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--- nation:hfs:magic:bindings [2021/07/19 09:27] – whisper
+++ nation:hfs:magic:bindings [2021/07/30 23:53] (current) – whisper
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-====== Magical Creatures and their Spirit Bindings ======
+====== Bestiary of Magical Creatures and their Spirits ======
 The varied magical creatures native to the Hybora system can bestow others with their powers when bound into an appropriate artifice or vessel. Known in [[nation:hfs:magic|Hyboran Magic]] as Spirit Bindings, they are an integral part of Hyboran 'technology' and society as a whole.
-This article is intended to serve as a simple index of creatures and their uses.
+This article is intended to serve as a simple index of creatures and their uses. The list here is not exhaustive, nor are the ways that a creature's powers can be used the full extent of possibility.
 ===== Lesser Spirits =====
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 A common sight in Hyborea's waters, the //Acto Jelly// has a translucent, dome-shaped body with dozens of thin, trailing tentacles. Actos have no real intelligence and act purely on stimuli, but are nonetheless dangerous to those caught unaware. Creatures caught in its tentacles find themselves slowly paralyzed while their magical energy is drained out of their body to serve as food for the Jelly.
-**Role in Artifice**
+Actos are valued in bindings for their ability to transfer mana from one location to another, effectively acting as magical conduit.
-Actos are a common piece of more complicated artifice, where their powers to drain magical energy is used to transport the energy from one location to another. While the spun copper filigree that they reside in is considerably different from their original bodies, they are most commonly used to pull power from less useful spirits, typically in crystal form, and provide it to more mana-hungry spirits elsewhere.
-**Role in Bindings**
-Actos are not commonly used in personal bindings because of their tendency to drain mana from those who wear their vessel. Their low willpower and mana-draining capability makes them particularly well-suited for something akin to anti-magic handcuffs. Some binders are able to use an Acto binding to leach mana from others or other objects, but it requires a strong degree of control.
 </blockquote>
@@ Line 33: / Line 28: @@
 Their tolerance for cold and warm bodies made them a popular pet option for early interplanetary travelers until their tendency to catch on fire was discovered to not go well with the wood of the vessels of the time.
-**Role in Artifice**
+Fiammander bindings are most commonly used by those who wish to create flames on demand. Simple lighters, lanterns, and more take advantage of the creature's ability to spontaneously produce magical fire.
-Fiammanders are most commonly bound into artifices that wish to create flames on demand. Simple lighters, lanterns, and more take advantage of the creature's ability to spontaneously produce magical fire.
-**Role in Bindings**
-When placed into a vessel, the vessel's wielder becomes able to produce minor flames on command. While these flames cannot be thrown or cast out in waves, they are an excellent source of light and are strong enough to light fuses.
 </blockquote>
@@ Line 49: / Line 38: @@
 Popular as a pet, the adorable creature has a particular knack for hunting out metals of all varieties when allowed to consume a small quantity of it. This ability also makes it popular in binding form, though many struggle to perform the actions required to bind it properly.
-**Role in Artifice**
-For those seeking treasure, a metal-detecting artifice bound with a Rabbuncle's spirit is the tool of choice. Larger artifice have been known to use one or more of the creatures' spirits to look for larger or more distant objects, such as a ship in space.
-**Role in Bindings**
-The Rabbuncle's metal-detecting ability is a favorite among thieves and thief-catchers. With a small ingestion of gold or some other precious metal, one can detect all sources of the material within a thirty foot radius.
 </blockquote>
@@ Line 68: / Line 49: @@
 Scale Worms are one of a few creatures that Hyborans use without binding their spirits. A single Scale Worm can be put into a glass container (such as a lantern or flashlight equivalent) and will generate a varying amount of light depending on the quantity of mana they are exposed to.
+</blockquote>
-**Role in Artifice**
+==== Sholf/Shog ====
+<blockquote>
-Scale Worm spirits are frequently used to provide illumination as part of larger artifices. When used in a smaller artifice they are used as light sources.
+//by [[user:whisper]]//
-**Role in Bindings**
+Sholves are ferocious creatures that stalk sea and shore alike with powerful legs and jaws. They are pack hunters and rely on a carefully maintained social structure that defines how they interact within their pack and with other packs. They walk or swim using four legs and have a long, finned tail and a prominent dorsal fin. Their skin is scaled, with a sandpaper-like texture, and tends to come in grays or browns. They have keen senses above and below water that they use to hunt their prey. Once they've found it, they rely on pack tactics to maneuver it into position before biting with their extremely powerful jaws and rows of teeth.
-Scale Worms are not common in vessel or rune scar bindings, but when they are it is typically for their ability to create light on demand. They can consume all of their mana to create a blinding flash, but after doing so it takes a number of hours before it can provide light normally.
+Shogs, on the other hand, are the domesticated descendants of sholves. While they come in a variety of breeds that excel at various jobs, the most common breed looks has the rough proportions of a Corgi, but stands knee-high. Its thick, but stubby legs and lolling tongue give it an adorable appearance that have made it a favored pet of many.
+While shogs are loyal companions, they retain much of their predatory instincts and enjoy hunting small creatures. This makes them a common sight on ships, where their ability to ward off pests like the gryphigeon ensures they earn their keep.
 </blockquote>
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 When used in a vessel or a rune scar, the binder also gains a portion (~20%) of the creature's physical characteristics to enhance their own. This can greatly improve a Hyboran's speed, strength, or resiliency. The strongest and fastest creatures tend to have weaker magical powers, but for those who prioritize strength of body this can be an excellent reason to choose a particular spirit.
+==== Bargoat ====
+<blockquote>
+//by [[user:whisper]]//
+Shadowy, goat-like beasts that seem to always be covered in a veil of shadow, the bargoat is a carnivorous predator that dwells within the dark crevices and hollows on the sides of Hyborea's mountains. Despite its hooves, it is an exceptional climber and can safely make its way up sheer mountain walls.
+A bargoat's form seems to meld into any shade that it stands within, making it particularly difficult to see. It can teleport short distances from one shadow to the next, so long as they are within six feet of each other, so that it can remain within shadow perpetually. Exposure to bright light blocks both of these effects entirely.
+</blockquote>
 ==== Beagle ====
 <blockquote>
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 Beagles are fiercely territorial, especially when their young are nearby, and as such can prove to be a difficult spirit to capture.
+</blockquote>
-**Role in Artifice**
+==== Blureel ====
+<blockquote>
+//by [[user:whisper]]//
+With a narrow body up to eight feet long, the sinuous, blue-black Blureel are mostly found within small, undersea caves or in coral formations. Their muscular bodies are able to wrap around structures or creatures alike, holding tight or strangling as needed until their powerful jaws can finish their prey or ward off a would-be predator.
-Often found in armor artifice thanks to their natural resiliency and ability to 'mend' themselves over time. Some helmet artifices take advantage of the Beagle's keen sight to confer the same about their wearers.
+The Blureel has the peculiar magical trait of projecting a ghostly duplicate of itself nearby. While the image is certainly an illusion, it is able to move and intertwine with the Blureel's true body in such a way that it can be difficult to tell which body is real and which is the fake. Depending on the situation, the Blureel may even have its false duplicate act injured to draw in other creatures or try to scare off a predator by seeming to increase its numbers.
-**Role in Bindings**
+A Blureel's illusion is surprisingly sophisticated thanks to the wide range of creatures it hunts (and is hunted by). It replicates heat, air displacement, electrical signals, and even the perception of mass.
-Beagles are incredibly strong beasts and those who bind with their spirits become stronger and tougher. It isn't uncommon for someone to be able to lift an additional two hundred pounds or more. The binder's eyesight is similarly improved, granting their sight something akin to a 10x optical zoom at will.
 </blockquote>
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 Its physical attributes are not what it is most well-known for, however. The Iscarlin is capable of teleporting - 'blinking' - to a location up to thirty feet away. While this is a powerful defensive tool, it is the way the Iscarlin uses its blink in hunting that has gained it such notoriety. Most hunters need to sneak up on their prey to land a hit - the Iscarlin needs to simply build up speed towards its prey and then blink directly next to it to ensure a stab of its spear lands.
-**Role in Artifice**
+Iscarlin are fast swimmers, able to reach speeds of 80 mph or more for long periods of time. Their binders benefit from significantly increased movement speed (+~16 mph), enhanced stamina, and the ability to 'blink step' up to 30 feet once every minute. They need to be able to see their destination and arrive with all of their momentum intact.
+</blockquote>
-Their prodigious speed make them favored spirits when creating small water vessels. While these vessels tend to be too large to take advantage of the Isacarlin's ability to 'blink', they are nonetheless exceptionally fast.
+==== Ravighast ====
+<blockquote>
+//by [[user:whisper]]//
-**Role in Bindings**
+Hailing from the fire moon [[locations:hybora:telos|Telos]], these 10-20 feet long black creatures look like a cobra full of magma. Their tails, hoods, mouths, and the tips of the horn-like protrusions that emerge from the back of its head all glow with an orange-red light that speak to the Ravighast's capabilities.
+The snake's fangs do not inject venom, but instead produce a small electrical charge between them. The Ravighast can spit a highly flammable liquid that, when ignited((such as by its fangs' spark)) becomes a type of magical napalm.
+Quite capable of hiding within the magma-laden surface of Telos, it is primarily an ambush hunter. Once it has found suitable prey, it moves near enough to ensure that its napalm will strike and then sets the target ablaze.
+Should a Ravighast grow large enough, its spirit may mature into that of a Greater Spirit.
-Iscarlin are fast swimmers, able to reach speeds of 80 mph or more for long periods of time. Their binders benefit from significantly increased movement speed (+~16 mph), enhanced stamina, and the ability to 'blink step' up to 30 feet once every minute. They need to be able to see their destination and arrive with all of their momentum intact.
 </blockquote>
+==== Shab ====
+<blockquote>
+//by [[user:whisper]]//
+The terrifying Shab, a shark-like creature with a crab's legs and pincers, prowls both waters and beaches. They possess hard shells and impressive speed below and above water, though they share a crab's need for moving from side-to-side when walking.
+While the Shab has no obvious magical powers, its strength and resiliency make it a popular choice for binders nonetheless.
+</blockquote>
 ===== Greater Spirits =====
 The largest and/or most powerful of creatures yield 'greater spirits'. The speed of a ship, the strength of its weapons, the protective field of a port, and more all rely upon these most powerful of spirits.
@@ Line 124: / Line 139: @@
 If you wish to add a new Spirit, go for it! Please keep in mind any balance implications. Below is a simple template that you can copy. As this page is intended to be used by many people for a long time, please only add to it if you are comfortable with your additions being a permanent part of the setting.
+**Avoid** creature names that are copied from other sources, especially those that are copyrighted/trademarked (ie, no Tiamats, Beholders, etc), but //do// feel free to mash up creature names and/or words to make your own. Try to keep them memorable. Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese can be used to give the names a more 'local' feel, but it's not strictly necessary.
+**Avoid** creatures that just grant a wide range of magic powers. A consistent thematic is important. Hyborans may have access to other magical abilities, so it's important to not overload any one source.
 <code>
@@ Line 132: / Line 151: @@
 A brief description of the creature, including its appearance, behavior, etc. Enough that if someone wants to go capture one of these creatures, they can write about it and stay true to your vision for them.
-**Role in Artifice**
+If you wish the creature to be used in bindings, make sure to include the creature's powers or qualities. It's (mostly) up to the player to decide what abilities manifest for their character.
-When used as the force driving an artifice, what can the artifice do?
-**Role in Bindings**
-When bound to a vessel or rune scar, what power does the Spirit grant? Should be the same, thematically, as what it could do as an Artifice, but the powers need not be the same.
 </blockquote>
 </code>