4.15.7 Indorani Roleplay

Indorani are dark sorcerers, whose traditions date back across the epochs. Historically committed to the formation of a single, continent-spanning Dark Empire, they have forged contracts with Chaos, and mastered the manipulation of ambient shadow essence, as means by which to power their arts. Across the centuries, they have experienced successive waves of unification and dissolution, giving rise to countless occult traditions across the Sapient southwest.

What is Corrupt Chaos?
Corrupt Chaos is a subplane of Chaos, that which winds through and around existence like an amorphous shell. This realm has been ruled by Chakrasul, the Dark Mother, since the conquest and division of Sapient Chaos in the year 481 MA, and consists of impossible architecture, menacing surroundings, and no small number of chaotic entities. Most notably, Corrupt Chaos is the dwelling place of the Chaos Lords with whom the Indorani bargain for favor.

The rise and fall of the Indorani:
The modern Indorani were formed by members of the Occultists' guild of Ashtan, who embraced their historical roots and journeyed to the city of Bloodloch no later than the year 116 MA to reconstruct their ancient traditions. After centuries of devoted service to their cause, the Indorani guild fell to ruin in the year 476 MA, cursed by Severn, the Manipulator for their betrayal of Sapience and the Prime. Their remnants have since spread across the continent, lacking centralized authority and serving many different causes of Shadow.

Life essence:
Life essence is drawn from the Inner Spark of the dead, a wellspring of spirit and fire that is either passively absorbed or else taken from an Indorani's victims. Although the Inner Spark is more accessible to the living, even undead Sapients possess it, albeit buried and stifled beneath the higher concentrations of elemental shadow which animate their forms. In the process of absorbing life essence, the Indorani subconsciously denatures it, bonding it with elemental shadow so as to make more efficient use of it at a later date.

The sources of the Indorani's arts include:
- Life essence, drawn from the Inner Spark of their victims or absorbed from the dead, which is used in Necromancy and Domination.
- The manipulation and structuring of ambient shadow in Necromancy.
- The infusion of ambient shadow into symbolic cards to produce magical effects through Tarot.
- Bargaining with the Chaos Lords, demonic denizens of Corrupt Chaos, to summon chaos entities via Domination.

Indorani are defined by a broad, versatile command of magic, and are able to draw upon potent effects with sufficient power. They harvest hearts and life essence from their victims in order to fuel their dark arts, pushing their spellcraft beyond both mortal constraints and the moral pale.

Visual style of the class:
As embodiments of Chakrasulian Despair, the Indorani's spells and gestures are chosen for dramatic, intimidating effect, consisting in gruesome displays of decay, destruction, and corruption of their foes' physical and mental stability. Fell light and choking shadow intermingle in their sorcery, smearing the very air around them to a chaotic blur and making them difficult to distinguish. Their entities often ambush their marks from the shadows, revealing themselves in the instant of attack before fading away again.

Side effects of the class:
Repeated use of the element of shadow results in physical changes that cannot be easily hidden. The eyes will become black and nearly solid, and the corruption will be visible in the veins sprawling outwards from them. Fingertips will also darken, and skin texture may change from something porous and organic to something strange and irregular. There are chances of whispering voices becoming more present in the back of the head in a language you don't understand, and the world slowly losing its sense of color. Across decades of use, color blindness of varying severity can set in.

Roleplaying the class:
Indorani may comprise a wide range of archetypes, ranging from occultists to warlocks and witches. They are closely associated with Chakrasul, the Dark Mother, and although not all Indorani are Chakrasulian, it is undeniable that Her values of decay and despair inform their practices at a fundamental level. These ties firmly align the Indorani and their arts with the cause of Shadow. Past this, the values that individual Indorani hold may differ starkly from one another in the absence of a central tradition.

Entity lore:
The Chaos entities summoned by Indorani are comprised of a myriad number of 'individuals' - chaotic creatures which have united into a single whole. Most have been shaped by the Indorani's predilections and trades, as well as the Dark Mother's conquest of Corrupt Chaos. Though possessed of animal sentience, they are incapable of maintaining cohesive form without their summoner. Several countermeasures have been devised by the Indorani's enemies to banish entities back to their realm of origin.