September 20, 2016 1:25 PM EDT
Even more brilliant questions, guys! Thanks so much!
Dragonborn1721 said:
1. What can Magic Do?
I'm assuming things like area of effect, natural reactions (using Thermal Energy to burn stone would be harder than using it to boil water), time all effect how difficult it is to cast a spell, but there are a few teeny little things similar to that that I'm interested in it . How great do distance, line of sight and visbility effect how difficult it is to use magic? If I wanted to create a light, would I need to be able to see the place I'm trying to create light in order for it to work, would the cost be different if I was summoning that light 10 feet away as opposed to 20? Would I be able to use magic to alter something that I can't directly see (my bones for example?).
I'm really interested in the idea of combining energies, would that be easier or harder than using a single type for a goal (I can't think of any examples for this right now, but do you get what I mean kind of?).
The longer the distance between the Spirit Caller and the target of the spell, the more physically exhausting it is. A longer distance does not, however, increase the effect on the Caller's Timeline.
Most novice Spirit Callers rely on Line of Sight and Visibility to accurately place their spells, but more experienced Callers are able to "guesstimate" where to insert or remove energy. Experienced Callers are rare, though, so it's mainly Time Stealers who have that ability.
I think I know what you mean about combining energies, but I can't think of any way to apply it right now, so I'll hold off answering that. :P
Edit: Would an example, perhaps, be similar to that of a flashbang, which combines light energy and sound (kinetic) energy in order to blind and deafen the people in the area?
Teineeva said:
I'll be honest, this all looks very intrigueing. It looks like you definitively worked on it quite a bit. The idea of using the casters lifeforce to cast spells isn't entirely unheard of but the concept of using someone else's time to do so is quite interesting. Timestealing and the morality you have build around it is pretty neat.
Furthermore, your magic system is nice, the mechanics seem to be simple and to the point so far which is not a bad thing. You should be able to quite easily explain anything magic related, which is a great asset for the writer, and makes magic feel a lot less like an ex-machina which is great for the readers.
I do have a few questions though:
- Where does magic come from? Is it biological or does it have a divine source for example (TES would be a variant on the latter)? And more importantly, where do the basic plebians think it comes from?
- You mentioned Time stealing needs a stress free environment to be properly conducted, however as you probably know everyone has a different way of coping with stress and in our universe people can be trained to focus regartdless of stress even if it was previously crippling, my question is whether something similar could apply to Timestealing, could one theoretically train to perform it under high stress, such as a combat situation?
- The next question is somewhat related to the first, you mentioned Paladin-like entities most likely exist, does this mean there is a form of organized religion and how closely would it be related to magic use?
Between you doing this, and I believe Mortiferous brainstorming for his own little universe before the site move, you're starting to convince me to share some of the inner workings of my own original. See how it fares and if it holds up to scrutiny.
1. In this world, magic is biological. There are several schools of thought as to why it exists. Certainly, some religions believe that magic is divine and should be revered. Others believe that magic is the work of some evil deity. And there's also the camp that believe that magic just is. It exists just like a tree or a rock exists.
2. Yes, indeed. If someone had enough time and practice, he or she could theoretcially perform it under high stress situations.
3. There are a few forms of organized religion. The first believes that magic is sacred and any who would abuse its systems should be destroyed (See: Paladins). A second group hates all magic in general (See: Witch Hunters). Other minor factions exist, but those are the two extremes.
Relycs said:
How does the manipulation of let's say a stone work? Is it the spirit of the caster reaching out to the object? If so, does distance matter? Be it, does it increase the amount of energy needed? What about 'saving' spells/energy in scrolls or other objects for later use? This could make combat easier and could work for Time Stealers storing the stolen time/energy & maybe even selling it. How much time is drained when someone is using a spell and 'when' is it drained? You basically say the more complex = the more energy needed but wouldn't (stamina aside) even the 'attempt' of building a city from 0 to 100 just instantly kill you? Or is energy spent 'after' casting the spell?
Okay. Let's take the example of Stone Manipulation. There are two schools of thought on how it works.
The first group think of Spirit Calling as an extension of the Caller's spirit, that a person is, in essence, using part of his spirit to perform this action, thereby explaining the instant and long-term costs of casting a spell.
The second believe that Spirit Calling is more physical, that a person is manipulating his own energy in order to affect the outside world.
Like I said earlier in this post in response to DB, distance does, indeed, matter. It affects the instant cost of Spirit Calling, but it has no effect on the long-term Timeline cost.
Many people have attempted to store energy, though nobody has succeeded. Currently, a group of Theory Crafters and Experimenters are working together to come up with a logical explanation and, possibly, a workaround.
Energy is spent while a spell is cast. If building a city from the ground up, the Spirit Caller would die at the point when the Kinetic Energy exceeded his own capacity, leaving a half-built city in its place.
I wanted to take a bit of time to address this as well:
It is rumored that Time Stealers take in some of the attributes of their victims due to the intimate nature of the Timelines, but this has never been confirmed. Of course, it has never been disproved, either.
While storing energy in the way Relycs said is not yet possible, many Kings have attempted to prolong their lives by having someone perform Time Stealing on them. If you've played Fallout 4, you can think of it kind of like your first conversation with Nick Valentine after the Memory Den.
This post was edited by WuYiXiang at September 20, 2016 1:29 PM EDT
