Dom3 Questions thread

HoneyBadger · #1 July 29th, 2007, 08:06 PM

So, on this line of thought, what was the thinking behind allowing alchemization of earth and fire gems, but not the others?

I'm assuming fire gems represent garnets, earth topaz, air diamond, water sapphire, nature emerald, death opal, and astral pearls.

If I had an opinion that anyone wanted, I'd make it so you could alchemize fire, earth, air, water, nature, death, and astral gems, with elemental gems given preference over nature and death, and nature and death preferred over astral (say 15 for elemental gems, 10 for nature/death, and 5 for astral) with a bonus of 1 gold for every level in that path your Pretender has.

That gives a little bonus for the elemental paths, which are weaker in the long term than death/nature, and a bonus for death/nature, because they'd be rarer than astral gems, since the astral gems (logically) would be more common than any other gem.

This would give *all* the other magic paths a little boost, compared to blood, which wouldn't hurt a thing.

I get that the explanation is apparently (al)chemistry functions in such a way, in the Dominions universe, that fire gems and earth gems are the only ones that can be extracted for gold, but that doesn't really answer the question in a thematically interesting or satisfying way.

Kristoffer O · #2 July 29th, 2007, 08:18 PM

Gold has the alchemichal prperties of the Sun, and the sun is made out of fire. Thus you can give any base metal the properties of the sun if enough fire magic are used in the process.

Earth magic can be used to transmute one form of metal into another, in other words lead into gold.

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Also, as a side note, gems are just a conventional way of saying 'condensed magic' (vis, in ars magica terms). They are not supposed to be sold. If you don't want to loose the RPG feeling you can say that magical gems are small enough to not be worth anything to a non-mage.

Edit: Early on in Dom-ppp development, only fire gems were usable.

Lazy_Perfectionist · #3 July 29th, 2007, 08:25 PM

Thank you for clearing that up, that has been puzzling me for a while.

Kristoffer O · #4 July 29th, 2007, 08:31 PM

Oh, sorry. I though that was obvious

HoneyBadger · #5 July 29th, 2007, 09:03 PM

Oh, I see now that they're just clumpy accretions of random, rusty minerals that happen to store magic, kind of like discarded iron slag, or something I'd dig up in my garden, with nasty bugs and worms living under it, instead of rare and beautiful jewels the size of pigeon's eggs, lovingly cut by master craftersmen, glowing with an inner fire of their own, and filling the very air with a magical light that makes the world a better place to live in, and inviting even the dullest spartan to covet them.

I get it now, and having gotten it, I am somehow... diminished

Kristoffer O · #6 July 29th, 2007, 09:10 PM

Nah, not rusty minerals. More like a crying root in the shape of a small human, a silver acorn, a golden apple, a crystal flower, a rainbow liquid, a floating darkness, a pouch with a trapped sound.

But also gems with trapped midsummer sunlight, the size of an egg.

Obviously magical, but only rarely something a king can use to pay his soldiers with. Soldiers are down to earth and sensible and knows that gold is useful. Barking clams are not.

Lazy_Perfectionist · #7 July 29th, 2007, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Lazy_Perfectionist said:
Thank you for clearing that up, that has been puzzling me for a while.

This post was in reference to the gold/alchemy, and not what gems were.

HoneyBadger · #8 July 29th, 2007, 11:26 PM

Thanks Kristoffer-that was a very nice answer

I guess I'm the sort of person that likes things to be quantified-if a thing does a thing, then a similar thing should relate to it. It helps me understand the world, but I can't expect things to be that neat. As long as, in their "messiness" they are more extraordinary, which is what you've given me.

And I am satisfied.

Kristoffer O · #9 July 30th, 2007, 05:26 AM

Glad to help

OmikronWarrior · #10 August 1st, 2007, 08:33 PM

I have some questions about Piercer and Long bow of Accuracy. I usually set my commanders to remain behind troops so as to protect them, which I sort of see as a waste since they won't be attacking. I'm wondering if crafting these specialized missle weapons are worthwhile, particularly if trying to target commanders. For that matter, does anyone know if the 30 Precision of LBoA is symbolic (meaning it always hits the target square), or actual, meaning so high it will usually hit the target square accept from very far distances?