Shadow over Gerelden OOC

[AngelLightheart]

Post up. I think Zander and Angel are going to have a LONG conversation sometime. With much insanity all around, of course.

 

[Dramaticflare]

Indeed, they probably will.

I feel like it's my turn to post but I've got nothing right now. Damn writer's block.

 

[LeoHawk35]

Indeed, they probably will.

I feel like it's my turn to post but I've got nothing right now. Damn writer's block.

Happens to all of us. Don't worry about it, I know you'll get a post up sometime.

 

[Dramaticflare]

Yeah. someone else feel like going in the meantime?

 

[Jedi_Khan]

I might. I've got an idea floating around that I might be able to make work.

 

[LeoHawk35]

By my count, it's Jedi or DK's turn to post.

*poke poke* You guys there?

 

[DeathsKnight]

-wakes up and yawns-

Huh? What? My turn? Oh yeah had a post in my mind just not in the mood to type it out on the cellphone, will do so shortly

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Sorry for the delay. RL got a bit distracting, but I've put up my wall of text. Also, apologies to you Leo. I had to take some liberties with your world and create a culture that Jager and the Mori could use as a cover. Hope you don't mind.

 

[LeoHawk35]

It's a fantasy world, Jedi. I haven't said everything about what or who exists here. It's open to interpretation. But you are making everything awfully convenient for yourself.

And when did anybody determine that Zelthuros was undead?

 

[Jedi_Khan]

It's a fantasy world, Jedi. I haven't said everything about what or who exists here. It's open to interpretation. But you are making everything awfully convenient for yourself.

And when did anybody determine that Zelthuros was undead?

Remember when Jager and Zelthuros first met? Jager said "You feel like the grave." In fact, Zelthuros himself said that he had been killed and later raised from the dead. Kinda says "undead" to me.

As for the convenient part, I've got to have something to explain how Jager is able to travel and get supplies without drawing attention, don't I? As for the language bit, I'm not negating Zelthuros' recognition of it. I'd expect that Zelthuros is familiar with both languages, which allows him to tell the difference between them. Besides, what I've got in mind for "convience" for Jager is no more "convienent" than Zelturos turning into a bad ass dragon.

 

[LeoHawk35]

I had forgotten all about that.

Comment revoked, as it were. Apologies, Master Jedi.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

Wow. No posts to the entire ORP in nearly two days? People must be getting bored and looking for other things to do.

Angel and DK, I willing to bet that city guard that Jager talked to is going to be paying the two of you a visit real soon, probably at a rather inconvenient time. What better place to have a little romantic tryst than in a stable, right? Lots of nice soft hay in semi-secluded corners. No one would think that they'd be interrupting something special.

 

[DeathsKnight]

The knight is bushed, he would not really want to get kinky

 

[Jedi_Khan]

The knight is bushed, he would not really want to get kinky

Given the pattern so far, I don't think Angel is going to let that stop her.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Hehe up to the lady to decide that master

 

[Jedi_Khan]

*beep. boop. beep. boop.*

Wow. For some reason, Pong seems really exciting right now. Maybe it's because of the lack of activity going on around here.

 

[LeoHawk35]

I think it's DK's turn.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Indeed it was my turn

 

[Jedi_Khan]

I've been wondering something, Leo...what kind of rules do you have in mind for governing magic, i.e. how magic is used, what it can do, etc? I think we may have at least three different ideas in play in the group, and I think it might help if we can somehow unify them.

 

[LeoHawk35]

How magic is governed? Surely you, of all people, know that magic can't be governed. I see three different ways it's being interpreted, aye, but that's fine and well with me. No two types of magic are the same, and the differences between Angel and the nutjob (Zander) just serve to further their uniqueness.

See what I'm getting at? Me telling how magic is to be used would be like saying Zelthuros and Jager should use their swords the exact same way, which they don't and never will (most likely).

 

[Jedi_Khan]

How magic is governed? Surely you, of all people, know that magic can't be governed. I see three different ways it's being interpreted, aye, but that's fine and well with me. No two types of magic are the same, and the differences between Angel and the nutjob (Zander) just serve to further their uniqueness.

See what I'm getting at? Me telling how magic is to be used would be like saying Zelthuros and Jager should use their swords the exact same way, which they don't and never will (most likely).

"Governed" may have been the wrong word to use, so maybe I should try explaining my thoughts the long way, using your analogy of Zelthuros and Jager with their sword play.

Zelthuros and Jager may have very different fighting styles, but the weapons are essentially the same, i.e. swords. However, despite how different their techniques are, it is possible for one to block and counter the other in a fight using swords.

Now, with magic, blocking and counter is not always an option. One type, or interpretation, of magic could very well be unaffected by another, thus making it impossible to block and counter that magic. That is what I'm concerned about. Unless there was some commonality, such as a foundation of rules upon with the different interpretations are built, it would be exceptionally difficult to deal with someone else's magic due to the lack of knowledge on how it functions.

Just about every fantasy story I've read where magic is involved, there's a general foundation upon which people learn to use that magic, and that foundation is known by everyone who practices magic. Even if your style of magic is different from someone else's, the same basic principles apply, thus allowing for skill and power to play a role in enabling effective combat, rather than just hoping that the other guy's spells don't hit you while you send your own spells at him and hope that your magic will actually have an effect.

In the game, we've already seen at least three different magical interpretations used, one of them in more detail than the other two.

Angel's magic is blood magic, mixed with a magic based on language (her use of "jierda" and "slytha"). In the language-based magic, the words actually tell the magical power what to do, so if you wanted to set something on fire, you'd say "set such and such on fire" in the language of power. If you wanted to protect yourself from fire, you would set up a ward based on the language of power and it would protect you it most situations. However, someone could bypass that ward with a slightly different wording of what they want to accomplish and still get the desired result. So, in return, in order to adequately defend yourself, you'd have to have a decent familiarity with the language of power and are able to think up all the different ways in which to achieve a certain goal.

That's the skill aspect of language-based magic. The power aspect is that the power behind the magic isn't in the language itself - the power is from within and you only have so much of it at a given time. If you use more power than you have stored, you could end up killing youself. Thankfully, you can build up your store of power over time, allowing you to put more power into your magic or use it for longer periods of time. So, with that in mind, if you have more power stored up than your opponent, the chances of you winning are much better because you could potentially cause your opponent to use more power than they have available, resulting in their death.

As for the other interpretations of magic we've seen...hell if I know what Zander is using, and Zelthuros seems to have something expectionally powerful going for him, although what that could be is still unknown. Grimlock supposedly has magical healing abilities although I don't recall him displaying them yet, so how that magic will work is unknown as well.

As for Jager...well, let's just say that the magic that is in his swords is rune based and forged into them. He doesn't actively control that magic like the others control theirs. Whenever those swords are in his hands, the magic is active. When it comes time to put those things to use, I'll explain them in more detail. What I have in mind for them, though, kinda required this discussion to take place and ideally for something constructive to come out of it.


Edit: Geezus, talk about a wall of text. And it's after 3:30 in the morning, and I need to be up in about six hours.

 

[Dramaticflare]

Considering the rules-free nature of this roleplay, the fact it moves hardly at all, and the unlikelihood of us stepping on each other's magical toes unless an interparty fight breaks out, this seems like a discussion of the unnecessary. quite frankly, using a magic system such as you notice in fantasy novels is something you want to organize before you write the book, not half way through. And there are plenty of examples where magic happens without ever really being explained. Off the top of my head, Lord of the Rings is a great example.
So, instead of deciding quite on your own we should add rules where things have been perfectly fine before, why don't you explain what you want to do with your weapons and THEN we can see if rules are needed.

Zanderheim is an elementalist. he uses fire, lightning, acid, etc. to shoot things at various distances. I haven't proscribed a power source because it seemed unnecessary to the plot, though the orb is intended to be his casting implement.
as he is an elementalist, he can be defeated by fast logic. Ice breaks, even when thrown at you like javelins. Fire can be diverted or you could even just cover yourself in water as he prepares the attack.
Lightning won't pass through bricks, usually, or wood, so you could crouch behind a wooden shield.
But Zander, even if he wasn't insane, wouldn't bother to tell people that. Consider his spontaneous casting a balance to his conflict adverse nature. Zander is mostly the party clown.

 

[thaneofalduin]

name: alduin
race: dragon born
age: ???
sex: male
personality: sneaky; theif, assassin) etc. smart, battle stratigist, loves to kill people ( aspesually slave traders and slave owners)
role: assassin
appearance: dark black dragon scale assassin armor surrounds every thing exept his eyes witch are pure blooc red with a black slit in the middle of them and hax wings, tail, claws and extremly sharp teeth
equipment: dual katanas, shuriken x20, potion of invisibility x15, potion of muffle x15 (makes your movement quieter), rope, impearial gold dagger, and some provisions to eat on his acventures
bio: ??? the only thing known about this man is that he's the most trusted man to assassinate anyone

 

[Jedi_Khan]

So, instead of deciding quite on your own we should add rules where things have been perfectly fine before, why don't you explain what you want to do with your weapons and THEN we can see if rules are needed.

I'm gonna do something a little bit annoying and answer your question with a question:

What is perhaps the best weapon/ability a person who hunts magic users, but can't use magic himself, can have? Hint: it's not immunity to magic.

 

[Dramaticflare]

I'm gonna do something a little bit annoying and answer your question with a question:

What is perhaps the best weapon/ability a person who hunts magic users, but can't use magic himself, can have? Hint: it's not immunity to magic.

First of all, that's not a question I'm asking.
Second of all, I'm a DM and annoying me is something you'll need to put serious effort into. I've had to rules-lawyer the sex my characters have, of all things. You can't derail me more than sexy PCs.
And I understand what you're getting at: the answer depends on the system. if you're living in R. Scott Bakker's novels, it's a Chorae. In DnD, it's the ability to force concentration checks (I.E., the monk), and in Jack Vance's novels it's simply not pissing them off; magic is supreme.
And yet, I still feel like this is something that can be free-formed. The best, "anti-magic," ability can be whatever it needs to be at the time. In forum games like this one, the plot matters more and therefore magic can be made to serve the plot.

Here... You care about it enough that you want to broach the subject. Again, I put the effort needed to make it happen on your shoulders. You want to work your weapons into a system we can all agree on? Fine. Make said system. You, yourself, should attempt to work out a free-form magic system before attempting to make us conform to one.
I don't mean this in a mean way; quite the opposite. I just mean that something complex as this issue is should result in you thinking of an answer first even if it's only a preliminary rule set. It's only fair to have an idea in your head for this question, because we all have to have one should it get answered.
Come to us with an idea, something tangible we can interact with and modify, and we can move on from there.