Murphy's Law 7: ...Maybe?

[Asta Kask]

They have airtight storehouses in this world?

Yeah, I can see the utility but I think most farmers will say - cats are cheap. It's not enough for a utility spell to be useful, it must also be cost-effective. That's why all DM's house-ruled the old Identify spells so that they didn't cost 100 gp per casting.

[Worlok]

I am following this, as well. So if you want to count me as another different... My comments are usually limited in their ubiquity because I either get ninja'd while proofreading or end up sounding like a troll waiting to happen, though.

Also, the part about the magic is really interesting. I've been toying with an idea for a 3.5-magic-fix again the other day and seeing all the different approaches people take to magic in their settings is grade-A-inspiration every time. (Even though, to be perfectly frank, the prospect of an easily misusable gas-based eradication method, groundbreakingly new and magical no less, in a setting charged with racial tension worries me immensely. )

[CoffeeIncluded]

They have airtight storehouses in this world?

Yeah, I can see the utility but I think most farmers will say - cats are cheap. It's not enough for a utility spell to be useful, it must also be cost-effective. That's why all DM's house-ruled the old Identify spells so that they didn't cost 100 gp per casting.

Airtight enough that what gas does get out won't be enough to be harmful. Remember, Cloudkill gas is denser than normal air.

Again, he wasn't really thinking about cost here. And the goblin wizard is talking more about giant storehouses than anything else.

Has anyone figured out what real-world fungus insanity mold is based off of?

[Qwertystop]

Airtight enough that what gas does get out won't be enough to be harmful. Remember, Cloudkill gas is denser than normal air.

Again, he wasn't really thinking about cost here. And the goblin wizard is talking more about giant storehouses than anything else.

Has anyone figured out what real-world fungus insanity mold is based off of?

Wasn't there some kind of fungus that causes hallucinations and prompted the Salem witch hunts?

[Asta Kask]

Anything which involves psilocybin?

[CoffeeIncluded]

Wasn't there some kind of fungus that causes hallucinations and prompted the Salem witch hunts?

Bingo. Insanity mold is the Aequarian equivalent of ergot, except that it's a mold which grows on crops after they've been harvested.

[leakingpen]

Yeah agreed, I can see this spell being stolen and used to take out large groups of people in war.

As for the nature of magic, I find it odd that arcana would be older than druidic. Druidic is basically elemental magic, clerical magic of a sorts. It comes from a connection to the natural world. It should have, to me, existed before cities, during the hunter gatherer phase. Arcana and research requires cities, supplies, a manufacturing infrastructure of some kind, and a middle to upper class that can spend the time researching and learning for learnings sake.

[SamBurke]

Yeah agreed, I can see this spell being stolen and used to take out large groups of people in war.

As for the nature of magic, I find it odd that arcana would be older than druidic. Druidic is basically elemental magic, clerical magic of a sorts. It comes from a connection to the natural world. It should have, to me, existed before cities, during the hunter gatherer phase. Arcana and research requires cities, supplies, a manufacturing infrastructure of some kind, and a middle to upper class that can spend the time researching and learning for learnings sake.

And, of course, there could never be anything but a gradual evolution of humanity from hunter-gatherers eventually to technological greatness.

[Savannah]

Also, guess what real-world fungus insanity mold is based off of!

Ergot! Which I find I must now include in my games, as it's an awesome idea...

Edit: Aww, there's a second page I didn't see where you said it already

[Lord Raziere]

this comic is now making me think of the various ways medieval people would actually use magic.

nobles would just looooove spells that transformed people- mostly because they have heirs, they don't want the wrong kind of heir y'know, want at least one guy to be the man that would take over in succession to the faith. If the baby turned out to be female and the couple wanted a male to become lord after them, they might hire a wizard to change the babies' gender while it is still young, before it develops.
likewise if they got a younger male, they might turn them female cause they don't want to have to deal with sons fighting over who gets to succeed their father.
yea, nobles would just love magical bloodline-tampering in general as well.

I can see enchantments to make full knights armor lightweight and more flexible to be popular as well- all the super-protection of plate, all the flexibility of chain armor. also enchantments to make it easier to put on and take off.

and I don't think I could tell you all the applications of magically enchanted arrows or spears. or medieval artillery/siege weapons. there are too many.

[Worlok]

Ah yes, claviceps. Nature's LSD and major cause of witch-based hate crimes the world over. This continues to shape up nicely.

As for the Druidism-Wizardry thing, I could sort of see wizards being around for longer than druids, assuming druids with their back-to-nature(-magic)-thing are, in a way, a callback to the kind of Shamanic and mysticist traditions that were around at the dawn of Man. Sort of what happens once the people who've seen wizardry in action / dropped out of arcane studies start to romanticise the simpler ways of frolicking around with bears the size of minor trucks.

[Asta Kask]

Ergot can also be used to make a (very dangerous and sometimes lethal) abortion potion.

[Qwertystop]

Ergot can also be used to make a (very dangerous and sometimes lethal) abortion potion.

Even if it's lethal, it still works. Not having a baby if you're dead.

(Yes, I know, bad joke, but someone would say it and I figured it might as well be someone who apologises afterward.)

[Worlok]

Even if it's lethal, it still works. Not having a baby if you're dead.

Oh, so you meant prenatal... (Sorry!)

[Asta Kask]

I just wanted to dissuade any unlucky ex-maidens out there from trying this "all-natural" method. Even if you don't die you'll probably lose a couple of fingers and toes.

[Volthawk]

Concerning arcane magic coming before druidic, I could see as arcane magic giving understanding over magic, which then allowed druids to harness natural magic, allowing them to use druidic magic.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Yeah agreed, I can see this spell being stolen and used to take out large groups of people in war.

As for the nature of magic, I find it odd that arcana would be older than druidic. Druidic is basically elemental magic, clerical magic of a sorts. It comes from a connection to the natural world. It should have, to me, existed before cities, during the hunter gatherer phase. Arcana and research requires cities, supplies, a manufacturing infrastructure of some kind, and a middle to upper class that can spend the time researching and learning for learnings sake.

Concerning arcane magic coming before druidic, I could see as arcane magic giving understanding over magic, which then allowed druids to harness natural magic, allowing them to use druidic magic.

Don't worry, everything will become clear in time.

...A long time.

[Asta Kask]

Tease.

What clubs have you joined at Cornell?

[leakingpen]

Don't worry, everything will become clear in time.

...A long time.

yeah, those two DO make sense then, some arcanist proving magic even works, and THEN druidics getting into the act.

[Machinekng]

I've gone through the comic, and it's pretty good, but I haven't been inclined to post until now.

This whole Cloudkill thing is very interesting. Mainly the applications. It would be terrible, for say, if it fell into the hands of a nation that was trying to exterminate a people. In fact, other than Burlew's Familicide, I don't think there's a spell that rivals cloudkill in it's ability to kill mass amounts of people. Add in Extend and Widen spell, and you could wipe out towns.

Good thing, there's nobody that would want to do that, except the Nazi-esque violently racist country next door.

Foreshadowing

[CoffeeIncluded]

But it's just a pesticide. Dax (that's the goblin's name) made Cloudkill as a pesticide to help prevent damage to harvested crops. Even if it is a bit tricky to isolate the chlorine gas, and the sulfur deposits are only found in abundance in a certain spot in the Alavaan plains, the mustard seeds are pretty easy to find.

Damn, I better get started on the new comic!

[Machinekng]

But it's just a pesticide. Dax (that's the goblin's name) made Cloudkill as a pesticide to help prevent damage to harvested crops. Even if it is a bit tricky to isolate the chlorine gas, and the sulfur deposits are only found in abundance in a certain spot in the Alavaan plains, the mustard seeds are pretty easy to find.

Damn, I better get started on the new comic!

The SRD says differently...

But alas .

Spoiler

Show

I'm putting 10 bucks on a Cloudkill fueled holocaust in the future.

[Draconi Redfir]

Ten gold says the goverment either assumes it's an attempt to poision the crops and kill non-plaveen, or wind up weaponiseing it against his wishes.

[Mutant Sheep]

Ten gold says the goverment either assumes it's an attempt to poision the crops and kill non-plaveen, or wind up weaponiseing it against his wishes.

I... I thought for a second he was going to do a Speciescide of all rats... I still hate his guts though. I liked him when he was being likable too.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Wait, let me get this straight... you hate the goblin wizard because he created an extremely good pesticide (good enough to clear non-vermin pest even)?

[zimmerwald1915]

But it's just a pesticide. Dax (that's the goblin's name) made Cloudkill as a pesticide to help prevent damage to harvested crops.

Somehow I think Dax and Serrin are the only people who will see this use for it. Folks have already drawn the parallel between Cloudkill-as-pesticide and a certain pesticide developed by Degesch, and coupled it with the ambitions of a certain polity committed to a policy of ethnic cleansing. There's also associations by color and behavior of Cloudkill with weaponized mustard gas, with the obvious difference that its use requires only a determined wizard or wizards, plus the Aequar-only material components, instead of dedicated industrial plant.

Semi-related question: was Dax modeled after Fritz Haber at all?

[Worlok]

Somehow I think Dax and Serrin are the only people who will see this use for it. Folks have already drawn the parallel between Cloudkill-as-pesticide and a certain pesticide developed by Degesch, and coupled it with the ambitions of a certain polity committed to a policy of ethnic cleansing.

That last part really hits home once you realise that they actually considered their doing intent-appropriate. Namely, pest control.

[Asta Kask]

Ten gold says the goverment either assumes it's an attempt to poision the crops and kill non-plaveen, or wind up weaponiseing it against his wishes.

How could anything like that be used as a weapon? It's not like it insta-kills everything with less than 4HD...

[legomaster00156]

I see the demonstration going something like this...
__________
Chief wizard: Hm, very interesting spell. I don't suppose it could be used on non-rodent pests?
Orc wizard: Oh, absolutely. Anything that breathes.
Chief wizard: Excellent. Come back tomorrow and we'll give you results.

The next day...

Orc wizard: So? What did you think?
Chief wizard: Cloudkill. *to dead corpse* I think it's a very efficient spell which will awe the world with my genius.
__________
Of course, if the wizard council (or whatever they are) is directly linked to the government, they would have to be a bit more sneaky with something like that. (Edict of Tolerance and everything...)

[Asta Kask]

Casting. When ML becomes a movie, who should play whom?