<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic) --> <!--X-From-R13: Rreevpx Xbarf <thagureNbayvar1.zntahf1.pbz> --> <!--X-Date: Thu, 30 Oct 1997 06:51:38 +0000 --> <!--X-Message-Id: Pine.SV4.3.93.971030004640.18725A-100000@online1 --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Reference: 199710290631.GAA137704#out2,ibm.net --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:gunther#online1,magnus1.com"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg00168.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00170.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00163.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00205.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00169">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00169">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00169">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#null,net">mud-dev#null,net</A></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: Derrick Jones <<A HREF="mailto:gunther#online1,magnus1.com">gunther#online1,magnus1.com</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Thu, 30 Oct 1997 01:56:55 -0500 (EST)</LI> <LI><em>Reply-To</em>: Derrick Jones <<A HREF="mailto:gunther#online1,magnus1.com">gunther#online1,magnus1.com</A>></LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> On Wed, 29 Oct 1997 coder#ibm,net wrote: > > On 27/10/97 at 08:32 AM, Derrick Jones <gunther#online1,magnus1.com> said: > >On Sun, 26 Oct 1997 coder#ibm,net wrote: > >> On 26/10/97 at 10:10 AM, Derrick Jones <gunther#online1,magnus1.com> said: > >> >On Mon, 20 Oct 1997, Marian Griffith wrote: > >> >> On Wed 15 Oct, Michael Hohensee wrote: > >> >> > > On Tue, 14 Oct 1997 coder#ibm,net wrote: > > >> >The problem here is twofold. 1.) Magical travel is instanteous and > >> >doesn't leave tracks... > >> > >> Why doesn't it leave tracks? > > >Well, after some thought, I guess it could... > > My base reaction for a teleport spell would be that it operates by > creating an n-dimensional fold in space-time, such taht very briefly that > section of space which the character occupies is simultaneously located in > two descrete points within the continuum (ie where he is, is in two places > at once). Then, at the endo the spell, the fold relaxes, and space > becomes more or less euclidian, with our spell casting friend electing to > stay one "the other side" of the now torn-down fold. > > To visualise: [snip good description of a worm-hole] > > Given this sort of model (to which you can add all sorts of Nathan-esque > resource and physical mechanics to (which I have done)), I define that the > two locations which were once one, now have a base level of "affinity" for > each other, and that that affinity can be detected, and that it and the > two spaces which have that affinity can be manipulated as a form of > mechanical harmony. My definition is that the two places aren't one, but infinitely close; separated by the portal (worm-hole if you will) which the mage steps through. The difference being that temperature, luminosity, and (most interestingly) pressure gradients go off the scale (opening a portal into a much lower pressure (air into vacuum or underwater into air) creates all sorts of fun). But being that they are definitions, discussing the validity of each will quickly become circular. Also, having the portal remain between both places allows each location to retain its 'uniqueness', so that objects don't spontaneously switch from one place to another during the duration of the spell. This doesn't mean the things can't be 'pushed' through the portal (or dragged by a pressure gradient), or that the caster can't enter under his/her(English needs a neuter pronoun other than 'it') own power. Yet the problem of tracability remains. The protals themselves can be detected, as they exist (for Trekish worm-holes its the quantum fluctuations), but the pursuers can't link entrance and exit portals as the path between them is non-existant. Should there be a distinction? If portals are one-way, then I guess the 'in' and 'out' have their own unique signatures, but a two-way portal (eww nasty spell) would by necessity be identical. Although if you gear magic to absorb from its surroundings, then one end of the portal (enter) would most likely show the drop in ambient energies. > At the lowest levels of affinity, a location can be made to "sing". The > result is that the other, paired location also sings, and that fact can be > detected and located with great accuracy 9and some expense). For a > location that has never been teleported from, the result is that the whole > local area then starts to sing, slightly. Wouldn't this lead to Universal affinity, providing that teleporting becomes a fairly common practice? If large, different areas begin to mesh to be in 'affinity' with each other, then you will quickly get the majority of he popular spots being a soup of each others identity. For example, say a swamp and desert were 'linked' by a spell, then the swamp with a snowy mountaincap. The mountaincap would gain some affinity with the desert, even though they were never directly connected. Thus, after a few hundred jumps, it would become impossible to tell the original source of an introduced affinity. However, if some mage teleports into town from his/her secret hideaway (assumed to be 'off the beaten path' and therefore retaining much of its orignal location signature), the entire town may be able to detect the shift created by the portal. (There is danger in the air.) > This structure makes it trivially easy to follow a teleporting mage, as > long as you follow him closely, close enough that you can see the location > he teleports from at every hop (otherwise its somewhat difficult to > determine from where he teleported, and thus where the affinity > co-location is (a side benefit of time travel skills)). As does, mine, provided that you are quick enough to follow the mage through the portal before it closes. This isn't an easy task, as the spell its most personal form (teleport self) negates itself when the caster passes through it. We're then back to looking for signatures left by exit portals, which are all identical to each other (Being that they dissipate fully in a few minutes, there are in most probability only a few exit portal signatures at any given time.) > This also reveals a standard ploy to prevent such tracing. The mage first > drops a robot. The robot is a trail hider. The mage then teleports away > first, and very shortly afterward the robot teleports away to somewhere > (far) different. The result is that the trail is more or less hidden. The > record of the later teleport is much stronger and tends to swamp the > mage's trace. Really nasty cases drop multiple robots, and teleport > multiple times, each time dropping robots. By the time the work is > expended to track them, the trail is cold. Nifty. The same logic could be used in my system. Th mage hires a few accomplices to teleport about randomly as the mage is committing the crime. When it comes time to escape, the guards have an unusally large number of portals to investigate, thus spreading their forces thin to the point where they can be ambushed, or eluded easily. Also, the accomplices can stick around the exit-portals and give faulty information to the guards, or even make it seem that the mage did in fact use the wrong portal (dropping a hat simular to the one worn by the mage, etc). > >> >The guards have to be able to react quick enough to prevent > >> >the mage from casting, else the mage can get away. To correct this, the guards have to prevent the mage from casting, then stepping into the protal...This does give them a _little_ more time to react, although not much, as the portal may appear directly in front of the mage. > >> Or they must be able to place a tracer on the mage so that their mages can > >> follow him. Probably cheaper, hearder to detech (by the fleeing mage) and > >> provides for more interesting chases. This is more feasible once I added the time for the mage to step into the protal. The guards will recognize a portal, and know that the mage is most likely going to try to disappear into it, fire/throw a tracer at the mage, and wala, they know where the mage is going. In a post-modern setting, guards could throw grenade-like objects through the portal, then the mage steps through, the portal closes, and BOOM! Tracing the mage would be as easy as following the explosions, although it probably won't be all that fruitful as the mage was blown to bits once the portal closed. > > > >Ooh...I think this little item would be just a little to dangerous in > >PC's hands. If the Mage had figured out the tracer method, he would be > >sure to remove it the next time (after earning himself another body most > >likely), and place it on his intended victim...unless the actual guard > >who witnessed the crime is the first to catch up with the victim (who has > >no reason to be running from the guards), the guards would just pounce on > >the victim, and finish the mages original crime. > > Precisely. All sorts of fun can result. Tracers, multiple tracers, false > tracers, red herrings, anti-tracers, tracer deveivers, etc. All the > wonderful glory of an arms race... Fun stuff. Why avoid it? > Mostly because the players would be dying in droves right from the start. Mainly at each others hands for the sake of killing each other. I'm aiming to make PK a little more difficult to disourage rampant player-killing. That's the whole point of the 'safe' zones. I can't see players handing such devices responsively if they are introduced at the start. Perhaps once the mud is established and I want to add a little fire to the game I could introduce them... > >It looks > >like it'll boil down to whether or not I (as the guard coder) can stay a > >step ahead of the players. But isn't that why we started down this road > >in the first place? > > Yeppirs. But we're having more fun with it now. Yes we are. And I'm getting one hell of a head start. Gunther </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <ul compact><li><strong>Follow-Ups</strong>: <ul> <li><strong><A NAME="00205" HREF="msg00205.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> coder#ibm,net</li></ul> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <UL><LI><STRONG>References</STRONG>: <UL> <LI><STRONG><A NAME="00163" HREF="msg00163.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</A></STRONG> <UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> coder#ibm,net</LI></UL></LI> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00168.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] string parsing</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00170.html">Re: Idea: Hive-mind monster</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00163.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00205.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00169"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00169"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><STRONG>Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <ul compact> <LI><strong><A NAME="00159" HREF="msg00159.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</A></strong>, Derrick Jones <a href="mailto:gunther#online1,magnus1.com">gunther#online1,magnus1.com</a>, Mon 27 Oct 1997, 04:16 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00160" HREF="msg00160.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</A></strong>, Matt Chatterley <a href="mailto:root#mpc,dyn.ml.org">root#mpc,dyn.ml.org</a>, Mon 27 Oct 1997, 20:14 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00203" HREF="msg00203.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</A></strong>, coder <a href="mailto:coder#ibm,net">coder#ibm,net</a>, Sun 02 Nov 1997, 05:10 GMT </LI> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00163" HREF="msg00163.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</A></strong>, coder <a href="mailto:coder#ibm,net">coder#ibm,net</a>, Wed 29 Oct 1997, 06:31 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00169" HREF="msg00169.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</A></strong>, Derrick Jones <a href="mailto:gunther#online1,magnus1.com">gunther#online1,magnus1.com</a>, Thu 30 Oct 1997, 06:51 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00205" HREF="msg00205.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</A></strong>, coder <a href="mailto:coder#ibm,net">coder#ibm,net</a>, Sun 02 Nov 1997, 06:42 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00206" HREF="msg00206.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</A></strong>, Derrick Jones <a href="mailto:gunther#online1,magnus1.com">gunther#online1,magnus1.com</a>, Sun 02 Nov 1997, 11:46 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00216" HREF="msg00216.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] To catch a mage (was fear of magic)</A></strong>, coder <a href="mailto:coder#ibm,net">coder#ibm,net</a>, Sun 02 Nov 1997, 23:30 GMT </LI> </LI> </LI> </LI> </LI> </LI> </ul> <LI><strong><A NAME="00207" HREF="msg00207.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Fear of magic (was:Usability and interface)</A></strong>, Marian Griffith <a href="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</a>, Sun 02 Nov 1997, 14:45 GMT </LI> </ul> </ul> </ul> </ul> </ul> </ul> </ul> </ul> </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>