I am nowhere and I'll probably have to drop out. Work is also picking up for me and I'm just tired. I don't think I'd be able to put forth the effort something like this deserves.
Understandable. This will remain open until the first scenarios are complete, so there is time to work on it, and as mentioned, this will likely be a weekend RP as we are all in similar situation. SO if you find some spare time later and still feel like this, check us out, chances are there will still be a place.
I intend to create a character who is a seasoned practitioner of the arcane arts. Should I concern myself with runic magic?
Up to you. Experienced mages do not require the use of runestones. However, they likely started as inexperienced mages casting with runestones, so they should have the knowledge.
Is there a shelf life?
No. Once a runestone is created, it will retain the magical energy it has until it is used.
Once consumed are they simply rocks to be discarded?
No. The runestones can be re-enchanted. The actual stone of the runestone is just a carrier though, and has no influence on what the final runestone will be.
Is there way of distinguishing various types of runes from others that serve different purposes?
Yes, when created, the runestones have glowing magical glyphs on them that uniquely identify it. There may be undiscovered runes though.
How many different types of runes are there?
Many, and we are open for players to submit their own idea for runes if they feel the current runes can not be used to cast a spell they desire. Not all of the runes are available at the start of the game though, this is intended to create some form of experience progression.
What material is used to create a rune? Any solid object.
Are certain materials used for specific purposes? Something to be pondered, I'll bounce ideas with Starlance and flesh this out.
How does a rune guide a spell? The rune does not guide the spell, the rune specifies how the spell is guided. The runestones are pretty general in meaning, to the point that two different spells may require the exact same runes to be cast. It is up to the mage to use the guidance to form the intended spell.
What exactly is the purpose of a modifier rune? It enhances the rune following it in some way. For example, using a "degrade" rune will create a spell that will erode something for one round of posting. However, using a last rune along with it ("Last, degrade"), will extend the effect for another turn.
How does that work and what sort of spells are cast upon the runes to make them enchanted for the purpose of creating spells? It almost sounds like we are casting spells upon runestones in order to create spells? Is that right? One has to create a runestone by enchanting a vessel in a source of magic. The runestone can then be used to cast a spell. You can think of runes as the 'programming language' of magic. The mage uses the runes to 'code' a spell.
What exactly is a modification rune? Same as modifier rune.
I assume the word Add in item 3 above is short for additional? Are they similar to modification runes? Add is one of the modification runes. It is necessary to create a syntax that makes some sense. For our earlier example, say if you wanted to make the spell last another turn longer, you will have to use add rune between the two last runes (Last, add, last, degrade), because otherwise the first last rune would affect the next last rune next to it, rather than the action rune. You can think of it as using parentheses in math - (a+b)*c, versus a+b*c.
I must assume that all spells require the basic four runes; action, object, target and guidance. If a caster has only three runes, what effect would that have on the spell? The slot that has no rune present will be randomized by the GM when deciding the result of the spell.
Item 5 implies that a caster MUST employ at least two runes to be successful. If that is true, how can a spell be cast with fewer than four? This is a failure to communicate. It is meant to say that you can only omit one rune type of the required four, otherwise the spell does not work.
Item 6 states a spell with no direction creates an omni-directional effect; much like a radio wave. Is the word direction in this statement used in place of guidance? No, this reffers to a mage letting go of raw, unguided magical energy, I.E. similar to no rune being used.
Regarding the public spellbook (excel), tab Runes, column C “Rune”, could you define each term listed? They might appear common as I thought they would, but some are different and may cause confusion. Collumn C are merely the names of the individual runestone types.
The Example Spells do help to understand. I assume you will include several more? It would be better if you gave us an example of the spell you want to create, and we will post the runes necessary and explain the logic behind it.
The word, “capacitous” is generally used in legal writings. I believe the word you intended is capacious? Meaning, “capable of containing a great deal?” I hope you forgive me for pointing this out. I don't mean to sound pedantic. The word, “Capacitous” caused some confusion. YEah it is supposed to be what you said. We will revise this part along with the materials to create runestones out of.
With my intention of using a more experienced mage, I do intend to write a spell book for my character. The book should contain each spell with the required runestones as well as the method for casting the spell with hand gestures, or some tool like a wand or staff and some somatic phrase. Some spells may be newer to the character and require the runes, while others have been in the book for decades and may not require that level of detail.
As an experienced mag,e your character will nto need runestones to cast. They will require a source fo magic though, which will also be tied ot the revised materials for runes.
I fixed the example spell syntax to fit the rules and added an example which uses a void and all rune for a more complex formula. I'll rework the sheet tomorrow to more easily figure out which parts of the spell correspond to action, object, target and guidance.
I'll make some sprites for runes I think and put up code templates so you can use them IC if you so desire to spive it up a bit :P
How is the magic 'programming language'? Does it make sense to you or is better explanation required?
@Gunther Starlance has more time on his hands and a discord, so if you need something quick ask there. We are both UTC +1 timetone though, that said ask away over here, chances are more people need that information :)
While I could probably make time to do one post a day, I usually lack the energy after coming form work, so I imagine taking this leisurely will be no problem.
The starting parts of the map are not scenarios precisely to allow for free interaction, so the characters can get to know each other and the party can get off the ground. That way we will be able to guesstimate how long we will need to runt he actual scenarios and modify them accordingly :)
I also realize I forgot to add half the magic system data into the wiki (derp) so I will rectify that momentarily.
Eyesight: Inheriting elven eyes, Tala can see far and sharp, as long as there is enough light to go around.
Unbelonging: Given she is a halfling, elves view Tala as a stain on their purity, and everyone else views her as an elf. As such, she has trouble gaining traction with anyone.
Stamina: Tala has the stamina of a human, able to outlast just about any other race.
Appearance
Due to her elven heritage, Tala has quite a nice figure, lean and dextrous. Her body build favors speed and agility over strength and durability. Despite being about 180 cm tall, she only weighs about 60 kilos. Her skin is a light tan mix of her human mother and elven father.
Her face is a bit more angular than that of a human, with prominent sky blue eyes common to elves and full rose red lips. Most of her features are shrouded in her clothing and wild mane of raven hair. Her ears are pointy, but of regular human size.
The thing everyone will immediately notice is her red cloak and hood, making her look like a part of a fairy tale. Her face is further covered in an equally colored scarf. Under that she wears sturdy traveling boots, cloth pants with leather chaps and a layered cloth armor jacket. Her gear is full of pockets and belts that can be used to store and hang stuff for her job. Last but most important to her is the leather satchel with a boobytrapped lock that holds most of her supplies and tools. When switching location, she carried her other possessions in cloth backpack.
When in a comfortable environment such as a house or ship cabin, Tala likes to wear a long grey skirt and loose blouse of the same color, coupled with her hardened leather work apron, so she can have her tools at hand at all times and freedom of movement to reach material on shelves and to manipulate delicate things.
The halfling wears a ring which is a symbol of her membership and rank in the alchemist's guild. The ring is made of gold with 4 runes and 4 gemstones spaced equally around its circumference, each pair representing one of the four elements. The ring ranks her as a journeyman, but also tells of her inclination to magic, something rare in an alchemist. On the inside of the ring, the words "Bellator scientiam" are engraved.
The woman holds herself in a way that makes her look smaller than she really is, huddled up and slumped. Oftentimes she picks far corners of a room to sit, hiding behind a crowd or travelling in an enclosed carriage. She prefers to keep her face hidden behind her hair, scarf and hood when talking to strangers.
She doesn’t like large gatherings of people where someone could cause her trouble because of her bastard heritage, but in small groups or between four eyes, she opens up and is quite friendly.
History
A daughter of a farmer's wife and an elven raider, Tala spent her childhood working on the field. Her mother died giving her birth, leaving her without a woman figure in her life and a human stepfather who hated her for all the wrong reasons. Naturally a bit lazy person, instead of slacking off Tala found herself ways to make her work easier, tinkering with the tools. Having no desire to live where she was clearly not wanted, Tala ran from home at the age of ten, smuggling herself onto a wagon of a travelling troupe.
Discovered and taken by an alchemist in the next town, Tala worked in the house as a maid, and often as an extra pair of hands for the alchemist. Inspired to study the art, she begged her master to teach her, but was shooed away as a ‘lowly peasant woman’. It wasn't until she took care of the rat problem in the house with a poison she made herself that her master reconsidered, reluctantly taking her as an apprentice.
He soon discovered the girl had natural talent for the job, partly due to her superior half elven intelligence and senses. When she reached the age of 16, Tala had found enough wealth in her excursions to nature and overtiming odd jobs to craft her apprentice's ring, finally gaining an official membership in the Alchemists' guild. She kept studying for another two years, passing the entry tests and gaining the rank of Journeyman. Bidding farewell to her master she left the house she came to call home to gain experience in the world.
In need of a job to keep financing her studies, food, clothing and shelter (in that order), Tala has been running around for a few months with local group of mercenaries, supplying them with poisons and medicinals along with occasionally joining them out in the field when the job required explosives and other things from her area of expertise. As a side job she also sold vanity items like perfumes on the markets when the group stayed in a town.
She has however grown weary of the band since not all of the jobs they signed on for were exactly legal, and the mercenaries were mostly male and giving her too many looks for comfort. Thus she started roaming Inns and taverns, listening if another opportunity would present itself.
Soon enough she overheard a ship captain talking of an expedition to the ancient homeland of humanity, Cradle. Paying the captain partly in gold and partly in services provided, she secured a small but well furnished cabin for herself where she could study and work.
Skills
Potion making: The most basic of alchemy, the half elf can create all sorts of potions. She allows herself a little vanity in the form of rose perfume.
Boomsticks: Shell (Papyrus shell - smoke, cast iron shell - fragmentation), wax, black powder, fuse (impact fuse - White phosphorus ampule, time fuse - Wick, magic fuse - rune)
Metalworking: Tala can refine and cast metals. She is no smith however, and her skills are more fit to creating pottery, jewelry and some smaller, specialized items such as locks and keys. She could repair and strengthen a blade, but she couldn’t create a good one from scratch.
Bronze Tala can cast and smith bronze, including work-hardening of weapon edges.
Iron Tala can cast iron, but she can only smith basic things that do not need to resist much stress and wear, not knowing much about heat treatment. Her kilns are also only good enough to process magnetite and not less pure ores.
Silver, gold Tala is quite proficient in casting and crafting rare metals, but she has to obtain them from nuggets, not knowing how to extract the metals from rock.
Machinery: Something the alchemist is studying in detail right now. She is good enough to create locks, components for firearms and the like, but her skill is not yet good enough to make delicate parts like clockwork, which is a requirement for the next rank in the guild.
Clothing Tala can work tanned leather and understands the tanning process, but she never practiced it. She can sew, but knows nothing about making string and cloth.
Ceramics The halfelf can make ceramics of high quality, a bit of a hobby for her, from bricks to pottery. She can also build a kiln from scratch.
Glass Tala understands the processes, but can not build a furnace that would melt sand. Likewise, she does not carry glassblowing tools.
Stone She can sculpt small works of art, but Tala is no stonemason.
Wood Tala can cut down and debark trees, but she can only build with beams as she lacks more precise tools.
Construction Tala can build a few types of shelter from materials she can make herself, up to a brick hut with a tiled roof with a hearth, chimney, oven and floor heating. She can also make larger machines, like a crane. She is no shipwright though.
Combat: Tala isn’t as good in combat as most other wanderers, specializing more in supporting them with her alchemical equipment or acting as a scout where her ranged weapon and good sight come into play - when she is forced into combat in the first place. She is also apt at laying traps.
Inventory
Rose's thorn: Her precious ballista. Resembling a crossbow with its looks, the arms on the weapon are actually separate and solid, wound up by torsion springs. This allows for each arm to be winded separately, reducing the strength needed to do so. The weapon has very precise sights that allow Tala to precisely hit a target at 60 meters and quite reliably up to 200. As far as ammunition goes, Tala carries armor piercing bolts for standard encounters, one loaded, rest in pockets in her clothes, and the folding stock of the weapon can hold 4 extra pieces that she usually reserves for specialized ammunition, such as poison rounds or the boomsticks.
Hunting knife: a longer blade strong enough to hold Tala’s weight if for example embedded in a wall to be used to give her a boost. It can also be mounted on the front of the Rose's thorn in a cone mount. There is a capillary groove running the length of the blade to hold poison if needed.
Deck of cards: She carries a deck of cards around with her. Nobody knows if or how the deck is marked or whether the girl is just a good player, but she wins more often than not.
Satchel: The supplies Tala carried got spoiled by the seawater, but her tools and finished goods remained OK.
You find yourself on the remains of a ship, wrecked on a rocky shore leading to grasslands. There are fish under the surface and even some seashells can be seen here and there. There is little to be found of the members of the crew that did not survive, but the part of the ship where the crew cabins used to be seems more intact than the rest of the ship. The wood that made the hull of the ship has been largely reclaimed by the sea and the main beams are snapped, but they might at least make a good fire.
On a cliff overlooking the sea, a small, dilapidated town can be seen. There is also a pair of other shipwrecks nearby. Even from afar, one can see that while they once were two of the proud Elven Galleons, they fared little better than the ship that brought you here.
The sun seems to be setting, and you can hear skittling in the bushes around, suggesting there is some wildlife in the area.
Alchemy is one of the oldest jobs, dating as far as the invention of fire. The alchemists will often boast that their art predates that of wizards and even holy people, although the latter is debatable. The current guild was created several centuries ago, joining the many local guilds into one organization that focuses on expanding the alchemical knowledge and teaching new alchemists across all of Altheim.
The members are ranked. Alchemists wear special rings that are not only identifying them as members of the guild, but also from the appearance of the ring one can determine their rank and thus what skills they were tested in. A lower rank alchemist may take a job better suited for a higher ranking alchemist, but the guild makes no guarantee they will be successful and will not cover any damages the job may result in. The ranks are as follows:
Apprentice: A novice that studies under a master. They are not allowed to take on any jobs unless assigned by their masters. Most of their time is spent studying. Their rings are usually only plain metal ones varying in material with the guild’s emblem engraved into it, and the alchemist's personal unique motto or emblem engraved.
Journeyman: After passing tests from herblore, metallurgy and basic engineering, the alchemist is permitted to create a Journeyman’s ring, which is then reviewed by their master to judge the quality and originality. Each of these has to be unique, as they also serve to identify the alchemist. They are usually composed of rare metals, low grade gemstones and decorated with symbols of the elements.
Artisan: These members are required to prove greater skill in the occupations learned as Journeymen, on top of adding at least one specialization skill - most often pharmacy, precise mechanics, smithing or chemistry. Their rings are strictly made of gold alloys, and decorated with high grade gems.
Master: After at least 10 years of being an artisan and mastering all of their selected areas, one is allowed to submit a masterpiece for review. These can be anything from studies to actual tangible items. If one’s piece is found worthy by the majority vote of the other masters, they are granted the rank, along with a special seal for their ring.
Sage: A special rank bestowed upon any member of the guild that makes and subsequently describes a new important discovery. The most sought after is of course the art of transmutation, still waiting to be unlocked. But other notable works in history included the invention of paper, black powder or distilled alcohol.
Grandmaster: A Lifelong title bestowed onto one of the masters or sages by a vote of the other masters. He serves to represent the guild in meetings with other organizations, city councils and the like. Rogue: While not an official rank, the term ‘Rogue Alchemist’ is commonly applied to any practitioner of alchemy that does not follow the guild’s regulations.
Aside from the ranks, the guild is separated into branches that deal with its various aspects, such as pharmacists, engineers, blacksmiths and others.
There are two factions of alchemists. The Traditionalists focus their studies on obtaining the legendary Philosopher’s stone and otherwise achieving transmutation and gaining eternal youth, with their art often being downright witchcraft, espevially in the very early and very late research.
The Reformists on the other hand abandon these old ways to study nature itself in detail and trying to figure out its workings and how they can be used without any end goal in mind.
Both factions sans rare individuals are united in their common rivalry with wizards of any but the druidic school, believing that their way of manipulating nature through arcane means is impure, not to mention the users of Foul magic, whose magic opposes creation. They are indifferent to churches, but the general mindset is that unlike prayers whose result depends upon the whims of deities, performing the same alchemy will always end in the same result.
The guild is not too restrictive, however they absolutely forbid practicing alchemy with living animals and sentient beings in any way, and a discovery of transmutation must be immediately reported to a grandmaster, and not practiced until the ban is lifted to prevent gold transmutation and following crash of world economy.
Member
Carlyle
Cyrania
Apollosarcher
Starlance
Fish of Oblivion
Danyel
RBYDark
PrinceAlexus
Noctis
Sep
