A few in game questions

[Legate of Mineta]

Free & Schwarzbart;

 

1. About how much time does orsi put into the school compared to his predecessors?

Hmmm. The overall impression is more, depending on whom you ask.

2. Are there any interesting cultural phenomenons revolving around the passing of eclipses? (non-magical, or at least indirectly magical)

Yes, in that it is widely regarded as ominous.

3. Are there any types of pan-empire games comparing to the olympics? (of ancient times more than the modern version)

Of ancient times, yes- in particular, there were games held before the launching of the Fleets against the Dragons. The Empire held such games for several centuries. In modern times, there is no international equivalent.

4. As far as common blacksmithing goes, would there be any items made in setting that would not be seen in real life?

Hmmmm. Fittings for the airships, perhaps. Probably specialized magical tools, as well.

5. Can you get into any more detail on faerie courts beyond the general desire to lump them into either dark or light versions? What ties does the fairy/sprite familiar have to any such courts?

Their role and agenda are determined by their courts, but the workings of these courts are little known.

6. Is it against school policy for students to do research on past students? (particularly past students who died on campus.)

No, not particularly.

7. What would the school (or faculty) say was the most dangerous thing about studying magic? I suppose it would be no dangerous than many other occupations, (if not infinitely cooler) but I am curious if parents might not want their kids studying magic because of the life that some wizards might be expected to live.

Death is an occupational hazard, and not in a particularly heroic way, either.

8. Revision seems to tie into Gates the same way that Glamour ties into Mastery. (I expect the radical Revision program at the Academagia has been introducing a few phemes that lie in the grey area between the two.) Has it been observed that practicers of one of these 'pairs' of magic pillars are more robust than a mage who only learned one side of the pair? (IE, is the reason for the twisting path because it made them better Gates mages overall?)

Not so observed in any legitimate source.

9. What do the legends say of ancient Gates wizards? (back before the bans) would you say they were considered eccentric? (even more than magic users in general are in any setting, anyway )

No, friendship and fellowship are probably the hallmarks of the mythic Gates wizards.

10. Has a duel at the academagia ever caused a death?

Oh yes.

11. Do non magical duels (of the historical, decisively more deadly kind) happen in setting?

Definitely.

12) Is the "fantasy land" of this emperor still active and if so is it considered as closed / restricted area?

 

It is in the Imperial Palace, and so is definitely restricted.

[freespace2dotcom]

Year two Questions.

 

Undoubtably some info has been given before and certainly a bit will be [redacted] but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? Right.... Anyway, I kind of thought that maybe having these questions (and responses) would be nice to have in one place for people to refer to when others ask about it.

 

 

1. How many classes is year 2 supposed to have? I know the number is higher than Y1 and I think you told us the exact number elsewhere but I can't find it,

 

2. Is the music finalized now? I remember it almost was last time I asked, and how would you say it compares to the Y1 selection? Is it bigger? Will we have the ability to download the tracks for Y2 this time? (in other words is the licensing agreement expected to be different?)

 

3. How complete is the writing? I expect that this is either done or nearly so, with proofreading and poliishing being the priorities. (given that you said that Y2 looks better as it is now than Y1 did at lauch I'm really exited to see this mythical Y2.)

 

4. Regarding summer vacation, I believe you said that the amount of time you had varied based on the amount of traveling time to your town of origin and how far away it was from the academagia. Can you tell us if this will be based on XX number of days of travel that you can't use on the calendar or if you actually spend more actions per day "traveling" you could get home faster (in theory anyway)

 

5. Disregarding the summer vacation which will be only for Y1 students who import, Y2 will formally begin on the same day that Y1 technically started on. Since that is a free day in Y1, I assume it will be in Y2? or will we see subtle changes in our schedules based on new responsibilities as a more senior student?

 

6. Is Rimbal officially in? I think you said it *probably* would be but I'm looking for official confirmation.

 

7. Given the problems with certain things in y1 with things like dueling (I grumbled very heavily in the one duel I did do.) exactly how will the combat be better since I'm sure you're expanding it greatly? (I know that Y1 combat was so....meh that you more or less scrubbed the monster encounters, and since you obviously are going to be bringing that back I am curious on what you're doing to combat to make it not cumbersome.)

 

8. Is the new skill cap of 20 more or less the same as Y1's skill caps (barring discussion of new techniques to raise skills, Since Y1 you could raise beyond 10 if you're good,,)

 

9. What is the current expected system requisites for Y2? similar to Y1?

 

10. So. Since certain scholastic events (cough, schohanwicht, extra tutoring) are expected to permanently take up timeslots (on weekdays only I'd assume?) I'd guess the limit then is 2 of these 'extra curricular' training since you can only participate in so much per day (ignoring time magic, which although early for Y2, definately needs to make an appearance in the future)

 

General Questions.

 

11. Gates definately seems to not have as severe a stigma surrounding it as Masterty (in general, anyway, I know that the worst aspects of it can get pretty bad.) At least it seems that some public discussion on whether the bans are right or not is tolerated, which says a lot, actually. Is that a sign of the times? Has Gates always had this discussion during the current ban, or is it more a recent thing?

 

12. Are the holes in knowledge spoken of in the forbidden arts a general result of specific teachings being squashed more than the rest because of the subject matter? (specific skills being hard to learn because you can't find any examples) or does it vary? can it be in theoretical or practical knowledge? And will it be possible (at least in the short term) to be better than what we can do in Y1 even if we never close up those holes? Could you give an example of this using non-illegal magic if possible?

 

13. Would a paper on the history of magic (flavored im omnidisciplinarianism of course) complete with an assortment of old and/or exotic orthographed one-time spells branching the pillars be considered a worthy Aranaz senior project?

 

14. In the game engine, all the various phemes have difficulty ratings. Is the represented by merely drawing difficulty? Or stamina required to use it, or both?

 

15. Does elumia have winter/summer solstices, or are their days of their seasons fairly average-lengthed (as unlikely as that might be) and if so, what days are they?

 

16. If a person was like Uliva but instead of a snake, they wanted to be a dragon, what would be the response to this? In an adventure I remember briardi mentioning it as one of those fantasies that kids have, but I am curious what would happen if a person reallly REALLY took that to the extreme with magic?

 

17. Do sailors get Scurvy in setting? or are the causes known? Or perhaps more likely are the trips too short for that to occur?

 

18. Do wands/staffs with multiple ends exist? Say if you wanted to draw the same pheme repeatedly quickly. You know, kind of like a wide pitchfork or something.

 

19. Have any people died infamously in the search for immortality? (like dled with extreme mercury poisoning, turned into a llama, that sort of thing.)

 

20. While I suppose a fugitive from the empire would in theory be wanted all over, would a person guilty of say murder in one or the nations that used to be part of the empire, would that person be able to live in relative peace from officials (if not vengeful familiy members) in another kingdom? (so long as they didn't advertise the fact that they were fugitives)

 

21. Are there laws concerning salvage of old airship wrecks? If some intrepid fellow was able to find a missing treasure ship loaded with goodies, would the nations bicker over who gets it? and would it be just as likely that since the governments would bicker over it if it was found, it would instead be lost forever and a handful of people get "mysteriously wealthy" quickly as rare artifacts pop up around the town they live in?

 

22. Was using gates to create golem-dolls (kind of like silent alice in theory but I'm thinking more like a porceilan expensive toy for the rich) for the amusement of children done before the ban?

[Legate of Mineta]

Free;

 

1. How many classes is year 2 supposed to have? I know the number is higher than Y1 and I think you told us the exact number elsewhere but I can't find it,

I'm not sure the exact number has been given, but it is indeed more.

2. Is the music finalized now? I remember it almost was last time I asked, and how would you say it compares to the Y1 selection? Is it bigger? Will we have the ability to download the tracks for Y2 this time? (in other words is the licensing agreement expected to be different?)

Music isn't yet final, but looks bigger. It's almost 100% certain that we cannot download tracks, however.

3. How complete is the writing? I expect that this is either done or nearly so, with proofreading and poliishing being the priorities. (given that you said that Y2 looks better as it is now than Y1 did at lauch I'm really exited to see this mythical Y2.)

The writing is done, but there continues to be editing.

4. Regarding summer vacation, I believe you said that the amount of time you had varied based on the amount of traveling time to your town of origin and how far away it was from the academagia. Can you tell us if this will be based on XX number of days of travel that you can't use on the calendar or if you actually spend more actions per day "traveling" you could get home faster (in theory anyway)

No, it's out of your hands, sadly.

5. Disregarding the summer vacation which will be only for Y1 students who import, Y2 will formally begin on the same day that Y1 technically started on. Since that is a free day in Y1, I assume it will be in Y2? or will we see subtle changes in our schedules based on new responsibilities as a more senior student?

No, same- there's more to do, though.

6. Is Rimbal officially in? I think you said it *probably* would be but I'm looking for official confirmation.

Mini game, you mean? No, it's handled by a different system, now.

7. Given the problems with certain things in y1 with things like dueling (I grumbled very heavily in the one duel I did do.) exactly how will the combat be better since I'm sure you're expanding it greatly? (I know that Y1 combat was so....meh that you more or less scrubbed the monster encounters, and since you obviously are going to be bringing that back I am curious on what you're doing to combat to make it not cumbersome.)

Y1 Duel is replaced by another system. It's more abstract, but also more usable. Well, so *I* think.

8. Is the new skill cap of 20 more or less the same as Y1's skill caps (barring discussion of new techniques to raise skills, Since Y1 you could raise beyond 10 if you're good,,)

Yep, you can raise beyond 20, in certain circumstances.

9. What is the current expected system requisites for Y2? similar to Y1?

About the same. No Vista support this time, for obvious reasons.

10. So. Since certain scholastic events (cough, schohanwicht, extra tutoring) are expected to permanently take up timeslots (on weekdays only I'd assume?) I'd guess the limit then is 2 of these 'extra curricular' training since you can only participate in so much per day (ignoring time magic, which although early for Y2, definately needs to make an appearance in the future)

It depends on the event, actually.

General Questions.

11. Gates definately seems to not have as severe a stigma surrounding it as Masterty (in general, anyway, I know that the worst aspects of it can get pretty bad.) At least it seems that some public discussion on whether the bans are right or not is tolerated, which says a lot, actually. Is that a sign of the times? Has Gates always had this discussion during the current ban, or is it more a recent thing?

Always.

12. Are the holes in knowledge spoken of in the forbidden arts a general result of specific teachings being squashed more than the rest because of the subject matter? (specific skills being hard to learn because you can't find any examples) or does it vary? can it be in theoretical or practical knowledge? And will it be possible (at least in the short term) to be better than what we can do in Y1 even if we never close up those holes? Could you give an example of this using non-illegal magic if possible?

It varies- certainly, some Skills are more difficult than others, but you must have great foundations in order to be the best. That's true at all levels- to be the best at Glamour, you would need very good fundamentals Y1-Y5. Some of the side branches you could leave mostly alone, though.

13. Would a paper on the history of magic (flavored im omnidisciplinarianism of course) complete with an assortment of old and/or exotic orthographed one-time spells branching the pillars be considered a worthy Aranaz senior project?

Likely yes.

14. In the game engine, all the various phemes have difficulty ratings. Is the represented by merely drawing difficulty? Or stamina required to use it, or both?

Drawing difficulty.

15. Does elumia have winter/summer solstices, or are their days of their seasons fairly average-lengthed (as unlikely as that might be) and if so, what days are they?

Not quite- because Elumia 'wanders' these times can also be dramatically different.

16. If a person was like Uliva but instead of a snake, they wanted to be a dragon, what would be the response to this? In an adventure I remember briardi mentioning it as one of those fantasies that kids have, but I am curious what would happen if a person reallly REALLY took that to the extreme with magic?

They'd like be investigated and/or cloistered.

17. Do sailors get Scurvy in setting? or are the causes known? Or perhaps more likely are the trips too short for that to occur?

It's possible, yes, but causes are known, thanks to magical healers.

18. Do wands/staffs with multiple ends exist? Say if you wanted to draw the same pheme repeatedly quickly. You know, kind of like a wide pitchfork or something.

It's *possible*, but quite difficult to craft.

19. Have any people died infamously in the search for immortality? (like dled with extreme mercury poisoning, turned into a llama, that sort of thing.)

Many people have died, but not infamously. Tragically, certainly.

20. While I suppose a fugitive from the empire would in theory be wanted all over, would a person guilty of say murder in one or the nations that used to be part of the empire, would that person be able to live in relative peace from officials (if not vengeful familiy members) in another kingdom? (so long as they didn't advertise the fact that they were fugitives)

Probably able to leave peacefully....it would depend on the crime, really.

21. Are there laws concerning salvage of old airship wrecks? If some intrepid fellow was able to find a missing treasure ship loaded with goodies, would the nations bicker over who gets it? and would it be just as likely that since the governments would bicker over it if it was found, it would instead be lost forever and a handful of people get "mysteriously wealthy" quickly as rare artifacts pop up around the town they live in?

Generally, it's based on territory, although sometimes personal claims can enter into it.

22. Was using gates to create golem-dolls (kind of like silent alice in theory but I'm thinking more like a porceilan expensive toy for the rich) for the amusement of children done before the ban?

Sure.

[Schwarzbart]

Will we have a map in year 2 that shows where we travel around at last as long we are in Mineta?

[Legate of Mineta]

Schwarzbart;

 

Yep.

[Adrian]

This will be a lot of random comments and questions. Questions in bold, 'cause no one would find them again otherwise.

 

1) We'll have a map? Sweet! Will the map show all the available/found locations too? (I'm thinking there are a whoooole lot of locations, even for a decent sized map, but I can hope... There are a few places where I'd love to see where they fit in relations to eachother)

 

Its pretty nice to learn that the writing is done, even if editing and jamming it all into a game is time consuming it still gives a nice feeling, like it can't be much longer. (Don't argue this, my stomache needs the calm )

 

2) I'd forgotten the weather was mostly/partly/maybe? controlled. Makes you worry about those student days... flashfloods, blood falling from the sky, updrafts in the streets where ladies walk with dresses... What is the worst "event" caused by students messing with weather magic? - if there is one. (And how long did it take to stop it?)

 

3) How much autonomy does the princes of the various parts of Elumia enjoy? Are they still bound by the old imperial rules/laws or have most of them reverted/moved on to their own?

 

Being able to use gates to travel home quickly would be pretty sweet. Highly illegal and I would never encourage anyone to do it - obviously - but if you did you might want to be really good at lying to avoid permanent house-arrest. Just sayin' ~

 

I imagine Basia flipping tables and throwing about curses in her vacation time because someone had knocked her out for all of the exams and now she loathed EVERYONE in her year. You might almost feel bad for her. Almost. Look, all I am saying is she might want to work on her social skills for year two - or get even better at negation than certain other people are at incatation... Of cause we wouldn't have this problem if she didn't gloat about getting better midterm scores than me in history!

[Metis]

I'm honestly curious as to the "writing is done" claim. Were the missing Y2 follow-up adventures just written off as losses or does the team intend to wait for them until at least after Y2 has been released? Admittedly at least my stated reason for not finishing what I should have is "ignorance of Y2 mechanics makes typing adventures too frustrating", which logically the release of Y2 should fix, but I can't imagine that being the common consensus (word?) or the Team having picked up the slack themselves...

[freespace2dotcom]

Also....

 

HAPPY 300 friggin pages in the questions thread!

 

Oh, and what are the most likely monsters who live around campus that are capable of hunting/eating the odd, unaware student? Just saying that it would be nice to know this in advance of Y2.

[isadorbg]

Familiar and different sort of exotic pet and plant I would say. And of course werewolves and maybe vampires here and there.

 

 

[Legate of Mineta]

Adrian;

 

1) We'll have a map? Sweet! Will the map show all the available/found locations too? (I'm thinking there are a whoooole lot of locations, even for a decent sized map, but I can hope... There are a few places where I'd love to see where they fit in relations to eachother)

The found locations are shown, yes.

2) I'd forgotten the weather was mostly/partly/maybe? controlled. Makes you worry about those student days... flashfloods, blood falling from the sky, updrafts in the streets where ladies walk with dresses... What is the worst "event" caused by students messing with weather magic? - if there is one. (And how long did it take to stop it?)

That's a good question- I'll have to ask, but I bet it had something to do with fire...

3) How much autonomy does the princes of the various parts of Elumia enjoy? Are they still bound by the old imperial rules/laws or have most of them reverted/moved on to their own?

Significant autonomy, although common law is still relatively recognizable.

I'm honestly curious as to the "writing is done" claim. Were the missing Y2 follow-up adventures just written off as losses or does the team intend to wait for them until at least after Y2 has been released? Admittedly at least my stated reason for not finishing what I should have is "ignorance of Y2 mechanics makes typing adventures too frustrating", which logically the release of Y2 should fix, but I can't imagine that being the common consensus (word?) or the Team having picked up the slack themselves...

 

A mix of both, although some storylines introduced in the DLC will have continuations in Y2's DLC. Some Player originated content has taken on by the Team, but it's case by case.

 

Oh, and what are the most likely monsters who live around campus that are capable of hunting/eating the odd, unaware student? Just saying that it would be nice to know this in advance of Y2.

 

The most likely? Hmmm....there are trolls in the hills. But the Imperial Reseve has a *lot* of rogue familiars, unusual creatures and things that really shouldn't have a home so close to a city...

[Metis]

The found locations are shown, yes.

Wait, you mean there's an actual, defined map?

[Legate of Mineta]

[Schwarzbart]

Metis you know it was suggested by me a few years back to have a map that shows where we travel around similar to the old RPG games .

[Metis]

That doesn't surprise me, but defining Mineta's actual layout with all the adventures and stores and locations and details etc. is just...how? I guess we'll see how accurate it is.

[Adrian]

I can honestly say (not that I am generally dishonest.... really ) I'm looking very much forward to seeing that map! - Also playing the game of cause, but the map was a neat little thing that I had not even considered.

[freespace2dotcom]

Is the Y2 map based of the map of mineta that we are familiar with? Or else a new, super high quality version?

[Legate of Mineta]

Free;

 

It's based on the same one, but with additional details.

[freespace2dotcom]

1. What is the worst Gates incident on campus that can be (relatively) easily verified? Not really counting the so terrible stuff it was ripped out of the books.

 

2. Will we start seeing hybrid magics in Y2, or mostly just advanced skills within the pillars?

 

3. Do Dragons have any color variations? I imagine the typical ones to be palish white to green, but you've mentioned at least one black one, so I'm curious.

 

4. Are potions typically ment to be ingested? or can they be applied in other ways? And as to their taste, do they commonly have glamours on them?

 

5. Is sleepwalking a concern? could a person be coaxed to perform certain actions while sleepwalking without Mastery?

 

6. You've said that a particularly clever child could possibly learn the Y1 material of a pillar on their own. Does/did this also go for Gates and Mastery? Since they're so hard to learn in Y1 (intentionally, no doubt) I am curious on the official stance on this.

 

7. When was Schohanwicht founded? Was it before the current bans? and if so, did they enter their dimension afterward?

 

8. Since Magic is by nature temporary, I am curious why the Y1 Mastery skills (or even Mastery in general) seem to linger on afterward. Does a skill that makes a victim lose a skill step actually permanently damage the victim's memory?

 

9. Excluding the illegal stuff, what is the most dangerous type of magic not taught at the academy?

 

10 Do any artificially constructed languages exist?

 

11. Is there a reason why the Academagia was the only school for all types of magic for so long? (or still is the only one, depending on the the attitudes on that academagia knockoff...)

 

12. Is Orthography kind of like Enchantment where knowledge of the pillars also gives bonuses based on what you are trying to accomplish?

 

13. I get that although the Academagia is very flexible in the variety of classes, their way of teaching really isn't designed for omnis like myself who want to learn all the intensive magics (or at the very least have solid foundations in all of them.) Will we be seeing some workshops and seminars for learning magics for those like myself who are not able to take any more classes?

 

14. Is it possible for a pheme to be useful in spells from several differing pillars?

[Schwarzbart]

11b) Is Academagia really covering all legal form of magic or are there some kind of magic variants thought at other places that Academagia not covering? (Think at the holiday event we go through early where both groups think of the other one as non mages)

[freespace2dotcom]

The Legate already mentioned that there were a few legal branches of magic that were too dangerous to be taught at the academy.

 

It's probably stuff like 'create nitroglycerin' not something that is safe, yet there is little reason to use the magic outside of the academic interest in doing so. After all, I'd expect a big sized 'create fireball' spell or somesuch could be substituted for it. It's not like gates which is fairly unique.

 

I was looking for a specific example is all.

[Legate of Mineta]

Free & Schwarzbart;

 

1. What is the worst Gates incident on campus that can be (relatively) easily verified? Not really counting the so terrible stuff it was ripped out of the books.

There isn't an incident which can *easily* be verified. However, parts of the Menagerie were purpose built for summoned creatures, and the damage the more powerful ones did to the enchanted walls can still be seen to this day.

2. Will we start seeing hybrid magics in Y2, or mostly just advanced skills within the pillars?

Both.

3. Do Dragons have any color variations? I imagine the typical ones to be palish white to green, but you've mentioned at least one black one, so I'm curious.

Yes, they come in many colors, and although a Dragon may have many colors, individual scales are always one color only.

4. Are potions typically ment to be ingested? or can they be applied in other ways? And as to their taste, do they commonly have glamours on them?

Many ways: ingested, applied topically, sometimes even as scents. Glamours are applied per the client, typically. In most cases, because of the costs, they are not added.

5. Is sleepwalking a concern? could a person be coaxed to perform certain actions while sleepwalking without Mastery?

It's not well understood, but it does happen. Such people are no more susceptible to suggestion than real sleepwalkers.

6. You've said that a particularly clever child could possibly learn the Y1 material of a pillar on their own. Does/did this also go for Gates and Mastery? Since they're so hard to learn in Y1 (intentionally, no doubt) I am curious on the official stance on this.

Yes, although that has some ramifications, of course.

7. When was Schohanwicht founded? Was it before the current bans? and if so, did they enter their dimension afterward?

It's hard to say.

8. Since Magic is by nature temporary, I am curious why the Y1 Mastery skills (or even Mastery in general) seem to linger on afterward. Does a skill that makes a victim lose a skill step actually permanently damage the victim's memory?

Why, that answer would be [redacted], of course.

9. Excluding the illegal stuff, what is the most dangerous type of magic not taught at the academy?

Dangerous sense-entrapping Glamours, some forms of Incantation and special, near-Proscribed Revisions. Many of these aren't taught formally, but do form the subject of advanced seminars or tutoring.

10 Do any artificially constructed languages exist?

Hmmm...I do not think so.

11. Is there a reason why the Academagia was the only school for all types of magic for so long? (or still is the only one, depending on the the attitudes on that academagia knockoff...)

Many reasons, but most of it has to do with the costs of magical instruction, availability of teaching materials and imperial prestige.

11b) Is Academagia really covering all legal form of magic or are there some kind of magic variants thought at other places that Academagia not covering? (Think at the holiday event we go through early where both groups think of the other one as non mages)

 

As above, there are some forms of magic which are legal which aren't formally taught at the Academagia.

12. Is Orthography kind of like Enchantment where knowledge of the pillars also gives bonuses based on what you are trying to accomplish?

Yes.

13. I get that although the Academagia is very flexible in the variety of classes, their way of teaching really isn't designed for omnis like myself who want to learn all the intensive magics (or at the very least have solid foundations in all of them.) Will we be seeing some workshops and seminars for learning magics for those like myself who are not able to take any more classes?

Kind of, yes.

14. Is it possible for a pheme to be useful in spells from several differing pillars?

Absolutely.

[Adrian]

3. Do Dragons have any color variations? I imagine the typical ones to be palish white to green, but you've mentioned at least one black one, so I'm curious.

Yes, they come in many colors, and although a Dragon may have many colors, individual scales are always one color only.

When I read "Yes,they come in many colors," my first thought was instantly a rainbow coloured dragon flaunting its magnificence

 

 

 

The potion question was pretty clever, I hadn't considered that. Must be handy for those less-than-agreeable potions. That said, consider that you might be drinking flavour-enchanted fox-piss next time you drink any sort of juice at dinnertime...

 

 

Is it possible through illusion to make a spell that lets you understand foreign languages? I imagine that mastery -might- be easier, but then again,.. I suppose giving commands to someone who doesn't understand you might not be worth a damn.

[freespace2dotcom]

Legate has already said that translation spells exist. As far as what type they are hasn't been mentioned but, the odds are in favor of them being some kind of glamor.

 

If it were possible with Mastery I severely doubt that it would be used for obvious reasons unless some *extreme* emergency happened.

[Legate of Mineta]

Adrian;

 

They are definitely Glamours, although there are some clever Revisions (and even Incantations) to do that as well.

[Schwarzbart]

Are some of the clubs we can join lead by someone no longer at Academagia?