Is Magic Right For You?

[Agith 224]

What does it take to be a good mage? ( In no particular order. )

 

1) A strong commitment.

2) An understanding of just how difficult it can be at time.

3) Be able to lose.

4) A want to increase the fun for those around you, more than just for yourself.

5) Roleplay Experience.

6) Understand Limitation and a firm grasp on Lore

7) Creativity

 

Strong Commitment

 

 Becoming a mage is a very long process in which you need to be aware of the effort it takes. On average a player is expected to post 5 sets of screenshots per week ( Different situations ) as a show that they are indeed roleplaying the progression of their magic. This process will go on up until you reach Tier 4, which takes months to acquire. We must remember that in this time you need to realize that for your early tiers you will lose ( Though we'll elaborate on this in another section.). 

 

An understanding of Difficulty

 

Magic is difficult. It is hard to obtain and can even be hard to keep regardless of how much time you've put into it. Mistakes with magic can result in the loss of your magic. As such you need to understand that even as a tier 5 you are held to standards. A single spell can often take an upwards of 2-3 spells, and they must consist of more than just the one lined 

"Connects to void."

"Forms spell"

"Throws spell"

This is an ideal of example of what you shouldn't do as a mage. There are guides which can help you if you need it. The act of emoting connecting to the void is optional. Though I personally choose to not, in place of it doing what is called a 'Tell'. A tell is something which physically shows when you are connecting to the void. For my character it is a simple eye twitch. 

 

A good example (Note this is a T4-T5 mage)

 

"Sibala extends his hand with an open palm, his eyes fixating upon the nearby orc."

 

"The male's hand would begin to shake gently and small particals of blue light would dance about his fingertips, air distorting like heat on the horizon around his palm."

 

"As he exhales a bolt of electricty surged from his palm with a bright flash towards the Orc."

 

Though personally I'd elaborate more on the bolt itself with the following (However, thanks Tentoa for providing the top part) 

 

"The bolt crackles through the air towards the orc, emitting a bright light which may leave streaks in ones vision as it whizzes towards its mark."

Be able to lose

 

As a mage you are extremely powerful. However that does now make you indestructible. You need to realize that power does not equate to indestructibility. Mages are very frail, to the point where one notable injury (Say being shot in the shoulder.) can prevent the ability to cast entirely. This is due to the need to focus when you are casting a spell (And it's hard to focus with bolt in your arm!). Mages are physically weak. The act of studying for years tends to have a big detriment to the physical ability of a mage. As such you aren't very strong even out of combat. Though muscle acts as a protective layer against strikes as well. You as a mage are more inclined to take mortal wounds from blows than a warrior simply because you've a thinner layer protective your organs and major veins and arteries. You also cannot wear armor (Though you can wield a sword...Just don't expect to be good with it, I recommend full dedication to a swing if you do swing. As in when you swing, a miss will result in the inability to immediately swing again, and instead the weight pulls you towards where you swung, resulting in stumbling.)

 

Make Fun for Others

 

"With great power comes great responsibility" ~ Ben Parker.

 

As a mage you should be at a point where you know that there are more players than just you. And you need to be able to acknowledge that even when you are having fun, others may not be. A mage in particular can ruin a roleplay faster than any other kind of player. If you're going to be getting into an altercation, you need to be aware of how it will affect the people in the area. How will this impact their fun?. On top of this it is ever strongly recommended that you never do a single kill attack. A single kill attack is essentially a way to put an end to the fun of a person. Mages have the ability to create unique environments and scenarios, remember this. 

 

Roleplay Experience

 

This can be a tricky thing to think about. And it may draw some hatred against the guide as a whole, however one must remember what comes with magic. As such I strongly recommend at least two months time of the server. This helps to ensure that a player has experienced more than just magic (After all, experience is the best way to create empathy.). Instead of immediately wanting to jump into magic after that 2 week requirement? Look at what else LoTC has to offer, maybe you'll find something you'll enjoy more! Try being a warrior, a farmer, a drunk, a bard, alchemist, a miller, brewer and so on before you get into the huge dedication of becoming a mage. Magic is a very swift way to put an end to a lot of other possibilities. You want to know you're making the right decision. This will also help you to flush out your roleplaying skills, which will definitely help should you decide if magic is still right for you.

 

Know Lore and Understand Limits.

 

You need to understand how magic works! Look into the plethora of help available at your fingertips. Talk to players of mages, talk to the MAT, read the guides and wiki. All of these will help you to ensure you have a strong grasp of what it is you are doing in the first place! Magic has a lot to it, be sure you know what you are getting into.

Limitation is a big thing with mages. You have to know just how much your character can do and not press beyond this. This is a huge deal, since if done wrong it will result in too weak a character, or too strong of a character. A balance is key, however if it comes to being too weak or too strong? The better of the two is to be too weak. I suggest with each tier adds a few new spells. You slowly progress into it, complex spells remaining hard, while basic ones can be done to surmount up to the complex one (It's difficult to judge, but that comes with practice.)

 

Creativity

 

To be an effective mage, you need to be creative. Coming up with new spells, forming new ways to approach a scenario and making things fun isn't always a walk in the park. It is highly advised that you look at things from an outside angle. Logic plays into creativity, and it's once more a balancing act. Try not to look at things with a "How effective will this be" approach...But rather a "Is this fun?" approach. You will find this to be a strong overlying theme which will help to ensure that as a mage you are being original, fun, but not ridiculous.

 

Concluding

 

Thank-you for taking the time to read this guide, and I hope it has helped. If you've any suggestions on how to improve it? I would love the advise. 

 

How was it? This is my first guide, and as such criticism is strongly appreciated.

[Ford 1996]

Also add that it's better role-play to NOT emote actually connecting or grabbing onto the void to form your spell. Just mention your body movements and what appears in your hand or how your spell appears after some time. I learned that from the High Elves. Never do "twitches his hand as he slowly begins to connect to the void", but instead "hands begin to twitch as he continues concentrating on so-and-so"

[MamaBearJade 2090]

Very good guide. I love it Agith~

[Rig 17580]

Good job Agith +1

[Heero 4092]

[Shorsand 2006]

I personally don't think emotes don't need to be that detailed. I cringe a little whenever I see them connecting to the void and going through their little thing, because it makes it sound like they're making a point to tell me that, "Hey, I can do this and you can't!".

[Agith 224]

I personally don't think emotes don't need to be that detailed. I cringe a little whenever I see them connecting to the void and going through their little thing, because it makes it sound like they're making a point to tell me that, "Hey, I can do this and you can't!".

 

The elaboration is necessary to prevent confusion and enable better imagery. There is no boasting in that Shorsand. Though I see your point.

[Guest Guest]

Oh master! Is magic for me?

[Jake the Dog 290]

Not all Mages are weak you know.

[Silent™ 552]

Make it so self-taught doesn't require a teacher and it's right for me!

[Agith 224]

Not all Mages are weak you know.

 

Did I ever say they have to be? I said that it's better to heir on the side of caution as opposed to being too powerful IF you are unsure.

[asianaidan 4]

Atleast it is for me  I think

[gam 386]

Not all Mages are weak you know.

 

They are not weak, no, but incredibly defenseless. If a swordsman is close enough to a mage, even if the mage is T5, they could easily cut them down before a spell is summoned.

 

Good guide, by the way.

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

I personally don't think emotes don't need to be that detailed. I cringe a little whenever I see them connecting to the void and going through their little thing, because it makes it sound like they're making a point to tell me that, "Hey, I can do this and you can't!".

I get that feeling too.

Personally I do this.

*Art inhales sharply*

*Green mist appears around his body, swirling upwards*

*slowly assumes the form of a little mouse*

 

OR

 

*Art inhales sharply*

*Small sparks begin to gather at his fingertips*

*The sparks grow louder and more in number*

*Art fires off the bolt at his target with a loud *CRACKLE*

[Quavinir_Twiceborn 1050]

Well...I have priest healing magic...cant really lose with that...or win for that matter.