- Location
- Straya
Hey guys, not dead, just had the flu and it's a bit underwhelming to try and dictate with a dose of it. Ideally something up tomorrow, but may or may not be busy, so just as likely day after.
The Lighthouses and the Pit (Fantasy Mage Quest)
- Thread starter occipitallobe
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
- Location
- Straya
Inserted tally
Mini-Update - Runesmiths
- Location
- Straya
Swallows sit for a little while, and listens. The information given to her is interesting, and she is intent on every word, ensuring she draws as much meaning as she can from her pricey information.
Runesmiths. As magi go, they are perhaps among the least known. Other magi are more impressive, and Alchemists can have their concoctions used by others. Runesmiths, on the other hand can only use the items they forge, and do not have the same combat capacity as most of the other magi.
Conversely, they are among the most versatile.
Consider the Bladebound. A Bladebound grows in strength inevitably, and is able to specialise into a small number of effects, that tend to be incredibly powerful. A powerful Bladebound can take one step and walk half a mile, or slice an enemy in half from far away. They can do this unceasingly, unless their arm grows weary, or their sword breaks.
Runesmiths cannot do this at all. Their power is much more limited, to items that are either fundamentally limited in scope, effect, or reusability. Moreover, the power a Runesmith gets out of their item is considerably less than the equivalent of a mage of a different sort. As a Runesmiths, I can do anything that another mage should do, given time to replicate it. Power is more difficult to come by, as I am much less capable of engaging in combat. A newly minted Runesmith is utterly powerless, and does not gain the combat advantages of a Bladebound, nor the pool of power the other magi possess.
They have a low rate of growth, and find it difficult to be able to kill Darklings. The Bladebound must kill a Darkling with a blade. The Fireeyes must kill Darklings with fire. The Runesmiths must kill Darklings with an item forged by magic specifically keyed to allow them to absorb the energy of the Darkling. This is more difficult than it sounds, and requires considerable amounts of energy to achieve, something Runesmiths are already very poor in.
As a consequence, the Runesmiths tend to try and construct peculiar or otherwise useful effects that do not require them to going to combat. Take myself for example, I enhance my own capacity for memory. This effect is comparatively cheap, compared to forging armour capable of resisting the strikes of a Darkling, or a weapon capable of cutting through them with these. Combat is a difficulty for a Runesmith until they manage to find some way to gain energy from Darklings. A hypothetical Second Ascension Runesmith would be able to use their power from combat to infuse into items, and would consequently be able to create items much more rapidly and with more power than a usual Runesmith.
Now, to discuss the three primary restrictions on a Runesmith.
Firstly, the law of similarity. Anything made once can be made easier the second time, and even easier the third, and so on and so forth. This is why Runesmiths specialise, and build similar items or tend to build in a 'theme'. They do not have any innate talents towards a particular sort of item, but have developed affinities over time.
Secondly, the restrictions on scope. The more area, the more time, the more power, and item effects or exerts, the more expensive it becomes. This rule is not linear, but no exact mathematical curve has been found. For weaker items, twice the power is roughly 3 times the cost.
Thirdly, the effects of reusability. An item that can be used indefinitely, at will is approximately 1000 times as expensive as an item of the same sort the can only be used once. Most Runesmiths, tend to forge items with this limitation in mind, using clever workarounds or unusual alternatives to gain the same effects with less cost.
The larger part of the update will come tomorrow afternoon or Saturday morning.
Before it comes out, though, are we trading:
[ ] The Favour We Traded For Before
Trade away the favour from the other Runesmith.
[ ] A New Favour From Ourselves
Keep our old favour and offer a new one for us to perform.
Runesmiths. As magi go, they are perhaps among the least known. Other magi are more impressive, and Alchemists can have their concoctions used by others. Runesmiths, on the other hand can only use the items they forge, and do not have the same combat capacity as most of the other magi.
Conversely, they are among the most versatile.
Consider the Bladebound. A Bladebound grows in strength inevitably, and is able to specialise into a small number of effects, that tend to be incredibly powerful. A powerful Bladebound can take one step and walk half a mile, or slice an enemy in half from far away. They can do this unceasingly, unless their arm grows weary, or their sword breaks.
Runesmiths cannot do this at all. Their power is much more limited, to items that are either fundamentally limited in scope, effect, or reusability. Moreover, the power a Runesmith gets out of their item is considerably less than the equivalent of a mage of a different sort. As a Runesmiths, I can do anything that another mage should do, given time to replicate it. Power is more difficult to come by, as I am much less capable of engaging in combat. A newly minted Runesmith is utterly powerless, and does not gain the combat advantages of a Bladebound, nor the pool of power the other magi possess.
They have a low rate of growth, and find it difficult to be able to kill Darklings. The Bladebound must kill a Darkling with a blade. The Fireeyes must kill Darklings with fire. The Runesmiths must kill Darklings with an item forged by magic specifically keyed to allow them to absorb the energy of the Darkling. This is more difficult than it sounds, and requires considerable amounts of energy to achieve, something Runesmiths are already very poor in.
As a consequence, the Runesmiths tend to try and construct peculiar or otherwise useful effects that do not require them to going to combat. Take myself for example, I enhance my own capacity for memory. This effect is comparatively cheap, compared to forging armour capable of resisting the strikes of a Darkling, or a weapon capable of cutting through them with these. Combat is a difficulty for a Runesmith until they manage to find some way to gain energy from Darklings. A hypothetical Second Ascension Runesmith would be able to use their power from combat to infuse into items, and would consequently be able to create items much more rapidly and with more power than a usual Runesmith.
Now, to discuss the three primary restrictions on a Runesmith.
Firstly, the law of similarity. Anything made once can be made easier the second time, and even easier the third, and so on and so forth. This is why Runesmiths specialise, and build similar items or tend to build in a 'theme'. They do not have any innate talents towards a particular sort of item, but have developed affinities over time.
Secondly, the restrictions on scope. The more area, the more time, the more power, and item effects or exerts, the more expensive it becomes. This rule is not linear, but no exact mathematical curve has been found. For weaker items, twice the power is roughly 3 times the cost.
Thirdly, the effects of reusability. An item that can be used indefinitely, at will is approximately 1000 times as expensive as an item of the same sort the can only be used once. Most Runesmiths, tend to forge items with this limitation in mind, using clever workarounds or unusual alternatives to gain the same effects with less cost.
The larger part of the update will come tomorrow afternoon or Saturday morning.
Before it comes out, though, are we trading:
[ ] The Favour We Traded For Before
Trade away the favour from the other Runesmith.
[ ] A New Favour From Ourselves
Keep our old favour and offer a new one for us to perform.
This particular part reduces the value of runesmith in my eyes, at least a little.
That use limitation puts a damper on my dreams of an unbreakable sword+thunderfist. Well, I suppose it really comes down to "how difficult is it to make a one use item, so we know about the cost of one thousand times that". I mean, runesmiths are usually strapped for energy because of their low combat talent, but we wouldn't necessarily have that problem as a second ascension.
On the flipside, we could literally just make iterative swords that are as durable as we can manage. each subsequent one is measurably easier than the last, so even without massive amounts of energy we should be able to pull it off eventually.
Also, there is something to be said for being able to do just about anything with a little planning and effort.
ChildishChimera
A umbran summon
- Location
- New York
[x] A New Favour From Ourselves
- Location
- Lost!
[x] A New Favour From Ourselves
Aoinfinity
Unlimited Blue Works
- Location
- a blue Infinity
[X]A New Favour From Ourselves
- Location
- Sydney
[X] The Favour We Traded For Before
RedV
Refuelling
- Location
- Right here
So as a Runesmith we will ideally want to create multiple single use swords we lug around, since the more we make the easier it is and also the more cost-efficient we can make it. The image is pretty amusing, and a sack of single use excaliburs would be boss. I like the idea of creating multiple broken phantasm-likes every time we enter a battle, it is a classic image.
But I pragmatically do not prefer Runesmithing with this revelation - Coldhands seems more preferable since it won't cost money and we won't have to lug around anything but a large water bottle. It makes much more economic sense for our aspiring swordswoman to take Coldhands and just lug around a waterskin - in a pinch she can even drink it.
But I pragmatically do not prefer Runesmithing with this revelation - Coldhands seems more preferable since it won't cost money and we won't have to lug around anything but a large water bottle. It makes much more economic sense for our aspiring swordswoman to take Coldhands and just lug around a waterskin - in a pinch she can even drink it.
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
It depends on the power to output ratio, of course. Seeing as First Ascension Runesmiths are still somewhat useful regardless; A Bladebound/Runesmith 2nd Ascension would in principle avoid the issue of having low power growth, negating one of the prime weaknesses of being a Runesmith.
I am more inclined for Shaderunner/Bladebound now, though - The idea is for Swallow to go Pit-Diving for Age of Light Artifacts nonstop. The other synergistic route would be Thunderfist/Bladebound..
RedV
Refuelling
- Location
- Right here
I support a
Bladebound -> Spellthief -> Coldhands
or a
Bladebound -> Shaderunner -> Breathtaker
kind of build the most right now.
Shaderunner seems to need more mobility as a high damage assasssin type, and so will likely see large gains from noncombat utility and three-dimensional movement of Breathtaker. Runesmith also combos well with Shaderunner since assassins benefit from planning and preparation more than a reactive person.
Spellthief into Coldhands is simply very good at many things. No truly awful emotional effects, high versatility, magic weapons without getting into crafting and a highly powerful offense that exceeds the Shaderunner build. Loses out on stealth attacks, but I believe that higher overall versatility more than makes up.
Either way, next step for our Second Ascension should be the Yellow Lighthouse, since every job the place offers is so powerful and has good future synergies that we should pin down what we want from there as soon as we reasonably can.
Bladebound -> Spellthief -> Coldhands
or a
Bladebound -> Shaderunner -> Breathtaker
kind of build the most right now.
Shaderunner seems to need more mobility as a high damage assasssin type, and so will likely see large gains from noncombat utility and three-dimensional movement of Breathtaker. Runesmith also combos well with Shaderunner since assassins benefit from planning and preparation more than a reactive person.
Spellthief into Coldhands is simply very good at many things. No truly awful emotional effects, high versatility, magic weapons without getting into crafting and a highly powerful offense that exceeds the Shaderunner build. Loses out on stealth attacks, but I believe that higher overall versatility more than makes up.
Either way, next step for our Second Ascension should be the Yellow Lighthouse, since every job the place offers is so powerful and has good future synergies that we should pin down what we want from there as soon as we reasonably can.
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