miércoles, 31 de marzo de 2010

Billiards - Beige and Brown balls


This set is affected by the earth skill. Until very recently, I ignored the 10-pointer message, but thanks to Exoth I have stumbled upon it at last. He also got a tm from it too, definitely confirming the suspicions.
All results have been confirmed for all levels.

1) 10-pointer: fresh earth. "Erratic Mechanic Exoth hits the cue ball with his dark brown oak staff, sending it towards the beige ball. / The two balls collide and the beige ball rolls into a corner pocket leaving behind only the smell of freshly dug earth."

2) 15-pointer: rock. "Krotos taps the cue ball with his Nonsense, sending it rolling towards the brown ball. / As the balls collide, the brown ball turns into a perfectly spherical rock and rolls into a corner pocket."

3) 20-pointer: zombie hands ("You hit the cue ball with your blackened iron staff. / Suddenly, a row of tiny, and rather zombie-like, hands rip through the surface of the table. / The cue ball is picked up and passed from hand to hand until it is dropped on the beige ball which rolls into a corner pocket.") and mountains ("You hold your blackened iron staff horizontally above the table and mutter a few words. / The surface of the table is briefly transformed into a miniature mountain range and the cue ball rolls down a mountain, hits the beige ball causing it to zoom into a corner pocket.")

4) 30-pointer: earthquake. "You hold your blackened iron staff aloft and bring it straight down, striking the floor with it dramatically. / A minor yet highly localised earthquake shakes the room, causing the table to rock and the cue ball to knock the brown ball into a side pocket

domingo, 28 de marzo de 2010

Union of the Phoenix and Divine Dragon


What's it called? Union of the Phoenix and Divine Dragon (in brief, UPDD)

What does it do? This is one of the two light spells that are available for wizards. If Master Woddeley's creates a blue light that follows you around and lightens the place before it goes out, this one summons a moth with similar effects.
Both spells are very similar, the differences being quite minor. The Union is a bit more demanding in skills, gp expenditure, mindspace and components. The compensation tends to be that it is longer lasting, can be cast on someone else, and the light source is less spammy. It also has a very pretty hue, depending on the colour of the nugget when the spell is cast. As I haven't used it in a long time, I don't remember if the moth keeps changing colours, like the nuggets, but I think they do.
Overall, the spell is nice and pretty, but not much use. Woddeley's is more handy, and you can also buy a permalight to avoid day-night problems and have that extra mindspace freed.

Where is it? It counts as an agatean addition to the regular run of spells, so it lies inside the Illusionary Arts grimoire, at the Bes Pelargic Wizard's Guild.

What does it require? A glass nugget, which isn't consumed in the process.

What skills do I need? Channeling, Summoning, Charming

Has it worked? The proper output should read something like this:

You prepare to cast Union of the Phoenix and Divine Dragon on xxx crystal nugget.
Magical, mystical forms appear in your mind.
Grasping the glowing glass nugget, you hold it above you.
You whistle into the wind a calm and peaceful tune.
A (xxx) moth flutters into the area and flits towards you.

Help Information

Union of the Phoenix and Divine Dragon - Summons a moth to light your way.

This spell will summon forth a glowing moth. It will heartily stay by your side until it's summoned elsewhere.


sábado, 20 de marzo de 2010

Billiards - Red, Orange and Yellow balls


This set is affected almost surely by fire. No tms have confirmed it, but the output messages are quite clear. This is also the set that has the higher number of possible effects, as there are quite a lot of levels that have two effects per point class. This happens at 15, 20 and 30 points.
I've only achieved all possible results for the red ball. The 30-point effects for yellow and orange are based on analogy.

1) 10-pointer: few sparks. "Erratic Mechanic Exoth manages to produce a few sparks from his mahogany staff and they nudge the cue ball forward. / The cue ball hits the red ball, propelling it into the corner pocket".

2) 15-pointer: few sparks (same as 10-pointer message) and burst of sparks ("You use a burst of sparks from your blackened iron staff to propel the cue ball towards the yellow ball. / The balls hit and the yellow ball shoots forward and lands in a corner pocket")

3) 20-pointer: flame-soot ("You hit the cue ball with your blackened iron staff, sending it towards the orange ball. The two balls collide, causing the orange ball to burst into flames, leaving a trail of soot leading to the side pocket") and stream of sparks ("You hold your blackened iron staff above the cue ball and send out a huge stream of sparks from one end. / The cue ball leaps into the air and lands on top of the orange ball, causing it to bounce into a side pocket")

4) 30 pointer: volcano ("The cue ball is transformed into a tiny volcano, which rumbles and throws out sparks before sending a little river of lava down. / The lava slowly prods the red ball into a corner pocket") and pyrotechnics ("You rub your blackened iron staff vigourously and point it at the cue ball, igniting it with a white flame. / The still burning ball zips across the table at an incredible speed, hitting the red ball and causing it to rocket into a corner pocket with a small pyrotechnic display ")

miércoles, 17 de marzo de 2010

Transcendent Pneumatic Alleviator


What's it called?
Transcendent Pneumatic Alleviator (in brief, TPA)

What does it do? This spell is such a staple fare for wizards it is almost needless to explain what it does. Nevertheless (just in case some newbie reader is around), TPA is your main magic protection spell, after the floating shield. The big brother (and more effective version) of Sorklin's Field of Protection, it will create a protective shield around you which will suck up hits until destroyed.
Four things of importance about it:
1) The number of hits it receives will make it change colour (giving you a clue of how much longer it is going to last). It starts with invisible, then dull red, bright red, wobbling orange anf flickering yellow. Once in the last stage it is almost broken, and some damage may pass through it even before it 'breaks'.
2) Even after it has been hit, if the damage stops, it will recover over time (say, a wobbling orange will go back to bright red, and so on). Nevetheless, a recovered shield will be weaker than before. Also, time acts against the shield: after a certain amount of it, the shield will break even without any damage.
3) The magic shield is meant to work as a 'backup' to the floating shield (EFF), allowing you offensive casts and some hits to pass the floater without disturbance. Once a floater is down, it will buy you pretty little time (depends against whom and how many you're fighting) to run away before breaking, so keep an eye on the 'breaking' message (There is a sudden white flash. Your magical shield has broken). It is a good idea to turn the line into a colour trigger, for easy glance in combat.
4) It can be cast on yourself and on others (in fact, it works great for others, dodge or parry/armour users, as they will get few hits using their defences, unlike wizards, and the few they get will be negated by TPA)

Where is it? As the idea behind it is making a shield out of almost thin air, it belongs inside the Invoakatyons in thee Mysterie of Wynd grimoire, at the Unseen University Library.

What does it require? A handful of ash and a shield, of some kind. The ash is consumed in the process. The shield has to be a 'real' one (i.e., one that you can 'hold') or the efficiency of the cast will be very low. It is good idea to get your hands on the lightest available (right now, medium leather).

What skills do I need? Evoking, Air, Chanting, Enchanting, Channeling

Has it worked? The proper output should read something like this:

You prepare to cast Transcendent Pneumatic Alleviator on xxx
You consider the function of a shield.
You send your thoughts probing into the air around xxx.
You recite a rumbling roll of rustling rhymes.
You lif the ash and scatter it around xxx.
You weave a magical impact shield around xxx.
With a noise that sounds like “Plink!”, everything around xxx flashes red for a moment.

Help Information:

Transcendent Pneumatic Alleviator - Magical Impact Shield.

The Transcendent Pneumatic Alleviator is a first order defensive spell which places a magical impact shield around the target.

sábado, 13 de marzo de 2010

Billiards - Magenta, Mauve and Pink balls


We continue with our research efforts in the field of magical billiards. Although there's still many gaps to fill in, a sort of chart is already appearing from all the testing...

Balls seem to work in groups - that is to say, a certain group of balls are affected by the same skill check (or checks. I personally suspect it is always the same one, as results seem to be pretty consistent, but as there is some variation, it can't be ruled out that there's perhaps 2 or 3 possible skills tested per hit, with one skill being the more frequent, like it happens with the top hat).

The set composed by Magenta, Mauve and Pink seem to be ruled by conjuring. That seems to fit with the only tm that has been confirmed as yet, with the description of the effects and the fact that I quite consistently get the 30-pointer effect with them, having high levels in the said skill (highest of all spirituals).

The ladder of points/effects, for which I have gotten results in all the levels and for all the balls implied, would be as follows:

1) 10-pointer: Grasshoper. "Krotos sends a spark of magic from his Nonsense to the cue ball which starts moving towards the magenta ball. / As the balls touch the magenta ball is transformed into a small grasshopper which hops into a side pocket".

2) 15-pointer: There's two effects here, Rabbit and Dove. "The cue ball flies off the table, rebounds from the wall and hits the mauve ball which turns into a cute, fluffy bunny rabbit. The rabbit twitches his nose before hopping into a corner pocket". "You skillfully hit the cue ball with your blackened iron staff, sending it zooming towards the pink ball. / As the balls collide the pink ball turns into a white dove which flies around the room before diving into the side pocket".

3) 20-pointer: Demon. "Using your blackened iron staff you conjure up a small and angry demon who takes out his displeasure at being pulled from whatever he was doing by kicking the first thing he sees: the cue ball. / The ball is propelled off the table where it hits the wall and, with remarkable luck, lands on the magenta ball, setting it rolling into a side pocket. /The demon vanishes with a pop".

4) 30-pointer: Egg & Eagle. "Savant Starwiz of Demons waves his red staff over the cue ball, briefly transforming it into a large egg. / As the egg cracks, a huge eagle emerges from it and starts to fly around the room. / The eagle suddenly swoops to the table, picks up the pink ball and deposits it into a corner pocket before vanishing".

martes, 9 de marzo de 2010

Turnwhistle's Effulgent Autiridescence


What's it called? Turnwhistle's Effulgent Autiridescence (in short, TEA)

What does it do? Well, Turnwhistle's allows you to turn any item you want into the equivalent of a yellow stone ring (that is, an item that will give 'light' while worn at the cost of using some of your gps). It is a pretty straightforward thing. The 'light colour' of the transformed item will depend on what was the light the glass nugget had when the spell was cast (see below).
There isn't much use for the spell, as wizards tend to use magic for seeing in the dark (or permalights) and I doubt there's much of a demand for what amounts to customized yellow stone rings. Still, it is nice to have all sorts of spells.
The spell has an 'anti-matter' equivalent in Skeetbraskin's Fuliginous Perdition, which returns the items affected by it to their original, 'lightless' state.

Where is it? Being a part of the crafting business (in this case, light-object crafting), it belongs inside the Intermediate Artifact Magic, fourth ed. volume, at the Unseen University Library.

What does it require? the focus of an octogram, a lantern, a shimmering glass nugget and an item of clothing, armour or jewellery upon which to cast the spell. In the past, the nugget was consumed in the process, but I believe the one that dissapears now is the lantern...

What skills do I need? Divining, Convoking, Evoking, Binding

Has it worked? The proper output should read something like this:

You prepare to cast Turnwhistle's Effulgent Autiridescence on the xxx.
You light the lantern and turn the xxx meditatively in your fingers, noting how it reflects the light.
You turn the lantern carefully and place it into the heart of your shimmering glass nugget.
You reach into the heart of your shimmering glass nugget and draw out the essence of lantern light, letting it play around your fingers.
You wrap the xxx carefully in the essence of lantern light, braiding the colourful strands in a complex weave.
The xxx flashes through all of the rainbow's colours before settling into an aqua/vermilion/jade green glow, which sinks into its surface without a trace.

Notes:

When you wear the item, you get the following lines (change colour to appropiate one):

A jade green glow spreads out from your middle to envelop you.

He is surrounded by a jade green glow.


Help Information:

Turnwhistle's Effulgent Autiridescence - instil an item of clothing, armour, or jewellery with the essence of daylight.

Turnwhistle's Effulgent Autiridescence allows the skilled Wizard to imbue a garment or accoutrement with the priceless gift of light in dark places. Said garment or accoutrement will maintain its light by leeching the wearer's concentration a little from time to time.