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A few in game questions


Adrian
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The inner workings of magic is... well, not truely knowable for us real-worlders I think. Maybe you need to think of illusion in broader terms, as in not "just" visually, but within a given area you might even make it feel like people got ants in their pants without there being any.

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Well, if anything, this shows that even if you are not directly controling a person, you really can get similar effects and identical results between the two.

 

I was not big on the idea of learning mastery, but after this, I think that the ban on mastery lies in a fear that "maybe someday someone will probably manipulate us" but for the most part, magic can already do this. To ban a specific type because it can be misused is like saying "Oh, someone MIGHT hurt me." that is like saying that the guy next door knows kung fu, so he MIGHT try to use it to take advantage of me. Well, I understand that mastery is more pronounced than that, but the same principle applies. I would rather live with the risk of being manipulated (which still is a real danger with a ban) and have the knowledge and understanding to prevent it, than live in a society that tells me that they can't trust me. And if somebody is found to abuse that trust, then lay the hammer down. I am now completely pro-mastery.

 

(And really on the fence with Gates.)

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I've always been interested in fictional forbidden items because I like to see the consequences.

 

I think it depends on the world and people using said forbidden magic/item of power. Because even if your character is a normal person, perfectly responsible and docile, there are 10 megalomaniacs who think it's neat to rule over the world (even though that's REALLY hard work). I'd prefer it if it were possible to take tests and regulate the magic like say, owning a gun in our universe. Proving that you're not going to go insane and take it out on people. But that's really hard to do.

 

Look at, say, the Star Wars universe. I compare magic to the Force because there are a lot of normal people who are just tossed to the edge and thought of as fodder. Honestly, if all the people in said universe would have gathered up all the kids with midichlorian cells in their blood and just sealed them all somewhere or done something to them, a lot of wars would have been prevented (aka ALL of them as far as I know). Jedi are trouble, is what I mean.

So any normal person who meets a wizard would suddenly ask himself if he can be turned into a drooling mind slave just because the wizard didn't have his coffee and muffin handed to them properly that morning.

 

As for Glamour and making yourself seem unimportant, I'd imagine it's something like making yourself look very common so much that you're just lost around a sea of people. Sort of like Moist Von Lipwig in Going Postal.

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I also would liken it to guns in real-world.

 

When a person uses it for the wrong reasons, bam! Punish time! you don't take them away from everyone else!

 

Of course the stakes are higher than a gun with mastery, so the punishment should be higher too.

 

There are fates worse than death. I say a person using mastery for evil ends will live out the rest of their lives (or a sizable portion, it depends) being mastered into building a tetris wall that magically destroyed itself over and over again,,,

 

 

and they'd be fully aware.

 

Now THAT would be some discouragement!

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What would be the exact process if the Academagia suspected they had a student starting to study Mastery or Gates? Like, as far as they knew, no spells had been cast- but the student was acting secretive, checked out all books that the Library had on the subject (which I assume would just be history and the like, but still odd), had been found with odd contraband, was diving deep in to the areas of Glamour that involved messing with perceptions and minds/the areas of Astrology that involved 'summoning'/willing an object or the like to you, so on so forth? Would they just get a talking to, would they get investigated, would they be put under a truth-telling Geas, etc?

 

What about if they had evidence of some sort that the student had been studying the Theory of Gates/Mastery?

 

Then, what happens if they have direct evidence (or report) of the student casting one Mastery or Gates spell? Would the circumstances matter (IE, child in Godina tower adventure casts some sort Mastery spell to disappear from the mind of one of the Gates users trying to kill them as opposed to child in a certain jerk's adventure casts a Mastery spell on their classmate as revenge for him trying to cut them from their reward for solving the maze)?

 

What if a student has Mastery or Gates knowledge, but has not cast a single spell? Or a student with the Gates old heritage background goes to the Legate and goes, "I'm confused. My mother knows Gates magic, and her and a friend of our family that lives in the woods here have taught me about it. But here, it's a forbidden pillar of magic and really bad. What should I do? Is my mother wrong? Am I bad?"

 

 

Basically, where is the beginning and the end when it comes to a student studying, seeming to be studying, or actually knowing Gates/Mastery? At what step do they receive actual punishment, and how severe would it be for someone just starting to learn, or thinking about learning, or having already learned in their background (or being taught by the Sphinx without their will)?

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Also, would the penalty be more severe in a case of someone being discovered knowing some spells (say skill level 7-8) despite having never used them, and being found out by a fluke, compared to a 1-2 skill level and bragging about it or even maliciously using that slight knowledge?

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Acting secretive usually won't warrant an investigation- certainly not for a Student. Evidence would earn them a talking to, but probably nothing more so long as the transgression was minor. More than that would earn them increasingly stiff penalties.

 

If you have the knowledge, but haven't cast any Spells, then there probably is no evidence to investigate. In such circumstances, if you voluntarily came forward, you would probably earn a talk. In extreme cases (you have the boundless knowledge of the ancients- definitely not 7-8), you'd be cloistered. :)

 

The cut-off, for a Student, depends on your Regent, but they are pretty lenient (generally speaking), if no harm has been done and it is the first offense.

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What sort of evidence are we talking about? Witnesses, hard evidence or is there a way to know exactly what spells someone has cast and when?

 

Let's say, for example, that the character is a member of that secret special school...in another dimension. If you only cast Gates/Mastery spells there, does that count toward the investigation when you get back home?

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MadHatt;

 

It does, yes- casting a Spell leaves it's mark on you, which can be detected by appropriate magics (Negation is most often used.) The Evidence necessary depends on where you are, how influential you are, and how influential your accuser is, but examination usually requires a good reason: witnesses, your presence coincident with strange phenomenon, etc.

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I'm sure that all spells have some "residue" but on average, how long does it last?

 

I'd hate to think that they could trace that fireball I blasted Phillipe with today, (and every other day for that matter) when we're in year 5.... :)

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Well, it would greatly increase the mischieviousness factor by quite a bit if it was common knowledge for students.

 

I'm sure that as well rounded the Academagia is, there must be more than a few schools that have a specialized focus beyond the general education you could expect there. The limits of the jack of all trades....

 

Of course I doubt that the Academagia's courses are lacking, so much as not willing to go into niche fields. Anyway, it'd be impossible for us to tell until we get to see all of it.

 

And now for a completely unrelated question:

 

Is that really your voice in those youtube tutorials, Legate?

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  • 2 weeks later...

How large a degree of freedom do the School enjoy? (From the local government I mean) - I expect a large degree but you never know. Any classes or Rules enforced by the school which comes from the state?

 

A thought inspired by a comic I read (Will gladly link if any interest): Do all our spells have a hint of a 'Time' (pheme or otherwise) in them? Could some spells (with extraction of this part) be eternal if they aren't negated?

 

Would it be possible to make an 'eternal' gate/portal to somewhere?

 

 

Not that I plan on opening the gates of hell! Why would you even think that?! Sheesh! Some people

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Adrian;

 

In the past, the University was heavily influenced by the laws of the Empire. The current Regents have a bit more autonomy, although the University is essentially subject to the laws of Mineta, for most intents and purposes.

 

It is possible to make Spells 'permanent', although it is very difficult, and they tend to wear off anyway (although after centuries in most cases.)

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The changes the Effect of a Spell make can be permanent just think on a spell that moves a boulder the boulder usualy stays at its new position and don't move back on its own when the spell ends.

Or on a Fire Spell that start a fire, the fire don't end just because the Spell ends as long it have enough materials to burn.

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