{WIP} Combat lore

[Fox Starseer]

Note: This is a thread for brainstorming ideas on the combat lore.

So, first thing's first, this will be a team effort, and I have a few people who put their hands up in chat.

Some things we'll definitely need to include are the more common weapons (swords, axes, bows etc.) and how they would fair not only against each other, but also against various armour types. Also magic (Annalisa Marin put her hand up for this) combat. Also, how various stances effect certain weapons usage (Unless we have someone better then me, I may have to do that with my knowledge from doing karate and kobudo)

Also there is a chance this could run into the tactics skill.

So, let's begin. I'll take all advice/suggestions, and this is a team effort, so no one person gets all the credit.

[Annalisa Marin]

OK I'm going to just vomit out some basic notes for possible uses for personal magic in combat. We are going to go by discipline and some of these might be wrong or right, so I welcome anyone more knowledgeable in magic to contribute. Reimancy Alright so this is the easiest one as reimancy is very much a combat discipline of magic. When it comes to using reimancy in battle there are a number of factors that should be taken into account that determine effectiveness. Skill level, experience in combat and stressful casting, range, elements used, and availability of the elements nearby are the big ones I can think of right off the top of my head. The level where reimancy in combat really becomes feasible is about in the 15 XP- 20 XP range if we are going by pure stats here. Anyone before that is going to have trouble just casting a firebolt. The ideal stage would be competent at the very least. Firebolts are simply balls of flame that vary slightly in size and are a quick cast. However even with just this one spell one can likely stun an a opponent at the very least if they are not another reimancer. One should take into account that res is a very flexible substance and can phase change to suit the wizards needs. It is said that breathing in foreign res is like breathing in fire, it burns badly and is quite painful. At the least it could incapacitate an opponent on its own most likely. It could then be transmuted at fill from inside the opponents body, killing them. Casting, however takes quite a bit of time for anything say below expert for spells useable in combat. Trying for speedy casting can easily trap a reimancer into possibly overgiving and will definitely effect their ability to function in combat. Elements that are used are also an important factor, obviously is most combat situations the elements most often used are fire, earth, and lighting so I will cover them at the moment. Fire is devastating when used correctly, however the ideal use for fire would not be a massive fire storm but an attack from within. Carpet the field with gaseous res and let your opponents take it in, then simply transmute it to fire on the inside and cook them from the inside. A competent reimancer or higher would be best for this method as the longer the range you can have a wider and safer area of affect. Even armor wouldn't be able to save you from this. Earth can create constructs to crush an opponent, its very potent because there are quite a few materials always on hand for its use meaning chances for bigger casting. There are numerous methods to kill an opponent this way but the simplest and most crude would be literally to lob a big rock at them. Or stone them to death with a bunch of smaller rocks. The downside to this would be that some armor can deal with some of these effects. An earth spike might do the trick in that regard as it gives you the piercing force you need. Lightning is possibly the most devastating and dangerous force in reimancy. There are three factors to consider with lightning, explosive force, heat, and sound. You all know what thunder sounds like right? Well, imagine being right next to the source of that sound. Yeah, it would suck pretty hard an could even deafen you. Heat and explosive force are the things that leave nice little holes in your chest cavity. A lightning bolt could easily kill even an armored opponent an unless they have flux or something to alter their speed they won't be able to dodge it. However, it is best to ensure the lightning is cast well away from the wizard's body, otherwise it could kill him. Reimancy against non wizard: If a reimancer is smart then even a competent reimancers should be able to kill most anyone who excels in melee combat. Those with bows might find it much more easy to kill a reimancer and getting in close to them will typically be bad as the majority of reimancers are not the best in physical battles. The ideal situation would be for a reimancer to attack from range at all times, keeping the opponent far from them. Reimancy against reimancy: This can get really nasty really fast depending on the skill of both reimancers. Res can effectively act as a shield against other elemental attacks, the recommended course of action her is to be smart about res usage and to wear the opponent out first. Strike first if you can but have a defense ready. In the case with fighting another reimancer, always be ready to fight as dirty as possible and as brutally as necessary. This is really, really rough as it is late and I'm tired but I figured I should get something up here at least. I'll edit in more and add other disciplines later.

[Fox Starseer]

Looks good, Anna. Although, a thought I have about Earth reimancy, it can also be defensive. Remember, defence is as good as offence.

Defensively, earth reimancy can be used to create cover for warriors and/or archers to hide behind, utilising large rocks and mage-made ridges. Also, causing the ground to drop, making a trench.

And let's not forget air and water reimancy. While not as useful, air reimancy could be used to bring up a large breeze/wind to blow arrows off course, or even slow down warriors. water, on the other hand, can be used to flood areas (at higher levels), or fill trenches made by earth reimancy (as mentioned above).


So those are my suggestions for magic combat, Anna. What do you think of those?

[Alses]

Just throwing in my two pennies from Chat; it occurs that air reimancy could also be used offensively, excluding air from an area and therefore causing suffocation, or potentially by increasing air pressure, producing shockwaves and crushing effects.

The admixture of air and fire reimancy would make for stronger flames and potentially explosive effects, too .

[Valentina Markova]

I remember someone saying this somewhere, but you could use air and earth reimancy and make a sandblaster sort of thing. Sandblasters are cool.

[Annalisa Marin]

Indeed, those are indeed very true and completely valid ways to use reimancy in combat. However if I had tried to cover every single use for reimancy in combat I would have been on the keyboard all night. I just opted for the barebones for common examples.

I believe I approached Clyde about causing suffocation using air reimancy and he agreed that it was very possible, but required more Djed than simply killing them quickly. The air pressure thing seems very possible given that the reimancer is skilled enough and definitely seems like a combat use to me. It might be able to even affect a large area, crushing a number of individuals at once! I like it.

As for defensive uses I clean forgot about those. Air and earth do indeed seem to possess many useful defensive qualities, especially against other reimancers. If someone throws a firebolt at you, you can just deflect it with a strong gust of air, possibly even forcing your opponent back a bit. As for covers, I also like that idea but it should be noted that earth reimancy structures alone have a habit of being unstable.

Water is a bit more tricky. Ideally the best place for water reimancy is where existing water is, like at sea or near a lake. Having a skilled water reimancer with you in ship to ship combat would be quite potent, as they have plenty of forces for attraction. Outside of naval combat or away from a water then they have to use transmutation which makes things a little more tricky and costly. Combining it with air to make ice projectiles would increase effectiveness greatly.

The sandblaster thing is very possible, Anna experienced another reimancer use it on her in her failure of a duel with Tallis. Actually that might be a good thing to link here for and example of reimancy in combat.

Link.

Feel free to laugh at how easy Anna was defeated due to her own inexperience and stupidity. However, note how Tallis goes about it and how quick casting can yield issues in combat.

As an overarching theme the discipline is kind of like the heavy artillery of the magical world. Meaning that it is best to cast from a distance. At least that's how I see it.

[Annalisa Marin]

Okay, please read this if you are looking to assist with this project. Luckily Goss happened along to say that we have been going about this all wrong, before we got to deep into it. What she was thinking was not an all encompassing combat article but actually more of like a quick starting guide for newbies to look over so they can get an idea on how combat is done on Mizahar. Just thought I'd get the word out.

[Fox Starseer]

Ah, thanks for that Anna. I mean we could keep this idea for the all encompassing article for later maybe, especially for magic. But yes, a back-to-basics type one so to speak.

So, where would we begin on the way Goss meant it to be? I think the main idea behind it should be, do not assume anything. Yes, you swing a melee weapon/shoot an arrow/fire off a spell at someone, but that doesn't mean they wont block/dodge/counter it somehow.