How does everyone here think materia works?

[OttoVann]

I want everyones various headcannons on materia please. All of it. Simple thread, but Im hoping to really incorporate materia into rp soon. Otto needs it since hes so powerless

[Aaron]

I  assume it works like the type you use

 

Fire materia grants artificial fire use, strength materia strengthens your weapons integrity, mind and intelligence makes you smarter. Savage Might increases your damage output. 

 

Etc etc.

[Cliodhna Eoghan]

really curious to see the replies on this one OuO ive yet to use materia in rp myself but this looks interesting.

[Gone.]

Some form of strange Goblin magic I'd assume.

[Marisa]

Placebo effect. Everyone just thinks materia makes them stronger because that's what they've been told, and nobody can really prove otherwise. Meanwhile, Mutamix laughs hysterically while rolling around in gil.

[ProvaDiServo]

With Materia I essentially RP'd it as a modification to a stock attack. I used Shards to give an element and in conjunction I'd make attacks.

 

So something like...

Anne stocks a small pure glowing yellow materia, and an ice shard into the chamber of her blades hilt. She charges her blade with a few revs, and fires a pinpoint beam of ice aimed at her opponents feet to ensnare her foe!

[Steel Wolf]

...wow, y'know what? I never even considered materia as an RP vehicle. I think we'll expect a Sounssy Signal on this one, but if the RP potential on this topic is like I think it is, I may have a way for my character to be a believable Dark Knight.

 

....bit of deus ex machina, which I'm not a fan of, but...well, I sorta wrote myself into a corner with her lack of magickal ability and knowledge. And I was going to use the mechanic in that whatever fuels DRK power is something that she's "attuned to" anyway...

 

I'm with Clio here. VERY curious about this thread's responses... :3

[Altitis Acquired]

I always assumed Materia is the same as in FF7. Condensed, materialized magic of sorts.

[Kellach Woods]

Influences certain properties of the weapon/armor it is attached to, but overall affects the person rather than the object.

 

Fire materia make you more immune to fire as per the game's own systems, etc.

[DoomsdayClock]

I'd be of the mind that others have suggested..that it affectvand augments the item its attatchted to. Honestly I've never seen anyone really rp it out and now that its been said I think its an awesome schtick idea, especially for a PC like Otto who could afford to really play with it.

Easily could become solid rp of finding someone icly who can apply it....the trails of aquiring certain types...

There is a ton that can be done with this.

[Warren Castille]

Materia in XIV is a little different than VII's. VII has materia formed in places of powerful magical vicinities, but XIV makes it clear that materia are formed from equipment being turned into their base function. The relic quest even ends up with you converting your relic to make materia to fuel a Zodiac weapon!

 

I'm of the opinion they "work" by enhancing something aetherially. A weapon with augments cuts better by way of magical edge, armor is enhanced to resist attacks better, or help the wearer move more to lessen the hindrance of wearing it. It's not really defined how much the materia help, but it's certainly an interesting idea.

[Steel Wolf]

So with that in mind--the materia offering those enhancements to a weapon....would it be canonically feasible that a weapon would have so much materia infused in it that it becomes a source of wieldable magical power?

 

Or is there some sort of limit on how much materia a weapon can have before it just....turns into an aether bomb? I imagine the amount of slots is essentially this limitation in "gameified" form.

 

Pardon the possibly stupid line of questions, I'm just tossing concepts at the wall here.

[Warren Castille]

So with that in mind--the materia offering those enhancements to a weapon....would it be canonically feasible that a weapon would have so much materia infused in it that it becomes a source of wieldable magical power?

 

Or is there some sort of limit on how much materia a weapon can have before it just....turns into an aether bomb? I imagine the amount of slots is essentially this limitation in "gameified" form.

 

Pardon the possibly stupid line of questions, I'm just tossing concepts at the wall here.

 

Forbidden Melding is a thing! It allows someone to risk affixing materia to a piece of gear that's already "full." In 2.0, blowing up a meld means losing the materia but in 1.0? Failing a meld meant you lost the materia and the thing you were attaching it to. This meant that by trying to further push the boundaries on something's limits you could cause the whole thing to melt down.

 

Think of it like overclocking your computer. When done correctly there's an enhancement of performance with limited risk to the whole. When done recklessly there's a lot of instability and a precedent for crashing. Overmelding is basically the same thing.

[FreelanceWizard]

Sounsyy will surely be here shortly with references, but conceptually, materia in XIV is the crystallized aetheric energy of the memories and experiences of the person using the object that was converted into materia. That's what the whole spiritbonding thing is all about. With that in mind, I view materia largely as Warren does; it magically alters the piece of equipment into which its melded, making it lighter, faster, sharper, or what have you. There's a finite limit to how much particular pieces of equipment can be enhanced in this way, which is why there's a limit to the number of melds you can perform, and why too many melds destroys the materia (or, back in 1.x, the whole item). I seem to recall Mutamix or one of his associates explaining why that's the case; my recollection is that it has to do with the aetheric capacity of different materials, but I'll be the first to admit I'm probably misremembering that.

[Steel Wolf]

I know I posted a rep-up, but it bears repeating here--thanks for the food for thought, Warren. This helps out my conceptualizing immensely.

 

Of course, I'll await further discussion...and this runs the risk of that deus ex machine/special snowflake thing...but I'm not sure I have a lot of other ideas that fit, short of balling up the charrie sheet and Fantasia'ing.

 

*watches the thread* O__O

[Hammersmith]

My take on it is the in game one: Atheric remnants of something that had a heavy aether "imprint" on it rendered down into a crystallized form.

 

As for how they work and why they need to be slotted?

 

Hammer's take on it, and thus how he designs the mounting slots in weapons/armor for it, is that the materia goes into the bonding lines of the weapon and armor itself, places where the natural flow of battle and magic use would cause the flux of aetheric energy that also makes that spirit bond.  The materia amplifies that bond, and acts as a amplifier for whatever "type" of bonding energy it's a remnant of.

 

So someone running around with a weapon with a load of strength materia in it is taking that "bond" you're forming with the weapon, that energy you're pouring into it, and turning it to 11 in the strength facet.

[OttoVann]

I think I'll make an "iron man" suit for otto, materia enhanced jewelry and or clothes. Seems I'll have to get a little canon creative in my writings, thinking I'll write up diary entries with his research and experimentation

[Warren Castille]

I think I'll make an "iron man" suit for otto, materia enhanced jewelry and or clothes. Seems I'll have to get a little canon creative in my writings, thinking I'll write up diary entries with his research and experimentation

 

There's definitely room to work an arc from this. Relics and artifacts from a bygone era would likely have a lot more power compared to say, some random schmuck's letter opener, but it could make for a pretty cool story for Otto to be amassing weapons and armor of some renown to then smelt them down into power beads.

 

I'm imagining him trying to buy some old veteran's sword or something.

[OttoVann]

I should start small, stick to jewelry and maybe a belt, just things he would wear normally, something that's not an attention grabber outside the usual, say it helps him get more str or something

 

My thoughts are he would (arbitrary) go from benching 450 to 800/900, something like that.

[Nebbs]

Good old reliable magic know how. Definately not that made up, its a con, science.

[Aaron]

It's surprising I seem to be the only one here that actually rped with materia enhanced weapons. 

 

I feel special.

[Warren Castille]

It's surprising I seem to be the only one here that actually rped with materia enhanced weapons. 

 

I feel special.

 

If I had to hazard a guess, it would be because augmenting materia is a specialized skill - You go to a goblin to learn it, after all - and probably expensive to boot. OOCly, we don't know enough about "how" it works so I think people err on the side of caution.

[Aaron]

It's surprising I seem to be the only one here that actually rped with materia enhanced weapons. 

 

I feel special.

 

If I had to hazard a guess, it would be because augmenting materia is a specialized skill - You go to a goblin to learn it, after all - and probably expensive to boot. OOCly, we don't know enough about "how" it works so I think people err on the side of caution.

Oh well everyone knows Aaron has a very expensive weapons budget/nut lol so I think im safe from assumption.

 

When I do use it people are ok with it also.

[Sounsyy]

Melded to gear' date=' materia is said to imbue the bearer with enhanced powers, ranging from herculean strength to imperviousness to torrid flames. It takes not a scholar to see that the advent of materia will change our way of life—even how we wage war.[/quote']

 

Thank the Twelve that Zantetsuken is on top of their shit, cuz I am not. This page was originally released on the 1.0 lodestone attached to the Materia Patch. However, was wiped out during the end of 1.0 Lodestone service recently.

 

Anyways, from the 1.0 article Materia: A Matter of Mystery we learn some of the lore of the origins of Materia and how it's crafted. As for it's use in the IC universe, I will defer to the Level 20 Disciple of the Hand class quests, as they deal with materia enhancing crafted items. Also, the Zodiac quest has some lore on the topic.

 

 

I'll spoiler the actual lore text below:

Melded to gear, materia is said to imbue the bearer with enhanced powers, ranging from herculean strength to imperviousness to torrid flames. It takes not a scholar to see that the advent of materia will change our way of life—even how we wage war.

 

Yet whence came these stones of such power and versatility? The answer will at once shock and amaze: materia is born of trusty old equipment that has seen better days.

 

Without further ado, let us examine the origins and uses of materia, that the shroud of mystery surrounding it might be lifted.

 

Origins:

That the revolutionary technique for the creation and application of materia was brought to Eorzea by the goblin geomancer Mutamix Bubblypots is a well known fact. The truth behind the origin of the stones, however, remains the subject of heated debate. Some believe that materia is advanced military technology painstakingly appropriated from Garlemald, while others speculate that it was born of Near Eastern wisdom that had long slumbered within the ancient tomes of the Great Library.

 

Though the origin theories are many, all are agreed that, at some point in time, a fraternity of goblin scholars calling themselves the Illuminati acquired the secrets of materia. Governed by a code of secrecy, the coterie jealously guarded the knowledge. However, they were ultimately betrayed by one among their own—aye, Mutamix. Resolving that materia should be allowed to benefit all folk rather than remain the curio of a select few, Mutamix proceeded to propagate the secrets of the craft to adventurers. And so it was that the age of materia dawned over Eorzea.

 

Also from the Mythril Eye article: Mutamix's Materia - Adventurer's Delighted, Merchants Divided

According to adventurer accounts, Mutamix first appeared in the wilds of Thanalan less than a moon past with his apprentices in tow, a rag-tag band calling themselves Carriers of the Cauldron. Wasting no time in setting up shop, he proceeded to promote a peculiar matter called materia, which is claimed to be capable of galvanizing gear. Before long, word of Mutamix and his miracle method for augmenting arms and armor had spread like wildfire across the adventurer population.

 

Inevitably, Ul’dahn merchants, too, came to know of this new player in the field. Unsurprisingly, there were those who felt fearful of Mutamix, convinced that the goblin would incite instability in a market governed by protectionist policies. Such is the acuteness of their aversion, they went so far as to petition the Immortal Flames for the expeditious eradication of all goblins roaming the region.

 

In contrast to this knee-jerk reaction of self-preservation, there are those who expressly endorse materia, considering it a catalyst for expediting economic expansion. Even now, the market is astir with tolerant traders who are making to maximize their monies by means of the matter, and who have taken a stand against actions that are like to damage Ul’dah-goblin relations.

 

Sultanate decree distinctly dictates that no goblins are to set foot on Ul’dahn soil. Naught, however, is stipulated of their presence outside her walls. And now two factions stand opposed: those who desire the decimation of goblins versus those who believe it would best behoove the nation to leave them in peace. I, for one, envy not in the least the Immortal Flames’ prickly position.

 

Our city-state stands at the crossroads of a commercial crisis, and The Mythril Eye will continue to closely monitor the movement of all individuals involved in the unfolding drama.

 

 

 

During the Level 20 quests of most Disciple of the Hand storylines, you will be tasked with creating an item and affixing materia to it. Each guildmaster has a slightly different way of phrasing their explanation of materia but essentially all say about the same thing. I'll use Severian's explanation from "The Arcanist's Tome" as a reference since it's one of the better worded in my opinion, surprisingly.

 

Must I explain materia to you? Very well. Materia is the crystallized essence of a well-used piece of gear - the physical manifestation of an item's history with its wielder' date=' if you will. It is not well understood exactly how these crystals work, but they have the effect of improving the properties of the objects to which they are attached.[/quote']

 

 

So with that in mind--the materia offering those enhancements to a weapon....would it be canonically feasible that a weapon would have so much materia infused in it that it becomes a source of wieldable magical power?

 

Or is there some sort of limit on how much materia a weapon can have before it just....turns into an aether bomb? I imagine the amount of slots is essentially this limitation in "gameified" form.

 

This is essentially the Zodiac Weapon storyline. In order to exponentially increase your Relic's strength from Animus to Novus, Jalzahn theorizes it would require a large amount of materia - too large to feasibly attach to one weapon without it exploding. So you employ the use of a sphere scroll, which houses the broken down aether of the materia in it, and then is simply attached to the weapon to transfer the power into the weapon.

 

Later on, when transforming your Relic into the Zodiac weapon itself, it requires breaking down your Relic weapon into a Dark Materia - a super materia housing the souls of all that you've done with your relic before. And then taking that materia and melding it into your new Zodiac weapon.

 

There's some back and forth between Gerolt and Jalzahn over the purpose and properties required and such and I'll link that here:

His Dark Materia Dialogue

 

The quest later goes on with Mutamix's help to say the chance of success is incredibly low and that the materia... and your weapon... have a very high likelihood of kerploding like they did in 1.0.

 

 

And finally, when crafting your Zodiac Zeta, the attempt is to awake the Weapon's own sentient spirit. So could arguably say it's the weapon that houses an intense amount of power with all the crap you put into it, including intelligence.

 

 

Yarr! Hope that all helps! ^^