The Ecchidreams TTRPG Club World-building Project

[WritesNaughtyStories]

So, one of the first things we're going to need to do is set the basic ground rules:

I suggest a fantasy world. Science fiction does not seem to sell. This implies magic. I vote we toss the trope "cultures" like orcs, elves etc. and build out creatures native to this place.

Is it a globe? Islands floating in a limitless sky? Are there gods, and if so how "solid" and active are they?

Any other fundamental bounds, limits or off limits things to include or exclude?

Edited February 14 by WritesNaughtyStories

[IsabellaRose]

I say a globe. Maybe we work on a single continent and the various beings living there. Screw actual gods. They might be there, they might be made up, but nobody knows for sure. There is no "divine" magic. At least that's my two cents, but I'm willing to play it a different way.

Maybe the gods are only as real as the peoples' belief in them? I feel like that's been done, but it would make the need to get new followers a driving force for priests, at least if they knew.

And I vote for magic being something other than Vancian magic, because all that spell memorization BS is just tired.

 

[WritesNaughtyStories]

Ok, Globe. Fantasy, Drill down on one continent to start. Vancian magic is out. I've been kicking around an idea kind of bastardized from Ars Magica and Hearts of Wulin.

Roughly, it works as elemental magic, but it works off 6 "elements".

Going around a hexagon from the bottom, moving clockwise, the elements are:

Void (or Source - think Tao), Air, Water, Life, Earth, Fire.

Every character has a Key Element - kind of like a zodiac, I guess. Should you be a spell caster (and who that is or isn't is another discussion) the element you're attuned to is easier to work, The one opposite yours is much harder. (Mechanically I think "your element" is +1, the adjacent elements are +/-0, the next ones (two away in either direction) are -1 and the opposite is -2). The other thing I like here is that I think this can be used to make different martial styles. Sure, some of that is going to look kind of like wuxia but it's just as possible for that to apply to more "western" combat too.

Spellcasting is a skill. The larger the impact on the world, the harder it is to manifest. In game terms it becomes a skill roll - modified for the amount of damage (or amount of material affected etc) and whatever other conditions there are. Distractions, trying to do it fast, or quietly or while distracted doing something else at the same time.

I can see a way to a dice pool mechanic or other tiered success mechanic to determine how effective spellcasting is. We can get into the weeds of the actual mechanics if anyone thinks it's an idea worth pursuing.

 

As for gods. Sure, fuck 'em. In the fiction though, I think, maybe, varying cultures ascribe gods' names to elements or combinations of elements and what is actually magic is often mistaken for divine intervention?

Edited February 12 by WritesNaughtyStories
typos

[IsabellaRose]

I like the idea of people ascribing divine power to things that aren't divine. Mostly because then we can have a character with zero of the "divinity" that group thinks is required to do that kind of magic do it anyway, and throw their entire religion off balance.

I like the idea of a ritual slow build, like you roll consecutive pools attempting to attain a set number of successes. The longer it takes you to attain the required number of successes, the longer the spell takes to cast. Example out of context - if you were casting a spell to release someone from a 6 rating curse, you'd need to get 6 or 12 or whatever successes to defeat it. It would take as long as it takes to do so. Maybe every round taxes your magical resilience, and if you lose control that power can overflow from your spell out into the world. I dunno. I like magic to be powerful, but messy if you screw up.

I like the idea of elemental based magic. What would be the difference between Life and Void?

[WritesNaughtyStories]

I love the idea of rituals - things that take even days to complete as (a) character(s) build enough success to achieve something.  Can time invested in accruing successes mitigate failure?

For instance, in your removing a curse example, you could try to do that as a single action, but the difficulty is high and if you fail, that's it, no more tries. If, instead you work it as a ritual, choosing to craft your magic meticulously as you watch the magic of the curse unwind, you can miss but continue.

Life and Void: I see Life as mostly biology. Plants, animals. Things that grow and are bound by the order of their structure. Void is the core harmony of the universe, the formless potential at The Source. Where magic comes from, I expect.

 

Our main continent: shall we all draw just an outline and then put up a poll to choose which one? Or, @Balthier, can we boost your map and decide on one of the continents from it? Another option would be to have everyone put together something more complete and put that to a vote.

 

As we start looking at who lives here, are humans present or is everything here unique to it? Was there some other civilization(s) that fell in eons past, and little trinkets of technology remain to confound magical philosophers and theorists? (I'm looking at you, Tekumel...) And if there was an ancient civilization, was its collapse the slow work of entropy or an apocalyptic disaster that gave rise to the current world.

I'm open to there being no prior civilization, or a continuing rise and fall more like our own history as well. And I don't know that we want, or need, to fully explore any history in the way Microscope might. Again, maybe we do, what's everyone think?

One idea I've given some thought to over the years is the (I think) Alan Dean Foster short story Night. The core concept is the planet exists in a multi-star system and only gets "night" once every (insert astronomically high number) years. Is that an impending apocalypse?

Edited February 13 by WritesNaughtyStories

[WritesNaughtyStories]

Some additional thoughts about magic. I invite everyone to tear this apart, rebuild it, modify it - it's an idea offered to the project to be molded into something non-Vancian, useful for the world building and fun to use.

Basically every magic effect is a transformation. Want to disintegrate that spider-ape? Sure. It's just transforming it into Void. But that's complicated. The two elements are diametrically opposed so that spell is hard. Want to do it right now, from far enough away that the attacking spider-ape hasn't pulled you apart? Now that spell is really fucking hard.

Spells, from both the fictional and game mechanics points of view, have the following parameters, which are largely inspired by Ars Magica:

Effect: measured in damage (dice, points, wounds etc. as appropriate to other mechanics), pounds, cubic feet (I actually prefer "hands" because it's a little smaller and moves volume closer to matching the mass of "pounds" for most things). Each unit of measure makes things harder. Each sense affected for either the caster (for scrying) or target (illusions) adds 1 step of difficulty.

Area: Point, Item, Individual, Room, Structure, Town, County, Region, Continent World. Each step is harder - maybe orders of magnitude harder. Should there be some kind of game mechanic unit of measure? Each hex (point, item, individual, hex and each added hex gets harder?)

Range: Self, Touch, (short, medium, long combat ranges), Sight, (anything beyond? I like the idea of anchors like a lock of hair, true name etc. allowing spell casting without seeing the target but the farther away (town, county, region, continent, world?) the target is, the higher the difficulty. Or, to simplify matters, does having a physical focus just reduce the range by a step or two depending on how intimate the focus is?

Duration: Instant, Minute, Quarter Hour, Hour, Sun (or Moon, implying that the effect lasts until sun or moon set), Day,Week,Month, Year, Age, Permanent.

Is it too complex? Do we just go with a DM decides how hard the roll is? I both love and hate that.

Edited February 13 by WritesNaughtyStories

[IsabellaRose]

I like the idea of added complexity for the system and the fiction. 

I think I based part of my idea on how magic works in the Dresden Files game. In theory you can do anything, but you have to test against your skill to craft and mold the technical aspects of the spell - to get it to do exactly what you want it to do, and against your magic power level to be able to hold/control the actual magical energy required until the spell itself is complete and ready to be released. If you screw up the skill roll, the spell might not do exactly what you want, or might be less effective - but you've still called all that magic and power into the world, and it's going to go somewhere. You can internalize it, take damage/stress/whatever or let it go and affect the world around you - magical collateral damage. 

Adding other casters to a ritual should be able to help control the power or craft the spell.

A focus you have made for yourself, like a totem, wand, voodoo doll, etc. would help you to craft the spell. 

An anchor - a lock of hair, true name, etc. could help focus the spell on that person. 

Maybe even "places of power" like ley line nexuses, burial grounds, sites of ritual sacrifice - those could also help.

Possibly even the energy released during the death of a sacrifice, the strength of a lovers' emotional connection to their lover, the sexual energy released during tantric rituals, etc. could be harnessed. I wrote a story where the only magic was emotion/sensation based - dark magicians caused pain, fear, and death to work their magic, while the good magicians used sex magic to work their spells. The most powerful wizards had harems of the most sensitive and skilled lovers to help them work their most powerful spells. It was quite the lewd magic world. 

[WritesNaughtyStories]

Long and winding post incoming. It will, I think, eventually get around to @IsabellaRose's points. Please note I did say, "I think."

Getting back to our 6 elements - what if they also become our 6 attributes? Void mapping to Mental Strength/Willpower; Air, Intellect; Water, Strength; Life, Empathy/Wisdom; Earth, Constitution/Toughness; Fire, Agility. This gets us out of having a second set of attributes ties only to magic, and I like that. But, and here's where we begin to work back to Izzy's magical potential - it offers a quick way to measure how "strong" someone is in any given element.

If you have more negatives in a spell than you have rating in that element, you run the risk of a Catastrophic Failure (DCC, anyone?), regardless of skill, Rituals avoid that problem, but I think there needs to be some kind of "conductor" role who has to lead the ritual and make sure everyone is doing the right thing at the right time. Is that based on Spellcasting Skill or the rating in the Element?

I like the idea of focuses made by the caster being more powerful, and places of power. My Rifts people, are we down with Ley Lines? I also think, given the current community where we're having this discussion, pain and pleasure should be powerful totems too.

Are there spell casters who specialize in casting on-the-fly? The DND sorcerers of this world? The can help in rituals, and understand totems but their real power is getting things done NOW.

 

If we thinks using the Elements as attributes as well, I'd like to suggest that our Zodiac roll stand, but the Element values be randomly generated. Fate doesn't always smile - sometimes you're shit at your ruling element. I think that might help create non-casters - which raises another question, is this like Xanth where everyone uses magic to some degree or another?

[IsabellaRose]

27 minutes ago, WritesNaughtyStories said:

Getting back to our 6 elements - what if they also become our 6 attributes? Void mapping to Mental Strength/Willpower; Air, Intellect; Water, Strength; Life, Empathy/Wisdom; Earth, Constitution/Toughness; Fire, Agility. This gets us out of having a second set of attributes ties only to magic, and I like that. But, and here's where we begin to work back to Izzy's magical potential - it offers a quick way to measure how "strong" someone is in any given element.

I love this - streamlined, unique, and still functional and fun!

 

32 minutes ago, WritesNaughtyStories said:

If we thinks using the Elements as attributes as well, I'd like to suggest that our Zodiac roll stand, but the Element values be randomly generated. Fate doesn't always smile - sometimes you're shit at your ruling element. I think that might help create non-casters - which raises another question, is this like Xanth where everyone uses magic to some degree or another?

Here's the idea this sparked for me - yes, everyone CAN use magic, but without training they lack the skill to properly manipulate the power they can call up. They might be more like... I don't know - untrained superheroes, with wild explosions of power having catastrophic effects on the world around them. If that were the case, there would almost certainly be some kind of "coming of age" ritual that identifies everyone's capability, and groups that seek powerful people to mold to their own purposes. There would probably even be groups that specialize in each element who search out the ones they want, like jedi taking children who are strong in the force to train.

You also gave me another idea. If you are strong in one element, but have an affinity for another, there should be different applications for such things. For instance, if you're strong in water but ruled by fire, perhaps you have a strange "quenching" affinity, the worlds' natural firemen. But if you're strong in fire but ruled by water, perhaps you have a steam affinity. I'm not sure how they'd all map out, but it just struck me as an interesting concept. Obviously the most powerful would be those whose affinity and strength match.

39 minutes ago, WritesNaughtyStories said:

Are there spell casters who specialize in casting on-the-fly? The DND sorcerers of this world? The can help in rituals, and understand totems but their real power is getting things done NOW.

I imagine that, like Dresden Files, you have a few things you've done so often, from your training, through your adult life, that they become your "go to" tools. A fire mage may have a "flamethrower" spell that he can just blast off at enemies because he's done it so many times, practiced it, worked on it over and over until the forms, words, emotions, whatever is required can be called upon without a second thought. Maybe you have so many points to split up for these "rote spells" that you just know off the bat - you could have a lot of low level magic, or a very few, very powerful rote spells.

[Balthier]

If you want to use my map, by all means, do what you like with it. I tried to keep weather patterns and prevailing winds in mind when I made it, for a sense of realism.

[WritesNaughtyStories]

10 hours ago, IsabellaRose said:

Here's the idea this sparked for me - yes, everyone CAN use magic, but without training they lack the skill to properly manipulate the power they can call up. They might be more like... I don't know - untrained superheroes, with wild explosions of power having catastrophic effects on the world around them. If that were the case, there would almost certainly be some kind of "coming of age" ritual that identifies everyone's capability, and groups that seek powerful people to mold to their own purposes. There would probably even be groups that specialize in each element who search out the ones they want, like jedi taking children who are strong in the force to train.

There's a lot of great ideas in here.

Dangerous Successes. I especially love this idea. I think I have a thought about how to implement it but it would have to be adapted to fit whatever game was being used to run the world. The core notion comes from kind of the way 2d20 or other dice pool games work (Riddle of Steel taught me so much...): You roll and count successes. Easy. Split your dice into two colors - a Skill color and an Element color. Roll 1 Skill Die for each point in the skill, roll one Element Die for each point in the element. If you get enough successes to succeed but no Skill successes - Dangerous Success. Some wild, unpredictable effect occurs. I vote boost DDC's magic side effects table, but there are plenty of options for that - or leave it to the table to figure out what makes sense. In a d20 system it gets a little harder, but how's this:  adopt a tiered success system. Every x you get above the target number counts as a success. Less than x  and it's a Dangerous Success. 

I think you're right about coming of age rituals, at least for some cultures. In other places, where it's all attributed to gods, they probably go to the temple and the priests sort it. As we dig into the world more, we can see what at least some of those look like. I think many are a Trial that involves working a sample of each element. 

I like the idea of there being people who not primarily something other than spellcasters though. Someone who uses a Fight skill + Water to swing a sword; a merchant who rolls Negotiate + Life to cut a deal. They can work minor magic - perhaps the Wine Maker uses Cast + Water to avoid spills or enhance a jug for a limited time to get a better price...

I'm intrigued by these organizations that recruit powerful casters. What does the headquarters of The Empty Heart look like? I feel like they're Void magicians, do they have some secret agenda? Is there a secret band of Life magicians who are necromancers (or are they actually Void attuned but strong in Life?) Which reminds me - your quenching mages; here's how I think that works: They're strong in Fire but attuned to Water, with everything basically being a transformation, they transform Fire to Water. Their control of Fire is strong but they can instinctively see the path to water, so they can make that transformation more easily. I think players making those kind of descriptions should be encouraged with bonus dice, extra successes or modified difficulties.

11 hours ago, IsabellaRose said:

A fire mage may have a "flamethrower" spell that he can just blast off at enemies because he's done it so many times, practiced it, worked on it over and over until the forms, words, emotions, whatever is required can be called upon without a second thought. Maybe you have so many points to split up for these "rote spells" that you just know off the bat - you could have a lot of low level magic, or a very few, very powerful rote spells.

I think that the limit to the number of Rote spells is your Rating in an Element, but you have perform what amounts to a Ritual to craft it. Your Flamethrower example might work like: Casting (3) Fire (14 - just going with a D&D scale as an illustration), Short Range (-3), Instant (0), Individual Target (-1), 3d6 Damage (-3 for # of dice * 2 for stepping up from d4 for a total of -6) looks like a target of 27. The extended test  is 27 successes. The easy way to do it is allow one roll of (27-(Casting + Element = 17) each week and tally the successes. The system could be complicated to break the extended test into the components. 

One thing this does points out is that it will take some thought to adapt the "core conceit" to varying systems. It's not an insurmountable problem, but one to consider. Alternatively, we can home brew the system as we work - in which case I suggest a short set of broad skills.

As I was writing this, I see @Balthier gave us permission to use his map. Is that OK with everyone or do we want to do something else?

[IsabellaRose]

I feel like we've turned this into "TTRPG game building" instead of world-building, because we're both focusing on mechanics and what to roll, etc. Which, you know, I'm having a blast, but I think we might be leaving anyone else who wants to participate in the dust? Maybe I'm wrong. 

I'd like to take a step back from that, and just make the world. Once we know what the world is, how things work, we can pick a system that fits, or design one around what we want.

 

So we have:

1. The world is a globe.
2. There are no detectable gods. They might be there, they might be made up, but nobody knows for sure. (although some cultures may ascribe various elemental powers to "gods")
3. The world is based on elements, and everyone is attuned to one element. Void (the core harmony of the universe, the formless potential at The Source), Air, Water, Life (biology, botany, things that grow and are bound by the order of their structure), Earth, Fire.
4. The elements map to "abilities": Void = Mental Strength/Willpower; Air = Intellect; Water = Strength; Life = Empathy/Wisdom; Earth = Constitution/Toughness; Fire = Agility
5. The elements are the basis of "magic", and also the basis for schools of martial arts, trades, everything. Everyone is attuned in an element and strong in an element, not necessarily always the same element. 
6. Magic can be enhanced with rituals (longer duration, adding more mages, etc.), totems/focus items, sacrifices, strong emotions, etc. Each culture would likely have their own ways of doing things.

Questions we have not yet answered:

1. As we start looking at who lives here, are humans present or is everything here unique to it?
2. Was there some other civilization(s) that fell in eons past, and little trinkets of technology remain to confound magical philosophers and theorists? (I'm looking at you, Tekumel...)
3. And if there was an ancient civilization, was its collapse the slow work of entropy or an apocalyptic disaster that gave rise to the current world.
4. What kinds of rituals (coming of age, religious, etc.) are there around people discovering which element they're attuned to?
5. What societies exist because the members are strong in certain elements?

[WritesNaughtyStories]

10 minutes ago, IsabellaRose said:

I feel like we've turned this into "TTRPG game building" instead of world-building, because we're both focusing on mechanics and what to roll, etc. Which, you know, I'm having a blast, but I think we might be leaving anyone else who wants to participate in the dust? Maybe I'm wrong

I do not think you're wrong.

[WritesNaughtyStories]

36 minutes ago, IsabellaRose said:

5. What societies exist because the members are strong in certain elements?

I 'd like to suggest we not do this. Avatar: The Last Airbender leaned heavily on the Fire. Earth, Air and Water nations. Almost anything that we concoct is going to look a lot like that, I'm afraid. While there are probably guilds and colleges centered on the various elements, I have a strong aversion to building political entities based on elements. It gets to the same kind of problem I have with metahumans in Shadowrun - why, after 14 years of living with whatever group birthed them, do people suddenly wander off and band up with strangers because they manifested a hidden genetic trait? That kid, born with an affinity for water and a strong water element doesn't move to Watertown when he turns 14 or whatever.

What do societies do with powerful spell casters? How does the importance (or lack thereof) of an element in a society's values manifest? Is there a secret cabal of Air Mages who quietly influence the regent of Blackshard Castle by softly blowing whispers as she sleeps? That all make far more sense to me.

HOWEVER - this is a COMMUNITY project. I can be told to sit down and shut up.

[IsabellaRose]

4 hours ago, WritesNaughtyStories said:

I 'd like to suggest we not do this. Avatar: The Last Airbender leaned heavily on the Fire. Earth, Air and Water nations. Almost anything that we concoct is going to look a lot like that, I'm afraid.

I agree completely. When I said "societies" I meant more like "secret societies" and organizations.

[WritesNaughtyStories]

That makes a lot more sense to me.

 

Where the River Vho joins the countless nameless streams that spill down the jagged faces of the Nightrazor Mountains, grows the vast Sunless Forest. Its trees stretch above the world, challenging the Nightrazors' height.

Their canopy is so thick light never reached the floor. Here grows the under forest of mushrooms, lichen and gray moss.

In the canopy scamper and flitter the delicate Ticca - their patterned wings incapable of true flight, but enough to help them leap from limb to limb in the sun-dappled green. The Ticca clans fight wars of bravery, counting coup with elegant, graceful lunges and pirouetting cuts. The blood of Ticca offends the trees and they are careful not to spill it, and offer tribute to the trees when they do. Among the Ticca, Air mages are treasured - those who can boost their wings, dive and swirl amid the leaves and branches and count a hundred touches before yielding one, are among the most prized. Tales of Naharang, the mightiest of the Air Dancers are told in all the great, communal nests.

In the shadows beneath the limbs, where the air is always cool and dew feeds the moss, gather the dreaded fire mages of the Ticca, their power dark and terrible. They dare not strike the nests, but there are those whose wing membranes are scarred, who can do little more than leap from twig to twig who can testify to their fearsomeness.

Below, in the perpetual night, lurk the centipede-like Revvans. Two thirds of their bodies have pairs of short legs while at the front they have two pairs of foot-hands and two pairs of manipulative hands. They burrow among the roots, letting air circulate and planting the fungi that allow the trees of the forest to act like a giant brain. Their colony spreads throughout the forest, countless warrens and entrances marked by sculpted stonework forged by their earth mages.

Edited Monday at 07:21 PM by WritesNaughtyStories
Typos

[WritesNaughtyStories]

Do we actually like any of that?

If so, what else do we need to know about either species? Do they interact? Because this is EcchiDreams, can they interbreed?

What I want to know is, are there trade routes through the forest? Do they send through the fungal undergrowth? I can't see the Revans letting anyone cut through so is it a long, twisting route or has someone built a suspended highway through the middle layers of the forest?

I see some kind of vegan culture, who revere the Birth Mother, coming to trade for mycelium. Are they some other culture of Revans, some new species? What are their clothes and wagons like?

[IsabellaRose]

Assuming our world is for an ED roleplay, I'm happy to have any species we come up with capable of interbreeding.

I like what you've done. It's unique and interesting and gives us a good place to build more. 

I'd like to give some brief outlines to a few areas like that. Then, when we know the other species look like, how they travel and interact with the world around them, we can figure out what kinds of trade routes they would need. In fact, what if everyone who is interested in this project comes up with their own unique culture and species like that, then we try to see how they all work together.

Also, I'm inclined to come up with something other than element + "mage" - it still feels a little too close to Avatar, like we're just substituting "mage" for "bender", you know? But that could just be me.

Did we decide if there are "plain old humans" on our world? 

[WritesNaughtyStories]

We have not decided on humans. What does everyone think? I could go either way, but in favor of adding humans, it gives us a way to perceive the world through a human perspective.

I concur about the element+mage thing. *mancer seems marginally better. Some thoughts:

Aquamancer

Pyrothurge

Vitalist

Aetherist

Geothurge

 

Void is vexing. There's no good root coming to mind. Voidmancer isn't awful, but it damn sure ain't great. Not that any of those are great either, but it gives us a place to start the conversation.

 

Please, let's see some regions/cultures....

Everyone add one or two.

Edited Monday at 07:50 PM by WritesNaughtyStories

[IsabellaRose]

I think every culture should have their own terminology for elementalists and different approaches to using their gifts. 

For instance, on the southern shore of Varra live the tribes of the free-spirited Xiangalese, a hedonistic culture of bioluminescent humanoids who only focus on the use of their elemental abilities to enhance the pleasure and sensations they can make each other feel.

Elementally-attuned Xiangalese do not use their abilities for battle, destruction, or even labor. Their elemental gifts exist solely for intimacy, connection, and pleasure, to heighten the physical and emotional bonds they share with one another. Every interaction is a dance of sensation, where words, gestures, and even glances carry deep meaning. They believe pleasure is the highest form of existence, a philosophy that shapes every aspect of their society, from architecture designed to be touched and felt, to clothing that teases the skin, to art that evokes deep, visceral responses. Their interactions are fluid, without rigid definitions of relationships. Instead, they move in and out of connections freely, celebrating sensation, passion, and experience above all else. To love a Xiangalese is to be entwined in the elements themselves, to feel the universe breathe through pleasure, to be consumed, lifted, and reborn in the endless embrace of sensation.

The Xiangalese are an exquisitely beautiful, sensual, and fluid people, their forms evolved for indulgence and sensory pleasure. They are humanoid, but not bound by human limitations. Every aspect of their existence revolves around the enhancement of sensation, intimacy, and indulgence. Their forms are subtly shaped by their dominant element, lending them a diverse yet harmonious aesthetic. 

All Xiangal share the same basic physical appearance. Their silken skin has a slight bioluminescent shimmer that responds to pleasure and touch, glowing more intensely in moments of heightened sensation. Their eyes are large and deep-set, often swirling with colors that reflect their elemental affinity. Their limbs are sensuous and elongated, with fingers and toes slightly longer than human proportions, perfect for tracing pleasure across skin. Every movement is fluid, as if gravity barely holds them. They have an innate sensuality expressed through every step, gesture, and breath. Their elemental affinity manifests uniquely in their hair which is always worn long and uncut; It unfurls like smoke, cascades like water, or shifts in texture like living vines. Xiangalese with different affinities all live together, but their abilities are often written on their skin and manifest in different ways:

• Those with a fire affinity are heat incarnate, with faint flickers of flame licking across their skin during moments of arousal, igniting sensation directly on skin; they create pleasurable tingles and bursts of warmth with a mere brush of fingers.
• Water-attuned Xiangalese have a fluid softness to their skin which shifts like liquid silk, perfectly molding to the touch, and manipulate moisture to cool the bodies of their partners. They can shape water like a massaging current, sending pulses through the skin and stimulating pleasure centers. Their movements are slow, hypnotic, and intoxicating, like waves pulling a lover deeper into pleasure.
• Those attuned to earth can alter their density, shifting their skin to be soft as velvet or as unyielding as stone against a lover’s touch and cause deep, pleasurable vibrations within the body, stimulating sensation from within.
• The air-attuned Xiangalese are light, almost weightless, their touch like a whisper across skin, summoning caressing breezes that glide arousingly over their partner’s body. Their voices are musical and hypnotic, capable of sending shivers through skin with a mere word.
• The touch of the life-attuned promotes physical pleasure and renewal, amplifying every sensation to euphoric levels. Their scent is intoxicating, reminiscent of rich flowers, sun-drenched fruit, or fresh earth after rain. Their kisses can spread waves of pleasure through the nerves, making a single touch feel like an entire body’s worth of sensation, and they exude vitality, making those around them feel alive, energized, and deeply connected to their surroundings.
• The skin of void-attuned Xiangalese is dark and shimmering, like the night sky, with stars appearing within their depths and they can manipulate the essence of pleasure itself, enhancing or dulling sensation at will. Can warp the sensation of time, making moments last eternities or causing pleasure to strike suddenly like a cosmic revelation. Their touch is both everything and nothing, creating ghostly, impossible sensations that defy understanding.

The Xiangalese, without ever consciously trying, have shaped their homeland into a living pleasure garden, a paradise sculpted by the passive influence of their elemental gifts. Their world is a landscape of swaying golden grasses that sigh with delight at the touch of an Air-attuned’s passing, warm mineral springs that shift in temperature to match the desires of Fire and Water users, and lush, bioluminescent groves where Life-attuned Xiangalese have unconsciously coaxed trees into forming soft, petal-strewn lounges beneath canopies that glow in soothing hues. Earth-attuned ones have, over time, smoothed the stones into natural massage beds, where vibrations ripple through the rock to lull their kin into blissful repose. Even the Void-attuned have left their mark, creating places where the very air shimmers with a dreamlike haze, bending perception so that moments of pleasure stretch into eternity. In this paradise, touch, scent, sound, and sensation all harmonize, ensuring that simply walking through their world is an experience of indulgence, a seamless extension of their hedonistic existence.

[WritesNaughtyStories]

My initial impression was the Xiangalese don't so much craft spells as manifest stimuli the way we caress a lover - acting, experimenting reacting to their pleasure. The more I think about it though, the more I think that the truly revered Xiangalese are artists - precise, intentional, creating deliberate, challenging experiences.

Are there dark, twisted Xiangal who explore pain and suffering as legitimate paths of experience? Are they hidden pariahs, driven from the elegant, sensual garden-cities into wild, dark places beyond the reach of society. Or are they forbidden drugs that polite society pretends don't exist?

[IsabellaRose]

Oh, I like that. The dark side of the Xiangal expresses as a sort of BDSM thing. I imagine that all forms of sensual experience are valid to the Xiangal. I like the idea that they're the "beyond" part... once you've experienced all that Xiangal society has to offer, there are whispers of more, something dark and forbidden, something beyond the pleasure you've come to know, a new layer of sensation.

[WritesNaughtyStories]

Xiangalese cuisine must be something to experience.

What's the name of that floraly, slightly herbaceous tiny flower they grow in paddies? It grows all over the warm, alluvial flood plains of Barra. It's interesting that Varrans outside of Xiangal think of the ka influenced shifts in flavor and texture as abhorrent but insige Xiangal farmers are known for how their ka influences flavor.

Are there subtly bitter varieties that point the way to darker ways to experience ka?

Is it ka-shah for void attuned magic and ka-vash for fire attunement?

[IsabellaRose]

I imagine everything is an art form for the Xiangalese. Their cuisine offers taste sensations unlike any other, all strictly vegetarian, like: a glowing, golden syrup of spiced nectar that warms the body from within; delicate, fluid-filled pearls of flavor that burst upon the tongue, flooding the mouth with waves of flavor and cool euphoria; cloudlike confections that melt instantly, leaving a tingling breath of flavor; flavored mists inhaled rather than eaten, stimulating the taste buds through breath; ephemeral sweets that seem to fade from existence just before they are swallowed, leaving behind only pure pleasure; a rare fruit that when consumed removes all other sensations for a brief moment before bringing them back in an overwhelming flood.

But food is more than just the taste sensation, the ritual of eating is an artform in and of itself. Food is often shared directly between lovers and partners, eaten from each other’s hands or lips to enhance the intimacy of the experience. Communal feasting involves cycles of pleasure, where different elemental foods are offered one after the other, creating waves of shifting sensations.

 

I was also wondering about how they would interact with others, which would invariably mean hostile others, especially if there are humans on the planet. I imagine they have their own "martial" art, which would be an exclusively of a defensive technique - the Art of Disarming Through Pleasure or something. They probably can overwhelm an aggressors senses to the point that they feel no more aggression and simply give in to pleasure. I wonder how that would work...

[WritesNaughtyStories]

Hostile others are few, but dangerous, No one is overly interested in conquering Xiangal - they can barely rule themselves: "No one rules if no one obeys" being the rationale for most would be invaders. Is the threat slavers though? Xiangalese slaves are highly sought after in distant lands, where their exotic beauty and the rich pleasures they offer hard to obtain (although freely available if you travel to Xiangal - but the Xiangal cannot be held or claimed as so many desire) and dangerous Nullhounds - carefully trained void attuned slave hunters who can nullify the pleasure attacks they call "The Dreaming"