I'm not talking about the PC/NPC tree, but the use of blood magic in the story and various side quest.
The history of the world, as well as the various quests in DA:O and DA II, have given blood magic an impressive range of abilities. It's not a different school of magic that has its own strength and weaknesses or even 'magic - but better!' it becoming the [url=http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AppliedPhlebotinum]do-anything plot coupon.[/quote]
Please limit the power of Blood Magic
Débuté par
Maria Caliban
, oct. 20 2012 12:48
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#2
Posté 20 octobre 2012 - 12:58
BlueMagitek
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Blood Magic is unique in that:
1) It greatly empowers the other schools of magic.
2) Comes from blood and not lyrium
3) Pierces Templar Defenses
Like other schools, it has techniques unique to it.
But yes, additional schools would be fun.
Edit:
Where I'm going with this is that yeah, Blood Magic has some reasons to be used so much. And if there's an equal readily available, it'll raise the question as to why that hasn't be used before, unless it's a new development.
1) It greatly empowers the other schools of magic.
2) Comes from blood and not lyrium
3) Pierces Templar Defenses
Like other schools, it has techniques unique to it.
But yes, additional schools would be fun.
Edit:
Where I'm going with this is that yeah, Blood Magic has some reasons to be used so much. And if there's an equal readily available, it'll raise the question as to why that hasn't be used before, unless it's a new development.
Modifié par BlueMagitek, 20 octobre 2012 - 01:01 .
#3
Posté 20 octobre 2012 - 12:59
Rawgrim
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I`d like it to get the player into trouble for using it. Certain quests not given to you anymore. People attacking you all the time. Being hunted. Pretty much whatever happens to other blood mages.
#4
Posté 20 octobre 2012 - 01:01
PsychoBlonde
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Ah, that's actually a sensible request. I'd like it if they start putting forward some better "rules" about what magic in general (and blood magic in particular) can and can't do--developing a physics of Thedas. Not only will this prevent the story from becoming totally deranged or focused completely on magic, it'll make cases that seem to violate the "physics" stand out more.
Granted, when you do develop a physics of sorts, there comes the problem that it's hard to maintain a sense of awe or dread--it becomes like anything else that's well-understood and thus subject to regulation and control. That, and it's very, very hard to write in such a way to create mystery and interest when you have access to a pat explanation for stuff. I run across this problem all the time when I'm GMing--it's incredibly difficult to give out enough information for the formation of conclusions but not too much.
Maria, it'd be nice if you'd give some examples of times where you think blood magic has been used in a way that violates other existing lore--most of the times I recall it being used in DA2 it was pretty straightforward stuff--raising corpses as undead, summoning demons, mind control. Although there was some pretty severe confusion between "demons" and "abominations"--that and the demons in the games have an awful lot of corporeal presence.
I think most of the problem in the games themselves comes down to Blood Mage being just another specialization--a blood mage PC is not inherently more POWERFUL than a non-blood-mage PC. Blood Magic is way too much of an informed power--it doesn't work the same way on both sides of the GM screen. But, the devs have said they want to work on this for DA3, so I'm hopeful.
Granted, when you do develop a physics of sorts, there comes the problem that it's hard to maintain a sense of awe or dread--it becomes like anything else that's well-understood and thus subject to regulation and control. That, and it's very, very hard to write in such a way to create mystery and interest when you have access to a pat explanation for stuff. I run across this problem all the time when I'm GMing--it's incredibly difficult to give out enough information for the formation of conclusions but not too much.
Maria, it'd be nice if you'd give some examples of times where you think blood magic has been used in a way that violates other existing lore--most of the times I recall it being used in DA2 it was pretty straightforward stuff--raising corpses as undead, summoning demons, mind control. Although there was some pretty severe confusion between "demons" and "abominations"--that and the demons in the games have an awful lot of corporeal presence.
I think most of the problem in the games themselves comes down to Blood Mage being just another specialization--a blood mage PC is not inherently more POWERFUL than a non-blood-mage PC. Blood Magic is way too much of an informed power--it doesn't work the same way on both sides of the GM screen. But, the devs have said they want to work on this for DA3, so I'm hopeful.
#5
Posté 20 octobre 2012 - 01:11
PsychoBlonde
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Rawgrim wrote...
I`d like it to get the player into trouble for using it. Certain quests not given to you anymore. People attacking you all the time. Being hunted. Pretty much whatever happens to other blood mages.
I'd like to see the PC actually go berserk, turn into an abomination, and murder everything in sight. It wouldn't have to be all the time in order to have the kind of impact they really need to make the point, and there are precedents for doing this, such as the PC in Baldur's Gate 2 turning into the Ravager.
It could be a variation on a quest involving a really powerful demon--if your character uses blood magic, they get possessed, and the rest of the party needs to go rescue them. If you don't, perhaps something else requiring a rescue happens. The only real difference would be what that rescue entailed, exactly. Or maybe the PC has to rescue themselves, the difference being that the Blood Mage has to fight their way through the Fade, but the non-blood-mage PC has to fight through the real world. There are options. The real differences would be things like, you slaughtered everyone in the village you were trying to protect. Things like that--but if you have those be things an "evil" PC could choose to do anyway, the only difference would be that the Blood Mage (or, the mage USING blood magic at a given time if you want to give people SOME discretion) gets that result whether they want it or not. So it could be implemented in a way that wouldn't derail the entire game down a sideline, would have significance, and wouldn't consume huge gobs of zots.
#6
Posté 20 octobre 2012 - 01:14
Rawgrim
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I`d just want blood magic to have some severe, and possibly fatal, consequences. We are told time and time again that dabbling with it is way bad. Yet the PC gets away with it like it was nothing. Nobody even notices him using it. And its overpowered when it comes to damage etc too.
#7
Posté 20 octobre 2012 - 01:22
iSignIn
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But Dragon Age needs Applied Phlebotinum!
Star Wars: "It's the Force!"
Mass Effect: "They're Indoctrinated!"
Dragon Age: "It's Blood Magic!"
You cannot take it away. Because that would require logically self-consistent writing, which takes too much time to fit into EA's development schedule.
Star Wars: "It's the Force!"
Mass Effect: "They're Indoctrinated!"
Dragon Age: "It's Blood Magic!"
You cannot take it away. Because that would require logically self-consistent writing, which takes too much time to fit into EA's development schedule.
Modifié par iSignIn, 20 octobre 2012 - 01:24 .
#8
Posté 20 octobre 2012 - 02:06
PsychoBlonde
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Rawgrim wrote...
I`d just want blood magic to have some severe, and possibly fatal, consequences. We are told time and time again that dabbling with it is way bad. Yet the PC gets away with it like it was nothing. Nobody even notices him using it. And its overpowered when it comes to damage etc too.
Isn't there another recent thread ****ing about how you don't do any more damage with BM than any other type of magic?
I just did a BM character in DA2 and I didn't find the damage was so much different, more that since I could stack Con to the ends of the earth, my mage just laughed off enemy damage.
