Homebrew system thread II, part 2

[Jub]

OOC: I know, but Bertram doesn't and he's just throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks at this stage.

[Fiji_Fury]

Dale shakes the Ikhrani priests if they aren't taking a step back and responding to Larric. Having pulled them loose from what could very well be a soul-well (to his thinking at least), he turns to speak with Lisanna.

"I sense much of this thing, but have little idea how to undo it... except with the kind of explosive finality that Larric is referring to. Can you make better sense of this thing? Exactly what threads might we pull to unravel this in a less spectacular way?"

[Kaelan]

Dirt's supressing the ogre solution to the problem, which would be to smash the alter into pieces using a Valdemironi priest. However, past experience has shown that a more subtle approach would be more appropriate.

Still watching the magic threads and waiting to run like mad....

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

First, I had actually forgotten about Larric's points into Runes and Thaumaturgy skills, so he should have had a higher base chance there.

Seocond, in terms of the rules issue, identifying hostile magic, actually having the same skill is obviously ideal- you'd get full value plus whatever augments other skills could give you. Having something related, in the same group- a skill off the same power- would give you partial value (half, two thirds, three quarters, something like that) depending on how closely related.

Thaumaturgy is theory of magic; it's tangentially related to everything, and can give you an augment bonus to your own spells, but relying on it is like trying to identify a particular spice from a description of the taste. It's a better supporter than it is a primary.

Even given that, Larric's effective skill should have been higher than I was figuring- which means that yes, there are supporting magics from the shepherd and the trader, but that of the warrior goddess is woven in in such a way that it distorts and subverts the overall weave.

I'm on the move at the moment; deal with the action in a bit.

[Simon_Jester]

So, Larric learned something from practically sticking his head in the mind control magic after all...

[By the way, I didn't get the "brass-and-unctuousness" reference until now. Sulidain, eh?]

The alchemist checks the Ikhrani priests, making sure they're not literally fascinated by the spell. Then he says to them "Look at the patterns from the war-goddess, they're out of tune with the rest. Do you think boosting that might break up the mass? Could we damage the other parts, make them interfere more?"

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Soon we are going to have to move to a new thread, if that's still an issue.


Hm. An earlier question- given the specific subject, Theology would have been as much help as Thaumaturgy, but the first thing that bubbled up to the top of my head was the metamagics taught by the guild, which include Induction which can sniff hostile magic and analyse it. Hm. Well, you got an answer anyway.

And the other question- yes, it is trying to draw you in. Probably did the same to the people who cast it, in fact. You were anticipating success in breaking away there- and the further- under result that actually succeeds in pulling Larric back is actually Fifi's headbutting him and pushing him away.

(Without anaesthetic effect, this time.) It doesn't affect her the way it would a flesh and blood being- she can afford to take that risk. Pulling back the Ikhrani priests is also a good move.

Lisanna's response is 'Hm? Oh, sorry, I wasn't...I was a move ahead and tripping over my own feet. Thinking about the politics of what this means. The Valdemironi were shafted, more cleverly than I expected, by the Krylanyans, and I think I know exactly which one.

What this twist does is actually amplify and include the priests in the field of effect, creating a self fulfilling loop in their egos, until they start thinking they can do something this mad and get away with it- I bet she and her party are at the castle defending it from the rogue priests, and taking pains to look specially heroic doing it too.

If we could only preserve this as evidence, but we can't, it's got to go- her parts aren't out of tune, they're becoming the rhythm, the backbeat. There are how many people being made to do stupid things and put at risk by this, that argues for crude and urgent. If we do rip it apart we'll hide the evidence for her, though...

We could boost and damage, perhaps, but look how tightly woven it is- we'd need a full dress ritual that would take at least as long as it did to put together, to raise the power to work with this on anything like even terms. Time is blood, at the moment, even though I'd love to try it. Which still raises the question of how?'

[Simon_Jester]

OOC:
What's the relevant ability score for Theology?

Also, I planned for success because Larric's got a decent Resist Magic-Determination axis going; and besides, there was no specific plan I could think of for failure except "try not to ego-dissolve too quickly."

IC:
The alchemist frowns. "Would it be better to just blow the thing up?"

[Jub]

"I know Larric is against the idea, but what is the worst that could happen if one person took it upon them self to attempt to siphon off the magic of this spell? Not all at once mind, but as slowly as they can manage, so that you might see directly how the spell works and gain insight into the way it is woven."

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Moving to start a new thread now- for reasons of page fifty. More on there.