Design Phase
DreadmonksFear is the mind-killer. It is known. The strongest armour, the sharpest blade, the tallest castle- none of them can help you if you are too terrified to fight. It may leave its victims standing, but fear can assuredly take down foes that no mundane means could. It behoves us, then, to exploit this to the fullest.
A new wing of the Chanter's Sanctuary will be constructed- the architecture dark and foreboding in appearance-, wherein will train a new class of chanter. Whilst they will also be educated in the art of the blade, that is not where their strength will lie. Where Blademonks study cutting, Dreadmonks shall study fear. Aspirants will be forced to face their own deepest fears, whilst being exposed to (a weak) Reinforcement of Fear chant, night after night until they either break (resulting in expulsion), or learn to embrace fear, to welcome it, until fear loses all power over them, whilst an instinctual understanding of the emotion remains burned into their minds. Those who make it through will then learn what others fear, and how to exploit those fears. They will study how people react- what kinds of fear will cause a person to be paralysed with shock, what kinds result in them fleeing in terror, and what kinds activate the 'fight' part of fight-or-flight. And, of course, they will learn the Reinforcement of Fear chant, until they understand its every nuance, and can use it to instil anything from mild goosebumps to a total mental breakdown.
A fully trained Dreadmonk will have one last task before they can be deployed in battle; to carve themselves a mask. Each individual will know exactly what horrifying visage they should adopt to cause maximum distress; their mask, carved from dark hardwood, painted a glossy black, should by itself have such a distressing demonic appearance that even without any magical assistance it could cause an enemy soldier to turn tail. It shall augment an outfit consisting of chainmail (stained black), a Flamequencher Cloak (stained black, tattered, avec deep hood), and a Moonlight Sabre (stained black if possible).
The end result is a warrior for whom fear is an old friend, and trivial things such as life-threatening danger cause not even a twitch of concern. They may serve as assassins, stalking through the night, picking off members of a patrol until those remaining are too scared to fight on- using powerful Reinforcement of Fear chants against particularly stubborn targets. In pitched battle, they can either go unmasked, using their knowledge of fear to detect and quell it amongst our soldiers, or move en-masked to target enemy elites and commanders, letting them get a good look at their demonic visage whilst they chant at them.
Normal: 4
The new structure added to the Chanter’s sanctuary this year has become known as the Tower of Dread. Even if it is wide and squat by the standards of most towers, it looms no less ominously. Too large doors await any who would enter, themselves overshadowed by imposing stone arches held aloft by pillars attached to each other. Into the pillars, grotesque faces have been carved that seem to stare into the eyes of all those who look upon them. Daring to open the doors only unleashes the thick stench of terror emanating from within.
The disciples attempting to become Dreadmonks train in windowless rooms, lit only by candle flame. Statues carved of wood throw haunting shadows before the cavorting flame. Yet these terrors of the imagination are but preparation to face the chants of their teachers. From their training rooms they travel to the paramount crest; the top of the tower at midday when the world shows its brightest and kindest face. It is there that the baleful green fire of fear is delivered unto them and there that they face its judgement.
As they master the ability to step forward in the face of fear, they unlock within themselves a berserk strength. Those monks who follow the berserk way enter the battlefield unmasked to strengthen the resolve of their own forces and inspire others with a suicidal fatalism.
Those who rid themselves entirely of their own fears follow the calm way and carve masks with which to hide their emotionless appearance. They light their mask with the green fire of the chant creating a terrifying visage that looms ever larger in the eyes of their victims.
Runic System Experiment (Geomancy): Form(Wood), Ward(Shadow), Attack(Fire)
New spell discovered: Blooming Shadow turns to ash.
An untouchable flower grows out of the spell circle. As it blooms the black petals grow in size to surround the immediate area with darkness. Those within this darkness are not blinded by it, though they can feel it hiding them from sight. Those beyond its range can only see black petals obscuring the area. Chants such as our Reinforcement of Fear cannot target anyone within the Blooming Shadows as they require the ability to see the target to function.
The caster can maintain this state of darkness for as long as they maintain concentration. Once they allow the spell to continue the darkness created will briefly blaze with light and heat on the inside as the petals wither to ash and disappear.
We believe the final effect is a result of a fizzle on the last Rune.
This spell is compatible with Scroll creation.
No existing Alchemy recipes can activate this spell.
Our chanters presently lack enough skill with the Ward Meaning to chant this spell.
It is now Spring, Turn 4
Revision PhaseDiscoveries are magical effects you have discovered that you can put to practical use inside Designs.
Alchemy
Ward(Wood), Form(Water), Attack(Air) - Swan’s Black Blood
A poison that attacks the blood of the victim making them more susceptible to bleeding as their blood does not clot properly.
(Water Mastery) This poison produces an excess of the Water Element.
(Form Mastery) The use of the Form Meaning governs the blood.
Ward(Earth), Form(Water), Attack(Fire) - Black Dragon’s Lethargy
A poison that attacks the blood of the victim, devouring their vitality. Victims are fatigued for the months it takes to make a full recovery.
(Water Mastery) This poison produces an excess of the Water Element.
(Form Mastery) The use of the Form Meaning governs the blood.
Shape(Earth), Form(Earth), Ward(Earth) - Earth Elemental’s Fortifying Elixir
This white elixir aligns the blood of the drinker with the element of Earth. A chanter who drinks this elixir, will find it easier to manipulate Earth mana when speaking. This should allow them to speak Earth aligned chants for longer before exhaustion becomes a problem.
(Form Mastery) The use of the Form Meaning governs the blood.
Form(Wood), Form(Fire), Form(Shadow) - Green Ghost Flame Paint
This recipe congealed into a liquid that gradually dries out storing its mana for later use. The green paint never stops burning with a ghostly flame of the same colour.
(Form Mastery) The nature of this paint is largely driven by element order, with Shadow being related to Ghosts.
Wood->Air - Fizzle (Froth)
Earth->Fire - Fizzle (Sets)
Alchemy Secrets
Records - The use of alchemy to record a chant for later speaking.
Using alchemical paint it is possible to contain the meaning and element behind a chant in a written form. Those who read the symbols out loud, can draw the magic of the paint into themselves forming the chant set down in the record. Writing records of a particular chant requires access to one or more paints that can represent the elemental makeup of the chant.
Recordable Elements: Wood, Fire, Shadow
Scrolls - The use of alchemy to create a spell for later casting. Uses alchemical paint.
Spell Elements: Wood, Fire, Shadow
Spell Engine - The use of alchemy to activate a spell without the presence of a caster. Requires an alchemical recipe that matches in some way with the spell circle to be used.
Chants
Ward(Wood), Form(Air), Attack(Shadow) - Reinforcement of Cutting
This chant grants a target enhanced ability to cut for the duration of a battle. This supernatural sharpness can render a punch capable of stabbing holes in an enemy. Wielding an already sharp blade such an individual could cleave through armour.
Attack(Wood), Control(Fire), Form(Shadow) - Reinforcement of Fear
This chant inflicts a target with fear. This supernatural fear will cause the target to run from danger or otherwise cower in fright. As the fear is only inflicted on a single target, we suspect that this chant would be very exhausting to use on the battlefield.
Control(Earth), Ward(Earth), Shape(Water) - Spike of Mud
A chant that concentrates mud into a spike before projecting it forwards away from the speaker. The hardened mud has some amount of mass behind it and thus is capable of causing damage on impact. Once it has struck the target the spike breaks, spreading mud all around the target area.
Chanting Secrets
Elemental Distillation - The use of chanting to enhance the alchemy process by using the correct set of words.
Using a chant with matching Elements to a known Alchemical recipe enables a different recipe to be imbued with both associated powers at the cost of double the expenditure of mana.
Chain-Chant - The art of chaining chants to allow a chanter access to multiple chants. Requires the use of the Form Meaning at the start of each Chant after the first.
Chanted Spells - The careful application of Meaning to a chant to transmute it into a Spell. Requires a spell and matching chant with all Meanings to be at least at the Adept level.
Geomancy
Form - Ignitor
Form(Wood), Ward(Shadow), Attack(Fire) - Blooming Shadow turns to ash.
Creates a static shield of darkness blocking line of sight.
Third Rune fizzles.
Geomancy Secrets
Chain-Spell - The art of chaining spells together to create a more complicated whole. Requires the use of the Form Meaning at the start of each spell after the first.
Lady Adiva Shrivastava (d3), Experience: 7
Daughter of the Noble house of Shrivastava, an upstart family by the standards of those who claim to descend from the time of the first Goddess War. Adiva has earned her place in the officer core with skilled leadership as an archer, setting an inspiring example for those who follow her.
Elite Units
Blademonks: An order of chanters dedicated to calm contemplation of the Reinforcement of Cutting chant and its use in battle through the use of their blades. They have mastered the use of their chant to cut only what they wish cut.
Dreadmonks: An order of chanters dedicated to mastery of the Reinforcement of Fear chant and its use in battle with the aid of their terrifying masks. Some of those who pass the trials these monks test themselves with possess a berserk strength and suicidal resolve, choosing to fight on the frontlines as inspiration for their allies.
Author
Topic: Rune Race: Iqua Thread (Read 16794 times)