Quote:
Originally Posted by MaxWilson
The manual does mention Ars Magic as one source of inspiration, so "partly inspired" is defensible. "Largely inspired by Ars Magica" as a justification for adding in the Ars Magica feature of mage-created gems is pushing it; it seems clear to me that gems as natural resource (vs. artificial resource a la electricity) is a deliberate feature of the Dominions magic system.
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You should read a bit more about Ars Magica.
In Ars Magica, groups of mages gathered in Covenants usually located near sites of magical power. The magical resources, called Vim, were differentiated by the path they belonged to: there was Ignem(fire) Vim, Herbam (plant) Vim etc. Vim could also be found or extracted from magically powerful entities, such as dragons, or antlers of an exceptionally large, white elk, etc.
Vim could be used to create magical items, in rituals to create more powerful and/or permanent effects, or to temporarily boost the casting mage.
In Ars Magica, mages have skills they can use to cast spells. A mage skilled in Creo (create) and Ignem (fire) could light up fires and create ribbons of fire to burn his enemies, but unless he knew Perdo (destroy) he couldn't extinguish flames and unless he knew Imaginem (images, illusions) he couldn't create an illusionary fire. He could try any of these effects spontaneously, but it is quite ineffective unless he had researched a formulaic spell for the spesific effect. These researched spells could be shared between mages of the same convenant, but everyone tends to have his or her own host of personal spells.
The verb-noun pairs that formed spells were chosen from these. The nouns match pretty well into Dominions paths.
Techniques (verbs): Creo (create), Perdo (destroy), Muto (change, transform), Rego (command, control, manipulate), Intellego (perceive, understand)
Forms (nouns):
* Animal: animal bodies and minds as well as animal products
* Herbam: plants and plant products (wood etc)
--> Nature
* Auram: air (weather is Auram or Aquam, depending; think Storm and Rain in Dominions)
* Imaginem: Illusions
--> Air
* Aquam: water and liquids
* Ignem: Fire
* Terram: Earth. Included Ice in editions that would have inspired Dominions, so that was changed.
--> other elements
* Mentem: human intelligence, ghosts
* Vim: Pure magic, banishing magical creatures
--> Astral
* Corpus: human body, including healing
-- no direct comparison; Death in Dominions is more D&D-ish necromancy combined with life drain
Also, there's no mana in Ars Magica. Mages can cast as long as they don't get too tired. The easiest spells can be cast without any fatigue, but more complex spells fatigue the mage when they are completed.
Oh, and there are auras that affect areas. Areas under Magic or Fey are easier to cast in, areas under Dominion (near and especially in churches, cathedrals and basically anywhere where lots of christians gather together, like big cities) were harder to cast in, and areas under Infernal influence could be dangerous in some way I don't remember any more.
Re: Idle mage time
Linear Mode
