eximius' Character

I will open by saying, again, that I'm sorry for the spooky beginnings. I'm over-defensive about this little darling, which operates under the working-title of Oldest World. Hopefully soon all of you will see why. I see it as a thing of beauty, and hope that the input I get from my players will make it shine even brighter. I've already learned so much!

(that being said, more material will be edited in here when you're ready)

Water under the bridge! Excited to be a part of it and I can already tell it's going to be special from what I've skimmed in the other threads.

I tend to play mages, so the Galura (soul magic?), Porph (cosmic magic? - I tend to shy away from mind magic), and Sorcelled stood out, I think. But I'm open to guidance as I haven't had the chance to read through what you've posted everywhere.

I'm also not opposed to a character that requires preparation - i.e., their magic is slower or in rituals or in items, etc. That isn't my first choice, but I want to keep my options open and let you know I have an open mind :)

I'll leave it at that for now and skim through some more of the other threads to see what I can pick up.

I also see that magic is kind of separate from the races. So I could pick a race that isn't naturally inclined towards magic but complements the magic I do choose?

Alright, addressing a couple of my flubs here, before we get started. First of all, I have opted out of using the term "Race" to describe who is playable: in today's social climate, it has come to carry an uncomfortable connotation. Instead, I'm going with Birthright. This is what you were born as, and all that it implies; hence the name. If you see "race" anywhere, I wrote it out of habit, please ignore. I also very much encourage looking through the other threads, because everyone has gone on their own journey through character creation, and with exceptions, they've been almost entirely unique!

If you tend to play mages, something I think you'll enjoy is that there is NO wizard whatsoever. By that I mean, every option presented to be played is non-magical by default. However, every single one of them without exception has a "magical variant," where you lose a few of their special non-magic features and gain magic instead. The idea is that mages lack the variety of special abilities, the height of combat prowess, and some other features, that all characters would otherwise possess. This helps emphasize the dynamic, living nature of the magic system, and keeps things balanced. That being said, I encourage you to put magic on the back burner for now, and focus on other aspects of character creation.

Since your party has barely received definition so far, I will remind you that there are non-human options available as well. Not to put too much pressure on. I do understand if you would prefer to stick with a human for starters. Since you haven't gotten a chance to read through everything, the non-human options are the Blackwing and the Choaster. The former is a fallen angel that has taken a more humanoid form, with a perfect body and two functional wings. The latter is a giant, quite like a sasquatch if you know what that is.

If you are looking to play a human, those are divided into the Purebleed (six options), Modified (one), and Impure (one). The Purebleeds are all basically normal, they just have stats skewed in favor of a certain build. Each one favors (and lacks) one main one, but the predominant example of their people have pluses and minuses in others too.
The Modified sub-Birthright available for play is the Sorcelled, a human who has become permanently enchanted, and is thus a magical being by nature. They have magical powers, even if you do not play a magical variant of your subclass.
The Impure sub-Birthright available for play is the Felbreed, technically a human, but born from a human and a non-human. While not endowed with the kind of flashy magic powers of the Sorcelled, they gain special gifts from their non-human heritage.

So to answer your question, while there certainly are options that have magic worked in, you could still choose to play them with a subclass that is entirely non-magical, leaving that solely to their innate power; if that's what you wanted. Or you could play a human that doesn't have any magic built-in, and take the magical variant of any subclass of your choosing. Your options are wide open!

I doubt you flubbed, it was probably just habit from my own RPG experiences.

Not so much interested in the squatch, so tell me more about the Blackwing, the Sorcelled, the Felbreed, and the Porph? Particularly the social ramifications of the first three...

Does the world anvil you linked in a different thread have more about the geopolitical/demographics, etc?

Porph with a ph, but yes. When complete, the World Anvil will contain most of my written setting, but it is in the very early stages right now.

The Sorcelled is not considered Impure by Purebleed society. They are just "Modified" humans, who some people look down upon, others fear, some hate. In the particular case of the Sorcelled, this is born of jealousy, because everyone would love to have supernatural powers to control some aspect of their world. Some of them can transform into hulking forms of power, or gain many arms or legs, while others have eldritch powers of shadow, the elements, healing, or other arcane forces. The main problem is that being permanently enchanted like this removes the spiritual gifts of the Purebleed. If you had orange blood before, or green, or whatever color, you now have red.

The Blackwing is...different. I will start off by clarifying that a Blackwing is not half-human, they're not totally human, they're not even 1% human. When cast down from on high, they solidified into a form that, on the surface, looks very human. But it is not. Their strength and speed and health are truly superior, their minds are clear, and any weapon or tool they come in contact with, they instantly understand. In a few select civilizations, the Blackwings rule as gods. But in others, they are regarded as demons, or at best some kind of freakish winged person. Even if you hide your wings, people will know by looking at you that you are something truly special. It's like the feeling of looking at a bodybuilder or supermodel, multiplied by 100.

Felbreeds are more complicated. In Purebleed society, there is something called a Baseborn. This is someone who is not born from two Rudhir, two Galura, or some combination like that. A Baseborn is somebody born from two separate Purebleed lines. An important distinction to make is that blood color is not tied to ethnicity. There are black people with red blood, white people with red blood, every combination under the rainbow; same goes for the other five blood colors. But when you mix the two, you don't get a mixed blood color, you get red. The gifts given to each bloodline are seemingly lost. They are deemed Impure because of this, and hated except in countries that are run exclusively by the Baseborn themselves.

A Felbreed is the next step beyond that. It's bad enough if a Rudhir marries a Galura, or a Porph. But if that Rudhir were to instead seek an Elf as a mate, or a Blackwing, or a Demon? The results are far more...interesting. And profane. Felbreeds are seen as monsters, though perhaps not to the same extent as their non-human parent.

Fair Demures are half elven. They are like the Baseborn, but have extraordinarily long and healthy lives. Many look fairly convincing as humans, but some elf traits like strange eyes or pointed ears make it through.

Wild Demures are half Pix. They are similar to the Fair Demures, but can control one of the elements, and will be resurrected from the dead by having any magic cast on them. They are often very short and petite.

Changelings are half Starshine. A Starshine is a half-breed between an Elf and a Pix, and if that offspring then mates with a human, what you get is a human with pointed ears, none of the coloration rules of humanity (they could have violet skin and beige eyes, with rainbow hair, if you really wanted to get outlandish). And also, they rejuvenate from any harm in a specific terrain (like the woods, for example).

Foul Demures are half Dwarven. They have excessive facial and body hair, are on the shorter side, and often overweight. They heal twice as fast in Autumn, and are exceptional craftsmen.

Putrid Demures are half Goblin. They greatly resemble Wild Demures, but with oily earth tones instead of bright pastels, darker greasy hair instead of bouncy bright hair, otherwise goblinoid features, and limited goblin magic powers.

Wretched Demures are half Hobgoblin. They are ugly, heal at a 5x rate of normal humans, and will live forever unless they encounter something powerful enough to utterly destroy them.

Nephilim are half Blackwing. Because true Angels cannot have offspring, this is the closest you get. They are very tall, very powerful, and some are known to have flight-capable wings.

Cambions are half Demon. They are even more powerful than Nephilim, in many ways, but a demonic messenger will always hunt them for the rest of their days.

Djinnar are half Yon, the genie race. There are two kinds: Court-Born and Ghoul-Born. The Court-Born Djinnar are protected from one of the four elements, and by that element, and they have natural good luck. The Ghoul-Born Djinnar cannot have their life force fed upon, and they drain the luck of others.

Haha yeah I noticed and edited right as you posted. Must have been autocorrect on my phone this morning. :)

So, I'm out and about but have my phone so I'm gonna try to rapid fire some question/answers with you so I can catch up a bit. If I'm a little direct or short, its cause I'm trying to type quick on my phone.

Is there any other codex or compilation I should read besides the other threads?

I think I can rule out Felbreeds and Blackwings. I'm tempted to do a Blackwings adept of radiance, but I just feel like the Blackwings bit will overshadow the rest of the character and id like to get more human political action. So either Porph or Sorcelled.

Right now, I have no published or publicly available materials. For reasons of which you have been made aware, I am keeping a tight hold on stuff until I feel safe releasing it. Anything I appear to paraphrase or quote is a limited, often rephrased version of things from the written material. Short answer: no, you don't need to read anything. Just follow along with me in your own personal thread, and everything will go swimmingly.

Let me tell you a little more about my darlings the Sorcelled. They have PV 4 in everything except Nemesis, which is a 5. They are protected against ranged attacks and magic spells, their energized blood is hazardous to touch, and they occupy one of a few formats.

Champion Arcana - Can transform to temporarily increase their Leon PV
Beast Arcana - Come in the varieties of Extra Arms, Centaur, or Tail
Velocity Arcana - Can transform to temporarily increase their Eyrie PV
Magical Energy Arcana - Develops magical powers of Chaos, Earth, Fire, Life, Shadows, Weather, Sun, Water, or Wind.

How does the protection work? That's pretty neat. I had imagined a really defensive character, so maybe a magical energy arcana Sorcelled?

It's a projectile ward, natural magical shielding created by the magical presence their body exudes from every cell. What it does is that, when a ranged weapon hits you, whether it be thrown, Power (like a bow), or Locked (like a crossbow or musket), the protective wards cause the weapon to deal half damage.

Does the sound of Chaos, Earth, Fire, Life, Shadows, Weather, Sun, Water, or Wind work best for you?

What's the difference between Fire and Sun?

(Sorry, dunno why I thought I'd be able to reply quickly while GMing another game.)

(Not a worry)

Fire Sorcelled are charged with the energies found in the Great Radiance, the sphere of energy that encompasses the planet -- such as heat and light. By exerting their force of will, they have a limited capacity to ignite, immolate, and superheat objects around them. They can fire bolts of magic to burn the target, which can be fired a set number of times per day. If someone or something comes in contact with their blood or skin, it burns. They are resistant to wind magic and fire magic, but take more effect from water magic.

Sun Sorcelled are charged with the Void energies provided by the Sun - as seen in the Helios discipline. By exerting their force of will, they can intensify the power of the sun in the surrounding area. They can fire bolts of magic to melt and irradiate, which can be fired a set number of times per day. They take less effect from fire, water, and helios magic, but more effect from destruction or selene magic.

Okay, I'm still kind of leaning towards am Exemplar Predominant Porph (maybe Reduced Grand (depends if this affects non-physical endurance) and Boosted Eyrie?)... maybe Sage Visionary given what I recall from PhoenixScientist's thread, though let me know if there is a better option given what else I say... let me tell you a bit about the character I have in mind and maybe you'll see why I'm leaning away from Sorcelled (which is sad because I like the concept, I just don't have a compelling character in mind for one yet).

If you're familiar with the Dresden Files, the head of the White Council specializes in Wards. Wards are inherently defensive, but when triggered they can essentially counterattack as well. Similarly, I've always though that teleporation/distance/spatial control would be an amazing power - who can hit you when you control space! Then you mentioned Lumina and that reminds me of the Ultraviolets from the Lightbringer series (no spoilers, I've only finished the first book!) and secret societies...

So the character I've had in mind is one that specializes in defense and manipulation, though not overt social or mind manipulation (i.e., crowd control instead of mesmerizing). Mechanically, he aims to be untouchable through wards, teleportation, secrets, and knowledge. He doesn't want to fight you on your terms. He wants to make you think he's avoiding the fight until you're exhausted, you're politically ruined, and he's already orchestrated your demise one of ten different ways by kiting you into an alley where his lackeys or his powers are stronger or by assassinating you two weeks after the encounter was apparently a draw. His methods are esoteric, indirect, and even sometimes slow, but to his enemies his progress seems inevitable once they realize the trap they're in. Each hit he makes on you may seem small, but when the hits never stop and you can't lay a hand on him, how can you help but lose?

To support that kind of methodical character, I can't help but imagine him be in some kind of high station. A wealthy merchant, powerful diplomat, noble, or power broker working behind the scenes to further his own interests and that of the Porph nation/agenda/secret society/business/criminal organization/whatever. Basically outwit and outlast to the max. That just screams Porph to me, given what I know so far.

If it isn't, I'd love your direction to get something like I'm describing. I've had this character in mind for a while but this is the first system that seems like it might support something similar. Any advice on where I should start reading in the world anvil to get a better idea of where such a character might be from? I'll admit, the Exemplar bit is partially just to be a foil to PhoenixScientist's Dissent Porph (not in a combative way, necessarily, maybe one will convince the other of something, or maybe it will turn out combative - time will tell).

Hm. Just read some of the Porph background from PhoenixScientists thread. Now I'm a bit unsure what to do.

But rereading the Porph description from AshDrunbar's thread still fits with what I was aiming for, I think. I think I need your guidance. :)

I'll have to pick apart your post one step at a time. There's a lot to go through here, and that's not a bad thing. Just prepare for something at least as long as the one you sent me.

Honestly, I have been pleasantly surprised by the choice made by the seven of you thus far. The first character made in this system, back in its earliest days, was a Rudhir Fighter. Big fella with a magical sword that would light on fire. Second character was a Starshine (I think a Rogue) who fought with a Dagger and had a magically high Eyrie PV. They fought briefly, and I mean VERY briefly, in a little combat test I threw together. Starshine easily won initiative, sprinted up to the guy's face, and slit his throat. From that moment, it seemed like players would always want to play non-humans, even if the party combos wouldn't make much sense. But every single one of you has picked Purebleed humans; maybe that's because of the limited selection I allowed, maybe not.

I am woefully unfamiliar with Dresden Files, but I need to get into it. I just don't know anybody in person who I can talk to about it. What you're describing in the second paragraph is definitely stuff my magic system gets into, but there's a lot of ways to go about it. While Sector magic seems like the logical choice (teleportation based; used to be called Position magic), there's also the other three aspects of Space magic. The Motion subschool allows you to control how things move in a linear way, including yourself. The Dimension subschool is perhaps the least related, but you might find it appealing anyway. Finally, there's Parameter, which alters the "rules" by which space operates. The example I like to give is the video game concept of an invisible wall. It looks like you should be able to go that way, because something appears to be over there, but you try and just run into something invisible. With Parameter magic, you could turn a normally passable doorway into one such invisible wall. I worried that no one would like Parameter, but I think you might actually be the right personality for it.

Interestingly, the character you describe is not quite the style of most Porphs, or their nation of Heramar. At least not their preferred style. The Virtue of Enlight, and the Porph who are so closely aligned with it, is about reason and realization. They like to show people the truth, and teach about all the wonders of the world. Even their powers are about miraculous displays that get attention. Now, what you're describing sounds a lot more like a Nemesis-based character, or even someone who favors the shadowy, deceptive Virtue of Daimon.

I like your thinking about being in a powerful organization, where he is meant to become powerful, but I have a counter-proposal. Sort of a S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra thing, if you get the references. Some kind of agent who is working their way up the ladder of their organization. I'll describe some options in a post below.

What I will say is that the World Anvil doesn't have much to offer at this time. If you want to read it (which is not recommended or necessary at this time), just read anything you like. I will note that locations are divided into Continents, Countries, and Settlements, so you may want to read about them in an organized way with that in mind.

Your best bet for Birthright is either Predominant Galura, Neutral Zeel, or Predominant Sini. Let me simplify things somewhat: PG would have the advantage over the other two in Nemesis, but disadvantage in Leon, Eyrie, and Daimon. NZ would have the advantage over the other two in Eyrie, but disadvantage in Nemesis (which is not fantastic for your purposes, but acceptable). PS would have no advantage over the other two, and disadvantage in Grand, so I'd say only take that if you're attracted to what the blue-blooded Sini represent.

PG would have Leon 3, Eyrie 3, Grand 4, Enlight 4, Nemesis 6, Daimon 5
NZ would have Leon 4, Eyrie 5, Grand 4, Enlight 4, Nemesis 3, Daimon 6
PS would have Leon 4, Eyrie 4, Grand 3, Enlight 4, Nemesis 4, Daimon 6

Now, if you didn't take any boosts and reductions, PG would give you the Sage basic class. You would have a power to ask inanimate objects questions, a power to change your appearance, and a power to avoid harm. The subclasses available to you would be divided into three categories for simplicity: Insight, Recondite, and Martial Master.
Insight is the at-a-distance category, which has: Visionary (or Magic Prophet), and Patron (or Mystic Sovereign).
Recondite is the alternative category, which has: Monk (up close Visionary), Therapist (up close Patron), or Deliverer (basically a Visionary on a horse).
Martial Master only has one subclass in it: the Nemesis Master. Unlike its less-violent counterparts, it uses its experience and abstract thinking to enhance your ability to kill.

NZ and PS would give you the Aesthete basic class. You would have a power to hypnotize, a power to deceive the senses, and a power to evade capture. The subclasses available to you would be divided into three categories for simplicity: Socialite, Winsome, and Martial Jester.
Socialite is the at-a-distance category, which has: Hellraiser (or Magic Fool), and Diplomat (or Mystic Savant).
Winsome is the alternative category, which has: Scapegoat (up close Hellraiser), Escort (up close Diplomat), or Standard Bearer (basically Hellraiser on a horse).
Martial Jester only has one subclass in it: the Daimon Jester. Unlike its less-violent counterparts, it uses its deception and madcap antics to enhance your ability to kill.

The magic option I was considering was essentially one of Adpet of Space, Adept of Radiance, ... I suddenly forget what you called the specialist.. sage or scholar or something... But if I did one of those it'd probably be of Parameter or Light or something obscure, and I'd branch out a bit later into some nearby subschools to kind of replicate the Adept starting points. My concern is whether it makes sense to take Parameter on it's own or Light on it's own - are they best used in conjunction with others?

What are the neutrati's like? The Porph culture is very confusing to me.

So what do you think? Maybe Galura? A weird sect of the Porph?

Okay, where or what would this organization be from? Without knowing which country/culture I'm hailing from, I'm not sure what to choose for his motives (power obviously, but to what end? Does he have a family and kids, does he simply want to see his country advance, etc).

Edit: ah, you already posted again. I should have read closer. Let's proceed with Predominant Galura... Will I be disadvantaged if I end up choosing cosmic magic as a Galura? Tell me about the Prophet and the Sovereign?

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. ;)

Alright, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but that doesn't help us here.

Do you want an Adept Focus or a School Sage Focus?

Sorry, thought you'd have something else to add there.

Probably Adept of Space? Sage sounds great but if I chose Sage of Parameter can you even do anything?

EDIT: Can you do anything with only Parameter? You briefly explained that Parameter is meta and controls the other three in Phoenix's thread, so I guess I just don't know what *only* Parameter would do.

To explain it more accurately, Parameter controls Space. Not spellcasting of Space Magic, but Space itself. Rather than determining what DOES happen, it determines what CAN happen.

If someone tries to step into the spot you designate, or even teleport into it, they cannot. Alternatively, you could do the same thing for them trying to leave the spot.

If something tries to move faster than the speed you choose, they cannot. Alternatively, you could make it so that the object cannot slow down past the minimum speed of your choosing.

You can trap phased people or things between dimensions, or keep something in this Dimension.

There's lots of other things. But mainly, the idea is that Sector, Motion, and Dimension magic let you do things spatially in a way better than you normally could. Be in locations you can't reach, move faster than you normally could, etc. These things are not ONLY possible with Space Magic, meaning that Parameter magic has control over everyone and everything.

This goes back to my invisible wall example. You can't walk through an "empty" and "open" doorway, if Parameter magic says you can't. Seemingly nothing is stopping you. NOTHING. But because the spell says it's impassable, you can't.

Alright, let's do Sage of Parameter then. Sounds incredibly niche and unique. Is it an uncommon school? Will anyone know of it?

Got it. No, you're not likely to come across characters who have experience with the Parameter subschool. Elite magical scholars and those trained in the Space School may, but it is still not guaranteed. Now, a good enough roll with Knowledge (occult) or a basic Nemesis PV check may let someone know what you're using, but knowing the name of something is rarely enough to be of use.

Here's the formula for how much money you'll have before we handle equipment:
First Class = 3d10x10 gp
Wealthy = (3 x number above) + 100 gp
Human = +20 gp

Run those calculations if you have the time before I get back, and begin thinking about what kinds of weapons, armor, and mundane equipment you want. I'm going to get some sleep.

Money money

Edit: 19 × 30 + 120 = 690... Of what unit? I need to go re-read the other equipment convos

The unit was given. Gp is gold. So you'll be starting off with 690 gold. Any weapons you would like, off the top of your head?

Duh, go. My bad.

Well, he'd want a ranged option because ideally he wouldn't actually let you get close enough to hurt him. Maybe throwing knives? That way if you do get close enough, they can double as daggers. Though I vaguely recall something about throwing knives not being okay in a different thread... Are they okay?

They're Third Class and you don't come from a Third Class nation, so you have to settle for normal Daggers. They are still throwable, just not specially designed for it. However, you can do what the other person did and make some or all of them Magical Distance weapons.

Can you reiterate what that means? I don't remember who did that and I don't want to search through 30 pages of text for it... But lets go with that thought.

Third Class of Progression means your society has the greatest amount of technological, scientific, and social advances, but has left magic behind in the process. Makes some stuff like special throwing knives, crossbows, even muskets available, but you can't play a magic character. Since you're playing a magic character, you can't be Third Class.

Ranged weapons in my system operate on range increments. Weapons can be thrown 15 ft. maximum. If you throw a weapon hard enough, it will fly farther than that, but will not be useful. By taking Distance enchantment, the dagger can now be thrown in two increments of 30 ft. each (for a maximum range of 60 ft.)

Crap, I thought I had replied. Sorry.

So, daggers with the Magical Distance. Let's see... I don't really know what our starting point would be, but I'll assume there will be travel.

Amulet (5 gp), Backpack (1 cp), Bedroll (3 tc), Blanket (2 tc), Bowl (1tc), Bracelet (10 gp), 3 x Candle (9 tc), Chalk (5 tc), Flask (6 tc), Flint/Steel (1 sp), Ink (1 gp), Inkpen (1 sp), 10 x Parchment (10 cp), Pouch (3 tc), 3 x Rations (3 sp), 2 x Ring (60 gp), Spyglass (30 gp), Tent (6 tc), Waterskin (3 tc), 2 x Wine Bottle (6 cp).

Whats the difference between a lamp and lantern? What is the unit of rope?

583 gp, 35sp, 1cp, 12tc remaining before weapons, magic items, and possibly a lamp/lantern and rope. (Is PhoenixScientist's thread the best to look at for this stuff?) Is there any thing magic item wise you think would jive with my Parameter specialty? It looks like the amulet or the two rings are viable enchantment recipients, plus some of the independent magic items form Phoenix's thread.

Don't worry, I've made several blunders in the process of getting this set up.

As for your questions, that will take some work to answer. In rules as written, there is no difference between a lamp and a lantern. Thank you for pointing out something I need to address. I don't have the unit of rope written, but I've been operating on 50 ft.

I would say PhoenixScientist's thread is probably the best so far, in that regard. Let me do some work over here and I'll get back to you on the other things.

Inspired by your question, I have written a comprehensive description of the Mundane Items, and can now report that a Lamp is a small vessel meant to supply continuous light (if you have enough oil), while a lantern is not a light source at all. From my research, the object referred to as Lantern is just the housing that you use to protect and carry a light source. As such, I have provided it for the players' convenience.

Yes, the unit of rope is now canonically 50 ft.

I have not tested any magic items in conjunction with Parameter magic, so I'd say feel free to explore possibilities. What do you want your magic items to be able to do? (As a side note, amulets and rings do not come with magical enchantment ability. You have to buy special items that just happen to be jewelry.)

Alright, then I'll be wanting a lamp and two sections of rope. How long does one unit of oil burn?

Ah, so not magical, just pretentious if I wear all those. Haha well, we'll keep them for now unless I really need the cash for something else.

So, the canonical example you've given a few times with Parameter is that I could specify a doorway as impassable and it would be like a wall. I also chose Sage of Parameter. Can you give me an example of something I could do as level 1, 2, and 3 in Parameter to get a grasp on where the boundaries of the school lie? Because I could come up with things like: the speed of sharp objects may not exceed X while within 3ft of me or something. It doesn't sound too terribly out of bounds for the power, but it might be too high level or something. And what are the bounds of things I can specify? Space? Objects? Can I specify that magic may not operate inside of a space? There are so many possibilities. Haha

One unit/pint of oil burns for 36 hours.

I can do that, sure. We'll label these effects as "The Quarantine Effect," "Applying a Speed Cap," "Mother May I," "Immobilize," "Banishment," "Forced Individuality," "Forced Utility," and "Forced Image." Bear in mind that spells are basically "free" and "instant" if they only affect the contents of a 10 ft. radius around you (not all of it necessarily, but some or all). If a spell affects something outside that range, you have to either add successes or increments of 10 rounds (50 seconds) to the casting time. In addition, all the following effects are written as if you are trying to manipulate the rules binding an object of Span 1/4 or less (like a housecat). Any object or creature of Span 1/2 requires 1 success just because of its size, and every size up requires another success.

The Quarantine Effect
Bar an object or creature from entering a 1 sq. ft area, or from leaving it. If you scale this up to suit a larger creature, the size also increases to 2 sq. ft. (Span 1/2), 5 sq. ft. (Span 1), and so on. You can cast a wider area for a smaller target, but the required successes remain equivalent to the area, not the target. You can even specify that this is not gross movement, but orientation or facing (for example, preventing a door or chest from opening, preventing a clock from being wound, or preventing a mirror from being faced North).

Applying a Speed Cap
Bar an object from moving faster than the speed you assign, or from moving slower. A Span 1/4 object is barred from reaching 4x its normal maximum, while a Span 1/2 is barred from traveling 5x faster than normal, a Span 1 is barred from traveling 6x, and so on. You can cast for a higher limit while targeting a small object, but the number of required successes is equivalent to the speed cap, not the size. When it comes to setting a minimum speed, it must be a percentile of the speed at which the object is currently traveling. You could not, for example, set the minimum speed of a motionless object to 500 miles per hour. What you could do is set the minimum speed of an object traveling 120 mph so it cannot travel slower than 60 mph (half its speed).

Mother May I?
Restrict which direction or directions an object can move. If the target tries to go that way, it will simply stop as if meeting a wall. It takes no damage from the impact, as it simply cannot move any further. The object may still be able to orient and face in that direction, but cannot bodily go that way. Instead of locking out one direction, you might use this spell to force all movements to occur in this direction.

Immobilize
Prevent an object from starting to move, if it was currently standing in place. Dimension magic cannot even phase the object out of this plane of existence.

Banishment
If the target leaves this plane under a Dimension magic effect (its own, or someone else's), then it cannot return.

Forced Individuality
The target is locked zero-dimensionally. If Dimension magic tries to clone the object, the spell simply fails.

Forced Utility
All the above effects cost one success each added to the spell. Forced Utility requires two. The target is 1D-locked. If Dimension magic tries to alter it one-dimensionally, the spell fails.

Forced Image
Forced Image adds three successes to the spell. The target is 2D-locked. If Dimension magic tries to alter it two-dimensionally, the spell fails.

Uncanny Use of Parameters
However, rules are made to be broken. All the above effects put a rule in place that was not there before. If you wish, you can instead remove a Parameter already in place. Not a spell effect, but the actual physical law of reality as applies to the target. The rule stays removed, just like a Parameter added would stay added. For example, if you remove Mother May I? from a target trying to pass through a solid wall, the wall no longer serves as a barrier to them.
If you are casting a counterspell to make possible what a Parameter mage has made impossible, this actually makes the difficulty easier by 1 success. If you are casting to make impossible what a Parameter mage has allowed, this only adds 1 success for the counterspell, rather than a second one from the above Uncanny rule. This means that if you are removing an imposed restriction that only cost 1 success, you can remove it without rolling, simply by willing it to end.
Aside from the above capabilities, the Parameter mage gains bonus dice for more advanced Parameter casting. For every 3 Parameter Magic Levels you gain, you get 1 die that can be used a single time on each spell you roll.