rextremendum

Something Wicked This Way Comes

the issue is, rapid cell division is a very dangerous thing, and just telling cells to divide means certain cancer. "Good" healing magic would have to either prompt the body's pre-built directional systems to speed up to match the cell division, or understand exactly what is needed and be able to stop mutations before they spread too far in the duplication. We do not have enough knowledge in the game universe for the latter, and I have no idea how we would do the former without much much more knowledge. However, that is not exactly true, because we have established with Skittles that someone does not need to understand how a magic works, though presumably the person who "created" the spell understood how it works and somehow makes it work automatically on casting. Therefore, I would give the hypothesis that healing is currently only possible through ancient spells crafted by lost knowledge, or at least by scholars who have spent their entire lives trying to understand the way the body works and then turning that knowledge somehow into a spell.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Wait, Sana, the way you're saying it you're implying that it is external kinetic force acting on the body in tandem with its natural movement, which is what I thought we were not doing. A great deal of anaerobic respiration will start to cause tissue damage if done too much, and it may kill cells naturally, but there will not be TOO much long term natural damage. Also, speeding up digestion would not fit with the "magical adrenaline" idea, but it would be a good thing to pick up. She may be able to do it subconsciously as a variation on the same spell, and not realize the difference despite there being one.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

I'm not saying that it is long-term effects - lactic acid production is a short term thing that, until it is metabolized causes pain in the muscles due to respiration. My statement is that a body has a certain amount of energy available to it, and if she can use more than her body has then she breaks conservation of energy or there is some external magical force. What I am saying is that she uses her powers to force her mitochondria to anaerobically respire, causing a big surge in work done, but burning ATP fast and inefficiently.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

An easy answer, and one that would not let Thomas fix the oncoming energy crisis in an afternoon, is just to have the magic be a way of forcing cells to use more energy and perform more, like a sort of magical adrenaline. It might cause tissue damage or other complications, but no matter what it will use more than the equivalent amount of un-boosted energy [due to increased inefficiency], and produce an equivalent amount of waste products [lactic acid, etc.]. It is still a massively MASSIVELY useful power, but at least then it is something explainable naturally and within the realm of possibility [and therefore game balance] It is only marginally more useful then being able to move around small to medium amounts of kinetic or thermal energy, in fairness.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Thomas is always open to new perspectives, and I am sure will get along with Logen swimmingly. At least until he starts preaching dogmatic conservatism of intellectual thought, and admits to persecuting and killing people on the orders of a religious group. Thomas is not too keen on that guff, but water under the bridge and all that. Thomas doesn't care about the past except in how it will inform future events, so if you're solid and not-murderous then things will be grand. Who knows, maybe Thomas can win him over to the side of Science and Progress.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

crazy rambling

I wonder what kind of energy it is? Is the additional strength or speed coming from additional cell performance, or from kinetic energy being directed in such a way that is corresponds with her movements? If the latter, does she direct it mentally or is it instinctual, following her body's movements by subconscious effort, or is there some factor preventing it from moving in any other way? Could she put it on someone else, or even on someTHING else? If she could put it on someone else, it would be interesting to see if the strength gain is proportional to their current strength, or is a flat bonus. The second would privilege slightly "directed kinetic" over "increased cell work". If it is the cell work, I cannot wait to get the cells affected under a microscope and see how the energy is transferred to the cell: I don't know if Thomas knows was Adenosine Triphosphate is, but if she can create it conservation of energy is out the window, and if she cannot there is some mechanism for cells to receive energy that is unknown to modern science. Speaking of conservation of energy, I wonder if she is capable of exerting a force on her legs or arms greater than the amount of energy she expends. If, for example, she is capable of putting out more energy than she expends through burning presumably chemical energy, either there is an extraneous force that the energy comes from, or conservation of energy is fucked. We could distinguish this by having her do the glowy things for a long time and a short time: if the long run version is more efficient than the short run version, then we would think that it is her using her own energy to trigger and maintain an influx of external magical energy, but if they are the same it makes the idea that the energy comes from her more likely. If the energy comes directly from her, and she is capable of producing more energy than she has access to in her body, all of a sudden we have broken the universe and we can in a few decades start harnessing these powers to create a utopia free of want, at least after the industrial revolution. Also, what is the pink glow, and why is it pink? Is it necessary, and can she cast the spell, or knows someone who can cast the spell without the glow? I don't know how spells are formulated, if it is just something she wills into existence or has to cast some arcane chant, but she should work with Thomas to try and modify the spell, then apply that modification to other exertions of magic Right, that is enough craziness for now. Feels good to get that off my chest.

The Pro-Bending Tournament [Open and looking for members]

Yang

Name: Yang Shen-Li Age: 18 Sex: Male Team [GM's team] Role: Earthbender Appearance: A consummately average looking man, Yang is characterized with a mop of short black hair, a friendly face and an analytical gaze. He is of a normal weight, lacking the muscles usually characterizing other professional earthbenders. He has pale skin, and though not a particularly well-groomed man Yang is no slob - he dresses nicely, and takes care to not make a poor first impression. Personality: Yang values creativity, ingenuity, and accuracy of belief. He is curious to a fault, always looking for new knowledge to improve his understanding of the world. Yang dislikes dogmatic belief, and ardently opposes regressive thinking. He loves the brave new world this new technology provides, and has a very optimistic view on the capabilities of humanity to use it for good. Yang attempts to be affable, his optimism spreading to interpersonal relationships, though he is by no means an enthusiastic socialite. He is easily distracted when engaged in non-critical activities, always looking to learn new things about the world, but shows impressive determination when dealing with matters of import. Yang's moral philosophy is consequentialist, and Yang is prone to manipulation and unsavory work to achieve net gains of happiness in the world. He hates mushrooms, and has always wanted to own a blimp. Background: Yang was raised in Ba Sing Se, born to loving parents as an only child. His father was a cobbler, and his mother a chef at a local restaurant. From a young age, Yang was curious: he learned to read early, and after school would spend time reading about all manner of things, from philosophy [which he rarely understood, at least at first] to history to art and literature. As he grew up, he found two passions in life: Natural Philosophy, and Earthbending. He grew up in a period of extraordinary industrialization, and remembers vividly all the technological marvels coming into his life one at a time. He remembers when their house got electric lights, he remembers the hot-water heater being installed, and he still has fond memories of his family clustered around their large, wood-paneled radio set. He wanted to contribute to this technological golden age, and found his interests buried in prosaic tomes on physics, about the movement of things, about heat and electricity. At around the same time, Yang pressured his parents into signing him up for earthbending training, and found it to be enthralling. It was strategic, fast, exciting, and there were always new things to be learned. He learned to incorporate one interest into another, and now has set out to be a pro-bender, not only for the money, fame, women and prestige, but also to try and refine his earthbending theories, and add something to the understanding of earthbending as a fighting style.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

I look forward to dealing with Juliette - it will be nice to have more friendly people to talk to, and your particular brand of magic seems like just the kind of thing Thomas will love to research: poorly defined, exciting, and seemingly breaking understood laws of reality in exploitable ways. We're going to get along excellently.

God, Gatling, and Glory [Steampunk/Imperialism NRP]

I'll get a diplomat whipped up and we can pm diplomatic talks, then post them as one (so as not to spam)

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Sorry. I just wanted to get a good post in, and I wan unhappy with my first one. I will keep it slow from now on.