@Helmacon
So, we've discovered we can use crystals to direct the flow of magic, but it's not effective to use it for magical circuitry, let alone circuitry on devices like the HA1 or the steam recycler.
We can use it for wiring. Just not something as precise as circuitry. Think about it this way - you can't use cables to make the kinds of circuits found in your computer, but they are great for transferring large amounts of power.
@Evicted: Aah. I was expecting something bigger. What effect does stacking them (multiple in the same design) have on Expense?
@Everyone:
Meteor Design: Staff of Frostflame (Better name appreciated)
Myark needs his own weapon. The Wand of Fireballs is obsolete. Our Towers of Frost are simply boring.
Someone of Myark's skill needs a matching weapon.
The Staff of Frostflame can influence an entire battlefield, manipulating the temperature as the holder pleases. Myark can hold the influence of an entire Tower of Frost over a theatre or even heat up the theatre if the user was crazy. It can cause a small patch of land (like a couple feet) to instantly burst into flames or freeze over. Myark could freeze someone or set them on fire. He can extinguish a fire by simply freezing it. He can look across the battlefield and set Moskurg ballistas on fire without using the short-ranged fireball. He can freeze distant portions of land. A meteor core inside the staff amplifies the already insane levels of magical powers from Myark to the degree needed to power the staff.
Myark, with this weapon, can control temperature itself.
TL;DR: The
Staff of Forever Frost but with a heat component.
Meteor Design: Myark's FalconA regular Hunter Falcon is no good for Myark. He needs a familiar befitting his status.
Myark's Falcon is a falcon enhanced with the meteor. Our best falcon specimen is taken, and Myark himself enacts the process using our supply of meteor ore adjacent to him and the falcon.
The Falcon's bones are enhanced (not replaced) with the strength (and lightness) of crystal. Their loyalty and even intelligence are drastically improved. The Falcon's eyesight is improved, and their talons are made out of solid crystal. They can fly at insane speeds to insane heights. The crystal is "powered" by the Falcon's very lifeforces and as such isn't dispellable, just as a human isn't dispellable.
Myark, through the process, will even share a link with the Falcon, being able to get a basic sense of what the Falcon is seeing, and as such can use it as his own flying scout. The Falcon understands complex orders from Myark and can execute them with precision.
A side effect of the process makes the falcon notably (but not that much) bigger than the regular falcon. The Falcon can still just barely be perched on Myark, though!
Sometimes, an apprentice can swear he sees Myark conversing tactics with his falcon, but he denies such claims.
TL;DR: Myark's very own Falcon. He shares a kind of link with it and can use it to scout and extend his vision. It's much more intelligent and can follow complex orders. It's stronger, more lethal, and faster.
I really like this idea. Ambitious, but worth a NE.
Meteor Design
1 - Myark's Falcon: Chiefwaffles
1 - Spire of Frost: Chiefwaffles
1 - Tower of Heresy: FallacyofUrist
1 - Staff of Forever Frost: Andres
0 - Catgirl Assassins(Hilarious):
0 - Maxim Gun(Improbable):
1 - Aetheric Staff(Practical): FallacyofUrist
1 - Beacon of Magic: helmacon
1 - Demon Wolf From The Dark Heavens: VoidSlayer
0 - Crown of Ash:
1 - Gilded Guardian Gilda: RAM
0? - Orb of Divination: Andrea?
0? - Orb of Anti-Divination: Andrea?
0 - Large Ice Lizard With Wings:
0 - Fair-Day Cage:
Vote for Myark's Falcon! Or anything, really. We just need a consensus.
ALSO: Idea for later, after crystalworks - Magical power grid. We create a central "power plant" and connect it to the city with crystal wiring. I don't know what the benefits are yet other than powering multiple Crystalworks-like buildings at once, but it seems like it could be useful.