Powers, Abilities, Magic
"Magic? We wouldn't call this magic, we know how it works and what to do! Oh, your species has no access to mana! No wonder it seems magical to you, well, we can help you use this so called 'magic' but to us it is mostly just powers, we call most of them by color or type."
Welcome to what some would call a "magic" system, but after deeper understanding from https://youtu.be/Jeb_mSOgrVg (Tale Foundry) I have converted much of the resources that will be going into 2.5/3.0, if we get to see it. Things will be named by how they are referred to WITHIN DCL, so stay tuned.
Starting at the bottom, we have "Energy" (Tier 5) Energy is a very manipulable form of mana, changing color easily with crystals. It is considered the easiest form to use and does not require special powers within technology to use it. Simple programming and adaptability will be needed, but most societies with a dedicated science team will figure out how to use energy. When used energy has several effects. Energy is a very effective power source with few consequences, gathering it does not harm the environment and it does not release toxic gases, just mana which goes into the mana ecosystem. As an ability, it powers simple push/pulse based things, such as firing a beam to move something or jumping with it to reach better heights. When used in certain tech, it can be turned solid, making a durable weapon as more energy replaces the damage, but it works best as a "one solution for all" overshield, reducing the impact of attacks (Melee weapons and guns alike) and covering large areas for explosions. Pure metal bullets are the weakest against energy overshields because they do not remove energy, the bullet just gets caught.
The Elements (Tier 4) (Known as "Basic Element Manipulation" or "Element Powers") Simple stuff such as fireballs, wind gusts, earth rising. Use of mana to cause these effects comes as a gift to many, but is rarely needed compared to other powers. Still very powerful, the low skill ceiling makes these powers an easy choice. (What will your fire do, increase in heat?) Elements are best used in casual life, such as heating up a tea that has gone cold, raising earth to help build, sailing, or even pouring a glass of water.
Legendary's Tier 3: The Colors "Powers" The colors consist of 6 different colors with different effects, and are mainly fueled on emotional equivalents (and mana), save for a few exceptions that will be explained further down. (*)
Purple: Manipulation: Purple powers consist of Manipulation and trickery, many are unsure of what it truly does, but it seems to be very effective. Such effects include stealth, disorientation, and more. Purple mages are hard countered by orange mages. Determination fuels manipulation, but the twistedness of blue helps.
Red: Determination (Strong Emotions): Red powers consist of... gearing up. Red mages tend to create a weapon with their powers, being either a sword or halberd. They also create armor and rarely create a sword, with some minor enhancements to them to boost the armor and weapon(s). Kindness can slow a red mage down, causing them to not use their combat related powers as much.
Green: Helping/Kindness: Green consists mainly of healing powers and protection powers, shields of green colored energy being conjured. Red out damages green mages.
Orange: Reaction/Avenging: Orange consists of reaction and body enhancing. Orange mages will dodge mostly, a good portion of them do believe in doing the right thing and as such are extraordinarily hard to turn evil. You could manipulate them to believe they are doing the right thing however. Orange is an effective mix of Red and Yellow, while still doing its own things.
Blue: Not being enough/depression: Notably there are blue mages who simply just want more power, the fear of not being able to make a jump can fuel the power. Blue consists of gravity powers, reducing their weight, increasing their speed, and more.
Yellow: Patience/Accuracy: Yellow consists of near unavoidable shots with well placed timing, it takes patience to get the most power out of yellow powers at low level, or simple blasts at high level. No one can deny the helpfulness of a yellow snipers
Bonus Interactions: Yellow and Orange are matched equals. Blue is the weakest in direct combat, they need orange to cover their weakness, but can use their powers to force away foes. Purple is considered the strongest, but hardest to learn. Green is considered very helpful by some, and useless by others.
Void's Tier 3: The Shades
Black: Harm: Black powers have a large number of shadow control mages associated with it, but shadows are an elemental power. Black powers cause additional damage, directly beating any forms of shields but not having much defense. Black powers also can cause unexpected damage, cursing specific movements like a reverse blue mage. Black mages are the damage in the shades.
White: Enhancement: Being better, getting better. White typically increases durability and strength, and a slight increase to damage. When you use white, you are using it to make yourself able to use other things and resist more, and for weapons it helps cut through resistances. White mages are defense in the shades.
Clear: Sight: Clear powers consist of knowledge of much more, typically clear mages may not process the same, seeing on another realm of vision. They can use their powers to climb onto platforms from the '4th Realm' and hold onto things most cannot see or simply 'create' simple force walls. They can also travel through this, seeming to warp into specific spots. Clear mages are utility in the shades.
Tier 2: Light, Dark, Crystal "God Powers"
Light: Time, light reverses wounds as its main function to prove they are kind. Light mages trait's are stronger feelings for others (selflessness) and self sacrifice, mixing well with green, orange, and red. Time travel is forbidden and no light mage except true gods of the element can use it, so using the powers to copy lesser powers happens very often. Legendary.
Dark: Space, dark warps around as its main function, it proves nothing. Traits are the opposite, feelings that control you and selfishness. Not all dark mages are rude, just sad. Purple, Blue, and Yellow powers seem to match best with dark powers. Legendary.
Crystal: An empty pallet, crystals can be filled with other powers and mimic their abilities permanently, crystal mages are under Void mages and since they are tier 2 they can use every power below it, but crystal mages need to collect a sample of it. Crystal mages get the pure version of the element so it is typically better, but can run out of power and need to not use the pure form. Void.
Tier 1: Legendary and Void "God Magic"
Legendary: Mastery over emotions and Creation (embrace emotions): Legendary mages use everything below it and nearly every spell, but no one understands what it is capable of, even mages of that type just say it is a more powerful version of lower elements, while Illusionist and Gilc are the only ones to truly use its power.
Void: Emotional Isolation: Void magic counters everything. Abilities and powers may throw a fireball, it disappears with a void cast. Someone may be insane because of powers, gone as long as Void magic is used on them. The true power of Void magic is unknown, as there is no true Void solo caster.
Character Creation, Exceptions.
Typically it is easier and more fun to type characters after you create them, and as such is very recommended. It is easier to start with the base "I want a hero who helps everyone" and then work your way down to a Light+Red/Orange/Green mage warrior, notably you can fit every color into the character if you try hard enough.
Sometimes you want to work in reverse, maybe you want someone who is fast with blue magic, which is okay, many characters are created with Blue magic in place first just because of the love for Sans Undertale (Yes). Keep track of your element/color but remember what it is, a simple sniper in an army does not have to do much to fit the yellow mold as they already have to be patient, and their whole personality does not have to be "must be perfect."
That is another trap, do not lock yourself to just filling a role, mortals tend to have a variety of emotions to them, someone could be kind, but they do not have to be a green mage, and they can still cause harm. Gods or power incarnates tend to represent their element pretty purely, such as Illusionist's chaotic nature, but it makes them odd to role-play with (Still can be very fun, love for a character can achieve perfection with it in many situations.) That being said, you can still stick to one power type/color, emotions and urges still exist.
For most characters you cannot do the impossibility of "A green mage who isn't kind" or "A red mage who gives up" without the exception, which exists because these powers are also tools, not just a representation of who the character is. Firstly, crystals can hold any power and use it. Secondly, many characters look like they are using a type of power (green to heal) but are actually Legendary! Legendary is a magic type that could allow a character to use purely blue powers despite being quite happy with themselves, and they may never learn to use other colors with it, but legendary is pretty rare. More importantly, legendary mages are sought after due to their powerful soul, careful! ("Legendary" is a keyword for "main character" around here, so you wanting to be unusual may force this.)
Lastly, a magic not listed, Soul magic. Soul magic ignores everything above, it is both a power and a magic. Many soul mages can infuse other types of powers and magic into their own soul with theft, and their known power is beyond limits. Soul mages keep their magic secret due to it being a sin, it only causes harm, even when used in a righteous way to Avatar away powers from someone, it disturbs the natural order and causes both Legendary and Void to turn an eye to look. Soul magic can consume any soul to use their power, and without the knowledge of even Orbz powers his orbs. Within the knowledge of Magi, it powers his King/God Slayer AIs, and semi within knowledge of Segmentals it helps Mecha Killer. Weak soul level mages function as black/white/clear mages combined, using an odd mix of grabbing at a person's being and slightly learning about them. Soul magic would fit under the Void category and is only separated due to the fact that it survives without the Void Core.
All magic and powers of these types have a core, most of them being tied to their head type (Legendary) and the lesser cores (Dark and Light) only being a back-up, despite being less safe. (Those cores are also the only ones that can be fed fuel.) There is yet to be a Void core, something that will change as a user joins and gives DCL the life it needs.
A friend to share this with, to create many stories with and bounce ideas back at each other. They exist, but Puppet keeps scaring them off, but maybe one day, in our limited time.
