| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Fellfire |
Posted - 27 Apr 2014 : 18:17:34
Any thoughts on the issue in an FR setting? I'm aware of the Ring of Winter and the information in Frostburn, but would love to hear the musings of this fine collection of Scribes. |
| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 01 May 2014 : 18:36:47
-Creating ice, that'd be a whole different story, then. Very useful.
-I was under the assumption it was just controlling ice, something that would be much more limited in its usefulness because of the environmental and temporal issues involving ice and how it forms. |
| Tanthalas |
Posted - 01 May 2014 : 02:52:16
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
-Wouldn't that be different from cryokinesis? That's not only controlling, but also creating ice.
I don't think that there's a definitive definition for cryokinesis, but the few definitions that I find online seem to include ice creation as well. |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 01 May 2014 : 01:59:19
quote:
Originally posted by Tanthalas
I know the Marvel universe is a far cry from D&D, but over there Iceman can pretty much make any structure that he wants with ice.
-Wouldn't that be different from cryokinesis? That's not only controlling, but also creating ice. |
| Ateth Istarlin |
Posted - 29 Apr 2014 : 06:32:53
The D&D comics published by Kenser & Co. featured an ice wizard in one of their stories - he inspired me to look into playing one in our campaign (he came in very useful & was instrumental in achieving victory over the main villain). |
| Tanthalas |
Posted - 28 Apr 2014 : 23:17:12
Just look at how Icingdeath is useful to Drizzt when fighting fiends or Fire elemental creatures.
I know the Marvel universe is a far cry from D&D, but over there Iceman can pretty much make any structure that he wants with ice. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 28 Apr 2014 : 22:42:32
I think an ice-themed spellcaster is always a useful addition to the party. He can affect monster types which are immune or resistant to fire - including most fiends, outsiders, and dragons. Undead might be problematic. NPC opponents will tend to act like PCs in terms of prioritizing their resistance vs fire, even lightning, before addressing cold ... largely because every mageling in the land will hurl fireballs and lightning bolts. |
| hashimashadoo |
Posted - 28 Apr 2014 : 17:50:46
Well, there was that group of Vaasan wizards who were said to have discovered a 'new' type of ice magic in their ice tower at the base of Mount Okk in 1142 DR.
An earthquake opened a fissure directly beneath their tower seven years later and an avalanche buried it. It would be a perfect place to introduce cryokinesis if your players could reach the buried tower. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 28 Apr 2014 : 04:57:24
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Ice magic can be as much if not more useful than fire magic. For instance, you can make structures of ice... you can make transportation from ice... you can make weapons of ice.
While this is true, when I've got enemies in front of me, I'd rather toss a fireball than an ice cube. Even if the damage was exactly the same, fire causes a much more visceral reaction than ice does. |
| sfdragon |
Posted - 28 Apr 2014 : 03:12:07
there was that ice fortress spell in frostburn for ice structures.
there was also that ice temple to auril in iwd2.
ice magic can be fun.... |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 27 Apr 2014 : 23:40:41
Ice magic can be as much if not more useful than fire magic. For instance, you can make structures of ice... you can make transportation from ice... you can make weapons of ice. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 27 Apr 2014 : 22:49:18
"The physics of the Realms are slightly out of sync with the physics understood on our world."
I'm not entirely sure whether an Absolute Zero condition (complete suspension of entropy and halting of all motion, even at the atomic and subatomic scales) exists in the Realms. None of the fiction or adventures I know of provide any reference to this phenomenom. Things (even living things) seem to either become so frozen and brittle that they disintegrate into broken shards at the slightest impact, or they eventually thaw out and return to their previous state. Absolute Zero "ice" on our world could not conduct electricity, burn, corrode, or be subject to any chemical processes, and of course most creatures on our world would not survive a sudden freezing/thawing intact.
Incidentally, one of the Ring of Winter's properties is that it can be used to create permanent objects and items from magically-hardened ice. One of my PCs made much use of a (found) morning star made (long ago) of this stuff, although he also wore Boots of the North to ensure protection from the unnatural cold it radiated.
I recall a monstrous mercenary unit based in the North was armed with ice axes, ice blades, and ice lances. Sorry, I can't also recall the specific source or details. |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 27 Apr 2014 : 18:52:15
-Controlling ice seems a lot less...grandiose than control over fire. The relatively static nature of ice, as opposed to fire, probably would kind of make it impractical in the immediate present. The ability to control it over the long-term, to be able to shape it as it forms and whatever else, that would be useful, I guess. Things like architecture or maybe production (tools made of ice)in the North, where there's a lot of snow and ice or even permafrost, could be augmented by such an ability.
-What kind of tyrannical Aurilite priestess wouldn't want a stronghold made of ice, or servitors that don't use weapons made of ice (or servitors made of ice, for that matter)? |
