Borders Mod Journal (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bordersmods) wrote2014-04-08 10:13 pm
bordersmods) wrote2014-04-08 10:13 pm
Entry tags:
Species: Mixed Breeds
The offspring of humans and fay, humans and dragons, and sometimes a little of all three, have a wide range of abilities. The most common of them are listed here. Perhaps a fifth of the modern human race in Europe and Asia, an eighth of Africa, and upwards of a quarter of people in the Americas have some level of fay blood, even if it's just a great-great grandparent, and even that small drop might be enough for some small talent. It is much more rare to have more than fifty percent fay blood, as only in extreme cases are mixed blooded individuals allowed back into fay society.
Fay-blooded Wild Talents
These gifts come from a direct mixing of human and fay blood. The talents are often unpredictable, flaring up without conscious intent or refusing to work when called upon, and tied to strong emotion. Control is best when emotional control is at its best. Most of these talents fall into one of three subtypes. The general distribution of power based on amount of fay blood listed below is a guideline of common tendencies, but not a strict rule to be followed. There are always exceptions and personal variations.
Shifters: The most common kind of fay-born gift is shape-shifting, based mostly on the Shaper and Maker subsets of fay magic. Most shapeshifters change themselves, and most self-changers change into animals, but some can change into plants, stone, water, other people, or even, much more rarely, dragons-- and some can change the shapes of others. All shifters retain their mind in their other forms, being still fully themselves and sentient, but overall shifters tend to be more instinctive and more like their chosen or magical shapes than most people.
3/4 fay: Shift into anything, little effort, can alter their own form with little effort; occasionally has the ability to change other people
1/2 fay: Shift into anything, requires much effort to learn the shape, can alter their own form with little effort; rarely has the ability to change other people, and with great effort
1/4 fay: Shift into a limited range, up to five forms, can alter their own form with great effort; can never change other people
Less than 1/4 fay: Shift into one form or alter their own form in a single way at a time (change hair color, move facial features, harden skin); occasionally can change another person, but only in the same way they change themselves
Mages: Making use of the same magic currents that the fay use, mages have the most control of the wild talents, but even that can be minimal in times of stress. Unfortunately, it is also by far the most dangerous of the wild talents when it does get out of control. Mages range through aspects of Movers, Makers, Enchanters, Machiners, Balancers, Givers, and Takers, with occasionally some abilities from Shapers, as well. They cannot Shape themselves, but some healing and matter manipulation is possible.
3/4 fay: Most control, can learn bits and pieces from up to four magic "types", or learn two types "completely"
1/2 fay: Strong control, can learn selections from up to two magic "types", or learn one "type" completely
1/4 fay: Moderate control, can learn selections from a single magic "type"
Less than 1/4 fay: Control varies greatly, one or two selections from any magic "types", and often if there's two they have nothing to do with each other!
Psychics: Rather than using the energy of the world, psychics use the power of their own minds which, by virtue of their mixed heritage, are more powerful than a human or even a fay's mind. This is the most unpredictable of the general types of wild talents, often coming on the bearer unaware, and is the least amenable to control. This includes magic of the Speaker (telepaths, empaths, mediums, etc) and Seer (farseers, clairvoyants, etc) types, with occasional Movers that manifest as telekinetics or pyrokinetics.
3/4 fay: Control varies, tremendous power
1/2 fay: Strong control, minor power
1/4 fay: Control varies, moderate power
Less than 1/4 fay: Very little control, minor power
Dragon Half-breeds
Though people with dragon parentage are much, much rarer than people with fay heritage, they do still exist. They require magical help, either from a Shaper fay or a shapeshifter wild talent to get one of the pair into the right shape, to make children possible to begin with-- though once in the right shapes, children are more likely than not. These pairings and the offspring from them are usually shunned and looked down on in all societies except that of the dragons themselves, but most humans find it strange and bordering on bestiality, while most fay find it entirely distasteful, moreso than their mild distaste for mating with humans. Dragons, on the other hand, usually find the notion romantic, in their odd way of contemplating romance.
The offspring of dragon-human pairings fall into one of three general categories: mostly human-shaped but with magical resistance and a lesser but more controllable magical talent than a wild talent; mostly dragon-shaped, but stunted in size and without any magical aspects whatsoever; or a monstrous-looking half-dragon, half-human shape, with magical resistance but no ability to use magic at all. All half-dragons are obviously half-dragons in some physical way. For example, human-shaped ones may have a tail or scales, or dragon-shaped ones have fingernails instead of claws or human-like skin all over. Generally half-dragons are a little slower than humans, mentally, as well, though they are almost always longer-lived.
Fay-created Static Talents
Though these individuals don't necessarily have any fay or dragon blood, because they have been altered by magic-- usually by fay, but occasionally by powerful wild talent mages or by their own kind trying to procreate-- the common assumption is just to call them mixed breeds along with the others. The powers granted by being altered by magic are much more limited than those that come with heredity, but also much more stable and, if not always completely controllable, at least very predictable, and come with a very straight-forward collection of side effects.
Vampires: These were supposedly originally an attempt to make humans immortal, but it failed spectacularly. While they usually are immortal, or at least very long-lived, that immortality comes with a price: to stay alive, they must consume the life energy of others, because they no longer have any. For all but the oldest vampires, this comes from blood, with a slight, helpful boost from sunlight. Unlike vampires in human mythology, sunlight is actually beneficial to a vampire, as they are effectively cold-blooded and the warmth and UV rays help recharge them and keep them going. Vampires reaching two hundred years may start to learn how to draw life energy from people and animals without the intermediary of blood, but it is difficult.
A vampire must be fed every three days, or so, before feeling the effects of weakness, a day or two longer if they are outside in sunlight all day and have a warm, bright place to sleep at night. The first signs are a loss of whatever magical powers were built into them, then sluggishness even in full sunlight, a desire to sleep. Eventually, a vampire starts to fade, growing thinner and paler and finally, if not fed, becoming a mere transparent outline and then simply a ghost. The spirit is tethered to the world, and must be set free by a fay or a mage.
Vampires are usually made through spells, but a few manage to procreate by following a very strict and difficult ritual while killing their planned progeny. Those rituals are different depending on each vampire type, which makes it doubly hard, for they have to figure them out largely without help. It isn't too far from the truth to say every vampire is a little different, unless one stumbles upon the correct method of making more or convinces a fay to make them siblings in exact same fashion. They have whatever powers are built into them, which range widely, but are always strictly limited to one or two fairly simple aspects of any particular magic, and more generic vampiric talents, such as increased strength and speed. Most vampires have a slightly inhuman appearance, whether through elongated features, strange colored skin, or very obvious fangs, as the imbuing with fay magic tends to bend their forms towards a slightly more fay one.
Werecreatures: More proof that fay magic does not always work as desired, the origins of werecreatures are widely said to be another fay project gone wrong. Weres were supposed to be servants and protectors for the fay, but those servants were difficult to control and eventually turned on their masters, hating to be confined the way the fay required them to be. Weres made in modern times are largely created and then set loose on an enemy, rather than attempted to contain, though more can be made through the were's act of biting a human under specific magical circumstances and at the right time.
Unlike the wider variety of shifters, werecreatures only have two forms: one animal form, any animal, that they can take at will and which retains a human mind; and one hybrid form which looks like a monster and is much more an animal than a person, and usually an angry and hungry monster, at that, for the change is draining and painful and leaves the were in a pain-maddened, starving state. As expected, the lunar cycle has a strong effect on them, but not necessarily the full moon. Whatever day in the lunar cycle a were is created on begins his transformation cycle, whether it be the full moon, the new moon, or three days into a gibbous moon. That is the day, in one full lunar month, he will change into his hybrid form for the first time, and that is when the rest of his powers will activate. Over the course of the month, the lunar cycle dictates their energy level and powers: the closer to their monthly transformation, the stronger their senses and built-in magic get, but also more irritable and difficult they get to deal with, and the more likely they are to shift out of anger or fear or just discomfort with their human forms. The further away from the forced transformation they get, the calmer they feel, but also more lethargic. Because all cycles start on their own day, weres have no set schedule that all adhere to, just the one they personally must adhere to.
In all forms, including the human form, the were has enhanced senses and far more strength than they look like they should. Some have an affinity for the animal type they shift into, with the stereotypical "werewolf"-- the most common of weres, being the easiest to change via biting-- often collecting a small pack of actual wolves, while others have slight other abilities built into them by their makers, or passed down from their biters. All of their powers are strongest at night, under moonlight.
Constructs: When weres failed, this was the next option, and the more successful one. Constructions make loyal, often unquestioning servants, though also, unless given more ability than many fay like to give them, very dull and simplistic ones. Constructs are usually made with some combination of clockworks and magic, from spare parts and magic-made flesh-- occasionally formerly living flesh, but that is considered distasteful. The most common base for constructs are suits of armor or, for something lighter for less protective services, a set of clothing enchanted and tinkered up to be able to move around. Most have very limited mental function, but some fay creators like having servants with minds, and so they spend more time creating a personality and a mind for their constructs. (These, obviously, are the ones most likely to become player characters!)
The powers of constructs vary wildly, but most are service-oriented or protection-oriented. Though they do not often have a visible mouth, unless given one by the spells creating them and sustaining them, most have the ability to speak, though their voices often sound like they're coming from the bottom of a well and can be projected over large distances if they need to. Constructs need constant maintenance, renewing of the spells keeping them "alive", but if they receive this they can potentially live indefinitely, even past the death of their makers. Those who lack makers and masters tend to seek out someone new to serve, though those with the highest capacity to think for themselves and make their own decisions tend to be very choosy!
Item-Based Magics
Any magic that can be imbued into an item can also be sold, and given to someone without any magic themselves, to use. Though this isn't common, and it's often very expensive, some people will pay any amount of money for a taste of magical power, themselves, or for a power that would make their jobs easier or get them what they want out of life. Enchanter fay throughout history have created items for human friends, to protect them or give them an edge against what they saw as evil, or to sell to make some quick and easy money, and those items usually stick around, gifted away, passed down family lines, or sold away again, so there is always a black market for them one can peruse if one knows how to access it.
There are always catches to easy magic, however. First, there are also a lot of fakes and cursed items, as well, which are passed around in the same fashion. Enchanter fay might build a curse into an otherwise benign item, or someone might twist the magic inside towards another purpose after the item was made. Sometimes the gift of power has another side, a negative side-effect that the Enchanter created or even didn't anticipate. Some humans and many half-breeds find that they cannot use an item they purchased, because the magic doesn't take to them or is of the wrong type for them to use. The use of magical items to affect one's self, to give one's self a power or ability, is a dangerous and difficult endeavor, but still one that persists.
The second catch is that only one magical item of this type can be used at a time, with a time of cleansing in-between switching items where one must "detox" from the foreign magic, and only by a non-magical human or by a half-breed of a compatible magical type. A shapeshifter using an item spelled with Shaper or Maker magic, for example, or a psychic using an item spelled with Speaker or Seer magic. Only the most powerful of items can be used by dragons, and often they work imperfectly due to their magical resistance, and dragons tend to scorn their use, anyway.
Fay-blooded Wild Talents
These gifts come from a direct mixing of human and fay blood. The talents are often unpredictable, flaring up without conscious intent or refusing to work when called upon, and tied to strong emotion. Control is best when emotional control is at its best. Most of these talents fall into one of three subtypes. The general distribution of power based on amount of fay blood listed below is a guideline of common tendencies, but not a strict rule to be followed. There are always exceptions and personal variations.
Shifters: The most common kind of fay-born gift is shape-shifting, based mostly on the Shaper and Maker subsets of fay magic. Most shapeshifters change themselves, and most self-changers change into animals, but some can change into plants, stone, water, other people, or even, much more rarely, dragons-- and some can change the shapes of others. All shifters retain their mind in their other forms, being still fully themselves and sentient, but overall shifters tend to be more instinctive and more like their chosen or magical shapes than most people.
3/4 fay: Shift into anything, little effort, can alter their own form with little effort; occasionally has the ability to change other people
1/2 fay: Shift into anything, requires much effort to learn the shape, can alter their own form with little effort; rarely has the ability to change other people, and with great effort
1/4 fay: Shift into a limited range, up to five forms, can alter their own form with great effort; can never change other people
Less than 1/4 fay: Shift into one form or alter their own form in a single way at a time (change hair color, move facial features, harden skin); occasionally can change another person, but only in the same way they change themselves
Mages: Making use of the same magic currents that the fay use, mages have the most control of the wild talents, but even that can be minimal in times of stress. Unfortunately, it is also by far the most dangerous of the wild talents when it does get out of control. Mages range through aspects of Movers, Makers, Enchanters, Machiners, Balancers, Givers, and Takers, with occasionally some abilities from Shapers, as well. They cannot Shape themselves, but some healing and matter manipulation is possible.
3/4 fay: Most control, can learn bits and pieces from up to four magic "types", or learn two types "completely"
1/2 fay: Strong control, can learn selections from up to two magic "types", or learn one "type" completely
1/4 fay: Moderate control, can learn selections from a single magic "type"
Less than 1/4 fay: Control varies greatly, one or two selections from any magic "types", and often if there's two they have nothing to do with each other!
Psychics: Rather than using the energy of the world, psychics use the power of their own minds which, by virtue of their mixed heritage, are more powerful than a human or even a fay's mind. This is the most unpredictable of the general types of wild talents, often coming on the bearer unaware, and is the least amenable to control. This includes magic of the Speaker (telepaths, empaths, mediums, etc) and Seer (farseers, clairvoyants, etc) types, with occasional Movers that manifest as telekinetics or pyrokinetics.
3/4 fay: Control varies, tremendous power
1/2 fay: Strong control, minor power
1/4 fay: Control varies, moderate power
Less than 1/4 fay: Very little control, minor power
Dragon Half-breeds
Though people with dragon parentage are much, much rarer than people with fay heritage, they do still exist. They require magical help, either from a Shaper fay or a shapeshifter wild talent to get one of the pair into the right shape, to make children possible to begin with-- though once in the right shapes, children are more likely than not. These pairings and the offspring from them are usually shunned and looked down on in all societies except that of the dragons themselves, but most humans find it strange and bordering on bestiality, while most fay find it entirely distasteful, moreso than their mild distaste for mating with humans. Dragons, on the other hand, usually find the notion romantic, in their odd way of contemplating romance.
The offspring of dragon-human pairings fall into one of three general categories: mostly human-shaped but with magical resistance and a lesser but more controllable magical talent than a wild talent; mostly dragon-shaped, but stunted in size and without any magical aspects whatsoever; or a monstrous-looking half-dragon, half-human shape, with magical resistance but no ability to use magic at all. All half-dragons are obviously half-dragons in some physical way. For example, human-shaped ones may have a tail or scales, or dragon-shaped ones have fingernails instead of claws or human-like skin all over. Generally half-dragons are a little slower than humans, mentally, as well, though they are almost always longer-lived.
Fay-created Static Talents
Though these individuals don't necessarily have any fay or dragon blood, because they have been altered by magic-- usually by fay, but occasionally by powerful wild talent mages or by their own kind trying to procreate-- the common assumption is just to call them mixed breeds along with the others. The powers granted by being altered by magic are much more limited than those that come with heredity, but also much more stable and, if not always completely controllable, at least very predictable, and come with a very straight-forward collection of side effects.
Vampires: These were supposedly originally an attempt to make humans immortal, but it failed spectacularly. While they usually are immortal, or at least very long-lived, that immortality comes with a price: to stay alive, they must consume the life energy of others, because they no longer have any. For all but the oldest vampires, this comes from blood, with a slight, helpful boost from sunlight. Unlike vampires in human mythology, sunlight is actually beneficial to a vampire, as they are effectively cold-blooded and the warmth and UV rays help recharge them and keep them going. Vampires reaching two hundred years may start to learn how to draw life energy from people and animals without the intermediary of blood, but it is difficult.
A vampire must be fed every three days, or so, before feeling the effects of weakness, a day or two longer if they are outside in sunlight all day and have a warm, bright place to sleep at night. The first signs are a loss of whatever magical powers were built into them, then sluggishness even in full sunlight, a desire to sleep. Eventually, a vampire starts to fade, growing thinner and paler and finally, if not fed, becoming a mere transparent outline and then simply a ghost. The spirit is tethered to the world, and must be set free by a fay or a mage.
Vampires are usually made through spells, but a few manage to procreate by following a very strict and difficult ritual while killing their planned progeny. Those rituals are different depending on each vampire type, which makes it doubly hard, for they have to figure them out largely without help. It isn't too far from the truth to say every vampire is a little different, unless one stumbles upon the correct method of making more or convinces a fay to make them siblings in exact same fashion. They have whatever powers are built into them, which range widely, but are always strictly limited to one or two fairly simple aspects of any particular magic, and more generic vampiric talents, such as increased strength and speed. Most vampires have a slightly inhuman appearance, whether through elongated features, strange colored skin, or very obvious fangs, as the imbuing with fay magic tends to bend their forms towards a slightly more fay one.
Werecreatures: More proof that fay magic does not always work as desired, the origins of werecreatures are widely said to be another fay project gone wrong. Weres were supposed to be servants and protectors for the fay, but those servants were difficult to control and eventually turned on their masters, hating to be confined the way the fay required them to be. Weres made in modern times are largely created and then set loose on an enemy, rather than attempted to contain, though more can be made through the were's act of biting a human under specific magical circumstances and at the right time.
Unlike the wider variety of shifters, werecreatures only have two forms: one animal form, any animal, that they can take at will and which retains a human mind; and one hybrid form which looks like a monster and is much more an animal than a person, and usually an angry and hungry monster, at that, for the change is draining and painful and leaves the were in a pain-maddened, starving state. As expected, the lunar cycle has a strong effect on them, but not necessarily the full moon. Whatever day in the lunar cycle a were is created on begins his transformation cycle, whether it be the full moon, the new moon, or three days into a gibbous moon. That is the day, in one full lunar month, he will change into his hybrid form for the first time, and that is when the rest of his powers will activate. Over the course of the month, the lunar cycle dictates their energy level and powers: the closer to their monthly transformation, the stronger their senses and built-in magic get, but also more irritable and difficult they get to deal with, and the more likely they are to shift out of anger or fear or just discomfort with their human forms. The further away from the forced transformation they get, the calmer they feel, but also more lethargic. Because all cycles start on their own day, weres have no set schedule that all adhere to, just the one they personally must adhere to.
In all forms, including the human form, the were has enhanced senses and far more strength than they look like they should. Some have an affinity for the animal type they shift into, with the stereotypical "werewolf"-- the most common of weres, being the easiest to change via biting-- often collecting a small pack of actual wolves, while others have slight other abilities built into them by their makers, or passed down from their biters. All of their powers are strongest at night, under moonlight.
Constructs: When weres failed, this was the next option, and the more successful one. Constructions make loyal, often unquestioning servants, though also, unless given more ability than many fay like to give them, very dull and simplistic ones. Constructs are usually made with some combination of clockworks and magic, from spare parts and magic-made flesh-- occasionally formerly living flesh, but that is considered distasteful. The most common base for constructs are suits of armor or, for something lighter for less protective services, a set of clothing enchanted and tinkered up to be able to move around. Most have very limited mental function, but some fay creators like having servants with minds, and so they spend more time creating a personality and a mind for their constructs. (These, obviously, are the ones most likely to become player characters!)
The powers of constructs vary wildly, but most are service-oriented or protection-oriented. Though they do not often have a visible mouth, unless given one by the spells creating them and sustaining them, most have the ability to speak, though their voices often sound like they're coming from the bottom of a well and can be projected over large distances if they need to. Constructs need constant maintenance, renewing of the spells keeping them "alive", but if they receive this they can potentially live indefinitely, even past the death of their makers. Those who lack makers and masters tend to seek out someone new to serve, though those with the highest capacity to think for themselves and make their own decisions tend to be very choosy!
Item-Based Magics
Any magic that can be imbued into an item can also be sold, and given to someone without any magic themselves, to use. Though this isn't common, and it's often very expensive, some people will pay any amount of money for a taste of magical power, themselves, or for a power that would make their jobs easier or get them what they want out of life. Enchanter fay throughout history have created items for human friends, to protect them or give them an edge against what they saw as evil, or to sell to make some quick and easy money, and those items usually stick around, gifted away, passed down family lines, or sold away again, so there is always a black market for them one can peruse if one knows how to access it.
There are always catches to easy magic, however. First, there are also a lot of fakes and cursed items, as well, which are passed around in the same fashion. Enchanter fay might build a curse into an otherwise benign item, or someone might twist the magic inside towards another purpose after the item was made. Sometimes the gift of power has another side, a negative side-effect that the Enchanter created or even didn't anticipate. Some humans and many half-breeds find that they cannot use an item they purchased, because the magic doesn't take to them or is of the wrong type for them to use. The use of magical items to affect one's self, to give one's self a power or ability, is a dangerous and difficult endeavor, but still one that persists.
The second catch is that only one magical item of this type can be used at a time, with a time of cleansing in-between switching items where one must "detox" from the foreign magic, and only by a non-magical human or by a half-breed of a compatible magical type. A shapeshifter using an item spelled with Shaper or Maker magic, for example, or a psychic using an item spelled with Speaker or Seer magic. Only the most powerful of items can be used by dragons, and often they work imperfectly due to their magical resistance, and dragons tend to scorn their use, anyway.