Caelum vs. T'ien Ch'i

[Vicious Love]

PvK said:
I sort of think it would be nice if they had astral-2, or astral-0 with 2 random picks instead of one.

While I heartily second the former(Hence my suggesting it myself, though I'm certain it's been suggested numerous times before) the latter just makes no thematic sense at all. I mean, even with an elemental scheme of divinity/enlightenment, one simply cannot overlook T'ien Ch'i's obssession with astronomy, transcendence, fortune, and so on. I mean, no one'll buy a Celestial Master with no celestial magic. Which is to say, they'll buy him en masse, especially if he's not capitol-only, but they won't find him very believable.

I also find it ironic, at least when considering Kung Fu et al, that TC units don't have particularly good fighting skills overall, except for the Prince Generals.

Seems to me like this'd only be relevant if there were kung fu oriented units. Which there aren't, probably as Johan O's way of avoiding cliches like herpes simplex B, regardless of said cliches role in actual history, to say nothing of folklore.

TC mages with good fighting skills would certainly be different... of course they can become competant already with Quickness plus Blessings, but if they started out with skill... that would be something to think about.

And a needlessly complex weapon. Like a segmented staff. Or a sword with tassels. Sweet.

One of their strengths is already massed bows, so I don't know that a repeating crossbow is going to change their nature much at all, except to give them another toy along the lines of what they already have.

Observe.
Bow: }

Ballista:

Note the size difference and adorable SCA people. Consider the tactical implications thereof.