MA: Jomon: The Courts of the Ryu - Looking for insight

[legowarrior]

You think we should go with linked paths?
If we are going to keep it at over 300 gold, then I think we should have 2 map movement. Get rid of healing. Old age should be countered by the Nature magic.

[shatner]

When I first started that post you hadn't yet written your "H:2, F:1, A:1, W:1, E:1, N:1 + FAWEN x 110%" version of the Saigu yet; my linked paths version was meant to be a response to your linked paths version.

I think if this caster is going to be a flimsy human stat-wise than she should by roughly the same as the Imperial Alchemist as far as cost and total paths. The two fill a similar conceptual space (cap-only AEFWN mage with healing)... but that's just my take on it. This is your mod, it's your vision/design that determines what is appropriate for the capstone caster and, as we can tell from my table of MA capstone mages, the cost and power of a mage can be way over or way under the average based on the nation's design (Shinuyama's super cheap and awesome Sorcerer, Ermor's slow, old, magically average but undead spawning Grand Thaumaturge, etc., etc.).

Based on what you've said, I'm guessing the theme for MA Jomon is "expensive, diverse but magically powerful mages". Every single mage of theirs is rockin' at least one pick off of a AEFNW random. The Onmyo-ji is a really solid mid-tier mage so I don't think they need another diversity caster, I think they need something that costs less than the Ryujin (5 paths for 500gp... ouch!) but can still reliably get a 3 in one or more paths. Linked paths are a good way to do that.

[shatner]

I will say that putting healing on a cap-only, high-caliber mage is non-synergistic. Arco does it right by having a dinky, cheap mage-priest as their healer because having a priestess spend her mage-turn healing some wounded troops or a feebleminded astrologer is an acceptable use of her time... she's recruit-anywhere and inexpensive.

My two main concerns for the Saigu is that she should be magically distinct from both the Onmyo-ji and the Ryujin, AND she should be interesting. Healing is interesting, but it is far from being the only interesting thing we could give her. If you really want healing for the nation, we could make the Shugenja or Envoy of Ryu a weak healer.

[rdonj]

If the miko is a sacred unit but not a commander, then you are really stuck with either making the bows already come with the effect (which I would suggest wholeheartedly), or making a special bless that only affects sacreds who are also magic beings or something along those lines, and give the miko that creature type. It is probably really not worth it.