What's really interesting though is that we will get these spells in written form. @Blackout , does that mean we can hold onto these purchased spells indefinitely rather than try to learn them all in one go?
Fireball is Battle Magic, which is significantly more powerful, but also more dangerous as well as being harder to cast and taking longer. Breathe Fire is something you can snap out in the middle of melee. It also doesn't require a free hand.
Fireball is Battle Magic, which is significantly more powerful, but also more dangerous as well as being harder to cast and taking longer. Breathe Fire is something you can snap out in the middle of melee. It also doesn't require a free hand.
I mean there is, Aqshy version of Aethyric Blast which is also known as Fireblast to single-wind users, but the spell called "Fireball" is Battle Magic.
Fireblast and Breathe Fire fill different functions- Breathe Fire is substantially stronger but a short-ranged cone, whereas Fireblast shoots out a projectile that explodes when it hits something.
I mean there is, Aqshy version of Aethyric Blast which is also known as Fireblast to single-wind users, but the spell called "Fireball" is Battle Magic.
Fireblast and Breathe Fire fill different functions- Breathe Fire is substantially stronger but a short-ranged cone, whereas Fireblast shoots out a projectile that explodes when it hits something.
Then I think my argument stands, well enough at least. If a spell is longer range but weaker you can just throw multiple instances of it out while the enemy closes. It is probably still not going to compensate perfectly but I do not think that imperfection is worth an AP, I would rather get something with entirely new functionality.
Cowering Beasts - Calling upon the power of the Wild, the caster invokes the primal prey instinct to cower and flee, temporarily inflicting fear and panic into nearby enemies. Particularly effective against animals and beasts.
Pass. Could be useful against cavalry, but is it relatively short range and and it gets less useful as the enemy starts to ride monsters and those are the dangerous ones.
I'm willing to go to bat for Cowering Beasts being one of the most effective spells on that list honestly. First of all, leaving aside whether it's extra effectivity against beasts also applies to Beastmen, keep in mind that the description itself is clear that it applies to enemies in general, not just beasts. Beasts are just extra affected by it. Now keep in mind that we've been told by the GM that our traits make intimidation spells extra effective in our case, on account of Chracian Blood. This could be really good in helping us clear large masses of low tier enemy infantry like Ungors, Goblins and perhaps even marauders, much more so then a spell like Earthblast or Fire Breath IMO, which could help us and the swordmastes avoid being surrounded by chaff like we were in Jaarpen. Add to that is all the times we end up rolling for intimidation outside of combat as well. For example during the way to the count's camp we had to roll for intimidation to see if we attacked on our way on the road, so this spell has a fair bit of out combat as well as in combat utility, and it covers a utility we don't have yet. We have plenty of low tier blasto magic, we have plenty of low tier buffs, but we don't have an intimidation spell, with this one being immediately useful on the current campaign to boot.
Moreover, learning this spell should also help us learn other more powerful intimidation spells such as Aspect of the Dreadknight in the way knowing how to conjure lesser elementals shaved off a big chunk of the DC we had to reach to learn CGAE.
1 other thing I'm considering regarding the eart-wall spell: say we go a-raiding a Norscan village again, and they have a pallisade.
Can we push up an earthwall belowl the pallisade and then push it down again, thus breaking the pallisade at a place & time of our choosing?
Or can we push up a wall that gradually slopes up & then down the wall? Like building an instand ramp? that would be a potentially very valuable skill if we ever have to confront enemy (field) fortifications
1 other thing I'm considering regarding the eart-wall spell: say we go a-raiding a Norscan village again, and they have a pallisade.
Can we push up an earthwall belowl the pallisade and then push it down again, thus breaking the pallisade at a place & time of our choosing?
Or can we push up a wall that gradually slopes up & then down the wall? Like building an instand ramp? that would be a potentially very valuable skill if we ever have to confront enemy (field) fortifications
If we want to blow up a wooden palisade we could probably use a lesser fire elemental's self bombing. Earth Wall has some potentially interesting applications, but getting past low tier fortifications like a palisade is something our current spell book probably has covered.
Or can we push up a wall that gradually slopes up & then down the wall? Like building an instand ramp? that would be a potentially very valuable skill if we ever have to confront enemy (field) fortifications
If we want to blow up a wooden palisade we could probably use a lesser fire elemental's self bombing. Earth Wall has some potentially interesting applications, but getting past low tier fortifications like a palisade is something our current spell book probably has covered.
Then you're writing off relevant details for the convenience of your argument, which is a risky proposition and requires a better quality of argument than I think you're making. Similar power is not the same thing as similar form (single target vs AoE) or similar function (piercing armor vs setting a bunch of shit on fire in one go). As for the mouth, A) Magic in the hands of a Loremaster, and B) Elven helms are typically open faced in a manner similar to Corinthian Greek helmets and have been for almost as long as WHF has been a thing. So unless QM says Fanriel's helmet specifically isn't for some reason, literally not a problem in the first place.
No, it's because those effects are just not that valuable, especially if you still insist on doubling up by getting both Earth Blast and Fire Breath for some reason. Both of those are going to be tier 2 blasto spells. Tier 2 blasto spells are just not going to be that powerful and that is going to be more so when you spread their effect between multiple targets. Consider that you are arguing for the use of an aoe spell like Fire Breath and Earth Blast as something that would have made the difference against a Chaos Champion whose armor alone probably weighed more then Dorial's whole body when we already have a single target armor piercing spell in Aethyric Bolt, and our gun, and a multitude of other blasto spells like Smouldering Gift or our various lesser elementals.
But hey, lets instead waste not just one action on learning either Fire Breath or Earth Blast, two magic missiles with very similar utilities, but two actions just so we can learn how to do both.
Do you think the White Tower gives a shit about two papers written by an exile? This is not an argument improved by two papers - it's an argument improved by as many papers as we can manage, which are then peer-reviewed and tested by the mages there. Not to mention that the sworn obligation of a Loremaster is as much knowledge as they can conceivably find and record.
So what you're saying is that since two papers are not going to matter to the tower, then we should spend a whole bunch of actions just so we can get one more paper for something that the tower seems incredibly unlikely to care about at all given how stupid Asur mages seem to think Elementalism is judging by Fanriel's own reaction to it? What I think will matter to the tower is if we write papers about things the tower will care about, like if we find the secrets behind Ice Magic, which Blackout told us would be considered a substantial revalation to the tower, and not flooding them with bottom tier papers.
Our spell book is not a pokedex. There is no obligation for us to learn spells we feel we don't need over spells we do feel we need or even just studying other disciplines. Magic is literally our lowest stat as a loremaster due to all the time we spent learning things other then magic.
Humans don't need or expect a lot of elfpower (neither does Fanriel presumably, neither do I), and I'm slightly boggled that's the tack you're taking. I expect more than what they sent, preferably in the form of specialists who can teach more and teach faster. One mage who can and will teach, in this scenario, is a 25% improvement over the canon three which can be leveraged into an exponential quantity of human mages taught and trained. Even a basic elf mage who doesn't even qualify as a proper Mage by their standards is a better mage and more knowledgeable teacher than what the humans can expect to provide.
The elven mages weren't supposed to come to teach humans magic to begin with. The Colleges were Teclis' pet project, who then had to argue with Finreir to convince him to go along with it. Even if you somehow convinced Ulthuan to send more people, why would it be magic teachers? Not to mention that according to Blackout Asur standard military doctrine is having 1 archmage for each legion, a legion being roughly 6,000 combat soldiers. Why of all people would the Ulthuani be sending more mages to us, if they send more people, when by their standards 3 archmages is enough for a five figure number of high elves, particularly given that one of those archmages is the greatest Asur mage alive? And again, additional people being sent to us are going to be necessary at the time for liberating Ulthuan from Druchii occupation.
Though you suspect the description is intended as rhetorical, the tent is, indeed, humble. You can pick out where attempts have been made to make it look more ostentatious, but there is only so much that can be done to conceal the repeated damage it has suffered.
The chair you find yourself sitting on might have once been finely-carved by human standards, but patchwork repairs have rendered the original artistry all but unrecognizable. The rugs beneath your feet are discoloured, from flame or spillage of questionable liquids. Most likely both.
It would seem, that they are not doing that well for themselves. The Wolf Emperor probably tolerates and protects them, rather than supports their little guild and in exchange they fling nasty spells at his enemies. Magic isn't a very high priority in Middenland.
Hugo Fielck is the youngest of the three, with a broad-shouldered build and his jaw adorned by a short and neatly-trimmed black beard. Unlike his compatriot, his soul is nearly pristine, bearing almost no taint. He is the most overtly confrontational of the three, blustering in response to your overtures even as you suspect he can't help but feel flattered by them.
This guy is very interesting. To have almost no taint means, that he must have been extremely diligent in practising Earthbound Magic. Of course like Fanriel says, it's just simple cantrips fit for children, but for a human spellcaster this is always quite an achievement to remain free from Dhar, given their natural "talent" to work with it.
He is not calling upon Dhar intentionally- if he were, you would be dutybound to cut him down then and there. You suspect he's not even intentionally calling upon the winds, his soul is merely so scarred, so mutated by exposure to the Aethyr that it does so without conscious intent, like a poorly-designed flood valve that cannot be closed because the current is too strong.
For all that, he is undoubtedly powerful, like a raging wildfire, burning bright and strong before it is snuffed out. You would not wish to face him on the battlefield.
Ah yes, the classic example of: "In case of war break glass". The poor guy is so far gone he can barely understand what's happening. Now he is only used as a living engine of destruction. Do remember that while he now subnconsciously creates Dhar around him, which prevents Fanriel from outright slaying the wizard, it's not unreasonable to suggest, that when he starts blasting his foes on the battlefield he will do so with Dhar. We shall have no choice but to kill him when that happens.
Rockblast - Nah, we have options for that.
Earthwall - Absolutely. One of the best utility spells on the market right now. A quick way to fortify our position or to stop a cavalry charge in its tracks.
Breathe Fire - So-so. It's main selling point, is that we don't need hands to spit a cone of fire.
Stoke the Flames - Not worth it, we have better options.
Clear Sky - Good choice and one we can afford. Better, than an umbrella on the march.
Mountainwind Curse - Not worth it, we have better options.
Hammering Wave - Not worth it, we have better options.
Dampward - Useful, but very situational.
The Beast Made Well - No. We can already do all of this.
Beast Tongue - Useful, especially when we shall go looking for a Familiar.
Cowering Beasts - Useful, since we do have bonuses to Intimidation and some synergy is possible.
The Ox Stands - Good if we had a bigger amount of humans (or Unbloodied) in our company. Right now not really needed.
Next downtime we need at least five actions to have a chance at both finishing CGAE and getting a familiar, 4 for CGAE, 1 for the familiar, so that should be something to keep in mind when deciding our spell list. Personally, having thought about it, I'm actually fine if instead of finishing CGAE next downtime we instead spent say, three actions on Inspiration, which seems like it could plausibly finish it, in order to have a bit more spare room for learning another spell right now, particularly if Inspiration could possibly end up helping us learn any of those.
Okay, that took far too long but, as promised, have an analysis! DragonParadox has already done something like it but I disagree with a number of their conclusions; hopefully they can be compared with one another to provide different perspectives.
I've used a colour-coded rating system, with sky blue being most useful, red being least useful and a spectrumofcolours in-between marking greater or lesser utility. Purple signifies an option that's very useful in particular situations but doesn't offer much outside them. I've also added a '[Synergy]' tag if a particular spell offers a powerful effect alongside another spell that Fanriel already has that make them more than the sum of their parts.
The Ox Stands – Top Priority
I'm going to start this with a personal plea: if you read any part of this analysis, let it be the part about this spell.
The pre-modern battlefield was ruled by many forces but the most important is psychology. Whether a unit breaks on contact or stands in the face of the enemy is dependent mostly not on the weapons its soldiers carry or the quality of their armour but on their belief in their cause and commanders and their trust in the men beside them.
With that established, I'm going to quote a passage from Gaius Julius Caesar's Gallic War.
'…Caesar started for the right wing. There he beheld his troops hard driven, and the men of the Twelfth Legion, with their standards collected in one place, so closely packed that they hampered each other for fighting. All the centurions of the fourth cohort had been slain, and the standard-bearer likewise, and the standard was lost; almost all the centurions of the other cohorts were either wounded or killed… The rest of the men were tiring, and some of the rearmost ranks, abandoning the fight, were retiring to avoid the missiles; the enemy were not ceasing to move upwards in front from the lower ground, and were pressing hard on either flank. The condition of affairs, as he saw, was critical indeed, and there was no support that could be sent up. Taking therefore a shield from a soldier of the rearmost ranks, as he himself was come thither without a shield, he went forward into the first line, and, calling on the centurions by name, and cheering on the rank and file, he bade them advance and extend the companies, that they might ply swords more easily. His coming brought hope to the troops and renewed their spirit; each man of his own accord, in sight of the commander-in-chief, desperate as his own case might be, was fain to do his utmost. So the onslaught of the enemy was checked a little.'
Caesar, The Gallic War, translated by H. J. Edwards, Cambridge, 1917, 2.25.
Going amongst the soldiers and motivating them personally is one of the most effective things a commander can do to alleviate a struggling formation. It brings together the vertical bond of morale and the horizontal bond ofcohesion; not only is the commander risking themselves to be present, demonstrating their belief and courage in the endeavour and thus their worthiness as a leader, they are fighting alongside their troops, who will fight all the harder to prove themselves worthy of that belief and to ensure that the commander is not betrayed by it. Fanriel has already demonstrated this when she rallied the Ulrican men-at-arms at Jaarpen. Being able to do all of that with magical enhancement on top is, then, to me, near-mindblowing. Not only this, Fanriel, who will hopefully soon have a familiar and Eyes of the Pack to survey the battlefield for trouble spots and who already has Shadowsteed to get her to them, will be able to do all of this far more swiftly and dynamically than an average commander. I do not exaggerate, then, when I say that I believe that The Ox Stands is the most tactically impactful spell that the mages are offering.
The counterpoint has already been made that this impact is unnecessary – that, being elite elven soldiers, the Lightfangs do not need additional psychological resilience. Even if we accept that that is the case, though, we've already had a demonstration of the effectiveness of this on human soldiers at Jaarpen. We are pushing Fanriel to command and coordinate several mercenary groups – she may be doing so for this very campaign – and those will include humans and others less experienced than her own soldiers. More than this, I have already made the case for expanding the Lightfangs to include human troops. The ability for such people to stand against the horrors of the Warhammer world at all is already remarkable; we should ensure that we can given them all the resilience that they need to do so when the going is toughest.
Beast Tongue – Top Priority (if we're getting a familiar)
We would like a familiar. This allows us to get a familiar. That's about all the reasoning this needs! (Could also be used to calm down panicking horses and something similar, in a pinch, and potentially useful for investigations, because nobody bothers to hide things from animals. Were he not forbidden, I'd bet that Cothaerion would be very happy to be taught it, too!)
Earthwall – Very Useful
I made similar effects to this a major part of my Dogs of War submission's theming for a reason. Setting up a covered or elevated firing position for artillery and handgunners*, damaging structures by raising an earthen wall beneath them, disengaging from an enemy in an emergency, creating an intermediate ledge (or, if we develop it, a ramp) to reach rooftops and other high positions, and, of course, rapidly establishing temporary fortifications… This spell has a huge amount of utility packed into it for a variety of situations.
(*There's also the potential to use Earthwall to let archers and crossbowmen use direct shooting from behind an infantry line. That's actually not as useful as it sounds if you have disciplined troops capable of letting their lightly armoured fellows step behind them when an enemy closes without disrupting a formation. When we take on less experienced soldiers, though, it could be quite meaningful.)
Cowering Beasts – Useful
An anti-formation tool that directly assaults an enemy's psychology… Intriguing. Still overlaps with YsFB but arguably has a more guaranteed impact than any of the other, similar spells listed, and so worth consideration.
Stoke the Flames – Useful[Synergy]
There's been discussion of how Stoke the Flames might be used with flaming arrows and the like, and those points stand. However, there's something that I think we've missed.
Ygethmor's Fiery Blizzard, which Fanriel knows, explicitly '[lights] flammable objects on fire'.
Setting an enemy's weapon hafts, uncovered shields and especially the fabrics of textile armour and clothes on fire and then stoking those fires to a blaze is a horrifyingly effective one-two punch that arguably makes this spell worthwhile on its own. That it has other uses is a very nice cherry on top.
Clear Sky – Situational
Contrary to a few other posts, I don't think that Clear Sky is actually all that useful logistically. The impact of mud, frost and the like on the speed of a moving army are the result of bad weather in the days leading up to a march, not just bad weather during that march. This means that Fanriel would have to rush back and forth on her Shadowsteed along a chosen route in the days before a campaign to ensure that things stay dry, which isn't terribly practical.
That said, Clear Sky does have niche uses, mostly in eliminating the ability for enemies to use rain, snow, mist and the like for cover (which could be particularly helpful during bodyguarding missions) and in ensuring that gunpowder units and archers with weather-sensitive weapons (which Blackout has declared Asur bows aren't) can function. Plus, nasty rain showers do have a tendency to dampen morale.
Dampward – Situational
Ygethmor's Fiery Blizzard's ability to set everything flammable in an area alight already gives us a very effective way to knock out gunpowder weapons! (Granted, there's less prospect of capturing any of those gunpowder weapons intact than Dampward offers…)
Still, putting out fires in a large area is very useful in that specific scenario, which will probably come up once in a while.
Mountainwind Curse – Situational [Synergy]
Mountainwind Curse is a neat little spell for use against champions and monsters and not too much else. Where it comes into its own is in combination with Armour of Lead, which Fanriel already knows. Weighing down an enemy who tires more quickly is likely to be extremely debilitating and compound the effects of both spells; it's not quite an auto-win but it is a heavy weighting of the scales.
Breathe Fire – Limited Use
We already have Ygethmor's Fiery Blizzard for fiery formation disruption. While the latter 'Does not do much direct damage', that's what the troops pushing into the disrupted formation are for. Furthermore, as Talon has pointed out, we can use an Elemental for the same. Maybe this would be worth it if we had more time on our hands to learn spells with, as an anti-formation option that's faster and simpler to cast than the above, but we don't.
Hammering Wave – Limited Use
I like this a little better than Breathe Fire because it brings something new to the table: weight. Water is surprisingly heavy; I could see this being used to, for example, break down flimsier gates… If we didn't already have options like asking one of our Swordmasters to use Ox Splits the Mountain, teleporting into the guardroom with Smoke and Mirrors and opening it directly or using Earthwall directly underneath it if we take that spell. There are other options that do what it does, is my point.
Rockblast – Limited Use
Another anti-formation tool with some armour-piercing capability… As said, Ygethmor's Fiery Blizzard has us covered on this front.
The Beast Made Well – Redundant
Fanriel already has Lifebloom, Regenerate and Healing Light for healing, all of which can heal people as well. Pass.
With all of that set out, then, I'm going to put forward three spell acquisition plans: one for an efficient, quick approach that picks up the most valuable spells without using many actions; one that goes for some interesting, synergistic options alongside them; and one that goes all in on acquiring spells. Feel free to vote for as many as you'd like or to approval vote them alongside similar plans!
[] Yes, you wish to buy spells from the Middenheimers.
-[] The Ox Stands (Advance)
-[] Beast Tongue
-[] Earthwall
[] Yes, you wish to buy spells from the Middenheimers.
-[] The Ox Stands (Advance)
-[] Beast Tongue
-[] Earthwall
-[] Stoke the Flames
-[] Mountainwind Curse
[] Yes, you wish to buy spells from the Middenheimers.
-[] The Ox Stands (Advance)
-[] Beast Tongue
-[] Earthwall
-[] Stoke the Flames
-[] Mountainwind Curse
-[] Cowering Beasts
-[] Clear Sky
-[] Dampward
My issues with the Ox Stands are two fold. First, for our own elven troops it probably isn't that necessary, the bigger issue however is the sort of difficulties it might create if it was going around among humans that we're casting spells on them in order to compel them to fight, arguably against their will. If people were worried about accusations of Mind Control from us using a spell like Glamour in order to get a bargain at a market, then something like using our magic to compel people to risk their life seems like it'd have the potential to be way worse then that, more so if we also use it on people who aren't actually mercenaries working for us but people we work with like allied mercenary groups.
In terms of morale buffs in battle the only spell I care to learn is Power of Truth so we can use it on our elven troops, since Blackout confirmed that a spell like Power of Truth is deemed to avoid the sort of deceptive associations sometime associated with using magic when interacting with people.
My issues with the Ox Stands are two fold. First, for our own elven troops it probably isn't that necessary, the bigger issue however is the sort of difficulties it might create if it was going around among humans that we're casting spells on them in order to compel them to fight, arguably against their will. If people were worried about accusations of Mind Control from us using a spell like Glamour in order to get a bargain at a market, then something like using our magic to compel people to risk their life seems like it'd have the potential to be way worse then that, more so if we also use it on people who aren't actually mercenaries working for us but people we work with like allied mercenary groups.
While I grant that that is a possibility, any mercenary worth their salt is going to know that breaking and running from the battleline is typically far more dangerous than standing and fighting. That's where the overwhelming number of casualties happened, mostly because people running away have their backs to the enemy and, without a formation to protect them, are extremely vulnerable to be ridden down by cavalry. Considering the emotions of it, too, I would like to think that having the growing panic of an imminent rout forestalled and immediately reversed into courage and strength is something that experienced soldiers, or even green troops with more eagerness than staying power, would thank us for. If Fanriel accompanies it with verbal exhortations and personal martial valour, it might even be possible to pass it off as a regular, non-magical second wind (though that kind of lie of omission probably isn't sustainable in the long term).
Right, then - voting's open! Probably going to avoid the maximalist option for now - good to preserve some flexibility for the next downtime - but may approval vote for that too if people desperately want.
[X] Yes, you wish to buy spells from the Middenheimers.
-[X] The Ox Stands (Advance)
-[X] Beast Tongue
-[X] Earthwall
[X] Yes, you wish to buy spells from the Middenheimers.
-[X] The Ox Stands (Advance)
-[X] Beast Tongue
-[X] Earthwall
-[X] Stoke the Flames
-[X] Mountainwind Curse
[X] Yes, you wish to buy spells from the Middenheimers.
-[X] Cowering Beasts (Advance)
-[X] Earthwall
-[X] Beast Tongue
[X] Yes, you wish to buy spells from the Middenheimers.
-[X] Cowering Beasts (Advance)
-[X] Earthwall
-[X] Beast Tongue
-[X] Clear Sky
Still sticking by getting Cowering Beasts and doing so now so we can use it during the coming campaign. As @Nimbus has pointed out, morale is important in battle and fortunately for us as has been confirmed by the GM using our magic to harm the morale of the enemy entirely avoids the sort of stigma with using magic to mentally affect your allies, giving us much of the benefit that the Ox Stands bring, just wielded as weapon rather then a shield, and added to that is the bonuses our traits give us for intimidation spells.
The Lightfangs aside, the count is the leader of a massive expeditionary force. He at least does have people who can build earthern works, and has a mage who can cast Earthwall anyway in the Middenheimers. However when it comes to Cowering Beasts we can probably make better use of the spell then the Middenheimers can due to our traits, something which I don't think is the case with Earthwall, hence me choosing Cowering Beasts for our advanced.
My issues with the Ox Stands are two fold. First, for our own elven troops it probably isn't that necessary, the bigger issue however is the sort of difficulties it might create if it was going around among humans that we're casting spells on them in order to compel them to fight, arguably against their will. If people were worried about accusations of Mind Control from us using a spell like Glamour in order to get a bargain at a market, then something like using our magic to compel people to risk their life seems like it'd have the potential to be way worse then that, more so if we also use it on people who aren't actually mercenaries working for us but people we work with like allied mercenary groups.
In terms of morale buffs in battle the only spell I care to learn is Power of Truth so we can use it on our elven troops, since Blackout confirmed that a spell like Power of Truth is deemed to avoid the sort of deceptive associations sometime associated with using magic when interacting with people.
Possibly depends on how the spell works exactly, I guess. "The Ox Stands - Calling upon the power of the Wild, the caster invokes the herd instinct to band together against predators, boosting the morale of a small group of allies, shielding them against fear and terror." - this may or may not mean simply protecting people from panic, allowing them to think more clearly, instead of compelling to do anything specific. @Blackout?
Possibly depends on how the spell works exactly, I guess. "The Ox Stands - Calling upon the power of the Wild, the caster invokes the herd instinct to band together against predators, boosting the morale of a small group of allies, shielding them against fear and terror." - this may or may not mean simply protecting people from panic, allowing them to think more clearly, instead of compelling to do anything specific. @Blackout?
(Mmm! Not going to speak for Blackout, of course, but one way it could be used if this reasoning is correct would be guaranteeing a cohesive fighting retreat in a bad situation, normally one of the hardest tactical manoeuvres to pull off because the risk of collapsing into rout is so high. Hopefully that would at least somewhat allay your concerns about it essentially being an 'auto-fight' button that people might be angered or unsettled by after the fact, Imperious!)
(Mmm! Not going to speak for Blackout, of course, but one way it could be used if this reasoning is correct would be guarantee a cohesive fighting retreat, normally one of the hardest tactical manoeuvres to pull off because the risk of collapsing into rout is so high. Hopefully that would at least somewhat allay your concerns about it essentially being an 'auto-fight' button that people might be angered or unsettled by after the fact, Imperious!)
I think in general humans won't care much for us using magic on them, we are still in the pre Magnus time period in which being a spellcaster in the Empire more commonly then not carried the death sentence, but yes, spells meant to be mental effects seem like they'd have the potential to be the most problematic in that regard.
It does influence those it is cast on to stand their ground, but Fanriel thinks its unlikely that people would get especially mad about that, particularly if that means they're victorious.
Spells that affect people's behaviour are always spooky to the people being affected, but improving morale is perhaps the most innocious usage for such magic.
It does influence those it is cast on to stand their ground, but Fanriel thinks its unlikely that people would get especially mad about that, particularly if that means they're victorious.
Spells that affect people's behaviour are always spooky to the people being affected, but improving morale is perhaps the most innocious usage for such magic.
Fair enough. I still prefer wielding Cowering Beasts as a morale sword rather then the Ox Stands as a morale shield given the affinity of Fanriel's traits to the former and the superlative morale of our own elven troops, but I'm less concerned if the Ox Stands ends up winning at least.
If we want a morale boosting spell I'd prefer getting Power of Truth instead when we have the chance due to its potential uses both on and off the battlefield.
