Posted by Drifter on September 24, 2000 at 18:01:56:
This idea is almost entirely based on Robert Jordan's Warders from the Wheel of Time series, as opposed to the Sylvan Warders we all know and love(hate?) I propose a new sub-sect of the Master's cabal that is not for mages, but rather for warriors, Ap's, and perhaps rangers. It is not farfetched that the Masters, in seeking to further pursue their research and studies in the Arcane, might seek to hire men-at-arms in order to offload some of their defensive duties. In order to prevent confusion with the Sylvans, I will call them Sentinels. Now I can hear the Naysayers already "What about Battle Ragers? Warriors and Wizards together? Is this not like Empire?" I have thought on this and I propose the following controls. First of all, a sentinel must never be the equal of a Battle Rager one on one. Their powers should be strictly utilitarian in nature. such as Detect hidden or camouflage. Their primary job is to protect their masters from unseen threats. perhaps not detecting a sylvan's chameleon, that might prove too powerful. maybe give them a regenerative power, or a way for a master mage to lend their mana as hp. The real power would be in allowing mages like transmuters to lend their prep spells to the classes that can really make use of them. The second control I propose is to give every Master mage the ability to uninduct any sentinel. Their word is law and must be obeyed. This should have the effect of making the sentinels not particularly appealing to the power player. Indeed playing a sentinel would be more of an RP schtick than anything else. It would also offer a cabal where warriors and wizards could work together for the team-oriented player. (To my mind Empire is not particularly good at this because of the built in disension between the sects, but on the other hand they have access to nearly every class type.)It would also offer another cabal path for warriors who did not want to be magic haters or evil. I realize if this idea were implemented, it would cause a major shift in the balance of power and cabal politics. This is why I'm quite certain it will never see the light of day. But there it is. Comments, rants, and other ideas on how to balance this are welcome. Drifter