Chiromancy (mk.I)

[Quiver he/him]

This is something I've been thinking about for a little bit, having minor moments of enthusiasm then tapering off. I'm a bit nervous about making this public, since it is so obviously in it's infancy stages, but I was hoping that maybe someone could give me some pointers on how to improve this. In particular, I've edgy since it sounds too familiar to Soul Stamping, though in my (flimsy) defence, I only started reading that book recently and still haven't quite finished it.

Chiromancy- an Epic Fantasy Magic

In this world, practitioners of magic have it constantly at their fingertips.

When a person is born, the Gods stamp them with spirals on their fingertips, commonly known as Prints. These Prints are an extension of a person's identity, and anything the person touches is left with a Print that contains something of them. For instance, two chairs made by different artisans would have different feelings associated with them. A persons Prints can be passed on to someone else, either through direct contact with the person or by touching something they have Printed. This has the effect of influencing the person affected, though the results are typically temporary.

The Prints of persons with extreme personalities tend to hold for longer. Particular artefacts, such as thrones or standards are considered to be more durable than mundane items. The belongings of a great individual are believed to be particularly strongly stamped with his personality; a number of folklore and myths revolve around suits of armour, blades, or staves so powerfully imprinted by the original owner that all future bearers were effectively transformed into the original owner. A Print will naturally fade over time, but can be wiped away using cleaning agents and a cloth. They can also be made more permanent through the applications of varnishes. Experiments have been conducted using replicas of Prints made from wax or wood. However, these replicas do not provide the effect as a fresh Print.

While Chiromancy is present in everyone, only those who study it's secrets are referred to as Chiromancers. Each nation has it's own laws governing the use of and identification of Chiromancers, but one feature common to all is that Chiromancers wear gloves. The thickness are form of these gloves vary; in lands were Chiromancy is distrusted they may be thickly buckled, where others will be soft. It has become a recent trend in lands where Chiromancy is publicly practiced to wear gloves which have the cloth covering the Prints to be removed.

Chiromancers can recognise different Prints at a glance. For most this is a result of intensive study. For those who are more naturally inclined towards it, each Print is as distinct as different colours. When a Chiromancer performs a task, they will often dip their finger in ink first, as a sign that it is an action being purposefully carried out.

Individuals in rural areas have claimed that replication of Printings spiral patterns can obtain the same, or greater results. Where Chiromancy is a subtle art, focusing on identification and tracking, these shamans claim to produce startling effects such as pyres, or summoning lightning. These practitioners may garner respect in their respective communities, but most Chiromancers regard it as a forgery.

Any thoughts?

[Edgedancer he/him]

So basicly magical fingerprints with brainwashing powers, interesting.

 

An important point for commenting on this woud be to know the actuall limits for these prints, espacially on objects, how different prints interact with each other and how much controll can be achived

.

There are implications that touching someone by itself coud be an attack on someones psyches. So the population woud be rather wary of each other wich in turn woud lead to rather suspicious people, that have fear and suspicion of others in their childbed, or extremly open and friendly humans that have no problem whatsoever with sharing a very private moment everytime they touch a stranger.

Plus people thath have a lets say negative outlook on live woud leave prints that also worsen the mood of everyone around them, making the outcasts.

Admidetly all of these points can be negatet by wearing gloves, so that is something to think about as well. Do only Chiromancers wear gloves, as you planed, or everyone and what is the common opinion on this.

 

Or to keep it short rather polarizing magic that shoud have strong effects on everyday philosopy, which shoud be a focus point in worldbuilding.

 

Also for the sake of getting an opinion on those shamans it may help to know if they can really cause pyres ect. or not

[Quiver he/him]

So basicly magical fingerprints with brainwashing powers, interesting.

Basically. I suffer from mild OCD, part of which means I hate doing exactly what this system entails; touching people, or touching things other people have touched. This is sort of intended as a case of, if I had this magic, it would be my worst nightmare, because Aside from the brainwashing aspect, everything everywhere would appear contaminated.

There are implications that touching someone by itself coud be an attack on someones psyches. So the population woud be rather wary of each other wich in turn woud lead to rather suspicious people, that have fear and suspicion of others in their childbed, or extremly open and friendly humans that have no problem whatsoever with sharing a very private moment everytime they touch a stranger.

Plus people thath have a lets say negative outlook on live woud leave prints that also worsen the mood of everyone around them, making the outcasts.

Admidetly all of these points can be negatet by wearing gloves, so that is something to think about as well. Do only Chiromancers wear gloves, as you planed, or everyone and what is the common opinion on this.

Or to keep it short rather polarizing magic that shoud have strong effects on everyday philosopy, which shoud be a focus point in worldbuilding

Thanks for this. World building is something I'm fairly terrible at, seeing as how it involves genuine creativity. I'm sort of unsure how to go about world building or how to start it, so this is really useful. At the moment, the only idea I had was that the land of the story would have a setting that was a mix of Gaelic and Asiatic cultures, since a book I recently read on Celtic myth identified what I thought were interesting similarities between the two. Do you have any advice regarding creating a world?

Also for the sake of getting an opinion on those shamans it may help to know if they can really cause pyres ect. or not

This is a point I'm still debating. As I said, it's partly based on Celtic settings, and one of the interesting points I read was that Celtic tombs (not actual tombs, but I can't remember the precise name) were decorated with spiral like patterns, like the design of a fingertip. I'm thinking of including that as an alternative system, to reflect the Druid-esque archetype, but I don 't know if it's appropriate. It kind of fits, with the spiral theme, but I'm unsure of having a more primitive and spectacular magical art cheapens the other. Edited January 1, 2014 by Quiver

[Gamma Fiend he/him]

Pretty interesting idea, I like it. There's a lot of potential in the magic system.
The thing with the Spirals in nature and druid type stuff... maybe use something with the 'Golden Spiral' or Fibonacci's Sequence... tapping into Nature's natural tendency to follow those patterns, those 'barbaric' people are actually able to use that 'secret code of nature' with spirals and tap into and manipulate Nature, allowing for crazier powers.

 

Also, the Imprinting of personalities and stuff... I think this would have great implications for Science/technology and knowledge in general. Some mathematical or scientific genius, their stuff can be passed on and their research would continue. Heck, it could even be an honor to sacrifice yourself to become that Wise persons new 'vessel' for their personality, so to speak.

So their could be some specific areas of advanced knowledge, influencing how the world will evolve.

Keep with this, it could turn out really cool.

[Joe ST he/him]

that is a really kinda interesting idea

[Quiver he/him]

Pretty interesting idea, I like it. There's a lot of potential in the magic system.

The thing with the Spirals in nature and druid type stuff... maybe use something with the 'Golden Spiral' or Fibonacci's Sequence... tapping into Nature's natural tendency to follow those patterns, those 'barbaric' people are actually able to use that 'secret code of nature' with spirals and tap into and manipulate Nature, allowing for crazier powers.

You know, that is a much better explanation than what I had. I was thinking of some vaguely ascribed power, leyline-like, but this golden spiral idea sounds neat. I'll have to look into it. I'd also kind of considered the idea that a nation is influenced by the people who live in it. At the same time, people who are born in a particular place are Imprinted towards certain traits.

 

Also, the Imprinting of personalities and stuff... I think this would have great implications for Science/technology and knowledge in general. Some mathematical or scientific genius, their stuff can be passed on and their research would continue. Heck, it could even be an honor to sacrifice yourself to become that Wise persons new 'vessel' for their personality, so to speak.

So their could be some specific areas of advanced knowledge, influencing how the world will evolve.

Keep with this, it could turn out really cool.

 

My initial idea was that it would, on most cases, be a fairly temporary influence, but that makes an interesting idea. The early idea I had was that the idea of a permanent Imprint was impossible, so naturally the villain would have it. This sounds a lot more interesting though, sort of makes me think of Trills, which isn't a bad thing.

Of course, it means I really have to brush up on my science, but research is a necessity anyway. Since you mention science, it makes me think of religion., I'd thought of adapting Welsh concepts of reincarnation, but I have to say, the idea of such easily formed cults or armies has me intrigued.

One aspect I had considered was that manual crafts would be in higher demand. People who build things would be in higher demand. I took the name from chiropractor, because I find the idea of a massage that relaxes your muscles and fills you with positive feelings interesting.

 

that is a really kinda interesting idea

Sorry to ramble on so much. I think it's clear I'm sort of new to this, and I'm mostly enthused that I'm getting such a positive reaction for this. It's taken posting here for me to realise my world building isn't good enough. As you say, it's a very polarising magic system that affects everyone at all levels of society, and I had the idea of plugging it into a generic fantasy setting. Thanks for setting me straight and giving me some really important points to consider.

[Shardbearer he/him]

I love this idea. I think you can do great things with it.

 

Have you read Brandon's 3 laws of magic? The third one says that you must consider the ramifications your magic system will have on the rest of your world. So, as others have indicated, how will this affect how people view casual touch? What will this do to the economy? Will chiromancer craftsmen exist who focus on making items that give different effects? I can imagine someone with a peaceful soul crafting relaxation chairs that would sell for a premium. Or a warrior who forges chiromancy enhanced weapons. But that would mean he would have to specialize in both combat and forging and at least dabble in chiromancy, which would probably be very difficult.

[Gamma Fiend he/him]

Also, something as simple as currency. What would that look like? With coins or bills being handled and passed off by thousands/millions of people daily, there could be tons of imprinting possible. So you could also find something cool to work around that.

And don't worry, not thinking of things like all of these crazy implications isn't necessarily 'bad' worldbuilding, it's just a process you gotta do. As you explore more possibilities and think out things more, you'll see tons of new potential and cool, nifty things that can be done.

Oooh, crazy thought. I hope it doesn't sound like we're hi-jacking your ideas or telling you what you should do, but I just had a cool idea.
There's ton of potential for 'Cult of Personality' stuff, strong influential religious or political figures.
But what if there's also an inverse side? A faction that could be growing stronger... people who are wary or scared of Chiromancy, there could be some sort of sect or cult that go to extremes like burning leaders or followers fingertips, or their Prints, off, to avoid the whole possibilities of 'personality' type manipulation.

Religious tension is always a fun thing to read/write about.

[Edgedancer he/him]

.

Oooh, crazy thought. I hope it doesn't sound like we're hi-jacking your ideas or telling you what you should do, but I just had a cool idea.

There's ton of potential for 'Cult of Personality' stuff, strong influential religious or political figures.

But what if there's also an inverse side? A faction that could be growing stronger... people who are wary or scared of Chiromancy, there could be some sort of sect or cult that go to extremes like burning leaders or followers fingertips, or their Prints, off, to avoid the whole possibilities of 'personality' type manipulation.

 

 

Now I have a idea to hi-jack your hi-jack idea.

Namely that there is/was basicly one person that such an strong imprint that he can still complitly integrate other people after centurys, so that he even overwrites his hosts prints into his own, and there is an cult/religion/goverment around that person, which creates some kind of mental clone dictatorship.

Then one goal of the inverse side you mentioned coud be to get rid of said dictatorship.

 

Just for fun there coud be a cuple of spins on this like the population wanting that person to be there enternal leader, insted of the usuall eviloverlord theme.

[Gamma Fiend he/him]

lol the 17th Shard is loving this idea, it seems.

I hope we can see some in-world writing soon, that'd be really cool, methinks.

[Quiver he/him]

I love this idea. I think you can do great things with it.

Have you read Brandon's 3 laws of magic? The third one says that you must consider the ramifications your magic system will have on the rest of your world. So, as others have indicated, how will this affect how people view casual touch? What will this do to the economy? Will chiromancer craftsmen exist who focus on making items that give different effects? I can imagine someone with a peaceful soul crafting relaxation chairs that would sell for a premium. Or a warrior who forges chiromancy enhanced weapons. But that would mean he would have to specialize in both combat and forging and at least dabble in chiromancy, which would probably be very difficult.

I read his first two laws after I finished all his books, and at the time, the third law wasn't up yet. Since you mentioned it, I've had a look at it, and it (and you guys) made me realise how badly I was breaking it. Printing isn't really a magic system. It's a shift in how human beings operate as social creatures. But I hadn't really considered that and was just plugging into a bland setting. Again, thanks for providing ideas for improvement.

Also, something as simple as currency. What would that look like? With coins or bills being handled and passed off by thousands/millions of people daily, there could be tons of imprinting possible. So you could also find something cool to work around that.

The money thing. You know, I actually had thought of using real life currency as a way to illustrate what I meant, but I didn't even consider in-world stuff. Now that it's been mentioned, I can't believe I overlooked it. I have to say, I kind of like the idea of a society (or at least a nation) where the introduction of currency has actually made people more open and sociable.

Ooh, crazy thought. I hope it doesn't sound like we're hi-jacking your ideas or telling you what you should do, but I just had a cool idea.

There's ton of potential for 'Cult of Personality' stuff, strong influential religious or political figures.

But what if there's also an inverse side? A faction that could be growing stronger... people who are wary or scared of Chiromancy, there could be some sort of sect or cult that go to extremes like burning leaders or followers fingertips, or their Prints, off, to avoid the whole possibilities of 'personality' type manipulation.

Religious tension is always a fun thing to read/write about.

Now I have a idea to hi-jack your hi-jack idea.

Namely that there is/was basicly one person that such an strong imprint that he can still complitly integrate other people after centurys, so that he even overwrites his hosts prints into his own, and there is an cult/religion/goverment around that person, which creates some kind of mental clone dictatorship.

Then one goal of the inverse side you mentioned coud be to get rid of said dictatorship.

Just for fun there coud be a cuple of spins on this like the population wanting that person to be there enternal leader, insted of the usuall eviloverlord theme.

By all means, hijack away, and I hope you don't mind if I use some of these. Edgedancer, I was planning on saying that that was what I had initially thought of, but on reflection, it's not. At least, not in the details.

I had thought of using the imprint of a Dark Lord. The reason I mentioned coloured in my opening was because I pictured it leaving something like the black spot, which I called the Stain. The idea was a pitch of "What if the One Ring still worked after Sauron died?" or how a political text can continue to influence people down the centuries. I liked the idea of an evil which is dead and gone, and still influencing the world. How do you fight that? Problem was, I couldn't think of a way to do it without seeming contrived or hand waving, especially since I had the antagonist start at the bottom.

I know it's fantasy cliche, but I like the suggestion of having this power already set up, and I like the idea of it being more morally grey. I am a tad nervous about stuff like that ("Remember kids, the moral is, a perfect society is one in which we are all slaves to the overlord!") but the concept itself is so extreme that political wrangling sounds like looking for trouble.

lol the 17th Shard is loving this idea, it seems.

I hope we can see some in-world writing soon, that'd be really cool, methinks.

As I've said, I'm really grateful and surprised at how much support my hokey setting/system is getting. Writing would definitely be a way to start exploring this stuff, besides which I need some heavy critique anyway. I'll try and get a short story (or at least the rough draft of a first draft) up in the next couple of days.

It's a good thing your enthusiasm is leaving me with no pressure lol.

Thanks again to everyone whose replied here.

Edited January 3, 2014 by Quiver

[Shardbearer he/him]

Don't be so quick to disparge your idea. It takes time to consider the ramifications of your magic system, so no, I wouldn't say you broke Brandon's 3rd law so much as you are still fleshing out the idea.

[Gamma Fiend he/him]

Exactly. Just keep building away and fleshing things out. There's so much that can be initially over-looked but once you keep going for a while and go back you'll see new angles and things you could improve on. This Printing system has a lot of potential and the world it's set it can be a really unique place.

And there's so many possibilities to explore that "morally grey" area, and just the psychology of people overall, with all the fear and mistrust, or at least wariness with physical contact of each other and things. Those will be very interesting facets of society to explore.

[Quiver he/him]

An update on my progress (and a cry for attention):

I've started working on world building according to what you have suggested. I'm doing a series of short stories to practice my actual writing, so I thought I'd put the ideas I've been thinking of here.

Tamith

The central state, and the main one I've been thinking about. I've been describing it as my Minas Morgul, or Elantris (ironically, since Elantris is the only Cosmere I've never finished). By that I mean it's where the mental clone dictatorship, the Stain, is situated.

Before the Stain, it's one of the most powerful cities in the world. Situated along a river, and virtually in the middle of the continent, it has the majority of trade routes, and is a major economic power. Most of the lands surrounding it have their own names and histories, but they owe loyalty to Tamith in exchange for protection and trade.

Inside the city, Chiromancy is practiced openly. The citizenry are much more open and sociable than modern Earth individuals are. The common style is to wear short sleeve shirts, to make it easier for people to Print one another. More expensive clothing typically leaves more skin bare; usually forearms, with the richest of the nobility wearing togas. On the other side of the social scale, the poor are expected to wear more clothes and to conceal themselves. It is a punishable offence for the destitute to be on the main streets with anything besides their face exposed, and the government regularly drops mass-produced clothing into the poorer districts to ensure this.

The law of Tamith has developed to adapt to chiromancy. The city guards wear full-length clothes with large, heavy helmets to prevent anyone from touching them. They are expected to view everything that happens impartially, and arrest anyone who breaks the law. When being tried, the criminals intention is taken into consideration. This has resulted in many more arrests than there are prosecutions, causing most people to view the guards as cold or inhuman.

Socially, the citizenry are broadly tolerant of other peoples beliefs. Racial identity is not an issue. A number of religious groups exist within the city, though these tend to be external religions which have been adopted by the citizenry. Additionally, there is typically a great deal of homogeny between the groups as a result of frequent Printings.

The ruler of Tamith is the Primarch, as the First amongst Equals. Despite being in charge, however, it is a common political ploy to choose soft, weak-willed individuals for the position, the unspoken consensus amongst the nobility being that such a person is easier to control and influence.

Whenever the Stain begins to affect people, the city is locked down and the gates barred. The other nations of the continent have no idea what is happening, leading to preparations for war, and border skirmishes with the buffer states between the cities. As a result, the fiefdoms which formerly owed allegiance to Tamith declare independence or form alliances.

The city is eventually opened, and greatly changed. The divisions of class have been completely abolished, and the previous political and religious factions have been folded into one. I don't have a name for the individual responsible for this, in part because whoever(whatever?) it was has been gone for a long, long time. What remains of him/her/it is a force which has 'stained' the people's chiromantic identity.

It isn't a personality overwrite, alà Agent Smith in the Matrix sequels. It's something which influences how people act and think- though once you get to the point where people are being born who haven't experienced life without being stained, it can be impossible to tell the difference. While the citizenry are devoted to common cause, individuals retain their own thoughts, ideas, etc.

The reason the city was shut down wasn't an attempt to curb the progress of the Stain. Whoever is behind it views themselves as a benevolent force. This has been reinforced by the religion which emerged around it. Rather, the city was sealed from the outside world because of the desire to fix it.

Now that that has been achieved, Tamith wants to spread its influence to the lands which it formerly controlled. Surprisingly, this is not sought through force of arms, but diplomatic missions. Tamith views it's former fiefdoms as their territory and seeks to reunite them. The Eden-esque appeal of accepting their ways is the main argument, and they have yet to resort to war. They also claim to have no interests beyond their former borders. Despite this, the other nations remain wary of Tamith, and the consequences of Printing in that city has led to quiet damnation of it in other countries.

Any thoughts, revisions or modifications to suggest? I realise this is maybe a bit of a summary, but I wasn't entirely sure how to structure this so it was all relevant, so I apologise if it's all a bit chaotic. The stories I've been thinking of have all been a pre-Stain Tamith, which is why there's so much emphasis there, and nothing on other places. I've been really interested by the idea of a chi romantically friendly society, and that's harder to picture after tactile mind control.

Actually, I'm wondering whether to pull a Mistborn and set the whole story in one location. My reaction for epic fantasy is to go big though.

EDIT: Thanks Edgedancer (below). I thought it was better to just edit this rather than post, since, honestly, one of the reasons I posted to begin with was to try and draw some attention. I'm still sort of playing and shifting with stuff. I keep going back on forth on religions; while I kinda like the idea of them, having them be really Indistinct from each other is probably a bad idea.

I'm also worried this is too Elantris. As stated, I've never actually read it, but that just makes me more conscious of inadvertently stealing from it.

Edited January 8, 2014 by Quiver

[Edgedancer he/him]

I´m a bit short on time, so i´ll keep it short and most likely write somthing more in dept later.

It´s a good foundation. There is nothing that dosen´t make sense or contradicts other parts of the worldbuilding and sets the tone for the relation of the people with the magic.

Also there is a source of mayor conflict pre stain as well as post.

So yeah, thumbs up.

[Gamma Fiend he/him]

I like. very solid start. I can see how you can get that Elantris-esque vibe from it, but I can see enough differences.

Like Edgedancer said, everything is on good order and is a very nice setup.

[Swimmingly he/him]

Given that Stain is one letter away from Stalin, this comes off to me as a fantasization allegory of the problems surrounding communism...but maybe that's just me.

[Quiver he/him]

Given that Stain is one letter away from Stalin, this comes off to me as a fantasization allegory of the problems surrounding communism...but maybe that's just me.

I didn't intend that, but I hardly think authorial intent matters. Besides, your right. It's not meant to be connected to communism (I'm too politically obtuse for that), but I think the communist connection is kind of inherent in any of those sort of 'mindless drone living for the state' pitches, whether it's someone Stained, or some Assimilated. Besides, when I was scribbling that up, it did kind of occur to me to wonder 'Hey, locking the city, is that like the Iron Curtain? And then there being no class divide and proletariat and stuff' but I ignored it. The fact your bringing it up means maybe I should rethink that.

Then again, despite my notes, I have a tendency to make stuff up on the fly, so hopefully whenever I start practicing the stained society, I'll come up with something better. You mention Stalin, but the leader I'm sort of vaguely picturing is more the sort of cult personality you find (or that's reported at least) in North Korea- a semi-religious, semi-political benevolent dictatorship. The point was I was going to go with what Edgedancer suggested and have them sincerely want it, because of utopian society/indoctrination, etc. I kind of pictured a scene where criticising whoever is responsible for this basically flips a switch in how one of their followers treats you; talking amicably one minute, ready to gut you the next.

And, to save double-posting, thanks for the critique on my fiction.

[Swimmingly he/him]

I didn't intend that, but I hardly think authorial intent matters. Besides, your right. It's not meant to be connected to communism (I'm too politically obtuse for that), but I think the communist connection is kind of inherent in any of those sort of 'mindless drone living for the state' pitches, whether it's someone Stained, or some Assimilated. Besides, when I was scribbling that up, it did kind of occur to me to wonder 'Hey, locking the city, is that like the Iron Curtain? And then there being no class divide and proletariat and stuff' but I ignored it. The fact your bringing it up means maybe I should rethink that.

Then again, despite my notes, I have a tendency to make stuff up on the fly, so hopefully whenever I start practicing the stained society, I'll come up with something better. You mention Stalin, but the leader I'm sort of vaguely picturing is more the sort of cult personality you find (or that's reported at least) in North Korea- a semi-religious, semi-political benevolent dictatorship. The point was I was going to go with what Edgedancer suggested and have them sincerely want it, because of utopian society/indoctrination, etc. I kind of pictured a scene where criticising whoever is responsible for this basically flips a switch in how one of their followers treats you; talking amicably one minute, ready to gut you the next.

And, to save double-posting, thanks for the critique on my fiction.

Thanks for writing! I just happened to notice the allegory, also I did actually keep reading Stain as Stalin, probably because of the tiny phone I was using at the time. I read those first couple chapters, and I really like the way that Prints are used. Favourite line: Guard Doctor: Well, suck it up.

 

I did wonder why the guards didn't train to resist Chiromancy. Since everybody has it, it couldn't be that hard to have training sessions where they try to influence each other to do things.

 

With training, good method actors can learn to act with actual emotions, rather than just mimicking it - would these people be strong Chiromancers, able to instill whatever feelings necessary in themselves, then in others through Chiromancy? Like, say I'm fighting a man, and, for a second, make myself feel terrified, then print him. I'm prepared for the fear, but he's not.

 

What happens when a circle of people line up so that they are constantly printing on eachother? Do emotions get amplified until someone passes out or goes insane?

 

Could a single heavily sedated man be used to drug others?

 

If the emotions in an object cause a man to respond with greater emotion, for example a man in a dark cell a handle printed by generations of prisoners while they were tortured responding with yet more terror and anticipation, would this count as a form of torture in itself?

 

What's the effect of printing while having sex?

 

What happens when someone who is entirely insane prints you?

[Quiver he/him]

I did wonder why the guards didn't train to resist Chiromancy. Since everybody has it, it couldn't be that hard to have training sessions where they try to influence each other to do things.

My pitch, such as it was, is that Printing isn't something that could be stopped; whatever you do, something is gonna rub off on you. Kayla's reaction was maybe a little over the top to show that, but it wasn't meant as a sort of compulsion, it was more everything flashed in her head in a second; basically hyper empathy. I tweaked it a little bit so that in the second part she expressed some of the emotion, like a really temporary personality influence, mostly to see which way I preferred. Different people have different chi romantic strength; Kayla is just unlucky in that she's kind of bad at it. It's why taking off her helmet was such a big deal. Their covered head to toe for a reason, and she didn't want to be exposed.

With training, good method actors can learn to act with actual emotions, rather than just mimicking it - would these people be strong Chiromancers, able to instill whatever feelings necessary in themselves, then in others through Chiromancy? Like, say I'm fighting a man, and, for a second, make myself feel terrified, then print him. I'm prepared for the fear, but he's not.

That... is brilliant, and I never thought of it. Granted, I haven't worked out the logistics of hyper empathy warfare, but that is a point I never considered .

Circle

Another thing I didn't think of; the closest I got was some ideas of how religious ceremonies work. My immediate reaction is just that it would loop around, and around, and around, which almost sounds like an easy way to get a legal high- get people with positive emotions lined up until their grinning like crazy. I haven't thought of that, so I can't give a real answer, but that's what my immediate answer would be.

Sedation

Spoilers.

That's exactly what could happen. When I was outlining Jaren's story, I had a small scenario in mind that I didn't use; that some drug pushers will get their clientele high, make them go into severe withdrawal, then tear their clothes off and send them running. Most people they Print will have have temporary feelings of 'bad mojo', but every so often it hit's someone bad enough that they become addicts too.

Torture

I didn't consider the torture application, but basically, yeah. A scene I had in mind for the next chapter (which was this chapter until Arlan showed up, it was a whole thing) involved Kayla getting into her bunk. She made it after she got up, so her Prints were all over it, so it was a moment of positive feedback, with her basically channelling herself back at

Sex

You know, I have two stories lined up as romances, so I probably should address this, though I'm a little wary given the ratings on the forum. My short, cop out explanation, for a couple who genuinely love each other, or at least are in it for the hedonistic high? It feels good

It can also be pretty much the worst thing ever, in the most mind twisted way. I'm reluctant to go into details, again, since I'm worried about forum content violations and because what I have in mind is more of impressions or a hypothetical 'imagine if you were there' type thing, which I don't want to discuss on the open forum for obvious reasons.

Madness

That was another scenario I pictured; a chiromantic asylum. I'd have to do research into mental disorders, since what someone is affected by would effect how it impacts others, but for a straight up, broken Joker mind? Ha. Ha. Ha.

Of course, the immediate effect of that would be temporary, but part of chiromancy is tap hat you're still going to remember how that felt... so whether or not someone could handle having their brain broken and put back together again is... an iffy subject. And generally best not to find out.

EDIT Well, that was odd. I couldn't post this the first few times I tried quoting you, so I had to remove them. The sections roughly line up, but I'll put topic headings on them anyway to make it clearer. Sorry about that.

Edited January 16, 2014 by Quiver

[Swimmingly he/him]

My pitch, such as it was, is that Printing isn't something that could be stopped; whatever you do, something is gonna rub off on you. Kayla's reaction was maybe a little over the top to show that, but it wasn't meant as a sort of compulsion, it was more everything flashed in her head in a second; basically hyper empathy. I tweaked it a little bit so that in the second part she expressed some of the emotion, like a really temporary personality influence, mostly to see which way I preferred. Different people have different chi romantic strength; Kayla is just unlucky in that she's kind of bad at it. It's why taking off her helmet was such a big deal. Their covered head to toe for a reason, and she didn't want to be exposed.

That... is brilliant, and I never thought of it. Granted, I haven't worked out the logistics of hyper empathy warfare, but that is a point I never considered .

Circle

Another thing I didn't think of; the closest I got was some ideas of how religious ceremonies work. My immediate reaction is just that it would loop around, and around, and around, which almost sounds like an easy way to get a legal high- get people with positive emotions lined up until their grinning like crazy. I haven't thought of that, so I can't give a real answer, but that's what my immediate answer would be.

Sedation

Spoilers.

That's exactly what could happen. When I was outlining Jaren's story, I had a small scenario in mind that I didn't use; that some drug pushers will get their clientele high, make them go into severe withdrawal, then tear their clothes off and send them running. Most people they Print will have have temporary feelings of 'bad mojo', but every so often it hit's someone bad enough that they become addicts too.

Torture

I didn't consider the torture application, but basically, yeah. A scene I had in mind for the next chapter (which was this chapter until Arlan showed up, it was a whole thing) involved Kayla getting into her bunk. She made it after she got up, so her Prints were all over it, so it was a moment of positive feedback, with her basically channelling herself back at

Sex

You know, I have two stories lined up as romances, so I probably should address this, though I'm a little wary given the ratings on the forum. My short, cop out explanation, for a couple who genuinely love each other, or at least are in it for the hedonistic high? It feels good

It can also be pretty much the worst thing ever, in the most mind twisted way. I'm reluctant to go into details, again, since I'm worried about forum content violations and because what I have in mind is more of impressions or a hypothetical 'imagine if you were there' type thing, which I don't want to discuss on the open forum for obvious reasons.

Madness

That was another scenario I pictured; a chiromantic asylum. I'd have to do research into mental disorders, since what someone is affected by would effect how it impacts others, but for a straight up, broken Joker mind? Ha. Ha. Ha.

Of course, the immediate effect of that would be temporary, but part of chiromancy is tap hat you're still going to remember how that felt... so whether or not someone could handle having their brain broken and put back together again is... an iffy subject. And generally best not to find out.

EDIT Well, that was odd. I couldn't post this the first few times I tried quoting you, so I had to remove them. The sections roughly line up, but I'll put topic headings on them anyway to make it clearer. Sorry about that.

I can imagine isolated temples where masters of controlling emotion teach their students to change their emotions with pure willpower, driving them through torturous regimens whereby they must be able to summon the emotional strength to feel delight while being beaten with a bamboo cane, or switch from pure hatred to genuine respect to terrified confusion within a second. They are taught an open-handed fighting style. The result? A bunch of grown men slapping eachother, then crying, falling down, screaming, or laughing randomly - and they are the most feared warrior-monks of the realm.

[Elementalist he/him]

It looks very interesting! Why did you choose the name "Chiromancy," though? What's the relationship to bones?

EDIT: Nevermind, I just looked up the origin of "chiro" in greater depth.

Edited January 30, 2014 by Power

[Quiver he/him]

Minor update: despite not haaing written or posted anything in a week, I am still sort-of working on Chriomancy short stories. At the moment, however, my timetable is a little full, which was a bad time for my brain to start throwing out thoughts along the lines of "HEY, WOULDN'T IT BE COOL IF---"

 

But, I'm posting here because I want to get a quick response on something. As the threads show, my main idea with chiromancy is that it's expressed through fingerprints. I've also had a bit of trouble coming up with other cultures, which is why everything has been so centralised on Tamith.

 

That being said, I did do some reading on a topic. t might be interesting to incorporate, but I'm unsure; I'm a little worried it might seem gimmicky, or beating a good (in my mind) idea to death by attempting to show how clever I am.

 

Anyway, the idea I had was for palmistry to be a more important aspect of another nation. Chiromancy and Printing still applies for them (I like the idea of a universal magic system, especially one that causes social upheaval) but their secondary to it.

 

I thought it might build up a few interesting twists and differences between the two systems; Chiromancy is based upon an individual in the immediate moment. It's a reflection of who that person is. Palmistry is similar, since reading a palm gives you more insight into a person's identity, but it's also more concerned with the future, and who a person will be. The first has a more social usage, since I like the idea of hyper-empathic people who till retain a strong sense of "This is who I am"; the second leads to people being more reserved about physical contact, since they have their own goals to work towards.

 

I might be explaining it badly. I haven't thought about it beyond the idea that it exists, so I'm not sure if I should make it a separate magic system, a cultural relic, or something of religious significance. I thought I'd air it out here and get some feedback on whether it's a good idea or not before I start treating it as a time sink.

 

(An aside; in the real world, palmistry is also referred to as cheiromancy, manteia and chiromancy. Which might be a sign, if you believe in that sort of thing.)

 

EDIT: Oh, and Power, if you happen to read this... I've seen your thread about an oppressive magic system. I've been meaning to post there, but I want to try and have something meaningful to add to the conversation when I do, and at the moment, I don't really have any ideas. Sorry about that, but thanks for posting in my thread.

Edited February 1, 2014 by Quiver