Guns for Hire Magical Mechanics

A page for the magical mechanics of Guns for Hire

The Four Courts of Magic

So how's this 'Four Courts' thing influence magic?'

The four courts are the founding forces of magic, be it draconic, human or otherwise. The courts are tied to the seasons, being Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. In general, each court is inclined towards a general concept-Spring to growth, Summer to heat, Autumn to decay, Winter to cold. As one may surmise, some courts oppose others (Summer and Winter, Spring and Autumn) while non-conflicting courts can synergize (Spring with Summer or Winter, Autumn with Summer or Winter).

One cannot cast magic lacking a courtly bias if using a Bloodline or any other non-innate form of magic (See Chakra Manipulation for non-courtly magical endeavors). Thanks to this, the interactions of the four courts are integral to understanding how different practitioner's magics will work together or against one another. In general, it is hardest to harm a magic user with the same magic they use-Summer court based mages are hardest to hurt with Summer magic, Autumn with Autumn. While opposed courts do maximal harm to one another, most mages try to avoid directly pitting opposed courts against one another-it's rather easy to have a magical chain reaction that slays both fighters in such contests. The most common form of magical combat, where the courts are concerned, is to either attack someone with a Court other than their own, or the court they are opposed to (Spring or Autumn on a Winter bloodline, for example). This gets more complicated with Dual Bloodline opponents, as unless they have opposed court bloodlines they will not HAVE a court that is neither opposed to them nor the same as the ones they use. Another solution is to use internal manipulation magic to avoid directly pitting opposed or similar magics against one another.

It must be noted that Dragons are considered the dominant force where it comes to manipulating the four Courts. Because Dragons frequently have at least one bloodline of each court, there is no way to attack them where they will not have the same court to defend with, and there is no way to avoid them having the particular court you are opposed to ready to sling in one's face. This is one of the many reasons Dragons are left to their devices.

I remember something about the Courts being fae things-how's that work in GfH?'

The Courts are more than just how all bloodlines are classified-they are a classification system for non-draconic magical creatures large and small, and is the basis of the five Fae Courts. There is one for each season, with Summer and Winter being heavily dominated by Gaelic Fae while the Spring and Autumn courts are dominated by Eurasian Fae. In addition to each seasonal court, there is a fifth, 'Wyld' Court that governs the creatures that manage to exist without having a Courtly orientation. It is by far the smallest group, and commonly is not part of any major gatherings of the other Courts, due in no small part to the hands-off approach the Wyld Court's ruler, the Erlking, manages his 'empire'.

In general, any Fae being that encounters a mortal who's magic is of the same court will be friendly, while one of the opposed court will be met with more hostility. In the case of a dual bloodliner with opposed courts, how they are received is dependent entirely on their accomplishments and endorsements of other Courtly beings.

Okay-so how about some examples of how to abuse this?

A Summer bloodline external Fire Manipulator faces a dual bloodline Spring and Winter practitioner. Despite the danger, it would be most tactically beneficial to still ply the explosive energy of opposed courts clashing, in the hope of avoiding the chance the dual bloodline foe will overwhelm them.

Chakra

What the fuck is Chakra?

Chakras are an internal energy system, present in all ensouled living beings (and some that aren't) that is not naturally useful for many that have the capacity to use it, humans among them, and requires practice or intervention to render useable. Chakra is both the name of the energy itself, and the name of that which emits this energy-points within one's body that are linked to Soul, deriving an offshoot of soul energy from this connection.

There are seven Chakras in the body, largely synonymous with the Hindu belief of placement within the body, running from the top of the skull to the base of the spine. Each chakra produces energy that can be differentiated from that originating from any other individual chakra, but the difference is small enough it is not passively visible to students of chakra manipulation.

Chakras can be opened variable amounts, and it's ability to do so is commonly referred to dilation, in reference to the commonalities between how chakras 'focus' to different output levels, and how eyes 'focus' to differing environmental conditions.

How the fuck do you use Chakras

An arrangement of energy from one's Chakras into a cohesive, practically usable system, is called a Chakra Orientation. Orientations can be found in all sorts of forms-and even when someone learns another person's particular Orientation, will not perfectly replicate it. Each person's known Chakra Orientations are, in at least small ways, unique. It is through Chakra Orientations that one applies their knowledge and understanding of Chakra to themselves and the world around them. In general, the more complex an orientation and/or the more exaggerated it's effects, the more energy intensive it is to run.

It must be made clear that Chakra orientations are, in a way, self-perpetuating. That is, once you have entered an orientation, you can actually alter the degree of dilation or contraction of any chakras, and it will merely alter the performance of the Orientation. In effect, you are sliding between different but nearly identical versions of the same general form of Chakra Orientation, but as you are quite limited in the degree of change possible, this is commonly judged to simply be an example of how one can customize a given Orientation's performance.

Each Chakra Orientation has a 'natural' state, somewhat unique to each user. This is the precise amount of energy and chakra dilation involved in each of the seven chakras, and is something akin to a fingerprint for each given Orientation. Any use of chakra energy to push an Orientation ABOVE this default state through dilating one's chakras for increased output is called 'Overcharging'. Any use of chakra energy to lower an Orientation BELOW this default state through contracting one's chakras is called 'Undercharging'.

One is not limited to a single Chakra Orientation, and is able to freely switch between them. For most chakra practitioners, attempts to switch Orientation mid-battle would be doomed to failure, as the process is too time-consuming. One must have masterful skill in several fields of chakra use and/or have chakras capable of dilating to levels that take decades of training to reach.

Besides switching Orientations, one can attempt to run multiple Orientations at once-simply termed 'Multi-Orientation'. This is considered more-so unreachable for those that are not dedicated scholars of chakra, people that exhaustively study difficult problems rather than simple dabblers or beginning apprentices in their first handful of years. Running a Multi-Orientation consumes energy faster than the sum amount that would be consumed by each individual Orientation being used. That is, Multi-Orientation will always be more energy-demanding than attempting to do the same thing with a singular, flexible Orientation. Successfully running a stable Multi-Orientation for a period measured in something more than seconds is in many cultures and organizations considered one of the requisites to be given a title such as 'Master', insofar as Chakra Manipulation is concerned.

Okay-so how does Chakra manipulation actually work, then?

Chakra manipulation 'works' by one either forgoing learning the mechanics and simply being taught new Orientations by a suitable mentor as necessary, or by having sufficient knowledge of chakra's mechanics to construct new Orientations themselves. The following is critical information to such experimenters.

There are some common associations tied to these 'classes' of Chakra energy. In general, the two LOWER chakras in the body are more suited to stabilizing and defensive magics, the three chakras in the MIDDLE are more suited to offensive/mobility/flexibility/evasion/support magics, and the top two chakras are more suited to detection/illusions/mental magics. These are not hardline principles-one can fully use lower body chakras for a mental chakra application-these generalities are about what on average each chakra is most naturally suited to.

Just as all energy emitted from a specific chakra shares certain observable commonalities, so too does all energy emitted at the same degree of dilation share commonalities. It is these two sets of shared traits, those unique to each of the seven chakras, and those unique to each level of energy output, that are the basis of all in-depth chakra analysis.

Just as each chakra has varying affinities, each level of output, be it Overcharge or Underchage, share commonalities-and these commonalities manifest in their application. The more Overcharged a given chakra application is compared to it's user's 'default' state, the rougher the magic will feel. It will be less inclined to properly function where grace, restraint and precision is required while most certainly excelling where brute force it the primary goal. Undercharging, on the other hand, is largely the opposite-it has atrocious performance when forced to directly square against forces, but excels when applied to uses that rely in indirect application, and either evade or absorb offending attacks.

Chakra energy does not persist statically. However, it also does not fade rapidly. Once chakra energy has been invested in something, it will take between a few minutes to an hour for a given batch of chakra energy to fade, with energy invested in the environment, rather than in a body, fading much faster. This fading can be accelerated by performing something called a Chakra Flush. As the name implies, this means 'flushing' the chakra energy from one's body swiftly-and is considered a vital skill for any combat applications of chakra.

The reason one flushes Chakra energy is simple: While energy from a previous Orientation persists in the body, any further orientations will be hindered by the conflicting energy until it finishes dissipating. However as long as one's new orientation does not involve investing energy in the body, or the same parts of the body, there is no need in flush, as it would only result in the destruction of the lingering benefits of the prior orientation.

What is the scale for chakra progression?

So what's it look like for a normal dude to learn how to manipulate Chakra, as presented on the following scale:

[Know-Nothing]<[Amateur-Dabbler]<[Apprentice]<[Cadet]<[Journeyman]<[Adept]<[Expert]<[Master]<[Grandmaster]<[Everyone-Step-Back-I-Got-This]

Assuming that this individual is spending six hours a day learning how to manipulate Chakra from someone that is trained in its use, they will learn, on average, like this. Please note it is assumed this training is never skipped, for the purposes of the example. Also note that this scale assumes specialization-by that, a distinction of whether the practitioner uses external or internal manipulation, offensive, defensive or supportive magics. There are many possible combinations that can come together to form one's specialization in Chakra Manipulation, such as 'Internal Chakra Manipulation focused on manipulating health and illness.' or 'External Chakra Manipulation of kinetic energy manipulation'. Traditionally, one is not considered to even have a specialization until at least an Adept.

The first week or two will be occupied getting the person able to even enter an Orientation, and it will take them a day to do so the first few times. This can be considered an 'awakening' period, as growth does pick up after here... for a while.

The first month after a successful application of a Chakra Orientation will be occupied expanding one's familiarity with that first Orientation, and getting the user able to enter this Orientation more smoothly. In theory, by the end of this month, a normal person will be able to enter their initial Orientation in six to ten hours, and is expected able to sustain this Orientation stably for at least a day, barring directly disruptive influence. This would be considered the moment the student has learned enough they are no longer a dabbler, and are considered an [Apprentice].

To reach the next level of understanding, [Cadet], usually takes between two and five months-and observes a reverse bell curve: Predominately people either learn it rather easily and finish in two to three months, or have trouble, and take four to five months. Very few fall between three and four months. At this point, the individual is assumed to know at least five Orientations, and be able to switch orientations within two hours. Further, the individual is expected to now have a grasp of the 'Overcharge' principle, if not anything resembling mastery. At this level, they are expected able to utilize their understanding of chakra in live combat, and not just in the less hectic conditions of a training environment. Such a student is still not considered versed enough to teach.

To become a [Journeyman] usually takes a year, and is largely a period of refining existing knowledge. A key trait of a Journeyman is the ability to perceive one's own chakratic energy as it flows through their body. To this end, it is rare to expect one to know more Chakra Orientations as a Journeyman than as a Cadet-however, it is perfectly reasonable to expect that Journeyman to more fully understand how to apply each of those known chakras. In particular, a Journeyman is expected able to accurately estimate and subsequently use only as much Overcharge on an Orientation as is necessary, as opposed to the clumsy attempts of a Cadet. A journeyman can switch Orientations in less than a half hour. Journeyman is the rank one normally would have to reach to be allowed to teach in any form.

[Adept]s are when one's knowledge of Chakra fundamentals is considered solid enough to prepare the student for learning of it's more esoteric and advanced uses. Adepts are able to switch chakra orientations in less than ten minutes. To this end, one spends nine months to a year and a half learning between five and ten new chakras-and learning how to use them with equal skill to those already known, and to do so with minimal direction from a mentor. At the same time, the student learns how to Undercharge chakras, a lesson purposefully omitted until now as without incredibly stable control of one's Orientation, an Undercharged Orientation becomes worthless. Once one has demonstrated the ability to accurately estimate how to properly use a new chakra, in terms of use in actual combat and applying overcharge and undercharge alike, they are considered to be an Adept.

To become an [Expert] is a long and arduous process. In point of fact, most students of Chakra without something driving them to push themselves will stay at the rank of Adept forever. It takes at least five years, usually closer to a decade for an Adept to have gained enough experience to become an Expert. At this point, they are assumed to know approximately fifty Chakra Orientations, and are expected to be able to switch chakras within five seconds. It is Experts and above who are able to switch Orientations swiftly enough to do so in battle. Experts are also expected to have learned how to differentiate between energy from each of the seven chakras, and assess what output level the chakra was at when making the energy-even when analyzing chakra energy in another person's body. The last trait expected in an Expert is the knowledge of how to perform a Multi-Orientation, if not the ability to apply it in combat.

[Masters] and those rare few above them are rare-it takes legitimate talent or considerable extenuating circumstances for an 'average' person to reach this rank. The single largest defining trait is that a Master can, if they choose, use Multi-Orientation with sufficient competence to apply it in battle if they so chose. A master can change chakra orientations in under a second, barely needs to think to render a given Orientation at precisely the desired Over or Undercharge level in a split instant, has learned how to perform all manner of Chakra Flushing, and is usually attained some twenty to thirty years after becoming an expert.

What are Grandmasters like? What of the final category you ask?

Well frankly humans don't enter either often enough for averages of any sort to even exist.

What makes Bloodlines different from Chakra Manipulation?

Bloodlines are something one is born with, uses immense personal talent with magic to self-generate, or is gifted one by a God, Wizard or Dragon, completely different from Chakra's 'everyone is capable if they try' format. Chakra manipulation, while effectively infinitely flexible given enough time and practice, is ultimately an inefficient use of one's spiritual power. Bloodlines forgo this fundamental inefficiency, and for equivalent amounts of time invested will always overpower Chakra manipulation by a nearly-insurmountable amount. This is why in general, Bloodline users drastically outperform chakra users. There are far less Bloodline users than there are Chakra manipulators-but there is nothing that prevents a Bloodline user from learning chakra manipulation as well-and many do so. Another point that applies to all forms of Bloodlines is that one can have one or two bloodlines-but no more. Dragons are the only known beings to violate this limit, with most dragons having four or more.

Soul

What the fuck is Soul manipulation magic?

Soul manipulation magic is ultimately everything that chakra manipulation in it's totality strives for. Unlike chakra manipulation, which plies the power of one's soul filtered through natural gates-chakras-within the body, soul manipulation magic directly uses your soul as a whole-or other souls, depending on format. Like all bloodline formats, Soul Manipulation is divided into three categories: Internal, External and Hybrid. In general, the most common soul manipulation format is internal, followed by hybrid, with purely external soul manipulation being exceedingly rare in an already relatively uncommon bloodline class. This focus directs both what is used as a power source for magic, and what one is able to target for manipulation. Internal purists use their own soul's energy to alter itself-a very recursively oriented ability, often excelling in disquise, impersonation and at sufficient levels of mastery crude simulation of other internal bloodline abilities through sufficiently advances soul sculpting. Soul Sculpting, along with Soul Binding and Soul Breaking, is one of, and in fact the most prevalent, of the three principles on which all soul manipulation is based. Soul Sculpting is the act of reshaping a soul to change its properties, and potentially the properties of its host vessel. Soul Binding is the act of imposing rules, conquering and/or enslaving Souls in a lasting manner-such bindings are not able to be Soul Sculpted away, and in fact cannot be undone without the assistance of a Master of Soul Manipulation that specializes in Soul Binding. Soul Breaking, as the name implies, is the act of breaking a soul-but this does not only mean permanently rendering a soul broken. One can either use the fragments of a broken soul, or break off fragments of a healthy soul to create new Souls-a trick that falls under the hat of Soul Breaking. Soul Breaking is by far the most uncommon aspect of soul manipulation to be used, and is the hardest to find reference material on-and attempting self study is one of the most dangerous acts a student of magic could ever dream of attempting.

How the fuck do you use Soul Manipulation?

While one can, to a degree, use it's 'little brother' Chakra Manipulation to experiment with some measure of safety, the same cannot be said of Soul Manipulation. Due to how easily it can alter the seat of consciousness, it can very easily cause irreparable harm if one is unaware of what they are doing. With Soul Magic, more than any other type of magic, it is imperative to do as little experimentation as is necessary, and always strive to learn of what happened when others tried such a thing, if one is to have a prosperous career.

Flesh

What are the types of Flesh Manipulation and how do they differ?

ALL fleshcrafting is based on manipulating tissue. Each flesh manipulator has an affinity for one of the following groups moreso than the others, and it is this affinity which sets the tone for their abilities. The categories are Muscle, Connective, Nervous and Epithelial tissue.

Tissue	Rank
Muscle	2-3-3
Connective	3-1-4
Nervous	4-2-1
Epithelial	1-4-2

Ranked, from 1 for best to 4 for worst, in terms of how much innate material there is for people at assorted levels of expertise. Please note that Muscle and Connective tissue focuses in general progress faster than Connective and Epithelial focus.

• Most Internal, martially orientated fleshcrafters go with some mixture of Nervous, and muscle or connective. Most don't really try for glandular funtimes the preference is usually to simply cave a skull in one hit and be done.
• Focusing on nervous tissue or epithelial tissue in general requires a larger knowledge of biology as well as outside fields to properly utilize.
• Nervous gets rather gimped glandular control compared to epithelial, and epithelial gets rather incomplete nervous control.
• Beginning nervous tissue focused fleshcrafting would be naturally inducing positive neural plasticity on command-with a goodly headache afterward from the blood flow fun resulting from it's use. When I say this, I mean it would 'sharpen the mind' in a manner not unlike a strong cup of coffee and a slap in the face.
• Fleshcrafting epithelial focused students learn on day one how to reset drug tolerance, or otherwise moderate it. It's kind of a fundamental skill. Even for the brain, since fleshcrafting's gotten REALLY good at building filters in the sack around the brain and in the blood vessels leading to it. So-strictly no, not the brain, not as a beginning student. But all the paths something can take to REACH the brain, yes. This does exempt glands already in the brain, obviously.
• Beginning Musclecrafting students learn how to localize muscle changes-render an arm wholly one type of muscle, for example. The ability at face value is not as useful as what one can initially learn with other focuses, but with sufficient skill is exceptionally versatile in it's application.
• New Connective tissue focused students of flesh manipulation will learn how to render joint dislocation completely harmless in both the short and long term, reinforce joints and increase flexibility. Similar to Muscle focused flesh manipulation, these initial teachings require skill to use properly
• Out of all four formats, Muscle tissue focus leads to the greatest raw gains in general regenerative ability as a result of this focus involving working with comparatively more mass than the other focuses.
• Out of all four Connective tissue allows one to become the most efficient at healing large wounds involving limb-loss, and can render such things far less costly or time consuming to regenerate.
• As something of a balance for their innate lack of sufficient higher level function compared to mastery of Nervous tissue or epithelial, Muscle and Connective focuses will always have greater regenerative ability than their otherwise focused peers.
• Out of all four formats, Nervous tissue focus allows one the most resilient fleshcrafting-based defense against mental attacks, and the fastest reflexes.
• Out of all potential forms of organ grafting and the act's impact on flesh manipulation, Glands are the easiest thing to integrate possible of organ grafting, and as such Epithelial focus is the most suited to
• Epithelial will never make you as strong as muscle focus-will never make your joints as monstrously enduring and flexible as connective, or your brain/reflexes as sharp as nervous focus-that's a fact, for equal levels of skill.
• Connective Tissue also means that, once you learn external flesh manipulation, having a pretty easy time fucking other people's joints on contact. Including monsters.
• Muscle, manipulate their muscles, move them like a puppet.
• Nervous, enjoy randomizing (and at higher levels) controlling their senses.
• Epithelial, their glands are yours, and can be rewritten to new functions.
• Nervous control would arguably control pain better than glandular, which would chemically mask the signals, whereas nervous would just handle the signals differently.
• The realm of poisons, caustics, paralytics and toxins is wholly dominated, with fleshcrafting, by epithelial focused fleshcrafters.