>>36463953
If you know how, you can bind that thing into a small combustion engine.
No repairs later on, but if you mess it up, you can blow up.
And that's a fairly small gem, so don't use it for something like a car or any larger vehicle.

>>36463978
Thanks for the tip good anon, I've looked it up and it's a class C- Fire Opal... Should net met some hefty dosh if I decide to sell it, but to be fair Fire Opals aren't so hot in the elemental stone scene, Eh I guess the fiasco in the Arena Fight circut last year helped.

>>36463953

Fire opals, here? If there's a source of em' down, there, we- I could strike it rich! Rich enough to buy one of those fancy houses on wheels that move on the roads! Oi, how about we keep this our own little secret, lads?

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>>36464159
>>36463953
I say, I heard a rumor in the mill that some lucky devil had uncovered a cache, nay, a veritable TROVE of fire opals around here! Have any of you chaps seen a horde of unimaginable wealth lying anywhere about?

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>>36463953
So, you found a Fire Opal Eh? Here is a guide to Elemental Gems.

Elemental Gems are the result of magic and nature meeting at the right place and time. They're used for nearly everything in magi-tech but their main usage is in weapons for the Battle Circuits.

Legend Says that the elemental gems were first used by the underground civilization of the Dragvakata or as they are known by the common tongue Dwarves.

But back to the main subject. Elemental Gems follows a strict letter grade scale.

G,F,E,D,C,B,A,S,SS,SS,EX. Needless to say the higher the Gem, the higher the purity/quality of the stone and magic within.

but I heard that over mining of opals caused the last Event. should we really be doing it again?

>>36464404
No It wasn't overmining, it was the fact that people were using artificial fire opals.

Artificial gems have a fuck load of more power but as a trade off it's like handling a ticking time bomb.

totally legitimate gems for sale! got ya D class, C class, B class and higher! get 'em now before they're all gone!

>>36464424
Artificial gems are fine. The Safe Working Lifetime isn't hard to look up and anyone who goes over deserves everything they get.

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Found this beauty in some walled off area of my family's old crypt. No idea what it does but I got a few people coming over to take a look at it. Old family going way back, you know the type, and now I got all kinds of weird shit I'm finding since everyone else has kicked it.

>>36464550
Some of older shit is still a bit wonky with the time limit. Perfectly fine looking gems can suddenly go boom years before they are supposed to. I know a reputable source that reckons it has to do with the incompatibilities that Artificial gem are supposed to bypass but sometimes don't.

>>36464386
A good listing of all of the elemental variations

Earth
Fire
Wind
Water
Wood
Metal
Thunder
Ice
Gravity
Poison
Light
Shadow
Time
Void
Plant
Space
Illusion
Energy
Blood

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>>36464604
You actually listing Blood with the other's there mate? Rare thing to see people do. Most don't even mention those last seven. Well, good on ya.

Found this in my Seventh great great uncles' twice removed.

>>36464637
That one hell of a gem. You use it as a focusing crystal for a weapon mate?

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>>36464604
> Shadow is an element
You fucking people.

>>36464681
I might do. It looks to be a high ranked combo, has Blood for sure. Don't know why the old coot never used it for anything but my family has a thing for hoarding. Thought that the good care and time would make the gem stronger.

I'm still looking through all they left behind so putting them to use will take a while and careful planing. The recent skirmishes are getting a bit too close for my tastes.

>>36464734
Holy shit it's a Gestalt Gem? Those are more rare than A+ and above Gems

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>>36464698
Consider the following

>Shadow is more akin to Night and is a sub-element used to increase the power of Night/moon related main elements, such as Water or Illusion and by proxy Ice. If going for a more Moon related theme you could even include Gravity or Space. In the later I can see teleporting as something that could be done by a skilled user.

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>>36464777
Geodes and stuff like this exist irl and they aren't exactly uncommon. Though I imagine useable ones would be rather rare yes.

>>36464386
SSS and EX are just theoretical, I thought? I've never even seen a picture of an EX gem.

My grandma had a G-rating wood crystal in a necklace, I think. When she died, my mother sold it.

>>36464915
They are extremely rare to the point that some people think they are theoretical but they do exist, don't ask how I gained the info though.

>>36464915
Past S grade you tend to run into issues with half life. I used to work in a lab where they made EX gems, the longest we ever kept one was a little over two seconds and that was only with liquid helium.

>>36465039
And yet some people insist they're found naturally. I call monumental bullshit. Not even the Atlanteans managed that!

>>36465039
Well duh, the amount of power a SS Grade gem puts out it'll be a given it burns out super quickly

>>36464386
I wonder, does the gem react differently when cut?

>>36463953

/r/woahdude

>>36464239
You think we'll tell someone like you?!

Bumping for LIIIIFEEE

>>36463953
In before someone makes a lightsaber out of that crystal

Speaking of Battle circuits, remember this beauty? Two A+ Rank Energy Crystals within those daggers of hers

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>>36468563
and I Forget the image.. dam I suck

>>36468563
>>36468580
Oh yeah, Deara Rayyan. She was one of the greats. Anyone else here see her fight with Haddad Motohari back in '53? That was a thing of beauty. Shame she retired. I can hardly fault her, though, that charity organization she founded is doing a lot of good. Hell, my own cousin probably would have died from Thalassian Plague if they hadn't paid for his treatment.

>>36469959
You think those daggers of hers are on the auction somewhere?

Hell, what other fine antiques are there? I'm looking for magi-tech with a bit a history.

>>36472189
Nope, she made those things herself from scratch if what I heard is true. She spent 10+ years honing her craft, constantly upgrading and repairing her weapons to their limit and beyond.

If anything I have a feeling they'll be passed down to her chosen successor if she ever takes one?

>>36465075
They ARE natural though....on the elemental planes.

The implications of bringing a so-called "pure stone" from an Elemental Plane are just incredibly bad.
Every recorded attempt to bring a naturally occurring SSS or EX rated gem from an Elemental Plane ended in the portal imploding and either
A) The Gem being destroyed (in the case of scrying for the gem and then pulling it through a Gate to our world)
or
B) the scavenger being lost (in the case of someone PHYSICALLY going into an Elemental Plane and attempting to bring a gem back by hand)

>>36464458
Looking for a C class Thunder stone on the cheap.

>>36464597
>>36464550
>>36464424
The rise in popularity of the battle circuits, the ease of fire magic, and the necessity of fire opal for so much of our technology (central heating, engines, advanced modern weaponry) caused a massive demand for fire opal, but a very small supply.

The mining companies started skirting regulations, turing a blind eye here and there, and hiring unqualified or inexpeeirnecd miners for pennies on the dollar.

This finally culminated in them resorting to using cheap artificial thunder gems for their blasting operations rather than council approved magi-tek

These artificial gems caused a destabilization effect that, over the course of several months, created a series of "hotspots" of magical energy at the mining sites.

Eventually one blasting operation set off a chain reaction that ignited the fire opals.

You heard about those weirdos in the far east? They don't use fire opals to power engines; they burn coal to provide the heat instead. Sounds like a waste of good steel making material if you ask me.

>>36478588
>using coal to heat metal

I have a fire opal locked away inside of my anvil. The ley lines carved into it direct the heat so that as I hammer the steel, the metal heats up as needed.

>>36478588
It's not as weird as it sounds. Yafutoman geomancy tends to be pretty heavily water-aligned. Not many fire materials naturally form in that region.Using combustion engines lets them avoid having to import all their power sources.

>>36478656
Yeah, sure, that's fine for working the steel, but refining it takes carbon. Modern foundries use coal for that. What kind of blacksmith are you that you don't know that?

>>36478656
That's a Nifty Trick. I did something kinda similar to that in my warmace, but It's so that whenever I slot in 2 or more gems the mace is covered in all the attributes

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I... I don't believe this, The Legendary Kaliburr Pearl is real! I mean yeah I have internal bleeding and a lot of broken bones but by the spirits this thing is real!

If rumor is right then when I attune this to any bladed weapon it'll be sharp enough to cut through most materials, save Adamantite and it's variants.

>>36478836
I buy my steel directly from a specialist who deals with metal element stones and different metal elementals.

He uses his power over metal to refine the iron ore into the steel I later use.
Although I'm considering adding a metal element gem to my anvil so that I can more effectively work the metal.

Anyone tried using some low grade energy gems alongside chiral crystals? Last time I tried I think I got them to modify themselves predictably. Something about the way the energy conducts down the chiral structure seems to stabilize something that would normally be batshit everywhere.

>>36478905
Metallics tend to be pricey for that very reason. That's one hell of investment that you're making. It'd be better off just buying coal, since the steel will be better quality anyways.

>>36478905
Oh, I see. Your dealer probably uses a carbon-fixing rune array. Neat things, those. They originally invented them for void exploration, weirdly enough. Metal-element radicals connected to air-elemental radicals using an inscription of Greater Phlogistical Saturation. Pulls CO2 out of the air into metal, real efficient carbonization. I'd heard that some specialists had started using them for metallurgy, but they're expensive as hell. I hope your guy doesn't charge too much.

>>36478889
That sounds...like a rather lackluster use of a legendary gem.

How easy is it to attune? I'm thinking a Dragon's Blade Breath would do quite well.

>>36478959
Not in my area it's not. I live in a mining town so I get my steel at wholesale prices.

Not to mention that me and my dealer have a system worked out. His magic lets him refine metal faster than anyone in the county.
My magic lets me make swords faster than anyone in the county.
We singlehandedly fill the contracts of all the local lords and several of the area mercenary bands.

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>>36479053
Horrendlesy difficult. There's something about the way said pearls are created that make them so potent.

Then again cutting a pearl out of a dragon's gizzard organ is hard work in of itself.

But the results speak for themselves. Take a look here, Shaina Karto one of the best Elite Class Arena fighters has her axe attuned with a Kaliburr pearl, but due to how potent her's was she had to had the thing segmented in order for it to stabilize with her war-axe.

>>36465075
Rare isn't the right word for EX gems that are naturally occurring. A natural SS rank crystal being discovered can set whole kingdoms after its power, or even the power of the vein of lesser gems sure to be found around it... but EX? That's the sort of power our fancy science can't muster. Only the relentless mindbending pressures and magichemical leyline reactions can forge such a beast. Disrupting the delicate urban womb in which the small but absolutely pure EX gem rests is dangerous on its own.

The power of a weapon powered by such a gem can level cities, armies before it destabilizes. The Cadengauge Mirror Forest, the Sea of the Quelled, the Spires of Burning Frost? All theorizes to be as a result of EX gem failures.

>>36479189
So has nobody attempted to create gems from the EXs found in Planar realms instead of bringing them here? Sounds like their failures would be more costly than their gains. Since scrying them is possible, why not just siphon them with the same portals used to view them? Obviously light can pass through, we should be able to harness that.

>>36479241
You make it sound so easy. There's a massive difference between scrying, and siphoning.

Planar realms change constantly like the ocean tides and do you really.... i mean REALLY know how much energy is needed for a EX class gem.

Imagine trying to cut off a small portion of a continent and then compressing it into a small handheld form.

>>36479130
Yeah, Kaliburr Pearls are notoriously finicky. Enhancing a cutting tool is practically the only use people have found for them. Trying to slot them into other arrays tends to result in the pearl tearing itself (and usually everything else around it) to pieces. And given how hard to acquire they are no one wants to risk them on experimentation. The only other use that has been found are self-optimizing aerodynamic surfaces, sort of an extension of the "perfect blade" application, but we can do that with less expensive reagents these days. Though the fact that it makes the wing or fin in question razor-sharp is kind of cool. I remember there was a ace in the Orbite war whose warbird's wings had Kaliburr Pearl enhancement. Can't for the life of me remember his real name, just that everyone called him the "Sky Scythe" because of his habit of clipping his enemies' wings off with his own.

>>36479189
>The power of a weapon powered by such a gem can level cities
This is an understatement.

It has been long theorized that the cause of the Elemental Planes are the very EX gems that occur naturally there.

>>36479241
They DO siphon energy from the planes in order to make artificial stones. The problem is that the planes don't play by our rules, and siphoning more than, say, a B class amount of energy becomes EXTREMELY dangerous.

Now when you start talking about "Siphon it directly from an EX stone." you are talking about forces beyond the scope of our current comprehension. Every attempt to bring a EX gem over has resulted in the gem being destroyed. Thankfully after the first few attempt they wizened up and started putting in fail-safe runes that collapse the gate if something goes wrong.

Now imagine the catastrophe if something goes wrong while you are transmitting massive amounts of energy through that gate.

>>36479328
Nobody does this anymore because when you get shot down, your kingdom loses that Kaliburr Pearl forever.
The risk just isn't worth the reward in that particular case. Like you said, there are less expensive alternatives now.

>>36479380
Oh, I know. Still was a cool trick.

>>36479328
I heard some rumors of integrating them into underwater boats. The sharpness allows the boat to cut right through the water, stealthily ramming holes into warships. Had problems with air supply, though. Bubble trails aren't exactly stealthy.

>>36479396
The coolest

>>36479297
But if the EX gems are really as powerful as the myths and events make them out to be, you could simply sustain the gate by the excess from the EX itself. Theoretically you could attenuate the incoming energy stream by purposefully destabilizing the gate and forcing the EX to pour a greater percentage of the energy siphoned into sustaining the gate.

It becomes almost an inverse function of the desired power in relation to the stability of the gate. I mean sure this probably seems outlandish, but I'm Catharin, we do this kind of dynamic locus design all the time. Admittedly we're not scry-savvy, so the EXs have been out of our reach. Hell I think this is something I could throw at the council for funding.

The question becomes, what known EXs are scryable? I can imagine that something with gravity or time attributes would be inherently impossible to deal with, but what about a simple Wind gem?

>>36479347
>Now imagine the catastrophe if something goes wrong while you are transmitting massive amounts of energy through that gate.

Destabilization of physical and metaphysical laws near the epicenter, shockwaves of attuned magical energy in a 18 to 130 kilometer radius. Alteration of matter, energy, and remaining life within the area of effect to match the attunement of the gem or plane in question.

>>36479328
There was a feller right out of the Principality who came by these parts on his way to the city. Said he was a veteran working on some new way to combat warbirds. Air-stone powered flying machines.

>>36479457
Sounds like the perfect weapon. I wonder how small you could make that, or if you could embue it on vellum or a tablet. Something transportable on a single person discretely.

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>>36479130
The Arena Fights are getting crazy in the Elite Class I mean look at these two ladies right here!

Rumor has it that the one with the mask has a identical sister who's Rumored in dealing in black market gems much less VERY Illegal modifications if not testing the waters in using magical gems in bio-mancy attuned magics.

>>36479501
The arena is such a sham. The last three matches I've seen were rigged or interfered with externally. There is no way that you can consistently trigger gem destabilization in that kind of a setting.

>>36479423
The issue is the only thing that can channel that much energy out of the plane safely is, theoretically, an EX purity gem. There simply aren't any runic arrays that can harness the sheer force. In a fitting example given your choice of gem, it's like trying to use a windmill in a hurricane.

>>36479528
Psh, you clearly are blind good sir. How much magic and energy goes into those weapons?

>>36479423
You can't sustain a planar gate with raw elemental energy.
The second major issue is that elemental planes are dynamic, not static like our world.
This means they are are constantly shifting and changing, with things moving and changing location at a moments notice. Without a physical object to "lock" onto, you are essentially just viewing the swirling chaos of the element.
Now several planes are strictly without "form" but several more have form.
This means that you may view a wind stone through your scrying pool, but you could be 3 days into siphoning and suddenly it's just gone, but view the plane of Earth and you have a lot more form to work with.
Our plane is a convergence of many elements and siphoning energy at a distance is still difficult to do.
Siphoning energy from an EX stone on an elemental plane that may not be stable...
It's nearly impossible, but if you succeeded you would be the most powerful person in the world.

>>36479495
Lots of people have thought that. Lots of people have also been cratered by their would be superweapons. The Gempact Accords are in place for a reason.

>>36479495
It sounds like a great weapon indeed, but no one is stupid enough to attempt to siphon energy directly from an EX gem in the elemental plane to our own realm. So it hasn't been done yet.
People have made similar weapons, but they are outlawed and not nearly as destructive as >>36479457

Also such a weapon would not be small, portable, or discreet. It would essentially be a lab rigged to explode.

>>36479535
>The issue is the only thing that can channel that much energy out of the plane safely is, theoretically, an EX purity gem
Wouldn't it be possible to replicate an EX purity gem using several SS gems and lensing via Gravity and Void gems? I heard recently that you can essentially bend space into essentially focusing multiple gems on one precise point, even gems of ubrelated types.

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>>36479501
Yeaaaahhh her sister.... I heard rumors that she's actually a clone made from various specially attuned gems and bio-mancy magics.

>>36479650
Can you not?

>>36479561
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that planar gates are simply catalyzed magic energies. If you use elemental catalysts to transmute the elemental forces into raw energy, it is trivial to catalyze using traditional planar spell-stones.

>>36479535
The attenuation gate (which is how most high-endurance wands work) is not new. And it's not so much continuously channeling, more along the lines of triggering a sustained reaction by using some sort of leyline lens, which I have right next to me as a matter of fact.

Once again it begs the question as to what EX gems exist to be siphoned from. I refuse to let this just slip by as a "impossibility". It's only improbable til you exhaust every possibility.

>>36479649
You want to add several of the rarest and most powerful gems, in their highest currently attainable grade, to an already unstable and experimental gate?

What could possibly go wrong?

If you have the resources to put that many SS grade void and grav gems in one lab together, you have the resources to make a EX stone.
I mean people aren't just sitting on the most powerful gems. There is a reason war breaks out everytime a RUMOR of a G GRADE void stone starts to circulate.

>>36479649
In theory... yes. The windmill analogy is no longer perfect, but it still applies. While several SS gems (in and of themselves the sort of thing a country might sue for war over) can share the burden, they still act more or less like several windmills in a hurricane.

And since purchasing a single SS gem can bankrupt a Talmitari sultan, the idea is just not feasible given the invloved risks.

>>36479744
I think the several windmill analogy is no longer applicable. I view it more as a high-pressure stream of water. You can most definitely deviate forces using Gravity gems. SS types being required is a little extreme however. a G grade grav-gem is enough to levitate fairly large loads. I would imagine any SS gem would be impossible to work around let alone use in a locus.

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So, anyone know what I should use my plant stone for? Pic is it, found it camping during a meteor shower

>>36479718
>There is a reason war breaks out everytime a RUMOR of a G GRADE void stone starts to circulate.

This is hyperbole, but the sentiment is not incorrect. The sheer expense is mind numbing in scope.

>>36479701
>Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that planar gates are simply catalyzed magic energies. If you use elemental catalysts to transmute the elemental forces into raw energy, it is trivial to catalyze using traditional planar spell-stones.

You would be correct on this point, but keep in mind that in order to transmute an elemental catalyst (which a pure stone is NOT, by the way, but it would work the same with the right runes) must be transmuted into raw elemental energy FIRST, and THEN into a planar gate catalyst.
Both of those processes require you intercepting the EX stone on the side of the elemental plane BEFORE it passes through the gate into your lab, otherwise the excess elemental energy is lost as just that, excess elemental energy.

>The attenuation gate (which is how most high-endurance wands work) is not new. And it's not so much continuously channeling, more along the lines of triggering a sustained reaction by using some sort of leyline lens, which I have right next to me as a matter of fact.
Not sure what you mean here.

>Once again it begs the question as to what EX gems exist to be siphoned from. I refuse to let this just slip by as a "impossibility". It's only improbable til you exhaust every possibility.
Earth gems comes to mind, as the elemental plane of earth is barren, but semi-static
water is also viable, although precautions would have to be taken
Both of these planes would need beacons in order to track the EX gem
This project would require a massive effort in pre-setting a gate zone
and then you wait

>>36479773
Farming, or replicating alchemical materials. Since the Biomanipulation Laws exist, they pretty much don't do more than boost existing flora.

>>36479799
Now, if I were to, say, not have those rules, what could I do?

>>36479769
You're wrong on that account. You would need the highest grade you could possibly get. A+ grade is the minimum acceptable for such an operation.
A gravity and void gem setup would indeed allow you to focus the energy effectively, but you have to make ABSOLUTELY sure that the energies can be contained.
The implications of a malfunction involving NOT ONLY the siphoned energy of a EX stone, but the energies of several void and gravity stones is just...really bad.

Even if you pulled the resources together, you would not get approval from the Board of Magical Research and Studies, let alone the Council

>>36479769
Well, again. The problem is pulling theoretical power from the only reliable extraplanar source of crystallized magical energy of terrifying purity through a gate made of crystals only slightly less terrifyingly potent then harnessing those forces at the terminus to some effect. The forces, funding, and optimism required are mythic.

>>36479793
Not hyperbole
The One Night War was caused by the first discovered void stone in history.
We all know the legend, but recent dating efforts places the void stones grade at a high G, maybe an F
Nowadays we know better, but the rarity hasn't changed at all.

>>36479820
Take any plant you see around you. That gem, without those restrictions can theoretically weaponize it if introduced to the right type of additives. The plant based stones are all about amplification and regeneration. If you applied a poison to a flower, and then catalyzed it with a plant gem, it would no longer poison the plant, but instead hasten the integration of the poison as an adaptation. It theoretically would make the plant produce and secrete the poison. Nasty stuff.

>>36479794
There's no reason to say that the catalyst would need to exist in the planar realm. You'd just have to be sure that it would withstand an EX output.

As far as attenuation gates go, they reduce the given output of a gem by feedbacking the excess energy into the gem inline with the gems natural structures. It's kind of the height of Catharin technologies (but considering how long it's been around, it says a lot about the council's desire to progress). In essence they act as a valve that extends the overall lifespan of a high-power gem.

>>36479882
The better the gems in the focus, the better the windmills in the analogy.
The question is whether you could BUILD sufficiently strong windmills to handle a hurricane.
Will any amount of ANY grade of gravity and void stones facilitate the building of a powerful enough lens to siphon pure stone energy in a safe manner?
I think our runeweavers are far behind in their ability to weave a lens this powerful, even if we COULD pull together enough SS grade gems to make that type of contraption work.

>>36479919
Very interesting. If I were to introduce, say, beef to a plant. What are the possible effects?

>>36479898
Yes but they thought they found a fragment of a dark god for heaven's sake. Religious fervor was half of that war, the other half was the fact that at that time the Atlanteans were purportedly the only culture who evendors knew what the crystals were at the time.

>>36479868
But then you have to realize that the SS grades of grav and void would create hell with whatever mounting structure they're using, let alone the surrounding area. Gravity and Void shielding simply don't exist unlike most of the other gem types. There's a reason you don't see them commonly used: they tend to fuck with whatever given mounting system, magical or otherwise, when focused at any given point.

Basically This: >>36479946 . I see it being possible in the future, therefore we should endeavor to advance the current state of planar gate creation and the materials behind our gem mounts.

Someone previously mentioned the chiral crystals being some sort of conduit. I wonder if we're looking at this the wrong way. Instead of adding more energy to an inherently high-energy system, what if we instead diverted it?

>>36479982
The reduction of religious zealousness in most modern cultures is the primary reason we don't have a reaction that bad everytime a particularly lucrative gem creeps up.
We still want the gems just as bad, though.

>>36479978
Materials backlash. You'd end up with a pile of slop that would decay in minutes. The problem with plant based compounds and blood based compounds is that on some fundamental level they're incompatible. That's why you don't see any of the same regenerative properties in people or animals, at least not on the scope of a plant gem.

>>36479978
The plant would likely develop tissues containing the proteins that allow muscles to contract, and then you would end up with, say, flower stalks that move back and forth and appear altogether like an accordion.

>(Out of character, but is someone going to either compile this into some kind of ruleset or homebrew? Because I would play the shit out of this.)

>>36479946
Agreed. Its a pipe dream. Theory says it is possible, but in practice it's just incomprehensibly complex and expensive and dangerous.

>>36479994
I actually made both of these points and I think you misunderstood me.
I agree that SS grade would be incredibly dangerous and difficult to work with, but I'm not saying it's blatantly not possible. IF we could build a strong enough lens, then you the minimum is going to be A+ gems. That is my only point.
As for mounting, I don't think this is the main issue at all. Before we can worry about mounting, we have to worry about the interaction of three extremely volatile raw elemental energies.

>>36479919
>There's no reason to say that the catalyst would need to exist in the planar realm. You'd just have to be sure that it would withstand an EX output.
You would if you wanted to use the EX gem itself as the catalyst as was suggested here >>36479423

>>36479919
>As far as attenuation gates go, they reduce the given output of a gem by feedbacking the excess energy into the gem inline with the gems natural structures. It's kind of the height of Catharin technologies (but considering how long it's been around, it says a lot about the council's desire to progress). In essence they act as a valve that extends the overall lifespan of a high-power gem.
I'm of the Haplesh, gates, scrying, rune circles, this is our bread and butter and we call this "attenuation gate" a harmonization gate.Or at least, it's an aspect of harmonization. The core principle behind harmonizing is that in order to stabilize the spell or magical energies, you have to distribute those energies as evenly as possible.
We tend to use ley lines rather that the inlines of a gem itself, but that's because, as you know, or major cities fall on powerful leylines and that makes it easier to just send the energy down and out.

I do have a question though. It was my belief that, although the capacity for focus, output, and (potentially) input was higher the better the grade, the number of inlines was also less. With some of the best artificially created EX gems (the same that lasted 2 seconds) have so few inlines that only the best scientists could detect them.
When the natural EX stones were said to be scryed, they were described as "so perfect that they possessed no distinguishable cracks or lines"
I assumed they were literally so pure that inlines don't exist. (being that an inline is just a mini leyline, and leylines are channels of pure magical energy, not elemental energy)

Theoretical squabblings aside, the Thalas experiments with Light gems are growing into a definite concern, with no attention from the Council. I've heard they're trying to use them to make calculating machines, "for more advanced methods of planning infrastructural construction". We can't trust such power to the people who couldn't even hold together for a simple plague.

>>36480080

I think the key difference in dealing with void and gravity gems is that they generate fields, not streams like most gems. Instead of having an epicenter of emission, like say a fire gem, or even if you were catalyzing with the entire gem, like with an explosive, you have an area of effect that is proportional when activated to the grade of the gem.

Thought: Gems are portable manifestations of these elemental planes. In theory we could tap directly into these planes, circumvent the need for a gem, and harness the feedback through the event horizon of the planar gate.

>>36480167
The "inlines" as you call them, are created through the basic structural properties of a gem. If you look at natural, non-elemental gems, they have a given structure ex: cubic, prism, etc. The Catharin have published literature detailing the principle that the quality and potency of the gem in directly related to the density of these structures. That's why you see gem appraisers with magnifying lenses, as to better see these structures. While it stands to reason that we have created EX grade gems graded entirely on their base structure, I believe the key to synthesis of a longer lasting gem has to look at the structure of the gem on a whole in addition to this compression property.

>>36480181
In gravity gems that is true, but in void gems specifically the grade is directly proportional to the precision and accuracy it allows for the user. Meaning that anything LESS than the highest we could possibly use (hopefully an SS) is probably asking for failure.

As for gravity gems, the most common way that low grade gravity gems are mounted is by a self-sustaining gravity well. The intended components of the gate are inscribed on properly sized and shaped pieces of mithril (usually) and then lended to a free-floating gravity stone (a diverted leyline is usually used to contain the effects of the field into a circular shape so that the gravity gem floats stationary) the additional runes on the floating debris are inscribed to both channel the necessary energies, and orient themselves properly to the gravity gem.

It's complicated but not impossible. You just need a large area when dealing with A+ grade or higher.

>>36480179
The question becomes what level of automation is created by these "light machines". The council on a whole believes that there's little to no developments that are so groundshaking that they need to be protected.

>>36480271
That is true for mundane gems, and maybe even for artificial EX gems, but any gem that occurs naturally on an elemental plane has a different structure than those found in our world.
Several researchers have noted the differences between low-grade gems pulled from the elemental planes, and similarly low grade gems mined here.
They tend to lack as many inlines as natively mined gems, and the higher the grade pulled from the planes, the less the inlines.
In our own world there is a structural basis to the gems we hold in our hands, but in the planar world they are comprised not of earthen minerals, but of raw elemental energies. Because of this, the inlines are both more pronounced, and more significant. Those structures of pattern are the residual energies of raw magic, and for whatever reason, the higher the grade, the less lines.
It's not inconceivable that an EX stone may have no lines at all, as it is pure element made physical.

My working theory is that EX gems are those that have been in the elemental plane the longest. These older gems, over time, have their inlines "filled"

>>36480356
Which is why I prefaced it by saying in natural gems. I agree however, the structural gaps are what contain the energies. Which is why attenuation gates work, because they refill the structures in a way that works along the lines of how a plane would produce a gem.

>>36480326
The council will see soon enough. Their hoarding of the Light stones is a problem in itself, but even their outward goal is to create a machine that can, at least partially, think for them. Soon enough the b machines will run their whole government, and throw the rest of us into chaos trying to get what they have.

>>36480427
What would you suggest?

>>36480047
>(this is a super fluid and natural way to build a setting but you run into the issue that there is no refinement done OOC to sort out what's shit and what's awesome tier. I guess we'll see what comes of this whole thing by tomorrow)

>>36480427
See it's people like you that prompt the council to completely defer the discussion. That statement sounds completely conspiratorial. I doubt such a weak state would have the gall to allow one of their own to supersede themselves and relinquish what little power they have. The whole situation strikes me as odd.

>>36480464
>(freenode, ##gemcouncil on irc. Get in here for some OOC talk on making this a thing. I don't want this thread to go to waste. )

>>36480402
Ah I misunderstood you then.
We would need to make locating and studying an EX gem our first priority then, before we can determine how a focusing lens, planar gate, attenuation gate, and transmutation circle will effect it.

The council should at the very least launch an investigation into the true purpose of these machines, and establish restrictions on the Thalas light gem income. Their technological progression should be kept public and shared with the world- or even just the council, so long as it isn't the Thalas alone. Their Year of Revolutions proves they should be kept under a strict watch, especially with such great potential power. A government so prone to civil unrest is bound to have its power be used against the common good.

>>36480546

>>36480448

>>36480402
>>36480517
I have a theory.
I have never worked with attenuation gates so I don't know how well this would work, but I wonder about something.
If the energy from the siphoning gate is purely elemental, then attenuating the elemental energy BACK into the EX gem might work despite it's lack of inlines, right?

>>36480566
Rebounding it would be inherently difficult due to the vast amounts of power being output through the gate in an EX discharge. The second problem is the issue that stems from the "full" properties of the EX gem. If that thing couldn't handle the discharge due to whatever charging properties the plane might grant, big badda boom.

>>36480546
>>36480560
The Council has proven time and time again that all they care about is control, regulation, and boundless bureaucracy. They never innovate and never really push for advancement in magitek. It's a bunch of old men, sitting in towers, practicing ancient magic.
It doesn't help that the Thalas build their cities so high up into the mountains, either. Not a lot you can do about it from way down here.

>>36480546
>>36480686
The Thalas have a long history of worshipping the light and the sun. Their Sun Priests can't possibly have endorsed the creation of machines using sacred light stones. I wonder how this has affected their citizens internally.

So what effect do ley lines have in the discharge of freeform magic and gem magic? I know there's subtle differences, but I have no idea what they actually do.

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>>36463953
Is it just me, or does it look like there's a sky in that gem?

Those bits there kind of look like clouds.

>>36481515
Welcome to the wonderful world of impure gemstones. they're gorgeous in their own right.

>>36480765
Magic at it's core consists of three elements
Energy
Direction
Control
Magical energy must be present for magic to occur, and for the magic user to get the desired effect, the energy must be given direction.
In antiquity this meant the witch or wizard summoned up energy from within themselves, gave it direction with thought and controlled it through will.

Ley lines, are channels which direct the flow of energy. This energy can be raw, or elemental in origin.
Ley lines make up a major part of many complex seals and spell circles, which also consist of runes and sigils that offer control. These complex diagrams give magical energy the direction and control required to become a spell, but still require some sort of magical energy input.
By itself, a ley line will direct any directionless energy, much like a river directs water.
Large ley lines that span the earth are the receptacles of excess magical energies, and they direct it along their path to other ley lines and so on and so on. These large ley lines can be tapped into by a spell caster, and the magical energy can be used.
Small ley lines that may be inscribed on an object direct any magical energy that is imbued into the object. This energy often comes from the wielder.


When gems are used by themselves, they offer a massive amount of pure elemental energy. The spellcaster uses their own will to direct the energies of the gem to create the desired effect.
Ley lines circumvent the need for the user to direct the energies of the gem, and because the gem provides the energy necessary for a spell, the ley lines require no user to input a flow of energy.

Basically a ley line used with freeform magic is a useful way to make a complex spell.
A ley line used with a gem, though, is the combination that allows magitech.

Keep in mind however, that ley lines alone are not responsible for the complexity you see in many spell circles and most magitech.
Runes/sigils are used to control the spell.

>(just as a heads up to those who may come back here, we're likely going to pick up tomorrow sometime. This is a really cool setting, and there are some of us in freenode that are going to keep it going. If you wanna give your input and help build the story, feel free to stop in irc, or just keep posting on the thread! )

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This is my kind of thread.

>>36481736
Man, that was an awesome show.

>>36478941
How does this actually work?

Lads, that's no gem, that's a dragons egg! And by the looks of it, not far from hatching

>>36481761
I'm not really sure I just toyed around with it. But when I discharged an Energy or a Light gem into a crystal with a pattern of symmetry, they reacted in a way that was easy to replicate. The one I tested would repeatedly deform, and if I did it enough, a once straight shard would form a perfect circle. It was wierd. Chiral crystals have this property where they grow in two patterns, with one being a mirror of the other. But they both did something exactly same at first, but different after about the third or fourth discharge.

>>36481758
Yeah when I tried getting some discussion on it a year or so back no one seemed interested. Nerd Corp has alot of nice shows that never seem to get 2nd/3rd seasons.

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>>36480271
You're not far off there. Artificial EX aren't really gems in a conventional sense, more like a standing wave created from the interference patterns of several hundred A grade gems. Mathematically it's as close as we can get to making a crystal out of elemental energy.

Finicky as hell, as I'm sure you can imagine. We're talking about a room full of As to produce a cubic millimeter of EX, and you absolutely cannot use any gems in the supporting apparatus or the interference will disrupt the whole thing. We had to pump coolant in from a separate building because we couldn't keep any ice gems on site.

Bump

So this recent Council session has brought up some interesting points. It appears that more people are beginning to integrate Gem magic into their daily routines with the advent of Haplesh/Catharin Magitek. It started out with heating homes with Fire Opals, and providing water through Water Sapphires. Any speculation on where this will go in the future? Mages have become the new blacksmiths it seems.

>>36486590
It has become popular practice to throw an ice gem into a wooden box along with your food so that it doesn't spoil.
I've seen some prototype "ice boxes" made using a metal inside, a thick wool lining for insulation, and a wood housing. The ice gem is set into a mount, usually at the top of the box.
Small light gems could be integrated into the design in order to make it more accessible at night.