Quick Start Guide

A Guide to Wisteria

This guide has been made for new players so they can jump straight into Wisteria. This is an ooc and irp guide and should cover just about everything in just enough detail, see the other docs if you want more details.

## Creating a Character

Creating a character in Wisteria is like any other server for the most part. Age, personality, backstory etc. There are of course some things unique to this server that you will have to think about when making a character, here is what you need to know while making a character and some questions to ask yourself as you are writing one.

**The Mark of Cain**

The Mark of Cain is basically a permanent tattoo which appears on your hand with a design unique to the person. Every magician has one, because without it you can not see the magical world. Everything magical will appear mundane, your brain trying to rationalise what is beyond its understanding. This, of course, has limits and at some point the illusion will shatter. As a rule of thumb, though, if a normal person briefly encounters a spirit, they will find a way to rationalise it.

To obtain a mark you must undergo a special ritual performed by another magician or spirit sometimes.

**Spirits**

Magical beings that are tied to the world, and often reflect different parts of it. They can make deals with magicians to grant this power to them. There are many different types of spirits.

Examples:

* Dryads are the spirits of the forest, have all manner of plant related abilities and can be found wherever wilderness reigns.
* Ghosts are imprints of a human that died a traumatic death. They are more a personification of that trauma, than a representation of the person.
* Cupids are Spirits of Love and Friendship. If you want to play matchmaker or sell love potions, they’ll be your friends.

**Pacts**

A deal with a spirit for power. Until one gets an implement all magic through pacts must be called upon directly from the spirit i.e you have to summon them, and they do the magic for you. There are a few exceptions to this rule, namely familiars, hosting and artefacts.

Examples:

* A pact with a fire Jinn where he will create and throw fireballs for you at will, in return you have to light a fire in a specific place every night.

* You managed to barter with a dryad, now all flowers in a five meter radius around you bloom on your command. In exchange, you granted her free access to your backyard, which she is slowly transforming into her personal wilderness.

* You found a Sprite willing to heal your broken arm, but in exchange you must rid it’s roaming grounds of a vicious Bogeyman. If you fail to do so, her magic will fade and your arm will be worse than before.

**Artefacts**

Objects that hold the essence of a dead spiritimbued with the power of a spirit.

Examples:

* A flask, imbued with the magic of a water Jinn. It will never run out of clear water.
* Gloves inbued with the ghost of a hanged man. The wearer can point at one person and they will feel like a rope is slowly tightening around their neck.
* A thorned whip, formerly belonging to an imp and corrupted by its influence. If left to its own, it will grow and cover anything around it in a net of spikes that unfailingly find their way toward your skin when you go near it, however thick your clothes may be.

**Heritage Magic**

Magic gained from one's ancestors, think classic sorcerers. Spirits don’t get along well with people who have heritage magic. (Note: If you are making a heritage magician you will *have* to read the doc covering it)

Examples:

* A family of magicians who studied elementalism closely now give their eldest heir the knowledge to control fire at will. He starts off only being able to light some candles but as he grows he grows in power and adds his own twists and turns to his ability.
* You always thought you were a normal magician, until one day your parents pass on and leave you with an ancient tome. In it is written how to manipulate luck. You start off only being able to make a coin always land on heads, but the tome reveals secrets, and you add your own notes to it. You end up being able to always hit your target, and manipulate luck in other, more devious ways.
* Your family has dabbled in alchemism for centuries. Now, your library holds the knowledge of how to blow up almost anything in any way imaginable. You start off by producing pearls that explode when thrown at something.

**Implements**

A magical object which is bound to you in a special ritual. It let's you channel the power of Spirits you have made pacts with and it's shape forms the way your magic plays out.

Examples:

* You were always a direct person. Blunt and to the point, always ready to start a fight. You finally get around to picking an implement, and you know exactly what to choose, a sword. Your magic now takes form in direct, more powerful ways, but you have trouble being subtle and any magic which is overtly subtle will be weakened.
* Investigating your surroundings always appealed to you, even from a young age you were discovering hidden things, now you are an accomplished magician and now you have to get an implement. You know exactly what you want, a magnifying glass. Now that you have performed the ritual your magic lends itself to revealing hidden things and the workings of other magicians.
* You were always drawn to the arts and thusly chose a paintbrush as your implement. You can not use it to effect far away things, but it let's you create sprawling, intricate effects and direct the way your magic plays out in more detail than ever before.

**Familiar**

A spirit bonded to you permanently in a special ritual. It can not die while you are bound together, always knows where to find you, and you have direct access to its magical abilities at all times.

Example:

* A rock Jinn that takes the form of a Bearded Collie. He will break you a way through almost any wall if you ask him nicely. Your friendship goes way back to your teens, where you have bonded over your mutual appreciation of metal music. Years later, your friendship has led to your actual bonding ritual.
* A Phenix, caught and tamed by your great-great-great-grandfather, now she has been passed down to you. She is wise and majestic, well mannered and always gives you the right advice. Nonetheless, you can’t help but feel that you will never be more than a passing acquaintance to her.
* A powerful and renown Sprite in the form of a white owl, bound to you by a chain of blackest metal. It has taken you months to track her down, but finally you managed to trap her in an air-tight binding circle. She begged you for her freedom, offered you pacts and artefacts, but you wanted more. Finally, once her life-force was almost drained completely, she agreed to be bound to you. Now, the wounds you receive on a daily basis seem to close faster and cleaner than ever before.

**Demesne**

A magician's place of power where they can do just about anything. acquired in a magical challenge, it provides you with a place to rest, pursue your studies and hide from any attack.

Example:

* Your family estate at the outskirts of the town. No matter how many tomes and scrolls you buy and cram into your library, there’s always enough space for more.
* A neat three-room appartment in the middle of town. You don’t have a garden, so you grow the fruit and herbs you need for your tinctures in here. No matter, where and how many you place your plants throughout your apartment, there is more than enough light coming through the windows to keep them alive and happy.
* An old abandoned shack on a forgotten junkyard. It’s no larger than five by five meter, but there is always another attic above the last one, so you never run out of space for your contraptions.

**Karma**

The world's way of keeping balance. If you play fair, it will reward you. If you take shortcuts to power, you will have a harder time holding onto it.

**Odds and ends**

Now here are some questions you need to have answered in your character submission besides the default ones associated with character creation.

* Is my character marked?
* What does my character's mark look like?
* Who marked my character
* How did they find out about magic?
* Do they have any pacts, heritage magic, artefacts etc out of the gate? Read rule 11 for more on this.

Your character, pacts, artefacts etc should be submitted for in their appropriate channels.

**What’s Next?**

Well after your characters magics and character sheet are approved then you can roleplay! Other than that there are many docs that go into way more detail on the aspects of magic that you can read at your own leisure.