eximius' Character

Schools are designed to make sense as a whole, but not all of them are best used that way. For example, someone who learns Earth Magic from Nature and learns Sector Magic from Cosmic would get better use of their magic than someone who has tried to learn the whole Void school. I would say to emphasize the type of magic you plan on spending the most time in (for example, Cosmic), and branching out very little into the other. So like, if you take a few levels in Lux magic (real name for Light), that's fine; but it sounds like you'd do best focusing on Cosmic.

It's a bit more of a sacrificial build, but you could consider focusing mainly on the Space school, and taking a dip into Void. It has a subschool called Helios, which gives you a little taste of the Radiance powers without having to make the leap into Nature magic. Sorry if this is a lot of terms.

One thing to get straight is that the Porph are not a culture. However, unlike the other five Purebleeds, there is only one Porph nation in my setting. This stands as a contrast to Rudhir and Zeel, which have several nations each and smaller populations throughout the other nations. The nation of Heramar is almost entirely Porph, an Atlantis-like society hidden away on the southern side of the Forge Continent. If they're confusing, that's because they were designed to be mysterious and obscure. I'm not giving away much about them right now.

The Neutrati are very...strange. Porphs went through a complicated process to create humanoid bodies that would loyally do as they say, without the complexities involved in enslaving other humans. The Neutrati are genderless and sexless, not designed to reproduce or have gender roles. They don't have real names, usually, and are often called by the name of their owner's house. It is said that they have no free will.

Galura is an excellent choice. I'll give the organization some thought and get back to you on that, later in character creation. Right now we have a lot of stuff to do. Starting off, do you want to take any boosts or reductions?

Hah! I'm fine with terms. When we get back around to magic, you'll need to tell me which schools are Nature and which are Cosmic and how Nemesis vs. Enlight works for them.

Re: reductions and boosts... Cosmic magic is based on Enlight, so it might be worth me taking a reduction in Daimon and a Boost in Enlight. What all is Nemesis used for? Maybe I'll also reduce Nemesis and double boost Enlight? (Though if I end up doing Nature magic and that's based in Nemesis I may reverse that decision.)

Nemesis is used to resist someone's control of your mind, or an effect like fear that causes you to lose control. It lets you discern the nature of spells, and is involved in the skills: Alchemy, Ceramics, Hide, Knowledge (bestiary), Knowledge (navigation), Knowledge (religion), Knowledge (wilderness), Painting, Sculpting, and Trapping.

So what would control my magic? Should we continue with Galura or should we find a way to make Porph work? Maybe he's a bit more Machiavellian than a standard Porph because he does things other Porphs wouldn't be willing to, for the good of the society.

If that doesn't sound like something that would exist, let's continue with PG with reduced Daimon, Boosted Enlight.

I don't understand the confusion...

let's just continue with PG with reduced Daimon, Boosted Enlight. I'm probably overthinking it. It'll all make sense in time anyway

I guarantee you it will. Best if we don't get too ahead of ourselves.

You asked about the Magic Prophet and Mystic Sovereign variants. A Visionary's job is to stay out of the fray, giving advice on how to best defeat the enemy. Within their ability, they can misdirect and demoralize the enemy so that their plans fail, while the Visionary's plan of attack is more likely to succeed. They likely have combat experience from a past career, but are out of practice or have turned their talents toward a more peaceful self-defense. The Magic Prophet is like the Visionary, but lacks some of the tactical finesse and is instead more of a Cleric. They have skill with magic, and heightened powers of wisdom and perception.

Switching gears, we have the Patron, who focuses less on defeating an enemy, and more on keeping their people informed and safe. Think of a mother bird sheltering her chickens under wing; that's what the Patron does. Their past experiences and abstract mindset serve to predict and counteract threats that might come up against their allies. While they can do this in combat, they prefer to stay away from harm and nurture from afar. The Mystic Sovereign is like the Patron, but lacks the practical approach, being more like a High Priest or King of their people. They use their mystic arts and their defensive strategies to assert dominance and keep their gang of miscreants in line.

Let's go with Magic Prophet

I'll get back to you on that tomorrowish.

Bump, just in case you're overlooking me because you were the last to post in the thread. That is absolutely something I would do. haha I don't want to fall too far behind and keep everyone else waiting to start.

Thank you for keeping me up to pace. I check things purely on a basis of when the other person posts. In this case, not helpful.

As part of Magic Prophet, you get one Special Ability. If you see them and decide you'd rather not take one, then you can see the options for Magical Traits instead. Special Abilities can only be used once per day, while Traits can be used at will.
Special Ability: Sifting Sight - You compete in Nemesis PV checks with the target, aiming to peer into their mind and get a sense of what they're really like.
Special Ability: Dualistic Heart - Add a die to your Nemesis PV check, if some outside force (like an enemy) compelled you to roll one.

You also get 13 skill ranks to put into skills of your choice. What sorts of things do you see this character being good at? (skills are non-combat and typically non-magical, with the exception of Alchemy, Knowledge (occult), and Knowledge (religion).)

You also get the choice of Visioncraft or Monastic Arts for your Engagement Style. Visioncraft turns battle strategy into a sort of abstract "fighting style." You control certain spaces on the battlefield by saying that if your enemies occupy them according to your specific plan, they gain benefits; but if enemies occupy those spaces as you planned, those enemies suffer penalties. Monastic Arts is like unarmed combat, but is very peaceful and non-lethal. The practitioner channels their vital force to disrupt the enemy internally and throw them great distances.

What is your Alignment? A person with an Exemplar alignment is someone who favors "their people," but you decide what that means. Is it Galura? Your home nation of Hebrimar? All Purebleeds? All Humans? Your choice. A person with a Dissent alignment is the exact reverse, someone who directly opposes their people and wishes them some kind of harm or misfortune. A person with a Neutral alignment is neither of those things at all times, judging people on a case-by-case basis. Most people are Neutral.

I either want Sifting Sight or one of the Special Abilities. Tell me about those.

Skills: Diplomacy, Guile, Hide, Language, Oratory, Posture, Soft Steps, Knowledge (archives), Knowledge (occult)? Any you think I should drop? What are Language and Oratory for? What all can you do with Alchemy? I like the idea of it, but dunno if it's something I should bother with.

Ooh, thats a tough choice between Visioncraft and Monastic Arts. I'll probably go Visioncraft because I think it fits better with the manipulative nature, but the other is very appealing given the defensive vibe I was going for.

I'm probably going to go Exemplar or Neutral. I might need help coming up with the appropriate favored group. Maybe that organization we were talking about.

Do you mean Special Traits? Sifting Sight and Dualistic Heart ARE the abilities.

Language is to appreciate, understand, speak, and possibly read different languages in the realm. You are assumed to be able to speak your own native tongue, but reading is not necessarily a guarantee depending on the background. A Magic Prophet probably can read. If you want to gain additional languages, this is the skill to do that.

Oratory is more about public speaking, and drawing/keeping attention with a long speech, ode, or epic. You might think of it as the Storyteller skill. Different than Acting, Diplomacy, and Guile because it's not really about deception, more performative.

Alchemy is VERY diverse. You won't really know the full extent until you've tried it. Short shift is it lets you create items with lesser magical properties, mainly cheap consumables with a weak effect dispersed over time. True potions are the Artificer's territory, but Alchemists can make a close second.

Are you taking one rank in each of the ones you listed, or are there skills you want multiple ranks in?

My advice on Engagement Style: train in Visioncraft and take a weapon you're not great with. It's easy enough to give yourself combat abilities, but there's no way to improvise or BS the effects of Visioncraft.

Does the organization support your people or seek their ruination?

Derp, yes, Special Traits. My bad.

Yea, let's ditch Oratory. He can do whatever is the equivalent of defaulting on that test. He prefers to work behind the scenes or in small groups.

Alchemy sounds cool. I'll just start with 1 and we can discuss it's potential later so I know whether I want to invest more in it.

Lets do... something like this: Alchemy 1, Diplomacy 2, Guile 2, Hide 1, Language 1, Posture 1, Soft Steps 1, Knowledge (archives) 2, Knowledge (occult) 2

Alright, Visioncraft it is!

Good question. Is it too much of a copout to say that it supports Galurians but not necessarily the Galurian country? I need to go read the world anvil (been busy). I'll have a better idea of what the organization might have qualms with or agree with.

Special Trait: Mind Fist - Spend a Full Action when unarmed to cover your fist in psychic force, making it useful as a shield or parrying tool, but one that can take any amount of damage.

Special Trait: Telekinetic Wave - Spend a 2 round process when unarmed to throw a 15 ft. cone of force.

Special Trait: Reveal Your Secrets - If you touch someone when this is active, the person must tell the truth so long as your hand remains in contact. They are not forced to speak your language, and if they cannot communicate with you properly, they do not gain any abilities that fix that.

Galura, not Galurians. And there's not a Galurian country. It's a nation called Hebrimar that is almost entirely comprised of Galura.

The World Anvil has little or nothing to say about the Forge Continent at this time.

I think I'll go with Mind Fist.

What I meant was that he might want what is best for all Galura, but not necessarily Hebrimar. I have inferred, perhaps incorrectly, that they are a bit isolationist and not advanced. Maybe he wants to correct that for the good of all Galura and he's willing to change the nation to help the people. Does that distinction make sense?

That does make sense, and fits rather well with an Exemplar alignment. Many Exemplars are potentially dangerous because of how they choose to define their people. They might not care much for their nation, but want the greater good for all Galura, for example.

With your class out of the way, the next thing for you do deal with is your Focus. This is what your character has been working on in the past, something that defines the way they act and what they're best at. Non-Magical Foci come in the form of Unarmed, Weapon, and Other foci.

Unarmed is summed up in four different styles that modify how you address combatants when your hands are empty.
Weapon indicates which weapon type your character has spent their life practicing: Pole Weapons, Bludgeons, Axes, Chain Weapons, One Handed Blades, Two Handed Blade, Dual Blade Style, Launching, and Throwing.
The Other Category is made up of Urban Resources (navigating in cities), Survival (making it in the wilderness), Sprinting, Tumbling, Swimming, and Climbing

If you decide that your character has foregone all the above to focus solely on magic, then you get an Adept or School Sage Focus.
Adepts have one Magic Level each in three or four related subschools of magic. They are generalists, with a very simple focus toward a whole School of magic.
School Sages have honed all their training toward a single subschool, and start the game with three Magic Levels in it as a result. This is a very popular Focus, because it lets you access powerful magic more quickly.

Remember, you can only have one Focus!

Magic. ;)