Simic Combine
The Biomancers
The Simic representative was as tern-looking mage whose parentage appeared to be partly human and partly aquatic, possibly merfolk: he rode astride a creature that seemed the offspring of a giant, blue-carapaced crab and an irate squid. The Simic squad was rounded out by a host of mages clad in scale armor, and improbable hybrid fusions of scaled, finned, and shelled creatures.
Experimenters and mad scientists, creating life as they see fit.
Overview
THE PRESERVERS
The Simic Combine is Ravnica's steward of nature and the wild; its mission is to preserve the natural world even as Ravnica's cities continue to grow. The guild seeks to protect the elements of the plane that are incompatible or mutually exclusive with its overpopulated, urban conditions. This is not easy, of course, because the forces of civilization are so prevalent on Ravnica that they threaten to subsume anything that runs counter to them. But the Simic practice a strange combination of detachment and holism that provide a kind of separation from the larger urban systems—a separation on which their conservation mission depends.
SPEAKER ZAGANA
The regal and reticent merfolk woman named Zegana is the current guildmaster of the Simic Combine. She is the speaker for Zonot One, the first to emerge on Ravnica, and she delivered the Fathom Edict that declared a new beginning for the Combine. Zegana is quick to point out, however, that she speaks at the discretion of the Speakers' Chamber, a secretive body of all nine of the zonots' speakers. She claims that the Chamber can revoke that status, at which time another speaker would replace her as the guildmaster. Many outside the Simic believe this is false modesty, however, and that Zegana controls the Chamber—if it meets at all.
ZONOTS AND CLADES
A zonot is a huge sinkhole that leads all the way down to the Ravnican oceans, and each serves as a distinct Simic habitat—sort of an oversized, inverted skyscraper. Each zonot has a different culture, ecosystem, and racial distribution, as well as a speaker. Simic guild members are organized by clade rather than by species, role, or caste. Each clade is the natural-world equivalent of a project team: diverse individuals adapted to different tasks, yet related by a common goal. Clades often exist solely within a single zonot, but they need not do so, and large clades span two or more Simic communities.
Speaker Zagana
ZONOTS
ZONOT ONE
The first to open, Zonot One appeared in a remote area far away from the Tenth District. This is Speaker Zegana's home zonot, although she spends most of her time in Zonot Seven, where the Simic main guildhall is located. Zonot One is the smallest zonot and has a somewhat somber feeling compared to others.
ZONOT FOUR
The largest of the zonots has the marine troll Trifon as its speaker. The culture here is more brutal and direct than elsewhere, and the residents are larger on average, too.
ZONOT FIVE
The Simic tend to be insular, but this zonot has become a tourist destination—a place where the guildless can come to see the ocean as well as to observe Simic life. Rather than discourage this, the Simic created the Helical Stair here to draw more visitors.
ZONOT SEVEN
The only zonot inside the boundaries of the Tenth District, Zonot Seven is home to the guildhall, the Zameck. As one would expect, this is the busiest and most densely populated zonot.
CLADES
HULL CLADE
This clade's focus is on protection, defense, durability, and the like. Its projects range from the strengthening of exoskeletons to the stabilization of zonot walls.
FIN CLADE
The study of movement is this clade's focus—both literal movement of creatures (especially flying creatures) as well as, for example, movement of resources through systems.
CRYPSIS CLADE
This secretive clade develops strategies for obscuring other guilds' views of the Simic. This includes literal camouflage as well as magic designed to hide knowledge or operations.
GYRE CLADE
Cyclical patterns and metamagic are this clade's specialization. Projects include finding ways to redirect or nullify magic and advancing nature.
"Show them to Razia and then to the Azorius sky marshals. We could create a fine bidding war—enough to fund the final stages of Project Kraj."
Simic Combine's Agenda
Two philosophical principles, in tension with each other, combine to give the Simic Combine its unique approach to science and nature. In traditional Simic
thought, these principles are called the Holdfast and the Upwelling. The Holdfast encourages the Simic to promote nature; the Upwelling urges them to perfect nature. The end result is the same: a hastened system of evolution that brings out the best in every creature's nature. But different factions within the Simic Combine interpret these principles in their own ways.
History
A NEW PURPOSE
The original purpose of the Simic Combine was to preserve the health of all Ravnican life-forms. They were devoted to the study of life, medicines, and biomancy. But just as life can adapt, so did the Combine. Momir Vig, the Simic guildmaster, was dissatisfied with this original purpose and formed a new purpose: to improve upon life-forms of Ravnica. For this, he created cytoplasts, a bio-magical mass of living tissue, appearing as blue-green globules. These globules convey genetic information to and from any life-form they come into physical contact with. Unfortunately for Vig, the people of Ravnica did not want to be improved or to undergo the surgery required to receive the benefits (except Simic members and people requiring prosthetics), so Vig created a new version of cytoplast that only need to come into contact with a host in order to bond with it. This allowed Vig to improve the people of Ravnica without needing their consent. Vig allied with Svogthir and planned to create and activate his Project Kraj to cleanse Ravnica and start over. He was consequently killed by Agrus Kos. With the fall of Momir Vig, the Simic were left in despair, until Ravnica's subterranean merfolk emerged.
RENEWED LIFE
With the reemergence of the guilds and the rediscovery of Ravnica's long gone oceans, through the sinkholes known as Zonots, the Simic were remade from scratch. Embracing long-gone spiritual and holistic concepts, they rejected Momir Vig's corrupted philosophy, focusing on advancing nature through purely magical means. Because of their focus on the oceans, their new philosophy revolves around principles applied to sea-life: the Holdfast, the anchoring, isolationist motion; and the Upwelling, the expansive, upwards-going motion. With this, they form a compromise between isolation and influence on Ravnican society, preserving nature and allowing at least one spot of access to the underground oceans. Zegana is the guildmaster and speaker of Zonot One, the first to open. The seven Zonots are the focus of Simic activity, with Zonot Seven being home to Zameck, the guildhall.
"A regression to ancient forms? A glimpse of future evolutions? Or a fleeting alteration of the present?"
SIMIC LOCATIONS
ZAMECK
The Simic guildhall is not a particularly ceremonial or celebratory place. In Zonot Seven, a huge chamber just below the surface has been cleared of debris and serves as the gathering place for all the speakers, as well as a place where non-Simic visitors can meet with Zegana or other Combine emissaries. The roof contains many openings to the sky covered over with plax to create opalescent skylights, which makes the chamber seem almost as though it's underwater. Thick cords of kelp buttress the walls of the huge chamber, and algae cakes the corners and edges of walls and floors. But the main chamber floor is clear, with the exception of a large table in the shape of a loose spiral, with a slightly elevated podium at its center.
THE HELICAL STAIR
At Zonot Five, an enormous column of marine plant matter has been coaxed by magic to grow steadily up the walls of the zonot in a gentle spiral. Stairs have been carved in the spiral (and de-slimed), forming a long path by which surface dwellers can walk down to sea level. This is a Simic outreach to the people of Ravnica—a place where its denizens can see, touch, step into, and even swim through the cold oceans they forgot millennia ago.JEZERU, THE LAKE DISTRICT
In recent years, the sentient among the Simic have collectively realized that they risk over-isolation in their zonots. In an effort to increase relevance and visibility, the Simic have made conscious efforts to bring their guild aboveground. The most dramatic example of these efforts is Jezeru, an entire district that now lies underwater. The water is only several feet deep in most of this shallow, natural valley area, although at its deepest it reaches forty feet or so. Terrestrial creatures can navigate the district via flying Simic "ferry" creatures as well as by stone walkways kept afloat by oversized pneumatocyst growths.
A Simic Guildgate
Membership
Many paths lead people to the Simic Combine, all of them guided by the notion that tomorrow can be made better than today. All of the guild's efforts strive
to achieve a utopian future that they believe is within reach.
EQUIPMENT
A Simic insignia, a set of commoner's clothes, a book of research notes, an ink pen, a bottle ofsquid ink, a flask of oil (made from blubber), a vial of acid (derived from digestive juices), a vial of fish scales, a vial of seaweed, a vial ofjellyfish stingers, a glass bottle of unidentified slime, and a belt pouch containing 400 silver.RESEARCHER
When you attempt to learn or recall a magical or scientific fact, if you don't know that information, you know where and from whom you can obtain it. Usually, this in formation comes from a Simic laboratory, or sometime from an Izzet facility, a library, a university, or an independent scholar or other learned person or creature. Knowing where the information can be found doesn't automatically enable you to learn it; you might need to offer bribes, favors, or other incentives to induce people to reveal their secrets. Your GM might rule that the knowledge you seek is secreted away in an inaccessible place, or that it simply can't be found. Unearthing the deepest secrets of the multiverse can require an adventure or even a whole campaign.RANK
TECHNICIAN
As a technician, you can begin performing experiments, following the instructions of a researcher as you operate instruments, care for experimental subjects, extract samples of bodily fluids, and run errands up and down the zonot and out into the city. Such errands can bring
you into contact with members of other guilds and lead to adventures. If you have any kind of pet, familiar, mount, or animal companion, you can add one random adaptation to it. Doing so requires 1d6 days of work (8 hours per day) for each creature, and the work must be done in a Simic facility.
RESEARCHER
After doing your time as a technician, you are eligible to lead your own experiments. You must be associated with a clade or a project, and must work on experiments related to its primary focus under the general guidance of the clade or project leader. Project leaders are more hands-on, ensuring that your research contributes to reaching the immediate objective. Clade leaders check in from time to time, but they give you wide latitude to pursue your own experiments under the general aegis of the clade's interests. If your research requires it, your project leader or clade leader can equip you with a Simic charm before you undertake a mission or an experiment. In addition, you can call on a category 1 krasis to assist you on any mission authorized by the guild. You choose the krasis's two adaptations.
LUMINARY (Special Role)
As a technician, you can begin performing experiments, following the instructions of a researcher as you operate instruments, care for experimental subjects, extract samples of bodily fluids, and run errands up and down the zonot and out into the city. Such errands can bring
you into contact with members of other guilds and lead to adventures. If you have any kind of pet, familiar, mount, or animal companion, you can add one random adaptation to it. Doing so requires 1d6 days of work (8 hours per day) for each creature, and the work must be done in a Simic facility.
PROJECT LEADER
A proven researcher, you are eligible to oversee your own project, directing the efforts of other researchers toward the solution of some problem facing the guild. The Speaker of your zonot gives you laboratory space, and you have a staff of 3d12 researchers. You can have this staff work on projects for you, which can include the creation of a category 2 krasis with adaptations of your choosing, which you can then bring outside the lab oratory on important business, ideally under carefully controlled conditions. Hosting the work of a successful and important project reflects well on the Speaker of a zonot, so your Speaker keeps a close eye on your work. On the positive side, you can count on access to the considerable resources of the zonot as long as your research is going well. On the other hand, you can expect your Speaker to try to meddle in your work to ensure that your efforts remain relevant to the overall goals of the Simic Combine.
CLADE LEADER
As a famous researcher or a successful project leader, you stand ready to take on a supervisory role for an entire clade. New clades rarely form, so you must wait for your clade leader to retire (one way or another) before a position exists for you to fill, except in truly exceptional circumstances. Similar to a project leader, you are responsible for directing the efforts of researchers exploring a wide variety of projects related to the focus of your
clade. Unless an experiment turns out to be especially interesting, these efforts can carry on without your supervision. If you need to, you can enlist the aid of 5d12 researchers, and you can also request the support of hybrids, krasis, or any other creature associated with the Simic Combine from the Speaker of any zonot where the members of your clade live and work. Because most clades span multiple zonots, you have status equal to the Speakers of the zonots. You have no voice on the Speakers' Chamber, unless you can persuade one or more of its members to speak on your behalf.
SPEAKER (Special Role)
You are eligible to become the Speaker of a zonot. The selection of a new Speaker (in the event of an existing Speaker's retiring, dying, or otherwise leaving the position) takes place through a combination of popular election and the input of the other eight Speakers, with the current Prime Speaker having the final word. If you emerge as the victor after this rigorous process, you as sume the leadership of your zonot and are empowered
to bring its concerns before the Speakers' Chamber. You are a political leader rather than a scientific one, so you have authority over other members of the combine only if they live and work in your zonot. If a clade has a laboratory in your zonot, you have the right (and responsibility) to supervise its activities to ensure compliance with laws and regulations, but not to interfere in its research beyond that point. And if the clade leader lives in a different zonot, you have no authority whatsoever over that person.
A Simic Guildmember that had undergone mutations
Gifts
What the guild offers its more loyal and trusted members. Upon reaching that status, members may be given one of the following gifts.
EVOLUTION
GRAFT
GIFT3
Restrictions
Rules that members must adhere to.
• Respect nature and its power
Species and Races
Species and races typically associated with the Selesnya Combine include:
BASALISKS
Basilisks are giant, many-legged reptiles that can turn their enemies to stone with their gaze. The basilisks on Ravnica were the result of Simic experimentation.
DRAKES
The mind of a Drake is more similar to that of an animal than that of true dragons. It is often thought that drakes were descendants of the losers of the Elder Dragon War, like the wurms, but this is not true, for their ancestry can also be traced to the surviving Elder Dragons. By and large, the difference between drakes and dragons is that dragons have wings in addition to their limbs, while drakes have one set of their limbs replaced by their wings, like birds or bats. Some exceptions exist, though. Drakes are especially vulnerable to aether vortexes. Leafdrakes are an enhanced form of drake created by the Simic. Recently, among Simic krasis, there are the Drakewing Krasis, drake-lizard hybrids.
ELEMENTALS (Cytospawn)
An elemental is a sentient being composed of elemental energy. The most common varieties are those of the classical elements, expressing themselves as Air Elementals, Fire Elementals, Earth Elementals, and Water Elementals. "Cytospawn" are huge humanoid elementals created by the Simic Combine, comprised of living cytoplast. They may be derived from root-kin stock.
ELVES
Most elves live far longer than humans, but it's unclear exactly how much. Eladamri was over 150 years old and considered to be in his prime. Ravnican elves not only live far longer than humans but also mature faster; it is unknown if this is common to all elves or just those of Ravnica. There was once a third tribe of elves on Ravnica, one that became largely extinct during the pre-Guildpact wars; the survivors joined the Simic Combine. Little is known about them, but both the Devkarin and the Silhana believe they were very cruel and unpleasant. Simic elves seem to have been mostly bald. As time went by, almost all of the Simic elves subjected themselves to strange biological experiments, adding biomechanical implants or splicing their genes with those of other creatures, such as snakes.
HUMANS
Humans are probably one of the most prevalent species in the multiverse. They are four-limbed bipedal primates of the mammalian class. For unknown reasons, possibly to do with the higher standard of living, the humans of Ravnica have longer lifespans than humans on other planes. They are the only race that has members in large numbers in all of the plane's guilds.
MERFOLK
Merfolk is a creature type for a race of aquatic humanoids. Humans speculate that merfolk are Atlantean humans that adapted to the ocean; merfolk speculate that humans are merfolk that have adapted to live on land. For millennia, merfolk were thought extinct on Ravnica, as the ocean was covered by the sprawling city and eventually faded from memory. The merfolk themselves only preserved dim memories of the surface, aware that there was a city ruled by guilds above them, but knowing and caring little about it. Their disinterest was only ended when tree roots reached the oceans. However, massive sinkholes enabled them to resurface, and many have joined the Simic Combine and risen to leadership positions. The new Combine has incorporated many parts of their philosophy, such as the Holdfast and the Upwelling Principles. The current highest-ranking speaker for the Combine, Zegana, is a merfolk.
MUTANTS
Mutants are altered beings by unnatural factors whether magical or biological origin. Biomancers (genetic biologists affiliated with the Simic Combine) were responsible for the mutants of Ravnica in their attempts to improve the life forms of that plane. Most members of the Simic Combine even alter themselves purposedly, becoming mutants to enhance their abilities.
VELDAKEN
Veldaken depict a tall, thin, hairless blue-skinned humanoid race, with a dispassionate view towards life. Their infatuation with knowledge makes these hyper-intellectual people natural Artificers and Mages. The vedalken of Ravnica are associated most closely with the Simic Combine and Azorius Senate, though the Izzet League is also not an unprecedented choice.
A Simic creature, usually a hybrid of one or more monsters.
Foreign Relations
Azorius Senate
"An absurd and inelegant construct, forever trapped in a maze of their own making. They would outlaw evolution if they could. And if any of them truly seek utopia, the rest are far too busy shuffling papers notice. Avoid their attention at all costs."Cult of Rakdos
"Camouflage, mimicry, resilience, and versatility. If the guilds were species, we would count the Rakdos among the most impressive. But they aren't, and that makes the Rakdos far more erratic--and dangerous.''Gruul Clans
"The Gruul conceive of nature only in terms of savagery and privation. But their ways are no less a response to civilization than our own. They will survive, barely, and perhaps one day they will understand."House Dimir
"We need not compete. Let them be, and they will let us be--but observe them closely."Orzhov Syndicate
"They hoard their treasure throughout their point less lives and lengthy afterlives. With such riches, we could swiftly bring about a future in which gold is as irrelevant as death."Selesnya Conclave
"Like us, they seek a synthesis between 'natural' and 'artificial' systems. Unlike us, they wish to achieve it by unconditional surrender. They are adequate partners in stable times, but in the present climate they have little to offer."Golgari Swarm
"Less an organization than an infestation. They are nearly as adaptable as we are, and they seem intent on competition. More than any other guild, they pressure us to improve."Boros Legion
"They style themselves the agents of 'justice.' But the law is no better excuse for aggression than any other.''Izzet League
"The lzzet have spent ten thousand years mimicking the appearance of research, producing more pyrotechnics than progress. Surely that is a performance to rival the Rakdos."
"For the Simic Combine, its sigil serves not as an emblem of honor but as a trademark. Its familiar image on any biological commodity attests to superb craftsmanship, ingenious innovation, and higher cost."
Type
Guild, Professional
Skills
Skills held important by the organization which it both teaches and may require as part of the promotion process.
Standard Skills
Athletics, Boating, Endurance, First Aid, Locale, Swim, Willpower
Professional Skills
Courtesy, Craft (Transformation Potions), Healing, Language (Merfolk), Literacy, Seamanship, Teach.
Combat Styles
Combat Style Water Combat
Combat Style United Front
Combat Style Natural Weapons
Combat Style United Front
Combat Style Natural Weapons
A Simic Guildmage
Magic
Magic related to, or often times exclusive to a particular guild which can be taught to members for a small fee. Not all spells are available right away, many might be reserved for more skilled, loyal, and/or trusted members.
Folk Magic
Show spoiler
Avert
Breath
Calm
Cleanse
Glue
Light
Mobility
Spiritshield
Warmth
Breath
Calm
Cleanse
Glue
Light
Mobility
Spiritshield
Warmth
Animism
The Simic Combine allows the use of Elemental Spirits, Nature Spirits, and Predator Spirits.
Mysticism
Exoskeleton
Show spoiler
Augment Brawn
Augment Endurance
Enhance Fatigue
Enhance Hit Points
Invoke Fortress
Invoke Impenetrable Fortress
Invoke Reinforce Hide
Augment Endurance
Enhance Fatigue
Enhance Hit Points
Invoke Fortress
Invoke Impenetrable Fortress
Invoke Reinforce Hide
Mantis Shrimp
Show spoiler
Augment Brawn
Augment Perception
Enhance Damage Modifier
Enhance Strike Rank
Enhance Melee Combat Style
Invoke Awareness
Invoke Instant Reflex
Augment Perception
Enhance Damage Modifier
Enhance Strike Rank
Enhance Melee Combat Style
Invoke Awareness
Invoke Instant Reflex
Swordfish
Show spoiler
Augment Athletics
Augment Endurance
Augment Swim
Enhance Movement Rate
Invoke Divine Skill Single Flash
Invoke Focus Battle Aura
Invoke Shukuchi
Augment Endurance
Augment Swim
Enhance Movement Rate
Invoke Divine Skill Single Flash
Invoke Focus Battle Aura
Invoke Shukuchi
Sorcery
Hull Clade
Show spoiler
Castback
Damage Resistance
Enhance (Characteristic) (CON)
Neutralize Magic
Protective Ward
Sculpt (Substance) (Barnacles)
Regenerate
Damage Resistance
Enhance (Characteristic) (CON)
Neutralize Magic
Protective Ward
Sculpt (Substance) (Barnacles)
Regenerate
Fin Clade
Show spoiler
Enhance (Characteristic) (DEX)
Fly
Haste
Portal
Shapechange (To Creature) (Drakewing Krasis)
Summon
Teleport
Fly
Haste
Portal
Shapechange (To Creature) (Drakewing Krasis)
Summon
Teleport
School3
Show spoiler
WIP
Theism
Thassa, God of the Sea
Show spoiler
WIP
Kruphix, God of Horizons
Show spoiler
WIP
Kefnet, God of Knowledge
Show spoiler
Absorption
Aegis
Awaken
Behold
Consencrate
Cure Malady
Cure Sense
Dismiss Magic
Exorcism
Harmonize
Heal Mind
Heal Wound
Lay to Rest
Pacify
Rejuivenate
Shield
Steadfast
Aegis
Awaken
Behold
Consencrate
Cure Malady
Cure Sense
Dismiss Magic
Exorcism
Harmonize
Heal Mind
Heal Wound
Lay to Rest
Pacify
Rejuivenate
Shield
Steadfast
A Simic Warrior
Comments