Marcy has already noticed this. The specific problem now is momentum.
I’ve made the decision that magic manifests wherever the caster wants it to (and can “reach”). This is dandy if you want to fry someone with plasma. It’s less dandy with things that need momentum.
For Marcy, that would be something such as an ice sphere. Dropping balls of ice on someone’s head might be annoying, but it wouldn’t be fatal (unless they were very large). They need momentum.
This comes up now because The System Arrives‘ intrepid hero is creating various elemental items (bullets, spears, spikes, etc…) and not wielding them. They move on their own, although he aims them. For example, a Fire Bullet doesn’t need a gun. It’s a stand-alone bullet of fire that moves on its own.
That’s probably too much to wedge into poor, unfinished chapter 19, where ranged casting is discovered. I’ll resolve it quietly off-screen. But how?
In my world, a spell is a thing. It exists and can be seen. One conjures/casts it, fills it with mana, then activates it. It’s not yet clear if the latter two are discreet steps or if it automagically activates when it’s full. It’s not clear because I haven’t decided, yet.
Momentum could be imparted by moving the spell as it fills with mana. Momentum could be part of the spell. I can add (backfill, if necessary) that as a parameter. Cost probably needs to scale with mass. Momentum can be constant, but speed must be based on mass.
What is momentum measured in? kg*m/s. It doesn’t seem to have a name. pound-feet/second seems more reasonable for Americans. Re-asking the question: What do Americans measure momentum in? The AI lies and says kilogram meters per second.
Anyway, that’s enough to know my point holds. The next question: Does one cast for momentum or speed? Speed seems more natural. I want something moving at 88 ft/sec. The mana cost is dependent upon what that thing is. It costs more to get an 88 ft/sec ball of iron than a ball of ice.
I wonder if I should “charge” based on environment. For example, a ball of frozen oxygen should be cheaper at 88 ft/sec than ice – at least I assume that it would be slightly less massive due to the missing hydrogen atoms, but it may also pack more densely so a given size would mass more. Sigh.
Ice weighs 57.2 lb/ft³ (917 kg/m³)
Solid (frozen) oxygen weighs approximately 1,426 kg/m³
My original point, before that digression, was that ice is much closer to the environment’s temperature than solid oxygen. Does that make it cheaper to manifest? Although, if I’m allowing the conjuration of 7000 degree oxygen plasma, -219C for solid oxygen is not such a big deal.
I’m going to answer that as “no”. The cost is based on how difficult it is to “find” the material (water and oxygen can be harvested from air; iron is less abundant). The phase of it is a freebie. The momentum cost will be based on momentum, not speed, but I’m just going to wing it unless that stops working. I really don’t want to need to pull out a spreadsheet every time Marcy casts a spell.
Failed Cover: I like this one except for the Narnian lamp post. The torn jeans are not great, but I could live with it.
Marked Up 