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-= Seaelf Magic =-

Important Policies | Appearance | Culture | Environment | Magic | Joining the Tribe

The Application...

Character Name: (Your Name Goes Here)

Tribe: Raft

Type of Magic Requested: (Put what magic you want to apply for in here)

1. Is this magic available to your heritage?

Yes. (Seaelf.)

2. Do others in your tribe have this magic?

Talk to the chiefs if in doubt.

3. Is this magic found in your close family (Mother, Father, Siblings, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Great Aunts/Uncles/Grandparents)?

Up to you, but it's usually a good idea to make up an NPC or two from your family to fit the bill.

4. What strength are you requesting your magic to be?

This will vary. Make sure you think long and hard about this, though. Fact is, not everyone is going to have "Perfect Control" over their power. Further, if you intend to RP a character that's just discovered her power -- and, frankly, most applications fall into that category -- then the appropriate power-level would be "Beginnings of Control". Too, consider room for growth. Magic without the chance of failure quickly becomes both stagnant and boring. Beyond that, it becomes far too easy to "power-play" and use that ability to bully other characters. Not only is that a Mu*ing ettiquet faux pas, it's also a real fast way to get yourself called up on the carpet in front of the chiefs and, if it continues, the wizards, too.

5. How is this magic integral (vital) to your character concept?

Realistically, magic should never (or at least very rarely!) be absolutely, unequivocably integral to any character concept. While it does, and should, add depth to a character, always make sure you have a contingency, a secondary way of protraying the same concept, in case your magic application is denied. As a general rule, having and developing magic should not be as integral to the nature of your character as the the nauture of character should be integral to developing the magic.

Think of it this way: Any magic user, be she healer or finder, deepsenser or boneshaper, must possess certain integral qualities that somehow make that magic "fit" with her personality. A character does not develop a magic in something which does not interest them. Redlance, from the comic books, became a treeshaper quite naturally out of his gentleness and fascination with the woods about him. Yes, the gift was in his bloodline, but had he not held that interest beforehand, it is quite unlikely that the magic would have manifested within him. He certainly could never have become a rockshaper. Look at Ember and Suntop, again from the comics. Suntop, the reflective mystic, can "go out" in an astral projection. This makes perfect sense, given his continual meditation, inward focus, and use of those tendencies to communicate with others likeminded to himself. Ember, on the other hand, while as fierce as any wolfrider chief might hope to be, has no magic, though she does have her father's ability to lead and lead well. She hasn't the temperament for magic. The difference lies in the nature of the elves.

6. Could the character concept be just as strong if the same were executed through non-magical means?

Any character worth creating should be worth playing whether or not they have magic to aid them. The magic is a tool, a plot device, a "McGuffin", as Alfred Hitchcock would say, nothing more than a prop or, to keep with the film analogy, a special effect. Often, not having magic can lead to stronger roleplay simply because there is no "easy way out". Keep this in mind as you answer this question. What you really want to do here is define the character's limitation. What do you envision the character being able to do with this magic? What won't she be able to do? Why, when all is said and done, do you think this character really deserves to be given magic?

7. How do you plan on using this magic to improve roleplay?

Do not underestimate the importance of this question. Magic is meant to improve roleplay, not undermine it. It exists as an additional plot-twist possibility. It provides an alternative to other, perhaps more usual, ways of doing things. Let's face it: in any game of this nature, the goal is always about creating strong, interesting stories. It's about character interaction and development. Anything that can realistically aid in those things (and we do mean realistically -- uber-characters, magic or not, will not be tolerated) should be welcomed. What you need to do is think reasonably and logically about what sort of tinyplots could be developed around the use of this magic. This does not, by the way, mean 'in how many plots can you star and save the day'. It means, 'what sort of situations might be aided, or even hindered if it makes for a good story, by the magic you want to obtain'. Take, for example, a recent plot played out by the Raft's resident rockshaper Shay'la.

Shay'la was in the living caverns shaping a new cave to be used as a nursery for the tribe (we have a lot of pips right now). While she was doing this, she was talking with her friend, Surfsinger. At an inopportune moment, she was distracted by a locksend the chief, Redtide. The result was that Shay'la missed a pocket of metal deposits in the rock she was shaping. This caused the cave to become unstable and collapse on top of Surfsinger and her. Now, Shay'la is, in fact, quite a powerful rockshaper, but she was injured and the metal deposites were extensive enough that she was unable to easily shape them out of the cave and rescue them herself. They both had to wait until the tribe was able to dig them out.

Did this mean that Shay'la was in anyway a lesser character for failing? No. But, was it good for roleplay? You wanna believe it was! Shay'la now wrestles with feelings of guilt and failure, enhanced, no doubt by the fact that Surfsinger was pregnant at the time, meaning that there were techincally three lives at risk and not only one or two. Surfisinger must cope with apprehensions verging on mild claustrophobia. Yet, as friends, they have a need to support each other and deal with all of the after-effects of the experience.

8. Development ideas for the magic?

The only thing we might note about magic use in general is that a 100% success rate is not only boring to play, it's stagnating to the character. There is a danger of complacency, arrogance, and flippancy towards others who are not as well developed along those lines. Therefore, any development avenue that you pursue should include failures. Even were your character blessed with "Perfect Control", there would be times when failure is the better choice. Failure breeds conflict, be it internal or external, and conflict breeds story. Therefore, failure is good for stories, which makes it good for magic-users.