thespacekid
children, children
Hi, so this is the pitch for my RP. The world is heavily inspired by The Bartimaeus Sequence, written by Jonathan Stroud, but diverges in quite a few ways. It also has an aesthetic similar to Shadowrun Hong Kong and other science-fantasy worlds. If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave them below, I'll read them all
The World
An alternate Earth, one where magic pervades society to unimaginable lengths, from secretive exchanges in back alleys to the rise and fall of nations. In a world where magic can be learned, it is heavily cloaked in a web of lies and secrets, designed to keep as many people out of it's realm as possible. However, every once in a while, someone will come across it's secrets, and only those willing to let go of who they were, and their lives before that point and give themselves up completely to the craft are accepted into it's fold. The source of this magic is spirits, commonly called "demons" by magicians, though this term is considered highly offensive by spirits. Magicians can call upon spirits and bind their powers and draw upon them.
Summoning
The Other Place, a dimension running parallel to the magicians', where spirits roam and mingle freely, as a mass of colours and consciousness - essence, can be linked to ours. Magicians draw two pentacles, one for themselves, and one to summon the demon from. Here, names are of utmost value, and knowing someone's given name can give them immense power over them. Spirits are also controlled by knowing their true names, and thus disobeying magicians who know their true names and try to bind them will harm their essence. The magician calls out to the spirit, and the spirit must appear within 8 seconds, failing which it's essence will be damaged.
However, a spirit must be bound to this Earth in some way. Weaker spirits may be bound to objects, thus enchanting them and conferring power upon them. This manifests in the form of Talismans, Amulets, Scrying Orbs, Vigilance Spheres, and so on. More powerful spirits will break out of objects, and thus must be bound to stronger links, in almost every case, the body of the magician. This will allow the magician to tap into the powers of the spirits. Keep in mind, though, that spirits will always try and break free. In the case of objects, if an object is too heavily damaged, the spirit can break free. In the case of a spirit bound to the magician, as long as the magician is emotionally and mentally stable, the spirit will be under control. The moment this is disturbed, the spirits may be able to overcome the mind of the magician, and break free, causing additional harm on the way out. A spirit too powerful for the magician to control may instantly drive them crazy, or worse. Care is to be maintained.
Types of Demons
Artifacts
The Plot
The year 2028. Things in the world are more or less peaceful. Small conflicts happen here and there, but not much more. The most significant change to have happened is the rise of megacities. With population and globalisation rising, it was a matter of time before large multicultural cities across the world such as Hong Kong, New York, Mumbai, London, etc turned into city states in their own right. However, the story begins in a shady bar near Baghdad. In the backroom of a converted bomb shelter by the name Incognito, you meet with a certain man, known only to be enigmatic and impossibly wealthy. He has many names, but the one most people know him as is Asheriy Mathore, the owner of multinational corporations like HSO Industrial, Kenai Robotech, and AM Media Networks among others. The magic community, on the other hand, knows him as the powerful summoner, Redshift, and he has found a few runners worthy of running tasks for him.
The Baghdad Central Marketplace, Level 3
Through some means, be it passed notes, or quick whispers, you reached Incognito and asked for Redshift. From there, you were taken to the backroom after being frisked thoroughly by a few strongmen and seated around in comfortable room, albeit a little hazy with smoke. With the dull thumping of electronic music playing in the club not making the presence of Redshift hidden enough. As you think you've been stood up on another job by another flaky customer, he appears. Bursting through the door in a flowing white tunic and a deep red jacket-vest, followed by two bodyguards close behind, he walks in with his arms outstretched, as if greeting everyone. Little do you know how significantly this man will change your life in the time to come.
The Cast
At the bottom of every society are those who feed off of it, latching onto it for one sole purpose - money. Also known as Bounty Hunters, this is a profession popular among quite a few, considering how the most popular magician occupation is crime. The characters start off as casual bounty hunters, by chance looking for jobs at the local tavern downtown, and one particular job catches your collective eye. The pay is good and the job sounds like a breeze, you decide to work together to complete this bounty.
The World
An alternate Earth, one where magic pervades society to unimaginable lengths, from secretive exchanges in back alleys to the rise and fall of nations. In a world where magic can be learned, it is heavily cloaked in a web of lies and secrets, designed to keep as many people out of it's realm as possible. However, every once in a while, someone will come across it's secrets, and only those willing to let go of who they were, and their lives before that point and give themselves up completely to the craft are accepted into it's fold. The source of this magic is spirits, commonly called "demons" by magicians, though this term is considered highly offensive by spirits. Magicians can call upon spirits and bind their powers and draw upon them.
Summoning
The Other Place, a dimension running parallel to the magicians', where spirits roam and mingle freely, as a mass of colours and consciousness - essence, can be linked to ours. Magicians draw two pentacles, one for themselves, and one to summon the demon from. Here, names are of utmost value, and knowing someone's given name can give them immense power over them. Spirits are also controlled by knowing their true names, and thus disobeying magicians who know their true names and try to bind them will harm their essence. The magician calls out to the spirit, and the spirit must appear within 8 seconds, failing which it's essence will be damaged.
However, a spirit must be bound to this Earth in some way. Weaker spirits may be bound to objects, thus enchanting them and conferring power upon them. This manifests in the form of Talismans, Amulets, Scrying Orbs, Vigilance Spheres, and so on. More powerful spirits will break out of objects, and thus must be bound to stronger links, in almost every case, the body of the magician. This will allow the magician to tap into the powers of the spirits. Keep in mind, though, that spirits will always try and break free. In the case of objects, if an object is too heavily damaged, the spirit can break free. In the case of a spirit bound to the magician, as long as the magician is emotionally and mentally stable, the spirit will be under control. The moment this is disturbed, the spirits may be able to overcome the mind of the magician, and break free, causing additional harm on the way out. A spirit too powerful for the magician to control may instantly drive them crazy, or worse. Care is to be maintained.
Types of Demons
Imps
Barely worthy of classification, Imps have little power, although certain sub-types of them fulfill useful roles, such as acting as Search Spheres, Vigilance Spheres, or elemental abilities on weapons and so on. Imps are commonly used by magicians as messengers, sentries, or other minor roles.
Foliots
Foliots are considerably less powerful than Djinn, and presumably other beings more powerful than Foliots, view them with some disdain. Capable enough demons, they can be bound to objects such as talismans, amulets, weapons by average to capable magicians, and provide enchantments such as illusions, basic levitation, poisoning, underwater breathing, and so on.
Djinn
Djinn are the third most powerful kind of demon; most demons summoned by good magicians tend to fall into this category. Djinn are also the first category of demons that must be bound to the body of a magician. Numerous and varied, each Djinn generally has a specialty. Weaker Djinn are mostly elemental in nature, but once Djinn get stronger they can use combinations of elements.
Afrits
Afrits are the second strongest conventional class of demon, and are seen much more often than Marids. They are spirits that can be bound only by the most powerful of magicians, and very few have been known to successfully bind Afrits for long periods of time. Afrits provide access to advanced forms of magic, such as sensory magic, chronomancy, body enhancement and some rumours even say flight can be achieved.
Marid
Marids are the strongest form of classified summoned demon. Marids are so powerful that they leave behind traces of their powers that can be tracked, similar to the slime left behind by a snail. It is unwise to use this analogy in the presence of one though, for obvious reasons. Even a weak Marid usually takes two magicians to be summoned. Nobody has been known to ever bind a Marid, only force them to carry out a specific task before they escape back to the Other Place.
Barely worthy of classification, Imps have little power, although certain sub-types of them fulfill useful roles, such as acting as Search Spheres, Vigilance Spheres, or elemental abilities on weapons and so on. Imps are commonly used by magicians as messengers, sentries, or other minor roles.
Foliots
Foliots are considerably less powerful than Djinn, and presumably other beings more powerful than Foliots, view them with some disdain. Capable enough demons, they can be bound to objects such as talismans, amulets, weapons by average to capable magicians, and provide enchantments such as illusions, basic levitation, poisoning, underwater breathing, and so on.
Djinn
Djinn are the third most powerful kind of demon; most demons summoned by good magicians tend to fall into this category. Djinn are also the first category of demons that must be bound to the body of a magician. Numerous and varied, each Djinn generally has a specialty. Weaker Djinn are mostly elemental in nature, but once Djinn get stronger they can use combinations of elements.
Afrits
Afrits are the second strongest conventional class of demon, and are seen much more often than Marids. They are spirits that can be bound only by the most powerful of magicians, and very few have been known to successfully bind Afrits for long periods of time. Afrits provide access to advanced forms of magic, such as sensory magic, chronomancy, body enhancement and some rumours even say flight can be achieved.
Marid
Marids are the strongest form of classified summoned demon. Marids are so powerful that they leave behind traces of their powers that can be tracked, similar to the slime left behind by a snail. It is unwise to use this analogy in the presence of one though, for obvious reasons. Even a weak Marid usually takes two magicians to be summoned. Nobody has been known to ever bind a Marid, only force them to carry out a specific task before they escape back to the Other Place.
Artifacts
Even more secretive than the knowledge of magic is the knowledge of Magical Artifacts. Objects of incredible power, they are impossible to differentiate from normal objects unless people know exactly what the Artifacts are. Many ancient, many new, nobody really knows how Artifacts are created, and even if they do know, nobody tells. However, what magicians do know about Artifacts is that they contain incredibly powerful demons trapped inside them. To all known knowledge, it should be impossible to keep such demons captive in objects and not directly in the summoner's body, but Artifacts somehow defy the law and remain objects of incredible power. That is, of course, if the summoner can control the demon held within.
The Plot
The year 2028. Things in the world are more or less peaceful. Small conflicts happen here and there, but not much more. The most significant change to have happened is the rise of megacities. With population and globalisation rising, it was a matter of time before large multicultural cities across the world such as Hong Kong, New York, Mumbai, London, etc turned into city states in their own right. However, the story begins in a shady bar near Baghdad. In the backroom of a converted bomb shelter by the name Incognito, you meet with a certain man, known only to be enigmatic and impossibly wealthy. He has many names, but the one most people know him as is Asheriy Mathore, the owner of multinational corporations like HSO Industrial, Kenai Robotech, and AM Media Networks among others. The magic community, on the other hand, knows him as the powerful summoner, Redshift, and he has found a few runners worthy of running tasks for him.
The Baghdad Central Marketplace, Level 3
Through some means, be it passed notes, or quick whispers, you reached Incognito and asked for Redshift. From there, you were taken to the backroom after being frisked thoroughly by a few strongmen and seated around in comfortable room, albeit a little hazy with smoke. With the dull thumping of electronic music playing in the club not making the presence of Redshift hidden enough. As you think you've been stood up on another job by another flaky customer, he appears. Bursting through the door in a flowing white tunic and a deep red jacket-vest, followed by two bodyguards close behind, he walks in with his arms outstretched, as if greeting everyone. Little do you know how significantly this man will change your life in the time to come.
The Cast
At the bottom of every society are those who feed off of it, latching onto it for one sole purpose - money. Also known as Bounty Hunters, this is a profession popular among quite a few, considering how the most popular magician occupation is crime. The characters start off as casual bounty hunters, by chance looking for jobs at the local tavern downtown, and one particular job catches your collective eye. The pay is good and the job sounds like a breeze, you decide to work together to complete this bounty.
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