Versus Color Magic · 9:43pm Apr 5th, 2016
I've got a worldbuilding post up: and linked on the Patreon. It's about how the magic system in Versus operates! Note that, like Trixieverse magic, it's ambiguous in certain ways but allows for good storytelling by observing things about the system. I've got a broad view of many possible conflicts between arisen Versus species, thanks to looking at how the magic system operates. For instance, did you know that Dog magic has a powerful masking effect, and when melded with Cat, Badger, Skunk, even Raccoon magic, the resulting blend so strongly resembles Dog magic that it'd work great as a disguise mechanic? Pull some illegal caper, and you'd want to rope in a canine (or for canines, they'd want to rope in a fox: same deal) because the resulting magic would seem like it was all Dog magic, concealing your involvement.
Not that you'd want to work with Raccoons (or dragons). They're so secretive and individualistic that they don't meld well and you lose most of the mana when you try. But you COULD, and nobody would notice the raccoon's involvement. You'd hardly know he's there… and then he scoots off, having stolen your baling wire, which he takes back to his secret workshop to make a techno-magical steampunk golem.
Strange place, Versus, but I think you'll like it when it gets rolling 
Huh, Looking at coon/dragon magic:
Conductance: 12%
Energy: 81%
Roots: 75%
Flow: 85%
Potential: 80%
Mental resilience: 5%
Physical resilience: 12%
Emotional resilience: 0%
Total resilience: 15%
OK. Can't share, tons of brute power in all classes, good throughput, absolute shit defenses.
Generic golem:
Conductance: 73%
Energy: 85%
Roots: 23%
Flow: 30%
Potential: 50%
Mental resilience: 0%
Physical resilience: 73%
Emotional resilience: 65%
Total resilience: 15%
Decent sharing, tons of energy but no good with nature or cognition, low total throughput, shit mental defenses (no brain) but OK otherwise.
Racoon Golems:
Conductance: 84%
Energy: 67%
Roots: 11%
Flow: 19%
Potential: 28%
Mental resilience: 5%
Physical resilience: 85%
Emotional resilience: 73%
Total resilience: 30%
Good at sharing power; fairly good energy but lousy roots, flow, and efficiency (brute destruction ftw!); physically and emotionally tanky but easy to hijack.
Conclusions: the Finok are lethal if they get the first strike in, but will get stomped if it doesn't work. Can't work together for beans. Autonomous golems are tanky destructive machines, working well together but vulnerable to hijacking. Finok-operated golems are highly conductive and low-efficiency, so you want multiple Finok dumping power into each one. Still highly destructive, and tanky as hell if you can keep them from getting hijacked. If the Finok can't get a one-hit-kill in single combat, and you don't get them first, they'll run and get their golems, and then you'll be sorry. (This reads like the Adeptus Mechanicus in general, and their crewed Titan war machines in particular. I'll use that for flavor.)
Or, rather, Finok set the golems up to draw mana themselves. I guess what you're looking at (understandably) is what you get when a Finok makes a golem and then also melds with it, even though it's far from efficient, just to have that tiny little edge (which is very Finok and very Estrai (fox).
Finok will almost certainly be doing that from a concealed position to hide its involvement ;) and you will NOT see multiple Finok dumping power into each one, remember golems draw mana themselves, with a profile similar to Runge (wolves).
Lastly, you're talking about interspecies conflict as if it's hot mage-war, which is historical (and caused all those craters). At the time of the story it's not hot war, at all. Cold war, but it's mostly about interpersonal power and above all about hierarchy and mana inequality
Also, careful about saying the mental defenses mean 'no brain' when the profile's the same for Runge or Shana will bite you and I'll let her ;) for the wolves, my best guess is that they are so social and emotionally resonant with each other that they don't really operate on a mode of 'being persuaded with rational argument'. They're pack animals even Arisen, they go by emotion and loyalty, so the low mental defenses are about Runge not valuing the same type of thinking, not clinging to fixed ideas because they prize being more malleable and coming to consensus opinon.
This suggests that high-mental-resistance species like the desert lions prize more rigid thinking, perhaps holding formalized debates as part of their culture? I'm pretty sure the mental resistance also goes along with different sorts of resistant, stubborn thinking. All of these things should be possible to read in different ways, see them in different lights. (which is a very low-mental-resistance notion in itself! Clearly Cat mental resistance is not up there with the big cats, dogs etc)
3851208
Yep
Why not? From the blog post:
The way that's written, it sounds like the restriction is based on the recipient rather than the sender, and the Finok-melded golems have an 84% Saturation rating. While culturally it might be a harder sell than with pack animals, against a big enough threat (be it military or otherwise) most creatures will "shut up and dig in" as it were. Or am I missing a "game rule" here?
More along the lines of "based on their history and abilities, this would shape their current behavior." Finok defenses aren't going to be passive, like walls and magitek shields. Watch towers around their settlements they could defend from? Sure. Combat-capable golems? Absolutely. The idea of "surprise raid if we can, wall-o-death if we can't" also applies to things like trade negotiations.
The "no brain" crack was specific to the golems, actually, but I could see the Finok and Vorsi saying such things amongst themselves.
3851293
No, you're right there, but I'm seeing it as 'the restriction is based on the sender'. So if you're a bunch of Finok powering a golem then what it gets is through the Finok pipe, but if a bunch of golems are powering a FINOK then what the Finok gets is through the golem pipes, and they are better at channeling their energy to another.
What I meant with that remark was the idea of a hierarchical thing, since that's part of the actual story (trouble with hierarchical magic-aggregators sucking the planet dry of mana). So, if you have three levels of Runge, the lowest level are using mana directly (from primary sources) and funneling it to a middlewuf Runge, and each take the 'saturation' loss when sending. That Runge probably has a top limit based on luminance (brightness) which might or might not be developable with practice (which is why dragons etc. are powerful: extended top limit) and they in turn are funneling magic to a top level. So, they take a saturation loss from what THEY have to transmit, and then after that apply the top limit (do not burn up hapless wolf!) and then the top level Runge gets that plus whoever else is channeling to them.
So 'how easily can this creature channel energy either from its own mana sources or furnished from others, TO a recipient'.
That means Finok for instance would be capable of larger melds without burning up the channeler: they transmit less efficiently from what they've got, but they have an extended top range. Compare to lions/badgers/skunks, who easily transmit but have a more restricted top range: fewer of them will add up to the max limit for the channeler. And then you're gonna translate that into intended effect, which probably means going with the resistances (aptitudes?) meaning that some species simply can't do some effects: foxes etc. absolutely cannot do physical manipulation and have to work with others to handle that.
The transmission to other individuals becomes the 'translation' of your mana reserves to a form of magic you can't yourself wield, and all these factors regulate the effectiveness. I'm going to have to run the numbers to see how that works out because it might be overly restrictive on things like dragons and raccoons: they should still be formidable so I might not be able to go with 'resistance factor also serves as facility with that class of magic'.
Stay tuned for a relative sizes post relating to the minecraft builds. Several of the species either live in, or have use for, 1x1 spaces, some species really require 3-block ceilings (Aoma/bears require 3x2 throughout!) and the Vorsi can't fit in less than 4x4 and prefer 5x5! Only the Azkan (rats) literally live in predominantly 1x1 spaces but the bunny warrens make use of 1x1 crawlspaces and hideyholes, and the Nerre absolutely love 'sleeping nooks' of 1x1 etc. at height 2 or 3. And the Aintar nest in 1x1 spaces for shelter but any area they're in requires fly-space of at least 3x3x3 at the most cramped, or they get stressed.
3851308
Ah, OK. So the Finok can't send worth crap, but that doesn't mean they can't receive (especially with their high Luminance). The Golems can't receive much from a Finok (just enough for a defensive boost), but they can send lots.
That has some interesting implications. Finok could use a network of golems as a combination mana battery and power amplifier, up to the limits imposed by their 50% Luminance potential. Of course, this only works for Energy mana. Attempting to chain Finok-golem-Finok doesn't work due to the huge inefficiencies and mana incompatibilities, and Finok-Finok is right out. In case of emergency, golem-network->Finok->golem would be an inefficient but terrifying option.
So as you say, no Finok teams, but each Finok is going to want a ton of golem minions for Energy work. The Finok also have a huge local environmental reservoir of Energy mana. Finok magitek industry (and hypothetical combat) would run on Energy. Anything else (growing, research, etc) is going to be done by lone Finok.