Esper
From SCross
As topic noted, Archetype, no for monsters.
Descrption: They come in many shapes. Some very human, others completely alien.
Advantages:
Elemental Mastery: All Espers have a 'theme' Work with staff to decide five special skills/components. At first tier, gain the first special at five, every level after that, gain a new component/special at five, and increase existing ones by five. Repeat until all are eventually thirty(Yes, thirty).
Spirit Nature: Start play with 25 Spirit Speech
Disadvantages:
Profitable Death: If slain(By nature or by man), esper becomes magicite. Anyone holding the magicite can access your specialty components/specials at the same rating you managed to achieve in life.
Single Life: Espers do not reincarnate.
Spirit Nature: All spirit affecting magics affect espers with equal efficiency.
Other name(s): Fae
Rarity: Rare
Known Homeland: Uncommon in Forests of Drominham, Very Rare elsewhere
All espers have an Aspect. Some also have an Atwa. In truth, all espers have an Atwa, but not all have reached the maturity to realize it yet. It is a mark of honor and prestige amongst espers to be at one with one's atwa.
Aspects are covered above, it is the general theme of the abilities given to them. These tend to be very broad, like an element(fire, water, earth), emotion(love, hate), or concept(war, justice). An esper is beholden to their aspect and their place in the spiritual hierarchy is determined by it. An esper of fire is under Ifrit, the greater spirit of flames, for instance.
When an esper reaches sufficient maturity(Player's choice OR character level 10, whichever comes first), the first detail of their atwa becomes plain to them. This first level of understanding is a narrowing of their concept. That esper of fire may find that she is drawn towards artificial fires rather than natural ones.
Espers have greater control over aspects they are more finely attuned to. The esper of artificial fire could influence existing amounts of her atwa, causing a torch to burn brighter, faster, slower, dimmer, to make it dance and form shapes. She could not destroy or create the atwa. If used logically to cause harm, such applications cause 75 + Magery damage to the target(s). All such manipulations cost 2 MP.
The final level of maturity is harder to ascend to, requiring great personal power, or a vision quest(Which is to say, character level 20 or a plot to reveal the atwa. This step is also mandatory upon reaching the level). This further narrows the esper's aspect. The example esper realizes that their true atwa are the Lights of Man. They would lose control over artificial flames meant to harm or heat, like a fireplace or a flaming boulder in a catapult, but would gain increased measure of ability over lighting fires.
Such refined focus allows the esper to create and destroy their atwa at will in addition to the previous manipulations. Created objects persist permanently if valued under 20 gil, or for the scene if above. Damage increases to 100 + 2 X Magery, with one level of HL Penetration. They can also now exert control over multiple manifestations of their atwa at once, causing them all to perform the same manipulation at once. For instance, the Esper of the Light of Man could create torches for everyone present all at once, or extinguise the light of an oncoming army. MP cost remains 2 for manipulating a single manifestation. Use the chart below for multiple.
- 2: 3 MP
- 3-10: 6 MP
- 11-50: 20 MP
- 51-200: 40 MP
- 201+: 100 MP
Special Case: Sometimes the final refinement is a specific place or object. In this case the esper MUST attend to the object and apply their aspect to it. If the object is entirely destroyed, so is the esper, they are tied. As a result, such an esper loses the ability to destroy their atwa for 2 MP. Doing such costs them everything, since they will die afterwards. An esper cannot be raised unless their atwa is restored before they finish dying.
Such a powerful bond comes with powerful benefits, however. While within immediate presence of their atwa, such bound espers are at -1 difficulty to all actions. Damage potential due to manipulation remains the same but the esper can, if logical, wash it over many, causing area of effect harm without division of damage. The esper also has complete control over their atwa insofar as it does not interfere with the object's function. For instance, if the example esper was instead the Esper of The Flame of Fort Phoenix, they could use that great fire to combat invaders, or light the way, but they could not make the fire go dark, because the flame of fort phoenix would fail its task of being a beacon. If the fire were doused, the esper would have three rounds to light it, without magic, or die on the spot.
If an esper dies due to the destruction of their atwa, the atwa itself is permanently lost. The existing parts will refuse to attend their old function and are, at best, scrap. In the prior example, the fire of fort phoenix would have to be torn out of the fort, and bowl cast away and a new one created with new fuel to create a new fire.
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