Invoke Point Buy

The Ability and Proficiency System
	This page involves the Abilities and Proficiency system, which is a core part of how Combat Roleplay and "Competitive" Roleplay works on Massivecraft. To see an explanation of general Rules, Terminology, and Mechanics used on this page, read the Abilities page. To see a broader explanation of the Abilities and Rules used on this page, read the Proficiency Page. To see an indexed list of all Abilities, read the Ability List Page.

Invoke Point Buy is part of the bigger Proficiency System. Please read the Proficiency Page first before reading this one. Invoke Point Buy provides mechanics that change the way you play your Character through some ailment, alignment, curse, or communion your character has undergone to have part of their soul magically altered. Unlike Magic Point Buy, Invoke Point Buy does not require Dimension Alignment, nor does it distinguish between Radiant and Sinistral. However, a Dimension may add to the theme if you choose to have your Invocation be an ailment or curse. For more information on this, see below.

Types of Invocations

Invocations are a fairly loose concept, and there is no one-size-fits-all way to acquire an invocation in one's backstory. This short section will give some inspiration for ways to write how to incorporate invocations into your character's backstory:

Powerful Spell: An Invocation can just be a powerful spell your Character knows, because they are a skilled Mage with years of training, or because they spent a long time perfecting this particular spell and can now use it more often.
Powerful Curse: An Invocation can also be a Powerful Curse placed by some entity like a God or a Greater Demon or Arken, generally to punish someone for some act of blasphemy or to torment them. In this case, the Invocation can be involuntary.
Divine Blessing: An Invocation can be a blessed Invocation granted by a God or some other greater entity as a reward for service or to do their work. Note, blessings to Gods do not always have to be interpreted as positive boons by mortals.
Artifacts/Family: It is possible that an Invocation was tied to a lesser Artifact that was either embedded into the Character or transferred some curse or blessing to its new owner. It could also run in the family, or be taught only by the family.

Have other ideas, or need feedback on your idea? Especially if you are trying to tie it in with deep lore or complex God interactions, we strongly recommend making a ticket to get it singed off by Lore Staff.

Invoke Spell Packs

Each Pack Point Bought from Invoke Point Buy counts as a Pack bought from Magic Point Buy for Cursing or Mage Attack/Defense Stat rolls.

Monster Invocation

Whether by a curse or by voluntary blessing, this Pack allows the user to transform into a Monster Transformation, which counts as a Disguise. A Monster Disguise is a monstrous version of a Character that breaks beyond the design style of a purely humanoid character and thus can have all manner of visual changes that make them look more monstrous. During Transformation, if anyone is a witness to the Transformation, the Monster can also alter part of the witness's memories, so that they will not remember who Transformed, that the original person ran away, or was never even there to begin with. During the Monster Transformation, the user gains +2 Attack Stat (Break Cap to 11) and +1 Defense Stat (Break Cap to 9), but can no longer use ranged weapons or magic. If the user drops to 0 HP, the Monster Transformation will be reverted after which the memory alteration no longer works. Additionally, Characters with Monster Invocation may receive more positive or additional interactions with entities that either feel alignment with, or close approximation to Monsters, such as the Eldertide or the Body Arken (Private Message DM's during Events to inquire). Keep in mind that Monster Transformations are always defined as "Monstrous", and thus fall under Regalian Law High Law. This means it is strongly recommended not to use Monster Transformations is very public spaces or in the middle of the city, as the Regalian Guard & Knights and most law-abiding citizens will attack to kill on sight. If Monsters get arrested, kill-perms are likely to be granted to have the Character executed.

Duellist Invocation

The Duellist Invocation allows a Character to change the rules of (mostly) friendly combat in a scene. In order to use this Invocation, there must be a clear number of participants (either a group, or two persons), and a clear "ring" or "arena" in which the fight takes place. Then, the Invocation creator can set the rules of the fight in whatever way they like, this can include but not be limited to: ridiculously over-the-top anime-style theatric combat, increasing Proficiencies to 28, increasing HP to 30, changing Attack/Defense/Damage Stats, disregarding the Combat Roleplay system altogether and using logic dictation, allowing Characters to fly or transform and so forth. The idea is that reality can be defined by the person making the Invocation and that as the cherry on the top, the participants become effectively immortal. Even if they die as a result of the duel, they will be revived at the end and their bodies restored. Duellist Invocation cannot interfere with regular Combat Roleplay, participants must always be willing, and as soon as the duel has started, it cannot be interfered by outsiders until the duel is done. Finally, any Character that has this Pack, gains +1 Attack Stat (Break Cap to 11) and +1 Defense Stat (Break Cap to 9) so long as they are only in a 1 versus 1 fight (meaning, as soon as anyone joins on either side, this buff is removed).

Deathless Invocation

The Deathless Invocation allows a Character to become undying, theoretically. True indestructible immortality is not possible on Aloria, as the law of entropy is absolute, but something approximating immortality can be reached. The Deathless Invocation allows a Character to transfer their mortality onto an object or objects, that will also act as curses on them in return. For example, they might attach their mortality to a painting that continues to age, that if any living person were ever to lay eyes on it, would rapidly age them thus killing them. Another example might be that they might attach their mortality to 10 objects and spread them around the world, the drawback of which would be that if anyone were to acquire all these items they could be killed remotely by having them all destroyed. A final example is that their mortality is tied to a place of strong Magic, with the drawback being that if someone were to overpower this place or drain it of all its Magic, they would rapidly age and die. The Deathless Invocation is intended to give a Character a vibe of immortality, but it must always have a drawback that could reasonably be accomplished in Roleplay so that the theoretical risk of mortality could always be re-established. Kill-perms are (mostly outside of the law) reserved to players, meaning that Character Death is never a realistic risk without the Player's consent, but to play the Deathless Invocation correctly, that risk must always be factored into a Character's interactions. This Invocation can be used to have a Character be much older than their Heritage is capable of, but we recommend not to have a Character be older than 500 years, because beyond this point not much world history has been written, and your Character risks being unengaging, by being unable to talk about their past in day to day RP. Deathless Invocations are also telegraphed to anyone who is a Mage. This means that any Mage can "read" the Deathless Invocation off someone who has it, and figure out the rules of it by looking at them though not all the details (such as, not knowing where the example given painting would be, where all the shards of immortality objects are, or what exact place of power it might be that their immortality is tied to). The Deathless Invocation is meant to encourage Roleplay discussion of mortality or the morality of even doing something like this, not to become an excuse for a Character to be fearless of death. How a Character expresses this immortality is up to the player: they can either simply not "die" physically, or their body can be destroyed but reform magically so long as the objects to which their mortality is bound are still around. Finally, Characters who have this Pack, can choose one non-Biology-based single bullet point (not subheaders) Heritage Mechanic (such as Urlan Metabolism, or Asha Claws/Wings) from any Heritage Traits (except Mystech, Dragonkin, Slizzar, or Bralona) and add it to their own Heritage Traits. If you are unsure what a Biology-Based Heritage Trait Mechanic is, please inquire with Lore Staff in a Ticket. Please note, that just about every Religion and Culture historically thinks cheating death is a bad thing, and having this Invocation considered a severe taboo.