Parzival
12-21-2006, 12:45 AM
(Background info: In this world, runes were the writing of the dwarves, and could not be made to record lies.)
We humans have the common belief ingrained into our very selves that what we perceive is real. This has a logical corollary: anything that changes our perceptions changes reality. More than anything, this is why our kind fear the dark, and find phenomenon such as fog so incredibly eerie and unsettling.
Dwarves of any variety do not share this belief with us. And the wisest of them know it is how a thing perceives itself, which defines its reality. Perhaps, this is why a small group of dissident dwarves long ago sought shelter where the mountains march down to the sea to offer battle. Here, the mist is as constant a companion as the thundering waves, and much is not as it seems.
This is the land of Mim. Home of what we humans call Gnomes, a compliment, meaning “one who knows”. They call themselves Wahrheitsgetreu Zwerg, or “True Dwarves”. Other dwarves refer to them as Kleiner Zwerg, meaning “Lesser Dwarves”, or the more common “The Rats of Mim”.
Long ago, before the advent of the Old Empire, there was schism among the dwarves. Early on, they knew the empty vastness that is reality. And onto this backdrop, a young dwarven visionary by the name of Mim, introduced a completely new way of looking at reality. He posited that known theories of a mechanical universe where unseen bits of matter acted as billiard balls were false. Quite simply, on an infinite sized table where all the balls are moving outward from a central point, there will be few collisions, and those that occur, will not result in balls moving together after impact. It must be something else that causes the smallest bits of matter to aggregate together. And the most likely fashion that would cause this to occur, would be from the smallest possible bits of matter possessing limited perception and free will. And from this, belief came full circle, to an Aristotelian view of the world; where an entity was considered greater than the sum of its parts, defined by the “essence” of its reality.
His hypothesis was not greeted kindly. The runes record much blood being spilled over these heresies, beginning with that of Mim himself. But his arguments were persuasive, and carved in stone as runes. Many were swayed, and many were persecuted. In time, surviving believers fled far to the south. Between the jagged rocks and the raging sea, they built a colony, and set out to uncover the guiding essences of life, nature, and reality itself.
(This was for a homebrew system that sucked, so mechanical highlights only.)
Hefty bonus to willpower, minor bonuses to awareness, stamina, and resisting mental compulsions.
Minor penalties to agility and speed.
IR vision.
Sense spirit/supernatural linked to vision.
Custom racial class: mystic
(It was a dark fantasy system. Undead were very common. Gnomes are predisposed to have antipathy towards the undead.)
The class had minor magical abilities. And started with the supernatural ability "spiritual destruction" where anything they killed, stayed dead.
(Raises and Resurrections weren't part of they system. But undead and demons sure were.)
With advancing level they gained more magical skills and the following supernatural abilities:
Spirit Guide: The character gains an incorporeal spiritual advisor. This advisor can use extremely minor psychokinesis to affect reality, can communicate with the character, possesses "Spirit Lore" at Master level, and can assist in rituals as a familiar. Unfortunately, this spirit has been somewhat corrupted by the material world. It does not necessarily have the character's best interests a heart. Especially given that the character wants it to give up its tenuous hold on the material world, and can force the spirit to quit the world through spiritual destruction. It often will give bad advice, or sabotage rituals it is supposedly helping with. The mystic must seek out and bond with a spirit to gain this ability. What powers the spirit gains with levels is up to the GM, as is when and how such powers will be used.
Ki: With an uninterrupted round of concentration and a successful Willpower check, the mystic may add his total mystic levels to one of the following for a duration of 9 rounds: Initiative, Strength, Hit Points, Attack Bonus.
Final Death: The mystic will irrevocably die when killed. His spirit cannot be bound by necromantic magic or supernatural curses.
Spirit Warrior: With an uninterrupted round of concentration, the mystic can become partially possessed by his spirit guide, giving him supernatural quickness, strength, and toughness. The spirit’s level will be added to Strength, Initiative, and Hit Points. After the initial round of concentration, the mystic must succeed in an unmodified Willpower contest with the Spirit Guide, failure results in the mystic becoming completely possessed by the Spirit, with all the relevant temporal and spiritual penalties.
Supernatural Curses: A Supernatural curse is anything supernatural that affects the mystic in an overtly negative fashion. This modifier also applies to the initial Possession contest, but not for later contests of Willpower.
Bottled Light: The mystic can capture, store, and release sunlight. The mystic must personally craft a crystal vial, and fill it with dew personally collected in his homeland of Mim. Thereafter, in a time-consuming ritual (6 hours) on a sunny day, the mystic can capture sunlight in this vial. Whenever this vial is surrounded by darkness (the inside of a backpack counts) it will slowly emit light for a period of 12 hours. The light is twice that of a standard torch, and within that range, effects creatures sensitive to sunlight as if it were a cloudy day. Should the vial be broken, all the remaining sunlight will be instantly released in a blinding flash of light and heat.
Exorcism: The mystic can attempt to exorcise spirits. He must physically touch the object or person which the spirit has possessed or is bound to. Then engage in an unmodified Willpower contest with the spirit. On a success, the spirit is ejected from the person, object, and the immediate area. On a critical failure, the mystic himself becomes possessed.
Sacrifice: The mystic willingly gives up his hold on life to drag another entity kicking and screaming from the material world. The mystic rolls 2d20+remaining life points+Willpower. The resisting entity rolls 1d20+Willpower. Whether he succeeds or not, the mystic is irrevocably dead. Note: This ability can be used against living creatures.
Speak with birds: Mystics believe that bird carry spirits from the earth on death, and back to the earth on birth. Many believe that gnomes of lesser dedication are reincarnated as birds. Birds adamantly refuse to discuss the truth of either, but will happily share knowledge of the area, or do favors for the mystic in exchange for minor trinkets or food.
Dismissal: The mystic can attempt to exorcise spirits from a distance, with no personal risk from a critical failure.
We humans have the common belief ingrained into our very selves that what we perceive is real. This has a logical corollary: anything that changes our perceptions changes reality. More than anything, this is why our kind fear the dark, and find phenomenon such as fog so incredibly eerie and unsettling.
Dwarves of any variety do not share this belief with us. And the wisest of them know it is how a thing perceives itself, which defines its reality. Perhaps, this is why a small group of dissident dwarves long ago sought shelter where the mountains march down to the sea to offer battle. Here, the mist is as constant a companion as the thundering waves, and much is not as it seems.
This is the land of Mim. Home of what we humans call Gnomes, a compliment, meaning “one who knows”. They call themselves Wahrheitsgetreu Zwerg, or “True Dwarves”. Other dwarves refer to them as Kleiner Zwerg, meaning “Lesser Dwarves”, or the more common “The Rats of Mim”.
Long ago, before the advent of the Old Empire, there was schism among the dwarves. Early on, they knew the empty vastness that is reality. And onto this backdrop, a young dwarven visionary by the name of Mim, introduced a completely new way of looking at reality. He posited that known theories of a mechanical universe where unseen bits of matter acted as billiard balls were false. Quite simply, on an infinite sized table where all the balls are moving outward from a central point, there will be few collisions, and those that occur, will not result in balls moving together after impact. It must be something else that causes the smallest bits of matter to aggregate together. And the most likely fashion that would cause this to occur, would be from the smallest possible bits of matter possessing limited perception and free will. And from this, belief came full circle, to an Aristotelian view of the world; where an entity was considered greater than the sum of its parts, defined by the “essence” of its reality.
His hypothesis was not greeted kindly. The runes record much blood being spilled over these heresies, beginning with that of Mim himself. But his arguments were persuasive, and carved in stone as runes. Many were swayed, and many were persecuted. In time, surviving believers fled far to the south. Between the jagged rocks and the raging sea, they built a colony, and set out to uncover the guiding essences of life, nature, and reality itself.
(This was for a homebrew system that sucked, so mechanical highlights only.)
Hefty bonus to willpower, minor bonuses to awareness, stamina, and resisting mental compulsions.
Minor penalties to agility and speed.
IR vision.
Sense spirit/supernatural linked to vision.
Custom racial class: mystic
(It was a dark fantasy system. Undead were very common. Gnomes are predisposed to have antipathy towards the undead.)
The class had minor magical abilities. And started with the supernatural ability "spiritual destruction" where anything they killed, stayed dead.
(Raises and Resurrections weren't part of they system. But undead and demons sure were.)
With advancing level they gained more magical skills and the following supernatural abilities:
Spirit Guide: The character gains an incorporeal spiritual advisor. This advisor can use extremely minor psychokinesis to affect reality, can communicate with the character, possesses "Spirit Lore" at Master level, and can assist in rituals as a familiar. Unfortunately, this spirit has been somewhat corrupted by the material world. It does not necessarily have the character's best interests a heart. Especially given that the character wants it to give up its tenuous hold on the material world, and can force the spirit to quit the world through spiritual destruction. It often will give bad advice, or sabotage rituals it is supposedly helping with. The mystic must seek out and bond with a spirit to gain this ability. What powers the spirit gains with levels is up to the GM, as is when and how such powers will be used.
Ki: With an uninterrupted round of concentration and a successful Willpower check, the mystic may add his total mystic levels to one of the following for a duration of 9 rounds: Initiative, Strength, Hit Points, Attack Bonus.
Final Death: The mystic will irrevocably die when killed. His spirit cannot be bound by necromantic magic or supernatural curses.
Spirit Warrior: With an uninterrupted round of concentration, the mystic can become partially possessed by his spirit guide, giving him supernatural quickness, strength, and toughness. The spirit’s level will be added to Strength, Initiative, and Hit Points. After the initial round of concentration, the mystic must succeed in an unmodified Willpower contest with the Spirit Guide, failure results in the mystic becoming completely possessed by the Spirit, with all the relevant temporal and spiritual penalties.
Supernatural Curses: A Supernatural curse is anything supernatural that affects the mystic in an overtly negative fashion. This modifier also applies to the initial Possession contest, but not for later contests of Willpower.
Bottled Light: The mystic can capture, store, and release sunlight. The mystic must personally craft a crystal vial, and fill it with dew personally collected in his homeland of Mim. Thereafter, in a time-consuming ritual (6 hours) on a sunny day, the mystic can capture sunlight in this vial. Whenever this vial is surrounded by darkness (the inside of a backpack counts) it will slowly emit light for a period of 12 hours. The light is twice that of a standard torch, and within that range, effects creatures sensitive to sunlight as if it were a cloudy day. Should the vial be broken, all the remaining sunlight will be instantly released in a blinding flash of light and heat.
Exorcism: The mystic can attempt to exorcise spirits. He must physically touch the object or person which the spirit has possessed or is bound to. Then engage in an unmodified Willpower contest with the spirit. On a success, the spirit is ejected from the person, object, and the immediate area. On a critical failure, the mystic himself becomes possessed.
Sacrifice: The mystic willingly gives up his hold on life to drag another entity kicking and screaming from the material world. The mystic rolls 2d20+remaining life points+Willpower. The resisting entity rolls 1d20+Willpower. Whether he succeeds or not, the mystic is irrevocably dead. Note: This ability can be used against living creatures.
Speak with birds: Mystics believe that bird carry spirits from the earth on death, and back to the earth on birth. Many believe that gnomes of lesser dedication are reincarnated as birds. Birds adamantly refuse to discuss the truth of either, but will happily share knowledge of the area, or do favors for the mystic in exchange for minor trinkets or food.
Dismissal: The mystic can attempt to exorcise spirits from a distance, with no personal risk from a critical failure.