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Thread: Analyzing Magic

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    Default Analyzing Magic

    Guessing at what each of the classes means. Blanks are left when I'm uncertain. If you have advice/corrections post it.

    Findamancy- Life+Erf. Summoning, probably more.

    Predictamancy- Life+Fate. Let's you see the likely outcomes for battles between two stacks.

    Mathamancy- Life+Numbers. Let's you adjust the stats of your/the enemies units.

    Turnamancy- Motion+Erf. Let's you extend your turn, speed up unit production, move farther, etc.

    Dollamancy- Motion+Fate. Voodoo-style attacks!

    Weirdomancy- Motion+Numbers. Uncertain. Sounds like Wyrdomancy, but that would be fate.

    Dirtamancy- Matter+Erf. Crap Golems and other units can be made with this magic.

    Changemancy- Matter+Fate. Transmutation, certainly. What exactly it transmutes is uncertain.

    Dittomancy- Matter+Numbers. Copying objects.

    Lookamancy- Life+Motion+Erf. Let's you see into the "Fog of War" present in games like Civ.

    Thinkamancy- Life+Motion+Fate.

    Foolamancy- Life+Motion+Numbers. Illusions.

    Flower Power- Life+Matter+Erf. Probably uses Mother Nature for various stat boosting effects.

    Signamancy- Life+Matter+Fate.

    Date-a-mancy- Life+Matter+Numbers. Maybe love spells, but that doesn't seem number-y

    Shockmancy- Matter+Motion+Erf. Either electrical or emotional, or shock waves.

    Croakamancy- Matter+Motion+Fate. Resurrects dead units, allows them to be used again. However, they decay after awhile, and presumably cannot be used again.

    Deletionism- Matter+Motion+Numbers. Not sure. I'd suggest outright killing, but that's unbalanced and has to do with life.

    Hat Magic- Life+Matter+Motion+Erf. Creates hats for various purposes, including boosting stats and communication between units.

    Carnamancy- Life+Matter+Motion+Fate.

    Rhyme-a-mancy- Life+Matter+Motion+Numbers.

    Luckmancy- Erf. Perhaps this just shifts battles and the like into someone's slight favor. The odds are shifted, but probably not significantly, and probably for only limited periods of time.

    Healomancy- Fate. Heal units.

    Moneymancy- Numbers. Adjusts upkeep costs.


    So, any thoughts on the rest?

    EDIT: Skipped Thinka/Foola. Too tired right now to bother...
    Last edited by Legendary; 2007-04-21 at 12:51 PM.
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    Default Re: Analyzing Magic

    Findamancy apparently includes summoning. It was part of the Perfect Warlord spell.

    I think that Predictamancy more likely gives you the average expectation of one particular stack attacking another. I've played computerized wargames with that feature (Fantasy General?). Part of the art is learning when to disregard the numbers and when to look again.

    Dollamancy is probably voodoo-like with weird remote attacks.

    I suspect that Changemancy is transmutation, like turning a castle gate into adamantite.

    Shockmancy could be earthquakes.

    I expect that Moneymancy adjusts unit upkeep costs as well as income per turn.
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    Default Re: Analyzing Magic

    Dittomancy - copying objects?

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    Weirdomancy.

    If the word weird if taken and studied from an etymological standpoint, one finds this

    O.E. wyrd "fate, destiny" (n.), lit. "that which comes," from P.Gmc. *wurthis (cf. O.S. wurd, O.H.G. wurt "fate," O.N. uršr "fate, one of the three Norns"), from PIE *wert- "to turn, wind," (cf. Ger. werden, O.E. weoršan "to become"), from base *wer- "to turn, bend" (see versus). For sense development from "turning" to "becoming," cf. phrase turn into "become." The modern sense of weird developed from M.E. use of weird sisters for the three fates or Norns (in Gmc. mythology), the goddesses who controlled human destiny. They were usually portrayed as odd or frightening in appearance, as in "Macbeth," which led to the adj. meaning "odd-looking, uncanny," first recorded 1815.

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    Dollamancy: I was certain this had something to do with money, but upon seeing Moneymancer and reading the comments I realise that it probably is Voodoo magic.

    Foolamancy is probably illusions.

    Date-a-mancy wold probably be love spells, etc.

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    Date-a-mancy could be actually time magic, as "date" could mean "point of a time", not "meeting".
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    Default Re: Analyzing Magic

    Either interpretation would fit hippies, one through that whole "make love, not war" thing and the other with the "Age of Aquarius" meme. Actually...were those two themes connected in hippie culture? It could be inclusive, not just vague.
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    Default Re: Analyzing Magic

    Carnamancy: magic related primarily to amusement, although it can also terrify. So, a bit like mind magic, but has to have a physical link present. Maybe.

    And with hippies, I think the main idea was the anti-war stance, but the method got away from the idea and we got Age of Aquarius folk.
    Last edited by Kalir; 2007-04-15 at 06:49 PM. Reason: hippies lol
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    For deletionism, my guess would be more for reducing unit stats. Such as causing enemy units to do less damage.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ave View Post
    Dittomancy - copying objects?
    I was thinking something similar, but I thought copying spells might be more likely.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dhavaer View Post
    I was thinking something similar, but I thought copying spells might be more likely.
    Dittomancy is under Stuffamancy (connected to Matter), which suggests that it deals with physical objects. If it were under Clevermancy (connected to neither Life nor Motion nor Matter, just "pure" magic), that interpretation would fit better.

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    A thesis on magic, by Brickwall.

    (It should be noted that I have no authority on the subject. This is all guesswork.)

    Any being has no trouble understanding the three basic building blocks of the universe that make the major classes distinct: Life, Motion, and Matter. If you do not know what those are, please check up your dictionary, it is sufficient for this.

    Any combination of these fundamental principles infused with the will of a magic-using unit will create a spell in one of the known classes of magic (see below). Note that having none of these principles still leaves pure will, which has its own class of magic.

    The alignments of magic are a bit less simple than the principles that classify magic. They are Erf, Fate, and Numbers.
    Erf is a fairly complicated subject among philosophers, but as far as magic goes, it should simply be regarded as the fundamental energy which pervades the universe. Practitioners of any magic found in the Erf alignment can often be found claiming that such magic is more pure magic, more true to the ideals of a sorcerer. Even with the neutral standpoint I have, I personally consider that to be bloop, but there is the truth behind it that this alignment can be looked to most reliably to see the philosophy behind any class of magic.
    Fate is not quite so philosophically debated as Erf. It is not terribly simple, but more so than the nature of the universe itself. At the very least, it's in more dictionaries. Simply, Fate magic looks into and/or changes the fate along its fundamental principles. Again, alignment can only dictate so much, but this clarification is nevessary for some specialties of magic that are harder to determine the use of by looking at their name.
    Number-aligned magic is the easiest concept to understand. It fiddles directly with numbers, whatever numbers they may be. It needn't be looked into much, and only very bored philosophers really spend time thinking about it. I can admit to spending long nights on it, unfortunately.

    In the next part I will cover the classes of magic, and possibly the specialties, depending on how much time I have to sit down and write it.
    Last edited by Brickwall; 2007-04-24 at 02:42 PM.

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    Does anyone else think that "Deletionism" might be a reference to Wikipedia?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Justyn View Post
    Does anyone else think that "Deletionism" might be a reference to Wikipedia?
    Possibly but realllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllly unlikely...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Justyn View Post
    Does anyone else think that "Deletionism" might be a reference to Wikipedia?
    No, they had this all planned out before the first comics showed up.
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    My theory on dittomancy is it makes one group of units act like another, as if they were under the same commander. Essentially a mirror image of the first unit.
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    Default Re: Analyzing Magic

    Take a look at Clevermancy.
    It's basically the axes themselves, without Life, Motion, or Matter.

    Erf = Luckmancy, altering the rules of the world?
    Fate = Healomancy, altering the hitpoints/critical stats of a unit?
    Numbers = Moneymancy, altering the resources available to a tribe?

    Now, starting with Hocus Pocus through Stuffamancy....

    Life + Erf = Findamancy, altering the rules of... finding? Units?
    Motion + Erf = Turnamancy, altering the rules of time. In a sense.
    Matter + Erf = Dirtamancy, altering the rules of materials.

    Yet...
    Life + Fate = Predictamancy, altering the stats of units? Doesn't seem right.
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    Healomancy, Croakamancy and Turnamancy alter a unit's fate, not numbers. Healomancy prevents death, Croakamancy allows someone to continue after death, and Turnamancy allows them to get more hours in a day.

    Thus, Predictamancy allows you to see into a unit's fate. "If I attack this monster, what will most likely happen?"
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    Quote Originally Posted by Legendary View Post
    No, they had this all planned out before the first comics showed up.
    What does that matter? A cursory glance at Association of Deletionist Wikipedians shows that "Deletionism" as it relates to wikis has been around since at least 2005. The reference could easily have been planned.
    Last edited by Maltrich; 2007-04-25 at 12:42 AM.

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    I thought perhaps the person was referring to the original deletion of the Erfworld Article... silly me :P
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    Quote Originally Posted by Legendary View Post
    No, they had this all planned out before the first comics showed up.
    Quote Originally Posted by Legendary View Post
    I thought perhaps the person was referring to the original deletion of the Erfworld Article... silly me :P
    While the overall plot was planned in advance, fine details (e.g. using the term "Deletionism" rather than "Deletamancy" or some such) could presumably be tweaked on the fly.

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    Continuing the thesis:

    The eight classes of magic can be practiced in general, without dedicating oneself to an axis. This is the most feasible option for those caster units attempting to expand their magical horizons outside their specialty. Only very talented individuals can become proficient in other specialties specifically, and they will not even meet the capabilities of the lowest-powered specialist in that area. However, practicing a class of magic gives a caster quite a bit of diversity, which is valuable to the warlord that is low on schmuckers.

    Hocus-Pocus is the class that results from the application of Life to magic. It does not deal with health, or well-being, but rather, life in the sense of events as they progress, as well as things that exist.
    -Findamancy finds living things, and fetches them. It does not find non-living things. Quite simple, but powerful units are harder to summon, and criteria outside of simple stats can make things vcery complex for even talented Findamancers.
    -Predictamancy predicts the future. It tends to be very vague, and not far-reaching. However, the ability to even know small details about small events can greatly aid any skilled warlord, and great prophecies gather the attention of all.
    -Mathamancy does all those complex equations that building units and spell crafters need. A mathamancer is generally not aligned with any faction, save the companies that the factions contract builders and such from.

    Spookism is the fundamental principle of motion. It moves things. Simplicity is very relieving for thesis writers such as myself.
    -Turnamancy deals with a unit's Move. It can speed it up or slow it down. Turnamancers are a unit most warlords want in their forces, since their use is basic and effective.
    -Dollamancy is perhaps a more insidious appication of Spookism, and many warlords do not trust Dollamancers. Their ability is to actually move other units. Pushing, pulling, and puppeteering, these are dangerous offensive units when used well.
    -Weirdomancy puts everyone on edge, even other casters. Weirdomancers fiddle with everything and mix it up. Their magic is unpredictable, and can overlap other specialties of magic. A turnamancer's Move enhancement could suddenly be reversed by a Weirdomancer's spell, or a gwiffon could lose its flying ability for a turn. The good weirdomancers are the ones who can control whether the effects are negative or positive.

    Stuffamancy deals with matter. Again, a very simple subject. In fact, its name is even helpful. Stuff is manced.
    -Dirtamancy deals with dirt. This can include stone and earth, but there is not much of that to spare, and that is used for walls and constructions. Thus, when making units, dirtamancers are relegated to using...less savory types of dirt.
    -Changeamancy is powerful, but at the same time limited. While it is no easier or harder to resist than other magic, only extremely powerful changeamancy spells can make large changes. The power of a changemancy spell determines the degree of change. Your average changeamancy spell might turn a sword into a plowshare. A weak one might change it into a shorter sword. A powerful one might turn it into one that curves back into the head of its weilder. A VERY powerful one would be required to change it into a bomb. Still, even at weak levels, it is convenient, making everyone's life easier in some way.
    -Dittomancy duplicates things. Very simple, very powerful.

    Eyemancy is the first among the complex classes. It incorporates Life and Motion, and if you take to heart the definitions of their purer magics, you get that it deals with Life and Motion. These combine into cognization, generally affecting the mind directly.
    -Lookamancy is not as effective as one might think, but it is still useful. A foolish enemy will not have the guile that necessitates it, and a clever enemy will be able to fool it. Still, it nullifies some of the nastier surprise tactics, and can prevent those nasty ambushes and surprise attacks. What it does, exactly? It looks at stuff, wherever it is. Yes, there are naughty lookamancers out there. Quite a few, actually.
    -Thinkamancy is subtle. It helps people think of things, as one function. Simply makes the wheels go faster. Oh, then there's the mind reading. But nobody ever uses that. Why would they? Preposterous.
    -Foolamancy is almost as suspect as weirdomancy. There is no way to use it as a non-offensive spell, its entire object is to plant falsehoods. Whether they be illusions, or false memories, they replace the target's previous perceptions. Many foolamancers practice the mundane art of trickery as well, enjoying the thrill of it. The most insidious foolamancers control warlords, not vice-versa.

    Hippiemancy is the application of Life and Matter. Now we get to living things as they exist. Of course, hippiemancy also deals with each individually in some ways, and in other ways combines them.
    -Flower power is the most blunt application of hippiemancy, and most warlords only care about that one. Flower power boosts anything, units or structures, or just stuff in general. Some clever flower powerists can overload certain things, causing negative effects like confusion or blindness.
    -Signamancy can make messages across great distances a reality to warlords. While hatamancy can also use this, signamancy can be used on any scale, and can also change messages.
    -Date-a-mancy fools with time. Hippiemancers of all kinds are generally wise with it, but warlords may use it foolishly and get themselves in trouble. If you are planning on practicing hippiemancy, expect that date-a-mancy will mess up your schedule, and plan accordingly. In other words, don't make any plans for a while. One accident could send you thousands of turns into the future. Only master date-a-mancers can travel back through time.

    Naughtymancy deals with Matter and Motion. It generally combines the philosophy of stuffamancy and weirdomancy and combines them, which basically produces the most disliked aspects of both. However, as immoral as many consider it, it is very powerful.
    -Shockmancy is fun. If you need pure destructive power, shockmancy is it. It is the most direct offensive magic in existence. Shockmancers usually either develop a good sense of self-control or go destruction-crazy, since they are exposed to such power more than anything besides warlords and possibly the Titans.
    -Croakamancy deals with the croaked. It usually uncroaks stuff (which is not the same as making them alive again), providing useful grunts. Uncroaked units can only say their last word, which is not useful. Uncroaked are not very powerful, but you can make them out of anything dead, and they will be blindly loyal. And uncroaked are very disgusting, since their decay is actually accelerated. Yeah, I know, ew.
    -Deletionism deletes stuff. It can't actually erase things from existence, but it works on numbers and letters. And that includes stats. Low-powered deletionism spells can't affect stats, and high-level ones are generally no better or worse than weirdomancy, except just a bit more predictable and the same amount less powerful. Deletionists are pretty unpopular. Rhyme-o-mancers make fun of them (and that's one of the few things they're good at).

    Stagemancy incorporates all three principles, and those combined become very diverse. However, its power is split, making it more utilitarian and subtle.
    -Hat Magic is magic that uses hats. It gives buffs, special abilities, and transports small items. Hats may have any number of functions, and can be changed by other hat magicians. Powerful hat magicians can transport unusually large objects through hats, and control hats in posession of an unallied unit.
    -Carnymancy is restricted to odd things, things that none but a carnymancer would be able to guess would come up. Tcotchkes are the idea of carnymancers. Carnymancy creations are unconventional and are only useable in indirect strategies. A carnymancer would not equip units with shields and weapons and armor, he would give them pogo sticks and stinkbombs. Of course, they'd be pogo sticks that could give a unit flying, and the stinkbombs would cause some kind of sickness effect, but my point stands. People from other worlds will be very, VERY confused by carnymancers. Natives will not see any oddness in the forms of their creations, but their functions confuse warlords who do not possess a love for original tactics.
    -Rhyme-o-mancy is considered useless by most. They actually deal with anything that has rhyme or rhythm or any other repetitive system to it. Thus, a rhym-o-mancer can work with poems or a unit positioning that has a pattern to it. They keep it a well-kept secret that powerful rhyme-o-mancers can make a rhyme come true in its most basic form, if it's not resisted, thus giving them access in some way to every specialty of magic. In other words: never let any rhyme-o-mancer finish a rhyme if he's not on your side.

    Clevermancy is the last class of magic, and is just plain magic. No principles are applied to it, and thus it applies to things that those concepts do not really affect.
    -Luckmancy changes luck. A blessing or a hex is usually not too powerful, and there are no absolutes with luckmancers. They know more than anyone that nothing is a 100% possibility, or a 0%. But they change things to places in between by small degrees. Do not count on a luckmancer as anything but an aid or last resort, but they're good at both those.
    -Healomancy adds hp to the current hp of a unit. Powerful healomancy can exceed the unit's normal max. Nice and simple.
    -Moneymancy is a warlord's best friend, but good luck hiring a moneymancer. They're either rich, or working for a rich moneymancer. They can be rented to do some duties, like making things less expensive, or draining an opponent's treasure of schmuckers. They can't create schmuckers from nothing, though. Enhance or reduce or change hands, only those. Powerful moneymancers will not be found working in wars. They don't need to get their hands dirty.

    Well, that's the thesis. I can't be certain on any of it, but it's my thoughts all expressed. Enjoy.
    Last edited by Brickwall; 2007-04-25 at 04:55 PM.

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