Power design

[Bluelantern]

One amazing thing about Effulgence is the great detail in power design. I wanted to know whether it's something you can learn, and how?

Also why can't Bella wish for perfect wishing skills?

[Alicorn]

I'm not sure how to teach power design. It comes pretty naturally to me.

Wishing for wishing skills is problematic because it's a creative activity - when she wishes for e.g. flute skills she can read music, knows all the fingerings, etc., but it doesn't come with composition skill and that wouldn't work very well if she tried it. Also, if she did that and it did work, I'd have to suddenly be a lot better at it.

[Bluelantern]

I'm not sure how to teach power design. It comes pretty naturally to me.

Maybe more specific examples? Like...

...Why Stella didn't just wish for Telekinesis? I remember she spent sometime with it.

Wishing for wishing skills is problematic because it's a creative activity - when she wishes for e.g. flute skills she can read music, knows all the fingerings, etc., but it doesn't come with composition skill and that wouldn't work very well if she tried it. Also, if she did that and it did work, I'd have to suddenly be a lot better at it.

I think there is some... "methodology" to it and specific examples that can be avoided or extrapolated one: When you wish for healing powers, specify what they heal, think of the trade-offs related to being unable to control it and if they would prevent surgery intervetion to... and so on.

[modrony]

This makes me think of healing wishes. Most of the body can be restored to default composition but what about the brain?
You will not want to prevent change altogether so how do you distinguish changed-because-growth-or-thought and changed-because-brain-trauma-or-ageing?

Are bells still using neurons to think or have they downloaded wholly/partially to wish constructs?
Is brain speedup temporal effect on biological matter or additional processing capacity?
Is there heat buildup if physical?
What is the interface like if bells have biological brains with wish 'modules'?

[Alicorn]

I haven't actually given this any thought. I can tell you that they don't have one of those combustible heads, though.

[AndaisQ]

It's possible some things end up being about as intuitive as the wisher thinks they should be? Like, you could wish to make someone two inches tall, despite the fact that it would have Galileo Galilei spinning in his grave, because most people would just think "make person little" instead of thinking about the energy requirements and the square/cube law and the fact that nothing about it makes any sense.

[modrony]

Combustible heads XD

Small person would need:
- different kind of blood to keep it circulating (gas?),
- extradimensional brain-pan or drastically lowered IQ
- different bones?
dunno. Do we a molecular biologist here?

Maybe it does work with magic?

[Bluelantern]

I know it is off topic-ish... but this power needs a name

Power description/properties: It is a form of protective mind control. The user chooses a target to be protected. While the power is active it will influence people trying to harm the protected through injury or negative action. The power “pushes” people to avoid prioritizing the protected and pick other targets, and if they do still try to harm the protected they will prefer less harmful actions.

[Lambda]

"I cast the don't-hurt-me aura on them."?

[Bluelantern]

"I cast the don't-hurt-me aura on them."?

A friend suggested "Untarget" I am considering "Anti-Hostility Protection" maybe "Aura" suits it better?