Updated: Removed the turbine explanation of discovery and generalized it as per general thoughts of "not-quite-fitting-in"-ness, as 'twas not essential to the original concept.

Original has been saved, if common opinion is that this version is worse it can be reverted back. Go to Comment

Looking forward to seeing it! Go to Comment

You honestly wouldn't want waste so much expensive Ether to flood the enemy walls with it, when you could instead use a lesser amount to torch them with a Wave of Fire spell, or some such thing. My personal thoughts are that you'd only ever see Ether used as a combat tactic as a one-off "What the heck did he just DO?" thing. Go to Comment

Something to also consider when utilizing condensed magic (of any form, not just Ether) is the concept of efficiency. The earliest processes to refine and produce physical manifestations of magic are likely to be horribly inefficient, both in quantity and in quality. As in life, most technologies take a while before the processes to utilize them efficiently come about, and this should be no different.

The quality of Ether can vary, initially starting as extremely low-grade "magical dregs" that can barely power a cantrip due to impurities, then slowly improving until it becomes possible to truly power upper-level spells with it.

As Moonhunter once said, magic is a technology, and should be treated as such. Increases in quantity and quality are a trademark of advancement, and so it makes perfect sense to incorporate this into your campaigns. Go to Comment

Slight bump, to make note of the fresh idea added to the post-script of the submission. Not sure why it didn't occur to me originally, but it's something to definitely consider. Go to Comment

In addition to the mentioned effects when ingested, the imparting of magical ability to the imbiber is also a potential result. This might be more suitable to certain campaign worlds that would be ruined by any sort of technological revolution, be it magical or mechanical in nature.

Whether it merely magnifies the latent abilities of the subject or actually imparts magical ability to the truly ungifted is a choice for the GM to make. Regardless, this doesn't have to simply be a substance usable only to the mages and their ilk. Go to Comment

Update: Added a little bit about evaporating ether, as per Manfred's suggestion. It just makes sense that magic would eventually unbind from material form and return to the environment. Go to Comment

Danger: Mana Poisoning

One thing often not considered with magic is that generally, the body of a bog-standard human isn't capable of dealing with the raw concentrations of mana that comprise spells. Thus ether, being condensed, highly-concentrated magic, is likely to produce mutagenic effects in those exposed to it.

Depending on the method and time frame of exposure, this can range from cancerous, radiation poisoning sickness from long-term evaporation, all the way to explosive tentacular growth for heavy physical saturation.

As a tool, ether has many uses and much utility, but it also presents very real dangers, especially for those who are exposed to it for long periods.

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"Godsweat". Wow. The imagery there is...just wow. Go to Comment

I liked this idea when you first presented it, and I love the presentation here. What if a wizard tried to befriend it and turn it into his familiar? Go to Comment

Creative and innovative. I think these could be a useful addition to any generic fantasy world. Go to Comment

It took me a little bit to get used to the large blocks of text, but the content of this is substantial. I like it quite a bit. Go to Comment

I honestly find this to be a good example of a non-traditional order. After all, not all fantasy strives to be a direct replication of the Middle Ages, and this group gives some explanation and backstory to an Order that likes women, which I'm sure a number of GMs would like to include, but simply can't decide how such an order would come to exist. Go to Comment

As it stands, I agree with MJS: it's a bit too short. This is more of a sidenote that you'd toss into the histories your players are rummaging through. Some encounters, a basic layout, all that good stuff would immensely improve this. The basic concept is quite good however; I just want to see more out of it. I'll refrain from voting until it has been retooled and expanded a bit. Go to Comment

I think the way to solve val's problem would be to make it either a cursededed evil artifact, or perhaps an artifact with the blessing of the Knowledge god, whomever that might be, who negotiates with the other deities to 'lease' the souls of the faithful for a short time (in the "grand timescale"). Said souls very well might know of their death, and the pious ones would consider it their final act of service before their final reward (assuming they are informed of the terms of their stay within the book), whereas the evil ones might be scheming and plotting within the book to try and remain immortal (the means of which would be as varied as you like).

An interesting item such as this always opens up new avenues of thought and idea. Nice work sveri! Go to Comment

Suggestions are not forthcoming, but I do like this submission, and hope that more related items show up soon. Go to Comment

I think you captured just about everything needed within this post. Very nicely done. Go to Comment

A bit too contemporary for a "What is the character doing?" chart. Light and funny is perfectly fine in my view, but some of those simply didn't have a feel of anything but modern filler. Go to Comment

angryscot hit it right on the head. I couldn't shake the feeling of Brave New World the entire time I read this sub. An interesting concept, and always something that gets brought up in scifi, but I very highly doubt I'll ever use it. Go to Comment

Epic. Biology.

I don't care so much about the physics of it. This is just so out there and so awesome that now I want to see more worlds break away from the norm and have truly strange creatures.

Flying jellyfish. What a concept. Go to Comment