Welcome to Enlightened: the Game! Would you like to play a character within the world of Enlightened? Well, here is a great way to get started. This is still in its early phases and is bound to chance, but please feel free to test the system and let me know how you like it!

History

The world of Enlightened is one that is split between the Physical and the Magical. Most people live in the Physical World and are unaware the Magical World exists at all. However, you are among the lucky few who know where to look and who to ask to get into the Magical World. Most likely, you were born into this. Your family is one of the many Bloodlines that have passed Magic down through their families through generations. Not all families are as prominent as others, but if you are born into Magic, you are one of the elites in the eyes of other Magic Users.

So, what do Magic Users do? Well, mainly, they live normal, everyday lives like any Non-Magic User, or NMUs for short. Your guardians had to work and provide for their families, though in a rather unorthodox way. You see, the Magical World has always touched the Physical world in certain places and Monsters can find their way into a place they were never meant to be. Thankfully, most of these places are not inhabited by many people. At least, not many credible people. You sometimes hear those wild stories about eight-foot-tall beast men with horns and webbed feet in the tabloids. Well, sometimes, those stories are real and the Enlightened are the ones that have to take care of it.

How does one learn how to use this Magic, you ask? Well, you see, that's where Abnocto Academy comes in. Hidden beyond the In-Between, this school has been tutoring Magical students since The Separation Between Worlds, or The Separation for short ripped the Magical and Physical Worlds apart. Every 12 years, the teachers are put up for a vote against new experts in their Magical fields to defend their relevance to the students of the next generation.

There is, however, another, newer split happening in the Magical World. Supposed Non-Magic Users have been popping up with Powers out of nowhere and Monsters are appearing in the cities. These new Magic Users have horror stories of experiments done in an underground lab and have been labeled as Lab Rodaks (like rats) by those in the Bloodlines. Though they are brought into the Magical World, it is not without much hesitation and prejudice by those who have fought to stay hidden for so long. Are you perhaps a Magic user of this variety?

Heritages

There are six Heritages in the world of Enlightened: Human, Elf, Dwarf, Angel, Demon, and Anthro. Each has their own history, benefits, and pitfalls.\

Human

-Main Magic Types: Stability, Entropy

-Main Traits: Wit, Willpower

-Benefit: Humans gain a significant bonus on all social interactions with other Humans and a small bonus on social interactions with other Heritages.

-Pitfall: Humans are superstitious and must hold some strong belief that may or may not be based in a logical reason or response.

Elf

-Main Magic Types: Mentality, Chronology

-Main Traits: Smarts, Experience

-Benefit: Elves are highly intelligent people who are proud of their family lines. They gain a bonus to all Smarts and Experience rolls.

-Pitfall: Pride is the downfall of these people and Elves will sacrifice anything but their family's honor to prove a point.

Dwarf

-Main Magic Types: Vitality, Endurance

-Main Traits: Health, Stamina

-Benefit: Even the scrawniest of Dwarves can take quite the beating before they hit the ground. They start play with an extra Health die and can be one over the maximum number of total Health dice.

-Pitfall: Dwarves are a stubborn lot and will sometimes rush into things without thinking them through

Demon

-Main Magic Types: Chaos, Obliteration

-Main Traits: Creativity, Spark

-Benefit: Demons are inherently persuasive people who gain a bonus on on rolls dealing with convincing others of something, though not necessarily when they are actively lying.

-Pitfall: Demons have a supernatural hunger. (edited)

Angel

-Main Magic Types: Rumor, Stasis

-Main Traits: Charm, Power

-Benefit: Angels all have a strong sense of purpose and get a bonus on any rolls that would lead them astray from their goals.

-Pitfall: Angels have a sense of superiority over the other heritages and often put the goals of their people above the safety of others.

Anthro

-Main Magic Types: Adaptation, Abyssal

-Main Traits: Appearance, Strength

-Benefit: Anthro are born with some kind of animal feature and each is able to transform fully into the creature they have a trait from.

-Pitfall: Anthro are perhaps too attractive.

Traits

There are four categories of Traits each with three Traits under them; Body: Health, Strength, Stamina; Mind: Smarts, Experience, Creativity; Interaction: Charm, Wit, Appearance; and Spirit: Power, Spark, Willpower. All Traits begin with 1d6 and can have up to 12d6 in each Trait. Each new d6 costs the same amount as the new total of d6 the character will have available. For example: If you are buying your 6th d6, it will cost you 6 points. (edited)

Health: This is a measure of how much damage a character can take before falling unconscious.

Strength: This is a measure of how hard a character can hit.

Stamina: This is a measure of how hard a character can be hit.

Smarts: This is a measure of how much book knowledge/learning a character has.

Experience: This is a measure of how much worldly knowledge/learning a character has.

Creativity: This is a measure of how skilled a character is in artistic pursuits.

Charm: This is a measure of how likeable a character can be. (edited)

Wit: This is a measure of how clever a character can be. (edited)

Appearance: This is a measure of how physically attractive a character can be.

Power: This is a measure of how much Magic a character can use before needing to recharge. (edited)

Spark: This is a measure of how fast a character's Magic recharges.

Willpower: This is a measure of a character's Magical resilience.

Magic Types

There are 12 types of Magic in the world of Enlightened. Each has a Trait category, bonus trait, Heritage bonus, Force, and color.

Stability

Category: Interaction

Bonus Trait: Wit

Heritage Bonus: Human

Force: Earth

Color: Emerald

Powers that are based in Stability Magic are based around protecting the mind of the Magic User. Higher level Powers can extend this protection to others in close proximity to the Magic User.

Entropy

Category: Spirit

Bonus Trait: Willpower

Heritage Bonus: Human

Force: Death

Color: Scarlet

Powers that are based in Entropy Magic cause or prevent decay or aging in the target of the Magic User.

Mentality

Category: Mind

Bonus Trait: Smarts

Heritage Bonus: Elf

Force: Wood

Color: Mahogany

Powers that are based in Mentality can enhance or inhibit the mental capabilities of the Magic User's target.

Chronology

Category: Mind

Bonus Trait: Experience

Heritage Bonus: Elf

Force: Time

Color: Violet

Powers that are based in Chronology Magic can change the flow of how the Magic User or the target of the Magic User experience their life.

Vitality

Category: Body

Bonus Trait: Health

Heritage Bonus: Dwarf

Force: Life

Color: Magenta

Powers that are based in Vitality Magic increase or decrease the amount of damage a Magic User or their target can take before falling unconscious.

Endurance

Category: Body

Bonus Trait: Stamina

Heritage Bonus: Dwarf

Force: Metal

Color: Silver

Powers that are based in Endurance Magic increase the amount of damage a Magic user or their target can take before losing Health Points.

Obliteration

Category: Spirit

Bonus Trait: Spark

Heritage Bonus: Demon

Force: Fire

Color: Amber

Powers that are based in Obliteration Magic cause Magical damage to someone, even if that is the Magic User.

Chaos

Category: Mind

Bonus Trait: Creativity

Heritage Bonus: Demon

Force: Chaos

Color: Chartreuse

Powers that are based in Chaos Magic cause unexpected results.

Rumors

Category: Interaction

Bonus Trait: Charm

Heritage Bonus: Angel

Force: Air

Color: Smoke

Powers that are based in Rumors Magic deal in how well the Magic User can understand the thoughts of another person and how to use them to their advantage.

Stasis

Category: Spirit

Bonus Trait: Power

Heritage Bonus: Angel

Force: Order

Color: Fuscia

Powers that are based in Stasis Magic organize things into a state of equilibrium. Where that balance tips is up to the Magic User.

Adaptation

Category: Interaction

Bonus Trait: Appearance

Heritage Bonus: Anthro

Force: Water

Color: Ultramarine

Powers that are based in Adaptation Magic can change how the Magic User or their target are perceived by those around them.

Abyssal

Category: Body

Bonus Trait: Strength

Heritage Bonus: Anthro

Force: Darkness

Color: Obsidian

Powers that are based in Abyssal Magic do Physical damage to someone, even if that is the Magic User.+

Character Creation

Step one: Pick a character concept. Are you a Bloodlines Magic User or a Lab Magic User? What kind of Powers do you want them to have? What will they look like?

Step two: Pick a Heritage that meshes well with your character concept. If you've chosen to be a Lab Magic User, you cannot choose Angel, Demon, or Anthro as your Primary Heritage, however, all Lab Magic Users get the Secondary Heritage Benefit for free which opens these three up.

Step three: Place your Heritage Bonuses in your Traits. Each Heritage gives an extra d6 in 2 Traits. Lab Magic Users can pick one of their Secondary Heritage Traits to enhance.

Step four: Pick your Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Magic Types. You must take your primary from one of the two main Magic Types associated with your Heritage. Lab Magic Users Must take their Secondary Magic Type from their Secondary Heritage. Tertiary Magic Types can be any of the other Magic Types. Gain a bonus d6 in the related Trait.

Step five: Decide on Powers with your Story Master. It is best to make sure any Powers will fit in the Story Master's setting.

Step six: Decide on Benefits and Pitfalls. Remember that Power comes at a price and that price is not always a pleasant one to pay. Suggested Benefits and Pitfalls are attached to each Heritage, but feel free to be creative.

Step seven: Join a one-shot game I, Synth, will be running at some point to test out our characters.