Thinslayer

Knights vs Dragons

@unicorgi
Original Poster, but OverPowered works too. xD

Knights vs Dragons

@Lumiere@Vega7@Darkwatck01@Celsius@Rhiven Knight@Pie Flavor@unicorgi
I think I got so carried away trying to make everyone's characters awesome that I forgot about the needs of the story, and more importantly, made Lumiere (rightly) feel cheated and left behind. You all are important to me; I want you guys to be proud of the characters you've created and to have fun with them. So we gotta fix this, and I'll need your help to do it. I have a few proposals that I'd like your input on.

• We leave everything as-is and acknowledge the power differential between Aarkanhan Elzbrn and the other knights, and allow the character a greater story role to compensate. I have mixed feelings about this proposal. I'd like all the characters to be balanced between each other, since they all need to contribute equally to the party, and who's to say they won't turn on each other someday?
• We raise Aarkanhan's magic-power level to everyone else's, and we can let Lumiere decide on the details. The upside is, it efficiently balances the character. The downsides are, it gives Lumiere extra work to do, and it doesn't address the risk that all of us together may be a bit too powerful for the story.
• We drop everyone else's power level to match Aarkanhan's, going back to the core fantasy that this RP establishes. This is the second most work-intensive (and potentially demoralizing) option. Facing down a world-ending power with only your wits and a sword is what this story is all about, and I feel it would be better-served with characters at a more human power level. Lumiere's character won't be so different from everyone else's anymore, but we'll have to undergo extensive character sheet nerfs and reworks to do it.
• Everyone has two versions of their character: the entry-level version they start out with, and the high-level version they upgrade to. Lumiere's character is the entry-level version, and everyone else's is the high-level version. In other words, y'all aren't done yet with your character sheets. This is the most work-intensive option, but less demoralizing than the previous option. I recommend this one.

Your thoughts, everyone?

Knights vs Dragons

@unicorgi
No. This is a story about humans. The nearest equivalent to dragon-people are kobolds, who live in Riftgard with the dwarves, but we're not playing any monsters until we reach their respective domains.

Knights vs Dragons

@Lumiere Magic was off the table, initially. I guess I kind of changed my mind part way through. If you want, I'll let you tweak your character. I really like her as-is, though. There are only so many hours in a day, and those who spend them learning magic are not spending them honing their martial skills. Your character brings dueling skills that sword mages just can't compete with.

Knights vs Dragons

After holding the weapons together hilts touching perfectly the two weapons can also be transformed into a double ended weapon, a blade spear with a short spear blade to balance the weight at the opposite end. This form is unique as it allows Rhayven to channel energy into it and trace runes in mid air and channel energy into them much like a wand or spell stylus.

Jaw drops
Why didn't I think of that? This is awesome! I'mma steal this.

Blade Enhance: Rhayven focuses magical energy into his right hand focusing on one of the basic elements or force. He then draws his fingers caressing down the length of the blade, infusing that energy into the blade temporarily. Rhayven can maintain this enchantment by holding the charge in his off hand but this prevents him from using his other techniques.

I can just see it now: he holds the blade before his face, point to the earth, and draws two fingers down the length of the flat, infusing it with power.

Diggin' it.

Mystic Strike: Rhayven draws energy into his hand and channels it through the sword as he attacks with either a slash or thrust, at which point he creates a projectile of raw magic which carries the intent of the attack a short distance, creating a glowing slash or shimmering thrust which transverses the air.

I would modify this. "Raw magic" is just mana, which has no physical presence in the world (at least by conventional understanding). Mana serves mainly as a bridge between the spiritual realm and the physical world, allowing thoughts to manifest as reality. The nearest equivalent to what you're looking for is the direct conversion of mana to force. An attack whose "hitbox" is bigger than the weapon's dimensions thus requires a bit of telekinesis.

Hidden Knife Parry: If Rhayven is in a defensive stance he can block with a reverse grip swing of his sword a single strike, before following through by stepping in and stabbing with a spear like it was a knife hidden in his sleeve, using the moment the blades are tied to take his opponent unawares.

I'm a little unclear on how the spear figures into this. Does the spear come out of his sleeve, or is thrust out *like* it came out of his sleeve? The former definitely requires magic, and the latter wouldn't make sense - the larger weapon is better used for the initial parry, and the shorter weapon is better used for the follow-up. Either way, this skill may need more work.

Healing Aura: An aura of beneficial magic which requires several interlocking runes to create it is much to complex to be used in combat and often drains all of Rhayven’s remaining magic. It creates a fifteen foot aura of minor healing, that can close minor cuts or cure minor bruises and jump start healing on more severe injuries. This runic circle can not be overcharged, but it can be held, each minute this is held more and more of an injury is healed, though the cost for Rhayven is dire often resulting in spell burn or spell feedback which causes him an injury which heals over time, normally days and prevents him from casting until it has healed, the severity of the injury is akin to a curse and depends on how long he holds the spell past his limits, which is normally two minutes, enough to reset broken bones or stitch together severe lacerations.

I know you're trying to keep its power within reasonable levels, but if it can't be used in combat, a healing spell this weak isn't useful. On the other hand, if it were usable in combat, or if its healing effect were more potent, I'd have to make you ditch your combat abilities, because the healing arts are a whole other field in their own right. I recommend leaving healing to the dedicated healers.

Blurb: Rhayven is a flashy character in combat, but also a unique character out of combat, in addition to a strong affinity for his knightly duties and combat arts, he has an irrepressible sense of curiosity when it comes to magic, which he inherited from his mom, and he cant help but always try to blend the two. I find the balance of both sides of the character terribly entertaining, and I think he will at times serve as both the serious logical type, but also the groups source of comedic blunders, which comes with perpetually experimenting with magic.

I'm imagining him being popular with the ladies, and perhaps a little overconfient. Sounds like fun. :3

Your thoughts?

Knights vs Dragons

@Pie Flavor
Sure! What character do you have in mind?

Please be male...

Knights vs Dragons

@Celsius I think you didn't go overboard enough. Thus far, she's just a better-than-average knight; she's gotta be one of the best to tangle with a dragon and his minions. I really like what you've done with her so far, and can't wait to see the finished character! :D

Knights vs Dragons

Also is anybody playing the princess?

@unicorgi

I am. Princess Primrose will not be able to join the party until she is rescued, which makes her awkward for a player-character.

You may not be a dragon. You may be a human at first, and a monster later on as we enter those regions. Monster choices are elf, dwarf, and orc. Halflings are acceptable as dwarves, and dark elves are acceptable as elves.

Knights vs Dragons

I edited the OP to show the current date: 6/21/3150.

Knights vs Dragons

@Rhiven Knight Yes! You can absolutely be a mage-knight. While human mages are rare, they still exist, and our crack team of knights could definitely use one. There are a few bits of info you'll need to know about spellcasting, though.

* Magic possesses no inherent symbology. That was established a thousand years ago by a team of expert mage-programmers, and their spell-parsers are written in stone within the five Haven towers. The parsers can understand simple American English, no contractions, and runic engravings. They can recognize spoken words, weitten words, hand signs, dances, and certain symbols. Additionally, the mages created a vast library of predefined spells so that, for most spellcasting, all you need is a rough idea of what spell you want and its associated activation requirements.

In short: spellcasting is fairly simple. The hard part that you go to university for is picking the right spell components for the right situations by instinct. You don't need a tome unless 1) you're a noob or 2) you're getting crazy creative and need a place to keep your custom spells.