Notes

Notes and insights; please distribute to proper parts of the wiki when available.

Should there be a “players only” view of this website? What would it be? At the moment this info is open to the internet but not search enginges.

• What form(s) do we want to deliver this in?
• Do we want to fund this effort?
• How?
  • Kickstarter?
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  • Something else?

• The higher chromatic, capable of more advanced and precise control over magical and spiritual energies, cover their eyes with deep red bandages, decorated with symbols of their arcane language, Kinaso. First of all, the bandages help control and disguise the near constant bleeding of the Na, the third eye. Secondly, the binding of the Na symbolizes self-control and sophistication, a cultural habit synthesized from the memories and thoughts of countless minds fed upon.

From my notes in the past: Higher chromatic bind themselves in various ways as a symbol of superiority in intellect and self-control. Not being bound is a display of coarseness and the status of ‘less civilized’. Also, not being clothed is considered the most degrading and shameful display of inferiority. It’s very offensive for a chromatic to not dress appropriately, whether they over-dress or under-dress.

• The unique large vegetation of the island which is cause for periodic celebration among the high chromatic is, in fact, the handiwork of the lower chromatic.
• Once upon a time, the chromatic kept balance of all things; their meddling in energies was more like careful and calculated gardening. Now, however, both high and low chromatic have lost their ways; causing carnage and overgrowth, respectively. Although one is notably more evil then the other, both high and low chromatic have aided in throwing the island out of it's natural rhythm. The island itself is evidence of this - wild exotic overgrowth, teeming with life, is followed by desolate and deadly swamp, hardly alive at all and inhabited by spirits and pieces of magic, lost for a medium and gone wild.
• Somewhere on the island is an abandoned human settlement, left from the time when they happily coexisted with humans. The early chromatic settlements have a striking resemblance in architecture to this abandoned settlement, but the style diverges as the high chromatic had a wider variety of minds to feed from.

Thoughts about class & abilities:

• Primitive Chromatic are highly druidic and have the highest level of control over Ro, the life element. They have little to no control over Sa, magic, or Va, spirit. Spell such as 'pass without a trace' and 'tree door' would be well within their means. I think, although they may specialize according to the terrain they're in, all primitive chromatic would pretty much have the same sorts of abilities.
• Typically, high chromatic up to the Vu-Yunu (civilian) level are similar, having control only over Ro. However, it's not as acute as the control a primitive chtomatic has over the element. Things like 'pass without a trace' are still possible, but not higher-level spells. Aside from this, they could really be any class not too reliant on magic; fighter, rouge, barbarian, etc. Ranger is also a possibility. Some magic is possible, if a chromatic is using it from their own source, leaving them 'hungry'.
• Side note: I was thinking that all chromatic could have some sort of minor healing spell, where they pull some life force from something nearby. The effectiveness of the spell, of course, would depend on the location. It wouldn't be so easy in a cave, for example, where Ro is a rarer then it would be in a forest.
• Vu-Kunu (gaurd) and Vu-kukunu (commander) chromatic are taught manipulation of Sa, the magical element. They're also generally fighters, but that's not a given. Control over Ro allows chromatic to pull the element from sources outside of themselves, saving energy and allowing for more powerful magic. With control over life and magic it's possible a chromatic could make elemental golems. A spell-warrior chromatic might do something like magically superheat his sword for a more devastating effect in combat. Classes like wizard and warlock become possible, in addtion to fighter, rouge, etc.
• Vu-Kinu (high preist) chromatic learn from childhood control over all three elements. They rely mostly on magic, something approximating a cleric class perhaps? Although usually the control over Va (spirit) would only be used for healing and helping to dispose of specters and undead, it is possible for use to have a much more deviating effect. Of course it would be socially unacceptable to use it to such effects, but still possible. For example, a Vu-Kinu may be able to tear away a bit of someone's soul. Trying to think of how to reign the power in to make it seem less god-mode-ish?

Tinkering with ideas about the visual characteristic and source of the ickey gooey alien slime stuff the chomatic use in the dream chamber…

• I like the idea you had about the high preists actually being aware of what consumption actually does to the souls of the chromatic, and want to work that into the story. I think it would, in a way, make Sinusuvo's lack of awareness about his own heritage even more believable.
• More ideas about the mechanic of soul. The soul fragments that the high chromatic carry are eventually that of -dead- sentient peoples. Therefore the souls would desire to be put to rest with their respective dead bodies; this could partly explain the madness of a advanced chromatic that cannot continue to consume sentients. The civilized chromatic separated from his eating habits would suffer (among other things) a increasing feeling of unrest and desperation, as the fragmented souls slowly came to gravitate more and more toward the 'grave'. An easy way to think about it, maybe, is that the chromatic would basically become haunted by ghosts from within.
• In the ending where the civilized chromatic get their souls back, I had another idea. Because the chromatic that consumed James would probably still be carrying parts of his soul, he could come back after the chromatic's proper souls found their places. Therefor, he could reform and appear to the party as a spirit, offering closure for that part of the story.

• Symmetry - the beginning and end of the story reflect one another. The first chromatic opened up a ‘gate’ that allowed things to be thrown out of balance, souls suddenly becoming separable from bodies, despite every inclination of a soul dictates otherwise. In the end, the party and Vokovi must close the gate with the same number of persons in the same formation they had been in at the beginning.
• The gate could lead to another adventure (Shadowfell?) - find Thomas Haller, Planeswalker (Bring back the Steadfast as a Spelljammer!)

• Idea: Vokovi was, when young or unborn, possessed by the spirit of the first sentient to lose his soul to the chromatic? Therefore, while the victim was originally the one in the middle of the ‘gate’, it will be Vokovi at the end.

• Pull inspiration from sacred geometry when designing the ‘gate’.

• Some interesting mechanics for Suvayu/Black Lands? http://at-will.omnivangelist.net/2010/10/horizon-the-spirits-rage/ http://www.8encounters.com/documents/rage_chart.pdf

• To normal high and low chromatic, specters look like nothing more then a formless blue mass. To humans, they appear as a mist, wind, or possessed creatures, depending on how the specter decides to manifest itself. Some or most appear as nothing at all without a body to posses. However, with the sight shared by Vokovi, and the other humans and advanced chromatic he has touched, they appear as is described, following.

These are souls and soul-fragments that have only just been separated from their proper bodies. They are in shock, formless and completely dormant . They have no willpower, and as a result cannot manipulate the environment or posses anything. This is a very short-lived state, lasting less than an hour, and certainly less then an advanced chromatic’s regular feeding session.

These are souls that have began to realize their separated state. They are confused and non-aggressive. They appear as nothing to most. With awakened sight, they appear as strange, morphing forms, almost fetal in nature. They have a very low willpower.

These souls have begun to realize a familiar form and feel desperation and hunger for their bodies. By this time they become more mobile, wandering, not too far from where they were separated. They have a moderate to low willpower, and they’re able to pull moisture or mist from the air to show slight cloud-like form. With awakened sight they appear as vague and featureless versions of the bodies they once possessed. They may possess plants or small animals.

After having been separated for some time, the souls take on a more clear form, and with awakened sight they appear as dopplegangers of their original form, clothing and weapons included. They are highly aggressive and have a moderate to high willpower. They are capable of possessing large creatures and weakened sentients. They can also take form by pulling together some of the environment around them for a short time, becoming golem-like. This form can last for some time, nearly of the original body’s age at the time it was separated.

After a period of aggressive seeking for it’s original body, the specter begins to degrade and come apart, spurred on by many uses of willpower for possession and manipulation. This degrading specter is the most aggressive of them all, characterized by desperation. It has a moderate to high willpower. With awakened sight they appear as a misty doppleganger of their original form, details and clarity of form beginning to fade.

These souls have been around so long they have forgotten their form, and even the limits of their soul, prone to combining and mixing with other formless souls nearby. They are mostly aggressive, but weak, having a low willpower. These souls are gathered mostly around the ‘gate’, waiting for rest and resolution. Even with awakened sight, they appear mostly as a cloud and mist.