Suggestions to improve the Water Magic discipline

[HotNifeThruButr]

*slap*

[ April 17, 2004, 21:34: Message edited by: HotNifeThruButr ]

[PvK]

I'm not convinced water is weaker than other paths at all. Sword of Swiftness and Boots of Quickness, Bottle of Living Water, and Clam of Pearls are some great items, for example. Sea Trolls and Ice Devils are quite good. Resist Fire and Cold (etc), Quickness, various other good spells. Water's defensive bless bonus is one of my Favorites for improving blessed combat unit survival.

I do like the coastal transport spell idea.

PvK

[Graeme Dice]

Originally posted by PvK:
I'm not convinced water is weaker than other paths at all. Sword of Swiftness and Boots of Quickness, Bottle of Living Water, and Clam of Pearls are some great items, for example. Sea Trolls and Ice Devils are quite good.

The water items are decent, but very limited. Ice devils aren't really water magic, they are blood summons, and like most of blood magic, are very useful. Sea trolls are extremely expensive for what you get out of them. A single casting of Sea King's court costs more than 55 gold per turn in upkeep. Their stats lead to them being little more than a meatshield, as they have extreme difficulty hitting elite troops.

[Cainehill]

Originally posted by HotNifeThruButr:

Edit: I feel like The Architect, spouting a bunch of crap and nonsense that's supposed to make people try hard to figure on. Also, I'd like to say that I can't think of a thing that water and cold reflects ...

Water reflects ... light. (Think of looking at your reflection in a calm pond.) So - maybe a spell that reflects other spells, or that reflects missiles. I don't think there's any schools with a spell like this.

Give it a small chance of reflection at low levels of water skill that increases with water skill.

Another thing water represents : tranquility, fluidity, or, ahem "softness, flexibility and life giving". (That Last would be a quote from the description of T'ien C'hi's Master of the Way.)

Sure sounds like Water could be given a non-Nature healing spell. Or a ... recuperation spell, for non-combat. Maybe caster-only, takes some amount of gems to cast. Could wear off after a wound was recovered from.

Or - be castable on others, for that matter. Again, taking gems to cast, and wearing off with the death of the caster, just like almost all other spells.

Personally, I'd like the recuperation spell, to avoid all the useless gimpy Pretenders and high-cost commanders.

Or it could be given a damage reduction spell, "Water Form", that reduces damage taken by 25% or so, as water gives before a blow, softening any impact. Less powerful than Mist Form, but still pretty useful.

"Ice Castle" spell - seems silly to me that Nature mages can create an aquatic castle, but powerful Water mages can not. Only castable in cold provinces; possibly castable on land.

New summoning spells - right now, most of Water's summonings either can't leave the water, or can't go in the water. (Sea Trolls are an exception - any others?)

A spell that migrates the temperature to be colder, maybe, considering that so many of Water's spells are cold based.

[Graeme Dice]

Originally posted by Cainehill:
A spell that migrates the temperature to be colder, maybe, considering that so many of Water's spells are cold based.

That would be wolven winter. Alteration 4, water 3, 5 gems.

[HotNifeThruButr]

If water reflects tranquility, flexibility, and etc. It seems that water would be tied to peace. What if there was a global water spell, "Tranquility," that stopped fighting for a number of turns? Every, say, 20 gems you spend on the casting extends the number for a day, but it can be dispelled by determined war mongers.

If you happened to have many more and more effective forts than your enemies, you could pump up your military and they can't stop you without a dispel.

[quantum_mechani]

quote:

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Waterway (ritual)
- Allows mages and her troops to travel from one coastal province to another. Cannot be casted in inland provinces

Here is the spell that shines! I didn't really like the others (almost all are already in the game, in one way or other, or are already covered by other magics), but this is something simple yet elegant that gives land-based nations a spell they will happily pour gems into, alhtough this depends from situation. Pocket ship is better though, but everybody can't have it.

Also, if this can be cast UNDER WATER this gives the two (three?) water nations a way to move their forces quckly around. The effect is lessened by the fact that both current nations are strong in Astral, but this is still a very nice spell, IMHO.

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I would like to third this excellent suggestion.