A few in game questions

[Legate of Mineta]

Adrian;

 

Great question!

 

They are most often called 'Vitae', with the idea of renewal.

[Adrian]

Sweet god, you are almost faster to respond than I am to write the question!

[Legate of Mineta]

Just luck! We promise we are not affiliated with the NSA.

[Adrian]

*eyes the mobile phone suspiciously* riiiight...

[freespace2dotcom]

Are there any activities for which magic is capable of doing, yet is not used for, for cultural or other reasons?

[Legate of Mineta]

Free;

 

Off hand, none come to mind. I'll pose the question to the Team, though.

[Adrian]

Phew! I am glad I managed to edit my post before I pressed commit. I should learn to read properly one of these days, I am sure it would save me a lot of trouble down the road...

 

"Are there any activities for which magic is capable of doing, yet is not used for"

 

My first set of ideas were in the gutter, but it wasn't a total waste.

Relation-activities are not really activities that magic can do, affect perhaps (surely) but not actually do.

Ceremonial-activities, such as lighting candles in the churches,.. I don't know. Maybe? Maybe it is taboo? I would imagine that a faste would lose it's meaning if you used magic to keep yourself feeling full, or isolation if you spend the time conjouring phantom bunnies to play with. (Suddenly "go to your room" is much less of a threat isn't it? )

Work related- I am guessing anything goes here really.

[Legate of Mineta]

Also, from the team:

 

"Even if we exclude Gates, I think there are a lot of examples - and the obvious ones have to do with wealth. Carriages, expensive fashion, certain masked balls - there are all sorts of situations where Glamour would work more dramatic effects than hand-crafting, but where the expense of really good mundane craftsmanship actually seems to make it more socially impressive than spells that a talented Academy first-year could cast.

Revision of foodstuffs - making vegetables bigger, preserving meat, that kind of thing - is also generally frowned upon, largely because most people unacquainted with magic are afraid (not always unreasonably) of magical effects rubbing off from ingestion.

Oh, and there's a lot of diplomacy that goes into the weather - both because it's thought to be governed by the will of the Gods and because accidental droughts can start wars. We didn't get into it in year one, but one can assume that - behind the scenes - the Legate had to disperse some ridiculous bribes any time a student contravened the Council of the Skies and created rain without permission. :)"

[Schwarzbart]

Oh, and there's a lot of diplomacy that goes into the weather - both because it's thought to be governed by the will of the Gods and because accidental droughts can start wars. We didn't get into it in year one, but one can assume that - behind the scenes - the Legate had to disperse some ridiculous bribes any time a student contravened the Council of the Skies and created rain without permission. :)"

Haha that reminds me of this quote in a Gurps book "Everybody does something about the weather, but no one talks about it." What resulted in a really weather chaos with bad harvest, hurricanes and so.

[Legate of Mineta]

Yep.

[Adrian]

hehe brilliant, I'll have to read that book at some point!

[Schwarzbart]

Is joining the Council of the Skies one of the possible "jobs" a Mage can do after he is just out of Academagia or are there only more experienced mages.

[Legate of Mineta]

Yes, you can join immediately after, as I understand it.

[freespace2dotcom]

I'd love to learn more about potential employers and the general ability you'd have to have to be accepted, as well as the varying levels of competence shown by Academagia's mages.

 

Like what level would a mage be at if they slacked off on their studies to the point that they barely graduated?

 

Also, While rending Gates to other realms is cool and all, I doubt many mundane folks wanted one in their living room, and so I am curious what the main applications of Gates were from a moneymaking perspective? (back when it was legal of course, nobody does that today, surely. )

 

Given that Pims are the currency of Mineta, I can understand that we probably won't see any others in the games, but what other currencies might be used to the extent that the player might recognize them even if they didn't come from the region?

[Legate of Mineta]

Free;

 

Oh, you'd know and recognize a dozen currencies, although it's unlikely they'll be modeled in the game.

 

Gates mages brought things from other places: mostly curios, but sometimes creatures or even foods. These would be worth quite a great deal.

 

As to post graduation...well, you'll have to wait for Y2-5.

[Metis]

Question: Do there exist any non-human creatures in the lore that attack enemies not by simply Rending them, but by Mastering them? If I'm reading the mod tools right there is an enemy called Mastered Pirate, so, eh, who's the one pulling the strings?

 

I ask, of course, for no particular reason whatsoever

[Adrian]

I seem to recall that a bee-like animal used mastery, but it's been a while (a loooong while) since I last did a proper play. I'm fairly sure you should be able to find it in the zoo-lore or mastery lore.

 

There might be more tho, so this is no excuse to not answer legate!

 

Also I never answered this post, how would I even know what we are talking about here. *flails arms* Nothing to see here. Go away!

[Legate of Mineta]

Metis;

 

Shhhh. No comment.

 

Adrian;

 

You are being *watched*!

[Metis]

The "Reign of The Puppet Strings, by Ellia Zeehl" lore mentions the titular Puppet Strings, but "The Puppet Strings could manipulate [it's conjurer's] skill in Mastery through its own will". That doesn't really say anything about control, and really, unless I'm fifteen kinds of genre blind this thing could just be a Familiar. "Strengthen" is something that would fall under "manipulate" just as much as "cripple", after all.

 

...And hello there Legate. I'll just assume that's code for "make things up" because, eh, there's kind of a lot of lore to read through if neither the Mastery or Zoology searches yield results. And yes, I'm aware of the irony.

[Legate of Mineta]

Metis;

 

Haha, well, usually it's code for: sorry, we can't tell you because Spoilers! But sure, join in the fun!

[Metis]

That...that actually might help me more than a straight answer, all things considered. Well, time to get the nonsense ball rolling.

 

BTW, I don't know if edits mark a post as unread, but in case they don't I posted the proof-read version of my latest adventure. I assume you can find it, if you haven't already.

[Legate of Mineta]

I didn't see the edit, sadly, but thanks for letting us know!

[freespace2dotcom]

1. Are there any people in setting that might be referred to as barbarians? (in an outsider cultural sense. not so much the ax wielding type, though bonus points if those apply also)

 

2. It's amazing I don't think this has been asked. how common is tobacco smoking if present? and what laws exist to restrict use if any (to minors or otherwise)

 

3. Where would the line be drawn regarding the difference in inducing rain and magically creating water (that may or may not be dispersed from above)?

 

4. When they lie, are dragons outright liars or do they phrase things in a subtle deceptive manner? I personally imagine most as rather poor liars that would rather just take by force and circumvent the deception part but the lore has stated that they are capable of it so I'm curious. Diavesque hasn't really lied to my knowledge but it is obvious that he is omitting a lot of information that you probably should know. (like the fact that he is/was/will be a DRAGON..... which is not the same thing as lying)

 

Basically, if one tells you that there's a shiny gold coin in his mouth that he'll let you take, what are the odds of there actually being a coin there? We already know what would happen if you tried to get it.

 

5. Are the wellsprings 'vitae' the only source of regeneration or only the most pronounced source of it? are there only one per island?

 

6. Have any Captains of Mineta ever successfully bestowed the archmage title before? (is there precedent or is it all still in theory?)

 

7. What is the worst riot Mineta ever faced and for what reason did it occur?

 

8. How useful is knowledge from other pillars to a specialist from a given pillar? I suppose Negaters would benefit most from the aspect of being better able to negate various magics?

 

9. Are there any cases where a spell may actually benefit from using opposing phemes? I get that they kind of cancel each other out but I can't help but think that the magic from those opposing phemes don't dissipate nicely all the time. Indeed, perhaps you can share a bit about spell failures like that and how catastrophic it can be to do so,

 

10. I found a quote from Baldurs Gate about how it would be like to have magically created armor quickly dispelled by ones enemies and got to thinking, just how common are critical items enchanted in war and how likely are dispelling such things done? would mages attempt to negate an airship's Volnauge keel? or is that impractical?

[Legate of Mineta]

Free;

 

1. Are there any people in setting that might be referred to as barbarians? (in an outsider cultural sense. not so much the ax wielding type, though bonus points if those apply also)

Yes; in general anyone under the rule of Dragons is considered to be barbaric- worthy of respect, certainly, but uncivilized.

2. It's amazing I don't think this has been asked. how common is tobacco smoking if present? and what laws exist to restrict use if any (to minors or otherwise)

Apart from a very small area in Oursouk, there is no tobacco, I believe.

3. Where would the line be drawn regarding the difference in inducing rain and magically creating water (that may or may not be dispersed from above)?

That line is probably drawn by the people inconvenienced by either.

4. When they lie, are dragons outright liars or do they phrase things in a subtle deceptive manner? I personally imagine most as rather poor liars that would rather just take by force and circumvent the deception part but the lore has stated that they are capable of it so I'm curious. Diavesque hasn't really lied to my knowledge but it is obvious that he is omitting a lot of information that you probably should know. (like the fact that he is/was/will be a DRAGON..... which is not the same thing as lying)

Basically, if one tells you that there's a shiny gold coin in his mouth that he'll let you take, what are the odds of there actually being a coin there? We already know what would happen if you tried to get it.

Subtly deceptive. Also, [redacted].

5. Are the wellsprings 'vitae' the only source of regeneration or only the most pronounced source of it? are there only one per island?

I believe one per island.

6. Have any Captains of Mineta ever successfully bestowed the archmage title before? (is there precedent or is it all still in theory?)

No, not yet- still theory.

7. What is the worst riot Mineta ever faced and for what reason did it occur?

Good question! I will have to ask.

8. How useful is knowledge from other pillars to a specialist from a given pillar? I suppose Negaters would benefit most from the aspect of being better able to negate various magics?

It does depend, but in general it's always useful in terms of utility.

9. Are there any cases where a spell may actually benefit from using opposing phemes? I get that they kind of cancel each other out but I can't help but think that the magic from those opposing phemes don't dissipate nicely all the time. Indeed, perhaps you can share a bit about spell failures like that and how catastrophic it can be to do so,

Yes, but you need the right Border.

10. I found a quote from Baldurs Gate about how it would be like to have magically created armor quickly dispelled by ones enemies and got to thinking, just how common are critical items enchanted in war and how likely are dispelling such things done? would mages attempt to negate an airship's Volnauge keel? or is that impractical?

 

It's impractical, because most enchantments are 'through' an Item, and not easily Negated (by design.)

 

Still possible, with a powerful enough mage.

[Schwarzbart]

Is there the possibility of negative extra credit for a class?