The world of Centuria is copyright ©L.A. Malcor 1994
Welcome to the Dragonlords of Dumnonia newsletter for Ryanon's Base Camp. The following is information to keep you up-to-date on what's happening around Centuria. Good luck to you in battle or adventure.
These are upcoming online events. Please check the message board
on the main site and the events schedule on the Members
Only site frequently. Dates do change
occasionally, and other information you need to enjoy the RPs is linked
to each event. We don't want to clutter your mailboxes with all of
this data, so please make use of the website as much as you can.
Special Note:
| Terran Date | Centurian Date | Event Description |
|---|---|---|
| January 25, 1999 | 1.01.1999 | Feast of the Light; Opening of Krin's Base Camp on the Other Continent; Horse Races at Tramson Castle. |
| February 22, 1999 | 20.03.1999 | Feast of Laughter; Battle (Location to be determined); Aftermath. |
| March 22, 1999 | 15.05.1999 | Feast of Pain; Battle for Krin's and Gavain's Base Camps and Rainier's Camp (Ryanon's, Darrell's and Talon's Camps are on leave and may help out where they will); Aftermath. |
Remember, characters are able to bet on the races at the various events. If your character would like to do so and you don't know how, contact me at Legend@malcor.com.
If you have suggestions for additional plots or for other activities that you would like to see during the online RP sessions, contact the online coordinator, Dragonlord Krin, at Legend@malcor.com.
Here are the characters who are currently available for adoption. Message Exercise Master Krin at Legend@malcor.com if you'd like to give any of these folks a home!
Greetings!
Since we have several people with characters who use magic, I thought I'd take this opportunity to discuss magic and how it functions on Centuria. The central tenet of all magic-use is that "Knowledge is Power." The more a character knows about something, the more likely he/she will be able to affect it with magic.
There are two types of magic use: priestly (including druidic) and wizardry. Priestly is fairly simple. The god or goddess who is worshiped by the cleric grants the spell in response to a prayer. In this instance, the cleric needs to know about the deity. The more the character knows about a specific god or goddess, the better a simple spell will work and the more likely it is that a major spell will work. For instance, an acolyte who prays for light, can expect to get enough power to light a candle. A deacon using the same prayer could light a lamp or torch. A priest could light a bonfire. (Each cleric could cause an inanimate object to glow with the relative amount of light as well.)
Each deity has a specific type of magic that works really well for him/her. Clerics who try to use a spell that is in the specialty field for their deity often can work such a spell better than they can work other spells. The specialty fields are:
| Deity | Spell Types |
|---|---|
| Ailan | Cold (including Weather), Shape-Changing (including Plant), Time (forbidden) |
| Criton | Flight (including Levitation), Scrying (including Clairvoyance and Clairaudience) |
| Daenan | Weapon Enhancements, Group Control |
| Farador | Fertility, Animal |
| Kyla | Armor Enhancements (including Clothing), Attack/Defense (including Shield) |
| Leot | Light (including Fire and Lightning), Healing |
| Miranda | Creative (inanimate), Dispel/Block |
| The Mother | Creative (animate), Age |
| Serak | Darkness, Individual Control |
| Tobar | Travel (including Teleportation and Telekenesis), Summoning |
| Xeron | Pain, Demonic |
| Zed | Food, Drink |
Clerics can use spells outside of their deity's specialty (Healing or the creation of food or drink are popular examples), but spells that a deity knows very well will work especially well for his/her clerics. For instance, a priest of Kyla might be able to conjure enough food and drink to feed a platoon, a priest of Zed could conjure enough to feed a company.
Druidic magic is a subclass of clerical magic. All druidic spells come from the White Wolf, Ailan. The spells are limited to anything, living or non-living, that occurs naturally.
Prophets are a completely special case. These are individuals who are vessels through which a deity can work magic. Some prophets know which deity is using them. For instance, Shashtah knows he is a prophet of the Lord of Light, Leot. Other prophets have no idea which deity is working magic through them. For instance, the Bronze Dragons have only been able to figure out that their prophetic powers are hereditary within the line of Tchang, possibly because of his semidivine nature. But the deity who is responsible for Tchang's divine blood is the Dark One, and the prophetic powers of the Bronzes do not seem to stem from their hated enemy. The Bronze Prophets suspect that the deity may be the Mother, but it could just as easily be the Lord of Light or the White Wolf or any of half a dozen other gods or goddesses. In addition to being able to work "Hail, Mary" spells (that is, a prophet can make a hand gesture and hope the deity sends something through in the way of a spell and that the spell might be useful), prophets can see the future. Prophecy is wildly erratic in young prophets; extremely ancient prophets are more accurate. Yet no prophet is guaranteed to be completely accurate. It is very difficult for a prophet to tell how far in the future he is reading, and the future is constantly changing. The prophet may be seeing only the most likely future or the one the deity most wishes to warn the prophet about or toward which the deity wants the prophet to work. Most prophets (and prophetesses) seriously wish that they had not been "blessed" with this type of magic.
Since the Mirari use wizardry to grant spells to their clerics (something that is known only to beings of Mirari blood), the only form of "true magic" is wizardry. This is the type of magic that is practiced by all wizards, mages and apprentices. All magic items use this type of magic since only wizards can create magic items. All magical creatures-those with innate magic-use this type of magic instinctively. Clerical and prophetic magic are only variations of wizardry (in other words, they are wizardry worked through a second party).
Put simply, wizardry is the practice of using magical powers to effect something else. A wizard’s power comes from knowledge. The level of detail a wizard commands about a target and about all aspects of the desired spell determines the effectiveness of the spell. Anyone can be a wizard. How powerful a wizard a character is depends on how intelligent the character is, on how much knowledge the character has access to, and on how much time the character is willing to (or able to) spend studying. The Mirari are born with innate knowledge in certain fields (see the above chart). Some creatures are born with innate knowledge of certain magical spells (For instance, Dragons can instinctively fly and use their breathweapons.). But an average character has to acquire the necessary knowledge from scratch.
Spell components, hand gestures, and magical words are all simply tools that help a wizard bring his mind into sync with the target. Higher level wizards, such as the Mirari or, in some cases, the Wizards of Corin, can dispense with such things. A wizard who specializes in a particular type of magic can sometimes dispense with such things as well. For instance, Geron Firelord does not have to do anything special to access any form of fire-magic because he is so in tune with all aspects of fire in the world around him.
Magic itself is the force that is psychically manipulated by wizards while casting spells. This force exists on a plane that is parallel to the physical plane where most characters live their lives. When casting a spell, a wizard mentally opens a channel between that plane and the plane where the spell is intended to take effect. The mental effort this requires tires the mage, and, in the case of extremely powerful spells, can render the wizard unconscious for several days or even weeks. It is possible for high-level mages, such as Great Wizards, to drain the magic force from magical items and use that power to work spells. This enables the wizards to avoid the effects of opening the channel to the Plane of Magic. Ailan, the White Wolf, is under a curse, which was placed on him by Shane of Corin, that he always drains the most powerful magic items around him whenever he works a spell. To use magic normally, Ailan has to be in the middle of nowhere with absolutely nothing around him, which is why he spends so much time in the Northern Wastes. Most Great Wizards, however, can choose the object that they will drain. Farador, the Elven King, stockpiles items precisely for this purpose, storing them in the magical lake in the Elven Kingdom.
The force centers on Centuria and grows weaker the further someone gets from the planet. On the planet itself, magic is abundant. Many of the creatures have innate magic, and most individuals of even moderate intelligence can learn magic use-if they have the drive to do so. All Dragonriders, for instance, learn to conjure enough food and water for themselves and their draconic mounts. Before the school of Corin was destroyed, professional training in magic was rather easy to come by, provided that the character had enough wealth to get to the school and could be spared from whatever family business he/she had been born into. Ailan hopes to restore the school at Tor in Daethia, but there are currently not enough fully trained Great Wizards to serve as teachers. Most magic training is accomplished through an apprenticeship-system, where a more advanced wizard teaches a less advanced mage in exchange for goods or services. There is an excellent library on magic use in the Elven Kingdom, but only elves or races with elven blood (such as the Dumnonians) can enter the Elven Kingdom without special permission from the Elven King.
One of the bizarre effects of the curse Shane cast on Ailan is that this force no longer centers on the core of the planet but rather on him (a fact that very few people actually know and that he desires to keep secret). So when someone is unwise enough to kill Ailan, all the magic in the universe rushes into him, fully healing him and bringing him back to life. The magic then slowly seeps outward from him again. When this happens, all magic outside of Ailan stops working temporarily, which can cause some very serious problems. When magic comes back, sometimes “permanent” spells are restored; sometimes they are not. In general, Ailan is one of the best-protected individuals in the universe, as a result, since even the Dark One has decided that fluctuations in magic are extremely bad things.
The excessive use of magic on the border between Dumnonia and Cinnamar has resulted in huge non-magic zones, where magic simply will not work. Spells cannot be cast, and magic items will not function. To use spells or to return magic items to their functional state, characters must leave these zones. The zones have never been mapped, and many Dragonriders believe that the zones move-though most caravaneers suspect that the zones are more stable than the Dragonriders believe. It is possible that the zones only exist for a certain period of time after certain combinations of spells are cast, but no one has ever figured out the correlation between the zones and the events that precede their appearance.
That, then, is a crash course on the magic of Centuria. More developments will ensue when the Wizards of Corin trilogy is rewritten (I had it written once, in the days before computers, and the MSS vanished during my moves between college and home.).
Eternal Death to the Dark One!
Dragonlord Krin
If you have a suggestion for an essay that you would like to see
in this column, send it to Dragonlord Krin at Legend@malcor.com.
January: None.
February:
3--Linda A. Malcor
3--Allison Mitchell
March: None
7.01.1986--Lord Rellix
7.01.1671--Warrior Luyandariel
8.01.1984--Fighter Jakel
8.01.1960--Sahib (Journeyman Caravaneer) Kellen
9.01.1936--Dragonrider Mannann
10.01.1980--Dragonrider Dominic
10.01.1958--Dragonrider Thamah
13.01.1959--Dragonrider Sandy
14.01.1969--Dragonrider Nila
3.02.1972--Raider Judith
4.02.1980--Apprentice Beast Guilder (Jockey) Sarice
7.02.1929--Servant Nonna
19.02.1951--Dragonlord Krin
20.02.1935--Dragonrider Morgain (deceased)
1.03.1996--Lady Lesana
1.03.1982--Pretty Boy the Sprite
6.03.1929--Fosterer Yahto
6.03.1951--Lord Gavin
6.03.1959--Dragonrider Talon
7.03.1952--Master Bard Neil
7.03.1973--Journeyman Beast Guilder (Jockey) Sebra
8.03.1988--Shaina (child)
8.03.1978--Lord Kristopher
10.03.1935--Journeyman Caravaneer Koalan
10.03.1990--Wanche (child)
2.04.1957--Dragonrider Frida
2.04.1984--Dragonrider Vilera
3.04.1898--Priestess Trina (deceased)
7.04.1934--Fosterer Wyome
10.04.1982--Lord Garret
18.04.1914--Fosterer Netanya
1.05.1943--Master Carver Josef
3.05.1982--Apprentice Caravaneer Nahli
6.05.1927--Servant Manni
6.05.1987--Apprentice Caravaneer Kali
9.05.1943--Scribe Skyler
10.05.1982--Lady Jalla
10.05.1939--Master Beast Guilder (Jockey) Kerrie
14.05.1925--Exercise Master Brett
16.05.1952--Lady Ellisa
18.05.1961--Dragonlord Ryanon
20.05.1951--Dragonrider Gralt
These positions still need to be filled. We'd really appreciate the help!
Contact Dragonlord Krin at Legend@malcor.com for more details.
We need stories and art for Awaken the Dragons!, the fanzine for Ryanon's Base Camp. The next deadline is March 31st (though we are currently still accepting stories for the December 31st issue). Send stories or poems to Lady Zara at amberfocus@hotmail.com. Artwork should be sent directly to Brass Dragon Majidah at SlideNSpin@aol.com. Remember, you need to file a release form with L.A. Malcor prior to the publication of the 'zine if you contribute text. (No release is necessary for artwork.) Release forms are available online at
Full submission guidelines are at
Please remember to send all submissions in ASCII or .TXT format.
"DRAGONPROPHET" PUBLISHED!
The first of the Centuria stories was published online by Eternity Magazine.
If you haven't already done so, please show up and vote for it as the best story in the issue <G>. (If the form doesn't work for your browser, e-mail the rank--1 to 10 with 1 being worst and 10 being best--to Eternity Magazine at eternityol@aol.com
Also, remember that members of Dragonlords are entitled to read the completed, yet unpublished, Centuria stories. Contact Dragonlord Krin at Legend@malcor.com for your copies.
Other Publication News.
"Unfair Trade" has won fifth place in the Pulp Eternity Dragon Fiction contest.
For publication news, visit L.A. Malcor’s author page at:
Dragonlords Webring.
Dragonlords has started its own webring. You can find out how to join the ring at
Only members of Dragonlords may join the ring, but they may add as many sites (business, personal, or to another group whose sites are maintained by a Dragonlords member) as they please.
Dragonlords' Chat List.
Dragonlords has started a new chat list where you can discuss the Centuria books (or anything else <g>) with L.A. Malcor. The URL to join the list is
Dragonlords' Bookstore.
If you want to buy a book online, remember that Dragonlords has a store in association with Amazon.com. When you buy through our store, Dragonlords earns a fee. All money goes to help defray the cost of running Dragonlords so our memberships can stay free. The URL of our bookstore is
Dragonlords' Video Store.
Dragonlords also has an online video store in association with Reel.com. You can look up filmographies of actors and directors as well as buy videos. Proceeds go to help defray the cost of running Dragonlords. [Discontinued March 15, 2000]
Dragonlords' T-shirt
Dragonlords has covered its expenses and is starting to earn enough money for us to do something fun for our members. The BOD has decided that what we would like to do with the extra money is subsidize T-shirts for all members of the club (We may be able to buy the shirts outright for people; it depends on how many folks want them.).
If you would like to submit a design for the club T-shirt, send your suggestion in .gif or .jpg format to Dragonlord Krin at Legend@malcor.com. Try to keep your design suggestions to four colors or less, since that will significantly cut our costs. Submissions will close February 28th, 1999 at midnight. Krin will put the suggestions up on a webpage so we can vote on what we like best. Once the design is chosen, Krin will put up a sign-up sheet so we can see how many people actually want the shirts. Pricing will vary, depending on how many shirts are ordered.
Until next forum,
keep safe!
Brass Dragon Majidah
(This issue of the Forum compiled by Exercise Master Krin for Brass Dragon Majidah, whose player has unfortunately broken her wrist.)
