Tweet
This isn't directed at anyone specific, and it obviously does not constitute a rule or anything similar due to my not having anything to do with decision-making on Sundren. This post is just something for people to consider, as it might alter your perspective on the subject of buffs and spells, which are clearly a monumental part of the game.
Mainly, my concern is with people walking around buffed 100% of the time, seemingly ready for combat at any given point. From rest until rest, there are many people who have constant arcane or divine defenses swarming around their person, regardless of the situation. Whether sitting around the campfire, in the middle of a temple, surrounded by guards and allies, or appropriatly in a warzone, I'd dare say that the majority of players are buffed if they are capable of buffing themselves at all.
Yes, I understand that your character may feel justified because he or she has enemies, and he or she is paranoid of this or that, but have you ever stopped to think of the consequences of being buffed all the time? There is a reason high-level spellcasters are often portrayed as insane and eccentric; magic can do a number of things to the mind of the target and the caster, alike. I'm not going to list and explain every example, but think of the effects that a spell like Premonition would have on a person. Premonition lasts at least ten IG hours or so, and that equates to ten hours of actively existing a few seconds ahead of everyone else around you; the caster is experiencing life a few seconds ahead of schedule, and is happening before his surroundings are. That sounds like a maddening existance to me, especially when you make the transition between having that spell active and when you don't.
What about Haste? Living in constant accelerated motion would be a pretty ridiculous experience as well - Longstrider fits the bill do a lesser extent. Barkskin, Spiderskin, Stoneskin? You're tampering with the fabric of your body. Mind Blank, Protection from Alignment? You're penetrating your own brain with energy from the weave. The list goes on, and on, and hopefully demonstrates that a caster should definetly be effected by the tremendous amount of magic he pumps through and around himself.
Furthermore, Wizards specifically have to realize that casting spells requires a lot of memory-capacity, as that is the whole concept of the spellbook they carry; Wizards memorize spells from it. To go on casting binges, although surely possible, is a mentally taxing event. Do dish out 10 buffs at a time just to sit at a campfire would not be a pleasent feeling, and would certainly be pushing mental limits. Sorcerers would likely not experience this problem to the same extent, but they would still be affected by the specific details of any given spell; they would still have their mind wrecked by constant Premonition, for instance.
On a related note, divine casters need to recognize that their spells are not coming from their own efforts, but the efforts of their deity. Each spell that a divine class casts draws from the power of a God, who does indeed eventually suffer on behalf of the caster (as I understand it). If half a million Cleric's of Torm all got together and cast Ressurection, Torm would probably shrivel up and have a seizure. Some deities are capable of hosting a large amount of spellcasters, and some are not so powerful - either way, a God would not want their presence and power to dwindle due to their servants walking around, fully buffed, to read a book at a campfire. People can lose the favor of their God by being so careless and reckless with their abilities (as I understand it). Clerics and the like, in my opinion, should thus be more careful before going on their own casting binges for their own purposes and desires.
This is all just my opinion, and does not reflect the words or decisions (official or otherwise) of anyone else. I just think that being fully buffed all the time is not a logical course of action for the above-mentioned reasons... unless your character RP's the consequences accordingly.
Mainly, my concern is with people walking around buffed 100% of the time, seemingly ready for combat at any given point. From rest until rest, there are many people who have constant arcane or divine defenses swarming around their person, regardless of the situation. Whether sitting around the campfire, in the middle of a temple, surrounded by guards and allies, or appropriatly in a warzone, I'd dare say that the majority of players are buffed if they are capable of buffing themselves at all.
Yes, I understand that your character may feel justified because he or she has enemies, and he or she is paranoid of this or that, but have you ever stopped to think of the consequences of being buffed all the time? There is a reason high-level spellcasters are often portrayed as insane and eccentric; magic can do a number of things to the mind of the target and the caster, alike. I'm not going to list and explain every example, but think of the effects that a spell like Premonition would have on a person. Premonition lasts at least ten IG hours or so, and that equates to ten hours of actively existing a few seconds ahead of everyone else around you; the caster is experiencing life a few seconds ahead of schedule, and is happening before his surroundings are. That sounds like a maddening existance to me, especially when you make the transition between having that spell active and when you don't.
What about Haste? Living in constant accelerated motion would be a pretty ridiculous experience as well - Longstrider fits the bill do a lesser extent. Barkskin, Spiderskin, Stoneskin? You're tampering with the fabric of your body. Mind Blank, Protection from Alignment? You're penetrating your own brain with energy from the weave. The list goes on, and on, and hopefully demonstrates that a caster should definetly be effected by the tremendous amount of magic he pumps through and around himself.
Furthermore, Wizards specifically have to realize that casting spells requires a lot of memory-capacity, as that is the whole concept of the spellbook they carry; Wizards memorize spells from it. To go on casting binges, although surely possible, is a mentally taxing event. Do dish out 10 buffs at a time just to sit at a campfire would not be a pleasent feeling, and would certainly be pushing mental limits. Sorcerers would likely not experience this problem to the same extent, but they would still be affected by the specific details of any given spell; they would still have their mind wrecked by constant Premonition, for instance.
On a related note, divine casters need to recognize that their spells are not coming from their own efforts, but the efforts of their deity. Each spell that a divine class casts draws from the power of a God, who does indeed eventually suffer on behalf of the caster (as I understand it). If half a million Cleric's of Torm all got together and cast Ressurection, Torm would probably shrivel up and have a seizure. Some deities are capable of hosting a large amount of spellcasters, and some are not so powerful - either way, a God would not want their presence and power to dwindle due to their servants walking around, fully buffed, to read a book at a campfire. People can lose the favor of their God by being so careless and reckless with their abilities (as I understand it). Clerics and the like, in my opinion, should thus be more careful before going on their own casting binges for their own purposes and desires.
This is all just my opinion, and does not reflect the words or decisions (official or otherwise) of anyone else. I just think that being fully buffed all the time is not a logical course of action for the above-mentioned reasons... unless your character RP's the consequences accordingly.
. Non casters are wandering around covered in magical gear with similar effects... This isn't any sort of ruling by the way.
Comment