Warlock City: Shadow of the Shroudwalker

Welcome to Warlock City: Shadow of the Shroudwalker
I realize that the super hero genre might be getting a bit over-saturated and maybe the supernatural one too. However, I really like both genres so I took the only reasonable approach open to any insane individual: combine the two! :hugs:

Play as a god-named battle mage as you reclaim your throne as one of the most dangerous magicals alive and begin to unravel a 3 book spanning mystery. Every chapter adds a little more detail! It’s like Lost but with an actual ending!

Summary

The first mages were born from Sumer and Ancient Egypt, and they’ve been in existence for thousands of years. Today, in the year 2052, there are hundreds of thousands living inside the magical plane of existence know as the Shroud that lies opposite to Earth. There are also many thousand magicals and other supernatural beings living outside the Shroud, on Earth and hiding their magical existence. Of all these arcane beings and creatures, there are only 17 who have earned the right to be called a warlock. You’re one of them.

Warlocks are people who have connected to the Shroud, earned a Godname and achieved a connection to magic that most can barely dream of. However, following your initiation, you haven’t practiced magic for years. Sure, you have a familiar and are a magic teacher for a bit of cash…but, practical magic? Nah. You’re a stage magician, you just pretend to do magic.

But times are changing. Other warlocks are being called to Ring City. Strange dreams are driving them, as they do you, to uncover the truth of the Shroud’s origin. The magical world has entered an age of new prophecy that has foretold the end of the Shroud and either the exaltation or damnation of magic-kind. Not to mention that there are Superheroes living on Earth that don’t know about magic and are trying to save you every chance they get.

When the time comes, what will you endeavor for? Will you reclaim your throne as one of the most powerful magicals? Will you protect the people you love? Maybe even protect those that love you? Will you challenge your sister’s claim to all bachelors/bachelorettes in the city? Or are you strong enough to uncover the mysteries that have plagued magic kind since all creation?

All these questions and more will be answered in… Warlock City

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Features:

-Begin a meticulous journey that has been planned out over 3 books. No plot holes, no misplaced characters arcs, no unresolved mysteries! Every chapter adds new details to the mystery, can you solve it before the end?
-No bad outcomes! Success or failure just mean that different angles of the mystery will become apparent.
-Play as one of the most dangerous magicals alive as you reclaim your title and solve the mysteries of the Shroud.
-Enjoy a range of Perks and Quirks that will define your character and push the story in different directions.
-Learn to mimic the spells of other warlocks to use in combat and build a repertoire destined to challenge the very gods.
-Tactfully juggle your romances, friendships, student, magic show and overarching beguiling mystery as they draw together into one inevitable conclusion and relish in the chaos of it all.
-Choose a familiar as your constant companion and indomitable second-half.
-Learn one of 3 Legendary Spells from the Shroudwalker! (You have no idea what this means but it sounds epic!)
-All warlocks have a legendary GOD FORM that they can call on in times of great need…well, except you for some mysterious reason. So I guess that isn’t a feature. Oops. You’ll just have to prove that you’re a badass without one.

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Currently Working On:

Re-writing Chapters 2and 3 and finalizing Chapter 4!

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Lore Stuffs:

Lore on Warlocks

Warlocks are combat focused mages, officially recognized as such by the magical community.

The first trial of a warlock ends in either death or exaltation. If successful you entwine yourself with the Shroud and are named after one of the old gods. This begins your journey to becoming a true warlock which ends when you complete the final, secretive rite that only warlocks and final initiates know.

Of course, you begin the game as a warlock already. A lot of the game will be about figuring out just what you’ve done to become known as one of the most powerful beings alive.

Lore on Were-folk

Animals have long been seen by the ancients as heralds and representatives of the gods, both for their power and their cunning (i.e. see ANY Egyptian god). So, it’s no surprise that when magic first touched Egyptians, their first act was to attempt to mimic specific animals (such as crocodiles and lions) that they respected. This gave rise to the art of the shifters (or, more specifically, kine-shifting). It is a khat magic (body transformation) that changes one to become a specific animal (the animal becomes known as a family’s “kinbeast” or “kine”). With enough use it becomes second nature and the changes in the body become congenital - passed across generations. As more animals were discovered that were deemed worthy of mimicry, other kine-shifters arose such as were-bears and were-wolves.

However, there are also albino kine-folk. These are children who do not have the “shifter gene” and are instead born a cross between human and whatever animal their parents can change into. They are generally despised by their parents for not being able to shift and considered by other magical folk as failures. This obviously gives rise to a great deal of tension and discrimination.

The Magical City in the Shroud:

Ankhara: Literally meaning “The Sun City, The land given life by Ra” is the city state that exists in the Shroud and is where the Shroud magicals live. This city is divided into 9 districts which are known as “the nine nomes” which represent groupings of different magics and governmental functions.

Each nome contains multiple houses that specialize in certain magics. The prophets of the magical world have foretold that we’ve entered the “Age of the Ennead”, it is a time when each of the 9 great gods will rise to claim power over one of the nomes. As such, it is a time of turmoil as each house fights to have one of its members named a god and allowed to take control of their nome.

The outcast noble Set has already claimed ownership of the outer ring, where the foreigners and commoners live. Osiris has claimed ownership of the Tower of Djed, the nome that extends deep into the Shroud and delves into death magic and funerary rites. Shu long ago claimed ownership of the Nome of Feathers, masters of air magic and the justice of Maat. Tefnut has claimed the Nome of Predation, the land of khat, animals and the medjay: elite warriors that protect the Shroud at all costs. Nuit rules over the Nome of Stars which houses the temples, prophets and the sacred Warding Tombs (where grand constructs of global wards against forbidden spells are buried). Isis, Nepthys, Geb and, of course, Horus have yet to rise to lay claim to the remaining nomes. It is said that when they do, the battle for the future of the Shroud will begin.

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ROs — INCOMPLETE (I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep!):

Elza — The claymore wielding, Scottish were-bear. (Available to all):

Description:

She’s a sturdy 6 feet and naturally well-built with fiery orange hair that’s buzzed on the left side but cascades across and down the right to contrast exotically with striking blue eyes. She’s got a good heart, an implacable smile and is a well-known serial bear hugger even when not in bear form. She has a general lust for life and optimistic energy, but can fall back into a thick Scottish accent if agitated. However, that’s rare because she’s part bear; not much worries her.

She’s an enforcer of Ma’at and your old partner so you already have a very friendly rapport with her. However, with a bit of nudging she might be able to become something more. Also, your familiar already likes her which is always a plus. Jealous familiars-in-law can be such a pain.

Teaser:

Staring down the line of samurai golems looking to slice us to shreds, I hear Elza’s lilting voice next to me. “Well, there’s one thing we should be thankful fer’.”

“Oh, yeh?” I ask, honestly curious as I turn to look at the woman and notice her claymore angled eagerly in front of her.

“Aye. At least they aren’t Scots.” She smiles.

I roll my eyes as the samurai charge.

Rowan — Fellow stage magician and performance partner (Likely will be available to all):

Description:

You’d think a magician would be numb to mundane life and that’s why they escape to performing magic tricks, but instead Rowan finds wonder and magic wherever he looks. However, he’s been down ever since his father took badly ill so you don’t catch him in such a mood as often as you’d like. Still, on the rare day when you manage to elicit his sunny side, he has a childlike wonder and general enthusiasm that’s hard to deny and is completely infectious. He’s never left the city and seen the world, so you’re quite sure that if he ever does, his head might explode.

Teaser:

“I used to hang out here all the time with my dad when I was a kid. Too bad we can’t get in.” Rowan laments as he wistfully gazes into the abandoned arcade.

“Yeh.” I murmur. “It’s a shame. It would probably take a magician to pull off something like that. Too bad we don’t know any.” I take an innocent slurp of my drink as I stick my face up to the glass, my plan in full swing.

Rowan crosses his arms as he raises an eyebrow at me, tempered excitement creeping into his eyes.

I can’t help but laugh when, on cue, the lights buzz to life as if by magic. But magic’s easy. What made this gift special is that there wasn’t any.

Hekate — The one-armed, aspiring warlock (Available to all):

Description:
A woman whose whole goal in life is to become a warlock. You’re not quite sure why and she doesn’t really trust anyone enough to tell them. She’s passed the first trial and so has received her Godname, and strives to succeed in combat to prove her worth. She’s generally cold and distant, but that’s really just an artifact of her intense focus. Who knows what may happen if someone dares breach her cold exterior?

Jack — The forlorn hybrid (Not Male):

Description:
There is racism in the magical world, mainly towards what are known as the shiftless. They are shapeshifters who aren’t born with their parents’ ability to shift between human and animal. Instead, they are stuck between the two and seen as a curse. Like their werekin, they still can’t cast magic which means that they don’t get much respect from magicals either. Obviously they don’t fit in the normal world, so they are pretty much ostracized by everyone — forced to thievery and criminality to get by.

Jack is a half-human, half-jackal hybrid (har har) seeking to be useful in a world that doesn’t want him. Could he truly catch the eye of one of the most powerful beings to ever exist?

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NEW DEMO — Chap 2 is back up! (With a save feature I’d recommend using at each chapter because there may be game-breaking bugs!) 20k words or so — Gimme 2 Chapters
Main Changes:
—Small prologue scene.
—Introduction of Perks and Quirks.
—More options to deal with Melany.
—Rewritten Superhero scene.
—Rewritten Wasteling fight scene.
—Introduction of what a warlock is and all the cool stuff involved.
—No more mouse familiar. Sorry. :frowning:
P.S. Check the stats page but know that there is weird stuff because I’m silly.

Thanks for taking the time to read this or even the demo. Please let me know what you think on either front! Or just any ideas you’d like to see in such a setting (though, I can’t promise anything).

396 Likes

My phone is old so I can’t access the demo but I’m super interested in it

3 Likes

Really nice writing style, look forward to more!

4 Likes

This sounds so cool, I would like to beta test it

1 Like

That was cool love your work

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This is really well-written, and the description of the monster is creepy without going into over-the-top. The fake-outs about being a mage were also timed well.

I ran into a bug while playing:

Grammar-y Mistakes


This shouldn’t start with a capital.

The period should be enclosed in the quotation marks too.

This should also not be capitalized.

This shouldn’t have an apostrophe.

This should be capitalized.

6 Likes

Thanks for the kind words everyone! It won’t be done for a while but I hope to update it frequently. I’ve got so many ideas that it should be clear sailing ahead for a while with no sign of writer’s block (then again, writer’s block hides like a predatory iceberg and strikes when you least expect with it’s sharp, pointy teeth).

@EclecticEccentric
I really appreciate the in-depth look and sorry about the bug you encountered. I’m going to get on it as soon as I work out why it’s doing that (the coding looks fine, dang it!). Also, thanks for the grammar fixes, no matter how much I edit a bunch always gets through!

UPDATE: I jury-rigged it with a *label and that’ll solve everything while definitely not breaking anything else :shushing_face: (I’ll keep looking into it, this whole coding thing is hard!).

8 Likes

Looking good so far!

1 Like

I was enjoying the demo, but then I was able to make my familiar a Velociraptor, and that is when I must admit the demo really grabbed me :joy:

4 Likes

Really nice. I know I’m gonna love this!!!

2 Likes

@Jeeshadow1
Haha. Glad to hear it! I shouldn’t pick favourites but I have to admit I like that one. I think that’s going to be a lot of fun. I mean, every wizard can throw a fireball but how many can throw a velociraptor!

Is there any familiar anyone would like to see in particular that they think would be fun? (I don’t want to do too many because I want them each to feel important but I’m open to ideas!)

@baka00
Seeing all these cat avatars, I’m thinking that there is a clear familiar I might have missed!

7 Likes

Wow. This WiP has a very interesting feel to it. I like it a lot! Hyped for more. :smiley:

1 Like

This is a bit cliche, but a sassy cat (I just really like cats :stuck_out_tongue:)

2 Likes

Haha, I smacked my head when I realised. A cat…DUHHHHH. How could I forget?

2 Likes

Mmmaybe a bear? Bears are cool.

The kangaroo mouse is adorable, by the way.

Oh, yeh I like the idea of a bear. I think there’s going to be a clear distinction between “dangerous” familiars that can obviously help out in a fight and then “utility” familiars that have other uses or are just all around adorable.

3 Likes

Not to be a pest, but there seem to be a couple issues with the wolf.

$[fam_poss} shows up twice
and there’s some pronoun swapping.
Not a big deal but figured I’d let you know.

2 Likes

That’s actually very helpful, thanks. I’m sorry if that broke any immersion! I had originally decided on preset genders for the familiar (I wanted the velociraptor to have a specific one for fun, obvious reasons). Clearly, I hadn’t done enough editing of the variables.

1 Like

Nah, my immersion wasn’t affected. You’ve set up an interesting world. I’m excited to see more of it. :slight_smile:

2 Likes

Why is my male familiar named Lucy?