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Hah. Had a brainstorm whilst sleeping.
All 'magic' within the world is accomplished through means of alchemy. Alchemy is ritual-based, involving refining and changing the natural world through means of will and aether. Aether is distilled essence of creation, stored within an alchemist's soul until used within an alchemical ritual, or to power a potion or artifact. Aether is refined from raw life energy...i.e., a character's life points. It also requires knowledge of the Ascending Lily ritual...usually the first ritual that a young alchemist learns. This ritual takes about an hour to perform. Depending on a character's race, their holding capacity and efficiency varies:
Noble races: The Noble races refine aether at a 1:1 ratio.
Angelicae have a functionally unlimited soul capacity for aether.
Ieshae have a capacity of 100 points of aether at a time.
Dragons have a capacity of 50 points of aether at a time.
Base races: The Base races refine aether at a 3:1 ratio.
All Base races have a capacity of 10 points of aether at a time.
Lesser Chimerae cannot refine aether at all. They don't have the will, or blood.
Greater Chimerae do not have blood. They can only refine aether using the blood of others, (willing or not), and thus are often accused of Dark Alchemy.
Greater Chimerae have a capacity of 30 points of aether. They are often used by their masters as secondary repositories, with a bonding ritual that allows an alchemist to draw upon a bound chimerae's aether supply as if it were his own.
Humans refine aether at a 2:1 ratio.
Humans have a capacity of 20 points of aether at a time.
Dark Alchemy
It is possible to use the life essence, represented by blood, of others to refine aether. However, this process is more time consuming and inefficient than using your own life-force. On the upside, however, it does not exhaust and weaken the alchemist. And, for evil alchemists, it is a far greater source, since you need not worry about keeping the donor alive after the ritual. Distilling aether from humans or the Base races is done at a 5:1 ratio. Distilling aether from the Noble races can be done at a 3:1 ratio. As you can only distill life points that the victim currently has, dark alchemists take great pains to damage their victims as little as possible before the ritual. They will use seduction, trickery, or drugs to ensure that a target reaches the altar intact. Certain kinds of spiritual purity give additional aether:
Victim is a true innocent (not just a virgin, but someone who has had little exposure to violence, anger, fear, or hardship, at GM's discretion): +4 aether.
Victim has undergone the ritual of the Flowing Diamond: +3 aether.
Victim is an alchemist: +2 aether.
Victim is not currently or recently in emotional distress: +1 aether.
All 'magic' within the world is accomplished through means of alchemy. Alchemy is ritual-based, involving refining and changing the natural world through means of will and aether. Aether is distilled essence of creation, stored within an alchemist's soul until used within an alchemical ritual, or to power a potion or artifact. Aether is refined from raw life energy...i.e., a character's life points. It also requires knowledge of the Ascending Lily ritual...usually the first ritual that a young alchemist learns. This ritual takes about an hour to perform. Depending on a character's race, their holding capacity and efficiency varies:
Noble races: The Noble races refine aether at a 1:1 ratio.
Angelicae have a functionally unlimited soul capacity for aether.
Ieshae have a capacity of 100 points of aether at a time.
Dragons have a capacity of 50 points of aether at a time.
Base races: The Base races refine aether at a 3:1 ratio.
All Base races have a capacity of 10 points of aether at a time.
Lesser Chimerae cannot refine aether at all. They don't have the will, or blood.
Greater Chimerae do not have blood. They can only refine aether using the blood of others, (willing or not), and thus are often accused of Dark Alchemy.
Greater Chimerae have a capacity of 30 points of aether. They are often used by their masters as secondary repositories, with a bonding ritual that allows an alchemist to draw upon a bound chimerae's aether supply as if it were his own.
Humans refine aether at a 2:1 ratio.
Humans have a capacity of 20 points of aether at a time.
Dark Alchemy
It is possible to use the life essence, represented by blood, of others to refine aether. However, this process is more time consuming and inefficient than using your own life-force. On the upside, however, it does not exhaust and weaken the alchemist. And, for evil alchemists, it is a far greater source, since you need not worry about keeping the donor alive after the ritual. Distilling aether from humans or the Base races is done at a 5:1 ratio. Distilling aether from the Noble races can be done at a 3:1 ratio. As you can only distill life points that the victim currently has, dark alchemists take great pains to damage their victims as little as possible before the ritual. They will use seduction, trickery, or drugs to ensure that a target reaches the altar intact. Certain kinds of spiritual purity give additional aether:
Victim is a true innocent (not just a virgin, but someone who has had little exposure to violence, anger, fear, or hardship, at GM's discretion): +4 aether.
Victim has undergone the ritual of the Flowing Diamond: +3 aether.
Victim is an alchemist: +2 aether.
Victim is not currently or recently in emotional distress: +1 aether.