Magic changed, why?

[Thunder_God]

I'm curious, why was the Syllable nature of magic change between Classic and Revised?
And then came back again in Abstractions(Although I guess this is because then it can be seen as different elements adding up).

Just curious :)

BTW, can I get my "Title" frozen in some Great Wolf Path? :D

[Thor Olavsrud]

We changed it because it involved a lot of needless calculation, especially when factoring in Carefully and Patiently. If two syllables = 1 Action, it's just much more user friendly to note spell times in terms of Actions than syllables.

[Drozdal]

As for your second question Thunder_God it's not a matter of asking gods to grant you that title, you have to earn it yourself :twisted:

[luke]

abstractions will be revised and updated shortly.

-L

[Thor Olavsrud]

abstractions will be revised and updated shortly.

Right. Sorry Thunder_God, I missed that part of your question. The Abstractions chapter that is up now has not been updated for Revised yet. That's why you're seeing the discrepancy. As Abzu said, a Revised version of Abstractions should be available soon.

[Kublai]

Yes, understand that the Abstraction rules were written after the Classic Rules but well before the Revision. So nothing went backwards, it's just they haven't gone forwards!

[Thunder_God]

As for your second question Thunder_God it's not a matter of asking gods to grant you that title, you have to earn it yourself :twisted:
Anyone needs Hebrew and Judaic translations?*
I sorta liked the Arcane way it worked in, that you could and should watch how much you get to chant; it's a feel thing where it FEELS you're chanting, instead of "merely" casting in a more generic way.

*=Me referring to how I got my last Special Title online, here I only ask for it to be well, stabilized

[Thor Olavsrud]

I sorta liked the Arcane way it worked in, that you could and should watch how much you get to chant; it's a feel thing where it FEELS you're chanting, instead of "merely" casting in a more generic way.


Sure, I understand. But it could really turn casting a spell into a royal pain.

As an example: I decide to cast Firewalker with the Presence Facet so that I can help the entire party walk through the magical wall of fire.

Firewalker is 8 Syllables + 8 Syllables for the Presence Area of Effect Facet. Also, I'm casting it Carefully and Patiently for X10 Syllables. That's 160 Syllables. Then I have to divide that by 2 to figure out how many Actions it takes (80 Actions). It's not a difficult calculation. But it's a pain to do that over and over again as the others are waiting on you.

Especially when we know it's a 4 Action Spell +4 Actions for the Presence Facet * 10 for Carefully and Patiently = 80 Actions.

[FM_Mario]

Maybe they're just under the surface for you. =) In good ol' English class, we divide syllables and rhythm into various kinds of "feet" (iambic, trochaic, spondaic, etc). Conveniently, most feet are two syllables--a pentameter is about ten syllables, or two feet. So one foot=1 action.

To use some WS (MacBeth here):
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake

Each line is tetrameter, or 4 feet or 4 actions.

[Redoid]

Maybe they're just under the surface for you. =) In good ol' English class, we divide syllables and rhythm into various kinds of "feet" (iambic, trochaic, spondaic, etc). Conveniently, most feet are two syllables--a pentameter is about ten syllables, or two feet.

You've lost me there. Obviously I didn't took any English literature class, but I dare say that a pentameter is comprised of five feet, isn't it?

[Mickeroo]

*stands and drools*

Me fail english? That's unpossible.

I think we all have to admit, it's just easier this way. You can always just multiply by 2 to get how many sylables you're saying.

[Thunder_God]

*stands and drools*

Me fail english? That's unpossible.

I think we all have to admit, it's just easier this way. You can always just multiply by 2 to get how many sylables you're saying.
That's what I figured I'll do.
I'm afraid our English lessons did not have syllables, it was Hebrew and its Verb Formations we broke into itsy bitsy bits. If anyone has a link to what Mario is talking about then I'll use my time to persue it further :)

[Redoid]

The following links will explain the basics of Western metrics in poetry. I used to study Latin for years, and suffered upon those pesky verses! :evil:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrical_foot

To lean the basics of counting feet in different languages, you could use the following link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meter_(poetry)

[Thunder_God]

Much obliged.
You know, we need a "Gunslinger" title, it's just too cool...
BTW, what does "Son of a Gun" mean exactly in the SeaFaring Paths of Man?

[Thor Olavsrud]

BTW, what does "Son of a Gun" mean exactly in the SeaFaring Paths of Man?

It's a born lifepath. In the days when the British navy was the scourge of the seas, sailors would often sneak prostitutes or 'wives' aboard ship. Officers rarely ventured below decks to the places where the seaman slung their hammocks, and generally they turned a blind eye to the women, though they often knew there were some aboard. The women never showed their faces above-deck.

It was not uncommon for children to be born by these women, and often it was impossible to determine their patrimony, as these women often had many 'husbands' on ship. If a birth certificate were drawn out, the patrimony would be given as "son of a gun."

One of the earliest examples of "Son of a Gun" comes from British Admiral William Henry Smyth's The Sailor's Work Book, from 1865.
"An epithet conveying contempt in a slight degree, and originally applied to boys born afloat, when women were permitted to accompany their husbands to sea; one admiral declared he literally was thus cradled, under the breast of a gun carriage."

[Redoid]

Much obliged.
BTW, what does "Son of a Gun" mean exactly in the SeaFaring Paths of Man?

The expression designs the son of a soldier, born at sea, back when women could accompany their husband onboard. The only place that could afford a modicum of privacy for labor (without blocking a pathway) was between gun emplacements. This, of course, is the very British explanation given in the OED.

Cruder etymology: as sailors were often pressed into service, and not allowed to leave the ships, for fear of desertion, prostitutes were brought onboard instead, giving birth to children whose father was not clearly determined.

Take your pick :)

[Redoid]

And to come back to "Magic has changed"... The abstraction chapter was written before the revision, wasn't it? Because the new rules for spellcasting states that one can cast patiently and carefully for advantage dice up to his sorcery skill, or the obstacle of the spell, whichever is lower. And the chapter about abstraction tells us that as abstractions are more flexible, one can lower the ob up to his exponent skill.

Lowering ob is equal to an automatic success. It's better than having advantage dice. Does it still stands? Is the abstraction process compatible with the revision as is?

[Thor Olavsrud]

And to come back to "Magic has changed"... The abstraction chapter was written before the revision, wasn't it? Because the new rules for spellcasting states that one can cast patiently and carefully for advantage dice up to his sorcery skill, or the obstacle of the spell, whichever is lower. And the chapter about abstraction tells us that as abstractions are more flexible, one can lower the ob up to his exponent skill.

Lowering ob is equal to an automatic success. It's better than having advantage dice. Does it still stands? Is the abstraction process compatible with the revision as is?

Yeah, the Abstraction chapter was written and on the site before the Revision was even started. At some point soon, Luke is going to rewrite it to update it and post the revised version.

In the new version of Abstractions, you can be sure that Carefully and Patiently will add dice rather than lowering Obstacle.