RubyClaw- It seems balanced enough, although I'm not sure it feels right in green. Healing Leaves is the only precedent I can think of, and that was a colorshifted card.
Our races are very different in ideology, as some can be very violent and other pacifists (like my Niari), and some can be "good" while other more "evil". I think the only in-game way our races could form an alliance would again be based on our will to fight for nature, our green side. Our alliance could be both a trade agreement and an oath to protect our plane's nature. What do you think?
Also if you are interested we should develop it more, lets start brainstorming.
Edit: Takaline, yeah I had healing leaves in mind (see the same of my card), and I think preventing damage is generally not a critical bleed between white and green, as there are even artifacts with that effect. Also prevention to creatures only feels green enough to me, if it were to players I might agree. I might be wrong, but creating new cards is all about trying new things. Thanks for the tip though, wish me luck :).
OK, I hope you like it. Just made a logo for our team :)! I'm no expert in those things so go easy on me. If you want to change something I can always try.
OK, I hope you like it. Just made a logo for our team :)! I'm no expert in those things so go easy on me. If you want to change something I can always try.
What do you guys think about doing some kind of thing where we can assign descriptive flavor texts to members of each other's races?
E.g.- "Though slow to movement their thick armored carapaces vie them ample time to reach their opponents." - Gor historian or whatever
From Brood Troop.
I'm not sure I understand your offer, can you be more specific? Would these texts be added to every card, or one per race? I'm kind of confused.
Also I'm reminding you guys about our united lore. If I'm understanding Gallus's idea, it is a nice start and could add a lot, but we need to think of an in-game relation between all of our races. Because we are all primal and partly wild I think we shouldn't have an alliance based on laws and agreements, but a general agreement that protecting nature is our common goal and all of those who we see as risking nature are our enemies or something. Perhaps some kind of guild that has members in everyone of our races that share this common goal is the best way to solve it, as I'm finding it hard to imagine a united alliance between our so different races.
Trade is a simple good solution as well, that can be added to any other "alliance" we would choose between our races.
I'm not sure I understand your offer, can you be more specific? Would these texts be added to every card, or one per race? I'm kind of confused.
Also I'm reminding you guys about our united lore. If I'm understanding Gallus's idea, it is a nice start and could add a lot, but we need to think of an in-game relation between all of our races. Because we are all primal and partly wild I think we shouldn't have an alliance based on laws and agreements, but a general agreement that protecting nature is our common goal and all of those who we see as risking nature are our enemies or something. Perhaps some kind of guild that has members in everyone of our races that share this common goal is the best way to solve it, as I'm finding it hard to imagine a united alliance between our so different races.
Trade is a simple good solution as well, that can be added to any other "alliance" we would choose between our races.
Lynx said that there was gonna be a war in the story part of the contest, how about our team be the observers/non-participants of the war. After all, the Rendrens, Niari, Taravins, Vitrion, and Xenarthrans are largely peaceful/non-combatant
I'm not sure I understand your offer, can you be more specific? Would these texts be added to every card, or one per race? I'm kind of confused.
Like on Serrated Biskelion how the flavor text is attributed to Karn, but with a named member of someone else's race, because I think it'd be weird for a race to describe itself in that kind of a way, if that makes any sense.
Quote from RubyClaw »
Also I'm reminding you guys abouIt our united lore. If I'm understanding Gallus's idea, it is a nice start and could add a lot, but we need to think of an in-game relation between all of our races. Because we are all primal and partly wild I think we shouldn't have an alliance based on laws and agreements, but a general agreement that protecting nature is our common goal and all of those who we see as risking nature are our enemies or
something. Perhaps some kind of guild that has members in everyone of our races that share this common goal is the best way to solve it, as I'm finding it hard to imagine a united alliance between our so different races.
Perhaps after having come in contact with members of forest-dwelling, independent races the various oppressed nature-types decide to ally with them and others of a like mind to collectively overthrow their urban governments and create a new, natural utopia?
Gargoyal: If that is the case it sounds like a good idea, I know the Niari want nothing to do with war if it depends on them.
Gallus: The flavor text idea sounds cool, we could do that in the future if you want. The only problem is we need to have some in-game contact between the races established first.
About the overthrowing of the urban goverments you need to ask people who have such, as my Niari are what you call forest dwelling.
It would be nice if the lore introduced some sort of conflict (not necessarily war), just so our motivation for action isn't entirely external.
How about something like this:
It all began in the city of Malirak, built atop the richest mana source of any Vitrion city in living memory. The city's engineers noticed that the mana flow was slowly but surely dwindling. The reduction was slow enough that it hadn't been noticed right away, but the numbers were clear: the distributors were only handling 75% of the load that they had been fifty years ago, and the rate of reduction was accelerating. Malirak was going to run dry, probably within the next century.
This was kept quiet to prevent panic, but the leaders of Malirak got in contact with nearby Vitrion cities and alerted them of their findings. After these cities conducted studies of their own, the results were disturbing: the mana supply was dwindling everywhere at a steady rate. Even the nomads who came into the cities to trade reported that they were having to move farther and more often to maintain their energy. In desperation, a coalition of Vitrion city officials and the highest-ranked nomad chieftains has been formed to look into this matter, the first time that such a body has been necessary since the end of the Civil Wars.
They are establishing contact with neighboring races who also have close ties to the land and its mana to discover how widespread the problem is. What is their reply?
Since she became chieftain, Asan Dlara never had a crisis at hand. She has been in role for the past 4 years, since her spiritual father Dosan Kira had passed away and joined the circle of mana. Unlike him she was interested in the world outside of Niar, and since she's been a chieftain she had started investigating it further, expanding the Niari's maps outside of Niar, and even sending trade expeditions to neighboring nations. The Niari came to meet many different races this way, but the one that fascinated them the most were the Vitrions. This race much like them fed on mana in one way or another, and were a great discovery for them. They felt almost related to them. And even though Niari hate city life, the Vitrions' mana cities made the Niari feel just like home, and allowed them to survive for long periods of time outside of Niar without any need for a special diet of mana rich leaves, or at least at the regular amount and no more than that.
When Asan first heard of the crisis in the Virions' cities she was shocked and deeply saddened that their close friends were in such trouble. After investigations in the Niar forest it seemed that the mana flew there freely and in great masses much like before, and was not affected by the phenomena. This didn't surprise Asan as Niar was so rich in mana, and so ancient, that even if there was to be such crisis there it would take hundred of years to even notice it. As Asan didn't really understand the magic behind the mana cities, she consulted both the arcmage and arcshaman hoping they could help her help her allies, but both didn't know the cause for this event. As a temporary solution Asan offered a constant supply of mana leaves and mana rich plants that would be delivered to these cities, but knew this wouldn't help the Vitrions for long.
Still she couldn't sleep at night, as these were her friends and she understood the importance of mana to certain living beings. Therefore she assembled a small group of shamans and mages and sent them to try and help the Vitrion with their bizarre problem.
Edit: By the way I made the logo but it turns out we also need a watermark, so I'm guessing a paw as well?
How about we combine Takaline's story with my idea:
There's a war about to break out, and with the Vitrions loosing mana resources, they seek refuge in the forest. The other, sentient, forest dwellers (that are ours) accept them with sympathetic arms. Granted, each has their own precautions, for example, the Rendrens will want them to stay away from the Rendren village so as not to cause un-necessary harm to anyone.
If we're going to start into the lore of our quasi-alliance I think a roster of all of the movers and shakers of the races is in order.
I know that I'll have at least four big guys, but I haven't got much details on them yet.
1/2- The Wise Mother and the Strong Father
3- The Hermit-King of the Jungles
4- The Prince of the Ferals
Then we can start having these 'people' meet up, or send messages to each other and get things going.
If we're going to start into the lore of our quasi-alliance I think a roster of all of the movers and shakers of the races is in order.
I know that I'll have at least four big guys, but I haven't got much details on them yet.
1/2- The Divine Mother (sounds a bit generic-y, any other suggestions?) and Strong Father
3- The Hermit-King of the Jungles
4- The Prince of the Ferals
Then we can start having these 'people' meet up, or send messages to each other and get things going.
Rendrens have 3 big guys girls called the Matrons that lead:
Deryn
Aryrla
Cierna
Each Vitrion city is led by a Keeper, who is essentially a governor while also being a high-ranking member of the clergy. Vitrion tribes are led by a ruling family, with the oldest member being the leader. Currently, the largest cities are Malirak (led by Keeper Distarus), Staril (led by Keeper Korval), and Kleptarim (led by Keeper Nibil). The largest nomad caravans are led by the Karstafos family (Head: Emil Karstafos) and the Trindavels (Head: Artel).
Sorry for the lackof interaction, but school and work had me busy all day.
The story seems fine by me thus far.
As far as "shakers and movers," my race doesn't really have any, but it still needs some revision (by me), so I suppose I could come up with some and add them in later. Let's try the following:
Trevern, the current leader-born of Southhive, and Sedara, the current leader-born of of Treehive.
Also, I thought it would be cool to characterize each round's conflict as part of my race's plot. Here's an idea, which will be modified after I get some more info about the Daesseclus:
In the last few months, there have been a string of disappearances from Vitrion cities. The police have doubled their patrols to watch for the kidnappers, and the public is beginning to worry.
The nomads have had people go missing, too, but they're closer to the truth (the Daesseclus) than the cityfolk because their travels have brought them into contact with Daesseclus in the distant past. They have legends about dark spirits called Dackles that are sent by angry local deities to spirit away people who have angered them. The groups who have had people go missing attempt to stop it by appeasing the local god with prayer and sacrifice.
I'm going to try to condense all of my race's info into this one post to give myself a reference point and cut out the need to dig up old threads. Additional info will be edited in. The Vitrion
Member of Team Primal
Basic Info:
The VitrionsGWR
Physical description
Humanoid, but with variably-pigmented skin that changes as they migrate to better absorb the area's mana. There is also no human digestive tract (replaced with organs for storing absorbed mana and converting it to usable energy), and there are large folds of skin between the legs and under the arms that are spread while basking.
Culture/Beliefs
Rather than eating, Vitrions absorb mana to convert into energy in much the same way plants absorb light for photosynthesis. Their heavily-pigmented skin absorbs ambient mana naturally, but they normally must spend about a third of each day "basking" to absorb enough latent mana from the environment to recharge for the active part of the day (analogous to human sleep). However, the amount of basking time required changes depending on the richness of the area's mana and the number of other Vitrions that are also drawing on the area- therefor, a Vitrion living in a crowded, mana-starved community may need to bask for as much as 2/3 of the day while a lone Vitrion in a particularly mana-rich area may not need to consciously absorb mana at all. Thus, where you live is the highest marker of esteem in Vitrion society.
Because of this, there are two basic divisions of Vitrion society. Some dwell in cities built upon unusually mana-rich environments where there is enough latent mana to support large populations. The center of such a city is usually built on the focal point of the region's mana, with distributors spreading the flow into other districts and intakes pulling mana in from surrounding regions. This means that a stable supply of mana can be established, which increases productivity, but it also comes with some drawbacks. Those that can't afford properties near the city center must live on its outskirts, where, despite the distributors, the supply of mana is sparser and and more Vitrions draw on it. It is not unusual for Vitrions in these areas to "enter the deep sleep", in which they die during basking because they couldn't absorb enough energy to maintain their vital functions. The second drawback is that the outlying regions, and eventually the city center itself, are drained of mana (although this may take centuries if the city's locus is particularly strong and it has a large netwrok of feeder states). The eventual decline in mana is usually accompanied by growing civil unrest, with large chunks of the populations emigrating to younger cities, leaving the city defenseless before the attacks of the second other segment of Vitrion society, the nomads.
Vitrion nomads are constantly on the move, refreshing their mana supply by physically finding new lands rather than by centralizing and storing it. As a result of this, the relationships between nomad tribes are often openly hostile, since their survival depends on being able to claim and temporarily hold large pieces of land. Small nomad groups often owe allegiance to larger groups in exchange for protection from other large nomad groups, which commonly attack smaller groups for profit and slaves. Loose coalitions of smaller groups that owe allegiance to a larger group often travel near that group, and large groups and their entourages are known as caravans. Its not unusual for particularly large caravans to either raid a weak city or establish trade relations with a strong one in order to access their manufactured goods and mana supplies.
There is one main difference between hereditary city-dwellers and hereditary nomads. The nomads' skin can vary its pigment to better absorb different varieties and concentrations of mana, whereas the city-dwellers' skin has become accustomed to a certain type of mana and has a fixed pigment.
As far as belief systems go ancestor worship is very prominent among Vitrion societies, with cityfolk worshipping the city's founders while nomads place religious significance on their bloodlines (pure bloodlines are holy, whereas mixed bloodlines are unclean). The land is worshipped above all else, though, as the great provider and source of all life, and most regions have a regional deity that must be honored before the mana from that land is used, or the deity's anger will cause trouble for the inhabitants The methods vary from daily prayer in the cities to a ritual offering when the nomads enter new territory.
Additional Information
Foreign Policy:
Since large concentrations of Vitrions place a heavy burden on an area's mana, it's not uncommon for Vitrions to live among other races, especially if those races use relatively little mana (low-magic).
Mechanics
The clockwork mechanic would work well for the recharge feel, especially if mana is required to recharge counters. I could even keyword it as Mechanic Name # (This creature enters the battlefield with # +1/+1 counters on it. When this creature attacks or blocks, remove a +1/+1 counter from it.)
EDIT: This has become Exhaustion X (This creature enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it. When this creature attacks or blocks, remove a +1/+1 counter from it at end of combat.)
Also thinking of a Manafeed ability word with abilities that trigger when a player casts a spell or that turn on if a player has cast a spell this turn, representing the ambient mana spellcasting would unleash.
EDIT: Ditching the Manafeed idea in place of a +1/+1 counters theme to represent charging the Exhaustion creatures. The concept might be used on a couple cards, but not as a theme.
"Color matters" should be a huge mechanical theme. Colorless mana should be hugely disincentivized as "weak" mana.
Purity would be a cool mechanic to use for the city-dwellers. It would give benefits if a spell was cast using entirely one color of mana. It could be implemented either as an ability word or as a rules term (leaning toward rules term). If it's a rules term, it would be "if this spell is pure" (A spell is pure if all mana spent to cast it was the same color.)
EDIT: Also very appropriate for the tribal bloodlines.
By the same token, modal "color matters" spells (if X was spent to play this, do _____. If Y was spent to play this, do _____.) could be nice for the nomads. This could be implemented with hybrid mana (see Moonhold), monocolored spells (see Ribbons of Night, or both.
Some additional lore:
Archenemy: Altraitors
Here are my ideas on how the Vitrion would establish trade relations with their team:
What we offer: The Vitrion cities specialize in various manufactured goods, depending on what raw materials are most easily available in the region. Cloth, metal goods, construction- if it requires an industrial infrastructure or specialized craftsmen, it's probably produced in a Vitrion city somewhere. The nomads often hire out groups of warriors in exchange for shelter during their travels, manufactured goods (if there is no friendly Vitrion city nearby), or the promise of reciprocal aid against rival clans.
Niari: Vitrion cannot enter the Niari forests for long without getting severely burned from the intense mana. A few Vitrion have gotten lost in these forests and are found fevered and delirious, starving soon after because their mana-sensitive skin had been so badly damaged that they couldn't feed.
However, the plants from the Niari forests are highly valued commodities among the Vitrion because a single small plant, kept trimmed so its mana doesn't become too harsh, can feed a small family. Fresh Niari vegetation is also commonly worn as amulets or on bracelets, or is hung from the ceilings of households that can't afford live plants.
Orgs: I could see various Vitrion cities and clans hiring Org mercenaries for their intertribal wars. The cities in particular might hire Orgs so they wouldn't have to dirty their own hands rooting out annoying nomad raiders.
Rendren: Vitrion who have dealt with the Rendren probably know to avoid them when possible, since you never know when you might interrupt their studies and become the object of their ire. When the Vitrion have to cross paths with the Rendren, they treat them with extreme respect and hospitality. Trade is only conducted when necessary.
Taravin: I'm not sure what products could come from the Taravin, but the clergy and engineers of the Vitrion are very interested in the way the Taravin interact with the moon's energy, wondering if it has any relation to Vitrion mana absorption.
Xenarthrans: Vitrions value the jungle-dwelling Xenarthrans' medicine, trade manufactured goods with the city-dwelling Xenarthrans, and sometimes hire Xenarthran mercenaries.
Initial idea for conflict:
It all began in the city of Malirak, built atop the richest mana source of any Vitrion city in living memory. The city's engineers noticed that the mana flow was slowly but surely dwindling. The reduction was slow enough that it hadn't been noticed right away, but the numbers were clear: the distributors were only handling 75% of the load that they had been fifty years ago, and the rate of reduction was accelerating. Malirak was going to run dry, probably within the next century.
This was kept quiet to prevent panic, but the leaders of Malirak got in contact with nearby Vitrion cities and alerted them of their findings. After these cities conducted studies of their own, the results were disturbing: the mana supply was dwindling everywhere at a steady rate. Even the nomads who came into the cities to trade reported that they were having to move farther and more often to maintain their energy. In desperation, a coalition of Vitrion city officials and the highest-ranked nomad chieftains has been formed to look into this matter, the first time that such a body has been necessary since the end of the Civil Wars.
They are establishing contact with neighboring races who also have close ties to the land and its mana to discover how widespread the problem is. What is their reply?
Each Vitrion city is led by a Keeper, who is essentially a governor while also being a high-ranking member of the clergy. Vitrion tribes are led by a ruling family, with the oldest member being the leader. Currently, the largest cities are Malirak (led by Keeper Distarus), Staril (led by Keeper Korval), and Kleptarim (led by Keeper Nibil). The largest nomad caravans are led by the Karstafos family (Head: Emil Karstafos) and the Trindavels (Head: Artel).
Also, I thought it would be cool to characterize each round's conflict as part of my race's plot. Here's my conflict with the Daesseclus:
In the last few months, there have been a string of disappearances from Vitrion cities. The police have doubled their patrols to watch for the kidnappers, and the public is beginning to worry.
The nomads have had people go missing, too, but they're closer to the truth (the Daesseclus) than the cityfolk because their travels have brought them into contact with Daesseclus in the distant past. They have legends about dark spirits called Dackles that are sent by angry local deities to spirit away people who have angered them. The groups who have had people go missing attempt to stop it by appeasing the local god with prayer and sacrifice.
For the Scallomourn:
The large nomad caravans are having to range farther and farther to find fresh and abundant mana. In the course of their travels, the Trindavels entered an as-yet-unexplored range of mountains where they encountered an inexplicably hostile race of horned bug-creatures. Sensing the conflict that could arise from setting up residence here, Artel Trindavel wisely chose to leave and journey elsewhere in search of fresh resources before blood was spilled.
For the Niari:
Not everyone understands the nature of the Niar and what happens to Vitrion who stay too long in there, and ignorance often breeds suspicion. The League of Flame is a grassroots anti-Niari group that has underground chapters in several major Vitrion cities. They claim that the disappearances in the jungles are actually murders or kidnappings by the Niari and that this "overexposure" idea is just a government cover-up for the purposes of maintaining diplomatic relations with the Niari. Also, in areas with particularly low mana flow, the League of Flame's ranks are swelled by people that resent Niari merchants that sell mana-plants for exorbitant prices. Although the city governments do their best to crack down on this group, they still carry out secret acts of vandalism against Niari living in Vitrion cities and pursue an insular, anti-immigration political agenda. Their symbol is a burning leaf.
The Niari side:
The Niari and the Vitrions have been great allies since meeting each other. The offering of help and support by sending mana rich plants to the needed cities by chieftain Asan Dlara was gladly accepted and the relations between the races and their leaders became much stronger. Trade bloomed between the races, and in a bizarre unexpected way the city folk of the Virtions became better allies to the nature loving Niari than their jungle brethren. When the mana crisis started to tare apart the Vitrions, some blamed the Niari for it and saw them as vicious kidnappers who hurt the Vitrions' way of life. This has caused some already xenophobic Niari to become even more extreme in their beliefs. Many older shamans started to criticize Asan Dlara for attending to so many external events instead of taking care of her own society. Also many Niari ambassadors who moved to the Vitrion cities felt right at home and never returned to their beloved Niar forest even when they were called back. These actions were unthinkable to other Niaris, who saw this act as extremely unnatural, and made even more of the Niari simple folks dislike their city allies. Tension was starting to build between the nations, not between the leaders who shared a common goal and understood each other, but between xenophobic organizations who tried to rally the simple people of their races to hate and fear the others.
Dyrist (not an actual used card, but I really like the concept illustrated):
Dyristian Guard 3W
Creature- Vitrion Xenarthran Soldier (C)
Exhaustion 3 (This creature enters the battlefield with three +1/+1 counters on it. When this creature attacks or blocks, remove a +1/+1 counter from it at end of combat.)
If Dyristian Guard has no +1/+1 counters on it, it has Absorb 2 (If a source would deal damage to this creature, prevent two of that damage.)
0/2 The oldest existing Vitrion city is Dyrist, which was originally established as a trading hub with the Xenarthrans. Over the centuries, the two races interbred and produced children that combined the short-lived strength of the Vitrion with the endurance of the Xenarthrans.
The Emerald Circle:
The rumblings of war have reached the lands of the Primal races. Tales of forces being mustered by strange peoples on distant borders are carried by traveling merchants, and these nebulous fears have exacerbated the existing internal problems that our races face. In an effort to safeguard their people and calm their anxiety, the various governments of our races have contributed strong shamans and druids in an attempt to shape the land itself into a weapon by awakening the primal forces within it. It's a difficult task, but perhaps by combining the customs and techniques of each race we can pull it off.
Here's some Vitrion leaders:
Keeper Distarus3GW
Legendary Creature- Vitrion Cleric (MR)
Exhaustion 4 (This creature enters the battlefield with four +1/+1 counters on it. When this creature attacks or blocks, remove a +1/+1 counter from it at end of combat.)
When a +1/+1 counter is placed on another creature you control, put a +1/+1 counter on Keeper Distarus. It is said that the Keepers can draw sustenance from the prayers of the faithful.
Distarus is the Keeper of Malirak and is heading the committee to investigate the steadily dwindling mana supplies. As Keeper, he acts as the official face of Malirak for other races and other Vitrion communities.
Mechanically, I'd like to rework Recharge into Exhaustion to cut down on its complexity. Most creatures with Exhaustion would also have a way to replace the counters, but the lowly menial Vitrion could simply have Exhaustion.
Here's another one with more of a military bent:
Renderek the Savage 4RG
Legendary Creature- Vitrion Warrior (MR)
Haste, Trample
Exhaustion 4 (This creature enters the battlefield with four +1/+1 counters on it. When this creature attacks or blocks, remove a +1/+1 counter from it at end of combat.)
When Renderek the Savage deals combat damage to a player, put that many +1/+1 counters on it.
0/0 Rumor has it that Renderek's untiring strength comes from the energy he leeches from his fallen foes.
He's the second son of the Karstafos family and is in charge of the military operations of their caravan. Under his supervision, raids from this caravan have increased dramatically and several cities have fallen to the group. He has gained such fame and popularity that his father Emil is pretty much a figurehead, even though he's the nominal ruler. Other Vitrion view the activities of the Karstafos caravan with growing alarm, and other races that come into contact with them usually emerge the worse for it.
First round cards (opponent Daesseclus):
Trueblood Swordsman 2W
Creature- Vitrion Nomad Soldier (C)
First Strike
Purity- If all mana spent to play Trueblood Swordsman was the same color, it enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it. (Colorless is not a color.)
2/2
To prevent rebellion among the newly accepted, only nomads that can trace their lineage for at least two generations within the clan are allowed to carry weapons.
Manor Gardener G
Creature- Vitrion Citizen Druid (C)
Recharge 1 (This creature enters the battlefield with one +1/+1 counter on it. When this creature attacks or blocks, remove a +1/+1 counter from it at end of combat. At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature hasn't attacked or blocked since the beginning of your last turn's upkeep, put a +1/+1 counter on it).
Remove a +1/+1 counter from Manor Gardener: Add g to your mana pool.
0/0
The luckiest members of the lower class find work caring for the great manors in the city center, where the mana flow is the richest.
(This seems like a good implementation of the clockwork mechanic.)
POST-ROUND COMMENTS: Putting "Use this ability only once per turn" would probably fix the power level of the gardener. I'd also like to cut down Recharge into just the clockwork ability and work in counter-adding to the mana ability.
Second round cards (opponent Scallomourn):
Laws/Beliefs
Pay Homage2
Instant (U)
Untap target creature. If G was spent to cast Pay Homage, put two +1/+1 counters on that creature. If W was spent to cast Pay Homage, prevent all damage that would be dealt to that creature this turn.
Purity- If all mana spent to cast Pay Homage was the same color, copy it. You may choose new targets for the copy. (Colorless is not a color.) When a tribe reaches a new destination, the leader pays their respects to its guardian spirit in the hopes that the land will lend them its strength and energy.
Battle Tactics
Energy Flare3RW
Instant (C)
Energy Flare deals two damage to target creature or player. Put a +1/+1 counter on each attacking Vitrion you control. Battle-trained Vitrion mages use flashy spells designed to spread large quantities of excess mana across the battlefield for the weary soldiers.
Third round cards (opponents Niari and Xironaxi):
Interacting with a teammate:
Emissary to the Niar 2GG
Creature- Vitrion Advisor (U)
At the beginning of your upkeep, if Emissary to the Niar has a +1/+1 counter on it, put a +1/+1 counter on target touched creature. (A creature that is enchanted or has a mana counter on it is touched.)
2/2 Excess mana Vitrion visitors absorb from the Niar is often discharged safely into the Niari.
Part of the Emerald Circle:
Spirit-Caller of the Emerald Circle 2GG
Creature- Vitrion Shaman (U)
Exhaustion 4 (This creature enters the battlefield with four +1/+1 counters on it. When it attacks or blocks, remove a +1/+1 counter from it at end of combat.) T, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Spirit-Caller of the Emerald Circle: Target land you control becomes a 1/1 colorless Vitrion Spirit creature until end of turn. It's still a land.
Lands you control that are also creatures get +1/+1 for each +1/+1 counter on Spirit-Caller of the Emerald Circle.
0/0
alright, doing it now
Also if you are interested we should develop it more, lets start brainstorming.
Edit: Takaline, yeah I had healing leaves in mind (see the same of my card), and I think preventing damage is generally not a critical bleed between white and green, as there are even artifacts with that effect. Also prevention to creatures only feels green enough to me, if it were to players I might agree. I might be wrong, but creating new cards is all about trying new things. Thanks for the tip though, wish me luck :).
nice, i'll put it on the op
What do you guys think about doing some kind of thing where we can assign descriptive flavor texts to members of each other's races?
E.g.- "Though slow to movement their thick armored carapaces vie them ample time to reach their opponents." - Gor historian or whatever
From Brood Troop.
I'm not sure I understand your offer, can you be more specific? Would these texts be added to every card, or one per race? I'm kind of confused.
Also I'm reminding you guys about our united lore. If I'm understanding Gallus's idea, it is a nice start and could add a lot, but we need to think of an in-game relation between all of our races. Because we are all primal and partly wild I think we shouldn't have an alliance based on laws and agreements, but a general agreement that protecting nature is our common goal and all of those who we see as risking nature are our enemies or something. Perhaps some kind of guild that has members in everyone of our races that share this common goal is the best way to solve it, as I'm finding it hard to imagine a united alliance between our so different races.
Trade is a simple good solution as well, that can be added to any other "alliance" we would choose between our races.
Lynx said that there was gonna be a war in the story part of the contest, how about our team be the observers/non-participants of the war. After all, the Rendrens, Niari, Taravins, Vitrion, and Xenarthrans are largely peaceful/non-combatant
Like on Serrated Biskelion how the flavor text is attributed to Karn, but with a named member of someone else's race, because I think it'd be weird for a race to describe itself in that kind of a way, if that makes any sense.
Perhaps after having come in contact with members of forest-dwelling, independent races the various oppressed nature-types decide to ally with them and others of a like mind to collectively overthrow their urban governments and create a new, natural utopia?
Gallus: The flavor text idea sounds cool, we could do that in the future if you want. The only problem is we need to have some in-game contact between the races established first.
About the overthrowing of the urban goverments you need to ask people who have such, as my Niari are what you call forest dwelling.
How about something like this:
It all began in the city of Malirak, built atop the richest mana source of any Vitrion city in living memory. The city's engineers noticed that the mana flow was slowly but surely dwindling. The reduction was slow enough that it hadn't been noticed right away, but the numbers were clear: the distributors were only handling 75% of the load that they had been fifty years ago, and the rate of reduction was accelerating. Malirak was going to run dry, probably within the next century.
This was kept quiet to prevent panic, but the leaders of Malirak got in contact with nearby Vitrion cities and alerted them of their findings. After these cities conducted studies of their own, the results were disturbing: the mana supply was dwindling everywhere at a steady rate. Even the nomads who came into the cities to trade reported that they were having to move farther and more often to maintain their energy. In desperation, a coalition of Vitrion city officials and the highest-ranked nomad chieftains has been formed to look into this matter, the first time that such a body has been necessary since the end of the Civil Wars.
They are establishing contact with neighboring races who also have close ties to the land and its mana to discover how widespread the problem is. What is their reply?
When Asan first heard of the crisis in the Virions' cities she was shocked and deeply saddened that their close friends were in such trouble. After investigations in the Niar forest it seemed that the mana flew there freely and in great masses much like before, and was not affected by the phenomena. This didn't surprise Asan as Niar was so rich in mana, and so ancient, that even if there was to be such crisis there it would take hundred of years to even notice it. As Asan didn't really understand the magic behind the mana cities, she consulted both the arcmage and arcshaman hoping they could help her help her allies, but both didn't know the cause for this event. As a temporary solution Asan offered a constant supply of mana leaves and mana rich plants that would be delivered to these cities, but knew this wouldn't help the Vitrions for long.
Still she couldn't sleep at night, as these were her friends and she understood the importance of mana to certain living beings. Therefore she assembled a small group of shamans and mages and sent them to try and help the Vitrion with their bizarre problem.
Edit: By the way I made the logo but it turns out we also need a watermark, so I'm guessing a paw as well?
There's a war about to break out, and with the Vitrions loosing mana resources, they seek refuge in the forest. The other, sentient, forest dwellers (that are ours) accept them with sympathetic arms. Granted, each has their own precautions, for example, the Rendrens will want them to stay away from the Rendren village so as not to cause un-necessary harm to anyone.
I know that I'll have at least four big guys, but I haven't got much details on them yet.
1/2- The Wise Mother and the Strong Father
3- The Hermit-King of the Jungles
4- The Prince of the Ferals
Then we can start having these 'people' meet up, or send messages to each other and get things going.
Rendrens have 3 big
guysgirls called the Matrons that lead:Deryn
Aryrla
Cierna
Her two advisors are the arcmage Sifar Tala (middle age male), and arcshaman Alim Kara (Elderly male).
The story seems fine by me thus far.
As far as "shakers and movers," my race doesn't really have any, but it still needs some revision (by me), so I suppose I could come up with some and add them in later. Let's try the following:
Trevern, the current leader-born of Southhive, and Sedara, the current leader-born of of Treehive.
alright, i'll put it up, and what do you think of what we've made so far for the lore?
Multicolored millcards in something other than dimir.
Also, I thought it would be cool to characterize each round's conflict as part of my race's plot. Here's an idea, which will be modified after I get some more info about the Daesseclus:
In the last few months, there have been a string of disappearances from Vitrion cities. The police have doubled their patrols to watch for the kidnappers, and the public is beginning to worry.
The nomads have had people go missing, too, but they're closer to the truth (the Daesseclus) than the cityfolk because their travels have brought them into contact with Daesseclus in the distant past. They have legends about dark spirits called Dackles that are sent by angry local deities to spirit away people who have angered them. The groups who have had people go missing attempt to stop it by appeasing the local god with prayer and sacrifice.
So guys are we finished? We have a logo, a watermark, is our lore complete? Do we agree generally about our common goals and history?
i think so, but i'm not sure. it's agreed that mana is being lost, not sure if we're the ones who try to stay out of it or what
The Vitrion
Member of Team Primal
Basic Info:
The VitrionsGWR
Physical description
Culture/Beliefs
Because of this, there are two basic divisions of Vitrion society. Some dwell in cities built upon unusually mana-rich environments where there is enough latent mana to support large populations. The center of such a city is usually built on the focal point of the region's mana, with distributors spreading the flow into other districts and intakes pulling mana in from surrounding regions. This means that a stable supply of mana can be established, which increases productivity, but it also comes with some drawbacks. Those that can't afford properties near the city center must live on its outskirts, where, despite the distributors, the supply of mana is sparser and and more Vitrions draw on it. It is not unusual for Vitrions in these areas to "enter the deep sleep", in which they die during basking because they couldn't absorb enough energy to maintain their vital functions. The second drawback is that the outlying regions, and eventually the city center itself, are drained of mana (although this may take centuries if the city's locus is particularly strong and it has a large netwrok of feeder states). The eventual decline in mana is usually accompanied by growing civil unrest, with large chunks of the populations emigrating to younger cities, leaving the city defenseless before the attacks of the second other segment of Vitrion society, the nomads.
Vitrion nomads are constantly on the move, refreshing their mana supply by physically finding new lands rather than by centralizing and storing it. As a result of this, the relationships between nomad tribes are often openly hostile, since their survival depends on being able to claim and temporarily hold large pieces of land. Small nomad groups often owe allegiance to larger groups in exchange for protection from other large nomad groups, which commonly attack smaller groups for profit and slaves. Loose coalitions of smaller groups that owe allegiance to a larger group often travel near that group, and large groups and their entourages are known as caravans. Its not unusual for particularly large caravans to either raid a weak city or establish trade relations with a strong one in order to access their manufactured goods and mana supplies.
There is one main difference between hereditary city-dwellers and hereditary nomads. The nomads' skin can vary its pigment to better absorb different varieties and concentrations of mana, whereas the city-dwellers' skin has become accustomed to a certain type of mana and has a fixed pigment.
As far as belief systems go ancestor worship is very prominent among Vitrion societies, with cityfolk worshipping the city's founders while nomads place religious significance on their bloodlines (pure bloodlines are holy, whereas mixed bloodlines are unclean). The land is worshipped above all else, though, as the great provider and source of all life, and most regions have a regional deity that must be honored before the mana from that land is used, or the deity's anger will cause trouble for the inhabitants The methods vary from daily prayer in the cities to a ritual offering when the nomads enter new territory.
Additional Information
Foreign Policy:
Since large concentrations of Vitrions place a heavy burden on an area's mana, it's not uncommon for Vitrions to live among other races, especially if those races use relatively little mana (low-magic).
Mechanics
The clockwork mechanic would work well for the recharge feel, especially if mana is required to recharge counters. I could even keyword it as Mechanic Name # (This creature enters the battlefield with # +1/+1 counters on it. When this creature attacks or blocks, remove a +1/+1 counter from it.)
EDIT: This has become Exhaustion X (This creature enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it. When this creature attacks or blocks, remove a +1/+1 counter from it at end of combat.)
Also thinking of a Manafeed ability word with abilities that trigger when a player casts a spell or that turn on if a player has cast a spell this turn, representing the ambient mana spellcasting would unleash.
EDIT: Ditching the Manafeed idea in place of a +1/+1 counters theme to represent charging the Exhaustion creatures. The concept might be used on a couple cards, but not as a theme.
"Color matters" should be a huge mechanical theme. Colorless mana should be hugely disincentivized as "weak" mana.
Purity would be a cool mechanic to use for the city-dwellers. It would give benefits if a spell was cast using entirely one color of mana. It could be implemented either as an ability word or as a rules term (leaning toward rules term). If it's a rules term, it would be "if this spell is pure" (A spell is pure if all mana spent to cast it was the same color.)
EDIT: Also very appropriate for the tribal bloodlines.
By the same token, modal "color matters" spells (if X was spent to play this, do _____. If Y was spent to play this, do _____.) could be nice for the nomads. This could be implemented with hybrid mana (see Moonhold), monocolored spells (see Ribbons of Night, or both.
Some additional lore:
Archenemy: Altraitors
Here are my ideas on how the Vitrion would establish trade relations with their team:
What we offer: The Vitrion cities specialize in various manufactured goods, depending on what raw materials are most easily available in the region. Cloth, metal goods, construction- if it requires an industrial infrastructure or specialized craftsmen, it's probably produced in a Vitrion city somewhere. The nomads often hire out groups of warriors in exchange for shelter during their travels, manufactured goods (if there is no friendly Vitrion city nearby), or the promise of reciprocal aid against rival clans.
Niari: Vitrion cannot enter the Niari forests for long without getting severely burned from the intense mana. A few Vitrion have gotten lost in these forests and are found fevered and delirious, starving soon after because their mana-sensitive skin had been so badly damaged that they couldn't feed.
However, the plants from the Niari forests are highly valued commodities among the Vitrion because a single small plant, kept trimmed so its mana doesn't become too harsh, can feed a small family. Fresh Niari vegetation is also commonly worn as amulets or on bracelets, or is hung from the ceilings of households that can't afford live plants.
Orgs: I could see various Vitrion cities and clans hiring Org mercenaries for their intertribal wars. The cities in particular might hire Orgs so they wouldn't have to dirty their own hands rooting out annoying nomad raiders.
Rendren: Vitrion who have dealt with the Rendren probably know to avoid them when possible, since you never know when you might interrupt their studies and become the object of their ire. When the Vitrion have to cross paths with the Rendren, they treat them with extreme respect and hospitality. Trade is only conducted when necessary.
Taravin: I'm not sure what products could come from the Taravin, but the clergy and engineers of the Vitrion are very interested in the way the Taravin interact with the moon's energy, wondering if it has any relation to Vitrion mana absorption.
Xenarthrans: Vitrions value the jungle-dwelling Xenarthrans' medicine, trade manufactured goods with the city-dwelling Xenarthrans, and sometimes hire Xenarthran mercenaries.
Initial idea for conflict:
It all began in the city of Malirak, built atop the richest mana source of any Vitrion city in living memory. The city's engineers noticed that the mana flow was slowly but surely dwindling. The reduction was slow enough that it hadn't been noticed right away, but the numbers were clear: the distributors were only handling 75% of the load that they had been fifty years ago, and the rate of reduction was accelerating. Malirak was going to run dry, probably within the next century.
This was kept quiet to prevent panic, but the leaders of Malirak got in contact with nearby Vitrion cities and alerted them of their findings. After these cities conducted studies of their own, the results were disturbing: the mana supply was dwindling everywhere at a steady rate. Even the nomads who came into the cities to trade reported that they were having to move farther and more often to maintain their energy. In desperation, a coalition of Vitrion city officials and the highest-ranked nomad chieftains has been formed to look into this matter, the first time that such a body has been necessary since the end of the Civil Wars.
They are establishing contact with neighboring races who also have close ties to the land and its mana to discover how widespread the problem is. What is their reply?
Each Vitrion city is led by a Keeper, who is essentially a governor while also being a high-ranking member of the clergy. Vitrion tribes are led by a ruling family, with the oldest member being the leader. Currently, the largest cities are Malirak (led by Keeper Distarus), Staril (led by Keeper Korval), and Kleptarim (led by Keeper Nibil). The largest nomad caravans are led by the Karstafos family (Head: Emil Karstafos) and the Trindavels (Head: Artel).
Also, I thought it would be cool to characterize each round's conflict as part of my race's plot. Here's my conflict with the Daesseclus:
In the last few months, there have been a string of disappearances from Vitrion cities. The police have doubled their patrols to watch for the kidnappers, and the public is beginning to worry.
The nomads have had people go missing, too, but they're closer to the truth (the Daesseclus) than the cityfolk because their travels have brought them into contact with Daesseclus in the distant past. They have legends about dark spirits called Dackles that are sent by angry local deities to spirit away people who have angered them. The groups who have had people go missing attempt to stop it by appeasing the local god with prayer and sacrifice.
For the Scallomourn:
The large nomad caravans are having to range farther and farther to find fresh and abundant mana. In the course of their travels, the Trindavels entered an as-yet-unexplored range of mountains where they encountered an inexplicably hostile race of horned bug-creatures. Sensing the conflict that could arise from setting up residence here, Artel Trindavel wisely chose to leave and journey elsewhere in search of fresh resources before blood was spilled.
For the Niari:
Not everyone understands the nature of the Niar and what happens to Vitrion who stay too long in there, and ignorance often breeds suspicion. The League of Flame is a grassroots anti-Niari group that has underground chapters in several major Vitrion cities. They claim that the disappearances in the jungles are actually murders or kidnappings by the Niari and that this "overexposure" idea is just a government cover-up for the purposes of maintaining diplomatic relations with the Niari. Also, in areas with particularly low mana flow, the League of Flame's ranks are swelled by people that resent Niari merchants that sell mana-plants for exorbitant prices. Although the city governments do their best to crack down on this group, they still carry out secret acts of vandalism against Niari living in Vitrion cities and pursue an insular, anti-immigration political agenda. Their symbol is a burning leaf.
The Niari side:
The Niari and the Vitrions have been great allies since meeting each other. The offering of help and support by sending mana rich plants to the needed cities by chieftain Asan Dlara was gladly accepted and the relations between the races and their leaders became much stronger. Trade bloomed between the races, and in a bizarre unexpected way the city folk of the Virtions became better allies to the nature loving Niari than their jungle brethren. When the mana crisis started to tare apart the Vitrions, some blamed the Niari for it and saw them as vicious kidnappers who hurt the Vitrions' way of life. This has caused some already xenophobic Niari to become even more extreme in their beliefs. Many older shamans started to criticize Asan Dlara for attending to so many external events instead of taking care of her own society. Also many Niari ambassadors who moved to the Vitrion cities felt right at home and never returned to their beloved Niar forest even when they were called back. These actions were unthinkable to other Niaris, who saw this act as extremely unnatural, and made even more of the Niari simple folks dislike their city allies. Tension was starting to build between the nations, not between the leaders who shared a common goal and understood each other, but between xenophobic organizations who tried to rally the simple people of their races to hate and fear the others.
Dyrist (not an actual used card, but I really like the concept illustrated):
Dyristian Guard 3W
Creature- Vitrion Xenarthran Soldier (C)
Exhaustion 3 (This creature enters the battlefield with three +1/+1 counters on it. When this creature attacks or blocks, remove a +1/+1 counter from it at end of combat.)
If Dyristian Guard has no +1/+1 counters on it, it has Absorb 2 (If a source would deal damage to this creature, prevent two of that damage.)
0/2
The oldest existing Vitrion city is Dyrist, which was originally established as a trading hub with the Xenarthrans. Over the centuries, the two races interbred and produced children that combined the short-lived strength of the Vitrion with the endurance of the Xenarthrans.
The Emerald Circle:
The rumblings of war have reached the lands of the Primal races. Tales of forces being mustered by strange peoples on distant borders are carried by traveling merchants, and these nebulous fears have exacerbated the existing internal problems that our races face. In an effort to safeguard their people and calm their anxiety, the various governments of our races have contributed strong shamans and druids in an attempt to shape the land itself into a weapon by awakening the primal forces within it. It's a difficult task, but perhaps by combining the customs and techniques of each race we can pull it off.
Here's some Vitrion leaders:
Keeper Distarus 3GW
Legendary Creature- Vitrion Cleric (MR)
Exhaustion 4 (This creature enters the battlefield with four +1/+1 counters on it. When this creature attacks or blocks, remove a +1/+1 counter from it at end of combat.)
When a +1/+1 counter is placed on another creature you control, put a +1/+1 counter on Keeper Distarus.
It is said that the Keepers can draw sustenance from the prayers of the faithful.
Distarus is the Keeper of Malirak and is heading the committee to investigate the steadily dwindling mana supplies. As Keeper, he acts as the official face of Malirak for other races and other Vitrion communities.
Mechanically, I'd like to rework Recharge into Exhaustion to cut down on its complexity. Most creatures with Exhaustion would also have a way to replace the counters, but the lowly menial Vitrion could simply have Exhaustion.
Here's another one with more of a military bent:
Renderek the Savage 4RG
Legendary Creature- Vitrion Warrior (MR)
Haste, Trample
Exhaustion 4 (This creature enters the battlefield with four +1/+1 counters on it. When this creature attacks or blocks, remove a +1/+1 counter from it at end of combat.)
When Renderek the Savage deals combat damage to a player, put that many +1/+1 counters on it.
0/0
Rumor has it that Renderek's untiring strength comes from the energy he leeches from his fallen foes.
He's the second son of the Karstafos family and is in charge of the military operations of their caravan. Under his supervision, raids from this caravan have increased dramatically and several cities have fallen to the group. He has gained such fame and popularity that his father Emil is pretty much a figurehead, even though he's the nominal ruler. Other Vitrion view the activities of the Karstafos caravan with growing alarm, and other races that come into contact with them usually emerge the worse for it.
Trueblood Swordsman 2W
Creature- Vitrion Nomad Soldier (C)
First Strike
Purity- If all mana spent to play Trueblood Swordsman was the same color, it enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it. (Colorless is not a color.)
2/2
To prevent rebellion among the newly accepted, only nomads that can trace their lineage for at least two generations within the clan are allowed to carry weapons.
Manor Gardener G
Creature- Vitrion Citizen Druid (C)
Recharge 1 (This creature enters the battlefield with one +1/+1 counter on it. When this creature attacks or blocks, remove a +1/+1 counter from it at end of combat. At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature hasn't attacked or blocked since the beginning of your last turn's upkeep, put a +1/+1 counter on it).
Remove a +1/+1 counter from Manor Gardener: Add g to your mana pool.
0/0
The luckiest members of the lower class find work caring for the great manors in the city center, where the mana flow is the richest.
(This seems like a good implementation of the clockwork mechanic.)
POST-ROUND COMMENTS: Putting "Use this ability only once per turn" would probably fix the power level of the gardener. I'd also like to cut down Recharge into just the clockwork ability and work in counter-adding to the mana ability.
Second round cards (opponent Scallomourn):
Laws/Beliefs
Pay Homage 2
Instant (U)
Untap target creature. If G was spent to cast Pay Homage, put two +1/+1 counters on that creature. If W was spent to cast Pay Homage, prevent all damage that would be dealt to that creature this turn.
Purity- If all mana spent to cast Pay Homage was the same color, copy it. You may choose new targets for the copy. (Colorless is not a color.)
When a tribe reaches a new destination, the leader pays their respects to its guardian spirit in the hopes that the land will lend them its strength and energy.
Battle Tactics
Energy Flare 3RW
Instant (C)
Energy Flare deals two damage to target creature or player. Put a +1/+1 counter on each attacking Vitrion you control.
Battle-trained Vitrion mages use flashy spells designed to spread large quantities of excess mana across the battlefield for the weary soldiers.
Third round cards (opponents Niari and Xironaxi):
Interacting with a teammate:
Emissary to the Niar 2GG
Creature- Vitrion Advisor (U)
At the beginning of your upkeep, if Emissary to the Niar has a +1/+1 counter on it, put a +1/+1 counter on target touched creature. (A creature that is enchanted or has a mana counter on it is touched.)
2/2
Excess mana Vitrion visitors absorb from the Niar is often discharged safely into the Niari.
Part of the Emerald Circle:
Spirit-Caller of the Emerald Circle 2GG
Creature- Vitrion Shaman (U)
Exhaustion 4 (This creature enters the battlefield with four +1/+1 counters on it. When it attacks or blocks, remove a +1/+1 counter from it at end of combat.)
T, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Spirit-Caller of the Emerald Circle: Target land you control becomes a 1/1 colorless Vitrion Spirit creature until end of turn. It's still a land.
Lands you control that are also creatures get +1/+1 for each +1/+1 counter on Spirit-Caller of the Emerald Circle.
0/0