Magical Realm Cyoa/Nomad

Build

Complications: [125] Trapped! [150] Nightmare! [175] Bound! [200] Notorious!

Demiplane: [193] Area Increase 4

Planar Features: [192] Insertion, [189] Gateways 2, [185] Portals, [183] Division, [180] Transient, [174] Protection 2, [171] Assimilation

Population: [163] Population Increase 4

Inhabitants: [160] Population Longevity, [156] Extrahuman Population

Technology: [150] Technology Upgrade 6

Magic: [144] Magical Upgrade 3

Society: [142] Aesthetics, [141] Public Education, [139] University, [137] Diplomatic, [135] Wealthy, [132] Industrial, [128] Mystical, [123] Technomagic, [121] Infrastructure, [120] Sanitation, [119] Secure, [118] Healthy

Culture: [117] Music Affinity, [116] Theater Affinity, [115] Animation Affinity, [114] Occult Affinity, [113] Art Affinity, [112] Literature Affinity, [111] Nature Affinity, [110] Intellectual Affinity, [109] Mechanical Affinity, [108] Gaming Affinity, [107] Sports Affinity, [106] Food Affinity, [105] Warfare Affinity, [104] Festival Affinity

Environment: [102] Cosmic Adjustment, [99] Landscape Adjustment, [98] Fertile, [96] Rich, [93] Exceptional Materials, [90] Magical Phenomena, [85] Fauna & Flora 3

Adventure: [83] Spirits, [80] Afterlife

Capital: [75] Automatons 2

Personal: [73] Immortality, [70] Spirit Walk, [69] Tongues, [67] Memory, [65] Awareness, [63] Inspiration, [61] Peak Condition, [58] Superhuman Body

Powers: [57] Teleportation, [55] Psychoactive Awakening, [53] Geas, [51] Glamour, [49] Alchemy, [47] Enchanting, [45] Machina Mind, [43] Conjuration, [40] Energy Manipulation, [37] Time Manipulation, [34] Scrying, [31] Biomancy, [28] Nullification, [23] Dominion

Companions: [20] Familiar

Ascendance: [10] Divine Spark, [0] Guidance 2

Plane

Nomad is so named because it appears to wander through the universe, disappearing from one star system only to appear in orbit around another star many light years away. It is a demiplane that is open to real space, and the point of overlap where one can cross over takes the form of a sphere roughly the size of Mars. The overlay tends to move between systems at semi-regular intervals, rarely remaining in a system for more than a few days. At first glance, Nomad is a paradise. The world is rich and fertile, dotted with enclaves built on advanced technology and powerful sorcery. These islands of civilization are each populated by a species originating from one of the many disparate worlds that Nomad has visited. The wilderness between these outposts teems with all manner of life, as well as a wide array of spirits.

However, Nomad's pleasant veneer conceals its true purpose. It is a prison, designed and built to house a single inmate. Centuries ago, Nomad's creators stood on the cusp of ascension. But before they moved on to higher things, they first dealt with the last criminal among their ranks. They left little to indicate what The Prisoner's crime was, but it was something they deemed heinous enough to warrant stranding It in a pocket dimension before they departed.

Inhabitants

The Prisoner is both the source of Nomad's prosperity and the force behind its apparent wandering. Though It remains bound within Nomad, over the centuries The Prisoner has learned to exert a great deal of influence over the demiplane. Now, The Prisoner is able to control the location of the overlay, essentially using the demiplane as a ship to travel among the stars. Additionally, Its knowledge and power have seeped into the plane itself, creating a world in which things simply run more smoothly than in real space. Everything ranging from machines, to minds, to magic, to entire societies all function at a significantly higher level of refinement than they would otherwise.

The other denizens of Nomad are the descendents of those The Prisoner has kidnapped over the centuries, and thus they rightly despise It. When Nomad arrives in an inhabited system, The Prisoner uses portals to pull select individuals, groups, or sometimes entire communities into the demiplane. Though Its exact plan is unclear, the demiplane's inhabitants are all aware of The Prisoner's ultimate goal. Above all else, The Prisoner desires freedom, and everything that It does, It does to advance that goal. For whatever reason, It seems to believe that the secret to Its freedom lies somewhere in the wider universe, and It has spent many centuries searching for it among the stars.

The most immediately obvious example of The Prisoner's influence on Nomad is Its swarm of robotic servants. The most common of these are small, unassuming laborers that busy themselves with the many menial tasks that Nomad's denizens give to them. Larger and more powerful machines also exist to “assist” new arrivals in establishing themselves in their new home. A somewhat more subtle, yet more far-reaching, effect that The Prisoner has on Nomad is Its ability to inspire. A side effect of the fact that The Prisoner's species stood on the cusp of ascension when Nomad was created, Nomad is a world of grandeur. Everything in the demiplane is essentially pulled upward by The Prisoner, becoming as great as it can possibly be. Creativity and intellect are enhanced, and every pursuit ranging from art, to engineering, to science, to magic practically explodes forward in leaps and bounds, achieving new heights that one could only imagine in the wider universe.

All of this, however, comes at a price. Though only The Prisoner is directly bound to Nomad, It is loath to let any of the demiplane's other denizens leave, and it easily has the power to keep most of them there. Even in death, the inhabitants of Nomad linger on for a time as spirits, before eventually reincarnating. The reincarnation process suppresses most memories from past lives, but with time and effort these can be recovered. Though it is possible to bargain with The Prisoner, and indeed the magic binding The Prisoner to Nomad forces it to honor such bargains, there is really only one thing that It wants. The Prisoner itself is a formidable creature. While It may not be not the most powerful realm lord in existence, It is still capable of many of the feats that a realm lord could accomplish. Additionally, It has bent some of the protective spells that make up Its prison to Its advantage, making Nomad a very difficult position to assail. However, The Prisoner is ultimately still just that, a prisoner, and Its ability to influence things beyond the boundaries of the demiplane is limited primarily to the portals that It can create.

Recently, however, Nomad seems to have picked up an unwelcome guest during its travels through the universe. Something strange and unspeakably horrifying has taken up residence in the wandering world, and now it threatens all the denizens of Nomad, including The Prisoner.