Contracts (skill)
Arguably one of the more dangerous arts for mortal adventurers to countenance, the skill of Contracts allows the Oneiromancer to summon entities from the Astral Realm, a world of chaos over which Omei, the Imago holds sovereignty.
Practising this skill requires striking bargains and making deals with an esoteric cadre of beings known as the Astral Nobles. These Fae aristocrats are not to be trifled with; they are immensely powerful and extremely cunning, more than capable of ensnaring the unwary or careless Oneiromancer into giving far more than they receive in return. Be warned.
| Skill | Rank | Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address | Inept | 0 % | Negotiate with the Astral Nobles. |
| Contracts | Inept | 0 % | Consider your existing Astral contracts. |
| Sovereignty | Inept | 0 % | The art of Astral command. |
| Corridor | Apprentice | 37 % | A rainbow bridge to the Astral Realm. |
| Tiptoe | Skilled | 0 % | The Astral may make itself less obtrusive. |
| Cord | Mythical | 31 % | Knowledge of the silver cord. |
| Sylphid | Inept | 0 % | Amsatha, the Astronomer. |
| Lamia | Novice | 0 % | Hraqa Silvertongue. |
| Faunapod | Apprentice | 0 % | Vog Springfoot. |
| Sphere | Capable | 0 % | Dvovion, the Errant. |
| Helminth | Capable | 40 % | Jomunth, the Ravenous. |
| Hippalectryon | Adept | 0 % | Chelya of Garnets. |
| Sentinel | Adept | 50 % | Ryb, the Indomitable. |
| Eye | Skilled | 0 % | Ghel, the Beholder. |
| Blob | Skilled | 40 % | Sha'ahanidhi Who Drinks Light. |
| Tegalid | Gifted | 0 % | Nkdatha, the Ochreous Emissary. |
| Puppeteer | Gifted | 50 % | Mar, the Magnate. |
| Snaretongue | Expert | 0 % | Dart-tongued Ranna. |
| Quetzal | Expert | 50 % | Yollotl, the Worldflower. |
| Mocker | Virtuoso | 0 % | Cym of the Catacombs. |
| Mirrormask | Virtuoso | 45 % | Inasea, the Mercurial. |
| Huntress | Fabled | 0 % | Eudaimonia, the Slayer of Stars. |
| Bridge | Fabled | 45 % | Diantha, Princess of the Dreaming Moon. |
| Cerberus | Mythical | 0 % | Viskein, the Cerberus Breeder. |
| Moth | Mythical | 62 % | Ecdysia, the Illuminator. |
| Maw | Transcendent | 0 % | Calliope, the Harmonist. |
| Address | Negotiate with the Astral Nobles | |
| Syntax: | ADDRESS <entity> and ABORT | |
| Details: | Arguably one of the more dangerous arts for mortal adventurers to countenance, the skill
of Contracts allows the Oneiromancer to summon entities from the Astral Realm, a world of chaos over which Omei, the Imago holds sovereignty. Practising this skill requires striking bargains and making deals with an esoteric cadre of beings known as the Astral Nobles. These Fae aristocrats are not to be trifled with; they are immensely powerful and extremely cunning, more than capable of ensnaring the unwary or careless Oneiromancer into giving far more than they receive in return. Be warned. In order to enter into an accord with one of the nobles, you must first find your way into the Astral Realm and seek them out. Once you have found the fae with whom you wish to bargain, you must request a formal audience by ADDRESSing them. Should the noble feel that you are wasting their time, some may choose to attack you. Others may simply ignore you. If the noble believes you worth their time, they will grant the audience and commence a dialogue to negotiate payment for their services. Answer these questions as you wish, but be warned that being thrifty may be viewed as an insult. You may at any time ABORT this dialogue, risking the wrath of the noble or refusal to enter further discussion for your rudeness. | |
| Contracts | Consider your existing Astral contracts | |
| Syntax: | CONTRACTS LIST and BREAK CONTRACT <contract> | |
| Details: | If you prove successful in your negotiations with the Astral nobles, you will now have a
contract with which you may invite them to aid you in your endeavours. By reviewing your list of contracts, you can easily discern how many times one of the Fae will respond to your invitation. Should you wish to breach one of these contracts, you may do so prematurely. It is advisable to review the individual abilities under AB CONTRACTS for each noble to learn how they will aid you upon being invited. In most cases, they will send an entity to assist you, but that is not always the case. | |
| Sovereignty | The art of Astral command | |
| Syntax: | ||
| Details: | Most contracts will result in the arrival of an entity from the Astral when you invite
the respective Fae noble to uphold it. These entities can be difficult to control and many in number if your skill is sufficiently high. Your expertise in contracts affords several methods of establishing control over your horde: ENTREAT <entity> : Invite a Fae noble to aid you, summoning either the noble themself, or an entity of their preference. ENTREAT ALL CONTRACTS : Invite all Fae noble with whom you have negotiated a contract to send their entities. BANISH <entity> : Rescind the entity's current invitation, returning them to the Astral Realm. CALL ENTITIES : Call all invited entities to your side. You may also wish to review HELP LOYALTY as it holds many commands that will be useful to you in ordering your entourage. | |
| Corridor | A rainbow bridge to the Astral Realm | |
| Syntax: | CORRIDOR ENTER GATEWAY | |
| Details: | Using this ability, you may open a corridor that leads to Sapient Chaos - and, deeper in,
the Astral Realm - allowing you to travel there and negotiate a contract with one of the Fae nobles. Entering the corridor will cause it to close behind you. In order to leave, you must depart across the rainbow bridge and into Tecpatl's Cradle, venturing through the Dreamworld to return to the Prime Material Plane. | |
| Tiptoe | The Astral may make itself less obtrusive | |
| Syntax: | TIPTOE | |
| Details: | Subtlety is no stranger to the entities of the Astral, and with but a command you may
order them to walk unseen. While shrouded, movements in and out of locations will go unnoticed. | |
| Cord | Knowledge of the silver cord | |
| Syntax: | ORDER MIRRORMASK CHANNEL UNFURL [parameters] | |
| Details: | By connecting yourself to your mirrormask with a cord of Astral silver, it is possible
for you to order it to UNFURL hyalincuru shapes. You must be holding a folded shape of the type you wish to point, along with ensuring that any necessary requirements, such as it being reified, are met. The shapes which may be used through your mirrormask are: Cube, flower, fire, sphere, heart, fan, poppy, hammer, confetti, bowl, diamond, knight, arrow, hourglass, favor, telescope, and hypercube. Refer to AB HYALINCURU <shape> for more information. | |
| Sylphid | Amsatha, the Astronomer | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT SYLPHID ORDER SYLPHID ACT | |
| Details: | "In order to understand the Astral void, I contract explorers capable of traveling in all
three dimensions." Amsatha will send to you a riotous sylphid to dance through the air. Ordering the sylphid to ACT will cause it to knock all players in the sky to the ground, but the sylphid cannot attack by any other conventional means. | |
| Lamia | Hraqa Silvertongue | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT LAMIA | |
| Details: | "Listen. If you need a distraction, I know someone. C'mere..."
When inviting Hraqa to aid you, the Fae will send to you a lunar lamia to seduce her target, cooing and whispering such that their mana will suffer. If the opponent's mana falls below 80% of its maximum, the crooning of the lamia will induce stupidity. | |
| Faunapod | Vog Springfoot | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT FAUNAPOD | |
| Details: | "People don't look down unless you make them."
Vog shall send to you a flowering faunapod of the Red Sphere, that will upset their mental equilibrium through touch. | |
| Sphere | Dvovion, the Errant | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT SPHERE ORDER SPHERE DEFEND <limb> | |
| Details: | "The best defense is lots and lots of orbital momentum!"
The Errant Dvovion of the Red sphere will send you to an argent sphere which will defend a limb. This will reduce the amount of health damage you take by half when that limb is struck. Valid limbs you can choose from are: Head, torso, left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg. The sphere cannot attack others, it is only able to act in defence. It cannot prevent damage from abilities that bypass parry. | |
| Helminth | Jomunth, the Ravenous | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT HELMINTH | |
| Details: | "Have you ever watched a mortal bleed out and die? Beautiful."
Jomunth, the Ravenous Chaos Lord of the Red Sphere, will provide aid with the services of a crimson helminth. The helminth will attach itself to the body of your enemies when ordered to attack, preventing their blood from clotting. | |
| Hippalectryon | Chelya of Garnets | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT HIPPALECTRYON ORDER HIPPALECTRYON SEAR <icewall> [direction] | |
| Details: | "These creatures are my finest and most powerful creations. Use them wisely, the better
to bring about the Age of Dawn." The Lady of Garnets will send to you a grotesque hippalectryon of the Orange Sphere, wreathed in flame and searing with fiery force. Its attacks will set your enemies ablaze with flames so potent that their reach extends to adjacent locations. Walls of ice are nothing before the Orange, and with a simple order, the hippalectryon will sear one away. | |
| Sentinel | Ryb, the Indomitable | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT SENTINEL | |
| Details: | "We are alike in being guardians, although your Sentinels safeguard the wilds and mine
safeguard machinery." Ryb, the Indomitable, will send to you a chthonic sentinel to guard your other entities. When the sentinel is in the area, it will ward off attempts to banish or otherwise disturb your entourage. Its influence on mirrormasks is effective only when the two share a location. The sentinel is wholly defensive in nature; it cannot attack others. | |
| Eye | Ghel, the Beholder | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT EYE ORDER EYE REPORT | |
| Details: | "Know? You're asking me if I know? I see everything."
Invoking your bargain with Ghel of the Yellow Sphere shall bring to you a floating eye. While you may order this entity to attack your target, its true power lies in observation: asking it to REPORT shall inform you of vital data on your target. | |
| Blob | Sha'ahanidhi Who Drinks Light | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT BLOB ORDER BLOB ENVELOP | |
| Details: | "Yes, illumination is nice, but it's not nearly as tasty as mortal flesh."
The light drinker of the Astral green will dispatch a quicksilver blob when invited. When the blob is ordered to attack someone, it will wrap its body around them, at which point you may order it to ENVELOP the target, causing applied poultices to incur a longer recovery period for a time. Cooldown (envelop): 24 seconds | |
| Tegalid | Nkdatha, the Ochreous Emissary | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT TEGALID ORDER TEGALID HOME | |
| Details: | "It's not just important to know where you are - it's important to know where everything
else is, too." The Ochreous Emissary will send to you a celestial tegalid to help you return home. Wherever you extend the invitation will be considered home. At a later point, you may simple order the tegalid 'HOME' and you will return to that location. The tegalid is only capable of aiding you with this travel, it cannot attack others. | |
| Puppeteer | Mar, the Magnate | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT PUPPETEER ORDER <target> <action> ORDER <target> HALLUCINATE <text> | |
| Details: | "The secret to good leadership, in my opinion, is never giving your underlings the chance
to refuse." Mar, Magnate of the Yellow Sphere, will dispatch a gilded puppeteer from the Astral to assist you. When ordered to attack someone, its manifold fronds will latch on to their body. This will allow you to either order them to perform an action against their will, or hallucinate something of your choosing. The puppeteer will take a short while before it has finished latching on, and each time it is ordered, the entity will need to spend another short while to reassert its control over the host. You may order the puppeteer while off balance. | |
| Snaretongue | Dart-tongued Ranna | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT SNARETONGUE | |
| Details: | "Do you have anything to eat, mortal? Don't worry - I can get it myself."
Inviting Ranna to aid you will bring a verdant snaretongue to your side. Ordering the snaretongue to attack will cause it to attach itself to your target's throat, causing some of their drunk elixirs to be slurped away. Functionally, this will reduce the victim's ability to heal from said elixirs. | |
| Quetzal | Yollotl, the Worldflower | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT QUETZAL ORDER QUETZAL CROON ORDER QUETZAL WINGBEAT ORDER
QUETZAL SHIMMER | |
| Details: | "I understand that the quetzals on the Prime are far less interesting than mine."
Yollotl of the Astral Green will send you a quetzal to act as a fearsome battle mount. You may order the quetzal to act in three separate ways to perform a special attack on its focused target, but only every so often: Effects:
The quetzal cannot attack players by any other means, only through ordering it to use one of its three manoeuvres. You may also ride the quetzal in battle by mounting it, and ordering it to fly via SPUR QUETZAL SKYWARD. Cooldown (order): 16 seconds | |
| Mocker | Cym of the Catacombs | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT MOCKER | |
| Details: | "This is what you primitive, two-legged imbeciles all look and sound like to me."
Cym, when invited, will dispatch an apish mocker of the Cyan Catacombs to fight alongside you. When ordered to attack, it will babble chaotic nonsense at your target and inflict afflictions upon them. The possible afflictions are: Hollow, epilepsy, vertigo, masochism, dementia, recklessness, slickness, claustrophobia, and shyness. | |
| Mirrormask | Inasea, the Mercurial | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT MIRRORMASK | |
| Details: | "Chaotic quicksilver can look like anything, anybody you want - if you will it so."
The angelic Blue Lady, Inasea, will send to you a mercurial mirrormask, which may be ordered remotely within the same area. The mask of mirrors cannot attack normally, but a range of options is available to you through its power: In order to issue remote commands, you must specify 'mirrormask'. ORDER MIRRORMASK CLOAK
ORDER MIRRORMASK SEEK <target>
ORDER MIRRORMASK LOOK
ORDER MIRRORMASK EXITS
ORDER MIRRORMASK RETURN
ORDER MIRRORMASK CHANNEL <ability> [parameters]
| |
| Huntress | Eudaimonia, the Slayer of Stars | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT HUNTRESS ORDER HUNTRESS TRACK | |
| Details: | "I made them because I remember the Nightmare. I made them to be like She once was."
The starslayer shall send to you a radiant huntress to barrage your foe with needle-thin arrows of light. Should your quarry be within a short distance, you may also order the huntress to TRACK whomever she is attacking, provided she is not already following anyone. | |
| Bridge | Diantha, Princess of the Dreaming Moon | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT BRIDGE | |
| Details: | "The Astral's never far away - and I know how to make it even closer."
The Princess of the Dreaming Moon will, when invited, bring you to the Astral through a bridge of her own making after a few moments' pause. This is much faster than fashioning a bridge of your own making, but you must possess full health and mana in order to invite Diantha to aid you. | |
| Cerberus | Viskein, the Cerberus Breeder | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT CERBERUS ORDER CERBERUS TRACK | |
| Details: | "I bred cerberuses for the Beastlords, long ago on the Prime. Now the Beastlords are gone,
I'm an Astral Lord, and I breed cerberuses for Oneiromancers instead." Viskein, the Cerberus Breeder, will lend you one of the many-mouthed to aid you. While fearsome, these beasts have limited stamina; after a certain number of attacks, it will return to the Astral for rest. Consequently, the cerberus must be ordered individually and will not follow a blanket ORDER LOYAL(S) command. If the target of the cerberus is shielded, it will tear the barrier from them, otherwise it will attack with teeth and claws. You may also order it to TRACK, allowing the beast to track down an enemy at a distance, provided it is not already following anyone. First order it to attack your target, followed by the order to track. | |
| Moth | Ecdysia, the Illuminator | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT MOTH | |
| Details: | "Don't let their size fool you. They're some of the most powerful beings in the Astral
Realm..." The Illuminator will send a chaos moth to aid you. When ordered to attack an enemy, the moth will seek out gaps in their defence, crippling an arm or a leg when it strikes. | |
| Maw | Calliope, the Harmonist | |
| Syntax: | ENTREAT MAW SPELLBIND MAW ENTER MAW | |
| Details: | "..."
Calliope, the Harmonist, mistress of the raw elements of Chaos, wields the power of the elemental maw - the ability to tear open the ground itself to reveal an Astral maelstrom. The complexity of the contract requires some time to invoke, but its rewards are considerable - agonizing suffering, and potentially death, for those you've declared your enemies. Once the maw has been rent open, it must then be spellbound by you in order to acquire the necessary hunger of its function. The spellbinder's words are sacred, and you must not interrupt your focus with any ability requiring balance or equilibrium. Other Oneiromancers with knowledge of this contract may spellbind the maw as well, minimizing the time lost to an interruption. The maw hunts according to a specific pattern. The first time it attempts to devour someone, it will gain their attention: this is an attempt to freeze its prey in terror. On its second try, it will devour those whose feet rest upon the ground - only those who are standing, and under the effects of levitation elixir, will be spared. Note, however, that even an unsuccessful strike by the maw will strip the levitation defense. If three or more Oneiromancers have spellbound the maw, then it will ignore levitation, and pull them in. | |