Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[TricMagic]

Auroral Spear
The Auroral Spear is the result of meditation under the sea, as the tried to determine a better version of the magic missile. They put their brains together for a few days, before one of them suggested some form of veil based around the refraction of light. So came to be the danger that is the shifting ray designed to pierce and cut swaths through enemy lines.
The actual formation of the spear is simple. A core of light magic is used as the shaft and bound at the head of the spear, while surrounding magical formula act as guidance. From there the ribbons which control it draw upon this light, creating an aftereffect of a cutting ethereal edge. Once the caster has determined it's flight path, it's "thrown". The spell pierces through it's targets, with the ribbons behind it, before they cause it to turn at an angle. Each direction change slows it until it eventually explodes into a full cutting storm once the speed drops low enough. An interesting fact is this movement can be traded to just explode when it hits it's target, and it's ability to turn allows it to get around barriers. It's a finicky spell to actually use in practice, but if you have the time an extremely effective one. Of course, even the Star Witches have trouble turning it more than once without drawing upon their connection to their sisters. When they do work together, the path it leaves can be mesmerizing, or simply deadly if they focus on a singular explosion at the end of a straight path.


Liquid Light Elemental Clams
An uncommon variant of the Hermits, they reside within a closed coral shell that their light oozes between. Killing them is quite hard, though once their shells open to grasp prey into their concentrated liquid juices they become vulnerable. Their movement is just a gelatinous as the hermits. What makes them a bit different is their greatest desire is to reach the next level of light, Solid Light. Of course, once they do they explode in a bloom of glory, their shells smashed to pieces, as the very act of condensing their light results in it reaching a critical tipping point. Naturally they've been restrained to only do so if they are surrounded by evil and unable to fight anymore. Their size and light available is a good deal less than the Hermits as well, for all that stopping their weight is a bit difficult.

[Madman198237]

I'm still of the opinion we need heavy Infantry that can stiffen our battle line. Our cultist spears are not armoured, poorly disciplined and susceptible to Skeleton shock troops, skeleton bombers, Agony spells, magic missile/arrow volleys and Cryptarii shield walls.

I will put forwards the opinion in here instead of merely on Discord that revising common cultist pikemen out of our cultist spears should completely change the manner in which battles are conducted; the length of the pike providing protection from shock troops and skeleton bombers (and hostile shield walls) while a new medium infantry unit covers flanks and takes up some of the initial skirmishing with their magic resistance, shielding our newly revised pikemen from the initial magical duel somewhat.

We've got so much shock potential in cavalry and infantry right now that it seems a shame not to go Full Macedonian. Plus we'd get to be the first Arms Race faction to deploy peltastai and that's a win all on its own.


And I must concur that Rainbow Starshower is a Magic Missile revision at best. And that we don't really need that influence design just yet. Also, targeting enemy influence units with intent to commit murder seems a bit outside the intended feel of Inf lanes, does it not? They're not supposed to dissolve into stabbing.

[m1895]

And I must concur  And that we don't really need that influence design just yet. Also, targeting enemy influence units with intent to commit murder seems a bit outside the intended feel of Inf lanes, does it not? They're not supposed to dissolve into stabbing.

There was plenty of inf stabbing last game, and when I first posted a stabbing design this one that was the last straw before nuke exploded at us about trying to get spoonfed design difficulty on things we should have a grasp on, and Nuke's only commentary around the Catspaws was googling the sword (which you were there to see and comment on) and saying that they would definitely benefit from the pirate bonus, so it's a bit disingenuous to act like the catspaws are some game breaking thing.
Now the thing about pikemen is that the enemy is most likely going to buy a mythic token as well, maybe wait a turn before introducing something that fundamentally alters how combat works.


Anyway here's wonderwall


A Moment's Innocence
Looking back at the empathy hex placed on Gadflies, one has to consider what a more, aggressive, targeted sort would do.
A Moment's Innocence has at least two distinct variations in how it can be cast. The first method takes much longer, crafting an intricate web around the target's mind. This causes them to see their current life with their past Innocence, but more than that it guides them down a rough path. First bringing them to publically confess their crimes, and then dispose of themselves in a suitably dramatic manner, hitting their audience with a weaker version of the gadfly hex. Fortunately unlike the Gadflies, multiple of these don't really lose much effect; if twelve of your functionaries commit suicide under the weight of their sins, it probably says a lot about you. Oh, why not keep them around? Welcome them into the fold? That's simple, the spell wears off after a while. Like fish stew, such refuse should be discarded in three days.
The second variation is quicker and dirtier, less focused on a specific path and more on the falling off a cliff (if you can get a soul magi to break their own gems and expunge their soul, the results speak for themselves.) This pits the target's willpower against the weight of their many crimes (and whatever extra elbow grease the caster can put in,) but even resisting that, the target is liable to become inconsolable for the rest of the day. In all likelihood, the Cryptarii are probably the least susceptible, but of course, being so expendable some backwater magistrate sells you off to a tin pot moron probably isn't anything's first choice in life. The five point version can effect multiple target's simultaneously, and the less said about what Muu can do with it, the better.
Poor bastards, they almost don't deserve it

[Happerry]

Akhlut (Superheavy Cavalry): (2) m1895, Quarque
Catspaws (Influence/crime against humanity): (3) TricMagic, m1895, Happerry
Spellwarden Peltasts (Medium Infantry): (1) Madman
Incandescent Flames (Spell): (2) Madman, Kashyyk
Rainbow Starshower (3): Quarque, TricMagic, Happerry
 - Use Amber Token (3): Quarque, TricMagic, Happerry
Ceabfolk Warriors (1): Kashyyk

And I must concur that Rainbow Starshower is a Magic Missile revision at best.

You're underestimating the amount of bolts the spell is intended to create. It's intended to shower the whole area, not just throw five or so of them around.

The fireball spell is pretty cool too though. (And sadly no one is voting for my favorite spell, IE, A-Salt And Buttering.)

Though it was suggested in the discord that each color could have a different effect attached to it to help people think of it as design level, in which case we can just use this version of the description?

Design : Rainbow Starshower
Inspired by the way the Five-pointed Star Witches collective Five-point spells work, the Rainbow Starshower spell attempts to use similar principles to allow for the unified might of the Star Witches to be manifest in a more advanced variant of the basic Magic Missile spell. By reverse engineering some of the basic mechanisms of the Star Witches mental matrix, it has proven possible to create a variant missile spell that allows for a collection of bolts to be generated within a single casting instead of a single overpowered blast. While each of these individual bolts are actually weaker then a normal magic missile, far more can be generated per caster then said caster could cast of normal magic missiles, and the spell grows more cost effective as multiple casters pool their efforts together, which the Star Witches are already pretty effective at anyway. This results in a great shower of magic bolts raining down upon the targeted area, and if each are individually inferior... well, as the enemy ratmen have proven, numbers have a power in and of themselves.

The rainbow part of the name comes from an unexplained quirk of the spell. For some reason, each individual caster generates bolts of a different, and specific to the caster, hue. Each different color also has an attached generally minor extra effect that is unique to that color, and it certainly makes the spell more flashy and colorful.

[Madman198237]

There was plenty of inf stabbing last game, and when I first posted a stabbing design this one that was the last straw before nuke exploded at us about trying to get spoonfed design difficulty on things we should have a grasp on, and Nuke's only commentary around the Catspaws was googling the sword (which you were there to see and comment on) and saying that they would definitely benefit from the pirate bonus, so it's a bit disingenuous to act like the catspaws are some game breaking thing.
Now the thing about pikemen is that the enemy is most likely going to buy a mythic token as well, maybe wait a turn before introducing something that fundamentally alters how combat works.

Actually I didn't read or play the first game, don't recall all the very early designs or Discord discussion from this game and certainly not a rant about difficulty spoonfeeding, and NUKE's comment on Discord was about "literal catburglars" which is quite a step from "we just resort to stabbing". I initially interpreted the design after a quick read through the same way. And "gamebreaking" is not what I said, quite obviously.

Why on earth is a mythic token relevant to introducing pikemen? They're still the basic chaff unit, still with different capabilities to cultist spearmen, and are going to remain pikemen no matter who gets what after this turn. Whatever new magical nonsense each side develops is hardly going to alter the way a pike works; nor are any of them likely to change how we operate on the battlefield in a way that's going to somehow make pikemen irrelevant or something.

You're underestimating the amount of bolts the spell is intended to create. It's intended to shower the whole area, not just throw five or so of them around.

Alright, that's not so bad, though I still can't imagine that it's worth a token. It's an upgraded magic missile and seems perfectly doable without burning a token that is specifically meant to help break into new fields of magic.

[NUKE9.13]

There was plenty of inf stabbing last game, and when I first posted a stabbing design this one that was the last straw before nuke exploded at us about trying to get spoonfed design difficulty on things we should have a grasp on, and Nuke's only commentary around the Catspaws was googling the sword (which you were there to see and comment on) and saying that they would definitely benefit from the pirate bonus, so it's a bit disingenuous to act like the catspaws are some game breaking thing.
Now the thing about pikemen is that the enemy is most likely going to buy a mythic token as well, maybe wait a turn before introducing something that fundamentally alters how combat works.

Actually I didn't read or play the first game, don't recall all the very early designs or Discord discussion from this game and certainly not a rant about difficulty spoonfeeding, and NUKE's comment on Discord was about "literal catburglars" which is quite a step from "we just resort to stabbing". I initially interpreted the design after a quick read through the same way. And "gamebreaking" is not what I said, quite obviously.

The Catspaws, as written, are an acceptable design. Assassination is okay, the restrictions on fighting in the Influence lanes regard open combat- stuff that the (loyal and mighty) armies of those kingdoms would notice and crack down on.

[TricMagic]

It is possible that as written the Rainbow Starshower can give a bunch of fields to expand on a good roll. As an example a blinding effect related to darkness being improved to a specialized AoE or single target curse spell. The fact most of those effects can likely be drawn upon for our Refinement bonus is cake so long as the focus is on said effects. As is it's dependent on the roll.

Also I'm very curios to what Muu's special effect would be as an angel. An 8 would be neat.

[NUKE9.13]

It is possible that as written the Rainbow Starshower can give a bunch of fields to expand on a good roll. As an example a blinding effect related to darkness being improved to a specialized AoE or single target curse spell. The fact most of those effects can likely be drawn upon for our Refinement bonus is cake so long as the focus is on said effects. As is it's dependent on the roll.

Yeah, no. A spell which has a bunch of semi-random effects is fine, but that doesn't then give you experience in every single possible effect.

[TricMagic]

Possibility Mythbusted.

[m1895]

It is possible that as written the Rainbow Starshower can give a bunch of fields to expand on a good roll. As an example a blinding effect related to darkness being improved to a specialized AoE or single target curse spell. The fact most of those effects can likely be drawn upon for our Refinement bonus is cake so long as the focus is on said effects. As is it's dependent on the roll.

Also I'm very curios to what Muu's special effect would be as an angel. An 8 would be neat.

What MM means regarding the amber token is that, being a lesser tome token essentially, it's designed to provide a basic understanding of a "field" of magic. If we already have that basic understanding, it doesn't really do much.

As for my personal preferences in the Rainbow Starshower, if you can deal with the inefficiencies inherent to magic missile, whether by making it elemental (it is already something of a lightshow) or doing something closer in nature to the salt bolt spell, then I would probably vote for it.

[TricMagic]

What exactly counts as a new field of magic? It's very vague. The split/chaotic effects, not mentioning AoE, should be more than en..

Nevermind that I guess. Note that we don't actually have any designs for magic missile, our understanding boils down to how to cast the a ball of magic forward. Starshower is a rain of magic missiles, which while fairly simple, does not mean it isn't difficult to jump straight towards. We go from firing one at a time to several. Depends on how fast our casters can churn them out, but it can certainly clear chaff.

Demon examples are that bolt spell which is a 'chain' lightning magic. And their AoE gravity spell. Quantity, in our case, can have a quality of it's own. Spells that make use of several attacks at once are the main benefit I think, like a bunch of earth spikes popping out of the ground around foes. (Compared to making a single larger spear appearing under a target.) The spell is the same, but the effects are different due to to being repeated. A bit of power is traded for speed.

Course, Nuke can say no to the takeaway being an advantage in designing spells that make use of multiple manifestations of magic at once. One thing would be taking summoning spells that summon one thing, and spreading it to create several weaker but more numerous ones. Or taking from the demons example, spreading their lightning spell to instead fire multiple bolts at once for more devastation. (I know we don't have the spell, but it's the example I'm using.)

Could also use the experience to upgrade the Ymir wards to a true barrier ward for armies. Just a ton of panes spreading across the field in layers far exceeding the normal reach of the current spell. Uncommon, but fairly great at defending. This is compared to a singular stronger barrier that doesn't reach as far.

[NUKE9.13]

Course, Nuke can say no to the takeaway being an advantage in designing spells that make use of multiple manifestations of magic at once.

I could do a lot of things, but I won't say no to that specifically. Rainbow Starshower would provide experience in spells that create multiple manifestations. The reason I said no to getting experience in every single possible element, curse, boon, colour and flavour that could be applied to magic is A) because obviously that would be too much experience from one action, B) because that aspect of the magic is not being intentionally designed by you, it's described as an uncontrolled byproduct.

If you were to design monkeys with typewriters, they may well produce the complete works of Shakespeare, but you wouldn't be any better at designing sonnets. You would be better at designing primates and mechanical devices.
(Do not try to design monkeys with typewriters)

[Quarque]

Akhlut (Superheavy Cavalry): (1) m1895
Catspaws (Influence/crime against humanity): (3) TricMagic, m1895, Happerry
Spellwarden Peltasts (Medium Infantry): (1) Madman
Incandescent Flames (Spell): (2) Madman, Kashyyk
Rainbow Starshower (2): TricMagic, Happerry
 - Use Amber Token (2): TricMagic, Happerry
Rain of Crabs (1): Quarque
Crabfolk Warriors (2): Kashyyk, Quarque

[Happerry]

As a sudden idea I just had, how about a mobile doom vortex we can run over the enemy lines?

Rainbow Vortex
By all their powers combined, the Star Witches summon up a grand vortex of magic energy bolts that remains on the battlefield under their (admittedly loose) control, allowing them to guide it generally over enemy lines where it causes havok and radiates elemental good and stray rainbow colored energy bolts are released from the vortex to shower the surrounding area.

[Madman198237]

Akhlut (Superheavy Cavalry): (1) m1895
Catspaws (Influence/crime against humanity): (3) TricMagic, m1895, Happerry
Incandescent Flames (Spell): (2) Madman, Kashyyk
Rainbow Starshower (2): TricMagic, Happerry
 - Use Amber Token (2): TricMagic, Happerry
Rain of Crabs (1): Quarque
Crabfolk Warriors (3): Kashyyk, Quarque, Madman

Well, I hate to not get the Peltasts and will state once more my great preference for them and the pike/peltast/cavalry army we could have. But in order to NOT, NOT, ABSOLUTELY NOT let the utterly incomprehensible desire for catpeople triumph, heavy infantry it must be.