Normally I've seen it more as a comparison of mana to electromagnetic radiation, rather than a pairing of mana with EM radiation. That is, some mana has a short wavelength, and so is similar to blue/purple light, while other types have longer wavelengths, and are more similar in characteristics to red light. It's not so much that there are colors associated with the spells, but that the mana itself behaves in a manner similar to light.

IIRC (and I'm pretty sure I do), from shortest to longest "wavelengths", it goes holy, life, elemental, lunar, gravity and time. Gravity and time are unusable by mortals, although gravity is occasionally touched upon accidentally and painfully by lunar mana users.

I've theorized in the past that this explains why lunar spells tend to have a longer reach than other spells, and why lunar mana is the same everywhere. The longer wavelength/lower energy of the mana means it travels farther from its source (similar to radio waves, which have rather long wavelengths).

But I'm rambling now.

~Kashik

>>IIRC (and I'm pretty sure I do), from shortest to longest "wavelengths", it goes holy, life, elemental, lunar, gravity and time. Gravity and time are unusable by mortals, although gravity is occasionally touched upon accidentally and painfully by lunar mana users.

That's interesting.

I doubt, however, that the official mana properties are that explicit. There are certainly in-game rules about the properties of mana: how it reacts under certain circumstances, et cetera, but I am dubious that any lasting correlation to real-life light could be made.

As an example, Cleric alignment (good, neutral, evil) changes the color of many spells (Bless, Harm Evil, Harm Horde, maybe some others). The color (wavelength) of the spell changes according to your last favor. Likewise, an OM orb changes color depending on what favor orb you cast it on.
*******
Doctor: Are you Alliance?
Early: Am I lion? Huh. I don't think of myself as a lion. But you might as well have a mighty roar!

You're extremely fortunate you asked this today and not yesterday.

Mana is without color and texture in its natural form. What mana "feels" and "looks" like is a schema the magician creates to interpret the input from a magical 6th sense. However, there is a consistency to appearance due tradition in the guilds and the external forces involved.

Holy: Golden. By default it has almost no substance, like a shadow of a real mana stream. Clerics perceive it getting more "real" as their Devotion increases. Paladins see it as "real" all the time, but its appearance reflects their soul. Diseased blotches appear around the Paladin in proportion to the amount of sin and hubris in his soul. Even with a pristine soul, they never go away entirely.

Life: Empaths tend to perceive it as something very light and airy, brightly colored and generally pleasant to look at. Rangers perceive it in darker, earthen tones. It ebbs and flows regularly, much like a heart, and tends to shift this way and that when not under the hold of a magician.

Elemental: Bards perceive it aurally rather than visually. Warrior Mages see something that has an amalgamation of elemental traits, and could in general be described as harsh to handle and "fiery," slow to move naturally but libel to jerk out of his mental hold if he's not careful. In both cases, Elemental mana is not the magician's buddy or some target of hippy communion; it is a wild, mindless thing to be mastered.

Lunar: Cold and white, very much like clear starlight. In opposition to Holy, Lunar mana is always seems very much "real" and with a sense of gravity to it. It seems almost static on the level of individual streams, but moves regularly in great, inexorable tides across the planet. Lunar mana has a creepy ability to sometimes form runes, symbols, and other expressions of meaning in the nominally random flux of this tide.

Arcane: A string of dark stains, like a vein of coagulated and discolored fat and grease, hanging in the air like limp ropes. It's never seen moving naturally, though if an area is left untended the streams might be in some radically different configuration when the Necromancer returns. The volume and intensity does not change in these shifts, only its appearance.

We'll not go into why I happened to have all that available at the moment.

-Armifer
"It is no longer possible to escape men. Farewell to the monsters, farewell to the saints. Farewell to pride. All that is left is men."
- Jean-Paul Sartre

That was hot.

Dibs on updating the wiki!

---

Rev. Reene

"The amateur criminal believes that with intelligence and careful planning he will avoid detection. By contrast, the professional criminal knows he is going to get caught sooner or later and plans for that eventuality well in advance."

Neat, thanks for that info. I was thinking more along the lines of the colors manifest in spell effects, but that mana stuff is interesting nonetheless. For example, I seem to remember statements in the past that the purple color of the bands seen in Energy Manacles was a telltale sign that it's a sorcerous spell. Since there seems to be a wide variety of colors seen in Life spells, I was just wondering if similar identifying colors existed for other types of spells. Seems like it's just a function of the particular spell pattern.

Thanks,
-Kaith Partani Karthor

>Why do you happen to have all that available at the moment?

No one really knows the ways that his mind works. Even if we try, we can only come up with vague guesses and hopes. Considering this, it is best to give up now. Roll with the punches, and just watch as the tide of development ebbs and flows. Only then can you truly appreciate that which is the motive behind his work. Many try in vain to understand. And these are the ones that are most intrigued by his words. Never you mind -- ignorance is best. Creations of his can only be Evil, or dastardly abominations to all that exist. Return to your delicate, protective, dreaming ignorance in which all the world should remain, lest the beast awakes and reveals what terrifying plans he has. Slumber.

---

>I think i just lost my appetite. -Denz

>>Out of further curiosity...is the manner in which Empaths perceive or otherwise interact with it affected in any way by their degree of Empathic sensitivity?

Mana specifically? No. You don't need Empathy to perceive or manipulate Life mana.

Empath magic in general? It can, since the caster's Empathy and his innocence come into play in some of their spells.

-Armifer
"It is no longer possible to escape men. Farewell to the monsters, farewell to the saints. Farewell to pride. All that is left is men."
- Jean-Paul Sartre

what are you guys casting to see mana as colors? or is this just mana theory?


<<Because it's a gigantic can of worms. Eldritch, necrotic, squamous worms, writhing in a vile stew of coagulating ichor, crushed from the living gullets of a thousand infant puppies, ululating in wordless terror. - Lorz>>

Energy Bolt is also green for an Empath. I'll have to go back and look at Strange Arrow.

regen:
red and gold

innocence:
yellow

refresh:
peach


--
Treat empaths with respect, you'll live longer.
--
If life doesn't need intelligence,
Then why should intelligence need life?
--
http://blog.myspace.com/57223313

Strange Arrow looks the same regardless of what Guild uses it. It's not distinctly life magic. The only reason Energy Bolt was relevant is because it changes color and form based on what sort of energy powers it.

>You're extremely fortunate you asked this today and not yesterday.

>We'll not go into why I happened to have all that available at the moment.

And what color is the entrance to the necro guild?

There is no guild hall! It's Maisie. Smelly cat his her Risen. Why do you think it smells?


Rigek

A sickly tree spits out a few small bones -- apparently the remains of a careless rodent.

Actually, it's quite plain. There is just a big sign that says "NECROMANCERS APPLY WITHIN."
*******
Doctor: Are you Alliance?
Early: Am I lion? Huh. I don't think of myself as a lion. But you might as well have a mighty roar!