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Avernum Mage Poll! Who was craziest?


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I have a pair of thoughts. The first is that a large number of the mages on that list aren't candidates for the title of arch-incantatrix. -atrix is a feminine ending. I believe the males get an -ator, but arch-incantator doesn't sound quite right.

 

The only good candidates for gender change are the dragons. Sulfras has already had hers (his?), so it must be Motrax' turn.

 

—Alorael, who would also like to know how a mostly insignificant apprentice mage like Kelner ended up with the likes of Sulfras, Erika, and Rentar-Ihrno.

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Whether Incantatrix is gender based depends on the setting....Avernum never was clear on that. Some settings Arch-incantatrix means the ultimate mage, other setting Arch-incantatrix means the greatest mage of a specific sect. Apparently, whichever one your familiar with had it for females *Shrug* either way I got my point across.

 

By the way everyone, please check by "Idea for Scenario" over in Blades of Avernum board, I really need some advice before I get too far into the scenario to rip apart my scripts.

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The suffix -trix is a Latin suffix. It is always feminine. The arch- prefix is the part that makes it mean "greatest."

 

The suffix -trix is much like the English suffix -tress, which is similarly always feminine.

 

I think the idea of the word "incantrix," which is not actually proper English, is to start with the word "enchanter," archaize to the original form "incantator" (which is the person who does the action of the verb "incantare," which is "to consecrate with charms"), and then feminize to incantrix.

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Of course, one could go with the much simpler "Arch-incantor" if one was looking for a masculine form. Back-formation leads to such wonderful oddities of speech.

 

My personal favourite is the Australian habit of saying orientated, or worse reorientated. Orient works just as well and is easier on the lips (and ears).

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Main Entry: mage

Pronunciation: 'mAj

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Latin magus

: MAGUS

 

Main Entry: sor·cer·er

Pronunciation: 'sor-s&-r&r, 'sors-r&r

Function: noun

: a person who practices sorcery : WIZARD

 

Main Entry: chan·nel·er

Pronunciation: 'cha-n&l-&r

Function: noun

: a person who conveys thoughts or energy from a source believed to be outside the person's body or conscious mind; specifically : one who speaks for nonphysical beings or spirits

 

Main Entry: grem·lin

Pronunciation: 'grem-l&n

Function: noun

Etymology: origin unknown

: a cause of error or equipment malfunction (as in aircraft) conceived of as a small mischievous gnome

 

Main Entry: imp

Pronunciation: 'imp

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English impe, from Old English impa, from impian to imp

1 obsolete : SHOOT, BUD; also : GRAFT

2 a : a small demon : FIEND b : a mischievous child : URCHIN

 

Incantatrix doesn't get a definition because it's just pseudolatin, but most sources seem to agree that it only applies to females.

 

—Alorael, who would like to thank Merriam-Webster for defining all kinds of useful words.

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My source, the Oxford English Dictionary, likewise has appropriate definitions for all of those but "channeller," which evidently has not yet been used often enough in the context of magic to convince the makers of the OED that it carries that definition.

 

Note that most of the good original fantasy writers were classicists, one way or another. Tolkien, before the Hobbit and LotR, was an expert on old Norse and Germanic mythology, including Beowulf and the like. Do not discount the influence of genuine classics in the development of fantasy.

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Tolkien was an Old English scholar and a linguist (yes, that's why he got away with manufacturing more languages than anyone should). He definitely got to dig into all the old mythologies. Other fantasy tends to fall into the same category of people working on rethinking mythology, modern or ancient, or the category of imitation.

 

—Alorael, who doesn't think all the imitators are bad by any means. It's just worth noting that new strains of fantasy are rare, and most don't spawn anywhere near the magnitude of imitations good and bad as Tolkien has.

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Don't be silly. The Xian items were scattered all over Valorim and X was just fine. Those were obviously prototype new parts that didn't make the cut. The real Xian items under the robe are much more powerful.

 

—Alorael, who would be more interested in knowing if the real things are as quixotic as the Xian items available in A3. Judging by X him(her?)self, probably.

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Yeah. he stands on the Xian Anvil to get extra height so he can command more attention. That or he's just a crazy-ass bastard with nothing better to do than make crappy items.

 

Actually, a couple of the items were semi-decent. The Xian Rock = always came back, and mass-produced rocks, so it meant infinite ammo back before we had Slings to do that for us > smile

 

The Xian Coins produced maybe 10 coins a day, which sucks of course, unless you rush and get them at the start of the game and keep them for the rest. In which case you might get 1000 coins for your trouble, by the end of the game wink

 

the Xian Plant mass produced plants that sold for 20-30 coins apiece.

 

The Xian Skull made sure you stayed awake while playing A3 wink I find that usefull

 

And if I remember correctly, the Vest/Pants were tradeoffs. Personally I think he tried to curse the items, and due to thier poor quality, they ended up kinda-sorta enchanted (Instead of when a person tries to enchant a poor items and it ends up cursed) And then he gave it to the adventureres because he didnt like them. They made him stop his research to teach them.

 

Bastards.

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My favorite mage was Nan in the port town N of Fort E, (Farport?) because she was the first mage outside of the Fort I stumbled across, and she gave me some early help in exchange for doing pest control at her old house. Also, she sells a scroll of dispel barrier, so you gain access to this spell very early relative to when you could actually learn it.

 

Certainly she isn't a very powerful mage, but she was the first one I thought of for the poll.

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