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Author Topic: Magic in Fortress: Haruspices  (Read 708 times)

compsognathus

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Magic in Fortress: Haruspices
« on: October 22, 2022, 07:41:09 am »

A dwarf mage in fortress interprets haruspices and he prophesy: within 5 months the fortress will be attacked by a drake!
The prophecy must have percentage of truth based on skill magic or completely liar (50%?30%? rand30-50?).

within 10 months the fortress will be attacked by dark entity!
within 1 months the fortress will be attacked by a enemy army!
within 8 months the fortress will be attacked from underground!
within 14 months the fortress will be attacked by a threat from the mountains! (we have to send sentries to the area)
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Nordlicht

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Re: Magic in Fortress: Haruspices
« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2022, 08:56:28 am »

Having a system to warn the player could be nice, but have you considered...

Procedural Divination systems with cards, dice, sticks, books, birds!


Make the messages far more mysterious.
"The card of the owl orbiting the card of gems. When the sixth corn looked south, small things will be blamed by the mountains."

"The last lentils of house urist will be covered in sand"

Prophecies made in the fortress and during world gen could be stored in legends mode. I think it would create a  nostradamus-like effect where one could find connections for prophecies turned true without the need to create a connection via coding.

Npcs/Civs could change their actions based on a prophecy.
Dwarves could refuse to weave during spring based on a negative prophecy containing these elements.

Prophecy systems fleshed out and descibed in detail like the music/lyrics system would be great too.
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compsognathus

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Re: Magic in Fortress: Haruspices
« Reply #2 on: October 23, 2022, 04:22:29 am »

Good idea
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SixOfSpades

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Re: Magic in Fortress: Haruspices
« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2022, 05:39:11 am »

Dowsing to locate underground water / gems / ore / caverns.

Magical divination to identify vampires.

Predictions of when (and possibly from which direction) the next cavern / migrant wave / invaders will arrive.

The augur has a dream about some ridiculously impossible creature, like a crab with 5 heads and a venomous tail, so everyone laughs at him. Then the Forgotten Beast actually shows up, & the survivors are all, "Wow, that was actually pretty accurate. Sorry."

Mediums who can intentionally summon the ghosts of dead dwarves--maybe for benign reasons like conversing with their descendants, or giving evidence at a trial, but possibly for more nefarious purposes.

Wise women foretelling an unseasonably early (or late) frost that could cripple the aboveground growing season.

Different civs, and faiths within each civ, having (potentially wildly) different attitudes towards these magical practitioners--including some types of magic being tolerated, & others not.
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Dwarf Fortress -- kind of like Minecraft, but for people who hate themselves.

compsognathus

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Re: Magic in Fortress: Haruspices
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2022, 08:00:35 pm »

Dowsing to locate underground water / gems / ore / caverns.

Magical divination to identify vampires.

Predictions of when (and possibly from which direction) the next cavern / migrant wave / invaders will arrive.

The augur has a dream about some ridiculously impossible creature, like a crab with 5 heads and a venomous tail, so everyone laughs at him. Then the Forgotten Beast actually shows up, & the survivors are all, "Wow, that was actually pretty accurate. Sorry."

Mediums who can intentionally summon the ghosts of dead dwarves--maybe for benign reasons like conversing with their descendants, or giving evidence at a trial, but possibly for more nefarious purposes.

Wise women foretelling an unseasonably early (or late) frost that could cripple the aboveground growing season.

Different civs, and faiths within each civ, having (potentially wildly) different attitudes towards these magical practitioners--including some types of magic being tolerated, & others not.

I think that's a great suggestion and i add:
Dwarves who believe in magical cures(balm, potions...) but not medical cures.
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