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For those of you who are new to MDA, welcome -- and for those old members returning, welcome back. You may remember MDA once had a Level system. This has been abolished in favour of a more modular and versatile 'Tiers' system I'll now explain.

Your IC posts (which is your post count in entirety, as OOC posts don't count) measure your character's experience. For every 25 posts you get, you will gain a "Discipline Point", or "Point" for short. These can be used to compound your character's arsenal, be it Alchemy, Alkahestry, Chimeric Modifications, or otherwise.

When starting out, every character receives one "Discipline" which starts at "Tier One". A Discipline is simply one specific martial form of one's particular ability; a signature form or manifestation of your character's alchemic ability, perhaps; or if they're a militant, perhaps a series of techniques in their form of martial or ranged combat for their Specializations (the Militant/Civilian ability field). Let's use a classic FMA example:

EG: When he first joins, Roy Mustang starts with one singular Discipline -- Flame Alchemy -- at Tier One.

Once you receive a Discipline Point, you may choose to do one of two things. You could purchase a new Discipline, which will in itself start again at Tier One, perhaps helping you close in on your goal to be a jack-of-all-trades -- or, you could Specialise.

Specialisation is, on paper, the increase of a Discipline's Tier. Each Discipline has a Tier which measures its relative power; these range from one to ten to give a fairly binary scale and a rough estimation (see the third post in this thread for further information). Obviously their efficacy does vary dependent upon situational variables and other such things. However, when you specialise, and expend your Discipline Point, you also gain the ability to add a little more to your ability.

EG: In spending his first Discipline Point, Roy Mustang raises his Flame Alchemy to Tier Two. He also adds a Continual Combustion effect, allowing him to maintain continuously burning streams of fire, instead of just fireballs.

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If a face claim is already on the list, you may not use it without the person who has claimed it before you's permission. There are no exceptions to this rule! Make sure to post in this thread right after your character is accepted to avoid complications.



Post using the below format:



SERIES NAME - character name - @username (PB: OOC name)



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1. In the same way Fullmetal Alchemist would say, Equivalent Exchange is everything on the site. Making something out of nothing is strictly impossible, and even with usage of the Philosopher Stones, it exchanges the priceless human soul to perform a feat, and as one would say, priceless. In that way, there is no way Alchemy can be called 'Magic' or something mystical, it is but a science of the world conveyed through esoteric means.

2. Alkahestry is a variation in the precursor Alchemy where it conveys transmutable power through the Dragon's Pulse, though possible to transmute arrays from a transmissible array, it is like Alchemy, cannot transmute without Equivalent Exchange. Even the act of healing merely speeds up the process rather than to regenerate out of nothing. The application is often supplementary and directed towards biological functions, simply using the Dragon's Pulse to catalyse.

3. Alchemy is not vague or abysmal. It is concrete and tangible. Transmutation must apply to things that could be grasped, could be touched, and it is not an abstract concept such as gravity or kinetic energy. The exceptions towards this rule is through proxy via catalysts, such as creating fire from sparks and combusting oxygen counts as such a thing (but note that fire is not vague or abysmal, merely created through such means such as this is quite the alternative in achieving the Alchemical transmutation in whichever is being achieved.)

4. To loop an Alchemy into infinite production from only a little substance without realizing it is only as good as it lasts, is forbidden and a violation of Equivalent Exchange (the Philosopher stone itself uses the Human Soul to get whichever is needed in the Equivalent Exchange in particular, and is far from the deceptive "breaking of Equivalent Exchange" when such an instance is fulfilled.). For as Equivalent Exchange goes, one must give something to get something. A violation of the sacred laws Alchemists hold by, and is bound to earn a "rebound", a volatile balance in Alchemy where what little has been given would be made up by Alchemical forces taking more than it was intended to stabilize itself, often causing unforeseen consequences.

5. Alchemists are specialists in their field of study, and for rightful reasons too. There is far too many sciences in alchemy for one person to even know about, and took even the best Alchemists (Father, Hohenheim) shortcuts to even master them a large degree in the form of Philosopher Stones (particularly Father couldn't even perform Alkahestry given it is not his field of study and he is several hundreds of years old). For that reason, an Alchemist either partakes in a specialized singular field, or to take in many more at the expense of neglecting their original studies. (Should be obvious to MDA veterans by now.) As an example, neglecting your original Alchemy leaves the capacity just as it were, whereas improving upon it explores more in that particular field of study and the capacity to put those studies into transmutation practice. This guideline is best represented through the Tiers & Disciplines System.

6. In the same manner Equivalent Exchange goes, Alchemy is not a locomotive self-perpetuating force that would necessarily complete all the work in itself throughout the equation. It requires arrays to let it flow smoothly (or with great instability in Kimblee's case) towards the particular goal an Alchemist is opting for. Those who skip that have seen the gate and come back to have particular proficiency in performing Alchemy completely without arrays (a very unusual case). Alchemy requires effort on the user's part, and often physical exertion and motion. In the same manner, Alchemy does not activate itself, it requires the user's own transmutation to initiate and harness.

Unfortunately, these experiments have given birth to a dark and sinister side of alchemy. Whether out of despair, malice or inquisitive hubris, several alchemists have been known to attempt the application of transmutation to human bodies and souls, in essence, playing god with human lives. But, just as the Law of Equivalent Exchange applies to the transmutation of non-living matter, devastating rebounds can occur in Human Transmutation because human lives and souls are priceless according to the flow of the world.

PERFORMING HUMAN TRANSMUTATION:
It is possible for characters to perform Resurrection-based Human Transmutation on MDA. However, only characters with over 150 posts can do this without fear of losing more than "Truth's Price".

"Truth's Price" is an ironic price; usually something that means a lot to the character in question. A character with a love of money would suddenly lose his way of earning it. A character who loved a certain person would lose the love of that person; so on, so forth. However, if a character has under 150 posts, then they have to take a "Human Transmutation" roll, to determine whether or not they will survive. This roll is absolute, and the outcome cannot be changed. If you wish to live, don't do Human Transmutation; or have 150 posts.

Human Transmutation Roll:

1 -- Survive
2 -- Survive
3 -- Survive
4 -- Lose Alchemy, but survive
5 -- Lose Alchemy, but survive
6 -- Lose Alchemy, but survive
7 -- Lose Alchemy, but survive
8 -- Die
9 -- Die
10 -- Die

RESURRECTION

Attempts to bring deceased human beings back to life are the most common practice to be called Human Transmutation. Using various experimental theories and methods, multiple alchemists have endeavored to resurrect dead loved ones, but such pursuits are always failures, forbidden by the flow of the universe and alchemy itself.

It is determined that resurrective Human Transmutation is impossible because a soul that has left the mortal coil has passed on into the afterlife and can never be called back by human means. The attempt will cause a rebound due to both the inherent lack of any particular substance able to match a human soul in value and the fact that the initiated transmutation is reaching for an unattainable goal. Of the known attempted Human Transmutations, the rebound has been the "taking" of parts of the initiator's body out of the living world and into the void of the flow.

In addition, for having trespassed in 'God's domain' with Human Transmutation, the initiating alchemists are essentially called into The Gate of Truth to face 'God' itself (AKA 'Truth'). Being pulled through the gate grants alchemists great alchemical and universal knowledge - in exchange for paying a physical toll which usually takes the shape of the body parts "taken" by the rebound - and the ability to perform transmutations without a circle.

CREATED HUMANS/HOMUNCULI

The next most referred-to form of Human Transmutation is the concept of an alchemically created human called a "Homunculus". Though largely considered impossible due to the fact that all recorded and reported attempts to make one have been failures, this act is one of those specifically noted in the Amestrian nationwide prohibition of Human Transmutation.

SOUL BINDING

Another terrible form of Human Transmutation is the manipulation of human souls. Though appearing on no official records, there have been experiments with Human Transmutation involving the extraction of souls from human bodies and the alchemical binding of said souls to inanimate objects usually by way of a rune drawn in blood on the object itself. Though not all the specifics of soul binding have been made clear, it has been explained that the iron in the blood bonds alchemically with the iron in the object (as most instances of soul binding has used metal armor as a vessel) and the blood itself remains bound to the soul of the person from which it was taken. The Blood Runes themselves differ based on the theories and style of whatever alchemist performed the binding, but the three different Blood Runes that have been revealed depict a spark or flame (presumably signifying a soul) hemmed in by other symbols in a blood-drawn Transmutation Circle that suggests a soul trapped within a container. In essence, these souls exist in the mortal plane without their bodies, are able to manipulate the objects to which they are bound and communicate verbally with beings around them but, of course, there are caveats.

Despite the fact that these souls cannot feel pain or die by conventional means since the "bodies" they now inhabit are not mortal, the act of binding two such different things together is only temporary, as the soul and vessel will eventually reject each other and separate.

Though the manipulated soul is independent of its original body, the issues regarding the storage of knowledge and memory suggest that, for a soul binding to remain intact, the original body must remain alive somewhere. This creates another issue, as the soul and its original body will be inexorably drawn to one another.

The Amestrian government has experimented with soul manipulation and binding under the command of Father, but the case of Alphonse Elric's soul binding is remarkably unique as the only known instance of a particular human soul being purposely called back to the mortal plane from the Gate of Truth. Edward Elric, for performing this brand of Human Transmutation, let his right arm be taken as the toll and drew a rune using his own blood. It has been posited that this was only possible because the two brothers had been pulled into the Gate together and may have had their spirits crossed in the process. Additionally, the body of the soul-binding victim Barry the Chopper was infused with the soul of a lab animal and remains as the only known instance of a soul being bound to a living vessel. It is also unknown whether the act of transmuting the souls of Barry the Chopper and the Slicer Brothers resulted in a rebound or appearance of the Gate of Truth.

In the movie "Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa" Alphonse Elric is capable of transferring a small portion of his soul into multiple suits of armor simultaneously while still maintaining his original body and consciousness. Though when one of the suits with a portion of his soul is sent through the gate, his entire consciousness is temporally transferred to that suit of armor, and that suit of armor apparently had a blood rune.

HUMAN CHIMERA

Chimeric Alchemy is a branch of bio-alchemy that seeks to alchemically "marry" two dissimilar life forms into a new creature, but even though this science skirts the line of playing God, the prohibition of Human Transmutation forbids alchemists from incorporating human beings into the practice of chimera production. However, there are alchemists who flout this decree and step across the threshold into monstrous experimentation. Shou Tucker, the Sewing-Life Alchemist, was the first recorded alchemist to successfully create a Human Chimera, passing his crime off as a full-animal chimera capable of human speech until his second attempt was exposed to the military, but (as with Soul Binding) the Amestrian government has also been experimenting with this, having created several human-animal hybrids of increasing versatility.