Spells Feedback

[Zakilevo]

holy hell. we have higher chance of getting our own spells? I wasn't writing spells that I really wanted for my char.. crap!

[Tom]

holy hell. we have higher chance of getting our own spells? I wasn't writing spells that I really wanted for my char.. crap!

Relax. We'll still be basing your initial selection on the skills your character has.

[Zakilevo]

oh so the currently active spells I have are not necessarily going to be mine? Because I am thinking about going death base but most of spells I have registered so far are based on fire/earth/mind.

[Jinsyn]

Excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone under 4) Cellular structure:

There are several types of cells constituting the bone;

• Osteoblasts are mononucleate bone-forming cells that descend from osteoprogenitor cells.
• Bone lining cells are essentially inactive osteoblasts.
• Osteocytes originate from osteoblasts that have migrated into and become trapped and surrounded by bone matrix that they themselves produce.
• Osteoclasts are the cells responsible for bone resorption, thus they break down bone.

I'll remove 'cells' since it's not a big deal, but I just wanted to point out that bone does have cells.

[Zakilevo]

obviously the person answered you didn't take bio.

[Jinsyn]

For 'Local Analgesia'...



...I picked Perceive because the spell doesn't really Protect the targeted area of the body. Pain won't be felt, so I figure a guy whose body part is targeted Perceives something contrary to his customary reality, but that doesn't mean the area is Protected from damage. For example, if his arm is targeted, then he can still get it chopped off, but he could keep fighting without feeling shock or overwhelming pain. He may eventually faint from blood loss, but he likely won't be screaming his head off.*

If my opinion of Perceive vs Protect is misguided, then the active/already accepted spell 'General Analgesia' will also need to be reworked/manually modified, because it uses Perceive instead of Protect as well--and it even affects the target's entire body instead of just a small part. I'll wait for a reply before reworking 'Local Analgesia'.

*(He'll just be like the Black Knight in Monty Python  )

[Tom]

One way or the other, SM3 is a game long before cells were something people talked about. Try to stick with descriptions fitting the setting, please.

[loren]

I'll remove 'cells' since it's not a big deal, but I just wanted to point out that bone does have cells.

Of course it has cells, but primarily it is the ossified connective tissue excreted by those cells that people think about.  Especially when you're fixing a bone.  ;-)  And no I took a lot of Bio, it's sort of my job, though I focus on the nervous system now.

[loren]

For 'Local Analgesia'...
If my opinion of Perceive vs Protect is misguided, then the active/already accepted spell 'General Analgesia' will also need to be reworked/manually modified, because it uses Perceive instead of Protect as well--and it even affects the target's entire body instead of just a small part. I'll wait for a reply before reworking 'Local Analgesia'.

It could go either way.  Resubmit as Perceive since general was also perceive.

[cjnodell]

I know this has sort of been settled already, but I wanted to provide my feedback anyways. Who knows, maybe some of this could be helpful? I think that having a multiple spells that provide the same effect with slightly different names and/or special effects would help make game world more organic and realistic. I also think that learning spells through invention should be an option. Simply put, creating your own version of fireball would take a LOT more time and effort than learning it from someone else but it should still be possible.

I really like the comparison of spell making to programming. In most cases there are MANY ways to get the same effect. Simple programs (spells) can be created from scratch nearly as easily as getting it from someone else. More complex programs (powerful spells) would take much longer to develop independently than to get from someone else. This would suggest that it is easy for new mages to gain entry level spells through invention. Good for their education too. At a certain point however, it is simply no longer feasible to learn new spells that way.

To combine this all with what I have heard so far, I would like to suggest:

• Have a spell list with no duplicated effects/names (Tom seems adamant on this one)
• Each spell can be learned by self study (invented). Simple spells do not take too long. Advanced spells take WAY long.
• Characters can learn new spells (new to the game or new to them) via self study much more easily when they are simple making slight modifications to a spell they already know.
• Each spell can be learned from another. All spells can be learned relatively quickly this way.
• Spells should be vague in superficial details (gestures to cast, color of the flame, smell of the smoke).
• Players should be allowed to call a spell what they will and decide the superficial details at will.

Example:
Jimmy the wizard is taught a spell to start fires by his master. It takes him 6 hours to learn. His master then tasks him with creating a spell of equal complexity (power), a spell to purify a small amount of water. Jimmy manages but it takes 9 hours (This spell could be completely new, or one off of the master list). Jimmy now knows two spells.

When Jimmy casts his purify water spell he says "cleana youa" and the water glows purple momentarily. When his master purifies water he says "ika waya" and the water bubbles momentarily.

Jimmy then teaches another apprentice his purify water spell. This apprentice then modifies the spell so it will clean more water at once. This takes the time to learn the spell from another (6 hours) and then an additional 6 hours to make a new spell based on an existing spell. This new spell could be new to the game or simply new to the apprentice.

[Tom]

@Pelgart:
I don't want duplicates. Variations are ok, if there really is a difference.

We had something in the older games regarding personal "signatures" on spells. I might copy that.

But there is an important gameplay reason why I want trading to be the #1 source of spell formulas: It makes character interaction necessary, providing source material for both conflict and cooperation.

[cjnodell]

Sounds great. I just thought that making simple spells only marginally harder to learn through self study (invention) would allow new players to establish a decent spell base. It would still take more effort/time than learning from others. This way a new character would not be "penalized" for not immediately joining an established group. As spells became more powerful I completely agree that it should take so long to learn the spell through self study (invention) that most would rather seek out the spell in other, more interactive ways. This would also encourage players to find like minded mages and get to the interacting.

Either way I am excited to see where this all goes. It sounds like a lot of fun! Thanks for taking my feedback seriously!

[Bedwyr]

Just a note, "illusory" is actually a word.  I resubmitted the spell anyway, but I'm likely to use it again.

Also, for illusion spells...Are we going to have to be specific with "creates an illusion of a clawed hand" or can we have general purpose illusion spells?  It's going to get very tiresome if we have to create a whole slew of spells like "make a small group of people look like armed guards of this country" "make a small group of people look like minor bureaucrats of that country".

[Zakilevo]

wtf? One of my spell won't be submitted ever. The guy wants me to submitted it as a ritual but I don't see the option to do that.

[Bedwyr]

This is odd...I don't know how I screwed that up, but somehow the Gauge Crowd spell is registering as using Harm and Fire rather than Perceive and Mind as it should.