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Genar_Detkasa
 
PostPosted: Wed, Sep 09 2015, 11:46 AM 

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<Within the library in Nec'perya one of Drakos' loot bags is a book marked as a work in progress, it has various bookmarks indicating blank pages that still need to be filled in. The book is, quite naturally, written entirely in drow.>



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Sorcere Handbook
Yorn wuind Udosstan

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Genar_Detkasa
 
PostPosted: Wed, Sep 09 2015, 11:49 AM 

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Part 1 - The Sorcere and Nec'perya
    The Drow Mage and the Sorcere
      Path of the Zhaunin
      Path of the M'elzar
      Path of the Faern
    The City of Nec'perya
      City Layout
      Geography
      A Short History - Origins
    Encountered Bestiary
      Aboleths
      Doppelgangers
      Illithids
      Neogi
      Skum
      Wraiths

Part 2 - Drow Spellcraft and Arcane Lore
    Nature of the Arcane
      Schools of Magic
    Specialised Fields of Magic
      Dream Magic
      Palemastery
      Shadowcrafting
    Magical Phenomenon
      Dead & Wild Magic zones
      Faerzress
      Leyline Nodes
      Node Magic
      Psionics
      Quintessence
      Shadow Weave
    The Cosmos
      Transitive Planes
      Inner Planes
      Outer Planes

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Genar_Detkasa
 
PostPosted: Wed, Sep 09 2015, 11:51 AM 

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Introduction

This handbook is primarily for the use of students of the Sorcere, the first part of this book deals mostly with the Sorcere and other information relevant to Nec'perya that every arcanist should familiarise themselves with. The second part of the book provides the reader with a strong foundation into the practise and theory of drow spellcraft. In absence of lectures, students are highly encourage to familiarise themselves with the contents of this book.

For the most part this book is a work in progress and the various sections will be filled out or improved at my leisure. Members of the Sorcere are free and encourage to contribute writings to this text, send them to your Ul'faeruk and they'll be added if deemed worthy. The book may be split into two at some point in the future to accommodate for any overflow of information, but in the meantime it will remain as one piece of work.


Naltyrr d'Lolarox
Ul'faeruk of the Sorcere

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Genar_Detkasa
 
PostPosted: Wed, Sep 09 2015, 11:55 AM 

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Part 1 - The Sorcere and Nec'perya

The Drow Mage and the Sorcere
The talent of a mage is one of the greatest advantages that can be possessed by males, it is a gift that can elevate you to the highest ranks society has to offer to males. Generally most mages are male, for any females with the talent are also eligible to join the Temple and the use of magic graced by the Dread Queen, is a far higher honour to have. However, merely possessing the talent for magecraft does not automatically qualify you as one of our best, it is a talent that must be honed, sharpened and utilised for it to reach its highest potential. Its those drow mages who delve the deepest into the Art that become the most powerful and respected males in the city.

The Sorcere stands as Nec'perya's Academy for mages, it is here that the talent of mages are first fostered and it is here that a proving ground is given for mages of the Sorcere to reach their fullest potential and show the extent of their attained might.


Path of the Zhaunin
The Zhaunin is a mage in training, the lowest rank in the Sorcere vocation. Females who show aptitude in magic, are normally recruited into the Yath, so males are mostly mages. A Zhaunin must find a M'elzar as their master who is willing to teach the young mage, so that the two can work together as a team. They are expected eager students, whose chief tasks are to perform rituals, do experiments, and otherwise continue their learning.
To obtain the rank of M'elzar, the Zhaunin must:
- Obtain understanding in the fundamental mechanism of standard manipulation of the weave, and perform flawless performance in casting a spell in at least seven of the eight different spell schools, accompanied by a well founded theory and benefits of used spell schools
- They are encouraged to find a mentor through which knowledge and practise of magical theory should be obtained from
- They are required to demonstrate a satisfactory understanding of battle tactics through their training with the Melee-Magthere and master
- Be able to articulate and develop an initial framework for their own personal project
- Pass a test supervised by a Faern or the Ul'faeruk that will demonstrate they have achieved all of the above

Path of the M'elzar
The M'elzar are Zhaunin who have completed most of their training with their master. A M'elzar will soon have to prepare a apprentice of their own to perform experiments and rituals with. A M'elzar should be able to cast a great deal of powerful magical spells, and able to hold their own in combat. M'elzar should regularly work with their Faern or by themselves to perform experiments and do research.
To obtain the rank of Faern, the M'elzar are bestowed a test, containing both theoretical and practical aspects. The nature of the test are decided between the master and Ul'faeruk, it should typically take shape in personal project they had laid in their testing for M'elzar assuming it is deemed suitably impressive.

Path of the Faern
Secretive and devious, Faern are the greatest of Nec'perya's mages, they are not only heavy ranged attackers and support casters but masters who can cast the most powerful of magical spells through dividends paid by their long hours of research. Faerns should work to weave plots and goals for the Sorcere vocation as a whole, and work with other Faern to uphold the rule of the Il'haressen.

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Genar_Detkasa
 
PostPosted: Wed, Sep 09 2015, 11:57 AM 

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City of Nec'perya

Geography
Nec'perya is located in a cavern adjacent to the Black Waterway, upstream the Waterway is two diverging passages, one leading to the Plane of Shadows and the other leading to L'Obsul. Nec'perya is situated in the lowest parts of the Middledark and close to entrances towards the Lowerdark. These entrances have not been explored thoroughly, but given the immense dangers that often lurk within the Lowerdark, it is not something to be explored lightly. We know of at least one tunnel on the cavern floor that leads to the depths of the Lowerdark, though there may be others we have not discovered. What lays downstream from Nec'perya still requires further exploration.

The territory of Nec'perya consists of a series of islands that are the tips of stalagmites protruding from the cavern floor. The biggest island is where Nec'perya proper is and currently the only island we have settled, the other islands are located around the main isle and currently in the process of being connected by the Sea Wall our people have erected as a defense against invaders and to still the flow of the waters around Nec'perya.

The ceiling of our cavern and part of the Black Waterway's roof is covered with the green and violet lights of faerzress, inhibiting the casting of many conjuration and divination spells within the cavern. which extends across the cavern and across the Black Waterway.
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Note: Rough representation


// Other maps are enclosed in this document: One, Two



A Short History - Origins
The city was once known as Abul Drurar, in those times the cavern was not connected to the Black Waterway, and instead was filled entirely with water. It was founded long before recorded history by the abolethi, even predating the creation of elves. As a stronghold of the abolethi, Abul Drurar proved impregnable as it withstood many attacks from other races. What eventually led to its fall was the arrival of the faerzress, which precipitated the collapse of a cavern wall, emptying much of the water into the early Black Waterway and creating the islands we have now.
Following this, the abolethi abandoned Abul Drurar along with their slaves; as the centuries passed the skum would come to be the sole occupiers of the cavern.

After the destruction of Edonil, the drow survivors were led here by the Priestesses of the Dread Queen. The new settlement was constructed from the old abolethi ruins under the oversight of House Vilrath and named Nec'perya.


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Genar_Detkasa
 
PostPosted: Wed, Sep 09 2015, 12:04 PM 

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Encountered Bestiary

Being drow, we do not get on with many other species and with those that we do, we must always be prepared for the eventuality that we will come to blows with them to protect our interests. This section is dedicated to the specfic creatures we have encountered in the vicinity of Nec'perya or pose an forseeable threat to it. The purpose of this chapter is to inform the reader the nature of the beasts that we deal with, where they fit in the grander scheme of things and how we handle it.
An important read if you do not want to bungle your interactions from a lack of information.

Abolethi
Summary: Perhaps our greatest enemies, the original masters of this settlement are the abolethi. The history of the abolethi stretches back for an untold number of years, even before the banishment of the drow to the Underdark and even before the creation of elves. Fortunately an aboleth is a rare sight, however any interaction or sighting of them must be reported immediately as they are a foe that must not be underestimated.
Capabilities: A single aboleth has the genetic memory of its ancestors, making even one of them a formidable foe in terms of knowledge. Physically however the aboleths are not particularly imposing and can be bought down with your standard fare of slicing and dicing, though there are further elements to them that make them dangerous.
Firstly, they are potent psionicists, given their genetic memory we can expect a vast array of potent psionic techniques.
Secondly, they secrete a mucus which can alter an individual's physiology to turn them into an aquatic-based creature, losing their free will and becoming a thrall of the aboleth.
And thirdly, when an aboleth becomes critically wounded, it can secrete a mucus that creates a nigh impenetrable shell, going into hibernation while it recovers from its injuries.
Current Status: The greatest of abolethi that we count as our foes are the four powerful abolethi who once ruled this settlement in ancient times, they are known as the Sovereignty and are called Boneglaive, Faith, Knower and the Keeper. We can anticipate lesser abolethi being counted among their servitors. So far only Boneglaive has been eliminated.

Illithids
Summary: Parasitical and psionic creatuers, an individual illithid is a parasite that has attached itself to a host body and taken it over; modifying the physiology for its own purposes, notably in enhancing its capacity for psionic power by expanding its nervous system. Illithids by and large serve an Elder Brain and are spawned by it. The origins of their species is uncertain, likely related in some way to the Far Realms.
Capabilities: Powerful psionicists but physically weak, they often use thralls to serve as frontline fighters while they themselves unleash their psionic powers from a distance.
Current Status: The nearest known enclave of illithids is a group called the Liberated, former slaves of the abolethi in the ancient past. Their enclave is located in a tunnel towards the Lowerdark somewhere beneath the cavern floor, we are currently in an alliance with them to combat the threat of the abolethi Soveriegnty.

Skum
Summary: An annoyance, the skum are truly the epitome of a lesser race. They speak Aquan, live in a tribal society and are willing slaves of the abolethi, eagerly awaiting the return of their old masters so they can contine their meaningless life of mediocrity. There is little to say of them beyond they are terribly uninteresting and make it quite difficult for myself to pad this section out with words.
Capabilities: Nothing outstanding, usually unarmed and easy to slaughter. For the most part, they are melee combatants. The only outstanding skum seen to date is one we impaled on a faerzress irradiated rock and another that turned out to be a doppelganger instead, go figure.
Current Status: A nuisance, but there is a ridiculous number of them. On our arrival here, there was an excess of a million skum, we have certainly trimmed down the number a bit but there is still an awful lot of them. The main isle of Nec'perya is considered their holy ground given the presence of the water node so they hate us.
They are problematic only because of their great number and their willingness to serve the abolethi as fodder for their armies. Despite their great number, it has been proven they stand no chance of taking Nec'perya by themselves which goes to demonstrate that quantity is not the only thing you need.
On the upside they prove an endless source of material for flesh golems.

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Genar_Detkasa
 
PostPosted: Wed, Sep 09 2015, 12:42 PM 

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Part 2 - Drow Spellcraft and Arcane Lore

Nature of the Arcane
As we all know we arcanists practise the Art, the use of arcane. Magic, most of you arcanists would identify magic with the Weave. The Weave, contrary to popular misconception is not magic itself, but rather it is a conduit that allows magic to be safely harnessed by arcanists. The Weave is a barrier against and a gateway for raw magic, it allows us to draw upon magic and protects us from the harm it can do for raw magic is no tame beast. We arcanists possess skills in accessing the Weave and shaping it to our desires, some of us have these skills through rigorous and disciplined training whilst others have lucked out with an innate affinity. Consequently there is a broad range of experiences one could potentially feel when manipulating the Weave.

But we cannot speak of the Weave without speaking of its guardian, a guardian commonly known as Mystra. This guardian is responsible for the maintenance of the Weave, it keeps it safe for spell casters to use. There is the common erroneous belief that Mystra and the Weave are one, while true on some level for when the guardian perishes, the Weave descends into chaos. However this is not an absolute truth, the Weave is more akin to a means to controlling a wild beast and as far as we know, we are on our third guardian. If the Weave and Mystra is one, then how can one survive while the other perishes?

The two times the guardian of the Weave had fallen are linked to particularly tumultuous periods, the first being the fall of the surfacer Netherese Empire and second being the more recent Time of Troubles. The loss of the guardian meant no one was managing the Weave to control magic, causing widespread devastation, which goes to show why a drow should do the job instead since these incompetents keep getting themselves killed.




The Eight Schools of Magic
In most traditions of spellcraft, spells are divided into eight different schools of magic. These eight schools are by no all means the only definition that all feats of magic can be attributed, but they more often than not form the basis for the beginnings of a mage's path in mastering the Arcane.

While all students of the Sorcere are expected to be familiar with the Eight Schools, they must also stay away from a rigid mindset that only sees the arcane through the lenses of the Eight Schools.


<After each individual School of Magic, there consists pages and pages of drow glyphs and runes that are typically seen in drow spell books; accompanying these illustrations is various writings explaining what each symbol represents and the effect it has in forming a spell>



Abjuration
The school of barriers, Abjuration spells chiefly deal in the interference and cancellation of another effect, whether magical or not. The most common type of abjuration spells one would see are protection spells, dispels and banishment type spells; in each case the focus of the spell is to cancel out a specific effect. This can be considered the school of barriers for these three type of spells effectively deal in the the erection of barriers, their removal or their reassertion respectively.
Protection Spells - Energy Buffer, Mindblank, Globe of Invulnerability
Dispelling Spells - Lesser Spell Breach, Disjunction
Banishment Spells - Dismissal, Banishment

Conjuration
The school of movement, Conjuration is divided into five distinct subschools; Calling, Creation, Healing, Summoning and Teleportation.
Calling - Taking creatures from their natural plane to the caster, they are not sent back to their home plane.
Summoning - Taking creatures from their plane to the caster, they are sent back when the spell expires
Creation - Manipulation of matter to create an object or creature.
Healing - Channeling power from the Positive Plane to heal; typically the domain of divine casters
Teleportation - Transporting subjects from point A to B via the Astral Plane.

Divination
The school of truth, the spells are centered around enhancing one's perception and pushing at the limits of knowledge. Many of the spells are about aiding one's ability to seeing to the heart of matters; there is a truth to everything and this school offers multiple venues through which to see them. Identify is a classic example of being able to take an unknown magical item and to learn the truth of its properties, the more mundane Clairvoyance/ Clairaudience spell of enhancing one's senses to detect the truth of the physical world around them, Legend Lore to unearth the truth of the past and Scrying to determine the truth of an object or person's location.
The Power Word spells of Kill, Stun and Sleep are at first glance of aberrations from this standard formula. However, these Power Words instead evoke the 'truth' of these concepts; while these concepts seem simple, they are also universal and powerful so by evoking the 'truth' of them, the power of them can be felt.

Enchantment
The school of the mind, from the outset this school is unfortunately disadvantaged in that most minds are terribly uninteresting and dull which puts into question whether this school is on equal terms with the other seven.
Spells from the Enchantment school influence the mind, it can be subtle nudging from a Charm spell or outright domination with, you guessed it, the Domination spell. There are of course spells that can simply disorient the mind as one would expect, there is not much more of interest.

Evocation
The school of spontaneity and fun, on the surface the school of Evocation is about producing effects out of thin air. Whether it is creating a fireball, casting magic missile or shooting lightning from their ass; as one can surmise, Evokers excel at destruction. Evocation spells essentially draw upon the magical energies that already permeate the world and give them shape.
What is the nature of these magical energies? The nature of the Prime Material Plane in which we reside is reflected by the Inner Planes to which it is linked, meaning this plane is inextricably linked to the raw magical power of the Elemental Planes which easily provides the magical energy for Evocation spells.

Illusion
The school of alternate truth, or lies depending on your perspective, but whose to say that is the only truth? For those of limited minds, illusion is often perceived as the school of trickery, lies and parlour tricks. Instead giving a book-worthy spiel about the nature of the illusion school and truth, I will instead go over the basics of spell mechanics and leave the more interesting things somewhere else.
The illusion school has a number of subschools; figment, glamour, pattern, phantasm, shadow.
Figment - Creates an image or sound of something that isn't there, but cannot make something appear to be something else
Glamour - Can fool all of the senses; sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. It can also make creatures and objects disappear
Pattern - Similar to figments, but they can also affect the minds of those perceiving them
Phantasm - Mental images conjured into the subject's mind, observers see nothing
Shadow - Using magical energy from the Shadow Plane, these illusions are 'partially real' and can affect the physical world as though they were the real thing

Necromancy
The school of entropy, necromancy is a school that mostly draws energies mostly from the Negative Energy Plane. While most would associate necromancers as those who specialise in animating the dead, that is only one facet of what they are capable of. The undead they animate is accomplished via the negative energy they channel, this negative energy can also be used for other entropic effects such as curses, diseases, decay and instilling evoking one's inner entropic nature.

Transmutation
The school of change, transmutation deals in the modification of energy and matter, so by its nature Transmutation is a very broad and diverse school that encompasses many things. For instance, the changes can be slight in temporarily boosting a person's capacity for clarity to something that can be total in completely changing someone's body to something else entirely. The spell can be used in an offensive manner in being able to reduce an individual to ash or it can be applied to extremely speed up someone's perception of time to create an effective time stop.

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Genar_Detkasa
 
PostPosted: Wed, Sep 09 2015, 12:49 PM 

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Magical Phenomenon

Dead and Wild Magic zones
These zones are the consequences of traumatic magical events that affect the Weave itself, such as the death of its Guardian. Dead Magic zones are areas completely devoid of the Weave, meaning no magic can function there. Raw magic still exists of course, but without the Weave it cannot be tapped into. This differs significantly from Anti-Magic fields which merely suppresses magical effects.
In the case of Wild Magic zones, the Weave still exists but it has been damaged meaning that arcanists have far more of a difficult time in controlling the spells they cast,.

Faerzress
The magical energy known as Faerzress can be found in many different parts of the Underdark, it is the legacy of Elven High Magic used to banish and imprison us in the Underdark. The potential effects of faerzress are various, which makes it a valuable, though sometimes unpredictable, resource.
The drow, along with other races of the Underdark, have been changed from our long exposure to fit. Our innate spell resistance and natural abilities such Darkness, Faerie Fire and Levitation is derived from our exposure to faerzress. It is ironic that we have been strengthened by the very same magic used against us.
What sort of changes faerzress can cause to one's body vary immensely, experiments have shown that subjects gained the ability to cast spell-like abilities despite not having the ability to do so earlier, or to having their physical strength increased considerably.
Conjuration and Divination are the schools most adversely affected by faerzress, while all other schools of magic can function normally in the presence of faerzress, Conjuration and Divination spells often do not perform their intended effect or simply fail completely to work. It is possible to successfully cast a spell from the schools, but the likelihood of it being affected by faerzress is high. Nevertheless, the reason cities are built near them is to foil any attempts of enemies scrying on them or teleporting in.
There are other documented uses of faerzress. Magical weaponry and armour have been made using faerzress, though curiously enough they are at their strongest when in the presence of faerzress otherwise their effects weaken when taken away. Energy from the faerzress also affects vegetation, making it a valued resource in the alchemical field. The breadth of opportunities offered by the power of faerzress is not just only open to arcanists, other fields of research have also opened up with drow seeking to develop the inherent power gifted to them beyond the standard powers most drow already hold.

Shadow Weave
Nothing to do with the Shadow Plane; the Shadow Weave is an alternate Weave created by the deity Shar in the shadow of the actual Weave. Since the Shadow Weave is a different entity from the Weave itself, its spells still function normally in both Dead Magic and Wild Magic zones as the damage is only to the Weave itself. Though since it is still magic, it remains susceptible to anti-magic.
Though it is a copy of the Weave, there are differences such as spells that are associated with the schools of Enchantment, Illusion and Necromancy are stronger when cast with the Shadow Weave; perhaps because they are similar to the nature of the deity who manages the Weave.
It is generally a terrible idea to utilise the Shadow Weave as it is known to cause mental instability in those mages who practise it unless they pledge themselves to Shar who shields them from such damage, in which case it means you have to be a heretic to use it safely. But of course, we have a tradition of mentally unstable mages so its dubious Shadow Weave induced insanity will prove to be of much difference.

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Genar_Detkasa
 
PostPosted: Sat, Sep 26 2015, 9:19 AM 

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OOC Chapter - Sources

Sourcebooks
Complete Mage - by Skip Williams, Penny Williams, Ari Marmell, Kolja Raven Liquette
Complete Arcane - by Richard Baker
Drow of the Underdark - by Ari Marmell, Anthony Pryor, Robert J. Schwalb, Greg A. Vaughan
Magic of Faerun - by Sean K. Reynolds, Duane Maxwell, Angel McCoy
Underdark - by Bruce R. Cordell, Gwendolyn F. M. Kestrel, Jeff Quick

Artwork
City of Nec'perya - Art by Phil Wade, commissioned by Very_Svensk

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