fandomhigh | Wonders of the Weave, Friday

Wonders of the Weave, Friday - 6th Period

"Hello!" Gale said, gleefully waiting for all the listed students in the class to arrive in the danger shop so he could impart the wisdom he was hired for. Also because it was just the thing he always wanted to explain to people. Just always. "This is Wonders of the Weave and I am your instructor, Gale."

Of Waterdeep. But he was trying not to put that out there as much when no one know what in the nine hells Waterdeep was. You poor, poor people. Unaware of the Jewel of the North.

"No, I hope you all are here with the hopes of expanding your knowledge of magic because that is the goal at hand. Beginning, of course, with the basics. The weave, magic, being a fundamental building block of the world around us. A force that moves and shapes our reality until it is harnessed or channeled to great feats for good or ill," he said, channeling the start of a spell to glow within the palm of his hand before dissipating it again.

"While I haven't found anyone here with same specific abilities as back home, there have been a number of similarities that we can use to help you learn what style works best for you," Gale added. "There is the wizard, such as myself. I am able to channel the weave through practice and study over the years. There are also sorcerers who have the talent come naturally to them through either a fluke of nature or a powerful bloodline. Clerics are gifted the weave through the faith within their deity of choice who funnels the power through them. Paladins take hold of the weave through sheer force of will as they follow an oath made for some greater good. Rangers and druids use their instinctual connection to the natural world. Bards are able to strum the weave like it were an instrument. Warlocks, of course, gain their powers by signing a contract with a powerful patron such as a devil or fey ~~totally didn't get forgotten either~~."

Was that all the pure and half caster classes? Well, the core ones at least. Larian, you cowards for not including artificers.

"So obviously there are many ways that one might use magic. But the spells are more uniform as a safe way to reach the end result. As such, we will be trying out a very basic cantrip, a spell that utilizes very little energy on the caster. So the practice should not drain any of you more than it ought. Oh, and introductions! Where are my manners? I would love to hear more about each of you."

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"This spell is one of the most commonly used cantrips, usually for combat. But, like most things, other uses can always be imagined."

No one ask about Evard's black tentacles. D&D was forever weirdly horny.

"A firebolt," Gale said, gesturing toward a series of targets at the other end of the danger shop. "The verbal component is the word 'ignis'. I'll demonstrate!"

Gale looked down at the target nearest to him before extending his hand out with a low, "Ignis," and a ball of flame shot out of his hand to impact the target, setting it on fire.

"Now you all try!" he suggested eagerly.

Other uses can always be imagined.

Even if Liliana had a firebolt ~~card~~ spell handy, she was absolutely not going to create any kind of link in her mind between calling out Ignis' name and creating fire.

If anything, she was about to make a Wis saving throw against giggling like a Witherbloom schoolgirl and rolling with disadvantage.

He hadn't even said 'buttresses!' Now there was something worth giggling over.

"Are you alright, Liliana?"

"Forgive me, Gale, it is not that I'm not taking the lesson seriously--" Liliana was trying very hard to keep a straight face and it wasn't working. "--but my paramour's name is Ignis and I'm sure you can understand why I would prefer to not set up any magical associations between his name and casting an offensive spell."

Think of her bed curtains, Gale, please.

"Ah!" Gale still blinked at that one. "Well, perhaps a ray of frost will be less, ah, intimate."

Was he teasing? Yes. Awkwardly.

Couldn't even give her a necromancy cantrip? Rude. Chill touch was right there!

"Is there a verbal component to that one, too?"

Look, he didn't come by that one honestly! You had to respec him for it to be suggested. One day, Gale. One day, all necromancy run.

"Glacies," Gale said clearly. "It works quite well when aimed at any damp surfaces to cause an opponent to trip on the ice."

Glacies sounded like a pediatric popsicle brand, but okay Gale.

"I suppose I should be glad it isn't Shiva," she murmured. "Though this sounds more like blue mana." But she was going to at least try, since it was the Danger Shop.

"Glacies!" she said, flicking her hand towards the target. And still trying not to snicker.

Glacies.

How dare, it was evocation magic! Perfectly reasonable!

"Much better?"

"On my bedroom furniture, certainly," Liliana said. "Why do we have to say magic words, though?"

"Ah, excellent question," Gale replied. "There are components to a spell in order to best cast them in a safe manner. For both of these there are verbal and somatic. The word and the gesture. Now, in a real life situation, one or the other works fine. But as we are all learning in this class, I though it best to use both."

Material components? I don't know her.

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deathsmajesty - 2024-05-17 19:44 (UTC) - Expand

Lydia cast about for something she had to hand that would make a good enough spell-tithe to cast a firebolt, and also not hurt too much, and came up blank. So she asked, "Will this suffice?" and yanked out a few hairs for enough pain to cast a brief shower of sparks.

"Oh! What are you--are you alright?"

Man, that was am awful material component. This was why Baldur's Gate 3 ignored those.

Oh, Gale, Lydia could tell you stories about how awful it was. But those were the rules of magic as she knew them. "Of course," she said. "I'm perfectly fine. Why shouldn't I be?"

"Pardon me if it's too forward to point out, but you pulled your hair out for it."

Which seemed unnecessary. To the fancy pants wizard Mcgee over here.

"It's the simplest and most effective way to pay the spell-price," Lydia argued. "I know it's not quite a firebolt."

"The spell price?" Oh, he was going to need to find the old methods of casting, wasn't it. 3.5 methods.

"Well, you see," Lydia began, "where I'm from, all magic has a price. And if you don't figure out a fair one and pay it up front, God or the universe or what-have-you will wring it out of you one way or another."

So that was fun.

"Huh." Gale fiddled with his earring as he considered that. "Well, I will be certain to check in with you on what is safe for you to attempt and what might cause harm. You are my student, it's my duty to keep you safe in this regard."

"There are options other than pain, but pain is always quite effective," Lydia assured him. "For example, I could not dress my hair before your classes, and that would be enough of a sacrifice to pay for at least some magic?" An understatement. Coming to class without her hair done would be a great sacrifice to her personally, Gale.

Yeah, that still sounded bad.

"There are material components for spells that we normally forgo as unnecessary, but perhaps that might work for you?"

Re: Practice

mustbeawitch - 2024-05-17 20:17 (UTC) - Expand

Hm. Fire hadn't been something Lana had tried before. She thought of moving the air to create a vacuum, pictured that in her mind, then did the reverse, concentrating the oxygen into a ball around the target. Then she sent a small spark of lightning its way.

...it was sort of a fireball? More an explosion. And she wasn't sure how the word was supposed to help.

"Well... that was something," Gale said slowly. "Might I ask how you accomplished that?"

"Fire needs fuel, oxygen, and ignition," Lana answered. "I used the Force to concentrate oxygen upon a fuel point, then ignited it. How does your verbal component work? Does it help you to focus the specific energy needed?"

Hrm.

"Can you cast that again please?" Illyana asked, letting her magical sight overlay her physical senses. "I'd like to see how the power flows through you."

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