Cut and Dry (wizard adventure school, oc setting)

Spoiler: character creation vote, concluded

Welcome, new student, to the Arkham Institute of Astral and Magical Discovery!

As you well know, our world is one of unrivaled opportunity, where aspiring adventurers can find glory in the clash of kingdoms, where dragons gather hoards of unfathomable wealth, and where dungeon divers routinely unearth ancient secrets from forgotten tombs. We at the Arkham Institute of Astral and Magical Discovery take pride in offering the best of these opportunities to our students, and we boast the highest survival rates of any wizarding academy at 67%. Your future could not be in better hands.

By enrolling in the prestigious Arkham Institute of Astral and Magical Discovery, you have decided on the path of adventuring wizard. By the time you receive this letter of acceptance, we will have taken the liberty of registering you with the Tarranfeder Adventurer's Guild, where you may choose to undertake adventurer's bounties for school credit in lieu of up to three classes each day, so long as your overall grade does not fall below a 3.0 average. Always remember that you represent the best and brightest of the Arkham Institute of Astral and Magical Discovery while you are mingling with the peasantry.

In order to offer you the fullest educational experience and our best available accommodations, it is necessary that you complete this purely informational form regarding your personal and academic history. The information here is not an admission of guilt and will not be used against you as evidence in any ongoing or upcoming legal investigations, nor will it be used to foretell and steal the groundbreaking discoveries you will no doubt make in your time spent at the Arkham Institute of Astral and Magical Discovery. We at the Arkham Institute of Astral and Magical Discovery are the most trusted academy of magic in the Dichin Kingdom, and we only lay claim to the unrealized potential of those students who tragically passed under normal and explainable circumstances.

(This is a plan vote. Ask questions to receive answers. Write ins are welcome if not intentionally overpowered, and will be adjusted to make sense in the setting.)

Complete this Purely Informational Background Form – (parentheses are Qm insights)

[] Name (setting is high fantasy)

[] Age (minimum 16. You are a legal adult by medieval reckoning, which honestly explains a few things.)

[] Gender

[] Species (must be humanoid to some degree. All humanoid species were originally human, but deviated with the advent of transmutation magic in a past war. Chimeras, aka monstergirls/monsterboys, are heavily discriminated against.)

[] Perspective
-[] First Person (I, me, my)
-[] Third Person (she/he, hers/his)
-[] Second Person (you, yours)

Choose up to Three Character Traits – You may choose up to three character traits, with the option to add one write-in trait and a suggested effect for it if a trait you want is not on the list.

(There's a lot here, so feel free to skim or skip. Zero is a number up to three, after all.)

[] Idealist: Any time you would normally gain a degree of corruption that forces you to learn a heretical principle, you may instead choose to reject that principle and not gain the degree of corruption.

[] Fatalist: Any time you would normally gain a degree of corruption that forces you to choose a type of despair, you may instead choose to roll with the despair and not gain the degree of corruption.

[] Absurdist: Any time you would normally gain a degree of corruption that forces you into an inescapable conclusion, you may instead choose to scoff at reason and not gain the degree of corruption.

[] Humanist: You hold steadfastly to the idea that the greatest good is that which benefits us all. You do not gain degrees of corruption as long you were acting in the interest of the common good at the time.

[] Technocrat: You hold steadfastly to the idea that the greatest good stems from the unflinching pursuit of knowledge. You do not gain degrees of corruption as long as you were acting on academic interests at the time.

[] Individualist: You hold steadfastly to the idea that the greatest good begins with free expression. You do not gain degrees of corruption as long as you were acting to provoke thought and discussion at the time.

[] Empathetic: You have a gentle heart and a caring soul. If a friend or enemy is suffering from a heretical principle, a type of despair, or an inescapable conclusion, you are able to take on the corrupting influence in their place.

[] Sociopath: You may be charming and affable in person, but you are able to manipulate, kill, and betray people with no hesitation or remorse. One in four practitioners of the forbidden arts share this trait, and the ones who have it find it very useful.

[] Violent: You shelter in your heart a deep resentment for the fortunes of others, and can attack, mutilate, or sabotage people even when not provoked. One in four practitioners of the forbidden arts share this trait, and those who do find it very useful.

[] Unhinged: You are possessed of a peculiar and sometimes disturbing mania, and can carry out depraved acts without further affecting your mental state. One in four practitioners of the forbidden arts share this trait, and those so afflicted find it very useful.

[] Fateless: You were born under the sign of a long dead star. This trait may be spent one time to shroud a goal or desire you have from divination magic, or to end a magical form of mind control on you.

[] Destined: You were born under a sign proclaiming a great destiny. This trait may be spent one time to guarantee the success of any activity or action, or to reverse what would have been a failure.

[] Stranded: You were born under the sign of a lost and forgotten star. This trait may be spent one time to intuit the location of something you're trying to find, or to escape from any prison or trap.

[] Inventive: You have a natural aptitude for the formulas of evocation, and your letter grades for any of its principles are always one higher than they would be from effort alone.

[] Intuitive: You have a natural aptitude for the formulas of illumination, and your letter grades for any of its principles are always one higher than they would be from effort alone.

[] Inspired: You have a natural aptitude for the formulas of transmutation, and your letter grades for any of its principles are always one higher than they would be from effort alone.

[] Harmonic: You are adept at gauging the balance of forces in a natural environment, and will typically succeed in matters of physics, mechanics, weather, environmentalism, and construction.

[] Meticulous: You are adept at spotting the small details others often miss, and will typically succeed in matters of illusion, enchantment, negotiation, detection, and investigation.

[] Creative: You are adept at the peculiar genius shared by all creative minds, and will typically succeed in matters of formulation, transfiguration, abstraction, transference, and conjoining.

[] Cautious: You take great care to include safety features and fail safes in your spellwork, so that your spells will not cause unintended collateral damage.

[] Thorough: You take great care to check your work and cross reference your sources, so that your spells will not have unintended loopholes.

[] Lucid: You have an uncanny awareness of your creative process, so that your spells will not have unintended permutations.

Complete this Purely Informational Academic History Form – (unnecessarily long explanation below for readability)

Choose up to six classes you are studying for your first year of wizarding school, then distribute one A, two Bs, and three Cs among the classes you chose. Your choices will reveal your magical aptitudes and starting spellbook. (When it comes to studying controlled schools of magic, you are only at risk of branding if you actually commit a heretical act in the course of your studies. The study itself is not forbidden, and in many cases research is allowed if cleared by a supervisor or inquisitor before undertaking it.)

Spoiler: Some lore for common sanctioned and unsanctioned wizard classes

Wizard Types and Advancement Paths:

• Guildmage: The classic wizard is an adventurer who studies magic, either to team up with a party or to delve alone. They are usually graduates of a magical school, but some are self taught, getting by on makeshift spells cobbled together from scraps of knowledge. The demands of adventuring requires guildmages to keep a diverse portfolio, and most are broad generalists or loose specialists in practice. Due to the restrictions imposed on the creation and use of magical life, guildmages almost always prefer to be in an adventuring party or associated directly with an adventuring guild, hence the moniker.

• Illuminist: Where the guildmage studies magic for adventuring, the illuminist studies magic for power or its own sake. These are wizards who were cast out from the academies for pursuing forbidden avenues of research, or who left of their own volition to do so. While not all turn to the dark arts to continue their studies, it's common enough that the practice of illumination as a unified field is tightly controlled. The tendency for outcast wizards to delve into the relationship between divine light, the observer principle, and the lacks thereof is how they came to be known as illuminists, and their very existence invites deeply disturbing questions about the nature of free will.

• Alchemist: While originally just the study of potion-making, a few key discoveries lead to such arts as chimeric fusion, fleshcrafting, and true transformation. The alchemy of today only barely resembles the potion craft of old, and is now thought to cover all the possibilities and potential of life. The deeper secrets of alchemy interact with the principles of life on a level other magics can't reach, and the monarchy proclaims its use to be in defiance of divine will and intelligent design. Truly, a cosmos where all things melt together into one primordial whole is as horrifying to the sane as it is enticing to the deranged.

[] Evocation – A school of magic which taps into the elements that make up all things... at least, from a medieval standpoint. All fire, water, earth, and air magic, as well as the derivative storm, force, and artifice magics, stems directly from the foundational evocation formula. Scholars are split on whether all evocation magic is fundamentally air or water, or if there's an as yet undiscovered element at play behind all four.
-[] Elementalism: The principle of evocation that deals with the motive force and its transfiguration into the elements of fire, water, air, and earth. The applications here are both universal and obvious.
-[] Theory of Force: The principle of evocation that deals with the motive force as separate from things that move. This is the origin of such spells as Magic Missile, Mage's Shield, and Indestructible Sphere.
-[] Storm Magic: The principle of evocation that deals with the minute effects which can spiral out of control into terrible cataclysms. A practitioner who is concerned about collateral damage will dabble in divination, too.
-[] Constructs and Artifice: The principles of evocation which govern the creation of objects from magic, and the methods for imbuing them with magic. This field is appreciated by the peasantry and other adventurers.

[] Illumination – A school of magic which is tightly regulated, so much so that no sanctioned college will recognize it as a unified field. Rather, its many applications are taught as schools of their own, and students are warned against delving too far into the uncharted dark that lies between. Students who practice illumination in all its aspects will do so in secret, lest they be branded as dangerous heretics.
-[] Divination: The principle of illumination which taps into the primordial light for knowledge and guidance. All divination is rooted in the foundational astrological formula, with offshoots that deal in reflecting or refracting the lights of origin.
-[] Observation: The principle of illumination that once was known as abjuration, until it progressed to include illusion and time magic. Its foundational formula is the only one which requires another observer apart from the caster to function.
-[] Enchanting: The principle of illumination that delves into the manipulation of free will. Its foundational formula demonstrates a clear relationship between divination and observation, however all three are divided to better regulate them.
-[] Conjuration: The principle of illumination which deals in summoning, contracting, and banishing beings of other planes. Its foundational formula is rooted in matters of definition, destination, and determination, and is technically a regulated field of divination.
-[] Reanimation: The principle of illumination that deals in returning an imitation of life and will to the dead. Its foundational formula represents an as yet unresolved paradox between divination and observation, the attempted resolution of which is strictly forbidden.

[] Transmutation – Once called the school of alchemy, it has since progressed to include all practices that extract and conjoin the fundamental aspects of life. Some wizards dabble in potion crafting for its obvious benefits, but those who delve fully into transmutation do so to study the underpinnings of life itself, or to create mockeries thereof. The creation of new life is regarded as a deranged and dangerously heretical practice.
-[] Alchemy: The principle of transmutation that deals in the extraction and distillation of magical properties from living components. The foundational formula of transmutation is at its most clear and practical in the humble art of potion making.
-[] Fleshcrafting: The principle of transmutation that deals with reshaping raw flesh into living homunculi. A homunculus must, by royal proclamation, lack free will and the ability to reproduce, so as not to be considered new life.
-[] Chimeric Arts: The principle of transmutation that deals in dissolving the divisions between living beings. The actual act of creating a chimera is forbidden, and the only permitted use of this field is the research of, and experimentation on, already existing ones.
-[] Transformation: The principle of transmutation that deals in altering the inherent properties of a being. It is quite forbidden to suggest that all living things share a common origin, though the practical applications thereof are fine.

We at the Arkham Institute of Astral and Magical Discovery thank you for filling out this form using the Indelible Ink and Quill of Truth included with your letter. By the time you reach this sentence, our top astrologers at the Arkham Institute of Astral and Magical Discovery will have divined your answers to update our predictive model of you, purely so that we may better meet your unique accommodations and offer you the most fulfilling academic and adventuring opportunities legally available on the market. By returning the completed form to the included mailing address, you agree that your rights as a subject of the crown have not been violated by our divinations policy, and that you are not an insurrectionist with a history we would never use against you as leverage.

Thank you for completing the required informational forms. We at the Arkham Institute of Astral and Magical Discovery cordially invite you to enjoy your first year as a student at the Arkham Institute of Astral and Magical Discovery.

~~~

(The first round of character creation is a freebie; you'll see the character sheet after, and a second voting round lets you make changes in case it isn't what you wanted.)

(As you may have guessed from the tone, this is a quest where I'll let you die. The world is staggeringly overthought, but strangely that's also why I'm not very attached to it... it's meant as a break from my NSFW quests, and I'll continue it as long as interest remains high.)

Character creation is over, please view the character sheet below to start the quest.

 

(Reserving 3 of 4)

 

(Reserving 4 of 4)

Thank you for waiting, you may now post.

 

[X] Plan Cold and Calculating
-[X] Name: Jackie Frost
-[X] Age: 17
-[X] Gender: Female
-[X] Species: High Northlander - Basically tallish humans who were augmented a bit to make them stronger and more acclimated to the harsh conditions of the frozen north. Your typical viking, nordic, ice wizard sort of race. Some quirks may include that they can "overheat" in warmer climates, causing them to sweat more.to maintain temperature. This requires them to drink more to recoup the lost moisture. The smell of said sweat changes depending on what they've been drinking, with normal water resulting in oderless sweat while various alchoholic drinks can result in a variety of other inoffensive (and occasionally humerous) smells. So... big tough viking types who are comfortable in the frozen wastes, drink alot, and occasionally start smelling like fresh bread or flowers depending on what exactly they've been drinking recently.
-[X] Technocrat: You hold steadfastly to the idea that the greatest good stems from the unflinching pursuit of knowledge. You do not gain degrees of corruption as long as you were acting on academic interests at the time.
-[X] Cautious: You take great care to include safety features and fail safes in your spellwork, so that your spells will not cause unintended collateral damage.
-[X] (Write-in Trait) Masochist (or "Cooperative Test Subject"): Pain and humiliation don't frighten you, in fact you find them secretly intriguing. Experiments that involve you as a guinea pig are more likely to succeed thanks to your cooperation and if you are injured the pain and recovery don't bother you. Regardless, you might want to keep your personal kink a secret from your peers and the superiors.

-[X] Evocation – A school of magic which taps into the elements that make up all things... at least, from a medieval standpoint. All fire, water, earth, and air magic, as well as the derivative storm, force, and artifice magics, stems directly from the foundational evocation formula. Scholars are split on whether all evocation magic is fundamentally air or water, or if there's an as yet undiscovered element at play behind all four.
--[X] (C) Elementalism: The principle of evocation that deals with the motive force and its transfiguration into the elements of fire, water, air, and earth. The applications here are both universal and obvious.
--[X] (C) Theory of Force: The principle of evocation that deals with the motive force as separate from things that move. This is the origin of such spells as Magic Missile, Mage's Shield, and Indestructible Sphere.
--[X] (C) Constructs and Artifice: The principles of evocation which govern the creation of objects from magic, and the methods for imbuing them with magic. This field is appreciated by the peasantry and other adventurers.

-[X] Illumination – A school of magic which is tightly regulated, so much so that no sanctioned college will recognize it as a unified field. Rather, its many applications are taught as schools of their own, and students are warned against delving too far into the uncharted dark that lies between those proscribed lights. Students who practice illumination in all its aspects will do so in secret, lest they be branded as dangerous heretics.
--[X] (B) Divination: The principle of illumination which taps into the primordial light for knowledge and guidance. All divination is rooted in the foundational astrological formula, with offshoots that deal in reflecting or refracting the lights of origin.

-[X] Transmutation – Once called the school of alchemy, it has since progressed to include all practices that extract and conjoin the fundamental aspects of life. Some wizards dabble in potion crafting for its obvious benefits, but those who delve fully into transmutation do so to study the underpinnings of life itself, or to create mockeries thereof. The creation of new life is regarded as a deranged and dangerously heretical practice.
--[X] (A) Alchemy: The principle of transmutation that deals in the extraction and distillation of magical properties from living components. The foundational formula of transmutation is at its most clear and practical in the humble art of potion making.
--[X] (B) Transformation: The principle of transmutation that deals in altering the inherent properties of a being. It is quite forbidden to suggest that all living things share a common origin, though the practical applications thereof are fine.

Spoiler: Picture made using NightCafe

Basic idea is someone from a society of stereotypically boisterous warriors who love fighting monsters, drinking mead, and boasting about their battle scars. However, she's the daughter of nobility, was found to have an aptitude for magic and more or less 'forced' to become a wizard. A sort of outwardly meticious ice-queen type who's a generalist with a bit of a focus on healing magic, divination, and utility spells. All the responsible "practical" things a wizard should study. However, inside she's a bit of a masochist, or at least wouldn't mind getting her own sorts of battle scars in the name of advancing magical knowledge (or that's how she justifies it to herself). Would probably study the heck out of any magic that buffs a persons attributes like making them stronger, faster, more durable, etc. Purely for practicality of course and any experiments on herself in the process are similarly only to ensure they're safe to use on others.

 

[X] Plan Cold and Calculating

 

[X] Plan: Friendmaker
-[X] Evangeline Whitescale
-[X] Age 17
-[X] Female
-[X] Species: Serpentine — An side product of experiments to rejuvinate the human body. While the effect on their lifespan is minimal, their skin is able to quickly cleanse itself of any blemishes. Other side effects include a highly flexible body and a proclivity for seeking out external heat sources by such means as lazing in the sun, or other people's body heat. Their most striking, yet not immediately visible, feature is their long split tongue that serves as a highly sensetive sensory organ that can analyse the chemical composition of substances and even get a general idea of someone's health through a taste of their bodily fluids, such as sweat and salvia. Naturally, they still need to be as careful not to consume toxins as anybody else.
-[X] Perspective
--[X] Second Person (you, yours)

Spoiler

https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/61357686

-[X] Empathetic: You have a gentle heart and a caring soul. If a friend or enemy is suffering from a heretical principle, a type of despair, or an inescapable conclusion, you are able to take on the corrupting influence in their place.
-[X] Unhinged: You are possessed of a peculiar and sometimes disturbing mania, and can carry out depraved acts without further affecting your mental state. One in four practitioners of the forbidden arts share this trait, and those so afflicted find it very useful.
-[X] Creative: You are adept at the peculiar genius shared by all creative minds, and will typically succeed in matters of formulation, transfiguration, abstraction, transference, and conjoining.

-[X] Illumination – A school of magic which is tightly regulated, so much so that no sanctioned college will recognize it as a unified field. Rather, its many applications are taught as schools of their own, and students are warned against delving too far into the uncharted dark that lies between. Students who practice illumination in all its aspects will do so in secret, lest they be branded as dangerous heretics.
--[X] Observation: (C) The principle of illumination that once was known as abjuration, until it progressed to include illusion and time magic. Its foundational formula is the only one which requires another observer apart from the caster to function.
--[X] Enchanting: (C) The principle of illumination that delves into the manipulation of free will. Its foundational formula demonstrates a clear relationship between divination and observation, however all three are divided to better regulate them.

-[X] Transmutation – Once called the school of alchemy, it has since progressed to include all practices that extract and conjoin the fundamental aspects of life. Some wizards dabble in potion crafting for its obvious benefits, but those who delve fully into transmutation do so to study the underpinnings of life itself, or to create mockeries thereof. The creation of new life is regarded as a deranged and dangerously heretical practice.
--[X] Alchemy: (C) The principle of transmutation that deals in the extraction and distillation of magical properties from living components. The foundational formula of transmutation is at its most clear and practical in the humble art of potion making.
--[X] Fleshcrafting: (A) The principle of transmutation that deals with reshaping raw flesh into living homunculi. A homunculus must, by royal proclamation, lack free will and the ability to reproduce, so as not to be considered new life.
--[X] Chimeric Arts: (B) The principle of transmutation that deals in dissolving the divisions between living beings. The actual act of creating a chimera is forbidden, and the only permitted use of this field is the research of, and experimentation on, already existing ones.
--[X] Transformation: (B) The principle of transmutation that deals in altering the inherent properties of a being. It is quite forbidden to suggest that all living things share a common origin, though the practical applications thereof are fine.

I am quite fond of the idea of a character that dives headfirst into a lot of highly questionable magic for mostly benign reasons.

As for the species, I kinda defaulted to baseline human due to not being quite sure what a range of difference we're on. As in, would we go straight from human to elves, dwarfs and full on chimeras, or is there some room for basically human with minor enhancements?

Edit: Swapped out the species for something slightly more enhanced.

 

All correct. Humans, elves, dwarfs, full on chimeras, humans with minor enhancements, and so on. Discrimination scales up the further from human you are, and nobles especially don't like it when a person from a lower station is born with advantages they don't have.

 

[X] Plan Perfect Illumination
-[X] Qudenri Pholnae
-[X] Age: 16
-[X] Gender : Female
-[X] Species: Dark Elf - You know how a bunch of stuff is forbidden magic. These elves said fuck that and went in whole hog. This is most obvious with their transformation into dark elves, but they in general ignore any warnings about what to learn.
-[X] Perspective
--[X] Second Person (you, yours)
-[X] Cautious: You take great care to include safety features and fail safes in your spellwork, so that your spells will not cause unintended collateral damage.
-[X] Thorough: You take great care to check your work and cross reference your sources, so that your spells will not have unintended loopholes.
-[X] Lucid: You have an uncanny awareness of your creative process, so that your spells will not have unintended permutations.
-[X] Illumination – A school of magic which is tightly regulated, so much so that no sanctioned college will recognize it as a unified field. Rather, its many applications are taught as schools of their own, and students are warned against delving too far into the uncharted dark that lies between. Students who practice illumination in all its aspects will do so in secret, lest they be branded as dangerous heretics.
--[X] Divination: (A) The principle of illumination which taps into the primordial light for knowledge and guidance. All divination is rooted in the foundational astrological formula, with offshoots that deal in reflecting or refracting the lights of origin.
--[X] Observation: (B) The principle of illumination that once was known as abjuration, until it progressed to include illusion and time magic. Its foundational formula is the only one which requires another observer apart from the caster to function.
--[X] Enchanting: (B) The principle of illumination that delves into the manipulation of free will. Its foundational formula demonstrates a clear relationship between divination and observation, however all three are divided to better regulate them.
--[X] Conjuration: (C) The principle of illumination which deals in summoning, contracting, and banishing beings of other planes. Its foundational formula is rooted in matters of definition, destination, and determination, and is technically a regulated field of divination.
--[X] Reanimation: (C) The principle of illumination that deals in returning an imitation of life and will to the dead. Its foundational formula represents an as yet unresolved paradox between divination and observation, the attempted resolution of which is strictly forbidden.
-[X] Transmutation – Once called the school of alchemy, it has since progressed to include all practices that extract and conjoin the fundamental aspects of life. Some wizards dabble in potion crafting for its obvious benefits, but those who delve fully into transmutation do so to study the underpinnings of life itself, or to create mockeries thereof. The creation of new life is regarded as a deranged and dangerously heretical practice.
--[X] Transformation: (C) The principle of transmutation that deals in altering the inherent properties of a being. It is quite forbidden to suggest that all living things share a common origin, though the practical applications thereof are fine.
I am interested in the concept of forbidden knowledge so my character goes full into illumination as a unified field. The traits are because if you mess up a spell, then you don't actually know that spell which would be unacceptable to one seeking knowledge. I added transformation because of the background for dark elves that I came up with, but I could change it to one of the other two transmutation that has forbidden knowledge. I am also not wedded to the grade distribution of the illumination. The name I just got from a dark elf name generator.

 

[X] Plan: Friendmaker

 

[X] Plan Cold and Calculating

 

We have an hour left for this first part of character creation, and then things will move on to the second part.

Since we're moving along, I've added an explanation for how magic works to the Extras threadmarks. It's also here, in the spoiler:

Spoiler: Informationals: Explaining Magic 101

Explaining Magic 101

Overview:

In generic terms, each school of magic is a single, broadly useful spell, which is then adjusted to have different uses or effects as needed. A school's root spell is called its foundational formula, and the parts of a formula that can be altered are called its principles.

To use evocation as an example, its foundational formula could be called a matter-energy conversion equation, and its principles are elementalism (the "engine"), theory of force (the "spark plug"), storm magic (the "intake" and "output"), and constructs and artifice (magitech). It's a very popular school of magic since its use is the closest to classical physics, and has few practical limits on what it can't do as long as you know how to modify the equation correctly.

These are things the main character knows, and does on their own as part of the writing. For readers it isn't necessary to do, but doing it anyways will give you a more direct hand in spell design if you want it.

All spellcraft starts at one of these foundational formulas, then manipulates its principles to achieve specific results. Going back to the evocation example, the formula which is essentially matter-energy conversion could be made to magically convert air into fire by inscribing the sigil defining air to the formula's input and fire to its output. This would ordinarily just flash-convert all air in the spell's area to fire, which is absurdly dangerous for a wizard who hasn't figured out how to specify distance or direction yet.

By including additional sigils to define which air is being used as the input, the spell can be changed from converting all air in its area to converting a specific pocket of air, and then the output can be changed from producing fire in an undefined output to producing fire in, say, a forward stream. This is a typical flamethrower spell that creates a stream of fire from a reserve of air, and once cast will continue to spew fire until the air reserve runs out. A variation on this can create a stream of air from the reserve of air, essentially just moving the air around.

Most spells work with existing materials and resources, and so aren't very taxing for the wizard to cast. The personal cost of magic is comparable to a spark plug starting an engine, with the engine then running on gas (the intake) afterwards. Larger, more complex spells with multiple formulas will require a bigger initial spark to start up, but even then the bulk of the difficulty comes from spellcraft as a skill, not so much the actual casting.

The catch is that spellwork only rarely uses actual number math. The evocation formula is the most well researched, and cleanly works by manipulating definitions of objects, locations, and sets, and by exploiting 1:1 efficiency ratios. The less researched illumination spells appear to work by changing how destiny applies to a person. Transmutation spells work by defining a body or ingredient as a set of properties, then modifying those properties or transferring them into a separate set of properties.

Magical theory is incomplete; there is no sixth sense for magic, so wizards only know how a spell works by comparing the real results against what they expected from their equations. Whole chunks of the curriculum are guesswork built on assumptions, but all an adventuring party asks is that the spells work as expected. Some wizards will pursue arcane secrets their whole lives in a quest for true understanding, but for most it's enough that they can live to see the next dungeon delve.

Foundational Formulas and their Principles:

The evocation formula, as the example above, is an equation for matter-energy conversion. Build the magical equation from known sigils and known interactions, pay an upfront mana cost to start the process, then it operates continuously until it runs out of intake.
- Elementalism's principles takes evocation and focuses specifically on the conversion part of it. Turning rocks into fire, fire into water, water into air, or otherwise. This same process can also be used to 'convert' an element into an active state, such as causing a boulder at rest to be a boulder in motion.
- Theory of Force focuses wholly on the "spark plug" part of the evocation formula, separating it from elemental reactions to instead turn magic input into magic output. This is much more taxing on the caster since their magic reserves are the intake, but magical force behaves however you want it to, as long as you can foot the bill for it.
- Storm Magic focuses on the intake and output parts of the formula to create escalating phenomena. Their output is usually a convergence or chain reaction of several varied and synergistic inputs, and often feeds back into the system to further prolong it.
- Constructs and Artifice is the physical, mechanical application of other evocation principles to create tools, weapons, and in some cases near-magitech with elemental properties. This includes golems and flaming swords, but also horseless carriages and indoor heating.

There is no unified illumination formula, since core aspects of the school are proscribed for a variety of honestly pretty good reasons. In this case, keep in mind that what is called "formulas" are actually principles of a formula for a school that isn't formally unified.
- Divination began as astrology, but also includes water scrying, crystal balls, and other methods that reflect or refract the cosmic light. No two people see the same night sky, so prisms, mirrors, and lenses are used to approximate how another person sees the sky-spanning equations of their own infinite possibilities.
- Enchanting changes how a person is affected by the destinies of others. This can be used to create love or hatred between friends and enemies, to cause a person to fail against another when they would have succeeded, or to steal their fortunes away from them.
- Observation was at one time called abjuration, and was thought to work by forcing a particular interpretation of another person's destiny onto them. This changed following a paradigm shift in how stars were perceived, from points of light on a flat surface to points of lights in a three dimensional space, and now the principle is thought to work by changing another person's destiny relative to the observing wizard's.
- Conjuration, in technical terms, seeks parallels between the signs of the casting wizard and a cooperating extra planar being to tie their fates together. From there, and with further cooperation, the two can work with their shared signs to create an agreement that can only be broken at significant cost. Every conjuration student's first lesson is to not make contracts with beings who can afford to break them.
- Necromancy is a school that seems to exist in opposition to the other illumination schools, and is the biggest obstacle to a true unified theory. Necromancy's formula divorces an observer from their destiny entirely, trapping the living and dead alike in a state that is neither life nor death, in a lightless fate where past and future have no meaning.

The transmutation formula is softer than the hard maths of evocation or the determinism of illumination, and must be inscribed directly on the body or reagents being affected. Its foundational formula is an equation to define a body or group of reagents as a set of properties, with the wizard then using the sigils for which properties they want the spell to act on, and then closing the formula with how the spell is meant to act on those properties.
- Alchemy separates the formula into two parts, with the set of definitions being inscribed on the bottle of potion, and the closing effects being inscribed or tattooed on the wizard. This system of a separated formula that the wizard casts by "bridging" is also used in the other schools to simplify complex spellwork.
- Fleshcrafting alters the properties of a mass of flesh directly, reshaping it into homunculi with just enough biology to be alive and fulfill the purpose they're made for. The principle is certainly capable of more than this, but the royal crown is having none of that.
- The Chimeric Arts require a double ended version of the foundational transmutation formula, each end of which is inscribed on a separate body, and which when completed must resolve into an equivalency. This isn't saying each body must be identical, but rather that the additions and subtractions of properties to either body must equal one body between the two of them. From there, the two then have to be surgically conjoined to match the completed formula, and the result is a living chimera that breeds true, for reasons not yet known.
- Transformation rewrites the foundational formula as a closed loop to define a property in a reagent or body which is to be altered or transferred. Unlike the chimeric arts, this doesn't change the fundamental nature of anything involved, and any changes made can revert if the inscriptions are removed.

Sigils:

Every wizard's spellbook is written from a lifetime of research and practical testing, all in the pursuit of learning how to represent ideas or things within a magical equation. A sigil is that representation, and they are written into a formula's principles to create a spell that behaves as written. You'll learn sigils from classes directly, but can also experiment on your own to create new sigils for things you don't know yet, or for things the academy isn't likely to teach you.

tl;dr: formulas are a sentence, principles are the blanks, sigils are words you can put in those blanks. Wizards make magic by playing madlibs with the universe.

tl;dr: formulas are a sentence, principles are the blanks, sigils are words you can put in those blanks. Wizards make magic by playing madlibs with the universe.

 

Here are the results of character creation so far.

[X] Plan Cold and Calculating

Spoiler: full plan

-[X] Name: Jackie Frost
-[X] Age: 17
-[X] Gender: Female
-[X] Species: High Northlander - Basically tallish humans who were augmented a bit to make them stronger and more acclimated to the harsh conditions of the frozen north. Your typical viking, nordic, ice wizard sort of race. Some quirks may include that they can "overheat" in warmer climates, causing them to sweat more.to maintain temperature. This requires them to drink more to recoup the lost moisture. The smell of said sweat changes depending on what they've been drinking, with normal water resulting in oderless sweat while various alchoholic drinks can result in a variety of other inoffensive (and occasionally humerous) smells. So... big tough viking types who are comfortable in the frozen wastes, drink alot, and occasionally start smelling like fresh bread or flowers depending on what exactly they've been drinking recently.
-[X] Technocrat: You hold steadfastly to the idea that the greatest good stems from the unflinching pursuit of knowledge. You do not gain degrees of corruption as long as you were acting on academic interests at the time.
-[X] Cautious: You take great care to include safety features and fail safes in your spellwork, so that your spells will not cause unintended collateral damage.
-[X] (Write-in Trait) Masochist (or "Cooperative Test Subject"): Pain and humiliation don't frighten you, in fact you find them secretly intriguing. Experiments that involve you as a guinea pig are more likely to succeed thanks to your cooperation and if you are injured the pain and recovery don't bother you. Regardless, you might want to keep your personal kink a secret from your peers and the superiors.
-[X] Evocation – A school of magic which taps into the elements that make up all things... at least, from a medieval standpoint. All fire, water, earth, and air magic, as well as the derivative storm, force, and artifice magics, stems directly from the foundational evocation formula. Scholars are split on whether all evocation magic is fundamentally air or water, or if there's an as yet undiscovered element at play behind all four.
--[X] (C) Elementalism: The principle of evocation that deals with the motive force and its transfiguration into the elements of fire, water, air, and earth. The applications here are both universal and obvious.
--[X] (C) Theory of Force: The principle of evocation that deals with the motive force as separate from things that move. This is the origin of such spells as Magic Missile, Mage's Shield, and Indestructible Sphere.
--[X] (C) Constructs and Artifice: The principles of evocation which govern the creation of objects from magic, and the methods for imbuing them with magic. This field is appreciated by the peasantry and other adventurers.
-[X] Illumination – A school of magic which is tightly regulated, so much so that no sanctioned college will recognize it as a unified field. Rather, its many applications are taught as schools of their own, and students are warned against delving too far into the uncharted dark that lies between those proscribed lights. Students who practice illumination in all its aspects will do so in secret, lest they be branded as dangerous heretics.
--[X] (B) Divination: The principle of illumination which taps into the primordial light for knowledge and guidance. All divination is rooted in the foundational astrological formula, with offshoots that deal in reflecting or refracting the lights of origin.
-[X] Transmutation – Once called the school of alchemy, it has since progressed to include all practices that extract and conjoin the fundamental aspects of life. Some wizards dabble in potion crafting for its obvious benefits, but those who delve fully into transmutation do so to study the underpinnings of life itself, or to create mockeries thereof. The creation of new life is regarded as a deranged and dangerously heretical practice.
--[X] (A) Alchemy: The principle of transmutation that deals in the extraction and distillation of magical properties from living components. The foundational formula of transmutation is at its most clear and practical in the humble art of potion making.
--[X] (B) Transformation: The principle of transmutation that deals in altering the inherent properties of a being. It is quite forbidden to suggest that all living things share a common origin, though the practical applications thereof are fine.

Spoiler: Picture made using NightCafe

Basic idea is someone from a society of stereotypically boisterous warriors who love fighting monsters, drinking mead, and boasting about their battle scars. However, she's the daughter of nobility, was found to have an aptitude for magic and more or less 'forced' to become a wizard. A sort of outwardly meticious ice-queen type who's a generalist with a bit of a focus on healing magic, divination, and utility spells. All the responsible "practical" things a wizard should study. However, inside she's a bit of a masochist, or at least wouldn't mind getting her own sorts of battle scars in the name of advancing magical knowledge (or that's how she justifies it to herself). Would probably study the heck out of any magic that buffs a persons attributes like making them stronger, faster, more durable, etc. Purely for practicality of course and any experiments on herself in the process are similarly only to ensure they're safe to use on others.

Ahuizotl, Marlin, Kadehex

[X] Plan: Friendmaker

Spoiler: full plan

-[X] Evangeline Whitescale
-[X] Age 17
-[X] Female
-[X] Species: Human
-[X] Perspective
--[X] Second Person (you, yours)

Spoiler: appearance

https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/61357686

-[X] Empathetic: You have a gentle heart and a caring soul. If a friend or enemy is suffering from a heretical principle, a type of despair, or an inescapable conclusion, you are able to take on the corrupting influence in their place.
-[X] Unhinged: You are possessed of a peculiar and sometimes disturbing mania, and can carry out depraved acts without further affecting your mental state. One in four practitioners of the forbidden arts share this trait, and those so afflicted find it very useful.
-[X] Creative: You are adept at the peculiar genius shared by all creative minds, and will typically succeed in matters of formulation, transfiguration, abstraction, transference, and conjoining.
-[X] Illumination – A school of magic which is tightly regulated, so much so that no sanctioned college will recognize it as a unified field. Rather, its many applications are taught as schools of their own, and students are warned against delving too far into the uncharted dark that lies between. Students who practice illumination in all its aspects will do so in secret, lest they be branded as dangerous heretics.
--[X] Observation: (C) The principle of illumination that once was known as abjuration, until it progressed to include illusion and time magic. Its foundational formula is the only one which requires another observer apart from the caster to function.
--[X] Enchanting: (C) The principle of illumination that delves into the manipulation of free will. Its foundational formula demonstrates a clear relationship between divination and observation, however all three are divided to better regulate them.
-[X] Transmutation – Once called the school of alchemy, it has since progressed to include all practices that extract and conjoin the fundamental aspects of life. Some wizards dabble in potion crafting for its obvious benefits, but those who delve fully into transmutation do so to study the underpinnings of life itself, or to create mockeries thereof. The creation of new life is regarded as a deranged and dangerously heretical practice.
--[X] Alchemy: (C) The principle of transmutation that deals in the extraction and distillation of magical properties from living components. The foundational formula of transmutation is at its most clear and practical in the humble art of potion making.
--[X] Fleshcrafting: (A) The principle of transmutation that deals with reshaping raw flesh into living homunculi. A homunculus must, by royal proclamation, lack free will and the ability to reproduce, so as not to be considered new life.
--[X] Chimeric Arts: (B) The principle of transmutation that deals in dissolving the divisions between living beings. The actual act of creating a chimera is forbidden, and the only permitted use of this field is the research of, and experimentation on, already existing ones.
--[X] Transformation: (B) The principle of transmutation that deals in altering the inherent properties of a being. It is quite forbidden to suggest that all living things share a common origin, though the practical applications thereof are fine.

I am quite fond of the idea of a character that dives headfirst into a lot of highly questionable magic for mostly benign reasons.

As for the species, I kinda defaulted to baseline human due to not being quite sure what a range of difference we're on. As in, would we go straight from human to elves, dwarfs and full on chimeras, or is there some room for basically human with minor enhancements?

Edgedancer, JTK334

[X] Plan Perfect Illumination

Spoiler: full plan

-[X] Qudenri Pholnae
-[X] Age: 16
-[X] Species: Dark Elf - You know how a bunch of stuff is forbidden magic. These elves said fuck that and went in whole hog. This is most obvious with their transformation into dark elves, but they in general ignore any warnings about what to learn.
-[X] Perspective
--[X] Second Person (you, yours)
-[X] Cautious: You take great care to include safety features and fail safes in your spellwork, so that your spells will not cause unintended collateral damage.
-[X] Thorough: You take great care to check your work and cross reference your sources, so that your spells will not have unintended loopholes.
-[X] Lucid: You have an uncanny awareness of your creative process, so that your spells will not have unintended permutations.
-[X] Illumination – A school of magic which is tightly regulated, so much so that no sanctioned college will recognize it as a unified field. Rather, its many applications are taught as schools of their own, and students are warned against delving too far into the uncharted dark that lies between. Students who practice illumination in all its aspects will do so in secret, lest they be branded as dangerous heretics.
--[X] Divination: (A) The principle of illumination which taps into the primordial light for knowledge and guidance. All divination is rooted in the foundational astrological formula, with offshoots that deal in reflecting or refracting the lights of origin.
--[X] Observation: (B) The principle of illumination that once was known as abjuration, until it progressed to include illusion and time magic. Its foundational formula is the only one which requires another observer apart from the caster to function.
--[X] Enchanting: (B) The principle of illumination that delves into the manipulation of free will. Its foundational formula demonstrates a clear relationship between divination and observation, however all three are divided to better regulate them.
--[X] Conjuration: (C) The principle of illumination which deals in summoning, contracting, and banishing beings of other planes. Its foundational formula is rooted in matters of definition, destination, and determination, and is technically a regulated field of divination.
--[X] Reanimation: (C) The principle of illumination that deals in returning an imitation of life and will to the dead. Its foundational formula represents an as yet unresolved paradox between divination and observation, the attempted resolution of which is strictly forbidden.
-[X] Transmutation – Once called the school of alchemy, it has since progressed to include all practices that extract and conjoin the fundamental aspects of life. Some wizards dabble in potion crafting for its obvious benefits, but those who delve fully into transmutation do so to study the underpinnings of life itself, or to create mockeries thereof. The creation of new life is regarded as a deranged and dangerously heretical practice.
--[X] Transformation: (C) The principle of transmutation that deals in altering the inherent properties of a being. It is quite forbidden to suggest that all living things share a common origin, though the practical applications thereof are fine.

I am interested in the concept of forbidden knowledge so my character goes full into illumination as a unified field. The traits are because if you mess up a spell, then you don't actually know that spell which would be unacceptable to one seeking knowledge. I added transformation because of the background for dark elves that I came up with, but I could change it to one of the other two transmutation that has forbidden knowledge. I am also not wedded to the grade distribution of the illumination. The name I just got from a dark elf name generator.

Beetlebrox

For Cold and Calculating, I'll need to change the Masochist write-in trait somewhat... rather than making experiments on her more likely to succeed (we aren't using dice rolls, it's all narrative and working-as-written), it would just have a bit where she isn't averse to pain and isn't bothered by recovery. This is also going to be a SFW quest, so while lewd scenes aren't off the table (they'll be posted in the NSFW board), a kink can't be a central feature of the character. Sorry. It can be rewritten to not be a kink, and that would be fine.

For Friendmaker, as said above but copying here, species can be human, humanoid, chimeras, augmented humans, and so on. Humanity was originally one species, but transmutation is too practical (and for some, too tempting) to pass up. There's fantasy racism, especially against chimeras but somewhat against humanoids too. Nobles usually take it as a personal insult when a person of lower station is more advantaged from birth than they are, but this can vary from one to the next, and it gets overlooked easily when the advantages are just to peasant work or surviving inhospitable climes.

For Perfect Illumination, this is probably what's expected already, but I'll say it's looking like a fast track to a conspicuously uninteresting death. If you want to go ultra hard into forbidden knowledge, you'll want a way to deal with divination magic and the inquisitors who use it.

***

This is now the second voting round, which will last another 24 hours. You can change your vote to a different plan, or vote in a new plan entirely.

That's all from me, for now. I'll see you later.

 

Ah, my mistake. I didn't check that this was in SFW questing, sorry. Feel free to change the masochist trait however you want, or even remove or replace it. Having her not be bothered by pain, easier recovery, etc all sound good to me.

 

Well, I was already considering something kinda snake like to lean into the theme with some hugging with slight creepy factor, so I might as well slot that in. For reference:

Serpentine — An side product of experiments to rejuvinate the human body. While the effect on their lifespan is minimal, their skin is able to quickly cleanse itself of any blemishes. Other side effects include a highly flexible body and a proclivity for seeking out external heat sources by such means as lazing in the sun, or other people's body heat. Their most striking, yet not immediately visible, feature is their long split tongue that serves as a highly sensetive sensory organ that can analyse the chemical composition of substances and even get a general idea of someone's health through a taste of their bodily fluids, such as sweat and salvia. Naturally, they still need to be as careful not to consume toxins as anybody else.

 

That works as is, so you can slot it in if you like.

 

I noticed that I forgot to put the gender so I fixed that. On thinking on it, Perfect Illumination currently has the A in divination and is cautious in nature, so shouldn't she know how the inquisitors are using divination magic and be trying to deal with that. Admittedly, the fact this letter seems to mean that the school has somehow punched through her precautions and she is probably freaking out about that, that also means that she would be doubling down on figuring out how to fix that without the death she knows is coming if found out.

 

If you want to do it that way, that's fine too.

 

Also, would observation and its illusion magic help in hiding from the inquisitors and would the A be better in observation instead of divination to counter the divination if it is true?

 

Observation could be used to make a diviner see a different version of your destiny, so it could help, but only up to a point. Once the wizard recognizes what they're looking at, they can use a different method to counteract your method.

There are only three cases where someone is prediction-proof: the dead, those born outside of time, and those born under stars that later died. Without one of those, trying to give divination the slip would be a big investment.

 

I'm drawn to the Technocrat trait. As a scientist I always feel like the idea of "ThInGs MaN wAs NoT mEaNt To KnOw!!!!!11one" is pretty dumb, so it's amusing to take it to extremes.

"I say, so all of reality is crafted of the near-corpse of a dying god held together by its dreams, doomed to fade should its end ever finally come? My, how fascinating."

But, I can't resist a chimera-crafting snek.

[X] Plan: Friendmaker

 

Is there some way to use reanimation to become the dead and how can we find someone born outside of time?

 

Yes for becoming undead, but corpse-dom is its own price to pay. As for finding someone from outside time, your character wouldn't know but it's the sort of thing that might make sense in hindsight.

I agree! I'm trying to go a different direction with this one, where the things behind the curtain aren't incomprehensible, and that's the problem. If I can make it make sense, then I think I'll have done a good job.

Ah, and as of now there are four and a half hours left to vote. If there's still a tie by then, I'll roll a dice to decide.

 

[X] Plan Cold and Calculating

 

I'm a few minutes late, but I suppose that's it for the vote. And for character creation. Here is what we ended with:

[X] Plan Cold and Calculating
Ahuizotl, Marlin, Kadehex, iamweirdo

[X] Plan: Friendmaker
Edgedancer, JTK334, Tamphithere

[X] Plan Perfect Illumination
Beetlebrox

So, it looks like the character will be Jackie Frost, from Ahuizotl's Cold and Calculating plan. I think I'll edit the first post to be the character sheet, and we'll see if I can sticky it to the top in a convenient way... it'll take a little while, since I got back so late, but it won't be much longer.

In any event, we'll see if I can make this quest interesting. It's honestly pretty off the cuff, so hopefully things work out. There should be a chapter tomorrow, I think, or at least that's the plan.

I'll see you later, then.

 

I will fill it soon, as soon as I will free from my other homework.

 

You are late; the voting has already closed.

 

They're late, maybe, but I'm also very late.

I have to apologize, I've been caught up in Pokemon Violet since the eighteenth. Even though it's very clearly a handheld system's game shoved roughshod into a HD console, the world building for it is actually very good. I mean, you can take classes! In Home Ec! You can see how the history of the setting was affected by people's relationship with pokemon, and vice versa, which is really cool.

It also adds a ton of material that gives my head cannon plenty of ammunition, which is... uhm, really bad for trying to write things that aren't Pokemon.

So, I have to apologize. I was supposed to write the chapter for this quest on the 18th, but I got carried away with what was only supposed to be a few hours' break. I'll get to it right now, since I have some free time today.

 

Damn, missed character creation. There goes my dream of an individualist dwarf magitech entrepreneur.