It's not "Affinity" dang it!

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Bowen Bloodgood, Jan 29, 2019.

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  1. Beaumaris

    Beaumaris Avatar

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    I thought it was item infinity?
     
  2. Steevodeevo

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    What a can of worms... I agree an inanimate object can't 'achieve'. I was just about to suggest 'specialisation' until I read that... The idea that a sword, a.k.a. a sharpened lump of Iron, gets 'better' at killing spiders because you whack them with it 100 times now makes no sense to me (though Spiderbane is such a cool name).

    Here's a thought... it is actually you, your Avatar that gets better at whacking spiders, its an acquired skill, as with fishing. What if when you achieve 100 spider kills you achieve a knowledge that a tweak here and a tweak there on your sword would make exterminating arachnids more efficient? Armed with this specialist knowledge of spider killing with a sword you can re-forge your sword, with its specialist fuller, guard and grip to make it ideal for Spiders, and it becomes Spiderbane....
     
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  3. Bowen Bloodgood

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    hmmm The blackrock sword had a special magic gem embedded in it that absorbed souls. Technically it was the gem itself that did that, but we use gems for enchanting weapons so from both a lore and mechanical standpoint the concept is feasible, but would require crafting before hand. Where as the concept here applies to all existing weapons.
     
  4. Bowen Bloodgood

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    I like the idea but the crafting requirement is a sticky bit, since you want everyone to be able to do this but not everyone crafts.. and if you think about it, being able to do such a thing through crafting should require some skill.

    I suppose this is what I get for nitpicking word definitions..
     
  5. Steevodeevo

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    LOL :) If you just got a pattern as a proxy of your sword improvement idea based on your new knowledge of killing spiders, then you would just apply the pattern to the sword. You're right though, that they would still need to wander to a forge and apply a pattern, but they wouldn't need prior blacksmithing or weapon smithing skills, and I would imagine everyone needs to learn how to apply a pattern at some stage..
     
  6. ErikRulez

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    We can say a magnet has an affinity for iron.
    If we rub a piece of iron with a magnet, it becomes magnetized and develops an affinity for iron.
    In Novia, if the act of slaying a creature imparts a small amount of power by the act of slaying, we could say over time the implement used to slay the creature slowly takes on that power and develops an affinity for the act of slaying that type of creature.
    This affinity imparts a trait such that the item with the affinity is more effective at slaying that type of creature.

    If that doesn't do it for you, then "Novian physics".
     
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  7. Arkah EMPstrike

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    Affinity - suggesting a relationship, especially a resemblance in structure between animals, plants, or languages.


    It has several definitions looks like. This one fits
     
  8. Bowen Bloodgood

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    No that's the axiom of the virtues. ;)
     
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  9. Echondas

    Echondas Bug Hunter Bug Moderator

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    Good point - I was thinking about that too, but then I thought the SOTA incarnation of such a thing would be a little different - no gem with a demon trapped inside, etc.
     
  10. Barugon

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    When I look up the word "affinity", I find a number of definitions that apply to "things":
    • A natural compatibility of one thing with another.
    • An inherent similarity between persons or things.
    • An attraction or force between particles or chemicals that causes them to combine.
    • The degree to which particles or chemicals are likely to combine.
    By that first definition, I don't think that it's much of a stretch to use it in this context: "My sword has an affinity for killing trolls".
     
  11. Bowen Bloodgood

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    The gem didn't need the daemon to function though. :) If was the gem's ability that allowed the daemon to be trapped. So it's more the greater presence of obsidian changing how local magic works that would be the main obstacle to creating such a gem as the method used in Ultima would likely not work.
     
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  12. Bowen Bloodgood

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    Is that a word for word definition from a widely accepted source? I getting a wee hung up on 'compatibility' in this context. It would seem to fit well IF that compatibility was by design rather than something gained.
     
  13. shadtek

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    Prejudicial Weapons
     
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