Magic Missiles; Mia & Paris
Setting: at dawn as it is a mile-and-a-half walk to the palace from Jouet Square.
Mia poked her head into Paris' room one morning, as Paris was preparing to go to class. "Do you have a minute? I'll walk with you to the castle if you're rushed -- I know you didn't plan on an interruption this morning...?" she smiled shyly.
"I'd be happy to have company for part of my walk, Mia. And happy to do whatever I may for you."
Mia and Paris started towards the keep. Mia spoke hesitantly, mostly talking to the ground, "I've been thinking... with Claire staying here to study with Pierre I'm afraid that when we head off towards the Spider Queen the party may be somewhat short of, well, missle-fire -- what with Rhori mostly in the front lines and all. I know Anton's been working on learning 'Lightning Bolt' which is a ranged attack spell, but I think he told me it can only be cast three times a day. Besides it's a second level spell -- all the second level spells I've looked at cost a lot more to cast then the first level spells, and they require special items, and they have some pretty nasty side effects if you miscast them! So, I was thinking: that 'Magic Missile' spell Claire cast so often, the one that effected the wraith when regular weapons didn't seem to -- well, any mage can learn that spell -- it just takes time, or cards. Y'see it's an expensive spell -- 10 cards, but if I understand correctly, it can be cast any number of times -- until the magic user gets too worn out to cast any more. And I was thinking -- I don't think I should try to get it, I'm pretty booked. When a god tells you a spell, it's probably pretty important to learn, don't you think? Anyhow, the god sell and the spell Genelle cast, with the light, that helped us deal with the spiders, seem awful important for me to learn. Besides I'm already borrowing a bunch of cards from Calais to learn the last first level water spell I need before I can cast second level spells. Any one of those could probably replace Claire's wall, but... back to what I was trying to say. Wouldn't the 'Magic Missile' spell be a good one for Anton to learn? I don't think he's planning to at the moment -- it won't help him get to the second level air spells he's been so anxious to learn, but if we all chip in some cards, don't you think it'd be good for the party if he had it? Not that I actually have any non-allocated cards to chip in -- but maybe I could owe somebody for my share... of course everyone'd have to agree to it... Am I -- well -- umm-- what do you think?
With approval in her voice Paris answered, "I think that giving Anton more firepower is a superb idea, given that you yourself are committed to other studies. I had wondered how we were going to make up the loss of Claire in our battle tactics. I can't assume that we will never again confront the fell and the dark in small-scale conflict, unless the Prince decides we have served our purpose as an adventuring team." Paris stopped speaking for a moment, looking at nothing as she continued to stride along. Nonetheless, she seems to be trying to not outdistance the cleric. "As for the cards needed to learn the skill, I have 10 cards I had bundled up for a use other than my own. If you are sure that Anton wants to have the Magic Missile spell, I will give them to you to give to him for that purpose."
Mia: "Well, I don't know that he's thought about it at all... but I hardly think he'd mind...."
Paris halted and fumbled in her belt pouch, withdrawing a small packet wrapped in beautiful silver-grey silk. "Here." She handed over the packet. "I am so long at the palace when I'm studying that I might not see Anton for some time. That would not be fair to him and his learning schedule. You give the cards to him with my blessing and thanks. The entire party may well benefit from your consideration and wisdom in thinking ahead."
Mia: "Umm, well, umm -- I'll tell him -- talk to him about it... I guess, well, have a good day, and, umm, I'll tell you about it tomorrow morning, I guess..."
Paris caught Mia's hand and pressed it, saying warmly. "Thank you, Mia. You have relieved my mind a great deal on how we were going to cope strategically with Claire's decision. Now we will only have to deal with it on a personal level. Thank you so very much."
"You're welcome..." Mia gave Paris a real, honest-to-god smile, while actually looking at her.
Paris waved goodbye with a return smile, and Mia might note, strode off with a lighter, bouncier step than, perhaps, she had used since Jouet fell.
Magic Missiles: Mia & Anton
Early one morning (not too far into our first week of study) when Anton came looking for breakfast [I'm presuming Anton is continuing to eat Mia's meals - at least breakfast -- despite us being back in the city], Mia handed him a bowl and sat down with one of her own.
Wouldn't miss it. "Hi Mia, great oatmeal! How DO you get that sort of rainbow effect? Sure makes it look neat. "
"Thanks, umm, uhh, glad you like it" She smiled and blushed at the same time.
Mia: "Umm... I was... that is, Paris and I were talking, and with Claire staying here, it seems to me that we may be a little short of magical fire-power when we go to look for the egg and the scepter. I know you're learning 'Lightening Bolt' but isn't that limited to being cast three times a day?"
Anton: "Hmm, yes, it really is too bad Claire won't be traveling with us. I think we were just getting to the point where we knew how to take real advantage of her spells to work with other people in battle. Oh well. And, actually, it turns out Tiny's Bolt can only be cast twice a day, not even three times. And it has a nasty kick if I miss."
Mia: "Anyway, we were thinking -- wondering that is, if the cards were not an issue, would you want to learn the 'Magic Missile' spell Claire has? Not instead of 'Lightening Bolt' or anything like that -- in addition to it -- as a spell that won't have awful side-effects in battle if it gets fumbled or something, nor need any special ingredients or anything like that...." She gulped a breath of air. "Claire was awfully effective with the magic missile. Like you said, we'd all gotten to the point that we sorta knew how to take advantage of it. I wouldn't want to not have it available when we're facing the Spider Queen or the Vampire Lord or whoever we end up facing to get the scepter and the orb from.
Anton: "I think we'll miss her wall spell, too. I think I'm going to learn Jarvon's Air Wall, which is a pretty studly (10PD/10ED) wall, and it's rackable."
Mia: "That sounds wonderful! There's a water based wall spell that I wanted to learn, but I don't have enough cards to do so yet -- and I'm already borrowing a large number from Calais. And I don't think my option is rackable, but I'm not sure" Mia looked cheerfully relieved. "Well, um, so we were talking -- and Paris had these which she wasn't planning to use right away...." Mia pulled out a small packet wrapped in beautiful silver-gray silk containing 10 silver cards and put it on the table between them. "So if you're interested in learning 'Magic Missile' she said you could, um, use them -- with her blessing." Mia smiled rather shyly at Anton.
"Paris?" Anton's left eyebrow appeared to do a miniature version of his levitate spell... "Umm, well it does appear to make sense for either you or I to learn Magic Missile, and you're right that Tiny's Bolt will be something I'll only want to cast in special circumstances, so unless you want to learn Magic Missile, I'll do it."
Mia: "Umm, naw -- I think I'm pretty booked for the next two weeks with different spells I think we need -- and increasing my magic skill. I'm learning things like the light spell Genelle cast that helped so much with the spiders, you remember?" she smiled at him. "Anyhow, I think you'll be much more effective with it anyway. I tend to be carrying a lot of spells in combat already, and generally I need to be prepared to cast a heal if things get bad. It's probably best if we split general magic duties and you take most of the attack spells 'cause I'd be terribly afraid that an attack spell and a healing spell would need to be cast at the same time.... Though I am considering learning an attack spell next week -- just so I have one to cast; I just don't think I should be our main offensive mage."
Anton: "Sure, no problem, I'll be happy to learn it. You're right that one of the main limitations of losing a mage is that, even if we knew all the spells, we could still only cast two per round now.
Mia: "Humm... speaking of that -- is there an air-based armor spell that you have the option to learn? It'll be really bad if you took a hit early on in the combat and got knocked unconscious -- then we'd only have my spells."
Anton: "Nope, not that I'm aware of. Practice up on that combat heal, eh?"
"Guess so." Mia smiled.
Anton: "I'll need to grow my magic battery too, but I needed to do that anyway. "
Mia: "Yeah, I figured you were planning to do so already -- at least if Tiny's Bolt is anything like the second level spells I've been looking at. They all seem to take a lot more out of you to cast than the ones I already have."
Anton: "Yep, lightning bolt costs 14 to cast. The others aren't such a problem, since Air Wall is rackable, and Air Boat (which Mia probably will think is perverted, since it involves making a boat fly... :-) is not a combat spell It takes a week to cast! Please pass along my thanks to Paris for the loan. And thank you for the suggestion."
"Sure -- no problem, you're welcome," Mia smiled, obviously quite pleased.
After their conversation, Mia noticed Anton looking out the window and studying the clouds as he ate, as if searching for answers there to life's big mysteries. Not appearing to find any, he headed off to the library to study magic....
On Using Cards: Paris & Brillig
Paris and Brillig had been discussing the up-coming tournament. Half of the "grade" awarded in the tournament will be on sword-work. A quarter of the "grade" will be riding/lance. A quarter of the "grade" will be book learning. Or so Paris had been told and will tell the Party, as you seem interested. :-)
Oddly enough, Paris did not bring Brillig 10 cards to replace what he had given her. She offered him 5 cards, still owing him the balance. When he asked about it, she said that the Magic Users seemed to need the rest more than she did. Doesn't Brillig want to be Speed 4?
Brillig: "Why would I want to be Speed 4? Haven't needed it yet... Don't need cards for spells, [I haven't written them yet.]"
Paris: "Well, I didn't know spells weren't available to you yet. If they had been, you might have needed the cards. I had to offer."
Brillig: "Is there something you want me to spend them on?"
Paris answered. "I am in you debt. You loaned me 10 cards that I used. I have 5 now. If you needed them for something you wanted, it is only right that I give them to you and still owe you the balance for my debt. I do not know enough of your needs and desired skills to know what you should spend them on."
Brillig did not take the cards.
On Using Cards: Paris and Rhori
Rhori approached Paris looking both a bit angry and a bit shy. He said, "Look, Parris, I'm not smart like you are, but aren't you supposed to be getting ready for a real important test that the Prince is depending on you for? And isn't there a whole lot of things that he expects from you? How can you expect to do your best if you keep giving your cards away? You know we earn them; why are you afraid to use them? You have to know that you do not have very many people you can really depend on, so you need to make it so you can depend on yourself more! I certainly am not happy to depend on our 'mages'. I know you are not telling us everything and I am not worried about that because I trust you and know you try to do the right thing. Or you used to at least. I just wonder what it is that you are really afraid of sometimes."
He paused, then added, "I know it's not any of my business, but how many of the 12 or 15 cards we just got did you use on yourself?"
Paris did not hem and haw. "Rhori, I am not really giving my cards away. I'd already used 10 more than anyone else, because Brillig loaned them to me. I owe him 10 cards. I used one more than anyone else when Calais asked me to use one of his so that I could convers - talk better. That was 11 more cards -- total -- than anyone else of our group has used. I am more skilled because of those extra cards."
"Instead of returning the 10 to Brillig however, I have given them to Anton on his promise of learning the Magic Missile spells. We will not have Claire traveling with us again. And some of the monsters we have encou -- met -- could only be hurt by magic. The only magic we have had to do that is Brillig's staff and Claire's Magic Missiles. It seemed to me wise to have one of our mages have that spell. It was the only way to hurt the wraith that hurt you, Rhori. Is that not important?"
"I have given Calais back the card he loaned me. That leaves me with these five. If Brillig regrets having loaned me 10 ... if he has the need to be a faster fighter or to learn more of the spells that make him such a tough fighter ... then it is right that I try to return some of his loan back to him. If he does not want these 5 cards then I will use them to better my fighting skills. Even without them, I do not think that my performance will disgrace the Prince. It is just not a sure thing that I will win the tournament. I admit that it would probably enhance his prestige -- that is, it would make the Prince seem wise and important -- if I could win the tournament. But I would not want to steal from Brillig -- or from any of you -- in order to be better than I am." She spread out her hands. "Do you understand that, Rhori? It makes me unhappy to have confused you and made you angry with me. I want you to understand that I have not yet used any of the cards that were "my share", because at least some of them aren't really mine. Do you see?"
Rhori: "Well one thing I do know is that Anton is BY FAR the one we can not trust to do the right thing at the right time. We can not even trust him to be around when we need him. I will never give him one of my cards because I don't trust him to do the right thing and I am surprised that you do. Anyone could have gotten that spell, well, most of us at least."
"I did not know that any but Mia, Claire and Anton could get that spell," Paris said quietly. "I cannot. It was Mia who suggested Anton to me, because she herself is learning more healing spells and has not the time to learn Magic Missile. If you could learn Magic Missile, perhaps I should have offered the cards to you. However, I prefer to have you at my side when we fight and the Magic Missile person is better behind the front line, I think. Mia and Anton are both better behind the lines." Paris took Rhori's hand and looked into his face. "As for Anton's trustworthiness... Rhori, sometimes people become trustworthy by being trusted. In the same way that people can grow kind by being treated with kindness. You know that. That is how you tame animals." Paris looked down at their joined hands and then up again. "Anton was an irresponsible boy when all of our -- troubles and adventures -- started, Rhori. He has needed to grow up. But one grows up by being given responsibilities -- things he is trusted to do -- and then doing them. I am trying to help Anton grow up by believing that he will keep his promise and do as we ask."
Paris: "I do think that our cards should be used to best help and protect all of us. When you gave me cards and Brillig gave me cards, I used them because it did seem that by making me better, the entire Party would be safer. If our friends think that I should still use more cards than any one else -- if they think that this makes us all safer -- then I will do so. But it is not my decision because they are not my cards."
Rhori: "I don't think that Brillig expects his cards back but shouldn't you have offered him the ones you had before giving them to Anton?" His obvious disgust and mistrust of Anton was hard to miss.
"I understand that you feel that way, Rhori," Paris says softly.
Rhori: "Maybe it would be best if you talked to the prince and tell him that you are just not the right person for the job or that you need more help. He seems to be depending on YOU and you don't seem to be working your hardest to achieve what you need to do help him. That is not like the Parris I used to know."
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Rhori." Paris seemed more dignified suddenly. "I think I am the right person for the job. And I do understand that a great many people are depending on me to do well. Not just Prince William. But I will not take advantage of you -- my friends -- or cheat you from your chances to do better." She seemed to soften and there was appeal in her face. "How is this different from the Paris you used to know, Rhori?"
Rhori: "You are very different; I am too I guess. You used to never depend on people to do something, even if it wasn't your job to do it. You just went and did what you knew needed to be done. Maybe now it's different 'cause you can't do everything on your own. But I bet you will be sorry that you gave cards to Anton and I bet he will not hurry to give you any cards back."
Paris: "Then I will pay Brillig back over time, Rhori. It's my debt, after all. And, if Anton makes me sorry, then Anton will have lost his chance to ever have me trust him again. I think Anton will be the bigger loser than I am if that happens. Because -- if I can't trust him, then no one else will either -- and he will live a very sad life." She paused for a moment. "Rhori, back after the troll, you didn't want me to try to do everything. You wanted to help take care of me. As I want to help take care of you and the rest of our friends. No one can be happy all alone. Because we help each other we are each stronger. Because of you I am not as lonely as I used to be. That is a good difference, I think."
"You can't cheat me, Parris" he will say with a smile. "I'm only worried that you will not do good, umm not good, I mean, well, I know you will do good. If there is some reason to trust Anton then maybe I am wrong about a lot of things, that would not be a first. Just like it wasn't the first time Anton left us when we went into the old Westmore.... All I know is that the Prince -- who I think will eventually be even more important than just a prince, with your help -- needs you, Parris, to be as good as you can be to do well."
"We can only trust and hope and pray that Anton will prove himself on the side of Good, Rhori." Paris was silent for a heartbeat, looking into the distance. Then she turned toward Rhori and her face was glowing. "But, Rhori, if I could -- if it wouldn't be cheating any one -- I would love to be the First Knight in my class. I would love to win the tourney and show everyone that my Prince has a soldier that He can be proud of. I would very much like to prove that my Prince was right when He decided that a peasant woman could be as good and as strong and as worthy as any noble born. I would like to do so well that even the people who hate me for being a peasant and a woman will say my Prince was right!" Her voice dropped. "May God be willing!" Then she looked at him and smiled. "But no matter what the outcome is, Rhori, I will do my very best. I promise you."
Paris gestured to Brillig to join them and the discussion as to how to best prepare continued.
[The obvious answer to being better at the riding/lance thing is to have a better riding roll and/or better OCV with lance. (assuming both are actually used). Being Speed 4 (vs 3) should help, although Pat might not have taken that into account. If it is done in armor, then have levels in armor (enough to get to -0) will help your riding roll; having levels in lance will help you OCV.
You could also gross everyone out, and spend 15 points and go to Dex 23; which isn't actually silly, it adds +1 OCV, +1 DCV, and +1 Riding all at the same time. It isn't as efficient in the short run as buying (or converting levels), but in the long term it is good.
For ease of analysis, let us assume each "+1" in the riding/lance has a value of "1" and each "+1" in the sword combat has a value of "2". (Since the combat scores twice as much)
For 2 points you can increase your riding by +1, for a value of 1, i.e. cost 2. For 2 points you can convert +1 swords to +1 (knights), for a value of 1, i.e. cost 2.
These seem to be the two cheapest ways to increase your riding/lance value, anything else costs 3 (levels in lance, armor). But neither of these methods increase anything else.
For 3 points you can increase your sword combat "value" by +1 (level in sword or armor) for a value of 2, i.e. cost 1.5.
But levels in armor help both your riding/lance (by helping your riding roll) and sword combat (by helping your DCV). But only those levels that actually are being used to cancel armor mods (i.e. if the riding/lance is done without armor on, they don't help in riding/lance). So a (useful) armor level gives you a value of 3, i.e. cost 1.
Buying Dex 23, for cost 15 gives you +2 riding/lance (value 2) and +2 sword combat (value 4); cost 2.5. But overall is very valuable, since it adds to other things also. Might even add to your dancing? :)
Buying a 5 point knight level gives you +1 and +1 (total value 3); cost 1.67.
I don't know how to value buying up the knowledge stuff, since it is unclear how many different knowledges and rolls are involved. If there are many different knowledges, but each is rolled separately, then a level in "knightly knowledges" is very cheap, if the level can be applied to each knowledge (since they are rolled separately, and not at the same time). (But all knowledges have to be on full rolls first, not 8-.)]
On Using Cards: Paris and Anton
As of the point where we are in time, Anton has not used the 10 cards you loaned him, since he had already started on learning lightning bolt with his own cards for the first week of training. Since I assume at least some of the discussion about your contest is public, he will offer them back, noting that perhaps applying them to your combat skills is more urgent than his learning magic missile.
Paris replied, "Thank you, good mage, but I believe we will have need of the Magic Missile power long before I have to compete in the tournament. In the five weeks we have left before Harvest Festival, of which the tournament is but a part, the Prince has asked that I -- and the rest of us -- find and bring back the objects that can become the Orb and the Sceptre. Your spells may be critical for that new quest. My standing in a tournament certainly will not."
"Using Cards" copyright 1999 S.Fuller, B.Eynon, M.Kennedy, S.Goodman & S.Knowles. The contents of this site are copyright 2004 Sheryl A. Knowles unless otherwise specified. All rights reserved.