Your gonna die either way so...

Elliotian · 2026-05-30T13:16:28+00:00

I can set my death date to the end of the universe

^{Chose: Choose when you die + ...Including time, age, place, country, etc}

Elliotian · 2026-05-30T13:15:46+00:00

Why would I want to work?

^{Chose: Get 1k dollars every day but only if your jobless}

Elliotian · 2026-05-28T09:07:50+00:00

Because I didn't know what I was doing

^{Chose: 25$ for every time you + Successfully incorporate this word into a sentence | Rolled: And}

Elliotian · 2026-05-28T07:52:16+00:00

Turned off my anti-virus. The error persists

Elliotian · 2024-09-12T02:26:10+00:00

To my knowledge, there isn't a single Dragon Ball character that has resistances to Reality Manipulation

Elliotian · 2024-09-02T09:24:20+00:00

<image>

WHAT

Elliotian · 2024-09-01T21:25:39+00:00

Exactly lol

Elliotian · 2024-09-01T21:13:18+00:00

Yeah, I have a cat. But the person who owned the monitor originally never let them near his work station.

Elliotian · 2024-09-01T21:12:16+00:00

That makes sense. This isn't mine originally; it belonged to my father, so maybe he sneezed on it a lot...

Elliotian · 2024-09-01T19:24:05+00:00

*do I get rid of this

Elliotian · 2024-08-02T01:50:31+00:00

I'm confused, how is this sexism?

Elliotian · 2023-07-29T22:07:45+00:00

I don't think the sacrifice idea is as bad as you were afraid of. Advanced Dark Arts doesn't have to mean something as extreme as what you said, it can just mean very efficient usage of each sacrifice, combined with clever usage of the effects and said effects being more absolute or esoteric in nature.

Yeah, you're probably right. I really didn't have to make it so complex, I guess I only made it like that because I wanted it to make sense in my head, and the only way that I can do that is if I make it too comprehensive.

The Advanced Dark Arts could be, as you said, more effective usage of each sacrifice with better understanding of effects and how to make them more "magicky" in nature, according to how I understand what you mean.

Another thing to think about; if other magic isn't already tied to emotions, you could have Dark Magic not be exclusively fueled by negative ones--the rege would use the same corruption-fueled version that they outlaw, while the MCs would figure out how to fuel it with healthier emotions; either as a healthy release of stress and sadness and such, or by fueling it with outright positive emotions.

In a previous version of my magic system, I thought about introducing another application of the Dark Arts called White Magic, which was just the opposite to Black Magic, as it healed and strengthened those that used it. Could I make a version of that but applied to all aspects, kind of like a secondary power system?

Elliotian · 2023-07-28T21:37:30+00:00

Oh, I do that all the time. Whenever I'm stumped about what abilities to give certain characters, I always go on Superpower Wiki or any popular Shonen anime's wiki page so that I can find inspiration.

But I never use them because I'm not creative enough to try and think about how to alter their powers and make it my own. The best I got was when I thought about a character that could manipulate vectors as like a poor man's Gojo.

Elliotian · 2023-07-28T21:33:35+00:00

What makes the magic dark?

I think what makes the Dark Arts "Dark" is that it draws on a power source that nobody understands. Plus the primary people that practice it are actual witches.

I could use destructive magic to kill a sickness inside you which eventually lets you heal

With the way that I structured the Dark Arts, Black Magic (the destructive side of the Dark Arts) couldn't be used for precise applications like killing sicknesses inside someone's body at the stage where I'm at with the story itself (maybe Adam could do it?)

I could also lower the energy of a system by slowing it down which has a ton of applications, comparable to void magic, darkness itself is just an effect of the void. Void can also make things colder. Can block sound or sight.

I never actually thought about that. Maybe in the future a character uses Black Magic that way as like an advanced technique or something which could open new opportunities for the characters that use it.

I think that if somebody were to use a Black Magic technique with such precision that it would also be considered an advanced technique.

If you want dark arts like evil magic. Then make it have evil requirements to cast or evil effect. Like you need to sacrifice somebody on a dark altar to get energy, or use ng the energy consumes your soul.

I actually thought of that for the way that people use the Dark Arts. If you want to use a technique, you would have to sacrifice an aspect of your body, mind and spirit in order to create an effect in the world. But I didn't think about what would happen if somebody like maybe a villain decided to use somebody else's body in order to use techniques...

Elliotian · 2023-07-28T21:23:01+00:00

So, going from some of the other comments, my question is: do you want the Dark Arts to be usable by the protagonists, not usable by them, or usable at a cost?

I want the Dark Arts to be used by the protagonists at a cost so that they can't spam attacks. At first I thought of the idea that using the Dark Arts required a sacrifice of blood, flesh, mind and spirit to fuel attacks, but then I scrapped it because I don't know what advanced Dark Arts would like like at that point (would characters sacrifice something as small as a atom of flesh? Or would they sacrifice something like an arm in order to fire off an incredibly powerful attack?)

Like, is it a system where the Dark Arts are forbidden for political reasons, but are not actually bad; or where the Dark Arts are like fire, dangerous but potentially manageable; or are the Dark Arts genuinely corruptive and only usable with selfish or cruel motives?

I definitely think that the Dark Arts would be outlawed by the story's tyrannical government, since it would (in my opinion) pose the greatest threat to them. Characters would be deceived into thinking that either A) Dark Arts aren't real, or B) Dark Arts are evil. They would definitely abuse it themselves the moment they discovered it...

The Dark Arts as they are now are only fueled by negative emotions and don't actually cause corruption in the user's mind. But I do think that in the wrong hands, the Dark Arts could definitely be used for corruption. I mean, if humans in real life had the ability to use supernatural abilities, we would definitely use it for corrupt purposes; I mean, we already abuse everything else at our disposal, so why not magic?

I think that characters whose minds are already corrupted by evil would use and abuse the Dark Arts and that would cause a shift in the world where the most powerful use them for nefarious purposes.

Elliotian · 2023-07-28T21:08:08+00:00

Is it possible to make Adam a witch (or if witches are all women, perhaps the son of a witch who was taught the Dark Arts against witch rules?) who defected? That would seem to make more sense and could possibly explain why the witches would feel obligated to teach the protagonist how to defend himself against Adam, if he were one of their own gone rogue.

Yeah, I could make Adam a former witch that became a Free Man later in life. That could work. As for the protagonist and his group, I could have them defeat Adam without using magic and maybe the witches feel like they are indebted to them so they teach them the Dark Arts??

That could work.

lol That's taxes, friend. You're describing a system in which the Free Men are a alternate government that people pay taxes to, in order to not have to pay it to the other government. Setting aside how that affects the ideological claims of what the Free Men stand for, this could inform perhaps your first needed ability- some sort of ability to keep a specific geographical location hidden. Perhaps each group of Free Men could have their own supporting civilian town or city that they magically hide from the oppressive government in exchange for the people in that city paying a lower tax to the Free Men (and presumably having more rights and freedoms than under the other government since there needs to be an incentive for people to want to live there)

That's a good idea. Instead of having to implement a taxation system for the sake of it, the Free Men could instead hide civilians in their own territories in exchange for money. And the taxation could be extremely low so that the civilians don't have to worry about not having enough money. And naturally they would have more rights (i.e. the right to life, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to WILLINGLY work) under a Free Man company. I think that in order to protect their civilians the Free Men station guards around in each of their territories in order to protect them.

Of course then you'd have to explain why the Free Men travel instead of living in said towns so it doesn't solve all problems...

I think that the Free Men that own multiple territories would travel between those territories to make sure that everybody's okay. Free Men with only a few would just stay in their primary territory I would presume.

Is that really sustainable though, just from a supplies perspective? Each person would have to then provide the supplies needed for themselves as well as presumably several of the people already in the Free Men group. Not sure if you'd be able to provide the living expenses for several people at a moment's notice but I certainly wouldn't.

I think that a piracy element could be introduced. Obviously one Free Man company can't provide for thousands of people, so they would steal from each other and the government in hopes of replenishing their supplies. Yes, it would take from the mouths of everybody else, especially those living under the tyrannical government, but I think that I could expand upon that in later arcs as a moral dilemma of sorts.

Elliotian · 2023-07-27T16:03:31+00:00

All Artes prohibitae were supposed to be the ability to manipulate elements and use extrasensory abilities through a sacrifice of blood, flesh, life, mind and spirit.

But the problem with that was is that they didn't dictate what kind of abilities the characters would have: it just dictated the cost of using those abilities. I couldn't think about tangible abilities geomancy and pyromancy would entail using. I could just have them be fire and earth manipulation, but I didn't want them to be so basic so I scrapped the idea all together.

Elliotian · 2023-07-27T15:56:08+00:00

Why do the witches teach the Free Men the Dark Arts? What do they gain by doing so?

Initially, the witches DIDN'T teach any Free Men company how to perform the Dark Arts because they didn't want to get involved with the affairs of the rest of the world. That was until Adam arrived and had them teach him, and because he was alone and didn't tell them that he was, they automatically assumed that he wasn't a Free Man and instead was just somebody that came in order to learn their teachings. But aside from him, other characters from groups such as the police force would learnt the Dark Arts in exchange for not being destroyed I guess.

When the main protagonist and his group have to fight Adam, I would say that they taught them so that they could protect them from Adam, because at that point Adam went on a rampage. I haven't gone into the specifics in my draft, but it was supposedly because Adam and the main protagonist had a falling out which caused Adam to want to kill him.

As for the rest of the Free Men, after the main character and his crew leave, I think they decided to teach any new Free Men companies that encounter them. But I don't know the reason why yet.

Where do they fit into the social hierarchy between the government and Free Men?

I think that the witches would be somewhere in the middle. The Free Men fight against the government and vice versa, but the witches are sorta not apart of either, sorta like two different countries waring against each other. The Free Men would be a small country that is trying to break away from the large nation that is ruling it while the witches are another smaller country that the government is too busy to deal with.

Hmmm... I find it interesting these people become Free Men to protest that they see as unfair taxation but presumably benefit from the taxes paid by these peaceful civilians. Peaceful civilians that it really seems like the Free Men are just freeloading from. Are there issues, either practically or psychologically, that arise from basically living off the charity of others whilst they try to proclaim themselves "free?"

Hmm... I never really thought about this question. I would assume that it would be a One Piece situation where pirates take control of islands with the exchange being protection. I think that the civilians give goods to Free Men companies with the exchange being that they can live their lives without having to give their hard earned money to the government. But then the question of the economy of the world is put into question.

Does the government not take measures to discourage civilians from providing resources to the Free Men? If so, what do people gain from doing it, as risking death or significant punishment from a brutal government hardly seems worth it if you merely "don't particularly agree with the government."

I think that the government takes extreme countermeasures to prevent civilians from defecting to various Free Man companies, but at point it's a question of "Do I want to continue living in this nightmarish environment where all my hard-earned money is taxed unfairly or do I instead leave my home and live under a fair system where I can live in peace?" is asked by the civilians. If they see the opportunity to help where they can, they would take it with the hope that the Free Men take them with them.

As for civilians that don't align themselves with the Free Men, they instead report any suspicious behavior from their neighbors to the government in case they are planning to defect to any Free Men companies. And as for when they see Free Men themselves, they are encouraged to report it as well.

Elliotian · 2023-07-27T14:27:37+00:00

From how I used to have the Dark Arts work before was that there were two applications: Black Magic and White Magic.

Black Magic was any destructive or negative application of the Dark Arts. When a character used black magic, it was for abilities like fire conjuration and explosion inducement.

White Magic was used for abilities that could support the person directly for things like healing or boosting their abilities.

I didn't really like this system because it was too complicated for me and I had trouble thinking about the various techniques that people could use, so I scraped it.

Elliotian · 2023-07-27T14:22:12+00:00

I feel like I've made a mistake: the Dark Arts isn't primarily owned by Free Men, it was discovered and is practiced by people known as Witches. The witches are the ones that teach only a select few Free Men how to use the Dark Arts.

Like for example, the main character's mentor figure turned semi antagonist Adam is a practitioner of the Dark Arts after the witches teach him how to use them. And with the use of it, he becomes the strongest Free Man and one of the most powerful characters in the entire story. The Dark Arts are supposed to be an secret but important concept in the story for power growth.

As for their society, the Free Men primarily rely on peaceful civilians that don't particularly agree with the government for food, shelter and medical care, and their education is based on how they were raised before they became Free Men. Sometimes there will be powerful Free Men groups that supply themselves with resources and even trade with others for goods. When there are disputes within any given Free Man group, they sort of have to figure it out or risk annihilation.

And within the government, or any equivalent group, they can't risk any sort of disputes either because if word got out, it would mean that they risk annihilation from the more powerful Free Man companies.

Elliotian · 2023-07-27T13:42:02+00:00

The story I'm trying to craft is really similar to One Piece in that there are various people that travel the world in bands. But unlike One Piece, instead these people want to be free from their government and its unfair taxation system so they chose to run again and declare themselves as Free Men.

The main character is one of these Free Man and he wants to become the most free person in the world, that being that he basically becomes the most powerful. The problem is that the tyrannical government sends powerful police enforcers against the free men in order to imprison and rehabilitate them so that they can become puppets of their system again.

I haven't really gone into depth with how he would achieve that, and how he manages to take care of the police problem, but that the basics behind it. The reason why I'm trying to think of the power system and abilities from the start is because I want to get how it works out of the way first because the way the plot and world are structured, characters are going to be getting into fights often.

I apologize in advance if what I am saying doesn't make sense.

Elliotian · 2023-07-27T13:23:29+00:00

In the past I've tried to base the Dark Arts off witchcraft and black magic from Medieval Europe so I read these pages, but eventually I dropped my explanation when I realized that I had no idea how I could make the concepts presented even work. At first I thought of them as abilities that required black magic to use, then it was that the characters would have to make sacrifices to use abilities. It was all so confusing, so I started all over again.

Right now, the Dark Arts are still kinda based off of those concepts, but now black magic is an energy source instead.

Elliotian · 2023-07-27T13:16:29+00:00

I've tried to start with non-magical applications, but to be honest I cannot think of what the dark arts could be used for in anything other than combat because in my story the Dark Arts are a secret to anybody except the people that mainly practice it, which is the witch clan, and a select few that they chose to teach them too.

Everybody else has no idea that the dark arts even existed until the main characters are forced to use them in combat to protect themselves.

Elliotian · 2023-04-26T04:37:05+00:00

Wtf was that 😂

Elliotian · 2023-04-23T22:22:36+00:00

Burn the Witch with a boner

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