Gems + XP = Idea!

[Just_Another_Guy_:) 1,066]

That i can think of at least, it could take several ways:

1) Debuffers: would slow down, weaken, and generally make targets (including mobs and other players) easier to take down. This includes both debuffs to the creatures themselves, and "area of effect" spells, which would affect an specific area for an amount of time, and any creature stepping into it would be affected by the spell.

2) Summoners: would (as the names indicates) be able to capture monsters as energy in the onyx gem, for them summoning them to battle. Here the quality of their gem would mean a lot more, 'cause on it depends how many they can capture, and wether they can or not control this mobs. Unless they summoned them from an exquisite onyx, the monsters won't obbey the caster, but won't attack it either (unless he is not holding the onyx).

3) Corruptors: While most casters are (or should be) afraid of unbalancing the nature, this ones take advantage of the combined origin from the onyx to use this natural chaos. They will damage their onyx crystal and throw it away from a safe distance, as the energy forming this crystal breaks free from it's material form and destroy the environment in a huge area of effect. The crystal is effectively destroyed in the process, and most of the caster's health, hunger, thrist and remaining XP would be taken away. The higher the quality of the gem, the bigger the AOE will be, and the caster will get more debuffs.

4) A combination of some (or all) of the previous ones. I honestly think the corruptors would give a new meaning to the word "griefer", so i personally wouldn't recommend them to be in this particular mod...

And before you come here and ask "Why it can only be aggresive?", i would like you to show me a more efensive approach to necromancy. No wall of bones, those are pretty easy to break :

[redundantusage 330]

Ok, so my thought is that pure magic (high fantasy) in Terrafirmacraft seems out of place. Something that tends more towards low fantasy, where magic exists in much the same way that science is an application of the knowledge of nature feels much more intuitive.

Before getting too deep into my own view on magic, one important thing I'd like to point out is that if magic is directly reliant on "XP" then you have a system that requires (currently) for you to roam the world at night or in caves slaughtering as much as you can so that you can use magic. I'm not sure about anyone else, but this doesn't sound entertaining, it sounds like the worst kind of grinding that you can get from any type of RPG. There may be grind in Terrafirmacraft, but so far it's centered around the concept of difficult survival which is the focus of the game, not grinding for the sake of grinding.

To start, in the system I propose you would define magic as an "animating force" that essentially makes the world work. Rock is sturdier than dirt because of the animated force in it. Fire saps the animated force from nearby objects and expends it as a purer form of energy. Creatures (to include Steve) move, breath, eat, and create new creatures because of their own animated force. Even the undead have an animating force, as the flesh which lost it's animating force was empowered with an outside source of energy that makes it move again. This means magic is inherent in everything, as nearly everything has this energy. The next step in a magic system is being able to manipulate the energy and, as so many point out, gems are the perfect fit for this. Each gem is a characteristic of energy in the world solidified into a physical form, and by themselves are completely inert. However, a gem can be activated by submitting it to extreme heat for a short period of time, after which time the characteristic inherent in the gem will remain awake and useable.

To begin using magic there are a few basic things you'll need. To start you'll need a gem, it's type largely determining what you'll eventually be able to do with it. You'll also need a gem setting made of some kind of metal, pure metals being the best to work with to better focus the abilities of the gem. You'll need a way to get the gem Brilliant White in temperature in order to activate it initially, so a forge will likely be required. All of the things listed are early to mid game things, this means you will not have to wait till you have advanced alloys or a large city in order to start working magic. That said, you will not be performing miracles with a chipped sapphire in a zinc setting, your abilities will be very basic.

Once you have your gem activated and in a setting, you're ready to start gathering energy. As stated above, energy is everywhere, and a gem can absorb energy from just about anything. That said, different gems will be better at absorbing energy from different sources. All set gems will gain a steady stream of energy from a fire, but a ruby will have a bonus to the energy gained from it. Any set gem will gradually drain energy from the local stone if embedded in a wall, but a jade will do so faster. And of course, the obvious things such as killing animals and monsters (as well as taking damage yourself) will feed energy into the set gems, though a diamond will catch more of it.

The limitations on what magic you can actually perform comes back to gem type. Using the energy from a ruby on a sapling or the new crop you just planted is liable to net you a pile of ash, use an emerald on the other hand and you may notice that your crop/tree/fruit tree is days, weeks, even months ahead of schedule in growth. Using the previously mentioned ruby more appropriately on a firepit may provide a sudden sharp increase in burn temperature, rapidly heat a targeted ingot or piece of food in your inventory, etc. A sapphire, depending on the strength, could do anything from slightly changing the humidity of a chunk, to changing a block of lava into basalt, or if you have a flawless/perfect gem with enough stored energy, cause it to start raining for a short time. There is a lot of room for expansion to this system of course, having linked setting would allow combining of different types of energy, with a primary and secondary.

TLDR: Magic in TFC should be a natural system that manipulates the world and the things in it, not donning your wizard robe and hat.

[bsb23 303]

This is all great and I'm glad we are getting back to this. I'm going to warn you though according to Dunk this is extremely low on their priority list. Now onto ideas, this system needs to be a scary hidden dark secret. People should be afraid of magic. Only the greatest should be able to use it correctly without some sort of harm. Access to magic should be subtle at first maybe a little boost here or something else random. This first magic should be mid-game, and once more have very little benefit, I picture this as more of a brewing system.

Then we move to more power now it noticably becomes magic something that couldn't normally be performed. But now a huge risk is taken. You never know what might happen explosions, serious injuries, mass transmutations, death. It could all happen at random. Then as we get access to greater metals the system becomes extremly complicated and confusing this is to deter everyone, even the bravest of the brave would think twice about using these complicated spells. I'm not sure what punishment is fitting but death, world corruption, animal mutation, and possibly even debuffs that would stay permanently until cured.

The question is what magic do we want? Wands? Enchantments?(its got my vote) and if not those than what?

Another big question is how do we allow more experienced players to do better with this magic than the others? A minigame? A code perhaps. Maybe a long list of necessary steps.

As for a rare gem I vote nether it sounds like they fit together better and it would prevent random discovery.

[ECC 508]

never world corruption. Can you imagine the grief on servers the instant some hotshot gets some flawless gem and decides he wants a limitless supply of cake?

[achartran 465]

I think that a nice combination of JAG's and redundant's ideas would be the best fit for TFC. The ideas themselves are in the same vein, so I think with slight tweaking it could be a great system.

Also yeah, I agree with ECC world corruption should never be a consequence, mostly because that is irreversible. I do however support major consequences resulting from magic, including radical change to the terrain, such as plains turning to desert if too much "magic force" (or whatever you want to call it) is drained from the area, or a forest growing rapidly and becoming overgrown because something just released a large amount of "magic force".

I think that dark magic (necromancy, blood magic, dark arts, arcane stuff, etc.), while being very powerful, should take an incredible amount of sacrifice and commitment, as bsb said, it should be so convoluted only a fool would attempt it. If it is implemented this way, the specifics of it, in my opinion, should be a closely guarded secret known originally only by the devs. Or, if the scattered books and fragments of writing suggestion is implemented perhaps there could be several very cryptic and arcane tomes (found in crypts, possibly) that contain the necessary information to pursue dark magic, but they can only be understood through a bit of thinking (not anything too ridiculous, just a few scrambled words, some steps only explained in sketches/diagrams, maybe even some sentences that are out of order and some backwards words thrown in). Also, (this may be going a little to far at this point, but I'm going to roll with it) each step in the dark magic "process" should be broken up into fragments and placed in no particular order among the various tomes to find. Finding all of the tomes would be an arduous task in itself, but once they have been found they hold the secrets to vast power, but at an incredible cost to the player and the environment.

[redundantusage 330]

I think that dark magic (necromancy, blood magic, dark arts, arcane stuff, etc.), while being very powerful, should take an incredible amount of sacrifice and commitment, as bsb said, it should be so convoluted only a fool would attempt it. If it is implemented this way, the specifics of it, in my opinion, should be a closely guarded secret known originally only by the devs. Or, if the scattered books and fragments of writing suggestion is implemented perhaps there could be several very cryptic and arcane tomes (found in crypts, possibly) that contain the necessary information to pursue dark magic, but they can only be understood through a bit of thinking (not anything too ridiculous, just a few scrambled words, some steps only explained in sketches/diagrams, maybe even some sentences that are out of order and some backwards words thrown in). Also, (this may be going a little to far at this point, but I'm going to roll with it) each step in the dark magic "process" should be broken up into fragments and placed in no particular order among the various tomes to find. Finding all of the tomes would be an arduous task in itself, but once they have been found they hold the secrets to vast power, but at an incredible cost to the player and the environment.

A few thoughts on this; Why does blood magic and necromancy have to be taboo or forbidden? Use of life to fuel magic will likely be a quick and dirty means of fast paydirt on energy, at the expense of having to rest, there's nothing inherently evil about that, and it's no more destructive than killing an animal. Necromantic magic is really just picking an already well shaped vessel for animation, or drawing the last bits of energy from an already dead/dying body. If we don't paint this as evil and dark, then it doesn't have to be in game. One thing I think that would set this magic apart in game from so many other systems is the boundaries we place on it. If we define things as "dark magic" or "earth magic" or "swedish magic" then we place restrictions on the system as well as the player. If you make the magic in the game follow guidelines and otherwise let the player at least play with the illusion of freedom in that system, it will be more enjoyable. The most restricting thing in the system I imagine is the part about gems being a focus, and really that's just there to simplify things for Bioxx and Dunk if they were to try to code it. How you get the energy and what you do with it should feel like an undirected field of discovery. "Oh wow, when I used the chipped jade on the sapling it grew a few branches, and when I used a fully charged chipped ruby as a sub-gem for the jade, I grew a sequoia and killed all of the grass in the chunk and nearly killed myself."

A way to make the system more open in design would be that when you have an activated set gem, you've either set it as a focus (ways to gain energy) or you've directed it (putting the energy to use) to add to the variable is position of the gem (worn, in fire, in water, embedded on a wall/on armor/weapon/ect) and is the gem linked as a sub-gem or is it a sub-gem (augmenting the nature of one gem with another) Among all of these you open a vast experience to be had by the player as they discover the magic of the world and what it can do, while keeping it (hopefully) manageable enough to code and not so overwhelmingly powerful that magic is a requirement in the game without which you can't manage.

Like every other part of this mod magic should be something you can focus on or totally ignore, possibly making the game more challenging than if you'd decided otherwise, but still doable.

TLDR: You probably didn't miss much.

[ECC 508]

I have always in my head cannon thought that blood is naturally the most powerful item ever. when it spills, wild magic flows as well mutating everything it touches. Not always is the effect apparent, and years may go by before a tree turns into a brutal foe, before a flower grows into a faerie, before anything happens. At other times, if controlled by a person of the art, the effects can be instant and dramatic. A mountain awakes, unleashing fire and death. A dead lover rises, as if never dead. an army falls as a single drop lands. Blood magic in my mind is a powerful and chaotic force that in the right hands is limitless power. In the wrong hands is instant destruction. It works hand in hand with all other magics, white, black, grey/red(sorry, dragonlance reference. I kinda miss reading the series.), and more. It is the focal point. It is wild and pure magic, not to be tampered with unless you can be called its master. Such masters would be physically and mentally adept, people who hold both a blade and book with equal ability. No matter where they stand, such a master never falls, or if they do, land rolling.

blood in my mind is a powerful magic. Necromancy is its dark half, and Arch is its light half.

[Guest Blue_Beluga]

I don't think it should go down the route of spells and cloaks and what not.

I'd rather have it with extremely powerful (yet not durable) items that would do otherwise impossible things. These items would require great sacrifices such as live animals, gems, and other such items. Here's some ideas,

Blackened Bone

Raises 3-5 powerful skeleton warriors/archers that follow and guard you

Bracer of Storms

Summons a storm to lightning strike your enemies

Apocalypse Tome

Meteors rain from the skies. Nether mobs spawn. Random explosions. The sun burns everything in the daytime (even you)

Neptune's Pearl

Allows you to breath underwater.

Howling Stone

Summons a tamed wolfpack for you.

Just a few ideas

[Just_Another_Guy_:) 1,066]

-snip-

-snip-

You guys seem to have forgot a little detail... That is, while we have been discussing about magic in TFC, we have been keeping it related to the thread's initial idea: Gems related to magical stuff. Just something i wanted to say :

ECC: It sounds pretty good... but how would it work in the game? I mean, how do you get the blood for what you want to do, what you need, what you have to do, what you have to avoid... I'm basically asking for gameplay specification. How do you do blood magic in TFC? -presumming it is implemented just as you say it would be, of course... :-

EDIT: lol, i forgot to answer Blue_Beluga and just posted sorry

Blue: On one hand, i have to ask you the same as i asked ECC: gameplay specification. Where do you obtain this things from, how, how you use them, what negatives effects it could have when used incorrectly, and so on.

On the other hand, why we should limit magic to powerful, one-use objects when it has got so much potential? While i don't think it should be central in the mod, it can be one of it's bests ones. Why, in short, we shouldn't get spells?

[bsb23 303]

never world corruption. Can you imagine the grief on servers the instant some hotshot gets some flawless gem and decides he wants a limitless supply of cake?

I agree powerful magic and harmful affects in the hands of newbies or even mid-game players would be horrible with world corruption. However, there are two things to fix this, number one only very experienced players will gain access to this and if someone does mess up they could be punished just like if they had done it themselves. I imagine some towns would ban any use of magic within even a close vicinity. Next, a structure of some sort should be necessary, just some sort of table like structure filled with magic. (gems, nether, XP, blood, etc.) The kind of effort taken to build one would be ridiculous and also would be a great time to implement the vanilla beacon to prevent hiding(and probably moving magic underground unless a view of the sky was required). So unless the town was barren no one would allow it.

[redundantusage 330]

I believe in theme, and the theme of this mod is survival. The magic of the mod shouldn't have a sudden and different theme. Maybe I'm playing wrong, but when was the last time creating the apocalypse aided anyone elses' survival?

[renadi 258]

People have committed genocide in the name of survival at least.

Don't think I'd be a fan, but if we ever did get some nice war situations going on I wouldn't be surprised if survival comes down to some kind of big risky move.

[Menoch 335]

Hmmm... upon reading my initial post, and having accumulated more and more time in the world of TFC, I have to say that I may just well object to my initial take on flamboyant magic altogether. The theme of TFC, and correct me if I am wrong, is, of course, survival, but I feel in a fashion that is more primal, real (yes I know it is a game ) and earthy than it is Albion-esgue, and Flight-of-Dragons-ish. While I do still believe that magic in the world of TFC would be quite awesome and ala Shamanistic or new age in its approach could add a tad more believability, thusly maintaining its grasp on the gritty and epic. But I am now thinking that the whole "Wizards firing dragons out of their cereal bowls and Necromancers sipping tea while discussing Bob's fantastic reanimation" is maybe too far-fetched for the realm.

Again, my opinion. But take for instance crystal magic as it is. An energy (ie: Thaumcraft) does exist. Its essence is in gems, but revealing itself to those who wish to take their time to find it the mechanics therin I am sure will lead to much more discussion here in the forums. But to those with more pressing matters of steel or Agriculture, gems can be used as an alternative form of currency or even decoration, etc...

Now that's not to say a ruby in the hilt of a sword couldn't provide fire protection or leave a singe on the flesh when it strikes, or a Diamond ladened helm couldn't impart regeneration. But the strength of magic may just be what it does behind the scenes as opposed to how many craters it can leave in your ass. And I quote "There are many magic rings in this world Mister Frodo, and NONE of them are to be taken lightly."

I have read so many wonderful and awesome ideas from the lot of you, from dark and sinister to calculated and thoughtful.

I do think magic has a place in TFC... but such mysteries are what make a young world so much more dangerous and heart pounding. After you've run into Derek the Lightning Tosser or Frederick1276 the Bloodsucker 20 times, it kinda loses its "magic".

One of the plethora of awesome things about TFC is that there is SOOOO much to do, and the game is still only in Beta, that in another half a year's time or so I wager to bet that SMP will take on a whole new meaning in this game, as it will take a community on a server to unearth and discover all there is to see and do in their ever-changing and dynamic world that is Terrafirmacraft. From Blacksmiths, shopkeepers, hunters, foragers, farmers, chefs, lumberjacks, explorers, alchemists, carpenters and yes, even dabblers of the arcane.... Damn, Bioxx! you better get some rest! There is so much to do

And on that note I must ask: Jeffe... do you know what a plethora is?

[Srgnoodles 1,030]

yknow, not to rain on your magical parade, but i honsetly think this isnt going to be used

not anything on the ideas, they're great, but its just the fact that it just seems too fantastical and out there to be used in TFC

like if theres going to be some sort of magic in TFC its probably going to be subtle and practical

it's probably not going to involve magic wands and spells and the like, but more on the gems being used as a justification for the enchanting system, by setting gems into tools,weapons, and armor, the gem imbues some of it's inherent magical energy into that item, giving it atributes based on the quality/type of gem

just my thoughts on this whole thing

[bsb23 303]

all of my points stand for enchanting systems. Go find my enchantment page if you want more on what I think. I'll link when I'm not using my phone. it certainly isn't subtle however not all of it needs to be added the basic point of it is simply gems plus catalysts plus Xp plus sword equals enchantment.

this system is extremely effective at all the above points (structure, avaliable mid-game strongest late game, possible failure, etc.). I would like to hear any arguements against it if possible. Only two problems with it, it needs the nether to be effective, and it has as I said earlier Dunk already been said to be put on the bottom of Bioxx's list

[redundantusage 330]

As long as it doesn't use experience as experience currently is, it'll probably have my vote. Making magic require that I kill a metric assload of mobs is a little less magical than I'm willing to believe.

[bsb23 303]

I see it being used to require work out of players but not such a huge amount and it definitely needs a name change in fact from now on I'm calling it Xenergy. Just for the heck of it. Unless someone has something better. I suppose it could be a boost instead for example more Xenergy means more power and the quality of the gem will effect how much Xenergy can be held without dramatic magical problems.

[redundantusage 330]

It's not the name that's the problem, it's the system of acquisition. If the experience of killing others is the primary source of magic then I have been lied to by every forum of entertainment regarding magic save for the graphic novel, which then apparently got it right.

This isn't to say that the act of killing or the desecration of said kill shouldn't provide magic energy, far from it. It should be an alternative, not the primary source

[bsb23 303]

Other suggested sources?

[ECC 508]

Im writing a post up. been doing it all day. should I post what I got, or finish it up? It totally outmodes XP for any use in magic(unless you count the indirect link to health)

[Sting_Auer 59]

I think that EXP should just slowly increase over time instead of increase from killing mobs, and it should reset when you die. Then, have magic drain EXP or health/hunger/thirst.

[bsb23 303]

Im writing a post up. been doing it all day. should I post what I got, or finish it up? It totally outmodes XP for any use in magic(unless you count the indirect link to health)

Post it now if you are still awake.

[ECC 508]

will do, just touching up a few loose ends. Bare in mind though as its unfinished I didnt play with the balance as much as I wanted. Also note that all day of writing equates to 'here are the kids, do whatever, just keep em in line' which translates to 'distraction, distraction, DONT SHAVE THE DAMN CAT, distraction, NO NO NO PUT IT DOWN NOW, distraction, write 3 lines, OH GOD NO NO DO NOT TRY COOKING LIKE MOMMY' for 10 hours straight.

[ECC 508]

I wrote this up last night(as of 11/4/2012) but deleted it because people would just shun me. SHUUUN

However, a certain wall of text has brought me back to writing up the balance between blood, herb, and gem magic once more.

Magic in general is a powerful force. So powerful, that in most lore it is thought of as dark or forbidding. Im an ideal system, people who practice it practice in secret. However, this is not a book and this is not TES. This is Terra Firma Craft, a massive open world where anything is possible and playing along friends is common. In a world like this, there is no prior lore to follow, no reason to fear the arcane arts, no reason to worry about anything. Its a game, and as all games are, there is nothing that cant be overcome with enough practice. for this reason alone, balance is a challenge. Let us start with the simplest arcane art that is not arcane at all in our real world. Yes, Real world, it exists, and its quite well known.

Tier 0: Herboligy and Basic Alchemy

Herboligy:

In the real world, the mysteries behind the midevil magic that held this name was unraveled and this became known as Medicine. This 'Magic' is the lowest form and can be used by anyone, including those who have no real knowledge beyond this. It consists purely of mixing one element with another to take the properties of each individual and enhancing them. Simple, and based strongly in the real world. People who do master this art however can make a powerful poison from Hastings one part of the plant over another. Take the root of one, the petals of another and you have the strongest poison. alternatively, the same recipe but with a different part of the same plant could make a powerful healing ointment. these plants can be applied alone to accomplish a poison, healing, cures, or mixed to magnify the effects and even mix them. any way possible can be done and the mechanics are already in the game to do all of it, exception being a few underlying buffs/debuffs we would need. This is the base magic and as I have said already, in the real world exists as 'Medicine'

Basic Alchemy:

I have always separated alchemy from what most games classify it as. Its not herboligy, its far more advanced and fantastic, but still is a underlying property of existence. That is not to say that it surpasses herboligy, but instead to say its a different world of magic. Equivalent exchange(the polar opposite of what TFC is) actually perfectly highlights what alchemy is and hints at its real world counterpart, just on a much simplified and fantastical scale. In essence, the word alchemy means to change one thing into another, also called transmutation. In the real world this is a real physic, however is done though fusion and fission as well as solutions and dissolvants and binders. 2 hydrogen makes 1 helium, and back. etc, etc. Now, I cant say we should go the route of EE for this, but I can say simple transmutation could be easily achieved though using rare one use items or perhaps multi use items. Items that allow the user to put a pile of sticks together and make oak wood, or perhaps a amulet that stores all of an object and converts it into magical energy. the specifics and possibilities are there, but are merely weak counterparts to the stronger stages. Early alchemy is found and discovered though existing artifacts. each world would be a experience to relearn it(like the meal system) and the only way to learn it would be to break down artifacts or some luck at attempting to use later tiers without any knowledge of how they work.

Tier 1: Advanced Alchemy and Basic Gem Magic

Advanced Alchemy:

Advanced alchemy is the step you take to learn about alchemy and be beginnings of practicing it. It is the most dangerous step in learning magic, and many aspiring mages don't survive it. To learn how to make a new amulet for storing magic, to learn how to make a new binder of wood, you must first break it down and see what it is made from. the problem with this is magic when unbound releases all that it is in a single moment. In most cases, a mage who is unprepared for the physical drain all unbound magic causes will die instantly. If however, they are as physically adept as they are mentally, experience will save them and they may only be weakened(game logic: Lose all but HP gained from XP). Breaking down an artifact always results in success(unless death by magic is failure for you ;P) and the results is a drop of the 'ingredients' and knowledge of the type of magic used. For the benefit of us all, knowledge is displayed by an explosion of coloured particles. Specifically, those used by the V.Enchanting table. Constructing the items is simple as gathering the materials and putting them together with some trial and error, a fairly safe process(Think active oxidizers as being the only risk)

Basic Gem Magic:

Basic gem magic works hand in hand with Advanced Alchemy. Gems work to focus certain magics abundant in the universe into a single point. Think of light passing though a crystal. Gems rarely can store any energy, but that is not to say its impossible. When you learn what it takes to make an alchemical item, you also learn what the binding magic is. This becomes important as when using a magical object as you must decide weather the item requires red, green, blue or whatever you wish over another colour. In one seed, green magic could act as an aid in healing where as red aids in draining mortality. in another seed entirely different effects occur. In order to use a gem's magic, basic users unleash magic in a 1:1 manor. Hitting it against the target to unleash the focused energy from it and destroy the gem.

Hand in Hand:

I mentioned that both T1 magics work together. The reason is is that in order to work at any point of alchemy you must incorporate a focus or storage for magics. Alchemy allows you to take the inherent abilities of a gem and continue to use them long after basic gem magics would have allowed. It does this by focusing the user's or storage's powers though the gem. this is the first case in magic where a user is drained of something other then life force. This would be a form of Mana, a classic ideal with a brutal twist. Mana is directly proportional to your current health. not your max, but your exact health. Mana does not ever get reduced by using magic. This may sound incredibly imbalanced, but you should read the final notes at the end of this post to understand.

Tier 2: Blood Ties

Advanced Gem Magic:

I didnt want to write it many times over, so check the notes to make sense of this. Gems as I explained focus and sometimes store energies. They can be released though breaking the bond or pushing your own ability though its focal point. However, you cant always be there to guard your door. This turns you to the first steps of blood magic, and the first steps are easy and cost little to nothing. By spilling a single drop of blood onto a gem you create a bond to that gem. Should you die though the spill of your own blood all gems you have bonded with will ignite, and release a mass of energy from themselves. Think of how a V.Creeper explodes. When you die, your bonded gems you have on you explode with that type of magic. As it is not ideal to die in the midst of combat while carrying magical 'nukes', there is another reason to bond with a gem. By bonding with a gem it allows you to create an ethereal point in space that responds much like the wireless redstone. You can designate a 'trigger' point by using another drop of blood to mark an area. where if an entity passes, the gem reacts. This makes for some trapping. alternative to placing the gem down as a trap, bonded gems slowly begin to accumulate a charge over time and the user can unleash all of the energy at once without having to focus energy or use a tier 3 method.

(game mechanics: when making a bonded gem, the gem receives a unique metavalue based on the players character data. the bonded gem can be placed in the world on top of a surface. To determine the direction that the gem will release its 'energy' it has a placement similar to that of a log. when activated by the blood block on the floor, the gem will unleash its energy on any object in a straight line of where it is facing for 10 blocks. only the first found target is hit. After this energy is released, the gem has to recharge. recharging is done in a similar method to how sapling blocks function. If all else fails, I hear tile entity does wonders for advanced value keeping.)

This is where I stopped writing. I have planned out roughly in my head the rest of 2-4(4 being the most powerful and dangeroius). Very little of it actually has to do with gems. Basically the rest of magic uses gems to store or focus more powerful magics though them.

Master Alchemy:

Blood Runes:

Tier 3:

Necromancy:

Enchantment:

Tier 4:

Blood Enchantment:

Mythomancy:

Notes because I'm not writing the same damn thing 5 different times:

Gem and amulet balance:

Magic of this form is only limited by how much total mana you have. you can keep shooting out this magic no matter what it is until you die of old age. However, this magic is weak. Without a direct source of energy such as a storage gem or live blood contact, the effects are 1/10th(?) the power available though such contacts. Storage can run out but store more energy then is obtainable though live blood contact and using your blood kills you if you go too far.

Why I didn't say 'Spell' anywhere in this post:

With this system, there is no such thing as a 'spell'. It is all physical elements of that particular universe. each separate magic acts in its own distinct way much like heat and cold act like physics of our universe.

there is a lot here I was still toying with, and balances I was striking in my head. Im posting this prematurely, so dont yell at me over balance, yell at me over how stupid a 1:1 health-Mana system is. This post was not finished, let me stress that

[Just_Another_Guy_:) 1,066]

-snip-

While this sounds quite good right now, i think i'm gonna wait until you complete it to express any opinion : so yeah, this is a pretty unnecesary post really.

Why are you reading then? No fucking idea. Maybe you are pretty bored right now, as bored as i am :