[Magic] ~ Arcane Shifting ~

[BrandNewKitten 2789]

 

Update; For those re-reading. This no longer incorporates aura in a weird way.

 

 

~ Arcane-Shifting ~

 

Arcane -> Arcanism -> Arcane -Shifting

 

 

 

Shifting Fundamentals

 

Arcane Shifting is the act of pulling forth the unstable arcane element used in Arcanism and allowing it to essentially react with your physical being, causing your body to build energy and eventually shift and teleport a short distance up to 15 blocks away. For this magic arcane energy is summoned in a large quantity and your body is energized. When you unleash the spell the energy rapidly displaces itself and you reappear when the energy is drained.  

 

The spell is displayed as the caster drawing forth the unstable arcane energy around them into an aura-like state. When unleashed the caster shoots off in a flash of energy and is hurled in a direction, the residual energy following and trailing off of them as they shift. 

 

To put it scientifically, and this paragraph was brought to me by an LM, shifting is like making yourself an electron and giving you, the electron, enough energy to to propel yourself into the air from an atom. Energy builds, it's released and when the energy depletes you are in a different location but retain your physical form. This isn't to say that the magic is completely dictated by the laws of physics but this is a good metaphor for how the magic functions. In RP the caster isn't going to know about atoms and electrons but this information is important to demonstrate the process.

 

Shifting is more draining than other spells due to the feat it is achieving.  Due to the complexity of the magic untrained mages will likely cause what is known in lost blinking magics as the cleaving affect, though with less severity. Deep cuts and lacerations befall those who shift before they have developed the knowledge to do it properly.

 

Where Blinking took the user through the void, shifting simply displaces the user and deposits it in a different spot. The user is in some way visible throughout the entirety of the shift, though their tracks are hard to follow due to the relatively instant nature of a single shift. The difference this causes is that shifting may not take the caster through a wall or through any other solid object including another being. It may not take a user more than a few feet in the air and it may not bring others with it. So no teleporting right behind someone and no going through solids. It fits into the arcanism sequence due to relevance to mana. Evocation is offensive. Shielding is defensive. Shifting is evasive. 

 

 

How to Shift

 

The caster summons arcane energy and charges it around them. It essentially causes energy to be trapped and build up. The shift is what happens after the pent up energy is successfully released but this process is also why the fail castings are so volatile. When shifted the caster leaves a thin gassy stream of energy tagged with the aura color of the user and the caster themselves will be glowing due to the residue energy.

 

An undeveloped shifter will not know how to control this reaction of energy and so their first successful shifts are likely to displace the caster in unpredictable locations at random. As the caster develops their relationship to the magic they can be more specific about where they will end up. It is because of this that it's not unlikely to see a shifter accidentally shift the opposite direction that they had intended. Especially in the early stages of their development.

 

Cuts, bruises among other things mark the long list of possible injuries when a shift goes wrong. A distraction mid-shift, an attack mid-shift, any interruption could send the caster flying back, their body lacerated by the condensed energy that so carefully made up their being. Like a marble hitting a whole cluster and sending them scattering the process of shifting has a lot to do with control over ones physical and metaphysical body as well as balance. Due to the heavy exertion the caster is prone to vomiting and temporary internal injuries after having attempted to shift, their physical being clearly matching the strain on their metaphysical.

 

 

~ A few things.~

 

Shifting is only short range teleportation. Each shift will take the caster no farther than 15  blocks at a time and the caster will not be able to pass through any obstacles. You may only travel upwards of a couple blocks with a shift as it does not enhance your jumping capabilities. You can however use shifting as a way to descend, though the likelihood of you injuring yourself while doing so is on par to if you would have jumped from that height normally. Essentially is it like the caster is moving at super speed. You get places quickly but you still have to take the same route everyone else does.

 

A trained arcane shifter will in theory be able to cast several shifts in a row, thus the reason this magic is valuable comes in. Its main strength is to confuse, disorient or flee from your opponent. Likewise a shifter who is unafraid of possibly taking injury could in theory shift right into an opponent, tackling them with a larger force. Unfortunately nothing would be protecting the caster from experiencing blunt trauma as well making physical force a nearly obsolete method of combat.

 

The shifters body must be able to pass through the area they are shifting so it is possible (But difficult) to shift through small amounts of water but it is not possible to go through a door. Likewise if you do cannot shift somewhere that you don't have sight. In an extreme case you can shift backwards to propel yourself away, but not knowing what is behind you will almost indefinitely lead to you falling or stumbling back and in extreme cases cause you to ram into something. To reiterate you cannot rush someone, shift, and be deposited directly behind them. Their body is an obstacle and you may not shift through obstacles.

 

The more weight a user has the more mana it takes to shift. Likewise if a person is wearing armor or just larger in general their failed casts of shifting are more likely to lead to a painful recoil. Imagine wearing armor and flying out of a failed shift, you would be battered quite severely. This also applies to weaponry. The shift is instantaneous and although I refer to time slowing down the shifter is not keen enough to be able to swing a sword while shifting. When shifting you are putting a massive amount of momentum behind yourself. So you could not justify an attack mid-shift. 

 

 

 

EX1:

 

]

 

Elf_Guy stands, his bodily loose but his fingers twitching. His face has taken on a numb expression as his body begins to emit a strangely magical blue aura. His eyes fixated at a spot to his side about twelve feet away.

 

Elf_Guy suddenly vanishes and in his wake a flash of blue energy surges across the small clearing, a stream of pure energy trailing behind it. The elf’s form re-manifests just off the targeting spot.

 

Elf_Guy’s body recoils, blue magical energy spilling away from his stumbling form. His hands grab out, only to find a lack of support before meeting the ground. The form of the elf quickly tumbling on after them.

 

Elf_Guy lays on his side panting. Smiling, but panting.

 

EX2:

 

Here we see the shifter casting a spell to land himself behind the dwarf. This is only possible due to the short stature of the dwarf and the fact that the caster sacrificed a perfect spell to jump instead. In other scenarios the shifter could go behind their target but not directly behind them. You need a line of sight.

 

*This is an in progress fight. They are in a clearing bordering a forest*

 

Elf_Guy’s gaze seems fixated on a spot in the distance as his breathing doubles, his brow furrows and his fingers flex. Arcane energy slowly begins to seep from his body.

 

Dwarf_Girl charges the elf, her Warhammer held high as her smaller frame rushes towards him, between them about 15 ft of distance.

 

Elf_Guy begins to rush forward as well, a trail of magical energy being left behind him. His pupils grow large as he and the dwarf get closer and closer together.

 

Dwarf_Girl swings his Warhammer in a wild fashion, right to left sweeping it towards the Elf in hopes of a collision.

 

Elf_Guy jumps, almost as if into a summersault. At that very moment his form shifts, a flash of bright blur energy fills the area his body once was. In an instant the form of the Elf reconfigures indirectly behind the dwarf about ten feet at a diagonal from his origin however he falls into an uneasy roll.

 

Dwarf_Girl lets out a roar as the force of the swing carries her body with it, her form swiveling to the misfortune of the grounded Elf, revealing his new location.

 

Elf_Guy quickly begins to regain his footing, albeit his feet dance around in his semi-dazed state.

Dwarf_Girl plants her feet before kicking off, once again charging the Elf.

 

Elf_Guy’s body, still seeping with magical energy, swivels. His focus becomes locked on a spot to his right, just inside the cover of the forest.

 

Dwarf_Girl reaches the elf before repeating the swing, surely to not miss again.

 

Elf_Guy’s body shifts once again. However as it happens this time the Warhammer collides ever so slightly with the culmination of energy that makes up his form just as he shifts away. This in turn causes the Elf to be flung out of the shift not where he had originally targeted.

 

Dwarf_Girl allows her Warhammer to fall to the ground as she looks around, aiming to find her target.

 

Elf_Guy’s body is flung out of the shift, as he was not quick enough to dodge the strike this time. His frail frame slams against the trunk of a tree that was meant to safeguard him. His body collapses to the floor, out of breath and out of options.

 

 

Combat effects:

 

 

Arcane shifting is about being evasive. You can dodge attacks but not without risk. It is up to the person to decide if they should be hit when shifting. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself how long your character has been prepping the spell. They need to focus on a spot. Then they need to give time for their bodies to be "charged" and then they need to allow the shift to happen. If a strike is coming at you and you think you can insta-shift away without prep then this magic isn't for you.

 

With arcane shifting you can also move while casting your spell. This of course is not without repercussions, as seen in EX2 where the shifter was dazed after attempting to shift mid-jump. This setback allowed his assailant to meet up with him and land a strike before he could successfully shift away. If you are hit in your shift it would be the same if you were hit not in your shift. This is why it is almost instantaneous. In theory you don't want to be hit while attempting to shift but if the attack was fast enough or under special circumstances then it is entirely possible.

 

When attempting to shift away from a strike think of it like this. If you were to put the fight into super slow motion but your character was able to move just a bit faster while they shift would the strike still meet you? Usually no right? If you try to shift past someone but you don't accommodate for the sword they are swinging then it is in all likelihood that you will exit the shift with a wound. The pinnacle of this being trying to shift-tackle an opponent as they lunge with their blade. Jokes on the shifter because they would most likely soon find themselves impaled on a blade.

 

If a person moves into the path of a shift or if a projectile is thrown down the path of a shift the same principles apply. Did you shift before the attack? If so then what would happen is you would reach your targeted location before they reach you shifting. A shift is done in a linear fashion. The extreme momentum behind the shift disallows the caster to change their course mid-shift.

 

Below is an image made by Pandan to illustrate the effect of a shift. The purple is you. The red is an enemy, the black rectangle is a solid wall and the black lines are the possibly routes to shift through.

 

 

 

Fighting a shifter by trying to hit them during their shift is the most ineffective way to combat them. The most effective way to defeat a shifter would be to cast a spell that would deal area of affect damage. A small volley of arrows could hit the shifter as they exit the shift and a swing from a weapon has a small chance of cleaving the shifter just before they shift but once they are shifting they are almost completely safe in that instant. That is mainly due to the almost instantaneous effect of the spell. 

 

 

RED LINES:

 

-Only affects caster. No two person joy rides.

-If you cannot see the spot you want to shift to then you cannot shift to it.

-Cannot go through walls, doors, bodies, anything solid.

-Cannot escape through gaps in walls or out of shackles.

-Shifting is done in a straight line not rounded ones.

-Cannot travel far into the air. A couple feet max. (Like a normal jump with a small boost)

-Does not allow long distance teleportation.

-You do not enter the void.

-Does not give super human reflexes.

 

 

 

TLDR;

 

Arcane Shifting uses arcane energy to teleport the caster up to 15 blocks away in a linear path. When shifting the caster loses physical form and a bolt of energy shoots them to the target location leaving a trail of energy behind. It cannot deal magic damage to enemies and can possibly harm the caster.

 

 

~ Credits to Pandan for all the clarification help so far

 

SO PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. DO I NEED TO CLARIFY SOMETHING? JUST ASK GUYS! LMs TALK TO ME PLEASE!

[ShameJax 1391]

My god. I'd love to be able to practice this. I always thought a void teleport Arion was just entering a rift between the void and your plane, but this is so much better! Yes, please!

I hope it would be possible to self teach if you are an experienced evocation user!

[Malaise 1569]

I like this a lot and would love to see ot performed on the server. Well written, BNK. Bravo. +1

(inb4 this fuks wit a TON of server lore xDDDDDDDD!!!)

[mitto 2307]

(inb4 this fuks wit a TON of server lore xDDDDDDDD!!!)

 

Yeah +1 this is super cool, would add a nice interesting spin on some RP battles

[BrandNewKitten 2789]

I like this a lot and would love to see ot performed on the server. Well written, BNK. Bravo. +1

(inb4 this fuks wit a TON of server lore xDDDDDDDD!!!)

 

 

Thank you! I hope it doesn't conflict. I mean I know a bit about auras and I don't think this is too out there! Fingers crossed mate.

[ShameJax 1391]

Also what would be the "tier" disrance/time?

[BrandNewKitten 2789]

Also what would be the "tier" disrance/time?

 

If you wanna do tiers. It would be 5blocks per tier since you are only up to swordsman level. Though tiers are not officially used anymore. The casting is pretty instantaneous which is one of the strengths of the magic. Though if attempting to escape the assailant could possibly track you by following the trail of mana you leave behind.

 

Novice- 0-5 minecraft blocks

Adept- 0-10 blocks

Anything else- 0-15 blocks

 

Hope that helps.

 

EDIT: I just realized how little that covers. So let me redo this. Also distance is up to LMs really. Who knows maybe they will allow father distances. 

[Lima 773]

Can you, for balance sake, give a idea of how much real time it takes for a well trained person in this magic to blink a short distance with a connection to the void already established? I would like to from the get go get a idea of how long it takes for someone to perform a shift? I ask to avoid the situation where people start shifting away from arrows.

And, of course, if the person is in motion or was in motion before hand they would not be able to perform this right? 

 

Honestly, the concept is cool, it murderers lore but I am sure a good natter with a LM would just resolve that quickly but it might be potentially powergamey in a lot of situations unless a clear limit is established on the original doc.

 

Edit:

 

I mean, this magic seems like a intense mixture of enchanting, translocation and arcanism with probably the 3 as a pre-requisite as well.  

 

Edit edit: Plz no more than 15 blocks aka 45 ft.

[Pandan 1448]

Who knows maybe they will allow father distances. 

 

Because we're known for being kind to lore.

 

 

[under Review]

 

Feel free to continue submitting feedback in the form of comments or changing the post should you want to, expect an answer within the coming week or just afterward.

[ShameJax 1391]

If you wanna do tiers. It would be 5blocks per tier since you are only up to swordsman level. Though tiers are not officially used anymore. The casting is pretty instantaneous which is one of the strengths of the magic. Though if attempting to escape the assailant could possibly track you by following the trail of mana you leave behind.

 

Novice- 0-5 minecraft blocks

Adept- 0-10 blocks

Anything else- 0-15 blocks

 

Hope that helps.

 

EDIT: I just realized how little that covers. So let me redo this. Also distance is up to LMs really. Who knows maybe they will allow father distances.

Also, could we go through doors with this via rolls as another way to rp it or does the aura not bend around areas like that?

[Ford 1990]

Good stuff.

[Avacyn 1706]

I like it a lot. It's a good explanation and solution to the in-character problem that my 'Arcane Wraith' (an event creature I conceptualized and Kalamoot officially posted here.) proposed to mortals: it, itself could 'arcane shift' but this was simply due to it being a creature of arcane makeup and it could thusly move itself through the Void. It said mortals could not do such because their makeup was not compatible with the information the Void contains and they would simply cease to be if they tried to 'shift' they way it did. This is a creative way to get around this glaring issue, and I support it.

[Pandan 1448]

Quick thing Kitten--

 

Could you provide some combat examples? The scene can be of your taste, however make it higher tier so we can understand the true capabilities of this magic.

[meg 1993]

IMO- If your  character can walk a distance, they can shift that distance. This means not through doors, walls, windows, etc. UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. You're not the flash, people.

 

Secondly, I'd like to see combat scenarios as well. What happens if they try to shift through a weapon or other type of magic thrown at them? I personally think this should work in the sense that, they could do it, but it'd hurt. A lot.

 

This is very nicely written, and would be a good compromise to the blinking dilemma. If, and only if, people stay within the boundaries. 

[BrandNewKitten 2789]

Thanks guys for the feedback. I have added another Example and a section on "Combat effects"

 

The two examples are meant to show the balance of the magic but if you would like me to write a shifter pwning some guy then I can. 

 

Basically if you shift before they attack you are solid. Shifting mid-attack is tricky since there is the possibility for the attack to make contact. Shifting is like turning yourself into a giant arcane bolt and flinging yourself towards the target location and although the speed at which you shift is incredibly rapid you are still there and able to be hit physically. You just have to be unlucky. Which is the real reason this magic is viable imo.

 

Anything need clarifying? I am open to changes as well if something feels off.