The Russian Watches
The Other World

[Right you must read this all and understand it before you join my rpg, yeah? It's not like the movies at all, it's more based on the books. If you have any questions, just pm and I'll get back to you :)]

---

The History of the Other

Some people, called Others, are endowed with supernatural abilities. They acquire their magical power from the magical energy given off by ordinary people. More precisely, the strength or level of an Other is measured by the amount of magical energy they absorb compared to what they give off, with the strongest magicians having level zero (they do not emit any magical energy). Others differ from ordinary people also in their extended life span. A few mythological types acquire a new interpretation in the Night Watch Universe: Vampires, Shape Shifters, Werewolves, Enchanteresses, Magicians, and Witches make an appearance.

Magical powers allow Others to manipulate inanimate matter, and also to influence regular people and weaker Others without those noticing. Whereas some magical abilities appear natural to Others, special spells are learned for certain tasks.

Regarding their emotions and values, Others do not differ from regular humans. They are actually split into two opposing groups: Light and Dark. Light Others (translating more accurately to "Selfless" than "Good"), believe it is their duty to help the weak and the helpless. Dark Others (translating more accurately to "Selfish" than "Evil") believe they should be allowed to do whatever they like, regardless of morality and ethics. The distinction is more casual in the films (where it is implied that a character's side is a changeable personal choice) than in the books (where the choice can only be made once and has supernaturally enforced implications on the chooser).

This division had always existed between the Others. For many millennia, the two sides fought a vicious battle. Both were willing to use any means to ensure victory. But eventually they realized that if they continued their battle, neither side would survive. So the leaders of both sides entered into a treaty - a set of laws to govern the way the Others used their powers. The Light Others created the Night Watch, to ensure that the Dark Others would not violate the Treaty. The Dark Others created the Day Watch, to ensure that the Light Others would not violate the Treaty. And the Inquisition, a group composed of both Dark and Light Others, was created to ensure that neither side became too powerful.

Since then, the two sides have kept an eye on each other and a fragile state of détente has developed. However, both sides are attempting to find a way to become powerful enough to discard the treaty and destroy the other.

The Twilight

The Twilight is a series of parallel dimensions that exist beneath the surface of reality. When entering the Twilight, an Other becomes invisible to humans. Also, time flows at a much slower rate, giving them increased speed and a faster reaction time. While in the gloom, an Other's energy is gradually consumed. If they allow it to be exhausted, they are unable to leave and are sucked to the bottom levels, effectively dead.

It is said that all Others go to into the Twilight when they die, although meeting one of the dead ones there is very rare.

The Twilight has multiple "layers". Each step deeper, an Other moves further away from the conventional reality, as the environment around them changes from resembling the real world to something completely different. Also, the time dilation effect increases with each step and so do the strength requirements. As an Other's strength increases, their ability to reach lower levels does as well.

The Others have a twilight form that they can take on in or out of the Twilight. Most Dark Others take on the form of a demon like figure. Many Light Others take the form of white glowing Angels.

Initiation

Only some humans are destined to become Others, but that fate is independent on the status of the parents. Thus, the children of Others are no more likely to become Others than are the children of regular humans. The long lifespan of Others means that they typically survive their non-Other children.

All humans that are potentially Others must be initiated in order to be able to use his/her powers to full extent. This usually happens the first time the Other enters the Twilight. This is also when the Other must choose between the Light and the Dark side. The choice is heavily affected by the Other's emotional state, so both the Night Watch and the Day Watch scout for potential Others in order to guide them through their initiation, turning them to their side.

Vampires and werevolves can initiate both humans and Others by feeding on them. Here the choice is between the Dark side or death. Both vampire and werewolves are inherently Dark. They are usually regarded as lower Others, because anyone can become a vampire or werewolf by being bitten (one cannot, however, become one of the "regular" Others without being born as one).

Types of Other

Magicians:of low levels are very common among both the Light side and Dark Others. Magicians may specialise in the power of Foresight, Healing, Cursing and Hexing, Battle Magic, or any number of other abilities. Powerful magicians (level 1 or 2 ) are known to live abnormally long lives and to keep their youthful looks.

Enchantress/Sorceress: Terms for a female magician.The difference between enchantresses and witches lies in the way their powers manifest - witches use charms, rhymes and various external aids to work their magic, whereas enchantresses use gestures and incantation to direct Twilight power.

Shapeshifters: can change into animal form, often used for magical battle. Shapeshifters seem to choose one animal type for their transformations, such as a cat, lizard, bear, etc. Shapeshifters are found in both Light and Dark Others, although the term shapeshifter is usually used for Dark Others, whereas many Light Others prefer the term 'transformer magician'. There is essentially little difference between shapeshifters and transformer magicians, other than the side they are on.

Vampires: are considered Low Others, and especially disrespected among their fellow Dark Others. Vampires can be born or turned, but all are undead and soul-less. All vampires are born with a hunger for blood; some choose to drink only donated blood but hunting licenses for humans can be obtained. They are able to eat normal human food, but it is tasteless to them. They can go out in daylight, but they do not like strong sunlight. Male vampires can only father one child.

Werewolves: are the Dark subspecies of Shapeshifters. Large, hairy canine forms of human legend, they possess a brutal strength and formidable teeth and claws. Their abilities are not impacted by the full moon, but they receive high increases in power in intervals of roughly one month (the onset of which they are said to be able to 'sense' around twelve or so hours before it happens). During this time, they are much more susceptible to the Twilight and may refuse to revert back to human form, a condition known as Lunacy.

Incubus/Succubus:are type of Other who possess extreme charisma and sexual appeal, which is their main ability.

Witch/Warlock:differ from magicians in that they do not draw power directly from the twilight, instead they creat aftifacts which slowly accumluate large amounts of power over time. This is an advantage and a disadvantage. If a witch/warlock wishes to move to the higher levels of power, she/he must sacrifice the youthful appearance enchantresses maintain (though they may use illusion to appear however they wish).

Devona:are human of extremely low intelligence whom a powerful magician invests with large amounts of power in order to make them a servant.It is not a socially acceptable status for the individual concerned, who often finds himself shunned and rejected.

Golem:are creature created from various materials (e.g. clay, wood, metal) by a magician for a particular purpose, such as guarding.

Light Ones & Dark Ones

Light Others (translating more accurately to "Selfless" than "Good"), believe it is their duty to help the weak and the helpless.Light Others often have little choice in their actions, forced to act for the sake of greater good.They cannot lie outright, although they can conceal information and manipulate the truth.Light Others also have a kind of "fail-safe" mechanism: if a Light Other cannot justify his actions to himself, he instantly disappears, banished forever in the Gloom.

Dark Others (translating more accurately to "Selfish" than "Evil") believe they should be allowed to do whatever they like, regardless of morality and ethics.

Others are very good at manipulating humans, easily changing their memory and making them do things they don't want to do.

Others can see a person's aura, which shows emotions and possible Light/Dark alignment. The aura can then be sent to other Others, and used to identify that person later.

Most Others have precognitive abilities, allowing them to see and somewhat alter the probabilities of events happening. This can be used, for example, to avoid traffic accidents when speeding. Grand Mages like Geser and Zavulon can predict some events days or even weeks before they happen, allowing them to forge complex plots that stretch far into the future.

The Others can use the feelings and emotions of the humans surrounding them to recharge their powers.Others can also drain Force directly from humans, Light Others by sapping the positive emotions and Dark Others by taking the negative ones. The difference is that the positive emotions disappear when taken, while the negative ones get worse. This usually makes this method unacceptable to Light Others.

The Inquisition

The Inquisition is a policing group created by the treaty establishing détente between Light and Dark. They are tasked with monitoring compliance with the treaty and meting out punishments for infractions. Members are personally either Light or Dark, but owe their loyalty to the Inquisition and not one or another of the Watch organizations.