So according to IG lore, Elemental mana should be more abundant than the other types of mana. However, this is not the case currently, infact there are currently rooms with No Elemental mana. This should be impossible according to the IG lore on Elemental magic and how elemental Mana is derived.

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Chapter One: The Source of Elemental Magic, Elemental Mana

Elemental Magic, like all type of magic, derives its power
from the energy source known as mana -- specifically in
this instance from the specific subtype of mana we refer to
as Elemental Mana.

Elemental mana is, for all intents and purposes, derived
from the amount of raw elemental energy inherent to each
area. The elements are present in each and every thing and
in every place -- they are completely a part of this
physical reality in every way. What are the elements
specifically? Well, this is something we shall discuss a
bit later.

Elanthia itself is made up of the elements -- the planet is
given life through them, and all the actions and reactions
of the planet and of nature, such as the wind blowing,
volcanoes erupting, oceans moving, and so on, are powered
by the energy of the elements -- and so naturally, they are
a considerable source of energy. This pure, raw energy is
drawn upon, enabling a magician to manipulate an element or
elements in order to accomplish a specific effect.

We have been able to ascertain through rigorous research
and experimentation that, among all the specific subtypes
of mana, elemental energy best resonates with the physical
reality, and the physicalities (IE, a resonation with
specific physical objects) of Elanthia.

This is due in part to three different properties unique to
elemental mana: first (1st), due to the significant
presence of elemental energy within the physical reality of
the Plane of Abiding itself, to levels of greater
proportion than exist with the other types of mana such as
Holy, Lunar, and Life; second (2nd), due to the significant
presence of elemental energy within the specific
physicalities of Elanthia, such as specific objects -- we
would define this property as the nature of objects
themselves possessing degrees of elemental energy, for
instance the inherent level of the Earth element within a
rock, or the inherent level of the Fire element within a
flow of lava; third (3rd) due to the physical and tangible
nature of this type of energy -- unlike other types of mana
energy, Elemental energy is far more likely to manifest
itself in some type of physical and/or tangible form, while
the others will typically remain abstract energy.

One might ponder what the following riddle: if elemental
mana is the source of elemental magic, then what is the
source of elemental mana? In other words, whence does this
form of energy come, and what gives it cohesiveness?

The first and most simple answer is, of course, the
elements themselves, which have a verifiable and
overwhelming presence within Elanthia itself as a natural
part of the order of reality. They are the building blocks
that make up the planetary system and its smaller, but
still inter-related, subsystems, with almost all of the
individual elements present in everything, to varying
degrees. A rock, for instance, is composed mostly of
Earth, with a smaller, though still significant presence of
Fire, and almost no Air at all. So you cannot separate the
elements from Elanthia, as to do so would unravel the
pieces that give reality its physical form.

This is what we define as the elemental mana's Internal
Source.

This internal source is constantly replenishing, never to
be truly depleted, because the natural order of the world
dictates that it be so. The air is a constant; it cannot
be diminished. Water can be consumed, but not to the point
of true depletion -- it will also be restored through a
natural planetary cycle of rain. This natural cycle will
always replenish the element in order to maintain the
balance that is necessary for physical cohesion of the
planet. Fire, likewise, will always be regenerated,
outside of the control of mortal beings. While mortals can
both consume and utilize fire, and can also replenish it in
the form of creating fire, ultimately the existence of the
element of fire is outside of our control, as its presence
is dictated by a natural cycle. Beneath the surface of
Elanthia, we have been able to verify the existence of
layers of pure fire. This fire will be constantly returned
to the surface of the planet itself through way of volcanic
eruptions (which, needless to say, leads to the creation of
additional Earth) and so on.

But there is also an additional source of elemental mana
beyond the Internal Source. By this we mean that mana of
the elemental subtype is derived from more than simply the
raw elemental energy that makes up Elanthia. This is what
is identified as the External Source, which consists of
energy from outside of the Plane of Abiding, IE the
Elemental Planes. This is a topic which shall be addressed
further on.

---

or allow us to percieve more mana with more PP

The mana for all types is quite sufficient for the most part. Elemental mana is infact the most abundant mana type in the entire game as per my testing a few years ago (I took characters, all with 100+ PP which was equal to the rank and just power walked them around a lot of different areas, hunting, cities, etc and counted the number at each level). Life is second most abundant and, surprise surprise, Holy is the least abundant. I did not test Lunar because it is not room based. With the power bonus that Clerics get based on devotion, the mana levels are probably much more equal but I have not tested recently.

Elemental fissure is quite a powerful spell for increasing the mana from what I am told. The same is true of Raise Power and Glyph of Mana.

Nobody said in game lore is accurate. For example, in game lore has not a peep about Shard being taken from the Outcasts 600 years ago. Why is this? Well, the Game Masters involved said the history books were written with a slant in order to essentially dissavow knowledge of what happened. The same can be said of any other book -- nobody said they're telling the impartial truth. A book about Elemental Magic by an Elemental mage is probably going to have an Elemental slant to it ;)

>make the 2 room away mana you get with 550+ ranks of PP automatic instead of having to perceieve a time or two to get it.

I was convinced that this bonus is still very buggy. Now that I actually get the bonus for myself and don't have to rely on Moon Mage predictions to play around with it, I am sure it is buggy. It just has a lot of little fickle issues with the way it works.

It is a nice bonus to have, but I feel like for the skill required to get there it's not much of a bonus.

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- Smeg

Smegul says, "Heh."

Smegul, Inc: Correcting idiocy one post at a time since 346.

Well, I had my WM friend test Fissure for me yesterday as I wanted to see if it was worth working towards with my new WM...

A 50 mana cast raised a shining mana room to brightly burning (that is 5 mana levels) for a duration of 8 minutes. The min prep is 10 mana, assuming you prep at minimum and harness in 5 mana increments, that is a pretty nice bonus for not a lot of effort in my opinion. But that's just my opinion.

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And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.

>Forgive me but you were misinformed. Yes, fissure will raise mana but at an enormous cost of attunement. Getting one up to full power and duration (8 levels for 14 minutes) requires expending something like 60 mana. Plus it doesn't even teach beyond the first cast. Compared to Raise Power it's a bad joke.

Raise Power needs other people to be effective, Fissure is fine alone. Raise Power drains fatigue, Fissure does not. I mean, they both have their up and down sides. I'm not arguing either one is better or worse, that's for you to decide. I think that RP is better, but RP isn't good in every situation either due to it's group requirement and fatigue cost. I also have no clue about RP's cap. It might be percentage based, it might be total levels raised, I really don't know.

For a test since I don't have Fissure.. I went into a powerfully glowing room. In this room, my max prep was 99. I prepared and cast a spell at 60, dropping me to about 50% mana. I then went into a room right next to it to see if I could prep at 99. This room has blazing power, which is +8 levels above powerfully glowing if I counted right. I could only prep at 90, after pulling off a 60 in a powerfully glowing room. Overall, that's not much of a drawback. I mean, I can only prep 9 mana lower (and we're talking about upper 90s straight prep, I don't think people do those so often).. and it took me 20 seconds to regain enough mana so I could prep at 99 in the blazing room. Not too bad, but not as good as RP.

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- Smeg

Smegul says, "Heh."

Smegul, Inc: Correcting idiocy one post at a time since 346.

Tess,
what is your point? That fissure is useless or that fissure simply isn't the best mana raising ability in the game? Or that it is the second best? Or third?

When it comes to raising mana should war mages be able to raise it more than any other guild?

No one has refuted Smegul's original point. His testing pointed towards elemental being the most prevelant mana in the realms.
Nor has anyone addressed the real issue. Is the mana level appropriate for each area? Just because a wonderful hunting area is devoid of holy or elemental mana doesn't mean that this is wrong. Are war mages able to hunt in most areas with the mana level there and would just like higher mana levels?

If you are really low all over, ask for some compensatory ability- like the clerics got after it was proven that holy mana was inferior throughout the realms. Otherwise sell the hunting areas that are low.

Flavius

I thought you could get fissure at 40. Maybe My mind's just exploded though. ^.^; I love how you can learn a spell at circle 40...but you don't get a spell slot at 40.


Mytherceria, Stylebunny Extraordinaire.

>make the 2 room away mana you get with 550+ ranks of PP automatic instead of having to perceieve a time or two to get it.

I just tested in DR2 by the way. It's automatic there.

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- Smeg

Smegul says, "Heh."

Smegul, Inc: Correcting idiocy one post at a time since 346.