Paradigmatics
| Paradigmatics can also be crassly called "chaos magic". The basic foundation of Paradigmatics is the ability to alter one's very own beliefs to trigger certain magical effects. Paradigmatic practitioners can believe anything and everything depending on their goals. For example, it may suit them to believe that the sky is green one day and thus magical effects that may result from a green sky may occur around them (such as green rain). However, this is a very volatile branch of magic and many effects end up being unexpected (or random). Finally, victims of paradigm shifts could suffer temporary insanity. Temporary insanity stacks on top of regular insanity. |
| Skill | Learned At | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Initiation | Master+0% | Redefine reality and thus sanity as an Initiate. |
| Enthrall | Master+33% | Love is a many splendered thing which can be manipulated. |
| Revelations | Master+66% | Reveal new forms of reality to challenge others. |
| Flux | Gifted+0% | Let reality flux to hold your enemies in your location. |
| BadLuck | Gifted+50% | Plague someone with a most extreme bout of bad luck. |
| Figment | Expert+0% | Create a figment of your imagination to send to another. |
| ChaoteSign | Expert+33% | This mystic symbol will help protect you from harm. |
| GreyWhispers | Expert+66% | Send grey whispers to plague the minds of enemies. |
| EyeSnare | Virtuoso+0% | Snare the eyes of your enemies by tweaking reality. |
| GoodLuck | Virtuoso+25% | You can create your own good luck. |
| Polarity | Virtuoso+50% | Your strength is in your mind and vice versa. |
| Reimagination | Virtuoso+75% | Reimagine another person for good or ill. |
| Gnosis | Fabled+0% | A gnostic state that strengthens spiritual fortitude. |
| Reality | Fabled+25% | The ultimate in shifting reality will cause destabilization. |
| VisionFlux | Fabled+50% | Allow others to see the visions of your own reality. |
| Truename | Fabled+75% | Learn the truename of a rival to control their destiny. |
| ChaosAura | Mytical+0% | Exude a chaotic aura to disturb reality. |
| EntropicBlade | Mythical+0% | More entropy can't be bad? Right? |
| Fusion | Mythical+25% | Fuse your heart, mind and body together into a single whole. |
| Snafu | Mythical+50% | Situation Normal, All Fragged Up - for your enemies. |
| Illumination | Mythical+75% | Your own personal illumination is deadly to others. |
| Butterfly | Transcendent+0% | Create a chaos butterfly and send on a visit to another. |
Initiation
Once you have been initiated into the mysteries of shifting paradigms, sanity becomes a matter of perception. You will be better equipped to handle insanity than those who are still bound by outmoded perceptions of reality.
Enthrall
| Syntax |
| SHIFT ENTHRALL SHIFT ENTHRALLED |
Shift the perceptions of those around you so that any enemy who loves you (or is in lust with you) or is engaged by you will find it difficult to leave your presence. You can also view those who are desperately lusting after you with the latter ability.
Revelation
| Syntax |
| SHIFT REVELATIONS <target> |
Your perception of reality is shaped by your own will. By revealing how you perceive reality to others, you can test their sanity. Subjects will no doubt become temporarily insane.
Flux
| Syntax |
| SHIFT FLUX |
By fluxing reality in the location, you will cause any enemy to leave your location to suffer from temporary insanity. Further, there is a chance they will turn around and not be able to leave.
BadLuck
| Syntax |
| SHIFT BADLUCK <target> |
| Power: 3 (Eternal Flame) |
By imagining the worst possible events that could plague your target, you can manifest that into reality, plaguing your victim with bad luck.
Figment
| Syntax |
| SHIFT FIGMENT <target> <illusion> |
Create a figment of the imagination and embed it in another. That person will see your figment three times. A person may only carry one figment at a time.
ChaoteSign
| Syntax |
| SHIFT CHAOTESIGN [ACTIVATE] |
| Power: 2 (Eternal Flame) Damage Modifier: 2/8 universal damage resistance |
By drawing this arcane symbol on your forehead you will gain a 2/8 universal damage resistance. The chaote sign upon your brow will charge each time you are attacked. After a dozen strikes, it will be fully charged, allowing you to activate a flare of energy that completely absorbs damage from the next strike that hits you. An unused charge will fade 10 seconds after it reaches its peak; an activated charge will fade on the next hit or after 30 seconds, whichever comes sooner.
GreyWhispers
| Syntax |
| SHIFT GREYWHISPERS <target> |
| Power: 3 (Eternal Flame) |
There are constant whispers that manifest from the grey static behind reality. Opening up the mind of another to those whispers will cause madness.
Changelog
- Paradigmatics Greywhispers will now afflict temp-insanity before giving a random mental affliction (so the mental affliction from greywhipsers doesn't increase the tempinsanity via #Badluck) (#2560 on 2021-Nov-21)
EyeSnare
| Syntax |
| SHIFT EYESNARE |
By tweaking reality just slightly in your location, your enemies will have a slight chance of being distracted and losing an action. If they are so distracted by what they see out of the corner of their eyes, they will suffer some temporary insanity.
GoodLuck
| Syntax |
| SHIFT GOODLUCK |
By surrounding yourself with the best possible luck, you will notice that you are more likely to receive critical hits than otherwise.
Polarity
| Syntax |
| SHIFT POLARITY [BUFF|RESIST] <damage type> <damage type> SHIFT POLARITY OFF |
You may switch damage type affected by all buffs of the given types. Any buffs or resistances which would affect the first damage type, will now affect the second damage type, and vice versa.
Thus, for example, if you have a total of 5/10 fire buff and 7/10 cold buff, selecting BUFF FIRE COLD will make it 7/10 fire buff and 5/10 cold buff.
Reimagination
| Syntax |
| SHIFT REIMAGINATION <target> <type> [PLUS|MINUS] |
| Power: 3 (Eternal Flame) |
This powerful ability can be either a blessing or a curse. You can reimagine another person, changing their maximum health, mana, ego or offensive universal buffs either positively or negatively by 4 factors. Only one stat on any person can be reimagined and it will last only a short time.
Gnosis
| Syntax |
| SHIFT GNOSIS |
By raising your own consciousness, you can achieve a higher spiritual state, which will offer resistance to some spiritual afflictions, such as healthleech, manabarbs, warpedaura, pacifism, disloyalty or succumb.
Reality
| Syntax |
| SHIFT REALITY |
| Power: 5 (Eternal Flame) |
The ultimate in paradigm shifting is altering reality to the point where the physical location is affected. This powerful spell may -not- be cast on the prime material plane nor can it be cast on aether manses or ships. The shifting of reality is indiscriminate, affecting the caster and allies as well as enemies and neutral bystanders. Upon casting, there is a chance it will fling others in the room into another room in the local area (though there is a small chance it will fling a person into the astral plane regardless of where they are). Further, while reality has shifted in the room cast, there is a chance that anyone entering or exiting the room will be flung into a random room in the local area (or possibly the astral plane).
VisionFlux
| Syntax |
| SHIFT VISIONFLUX |
| Power: 6 (Eternal Flame) |
You can cause your enemies to see brief glimpses of your own personal visions that shape your own unique reality. These visions will cause insanity as well as mental diseases. The use is dangerous as your max ego and mana will be halved while the visionflux is active.
TrueName
| Syntax |
| SHIFT TRUENAME <target> |
| Damage Modifier: 1/8 universal increase |
Every person bears a true name, which is hidden even from one's own self. Discovering the truename of a person is very traumatic to that individual, physically, emotionally and psychically. If the victim's temporary insanity is at least moderate, the truename will be revealed. Regardless of whether you are able to receive the truename or not, your target will suffer a brief blackout. You can hold the truename of only one individual. While holding the truename of a person, any damage you do to that person will be increased.
ChaosAura
| Syntax |
| SHIFT CHAOSAURA ON/OFF |
| Power: 10 (Eternal Flame) (to enable) |
By drawing upon your chaotic perception of reality, you can create an aura of gibbering madness and bind it around your hands. Warrior weapons, and Transmology Flay, Crush, and Claw attacks will have a chance to cause insanity.
Furthermore, warrior weapons will have 1/6 of their attacks will be converted to psychic damage.
EntropicBlade
| Syntax |
| SHIFT ENTROPICBLADE |
| Power: 3 (Eternal Flame) Must have ChaosAura up |
For the next 5 rounds*, you will deal two random afflictions per round.
Possible Afflictions: Confusion, Paranoia, Hallucinations, Stupidity, Addiction, Anorexia.
*Two Handers will deal two afflictions per strike, One Handers will deal one affliction per strike, for a total of 10 afflictions.
This effect can only be maintained for 5 minutes without using it.
Fusion
| Syntax |
| SHIFT FUSION ON/OFF |
By fusing your heart, mind and body into one whole, you will find that 20% of the time your body is harmed, your mana or ego will absorb the damage instead of your health. Fusion is costly to maintain as your mana and ego will constantly be drained to upkeep the fusion.
| Syntax |
| SHIFT SNAFU |
| Power: 5 (Eternal Flame) |
You can envision the worst possible outcomes for all your enemies, and embed that reality in the room you are in. This will cause bad luck for all enemies in the location.
Illumination
| Syntax |
| SHIFT ILLUMINATION <target> |
| Power: 8 (Eternal Flame) |
Every master of shifting paradigms creates their own personal reality which brings with it a unique illumination or enlightenment. While this is of great spiritual import to the individual, it can be deadly when pondered by anyone else. If you have a person's truename and if their temporary insanity is massive, they will immediately die upon being so illuminated.
Butterfly
| Syntax |
| SHIFT BUTTERFLY <target> [<direction>] |
| Power: variable (Eternal Flame) Disease: 2 power |
Could the fluttering of a butterfly's wings in the Tolborolla Valley raise a sandstorm in the Skarch Desert? Such is the capricious and precarious nature of the multiverse where the repercussions of one small event can have unpredictable and momentous consequence. By manifesting the butterfly, the symbol that embraces the nature of chaos theory, you can send it towards one other so long as he or she is within your line of sight. The results will be extremely volatile and unpredictable and could even backfire on the caster.
The power taken by this chaotic skill will vary wildly from use to use. When the butterfly lands on its target, it will attempt to manifest a power and will only be able to do so if it can draw the energy from you. The costs are shown below: