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Seasonal magic part 2: Death magic

TheRedPrince

Minstrel
http://mythicscribes.com/forums/world-building/11708-feedback-seasonal-based-magic-system.html

Alrighty, so I need to come up with a second magic ability for my MC Nelroth. I've come up with the following idea and I'd like some feedback. Please refer to the link above for my thread explaining the basis of my magic system.

So, I've decided to give my MC the ability (along with his first ability of fire magic) to 'absorb death' and redirect it towards another person.
Example: on the battlefield, some one is mortally wounded and on the brink of death, Nelroth can absolve them of their impending death, transfer it through himself and inflict it against an enemy.

Limitations: One death is not equal to another, i.e. a childs death could not kill a fully grown man or the death of a physically weaker man would not kill a stronger man, but it would bring him close. Nelroth cannot negate or re direct his own impending death as he would not have enough strength and energy to cast the spell.

I realise there could be some danger of "death farming", just stabbing one guy over and over and using that to kill everyone. This seems to be my big problem factor. I've been trying to figure out a way to limit it and my main idea so far has been that Nelroth may not want to use it all that often, considering he is taking their death into himself momentarily he would be having constant near death experiences which would play all kinds of havoc with ones mental state, also along the same vein as not being able to transfer his own death, he would need to be in a reasonably strong physical state to use this magic. I'm leaning towards this being an absolute last resort kind of thing.

If anyone has any ideas or improvements I could make or other problems I might run into please let me know.
Thanks in advance :)
 

Queshire

Auror
Can he only move around death or can he move around non-lethal injuries, disease, or pain? What if the transfer isn't perfectly efficient? For example the person saved is saved, but some of the damage is left over and can't be healed by any magical means. Similarly the guy could take on some of the damage from the death even after transferring it or feel the full pain of death while transferring it. You could have it take time and concentrate to transfer it making it impossible to use in battle.
 

Lace

Troubadour
Similarly the guy could take on some of the damage from the death even after transferring it or feel the full pain of death while transferring it. You could have it take time and concentrate to transfer it making it impossible to use in battle.

I like the idea of making it a painful or exhausting experience. The MC "experiences" death. You could still decide how much "death" he could tolerate so that he could do it as much or as little as needed to fit your story while still having boundaries so he's not OP.
 

Jjewells

New Member
I've been trying to figure out a way to limit it and my main idea so far has been that Nelroth may not want to use it all that often, considering he is taking their death into himself momentarily he would be having constant near death experiences which would play all kinds of havoc with ones mental state, also along the same vein as not being able to transfer his own death, he would need to be in a reasonably strong physical state to use this magic. I'm leaning towards this being an absolute last resort kind of thing.

Rather than just taking their deaths into himself momentarily, what if her were to lose a bit of his "life" each time he used it? This would most likely help in limiting his use of it.
 
Rather than just taking their deaths into himself momentarily, what if her were to lose a bit of his "life" each time he used it? This would most likely help in limiting his use of it.

Without much background knowledge, I'd say being able to save another's behind AND flinging death in the face of an enemy seems pretty powerful. Situational, I grant, but still pretty darn potent!

I'm riding with Jjewells, how about steeping the price to throw death around? Taxing his own life force to make others die seems pretty cool.

And what of the death effect given on others? Is it their hearts stopping or their soul being violently ripped from their chests or how does it go? I'm not supposing this death magic is not so abstract that it just says: "he died" :p
 
This also raises several moral issues for the character. Does he inflict pain on innocents in order to then assault an enemy he would otherwise be unable to reach? What psychological ramifications are there to him literally picking who lives and who dies? How far is he willing to go in order to accomplish his goals, and what is the cost on his mind and body?
 
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