Welcome to Cove

Greetings fellow guardsmen.

After reading about our current Divisions and checking their forums - I do not really feel that any of the current Divisions suits my character RP-wise.
My character is no sailor or seaman - so the navy part does not really apply to him, nor is he of the sneaky kind with stealth and magery.

On our homepage, it seems like we had a Division called the Arcane Company. My first plans for my characters was to try to get into that Division, but it does not excist anymore.
I have spoken with some of the old timers in BoC, but I haven't gotten any answer why the Arcane Company went down ... their answer was just that it didn't work out :)

I've seen that lots of our current Recruits are spellcasters.. I am not sure if you feel the same way like I do, so I had to bring this up for discussion.

I would love to create a new Spellcasting Division - Warmage type of Division. Spellcasters combining Magery with Fighting skills. Of course Necromancy supplied with weapon skills would be accepted as well.
Tamers and Bards would not be accepted though.
I feel that a Warmage Division would suit BoC much better than the Arcane Company. Considering we are a Military guild.. Properly trained Magic users would be much more effective on the battlefield compared to a secret spellcasting sect imo :)

I've gotten the inspiration from the Warmage class in D&D 3rd Edition. It suits a spellcasting/fighting skill template in UO. Spellcasters wielding Armour while casting spells and being a decent meleer when their offensive powers wears out.
Warmages will focus heavily on teamwork, since supporting with spells is a lot harder than just applying those bandages once every 6-7 second or so. Being a proud and confident Division - discipline training, combat training and drilling should be arranged often.. since the visual apperance of the Division will be important.

Still require some work on the Story line for the guild - and quest line for its members..
but feel free to let everyone know about your thoughts and suggestions for a Division like this.

 ;D
Im all for this..

Arcane Guardsman
Arcane Seargant etc

Suits my character perfectly.

I don't feel we've got enough mages - but joining a division isn't necesarry=) Slave could be possible though!

-Khae/Lil'alure :D

Being within a Division opens a lot of RP opportunities and usually means a more busy in-game event schedule for your character.

Me, Celuvian, Andrew, Synara and another recruit, cant remember his name, currently got Magery of the recruits. (( that I know about ))
I know some of the veterans got it as well - and they are not in a Division.

Also this is not just a Division for us - the idea is to make BoC seem more attractive as a guild to others, especially mage players :)

That might actually work!

The naval division welcomes mages.  The current Lt (me) is a mage.

In BoC tradition, a division is generally ran by a command member.
So my first suggestion would be to get a command member at your side to back your division.

As for mages in the naval division, sorry Garak but screw that! ;)

A warmage division consisting of warrior mages (instead of pure mages) sounds friggin' awesome to me and I'd give it my full support. Cove has not yet seen a division like this before and with enough dedicated players it could work. Keep in mind though, you need to reach a certain rank in order to be allowed to join a division. That said, a little hard work is all that is between you and joining such division and generally should not be a problem if you are willing to put in the efford.

In battles a warmage division would add quite some diversity to the army as well, not forget to mention the ability to gate (which is a great outcome during hunts and expeditions should members be late and need to be picked up or to get somewhere fast with an entire group).

First thing I suggest is setting up a few requirements to become a warmage.
Uniform (can be added later on) and skillsets (e.g. magery, tactics + at least 1 weapon skill). Perhaps even a few trials that need to be completed in order to call yourself a warmage? Additionally I feel it should be mandatory that all members of the warmage division wear pointy hats!

All in all, go for it mate, write up your ideas and send it to command. From what I've read so far you seem to have what it takes to make the division work. All it takes is some time and alot of dedication.

Sounds like a great idea Mald!

Thank you for your comments :)

I have spoken with some of the Command members - Raiden told me to post it on the OOC board or speak with a Command member about this. Since Garak is leading the Naval division and Jack Sinist was offline yesterday - I thought about getting it up for brainstorming on the OOC board first.

I know I need to be Junior Guardsman to join a Division etc.. but I would like to get the Warmage Division up for discussion before that time.
I have no problems if I am not to lead the Division either. Just want to be a part of it :) could always OOC share my ideas and help the Leader.

Of course, the plans for the Division was to have trials and tasks for members wanting to join it.. just like all the other divisions.
I currently got some quest ideas, but will not share them at this.  Involves pure RP questlines and skill-check questlines. Still needs some more planning and checking before it goes live.

The pure character skill-wise requirement to join would be Magery/Necromancy + 1 fighting skill. (Sword, Fenc, Mace, Archery, Parrying or Wrestling) Tamers, bards, stealth mages etc. would not suit the division imo.

Hehe, creating the uniform is just the snack part of making a Division. I have no ideas at the moment how it would look, since the storyline and RP idea behind the division is more important atm.. but I will sure give pointy hats a try!

Quoted from Moraine Digoraz :  "All in all, go for it mate, write up your ideas and send it to command. From what I've read so far you seem to have what it takes to make the division work. All it takes is some time and alot of dedication."
-- Thank you for your kind words.

Good news for you! Theres a Command member' trying to makr an arcane univerity which is a fantastic idea' as really coves never had many wycthes around, so never been any need but one point arcnist reigment was made not to popular though so it died down, but when Command members get time you will see the future of the wycthes.  :)

Least we don;t have a Yeller Squadron *Eyes Moraine and cackles*

Grand to hear.

We need a spellcasting Division now in BoC imo.
There are a lot of recruits that are spellcasters now - and having a spellcasting division up, would also be more attractive for new players that wish to join BoC to see that spellcasters got a division-future =P

*is getting excited*

Yea we could like have those "magical wizard hats" from the mage shop in our uniform...yea they suck resist wise, but would look awesome.

There were plans for that at some point, but command feared we'd pwn too much.
(which is justified tbh ;))

There are already two Squads which allow mages, Scouts & The navy. As much as everyone loves the idea of a pure arcanist squad four squads is already spreading the butter too thin and five would just be a mess!

Mage RP is lame we're going to become just like Vesper if this happens.  A bunch of Guardsmen with magery.  The Navy and The Scouts need mages in their squads.  Where do you think all the mages will go if a mage squad is made?  4 Squads is enough, you can either be a Guardsman with Magery, a Marine with Magery, or a Scout with Magery.  Why do you need a squad to tell everyone what you are?  You'll be a unique part of your squad, and everyone already knows what you are by your armor.

I mean there's no squad made specifically for Chivalry, Mace fighting, Archery, Swordsmanship, Axemen, Fencing, or Parry.  It's been a proven fact in BoC that squads based off skills (Aside from the scouts) do not work.  All I'm saying is I don't want a guild like BoC become a breeding ground for mages.  We're Guardsmen, not wytches.

I don't have a problem with mages amongst the guardsmen as I play one and I don't see why you do. There is nothing wrong with bringing up new ideas, i encourage it and look forward to anymore you have to bring mald & co.

Alright.

I understand what you mean.

That is why we are having the brainstorming - so everyone can say what the feel.

I do not think Mage RP is lame - imo all RP is good RP.

Well, the Navy and Scouts accepts Mages.
To be a Scout mage, you need Hiding/stealth as well and your character should be sneaky RPish.
In the Navy, your character would be a seaman/sailor and your character should RP-loving the sea.
I do not feel like any of these Divisions suits my character. I can only speak for myself, but I know others that feels the same.

There are no rules that says we prefer meleers before wytches. I agree with you though, the main force of the guild should be melee for the RP look.

Also for my own interests, not sure about others, but I feel that belonging to a Division gives you more opportunites to roleplay. Not just giving your character more traits - but also with all the Division events/quests.
Seems like some of the Command members share my thoughts about a new spellcasting division is needed, since they've started to plan the Arcane Regiment.
The Warmages would be a little different though, since more or less everyone in it would have melee weapons as well.

These are my thoughts. Hope all of you share yours as well :)

I swear...I said the excact same thing as above just a bit too late^^
Its like...serendipidy or whatjammacallit:D

A warmage division would be very rp friendly and fun..

At least let us wear magic pointy hats if nothing more....

:P

I understand that another squad may spread our members thin but mages are not accepted into the Grenadiers and Dragoons and as has been pointed out Light Company mages must have Hiding & Stealth and Naval mages who in my opinion should be war-mages so they can use ranged combat and then melee when they board an enemy vessel or storm a beach but if naval RP aint your cup of tea fair enough.

I think that at the moment we probably have as many mages in the guild as i have seen in my time here and if they live long enough to make Junior Guardsmen a re-incarnation of the Arcane squad might be an option. Also an Arcane squad may encourage potential members to join up.

I also like the idea of war-mages as opposed to pure panseh-wytch types...

I do believe we are talking of warmages here, not pure mages.

As for mages with scouts and navy, once again, fuck that.
Divisions in my opinion should be class-based. Mages in the scouts and navy? Wtf is up with that? Nothing more than a "convenient template" if you ask me.
Afterall we are still a roleplay guild, stick with it. Scouts should be stealth warriors (and SHOULD have tracking skill as well!), Navy should be fisherman warriors, NOT mages who happen to like like the sea.

Cove is nothing more than a peasant militia turned army. Magery is still something frowned upon quite a bit by the church and shouldn't be taken up unless you are a respected citizen or a member of a specialized squad. As quoted from the introduction movie : "It's people shunned magic for it's very use corrupted the very soul of those who'd wield it".

Hey Mald. I know we discussed this earlier.

This is an idea that myself and Jake talked about several months ago and started working on. We planned on re-making the Arcane Division, but not into a gimp army of mages but into something rather unique.

We had plans on taking over Lanai's house outside the Covian gates that currently serves as an Arena, now that the house next to the barracks fell we thought it might be a good idea to have it there, a centralized organization, in the middle of all RP. Jake disappeared so everything just got put on ice.

What we had in mind was to create a sort of alternative University. A school where people would learn the theoretical parts of everything. We had plans on creating a school where students would be educated in all the different tunes of magic, each magical spell and element would be tought. A deep story behind it and educated with good role playing, educational and fun.

We would make the building into a three-story complex of our idea.
A Lecture room
A Library
An Underground Arcanist area (banned books etc, rituals blabla)

And in the lecture room we would have different subjects, Jake would teach his side of the coin and Jack his (Jack would take on Necromancy and act like a certain dungeon teacher (think Harry Potter!)).
We would have a herbalist teacher, (Great and deep RP can be found here!)
An Alchemist teacher, teaching the Grenadiers the trick of the trade!

The library would hold each element and spell, each area that we teach and more. Students that excelled in his or her studies would be rewarded. Tests would be created.

The Arcanist would be like wise men, teaching others about different things and the depth of their doings rather than battle freaks who run in, pwn everything, then go back to being all wise. They would obviously be around for battles but would dislike proving their ability as they would rise above that. Although mage battles between Vesper and Cove would be a possibility not to forget!

We mapped down many ideas and if anything our plan was to re-create the Arcanist squad for the near future.

And I agree with Kazou that in order to keep each squads uniqueness they should not have other types in their squad. Axemen in the scouts or magery in the Dragoons. Having that said there is nothing that stops each squad to take on whoever they like, it's still up to each squad and freedome is always nice.

When Cove gets back on its feet and get a bigger number of members I'd be more than happy to re-create this squad.
The biggest challenge to our ideas are obviously the lack of a bigger central building in Cove, which the one next to the barracks would be ideal for.

 At this point I really think that mages merely need to be integrated into all the other groups "Grenadiers, Dragoons, Navy, Scouts etc" although before we start creating more military classes we need to see how the navy works out.  I personally don't think anyone would really go for the idea, and the uniform changes at some point are just going to make us look like Richtofens Flying Circus.  We really need to get rid of the Dragoon Class to make way for more, accepting and realistic classes.  Just an opinion, not expecting any retaliation.

Well everyone has their opinions and i can't say I agree with yours in the slightest Conan. Can't get rid of a company because you personally don't like it;).. Dragoons wont be going anywhere.

I think the mages should get their own division again, and if I ever get properly active again, I could perhaps teach at the university?

Hehe no no don't take me that seriously.  I just mean that the Dragoons are a very "Picky" class, so imho it would be better to create a more accepting class.  Although it is quite obvious that Dragoons "Kick ass" except for Lanai... :P

Well as i said before wycthes have grown in number resently,as Mela said we have four squads the navy i think should be a ranged squad for archers and mages,anyhow a Marine is elite don't have to love the Sea you think British Royal Marines love the sea half of them won't even serve on boats,and those that do do it for extra pay and then odd few just low the sea, my point is Marines are highly disiplined,trained and are basically the infantry of Navy as you know,Arcane university would be excellent! But a mage division will spread or forces too thin GRD had to cut back on two divisions Merrymen and Corsairs,being a large RP miltary guild like are selves the same thing could happen. I ten to dislike mages full stop i think there overpowered,ruins Rp opening gates and so forth it can be usefull but its cheating like Chivalry and Necromancy,i've had all three skills Chivalry i use to get around when i have  spare time and doing chores for myself before hunts ,it ruins RP though a nice little trip to Deciet can go by sea have a RP laugh on the way there,defend the ship dock the ship,visit the shrine,head into the dungeon grab your loot then head out without a moongate.

This is sometimes why i miss COY loads! Arr the GM skill and no magery! Well hardly any
Anyhow thats my peice Moraine lets make a Yeller detachment'! ;D

It is against the law in some states in USA to ay brainstorming as it may effect the dislexic O.O

I thik a mages division would be awesome. Many times in battles BoC have fallen to -V- as the amount of mages is staggering =D

Mages are not overpowered. Pit one against Kasei and they won´t even put a dent in him. If one class is overpowered then it´s archers (ecspecially now that they are also allowed quivers), so don´t anyone try to use that as an argument. As for squad types, they REALLY should be defined to set their characteristics once and for all.

As for the Dragoons, they more or less died off when Joey & Vince became inactive. Sure, they still have a memberbase but they lack the prowess they once had. I´ve always been a fan of the elitist-mentality. To have to PROVE yourself before you could join a certain squad and that means skills, ability and roleplay. If you lack one of the three then you simply do not have what it takes (e.g. TBK´s Kenjutsuka).

Warmages wouldn´t be an elite squad like that, but they would be a specialist (template-based) squad. As for roleplay requirements, heh, well I´ll say nothing more than that the quality of the guild depends on the standards of recruitment.

The Dragoons was created for being a snobbish uper class type of warriors that would ride horses and look down on everyone else. I like the initial idea, some initiative and fun events are needed for the squad, as for any squad really. An Arcanist squad needs great leadership as well, or it will decay into being a thin uninteresting squad.

Mage divisions are copied from Grd tbh..

Dude, half of BoC was copied from Grd according to you.
Well bork off, who cares anyway? If a concept works, steal it and improve it!

the word bork is grds tbh

Well, whoever has me wins the originality league tbh..

Yeah but I stole it and improved it to ´bork off´!
*throws rotten eggs (which were once normal eggs stolen from Grd)*

Grd dosnt like eggs tbh, we prefair rocks...because we're ard!! Yarr

ard another word for primitive?

Roight, enough of this. I am gonna be the bigger man here. You win. I´ll take my losses and be satisfied with the fact that you have a small weener.

it was a private joke that you stumbled apon tbh kaz :P

Shusssshhhh! I smell mods!

But we had one before, I think if we had a more university oriented mage division it'd be better. Mages must attend lectures led by the Church to prevent their souls being devoured by demons, mongbats and smurfs. Otherwise, they could just not join another divison.

I liked that little Feluca Invasion ou had going yesterday Locke :D

Classic.

Stick to this idea. It's decidedly "Covish"...

Bah stop undermiming me my point is! Divisons fail if not enough attention in that area corsairs and merry men Locke don;t mock me about GRD and wycthes :D You know as i do that they hate them because of relgion
I said BOC and GRD are simular in the fact they're the two hugest army type guilds on Europa! Well i prefere BOC to GRD but both good guilds! Filthy wycthes!

*random thought*

Someone buy 30 points in magery, use a number of +magery items to boost to 55, use a polymorph scroll to turn into a bullfrog and then have the church accuse mages of turning people into toads! :D

Even with the lectures though (which I am all for), the mages should also be a secret society on their own. Their deciples do attend the church meetings but away from the Church´s reach they have their own meetings and rituals (not nescessarily evil). More or less the same thing with the farmer besiegers and their worshipping of Pyros (but much betterder).

Well Kasei does have bushido and dodges spells the bugger!
Still never been a magery fan,though a 5th Shire Arcanists regiment, would thin us greaty Highlanders fell becuase of competetion.

Well, in the end it´s all a survival of the fittest.
A squad needs dedicated members to survive, that is what it´s all about.
Numbers are nice, but if all of those people sit on their thumbs all day long then in the end still nothing gets done.

Id like it if we(the uber mages) were alowed to at least wear a wizards hat instead of the gay lookin cap :P
Just an idea *coughs*

*Sences someone badmouthing the Covian cap from far away*


Celuvian! You badmouth the Covian cap, the pride of the Covian Empire! I sentence you to death by stoning!


That is all..

Wizard hats? *Vomits all over the screen*

Lawl ^^

You party peps have taken this discussion WAY to far.

-That- took it too far!! *shakes fist*

But yes...as Kazuo says, it all boils down to two things.

Dedication (This is your number one priority). And numbers in the army overall is also a major point. And by number...I mean numbers of dedicated players.

And concentration. It's so much better to concentrate one a lesser number of squads, than spread us thin, no matter how good the idea.
And make no mistake I like the idea of "war-wizard" but I also believe that it doesn't fit with Cove as a town and guild. The average covian doesn't openly use magery.

Thats why I dont use my magic alot....only when I feel the need(for speed).
I dont recall unless I have to run around the world map or something.
I dont gate unless ordered to. I dont cast spells if I can kill it with weapon...and dont heal(in vas mani) until someone is standing with one foot in the grave.

*smiles*

And I retract my comment on the cap...it is obviously superior to any other headwear in the world and universe alike. :o

I'm sorry did I say mage RP is lame?  Well what I should have said was, "Mage RP is alright, but an army of mages is so.... I can't find a word for it."  I think it would be alright if there was a squad of mages that use weapons as well as magery, but a squad of pure mages doesn't fit the Covian community.

I still think that there is enough squads for mages to join.  I mean, my character can only join two squads too.  "Dragoons and Grenadiers."  Mages have a little more strict, but they got two squads they can join as well.  Being a Marine is just like being a normal soldier except you have the luxury of being the superior force on sea.  The way I see it is you have three good choices.  Stay a guardsman and have no restrictions, Join the navy and not force your char to love the sea, or get 50 hiding and like 70-80 stealth and join the scouts.

I don't hate your idea.  I just think it's the wrong time, you have the same amount of choices as everyone else does, and Warrior-Mages would be more Covian than pure mages.  Plus it's an awesome temp if you use it right.

I'd make this :P
 
100 Magery
100 Evaluate Intelligence
120 Swords/Fencing/Macing
90-100 Healing
90-100 Tactics or whatever else.
100 Anatomy
100 Meditation.

90/90/70

It would be good because if you got disarmed you have 110 Evasion on your back.  With your weapon you'd have 50% chance of getting hit by a person with 120 weapon skill, and like 43% chance of getting hit by a GM weapon user.  You can heal 4 different ways, cure poison 3 different ways, and kill someone in like 2 seconds in a duel.  Just seems like this would be a good fit if the mages used a weapon as well as magery.

I'm out peace.

People shouldn't get too caught up on marine = sea.  Cove is a port-town so marines could be assigned to the watchtower, guarding the docks etc. 

Exactly Garak...  Marines are supposed to be efficient no matter where they fight, and that's why they are most qualified to be the major part of the navy.  I mean how often do you think the marines will be on a boat anyways?  You don't have to walk, talk, or act like a seaman.  Just have your character RP it as they are in the marines, but have them act like a normal guardsman.  You can always switch squads should the mages get their wish.

Well "just another job" kind of hurts the fantasy role playing feeling. A sea dog should be a drunk sailor etc etc, because it adds to the magic and the fun rather than having it feel like "a job".

Question: If mages do not have meditation therefore do not need med-eable armour, is it possible for them to join a main squad e.g The Dragoons?

There are no "Main" squads except grenadiers, there is the main bulk of the army the normal guardsmen.. And the squads. I don't think the Dragoons would accept mages unless you could wield a weapon as well.

Well now that I think about it.. Mages don't really fit in any squad do they, I mean they are to big of sissies that can't take a punch (Low HP) so dragoons are out,  They aren't the sneakiest bunch.. I mean its not that sneaky when you run and invis yourself for a short period of time..  The Navy.. HA seaman mages.. enough said, then they are the Grenadiers I guess, but The Baron trusting a wytch..?! Well i guess its because we don't really have enough mages in the guild to do anything about it.. They could always stay guardsman..  I dunno I guess in the end.. this post was posted in pure boredom!

It is a valid post though and should flare up the discussion again.

Do we need a mage division?
Do we have enough mages to form a division?
Who would run the mage division?
What -exactly- would the mage division entrail?

If we can get a short but solid answer to all those questions then it's up to Command to either realize this devision or not and if not then let them decide what and where the rightful place of a mage would be within the Baronship.

In my personal opinion... Aye it is a valid post.

We do have a few more mages than we have had previously.

Yes a battle-mage is something new and fresh to BoC as opposed to pure mages.

But...

For this squad to become reality...

We do need more mages/battlemages.

We need a few of them at least to have reached the rank of Junior.

We need a suitable candidate to lead the squad.


And then... Maybe... It could become reality.

So to all you battlemages - get recruiting and get your promotion requirements done ;)

What about a College for mages? They don't need to join a specific squad, but they're members of an informal squad?

Hey I like that Idea! And...and...and...we...could wear a wizard hat! ;D...no?.....yes! >:(

That's kind of what I wrote..

Wizards hats are Ugly with a capital 'U'. Arkay's archery guild doesn't have any special form of uniform, I think the mages can do without it too;)

Indeed... You mages are supposed to be the Battlemages, not some sissy wizards to do fireworks during markets. Also, if (at the moment) they're going to join the actual squads, why should they dress somehow different than the rest?

Yeah, wear a wizard's hat, add "Maggus" and Rincewind is ready ;)

I'll wear a wizards hat!...when no one is looking! ::)

I just happen to agree with you! >:(

And for wizard's hats... Khae's answers!

"I would wear a wizard's hat, but that'd just be perpetuating the stereotype."
"What, take off the hat? But how will they know I'm a wizard!?!"

Well, would my mage Thalium be accepted? He has also now got 110 Fencing and 100 Poisoning. I can switch this at any time with Archery or Mace fighting. He has no meditation but he has 125 mana!

I believe I am basically a warrior except I heal with magery and I use Explosion and Flame Strike for harder enemies!

I am interested in Drgoons because the only dragoons I see on actively Is Mela's alt and Cap'n Hoags. ={

I suggest making a warrior that fits the squad profile then. A dragoon being a snobby uptight bla, or fierce, baron protecting grenadier. Best keep the mages to mages I think, perhaps make the whole school/college/university thing like the AAG or something. Good idea that

Yeah it would be a good idea.. except who would lead this college.. not many mages make it to Junior..

Well as I said, myself and Jake had been thinking about re-creating the Arcanist Squad anyway so

But I think that many new mages have been guilded now and it may distract others from their normal army lives.
If you can find the balance that would be awesome =D

As it's more of an AAG thingy, perhaps Khae could join in the fun!

"Hmm, Herpetty's Seismic Reorganizer? Quondum's Attractive Point? Or maybe Sumpjumper's Incendiary Surprise? Oh hell, why not all three at once?"

I don't see why sailors can't be mages...  If anything they'd make the sense of artillery come to life.  That's what the old Arcane Company was about.  Being the artillery of the army.

'Cause sailors have cutlasses, shout YARR!!! and... they don't wear wizard's hats!

And artillery=Navy!? I see the "water to land" bombardment thingy, but I'd say grenadiers are good at that.

Discrimination I tell you!

navy is a grd concept tbh

No, it's an RL concept=P

But I'm for a "Mages' College", like the AAG (I can't believe I'm the only one who thought anonymous alcoholics when I read that first time round!). But who'd arrange it?

No, I was first :)


Sorry for babbling again ;)

I asked Arkay ages ago about it, just as the AA was created in BoC. Hehe

BoC - The only MMO guild with its own AA. We care about your problems!

But for arranging, Sinist said something, didn't he?

I like the idea of the mage University, with or without the squad i think it should be made.

As for the squad, i think the onlything against it is numbers realy. By the sound of it we have a large number of recruit mages that would make decent leaders.

Sooo... Mage recruits get to Junior ASAP, then recruit more.

This might be babble, but a squad of mages - Who's the Lord of Chaos, the Wheel of Time? Asha'man! Ring of fire! *WHOOSH*

Concerted flamestrikes, explosions and e-bolts!

However, Before we start making mage squads we need a Covian Secret Service.

Uhh.. No we don't we already have the scouts who handle things like that.

Nooo! Lies!
We need Double OO's!!

*Tries not to babble*
*Twitches*
*Fails*

Octiovus: Execute Order 66
Shadwell: Yes, my Baron!
Eason: ;p

*All guard units turn on the mages*

But how many mages do we have? I could join in the college thingy.

One problem with the college thing is that it would need one hell of a lot of activity in order to work.

I don't think that's necessary, can have a weekly thingy, where either a professor has a lecture on the misuse of the polymorph spell (notably to sheep in Yew) or have a student show their research on something.

We had one once, The Organization.
They were more like a Mafia/CIA type thing though (and owned the light company tbh).

I think the 'underworld' needs to become more active again.. C'mon! it is always funny to see guards wondering about.. giggling.. and thinking things feel pretty..

Several persons made few attempts to do so, but seems that it only finished on the "hey let's post an idea" stage. Although *whispers* I'd gladly do some illegal trading or sth...

Well Kas Valentine said he's going to be more active, so thats an idea for a leader of the squad

Well yeah Kas is back - Huzzah and he's a Regular wytch Guardsman as is Jack Sinist, plus we have a few mages at Watchman so hopefully by the time they have made Junior there is the foundation of an Arcane squad proposal.

Of course the thing is with having so many squads is that we get spread too thin.

But these mages have no other squad to go to so with a concerted regular recruitment effort in the meantime we will become stronger in general and may able able to sustain an Arcane Company again in the future.

So get out there and recruit! ;)

Ahoyhoy !

I read through a few posts in this thread that Dell linked (pages 2 to 7) and I agree with the idea of the university and the purity of squads. I also agree with Sacrow when he says that the opening of gates and such like can shorten what would ordinarily be a good long roleplay adventure for one and all.

However just because we're heroic devilishly handsome masters of magic doesn't mean we have to utilize our skills every minute of every day. If you want a gate we can whizz one up but if you'd rather sail or walk I'm sure the Arcanists would gladly assist. I don't think Magery skills are cheating I mean they've been around since day one, they're as old as Empath Abbey. Necromancy, Chivalry, Ninjitsu, Bushido......now that's cheating !

I understand the roleplay resentment of mages (or witches) but that's something that can be played out between the relevant characters, it shouldn't really hold back the prospect of an Arcanist division. We can also be careful who we gate or recall around (when needed) so that we don't annoy people unintentionally.

I'm not sure what to say about the pure mage worries, Kas is a total pure mage (alchemy, inscription, resisting spells, evaluating intelligence, magery, wrestling, meditation) so I can't really comment. I understand that you want to present a good hands on roleplay front but I can't see it being a problem unless the mages outnumber the melee classes (which currently isn't the case by a long shot).

Now I admit I've only just come back these last few days so the more hardcore amongst you may not be so eager to take on my opinions, I respect that. But even before I disappeared I was pushing for an Arcanist division and back then it was just myself and people like Arc (and a few others) with active mages.

The last few days I've been back I've seen at least three recruit mages, it's like a whole new world. I share the view that it may be spreading our forces too thin, but nevertheless it's a damn good idea that I fully support.

(PS; We should have pimpass pointy wizard hats, recognise)

(PPS; I haven't see my signature for such a long time, man it rocks !)

We are three Watchman Mages now that I remember ... Myself, Celuvian Haap and Andrew.

I think we are 3, at least 2, Mage Recruits .. Synara Kahn and one I cant remember the name on.

There might be even more than I am not aware about as well.
One of the reasons for the pure Mage squad is not only for the current members to have a Squad to aim for - but also for new players that might wish to join BoC.

Anyways, Kaz, according to the little I have seen of you - you seem like a good fellow and good roleplayer. If you ever decide to put up a Mage division, I will support you 100%. I am sure both you and Jack Sinist would make great Division leaders.

*Slaps Kas* I never thought you would bring the Covian cap to shame!!

Watchman....

Recruit....

They're all the same !  ;D

Just jesting just jesting, my apologies for daubing you with the filthy R word there Mald and Celuvian. So altogether that's like seven mages I think (look mom I can count and everything) more than enough to get started on a division if the "powers that be" deem it a worthy addition to the Covian cause.

A point I forgot to address last night (I'd been on the Scrumpy Jack so I wasn't terribly focused) was in regard to the comments about remembering we're only simple Covians and in general frown upon magical use.

Hah ! We recruit members all across the modern realm with our leaflets fluttering in winds from Britain to Jhelom. As a result we have to (well we don't have to, but it might be nice to) resign to the fact theres going to be a bit of diversity among the ranks. You can only have so much brown bread before the flavour becomes stale and boring, at times you have to daub it with banoffee toffee or mexican beans !

I don't want to turn into a whole guild of super mages anymore than the next Covian but at the same time it would be nice to have a dedicated team of wizzy wizards backing up our rough tough bearded melee folk.

(PS; I'm a staunch supporter of the Covian cap, I fought tooth and nail when Kas's was stolen by filthy commoner Tristan D'Gar. However if I ever get to choose between that and a pointy jazz hat with moons and stars buttoned on, the cap will be used as a flannel.)

The pointy hat is also good for storing the survival kit...food,medicine,shoeshine etc :D

Don't forget reagents! Most wizards store those in their hats too.
How else do you think most wizards are bald?
Not because they've grown old and lost their hair the natural way but because their pointy hats keep exploding!

(http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/8768/kalvaskaboomxe5.jpg)

Lose my hair...!? Are you quite insane....!?  :o

Oh just thought I'd note that although I'm very passionate about an Arcanist Division (and will always be) I respect that the final decision rests with you high up folk that run the guild. If people think the mages should carry on as they are now, that's absolutely fine, I'm just happy to be a Covian.

(Albeit an incredibly handsome one that can create incandescent Yew smiting fireballs with the click of a finger)

It's being discussed.

While it ever exist? who knows, but you amges could just be a "disedent faction" within Cove's Army. Say the arcanist types tend to hang together in an "unofficial squad" these things exist even in real militaries. Such as my own Navy. "The Philipino Mafia" used to describe the fact that persons of philipino decent will stick together, particularly thick within the logistics area of my Branch. I'm also with logists and whiter than a french flag in a warzone and can attest that they are ALWAYS together... and generally leaving us white boys outta the picture.

Ah well, good luck with your arcane mumbo jumbo... MK is sure not gonna be please we he gets the news lol!

Bwuahahah!!!

Now I've just spent 30 minutes reading through the whole of this thread I can make a comment.
When I first joined I didn't think about divisions or anything like that, but when asked in a drill to shout out what division I wanted to join I just stood there looking dumb and confused.

I agree mages shouldn't become too many and I think it'd be good not to have too many alts within the guild as mages or it'd just be a second class division people join in with just for a few reasons like pwnage in a battle. By this I mean someone as a Grenadier or Dragoon also having a mage.

I'd be happy to take up a weapon skill if need be as I like the idea of battlemages not so sure about the pointy hats.  I think that'd just be like putting a banner above our heads in battles and saying here I am, target me first please.

Firstly I think all us mages should get together and put in some practise work, learn how to work together in battles with different scenerios occuring.  Maybe come up with a few rp parameters that could be used to develop a division.

I might come up with more later.

Special mage orders would be cool.
RING OF FIRE - All mages flamestrike the same people

YEW FORMATION - All mages polymorph into chickens

YEW DISTRACTION - whole squad polymorphs into sheeps.

If that happened, they'd be raped. We don't want that to happen.

But if mages work in concert, they are lethal.

They would get distracted on so many levels.

*Idea!*

The mage university could teach the mages to work together (special mage orders), so in battles they'd be a different squad. Three mages in a small squad that just follow their superior's (highest ranking mage) orders.

Orders could be e-bolt, explosion and flamestrike from three mages (The three pronged attack!)
Negate archers (All paralyse archers)
Ring of fire (Just rip enemies to shreds with flamestrikes)
Summon help (Everyone summons a creature)
Seek & Destroy (One mage continously spams paralyse while the others pound with various spells)

I've had different schools of magic type groupings within the actual squad in mind, would perhaps work something like that. (And summoning is boo hiss!)

So -IF- an arcanist squad is formed, wich skills will this involve? Only Magery? or Spellweaving and Necromancy too?

As Spellweaving is banned and necromancy is illegal, I wouldn't think so. (At least, I think necromancy's illegal)

Well there are a select few chars who have necromancy which we RP with but those are Evil chars that are usually killed, knocked, raped, tortured, and looted.. but for a squad Necromancy wouldn't be allowed.

Maybe it even involves Evaluate Intelligence or Meditation!

Hah you(I) forgot Spiritspeak!!

 :P

They could form an alchemists' guild, sell pots to grenadiers and the like? Some will have inscription, can have their own magery trading post.

Maybe if we made it a challenge to be in the mage squad...it was only alowed with magery skill..no other skills...and max str of 15:)))) Maybe if you were the leader of the squad you could have like 20 meditation.

I'd hope citizens would be able to be involved with that...

Aye, an alchemists' guild with both citizens and mages would be good. If we actually manage to create a proper vendor, we might even get some free screentime for BoC.

And if the magery school proves popular enough, I don't see why we can't have a squad at some later point.

Could I suggest that all prospective members of an Arcanist division purchase name change deeds and hair restyle deeds so they look like this (http://my.uo.com/cgi-bin/my_chars.pl?52616e646f6d49566158fd470d0232efaeb92b48b778ede09b2e007099e2e070afe255b2403952dd299fa743c4ce8b7c). I feel it will really aid our survivability in general.

*scratches head*
I don't recall you being one of Kazuo's test subjects for new potions?

(new series of experiments coming up btw)

Quite right too, I'm against testing on cute adorable little animals (not to mention defenceless). ;)

Recruits are not adorable, they are expendable.

What does command say about this?

Command too says recruits are expendable!
Ask Octi (if he's not too busy babbling on the command-only babbleboard).

mages are very strong and should be embraced and not burned as witches!

We just lack the members atm. Don't think there's much point=/

We do have a number of budding Arcanist Watchmen and Recruits at the moment.

So if they can get their arses to Junior Guardsman and everyone gets out there recruiting so that we get a few more wytches coming through the ranks, who knows maybe the Arcanist Squad could be resurrected in the future.

*dangles carrot*