rants, musings, etc

The application of sorcery to stuff

one of the many things we all tend to do is try to compare something we don't know to something we do know in an attempt to relate and understand this new thing. some people have more emphasis on these comparisons than others. for my part, I tend to see how concepts in games worked according to Mage: The Sorcerer's Crusade. It's a fun exercise. kind of like seeing if pegs of a certain shape can fit into holes not originally intended for the peg. For these exercises, I'll be comparing to the version of Mage that I formatted for my Millstone of Time storyline.

enough rambling. Here's the first analysis:

Mass Effect is a series primarily for the Engineers, but Mages could pull off similar styles. The "spells" used aren't really dependent on foci, and if done right, using foci in tandem with these abilities could really up the awesome factor. Emphasis on "done right," of course. It seems to me, however, that the abilities for Biotics could easily be done by both Mages and Engineers, while Tech specific abilities could only be done by Engineers. Not quite all the abilities fit the mould, however, but I'll be looking at each Discipline as represented in the game.

Disclaimer: this is not 'how it should be done,' but rather 'how I'd do it.' if there's a way you think you could do something in a way that I haven't listed, then by all means, share!

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• Barrier
  This ability could definitely be accomplished with the Correspondence Discipline. A practitioner with enough skill could create a field that would alter the distance between points within said field in random ways. In this way, the field would be able to alter the trajectory of incoming objects, deflecting or stopping them at will. A backlash using this field could accelerate incoming objects, or even direct them at the unfortunate spellcaster.
  
  Alternative methods involve the Matter Discipline (using applications of magnetic properties) supported by the Earth Elemental Lore, or the Chaos Discipline (heavy emphasis on the Air or Earth Elemental Lores). Using this third method would require Chaos 2, which lets the user create etherial shadows of real things. Creating an etherial recreation of a shield would work perfectly.
  
  
• Lift
  I think the potential usage of this spell is through the Matter Discipline, by altering gravity to act as a repellent instead of an attractant. Could use the Earth Elemental Lore to augment the ability.
  
  Alternative method could involve the Correspondence Discipline to change the connectivity between point A and B. If point A is the target, point B is the ground, and Point C is somewhere above target A, then the caster could wrap Point A in a field that makes Point C (wherever it may be, who knows?) the more optimal connection. The result is that Point A might fly off to find point C... until the spell wears off.
  
  As always, the Air Elemental Lore would just simply blow the target elsewhere. Mini-tornadoes, ho!
  
  Note: Throw andSingularity are very similar to above, as they would require the manipulation of Matter and/or Correspondence to make the desired effect.
  
  
• Warp
  The idea that this does damage, increases susceptibility to damage, and does damage over time falls under the Entropy Discipline. A practitioner with enough power to influence probability and decay would definitely be able to do this spell the easiest, in any target.
  
  Alternative methods involve using the Life Discipline (vs. living targets) and Matter (for synthetic targets). Finally, the fourth level of the Chaos Discipline would allow someone to drain Chaos Energy out of a target. This effect would be similar to removing the support structure of a building, or the underground erosion of terrain. A structure effected in this way would crumble from the inside, and underground erosion is evident in the instance of sinkholes.
  
  Note: Stasis would be similarly deployed as the alternative methods used above, but would be easiest accomplished by a Time Discipline spell against the target.
  
  
• Shockwave
  This is a hybrid spell, I think, of Correspondence, Chaos (using the Fire and Air Elemental Lores) and possibly Time. To replicate this effect, one would have to create a synchronized explosion effect: Air to create a concentrated pocket of oxygen, and Fire to ignite the combustible pockets of air. Correspondence, dealing with connections, would be able to string said explosion into multiple occurrences, and Time would time delay the explosions to give the effect of them rippling outward from the caster.
  
  An alternative would be to substitute the Air Lore with the Earth Elemental Lore and adding the Matter Discipline into the mix. A chemist knows that oxygen (a nonmetallic element) is flammable, so the knowledge that highly concentrated pockets of oxygen would react with fire would enable a chemist Engineer to replicate this effect. In addition, he could substitute the Fire Lore with a fire source. Something as simple as a zippo lighter or a box of matches would suffice, lowering the difficulty even further.
  
  Note: it would seem from this description that Matter and Air could technically be considered the same element. this is true, in a way, but a person could learn the Air Lore, never knowing that air itself is a form of Matter. It all depends on the paradigm, and is one of the advantages that Engineers have over Mages: they 'get it' faster. Besides, such an understanding is necessary for the Arch Master to see how all the elements are inter-related, and is a foundation for them to acquire the seventh Lore, True Light (if an inherently good person) / True Dark (if an inherently bad person).
  
  
• Damping, Overload, Sabotage
  Countermagic at its finest. In Mass Effect, magic was simply technology, so these abilities were easily used by biotic and non-biotics. In Millstone terms, these three spells rely heavily on Entropy to work, because of the Discipline's affinity to probability and decay.
  
  Alternatively, using the fourth level of the Chaos Discipline would just let the caster drain the Chaos Energy powering the abilities. Problem solved.
  

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  Long post is long. I think I may make a part 2 for any requested abilities.

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