The Amateur Linkamancer's Thread

[Whispri]

[If Haffaton had an Eyemancer Link], Haffaton would have found FAQ immediately.

Not if there's a range limit and Faq happens to be beyond it. Even moving the link from City to City to extend the range might get them missed if no one considers the area they're in to be worth a look.

We know that FAQ is smack dab in the MIDDLE of Haffaton. If the Eyemancer Link is limited by a physical range, it is doubtful they would miss FAQ. If however it's limited to the "Battlespace" then FAQ could have escaped notice because their Casters' efforts keep Haffaton from interacting with their units, so FAQ's cities never become part of the Battlespace.

I must have missed the snow and ice on the WRECD's way into Faq. As for the question of range, Faq's Lookamancer has a range of forty odd hexes. The tri-link probably has a longer range than that, but it isn't going to be so vast as to cover the hundreds, if not thousands of hexes that make up Haffaton's domain.

[Selexor]

I stand by the answer I gave to this question when it appeared in previous threads: The ultimate linkup would be Foolamancer - Thinkamancer - Signamancer.

The Foolamancer can create illusions of, well, anything. With the linkup to a Thinkamancer, his abilities can be enhanced to the point where his illusions seem pretty much permanent while still being changeable, much like the Eyebooks. And a Signamancer, in very basic terms, seems to allow the process of Form = Function, where the outward appearance of a thing carries great significance as to its purpose.

The result of these three casters linked up would be that the Foolamancer could create anything he was able to imagine, enhanced to become a self-sustaining image by the power of the Thinkamancer. The assistance of the Signamancer would cause this illusion to become, well, real. If the Foolamancer whips up a dozen archers riding Unipegataurs, the Signamancer would make them (at least temporarily) real, and quite capable of engaging the enemy. It might even work for rations or gems or magical items. Whatever can be dreamed up could be made real enough to get past Erfworld's rules, which would make for a potentially unstoppable City Defence force at the literal snap of your fingers.

[Lamech]

I stand by the answer I gave to this question when it appeared in previous threads: The ultimate linkup would be Foolamancer - Thinkamancer - Signamancer.

The Foolamancer can create illusions of, well, anything. With the linkup to a Thinkamancer, his abilities can be enhanced to the point where his illusions seem pretty much permanent while still being changeable, much like the Eyebooks. And a Signamancer, in very basic terms, seems to allow the process of Form = Function, where the outward appearance of a thing carries great significance as to its purpose.

The result of these three casters linked up would be that the Foolamancer could create anything he was able to imagine, enhanced to become a self-sustaining image by the power of the Thinkamancer. The assistance of the Signamancer would cause this illusion to become, well, real. If the Foolamancer whips up a dozen archers riding Unipegataurs, the Signamancer would make them (at least temporarily) real, and quite capable of engaging the enemy. It might even work for rations or gems or magical items. Whatever can be dreamed up could be made real enough to get past Erfworld's rules, which would make for a potentially unstoppable City Defence force at the literal snap of your fingers.

I agree with this. I doubt it could create unlimited forces (juice cost and what not), but the ability to dream up what ever you want? Even just make existing units? Archons, goyles, high elves, witches, lofty elves, dwagons... casters, warlord and tigers oh mi! What about veiling a hex as a new kind of terrain, but made real?

At the very least I bet the veils would be impossible to penetrate. Fake signamancy? You can't "see through" signamancy. Its the only thing to see. It is what they look like.

[Corran132]

I don't want to bring you down, and you have a powerful idea, but from what I understand signmancy is modifying how things look, not how they are. Dollmancy might be more what you are looking for (turning nonliving things into units), but from all I can see the link you proposed would be able to do two things.

1- (possibly) create illusions out of the normal signmancy of your side, which may not be possible with just a foolmancer, or

2- use illusions to change other units signmancy, which is wonderful for both espionage and provoking infighting.

While I'm not saying either of these is bad and the link you proposed is still powerful, I don't think signmancy is what you need to create something from nothing. I'm not entirely sure what you do need, but signmancy feels wrong.

[Selexor]

Well, we've not yet seen a proper act of Signamancy be performed, so we can't be completely certain what it does. But at the very least it's not limited to modifying how things work; after all, that's very specifically what Foolamancy does. Illusions, baffles, glamours and anything involving changing the outward appearance of units, or making things that aren't there appear as if they are. For Signamancy itself, one of the only specific examples we've had are what King Slately observed of his own Natural Signamancy and that of Tramennis; that Slately was short and fat and weak-looking because he is tiny and weak and a poor king. Tramennis looks thin and flighty and "like a dandy" because he is more reliant on words and clever thinking than on actual fighting. Even Slately's warpaint in Jenga Tower could be read this way - he wanted fearsome Signamancy in his war paint. He wanted to look terrifying and dangerous so that he could be terrifying and dangerous, though of course that last one is speculation.

The Trimancer link I suggested might indeed be better suited to perhaps just changing a unit's function. Make a pikeman look like an archer, and behold, he gains an Archery bonus, that sort of thing. But even so it's a powerful ability - a city could pop nothing but the cheapest units en masse and then simply turn them into whatever they wanted.

Until we see real Signamancy and learn for sure what it can do, we don't know if my theory holds out. But at the very least it's more than just changing the way things appear. Signamancy has been shown to be able to reveal true things about a Unit, whereas the entire purpose of Foolamancy is to conceal this by changing apppearances. While I'm sure there's some overlap, their functions are different enough to make this work in my mind.

[ftl]

From what we've seen, it seems like Signamancy is making form match function - but not necessarily changing only one or the other, it seems to go both ways. Putting on war paint makes you fiercer, but the reverse also happens - when Jillian became Queen, she started looking more regal. And so on. Signamancy is MATCHING form and function, but it's not specifically about looks.

So yeah, I think a signamancy/foolamancy link could do a lot. Alter the looks, and then make the looks a reality. Links are always super-powerful.

[Nnelg]

On the sign-fool link:
I think that it has some possibilities. I don't think the idea of giving different bonuses to units is a very good one though, since I figure wierdomancy or changemancy can probably do the same thing without tipping the enemy off about the new stats.

I really like the idea of a "solid illusion" though. Direct conversion of juice -> units seems like a useful thing, and an unfilled niche on the chart of strategic possibilities.



That brings me to an idea I like, a shock-croak link. Just think of the destructive potential!

Of course it's totally impractical, because it'd be so hard to move within range of the enemy. Maybe some sort of "death star" mobile HQ built into a siege tower...



Another idea: a think-think-think link. What would be the point? I have no idea.


Or a math-shock link. Bonus points if the thinkamancer's name is Oppenheimer.

[Lamech]

Another idea: a think-think-think link. What would be the point? I have no idea.

It could link links! Although really I suspect it would probably just be supremely powerful thinkamancy. Links are a lot stronger remember? A thinkamancer can amplify one casters abilities in a bi-link. Now its even more so, and the final caster can call upon the other two thinkamancers for assistance, it has the huge power of tri-links, and three times the normal juice.

[Selexor]

I'd like to see a Dollamancer - Thinkamancer - Hat Magician linkup, too. We've seen how effective Ace and Cubbins were together when they simply pooled their resources. Imagine what they could create if they were linked and had their powers enhanced. You could send every freshly-popped unit to the armoury and equip them with items that'd make them worth ten enemy units of the same level. We've seen what King Slately can do with the advent of a ray gun, a jetpack, a helmet that pierces illusions and a cape that blocks attacks. Now imagine ten full stacks of units doing that, only they're higher level than him, and their gear is even more ludicrously overpowered.

Another that springs to mind would be Lookamancer - Thinkamancer - Dirtamancer. The ability to extend the Dirtamancer's consciousness over incredibly long distance while amplifying his power to absurd levels. You could summon a swarm of fresh golems, or rip through an enemy city's walls, from a hundred hexes away in the safety of your own capital. Instant siege domination. And of course having a super-powerful Dirtamancer in your capital would also make it damn near impossible to take unless the invaders had heavy air superiority. Your walls could withstand almost anything so long as the casters had juice to spend, to say nothing of your golem defence force.

Other, less dramatic ideas:
Moneymancer - Thinkamancer - Dollamancer: The ability to create gems, perhaps? Direct conversion of juice into schmuckers.
Healomancer - Thinkamancer - Dirtamancer: Regenerating golems and/or structures, or perhaps just a super powered Dirtamancer that can replenish its own juice?
Predictamancer - Thinkamancer - Luckamancer: Get all those lucky rolls of yours in advance, knowing exactly whose numbers you were stealing to do so, maximising the potential of Luckamancy.
Findamancer - Thinkamaner - Turnamancer: We've seen "wild" units that can be tamed, like Dwagons and Bats. And there's also neutral races like the Gobwins or Marbits or Elves. A Trimancer linkup that can find these units at will, whether you have units in the area or not, and turn them to your side? Even if it's just to harvest them for rations, it'd be a very powerful tactic.

[Nnelg]

Moneymancers can already make gems, and maybe turn juice into cash as well.

More likely a money-doll link could create giant piggy bank golems.

[Lamech]

Predictamancer - Thinkamancer - Luckamancer: Get all those lucky rolls of yours in advance, knowing exactly whose numbers you were stealing to do so, maximising the potential of Luckamancy.
Findamancer - Thinkamaner - Turnamancer: We've seen "wild" units that can be tamed, like Dwagons and Bats. And there's also neutral races like the Gobwins or Marbits or Elves. A Trimancer linkup that can find these units at will, whether you have units in the area or not, and turn them to your side? Even if it's just to harvest them for rations, it'd be a very powerful tactic.

This gave me an idea: Findamancer+luckamancer. Why steal from your own side when you can steal from somebody else.

Also you know where the true power in links lies? Multidisciplinary casters. Issac for example has all of eyemancy. Janice I think has all of hippiemancy. Combine that with say... all of stuffamancy. It would have dirtamancy-flower power-changeamancy-foolamacy. First you have combination plants/dirt. A farm golem as it were. That can constantly change itself to match your needs, and veil itself.

[bladestorm]

What if that idea was actually given to him by Wanda based on her previous experience?

If that were the case, I don't think we'd have gotten Wanda's grudging respect for his decision to do it.

"Ordering them linked was... the shrewdest thing I've ever known Stanley to do."

Wanda doesn't seem the type to give credit to others if it was her idea or suggestion.

Maybe the shrewdness wasn't in ordering the link, but the contributors of the link. Lookamancy, Foolamancy, and Thinkamancy are all Eyemancy, combining Erf, Fate, and Numbers. That combination may be why the Eyebooks and the Eyemancer table were so effective -- it made use of the entire school. We know trimancer links have been used before Stanley, since we have the Laurel of Napster. The shrewdness factor may have been to combine an entire school of magick, rather than picking casters from a different discipline. He had a Lookamancer, Foolamancer, Dirtamancer, and Croakamancer to choose from, and he somehow came up with the combination of the entire Eyemancy school. He may have had different intentions, but one cannot argue much with his results.

[Lamech]

Think-think-Carnymacer. Rig the rules of thinkamancy! And by thinkamancy I mean links.

[Kandarin]

Croakamancer + Findamancer = the Uncroaked Apocalypse! All units of any side that croak within the same battlespace as the trimancer link immediately rise as uncroaked on the trimancers' side. It'd be particularly handy for staving off the Decrypted.

[0beron]

Croakamancer + Findamancer = the Uncroaked Apocalypse! All units of any side that croak within the same battlespace as the trimancer link immediately rise as uncroaked on the trimancers' side. It'd be particularly handy for staving off the Decrypted.

I think this would require a more complex solution, similar to the double-link that was hypothesized at an earlier point. Take an Eyemancer link to create and run a Table, then have a Croak/Think/Find link also using the table at the same time.

[Lamech]

I was reading the wiki and got this idea.

The original golems in Jewish mythology (or tradition or belief or miracles I'm not sure the right word) were made from dust. Or earth as the case was. A dirtamancer could affect that and a croakamancer bring that back. Think of it, uncroaking the uncroaked!

[0beron]

I think a Dirtamancer could do that just as well. I mean, adding the croakamancer would allow you to make them actually look like the unit again, but it'd still be a golem/uncroaked so I think it'd be a waste of juice and not worth the risk of a link.

[Lamech]

I think a Dirtamancer could do that just as well. I mean, adding the croakamancer would allow you to make them actually look like the unit again, but it'd still be a golem/uncroaked so I think it'd be a waste of juice and not worth the risk of a link.

The croak-dirt-amancer might be able to trioxin them back up. Every single unit in the hex back up, as many times as the dirt-croak-amancer has the juice to do it. And since even a level one caster has enough juice... Plus I bet they would be better than the standard trioxin mooks too, since its a Tri-link. And they could claim a dirtamancer bonus and a croakamancer bonus. Now the kicker would be if instead of uncroaking it was decryption.

The only problem would be it requires to place the tri-link in danger.

[Lamech]

I think a Dirtamancer could do that just as well. I mean, adding the croakamancer would allow you to make them actually look like the unit again, but it'd still be a golem/uncroaked so I think it'd be a waste of juice and not worth the risk of a link.

The croak-dirt-amancer might be able to trioxin them back up. Every single unit in the hex back up, as many times as the dirt-croak-amancer has the juice to do it. And since even a level one caster has enough juice... Plus I bet they would be better than the standard trioxin mooks too, since its a Tri-link. And they could claim a dirtamancer bonus and a croakamancer bonus. Now the kicker would be if instead of uncroaking it was decryption.

The only problem would be it requires to place the tri-link in danger.

It uses predictamancy.
Edit: I have no idea what I meant here. Please ignore...

[Shai_hulud]

Hat+Croak
http://store.valvesoftware.com/product.php?i=H0300