This wouldn't have as much of an impact on larger morphs (although I guess technically it means that an elephant morph could become an elephant with the mass of a person), but it could provide another option for some of the smaller morphs.

Thoughts? Is this something in the stories I've just missed? I tried to search the forums and Wiki, but I'm not sure what I'd actually search for.

-Tatsushu

Hallan

Hallan

TG - Transgender - Gendermorph
AR - Age Reversal - Pedomorph
?? - Animal/Beast transformation - Animorph/Beastmorph or even anthromorph.

So therefore, when he feels the curse take a hold on him, he tries to get a visual on it and finds himself in a triangular room with a glowing ball of light floating in the middle. He decides to manipulate the outcome and tries to make up his mind which of the three choices he will go with. Eventually he notices the ball perilously close the the transgender wall and panics, jerking it away in the opposite direction. Predictably, the ball flies across the room into the opposite corner causing him to be an age regressed animorph. Later while the actual change is occurring, he gets impatient with how long it takes and tries to speed it up by more manipulations. This has a few effects (hopefully, if it's allowed) such as changing the species to another one closely resembling it and also changing his coloring (although the latter will not work out quite as well as he hopes). I don't expect much complaint about this detail either, but I think it's important to mention just in case.

The final thing is what worries me most and it's how he implements his magic. While a decent and even accomplished mage, he isn't particularly powerful on his own, but what makes him a force to be reckoned with is his efficiency. He casts more of his spells ahead of time when he has extra energy reserves and seals them into a shortcut which is triggered by a certain gesture, symbol, etc. This lets him accomplish far more at one time than should really be possible. He also builds amulets and trinkets which have a certain function or other defined by symbols and this seems a lot like rune magic which the magic section said wasn't allowed. The purpose of several of these amulets is to gather energy from outside sources, such as one that can absorb a spell if it's weak enough and another that removes body heat when it's too hot out. The resulting energy can either be used to reheat the body when it's cold out or for actual spells if enough accumulates (read 'enough' as 'a lot' because heat is a very inefficient source of energy). The things he make do small things, so I hope it won't be a problem. He won't be making anything like Misha's ax. He also won't know that what he's doing so resembles rune magic (in fact, when he finds out it does, he'll start to research it and eventually go to MK to find out more), due to most of it being psychological association.

Any comments or suggestions for a better working character will be considered, though I won't guarantee changes for anything short of something not being allowed. I'm rather fond of what I've come up with and I don't much want to change it.

Still, it has been suggested I make sure, so, here I am trying to make sure… :)

I'm going to number the paragraphs so you guys can call out problems without having to quote at large.

Mainly, I'm looking at the history of the region mentioned, but also the divine chunk towards the end. I've got some things that happen afterwards, I'll mention it at the bottom.

On the other hand, I'm also curious about how my writing is going. I'm hoping I've not gone too obtuse.

1. The old man settled into a padded chair quickly ceded for him near the fire. "So you all wish to hear a tale? Far off places, daring adventures, lost kingdoms?" A clamor of agreement buffeted the old man, and even the two merchants craned their necks to hear this sage's tale.
2. "I know of one from some time ago; it happened some thousand years ago, in fact." The old man licked his lips, giving a strange sideways glance to Leonidus's table.
3. "Long ago, a small kingdom existed within the region we call the Southern Midlands. Nestled in the northern edges of the Sathmore mountains, this tiny kingdom was ruled by a wise king and a beautiful queen, Gerod and Aendelle. They had a son, Sumric, a prince of seventeen years, who was being groomed to take his father's throne should the old ruler die, in sickness or in battle, before his time. Unfortunately, this small kingdom ruled a pass through those mountains to Pyralis, and so had many enemies."
4. Many confused faces emerged from the crowds. Long-held was the perception of the general region, from Metamor to Yesulam, being generally peaceful lands. While short, spurious wars occaisionally flitted across the contryside, no lasting turmoil existed in the memory of the people.
5. The sage saw this, and continued, with a change in tone. "Now this was not so kind of a time as it is today, for the whole region was in chaos. It was the days before the rise of the Sathmore Empire, when the entire region was pocked with tiny kindoms and city-states where warlords named themselves monarchs through brute force.
6. "One such warlord, a vicious man named Trakhun, had named himself a ruler of the upper Flatlands, the steppe to the south. He used fast-moving raiding parties on horseback to maintain his power, which he sought to extend into the more civilized areas of Pyralis by cutting off merchant trade with the verdant Midlands. Unfortunately, this was impossible while traders could use the pass of King Gerod, which, though the road was harsh, bypassed the wild flatlands. Trakhum was a cruel warlord, but also a crafty one, and he formulated a plan. He hired an assassin, kidnapped the prince and poisoned the king."
7. Several shocked gasps emerged from the listening crowd of faces, not for the cruel, vicious acts of the warlord, but for the quick, nondescript way the elder storyteller had bypassed what a few muttered voices considered "the best part of the story."
8. "It was a slow poison, and could be staved off with a unique herb which Trakhum tightly controlled. Using the prince as hostage, the warlord ordered Gerod to impose a stiff tax on all passing merchants, which he would trade for batches of the herb. The prince, meanwhile, was transformed by dark magic into a beast, a lion of the steppe, and while animal in mind, trained as Trakhum's pet and personal guardian.
9. "On this continued for some ten years, they say, Trakhum extending his shadowy grasp over Pyralis through his puppetry of Gerod. Oh, the king tried to rescue his son, sending wave after wave of trained soliders, champions of the kingdom, and talented infiltrators to seek and rescue the boy. Those that made it as far as Trakhum's wooden citadel all died by the bloodthirsty fangs of his 'pet'.
10. "So it was that Gerod squandered the health, wellbeing, and goodwill of his people. Those soldiers, champions, and so on had been staples of the community, holding it together under dire circumstances, and with their numbers depleted, the common folk lost faith in their ruler. The queen, Aendelle, was not so lost as her husband. True, she was sick with the loss of her son, and she worried at the ailing health of her poisoned husband, but she was determined. And so, taking a sizeable chumk of the worth of the kingdom's trasury, she made a bargain, in secret, with a band of.. skilled individuals.
11. "Some would call them great heroes, others would label them ruthless mercenaries, I like to simply call them.. adventurers." He chuckled.
12. From the back row, Leonidus listened with great attention. This sounded so familiar to him… Yet he couldn't place it.
13. "There were five of these adventurers, and while I need not go into details, let me say they had amazing talents that worked together and complemented each other. One such was the priestess Nara Siyyon, a favoured soul blessed by Artela. These five companions managed to infiltrate the wooden citadel as so many had before, and it was only by Artela's gifts that they did not follow in the footsteps of those before. Nara was able to calm the beastly prince, restoring some aspect of his human mind. The priestess spoke calmly to Sumric, telling him of what had befallen his kingdom and his parents." The old man paused, his voice grave with sorrow. "At this, the prince wept."
14. "Despite this return of humanity, when Trakhum entered the chamber where Sumric was being caged, no one could stop him as he viciously tore out the throat of the evil warlord."
15. The old man raised a hand, silencing the cheers which began to rise in the crowd. "But this was no victory, and I will tell you why. Sumric's curse was an infliction of divine power. The magics used in the cursing were wrought in the hands of a priest of Lilith. This was lycanthropy in a concentrated form."
16. Gasps went up at this mention. It had been decades since a were-beast had been sighted in this town, but all knew of the horrors which that infection could spread.
17. "Fortunately, Nara, with the aid of Artela, was able to break the curse, returning the Sumric to human form. The five adventurers returned to the kingdom with the prince. During this return journey, Nara and Sumric had become friendly, maybe much more. They also carried a large crop of the herb in arm. They had enough that they could keep the king well for years, properly tended, and maybe even raise a new crop, keeping him alive to the natural end of his days.
18. "But this was not to be so. As soon as the group returned, when the prince finally laid hand in hand with his ailing father, the king dropped dead. Some say it was the strain of seeing his son, finally, after being so ill, others say it was some dark curse laid upon the boy to never be able to see his father alive and well. No one knows for sure.
19. "Sumric assumed the throne as king, no longer a boy, now a man, taking the priestess Nara for his queen. Trakhum's tyranny was ended, and all was once again well."
20. Everone in the tavern remained silent, feeling the taste of the bittersweet ending on their minds.
21. Slowly, the room returned to the usual chatter and clink. The old man got up, straightened his fine robe, and began wandering around the room. He listened intently as various patrons expressed both their dissatisfaction at the end of the tale, and their enjoyment of it as a whole.

Basically, the curse of Sumric wasn't broken, and Leonidus is a descendant.

Raven ran an AD&D campaign once set in MK and I have long used Dungeons & Dragons for inspiration. This begs the obvious question: What would your character be like in AD&D?

I'll start off:
Misha Brightleaf - Ranger 10/ Mage 1/ Automaton Mage 2/ Long Scout 5
Caroline Hardy - Ranger 10/ Fighter 2
Finbar - Ranger 8/ assassin 7
Danielle - Ranger 12/ Mage 4
George - Ranger 10/Thief 10/ fighter 6/ Long Scout (or dread commando) 3/ General 5
Andre - Fighter 10 (specializing in cavalry) / Legendary Leader 2

How's that for a start?