Rules:Order Foci

These are the official character rules for Order Foci. For the story-based description of Foci, go here.

Name: Order Foci
Class: Racial Overlay
Tech Bias: +1 step bias improvement towards Order-based techniques, -1 step bias penalty towards Chaos-based techniques
Available Power Types: Phys, Psi, Magic
History and Background Page: Foci

Racial Advantages:

Channel Order: This is the basic ability that sets Order-wielders apart from other mages. It gives no special ability, per se... it's just a pre-requisite to having the other abilities. It's not unique to Order Foci... but they're the ones who have it naturally. It is possible for others to learn to wield Order, but it comes far easier to the Order Foci.

Gray Awakening: The use of this ability results in the permanent transformation from Order or Chaos Foci to Gray Savant. It is slightly easier for an Order Foci to become a Gray Savant than for a Chaos Foci to, because there are essentially two things which must be realized for the transformation to be successful. First, the Foci must come to a realization of the essential Balance between Chaos and Order, which also created them to be as they are. Secondly, they must learn to create their opposite. Order Foci must learn to create Chaos energies out of Order energies, and Chaos Foci must learn to create Order energies out of Chaos energies. This can be something of an ordeal, and attempts to do so are not always survived, much less successful. The successful use of this ability requires several things: 60 tech days (no bias modifications, no doubling for mages) spent in meditation, the last seven of which must be total fasting and meditation (no other roleplay). Interrupting this process (doing 30 days, then learning something else, for example) requires that the learner start over again. At least two solos must be submitted to and approved by the appropriate staffers, related to the development of the concepts of Balance, and creating the opposite energy. Logged roleplays with at least two different muns, although not necessarily at the same time, must also be submitted, containing the seeds of these ideas. These logged roleplays must be submitted and approved before the other things may be attempted (solos, tech days, etc).

Imbue: This is the ability to focus and store order-based energies within objects, strengthening them. It's with this that Order Foci produce the special 'Black Iron' they're known for... when they're known at all. Not all objects can be imbued, and the energies are very hard to remove once placed, so making an 'Order battery' would be a highly inefficient and silly idea.

Increased Charge Rate: Only for Order-based spells/effects, and only three times a day, can an Order Focus invoke this ability. For that usage of that spell/effect, it increases the charge rate by 5%. It can also be stacked, so theoretically, all three daily uses could be used at once, making an effect charge at +25% per post... but that's highly draining, and would probably leave the Focus comatose after the effect had gone off. Also, if it is declared to be used on an effect, and the charging is disturbed and lost, so is the charge bonus that was used. If the Focus decides to not use the effect after all, and spends 1/3 of the posts spent charging, with a minimum of one, carefully dispelling and retrieving the energy, they can retain the charge bonus. Example: Alothin decides to use this to charge his Bonds of Law spell. He spends 4 posts charging at 15%, having used one Increased Charge Rate usage, since he's in hiding and has the time to prepare an ambush. But he gets word that the people he was going to ambush went another way. So, he spends 4/3 posts (rounded down to 1 post) recollecting the energy, carefully disassembling the spell, and keeps the Increased Charge Rate usage that he was using. It may be possible, at the admin's discretion, to allow an Order Focus to purchase additional Increased Charge Rate daily usages, as techs. Should an Order Focus somehow obtain a senzu bean and use it, they may opt to have it restore their Increased Charge Rate usages rather than their bodily strength or ME.

Increased Base Gain: Should the Order Focus fight someone who is specifically a chaos-wielder, their base gain is increased to 4% from 3%. Should they fight a Chaos Focus, their base gain is increased to 5%. However, this does not come into play unless at least one side (character, not necessarily mun) intends the fight to be lethal. Sparring with a Chaos Focus or a regular chaos-wielder does not garner them this boost, which limits this greatly, as well as the lack of characters which wield specifically chaotic powers.

Order Sensing: Order Foci have the ability to sense the flows of Order (and by extension, Chaos) in such a manner that they can sense magic 'ripples' in it, allowing them to detect the usage of any kind of magic. This operates much like ki sensing does for a ki wielder, however, because ki and psi both also cause perturbations in the flows of Order and Chaos, this allows the Order Foci to detect wielders of ki and psi as well. Because magicians, however, do not have any special innate power resting in them, they can only detect active magic, of course. However, any Order Foci or Chaos Foci can sense another by the way they disturb the Order and Chaos flows. (Sensing abilities work at equivalent to ki-sensing norm. If Ki sensors operate at 110% PL by current rules, then Order Sensing works at the same level.)

Racial Disadvantages:

Order Foci cannot learn to wield ki as a ki fighter does, although they may have some resident within them, as they're alive. Thus, they do not start with any of the ki gimmes, and cannot learn them. However, some of them can be compensated for through learning magic or psi.

Decreased Charge Rate: This is always in effect. For Chaos-based spells/effects, the Focus in question is at a -5% charge rate. So, if an Order Focus wanted to hurl a chaos bolt (presuming they somehow learnt such a thing) they'd only add 5% per turn rather than the regular 10%.

Decreased Base Gain: Should an Order Focus spar with another Order Focus, their base gain is set to 0% for that spar. They gain nothing from it. However, if it should be intended to be lethal by at least one party (again, character, not mun) then there is a gain of 1.5%.