Studying from Vis

[Cornelius (Simon Cornelius)]

Like the idea of warping from lots of Art gain from Vis.

I agree it's nice to get mages out of doors but how exactly do they study this Vis source without the equipment of their trade/

The Mountain of Ash is a nice vision but is this actually studying from Vis? If the site is generating largeb quantities of Vis itwill attract mages for a reason other than to study.

[Cornelius (Simon Cornelius)]

Doctor J - rereading your comment, I see I somewhat misses your meaning I think. I think you meant, the high aura would make studying Vis (of any sort?) more effective and that this is a reason for getting them outside the lab and that penalising study out of the lab would dissuade them. I agree it would but I do not see rushing to high auras to specifically study from Vis as being a major feature of the game.

A high aura might encourage the founding of a new covenant.

Perhaps the ideas could be merged - half effect BUT a "temporary" lab could be built to cancel this out. YMMV

[Urien]

Like the idea of warping from lots of Art gain from Vis.

I would have to go the other way on this one...
You are already risking blowing yourself into twighlight...
You have a counter to that in that you can possibly get loads of exp...

[Timothy_Ferguson]

@Cornelius

On a related matter, why can a mage study Vis anywhere, i.e. without a lab? This seems wrong.

Well, its because in nature there are rare, but known, incidences of vis doing what you are simulating on its own. (Covenants)

[Timothy_Ferguson]

@Haruspex

@Timothy Ferguson

@Urien

Which is why I have been insisting that ALL rules should have an example given.

...no confusion.

I do see your point, and I think it's valid but that you take it one bridge too far, Urien.

Examples reduce confusion, but also reduce the value of books, because you cut the number of rules to supply them.

Having a large number of rules is not a good thing.

The simpler a system is - the fewer rules it requires to express it - the more playable it is, and the more the payers can get on with roleplaying rather than rollplaying.

Well, thanks for explaining the difference between proper roleplaying and rollplaying to me. How I never quite understood it before is a mystery to me. 8)

When not playing Ars I tend to play Amber, Nobilis and Pendragon. The biggest bit of freeware for Amber Diceless on the web was written by me, by the way. Actually it may have been eclipsed in the last couple of years, who knows?

By "rules" I don't mean "restrictive things". I mean "anything else in the rulebook, including but not limited to setting detail and plot hooks".

[The_Fixer]

@Timothy Ferguson

The biggest bit of freeware for Amber Diceless on the web was written by me, by the way. Actually it may have been eclipsed in the last couple of years, who knows?

Could you give a link, please? I'm always interested in all things amber-related

[Haruspex]

@Timothy Ferguson

Well, thanks for explaining the difference between proper roleplaying and rollplaying to me. How I never quite understood it before is a mystery to me. 8)

Ah, Irony.

I'm sure you noticed that I wasn't stooping so low as to explain the difference, just using the difference to point out why I consider a large number of rules (as they are defined in my mindset) to be harmful to game enjoyment.

The biggest bit of freeware for Amber Diceless on the web was written by me, by the way.

Kudos tibi.

By "rules" I don't mean "restrictive things". I mean "anything else in the rulebook, including but not limited to setting detail and plot hooks".

Ah, I'll buy that ... though it's not really restrictions that I dislike but complexity. vide supra re mindset.

[The_Fixer]

Well... I just noticed that an exemple in HoH:S let me avoid a mistake about a Rustic Magic ability