wind symbol tattoo under the black eye, black hair and dark tanned skin. Usually likes to wear his hot weather clothing, which can be a sleeveless tan/beige top, baggy pants that match the shirt, belt with holsters and sandals or baggy sleeved shirt, cowl that leaves only his eyes visible, same pants and belt, quick draw wrist holsters under the sleeves and combat boots. The first outfit is worn more often.

Spells:
Lightning Reload, Yellow Elemental
Through symbols on the gun grips and his hands, he's capable of channeling his will through them to refill the CO2 cartridges and the ammunition inside them.

Back Dash, [Color] Elemental
Think Castlevania in terms of how this works, but it's a reflexive attack dodge that's not as fast as a flash step, but a one foot jump back.

In My Sights, [Color] Elemental
This ability is a double edged sword, one it increases perception on one target, blurring out all other stimuli to better keep up and increase chances of hitting the target. The cons come in the form of magic requirement, it has to be sustained which means it should only be used in short bursts to avoid mana exhaustion and during that time, it becomes harder to see attacks coming from opponents you aren't focusing on.

Blood and Fire, [Color] Elemental
Bloodline magic, used only in the most desperate situations. After slaying an enemy in combat, the caster must cut themselves and spill blood on the corpse and this links the users and opponent's remaining mana. The user's mana acts as an ignition source and causes a large explosion that harms the user as well, searing their arm and cauterizing the wound.

Bio: Nasir grew up traveling with a nomadic tribe of magic users in the middle east. Their hatred of Black Aura's caused this. Causing disturbances left and right, the Church was sent to check it all out. Once found, they had threatened the tribe with imprisonment or destruction if they hadn't stopped their activities. Knowing they were heavily outnumbered, the tribe had offered up their chieftain's son as a peace offering. Nasir was taken from his home, sent to Amanrath to study the 'proper way' of using magic. With knowledge of his family's bloodline spell, he bides his time for a chance to escape.

Clubs:
Archery
Crafts
Meditation
Wilderness

Notes: Nasir carries two airsoft pistols, with symbols to use in conjunction with his lightning reload spell and the kukri for use with his bloodline spell. The guns are usually concealed inside the second outfit in quick draw wrist holsters. Else, they're easily summoned while in his first outfit along with the kukri.

Relationships: No one in this country.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Pretty sure this is right! Feel free to inform me of an mistakes I made Teal.

---

Name: Sean Castevet

Race: Yuki-Onna /Half Demon (Ghost/Spirit/Demon/Human hybrid?)

Gender: Male

Aura: Yellow

Age: 18

Appearance: Sean stands a bit over 6 ft tall with a very muscular build, weighing somewhere around 200 lbs. He has a rather heavy frame, very broad shoulder, one could tell that he probably works out a lot upon seeing him. Most notably, he is very pale, his skin being almost as white as snow. He doesn't seem to suffer from acne or anything either. He has buzzed black hair and dark brown eyes. Sean's is half Japanese and half Caucasian. Usually he wears a polo shirt and simple slacks.

Spells:


Blizzard > Fubuki, Yellow Elemental
A spell that focuses Sean's demonic power into a powerful blast of dagger-like ice shards, snow, and frigid gale-force winds. Each shard is around long-knife length and stake-like in shape. A direct hit is easily enough to cause serious damage. However, the spell has a powerful recoil, and requires Sean to hold his ground when firing it. It generally also requires both his hands. A fairly draining spell, which leaves Sean's own hands coated in ice, after it ends.

Flash Step, Yellow Elemental
Allows Sean to cover a long distance in an instant, but leaves him tired and vulnerable immediately afterward. It isn't teleportation, so he can be tripped.

Regeneration, Yellow Elemental
Sean heals at an abnormally fast rate, surpassing that of a normal person. There is a logical limit, though. If he was sliced across the arm, the bleeding will usually stop itself rather quickly and the wound would seal faster than a usual person's, but if he lost a finger, it would be gone. Deeper wounds take longer as well. The ability is more powerful in cold areas, and he can increase the power by focusing more on a particular wound.

Psychic Chill, Yellow Elemental
Sean was rather shy as a child and he tended to avoid confrontation with others. As an extension of this, he subconsciously developed the ability to project an aura of cold around himself - to keep people away. While active, those who are near him get the subtle, steady, constant, and mildly chilling sense that they are not wanted. Now, he can control when this aura activates and when it does not.

Snow Woman's Ire, Yellow Elemental
Before coming to Amaranth, Sean's father taught him how to channel his Psychic Chill ability in a more effective way. Refined into a Curse, Sean fires a projectile of non-physical magical energy at a target - initially assailing them with a powerful flash of psychic cold. The target is left feeling perpetually chilled and may find their fine motor skills impaired.

Background: Sean was born to his mother and father at an undisclosed region of Japan. He lived there for only the first few years of his life, as his father brought him back to his home in Ontario when Sean was but a toddler. Sean still doesn't real know the details of why his parents split up, and has only a few memories of Japan.

Sean comes from a long line of magic users, and he himself was awakened when he was about 12 or so. He has a decent grasp on his innate abilities -mostly inheirited from his mother- and maintains good control over them, even if he doesn't really understand their origins.

Although he grew up surrounded by the strange and supernatural, Sean is a strikingly normal person. He likes to play Hockey, lift weights, enjoys the outdoors, and seems to have even found a girlfriend recently. He currently attends Amaranth just as his father once did, and is enrolled in Landry's class of craziness. His current goal is to just get through the year in one piece.

Lets hope that isn't too lofty a goal.

Clubs:

Wilderness Club
Ice Sports Club
Book Club
Archery Club


Notes:

Lower temperatures are more comfortable to Sean than higher ones.
His blood and body temperature are below normal for a human.
He burns easily in sunlight - hence the pale skin.
Plays center-forward on the Amaranth Hockey Team, so he has access to hockey gear - should he ever need it to fight.
Has some experience in mixed martial arts, and using a gun. He hasn't seriously developed either, though.
His father gifted him with an enchanted white Tuxedo before he left for Amaranth.
On the first day of class, Landry asked him to stay after and gave him a small vial of black liquid. She instructed him to "drink it if you feel like you are about to die!" Sean has no idea what its effects are and has not yet had to figure out.


Relationships:

Paul Castevet: Sean's father and original mentor in magic. Sean looks up to his father and sees him as a role model to aspire to, although he is also rather annoyed at Paul's unwillingness to talk about his Sean's mother. Once attended Amaranth just as Sean does, and is a druid. Built rather athletically, much like Sean is, but has distinctly tanned skin unlike his son. His hair is dark brown and his eyes are blue.

Sean's dad is currently employed by the Ministry of Research and Development, serving as both a researcher and sometimes a field agent. He has mostly settled down into desk work though to raise his children.

Judith Castevet: Paul's second wife and Sean's step-mother. An unusually tall woman, standing at 6'2 with lighter brown hair and green eyes. Like her husband, Judith is also a researcher for the Ministry, and is also a telelpath. She isn't engaged in as many research projects as she used to be though, and she is now occupied mostly with reviewing the projects of others and trying to keep some level of ethics flowing amongst the researchers. She and Sean have a positive relationship, but at the same time aren't incredibly close.

Sarah Castevet: Sarah is Sean's 10 year old half sister, the daughter of Judith and Paul. She has hair like her mother but blue eyes like her father. She has She's only in grade school, but she seems to already be developing some black aura abilities of her own. As of right now though, she is still outside of the masquerade and unaware of magic. Sean is rather protective of her!

Anita Bell: Paul's sister and Sean's aunt. When they were younger, Paul and Anita were engaged in quite a sibling rivalry! While Paul became an agent of the Ministry, she climbed the ranks of the Witch's guild, becoming quite a prominent member. She is very powerful, having gained strength from consuming the spirit of a wildfire. Unlike Paul, she hasn't really settled down yet, and is probably off fighting giant spiders in Australia. She's married to a surprisingly normal wizard accountant, and has a son named Nicholas.

Nicholas Bell (http://tealbandits.wikispaces.com/Nicholas+Bell): Nicholas is Anita's son and Sean's cousin. He is of a leaner and shorter build than Sean and has bright orange eyes. He is a pyrokinetic, having gained these abilities from his mother's side. Much like his mother, he has a very wild look and air about him. He and Sean see each other as rivals much like Paul and Anita did, but the two are still very close friends.

Penelope Lega: Sean's girlfriend, whom he met in the music room in the weeks before classes started. Penny is quite pretty, with rather thick blonde hair and wide blue eyes, but is also rather absentminded. Despite her somewhat ditzy nature, she is a very talented musician and singer, playing the harp in the school band. Unbeknownst to Sean or herself, she is a siren and a rare example of an unawakened demon.

Oyuki Yoshida: Sean's biological mother and a very powerful Yuki-Onna. Not much is known about her, but she was married to Paul for about 6 years, and took care of Sean while he was just a toddler. The circumstances behind why she and Paul split up is unknown, as is her current location.

Johanna Irmsdotter: Sean's roommate at Amaranth. She is a Jotun, hailing from Scandinavia. They admittedly don't always get along, and they were likely paired together due to little more than their mutual preference for the cold. Played by Ahrha.

[Girasol of Chaos]

Name: Shinobu Meguro
Gender: Female
Aura: Dark Orange-Yellow (Dusty Amber)
Age: 17
Appearance: Towering at 6'2", Shinobu, or Shin, is extremely tall and well-built for a girl. Having more muscle than not, Shin is strong and carries herself just as expected - proudly. Depending on the day you may find her disheveled, onyx hair is sporting either a mohawk or is simply combed down. It's cut unevenly and will not go farther down than past her neck in the front, tapering down in the back between her shoulders. Shin is semi-pale with crimson or azure eyes, with leaks of color from the other based on the situation. Her grin is unsettling for most individuals, sporting two small tusks that are normally tucked behind her lips. Her features are more boyish than most girls, having the thicker jawline and eyebrows of a brute.

Shin often walks around in tanktops, her favorite being a grey one with a bold yellow stripe running down the right side. Her tennis shoes match, sporting a thick stripe on each. Shin favors bindings to socks and bracers and will often wear them for sparring matches. Warmer weather has her sporting black shorts, sometimes with a white stripe. In colder weather she will don darker cargo pants and a thick black windbreaker. Some days she changes her mind though, and prefers jeans or light-colored khakhis. With these she can be seen with a steel blue jacket and darker-hued shirts. A plain black belt is worn with all pants.


Race: Oni (Demon)

Abilities:
Red Oni/Blue Oni - Black Elemental
Even Supernaturals have mental health problems - for Shin, its multiple personality disorder. Her two personalities, Shin and Chou respectively, come and go, with Shin seeming to be the dominant of the two. When Shin is in control, her skin, horns and eyes are bright red. With Chou in control, they're blue. Though this ability is mainly a superficial and flavor one, the abilities Shinubo and Chou have access to may differ depending on which personality is in control. In true oni form, their nails are sharpened and tusks are a little more prominent, poking out from the lips even when closed. Their ears are a little longer and pointed as well, and horns are always on the forehead.

Visual:
http://fav.me/d4tny3r

Human Illusion - Yellow Elemental
Oni learn early on to deceive humans, and the best way to do this is through acting as one of them. Her human form appears as above and can be used at will, except for times of extreme exhaustion. It's really a relatively good illusion, spawned from her Demonic Powers. This ability doesn't change much between the Shin/Chou personalities, the form itself is the same overall, only the eyes differ. Shin's are crimson, Chou's are blue. They can be identified by hair style and clothes as well.

Oni Club - Orange Elemental
A summoning spell. This ability calls forth Shin's Kanabo - a heavy eight-sided club, studded with worn spikes - from its current location to (just above) her hand. The iron weapon appears in a flowing cloud (a nimbus) of light-grey water vapor which quickly dissipates. This ability is relatively inexpensive. It can be used to dismiss and resummon the club reflexively.

Strength Surge - Yellow Elemental
A supernatural surge ability that vastly improves her physical condition for a single action. The effects of Strength Surge are extremely varied and as this one is more refined, the strength of the boost is greater than a normal Strength Surge, can last through longer actions, and is slightly less draining. Where she could punch through a stone wall in one punch before, she can now demolish a large chunk of it and send cracks throughout it. Shin only.

Fear Aura - Yellow Elemental
Activated with a roar, this ability awakens Shin's Demonic power, releasing a miasma of fear around her body. Anyone who comes close to her will be affected - it's stronger when they're looking at her, too. Shin only.

Without a Shadow - Green Elemental
By muttering the phrase, phrase, "Yue pahch hah ya" and shaping her demonic power through the Vajra chakra sign, Chou can cast this Eastern Spell. Once activated, her shadow vanishes. Any one who looks at her, while this spell is active, will view her as less threatening than she would otherwise be. By extension, other targets around her become more fearsome or dangerous, if only by comparison. Chou only.

Steady - Dark Red Elemental
Chou's balance and footing are reliable, and as long as her foot can mostly fit on it she can walk on the solid surface with full confidence outside of combat. Primarily applies to horizontal to semi-steep surfaces. Unusable in combat, sometimes fails in stressful situations. Chou only.

Background:
After moving several times due to poor grades, misbehavior and causing serious problems with the local human populations, Amaranth is Shin's last chance. The crude and competitive girl was kicked out of her parent's house long ago and enjoys asserting herself loudly and with brute force. When asked, it is difficult to get an honest answer from Shin concerning what may have caused her personality split. She seems to hide her past from herself, but is apparently overcompensating for an event of weakness. Not an intellect by any means she has poor-but improving-social skills as she struggles to keep passing grades and to play nice. In her eyes the school is more of a training ground for her athletic abilities. Normally a bit of a bully Shin has been warming up to some of her classmates, even calling some friends. Impressed by bravery and strength she is a difficult individual to work with, using violent solutions to entertain herself. It seems as of late that having friends sheds light on the fact that berserking tendencies aren't always the answer.

Notes: Shin is a carnivore, and her species enjoys dining on humans. This is offset by Amaranth's provided diet, however it makes the ogre favor non-humans slightly, as it is hard to connect to a snack on a personal level. Shin's sense of smell is stronger than most others' and will be affected by the stench of death, body odor and rotting meat. She, as any oni does, avoids sardines, suspiciously placed lines of salt and holy charms. Strangely enough she has a fear of Hot Green Tea, especially when served in a teacup. This fear is only very mildly shared with Chou.

Chou is Shinobu's less dominant personality, and often only shows her face after bouts of extreme exhaustion or great rest. Both personalities are starting to get comfortable with their surroundings and aren't as shelled up as they used to be. Anyone who interacts with Chou longer than a simple conversation will immediately notice the difference.

Chou physically is easy to spot to the observant viewer, she wears more conservative clothes and tends to have her hues oriented opposite of Shin (dark farther away from the ground). Her hair will be down and her eyes will be a bright blue, but all other physical traits are identical. Personality-wise, Chou is an awkward intellectual, enjoying small tricks and reading, but has trouble expressing herself to others at times. She is much more polite and quiet than her counterpart and has much better table manners. Valuing intellectual pursuits, Chou is the more curious of the two. Chou is also much more cowardly, opting to display bravado or flee from a fight instead of engaging combat. She seems to favor individuals who have taken the time to talk to her, and although she has her suspicions, she prefers that company over the more aggressive fighters that Shin prefers.

Chou is still a carnivore, but is much more able to control her hunger pains.

Clubs:

Mixed Martial Arts Club
Swimming Club
Book Club
Advanced Crafts Club (Metalwork)

Relationships:
Kit Fabre: One of Shin's roommates, a second year Kitsune. Bright and cheerful, but may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, Kit seems to like Shin for reasons unknown to most, and makes efforts to befriend the girl. Despite his demeanor, he's over a century old, and is uncommonly experienced for his age. A capable martial artist, shapeshifter, and a dabbler in Eastern Magic. Frequently changes his gender, using his Demonic Powers. Real name is Azure.

Both Shin and Chou enjoy Kit's company, one being much more gracious about it than the other. Kit is a friendly and fantastic cook, instantly winning Shin's favor. She does bicker with him often, but enjoys the encounters. Most of the time. Shin is currently in an apologetic state towards Kit and is treating him a little more gently. To Chou Kit is a friendly roommate and good company.

Teanne Monette: Shin's second roommate, a girl with a name strangely similar to the Ninja-Robot-Butler-Princess who defeated her on the Field of Honour. Teanne Monette is a name she adopted upon coming to North America, her true name is Mochizuki Aina, a descendant of the great Spy Mistress Mochizuki Chiyome. Teanne takes after her ancestor, and is trained in the Eastern Arts of the Ninja, augmented with the Western-Style swordsmanship of a fencer. She may, in fact, be a Princess. Whether or not she's a robot is another story.

Shin bickers often with Teanne as well, but legitimately fears her second roommate due to some twisted-up memory that may or may not be a dream. Teanne is possibly to blame for Shin's near-crippling fear of Tea and seems to enjoy threatening the oni, managing to keep the brute off of her back most of the time. Chou instead mutually enjoys Teanne's company and, although puzzled by a small chill, will often share the ninja's favorite drink.


edit: fixed some spelling mistakes
Edit2: Improvements reversed until further analysis.

[Teal Mage]

Didn't take any motivation from Mahou Sensei Negima, did you, Teal? ;)

A bit! Amaranth is loosely inspired by Mahora Academy and the title (Magical Teacher Professor Landry!) is definitely a shout-out to Mahou Sensei Negima! (loosely translated, Magical Teacher Negima!), but the similarities don't go too far beyond that - at least, I don't think they do. I do draw spells from a lot of places though - Negima, Nanoha and Bleach are all represented in some capacity.

The setting is sort of designed to be a big crossover.

Pretty sure this is right! Feel free to inform me of an mistakes I made Teal.

Looks good.

I'd appreciate it if other players could update their bios similarly, since that reduces my workload. But, its not required. Might be best to wait for the timeskip-levels to be handed out, though.

Improvements reversed until further analysis.

Thank-you Gira. Just to be clear with everyone else, level-ups are coming for you guys too. But, they require us to sit down and talk about how your characters spent the timeskip (other than what was established on the pad). The challenges they faced would effect their level-ups, after all.

Otherwise, looks good! Thanks for the update.

Right, let's move onto my first new bio. =D

I preface this by saying I am very hard on all bios! The amount of questions I have in no way reflects whether the character or concept is good. As it happens, I like this particular concept, but I do feel it needs polishing to better fit the world.

Gonna deal with basic character information and backstory first, though. Those are extremely important, and discussing spells before this stuff is cemented is, frankly, premature.

Name: Nasir
Race: Half-Demon (Incredibly Distant Relation to the Sumerian Deity, Enlil, "Lord of the Air")
Gender: Male
Aura: (Guess I'll let you figure this one out.)
Age: 18 [18]


Let's see, no last name? You'll need a Last Name. Here's a list of Arabic surnames for you to pick from: http://surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/arabic

Race itself is fine. I'd like a little more details about his relationship to Enlil though. Was Nasir's ancestor blessed by the God into something more than human, or is the god himself Nasir's ancestor? Either way, Enlil was the King of the Sumer pantheon, so I would assume this gives Nasir’s family a high place in the tribe (his father is apparently the chief) - is this position a birth-right? Why? What does the position of Chief entail? Is it a Priest position, more of a Champion position or both? Neither?

Oh, and for clarification, does Nasir's tribe worship the whole Sumer Pantheon, or just Enlil? Are there other sacred lines in his tribe, corresponding to other gods? Does Enlil have a special place in their legends that the other gods don't?

We can talk about this if you need help, but most of these answers need to come from you.

Appearance: 6'1", skinny and not too muscled, heterochromatic eyes(One black, the other white with a black outline) strange eyes, wind symbol tattoo under the black eye, black hair and dark tanned skin. Usually likes to wear his hot weather clothing, which can be a sleeveless tan/beige top, baggy pants that match the shirt, belt with holsters and sandals or baggy sleeved shirt, cowl that leaves only his eyes visible, same pants and belt, quick draw wrist holsters under the sleeves and combat boots. The first outfit is worn more often.

Alright, his eye colours are explained by his inhuman blood. What I'm curious about is the Wind Tattoo. Why is it there? Was he born with it? Was getting it part of a ritual to awaken (or maybe bless him?) with Enlil’s god powers? Some other thing?

Bio: Nasir grew up traveling with a nomadic tribe of magic users in the Middle East. Their hatred of Black Aura's caused this. Causing disturbances left and right, the Church was sent to check it all out. Once found, they had threatened the tribe with imprisonment or destruction if they hadn't stopped their activities. Knowing they were heavily outnumbered, the tribe had offered up their chieftain's son as a peace offering. Nasir was taken from his home, sent to Amanrath to study the 'proper way' of using magic. With knowledge of his family's bloodline spell, he bides his time for a chance to escape.

Alright, let me start by saying that most of the Middle East is at a lower stage of development than the West. Therefore, the number of Blacks in that area of the world would be less than over here. The greater influence of religion is likely to blame for that. Certainly, there will be sceptics and people who are only pious in appearance, but true belief is one of the paths to becoming Half-Awakened. Not going to give you a statistic as to whether its 50/50 Black/Half-Awakened, or 25/75, or 75/25, but is sufficient to note that the Half-Awakened make up a large segment of the population in cities. They have darkly coloured auras (dark blue, dark red, dark green, etc), not Black.

Fortunately, as we discussed on the Pad, hating Blacks isn't their only reason for being nomadic. Still, I'm curious. Why does Nasir's tribe hate Blacks?

Anyway. As I understand, the original reason Nasir's tribe became nomadic was because they returned to the old ways and the old gods. Islam takes a dim view of pagan beliefs (and magic. They really don't like magic), so they probably wouldn't have had much choice but to stay away from populous areas anyway. Plus being nomadic would help them run when they were threatened – which would have been common. Am I right? If it is, please update your backstory to reflect it. If not, correct me.

Moving on, I need a point clarified. When you say 'Church' which church do you mean? Islamic, Christian, some other one? Or, do you mean the Guilds?

Perhaps more important, what did Nasir's tribe do to draw attention to itself?

The tribe seems to have been around for a while. They also seem to have been practicing Dark/Blood magic for a long time. The Church certainly would have known about them before this. However, for whatever reason, they viewed wiping them out as more trouble than it was worth. What about the activities of Nasir's tribe changed?

Keep in mind that the Islamic church is extremely unlikely to accept the surrender of a tribe of pagans in the situation outlined above. They also wouldn't have ties to Amaranth. The Guilds (well, the Witch's Guild, the others wouldn't care) on the other hand are more reasonable that way. If they intervened, the killing could, probably, have been kept to a minimum. Sound like a good solution?

If you're cool with that, we'll need to work out the exact conditions of the surrender. If not, we can work something else out.

That aside. It seems quite odd that Nasir's tribe would surrender without a fight. Outnumbered or not, isolationist societies (particularly those who hold that their 'true' ways are the correct ones) are generally quite proud. They wouldn't give in (much less give up an important member of their tribe) without some kind of fight. Unless you can think of a good reason for them to back down, I would make it less bloodless - somehow.

Next, it should be noted that Amaranth does not teach magic to first years. If a first-year, inside on the Masquerade, is present there, its usually to see if they can be trusted not to blow the Masquerade apart (or worse). Given the current circumstances of Nasir's attendance at the Institute, if he were to run off (or doesn't play nice), his tribe's dead.

None of the points I raised here make the story unworkable, it should be noted. I just need these details clarified so I can understand the logic of these events. If you need help working some of this out, I can suggest things too.


Notes: Nasir carries two airsoft pistols, with symbols to use in conjunction with his lightning reload spell and the kukri for use with his bloodline spell. The guns are usually concealed inside the second outfit in quick draw wrist holsters. Else, they're easily summoned while in his first outfit along with the kukri.

I suppose I might as well ask about this stuff too while I'm at it.

First, I'd like to say that weapons are not automatically summonable. You need specific spells for that. Its not a free power.

Second, I'm curious. Where would a nomad get guns (airsoft or otherwise)? I have a few ideas in mind about how to make that work (after a fashion), but before we talk about that, I would like to point out that they're about as far from traditional weapons as you can get. It sounds like Nasir's tribe views the outside world negatively. Why would they want to use their weapons?

I'm interested in how he justifies using modern weapons, instead of traditional ones, to be clear. From what I can tell, his tribe seems quite...traditional. Nomads who returned to the old ways are usually pretty stubbornly opposed to the idea of progress. Magic and swords can do everything guns can, really. Better, in some regards, given that they would be aware of the Non-Lethal principle.

Relationships: No one in this country.

And finally, a concerned player mentioned to me that being a Loner in this game is very dangerous! Fighting is messy – being alone means that an unlucky break will be much more likely to kill you, because no one can bail you out. Good teamwork saves lives.

'course, I don't have a problem with loners. This is just a cautionary warning. This game is brutal. Ask any of my old players, this isn't an empty statement.

I think that's enough for now.

[Overcast]

It'll ruin you and leave you with a learned helplessness that will stick with you for the remainder of your life.

[Inbred Chocobo]

Name: Alexander Smith (When he was left an orphan, the parents failed to put a last name before abandoning him, so Smith got put there instead).

Race: Fire Demon

Gender: Male

Aura: I'll let you decide what fits him best

Age: 18

Appearance: 5'11' tall, surprisingly well built. Nothing overtly muscular, but well toned definitely.

Demon appearance: His skin is more similiar to molten lava. Majority of his skin is covered in what appears blackened rock where muscle should be, with cracks throughout glowing red hot. His eyes glow a bright red, and his hair turns to an ever burning fire.

Human appearance: He looks like he gets plenty of sun. Boots on his feet, fingerless gloves with metal plates on them are on his hands. Blue Jeans with a simple leather belt and plain buckle for legs, and a tight fitting black T and a leather jacket for his torso. His hair sits as a grey ash color, and his eye color glows a fiery red. Its actually noticable in the dark, which is why he always wears sunglasses.

Spells:

Shaping the Flame - Yellow Elemental
In a fiery blaze, Alex can cause his form to switch between Human and Demon appearance. This does have the effect of burning off clothing though if he isn't careful. He only can swap between those two, nothing else.

Burning Rage - Black Elemental
Mode-Shift- Alex's Anger can lead to him to a burning rage, which infuses him with fire properties. He ignores the effects of fatigue, and gains a noticeable increase to both his strength and speed. He also becomes too hot to touch, threatening Second Degree burns with initial contact, and just getting worse with prolonged exposure. When he stops raging, it catches up to him. (At this time, Alex know's his rage triggers something, but he thinks its more with being a demon than any actual magic)
Edit: Just as a note, this can work better in his demon form, and if he really has lost it, he may switch to that form without realizing it.

Undying Flame - ??? Elemental
As long as Alex can eat stuff that is rather flammable, such as wood or gasoline, he can regenerate anything. He has to focus on this, and normally has to be something he does overnight. However if he doesn't have something to burn to regenerate with, then he cannot do it.

Flamethrower - ??? Elemental
Alex holds out his hand open palm and shoots a stream of flame from it. It reaches out about 10 feet before fading off, and can catch things on fire or burn. The stream is normally straight, but wind and such can effect the path. He can do it in either short bursts or maintain it, draining will longer he holds it.

Fiery Charge - Yellow elemental
This is similiar to Flash Step, as Alex is rapidly pushed forward. The difference is that its basically a burst of flame that is pushing Alex forward. Though Alex has used this before to go charging into stuff, since you know, a fiery charge can be nasty to get hit with.

Fire's only Friend - ??? Elemental
In a burst of fire, Alex can cause a greatsword to appear in his hand. It disappears by burning away.

Background:
(So, I realized that after writing this background, there are a few holes in it, and realized I had Landry do something she wouldn't know to do, so here is Background Version 2)
His first memory was in the orphanage as a toddler. Everyone was outside playing when it started to rain. Some kids acting tough, and Alex did too, so they played out there and then Alex remembered the raindrops feel like they hurt, but the other kids called him a baby. Finally one of the people running it rushed them inside, but noticed Alex was trembling like he was crying and shivering. They threw a blanket on him and set him next to the fireplace they lit up for him to warm up by. The rest of the kids got ushered out of the room, and only him and the head of the orphanage, Miss Catherine were left. She examined him, noticing the burn marks where rain had fallen, but something about her eyes said she knew what she was doing, so Alex trusted her. She brought out a bowl of water, and had him dip one of his hands in it. When Alex said it started hurting, she pulled his hand out, and examined it, seeing that it blistered. She then removed the gate from the fire, and pulled out a stick, lighting the tip of it on fire, and held it out, and asked Alex to stick his hand in. He did so, and said that it felt amazing, and when he pulled his hand out, no more blisters.

Growing up in the orphanage, Alex remembers having to avoid things like water, and liquids in general, which was hard. He also remembered that he wasn't the only one that was different, and that Catherine would regularly take a couple kids, including him, and set them aside, explaining things such as the Masquerade, and things they should hide, and what to do for each of them. Thinking back on it, Alex remembers Catherine always seeming so sad during those times, like she had done something wrong in the past, and this was her way of making up for it. She was an old woman though, definitely hitting her 60s, so while he could never call her a mother, the kids started calling her their Grandmother, and she became that to him there.

When she passed away, Alex was only 14 then, but he remembered feeling crushed. During that time period, the kids that had sat with her were all hiding out away from everyone. In the arguing and fighting Alex remembers getting angry... then something happening. The kids later described it as it looked like he became engulfed in flames, and then stood before them in his demon form, looking made of fire and not human at all. Considering the lessons they had together, no one freaked out, and the all knew to never say anything about it. Instinct took over for Alex, and he changed back, albeit naked. Kids got him some clothes, and Alex was left with more and more questions after that.

Shortly afterwards, everyone ran away from the orphanage. Without Catherine, the place had no hold for them. On their own, in a city they didn't even bother to remember the name of, they ended up joining with a gang that had a leader with a sharp eye. The leader knew about the Masquerade, and when he spotted Alex's eyes, he new immediately that the kid was something more than just some runaway on the street. The gang leader, they were never told his name, always referred to him as the boss, started teaching them things about surviving on their own, and some basics of magic. For years, Alex was with them, just glad to be apart of something. They did some things that Alex could never explain, robbed certain places, burned down certain buildings, get certain things. Thinking back on it, Alex realized the boss was more than just a magic guy on the street, he was someone with an Agenda, and an agenda he wasn't sharing.

One day though, things got sour. They just finished robbing a play, and darting into an alleyway they ran right into a trap. What looked like 5 men, extremely well dressed in very nice clothing all pointed assault rifles at the group. Before anyone could turn around, they all opened fire. Alex remembers watching his friends die that day, and thought he was dead himself as he took two bullets and collapsed on the ground. Before blacking out, he remembers watching the Boss getting away, having used the rest of the gang as a shield.

He woke up in a hospital, gasoline being poured down his throat. One of the well dressed men from early stood over him. Then man introduced himself as James Walker, though Alex honestly thought it was a fake name. The man explained that the gang was breaking the Masquerade and they had to stop them. He was sorry about the loss of his friends, but he was here to offer Alex a new chance. Someone like Alex could be useful to him, they could see the potential in him, and the fact that he just took 3 bullets and lived to tell the tale isn't something to dismiss either. He could be useful, but needed a lot more education and training before they would consider it. They tossed the pamphlets for the school on his lap, and left the rest of the gallon of gas on the table next to him. James told him then that their would be a car to pick him up tomorrow that would take him to get some new clothes and books, and then off to the new school.

Alex was pissed at the guy, but as he left, he looked down at the pamphlets and saw the name Amaranth. Darn school was for rich kids or talented, not for guys trying to claw their way out of the gutter. He looked out the window, and thought back to the moment he watched his childhood friends die in that gang, wondering how long it would be before he laid dead in a gutter like they were now if he kept this up. He picked up the pamphlets then and started reading about where his life was taking him next.

Clubs:
(note, he found this clubs assigned to him after the first time he was assigned them he threw the list back in the Professor's face)

Mixed Martial Arts
Chemistry
Metalworking
Art

Notes:
Alex's diet consists of anything that burns. Its always kind of weird to see him just pick up a tree branch and chow down, so he tries not to eat in public. Luckily most human food burns, bad thing is that there is a lot of water in most of it, so he has to be careful.

Alex's big weakness is similar to fire. Cold stuff actually is what causes what appears to be burns. Rain if exposed to for too long causes what appears to be burns, and being submerged in water basically amounts to being on fire. Things that are designed to put out fires have a similiar effect.

Relationships:
Besides a bunch of dead people

James Walker: An agent from an organization that James didn't specify and Alex didn't ask about, representing their interest. From the way James talked, they sounded like Alex could be rather useful to them. Alex distrusts James, since he knows it was his organization that gunned down his gang. His motives are unknown to Alex, and Alex is willing to bet that its truly not anything amazing like wanting to just give him a second chance. He thinks that James is going to want something back for all this, but just what, he in't sure.

[Relm Zephyrous]

Name: Alice Healy (Irish)
Race: Ghost
Gender: Female (or none, depending how you’re calling it)
Aura: You can try to guess at your Aura color - but its probably best to leave this section to me. Its the sum of all your spell hues. (Not bothering to guess, you tell me when appropriate)
Age: 19 [~87] First in appearance, then in brackets, actual age.

Human Appearance: Alice looks similar to how she did when she died, a late teenager of Irish descent. The girl has red hair, with freckles, twintails, and almost sickly white complexion. Her eyes are colored a deep emerald, and while she didn’t possess a figure that was quite so perfect in life, being an undead gynoid has edges in that she can have a perfect lean lithe figure. Her typical outfit is a black kilt with white stripes, a black beret, and a long sleeved black shirt with various pictures of flowers and vines decorating it. She also usually wears a black cape, which has a Null symbol on the back colored in white, and leather gloves.

Gynoid Appearance: Underneath the veil of wisps is a much more bland figure. Alice’s true skin is painted pure white, and her body is almost featureless. This being has two big black eyes adorning its face, and not much else. The chassis has B cup breasts, which are mainly so the Wisps can easily create the illusion of a female figure, but other than the joints of her body which reveal a silver structure underneath when stretched her entire body relies on special sensors to gain the normal human data from the world.


Spells:
Part of the reason Alice is coming to the school is to learn how to use some of the more traditional types of magic. She has had some experience with magic practiced in this manner in life and has toyed around with it as a ghost, but so far her spells aren’t really refined.

Sonic Snap

Causes a single powerful snap within a short distance of the user. This is mainly to cause a high sound, but can also be used as a powerful amount of force. Typically used for thigns like getting somebodies attention, flipping a particular object off of a table across the room into your hand, or other various uses especially when softened.

At grade 1 it typically takes some time to cogni-magically 'land' the location you are trying to snap if it is out of arms reach, as well as looking at the spot where you are snapping (although not necessarily within Line-of-Sight) although closer within that reach can typically be done without looking or delay.

When thinking about it but not actually causing the snap to happen such as trying to figure out exactly how far you want to place it if flipping that object off the table into your hand, there is a dim glowing grain of sand sized aura at the spot where you are planning for it to occur only visible to non-blacks.

Cognitive Nullification

This spell uses a small portion of Will to find and nullify a small portion of Will in another 'spell', typically with the goal of nullifying or rendering useless the offending spell in question. The process of doing this is akin to 'hacking' into the magic of the spell, nullifying, and/or redirecting portions of the willpower posited inside of the spell using portions of willpower from the caster.

A lot of spells will fall apart of you take a small portion of the willpower out of them. For example, Alice could nullify a small portion of a fireball spell and have it fizzle out into a tiny explosion where it was nullified rather than let it hit a lethal area, veer off in another direction, or negate part of the back, causing the explosion to flood in the opposite direction into the vacuum, depending on the nullification that was implemented.

However at grade 1 this is extremely limited, and while it technically only requires a fractional amount of willpower to cancel out the spell, unless Alice knows the spell intimately she will have to cancel out a big portion of the offending spell to guarantee decent results. Depending on the spell negated can be magically taxing, and it might be preferred to take a moment to nullify it in a more cost-efficient way if possible. There is little efficiency degredation over a long range, however akin using the Sonic Snap to break a lock open across the room as compared to parrying a incoming punch, there is a difficulty in negating a spell that is across the room as a reflexive action without at least some time to think about the negation, or knowing in advance to negate.


Technological Restoration

This spell can restore a 'backup' of a mechanical device from a state to a state previously held. Examples of use would be resetting a computer to before it was infected with a trojan virus, unjam a gun, or fix a weapon like a bent sword. Alice must be within arms reach to utilize this spell.

At grade 1, this will generally only work on devices of mechanical/metal origin. Further, the less of an idea Alice has of this 'previous state', the worse off the restoration will be, and the more complex the 'previous state', the worse off the restoration will be. For example, if Alice has never seen the computer infected with the trojan or know what was on it, she can restore it to before the trojan was infecting it but a huge portion of data could be lost.

As a note, this spell doesn't actually create significant amounts of material without significant will expenditure to go along with it. 'It is a very risky maneuver to try to create a backup out of something (such as using scrap metal to help put together a console that has the top half blown apart) unless Alice has an intimate knowledge of the thing being restored (such as spare parts for herself) and even then, it is still risky to do while impeded in any fashion.

Luminessence
Creates lights to glow from really blindingly brightly to subtly faintly, and if total concentration is given and a glass surface is given, the spell can give complex enough orientations to project simple images like a computer screen.

Ghost of the Past
This disguise can provide the gentle warmth of a human being, as well as the faint sensation of softness, and a look representing the way that Alice looked when she was 17-19 years old pre-death. It lightly extends to faintly generate clothing she is wearing, as well as make what she is gripping make sense in a way she wants it to. At grade 1, this is the limit of what this ghostly spell can do.

Little Miss Sawmill
Essentially a weapon summon, this is specifically a well oiled and practiced application of Technological Restoration, which allows Alice to revert her hands and feet between weapons, hands, feet, or some combination at a moments notice. The weapons are generally based on the this weapon, which is typically dual wielded http://i.imgur.com/2769C.png .


Bio: The life of Alice can be summarized as a normal girl growing up in Ireland, or at least it was normal until about age twelve. Alice had simple hobbies such as daydreaming, dancing, and dealing with people. These hobbies were some of the only things that Alice held onto for a sense of normalcy when the girl began to receive slow glimpses past the masquerade. This was both a wild and terrifying ride for Alice that dominated much of her teenage years and caused her to do much traveling. These travels ended several years later with her death in 1944 Nazi Germany.

But the story that Alice held after death was far more interesting than that which she had in life. Not actually able to pass on for want of figuring out all of this magical business, she was quickly captured as a useful powering device for research into AI. In particular she was used for the peaceful research done by Norbert Wiener in cybernetics, and until the time of his death in 1964 his refusal to allow political interference.

Many years later and after multitudes of different events over the half century between then and now, Alice finds herself heading off to Amaranth school. She has a high tech physical body now, although with the way technology progresses she’s probably already out of date on the majority of her functions. Still, this is a far better transport than a hunk of meat or a stationary desktop.

Clubs:
Computer
Tabletop
Meditation
Capoeria

Psychology Association

Notes:
Alice has access to the internet in her head. This is a good thing most of the time, but this also means the internet has access to her. While limited
As a Ghost, she has many of the innate magics that ghosts typically provide. One of which she has developed to extreme degrees is Will-o-Wisp. Normally ghosts use this to create some handy lights and sometimes for fancy colored fireworks. Alice has learned to use this to project images onto her monitor screen, create minor illusions outside of her body, but the main function is to create the illusion of herself as a real human. However this is limited in that at least for now, she can’t disguise herself as anybody but her previous life. And it takes strain to project even that as anything but naked. So clothes must be worn separately for her.
In life, Alice loved to sing and dance, however, her new body doesn’t have the proper vocal chords to sing, and over the many years of being bodyless her dancing skills have withered. This makes Alice sad.
Interestingly enough, the sensors that Alice uses to hear things without the prerequisite body-parts are located all around her body. This means that she can do odd things like taste through her fingers, and hear from her feet. This to a limited extent applies to any mechanical device that Alice is connected to. This also means that Alice literally has eyes in the back of her head.


Relationships:
Alice has a few relationships, but the majority of them are in the government or in far away places from Amaranth. Although who knows when Alice could find somebody that she knows from a previous ‘life’, either real, virtual, or cognitive. This is not always a good thing.
(I'll fill this in as time goes on.)

Capone Anderson: One of the men in charge of helping design and introduce Alice Healy into the school. He has a place assigned to do this by the Ministry of Research and Development, and thus has some kind of funding and authority. However, he isn't the most outgoing person, and generally will only step into public matters if needed.

Alice and Capone get along decently well, having met a couple years back when this 'project' was first beginning to be talked about and sorted through the red tape. He is a man of scottish descent and despite having a big figure likes intellectual pursuits, especially Go and Chess. Through the time they spent together, it is possible that the old 50+ year old Capone is Alice's son, or at least the son of one of Alice's sisters.

Despite having spent a lot of time getting to know Capone, Alice does not know much about exactly what types of magic Capone is capable of. However, she does know the type of aura that he puts off (if/when Teal decides of that.)

[Aldurin]

Name: Naomi Disponette
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Aura: (Hoping for Grey, though I'll default on Black if I have to)
Age: 18
Appearance: She stands at 6 feet tall with a fit, slim build. Her hair is long, flowing and blonde, and her eyes are blue. She appears to have German and Welsch heritage in her facial shaping. Her standard fashion is usually tank-tops with elaborate fractal patterns, grey or navy-blue khakis and black tennis shoes. She is always wearing her six rings of different colors with copper circuits etched into them in different patterns.
Spells:

Dimensional Sheath, Grey Elemental:
Naomi thinks she's figured out how to move objects through the fourth dimension using her blue ring, and believes that this is how she stores her katana, which is actually still in a chest in storage at her parents house, and is merely summoned whenever Neoma thinks she's moving the sword back into this level of the fourth dimension.

Rend Space, Grey Elemental:
Naomi can target a spherical space of matter of up to 1-inch and "shear" it in half in any direction by up to a half-inch, with a range of 15 feet. She thinks she "shifts" space in opposite directions to create the effect using her green ring. Is useful for severing key parts of machines or equipment, and by dealing nasty damage on people if targeted right.

Reality Stretch, Grey Elemental:
Naomi can spend a small amount of will to make small movements in attempt to dodge almost any attack she is aware of. Projectiles and melee attacks can be side-stepped with faster-than-normal speed. Guns and other projectile weapons with near-instant speed must be noticed and premptively dodged in order for the spell to work. She thinks she's merely augmenting her dodges by "stretching" reality through her orange ring, thus creating extra space between her and the point of impact of the attack, though she's really just moving really fast in small bursts.

Gap of Space, Grey Elemental:
Naomi can create an invisible field in front of herself that stops any projectile in midair, spending will to maintain the field and slightly more will as the total mass of "caught" projectiles increases. When the field is broken then the projectiles drop to the ground harmlessly. She believes she's using her silver ring to create a sheet-shaped "gap" between two points in space that generates maximum heatless friction on matter.

Gravity Reduction Inducer, Grey Elemental:
Naomi is able to halve the weight of an object (or herself) for a limited amount of time, within a range of 10 feet of herself. This allows her to jump higher, run faster or lift heavier objects in most cases. She believes her gold-colored ring creates this effect.

Physical Reversion, Grey Elemental:
Naomi can accelerate her body's regeneration to a much more noticable and useful level, allowing for her to heal her own wounds right before her eyes. She believes she is actually rewinding her physical state earlier in the timeline, via her purple ring.

Bio:

Naomi grew up in the Pacific Northwest, attending public schools and doing normal girl things growing up, getting decent grades and avoiding trouble. The only really noticeable detail is that her parents were into Japanese culture and trained Naomi with a katana for a short period. At about age 14 people began asking her "how'd you do that?" for things that Naomi had no memory or awareness of. It began to be stressful for her, she felt like she was being teased incessantly and led to several breakdowns and a small emo phase. She eventually had the idea to intentionally try the various odd little feats she was accused of doing, but with none of the results her friends and family pointed out. She felt like it was her last chance, so she kept trying and trying, spending dozens of sleepless nights trying to understand. Eventually despair got to her and began to break her down just enough for her to become aware of her acts. She believed that she was a prodigy of quantum mechanics, and began various "experiments" in hopes of unraveling the secrets of the universe. She didn't want anyone stealing her "findings", so anything she made she would always keep secret. She applied to Amaranth when she heard about it after high-school, hoping to find a better environment to harness her percieved intellect and publish her findings.

Everything she thinks she knows about advanced quantum physics is complete bullshit, and is actually her rationalization of Grey magic. The mental breakdowns from her quest to discover her potential have made her reckless, adamant and generally uncomposed, though she will pass for professional if the situation demands it and is important enough to her. She wears several rings of different colors with integrated circuits on each finger, thinking that they allow her to generate the "hyper-spacial effects" while it's really just a placebo effect, causing her to only be able to cast those spells when she's wearing the rings since she believes so hard that it's science. She believes the rings are powered by the electricity generated by her own body, explaining how she starts getting hurt if she overuses them. She claims her acts are actually magic even though she's unaware that it's actually real, her motivation being to hide her "research".

Clubs:
Fitness Club
Tabletop Club
Crafts Club
Samurai Club (requested club that focuses on Asian sword-technique, unlike fencing)

Notes: Naomi belief that her rings are her "tools of reality", she will defend them with her life and never takes them off. She is unaware of the Masquerade despite claiming that her abilities utilize magic.

Relationships:

Theresa:
A weak Electricity Spirit that Naomi unkowingly bound to her computer's hard drive during her junior year in high school. Theresa claims to be a self-aware AI program to try and avoid the consequences of making Neoma aware of magic, and has gotten used to being bound to the digital world. She often assists Naomi in various ways, and agrees with Naomi's idiotic Physics theories to keep Naomi blissfully ignorant of magic. She gladly welcomes the companionship of Ayumi and Violette, due to the fact that they don't demand validation on horrible physics theories.


Ayumi Fosburgh:
One of Naomi's roommates, she's a shorter girl with black hair and a similar build to Neoma and the same age. Ayumi is a Black from Japan who was enrolled here after her martial arts instructors sensed her supernatural potential. She is puzzled by Naomi's claim to using magic, since she's also unaware of the Masquerade, but gets along well with her despite it. Her interests generally fall into the outdoors and into mastering her own body, so she can probably be found at related clubs. She is generally stoic and not easily surprised by her environment. (Would like her to be in the fitness club with Naomi).


Violette Donota:
Naomi's other roommate. Violette is a 21-year old half-Succubus from Los Angelos, who came to Amaranth to try to learn to control her powers and suppress the "side effects" of her demon side, mainly her sexual drive. She takes interest in the artistic and graceful things in life. She is confused by Naomi's claim to be conciously using magic due to her aura color, and is a close friend of Naomi's since she doesn't think of Violette as a slut. Half the time Violette is in another dorm in order to satisfy her "desires", much to her shame. (Would like to see her in the Tabletop Club with Naomi if possible)

[Red Mage Black]

New Notes on Nasir:

Birthmark: (What I said was the tattoo, but noting the changes here.) Lightning mark under his black eye, rain and wind under the white. It's the very thing that confirms his blood tie to Enlil and only 'the blood of Enlil' receives it.

New weapon choice: Stave, a Holy Relic from the first descendent of Enlil. Has been passed down from one generation to the next and held by the Priests until every new 'godblood' comes of age. Clarification, they must be born with the same birthmarks as Nasir has to be able to hold it. Which means his father never got to.

Bio Stuff: The specific 'disturbance' that called the Catholic Church around was a ritual by his tribe to awaken Nasir's blood potential. The use of magic caused a disturbance with the Islamic faith and the Church moved in before they could to 'suppress the threat'. Meeting the tribe errupted in a skirmish for the Catholics. That of which ended after the death of their Chief, aka Nasir's father when Nasir himself called for the ceasefire when he knew if they continued fighting, they WOULD lose and in that loss, all their heritage and traditions.Which meant their survival for so long would have been for nothing.

The Catholic Church of course saw this as an opportunity to seize not only the head of a long worshiped religion predating Christianity itself, but a potential future threat. They didn't immediately whisk him away to Amaranth, instead keeping him around to not only teach him English, but also 'learn about their enemy' under the guise of learning their history and how they survived for so long.

The tribe had not only worshiped Enlil, but the entire Sumerian pantheon. Their godblood came around before Ninlil's own ascension, leaving a half-blooded child behind when she rose in rank.

Ritual History/Details: The ritual is only performed upon the birth of 'Enlil's blood', which is signified by the strange tattoo, but it has become so diluted over the years that a chance one of them is born along the family line is incredibly low. For the tribe, Nasir's birth was a blessing. When he turned 16, as a coming of age, they performed the ritual neccessary to awaken the powerful blood inside him. It requires that he must first be recognized without any doubt that he has the power inside him. This was of course confirmed. Next, the representative of other deities, their priests, would need to perform the ritual and the head of it would need to be their 'king', aka Nasir's father. Of course, the ritual involves calling upon forces best left undisturbed. The spirits of 'the blood' or ancestors who carried the same blood as the current successor. This caused a massive surge of power to erupt, which disturbed residents miles away and turned the 'landing zone' into plate glass.

Relationships: It isn't really the fact he's a loner, it's just the fact he doesn't know anyone outside of his tribe. In terms of rooming with someone, go for whoever (or whatever) you think is best.

Spell ideas(To replace the use of the guns):

Lord of the Air - Mode-Shift [Color] Elemental(?)-
Calling on the power of his godblood tie to Enlil, Nasir fills himself with power, drastically increasing his reflexes, speed and spell power. The telltale signs of this are both the glow of his eyes and the birthmarks on his face.

Calling The Sacred Staff - Summon [Color] Elemental -
If he doesn't have his stave immediately on hand, Nasir can channel will through the magic tattoo on his hand to recall it from wherever it may be.

Stormlord's Respite - Barrier Field [Color] Elemental -
As a newly awakened godblood, even Nasir isn't invincible. When in need of a breather, he taps the ground once with his staff to signify when he wants to it go up. It takes the form of a swirling torrent of rain, wind and lightning, but this is merely cosmetic and keeps him safe from attack for a short period of time.

Wind Extension - [Color] Elemental -
With his will, he forms either an extension on the top of his stave or a bladed weapon of the sort, both for the purposes of attacking. What makes this dangerous is the fact it doesn't make his stave any heavier. Later refinement might include adding the extra element of lightning to the mix. Blades, at such early grade may only extend a foot in length, while adding a blunt extension might go out as far as two feet.

Shock Shot - [Color] Elemental -
At this grade, even Nasir himself is limited to what he can do with even one of his own natural elements. For this purpose, he leaves his staff to do most of the casting. Unlike his barrier field, he taps the ground twice to signify the use of the spell, then points it at his intended target and fires a small bolt of lightning at them. It's limited to a straight shot while he tries to refine it.

Whispers on the Wind - [Color] Elemental -
Impending danger lurks in every corner. Wherever the wind blows, fast or slow, Nasir can get an idea of what is up ahead by focusing his will on listening to what the wind tells him is there. The lesser form gives him a small idea how many people there are, but not where they're located or how strong they are. Another form of this is evesdropping on conversations, but the further away it is, the more garbled the words become.

Okay, I know I won't be able to have all of them, so to clear it up beforehand, I'm fond of the first, second, fifth and sixth spells. The third and fourth are ones I can do without.

[Inbred Chocobo]

I've redone my background as after talking with a few people, I realized that it raised some questions, hopefully with the reworking it makes more sense.

[phil_]

So, as one who hasn't read the original thread, how bad an idea would it be to jump in here? And do you see this being active after the summer? 'Cause I've got an idea for a dude.

Also, where do you think golems would fall into the existing power structures? Is that a wizard-y thing or a witch-y thing? Seems wizard-y to me, with the Judaic mystic origins and the existing robots in the sign-ups. Not that this isn't all back-story stuff anyway, given that my dude isn't going to be making golems, obviously.

But, yeah, is it worth my time to come up with a name and develop spells and a background that mesh with the world you've got here, Teal?

[Steel Shadow]

I'll leave answering the specific setting questions to Teal and just say it is 100% worth your time to sign on now.

[Overcast]

Even disgruntled as I am I would fully advise you joining. It is a great RP that only gets better as Teal refines it.

[Relm Zephyrous]

And technically the 'robot' is actually more like a golem powered by a ghost than anything resembling a genuine robot.

[phil_]

And technically the 'robot' is actually more like a golem powered by a ghost than anything resembling a genuine robot.That was part of what made me think golems were more wizard-y, was the magic-using government handler. I'd expect government guys to not be witches, though I guess they could be.

But yeah, sent a super-preliminary thing to Teal, I'll probably play for a while.

[Aldurin]

Ok, edited in the new and much-less-horrible character idea I have into my first post.

[phil_]

So, about how long until you want this thing to get going, Teal? 'Cause I'd like to spend a few more days researching before I start writing anything down, but I can rush it if you want to get started this week.

[Geminex]

Name: Dan Murdoch or The Great Cosmopolus!
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Aura: Probably something flashy, with sequins.
Age: 17
Appearance: About 6'1, Dan looks his age and then some. Despite the carefree grin he usually sports, his face seems much harder, more drawn than it should. He's even spotted the occasional gray hair in the mirror, though he'll probably die before he admits it. Prominent features and strange, pale-blue eyes that work very well in drawing an observer's gaze, distractig people from his long, slender fingers. Normally goes around very well-dressed, often wearing formalwear, even throwing on a full stage magicians' outfit, complete with tophat and a cape lined with red velvet when he really wants to draw attention.
Backstory (In bullet points so it's easier to read and edit)
- Born to carnies, never knew his mother, his father a stage magician
- Badly homeschooled
- Started performing at 6 years of age as an assistant to his father
- Proved very adept with misdirection, Legerdemain and juggling
- At age 10, his father died when their trailer caught fire. Dan survived and looked after by the other carnies. He had to pull his weight, though, performing a magic show similar to his father's, running shell games and performing Legerdemain
- Soon started pickpocketing, things went missing around him
- Never got caught, though
- Until, with 14, he stole a Balisong from the carnival's knife juggler after a performance
- Got caught, room got searched, the stuff he stole was found hidden in the side of his trailer
- Got kicked out altogether, with only his stage clothes and the stolen balisong
- Made his way as a pickpocket and street performer, a loner with few friends, until he came to the attention of the police for pickpocketing and owning an illegal weapon
- Got sent to juvenile detention, but somehow managed to smuggle his knife in with him
- Got caught using the knife several times (twice cutting up sheets to escape with, despite the fact that he was on the first floor, once just absentmindely playing with it while staring at the wall), despite the fact that it always got confiscated, until he caught the eye of member of the masquerade working with the police
- Ended up getting coerced into attending the school or spend another three years at Juvie.

Dan's a trickster, born and raised. More than anything, he loves the thrill of a good con, that moment of tension when his hand slips into a mark's pocket -will they notice? won't they?-, disappearing into a crowd as his most recent victim realizes something valuable is missing. He relishes a little too much in the effect he has on people, though, and for all his trickery, he gets overconfident. A showman as well as a trickster, he enjoys attention a bit more than he should, and his desire for an audience has gotten him into trouble more than a few times.

This, on the other hand, makes him a very open person, though. He enjoys sharing exploits, both true and false, and takes an interest in those around him. He has an infectious grin that his years on the streets haven't quite managed to stamp out and, after learning some painful lessons, has come to value trust and loyalty, both being rare and necessary commodities, to him. A firm believer in the old adage that fortune favors the brave, he'll meet challenges confidently and remain optimistic, though if things end up too hot to handle, he's not one for a famous last stand, much preferring to leg it.
He has his dark sides too, though! A life of outsmarting others has left him aloof at times, and he tries a little too hard to get attention. Additionally, a life of petty theft has left him with a very dim view of "property", and while he know longer has to steal to eat, he's once again getting the urge to steal, for the sake of the rush and the thrill. His friends are safe from him, though. Probably. At the very least, he'll return whatever he takes.
After a while.

He also tends to need to gets jumpy when his fingers aren't doing anything, meaning that he'll often spin a pen or his knife between his fingers, absentmindedly flicking it through the air as he's talking to people, or even when he's in class. This can be irritating.

Dan's been praticing stage magic ever since he's been very young, but he's completely unaware of the fact that his natural talents are being boosted supernaturally. He just thinks he's that good. This doesn't do anything for his humility.

Growing up in an environment where illusion and trickery were commonplace, Dan will find it easier than most to rationalize supernatural powers, since he's seen on first hand how easy it is to create the most impressive illusions with just some smoke, a few mirrors, and a big helping of people skills.
Though, of course, if asked directly, he'll claim to be the most powerful magician since merlin.


Spells: I've got about 9 right here, I'll pick out 6 and leave the rest for possible level-ups.

Legerdemain
Dan flicks his wrist, his fingers blur and time seems to slow as his hand moves with seemingly impossible speed to perform a feat of legerdemain, be it instantly picking a pocket, palming a card or manipulating dice.

-Note: I'm not sure about this one. I don't want it to be just a speed surge, but it's too versatile to be a flash action. Also, not sure about the combat applications, not that it necessarily needs any.-

What's that behind your ear? A... Balisong?
Dan pulls his Balisong from behind an ear, from under a nose, or sometimes just out of thin air, with a flourish and a dazzling smile. What a trickster!

Look out, behind you!
With a glance, a widening of the eyes, a shift in his stance, an intake of breath or a small gesture, Dan subtly conveys that there's something behind the mark that they really, really should be paying more attention to. Even an attentive mark might lose focus momentarily and be compelled to take their eyes off Dan for the merest second.

Wait, what was that?
With a snap of his fingers, and a creepy grin, Dan enchants the mark to be juuust little... paranoid. They see flashes of color, disquieting silhouettes and sudden movements in the barest corner of their peripheral vision, all of which disappear as soon as they turn around to look. This can be quite a distraction in battle, and a major annoyance outside of it. Smart marks quickly realize what's going on and force themselves to ignore it, but that can lead them to ignore sights that they should really have payed attention to

Useful in battle, as a distraction to escape someone's notice, or if Dan really, really wants to annoy someone for the next five minutes.
Much more persistent than "Look out, behind you!" but not as compelling an effect.

Don't mind me!
Dan hunches his shoulders just a little, looks slightly downwards, gives a nonchalant whistle and just... blends into the background. He's totally visible, but he seems like much more of a bystander in the grand scheme of things, unimportant to the point where others might not even bother noticing him. The more attention is on him to begin with, the harder it is to blend into the background, and he's still perfectly capable of drawing attention to himself. Useful to escape a sticky situation, not get noticed in class or get close to a vigilant mark in combat.

Razzle-Dazzle!
With a flick of the wrist, a finger-sized firecracker, fuse already lit, appears in Dan's palm. The fuse burns for about three seconds, enough time to throw it at an enemy, slip it into a mark's pocket, or just toss it in the air before it goes off... spectacularly. Far from just exploding, the cracker lets out multiple bangs and flashes, spraying multicolored sparks and tounges of dazzling flame. The show lasts for about three seconds, and, while it's quite flashy, the sparks and flames are perfectly real, and perfectly painful!

"Give 'em the old razzle dazzle
Razzle dazzle 'em
Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it"

Right Behind You.
Even the best trickster needs to put 'em up sometimes. If "put 'em up" means "Stab an unsuspecting enemy for debilitating damage." Dan can line up a single stab on an enemy who's distracted, unaware, asleep- anything that prevents them from seeing it coming. The knife sinks into them with a satisfying shlick, piercing a vital organ or three and inflicting much more damage than a simple blade should.

"AKnifeInTheBackSaysWhat." "What?"

Exit, Stage Right.
Dan gives a quick bow and twirls around, his cape flapping through the air around him, obscuring him from view until the audience realizes... only the cape's left, floating mysteriously, and as that slowly falls to the ground, even that disappears. Dan rises impressively out of a suitable patch of ground up to 30 feet from his starting position.
Note: Requires a cape or other long, flowing garment to use
-I might turn this one into a modified flash step, rather than a full teleport. Might be overpowered otherwise. Of the 9 spells I've got, this is probably the most problematic one.-


Clubs:

Tabletop Games Club: "Maybe I can get someone to play poker for keeps, or something... Hmm? DnD? No, I've never played it, what do you do? Oh, characters? Like make believe? Uhuh. Well, why would I want to play a wizard, I'm already magical! What else is the- oh, a rogue you say? Tell me more."

Art Club: When he wasn't stealing or swindling people, Dan liked to draw them! He started slow, but pencils and paper are cheap, and he had a lot of downtime between performances. He soon specialized in caricatures that he'd sell to drunk tourists for a few dollars.

Drama: Acting's important, whether you're acting depressed, acting confident, or, most importantly, acting innocent! Besides, if there's a stage, Dan needs to be on it. And if he can learn to make even more of an impression, all the better!

(I'd also like to propose an Eskrima club, because, as far as martial arts go, it'd be basically ideal for my character, and it's pretty cool on the whole! Though I can just have him join karate if this doesn't work)

Psychology club: Let's see what this school really knows about People.


Relations:

Gary " Motherfucking Oak" Marshalls.
Tagline: You're playing a green deck? Okay, in that case, I cast Hibernation!"
Dan's Dormmate and, arguably, an absolute pain. A fellow first-year and a competent wizard, he's already renowned for not just being competitive, but absolutely stonewall anyone who takes him up on a challenge. Be it an argument, a physical contest, or a game, every decision and strategy of Gary's will seem solely designed to counter his opponent and take away any momentum they may have had.. His magic goes along the same lines, primarily designed to shut down any spell the opponent might cast while not going on the offensive himself. Also has a tendency of ambushing his challengers when they're at their weakest, and loves to rub his victories into their faces. Bears his nickname as a mark of pride. Attends the tabletop club and is one of the few students brave enough to attend the anime club too. Avid player of video games, in particular, of course, pokemon. Roots for the rival.

His parents are either dead or absent, and Gary's been raised by his grandfather, a nice, if slightly senile old man who visits the school sometimes and has trouble remembering his grandson's name.
Despite being generally insufferable, Gary and Dan have (reluctantly) become friends in the three days Dan's already been at the school.

Damien Fog
Tagline: It's this or Juvie.
The social worker that originally realized what Dan could do, and the person responsible for getting him a place at this school. 45 years old but looking closer to 60, a life of stress and magic taking its toll on him. A tired wizard without much talent, but with a knack for spotting those that do, he's been working with police and juvenile services for the better part of two decades, touring the country, posing as some visiting official or another to visit prison, detention facilities and orphanages, always keeping an eye out for strange reports or the faint flash of an aura. He's lost count of how many he's discovered, how many people he's told that they'll never be normal, how many more he just sent off, unprepared, unknowing, to a school that had a good chance of killing them. How many powerful blacks and greys, far more powerful than he could ever be he'd seen, how many time's he'd recommended that "Due to the risk of exposure and danger to civillians, termination of target be considered over integration". He's forgotten why he even does it, but someone has to.

He does find strength in those that thrive, though. He knows he's helping (he must be helping, or else what's the point but helping who?), and, empty as he feels inside, he doesn't hesitate to show strength when His Kids need it. He tries to keep in touch as best he can, and, as the doorway to this strange new place, he has quite a lot of authority in the eyes of His impressionable Kids. Dan follows the rules partly out of fear of what this strange, sad social worker with the burning eyes will do if he doesn't.

Jeffrey Killian
A fellow street urchin and friend of Dan's. A year older than his friend, he ran away from home at the age of 13, stealing on markets, pickpocketing and squatting in abandoned housing projects. Very musical, despite a lack of formal training, he made his meager living by singing as often as he did by crime. One of the first people that Dan met after getting kicked out, he saw something of himself in the frightened, lonely boy and decided to try to help him out as best he could. His decision was validated when he realized that Dan had the skills to make some sort of living out here, if he could survive that long.

Dan's first lesson consisted of a beating that, while not as severe as it could have been, left him on the ground, gasping for air. Jeff wasn't normally violent, but he didn't have the patience for a kid who bit the hand that fed him. Or stole a watch from its pocket, in this case. The fact that Jeff had stolen the watch himself only two hours ago wasn't relevant in the slightest. To his credit, though, Dan did get up after a minute of painful wheezing, and, swallowing his pride, apologized. His left knee ached horribly for days, and twinged whenever it got cold, but much more important than that was the realization of his own vulnerability and dependence on others. Despite his father's death, Dan'd felt the strange invulnerability of youth, exacerbated by the fact that he outsmarted people -or so he saw it- on a daily basis. Getting kicked out by the carnies had stung, but it had taken a beating to make him realize the ease with which others could hurt him out here, and with that sense of vulnerability, had come a powerful need for trust, and with it, loyalty to those he considered friends.

Jeff hadn't intended any of that, of course, he'd just wanted to punish the little bugger for pickpocketing him, but he'd found a friend in Dan, and in the three years they spent on the streets together, they looked out for each other. They'd even got busted together, juggling with knives at a train station for a small audience before a pair of plain-clothes police officers surprised and subdued them. The last time they'd seen each other was during the ride in the squad car, soon as they arrived at the station they were separated.

After he got to Amarath, Dan briefly played with the thought of running away to reunite with his old buddy, but somehow he had a feeling that that wasn't likely to work.

[DanteFalcon]

Name: Benjamin Riese
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Aura: Black
Age: 17
Appearance: Ben stands at 5'10", with light brown hair, kept cut short. His skin is slightly tanned due to a propensity for being outdoors, though his body is only thin, not muscled like an athlete. His eyes are a pale green and peer out from a generally cheerful and expressive face. He typically wears light greens and blues, preferring long sleeves and pants. On his left wrist is what appears to be a watch though its symbols are strange. Even so Ben seems to have no problem reading it. Under the watch face are two small circular scars on the back of his wrist.

Bio: From the north central United States, Ben is typically a good student with a very kind disposition, despite being an easy and fairly regular bullying target from his eccentricities he remains an eternal optimist, holding what friends he has close and always searching for new ones. This is not to say he made friends easily, being a bit stifling with his attention and having a tendency to ramble at times can be very off-putting, combined with his research into the zodiacs and astrology make Ben socially awkward at times. Ben took after his father, gaining a fascination with the zodiac and astrology, particularly the 13th zodiac, Ophiuchus. Due to the nature of that zodiac he's also gained a fascination with snakes, resulting in a near death experience a few years prior. While walking in the woods near his house with Clare he tripped and fell into some brush, disturbing a timber rattlesnake which proceeded to bite him on the back of his wrist. The resulting poison in his system nearly killed him and would have if not for Clare. Perhaps strangely, he gained more respect for snakes and his optimist outlook only increased in its tenacity. He ended up in Amaranth when his uncle offered to pay the cost of transporting and tuition to enroll Ben in the school, an exceptionally strange turn of events because his uncle and he never saw eye to eye. Still Ben agreed to transfer because of the school's prestigious reputation.

Spells:

Summon Pen - Black Elemental.
Working on school papers frequently and a need to jot down notes on movements in heavenly bodies has taught him to always have something to write with on hand. It also tends to leave his arms covered with ink as he forgets to bring things to write on frequently.

Celestial Intuition - Black Elemental.
Ben has spent far too much time stargazing and reading up on the movements of celestial bodies. So much so he's gained an almost instinctual understanding of their positions to each other give or take a few degrees, at least that's what he thinks. As long as Ben can see at least one constellation he recognizes, he can intuit where Polaris is and thus determine north.

No time to write! - Black Elemental.
Ben has very little time for the actual writing portion of schoolwork between his frequent walks, research of the zodiacs and assisting the school paper where he's at. The spell merely enhances the speed at which he can write when he actually has time to sit down and do so, slowly draining his Will the longer he writes.

Calm Down – Black Elemental.
Crazy mysticism or not, the Meditation club's breathing exercises work wonders. By focusing on a particular breathing pattern and willing himself to calm down, Ben is able to invoke a supernatural sense of calm on himself. This technique actually triggers a Mode-Shift, which remains active until the user stops the breathing pattern. Celestial Intuition still activates in combination with this ability.

Summon Garter Snake - Black Elemental.
A result of Veterinary Club, Ben's pet snake Pascal has a tendency to sneak itself into Ben's bag. Ben is still completely flummoxed as to how the snake manages to sneak itself out of its cage and why it is so attracted to his bag and pockets. At least it sometimes saves him the walk back to his dorm before walking to Veterinary Club.


Clubs:

Wilderness Survival: Something he's had experience on on his own and he loves night time jaunts in particular.

Veterinary: Partially to help appease his mother, as well as a good excuse to continue research on various animals.

Poetry: If he intends to do anything important in the field of astrology he needs to be a very competent and compelling writer. Poetry specifically isn't his thing though.

Meditation: When one views the heavens as often as Ben does the question of the spirit comes into it eventually. Seems like a good place to start learning about the spirit.


Notes: The watch Ben wears is a trinket, depicting the symbols of the zodiac instead of numbers starting with Aries and going through the 12 in sequential order. Its obviously cheaply made but Ben seems quite fond of it and is rarely found without it.


Relationships:

Douglas Riese: Ben's father and primary pusher towards his son's acceptance and research into astrology. He works as a fortune teller, primarily through tarot cards and would frequently denounce those who used trickery to gain fame and fortune off what he believes to be a legitimate profession. More recently he and Ben have grown apart because of Ben's questioning of traditional astrology though they still remain family.

Stephanie Riese: Ben's mother and the family's primary supporter, she works as a doctor at a nearby hospital. The nature of that work however, frequently leaves her away from home and a little more distant from Ben though the two get along just fine. A stern woman, who is frequently concerned over her son, primarily in his interests with snakes and his refusal to learn self defense.

Isaac Riese: Ben's uncle and the only family member who never accepted Ben's fascination with astrology, seeing it as nothing but superstitious nonsense. However, he has been more accepting recently due to Ben's research into Ophiuchus and his questioning of traditional astrology. Still, Ben doesn't know why his uncle paid for the travelling and tuition for Amaranth, or even what Isaac does for a living.

Erik Serrata: Erik and Ben were friends but never close ones. However, they worked together a great deal on the school paper and as such attained an almost business partner like relationship. Erik was always more prying and better at acquiring information while Ben would get people to open up with his personality and wrote down the information. Cordial but Professional.

Clare Meisner: Clare has been a friend to Ben almost as long as Kurt has been a bully to him. She accepts his eccentric nature and seems to have a bit of a protector stance for the boy. A firebrand, often tempered by Ben but definitely more proficient at fighting and most commonly saved him from any serious injury at the hands of bullies. They behave more like siblings than boyfriend/girlfriend though their closeness has certainly led to many rumors about them being together, false though that may be.

[Riin Whitewind]

So, about how long until you want this thing to get going, Teal? 'Cause I'd like to spend a few more days researching before I start writing anything down, but I can rush it if you want to get started this week.

It will take a hefty amount of time to go through the profiles that have been submitted so far.

You have plenty of time to do research and put a good effort into creating a character, it definitely won't start this/next week.

[Teal Mage]

Right reviews for the round are ready. Sorry for the wait. Will try to be on the pad for a bit after this - if not tonight, then tomorrow.

Inbred, as it stands, your character does not work. For a simple reason that, admittedly, somehow did not get into the Primer.

Demons have blood.

Your demon has an allergy to blood.

This might sound like something that can be fixed relatively easily with a modified racial weakness, but it actually brings me to the crux of the matter. Your character's race? I can't make heads or tails of it. "Fire Demon" is a generic term - you need to be more specific. What are you after?

Additionally, if your character really is blatantly demonic in his true form - as your profile implies - that is how he appears naturally. Demons don't appear human by birth, that requires a spell on their part. Your backstory seems to assume he's human under normal circumstances - as a 'generic' fire demon, that's not possible. If you want to appear human naturally, make him a Half-Demon.

I also want to point out a few problems with your backstory in general. More specific issues can be dealt with later, if you're still interested.

1) There's Meta-Gaming on the parts of a bunch of your NPCs. Catherine and James Walker, at least - both of them 'know' Alex is a Fire Demon and, as the story stands, is healed by fire and gasoline respectively. Fact is, they had no in-character reason to know that stuff.

2) A Fire Demon with Alex's racial weaknesses would not survive among humans. His first bathtime would kill him. He'd have to be moved to a special facility. We'll be looking at his racial weakness immediately, but I feel like I need to stress this point.

3) Being a demon does not give you an inherent advantage. They are not tougher than humans, and magic like 'Healed by Fire/Gasoline' do not function as racial benefits. Passive abilities like this don't exist in Landry (weaknesses do!). Magic also doesn't work overtly (i.e: does not set you on fire) instinctively. This requires training - which, as it happens, is hard for children raised as humans.

4) Guns are much less lethal in this setting. I say that right in the first paragraph of the Primer. Make sure you've read it.

5) The Guilds are competent. You're underestimating that competency.

Oh, and while I have your attention!

He found this clubs assigned to him after the first time he was assigned them he threw the list back in the Professor's face

This would not happen. Alex would get to pick his clubs like everyone else.

* * *

Name: Alice Healy (Irish)
Race: Ghost
Gender: Female (or none, depending how you’re calling it)
Aura: You can try to guess at your Aura color - but its probably best to leave this section to me. Its the sum of all your spell hues. (Not bothering to guess, you tell me when appropriate)
Age: 19 [~87] First in appearance, then in brackets, actual age.



Quick note on format. Relm, you don't need to include my instructions in your bio. Aura can be left blank, Age only needs the numbers.

That aside Relm, this is a mess. I'm going to skip straight to the problem, the backstory doesn't work - not at all.

The life of Alice can be summarized as a normal girl growing up in Ireland, or at least it was normal until about age twelve. Alice had simple hobbies such as daydreaming, dancing, and dealing with people. These hobbies were some of the only things that Alice held onto for a sense of normalcy when the girl began to receive slow glimpses past the masquerade. This was both a wild and terrifying ride for Alice that dominated much of her teenage years and caused her to do much traveling. These travels ended several years later with her death in 1944 Nazi Germany.

But the story that Alice held after death was far more interesting than that which she had in life. Not actually able to pass on for want of figuring out all of this magical business, she was quickly captured as a useful powering device for research into AI. In particular she was used for the peaceful research done by Norbert Wiener in cybernetics, and until the time of his death in 1964 his refusal to allow political interference.

I don't see why you linked her death to the Nazis. That detail's excessive and in poor taste, bluntly. In fact, this backstory could begin without talking about her death at all, since the first paragraph is irrelevant.

No, the issue is how she survived this long. See, as a girl without magical training, when Alice died, she would not be able to move. Her reason for sticking around is incredibly flimsy too. Unless her curiousity was burning close to an obsession (which, again, makes little sense for a normal girl and is definitely not what she is being portrayed as in the bio) it wouldn't hold her here. Even if it did! Psychopomps would not be sympathetic to it. She'd get passed on.

Or, if she disgusted the Death Guide too much, she'd be left to rot until a Wizard captured her. They wouldn't use her for peaceful scientific research. Her soul would be imprisioned in an object an used for power, if she was lucky. If she wasn't, she'd be destroyed. This result would be the same even if she worked out how to move (an unlikelihood bordering on the impossible) - and is, in fact, more likely if she's going around poking the Masquerade.

It doesn't work. You might want to think of a new character completely. Especially because Sao is a Death Guide herself post-timeskip - a ghost may not be the best call, since she takes her job seriously.

* * *

Name: Naomi Disponette
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Aura: (Hoping for Grey, though I'll default on Black if I have to)
Age: 18
Appearance: She stands at 6 feet tall with a fit, slim build. Her hair is long, flowing and blonde, and her eyes are blue. She appears to have German and Welsch heritage in her facial shaping. Her standard fashion is usually tank-tops with elaborate fractal patterns, grey or navy-blue khakis and black tennis shoes. She is always wearing her six rings of different colors with copper circuits etched into them in different patterns.

While this is an improvement over the original Aldurin, it still has the same problem. This is a White, not a Grey. Rejected.

That said, I'm just gonna go ahead and say no Greys will be accepted at character generation. Whites will also not be accepted.

And don't try to use Quantum Physics as an explanation for Blacks. I don't like it and it won't work.

Samurai Club (requested club that focuses on Asian sword-technique, unlike fencing)

Kendo Club now exists.

Theresa:
A weak Electricity Spirit that Naomi unkowingly bound to her computer's hard drive during her junior year in high school. Theresa claims to be a self-aware AI program to try and avoid the consequences of making Neoma aware of magic, and has gotten used to being bound to the digital world. She often assists Naomi in various ways, and agrees with Naomi's idiotic Physics theories to keep Naomi blissfully ignorant of magic. She gladly welcomes the companionship of Ayumi and Violette, due to the fact that they don't demand validation on horrible physics theories.

For future reference, this sort of relationship will very likely cost a spell-slot. It's also not something I'm likely to give out.

Violette Donota:
Naomi's other roommate. Violette is a 21-year old half-Succubus from Los Angelos, who came to Amaranth to try to learn to control her powers and suppress the "side effects" of her demon side, mainly her sexual drive. She takes interest in the artistic and graceful things in life. She is confused by Naomi's claim to be conciously using magic due to her aura color, and is a close friend of Naomi's since she doesn't think of Violette as a slut. Half the time Violette is in another dorm in order to satisfy her "desires", much to her shame. (Would like to see her in the Tabletop Club with Naomi if possible)

Tone her down and I might let her in, but she's pretty much fanservice/lesbian romance fodder right now. I don't like her.

* * *

Red Black Mage, alright, bad news. I did some research yesterday on Enlil. It turns out that he really isn’t an appropriate patron deity for Nasir’s tribe – and neither is the Sumerian pantheon. The pantheon may, originally, have been of Arabian origin – but they were adopted by a civilization famous for fortress cities, stonework, carvings and irrigation systems. If they were nomadic gods originally, they have been twisted and warped beyond recognition. They are the gods of cities now. A tribe which is seeking to return to the 'true' Arabian lifestyle would not adopt them as patrons. They’re traitors to that lifestyle. Therefore, Nasir being a descent of Enlil doesn't work in the current background.

Fortunately, I have found a little information on the pre-Islamic gods of Arabia. According to my research, there were at least 360 gods before the rise of Islam, representing both celestial bodies and elemental forces of nature in the Arab pantheon. Tribes likely had their own patron diety as well, among their number. Most of these gods have been lost, though. But! That actually works in our favor. There's considerable writer's liscense here in designing deities for Nasir's tribe. I will, however, be taking a larger role in designing this background (I have done the research for this, after all) to ensure it is appropriate. For this reason, the patron deity of Nasir's tribe will be replaced with this homebrewed one. It may not be the most creative deity, but it's appropriate.

Veehr Jawab: Roughly translated as the Wanderer, Veehr Jawab is a deity of Chaos, associated with fire, wind, spirit, travel and movement. The Wanderer is a god of the desert and patron of Nasir's tribe, who calls all to abandon the corrupt and weak lifestyle of the city dwellers, and return to the old and pure nomadic ways. The Wanderer has no temple, and only one priest - the one who bears their brand. Despising kings, the Wanderer's Brand passes without regard for blood to the most worthy - age and gender are irrelevant. It is said that the Wanderer walks through time and witnesses the deeds we will do, when selecting the mortal who shall bear the Brand as its voice. If the bearer of the Brand seeks to abuse its power, the Brand shall pass from them - and they will be cast out; if the Wanderer does not slay them personally. The Wanderer appears as a masked and veiled figure, clad in a cloak of shifting desert hues. As a god of Chaos, the gender, height, clothes, skin tone and build of the Wanderer shifts without warning - it is rarely the same twice. Only its eyes are predictable - gold in the day, silver at night.

Obviously, this means that Nasir's character would need to be reconfigured pretty heavily. He does not, strictly speaking, need to bear the Wanderer's Brand in the game, but it would be an option. The tribe also worships the other (surviving) gods of the Arab Pantheon. Each family, in fact, bears the blessing of one of these gods (i.e.: They're all God-Blooded/Half-Demon). I won't dictate these other gods, so there's a lot of leeway for you to submit a deity of your own for Nasir to be blessed by, if you'd prefer that route. As a note, the tribe is ruled by a council of priests, not by a single person. The Wanderer's Priest takes power only in extreme circumstances. Traditional arab society had a big problem with kings.

Any of that appeal to you?

* * *

Appearance: About 6'1, Dan looks his age and then some. Despite the carefree grin he usually sports, his face seems much harder, more drawn than it should. He's even spotted the occasional gray hair in the mirror, though he'll probably die before he admits it. Prominent features and strange, pale-blue eyes that work very well in drawing an observer's gaze, distractig people from his long, slender fingers. Normally goes around very well-dressed, often wearing formalwear, even throwing on a full stage magicians' outfit, complete with tophat and a cape lined with red velvet when he really wants to draw attention.

Please make this appearance more concise Gem. It isn't something I'll reject your bio over, but it'll make everyone's job easier when they want to remember what Dan looks like. Oh, and could you make him prettier? Amaranth actually has a policy about that. Didn't think it was important, so I didn't mention it in the Primer, sorry.

Your bio's actually pretty okay, from what I can see. The issues in here are relatively small and more related to his powers than the bio itself. Firstly, if things go missing around him, he'd start to get a reputation where he lived. I suspect his room would have been searched much sooner than it was. Not a big change, but it means he would have been thrown out sooner than he was (this is negotiable, I suppose). Single largest problem is the ending. If a Black ends up in Juvie, they'll serve their sentence. Amaranth is more of a reform school for the supernatural, not the instinctive - even if it wasn't his fault, at best, he'd be Awakened and sent somewhere else for training. You'll have to change his reason for being here.

(I'd also like to propose an Eskrima club, because, as far as martial arts go, it'd be basically ideal for my character, and it's pretty cool on the whole! Though I can just have him join karate if this doesn't work)

It is cool. But, I would say join the Fencing Club (they teach styles other than the rapier) or Meditation Club. The former might be better, since Fencing in Amaranth emphasizes speed and Meditation is decidedly more spiritual. Its style emphasizes form and grace and works better with staves, polearms and dual weapons.

As for your NPCs, they're interesting and I like them. That said, I'm not sure if Damien Fog is appropriate as he stands, since someone like him would have an ability like Jack's aura reading. Fact is, Dan's not a victim of his powers, as some Blacks end up - no exceptional circumstances to merit Damien's attention. Should note that magical "talent" is not really a factor in this setting. It happens, but it's incredibly rare, and more of a curse than a gift.

Abilities now!

Legerdemain
Dan flicks his wrist, his fingers blur and time seems to slow as his hand moves with seemingly impossible speed to perform a feat of legerdemain, be it instantly picking a pocket, palming a card or manipulating dice.

Note: I'm not sure about this one. I don't want it to be just a speed surge, but it's too versatile to be a flash action. Also, not sure about the combat applications, not that it necessarily needs any.

You'll need to break this one down for each specific trick he does. I have a few ideas for some of these, but at this stage, I think it would be best to let you think about it and see what you come up with. Should note that, generally speaking, Motion-Speed boosting abilities won't be allowed, outside of Flash Actions - which are tricky for Blacks to get.

What's that behind your ear? A... Balisong?
Dan pulls his Balisong from behind an ear, from under a nose, or sometimes just out of thin air, with a flourish and a dazzling smile. What a trickster!

Bit too conscious to be a Black ability. I'd also say that his powers don't have a good reason to fixate on the Balisong - its just a random knife he stole way back when. Also, Black Summoning abilities work like Adeline's Find: Ability, generally speaking - otherwise, it gets damned suspicious fast.

Look out, behind you!
With a glance, a widening of the eyes, a shift in his stance, an intake of breath or a small gesture, Dan subtly conveys that there's something behind the mark that they really, really should be paying more attention to. Even an attentive mark might lose focus momentarily and be compelled to take their eyes off Dan for the merest second.

This seems alright. It basically augments an attempt Dan makes to make his target look away from him, I think. It'll be most effective if used against someone who's never seen him doing this before. If he uses this spell more than once on the same target, or a new target who's seen this trick before, it'll become less likely to work. Cost will be moderate. May fail outright in particularly confused situations - when people just aren't paying attention to him enough to be influenced.

Wait, what was that?
With a snap of his fingers, and a creepy grin, Dan enchants the mark to be juuust little... paranoid. They see flashes of color, disquieting silhouettes and sudden movements in the barest corner of their peripheral vision, all of which disappear as soon as they turn around to look. This can be quite a distraction in battle, and a major annoyance outside of it. Smart marks quickly realize what's going on and force themselves to ignore it, but that can lead them to ignore sights that they should really have payed attention to

Useful in battle, as a distraction to escape someone's notice, or if Dan really, really wants to annoy someone for the next five minutes.
Much more persistent than "Look out, behind you!" but not as compelling an effect.

Does too much and is a bit too overt. At best, this ability will augment Dan attempting to be creepy and, well, creep the target out for a while (might stick around for a long time, too). It would be an instinctive curse, essentially. Making someone Paranoid would be different - not sure if you could pull that effect out of an ability like this though. I think optical illusions are too much for this kind of ability.

Don't mind me!
Dan hunches his shoulders just a little, looks slightly downwards, gives a nonchalant whistle and just... blends into the background. He's totally visible, but he seems like much more of a bystander in the grand scheme of things, unimportant to the point where others might not even bother noticing him. The more attention is on him to begin with, the harder it is to blend into the background, and he's still perfectly capable of drawing attention to himself. Useful to escape a sticky situation, not get noticed in class or get close to a vigilant mark in combat.

So, when Dan doesn't want to be seen, this power activates and makes him harder to notice? Makes sense with his background, to be honest. Unfortunately, since the clothes he wears makes him stand out a lot, it probably won't work too well. If his outfits were less remarkable, this would probably be effective in crowded areas, or when he's trying to hide. Probably won't work well in battle, unless he's just trying to avoid becoming an enemy's target in the first place and the enemy isn't looking for him. Would be something like creating an Illusion of Insignificance around himself, I think.

Razzle-Dazzle!
With a flick of the wrist, a finger-sized firecracker, fuse already lit, appears in Dan's palm. The fuse burns for about three seconds, enough time to throw it at an enemy, slip it into a mark's pocket, or just toss it in the air before it goes off... spectacularly. Far from just exploding, the cracker lets out multiple bangs and flashes, spraying multicolored sparks and tounges of dazzling flame. The show lasts for about three seconds, and, while it's quite flashy, the sparks and flames are perfectly real, and perfectly painful!

Hm. I think this ability does too much (minor fire damage+bright lights). You'll need to pick one. More importantly, where does he get the Firecrackers? I don't think he has any income in Amaranth. He'd have to make these himself. Unless you have another idea? Oh, and he may need a lighter to use them.

Right Behind You.
Even the best trickster needs to put 'em up sometimes. If "put 'em up" means "Stab an unsuspecting enemy for debilitating damage." Dan can line up a single stab on an enemy who's distracted, unaware, asleep - anything that prevents them from seeing it coming. The knife sinks into them with a satisfying shlick, piercing a vital organ or three and inflicting much more damage than a simple blade should.

No, this one doesn't seem appropriate, and might be overpowered. Knife-fighting doesn't seem to be a big part of his character either.

A better choice would probably be something like an ability which makes the cuts he makes with a knife more painful than usual, or something that helps him to 'instinctively' stab someone in the right place, when it matters. The target's position would be irrelevant. Like I said though, not sure if he should have this trick.

Exit, Stage Right.
Dan gives a quick bow and twirls around, his cape flapping through the air around him, obscuring him from view until the audience realizes... only the cape's left, floating mysteriously, and as that slowly falls to the ground, even that disappears. Dan rises impressively out of a suitable patch of ground up to 30 feet from his starting position.

Yeah, that's not happening. Maybe if he's Awakened with a hefty cost. Maybe.

Can talk about picking and choosing powers in more depth later. Those are my base reviews - chances are you won't get more than five.

* * *

Last bio then I'm caught up! Yes.

Name: Ben Drohmer
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Aura:
Age: 17
Appearance: Ben stands at 5'10", with light brown hair, kept cut short. His skin is slightly tanned due to a propensity for being outdoors, though his body is only thin, not muscled like an athlete. His eyes are a pale green and peer out from a generally cheerful and expressive face. He typically wears light greens and blues, preferring long sleeves and pants. On his left wrist is what appears to be a watch though its symbols are strange. Even so Ben seems to have no problem reading it. Under the watch face are two small circular scars on the back of his wrist.

Anyone else reading Bend Over when they look at this name? Not here or there, but you might wanna change the last name. That is...an unfortunate thing.

Anyway, more relevant question, is Ben his full name or just a nickname?

This is pretty firmly a Black character. Not sure why you didn't just put his aura color in yourself, but you have DM confirmation now. Your character's Bio's under your Notes for some reason, fix that.

I admit, I don't have a lot of comments to make. His bio makes him sound like a normal kid who happens to like Astrology/Astronomy and writing. The downside is that I can't think of many abilities which will work for him - there isn't much to build off of. That's not a bad thing. In fact, considering how Diana's grown, that might be a really good thing. His development will be unpredictable, but very probably positive.

Abilities, then.

Let's see. Summon: Pen, obviously, functions like Adeline's Find ability. If it isn't logical for a Pen to be found, something that would be functionally similar would appear and his attention would be drawn to it. No Time to Write is fine, since writing seems to be a focus of his (though it didn't get mentioned in his bio, its in his clubs at least).

Celestial Intuition is interesting. I happen to like it, but I want to be sure I understand: This is a spell which 'instinctively' supplies him information on the location of the North Star, provided he has some other stars which he can use as a clue, right? Is this possible? I ask because I'm not sure that one constellation would be sufficient to orient someone. Has he memorized star maps, or something to that effect? I want to make sure this ability is...sufficiently explainable.

Regardless, I think a simpler and cleaner ability would be to make the North Star something he spots quicker, based on intuition/instinct. He'd basically get lucky whenever he looked up for it, and it'd be more noticable - though not perceptibly different - from other stars. Subtly brighter light maybe?

Anyway. Cry for Pollux and Ophiuchian Fascination don't seem to fit. Unless he handles Snakes a lot - which isn't really the issue for the latter - or was raised around them, there's no reason for that skill. Just because he likes the Snake Bearer constellation doesn't give him Snake powers. Maybe a Summon/Find: Snake (probably a garder snake, given the climate) ability would be more appropriate. Unless he gets hurt a lot, Cry for Pollux doesn't fit.

Let's see...has he been in Amaranth the past two months?

Relationships. Huh. You mention Ben's 'eccentric' pretty often in here but that doesn't seem to have made the cut into your backstory. Why? He doesn't sound that eccentric, to be honest. Beyond that, nothing stands out here as a problem. Uh, should mention that I'm reading Clare (hah, another Clare) as a brawler, not a trained fighter. Am I right?

Uh, how many of these kids go to Amaranth?

[DanteFalcon]

I'll look into changing the last name. Interesting little tidbit.

Ben is his name. If you'd prefer a longer one Benjamin is fine.

Celestial Intuition is technically possible if you knew the rough time and month that you were looking at the stars as long as you're really good at knowing the positions of celestial bodies. He isn't that good at this point but he thinks he is. If you'd prefer I can switch it to Polaris just being easier to spot but its already easy to find in general (Its part of the little dipper). This is to give him more ways to find it if the sky isn't perfectly clear or something obstructs his view.

Cry for Pollux is...a result of getting beat up a lot, see Kurt's bio. Again it can be changed but considering that his clubs have -no current combat among them- (Except for veeeeeeeery debatably Meditation) and they (combat clubs) wouldn't fit his backstory I'm...hesitant to get rid of my only current survival ability without any kind of fight.

Ophiuchian Fascination I'm not terribly attached to. He doesn't handle snakes but watches them a lot as part of his research into Ophiuchus. It only makes snakes kind of...ignore him, not actually give him any snake abilities and I wasn't going that route anyway. I can drop it, I just have to figure out where to go with him.

The eccentric bit is his fascination, bordering on obsession with the zodiac. I didn't think I needed to beat that till it was a dead horse in his backstory though I certainly can. Yes Clare is a brawler over a trained fighter. And as far as he knows none go to Amaranth (yet and he's only close friends with one of the three to know).

[Aldurin]

Name: Naomi Disponette
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Aura:
Age: 18
Appearance: She stands at 6 feet tall with a fit, slim build. Her hair is long, flowing and blonde, and her eyes are blue. She appears to have German and Welsch heritage in her facial shaping. Her standard fashion is usually tank-tops with elaborate fractal patterns, grey or navy-blue khakis and black tennis shoes.

Spells:

Katanappearance, _ Elemental:
Naomi summons her personal katana in midswing so that people outside of the Masquerade aren't overly suspicous of where she got it, being unsure of whether she had it before the swing or not.

Shearing Force, _ Elemental:
Naomi is able to fire a small magical projectile at any target and cause breaking in a small area with a loud burst of force. On objects this will do things like generate cracks or sever chains or wire, and on people this will either bruise or damage bone. The projectile appears as a piece of her aura to Awakened casters, but is invisible to others.

Swift Reflex, Yellow Elemental:
Naomi can expend small amounts of will to accelerate her reflexes, allowing her to have a better chance at dodging melee attacks and being able to try to sidestep projectiles if she has enough forewarning to notice it.

Feather Touch, _ Elemental:
Naomi can use magic to halve her weight or the weight of something she's making contact with, letting her maneuver more easily or being better able to lift and/or throw objects or opponents. The effect lasts for 3 seconds on external targets once contact is broken.

Feel the Power, _ Elemental:
Naomi revels in her magical strength, expending willpower to regenerate wounds and clear her mind of debilitating factors. Side effects include scary behavior and maniacal laughter. (I assume this is Grade 2).

Deja Vu, _ Elemental:
One of Naomi's favorite tricks is making other people have a deja vu moment, causing them to percieve some event in their surroundings happen twice, distracting them to a varying degree.

Bio:

Naomi grew up in the Pacific Northwest, attending public schools and doing normal girl things growing up, getting decent grades and avoiding trouble. The only really noticeable detail is that her parents were into Japanese culture and trained Naomi with a katana for a short period. At about age 14 her parents finally decided to make her aware of magic and thus Awaken her, teaching her to better control and utilize it over the next four years. During this time the power corrupted her slightly, changing her from the quiet, cautious girl she was to being aggressive, devious and flamboyant.

Her parents decided it was best for her to finish high school before applying to Amaranth, so she impatiently trained to fully hone and harness her skills. Her awakening made her aware of which classmates were capable of using magic, and let her identify some friends she could invite along to Amaranth. She's attended since the beginning of the year, but was recently transferred to Landry's class after the majority of the faculty agreed she needed to be "put in her place" and thought that this was the best way.

Notes: While being a crafty power monger, her parents did make it clear that the Masquerade was one thing that she should NEVER mess with, and thus she respects the integrity of the conspiracy. Besides, why would she want even MORE people to come up to her level? She often takes an aggressive yet cunning approach to all aspects of life, which shows in her fighting where she prefers to fight defensively to frustrate her opponent and make their effort feel futile.

Clubs:

Fitness Club
Tabletop Club
Anime Club
MMA Club

Relationships:

Ayumi Fosburgh:
One of Naomi's roommates, she's a shorter girl with black hair and a similar build to Neoma and the same age. Ayumi is a Black from Japan who was enrolled here after her martial arts instructors sensed her supernatural potential. She is still unaware of the Masquerade, and Naomi is looking for the right time to try to awaken her. Her interests generally fall into the outdoors and into mastering her own body, so she can probably be found at related clubs. She is generally stoic and not easily surprised by her environment, but will relax around Naomi and be more amiable, often attempting to quell Naomi's aggression towards others. (Would like her to be in the fitness club with Naomi).

Violette Donota:
Naomi's other roommate and one of the friends she graduated with. Violette is a half-succubus who's handled her burden quite well, somehow managing to fully suppress her sexual urges and only using her charming-based abilities to become the most popular girl of their graduating class (something Naomi still bothers her about). She and Naomi are in ways rivals, competing for power using their different skills but never going too far as to endanger their friendship. She shares Naomi's interest for anime and hopes to make her own series eventually. (Hoping to have her in the Anime Club and Tabletop Club with Naomi).

Sarah Pendleton:
The other friend from Naomi's graduating class that managed to get into Amaranth. She is generally unpopular for being even more aggressive and direct than Naomi, unofficially dubbed the street fighter of their high school due to how many fights she would get into. Naomi has made a friend out of her ever since the great fistfight of junior year, and they often practice fighting together. Sarah prefers unarmed for the sheer flexibility, but will pick up weapons when needed. She's unaware of her powers and believes her strength in combat is part of her destiny. (Hoping to have her in MMA with Naomi.)

[Geminex]

Heya! Response time. This is fun!

Please make this appearance more concise Gem. It isn't something I'll reject your bio over, but it'll make everyone's job easier when they want to remember what Dan looks like. Oh, and could you make him prettier? Amaranth actually has a policy about that. Didn't think it was important, so I didn't mention it in the Primer, sorry.
I didn't mean for him to be ugly, just for him to look older than 17, maybe in the range of 20, 21. I figure he could still have a definite handsome charm. Though a policy that requires students to be good-looking sure is a weird policy! But I suppose that's the way things go in Landryville. And I'll also write a more concise description, no problem.

Your bio's actually pretty okay, from what I can see. The issues in here are relatively small and more related to his powers than the bio itself. Firstly, if things go missing around him, he'd start to get a reputation where he lived. I suspect his room would have been searched much sooner than it was. Not a big change, but it means he would have been thrown out sooner than he was (this is negotiable, I suppose). Single largest problem is the ending. If a Black ends up in Juvie, they'll serve their sentence. Amaranth is more of a reform school for the supernatural, not the instinctive - even if it wasn't his fault, at best, he'd be Awakened and sent somewhere else for training. You'll have to change his reason for being here.

Well, that's mildly problematic! Someone has to send him to Amaranth. Either the government, or someone else. I see two alternatives here.

EITHER!
Dan is discovered by Fog and approached after completing his 6-month sentence. Dan isn't dangerous, but he is using his powers for criminal purposes in a way that may well draw attention! Fog attempts to awaken him, but Dan's skepticism and experience with deception makes him assume that any demonstration of magic is simply an elaborate trick. Fog recommends that he spend some time in a well-supervised, highly magical environment. Amaranth is chosen for its high degree of surveillance.

Dunno how much you like this variant, it lets me keep Fog, but it seems a bit contrived, even to me. So, the

ALTERNATIVE:
After completing his sentence, Dan is approached by a strange woman who bears a marked resemblance to him. She introduces herself as Marcia von Tann, his mother, explains some family history. She, a witch of moderate rank within the masquerade, maybe among the enforcers, (she wouldn't tell him this bit, yet) met his father, a Vegas stage magician, had a whirlwind romance that produced Dan. His father, however, left her when Dan was about 8 months old, and took him along. He left, either because she tried to introduce him to the masquerade herself and he got scared, or because he'd realized on his own that she was somehow magical, and was scared for his and Dan's sake. In any case, she'd have tried to track them down, unsuccessfully, due to the fact that, as carnies, they never spent much time in one place, and dad always went by a stage name.

Upon his arrest, though, and the realization of the fact that he was a criminal Black, Dan's name would've been entered in masquerade files, for surveillance, at the very least. She would've recognized the name, and would've remembered that her son had had a black aura, so while he was at juvie, she would've had a maternity test performed. She'd have tried to introduce Dan to her world, including an attempt to Awaken him, but that would've failed, due to aforesaid skepticism. She couldn't introdue him to her life, she couldn't have an unawakened black trained, and she didn't want to somehow force him into an awakening. That only left Amaranth, which she was willing to fund.. She would've sent him there in the opes that he'd gradually awake. And also survive.

Reading through the two, I think I'd prefer the second option! It'd let me create another NPC for Marcia, though I'd have to scrap Fog. Kinda sad about that. I liked Fog! But oh wells. I'll be happy if I manage to justify Dan's presence at the school at all.

I just hope I got everything right, I'm not sure what standard procedure in that kind of situation would be for Marcia, and what kind of behavior would make sense. If neither of these work, any suggestions you can come up with would also be appreciated! I'm not sure how blacks are handled.

Re: Eskrima club
It is cool. But, I would say join the Fencing Club (they teach styles other than the rapier) or Meditation Club. The former might be better, since Fencing in Amaranth emphasizes speed and Meditation is decidedly more spiritual. Its style emphasizes form and grace and works better with staves, polearms and dual weapons.

Honestly, maybe I made him too combat-focused altogether. You're right, he isn't a fighter. Maybe a juggling club? Hmm, gonna think about this one. Trying to consider where I'd like Dan to end up being, what I could see him doing after graduating. I'll try to work into that direction.

[/quote]As for your NPCs, they're interesting and I like them. That said, I'm not sure if Damien Fog is appropriate as he stands, since someone like him would have an ability like Jack's aura reading. Fact is, Dan's not a victim of his powers, as some Blacks end up - no exceptional circumstances to merit Damien's attention. Should note that magical "talent" is not really a factor in this setting. It happens, but it's incredibly rare, and more of a curse than a gift.

I might cut out Fog altogether, as mentioned above! Though I'm glad you liked the remainder. Credit to Relm for inspiring Gary. Also to the actual Gary.

re: Legerdemain
[quote]You'll need to break this one down for each specific trick he does. I have a few ideas for some of these, but at this stage, I think it would be best to let you think about it and see what you come up with. Should note that, generally speaking, Motion-Speed boosting abilities won't be allowed, outside of Flash Actions - which are tricky for Blacks to get.

I think I see what you mean here. Unfortunately, I'm kinda inexperienced in the art of Legerdemain, so I don't know if there's common motions or tricks that I could speed up with a spell.

I could definitely make one specifically for pickpocketing/snatching stuff, which I could then maybe upgrade to steal other things, progressively more difficult, like a bullet from the chameber of a gun, a weapon from an enemy's hand or maybe something utterly immaterial, like their motivation or their energy. Would that be workable?

I'd have to think about the remaining applications, though I'd be really happy to hear some suggestions!

Re: Balisong summon
Bit too conscious to be a Black ability. I'd also say that his powers don't have a good reason to fixate on the Balisong - its just a random knife he stole way back when. Also, Black Summoning abilities work like Adeline's Find: Ability, generally speaking - otherwise, it gets damned suspicious fast.

Makes sense. maybe I won't need this one at all. A knife isn't like a rapier. You can generally carry it around fairly unobstrusively.

Re: Look out behind you
This seems alright. It basically augments an attempt Dan makes to make his target look away from him, I think. It'll be most effective if used against someone who's never seen him doing this before. If he uses this spell more than once on the same target, or a new target who's seen this trick before, it'll become less likely to work. Cost will be moderate. May fail outright in particularly confused situations - when people just aren't paying attention to him enough to be influenced.

*nods* This is pretty much exactly how I envisioned it, so that's cool.

Re: What was that?
Does too much and is a bit too overt. At best, this ability will augment Dan attempting to be creepy and, well, creep the target out for a while (might stick around for a long time, too). It would be an instinctive curse, essentially. Making someone Paranoid would be different - not sure if you could pull that effect out of an ability like this though. I think optical illusions are too much for this kind of ability.

I'll think about this one! The paranoia bit isn't necessary, I just liked the idea of a persistent, annoying distraction. But creeping an enemy out, getting them all tense and jumpy, is already distracting in itself, expecially when combined with other stuff. Like optical illusions, loud bangs.

Re: Don't mind me
So, when Dan doesn't want to be seen, this power activates and makes him harder to notice? Makes sense with his background, to be honest. Unfortunately, since the clothes he wears makes him stand out a lot, it probably won't work too well. If his outfits were less remarkable, this would probably be effective in crowded areas, or when he's trying to hide. Probably won't work well in battle, unless he's just trying to avoid becoming an enemy's target in the first place and the enemy isn't looking for him. Would be something like creating an Illusion of Insignificance around himself, I think.

Well, I get that it'd be hard to use when he's dressed in his full stage magician gear, but when he's just in formalwear, or maybe smart casual, would he still stand out too much? Also, how much could I expect to do before getting noticed again? Could I actually, say, approach an enemy, or fight one enemy while still seeming inconspicuous to the rest? Or would this be a strictly defensive technique?

Re: Razzle Dazzle
Hm. I think this ability does too much (minor fire damage+bright lights). You'll need to pick one. More importantly, where does he get the Firecrackers? I don't think he has any income in Amaranth. He'd have to make these himself. Unless you have another idea? Oh, and he may need a lighter to use them.

The idea was that this would actually summon the firecracker, which, would really just act as the vector for the spell's effect. But that would probably kinda fail for a black as well! I'll rethink this one. Maybe Marcia can give him some pocket money, or he just nicks some from the chemistry club. In which case, maybe I wouldn't need any magic for this at all! Firecrackers alone are already painful and distracting. Though I guess the addition of magic could just enhance the effect.

Re: Right behind you
No, this one doesn't seem appropriate, and might be overpowered. Knife-fighting doesn't seem to be a big part of his character either.

A better choice would probably be something like an ability which makes the cuts he makes with a knife more painful than usual, or something that helps him to 'instinctively' stab someone in the right place, when it matters. The target's position would be irrelevant. Like I said though, not sure if he should have this trick.

He's not a knife-fighter! This move wasn't intended to be something he uses frequently. He's honestly pretty bad at fighting in general! But, if he's a thief living on the streets, he's gonna get into trouble sometimes. This would sort of be his... last-resort move. Desperation style attack, one quick stab to either end a fight or at least incapacitate an enemy long enough to get away.
Though, as I said above, I didn't really go into this making a combat character, and I think I might've focused on combat too much already.

Re: Exit, stage right
Yeah, that's not happening. Maybe if he's Awakened with a hefty cost. Maybe.
*nodnod* Figured. That's why I made lots! So some can drop out.

[Inbred Chocobo]

Right reviews for the round are ready. Sorry for the wait. Will try to be on the pad for a bit after this - if not tonight, then tomorrow.

Inbred, as it stands, your character does not work. For a simple reason that, admittedly, somehow did not get into the Primer.

Demons have blood.

Your demon has an allergy to blood.

This might sound like something that can be fixed relatively easily with a modified racial weakness, but it actually brings me to the crux of the matter. Your character's race? I can't make heads or tails of it. "Fire Demon" is a generic term - you need to be more specific. What are you after?

Alright, let me start here. Talking with some of the other players, they think that Alex fits better as a Fire Spirit, which I like the idea of. The background is honestly not my favorite part of the character, and I can alter that completely to fit in with a character that can do the things that I have posted, my question though for you Teal is

Could a properly trained Fire Spirit actually live off of burning things and using them as sustenance, or not? (I mean, his big weakness is he needs fire to live, not food). This comes with training on learning how to heal with fire as well.

If the Fire Spirit with the powers is possible with a backstory to support it, then I will change that to fit better with things. (Most likely trained under another fire spirit, wanderlust urged him to talk to him about getting out and seeing new places, and understanding his potential to grow and seek out the world the other fire spirit got him into the school, discuss specifics in a bit about that if we go that route)



If it is not possible, then we will swap to the half-demon, drop the fire extreme healing and weakness. Instead his has an aversion to extremely cold temperatures. Nothing fatal, but Ice does better against him. I would imagine Catherine I would try to explain that she is a mage herself, and runs the orphanage as a form of cover for taking in kids that look as they had magical apptitude, on behalf of one of the organizations (undecided, figure out which one would most likely do it, or make one up to do it). Trained slightly there, for use by the organization. Ran away without friends, joined a simple gang that had no use of magic. Gang got in trouble and killed off, another person from that organization found him in the hospital, and offered to get him into the school, or else.



If neither of those are an option, then I may just go full black on you, half fire demon, never learned magic, was an orphan, got into a lot of trouble as a kid, but was found to be rather smart, and pretty as he got older. Random rich family adopted the kid, misguided in thinking that they could take a troubled orphan in turning his life around. Caused problems for them (things got set on fire a lot) and then they decided to send him to this school to see if he would do better there. (His spells would change to indirect things instead. Demon form would only every appear in a full blown rage, which he had never achieved yet, a strong burst of emotion might cause something he is holding to catch on fire. He stole one of their longswords they had on display, which actually is one of the real weapons, but no matter how many times they take it it always comes back, and something else possibly.




This would not happen. Alex would get to pick his clubs like everyone else.


I can change that no problem.

EDIT: I'll be honest as well, consider how much of the character I have to change, I may go back to the drawing board and make another, as learning more about how this system works is giving me a lot of other ideas.

[Teal Mage]

Right, I talked to Gem a little already over the pad. Will reply to his last post after he rejiggles his backstory again.

Now then, reviews!

Cry for Pollux is...a result of getting beat up a lot, see Kurt's bio. Again it can be changed but considering that his clubs have -no current combat among them- (Except for veeeeeeeery debatably Meditation) and they (combat clubs) wouldn't fit his backstory I'm...hesitant to get rid of my only current survival ability without any kind of fight.


While I understand worrying about survival in combat Dante, just because a power is useful doesn't mean you'll get it - especially not as a Black. They're ultimately the strongest type of PC, but part of their price is that their abilities are not fully within your control. If this wasn't clear before, I hope it is now. Black abilities need to be justified by circumstance.

Regarding Cry for Pollux and his bullying situation, this seems to be a bigger problem than I thought it was originally. I'm getting mixed messages from reading his bio. On one hand, his Notes/Background section implies that, while he might have been 'bullied' (a broad term) it was not serious (limited to verbal abuse?) - hence why he's shaken most of it off and remains cheerful/happy/outgoing. On the other hand, there are mentions of Kurt 'frequently leaving him bruised and bleeding.' This is decidedly at a wholly different level of abuse, and really should have had a serious effect on him.

This happens in other places in your bio too. The Notes mentions his interest in Astrology in passing - as if its just that, a passing interest. However, his Relationship section places emphasis that his interest in Astrology is an eccentric - a fact you've confirmed in the last post. It was an obsession, apparently. Yet, comments in Erik's section of the character sheet suggest he's charismatic and well liked by anyone he talks to, in spite of that. Even Kurt's bio echoes this - he always had one friend nearby to keep it from getting out-of-hand, suggesting that he had a lot of friends, and that Kurt was really the only one who hated him.

Basically, as I'm reading this, Ben doesn't seem to the type to be a bullying victim. He had a lot of friends (hence why someone was always able to bail him out of trouble) and a way of talking to people. He might have been bullied a little (pretty much everyone is), but he wasn't 'different' or 'weak.' But, From what you're telling me now, he was decidedly different. He was obsessed with the stars, and only had a few friends. The bullying should have seriously affected him, but it didn't. That doesn't make sense, unless it wasn't as extreme as it is in here.

See the problem? It almost seems like there are two characters here. Popular-Normal-Ben and Eccentric-Bullied-Ben. They're contradictory - you'll need to pick one or the other.

Will add that, at present, Kurt does not seem to be a realistic character. Reading his bio closely, there doesn't seem to be a reason for him to hate Ben. Hell, Ben's even a 'pacifist' in the backstory. The sum of it blatantly portrays Kurt as evil, and Ben as a pure and innocent victim. Things are more complicated than that. If you don't give me a good reason, I'll make one up for Kurt myself - for the record.

Same goes for any other details you don't specify outright in your backstory/bio, by the way.

Other, lesser, issues, can wait until this is sorted.

* * *

Bio: Naomi grew up in the Pacific Northwest, attending public schools and doing normal girl things growing up, getting decent grades and avoiding trouble. The only really noticeable detail is that her parents were into Japanese culture and trained Naomi with a katana for a short period (meaningless. She'll suck still.). At about age 14 her parents finally decided to make her aware of magic and thus Awaken her, teaching her to better control and utilize it over the next four years. During this time the power corrupted her slightly, changing her from the quiet, cautious girl she was to being aggressive, devious and flamboyant.

Naomi's parents are nuts, Aldurin. Absolutely nuts. I shall explain!

Teaching children magic is dangerous, and does actually violate the Masquerade. The Guilds/Governments are generally not going to kill you for Awakening your own kid, but they will monitor you closely to make sure your kid isn't a threat. Naomi's folks will need to have to be Magic-Users themselves, so they would know that. If, as described here, Naomi could not handle learning magic - was corrupted by the power - she would be killed. This is not normal, magic doesn't not corrupt naturally, but it can happen.

If her parents hid her, all gloves are off if she causes serious damage. They will be killed as well.

Additionally, having a katana shoved in her hands by her crazy parents as a kid doesn't give her katana training. She'd have to stick with it consistantly, in addition to everything else. This means slower growth in magical-skill and a longer period spent learning the basics of magic. As it stands, her backstory does not mention her training with a Katana at all after learning the basics, so she has no skill with it. Her clubs also don't train her with it (I added Kendo, if you didn't see it in my last response).

That said, this is "fine" - her parents, totally, can believe their child 'deserves' to be Awakened. It would be considered unwise and irresponsible by mainstream magical society - they'd have to be part of an extreme faction of it with particular views on Magic.

Questions though:

1) Which Guild are they in? The Government Organizations don't fit their apparent ideology, so they aren't an option.

2) Which country is she from? It isn't specified in your bio.

Her parents decided it was best for her to finish high school before applying to Amaranth, so she impatiently trained to fully hone and harness her skills. Her awakening made her aware of which classmates were capable of using magic, and let her identify some friends she could invite along to Amaranth. She's attended since the beginning of the year, but was recently transferred to Landry's class after the majority of the faculty agreed she needed to be "put in her place" and thought that this was the best way.

Problems become insurmountable here.

If Naomi has become unstable and is still attending public school, someone will notice she's Awakened and dangerous. She would be watched closely. Eventually, she would be taken out - it happens. Workable if she was homeschooled, not in public school.

But, she would not survive if she got impatient and began to experiment. This is how young Magicians die. Given her instability, she'd probably kill her parents too, in the process. There's no way to avoid that.

Additional notes:

1) Everyone in her class is 'capable' of using magic. Every human is.

2) Her friends can apply to Amaranth like her. There's nothing stopping it, but they may not be accepted. Her invitation is meaningless.

3) Landry's class is not a punishment.

4) She would not survive two months at Amaranth.

Notes: While being a crafty power monger, her parents did make it clear that the Masquerade was one thing that she should NEVER mess with, and thus she respects the integrity of the conspiracy. Besides, why would she want even MORE people to come up to her level? She often takes an aggressive yet cunning approach to all aspects of life, which shows in her fighting where she prefers to fight defensively to frustrate her opponent and make their effort feel futile.

While that is all very nice, saying it in a bio does not mean it will happen in-game. You might as well remove it and prove it when the game begins. I will remind you though, other characters will be smarter, stronger, faster and just all around better than her. These statements suggest you won't survive long in this game - I'm giving you this warning: Arrogance on the part of the player will kill their character.

Oh, last thing: You're probably not taking that warning seriously enough.

Relationships now.

To be clear: People almost never have 'outstanding magical potential.' It occurs very, very, rarely. If someone has it though, they become a very tasty snack to every magically sensitive being who sees them. PCs will not be allowed to have this trait, but if you want Ayumi to have it, I don't have an issue with that. However, the school would probably put her in a private dorm, or with non-demonic Blacks to avoid...unpleasantness.

I've already said that Naomi would not last two months in Amaranth. She won't last a week if she talks about magic casually with a Black (like Ayumi). Awakening Ayumi would also get Naomi killed.

...you know, if Violette's got control of her 'urges' you don't need to mention them at all. However, I will say that a Demon who abuses their magic would get into serious trouble. If she applied her powers carefully, she might get away with a little magical manipulation, but such things are heavily frowned upon for the Awakened, especially if its done for frivilous reasons - like here.

Sarah's overpowered. Rejected.

Won't be discussing your abilities until your background is in order.

[Aldurin]

Ok, well the big issue I would like to have defined before I even make another attempt at a background is what IS an acceptable and normal background for an Awakened human? It is still unclear as to what is passable for that.

[Dracorion]

Jack's an Awakened human, for all intents and purposes. Maybe looking at his bio can help you.

[DanteFalcon]

Update to Ben's bio, offending spells removed, slight change in bio. Dropping Kurt because I don't believe this is the correct setting or time to broach a topic like bullying and his core theme stays mostly intact with or without him.

Additionally, as a point of clarification when you say "Relationships" do you really want a Summary of that person's bio? Cause that completely changes what I have written for them.

[Geminex]

Allright, reworked the background. No street urchin, no jail, instead a rich dad and a jolly grandpa.

I like the idea of Dan blackmailing his own father, but if that's too melodramatic, I can just make the father do it voluntarily.

Anyway, I left out magic altogether this time. Probably for the best. Turned out a bit unlikely, but this should work, and it should mostly let me keep the profile. Fog's out, though. : (

- Born to carnies, never knew his father, his grandfather a stage magician, mother working on costume design.
- Few other relations, homeschooled by his mother to the best of her ability
- Started performing at 6 years of age as an assistant to his grandfather
- Proved very adept with misdirection, Legerdemain and juggling. Also proved skilled at pickpocketing drunks. Mother disapproved, but grandfather said it was part of it.
- At 8, makes friends with Killian, another Carnie Brat, the two are partners in crime and good friends. Relationship starts badly (tries to pickpocket Killian and gets beat up for his troubles). Running home to his mother, gets told that she's not standing up for him this time, stealing is necessary sometimes, but so is trust. Told that trust is much more valuable than money at times. Also, he'll get beaten up. Important lesson.
- From the age of 14, started performing solo on occasions, also ran shell games, stole much more frequently (but never from carnies)
- At age 17, mothe dies in an accident. After funeral, grandfather tells him about his father.
A businessman whose eye she caught while studying fashion on a scholarship in new york. 2-month whirlwind romance before he was promoted and disappeared without a word, without even realizing that he'd fathered a kid. Losing her scholarship due to her pregnancy, she would've asked her estranged father, a stage magician, for help. He would've taken her in and gotten her a job at the circus after she had Dan.
Grandfather would confess that he'd initially become estranged from his mother in the first place because she'd always wanted to be something better, practically homeschooled herself and left the circus to study fashion as soon as she had the chance.
"But she was right. This weren't no place for her, and it ain't no place for you. Ye can do much better than this, I know ye can. Yer mom was proud, she never wanted to ask him for help, but he's yer ticket outta this place. Talk ta him."
Basically, grandfather tells him who his father is, tells him that he's rich, and tells him that he thinks Dan should use that to his advantage to at least get something resembling an education.
- Dan confronts his father, ends up basically blackmailing him to send him to a proper school. Dad sends him to Amarath, partly because it is a really good school, partly because, if nothing else, Dan has a good chance of just disappearing entirely.

Edit:
I'll probably be reworking a lot of his powers to fit in with the new background, so if you haven't written out your response to my previous post yet, no need to.

[Red Mage Black]

Appearance: Same body build, hair color and skin tone. Eyes are golden during the day and change to silver at night, gift from The Wanderer to his chosen, with the Mark of The Wanderer under his right eye(what it looks like is up to you). From a cursory glance, seems to look like a strange tribal tattoo.

Equipment: Walking stick, Cloak, Nomad Clothing of varying hues and a mask bearing The Wanderer's mark.

Biography: Nasir grew up in the middle east, learning of his heritage and the gods of which they worshiped. In part, this was both training and basic understanding of their culture. To which they prized their nomadic ways and shunned those that locked themselves up in cities, corrupting themselves to false beliefs and complacency.

Before him, another had the mark of The Wanderer. The Priests had questioned why such a person was granted the gift. They had been corrupted by the towns and villages they had passed, trying to 'modernize' the tribe and settle down. This wouldn't last long, as soon, The Wanderer would deem them unworthy and the tribe would cast them out.

It would take time, but the day would finally come. Nasir had turned 15 not two days after the last chosen had been banished, only to find himself marked by The Wanderer's blessing. Even he didn't know why, as he hadn't done anything worthy of receiving such a revered marking. Quite possibly, The Wanderer had seen something possible in his future. The mark was received with puzzled praise, but everyone had known that The Wanderer's choice was never to be questioned. How could you question a being that could see possible futures that you could not?

For one year, almost to the exact date, he had helped lead the tribe, helping make difficult decisions with the other chosen. Until one night, during a particularly strange dream, he was confronted by the enigmatic deity. Under a moonlit desert, The Wanderer had shown him a strange place called 'Amaranth'. Something he hadn't ever seen in the villages and towns they had passed. He was told, "This is the future I have seen for you. You must go to that place called Amaranth. You must find your own way there. Learn along the way and show me I was not wrong to choose you."
Shocked by this turn of events, the other priests had been forced to accept this eventuality. Again, the enigma that was The Wanderer couldn't be questioned. Reluctantly, they saw him off, blessing his travels. The Wanderer would never lead its chosen astray, but even the path forward is never clear of obstacles.

It would take him a couple more years to reach the school. His strange views and religious beliefs would turn others away and it didn't help that his dim view of those who would allow themselves to stay in one place didn't mesh with city-folk. Also the fact that he had no concept of currency or a monetary system, since his tribe never needed one. Despite his lack of knowledge of boats larger than river boats, sailors were the only ones he could actually relate to. Never staying in one place too long, but he despised their false Gods.

Canada was a strange new place of its own. So many trees, such little sand and more water than he would normally see in one place. His arrival at Amanrath was better received then he anticipated. Though he was left wondering what his patron would have him do next. Left where he was, The Wanderer had told him his future was here, so what choice was left but to enroll? However, this place was going to become uncomfortable quickly. The water fountains were a big deal and all these strange people he would have to deal with. He would need to bide his time, as The Wanderer could one night show him what he needed to do next.

Spells: (First Drafts)

Bedlam Strike - (Not totally sure) -
By infusing his walking stick with will, Nasir only needs to touch or strike the opponent to activate the effect, which includes confusion.

Deny The Infidel - (Surge? I'm not sure, entirely) -
It is a great sin to strike the Priests of the tribe, who are the chosen of their Gods. They are not defenseless against assault, however. With a surge of will and speaking the holy words of protection, Nasir increases his endurance to attacks, turning a bone shattering blow into a bruise or preventing a knife or similar sharp instrument from going in too deep and causing too much damage.

The Wanderer's Mask - (This one is tough, at least to me) -
No one aspect of The Wanderer is the same except their eyes. In a way, Nasir can mimic this, by changing his skin color, hair color or in more extreme cases, gender. This came to be best used during his travels to Amaranth, where he didn't want to appear too foreign.

Condemn The Weak - (Not totally certain about this) -
The tribe has very little tolerance for the weak in both mind and body. While they do their best to help fellow tribemen become stronger, there just is no helping those who do not wish to put forth the effort. Targeting the opponent and as long as they can hear him speak, Nasir recites ancient words of condemnation at the opponent, effectively reducing their strength. Whether or not they can understand what he's saying isn't a problem as long as they can hear him. With more refinement and a higher grade, he may be able to reduce more then just strength.

Deny Change - (Spell hue somehow escapes me right now) -
The tribe does have knowledge of others with powers similar to their own, as such they would need to find ways to deny the harsh effects that some decide to wield against others. By channeling will through a prayer of healing, Nasir challenges and seeks to remove physical curse effects from himself or others. Later refinement might also include healing physically inflicted wounds as well.

Whispers on the Wind - [Color] Elemental - (This spell is from the incarnation before.)-
Impending danger lurks in every corner. Wherever the wind blows, fast or slow, Nasir can get an idea of what is up ahead by focusing his will on listening to what the wind tells him is there. The lesser form gives him a small idea how many people there are, but not where they're located or how strong they are. Another form of this is evesdropping on conversations, but the further away it is, the more garbled the words become.

Okay, I was told that the third spell might need a redefinition, with only one cosmetic change. So, if you'll accept it, I'm willing to simply go with gender in terms of the change. Though yeah, it's all up to you what I get.

Clubs -
Fitness
Martial Arts
Meditation
Wilderness

[Aldurin]

Name: Naomi Disponette
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Aura:
Age: 18
Appearance: She stands at 6 feet tall with a fit, slim build. Her hair is long, flowing and blonde, and her eyes are blue. She appears to have German and Welsch heritage in her facial shaping. Her standard fashion is usually tank-tops with elaborate fractal patterns, grey or navy-blue khakis and black tennis shoes.

Spells:

Shatter Strike, _ Elemental:
Naomi chooses a target to strike, cursing them so that projectiles aimed at them curve toward weak spots, and begins to prepare a projectile of raw force that she fires at the person, the projectile being guided by the curse. The curse wears off once the projectile hits something. Intended to be Grade 2.


Surprise Strength, Yellow Elemental:
Naomi uses her magic to increase her experiments with human strength by briefly punching really hard. Strength Surge, Grade 1 power.


Electronic Override, _ Elemental:
Naomi has learned to be able to use magic to turn on/off simple electronic devices without needing access to the key/lever/switch. Requires physical contact with the device in question.


Soothing Presence, _ Elemental:
When in a calm and clear state of mind, Naomi can generate a magical field that radiates calmness from her, in attempt to prevent potential fights and make people friendlier. Optimal effectiveness is within 10 feet of Naomi, rapidly decreasing in effect outside of that range.


Regeneration Focus, _ Elemental:
Naomi clears her mind and focuses her magic into regenerating her wounds faster. She is unable to use other spells while in this state. Mostly seals minor wounds and stops bleeding for short term, but more serious wounds should get an actual doctor.


Bio:
Naomi grew up in the Pacific Northwest of the United States (mainly Washington), raised by her parents who were both reputable and responsible members of the Wizard's Guild. To their dismay, Naomi's black magic was problematic, especially in the field of making stuff break, and began to worry their local section of the Wizard's Guild. Not wanting to risk an Enforcer coming in to "take away" their daughter, they decided to awaken her at age 14 so that she could have a chance to control her powers. They homeschooled her for the next two years until they were sure she wouldn't be a problem in the public, also during this time teaching her to fight with whatever she could reach or unarmed as a form of non-magical defense, before letting her go back into public schooling.


Her transition into public school went smoothly through graduation. Her interests developed toward athletics and technology, partially intrigued about how both could work with well with magic, though she didn't shirk on practicing unarmed combat. She immediately applied to Amaranth post-graduation, hoping to learn more about the body and machines to see if there was some direction she could take to utilize those (with or without magic) to better the world.


Clubs:
Fitness (Advanced if acceptable)
MMA
Computers
Meditation


Relationships:


William Disponette:
Naomi's father and respectable Wizard, William is a role model for Naomi, always being calm, collected and having no negative record criminally nor with the Masquerade. He currently lives in Spokane with Naomi's mother,holding influence in the Wizard's Guild for that area and working with Marina at the bakery. Despite his stoic nature, he cares greatly for his family and is proud that Naomi managed to get into Amaranth.


Marina Disponette:
Naomi's mother who is more amiable than William and runs a bakery. Cares for her family greatly and always does her best to send homemade cookies when Naomi's away. Holds just as high of a standing in the Wizard's Guild as William.


Ayumi Fosburgh:
One of Naomi's roommates, she's a shorter girl with black hair and a similar build to Neoma and the same age. Ayumi is an Awakened martial artist from Japan who was enrolled here after her instructor advised that it would be beneficial for her to train abroad. Her interests generally fall into the outdoors and into mastering her own body, so she can probably be found at related clubs. She is generally stoic and not easily surprised by her environment, but will relax around her friends. She regularly spars with Naomi so they both maintain their training. (Would like to see her in the Fitness Club and maybe MMA)


Karen Smith:
Naomi's other roommate. Karen is a half-djinni from the Arabic community in New York City. She came to the college to learn to become a master chemist. She often practices various forms of meditation, since while she has decent control over her powers she wants to be able to master herself. Karen and Naomi get along well, though Karen is not as dedicated as Naomi is to hand-to-hand combat. (Would like to see her in the Meditation Club with Naom)

[Relm Zephyrous]

Birth Name: Alice Healy
Adopted Name: Alice Marshall
Actual Name: Alice Ex Nihilo
Race: Human (Irish)
Gender: Female
Aura:
Age: 19 [19]

Human Appearance: Alice looks like a late teenager of Irish descent. The girl has red hair, with freckles, twintails, and almost sickly white complexion. Her eyes are colored a deep emerald, and Alice has a sort of lean and lithe figure. Her typical outfit is a black plaid skirt with white stripes, a black beret, and a long sleeved and pocketed black shirt with various pictures of flowers and vines decorating it. Alice also usually wears a black cape, which has her crest on the back colored in white, leather gloves which also bear her crest within their palms, and that crest centered right where her stomach and chest meet. She also wears a white violet pin on her left breast. Sigil wards will adorn her uniform whenever at all pragmatic, usually hidden within this excessive outfit.

However, the school seems to have a policy against her typical dress, so these are more akin to her nightly clothes. Around campus and in classes she will have a much less standing-out outfit on. This consists of a plain long or short sleeved shirt, a composed beret on her head, and a dress down to slightly lower than her knees. The colors of the outfits vary from day to day depending on the mood that she is in, with a preference for dark blue and black shadings, but the rest of the outfit will generally not change very much. The only part of her more excessive outfit that she keeps with her in normal dress is the single white violet pin, which is still in place on her left breast.

( The 'crest' that Alice uses is a Null symbol Ø superimposed in the middle of a Delta symbol )


Bio: Alice grew up in the east coast USA, in a family that was something more secluded from the world. Her family was very strict with her learning how to be an efficient mage and kept her home-schooled out of the public limelight to teach her some of the fundamentals and lore of the magical world. So armed with knowledge of the magical world taught under careful guidance, some of the basics of general education and social relations, Alice was set on the path to Amaranth. Of course, this seclusion wasn't entirely a matter of her necessarily being locked away, and more of one that simply resulted from her not going out of her way to do many social things. Probably a minor case of aspergers. This tendency went on to get better by time she gets to Amaranth, but for example her brother was much more outgoing and social rather than simply learning the 'rules' of socializing.

During this time alone, she in general only had the company of her family, which means that while she is extravagant and knows social rules taught to her, she's competitive and not the greatest at flat out interactions. The most she typically would have had is from her classmates in the Capoeria classes, and friends she made online to play strategic games with. However, her family is very competent and good company, holding or having been Enforcers that kept the peace and the masquerade, and hoping that Alice will keep the tradition into the next generation. As such, she was trained in the art of Capoeria to keep her fitness level up as well as to adjust to any challenges she may have later in life. Plus, it helped form her natural love for rhythm and trance.

Alice was prepared specifically for going to Amaranth a couple years before, slated to happen the fall after she finished High School. This happened in such ways as knowing about the dangers and how to protect herself, what clubs she would be willing to join, and other facets of the school. After a month of being in another class, a request from the board and a shuffling of students landed Alice into Landry's class, where her experience is bound to take a steep turn for the Normal.


Spells


Inkfingers
Alice can generate magical ink from her fingertips. This ink can be used for drawing sigils, and take notes if need be. Generally the spell and skill of crafting sigils.


Sigils are drawings made out of Alice's aura that typically function as Enchantments. They can be placed on flat surfaces, such as walls or the floor. To create a sigil, Alice traces it on a surface with her finger. Her fingertip leaves behind a trail of visible, magical ink. A sigil's effect can be disrupted by ruining the drawn sigil, whether by crossing it out or by scratching the surface.


Rejuvenation Sigil
Alice places this sigil on a target, and it speeds up the natural healing and restoration process. Anyone affected recovers from wounds much faster than they would naturally. Blood clots, characters regain consciousness and return to normal energy faster and immune systems are galvanised. Alice suffers will drain for every creature benefiting from this sigil.



Knowledge Sigil
This special mark lets the caster know where the mark currently is when searched for. Very handy for knowing the location of all those books you can just never find again. Active when searched for.


Null Star Sigil
This sigil projects a short-range aura that shrinks the magical pores of casters around it. This causes anyone using magic to take additional magical backlash and dampens the effects of spells.

(Probably just going to go ahead and say grade 2 spell here. Although I'll need to find some way to be competent at melee fighting to actually make this work out.)
Constant maintain cost.
-Would an immunity for alice be viable here? It was suggested to me with comparison to how sao has immunity to her own acid- I didn't imagine a self-immunity, but I might as well ask about it. Due to how things are going with how I don't think I'd be able to work Skeletal flux in without an 'immunity' now with how it was changed, so I would like to find some way for those two spells to be compatible in some form even if no other casting is viable.

Keep The Rhythm
A simple magic spell to let Alice do a particular action perfectly repetitively. However, if there are any 'flaws' in the way she has done the action, these will also be 'perfectly' repeated. For example, if playing DDR it will keep a perfect beat on all of her steps. If she draws a shape, she can use this spell to draw the exact shape over and over again.

The spell is thematic and I like it, but I'm having difficulties seeing if the spell is understandable and functionable by the rules.

Alice needs to activate this spell.
Alice has to have performed the motion at least once, and unless it is a heavily memorized motion, it must have been done recently.
The longer the string of actions, the more willpower.
Any 'mistakes' made in the motion that this is being triggered on will be similarly repeated.

Skeletal Flux
Mode shift that increases Alice's strength and endurance, letting her do things harder, for longer, at the cost of her will. Basically increases her general fitness and athletic level.
Since this is a mode-shift, it makes me unable to cast spells while in it. While I have no problem with this, if the activation of my sigils would fall under the unable to activate clause of this by default, would I be able to ask that this mode-shift have an exception not for creation of sigils, but merely activating and deactivating them?


Clubs:
Tabletop
Computer
Gymnastics
Capoeira


Relationships:

Name: Samuel Marshall
Race: Ascended Human
Gender: Male
Aura:
Age: 54 [~90]

The old man who played a mentor role for Alice, awakened her, and ultimately helped make sure that she didn't take any false turns on her study of magic. A former Enforcer himself, it is one of his goals to make sure that Alice is properly trained and in shape for a career as an Enforcer. Technically would be ok with her choosing another lifestyle, but he's fairly sure the path the girl went down will lead to continue the tradition.

Aloof and distant, while he cares a lot he often times isn't around too much. Most of the 'training' Alice received was at the hands of some of the helping hands around the house rather than Marshall himself. Of course, the 'help' is also being kept under watch by Marshall, as with some advanced rejuvenating rituals he has extended his life, which lets him be healthy and primed even in old age.


Name: Maria Marshall
Race: Half-Demon (Half-Fae-Wizard)
Gender: Female
Aura:
Age: 28 [46]

This girl played less of a parental and more of a mentor role, although she certainly does act out a lot of the more common motherly duties for Alice. She probably has more of a parental role than Samuel technically by being around Alice far more.


Maria knows Capoeria and is the one to have taught Alice the basics on the subject, as well as having been more on hand with Alice learning and being especially strict with Alice on where to be careful regarding all things magical. She has a delight of fashion and costumes as well as being a general Drama actress. Depending on her mood this can vary from sleek and simply to outrageous outfits that explain why Alice thinks of her own outfit as 'simply' flashy. When the situation calls for it to dress up in more Fae features for funzies, such as say, if she went to a halloween festival, she simply wears a jester costume, makeup, and other props to look like a proper Fae.

(If the situation calls for a parent to come for Alice for any reason, unless it is a gravely serious matter Maria will likely be the one to answer the call.)

[Inbred Chocobo]

Alright, I decided that trying to rework the original character I put up was going to morph it into something I wouldn't want to play. So here is character number 2.

Name: Markov Slatkin
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Aura: Black
Age: 18
Appearance: 6'1', athletic build, dirty blonde hair that is kept a short length laid messy. Blue eyed and fair skin toned. Markov tends to dress extremely well, wearing 3 piece suits to nice slacks and collared shirts. Very rarely will he dress more casually, but has been seen before in more athletic gear if the situation requires it.

Spells:

Concealed Weapon: Black Elemental
Markov keeps his favorite weapon on him at all times. What he doesn't realize is that when hides it, he really is slipping it into another realm, and when he pulls it out, he is pulling it back out of the realm.

Practiced Calm: Black Elemental
Markov's training with his instructor has taught him how to keep calm under pressure. Focusing on his training, he pushes a sense of calm all over himself, to steady and to focus. When he goes through these steps, what Markov doesn't know is that his magic kicks into effect, helping push out distractions, and bring into focus what he is really focusing on. Pain, fatigue, outside distractions from other people turn dull and easily ignorable when he goes into this focus.

Perfect shot: Black Elemental
Markov has a knack for hitting what he is aiming at. If he gets into an aiming position and takes sight of a target before shooting, what he doesn't realize is that his magic is making sure the shot gets there. Mostly, magic just guides the bullet, giving it a better spin, and curving it if the target is moving to make sure it hits the mark.

Shoot to kill: Black Elemental
Markov focuses on his training from his tutor, remembering the dangers and warnings, and what it truly means to point a gun at someone and mean it. He takes aim similar to the Perfect shot, but its always three shots, two at the chest, one at the head. He recalls his instructors constant forcefulness of the lethality of the gun, and the only reason to point a gun at someone is to kill them. He always feels shaken a bit after doing this, from what he blames from putting himself to kill at such a length, but in truth is really a drain on his will.

Bio: The Slatkin family is a rather rich family, coming from Russia during the days of his Great Grandfather. His Great Grandfather had setup a business, and soon the Slatkin family was a wealthy one. Being in America for 3 generations the family has taken to English being their first language, though Russian is still encouraged to be learned. Markov is named after his great grandfather as he shares the same cool blue eyes and dirty blonde hair that his grandfather was said to have.

As a child, he was rather annoying, constantly getting into trouble, getting into the family's decorative room and playing with the weapons. His parents were worried about him getting into trouble, but being business people themselves, didn't quite have enough time to do anything about it. So at age 10, for his birthday they asked him what kind of person that Markov would want to be. When he talked about secret agents, and how cool they were, they had a crazy idea of combining the idea of training in such a way and putting discipline into him in the same kind. Of course, the instructors where just regular people teaching him things from all over the board, but considering they mixed in a few instructions on self defense and gun usage and safety, Markov always thought he was going for special training as an agent.

What they ended up doing was hiring a range of instructors to teach Markov a lot of different things. Some taught him things such as talking and working with people. Others were teaching him ways of respect, and how to act regal and professional, as there were still many royals, and their were many traditions that he would need to follow should he ever find himself in their presence. Others taught him things such as martial arts, and of course there were gun courses as well.

While some lessons were boring, and definitely nothing that Markov wanted, overall he took to them well. He enjoyed the idea of training to become and agent, and the playacting he did as a kid started to show more about how he actually carried himself as he got older. Soon, he became a rather strong and graceful man, able to defend himself relatively ease and rather charming, if a bit too professional. His parents had for his 16th birthday bought him something that is gun instructor had said he was ready to own, a beautifully crafted weapon that Markov keeps with him to this day.

All of his instructors had pretty much started pushing for him to focus more on his academics if he hopes to become an agent like he hopes. High technology and science tends to go hand in hand with the agent field in Markov's eyes, so he understands its something he must do. With that, his parents had sent him off to Amaranth.

For the last couple of months, he has been apart of a different homeroom, mostly learning his classes and clubs, with the only notable thing was an attempt to become class president. However that failed when most people meet him thought that his professional attitude made him look like a drag on parties and didn't win any favors.

Clubs:
Archery
Mixed Martial Arts
Cultural
Computer

Notes:
Markov's weapon is a weapon given to him by James on his 16th birthday, something that he technically shouldn't have. Its a .50 cal Titanium plated Desert Eagle, a beautiful weapon. His roommate(s) are probably annoyed that he always spends at least a little bit of his night taking apart and cleaning the gun.

His mannerisms are always polite but professional, and this has given him a reputation of being absolutely no fun at all.

Relationships:
Mostly his instructors, I can specify them or just leave them up in the air and they can show up as needed. (as I really hadn't had much of a chance to think up all the instructors).

[phil_]

Naomi's parents are nuts, Aldurin. Absolutely nuts. I shall explain!

Teaching children magic is dangerous, and does actually violate the Masquerade. The Guilds/Governments are generally not going to kill you for Awakening your own kid, but they will monitor you closely to make sure your kid isn't a threat. Naomi's folks will need to have to be Magic-Users themselves, so they would know that.So I read this, and I read Jack's bio like Dracorion said, and it seems like Jack's foster parents Awakened him and taught him some magic. Like, straight from his bio plus the presumably reasonable assumption that "study[ing] … basics of magic around the same time," didn't involve private tutors or going to Hogwarts.

So, yeah, how does the modern witch or wizard or geomancer go about raising kids if letting them in on the Masquerade will get spooks following their kids to school, and why do the Carters get a handwave for teaching their demon-touched foster son to be a leaf blower? Some people have a tradition to maintain; is there some paperwork one can fill out at the local chapter of the Wizard's Association or what? Does it up membership dues?

Ad-SEXSEXSEX-dendum:

How do proprietary spells work in Laundry? Is there a Magic Patent Office where one can claim exclusivity on magic techniques against competitors, or is it the opposite, and no one can have private casting techniques to avoid any mage becoming too powerful?

[Teal Mage]

Update to Ben's bio, offending spells removed, slight change in bio. Dropping Kurt because I don't believe this is the correct setting or time to broach a topic like bullying and his core theme stays mostly intact with or without him.

Noted, thanks. But you haven't actually addressed my main concern. As it stands, you still have Ben as an extremely charismatic kid - so charismatic that he was bullied all the time. In and of itself, this sort of contradiction will resolve itself one way or another in-character, but unfortunately, I can't wait that long.

He's in the Publicity club, you see. This might not be clear, but Publicity is actually really heavy interaction - his performance will be affected very heavily by his personality and character. If he's in Publicity, I need to know if people react badly to him and his eccentricities or not.

I suppose I can let this go if you drop Publicity.

Additionally, as a point of clarification when you say "Relationships" do you really want a Summary of that person's bio? Cause that completely changes what I have written for them.

Details not specified in your Relationships will be supplied by me. What you have is fine, if vague.

Ophiuchian Fascination I'm not terribly attached to. He doesn't handle snakes but watches them a lot as part of his research into Ophiuchus. It only makes snakes kind of...ignore him, not actually give him any snake abilities and I wasn't going that route anyway. I can drop it, I just have to figure out where to go with him.

So, why does he like the 13th sign anyway?

Ben is his name. If you'd prefer a longer one Benjamin is fine.

Thank-you, it's appreciated.

Celestial Intuition is technically possible if you knew the rough time and month that you were looking at the stars as long as you're really good at knowing the positions of celestial bodies. He isn't that good at this point but he thinks he is. If you'd prefer I can switch it to Polaris just being easier to spot but it’s already easy to find in general (Its part of the little dipper). This is to give him more ways to find it if the sky isn't perfectly clear or something obstructs his view.

Alright, so the power itself is a Black crutch to help him with his interest. Reasonable enough. Basically, it allows him to find the North Star based on the location of other stars easily, yes? Seems fine. As per usual with Black powers, he doesn't view this as remarkable. Minor Will drain, proportionate to the difficulty of finding the star (as is the time it takes to work).

* * *

Allright, reworked the background. No street urchin, no jail, instead a rich dad and a jolly grandpa.

I like the idea of Dan blackmailing his own father, but if that's too melodramatic, I can just make the father do it voluntarily.

I see nothing wrong with this - it's a good concept. What's he using as Blackmail? In the marvellous world of PR, this is actually a relatively minor concern - anything screws with business. I would like specifics, though.

Will refrain from further power commentary, as per your suggestion.

* * *

Equipment: Walking stick, Cloak, Nomad Clothing of varying hues and a mask bearing The Wanderer's mark.

Basic reminder, enchanted equipment requires a spell-slot. These are all mundane (colors don't shift unless he actually changes his clothes) unless otherwise noted.

Also what is his last naaaame!? D: Here is a list of Arabian last names to help. (http://surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/arabic)

It would take him a couple more years to reach the school. His strange views and religious beliefs would turn others away and it didn't help that his dim view of those who would allow themselves to stay in one place didn't mesh with city-folk. Also the fact that he had no concept of currency or a monetary system, since his tribe never needed one. Despite his lack of knowledge of boats larger than river boats, sailors were the only ones he could actually relate to. Never staying in one place too long, but he despised their false Gods.

The Wanderer would be a bit more helpful with this trip than it’s implied here. Would probably at least direct him to individuals who could help him – members of the Witches’ guild, mostly. Trip might have been a little quicker too, especially if Nasir was using spells.

You don't strictly need to have him take two years to arrive either - its not impossible that his tribe has diplomatic relations with the Witch's Guild, and that connection could be used to get Nasir on a plane to Amaranth, or at least, shorten the trip substantially.

Canada was a strange new place of its own. So many trees, such little sand and more water than he would normally see in one place. His arrival at Amaranth was better received then he anticipated. Though he was left wondering what his patron would have him do next. Left where he was, The Wanderer had told him his future was here, so what choice was left but to enroll? However, this place was going to become uncomfortable quickly. The water fountains were a big deal and all these strange people he would have to deal with. He would need to bide his time, as The Wanderer could one night show him what he needed to do next.

“Young man! You are two years late!”

And that was when he met Professor Landry.

That totally serious (and canon!) addition to your backstory done, everything looks good here. Grats, Nasir’s character and backstory is approved – spells come next. Gonna preface this stuff with the statement that the Wanderer’s Brand may leave your character in this game. To be clear: This is not a planned event. It is just distinctly possible. Therefore, I recommend that you not build entirely around it so you’re not completely screwed over in the event that happens. It might not! But I would prefer you not die because you assumed the Brand was permanent at Char. Gen.

Ah, and as a reminder, Nasir has inherited the blessings of one of his tribe's other gods as God-Blood. What sort of purview do you want for it? Healing? Wind? He should still be able to use these techniques with the Brand, if he spent a bit of time adapting them.

Bedlam Strike - (Not totally sure) -
By infusing his walking stick with will, Nassir only needs to touch or strike the opponent to activate the effect, which includes confusion.

I don’t have a problem with this spell’s concept. I would like you to be more specific regarding what ‘Confusion’ should make the target do, though. Physical disorientation? Something more specific? Is this spell supposed to draw on the Wanderer’s Brand, or is this strictly Old Magic?

Deny The Infidel - (Surge? I'm not sure, entirely) -
It is a great sin to strike the Priests of the tribe, who are the chosen of their Gods. They are not defenceless against assault, however. With a surge of will and speaking the holy words of protection, Nassir increases his endurance to attacks, turning a bone shattering blow into a bruise or preventing a knife or similar sharp instrument from going in too deep and causing too much damage.

Finally. Someone who takes a defensive surge. Mechanically though, I need a little clarification on this effect. Does this create a barrier around Nasir reflexively, to protect him from physical attacks, actually harden his body to protect him from damage, or did you have a different mechanic in mind for this? The text suggests the goal of this spell may be to create a cushion-like effect around Nasir, to simply reduce damage, not actually stop it. Clarify?

Will mention that a spell which only creates a protective effect around one part of his body will be far less expensive then a full-body-defense.

The Wanderer's Mask - (This one is tough, at least to me) -
No one aspect of The Wanderer is the same except their eyes. In a way, Nassir can mimic this, by changing his skin color, hair color or in more extreme cases, gender. This came to be best used during his travels to Amaranth, where he didn't want to appear too foreign.

Is this an Illusion Spell, or Shapeshifting? Either way, would recommend a 'go-to' alter-ego form, which can be swapped to reflexively (or close to it). Free-Casting should cover the rest. Note that physical changes - Shapeshifting - will not include Gender Swapping with skin and hair colour changes. Illusions can, but they're, well, illusions. I don't think Nasir would be advanced enough for Glamour level stuff, so it would just be visual.

Condemn The Weak - (Not totally certain about this) -
The tribe has very little tolerance for the weak in both mind and body. While they do their best to help fellow tribesmen become stronger, there just is no helping those who do not wish to put forth the effort. Targeting the opponent and as long as they can hear him speak, Nasir recites ancient words of condemnation at the opponent, effectively reducing their strength. Whether or not they can understand what he's saying isn't a problem as long as they can hear him. With more refinement and a higher grade, he may be able to reduce more then just strength.

Single target technique. Sound vector. Probably pure Old Magic. Nasir can't move while reciting this spell, and needs to focus his attention on his target. Steadily reduces the target's physical strength, until Nasir stops speaking or moves. Should be Green Elemental. If you'd prefer a more single-combat style ability, there are alternatives.

An interesting spell. Name's a bit counter-intuitive too, since he's weakening a target, not condemning someone who is weak. Why would Nasir learn this particular technique?

Deny Change - (Spell hue somehow escapes me right now) -
The tribe does have knowledge of others with powers similar to their own, as such they would need to find ways to deny the harsh effects that some decide to wield against others. By channelling will through a prayer of healing, Nasir challenges and seeks to remove physical curse effects from himself or others. Later refinement might also include healing physically inflicted wounds as well.

A dispel ability. This will be a bit...complicated. Is it meant to be self-targeting or other targeting? Self-targeting will be an easier and quicker cast (couple muttered words should be enough). It could be adapted to work on someone else, but the cast time would be lengthened (it would technically be a free-cast as well). It would be less effective on others. Powerful curses may be difficult to dispel, even on himself.

Other-targeting spells are more complicated. The length of the incantation/cast-time will effect how effective the actual dispel is - as well as its range. A stronger dispel will prevent him from moving while casting. He'll also need a way to specify the person he's targetting - a gesture at the end of the spell and maybe eye-contact as well.

Alternatively, if its not meant to be long range (requires touch) it'll be easier and more powerful. You may also want to consider using an object covered in sacred script for his spell (say, a knife which needs to pierce a target's skin to remove enchantments on them).

Is this a prayer to one of the tribe's Non-Wanderer Deities (or the Wanderer themselves), or just a spell?

Should cover it. Specify what sort of model you want the spell to be and we'll go from there.

Whispers on the Wind - [Color] Elemental - (This spell is from the incarnation before.)-
Impending danger lurks in every corner. Wherever the wind blows, fast or slow, Nasir can get an idea of what is up ahead by focusing his will on listening to what the wind tells him is there. The lesser form gives him a small idea how many people there are, but not where they're located or how strong they are. Another form of this is eavesdropping on conversations, but the further away it is, the more garbled the words become.

Pick one effect. Eavesdropping or Number of People.

Oh, I noticed you haven't really discussed what, if any, training Nasir has. Obviously, he's a mage, and he probably has some martial training. Seems a bit more focused on magic than fighting, though. Am I right?

Secondary. None of these spells seem to reflect on his great two-year journey, as interesting as they are. I'd do some substitutions, since he'd probably have run into challenges that certainly merit magic over that time.

* * *

Backstory's actually pretty good this time. Few small points!

They homeschooled her for the next two years until they were sure she wouldn't be a problem in the public, also during this time teaching her to fight with whatever she could reach or unarmed as a form of non-magical defense, before letting her go back into public schooling.

Her interests developed toward athletics and technology, partially intrigued about how both could work with well with magic, though she didn't shirk on practicing unarmed combat.


Magic takes a while to learn (like, at least a year, maybe two). So, this sort of education wouldn't make her a very advanced Wizard/Witch/whatever she is. A few months of basic martial arts instruction make her a beginner in that department too. Just wanna be clear, she won't be a great mage or fighter off the hop.

That said, I'll be classifying her competence in 'martial arts' as higher than her magical ability. Her current compliment of abilities is what she’s good at, spell design-wise.

Shatter Strike, _ Elemental:
Naomi chooses a target to strike, cursing them so that projectiles aimed at them curve toward weak spots, and begins to prepare a projectile of raw force that she fires at the person, the projectile being guided by the curse. The curse wears off once the projectile hits something. Intended to be Grade 2.

This isn't quite workable. "Weak Spots" is an RPG concept - they really don't exist in Landry. There are areas of the human body which are more...vulnerable? Like the stomach, if you want to knock the wind out of someone, or maybe pressure points which are more tender spots of skin on someone's body, but these aren't really "Weak Spots" in RPG slang. They're areas you can attack (well, pressure points are pretty hard to strike in battle) for...other effects than a broken bone.

What I'm basically saying is that a Curse which makes projectiles more likely to hit weak spots isn't gonna work in Landry. Too complicated a concept. Making Shatter Strike a Grade 2 Seeking Spell to help it hit a target is possible. You'd probably need to make it Grade 3 to get it to target one specific weakspot on its victim - and it can't find weak points that you, the caster, don't know exist. I suppose if the spell only damages that one specific point on the target's body, you might get away with making it Grade 2.

Additionally, curses are not instant hit - they can be dodged more often than not.

Surprise Strength, Yellow Elemental:
Naomi uses her magic to increase her experiments with human strength by briefly punching really hard. Strength Surge, Grade 1 power.

This is a Strength Surge which only works on her arms, then. Punching or lifting if she can do it fast enough. Using it makes her tired immediately after - it has a fair physical drain. A second use basically leaves her gasping for air, if it was done in quick succession. Will Drain is more mild.

Pretty basic, but if the drawbacks are fine, it’s an alright spell.

Electronic Override, _ Elemental:
Naomi has learned to be able to use magic to turn on/off simple electronic devices without needing access to the key/lever/switch. Requires physical contact with the device in question.

Little limited, but thematically appropriate. When she uses this technique, a small spell circle will appear at the point of contact. Takes about a second to use - won't work well if Naomi isn't calm. If you wanna avoid her emotions screwing things up, make her say/whisper "On" or "Off" (in Latin, or in English with italics, to denote a different language) when she's directing the machine. Blue (well, technically green tinted blue) Elemental if it doesn't use the Incantation, Green if it does.

Bard suggests adaperio for "On" and adoperio for "Off" I think.

Soothing Presence, _ Elemental:
When in a calm and clear state of mind, Naomi can generate a magical field that radiates calmness from her, in attempt to prevent potential fights and make people friendlier. Optimal effectiveness is within 10 feet of Naomi, rapidly decreasing in effect outside of that range.

Aura's too big. I don't like using exact measurements in these games. Best you'll get is short-range (like, a sword-length from her body), at grade 1, as an aura. The effect just calms emotions - how people react to it (become more/less friendly or more/less likely to fight) can't be dictated by this. Note that this spell makes Naomi's aura flare - the Awakened will know she's doing something. Strong emotions will be resistant and just dampened.

Really not sure what you plan to use this for. I don't recommend linking it to Naomi's emotions - which would be Old Magic - since a change in her emotional state could make the whole thing unworkable. Don't know if an Aura is the best vector. A touch-based spell might be more useful, but it’s your call.

Why'd she develop this spell? Were her friends getting into fights a lot?

Regeneration Focus, _ Elemental:
Naomi clears her mind and focuses her magic into regenerating her wounds faster. She is unable to use other spells while in this state. Mostly seals minor wounds and stops bleeding for short term, but more serious wounds should get an actual doctor.

Alright, low-level regen spell, Modeshift style. Probably Yellow Elemental. Wizardry variant requires some Anatomy training which...I suppose she might have. It’s harder to learn though. I recommend the Yellow version.


Fitness (Advanced if acceptable)
MMA
Computers
Meditation

Suppose these fit well enough.

Regarding Fitness. She seems to have a little anatomy training (at least two of her spells require some knowledge of the human body), but I don't think that's quite enough to advance to Advanced. She's certainly got an affinity for this club though, from the sounds of it. Will get high marks.

While Mixed Martial Arts and Meditation make sense with her powerset, they're basically opposed styles. She seems a little more...suited to Meditation (if she can deal with the Buddhist weirdness) between the two. Might want to consider swapping Veterinary for MMA, since she seems to have a bit of a medical bent to her.

* * *

Relm, after some thought, I have decided that Alice is acceptable. There will be some behind the scenes tweaks to her bio and relationships (this will be kept private) to make everything work, but as it is not something Alice herself would be aware of and they are also non-negotiable, I will not be informing you of all of them.

That said, you do need to make a few changes. 1) Alice's last name, and family name, is now Ex Niliho. Marshall or Healy can be aliases, if you insist on using them like that. The Null emblem is her family crest. Enjoy.

Her typical outfit is a black plaid skirt with white stripes, a black beret, and a long sleeved and pocketed black shirt with various pictures of flowers and vines decorating it. Alice also usually wears a black cape, which has her crest on the back colored in white, leather gloves which also bear her crest within their palms, and that crest centered right where her stomach and chest meet. She also wears a white violet pin on her left breast. Sigil wards will adorn her uniform whenever at all pragmatic, usually hidden within this excessive outfit.

2) On her first day, Professor Shuyin (she was initially assigned to his homeroom) told her to go back to her dorm room and change. This outfit is not normal - lose the cape, gloves and the majority of the crests. Additionally, make sure she has more than one kind of shirt. Professor Silverstein, alias Madame Lala, would have continued this policy. If she shows up dressed outlandishly, she's sent back to her dorm. Chances are, her Club Directors will also follow suit.

Incidentally, she has a single dorm. Her transfer to Landry's class will come as a surprise - it happened recently, just before Halloween. She's only heard Shuyin and Lala complain about Landry before - really knows nothing about her. If she's looked for Landry, she's never found her.

Understand?

Update your profile accordingly, and I'll move onto your spells in my next review.

* * *

Inbred, this character isn't too bad. The biggest problem I'm seeing is basically his relationship with the Secret Agent in the backstory. Secret Agents are supposed to keep the identities a secret (hence: Secret Agent) not get hired to tutor a ten year-old. Its really a pretty implausible thing - ten year-old kid tells his rich business people parents he wants to be a Secret Agent when he grows up, so his parents buy him a Secret Agent? No.

This can work still. If the guy's an Actor who his parents hired to keep an eye on their kid and pretend to be a Secret Agent, maybe! Alternatively, you can probably scrap the tutor aspect of this entirely and make him a gun hobbyist who happens to watch a lot of Secret Agent movies, and has picked up some of the mannerisms from them. Might even have some martial arts in his background (MMA, is what I'd recommend).

Clubs:
Archery (Does this handles guns? If it doesn't, make this a Gun club if possible) It does.
Meditation
Cultural
Social Club - Not a club

Archery covers guns, yes. Meditation is essentially Buddhism - means its really mystical. Doesn't do a lot of fighting early on, so, if you think your character would get annoyed at some weird chick talking about how "Distinctions are Illusions" and making you sit in one place for hours, you might want to pick a different club. Perhaps something with melee fighting tricks?

Social Club isn't a real club. Need a different one.

* * *

So I read this, and I read Jack's bio like Dracorion said, and it seems like Jack's foster parents Awakened him and taught him some magic. Like, straight from his bio plus the presumably reasonable assumption that "study[ing] … basics of magic around the same time," didn't involve private tutors or going to Hogwarts.

So, yeah, how does the modern witch or wizard or geomancer go about raising kids if letting them in on the Masquerade will get spooks following their kids to school, and why do the Carters get a handwave for teaching their demon-touched foster son to be a leaf blower? Some people have a tradition to maintain; is there some paperwork one can fill out at the local chapter of the Wizard's Association or what? Does it up membership dues?

Jack's backstory is really condensed. There's details that Drac and I worked out which aren't on the Wiki - Jack's black magic was behind how hard he was to adopt. It developed in a way that complimented his anti-social tendencies and basically was ruining his life. Awakening is one of the possible solutions to this situation. His parents were both magicians, so they elected to go that route. They could have sealed his powers instead, but it was easier for them this way/his Mom isn't entirely in the Magical Mainstream.

And yes, there is paperwork that can be filled out when bringing your child into the Masquerade. It is still technically against the rules. However, if you go through the proper channels, have sufficient reason to bring them in and take the proper precautions (Jack's dad worked in a Wizard's School as a teacher, so he would have been able to get some of the items they use to prevent young mages from using magic in public or without supervision) things usually turn out okay.

Well, sometimes they end with your kid dead, I guess. Not the point!

How do proprietary spells work in Laundry? Is there a Magic Patent Office where one can claim exclusivity on magic techniques against competitors, or is it the opposite, and no one can have private casting techniques to avoid any mage becoming too powerful?

There's no magical copyright. I suppose you could make a spell that can't be copied? It would be...interesting, though I'm not sure how viable or useful it'd be. Would depend on the specifics of the spell.

Some mages do have secret spells, but generally, these don't give them big advantages. The rules of magic are pretty air-tight for the Awakened - less so for Blacks and Whites, admittedly.

[Red Mage Black]

Basic reminder, enchanted equipment requires a spell-slot. These are all mundane (colors don't shift unless he actually changes his clothes) unless otherwise noted.
The clothing and mask is mundane, I forgot to mention and yeah he has more then one set of clothes. The walking stick is how he channels at least one or more spells.


Also what is his last naaaame!? D: Here is a list of Arabian last names to help. (http://surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/arabic)
Yeah, I'm not entirely great with last names either. Uh... Alfarsi is the only one I can see fitting, from that list at least.


The Wanderer would be a bit more helpful with this trip than it’s implied here. Would probably at least direct him to individuals who could help him – members of the Witches’ guild, mostly. Trip might have been a little quicker too, especially if Nasir was using spells.

You don't strictly need to have him take two years to arrive either - its not impossible that his tribe has diplomatic relations with the Witch's Guild, and that connection could be used to get Nasir on a plane to Amaranth, or at least, shorten the trip substantially.

I actually hadn't thought of that.

“Young man! You are two years late!”

And that was when he met Professor Landry.

That totally serious (and canon!) addition to your backstory done, everything looks good here. Grats, Nasir’s character and backstory is approved – spells come next. Gonna preface this stuff with the statement that the Wanderer’s Brand may leave your character in this game. To be clear: This is not a planned event. It is just distinctly possible. Therefore, I recommend that you not build entirely around it so you’re not completely screwed over in the event that happens. It might not! But I would prefer you not die because you assumed the Brand was permanent at Char. Gen.
I'll try to be careful.


Ah, and as a reminder, Nasir has inherited the blessings of one of his tribe's other gods as God-Blood. What sort of purview do you want for it? Healing? Wind? He should still be able to use these techniques with the Brand, if he spent a bit of time adapting them.
At this point, Wind would probably work better.


I don’t have a problem with this spell’s concept. I would like you to be more specific regarding what ‘Confusion’ should make the target do, though. Physical disorientation? Something more specific? Is this spell supposed to draw on the Wanderer’s Brand, or is this strictly Old Magic?
More along the lines of mental confusion and I figured at this point, it might work better as Old Magic. Considering the use of a tool.


Finally. Someone who takes a defensive surge. Mechanically though, I need a little clarification on this effect. Does this create a barrier around Nasir reflexively, to protect him from physical attacks, actually harden his body to protect him from damage, or did you have a different mechanic in mind for this? The text suggests the goal of this spell may be to create a cushion-like effect around Nasir, to simply reduce damage, not actually stop it. Clarify?
When I was creating this spell, I wasn't sure if a 'perfect defense' was plausible. What I had in mind was a thin subtle barrier that worked like a kinetic barrier. So for physical attacks, yes.

Will mention that a spell which only creates a protective effect around one part of his body will be far less expensive then a full-body-defense.
Well, I could suggest "choose upon casting", but that might need a higher grade. So, I'll say chest and abdomen for now.


Is this an Illusion Spell, or Shapeshifting? Either way, would recommend a 'go-to' alter-ego form, which can be swapped to reflexively (or close to it). Free-Casting should cover the rest. Note that physical changes - Shapeshifting - will not include Gender Swapping with skin and hair colour changes. Illusions can, but they're, well, illusions. I don't think Nasir would be advanced enough for Glamour level stuff, so it would just be visual.
When I created this, I was debating illusion vs. shapeshifting. Seems like illusion is the better of them, so I'll see if I can come up with a good 'alter ego' illusion swap. It would probably be an amalgamation of what he had seen over the course of his trip.


Single target technique. Sound vector. Probably pure Old Magic. Nasir can't move while reciting this spell, and needs to focus his attention on his target. Steadily reduces the target's physical strength, until Nasir stops speaking or moves. Should be Green Elemental. If you'd prefer a more single-combat style ability, there are alternatives.

An interesting spell. Name's a bit counter-intuitive too, since he's weakening a target, not condemning someone who is weak. Why would Nasir learn this particular technique?
I can't really think of why I chose the name. More that it just sounded good when I was thinking up the spell effect. As for why he would learn it? Well, as you can tell, he's not 'strong' in terms of physical strength and you can't expect a great journey to be without peril, could you?


A dispel ability. This will be a bit...complicated. Is it meant to be self-targeting or other targeting? Self-targeting will be an easier and quicker cast (couple muttered words should be enough). It could be adapted to work on someone else, but the cast time would be lengthened (it would technically be a free-cast as well). It would be less effective on others. Powerful curses may be difficult to dispel, even on himself.

Other-targeting spells are more complicated. The length of the incantation/cast-time will effect how effective the actual dispel is - as well as its range. A stronger dispel will prevent him from moving while casting. He'll also need a way to specify the person he's targetting - a gesture at the end of the spell and maybe eye-contact as well.

Alternatively, if its not meant to be long range (requires touch) it'll be easier and more powerful. You may also want to consider using an object covered in sacred script for his spell (say, a knife which needs to pierce a target's skin to remove enchantments on them).

Is this a prayer to one of the tribe's Non-Wanderer Deities (or the Wanderer themselves), or just a spell?

Should cover it. Specify what sort of model you want the spell to be and we'll go from there.
Guess I'll answer in order. The spell is and I think it would work better as on other people. Yeah, touch might also work much better to that effect, as for the implement, just using the walking stick(ie.hitting them, pressing it against their skin,etc.). I was thinking it would fit as a Non-Wanderer type ability. Something used by the priests all-around in general.


Pick one effect. Eavesdropping or Number of People.
Number of people works better.

Oh, I noticed you haven't really discussed what, if any, training Nasir has. Obviously, he's a mage, and he probably has some martial training. Seems a bit more focused on magic than fighting, though. Am I right?
Yeah, while he was growing up, it was more priestly training and knowledge of the other Gods which made up their tribe.


Secondary. None of these spells seem to reflect on his great two-year journey, as interesting as they are. I'd do some substitutions, since he'd probably have run into challenges that certainly merit magic over that time.
This is where I'm probably going to draw a blank. I was thinking the illusion and wind one would have worked well for that. I'll try to think of something.

[Inbred Chocobo]

Inbred, this character isn't too bad. The biggest problem I'm seeing is basically his relationship with the Secret Agent in the backstory. Secret Agents are supposed to keep the identities a secret (hence: Secret Agent) not get hired to tutor a ten year-old. Its really a pretty implausible thing - ten year-old kid tells his rich business people parents he wants to be a Secret Agent when he grows up, so his parents buy him a Secret Agent? No.

This can work still. If the guy's an Actor who his parents hired to keep an eye on their kid and pretend to be a Secret Agent, maybe! Alternatively, you can probably scrap the tutor aspect of this entirely and make him a gun hobbyist who happens to watch a lot of Secret Agent movies, and has picked up some of the mannerisms from them. Might even have some martial arts in his background (MMA, is what I'd recommend).
------
Archery covers guns, yes. Meditation is essentially Buddhism - means its really mystical. Doesn't do a lot of fighting early on, so, if you think your character would get annoyed at some weird chick talking about how "Distinctions are Illusions" and making you sit in one place for hours, you might want to pick a different club. Perhaps something with melee fighting tricks?

Social Club isn't a real club. Need a different one.


I decided to go with instead multiple instructors that each teach him things something he needs, and his fandom of Secret Agent movies also plays into how he developed. I'm drawing a blank right now for any particular stand out instructors, but I can probably make some if you really need a couple. Also had martial arts training, so now he is in MMA/


For clubs, I went ahead and changed meditation to MMA, as for the final club, I went with Computer, but I was giving serious consideration to movie as well, but couldn't decide on the two. If you think Movie is a better fit (I see computer as him wanting to learn to hack his way through sophisticated security systems) then I can change that.

[Dracorion]

So, is the edupad down for anyone else?

Has someone been fucking with the time slider?

[Aldurin]

Shatter Strike, _ Elemental:
Naomi charges up a projectile of raw force and fires it at the target. If the target is designated before firing, then the projectile will attempt to home in on it to increase the chance of actually hitting. Grade 2.

Surprise Strength, Yellow Elemental:
Naomi uses her magic to increase her experiments with human strength by briefly punching really hard. Strength Surge, Grade 1 power.

Electronic Override, Green/Blue Elemental:
Naomi has learned to be able to use magic to turn on/off simple electronic devices without needing access to the key/lever/switch. Requires physical contact with the device in question.

Regeneration Focus, Yellow Elemental:
Naomi clears her mind and focuses her magic into regenerating her wounds faster. She is unable to use other spells while in this state. Mostly seals minor wounds and stops bleeding for short term, but more serious wounds should get an actual doctor.

Dermal Steel, Yellow Elemental:
Naomi uses magic to summon an invisible layer of energy over herself that reduces the force of attacks against her.

[DanteFalcon]

Few more edits in his backstory, trying to make the difference between "Charismatic" and "Nice" more clear. Changed Publicity club to Veterinary Club.

Also Ophiuchus is...just the most logical choice for him. Its been debated as the thirteenth zodiac for quite a long time so it would be the easiest to potentially bring into Astrology.

[phil_]

Teal, I've been wondering about something, and I hope you could address it in your next long explanatory post. The only parts of magical society you've described are those dedicated to either educating people in magic or hiding the fact that magic exists. There must be some instance where magic is acceptable to use other than to hide that magic exists. I suppose reading the RP might shed some light on where magic is actually allowed to be used, but a quick primer on the magical economy would be appreciated. Or, like, any reason a human might want to learn to use magic, since all I'm getting is "The only legal use for magic is suppressing magic." Oh, and "If you've sorta figured out magic, but not quite, ninja wizards are going to burn your house down and kill your family."

Short version: Can one make a living on magic? Or could one ever, historically?

[Rhiya Ravenwing]

It's... not too late for me to write something up and join.... is it? I finally managed to get through all those blocks of text, and this game looks fun.

[Teal Mage]

Sign-ups are open until I say they're not!

And they're still open. Feel free to submit a character, Rhiya.

I apologize for the delay in the thread again! Something came up on the pad which required my attention these past few days. Will try to reply to the updates either tonight or tomorrow, as my energy allows.

[Rhiya Ravenwing]

MEGA-EDIT: yeah, got a lot of feedback from the EduPad. Here's the revised version for you, Teal!


Name: Emme Horton
Race: Human - awakened
Gender: Female
Aura: ??? (blue?)
Age: 18
Appearance:
Emme stands an unassuming height of 5’5”, with long, straight brown hair that is normally fixed up into a neat, braided bun. Her features are cute, but easily overlooked due to a humbled posture she continuously affects. The only remarkable feature about her is her vivid emerald eyes, which sometimes almost burn (non-magically, of course) with unstoppable determination. Emme dresses conservatively, in dull colours that aim at preventing her from standing out too much. Despite some practicality issues, Emme prefers long skirts over pants, but has an array of both.

Spells:

Illusion – Inconspicoius Maid (Blue Elemental) – Small will-drain, very subtle. As a maid, Emme is taught to go about her job as inconspicuously as possible. With this minor illusion spell, Emme is able to do just that – blend into the background so as to be overlooked by many. It’s great at avoiding unnecessary confrontations, but doesn’t work at all should she get into a fight.

Mode-Shift – Quiet Determination (??? Elemental) – When a task really needs to get done, Emme may infuse her body with Will to get it done. This power is able to slightly heighten her reflex and physical capabilities, granting her an improved clarity as well as improved physical prowess. With this, she is able to speed up her task completions. Like all Mode-shift powers, this ability is very draining, and unable to be maintained for long periods of time. In combat, Quiet Determination gives her a slight edge as it enhances her ability to react as well as fight.

Summon – Extra Hand (??? Elemental) - Sometimes, a maid must multitask in order to accomplish her tasks. Emma is able to summon a ghostly hand with poltergeist-like qualities. Specifically, it is capable of accomplishing menial tasks close to her vicinity if she herself has her hands full. Extra Hand is pre-programmed, meaning Emme must know what the hand needs to do before she summons the hand to do it. Once the task is finished, the hand vanishes. Extra Hand is similar to the DnD version Mage-Hand in that it can affect up to 5lb worth of stuff. However, its duration is dependent on how much Will she needed to maintain it for the extent of its task completion.

Flash Move -Maid’s Step (??? Elemental) – A maid must be where she is needed! Functions exactly like Flash Move.

Enchantment – Broomstick Defence (??? Elemental) – Emme is trained to defend her Master/Mistress equivalent to a bodyguard. As such, she must be able to fight with whatever she has on hand – normally (and a lot more effectively) a broom or a mop. She is able to extend her Will on brooms and mops (as well as quarterstaffs) and harden/improve them so that they are lighter, can hit harder, and withstand more vicious attacks when blocking.

Attention to Detail (Perception surge) (??? elemental) - it’s the little things that matter! Emme was taught this little trick in her advanced maid training with her mother. It allows her to take a step back and observe at a heightened sight level a room and its state of cleanliness. Well, this was its original intent, but her mother had already hinted to her that Attention to detail doesn’t only apply to anything specific she might’ve missed in a room (a slightly askew picture frame, maybe the specks of dirt she missed on the windowsill, or the imperfectly-tucked bedsheet, for example), but also in paying attention and anticipating the needs of her Master/Mistress by surging and reading the nuances in their body movements. In combat, her Attention to Detail gives her brief flashes of insight into her opponent’s fighting style – that is, if she’s seen them before, and if she has, she is able to slightly anticipate what they’d do next. Otherwise she still gets the crap beaten out of her. Often times she might use this ability while others fight to garner some insight into their fighting styles.

Bio:

Emme Horton came from a line of elite butler-esque awakened lineage linked to the E.S.A. called the Elite Maids service (Sister organization to the Superior Butler Brethrens). They ply their trade mainly as ‘servants’ but also as bodyguards/overseers of E.S.A. officials and their households.
Emme herself is training to be in the employ of a high ranking – and also wealthy – household of one of the E.S.A. Witch leaders (in succession to her mother’s role), and from an early age applied herself in all she needed to know in the mundane tasks of Maidship. She held her future employment in high regard, and her mother led her in her applications (both in magic-useage once she had been awakened, to the simple tasks of running a household, as well as some very simple combat skills necessary for bodyguarding).

As one of the final training courses in order to become a fully-recognised member of the Elite Maids organization, all applicants must enrol and spend a minimum of one to two years at the Amaranth Institute for the Gifted. One further year may be allowed, should a maid show potential after surviving the two. Any candidates that had completed their studies at Amaranth Institute are then allowed to fully complete their training and step into their employment.

As such, Emme’s time has come for her final trials.

Clubs:
Home ec
Strolling
Cultural
Meditation

Notes:

Elite Maid association – an organization that is linked to the E.S.A. specializes in not only training bodyguards for the higher members in the organizations comprising E.S.A., but also making them useful (ie: running a household fully independent of the head of the House.). Sister association to the male equivalent Brethren of Butlers (really need to get better names for them)

Quarterstaff Proficiency – Emme is trained in the use of quarterstaffs and bo-staffs, due to their similarity with the most common of household equipment such as the broom and mop. However, she’s a lot better at using a broom or mop.

Language Proficiency – Emme is multilingual. Aside from the normal English, she is able to speak, read and write in French, Italian, and German. She can speak (but not write) Mandarin, and is learning how to read and write chinese.

Maid Proficiency - pretty self-explanatory. Emme is almost at the peak of her maid training, and is very damned good at her job. She's better especially with the help of her specialized spells.

Relationships:

Anna Horton – Head Maid in the employ of one of the more elite Houses of an Esteemed E.S.A organization. Emme’s loving mother, mentor, trainer. Husband deceased. Anna greatly influenced Emme’s own personal decision from a very early age to aspire to become what her mother was – a greatly respected Elite Maid at the top of her employment. In between Anna’s busy schedule as Head Maid running the Master’s house, and Emme’s own training, they still manage to take some time out to call each other over phone or the internet to chat and catch up. Anna plays mentor and loved mother to her daughter, but is not one to ‘clean up’, pun not intended, what mess Emme gets herself into, holding to the idea her daughter is old enough to handle whatever is thrown at her already

Catherine Flemington – Fellow first year student and apprentice Witch with a penchant for enchantments. 17 years old, bright, bubbly, flamboyant, and Emme’s best friend since childhood, they share a dorm room with each other, as well as a less-pleasant girl Verna. Catherine is one of Emme’s continuous assessment tasks in her Maid training – a task that had to be modified slightly due to school restrictions, but nonetheless Emme compensates for it quite well. Catherine is the typical blonde-haired, blue-eyed pretty face, and always very enthusiastic about everything. She shares Emme’s determination in her studies, and has also signed up for the Cheerleading Club.

Jennifer Nikolai – Fellow first year student, actually friend of Catherine Flemington, but also knows Emme by proxy. She’s very private and conservative. Secretly, she admires Emme’s efficiency and dedication to her tasks. She’s a proficient martial weapons apprentice, and interested as well in the crafting of the same sort. Jennifer is brown-haired, brown eyed, with a lean build. She shares the cultural club with Emme. They have a friendly – yet competitive – rivalry going on between them.

Verna Lehy – Fellow first year student and Emme’s roommate. Verna is a bit of a bully, bossy, loud, and an attention-getter. When she found out her roommate was to be a Royal Maid in training, Verna took every opportunity to take advantage of Emme’s hard working abilities, from dumping piles of dirty laundry on Emme’s bed to be washed, to leaving books, clothes, and food scraps everywhere for Emme to clean up. It irritates Verna to no end that Emme takes to her new cleaning tasks without a single word of complaint or deathly glare, rather handling everything in simple humility. She is very pretty, with a mane of beautiful fiery red hair, almond-shaped eyes with red pupils, and just the right amount of freckling sprinkled across her pale cheeks.

[Lillium]

Fully Retracted.

[Teal Mage]

Alright, time for more reviews. I will begin by saying, as much as I would like to put Rhiya and Lillium's submissions into this review, I don't believe I can manage that tonight. I'll tackle them when I'm fresh tomorrow. New characters are more difficult to review than old ones, so it may take me a while to finish me them anyway. Lot of things to weigh, and attempting to do so at 4:45 am after close to 10 hours of reviewing is not wise or fair.

So, in rough chronological order, here's what I have managed.

Relm, I am pleased to see you have been behaving yourself on the pad recently. However, I need to inform you that I have not forgotten your decision to add Gary Marshalls (one of Gemine's NPCs) to Alice Marshall's NPCs - without informing me. This addition will not be permitted. If I allowed it, Alice's backstory would cease to be acceptable. Oh, and while I have your attention? Gary's last name is different from Samuel's. This is balantly something you added on.

Therefore, I am issuing your first and only warning. As GM, any additions to approved character backstories must be run by me first. If I do not approve something, it does not exist. If you somehow slip something past me, this only means I will be very mad when I discover it. I am likely to reject it on principle at this point – and may expel you from the game. Fortunately, taking the fact that this was likely an unthinking mistake on your part into account, I feel a strong warning is sufficient – for the moment.

Step out of line like this again, or cause additional drama on the pad (as you have in the past) and I will expel you.

Now then, let us discuss your character and spells. I will start with a few miscellaneous comments:

First, Samuel Marshall has used magic to extend his life. This makes him a Non-Human. His race should be Ascended Human.

On an entirely different note, Capoeria really isn't Dance-Fighting. It's a kick-heavy Brazilian Martial-Art which uses music in its exercises and drills – but it really is not ‘Dance-Fighting.' I would recommend saying that she fights like a dancer and putting her in the Dance and/or Gymnastics club instead of Capoeria.

Moving onto spells.

Your Sigil concept is confused. Right now, it's classified as Wizardry. For that to work, Alice needs to draw a sigil, then enchant it with a spell-circle. Frankly, the spell circle does all the work and the sigil itself is unnecessary – and a bad idea. A millimeter's difference in the thickness or length of the lines (of the Sigil, I mean) would cause the enchantment to fail. You can either drop the Sigil part of this entirely or make Alice an Old Magic user. Old Magic users need to create physical things, like Sigils, for their magic to work. It fits the concept mildly better. However, it is ultimately your decision. Alice can be a Wizard without Sigils, or an Old Magic User with them. Decide.

That said, I'm able to discuss some specific aspects of your proposed spells. Most will be revisited after you decide if Alice uses Old Magic or Wizardry, but this set has been waiting for review for a while, so.

Inkfingers is excessive for a Wizard and impossible for an Old Magic User (humans can not secrete ink from their fingers). Drop the spell and use a marker instead. You can enchant the marker if you desire, but I think that would be excessive.

Rejuvenation Sigil does too much. Presently, it increases a target's natural regeneration rate, forcibly awakens an unconscious individual, increases their physical energy regeneration-rate and strengthens their resistance to mundane desires. These are different effects. Select one.

Knowledge Sigil can only be applied to a single object at a time. The enchanted object glows, though only the sensitive will notice this without actively searching for it.

Null Star Sigil will not be Grade 2. It can either reduce the Power rating of everyone within its area of influence (to cause large spells to hurt them too) or dampen all external magical effects within its area of influence. Alice is not immune to its effects. The specifics of how to set this spell up will vary heavily depending on her discipline, but I may entertain allowing this to be a Compound Spell, for viability reasons. That will be discussed later.

Keep The Rhythm is too adaptable. Rejected. A mode-shift for grace or fluidity, or a Flash Action for specific actions may be more suitable.

Skeletal Flux this ability does two things. It may either reinforce Alice's condition to that of a 'fit' individual, or she may use it to consume Will in order to keep going after her body should not be able to. If you're wondering, the latter option would not allow her to continue after being mortally wounded for long – the Will drain would be massive.

* * *

Red Mage Black, two points. First, are you changing your backstory or not? You need to tell me if Nasir still (essentially) walked from the Middle East to Amaranth for two years, or took a plane and got there a lot faster.

This will affect my review of his powers.

Yeah, while he was growing up, it was more priestly training and knowledge of the other Gods which made up their tribe.

Second point, his life seems to begin immediately after getting the Brand right now. There is some indication of abilities that don't relate to it (Deny Change and Whispers on the Wind), but you haven't talked about what Nasir was being trained to be before the Brand took him. Priests can do a lot of things! His family was dedicated to the Wind God, so perhaps he was being trained to work with the weather? Maybe a healer? He could also be a craftsman, or perhaps he was being groomed to take a seat on the Council of Priests? Alternatively, maybe he was more of a Squad Mage – a Priest trained to assist warriors. He could also have been a Warrior Priest!

You should also consider what hobbies Nasir may have had.

So, would you please tell me a bit about all that? Combinations of those backgrounds also work. Regardless, whatever he was training for should be reflected in his current spell set, journey or no.

I actually have some reviews of his spell set written up, but since all of them feature a comment about how 'his background and training may affect whether or not this is appropriate,' I think it would be premature to discuss them until you clarify these points. Please do.

Also put up a fully updated bio. Everything you've done is piecemeal to date.

* * *

I decided to go with instead multiple instructors that each teach him things something he needs, and his fandom of Secret Agent movies also plays into how he developed. I'm drawing a blank right now for any particular stand out instructors, but I can probably make some if you really need a couple. Also had martial arts training, so now he is in MMA.

Inbred, one teacher or five isn't the issue here. The part that bothers me about your bio is that the logic which underlies a key decision (his parents deciding to give him 'Secret Agent training' to keep him busy) is quite flimsy at the moment. Why not just send him to boarding school? Or put locks on the weapon-room door? Hire a Nanny?

As it stands, his parents have set-up an elaborate (and expensive) charade for…what purpose? Are his instructors supposed to be private tutors? I suppose it's logical enough that his parents want his education to be the best money can buy. But, the stuff you highlighted him learning doesn't make a lot of sense for someone who, presumably, will inherit a company. The parts that sound particularly out-of-left-field are the comments about him getting gun training, learning about royalty and (for no apparent reason!) getting an illegal hand-gun at the age of sixteen.

In short, clarify whether these lessons are home-schooling or he's also being sent to a normal/private school. Additionally, explain why his parents are springing for 'special' lessons in the first place. Oh, and cut the parts about guns and royals from his special training, please. He's getting enough handed to him on a silver platter (also there's really no reason to learn about royals in this day and age) without adding that stuff.

If you want him to have a gun-hobby, have him start going (of his own volition) to the local gun-club when it would be legal. I don't have an issue with him being taken under some War Veteran (or that James Walker guy's) wing by chance, while practicing his marksmanship. This also makes getting a handgun for a present logical - he'd need to be a serious gun-hobbyist to justify that.

Regarding the Desert Eagle specifically. I don't know if this weapon is outright illegal in the United States or just illegal for a sixteen year-old to have. Frankly, I don't care. What I do need to state is that, if the Desert Eagle is supposed to have some kind of special feature (say, reduced recoil, or armor piercing shots or a special lens) you need to tell me so. This may take up a spell slot. If you do not, it will be treated as any other gun in this setting. Also, you'll be limited to a set number of bullets – probably one full round normally (seven, I believe, is the number listed for his specific model). Spare rounds are permissible if your character is prepared for a confrontation, but please note that loading isn't a free action.

Spells can be discussed later.

Oh, and I haven't seen you on the pad for a while. Are you sure you have time/are committed to this game? Right now, spotty attendance isn't going to kill you, but once the game begins you need to keep up with the thread, post consistently (and meaningfully) or this isn't going to work.

* * *

Shatter Strike, _ Elemental:
Naomi charges up a projectile of raw force and fires it at the target. If the target is designated before firing, then the projectile will attempt to home in on it to increase the chance of actually hitting. Grade 2.

As a reminder, this spell has a charge up (gonna say a post-length's, but it'll probably be quicker in practice), but only a Moderate Will drain. Blue Elemental, since I don't see an incantation as necessary.

Electronic Override, Green/Blue Elemental:
Naomi has learned to be able to use magic to turn on/off simple electronic devices without needing access to the key/lever/switch. Requires physical contact with the device in question.

Incantation is either required or optional. Blue (non-incanted, requires focus) or Green (incanted), pick one. Ability itself may actually command Electricity Spirits, mechanically, by the way.

Dermal Steel, Yellow Elemental:
Naomi uses magic to summon an invisible layer of energy over herself that reduces the force of attacks against her.

A third battle-spell for a normal-girl with a healing focus? Reduce Shatter Strike's Grade, drop Strength Surge and make this spell into a skin-hardening/damage cushioning ability (see Red Mage Black's review above) instead of an invisible shield, and you might get away with it. As it stands though, it doesn't fit.

* * *

Few more edits in his backstory, trying to make the difference between "Charismatic" and "Nice" more clear. Changed Publicity club to Veterinary Club.

Also Ophiuchus is...just the most logical choice for him. Its been debated as the thirteenth zodiac for quite a long time so it would be the easiest to potentially bring into Astrology.

Alright Dante, I haven't much else to say. Possibly check to see if any one on the pad wants to have Ben as a roommate? Oh, No Time to Write only activates while he's under stress, if I haven't said so before.

Regarding your remaining prospective spell-slots. Tell me which of his four clubs Ben would focus on most and I'll suggest a few things. I should note that the Veterinary club requires you to raise a pet while you're in it, so he probably got a snake from them. Additionally, Writing club requires you to write a blog, if either of these details help.

Ah, actually. He's probably picked this trick up from Meditation.

Calm Down – Black Elemental.
Crazy mysticism or not, the Meditation club's breathing exercises work wonders. By focusing on a particular breathing pattern and willing himself to calm down, Ben is able to invoke a supernatural sense of calm on himself. This technique actually triggers a Mode-Shift, which remains active until the user stops the breathing pattern. Celestial Intuition still activates in combination with this ability.

I suppose a different breathing technique could be appropriate, but this seemed simple and useful, so I thought I'd offer it.

Right, that'll be it for me. Like I said, Rhiya and Lillium will be reviewed tomorrow. I may end up editing this post to add them in – will send PMs to notify you when I put something up, so don't worry about missing it.

Edit: Aw damnit, I forgot to answer _phil's question. Sorry. I'll get to it tomorrow.

[Rhiya Ravenwing]

It's all good. You pointing out the Extra Hand spell will make me have a more detailed look at it myself before you get to it. There's some other stuff involving Emme's background that probably needs a lot of tweaking. I await your review patiently!

[Relm Zephyrous]

Putting information for her up here for review, both info on spell comments, and fleshing out a couple other details.


On the sigils
((Considering that the effect of being able to place a spell onto an object and the activation aren't tied to sigils, I'm fine with getting rid of the complexity. And wizardry seems to fit more all things considered.))


Inkfingers
((Works, dropping.))


Rejuvenation Sigil
((Targets regeneration rate and physical energy rate are the two effects I would want of those described. So I could either separate it into two spells, make this a grade 2 spell with both, or discard one. But I'm not sure which of these options I want yet, and considering you said we'd visit these spells in more detail later I'll hold on my choice for the moment.))


Knowledge Sigil
((Works for me.))


Null Star Sigil
((Dampening all external magical effects around the object takes priority. Especially since this would probably make it compatible with Skeletal Flux if flux is internal and hopefully avoid the complications of needing a compound spell.))


Keep The Rhythm
((Fine, might be reworked later into something such as these.))


Skeletal Flux
((Augmenting her current physical status and being able to do extreme physical things works more along what I had in mind, rather than actually moving her body past when it can no longer move.))


Clubs
Everyone told me Capoeria was dance-fighting. I just imagined her doing something with listening to music a lot of the time.
Probably switching Strolling out for Gymnastics though both to fit with the dance theme, and because the more I think about it everything that fits about strolling probably fits better with gymnastics.


Fleshing out Fighting Style
Her preferred style of fighting at melee is Capoeira, with spells augments herself and dampens the magic of the opponent.
Her preferred style of fighting at a range is with grenade like thrown projectiles. Mainly for when subtelty isn't as much of an issue as outright stopping somebody. I don't suspect that grenades will be available to any degree though, so the most I expect this to come into play in-rp is being able to throw small round things accurately, or maybe chucking rocks at people.


New Spell

To Arms
Summons dexterous and firm battle gauntlets/boots onto her limbs. These are nimble but hard, and are able to withstand blows about as well as any other metal weapon.

[Aldurin]

Name: Naomi Disponette
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Aura:
Age: 18
Appearance: She stands at 6 feet tall with a fit, slim build. Her hair is long, flowing and blonde, and her eyes are blue. She appears to have German and Welsch heritage in her facial shaping. Her standard fashion is usually tank-tops with elaborate fractal patterns, grey or navy-blue khakis and black tennis shoes.

Spells:

Shatter Strike, Blue Elemental:
Naomi charges up a projectile of raw force and fires it at the target. If the target is designated before firing, then the projectile will attempt to home in on it to increase the chance of actually hitting. Grade 2.

Surprise Strength, Yellow Elemental:
Naomi uses her magic to increase her experiments with human strength by briefly punching really hard. Strength Surge, Grade 1 power.

Electronic Override, Blue Elemental:
Naomi has learned to be able to use magic to turn on/off simple electronic devices without needing access to the key/lever/switch. Requires physical contact with the device in question.

Regeneration Focus, Yellow Elemental:
Naomi clears her mind and focuses her magic into regenerating her wounds faster. She is unable to use other spells while in this state. Mostly seals minor wounds and stops bleeding for short term, but more serious wounds should get an actual doctor.

Bio:
Naomi grew up in the Pacific Northwest of the United States (mainly Washington), raised by her parents who were both reputable and responsible members of the Wizard's Guild. To their dismay, Naomi's black magic was problematic, especially in the field of making stuff break, and began to worry their local section of the Wizard's Guild. Not wanting to risk an Enforcer coming in to "take away" their daughter, they decided to awaken her at age 14 so that she could have a chance to control her powers. They homeschooled her for the next two years until they were sure she wouldn't be a problem in the public, also during this time teaching her to fight with whatever she could reach or unarmed as a form of non-magical defense, before letting her go back into public schooling.

Her transition into public school went smoothly through graduation. Her interests developed toward athletics and technology, partially intrigued about how both could work with well with magic, though she didn't shirk on practicing unarmed combat. She immediately applied to Amaranth post-graduation, hoping to learn more about the body and machines to see if there was some direction she could take to utilize those (with or without magic) to better the world.

Clubs:
Fitness
Veterinary
Computers
Meditation

Relationships:

William Disponette:
Naomi's father and respectable Wizard, William is a role model for Naomi, always being calm, collected and having no negative record criminally nor with the Masquerade. He currently lives in Spokane with Naomi's mother,holding influence in the Wizard's Guild for that area and working with Marina at the bakery. Despite his stoic nature, he cares greatly for his family and is proud that Naomi managed to get into Amaranth.

Marina Disponette:
Naomi's mother who is more amiable than William and runs a bakery. Cares for her family greatly and always does her best to send homemade cookies when Naomi's away. Holds just as high of a standing in the Wizard's Guild as William.

Ayumi Fosburgh:
One of Naomi's roommates, she's a shorter girl with black hair and a similar build to Neoma and the same age. Ayumi is an Awakened martial artist from Japan who was enrolled here after her instructor advised that it would be beneficial for her to train abroad. Her interests generally fall into the outdoors and into mastering her own body, so she can probably be found at related clubs. She is generally stoic and not easily surprised by her environment, but will relax around her friends. She regularly spars with Naomi so they both maintain their training. (Would like to see her in the Fitness Club and maybe MMA)

Karen Smith:
Naomi's other roommate. Karen is a half-djinni from the Arabic community in New York City. She came to the college to learn to become a master chemist. She often practices various forms of meditation, since while she has decent control over her powers she wants to be able to master herself. Karen and Naomi get along well, though Karen is not as dedicated as Naomi is to hand-to-hand combat. (Would like to see her in the Meditation Club with Naomi)

[Red Mage Black]

Redone Bio and Spell List:

Name: Nasir Alfarsi
Age: 18 [18]
Gender: Male
Race: Half Demon
Aura: (Still not sure on this one)
Appearance: 6'1"(182.5cm or 1.83m), shoulder length black hair, dark skin, eyes that are gold during the day and silver at night, tattoo under his right eye(Mark of The Wanderer, not an actual tattoo, but might look like one to people who don't know what it actually is). Wears his desert/religious clothing, which includes the light billowy clothing all in varying desert hues which include sand and how it appears during the day and the night, a cloak with a hood, a carved stone mask that bears a design of the Wanderer's Mark(painted on) and is kept strapped to the hood of his cloak when not in use and last but not least sandals on his feet.

Biography -
From the young age of 6, Nasir's life was filled with religious teachings. This included the origin of their tribe, those they fled and the evils of the city-dwellers. The Wanderer was not the only deity he came to learn about, but many others and which families were dedicated to them. At the age of 12, he was starting to be groomed for his place as a warrior priest, to help protect the tribe where others could not. During this period of time, he was not only taught martial combat, but also about magic. With no hinderance from any organized body of people, this was not a problem. It encompassed fighting with not just his walking stick, but taking advantage of inclement weather.
Four years of gruelling desert travel and harsh training, he finally came to bear the mark of his family's dedicated deity. The circumstances behind The Wanderer's choice of chosen were baffling at best, but there was still more to come. As he still hadn't completed training, he had some skill to be noted. His finer manipulation of the wind and his ability to call lightning from a clear sky. Spells inherited from his own blood. Lesser abilities were confirmed to be the minor ability to heal, a very useful ability on a battlefield and the ability to harden his body against attacks on his person. Despite the fact The Wanderer only takes one priest every lifetime and constantly putting himself on the battlefield would be a danger, Nasir continued his training regardless.

It happened all at once. In a dream, The Wanderer walked to him over an oasis lit silver by the hanging moon. While honored by the presence of his worshiped deity, The Wanderer spoke to him. "You must go to this place," they said, showing him a vision of Amaranth, "But first..." The Wanderer told him, showing him people he had never seen before, "You must meet these people. They are from an organization called 'The Witch's Guild'. They will teach you new things and how to speak the language of the natives in your final destination. The other figures vanished, leaving one behind. "This is the first one you will meet. Go to her. She will understand you and point you in the right direction. Once this has been done, I will show you to your next destination. Your fellow priests will understand this journey. Leave by sunrise and you will reach your first destination in two weeks. Take only what you need for the first part of this journey."
With all this information, Nasir's head was almost spinning. To leave his tribe and go out into the world. One which he had never seen before, but how could he question the orders of his deity. As The Wanderer had ordered, Nasir set off at sunrise, taking a couple waterskins, jerky, bread, his religious clothing/tools which was his priest mask and walking stick and changes of clothing with him on his journey.

On his way on the path that had been laid out, the Witch's Guild members had been as helpful as they could be, giving him extra food, something to drink, washing his clothing and even help getting across the ocean. He had taken cargo freighters from one country to the next, where the others The Wanderer told him about would take him. With his skill, he would help prevent storms from overcoming the freighters, using advice from the guild members not to use magic around the workers.

The last leg of his journey rested when a freighter stopped in Alaska. While cold weather was no longer a mystery to Nasir, he insisted upon learning one last spell from his deity's repetoir of elements, fire. Meeting the last Witch's Guild member was easy enough. They secured not only an ID, but also a passport to get him through the border into Canada. Then for days and nights, he trekked through the Alaskan wilderness and finally found his way in. His ignition spell to light wood was incredibly helpful for surviving the freezing nights.

Upon passing into Canada, that night, Nasir had one last vision from The Wanderer. He was shown his direct route to Amaranth, including to the building he needed to go to. 2 years of journey finally see him to his destination. Even the school was oddly accepting and the English lessons along the way had paid off.

Spells(!):

Whispers of the Storm - -
Before his training as The Chosen of The Wanderer, Nasir was starting to master the elements of his family's deity, which started with weather. By continuous chanting, Nasir can eventually change the direction of the wind and turn it into a strong gale.

Staff Fighting Mastery - -
Part of growing up in the tribe is knowing how to fight the dangers in the desert and whatever foes to the many faiths you may come across. Although only armed with a walking stick, the principle is the same, defensive and to keep the enemy from approaching. Though with each strike, from the side or from the tip, Nasir adds a little bit of force, like wind, for a knockback. The walking stick is specifically enchanted for not only this purpose but to deliver his other elemental spells.

Ignite Object - -
Days walking through the Alaskan Wilderness were cold, but the nights were even more brutally so. The tip from the Witch's Guild representative gave him good advice, "Learn to start a fire or make it out of nothing," this was for refusing the much easier route of being driven to Amaranth. Considering the elements of The Wanderer, this was much easier than was thought. By pressing the tip of his walking stick against a block of wood and channeling throught the stick, he can set it on fire, wet or dry.

Healing Heart - -
Training as a battle priest meant not only training to disable or destroy the enemy, but healing your own warriors so that they may fight another day. Not one of his strongest spells, he must first touch the wounded and chant the prayers of healing, albeit this would be for more minor wounds.

Deny The Infidel - Defense Surge -
Learning how to defend yourself is key to any encounter with hostiles and this is something that's emphasized greatly to the tribe's warriors and battle priests. It is also offensive to strike the priests first, but while the defense isn't perfect, it can prevent much greater injuries. By chanting the prayer of protection, Nasir hardens his skin to cushion blows in whatever form they take, be it blunt, slashing or piercing.

Clubs -
Fitness
Martial Arts [Advanced - Bojutsu]
Meditation
Wilderness

Misc -
The staff itself is enchanted to be able to cast spells with, with tiny markings over it and was hardened previously to be able to use for melee combat as well.

Book of prayers - Just what it says, a book of prayers to not only The Wanderer, but a few other deities from his tribe as well. Contains the prayer of healing(Healing Heart) and the prayer of protection(Deny The Infidel). It's usually chained to the belt around his waist, a hook through the bottom of the spine and one at the top which can be undone so he can hold it freely, with a small length of silk tied around it to hold it shut when not in use. All the prayers inside are written in Arabic, including the spell prayers.

His clothing of course, is non-magical as is the mask.

[Girasol of Chaos]

Applicants:

I'd like to remind you that no matter what stage of the process you are at, there is a template for your character sheet. Please use this to help your GM: it'll ease the reading and help get the reviews done.

Thank you in advance.

[Zoological Uncertainty]

Name: Cassandra "Cassie" Hayden
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Aura: You can try to guess at your Aura color - but its probably best to leave this section to me. Its the sum of all your spell hues.
Age: 18
Appearance: 5'2'', average build, wavy pale blonde hair reaches halfway down her back, dusty blue eyes and caucasian. Her clothing is nothing special, usually jeans and a blouse. Except she always mismatches colors. She wears sunglasses over her eyes when she goes out, and carries a white cane.

Spells:

Borrow Sight, Compound Spell, ? Elemental
With this spell, Cassie can transfer her sight with someone else's. This is limited solely to body functions related to eyesight. She can open and close the other person's eyelids and move their eyes and see what they see, and the victim can do the same with her eyes (for all that's worth). While active, Cassie and the victim can hear each other's surface thoughts. This spell requires direct, skin-on-skin physical contact to activate, and ends when that contact is broken or Cassie consciously turns it off.

Proximity Sense/Battle Precognition, Compound Spell, ? Elemental
When activated, this spell allows Cassie to sense the shape and features of any object within five feet of her. In combat, she can also select one of the objects she's sensing, and for added Will drain, have a vision of what their next move will be.

Danger Sense, Grade 1, ? Elemental
This spell activates whenever something comes within a twenty feet radius of Cassie, intending to do her direct harm. She becomes suddenly aware that something dangerous is coming at her and the direction it's coming from.

Summon: Cane, Grade 1, ? Elemental
In the rare event she's not without it, Cassie can summon her cane into her hand.

Palm Reading, Grade 1, ? Elemental
Cassie often uses this spell as part of a "read your future through your palm" gag. In reality, she implants a simple, one-word suggestion into the mind of the victim, in Cassie's case often things like "flirt" or "drink", and lets their minds fill out the details. This spell requires direct, skin-on-skin contact.

Bio:
Cassie was born premature, and suffers from Retinopathy of Prematurity, a severe case which resulted in her being completely blind. Cassie's parents, both members of the Wizard's Guild, were somewhat overprotective of their daughter because of this. Her mother, a school teacher, got jobs at Cassie's school so she could keep an eye on her daughter. Though Cassie understood their concern, she harbored some resentment and wished she could see. Still, her parents didn't keep her sheltered, and Cassie led as full a life as she could.

Her parents' decision to awaken her stemmed partly from the possibility that magic could make living with her condition easier. Mostly, though, it was an incident where Cassie's Borrow Sight power first manifested. She was feeling particularly frustrated with her condition one day, and bumped into another kid in a hallway at school. The unrefined Black version of the spell caused severe trauma to the kid from a combination of the sudden loss of his sight, the sudden transfer of Cassie's thoughts of shock, realization and then euphoria, and permanent damage to his sight. Cassie herself was fine, her only remark being "Huh, so that's what people look like".

So her parents awakened her at thirteen, and helped her develop her spells to make living with her blindness easier. They decided against sending her to a Wizarding Academy because those were too strict and rigid for someone like Cassie. Instead, they trained her for years, partly out of overprotectiveness, so she could go to Amaranth. Though Cassie's parents didn't stop her from going to public school and having a social life, her parents still worried about her magic and how she handled her blidness. Though Cassie loves them, she rebelled by against both her parents and her condition by fully embracing her social life.

Unbeknownst to her parents, Cassie became more and more obsessed with sight after the first incident, and developed a fairly active sex life with ulterior motives, telling her parents she was sleeping over with a friend. After her partners fell asleep, she would borrow their sight and just stare through their eyes all night. Most of them woudln't hook up with her again, due to weird dreams that creeped them out.

When she turned eighteen, her parents finally decided she was ready to go to Amaranth, though they managed to drag it out for two months, not wanting to separate from their vulnerable little girl, resulting in Cassie's late enrollment.

Clubs:
Home Ec
Meditation
Strolling
Fencing (Saber)

Notes:
- Reads braille.
- Weapon proficiency: Saber.
- Improvised weapon proficiency: Cassie's learned to wield her cane like a saber if the need arises, with a modified technique to compensate for the fact that it's not a bladed weapon.
- Information on her condition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinopathy_of_prematurity

Relationships:
Timothy Hayden: Cassie's father, a member of the Wizard's Guild, who works as a real estate agent, and was a fencing champion in his youth. He still sees his daughter as a helpless little girl, much to her chagrin, though he tries to avoid that sort of thinking and let her take care of herself.

Jennie Hayden: Cassie's mother, also a member of the Wizard's Guild. She's a school teacher, and would take jobs at Cassie's schools, teaching Cassie's classes if she could, to keep an eye on her daughter. She shares her husband's views about Cassie.

Nate Adams: one of Cassie's friends, who attends his first year at Amaranth. A younger boy who has a hopeless crush on her. Cassie's aware, but doesn't return his affections and simply considers him a friend. He's a Black, and is in Fencing Club with her.

Barbara Lane: Cassie's roommate and friend, and a first-year student at Amaranth. She's some kind of spiritualist, but Cassie's never asked for details. She's kind of spacy and distracted, which is ironic because she's in Meditation and Home Ec with Cassie.

Daniel Hicks: Another first-year student, one of the best students in Fencing Club, and kind of a jerk. He has no problem teasing blind girls, but Cassie doesn't really care about him.

[Teal Mage]

Short version: Can one make a living on magic?

Short Answer: No.

Longer Answer: Not exactly. Magic may primarily be viewed as a weapon in this game – hence the strict guidelines for its control and application. However, it is true that most Magicians do not regularly fight monsters and demons – magic does have more practical applications than killing people. The spell-growth aspect of MTPL! is actually based around these ‘more practical’ applications – clubs encourage students to use their magic to improve the quality of their work, or meet challenges that are not strictly related to combat, to help them prepare for a life where overt magical displays are simply impractical.

Put another way, magic may – and in-fact, should be – used to improve the quality of work you put out in your day job. A magician must be careful not to create overtly magical objects, and therefore, they must walk a very fine line. However, the Masquerade does not prevent Doctors from using spells to subtly improve the health of their patents (though curing Cancer miraculously is another story entirely – some plausible explanation must be maintained), nor does it prevent a baker from making their products taste better (making them addicting, on the other hand, might cause problems – if such a thing is detected, that is). The Guilds believe that, while revealing magic to the general public will cause more harm than good, there is value to using it carefully to provide benefits. Consequentially, Guilds officially encourage such actions.

But no, in the modern world, outside of working an Administrative, Educational or Military-esque position, you can not live on magic alone. Oh, Government Organizations also have Research positions - dedicated to finding ways to do what the Guilds do, without so much specialization or decentralization.

Or could one ever, historically?

In the past, when belief in magic was more widespread, people could make a living as magicians more obviously, yes. However, these people still needed to provide some sort of service – magical healing was probably the most common one. Nobles might have kept magicians on staff for more combat oriented uses. Priests, associated with the Catholic Church, had a larger (and vaguely Military-esque) role in the past as well.

This arrangement is still present, to varying degrees, in less-developed countries.

* * *

Good news Rhiya! Your bio requires very little attention from me. Backstory, relationships and clubs all check out. I have a few comments about some of your spells and the Elite Ma - Oh you changed the name in your edits? Elite Maid Sisterhood, then. Gonna work off what's on the pad, but please post an updated bio on the forums when you have a chance.

Let's start with some basic stuff. Inconspicuous Maid, as I recall, also requires her to avoid making aggressive or attention drawing movements, while the spell is active, so add a note about that to the spell. Otherwise, that one's fine. Broomstick Defense is also fine - the ability works on most objects she can get ahold of.

Quiet Determination works, going by the form on the pad. A physical boost increases the amount of power her muscles can put out - her jumps will go further, she hits harder and etc. Downside is that it'll put a fair stress on her body, though the Will drain is around moderate, as far as Mode-Shifts go. Whether or not this is the best way to get Emme a 'get serious' mode is another matter. The two alternate options I can think of would be something like a competency boosting mode-shift, wherein she emulates a master of her style (like her mom?), or a luck enchantment. The former wouldn't improve her attributes, but would allow her to act more rapidly (not quite a reflex boost, but close), while the latter would prevent her from getting tripped up by outside influences. If you'd prefer a straight-up attribute boost though, like I said, fine. It would be Yellow Elemental, in that case.

Moving onto Summon: Extra Hand. I don't have a large issue with this, but I would like to clarify its limitations. Right now, Emme needs to know what the hand will do before she calls it, using a Wizard Spell, I think. I would recommend making the command she gives the hand at least partially verbal. Since its a Wizard spell, it probably needs to be Latin (incidentally, when speaking a foreign language in this game, unless you know the phonetics of the words, just write what you want to say in italicized, quoted, English). Even if the command is simple and short, Emme can use her thoughts to fill in details. The spoken command, incidentally, would prevent the hand from getting completely confused if she has a poorly placed stray thought.

Regarding further limitations: The hand must remain relatively close to Emme, it can levitate, is invisible (through obvious to the Awakened) and is relatively weak (though I won't give it a strict weight limit). Assuming there's a Mental or Spoken command involved, it would be Green. Teal if the command is purely Mental. Once the task Emme set for it is fulfilled, it vanishes. She can only have one hand summoned at a time. After the hand is summoned, Emme may continue to use spells (its not a Mode-Shift). Altering or adding to the command would be a relatively easy free cast, incidentally.

Oh, minor additional question: Does this summon a spirit from another location? If so, is the spirit a real ghost that Emme bound to her, or an artificial ghost someone (maybe Emme) created? The alternative would be to make this into something she creates each time she uses the spell - making it less a Summon Spell and more, well, a normal one.

Maid's Step. If this is just Flash Step, fine. However, I thought you wanted the long range variant of Flash Move? As a review, Flash Move requires Emme to stop moving and generate a spell circle (the sending circle) beneath herself, before firing an invisible projectile for magical energy. The projectile bursts on contact with a physical obstruction and creates a second spell circle (the receptor circle). Emme is then able to teleport instantly between these two locations. In theory, the order that these circles are created isn't important (though if she's not careful, the spell might fail, since this would technically be a free-cast) but the spell requires her to stop moving for an instant before the teleport can occur, and she needs to be fully within the sending circle to activate this spell. It's Blue Elemental. Flash Step is Yellow.

Elite Maids Sisterhood – a largely independent organization with a seat on the ESA. The Sisterhood specializes in training prized bodyguards for the higher members of any organization - extending from the ESA Households, to even the Witches, Wizards and even the Blacks' government. They are also simultaneously highly trained individuals very capable in other mundane fields (ie: running and managing a Household fully independent to the head of the House). The Maids Sisterhood is in association to the male equivalent Brethren of Butlers.

I would mention that their links to the Government Organizations would probably be tenuous at best. Guilds and Government Organizations have a cool relationship at best - using agents of the Guilds, even if they represent a particularly neutral and independent faction within them, to guard their higher-ups would be something they'd be extremely wary of. Government Organizations ultimately want to reduce the influence of Guilds, after all.

Beyond that, I would also suggest either making the organization gender-neutral with a deceptive name (like the Witch's or Wizard's Guilds) or simply giving it a gender neutral name, rather than make two organizations divided strictly along gender-lines. Doing that seems to needlessly overcomplicate things, without adding significantly to the flavour. Seems easier to collapse them into a single body - even if Maids and Butlers would be housed/trained separately – unless you can think of a good reason to keep them divided, that is?

Alright, that stuff said! Please post an updated bio as soon as possible.

* * *

Fleshing out Fighting Style
Her preferred style of fighting at a range is with grenade like thrown projectiles. Mainly for when subtlety isn't as much of an issue as outright stopping somebody. I don't suspect that grenades will be available to any degree though, so the most I expect this to come into play in-rp is being able to throw small round things accurately, or maybe chucking rocks at people.

Wow.

Okay, Relm? This is the same thing I just warned you about doing. The way you phrased that makes it sound as those Alice was always intended to have throwing skills and specialize in hucking munitions at people. This isn't remotely implied in your profile. But, it sounds as though you were gonna put this in anyway.

That's bad. It's also an incredibly stupid thing to do, on the bunch of levels. The least of which being Capoeria requires your hands to be free to use the moves properly, and does not leave openings to throw grenades at people. A wholly different point is that, as a Wizard, using mundane munitions instead of a spell is pretty dumb and expensive.

However, it is precisely because this is overwhelming stupid that I won't expel you, this time. Make no mistake, you messed up. But, I'm just going to assume you didn't understand my warning, rather than that you knowingly broke the rules. To be clear: If something isn't clearly present in your profile, do not pretend that it was. Do it again and you're done. Other kinds of stupid will get warnings, for now.

To Arms
Summons dexterous and firm battle gauntlets/boots onto her limbs. These are nimble but hard, and are able to withstand blows about as well as any other metal weapon.

Changing focus, since this spell suggests you don't quite understand the constraints your character is under, skill-wise. Taking a Summoning Spell for weapons is fine, but it suggests that you believe your character to be a trained fighter and an experienced mage. I would like to be clear that your character's backstory will only give you an academically skilled Wizard, with perhaps the barest basics of combat training. She is not, and will not be, a full-fledged Enforcer (or even a skilled martial Artist were you to drop the magic aspect altogether).

The reason I'm limiting you like this is quite simple. You, the player, have not conducted yourself in a way that treats martial arts or magic as 'serious' things. Therefore, I do believe your characters will not treat them appropriately either. You'll have the opportunity to prove otherwise in-game, but you won't be beginning the game with huge advantages by virtue of a particularly advantageous backstory alone.

Everyone told me Capoeria was dance-fighting. I just imagined her doing something with listening to music a lot of the time.

Fleshing out Fighting Style
Her preferred style of fighting at melee is Capoeira, with spells augments herself and dampens the magic of the opponent.
Her preferred style of fighting at a range is with grenade like thrown projectiles. Mainly for when subtlety isn't as much of an issue as outright stopping somebody. I don't suspect that grenades will be available to any degree though, so the most I expect this to come into play in-rp is being able to throw small round things accurately, or maybe chucking rocks at people.

Its clear to me that you don't understand what Capoeria is. Here is an example video of how Capoeria works in battle. ("http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3ppZmYhvB4) Granted, it doesn't get into real fighting 'til near the end and the beginning is quite scripted, but it is a good demonstration. Capoeria isn't 'dance' fighting. Fighting like a dancer is different - therefore, I will be making Maria (Alice's current Martial Arts instructor) fight like a Dancer. Alice may know the basics of her style (IE: How to dance normally), not how to fight. If you pursue Capoeria in Amaranth, that's your decision, but you won't be starting with that style.

Additionally, while I had originally intended to leave most of the details surrounding Alice's attendance at Amaranth a secret, I've decided to inform you of several of these changes. I've also included a few clarifying details, required to make her backstory make sense.

Alice is a foundling found by Maria and raised, essentially, as a princess in a magically concealed castle in the Irish country-side. Maria, incidentally, is Samuel Marshall's second wife. Alice was denied little by her foster-mother (Maria raised her, primarily) - save the freedom to leave the castle (it appears Alice didn't want that anyway) and formal combat training. Maria would have liked to train her as an Enforcer from birth, but Samuel insisted that, while it would a disgrace for her to be raised in this castle without knowing some magic, as she is not a true Ex Nihilo, and could not be trusted to as an Enforcer until she was tested. Consequently, Alice was allowed to live a normal - well, normal enough - life, which just happened to contain some magical instruction. It would be acceptable for her to learn one or two battle spells for self-defense reasons, incidentally.

Now, she's being sent to Amaranth to prove she can follow in the family business. Upon reflection, I'll also allow Gary Marshall (if Gem approves it) to be one of her elder siblings (not by birth) who was sent to Amaranth a year before. I will note that their relationship won't be terribly happy - he doesn't like her overmuch.

If these constraints and modifications aren't suitable for you, you can design a new character to play. However, if the new character is worse than Alice (or no better) I'll end the review process there.

Ball's in your court, regarding her initial spell set. Don't plan on getting Grade 2 spells without in-character justifications for how hard she'll have to work for them, though. Magic is really hard, and no one's going to push her to learn tricks.

* * *

Right, aside from the club-based levels (I'll get to those in a moment), I suppose Naomi's fine. She's technically at the point she'd be when entering Amaranth - just need to cover the past two months.

Her four clubs are...Fitness, Veterinary, Computer and Meditation. I'll give you a quick run-down of what goes on in them and then I'd like you to pick two Grade 1 abilities for your character to learn, which are thematically appropriate to two of those clubs. Alternatively, I am willing to consider boosting the grade of a pre-existing ability if it applies to the club at hand - but no promises there. Upping a Grade is hard.

Keep in mind that your character's pre-existing training and knowledge limits what they may learn.

As I implied to Dante, Meditation's first two months are mainly about breathing/relaxation techniques and learning to sit in one place for long periods of time. Very little martial stuff goes on at this point, and most of the more academic elements relate to anatomy (specifically, breathing!) or Buddhism, with bits of Daoism and Shintoism thrown in. Emphasis so far has been overwhelmingly on getting the basics of Meditation down, though. The idea that everything is connected has also been stressed. Compared to other clubs, relatively light homework, for now. Meets daily for Meditation sessions.

Fitness Club is pretty straight-up. The goal of the club is to teach students to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Surprisingly theory heavy - there's a lot about anatomy that students need to learn. Most topics are related to exercise, like sports injuries (and how to avoid them), but there's also information on vitamins, diet, first aide and some simple disease prevention tips. More practically, students need to exercise regularly, and are frequently tested on how 'fit' they are - which includes blood tests to determine if they're eating right. The test is probably magical! It's also accurate. Something like a Sports/Naturalist Medicine program, with a Gym Membership rolled in.

Veterinary Club! This is the closest thing you'd get to a real medicine course in Amaranth. You learn about injuries (predicting, diagnosing and treating), anatomy (mostly animal anatomy, but it's not without application in humans) different diseases (how to diagnose, prevent and some cures) and also need to raise a pet (you select the breed and the club provides it) while you're enrolled in the club. Very heavy theory component - there's a lot of information to take in.

Computer Club, unlike more of Amaranth's clubs, is pretty straight up. First few weeks are a brush-up on practical applications of basic programs - should be pretty easy for Naomi or anyone raised in Human Society. Gets into programming assignments - gradually building in complexity - afterward. Workload gets pretty high - it's similar to most Art classes, in that a new project is due basically every three days. Periodically, you're required to play videogames and write reports on them, instead of assignments.

So, please rank the clubs in order of most focused on to least focused on - then submit some spells. They probably should match the clubs she's putting most of her effort into, though it depends on the rationale she has for learning the spell (some students develop spells to make clubs they're not focusing on easier, after all).

* * *

Appearance: 6'1"(182.5cm or 1.83m), shoulder length black hair, dark skin, eyes that are gold during the day and silver at night, tattoo under his right eye(Mark of The Wanderer, not an actual tattoo, but might look like one to people who don't know what it actually is). Wears his desert/religious clothing, which includes the light billowy clothing all in varying desert hues which include sand and how it appears during the day and the night, a cloak with a hood, a carved stone mask that bears a design of the Wanderer's Mark(painted on) and is kept strapped to the hood of his cloak when not in use and last but not least sandals on his feet.

Oh! I forgot to mention, the Wanderer's Mark varies with each Priest. It's a series of lines - sometimes they're uniform in shape/thickness/color, but sometimes they are different - placed in a design of some kind. Asked Girasol to see if she could come up with anything, but the ultimate decision of what Nasir's mark looks like belongs to you, Red.

His finer manipulation of the wind and his ability to call lightning from a clear sky. Spells inherited from his own blood. Lesser abilities were confirmed to be the minor ability to heal, a very useful ability on a battlefield and the ability to harden his body against attacks on his person. Despite the fact The Wanderer only takes one priest every lifetime and constantly putting himself on the battlefield would be a danger, Nasir continued his training regardless.

I should mention that, aside from his Wind God's blessing, he shouldn't have any innate skills or talents to confirm. They ought to be skills that any magician in his tribe, with the proper training, can manage. Like, I could see if his family was dedicated to the God/Goddess of Healing Winds, he might get Healing and Wind stuff innately, but there'd be drawbacks to a hybrid purview like that. Regardless you'll need to specify what his blessing is associated with in the bio.

Otherwise, backstory looks good. I am going to assume the last Witch he met gave him some winter clothing, though.

Whispers of the Storm
Before his training as The Chosen of The Wanderer, Nasir was starting to master the elements of his family's deity, which started with weather. By continuous chanting, Nasir can eventually change the direction of the wind and turn it into a strong gale.

So, does this spell require it to be windy to use? Don't think there's a way to work this spell without it being Grade 2. Second grade doesn't seem justified by his background, so you're looking at a spell with a long charge-time that blows a gale in a direction from Nasir, or a quick spell the temporarily strengthens a pre-existing wind. A moderately strong wind, or a focused gale-blast (equivalent of Sean's original Blizzard spell) would reflexive casts, but less weather focused. All of the above options are yellow, assuming you go with Nasir's original blessing relating to a Wind God.

A different sort of spell would be one which allows him to alter the direction of a pre-existing natural wind, within a certain range from his position. Requires him to attune to the wind first/spread his magical influence through it, then speak a command in Arabic. Changing the direction of the Wind isn't a quick action, either though. Strengthening or stopping could be done as a free-cast, but they're a lot harder, comparatively (and in ascending order of difficulty). Alternative there would just be a spell with a long incantation - slightly different with each direction. Wouldn't have the option to stop/strengthen it. Former is Chartreuse (Yellow-Green), might be more expensive, second is Green. Neither is cheap.

Starting or stopping winds are wholly different spells, incidentally. Shorter range of effect is faster casting, as a rule.

Staff Fighting Mastery
Part of growing up in the tribe is knowing how to fight the dangers in the desert and whatever foes to the many faiths you may come across. Although only armed with a walking stick, the principle is the same, defensive and to keep the enemy from approaching. Though with each strike, from the side or from the tip, Nasir adds a little bit of force, like wind, for a knockback. The walking stick is specifically enchanted for not only this purpose but to deliver his other elemental spells.

Relatively simple, I suppose. Staff's designed (see: the script makes it 'part' of him) to channel his Demonic-Powers, allowing him to augment his strikes with pulses of wind. Relatively little Will drain, though...uh. I'd suggest that using a casting focus as a melee weapon isn't smart - if the script is damaged, the spell in question could backfire/fizzle when he tries it. That said, since this script just allows him to channel his tainted power through the staff, if its damaged it shouldn't backfire, just fizzle.

Ignite Object
Days walking through the Alaskan Wilderness were cold, but the nights were even more brutally so. The tip from the Witch's Guild representative gave him good advice, "Learn to start a fire or make it out of nothing," this was for refusing the much easier route of being driven to Amaranth. Considering the elements of The Wanderer, this was much easier than was thought. By pressing the tip of his walking stick against a block of wood and channeling throught the stick, he can set it on fire, wet or dry.

Seems easier to learn a spell which creates a barrier of against the cold, by drawing on the Brand alone. Regardless, Walking Stick's unnecessary, since this is demonic - should probably be touch-based.

Little confused about the final part of the 'can burn wet wood' bit, though. Does it only burn wood of any kind? Or is the fire supposed to be ever-burning (and non-fuel consuming)? Just really, really hot? Created magically by using the Wanderer's power to force the material to be flammable? Either the wood-only fire or the ever-burning fire seem the most useful in that situation. Former is much cheaper and more powerful because of how specific it is (runs out when the will invested is used up, but great efficiency rate). Latter either has a high cost initially, or require a steady Will investment (ei: Mode Shift). It's also a lot more versatile.

Healing Heart
Training as a battle priest meant not only training to disable or destroy the enemy, but healing your own warriors so that they may fight another day. Not one of his strongest spells, he must first touch the wounded and chant the prayers of healing, albeit this would be for more minor wounds.

So, what does this do? If it's 'speeds healing of wounds' Nasir needs to touch the wound and chant the basic prayer of healing. Basic ability wouldn't heal more than superficial wounds. He'd need to extend it via free-casting, continue chanting the prayer and keep his focus to deal with larger wounds.

Deny The Infidel - Defense Surge -
Learning how to defend yourself is key to any encounter with hostiles and this is something that's emphasized greatly to the tribe's warriors and battle priests. It is also offensive to strike the priests first, but while the defense isn't perfect, it can prevent much greater injuries. By chanting the prayer of protection, Nasir hardens his skin to cushion blows in whatever form they take, be it blunt, slashing or piercing.

'fraid that hardening your skin won't help much against (strong) blunt damage or pain. You'd want this to be reflexive, not chant-based. Yellow. Relatively high drain, he can't move or breathe while it's active. High physical stress. Technically closer Modeshift, since you can hold it as long as you want, but can't cast spells while its active. More expensive than your usual shifts, though.

Different options are pain-canceling surge/modeshifts, anti-blunt defenses, or an invisible barrier around his whole body. Barrier is more expensive but, provided he has a Wind-blessing, he can make it work with Yellow magic like the others.

Clubs -
Fitness
Martial Arts [Advanced - Bojutsu]
Meditation
Wilderness

Would Nasir really be interested in 'Fitness?' I'm surprised. It seems so...shallow, at a glance. I suppose if he sticks around long enough to get into the medical stuff, it'd be alright. But I don't know if he'd even try that club in the first place.

Regarding the Martial Arts (Advanced) club. His abilities suggest he's more of a hybrid than a Melee-specialist anyway - which is the only way he'd get into an Advanced class. If you want to shift his skills around to reflect that, go ahead. As it is, he seems to lean more toward the magic side (weather and healing spells are really hard) than the melee side anyway, even if he'd be passable in both.

Meditation and Wilderness fit.

Ah, should note, I count one ability from his great journey, and four from before the journey. He should have room for one more pre-journey spell and one more journey spell. See what you can come up with. Oh, though large-scale weather spells (smaller ones might be alright) and healing spells are more difficult than other abilities, as a note – improving your existing ones (or learning more) will probably push you into Mage territory.

Misc -
The staff itself is enchanted to be able to cast spells with, with tiny markings over it and was hardened previously to be able to use for melee combat as well.

Only one spell in here seems reliant on the staff? This is just as well though, I suppose, since putting multiple spells on the same object is dangerous - if the caster's overly hurried, they may accidentally activate the wrong symbol on the staff.

I'm assuming the staff is made of bone? Wood would be hard to find (and rare) in a desert.

Book of prayers - Just what it says, a book of prayers to not only The Wanderer, but a few other deities from his tribe as well. Contains the prayer of healing(Healing Heart) and the prayer of protection(Deny The Infidel). It's usually chained to the belt around his waist, a hook through the bottom of the spine and one at the top which can be undone so he can hold it freely, with a small length of silk tied around it to hold it shut when not in use. All the prayers inside are written in Arabic, including the spell prayers.

A book of spells, eh? Well, I suppose the other characters can phone their parents for help/advice (or might have a book of their own), so, sure, why not. All spells written in here fall under free-casting, if they aren't in your bio.

* * *

Regarding your remaining prospective spell-slots. Tell me which of his four clubs Ben would focus on most and I'll suggest a few things. I should note that the Veterinary club requires you to raise a pet while you're in it, so he probably got a snake from them. Additionally, Writing club requires you to write a blog, if either of these details help.

Ah, actually. He's probably picked this trick up from Meditation.

Calm Down – Black Elemental.
Crazy mysticism or not, the Meditation club's breathing exercises work wonders. By focusing on a particular breathing pattern and willing himself to calm down, Ben is able to invoke a supernatural sense of calm on himself. This technique actually triggers a Mode-Shift, which remains active until the user stops the breathing pattern. Celestial Intuition still activates in combination with this ability.

I suppose a different breathing technique could be appropriate, but this seemed simple and useful, so I thought I'd offer it.

Still waiting for that list! You have another spell slot.

Anyway, I see Lilluim edited her bio. 'fraid I don’t have time to get to it tonight. I'm going in for a minor surgery tomorrow, so I also won't be around for the next few days. Sorry everyone, I'll continue where I left off when I get back. Sorry about typoes, no time for a real proof-read.

[Rhiya Ravenwing]

So, the only gender-neutral organization name I could come up with was the GoH (Guardians of the House). Same deal, slightly more complex, more encompassing the male-female Ninja-esque Butler/Maid combo.

Regarding the Extra Hand, altered the name to "Helping Hand". It's not so much a summoned hand as it is just something she creates each time she needs a task done and she doesn't have a free hand to do it. Kinda like a manifestation of her Will with the preprogramming to whatever task she commanded it to. Either way, I've edited it a bit, tried to word the limitations in without turning it into a wall of text (and failing), and made the spell green (unless I'm not supposed to?), but it might've made it a lot more confusing in that regard...

Maid's Step is now the Flash Move equivalent.

Now the question is: what colour would Skittles--- errm, I mean, Emme be? If we're going by painting/palette colours only, I figured out the colours would be a rich deep emerald green (or a slushy ugly black-brown depending on which palette colours you used). If we're talking about light-related combination, then according to a couple of people it would either be white (which is bad), or light grey (which is also bad). And I doubt you'd let me have SWIRLY ALL THE COLOURS OF ZEE RAINBOOOOW either ;)


**BIO (edited 20/06/2012)**

Name: Emme Horton
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Aura: Yellow
Age: 18
Appearance:
Emme stands an unassuming height of 5’5”, with long, straight brown hair that is normally fixed up into a neat, braided bun. Her features are cute, but easily overlooked due to a humble posture she continuously affects. The only remarkable feature about her is her vivid emerald eyes, which sometimes almost burn (non-magically, of course) with unstoppable determination. Emme dresses conservatively, in dull colours that aim at preventing her from standing out too much. Despite some practicality issues, Emme prefers long skirts over pants, but has an array of both.

Spells:
Illusion – Inconspicuous Maid (Lavender Elemental) – Small will-drain, very subtle. As a maid, Emme is taught to go about her job as inconspicuously as possible, and this spell allows her to blend (not exactly invisibility) into the background like a wallflower. In order for the spell to work, Emme must wear dull/dark and boring clothing and make no sudden threatening or aggresive movements. Inconspicuous Maid is a specifically non-combat spell, used prior to avoidable confrontations.

Mode-Shift – Quiet Determination (Yellow Elemental) – When a task really needs to get done, Emme may infuse her body with Will to get it done. A more combat oriented spell, Quiet Determination boosts her physical capabilities, giving her a slightly better edge in a fight. Pretty useless when it comes to more finer manipulation of tools and other such things.

Create - Helping Hand (Green Elemental) - Sometimes, a maid must multitask in order to accomplish her tasks. Emma is able to create a single hand (invisible to the Blacks, visible to the awakened) that is able to exert a minor physical effect (ie: carry a torch, or wipe a table clean with a cloth). Specifically, it is capable of accomplishing menial tasks very close to her vicinity if she herself has her hands full. Helping Hand is pre-programmed, meaning Emme must give a quiet, verbal (combined with mental specificities) command (In this case, the language used is Chinese) prior to manifesting the hand for it to perform its task. Once created, the hand will carry out the task until completion independent of Emme before vanishing - leaving her free to potentially cast other spells. Helping Hand has a very limited range (must be close to Emme), and its appearance (to the awakened) is that of a disembodied, floating, elegant right-handed glove ‘filled’ invisibly.

Flash Move - Where a Maid’s Needed (Blue Elemental) – A maid must be where she is needed! Functions exactly like Flash Move.

Infusion – Broomstick Defence (Orange Elemental) – Emme is trained to defend her Master/Mistress equivalent to a bodyguard. As such, she must be able to fight with whatever she has on hand – normally cleaning equipment, or other such Household items. Emme is able to extend her Will into whatever she holds to harden its properties so that it becomes more resistant and longer-lasting in a fight. She is most adept when it comes to a mop, broom or anything with a long wooden handle. However, she has been known to have a mean swing with a hardened cooking pot, or the handle of a featherduster.

Scan - Nitpicker's Eyes (Orange Elemental) - It's normally based off a Maid's flawless hunch that something is not quite right with a room. Maybe a window that shouldn't be open is slightly ajar? Maybe the bed is not made as per the proper etiquette? One way or another, Emme is able to cast this spell to grant her a greater clarity as to what isn't quite right in the room. Limited radius that conforms to the room she is currently in. More Will can be expended to scan larger rooms.

Perception Shift - A Master's Needs (Yellow Elemental) - A Maid must anticipate her Master's and any guest's needs! With this surge, Emme is able to provide herself more clarity and insight into the body language of others. While activated, Emme is able to read - and to a degree - anticipate what another individual is about to do. In Maid service, this may mean getting the guest another cup of tea. Combat-wise, this spell is better used to analyse combat (and a combatant’s fighting style) without her involvement.


Bio:

Emme Horton is the daughter of a Guardian of the House - in particular, that of an Elite head Maid who acts as both bodyguard and Household overseer to a well-established E.S.A. official. She followed in her mother’s footsteps and was in training to succeed the position of Head Maid in the same official’s household upon her mother’s retirement. From an early age she applied herself in all she needed to know about in regards to the mundane tasks of Maidship. Simultaneously, her mother was the leading figure in training her other skills - including combat and magical practices.

One of the final training courses in order to become a fully-fledged Guardian of the House member, all applicants must enrol and spend a minimum of one to two years at the Amaranth Institute for the Gifted. One further year may be allowed, should a maid show potential after surviving the two. Candidates that have completed their studies at Amaranth are then allowed to fully complete their training and step into their employment confidentally.

As such, Emme’s time has come for her final trials.

Clubs:
Home ec
Strolling
Cultural
Meditation

Notes:

The Guardians of the House - Comprised of two partnership organizations (Male and female respectively), the Guardians of the House manages the complex networking of the highest quality bodyguards (and household maintenance) among the ESA and the Wizards and Witches guilds. They are an almost completely neutral organization (though they loosely hold a Seat in the ESA) whose sole purpose is to function as a 'defensive' mechanism for the more powerful officials and their families. The leaders of the Guardians is an even group of retirees from both male and female counterparts, who have the final say in all matters to deal with any individuals from the organisation. With that said, a lot of the Codes of Conducts, as well as strict policies are heavily policed among the individuals themselves, leaving only the greyer matters to the 'governing council'. The Guardians are a mainly neutral organization, where loyalty lies only to the House they are managing, and to the Guardian's governing body.

When managing the finer parts of the organization, GoH can be split into two distinct groups - the Elite Maids Sisterhood, and the Brethren of Butlers.

Elite Maids Sisterhood - Part of the Guardians of the House. The Sisterhood specializes in training prized bodyguards for the higher members of any organization - extending from the ESA Households, to even the Witches and Wizards. They are also simultaneously highly trained individuals very capable in other mundane fields (ie: running and managing a Household fully independent to the head of the House). Emme is currently an unofficial Elite Maid.

Improvised Weaponry Proficiency - Emme is trained in the use (or abuse) of utilizing whatever she has at hand in a Household as a weapon should the need arise. While this means she can actually use whatever she has on hand, she's best with the broomstick and mop, see below.

Quarterstaff Proficiency – Emme is trained in the use of quarterstaffs and bo-staffs, due to their similarity with the most common of household equipment such as the broom and mop. However, she’s a lot better at using household equipment like a broom or mop.

Language Proficiency – Emme is multilingual. Aside from the normal English, she is is completely fluent in Russian, Chinese (Mandarin), Arabic, English, and is currently also studying french (speaking and writing is slightly broken, but she is a fast learner in that respect)

Relationships:

Anna Horton – Head Maid in the employ of one of the more elite Houses of an Esteemed E.S.A organization. Emme’s loving mother, mentor, trainer. Husband deceased. Anna greatly influenced Emme’s own personal decision from a very early age to aspire to become what her mother was – a greatly respected Elite Maid at the top of her employment. In between Anna’s busy schedule as Head Maid running the Master’s house, and Emme’s own training, they still manage to take some time out to call each other over phone or the internet to chat and catch up. Anna plays mentor and loved mother to her daughter, but is not one to ‘clean up’, pun not intended, what mess Emme gets herself into, holding to the idea her daughter is old enough to handle whatever is thrown at her already

Catherine Flemington – Fellow first year student and apprentice witch with a penchant for enchantments. 17 years old, bright, bubbly, flamboyant, and Emme’s best friend since childhood, they share a dorm room with each other, as well as a less-pleasant girl Verna. Catherine is one of Emme’s continuous assessment tasks in her Maid training – a task that had to be modified slightly due to school restrictions, but nonetheless Emme compensates for it quite well. Catherine is the typical blonde-haired, blue-eyed pretty face, and always very enthusiastic about everything. She shares Emme’s determination in her studies, and has also signed up for the Cheerleading Club.

Jennifer Nikolai – Fellow first year student, actually friend of Catherine Flemington, but also knows Emme by proxy. She’s very private and conservative. Secretly, she admires Emme’s efficiency and dedication to her tasks. She’s a proficient martial weapons apprentice, and interested as well in the crafting of the same sort. Jennifer is brown-haired, brown eyed, with a lean build. She shares the cultural club with Emme. They have a friendly – yet competitive – rivalry going on between them. Jenn is a Black.

Verna Lehy – Fellow first year student and Emme’s roommate. Awakened Pyrokinetic. Verna is a bit of a bully, bossy, loud, and an attention-getter. When she found out her roommate was to be an Elite Maid in training, Verna took every opportunity to take advantage of Emme’s hard working abilities, from dumping piles of dirty laundry on Emme’s bed to be washed, to leaving books, clothes, and food scraps everywhere for Emme to clean up. It irritates Verna to no end that Emme takes to her new cleaning tasks without a single word of complaint or deathly glare, rather handling everything in simple humility. She is very pretty, with a mane of beautiful fiery red hair, almond-shaped eyes with red pupils, and just the right amount of freckling sprinkled across her pale cheeks.

[Red Mage Black]

* * *
Oh! I forgot to mention, the Wanderer's Mark varies with each Priest. It's a series of lines - sometimes they're uniform in shape/thickness/color, but sometimes they are different - placed in a design of some kind. Asked Girasol to see if she could come up with anything, but the ultimate decision of what Nasir's mark looks like belongs to you, Red.

Edit: Gira already finished it and it looks good. Here it is. (http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk29/Scarletgirasol/nasirtat.gif)


I should mention that, aside from his Wind God's blessing, he shouldn't have any innate skills or talents to confirm. They ought to be skills that any magician in his tribe, with the proper training, can manage. Like, I could see if his family was dedicated to the God/Goddess of Healing Winds, he might get Healing and Wind stuff innately, but there'd be drawbacks to a hybrid purview like that. Regardless you'll need to specify what his blessing is associated with in the bio.

Otherwise, backstory looks good. I am going to assume the last Witch he met gave him some winter clothing, though.

Major Edit: Clarified which one was from a blessing on his family, which one he uses the mark for and which ones he learned during priest training that the other priests of his tribe could learn. Though I'm sure they'd allow some leeway for spells if it benefited the tribe as a whole.


So, does this spell require it to be windy to use? Don't think there's a way to work this spell without it being Grade 2. Second grade doesn't seem justified by his background, so you're looking at a spell with a long charge-time that blows a gale in a direction from Nasir, or a quick spell the temporarily strengthens a pre-existing wind. A moderately strong wind, or a focused gale-blast (equivalent of Sean's original Blizzard spell) would reflexive casts, but less weather focused. All of the above options are yellow, assuming you go with Nasir's original blessing relating to a Wind God.

A different sort of spell would be one which allows him to alter the direction of a pre-existing natural wind, within a certain range from his position. Requires him to attune to the wind first/spread his magical influence through it, then speak a command in Arabic. Changing the direction of the Wind isn't a quick action, either though. Strengthening or stopping could be done as a free-cast, but they're a lot harder, comparatively (and in ascending order of difficulty). Alternative there would just be a spell with a long incantation - slightly different with each direction. Wouldn't have the option to stop/strengthen it. Former is Chartreuse (Yellow-Green), might be more expensive, second is Green. Neither is cheap.

Starting or stopping winds are wholly different spells, incidentally. Shorter range of effect is faster casting, as a rule.

EDIT: Suppose I'll redo this one as well:
Power of the Wind - -
Nasir's affinity for wind showed itself when he first started his training. Long before he was marked, his family was capable of controlling the wind, an innate ability inherited by The Wanderer's blessing. By thrusting his palm outward towards the opponent, Nasir sends a small, but strong gale of wind at his in opponent in a bid to knock them off balance or knock them back or knock them over. However, the more distance there is between him and his opponent, the weaker the attack becomes. From a strong gale force wind to a strong breeze.

(I'm meaning this one to be a short cast and I wanted to limit it by line of sight, but that's your call. The little history of the blessing of wind control is just the general idea of how he knows the spell. Just clarifying it isn't that advanced yet.)

Relatively simple, I suppose. Staff's designed (see: the script makes it 'part' of him) to channel his Demonic-Powers, allowing him to augment his strikes with pulses of wind. Relatively little Will drain, though...uh. I'd suggest that using a casting focus as a melee weapon isn't smart - if the script is damaged, the spell in question could backfire/fizzle when he tries it. That said, since this script just allows him to channel his tainted power through the staff, if its damaged it shouldn't backfire, just fizzle.

I addressed most, if not part of this in the 'staff composition' question further down, but still using it for combat. I like the risk, at least.


Seems easier to learn a spell which creates a barrier of against the cold, by drawing on the Brand alone. Regardless, Walking Stick's unnecessary, since this is demonic - should probably be touch-based.

Little confused about the final part of the 'can burn wet wood' bit, though. Does it only burn wood of any kind? Or is the fire supposed to be ever-burning (and non-fuel consuming)? Just really, really hot? Created magically by using the Wanderer's power to force the material to be flammable? Either the wood-only fire or the ever-burning fire seem the most useful in that situation. Former is much cheaper and more powerful because of how specific it is (runs out when the will invested is used up, but great efficiency rate). Latter either has a high cost initially, or require a steady Will investment (ei: Mode Shift). It's also a lot more versatile.

EDIT: Going to go with cold barrier for this one, since it seems a little simpler.

Warding off the Cold - -
While the desert nights were cold, the Alaskan wilderness was colder and even the winter clothes wouldn't be able to keep away the full chill. So, using The Wanderer's affinity to fire, Nasir created a way to keep himself from freezing to death. By calling upon the Mark, Nasir creates a small field of warm air around his body, rejecting the chill of wind and natural cold air.


So, what does this do? If it's 'speeds healing of wounds' Nasir needs to touch the wound and chant the basic prayer of healing. Basic ability wouldn't heal more than superficial wounds. He'd need to extend it via free-casting, continue chanting the prayer and keep his focus to deal with larger wounds.

Yeah, that's what I was going for with this one. It's severely limited, but it's also one of the ones that most, if not all of the priests in his tribe learn, some more dedicated than others and it will be kept to free casting to make it stronger. Yeah, free casting is a risk, but I'm mostly doing it this way to reflect him focusing on the other facets of his powers.


'fraid that hardening your skin won't help much against (strong) blunt damage or pain. You'd want this to be reflexive, not chant-based. Yellow. Relatively high drain, he can't move or breathe while it's active. High physical stress. Technically closer Modeshift, since you can hold it as long as you want, but can't cast spells while its active. More expensive than your usual shifts, though.

Different options are pain-canceling surge/modeshifts, anti-blunt defenses, or an invisible barrier around his whole body. Barrier is more expensive but, provided he has a Wind-blessing, he can make it work with Yellow magic like the others.

I believe the original was an invisible barrier, so I'll go with that instead. I remember mentioning it almost being something like a 'kinetic barrier'. Yeah, reflexive would work better, too.

Deny The Infidel (Reworked) - -
The heat of battle can be deadly and the warrior priests of the tribe lack the proper armaments to fully defend themselves in combat. This is one of the first spells taught to warrior priests and a valuable asset. If he sees an attack coming, Nasir reflexively creates a kinetic barrier between himself and whatever physical attack is coming his way, meant to cushion blows instead of just blocking them.

(If only because blocking them would probably take up more will and wouldn't last as long.)


Would Nasir really be interested in 'Fitness?' I'm surprised. It seems so...shallow, at a glance. I suppose if he sticks around long enough to get into the medical stuff, it'd be alright. But I don't know if he'd even try that club in the first place.

Regarding the Martial Arts (Advanced) club. His abilities suggest he's more of a hybrid than a Melee-specialist anyway - which is the only way he'd get into an Advanced class. If you want to shift his skills around to reflect that, go ahead. As it is, he seems to lean more toward the magic side (weather and healing spells are really hard) than the melee side anyway, even if he'd be passable in both.

Meditation and Wilderness fit.

Yeah, I didn't quite see what Fitness was about until your review. So, I believe I can change that to Strolling. Have to remind myself not to listen to everything the people in chat say.

EDIT: Yeah... I guess regular MA would be good then? I chose Bojutsu because staff fighting is mostly defensive, which I at least thought was fitting for the Staff Fighting Mastery spell slot.


Ah, should note, I count one ability from his great journey, and four from before the journey. He should have room for one more pre-journey spell and one more journey spell. See what you can come up with. Oh, though large-scale weather spells (smaller ones might be alright) and healing spells are more difficult than other abilities, as a note – improving your existing ones (or learning more) will probably push you into Mage territory.

EDIT: Might have an idea for the pre-journey. Kind of priestly, I guess?
Praise the Strong - -
In combat, sometimes enemies are harder to kill or disable without a little help despite the best efforts of a warrior. By reciting a battle chant, as long as the target of this can hear him and even through language barriers, Nasir can increase the physical strength of an ally to help break through even tough defenses.

Journey idea:
Steady Footing - -
Not all paths are straight and narrow or flat and winding, some are slippery and wet or move around, making it hard to stay standing. While crossing through many lands and over many kinds of geology, Nasir found it necessary to find a way to keep his balance no matter what it was. By channeling his will through his equilibrium, he can keep steady whether the ground is shaking, slippery or if someone is trying to knock him off balance.


Only one spell in here seems reliant on the staff? This is just as well though, I suppose, since putting multiple spells on the same object is dangerous - if the caster's overly hurried, they may accidentally activate the wrong symbol on the staff.

I'm assuming the staff is made of bone? Wood would be hard to find (and rare) in a desert.

Yeah, I was thinking of going with bone. Whale bone would need to be considerably carved down due to weight, but there have been rumors of the bones of giants that could actually work. That and the fact it would be more useful to actually take a hit. The other option was 'neem', which is a type of tree that grows around that area, but a glance at the wiki page for it suggests it has more medicinal use than any structural use outside of making strong rope.


A book of spells, eh? Well, I suppose the other characters can phone their parents for help/advice (or might have a book of their own), so, sure, why not. All spells written in here fall under free-casting, if they aren't in your bio.

* * *

Book of spells isn't what I was actually going for. It's more along the vein of morning/afternoon/evening prayers, for meals, bedtime and that sort of deal.
The healing one was to keep it all in one book. Also written in it is the Battle Chant, but that's less reading from it than it is a careful reminder in case he forgets and also a little motivation for himself.


All in all:

MAJOR EDIT: Okay, so I may try something like hybridization later, when it's a little more effective than being a jack of all trades with crappy magic and melee.

[DanteFalcon]

Due to lack of other ideas spell idea I'm going with is:

Summon Garter Snake - Black Elemental.
A result of Veterinary Club, Ben's pet snake Pascal has a tendency to sneak itself into Ben's bag. Ben is still completely flummoxed as to how the snake manages to sneak itself out of its cage and why it is so attracted to his bag and pockets. At least it sometimes saves him the walk back to his dorm before walking to Veterinary Club.

[phil_]

So, not to be a buzz kill, but I think maybe I don't actually have the extra energy to properly commit to this game. Sorry if anyone was looking forward to playing magic house with me. Thanks for answering my questions and stuff, Teal.

At least I learned a lot about dolls.

[Riin Whitewind]

Due to lack of other ideas spell idea I'm going with is:

Summon Garter Snake - Black Elemental.
A result of Veterinary Club, Ben's pet snake Pascal has a tendency to sneak itself into Ben's bag. Ben is still completely flummoxed as to how the snake manages to sneak itself out of its cage and why it is so attracted to his bag and pockets but has taken to carrying a small amount of snake food with him at all times anyway. At least it sometimes saves him the walk back to his dorm before walking to Veterinary Club.

I'm curious what you mean by this. All species of snake are carnivorous, and in captivity/as pets are fed dead mice or rats. I truly hope Ben isn't smuggling thawing mice in his pockets. That would smell awful.

Luckily, they (snakes in captivity) also don't eat very often compared to most domesticated animals, so there wouldn't be a need to carry food for him on your character's person.

[Aldurin]

Solution: Live mice don't decay.

[DanteFalcon]

Garter Snakes can't fully survive on them but earthworms can supplement their diet and aren't that hard to put in a jar of dirt that you carry in your bag.

[Riin Whitewind]

I think it's swell that your character is interested in snakes, and you want him to have one as a pet. But I hope you put more research into having them than reading the wikipedia page on Thamnophis.

Unless your snake is very young (and if it is part of the Veterinary Club, it won't be) snakes are fed once a week, maybe twice if the first mouse was runty.

Snakes also don't 'snack', which is what I believe your character is suggesting.

Feeding garter snakes multiple times a day, or even every day, is actively harmful to it. Overfeeding will drastically shorten its lifespan.

What you are defending is a minor detail of your character's spell. Removing it doesn't compromise the spell.

[DanteFalcon]

School has cut into my study time for this so I will admit to not having gotten much farther than a brief overview, however the original thought was that it would be a young snake (it seems odd to me that they wouldn't start you with a baby but that would solve the issue) and since I'm in Wilderness Survival if I went out to the forest and suddenly my pet snake is there (Although again adult snake ignores this problem) then yeah I'd need to feed it.

Please don't assume I'm taking this lightly Riin and if you are concerned about my study habits for this character then I'd appreciate a PM next time instead of being called out on the public forum.

[Bard The 5th LW]

She isn't trying to 'call you out' Dante, she's just trying to help you a bit. It is nothing to take offense over.

[Aldurin]

Ok, here's Naomi's upgrade info, with details on her club order of focus and two spell ideas.

Club Order of Focus:

1. Fitness - This club almost feels like her calling, having taken to the knowledge on how to stay healthy very well and making very good use of it. She's stayed in excellent shape and has even managed to pick up on any medical lessons that she was too squeamish to focus on in veterinary, probably because the positive attitude she has for the course helps her resist that tendency.

2. Computer - She's adapted much better than she expected to the concepts with computers, and she's had very few problems that have stumped her.

3. Meditation - As much as Naomi likes the class, the demand to have a still mind and body at the same time is a learning curve for her, and either ends up fidgeting or being mentally anguished by the urge to fidget. She also finds the weird Buddhist stuff off-putting, though she can't really pinpoint why.

4. Veterinary - Turns out Naomi is very squeamish, and even hearing about certain functions or symptoms has made her too queasy to focus on the lessons. She's picked up some useful knowledge on some injuries and diseases, but her memory is a blur for any lecture about the more severe and graphic cases. She's picked a hedgehog as her pet because it looked cute as hell when she looked it up and she didn't see anything about them that was particularly disgusting.

Proposed Spells:

Focus Amplifier, Yellow Elemental:
In attempt to help her deal with her problems with the Meditation and Veterinary clubs, Naomi has developed a spell that dulls effects like nausea, pain, itches and other distracting feelings. This allows her to focus better on the task at hand, and withstand mitigating influences on her mind. Will drains faster the stronger the suppressed effect is.

Note Buddy, _ Elemental:
In attempt to work with the difficulties in note-taking (whether it's from distractions or circumstances where she shouldn't have note-making materials out) she's enchanted her cell phone so that when she is in a spot where she wants to make note of something she hears or reads, it will create a text document with a shortened version of what is being said nearby, and will do the same if the camera on the phone is pointed at pre-existing text (whether on a blackboard, computer screen or book). Has a very small will drain when this effect is active.

[Teal Mage]

Hello again everyone! I would like to begin by saying my surgery has been declared a success. Sorry about the delay, but recovering from being cut open isn't easy. That said, it has given me more time to think about this game and I have a few announcements to make. The first: The interest presented in this game has vastly exceeded my expectations.

Unfortunately, that does mean I'll need to be even more selective about the characters and players I allow into the game. Since I essentially stand to gain double my current compliment of players, players who can't pull their own weight or represent problems will need to be removed, or the game will suffer.

In light of that, Relm I'm afraid this isn't going to work. You don't appear to be learning, and are already on your last warning. I have no doubt that you'll use this up before long, so, I'm ending the character creation process for you now. Thank you for your interest.

Dante, I've been watching your behaviour on the forums and the pad quite carefully for a while now, and I don't believe this game is a good fit for you. Thank you for your interest, but this is as far as you'll go in character creation.

That done, I would like to explain how I classify and evaluate characters. There are, essentially, three builds available for Awakened characters at the start of the game – Magic-focus, Martial-focus and Hybrid. Blacks haven't been terribly popular up until now, but they're evaluated differently, for those that are curious.

In any event, Magic-Focus characters are basically the mages of the setting. They have very little martial ability, but a broad magical education and a large selection of starting spells (only they can hit 7, before club-levels). They also have the easiest time developing new spells (strong education) and the best chance of a successful free-cast. They do suck at fighting though, so when their Will hits zero, they're in trouble.

Martial Focuses are basically their opposite. They have little-to-no magical training (they're generally limited to self-targeting and simple Yellow spells) and therefore, have a fair amount of limitations learning new spells, and free-casting. Still, they're the best fighters out of the three – which basically translates to them being stronger, faster and just, generally, more capable in melee than the other two. Martial Focuses have, at the most, 5 spells before club-levels.

Hybrids fall between Magic and Martial-focuses (most lean one way or the other). They have a fair degree of both magic and martial training – though neither are as good at Martial or Magic Focuses at their particular thing, they can usually compete with either. Their degree of magical training is demonstrated in their spell list, which means they've an easier time free-casting and learning spells than Martial-focuses (provided these spells relate to pre-existing abilities), but have more less options than Magic-focuses. Hybrids, like Martial focuses, start with 5 spells before club-levels. Their spells can be more complex (IE: Not just Yellow) than Martial Focuses, though.

Alright, reviews. Order: Rhiya, Red, Aldurin, Zu, Lilly.

Rhiya:

Guardians of the House is approved. Fits fine. Both of your new spells need minor tweaks, but before I do more spell commentary, I'd like to note that, since Emme's a hybrid (good at martial combat and magic), seven spells to start is gonna be too much. Unless you wanna remove most of her martial fighting skills, five's the number that you'll be working with (pre-club levels, anyway). So, to help with deciding which spells to drop, here's a few new comments:

Upon a week's reflection, Helping Hand is too adaptable and complicated in its current iteration. If you want to keep it, it would be treated as a Flash Action - a different spell would be needed to lift something or wipe something down, etc. It might develop into an interesting specialization for Emme, but I don’t see this worth the spell slot initially. Nitpicker's Eyes is potentially nice, depending on the mechanic used for it, since that gives Emme more magical education to draw on for later skill-development. I would note that the ability seems a little like an extra for Emme right now and might not be worth the slot. Still, with a few clarification tweaks, it would be fine to keep.

I would recommend the Perception Surge over the other two, though, since it has the most direct combat applications. Well, if you make this a Surge and not a Mode-Shift, that is. The text of the ability suggests that the effect is sustained (Mode-Shift), which would come with the an 'inability to move while spell is active' drawback (she has to focus on watching her target to keep it working). That said, the Mode-Shift would would be easier on Emme's body to use than the Surge. The Surge, as implied, would active for an instant, and make Emme's ability to detect details extraordinarily great for that moment. The overall effect would be stronger than the Mode-Shift and could be activated while she's fighting for quick bursts of insight, but would be more taxing on her body (could damage her eyes if used too much). The Surge is also more expensive than the Mode-Shift (on a per-turn basis).

Regardless of your choice, you'll need to cut back on at least two of your spells. Club-levels come next.

Oh, and congrats, the Inconspicuous Maid spell is probably the strongest pseudo-invisible technique in the game, right now. The spell requires so many factors to activate (clothing, posture and intent), that the only way to detect Emme while the ability is active is to look for a Maid, while being suspicious of said Maid. The illusion doesn't work properly if Emme stops playing her part right, unfortunately (if she gets flustered or makes hurried motions, she might be noticed, for instance).

Red:

Okay, so I may try something like hybridization later, when it's a little more effective than being a jack of all trades with crappy magic and melee.

I have no idea what this means. To be clear, what build are you aiming for with Nasir? Magic Focus, Martial Focus or Hybrid?

Clarified which one was from a blessing on his family, which one he uses the mark for and which ones he learned during priest training that the other priests of his tribe could learn. Though I'm sure they'd allow some leeway for spells if it benefited the tribe as a whole.

Right, I see I've complicated things too much. I'll fix that now: Nasir's Tribe is made of Humans not God-Bloods (we're dropping the family-specific blessings). Most rely on Old magic, Spirit magic or are the Priests of Gods. As Nasir is the Bearer of the Brand, the last option is out of his reach, but he can be trained in Old magic and/or Spirit magic. Nasir's family might still specialize in Weather and Wind magic, but this isn't an inborn talent or affinity. Its more of a tradition.

Anyway, Old magic either works off an incantation, or (in Nasir's case), an object covered with his tribe's Spell Script. For each option below, you'll need to decide if you want it to work based on an incantation, or an object. In the case of the latter option, you'll need to designate the object as well - each spell can only works with one object at Char. Gen. Objects, generally, do not expire when used.

Spirit magic is a wholly different kettle of fish. If I think it's a better route to accomplishing whatever the spell is after, I'll mention it. None of your present abilities strike me as suitable for this mechanic, though.

Healing Heart works fine, so does Staff Fighting Mastery. Warding off the Cold will either work as a Mode-Shift, or something that requires a fair Will Investment to activate. The latter option also requires him to touch the Brand to activate it. Decide which version you want, and we're good.

For Deny the Infidel, the spell'll work by creating a barrier of repelling force around Nasir. May not work on piercing attacks (not sure yet). To activate it, Nasir needs to stop moving and grip an object covered in the relevant spell-script. The Barrier fails if Nasir's focus is disrupted, he stops adding Will to the object, or he lets go of it. Fair Will drain, increases while opposing attacks. He can't breath while the barrier is up (it repels the air around him).

I suppose this could work with an incantation too, but it wouldn't be as useful.

Power of the Wind is a little more complicated. You're either looking at what amounts to a Wind-Beam (narrow blast of wind, about the size of his palm, mid-long range) which deals blunt damage. Best way to work that would be a short, one sentence, incantation with a gesture to direct the Beam, or to put Will into an object covered with his tribe's spell script, while touching it directly, and aiming it at the target. Both are Old Magic.

The alternative would be a blast of gale-force wind at melee-range (no direct damage, but might knock someone down to stagger them), directed in front of him. Again, Old Magic works best. Either touch an object covered with his tribe's spell script (no gesture required) and add Will, or shout a single word incantation. Your call.

Praise the Strong targets other people – it doesn't make sense for him to have kept this over the course of his two-year journey. Any battles he got in would be solo. Steady Footing is…a bit odd. It won't work well as a Yellow technique (improving your sense of balance won't help enough). Right now, it covers too many possible terrains for me to come up with a good mechanic to make it work – narrow down which difficult terrain you want this spell to work with, and I'll see what I can do.

Yeah... I guess regular MA would be good then? I chose Bojutsu because staff fighting is mostly defensive, which I at least thought was fitting for the Staff Fighting Mastery spell slot.

MMA is more brawling than anything else. Really aggressive, no weapon-training involved. Meditation is the closest you'll get to a defensive weapon class and you already have it. I think picking a different club would be best.

Aldurin:

Right, Electronic Override's been bothering me for a while. Right now, it does too many things - they're very simple things, in theory, but in practice, a single spell to move a switch back and forth doesn't work. You'll need to divide it into a set of paired spells. Both release a gentle pulse of energy within an electrical device, closing or opening all the switches within it (depending on which spells she uses). They still require physical contact. That brings your pre-club level spells to five and moves Naomi, firmly, into Hybrid territory.

Anyway, moving onto your new spells.

Focus Amplifier, does too much right now. I tried to find a way to work it, but its not something the system can manage. Pick one thing for this spell to counter (pain, stray thoughts or nausea) and we'll go from there. I do wanna note that stray thought cancelling is generally a bad idea - its still pretty dangerous to tunnel-vision like that. Regardless, all the effects are within her educational background.

Note Buddy...is pretty weird. What part of this is magical? Not sure I get what you’re going for, really. Wouldn't a camera or tape-recorder work just as well?

Zu:

Alright, the biggest issue with Cassie is the circumstances of her Awakening. Her Borrowed Sight spell is far too overt for a Black Spell. A Black type spell should not be noticeable by the user and easily explainable to those around them – this spell doesn't satisfy either condition. Only way this could work is if she had demon blood in her/was a demon which had sight-stealing abilities. Otherwise, Borrowed Sight needs to be an Awakened technique, not instinctive. A more appropriate Black ability would be something that subtly augments another of her senses, to allow her to cope, in some measure, with her blindness.

For simplicity's sake though, I would just drop the part of her backstory where she instinctively stole someone's sight. Its cleaner to just have her parents Awaken her as early as possible (thirteen's a good number). Given her condition, provided she didn't do anything too miraculous, the Guilds wouldn't have strong objections to teaching her magic in order to help her cope with blindness.

That said, are you sure you want to play a blind girl? I want to offer this caution, disabilities are very serious things in Landry. You're setting Cassie up with a massive disadvantage which magic can help mitigate, but can not completely nullify. For instance, she won't be able to see auras like the other characters (would need a spell to help). Different, but still relevant, note is that healing her eyes won't be easy either – short of actually growing proper, working, eyes for her (by no means is this easy), not much'll do it.

Basically, think carefully about this decision. What does being blind add to this character? Is there a way to get to this result without the disadvantage represented by playing a blind girl? There's at least one way to work growing up as a blind girl, before a miraculous rebirth event. So, yeah, think carefully. I've no issue with it if you're sure, but I want you to understand the constraints this represents.

Oh, and I'd suggest dropping the part about her late enrollment. Her relationships won't develop overnight, you know. Plus, club-levels are nice.

Lilly:

Alright, last but not least, Robyn and her backstory. Most of this is going to be me addressing some misinterpretations you've made, to put you on the right track.

Amazingly, her parents are not split up. Her father is a hard working Seattle sales man... that bounces around different sorts of jobs every six to eighteen months but somehow makes ends meet. Her mother has been between mentally unstable and constantly drunk as long as she can remember, holding a job at somewhere like a laundry mat or dry cleaner's on off occasions. Mom and Dad fought when she was young, albeit behind a closed door where they thought no children could hear. Dad put on a happy face around the kids. Mom looked sour and left the house unexplained at nights.

Small format point to begin with. This is Robyn's bio. Knowing that her family-life isn't sunny is directly relevant to her, a lot of this information isn't. I recommend reorganizing the early section of this backstory and moving details only relevant to her parents to short descriptive bios in the Relationship section. It'll help make Robyn's backstory easier to reference, while cutting down on the necessary details.

Robyn's mom is clearly a total looser. Or so she thought, until a year ago on her birthday when her father realized she had inherited her mother's gift.

Everyone has magic, it isn't a gift, nor can talent with it be inherited. Demonic powers can be inherited (their taint transfers through blood), but the basic ability to perform magic is something every human can do if instructed properly.

Her mother can create and mend things. She can talk to animals... and plants, maybe more.

Unless her mother and Robyn are demons, there isn't a reason for either of them to be limited in what their powers can do. Some human magicians do choose to specialize after a time, but there is nothing forcing them to follow a theme. Just wanna be clear there.

But to her father who can't do anything impressive, an apple and orange are both fruit.

Knowing about magic and not practicing it, eh? Alright, I have no particular issue with that, I suppose. Still, I would like to know why her dad hasn't pursued it at all, if he's been Awakened? Magic can be pretty useful for self-defense, if nothing else.

…Mom's problems come from an inability to deal with some magic related things, and many nights she spent "missing" were dealing with some other magic things that could never be explained to the children. And still have not been fully explained to Robyn.

So, what is it her mom was doing? That Robyn doesn't know is fine, but as DM, I do need to know.

There had always been oddities, like in third grade when she told Mrs Mellois that the classroom plants said Benny had tried to poison them with soda during his week to water them. And a year later when Mr Finch caught her trying to release the class pet because "She said she needed to be free!"

Right, this is probably one of the larger problems with this bio. Black Magic doesn't develop just because – it develops in response to a problem which the character frequency faces. Right now, there isn't a reason for her to develop these abilities, so this part really doesn't work. Additionally, this manifestation of Black magic is pretty overt (she notices it, even if it's explainable) – both abilities outlined here should be far more subtle.

I do want to note that Black magic doesn't usually become well-developed this quickly in a young child, either. Missed this detail in the Primer, sorry. Most human children raised in mainstream society can't be Awakened until they turn 12-ish.

With the new knowledge of her abilities, and the absence of complaints about oddities from the school, not to mention the non-dangerous nature of her abilities, her parents assumed no major changes would need to be made to her life.

Clarification request: Robyn's school doesn't care about any of the odd qualities she displays, because they're things that any little kid would do? Do her parents know?

She has a "gift" for learning languages - directly tied into her communication powers*. When she was 5 a program was started up for 3rd and 4th year high school Spanish students to come to the kindergarden classes and teach rudimentary Spanish to the children. By the end of the semester she had mastered almost as much of the language as the students that had come to teach it. Impressed, she was encouraged by the school to continue…

Okay, when Black magic develops to enhance a skill, the skill has to be there before the magic does. It also needs a reason to develop (she has to be interested in the subject, or need to do well in it). This paragraph implies the reverse happened – her magic developed first, and her interest in the subject followed. You'll need to fix that, somehow.

Hindi was never a language she learned. So when her mother attended a fundraiser held by the school she was shocked to learn that her daugher had been not only a constant companion to the recent exchange student from India, but a translator in a few situations. The next morning she was unenrolled from the public school, and her mother tracked down a contact to get her daughter enrolled in a proper school for the "gifted".

Uh, this doesn't seem like a big deal? At this point in the story, it's well established that Robyn has a talent for learning languages. Most people would assume she studied Hindi on her own - it's not really something any one would care about, as far as I can tell.

Fortunately, Prof Landry seems to have had some space for a new transfer!

Just a note, new PCs probably won't begin in Professor Landry's class. I'll work out their circumstances of joining – your job is just to figure out how your character got to Amaranth.

Also: Is Robyn Awakened, or a Black? It isn't mentioned in the bio, but is definitely relevant.

Different Point: Robyn's abilities seem to follow a very definite theme. Are you sure you wouldn't prefer her being a Non-Human? I can't think of a mythological creature which has a purview that covers everything that Robyn's done in this bio (I suppose a Psychic or a Mutant gets closest?), but if you can, it would help justify the way her powers developed. Even Black Demonic powers follow the themes of their tainted Will. Though, the main obstacle to her powers would still be there - they need to develop for a reason.

Anyway, I believe that's the end of this post! How wonderful.

[DanteFalcon]

I am somewhat disappointed to hear that but I understand.

Enjoy everyone!

[Zoological Uncertainty]

Zu:

Alright, the biggest issue with Cassie is the circumstances of her Awakening. Her Borrowed Sight spell is far too overt for a Black Spell. A Black type spell should not be noticeable by the user and easily explainable to those around them – this spell doesn't satisfy either condition. Only way this could work is if she had demon blood in her/was a demon which had sight-stealing abilities. Otherwise, Borrowed Sight needs to be an Awakened technique, not instinctive. A more appropriate Black ability would be something that subtly augments another of her senses, to allow her to cope, in some measure, with her blindness.

For simplicity's sake though, I would just drop the part of her backstory where she instinctively stole someone's sight. Its cleaner to just have her parents Awaken her as early as possible (thirteen's a good number). Given her condition, provided she didn't do anything too miraculous, the Guilds wouldn't have strong objections to teaching her magic in order to help her cope with blindness.

That said, are you sure you want to play a blind girl? I want to offer this caution, disabilities are very serious things in Landry. You're setting Cassie up with a massive disadvantage which magic can help mitigate, but can not completely nullify. For instance, she won't be able to see auras like the other characters (would need a spell to help). Different, but still relevant, note is that healing her eyes won't be easy either – short of actually growing proper, working, eyes for her (by no means is this easy), not much'll do it.

Basically, think carefully about this decision. What does being blind add to this character? Is there a way to get to this result without the disadvantage represented by playing a blind girl? There's at least one way to work growing up as a blind girl, before a miraculous rebirth event. So, yeah, think carefully. I've no issue with it if you're sure, but I want you to understand the constraints this represents.

Oh, and I'd suggest dropping the part about her late enrollment. Her relationships won't develop overnight, you know. Plus, club-levels are nice.

I appreciate the advice. I see you already discussed this with Drac on the edupad and he managed to summarize my position pretty well.

Cassie's a character who really wants to have a thing she only rarely gets a taste of, and her parents didn't manage to assuage her curiosity (imagine you had a blind daughter and she asked you what seeing was like). If she got sight permanently, I imagine her excitement would be somewhat like a heroin addict's who gets to swim in a pile of heroin all day every day.

That's an exaggeration, of course. Cassie's had her whole life to get used to her condition, and hasn't quite worked up to desperate heroin addict levels yet. Maybe she never will.

I'll admit, I hadn't really considered the possibility of her sight being fixed throughout the course of the game. If it happens, it happens and we'll deal with it then. If an opportunity arises, she'll probably take it.

While I'm aware that playing a blind character means having a pretty severe handicap in combat, Cassie's concept is one I've kind of fallen in love with, so I'm sticking with it.

Now, here's an updated sheet with the changes you suggested. I also added a little bit to the Notes, Appearance and her relationship with Nate, and rewrote the Barbara relationship a little.

And I changed Borrow Sight to a Grade 1 spell as you suggested on the pad.

I didn't address any other spells you mentioned problems with on the pad because I want to wait till your next review for more in-depth observations, but I used the extra spell slot from Borrow Sight's degrading to add a club-inspired (or, more accurately, friend-inspired) buff spell. I realize the new spell might be a little too vague, though.

Name: Cassandra "Cassie" Hayden
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Aura: You can try to guess at your Aura color - but its probably best to leave this section to me. Its the sum of all your spell hues.
Age: 18
Appearance: 5'2'', average build, wavy pale blonde hair reaches halfway down her back, dusty blue eyes and caucasian. Her clothing is nothing special, usually jeans and a blouse. Except she always mismatches colors or wears odd outfits based on what's comfortable and not on what looks good. She wears sunglasses over her eyes when she goes out, and carries a white cane.

Spells:

Borrow Sight, Grade 1, ? Elemental
With this spell, Cassie can transfer her sight with someone else's. This is limited solely to body functions related to eyesight. She can open and close the other person's eyelids and move their eyes and see what they see, and the victim can do the same with her eyes (for all that's worth). While active, Cassie and the victim can hear each other's surface thoughts. This spell requires direct, skin-on-skin physical contact to activate, and ends when that contact is broken or Cassie consciously turns it off.

Proximity Sense/Battle Precognition, Compound Spell, ? Elemental
When activated, this spell allows Cassie to sense the shape and features of any object within five feet of her. In combat, she can also select one of the objects she's sensing, and for added Will drain, have a vision of what their next move will be.

Danger Sense, Grade 1, ? Elemental
This spell activates whenever something comes within a twenty feet radius of Cassie, intending to do her direct harm. She becomes suddenly aware that something dangerous is coming at her and the direction it's coming from.

Summon: Cane, Grade 1, ? Elemental
In the rare event she's not without it, Cassie can summon her cane into her hand.

Palm Reading, Grade 1, ? Elemental
Cassie often uses this spell as part of a "read your future through your palm" gag. In reality, she implants a simple, one-word suggestion into the mind of the victim, in Cassie's case often things like "flirt" or "drink", and lets their minds fill out the details. This spell requires direct, skin-on-skin contact.

Focus Boost, Grade 1, ? Elemental
With concentration and physical contact (not necessarily skin-on-skin), Cassie can cast this spell on a person, helping them focus on a task they put their mind to and ignore distractions.

Bio:
Cassie was born premature, and suffers from Retinopathy of Prematurity, a severe case which resulted in her being completely blind. Cassie's parents, both members of the Wizard's Guild, were somewhat overprotective of their daughter because of this. Her mother, a school teacher, got jobs at Cassie's school so she could keep an eye on her daughter. Though Cassie understood their concern, she harbored some resentment and wished she could see. Still, her parents didn't keep her sheltered, and Cassie led as full a life as she could.

Her parents awakened her at thirteen, and helped her develop her spells to make living with her blindness easier. They decided against sending her to a Wizarding Academy because those were too strict and rigid for someone like Cassie. Instead, they trained her for years, partly out of overprotectiveness, so she could go to Amaranth. Though Cassie's parents didn't stop her from going to public school and having a social life, her parents still worried about her magic and how she handled her blidness. Though Cassie loves them, she rebelled by against both her parents and her condition by fully embracing her social life.

Unbeknownst to her parents, Cassie became more and more obsessed with sight after the first incident, and developed a fairly active sex life with ulterior motives, telling her parents she was sleeping over with a friend. After her partners fell asleep, she would borrow their sight and just stare through their eyes all night. Most of them woudln't hook up with her again, due to weird dreams that creeped them out. Cassie finally enrolled in Amaranth when she turned eighteen.

Clubs:
Home Ec
Meditation
Strolling
Fencing (Saber)

Notes:
- Reads braille, contracted braille, and grade 3 braille.
- Weapon proficiency: Saber.
- Improvised weapon proficiency: Cassie's learned to wield her cane like a saber if the need arises, with a modified technique to compensate for the fact that it's not a bladed weapon.
- Information on her condition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinopathy_of_prematurity

Relationships:
Timothy Hayden: Cassie's father, a member of the Wizard's Guild, who works as a real estate agent, and was a fencing champion in his youth. He still sees his daughter as a helpless little girl, much to her chagrin, though he tries to avoid that sort of thinking and let her take care of herself.

Jennie Hayden: Cassie's mother, also a member of the Wizard's Guild. She's a school teacher, and would take jobs at Cassie's schools, teaching Cassie's classes if she could, to keep an eye on her daughter. She shares her husband's views about Cassie.

Nate Adams: one of Cassie's friends, who attends his first year at Amaranth. A younger boy who has a hopeless crush on her. Cassie's aware, but doesn't return his affections and simply considers him a friend. He's a Black, and is in Fencing Club with her. He's something of a child prodigy, being younger than the usual admittance age in Amaranth and having good marks in all his classes.

Barbara Lane: Cassie's roommate and friend, and a first-year student at Amaranth. She's a spiritualist, and is often spacy and distracted, due to constantly listening to and sometimes conversing with spirits around her. This gives her trouble especially in Meditation and Home Ec clubs, where she sometimes ends up making messes and distracting other people, as well as appearing insane at times.

Daniel Hicks: Another first-year student, one of the best students in Fencing Club, and kind of a jerk. He has no problem teasing blind girls, but Cassie doesn't really care about him.

[Rhiya Ravenwing]

*snip*

Guardians of the House is approved. Fits fine. Both of your new spells need minor tweaks, but before I do more spell commentary, I'd like to note that, since Emme's a hybrid (good at martial combat and magic), seven spells to start is gonna be too much. Unless you wanna remove most of her martial fighting skills, five's the number that you'll be working with (pre-club levels, anyway). So, to help with deciding which spells to drop, here's a few new comments:

Upon a week's reflection, Helping Hand is too adaptable and complicated in its current iteration. If you want to keep it, it would be treated as a Flash Action - a different spell would be needed to lift something or wipe something down, etc. It might develop into an interesting specialization for Emme, but I don’t see this worth the spell slot initially. Nitpicker's Eyes is potentially nice, depending on the mechanic used for it, since that gives Emme more magical education to draw on for later skill-development. I would note that the ability seems a little like an extra for Emme right now and might not be worth the slot. Still, with a few clarification tweaks, it would be fine to keep.

I would recommend the Perception Surge over the other two, though, since it has the most direct combat applications. Well, if you make this a Surge and not a Mode-Shift, that is. The text of the ability suggests that the effect is sustained (Mode-Shift), which would come with the an 'inability to move while spell is active' drawback (she has to focus on watching her target to keep it working). That said, the Mode-Shift would would be easier on Emme's body to use than the Surge. The Surge, as implied, would active for an instant, and make Emme's ability to detect details extraordinarily great for that moment. The overall effect would be stronger than the Mode-Shift and could be activated while she's fighting for quick bursts of insight, but would be more taxing on her body (could damage her eyes if used too much). The Surge is also more expensive than the Mode-Shift (on a per-turn basis).

Regardless of your choice, you'll need to cut back on at least two of your spells. Club-levels come next.

Oh, and congrats, the Inconspicuous Maid spell is probably the strongest pseudo-invisible technique in the game, right now. The spell requires so many factors to activate (clothing, posture and intent), that the only way to detect Emme while the ability is active is to look for a Maid, while being suspicious of said Maid. The illusion doesn't work properly if Emme stops playing her part right, unfortunately (if she gets flustered or makes hurried motions, she might be noticed, for instance).

*mega-epic-snip*


Alright, let's have a look. I'm looking at getting rid of Nitpicker's Eyes, since yes it was a way-too-subtle extension of Emme's job as a Maid. To be honest after splitting the original spell into two, all I was really preferring was the perception surge (ok, so Mode-shift would mean she'd have to stand still to observe, and surge could be used in the midst of combat? I think Emme already has enough combat tricks and should probably use it as a mode-shift type spell for slow analysis).

Helping Hand was an extra flavour to Emme's 'skills' as Maid, but I can see where you're going with it. I'll get rid of it for simplicity sake. Instead, can I propose later learning it during her club activity (namely: Home Ec)? It can account for future character development as opposed to already starting with it. The same can be said for Nitpicker's Eyes, since the main use I intended it for was to notice the finer details Emme might've missed in the first observation. I'll throw in the edits now by striking out the spells (I won't be using them at all in the game, but they may be potentially 'unlocked' in the future?), or would you rather me just keep them in edupad to make my character sheet neater?

[Red Mage Black]

Glad you're feeling better, Teal. I can see why having the last of your humanity ripped from you is a minor surgery, since there wasn't much left of it in the first place. *rimshot*



Red:



I have no idea what this means. To be clear, what build are you aiming for with Nasir? Magic Focus, Martial Focus or Hybrid?

Might focus on magic for now and if he lasts long enough, try to branch off a little if I can figure out a way without crippling my spellcasting ability.


Right, I see I've complicated things too much. I'll fix that now: Nasir's Tribe is made of Humans not God-Bloods (we're dropping the family-specific blessings). Most rely on Old magic, Spirit magic or are the Priests of Gods. As Nasir is the Bearer of the Brand, the last option is out of his reach, but he can be trained in Old magic and/or Spirit magic. Nasir's family might still specialize in Weather and Wind magic, but this isn't an inborn talent or affinity. Its more of a tradition.

Anyway, Old magic either works off an incantation, or (in Nasir's case), an object covered with his tribe's Spell Script. For each option below, you'll need to decide if you want it to work based on an incantation, or an object. In the case of the latter option, you'll need to designate the object as well - each spell can only works with one object at Char. Gen. Objects, generally, do not expire when used.

Spirit magic is a wholly different kettle of fish. If I think it's a better route to accomplishing whatever the spell is after, I'll mention it. None of your present abilities strike me as suitable for this mechanic, though.


I would have gone with something like a desert shaman if I could have made it work, but I decided to avoid spirits all together since it's not like he could have brought them with him from the desert. For ones you said need an object, I'll list what, in my opinion, sounds suitable to me.


Healing Heart works fine, so does Staff Fighting Mastery. Warding off the Cold will either work as a Mode-Shift, or something that requires a fair Will Investment to activate. The latter option also requires him to touch the Brand to activate it. Decide which version you want, and we're good.
I'll go with the latter version, since it makes more sense in my head.


For Deny the Infidel, the spell'll work by creating a barrier of repelling force around Nasir. May not work on piercing attacks (not sure yet). To activate it, Nasir needs to stop moving and grip an object covered in the relevant spell-script. The Barrier fails if Nasir's focus is disrupted, he stops adding Will to the object, or he lets go of it. Fair Will drain, increases while opposing attacks. He can't breath while the barrier is up (it repels the air around him).

I suppose this could work with an incantation too, but it wouldn't be as useful.
Totally agree with that last statement, it sounded better on paper when I first wrote it. As for an object, since the staff is used for the staff fighting spell and the book for the healing spell, I'll suggest a string of small stones quite possibly tied to the staff itself where no other incantation is written.


Power of the Wind is a little more complicated. You're either looking at what amounts to a Wind-Beam (narrow blast of wind, about the size of his palm, mid-long range) which deals blunt damage. Best way to work that would be a short, one sentence, incantation with a gesture to direct the Beam, or to put Will into an object covered with his tribe's spell script, while touching it directly, and aiming it at the target. Both are Old Magic.

The alternative would be a blast of gale-force wind at melee-range (no direct damage, but might knock someone down to stagger them), directed in front of him. Again, Old Magic works best. Either touch an object covered with his tribe's spell script (no gesture required) and add Will, or shout a single word incantation. Your call.

Lets go with the melee range stagger/knockback then. The object idea was a piece of cloth wrapped around his hand, with the script written on the cloth within his palm. Of course, to prevent smudging, the script would be written in dye instead of ink, which I hope is possible to do in the first place.


Praise the Strong targets other people – it doesn't make sense for him to have kept this over the course of his two-year journey. Any battles he got in would be solo. Steady Footing is…a bit odd. It won't work well as a Yellow technique (improving your sense of balance won't help enough). Right now, it covers too many possible terrains for me to come up with a good mechanic to make it work – narrow down which difficult terrain you want this spell to work with, and I'll see what I can do.
First one I agree with. Forgot to take the whole journey into consideration. I'll work with... I'll say rocky terrain. Either mountainous or valley like, since I'm not entirely sure what it would be like between the Middle East and where he ventured.


MMA is more brawling than anything else. Really aggressive, no weapon-training involved. Meditation is the closest you'll get to a defensive weapon class and you already have it. I think picking a different club would be best.

As for clubs, I was looking through them. I'm still not fully decided on what would work. I was thinking Art at first, if based on the calligraphy style writing of Arabic. So, just Strolling Club then. Since I can't come up with anything else that would make sense.

[Teal Mage]

Alright, since I'm getting tired of this too, I'm going to start speeding up the process. Would like to get to the actual game soon – means that Club Levels (abilities learned at Amaranth) will be reduced for players, and time constraints will be added. If there is a serious issue with these deadlines, tell me as soon as possible. Not going to extend them too much, though.

Announcements regard Red, Aldurin, Zu and Rhiya.

Red:

Please write up a fully updated bio in the proper format and I'll approve Nasir as he is. Have it posted before I wake up Wednesday, Central, North-American time.

Quick run-through of your latest reply set:

Deny the Infidel activates when Nasir touches the script-covered stone necklace tied (please specify a general location - middle, top, bottom, etc) of his bone staff and invests Will into it. Healing Heart doesn't require the book, but I suppose if Nasir has a bad memory he can always look it up. Incantation and contact with the wounded area are the important parts. Power of Wind's talisman, a piece of cloth covered with dyed script, is fine. Only comment is dye fades over time. But I'll assume this is a fresh cloth.

Three clubs instead of four is fine. This bio's taken far too long to reach this point, so I'm just going to abort adding new spells on top of the five approved ones. For reference, Power of Wind, Staff-Fighting Mastery, Deny the Infidel, Warding off the Cold and Healing Heart are your starting set. Classifying him as a Magic-Leaning Hybrid. Race is Branded One (Demon). Aura is Amber (Yellow-Orange).

Ask questions if you have them, make sure the template's filled appropriately. As a warning, mess up on the template as you have in the past and I'll end the process – it isn't difficult to do this right.

Aldurin:

You have until Tuesday to submit an alternate club level for Naomi. If, after I wake up on Wednesday, I don't see anything other than the nausea suppression Modeshift, I'll assign that to Naomi as her club level. Likewise, if the spell submitted would require a lot of work on my part to fix (or I don't think it's appropriate), you'll also get the nausea suppression technique instead.

You'll have three days after that to submit a fully updated Naomi bio. Her aura, assuming the nausea suppression technique is selected, would be Teal (Blue-Green).

Zu:

First, for reference, is Cassie designed to be a Magic-focus or a Hybrid? She's in fencing, so I'm not certain which of the two you're aiming for.

Let's move onto the spells then. Primary impression is that she would probably be a better Witch than a Wizard, since that would explain why her parents didn't send her to Wizarding school better than that it was simply too strict. Additionally, a lot of spells require skin-to-skin contact, and Borrow Sight is easier to work via Old Magic than Wizardry (and Witches, for those who don't remember, usually combine Wizardry with one other discipline).

So, from what I understand, Borrow Sight is central to this character, conceptually. Mechanically speaking, the way this spell works isn't suited to Wizardry (which is very specific and controlled), as Wizardry spells don't typically have side-effects like the one outlined in this spell. Old Magic, if not properly refined, could suit this, though. As Old Magic, I believe the spell would create a mental link between Cassie and her victim through their nerves, allowing them to switch eyes, essentially. The thoughts which leak through are basically a symptom of a poorly isolated mental link (the spell places mental strain on Cassie and her victim, incidentially. Headaches are a common side-effect). Honestly, this is probably the only way Cassie could see like everyone else. Certainly, it would be the simplest.

I would suggest that Cassie developed this spell largely on her own (since an experienced magic-user could avoid the pit-fall of surface thoughts leaking out) – probably without her parent's knowledge or permission. Her first tries probably killed the animals she experimented on – made their heads explode, in fact. Luckily, she only got a few nose bleeds. This is the only spell that I'll allow her to get lucky with, for the record. Technically, the spell would also be getting into Masquerade breaking territory (especially for an untried Witch), which could explain why Cassie kept it secret.

Anyway, no other spells may be cast while this is active, and it would be Green Elemental – since it's her nerves that shape the spell.

Proximity sense is too big a range right now. Willing to allow it, but the range is only a little bigger than her arm's reach. To 'see' something, she essentially needs to be able touch it. Functionally, I think the best way to work this is to have her saturate the air around herself with her Will. Draining, but that's the price you pay for effectively 360 degrees of vision. Definitely a Modeshift. The Battle Precognition effect is…harder to work. Will require physical touch and a lens of some kind (I recommend Wizardry). The issue with Cassie is that she can't see, so any visions of the future she gets would be, well, without anything to see. Like, she could hear the future, or maybe feel it, or something, but not see it.

Danger Sense's main issue is that most Awakened spells can't trigger automatically. The best thing I can think of to simulate this would be to give Cassie a guardian spirit (bound to her or into an object by her parents) or an enchanted object of some kind (like a bell, for instance) could give her some warning when aggression is a directed at her, but at grade one, they wouldn't be able to give her a direction. I suppose a supplemental Intuition Surge could pick up the slack there and help her move as much as she'd need to.

Palm Reading is too adaptable right now, I think. You'll need more specific spells to make this work, unless this is supposed to just be a mental communication spell. But, I don't think that's quite what you're going for here. However, I admit to being entirely unsure of what this spell would primarily have been used for, so I can't really suggest ways to make it work. Will note that, without a lens to send the spell through, any mental communication would lack compulsions.

Not sure how necessary Summon: Cane is, but provided the spell is Wizardry based, should be fine (Summoning's harder for Old Mages). You'll need a lens of some kind for the Focus Boost spell, though I'd count this more as a curse than a buff.

Barbara Lane: Cassie's roommate and friend, and a first-year student at Amaranth. She's a spiritualist, and is often spacy and distracted, due to constantly listening to and sometimes conversing with spirits around her. This gives her trouble especially in Meditation and Home Ec clubs, where she sometimes ends up making messes and distracting other people, as well as appearing insane at times.

Been on the fence about this character for a bit. After some consideration, I think the best choice would be for me to reject her, and replace her with an existing NPC – Penelope Lega can be her roommate instead. Personalities are similar, though Penny's a Black, she's spacey enough to fill in for Barbara in most capacities. Their third roommate, Victoria Blake, recently transferred to England.

Penelope Lega: Sean's girlfriend, whom he met in the music room in the weeks before classes started. Penny is quite pretty, with rather thick blonde hair and wide blue eyes, but is also rather absentminded. Despite her somewhat ditzy nature, she is a very talented musician and singer, playing the harp in the school band. Unbeknownst to Sean or herself, she is a siren and a rare example of an unawakened demon.

Inability to distinguish between living person and spirit is a bit too weird for an Awakened character in this setting to be permitted anyway.

Incidentally, no deadlines are attached to this bio, yet.

Rhiya:

Alright, Emme just needs to have her spell(s) she developed in Amaranth solidified. In the interests of not drawing this out, I think the best thing to do here would be to select one of the two spells that was cut in the last iteration and say it was developed for the Home Ec. Club here. Probably will only allow one new spell, but if you can think of something really cool, we'll see.

No deadlines will be attached to your bio, yet.

If you can think of a different spell which would go better with Cultural, Meditation or Strolling, you can submit that instead, of course. To help, here are some descriptions of these clubs, as well as Home Economics.

Meditation: Directed by Shrine Maiden Cecilia Darrow, the older cousin of one Alex Darrow, Meditation is a club about learning to relax and become one with the universe. The first two months are primarily about teaching students to sit in one place for long periods of time, with a stress on breathing and relaxation techniques. Most of the more academic elements relate to anatomy (specifically, the respiratory system), but also brush on Far-East mysticism – mainly Buddhism, with bits of Daoism and Shintoism thrown in. The idea that everything is connected has also been stressed. Compared to other clubs, relatively light homework load. Meets daily for Meditation sessions, which gradually increase in length – currently set to an hour a day. Students may spend more time Meditating if they want higher grades on weekends.

Cultural: Formerly directed by Alphonse Davis (A.K.A. Shuyin), the Cultural club offers in-depth examinations of various world cultures (and their development over time), with the goal of allowing students to seamlessly blend into and understand different parts of the world. There's a lot of reading in this club – each unit features a thick textbook on the culture in question – and students must also be able to engage in simulated culture specific activities, while behaving and dressing appropriately. Speaking the native language may be done for extra-credit (and is the only way to get an A). First two months focus on Far-Eastern activities. Current Director is Marisa Tomoe – a Grey who's easier to talk to in any language other than English because of her penchant to use obscure words (she seems to know them all). Students are expected to attend once a day at pre-arranged times to participate in cultural activities – as the units progress, these will involve costumes and make-up.

Strolling: A mysterious club, apparently run out of a janitor's closet – which, unfortunately, changes locations every week (not always inside buildings – and sometimes on ceilings). Students must locate it each week in order to log the number of steps they've walked that day (students are sent pedometers for this purpose). The club itself rarely meets – instead, textbooks with reading assignments show up at the student's dorms. In the first two months, aside from these oddities, the reading material is similar to most athletics clubs, in that it instructs students on muscle groups and how to eat healthy. There is a surprising focus on pressure points and techniques which, in theory, would disable a would-be assailant, without weapons. The club doesn't seem to have a Director, and meets only for tests – once every two weeks.

Home Economics: Directed by an elderly French woman, referred to as Madame Dufort – or else – Home Economics teaches students how to run, maintain and live in a home. Initially, this club was a cooking club, with the requirement that students come to the club room – an underground mansion beneath the main cafeteria – and cook a meal to be graded on, each day at noon-hour. Though dishes began simple enough, within a week, it was expected that students would be able to make multiple-courses quickly and efficiently. Working in groups was permitted, and the reading material for the course included cook-books as well as a large textbook regarding the nutritional value of a wide variety of foods. Students are expected to memorize chunks of these each evening in advance of the next class. In the second month, the scope of the course broadened to house-work (timed), in addition to the original cooking focus, with chemistry texts joining the cooking ones. Extremely intensive. Working in a group is permitted.

In the interests of keeping things cohesive, I'm creating the Fashion club for clothing design, sewing, make-up and modeling. If that's more your speed, please feel free to change it. Home Economics only handles minor alterations and mending.

And in-conclusion! I'd just like to remind you all that Amaranth is just a normal school.

[Zoological Uncertainty]

Zu:

First, for reference, is Cassie designed to be a Magic-focus or a Hybrid? She's in fencing, so I'm not certain which of the two you're aiming for.

Well, looking at her spells and how I'd like her to develop, I'd say she's a Hybrid, but balanced more toward magic.

Let's move onto the spells then. Primary impression is that she would probably be a better Witch than a Wizard, since that would explain why her parents didn't send her to Wizarding school better than that it was simply too strict. Additionally, a lot of spells require skin-to-skin contact, and Borrow Sight is easier to work via Old Magic than Wizardry (and Witches, for those who don't remember, usually combine Wizardry with one other discipline).

That sounds more appropriate. I'll just replace every instance of "Wizard" in her sheet with "Witch".

Been on the fence about this character for a bit. After some consideration, I think the best choice would be for me to reject her, and replace her with an existing NPC – Penelope Lega can be her roommate instead. Personalities are similar, though Penny's a Black, she's spacey enough to fill in for Barbara in most capacities. Their third roommate, Victoria Blake, recently transferred to England.

Inability to distinguish between living person and spirit is a bit too weird for an Awakened character in this setting to be permitted anyway.

Incidentally, no deadlines are attached to this bio, yet.

Alright. Penny should be fine. No complaints from me or Cassie.

You've already answered my questions about everything else on the pad, so here's Cassie's updated sheet.

Name: Cassandra "Cassie" Hayden
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Aura: You can try to guess at your Aura color - but its probably best to leave this section to me. Its the sum of all your spell hues.
Age: 18
Appearance: 5'2'', average build, wavy pale blonde hair reaches halfway down her back, dusty blue eyes and caucasian. Her clothing is nothing special, usually jeans and a blouse. Except she always mismatches colors or wears odd outfits based on what's comfortable and not on what looks good. She wears sunglasses over her eyes when she goes out, a simple silver necklace around her neck (a gift from her parents) and carries a foldable white cane.

Spells:

Borrow Sight, Grade 1, Green Elemental
With this spell, Cassie can transfer her sight with someone else's. This is limited solely to body functions related to eyesight. She can open and close the other person's eyelids and move their eyes and see what they see, and the victim can do the same with her eyes (for all that's worth). While active, Cassie and the victim can hear each other's surface thoughts. This spell requires direct, skin-on-skin physical contact to activate, and ends when that contact is broken or Cassie consciously turns it off. Headaches are a common side effect of this spell.

Danger Sense, Grade 1, ? Elemental
When something intends to do direct harm to Cassie, a guardian spirit her parents tied to a silver necklace fills her with a sense of wrongness, alerting her to a threat.

Intuition Surge, Grade 1, ? Elemental
When this spell is activated, Cassie reacts appropriately to something that's about to happen. She doesn't necessarily need to know what's going to happen, as long as she knows something is.

Weapon Reinforcement, Grade 1, ? Elemental
Cassie can infuse her Will into a weapon she's holding, making it tougher and more rigid, and therefore less likely to bend or break.

Calming Aura, Grade 1, ? Elemental
Clearing her mind and calming her emotions, Cassie radiates the same serene feeling to those around her, up to a distance of about twice her arm's length.

Tracking Enchantment, Compound Spell, ? Elemental
With a few seconds of concentration, Cassie can enchant an object so that, when placed on something or someone, she'll know which direction they're in. The object also counts as if Cassie were physically touching the thing it's placed on.

Bio:
Cassie was born premature, and suffers from Retinopathy of Prematurity, a severe case which resulted in her being completely blind. Cassie's parents, both members of the Witch's Guild, were somewhat overprotective of their daughter because of this. Her mother, a school teacher, got jobs at Cassie's school so she could keep an eye on her daughter. Though Cassie understood their concern, she harbored some resentment and wished she could see. Still, her parents didn't keep her sheltered, and Cassie led as full a life as she could.

Her parents awakened her at thirteen, and helped her develop her spells to make living with her blindness easier. They trained her for years, partly out of overprotectiveness, so she could go to Amaranth. Though Cassie's parents didn't stop her from going to public school and having a social life, her parents still worried about her magic and how she handled her blidness. Though Cassie loves them, she rebelled by against both her parents and her condition by fully embracing her social life.

Unbeknownst to her parents, Cassie became more and more obsessed with sight after the first incident, and developed a fairly active sex life with ulterior motives, telling her parents she was sleeping over with a friend. After her partners fell asleep, she would borrow their sight and just stare through their eyes all night. Most of them woudln't hook up with her again, due to weird dreams that creeped them out. Cassie finally enrolled in Amaranth when she turned eighteen.

Clubs:
Home Ec
Meditation
Strolling
Fencing (Saber)

Notes:
- Reads braille, contracted braille, and grade 3 braille.
- Weapon proficiency: Saber.
- Improvised weapon proficiency: Cassie's learned to wield her cane like a saber if the need arises, with a modified technique to compensate for the fact that it's not a bladed weapon.
- Information on her condition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinopathy_of_prematurity

Relationships:
Timothy Hayden: Cassie's father, a member of the Witch's Guild, who works as a real estate agent, and was a fencing champion in his youth. He still sees his daughter as a helpless little girl, much to her chagrin, though he tries to avoid that sort of thinking and let her take care of herself.

Jennie Hayden: Cassie's mother, also a member of the Witch's Guild. She's a school teacher, and would take jobs at Cassie's schools, teaching Cassie's classes if she could, to keep an eye on her daughter. She shares her husband's views about Cassie.

Nate Adams: one of Cassie's friends, who attends his first year at Amaranth. A younger boy who has a hopeless crush on her. Cassie's aware, but doesn't return his affections and simply considers him a friend. He's a Black, and is in Fencing Club with her. He's something of a child prodigy, being younger than the usual admittance age in Amaranth and having good marks in all his classes.

Penelope Lega: Sean's girlfriend and Cassie's roomate. Penny is quite pretty, with rather thick blonde hair and wide blue eyes, but is also rather absentminded. Despite her somewhat ditzy nature, she is a very talented musician and singer, playing the harp in the school band. Unbeknownst to Sean or herself, she is a siren and a rare example of an unawakened demon.

Daniel Hicks: Another first-year student, one of the best students in Fencing Club, and kind of a jerk. He has no problem teasing blind girls, but Cassie doesn't really care about him.

[Red Mage Black]

Name: Nasir Alfarsi
Race: Branded One (Demon)
Gender: Male
Aura: Amber (Yellow-Orange)
Age: 18 [18]
Appearance: 6'1"(182.5cm or 1.83m), shoulder length black hair, dark skin, eyes that are gold during the day and silver at night, tattoo under his right eye(Mark of The Wanderer, not an actual tattoo, but might look like one to people who don't know what it actually is). Wears his desert/religious clothing, which includes the light billowy clothing all in varying desert hues which include sand and how it appears during the day and the night, a white cloak with a hood, a carved stone mask that bears a design of the Wanderer's Mark(painted on) and is kept strapped to the hood of his cloak when not in use and last but not least, the sandals on his feet.

Spells:

Power of Wind, Orange Elemental
On his left hand, Nasir wears a cloth with script written in the palm with dye. By clenching his fist and using his will to activate the script, he can deliver a palm strike that sends a small burst of gale force wind into the opponent, causing them to stagger.

Staff-Fighting Mastery, Orange Elemental
With spell script carved down the middle of the staff, Nasir can supplement his staff strikes with small bursts of wind by investing a small amount of will before each strike. At least one hand must be in contact with the script for it to activate.

Deny the Infidel, Orange Elemental
By touching the stone necklace looped through the top of the staff and feeding it will, Nasir creates repelling force around his body to cushion oncoming physical blows. The unfortunate side effect from this is the fact it also repels the air around him, suffocating him until he loses concentration or stops feeding will to the necklace. It also costs more to keep it going as long the barrier keeps opposing blows.

Warding off the Cold, Yellow Elemental
By touching The Wanderer's Brand on his cheek and expending will, Nasir creates a bubble of warm air around himself that pushes away cold air.

Healing Heart, Green Elemental
By touching the wounded area and reciting the Prayer of Healing written down in his prayer book, Nasir can heal very minor wounds.

Background:
From the young age of 6, Nasir's life was filled with religious teachings. This included the origin of their tribe, those they fled and the evils of the city-dwellers. The Wanderer was not the only deity he came to learn about, but many others and which families were dedicated to them. At the age of 12, he was starting to be groomed for his place as a warrior priest, to help protect the tribe where others could not. During this period of time, he was not only taught martial combat, but also about magic. With no hinderance from any organized body of people, this was not a problem. It encompassed fighting with not just his walking stick, but taking advantage of inclement weather.

Four years of grueling desert travel and harsh training, he finally came to bear the mark of his family's dedicated deity. The circumstances behind The Wanderer's choice of chosen were baffling at best, but there was still more to come. As he still hadn't completed training, he had some skill to be noted. His finer manipulation of the wind and his ability to call lightning from a clear sky. Spells inherited from his own blood. Lesser abilities were confirmed to be the minor ability to heal, a very useful ability on a battlefield and the ability to harden his body against attacks on his person. Despite the fact The Wanderer only takes one priest every lifetime and constantly putting himself on the battlefield would be a danger, Nasir continued his training regardless.

It happened all at once. In a dream, The Wanderer walked to him over an oasis lit silver by the hanging moon. While honored by the presence of his worshiped deity, The Wanderer spoke to him. "You must go to this place," they said, showing him a vision of Amaranth, "But first..." The Wanderer told him, showing him people he had never seen before, "You must meet these people. They are from an organization called 'The Witch's Guild'. They will teach you new things and how to speak the language of the natives in your final destination. The other figures vanished, leaving one behind. "This is the first one you will meet. Go to her. She will understand you and point you in the right direction. Once this has been done, I will show you to your next destination. Your fellow priests will understand this journey. Leave by sunrise and you will reach your first destination in two weeks. Take only what you need for the first part of this journey."

With all this information, Nasir's head was almost spinning. To leave his tribe and go out into the world. One which he had never seen before, but how could he question the orders of his deity. As The Wanderer had ordered, Nasir set off at sunrise, taking a couple waterskins, jerky, bread, his religious clothing/tools which was his priest mask and walking stick and changes of clothing with him on his journey.

On his way on the path that had been laid out, the Witch's Guild members had been as helpful as they could be, giving him extra food, something to drink, washing his clothing and even help getting across the ocean. He had taken cargo freighters from one country to the next, where the others The Wanderer told him about would take him. With his skill, he would help prevent storms from overcoming the freighters, using advice from the guild members not to use magic around the workers.

The last leg of his journey rested when a freighter stopped in Alaska. While cold weather was no longer a mystery to Nasir, he insisted upon learning one last spell from his deity's repetoir of elements, fire. Meeting the last Witch's Guild member was easy enough. They secured not only an ID, but also a passport to get him through the border into Canada. Then for days and nights, he trekked through the Alaskan wilderness and finally found his way in. His ignition spell to light wood was incredibly helpful for surviving the freezing nights.

Upon passing into Canada, that night, Nasir had one last vision from The Wanderer. He was shown his direct route to Amaranth, including to the building he needed to go to. 2 years of journey finally see him to his destination. Even the school was oddly accepting and the English lessons along the way had paid off.

Clubs:

Meditation
Strolling
Wilderness


Notes:

The staff he uses is made of bone and covered in his tribe's spell script.

Stone necklace with spell script is tied in a loop around the top of the staff.

The cloth with the spell script written in dye needs to be rewritten when the dye fades or cloth wears out. Spell script noted in his prayer book on a note page in the back of the book so he can rewrite it himself.

Prayer Book contains the words for his healing spell in case he forgets, as well as many mundane prayers meant to be said at different times of the day.

The Wanderer's Brand is on his right cheek under his eye and looks like this (http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk29/Scarletgirasol/nasirtat.gif).

Relationships:

Veehr Jawab: Roughly translated as the Wanderer, Veehr Jawab is a deity of Chaos, associated with fire, wind, spirit, travel and movement. The Wanderer is a god of the desert and patron of Nasir's tribe, who calls all to abandon the corrupt and weak lifestyle of the city dwellers, and return to the old and pure nomadic ways. The Wanderer has no temple, and only one priest - the one who bears their brand. Despising kings, the Wanderer's Brand passes without regard for blood to the most worthy - age and gender are irrelevant. It is said that the Wanderer walks through time and witnesses the deeds we will do, when selecting the mortal who shall bear the Brand as its voice. If the bearer of the Brand seeks to abuse its power, the Brand shall pass from them - and they will be cast out; if the Wanderer does not slay them personally. The Wanderer appears as a masked and veiled figure, clad in a cloak of shifting desert hues. As a god of Chaos, the gender, height, clothes, skin tone and build of the Wanderer shifts without warning - it is rarely the same twice. Only its eyes are predictable - gold in the day, silver at night.

[Rhiya Ravenwing]

Cleaning up the Bio a little bit more. I think this is the final(ish) product I hope! Added the hopeful Club-level skill (Perception Surge).

Name: Emme Horton
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Aura: Yellow
Age: 18
Appearance:
Emme stands an unassuming height of 5’5”, with long, straight brown hair that is normally fixed up into a neat, braided bun. Her features are cute, but easily overlooked due to a humble posture she continuously affects. The only remarkable feature about her is her vivid emerald eyes, which sometimes almost burn (non-magically, of course) with unstoppable determination. Emme dresses conservatively, in dull colours that aim at preventing her from standing out too much. Despite some practicality issues, Emme prefers long skirts over pants, but has an array of both.

Spells:
Illusion – Inconspicuous Maid (Lavender Elemental) – Small will-drain, very subtle. As a maid, Emme is taught to go about her job as inconspicuously as possible, and this spell allows her to blend (not exactly invisibility) into the background like a wallflower. In order for the spell to work, Emme must wear dull/dark and boring clothing and make no sudden threatening or aggresive movements. Inconspicuous Maid is a specifically non-combat spell, used prior to avoidable confrontations.

Mode-Shift – Quiet Determination (Yellow Elemental) – When a task really needs to get done, Emme may infuse her body with Will to get it done. A more combat oriented spell, Quiet Determination boosts her physical capabilities, giving her a slightly better edge in a fight. Pretty useless when it comes to more finer manipulation of tools and other such things.

Flash Move - Where a Maid’s Needed (Blue Elemental) – A maid must be where she is needed! Functions exactly like Flash Move.

Infusion – Broomstick Defence (Orange Elemental) – Emme is trained to defend her Master/Mistress equivalent to a bodyguard. As such, she must be able to fight with whatever she has on hand – normally cleaning equipment, or other such Household items. Emme is able to extend her Will into whatever she holds to harden its properties so that it becomes more resistant and longer-lasting in a fight. Right now, her speciality is hardening the properties of long-handled wooden utensils such as brooms, staves and mops, though she is able to accommodate for similar wooden-shaped objects (objects that aren't wooden or have significant size/shape differences are harder to infuse/freecast upon). Emme must maintain constant contact with the infused weapon in question for the spell to work.

Perception Modeshift - A Master's Needs (Yellow Elemental) - A Maid must anticipate her Master's and any guest's needs! With this surge, Emme is able to provide herself more clarity and insight into the body language of others. While activated, Emme is able to read - and to a degree - anticipate what another individual is about to do. In Maid service, this may mean getting the guest another cup of tea. Combat-wise, this spell is better used to analyse combat (and a combatant’s fighting style) without her involvement.

Perception Surge - Snapshot Clarity (Yellow Elemental) - A club-level spell that is an offshoot of Emme's original perception modeshift. Emme found it useful to gain a brief, but greater clarity in a mere moment during her strolling and Home Ec club activities. A lot more physical strain exerted on her eyes, Emme is able to activate this spell to gain a snapshot of what she's viewing in superb clarity and detail. Great for picking out visual detail in an environment or the briefest moments' worth of visual clarity, but both heavy in will drain and physical strain on her eyes (Plus the migraines it gives when she uses it too frequently are intense, as well as blurred vision after multiple uses)

Bio:

Emme Horton is the daughter of a Guardian of the House - in particular, that of an Elite head Maid who acts as both bodyguard and Household overseer to a well-established E.S.A. official. She followed in her mother’s footsteps and was in training to succeed the position of Head Maid in the same official’s household upon her mother’s retirement. From an early age she applied herself in all she needed to know about in regards to the mundane tasks of Maidship. Simultaneously, her mother was the leading figure in training her other skills - including combat and magical practices.

One of the final training courses in order to become a fully-fledged Guardian of the House member, all applicants must enrol and spend a minimum of one to two years at the Amaranth Institute for the Gifted. One further year may be allowed, should a maid show potential after surviving the two. Candidates that have completed their studies at Amaranth are then allowed to fully complete their training and step into their employment confidentally.

As such, Emme’s time has come for her final trials.

Clubs:
Home ec
Strolling
Cultural
Meditation

Notes:

The Guardians of the House - Comprised of two partnership organizations (Male and female respectively), the Guardians of the House manages the complex networking of the highest quality bodyguards (and household maintenance) among the ESA and the Wizards and Witches guilds. They are an almost completely neutral organization (though they loosely hold a Seat in the ESA) whose sole purpose is to function as a 'defensive' mechanism for the more powerful officials and their families. The leaders of the Guardians is an even group of retirees from both male and female counterparts, who have the final say in all matters to deal with any individuals from the organisation. With that said, a lot of the Codes of Conducts, as well as strict policies are heavily policed among the individuals themselves, leaving only the greyer matters to the 'governing council'. The Guardians are a mainly neutral organization, where loyalty lies only to the House they are managing, and to the Guardian's governing body.

When managing the finer parts of the organization, GoH can be split into two distinct groups - the Elite Maids Sisterhood, and the Brethren of Butlers.

Elite Maids Sisterhood - Part of the Guardians of the House. The Sisterhood specializes in training prized bodyguards for the higher members of any organization - extending from the ESA Households, to even the Witches and Wizards. They are also simultaneously highly trained individuals very capable in other mundane fields (ie: running and managing a Household fully independent to the head of the House). Emme is currently an unofficial Elite Maid.

Improvised Weaponry Proficiency - Emme is trained in the use (or abuse) of utilizing whatever she has at hand in a Household as a weapon should the need arise. While this means she can actually use whatever she has on hand, she's best with the broomstick and mop, see below.

Quarterstaff Proficiency – Emme is trained in the use of quarterstaffs and bo-staffs, due to their similarity with the most common of household equipment such as the broom and mop. However, she’s a lot better at using household equipment like a broom or mop.

Language Proficiency – Emme is multilingual. Aside from the normal English, she is is completely fluent in Russian, Chinese (Mandarin), Arabic, English, and is currently also studying french (speaking and writing is slightly broken, but she is a fast learner in that respect)

Relationships:

Anna Horton – Head Maid in the employ of one of the more elite Houses of an Esteemed E.S.A organization. Emme’s loving mother, mentor, trainer. Husband deceased. Anna greatly influenced Emme’s own personal decision from a very early age to aspire to become what her mother was – a greatly respected Elite Maid at the top of her employment. In between Anna’s busy schedule as Head Maid running the Master’s house, and Emme’s own training, they still manage to take some time out to call each other over phone or the internet to chat and catch up. Anna plays mentor and loved mother to her daughter, but is not one to ‘clean up’, pun not intended, what mess Emme gets herself into, holding to the idea her daughter is old enough to handle whatever is thrown at her already

Catherine Flemington – Fellow first year student and apprentice witch with a penchant for enchantments. 17 years old, bright, bubbly, flamboyant, and Emme’s best friend since childhood, they share a dorm room with each other, as well as a less-pleasant girl Verna. Catherine is one of Emme’s continuous assessment tasks in her Maid training – a task that had to be modified slightly due to school restrictions, but nonetheless Emme compensates for it quite well. Catherine is the typical blonde-haired, blue-eyed pretty face, and always very enthusiastic about everything. She shares Emme’s determination in her studies, and has also signed up for the Cheerleading Club.

Jennifer Nikolai – Fellow first year student, actually friend of Catherine Flemington, but also knows Emme by proxy. She’s very private and conservative. Secretly, she admires Emme’s efficiency and dedication to her tasks. She’s a proficient martial weapons apprentice, and interested as well in the crafting of the same sort. Jennifer is brown-haired, brown eyed, with a lean build. She shares the cultural club with Emme. They have a friendly – yet competitive – rivalry going on between them. Jenn is a Black.

Verna Lehy – Fellow first year student and Emme’s roommate. Awakened Pyrokinetic. Verna is a bit of a bully, bossy, loud, and an attention-getter. When she found out her roommate was to be an Elite Maid in training, Verna took every opportunity to take advantage of Emme’s hard working abilities, from dumping piles of dirty laundry on Emme’s bed to be washed, to leaving books, clothes, and food scraps everywhere for Emme to clean up. It irritates Verna to no end that Emme takes to her new cleaning tasks without a single word of complaint or deathly glare, rather handling everything in simple humility. She is very pretty, with a mane of beautiful fiery red hair, almond-shaped eyes with red pupils, and just the right amount of freckling sprinkled across her pale cheeks.

[Aldurin]

Here's the new spells plus the revision of Electronic Override. I was unsure about whether or not you actually cut down how many upgrade spells I can have, so if it's just one spell then you don't need to bother about EM Vision.

Deactivate Device, Blue Elemental:
Naomi has learned to be able to use magic to turn off simple electronic devices without needing access to the key/lever/switch. Requires physical contact with the device in question and some focus.

Activate Device, Blue Elemental:
Naomi's counterpart spell to Deactivate Device, functioning exactly the same except that it turns on the device instead of turning it off.

Discomfort Resistance (Nausea), Yellow Elemental:
In attempt to help her deal with her problems with the Veterinary club, Naomi has developed a spell during Fitness that dulls nausea. This allows her to focus better on the task at hand, and withstand a specific type of mitigating influence on her mind. Will drains faster the stronger the suppressed effect is. This is a Modeshift.

EM Vision, Yellow Elemental:
Developed during her time in Computer Club, Naomi developed a modeshift that allows her to see electromagnetic fields (detectable from anything with an electrical charge, from circuits to people). Detected fields make a white glow around the object, based on the strength of the charge (thus animals and humans would probably be very dim) while non-charged objects appear as black (maybe remove her ability to see auras during this?).

Justification to answer your on-pad question as to why she would learn this: As a harmless spell that would allow her to more easily find electronic devices/wiring for finding stuff or for feeding her technological interest (so that's the way they wired the lighting . . .) etc. Meant to work well in conjunction with Activate/Deactivate Devices spells.

[Lillium]

http://www.nuklearforums.com/showpost.php?p=1200549&postcount=56
^ Editing original post for actual changes.

I have several comments on things that go here though!

First off, most of anything wrong is not a misinterpretation, it is misinformation. I initially wrote the character with the first primer, and certain details are either lacking or reversed in the post.

I have absolutely no intent to move the first bit of her backstory from her to the blurb about her parents. Who and what your parents are during your formative years defines almost everything about your early life, from how well you ate/bathed/dressed to your speech patterns to your early life aspirations. Even though this section describes her parents a bit more, it directly translates into who she is and where she's come from.

If her father had interest to study dangerous magical things, he still lacks the time. Despite unstable work, he does in fact work constant overtime. An unfortunate byproduct of trying to support a family. I mentioned he has worked out a couple of the most simple defenses possible (and can keep shiny shoes, despite not having time to care for and shine them), but more is simply something he can't do.
Her mother is intentionally a mystery. What exactly she does is up to you, for better or (more likely) worse. Most DMs jump on these opportunities with evil glee. >.>
What Robyn and her mother are capable of is a direct result of what they have learned. While they (and her father, and the rest of humanity) have the potential to learn more, they have not. Thus, this is what they can do.

The Hindi bit. Its not a big deal, except that Beth is paranoid. The point isn't that they don't know that Robyn's never learned it. The point is that if someone went digging they could find out she's never learned it, and questions would be raised. When magic is Secret from general society... Well. Robyn is reckless and her mother is paranoid.
School doesn't care about anything of this sort, at least not in a "complaint" sort of way. If most things she's done were to come up, it would be a conversation along the lines of "Kids to the darnedest things".

Psychics are not a race, nor even a subrace, IRL or standard fiction. Unless you've done something with them...

[Teal Mage]

Let's begin.

Zu:

The last paragraph of your backstory - the first sentence, mostly - is still an issue. It mentions a 'first incidence' wherein her Borrow Sight spell would have activated, presumably accidentally. In the current iteration of her bio, Borrow Sight is an Awakened technique she taught herself (as I mentioned, its also very likely the only way she could see like everyone else), not something that accidentally activated one day. You'll either need to expand on the circumstances of that incident, or remove the reference entirely - your call.

Moving on, the latest iteration of your spells.

Tweak for Borrow Sight - the spell's one-way. It only allows Cassie to overshadow/possess her target's eyes and the cognitive faculties related to it - they're cut off from sight. On some reflection, I'm a little bit uneasy about Cassie being able to hear their surface thoughts (mechanical concern) - especially since the spell itself is probably something she's played with a lot. Granted, developing it would have been extremely difficult for her, but is there a reason she wouldn't try to refine it further to block those thoughts out/keep her thoughts to herself?

Additional revision: Dark Green Elemental (reference to the poor control) and Cassie can't control her body well while using this technique - its not-quite Astral Projection/Spirit Casting, but its close. Its definitely an out-of-body experience.

I'm gonna say Danger Sense is Red-Orange (2 Red to 1 Orange) - the necklace's chain needs to be worn by Cassie for the effect to work. Small Will drain when active, the Guardian Spirit is technically the spirit of the necklace (so, not sealed - it was given a limited Awakening). Fine otherwise. Intuition Surge has a fair Will and physical energy drain - it'll tire her easily. Yellow Elemental. Beyond that, works. Weapon Reinforcement is fine - see Emme's spell for details. Won't work well on objects that aren't somewhat stiff to start with (feathers, for instance). Orange Elemental, low drain. The spell's designed to work with her cane, ideally, correct? Other objects count as free-casts - the more similar to her cane, the easier they are. I admit though, I question the wisdom of this technique - in a serious battle, a reinforced cane would help her very little.

Because of the added difficulty of her Borrow Sight spell, I'm gonna say the above four are the extent of her Pre-Amaranth abilities - though strictly speaking, she might have had the building blocks for any other spells she picked up before as well.

Calming Aura, being a AoE, has only a mild effect. Drain isn't large though. Cassie can't predict how people will respond to this. The magical emotional manipulation doesn't extend beyond the aura's range (not a curse) and is relatively obvious to the Awakened (makes her aura flare - the sensitive will notice it more readily as a faint aura-mist). Green Elemental. If Cassie's emotions aren't calm, it won't work. Fits the Meditation club well enough that I'm going to count it as a Club-Level.

Tracking Enchantment on the other hand isn't going to fly as is. Enchantments are hard - and this one has a reasonably complicated mental augmentation effect involved (has to build a new sixth sense into her mind when it activates, linking her to the object). Definitely not a few seconds of concentration material - nor is it gonna be cheap. Just tells her the direction of the object, not the distance, and the 'counts as physical contact' thing is right out. When she gets more real combat experience, I might be willing to allow it. 'til then, no.

Also going to require a default object for this to be listed in the bio - presently, she can only definitely maintain one of these enchantments at a time. Also going to recommend using Wizardry for the enchantment itself, since it would be the 'easiest' route. Old Magic could also do it, but it would take much longer and would have very specific requirements attached to the object its laid on. Works plenty well as a Strolling club spell.

Anyway, I'll make some comments about Clubs at this point. Meditation and Strolling should be fine, more or less, for her. Might need a partner for Strolling when looking for the door or wandering the Campus, but I think she could manage passably in both. Fencing on the other hand is going to be incredibly hard for her. Like, it won't even be funny how hard this'll be for her. She'll absolutely need a spell to even manage an average performance here. Home Economics will also be extremely hard - possibly impossible, when it comes to test-time. It may be workable with magic or a partner, but she'd be stuck at low grades if her partner did most of her work.

...it would be my assessment, in summary, that you'll need to prioritize your club-spells extremely carefully. Meditation's basically the only thing she won't need magical assistance in, while Fencing she definitely will. Strolling may be workable without spells, but she'll need a partner all the time. Home Ec...well, she can try it, but I think she'd ultimately have to drop it, or deal with a low grade, if you can't think of a spell to make it possible. Even with one, I think she'll have trouble.

Red:

...alright, Red? I have a few concerns about approving your character. At this point, I have no particular issue with Nasir himself - he does seem a little one note (he's the Priest of the Wanderer - his interests include contemplative, priestly, meditation, walking and...possibly being in the Wilderness?) but that is what character development is for (you should thank Steel for negotiating on Nasir's behalf here), so I won't reject him on this basis. I am anticipating that you'll correct this in-game, one way or another, though.

That said, I do have some concerns with you - or rather, the way you seem to have interpreted the Power of Wind spell. I reviewed my last post, and as I thought, I didn't say anything about the spell requiring a punch. The technique activates immediately after Nasir puts Will into the talisman and causes the air in front of his body to erupt in a very short-range (roughly the length of his arm) blast of gale-force wind (blowing away from him) for a second or two. For some reason, you added a punch to this.

Really, there are a couple issues here. First, this isn't the first time you've seriously misinterpreted something I've said. Second, that you don't think adding a punch to this spell would compromise its value as a defense-minded spell for a character who, as a mage-leaning hybrid, should not be in melee in the first place makes me think you're far underestimating how brutal the game will be. Put another way: Nasir would never be able to punch quick enough to use this spell against a melee attacker.

This isn't to say this version of the spell doesn't have a potential use, by the way! Its just not going to do what the original spell I proposed would. You can keep it, if its your preference, or change it to the one I described above. Your call.

Anyway, normally, these concerns would be sufficient for me to drop you from the game - however, given the number of players I'm gaining ought to be manageable and the amount of work you've put into Nasir, I will overlook it this time. But, if he dies quickly or stupidly (something that doesn't seem like a remote possibility, to me), or your performance in-game proves to be particularly poor (for instance, if you continue to misinterpret my posts), I'll end up dropping you. Won't hold your hand for the game either, as a note, so don't expect me to always answer questions. Some degree of reading comprehension is required.

Understand? Make your choice about Power of Wind and answer that, and I'll probably approve you.

Rhiya:

Alright, looks good! I will reiterate a statement I just made to Zu, as a note, though. Broomstick Defense does work on any object (in theory), but it does need a designated object (a wooden broom, for instance) that it works best with. Other objects count as free-casts of varying difficulties, depending on their similarity to the designated object. Emme's training probably makes her pretty good at this, but free-casting still requires a little focus and can't be done reflexively. Too different an object will make this a mode-shift/might fail when her concentration breaks.

For best result, use the same material as the designated object (wood in the example given). She'll get better at this as the game progresses, if she practices this spell frequently.

So, which object to you want her to specialize in? Sorry about waffling on this one – I do constantly rebalance to catch bad calls I make, as a note.

Other note...she's in Professor Leanne Silverstein's Q-10 class at the moment. Been there for the past two months - I'll have a class-list for you before the game begins. Professor Silverstein took over for Professor Shuyin on the second day of classes (Emme probably met him) and is Half-Awakened.

Anyway, Emme's approved.

Oh, did I ask what kind of priorities she has for her four clubs? If not, tell me so I can put her grades up in her Wiki-bio, if so, point me to the post where you do that.

Al:

Activate Device, Deactivate Device and Discomfort Resistance are approved. Her aura’s Teal (Blue-Green).

Since your last bio just needs you to add these three spells to be up to date, I'll just approve you here. Naomi's officially in-game! She's in Leanne Silverstein's Q-10 class, with Emme. They may be friends!

Lillium:

…so, Lillium, do you want to play this game? Seriously, if Steel hadn't vouched for you, after reading your last update, we'd be done here. Your last post is extremely condescending and contains several implied insults aimed at me. As far as I can see, you want me to expel you. If that's not the case, lose the attitude and apologize, or I'll be happy to say 'see ya!' and kick you.

There are a lot of problems with your character, and if you want in the game, you'll need to take my direction and criticism, not try to argue out of it or insult me. If you're willing, I will warn you - I won't hold back, so be prepared for harsh reviews.

First off, most of anything wrong is not a misinterpretation, it is misinformation. I initially wrote the character with the first primer, and certain details are either lacking or reversed in the post.

Reading the current Primer at the start of this thread isn't optional. You have to read it. Go do it. In fact, read the entire thread. There small details I missed in the new Primer you might pick up by reading the other bios and seeing where other players made mistakes. It'll make this process easier for all of us.

Psychics are not a race, nor even a subrace, IRL or standard fiction. Unless you've done something with them...

This isn't real life, nor standard fiction. Its a custom-made setting, which does not follow some standard conventions. If you don't accept that quickly, this will be a very difficult process. Psychics, as it happens, are Non-Humans (usually raised in Human Society). See the Primer for details on what that means.

[Lillium]

I retract my character and any interest from this. I should have done that after your last post and particularly after your attitude and what you said on AIM.

The real problem here is a private matter between you, Steel, and me, and its easier if I just walk away.

[Arhra]

This isn't real life, nor standard fiction. Its a custom-made setting, which does not follow some standard conventions. If you don't accept that quickly, this will be a very difficult process. Psychics, as it happens, are Non-Humans (usually raised in Human Society). See the Primer for details on what that means.

Hang on, I think I need to say something since it's been bugging me.

This is a nonstandard setting so you can't expect players to know things that aren't in the primer. Such as whether there are psychics and what they are. In the absence of information, players will create something as a proposal for how they work in the setting, as it appears to be a currently undefined area.

You can't expect people to read your mind. Things will always be less clear cut than the GM thinks they are. Misunderstandings happen. There wouldn't be a need for questions and revisions and clarifications if that wasn't true.

[Teal Mage]

My response to that comment was largely in regard to the tone, not the content. I'm aware that I've made omissions in the Primer, and if one of those omissions is important, I'm perfectly happy to answer a question - but the question's phrasing suggested something entirely different than "this isn't in the Primer, so could you expand on it?"

It suggested that "Psychics are never a race and I'm sure this setting doesn't use them as one - because no other normal setting does." Honestly, I wasn't even sure she was asking a question there (the question mark is a wonderfully helpful punction). That aside, it was decidely impolite in phrasing.

So, that said, yes, questions are fine - even encouraged. Phil was asking questions when he was here, as you may recall, and I did answer them. I just want to make sure players read the Primer first before they ask, and be polite when they ask. I don't think those are outrageous requests?

[Red Mage Black]

I've decided to go with your version, since it'll most likely be easier for me to expand upon. I've come up with a sort of expansion to the notes section to include stuff from the tribe and why Nasir turns out the way he does in the beginning, but I'll hold off on that until things are certain.

Name: Nasir Alfarsi
Race: Branded One (Demon)
Gender: Male
Aura: Amber (Yellow-Orange)
Age: 18 [18]
Appearance: 6'1"(182.5cm or 1.83m), shoulder length black hair, dark skin, eyes that are gold during the day and silver at night, tattoo under his right eye(Mark of The Wanderer, not an actual tattoo, but might look like one to people who don't know what it actually is). Wears his desert/religious clothing, which includes the light billowy clothing all in varying desert hues which include sand and how it appears during the day and the night, a white cloak with a hood, a carved stone mask that bears a design of the Wanderer's Mark(painted on) and is kept strapped to the hood of his cloak when not in use and last but not least, the sandals on his feet.

Spells:

Power of Wind, Orange Elemental
On his left hand, Nasir wears a cloth with script written in the palm with dye. By activating the talisman, the air in front of him erupts in a short burst of gale force wind causing his opponent to stagger.

Staff-Fighting Mastery, Orange Elemental
With spell script carved down the middle of the staff, Nasir can supplement his staff strikes with small bursts of wind by investing a small amount of will before each strike. At least one hand must be in contact with the script for it to activate.

Deny the Infidel, Orange Elemental
By touching the stone necklace looped through the top of the staff and feeding it will, Nasir creates repelling force around his body to cushion oncoming physical blows. The unfortunate side effect from this is the fact it also repels the air around him, suffocating him until he loses concentration or stops feeding will to the necklace. It also costs more to keep it going as long the barrier keeps opposing blows.

Warding off the Cold, Yellow Elemental
By touching The Wanderer's Brand on his cheek and expending will, Nasir creates a bubble of warm air around himself that pushes away cold air.

Healing Heart, Green Elemental
By touching the wounded area and reciting the Prayer of Healing written down in his prayer book, Nasir can heal very minor wounds.

Background:
From the young age of 6, Nasir's life was filled with religious teachings. This included the origin of their tribe, those they fled and the evils of the city-dwellers. The Wanderer was not the only deity he came to learn about, but many others and which families were dedicated to them. At the age of 12, he was starting to be groomed for his place as a warrior priest, to help protect the tribe where others could not. During this period of time, he was not only taught martial combat, but also about magic. With no hinderance from any organized body of people, this was not a problem. It encompassed fighting with not just his walking stick, but taking advantage of inclement weather.

Four years of grueling desert travel and harsh training, he finally came to bear the mark of his family's dedicated deity. The circumstances behind The Wanderer's choice of chosen were baffling at best, but there was still more to come. As he still hadn't completed training, he had some skill to be noted. His finer manipulation of the wind and his ability to call lightning from a clear sky. Spells inherited from his own blood. Lesser abilities were confirmed to be the minor ability to heal, a very useful ability on a battlefield and the ability to harden his body against attacks on his person. Despite the fact The Wanderer only takes one priest every lifetime and constantly putting himself on the battlefield would be a danger, Nasir continued his training regardless.

It happened all at once. In a dream, The Wanderer walked to him over an oasis lit silver by the hanging moon. While honored by the presence of his worshiped deity, The Wanderer spoke to him. "You must go to this place," they said, showing him a vision of Amaranth, "But first..." The Wanderer told him, showing him people he had never seen before, "You must meet these people. They are from an organization called 'The Witch's Guild'. They will teach you new things and how to speak the language of the natives in your final destination. The other figures vanished, leaving one behind. "This is the first one you will meet. Go to her. She will understand you and point you in the right direction. Once this has been done, I will show you to your next destination. Your fellow priests will understand this journey. Leave by sunrise and you will reach your first destination in two weeks. Take only what you need for the first part of this journey."

With all this information, Nasir's head was almost spinning. To leave his tribe and go out into the world. One which he had never seen before, but how could he question the orders of his deity. As The Wanderer had ordered, Nasir set off at sunrise, taking a couple waterskins, jerky, bread, his religious clothing/tools which was his priest mask and walking stick and changes of clothing with him on his journey.

On his way on the path that had been laid out, the Witch's Guild members had been as helpful as they could be, giving him extra food, something to drink, washing his clothing and even help getting across the ocean. He had taken cargo freighters from one country to the next, where the others The Wanderer told him about would take him. With his skill, he would help prevent storms from overcoming the freighters, using advice from the guild members not to use magic around the workers.

The last leg of his journey rested when a freighter stopped in Alaska. While cold weather was no longer a mystery to Nasir, he insisted upon learning one last spell from his deity's repetoir of elements, fire. Meeting the last Witch's Guild member was easy enough. They secured not only an ID, but also a passport to get him through the border into Canada. Then for days and nights, he trekked through the Alaskan wilderness and finally found his way in. His ignition spell to light wood was incredibly helpful for surviving the freezing nights.

Upon passing into Canada, that night, Nasir had one last vision from The Wanderer. He was shown his direct route to Amaranth, including to the building he needed to go to. 2 years of journey finally see him to his destination. Even the school was oddly accepting and the English lessons along the way had paid off.

Clubs:

Meditation
Strolling
Wilderness


Notes:

The staff he uses is made of bone and covered in his tribe's spell script.

Stone necklace with spell script is tied in a loop around the top of the staff.

The cloth with the spell script written in dye needs to be rewritten when the dye fades or cloth wears out. Spell script noted in his prayer book on a note page in the back of the book so he can rewrite it himself.

Prayer Book contains the words for his healing spell in case he forgets, as well as many mundane prayers meant to be said at different times of the day.

The Wanderer's Brand is on his right cheek under his eye and looks like this (http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk29/Scarletgirasol/nasirtat.gif).

Relationships:

Veehr Jawab: Roughly translated as the Wanderer, Veehr Jawab is a deity of Chaos, associated with fire, wind, spirit, travel and movement. The Wanderer is a god of the desert and patron of Nasir's tribe, who calls all to abandon the corrupt and weak lifestyle of the city dwellers, and return to the old and pure nomadic ways. The Wanderer has no temple, and only one priest - the one who bears their brand. Despising kings, the Wanderer's Brand passes without regard for blood to the most worthy - age and gender are irrelevant. It is said that the Wanderer walks through time and witnesses the deeds we will do, when selecting the mortal who shall bear the Brand as its voice. If the bearer of the Brand seeks to abuse its power, the Brand shall pass from them - and they will be cast out; if the Wanderer does not slay them personally. The Wanderer appears as a masked and veiled figure, clad in a cloak of shifting desert hues. As a god of Chaos, the gender, height, clothes, skin tone and build of the Wanderer shifts without warning - it is rarely the same twice. Only its eyes are predictable - gold in the day, silver at night.

[Teal Mage]

Right, looks like Zu is busy or something, so I suppose I'll stop waiting and reply.

Red, there aren't any rejection-worthy problems with Nasir's backstory, though it appears that more than a few references to spells that previous iterations of his character used are still present there. To begin, inherited magical abilities were dropped completely a few posts back. The ability to harden his body was replaced with a barrier spell, while the ability to call lightning from a clear sky and manipulate weather to repel storms or control greater winds just aren't reflected by his spell-set at all.

As far it goes, I'm perfectly capable of ignoring the references to abilities he doesn't have any more. I do want to be clear about something though: Given his present spell list, I'm not considering him a Weather Wizard. He has no abilities which would reflect this. If you want to fix that, you'll need to do a lot of rejiggling on the spell-list side - right now, he's more of a jack-of-all-trades with a slight wind theme. Its a very weak one though.

Anyway, I have no particular issue with Nasir as the is character presented here. Approved, unless you want to dig into his spells again to make him a Weather Wizard.

Well, with Zu's final bio pending soon, I think I'll begin working on the first post of the game's second arc. It'll take a while to figure out what the best opener is, and since I have to update Kohana, Jo and Jack still, that'll need to happen first. I suppose I also need to update some NPCs. Still, that's your notice that the game'll begin...eventually.

[Zoological Uncertainty]

Finally done! Special thanks to Teal for helping me a lot on AIM!

Name: Cassandra "Cassie" Hayden
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Aura: Dark Amber
Age: 18
Appearance: 5'2'', average build, wavy pale blonde hair reaches halfway down her back, dusty blue eyes and caucasian. Her clothing is nothing special, usually jeans and a blouse. Except she always mismatches colors or wears odd outfits based on what's comfortable and not on what looks good. She wears sunglasses over her eyes when she goes out and carries a white cane.

Spells:

Borrow Sight, Grade 1, Dark Green Elemental
With this spell, Cassie can transfer her sight with someone else's. This is limited solely to body functions related to eyesight. She can open and close the other person's eyelids and move their eyes and see what they see, and the victim is cut off from sight. While active, Cassie and the victim can hear each other's surface thoughts. This spell requires direct, skin-on-skin physical contact to activate, and ends when that contact is broken or Cassie consciously turns it off. Headaches are a common side effect of this spell. Cassie can't control her body well while using this technique - its not-quite Astral Projection/Spirit Casting, but its close. Its definitely an out-of-body experience.

Charm, Grade 1, Orange Elemental
A touch-based curse which, focused through a brass ring with a piece of heart-shaped pink quartz, charms the victim to make Cassie appear more attractive to them.

Alluring Aroma, Grade 1, Orange Elemental
Cassie can make her own brand of magic perfume, and anyone who smells it will think she's cute. She usually carries some in a bottle of name-brand perfume so as not to call attention to it. Brewing it takes a substantial amount of time.

Hearing Boost/Air Current Sense - Modeshift, Compound Spell, Amber Elemental
A modeshift which, when active, allows Cassie to feel her way around with air-pressure, directly around her body (by continually releasing weak waves of magic which she can sense distortions in when something gets close), while improving her hearing.

Pleasant Voice, Grade 1, Orange Elemental
Self-buff that affects Cassie's vocal cords, making her voice sound pleasant to all who listen, as long as she's singing.

Air-Pressure Blast, Grade 1, Amber Elemental
Requires her Hearing Boost/Air Current Sense modeshift to be active. When this spell is activated, it releases a large amount of Will into the air around Cassie, as a short-range explosion, which knocks people back. This spell has a high Will cost and physical drain, and after using it her modeshift can't be activated for a time.

Bio:
Cassie was born premature, and suffers from Retinopathy of Prematurity, a severe case which resulted in her being completely blind. Cassie's parents, both members of the Witch's Guild, were somewhat overprotective of their daughter because of this. Her mother, a school teacher, got jobs at Cassie's school so she could keep an eye on her daughter. Though Cassie understood their concern, she harbored some resentment and wished she could see. Still, her parents didn't keep her sheltered, and Cassie led as full a life as she could.

Her parents awakened her at thirteen, and helped her develop her spells to make living with her blindness easier. They trained her for years, partly out of overprotectiveness, so she could go to Amaranth. Though Cassie's parents didn't stop her from going to public school and having a social life, her parents still worried about her magic and how she handled her blidness. Though Cassie loves them, she rebelled by against both her parents and her condition by fully embracing her social life.

Unbeknownst to her parents, Cassie became more and more obsessed with sight as she grew up, and developed a fairly active sex life with ulterior motives, telling her parents she was sleeping over with friends. After her partners fell asleep, she would borrow their sight and just stare through their eyes all night. Most of them woudln't hook up with her again, due to weird dreams that creeped them out. Cassie finally enrolled in Amaranth when she turned eighteen.

Clubs:
Choir
Meditation
Strolling
Fencing (Saber)

Notes:
- Reads braille, contracted braille, and grade 3 braille.
- Weapon proficiency: Saber.
- Improvised weapon proficiency: Cassie's learned to wield her cane like a saber if the need arises, with a modified technique to compensate for the fact that it's not a bladed weapon.
- Information on her condition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinopathy_of_prematurity

Relationships:
Timothy Hayden: Cassie's father, a member of the Witch's Guild, who works as a real estate agent, and was a fencing champion in his youth. He still sees his daughter as a helpless little girl, much to her chagrin, though he tries to avoid that sort of thinking and let her take care of herself.

Jennie Hayden: Cassie's mother, also a member of the Witch's Guild. She's a school teacher, and would take jobs at Cassie's schools, teaching Cassie's classes if she could, to keep an eye on her daughter. She shares her husband's views about Cassie.

Evelyn Hayden: Cassie's grandmother, appears to be a kindly old woman, but is rather creepy and eccentric. An Old Magic user.

Nate Adams: one of Cassie's friends, who attends his first year at Amaranth. A younger boy who has a hopeless crush on her. Cassie's aware, but doesn't return his affections and simply considers him a friend. He's a Black, and is in Fencing Club with her. He's something of a child prodigy, being younger than the usual admittance age in Amaranth and having good marks in all his classes.

Penelope Lega: Sean's girlfriend and Cassie's roomate. Penny is quite pretty, with rather thick blonde hair and wide blue eyes, but is also rather absentminded. Despite her somewhat ditzy nature, she is a very talented musician and singer, playing the harp in the school band. Unbeknownst to Sean, Cassie or herself, she is a siren and a rare example of an unawakened demon.

Matthew Sawyer: Another first-year student, one of the best students in Fencing Club, and kind of a jerk. He has no problem teasing blind girls, but Cassie doesn't really care about him.

"Bob": Issued by the school to help Cassie with her school activities, to help her keep up with the other students. Cassie doesn't know his real name, so she calls him Bob. Bob might be a different person every day, but each one sounds exactly the same.

[Teal Mage]

Blah, blah, blah, characters are all approved. Sorry for the delay. If new issues crop up, we'll deal with them.

Game's started. Here's the links to the new threads which you really should subscribe to.

http://www.nuklearforums.com/showthread.php?p=1208562#post1208562 - Discussion/Announcement Thread.

http://www.nuklearforums.com/search.php?searchid=1144348 - Game Thread.