(06-11-2015, 04:00 PM)Verad Wrote: So that's my question: instead of "how could we make this work," what about "How could this go wrong in ways that are useful for roleplay?"

(06-11-2015, 06:57 PM)Warren Castille Wrote: There's four pages of this thread, so if someone already brought this up I apologize.

My take on arcanima is that the drawing of the spell (literally, making the image and using special enchanted ink) "uses up" the power of the ink and the geometry. Once cast, the spell goes inert.

Could you use your arm as a basis? Sure, but you'd burn the spell as soon as you were done painting it and then you'd be left with just a tattoo (or an inky arm.)

(06-11-2015, 07:14 PM)Scorpio Shirica Wrote: That doesn't make a lot of sense, does that mean that they constantly have to redraw every spell/ image in their grimoire and relearn every spell on new pages? Does their grimoire get constantly filled up with just a powerless image or inky page?

(06-11-2015, 05:38 PM)Goodfellow Wrote: This has only just occurred to me somehow, and maybe I overlooked it in the thread, but is there any evidence for being able to cast from pre-drawn geometries?  The animations all seem to have the toon writing in the book and my assumption has been that the actual tracing of the symbol was a key part of the casting ritual, not simply having the symbol ready already and I don't recall if it's mentioned in quest text anywhere. 

I don't know that I really have anything to base that on and even if it is the case, the tracing motion over enchanted ink could be a workaround instead of actually having to trace with the enchanted ink.

Just some thoughts and things to consider to flesh out the idea some more (and again, sorry if I'm being repetitive/redundant).

(06-11-2015, 08:47 PM)Nero Wrote:

(06-11-2015, 05:38 PM)Goodfellow Wrote: This has only just occurred to me somehow, and maybe I overlooked it in the thread, but is there any evidence for being able to cast from pre-drawn geometries?  The animations all seem to have the toon writing in the book and my assumption has been that the actual tracing of the symbol was a key part of the casting ritual, not simply having the symbol ready already and I don't recall if it's mentioned in quest text anywhere. 

I don't know that I really have anything to base that on and even if it is the case, the tracing motion over enchanted ink could be a workaround instead of actually having to trace with the enchanted ink.

Just some thoughts and things to consider to flesh out the idea some more (and again, sorry if I'm being repetitive/redundant).

Arcanima works primarily off of pre-drawn geometries, actually. It works like this: the arcanist channels aether through their body (their MP). They visualize the geometric shapes that form that aether into a specific kind of spell, say, Physick. The magic that is shaped by the geometries is then channeled through the grimoire through the ink that's used in its pages and the spell takes effect.

The important thing to note is that arcanima primarily works through the arcanist forming mental imagery. However, we're told that the geometries are complex; thus the designs within grimoires are like reference notes or cheat sheets, while the ink used to draw those designs are amplifiers. It's kind of like a traditional wizard's spellbook, only instead of magical phrases and words, it's pretty fractals and circles.

The only animations in which an arcanist writes in their grimoire is for summoning, as I recall. I don't remember the exact details behind it, but I'm fairly certain that summoning a carbuncle, and by extension Egis and fairies, does not require editing of a grimoire's contents or composition of arcane glyphs. I believe the initial idea you had is probably pretty accurate: tracing over an existing glyph in order to form a better mental image and thus enact the magic.

(06-11-2015, 09:33 PM)Scorpio Shirica Wrote: A tattoo as a reference guide should still work okay, but it would require someone trained in those arts... if they are using Arcanum magic, because I doubt the average joe could create a detailed geometric image in their mind and funnel their aether through it with a tattoo that is bent over many folds of flesh and muscle.

(06-11-2015, 09:51 PM)Scorpio Shirica Wrote: Tattoos aren't done with ink? I'm sure some alchemist could find an aetheric conductive metal based ink that won't poison those with the tattoo on them.

(06-11-2015, 10:41 PM)Scorpio Shirica Wrote: And we honestly don't know what's toxic to Miqo'te, Elezen or any non-Hyur. We might not even know what's toxic to them, since physiology in a fantasy world can work differently, same with properties of metal being different. It kinda boils down to the author with the finer details.