Ageless Artes

[The Black Mage]

Trance:  When Trance is activated, the user's Max MP is multiplied by (2*user's Character Tier). Using this ability restores the user's Current MP to max, or immediately ends an active MP Cooldown. This enhanced MP remains until the user spends all their MP, and goes into MP Cooldown. As a result of this ability, however, the user's MP Cooldown is doubled.

Trance Cool Down: (User's MP Cooldown * [2*Character Tier]) posts

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Tier One
The Warp and the Weft: The user gains the ability to open Corridors of Darkness.
Arcane Seal: Once every 10 posts, the user may place an Arcane Seal. The user must be able to lay hands on their target to afflict them with the seal. If the maker of the Arcane Seal then casts ANY spell, the person bearing the Arcane Seal is  immediately struck by a duplicate of that spell.
Magic Skin: When a user takes Strength-based damage, they may choose to negate that damage, at-will. This negation demand an expenditure of (Attacker's Str Tier * 10) MP. (2 post cooldown)
Fiendish Gaze: The user retains the ability to see, even in areas where there is no light. This includes areas which have been magically deprived of light. In an area where there is no light, the area appears, to the user, as though it were in twilight.
Shanghai the Night: The user generates a field of magical darkness around them. The area of this effect is a sphere, (10*user's Magic tier)ft in diameter. This effect lasts (2*user's Character iier) posts, and has a cooldown, equal in duration to the user's current Base MP Cooldown.

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Tier Two
Arcane Eye: The user ignores any effect which would prevent a spell from hitting its target. (Illusions, NulTargeting, etc) However, this effect only works if the caster can perceive his target via sight, hearing, touch, or some other sense.
Arcane Wellspring: The user's Max MP is increased by (25*Character Tier) MP.
???: ???
4th Skill:

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Tier Three
1st Skill:
2nd Skill:
3rd Skill:

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Tier Fourth
1st Skill:
2nd Skill:

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Tier Five
1st Skill:

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(The following are yet unassigned, and put here for purposes of personal notation.)

(Prolly the T5) Manafont: Once Per Topic, the next (User's Magic Tier) spells cast do not reduce the caster's Current MP. Additionally, they may be cast even if the caster is in MP Cooldown.

Cascade: Once every X Posts, a damaging spell also does untyped Magical Damage. This damage is proportional to the user;s Magic Tier.

Magical Wellspring: Once every X Posts, casting a spell does not reduce the caster's Current MP.

Subtle Sorcery: (while a heretofore undetermined condition is true), the user's spells ignore Elemental Immunity/Reflection/Absorption. This effect only applies to Immunities/Reflections/Absorptions gained by a Skill Tree.

Arcane Might: Improves the power of all spells cast by the user.

Clear Mind: If the user takes no strenuous actions during a post, that post counts double, for the purposes of MP Cooldown, and Cooldown for spells.

Conserve MP: ??? (Coming back to this.)

Magic Burst: (Once every X posts?) The next spell the caster uses has, if applicable, Eternal Homing, provided the element of the  last spell successfully used on the target matches the element of the spell being cast.

Elemental Celerity: Spells of the Fire, Ice, Thunder, Earth, Water, and Wind elements have their cooldowns reduced by (user's Magic tier) posts.

Occult Acumen: ??? (Coming back to this)

Imbue Space Element

NulScilence

NulThunder

[The Black Mage]

Bump

[Game Master]

My apologies for the wait, and thanks for your patience.

For this approval, I will be focusing only on the first tier and the base ability. The ability in the second tier will not be examined.

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The drawbacks are not necessary. Moreover, the drawback pertaining to Endurance is more powerful than would be allowed. If we were to allow a drawback like that, we would need to include the same advantage. Since there is no direct half of maximum endurance, and because the difference in tiers is so steep, allowing such a violent change in either direction is not viable. One creates a character who will never gain anything from Endurance, and the other creates a character who will benefit from never investing in Endurance.

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At tier one, you may only gain 20 MP per tier.

Drop the percentage on Piercing Spell. I'm not letting any single ability grant such a massive increase to damage resistance, and I'm not going to let certain abilities negate massive percents of Damage Resistance. I will allow a bypass, because just trying to ignore a person's damage resistance is countered in a far more straight forward fashion. That is my opinion, and can be contested.

[The Black Mage]

Okay, the drawbacks to the base were removed.

I HAD intended those drawbacks to be drawbacks leveraged against the ENTIRE TREE, which is why they were so DRASTIC.

As far as Piercing Spell, I dropped it to (5*Magic tier)%.

Would you feel better about it if I slapped a CoolDown on Piercing Spell, and had to conciously MAKE the spell Pierce?

...trying to ignore a person's damage resistance is countered in a far more straight forward fashion.

Not sure what you mean.

[The Black Mage]

I REALLY hate to be This Guy, but, bump?

I'm just anxious to use the character.

[The Black Mage]

bump

[Marigold Darkson]

Taking over in the case of GM's absence.

Trance: This gives you an obscene amount of MP that goes beyond the limits for our already established amount on the site. I can let you multiply it by a flat two, and keep the rest of the following effects, but not 2 xMagic Tier.

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Piercing Spell- I believe when he said "drop the percentage" he meant to drop it completely. You will need to have it fit the current power scale we're using now and as such, at T1, with no drawbacks on it, you will only be able to ignore a low amount of DR (damage resistance).

Shanghai- I am confused on what you're trying to do for the cool down of this ability. Is it 10 + the magic tier or what...?

[The Black Mage]

I wasn't aware there was an established limit, in that way. I know of a few skill trees that can give their users an obscene amount of MP. Perhaps even more than what the skill, at present, provides.

What's more is, the skill (As well as basically this entire tree) is intended to be more useful, the more skilled with magic the user becomes. It's tied SPECIFICALLY to Magic, to slow the progression, as well; To actually use magic well, you need to be able to react at speed (Speed), as well as having ABSURD aim (Agility, if my memory serves me). That's two other stats that have to be dealt with, alongside Magic. It seems like it grows quickly, but, it may well be a SLOWER progression of power, as compared to tying it to Character Tier.

On Piercing Spell, I DID ask if having it be a "once every X posts" would make it any better. I ask this question, once more. ...Also, in what sense of scale is 10% not "low"?

I clarified, a bit, on Shanghai the Night.

[Marigold Darkson]

The maximum anyone character can have with a maxed out MP pool with skills dedicated to them, is 500, I believe. You can have up to three pools as current standards allow, which totals to 1,500 MP. If there are other skills like that that have been approved, it was likely before the meta was finalized. Until that person abuses it, we let it slide, but this isn't about others, this is about your skill specifically.

And okay, those are the limits you imposed on yourself. But not just that, AoEs, target spells, and globals do not require obscene amounts of speed/agility to cast.

Why would you limit yourself? Just make Piercing a passive skill for a higher tier, to do more with it. I will say it like this, we do not use a number system, we do not use percentages. If you were to confer with GM and I about how much 10% is, you'd see why it isn't low. Simply put, you can have this as a passive, but it CAN'T be a percentage and needs to stick to our current method of power scaling.

[The Black Mage]

The maximum anyone character can have with a maxed out MP pool with skills dedicated to them, is 500, I believe. You can have up to three pools as current standards allow, which totals to 1,500 MP. If there are other skills like that that have been approved, it was likely before the meta was finalized. Until that person abuses it, we let it slide, but this isn't about others, this is about your skill specifically.

Ah. I see what you're getting at. I thought the 1500 bit was the max cost of a spell, not the max amount of MP a character could have at a time. (Although, I suppose that would make sense.)

And okay, those are the limits you imposed on yourself. But not just that, AoEs, target spells, and globals do not require obscene amounts of speed/agility to cast.

I wrote it that way, in an attempt to mitigate any potential OP-ness. Yeah, Target spells don't require good Spd/Agi, true. AoEs, you need to have at least DECENT Spd/Agi (compared to your target/s) to cast, unless the AoE itself is just PREPOSTEROUSLY BIG. ...I'm not just real sure what you mean by "globals".

Why would you limit yourself? Just make Piercing a passive skill for a higher tier, to do more with it. I will say it like this, we do not use a number system, we do not use percentages. If you were to confer with GM and I about how much 10% is, you'd see why it isn't low. Simply put, you can have this as a passive, but it CAN'T be a percentage and needs to stick to our current method of power scaling.

I used a percentage, there, as a sort of shorthand. The idea was that, as the character got stronger,  he'd become more adept at overcoming abnormal defenses (read: damage reduction). His spells would become more and more absolute. I used a simple equation, because I wasn't just real sure how else to express it. ...And, I would very much like to know what "10%" is, in you and the GM's frame of reference. I'm not trying to be flippant or disrespectful, here, I'm legitimately curious, now.


So, you think Piercing Spell should be a higher tier power, so it can be more useful, correct?

Edit: Tweaking some things.

[Marigold Darkson]

The limit I was actually wrong on, so my apologies for that. It's fine that you can multiply it in that method, which actually clears everything up, thankfully. Moving on.

Severe, by GM and I's standards, is only 3%. If this was a numbers game, which it isn't, an increase attributed to Severe is only an increase of about 3% at max. The fact you want to essentially ignore 10% of DR, means that you'd be going beyond the standards already set by the current meta. Get it? Low is equal to .5%, Moderate is 1%, and Severe is 3%, if I am wrong about this, GM may correct me. Anyways, the percentages are rather low for what may seem like a lot on the higher tiers.

And yes, that's exactly what I am saying. When you come around and change it from percentage to a worded indicator, then at tier 1, you can only have it at Low, possibly Moderate if a big enough drawback is included and that's the maximum. Anything higher than moderate, you're waiting until Tier 3 and above.

[The Black Mage]

Alright, got something ready now.

[Marigold Darkson]

Magic Skin needs a cool down

[The Black Mage]

It does?

I didn't think it would, since physical attacks don't need a cooldown. And, the ability consumes MP.

Lemme just be clear, is that the only issue?

[Marigold Darkson]

You are literally trying to negate all forms of physical, strength-based attacks by only sacrificing MP, at will, plus with the added benefit of being able to double your MP thanks to your base ability? Also, a T5 STR attack can only be deflected by a cost of 50 MP? It needs a cool down.

[The Black Mage]

I can put a cooldown on this, if you want. (What sort of cooldown would you like to see, here?)

But, let's look at this, for a second.

A person specced into physical combat is going to be landing physical hits, reliably. And trying to stay within close-quarters. Unless you're aiding it with an Ability, a physical strike is 100% costless.

Now, look at Magic Skin. Yes, it has no cooldown. Yes, it's (somewhat) low-cost. However, it DOES have a cost. And, that cost is per-hit, not per-turn.

And, yes, while my base ability can give me UNGODLY amounts of MP? It's still MP. MP that, as a magical character, I'm gonna be burning through as I cast my spells, anyway. Let's also consider the fact that most spells are not geared for use in CQC.

So, if someone gets in close enough to lay hands/blades/whatever on me? I'm already in trouble, because the ways in which I can respond to this state of being are limited. Not to mention, most mages are, by the very nature of their skill-sets, KINDA SQUISHY. A physical blow would be a sight more serious to me, than it would, say, an agility-based fighter, or even a spellsword/battlemage.

Taken on its own, the skill looks a bit OP. Take into account the realities of combat, and the resource drain, coming from all sides...

...From where I'm standing, it doesn't look so bad.

[Marigold Darkson]

I took everything you said into consideration and that's what made me come to the decision to make you put this on a cool down. What would I like to see? Two post cool down.

Just to address your concerns, though, if you spec your character correctly, you don't need to worry about being squishy, simply put. You may not have noticed it, but it is quite easy for a person putting points into something, to be lackluster in somethings, while excelling in others. With your current mage playstyle, there is nothing stopping you from prioritizing MAG, END, then SPD and AGI. That's all up to you though. I know if I were building a mage, I'd probably have Endurance either second or third on my list to tackle.

The same also goes for a person who is doing a physical hitting build. They will need to prioritize stats that, if they lack in others, you as an RP'er can easily take advantage of. Not to mention, you're only T1 and it seems like you're trying to prepare for a fight against a T3 or above. If that's what you're trying to do, then... I don't know what to tell you.

Case in point, from where I'm standing, it warranted a cool down and that's my judgement on it.

[The Black Mage]

Oh, well, two's not so bad. Thought it was gonna be higher.

It'll be there by the time you see this.

[Marigold Darkson]

Yeah, it wasn't going to be anything outrageous. Everything is all good from what I can see.

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