Hi there. This is a sort of speculation thread where we speculate on the Golems from Rise. For example, you can speculate on the intricacies of how they work, what they can and can't do, and what variants are possible. I'll get us started by asking a question.

Would it be possible to give a Golem a built in ranged weapon? Perhaps some manner of energy weapon?

I would say it's possible, to give them ranged energy weapons. But the problem with this is that their energy collection crystals would need to be able to collect more energy, at a higher rate. Or maybe a separate battery and collector for the weapon

Which begs another question. What's the energy collection rate of those crystals?

~Equinox_

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That sort of begs the question of how ponies gather magical power, and at what rate they do it. Do they convert food into magic? Absorb it from their surroundings? It's hard to say how artificial beings gain and channel magical power when we don't know how organics do it.

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Well, and I'm speculating off of several fanfics. They way that the changelings have magic, including their disguises, is through the love that they absorbe. If they run out of love, yes they start to starve but also, they can't shape-shift. That seems to be the most accepted way of how the changelings work.

But of the other organics, the fanfic don't really go into too much detail, about how they get their magic. But I think think their are two ways they get the magic that they use, it seems that they create the magic internally, through some unexplained process. And they also absorb it from the environment as well. I also think that the aborbtion/creation process is fairly quick. This comes from the story by Thadius0, Headless, not heartless in this chapter, the main character releases a spell on the mane six and both the princesses, that dispels their magic leaving them feeling drained. And celestia thinks "if I don't do anything else with magic, I might be able to lower the sun." So either the princesses have a higher than normal rate of absorbing/creating magic, or thats the norm.

~Equinox_

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I always got the idea that Alicorns have a different level of magical capability compared to non-Alicorns.

There's a couple of concepts we'd have to go over here- Things like Capacity- How much magic can a pony hold for immediate use- To the rates how how they convert other things into magical power, and how quickly they can absorb ambient magic, and the like.

throw in things like changeling being able to convert love, and objects nad place of magical power, It's a lot to think about.

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I think that the capacity for magic veries, from each pony type. Like the earth ponies have the lowest capacity, the pegusus have average capacity, and the unicorns have the highest capacity out of the common pony types.

Alicorns on the other hand, that's a whole new ballpark. Cadence is probably the least powerful alicorn, Celestia being the most powerful, and Luna being in the middle. That was the scale before twilicorn though. Although some cold argue that she is less powerful than Cadence, reason being that she is still very new at this. Others could argue that she is the most powerful, because she was the only one who could absorbe all the magic of the alicorns, or at least the one that would be the most successful at it.

I think that being able to access Magic also uses stamina to be able to cast. Like in the Dusk Gaurd: Rise, captain steel's fight with sobra, which shows that he has access to a earth pony magic that very few can. In the book, I believe it says that he moved the earth in a twenty foot area around him, leaving him feeling drained, but that is also after sparing for quite a bit before hand.

So let's theoris that steel song is the most powerful earth pony, Rainbow Dash is the most powerful pegusus, and Twilight is the most powerful unicorn (since the story itself is based in season two).

~Equinox_

I might as well chime in. Magic and how it works in The Dusk Guard isn't based off of any other fanfics or headcanons, so if there are similarities, they are coincidences, not causations. So while other fics may have similar systems or theories, it doesn't mean that they will hold true here. I'm just pointing that out so no one gets super into an idea only to have it shattered later.

Magic in The Dusk Guard is a lot like a muscle. Everypony has it to some degree, but some have more of it naturally than others, and you can improve your capability with it through studious practice. It's a form of energy, so just as running would tire someone out and make them want to eat, so would heavy magic use. You can also strain your magic capacity just as you can strain a muscle.

What sets Steel apart isn't that he is incredibly gifted with using an Earth-pony's natural magic, but that's he's practiced and used it a lot, spending years refining his capacity. There are undoubtedly Earth ponies out there who have more of a natural aptitude than him, but probably lack the practice.

As far as golem types go ... I'm just going to nod and say "The golems are cool" when it comes to any thoughts of future types.

Will the Dusk Guard ever field golems as disposable drones? Even if they are very small, a golem could provide a serious tactical advantage. That, and I want to see a magi-tech SHIV unit from X COM: Enemy Unknown.

Out of curiosity, is anyone trying to use the magic/tech behind the golems' locomotion capability to power larger vehicles? Say, using a cluster of magic crystals to replace the steam engines aboard the Hummingbird?