Mediums of Magic Discussion

[WriterApprentice]

Hey, everyone, how’s life treating you? Hope your NaNo’s are going well and reality hasn’t flung any… “excrements” at us. XD

Anyways, if you look at the title of this thread then you’ll know what needs to be discussed. This has been on my mind of late and bothering me quite a bit so I think this is one of the many important things we need to set in stone; the mediums/weapons of magic.

So far, it seems, that the mediums of magic range from tomes to staves and to bare hands. However, it’s important that we simplify and categorize this list of weapons into specifics in the magical arts. I probably got you confused now, haven’t I? XD

If I did, I apologize. Let me say an example using Fire Emblem since Temecula is inspired from that game. In Fire Emblem, all offensive magic required the use of tomes and each tome specialized in an element of magic. Healing and other magical spells, such as sleep and teleportation, required the use of staves. In Fire Emblem, there were just staves and tomes as the mediums of magic. If you didn’t have a tome, your mages couldn’t cast magic. Plus mages couldn’t do physical attacks, only magical. On the other hand, characters could use staves not only to heal but to attack physically (depending on which Fire Emblem game); however, the damage inflicted from staves is very, very minimal.

Now we come back to Temecula. With all of our characters, I started to wonder which path we’re taking. From where I’m seeing, there are three options we have with the mediums of magic.

Option 1; we go with Fire Emblem as the basis where tomes are the mediums to cast elemental, offensive, magic and staves mostly deal with supporting and debuffing spells such as healing and inflicting ailments on enemies. Note that this doesn’t mean that we’ll completely rely on the Fire Emblem system as Temecula is a different world with different races. Using magic without the use of tomes and staves is an ability that we’ve approved to exist on Temecula, only a few people can do it.

Option 2; we do away with the Fire Emblem base and customize the magical weapons system to our own needs.

Or...

Options 3; the mediums will be put into categories based on the aptitude of the person using magic. An example would be that tomes and scrolls would be used by apprentices as the incantations and runes for the spell are written down for them to see. Staves, wands, and bare hands would be mediums utilized by experienced and veteran spell casters.

Please contribute some of your thoughts as I would like to discuss about this issue and hope we can come up with an agreeable solution. ^_^

[willow]

We could classify different weapons under tomes and staves? So its more customised but still relates to the Fire Emblem system... if that makes sense?

[Κομμα]

I remember we discussed once on MSN the possibility that tomes/scrolls and the like would be used by beginners of magic, who need the various spells written out for them and staves/wands/bare hands would be used by veterans of magic, more or less. Are we tossing that out? Just wondering since you didn't mention that as a possibility =S

[WriterApprentice]

Oh! Oops! Thanks for reminding me, Comma! -hug-
How did I forget that?! >_>
Anyways... *goes to edit*

[willow]

Liking option 3...

Sudden idea! How bout wands hidden within things; the handle of a sword, a staff... Or maybe that defeats the whole object of having the wand?

[Κομμα]

I think that would actually be an excellent idea for dual classed characters, Willow =D It would make it easier for the characters, to say the least, not to have to bother with switching back and forth between two weapons. I know that at least one of the Fire Emblem games had some swords that used wind magic power. I didn't play very far into the FE series though... or any of the games themselves... so I don't know too much about it.

Though tome and scroll users wouldn't be able to use this, those more experienced with wands/staves definitely could. I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work.

[WriterApprentice]

I like the idea as well. ^_^
You're a genius, willow! -hug-

And yes, there are swords in Fire Emblem that are ranged and can deal out magical damage based on which element they're attuned to.

So... should we wait for the opinions of the others before finalizing this? :3

[Wicked]

Hi! *randomly inserting another opinion while grasping awkwardly at invisible straws*

What if we had it where mages of any sort used their bare hands (or other part of the body, like a fairy's wings) to conduct their magic and draw it out from some inner power (or something)... and things/implements like wands, staves, orbs, and magically imbued weaponry are treated like bodily extensions to channel magic through... er... tools that magically enhance already present power by making the magic more focused and trained, therefore more potent... (or something like that...)

You could also have it that the implements, being of magical origin, are harder to handle because of their own unique magical properties and therefore not as commonly seen amongst apprentice or novice mages.

Plus, I would think most magical mediums would be hard to make, taking precision, skill, and difficult to find or handle resources to make and therefore harder to come by- this of course, all depending on the quality of the medium.

Although an awesome idea, I think the wand-infused in the swords would be very challenging for any smithy to make- though not impossible- so to come across one might be rare unless it is custom made or part of some long lost ancient treasure... or something. After all, we don't want every sword/warrior mage carrying identically made swords... what would be the point of being a pure wizard or fighter if tools and resources like that were readily available? Plus, it makes possessing one or finding one more special.

I still think the tomes/scrolls being needed for apprentice/novice mages & multiclass mages is a good idea. Quick question that just occurred to me, though... is magic going to be something willed to existence or are there incantations required?


Just thought I'd throw those ideas out there... ^_^


--Wicked (Who rambles on and on and on and sometimes makes no sense even to themselves...)

[WriterApprentice]

Hm... I think I like the first one. Would make more sense and logic to me. :3
But it would work either way with bare hands being the most hardest or basic of spell casting.

Yes, I also agree that creating a tool of magic would take much time and resources. But I think it would depend on the medium in question. Basic tool, such as tomes and scrolls and ordinary staves, would be more readily available in shops and whatnots.

Not sure if we all agree on this, but magic on Temecula is common and very well-known. Light magic being the most practiced of the six elements as it is widely accepted by the religious order and common folk.

Well... I would say that magic might require a bit of incantation. But mental strength and constitution is much more important than the words as you need to hone and control the energies of the arcane. Novice mages would require the use of tomes and scroll as the incantations are written on it and ready for them to say it aloud.

For an added note, what do you think of veteran mages, who use staves or other "refined" tools, not needing to chant out the spell? Just like with Harry Potter, people don't need to scream out the name of the spell. I think that experienced mages don't need to say anything, instead they can just wave their hands, or whatever they're using, and cast a spell.

[willow]

@writer: That would make a lot of sense

@wicked: Perhaps really amazing mages could help to make their own weapons - that way only the best mages would get magically infused weapons and the less experienced would have to swap weapons? Or maybe it could be a whole new profession... Oooh character idea...

[WriterApprentice]

Hm... how about let's see what the other players want. But I am er'ing about having too many customized weapons and not enough people using just the basics and orthodox blades and axes that people would sell in shops and whatnots.

[Κομμα]

Maybe we need a weapons discussion thread as well to figure out that issue? We still all need to talk about how the weapons are actually going to work, i.e. can they break, can they be repaired, how exactly will custom weapons work... that sort of stuff. I've got some general ideas, but I don't want to talk about them here and get off topic.

So... yeah.

[WriterApprentice]

Okay, good idea, Comma. ^_^

[Wicked]

So just to clarify, are we having bare hands being the easiest (with incantation) form of casting or bare hands (perhaps without incantation) being the hardest medium for magic?

[WriterApprentice]

Um... I say hardest as the mediums are the ones that help a mage channel their magic and spells. A mage that doesn't have to rely on mediums and can cast spells easily with only their bare hands are ones to reckon with.