Original Source World of ‘Daemonrealm‘ envisioned by David Caine. Content herein built on references from Mario Kundzins.
This is a world where there are White Mages and Black Mages. Creatures from other planes called Daemons overran the world. Daemon Princes would generate a sphere of influence that would allow their kind to live. Without this influence the weaker Daemons could not draw enough mana to survive. In a sense the Prince’s were a huge generator that could tap mana and then manipulate it for their kind to use.
Belief was also part of the Influence – The more humans that believed and feared the Daemons the greater the Prince’s influence. Originally the Daemons had to use dreams and illusions to create enough fear and belief before they could get a foothold on the world.
Daemons could live outside their associated prince’s sphere of influence for short periods of time… However, this weakened them and tends to diminish their intelligence and perception while increasing their hunger. This tactic to send out terror attacks was used to spread belief.
Technology failed as one got closer to the areas of influence generated by the Daemons. The more complicated the technology the greater the risk of failure. This made hand to hand weapons more effective then ranged weapons (like guns etc.)
Daemons had different breeds that were used for specific tasks. Each prince has a collection of specialists based on what the they were known for. One Daemon Prince might be the master of illusion so he would use breeds of Daemons that other Princes might not use. Daemons did not get along and were only loosely allied with each other. Sometimes Daemons Princes would seek to devour the other to gain more power and influence. Daemons Princes would gain the memories of anything they devoured so they tended to eat the prisoners. Torture was not necessary unless it was a hobby or pleasing the Daemon.
The world was to be split up like slices of a cake for each Daemon to absorb. All living organisms provided sustenance that helped the Daemons to feed. The more intelligent the being, the better the food tasted. After the world was a blackened husk they would seek out other worlds to conquer.
-You can see how Daemons had large areas of weaknesses the larger their forces the faster they depleted a world…..
Mages provided both sustenance and mana. This made them delicious to the Daemons.
White Mages were usually diviners and did not use boom-boom spells. In this world mages used a portion of their own essence to fuel their spells. Because White mages spells did not eat up their essence they tended to live longer lives.
This was not true of Black Mages. They used boom-boom spells and used a major portion of their essence to fuel their power. Because of this they tended to burn out and die much more quickly. Quote: Blade Runner – The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long.
White Mages and Black Mages had different approaches to magic but both were needed to defeat the daemons. So you had Mages that would never ordinarily work together joining forces to defeat a common foe.
Sanity also played a role since the players would fight against supernatural forces. Summoning creature to fight and aid the players often required san checks. Seeing your friends being eaten by monsters also required san checks etc…..
This archetype allows a good sorcery defense with fairly good selection in detection. Unfortunately in combat, drain codes and spell offense are just abysmal.
This archetype is the most affective for a dispeller. The mage has a strong defense and should use summoned creatures as her or her mode of attack.
This archetype is best for the jack of all trades mage. A mage spends most of their time in astral space or back at home doing lengthy rituals. These are definitely not a combat mage.
Like a dispeller (summoner) this archetype is used to have all defense and offense carried out by a supernatural creature. Some high ranking white mages are also summoning-savants.
This archetype is very good for summoning but very little else. All spells but manipulation are hard to cast. Very few white magic mages belong to this class.
Some mages take this archetype, but most are still in the minority. Though not a combat class, it still can hold its own if caught in combat. It also has a fairly good offense and defense with summoned spirits. Some mages from this school suffer from over-inflated egos. They believe (wrongly) that they are the most powerful class.
One of the most potent archetypes. This special mage is optimum for being an investigator. Though not strong in combat, most white mages prefer to use this class to find weaknesses that the enemy possesses. * The seer is generally useful with any class summoner. Most middle to high rank sorcerers are a seer of some type.
Any wizard of light is deadly during the day. By the light of the sun, which they derive their power, these wizards can stop almost anything. Unfortunately at night, these mages are reduced to the most powerless apprentice. This special school is used mainly as guardians.
The rarest mage is the healer adept. Only 1 in 20 mages have the potential. Because of their rarity, most healer adepts are persuaded not to adventure. The only reason any healer adept should be able to do field work is a healer adept from the school of divining.
The most common mage archetype is the combat adept. They make up the largest group. They are in majority and they have a high mortality rate.
Some of the best offensive spell casters come from this class. Some magics from this school are known for their practical jokes and sense of humor. All that stops when in the field.