A Fantasy setting/campaign [PEACH]

[Astromancer]

White Manna areas are both beautiful and alien. Plants and animals are changed rapidly, just a few generations into new species. The flowers, butterflies, and many other small lifeforms become either stark white or multicolored. Animals can become monsters. Most monsters can't breed, but enough ordinary animals can breed so that there are populations that can produce monsters. Some creatures, Unicorns, Griffins, etc..can breed true. Many strange hybrids live in these areas.

Some small human groups seem to have transformed in these areas. One group in the British Isles has taken to calling themselves Elves. They are slightly taller on average than normal humans, very slender but stronger than the average person of their height and a sturdy build. Their ears are somewhat more pointed than normal, but not so much as to stand out unless you examine them closer. They live much longer than normal people, they tend to be healthy and vigorous at the age of a hundred years. They seem to be cold to others and themselves. They are clever enough, but they seem to lack certain gifts.

In White areas around the world, similar new groups are coming up. Like the Elves, they tend to be attractive, strong, agile, superficially clever, tough, and long-lived. They also seem to have low emotional intelligence, little empathy, and little creativity.

[Astromancer]

Some human children are seriously warped by the Colored Manna. They generally become deformed but some become monsters.

Giants, from nine to thirty feet, occur. The smallest giants often are able to live in human communities, marry, and raise families. The largest giants tend to have Low Empathy and serious impulse control. The larger the giant the less likely they'll stay healthy in a low manna area. Many giants have some form of limited Magery.

Ogres are somewhat more feared than giants. Ogres in this world look like large (but not abnormally so) humans. They are normally three times stronger than ordinary humans. The average Ogre is more attractive than the average human, but exceptions are common. Ogres have a much nastier bite attack than humans. Given their odd looking teeth, Ogres rarely smile. Ogres tend to be Bloodthirsty and criminally inclined. Many Ogres eat sapients. As this is a capital offense, Ogres generally prefer to pass as humans.

Shapeshifters are also altered births. Werewolves and similar creatures live much like Ogres.

[Astromancer]

There are entities that come from the Color Manna Universes. They seem to take form and identity from the lands that their universes intersect. They copy the forms and conventions of human society and individuality but they seem to have no true understanding of the forms and conventions they mimic. Like a magpie or raven might copy human speech without understanding.

These creatures from the Color Manna Universes are called by name drawn from the local cultures like "fairies" or "Djinni." Some will take on the image and characteristics of specific beings of myth and folklore, like the Olympian Gods or Merlin. But while these beings can copy the conventions the logic and soul of these stories is beyond them.

These being often take on the form and role of Monster.

[Astromancer]

The seas are more dangerous in this world, the Colored Manna alters sea life and creates strange "natural" phenomena, rogue waves, freak storms, and dense persistent fog banks threaten sailors. Most ships have magic users to protect and guide them. Grey Art Mages are preferred, their magic is simply the most stable and reliable. But many Color Mages hire onto ships.

Magical navigation is effectively TL5+4. This means that merchants love magical navigation and in spite of the magical disruption of the seas, merchant shipping, fishing fleets, and navies are as active and effective as they were on mid-18th century Earth.

************************************************** ***************************

In this world, Mage is the formal legal and technical term for magic users.

Magician is the conventional non-judgemental daily usage term for mage or any being with spellcasting powers.

Wizard and wizardess are honorific terms for respected and/or heroic mages.

Witch, sorcerer, or warlock, are pejoratives describing evil or corrupt spellcasters.

[Astromancer]

The Topaz Art: Runelore is syntactical but based on writing, words. language and symbols is the most obviously so of the Color Manna magic systems.

The five vowels/verbs are Create, Destroy, Transform, Perceive, and Control. The consonants/nouns are Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Spirit, Plant, Animal, Mind, Body, Image, Manna and Luck/Fate. The Vowels are linked to the Classical Planets. Create/Venus, Transform/Mercury, Destroy/Mars, Control/Jupiter and Perceive/Saturn. The Consonants are linked to the Zodiac Constellations but the relationships change constantly. The Sun and the Moon are inflections in the system that can change nouns into verbs in different ways. And as Calvin and Hobbs reminds us "Verbing Weirds Language!'

Although the seventeen runes each represent a word, runes are individual letters. And the Runic Language is complex in grammar, vocabulary, and poetics. Powerful spells require long invocations that both rewrite and charm the universe into co-operation. Enchantments are based on Runic inscriptions. In order to achieve more refined control over these magics, rune charms are written down. Elegant calligraphy can both make spells more potent and easier to cast.

More Later...

[Astromancer]

In order to both reduce energy costs and to refine the effects of the spells most practitioners of the Topaz art, especially when starting out, write their spells down. Many adepts of the Topaz Art use written spells as a way to store powerful effects for later.

More later...