Lounge II (The Lounge Strikes Back)

[aeromancer]

Wow, that's more than I expected in such a short period of time. Thank you all, let me see what I can do with each one.

 

11 hours ago, Somebody from Sel said:

The more you use the power the stronger it gets, but you will feel the opposite effect stronger as well, this can be anything, my favorite example is awareness: the more you use it the less sleepy and the better your senses get, when not using the powers, you get really drowsy with bad senses.

That would have to be a 'Law' governing the use of the Arts - [Bind] + [Inverse] + [Sympathy] + [Legendary]. The latter two allow you to access anyone using powers and the first two would create the negative repercussion and bind it to the wielder based off the power. I need a better name for the [Legendary] word - it's actually a meta word which involved the manipulation of the magic system itself and the [Legendary] title is an artifact of its original use in my system.

 

11 hours ago, Aspiring Writer said:

Magic power I shall suggest is time manipulation, i.e. slow down, speed up, freeze, and that's it. No time travel. That and superspeed. Superspeed is OP.

There are actually two characters already who have dedicated time control powers, a third who can accelerate his mental speed (but not physical speed), and a fourth who abuses [Cold] powers to use superspeed. (Superspeed is really easy to get with my system - just use the [Quicken] word, but it has nasty friction based repercussions without Necessary Secondary Powers, so no one really has Flash-level superspeed. Except the one guy who does using ice powers.)

Time travel actually does exist, in theory. (The point of the magic system is for every power to be replicated, after all.) The problem is that if you travel back in time while interacting with normal mass (read: while not in a vacuum) the normal mass will treat your mass like antimatter and violently annihilate, so precautions would have to be taken. Thing is, since the scientific knowledge of the world doesn't extend to matter/antimatter, all anyone knows about traveling back in time is that it violently explodes you and no one wants to try it. So, time travel is possible, but will never be used in my book. This means that I can have my cake and eat it too. (Thanks, relativistic physics!)

 

11 hours ago, Somebody from Sel said:

Maybe try... elemental powers

There are six words tied to elemental powers - [Fire] [Water] [Iron] [Cold] [Air] [Lightning], which can be combined with either [Project] or [Construct] to access almost any basic level elemental power - though something like a storm-based power might require multiple words - some combination of [Water] [Air] or [Lightning] depending on the aspect.

 

10 hours ago, Sarah B said:

@aeromancer

My favorite super power to see done well are the different forms of kinetic mimicry/ skill absorption. You see this in comic type stories in characters like Task master, tv in Sylar from Heroes, and in manga/anime in characters like Kakashi. Star trek plays with this too in a light form as mind melds and the Krill, depending on the version. 

There are always drawbacks, what has to be done to acquire new skills and how long they last. 

I think what appeals to me about it is that the ability doesn't seem to be anything at first, but is crushingly powerful when developed 

Flight is a close second though :-)

I have a character who can borrow other character's powers and replicate them - though not at the Taskmaster equivalent. More similar to Kakashi, I think. I'm not overly familiar with Naruto, my obsession is more with American comics than Japanese ones. (aeromancer does a quick google search in the background.) Actually, I have a character who is creepily similar to Kakashi, apparently, because her gimmick is replicating her opponents 'words' with seems to be the same thing as the way ninjutsu works in Naruto that Kakashi uses?

Taskmaster can replicate physical movements, and I have a character who can sort of do that - its a kind of marionette spell where the caster can control their body perfectly, regardless of physical skill. A wielder could read a manual or watch a master and then perfectly replicate those moves, so definitely similar to Taskmaster in that sense. (Though that ability would work on Deadpool, which Taskmaster's doesn't for no explainable reason.)

Flight is easy and can be done in a lot of ways - wind manipulation, gravity manipulation, simple telekinesis. As for 'simple power which is deadly when developed' ... well, it's kind of a thing. Most character only have a small handful of 'words', so the goal is to use your 'words' in ingenious combinations rather than string together gargantuan spells.

 

7 hours ago, Robinski said:

Flame on! - Fantastic Four was the first comic I started buying waaaaaay back in the...late 70's. Human Torch/Johnny Storm (always Chris Evans for me) was my favourite character.

Magneto - Because, of course!!

Harry Dresden - for the simplicity of the system, while remaining coherent, IMO. Not overthought. Does what it needs to to serve the story.

Of course you give me hard ones.

Johnny Storm, somehow still the only person to hold the title 'Human Torch' in Marvel comics, is a pyrokinetic of the highest caliber and can reach the temperature of a supernova. (And he isn't even considered to be the strongest member of the FF!)  To fully replicate his powers, a 'paragraph' is needed. Some basics spells like a fireball, [Fire] + [Project] and the ability to create fire constructs [Fire] + [Construct] is necessary. I'm also going to add in the ability to generate gas [Air] + [Construct] because fires need to consume something when they burn, so I'll give him some fuel. Then we add two more 'sentences' - a 'Flame On!' sentence, [Fire] + [Shapeshift] which lets him turn his body into fire and one which gives him access to an incredibly powerful source of flame - [Fire] + [Enhance] to give him really hot flames. Package those all together and we get a 'paragraph' we can call 'The Human Torch'.

Magneto we basically have to cheat for. [Magnetism] is not a word in my system, the reason being that the technology curve just isn't there yet for people to understand it but [Lightning] is there because electricity has been around since the time of the Greeks. Granted, they didn't really know what it was but that is where we get the term electricity from. Unfortunately, I don't want to give magnetic powers based off lightning because Magneto doesn't have any electricity powers, he only has magnetic ones. So, like I said, we're cheating. And here's how we do it: a very simple [Iron] + [Conduit] + [Projection] + [Field]. Our Magneto knock-off can create a field where anything ferrous within it is attracted to anything else ferrous within it.

Harry Dresden. Alright. So, his list of powers as of the most recent book Battle Ground is staggeringly high. He has, in no specific order and without going into too much spoilers (but I'm still marking it under spoiler) the following non-exhaustive list of powers which I am mainly doing from memory:

Spoiler

Advanced pyromancy + pyrokinesis, advanced cryomancy + cryokinesis, gravity manipulation, enhanced senses, super strength, pain reduction, predator's instincts, healing factor, mental magic including but not limited to enthralling, mind reading, illusions, and True Sight, Soulfire, advanced sympathetic tracking abilities, powerful curses, walking techbane, the ability to create sanctuaries, limited Intellectus under specific conditions, multiple pacts with various supernatural beings including but not limited to the Unseelie Court, Demonreach, Bob the Skull, Mouse, Mister, and Za-Lord's guard, knowledge of the most powerful necromantic ritual to ever exist, and an arsenal of weapons which includes but is not limited to his defensive cloak, his blasting staff, his other staff for all things non-blasting, kinetic rings, shielding bracelets, incredibly powerful ancient relics, and a baseball bat. He has also previously possessed Heckfire, Excalibur, various cursed relics, and a motorcycle that could ride on water,

Speaking of eldritch powers, Dresden is basically one of those at this point. I do really like the system within Dresden Files because it serves the plot very well, is sufficiently fantasy, and actually fits into the FATE system great, but it doesn't really mesh well with my system. I'm going to have to ask you to pick a few of his more signature abilities to see if I can replicate that because replicating Dresden's full list of powers would be ... strenuous.

 

2 hours ago, ginger_reckoning said:

Shapeshifting! (With or without conservation of mass) 

Teleportation/portals!

waterbending!

And of course the ability to read minds

Shapeshifting is easy, there's actually a word for it - [Shapeshift]

Teleportation is ... tricky. There are a few ways I've tried - one is a space-bending variant were you shorten the distance between two points but it doesn't work if there's something in the way (something with a lot of mass - air is fine, mountains are not). There's astral projection, but that's not in person, it's a dream form of transportation which is heavily influenced by Wheel of Time but can't get you physically from one place to the other. True teleportation, that is, the instantaneous transportation of one object in one place to a different place, does not exist in my system. I suppose I could just use tessering from Wrinkle in Time, but that seems a little too advanced of a concept what with folding space and all. I think I might need a fresh word for that to happen. 

Waterbending is [Water] + [Construct] or [Water] + [Projection], depending on the nature of what you want to do.

Mind reading is [Mind] + [Sympathy]

 

Thanks, all! Kudos for @ginger_reckoning for giving me something to think about, and the rest of y'all for the fun exercise.

[ginger_reckoning]

@aeromancer what are the 32 words?

[Robinski]

2 hours ago, aeromancer said:

Speaking of eldritch powers, Dresden is basically one of those at this point. I do really like the system within Dresden Files because it serves the plot very well, is sufficiently fantasy, and actually fits into the FATE system great, but it doesn't really mesh well with my system. I'm going to have to ask you to pick a few of his more signature abilities to see if I can replicate that because replicating Dresden's full list of powers would be ... strenuous.

Awesome. I haven't read the spoiler, as I am presently reading Battle Ground, and probably will be another few days at it (not a fast reader). I will consider some particular abilities to choose.

[aeromancer]

4 hours ago, ginger_reckoning said:

@aeromancer what are the 32 words?

It's not really going to help without a more in-depth explanation of each one, but I can just give you the list if you want it. Send me a PM and I'll send you the list that way, offer stands for anyone who wants it.

[Aspiring Writer]

Anyone watch the Sanderson lectures and have a spike in anxiety watching them? I started doing it, and it definitely made a blood pressure rise.

[Robinski]

5 hours ago, Aspiring Writer said:

Anyone watch the Sanderson lectures and have a spike in anxiety watching them? I started doing it, and it definitely made a blood pressure rise.

Why? It certainly didn't when I watched them about 5/6 years ago.

[Snakenaps]

7 hours ago, Aspiring Writer said:

Anyone watch the Sanderson lectures and have a spike in anxiety watching them? I started doing it, and it definitely made a blood pressure rise.

Going to echo @Robinski on this one. Is it the format? I struggled with the YouTube BYU lectures because I'm not good at watching television, but I can listen to Writing Excuses until my ears bleed. The only rising blood pressure I get is Oh my God, I'm out of excuses, I've got to go write! I have so many ideas!

[Aspiring Writer]

6 minutes ago, Snakenaps said:

Going to echo @Robinski on this one. Is it the format? I struggled with the YouTube BYU lectures because I'm not good at watching television, but I can listen to Writing Excuses until my ears bleed. The only rising blood pressure I get is Oh my God, I'm out of excuses, I've got to go write! I have so many ideas!

No idea. Just hearing him talk gives me anxiety. It's interesting, but... yeah.

[Snakenaps]

3 minutes ago, Aspiring Writer said:

No idea. Just hearing him talk gives me anxiety. It's interesting, but... yeah.

There are many other resources out there if you are looking for education. Sanderson certainly isn't the only option.

If you like books, I found Orson Scott Card's Characters and Viewpoints to be helpful and I have heard great things about The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. The website Helping Writers Become Authors has good articles you may find useful. There are the podcasts I Should Be Writing and Ditch Diggers, neither of which I have listened to because I still have 5 seasons left of Writing Excuses. I suppose it all depends on if you are trying to educate yourself about something specific, or get an overall lesson in how to write to solidify your entire writing foundation (this is my path). 

[Robinski]

Stephen King's On Writing is mentioned a lot. (Although some hack called Bill Tracy () said "A little too much biography, not quite enough "on writing."" Looking at King's Goodread's page, I can see that might be the case.)

       https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10569.On_Writing?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=paQSPj3Tln&rank=1

Then there's Ursula K. LeGuin's Steering the Craft, which again is cited a lot as a go-to text.

       https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68024.Steering_the_Craft

Can't say I've read either. Just never enough time.

Edited November 30, 2020 by Robinski

[Snakenaps]

27 minutes ago, Robinski said:

Stephen King's On Writing is mentioned a lot. (Although some hack called Bill Tracy () said "A little too much biography, not quite enough "on writing."" 

Good ol' Mr. Bill is who told me about The Elements of Style :D

[ginger_reckoning]

2 hours ago, Aspiring Writer said:

No idea. Just hearing him talk gives me anxiety. It's interesting, but... yeah.

Well, his voice certainly didn't sound like how I imagined, and it can be intimidating to think about all the work that really goes into writing, so I can see what you mean

[Aspiring Writer]

You know, it's funny when BS, in one of his lectures, says a problem with 'gardeners', aka the revise a hundred times thing, and you just stare at how accurately he described you. Like it's that common a problem.

And the funnier part is me subbing these out kinda don't help the problem, as I try to revise the chapters a few more times before and after sending. 

Edited December 1, 2020 by Aspiring Writer

[ginger_reckoning]

Happy Hanukkah! 

[Turin Turambar]

1 hour ago, ginger_reckoning said:

Happy Hanukkah! 

You're early. 

EDIT: Nope. You're right. I forgot about time zones.

Edited December 10, 2020 by Turin Turambar

[kais]

1 hour ago, ginger_reckoning said:

Happy Hanukkah! 

My kid is SO EXCITED for 4:33pm, sundown here.

Anyone else celebrating?

[Turin Turambar]

2 minutes ago, kais said:

My kid is SO EXCITED for 4:33pm, sundown here.

Anyone else celebrating?

Yup.

[Lecky Twig]

2 minutes ago, kais said:

My kid is SO EXCITED for 4:33pm, sundown here.

Anyone else celebrating?

Man that sounds like fun, I'm a real night-owl. 

But.. my sundown was 9pm

[Turin Turambar]

3 minutes ago, Lecky Twig said:

Man that sounds like fun, I'm a real night-owl. 

But.. my sundown was 9pm

The proper time to light this year is about 5ish, I think.

 

Edited December 10, 2020 by Turin Turambar

[Robinski]

Happy Hanukkah to yous.

[kais]

4 hours ago, Turin Turambar said:

The proper time to light this year is about 5ish, I think.

Always earlier for us northern folks. Alas.

[aeromancer]

5 hours ago, Turin Turambar said:

The proper time to light this year is about 5ish, I think.

 

44 minutes ago, kais said:

Always earlier for us northern folks. Alas.

The timing of sunset depends on a wide range of factors limited to but not including longitude (more north is earlier), latitude (depends on your location with respect to the center of you time zone, naturally), and height (because if you live somewhere a mile high, sunset and sunrise are earlier than if you live somewhere at sea level). Thus, depending on where you live, sunset can be anywhere from about 3-7pm this time of year. If you include the southern hemisphere, where the situation is flipped, then sunset can be up until around 11pm.  I think I would be correct in assuming, for instance, that @Lecky Twig is from the southern hemisphere if sunset is around 9:00pm. This, naturally, isn't even the most extreme example of the situation. Given the proximity to the winter solstice, if you're above the Arctic Circle or below the Antarctic Circle (I'm far too lazy to calculate the exact margin but a back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests the range is anywhere within 23.6 degrees of the poles) then you can literally not have a sunset/sunrise, and continue not having one until January (thought that margin is smaller - probably within 20 or so degrees).

...I'm not really sure how that last part contributed to the conversation, given that there are a very small handful of people who live in the those places, but I really like astronomy (and calendars) and what are local time zones if nothing except for applied astronomy? (And for that matter, what are calendars if not for a measuring system of astronomy?)

Edited December 11, 2020 by aeromancer

[Lecky Twig]

6 minutes ago, aeromancer said:

This, naturally, isn't even the most extreme example of the situation

Yup, even though I'm quite far south, there's a big ol' mountain to the west of me meaning that sunset comes ealier to my area compared to most of the surrounding country. If I go 50ish kilometres down the road, it will still be light at 10-10:30ish.

[Guest Somebody from Scadrial]

4 hours ago, Lecky Twig said:

Yup, even though I'm quite far south, there's a big ol' mountain to the west of me meaning that sunset comes ealier to my area compared to most of the surrounding country. If I go 50ish kilometres down the road, it will still be light at 10-10:30ish.

I live in Montana, we're surrounded by Montan: we have a song for it. It get dark at 3-4ish now and will get progressively earlier.

[aeromancer]

We briefly interrupt your scheduled messages to bring you this:

I am actually so hyped for this, considering that Rogue One was a very good movie and the source material for Rogue Squadron is amazing (see: books, games, etc.). I'm not expecting the full cast of Rogue Squadron, naturally, but if we could just get some of the notable ones, like Tycho Celchu or Corran Horn, then I will be very happy.