A V A T A R S

Avatars are (mostly) discorporate manifestations of the unknown that can be “inserted” in a person with “the proper disposition”, by ad large granting magical ability and often “something else on the side”. Most Avatars can be inserted in any simpleton or vagabond from down the alley, and do not much in most cases, except some minor diffuse supernatural experiences or cantrip-level abilities. Most avatars have a material component and require select and specific applications (sometimes requiring high skill levels in some craft) but some Avatars follow family bloodlines, or just randomly drop out of the sky …  or are called forth my extreme emotion. 

Most avatars come in ‘families’ or ‘batches’, a good 25% are unique. The general estimate is there are about 12 thousand Avatars walking (or dormant) around the dreamlands. They are believed somehow related to Demons but they are not automatically volitional or sentient. Avatars are spirit entities (or energies?) that “inhabit” a person and bestow magical abilities, possibly some other advantages. Some Avatars bestow great powers, and carry a great burden.

It is possible to exchange one avatar for another, although sometimes dormant avatars will put up an incredible fight and/or are quite dangerous to transfer. To remove an Avatar is referred to excision, to implant an Avatar is referred to as Epiphany or Endowment.

Avatars bestow magical ability – and in some cases the most special ones allow the Recipient to become very very powerful, even by default.  By and large implantation of the “Avatar” allows development as a Wizard, Magician, (etc.). The avatar of Piests, Clerics, Paladins lies outside he person and is a metaphysical force or a deity. The avatar of Shamans, Druids. etc. are formulated aspects of nature, but some avatars do benefit “legerdemain” spellcaster types. Similarly the avatar of a Warlock is a demonic force that tends to lie outside the caster. The avatar of a Necromancer is some aspect of death or alchemy. The avatar of a Witch is the ancestral familial bond of a bloodline or select culture. And so on.

Some people are born with an Avatar as part of a curse or being part of a rare bloodline – in this cases excission is very difficult or nigh impossible. 

AVATAR LIST

Moluea – Common/Unaligned

Moluea is the most common avatar. The endowment device is not sentient and the physical manifestation is a softly glowing Pearl.  When the pearl is taken in, often by swallowing, it moves to the heart of the recipient and stays there till death, when it is excreted (and thus may be lost). There is an organization in the Dreamlands, purveyed by the Whites, who work to collect the Moluea and make them available to other spellcasters, but it’s common for other spellcasters to use “The Pearl”, although a Black would intensely frown upon such use, even if temporarily. The Pearl increases Passion [+1], and the bearer is driven towards positivity, joy, marvel and excitement. When waring the pearl all things look more interesting. Colors are more intense. Vision is restored to full capacity even if the previous owner was blind – which makes the pearls a compaaratively valuable thing to own. They can make the blind see again. Having the Pearl means you are likely never bored again, as things everywhere look amazing and fascinating. There may be other benefits and drawbacks. 

Skudzjada – Very Common, Unaligned

Description: One of the Avatars (qv), Skudzjada encorporates a magical tattoo of a complex Glyph depicting a monster – often a dragon of en elemental type. These tattoos tend to be quite large, often places on the back. About 10% of spellcasters have some form of Skudzjada, so these are quite common. A copy of all these tattoos are held in a bookin a magical guild, where it glows softly if the caster in question bearing the seal is still alive – so when it dulls in the associated book, it can be inscribed upon a fresh magically taught recipient. The glyph can not grant avatarship to anything but living beings. Endowment takes about a week to inscribe and requires spectacular skill and tools in tatttooing [d12/d10]. Upon inscribing quite often any lesser Avatar is “expelled”, and the benefits of the tattoo are accrued. The tattoo grants minor resistence against an element type if it involves a Dragon depiction, and -allegedly- the ability to create a minor illumination at will. There are other benefits as well. 

Oude – Very Common, Utopian Aligned

One of the major Avatar types encountered in the Kingdom that grant the powers of Spellcasting. Oude is a fiercely aligned Avatar, that is always associated with Utopian Alignment. It can not endow Psionic endowment. Oude involves the placement of a piercing of some kind, so this jewel can be taken from a recently deceased Spellcaster. The spirit associated with the Avatar occasionally sometimes whispers wise things to the bearer and is thus allaged to grant a remarkable [+3] bonus to wisdom. Other than that the Avatar allegedly grants the ability to remove minor [LV5] diseases once per waking day, and grants a significant [+10] mana advantage. 

Lictoria – Uncommon/ Solidly The Beast Aligned

Lictoria is a material component resembling a red glistening eel like shape glowing with barely contained magical energies. These things were at one time created by Devil Kind, to reward servants of their particular political affinity. All who take the Lictoria must change their mental predisposition towards a harsh stance of unadulterated fascism. Introducing Lictoria is quite easy – through a wond or the mouth, and is somewhat painful. Those who do not want to grow fascistic personality urges either die or (more difficult) excrete the Lictoria. Lictoria grants a decent enough bonus to Mana [10], a whole bunch of spell like abilities, including an uncanny ability to destroy a small amount of paradox every day, making it quite valuable. Downside is the recipient will gradually grow morbidly obese. 

Erebus – Rare, HARD Red/Chaos Aligned

Erebus is a particularly bad avatar, that can only be applied if the corpse of a bearer of the Avatar has died. Key elements of the corpse are then cooked according to a very rare, difficult [d30]  alchemical process [learned spell], according to a “must know” learned formula [specific spell skill +10].  The recipient devours the meaty feast (…) and then is tortured in a very precisely specified and rather secret manner [d30] involving laying bare part of the spine and making gylphic scars on the spinal bone, where the recipient MUST feel the pain, and no other spell can be cast or active on the recipient during the ordeal. The recipient must also have an unambiguous alignment towards Red/Chaos, and this aptitude would ideologically strengthen after the ritual. When succesful, the ritual bestows horrific magical abilities, the ability to learn chaos-attuned spells and spell ability much easier ([half cost!!!] and a massive pool to the recipient mana potential [+25!!]. There are other benefits allegedly, as well as some grim drawbacks. Most recipients tens to gravitate to finalizing their career trajectory towards Anti-Paladin. 

Thau-Thau – Uncommon

Pouli’hoku – Uncommon

Shehesh Khar Guthanqath – Common/Yog Sothoth Aligned

Yatrogga – Common/Blight Aligned

Vogoggog – Uncommon/Shub Niggurath Aligned

Phi Kyllia – Near Unique/Artefact Level/Unaligned

The Great Pikilia is believed to be very rare or unique. Only several are known to exist and they are of incredible value and power and each has a name. One of these is known to inhabit a Grey arch magus at this time who received it at birth so the he doesn’t known any better. Pikilia bestows many powers, but also imposes many burdens. If not called back Pikilia will find its own back into a random recipient in a few years. To excise Pikilia would require the total incineration of the recipient to ashes. Pikilia is a force from the far unknown. It is totally abstract and mysterious and transcendent. It is amoral and unaligned. When the former Recipient of Pikilia no longer wants it, Pikilia will leave. It does not have a physical counterpart. Pikilia can be called back with an old ritual, often mistakenly believed to be a curse. Pikilia grants near total Immortality, towards total Health, all memories intact. The only means of death is the owner renouncing and banishing Pikilia, or total incineration of the body to ashes. The Avatar grants both a solid boost to psi potential, as well as to mana potential. The recipient becomes psionic attunes and is considered automatically focused in both. The physical body of a recipient “regenerates” towards perfection 9[all traits move towards 1d8 minimum], this transformational process occurs over months [1 random trait per month]. Recipients of Pikilia always have an unsettling symmetrical quality, almost as if they are a little too perfect. The recipient gains an icy mental clarity, [all mental and spiritual traits gain a straight bonus of +1d4]. Pikalia enhances combat awareness and responsiveness [+5 Action Points]. The recipient moves with uncanny, unsettling precision of motions. 

Karaguuul – Unique/Artefact Level/Scourge Aligned