Phantasmagoria - a Mahou Shoujo RP

Mandatory mahou shoujo transformation things?

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Skyswimsky

Nien Scheiße!
Original poster
LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
  2. One post per day
  3. 1-3 posts per week
  4. One post per week
Writing Levels
  1. Adept
  2. Advanced
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Primarily Prefer Female
Genres
I like nearly all genres as long as they are anime-themed, anything can be made interesting.
"This is the first song and the last song,
This is our cradle and our coffin.


Amongst the cosmic array
Venus dances ablaze
The fire, the rain, the wind, and the storm
We chant evermore, to war, to morn,
Raging wings, burning desires
Sings solace, falling higher
Fair moonlight, wherein we lay in your void eyes,
Welcome us with your love, discard us with your light
Tear us whole, help us gain insight
Amidst the white, within paradise."


In Phantasmagoria you’ll be taking on the role of a Witch living in a place known as Phantasmagoria. A giant, tower-like, construct whose entire society is build around the pursuit of the arcane and battle against the Manablight.

Having just recently finished your Rite of Initiation, you’re ready to start an entirely new chapter of your journey.

Will you uncover the truth of your Origin, or simply be another cog in the system?


Guten Tag and thank you for taking interest in my roleplay! The text blurb above was just a really summarized summary about your characters supposed purpose. Pretty simple, right? Magical girls fighting some antagonistic force called the Manablight! I'm intentionally keeping information very limited. Essentially, all you'll know is pretty much what your character knows, too.

I'm going ahead and say so much. A plot is present and even branching depending on your choices. The Witches of Phantasmagoria are just a part of what is in fact, a bigger world I have been working on. I could theoretically run multiple rps within the same, focused, premise and have each explore a different scenario. Instead, I'll leave this choice to you naturally through the IC.

The way I go about GMing is that I am the world and you're the main actors. You'll be the one that decide how the story ultimately ends up. Just because I tell you to go kill the Demon Lord doesn't mean you can't turn sides and join their army instead. That said, I'll do my best to in-cooperate your personal agendas if it fits. Communication is key.

With that out of the way, here are some random, but important, notes about stuff beforehand.
  • This RP will be very Anime.
  • This RP takes a darker approach in regards to the magical girl genre. Happy times are a thing, but not throughout.
  • From time to time, there will be some very light dice shenanigans present. For further clarification, I can provide examples.
  • Posting speed will vary. There will be periods of high-activity followed by a more lax schedule.
  • Discord access will be mandatory.
  • Not a fan of listing rules. Be civil, common sense applies.
  • Every single player character will be of the female gender.
  • Just to name a few fictions I take inspiration from: Shinsekai Yori, Kamigakari, Masadaverse, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica&co, H. P. Lovecraft, The Spirit of Eternity Sword
And, finally, a little bit of info dump. It might appear like it's a lot set in stone and there is no freedom, but only because there is some explaining to do since it's not just 'Fantasy Kingdom Religious Good Guys A' or 'Planet Earth Murrica'. I'm not going into too great of a detail either precisely because there's a lot of void to be filled by you, through the rp.

Also, I should mention that not all information will be available yet for this interest check. Just the most important things to get a general idea about their society. There's stuff like the Manablight being categorized into different danger levels, some actual example of Covens, or a rumor mill like the existence of other civilizations at the beginning of the roleplay and so on.


a7Rrs9H.jpg

Phantasmagoria - Ewigkeit in Wiedergeburt


Existing within its own subspace, Phantasmagoria is home to hundreds of so-called Witches. Special gateways connecting their own realm to Horizon, this all-female society has devoted its purpose fighting against the Threshold of Kakophonia. Young witches are not allowed to leave Phantasmagoria until they passed their Rite of Initiation, living a life not unlike that in a boarding school.

Phantasmagoria itself is built in fashion of a tower-like construct. The lower levels housing the majority of facilities to educate and sustain young Witches. The middle level divided into multiple districts such as housing, shopping, entertainment, and crafting. While the upper floor has mostly administrative buildings, with the floors above only accessible to a selected few.


Birth of a Witch
Unable to even fathom the concept of male populace, much less intercourse, some Witches just become pregnant in their early thirties - which is usually also the time their magical powers become less potent.

The baby Witch being taken from the mother and put under care in the lower levels is accepted norm.

Life of a young Witch
Being taken from their mother shortly after birth, Witches are fed and cared for in groups until the age of roughly 3. Participating in what can be compared to a very early kindergarten/luxury children’s home. Witches are taught to be self-sufficient while learning writing, math, cooking, and other important skills until the age of 7, where they're kicked of their luxury.

Now required to pay for their own upkeep, they’re being offered simple tasks with generous pay while slowly becoming more and more autonomous. Putting emphasis on self-study and working towards the completion of their Historia. It’s at this point, usually, that a Witch starts to discover the type of magic they’re good at. Either ending up sharing an apartment with some friends or joining one of various Covens.

This trend continues until the age of 14ish, which is the usual milestone for the Rite of Initiation.

Flow
Flow is the equivalent of currency. Witches pay either in favours or Flow. Flow is essentially highly concentrated mana stored inside fancy crystals known as debit crystals that can transfer mana between each other. The act of extracting, or inserting, one’s own mana into a debit crystal to increase one’s wealth is nearly impossible. Instead, various machinery or prolonged rituals are used to extract mana out of them. There are only a handful of Witches able, and authorized, to produce these crystals under strict guidance. Capitalism, ho!

Rite of Initiation
The final step into adulthood. A combination of theoretical and practical exams. Nobody can really tell what the Rite actually entails, as memories of the actual event are always blurry. Nonetheless, it’s undeniable that a Witch feels more powerful after passing the Rite.

Board of Education
The Board of Education is the ruling body of Phantasmagoria, made up of twenty board members. Upon the death of a member, a deadly trial is held to select a successor.

Historia
A special piece of equipment that young Witches spend a majority of their time to create and personalize. After the Rite of Initiation, one’s Historia appears to be soul-bound. A great deal of a young Witch’s wealth is used to get other Witches to collect materials or perform certain rites, crafting, and enchants.

Oz
The Great Founder. The All-Mother. Slayer of the Beast. ‘Origin’. Legends say that Oz is the Will of the World itself given form to fight the Manablight. Founder of Phantasmagoria, her magic was powerful enough to linger even now.

Coven
A collective of Witches that share a similar type of magic, banding together for the greater pursuit of knowledge.

Horizon
A term used for the shattered world beyond Phantasmagoria. Consisting of countless floating islands across an impenetrable wall of fog further below, it has been overtaken by Manablight.

Manablight
A creeping corruption that warps the laws of nature to its own will. Spreading further and further through Horizon, anything in its path turns into a twisted version of its former self, hostile to anything it has not yet touched. While officially called The Threshold of Kakophonia, the Witches mostly dub it as Manablight.

Well, that's that. For now, I'm simply gauging general interest. Once the OOC is up proper we'll see for players to stick around! As for a maximum size, well, that's for another day.

Thanks for your time and have an awesome day!

Skys
 
This does sound interesting enough that I'm going to keep an eye on things. I do wonder how magic will end up working and such. May or may not have a suitable witch-like character already, even. Or at least partially-finished artwork I can finally finish up and use.
 
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I am also interested, though I do wonder about the magic system along with the magical girl system. Whether I join or not depends on the final incarnation, however, I am definitely intrigued.
 
Raises hand

Interested.
 
Yay for interest \o/

I thought I could wait until the OOC, but since quite a few people inquired about magic, I'll go ahead and say a few words. It's also one of the few instances where there's actual OOC knowledge that your average Witch is unaware of for the sake of a better overall enjoyment, or so I decided anyway.

Witch Magic
A Witch's magic is in its purest form essentially just reality manipulation. Forcing their own reality, their desires, their emotions, upon their surroundings. In theory, a Witch could think 'I wanna make this person explode' and said person would explode.

There are certain limitations to it, however. For one, it's the nature of a Witch itself. I haven't mentioned it, but they're pretty much human looking. While the world they grow up in is fantastical by default, it's inside their very core to be sceptical. Wanting to manipulate reality in a grand ways is a desire that is faulted by default. While on the surface it may seem rather simple to just wish/manipulate something to happen, it is not. Deep down, there are always doubts, questions, fears, and so on. And it's these subconscious thoughts that make pure reality manipulation flawed by design and would ultimately change the outcome to be something that Witch did actually not truly desire.

This plays hand-in-hand with the upbringing of a Witch. A Witch is not being told they can actually manipulate reality, or bend the very laws of the universe to their will. They're told they can do magic and Phantasmagoria's education in itself grounds, forms, and limits a Witch in their capabilities. Nobody will tell you 'You can become anything you want!'. Magic has to follow rules. It has to follow procedures. It has to follow some sort of logic. Specialization, spell chants, emotions, runes, gestures, scrolls, items, and so on. A silent Witch who doesn't even move her body, while not impossible, is practically unheard of. That said, there's still a huge variety in the execution of magic and I hope me giving you some random examples of a Coven give some insight into that.

Lastly, there's also a Witch's Soul which is directly tied to their Mana. It's actually a thing. Mana is pretty straight-forward, you do something, it uses up your Mana reserves, it regenerates. The Soul is what makes an individual an individual and is the reason why the same spell for Witch A could cost a different amount of Mana than for Witch B - although the Historia plays a part in that too. Bottom line, though, it's more-or-less just IC fluff.

So that's that. If something's unclear, ask.


Now, just to list a short overview of Covens I'm just making up on the go to show what might be possible! If it helps, imagine Coven just being a synonym for Magic Type/School or something. What I'm trying to convey here is that you still have a lot of freedom in how you want to go about things. I'm purposefully trying to create rather wild examples, too. Just communicate with me and it'll all be good.

Essentia Magia
Traditionalists in a way, the Essentia Magia cover a broad spectrum of elemental magic executed through a combination of magically drawn magic circles and spell-chanting. Young Witches often end up joining this Coven while still discovering what magic suits them, making use of their various facilities and knowledgeable senior Witches. At the same time, however, more and more Witches end up leaving to join more specialized Covens, slowly leaving no seniors left to take care of the juniors.

Witch's Generation
A rather small Coven with harsh entry requirements, Witch's Generation is known for their captivating music-based magic. While some of their members are famous throughout Phantasmagoria, actual concerts have now to follow stricter guidelines. Thanks to an incident that put half of Phantasmagoria into a state of euphoria.

Terra Anima
Terra Anima is a Coven specializing in the creation of Golems - primitive lifeforms with a humanoid shape able to execute simple tasks. Generally considered a hassle to be made fit for combat, members of this Coven often find themselves without any worries for Flow. As demand for Golems, and maintenance, seem always high.

Ordo Draconica
Ordo Draconica is one of a few Covens who are all about their linage. Legends have it that hundreds of years ago the Witch 'Nonoriri of the Crimson Path' drank the blood of a hundred dragons. Giving her and her descendants abilities not unlike a dragon itself. Witches born from a member of the Ordo Draconica are given a tattoo at birth and later recruited into their ranks.

Regalia Historia
While a Witch's Historia is a life-long assignment to work on even after passing the Rite of Initiation, this Coven takes it to the next level. Fledgling Witches claiming of being able to hear their Historia suddenly talking are the ones usually eligible for joining. While the specific type of magic can vastly differ from member to member, their Historia always seems to play an even more unique role. A widely-known enchantment the Regalia Historia employ is the cartridge system - a modification to a Historia that allows it to consume debit crystals to temporarily boost the power of the user.

Stella Gambit
Stella Gambit employs the use of a magical deck. Able to draw from it and cast various spells at ease. While the detailed use differs from Witch to Witch, the luck of the draw seems to be a core concept. Stella Gambit is also the producer of the popular magical card-game WIXOSS Go! Go! Magic Girl!
 
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So, if I am reading right, we will be able to make up our own school of magic and design a magical girl along those lines? Because if so, that is awesome and I will probably be on board.
 
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So, if I am reading right, we will be able to make up our own school of magic and design a magical girl along those lines? Because if so, that is awesome and I will probably be on board.

Yes. You can make your own Coven and in fact, I encourage it.

One thing I failed to mention earlier is that there are also Witches not joining any Covens, although rare.
 
Interested. I actually have a whole dragon-themed team who fit Ordo Draconica like a glove- should I go with fire, portals, light & healing, wind, or super strength?
 
Essentia Magia
Traditionalists in a way, the Essentia Magia cover a broad spectrum of elemental magic executed through a combination of magically drawn magic circles and spell-chanting. Young Witches often end up joining this Coven while still discovering what magic suits them, making use of their various facilities and knowledgeable senior Witches. At the same time, however, more and more Witches end up leaving to join more specialized Covens, slowly leaving no seniors left to take care of the juniors.
Wizards.

Witch's Generation
A rather small Coven with harsh entry requirements, Witch's Generation is known for their captivating music-based magic. While some of their members are famous throughout Phantasmagoria, actual concerts have now to follow stricter guidelines. Thanks to an incident that put half of Phantasmagoria into a state of euphoria.
Bards.

Terra Anima
Terra Anima is a Coven specializing in the creation of Golems - primitive lifeforms with a humanoid shape able to execute simple tasks. Generally considered a hassle to be made fit for combat, members of this Coven often find themselves without any worries for Flow. As demand for Golems, and maintenance, seem always high.
Summoners.

Ordo Draconica
Ordo Draconica is one of a few Covens who are all about their linage. Legends have it that hundreds of years ago the Witch 'Nonoriri of the Crimson Path' drank the blood of a hundred dragons. Giving her and her descendants abilities not unlike a dragon itself. Witches born from a member of the Ordo Draconica are given a tattoo at birth and later recruited into their ranks.
Dragonborn.

Regalia Historia
While a Witch's Historia is a life-long assignment to work on even after passing the Rite of Initiation, this Coven takes it to the next level. Fledgling Witches claiming of being able to hear their Historia suddenly talking are the ones usually eligible for joining. While the specific type of magic can vastly differ from member to member, their Historia always seems to play an even more unique role. A widely-known enchantment the Regalia Historia employ is the cartridge system - a modification to a Historia that allows it to consume debit crystals to temporarily boost the power of the user.
Enchanters.

Stella Gambit
Stella Gambit employs the use of a magical deck. Able to draw from it and cast various spells at ease. While the detailed use differs from Witch to Witch, the luck of the draw seems to be a core concept. Stella Gambit is also the producer of the popular magical card-game WIXOSS Go! Go! Magic Girl!
D-d-d-duelists.

Shame these’re all pretty neat, cause I’m obsessed with making my own stuff where available and now I’m conflicted.

(If you're reading this, I can edit posts)
 
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I'll have to see what I can come up with for things. Haven't done much with traditional (wizard-ish) types, but that might be a better way to lean than some sort of crazy melee combat magical girl, or whatever else. Which is odd as I can go pretty special snowflake often enough.
 
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Huzzah! One thing I would like to ask, however, is could we get more information on Covens? For example, when does a Witch join one? Are they completely voluntary, as in does society think less of Witches who refuse to join a Coven? Do Covens have their own education program, which leads the Witch thinking in a specific way? Do Covens help out young Witches joining them? What priviliges / responsibilities do Coven members have, or do they change Coven by Coven?
 
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@Villamvihar I'll see about writing a more detailed explanation about the Coven when I get up the OOC. There's definitely more worth to write about them than just the single sentence I gave in the initial post. But, to answer your questions:

...could we get more information on Covens?
Yes.
When does a Witch join one?
As hinted at in 'Life of a young Witch' they can end up joining a Coven as soon as they're kicked out of the luxury children's home. So at the age of 7'ish. That said...
Are they completely voluntary, as in does society think less of Witches who refuse to join a Coven?
... Covens are voluntary. Witches not finding a Coven by the time they passed their Rite of Initiation are rather rare. While there might be a certain prejudice against such Witches, they're more often than not prodigies in some way and end up creating a Coven of their own. Every Coven has history and can always be tracked down to some sort of founding member.
Do Covens have their own education program, which leads the Witch thinking in a specific way?
While they have their own education program but nothing that, as far as I understand your question, goes into the way of making them have some sort of extremist view in regards to Phantasmagoria. Overall, everybody gets along pretty well. Crime is super rare.
Do Covens help out young Witches joining them?
Yes, they do! It's actually a big part of what they're doing. While I said that with 7 years they have to go ahead and study on their own, there are workshops, libraries, lectures, and so on. It's all just on a sort-of voluntary basis rather than obligation. Good thing they're all disciplined to be nerds :p.

What priviliges / responsibilities do Coven members have, or do they change Coven by Coven?
Each Coven could offer a different set of boons, but it's not a major drawback or anything. Talking about small things like, going by my examples, the Terra Anima. A way more experienced Witch could sell a junior Witch a Golem for a specific task for a cheaper price than someone that doesn't belong to the Coven.

Overall, the most important part of a Coven is to show the young ones the ropes and pool their knowledge together for the greater good, rather than trying to one-up the others. Phantasmagoria is a happy place!
 
Overall, the most important part of a Coven is to show the young ones the ropes and pool their knowledge together for the greater good, rather than trying to one-up the others. Phantasmagoria is a happy place!

*SUSPICION INTENSIFIES.*

Sillyness aside, thank you very much for the information! However, I have an additional two questions. Yay me! Here they are:
1.) If Phantasmagoria is such a peaceful place, is there room for a Coven that usually ruffles feathers and is generally disliked or viewed suspiciously for what they do? It sounds like such an organisation would get ousted quickly from Phantasmagoria's society.
2.) You mentioned in your opening post that Witches are "unable to fathom the concept of a male populace, much less intercourse." Does this mean there are no sexual / romantic relationships between Witches, either?
 
I get the feeling they should be thought of a bit like a school club or something. I'm also pretty sure there's one which maps to any major magical girl trope or series.

Also, to borrow something from a different fandom with girls everywhere, everyone is a lesbian in Phantasmagoria.
 
1.) If Phantasmagoria is such a peaceful place, is there room for a Coven that usually ruffles feathers and is generally disliked or viewed suspiciously for what they do? It sounds like such an organisation would get ousted quickly from Phantasmagoria's society.
2.) You mentioned in your opening post that Witches are "unable to fathom the concept of a male populace, much less intercourse." Does this mean there are no sexual / romantic relationships between Witches, either?
  1. There is not. While there might be possibility for research in a Coven that is looked with ridicule by others, an outright antagonistic force would pretty much get ousted, just as you said.
  2. Uh, no, it doesn't mean that. Witches can go full wholesome love. It's not something 'everybody' does nor is it the norm. But it happens in all kind of forms...! What is a magical girl role-play without innocent yuri ships!?

And yeah, thinking of Coven being like school clubs is another way to see it.
 
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No mahou shoutas, this is so sad U.U

I'm 99.9% unsure on where to start but I like "multiple limbs" as a trope ('sides-- I practically mercy killed my earlier spider friend) so I'll start from there! Will either go coven-less or make my own.

What character ideas do ya'll have in mind, so far?