| Tyranny | Liberty |
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[ ] The Tyrant - Seated upon your throne of stone, to rule over Earth with an iron fist: you are the Tyrant, the first and final king of this world and every other to come afterwards. Else, you may ensure there is never a world again.
*+15 Strength, +20 Constitution, +15 Agility, +12 Wits, +35 Charisma, +60 Willpower. +.5 ISH Willpower.
*Gain access to the magical system of Accretion, a form of symbiosis between wielder and object. Initially, your Panoply is limited to three Artifacts, and one of the Artifacts you begin with is your Monolith Throne. Begin with Astral Rank 3.00, and the ability to accrue more.
*If any of your subordinates - the other members of Tyranny - displease, betray, or defy you, gain +.2 ISH in any endeavor taken against them in retribution. Although this advantage is hardly insurmountable, it may prove to be the final weight needed to tip the scales in your favor during such an audacious rebellion. There is no escape - although the yoke of your rule may be light, the whelps should never forget their place.
*The Monolith Throne is a giant royal seat composed of chipped basalt, hovering on a platform of similar material in the orbit of the Earth. It's surrounded by an impenetrable magical forcefield, one kilometer in radius, that may not be breached by the forces of Liberty, unless they are invited. You may teleport to your Monolith Throne whenever you wish and regardless of distance, using a twenty-word incantation, taking with you any willing passengers. A two-minute ritual may instead deposit you in any spot within the Earth's hemisphere currently facing the platform. If a member of Tyranny wishes to contact you and you are seated upon the Monolith Throne, you may create a two-way link of telepathy between yourself and them. The Monolith Throne cannot be destroyed regardless of what magicks are wielded against it - Tyranny is eternal... There exists one exception.
*Any living beings, nations, or cultures that you - or Tyranny - in general dominates, speeds up your general progression and slightly empowers you. Although this isn't particularly noticeable, the accumulation of this power can make you incredibly difficult to dislodge once you conquer and control more than 50% of Earth. Otherworld doesn't count for this.
*However, you are sworn to a tripartite Geas, its contents thus: You must never personally harm or knowingly allow harm to befall a subordinate of yours unless they betrayed or significantly failed you first, you must never act offensively in person unless a minimum of three of your subordinates have already failed to carry out a particular task, and finally, on every Saturday and Sunday you must rest and perform no substantial work or activities that demand active mental or physical exertion. Nothing can ever remove this Geas. You also suffer the Doom of the Tyrant that cannot be mitigated, but you feel a natural respect for the Elder One and the Monster.
*You may be overthrown if the majority of your subordinates band up on you with the decision to destroy you. A new Tyrant may then assume your place by sitting upon the Monolith Throne, giving up their Archetype in the same motion. | [ ] The Mentor - A wizened and rigid mentor, your role is not to rule, but to guide and lead those eager guardians who strive under your watchful eye. Yours is the sagacity to make difficult choices, and to raise the next generation of fighters against Tyranny.
+10 Strength, +10 Agility, +15 Constitution, +20 Wisdom, +40 Intelligence, +60 Wits. You're immune to mind control by the forces of Tyranny, and possess 50% resistance to any harm that befalls you as a result of their activities; this includes physical, magical, metaphysical, and even metaphorical forms of harm, such as running your reputation through the dirt; you also possess 75% resistance to the Tyrant's Rank. Your very presence reinforces the bonds of Liberty, granting everyone in the Faction a general +5 All Stats, as well as +5 Constitution. Also, you gain access to the Perfect Storm Verse, and any two other Verses of your choice - it's possible to uncover and learn more of them, with time, and with meditation.
*If you sit down to meditate in a secluded and serene location for at least a minute, you'll immerse yourself in a state of heightened focus and collectedness. In this state, your Intelligence and Wisdom are 50% greater, and you may recall information from the past with far greater clarity and reach, temporarily gaining what's essentially a retroactively-eidetic memory and letting you piece together facts more easily. After a good thirty or so minutes of uninterrupted and continuous meditation, the Intelligence and Wisdom increase rises to +75%, and you gain +.45 ISH Wisdom. After eight hours of constant meditation, this rises to +200% and +.9 ISH Wisdom, reaching their capstone. These increases happen over the period of time spent meditating, rather than instantly upon reaching a given time.
*At any given time, a small exertion lets you sense the relative location, and assess the broad, general mental and emotional status, of every active member of Liberty in the current realm you occupy. Once per day, you may telepathically contact a single member of Liberty to broadcast a one-way auditory message, its contents no longer than a maximum of around five-hundred words. Select one improvement of your choice to this ability: (a) instead, gain the ability to contact other members of Liberty at will and with unlimited message contents; or (b) contact the entirety of Liberty with a single message and let everyone send you a reply.
*Acquire mastery in a five Skills of your choice, expertise in any ten Skills of your choice, proficiency in any twenty other Skills of your choice, and learn any Skill you pick up to advanced competency with tenfold speed, and at tripled speed past that. Your effectiveness in passing these Skills on, by means of teaching or guidance, is quintupled. Even if you do not possess any personal knowledge of a Skill, you possess a supernal level of discernment when it comes to advising others in matter of advancement and progression, boosting their growth as long as you keep providing guidance. The quality of guidance increases progression, and may even allow for 'impossible' breakthroughs or insights given sufficient effort and time.
*If you ever perish, any willing member of Liberty can assume your Archetype, giving up theirs in exchange. A difficult event to stomach for some. |
[ ] The Sorceress - Grace, unasked for, and perhaps undeserved, bestowed upon you through workings of higher beings.
*Become a Sorceress of the First Coalescence, with the Attributes to match that status in your alternate form. Your starting Grace is guaranteed to be one of prodigious and incredible might and function, partially matching your personal desires and nature, such that you'd never feel awkward or dissatisfied with its achievable effects. You're granted intimate expertise and training with your Grace, as though you'd employed it as a tool in combat in twenty-five battles, learning its quirks, inner mechanisms, or secret applications. None of its aspects are strange or unknown to you, and your Sorceress Form hides no mysteries either. Any pre-existing Grace may be selected if you so desire.
*After three months spent as a Sorceress in service of Tyranny, you'll achieve your Second Coalescence, including the Attributes and lengthened usage of your alternate form as per normal. However, this time, you are not given any unnatural training or experience with the usage of your new Grace.
*After six months spent as a Sorceress in service of Tyranny, you'll achieve your Third Coalescence and its associated benefits, with the same caveats as the above. After a year, you'll achieve your Fourth Coalescence.
*Achieving the Fifth Coalescence is unlikely - almost impossible - on your own, but certain external means are capable of doing so. If you manage to do break through this stage, however, you'll be able to keep going at a steady rate of a single Coalescence per year, until your Tenth Coalescence.
*As you may know, there are other uses to findross than simple Graces. But can you find and achieve them? Do you possess the spark of genius that's necessary? | [ ] The Magical Youth - The distant calling of Justice resounds through the cosmos, and to this, you answer.
*Become a Magical Boy or Girl, your biological age and appearance reverted to late adolescence. At will and by pronouncing the word, "Transform!" you may undergo a bright and visually impressive transformation sequence, in which you enter an alternate form. As long as you're in this alternate form, you gain +50 Strength, +45 Constitution, +40 Agility, +40 Willpower, and +60 Wits, you're dressed in a fantastic outfit of some stripe, and you externally appear to be several years younger than you actually are. For every Ally of Liberty who's in your vicinity, you receive +7 to every Attribute mentioned prior.
*In your alternate form, you wield broad and powerful magics of evocation and destruction, capable of summoning energy bolts and shields, psychokinetic effects to remotely steer objects, and minor utility charms of varied effect. Most of these effects require a short period (1-4 seconds depending on spell power) of incantation, the nature of which somewhat reveals what kind of spell you are casting. These powers are going to grow on their own over time, but you may explore new uses for them, and increase their capabilities faster by defeating enemies. If you overuse or strain them, you'll run out of mana to cast with.
*Upon your first transformation, you're able to make a single Least Wish. Nobody can influence the nature of your wish, whether through intimidation, coercion, or even mental alteration. After that, you gain a Minor Wish - on the level of restoring a lost limb or empowering yourself mildly - on every birthday. |
[ ] The Angel - The Angel beckons to you from the beyond in its last breathing moments, its clarion wail of death resounding through your brain like a billion-billion sensations of tinnitus. The supervoid collapses, and fragments embed within you. Now, the power of the Spiral belongs to Tyranny.
*Gain access to a magical system known as the Ordinal Spiral, immediately learning either the Seeker or Shield Form, and gaining a 25% Progression boost to any further learning. You may not pass on knowledge or training in the Ordinal Spiral to anyone else, save through any of the means that are written down below. You're an Ordinal Purist.
*Once you're set to gain an Ordinal Attainment, instead of selecting an Attainment, you may instead choose to sacrifice all of your Ordinal Progress, setting yourself back to the level of a complete novice and losing your Ordinal Purity. In exchange, however, a single, glorious, scintillating wing of magical flame bursts from your back, representing the progress you've made up to this point. A maximum of seven wings can be gained in this manner. Every time you grow a wing, select one of the benefits described below:
- Achieve duality in a single Ordinal of your choice, such as being able to cast Seeker and Shield, in spite of their mutual exclusivity. May be picked multiple times, once for any Ordinal.
- Become Adept-level in Chrysopoeia.
- Bond to a random Conjoiner Spirit; its interests and true nature are going to be at least somewhat congruent with yours.
- Become capable of Vitalism and its associated crafts, +20% to Vitalist Lore gain speed.
- Become capable of inducting others into the Ordinal Spiral, at severe setback/cost to yourself (eg. going from 13th to 3rd Ordinal, or from 17th to 14th.)
- Gain 20 +s to be distributed among your Attributes as you please; for every +Wits, you gain an additional free +Wits as well. May be picked multiple times.
*Additionally, every wing you manifest grants you the following benefits: Flight (120mph per wing), +7 Wits. If you ever die, a wing can be sacrificed instead, and you'll be reborn in the vicinity of the nearest Servant of Tyranny. A new wing can have another effect. | [ ] The Factotum - The butler with silken gloves, the competent assassin and driver, the best chef in the world: yours is a destiny of broad competence and greatness, to prevail against the oncoming chaos. Be the steward that Liberty needs you to be.
*Gain +.99 ISH Competence, an insane level of hypercapability and proficiency. Any action you tentatively attempt is completed swifter than by the hands of most grandmasters, as though you were an expert in the discipline. Gain an affinity for tactics, strategy, martial arts, painting, freestyle rap, cooking, driving, piloting, and more! Make the forces of evil quiver before your smirk, and look extremely cool and professional while doing it. However, you are ultimately mortal in comparison to your comrades, and so have your limits. No matter how competent, you are not so supernaturally and meta-conceptually competent that you can survive a point-blank explosion of magical force delivered to your torso. Gain +15 Willpower.
*Gain +20 Luck. However its effects are limited and constrained to the narrow zone of 'death prevention.' It won't aid you in gaining wealth, acclaim, fame, or any of the other things that you may wish for to improve your general quality of life. It'll only give you a slight edge in threatening situations where unimaginable and near-perfect competence won't be enough to tip the scales, allowing you to escape or simply avoid attacks until capable help arrives to aid you.
*If you wish, you may choose to become a butler, servant, maid, or any other appropriate household role, in service to any other member of Liberty of your choice. Nothing compels or forces you to stay with them, but for as long as you do so, you acquire a further +20 Luck. This time, your Luck is broad and all-encompassing, not limited simply to preventing an untimely demise. Your chosen master, on the other hand, gains a very competent majordomo, advisor, and general helper.
*Never get any dirt or bloodstains on your suit, no matter the circumstances. |
[ ] The Shogun - The cruel-handed general who leads and presides over the Tyrant's vast armies, leading the conquest of the world in the name of Tyranny. In some ways, you are the Tyrant's right-hand man, the brute force to match the Sorceress' insights.
*+70 Strength, +50 Constitution, +40 Agility, +40 Wits, +20 Intelligence, +20 Charisma, +20 Willpower. Also, you acquire a suit of lamellar armor and a nodachi, all of exceptional make and modestly supernatural protective capabilities. They're bonded to you, summonable across vast distances, and nearly indestructible. If any of them become damaged by some miraculous process anyhow, the Warlock may repair them easily using a wand in his possession.
*What else prevails in the end, but simple might? Every year that passes, add +1 to any of your Physical Attributes, on top of whatever you gain from natural training. Every ten years that pass, you may learn a supernatural martial art of your choice, greatly improving your combat capabilities.
*Gain a complete mastery in any field even remotely related to warfare. Strategy, tactics, leadership, information, morale maintenance, logistics and supply routes, engineering, unit formations, stratagems and counters, operation of vehicles, etc. This also includes the necessary indoctrination and motivation techniques to recruit an army out of a population that previously wanted nothing to do with your regime, and over time, give them remarkable discipline and make them genuinely believe in the Tyrant's cause of domiantion and rulership.
*May enter the God of War Form, doubling your Physical Attributes, in which you are surrounded by a fierce crimson aura. This Form lasts up to 60 seconds of contiguous use, and for every second spent in God of War Form, you must spend a month locked away in dreamless stasis within the Tyrant's Monolith Throne to recuperate. The technique is extremely draining on the spirit, psyche, and body, and repeated uses in a period shorter than a single decade might cause you to bleed away a significant portion of your power.
*As long as you remain unquestioningly loyal to the Tyrant and do not plan to betray him, benefit from 66% of the Tyrant's Astral Rank (ie: if Tyrant is Rank 5, you are Rank 3.3. If Tyrant is Rank 10, you are Rank 6.6.). However, should you choose to turn against him, this same amount is added to the Tyrant's Defensive Rank applied against your attacks. | [ ] The Pyromancer - A phoenix-lord, the master of the blazing powers; yours is the right to flame, and flame alone - but within its remit, you may achieve nearly anything in your imagination's wildest stretches; given time, dedication, and most importantly, a pinch of passion.
*+30 Strength, +60 Constitution, +20 Agility, +50 Wits, +30 Charisma, +30 Appearance, +60 Willpower.
*Become a pyromancer, capable of unleashing vast destruction with your torrents of flame and spells of fire. Almost any form of destructivity can be achieved, so long as its lens is that of burning, and its highest execution is that of a conflagration. More esoteric utilizations of flame, however, can be discovered given training and time: burning away weakness or concepts from a target is one of them. Jets of fire can be produced from your body in order to generate thrust, accelerating you greatly in any particular direction of your choosing. In resisting and coping with the effects of inertia and g-forces, you're granted +30 Constitution.
*Amazing and generally excellent adaptation to any possible and imaginable environment, but particularly, to the outer vacuum of space. You're able to survive without oxygen in absolute zero temperatures with no air pressure, and under intense storms of radiation. You're also immune towards fire in all its forms, so crashing into a star won't prove to be anything more than a moderate inconvenience. Being in space or close to a star does not harm or affect you negatively in any conceivable way.
*Any time you perish, whether through old age or due to violence, you reconstitute yourself immediately (in 1-2 nanoseconds) within the core of the Sun, and you're shortly expelled on its surface in a glorious gust of fire and plasma, flying at Mach 50, in the direction facing wherever you died relative to the Sun.
*If any of the Allies of Liberty perish, they may be likewise reconstituted by using your pyromancy to burn their corpse into ashes, and then hardening those ashes into a jade egg. Within a month, the egg shall greatly swell in size, and give birth to the dead individual. If no ashes are available, you must instead venture out on a quest to petition the Dragon for its breath. Its breath, in combination with your pyromancy, may resurrect a dead Ally of Liberty regardless of whether or not you possess the ashes, but this may be exhausting for the Dragon. |
[ ] The Elder One - A forlorn Hero who lost hope a long time ago, and decided to join the cause of the being he struggled against, you are the secret and ultimate weapon of Tyranny. Arguably, you are also its greatest servant.
*+80 Strength, +120 Constitution, +120 Agility, +150 Wits, +120 Willpower. Improving these Attributes is more difficult for you than most Archetypes. You possess the subjective experience of a fallen hero with many decades of activity in adventuring and combat. Inherent, unbreakable, and reciprocated loyalty towards the Tyrant; both of you get along extremely well, with bonds of mutual friendship.
*Access one magic system of your choice from the following: Valiance, Battle Mastery, or War Magic. In whatever system you choose, you gain the experience and requisite techniques of a veteran of many campaigns.
*Instead of beginning on Earth as someone who accepted an Archetype, you awaken back in another realm entirely - the Otherworld - possessing the unfiltered memories of the participant who selected this option, including the contents of this entire Section. The participant is the dominant personality, but shadows of depression and ruthlessness cling onto your psyche like cancerous vapors. In order to make your way to Earth, you must first conquer the Otherworld you inhabit - a not inconsiderable task, given its vast size, supernatural armies, and general scope of threats, some of which can fight back even against you.
*Assuming proactive and risk-taking strategies in the conquest of the other realm, you should be able to make contact with the Tyrant in around fifty years from now. It won't be too long following that to develop some means of crossing over worlds, bringing yourself and your terrible armies to crush the forces of Liberty once and for all. Of course, that accursed Guardian is there to stop you... | [ ] The Guardian - A name is given to a child because it does not understand its role in the world. A gross oversimplification of its function; through the ravages of time, developing into simple noise, devoid of meaning. But for you, the meaning is always there and shining with a clarity surpassed by none. Indeed, your role is simple: prevent the Elder One from reaching Earth. The stopper to his greatness, the one that forestalls the demise of planet Earth at the hands of Tyranny. And you must do it alone.
*+90 Strength, +110 Constitution, +115 Agility, +145 Wits, +125 Willpower; +.1 ISH to each of them. +25 Charisma, +25 Appearance, +25 Luck, and +25 Manipulation, for the purposes of recruiting the people of the Otherworld to aid you against the Elder One. Inherent, unbreakable devotion to your mission.
*If you're ever in a serious pinch, you may formally request aid from Liberty. In such an occurrence, the Mentor is promptly given information of your dire straits, including the exact details of the dilemma you're facing, and is tasked with finding the Liberty member that suits your needs the best. The Ally of Liberty may then be summoned into your vicinity as an astral spirit with around 90% of their total powers, or their powers may be temporarily bequeathed to you, costing them 50% effectiveness back on Earth. This lasts for a single day, and may not be used again more than once per decade.
*If the Elder One ever manages to successfully slay you, then you'll be resurrected within several hours back on Earth, within the vicinity of the Mentor, prepared to warn the entirety of Liberty of the coming danger, possibly many years in advance. |
[ ] The Stranger - The unknown; the missing element, the blank shadow warrior in service of Tyranny.
*+20 Strength, +30 Constitution, +30 Agility, +40 Wits. Acquire a swift and comprehensive healing factor, allowing you to regenerate from injury much faster (regain a lost limb in an hour, opened cuts are closed in a minute.) By allowing others to drink your blood, even if they do not know it, you give them a fraction of this regenerative power. Your blood is also rich in Essence that may be used to aid the Warlock.
*After leaving the general vicinity of a battle you participated in, assuming none of the enemy has maintained sightline of you and isn't intent on following you, its participants forget about your existence. Any recordings or evidence of your existence likewise vanish before certainty of your existence can be affirmed. If you're not directly participating in a battle, you're imperceptible to even magical senses and undetectable even to fine instruments meant to pick up on physical interference. Servants of Tyranny are not immune, but the Tyrant knows you exist, can't forget, and may inform whoever he pleases.
*The night and shadow are your greatest allies, friends even in direst circumstances. In any penumbral twilight, receive +10 Agility and Wits. In any moderate shadow, receive general +.1 ISH and +15 Agility and Wits. In any darkness thick enough to make color indistinguishable, receive +.2 ISH, +20 All Stats, and accelerate your regeneration further. | [ ] The Witch-Slayer - Need I say anything? Your purpose here is to destroy mages.
*+40 Strength, +40 Constitution, +45 Agility, +50 Wits, +60 Willpower, +10 Charisma (Intimidation).
*Can't be directly or indirectly affected by any source of enemy magic. Interpretation of 'enemy magic' is somewhat generous and interpreted in your favor. This includes the Tyrant's Rank, the Stranger's forgetability and unnoticeability, the Elder One's combat-focused magic, any of the Sorceress' Graces, the Monster's fear effect, and so on. Any magical artifacts the enemy wields against you are likewise rendered near-ineffectual. It's safe to assume the only method through which you can be defeated is superior Attributes.
*Early into your mage-slaying career, you come into possession of a pair of Magic-Seeing Eyes. These iridescent eyeballs, with irises of violet-green, allow you to expertly track significant amounts of magical energy over unlimited distances. A magical trail can be picked up in any place magic was utilized; once a trail exists, it does not degrade for centuries to come. It may be used to obtain a vague idea of what kind of magic was used, as well as where its caster went afterward. There's no escaping you.
*With great exertion - causing you incredible pain, draining your spirit and stamina - you may unleash the Magic-Silencing Shout, a great declaration that disables the magical abilities of anyone who's heard it and cancels ongoing magical effects. This ability is indiscriminate, affecting your allies as well as enemies. It may do to give them some warning, should it be possible.
*Surprisingly, you aren't forbidden from utilizing magic of your own. However, acquiring such systems is left to you. |
[ ] The Nightlord - A support role in the Tyranny Faction, meant to provide resources and means, rather than participate in active conflict. Its counterpart is the Dawnlord.
*Gain unsealed and complete access to the Tower of Midnight, a minor and distaff location within the mythical Realm of Evening. It's a colossal tower made of glittering dark marble; silver windowframes and doorframes, stained glass, and dark blue shingles are its foremost features. Within the Tower of Midnight, you are the uncontested and nigh-undefeatable master, gaining +100 All Stats, and +7.5 Astral Rank; you're capable of freely altering the features and amenities of the realm to comfort its guests, warping its physical and metaphysical laws, or to assail and ruthlessly eliminate unwelcome interlopers. However, outside of the Tower, you possess none of this, and nothing can be taken out.
*You're eminently capable of moving yourself from the Tower and back to Earth, emerging in a spot of relative safety close to where you wish, as long as that spot is covered by darkness, essentially granting you semi-global teleportation. When you wish to move back, however, you must execute a modest ritual, taking around five minutes to prepare and five minutes to cast. When you do so, you may take up to fifteen guests with you back into the Tower of Midnight, depositing them back on Earth whenever they wish once you're inside.
*Deep in the Tower, hidden in the cellars, you may find tomes of magic. Learning from them can give you powers outside of your support role, although you'll still have to train and put in significant effort to become combat-capable by the standards of most Archetypes.
*However, you may not employ your abilities to mind-control or torture your colleagues. If you attempt to do so, the consequences shall be far beyond your reckoning.
*The Tyrant probably won't notice if you slack off a little bit. Hopefully.
*A Tower Lord may engage in a contest of primacy against the other Tower Lord. Doing so nullifies their +All Stats and control over their respective realms, and smashes the Towers together for a period of time, during which its inhabitants may fight. A contest of primacy may not be escaped. | [ ] The Dawnlord - A support role in the Liberty Faction, meant to provide resources and means, rather than participate in active conflict. Its counterpart is the Nightlord.
*Gain unsealed and complete access to the Tower of Noonday, a minor and distaff location within the mythical Realm of Daylight. It's a colossal tower made of pure white brick, with golden frames and latches, pure glass like crystal, and golden roof shingles. Within the Tower of Noonday, you are the uncontested and unconquered ruler, gaining +100 All Stats, and +7.5 Astral Rank; you're capable of easily changing the features and comforts of the locality to better serve its guests, warping its physical and metaphysical rules, or to slay any unexpected intruders. However, outside of the Tower, you possess none of this, and nothing can be taken out.
*You're more than capable of moving yourself from the Tower and back to Earth, emerging in a spot of relative safety close to where you wish, as long as that spot is covered by sunlight, essentially granting you semi-global teleportation. When you wish to move back, however, you must execute a trivial ritual, taking around five minutes to prepare and five minutes to cast. When you do so, you may take up to fifteen guests with you back into the Tower of Noonday, depositing them back on Earth whenever they wish once you're inside.
*Deep in the Tower, hidden in the cellars, you may find tomes of magic. Learning from them can give you powers outside of your support role, although you'll still have to train and put in significant effort to become combat-capable by the standards of most Archetypes.
*However, you may not employ your abilities to mind-control or torture your colleagues. If you attempt to do so, the consequences shall be far beyond your reckoning.
*Pray the Mentor doesn't start getting drunk and passes out on your sofa.
*A Tower Lord may engage in a contest of primacy against the other Tower Lord. Doing so nullifies their +All Stats and control over their respective realms, and smashes the Towers together for a period of time, during which its inhabitants may fight. A contest of primacy may not be escaped. |
[ ] The Warlock - An evil and wicked sorcerer, a wielder of magics and sinful insights... or perhaps simply a free-willed pursuer of knowledges that most others would consider forbidden. Whatever you are, you aren't exceptionally bothered by the trappings of morality.
*+3 Strength, +3 Constitution, +3 Agility, +10 Intelligence, +25 Wits. +5 Heartlessness.
*Acquire the possession of a magical system from any previous content that has been posted in the AST thread. In order to properly determine your magic system, assemble a short list of six magic systems that you'd like to acquire the most, then roll 1d6 to determine which one you receive. You are moderately adept in the system in question.
*Begin your adventure in a small, remote wizard's tower on the eastern coast of the United Kingdom. Although it looks as though it should collapse any moment upon contact with a stiff wind, in actuality, it has incredibly powerful defensive wards and trap systems that make direct invasion an ill-thought proposition. It reinforces your magic so long as you are within, granting your spells +Power, and +.1 ISH, as well as primacy in contests with any other magic. If you should ever perish, a phylactery in your tower shall immediately trigger to return you back to life within a couple of minutes, any equipment you were carrying included. The phylactery may be destroyed if someone manages to break into your tower.
*If any of your foolish comrades, the Servants of Tyranny, perish, you'll have the option to resurrect them using your phylactery. This doesn't cost you anything expensive in particular, but it can be a mite bothersome and a little time-consuming. This doesn't apply to the Tyrant, who is beyond your phylactery's remit, in spite of your best attempts.
*You may also enchant magical items and concoct alchemical brews of many varieties, serving the role of your Faction's craftsman. Although strength is unimpressive from the perspective of an Archetype such as yourself, the objects in question may be enhanced by investing Essence into them, temporarily weakening yourself. Alternatively, you may sacrifice the Essence of other beings that you captured. | [ ] The Preserver - The Sacred Preservation of Life is a non-negotiable principle in the universe. If the Tyranny refuses to see it your way, then it must fall, and it shall fall with a resounding bang.
*+180 Constitution, +10 Agility, +10 Intelligence, +25 Wits.
*An expert healing mage, you're capable of healing any injury, no matter how grave or accursed, and you're capable of self-healing. You're capable of swiftly and unproblematically removing both physical and mental illness of all sorts, as well as moderate flesh-sculpting. You may annul the process of aging through touch, and you are doing so for yourself constantly. However, none of your powers allow you to reliably resurrect the dead, aside from those who perished recently.
*When, and if, you die, you'll be immediately reborn in the body of a young (16-20yo) human. They are your vessel through retroactive timeline alteration, and were a philosophical zombie until the moment you came to inhabit them, driven only by your own powers of life. The only way to kill you is to fully eliminate the human race or somehow prevent all of humanity from breeding for a short window of time and killing you.
*There exists a forest glade somewhere in North America that hides a number of sacred texts. By locating and learning from them, you may expand your portfolio to include a much greater array of druidic powers; control, summoning, and enhancement of animals and plants, creation of magical elixirs, and shapeshifting. Among one of the more complex texts is a grimoire that contains a detailed introduction into something called Binary Magic. Due to your unique nature, you may learn both of its aspects.
*By declaring an object (or individual) sacred, you may confer a portion of your durability and constitution upon it, losing that same amount of said Attribute. If you're generous, you should be able to offer a significant portion of your faction much greater survivability. |
[ ] The Shadow - The Shadow, a youth of vileness most perfidious; here, you may show the Allies of Liberty a true grim slog of years.
*May learn, in due time, some aspect of the skills and powers in the possession of every other member of Tyranny, should they be willing to tutor you. However, you cannot learn their entire powerset, only an aspect of it. As an example, you may possess a magical system similar to the Warlock, or a similar phylactery, but not both; the Tyrant's primacy over the other members of Tyranny or his Accretion, but not both. And so on. +Progression.
*A 'good' version of you exists. | [ ] The Hero - The Hero, a youth of glories most scathing; here comes your 'dalliance of a season.'
*May learn, in due time, some aspect of the skills and powers in the possession of every other member of Liberty, should they be willing to tutor you. However, you cannot learn their entire powerset, only an aspect of it. As an example, you may possess the Magical Youth's Attribute-boosting effect when near companions, or their magic, but not both; the Mentor's incredible multidisciplinarian talent for learning and passing on Skills, or his communication with the Allies of Liberty, but not both. And so on. +Progression.
*An 'evil' version of you exists. |
[ ] The Cultivator - Might alone, shall decide who is to rule.
*+10 Strength, +10 Constitution, +10 Wits, +10 Intelligence.
*Gain access to Cultivation, a magic system of multiple stages that revolves around refinement of one's own body, mind, and spirit; slowly elevating one's entire being towards higher stages of existence. Your talent in this art is middling, although you may attain the stage of Grand Solipsism given applied effort. You begin at the peak of Ego Barrier.
*You're knowledgeable about the composition and shape of certain tools that may be used to create magical pills and reagents that, properly imbibed, may greatly accelerate your progress as a Cultivator. These are going to require resources that do not exist on this Earth. The Otherworld, however, possesses them in abundance - as such, through an extensive ritual, you can make regular trips between Earth and the Otherworld. You are magically bound to bring back nothing else but Cultivation ingredients and focus on nothing else except gathering them while in the Otherworld. However, the Guardian may interfere with your gathering as he pleases.
*If you do not use Cultivation reagents, it's unlikely you'll access any of the higher stages. It's also unlikely that without them you'll get to Soul Chrysalis any sooner than a hundred years. It may be unwise to bide your time for so long. | [ ] The Magus - All our glories, we pass onto you.
*+40 Intelligence, +20 Wits, +10 Constitution, +10 Willpower.
*Access the schools of the Diagram. You possess passing knowledge of the basic Signs of the Diagram, and sufficient inventiveness and inborn talent to create your own spells. Choose a single Ascendant Sign to begin with. The other Ascendant Signs are mostly beyond you, at least for now, but the future may hold great prizes in store.
*You possess a magical ring of incredible power. It broadens one's reserves of spiritual energy, and greatly enhances the might of one's soul, allowing you to cast Diagram spells much faster and without exhaustion. Multiple Battle Diagrams can be deployed in surprisingly quick succession without much strain. If the Cultivator somehow manages to acquire it, the ring shall allow him to ascend up to Dao Cleaving Stage within a month of effortless Cultivation. Make sure this doesn't happen, or you'll be the one that has to explain to the Mentor why a previously inept enemy suddenly became so powerful.
*There exists a Grand Diagram of Space that's capable of breaching the Monolith's forcefield and damaging it. |
[ ] The Pilot - In service to glorious Tyranny, you bow your head and enter Totality.
*+5 Constitution, +5 Wits, +20 Intelligence, +20 Willpower, +10 Charisma.
*Become the bonded pilot of a half-broken Armament. Its Curse, exact properties, appearance, and name are yours to choose. Its effective Astral Rank is 5.0 and highly unlikely to rise under any circumstances unless one of your magically and mechanically-inclined colleagues were to be persuaded to focus some of their time on repairs. Its Attributes are sufficient to compete with beings such as the baseline Shogun but are not significantly greater beyond that. The Armament refuses to operate with anyone else as a pilot.
*The Armament you pilot may Close the Fist with up to two other Servants of Tyranny, creating a composite being that holds the powers of all of the beings combined with slight improvements and optimizations, and in some cases, synergistic combination abilities. As an example, combining with the Tyrant and Monster might yield an Armament with higher Rank and physical Attributes, as well as a terrifying physical aura.
*However, outside of the Armament, you're only marginally better than a simple peak-human. There won't be much you can contribute to Tyranny. | [ ] The Nexus - Everything can be improved, every facet turned in the direction of glorious unity. You are the Nexus of Liberty, the spoke about which the wheel of its justice may finally turn and tread over Tyranny.
*+30 Strength, +30 Constitution, +50 Agility, +30 Wits, +10 Charisma, +10 Appearance. An effect centered on you improves the Attributes and powers of the Allies of Liberty by up to 15%. Its furthermost range is a radius of six-hundred kilometers, although the benefits at that distance are slim.
*Begin in any city in the world of your choice. Alternatively, you may begin within several feet of the Mentor.
*Although you're not a Cultivator of any sort, you gain the Dao of the Nexus. All of its powers and corollaries are yours. Instead of its standard limitations and offered stages, you're set to empower a team of ten Emissaries, all of whom receive Attributes half as great as yours on top of what they naturally possessed. Your Sanctum is Size 6, Redoubt 6, Essence 4, Influence 4. No matter what, you cannot make the Tower of Noonday your Sanctum.
*Once a week, you may cast Minor Wish, but only for the specific purpose of empowering a chosen Emissary, or creating / enhancing a magical item or potion for one of your many allies. Once a year, you can cast Least Wish instead, but only for the purpose of empowering a member of Liberty, essentially granting them a year's progression: this can be applied to yourself. |
[ ] The Monster - A terrifying and dreadful creature; some mad experiment unleashed in defiance of God's creation, that you would choose to become something like this can only be called concerning.
*+70 Strength, +50 Constitution, +35 Agility, +30 Wits, +50 Willpower. You do not appear human anymore, but rather, you possess the form of a nightmarish chimera made out of solid darkness, eyes crimson with inhuman and supernatural wrath. Your presence has a palpable aura, one that inspires fear and terror; as a matter of fact, it's so terrifying and intimidating that there exists a good chance of you immediately shocking lesser beings into flight or unconsciousness by simply making eye contact. Only partial effectiveness against Archetypes, and may be fully turned off towards other Servants of Tyranny.
*You're particularly charismatic and charming in interactions with your teammates, capable of captivating even the hearts of the cruelest Tyrant, and even the Warlock. You can instinctively feel what your teammates desire, and how to help them achieve these needs.
*Acquire a moderate yet comprehensive resistance to hostile magics, as well as esoteric and exotic effects, somewhat comparable to the Witch-Slayer's. This includes even the Pyromancer's flames and the Dragon's breath, as well as other, similar powers. This aspect is never irrelevant, no matter the elevation of the effect.
*Your senses become unnaturally sharp, keen, and trained to operate with extreme precision and sensitivity, like those of a bloodhound, yet upturned even further; tracking through scent across nations, hearing a pin drop across valleys, and seeing better than an eagle. | [ ] The Dragon - The Dragon, a noble beast that does not concern itself with the world of mortals. Still, better to be free, than to live under the Tyrant's whip.
*Possess the Attributes, form, and general mythological abilities of a dragon, capable of contesting the hardiest opponents. Hard of scale, capable of flight and breathing out a number elements; you may cast various forms of magic and you're generally powerful, only growing more so with age. You're capable of shapeshifting, and you're less bound by effects seeking to dominate you in some arena of metaphysics, such as gravity, stress, and fate. Likewise, Astral Rank affects you significantly less than it should.
*You possess a hoard concealed deep in a cave, somewhere in the Alps. It contains around $1,750,000,000 worth of goods. Consider selling them to fuel your cause, or perhaps utilize them for magical rituals.
*Your most precious exhalation is True Dragonbreath, a form of white flame. Creating any quantity of this miraculous flame is exhausting and draining, requiring that you pass into slumber in order to recover. The Pyromancer may come to you should someone in Liberty perish, with intent of resurrecting them.
*Uniquely, the Preserver may resurrect you perfectly, in spite of their limitations on resurrecting the dead. The presence or absence of your corpse is irrelevant, the Preserver may call you back into being across any distance. |
[ ] The Remitted - Among the disparate cosmic junctions of the Outer Beyond, a single path can be found: clandestine among the nebulae, it has revealed to you a shadow of a power long-passed. And yet, its shape takes clear hold in your mind,...
*Distribute 75 +s to any Attributes you wish. However, non-Physical Attributes cost double, and Charisma specifically costs triple instead.
*Select one Remittance of the following to possess: Amplitude, the Basis, or Chromatic Aberration. It counts as a magic system for most purposes, but the Witch-Slayer's Magic-Silencing Shout only half-affects it, giving you some leeway. Apply [To Shatter Heaven] to your chosen Remittance, but not any additional Remittances.
*May optionally select a major Curse in order to gain an additional Remittance. This is your choice to make - Mitigation is going to be difficult, and you do not receive any other boons that you perhaps should've for such a burden. The Tyrant also might not be a huge fan of you weighing yourself down with unnecessary bullshit. | [ ] The Mask-Bearer - An individual of many faces, swapping out identities like gloves, their true nature as unknowable as the darkness within every human soul. However, within you, is the ability to assume a mask to sheathe the darkness, a resplendent persona.
*+20 Strength, +20 Constitution, +10 Agility, +10 Wits.
*May don a Mask resembling any other Archetype, including the Archetypes of Tyranny, gaining 75% of their effective Attributes, as well as a lesser and diminished version of their powers (around 66% efficacy). However, the Mask doesn't provide access to any physical boons - using its power on the Pilot would be, effectively, a waste. Once donned, a Mask cannot be removed until the Bearer perishes.
*Should the Bearer perish while a Mask is donned, they resurrect with another Mask of their choice donned; they may not return to the Mask that perished ever again.
*If you do not don a Mask of any Archetype within a month, you'll perish.
*May don a Mask of the Mask-Bearer, providing no effect and forever sealing away the ability to wear other Masks, but providing one free resurrection. It's recommended that you save this one for last, once you run dry of everything else. |
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