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[evictedSaint]

Expense Credit: Cheaper Minor Towers of Frost

We set up a quarry that engraves runes into stone blocks before they're shipped to the front lines, making them easier to enchant once they arrive.  This ends up decreasing the cost of the towers to merely Expensive.  We notice that though we can now set up more towers, the cold effect isn't as pronounced as it'd been last time.  We can instill Taiga-temperatures in the jungle year-round now, but the desert is still rather temperate during the day.  It will still drop below freezing at night, but it seems we're reaching diminishing returns with our towers.  With work, we could maybe drop the temperature even more, but we likely won't be able to do much more than that without Disastrous Repercussions™.

Expensive.

[VoidSlayer]

Design:  Disastrous Repercussions™

This version of the tower of frost is designed to permanently and irrevocably change the weather of Forenia slowly but surely into an unending ice age.  It has towers specifically set up in our territory that will alter the weather patterns until every area is a frozen hellscape in which no living thing can survive.

[Chiefwaffles]

Disappointing.
I kind of wish we could have known that before we used the expense credit.

Evicted, we do get more protection against Moskurg taking down towers though, right?

[evictedSaint]

Yes.

[VoidSlayer]

Disappointing.
I kind of wish we could have known that before we used the expense credit.

Evicted, we do get more protection against Moskurg taking down towers though, right?

What are you talking about?  We got confirmation we can probably irreversibly destroy the entire ecosystem of the land.  Now operation doom the world and be the last survivors can go forward!

We just need those underground dwellings and crystal bio dome farms and we are all set to destroy the world.

I mean...

Uh...

That was the plan right?

[andrea]

I was going to post that Es reply seemed encouraging about the expense of magic gems, but I see it was already decided to use on frost towers.
oh, well. Next time.

[RAM]

I believe that it should be possible to dramatically increase the air cycling of the front towers by implementing convection into the game's physics engine making the frost area pillar-shaped to effect convection-derived air-flow. This would also play merry havok with wind and weather-based effects because their mages will be fighting against thousands of tonnes of cold air that suddenly feels as though a trip to somewhere warm, like the desert, is just the thing. It would dramatically buff their anti-cold spell except it would deflect it into the upper atmosphere, freeze it, and then send it right back to replace all the warm air that they were trhowing at us... I mean, really, we have thhe ability to rapidly chill millions of tonnes of atmosphere simultaneously, that is freakishly terrifying...

[Andres]

With work, we could maybe drop the temperature even more, but we likely won't be able to do much more than that without Disastrous Repercussions™.

((Is this a hint saying that you won't allow any more research into this area for balance issues?))

Disappointing.
I kind of wish we could have known that before we used the expense credit.

How is it disappointing? It gets the Jungle - a place with a temperature grade only step lower than Desert - and made it go down to the lowest temperature possible before we start to die and past the point where they start to die. In the Desert, we entirely removed the temperature penalty on our end (very useful for advancing further into their territory) and Moskurg now gets a penalty during night attacks.

Unless I'm mistaken, we also have the capability to drop the temperature to sub-Taiga in the Taiga, Mountains, and Plains, which gives us a really strong defence in those areas. Moskurg can't advance in temperatures that cold.

It's a good result.

Glory to Arstotzka.

[helmacon]

(I'm just gonna jump into this game here)
Alright, I think these frost towers have a lot of potential, but revising them to have a broader effect is the wrong way to go about it. For one, I think we would run into the problem of diminishing returns, but it would also be easy for them to counter if it became a problem for them.

It will still drop below freezing at night, but it seems we're reaching diminishing returns with our towers.   

called it

[evictedSaint]

Ugh.  I need compile a list of links to every design, revision, and expense credit that has to do with crystals, along with the die rolls for each.

If someone else does that for me, I'll make them a character in the next update. >.>

[Chiefwaffles]

Where we discovered crystal. I'll edit or post more soon later.

Magic Lance: [1, 3, 6]  You already have experience conjuring simple elemental forms and substances, so this provides a basis for your work on conjuring 'magic lances' to assist your men.  Following the description of your intended spell, you and your fellow mages spend several months working on how to conjure a solid, strong material able to form the basis for lances to improve your cavalry charge.  Eventually you devise a complex, draining spell that summons a lance of shimmering crystal that will last for about an hour before dissipating into the aether.  The crystal is strong, hard and has surprising tensile strength, and focuses into a deadly point at its business end.  It is on par with a lance made of steel, but substantially lighter.

The only problem is that you currently are unable to summon any lance wider than one quarter of an inch in diameter.  In its current form it has little practical use in a mounted charge, as even with its strength it will still snap on impact with such a slender cross-section, although some other use could be conceivable.

It is now the Revision Phase.

[evictedSaint]

Thanks Waffles.  Give me a name and a description of your self insert and I'll include him in the write up tonight.

[10ebbor10]

Ugh.  I need compile a list of links to every design, revision, and expense credit that has to do with crystals, along with the die rolls for each.

If someone else does that for me, I'll make them a character in the next update. >.>

IIRC, I may have a list of everything lying around. I'll have to look, it was in an unssaved doc, so it may not have autosaved.

Edit : No luck.

Well, I'll go backward, Chiefwaffles can go forward and keep whatever reward he wants.


I have everything more recent than 2 may.

Spoiler: Tangential (click to show/hide)

Revision: SO2-AM Equalizer [4]

The new SO2-AM fixes multiple complications with the previous design.

We can't exactly make an anti-magic crystal large enough to make an entire shell, but we can fix the design of the shell into one that won't break and jam or cost ludicrous amounts of cash.  The new design features a number of anti-magic gems in the core of the shell, all linked together with a crystal wire to a nickel circuit.  A small AAA magegem powers the circuit, but due to the small size it must be inserted just before firing to ensure the internal juice doesn't wind down before it's sent off.  The AAA gem powers the circuit, which keeps the magegems "off" - at least, until the battery is spent.  Once the circuit is no longer keeping the anti-magic field suppressed it turns back on in full-force.  This crude "timing circuit" keeps the shell inert while being fired, only turning on once the battery runs out - hopefully down range.  If the battery is run down before firing, the field will prevent the attending apprentices from firing their PSF charges and the shell will need to go through a lengthy removal process before the cannon can be used again.  This shell is designed specifically for our HA1 artillery.

The improved, clever design cuts down on wasted anti-magic gems and lowers the cost from National Effort to Very Expensive.

Design: SO1-AM "Equalizer" [2-1+1, 2-1, 1]

This turned out to be a lot tougher than we thought.

The good news is that it is possible, just...difficult.  And we were required to make some concessions in the design.

Rather than a single, massive anti-magic charm, we've instead crafted an ordinary cannon shell that has multiple anti-magic charms encrusted throughout it.  Because using charms that explode has invariable destroyed every cannon we've attempted this with (likely due to the PSF cast in the steam chamber) we've been forced instead to use our more up-to-date charms that sadly don't exploded into lethal shrapnel.  They still have a chance to break when being fired out of a cannon though, and this occassionally causes it to jam and explode violently.

However, if enough of the gems survive and the cannon doesn't explode, the shell will prevent any magic from being cast near where it lands.  Surprisingly, our researchers note that when the charms overlap the volume of the anti-magic field is preserved.  Having multiple charms in the same area negates magic in a larger area, although continuing to add charms has diminishing returns with respect to range.

Due to the number of charms and extra effort to craft each shell for each specific cannon, these shells are terribly expensive and we can only make enough to outfit one cannon per year.  National Effort.

Revision: Steam-Powered Barrel Boring [2]
In an effort to automate production, we take some time to update the means by which we produce our equipment: specifically, our artillery.

Cannons can be cast as an entire, single, solid piece.  This requires more steel initially, but because we will be boring through the center we can recycle the shavings.  Once cast and cooled (which takes some time) we line the cannon up with a steam engine and secure it to a moving wooden rail.  A wizard casts a pre-set crystal boring bit, which features a screw-like design and is the same length as the cannon it will be boring.  The bit is then geared (which takes some doing) to the steam engine to massively increase torque.  The cannon is then guided by four men and pushed up against the giant, crystal bore while the wizard engages the steam engine.  The process of boring through takes all day, but the result is an incredibly smooth, straight internal barrel.  This (as well as the boring process) increases the reliability of the cannon and further lowers the chance of explosion, although the cannon still requires several tempering processes to reduce the brittle nature of cast steel.  This new casting process takes advantage of our ore influx, meaning our HC1-E's are now merely Expensive.

Because the HA1 already takes advantage of our available ore and the limiting factor is the process of rifling and the golden circuitry, and unfortunately must stay as Very Expensive.  They do take advantage of this system, though, and the accuracy and reliability is improved slightly.

Design: Crystal-Nickel Circuits [5]

Actually, it's easier to just make the circuits out of plain nickel rather than getting crystal involved.  We attempted it, producing machine-grown crystals and grinding it up into a powder to mix into the nickel, but it resulted in a rather non-homogeneous, granular metal.

Nickel is relatively more common than gold, more resistant to heat and stress, and is decent for magical circuits. 

The weight of the actual circuit is rather negligible, so using nickel doesn't really reduce weight.  It does make circuits cheaper and more reliable, though - as a nice byproduct, our HA1's are now merely Expensive.

What do you wish to sell the Merchant?

Where do you wish to send Myark?

Spoiler: Crystal (click to show/hide)

Revision: Crystal Circuitry [1]

Crystals can be used for circuitry, it seems - they're just not a very good choice.

We can conjure crystals at very precise sizes, angles, and thicknesses thanks to our heavy investment into the stuff, and though the magical energy can flow through the hair-width crystal structure under correct circumstances, it invariably breaks.  Running the circuit produces a very small amount of heat, and for a malleable metal like gold that's fine - it can flex very slightly as it expands and contracts.  Normally it's not enough to disrupt the circuit, but for a ridged crystal structure even a slight amount of force is enough to induce hairline fractures that disrupt the flow of magic.  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.

Design: Magegems [5, 5, 5]

"Anti-Magic" is a bit of a misnomer, when it comes to our anti-magic gems.  They don't stop magic, exactly - they absorb magic in the surrounding area and convert the magical energy into a harmless, annoying hum.  It stands to reason, then, that if we make it stop humming, the gem will store the energy instead.

We still run into the same problem with exploding gemstones, but we've pretty much hammered it out.  Depending on the size and quality of the stone we can empirically figure out how much energy it can safely store - a bit of clever magic shows this as a glow in the crystal that diminishes as the magic is used up.  This glowing display is represented as a "fluid" that drains down, giving a quick visual display of how much energy is left.

Magegems are quantified by size; A is currently the largest we can manufacture, AA is slightly smaller, and AAA is the smallest we can make.  An A magegem could concievably power a couple flare spells, although smaller gems hooked in series could allow more continuous effect to persist for longer before they're exhausted.

Magegems do not passively pull from the air like anti-magic gems, but are also immune to anti-magic gem effects.  Each gem must be charged by a mage over a period of an hour or so before they're at full capacity, but can be recharged once spent.  They are fully compatible with your solid-gold circuitry, and can be slotted in and out as needed.

AAA gems are Cheap.
AA gems are Expensive.
A gems are Very Expensive.

Design: AS-SPB2-Crystalclad [3, 5, 3]

The Crystalclad is based heavily off of our existing steamships.  The most notable change is that it's now almost entirely made out of crystal, featuring our most ambitious design yet.  The crystal hull is smooth and sloping, dictated by a complicated curve formula that occupies the majority of the crystalworks circuit for the design, but allows the ship to cut through water just as easily as our existing ships.  Because of the difficulty combining crystal with wood or steel, the majority of the ship is just smooth crystal with the occasional eyehole to mount hammocks, furniture, ropes, equipment, and the two steam engines that power the ship itself.  This has a tendency to make the floors slick, especially when wet.

The steam engine setup is pretty much just copied from the SPB1 Fog-O-War, being two steam engines hooked up to a four-blade paddle on the rear.  The armament has been upgraded, allowing either three HC1-E's or a single HA1 to be mounted above-deck.  Because shooting beyond line of sight is less helpful on the high seas and requires three apprentices to fire, the Crystalclad design instead features three HC1-E's that can all be fired by a single apprentice by themselves, as the higher firerate is more beneficial despite the decreased lethality of the individual cannons.  Thanks to the increased number of apprentices we have at our disposal, each ship features two apprentices; one to operate the steam engines, and the second to fire off the cannons.

It is relatively wide-berthed, allowing a decent amount of troops or cargo to be transported much in the way our current longships do.  The crystal is slightly heavier than wood (but not as heavy as steel), and though it is now fire resistant the ship is no faster than the Fog-O-War.

The steam engines generate a fair bit of vibration, which is a significant problem.  After a few days, microfractures begin appearing in the steam engine mounting and require magical maintenance to prevent cracking.  Even more problematic is the fact that being made of crystal changes the center of gravity on the ship, and rolling seas have a tendency to capsize the ship. 

Over all, the ship should be more resilient to damage without sacrificing speed, and has a higher damage output to boot.  The fact that the ship is primarily made out of crystal means it's merely Expensive.

Design: Crystalworks [6, 5-2, 4]

Though elaborately named, the "Crystalworks" is a workshop in the capitol designed to churn out crystal items at an amazing pace.  Though crystal designs are usually too difficult for apprentices to cast by themselves (aside from a few notable exceptions), we have found a way around their inherent limited abilities to allow them to contribute to the production process.  Our apprentices have been reduced to little more than glorified powersources, charging arrays of magegems that in turn power gold-etched circuits strung together with thick crystal power conduits.  These circuits in turn produce a pre-inscribed crystal design written into the circuitry.  These circuits are interchangeable, able to be slotted in and out of the assembly line as needed.  They are a bit slower at producing crystals than a regular mage, and grow in size alarmingly quick as the crystal item they're set to produce increases in complexity, but we're able to set entire arrays of crystal designs down at once that is ultimately faster than what a mage could produce on his own.

These crystals also exhibit a unique quality - they do not fade.  Unlike man-made crystals which dissolve into aether after a month with a gemstone anchor, machine-made crystals remain indefinitely.  That, or we just haven't waited long enough to see one fade away.  The downside is that machine-made crystals tend to be a bit more brittle, but a small decrease in quality is to be expected when mass-manufacturing. 

All future crystal designs drop by an entire expense level and gain a mild fragility factor.  The Crystalworks, despite the high initial cost, is relatively cheap to maintain.  Expensive.

Design: Antimagic Bombs [6, 4, 5]

Though our earlier incidents with exploding anti-magic charms was done with diamonds, it doesn't take much to modify our new quartz charms to also explode.  It's even easier to do, in fact, thanks to the lower quality of the material.  Once we have the spellwork down it's a simple matter of enchanting quartz crystals cut into the shapes of arrowheads to fashion our first anti-magic arrow.

As an extra bonus, we've managed to specify the crystal to reach peak temperature before shattering violently; the shrapnel does most of the damage to soft, unarmored tissue, but the super-heated crystal shards can start fires if they land in dry grass or soft fabrics.

Hitting a mage with an arrow will likely result in death for the target and minor lacerations for unarmored bystanders.  Unfortunately, the relatively low stopping power of a crystal shard means they wont be able to penetrate shields and armor once the arrow head explodes, but we've noted that if it explodes once shot into a wooden shield it will punch a small hole through it.  Sustained fire against shielded enemy mages will slowly reduce their cover so long as they cast.

Due to the complexity of crafting anti-magic charms and fashioning them into perfectly weighted arrows, they are Expensive and will be given exclusively to our Mage-Hunter squads.

A minor problem we've noticed; the arrow head doesn't discern between friendly magic and enemy magic.  The entire quiver will explode suddenly and violently in the presence of any magic, including our own.  As a precaution, our Mage Hunters will be kept as far away from our magical forces as possible.  Expensive.

Revison: Mathemagics [3]
We've done it!!!

Well, Jibril Saadiya has done it.

Magical energy has a property called "wavelength" - a term Jibril made up to reflect how this property is much like the waves of the ocean.  By once again adjusting the spellwork that pulls magic from the air and collects it inside the confines of the crystal we've managed to produce a prototype that actually drains magic quickly enough to work as a counter-spell.  It had something to do with matching the "phase sequence" of the quartz to the "natural wavelength" of magical interference.  Magical energy conjured within range of the crystal is dissipated back into aether faster than it can be pulled - this dissipation was originally done through heat, but now only produces an annoying hum.  Our researchers are still trying to understand the equations that comprise this new field of mathematics - now termed "Mathemagics".

During testing the anti-magic field has been shown to extend in a small sphere around the crystal, utterly preventing magic from being cast in or on the area.  Curiously enough, it doesn't prevent fireballs from passing through the field (we extend our deepest apologies to the family of the apprentice who helped us discover this phenomenon), although it does prevent fireballs from being conjured within it.  While our mages can't effectively carry the crystals into combat, we can distribute them to our commanders to give them some measure of protection.  We are very pleased to note that the anti-magic pendants don't dispel conjured crystal constructs, likely due to the fact that it passively pulls magic from the air around it rather than actively working to break down the crystal structure.  Expensive.



Confirm Orders
A)  Capture enemy mages for interrogation if possible; if not, recover their corpses.

B)  Abandon assault on the Desert, shift troops to Jungle.  Deploy Myark and Tower of Frost here.

Design: Functional Anti-Magic Charms [1, 5, 5]
Well...it turns out we didn't really need diamonds, after all.  The King was very happy to have the ones in his crown back.

Quartz works just as well, so long as the crystalline structure is pure enough.  This is a fantastic development, as it means we can produce enough to give one to each squad to warn of casting being done on them in secret.  This means our guards will get a warning if the enemy tries to lull them to sleep, or indeed try anything else that generates a magical field in their presence. 

It still doesn't...quite...stop magic.  Not yet, at least.  They get too hot to hold, which means they ARE absorbing some magical energy from the air, but it's all lost to heat.  There seems to be some mathematical relation between the energy produced and the magical field generated, but how we can increase the absorption enough to actively pull it from the air is beyond our understanding at the moment.  The new math Jibril Saadiya developed - "Calculus" - is gaining some positive attention from our researchers as it seems to have more applications to the field of magic than initially thought.  It's still an entirely useless method of math outside of magic applications, but it does explain a few phenomenon in our research.  Jibril Saadiya argues that he just needs more time researching Anti-Magic charms before he can get them working.  Our other researchers are skeptical that it's possible to do, but he is adamant that the math supports the concept.  Expensive

Revision: Anti Magic Charm [2]

Excellent news!!!  Thought we've had to go through pounds of diamonds to do it, we've managed to revise the spellwork that makes the charm explode into a violent cloud of crystal shards!

As it turns out, gemstones have a property known as their "resonance frequency" - essentially the critical vibration that causes a feedback loop in an object.  By adjusting the absorption rate of the diamond, we can lower the input frequency to something less volitile.  The magical energy still has to go somewhere, though, and as a result the gemstone grows unbearably hot in the presence of magic.

It's...a decent way to warn the wearer they're being casted on, but the high cost of the components means it's limited to the theatre commanders in the field.

What to spend the Expense Credit on?

Revision: Crystal Permanence [2]

As useful as they are, magical crystals don't like to exist in our world.  Despite our best efforts, most pure crystal constructs dissolve into aether after a day without magical maintainance, which ultimately limits how many crystaline objects we can field.

After delving deeper into the mathematics behind it (it seems like a lot of crystal magic is dictated by math, actually) we've managed to come up with a tentative explination.  Before a crystal dissolves, it's possible to witness a slight vibration.  It seems to be shaking itself apart, but no vibrations can actually be felt.  After considerable debate, the concensus is that the conjured crystal is actually desynchronizing from reality before falling apart.

It costs us quite a bit of money, but we think we've developed a way to counter this desynchronization.  By anchoring the crystal to a gemstone when conjured, we can more firmly affix the magical construct to our world!  The more pure the stone, the longer the crystal lasts before needing maintainance.  We're not sure exactly what the relationship between the type of stone and the duration of the crystal is, but on average the spell lasts about a month and gives off a very noticable aura before dissolving.

The cost of the gemstone means only our officers get the new weapons, but at least now they last longer than a single day.

Design: Crystal Long Axes [3+1, 4+1, 3]
Alright, we're starting to get the hang of this crystal stuff now! Using the mathematical formulas we developed while templating the Caltrops, our mages have been able to define the razor sharp edge of a crystal to a precision beyond anything our conventional manufacturers could hope to replicate.  When crafted into a weapon, the result is a blade as fine as a razor blade, harder than steel, lighter than a feather. 

It will hack through unarmored flesh with uncanny ease, but its light weight means it has difficulty against harder components - like the metal edge of a shield, or the scales of an officers armor.  Additionally, we have some difficulty making the handle of the axe a smooth cylinder.  The mathematical formula developed can be used for polygon-type crystal formations easily, but we haven't quite managed to include smooth, rounded shapes into it yet.  The best we can do is an uncomfortable square-shaped handle wrapped in leather - over time, the edges wear through and the leather wrapping has to be replaced.

Still, it's a frighteningly effective weapon against Moskurg troops, who are largely unarmored. Expensive.

Revision: Crystal Magic Template [6!]
It takes some doing, but you manage to convince your more advanced wizards to set aside some time to make a template for the more inexperienced members of their discipline.  Thanks to the AAAA, they have the resources needed to make the spell simple enough for even the most dumbfound apprentice to use.  By creating a standard method of conjuring the magical crystals, it becomes rather trivial to call upon a certain template and bring the shards into being.

As a side effect of this method-based casting, we've been able to understand exactly what about a spell results in the random, jagged spikes.  The result is a rather complicated mathematical formula, but it can be applied to almost all basic shapes and designs to create another simple template for casting.  Our understanding of crystal magic has increased, giving us a bonus to developing that line of magic further.

Combat Phase to begin shortly.

Crystal Caltrops: [3-1, 4+1, 6]
With their new training, our apprentices can now handle more spells than the basic Conjure Mist.  With this in mind, we begin development of a spell purposefully designed to be easy to cast while still maintaining usefulness - ideally doing something to combat the Moskurg Calvary that swarms our lines like overgrown rats.  Working diligently on some of the more basic principles of magic, our mages have developed a relatively simple spell that spawns dozens of randomly-shaped crystals at a time.  Without relying on a uniform shape these crystals can be cast into being with minimal effort by our esteemed wizards.  These caltrops are random, jagged needles of crystal glass that are nearly invisible at night, sharp enough to pierce the hoof of an unsuspecting horse...most of the time.  They shatter into nonexistance after being stepped on, so troops moving through a single spot would be able to wear through the defenses.  This by itself is not a major problem, since the goal was to disrupt formations of horsemen and make the enemy wary of charging our positions.

Unfortunately...despite our best efforts, crystal magic isn't something that a beginner can learn in the span of a month.  Only the best students can master the art of crystal conjuration, and the rest fail to produce even the basic cylinders and spheres.  Our mages think they can reduce the complexity of the spell by developing a "template" of sorts, allowing apprentices to cast the spell without a deeper understanding of the magic that powers it.  Alternatively, more aggressive training of our future wizards could give them the skills they need to cast crystal magic.  Either way, this spell will be restricted to our regular wizards until we can make the process easier. Expensive.

[Draignean]

Revisions
SO2-AM Equalizer [4] (Antimagic Crystal Shell)
Crystal-Nickel Circuits [5] (What it says on the Tin)
Crystal Circuitry [1] (Again, name says it all)
Steam-Powered Barrel Boring [2] (Barrel Boring using a specialized crystal bit)
Mathemagics [3] (The precursor revision to anti-magic crystals, and this, really, to mage gems)
Anti Magic Charm [2] (The dark days of actual gem based magic)
Crystal Permanence [2] (What it says on the tin, take three)
Crystal Magic Template [6!] (Or: How to reliably make suitably pointy things)
Magic Lances:  [6] (Improved stiffies for crystal lances)
Magic Javelins: [Disadvantage: 1+1] (Legitimately unsure. Triple revision wonkiness going on, but shitty crystal throwing spears!)

Designs
AS-SPB2-Crystalclad [3, 5, 3] (Crystal Ship)
Crystalworks [6, 5-2, 4] (The titular crystalworks)
Magegems [5, 5, 5] (Schmancy energy storing crystals)
Antimagic Bombs [6, 4, 5] (Crystal antimagic bombs)
Crystal Long Axes [3+1, 4+1, 3] (I'm a Crystal Lumberjack [And I'm OK])
Crystal Caltrops: [3-1, 4+1, 6] (Ow.)
Arzotskan Academy for Adequate Apprenticeship: [5-1, 4-2, 6-2] (Magical academy that explicitly states common training of crystal shaping techniques)
Magic Lance: [1, 3, 6] (If your crystal spear persists for more than an hour, our mages did a fantastic job)

Reengaging Lurker Protocol... ((Also, give it to Waffles. I'm just watching with popcorn))

[Chiefwaffles]

I'll edit this one if there's any more stuff and people still haven't posted.

Magic Lances:  [6]  With just a little work you manage to solve the thickening problem, creating usable, light lances with the tensile strength of steel for your chargers.  This will significantly increase your capability in melee.  As a side-effect of Jibril Saadiya's experimentation with conjuring different materials you feel confident that you can now conjure, at least temporarily, pure forms of most simple materials in configurable shapes (currently based around cylinders or rods of varying thickness and length).

This is a revision of magic lances that also coincidentally gives us some minor crystal abilities.