Mahjarrat

This page serves as a source for information about Mahjarrat as it is applicable to World 42 roleplaying characters.

History of the Mahjarrat Tribe
For a complete and concise guide to Mahjarrat history, see the Mahjarrat page on the RuneScape Wikia.

A Mahjarrat's Abilities
To put it simply, Mahjarrat are incredibly powerful. They are magical, near-immortal beings with millenia of practice to match their raw magical abilities, with an immense amount of strength. They are ancient magic users, sorcerers, necromancers, and physically strong. Even the weakest of Mahjarrat will have an advantage over most humans.

This can often lead to a large amount of overpowering and godmodding within Roleplay. It can be dealt with by either finding reasons to make it fair- perhaps your character is apathetic to humans as a human would be to insects. Perhaps your mahjarrat is naturally weak. The choice is entirely up to the roleplayer, but it is to be stressed that if a mahjarrat character walks into a bar and begins to kill everybody for the fun of it, it likely won't get the roleplayer many friends OOC'ly, and their character will be ignored.

For more information on a Mahjarrat's abilities, click here. (Source: RS Wikia)

Roleplaying Mahjarrat Well
Mahjarrat are often considered to be one of the hardest races to play well due to the inherent issues present in playing such an old, powerful, and rare race. It is recommended that a roleplayer exercises caution and does their research before creating a Mahjarrat character.
 * Mahjarrat will very rarely mention their kin to outsiders, and without express, critical motivation, most Mahjarrat will keep their identities secret. Mahjarrat, though strong, are not immortal, and it is often vital to avoid showing true identity haphazardly; it would be often be dangerous to do so, bothersome at best.
 * Many Mahjarrat chose to adopt an alternate alias for a disguise, such as Doctor Nabanik (Azzanadra) or Ali the Wise (Wahisietel); these were both Mahjarrat disguises. Being a Mahjarrat does not mean that an obviously conspicuous disguise will be any less conspicuous. If the player intends OOC'ly for the Mahjarrat to IC'ly blend in, they will need to do so well.
 * Some role-players even go so far as to keep the true race of their characters a secret OOC'ly from other players to better perpetuate the disguise. This is an individual choice.
 * Zarosian Mahjarrat RP'ers will need to remember the inherent secrecy and prejudices that a Zarosian will know about. Public acknowledgement of Zaros should be avoided as a precaution against attack by both fearful humans and enemy Mahjarrat. Until very recently it was considered wise for Zarosians to keep quiet as only a few would openly profess their beliefs. Common people won't have more than a clue who Zaros is, but that doesn't stop enemies from biasing them against Zarosianism. Should a Mahjarrat slip up around people, the consequences could be disastrous.
 * Some of the more powerful Mahjarrat are very smart, such as Sliske, and some are rather impulsive and blunt, such as Khazard. The RP'er will have to make the choice themselves as to how their Mahjarrat will be.
 * Mahjarrat are almost always in a high position of power, or are following another Mahjarrat. They never aim small. They have an almost zealous need to hold great power in their hands. This makes sense - a master chef with a record in gourmet dining will not want to be a frycook at Taco Bell. Similarly, a Mahjarrat who is a guard but has no plans to moving up quickly is so frowned upon in the world 42 community that it borders lorebreaking.
 * Due to their incredibly lengthy lives, Mahjarrat can study and learn just about anything they wish. This includes languages, magics, combat, and just about any learnable skill. The wise player would avoid a character who knows everything, though, and all significant skills should be addressed when building a character's background.

Accepted Mahjarrat Lore
This section contains details about the mahjarrat race that are very widely accepted throughout the community of World 42 roleplayers.
 * Mahjarrat can shape-shift. While it may be expected that the shift take a certain length of time to make the ability less over-powered in-character, it is understood that mahjarrat are capable of shifting into human and non-human forms. For example, Azzanadra is seen in-game in his true lich form, as Doctor Nabanik, and as a strange jackal-ghost when you first meet him in the desert pyramid.
 * The flesh of a Mahjarrat's natural form is on a spectrum of dusty purples and reds, pearly whites, and very light beiges.
 * Mahjarrat are powerful mages, making particular use of Ancient magicks. Many Mahjarrat, such as Lucien, were known to be powerful necromancers.
 * Mahjarrat, with the help of the Ritual of Rejuvenation, are impervious to aging and natural death. They can, however, be slain in battle or by ritual sacrifice.
 * While Mahjarrat are in a shifted form they can still use all of their abilities but don't have the protection from their sturdier physique. Sustaining a different form than their natural will drain their power, however.
 * A Mahjarrat's main form, if the Mahjarrat has not recently participated in a Ritual of Rejuvation, is generally called it's "lich" form, in which they take on a skeletal-like appearance. Their bodies are made of pure bone, giving them a natural armor. It is possible that organs are hidden inside; but it is not confirmed.
 * A Mahjarrat's true form, post-ritual, is not a skeleton. They have flesh, and their faces seem to represent humans, albeit with some noted differences. (See the top-right picture.)
 * Mahjarrat are not Undead, and it is accepted that they DO have vital organs.
 * Lucien.pngrrat are able to reproduce; however, due to the lack of females and the general stubbornness of the only remaining female known in lore (Enahkra), this has not happened in some time. The youngest known Mahjarrat in lore is Khazard. His mother was Palkeera, and she died; the details of her death are unknown.
 * Mahjarrat have incredible strength. At full, post-ritual strength, they may be able to rip a human in half with their bare hands.
 * Mahjarrat almost always disguise themselves when in public. The exception to this would be when flaunting power shamelessly, like when Zemouregal appears to The Adventurer in Defender of Varrock to threaten him/her and try to stop him/her from intervening.
 * Mahjarrat are capable of sensing the presence of another Mahjarrat, though discerning their identity can prove to be difficult.
 * Hibernation is a long sleep where Mahjarrat regain health. They also can heal the most extreme wounds as long as they are alive within this sleep.
 * Most if not all Mahjarrat have some form of large gem kept on their person. Lucien's, for example, is embedded in his skull. The exception is Sliske, but it is quite possible that he keeps his hidden for reasons of his own. Some people believe it is a phylactery, others think it's a power reserve. The genuine purpose is currently unknown.
 * Mahjarrat can use magic without runes, unlike humans.
 * Mahjarrat don't feel physical pain nearly as much as humans and have a muted sense of emotions. This was noted by Kharshai in the quest Missing, Presumed Death, when asked about his new form.
 * Mahjarrat don't eat food or drink, in fact consuming food or drink often leads to them regurgitating it out later. Hazeel even claims the way humans eat food is 'disgusting'.
 * No known Mahjarrat has ever returned to Freneskae.
 * It should be noted that the term "Mahjarrat" refers not to the whole race but a specific tribe that left Freneskae with Icthlarin. Technically, while no Mahjarrat is currently known to reside on Freneskae, other tribes of the same race may still exist.
 * According to Kharshai's memory, nearly 500 Mahjarrat left Freneskae. At the end of the Menaphite War, there were less than 100.

Debated Mahjarrat Lore
This section contains lore that, whether or not it's obviously present in-game, may be disputed for use in-character either because of conflicting interpretations of lore or because it makes the character over-powered.
 * Mahjarrat organs are not as fragile as those of humans.
 * Mahjarrat have the gift of short distance teleportation. (Use of this is discouraged in roleplay because it is almost always over-powered, especially when coupled with no need for runes.)
 * Mahjarrat hibernation restores power.
 * Mahjarrat temporarily grow in power when in close proximity to the power of Jas, including the Stone of Jas itself, at runecrafting altars, essence mines, and other former locations of the Stone.
 * Mahjarrat can control portals leading to other realms.
 * Many mahjarrat seem to have selected a specific physical form that they tend to take most often when masquerading as humans. Some roleplayers infer from this that each mahjarrat has a human shape that comes most naturally to them.
 * Due to Mahjarrat having a type of blood similar to that of Icyene, it is deadly to those who drink it.
 * Mahjarrat may not have the same capacity for emotions as humans do.
 * Mahjarrat naturally have a higher intellect than humans. Kharshai claims that his intellect has generally increased upon gaining his memories. Also, mahjarrat are a nigh-immortal race, so it'd be understandable that they'd have a higher capacity for knowledge, facts, and memories.
 * It is not exactly known if mahjarrat have family names or not, as we do not know enough about the social structure on the Freneskaen mahjarrat to get a good guess on the matter.

Making a Mahjarrat
There are a number of critical details that a player developing a mahjarrat character should address in his/her bio in order to make it more legitimate and conform to the boundaries of lore.
 * 1) Why does s/he mix with the community? Nearly all Mahjarrat are hidden away from obvious human sight. Wahisietel is an exception, but he disguises himself as a humble human as a cover for his work with Azzanadra.
 * 2) Why isn't s/he in Zemourgal's Notes? Before all the living mahjarrat were released in-game, for male characters, it was possible to say that your mahjarrat was in the Notes and simply provide what was written. However, this is no longer possible. Females did not have this option, since it's known that Enakhra is thought to be the only female Mahjarrat still living. If using the "Divisional split theory", this can be a legitimate reason for not being in the notes.
 * 3) Why is s/he so "weak?" Why doesn't s/he raise an undead army in the middle of Falador?
 * 4) How did s/he react to Zamorak's betrayal and how did s/he participate in/survive the God Wars?
 * 5) Aside from surviving, what has s/he done with the last few thousand years of life and what plans does s/he have help Zamorak/Zaros? If none, why not, and what plans does s/he have instead?
 * 6) If s/he is in a place like Falador/Entrana/Paterdomus, explain how the saradoministic protections there do not cause some kind of harm or inconvenience. All known mahjarrat are aligned with Zaros and Zamorak, including Kharshai who is assumed to be a balance weight between the two. All of these alignments fall subject to the wrath of Saradomin - especially Zamorak.

Other Details

 * The "Divisional Split Theory" is a popular lorebending theory practiced by a number of users which attempts to explain the existence of many Mahjarrat that exist in public role-playing on world 42, including some of the issues brought up in the Making A Mahjarrat section of this article.