A few in game questions

[Legate of Mineta]

Cyx;

 

Actually, the reason for the difficulty lies in one of your previous questions, about Ideals. Using a very general Ideal (Spell) is vastly easier to cast than a very specific one (Fire Needle.)

[freespace2dotcom]

Well, the way I feel it works is that specific negation spells are difficult because they require phemes that are difficult to draw, and so forth and so on. I don't think it'd be hard to get a feel for what your opponent's magic is based on. If a fireball comes your way, even if you've no idea what phemes were used, you probably want water phemes of some type in your counterspell.

 

I think you're mostly limited to your capacity for magic, as opposed to your capacity to recognize magic. I'm sure recognizing magic is important too, but... less so.

 

Edit: legate beat me. Ooh, so "spell" is a general ideal for 1st years?

[Cyx]

Surprisingly, that makes sense to me .

Moving on, how does one define a target for spells? I mean, i always imagined that Incantation spells hit whatever you're pointing your wand at, but is that correct? And how would one specify a target for spells like Wrath of the Comet's tail, Sunshot, or Positive Alteration of human matter?

[freespace2dotcom]

All I can say for that is that it depends on the spell.

 

So, maybe ideals have a big part in that too?

[Legate of Mineta]

Using Ideals, as Free notes is the most common way. There's another way, which I think you learn in Y4, too.

[Cyx]

So if I were to cast Induce Coma on someone (note that just made that spell up, a spell with the same name may exist, but I have certainly never heard of it ), I would specify the target using the Ideal of "that person that annoys me" and if I am succesful, that person will, uh... fall asleep? There would be no other visible indication that I cast anything? No streak of light or anything?

 

Now that I think of it: wouldn't that make the targetting of my - purely hypothetical - spell, a very delicate matter? I mean, there is probably no "Target: Cosetta Re" Ideal, so if there are several people that annoy me, the spell wouldn't work? Or would all the annoying people feel the effect, but lessened in its intensity?

[freespace2dotcom]

Or it might target every single person who ever annoyed you, causing a massive incident which will find its way back to you leading to your eventual execution.

 

Good thing you never heard of that, though.

[Cyx]

I know! Such a spell could be really dangerous! So it's good that no first year could possibly have such knowledge. Imagine the chaos that could be caused if even a single first year tried to use it in a duel!

[freespace2dotcom]

Note to self: take steps to ensure you know seal against mastery in Y2.

[Schwarzbart]

Lol you sound like after the 5 year Academagia we will continue with our chars in a MMO

[Cyx]

Mastery? Surely not! Wouldn't such a protective spell be forbidden knowledge (and therefore excellent blackmail material )?

You know you really hurt my feelings with that insinuation... good thing were all friends here!

(Fire, Fire, Rend, Unleash....)

[freespace2dotcom]

Seal against Mastery may require some knowledge of certain subjects to be effective, however if you used that spell to defend yourself (and others) from a literal mind takover from several dark mages trying to stage a coup of some sort... I think that it's fair to say most would overlook that, and anything less than that I know I wouldn't need to use it.

 

And as for schwarzbart's comment.... well...

 

If I were to buy 1000 copies of Y5 to inflate the interest in a sequel to academagia....

[Cyx]

I would assume (not like I know anything about it) that to effectively seal yourself against Mastery, you would have to be deeply immersed in the art. It would probably be similiar to a specific Negation: you have to know what's coming at you, so I don't think it would be overlooked.

 

(This is ignoring the fact that -according to the Wiki- the "Seal Against Mastery" spell in the game only prevents someone else from casting Mastery spells, but maybe this should be in the Suggestions thread...)

 

Oh and I would waste weeks of my life playing an Academagia MMO .

[Legate of Mineta]

Haha, the hugest MMO ever.

 

Regarding your question, Cyx, there are other factors at work which would stop your example for affecting everyone you've known that's annoyed you, related to Resonance. It *is* possible to create such an all-inclusive Spell, but the Difficulty would be...nearly impossible.

[Cyx]

But in principle it is correct? No streaks of light or anything? The first duelist to to finish his spell has won (assuming they both use the same spell)?

[freespace2dotcom]

Well, technically, seal against mastery "only" greatly increases the odds of failure of casting a mastery spell on a target. It's not a defense, as much as it is an ability which can be used offensively and defensively.

 

Which may or may not be part of why it's not approved to learn.

 

Legate, are there other phemes in a spell that we don't see in y1?

 

For example the difference in beginner's dispel and regular dispel being a pheme/ideal which is beyond a y1's ability to tamper with and as such is simply ignored? (so any spell actually might have more than just 2 phemes?)

 

Edit: Cyx, I'm sure the effects depend on the spell. A fireball obviously would take time to arrive at an opponent and so would be easier to counter, but a revision spell to shrink your opponent might be near instantaneous.

[Legate of Mineta]

Cyx;

 

What Freespace said is correct- the time for the effect to take place is also a factor in Dueling and countering.

 

Free;

 

Yes, there are a few Phemes which are in the Spell, but which you do not see in Y1. A larger part of it, though, is the Border.

[Cyx]

I was reffering to to Revision or Mastery spells, yes. So even though there is no visible manifestation of spells like

Positive Alteration of Organic Matter ( a streak of light that you could dodge ) there is stil time for a skilled duelist to negate the spell after it is cast?

There would be no sign between the casting and the effect of the spell (unconcious rival) that that could be observed if your rival failed to negate your spell? Because if thats the case, it would make dodging useless the spell your opponent cast doesn't happen to be a fireball.

 

Oh, and one other thing: Why are Palettes a subskill of Enchant?

[freespace2dotcom]

hmm. Y1 really gives the vibe that you're only being given fish at this point, not actually being taught how to fish yet.

 

I suppose in future years dueling will require us to construct a spell not just from the phemes, but all of the components.

[Legate of Mineta]

Free;

 

I'm not sure where they are going to take Dueling, specifically, but overall Spell construction and research will definitely go that route.

 

Cyx;

 

Palettes are included under Enchantment because you need to know them in order to Enchant. Palettes will eventually grow to be its own Parent, although it will be differently named, as you'll see.

[Schwarzbart]

So when you learn now Palettes as a Enchant SS it gives you a headstart for when it becomes it own Parent?

[Legate of Mineta]

Schwarzbart;

 

Probably- those Palettes are ones specifically to help you in Enchantment, but I bet there will be some cross-over.

[Schwarzbart]

If it is Enchantment focused then the description of Palettes probably need a rework as right now It says that it will be needed by all Mages and one should learn it as early as possible.

[Legate of Mineta]

Schwarzbart;

 

Yeah, I'm not 100% sure what they plan for that one. I'll bring it up, though.

[freespace2dotcom]

The way I see it, it's impossible for a subskill to become a parent skill without giving a bunch of free subskills when that happens to keep the parent skill at the level you had it at as a subskill.

 

The Palettes subskill as it exists in Y1 is mostly an extra. I've always been curious why it was in Enchant.

 

Still, almost nothing apart from your training it specifically will raise it. This leads me to suspect that the subskill we now know can be moved to a new parent skill, while itself remaining a subskill, since Palettes are thus very unlikely to be raised (due to difficulty) for the sole purpose of raising your enchant skill.

 

Palettes are sufficiently hard to raise that my character only managed to eke out a 4. If those are mostly enchant-palettes then I don't feel too bad in having failed to raise it to 10. Although...

 

Legate, since you say that the skills will be reshuffled a bit in the years to come, will we see any examples of this in Y2? I imagine this to be a slow and gradual thing, and in hindsight will be perfectly logical for us even if we grumble a bit when it happens.