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[Strife26]

http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=29713.15

[TheNewerMartianEmperor]

I see.... oh dear, the cutebolds have a god, albeit an inactive one, on their side.

[Armok]

I sort of worry about the numbers implied with your magic system Armok, if there are so many people around, we'd have to have lots of unfindable cities?

I think that it should work more like this:

Magic: Xanth style. Everyone has some magic power, of differing degrees of power (poor chap who can make a spot turn yellow). Through hard study, it might be possible to learn another ability, but not very easily. Using your orignal ability would be relatively easy, not so much for the extra ones. People would be ranked in the strength of their primary ability, how easily they learn new ones, and how many extra spells they could do (who wins, mr. Jack of All trades who knows Hadoken? Or Bob, who can totally spam lighting attacks?)

I vote AGAINST this.

I think that moderators should be a special thing. WHen the gods themselves walk the lands, it's a big deal. However, to a lesser extent the common people can gain some semblence of moderator power within their own homes, and areas that they personally built (lock and move thread anyone?), but it's still much less than what the gods can weild.
 There are also stories of a horrible, pagan, deity who lurks in one specific area, corrupting any who enter and using his power for evil and chaos . . .

Seconded.

I just thought of a race that'd fit:  Toadmen. These three-toed creatures, found near sources of water are possessive of a unique mindset. They see the world as being incomplete, and say that their role in life is to finish it. They are known for working on a single task for years at a time, but when the object of their workings is complete, it is rare to find anything better. They claim that they can see the plan that the world is supposed to follow, but it is rare to find two groups of toadmen who agree on this plan. Their cities are often located slightly below ground level near water features, as is befitting their biology. The society most often observed among them is a kind of meritocracy, with the leader being the one who has shown the most aptitude for rule. Toadmen are on friendly terms with most other races, especially dwarfs, for some reason. When they go to war however, they are single-minded in their fighting style, and will not stop until the enemy give in.

What do you think?

Good idea, but make it slightly less anvilicius, maybe 4-armed olmmen whit a really slow metabolism, so they live for centuries but tend to be much slower than other races?

And yes, make kobolds a special race whit their own, weaker god. Mkae them the most technologically advanced race as a AKQ reference.

[TheNewerMartianEmperor]

How exactly is it anvilicious? It has no idealogical favoritism behind it. I just think that there should be a race of toad men, because of Tarn Adams liking for them.

[Armok]

Even if it isn't Ideological, and even if everyone agrees whit it, it is still technically anvilicius.

[TheNewerMartianEmperor]

Hitting us over the head with the moral.

....What moral?

[Armok]

"Tarn Adams is awesome! There should be an entire species that are all like him! Lets make their physical appearance a joke based on his forum persona!"

[TheNewerMartianEmperor]

I see your point, and it is your game. Incidentally, where did that 4-armed olmman idea come from, it's rather strange, which is why I like it...... how slow would their metabolism be?

[The Mad Engineer]

I've an idea about a type of magic:

Basically, magic is the manipulation of probabilities, the changing of positions and momentums of particles at no cost to the user.

So that means that a shield "spell", or a "fire" spell would be much more basic than a transforming spell.

Also, you would need some sort of multidimensional machine or artifact in order to change the particles.  Perhaps there is some sort of underlying "aether" that has simutaneous properties (I.e. one particle matches another) similar to that quantum experiment that I forgot the name of  .  The aether can be contacted through a "prod" in the direction of the plane (Which lies under the universe), which would cause other aether particles (Contacted through the varying frequency of the prod) to prod back in another location.  Such a machine would require energy, but a simple "loop" spell that manipulates the probabilities into a reversible engine could power it.

Perhaps this aether is immune or apart from gravity distortions, allowing for some interesting effects.  Knowledgable players could perhaps use the instantaneous nature of the aether to overcome relativistic effects, or manipulate them in some way.

Also, maybe wizards could construct massive machines that run magic "programs", manipulating the particles in a set routine (Such as a simple transforming spell or summoning spell - The machine takes care of all the complex momentum changes) which activiates on a simple invocation.  Destruction of this machine would result in the spell no longer being valid.  Powerful spell machines could be hidden deep under the earth to avoid tamperings.

When someone activates a simple spell on the same frequency as that of an old machine, the programs could become intermingled (Deflection spell, causing air particles to hit a projectile at the same velocity, with a fire spell, causing particles to move quickly in random directions equals a moving fireball.)

This lends some "science" to the magic, although its probably all hogwash.  It still gives us some underlying mechanisms (Magic = position and momentum changes based on altering probabilities on a massive scale) and takes away some of the overpoweredness (Need multi-dimensional machines that can contact the aether).

What do you think?

[NUKE9.13]

Defintely need trolls- not big monsters, but small, ugly creatures who live for annoying others- stealing, attacking and burning the lands. Annoying pests.

So, the geography system is: You can go anywhere from anywhere. Only sentient creatures are constants.
Ok, but how about certain paths are inpossible- not matter how hard you try, you cannot go from A to C- you can go to B and D from anywhere, but the route between A and C is 'locked'. Also the opposite; from A you can only go to C, no matter where you go you end up at C.
The first should require moderator magic, either by the 'thread' owner or a moderator, and should be commonish. The second should be rare and expensive.

I made this hierarchy of areas:
The World. No shape or form visible except perhaps by the gods, but they're not telling.
The Islands. So called for the fact that they are limited, floating around in the world, connected, but clearly separate. Islands can only be created by the gods, but in most cases, the gods create, and then abandon. Like hermit crabs, sub-gods will then swoop in to control them. These sub-gods are in most respects as powerful as the gods themselves; only the gods could truly ban them from the world. Often multiple sub-gods will rule over a single island, sometimes on friendly terms, sometimes in an uneasy peace. However never will sub-gods fight whilst ruling a single island; the sub-gods fight by taking a controlled islands and 'ramming' the opponents island. The Lands of both islands mingle and fighting breaks out between the populations and the sub-gods. Such happenings are usually disastrous for both parties. Islands look to an outside observer like a sphere of swirling colours, of varying sizes.
(The Empires. Occasionaly multiple lands of a single Island will fall into a sort of sub-Island. These manifest as smaller spheres within the parent Island. Very rarely Empires themselves have Empires within, also called empires. Empires may have sub-gods ruling over them specifically, although the Island's sub gods have control over them too.)
The Lands. Within Islands, there float globes and discs and stranger shapes upon which people- ordinary people- live. Lands are created by Kings, and the Kings of a Land has near-sub-god powers over his created Lands. The people of a land are usually similar in some way; of the same race, belief, or trade. Lands have constant physics; the King of the Land determines how they are decided. On globular worlds the King is frequently a believer in reason and intellect, who has made the Land to have hidden, unchangeable rules. On disc worlds, the King has made perhaps a few underlying rules, but allows the force of belief to rule his Land. On other Lands the King has usually made a set of rules which are chaotic and senseless. Trolls run rampant in these Lands, and the people live in fear.
Cities, towns, and landscapes; within Lands lie those interlinked places made by Lords. Sometimes these places are vast areas of great detail, other times they are contentless landscapes of little value. Lords have minor power over created Areas; a powerful Magic studier may be stronger than a Lord with no magical knowledge. Areas lie across the Land in no observable order. Locking of pathes between Areas of a single Land is rare. Within an Area geography is constant.

Clarification of people:
Gods (Forum owners?): Hardly ever seen, have the power to do... anything. Usually do not affect the world at all. They are rumoured to look like more impressive sub-gods.
Sub-Gods (Moderators? (In bay12 they are the same; but it is not so in all forums)): Power to affect the world in many ways. Things gods can do and they can't: 'Ban' [Killing of Lord and higher lifeforms] Sub-Gods, create Islands, destroy Islands. Sub gods come in varying levels of power depending on how many Islands they control. Most are power hungry, warlike bastards, although man speaks of a time when the Gods were active and the Sub-Gods where good and pure, acting to keep their owned Islands safe and secure. They have complex diplomacies with other sub-gods not understandable by mortals. They look like whatever they like, although their size and aura (glow based on personality) are fixed.
Kings/Lords (Forumgoers): Both are of one kind; mighty masters of Lands and Areas, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Most have many Areas to their name and at least a few Lands. Things they can't do that Sub-Gods can: 'Ban' people, destroy lands that are not theirs, modify/destroy the areas of others not within their own Lands, create sub-gods, modify Islands, 'lock' paths between Islands. Examples of things they can: Create Areas, delete/modify certain Areas, create Lands, move Lands from one Island to another (at a high power cost), prevent areas from being added/deleted/modified within owned Lands, 'Lock' paths between Lands; all forms of magic at a high level with little effort. They usually have the appearance of a larger version of a sentient being of choice.
Mortal Mages (V.Powerful): Men, studied in the ways of magic for so long that they are as powerful as the Lords/Kings themselves. Sometimes they even manage to perform powerful rites that cause them to ascend to Lord/King-ship. It has been known for a mortal to kill a Lord, although mostly these are rumours, involving weapons or skills granted by sub-gods and such. They can depending on training perform all acts a King can, treating any Land as their own creation- but this requires much more effort than for a King.
Mortal Mages: Men trained in magic, powerful, but no match for the weakest Lord. They have a few lordly powers; Locking paths and other weak tricks.
Mortals: Migrating from Area to area, infesting them like a plague, not even the Sub-gods know how they work or from whence they come. Some say the Gods created them to bring down the corrupt sub gods. Some say they arose from random magic. However they arose, they come in many shapes and sizes- from plants (which only work in some worlds (in others plants are creatable by Lords)) to animals (in most worlds unique, however by dint of effort creatable in some worlds where the King has great power over the physics) sentients (not creatable by anyone, no matter the world).



NME: I don't like it. I prefer the working; magic works differently depending on where you are, ala on globe lands it might work like that, almost a science, whilst on disc lands it works like... magic.

[TheNewerMartianEmperor]

I was thinking. There should be overarching factions. Independent of empires, and more widespread. They each represent an ideology, a way of thinking about the world. They may not be as strong as an empire, but they are wide-reaching.

For example: The machinists. They believe that the universe is not run by the whim of the gods. They believe that it works by laws that are immutable, and that any pretense that the gods have of being all-powerful is an elaborate sham. They endeavor to discover these laws, and to use them against those who seek to impinge their will upon the universe at large.

[NUKE9.13]

Does that work with my suggestion or apart? Because to those in power (Lords and higher) it is obvious that laws are not fixed, and, heck, they almost are gods.
And the mortals have this obvious fact that walk X miles and you may end up anywhere, and that new places are created all the time, by the -almost (to them)- gods, which discourages thoughts that the gods have no effect.

[CJ1145]

O might Armok, might I have a place in your grand design? 

[TheNewerMartianEmperor]

They believe that there are laws underlying those laws, small things that affect the big changes. plus the fact that if you believe that walking there is going to get you there is in fact a law in and of itself. I. E. believe that x will lead you to y and it probably will. A vague law, that they seek to find all the sub-laws of. Like how far away something has to be before this stops working. They believe that the gods have laws that apply to them; that there are things not even they cannot change.

[Armok]

I see your point, and it is your game. Incidentally, where did that 4-armed olmman idea come from, it's rather strange, which is why I like it...... how slow would their metabolism be?

The 4-armed olmmen was bacause your culture description was for an amphibian, so I put that as the inly constraint and ran my brains random species generator.

I've an idea about a type of magic:
***quantum stuff***
What do you think?

No, not for this, exept maybe in a few spesific small places that are rare anought to be unlikely to ever come up.
I was thinking more farytale style magic, Alice in wonderland or Peter Pan or The Wizard of Oz. Not Hichhikers Guide to the Galaxy or Accidental Centaurs which use the system you described.

Defintely need trolls- not big monsters, but small, ugly creatures who live for annoying others- stealing, attacking and burning the lands. Annoying pests.

Yes. but some trolls, most havnt seen them, trolls that are very, very old, may grow to enormus sizes and gain minor magic power of a kind completly different to moderator ones: these power are to brew potions, or spells that wrap the mind of the victims.
Also, make them look like John Bauer's trolls.

So, the geography system is: You can go anywhere from anywhere. Only sentient creatures are constants. <awesomesauce!>

I like it! Although change the name of "sub-gods" to wizards like I used, it's not actually the fantasy term, it's a MU* term. Also, I asume the "mortal mages" contain the ones I described as supers, and Extraordinary?

I was thinking. There should be overarching factions. Independent of empires, and more widespread. They each represent an ideology, a way of thinking about the world. They may not be as strong as an empire, but they are wide-reaching.

For example: The machinists. They believe that the universe is not run by the whim of the gods. They believe that it works by laws that are immutable, and that any pretense that the gods have of being all-powerful is an elaborate sham. They endeavor to discover these laws, and to use them against those who seek to impinge their will upon the universe at large.

Good idea, althou the mechanists probably shuld be a smallish one, holding less than 1% of world population.

O might Armok, might I have a place in your grand design? 

I dont recognize you well, but looking at your user page it looks like you're good to go. you're in.