12-2-13 Post Discussion

Personal conditions permitting, could everyone please make sure they're about 10 minutes early before the session starts? I'd like to have a discussion with everyone then before the session starts so we don't eat up that time. Thanks!

I guess I can be there early... It sounds ominous.

Well y'see that's story exposition. I was asking for some exposition on the setting for why Zeiss the Green Mage needs to go to the Light temple. Not a character reason, but a lore reason.

Yes, I will be on Vent 10 minutes early.

I guess this will answer your question Rory. I highlighted the important parts.

GREEN MAGE: Green Mages do not cast any particular Magic in any traditional sense of the word.  Rather, they summon what are known as Aspects, a reflection of one of the 8 Elementals.  This Aspect is, in fact, an echo of that Elemental being reflected upon the Mage themselves, showing a side and sign of their personality, and is effectively created the moment they first learn to summon it.  Thus each Aspect is unique, and inherently bound to the Mage that originally called it into existence, with its own thoughts and feelings based off of some aspect of its Summoner.  The 8 Elementals of which these Aspects are called from include Air, Fire, Earth, Water, Light, Darkness, Life, and Space.  A given Green Mage usually first manifests their initial Aspect at a very young age, while they are still children, produced of the strongest element they have Affinity for.  These Aspects act as companions and friends through the rest of their formative years, but cannot properly advance or grow until that given Green Mage has undertaken the trial of that element and properly communed with their elemental, thus ‘awakening’ its full potential.  The Summoners, as they are called by most non-Mages, are a part of an ancient and heavily ritual-based society, who's order has existed since time immemorial.  This ancient organization, known most commonly as The Order, has been maintaining their vigil over the 8 elemental temples and offering their teachings to any with the time and dedication to listen since before history was recorded.  Each of these temples is dedicated to one of the 8 Elementals, the temples and Elementals names' being long since lost to history.  For a Summoner, making a pilgrimage to one of the temples and enduring the trials therein is considered to be the crowning moments of their lives, though it is worth noting that the diversity of this varies.  Some Green Mages seek to visit all 8 temples in their lifetime and gain a full 8 Aspects to summon, but some are content with merely 1, their very first, or indeed any possibility in between.  Thus a Green Mage is not taught in a school nor in a barracks nor is it an inborn talent as the other Mages are, but rather is an emotional and spiritual journey for the individual to undergo and grow with as time goes on.  For this reason it is very rare to see a Green Mage acting as a part of any larger organization save the Order, holding fealty to no nation nor flag and trying to maintain a neutral stance in matters political and military.  In this vein, Summoners roaming the countryside, either solo or in groups, is not uncommon, often lending their aid and the aid of their Aspects to whoever they might come across that has need of it.


Spells: A Green Mage does not learn spells in the same manner other Mages do.  There are 8 possible summons, and it is theoretically possible (if unlikely) for a level 1 Green Mage to obtain all 8 through careful application and effort.  Or indeed, it is possible for a level 20 to still only possess his or her original summons.  While Green Mages do still progress in Green Mana, any given summon only costs 1 Green Mana, regardless.  Any given summon lasts for 6 minutes / Caster Level.  Note that a specific summoning may be enhanced by the Metamagic feats Extend and Persistent, with the Maximized Mana cost always being equal to 1 Green Mana.  If the Green Mage summons another Aspect while an active, non-Permanent one is out the existing Aspect is immediately de-summoned.  If an Aspect that is summoned goes to 0 HP it can be recovered as per a normal Downed rules within 1 round, otherwise it is de-summoned.  The Green Mage may not re-summon that particular Aspect for 10 minutes after its ‘death’ but may freely summon another Aspect.  A starting Green Mage player, 90% of the time, has not undergone their given elemental trial and as such has a ‘child’ Aspect until they do.  This Aspect remains at lvl 1 regardless of the Summoner’s level, may not be Bound either Strong or Permanent, but can be summoned as an Emergency.  As soon as the player does undertake that trial and commune with that elemental all these restrictions are lifted and the Aspect immediately adjusts its level to the player’s.

I MAY not be there early because I'll be at work (Sis's work to be exact).  I'll figure out a way to keep you guys up to date on this.

And I haven't been ignoring your message Zeiss, just been debating some behind the scenes stuff.  You are talking about quite a trip though, unless you convince Rekarg to take 2 days out of his time to get you there faster.

Oh, don't worry Arch, I figured you were thinking about how to make this work. And as I said in my PM, I do not mind missing a couple of sessions doing my own thing. First of all, because I believe this is worth it. And second,  because I will miss half the sessions anyway until the end of December, so... yeah.

I thought about using the Hubs to get to my destinations faster and return to Holtburg when finished. There is a Hub in Arwic right?

Potential employment Arch? Congratulations?

No congrats here.  I'm doing a favor for Sis, nothing more.  And I have to wake up at 5 in the morning to do it, and probably take some pain pills. 

@Zeiss: Yes there is a Hub in Arwic.

Well that's too bad. Though all things considered, it will probably feel good to do something nice for her.

Zeiss wrote:I guess this will answer your question Rory. I highlighted the important parts.

These Aspects act as companions and friends through the rest of their formative years, but cannot properly advance or grow until that given Green Mage has undertaken the trial of that element and properly communed with their elemental, thus ‘awakening’ its full potential.

For a Summoner, making a pilgrimage to one of the temples and enduring the trials therein is considered to be the crowning moments of their lives, though it is worth noting that the diversity of this varies.

A starting Green Mage player, 90% of the time, has not undergone their given elemental trial and as such has a ‘child’ Aspect until they do.  This Aspect remains at lvl 1 regardless of the Summoner’s level, may not be Bound either Strong or Permanent, but can be summoned as an Emergency.  As soon as the player does undertake that trial and commune with that elemental all these restrictions are lifted and the Aspect immediately adjusts its level to the player’s.

Ah I see. So to sum up, "no".

Rory, I read that as "I need to get my aspect to level" otherwise it's kinda worthless.

Well I did too. I was aware of this when we went to take Hanuel to the Spacial temple. I was asking for a legitimately urgent reason for why Zeiss is like "I need to go right now." There isn't one, but I guess that's Zeiss' character in a nutshell.

Snarg of Wildpaw wrote:Personal conditions permitting, could everyone please make sure they're about 10 minutes early before the session starts? I'd like to have a discussion with everyone then before the session starts so we don't eat up that time. Thanks!

Sure, I'll be there.

@Rory: Zeiss' plan seems good to me. We are at a point where we are making the missions so his line of reasoning definitely has a place.

I want to investigate the cause of the mana loss and see if I can't find a cure. I'm sure the other casters in the party will agree. We are at a major tactical disadvantage right now.

Probably going to ask Rekarg to use his Dericost teleportation ability to get to my destinations faster. I think I can convince him. Plus, IC and OOC, this the perfect moment for me to do this.

I'll be there.

As for RP... gonna be a little tough figuring out what to do. Character is in a bad place right now.

Well... our current long term objective is expanding the Exchange to help defeat Gaerlan, the Tumeroks, the Pinnacle and now the Directorate. Gaerlan goes out first.

So I am just throwing this out there, but we really should get the Anti-Gaerlan stuff soon.

Y'know a thought JUST occurred to me as I was working on a song (don't read into that).  Someone earlier asked me to detail no-win-scenarios I'd thrown at the party, to which I responded none.  But there is ONE that exists in the setting potentially.  To be completely honest, I have literally no idea how the party could ever take down a Grievver.  Be an interesting thing to have get past the defense line, wouldn't it (after all, why hasn't one anyways, since they could so easily?)

Really giant hole trap, and shoot tons of armor-piercing stuff for a few days? Oh, and many kinds of poison. All of the poisons.

Just throw Gaerlan at the Grievver and let the battle begin.

The Grievver wins.

A volcano spontaneously erupts under the Griever, dropping it into the crater vent and directly into the magma?

Teleport it's guts to Sigil.

Well...I guess I can concede to that. Having an Aspect in the party again would be a welcome addition in combat, and we'll definitely want to get it up-to-speed. So long as Zeiss isn't like "we need to go to the Light temple before anything else" it's fine with me.

I did say I would go with or without the party. But it doesn't mean I will leave as soon as we get out of the Marblebush area. OOC, I will say that I am going to try to convince Rekarg to get us to the Garden, get the Anti-Gaerlan stuff (because it's the most important thing we can do right now unless someone disagrees), hide it around the Light Temple where I can also take the Trial, then I go do my own stuff.  But if Rekarg accept to make a little detour, it is possible for me to leave the party only for a few hours.

Whatever you do, make sure to equip less materia slots that the thousands digit on your HP, or it's master attack will kill you instantly, unless your luck is through the roof and it misses, but that one is more of an art than a science.