From: Alex Ferguson (alex@dcs.gla.ac.uk)
Date: Fri 26 Aug 1994 - 12:34:48 EEST
N. Smith:
> Except that if you look at the Rabbit Hat Farm map, each field is roughly
> 25m*40m, one hectare, one quarter of an acre, thus decreasing the spell's
> power.
A hectare is 10,000m^2, btw, or about 2.5 acres. Rereading Sun County on these stones, it strikes me they aren't spell matrices of any kind, but rather some form of "focus" for what one might be tempted to call... communal magic. Whether it's precisely Mass Bless Crops or not is a different matter.
> Alex in X-RQ-ID: 5769
> "I don't think the (undoubted) innovations of the Magical Regiments included
> the fairly straightforward business of having a group of divine magicians
> cast their spells in concert."
> Perhaps it involves them casting their spells via a "chief magician", who
> acts as a "fire-coordinator", casting no spells himself (maybe a Ritual?)
> but directing those cast at him to fresh targets.
I think the point of the Magical Regiments isn't the _magic_, it's the _regimentation_. I think traditional organisation of spell-casters would be to have most with (and often leading) other units, each casting their magic on an individual basis, plus at least a handful with the command unit, who would be able to use some kind of concerted magic, as would the odd "special" unit, such as temple contingents.
The upshot of the MRs was to have larger consolidated groups, organised as a military unit. Have them drill spell-casting, as a phalanx drills forming up a pike-and-shield wall. Integrate them into the command structure of the army. Give 'em a spot of military discipline, the idle wasters. Ponder suitable strategies for using them as a distinct type of unit.
Alex.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.7 : Fri 10 Oct 2003 - 01:36:38 EEST