Modern Magic Quest

Modern Magic Quest​

"Wake up."

The voice is kind. The kick to the ribs is not.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure that was quite surprising, but now that you're both awake and Awake, it's time for you to listen."

The body of the speaker doesn't match the voice at all. Where one is a low pleasant baritone suitable for soft rock, the other is a large hulking thing seemingly crafted from shadows. What little of it's face is visible is all rust colored teeth.

It's also standing next to your bed.

Obviously, this is a dream. No, a nightmare, the kind where you're supposed to run from the scary monster.

"Ah, none of that."

Or it could be the kind of nightmare where the shadow monster can teleport. Why does your subconscious hate you?

"Not a dream, child, and you needn't worry too much," and then, just for a second, the voice matches the body. "As long as you Listen."

Paying attention now.

"Good," that is an incredibly creepy smile. "First, I'm here to congratulate you."

Well, that's nice of it. Sort of. Kind of have to wonder what you did that warranted a celebratory visit from this guy, if only so you can never do it again.

"What you've done is gained power," now wondering if this thing is a mind reader. The fact that its smile grows even wider as that thought finishes is not comforting, "and in the process woken up to our little moonlit world."

"Second, I'm going to give you a little help realizing what you can do now, and leave you with a list of a few others living nearby who know about this sort of thing." A sharpened finger points to a piece of paper on the bed stand that wasn't there when you went to sleep.

"Some are nice people, they might even help you. Others, not so much," and now that shadowy hand full of cruel looking edges is resting on your shoulder in what an oblivious soul might mistake for a comforting gesture. "I believe you have a neighbor not a few miles from here who's trying to take over the city by force."

"And lastly, of course, is to give the standard little warning," and suddenly all you can see is rotting teeth. "The organization I belong to doesn't want any of this sort of thing to become public, and it has ways of keeping it secret."

"We don't care who you kill, what you do, or what kind of mess you make, so long as you don't show off in a way that can't be kept quiet. If we have to silence you, then the thing that will find you will make me look like a pleasant dream."

---​

So, what's the theme behind whatever got this thing's bosses to send him to talk to you?

( ) Magic is all in the mind.

• Start with a weak mind power. This could be limited precognition, empathy, truth reading, some form of clairvoyance, or many other things. Whatever it is, it certainly gives you more to think about.
  
  - Easier time learning abilities that affect the brain. Particularly your own.
  - The minds of others are exponentially harder to work with, making the main focus of this path the slowest in terms of expressing power externally.

( ) Power flows through the body.

• You've just become a little stronger, or maybe you heal a little faster. Perhaps you're simply tougher than you used to be. If the body is a temple, then it seems yours just got a blessing.
  
  - Easier to punch people real good.

( ) The world around you is filled with potential.

• Starting small fires, freezing a glass of water, weak imprecise telekinesis, or throwing around something a little bit stronger than a static shock. It's all about changing anything you look at.
  
  - Ranged stuff comes easier.
  - Highest starting power.
  - Hardest to keep secret.
  - Lowest starting magic resistance.

( ) There is no such thing as magic.

• You are the void. No one is going to be throwing any fireballs at you if you have anything to say about it. If you try hard enough, maybe you can even make Mr. Shadow disappear. What could possibly be more important than never seeing this guy again?
  
  - Counterspelling comes naturally.
  - Extremely high starting magic resistance.
  - Difficulty learning to make your magic actually do stuff.

While we're at it, what's your age bracket?

( ) Still in school.

• Anything from elementary to university level.
  
  - Fastest learner by far.
  - Assuming you have a family, they're likely still willing to take care of your necessities.
  - Lowest number of starting skills.
  - Starting funds? What are those? Oh, you mean like an allowance?
  - Minimal real life experience means when the votes say to do something stupid, that stupid thing will probably be getting done at least once.
  - Parents, school, truancy officers, not being taken seriously, and all of your peers are teenagers.

( ) Old enough to have a career, or at least a real job.

• Maybe you're a well respected desk jockey, a stay at home parent, or perhaps just collecting a diploma.
  
  - Actual starting money, and a credit rating.
  - People might have unreasonable expectations that you'll show up to your day job.

( ) Retired.

• Turns out that if you live long enough, you can win the game and stop working. Now if only you were young enough to properly enjoy it.
  
  - Highest starting skills.
  - Can pretend to be senile to get out of trouble.
  - A lifetime's worth of savings.
  - Bones and organs are easier to break.
  - Arthritis is a thing.

Also, gender.

• ( ) Male
  
  ( ) Female

 

Archive Links will go here.

 

Character sheet will be here.

 

Other stuff will go here.

 

[X] Magic is All in the Mind
(X) Still in school.
[X] Male

Hardest path for external magic use but the best for internal use. Combined with Still in School advantage of fast learning and not being taken seriously means we should have much better late game potential and a decent chance of actually getting to such a late game. We just have to stick to the generally beaten path and watch as a bunch of friends get "disappeared" thereby creating an interesting character drive. We survive and we should more then be able to exert some real influence on other minds by the time we hit college.

 

(x) The world around you is filled with potential.
(x) Still in school.
(x) Female

railgun ahoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4kFu5u9GZ0

 

[X] Mind.
[X] Retired.
[X] Female.

Time to get young and beautiful again!

 

[X] The world around is filled with potential.
[X] Retired.
[X] Male

 

(X) Power flows through the body.
(X) Retired.
(X) Male

Let's be an epic old biker dude.

 

[X] There's no such thing
[X] Retired
[X] Male

 

[X] Power in the Body
[X] Still in school.
[X] Male

If it weren't the fact that we need Jedi Mind Tricks to keep magic a secret, I'd choose Power
Edit: Fuck it, I'm going to vote for power, because fuck your silly mind tricks.

 

[X] Reaper Vote

 

[X] There's no such thing
[X] Retired
[X] Male

 

(X) Power flows through the body.
(X) Old enough to have a career, or at least a real job.
(X) Male

 

[X] Magic is All in the Mind
(X) Still in school.
[X] Male

Path to Victory FTW.

 

Seriously though, is it just me or does 'Body' seem like it is the sort of thing that would rapidly remove all the downsides to that pesky 'Being Old' thing?

Also, don't exactly want to play Granny Weatherwax.

 

(X) Magic is all in the mind.
(X) Still in school.
(X) Female

 

(X) Power flows through the body.
(X) Retired.
(X) Male

Crotchety old man who can punch down a tree? Yes please!

 

(x) The world around you is filled with potential.
(x) Still in school.
(x) Female

 

Weatherwax?

I was thinking more Dante or the Sea Hag, myself.

Switching to a more beautiful and youthful form as our own body becomes too decrepit to function.

 

(X) Power flows through the body.
(X) Retired.
(X) Male

 

(X) Magic is all in the mind.
(X) Still in school.
(X) Female

 

[X] Magic is all in the mind.
[X] Still in school.
[X] Male

 

(X) Power flows through the body.
(X) Still in school.
(X) Female

 

(X) Power flows through the body.
(X) Retired.
(X) Male

Though I'd honestly settle for being a little girl in elementary school as long as we get to punch monsters in the face with an entirely inappropriate character.

Monsters and pretentious douchebags far too proud of their so called cosmic power for their own good.
That'll teach them.

 

[X] There's no such thing
[X] Retired
[X] Male

Crotchety old man says fuck yo magic bullshit, back in his day they warped reality with two sticks and a rock.

 

[X] Magic is All in the Mind
(X) Still in school.
[X] Male

 

I personally would like to go the mental route for the possibility of getting minions and stuff. And mental things are rarely done in Quests I think.

 

[X] Magic is all in the mind.
[X] Still in school.
[X] Male

 

You kidding?

I don't see anything but 'Learn more, build more knowledge, make more friends' in quests these days.

When was the last time you saw a quest where the protagonist relied only upon themselves, their own resources, and their own ability?

Also, Mental is more difficult when you use it on other people. So y'alls plans of 'Befriending!' and 'Steal your youth back' are probably on the stupid difficult end of the spectrum, and hard to build up- Whereas Retired/Body lets us set up our own private gym and train up to honest physical immortality.