(04-14-2014, 03:13 PM)JFrombaugh Wrote: 1. From what I understand, Conjury comes from the elementals agreeing to do the caster's bidding. So if you don't follow the Padjal traditions or you act in a way that goes against their beliefs, will Conjury fail you? And if so, then how come many NPCs and voidsent can cast Stone and Cure?
You are thinking more of Succor. While similar, they are not the same magic. Conjury is essentially taking the aether in nature and, through meditation, forming that aether into a desired spell. Instead of using your own aetherial stores like other forms of magic, you're borrowing from an external source.
Now, "Conjury" was taught to Man by the Moogles about 500 years ago in the time of Gelmorra. This magic allowed for a communion between Man and Nature, which allowed Conjurers to speak to the Elementals, or at the very least, hear them speak. Now, conjury can be taught to anyone. However, some are born with the magic. The majority of these young conjurers become "Hearers" or people who can hear the beckon of the Elementals. So not all conjurers are Hearers, but all Hearers are conjurers.
Now "Succor" is the magic used by Elemental and White Mage. It is magic in its purest form. Man abused this magic roughly 1600 years ago and the Elementals flooded the world to wipe it from existence. 500 years ago, after the Pact of Gelmorra, the Elementals entrusted Succor to the Padjal race (a race the Elementals had birthed from the first Conjurers). The Elementals entrusted the Padjal to care for the forest with Succor as their price for living within it. They warned that should Succor ever be abused as it once was, the Elementals would not hesitate to wipe out the world again.
(04-14-2014, 03:13 PM)JFrombaugh Wrote: 2. The advantage of Thaumaturgy seems to be that you don't need to believe in a specific cause, as long as you've learned the Umbral/Astral shifting. But is Black Magic "corrupting" in the same way as say, Fel magic in WoW?
Like conjury and succor, Thaumaturgy and Black Magic are slightly different. Black Magic is pure destruction and chaos. It has been noted to have certain ties to the Void, but not much is clear about the whole connection between the two. It is important to note that Thaumaturgy and Black Magic are related though. Thaumaturgy is derived from Black Magic.
Thaumaturgy has more to do with the manipulation of a person's aether rather than Black Magic which expends a person's aether to cast powerful spells. By manipulation I mean that Thaumaturgy can heal to some extent and even return life to the dead. Thaumaturgy itself, is the study of Thal's Realm and the duality of life and death. Thaumaturges believe that by understanding death, they might better understand life.
Black Magic is more about power and the ambition to achieve greater power. While several renowned Black Mages have received their power or used their power to unlock the Void, it's not entirely clear why. Perhaps something in the Void is using the aether displaced by Black Magic's destruction to get out? Actually, highly plausible now that I think about it... Hmm, anyways, both magicks (THM and BLM) are learned through study and dedication. It's not a magic that one is born knowing. It's something that is learned from years of study. And it seems the only true corrupting force behind the magic is one's own ambition.
(04-14-2014, 03:13 PM)JFrombaugh Wrote: 3. Several other people seem to think that the best choice for Miranda would be a Summoner or Scholar, given that the Arcanists are more serious and trustworthy than most other Limsa Lominsans due to the nature of their work, and the Jobs themselves make sense for serving the Scions as they no longer are tied to specific city states. However, wouldn't a Scholar effectively be required to be similar to Admiral Merlwyb, seeing as how their arcane spells were (evidently) designed around protection and directing Marauder units in battle?
Well, Merlwyb is a Musketeer, not an Arcanist or Scholar, so I think you're safe there. Scholars are actually quite rare, but yes, they were the tacticians of Nym. But Nym and Scholars are, for the most part, no more. And Summoners were Allagan and no longer exist by and large either. Outside of the player character, we only encounter one other Summoner and he was taught to summon from an Ascian. I think Spiritual Machine went over Arcanima pretty well, so I won't go over that magic more.
