This is a brief guide to creating ideated characters! While this guide is geared more towards those new to Ideation, as the lore of Ideation and Edeia can become quite complex the more you dive in, it may be helpful for those developing actual Edeia as well. 

Ideated characters are characters who have an Idea and can use idea magic, but haven't become an Edeia. They can in some ways be considered the "open species" version of Edeia. The lore of Ideation and Edeia can become quite complex the more you dive in, so you can start here! 

By making these characters, you can: 

• Familiarize yourself with how ideation (development of an Idea) and idea magic can work and/or explore a character with an Idea without committing to an Edeia yet

• Consider different potential origins and try them out with different characters

• Learn about the Ideation setting and see how your character could fit into it

• Engage with the community with an Ideation character, potentially forming relationships with others' Edeia and other Ideation characters 

• Potentially have your non-Actualized character made into an official Edeia later on

For non-Actualized characters, you can freely discuss them and pose theoreticals of how they might Actualize, so long as you don't start fully discussing their whole story of how they would become an Edeia and how they would live as an Edeia. 

Additionally, you can use an ideated character for prompts that normally require an Edeia, allowing you to earn species currency to get a MYO, notion, or custom. Some notes: 

• This is only an FTO option, for those who do not and have never owned an Edeia. 

• You can submit up to ten (10) prompts that normally require an Edeia with your ideated characters.

• You can submit for the prompt so long as it's not obviously incompatible (i.e. shapeshifting). 

To get started, you can consider four things: 

• Origin: their original species and how they became ideated. 

• Abilities: what they are capable of with their idea magic. 

• Appearance: their original appearance and how they have been changed through idea magic. 

• Context: their location and time period.

To start with, you can consider your character's origin and how they become ideated. Your character's species, as well as which dimension they came from, determines what sequence of events is necessary for them to gain an Idea. 

To start out, it is recommended to have a human native to Ideation, whether they were born with an Idea or developed it. 

A quick reference flowchart for explaining how different species coming from different places is below. You can see this at full resolution here. 

See also: NPCs, reincarnation, soul naturalization, magic 

Most, though not all, ideated individuals have an increased lifespan, perhaps double, triple, or even more multiples of their original. As for their idea magic - every Idea can manifest differently, so it can be difficult to define any common patterns in the magic. However, it should fairly clearly be connected to the concept behind their Idea or help them with existing in a way that allows them to align with their identity as their Idea. You may see Idea Ability Guidelines for some things to keep in mind. 

When choosing an Idea, you can find one not on the Masterlist or look for those on the Masterlist that have non-Actualized permissions as allowed - the column for the permission is on the right. 

Compared to Edeia, ideated individuals have significantly weaker magic. They are often limited to affecting only things that they can perceive, touch, or are otherwise quite near them, and the intensity of their power is perhaps 10-30% (though not strictly) of what it would be as an Edeia. 

Additionally, they experience side effects. The more powerful an ideated individual's magic, the more side effects they tend to experience when they use their magic. If they do not use their magic, they can avoid the side effects, but greater power also often comes with decreased control. Powerful ideated individuals may have passive abilities they cannot control, or their abilities might activate by instinct if they feel that they are in danger or if they sense a "target," whether consciously or subconsciously. (For an example of a "target," an individual with a high level of latent malice could be a target for someone with an Idea of Malice, and the one ideated with Malice may instinctively draw out the target's malice.) 

For more details, see the Magic and Side Effects section of the lore on ideated individuals. 

The first thing to ask, of course, is what species they are. What do they look like normally? From there, you can consider how their idea magic causes changes in their appearance. 

An ideated individual often, but not always, manifests changes in their appearance. This is both an adaptation that allows their body to tolerate the energy of idea magic better, and also a manifestation of their self-image and interpretation of their Idea. The more the body changes, the less severe the side effects. Still, there is a limit to how much the body can change, and the side effects for powerful abilities or intense/prolonged usage would likely be severe. While lifespan is usually much extended for Ideated individuals, taxing the body so much could lead to that extended lifespan being shortened somewhat. 

The first, and sometimes the only, change in appearance in ideated individuals is a change in their eyes. Almost all individuals experience minor changes, with some manifesting major changes when they have greater attunement to their Idea. They may also experience changes in skin and hair color and the like. For details on appearance alterations, see here. 

If you want to interact with the story of Ideation's world, or with other characters who exist in Ideation (like others' Edeia), it's important to think about the context your character is in - their physical location and time period. 

There are many potential options: in the world of Ideation, external dimensions, alternate timelines, and more. However, to start with and to allow for interaction with other members of the Ideation community, it is recommended to try creating a character who exists in the main timeline of Ideation, known as the Main Ideation Continuity. 

Even within the Main Ideation Continuity, there are many options. The recommended starting point is your choice of the following: 

• mundane context: normal human society during the Age of Secrecy (1500-2016), when magic was obfuscated from the mundane. This context is closest to the real world, which can simplify some considerations. Mainly, you should keep in mind that they need to hide their magic or join magical society. Usually, they will be discovered by another Edeia who will inform them of Secrecy and ask them to conceal it from the mundane if it is possible, or otherwise to join a magical society somewhere. 

• united society context: a globalized society of both the magical and mundane, existing during the Age of Reunion (2016 to present, which is our year plus 100, e.g. 2124). This context has a fair amount of flexibility since various places have varying degrees of connection/involvement with united society. Your character can live a normal life, just with magic being there and accepted, or perhaps a life of futuristic magitechnological conveniences. At this point in time, most members of the Ideation community have plenty of Edeia who can be interacted with, as Age of Secrecy has secrecy limitations and fewer Edeia are present in the Age of Magic. 

However, you can do what you like! A flowchart to help you decide is below; full resolution here. 

See also: NPC Possibility, NPC Ritual, NPC Sanctuary, Timeline of Ideation 

Try sharing your ideas for your character in the Edeia Discord server, or submit prompts with them! It's encouraged to try and form character relationships with others' Edeia and Ideation characters. 

Perhaps you can create several ideated characters, and in time you might want some of them to Actualize! If you want to make them into an official Edeia, see the Acquisition page.