Hello all, it's been brought to our attention somewhat recently that some of the Champion powers are either overpowered or underpowered, or redundant. This is our first step in an effort to try and keep them less so. Starting with Bellinos (the champ powers and the curse), and Sevrath (just the champ powers)
Hopefully they're more nuanced and story-based, and less like something that a character would never conceivably use.
The Champ powers of Bellinos will be changed from this:
Deathless This ability is granted to Vri’s champion when they are named. Vri himself speaks the ancient spell that changes the nature of the one he marks as his true champion. Such a being will die if and when Vri feels their service is complete. Barring that, no earthly force can truly end their life. The marked ceases to age and is, in fact, frozen in time at the point of them being marked. Some have suggested Vri has an agreement with Ralaith and takes some of the incantation from that Immortal’s domain, but among the gifts Vri can offer, this is the most immense. Unfortunately, this gift does not deliver the Champion from pain or injury. A Champion can certainly be cut, infected, hanged, drowned, and burned but such measures will not lead the Champion to death. Instead their body will slowly regenerate to the state it was in when originally marked a Champion. Depending on the damage done, this process can take anywhere from trials to entire Cycles. It is said that destroying a Champion of Vri into pieces no larger than a pebble will only delay the Champion for an Arc at most as their form reconstitutes. Their regeneration, while peerless, is not particularly quick. Vri would not deny his Champions the tortures and pleasures of life and so in all things but death, they remain as they were.
Remembered Allies While Vri holds dominion over death, that somber silence all must face eventually, he does not command the Souls that animate mortals with sentience and choice in the realm. While he is incapable of bringing back the dead, there is another kind of magic that he is capable of and that he grants only to his champion. Requiring the intonation of an Ancient Word, the champion of Vri is able to reach into their own minds and pull out the phantoms of those who have passed. While these simulacrums are not true souls or true sentience, they act and perform much in the way they were remembered. The phantom MUST be of a person who is already dead, it cannot work on those still walking Idalos. Sometimes it is impossible to tell these phantoms apart from their real world counterparts. They think they are real, they are filled with the sense of purpose the Champion remembers them to have and the skills he remembers they possess, sans any magic and blessings. This ability relies on the truth of memories and experience. The fallen king may have been lauded for his swordsmanship down through the years, but if the Champion remembers him to have been of an average skill, that skill will manifest. This power can be maintained for the entirety of a Trial and there is no limit to the phantoms that can be conjured...but it comes with a terrible price. When this ability finally fades, so too will the memories of the individual that was conjured. Although eidetic memory is the domain of Vri, to use this power, to give life to those memories even for a trial will blur them in the Champion’s mind in a way that can only be recovered with the power of an Immortal like Vri or Thetros. Without their intervention, the Champion will remember only snippets and flashes of the person they conjured, never able to give life to them as a phantom again while the memories remain broken. There is a story of an old Champion who sought to protect a single village from the machinations of bandits and marauders. To save them in their final moment he gave life to an army of the exceptional individuals he knew. Afterwards he asked Vri to let him perish as there was nothing more for him to remember, to cherish in his long, long life...only phantoms, ghosts, and scattered memories.
To this:
Bellinos:
Deathless
This ability is granted to Vri’s champion when they are named. Vri himself speaks the ancient spell that changes the nature of the one he marks as his true champion. Such a being will die if and when Vri feels their service is complete. Barring that, age and time will not touch them nor result in the end of their life. The marked ceases to age and is, in fact, frozen in time at the point of them being marked. Some have suggested Vri has an agreement with Ralaith and takes some of the incantation from that Immortal’s domain, but among the gifts Vri can offer, this is the most immense. Unfortunately, this gift does not deliver the Champion from pain or injury. They are, however, immune to every form of disease and poison, as a result of their timelessness.
Remembered Dead
While Vri holds dominion over death, that somber silence all must face eventually, he does not command the Souls that animate mortals with sentience and choice in the realm. While he is incapable of bringing back the dead, there is another kind of magic that he is capable of and that he grants only to his champion. Requiring the intonation of an Ancient Word, the champion of Vri is able to reach into their own minds and delve into the memories of those who have passed. They must locate a possession that once belonged to that person, or locate their final resting place, or else a part of their remains. Just one of these things is needed. Once they've acquired it, they can delve into their memories fully, at any point in their life.
While doing this they will find themselves in an unassailable trance, they can delve into the lifetime of that person, as if they were that person with all the blessings they currently possess, reliving any point in their life through eidetic memory and other abilities.
These trance-like experiences can be quite vivid as a result, and insightful. As such, any thread where the Champion engages in this ability, they can retain knowledge of any skill the deceased person possessed with greater mental acuity, resulting in a potential of three extra knowledges per thread in addition to those they are entitled to.
Any point, from birth up to the moment of death can be relived in this way.
(If, in the case of PCs, one tries to delve into their memories, they must acquire OOC permission for them to do so. These threads must also be written in the format of a memory thread.)
The Curse of Bellinos has been reworked to be more in line with lore and less overpowered on its own.
From this:
There is only one Curse for the Condemned of Bellinos. Much like the blessing of Undying Vri lays upon his Champion, the Condemned of his mark too will never die. They will not age. Any blow that would take the life of this individual instead places them into a coma as they slowly regenerate. Unlike his Champion, this individual feels the agony of rebuilding and returning to life acutely, unable to forget. The most sorrowful memories they possess will become the clearest, overshadowing those of joy and any other emotion. The Condemned will fade from the minds of those he interacts with, slipping out like a dream. Doomed to wander, damned to never make a relationship, and cursed to never die...Vri's cursed wander Idalos consumed in their own self loathing, unable to end their own suffering. Should they learn a lesson, perhaps Vri will release them, but they will find that any relationship they currently had slipping from them as even those closest will forget their face.
To this:
Vri's Curse:
Vri rarely gives out his curse, as he normally leaves the judgement of mortals to Pier and Pre. So it follows that his curse seems to resemble one of the effects of their heavier powers, which is Rebirth. The condemned of Vri loses all memory of who they are and were. While they may retain their skills and magics they had, they will no longer be recognized as the person they had been.
Similarly, nobody who knew them will recognize them going forward, although they retain memories of who they were.
Sevrath's Champ powers have gone from this:
Resurrection This ability is given only to those appointed Champions of Moseke for this ability requires the ancient tongue to use. Almost a ritual of sorts, the character is able to bring back those who've perished. This ability is not without great consequence and it can only ever be used on a body that has died within a matter of three trials (days). Immortals may come to carry the soul of the individual to the great beyond after that time. When this ability is in use, energy is extended up from the character to form the appearance of a tree trunk while branches grow and cover the body of the individual till they are nearly encased in energy. Concentration is key to resurrection as the user must fall into deep meditation to either guide the soul back to its body or awaken it. The Ancient Tongue is spoken like a mantra during this ritual. The character risks being drawn into the darkness of death should they lose themselves among the memories and desires of the dead. They can also fall prey to possession, though this is incurable unless acted upon by another Champion, one who possesses the ability to separate and banish souls. Multiple, consecutive uses of this ability will cause the user to fall into a deep sleep for a number of trials (days).
Tree of Life This ability is given only to those appointed Champions of Moseke for this ability requires the ancient tongue to use. This is a self sacrificing ability and must be used only when all other options are expired. The character, through the use of divine energy, is able to form a massive tree - that resembles their mark - onto the earth. This tree blooms white leaves that shed onto the ground and any who stand beneath its massive umbrella of branches. The leaves of this tree heal any and all things, though the leaves cannot be taken from the tree. These leaves are made of pure energy that disappears after a few short moments. The character is enveloped within it's nearly indestructible trunk, the shape of their body formed into the tree as they are preserved inside it for the rest of their days. Normally these champions are visited by Famula and escorted to the Great Beyond even though their bodies remain living within. This ability may be used in battle to heal a massive number of people. It may also restore life to a dead forest.
To this:
Tree of Life:
This ability is given only to those appointed Champions of Moseke for this ability requires the ancient tongue to use. This ability shouldn't be used lightly, and only when all other options are expired. The character, through the use of divine energy, is able to form a massive tree - that resembles their mark - onto the earth. This tree blooms white leaves that shed onto the ground and any who stand beneath its massive umbrella of branches. The leaves of this tree heal any and all things, though the leaves cannot be taken from the tree. These leaves are made of pure energy that disappears after a few short moments. The character is enveloped within it's nearly indestructible trunk, the shape of their body formed into the tree as they are preserved inside it, unable to be harmed. There they remain for an entire season, until the tree is able to remain standing on its own, at which point the Champion emerges, totally rejuvenated. This ability may be used in battle to heal a massive number of people. It may also restore life to a dead forest.
Resurrection:
This ability is given only to those appointed Champions of Moseke for this ability requires the ancient tongue to use. Almost a ritual of sorts, the character is able to bring back those who've perished. This ability is not without great consequence and it can only ever be used on a body that has died within a matter of three trials (days). Immortals may come to carry the soul of the individual to the great beyond after that time. When this ability is in use, energy is extended up from the character to form the appearance of a tree trunk while branches grow and cover the body of the individual till they are nearly encased in energy.
During this time, the Champion enters a trance, during which they are vulnerable and may require protection from others. However, when they pursue the soul of the departed before it moves onto the great beyond, time doesn't pass in quite the same way in Emea as in Idalos, so what may seem like a weeks or seasons long journey in the Empyrion Gateway, may in fact only take breaks of time in Idalos, more or less.
When the Champion undertakes this journey they will be subject to the predations of the denizens and dangers of Emea and beyond. On top of that, they will have to convince the person who passed on that they should return. This in itself can be quite a challenge, as the experience of drifting bodiless through Emea can be an intoxicating and liberating experience for the disembodied soul, and they may feel drawn to pass on anyway. So convincing them to return to Idalos can be a challenge in itself.
If there are any questions about othese changes, please direct them to the Q&A forums. Thanks!
