From Whence the Magic Comes (Siege Indigo)

WHAT?

Start with the campaign premise of, “What if magic was not meant for humans?” A setting where “demihumans” wield magic naturally (in their own distinct ways) but humans have to settle for unreliable scraps and their own ingenuity. Not to say that humans won’t be ruling great kingdoms in this setting – they’re just not particularly magical when compared to the domains of the dwarves, elves, gnomes, and halflings.

Last of the “Color-Titled” post-Avremier setting variants.

WHY?

To be honest, that was the whole of my premise. Sometimes, I want a game where magic is – magical. Where you don’t have magic shops available for the shopping convenience of treasure-laden adventurers. Where magic is rare, and weird, and non-generic. Where the non-human races seem truly non-human – not just fantasy caricatures of humanity. Besides, look at some of the famous protagonists of fantasy fiction.

·         Merlin) But, look – the most famous human wizard of all! Except, that Merlin was half-demon, a heritage from which his supernatural abilities sprang.

·         Conan) A magic-hating human barbarian that lived by his sword and his own free will.

·         The Fellowship of the Ring) A ranger, a fighter, an elf, a dwarf, four halflings, and a wizard. For the record, Gandalf was not human. Also, just about all the magic items were made by elves, dwarves, or Sauron.

·         Elric) Powerful magician, but not a human.

·         Kane) Human warrior somewhat reliant upon alien technology and forbidden magic that turned on him more often than not.

·         Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser) Another mighty-thewed barbarian, and a talented sneak thief who dabbled unsuccessfully in magic before giving it up mostly for the sword and his own wit. Each has a wizardly patron – neither of which is human.

HOW?

If you want a magic-using character in this setting, you’ll need a background similar to that of a comic book superhero origin story. From whence does your magic originate?

·         Accident) Were you bitten by an enchanted spider and now find yourself with mystical spidery powers and attributes? Were you born on a dying world and sent to this one for your own good? Maybe a falling star impacted near the place you were born at the moment of your birth.

·         Blood) Do you have powerful magical forebears? Are you part demon? Fae? Angel? Elemental? Something else? Of course, there’s always alchemy – maybe your blood is no longer entirely blood.

·         Bookish) You somehow learned how to read some dead language and later discovered that all magical tomes and scrolls are written in this language. So, through accumulating pages of this stuff, you struggle to master the meagerest of magicks.

·         Gumption) If you look hard enough, you might be able to find some old, forgotten, forbidden, hidden, dangerous alien magic or magic-like technology. Those who can’t do – steal.

·         Patron) Perhaps you are supported or guided by a supernatural entity that lends you magic from time to time.

In any case – there are options.