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# System prepended metadata

title: M01-1 - Aetherbornes
tags: [Mechanic]

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# AETHERBORNES

Aetherbornes occupy the Hall of Fame of the Ten Realms, each brought to their status by accomplishing nigh-miraculous feats.
As an Aetherborne, you serve the Council of the Aether, receiving requests (or orders) to fulfil their physical goals of peacekeeping.

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## Divine Feats

Divine Feats are the accomplishments that an Aetherborne is chosen for, and usually mark some aspect of their notability. This feat can be anything, whether it be a demonstration of martial prowess, technological breakthrough, or even just sheer determination or luck. Examples can range from the creation of an entire new class of magic, surviving for multiple years in deathly inhospitable conditions, or being brave enough to throw a rock at a balor.

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## Immortality

As an Aetherborne, your soul is strengthened and reinforced to be the core of your existence. Special boons arise from this, such as the ability to revive after taking what would normally be life-threatening damage.

As an Aetherborne, you only make one death save; upon failure, as your body dies, your soul is plucked away and placed where it considers itself to be safest, or closest to "home"; here, you will regenerate, essentially coming back to life. Your old corpse will fade over the course of an hour as it returns to you.

When you revive, and when you first become an Aetherborne, you determine your age. Many Aetherbornes choose to stay in their prime, but some take the opportunity to go into old age gracefully.

Upon revival, you begin with only 1 HP. After one hour, it returns to half of your maximum. All resources you have are also halved, and remain halved until replenished through other means.

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## Dimensional Gates

All Aetherbornes are provided with a Dimensional Gate in order to further assist them in their duties; Because of this, one's Dimensional Gate is frequently used as a token of their Aetherborne status. Created with a miniaturized form of the Dimensional Bridge technologies found only on key transit hubs on other worlds, it allows Aetherbornes to quickly reach any location where the Aether requires them.

### Persistence

As the Dimensional Gate is tied to its owner's soul, it is near-indestructible and requires grievous and irreparable damage to the owner's soul in order to break: something that, to an Aetherborne, is nigh-impossible outside of extremely special circumstances. While it can be presented and recalled at will, it generally does not leave your person, instead vanishing once outside of a certain range of you.

### Form

A Dimensional Gate's physical form is generally comprised of two parts: a gem-like core, and an outer casing typically referred to as its frame. Typically, certain aspects of the core, such as its color, indicates which world you are most associated with, and the shape of the core and the appearance of the frame are generally representative of you. However, you are able to alter the appearance of these components with the appropriate tools.

### Dimensional Travel

A Dimensional Gate has a variety of support features which aim to assist its Aetherborne in completing its tasks. One of the most important, and its namesake, is the ability to transport people between and within worlds. Its means of transport depends on the user's conceptual understanding of its workings; inexperienced users tend to stick to creating portals, but more skillful users can learn to quickly teleport just themselves.

In order to travel, the Dimensional Gate needs to have a set of coordinates to determine its endpoint. The Gate itself can display its current coordinates, and automatically records a "Dimensional Trace" of its locations through the past few days, marking one point every six seconds. The Dimensional Bridges of worlds are always broadcasting their coordinates, and thus can be travelled to freely.

### Storage

A Dimensional Gate also has the ability to store items within a special space contained within itself. Bringing a magical item into contact with the Dimensional Gate with the intent to put it inside will cause the Gate to absorb the item for safekeeping, and tapping the Gate with the intention to retrieve it will restore it to your hand, or any other safe, unobstructed position. However, due to storage concerns, only magic items can be stored inside; attempts to store a nonmagical item will fail.

### Communications

A more recent feature than the others, Dimensional Gates now have the ability to send shortform text messages to other Gates. In order to have a Gate known to another, both parties must touch their gates together; some warier Aetherbornes even have a third step where they consciously verify that they wish to connect.

When connected, the AETHERnet network routes your messages to your recipient no matter the distance. The network does not supply translation features, however, so make sure that both you and your recipient can understand whatever you type or think in.

When receiving incoming messages, the Dimensional Gate will try to notify you. You can set the Gate to chime, vibrate, or simply stay silent. You can also select whether you wish for those connected to your Dimensional Gate to see your current coordinates.

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