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Topics - Iltaran

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Beluaterra / Before and after
« on: June 30, 2012, 01:45:33 PM »
On your left, you have Beluaterra on March 4, at more or less the maximum extent of the Blight. On your right is Beluaterra today.

Most of it is self explanatory, but one little thing I thought I'd point out is how the Blight in the sea south of Enweil has started to fade away (you can also see it too a lesser degree west of Sint). A nice touch from Tom imo.


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Beluaterra / VICTORY
« on: June 20, 2012, 06:26:33 AM »
Quote
Battle in Unger   (just in)
Netherworld vs. Fronen, Melhed, Old Grehk, Thalmarkin
Estimated strengths: 160 men vs. 3200 men
The Wolf Legion (Melhed), sponsored by Marc de Coivos, Duke of Fronepu, Margrave of Fronepu, were led into battle by Marshal Black Dragon Master.
The Grehkian Legion (Old Grehk), sponsored by Sir Marcus T. Turner, Margrave of Vozzessdor, were led into battle by Marshal Iscee Plaraveen.
The Legion of the Wolf (Thalmarkin), sponsored by Fingolfin Noldorin, King of Thalmarkin, were led into battle by Marshal Yusklin Melphrydd.
The Eagles of Hope (Thalmarkin), sponsored by Dunbor Lorganson, Duke of Unger, Margrave of Unger, were led into battle by Marshal Cataryna Bowker.
Yorick Sypher, Duke of Vur Hagin, Senator of Xhahgus, Marshal of the Esercito del Drago d'Oro is spotted wearing the Mysterious Vest of Strength.
Sir Nidor Lionheart, Lord Treasurer of Old Grehk, Duke of Ossmat is spotted wearing the Battered Vest of the Maiden.
Aurelius Madigan (Knight of Orde) is spotted wearing the Black Suit of the Dragons.
Sir Soren Calanar, Consul of Melhed is spotted wearing the Gem of Fire.
Lady Rila Nabarl (Dame of Jedinchel) is spotted wielding the Black Broadsword.
Overlord has been killed by Pyrix's unit.

MWAHAHAHAHAHAH! GLORY TO THE NORTH!

I'll start drawing up the plans for the victory parade.

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East Island / Fontan vs Westmoor III: third times a charm
« on: March 26, 2012, 01:04:36 PM »
Laaaadies and Geeeentlemen.

The East Continent of Battlemaster is pleased to present a new middleweight war for your viewing pleasure! Battles will be fought! Insults will be thrown! Propaganda will be sprouted! In the blue corner, we have Westmoor, masters of the art of losing without pain and three time winners of the annual "worst military" award. And in the yellow corner, we have Fontan, one time powerhouse now reduced to a shadow of their former might.

These realms have met twice before, although neither time have they gone the distance. The first fight ended with Fontan withdrawing in order to focus on their title bout with Sirion, while the second was called off midway through by the match referee, Sirion. On the line is power, wealth and the heady prospect of slightly less sniggering from the rest of the world!

And remember, its never too late to place your bets.

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SM General Discussion / Wizardbane - how to avoid godlike spellcasters
« on: August 23, 2011, 09:46:51 AM »
I can say that without any magical skill you will be in a very tough spot to do anything beyond simply standing around at the right point in time.

Lets say for instance that eventually a master of fire finds you.  He throws a village size fire ball as hot as the sun at you, how do you survive?  I'd be hard pressed to find a way to write out of that one.  You'd be burnt to ash in moments.

I've been thinking about this point for awhile now, spurred on a bit by the latest posts in Rise of the Merchant Prince. Not the least because it's a fairly common problem in fantasy settings. Someone capable of throwing around fireballs, or creating twenty metre long walls of ice or any of the classic mage abilities is going to be a literal army unto themselves. Even one Master wizard could kill hundreds of "mundane" soldiers. Indeed, it becomes nearly impossible for a magic user to be countered by anything except another magic user or a mythical creature. This tends to make a fairly boring story; all problems can be solved by simply throwing a simply large fireball at them. The obvious solutions are to either make magic users so common that every group has a few of them (in which case "Spell, Counter-Spell, Counter-Counter-Spell, Stabbed-while-attempting-Counter-Spell^3" becomes possible) or so rare that there's only a handful in the entire world.

Neither of these solutions are really feasible for Spellmaster. It's already established that the great powers of the Spellmaster world not only dont have any magic users, they actively hunt them down and burn them at the stake. Many are presumably caught before they can learn how to toss around fireballs, but if even one magic user survived to achieve a reasonable degree of power they'd be impossible to hunt down; any force large enough to kill them would be so large that it'd be easy to evade.

This is my suggestion to get around it.
________
Of all the relics and treasures know to the men of the south, none are as rare, as precious or as powerful as Wizardbane. Traditionally noble families would sell their daughters into slavery before parting with one and kings would transform an illiterate peasant to a mighty lord in exchange for the least potent of such trickets. Wizardbane are always made of plain metal and while the exact form taken varies, amulets or rings are the most common. In all but one respect they are indistinguishable from simple jewellry; they can be broken with sufficient force or melted by great heat.

The common and defining characteristic of Wizardbanes is their resistance to magic. Just as their shape varies, so too will the exact way in which they resist magic; some of the lesser Magebane will work only against a single varient, such a water based magic, other provide a degree of protection against all types. Each Wizardbane is unique in its powers and many are the subject of carefully recorded histories, detailing their effect  on different types of sorcery. Since only trial and error is the only known way to determine the protection granted by each artifact, more than one weakness has only been discovered after it proved fatal to the wielder. Generally speaking though, a single Wizardbane will be enough to protect a knight or witchhunter (and his warhorse) from the direct effects of an average spell. While a man wearing a Wizardbane may walk unharmed through a fireball, it will grant no such protection to a mundane housefire begun by a sorcerous spark

Generally speaking, only two groups have access to Wizardbanes, the nobility (of both mercantile and landed varieties) and the most powerful religions. In most cases they are treasured family heirlooms, handed down from father to son. During antiquity, when magic was more common, the possession of Wizardbanes was a major factor in warfare, but for contemporary lords the possession of these artifacts is more a matter of tradition and prestige. Now when marching to battle, many will choose to leave such priceless relics at home rather than chancing damage or loss in combat. Since the only way to actually test the provenance of a Wizardbane is through magic, more than a few fakes are held by the less principled. Today the main "users" of Wizardbane are the myriad Militant Orders and Witchhunter Sects. Fanatical hatred of sorcery and all its users unites the the religions of the South (although little else does). For them, perhaps even more important than the protection afforded by Wizardbanes is the effect they have on those with magical talent.

As a side effect of their ability to disrupt magic, Wizardbane produce a variety of ill effects on those who wield magic when in close proximity. A magic user touching a Wizardbane will generally experience immediate nausea and suffer a rash on any exposed skin that comes into contact. Prolonged exposure will eventually result in death, often after considerable agony. Every year thousands upon thousands will be tested by being forced to hold an artifact; those who react to it will be killed immediately by the Inquisitors if they are lucky, while others are taken away to suffer worse fates. In those areas where the Witchhunters are the most influential and numerous such rituals are practically universal, with each settlement visited according to a schedule and every child tested. Most of those with magical abilities are caught in this net; as are some who, due to fear, or sickness or simple bad luck (or even corruption amongst those who administer the tests) are mistakenly identified.

Inevitably though, some will escape. While in rural villages and small towns everyone is known to everyone else and attempting to avoid the Witchhunter's trials would see one lynched by their neighbours, anonymity is possible in the cities. The age at which magical talents develop is also variable; some only come into their abilities after having tested. Even the effects of Wizardbane on individuals can be variable and those who react less severely can disguise the signs. Of those who survive the initial culling, most will either never realize their abilities, or else avoid ever using them in mortal terror. Those few who choose to walk the path of the sorcerer live in constant risk, not only from the Witchhunters, but from their own neighbours and even their own self-taught skills.

For most people, Wizardbane are gifts from the gods. Even those few who own them know nothing of the real secrets behind their existance.

Spoiler follows: highlight to read
The greatest weapons against magic, the Wizardbane are in fact the works of magic themselves. While most of those with magical talent are executed, a handful of the very youngest are instead brought up in secret monastries. Tutored by the very Orders who seek to destroy their kin, they are carefully monitored for signs of rebellion, but also given a limited education in the magical arts. At the end of their training, they will undertake rituals to create the Wizardbane, enchanting an item with the disruptive properties necessary to continue the supression of magic. The ritual will usually prove fatal, partly by design of their religious masters, but also due to the very nature of the magic being performed. The process is not only theologically difficult to accept, but also dangerous. If control was lost, it would unleash not just a single magic user, but an entire school of trained mages with intimate knowledge of the only weapon against them.

Only a few of the oldest and most powerful sects continue to produce Wizardbane and even they do so in the utmost secrecy.

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Beluaterra / If the current war was a bar fight...
« on: August 11, 2011, 08:05:20 AM »
In the spirit of  "if world war one/two was a bar fight"...

In the aftermath of the last bar fight, everyone is dusting themselves off. Melhed helps Thalmarkin get up.
Thalmarkin looks around and sees Fronen is drinking their beer. They demand that Fronen buy them a new one. Fronen asks what Thalmarkin is going to do about it if they dont.
Thalmarkin glares and goes to sit in the corner. Old Grehk joins them and starts talking about how Fronen stole their drink last week.
Riombara and Enweil start shouting at each other. No one is suprised. Melhed starts talking to itself. No one is suprised.
Bara'Khur falls off its barstool. Fronen takes one of their beers. Bara'Khur wakes up and starts calling itself Nothoi. Old Grehk gives it a hand up.
Nothoi and Fronen glare at each other over the last drink Bara'Khur ordered.
Sint sits down with Old Grehk and Thalmarkin. The three of them start whispering.
Fronen grabs the disputed beer, still staring at Nothoi. Nothoi declares its going to break Fronen's nose.
Enweil accuses Sint of being a murderer. No one takes any notice.
Old Grehk, Sint and Thalmarkin get up and start heading towards Fronen. Melhed screams "watch out", then goes back to talking to itself.
Fronen turns around to face Old Grehk, Sint and Thalmarkin, then doubles over after getting punched in the groin. All three pile onto Fronen, with Nothoi joining in.
Riombara draws back its fist to punch Enweil. Enweil reveals that its actually two people in a trenchcoat and that the shorter of the pair has an unpronounceable name. Riombara punches Enweil anyway.

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Feature Requests / Replacing Founders of Religions
« on: May 15, 2011, 07:23:32 AM »
Following on from the discussion here http://bugs.battlemaster.org/view.php?id=4813

Executive summary is that if the founder of a religion goes inactive/deletes/dies then the #1 rank is lost forever, as are any other ranks above the level of the next highest member. That members rank also becomes uneditable. Usually it isn't too serious a problem, but its immersion breaking and annoying. There's been suggestions of complicated ways to select a new #1 ranking member, but my suggestion is to keep it simple.

Create a new option for Senior Members at Temples called "assume leadership". When you click the link, it checks to see if there's anyone above you in rank and if there isn't it promotes you, or everyone at your level, to rank #1. On reflection, I prefer the idea of promoting everyone at your level, simply to remove the race-to-click-the-button aspect

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Beluaterra / Looking for Heathens (or Religion in Beluaterra)
« on: April 04, 2011, 04:04:30 PM »
There's been a lot of talk in these forums about religions in Battlemaster and how they haven't been a particularly successful part of the game. General feeling seems to summarise the problem as a) too many religions that are basically just extensions of the realm founding them and b) lack of solid doctrine, rituals, beliefs. Personally I would add c) lack of religious conflict, although this is too a degree a symptom of a) and b).

Anyway, I inherited the Order of the Golden Feather, a fairly dormant religion that exists in Old Grehk, Thalmarkin and bits of Fronen. Since then I've been repeatedly meaning to flesh it out and give it some stronger (and more interesting) theological foundation, but a combination of real life and lack of interest has continued to put it on the back burner. Now I'm about to make another attempt to get the religion off the ground, and so I'm looking for heathens. Yes, heathens.

Simply put, I'm looking for an enemy of my religion. Playing alone, building big temples and converting NPCs is all very well, but I dont think its what battlemaster is about. Originally I'd been thinking that the Blood Cult would fulfill this role, but I've been told since then that its gone into hibernation. Really what I want is for someone who will scheme, plot and loudly denounce the Order of the Golden Feather as pure evil, whilst I return the favour with them and we attempt to wipe one another out; rather like most realms function during war ;). Conflict gives people a clear goal, something to define themselves against and a challenge, all fun things. Unfortunately most of the religions at the moment are more or less inactive like the Golden Feather, hence why I'm turning here to try and find if there's someone else looking for a rival.

You can find some of my (ooc for the moment) thoughts on Golden Feather doctrine here http://wiki.battlemaster.org/wiki/User:Iltaran/Ossmat_Creed, but a fair bit is still in my head I'm afraid. One particular point on the doctrine I'm planning is the Order of the Golden Feather considers itself Monotheistic, but simultaneously elevates humanity to virtual demi-god status, thus raising the potential of conflict with either polytheists or 'stricter' monotheists. Anyone with sacred animals is likely to face some hostility for the same reason.

So, any would be heathen scum who must be purged-by-fire-and-sword about?  ;D

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Helpline / Heroes and Death
« on: March 27, 2011, 06:40:42 AM »
Yesterday one of my Characters, who's a Hero, got wounded in battle. I was under the impression that this was supposed to be fatal, but instead its just acted like a normal wound (went from normal to serious)

Has there been a change to how Heroes work, or is this a bug?

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