Making A Galdor

So, you want to be a sorcerer!

I'm not surprised. It's a glamorous career - one that affords every galdori a lifetime of success, riches, and often fame. Magic is intoxicating in and of itself.

The galdori have long reigned over the weaker humans, wicks, and passives, bending them to their will and often employing cruel punishments for disobedience. As a galdor, you will have come from an affluent background, and been raised with the knowledge that your race is superior to all others. At age 10, you begin schooling, and that leads to 10 years of being primed to enter society as a fully realized sorcerer. Afterwards, the world is your oyster.

Pros of playing a galdor

You're rich, powerful, and probably have a really good job laid out for you. If you start as a student, your daily needs are taken care of; if you're out of school, you're most likely on the way to a lofty place in society, and you never have to toil in the fields or as much as break a sweat. The friends you make in school will last a lifetime, and you've probably got a lot of influential buddies in the government. You are feared by humans, and they show you respect, even if they don't mean it.

You also get to do magic, and excel in the field of your choice. Although magic is imperfect and not everything is known about it, a few choice spells in your repertoire won't go amiss in a crisis.

Cons of playing a galdor

You have to deal with the reality of your position sometime: you're enslaving 75% of the population of the world, forcing them to worship your gods and taking away their prosperity and happiness. You don't have as much freedom as you'd like to think - it's difficult to get permission to study abroad, and even then, your pockets are chained to the government.

Galdori are notoriously self-serving, and their alliances are usually dependent on the highest bidder; you may find your life in danger if you stand in the way of someone else's ambition.

So, if you think you want to make a galdor, read on to find out everything you'll need to include on your character sheet.

Making your character's backstory

The first thing to think about is your character's story - and for story, you need conflict!

Since most galdori are from rich families, you probably have fewer options than other races, but you can certainly be creative about it. Galdori families are not particularly close - children are removed from their parents at a young age and do not see them often. This provides some conflict for young students. Perhaps your character's parents were brilliant scientists, and your character has a lot to live up to; perhaps they were cold and distant, and your character feels lost and alone. Your character could be a low-scoring galdor and have to deal with the disdain of his peers.

For older galdori, the pressure to be ambitious is key. Maybe your character always wanted to be an explorer, but was shunted into a boring job as a clerk or secretary. Perhaps your brilliant sorcerer was sent to be the mayor of a podunk little town in Anaxas, where he is the only galdor around.

Whatever the story behind your character is, you need to have a relatively detailed backstory. Try to reconcile aspects of your galdor's personality with the events that made them who they are today. And remember, try to avoid clichés!

Your character's personality

This is the hardest part - because your character's personality is the most important aspect of their RP experience.

Are they a tortured soul? A romantic poet? A dashing explorer? A brilliant scientist? If you picked a short, simple description, great! But you're not done yet. Your character's personality has to be more detailed. Take a short, two-or-three-word description and expand upon it. Remember to make your character unique and memorable, but believable.

Is your character a nice guy, or an evil bastard, or in-between? Are they neutral? What are their values, their desires, their secret (or not-so-secret) fears? What makes them tick? How do they respond to a conflict? Are they a good, or a bad loser? What things do they like doing, and what things do they hate? These are just some of the things you should be asking yourself when creating your character's personality.

Your character might have quirks - perhaps they have a phobia, or a fetish for something, or perhaps they have an unusual hobby. Maybe they clear their throat in an unusual way. They might love to crack jokes, or be so somber that they never smile. They might be something of an ace at cards - maybe they cheat a little more than they should. Perhaps magic has twisted them into insanity! The possibilities are endless.

Remember to keep your character's backstory in mind - someone who grew up in an abusive home might have intimacy issues, while someone who graduated top of his class might be a little full of themselves.

And remember - flaws are just as important as positive traits! A perfect character might be fun to fantasize about, but they're boring to play and to read about, and people will forget you.

Fleshing out your character

Your character will need a description. Try to be detailed, but not too detailed - if something is supposed to catch the eye, be sure to point it out. If you're totally lost, here are some typical galdori traits:

  • Galdori often have paler skin - as aristocrats, they don't get tan, unless they are some type of explorer or field agent. If your character is a descendant of someone from another country (esp. Mugroba), they might have darker skin. Be aware that paler skin is seen as an attractive feature and darker-skinned galdori are perceived as uncultured.
  • Galdori in general tend to have almond-shaped eyes and reddish hair, from centuries of restricted breeding. Other hair colors and eye shapes are acceptable, however. Black hair is also common; blonde hair is uncommon and blondes are perceived as slow.
  • Eye colors are across the board. It is worth noting that galdori can have yellowish eyes as well as the normal colors. This yellow tint is only found in the magical community. No weird-shaped pupils or anything, though.
  • Galdori women like to grow their hair long - short hair is for servants.
  • Galdori men often have neatly trimmed facial hair. Full beards are uncommon.

Here are some things you may not include:

  • Pointy ears. No one in Vita has pointy ears. Sorry.
  • Wings, antennae, etc. Galdori are a human-based population.
  • "Magical" tattoos, markings, or jewelry - it is impossible to imbue an object with magical energy, seeing as there is no such thing. Magic is created and controlled by the mona, not the galdori, and is rarely permanent. The mona would never transfer power to an object or a marking.

A tip: try not to fall into clichés. I know, deep down, it's really tempting to make a huge hunk with rippling muscles or a sexy female with perfect curves and eyes like deep pools of whatever, but your character is unique only if you make them so. A memorable character will have flaws, both physical and otherwise.

Choosing inventory for your character

Discretion is absolutely key for this part of the process. You may have anything within reason - meaning you have to adhere to the setting, your character's economic background, and, well, reality. It would be difficult for an explorer to carry around a grand piano, for example.

Some examples of good inventory items for galdori:

  • Walking sticks, canes, or lanterns
  • Jewelry, like necklaces, rings or bracelets (male galdori wear these too)
  • Mounts - please see the Bestiary for information on rideable creatures
  • Books - grims, fiction novels, etc

If your character is the owner of a boat or an aeroship (you will need permission to own these things), you will also include this in his/her inventory, along with the name of the vessel.

You may not have any "magical objects." There is no such thing as a magical object. Some objects have short-term spells put on them, but they do not last forever. Magical "energy" does not exist - if you are confused, please research how magic works in Vita! The exception would be a seer stone, which allows a seer to track an individual - these have enchantments that last quite a long time, because they are forged by the mona, not galdori.

If you're a creative person and want to have a special style of clothing your character wears, great! I totally encourage that. In fact, if you'd like to draw your character, you can post your image in your character journal. If you'd like a reference for the typical fashions in Anaxas, please visit the Anaxi Fashion page, which lists some typical fashions for all races. Please keep in mind that galdori tend to wear warm colors - rich reds, oranges and purples.

A galdor's career

As a galdor, your first instinct might be "magic magic magic!" You may wish to start at the absolute top of the tier, as a high-level instructor or a politician. However, being lower on the tier has its own, unique advantages. Playing a student, or a new graduate, or even a child who has just passed his initiation test, you have whole storylines open to you that may not be open to those closer to the top. Remember - all galdori are the elite of society, and hold high-level positions of power. No toiling in the field for you!

Some of your options, in a nutshell - you are not limited to these, of course.

  • Academic - student, teacher, inventor, scientist, librarian
  • Magical - magister, seer
  • Religious - acolyte, priest, conductor of ceremonies, Everine
  • Political - clerk, ambassador, lawmaker, member of the Chair, Headmaster, King/Queen
  • Law Enforcement - member of the Seventen, judge, lawyer
  • Adventurer - explorer, tomb raider, cartographer, spy
  • Medical - doctor, healer
  • Economic - banker, treasurer (also political), tax collector
  • Artistic - musician, painter, sculptor, etc.
  • If you wish to start as a student, there are no prerequisites except with year. If you're starting as a child, you don't need to know diddly squat, but a fifth-year student should have a passable knowledge of magic; any older than fifteen and your student will have already chosen his future profession and have a working knowledge of it.
  • If you wish to start as a teacher, you must first pick a type of magic to specialize in. Choose carefully. If we have too many of these positions taken already we might delay your request until another teacher retires. Being a teacher is complicated and involves a lot of knowledge of magic which you can't simply "look up" when the need arises. As a teacher you'll be expected to TEACH, not merely enjoy the status of doing so; you will conduct your own threads with students, both player and NPC, and expect to set difficult questions for them.
  • One cannot start a high-level politician character - you must run an RP campaign and be elected by the Headmaster and the Chairs. You can, of course, start as a clerk; ambassador is also available with permission.
  • If you would like to start with a position in society, first check the Yellow Pages to see if someone has already chosen that position. If we have five bankers and only one bank, you might want to see about picking another career.
  • If you want to start an adventurer character, go right ahead, but be prepared to spend a lot of time away from major cities.
  • All characters starting in the religious career must begin as an acolyte - the only exception is made for senior players. Religion is incredibly powerful and you must prove yourself before being allowed into its hallowed halls...or something.

Your character's goals

Everybody has something they want out of life. Galdori, although raised to take on positions of power, do not always desire it! Remember to base your character's goals on their personality and backstory. Perhaps they want to be Headmaster someday; maybe they desire nothing more than to sit around playing the lute. Maybe they want to get married to a nice galdori woman and have lods of baby galdori. They could even have a modest goal - open their own shop, perhaps, or travel. The government tries to make every galdor into a powerful, influential citizen, but they won't stop a galdor from living the quiet life if he or she wants to.

Try to form a short list of greater goals for your character, and break the list down into short-term goals. For example, if they want to become Headmaster, they should first want to get a government job; then they could aspire to a promotion, and spend their time sucking up to people in power. A goal moves the RP forward and gives you something to focus on.