Quinn Angstrom
Hey OC gang who wants to assemble a mecha cast based on a dream I had
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Being a dream I only have vibes, not a coherent world or story, but I think it has some potential
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in random order:
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- Magical super robot fantasy hidden inside of realtype mecha drama
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Most of the world is conventional technology weapons but a few secret groups have mecha that are deadass magic
Villain
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- Witches VS Necromancers
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The good guy organization is a group called the Witch Knights
tutorials georg
oh cool!
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which is also the name of their mech type
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
you had me at knights
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the villain is an all-powerful necromancer who runs a secret society that rules the world from the shadows
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- Classism
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The antagonists are opulent decadent ultra-ultra-rich sociopaths who are immune to the rules of society and can never be held accountable for their crimes by any mundane process
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The heroes are scrabby nobodies on the fringes of society
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scrappy*
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- The protagonist is a hot-blooded homeless heroic dumbass who found a Witch Knight in a dumpster
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who doesn't know jack about shit but has a pure and furious heart that's optimal for wielding witch magic
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the Witch Knights do not initially recognize her as a member because she just found one instead of joining the society but desperate times make for unlikely allies
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
may I offer a few ideas based on this
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- The necromancers manipulate society to brand Witch Knights as enemies of humanity but the people gradually shift to be on their side as the sins of their masters become more overt
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vibes somewhere between gurren lagann cour 1, rayearth, g-witch, and gundam 00s2
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
if she found the witch knight in a dumpster, this has a few implications!
first, that witch knights have some manner of like... storage mode that shrinks them down into a manageable size for day to day stuff
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with the Necromancers standing in for the Innovaors
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the dumpster isn't necessarily literal
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but do go on
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
I am imagining like a gauntlet or glove deal that summons the witch knight out of the ether when needed
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oh that's baller
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a henshin device but it summons a magical robot knight
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
with the gauntlet being identical to the witch knight's arm/hand
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dramatic cut-in animation of the hero donning the glove and holding her hand skyward
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
possibly it doesn't have to be a gauntlet but it is a human-sized Part Of The Witch Knight, symbolic of the bond between human and mecha
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the overall shape of the setting is like a Gundam series, high-tech Earth and space colonies and wars between armies of humanoid robots in space
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with the Witch Knights fighting for their own goals within the ongoing war and the Necromancers manipulating both sides from the shadows
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open questions
Princess Emily
this fucks
Princess Emily
that isn't a question
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- What are witches? What are their powers?
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
my other idea is
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^ 1
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2. Where did the Necromancers come from? What are they doing with their necromancy?
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3. What's the ongoing war about, on the surface? What purpose does it serve for the Necromancers?
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was going to ask "what's the goal of the Necromancers" but that's answered by them being obscenely wealthy
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their goal is to have more
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then keep it
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and make sure nobody else's life ever improves
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
the Witch Knights' first, most basic, and greatest magic
is the ability to create a battlefield when a fight begins- a dimension which resembles the location the fight began, but with no civilians, and preventing damage to the real world
Quinn Angstrom
I'm leaning a bit against that one because it clashes with the whole element of the secret fight inside a broader ongoing war
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
possibly this spell which keeps civilians safe is a big thing the necromancers hate.
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battles should be chaotic and have high stakes
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
because fewer bodies to do necromancy to
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but I could be persuaded
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
that's fair
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4. How did protag-chan get a Witch Knight? why was it thrown away. is the owner dead
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
my thought there was less chaotic battle and more like. Knightly duels.
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maybe it's a thing they can do but only for one on one battles
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
perhaps it only functions for 1v1 duels.
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so like, if an enemy army is coming
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you have to get in there
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
same brain
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and get dirty
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and protect the innocent
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but if one Necrodeus is on the battlefield and it's going to harvest the souls of a city
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you challenge it to a witch's duel
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
yeah
but if a necromancer just picks up an entire graveyard to make the ultimate sixty-story skelemech
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
yes
Quinn Angstrom
Necrodeus is the name of a kirby boss but I still want to use it for necromancer personal mecha
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
... perhaps
the witch knight protag has originally belonged to someone who fought a witch's duel to a draw
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
killed the horrible enemy, but died in the process themselves
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I think ideally
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
thus, the witch knight gauntlet fell where the person died in the duel dimension
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the previous owner of the WK was a super awesome kickass gigahero
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so that the people who loved her low key resent protag at first and she has huge boots to fill
Princess Emily
or maybe big hero-chan died losing to one of the Big Bads of the series
Princess Emily
and the Big Bad took the gauntlet
Princess Emily
so the fact dumpster gremlin even FOUND it is very Sus
Princess Emily
very Are You A Spy
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which would raise an extra question
Princess Emily
sure there are questions around the how there but that just makes the plot more compelling
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of how did it get from the villain's hand to the dumpster
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
... character concept forming
Princess Emily
it's a question that can be figured out tho
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yeah
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
a witch knight spy working as a servant for the biggest, most evil necromancer
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
who found that gauntlet as a trophy
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naming the protag Isobel
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
and despite it risking their cover, could not allow the witch knight hero to be there as a trophy, so she took it and threw it out with intent to go recover it
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
as soon as villain's eyes were elsewhere
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
and then oops
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and the head necromancer Cosimo
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going off lists of famous witches and occulltists respectively from history
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worldbuilding options: the origins of witchcraft and necromancy, the political landscape of the earth sphere, the origins of the witch knights as a power schema and organization, what mundane mecha are like
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NPC options: the ex-owner of Isobel's WK, fleshing out Cosimo, more Necromancers
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PC options: The Witch Knights
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what about a naming scheme of "characters based on real or fictional witches, WKs based on real or fictional knights"
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
sounds good
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
also
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
the hero who died could be named Joan
after Joan of arc, since she was burned as a witch
Quinn Angstrom
done
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the obvious name of the protag WK would be something based on Arthur but I don't think I'm going for itt
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
Bradamante
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done
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
the matter of France is also good
Princess Emily
I think I have my own character idea floating in my head, gotta solidify it more, but since we opened pandora's box with naming bad guys after occultists,
character name: Alessi Cagliostro
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Isobel, inheriting the gauntlet of Bradamante from Joan after she was slain by Cosimo
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Isobel's rallying cry is "you're a human, but the victims of your crimes are also human"
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"I love everyone and that's why I can't forgive what you've done do others"
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just hits back against all the political doubletalk and word games with "you're killing 80,000 people and it literally doesn't matter what you say about itt"
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"you may be above the law but you aren't above me"
連続犬
I'm into this idea
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question 5: can boys/enbies be witches
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or is it a specifically female power
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
historically, anyone can be a witch
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my main mental image reference for the Witch Knights visual aesthetic is https://images.plurk.com/21U8RfQSqe1Q9jbqdDE9JS.png
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typically female but not always
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I think my biggest open question right now is
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what necromancy are they doing
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why did I make them necromancers
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are they keeping humanity in a state of endless war in order to harvest the souls of dead soldiers
連続犬
undead labor is technically the cheapest labor
連続犬
that's a shitpost but also it isnt
Quinn Angstrom
the necromancer societyt IS secret
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but corpses piloting mecha as their personal guard is strong
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
corpses piloting mecha, who retain the skills they had in life but none of the free will
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they just keep track of major aces in wars, wait for them to die
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and then get em
連続犬
here's a question: if it's a secret society, are there different levels to which the necromancers' undead minions can 'pass' in society?
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the masses just being used as necrotic power
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that's a good question!
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my current model is the Innovators model - every time there's a meeting of major powers, there's always a secret necromancer in the room
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it's usually the guy next to the top
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and the actual undead they use in secret or in mecha where people can't see the pilo
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t
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
concept:
the duel dimension's primary purpose is to protect civilians and make sure there are no innocents hurt by their battle
the secondary purpose is that, should the witch lose, the duel dimension consumes their body so that necromancers cannot use them
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
a simultaneous show of concern, and resolve
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
(this is why cosimo kept the gauntlet as a trophy and not having joan and bradamante as his personal guard)
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I'm waffling on this means it usually desroys the WK as well
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points in favor of destroy: the Necromancers can't steal their weapons, higher stakes
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points against: the witches can't reuse WKs most of the time, necromancers probably consider witchcraft beneath them
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evil organization name, Necropolis
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they have an invisible evil space city where they live as gods surrounded by undead servants
連続犬
my general thoughts re: undead servants basically boil down to like
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they're so evil that the only way they can get direct followers is to kill them and revive them as mindless drones
連続犬
how Mass Effect 1 (and to a lesser extent 2) treated Reaper Indoctrination
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
potential idea: it's meant to destroy the WK
cosimo's fight with joan was field testing cosimo's new necromantic spell to basically tear apart the duel field to let him keep the spoils
it halfway succeeded, but it still lets him keep witch knights and he can refine it to let him keep the bodies of the witches
Quinn Angstrom
the final arc being an assault on the necropolis, a big frantic battle with everyone, then a final witch's duel between Isobel and Cosimo
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
the duel field has been the witch knights' one major advantage until now, and cosimo is very systematically tearing that advantage apart
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the secret god-king of humanity who can tear down and reshape society at his whim
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against a hobo with a cool glove
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ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ I like this a lot
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it's the time pressure
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Necropolis has ruled the world for a while, but they're actively in the process of erasing one of their last remaining weaknesses
Princess Emily
I bet that the greatest necromancer guy is also
Princess Emily
actually undead, a lich,
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
nods! once all of this is complete, they will have no weaknesses, and then the longer it goes on, the more unshakable their grasp will be forever because they will accumulate more and more powerful servants, of witches who challenged them
Quinn Angstrom
a major character hook up for grabs is
Princess Emily
which isn't supposed to be a thing necromancers do in this setting so it can be uniquely badass
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the leader of the Witch Knights
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Princess Emily I like it, added
Princess Emily
my character hook is "necromancer that changes sides"
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necromancers are generally speaking mortal
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you can't just channel necrotic energy and live forever
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so Cosimo is unique in that he became so powerful he was able to resurrect himself
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and just keep going
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passes for human 100% but the more power he expends the more undead he looks
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
i am thinking Ursula for the witch knight acting as a spy in cosimo's lair
and her mecha, Boudica
連続犬
The hook I'm feeling basically boils down to "Witch Knight who got captured and whose resulting capture lead to Necropolis discovering a weakness in the Dueling Ground"
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
she's acting as like, a simple maid or something, presumably cosimo has some living servants in addition to the corpses
連続犬
"Broke out but probably is using some fucked up power that they had to use to escape in the first place now"
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yeah living humans are more useful when he has to interact with society
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you don't have to waste resources hiding their true nature
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next question I want to focus on is the nature of the Witch Knights
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I think witchcraft is ancient but Witch Knights are relatively new
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the group is either new or a modern successor to an ancient order
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WK is a synthesis of modern technology and witchcraft
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taking mech design principles and using them to guide spellcraft
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so a human invented Witch Knihts
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Knights
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and that person is probably one of the founding members
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so we have three initial Witch Knights confirmed
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the leader, the inventor, and Joan
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Isobel never becomes the leader, she's just the charismatic tip of the spear
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she doesn't know how to strategize
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or run an organization
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the leader makes the plan, Isobel does the speeches
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defending and adhering to the plan with absolute confidence in the person who planned it
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Isobel is very loud
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that I strongly remember from the dream
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I was gonna say "Isobel needs a rival" but honestly half the Witch Knights are probably Isobel rivals in various senses of the word
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so what is Witchcraft? who can use it? what are its limitations?
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we know it comes from the heart
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it's valor compatible
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Necromancers either don't or can't use it
連続犬
A question to maybe answer that question is- yeah
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I don't want it to be bloodline-based for obvious reasons
連続犬
why don't/can't Necromancers use Witchcraft, and why does it work against them
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I think anyone has to be able to become a witch
Princess Emily
Well, if I'm playing a necromancer that changes sides, I think we need to nail down if necromancy and witchcraft are mutually exclusive,
Quinn Angstrom
even a pure of heart, dumb of ass girl who got crushed in the uncaring gears of capitalism and left without a home
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well, let's consider our options
Echo
I'm thinking of it as kind of like, say, artistic talent- anyone can in theory become an artist with practice and effort, some people find it comes more naturally to them but anyone can do it.
Princess Emily
(also a necromancer that changes sides is an ideal actual Rival Character)
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Option 1: Witchcraft and Necromancy are both kinds of magic, that anyone can learn
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You can be talented or can study hard, and both are just tools
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Option 2: Witchcraft is good and Necromancy is evil, and the powersets are based on your heart and are mutually exclusive
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A bit heavy-handed and absolutist
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you shouldn't be able to empirically measure evil
Echo
Also, please consider: Witch Knight mecha frames have a power-saving "familiar mode" they go into when not in battle, where they look like cute little robot cats or clockwork crows or what have you.
Quinn Angstrom
YES Echo
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1000% done
Echo
This is how the one our main character found fit in a dumpster, it was in kitty form.
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Option 3: Witchcraft and Necromancy have different fundamental natures
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one could bee a learned skill and the other a bloodline-inherited power
Princess Emily
maybe witchcraft is the anybody can do it magic
and necromancy is the only some people can do it magic
so therefore necromancers view themselves as superior
Echo
Maybe necromancy is inherited while witchcraft is learned- yeah.
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I like necromancy as inherited, it ties into the themes
Princess Emily
it does
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you can only be powerful if you were born into their inner circle
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but Cosimo refuses to have kids
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why should someone else benefit from his power
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it's his
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I think witchcraft is older than necromancy
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it's something inherent to humanity
Echo
I suspect it would be possible for a necromancer to also learn witchcraft, but largely redundant.
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the power to resist and revolt
Princess Emily
Echo : prolly where my character is going though
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by its nature it is drawn to the weak
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to enable them to oppose the strong
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so it's very hard for necromancers to be witches because they're already incredibly powerful
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socially and physically
Echo
Oh yeah, seems reasonable. I'm just thinking it'd result in less "double super magic" and more "you know what I think witchcraft is more moral and I'm doing that instead now"- oooh or that, that works.
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but if you betray the necromancers and are cast out of their castle
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then suddenly witchcraft is easier
Echo
Also, I have a strong mental image of the inventor who helped found the Witch Knights, for some reason.
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
concept: the very first necromancer was a witch, necromancy was witchcraft that got warped over time
because the rich only have power that comes from the masses
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either that or someone powerful who found a way to extract power from witches
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because the peasantry had something that he didn't
Princess Emily
I mean if they're necromancers, and EVERYBODY has the potential for witchcraft, then
ғᴏxʏᴍᴏʀᴏɴ
nods
Echo
Please imagine: lady in a cool suit, wheelchair-bound, extremely long hair. Also, she has a bunch of familiar-mode robots around her all the time, drone-style.
Quinn Angstrom
they have the potential but it's very unlikely to awaken while they rule the world
Princess Emily
converting to undead = gaining their potential witchcraft as necromancy
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oh I see
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Echo this sounds like a good aesthetic for a witch leader
Princess Emily
converting large amounts of normal people still gives you some potential magical energy,
converting an actual witch is much better though
Echo
I'm thinking either rats or bees for her drones. Probably rats.
Echo
Name might be Hamelin, she's got a sort of odd "Pied Piper, benevolent version" thing going on.
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