School for Witches and Wizards -- RPG-centric

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@Marajade Oh! Illusions could also come under mind magic. I’m the same. I’m not hugely fond of offensive magics. When given a choice I’d rather take the route which doesn’t involve fighting.

@Evaporate

Great, that’s sounding good. I like the idea of Hexes. Are they tied into rituals, or the carving of glyphs, the use of true names, or perhaps voodoo dolls, or the neccessity to gather sympathetic connections in order to make them work? They sound like they should have limitations upon them.

I mean, hmm, like you have to carve the likeness of a person first, and perhaps gather some hair, or a prick of blood, or an item of clothing, or something that means something to them, to draw a painting resembling them. And then enact what you want to do on them first upon the effigy. That way you get a permanant hex on someone, but it can be detected by those very skilled in negation. It can also be removed if you find the item that’s been used to anchor the hex.

Which means, if you have someone’s consent it’s easy enough. If you don’t have consent though, and want to use the magic in evil ways, there’s a number of ways you can, but you do still have those restrictions. It also leaves the door open for interesting plots.

I was just thinking that Negation needs to be a big school. It seems rather narrow compared to the others so far. It’s just counter-magic, defensive, useful, but not as exciting as any of the others. It has no real fancy tricks. But being able to wield anti-magic, to pull to pieces magic spells, to ward in advance against magic, to be able to protect others, then it starts getting viable as being a main focus.

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@evaporate Would there be a house with a rogue-ish element? To better explain myself, I mean cunning and but not *bad* and kind of a soloist. If this makes sense, or it not a house then will it possible to make a character very like that? (If you’re even thinking about that yet.) And with the familiars, will they help define your character or do you get *given* your familiar depending on what your character is already like?
Really looking forwards to this!
I also really like the idea of hexes, they sound like my kind of magic! :slight_smile:

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hi im writing in my nintendo 3ds and works lol i want and achivement for this . I agree totally with fairy im either fond in offensive magic and go for illusion mind magic so your hex magic comes to a glove for my lady Mara

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@evaporate which school has the most direct offensive capabilities?

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@FairyGodFeather

I love your idea of having to gather hair samples or personal effects from someone to make a hex work. Like you said, the added benefit is this allows hexes to be ‘traced’ – a lot of plot ideas here.

And my definition of Negation has always included ‘preemptive’ spells like protective wards, shields, and contingencies, but I will expand on this more in the text so this does’t seem like a boring Defensive school. I like the idea of protecting others with negation magic – that is the purpose of Negation, after all.

What do you think of the idea of teaching Hexes in Negation class? That is, Negation and Hexes will still be distinct spell types, represented by 2 separate skills on the stat sheet, but there’s no actual class where professors teach students how to use hexes. Instead, students learn about it in Negation class (they have to understand it to defend against it, after all).

@Kitty9

Yes, definitely. None of the colleges are for ‘evil’ or ‘bad’ students. Right now, there are two colleges that sound like a good fit for you. One of them attracts cunning, ambitious students who enjoy getting the upper hand on others and doing whatever it takes to achieve their goals. They’re not evil, they just have very decisive temperaments. :wink: The other college might also attract cunning students, but it’s more of a ‘mercantile’ type of cunning – these students enjoy the concepts of free enterprise and cutthroat competition.

@MaraJade

I understand your pain. It’s already challenge for me to write this on my Android tablet, I can’t imagine how i might do it on a 3DS. And I’m glad you like the Hexes.

@817819

That would be the “Primal” school. Conjure fireballs, freeze water and hurl shards of ice, create wind currents to evade spells.

“Hexes” are also offensive, but perhaps not in such a direct way. :slight_smile:

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Will there be anything like geomancy? An army of clay soldiers sounds fun :smiley:

Arithmancy sounds pretty sweet but I have no idea what it entails!

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Oh yes. I like that idea of learning in class how to spot hexes, how to remove them. Of course if you’re clever you can then take that knowledge and work out how to cast them yourself. The teachers will of course leave out some essential part of casting hexes and definitely won’t give step by step instructions in doing so. But that gives you a nice plot to learn about using them yourself.

It may be the material component of the hexes that’s the problem. Or it could be that tenet of every thing you do you get back threefold. So generally, if you cast hexes without the proper protections it’s extremely dangerous and while it will work, it will also recoil on you. Perhaps threefold, or in a lesser form of what you cast, or it could alter you somehow. However there’s ways to protect and ward against that. So maybe it demands a payment, you can offer your own blood, or some sort of sacrifice (be that burning herbs, offering flesh, or even killing animals) depending on the power of the spell. It starts off needing small things for small things. A moth. An eye of a newt. A wing of a bat. Little sacrifices. And then you’re collecting kittens.

But that’s just an idea. No need to go with it.

I’ll admit I like the idea of your Gates skill being something everyone can learn. Although having areas in which you’re restricted. So only learn if you’ve shown yourself to be responsible, and to have a talent for it. It’s only the gifted students, the trusted students, the best students who can be entrusted with that sort of dangerous knowledge. But there’s other ways to learn too.

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@evaporate perhaps it would be a good Idea to list the colleges if you have the time they sound quite interesting

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@evaporate I *really* like the sound of the first one! I’m sure I’m going to live this game, I bet it’ll be great! :smiley:

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@Valakai

Arithmancy is basically Numerology with a magical twist. You take a bunch of numbers and try to divine the future (or understand the past) through an understanding of the numbers. Think of it like Divination with numbers :slight_smile:

@FairyGodfeather

The idea of more advanced hexes requiring a sacrifice is interesting, I definitely want to implement it. I would prefer to keep it simple for most hexes in the game, though, to ensure this school of magic isn’t unnecessarily complex compared to the others – only the most complicated, archaic (and evil?) rituals would require sacrifices. :smiley:

@817819

Sure thing. Here’s a list of the colleges and a brief description for each of them.

Azanell College is the natural home for wizards and witches of great cunning and even greater ambition. Ideal students are resourceful, achievement-oriented, and enjoy getting the upper hand on others.
Mandatory Courses: Potions, Transfiguration
Rival: Gemini

Eramis College is the college of choice for diplomats and negotiators, and emphasizes the importance of wit and rationality. Students with a talent for logic and rhetoric will thrive here.
Mandatory Courses: Dialectic
Rival: Ragnar

Gemini College is the natural home for students who value courage, chivalry, and determination. It attracts those with a firm sense of moral responsibility, and who view magic as a tool for good.
Mandatory Courses: Negation, History
Rival: Azanell

Ragnar College attracts adventurous, daring mages who prefer to “leap” before they “look”. They would rather think on their feet than meticulously plan their approach to a problem, and enjoy duels and competition.
Mandatory Courses: Primal, Athletics
Rival: Eramis

Sylvanus College endorses warmth and openness, social responsibility, and a community-based approach that emphasizes equity, loyalty, and fair play. It attracts students from all disciplines, especially animal lovers and aspiring Seers.
Mandatory Courses: Zoology, Arithmancy
Rival: Valhern

Valhern College respects the individual, and respects a student’s right to make their own decisions (good or bad) without being coddled. Students at Valhern celebrate the concept of free enterprise and darwinian competition, and find the amount of freedom they have to be refreshing.
Mandatory Courses: NONE
Rival: Sylvanus

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the colleges. Are they too specific? Too broad? Not fleshed out enough? :slight_smile: Are the names acceptable? etc

And I’m glad to hear it, Kitty 9 :slight_smile:

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After read them i could join 3. But The first my theoretical obvious choice . Transfiguration? in a cunning society? O-o No for me then. I don’t want learned ceraberto

.Edit Ejem Hex could be better. Mind magic the dream of any gambler or politician. Trasform a rat in a goblet not in a million of years

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They all sound pretty interesting to me, I wouldn’t want a Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff situation where it feels like my house was utterly useless. Eramis and Gemini appeals to me most in any case.

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Valhern seems to capture my interest!

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I probably choose Eramis if Azanell has to learning Transfiguration, it’s the magic i most hate. transform living beings in objects is stupid and not practical. They will remember it lol, so i have to kill them … then transfiguration is useless, i could kill them first with poison. Like diplomatic i could learn rethoric i love it! i will be EVIL anyway.

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@Marajade you know those are only the courses you have to take right?

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Azanell definitely calls to me, and Valhern. They all seem great though!

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Transfiguration is most certainly not useless. It’s shapeshifting. It’s the ability to take a rat and transform it into a vicious dragon. It’s the ability to turn princes into frogs, and to build armies out of mud. If you can bring the inanimate to life, it sounds like it could be used to create elementals, under your control at the highest levels, or to transform yourself into anything you desire. To also change your own appearance, subject to your whims and to pose as other people.

I’d expect the first limitation on it to be conservation of mass though. So that you can’t actually transform anything bigger or smaller than it already is, it has to be roughly the same size. So those rat-dragons would be rat-sized, and your toads would be the size of princes.

And perhaps you could transform normal wine, into poisonous wine. And raise an army of zombies.

(I suspect I’ll be told half of this isn’t possible.) The shapeshifting should be though.

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Yeah @817819 but i hate Transfiguration so no point to choose that course . I love the house not the course. But if to pick a house i have to study that i prefer eat rocks lol

@FairyGodfeather also it’s magic transform OTHER living criatures. and temporalment So useful rate is Zero. Wine is not alive same as poison also normaly transform it in inanimate stuff

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It depends on your type of poison. Botulism. E. Coli.

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@FairyGodfeather ecoli its a bacteria and virus aren considered poison. Even poison plants arent poison until are dead and prepared a snake is not poison lol is a animal who create poison poison itself is not a live