Beta Testing - IC Information

The following information has been discovered during the stay at Cloudscar House through:

  • Lumina's use of Fundamental Research via the resources of the House, and
  • Wreniel's use of Basic Carousing in getting along with members of the House

This is purely information and is not considered instruction for obtaining any of the mentioned talents.


Elder Rites (Magical School Esoteric Talent)

  • A style of magic looked down on in modern times, where rationality reigns, that seems to call on hypothetical 'spirits of nature'. It is a messy, intimate, and savage style of magic which elves actively avoid but a few aspects of it still remain in their culture.
  • The most powerful spells include a form of divination where an oracle is tied to a tree and abused by various apparitions in exchange for truths they might never want to know.

Infernalism (Magical School Esoteric Talent)

  • Rumour regularly claims that this school is known to elves, but there is no validity to it. It is known that the sole spell of the school is 'Pact' and that it may be cast only once as the magician sells their soul (and perhaps offers future services) in exchange for what they want from the denizens of the Inferno.

Greater Alchemy (Mana Usage Esoteric Talent)

  • This Talent is tied to Alchemy. It allows creation of a Philosopher's Stone and use of the mana trapped into such a thing to accelerate alchemical production processes massively or even bypass the requirements of raw materials.
  • A Philosopher's Stone is a deeply personal thing to create such that mistakes in the process, or simply following a recipe for such blindly, can permanently upset the humours of the brewer.

Succubus Arts (Mana Usage Esoteric Talent)

  • This Talent works via Seduction and allows one to either enhance the 'depth' of a seduction or ignore the normal limitations of that skill. It would be simple for a skilled user to bypass sexual preference of a target during a seduction, seduce a target while seeming to just look at them, or addict a weak willed victim to the pleasures of the bed.
  • A number of blushing individuals within the House will attest that "Young Master Roderick" has exemplary skill in this Talent.

Clockwerks (Enemy Group)

  • There are risks in the large scale efforts of industry. The pounding of massive machinery, the non-stop howl of steam, and the effluent from alchemical factories can have an effect on the sanity of some. The Clockwerks believe that the flesh is weak, the machine supreme, and they should test themselves to prove this. Unfortunately these 'ideals' are often corrupted into petty thuggery and being muscle for hire but they do extensively augment themselves when possible.

Cloudscar House (Allied Group)

  • This elven merchant house has an unusually strong presence in London due to various trade agreements. Despite the growing dislike of 'pointy eared coin stealers' in the general populous they refuse to be driven out of places which have been their own for over two centuries in the reign of Her Eternal Majesty.
  • The Talent of "Body Hardening" is common within the House, with Wreniel apparently having received her own instruction in it during previous visits, but due to a death in the recent attack they are currently lacking an adept in the Flesh Arts.

Elven Culture

  • Eleven society, based in the isles to the West and South of Ireland, clashes quite badly at times with that of Her Eternal Majesty's subjects.
  • To show ones body, through tight clothing or sheer garb, is a polite boast of wealth and power enough to have such sculpted properly or personal prowess in the arts to keep it 'appealing'.
  • Houses treat engagements as a casual thing, elders switching and swapping them at a whim as alliances shift over years, but consummation is expected, contraception forbidden, and conception cause for immediate marriage. Individuals, however, have their own ways around matters if their would-be spouse is not appealing.
  • Family comes first beyond all else. Beyond that any elf comes before the rest of the world. To let the English Empire burn in exchange for saving a single elven life would be considered laudable.
  • Don't touch the ears unless a) in an intimate situation, b) about embark on physical intimacy, and c) got permission first.

Homunculus

  • Crafted by Alchemy in vats, a homunculus normally has a legal status between 'toe nail clipping' and 'particularly bright horse'.
  • Only those properly 'sparked' through certain Sorceries have an real independence or intellect of their own. Such are usually unpopular and expensive to make.
  • They lack a spirit or any true soul. This means that death is permanent for them but, as they have nothing to 'pass on', their bodies can often be revived from what should have been terminal conditions as though one were simply restarting an engine.