Mark of Thandok

[Geras]

Or Mark of the Magus perhaps? I don't know.

Anyways, here's my idea:

This spell would apply a tattoo to someone (either that's permanent or that lasts for a decently long period of time). Then a second spell would let the caster see through the eyes of their marked victim when cast. Or maybe hear through the ears for a very brief moment.

The catch is the victim has to either submit to it, be restrained, or incapacitate.

Maybe this isn't the best effect for this class of spell. Generally though, I'd love to have more of these "I've got you now my pretty!" spells. What I mean by that is I'd love to see spells that make you dread falling into a mage's clutches, and that aren't used for hit-and-run general harassment but rather small, longer term incremental gain from having kidnapped or restrained someone.

Edit: To be clear too, those spells should only work for the marker. So the markee could find and murder the marker to be free of it. Or force them to release them.

[Kinaed]

We have a spell in game (which is a bit broken) that basically does the same already.

[Geras]

Yah, it has some requirements that need to be tweaked I think. In theory you could use it with something that's noremove like a tattoo, but would that be twinking?

I think one that directly creates an actual mark would be pretty cool.

[Geras]

Just thought I'd bump this. Same idea, though with a more toned down effect - just being able to see where the person is. There's an existing spell that does that part. Honestly, there are spells that accomplish all of it, just without the mark.

I know some people have concerns about any permanent effect, but it would only be permanent if you chose not to burn/cut that area of the body, and I don't think it's any more permanent or drastic than a brand or amputation from the Order or Reeves. It gives magic that cool creepy factor without being twinks. Much more fun.

I'd be fine with limitations on where the mark could be (not the head for example) and saying that the burns only have to be moderate to break the spell, so you dont end up burning away a huge chunk of flesh or cutting it out.

Thoughts?

[Inertia]

I like the idea though I'm not sold on the specifics. Here are my thoughts, stripped of as much babble as possible:

1.) Permament damage (scars etc) are best RPed out, and I think you already have the tools in place to use magical things to cause the damage? Rising flames and twisty vines and such? Not sure what the limits are on 'NPC'ing your magical affinities.

2.) If the other parts already exist, this spell should have a unique feature beyond a mark.

[Inertia]

Separate post since I'm running away with your idea (and probably really far from the original point).

3.) Some sort of temporary control over a released captive could be fair. There's a better chance that your victim will spread your message for you if they've got some sort of mark that requires effort to remove.

4.) Maybe it can be a secondary affect so it shows to the room, and you don't have to fuss with semi permanent tattoo-like wear objects?

It works like this in my head.

Thandok's Message

Damsel ab Distress is captured by mages for (insert nefarious purposes here). During captivity, she is subjected to some unholy ritual where a mage places his hands on her, leaving a black mark that appears to sink into her skin.

(This spell requires that you have the person remembered, that they are in the same room with you, and restrained. It sets up a bit like a messenger where you assign a recipient, and a message.)

Damsel ab Distress is tied down on a table, and is screaming for help!
A strange marking darkens her lips.

Damsel is released back into civilzation and goes straight to church in search of help. This is handy for the mage, since Damsel was marked with a message for the Cardinal. RP ensues, efforts are underway to free Damsel of the strange mark.

(Some sort of fervent and probably uncomfortable ritual should probably exist to remove the mark/trigger the message. Maybe it's just on a 24-hour timer, and can't be removed unless there is at least one person besides the victim present.)

Cardinal arrives and triggers a forced response from Damsel:

Damsel speaks in a voice not her own, "I deliver a message from (insert name here) The Harbinger to (insert moniker for the recipient here) the Butcher of Innocents: I know what you did last summer."

Shadow drips away from Damsel's mouth like black ink as the mark on her lips bleeds away.

[Geras]

2.) If the other parts already exist, this spell should have a unique feature beyond a mark.

If I'm giving away too much details here, but the way it works right now is that a mage can do something that lets them get a glance at the room you're in with another spell. When the mage does that thing, you might not notice it right away, but when you do you can undo it right away with no trouble. This nothing to stop the mage from just doing that spell over and over and nothing to stop you from undoing it over and over. There's no risk or cost to the mage aside from the fact that the skill requirements are a bit tough.

I hope that's not too confusing how I wrote it?

So, what I'm suggesting is only getting a harder to remove way to "tag" someone, but at the cost that it's much harder to do in the first place.

I don't think you should be able to place the tattoo without either the victim's consent or the victim being incapacitated or bound and in your control. So we're talking about a situation where the mage could just murder their captive, or amputate a bodypart, or burn and disfigure the person horribly. So this would be much less serious than any of those already permissible actions. Which are actually used much more often by the law/order/muggles in general than by mages.

I'd look at it as the magical equivalent of branding someone. A conventional branding is publicly visible and has social and legal consequences. A magical branding is not publicly visible and has personal/private consequences.

[Geras]

Also I like that spell. Lol.

[Dice]

Re: some chatter on the game...

How about a family of Mark spells? One for each element.
The marks left by each spell are different and have subtle effects. All fade within a certainl long timespan (1 IC year?) if not used. To mark someone they must be restrained and you must hold the restraints, maybe some other difficulty involved.

Removal by some sort of extensive, painful, difficult RPA'd ritual would be awesome to give the Order extra power/purpose?

For air: You can spy on the person's surroundings. (free usage until the end of duration)
For void: You may cast a spell on the marked individual as if you were in the room with them (one spell only, then mark fades)
For fire: You may prime a command to make the person execute at a specific time (one use only, then mark fades; what Olivia described)
For water and earth? Not sure yet, but there's the basic idea.

[Geras]

Maybe how many uses you get could depend on the effect and your strength in your element. Kind of like how spells sometime don't need to be evoked a second time if you're lucky.

The reason I suggest this is that is you could get a bit more fine tuning out when balancing the strength of the spell effect against how long it lasts.

It also would mean a player couldn't go inactive or afk in a dark closet to avoid the effects.