Duelling research - preliminary tests

As magical duelling remains the undiscovered country, I have decided to start a research program around it to see what its possible patterns were, and ideally, get some confirmation from experiment and tms. The starting hypotheses are as follows:

-The skills employed for duelling are magic.items.held.wand, or magic.items.held.rod or magic.items.held.staff, depending on the choice made by the two duellists on what to employ. Required levels should be low, although my sparing partner had at least one fail with the wand (+200 bonus range?). Then, perhaps:

magic.methods.spiritual.summoning (for demon strength and initial health, maybe?)

magic.methods.physical.healing (for healing the demon, one of three choices during every combat round. To get any success using this, you probably need over 200 bonus levels)

-For the main activity in dueling, which is making attacks and protections using elementals you obviously will employ:

magic.methods.elemental.air

magic.methods.elemental.earth

magic.methods.elemental.fire

magic.methods.elemental.water. 

Tm range would be interesting - I guess it should be rather low, in the 200s.

-When making an attack and a protection, some sort of rock, paper, scissors element must be at play. Results seem moderately determined by skills bonuses, but not to an overwhelming degree.

-There is probably a limited number of different attacks and protections for each of the skills (2 different attacks, 4 different protections per skill?).

After a light lunch, I got my research started with the kind cooperation of a fellow Circle wizard from the Counterweight Continent, Gznang, whom I wholeheartedly thank in advance. I got an iconograph to take a picture of us while we were at work:

The following is the list of all the attack and protect messages we got for all the 4 elemental skills:

MESSAGES: ATTACK

Fire 

Concentrating carefully you conjure up a small barking dog and light its wick with the tip of your dueling wand. 

Chanting magical words and vigorously rubbing his dueling wand, Gznang constructs a small dragon from fire. With a majestic wave of his hand the dragon flies towards the foul midnight black demon.

Earth

Drawing in power from the room, you tap the floor with your dueling wand. The room shakes and a small terracotta warrior erupts from the floor and marches towards the vile grey demon. 

Muttering to yourself you draw in background magic with your dueling wand and create a huge ball of rock which you hurl at the vile grey demon. 

Water

Using the ambient magic you skillfully create a fluffy grey cloud at the tip of your dueling wand which blows towards the vile grey demon.

Gznang holds his dueling wand out horizontally. A large hailstone forms at its tip and starts to zoom towards the foul midnight black demon.

Air

You concentrate on tofu and cabbage, drawing in magic from the room. Suddenly a puff of foul smelling gas errupts from your dueling wand and moves towards the vile grey demon.

Gznang lifts his dueling wand up and down in a flapping motion and suddenly a small yellow butterfly pops into existence. 

MESSAGES: PROTECT

Fire

Using his dueling wand Gznang produces a long flame which he points at the opening of the barking dog. 

Muttering magical words and vigorously rubbing your dueling wand you construct a small dragon from fire and set it flying with a lazy wave of your hand.

You quickly rub your dueling wand, generating heat through friction, until a small ball of fire forms at the end. Drawing your hand back, you hurl the fireball at the butterfly.

Gznang chants a magical verse and creates a spark from his dueling wand.

You create a circle of fire around the foul midnight black demon using your dueling wand. 

You rub your dueling wand and use it to draw a circle on the ground. Suddenly, a ring of flame springs up around the foul midnight black demon. 

Using your dueling wand you create a large fireball which flies towards the huge ball of rock.

Earth

Using his dueling wand, Gznang creates a small version of the great wall of Agatea around the vile grey demon. 

Gznang creates a large clod of dirt with his dueling wand which zooms towards the huge ball of rock.

Gznang quickly points his dueling wand at the butterfly and shoots a a stream of pebbles from the tip. Using his dueling wand, Gznang creates a small mountain in front of the vile grey demon. 

Using your dueling wand, you solidify the background enchantment into a large rock which you hurl towards the fluffy grey cloud. 

Gznang produces a ball of dirt from the tip of his dueling wand and magically hurls it at the hailstone.

Water

Gznang conjures up a disc of ice which hovers over the vile grey demon like an umbrella.

Gznang conjures up a large hailstone which he hurls at the other hailstone.

Gznang conjures up a huge wall of water around the vile grey demon with his dueling wand. 

Time seems to speed up as drops of water fall from your dueling wand, forming a sharp stalactite on the very tip of it. You break the stalactite off and throw it at the butterfly. 

Gznang uses his dueling wand to create a protective wall of ice around the vile grey demon. 

Air

You produce a huge gust of wind from your dueling wand and send it towards the foul midnight black demon.

Drawing on the background enchantment, you create a small tornado which circles the foul midnight black demon.

You produce a jet of air from the tip of your dueling wand and point it at the fluffy grey cloud.

There indeed seem to be two possible attacks per element, and possibly, one weaker than the other. The case for the protections seems much more confusing. I would be there is the same number for each, but in 34 rounds I had with Gznang I only got these: 7 for fire, 6 for earth, 5 for water and 3 for air. I mean, this could be correct, with different numbers of defenses per element, but most likely, I have to duel some more and getting the missing defenses in the list.

I'll also be posting soon the results of those 34 rounds, with the pairs attack/defense and the results, to see if we can form something like a predictive table with them.

Unseen University postcards - The Gym

The Unseen University's curious equivalent of a gymnasium is a large cubic room with the walls, ceiling and floor lined with strangely shaped tiles of metal and wood.  It strikes you that the room seems, well, solid and somehow more real than other rooms you know.  You can make out some scuffed chalk marks on the floor.  A light patch on the far wall indicates a sign once hung there.

An octogram on the floor glows in eldritch fashion.

There is one obvious exit: north.

Mystic Alysandra and Dwmmigh are standing here.

A closed tome and an old, battered chest are on the floor.

Some wearables

I continue making use of Hex's recently discovered abilities to create iconographs on demand.  Without further ado, let's take a look at some of the stuff I wear:

Bottomless Pit

No, this isn't a mutilated Creator, but rather a deluded and very stylish Agatean backpack I had made for carrying spell components. Its description reads:

The deep red coloured backpack is made of durable traditional silk.  It is shaped like a tube.  Each pocket is adorned with delicate embroidery depicting dragons coiling and uncoiling in a lighter shade of red.

Bottomless Pit is a deep red silk backpack.

And the iconograph shows it like this:

The loot bag

Until recently, I was also walking around with a bag in which I stored money and loot, but as I have found a rather lucrative side job in Sto Lat making pottery, I have decided to leave it in a vault for the moment. It is gaudy enough to make it to here, though...

Originally designed for use by sailors, this larger duffel bag is made from porphyrous purple denim, secured with gold clasps, and sturdy enough to carry a full grown man inside.  The words "Winswand" and "My other bag's a cloud" have been stitched onto the duffel bag, and orchid purple rhinestones are scattered all over it.

And the iconograph shows this:

Artificer belt

This belt has been deluded as 'Blorples', and is one of the many containers I use for carrying blorpled rings, along with the odd tool I might need as a crafter. Its description reads thus:

Made from plain sturdy brown leather, with four sizeable pouches, this belt will hold all the small tools and materials an artificer needs.  The only concession to decoration is with the buckles, which are gleaming brass engraved with a dense network of thread-thin runes - runes of protection, care, and craft.

Blorples is an artificer's tool belt

And the iconograph shows us this:

Emerald-studded sword belt

While my weapon of choice comes with its own scabbard, I also wear this fancy belt for other swords or daggers I might be carrying. Today, this is mostly the dagger I use for gathering components. The description states:

Broad and thick, this dark leather belt has a simple buckle and a scattering of emeralds along its length.  A loop on each hip would serve any gentleman to carry a sword and dagger about town or while riding, but they would be less than secure in the hunting field or engaged in any activity more strenuous than a gentleman of leisure normally finds himself.

There is one loop free.

It could sheathe a rapier, foil, colichemarde, blade, dagger, sword, sabre, sidesword or epee.

The emerald-studded sword belt contains: Blade Of Morgul.

And the iconograph shows:

Blackened canteen

We conclude for today with what appear as a modest object, but it has saved my life lots of times, thanks to the healing tea it contains. Looking at it, you see:

Made from the bladder of some poor water buffalo, this canteen has been stained black and treated to last.  A long leather strap secured at either side of its spout allows it to be hung around one's neck.

And the iconograph shows:

Cowtastic!

I have been a keen practitioner of the arts of pottery for quite some time. House Sung, in Bes Pelargic, has a very nice workshop, and I've generally excelled at teapots with kitsune fox patterns. But today I discovered a little pot-making place in Sto Lat managed by Ozzie Guntram which welcomes contributions for help and contains a ledger from which you can be assigned orders. 

I tried my hand for the first time with cow jugs (!?), and after some getting my hands dirty, I landed with this little beauty:

A stylish jug formed masterfully from pottery, in the shape of a jolly cow.  While the choice of subject matter is dubious at best, it's hard not to admire the artistry that went into it, from the bovine beam on the cow's face to the four pert udders at the bottom of the jug that form its base.  A pretty ring of beige diamonds decorates the jug.  It is covered with a bright brown glaze.

Weapons

The only weapon I use right now -besides magic- is a short, oriental sword called a storm serpent kodachi, which I had Wan Bending Reed make for me. When I visit the Shades, I swap it for a fairly conventional wakizashi. 

I also carry a fancy-looking dagger, but I only really use it for gathering body parts...

look kodachi

This single-edged short sword is barely more than two feet in length, with a subtle curve along the length of the blade.  Perfectly suited for infiltration and close quarters fighting, the kodachi flourishes where the katana would prove too unwieldly.  The blackened steel of the blade bears a pattern of wind and lightning and the hilt has been wrapped in snakeskin.  The maker's mark, a single reed gracefully curved by an unfelt wind, is engraved on the simple square tsuba behind the blade.

look saya

Slim and subtly curved to match the kodachi, the thin wood of this scabbard has been finished in silvery grey lacquer.  A dark grey silk shigeo cord wraps around the saya near its throat to attach it to the wearer's obi.  Elusive reflections flit through its depths, as though in the darkest of mirrors encountered in a waking dream.

look Blade of Morgul

This is a dagger, the blade of which is constructed entirely from black steel.  It is about a foot long, and very sharp.  The blade is wavered all the way along its length, lending it a worryingly deadly appearance.  The dagger has an ebony grip, and the hilt has a crossguard made from ivory.  It has been constructed to resemble a pair of leathery dragon wings sweeping out from the hilt.  The pommel of the dagger has been formed from onyx into the shape of a curled dragon tail.  The chappe of the blade is made of ruby with a motif of a fierce dragon etched upon it.

More apparel - kimono, obi and zori

As you could guess from the hat, I have a predilection for Agatean fashions and styles. I am, after all, an honoured member of house Sung, and one must look the part, besides playing the part. Here are some further examples of my wearables:

This is a beautiful sapphire blue kimono that has been dyed with a delicate monarch butterfly pattern which circles around the lower portion of the skirt.  It has long, sweeping sleeves which drape down almost to the ground and encase the wearer's arms in a sheath of silk.  The kimono has been delicately embroidered with thin threads of gold leaf around the hem.  The inside of the kimono is lined with a delicately sewn layer of soft gold silk lining.  The way the bias has been cut indicates that this kimono was probably created for a ceremonial occasion.

The sapphire blue ceremonial kimono has two sleeve pockets and one side pocket.

This is a wide gold obi that has been finely crafted and wound in the style associated with the skilled artisans of Bes Pelargic.  Made of high quality heavy silk, its long sash is meant to be tied tightly around the waist and cinched up in an intricate bow. The obi has been hand painted with a multi-shaded fishscale pattern that extends down its length.

This is a handcrafted pair of wedge soled zori, which are a type of loose Agatean sandals traditionally paired with a kimono.  The zori have been covered in a soft gold silk that has been stretched across the bridge of the sandals and secured under the sole with a large number of small brass clothing tacks.  The silk has been delicately hand-painted with several differing shades of watercolour to depict a sunset pattern.  They have been squared off at their corners to indicate that they are to be worn by a man.  Finally, these zori have been adorned with a pair of simple sapphire blue coloured straps that hold them somewhat securely to the feet.

Some apparel - my hat!

Just made a return after a long time away, and as I have rented the services of DALL-E for the current month, I thought it would be a good idea to create a nice portrait of myself. This has proven to be more difficult than I expected, but in the interim, we can enjoy pieces of clothing and jewellery I am carrying - the program seems relatively good at doing that. First stop: my wizard hat:

This proper sapphire blue, silk crepe wizard's pointy hat has a perfectly cut lapis lazuli mounted front and centre which is surrounded by neatly embossed dragons. The embossed dragons are impressed into the silk crepe in such a way that the relief seems almost too realistic as they dance around the lapis lazuli, encircling it completely.