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D Get em!
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Apr 18, 2020 01:32
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TheCog posted:You inspect the nearest white-hat, getting a not insignificant amount of gore on yourself in the process. The man doesn't appear to be carrying any of the things you would expect if he were a Sophos. No graduation pendant, no pocket with alchemical components. A chain under his clothes has five copper links (with the rest being iron), indicating five years of service. Probably a Tinny. Tin denotes the low-to-mid ranks of non-magic user public officials. You can imagine the man's duties involved a lot of boring patrol duties, maybe serving as a first responder in a crisis. A spear that he was probably armed with lies next to him, it looks like he didn't get to use it. Death has captured in his face an expression a mix of surprise, horror, and determination. There's no letter to a loved one that gives you a glimpse into his life, or a last second warning scrawled in blood. He probably died before he really realized what was happening. Ok, so presumably these guys aren't a bunch of higher level than us magic casters, just generic soldier/cops. And someone is shooting stones or something around. Is that something we think an impetar could do?
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Apr 18, 2020 02:38
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Let's tell our friends about our theories and ask them about it. "I think, whatever attacked them, shot some sort of projectile. Pierced right through them. So these... things have ranged capabilities. What do you think?"
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Apr 18, 2020 03:05
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Mandibles go in, mandibles come out. Pierced through clean
Inverted Icon fucked around with this message at 03:43 on Apr 18, 2020 |
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Apr 18, 2020 03:41
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It's probably Force magic. Force bullets. Missiles of a magical sort, one might say. I suppose one could get a similar effect with Air or even Water magic if you could get fine enough control and strong enough power. Hell, it could even be Ice bullets where the ice has melted since it happened. Do we have a Detect Magic type ability that can analyze for mana type? If so let's use that, or have a classmate do it if they know it and we don't.
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Apr 18, 2020 04:58
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Olothreutes posted:Ok, so presumably these guys aren't a bunch of higher level than us magic casters, just generic soldier/cops. And someone is shooting stones or something around. Is that something we think an impetar could do? Impetar's have issues with precision over medium/long ranges. Its not impossible though. jng2058 posted:Do we have a Detect Magic type ability that can analyze for mana type? If so let's use that, or have a classmate do it if they know it and we don't. You can enter a mage trance, but it will only show you the existing state of mana, not the past. Junpei posted:Let's tell our friends about our theories and ask them about it. Emile "Probably a Terrius or a Glacies. A skill like this would be a pain to fight against though, we'd need armour or something." Felix just kind of shrugs "If we run into whatever did this, we'll solve it then. Not much use speculating". Tabor "What... what if its not a projectile... what if it's fangs. I mean... look at all the blood..."
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Apr 20, 2020 16:27
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Three way tie between A, B, D. I'll start writing whenever we get a tiebreaker vote or I get bored and roll dice, whichever comes first.
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Apr 20, 2020 20:14
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D
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Apr 20, 2020 20:23
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And voting is closed.
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Apr 20, 2020 20:53
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Hm. At least some of the accuracy issues could be mitigated, I think, by A: Using actual projectiles intended for this purpose instead of any old thing laying around and B: Having devices to launch the projectiles from that could help with aiming/accuracy instead of just eyeballing the target and hoping for the best. Or living ammunition I suppose, but animating bolts to seek their target better strikes me as particularly expensive/wasteful for something like this.
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Apr 20, 2020 21:01
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 After your first year, once you’d mastered the fundamentals, how to enter mage fugue, the words to speak so that mana would listen. The gestures to protect yourself from it. The way to bend your mind and flex your senses so that you could see it, at the expense of using your normal senses. The various colors and sentiments of mana… It was time to pick, to decide which path you would tread for the next several years. Mastering magic is no easy thing, and so picking one discipline and sticking to it is key to learning enough that you can later pivot. Learning one discipline does not lock you out from others, or signal that you will never master anything else, it merely represents where your focus has been for the last four years. Whichever mana you pick, you can expect to be mildly competent with during the present crisis. Not an expert, but good enough to wield it effectively in combat, and to create useful effects. You are probably at the point where derived mana is possible for you, just not in sufficient amounts to be useful. In the next year or so, you expect to decide if you’d rather spend time mastering a derived mana, or focusing your knowledge of elemental mana deeper. Decades away still from beginning to understand conjured mana. By this point you understand that to do magic, you must enter a mage fugue, and that you will be restricted in what you can do, both based on how much mana you can put down, and on how fast it fades. You also understand that when you are in a mage fugue, you are more vulnerable, both physically and to mental attacks. You also learn that inflicting a mental attack on an opponent can be done via limited astral projection, and would allow you to place mana directly into their mind field. However this is not a topic you have really delved into yet. You also learn that there are several “fields” upon which mana can operate. There is the physical field, which represents the real world. The way you see it in mage-sight will never correspond to how it is actually laid out, the shape of mana not often having a direct relation to the shape of objects in the real world. There is the mental field, which every sentient being has, which allows mana to operate upon the individual. Strong mages can influence several mental fields at once, treating them all as one. Gaining access to an unwilling target’s mind field is beyond you at this point. There is also a field called the spiritual field, which represents the dimension from which mana forms. It is separate from the physical, but effects on it affect the physical manifestations of mana. You do not have the skill to place mana on the spiritual field yet. You also learn about Shapes. Shapes come in four flavors. Minor, Major, Full and Resonant. Shapes are patterns which allow effects beyond what the mana would usually allow. Each category denotes a certain amount of power and effort it will take to craft them. Resonant shapes almost always require the caster to consume themselves to create them, and are far beyond what you will learn at the Academia. Which mana did you pick to focus on?  A. FIRE. I wanted to become an Igniom, a fire mage. An extremely unusual choice in Aqua, since the Summa Aqua quells all fire mana, you need to get a special dispensation for your training and do it only in approved environments where the Summa has been quelled. That said Igniom are uncommon in Aqua, which makes you desirable by default. You can expect to be able to summon a relatively high amount of fire if you focus on this. You’ll be able to put down roughly 20-30 feet of fire down, which will disperse quickly, or a much smaller volume that lasts several seconds. You will be able to cast firebolts almost effortlessly, although even a novice will likely be able to defend themselves against it. You will find you are most effective at medium range. Mentally, you will be able to cleanse yourself of minor influences and place minor enchantments of retaliation upon yourself, as well as protecting yourself from flames. Doing this to others is trickier and requires their consent. You will also have mastered the basics of animating servitors using fire mana, this is a long, involved process, but one you can do. Fire servitors do not work within the Summa Aqua. Fire mages tend to favor styles that start slow, build into rolling reservoirs of mana and effect and then peter out. You will know the Major Shape of Conflagration, which allows, with the proper setup to cause a self-consuming firestorm. The Minor Shape of Awoken Embers, which allows you to build a mantle of flames which do not burn you for a few seconds, and the Minor Shape of Intensity, which is a minor fire mana generator.  B. Water , I wanted to become an Aquor, a water mage. One of the most common choices in Aqua, still a worthy and powerful one. Aquor’s are wanted both for their versatility and their utility aboard ships. Traditionally one *must* learn enough water magic to be qualified as a Master to join the Circle Protectors, which are the elite researchers who investigate the Summa Aqua and the mysteries of the layline of water. If you select water mana, you can expect to be able to manipulate existing water, about 100 cubic feet or so at a time. You will also be able to cause water to shift phases, creating ice or steam, although not large volumes at a time, and not in living beings. Hurling small bolts of ice or large medium speed orbs of water will be possible, although in combat your primary focus will be in manipulating the environment. Shaping water can have very interesting and powerful results. You can create decent amounts of water locally by precipitating it out of the air. You lose precision trying to focus on smaller amounts of water, which makes high speed water bullets impractical. You will find yourself most effective at short to medium range Mentally, you can expect to produce a variety of effects. Enchantments that make you more malleable, like water and make you less likely to take harm, and ones that increase your speed. Doing this to others requires their consent, although you will find it relatively easy. You will have learned some of the Elemental Language of Water, allowing you to theoretically commune with water spirits, although you have not yet had formal education on the process. Water mages tend to favor styles that are sustainable and self-sufficient, but that come and go like the tides. You will know the Major Shape of Control, which lets you manipulate three times the usual volume of water. The Minor Shape of Ice, which generates a small amount of Ice mana, and the Minor Shape of Water Breathing, which allows you to breathe water as if it were air.  C. Air , I wanted to become a Caeli, an Air mage. Less common of a choice, outside of the Windcallers, Air magic is still key to the running of Aqua. A Caeli can always find a job aboard a ship, even if they haven’t been certified by the Windcallers. The Stormshapers also always want qualified Caeli, as there are never enough to go around. Becoming a Caeli always leaves the option to subscribe to the Windcallers later in life. If you select wind mana, you can expect to command winds as fast as 50-60 mph for short amounts of time, deflect projectiles using the wind, and in general be disruptive in combat, although your direct attack options will be limited. The most powerful Caeli are those who learn how to use their powers in clever and creative ways. Wind tunnels, dust-storms, and well timed fog are your allies. You will find yourself most effective at long to medium range. Mentally, wind enchantments are all about speed and mobility. You can expect to create enchantments that make you move faster, allow you to walk on air for a few seconds, make projectiles turn away at the last second, and that hide you momentarily in gusts of wind. You will find your mana to be long lasting, which makes for sustained effects. Air mana lends itself well to alchemy. If you picked this, you will have a rudimentary understanding of destiliation and assembling basic alchemical reagents. Air mages tend to favor rapidly shifting styles, taking advantage of building on the long-lasting structures of their element. You would know The Major Shape of Air Walking, which allows you to walk on air as if it were ground for a few seconds, The Minor Shape of Storms, which generates a small amount of lightning mana, The Minor Shape of Fog which allows you to conjure a small fog bank.  D. Earth , I wanted to become a Terrius, an Earth mage. A less frequent choice in Aqua, although not unheard of. Earth mana is perpetually useful, and Terrius will always find a home in a use in a perpetually growing city, be it creating new landmassess in the water, moving vast amounts of earth to create berms and ditches, or helping with irrigation. Many water mages find earth magic “distasteful” which is a weird form of classism. If you select earth magic, you can expect to move about 50 cubic feet of earth in a second, depending on its composition. You can also expect to accelerate rocks to decent velocities, be able to cause stone itself to split along existing fault lines, manipulate dust to create dust storms, and in general be highly effective in combat. Earth magic is most effective in the short to medium range, and while the mana is not long lasting, its effects can be. Mentally, earth enchantments are about durability and endurance. You can expect to be able to harden your fists so they strike powerfully, make your skin resistant to heat and cold, and in general increase your survivability. Putting down mana on the mental field is hard for Terrius in general, and there they find their effects tend to be short lived. Earth mages favor consistent, enduring styles that take advantage of the fact that their effects are often permanent. Earth mana lends itself well to learning skills related to metal and forging, if you pick Earth, you will have some basic knowledge of smithing. This is not alchemy, but a different path to magic weapons. If you selected earth, you would know The Major Shape of Burial which allows you to rapidly raise the earth around a target, The Minor Shape of Hardening, which generates a small amount of Shaped Earth mana, The Minor Shape of Endurance, which gives your flesh the properties of stone for short amount of time.  E. Life , I wanted to become a Vivomancer, a Life mage. Commonly accepted as the most difficult and most potentially lethal of the Elemental schools, vivomancers are sought out by the Menders and are capable of doing incredible feats of healing… and destruction. They are also highly desired by the fisherman's guild, and can make a real living helping out farmers. If you select Life mana, you can expect to be able to command a large number of small animals, up to the size of a small rat, or a small number of bigger animals. You will have the ability to heal, and to harm by causing your target’s mana to go totally out of control. In time, you will learn to utterly snuff out life as well, although that is beyond you still. You can cause plants to grow or wilt, and create life from nothing, although only to an extremely limited extent right now. Vivomancy is only effective at an extremely close range. On the mental plane, vivomancers can do all kinds of things, mostly limited by their understanding of biology and anatomy, and the raw material they’re working with. You could expect to be able to enhance your muscles, grow venomous fangs, spit acid, and climb with supernatural skill. Life mana is of medium duration, although it has an annoying tendency to spontaneously grow if not properly controlled. As a vivomancer, you should expect to have a good working knowledge of anatomy and biology and be skilled at non-magical field medicine. Vivomancers favor styles that adapt and evolve to their opponents weaknesses. If you select life mana, you will know the Major Shape of Mutation which allows you to grow one significant mutation (A bone sword arm, small wings useful for long jumps, an acid gland) and The Minor Shape of Growth which causes plants nearby to grow much larger than should be possible.  F. Force , I wanted to become an Impetar, a force mage. Force mages are less common than water and air mages, but still reasonably common. Force magic is versatile and powerful and has many practical applications, although unlike other schools there is less of a defined path for an Impetar. Aquas Reach can always find use for an impetar of course, and producing Servitors is always a possibility as well. If you select force magic you can expect to be able to lift up to a 200 lbs of matter, and to be able to pick up much smaller weights with very fine control. Hurling objects with force enough to pierce armour is possible, although targeting will be an issue. You will also be able to use force mana as a spear at short ranges, punching through nearly anything with tremendous power. Force mana is most effective at a close to medium range, and is fairly long lasting. On the mental plane, force magic will allow you limited imperviousness to mundane attacks (for only a few seconds), allow you to imbue your blows with incredible strength, and give you the ability to project your blows beyond what would usually be possible. Impetars have a relatively easy time operating on the mental field. As an Impetar, you will have the knowledge required to build force-powered servitors, which notoriously require a fair amount of maintenance. You will know the Major Shape of Anima which will apply a lot of force energy to a large cluster of objects, causing them to explode out in a blast not unlike an explosion, the Minor Shape of Shielding which will let you craft a tangible force shield that will last a few seconds, or until it absorbs too much energy, and the Minor Shape of Lifting, which will allow you to lift twice as much weight.  G. Light , I wanted to become a Lightbearer, a light mage. Less than one in twenty mages in Aqua is a On the mental plane, light magic is focused on sight and knowledge. You can expect enchantments that give you small tugs as to what the best path forward is, let you see in the dark, and let you send short messages mentally to people around you. As a Lightbearer you would be introduced to the mysteries of the Lantern Upon the Cliffs, and the secrets of Guiding, finding the path even when there is no obvious path. This practice can be powerful and versatile, but it requires a deft mind to unwind the potential paths illuminated by the Lantern… and these are not without danger. You will know the Major Shape of Words, which allows you to form a bond between you and a willing target that last several minutes and lets you share short messages if you both focus. The Minor Shape of Illumination, that conjures a ball of light that follows your verbal commands for a short while. The Minor Shape of Seeking, that tethers you and a target together with a rope of light for a short while, or until the mana involved is dispelled.  H. Shadow , I wanted to become a Shade, a shadow mage. Shadow magic is a less common concentration than light magic. Shades have many of the same applications as lightbearers, but their ability to conjure limited shadow effects makes them more versatile in some ways. Like light bearers, they have to figure out creative uses for their magic to excel. That said, one of the more prominent members of the council of twelve is a a Shade, so it’s hardly unheard of. If you follow the path of a Shade, you can expect to have the ability to conjure areas of darkness that no mundane light can peirce, up to 15 by 15 feet. You will be able to create up to two, fully mobile illusions that can generate basic sounds, although they will look somewhat off, and up to 6 immobile illusions capable of sound. You can also use piercing noises in an offensive capacity, as well as create shadow tendrils that try to ensure and slow all who walk through them. Finally you will be able to create small shadow replicas of nonmagical objects that work like the real thing for a very short amount of time. Shadow mana tends to be short lived but extremely long ranged. On the mental plane, you can expect to create enchantments that conceal you from prying eyes, obscure your shape, and generally make it harder to interact with you, as well as shadow limbs that extend your reach and offensive capacity. As a Shade, you will begin to learn shadow conjuring, which allows a skilled Shade to create magical objects from shadow-mana. This is a difficult art which creates short lasting but powerful items. A skilled shadow-conjurer can create an item in a matter of hours that will last weeks. You are at the point where you can create a minor item that lasts hours after weeks of work. You will know the Major Shape of Disjunction, that will for a very short amount allow you to walk from shadow to shadow without stepping in between the shadows. The Minor Shape of Whispers, which will create a shadow tendril that can extend up to 20 feet and pick up any sounds at the other end. The Minor Shape of thoughts, which will let you share your thoughts without speaking with up to three people in range, for a single broadcast. TheCog fucked around with this message at 21:06 on Apr 21, 2020 |
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Apr 21, 2020 20:29
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C.
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Apr 21, 2020 20:41
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E. Vivomancy sounds like it would be a good foundation for future antics. Knowing how things are supposed to work would do wonders for better shadow+light illusions later.
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Apr 21, 2020 21:15
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Can a fire mage say extinguish fire Mana or redirect it into the air to disperse and fizzle out?
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Apr 21, 2020 21:30
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Toughy posted:Can a fire mage say extinguish fire Mana or redirect it into the air to disperse and fizzle out? Extinguishing mana is not the same as creating it, but yes, a fire mage can reduce the potency of fire mana, or spend fire mana to suppress fire mana, but its not quite as efficient as creating it.
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Apr 21, 2020 21:37
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D I like the idea of survivability buffs, and having a crafting skill, and never lacking for work while still being able to hold our own in a fight.
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Apr 21, 2020 21:40
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Is there anything like natural affinity? Does choosing say shadow make us lvl 2 but if we pick water we'll be lvl 3?
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Apr 21, 2020 21:43
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Toughy posted:Is there anything like natural affinity? Yes, but given the amount of time and energy you're going to spend on learning magic and the specific mana you pick, natural affinity won't really impact much. That is, natural affinity exists, it doesn't matter nearly as much as hard work and dedication, so the difference won't be appreciable in your results.
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Apr 21, 2020 21:47
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E sounds like a good fit for a member of the sneaky bastard guild.
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Apr 21, 2020 22:44
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H ...sounds like an even BETTER fit for a sneaky bastard. 
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Apr 22, 2020 01:15
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C I want lightning! Also alchemy and I think the protective enchantments could really benefit our impetar/vivomancer team.
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Apr 22, 2020 03:57
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Thanks for answering my questions! I'm torn between D and E but since E is such a small range like laying hands to be effective Im voting D
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Apr 22, 2020 04:01
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E This sounds like the most fun!
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Apr 22, 2020 23:47
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d
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Apr 23, 2020 02:28
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As is rapidly becoming thread tradition, there is a tie. Its between E and D at the moment. I'm hoping to have an update up tomorrow or friday.
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Apr 23, 2020 06:53
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Since no one will back me on H, I'll accept defeat and switch to E which at least has more subtle applications than Earth. Not quite ideal since we already have a vivomancer in the party, but it's a better idea in the long term.
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Apr 23, 2020 09:57
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E almost feels like cheating. Jealous of those flying air mages? Grow wings! Those jerk water mages teasing you underwater? Get gills! How long lasting are body/healing modifications? Can we make ourselves fit while spending all day inside studying?
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Apr 23, 2020 15:52
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MetricUnit posted:E almost feels like cheating. Jealous of those flying air mages? Grow wings! Those jerk water mages teasing you underwater? Get gills! The duration of an enhancement is dependent on the complexity of the enhancement relative to the thing you're modifying. Right now, anything other than the most basic modification will last seconds, and anything basic minutes at best. Healing is a whole different beast, once you heal something, its healed, or horrifically broken if you blotch it. The difference is healing is about setting things back to normal, enhancement is about modifying things to a state that is not normal. Sure you *could* claim wings are the new normal, but without mana to sustain them your body is not going to have enough blood to keep them going and along with your vital organs, not to mention the human brain is not wired for wings without mana creating an "interface layer". You could make enough blood, and that might buy you time short term, but getting blood right is tricky, and if you do, you need to create enough, which means generating marrow.... etc, etc. That said, there are records of expert Vivomancers creating forms that are capable of having the traits they desire without needing mana to sustain it. The Vivomancers that assume non-human shapes and live their lives like that are generally considered to be, at best, eccentric, and at worst, weirdos best avoided and never to be trusted. Turns out if you live several years as a mer-person, or a whale, you lose some measure of what is important to humans. There is a reason though why most vivomancers are unusually fit. There's some leeway in the muscle department, because modifications to them are "natural". That said, getting the kinks out and getting the muscles to work right, still requires physical labor at this point in your career. Becoming a vivomancer will not automatically also make you a muscleman. EDIT: Voting is closed. TheCog fucked around with this message at 04:19 on Apr 24, 2020 |
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Apr 23, 2020 16:26
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 A stormwind is blowing. You’ve only really seen a storm or two in your life. The windcallers guild makes sure they never hit the city, beyond a bit of rain. The smell is unmistakable though, even over the smog, a storm is coming. It’s impressive, really, that they’ve whipped one up so quickly, even with the Summa Aqua down. Unless of course it’s enemy action, conjuring winds to help spread the fires even further. You discard the useless train of thought. You have other concerns right now. “We’re going after it!” you tell your crew, and the nine of you hustle, not quite running, following the trail of blood. It ends abruptly, in a giant puddle, as if the killer had suddenly realized they were leaving behind rivulets of blood, and decided to do something about it. For better or worse however, there’s only one direction they could have gone from here. Towards Founders Plaza. If they make it there you’ll have lost them, there are too many directions they could head from there. “We have to move!” you say, taking off at a full sprint. Emilie keeps pace with you, and she practically hisses at you “What’s the plan, when we catch up to him?” You don’t reply, saving your breath for running. Uphill running is not exactly something you do often, and you can already feel yourself tiring. It takes less than a minute, but you can make out the figure of a person ahead, highlighted by the faint aquamarine glow of the street lights. They’re moving, but in an unhurried way. You don’t yell at them to stop, or do anything to get their attention, not wanting to tempt them to flee. The figure seems to notice however, they stop walking, and turn to face your direction. In a matter of seconds, you close the distance, you and Emilie in the lead, everyone else lagging behind, but approaching quickly. As you approach you can make out that figure is a man, and the first thing that strikes you about him is the way he’s standing, he seems almost relaxed. A single, hairline scar runs across his face, from right above his right eye, to his chin, and it looks like a small chunk of his nose is missing. In one hand he’s holding a long metallic staff, that looks intricately carved, although it's hard to tell in this illumination. An easy, calm smile decorates his features. A dozen glinting, clearly metallic rods hang in the air around him, lazilly circling him. Each looks to be about as long as your forearm, although only as thick as your index finger. They taper off at each end, into sharp, deadly looking points. “At last” his voice isn’t loud, but somehow it feels more powerful than thunder, “I knew Aquas…” he stops as he looks your group over ,his brow furrowing. “I killed an entire tower’s worth of white-hats and they sent children to oppose me?” the booming, loud nature of his tone has died into what seems by contrast a whisper. “Or perhaps you’ve not supposed to be here at all?” he asks, clearly trying to puzzle out what the deal is. “Well, that’s of no matter to me.” he says, and makes a flourishing gesture as he whistles. All the floating metal rods stop slow orbit, and almost quicker than your eyes can follow, all rotate to aim directly at you.  Lightning flashes in the sky above. It lights up the street for an instant, glinting off of metal rods, illuminating the man completely. For the first time you get a good look at his gloves, they’re black and purple, a combination you’ve never seen before. You can feel it in the pit of your stomach, the certainty of death. / The man pauses for a heartbeat. “I don’t love slaughtering children” he says, almost as if to himself. He seems to think. “Why don't you just walk away? Pretend you didn’t see me.”, he pauses again, a slow smile spreading across his face, as he continues “Or I’ll offer you a Mage’s Challenge.” his eyes almost seem to sparkle. “That seems fair right?” he pauses again.. “If you pass my challenge, I’ll bail on this job and answer one of your questions. If you fail, I’ll kill one of you and bring one of you along as a hostage.” His smile is wide, a little too wide, too toothy. “What will it be, kid?” he asks A.) Accept the Mages Challenge. Mages Challenge’s are an ancient tradition to avoid giant destructive wars between mages. Back in the times before the Iron Emprie, it was very difficult to progress in magic, because each Acadmia would hoard its knowledge, and it took expensive, destructive wars to get them to share anything. Mages Challenges were the relatively bloodless compromise that resulted. Essentially, if one wished knowledge that an Academia possessed, they could request a Mages Challenge, and the Academia was supposed to issue a reasonable challenge for the Mage to prove worthy to be bestowed with the knowledge. The difficulty of the task was supposed to scale with the power of the knowledge. This tradition has persisted, although instead of at the Acadmia level, it is now at the personal level. A mage can always refuse to issue a challenge of course, but they’ll get a reputation of cravenness or of not respecting the traditions of the Sophos, which can quickly result in social consequences. Challenges can range from simple riddles, to elaborate mazes, to duels to the death. The challenger is expected to offer something of equal value as their stake in the challenge, or failing that, their life. B.) Run away! You are outmatched and would like to remain alive thank you very much. Felix and Tabor will likely go with whatever you say. Felix looks scared for the first time you’ve ever seen. Aurora doesn't get a say. Emilie is the wildcard, she's smart, but she also hates losing. Try to convince her to walk away too. C.) ATTACK. Have the Clypeus charge while the four of you that can slip into a Mage Fugue do so, and SLAM the man with everything you’ve got. Nine on one seems like good odds, although some of you will almost certainly die. D.) C, but have the Clypeus protect the Sophos as best they can while the four of you try to form a ritual circle, something you’ve never done before and that has terrible risks. This is not the ideal conditions to learn how to form a ritual circle. Do it anyway. E.) C, but have the Clypeus protect the Sophos as best they can while you each cast your own spells. Less risky than D. F.) Write in a plan. TheCog fucked around with this message at 19:33 on Apr 27, 2020 |
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Apr 27, 2020 19:10
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A, ok I'll bite. It's supposed to be a proportional challenge, one we can reasonably at least try to handle he's not gonna go "ok the challenge is we fight to the death" while immediately turning us into Swiss cheese. Which is what he's gonna do if we don't either take the challenge or run away.
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Apr 27, 2020 19:16
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A If we stall for time here maybe the big boys can show up? I'm not sure what we can offer in exchange for him giving up an assault on the city, given than he seems to single handedly killed a tower of cops and may be responsible for the rest of it too? If he can summon void monsters, light fires, and take down whatever the summa aqua happens to be we're probably vastly out of our league here. Cog, are we aware of any adversaries that Aqua has? Someone who would hire a crazy effective hitman/assailant? Olothreutes fucked around with this message at 19:48 on Apr 27, 2020 |
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Apr 27, 2020 19:23
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A This is our best chance at actually accomplishing something while not losing members of the group.
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Apr 27, 2020 19:44
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Crazycryodude posted:A, ok I'll bite. It's supposed to be a proportional challenge, one we can reasonably at least try to handle he's not gonna go "ok the challenge is we fight to the death" while immediately turning us into Swiss cheese. Which is what he's gonna do if we don't either take the challenge or run away. It's proportional to what we get, not to our abilities (I think) and what we get is an extremely powerful mercenary mage to bail on his contract and leave a job undone. So I'm guessing it would be a doozy. C Patrick Spens fucked around with this message at 21:03 on Apr 27, 2020 |
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Apr 27, 2020 20:56
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A.
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Apr 27, 2020 21:45
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Olothreutes posted:Cog, are we aware of any adversaries that Aqua has? Someone who would hire a crazy effective hitman/assailant? A few. Aqua is in a very politically unstable region of the world. I promise an effort post on the neighboring rivals and political tensions when I have a little more time, its likely to go long TheCog fucked around with this message at 00:59 on Apr 28, 2020 |
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Apr 27, 2020 21:46
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A At worst we get taken hostage or killed. And it might buy some time for a proper defense to be set up. This dude is top poo poo and either way it will be better than just running away in shame or attacking outright and dying like so much chaff.
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Apr 27, 2020 21:58
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Are glove colors about what schools of magic you can do, or about your allegiance to organizations? Or both?
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Apr 27, 2020 22:15
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Olothreutes posted:Are glove colors about what schools of magic you can do, or about your allegiance to organizations? Or both? From what I gather they’re a rank marker rather than a specific school/trade one. Like military ranks rather than unit patches. I may be wrong tho.
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Apr 27, 2020 22:32
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Olothreutes posted:Are glove colors about what schools of magic you can do, or about your allegiance to organizations? Or both? Gloves are complex. Generally speaking, gloves denote a profession, and your standing within that profession, as well as some ancillary information (specialty, school of magic, what have you). If you are a member of a guild, instead of wearing the gloves that denote your profession, you can wear the gloves that indicate your guild membership, and guild standing. However, certain organizations encode other information in their gloves, or deny certain information, e.g. the silver scroll guild membership gloves are all the same, regardless of rank. (Plain silver, single white square. Its considered bad luck to wear them out in Aqua except on guild business). There are laws against impersonating a sophos that extend to gloves, but a number of organizations don't have codified glove rules, and its technically legal to wear any kind of glove that doesn't make you seem like you're a member of an organization you're not, so there are fashion trends of non-organization related gloves. A Sophos can always wear plain white with a silver trim, which only states that they are a certified sophos, with an optional pattern depicting which school of magic they practice primarily. TheCog fucked around with this message at 08:34 on Apr 28, 2020 |
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Apr 28, 2020 00:59
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B He did say we should walk away.
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Apr 28, 2020 06:01
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