Crossfire Mailing List Archive
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: CF: God of Magic or energy shops? I prefer the latter. Also re: priests



> From: Peter Mardahl <peterm@langmuir.EECS.Berkeley.EDU>
> Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 11:35:29 -0700
> 
> Well, my main point, which I failed to make clearly (sorry!) was
> that I object to the creation of a God of Magic.  If magic comes
> from a God, why should mana be different from grace?

Okay, let me rephrase that.  "God of Magic" is an oversimplification.
It's really more a god of logic, sages, information, and meta-magic.
"Meta-magic" being types of magic that alter other magics, or spells
that affect other spells, like Counterspell and Remove Curse.

This "God of Magic" doesn't actually grant mage spells, but he's the
one responsible for the borderline prayers, like Word of Recall and
Perceive Self that fall in between spells and prayers.  He's also
attuned to information and mind.


> In this way we don't have to deal with the theological implications
> of inducting a new god just for magic.

If magic isn't significant enough to have a god dedicated to it, what
is?


> By "mage guild"  all I meant was "place where you can get your
> spellpoints recharged."

Ah.  I thought you were referring to the race/class thread and the
proposal to create guilds for the various classes where new characters
would get their starting equpiment and skills.


> To summarize, I like the idea of places to regenerate mana faster,
> but please don't make a god of magic, and please don't call them
> "temples".

Okay.  I'll set aside the "God of Magic" idea for now.  Perhaps just a
simple map for those buildings labelled "guild" with a magic recharge
station and not much else of significance yet.  The rest can be filled
in piece by piece as we work out the whole "guilds" thing.


> > For example, can anyone just walk into the mage guild to use the
> > recharge station?  Or are only mages allowed to enter?  Is there some
> 
> Sure, if we think of them as shops.

That makes sense.  They're charging money for the use of their
recharge station, so there's really no reason to limit access to it.
Running a mage guild is an expensive job, with all the rare
ingredients and gemstones and such.  Of course, that doesn't mean
there wouldn't be a more powerful (faster and/or cheaper) one in the
Members Only area.  And a hidden one upstairs that eats diamonds
instead of coins, but works _much_ faster.


> ***New topic:  priests and mage spells (was re Grenade/holy grenade
> 
> Which religions particularly have problems finding stuff to advance
> in a priestly way?

Actually, I'm not sure.  I haven't tested all of them since the undead
exception was added.  (Undead are affected by Holy attacks even if
they're not your specific enemy.)  Undead are generally a rather
plentiful source of low to medium-level priest experience.  That
brings up Devourers as a weak point, since that's the only cult whose
holy words still have zero effect on undead.  I haven't actually
played that one yet, so I don't really know how experience works
there. 


> Create bomb makes a physical-only attack.
> comet (a spell which results from a quest) strikes with weaponmagic, and
>   in fact, I use it regularly to kill beholders.  The fireball attack
>   is magic|fire, so the secondary attack does no damage.
> meteor swarm does a number on the larger magic-immune monsters.  It's
>   a dangerous spell to use, but devastastatingly effective, *especially*
>   in combination with power crystals and spells for creating certain 
>   magical devices.  It's just a mildly cheaper/faster way to get lots
>   of comets.  This spell also results from the completion of some quest or
>   other.

Create Bomb had been mentioned, and the grenade spells were really
just a cross between Create Bomb and Small Fireball, i.e. a bomb that
isn't created right next to you and explodes on impact instead of
after a delay.

I thought I had tried Comet and Meteor Swarm, but perhaps I didn't
cast enough of them to kill whatever I was trying them on.  Granted,
those are both quest spells, but at least they exist.  If they do
actually damage magic-immune creatures, they already fill the role I
intended the Grenade spells for.

I might still look into the possibility of creating throwable objects
(other than potions) that explode on impact and calling them "Holy
Handgrenades" just for laughs.  It wouldn't be a learnable prayer,
though.  Just a non-random magic item to put in maps it particularly
fits in, like Castle Aaaargh.  Which reminds me... Why aren't there
any Vorpal Bunnies on that map?


-- 
            -Dave Noelle,                 dave@Straylight.org
            -the Villa Straylight,  http://www.straylight.org
Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email  ==  http://www.cauce.com

Disclaimer:Don't ask me; I just live here.

Quote of the Day:
"Everything in excess!  To enjoy the flavor of life, take big bites.
Moderation is for monks." - Lazarus Long
-
[you can put yourself on the announcement list only or unsubscribe altogether
by sending an email stating your wishes to crossfire-request@ifi.uio.no]