Mages of Monvesia - Malefactors

RETCON NOTE: This post replaces portions of "Mages of Monvesia;" see also "Mages of Monvesia - Scholars."

Mastery of the arcane arts can be achieved by strengthening one's connection to the Spheres of Power.  This can be approached through formal study (see scholars), or else through otherworldy pacts or natural power.  The latter typically exist outside of "accepted" society, and are therefore called malefactors--commonly understood as "evil-doers," though originally meant to mean "incorrect doers."  There is nothing inherently evil about the sorcerer or warlock.

Enhancements to the class features of both these classes can be found in Unearthed Arcana.

Sorcerer

Different races have their own traditions "explaining" the nature of sorcerers.  To an extent, each version of the sorcerer story is true.  That is, these different versions of what a sorcerer is represent the sorcerous origins common to that race's history.

According to the omnipresent Senarian churches of the humans in Prace, sorcerers are possessed of an inborn connection to one of the Spheres.  While all adherents of the elemental philosophies believe that every being has such a connection, it is the sorcerers who have accepted it and gained power from it.   A sorcerer's elemental connection may be tied to his or her race (or culture, if human), personal philosophy/temperament, season of birth, etc.--but it does not define every aspect of the character.  Two origins reflect this:  Shadow Magic (Xanathar's Guide) and Storm Sorcery (Sword Coast or Xanathar's Guide).

Until such time as other, official origins are introduced, these two can be used to mimick the other elements.  Use Shadow Magic for Light Magic: reversing references to necrotic and radiant damage as well as darkness and light.  Use Storm Sorcery for other primal elements, such as Flood, Quake, and Wildfire Sorcery:  use alternate damage types and movement speeds as appropriate.

Among the successors races of the Empire of the Morning and Evening Star, it is said that sorcery is the result of having had a Dragon Ancestor.  This connection is not necessarily one of direct ancestry, but could represent a bloodline having been favored by one of the dragon lords of old.

Remember, there are only six types of dragons in Monvesia--each associated with one of the elemental forces of one of the Spheres.  Therefore, this is one origin that also follows the Temperamental beliefs of the Senarian churches.  (An early version of 5th Edition Monvesia used a variation on the Dragon Ancestor to represent Elemental Magic).

In the land of Desolation in Raviq, the HMDJVNW have taken control and cursed the native races into submission with a psychosomatic ailment known as Taint.  This cure is so potent in Desolation, that even the land, the neighboring Frenetic Ocean, and magic itself have become warped.  Some who have been affected by the Taint have also gained a connection to the Wild Magic that was released into the world because of it.

Deep Reflexions of Infinity

Per Speculum (aka. Near Infinity or the Mirror Plane) is an almost-perfect simulacrum of the Mortal Realms; anything apparent in the Mortal Realms can be seen in reflection in this region of Infiniy.  It is an ordered world, though that order is reversed from a mortal's expectation.  Duplicating creatures fill this world with a society of their own--living, working, and worshiping according to their own ideals.  They have their own kings, their own priests, and their own criminals.  They also have their own gods.

The archdaemons of Infinity are ancient doubles who have transcended from their malleable nature to become pure mirrors to the Mortal Realm.  They have become immense, amorphous humanoids who skin has transformed into a solid, polished, reflective surface.  Four in number, each is the embodiment of a different type of reflection. Collectively, they are known as the Faal'sjern (while the lesser doubles of Per Speculum are the Faal'truen)

Homebrew to the Rescue!  Warlocks who serve the Deep Reflexions have the Man in the Mirror patron.  Furthermore, they typically choose the Pact of the Mirror--and often select invocations tied to that pact.  Archfey and Fiends (Vices) have also been known to offer this pact.

NOTE:  In other settings, these beings would be powerful aberrations, akin to Great Old Ones. 

Legacies of Eternity

There are events in history so important that they continue to continue to shape reality long after their circumstances have passed.  On the Plane of Time, these histories have taken on a life of their own; they have become conscious and stared to govern the actions of that Plane.  These Legacies have become the archdaemons of Eternity.  Their influence can be seen throughout time, whether the events that define them occured in the past, the present, or the future.  Since all things occur simultaneously on this plane, the Legacies are always active.

Sometimes, Legacies are called the horsemen of the apocalypse--harbingers of the End of Time.  This is both true and preposterous.  This is true in that when all Legacies have come to pass, that the end of the known world will be nigh.  Likewise, there can be no end to time; it will ever flow onward--there can be only change.

NOTE:  Legacies are always spoken of with the definine article:  the Titanomachy, the Exodus, the Deluge, etc.  In a way, these archdaemons only have epithets, and not true names.

Warlocks with Legacy patrons may use the homebrew Horologius patron until such time as an appropriate "official" option is released.

Legacies of the Past

These Legacies' effects on the Mortal Plane were experienced and understood in history, but continue to have lasing effects.

The Titanomachy

The conflict between the HMDJVNW and the giants of Raviq lasted for centuries.  During its course, the giant races were decimated, and their remnants ultimately exiled from Orbimond; their legacy was carried on in the goliath races.  The land of Prosperity was even physically transformed into the land of Desolation, and the Taint was unleashed upon the mortal races of he world.  Had the HMDJVNW not arrived in the mortal world, however, the war of the giants would still have occurred--instead against the might of the dragons!

The Titanomachy is the archdaemon of the giants (though giants do not dwell in Eternity).

Monvesian Seekers: Muses

The Seekers of Monvesia are called Muses.  Instead of coming from the ranks of the gods, they are the archdaemons of the Dreaming, powerful egregores of knowledge:  the Trivium of humanities (Poeia, Philosophia, Theologia) and Quadrivium of sciences (Arithmetica, Astrologia, Geometria, Musica).  While the Trivium seek to understand Why the world works, the Quadrivium seek to understand How.

Unlike the other archdaemons, the Muses do not have a "standard" physical form; each person who sees them sees what they want to see.  Nearly all who have encountered these Muses agree that they are female--but each describes them as being the epitome of their own race.  The only other common attribute from all accounts is the color of each Muse's robes.

There are more Muses than those detailed  below.  These include the matriarchs--Grammatica (mother of Poeia), Logica (mother of the Quadrivium), and Rhetorica (mother of Philosophia and Theologia)--who are so ancient and powerful that their interest in mortals has diminished.  Many of the Muses below are matrons themselves, with daughters and grand-daughters; these younger generations, while powerful enough to inspire mortals in the arts and sciences, are not powerful enough to patron warlocks or sponsor saints.

Virtues of Monvesia

With angels redefined as divinities, the ranks of celestial creatures have been diminished.  What remains from the core rules has been augmented with sphinxes and a horned serpent in order to fill the Empyrean with majestic beings of law and goodness.  The greatest of these beings are the Virtues--most of which embody two or more celestial creatures.

The Virtues of the Empyrean are companions to the Vices of the Inferno.  Though goodness (Altruism) and chaos (Vitalism) are not necessarily at odds, these two groups represent represent opposing ideals.  Indeed, not even their Transitive Planes are in opposition; in fact, both planes share influence from the Aerosphere and the Pyrosphere.  For this reason, the planes are sometimes called the Fire Above (Empyrean, influenced by the Hierosphere) and the Fire Below (Inferno, influences by the Necrosphere).

 

Vices of Monvesia

A fiend is a being of chaos, just as a celestial is a being of light, and a fey is a being of the natural order.  They inhabit the Inferno, also known as the Plane of Passion or the Plane of Will.  Vices are the rulers of the fiends.  They represent the base passions by which choices are made; they are the embodiment of why mortals choose to do things.

Vices are the equivalent of demon and devil Lords of other settings; and it is they who make pacts with warlocks as fiendish patrons.  There are two factions of their kind in the Inferno:  Physical Vices and Spiritual Vices.  Fundamentally, there is no difference between the two classes beyond their methods and desired end results.  This divide also affects the fiends of Inferno as well, forming hyper-competitive factions that seek to manipulate mankind.

Undying of Monvesia

In some settings, the undead are the creation of bored, evil gods who seek to terrorize the mortal world.  In Monvesia, they are a natural offshoot of the transitive region of the Necrosphere.  This region goes by several names:  the Plane of Shadow, the Plane of Fear, the Domains of Dread, the Nightmare Realm.  All undead are powered by this place, and it is in this place that the most powerful of their kind have come to live eternally and rule over their fellows.  These are the Undying who make pacts with warlocks.

Archfey of Monvesia

The archfey of Monvesia have already been visited briefly in the warlock entry of Mages of Monvesia.  Here I will explore each of the chief, five archfey in some detail.  Though each of the archfey represent one race or another, all are unique and powerful creatures.

HMDJVNW, Monvesian Great Old Ones

The warlock entry in "Mages of Monvesia" offered the briefest look at the Great Old Ones of Monvesia--a class of beings called the HMDJVNW (pronounced "am-DIV-new"), which had once been worshiped by ancient humans and goliaths in their homeland of Desolation.  Seven HMDJVNW were named in that early post, but little else was offered beyond these names and an epithet each.

In this post, I will take some time to explore each of the HMDJVNW, including their individual roles in the world of Monvesia.  Though these beings came to overthrow the giants and take over Desolation, they are daemon lords of Limbo--and as such have dominion over aberrations.

Behind the Scenes:  The name HMDJVNW is an adaptation of the initialism AMDIVNU--the the seven Temperaments, including Universalism.  Originally, AMDIVNU (whose name is always capitalized, and never replaced with a pronoun) was only one Great Old One; and AMDIVNU was once considered was the "god" of mages (or at least the originator of magic, see ENSHZRYD).  As the history of goliaths and humans has evolved with the setting, so has AMDIVNU also evolved--into the HMDJVNW.