Absinthe said:
What kind of benefits can we expect from studying with our commanders to improve leadership? Am I correct in assuming we will also get points towards charisma from this?
Yeah, it will probably help your CHA somewhat, it will also help expand your military knowledge if that is of interest.
Absinthe said:
What kind of blinking movements are the enemy performing? Given our ability to pick up magic from a distance and our experience with retrieve item/gating, can we pick up any detailed info like restrictions, etc.? They're not gating, right? So are they just moving through space like retrieve item does? Or is it an illusion?
Every thirty seconds or so they seem to disappear completely and reappear a couple metres ahead of where they were last spotted. When they are visible they maintain a very slow pace but when they disappear they seem to speed up substantially. When they 'blink out' they are only gone for maybe ten seconds at a time.
They are definitely using magic but they don't seem to be casting so they are either under some sort of persistent effect(s) or they have the ability to do this naturally.
There are elements in what they are doing that seem similar to what you know of gate magic but you do not think they are actually using something that would fall into that school of magic.
Lyssa does not think they are using illusions to move, at least not at the moment.
What they are doing feels more like what Isolde was using when you fought her at the Offices of the Smiths under Muirthemne though the effects are obviously different.
Absinthe said:
Can we trade the scrap of TWM paper for intel about the demonic forces in Stoneheim (especially their weaknesses) before we meet up with the army?
Who do you wish to trade with? Morpheus? He would be open to such a deal if you wish.
If you want to trade with these demons then you are certainly free to try though the Seekers have a deep hatred of demons and these creatures may not be friendly.
Absinthe said:
If we teach the Seekers Path of Memory and Path of Intellect, we'd get extra time in the mornings now that we don't spend it enchanting our own gear, right? How long would that take if we collectively just teach two or so Seekers and have these Seekers teach the rest (and enchant our stuff)?
It would only take a day, two at most, to teach a few Seekers to enchant your gear for you.
Yes, if you let them enchant your equipment for you then you will have more time in the morning to do what you want.
Absinthe said:
What magics are our Seekers capable of?
As battle mages they specialize in direct damage spells. They know a lot about elemental magic, particularly metal, wind, water and earth which makes them very effective in the mountains and desert that make up much of the Kingdom. They all have at least a few single target direct damage spells and the more experienced members also have AOE spells. They can also do less directly aggressive things. They can call up sandstorms (which can be useful if quite dangerous), they can draw water from deep under the earth (useful if you can't find an oasis) and they can strengthen the weapons and armour of their guardians as well.
Absinthe said:
What would developing combat skills do for us or rather, how has our lack of combat skills hurt us so far?
Well, if you spend enough time working on your combat abilities you will gain some measure of skill with weapons and that will give you something to fall back on should you be unable to cast your spells.
It is just another path you could take to give yourselves options. I would say that your lack of combat skills has not hurt you at all so far as you have avoided putting yourself in situations were you would need combat skills. You have managed to keep warm bodies between you and the enemy more times than not and your cunning/magic have dealt with the rest.
Absinthe said:
What became of Nevill's suggestion that we meditate for our health during the carriage ride over? We did this, right?
Yes, you did. You are currently well rested.
Nevill said:
Fangshi, ask one of the dwarves to explain what happened and why are they being pursued. Very concisely, at that.
Sure, concisely, they were running a patrol northwest of the main army when those hounds bounded over the horizon and began chasing their chariots. Cut off from the main body of the Royal Army they fled north and stumbled on your scout who then led them back toward your lines.
These demons have been harassing the army for days, attacking scouting parties whenever they leave the main host. They have killed over thirty dwarves from the rumors he has heard.
Nevill said:
Is there any difference in the instruments?
Beyond the real difference between different instruments? No, not really. Different instruments produce different sounds of course but it is more the way you use them/arrange them that determines what they can achieve.
Though the instruments Morpheus will have you practice with are all of demonic construction and will aid in the practice and mastery of musical magic in ways that normal instruments would not.
Nevill said:
Does the style affect anything?
When casting a spell you want the music you are playing to resonate with the magic you are working, ideally the two should share an affinity as the music will be your way of pulling in and channeling magic. So if you want to cast a defensive spell you will likely want music that is reassuring or empowering for those that hear it. If you want to cast offensively you should play music that is suitably aggressive and so on. It is all fairly simple really.
Nevill said:
What styles are there and what are their benefits or drawbacks?
There are as many styles as there are forms of music.
A list would look something like this (and that probably is not even a complete list):
Benefits and drawbacks are mostly what you would expect. It will be more difficult to find instruments for certain styles than others and some styles might clash with the personalities of your mages as well. Again, some styles will also stand out more. If you start playing death metal in a medieval setting expect people to take notice whereas if you keep to more traditional fare you should be able to get by without drawing too much attention to yourself.
Some musical genres are also simply more/less aggressive than others, they have different 'feels' to them which will make casting different types of spells easier/harder.
There is no right answer here but if you want to know about something in particular then feel free to ask and I will have Morpheus tell you what he knows.
Nevill said:
What kind of magic TWM practiced?
Musical magic and traditional magic. Morpheus does not know where he learnt musical magic from... yet. He is trying to find that out but he can say that TWM is quite skilled, maybe even a master of his own style.
Nevill said:
Is there a benefit to training a band instead of having each mage specialize in the same field?
The two are not mutually exclusive. More instruments simply means more tools to experiment with but focusing on a single specialty will lead to quicker progression, it all comes down to what you want to do.
Nevill said:
Folk songs/metal is an interesting direction to pursue. Is there anything Morphy wants to tell us about that?
He can't think of anything he wants to tell you, perhaps more specific questions would yield better results...
Nevill said:
What instruments would work well with this?
Well, as a combination of celtic folk and metal you just need to look at the instruments used in each.
You have the core instruments of rock in general: electric guitar, bass, drums and vocals.
Then add to that the
traditional instruments of folk music, filtering out all the instruments that are not Celtic in origin of course.
Nevill said:
Does that mean bagpipes should go to Lys?
Entirely up you. Your average bagpipes seem to be in the range of 3-4 kgs so not terribly light but not that heavy either. The ladies will just need to get in shape if they want to put on a proper concert.
Baltika9 said:
Actually, Fangshi, does Morpheus have somthing like this in his inventory:
Maybe but you would need to pay him extra to use it...
RE: Operation Two Ways - Will add as D
Nevill said:
How did TWM play his music if we haven't seen a single instrument on him?
Specialty: Air Guitar
He sang and cast simple really.
It is the same as asking how Mazzarin can have horns sounding whenever he enters a room when he
does not have any actual horns on his person, he built a spell specifically to play horns because he could.
Nevill said:
A beef towards Mazzarin is a very pointless and dangerous thing to have if you are not an archmage yourself. anyone.
Fixed that for you.
Baltika9 said:
Fangshi, could you tell us which styles are good at what (for instance, I assume metal/rock would be great for AoE attack and crowd control; pagan chants would be great for illusions and bewitching; etc...)?
Yeah, the more aggressive the music the better it will be at direct damage spells but it largely comes down to how you use them. They are
not prescriptive categories in the same sense as the magical schools are. They do not limit what you can do necessarily, instead they serve are channeling methods more than anything else. They are descriptive categories referring to particular mindsets or allegiances as much as anything else and there can be a great deal of diversity within some styles while others are very narrow and exclusive.
So in practice heavy metal is going to have a natural affinity for metal, fire, lightning, poison and the more 'destructive' or 'hard edged' elemental spells. Conversely soothing chants are going to work better with water, earth, or wood spells along with nature magic and the like. Energetic music will play well with air magic for example. For illusion and mental magic it all depends on the exact effect you want to create, if you want to instill fear then maybe go with shock rock, if you want to encourage someone then play something inspiring (and that could be from any number of genres), if you want to depress someone then play something somber or sad and so on.
Punk rock goes great with animal magic and is a favourite of Phobetor.
Psychedelic rock fits Phantasos nicely and his followers tend to prefer it.
Another aspect to consider in the effect the music will have on your target. Different demons (and likely different mortals) will like different music. If you use instruments and styles they are unfamiliar with you are likely to cause fear, terror or negative emotions. Think of it as the effect of enemy horns and drums before a battle only magnified. If the targets are familiar with the instruments or styles you are using they are more likely to like the music your making and respond positively to it. You can of course influence them one way or the other but the subject's familiarity with the material does have an effect.