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12-31-2021, 02:49 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-31-2021, 02:52 AM by Ignispark.
Edit Reason: Hit enter too early. Oops.
)
[STATIONARY_FRICTION]:
Alright, I have a final enough draft. Had to work through more than a few reworks of things to get things together. Twelve-or-less word inputs closed. Feel free to ask questions if you have them or make a character with the template. I think if I spend any longer on this I will be going in circles so posting this now. Hopefully it makes decent sense.
---
Setting Primer:
Ascent and Beacons, The World As You Likely Know It
The world, Ascent, is covered in verdant expanses of flora and fauna of great variety above and below ground. Some possess features familiar to us, while others work in ways that would be impossible. Life comes in all shapes, but is generally on a small scale. In all parts of Ascent, gravity is fairly low, as the world is roughly akin to a small moon in mass. This world is not the only one, but it is the only known one to possess life and is currently one of the few places Beacons can spawn.
Beacons are a unique species in that they possess sapience. Unlike the other life present they do not arrive from predecessors and in a manner vaguely similar to TCPs, show up around Ascent. Additionally, they generally possess some innate knowledge of what they are and some of their capabilities, how to communicate with others, and what constitutes danger. They often are a few inches tall and often possess similar anatomy to most TCPs. On a different note, there is no known rhyme or reason behind how beacons come into being or what they are like. There are no consistent patterns or natural abilities other than what has been mentioned above. Additionally, it is possible for a Beacon to break some or all of the above patterns. Technically, there is no way to tell a Beacon apart from some other sort of creature that is a person. A Beacon could be just about any form or nature you can think of. They could spew fire, have seven pairs of wings, or be capable of something else entirely. Generally, Beacons tend to be able to recover from injury or illness fairly quickly and are able to replace lost parts with magical replacements without much trouble.
Beacons and other life present in the world are capable of utilizing the world's form of magic. There are three important concepts to know about magic. They are heading, source, and method. Heading is composed of a being's intentions and knowledge of the locations involved in magic. Source is composed of where the energy or material for the magic comes from. Method is composed of how the being is performing the magic, the length of time it takes, the tools involved, and other such things.
How exactly magic works and what methods are effective at producing results vary from person to person. Generally, manipulation of what is already present is a much easier feat than trying to change the nature of things, which is in turn often easier than trying to make something out of nothing. Despite the variance, Beacons' innate knowledge of their capabilities helps them to some extent have an innate compass for what could work for them.
Beacons aren't the most common of creature, given they only come into being when spawning, which is a decently rare event. Despite this, they have access to a fair amount of amenities comparable to the modern day. Communications devices, cameras, and other devices often function mostly on magic, though efforts in more mundane technologies are being pursued as well. The heavy use of magic for tools and devices causes a great deal of variety in what a given device can look like and how they can function. Devices require a decent amount of time and skill to put together and are often made to last for great lengths of time while being decently easy to upkeep. If one wished to do so, it would be possible to transfer to a body entirely made of magical devices, though it would require a great deal of skill to pull off, there are a couple of living examples of such endeavors.
That Which Came Before
Ascent and the other worlds around the sun were here long before Beacons. There are industrial ruins left behind on Ascent of a similarly small people that came before. It is unknown where they went or what happened to them, but they aren't here anymore. From what adventurers and explorers have found, they seemed to have had their own sort of magic with great rigor and structure, though it does not appear to exist in the world at large. Some of their creations still possess some sort of power, but it is questionable whether it is that old power or something else. Their creations are a common threat in exploration, as they had many enemies, often each other. There is a great deal of data that could be further dug up, but every expedition into the past comes with danger. Things brought back can greatly aid in mundane technological process and provide inspiration or useful materials for magical devices, but each delve also risks waking up some weapon long on standby, waiting for a final assault that never landed. Ruins are present buried in Ascent in addition to on other worlds.
It is sometimes theorized that whatever happened to those before Beacons, they likely played a part in the circumstances that allowed for Beacons to exist.
It is also rumored that perhaps they have something to do with the wobble of the sun.
There are countless rumors that remain unproven.
The Connection
Travel to the other worlds is not generally possible for Beacons without special circumstances. You can't exactly walk through space. Additionally, many ruins cannot be found on foot. Luckily, there is something that can facilitate fast transportation between destinations, even those more mundane. It is also full of risk and is known as The Connection. Entrances can be found interposed just about anywhere whether it be in nature, on another world, in a ruin, and beyond. Unfortunately, they can appear or disappear at random, leaving the area they left roughly how they found it beforehand. If one manages to breach an entrance, they set foot in a massive maze of halls that are clean, white, and off-putting. There is no known end to its size and the paths between entrances always seem to change. The one thing that luckily seems to hold true is that you can return to where you entered, provided you have the intent of leaving. If you have visited another entrance before you can generally eventually make your way there after some time too. Of course, you can also try your luck with random entrances you find along the way.
Due to its connection to countless ruins, some pieces of ancient technology can be found on occasion wandering The Connection. However, there are odder things still. Even more rarely, there are tales of creatures native to The Connection. They often possess great knowledge of the location and those outside it and can range from helpful to troublesome.
Notes on Origins: You can make just about anything in any of the examples given, but here are some suggestions:
>Beacon: This is the ‘normal’ choice. You can make most things work here.
>Ancient Technology: Generally there's a reason you were made. Perhaps by some other piece of old technology, perhaps as an old experiment left to sleep amidst ruins when their creators disappeared, or perhaps for some task prior. Common abilities include double-edged swords where the benefit of it comes at great cost.
>The Connection: Generally a character from The Connection should be quite odd in nature and work in ways that are a bit weird. They likely have less direct influence over the world than others, but are adept at influencing the abilities and magic of others.
>Something Else: I have no suggestions here. Good luck.
Character Template:
Name: What your character is called?
Origin: Are they a Beacon, a piece of ancient technology, something from The Connection, or another thing entirely?
Appearance: What do they look like?
Personality: What are they like?
Goals: What do they want to accomplish?
Skills: What can they do? What are they good at? What helps them toward their goals?
Flaws: What are they bad at? What holds them back?
Other: Anything else to note? Notable history, items they have at hand, fun facts etc.
Examples:
Name: Taiga
Origin: Beacon
Appearance: They're a biped with two arms, look vaguely insectoid, and possess a pair of wings.
Personality: They're fairly reserved and keep themself busy with work. They're accommodating to those they come across and are fiercely loyal to the rest of their exploration team.
Goals: They wish to log the devices present in ruins to bring advances to Beaconkind.
Skills: They're meticulous, good at putting things together, and keep excellent records. They're fairly skilled at creating and working with magical devices.
Flaws: They are rather slow to act both due to poor reaction time and a desire to think things through. They are greatly fearful of danger and cannot hold their own in a fight.
Other: They spawned by a mountain settlement and apprenticed under a toolsmith for a good few years, before setting their sights on making equipment to communicate and store data. They carry their records, repair equipment, and some basic exploration equipment.
Name: The (self-appointed) Herald of Truth
Origin: The Connection
Appearance: They appear like an odd ghostly figure composed of an odd array of glowing polygons.
Personality: They are rather aloof and follow various parties around, giving unsolicited advice. Some is true, some is false, and some is something else.
Goals: They want to find things that can still surprise them in the world.
Skills: They can become immaterial at will and possess great knowledge of The Connection, magic, and the history behind what came before Beacons. They can fly.
Flaws: They have limited influence in the world and cannot do much physically. They are rather weak and cannot do much other than talk someone's ear off.
Other: A decent portion of their knowledge comes from how they can explore ruins with little repercussions, while information on magic and The Connection comes innately to them.
Alright, I have a final enough draft. Had to work through more than a few reworks of things to get things together. Twelve-or-less word inputs closed. Feel free to ask questions if you have them or make a character with the template. I think if I spend any longer on this I will be going in circles so posting this now. Hopefully it makes decent sense.
---
Setting Primer:
Ascent and Beacons, The World As You Likely Know It
The world, Ascent, is covered in verdant expanses of flora and fauna of great variety above and below ground. Some possess features familiar to us, while others work in ways that would be impossible. Life comes in all shapes, but is generally on a small scale. In all parts of Ascent, gravity is fairly low, as the world is roughly akin to a small moon in mass. This world is not the only one, but it is the only known one to possess life and is currently one of the few places Beacons can spawn.
Beacons are a unique species in that they possess sapience. Unlike the other life present they do not arrive from predecessors and in a manner vaguely similar to TCPs, show up around Ascent. Additionally, they generally possess some innate knowledge of what they are and some of their capabilities, how to communicate with others, and what constitutes danger. They often are a few inches tall and often possess similar anatomy to most TCPs. On a different note, there is no known rhyme or reason behind how beacons come into being or what they are like. There are no consistent patterns or natural abilities other than what has been mentioned above. Additionally, it is possible for a Beacon to break some or all of the above patterns. Technically, there is no way to tell a Beacon apart from some other sort of creature that is a person. A Beacon could be just about any form or nature you can think of. They could spew fire, have seven pairs of wings, or be capable of something else entirely. Generally, Beacons tend to be able to recover from injury or illness fairly quickly and are able to replace lost parts with magical replacements without much trouble.
Beacons and other life present in the world are capable of utilizing the world's form of magic. There are three important concepts to know about magic. They are heading, source, and method. Heading is composed of a being's intentions and knowledge of the locations involved in magic. Source is composed of where the energy or material for the magic comes from. Method is composed of how the being is performing the magic, the length of time it takes, the tools involved, and other such things.
How exactly magic works and what methods are effective at producing results vary from person to person. Generally, manipulation of what is already present is a much easier feat than trying to change the nature of things, which is in turn often easier than trying to make something out of nothing. Despite the variance, Beacons' innate knowledge of their capabilities helps them to some extent have an innate compass for what could work for them.
Beacons aren't the most common of creature, given they only come into being when spawning, which is a decently rare event. Despite this, they have access to a fair amount of amenities comparable to the modern day. Communications devices, cameras, and other devices often function mostly on magic, though efforts in more mundane technologies are being pursued as well. The heavy use of magic for tools and devices causes a great deal of variety in what a given device can look like and how they can function. Devices require a decent amount of time and skill to put together and are often made to last for great lengths of time while being decently easy to upkeep. If one wished to do so, it would be possible to transfer to a body entirely made of magical devices, though it would require a great deal of skill to pull off, there are a couple of living examples of such endeavors.
That Which Came Before
Ascent and the other worlds around the sun were here long before Beacons. There are industrial ruins left behind on Ascent of a similarly small people that came before. It is unknown where they went or what happened to them, but they aren't here anymore. From what adventurers and explorers have found, they seemed to have had their own sort of magic with great rigor and structure, though it does not appear to exist in the world at large. Some of their creations still possess some sort of power, but it is questionable whether it is that old power or something else. Their creations are a common threat in exploration, as they had many enemies, often each other. There is a great deal of data that could be further dug up, but every expedition into the past comes with danger. Things brought back can greatly aid in mundane technological process and provide inspiration or useful materials for magical devices, but each delve also risks waking up some weapon long on standby, waiting for a final assault that never landed. Ruins are present buried in Ascent in addition to on other worlds.
It is sometimes theorized that whatever happened to those before Beacons, they likely played a part in the circumstances that allowed for Beacons to exist.
It is also rumored that perhaps they have something to do with the wobble of the sun.
There are countless rumors that remain unproven.
The Connection
Travel to the other worlds is not generally possible for Beacons without special circumstances. You can't exactly walk through space. Additionally, many ruins cannot be found on foot. Luckily, there is something that can facilitate fast transportation between destinations, even those more mundane. It is also full of risk and is known as The Connection. Entrances can be found interposed just about anywhere whether it be in nature, on another world, in a ruin, and beyond. Unfortunately, they can appear or disappear at random, leaving the area they left roughly how they found it beforehand. If one manages to breach an entrance, they set foot in a massive maze of halls that are clean, white, and off-putting. There is no known end to its size and the paths between entrances always seem to change. The one thing that luckily seems to hold true is that you can return to where you entered, provided you have the intent of leaving. If you have visited another entrance before you can generally eventually make your way there after some time too. Of course, you can also try your luck with random entrances you find along the way.
Due to its connection to countless ruins, some pieces of ancient technology can be found on occasion wandering The Connection. However, there are odder things still. Even more rarely, there are tales of creatures native to The Connection. They often possess great knowledge of the location and those outside it and can range from helpful to troublesome.
Notes on Origins: You can make just about anything in any of the examples given, but here are some suggestions:
>Beacon: This is the ‘normal’ choice. You can make most things work here.
>Ancient Technology: Generally there's a reason you were made. Perhaps by some other piece of old technology, perhaps as an old experiment left to sleep amidst ruins when their creators disappeared, or perhaps for some task prior. Common abilities include double-edged swords where the benefit of it comes at great cost.
>The Connection: Generally a character from The Connection should be quite odd in nature and work in ways that are a bit weird. They likely have less direct influence over the world than others, but are adept at influencing the abilities and magic of others.
>Something Else: I have no suggestions here. Good luck.
Character Template:
Name: What your character is called?
Origin: Are they a Beacon, a piece of ancient technology, something from The Connection, or another thing entirely?
Appearance: What do they look like?
Personality: What are they like?
Goals: What do they want to accomplish?
Skills: What can they do? What are they good at? What helps them toward their goals?
Flaws: What are they bad at? What holds them back?
Other: Anything else to note? Notable history, items they have at hand, fun facts etc.
Examples:
Name: Taiga
Origin: Beacon
Appearance: They're a biped with two arms, look vaguely insectoid, and possess a pair of wings.
Personality: They're fairly reserved and keep themself busy with work. They're accommodating to those they come across and are fiercely loyal to the rest of their exploration team.
Goals: They wish to log the devices present in ruins to bring advances to Beaconkind.
Skills: They're meticulous, good at putting things together, and keep excellent records. They're fairly skilled at creating and working with magical devices.
Flaws: They are rather slow to act both due to poor reaction time and a desire to think things through. They are greatly fearful of danger and cannot hold their own in a fight.
Other: They spawned by a mountain settlement and apprenticed under a toolsmith for a good few years, before setting their sights on making equipment to communicate and store data. They carry their records, repair equipment, and some basic exploration equipment.
Name: The (self-appointed) Herald of Truth
Origin: The Connection
Appearance: They appear like an odd ghostly figure composed of an odd array of glowing polygons.
Personality: They are rather aloof and follow various parties around, giving unsolicited advice. Some is true, some is false, and some is something else.
Goals: They want to find things that can still surprise them in the world.
Skills: They can become immaterial at will and possess great knowledge of The Connection, magic, and the history behind what came before Beacons. They can fly.
Flaws: They have limited influence in the world and cannot do much physically. They are rather weak and cannot do much other than talk someone's ear off.
Other: A decent portion of their knowledge comes from how they can explore ruins with little repercussions, while information on magic and The Connection comes innately to them.