A few in game questions

[freespace2dotcom]

Since Mineta has lots of magical schools hiding under the shadow of the academagia, I was wondering if there were any such lesser schools for Gates and Mastery back before the modern bans.

[Rhialto]

14 minutes ago, freespace2dotcom said:

Since Mineta has lots of magical schools hiding under the shadow of the academagia, I was wondering if there were any such lesser schools for Gates and Mastery back before the modern bans.

Would I be correct, moreover, in thinking that researching such a question would be illegal?

[Legate of Mineta]

Free & Rhi;

"Researching inactive institutions is perfectly legal, as long as you don't get into the specifics of what they taught.

Smaller local schools didn't leave much of a mark, though.  Gates and Mastery were always seen as dangerous, and tended to be taught by masters to apprentices outside of the obvious rare examples.

One exception: there was the Sulis School, a Gates "free collegium" in what's now Frontino that lasted about seventy years in the 12th century - but it vanished on a Tuesday night."

[Rhialto]

1. Is there a phenomenon of persons from the Empire of Man defecting to the Oursouki Empire, rather like various people "turned Turk" or defected from the Ming to the Manchu state?

2. Where upon their bodies are people branded for crimes when they are sentenced to branding in Mineta?

[Legate of Mineta]

Rhi;

"1.  It certainly happens, though it's not as common as once it was.  A polite piece of slang for it in the south is to say that so-and-so has "gone for the vest," in reference to dominant styles of fashion on the other side of the line.

You also get mercenary companies from the Empire of Man taking contracts down south once in a while.  It's certainly not smiled upon, but - perhaps since it's actually a pretty good source of military intelligence - the Captain hasn't chosen to enforce any of the old codes against it.

2.  As a rule, the right shoulder.  That said, the Guard has a tradition of branding deserters on the back to connote cowardice - "This is the wound you should have received as you were running away!" - and there are parts of Elumia, near old garrison towns as a rule, where that has evolved into the norm.

One tangent: in the old days, before absolute prohibition, Mastery offenders would have their heads shaved, and a "crown" seared around the circumference of their scalps.  If you see anyone voluntarily wearing those markings these days, it's a really, really bad sign."

[Metis]

6 minutes ago, Legate of Mineta said:

If you see anyone voluntarily wearing those markings these days, it's a really, really bad sign.

*Attempts to inconspicuously write down a note*

*Fails miserably at the "inconspicuously" part *

[Legate of Mineta]

[Rhialto]

7 hours ago, Legate of Mineta said:

A polite piece of slang for it in the south is to say that so-and-so has "gone for the vest," in reference to dominant styles of fashion on the other side of the line.

Does this mean that wearing vests is controversial within the Empire of Man?

[Legate of Mineta]

No, not particularly, unless made to look like a foreign style.

[Rhialto]

How often do mages change their familiars' names as the mages mature? Is such a thing possible?

[Legate of Mineta]

Rhi;

"There's no particular cultural impediment to changing a familiar's name, and it's certainly not against the law (unless the original name was somehow codified by civil contract).  It's not particularly common - not least because even non-verbal familiars tend to recognize their names, and often approve them in the first place - but it does happen, particularly if the mage or the familiar have some dramatic life event that justifies commemoration.  There's a pretty good chance that one or two Academagia student familiars will have their names changed upon graduation, if not before."

[freespace2dotcom]

Can "knowledge of a (noun)" (Or vice versa) be used in order to select specific targets of a spell or to exclude them in a group setting? Say if there was a masquerade ball infiltrated by vampires, and your goal was to use a glamour to knock out bystanders before hunters spring an ambush to minimize casualties... But you don't want to target others present that are aware that vampires are present and would make useful allies in the fight?

[Legate of Mineta]

Free;

"If you're in a room with (1) civilians, (2) disguised vampire hunters who are not specifically known to you, and (3) vampires, and you wanted to work magic that would affect (1) without hitting (2)... it would be extraordinarily tricky.  You'd start with a very specific astrology component to identify and mark group (2), and then the main glamour itself - but there the astrological search is much more likely to be effective if the question is less about knowledge ("who knows there are vampires here") and more about potential action ("who will help me fight vampires if pushed").

Astrology can work on the basis of knowledge - it's not impossible to find a colorblind person in a crowd just by looking for someone who "doesn't know red" - but ambiguities in understanding with this kind of magic have a way of backfiring against the caster.

It's a really complicated spell that will likely have unintended effects, but you're better off looking broadly for allies rather than looking for people with specific knowledge sets."

[Rhialto]

@Legate of Mineta: Would you mind sharing with me, through PM if you want, some details about Cinzia Ammacapani and/or her family? She is a fascinating character whom I want to write properly.

[Metis]

Can Y2 process a situation where, say, an adventure stage features a random professor, and the options change depending on the PC's relationship with that specific, random professor? To the point where if a player were to reload and get a different professor they might see entirely different options/outcomes?

[Legate of Mineta]

Metis;

Yes, it's possible. But we don't use it in the way you describe in the existing writing because of the volume. It's possible, though.

[Rhialto]

5 hours ago, Rhialto said:

@Legate of Mineta: Would you mind sharing with me, through PM if you want, some details about Cinzia Ammacapani and/or her family? She is a fascinating character whom I want to write properly.

Did you miss this question from me?

In order to avoid repeating myself, here is another question: have any full fae ever taught at the academagia?

[Legate of Mineta]

Rhi;

"No full fae have ever taught at the Academy - at least publicly.

As for Cinzia: the Ammacapani family, headed by her grandparents (Rodolfo and Etella), own and tend orchards in southern Mineta (the county, not the city).  The apples are extremely popular for local ciders, and the family's thriving; they're probably not too many years away from buying an estate in Frontino and trying to become a bigger presence in the city itself.

Cinzia herself is the oldest of the grandchildren, and the one generally relied upon to keep her generation in line.  She has four younger siblings, plus however many cousins.

It's worth noting that her name was suggested by her late maternal grandmother, Donatella Bari, who tended a graveyard in life and learned some formidable astrology skills (the two points are linked); she predicted that the number five would be a recurring motif in the girl's life, and it was best to mark it from the start.

"Cinzia" is a corruption of "Quintia," or "fifth.""

[yurisama]

Some nice lore there. Cinzia, like Uliva, is one of those characters that aren't evil by y1 alone but i can see that changing.

@Rhialto One info about her that might give you ideas is that she is good with potions and has a book about it, it's hinted in her profile with the mixing cauldrons quote and she can give you one in a path in her adventure, but you need to do Olivia's adventure to learn about the book, so in case you have missed i noted here.

[Rhialto]

1 hour ago, Legate of Mineta said:

Rhi;

"No full fae have ever taught at the Academy - at least publicly.

As for Cinzia: the Ammacapani family, headed by her grandparents (Rodolfo and Etella), own and tend orchards in southern Mineta (the county, not the city).  The apples are extremely popular for local ciders, and the family's thriving; they're probably not too many years away from buying an estate in Frontino and trying to become a bigger presence in the city itself.

Cinzia herself is the oldest of the grandchildren, and the one generally relied upon to keep her generation in line.  She has four younger siblings, plus however many cousins.

It's worth noting that her name was suggested by her late maternal grandmother, Donatella Bari, who tended a graveyard in life and learned some formidable astrology skills (the two points are linked); she predicted that the number five would be a recurring motif in the girl's life, and it was best to mark it from the start.

"Cinzia" is a corruption of "Quintia," or "fifth.""

So basically, they are minor gentry aspiring towards nobility?

30 minutes ago, yurisama said:

Some nice lore there. Cinzia, like Uliva, is one of those characters that aren't evil by y1 alone but i can see that changing.

@Rhialto One info about her that might give you ideas is that she is good with potions and has a book about it, it's hinted in her profile with the mixing cauldrons quote and she can give you one in a path in her adventure, but you need to do Olivia's adventure to learn about the book, so in case you have missed i noted here.

Which Olivia? Y1 has 2 students with that name.

[yurisama]

@RhialtoOlivia Solari

[Rhialto]

@Legate of Mineta: Do any of Cyve's sky-islands have cultures/polities analogous to Burma?

[Legate of Mineta]

Rhi;

If it does, it is unknown to the Empire of Man...

[yurisama]

Can y2 be modded to add more timeslots on the calendar?

[Legate of Mineta]

yurisama;

Hmmm. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Behind the scenes, even Y1 has more timeslots, but they're not exposed or usable. Y2 is similar. I'm not sure that they could be modded in, but you never know.