Esteemed Guildleaders,
At a recent meeting designed to discuss various studies within our guild, my peers and I discussed a set of subjects we hope you would shed some light on in an effort to improve our understanding of both the Guild, its history, and the elements themselves. Though these topics may be plentiful I must express that none of my peers expects to have each of these curiosities answered, though any information granted to us on any of these topics would be greatly appreciated.
The list of subjects is as follows:
1. The first subject we dug into was a bit of historical interest and the desire to know the events surrounding our Guild reuniting with the Grovekeepers following its creation after the Resistance Wars.
2. During the discussion of the Grovekeepers it became apparent that there is some lack of understanding about our current Guild hierarchy and everyone expressed the desire to be taught the structure beyond the guild halls and their leaders.
3. The third subject was another of historical significance; this time surrounding the Imperial College of War Magic. There were some distinct interests in how the Telo’Getha exactly fit into Imperial expansion, what types of repressions were used against the Clans, and if the College itself was the first to coin the term “Warrior Mage.”
4. Several of my peers are curious to learn if there is any detailed history available involving the fortress Chyvolvea Tayeu’a.
5. While discussing the Zaulfung Stones it became apparent that we do not actually know what events occurred to allow such horrible forces to breach our plane and enter the swamp originally. Guildmembers were hoping our leadership may have some insight into this, considering elemental magic was used to seal the evil.
6. In the end there was some discussion about our current understanding of the elements, especially in relation to the cosmology of the planes. Guildmembers wished to know what the current thought on opposition of the elements is, given that the standard pairs can be reconfigured, and furthermore, what sets the Plane of Electricity apart and is there anything else in the region of it?
Signed,
Perune
Warrior Mage
HASTALUEGO
DR-ARMIFER
Re: A set of missives is delivered to the offices of the Guildleaders.
01/11/2016 06:28 PM CST
Regardless of the plane of origin and the nature of the creature involved, a planar breach is a break in the aetheric landscape of the plane. This may be very small, such as when a Moon Mage predicts the future, or very large, such as when a the Hunger attempted to enter the plane. In any case, it can be treated as an aetheric event and repaired within the scope of advanced-enough elemental magic.
This has some combat applications for the imaginative, but either "planar warfare" spells have been deemed too esoteric to bother investing time into research, or they are kept close to the Grovekeepers' chests.
--
To understand elemental oppositions we must first understand exactly what's happening with elemental charge.
When a Warrior Mage builds charge within their bodies, they are systematically taking on an aspect of the laws and energies of an elemental plane. That is, they cease to be purely a being of the Plane of Abiding and in some minute way become part-elemental. The part is not well integrated within the physiology of the Warrior Mage, however, resulting in powerful charges producing sickness-inducing side effects and, if they went too far, death.
For reasons that are unknown but highly convenient (and frankly smack of godly design), the Plane of Abiding and all that dwell within are perfectly balanced among (known) elemental influences naturally. Developing charge is a beneficial imbalance in the homeostasis of the Warrior Mage, both physically and cosmologically. To "stand" closer to an elemental plane means the Warrior Mage necessarily has taken a step further away from others. This is not merely a play of geometry but also a necessary feature of the Warrior Mage's magically changed physiology. The enhancement of one plane's influence over him requires another plane's opposition in order to maintain the new balance.
The ability to oppose arbitrary planes is an advanced technique that comes from years of study and practice with the elements. While each element is naturally opposed to another, that is a simplification of highly complex correspondences and fine gradients of energy streaming through the universe. An advanced Warrior Mage can use his more advanced view of the elements to have his body's oppositional force oppose the elements under different laws and different circumstances, resulting in a pairing of essentially his choosing.
--
The only person who's been to the Elemental Plane of Electricity and return is the Lord of the Void. He has, for what we all must assume are good reasons, kept his own counsel about what he found there.
The chief thing that we know sets it apart is the formation of three-dimensional space as well as time within the planar boundary. All other elemental planes are singularities, at least from the perspective of linear time, but the Elemental Plane of Electricity could theoretically support life in a fashion that we understand it.
Again, though, the only person that has been there to assess the situation has decided to remain silent.
-Armifer
"Perinthia's astronomers are faced with a difficult choice. Either they must admit that all their calculations were wrong ... or else they must reveal that the order of the gods is reflected exactly in the city of monsters." - Italo Calvino
This has some combat applications for the imaginative, but either "planar warfare" spells have been deemed too esoteric to bother investing time into research, or they are kept close to the Grovekeepers' chests.
--
To understand elemental oppositions we must first understand exactly what's happening with elemental charge.
When a Warrior Mage builds charge within their bodies, they are systematically taking on an aspect of the laws and energies of an elemental plane. That is, they cease to be purely a being of the Plane of Abiding and in some minute way become part-elemental. The part is not well integrated within the physiology of the Warrior Mage, however, resulting in powerful charges producing sickness-inducing side effects and, if they went too far, death.
For reasons that are unknown but highly convenient (and frankly smack of godly design), the Plane of Abiding and all that dwell within are perfectly balanced among (known) elemental influences naturally. Developing charge is a beneficial imbalance in the homeostasis of the Warrior Mage, both physically and cosmologically. To "stand" closer to an elemental plane means the Warrior Mage necessarily has taken a step further away from others. This is not merely a play of geometry but also a necessary feature of the Warrior Mage's magically changed physiology. The enhancement of one plane's influence over him requires another plane's opposition in order to maintain the new balance.
The ability to oppose arbitrary planes is an advanced technique that comes from years of study and practice with the elements. While each element is naturally opposed to another, that is a simplification of highly complex correspondences and fine gradients of energy streaming through the universe. An advanced Warrior Mage can use his more advanced view of the elements to have his body's oppositional force oppose the elements under different laws and different circumstances, resulting in a pairing of essentially his choosing.
--
The only person who's been to the Elemental Plane of Electricity and return is the Lord of the Void. He has, for what we all must assume are good reasons, kept his own counsel about what he found there.
The chief thing that we know sets it apart is the formation of three-dimensional space as well as time within the planar boundary. All other elemental planes are singularities, at least from the perspective of linear time, but the Elemental Plane of Electricity could theoretically support life in a fashion that we understand it.
Again, though, the only person that has been there to assess the situation has decided to remain silent.
-Armifer
"Perinthia's astronomers are faced with a difficult choice. Either they must admit that all their calculations were wrong ... or else they must reveal that the order of the gods is reflected exactly in the city of monsters." - Italo Calvino
HASTALUEGO
Re: A set of missives is delivered to the offices of the Guildleaders.
01/11/2016 07:28 PM CST
Wow, certainly didn't expect a response that fast, and some excellent information shared too.
Thanks!
Thanks!
ABSOLON
Re: A set of missives is delivered to the offices of the Guildleaders.
01/11/2016 07:59 PM CST
I don't think any of that is completely new, except maybe the first part about all planar breaches regardless of the source can be repaired by elemental (presumably aetheric) magic Regardless, I don't think I've seen it compiled in one place like that before. Although...
<<Regardless of the plane of origin and the nature of the creature involved, a planar breach is a break in the aetheric landscape of the plane. This may be very small, such as when a Moon Mage predicts the future, or very large, such as when a the Hunger attempted to enter the plane. In any case, it can be treated as an aetheric event and repaired within the scope of advanced-enough elemental magic.
<<This has some combat applications for the imaginative, but either "planar warfare" spells have been deemed too esoteric to bother investing time into research, or they are kept close to the Grovekeepers' chests.
That looks like a Hylomorphic Sorcery teaser if ever I've seen one.
Elanthipedia - https://elanthipedia.play.net/mediawiki/index.php/Main_Page
Epedia Admins - https://elanthipedia.play.net/mediawiki/index.php/Elanthipedia:Administrators
<<Regardless of the plane of origin and the nature of the creature involved, a planar breach is a break in the aetheric landscape of the plane. This may be very small, such as when a Moon Mage predicts the future, or very large, such as when a the Hunger attempted to enter the plane. In any case, it can be treated as an aetheric event and repaired within the scope of advanced-enough elemental magic.
<<This has some combat applications for the imaginative, but either "planar warfare" spells have been deemed too esoteric to bother investing time into research, or they are kept close to the Grovekeepers' chests.
That looks like a Hylomorphic Sorcery teaser if ever I've seen one.
Elanthipedia - https://elanthipedia.play.net/mediawiki/index.php/Main_Page
Epedia Admins - https://elanthipedia.play.net/mediawiki/index.php/Elanthipedia:Administrators
DR-RAESH
Re: A set of missives is delivered to the offices of the Guildleaders.
01/11/2016 08:09 PM CST
You're going to hate hylomorphic corruption so much. It'll be great.
-Raesh
"It was wise enough to know itself, and brave enough to BE itself, and wild enough to change itself while somehow staying altogether true." ― The Slow Regard of Silent Things
-Raesh
"It was wise enough to know itself, and brave enough to BE itself, and wild enough to change itself while somehow staying altogether true." ― The Slow Regard of Silent Things
POPWEASEL
Re: A set of missives is delivered to the offices of the Guildleaders.
01/12/2016 12:25 PM CST
Hylomorphic magic used for fighting familiars?
-Dartellum Waddle
Vote for DR: http://www.topmudsites.com/vote-DragonRealms.html
-Dartellum Waddle
Vote for DR: http://www.topmudsites.com/vote-DragonRealms.html
BENNETTJ13
Re: A set of missives is delivered to the offices of the Guildleaders.
01/12/2016 02:27 PM CST
As long as familiars can take damage in return I'm good.
Monster Elec
You hear the distant echo of a savage Horde snarling in barbaric disapproval of your deeds.
Monster Elec
You hear the distant echo of a savage Horde snarling in barbaric disapproval of your deeds.
HASTALUEGO
Re: A set of missives is delivered to the offices of the Guildleaders.
01/12/2016 02:33 PM CST
>>I don't think any of that is completely new
I don't recall seeing anything before on the Lord of the Void having entered the Plane of Electricity, though I could be wrong.
I don't recall seeing anything before on the Lord of the Void having entered the Plane of Electricity, though I could be wrong.
THETECHNOCRACY
Re: A set of missives is delivered to the offices of the Guildleaders.
01/12/2016 11:42 PM CST
>>2. During the discussion of the Grovekeepers it became apparent that there is some lack of understanding about our current Guild hierarchy and everyone expressed the desire to be taught the structure beyond the guild halls and their leaders.
>>3. The third subject was another of historical significance; this time surrounding the Imperial College of War Magic. There were some distinct interests in how the Telo’Getha exactly fit into Imperial expansion, what types of repressions were used against the Clans, and if the College itself was the first to coin the term “Warrior Mage.”
Both of these points remind me that separate from the specific questions raised, I've been interested in what the overall character of the Warrior Mage is supposed to be in DR. If Moon Mages are constructed as sort of a Lovecraftian parody of academias meddling with things they don't fully understand, and Necromancers largely adopt very modern Enlightenment themes of humanism and freedom, what are the Warrior Mages? Some aspects of the background on the Grovekeepers, the origin story around Firulf's Grove and the visions, and the like make me feel like it's got almost a quasi-monastic/warrior monk feel to it.
>>3. The third subject was another of historical significance; this time surrounding the Imperial College of War Magic. There were some distinct interests in how the Telo’Getha exactly fit into Imperial expansion, what types of repressions were used against the Clans, and if the College itself was the first to coin the term “Warrior Mage.”
Both of these points remind me that separate from the specific questions raised, I've been interested in what the overall character of the Warrior Mage is supposed to be in DR. If Moon Mages are constructed as sort of a Lovecraftian parody of academias meddling with things they don't fully understand, and Necromancers largely adopt very modern Enlightenment themes of humanism and freedom, what are the Warrior Mages? Some aspects of the background on the Grovekeepers, the origin story around Firulf's Grove and the visions, and the like make me feel like it's got almost a quasi-monastic/warrior monk feel to it.
SARAGOS
Re: A set of missives is delivered to the offices of the Guildleaders.
01/13/2016 12:54 AM CST
> Both of these points remind me that separate from the specific questions raised, I've been interested in what the overall character of the Warrior Mage is supposed to be in DR. If Moon Mages are constructed as sort of a Lovecraftian parody of academias meddling with things they don't fully understand, and Necromancers largely adopt very modern Enlightenment themes of humanism and freedom, what are the Warrior Mages? Some aspects of the background on the Grovekeepers, the origin story around Firulf's Grove and the visions, and the like make me feel like it's got almost a quasi-monastic/warrior monk feel to it.
This is a great point to bring up. I think of Warrior Mages in the context of Weapons of Mass Destruction and the scientists who created them, all in one. Warrior Mages are unmoored from a core guild ideology. Sure, they have to mostly obey the law - I suppose. But there are no gods telling them what to do. No webs of fate pulling their strings or foresight to see where they're going. They're living weapons, with all of the flaws and emotions of mortals. And what do you do with a whole guild full of living weapons? You could try to ban them and/or kill them, but can you get them all? Can you stop the new ones, being built in secret? Can you be sure your enemies will agree not to use them?
Warrior Mages are Wernher von Braun - the creator of the V2 rocket in WWII. After the war, what do you do with him? You either kill him or you put him to work sending astronauts to the moon. Warrior mages are J. Robert Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb - "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." The chief struggle with WM's is that of potentially destructive technology - whether society can control them. Can they even control themselves? At the very least, you can try to make sure they're pointed at your enemies instead of you.
Past guild lore fits in well with this. The Voidspell? Blackfire? Paeldryth wrecking the weather patterns? The Storm Mage of Shard? Mibgluc destroying Sicle Grove? All examples of the destructiveness of Elemental Magic. But it's here to stay - and heck, if we tried to keep all the forges burning without them we'd deforest the whole province. People are born every day with this attunement. So we might as well make sure that a guild structure takes them in, gives them purpose, sets them up to defend the realm. Let's make sure their researchers, the Grovekeepers, don't disseminate the worst of the spells. And oh yeah, let's make sure their tower is outside of town. Just in case.
- Saragos
This is a great point to bring up. I think of Warrior Mages in the context of Weapons of Mass Destruction and the scientists who created them, all in one. Warrior Mages are unmoored from a core guild ideology. Sure, they have to mostly obey the law - I suppose. But there are no gods telling them what to do. No webs of fate pulling their strings or foresight to see where they're going. They're living weapons, with all of the flaws and emotions of mortals. And what do you do with a whole guild full of living weapons? You could try to ban them and/or kill them, but can you get them all? Can you stop the new ones, being built in secret? Can you be sure your enemies will agree not to use them?
Warrior Mages are Wernher von Braun - the creator of the V2 rocket in WWII. After the war, what do you do with him? You either kill him or you put him to work sending astronauts to the moon. Warrior mages are J. Robert Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb - "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." The chief struggle with WM's is that of potentially destructive technology - whether society can control them. Can they even control themselves? At the very least, you can try to make sure they're pointed at your enemies instead of you.
Past guild lore fits in well with this. The Voidspell? Blackfire? Paeldryth wrecking the weather patterns? The Storm Mage of Shard? Mibgluc destroying Sicle Grove? All examples of the destructiveness of Elemental Magic. But it's here to stay - and heck, if we tried to keep all the forges burning without them we'd deforest the whole province. People are born every day with this attunement. So we might as well make sure that a guild structure takes them in, gives them purpose, sets them up to defend the realm. Let's make sure their researchers, the Grovekeepers, don't disseminate the worst of the spells. And oh yeah, let's make sure their tower is outside of town. Just in case.
- Saragos
DR-ARMIFER
Re: A set of missives is delivered to the offices of the Guildleaders.
01/13/2016 01:15 AM CST
This is my own take, and may not be the take of the people that eventually give you more concrete development and events.
Warrior Mages are a study of power and its corrupting nature. Central to the Warrior Mages' imperial history is their use as enforcers and colonizers. Encountering the vast array of culturally-based magical traditions in the world, they stamped it all out, enforcing their own, self-serving hegemony of thought. It was not until Jares Braun forced the College to take a long step back that six magical traditions, each individually on the chopping block, banded together to ward themselves from Elementalist aggression.
Cosmologically, the Warrior Mages are the product of yet more privilege. They have no driving quest, no transcendental virtue or aim, and no greater entity/entities that judge them. They are simply men who can cast Fireball, free to meddle and experiment and abuse to their hearts content. They are adventurers of the purest strain, claiming authority over the higher realms for money, profit, killing, or even simple boredom.
And that's, really, where we're left with. Where most other magicians have some sort of transcendental goal or virtue, the Warrior Mages are "warrior mages" in the same way that the Traders are traders. They are certain men with certain powers, and every abuse indulged in is one that is achingly, damningly Human.
-Armifer
"Perinthia's astronomers are faced with a difficult choice. Either they must admit that all their calculations were wrong ... or else they must reveal that the order of the gods is reflected exactly in the city of monsters." - Italo Calvino
Warrior Mages are a study of power and its corrupting nature. Central to the Warrior Mages' imperial history is their use as enforcers and colonizers. Encountering the vast array of culturally-based magical traditions in the world, they stamped it all out, enforcing their own, self-serving hegemony of thought. It was not until Jares Braun forced the College to take a long step back that six magical traditions, each individually on the chopping block, banded together to ward themselves from Elementalist aggression.
Cosmologically, the Warrior Mages are the product of yet more privilege. They have no driving quest, no transcendental virtue or aim, and no greater entity/entities that judge them. They are simply men who can cast Fireball, free to meddle and experiment and abuse to their hearts content. They are adventurers of the purest strain, claiming authority over the higher realms for money, profit, killing, or even simple boredom.
And that's, really, where we're left with. Where most other magicians have some sort of transcendental goal or virtue, the Warrior Mages are "warrior mages" in the same way that the Traders are traders. They are certain men with certain powers, and every abuse indulged in is one that is achingly, damningly Human.
-Armifer
"Perinthia's astronomers are faced with a difficult choice. Either they must admit that all their calculations were wrong ... or else they must reveal that the order of the gods is reflected exactly in the city of monsters." - Italo Calvino
FAMEBRIGHT
Re: A set of missives is delivered to the offices of the Guildleaders.
01/13/2016 03:59 AM CST
Warrior mages like to make a big deal about how we're so steeped in myths and legend and actual fire... But to an extent that means our guildhalls are just full of ancient wonders and tomes that nobody remembers anything about. Elanthia is littered with elemental relics, crumbling bastions, half forgotten weapons of mass destruction and the equally half forgotten safety wards somebody installed after the fact.
The more you dig into WM lore, the more you find cautionary tales about how we've not only wrecked various parts of the planet but also we forgot about it until the last set of wards start spectacularly collapsing.
Note further the alarming number of warrior mages who go on to be necromancers.
Your search-fu is pig dung!
The more you dig into WM lore, the more you find cautionary tales about how we've not only wrecked various parts of the planet but also we forgot about it until the last set of wards start spectacularly collapsing.
Note further the alarming number of warrior mages who go on to be necromancers.
Your search-fu is pig dung!
THETECHNOCRACY
Re: A set of missives is delivered to the offices of the Guildleaders.
01/13/2016 06:40 AM CST
>>I think of Warrior Mages in the context of Weapons of Mass Destruction and the scientists who created them, all in one. Warrior Mages are unmoored from a core guild ideology.
>>Warrior Mages are Wernher von Braun - the creator of the V2 rocket in WWII. After the war, what do you do with him? You either kill him or you put him to work sending astronauts to the moon. Warrior mages are J. Robert Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb - "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." The chief struggle with WM's is that of potentially destructive technology - whether society can control them. Can they even control themselves? At the very least, you can try to make sure they're pointed at your enemies instead of you.
I hadn't thought about this approach at all but I really really like this.
So where's the WM equivalent to sending astronauts to the moon?
>>Warrior Mages are a study of power and its corrupting nature. Central to the Warrior Mages' imperial history is their use as enforcers and colonizers. Encountering the vast array of culturally-based magical traditions in the world, they stamped it all out, enforcing their own, self-serving hegemony of thought. It was not until Jares Braun forced the College to take a long step back that six magical traditions, each individually on the chopping block, banded together to ward themselves from Elementalist aggression.
I could view some aspects of this as Western scientific thought going out, colonizing the world, and disregarding local traditions, right?
>>Warrior Mages are Wernher von Braun - the creator of the V2 rocket in WWII. After the war, what do you do with him? You either kill him or you put him to work sending astronauts to the moon. Warrior mages are J. Robert Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb - "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." The chief struggle with WM's is that of potentially destructive technology - whether society can control them. Can they even control themselves? At the very least, you can try to make sure they're pointed at your enemies instead of you.
I hadn't thought about this approach at all but I really really like this.
So where's the WM equivalent to sending astronauts to the moon?
>>Warrior Mages are a study of power and its corrupting nature. Central to the Warrior Mages' imperial history is their use as enforcers and colonizers. Encountering the vast array of culturally-based magical traditions in the world, they stamped it all out, enforcing their own, self-serving hegemony of thought. It was not until Jares Braun forced the College to take a long step back that six magical traditions, each individually on the chopping block, banded together to ward themselves from Elementalist aggression.
I could view some aspects of this as Western scientific thought going out, colonizing the world, and disregarding local traditions, right?
FRANKYFIGGS
Re: A set of missives is delivered to the offices of the Guildleaders.
01/13/2016 08:13 AM CST
Do all the pathway quests. you won't go to a moon, but you definately leave the planet
-Munch-
-Munch-
