rush99999, post: 82238635, member: 380992 Wrote:

Is it possible to fool a Slasher by playing dead or do they only get their Malice high when their target dies for real?

They can be fooled but not for long. It's one of those things where if they're emotional (I.E. Enraged) enough they might think they killed someone when they didn't, but after a moment they'll realize they didn't get that hit of Malice and will realize something is wrong.

Funnily enough, this is actually one of the few areas that a stronger Slasher is actually at a disadvantage to a weaker, because at a certain point the Malice from a single kill is just a drop in the well at their level, meaning unless they specialize in Malice Manipulation (I.E. Hex) and are actively using it people can slip under their radars with surprising frequency.

rush99999, post: 82322303, member: 380992 Wrote:

Do M.A.D.s take offence if they are ever referred to as Mads?

Some though most don't care due to differences in local slang, languages, and the fact that despite the term being around for twenty or so years, there are still a fair number of people who don't realize it's an acronym until someone points out.

rush99999, post: 82360418, member: 380992 Wrote:

Do any other Deviancies have some sort of telltale sign that can out them to anyone who knows what they're looking for?

I think I've mentioned it before but most Deviants have something going on with their eyes when they use their powers, with Arcane, Psychics, and Slashers glowing at a higher level, Deadmen permanently having green eyes and gaining a ghastly glow with their emotions, Malcontent changing into different eyes, and an M.A.D.s pupils changing size independent of each other.

As far as purely physical traits go Deadmen are the most obvious given how many of them look like zombies, but even the more human looking ones can usually be found out by the fact all Deadmen have green eyes and green blood. (Unless severely injured at which point it turns red for those with corpses and can sometimes revert their eyes to their living color.) Excluding them and the Malcontent most Deviants don't have physical signifiers outside of a handful of rare mutations that while marking someone as a Deviant don't necessarily tell you what kind of Deviant they are.

From there each Deviant also gives off a small amount of their given energy passively, while giving off notably more when using their powers, but you need either special skills or tech to be able to detect that more often than not. Though it should be noted that some of them are harder to detect by certain means than others, such as how Madness can't be detected by machinery but people who are used to it can feel it pretty easily.

ReaperofInterest, post: 82669740, member: 309377 Wrote:

So, we know that The Man in the Mask is connected to Madness, and is possibly the personification of the energy as a whole, and there's something similar for Necro and The Pale Lady. Do the other Deviant energies all have similar...personifications, I guess, running around?

The primary three, they're even seen together for a chapter in one of the anthology episodes.

rush99999, post: 82717533, member: 380992 Wrote:

How is DeSade pronounced?

De-s-aid.

(Technically, it's derived from the french De Sade (Pronounced: De Sod) but the pronunciation has shifted over the last hundred or so years due to living in america and the family's Sadistic reputation. Leading to people mispronouncing the name, and a few members of the family relishing in what was meant as a play on their name and reputation.)

ReaperofInterest, post: 82700880, member: 309377 Wrote:

So I had an interesting idea. Could a Wonderlander have some of their dreams learn how to do magic? Like, say a Wonderlander focused on stories decided they wanted their dream creatures to do actual magic for whatever reason. Would the Wonderlander in question need to learn how to do magic themselves, or would they need someone willing to help a would-be Practitioner, or could they just let their dreams handle it on their own? For that matter, would the dreams have Affinities of their own that are distinct from their Wonderlander's?

Okay, this one is a bit tricky because a lot of Madness rules are a matter of perspective, but for the most part yes, dreams can learn magic. Though how many of the Arcane rules of magic they're bound by depend on how, when, and why a Wonderlander's dream would want to know magic.

For instance a young Wonderlander wants a wizard for their fantasy wonderland, they get a robe wearing old man with a staff and beard who can make magical things happen while seeming wise. But this wizard dream knows nothing about how Arcane and Practitioners perform their magic.

Continuing from there, if an older Wonderlander learns more about Arcane magic then creates a magic wielding dream then that dream will be bound by the rules the Wonderlander knows but with Madness filling any blanks in their knowledge.

Both of which tie into the fact that if a Wonderlander were to attempt to try and learn Arcane magic as a practitioner, it would result in them using Madness instead of Anima, even if -externally- they're performing the same feats as every other magic user. (Which gets into an in-setting debate on if Anima is true magic or if all Deviant energies should count as magic, a subject frequently brought up in regards to Hex and Malice.)

Despite this there are some advantages to a Wonderlander bothering to learn magic, due to the fact that it can expand what they think magic is capable of in a more tangible way rather than just 'wave my hands and shoot fireballs', which could have the added benefit of requiring less Madness to fill in the blanks.

Lastly, the primary affinity of all Wonderlanders and Dreams will always be Madness, their Secondary affinities however can vary and differ from each other. Though dreams and Wonderlanders from the same Wonderland will probably share at least one secondary affinity based on the Wonderland itself. (I.E. Josh's dreams all have Madness as a primary affinity but not all of them will have both his Ink and Toon affinities.)

rush99999, post: 82748844, member: 380992 Wrote:

So what happened to this thing after Memento yote it back to wherever it came from? Did it find itself someone else to latch onto in the end or is it still out there waiting for someone else to wander into its deal making radius?

It is still out there in the void, though he sent it far enough away that it is not going to be a problem for this cluster of worlds. (Also technically it's still flying away.)

ReaperofInterest, post: 82744713, member: 309377 Wrote:

So, exactly how important is the Arcane Nexus? I get that it's very important, but how much of the day-to-day stuff among Arcane does it handle? As far as I recall, the only thing it's been explicitly mentioned to affect is summoning, but I'm sure that it does more stuff than that given how it's apparently old as dirt and spans multiple dimensions.

It was briefly discussed in an Anthology chapter too, but the basic idea of it is that the Arcane Nexus is basically a magical super computer/database that has stored everything every user of it has ever learned (not a widely known detail) and can be accessed by anyone in any connecting dimension so long as they have the very public access key. (Or one of the rarer Admin keys/backdoors.)

From there it also functions as a sort of bridge between worlds, making it easier to use dimensional magic to travel between the worlds connected by the Nexus, while also allowing the Nexus to slowly spread to new worlds as magic users accidentally land themselves in other worlds, or as Anima builds up in a world to a point where the Nexus can follow it.

There are a lot of other points to it but the widest known simplification of the Nexus is that is an Inter-dimensional Internet/Library/Public Transport. And it's probably as important to those who are aware of it as those things are in our society by those that use them.

(Fun Fact: One of the Nexus's creators rigged it so that it would occasionally spit out these keys/magic book/crystals in worlds that have reached a level of Anima capable of sustaining a Practitioner's magic. That way every world capable of using magic can eventually learn it should they desire, while also giving the cultures a bit of space to try and figure out their own thing. In fact these books are transported by his favorite magical creature.)

rush99999, post: 82769463, member: 380992 Wrote:

There's paperwork, actual official paperwork, for being a Dark Lord?

Yes, though the requirements aren't necessarily easy to fulfill.

rush99999, post: 82769463, member: 380992 Wrote:

...Why?

The Arcane Association originally started it as a joke because one of the immortal/world conquering founders was capable of qualifying despite having retired years ago.

rush99999, post: 82769463, member: 380992 Wrote:

...Why?

Eventually with the rise of Sanctuary and the Heroes' Guild it took on a secondary, and actually legal definition essentially marking someone as a magical crime lord of sorts. (Even if they haven't committed any crimes.) Who should they come up with a valid reason for their continued existence can create a deal that gets law enforcement to leave them alone in their given territory, (in DeSade's case that would be keeping a lid on all the things in Blackwell).

This isn't to say that they have free reign to do whatever they please, just that as long as they can prove their value every so often or help with the occasionally 'Dark Art Problem' then the local government can sweep a few 'lesser' crimes under the rug, but large scale things will still come back to bite them.

Additionally, since it has become a synonym for 'magical crime lord' not all dark lords are official Dark Lords, (who actually take their certifications and titles very seriously given how hard they are to acquire and will frequently deal with the posers themselves.)

rush99999, post: 82769463, member: 380992 Wrote:

Also how did DeSade end up showing his Dark Lord paperwork to Jon?

It was half-pride (DeSade earned those 3 A Rank Dark Art Masteries.) and half proof that he did in fact know what he was talking about and was in fact working for the betterment of Blackwell despite the occasional cult meeting and/or blood sacrifice.

LaughingMadAndBlue, post: 82769679, member: 462574 Wrote:

Because bureaucrasy does, indeed, have their claws on absolutely everything.

The Arcane Association likes to certify and rank everything if they can.

LaughingMadAndBlue, post: 82769679, member: 462574 Wrote:

On that note, anything that could take advantage of that? Paperwork and stuff, because it certainly sounds like it has a lot of potential for it.

Part of the reason the system works is by them taking advantage of the official -and occasionally helpful- Dark Lord's pride to eliminate the 'fake' -and frequently unhelpful- dark lords.

Fun Fact: The Sanctuary media engine actually makes the posers out to be a bigger deal than they are while minimizing the real Dark Lord's power solely to stoke this prideful hate, before soothing it once the poser is gone so as to keep from having to deal with that whole mess themselves.

Crazyone47, post: 82770741, member: 422818 Wrote:

What areHunterss legally defined as anyway?

It's mostly a professional license that says: This person has enough knowledge/combat skill to fight monsters and/or Deviants up to [Blank] Rank without getting themselves or nearby civilians killed (probably).

The license gives them some legal wiggle room to do their job while also allowing them to remain professionally insured should anything happen, and basically works the same way a PI license works.

Crazyone47, post: 82770741, member: 422818 Wrote:

And what would cross the line from illegal but nobody really cares to illegal and having it is asking for trouble?

Going to go down your list, but the usual rule of thumb is 'don't involve innocent civilians' and if they do that and there's a fair bit of room to work with.

Crazyone47, post: 82770741, member: 422818 Wrote:

Souls?

Slight split with the human and animal question, but legal as long as you don't kill or emotionally maim the person. Though that's due to reasons I'm saving for if Jon should decide to study soul magic and/or necromancy. (Both from DeSade's books.)

Crazyone47, post: 82770741, member: 422818 Wrote:

Human or animal?

Animals are legal so long as you own them, and aren't torturing them. (Though this has the usual problems with enforcing animal protection laws.) Practical people who need animals usually stick to mice and rats due to ease of access and reproduction. (Also bit of a legal grey area with animal-type hunting.)

Humans aren't legal to use, though if they happen to be a known murderer or worse law enforcement might look the other way if you had a good reason for what you're doing. (Fun Fact: There's a guy who kills serial killers and uses their deaths to heal hospitalized kids.)

Crazyone47, post: 82770741, member: 422818 Wrote:

Drugs?

Weird one, because in the US the scene is similar to our current drug war/scapegoat but thanks to magic and M.A.D.s there are significantly more strains of things. With smart creators making them physically non-addictive and possessing medical benefits so as to keep its drug scheduling (the system the government uses to determine medical value vs abuse potential) low, thus allowing them to overtake and replace the marijuana market without becoming too illegal.

Crazyone47, post: 82770741, member: 422818 Wrote:

Historical artifacts?

If a historical artifact is classified as a 'Dark Object' (something that actively harms people without discretion or at least a controllable discretion) then the policy is to destroy it if possible. Additionally preservation is preferred for non-Dark Objects.

Crazyone47, post: 82770741, member: 422818 Wrote:

computer programs?

DM cyber-security is a few years ahead of ours due to their cyber-vulnerability becoming apparent earlier than us who are (federally) just realizing it in the last year or so, but similar anti-hacking laws are in place beyond that.

Crazyone47, post: 82770741, member: 422818 Wrote:

Organs?

You can grow and sell artificial organs (after proving they work to a certification board) but you have to be able to prove a source chain when you do so, and if you can't it will be assumed it is an illegally acquired organ.

Crazyone47, post: 82770741, member: 422818 Wrote:

Human flesh?

Same as rules from above, though it's usually worthless for a Deviant's reasons to need human flesh due to its artificial nature. (In which case they'd be better off with animal flesh.)

Crazyone47, post: 82770741, member: 422818 Wrote:

In terms of stuff Arcanes could use?

Beyond the above rules, in the US it pretty much boils down to 'if you can afford it, you can use it'. (Other countries may be different.)

Crazyone47, post: 82788889, member: 422818 Wrote:

...... Is there religous magic if there are demons?

Gods and demons are real in the DM setting, though they're both powered by a mix of emotion and belief that carries over a mix of Anima and Madness into them thus empowering them. (I'm trying to keep from spoiling too much on the subject since Demonology is a skill Jon has been able to study since the beginning thanks to DeSade's books, and I'm saving a lot of stuff for that.)

That said, while people frequently apply the word 'demon' to any violent entity not native to our world, true Demons are entities that gain magical power by feeding on the emotional energy of those around them. (Which depending on definition can translate to pieces of one's soul.) By definition this term can arguably apply to Gods as well, though those entities are usually native to earth meaning their M.O. is little different. And in both cases there are both good and bad gods/demons, depending on a number of personal if mildly alien psychological factors.

Crazyone47, post: 82788889, member: 422818 Wrote:

Also how many branches of magic are there?

Technically there are as many branches as anyone can think of since the world of Deviant's Masquerade also includes alternate worlds and such, but usually the most common in reference to the Arcane Association are:

The Spell Crafts, which are the art of applying a studied affinity and are often the method of applying the other arts:

-Script Craft

-Sign Craft

-Will Craft

-Wand Craft (Which the AA does not respect. (At all.) (Kids can use them as toys until they're about 8 though.))

The General Arts, which are the mainstream things that most people at least touch upon in passing in the Arcane community:

-Contracting (Summoning)

-Enchanting (Could be considered a craft, but due to need of another craft to use is considered a general Art.)

-Potion Making

-Theory

-Alchemy

The Primary Dark Arts, which are the dark arts everyone has heard of:

-Contracting (Dealmaking)

-Demonology

-Necromancy (Which is a mix of old school Necromancy and the catholicized version we all know.)

-Occultism (Different from Theory as higher levels study the effects of other Deviant energies on magic, rather than pure Anima interactions.)

-Flesh Sculpting

Then some of the Rarer Arts/Crafts are (but not limited to):

-Shamanism (The use of Anima spirits in the environment)

-Divination (A form of magic that mimics Psionics Cognitive branch)

-Ritual (A form of applied Theory and Occultism to amplify Spell Craft)

Just a reminder that while there are a number of other Arts that are less common, the most commonly seen magics are applications of an affinity (inherent or learned) applied through a craft.

Crazyone47, post: 82788889, member: 422818 Wrote:

Could Ying learn magic? In the branch that involves lightning blasts? I think its called Thaumaturgy.

Thaumaturgy is term that roughly translates to 'miracle worker' and is defined as the use of supernatural forces to perform miracles. (Basically it's a fancy word for magic.) That said a lot of games use the term for their more general magic skill tree, and the one I found included a lot of general stuff like fireballs, frost, and shields.

Now as far as Ying learning magic goes, she can and everything she does counts as an application of her Storm or Dragon affinity through Willcraft (an Incarnate's specialty) and as such she can learn the other arts and crafts if she wants to take the time.

Her big limitation is that every spell she uses must in some way be connected to [Storm] or [Dragon], meaning her enchantments have to involve one or the other, her summons must involve one or the other, her necromancy, her alchemy, everything. And the only ones that don't really require an affinity to learn or use are the more theoretical ones such as Theory and Occultism.

Essentially thanks to being an Incarnate she has been forced to overspecialize to the point where in her specialty she can't be matched, but outside of it she can't actually do anything practical.

ReaperofInterest, post: 82792291, member: 309377 Wrote:

What's the reason for the disrespect? Looking through the Anthology, I saw that you need an actual wand to do Wand Craft, but apart from that limitation, I don't see what has the AA disrespect this particular Craft type so much.

It ties into this guy. He was one of the biggest influencers for the early Arcane Association since he was one of the first teachers and half of the founders were his mentees in one way or another.

Anyway his problem comes from a mix of feeling from the fact that wand magic is quick and easy to pick up in comparison to other Crafts that people didn't bother with learning the actual theory behind all the fantastical things they did while also putting in less effort, to the fact that he felt like many wand users were overcompensating with 'superiority complexes' due to how much magic they could do with said lack of effort.

Both of which were opinions created because his immortality meant that he'd dealt with a lot of entitled and corrupt nobles, many of whom were wand users in old Europe having paid craftsmen to make them while being taught to read and cast spells at a young age without bothering to continue to advance themselves or teach other. When by contrast the poor folk had to put effort into learning more traditional forms of magic due to a mix of the illiteracy of the time in the common folk meaning that half their magic was spread by word of mouth in small communities with fewer resources, but who were close enough to teach each other openly whenever someone wanted to learn unlike the nobles who felt entitled to their magic and horded it away in order to compete with each other.

This difference in approaches actually led to one of the earlier dying outs of magic due to the fact that the nobles would steal the secrets from nearby covens and then wipe them out so no one could learn said secrets, which in part is the reason so many people began to hide their magic in the first place replacing community learning with secret societies and hording of knowledge by old families. Something he actively sought to undo when helping create the Arcane Association.

In the end his grudge against Wand users is more a by-product of his time and a projection of his sense of loss in community during his younger years, and is mixed with his hatred of nobility. (Which is why he helped kick off the French Revolution, and a few other rebellions over the years.) But being the mentor to the founding of a society roughly 50 years old and with most of said founder still alive in-story, led to both of those traits (and a few other of his traits good and bad) being woven into the Arcane Association.

ReaperofInterest, post: 82792291, member: 309377 Wrote:

So what precisely gets something labeled as a Dark Art? I mean, Demonology and Necromancy seem obvious, and Flesh Crafting seems like it can be used for some heinous stuff just from the name alone, but what puts Occultism on this list as opposed to ding in the General Arts?

Dark Arts are labeled as such due to the likelihood a given subject will cause harm with its use/study. When an entire Art is labeled as dark that usually means more than half of its uses are likely to cause harm, or touch upon subjects considered socially offensive.

In the case of Dealmaking, the deal maker gains a power over the one who signs their contracts, and that is of course before you bring being the signer of a demon or entity into the mix, or the social perception of 'deal with a demon' and 'dark pacts'.

As for Occultism, for the most part it does overlap with Theory and at one point the two would've been considered the same field. The split between them comes in the fact that Occultism also studies the influence of Malice (energy that's known to grow stronger through murder) Madness (which is known to drive people crazy) Ectoplasm (which is mildly radioactive) Psionics (which has its own stigmas for messing with people's heads) and Necro (which is raw death energy). Meaning that any advanced practical study of these things possesses a chance to harm the researcher let alone those nearby even if they're careful, and that's before we get into the tendency those elements have to attract things.

Crazyone47, post: 82800676, member: 422818 Wrote:

How did Josh inherit his Wonderland? Is that a Malice thing?

He had the potential for becoming a Madness user but didn't have enough power to actually cross the threshold. The Malice being a mix of Madness and Necro latched onto a dying Wonderland and slammed it into the empty slot Josh had, while... softening the edges of both to make it fit.

Crazyone47, post: 82800676, member: 422818 Wrote:

Do Wonderlands just float around after death of Wonderland?

Yes and no, it's a bit complicated but essentially all Wonderlands merge with the Black Briar making the foundation from which all Madness comes and goes. Meaning they aren't floating around but they aren't all there either. Though certain Wonderlands are capable of sustaining themselves for longer after their Wonderlander has left.

Crazyone47, post: 82800676, member: 422818 Wrote:

Is Avery really a child of a dream or does he just think that when he is the same dream just reformatted for a new master?

He is a true remnant of a Wonderland that was about ready to fade, but since he was the core Boss Dream he was also the last to fade having watched every other dream from the old Wonderland slowly fade away.

Crazyone47, post: 82800676, member: 422818 Wrote:

IS that Sanctuary agent with Malice and Madness like Josh?

No, it's more he's got a rot on him that says he's been messing with things he shouldn't.

Crazyone47, post: 82800676, member: 422818 Wrote:

What usually happens when Malice infects Madness deviancy and vice versa?

When Malice infects a Madness user they tend to become more aggressive and wild, gaining power through a mix of more violent actions and wild emotions faster. If the Madness user is a Wonderlander this becomes worse as their Wonderland goes from Alice in Wonderland to American McGee's Alice.

When Madness infects a Malice user usually this causes their perception to widen and their mind to run faster, allowing them to adapt or change at a significantly faster pace than others, while also causing some of their limits to become... flexible.

Side Note: If we're looking at the energies as a power wheel, then Insanity is the shade of Madness closest to Malice.

rush99999, post: 82800925, member: 380992 Wrote:

Who is this guy?

An Arcane who learned a bit of healing Necromancy. (It's actually not that high level of a spell.)

Can't actually give a specific 'who' because there are actually several arguably 'good' Necromancers who do this not just one. In fact one of them is recruitable in one of the Quests. (No spoilers on who and which quest.)

Crazyone47, post: 82801270, member: 422818 Wrote:

One last thing is were Josh's headaches a sign he always had another side or were those just headaches?

Look at their timing during the early chapters when Josh was having (thoughts) rather than (thoughts) and you'll have your answer.