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Kurt S. · **02-01-2015, 07:57 AM**

/Sounsyysignal

So I'm toying around with an idea for Ramona's past that ties into her partial amnesia and the fact that she was in a coma to begin with. I wanna know any and every implication being a black mage has. Any bit of lore about em would be nice. I've already got an idea for the why but I think it all hinges on whether or not I can possibly turn her into a black mage to begin with.

Granted this whole black mage thing doesn't get too apparent until maybe a little after she hits 50 and/or runs a few HMs. Unless lore states otherwise, as of now she's just trying to get back into the swing of burning things, freezing things and/or outright zapping things.

Assuming I find some way to make it all plausible, I might need to start asking around for a Black Mage to be her mentor. Playing around with the idea that she is *character*'s apprentice, who struck out on her own because pride and overconfidence, and maybe a little bit of passion for a certain male and his FC. I assume hubris like that is common for a fresh black mage otherwise it could just be her own character.

Alternatively, according to Adeya, there's a crapload of bad blood between WHM's and BLM's so maybe its possible to play off of that? A rival WHM or something, assuming it isn't hardwired into them to erase the other on sight? Assuming it's even possible for one to come into contact with another.Â

Anyway regardless of who recognizes her, bottomline she was part of an FC and had the hots the for boss. And then...well shit happened.Â

Ugh, sorry I still don't know how else to word my other questions and I have no idea if the ideas and questions I just pitched even made a lick of sense.

Sounsyy · **02-01-2015, 12:45 PM**

(02-01-2015, 07:57 AM)Chicken Nugger Wrote: /Sounsyysignal

So... one of the first things I should bring up is that "Black Magic" is illegal. Incredibly illegal. Like a life sentence in a gaol illegal.

So, bit of history.

3000 years ago the world was covered in snow and ice in an era known as The Age of Endless Frost (aka the 5th Umbral Era). People were starving and freezing. There was a plague that was wiping out those who weren't freezing to death. Then lo, mankind discovers magic which allows him to kindle fire without tinder. The first Magi was born. Now modern day Thaumaturgy traces its roots back to this early form of magic which ended that Umbral Era and ushered in the 5th Astral Era.

For many years these early Magi prospered with their magicks, but one of Thaumaturgy's greatest limitations was that it required one to expend their own aether, ultimately limiting ones ability to their gods-given aetherial fortitude. One such Magi, a woman named Shatotto, aspired to be the greatest Magi the world had ever seen, capable of any feat and wielder of any power. However, her aetherial stores were not sufficient to accomplish her dream. So she discovered a means of attaining the aether from a more abundant source - the planet. This technique she devised merely used the caster's body as a channel through which the planet's aether was conducted. This technique was later coined "Black Magic" likely because it killed the land immediately surrounding the caster. With this power Shatotto was able to accomplish incredible feats of sorcery. Her most famous achievement was bringing down a star and using its fragments to create a series of staves called Stardust Rods.

This all happened during the early years of the 5th Astral Era. Having paved the way for even greater magical knowledge and practice, the Magi of the world began dabbling in ever greater and more catastrophic experiments. It's about this time that White Magic is brought into existence. The Elementals of the world, sensing a damage wrought to the world by the overuse of this "Black Magic" gifted their own magic of Succor upon the Magi of Amdapor. For a time, the Amdapori were able to bring balance to the world by matching the destruction with succor and healing. But as the path to ever greater glory wound on, even White Magic could not outweigh the calamity wrought. So began the War of the Magi.

We do not know who exactly started the war, but we do know the White Mages of Amdapor and the Scholars of Nym sought to bring an end to Black Magic. But the war was devastating. In their pursuit of greater and greater power, Black Mages began experimenting with the beyond, making lustful deals with Voidsent beings for their immortal magicks in exchange for allowing these demons into our world. Amdapor was wiped out by one of the Voidkings Diabolos and the White Mages were only barely able to seal the portal in time.

In the end, the cost of the war was so great that the world had been almost entirely drained of aether. In one final act of fury and desperation, the Elementals conjured a great flood which wiped the taint of magic from the world. The survivors outlawed Black Magic and for many decades to come magical users were prejudiced harshly by their fellow man. Which leads us to Belah'dia and eventually Ul'dah, Sil'dih, and modern day Thaumaturgy and the religion surrounding it. But I'll cut myself off there cuz this has gone on quite long and your question was more directed at Black Magic.

So yes, Black Magic, incredibly dangerous, taboo, and illegal. Most people have forgotten it even existed. However, it is still practiced cautiously by a few people in the world. The Beast Tribes, for example, still practice Black Magic. But the art cannot truly be taught, it must be discovered, studied, and practiced. Ququruka, from the Black Mage story quests, devoted his entire life (120+ years) to studying and learning the art.

Now I'm not one to dictate how someone RPs their character so if you want your character to be a Black Mage there's a few lore-safe ways to go about it that I can suggest.
1) You find a Black Mage soulstone in Southern Thanalan/Qarn/Belah'dia/Invisible City whatever and that turns you on to the idea of harnessing the darker arts.
2) Consorting with the Beast Tribes and being taught the ancient magicks from them. Most Beastmen are not actually hostile, just extremely jaded by a few decades of being treated like shit by the Races of Man.
3) Discovering the secrets of Black Magic in one of the ancient tomes found in the Order of Nald'thal's library. (Disgustingly and against all established lore on the topic, the Coco brothers leading the Order of Nald'thal are actually Black Mages and not Thaumaturges, so they might also steer you down a darker path. Screw you SE.)

And also because you brought it up - White Magic was also banished from the world but was brought back in secret by the Elementals 500 years ago and gifted to the Padjal, a race of the Elementals' own creation. The Padjal have been entrusted with safeguarding its power and the knowledge of it pretty exclusively. SE hints however that there are nefarious entities attempting to also gain access to the old Succor via Amdapor so that has opened a shaky avenue for people wishing to RP (lore-abidingly) as White Mages. But even so, if a Black Mage and a White Mage passed each other on the street, neither should be any the wiser because they're both forgotten/forbidden practices that probably should not be broadcasted publicly.

Hope this helps! ^^; As I said, I'm not here to dictate how anyone plays so if you wanna be a Black Mage, go for it! I'm just here to give the lore behind being one.

Kurt S. · **02-01-2015, 07:14 PM**

Okay so I had the suspicion that BLMs and WHMs are so forgotten you'd pass one by the street and not know it is them.

Now one last set of questions to mull over before I try to formulate something.

-Does being black mage make one more powerful?
-Does it also warp one's mind/perception/personality?
-Will there be voices in one's head?
-Is there any difference between a Thauma and BLM ability (okay so BLMs have Freeze and Flare but what I'm asking is if it is notable. I mean black magicianry is illegal but I have no idea where the boundary lies between dangerous Thaumaturgy and harmless black magery.) like how one might distinguish black magicianry to thaumaturgy, example would Fire/Blizzard/Thunder III be considered part of a black mage's repertoire or a Thauma's?
-Is it also possible for a Thaumaturge to do a rank 3 Limit Break or even just rank 2? If not successfully pull off, even just attempt it.
-Say someone took a black mage soul stone quite unintentionally, does the stone have resonate just like the Job questlines assuming one is compatible are there any other tells that one graduated from thaumaturgy to black magery?

/sounsyysignal

Sounsyy · **02-01-2015, 09:47 PM**

(02-01-2015, 07:14 PM)Chicken Nugger Wrote: -Does being black mage make one more powerful?

In the sense that a Black Mage's spell potential is no longer limited by their own aether, yes. Could you technically bring down a star as a Thaumaturge? Maybe, but the strain would likely kill the caster. Same thing with Flare or any of the ancient magicks like Quake or Freeze. Most people just don't have enough Aether in their bodies to fuel these kinds of spells.

(02-01-2015, 07:14 PM)Chicken Nugger Wrote: -Does it also warp one's mind/perception/personality?

Not necessarily. The Beastmen Black Mages we meet all seem quite sane and stable. Though a lust for power does tend to attract adept Magi to the Black Arts.

(02-01-2015, 07:14 PM)Chicken Nugger Wrote: -Will there be voices in one's head?

Nope, not unless your character has schizophrenia or something? Black Magic is very simply just a technique.

(02-01-2015, 07:14 PM)Chicken Nugger Wrote: -Is there any difference between a Thauma and BLM ability?

The only difference is that Thaumaturgy will drain the caster of their energy, while casting Black Magic will have a perceptible affect on the immediate environment. The spells are the same, just some spells are not humanly attainable without using the Black Magic technique. Most people just don't have the aetherial fortitude for it. So would a layman be able to tell the difference between a gifted Thaumaturge and a Black Mage? Probably not. Some might not even know Black Magic is a thing. But if you are discovered dabbling in the art, it is a serious crime, because the art literally damages the planet.

(02-01-2015, 07:14 PM)Chicken Nugger Wrote: -Say someone took a black mage soul stone quite unintentionally, does the stone have resonate just like the Job questlines assuming one is compatible are there any other tells that one graduated from thaumaturgy to black magery?

So one of the annoying parts of FFXIV's gameplay is that, in order to save your character the arduous task of actually studying/learning/practicing any of our talents, you just magically learn things every so often. (This is particularly true of the Mage storylines.) All of the Black Mage NPCs in game make it quite clear that Black Magic is not something that's just magically inherited, but is painstakingly studied and an intense amount of dedication is put into learning the art. So I would say no, just because you obtain a soulstone you should not be able to just instantly be super powerful magi with unlimited cosmic powers - I mean... unless you're friends with Robin Williams?

[Image: genie-jafar-3-o.gif]

Desu Nee · **02-01-2015, 09:55 PM**

Well this has been really enlightening and gave me really cool ideas, but now it isn't the time to work on that.

Quki definetly will be at some point, though. SHE NEEDS MORE POWER.

[Image: Vergil-from-DMC-3-vergil-26400055-1024-768.jpg]

[Image: Vergil-from-DMC-3-vergil-26400055-1024-768.jpg]

Kurt S. · **02-01-2015, 10:04 PM**

/grovel
Thank you for all the information Sounsyy.

Kurt S. · **02-02-2015, 12:17 AM**

Quote:just because you obtain a soulstone you should not be able to just instantly be super powerful magi with unlimited cosmic powers - I mean... unless you're friends with Robin Williams?

Okay but just being possession of a soulstone, I mean even if it doesn't give you god powers right off the bat, it will make you feel markedly different right?

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