Another cool idea would be to look to Radionics and Psychtronics for inspiration... the sort of new agey combination of science and mysticism.

Radionics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radionics

Psychotronics: http://www.welz.us/

The idea being, you use your crystals and such to craft some kind of psychotronic generator that you can use (wield?) to create various effects.

While adding these pseudo-sciences to lusternia may be adding something for certain guilds, I am seriously not hot about adding a pseudo-science such as this to the guild that's supposed to be all about the scientific method. It sounds like a direct insult really.

(And yes, this is my real life bias playing up)

Also, I gather from the lack of any kind of response to my comment that the urge of people to actually have me do something about the background and messages is not actually that great? I must admit I am increasingly more confused as to what it is exactly that is being asked. Is it really just about the actual skills?

Also, I gather from the lack of any kind of response to my comment that the urge of people to actually have me do something about the background and messages is not actually that great? I must admit I am increasingly more confused as to what it is exactly that is being asked. Is it really just about the actual skills?

Ah I was going to reply to your comment actually and say how great and appreciated that would be. It's really motivating to hear that there is a real opportunity to do something about this. I'm all on board. How would it work though - like an envoy report? I'm sure I'm not the only one too.

No, it would probably take the form of me settling down with enough water and stale bread to last me a few days, saying goodbye to my wife and kids and not surfacing for a few weeks.

No, it would probably take the form of me settling down with enough water and stale bread to last me a few days, saying goodbye to my wife and kids and not surfacing for a few weeks.

The ideals sound interesting to me from a role-play level, but they also seem like to me they would actually be more limiting mechanics wise. Example, if you have to create and plop each tool into a room when you move, then you have far less fluid combat potential than other guardians who just have the entity following and performing the actions for them. I have no problem with cool sounding abilities, but I personally prefer function over flashiness. The best looking and sounding abilities can be worthless, if their functions are not that fluid in the flow of combat.

I personally would prefer that we first remove the problem of gem effects stacking by making most of them targeted in effect, and then increase their effective levels (speed, damage, etc) to the same levels as other guardians. Then after that, perhaps remove some of the redundancies in abilities and give harmonics users a bit of control over what types of afflictions they give similar to how pacts work, but in a manner that befits the Institutes use of crystals. One example would be just a slight change in the syntax of the Malefactgem ability to "crystalspin malefactgem target afflictionname". The afflictions being possible would be limited to the afflictions the ability is already capable of giving randomly, but now the harmonics user can control which is given.

Anyhow I personally believe Harmonics only needs a few changes, but outside of what I have mentioned above and in other places the skill-set seems fine to me.

Apologies for sonic screwdriver and use of 'positronic' (open to substitutes).

• Sonic Screwdriver - Uses sound damage (like bards). Possibly able to unlock doors? Focus on sonic vibrations (sonic engineer).
• Temporal Spanner - Chance of timewarping the target. Focus of temporal vibrations (time engineer).
• Transdimensional Sensor - Increases damage on non-prime planes. Focus on dimensional vibrations (transdimensional engineer).
• Spatial Manipulator - Increases damage on prime plane. Can knock down walls? Focus on spatial vibrations (spatial engineer).
• Void Wrench - Chance of doing double damage. Focus on negative vibrations (void engineer).
• Positronic Converter - Chance of healing user each time successfully hitting target. Focus on positive vibrations (positronic engineer).

Apologies for sonic screwdriver and use of 'positronic' (open to substitutes). Note I'm specifically trying to stay away from "elemental" energies. You'd probably also continue to specialize in each by gem-type like the wand, i.e., a ruby sonic screwdriver.

Please feel free to expound! I would want to keep it at 6 tools.

Heh, another Jack Vance fan? (Or you just getting ioun stones from D&D?) If you haven't read any Dying Earth stories (written in the 1950s!), you'll certainly see where Gary Gygax & Co. (and most of modern fantasy) was heavily inspired.

I think your 'gem tools' idea is interesting, though should focus on harmonic vibrations. If you wish to develop it more, we'll listen to it. I will note that easily being able to do multiple glorygem/malefactgems in a row may be overpowered. Also, creating new objects just for the sake of creating new objects is something we try to avoid (we really don't want to unnecessarily add items to the database) and I'm not sure mechanically if it's a good idea that switching between wand, wrench, screwdriver to use tools is optimal. Ultimately, Harmonics should be mostly passive (like other guardian primary skills) and tertiary skillsets should still be the go-to skill for direct actions in combat.

Anyway, that was a bit of stream of consciousness on my part. Thinking about it, toolbelts and tools may be more interesting in theory than in actuality so I'd need quite a bit of convincing that it's really a direction we'd want to go. I would be more inclined that instead of a wand, you choose between different tools which have slightly different effects as the main weapon (each tool maybe corresponds to a different scientific 'path'?).

I'll be quiet now. Carry on!

What, no Continuum transfunctioner?

Those actually are cool, the "Screwdriver" and "Wrench" as names sound a bit meh though.

How about a Sonic Alternator or Sonic Generator? And Void Amplifier (or better still Quantum Amplifier). These names are made up without knowing anything about the institute or their rp though.

The toolidea is pretty awesome, though me personally would prefer it to be a combination of "advanced scientific term" and "common tool". If we're gonna keep them to only six, it would be odd to have six highly situational tools, instead of six commonly useful tools.

The prefix should probably be on already coined, actual scientific terms. Tachyon, Atomical, Fusion, and similar physics terms. Could be split up between six physics branches, or even coin terms from Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Esthetics and Artistry.

Sonic Screwdriver - Uses sound damage (like bards). Possibly able to unlock doors? Focus on sonic vibrations (sonic engineer).
Temporal Spanner - Chance of timewarping the target. Focus of temporal vibrations (time engineer).
Transdimensional Sensor - Increases damage on non-prime planes. Focus on dimensional vibrations (transdimensional engineer).
Spatial Manipulator - Increases damage on prime plane. Can knock down walls? Focus on spatial vibrations (spatial engineer).
Void Wrench - Chance of doing double damage. Focus on negative vibrations (void engineer).
Positronic Converter - Chance of healing user each time successfully hitting target. Focus on positive vibrations (positronic engineer).