Snallac
King of ze Snails
So, all the IC info you need to know is on the first post in the IC tab. I'll give you the lowdown on Shaper society, though.
Shapers have ruled the entirety of their current empire for two-hundred years. Before that, they were systematically conquering everything from east to west for about five-hundred years. It took them awhile, because they had to put down rebellions from their newly-conquered provinces constantly until cultural assimilation was safely underway, so they could start conquering anew, but they managed it due to their biotech, the secrets to which they hoarded fiercely, so no-one else could use it against them. It helps that anything magic related requires crazy focus to learn safely, much less use effectively, especially creating living beings that you then have to focus on controlling mentally whenever they get riled up, lest they go crazy and eat you.
Shapers also control access to regular magic, though they let outsiders learn that stuff, as long as they have permission from a Shaper. Some things are banned, though. Necromancy and demon-summoning, that kinda thing, mostly. That kinda shit, and the occasional insane Shaper who fucks all sorts of shit up, allows the rest of Shaper society to justify their extreme control over magic and Shaping, because if it isn't controlled, look at all the horrible shit that happens. In particular, any outsider who tries to Shape illegally is put down with extreme prejudice. A rogue Shaper is bad, but an outsider who wasn't deemed focused enough and loyal enough to the Shaper doctrine to qualify as a Shaper prospective learning how to create life? Ho boy.
Shaper society is sort of fragmented into castes based on what you are, since Shapers can create creations to handle all the boring menial shit. Specifically, the Shapers created a humanoid slave race, known as the Serviles, to serve them. They're basically humans, but with loyalty to the Shapers and the propensity to physical labor built into them, to make them willing slaves, for the most part. They always have huge noses and wear robes, so people can tell they're Serviles. Rogue Serviles are a thing, and they aren't stupid, just uneducated. Then there's servant minds, who are essentially brains with faces, rendered completely immobile, cause the Shapers are super paranoid about rogue creations. It essentially goes, Shapers = ruling class, researchers and bio-engineers, humans = merchants, craftsmen and creation caretakers, Serviles = slaves and serfs, Servant Minds = administrators and living computers. The Shapers also have a lot of non-sentient creations that are more animalistic, for combat and such. I'm not going to list them all here, I'll just describe them as we go along. In particular, though, there are batons, these organic, rod-like creatures that shoot envenomed thorns - the biotech equivalent of a gun, as well as plant-things that live inside doors to move them, so the Shapers can have sliding doors.
Everyone is tested during their childhood for capacity to focus and loyalty to the Shapers to see if they have what is takes to be a Shaper, and if they do, they're swept away to a Shaper academy to start their rigorous training. Shapers have to learn to hold the magical energy used in shaping, known as essence, within them to use as needed, without having it destroy them from the inside out. Normal wizards have to learn to store magical energy too, but a less lethal sort. Shaper prospectives also have to learn all about biology and anatomy and normal magic, as well as be indoctrinated in the Shaper creed. If they aren't booted out before they graduate for being too sympathetic towards Outsiders or not focused enough, they are apprenticed to a full Shaper, and they follow that Shaper around and observe their work for a while until they can muster the guts to go to a testing hall, a sort of gauntlet they have to run, and if they survive, huzzah! They're a full Shaper. Then they're assigned tasks by the Shaper council, stuff like investigating disturbances, researching new creation types and governing settlements, based on their strengths. Some Shapers are mage-knight types, others are magic spies, others are badass, life-shaping bookworms.
Sorry for the info-dump, but this setting is pretty detailed. And I didn't come up with all this. Geneforge is a game series. If you haven't heard of it, don't look it up just yet, you'll spoil some of the surprises I have planned for yourself. If you have played the Geneforge games before, feel free to answer questions on my behalf, as long as you don't give away plot spoilers. Feel free to ask questions, if I haven't already scared you away with this wall of text.
Shapers have ruled the entirety of their current empire for two-hundred years. Before that, they were systematically conquering everything from east to west for about five-hundred years. It took them awhile, because they had to put down rebellions from their newly-conquered provinces constantly until cultural assimilation was safely underway, so they could start conquering anew, but they managed it due to their biotech, the secrets to which they hoarded fiercely, so no-one else could use it against them. It helps that anything magic related requires crazy focus to learn safely, much less use effectively, especially creating living beings that you then have to focus on controlling mentally whenever they get riled up, lest they go crazy and eat you.
Shapers also control access to regular magic, though they let outsiders learn that stuff, as long as they have permission from a Shaper. Some things are banned, though. Necromancy and demon-summoning, that kinda thing, mostly. That kinda shit, and the occasional insane Shaper who fucks all sorts of shit up, allows the rest of Shaper society to justify their extreme control over magic and Shaping, because if it isn't controlled, look at all the horrible shit that happens. In particular, any outsider who tries to Shape illegally is put down with extreme prejudice. A rogue Shaper is bad, but an outsider who wasn't deemed focused enough and loyal enough to the Shaper doctrine to qualify as a Shaper prospective learning how to create life? Ho boy.
Shaper society is sort of fragmented into castes based on what you are, since Shapers can create creations to handle all the boring menial shit. Specifically, the Shapers created a humanoid slave race, known as the Serviles, to serve them. They're basically humans, but with loyalty to the Shapers and the propensity to physical labor built into them, to make them willing slaves, for the most part. They always have huge noses and wear robes, so people can tell they're Serviles. Rogue Serviles are a thing, and they aren't stupid, just uneducated. Then there's servant minds, who are essentially brains with faces, rendered completely immobile, cause the Shapers are super paranoid about rogue creations. It essentially goes, Shapers = ruling class, researchers and bio-engineers, humans = merchants, craftsmen and creation caretakers, Serviles = slaves and serfs, Servant Minds = administrators and living computers. The Shapers also have a lot of non-sentient creations that are more animalistic, for combat and such. I'm not going to list them all here, I'll just describe them as we go along. In particular, though, there are batons, these organic, rod-like creatures that shoot envenomed thorns - the biotech equivalent of a gun, as well as plant-things that live inside doors to move them, so the Shapers can have sliding doors.
Everyone is tested during their childhood for capacity to focus and loyalty to the Shapers to see if they have what is takes to be a Shaper, and if they do, they're swept away to a Shaper academy to start their rigorous training. Shapers have to learn to hold the magical energy used in shaping, known as essence, within them to use as needed, without having it destroy them from the inside out. Normal wizards have to learn to store magical energy too, but a less lethal sort. Shaper prospectives also have to learn all about biology and anatomy and normal magic, as well as be indoctrinated in the Shaper creed. If they aren't booted out before they graduate for being too sympathetic towards Outsiders or not focused enough, they are apprenticed to a full Shaper, and they follow that Shaper around and observe their work for a while until they can muster the guts to go to a testing hall, a sort of gauntlet they have to run, and if they survive, huzzah! They're a full Shaper. Then they're assigned tasks by the Shaper council, stuff like investigating disturbances, researching new creation types and governing settlements, based on their strengths. Some Shapers are mage-knight types, others are magic spies, others are badass, life-shaping bookworms.
Sorry for the info-dump, but this setting is pretty detailed. And I didn't come up with all this. Geneforge is a game series. If you haven't heard of it, don't look it up just yet, you'll spoil some of the surprises I have planned for yourself. If you have played the Geneforge games before, feel free to answer questions on my behalf, as long as you don't give away plot spoilers. Feel free to ask questions, if I haven't already scared you away with this wall of text.
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