What is "Scholomance"?

What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby Tempest Kitsune » May 27th, 2011, 1:22 am

Here is an overview of Scholomance.
Spoiler: show
Scholomance - an arcane university nestled in a tear in reality. Young adults from all over the world with the chance are taken to this location by those who wish for their mystical education, and they are forced to endure years of just-as-planned until they finally graduate. It's a student-eat-student work where everyone is looking out for the next back to stab on the ladder to power and freedom. There are four primary schools magic:

Sorcery - Mastery over energy (fireballs, telekinesis)
Alchemy - Mastery over matter (creating and altering items)
Enchantment - Mastery over mind (creating illusions and mental domination)
Conjuration - Mastery over dimensions (teleportation and the summoning of different creatures)

In Scholomance, raw power isn't good enough - you'll be able to start a house fire or create a pen from thin air at most. What's far more important, is mitigation. You want to raise a skeleton? Of course, you'll need a corpse to begin with. However, a tome that contains the spell in detail would be very handy in the process, and help you out a lot. The skull of a powerful necromancer will also help you in the process. Previous relations with the spirit you will conjure into the skeleton will be handy. Heck, even using the corpse of a raven, a bird assosciated with death, is slightly helpful in the process. Mitigate enough of the energy required for the spell using these components, and only the tiniest portion of your magical energy will be required for the spell. However, that's the trick - estimating just how much mitigation a component offers and just how much energy as spell requires. If you don't have enough power for your spell, a lesser effect occurs or nothing happens at all. If you have too much power for your spell, an enhanced effect occurs - sometimes with dire consequences. In Scholomance, raw power is useless if you don't have the brains to go with it.

Character Creation


You normally design a character as a first-year student, fresh from whatever life he was taken from. Be sure to decide what sort of life that is, what sort of a person your character is, and what the talent was that resulted in him being taken. Allocate Statistic points and your Mastery point in ways that reflect your character's studies and personality.

Statistics

A year one character starts with 5 Statistics points. You distribute Statistic Points amongst your Statistics. Each Statistic must have at least 1 Statistic Point, and thus already has them before you spend your points. When you have allocated your Statistic points, multiply your Endurance and Will by 3.

Form - This represents how physically powerful you are. Dexterity, strength, speed, hand-eye coordination, this represents it all.
Essence - This represents how mentally powerful you are and your strength of will.
Endurance - This is how much physical damage you can endure.
Will - This is how much mental damage you can endure.

Magic

You get 9 Magic Points, and spend your single Mastery Point in one of the four Magic Schools: Sorcery, Alchemy, Conjuration and Enchantment. The mastery point is an additional point of mitigation, and also makes it easier to cast a spell of that school perfectly, as explained under Scholomance#Spells.

Sorcery - Manipulation of Energy.
Alchemy - Manipulation of Matter.
Conjuration - Manipulation of the Supernatural.
Enchantment - Manipulation of the Mind.

Your mana is equal to your total sum of Magic Points.

Battles

During physical battles, you compare your Form. If there are multiple people fighting together, you add their Form together. Once the difference of your Form after all modifications has been calculated, the subject with the lower Form subtracts the difference from their Endurance. If there are multiple people on the receiving end, the Headmaster (the game master) distributes the Endurance damage between them. If the Endurance falls to 0, the character dies. You can gain bonuses in Form combat by bringing weapons or using the element of surprise, plus whatever you think may give you an advantage. An example would be a dagger giving you +1 to your Form for close combat purposes. During mental battles, you compare your Essence. If there are multiple people fighting together, you add their Essence together. Once the difference of your Essence after all modifications has been calculated, the subject with the lower Essence subtracts the difference from their Will. If there are multiple people on the receiving end, the HM distributes the Will damage between them. If the Will falls to 0, the character goes insane, falls into a coma, HM's choice.

You regain Will and Endurance when you rest.

Spells

Now, how to cast a spell. When you're casting a spell, you must determine the mana cost. Some good things to consider for that:

Range - How far you want to the spell to go.
Area - How large any area or how many people you want to be victim to the spell.
Duration - How long you want the spell to last.
Power - This is the most complex part. How powerful the effects of the spell are.

Each of these is basically pretty arbitrary, just use whatever seems appropriate. Some of these may be 0, but power will probably always be something to consider. Once you and your Head Master have decided on the value of each of these, add all four values together. This is the base mana cost of the spell.

Next stage is Mitigation. You Mitigate or reduce the mana cost of the spell using items and a time span spent on the spell. You name anything you think might be relevant. Blood, bones, trinkets, makeup, symbols, symbolic items, chanting, ingredients, foci, casting time, whatever. The Head Master decides how many points of mana each item mitigates. Your Head Master decides what School the spell fits into and also adds any Mastery points you have in that school on to the Mitigation. Finally, adding up the total Mitigation, he subtracts the Mitigation from the mana Cost. The mana cost cannot be less than 1, even if you mitigate into the negatives. This gives the final mana cost that the caster has to guess. He can guess correctly, he can overpower it (guess high) or he can underpower (guess low) it to variable degrees.

Mastery effects the range in which the spell is correct. If you have 0 Mastery in that spell's school, you have to guess the cost exactly. If you have 1 Mastery in the spell's school, you have to guess the spell's cost plus or minus 1. If Mastery 2, the spell's cost plus or minus 2. You get the picture.

Advancement

a person's skill is measured in years. There are nine years in total. Whenever you advance one year, you:

- Get +3 Magic Points, boosting your total mana pool.
- Get another Statistic Point to spend. When using Statistic Points to increase stats, you can only increase them to a maximum of 5. 5 is the human limit and if you look at the students doing their last year - it's obvious that they're pretty much the best of humanity. Magic can put you above your human limits, however.

Additionally, every odd year (after the first) you get another Mastery Point to spend.
"Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world — "No, you move."
— Captain America

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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby serbii » May 28th, 2011, 2:34 am

Approx what age is first year? Or is it just when they're taken?
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby gman391 » May 28th, 2011, 3:51 am

Typically you're 12/13 years old when you start school.
School lasts nine years.
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby serbii » May 28th, 2011, 5:00 am

Ahh ok "university" was throwing me off.

I'm in (I'm assuming this is open), as soon as I finish making a character. You can delete our 'what is this' posts in the other thread if you want Tempy, to keep it neat.
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby SLAMU » May 29th, 2011, 2:39 pm

For those of you not already in the know, I will be serving as the Headmaster in this game, basically the DM/Storyteller/any similar title you care to use. I am the referee in most things, and will be holding myself to the standard of an uncaring third party. If you have concerns that I am not holding myself to these standards, please send me a message.

Alright, before we start on Wednesday, I’d like to clear a few things up. First, starting age is 16+, not 12/13. Secondly, I ask for a post a week from those of you joining us. More is nice, but as a minimum one post a week. Thirdly, this will be running from June 1st to August 31st, three full months for a 9 month semester (I’m keeping my math easy for me), so anything that happens here is on 1:3 scale time.

Lastly, this is the first time any of us have played this particular system, and though it is rather 'crunch lite', mistakes are bound to happen. Let's all roll with the punches and see what we can make of this, eh?
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby LifeOfGesture » May 30th, 2011, 6:52 pm

Can we edit our character backgrounds after we posted it?
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby serbii » May 30th, 2011, 7:15 pm

I think it should be fine for now, we have't started playing or anything.
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby SLAMU » May 30th, 2011, 9:39 pm

Yes, you can edit your profiles after posting, but only for another two days.

Please, add a bit more than getting recruited, it's great having more to work with.
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby ewuvi » May 30th, 2011, 10:21 pm

So, student-student interaction, or...?
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby gamebrain89 » May 30th, 2011, 10:58 pm

General backstory. What kind of a person is your character? Where are they from, what are their parents like, what do they like to do, ect. Do they have friends? are they a bookworm? preppy? All around crazy person? Your backstory is supposed to end with you being recruited. So expand on your character a bit before that is what I believe he means. Mine is a bookworm who lives in Slovenia and idolizes Nikola Tesla. Aldraia's is an orphan who was disowned by her family. Dark is apparently the universe's equivalent of a Pureblood. and Serbii's is a flowerchild. All I can really infer from yours is she cares about her parents, can cook and for some reason has a pickax that she packs with her.
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby ewuvi » May 30th, 2011, 11:05 pm

Well, that covers all the bases, so I guess I'm good.
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby spudman » May 31st, 2011, 2:04 am

Ugh, I need to voice some thoughts if you'll bear with me.

For mastery I'm thinking of Sorcery (with a focus on light or heat). I thought maybe a mastery in Enchantment for a Xanatos in the making but dismissed that. I have a couple basic concepts for character backgrounds, but not sure which one to use.

Character-wise he (or she) could be:

-lower middle-class home, happy family, Eagle Scout (or something like it), this kid would be kidnapped, I bet.
-prep school kid, privilege and expectations/pressure to excel from others
-parents run a meth lab in the boonies, kid is considered a criminal (whether earned or not)

Hm, so far it seems only gamebrain's and ewuvi's characters are confirmed as being something other than American...might have to help with the international diversity.
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby LifeOfGesture » May 31st, 2011, 2:20 am

Argaunaut's character doesn't seem to be American either. XP

Anyhoo, I think the prep school kid would be an interesting contrast from all the other characters. Possibly arrogant, but with the desire to be independent and free of all the expectations. He/she would have a strong chance of causing conflict and being interesting. But I think one could pull off any of those types of characters. Besides, the important part is having fun~.
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby serbii » May 31st, 2011, 2:32 am

Mine's going to be from Byron Bay I think, a hippy town a few hours south of Brisbane. Nice beach, went there when I was a teenager as my grandparents live about half an hour south of it.

That or Adelaide, because no one can be sad when fleeing Adelaide, loss of family and friends be damned.

Having her from Australia is novel enough (go ususual home country, woo!), and it means less work for me :D.

Hmm, as for character? Try to balance out what we already have (I know that is unhelpful and unspecific). For example when I made Shannon most of the other characters were coming from unhappy or no homes, so I made someone happy, from a stable home and without much drama. Also she is not snarky, that is a change from me XD. And if it comes to that, breaking a cutie is as much fun as having a pre-broken one. Dark did something similar coming from a happy (if evil) home but the first one that already had magic in it and expected to be taken away.

See what we already have and see if you can make someone to counter them or fill another niche so we get a wide range of characters, personalities and backgrounds. And yes, fun is the most important thing, have someone you can enjoy writing. They don't have to be silly, for example Hotaru is an utter ass but fun to write, just make something fun for you.

Arg's is Welsh.

Took mercy on SLAMU, added some more stuff to her profile.
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby SLAMU » May 31st, 2011, 8:20 pm

Alright, here’s how things are going to go. I’m going to make general posts in a designated thread. In addition to that, I will PM you every so often. Sometimes, I will state ahead of times in a PM that I will send you a PM and need you to answer it in a given time frame. I will do this at least two days out (more if I know that you don’t have regular internet access), so never fret on that account.

Any questions?
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby LifeOfGesture » May 31st, 2011, 8:50 pm

Got it. :] Looking forward to this a lot, especially since it has the Evil Authorlord's blessing.
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby Aldraia Dragonsong » May 31st, 2011, 9:02 pm

What are we supposed to do as regards posting? Do we post in the general thread in response to your posts there, or PM you our reactions? And what about interaction between player characters, is that handled by PM or through threads?
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby Tempest Kitsune » May 31st, 2011, 9:13 pm

Responses to the general thread should be posted in the general thread, as is public character interaction.
"Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world — "No, you move."
— Captain America

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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby SLAMU » June 1st, 2011, 12:22 am

PMs between characters happen by PM, and copies are sent to yours truely. These are private conversations, events that happen behind closed doors.

General thread topics that anyone can read are public; conversations in the hallways or at dinner, in class, etc.
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby Magnificate » June 1st, 2011, 8:12 am

Is it OK to play as one of the Quest characters or NPCs?
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby LifeOfGesture » June 1st, 2011, 4:14 pm

Out of curiosity, I'm not thinking of changing my mastery even if I could, could someone with an alchemy mastery heal wounds?
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby Tempest Kitsune » June 1st, 2011, 4:20 pm

@Magnificate: Why would you want to? Why not create an original character?

@LifeofGesture: If you mean healing by direct use of a magic spell, the answer would be "no".
"Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world — "No, you move."
— Captain America

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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby Magnificate » June 1st, 2011, 5:07 pm

@Magnificate: Why would you want to? Why not create an original character?
Someone with established traits is easier to introduce in limited time.
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby Wittgen » June 1st, 2011, 5:36 pm

@Magnificate: Why not? Nothing wrong with basing a character of some other character. I know I had a specific character in mind that I was using as a touchstone as I came up with Lillian.
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Re: What is "Scholomance"?

Unread postby LifeOfGesture » June 1st, 2011, 6:15 pm

@LifeofGesture: If you mean healing by direct use of a magic spell, the answer would be "no".
Shucks. Alright, thanks for the info.
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