A few in game questions

[Legate of Mineta]

S;

No comment.

[freespace2dotcom]

Can you tell us of the closest von Rupprecht and Orsi ever got in direct confrontation with each other? I imagine at some point all the secret shenanigans behind the scenes would cause some sparks to fly that would require direct intervention lest they blow up out of hand...

I imagine there should have been some close calls. Even some quiet personal meetings behind closed doors to avoid fireworks lighting a massive powder room.

[Legate of Mineta]

Free;

Here you go, from the Team:

"Orsi and von Rupprecht have kept those encounters very much to themselves.

But you're probably making a safe assumption here.  Lambert Cobo, for one, is convinced that Orso nearly banished von Rupprecht from the Academy altogether in Y1, a couple of weeks after the air pirate raid on the Durand campus.  In fact, Lambert's story is that the Legate actually summoned a carriage to take the Regent away before being talked down by Piaxenza.

Now, Lambert couldn't produce evidence to confirm the story (the carriage came and went empty, and he never tracked down its origins), and he's certainly prone to jumping to conclusions.  Still, the fact that nobody could dismiss the idea out of hand says something about the tension between the two men at the time.

But, that said, they never really argued in public."

[Rhialto]

@Legate of Mineta: Would it be legal in Mineta to write and publish/perform a story about the downsides of gates magic in which the plot's problems are caused by Gates magic? Think Frankenstein or the Geneforge Games.

[Legate of Mineta]

Certainly, provided of course that it was not *too* specific about how the magic was created and used.

[Schwarzbart]

Is there a common base education for (nearly) everyone at some isle?

Are there some rules  against circulating books that teach the basics of magic or how to create a easy to make casting assistance to the commoners?

 

[Legate of Mineta]

S;

"In the sense of formal requirements, no - there are no Empire-wide laws mandating universal education (though some counties and duchies have noble exceptions).  That said, there aren't many places in the Empire that aren't served by temples that offer instruction in basic literacy and numeracy (and in some cases a great deal more) to the wealthy and noble children of the region, and the temples have a way of promoting the kids who are really interested and/or talented.

It's also worth noting that there's a very strong culture of what you might call vocational education, be it through guilds, or individual apprenticeships, or even collectives of farmholds, and these often build on oral and written traditions that go back centuries.

So, basically, most kids don't get anything like the well-rounded education the Academy kids get (nor the specialized magical training, if it comes to that) - broad literacy rates are probably 5% or less.  But, that said, if you met a fifteen or sixteen year old who wasn't in a state of abject poverty, you would probably be wise to assume that she has enough specialized knowledge of some craft or tradition to make a reasonable go of it as an adult.

As for rules prohibiting teaching magic to commoners: yeah.  Sort of.

It's not a hanging offense or anything, but the lords and ladies in most civilized regions consider it more or less equivalent to encouraging civic unrest, if not outright sedition.  Teaching a farmer to throw fireballs when you "know" he doesn't have the "capacity" to use the power responsibly can be considered legally equivalent to personally trying to light a fire in the duke's fields.  How much trouble you can expect depends on who the local lord is - and who you are - but it's provocative even if you're, say, Catherine Chard."

[Schwarzbart]

Are there gigantic flying / floating / gliding animals known beside the Dragon, maybe even at the size to build a entire city on it? (Wait wasn't there even an adventure with such an animal in Y1?)

I suspect there should be some around from the time where Gate magic was still allowed  as it would be sure a goal of some mages to have their own isle. 

(I asking because I think this base idea of a wandering city from this game is a interesting concept The Wandering Village is a city-builder set on a huge turtle | Rock Paper Shotgun )

Quote

As for rules prohibiting teaching magic to commoners: yeah.  Sort of.

It's not a hanging offense or anything, but the lords and ladies in most civilized regions consider it more or less equivalent to encouraging civic unrest, if not outright sedition.  Teaching a farmer to throw fireballs when you "know" he doesn't have the "capacity" to use the power responsibly can be considered legally equivalent to personally trying to light a fire in the duke's fields.  How much trouble you can expect depends on who the local lord is - and who you are - but it's provocative even if you're, say, Catherine Chard."

Hmm does this mean when we help a certain trickster to gain the wand we might be responsible for the rebellion he will (try to) start?

[Legate of Mineta]

S;

"There are stories of giant, floating sea creatures that somehow have migrated to the air - turtles, whales and mantas, mostly - but those are rumored.

And... yeah, if you're implicated in arming a trickster who starts a rebellion, you might be in for a certain amount of hassle."

[Metis]

Forget if I asked this before: Can Y2 random events have "phases", akin to Y1 adventures?

[Legate of Mineta]

M;

Kinda; you can set up prereqs that include other REs, but none are set up this way in game as the odds are very, very low.

[Metis]

Phases, not stages. Put another way: Can a Y2 RE have multiple, sequential exit options in one...well, technically multiple depending on how you look at it, but from the player's perspective can a single RE have multiple sequential exits?

You know, without resorting to investigation options -> set memories -> unlocked exits shenanigans.

[Legate of Mineta]

Metis;

There's nothing stopping it, no- I don't think any of the Y2 Events use it, but it looks like it can be.

[freespace2dotcom]

Did Avila's dorm tower for boys have it's issues before boys were allowed in the college?.

 

[Legate of Mineta]

Free;

"That is a really good question.

Tower 8 actually used to be part of the Vernin campus (which adjoins the Avila campus to the west).  It was already in some disrepair when Avila bought the land it was on in 1633, but at the time Avila Regent Ioanna Scarletti thought it could be restored and used as an Astrological research tower.  Unfortunately, the building just flat-out resisted the purification spells required to make it work as intended; the best astrologers in the College were determined to find a workaround, but it was slow-going.  Over the next several years the place was used for storage - and also for access to certain underground tunnels - and the repairs it required never quite took place.

In 1641, College Avila took in its first male students in living memory - exiles from Aranaz - and housed them in Tower 8 for several weeks while Regent Scarletti tried to find a better alternative.  At that point, someone attacked and cursed the tower in an effort to drive the boys out; it remains unclear whether it was hostile Avila elements, the boys' enemies from Aranaz, the boys' enemies from Durand, or another group altogether.

It all contributed to the scandal that led to Regent Scarletti's dismissal in 1642.  The new Acting Regent, Valeria Krantz, hated the idea of male Avila students, but she couldn't just expel them without cause - so she sent them back to the cursed tower, ensured it had no funding for upkeep, and gave Dorm Master Kendrick a free hand in "disciplining" the boys.  The official Avila position was the damage done to the tower in `41 was done by the boys themselves, so it was only fair that they live with the consequences."

[Schwarzbart]

Is the curse still on the male dorm or who removed it?

(Beside I find this story funny because I recently thought about a other Academagia play as Aranaz student with Astrology as only magic he have as class)

Can the power of Arithmetic and Geometry also be used in combination with Calligraphy?  Just wondering if the character I planning would make sense in the long run.

[Rhialto]

@Legate of Mineta: My adventure for Y1 incorporates stegenography, but is such a form of communication well known in Mineta?

[Legate of Mineta]

And, for Schwarzbart:

"Yes, the curse is gone.  Kate Badcrumble became the Avila Regent in the summer of `53, and before the start of the academic year she and Professor Briardi (who wasn't yet the regent of Durand) magically scoured the place.  It was actually part of what led Orso to support Polisena's candidacy for the regency in `54; the Negation magic was trickier than anybody expected, and the semi-serious joke at the time was that the tower had liked being cursed.

Sure!  Actually, there are calligraphic styles that very much rely on formal rules of proportions - arithmetic and geometry can be very handy."

Rhi;

"Not at all."

[Rhialto]

@Legate of Mineta: Is Uliva familiar with stegenography?

[Legate of Mineta]

"No, she is not."

[Schwarzbart]

What is the difference of a Descended of Royalty with or without Station: Nobility? (Thought it was already asked but can't find it for now)

[freespace2dotcom]

Speaking of curses and similar things with severe negative attributes, how far does the academy allow their study? I imagine they fall under existing framework already taught, but it's also obvious the school doesn't want a reputation of producing such magicians. Still though, as long as it's not Gates or Mastery, how well would a student be able to focus on hexes, jinxes, and curses? Especially under someone like Briardi? (The idea being that such a student would choose Durand so their hexes could be heavily fortified against Negation.)

[Legate of Mineta]

An expanded answer for Schwarzbart:

"Descended of Royalty without Station: Nobility suggests either that you're descended from a cadet branch of the family that lost or voluntarily forfeited its titles or that you're descended from a royal bastard who never had a title to begin with but was sufficiently famous to be recognized and remembered.  You've grown up in a family line that means a lot to the family itself, but you didn't and don't necessarily enjoy elevated status in various courts and you're not likely to be sought out as an aristocratic marriage partner unless you bring a lot of wealth or personal accomplishment to the table.

Descended of Royalty with Station: Nobility means you're of a genuinely exalted bloodline and are likely to be invited to parties at one of Catherine's family's palaces at some point, even if the Chards and your family have been feuding for a century and a half."

[Legate of Mineta]

Free;

"Classical hexes, jinxes and curses - magic that brings generalized misfortune - probably actually fall more properly under the umbrella of Astrology, and Badcrumble is surprisingly lenient in allowing their study.  (Way more than Briardi, who was pretty deeply scarred by the whole Egidi mess in her youth and who does not like spells cast with malice or anger in the caster's heart.)

That said, Briardi's largely okay with anything that could be categorized as combat magic.  She can accept the value of giving somebody a miserable full-body itch because it's ultimately more ethical in some circumstances than blasting someone with a fireball.

Remember, dueling casts a long shadow over Minetan society.  Even if the kids are discouraged from doing it, it's taken as a kind of magical fact of life."

[Schwarzbart]

7 hours ago, Legate of Mineta said:

An expanded answer for Schwarzbart:

"Descended of Royalty without Station: Nobility suggests either that you're descended from a cadet branch of the family that lost or voluntarily forfeited its titles or that you're descended from a royal bastard who never had a title to begin with but was sufficiently famous to be recognized and remembered.  You've grown up in a family line that means a lot to the family itself, but you didn't and don't necessarily enjoy elevated status in various courts and you're not likely to be sought out as an aristocratic marriage partner unless you bring a lot of wealth or personal accomplishment to the table.

Descended of Royalty with Station: Nobility means you're of a genuinely exalted bloodline and are likely to be invited to parties at one of Catherine's family's palaces at some point, even if the Chards and your family have been feuding for a century and a half."

Urks! That means the background wealthy, doing a loot of adventure and/ or be one of the best in Academagia Y1 will turn a lot of heads toward the player if (s)he have one of this 2 backgrounds, not to talk about both. So my Royal Nobel will for sure to flashy for his own good.