Smoke Magic

This page addresses information about ice magic and its in-character uses as they applies to World 42 roleplaying. Any valuable contributors are welcome to add, especially as new content or ideas come out in-game.

==The Basic Concept of Ice Magic == To use smoke magic in roleplay is to have a character make use of charms, runes, and spells to supernaturally manipulate the ancient force of smoke. At its most intuitive level, a magician using smoke magic has the ability to manipulate smoke and its corrosive, poisonous qualities around at his will so long as he has the runes and physical energy to continue. As with most magics, there is a direct correlation between the experience/skill of a magician, the quantity of smoke he can control at once, and the intricacy with which he can control it. So, a mid-level smoke-magician could either roughly control a large volume of smoke or could delicately control a small volume of smoke. ==Offensive Methods == The ways to combat an enemy with smoke magic are really only limited to the creativity of the player and his character. That being said, these are three common techniques for attacking with the smoke: burning, choking, and poisoning and they are often all used together.

"Burning" to come - the smoke can be used to burn an opponent on contact with skin.

"Choking" to come - the smoke can be used to obstruct airway and limit inhalation of oxygen.

"Poisoning" to come - the smoke is toxic and can slowly kill an enemy if inhaled or otherwise enters the body. ==Defensive Methods == Defending with smoke magic is just like attacking with it - the possibilities are limited only by creativity. Three basic ways to defend against an assailant include veiling, disabling, and shielding.

"Veiling" is a sort of debuffing tactic to use against an assailant. The premise of veiling is to somehow throw a veil over one of the enemy's senses. For example, if air in the area has filled thickly with smoke, he would have a hard time seeing or smelling his opponent to attack or defend. Similarly, when faced with the issue of needing to breathe clean air, he would have difficulty paying attention to much other than where he needs to move to breathe again.

"Disabling" is a defensive way to handle an assailant in that the smoke mage uses his power over poisonous air to make it harder for an opponent to fight. The mage would channel smoke into the attempting attacker's space such that it would make him more concerned with getting to clean air than attacking. Furthermore, a focused clump of smoke on, say, the assailant's hands would burn them and make it more difficult to hold a weapon. This can also be applied to gloves or clothing.

"Shielding" to come - think of throwing up a wall of smoke to make your enemy choose between not attacking and running through the poison. ==<span class="mw-headline" id="Defending_Against_It" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; ">Defending Against It == <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; background-color: rgb(26, 26, 26); border-style: initial; border-color: initial; ">The key to staying safe from smoke magic is to either disable the mage, dodge the spell, or prevent it from hitting you. Disabling the mage is a basic idea - if he can't cast the magic spells, you won't be harmed by them. The way to go about disabling him depends on your combat style. Dodging spells works mostly for projectile-type fighting methods where the mage throws a volume of smoke haphazardly in your direction. The simple answer for these is to get out of the way or out of range. If all else fails, though, prevent the spell from colliding with you by using some kind of barrier method. Put another element - especially water or air - between you and your enemy smoke magician. Jump under water or use a fan or air spell. Cosmic or ceramic barriers work well against smoke magic, and any kind of leather armor will weaken the effects of a magical spell or, even better, cancel them entirely. ==<span class="mw-headline" id="Miscellaneous_Uses" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><span class="mw-headline" id="Miscellaneous_Uses" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; ">Miscellaneous Uses Edit == <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; background-color: rgb(26, 26, 26); border-style: initial; border-color: initial; ">Smoke magic has a number of practical uses outside of combat. The following is a list of potential ways to use smoke magic in everyday or commercial life. ==<span class="mw-headline" id="Common_Mistakes" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><span class="mw-headline" id="Common_Mistakes" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; ">Common Mistakes == <p style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; background-color: rgb(26, 26, 26); border-style: initial; border-color: initial; ">This category addresses traits that players, often new ones, give their smoke mage characters but that aren't actually legitimate or acceptable traits in users of smoke magic.
 * He would be particularly useful as a rodent exterminator.
 * An ice mage would be handy for spy jobs and infiltration, particularly where there needs to be a subtle, non-messy assasination.
 * Just because you can use smoke magic doesn't mean that you can use all of it effectively in every way. A 28 year old human would be competent if he had committed a lot of study to the one ancient magic, but the realm of expert is not yet within his grasp. Remember, if everyone is a prodigy, no one is a prodigy.
 * Typically, roleplayers accept generating one level of spell per turn. That means an smoke spell the size of a low-level missile would be at full power immediately. In contrast, to build up to a smoke barrage, your magician would have to avoid the enemy for a few turns in order to operate it at full power.
 * Given the archaic nature of ancient magicks, no normal character without close knowledge of zaros or intensive practice at a school of magic like the wizard's tower would know how to use smoke magic.

<span class="mw-headline" id="Other" style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; ">Other

 * As with most magicks, metal conducts smoke magic. Smoke magic that comes into contact with an enemy in metal armor would most likely accellerate through the armor and continue on its trajectory.
 * Also like most magics, leather weakens smoke magic. Smoke magic that comes into contact with an enemy in leather armor (especially dragonhide) would lose a lot of its power and do much less damage than it otherwise would have.