Mystech

Mystech is an in-lore term that describes an artificial life form that is self-aware and has some form of consciousness, though not approaching the complexity of the souls of the living mortals of Aloria. Mystech as a term combines the Mystical Spirits, the Technical Automata and the Synthetic Homunculi which are all classified as artificial life forms. Mystech is a fairly novel concept in Aloria, with Spirits having barely been researched and Homunculi and Automata being relatively recent inventions. As such, much of Mystech is on the cutting edge of the scholarly community, and new discoveries are made every day while multiple scholars, engineers, and magical summoners seek to create proper life of their own in imitations of the Dragons of Creation, a goal they have not yet reached. Mystech is presented as a Culture or People of Aloria you as a Player can play, but they don't have any culture or history, as they do not belong to any particular people. This is just for ease of access to the concept of playing an artificial entity rather than a born and living person.

Mystech summarized

Below are more detailed explanations of each type of Mystech, this section will cover a summary that aids in the process of creating a Mystech Character. Firstly, there are three categories: Spiritual which are always illegal in Regalia and hunted by many, these are ghost-like Demons that inhabit bodies or things to experience being alive. Then there are Mechanical Automata, robot-like entities with programmed personalities. While they are legal in Regalia, because they aren't "real" people, they are treated often more like the property of their creator. Lastly, there are Synthetical Homunculi, things that approximate people, but don't have a soul of their own and are either created with Magic or home-grown with alchemy and bio-engineered. Homunculi are not considered people, so they do not have civil rights in Regalia. There is still a lot of debate in Regalia whether Homuncili are an affront to the Gods to create mortal-like imitations, and so they receive a good deal of discrimination in society. Secondly, there is some distinction to be made in the Spiritual realm: Spirits are generally divided between Demons and Revenants. Demons are Spirits touched by other Dimensions, meaning they either come from, or were corrupted by the Void, Exist, or Ordial. Technically Demon only refers to Void Spirits (while Apparition and Shade refer to Exist and Ordial Spirits respectively) but Demon is often used to describe all of them for ease of reference. Revenants are Spirits that are native only to Aloria and have not been touched by other Dimensions (at least in their inception, they can become Aligned later). Revenants are usually ghosts of people who died with intense emotions or unfinished business, that pass on when their quest is complete. To create a Mystech Character, you first select the type of Mystech you would like to play. Then you consider what Alignment they should have (if they have any at all), and how that relates to their backstory. After that, you do the Proficiencies like normal (but with some limitations imposed).

Mystech Types

Mystech entities come in three different types. The most common type is Spiritual, which involves Spirits either from the world of Aloria, or from the other Dimensions such as the Void, Exist, or Ordial realm. The second category is Mechanical, which involves mundanely constructed but not necessarily mundanely powered robots and machines that approximate being alive. The final category is synthetical, which can either involve the magical creation of a lifeform, or the mundane creation of one through biological engineering and alchemy. Each Mystech must be one of these categories, and one of the sub-divided groups of entities. Mystech do not get Heritage Traits like other cultures or people of Aloria do, but they do gain 3 free Mechanics. There are several other limitations to playing Mystech:

Mystech Character Creation Rules

• Mystech cannot acquire the Shapeshift Pack unless stated otherwise in their Mechanics, nor get Packs from Prayer Point Buy.
• Mystech cannot have God Magic, and must be Dimensionally Aligned to their origin. Available Faith Point Buy becomes Planar Aligned Magic.
• Mystech Revenants can only ever be Unbound Spirits, though they can be Aligned to multiple Dimensions at once, though not God Magic.

Unbound Spirit

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An Unbound Spirit is a Spirit that can manifest an existence on its own outside of some kind of host, though not without a price. Unbound Spirits are usually entities that already have some connection to Aloria, for example, Evolism worshipers who ascended after death, people who were turned into Spirits by the Void Gods as a form of punishment/blessing, or people who sold their souls to a Spirit Sovereign. Unbound Spirits have a physical body that appears roughly like their pre-death self manifested by Magic, thus not needing other living or dead hosts. Unbound Spirits are usually part of some master's domain, each Arken, each Void God, and each Spirit Sovereign has a domain, which all Spirits to some degree are bound to making them not entirely independent. Unbound Spirits can invade the bodies of the living, become immaterial, and some can even be summoned from their respective dimensions, in case they were banished there before. As such, it is possible for a Spirit summoner to accidentally release an Unbound Spirit from their imprisonment in for example the Void, thinking it is instead a construct of the Void itself. Unbound Spirits are exceptionally dangerous in Aloria if they have nefarious intentions, as their spirit-born immortality has released them from fears of death and consequences to their actions. Many of them are also forced to serve an unseen Spirit master from another Dimension, meaning they are unpredictable. If Unbound Spirits are killed, they temporarily are cast back into the magical plane, before they reform a physical body in Aloria.

• Unbound Mechanic I: Unbound Spirits gain the Shapeshift Pack Magical Variant for free. However, they can never be Disguised, and cannot acquire Heritage Traits through Shapeshifting.
• Unbound Mechanic II: Unbound Spirits do not need to make a minimum investment in Magic Point Buy to unlock Sinistral Variants, but must always use Sinistral Variants, they cannot use Radiant.
• Unbound Mechanic III: Unbound Spirits gain the Mindcontrol Pack Magical Variant for free. Additionally, they are immune to Persuasion Thralling themselves (unless they choose to be Thralled).

Invaded Spirit

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An Invaded Spirit is a Spirit that cannot manifest an existence on its own outside of a living host, and needs to feed off the host's soul and life energy to survive. Invaded Spirits are almost always entities born from other Dimensions, Dimensional Essence that has coalesced to form a consciousness and eventually a personality. Invaded Spirits are most commonly the type that seek to break into Aloria, and attach to Mages who are in the process of Limit-Breaking, or Mages who are careless and accept a Spirit into their mind through loss of focus or lacking awareness to a Spirit's scheme. Invaded Spirits can also be forced into people by third parties, for example Arken, or Void Gods, or Spirit Sovereigns. Invaded Spirits are generally speaking malicious, seeking to consume the host entirely or move on to the next when their last host expires. It is however possible to react some form of symbiosis with a host, or for such a Spirit even to have its will and power broken by the host and bent to their will. Invaded Spirits can also be summoned by Spirit Summoners, so some Invaded Spirits are Spirits that overpowered their summoner when they were careless. Many Invaded Spirits who live for long periods of time in Aloria hope to one day become Unbound Spirits, but many are also content hiding in plain sight inside mundane looking hosts. When playing an Invaded Spirit, you play both the host and the Spirit there-in, whether that host's personality is still in there, or has completely eroded away with the Spirit taking over, or switches between them on intervals. Invaded Spirits cannot be removed from their host without killing the host, meaning hiding is a must.

• Invaded Mechanic I: Invaded Spirits are the exception to the norm, as they do have Heritage Traits. They inherit the Heritage Traits from the host they are possessing, but never the Free Packs.
• Invaded Mechanic II: Invaded Spirits can choose one Magic Point Buy Pack for free. This specific Pack is always cast as the Sinistral Variant, but Magic Point Buy Rules apply for other Packs.
• Invaded Mechanic III: Invaded Spirits gain the Wardrobe Pack Magical Variant Pack for free. Additionally they can sense residual Magic Alignment in an area during Events.

Puppeteer Spirit

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A Puppeteer Spirit is a Spirit that cannot manifest an existence on its own outside of attaching to and puppeteering of dead matter or inorganic matter like a suit of armor, a construct of wicker and driftwood, or rocks held together with Magic (this cannot be an Automata or Machine, as this would fall under Bound Automata). Puppeteer Spirits are very similar to Invaded Spirits, but cannot or will not for whatever reason attach themselves to living people, thus having to manipulate unliving material to affect the world. Puppeteer Spirits are in essence invisible (though powerful Entities like Gods, Arken, and some Profile/Event Characters may be able to see them), and control a dead body or inorganic construct with magical conduits or tendrils. This control is very fine, meaning a corpse that is puppeteered can have very fine motoric control and expressions, but the Spirit does not reside in it. Puppeteer Spirits are aggressively possessive of the things they use to affect the world, and while they can be temporarily banished from their possession, will eventually return to it. Puppeteer Spirits survive by consuming Sinistral Magic around them (except their own), meaning they innately seek out Sinistral Magic users and encourage them to practice the dark arts so that they can survive. In a pinch, Puppeteer Spirits can also leech life essence or a soul directly from a living person, but will try to avoid doing so. Puppeteer Spirits are generally considered more harmless than Unbound and Invaded Spirits, but are still given the same destructive response as their corruptive influence to Mages around them makes them a risk in high population areas.

• Puppeteer Mechanic I: While in or out of Combat, a Puppeteer Spirit can target an Ally's (not self) Radiant Magic Ability, force it to be Sinistral instead, and re-target it if necessary to a different Target.
• Puppeteer Mechanic II: Puppeteer Spirits gain the Mindcontrol Pack Magical Variant for free. Additionally, they are immune to Persuasion Thralling themselves (unless they choose to be Thralled).
• Puppeteer Mechanic III: Puppeteer Spirits can seal a spirit pact with a willing participant, some kind of mission, quest, or action. If they fail or attack the Spirit after, they take damage (discuss in Dm's what this means).

Colony Spirit

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Most Spirits that come from other Dimensions, are in fact mindless balls of energy with single minded purposes. Sometimes however, these Lesser Spirits can congeal together forming a so-called Colony Spirit. When multiple Lesser Spirits group or work together, they gain intelligence and insight that multiplies each time more and more Spirits are added to the collective. Colony Spirits can either be Invaded in the sense that they control a single host together, or share multiple parts of an inorganic or corpse-like host each given their own part of the body to control. Colony Spirits cannot fully be killed off, however the Colony does become less intelligent each time one of them is removed or banished, until a new one is gained. It is impossible to exorcise a whole Colony ever, as the loss rate of individual Spirits is less than the amount they attract in the meantime, they can however be rendered ignorant for long periods of time. Colony Spirits are furthermore complicated by the fact that each member of the Colony can spontaneously form personality quirks or behaviors that often contradict with other members of the Colony, meaning their host can come off as having 5+ personalities or identities. Colony Spirits are as much a chaotic existence on themselves as they are to the world around them, and while they generally do not come across as harmful, they can still be dangerous because Colony Spirits attract lesser Spirits into the world even if they are not seeking to add more to their collective, meaning more Spirits appear around them against their will.

• Colony Mechanic I: Colony Spirits gain +7 Intelligence added after assigning their 14 Proficiency Points, but cannot invest in Intelligence Point Buy. Also their Persuasion Cap is 14, and they gain +4 to Persuasion Rolls.
• Colony Mechanic II: Each time a Colony Spirit is Exorcised or killed, they lose 1 Intelligence (they can regain it when the Player deems fitting). If they hit 2 Intelligence, they gain +1 Attack Stat (cap up to 11).
• Colony Mechanic III: Colony Spirits gain the Mimicry Pack Magical Variant for free, but they cannot use the mechanic to change their appearance into that which they are mimicking.

Mech Automata

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Mech Automata are defined as being entirely mundane, that is to say, they are mechanical constructs like robots, powered by mundane power sources. Mech Automata are meant to imitate people, so they usually have a Unimatrix which contains complex logic routines for personality, memory, and emotion. As such, Mech Automata are entirely independent machine people capable of operating on their own, but unlike for example Bralona which they might often be confused with, they do not have a Soul, and their behavior is very much programmed not spontaneous. Mech Automata only ever behave in ways their owner intended them to, and can sometimes even freeze up if their routines do not account for specific situations. Mech Automata are usually faithful and loyal to their creator (especially if their creator designed them to be) however there are plenty of tales of Automata that have broken free or even killed their master in self defense or an act of liberation. Some Automata have existed for hundreds of years, shutting down for extended periods of time and becoming weathered by the passage of time. Some Crystalline Meraic Automata have even been rumored to wander around in the jungles of Hadar, meaning there is a great deal of visual freedom using the Technology Branches in designing Mech Automata. Legally speaking Tech Automata have no rights in Regalia, they cannot stand trial, and are always treated as property of their master, which makes them dubious in legal status if they are free.

• Mech Mechanic I: Mech Automata cannot invest in the Magic or Faith Proficiencies at all. They however gain 1 free Point Buy Pack from any other Category without Proficiency investment.
• Mech Mechanic II: Mech Automata gain the Shapeshift Pack Mundane Variant for free, but have to always appear mechanical or robot-like with at least two legs and two arms.
• Mech Mechanic III: Mech Automata gain the First, Second, and Last Mechanics from the Qadir Heritage Traits section. Additionally, Magic cannot tamper with their memories.

Bound Automata

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Bound Automata lies somewhere in between a Spirit and an Automata. For whatever reason, the creator of this Automata chose not to create a Unimatrix or deemed it to be insufficient, and instead bound a Spirit inside the Automata as fuel and personality. This is the only way to truly render a Spirit harmless to its environment, as a Bound Automata is no different from a Demon Jar (canopic jars used by Spirit Summoners to trap Demons). However, differently from these jars, Bound Automata do allow for the Spirit to operate a body and communicate with the outside world, meaning there is still some inherent danger. Bound Automata are extremely illegal in Regalia, and when found out, are destroyed on the spot. Luckily for Bound Automata, however, there is no way to externally tell if an Automata is Bound or Mech, except to open up its chest cavity and inspect the mechanical parts for the presence of a functional Unimatrix, the lack thereof indicating that the Automata is powered by Magic. Bound Automata also differ from Mech Automata in that they can cast Magic and learn the Magical arts, but in return have less technological functions. Some Bound Automata manifest magical mutations over time, where the magic itself starts warping their metallic parts into strange shapes, or even part organic additions may form onto their chassis. Finally, there is a unique type of Bound Automata, called an Adat al-Hayat. Qadir are legally allowed to save a dying person by transferring their soul into an Automata, thus creating a Revenant Bound inside an Automata. These are the only legal exception to Bound Automata, and only when created/cared for by Qadir.

• Bound Mechanic I: Bound Automata If imprisoned, locked up, or chained down, can simply slip out of these restraints and walk through locked doors. They can still be attacked and hurt if careless though!
• Bound Mechanic II: Bound Automata gain +1 Attack Stat and +1 Defense Stat while inside the Sewers (breaking cap up to 11). If they are Ordial Aligned, they gain another +1 Defense Stat inside the Ordial Temple.
• Bound Mechanic III: Bound Automata can perform great feats of strength out of Combat (carry multiple people, throw boulders etc.). They also gain +5 in out of Combat dice roll Strength competitions.

Vatgrown Homunculi

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Vatgrown Homunculi are the product of a combination of Genos editing, bio-engineering, and alchemy. They are fully grown adult humanoids that were grown in some type of vat or cocoon in a lab, and then released with a capability to reason, think, feel, and form memories and personalities. Vatgrown Homunculi can even be made by combining genetic material of (un)willing hosts, producing something that looks like them, but always off. They can even imitate visuals of Affinities (such as Arkenborn, Godborn, or Archon), without being them, as Vatgrown Homunculi cannot have Affinities. Vatgrown Homunculi can have very varied personalities, often influenced by the alchemical ingredients used in their making. For example, Fireweed makes Homunculi aggressive and violent, while dulling narcotics make them pensive and stoic. Vatgrown Homunculi always have to deal with the fact that while they were made in manners not too dissimilar from childbirth, they do not have souls, and their personalities are a mixture of complex bio-engineered programming. In the eyes of the law, they are not people, and many people are disgusted with their very existence as a lab-grown creature. While Purists do not make a habit of attacking mundane Homunculi, some of the more religious fanatic ones see Homunculi as as affront to their God(s), and wish to destroy all fabricated humanoids. Vatgrown Homunculi appear like other Peoples of Aloria (or a mixture of them) but are always sterile and cannot reproduce, nor are they capable of understanding how to produce more Homuncili, a point of contention, especially for those who want to create their own society.

• Vatgrown Mechanic I: Vatgrown Homunculi are immune to being infected with/having Affinities. If they become Afflicted, their curing never costs Divinium, and they are never affected by the mental changes.
• Vatgrown Mechanic II: Vatgrown Homunculi gain 1 pack of Chem Point Buy for free, which can be a biological function of their body. If they become Dimension Aligned, they can choose to make this Magical instead.
• Vatgrown Mechanic III: Vatgrown Homuncili gain +1 Attack Stat (breaking cap up to 11) when attacking someone who is engaging in bigotry or discrimination against them, or did in the past hour by diminishing their personhood.

Ephemer Homunculi

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Ephemer Homunculi are similar to Vatgrown Homunculi, except that no Technology was made to make them, but Magic. Ephemer Homunculi as such are born Dimensionally Aligned by the type of Magic that created them, but unlike Spirits, they can Align to other Dimensions also because they are not wholly made of the Dimensional Essence from which they were spawned. Ephemer Homunculi are designed in the spells that weave them, meaning they can be made to look like practically anything, have any kind of personality, or any kind of disposition, but they are never quite limited to it due to their Magical nature. They are equally created as fully fledged adults, but due to their Magical birth have a habit of being more unstable than Vatgrown Homunculi. While the Vatgrown tend to try and make the best of their situation in a society that has not yet decided whether it wants to purge them all, Ephemer Homunculi are prone to more capricious and random behavior, and strong urges they cannot even explain themselves. Ephemer Homunculi are very illegal in Regalia, though at face value it is impossible to tell whether a Homuncili is Vatgrown or Ephemer, unless they start shapeshifting, something Vatgrown Homuncili cannot do. Ephemer Homunculi are exceptionally popular among Elves, especially Allorn Elves, or Elves who live in Regalia but due to the laws cannot acquire slaves. Ephemer Homunculi can have parts of their personality or emotions disabled, and they are legally not people, making them excellent servants. Many Ephemer Homunculi who have broken free are therefor freedom fighters for other Homunculi, even Vatgrown ones.

• Ephemer Mechanic I: Ephemer Homunculi gain the Shapeshift Pack Magical Variant for free. However, they can never be Disguised, and cannot acquire Heritage Traits through Shapeshifting.
• Ephemer Mechanic II: Ephemer Homunculi gain the Mimicry Pack Magical Variant for free. Additionally if someone uses an Event-related Mechanic near them, they can duplicate it once per day.
• Ephemer Mechanic III: Ephemer Homuncili cannot be killed, if their body is destroyed, even a single drop of blood will re-manifest their body within an hour. They also regain lost limbs in matters of seconds.

Mystech Morality