Unlicensed Magic
Actual Play (Video)
Freedom fighters struggle to save magic users in a world with no gods, no heroes, and no true victories.
Called "timely" by many viewers, although we truly wish it weren't, Unlicensed Magic is a story that touches on real-world themes regarding power, hate, genocide, fascism, and the true cost of war and resistance.
In a world on the edge of a major conflict, where magic users are hunted and magic is outlawed or heavily controlled in most nations, our band of freedom fighters seek to restore balance to their fractured world and free casters from persecution.
At the beginning of Season 2 ("War Crimes"), the party began by helping to break a siege on the previously isolationist nation of Dwarfheim and negotiating their assistance in protecting magic users across the world (including Ichasi's swampy Southlands) by fighting back against the fascist nation of Queldoras. Queldoras (one of the most powerful nations in Evets) has been hunting magic-users for decades and, as the party recently learned, using them to power newly-evolving magitech for their upcoming war efforts and attempt at world conquest.
After their success in Dwarfheim, the party hurried to the coast to take a ship to the Northlands and rescue Icaran's kidnapped daughter and wife. However, that effort was interrupted as a gith ship took one of the characters, Mae (half-elf/half-mindflayer). Teaming up with Mae's estranged mindflayer father Kel, the party boarded the ship to rescue Mae. Successful, they made their escape, but Kel stayed behind to attempt to persuade the Gith to leave. When they refused, to ensure they couldn't harm any of his children again, Kel forced them away and destroyed them.
After the party made it to safety, Mae's father reached out - alive, but barely. In his attempts to connect with her (he's trying to learn to be an actual father) he tried to show her, in their shared mindscape, how much people cared about her. Unfortunately, this reminded her of the many, many friends and found family she'd lost as a sorcerer spy growing up "underground" in Ibrezzia (another magic-hating nation) with other magic users, including the recent decimation of Arcane Divergence and The Conservatory (Mae's only known home and family until very recently).
Already in a terrible mental/emotional place, Mae accidentally tapped into her incredible stores of psionic power (something she'd tried to keep tucked away) and connected psionically to every single living creature on the continent. Realizing the immense power she suddenly had, she blew past the mental defenses set up around the Palace of Queldoras and psionically transported herself there to kill the Emperor and end the war on spell casters.
However, she fell for the Emperor's mundane (in comparison) mind games and, baited with the promise of rescuing her long-lost mentor, fell into a trap.
Her dead sister (killed by the party to protect a city and stuck in a cursed ring of mind-shielding), along with Xan and his touch of psionic ability, helped pull the party mentally to the dungeons beneath The Queldoran Palace. There they fought the Emperor and his monstrous and inhumane creations in a psionic showdown, but quickly realized they were painfully outmatched. Mae is badly mauled in body, mind and even soul, but realizes she is their only chance of escape and sacrifices herself to save them all.
*This is where we begin the first scene*
Between the first and second scenes, the party spent a month at sea traveling to the coastal town of Rief - Mae and Kiadora's birthplace, where their parents live. Kiadora spent a lot of time trying to learn how to work with others and who she is without her previously damaged mind and constant influence of her father - with a lot of party help.
Arriving in Rief, they are greeted with painfully sad violin music, played by a bard they'd met just before Mae was taken to the githyanki. A bard who had a strange connection to Mae, and a feather from her fallen aasimar love.
Asking Kiadora to let him visit what's left of Mae in their shared mindspace, Kiadora and the party learn the heartbreaking truth about his connection to the fallen spy.
Setting:
The world of Evets, which at this point in time is high magic but low tech (with magitech is taking off)
Places of Interest:
Queldoras - the most anti-magic country, which rounds up spellcasters and murders them, using their souls to power magitech weapons of incredible power.
Ibrezzia - also a heavily anti-magic country, where magic users here generally disappeared never to be seen again, or to be seen differently (as the party found out The Mindflayer was controlling them and building an army)
Northlands - a separate continent, home to a powerful elven nation that has, of yet, stayed relatively uninvolved in the events of their neighbors - much to the chagrin of many
Significant Organizations:
Arcane Divergence - previously a legitimate magical foundation, since the oppression of spell casters it has turned it has gone underground and become a highly competent spy ring focusing on rescuing spellcasters and transporting them to safer countries.
The Conservatory - Previously a bard school, The Conservatory has been turned into an "underground" school, home, and training ground for kids with innate magic (sorcerers, aasimar, kalashtar, etc). It works closely with Arcane Divergence, and since the skills innately magic children need to stay safe in Ibrezzia are similar to spy work, many of the children are raised as spies and graduate straight into working with Arcane Divergence.
Other:
The Silver Kracken – the ship the party has contracted to transport them.
Characters:
Ichasi: A young leader left to take over the running of the swampy Southlands after her father passed away. A lizardfolk druid, Ichasi is strongly connected to the natural world and her place in it. She's become a bit of the "party mom", and her no-nonsense but kind attitude is a huge help to the party, who come from widely varied backgrounds and experiences.
Icaran: A noble and cousin to the King of the Northlands, Icaran has had a chaotic life filled with lots of trying - and lots of failing - to stop the progression of world events to where they are today. After teaming up with his long-time friend and lover Mogrim to try and fight back against the anti-magic laws and social changes, he realized he'd made a mistake when his lover's methods were almost as bad as their enemies'.
After taking some time to clear his head, he started his own organization to earn back public opinion regarding magic. In doing so, he began working with Arcane Divergence on missions to rescue spellcasters and foil the attempts of Queldoras and Ibrezzia to remove all magic users.
Verreth: a highly skilled healer and surgeon, Verreth is a firbolg from the Northlands - the elven kingdom - who has made it his life mission to save and help as many people as possible. It is unfortunate that current events make that very, very difficult, but he still does a great job. He's also become the de facto party therapist which they really, desperately need.
Xan: Previously a villain of Evets known as "The Dread Darkness", Xan is an eladrin paladin who made the wrong deal after his husband was murdered for practicing magic. Trying to make up for the harm he caused while under the influence of a Star God eldritch being and coming to terms with his place in causing current world events (including the fear and hatred of magic), Xan is accompanied by his sister-in-law AnnaBelle, who was eventually able to save him from the Star God and help him recover his true self.
AnnaBelle: A sweet-as-pie (which she regularly bakes and makes into a weapon) strawberry cow tiefling cleric. Her peace domain is a hard one to follow right now, though, as the world is teetering on the edge of a massive war. Still trying to help her brother-in-law recover and find his path, AnnaBelle is never far from her brother's love's side.
Amaelyn "Mae" Vindhal-Flayer: Mae was a master spy. A shadow sorcerer pushed into hiding as a toddler due to her innate magic, Mae was raised at "The Conservatory" - an underground school and safe haven for children with innate magic who have no family. Trained there in spycraft and secrecy, Mae joined the connected "Arcane Divergence" when she grew up and became an exceptional spy. Eventually learning her parents were actually alive and she was the daughter of The Mindflayer (her father) and the missing heir to the Throne of the Northlands (her mother, the Crown Princess), Mae unlocked powerful psionic abilities.
However, contrary to the pressure of her father, Mae combined that power with her love of music and taught herself mental healing, becoming a bard and helping those around her overcome the emotional wounds no other healing magic could touch. She had always wanted to be a healer, but previously had no ability with it.
After falling for the trap and having her soul destroyed in the fight and in getting her friends' minds out, the party lost her.Triple T: Mae's cranium rat familiar ("Thaddeus Thackeray the Third").
Kiadora Vindhal-Flayer: Mae's barely younger triplet sister. Kiadora placed Mae in their special ring of mind-shielding to try and preserve whatever remains of her. In the process, she was pushed into Mae's body and now continues with the party, feeling distinctly out of place.
Previously a villain of the campaign whom the freedom fighters had killed to try and stop a killing spree ordered by her and Mae's father, Kiadora is early in the process of both grieving the loss of her sister and learning how to be a good "person" - with plenty of attempted help from the party.
A powerful psionicist and telekineticist known to wield 8 blades at once, Kiadora is finally getting the chance to learn who she is without her previously damaged brain or her father's influence.
Cast:
Our wonderful cast are made up of a combination of LGBTQIA+, autistic, ADHD, BIPOC, and disabled TTRPG content creators. You can find them under their listed social media handles across the internet!
Highlights were taken from:
Unlicensed Magic: War Crimes Episode 30: Deep Within the Bowels of Devotion, Part 3/3
Unlicensed Magic: War Crimes Episode 42: Come. What. Mae. (Part 3/3)
Full episodes can be found on twitch.tv/adhadventures under "videos" > "Unlicensed Magic: War Crimes"
In a world on the edge of a major conflict, where magic users are hunted and magic is outlawed or heavily controlled in most nations, our band of freedom fighters seek to restore balance to their fractured world and free casters from persecution.
At the beginning of Season 2 ("War Crimes"), the party began by helping to break a siege on the previously isolationist nation of Dwarfheim and negotiating their assistance in protecting magic users across the world (including Ichasi's swampy Southlands) by fighting back against the fascist nation of Queldoras. Queldoras (one of the most powerful nations in Evets) has been hunting magic-users for decades and, as the party recently learned, using them to power newly-evolving magitech for their upcoming war efforts and attempt at world conquest.
After their success in Dwarfheim, the party hurried to the coast to take a ship to the Northlands and rescue Icaran's kidnapped daughter and wife. However, that effort was interrupted as a gith ship took one of the characters, Mae (half-elf/half-mindflayer). Teaming up with Mae's estranged mindflayer father Kel, the party boarded the ship to rescue Mae. Successful, they made their escape, but Kel stayed behind to attempt to persuade the Gith to leave. When they refused, to ensure they couldn't harm any of his children again, Kel forced them away and destroyed them.
After the party made it to safety, Mae's father reached out - alive, but barely. In his attempts to connect with her (he's trying to learn to be an actual father) he tried to show her, in their shared mindscape, how much people cared about her. Unfortunately, this reminded her of the many, many friends and found family she'd lost as a sorcerer spy growing up "underground" in Ibrezzia (another magic-hating nation) with other magic users, including the recent decimation of Arcane Divergence and The Conservatory (Mae's only known home and family until very recently).
Already in a terrible mental/emotional place, Mae accidentally tapped into her incredible stores of psionic power (something she'd tried to keep tucked away) and connected psionically to every single living creature on the continent. Realizing the immense power she suddenly had, she blew past the mental defenses set up around the Palace of Queldoras and psionically transported herself there to kill the Emperor and end the war on spell casters.
However, she fell for the Emperor's mundane (in comparison) mind games and, baited with the promise of rescuing her long-lost mentor, fell into a trap.
Her dead sister (killed by the party to protect a city and stuck in a cursed ring of mind-shielding), along with Xan and his touch of psionic ability, helped pull the party mentally to the dungeons beneath The Queldoran Palace. There they fought the Emperor and his monstrous and inhumane creations in a psionic showdown, but quickly realized they were painfully outmatched. Mae is badly mauled in body, mind and even soul, but realizes she is their only chance of escape and sacrifices herself to save them all.
*This is where we begin the first scene*
Between the first and second scenes, the party spent a month at sea traveling to the coastal town of Rief - Mae and Kiadora's birthplace, where their parents live. Kiadora spent a lot of time trying to learn how to work with others and who she is without her previously damaged mind and constant influence of her father - with a lot of party help.
Arriving in Rief, they are greeted with painfully sad violin music, played by a bard they'd met just before Mae was taken to the githyanki. A bard who had a strange connection to Mae, and a feather from her fallen aasimar love.
Asking Kiadora to let him visit what's left of Mae in their shared mindspace, Kiadora and the party learn the heartbreaking truth about his connection to the fallen spy.
Setting:
The world of Evets, which at this point in time is high magic but low tech (with magitech is taking off)
Places of Interest:
Queldoras - the most anti-magic country, which rounds up spellcasters and murders them, using their souls to power magitech weapons of incredible power.
Ibrezzia - also a heavily anti-magic country, where magic users here generally disappeared never to be seen again, or to be seen differently (as the party found out The Mindflayer was controlling them and building an army)
Northlands - a separate continent, home to a powerful elven nation that has, of yet, stayed relatively uninvolved in the events of their neighbors - much to the chagrin of many
Significant Organizations:
Arcane Divergence - previously a legitimate magical foundation, since the oppression of spell casters it has turned it has gone underground and become a highly competent spy ring focusing on rescuing spellcasters and transporting them to safer countries.
The Conservatory - Previously a bard school, The Conservatory has been turned into an "underground" school, home, and training ground for kids with innate magic (sorcerers, aasimar, kalashtar, etc). It works closely with Arcane Divergence, and since the skills innately magic children need to stay safe in Ibrezzia are similar to spy work, many of the children are raised as spies and graduate straight into working with Arcane Divergence.
Other:
The Silver Kracken – the ship the party has contracted to transport them.
Characters:
Ichasi: A young leader left to take over the running of the swampy Southlands after her father passed away. A lizardfolk druid, Ichasi is strongly connected to the natural world and her place in it. She's become a bit of the "party mom", and her no-nonsense but kind attitude is a huge help to the party, who come from widely varied backgrounds and experiences.
Icaran: A noble and cousin to the King of the Northlands, Icaran has had a chaotic life filled with lots of trying - and lots of failing - to stop the progression of world events to where they are today. After teaming up with his long-time friend and lover Mogrim to try and fight back against the anti-magic laws and social changes, he realized he'd made a mistake when his lover's methods were almost as bad as their enemies'.
After taking some time to clear his head, he started his own organization to earn back public opinion regarding magic. In doing so, he began working with Arcane Divergence on missions to rescue spellcasters and foil the attempts of Queldoras and Ibrezzia to remove all magic users.
Verreth: a highly skilled healer and surgeon, Verreth is a firbolg from the Northlands - the elven kingdom - who has made it his life mission to save and help as many people as possible. It is unfortunate that current events make that very, very difficult, but he still does a great job. He's also become the de facto party therapist which they really, desperately need.
Xan: Previously a villain of Evets known as "The Dread Darkness", Xan is an eladrin paladin who made the wrong deal after his husband was murdered for practicing magic. Trying to make up for the harm he caused while under the influence of a Star God eldritch being and coming to terms with his place in causing current world events (including the fear and hatred of magic), Xan is accompanied by his sister-in-law AnnaBelle, who was eventually able to save him from the Star God and help him recover his true self.
AnnaBelle: A sweet-as-pie (which she regularly bakes and makes into a weapon) strawberry cow tiefling cleric. Her peace domain is a hard one to follow right now, though, as the world is teetering on the edge of a massive war. Still trying to help her brother-in-law recover and find his path, AnnaBelle is never far from her brother's love's side.
Amaelyn "Mae" Vindhal-Flayer: Mae was a master spy. A shadow sorcerer pushed into hiding as a toddler due to her innate magic, Mae was raised at "The Conservatory" - an underground school and safe haven for children with innate magic who have no family. Trained there in spycraft and secrecy, Mae joined the connected "Arcane Divergence" when she grew up and became an exceptional spy. Eventually learning her parents were actually alive and she was the daughter of The Mindflayer (her father) and the missing heir to the Throne of the Northlands (her mother, the Crown Princess), Mae unlocked powerful psionic abilities.
However, contrary to the pressure of her father, Mae combined that power with her love of music and taught herself mental healing, becoming a bard and helping those around her overcome the emotional wounds no other healing magic could touch. She had always wanted to be a healer, but previously had no ability with it.
After falling for the trap and having her soul destroyed in the fight and in getting her friends' minds out, the party lost her.Triple T: Mae's cranium rat familiar ("Thaddeus Thackeray the Third").
Kiadora Vindhal-Flayer: Mae's barely younger triplet sister. Kiadora placed Mae in their special ring of mind-shielding to try and preserve whatever remains of her. In the process, she was pushed into Mae's body and now continues with the party, feeling distinctly out of place.
Previously a villain of the campaign whom the freedom fighters had killed to try and stop a killing spree ordered by her and Mae's father, Kiadora is early in the process of both grieving the loss of her sister and learning how to be a good "person" - with plenty of attempted help from the party.
A powerful psionicist and telekineticist known to wield 8 blades at once, Kiadora is finally getting the chance to learn who she is without her previously damaged brain or her father's influence.
Cast:
Our wonderful cast are made up of a combination of LGBTQIA+, autistic, ADHD, BIPOC, and disabled TTRPG content creators. You can find them under their listed social media handles across the internet!
Highlights were taken from:
Unlicensed Magic: War Crimes Episode 30: Deep Within the Bowels of Devotion, Part 3/3
Unlicensed Magic: War Crimes Episode 42: Come. What. Mae. (Part 3/3)
Full episodes can be found on twitch.tv/adhadventures under "videos" > "Unlicensed Magic: War Crimes"
