5.24.1 Hardcore Roleplay

Roleplaying a Hardcore character can be challenging but extremely fulfilling. The following has been composed to help understand some of the lore behind Hardcore mode, as well as elaborate on some of its mechanical restrictions.

The Soul Mirror:

The purpose of the Soul Mirror is to record the life of a living mortal upon their death, and to eventually resurrect them once this process is complete. It is a creation of Varian, the Celestine, and in the Year 500 of the Midnight Age, a battle between Dhar and Ivoln resulted in it fracturing. 

For a time, approaching the mirror for rebirth was prone to failure, and the resurrection process became hazy and fragmented. Though the damage was healed partially by the efforts of Varo, an ancient manifestation of Death, certain blind spots in the mirror have remained behind. 

These blind spots prevent the mirror from seeing a certain soul, and consequently, it cannot resurrect them. 

Blind Spots & Hardcore Characters:

"Blind spots", then, is the in-character term given to those who are "Hardcore" characters in Aetolia (see HELP HARDCORE for specifics on this "permadeath" style game mode). These souls cannot be revived by the Mirror and will instead be permanently destroyed should their body not be recovered after death.

In-character, nobody innately knows whether they are a blind spot or not until the Mirror refuses to accept them. 

The Soul Index - an ancient device built by the Second Ankyrean Order to record souls passing through the Mirror - is capable of detecting blind spots. Should you wish to roleplay your character as being aware of it, the Index can be found in the Dry Plains at v73140 and activated with a touch. 

These choices offer two vastly different outlooks for roleplay and the intention behind this Hardcore status is to offer a compelling and unique experience in Aetolia, whether you play it as blissfully unaware or starkly cognisant of your character's own mortality. 

On Vampirism, Undeath, and Duamvi status:

Restrictions on these statuses are entirely mechanical in nature and not roleplay based. While technically there is no roleplay reason preventing a Hardcore character becoming a vampire, undead, or a duamvi, mechanical restrictions do exist, and Hardcore characters cannot take on these forms. As such, it is important to ensure that your character's roleplay fits with not wanting to pursue these.

On alternate characters:

All rules pertaining to alternate characters still apply to Hardcore characters. HELP SECONDS has a more comprehensive outline about this, but Hardcore characters may not be directly related to past characters (Hardcore or otherwise), nor can they be reincarnations, or have memories of, past lives.