The Minds of Almantha

[Landis963]

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

Let me rephrase that...what if the culture of Almantha only recognizes two seasons? Like they roll late Spring, Summer and Early Fall into Summer, and Late Fall, Winter and early Spring are just Winter. I seem to recall the ancient Greeks treating seasons in a similar way.

OK, but their names shouldn't really reflect those of the Minds.

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

Sounds great. Arrusif could have also manipulated the Nexi to be much more efficient in energy consumption so that when the Solar Eclipse wore off the sudden power surge caused the Nexi to overcharge. When the next Alabasan tried to touch that power...BOOM.

A bit more onomatopoeia than that. Remember that the network of nexi was keeping the lid on a supervolcano?

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

I now have the wonderful image of a line of desperate wind mages blasting their sails while Arrusif panic-mutters, "Must go faster must go faster must go faster must go faster must go faster must go faster must go faster..."

The air casters were desperately channeling air into the sails, the fire casters were desperately channeling the rapidly rising lava into places it wouldn't reach them, the water casters were channeling swift currents, and the earth mages were sculpting caverns and such to aid the fire mages. Also, yeah, that is a great image.

[Landis963]

I've been thinking of inducing a weakness into the casting of young mages (because as it stands, an overzealous toddler mage can crush, or freeze, or burn, or shock, or otherwise accidentally kill someone). Specifically, they are restricted from casting anything that could actually hurt someone, until they "awaken" or "break through" at around age 14. (Fire toddlers cast illusions, earth toddlers can only dig tiny holes, or cause something to sprout/bloom on command, but that's about it until their "awakening"). (terminology seems a little weird, thoughts?) Not quite sure what, if anything, should trigger this, as "something shocking" can go very dark, very quickly. I'm certain there are some plot holes with this, so thoughts, Ninja? Anybody else lurking and want to come out of the woodwork?

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Originally Posted by Landis963

I've been thinking of inducing a weakness into the casting of young mages (because as it stands, an overzealous toddler mage can crush, or freeze, or burn, or shock, or otherwise accidentally kill someone). Specifically, they are restricted from casting anything that could actually hurt someone, until they "awaken" or "break through" at around age 14. (Fire toddlers cast illusions, earth toddlers can only dig tiny holes, or cause something to sprout/bloom on command, but that's about it until their "awakening"). (terminology seems a little weird, thoughts?) Not quite sure what, if anything, should trigger this, as "something shocking" can go very dark, very quickly. I'm certain there are some plot holes with this, so thoughts, Ninja? Anybody else lurking and want to come out of the woodwork?

Magic in this setting, it seems to me, is based on finer and finer degrees of control over a given element. I think that would indicate a very likely possibility of a young mage blowing themselves up. It could be that casting magic requires stamina, more than anyone that young can manage without passing out just by charging the spell. Magic is like talking. Rudimentary control can start to appear early, but anything useful won't show up until later.

In short, just make it so that a person's magic is very, very weak until they've physically matured. It seems funny that there should be a legal limit on how young someone can be before they learn magic to defend themselves, or that there should be a legal difference between a murderer child and a normal murderer. A 9 year old's fireball would be like turning the heater up, an earth attack would be nothing more than a loose dirt cloud.

[Landis963]

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

Magic in this setting, it seems to me, is based on finer and finer degrees of control over a given element. I think that would indicate a very likely possibility of a young mage blowing themselves up. It could be that casting magic requires stamina, more than anyone that young can manage without passing out just by charging the spell. Magic is like talking. Rudimentary control can start to appear early, but anything useful won't show up until later.

In short, just make it so that a person's magic is very, very weak until they've physically matured. It seems funny that there should be a legal limit on how young someone can be before they learn magic to defend themselves, or that there should be a legal difference between a murderer child and a normal murderer. A 9 year old's fireball would be like turning the heater up, an earth attack would be nothing more than a loose dirt cloud.

That makes sense. the "awakening" thing basically came out of a train of thought trying to explore how the nuli were under the thumb of the Alabasan nobles for so long (and the answer I came up with was "they were suppressing the magic of the nuli for decades." I'm fairly certain there are simpler answers, but that's what I came up with)

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Originally Posted by Landis963

That makes sense. the "awakening" thing basically came out of a train of thought trying to explore how the nuli were under the thumb of the Alabasan nobles for so long (and the answer I came up with was "they were suppressing the magic of the nuli for decades." I'm fairly certain there are simpler answers, but that's what I came up with)

The Alabasan nobles could have simply stolen away any Nuli children who showed signs of magic and indoctrinated them into a Janissary styles force loyal to them. Then if any slipped through the cracks they'd never get the training necessary in order to be a credible threat. Ironic, isn't it then that the one's who did destroy them were renegade nobles (aka the Minds).

[Landis963]

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

The Alabasan nobles could have simply stolen away any Nuli children who showed signs of magic and indoctrinated them into a Janissary styles force loyal to them. Then if any slipped through the cracks they'd never get the training necessary in order to be a credible threat. Ironic, isn't it then that the one's who did destroy them were renegade nobles (aka the Minds).

That doesn't work either, because everyone, regardless of station, can cast. The nobles stealing away children that "show signs of magic" would be left with a very large army and a very small workforce. Not that the Janissary indoctrination wouldn't be a viable strategy, but it would be put into a form of tribute rather than just "stealing". (Of course, if they suppressed the magic of the nuli, and then snapped up the kids that slipped those bonds, it could work, and would show how they would be a credible threat during the war). The main problem is, though, how would they suppress the magic in the first place? Anti-magic is too obvious, requires a large amount of power (not really a factor due to number of available magic nexi), and is only available to earth mages. Stupidity-inducing water spells run into similar problems, although subtlety would decrease as a factor as the potency of the spell increases. However, too potent of a stupidity spell would leave your workers brainless. I'm thinking that the only really viable method of control (besides, you know, intimidation, etc.) would be to drain the magic out of the natural sources and leave the nuli parched of power.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

We could take a page from Dragon Age and have the Alabasans practice magic lobotomies. One idea I have is that the Alabasan mages developed a sort of magical tattoo that drains magic from a person into a Nexi, and they apply this to every child born to Nuli. It becomes easier with quislings, Nuli who warn their masters of an impending birth incase the parents try to hide them. Once a year every Nuli village/camp/etc hands one of their children over to serve the Janissary Corps. After indoctrination, they can remove the tattoo. This mark could also be used as a punishment for rebellious nobles and the like.

I say that draining magic from an area would be awkward since the nobles would get drained when they're in the area, doing their oppressor shtick.

[Landis963]

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

We could take a page from Dragon Age and have the Alabasans practice magic lobotomies. One idea I have is that the Alabasan mages developed a sort of magical tattoo that drains magic from a person into a Nexi, and they apply this to every child born to Nuli. It becomes easier with quislings, Nuli who warn their masters of an impending birth incase the parents try to hide them. Once a year every Nuli village/camp/etc hands one of their children over to serve the Janissary Corps. After indoctrination, they can remove the tattoo. This mark could also be used as a punishment for rebellious nobles and the like.

I say that draining magic from an area would be awkward since the nobles would get drained when they're in the area, doing their oppressor shtick.

What you're describing is basically an Energy Drain sigil, that takes energy from the nul it's tattooed on in order to function (by taking energy from the target, the nul it's tattooed on). Also, the nuli are never given the honor of a capital (that would mean they are proper nouns), and "nuli" is the plural while "nul" is the singular. [/nitpick] Also, to facilitate the brainwashing, why don't we have it such that any child chosen to be in the Janissary analogues (I don't want to call them "Janissaries" as that's an obvious allusion to the Ottoman Empire, and Alabas already has Wutai-esque trappings around it in my mind) would be mind-wiped by a water mage that the noble has on retainer?

[Ninjadeadbeard]

I thought they would be a sigil of some sort, but I wasn't sure. I suppose that using mindwiping spells makes sense. I personally find it more terrifying that someone could be made a traitor to his kind without magical coercion at all, but it fits with the whole "Evil Corrupt Wizards" vibe.

Also, for a name besides Janissary, how about Shaighdiúir Nua or something similar? It's Irish for new soldier, the English translation of Janissary. I went with Irish since Alabasa always struck me as somewhat Arthurian England (Alabas, Albion, yeah?). Just a thought. Might want to try different languages to base the name off.

[Landis963]

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

I thought they would be a sigil of some sort, but I wasn't sure.

The sigils could have been stumbled upon before Arrusif started to invent them in earnest, but I don't think it was ever explored beyond "how to keep our nuli in line". EDIT: I mean that the sigils weren't really utilized to their fullest. One of the reasons Dekon decided to leave (I think Arrusif decided to bring it to his attention, and then they brought Aqua and Saala in on the plan to fake their deaths and leave Alabas for good, and they all would have had their own reasons to leave, beyond the ones already discussed).

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

I suppose that using mindwiping spells makes sense. I personally find it more terrifying that someone could be made a traitor to his kind without magical coercion at all, but it fits with the whole "Evil Corrupt Wizards" vibe.

The problem with that is that not every noble can efficiently design a brainwashing scheme that gets results (other than a growing pile of dead failures). Furthermore, not all the nobles who design such a regimen would be able to make it stick. However, given that, I think it would be better if it varied from house to house. Some involve 1984-esque tortures, others just zap them with geases or Marks of Justice, some use other creative ways to mold thoughts toward fanatic service. (A very devious noble might, for example, spread a rumor that any child he takes is as good as dead, and then releases the child back to their parents most of the way through the process so that the resulting distrust makes them choose his army instead of the nuli)

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

Also, for a name besides Janissary, how about Shaighdiúir Nua or something similar? It's Irish for new soldier, the English translation of Janissary. I went with Irish since Alabasa always struck me as somewhat Arthurian England (Alabas, Albion, yeah?). Just a thought. Might want to try different languages to base the name off.

But "nuli", meaning "slaves", doesn't sound very Irish, does it? I just thought that a Sino-Japanese hybrid would work well as a culture. "Nuli" in particular is actually Chinese for "slave", singular, and I thought that the suffix "-i" would work as a generic pluralization in the Alabasan language. Couple that with the syllabic characters in "ancient Alabasan" that deface the statues of Arrusif that were redubbed "Obsid" in Obsidia, and you can see that this was where I was coming from. Apologies if that wasn't clear. As for the Jannissary name, why don't we call them the Shineitai, from the Japanese shin, meaning "new", and heitai, meaning "troops, army".

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Originally Posted by Landis963

The sigils could have been stumbled upon before Arrusif started to invent them in earnest, but I don't think it was ever explored beyond "how to keep our nuli in line".

It's funny how you say that, since that's usually the reason I've always heard for their being no Roman Industrial Revolution, despite the fact that Antiquity had access to steam technology. Slaves were cheaper, and there was a strange stigma against intellectuals using their inventions for profit. Alabasan Nobles already had boosted magic due to the Nexi, so why did they need to advance magical studies any further?

The problem with that is that not every noble can efficiently design a brainwashing scheme that gets results (other than a growing pile of dead failures). Furthermore, not all the nobles who design such a regimen would be able to make it stick. However, given that, I think it would be better if it varied from house to house. Some involve 1984-esque tortures, others just zap them with geases or Marks of Justice, some use other creative ways to mold thoughts toward fanatic service. (A very devious noble might, for example, spread a rumor that any child he takes is as good as dead, and then releases the child back to their parents most of the way through the process so that the resulting distrust makes them choose his army instead of the nuli)

I love that last reason! Although I think you're leaving out simple greed. An Alabasan could bribe his nul with the offer of magical power, and then get them essentially addicted to it.

But "nuli", meaning "slaves", doesn't sound very Irish, does it? I just thought that a Sino-Japanese hybrid would work well as a culture. "Nuli" in particular is actually Chinese for "slave", singular, and I thought that the suffix "-i" would work as a generic pluralization in the Alabasan language. Couple that with the syllabic characters in "ancient Alabasan" that deface the statues of Arrusif that were redubbed "Obsid" in Obsidia, and you can see that this was where I was coming from. Apologies if that wasn't clear. As for the Jannissary name, why don't we call them the Shineitai, from the Japanese shin, meaning "new", and heitai, meaning "troops, army".

I have a bad habit of getting a single idea in my head and then forgetting that it wasn't canon. I think Shineitai is a good name, very appropriate.

[Landis963]

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

It's funny how you say that, since that's usually the reason I've always heard for their being no Roman Industrial Revolution, despite the fact that Antiquity had access to steam technology. Slaves were cheaper, and there was a strange stigma against intellectuals using their inventions for profit. Alabasan Nobles already had boosted magic due to the Nexi, so why did they need to advance magical studies any further?

Like I said, it's one of the reasons Arrusif came up with the idea of leaving in the first place. (Dekon came along because he was devoted to Arrusif, Saala wanted to let her nuli escape the cruelties of her neighbors, and Aqua jumped at the chance because she knew that the current system self-selected for self-centered hedonists, and she was just fine with being a benevolent hedonist, thanks very much)

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

I love that last reason! Although I think you're leaving out simple greed. An Alabasan could bribe his nuli with the offer of magical power, and then get them essentially addicted to it.

But then said noble would need to turn it on and off at will, which could be very difficult especially when everyone in the same room needs a different level of power. Also, "nul" is the singular, as I explained in my last post.

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

I have a bad habit of getting a single idea in my head and then forgetting that it wasn't canon. I think Shineitai is a good name, very appropriate.

I'm currently thinking the singular should be Shineitan.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Originally Posted by Landis963

But then said noble would need to turn it on and off at will, which could be very difficult especially when everyone in the same room needs a different level of power. Also, "nul" is the singular, as I explained in my last post.

I am aware. I used it in the singular because I imagined a Master dealing with a singular nul in that scenario.

[Landis963]

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

I am aware. I used it in the singular because I imagined a Master dealing with a singular nul in that scenario.

Your point about the grammar is taken, but the main problem with the scenario is that if there are a group of nuli, all of whom are "addicted" to the noble's magic in this way, then either all of them are at the same level of addiction (unlikely, IMO), or he needs to fine-tune the amount of magic he gives each nul on the fly, which would get more difficult as the army size increases.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Originally Posted by Landis963

Your point about the grammar is taken, but the main problem with the scenario is that if there are a group of nuli, all of whom are "addicted" to the noble's magic in this way, then either all of them are at the same level of addiction (unlikely, IMO), or he needs to fine-tune the amount of magic he gives each nul on the fly, which would get more difficult as the army size increases.

They don't necessarily have to be army sized. I'd imagine if there were an Emperor-figure, only he'd get that many (and probably enough retainers to train them all), while nobles made do with at most a squad. It's more like a Real Life version of that board game Alabasan nobles play: one Noble Mage with a small group of trained "pieces" that are valuable, but ultimately expendable in a fight. You'd only ever need a squad to deal with a nuli uprising (magic being a force multiplier IMO) and combat between Nobles would probably be more like duels, with little need for the extra help (well, maybe for gits and shiggles).

[Landis963]

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

They don't necessarily have to be army sized. I'd imagine if there were an Emperor-figure, only he'd get that many (and probably enough retainers to train them all), while nobles made do with at most a squad. It's more like a Real Life version of that board game Alabasan nobles play: one Noble Mage with a small group of trained "pieces" that are valuable, but ultimately expendable in a fight. You'd only ever need a squad to deal with a nuli uprising (magic being a force multiplier IMO) and combat between Nobles would probably be more like duels, with little need for the extra help (well, maybe for gits and shiggles).

... and thus they'd be great against low-level threats like a disorganized nul uprising, but sitting ducks against a real threat like a squad of Freelancers. Sure, I can get behind that. Agreed totally on magic being a force multiplier, but it gets a little weird when anyone can cast offensive spells. (without some sort of restraining bolt, as discussed)

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Originally Posted by Landis963

... and thus they'd be great against low-level threats like a disorganized nul uprising, but sitting ducks against a real threat like a squad of Freelancers. Sure, I can get behind that. Agreed totally on magic being a force multiplier, but it gets a little weird when anyone can cast offensive spells. (without some sort of restraining bolt, as discussed)

I expect that there's a certain minimum threshold of training one has to hit before offensive magic gets useful. Like, an untrained nul could hurl a blast of enraged fire at their master's head...but it'll be weaker than a traditional fireball that's bound and enhanced by Laws and Principles and whatnot, and possibly much easier to deflect with the barest amount of effort by a trained mage.

Untrained mage = guy with a rifle
Trained Mage = A-10 Thunderbolt II

[Landis963]

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

Untrained mage = guy with a rifle
Trained Mage = A-10 Thunderbolt II

That seems a little drastic for a differential. Maybe it'd get up to fighter-jet when a specific PC is epic level, but when you're that powerful and can grasp and channel that much energy? Plots disintegrate before your annoyed glance. It's the reason the Minds started the plot in motion before they were gods. (They are, for all intents and purposes, gods in their current states, there's no way around this) Now that they are gods, they've waved all the ordinary problems out of their way, and all that's left is the extraordinary problems (read: Obsid, Mad!Arrusif). For the normal mage, maybe a better range would be:

Untrained mage = Average guy with a shotgun
Trained mage = Expert marksman with a sniper rifle

EDIT: Otherwise agree with everything you said. Grasp is more a problem though, when referring to lethality of an attack. The average nul, sapped and untrained beyond the secrets the nuli hid from their masters, would be able to channel, say, a fist-sized ball of flame at someone else as the beginning of a rebellion. However, as soon as he lets that flame go, it's subject to physics, it's subject to any other casters in the area catching it and sending it elsewhere, etc. Say a nul grabbed a fist sized puddle of water and channeled it to freeze into a blade, with the intent of attacking someone. As soon as he was sufficiently distracted, it would either melt back into water or he would be unable to control it beyond simple knife-fighting. If he threw it at a target instead of holding it himself, it would melt mid-flight and splatter, the ice blade could go off-target (depending on where the concentration stopped and how fast it was going, and that it didn't melt first), or the would-be (assuming water mage) target would catch it with his magic, send it back around, sharpen it mid flight, send it into the chest of the would-be rebel, and then set said rebel's limbs to work the rest of the day while the icy dagger grew redder and redder. (In this case, the would-be target would order the nearest overseer to channel the rebel's blood to get him to work that way, if they weren't the overseer themselves)

[Ninjadeadbeard]

That's a pretty nasty (though efficient) way of getting rid of a union dispute...

[Landis963]

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

That's a pretty nasty (though efficient) way of getting rid of a union dispute...

Heh, yeah. It helps that simple things like "right to self-determinate" were considered more privileges when it came to the nuli.

Are spellcasting mechanics clear enough? I feel like I've been talking around them, and not on them.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Originally Posted by Landis963

Are spellcasting mechanics clear enough? I feel like I've been talking around them, and not on them.

Seems simple enough. You need the Will for your desires to manifest, the element you wish to manipulate nearby and a proper level of ambient energies to empower the spell itself. Was there anything else?

Also, off topic,

Spoiler

could you check this out? It's a lot of stuff, I know, so don't feel pressured to respond or read the whole thing if you don't have time. It just has a lot of views and no feedback, is all.

[Landis963]

The only remaining thing is a physics issue. When a mage starts to channel, the thing their channeling defaults to a specific phase of matter dictated by their element. An earth mage's channelings default to solid, a water mage's to liquid, a fire mage's to plasma, and so on. However, a mage can also channel things to change phase, or levitate things not of their element. This is through a special technique called "latticing", where you form a basket of your element around or beneath the thing you want to manipulate, and channel that. (This, for example, would be how the nul who got stabbed and bloodbended for his trouble would be able to freeze and manipulate the flight of his icy knife, and how his would-be target would be able to send it back at him) When the mage stops channeling, the environment takes over, making channeled ice melt like normal ice, fire dying out, gases condensing, and earth succumbing to gravity.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Hmmm. So there's definitely a range issue with magic, to some degree. Although if you magicked a rock to go hurtling towards someone, even after you stop enchanting it necessarily wouldn't inertia keep that going? Or do Physics violently return all magicked things to the status quo as soon as magic is no longer feeding the effect?

Actually, this gives a perfect reason why people (read: Arrusif) want to harness sun magic. Except for a total lunar eclipse there's always sunlight or moonlight, and so you could say that enchanting derived from those sources would last forever, since the magic would always be there (could be argued that residual heat from daytime keeps the enchantment running during total eclipses as well.). A Solar Mage could make a permanent Ice Palace in a Desert that never melts, or a defensive windstorm around a palace that never ends. It's like being a Mind but with a bit more power, and maybe fewer limitations. It's just that no one thought such was really possible...except our own resident psychopathic lich, Arrusif.

[Landis963]

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

Hmmm. So there's definitely a range issue with magic, to some degree. Although if you magicked a rock to go hurtling towards someone, even after you stop enchanting it necessarily wouldn't inertia keep that going? Or do Physics violently return all magicked things to the status quo as soon as magic is no longer feeding the effect?

Inertia would in fact keep it going, although a smart opposing earth mage would be able to bring it to a stop without it hitting anything (important, that is) if they were paying attention.

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

Actually, this gives a perfect reason why people (read: Arrusif) want to harness sun magic. Except for a total lunar eclipse there's always sunlight or moonlight, and so you could say that enchanting derived from those sources would last forever, since the magic would always be there (could be argued that residual heat from daytime keeps the enchantment running during total eclipses as well.). A Solar Mage could make a permanent Ice Palace in a Desert that never melts, or a defensive windstorm around a palace that never ends. It's like being a Mind but with a bit more power, and maybe fewer limitations. It's just that no one thought such was really possible...except our own resident psychopathic lich, Arrusif.

To be fair, to date (this would be the date the players come onto the scene) there has been no reliable method for harnessing massive amounts of power like one would need to to tap into the sun. It helps/hurts (depending on POV) that all the unreliable ones, by nature of their intended usage, tend to overload and explode, often taking their inventors with them. In this way they have proven very difficult to study for flaws, since everything in a rather large radius from the epicenter is charred, slag, or charred slag.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Originally Posted by Landis963

To be fair, to date (this would be the date the players come onto the scene) there has been no reliable method for harnessing massive amounts of power like one would need to to tap into the sun. It helps/hurts (depending on POV) that all the unreliable ones, by nature of their intended usage, tend to overload and explode, often taking their inventors with them. In this way they have proven very difficult to study for flaws, since everything in a rather large radius from the epicenter is charred, slag, or charred slag.

I'm not saying that it has been done before, but that theoretically it should be possible. Actually, the track record of tests for such power would probably turn out a lot like these. Burning ruins and glassed earth.

Still, just because no one has done it yet, doesn't mean it can't be done at all. And we know there aren't flaws, since if there were and Arrusif beat the Players and became a living Sun God or whatever, he'd probably be burnt up by the flaws. So Law of Drama says that, at least for Arrusif, there are no flaws to stop you from using Sun Magic.

[Landis963]

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

I'm not saying that it has been done before, but that theoretically it should be possible. Actually, the track record of tests for such power would probably turn out a lot like these. Burning ruins and glassed earth.

Still, just because no one has done it yet, doesn't mean it can't be done at all. And we know there aren't flaws, since if there were and Arrusif beat the Players and became a living Sun God or whatever, he'd probably be burnt up by the flaws. So Law of Drama says that, at least for Arrusif, there are no flaws to stop you from using Sun Magic.

Yep. Basically. Of course, a red herring job might be guard duty for such an experimenter, only to have his various apparatus' blow up as soon as the party gets close. But the point is that yes, it is possible, it just needs quite a lot of collectors, regulators, and other things to keep the whole thing from overloading. Most of Arrusif's research in post-apocalyptic Alabas was research into these collectors.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Originally Posted by Landis963

Yep. Basically. Of course, a red herring job might be guard duty for such an experimenter, only to have his various apparatus' blow up as soon as the party gets close.

And get blamed for it I assume? Can't let the players off the hook so easily...

But the point is that yes, it is possible, it just needs quite a lot of collectors, regulators, and other things to keep the whole thing from overloading. Most of Arrusif's research in post-apocalyptic Alabas was research into these collectors.

Do you think Arrusif would build his collectors and regulators in Almantha, or Alabasa? Alabasa is safer what with the Minds being so far away to stop him easily, but the gloating factor (and the lulz) could make him do the Ritual while tap-dancing on the highest point of Noruen.

Also, would these devices he needs be mechanical in nature, or should he need to create artificial Nexi fed with the blood of a thousand victims in order to control the sun?

[Landis963]

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

And get blamed for it I assume? Can't let the players off the hook so easily...

Maybe, it depends on what the players do. If they spend time looting the wreckage, then they will be caught and blamed for whatever went wrong.If not, it'll just be a humorous anticlimax.

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

Do you think Arrusif would build his collectors and regulators in Almantha, or Alabas? Alabas is safer what with the Minds being so far away to stop him easily, but the gloating factor (and the lulz) could make him do the Ritual while tap-dancing on the highest point of Noreun.

It's more timing than anything else (The sun, the moon, and Moxen need to line up perfectly, and it just so happens that it the path of that umbra-within-an-umbra happens to pass over Revien in the right timeframe), but I'd be lying if I didn't say "tap-dancing on the highest point of the Noreun" wouldn't appeal to Arrusif somewhat. As for constructing the pieces, I think he'd do most of his experimentation in Alabas (he'd lack for test subjects, but that's the only issue) and it'd be easier to smuggle pieces into Almantha than entire artifacts (although if he couldn't break something apart reliably or wasn't confident he could put it back together, he might hire the PCs to re-acquire a specific artifact or two).

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

Also, would these devices he needs be mechanical in nature, or should he need to create artificial Nexi fed with the blood of a thousand victims in order to control the sun?

ehhh... Let's say "magitechnical". Blood magic per se doesn't really exist, but the devices he uses in the climactic ritual are designed to interact with nexi in a magical way.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Originally Posted by Landis963

As for constructing the pieces, I think he'd do most of his experimentation in Alabas (he'd lack for test subjects, but that's the only issue) and it'd be easier to smuggle pieces into Almantha than entire artifacts (although if he couldn't break something apart reliably or wasn't confident he could put it back together, he might hire the PCs to re-acquire a specific artifact or two).

Wouldn't an exciting adventure be one where the PCs have to retrieve one of Arrusif's pieces from pirates who stole it from the harbor before it could be unloaded into Almantha? A pirate crew of Water and Air Mages would be a great challenge to overcome...or infiltrate.

ehhh... Let's say "magitechnical". Blood magic per se doesn't really exist, but the devices he uses in the climactic ritual are designed to interact with nexi in a magical way.

Alright, so he has to physically build the Devices he needs to manipulate the Nexi in such a way as to take control of the Sun. It's like Tesla's Device from The Prestige (good movie, go watch it, I'll wait).

[Landis963]

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

Wouldn't an exciting adventure be one where the PCs have to retrieve one of Arrusif's pieces from pirates who stole it from the harbor before it could be unloaded into Almantha? A pirate crew of Water and Air Mages would be a great challenge to overcome...or infiltrate.

Adventure hook: The team is tasked with tracking (and, if possible, destroying) a cartel of pirates currently harassing Obsidia. They are told that killing one band of pirates will not end the threat, and given some hints that infiltration might be the best way to go. It can't be a threat to Aquacor, because Aqua would curbstomp them, then start experimenting with adrenalin, if you catch my drift.

Originally Posted by Ninjadeadbeard

Alright, so he has to physically build the Devices he needs to manipulate the Nexi in such a way as to take control of the Sun. It's like Tesla's Device from The Prestige (good movie, go watch it, I'll wait).

I haven't seen The Prestige, but I've always heard it's good. (it's one of Nolan's and I've only seen Inception and his first two Batman movies. (Memento was playing at the college movie theater one night, but I didn't get to see all of it. And that's basically correct, it's just that he needs to take control of the magic coming out of the Sun, not controlling the Sun itself. (His first act as God might be to freeze Therinos, the Moon, and Moxen in a line for dramatic effect, and to ensure Moxen is in the right place for as long as it takes. At any rate it'll be a nice final boss backdrop without falling into the "amazing technicolor pocket dimension" trap.