PlaneShift

Gameplay => Wish list => Topic started by: Enter_the_Xero on March 08, 2005, 05:21:24 am

Title: Alchemy... lets make it fun!
Post by: Enter_the_Xero on March 08, 2005, 05:21:24 am
Alchemy should not be just magic transmutation of one type of matter to another... it should be about manipulating the matter, changing it, creating anyhting one desires with it, and so on... It should be a type of magic not a type of science, cuz that would make it much more borring... Here is how I think alchemy should work: it should work bny levels you start at Level One like a tottal n00b and progress till you are a tottal pro... Oh yeah: Alchemy should be called Alchmic Magic! - Much better fit you kno\'

L1: Starting level, such an alchemist can only reshape objects poorly... only one small object at a time... uses alot of mana...

L2: Enchanced ability to manipulate the shape of an object, this is the basicly the first usefull level of alchemy... uses less mana...

L3: Takes off the limitations of size, Level 3 alchemist can work a bit faster... uses as much mana as level one...

L4: Basic Transmutation... alchemist of this level can transmutate objects from one type to another... they cant however reshape and transmutate an object at the same time...

L5: Alchemist of this level can use mutiple cirles for one transmutation thus allowing them tio change the shape and transmutate at the same time...

L6: Mages of this level have the knowladge of advanced alchemy symbols thus making their jobs much easyer and allowin for lightning fast transmutation... uses as much mana as level 5...

L7: Gain controll of heat and cold... ability to fix broken items{if an alchemist knows how the object works}... this is where drawing alchemy symbols on the place where alchemy is supposed to happen stops, from this level they start wearing clothing with these symbols or use very basic magic to create the alchemic symbols in midair or somthing like that...

L8: Ability to create plant tissue{rerly works thou}... also alchemists of this level have the ability to do really neat things... like mine without tools or transmutate an oponent into water, pull out a sword outta thin air...

L9: Have the ability to create a puppet: matter conrolled by high level alchemy that can replicate behavioyur of a real creature {lets see that fight for you!}... sweet idea aint it? ability to heal and recreate organic tissue {heal}...

L10: Knowladge of the most advance way of alchemic magic thus allowing the mind and the spirit of a mage to wotk as one...  = very powerfull lightning fast alchemy...

L11: This level starts combining alchemy with other forms of magic, thus producing even more powerfull results...

L12: This is the finall level of alchemic magic... the only magor progression is that this level drain the least mana...

Sooooo.... whacha think? What are your ideas then?

flaMER disclaiMER:Did not find any thread like I am creating here...

EDIT: My 150th Post! Yay! Lets Partay!
EDIT #2: Modified a few things....
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Post by: Incenjucar on March 08, 2005, 06:17:09 am
1) This makes it more flexible than the other actual magical ways.

2) This is a horrible horrible ripoff of a popular show, along the lines of throwing a pikachu in to Planeshift.  I rather enjoy Full Metal Alchemist as well, but ripping it off is somewhat -rude- to the designers.
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Post by: Efflixi Aduro on March 08, 2005, 06:17:23 am
I like the system though the new powers and stuff are kinda weird. I say we should wait till we see what the devs do with it first.
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Post by: Robinmagus on March 08, 2005, 06:46:02 am
long..really long...boreing..really really boreing..but very well thought out! I think that you will have to wait for SB (10-12 years) for the higher lvls to be possible to use...but hey...an old alchemist..is a good alchemist!
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Post by: Monketh on March 08, 2005, 09:35:21 pm
I\'m going to second the motion that Full Metal Alchemist is incompatible with planeshift.
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Post by: Jazeera on March 08, 2005, 10:07:21 pm
Just wondering what would you call the ones that mixes potions, and whatever Alchemist\'s usually does?

and I don\'t like this idea:
1. It is ripped from an anime show (or most of it).
2. I would rather see the normal/traditional alchemist which mixes potions and such.
3. it sounds more like a mix of different kind of mages...

and honestly... you know the devs won\'t make the alchemy class like this, it has already been discussed before as far as I can remember...
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Post by: Kixie on March 09, 2005, 12:24:15 am
I have to jump on the flame bandwagon and say that alchemy has nothing to do with forming new objects. It is simply breaking down metals and mixing them to form alloys or seperating one property from a metal to make it more pure. It has nothing to do with magic, or platforms, or giant robots and making baloons out of flowers, or whatever that show has filled your head with  :P
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Post by: Tharizdun on March 09, 2005, 02:49:05 am
Some good ideas here, I really wondered how far alchemy could go beyond the traditional philosophers stone / lead -> gold / elixir of youth stuff. It seems to me you could combine alchemy/herbal skills to make some very powerful potions and oils and combine alchemy/blacksmith skills to make animated constructs, automations, mechanical suits of armour, and the like.

Quote
Originally posted by Enter_the_Xero

L9: Have the ability to create a puppet: matter conrolled by high level alchemy that can replicate behavioyur of a real creature {lets see that fight for you!}... sweet idea aint it? ability to heal and recreate organic tissue {heal}...



What if someone was a puppet but didnt know of their origins and thought they were a real creature? They could be your unwitting and unwilling servant, or a dummy leader that gets elected to important public postions and then dances on the ends of the strings you are pulling unbeknownst to everyone else..

Yeah its Bladerunner / Tleilaxu-esque, but a sweet plot device. Who knew that the gentle old man who tended his gardens and helped children was really a *dramatic drum roll* covert assassin? Not even he knows! Its the perfect weapon..

Oh, and I\'ve never seen the anime show referred to here.. traditionally an alchemist was an old guy in a wizardly laboratory with bubbling vials of chemicals, pots of exotic substances, pieces of creatures in glass jars full of preservatives, huge fang-toothed skulls mounted on walls and hanging from rooves, piles of musty old tomes, etc. Its the classic \"Mad Scientist\" figure of fantasy literature.
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Post by: Phinehas on March 09, 2005, 03:40:10 am
Quote
Originally posted by Enter_the_Xero
It should be a type of magic not a type of science, cuz that would make it much more borring...

It\'s my personal opinion that someone who can\'t spell shouldn\'t really attempt to think up stuff like this. Quite frankly, it shows a lack of attention to detail that is fatal in these areas.

Also, I didn\'t read past the above quote, because it displays a fundamental misconception of magic.

Most people think of science and magic as two totally different areas. This, however, is not so. Magic, just as science follows certain laws, requires much study, and is all about manipulation. In \"science\" one manipulates matter, whereas in magic one manipulates forces and entities. Either way, you are trying to change and improve on the natural. The two are closely related. Therefore it would be much more correct to apply science as a general term and split it into alchemy and magic. Once again, magic is not some mumbo-jumbo. It is a very intricate system of cause and effect, just as alchemy is. At times, they merge, and that\'s when it gets really interesting.

I hope this explains why I didn\'t bother reading the rest of your post. I just don\'t think you know what you\'re talking about. Happy to be proved wrong, though.
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Post by: Icefalcon on March 09, 2005, 03:48:02 am
Quote
Originally posted by Phinehas
In \"science\" one manipulates matter, whereas in magic one manipulates forces and entities.

No, magic is a science. The definition of science is \"An activity that requires study and method.\" Mages, alchemists, enchanters study the science of magic.
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Post by: druke on March 09, 2005, 03:58:19 am
but in the common thought of Science, the pricipal is to find out why it works or how it works, however arcanes studies mearly accept the diverse reality and go straight to how can i use this to my beniefit and how can i make this stronger
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Post by: Phinehas on March 09, 2005, 04:11:34 am
Quote
Originally posted by Icefalcon
Quote
Originally posted by Phinehas
In \"science\" one manipulates matter, whereas in magic one manipulates forces and entities.

No, magic is a science. The definition of science is \"An activity that requires study and method.\" Mages, alchemists, enchanters study the science of magic.

Yes, Ice, that\'s what I\'m saying. I refrained from using such strong terminology for fear of being branded a heretic by these ignorants and losing what little influence I had here.

Quote
Originally posted by druke
but in the common thought of Science, the pricipal is to find out why it works or how it works, however arcanes studies mearly accept the diverse reality and go straight to how can i use this to my beniefit and how can i make this stronger

You teach this at the AO? You teach your apprentices not to try and understand the processes of magic? I am appalled. Without an understanding of how it works, of what it does and why, how can one use it responsibly? Even if one is irresponsible and does what you suggest, one cannot then, do more than what has been taught to one, because you do not understand what\'s really happening. I am seriously dissapointed in the AO, if this is their doctrine concerning the study of magic.

I\'m writing a paper on the subject. I hope that once it is finished, it will cast some light on the subject.
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Post by: druke on March 09, 2005, 05:03:13 am
its a game
thats my personal prinicpal, if you learn how to do the trick its no longer magic but a scientific wonder, to preserve te wonder of magic just accept  that a higher begin has granted powers to mortals and learn to take advantage of it.
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Post by: Incenjucar on March 09, 2005, 05:35:39 am
Alchemy, in the real world, was about finding:

The Alkahest, aka, universal solvent

The more famous Elixer of Life and Lead to Gold things

Making gems and other precious materials

Making powerful acids and alkalis to aid in the proccess.

A way to grow a homonculus

Etc.

Try http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2002/tubb/concepts.htm for more information.

This is what alchemy is actually about.

The anime is spiffy, but its not Planeshift.
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Post by: Phinehas on March 10, 2005, 09:42:03 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Incenjucar
Alchemy, in the real world, was about finding:

The Alkahest, aka, universal solvent

The more famous Elixer of Life and Lead to Gold things

Making gems and other precious materials

Making powerful acids and alkalis to aid in the proccess.

A way to grow a homonculus

Etc.

Try http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2002/tubb/concepts.htm for more information.

This is what alchemy is actually about.

The anime is spiffy, but its not Planeshift.

Yes, I\'m aware of that, but it doesn\'t really have anything to do with the subject at hand, which is Alchemy in Planeshift.

Quote
its a game

Thanks. I forgot that this particular board isn\'t the best place to RP. Hate to confuse all those newbies out there.
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Post by: Enter_the_Xero on March 10, 2005, 11:57:18 pm
Simplified? Better or Worse?

Lvl 1) Ability to change small amounts {a handfull} of one solid to a {equal in mass} amount of another solid, uses a lot of MANA{60%}
Lvl 2) Ability to change medium amounts {a \"berrelfull\"} of one solid to a {equal in mass} amount of another solid, uses less MANA the Lvl 1{40%}
Lvl 3) Adds ability to change a medium amount of a liquid to another liquid or solid {equal im mass ofcource}, uses 50% of MANA
Lvl 4) Adds ability to do the process 50% faster and uses only 15% MANA
Lvl 5) Adds ability to change a medium amount of a  gas into another gas, liquid or solid {equal in mass ofcource}, uses 20% MANA
Lvl 6) Adds ability to change large amounts {a housefull} of a type of matter into another type of matter, USES 40% MANA
Lvl 7) Instant transmutation of one material to another, uses 35% MANA
Lvl 8) Ability to change matter from one phase to another {frozen. liquid, gas, plasma}, uses 25% MANA
Lvl 9) Usage of other type of magic to create \"magic based\" alchemic symbols {like in the air using controlled fire magic} to make the process even faster
Lvl 10)  <<<->>> u decide!

Comments?
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Post by: Incenjucar on March 11, 2005, 12:09:10 am
Quote
Originally posted by Phinehas
Yes, I\'m aware of that, but it doesn\'t really have anything to do with the subject at hand, which is Alchemy in Planeshift.


True enough, but it can usually be presumed that the devs are more inclined to make alchemy work as it was intended, rather than in a nearly unrelated way that appears in a popular cartoon.

Alchemy also has a tradition in RPGs, for that matter, of various sorts, most of which involve the altering of qualities of items through chemical and psuedo-magical means.  Such things as making explosive liquid, altering the strength of material (Say an oil to be rubbed in wood to make it stronger), or making mineral poisons.

In general, I expect the \'recipe\' concept to be used in alchemy, which will result in an alchemist being able to alter ores, enhance items (Add a silver coating to a sword, perhaps), create chemical weapons, etc.

I would hope so, in fact.

It would be especially nice if a high level in alchemy lets you create a homunculus...

--

Xero, just an FYI:  In general, games base the ease of doing things on the value of doing it, rather than the weight of product.  Creating a barrel full of diamonds, for instance, won\'t be as easy as a barrel full of ice.  Thankfully, since alchemy tends to make arbitrary decisions on the value of material (Thinking liquid gold is the elixer of life, etc), this actually would make sense.