Comic for May 22, 2021: Kathrin in Trouble pt3

The comic stuff here.

Moderator: Moderators

Message
Author
drathbun
Newbie
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2016 3:53 am

Re: Comic for May 22, 2021: Kathrin in Trouble pt3

#46 Post by drathbun »

*long time lurker*

Does it bother anyone else that the knife was on the wrong side of the place setting? Sorry, I can't let it go.

*goes back to lurking*

Warrl
Grand Templar
Posts: 1526
Joined: Sun Jun 08, 2014 11:19 pm

Re: Comic for May 22, 2021: Kathrin in Trouble pt3

#47 Post by Warrl »

Rasol wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 12:23 pmIf healing magic were something anyone who could use magic could use, you would likely see a LOT of use for it. While throwing a fireball, or casting a teleportation spell is handy, being able to heal wounds, or cure ailments is going to be a MUCH more useful skill to have.
I find a general lack of appreciation for small magic.

Heck, let's stick with fire/explosion magic. How often will it seem like exploding a castle is the best way to achieve your goals? As compared to causing a very small explosion inside that guy's chest? Or causing someone's entire body to ignite, versus cauterizing a wound?

Or kinetic magic. It's impressive to turn a bunch of rocks into a castle overnight... but how often do you need to do that? How often do you need to stir a pot of soup, when you also need or would prefer to be doing something else?

User avatar
Bellhead
Templar Inner Circle
Posts: 4012
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 11:17 pm
Location: New England, US
Fav. Twokinds Character: Keith and Natani

Re: Comic for May 22, 2021: Kathrin in Trouble pt3

#48 Post by Bellhead »

Warrl wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 7:13 pm
Rasol wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 12:23 pmIf healing magic were something anyone who could use magic could use, you would likely see a LOT of use for it. While throwing a fireball, or casting a teleportation spell is handy, being able to heal wounds, or cure ailments is going to be a MUCH more useful skill to have.
I find a general lack of appreciation for small magic.

Heck, let's stick with fire/explosion magic. How often will it seem like exploding a castle is the best way to achieve your goals? As compared to causing a very small explosion inside that guy's chest? Or causing someone's entire body to ignite, versus cauterizing a wound?

Or kinetic magic. It's impressive to turn a bunch of rocks into a castle overnight... but how often do you need to do that? How often do you need to stir a pot of soup, when you also need or would prefer to be doing something else?
This is a very good, if seldom mentioned, point. I'll also add this: if we assume magic gives the user the ability to manipulate matter based on thought, it would be easier to create a building-leveling explosion, than to heal a wound in someone's arm. However, if somebody knew the structure inside, and what needed to be done to fix it on a cellular level, I doubt any skilled cleric would have a tough time.

I'll also add, Rasol, that Flora wasn't really... shall I say... high society, prior to the comic. She was basically raised as a slave. Would any slave owner use a resource, probably quite valuable, on a farm slave? Also, building on your other point, I bet Flora WAS surprised that Trace knew healing magic, on account of he had no memories. He was a harmless, memory-less human. However, take into account the reactions of the other two instances I mentioned. Nobody batted an eye when "healing crystals" were mentioned, and Keith made no mention of how her wounds were instantly healed.

Also, if Flora could really cause damage to somebody that would kill them by making them bleed to death in moments, she wouldn't do that to the owner of the ship they're on, REPEATEDLY. She would have learned to hold back if she didn't think he'd make it back out of whatever she could do to him.
drathbun wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 4:56 pm Does it bother anyone else that the knife was on the wrong side of the place setting? Sorry, I can't let it go.
It's only wrong if you're right-handed. :P But in all seriousness, I use the fork with my right hand, and cut with my left, so this makes far more sense to me than the "proper" setup.

For now, we'll just assume that Kat is left-handed, and the table set the silverware accordingly. For plot reasons.
Gearhead mechanic in the digital era, who will probably grow up is in the process of growing up to be a very grumpy old man.

User avatar
Technic[Bot]
Grand Templar
Posts: 1246
Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2018 9:48 pm
Location: México
Fav. Twokinds Character: Raine!
Contact:

Re: Comic for May 22, 2021: Kathrin in Trouble pt3

#49 Post by Technic[Bot] »

Bellhead wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 11:39 am -snip-
If we believe what Roselyn said in that sketch, all food is stored in a suspended animation chamber immediately after being cooked. If that's the case, that knife would have been spotless. And if it were just stored in some drawer somewhere but wasn't dusty, as we see it's not, then any germs, bacteria, viruses, etc. would have died years ago.

Contaminants from his fur are still a possibility, but I highly doubt he'd last that long anyway, either with the cut, or the mission, take your pick.
Sepsis is indeed a possibility, but it would take a few days to set it, if no medical treatment is applied...
Rasol wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 12:23 pm
Bellhead wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 8:37 am Luckily, mine is still pretty sharp. Trace brought Flora to a Healer early on, when she tripped on a branch, shortly after meeting Keith: "I am Trace Legacy. And you will heal her." Granted, we didn't see it, but we also didn't see any bandages, after.

Also, when Flora questioned Keith about that letter from Laura, after he clocked her in her sleep. Trace healed her bleeding nose. "T-Trace? What are you doing?"

And there was Eric. "If you don't mind, I need to get my hearing crystals, excuse me." Then again, they have iodine for disinfecting wounds, so I guess it's a little ambiguous, or maybe retconned?

Eh. I'd wager it's pretty common, for those who either know magic, specialize in the field, or have the money for it. Likely a luxury if you're not a mage, but Rom here might have a bit of practice, as a mercenary.
Good examples. That said, the only time we see healing magic 'on screen' was with trace, and Flora seemed to be QUITE confused by it.

Even if we were to assume she was surprised that TRACE knew healing magic, that would still imply that such magic is highly specialized, and even most people capable of using magic don't dabble in it. Not even the Grand Templar.

If healing magic were something anyone who could use magic could use, you would likely see a LOT of use for it. While throwing a fireball, or casting a teleportation spell is handy, being able to heal wounds, or cure ailments is going to be a MUCH more useful skill to have. This goes for both on & off the battlefield.

So based on the examples we have, we can guess that healing magic is at best, very rare, or at worst, doesn't exist. I somehow doubt a character like Romulus, who barely ranks above some JRPG random encounter in terms of importance, is going to have access to that kind of magic.
By what we have seen in comic, even in sketches or rather what we have not seen. Healing magic seems to be specialized and uncommon at best. Or maybe limited? Yeah the grand templar may stop that nasty nosebleed of yours or close that stupid gash. But he can't reattach your arm after it got chopped up, not without a proper medical theater.

On the other hand we have had very limited exposure to settlements where a doctor, magical or otherwise, may live. The only "doctor" we have seen, outsides the basitin isles, is the apothecary Keith tried to procure for Nat. So maybe it is not healing magic is uncommon or hard to perform but we simply have not seen any healing cleric yet.
Warrl wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 7:13 pm
Rasol wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 12:23 pmIf healing magic were something anyone who could use magic could use, you would likely see a LOT of use for it. While throwing a fireball, or casting a teleportation spell is handy, being able to heal wounds, or cure ailments is going to be a MUCH more useful skill to have.
I find a general lack of appreciation for small magic.

Heck, let's stick with fire/explosion magic. How often will it seem like exploding a castle is the best way to achieve your goals? As compared to causing a very small explosion inside that guy's chest? Or causing someone's entire body to ignite, versus cauterizing a wound?

Or kinetic magic. It's impressive to turn a bunch of rocks into a castle overnight... but how often do you need to do that? How often do you need to stir a pot of soup, when you also need or would prefer to be doing something else?
Yeah me too. Games are the worst offenders were all magic is either a weapon or healing, although given that most games have lots of combat it makes sense you would not see other type of magic ofter. DnD despite being a game does have some utility spells usefull outside combat. But the only place where I have seen small magic is on TV, books and movies, for example Harry Potter, half of those books is seeing kids do chores with magic.
There are three things that motivate people: Money, fear and love.
Links to my ramblings:
Twokinds [of] data
PhpBB in the age of facebook
If you are new to this phpBB thing:
BBCode guide

FuryoftheStars
New Citizen
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2021 3:21 pm
Fav. Twokinds Character: ---

Re: Comic for May 22, 2021: Kathrin in Trouble pt3

#50 Post by FuryoftheStars »

Re small magic, there could be other limiters, too. From things like the amount of mana that’s available in a given area/to a given person over a period of time, to limits on how much one can use over a given time (some universes refer to this as “spell sickness”). It could also have to do with the level of control required, too. Ex, a shockwave/push requires less control then delicately stirring a spoon.

steelabjur
Council Member
Posts: 536
Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2015 4:59 am

Re: Comic for May 22, 2021: Kathrin in Trouble pt3

#51 Post by steelabjur »

Regarding wounds, we've seen characters suffer much more dangerous wounds than a knife to the arm. Heck, Zen's two wounds we've seen (ran clean through the back/chest with a sword & the serious burn on the leg) would be potentially deadly if they relied solely on the medical practices and skills found historically in the real world at a similar era.

User avatar
Bellhead
Templar Inner Circle
Posts: 4012
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 11:17 pm
Location: New England, US
Fav. Twokinds Character: Keith and Natani

Re: Comic for May 22, 2021: Kathrin in Trouble pt3

#52 Post by Bellhead »

FuryoftheStars wrote: Wed May 26, 2021 6:57 pm Re small magic, there could be other limiters, too. From things like the amount of mana that’s available in a given area/to a given person over a period of time, to limits on how much one can use over a given time (some universes refer to this as “spell sickness”). It could also have to do with the level of control required, too. Ex, a shockwave/push requires less control then delicately stirring a spoon.
Mana burn. Tom mentioned it in a stream at the time, I'm told. Use of a lot of mana in a short time will cause a "burn" to the body, with the sheer amount of energy being channeled through it. From what I remember, it's more likely in keidran than in humans, because humans must draw mana from their surroundings, which takes time to replenish, while keidran are forced to use mana crystals which can be stockpiled, as Natani did. Keidran have the advantage over humans in casting speed because of crystals, but it also increases their risk of Mana Burn because they have no natural limit to casting speed like humans do.
Gearhead mechanic in the digital era, who will probably grow up is in the process of growing up to be a very grumpy old man.

Warrl
Grand Templar
Posts: 1526
Joined: Sun Jun 08, 2014 11:19 pm

Re: Comic for May 22, 2021: Kathrin in Trouble pt3

#53 Post by Warrl »

Small magic would logically use mana at a lower rate than big magic. Sure, you'd do a lot more of it, but quite possibly using less total energy, and definitely less in any one spell.

Rate matters.

If I correctly remember the calculations I did, the amount of energy that the atomic bomb released over Hiroshima in a couple of microseconds lasts Seattle City light, on average, roughly 8 hours. Seattle City Light doesn't evaporate people. (Doesn't hurt that the energy is delivered at maybe a million or so points spread over an area of probably more than 300 square miles, rather than a single point.)

DragnMastralex
Apprentice
Posts: 108
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 12:59 pm
Location: Dark side of the moon
Contact:

Re: Comic for May 22, 2021: Kathrin in Trouble pt3

#54 Post by DragnMastralex »

if she was aim at the meat she didn't hit her mark. lets just say it was a miss steak

FuryoftheStars
New Citizen
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2021 3:21 pm
Fav. Twokinds Character: ---

Re: Comic for May 22, 2021: Kathrin in Trouble pt3

#55 Post by FuryoftheStars »

Warrl wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 2:52 am Small magic would logically use mana at a lower rate than big magic. Sure, you'd do a lot more of it, but quite possibly using less total energy, and definitely less in any one spell.

Rate matters.

If I correctly remember the calculations I did, the amount of energy that the atomic bomb released over Hiroshima in a couple of microseconds lasts Seattle City light, on average, roughly 8 hours. Seattle City Light doesn't evaporate people. (Doesn't hurt that the energy is delivered at maybe a million or so points spread over an area of probably more than 300 square miles, rather than a single point.)
True, but small magic doesn’t have to as efficient, and there’s still the level of control required for some of it (which in turn may require more magic for more control).

User avatar
Zaigan
New Citizen
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2020 3:34 am
Fav. Twokinds Character: Natani

Re: Comic for May 22, 2021: Kathrin in Trouble pt3

#56 Post by Zaigan »

Been kind of busy, but figured I'd chime in to say, good going Kat! It was a very clever way to turn the tables on Romulus. To think, when she first bumped into that table, I figured it meant she was cornered, not actually her salvation.

It's bought her a bit of time, but I still think we'll have an appearance by Zen to lend a hand, and probably need rescuing in turn because he's injured. It's possible she was telling the truth in that she doesn't know where he specifically is in the manor at the moment because he was being naughty and not resting when she went to get the linens. Or she was just covering. Either way, I am expecting a pay off for the tease of him not resting and also to add to the drama of pushing himself when he has a bad infection.
Image

Post Reply