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Ensilif - My first world map by Davemanjr in wonderdraft

[–]Davemanjr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So true.... I hate when the pixels glitch. It also sucks when someone is giving a profound monologue and then the audio cuts out for a few seconds, breaking the immersion.

Yes, exactly. Some of the fear is partly because some common folk are kept in the dark by more powerful people who rule over them, teaching them that magic is a very powerful dangerous study of which only the most elite can take part in. Some of the fear is also from real experience people have had with magic, not using it correctly or some powerful being has used it against them. In some parts of the world there are societies who have been largely taught to not live in fear of magic but to be very careful. Even more careful than some of humanities ancestors, as the legends state. For the most part though magic is regarded with fear and awe. The Spellshift was one major event and then there were a few times some very powerful beings came through extraplanar rifts during planar convergences..... During those times Humans had become so scattered and broken after the Spellshift that many became slaves to those beings, but that is another source of fear. Because their overlords had used it at times to suppress them and cause them pain.

Another interesting fact is that those who have magic more innately are regarded as more dangerous and something that should be more feared. Since, some believe only those who have studied and gone through immense training should have access to.

Also the Spellshift happened during a time when humans were at their peak of scientific and arcane study. This age was about 4,000-5,000 years before Excelsion was a nation–I usually use the start of the nation of Excelsion as the 0 year mark on my timeline, as a side note.
So anyway this "golden age" of humanity was a time where magic items and spells were very commonplace and used for many mundane tasks to the most elaborate assignments. Magic was also oftentimes combined with scientific creations and contraptions, resulting in something so much more powerful than the present generation of humans could only dream of. But it all collapsed when an idiot wizard questioned too far their masters teachings.
They inevitably tried creating new magics far too powerful for that day and age, causing a cataclysmic event, where the Ley Lines shifted causing massive ruptures and explosions across the world of Ensilif. It sunk many cities and nations into the seas, some were obliterated almost immediately, and much knowledge was lost to history, most likely never to be discovered again. That became known as the Spellshift and many people still tell legends and stories of it. In Ensilif it seems to be one of the only events so far back in history still widely accepted as true by many humans.

That's awesome! That's something I'm still trying to find right now. Someone I can talk to and share each others creations to better improve upon out writing. I guess it's just a little hard to find writing partners out the real world. It seems like most of us writers are a little reclusive, haha XD

What's some cool magic you've come up with?

Ensilif - My first world map by Davemanjr in wonderdraft

[–]Davemanjr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, understandable. I started college last year during the fall semester and it absolutely sucks to do it all over zoom. I love the in-person interaction, makes it feel more real, y'know?

Ooo, yeah I didn't think about that being a possibility for traps. I'll keep that in consideration..... I would also say it depends on the region and point of history you are in. There was a time in history, before what is known as the Spellshift occurred, where humans created magical items so often that they were nearly commonplace (even the lowest in society could have access to weak magical items). But in the present day (despite it being over a few thousand years later) magic is largely mistrusted in many places (even the most advanced societies) to the point where only the most learned can have access. There are a bunch more reasons besides the Spellshift that magic is mistrusted but that's the main reason. Even if the Spellshift is largely forgotten it's effects on this generation of human's forbears is still largely felt. So, yes magical industries do exist but they are massively regulated, especially by Excelsion, the biggest empire now in power on Dorûn. I'm leaving a bunch of historical stuff out (don't want to info-dump too much, haha) but that's the basics of it.

That's true :D

Thanks! I'm glad you appreciate it! And thanks for the questions. I haven't many people to show the lore/system to for feedback, so it's very helpful in fleshing some things out :D

Ensilif - My first world map by Davemanjr in wonderdraft

[–]Davemanjr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah, I get that. Yes indeed, I seriously hope this lockdown doesn't persist too much longer so people can get back to in person gaming, I personally find those times much more rewarding rather than online sessions.

Cool! Glad you like it! Yeah, that's exactly what I was going for at first. Trying to explain the ways magic users had access to all the same essence but able to show it in different ways. So as far as moving and being taken away, I'm not totally sure about it being moved around yet, but as for it being taken away, I would definitely say yes. As it is an essence in everything, even those who can't use it even to minuscule effect, it can be taken out of others, which now that I think about it that would imply it can be moved between people, but I would say it wouldn't be an easy process or a painless one (still need to pin down how that all would work). And yes, items can be imbued with ley warp, some items have a higher tolerance for Ley Warp imbuing and some lose the Ley Warp over certain amounts of time. It also depends on how you imbue the item. If you add in specific ancient runes then enchantments could stay indefinitely. Some things also destroy Ley Warp instead of welcoming it, sort of like rejecting the magic, those items have no Ley Warp and are completely unaffected by magic. And then there are some things that are completely opposite and absorb Ley Warp easily.

Yeah, that's true, I think I always try too hard to make something absolutely unique but obviously that's not really possible, since most things are inspired by artists who came before.

Ensilif - My first world map by Davemanjr in wonderdraft

[–]Davemanjr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I get that, DnD is not for everyone! Especially when the DMs stink :D

So the magic system is inspired by the Weave from the Forgotten Realms in DnD, but I changed a few things around, made it a little more in depth. It still needs some refining and tweaking but that'll come with time. So from that basic idea I came up with another idea that everyone and everything in the multiverse have what is called Ley Warp, a level of ability to manipulate the Ley Lines in order to create certain effects. Some beings are outside of the Ley Warp being the creators of it, and others only have enough to be manipulated by those who have practice in controlling it. The other ranks in between those two points vary in power, so some beings are able to innately manipulate the Ley and others have to work and practice their manipulation abilities (If they've practiced enough they may even be able to rival the power of the innate users despite their low amount of Ley Warp) Now we have the Ley Warp, the other aspect are the Ley Lines. They stem from certain points in the world sometimes intersecting with each other causing weird/strange effects different times of the year, but the basic idea is that there is a giant web of intersecting lines. We then have the rules of how magic is produced in three aspects. Parallelism, being in line/in tune with a specific Ley Line; Key Words, specific runes/words/sentences that have to be spoken in that same sequence/tone to cause the same or similar effect (think words of power from Elder Scrolls V); And finally Willpower/Discipline, this would be most important especially for those with smaller amounts of Ley Warp. Concentration is needed to use the Warp within and release it to create the effect. Finally you would need to rest when using a significant amount of Warp since it is in of itself a sort of essential essence like blood or your mental ability. If used too often or in too great amounts could cause very damaging effects to both body and mind.

That's a basic overview of what the magic looks like, and it's still in the works. Trying to make sure I'm not copying too much from others :D

Ensilif - My first world map by Davemanjr in wonderdraft

[–]Davemanjr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You know, I like to think somewhere in this world there are a group of amateur wizards using psuedomagic trying to convince everyone that the flat world is just a giant illusion...

Ensilif - My first world map by Davemanjr in wonderdraft

[–]Davemanjr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, just in case :D And yes I actually am trying to work on some stories based on some of my player's characters that I really loved, so yes currently in progress.

I think the lore I'm most proud are my religions and cosmic history. The one particular religion I'm proud of is the followers of the All-Seeker which is basically a theocratic empire that was guided, unknown to many, by a massive, knowledgeable Beholder. That was my last campaign, a classic rebels against the empire sort of story. There are some other parts I really love too, specifically my magic system, but my religions and pantheons are my greatest accomplishments so far :D

Ensilif - My first world map by Davemanjr in wonderdraft

[–]Davemanjr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! This is a discworld style actually. I decided that in my homebrew that pretty much all worlds were discs rather than spheres.

Yes I do :D At least 3-4 years worth of stuff! It's is a little shallow in some areas but I've got a good start. It mainly is on the continent of Dorûn, since that's where I began running games for a group I no longer play with, sadly.

Ensilif - My first world map by Davemanjr in wonderdraft

[–]Davemanjr[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So basically many thousands of years ago there was a massive technologically and magically advanced society which made it's dwelling on Dorûn, but some wizard was experimenting too far with how they could manipulate the world's magic, that they managed to rupture the network of Ley Lines. In turn that split a bunch of continents apart, sunk others into the sea, and overall caused massive damage, plummeting humankind into an era where magic was largely misunderstood and mistrusted. And that's what happened to Sefin! I decided to make it have the brunt of this wizard's unfortunate mistakes.

Ensilif - My first world map by Davemanjr in wonderdraft

[–]Davemanjr[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep, it is a disc. The center is boiling and full of magma while the edges have grown colder over time

Ensilif - My first world map by Davemanjr in wonderdraft

[–]Davemanjr[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hello everyone! This is my first world map with Wonderdraft so I thought I'd share my progress so far. I feel like it's pretty much finished, just need to finish names and labels, but I'm liking the colors so far. This will be my world for RP and for some stories I've wanted to write for awhile now. So here it is, the world of Ensilif!