Woah, Beckon the Naga finally saw the light of day after 15+ years? Consider my jaw dropped.

Also, a simpson's ha-ha directed at the first bard to kill themselves with it.

To high for my bard to cast. But I thought I'd give more of the discern info for anyone who wants to know.

Shorthand info: 3 slots, 250 - 1000 TM skill required, 30 - 100 mana, BotF and BoS and 70th circle to choose.

>discern btn
This spell summons the physical presence of a lesser naga, charming it so that it will fight a foe of your choosing for a brief time. Nagas are creatures that dwell outside of the normal realm of existence, but when they manifest themselves they become glittering serpents composed of sound and magic. Though of the lesser variety, do not underestimate the power that the naga can wield -- its attacks are ones of pure sound, and it is not so easily dispatched.

Take care, for the charm is not ironclad, and a naga controlled in this manner may pose threat even to yourself.

This is a battle spell, intended to be prepared quickly and cast on a single target while in battle. It can be cast at other adventurers and at hostile creatures. It requires a minimum of thirty mana streams, and can expand to a maximum of one hundred mana streams woven into it. To begin to be able to cast this spell, you will need to reach the rank of a 50th degree adept. By the time you have mastered this spell, you will be ranked as a guru in your abilities as a caster. It requires the Targeted Magic skill to cast effectively. Before you can learn this spell, you must know Blessing of the Fae and Breath of Storms, and be circle 70. It will also cost three spell slots.

Here's a log, if people want to see it in action.


>prep btn
Since you're not feeding enough power into the spell pattern to make it coherent, you quickly work your way to the minimum required.
That won't affect your current attunement very much.
You begin to hum the soothing tune of the Beckon the Naga spell while sifting the soundscape for telltale disturbances.

You feel fully prepared to cast your spell.
>cast
Your mind latches onto something moving just under the surface of the air, beckoning it into physicality and siccing it on a lava drake.
Your silk belt emits a loud snap as it discharges all its power to aid your spell.
Your cambrinth sphere emits a loud snap as it discharges as much power as necessary, leaving a large amount left for future use.

In a streak between you and the lava drake, light diffuses as if passing through frosted glass. A glittering lesser naga lurches into visibility, tatters of pastel colors wrapped around its serpentine length like a second skin. A sublime, sibilant melody fills the area.
Roundtime: 2 sec.

Moving in gracefully, a glittering lesser naga rises up in a din of chaotic noises and lets loose an ear-shattering shriek directed at a lava drake. A lava drake fails to dodge, mis-stepping and blundering into the blow. The blast of sound lands a heavy strike (7/22) that blasts hard into the left arm and causes purple welts to appear almost immediately, lightly stunning it!

Moving fluidly, a glittering lesser naga weaves mindbending cacophony into its war chant and lets loose an ear-shattering shriek directed at a lava drake. A lava drake completely fails to block with its stony hide. The blast of sound lands a hard hit (5/22) to its chest!

Moving fluidly, a glittering lesser naga rises up in a din of chaotic noises and swoops down with a deafening whipcrack at a lava drake. A lava drake completely fails to block with its stony hide. The sonic boom lands a heavy strike (7/22) that painfully mashes the right arm!

Moving fluidly, a glittering lesser naga redoubles its ethereal song as it undulates and swoops down with a deafening whipcrack at a lava drake. A lava drake completely fails to block with its stony hide. The sonic boom lands an extremely heavy hit (9/22) that causes its eyes to bulge in pain as its vital organs are re-arranged into gelatin soup, knocking it completely senseless!

Attacking gracefully, a glittering lesser naga redoubles its ethereal song as it undulates, swooping down with a deafening whipcrack at a lava drake. A lava drake completely fails to block with its stony hide. The sonic boom lands a heavy strike (7/22) that doubles its right leg over backwards with a direct hit to the right knee!

Moving fluidly, a glittering lesser naga rises up in a din of chaotic noises and swoops down with a deafening whipcrack at a lava drake. A lava drake completely fails to block with its stony hide. The sonic boom lands a strong hit (6/22) that crunches bone and pulverizes the right eye with a hard blow to the socket!

Attacking gracefully, a glittering lesser naga weaves mindbending cacophony into its war chant and swoops down with a deafening whipcrack at a lava drake. A lava drake attempts to evade, mis-stepping and blundering into the blow. The sonic boom lands a very heavy hit (8/22) that blasts clean through the right leg with a well-placed swing that throws blood and bone splinters everywhere!
A lava drake jacknifes a few times, then grows still, its body rapidly cooling until it is little more than a smoldering pile of rocks.

A glittering lesser naga wheels about and propels itself onward, the air rippling under the pressure of its passage.
The lesser naga begins to advance on a lava drake.

The lesser naga closes to pole weapon range on a lava drake.

The lesser naga closes to melee range on a lava drake.

Gathering itself into a tight coil, a glittering lesser naga shrinks to nothingness as its song ends.


I've tried to kill mine a few times, but they're very tough. It seems they've got Naming of Tears and some sort of spell defense on (a general purpose potency barrier, I think). Those can't be perceived, so I guess they're supposed to be an innate quality. Also, I think they're constructs, with all the immunities that implies. I'll be impressed by the first person who manages to kill one.

That is so cool.

Have you tried evoke on them? AMAZING.

This spell... is...

AWESOME.

I will also admit that after seeing it on the Planned list for however many years, I literally had zero hope it would see the light of day. Wow.

Unfortunately I have no access to other heavy TM to compare to. But uh, it's awesome? Did I mention that yet?

For whatever it's worth, mine lasted ~30 seconds and ~4 hits (with Will up). It was good enough to kill the thing I was fighting at level and then maybe get a hit in against a second thing. The only bug I noticed was that when I cast it at Seldaren, he clearly wasn't injured but I was not seeing any messaging about him dodging/blocking.

Also, it was interesting that it summoned differently colored naga. It MIGHT be kind of cool if we each got our own color though, similar to SLS?


- Navesi

Some feedback:

Cast the spell at 100 mana. It killed a lava drake in 4 hits. It lasted for enough time to kill the drake in 4 hits and then got 2 more hits on a second drake. Seems a pretty powerful spell.

I went from 12/34 to 16/34 in target with one cast.
My dalu spell did make it slump wearily when I cast creature, Not effected when I just cast.

It stayed in the room when I left the room. Might be because it was engaged, not sure.

Fluidly, a soft-hued lesser naga redoubles its ethereal song as it undulates, swooping down with a deafening whipcrack at a lava drake. A lava drake badly fails to block with its stony hide. The sonic boom lands a powerful strike that rips open the entire left thigh as fractured bones tear through the skin's surface, stunning it!

With grace, a soft-hued lesser naga weaves mindbending cacophony into its war chant and swoops down with a deafening whipcrack at a lava drake. A lava drake fails to evade, stepping partially into the shot. The sonic boom lands a heavy strike that bruises the left forearm!

The drake grows fully molten, melting into the ground for a few moments before emerging a few feet away.
>
Out of the corner of your eye, you notice a lava drake trying to sneak south.
You notice a lava drake trying to edge quietly past you.
The lesser naga discovers a lava drake, ruining its hiding place!

A lava drake turns to face a soft-hued lesser naga.
Apparently without direction or thought, a lava drake slashes fiercely at a soft-hued lesser naga. A soft-hued lesser naga evades, twisting easily away from the blow.
>
With grace, a soft-hued lesser naga rises up in a din of chaotic noises and swoops down with a deafening whipcrack at a lava drake. A lava drake attempts to evade, only slightly avoiding the blow. The sonic boom lands a very heavy hit that purples its left forearm with a bruise in the shape of the sonic boom, stunning it!
>
Moving in gracefully, a soft-hued lesser naga rises up in a din of chaotic noises, swooping down with a deafening whipcrack at a lava drake. A lava drake badly fails to block with its stony hide. The sonic boom lands an awesome strike that knocks the larynx clear back to the vertebrae (So much for last words!)!
A lava drake jacknifes a few times, then grows still, its body rapidly cooling until it is little more than a smoldering pile of rocks.

Rezzian

I've mused on and off about trying to write River of Time as a sort of personal challenge.

Honestly, I know how I'd write it and what it'd do. (Hint: It wouldn't halve all RTs.) The main thing stopping me, aside from bandwidth and not having gone through approvals yet, is I'm not at all convinced the final effect is something Elemental magic should be doing, let alone Bard magic.

-Raesh

"It was wise enough to know itself, and brave enough to BE itself, and wild enough to change itself while somehow staying altogether true." ― The Slow Regard of Silent Things

>>What about increasing all RTs

If you find yourself using this phrase I assure you, you are not describing anything I have in mind for River of Time. You're describing madness and lunacy and the end times.

-Raesh

"It was wise enough to know itself, and brave enough to BE itself, and wild enough to change itself while somehow staying altogether true." ― The Slow Regard of Silent Things

> The main thing stopping me, aside from bandwidth and not having gone through approvals yet, is I'm not at all convinced the final effect is something Elemental magic should be doing, let alone Bard magic.

Does the effect fit any guild? Or is it something that lorewise is off limits to mortals. Because if it's just a bad fit for bards, maybe send it to a different guild.

>>Does the effect fit any guild? Or is it something that lorewise is off limits to mortals. Because if it's just a bad fit for bards, maybe send it to a different guild.

Therein lies the problem - Time Magic isn't really something we've played with in any guild. I could likely repaint the same effects with different Lore, but that still might or might not make it a Bard spell.

I'm still fond of the name and it's one of the many ideas lurking at the back of my brain.

-Raesh

"It was wise enough to know itself, and brave enough to BE itself, and wild enough to change itself while somehow staying altogether true." ― The Slow Regard of Silent Things

>The spellname sounds like a Paradox Mage talent from ToME 4.

I knew you were cool. This game single is directly responsible for a nearly week delay to my thesis.

Big difference with BTN today:

I probably would not pick the spell if it stays as it is now, as pyre does more damage and teaches better.

It could not kill the drake, even with dalu going to help it. I learned less TM than yesterday, seems about half.

>prep btn 10000
Since you're attempting to feed more power into the spell pattern than it is capable of utilizing, you quickly work your way down to its maximal potential.
That will disrupt less than half your current attunement.
You begin to hum the soothing tune of the Beckon the Naga spell while sifting the soundscape for telltale disturbances.
>
The lava drake closes to melee range on you!
>
A lava drake slumps wearily.
>
You feel fully prepared to cast your spell.
>cast
Your mind latches onto something moving just under the surface of the air, beckoning it into physicality and siccing it on a lava drake.

The air between you and the lava drake distorts as if being viewed in a curved mirror. A transparent lesser naga lurches into visibility, tatters of pastel colors wrapped around its serpentine length like a second skin. A sublime, sibilant melody fills the area.
Roundtime: 2 sec.
>
You feel fully rested.
>
Moving fluidly, a transparent lesser naga redoubles its ethereal song as it undulates and lets loose an ear-shattering shriek directed at a lava drake. A lava drake badly fails to block with its stony hide. The blast of sound lands a solid hit to its right leg!
>
* A lava drake darts forward and slashes at you. You knock aside some of the fiery claws with a kertig-alloy rapier.
[You're solidly balanced and have slight advantage.]
>
The sheath of dense aether around a transparent lesser naga discords with your spell.
>
* A lava drake darts forward and slashes at you. You evade.
[You're solidly balanced with no advantage.]
>
A lava drake slumps wearily and drops like a rock, having yielded to your lullaby.
>
The drake curls into a ball, cooling until it resembles a large reptilian statue.
>
You focus yourself for defense, moving in time with your song.
>
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
Moving in gracefully, a transparent lesser naga redoubles its ethereal song as it undulates and lets loose an ear-shattering shriek directed at a lava drake. A lava drake completely fails to block with its stony hide. The blast of sound lands a light hit to its right arm!
>
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
Attacking gracefully, a transparent lesser naga weaves mindbending cacophony into its war chant and unleashes waves of sonic dissonance that warp the air at a lava drake. A lava drake completely fails to block with its stony hide. The distortion lands a good strike to its right arm!
>
The drake grows fluid, forming into a ball and then reforming in an upright position.
>
* A lava drake slashes fiercely at you. You dodge.
[You're solidly balanced and in excellent position.]
>
A lava drake slumps wearily and drops like a rock, having yielded to your lullaby.
>
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
Moving fluidly, a transparent lesser naga weaves mindbending cacophony into its war chant and swoops down with a deafening whipcrack at a lava drake. A lava drake attempts to evade, mis-stepping and blundering into the blow. The sonic boom lands a good strike to its left arm!
>
The drake curls into a ball, cooling until it resembles a large reptilian statue.
>
The lesser naga discovers a lava drake, ruining its hiding place!
>
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
Moving fluidly, a transparent lesser naga rises up in a din of chaotic noises and swoops down with a deafening whipcrack at a lava drake. A lava drake completely fails to block with its stony hide. The sonic boom lands a good strike to its chest!
>
The sheath of dense aether around a transparent lesser naga discords with your spell.
>
The lava drake begins to advance on a transparent lesser naga.
>
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
Moving in gracefully, a transparent lesser naga redoubles its ethereal song as it undulates and swoops down with a deafening whipcrack at a lava drake. A lava drake completely fails to block with its stony hide. The sonic boom lands a light hit to its left leg!
>
The drake grows fluid, forming into a ball and then reforming in an upright position.
>
* A lava drake lunges forward and swings at you. You dodge.
[You're solidly balanced and in superior position.]
>
The soothing melody intermingles symphoniously with your magic, swimming through the air to sprinkle gently over the area like Phelim's sands.
A lava drake slumps wearily and drops like a rock, having yielded to your lullaby.
>
The lava drake closes to pole weapon range on a transparent lesser naga.
>
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell.
Moving fluidly, a transparent lesser naga rises up in a din of chaotic noises, swooping down with a deafening whipcrack at a lava drake. A lava drake fails to dodge, mis-stepping and blundering into the blow. The sonic boom lands a solid hit that thumps it in the gut (it's the thought that counts)!
>
The drake sinks its claws into the ground, raking the earth with flaming furrows.
>
The lava drake closes to melee range on a transparent lesser naga.
>
The drake grows fluid, forming into a ball and then reforming in an upright position.
>
* A lava drake darts forward and slashes at you. You partially block with an amber-scale target shield sealed with protective wax.
[You're solidly balanced and in excellent position.]
>ass
You assess your combat situation...

You (solidly balanced) are facing a lava drake (2) at melee range.
A lava drake (1: solidly balanced) is flanking a transparent lesser naga (1) at melee range.
A transparent lesser naga (1: nimbly balanced) is behind a lava drake (2) at melee range.
A lava drake (2: very badly balanced) is facing you at melee range.
>
With a faint sough, a transparent lesser naga slides into thin air as its song ends.

Rezzian

So now that we have a naga in game, any chance of getting some lore related posts that explain just what they are? Or at least something?

I'm visualizing a bad ass cobra that mated with a mantis shrimp for coloring.

> Doesn't "The drake grows preternaturally still, its hide cooling into a stony protective shell." notably increase a drake's defenses, similar to what 'dillos do?

This. DALU was hurting, not helping.

Can you kill your own naga? Maybe summon a naga to fight the naga?

What summoned critter template are they on? Mudmen? Zombies? GS?

> Naga don't fight naga. Casting one at someone else's just results in a self-targeted naga.

Yeah, that's probably best. The last thing you need is a couple bards setting up naga fight club.

The first rule of naga fight club is you don't talk about naga fight club.

Yar.

-Derivan

I know AOE spells that affect creatures also affect guardian spirits. I'd guess that you're seeing here. You're tanking your naga's stats.