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communions [2021/10/27 20:49]
naaira |
communions [2022/12/27 00:53] (current)
thelistener Minimum communion fatigue clause |
| ====== Communions ====== | ====== Communions ====== |
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| Communions are a way for a mage to increase their magic paths during a battle and significantly reduce [[fatigue]] casting [[spells]]. The mage accomplishes this by enlisting / conscripting communion slaves, and drawing on their power to boost paths and share out fatigue. | Communions are a way for mages to increase their magic power in combat. A communion represents mages pooling together their magical resources to gain increased arcane power. Some mages act as masters, tapping into the energy of the communion, while others act as slaves, offering their energy to the communion - sometimes with dire consequences for their own lives. |
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| Access to higher level magic paths allows mages to both cast spells that they otherwise might not be able to, such as ??Fog Warriors??; and overcast spells, thereby reducing fatigue. | Forming a communion has several benefits: |
| | * Communion masters will have their magic paths increased significantly depending on the number of communion slaves. This can give the masters access to spells that would otherwise be outside their abilities as the mages. |
| | * When a communion master casts a spell with an [[AoE|Area of Effect: Caster]] it will apply the spell effect to all slaves in the communion. |
| | * [[Fatigue]] from spellcasting is shared with the slaves in the communion. Thus the communion masters may cast for longer before passing out from fatigue. |
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| Being able to share fatigue out amongst slaves permits many more spells to be cast and, with the right setup, endless spell casting. | For all its upsides there are a few downsides to using communions as well: |
| | * Each mage used as a communion slave is a mage not casting spells. Too many communion slaves may lessen the offensive power of an army. |
| | * Communion slaves rarely make it off the field on a rout due to accumulating too much fatigue. |
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| ===== Forming a Communion ===== | ===== Forming a Communion ===== |
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| There are several paths a mage can utilise to enter a communion, either as a {{abilities:communion_master.png?nolink}} //master// or a //slave//. There is only one communion per side (attacker or defender). All Masters on a side use all slaves on the same side to aid in spell casting. So blood mages who cast Sabbath Slave can be drained by mages who cast Communion Master etc. | There are several paths a mage can utilise to enter a communion, either as a master or a slave. There is only one communion per side (attacker or defender). All Masters on a side use all slaves on the same side to aid in spell casting. So blood mages who cast Sabbath Slave can be drained by mages who cast Communion Master etc. |
| <WRAP box 800px center> ==== Entering a Communion ==== | {{template>formingcommunion}} |
| <WRAP column half> | |
| <WRAP centeralign>{{abilities:communion_master.png?nolink}} \\ **Becoming a Master** </WRAP> | |
| <WRAP group> | |
| <WRAP column third rightalign>**Spells:**</WRAP> | |
| <WRAP column twothirds>??Communion Master?? \\ | |
| ??Sabbath Master?? \\ | |
| ??Chorus Master?? </WRAP></WRAP> | |
| <WRAP group> | |
| <WRAP column third rightalign>**Abilities:**</WRAP><WRAP column twothirds> | |
| Communion Master</WRAP></WRAP> | |
| <WRAP group> | |
| <WRAP column third rightalign>**Items:**</WRAP><WRAP column twothirds>??Crystal Matrix?? \\ | |
| ??Crystal Heart?? \\ | |
| ??Oppressors Headband?? </WRAP></WRAP> | |
| </WRAP><WRAP column half> | |
| <WRAP centeralign> | |
| {{abilities:communion_slave.png?nolink}} \\ **Becoming a Slave** </WRAP> | |
| <WRAP group> | |
| <WRAP column third rightalign>**Spells:**</WRAP> | |
| <WRAP column twothirds>??Communion Slave?? \\ | |
| ??Sabbath Slave?? \\ | |
| ??Chorus Slave?? </WRAP></WRAP> | |
| <WRAP group> | |
| <WRAP column third rightalign>**Abilities:**</WRAP> | |
| <WRAP column twothirds> Communion Slave </WRAP> | |
| </WRAP> | |
| <WRAP group> | |
| <WRAP column third rightalign>**Items:**</WRAP> | |
| <WRAP column twothirds>??Slave Matrix?? | |
| </WRAP> | |
| </WRAP> | |
| </WRAP> | |
| </WRAP> | |
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| Notes: | * Some mages such as the ??Phlegran Oppressor?? have the Communion Master trait. Similarly some mages like the ??Shackled Mage?? and units like the ??Theurg Communicant?? have the Communion Slave trait. Units with any of these traits automatically enter the communion at the very start of the battle before any other spells are cast. |
| | * Items that convey master or slave traits also operate similarly - i.e. the mage is included in the communion immediately at the start of the battle. |
| | * The ??Sabbath Slave?? and ??Sabbath Master?? spells inherently cost 100 fatigue due to requiring one [[blood slave]] each. This can be significant as the fatigue cost can make a {{path>B1}} master pass out from fatigue in provinces without Magic [[scales]], thus delaying any further spellcasting. |
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| * If a Chorus Slave "fatigues out", they cease to contribute to the [[spell singer|spell singing]], and drop out of a communion. All other slaves remain in the communion even unto death, unless all masters are disconnected (see Exiting Communions). | Players should take into account the [[combat magic#casting point|casting time]] of entry spells when planning communion scripting. In particular, a master who enters using a trait or item (at the start of combat), could find that the blood slaves (150% casting time) are not all online when they cast their first spell. Items that reduce spell casting time like the ??Crown of the Magi?? also affect calculations. |
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| * [[divine-magic|Holy]] magic //is// boosted by communions, but only if the master is also a mage. I.e. the master must have non-holy magic paths for their holy power to be boosted ({{path>S1H1}} for example). One can't simply equip a priest with a Crystal Matrix and receive a holy spell casting boost. | <WRAP column 35px>{{ :abilities:communion_slave.png?nolink |}}</WRAP>Once a mage joins a communion as a communion slave he or she becomes paralyzed for as long as the communion lasts. Communion slaves cannot take any actions of their own until their masters are all dead or have fled the fields of battle. Even then the slave might not wake up in time before being slaughtered by the enemy. |
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| * Some commanders have a communion master trait, and some commanders and units have a communion slave trait. These traits automatically include a mage in communions at the very start of the battle (before any other spells are cast). | <WRAP box>**Whose communion?** \\ |
| | Currently communion slaves will stay paralyzed as long as **any** communion master is still present on the battlefield, even enemy masters. It is unknown if this is intended behavior or not.</WRAP> |
| | ===== Communion Path Boost ===== |
| | Masters in a communion gain an increase to their magic paths. A communion master gains n extra levels in each of his or her known magic paths for every 2ⁿ slaves in the communion. This is true for each communion master in the communion. Note that the maximum path boost from communions is 6. |
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| * Items that convey master or slave traits also operate similarly - i.e. the mage is included in the communion immediately on the commencement of battle. | {{template>communionpathboost}} |
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| * Players should take into account the [[casting time]] of entry spells when planning communion scripting. In particular, a master who enters using a trait or item (at the start of combat), could find that the blood slaves (150% casting time) aren't all online when they cast their first spell. Items that reduce spell casting time like the ??Crown of the Magi?? also affect calculations. | <WRAP column 35px>{{ :magicpath:path_h.png |}}</WRAP>[[divine-magic|Holy]] magic //is// boosted by communions, but only if the master is also a mage. I.e. the master must have non-holy magic paths for their holy power to be boosted ({{path>S1H1}} for example). Simply equipping a priest with a Crystal Matrix will //not// give a boost to the priest's holy path. |
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| * The ??Sabbath Slave?? and ??Sabbath Master?? spells inherently cost 100 fatigue due to requiring one [[blood slave]] each. This can be significant as it can make a master unable to cast further spells immediately in provinces without magic [[scales]]. | ===== Slaves Receive Self-Buffs ===== |
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| | An additional effect of communions is that any spell cast by a communion master with Area of Effect: Caster will be applied to all slaves in the communion as well. Spells like ??Personal Regeneration??, ??Summon Earthpower??, ??Air Shield??, and ??Personal Luck?? are common ways to make use of this and keep the communion slaves alive for longer. |
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| ===== Path Boost Formula ===== | However, the most notorious use of this feature is with the ??Reinvigoration?? spell, available to Blood 1 mages at Blood 1. It removes all fatigue from the caster. This effect is very useful for communion slaves, as they often accrue high levels of fatigue very quickly from the comm masters. It is a common tactic for blood nations to have a sabbath master cast this spell one or more times in their script, just to reset the fatigue of the slaves. Be advised that these casters may deviate from the script if they are fatigue-neutral after spell-casting encumbrance; they don't want to use a blood slave if their own fatigue is zero. |
| A communion master gains n extra levels in each of his or her known magic paths for every 2ⁿ slaves in the communion. This is true for each communion master in the communion. Note that the maximum path boost from communions is 6. | |
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| ^ Number of Slaves ^ Path Boost for Masters ^ | |
| | 2 | 1 | | |
| | 4 | 2 | | |
| | 8 | 3 | | |
| | 16 | 4 | | |
| | 32 | 5 | | |
| | 64 | 6 | | |
| ===== Fatigue Formula ===== | |
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| Whenever a communion mage casts a spell, the fatigue from that spell is equally distributed among the communion slaves and the master, with each taking an equal share before any extra fatigue from a difference in paths is calculated. | ===== Fatigue in a Communion ===== |
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| Fatigue for spells is always reduced according to what degree the spell is overcast by. For example, a D3 mage casting a D2 spell will only receive half the listed fatigue. Whenever the communion master casts a spell, they use their caster level AFTER the communion boost, so the same mage boosted from D3 to D5 now casts at 1/4 the listed fatigue, and that is the value which gets distributed to slaves. The distribution is equal among slaves, so if the fatigue would be 50 and there are 4 slaves, the master would gain 10 fatigue and each slave gains 10 fatigue. | Whenever a communion mage casts a spell, the fatigue from that spell is distributed among the communion slaves and the master who cast the spell. When a master casts a spell the fatigue cost is handled in two steps: |
| | - First the [[combat magic#fatigue|fatigue cost]] of the spell is calculated as normal. |
| | - Afterwards the fatigue cost is distributed between the master and all communion slaves. |
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| The slave caster level does have an impact on how much fatigue they receive, after previously described calculations have occurred. If a D2 mage is a communion slave for our caster who casts a D2 spell, then that D2 slave gets no bonus fatigue. This means that if our comm master would distribute 10 fatigue to each slave, then this slave receives 10 fatigue. If our comm slave would be able to overcast the spell, for example if the slave is D3 or higher, then the slave will receive half the fatigue, which in this example would be 5. Additional levels will not further reduce the fatigue gain. If the comm slave is 1 level lower, for example a D1 mage, then the fatigue is doubled. In this case, that means 20 fatigue. If the slave is 2+ levels lower or does not have the correct path at all, then fatigue will be quadrupled, so a slave who has only S1 in this communion would receive 40 fatigue. | ==== Calculating Spell Fatigue Cost ==== |
| | When calculating the fatigue cost of a spell the path boost for being in a communion is taken into account. |
| | * For example, a {{path>D3}} mage casting a {{path>D2}} spell will normally receive half the listed fatigue for being one above the path requirement. |
| | * If that same mage joins a communion with four slaves that mage's death path is boosted from {{path>D3}} to {{path>D5}}. This means that the spell only costs 1/4 the listed fatigue to cast. |
| | {{template>spellfatigue}} |
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| ---- | |
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| The above information is slightly incorrect... | <WRAP column half> |
| | <WRAP box> |
| | ==== Spellsingers ==== |
| | Spellsinger masters halve the cost of spells cast. This effect remains in communions |
| | </WRAP></WRAP> |
| | <WRAP column half> |
| | <WRAP box> |
| | ==== Innate Spellcasters ==== |
| | Innate spellcaster masters double the fatigue cost for slaves. They can also never be made communion slaves. |
| | </WRAP></WRAP> |
| | ==== Distributing Fatigue ==== |
| | Once the spell cost has been calculated the fatigue is now distributed between the master and all the slaves. First the fatigue cost is divided by the total numbers of slaves plus the master. This is the amount of fatigue the master receives plus any penalties for wearing armor, casting in extreme heat etc. |
| | * E.g. a master with four communion slaves would get a fifth of the spell fatigue cost. |
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| (The correct version of the fatigue calculations is centered around the following 4 conditions). | The amount of fatigue each slave receives depends on their current path level //relative// to the master's current path level **without the communion path boost**. A slave with higher path level than the master will receive less fatigue, while a slave with lower path levels will receive more. |
| *Caster level/2 > Slave level (if this condition is fulfilled, the slaves will get quadruple fatigue). | |
| *Caster level > Slave level (If the above condition is not fulfilled but the caster level is higher than the slave level, then the fatigue is doubled). | |
| *Caster level = Slave level (Fatigue is normal). | |
| *Caster level < Slave level (Fatigue is halved). | |
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| NOTICE : The Caster level/2 is actually rounded down for odd numbers of caster levels. This means that master of path one will have the calculations 1/2 = 0.5 ~= 0. And 0 is not higher than 0, so slaves with no paths will only get double fatigue from path one masters, not quadruple. | Each member of a communion will accumulate at least 1 fatigue for every spell they helped cast no matter the distribution, therefore communions with over 50 masters that don't utilize ??Reinvigoration?? will more often than not obliterate every single slave by the end of a full spell script. |
| |
| ---- | {{template>communionslavefatigue}} |
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| Communion slaves tend to be valuable, so it is important to consider fatigue distributions inn order to avoid killing the communion slaves. Chorus slaves are in general at no risk of dying because they will leave the communion if unconscious, however it is still necessary to calculate fatigue so as to maintain the chorus for as long as possible. | |
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| ===== Turbo Communions ===== | NOTICE : The Caster level / 2 is actually rounded down for odd numbers of caster levels. This means that master of path one will have the calculations 1/2 = 0.5 ~= 0. And 0 is not higher than 0, so slaves with no paths will only get double fatigue from path one masters, not quadruple. |
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| Fatigue over 200 will damage your communion slaves and eventually kill them, at a rate 1 damage per 50 fatigue, with an additional guaranteed 1 damage per cast. However, if the slave has a very high hp pool and regeneration, then it becomes possible to shrug off the damage, thus allowing the communion masters to safely casts many more spells than would otherwise be possible. This particular approach to using communions is called using "turbo communions," and the comm slaves in this case are referred to as "batteries." | ==== Fatigue damage ==== |
| | Once a mage enters a communion as a slave, he or she is essentially stuck in the communion. As more and more spells are cast slaves can quickly ramp up fatigue. Once the slave's fatigue reaches **200** the slave will take one damage with every spell cast and one extra damage per 50 spell fatigue cost. The steady stream of damage might eventually kill the communion slave. But even if it survives it may have accumulated a lot of afflictions. |
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| The most classic example of this is in Niefelheim/Jotunheim. These nations can recruit mages called ??Skratti??, which can shapeshift into werewolves with very high hp and natural regeneration. They also get access to blood, which means they can cast the sabbath master spell. Any communion master or mage with an arcane matrix can then benefit from this. The Jotun's own ??Gygja?? mage can enter these communions as a comm or sabbath master, and the AI spellcasting will lead them to cast ??Horde of Skeletons?? once they have finished their script, ensuring that a constant stream of skeletons is summoned to fight the enemy for the duration of the battle. | There are a few ways of preventing fatigue damage or mitigating the harmful effects: |
| | * Using only masters that share paths with the slaves will reduce the fatigue cost of slaves. |
| | * Using more slaves in a communion divides the fatigue cost further. |
| | * Boosting the path levels of slaves relative to the masters will reduce the fatigue cost of spells. This can be done by having one master cast a path-boosting spell like ??Power of the Sphere?? or ??Phoenix Power?? |
| | * A master casting ??Reinvigoration?? will reset his own fatigue as well as the fatigue of all slaves in the communion. |
| | * Adding [[Reinvigoration]] through a bless, items or a master casting ??Summon Earthpower?? can help slaves regain fatigue. ??Relief?? can help slaves regain fatigue as well. |
| | * ??Personal Regeneration?? can help the slave regain lost hit points from fatigue damage. |
| | * ??Enlarge?? gives the slave more hit points which lessens the chance of afflictions. Combines with ??Personal Regeneration?? for even more longevity. |
| | * Casting ??Life after Death?? ensures that even if the slave dies to fatigue damage it may serve in death as well. Note that mages with the Communion Slave ability will lose that ability upon death. |
| | * Giving your masters a bow to shoot with after their script is finished, so they don't drop high-fatigue or out-of-path spells off-script |
| | * Casting cold or fire resistance may help the slaves survive longer when fighting in Cold or Heat provinces. |
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| ===== Exiting Communions ===== | <WRAP group> |
| | <WRAP column twothirds> |
| | <WRAP box> |
| | ==== Turbo Communions ==== |
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| Once a communion slave has entered a communion, they become helpless to take any actions for the rest of the fight. The exception is the chorus slave, who will leave the chorus once they are fatigued out, and will not rejoin it once they awaken unless scripted to. The communion otherwise lasts for as long as there is at least 1 communion slave and 1 communion master. Whenever the last communion master dies--thus ending the communion-- each slave becomes freed to act on their own again, however they immediately take 3d50 fatigue damage--that is, a number between 3 and 150 which centers around 75-- and are stunned for one round. This is due to the "psychic feedback" of exiting a communion in this way. | When battles go long communion slaves tend to die to fatigue damage. However, if the slave has a very high hp pool and regeneration, then it becomes possible to shrug off the damage, thus allowing the communion masters to safely cast many more spells than would otherwise be possible. This particular approach to using communions is called using "turbo communions," and the comm slaves in this case are referred to as "batteries." |
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| ===== Slaves Receive Self-Buffs ===== | The most classic example of turbo communions is the Niefelheim/Jotunheim/Utgard nation line. These nations can recruit ??Skratti??r, which can shapeshift into werewolves with very high hp and natural regeneration. They also get access to blood, which means they can cast the ??Sabbath Slave?? spell. |
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| An additional effect of communions is that any spell cast by a communion master with the "self" target in the spell description will additionally be cast on each communion slave. Spells like ??Personal Regeneration??, ??Summon Earthpower??, ??Air Shield??, and ??Personal Luck?? are common ways to make use of this and keep the communion slaves alive for longer. However, the most notorious use of this feature is with the ??Reinvigoration?? spell, available to Blood 1 mages at Blood 1. It removes all fatigue from the caster. This effect is very useful for communion slaves, as they often accrue high levels of fatigue very quickly from the comm masters. It is a common tactic for blood nations to have a sabbath master cast this spell one or more times in their script, just to cure the fatigue of the slaves. Be advised that these casters may deviate from the script if they are fatigue-neutral after spell-casting encumbrance; they won't want to use a blood slave if their own fatigue is zero. | The rule of thumb when using turbo communions is that each slave can support a total number of masters equal to their **hit points regenerated per turn**. |
| | </WRAP></WRAP> |
| | <WRAP column third><WRAP box>==== Soul Vortex Batteries ===== |
| | The ??Soul Vortex?? spell allows a Death mage to siphon HP and replenish fatigue from surrounding units. Since the spell has Area of Effect: Caster it can be used to create Soul Vortex Batteries. |
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| ==== Keeping Slaves Safe From Their Masters ==== | If your communion slaves are surrounded by high HP / regenerating bodyguards (e.g. ??Lamia??s or ??Vine Ogre??s), and a Death master casts ??Soul Vortex??, the slaves can act as Soul Vortex Batteries, replenishing hit points continuously at the cost of their less valuable bodyguards.</WRAP></WRAP></WRAP> |
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| Ways to keep your slaves from dying because of their masters' spell-casting include: | ===== Exiting Communions ===== |
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| * ??Personal Regeneration?? | Once a communion slave has entered a communion, they become helpless and cannot take any actions of their own. The communion otherwise lasts for as long as there is at least one communion slave and one communion master still on the field. Whenever the last communion master dies or retreats - thus ending the communion - each slave becomes freed to act on their own again. However they immediately take 3d50 fatigue damage - that is, a number between 3 and 150 which centers around 75 - and are stunned for one round. This is due to the "psychic feedback" of exiting a communion in this way. |
| * ??Soul Vortex?? to siphon HP from regenerating body guards. | |
| * ??Summon Earthpower?? for reinvigoration | <WRAP box center 800px>==== Chorus Communions ==== |
| * ??Reinvigoration?? to remove fatigue | <WRAP column 35px>{{ :nations:flags:ma_man.png?nolink |}}</WRAP>Unlike other communion slaves, [[man-ma | MA Man's]] chorus slaves automatically leave the communion once they pass out from reaching 100 fatigue. This represents the slave's inability to contribute to the [[spell singer|spell singing]] once they lose consciousness. They receive no damage from exiting the communion. A chorus slave can thus never die due to communion fatigue, but they risk exiting a communion prematurely. |
| * ??Enlarge?? for more HP | </WRAP> |
| * Using more slaves to divide fatigue. | {{template>magicindex}} |
| * Path-boosting spells in case your slaves have paths in the spells cast. | |
| * Cold/heat resistance spells to preserve fatigue when fighting in extreme temperatures. | |
| * ??Relief?? | |
| * ??Life after Death?? | |
| * Giving your masters a bow to shoot with after their script is finished, so they don't drop high-fatigue or out-of-path spells off-script | |
