Alfryd said:
Take your time. We've been at this for days. Suggestions for the adepts would be particularly appreciated.
Good, because I have quite a bit to say about Adepts and the Church of Lunord.
Let it be clear that I discuss these things not because I believe
any of them will
ever be implemented into a Majesty game, but because I think them worthwhile in themselves. Alfryd's work is, if I may say, wonderful, and that is reason enough for me. My apathy, or despondency, regarding actual inclusion in a game dates from a long time ago; the recent feeling I have gotten about Majesty 2 only reinforces that. This melancholy affirmation finished with, I will proceed.
Preliminaries
I'm basically going down through the list of what Alfryd (and possibly Cooker) has posted, and extracting things with which I disagree, question, or quibble. This will be a long, although hopefully not tedious process, and I am sure that before I finish everyone wish that each hero would be discussed in a different topic. First little point does not fall under a hero class, at least not a developed one:
Naturally, different races would hit their prime at different points in life, and typical life expectancy is triple that (depending on how their vitality holds up,) so ... elves, 75
I happen to prefer the idea of elves being immortal, the main reason being that I am sick of mortal elves. This bears further discussion, but I just wanted to set it out there. As relates to an aging scheme, elves would be effected detrimentally, and would simply keep acquiring bonuses form the levels or whatever system is implemented. Of course, elves being what they are they would keep acquiring more enemies as they continue to live, so "Elves always die violently" would be an Ardanian maxim.
On to the hero classes.
Priestesses
... but the true currency of their organisation will always be power. Like the followers of Fervus, they believe most moral strictures are poor excuses for self-imposed oppression.
There is something about this that does not sit well with me. The basic Kryptan philosophy is
memento mori, and although this may have the application of "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die," merriness is not exactly the aura given off by the Priestesses. I believe that most strict adherents to the Kryptan faith would be apt to lead what we call "moral lives", due to an emphasis on "mortifying the flesh" (key word: mortify). Moreover they recognise that temporal power, like over things of this world, are transient; they should be striving for spiritual power -- which presumably they could retain in death -- and the recognised path to spiritual power is self-denial. Of course, you could mean the same thing and I am just misinterpreting it.
That said, too, the ordinary followers would probably incline to be licentious. If the "real" Kryptans even noticed at all, it would be to sneer.The fact that Krypta, as goddess of the dead, is the one to actually inflict the punishment on the wicked after death, might give people pause, though.
Schools of Magic
While I appreciate the distinction, I think the names of "Black, Red, and White Magic" might be changed. They are too close to terms in established franchises, even if their meaning is different. Besides which, I have an idea that the colour of these spells (and I do like the idea of magic being colour-coded) would be red. Perhaps Death, Blood and Bone could be used instead, but then, those aren't exactly original either, and anyway, "Bone" doesn't match the description of white magic or its spells, except by an extended metaphor.
Some individual spells:
Soul Pact -charms undead into service in thne priestess' retinue.
I would prefer a straightforward "Control Undead". "Pact" implies mutual consent on both sides, and I don't think that's what's going on. Besides, "Soul Pact" is too cool to be wasted on something so (relatively) mundane.
Void -strips harmful and beneficial enchantments alike from the subject.
"Void" seems a little too sinister for a simple debuffing spell. Besides, since it could be used to help the target, I don't see why it is placed under "Black magic".
Appeal -makes the priestess briefly more pursuasive in the eyes of a single target.
Granted that priestesses do seek to control others, I think it should be accomplished through fear or sheer force of will, not persuasiveness.
Closure -converts lethal damage into nonlethal damage. Restores health directly for the priestess or corporeal undead.
"Closure" means finishing a thing off. I fail to see the connection with the spell's effects.
And a spell of my own:
Memento Mori ~ (passive) As a walking embodiment of Death, the Priestess gives off a constant aura that inspires primal fear in those around her. Followers of Krypta are immune, otherwise resisted based on spirt and intelligence. Undead have increased resistance, but are not necessarily immune.
Plus, I have some idea that there should be different spells for controlling different types of undead. A mindless undead will not offer much resistance, whereas a powerful undead might; and corporeal and incorporeal beings might also be different in their relations with a priestess. An idea appealing to me is the possibility of an undead reversing the process, and taking control of a Priestess.
Sects/Covens
To me, there seems be a little confusion here. The Inner Sect seems to me to belong under "Sects", not only because of the name which would otherwise cause confusion but because they constitute a separate society hidden within the other sects. The Albicrucian and Crimson Hand groups seem more along the lines of groups performing specific tasks for the Church (i.e. record-keeping and intelligence respectively). I also personally dislike "Coven" used to describe Priestesses, but meh.
As an aside, I imagine the symbol of the Albicrucians to be a pair of crossed, bleached bones.
Undead
As a general thing, I would want to avoid too much emphasis on the idea of "aversion to sunlight". Partly because there seems to be little, if any, mythological basis for it, and partly it is
so common. I would prefer to think of it, not as undead being weak during the day, but as being strong at night. There's a difference in attitude involved.
Nosferatu
So, the idea is that the more they feed on humans, the more human they become? That's a pretty interesting idea. Also the idea that their feeding methods become more refined, from indiscriminate gnawing, to more meticulous eating, to nearly undetectable blood-draining. Perhaps a very powerful vampire would be able to drain life-force directly without any visible trace (which, arguably in Majesty they do already, but I think that should be tweaked to reflect the evolutionary chain of Nosferatu).
I have other ideas on the abilities of vampires and possibly ghouls, but this may not be the time to bring them up.
Enthralled
While basically sound, I object to the inclusion of wights. First of all, because "wight" means any kind of spirit or being, and could even be applied (I think) to an ordinary human. In other words, using it for a specific kind of undead unduly limits the potential of the word. Secondly, and more importantly, we already
have wights in the form of Styx and Stones, who were not enthralled to anybody and who certainly were not content to merely wander near their place of burial.
Fleshless
Hmmm ... we have phantoms already in place, and to be honest, this description does not seem to suit them. As far as that goes, there is no guarantee that the Black Phantoms were even undead. Although i like your description of fleshless
per se, I would rather go with the development of the phantoms from what we know, rather than discarding it and starting all over.
Of course, it could be argued that the Black Phantoms are a unique case ...
Golems
Okay, I'm brekaing my rule. Nothing to criticise, just wanted to echo Cooker's comment and say that this is a nifty idea.
Lazari
I have an idea or two about the candidates for Lazari, based on an idea of having male warrior-types to serve Krypta. The candidates would be drawn from what is essentially a new class, although it could be a Warrior prestige class or
Liche
"No. No no no no, and again I say, no." While not without merit, this conception of a liche just doesn't accord with the meaning of the word. "Lich" is German for "corpse". I conceive of liches merely continuing to inhabit their bodies, even after they have died. This goes on indefinitely, even as their body decays around them. It
is immortality, but at the cost of your looks.
I suppose a lich
could transfer her spirit to another body; but for that matter, so could a still living Priestess, or necromancer. The whole idea of a phylactery seems an unnecessary encumbrance.
Cultists
Okay! First, the Metamorphosis/Wendigo connection. I don't see it (and I believe you also expressed dissatisfaction with it). For one thing, "Metamorphosis" implies, for me, an improvement -- I know it wasn't necessarily so in the Greek tales, but "meta" does mean above. For another, the description of how a Wendigo is created does not correlate at all with how the spell works.
Sacred Names
This is a good concept, but very hard to implement. If Majesty were an established franchise, with published fanfiction like D&D or Star Wars, this would be an excellent subject to explore in a series of novels. For a game, however, it's a bit too much. I think it would be best to stick with the binomial system, although even then the names could still affect the Cultist's abilities.
Miscellaneous
While I grasp that there would be no one set of dress or vestments for Cultists, I believe that an emphasis on masks should be retained. It was probably the most distinctive feature of the original Majesty Cultist, the flavour of which should be preserved at least in part; and besides, it seems an extremely
cultic practice. Besides, masks are a symbol with a number of interpretations, which would suit the chaotic nature of the cult.
Other themes the Cult might emphasise could be mirrors, and dreams. Mirrors relate to illusions and cover some of the same themes as masks; dreams -- well, all three are kind of intertwined. But a blurring of the lines between reality and unreality should be one of the characteristics of Fervusian magic.
Another theme of the Cult could be the Moon. The Moon has long been connected with insanity (lunacy, mooncalf), and it also ties into the Cult's fascination with Vargs. Which leads me to:
Vargs are essentially werewolves who have successfully transitioned into their new form completely. If you're strong enough, you can control the change. If not, you'll be driven insane by the pain of the condition. You have to learn control before the full moon, so naturally, that's not always easy.
Personally, I have quite a different idea for the nature and origins of Vargs. It is tied to Lunord, and indeed, I feel a deep connection between lunord and Fervus.
The Changeling
For the most part, I applaud this, but I believe the ability to replace another being should be limited to one use only. Once the exchange is complete, the Cultist cannot then steal another identity. Further, the change is permanent; a Cultist cannot relinquish this identity and take back his old one.
... I think that is enough, for now. I foresee myself essentially deconstructing the Monk; my opinions on the Church of Dauros are strong and unfortunately contrary to the scheme you have set up.
