[OOC] Mages of Atmara

[TheUnknowable]

Conservation of energy is the main thing: is energy in >= useful energy out? Also, on the topic of life and death powers, how do they work and what are their capabilities? From what I understand about life it is the manipulation of organic materials, but how does a person use it without knowing what the fuck is going on on a molecular level? Also, I completely forgot to ask, but what is the approximate technology level of the setting? Is it roughly analogous to a year range of earth history, or is shit all over the place?

@rextremendum

Basically conservation of energy, but with the chemical energy in your body added in and converted to that form at various levels of efficiency. Life is essentially bio-energy. If you add it to a cell, that cell either has energy to burn or, if you give it enough, it splits, leading to healing powers. Death is the opposite. It lowers the chemical energy in a cell, weakening its function or killing it. As for tech, some of the world is Late Medieval, some is early Renascence, depending on the wealth and overall society of an area. Warlike societies, for example, aren't going to have any use for bicycles, and little patience for dirigibles.

[rextremendum]

So frighteningly soft biology aside in regards to "bio-energy" and how this lets the cell quickly create new complex molecules, does that mean that shitty Life Energy folks create tumors? And can a life mage instantly win any fight by for example causing the cells in the opponent's brain, heart or eyes to replicate way too fast and fuck everything up? Seems OP. Also, when you say chemical energy, do you just mean things are fueled by burning ATP? Because that is what I assumed, but the issue with that is that there is not TOO much energy available, so I am unsure as to your desired power level for the setting. Also, I'll get a character draft up soon, if that is OK.

[Eklispe]

Well really everything is OP if you take it to a biological level. If you can apply and remove heat to a single part of the body you can easily kill someone. Air lets you remove oxygen from someone's lungs. Lighting can make a bolt inside somebody's body or mere milliseconds from hitting them. Light allows you to permanently blind someone with ease. Anything is overpowered with proper usage. I assume the GM is assuming we will use our powers in a far more simple light.

[TheUnknowable]

So frighteningly soft biology aside in regards to "bio-energy" and how this lets the cell quickly create new complex molecules, does that mean that shitty Life Energy folks create tumors? And can a life mage instantly win any fight by for example causing the cells in the opponent's brain, heart or eyes to replicate way too fast and fuck everything up? Seems OP. Also, when you say chemical energy, do you just mean things are fueled by burning ATP? Because that is what I assumed, but the issue with that is that there is not TOO much energy available, so I am unsure as to your desired power level for the setting. Also, I'll get a character draft up soon, if that is OK.

@rextremendum

If they could focus it enough, beyond healing levels, yes, they could make tumors. They could also kill people by overdoing it, or targeting a sensitive area and dumping an insane amount into it. That would require a ton of energy, though, to give them a tumor large enough to increase cranial pressure and kill them or make them pass out in the span of a few seconds. Also, things like that are limited by nutrients in the blood, so if there's not enough spare protein, your muscles can't grow, and if it gets too low your body would start feeding on your muscles. I guess that would be a good way of looking at the energy, but then again, they are making fire and lightning bolts, so they would need kilojoules (1kj = .239 food calories, 25,000 v @ 60miliamps, enough to stop the heart if it goes through it, is 1.5 kilojoules/sec, though the amperage would have to be increased to go through the body.) of energy to do much of anything. The limit on that would be their skill level and their caloric intake. A master, creating a flamethrower style flame, would quickly burn pounds of fat. They would need an insane number of calories in their diet or a lot of spare fat on their body to do that, and the fat would be slow to metabolize. Beginners, like us, wouldn't be able to use hardly any energy, so our effects are extremely small. Yeah, it's fine, though. You can put up your character.

[TheUnknowable]

Well really everything is OP if you take it to a biological level. If you can apply and remove heat to a single part of the body you can easily kill someone. Air lets you remove oxygen from someone's lungs. Lighting can make a bolt inside somebody's body or mere milliseconds from hitting them. Light allows you to permanently blind someone with ease. Anything is overpowered with proper usage. I assume the GM is assuming we will use our powers in a far more simple light.

@Eklispe

yeah, that kind of stuff is "grandmaster" level of magic, and there would only be a few people in the world (like Atmar before he died) that can do it. The same is true for interchanging light & fire or dark & cold. We're just starting, so we're more at the "human flashlight" (light), "matchstick" (fire), or "recover from a hangover in minutes" (life) level of magic once we finish our basic training.

[rextremendum]

Right, I'll get the character going. How does a life mage know how to tell its liver to metabolize ethanol faster than usual, without knowing how the liver works, or how alcohol works. Do they know how to tell the pituitary gland to resume making vasopressin without knowing what the pituitary gland or vasopressin is?

[TheUnknowable]

Trial and error. Focus it on different parts of the body and see what happens. There are surgeons, too, as well as hunters, so they know the basics of biology. At some point in the past a master might have focused life energy onto different organs to see what happens. Heart? faster heart rate. The lungs? Recover faster after getting winded. The stomach? Faster digestion. The intestines? Food seems more nutritious. The Liver? Recover from alcohol and some toxins faster. The brain? I feel smarter. Muscles? I'm stronger.

[TheUnknowable]

I was just thinking, how will the lightning person recharge? Rubbing silk and glass together wwould be ridiculously slow. I might go with an anachronism and have a windherst generator at the school.

[The Roman07]

Ill take the Light magic if possible?

[rextremendum]

I don't think I'll get involved in this one I'm afraid: seems cool, I just have a lot on my plate coming up in school, and I need dem grades son

[TheUnknowable]

Ill take the Light magic if possible?

@The Roman07

the light magic guy seems to have just left, so sure, i'll add you.

I don't think I'll get involved in this one I'm afraid: seems cool, I just have a lot on my plate coming up in school, and I need dem grades son

@rextremendum

ok, see you later.

[TheUnknowable]

@Eklispe Three slight problems with your CS, 1) "large amounts of innate magic." doesn't really fit the lore. He could have large amount of innate energy, and if he's a distant descendant of a god-born, he could have the innate ability to use a type of magic weakly. Magic isn't really a separate thing from physical energy, though. 2) People could be sent to the monks in the canyon for counseling, but they wouldn't really teach him magic unless he joined them. In order to join the mages he'd have to demonstrate to one of their members that he had a strong Will, as Will lets him control his internal energy better. I guess they could contact the Mages once they discover his Will for themselves and the mages would send someone to look him over. 3) How is the absence of light supposed to teach him to value life? It could teach him about life somewhat, as most life needs light to survive and/or thrive (like humans and their need for sunlight to make vitamin D), but that about the only connection I could find. I assume this is a misunderstanding, as most fantasy worlds use "Dark magic" to mean destructive magic, and "light magic" to mean healing a buffs. In this case, however, it's a Darkness Element type magic, like shadow-based magic.

[Eklispe]

@TheUnknowable Histroy revision very bottom Moros was fascainated by the magic that he saw being used there and asked if it would be possible for him to learn it. After going through testing to determine if he had the Will neccasary for it he was accepted and began training. Logic for element. My logic here is a little far reaching but and possibly flawed but here goes anyway. Moros is gonna jack around with his shadow powers for a while going hahahah. But after he see's how easily he can kill something or someone, he starts to wonder, how easily can i be killed? Then he thinks about all the things that he could do or is going to do. And how that won't happen if he dies and how the world would be different. Then he applies this logic to everything else, what could this creatures or humans do if i hadn't killed them. What would be different if they lived or died?

[TheUnknowable]

@TheUnknowable Histroy revision very bottom Moros was fascainated by the magic that he saw being used there and asked if it would be possible for him to learn it. After going through testing to determine if he had the Will neccasary for it he was accepted and began training. Logic for element. My logic here is a little far reaching but and possibly flawed but here goes anyway. Moros is gonna jack around with his shadow powers for a while going hahahah. But after he see's how easily he can kill something or someone, he starts to wonder, how easily can i be killed? Then he thinks about all the things that he could do or is going to do. And how that won't happen if he dies and how the world would be different. Then he applies this logic to everything else, what could this creatures or humans do if i hadn't killed them. What would be different if they lived or died?

@Eklispe

ok, that could work.

[TheUnknowable]

If anyone has reserved a spot but not posted a CS, either tell me if you are still interested or post a CS. I'm planning on starting this in a few hours.

[The Roman07]

I have no power thanks to a snowstorm and no internet on my computer guys. Energy company says itll be a while so feel free to start without me...

[TheUnknowable]

I have no power thanks to a snowstorm and no internet on my computer guys. Energy company says itll be a while so feel free to start without me...

@The Roman07

ok. Thanks for checking in.

[ScarlettWaters16]

Do we need to make a mentor for us to become inducted into the mages?

[TheUnknowable]

Yeah. You don't need any real detail, though. They just need to realize you have a strong Will and give you their amulet, with the info to take it to the mage school in Atmara. I plan on having them show up later to take us to the Sky Palace as our first serious mission, but you can wait until then to go into detail about them.

[ScarlettWaters16]

Added a mentor to my CS