Fantasy The Magicians of Highbell (OOC)

[Magnolia]

_Line 213 ch1ps ClownPope

Welcome!​

Line, I hope you don't mind my naming the city Highbell. It's easy to pronounce and has a nice, lofty sound to it.

Before we start writing, I'd like everyone's input on how you'd like this role play to run. I want to make sure you all have fun and feel comfortable voicing your opinions here.

1. Would you like for me to take on more of a traditional GM role and lead the story by setting the scene and creating events, obstacles, and NPCs for your character to interact with?
2. Would you like for me to participate as a single character (the one I submitted) and for all of us to collaborate and plan the story together?
3. Would you like a sandbox-style role play in which we just jump in (me as a single character) and see where our posts take us?​

I could go any direction. In the past, I've participated in both intricately plotted and totally improvised role plays. Both can be fun in their own ways. Which way are you guys leaning?

Our Characters:​

Spoiler: Marabelle Mabel by Line

Basics

Name: Marabelle Mabel
Gender: Female
Age: 17​

Personality

• Curious--but what witch isn't?
• Sees her magic as mundane.
• Problem solved, or bust!
• Nothing and No Thing Left Behind.

Background

• Craftsman father, magical mother.
• Yearned for (and disastrously attempted) flashier magic.
• Witnessed a mayoral motorcade parade as a young girl. Machines and music galore!
• Found uses for her magic through her father's workshop.
• Fixed her first thing as a freshly-minted teenager: a neighbor's bicycle.

Noticeable Features

• Fantastically floofy fiery hair.
• Skin the color of coffee and cream.
• Happy deer in the headlights?
• Slightly on the smaller side.
• Wistful and withdrawn posture.

Magic
Skill: Thing Witchery -- Most witches can speak to animals, but Marabelle takes that a step further by cultivating the skill to talk to things. It's far easier to repair objects, after all, when they can tell you what's wrong. To everyone else, however, it simply looks as if she's talking to herself or needlessly pressing her ear to things. She hopes to be able to animate objects someday (hoping that such a skill would at least be something worth talking about), but her prior attempts to do so have been interesting, to put things lightly.

Animal Companion: Baxter, a happy, talkative foxhound pup, and how!

Spoiler: Mora Delay by Chips

Basics

Name: Mora Delay
Gender: Female
Age: 17​

Personality

• Who needs talent when you have persistence?
• Life isn't fair, but there IS a solution: Rock, Paper, Scissors, SHOOT!
• People have quite a lot to say. It would be a disservice not to listen...what's the harm in an extra ear?
• Nothing in the world is more satisfying than a list.

Background

• Simply put; A more objective upbringing than most. As a single mom with three children, how else can you ensure the proper and equal upbringing of all three? The best way is to allocate an equal amount of time and attention to each. For the Delay's, this method is tried and true.
• Though not completely incompetent, Mora lacks a strong basis in the ways of magic. The majority of her magical education consisted of memorization and recitation over hands-on experience, primarily due to the whims of her mother. Mrs. Delay was a strong believer that magic, despite its undeniable benefits, was unnecessary. In her perspective, magic was like using the grocer's homemade cake mix rather than taking the time and effort to make your own. It also doesn't help that Mora happens to be an incredibly...incredibly, slow learner. She takes things seriously surpasses all in effort, but she simply doesn't pick up on things as quickly as others.
• She grew up without a father, and never bothered to ask why (she had gotten all the information she needed from eavesdropping on closed-door conversations). She wasn't particularly dying to know, either. Growing up with only a single parent was her norm, so the absence of a father didn't quite feel like an absence at all.
• As she grew, Mora developed a love for puzzles and cooking. For Mora, the thrill of sliding in that last puzzle piece, and the joy of perfecting a recipe are to die for. She doesn't look it, but she can really pack in a meal.

Noticeable Features

• Serious eyes under clean-cut bangs and a neat half-pony.
• Despite dressing in essentially all-white (with the exception of a thin grey lining on her collar and a matching grey coat and bow), you'll never spot a single smudge, stain, or wrinkle.
• She never goes anywhere without her black leather utility belt, where she keeps a handful of charmed sweets, a small book full of recipes, random spells, and ramblings, and several fruits and seeds for her pet parrotlet.

Magic

Skill: At the moment, Mora's skills are limited to charms in the form of desserts and candies. In general, she is much more inclined towards potion making or charm crafting than she is with spell-casting. The one ability she is proficient in is her ability to warp time. She can delay or speed up time for multiple objects/beings or a single object/being. Of course, she is limited both in the radius and time of this ability. It's a wonderful skill to use in the kitchen! Above anything else, however, her real skill is her persistence and endurance.

Animal Companion: A Parrotlet named Linger​

Spoiler: Linden Thornwell by Ajax

Basics

Name: Linden Thornwell
Gender: Genderfluid
Age: 17​

Personality

• "IT WASN'T ME!"
• Confidence is key.
• Don't judge a book by its cover unless it looks super boring.
• Genuinely disingenuous.

Background

• Raised by Grandparents
• Unrivaled Baker
• Stopped schooling halfway through
• Only child
• PAY ATTENTION TO ME

Noticeable Features

• Large and in charge
• Eyepatch
• Maroon tendrils hang over their shoulders
• More freckles than dalmatian spots
• Floral patterns and high waisted trousers

Magic

Skill: Nature magic- Weather its causing flowers to bloom or vines to grasp out, if its green or has leaves it's under Lindens control. Well mostly. Bigger plants are harder for them to master and hopefully they'll be able to conjure flowers from thin air. It may not be incredibly practical but it makes gardening a snap. And perhaps there's other benefits they've overlooked.

Animal Companion (species and name - optional): Lems-Rat​

Spoiler: Acton Hale by Magnolia

Basics

Name: Acton Hale
Gender: Male
Age: 17​

Personality

• Magic is for Everyone
• When Opportunity Knocks, Answer
• Practice Makes Perfect
• Chaotically Organized

Background

• Exemplary Hall Boy
• Secondhand Education
• Rejected Twice from Magical Apprenticeships

Noticeable Features

• Long and Lean
• Wears a Tweed Flat Cap with Everything
• Magnifying Spectacles
• Crooked Nose
• Ink-stained Fingers; Ink-blotted clothes

Magic

Skill: Sigil Magic
Sigil magic uses a precise set of rules to create symbols that alter the physical properties (e.g. size, shape, weight, color, transparency, strength, texture, taste, scent) of the item (or even person) upon which they are inscribed. However, every sigil is unique. The effectiveness of a sigil depends on the placement of the symbol, its size, the medium and tool used to write it, and the quality of the writing. This form of magic has a variety of applications, though at this stage Acton uses it primarily to clean things. He often experiments with this magic (to varying degrees of success) to see what effects he can accomplish.

Animal Companion: Agatha the hedgehog​

City Inspiration:​

 

[ch1ps]

Personally, I think we should have checkpoints of some sort, just to make sure the story goes at a semi-steady pace! It might be a bit overwhelming for a single person (the GM) to have to plan/decide all the events/obstacles/NPC's, so I'm all up for some collaborative planning!

Edit: If we could somehow combine all the 3 options you listed above that would be awesome, too

 

[_Line 213]

I'm fine with any option; I have GM experience as well as player experience, so I wouldn't mind having something collaborative.

As far as combining multiple things goes, it's possible we could do something where we come up with either a general trajectory, or start with a series of plans, and then see how things branch out as everyone plays various characters that become relevant at different times, and so on.

And I'm totally fine with using the name Highbell! I think it sounds great too.

 

[ch1ps]

I second the idea of doing some planning to start off with and then discussing a bit more as the story progresses

 

[_Line 213]

At the very least, I think it would be neat or helpful to establish where we want to be at the end of the "setup" period, and then have things become a little more open / sandboxy / what-have-you after that (since it's easier for plotlines to spring up when there's a solid foundation, unless people would rather plan all the way through--I'm not opposed to that either, but I will say that I don't do that as much as more free things, usually).

Along those lines, some important beginning considerations, regardless of what we do:

-- How close are our characters in terms of distance? Are they all apprenticing for the same person / business / organization, under the same roof? The same street? City block? District? Or do they simply share the city itself?

-- How are they going to run into one another?

-- How disastrous or concerning is the idea of multiple witches being in the same city for our characters? How do the citizens themselves see such an occurrence?

-- We know from the interest check that having magic does grant you a bit of social sway--or at the very least interest from other people--but does being untrained or young bring with it any particular stigmas when it comes to magic (i.e., are untrained magicians known for making pesky messes, making them difficult to employ)?

-- Where in the process of coming to the city and searching for a place to set up do we start? Parental goodbyes? The end of the broom-ride? The first job search?

 

[ClownPope]

Here are a couple of my thoughts,
-It would be interesting and cause for more interaction if all the characters were apprenticing under the same person or whatever it will be although that might seem kinda bizarre with how large the city is.
-I personally think a good start would be during the goodbyes since it gives some insight to family relations.

 

[ch1ps]

It may also be necessary to consider how exactly a witch apprentice goes about becoming a full-fledged witch. Is it a matter of "I think I'm ready," or are there certain tasks or some sort of exam that an apprentice has to pass?

Also:

What role do witches play in this world? Is being a witch considered just another job (potion maker, etc...) or are the majority of witches social workers who use their skills for the sake of strengthening the government and its people? (Perhaps as guardians of the city, etc...). This kind of goes along with the question of the history of this 1-man apprentice-to-witch journey. Are there certain unspoken rules that witch apprentices MUST follow during their travels? Or a goal, or a purpose? Etc...

 

[_Line 213]

It may also be necessary to consider how exactly a witch apprentice goes about becoming a full-fledged witch. Is it a matter of "I think I'm ready," or are there certain tasks or some sort of exam that an apprentice has to pass?

Also:

What role do witches play in this world? Is being a witch considered just another job (potion maker, etc...) or are the majority of witches social workers who use their skills for the sake of strengthening the government and its people? (Perhaps as guardians of the city, etc...). This kind of goes along with the question of the history of this 1-man apprentice-to-witch journey. Are there certain unspoken rules that witch apprentices MUST follow during their travels? Or a goal, or a purpose? Etc...

Personally I like the idea of magic feeling somewhat "normal" but not really, similar to the way that it's portrayed in Howl's Moving Castle and Kiki's Delivery Service. People don't really seem to be caught in moments of disbelief when they see it happening, but instead seem rather surprised that it's happening in front of them; the sort of thing that's known to exist but still rare enough that people don't really think about it on a daily basis (in our case, people might not even know that there are multiple "types" of it, and might even end up with a few misconceptions as a result).

In other words, the general reaction being less "I can't believe magic exists; this changes everything I thought about reality" and more "huh, never thought I'd actually see that happen."

As for witches themselves, maybe they're something that comes across as more of a curiosity from a former age that are rarely seen, like the Amish or similar communities. With the advent of technology, normal people might feel that a lot of things that people might have once relied on magic for (i.e., flying, quick travel, and even fireworks) are now something that anyone can do with the right machine, even if that's not entirely true and there are still some things that magic can do and technology can't, or some things that magic can simply do better (single person flying machines with the maneuverability of brooms likely won't be a thing for a long long time, for instance).

 

[Magnolia]

Thanks for your input, everyone!

It sounds as though you all would like some hand in the planning process (yay!) and to keep the story relatively open to allow for some flexibility. This is generally what I'm used to as well, so this should be pretty comfortable for all of us.

World-building: How Magic Functions​

As Line suggests, I like to think there's a familiar and domestic quality to magic that doesn't make it seem outlandish, even to non-magical people.

Chips, I imagine that magic is a profession. Magicians who never become proficient in any skill would have had to find non-magical ways to support themselves. We might say that proficiency is determined by a stuffy board of wizards who grant magicians with Letters to show that said magician is capable and lawfully able to perform magic safely as a living, like granting a magical license of sorts. Maybe this is what our characters seek?

I also like that in Kiki's Delivery Service, Kiki's mom explains that leaving home to train is an old tradition. Perhaps, historically, magicians traveled as a sort of pilgrimage, choosing locations of particular magical significance to honor their roots by sharing the magic they have learned with the people of that place. Over time, as magicians discovered that their magic could be profitable, this pilgrimage morphed into a search for opportunity and then into a more structured apprenticeship/work-study program. Perhaps this is where we find our characters now.

As far as social status goes, magicians do not naturally sit at the top of the social ladder. There are aristocratic magicians and there are lower class magicians whose social standings are determined by birth and marriage. Well-to-do magicians seldom use their magic for practical purposes, and never have to use it to earn a living. Like Howl and Kiki, most magicians who live on their magic are firmly middle class citizens.

Ajax also brings up a good point that for the size of the city, it would be unusual for four young magicians to apprentice under the same person. Chances are there would be other magicians under whom our characters could separately apprentice. So, we can keep our current big city setting of Highbell and push our characters together through events rather than location or we could choose a more modest location that would force our characters under the same roof (or at the very least into closer range). I almost feel the latter would be more appropriate after all, seeing as our characters are just starting out, but that's just my two cents.

Scene Set-up: Arrival​

Ajax, when we begin the RP feel free to start your post as early on in your character's travels as you like. All our characters will be coming from different places (physically, emotionally, mentally, etc.) so it may not be appropriate for each of us to introduce our characters in the same manner.

- - - - - - -
Sorry to get back so late. You all had a lot of great points I wanted to address; it just took me a while to process them all. Hopefully, I helped clarify some things and spurred some new thoughts about others. Until next time, to be continued...

 

[_Line 213]

Chances are there would be other magicians under whom our characters could separately apprentice. So, we can keep our current big city setting of Highbell and push our characters together through events rather than location or we could choose a more modest location that would force our characters under the same roof (or at the very least into closer range). I almost feel the latter would be more appropriate after all, seeing as our characters are just starting out, but that's just my two cents.

This also sort of raises another question (at least for me), that being whether or not it's common (or an occurrence at all) for magicians to apprentice or employ themselves with normal people, like we see in KDS. Fire mages employing themselves with metalsmiths or illusionists with theater troupes, for instance. Depending on how rare magic is, this might be something more common (and also more modest and down to earth, if we want that sort of feel). That way you still have the sort of coming-of-age experience involved with moving away to study, but at the same time you still have magicians putting themselves in situations in which they can cultivate their magic through actual use.

 

[Magnolia]

This also sort of raises another question (at least for me), that being whether or not it's common (or an occurrence at all) for magicians to apprentice or employ themselves with normal people, like we see in KDS. Fire mages employing themselves with metalsmiths or illusionists with theater troupes, for instance. Depending on how rare magic is, this might be something more common (and also more modest and down to earth, if we want that sort of feel). That way you still have the sort of coming-of-age experience involved with moving away to study, but at the same time you still have magicians putting themselves in situations in which they can cultivate their magic through actual use.

Let's say that magic is uncommon but not rare. In a large city (a la Kingsbury from Howl's Moving Castle), there might be an entire neighborhood inhabited by magicians. Smaller cities might have a few working magicians while towns and villages might not have any. I think it would be perfectly acceptable (even commonplace) for magicians to use their magic in practical ways alongside non-magical people. Magic is not exclusive to magicians nor are non-magical professions exclusive to non-magical people. I love how Kiki uses her flying to start a delivery service which she operated out of a bakery. There's no reason our characters can't do something similar.

 

[_Line 213]

It would definitely be possible for us to do something similar, especially since the cast as it is currently seems to be in a position where it would be very easy for them to fall in with people that aren't exactly high-class or powerful magicians. Though I suppose what exactly happens with that also depends on whether or not they're all going to be stuck together or not, so we'll likely want to figure that out first.

Unrelated, I've got a sketch of Marabelle going, if anyone wants to take a look! I'm not sure if I want to finish it up in the style of Miyazaki's conceptual watercolors or the finished style of his animations, but we'll see.

Spoiler

 

[ch1ps]

_Line 213 Love the sketch!!!! And love that broom XD

I think that it might be interesting to have the characters develop/discover their skills independently, but plan events that bring them together. For example, an underground witch community that holds a test of skills every year or so. Or maybe their masters have connections and send them on group quests/tasks (Anything as simple as fetching an ingredient). It would be cool to work on developing the town/city they all live in too! (i.e. What kinds of events does the city hold? Where is the city location wise? Near a forest? Does it sort of co-exist with nature? Etc...).

 

[_Line 213]

_Line 213 Love the sketch!!!! And love that broom XD

I think that it might be interesting to have the characters develop/discover their skills independently, but plan events that bring them together. For example, an underground witch community that holds a test of skills every year or so. Or maybe their masters have connections and send them on group quests/tasks (Anything as simple as fetching an ingredient). It would be cool to work on developing the town/city they all live in too! (i.e. What kinds of events does the city hold? Where is the city location wise? Near a forest? Does it sort of co-exist with nature? Etc...).

Thanks! I thought a modified shop broom would be appropriate for her character concept.

I'd be more than happy to do some city sketches if I end up having the time! Those would probably have to be more along the lines of Miyazaki's watercolor sketches for the sake of time though. Maybe I'll even get a few sketch sheets for the rest of the cast done if I end up being really free.

Going off of the inspiration images, chances are the city's going to be someplace by the water, though whether that's the sea or some sort of large lake is up for grabs. Personally I like the idea of a large lake surrounded by forested mountains, since I feel like that makes for a nice bit of separation from the setting of KDS while still allowing for a similar sort of feel.

 

[Magnolia]

Chips and Line, it sounds like both of you are in support of keeping the current big city setting. Is that right? Line, as you suggest, I'm also more partial to the idea of our characters approaching their training independently rather than having them apprentice under the same person. While I was creating my character profile, I had also imagined that apprenticeships were geared more toward younger magicians. By the time a magician turns 17, they're on their own. We can work this into the canon of our world or we can make allowances for more specialized apprenticeships for older magicians, if anyone was considering that route.

ClownPope , how do you feel about the city setting and not using a single apprenticeship to bring our characters together?

If we're all in agreement, that will essentially bring us back to the original idea: several young magicians arrive in the same city around the same time. Which is totally fine! I like the slice-of-life feel of Kiki's Delivery Service and would like to maintain that vibe in this role play, if possible. So some characters may have a thoroughly planned out course of action while others have no plan at all. It would be fun to see how they all try to figure their skills out. Once we hear back from Ajax, we can discuss further ways to bring our characters together.

As for the city, I feel like a place called Highbell might be near mountains. I'm picturing the lakeside cities of Switzerland in particular. So, in addition to the inspiration images above, what do you all think of drawing inspiration from places like Locarno and Thun and Montreux?

Line, I love your character illustration! If you had the time, I'd love to see how you draw the city and/or the other characters.

 

[_Line 213]

I like the big city setting because I feel like one of the most curious bits about Kiki's setting is how a modern world sort of interacts with "normalized" magic; if we're sticking with the Steampunk feel of something like Howl's Moving Castle, then it seems like that element would have a bit more importance, and I feel like we could make that shine more in a big city. That said though, I wouldn't be adverse to a smaller location if that's what people would prefer, and we could even experiment with making Highbell a "region" as opposed to a single city (or a city at all) if we wanted to.

That said though, Thun is beautiful and I would absolutely love to do some quick sketches of that mixed with some of the initial reference material if that's what we go with. I might actually do a bit of that for an hour or so before I go to bed.

 

[_Line 213]

Started a quicksketch of the city before bed. Going to round it out a bit more tomorrow and then potentially use it as the base for a painting or a watercolor or something.

Spoiler

 

[Magnolia]

Line, that's beautiful! I want to live there.

 

[_Line 213]

I'm glad it's looking good so far! Hopefully I can keep clicking along and make some good progress on at least the sketch layer tomorrow.

 

[ClownPope]

I'm alright with the big city setting and them not being under the same apprenticeship. also _Line 213 your sketches are amazing!

 

[Magnolia]

Awesome, Ajax. Thanks for letting us know!

I'd like to give Chips time to process and respond to what we've just discussed so I'll wait until we've heard from her before we jump into other topics. Once we're all caught up, we can continue brainstorming how our characters will meet and what will keep them interacting throughout the role play. It'll also be helpful to familiarize ourselves with some major points of the city before we start. If you have ideas or additions to previously mentioned ideas, hold off on posting them for now. We'll share them soon!

 

[ch1ps]

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of feedback. LOVE the city sketch, and those places are incredible!! Definitely on board with the idea of a big city.

Not sure if I interpreted this right, Magnolia, but the idea of our characters essentially just "finding themselves" sounds great! I think that not having a Master per-say will allow for a lot of fun spontaneous things to happen, and It'll be interesting to see how the characters deal with flying solo.

Free-floating idea: If we really want to focus on character interactions maybe we can plan for them to naturally meet at some sort of city event (maybe a market or festival of some sort). Naturally, they'll probably want to get situated first so maybe they'll end up finding living quarters together? Of course, some of the characters may have found themselves housing before setting off.

Edit: Oops, didn't quite read that last part Magnolia xD. I'll just leave that idea up for the time being seeing as I already posted it haha

 

[ch1ps]

Also Line I'll be joining you with character art soon! Can't say It'll be quite as good but I'll try!! Anatomy and limbs areeee not my favorite.

 

[Magnolia]

No worries, Chips! We roll at an easy-going pace here. You've understood me perfectly. As Line suggested earlier, not having our characters follow the same specific plan gives the story more of that coming-of-age Kiki vibe, and I'd love it if we could bring as much of that Ghibli style into the role play as possible.

I love the idea of a festival that brings our characters together. Maybe this festival is the kickoff to something akin to the Season? That could then present more events (private parties and public festivities) that could provide our story with little checkpoints. How does that sound to everyone?

 

[_Line 213]

Free-floating idea: If we really want to focus on character interactions maybe we can plan for them to naturally meet at some sort of city event (maybe a market or festival of some sort). Naturally, they'll probably want to get situated first so maybe they'll end up finding living quarters together? Of course, some of the characters may have found themselves housing before setting off.

I do like that idea actually; it's definitely something that could make for a fun introduction.

Either way though, if we're free to go ahead and start talking about the city itself, I've got a few ideas.