Ardent Mages
The primary power of these sorcerers comes from their anger. Having survived a long history of slaughter and starvation, the powers that they discovered -- and that permitted them to survive -- were those based on Dust magic, agony, and rage.
Structure
The Ardent Mages is a collection of clans, lead by the Saoshyant, the leader of the clans. The clans themselves are made up of multiple families, with members belonging to various castes.
The religious/political caste in the clans is the priesthood. Within the priesthood there are leaders, called Sunseekers, with a supreme leader of the clan, called the High Sunseeker. The Sunseekers are priests, wizards, politicians all.
The scholar caste in the clans are the academies. Graduates from the various academies become Argbadh, wizards of the academic orders.
Divine Origins
The Ardent Mages are a people who were born in struggle and pain, and these conditions dominate their day to day lives.
Though they control great powers, they pay a great price to do so. To manipulate the powers of Dust, an Ardent Mage must dissociate their mind from their body. For this they have developed elaborate pain rituals, for the more they are able to withstand the agony and ignore their physical discomfort, the deeper their relationship with Dust becomes. Pain has become a fundamental element of their society, to the point where children are taught from a young age to withstand it.
Stoicism is therefore as important as intelligence, and indifference to physical discomfort is the way in which an individual's worth is measured - be they an Ardent Mage or a stranger.
After falling out with the rest of the Inner Circle in dark circumstances, Zor Abaz has annexed her clan from the greater Ardent Mage nation and struck out for new territory. The suffering must be great, even magnificent, if she is to prepare the Ardent Mages for the endtimes.
Type
Geopolitical, Magocracy
Notable Members
Member Species
Human (Auriga)Ardent Mage Characters
Some recommendations when creating Ardent Mage characters.Pain Tolerance
Ardent Mages should have a high pain tolerance in order to practice their magics. It's recommended to give characters a good Fortitude and/or Will scores. For feats, it may be appropriate to invest in the Battle Trance chain of feats, and/or take the Tough as Nails feat.Dust Magic
Ardent Mages use their pain to cast powerful Dust magics. So mage characters should focus on supernatural/extraordinary attributes. For the spell flavoring, characters should leverage pain as a focus for the Dust magic (so rituals involve pain, blood, and sometimes even sacrifice).Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
