text; i completely forgot what i used for patchouli's username cause i'm good at this

[heptagram]

So, about this Amphoria thing.

On Earth, the first device that could be considered a form of modern "virtual reality" was dubbed the "Sensorama," created by Morton Heilig in 1962. The last time I was on Earth was around 1998. We had nothing near as immersive as what exists on this world.

I'm very curious to know if your worlds had anything remotely similar to this. Technology or magic. A magical implementation of such is easier to envision than a technological one, but it's difficult to tell the difference past a point, is it not?

Comments

[Text, UN: bardic_uncertainty]

[have_hat_will_travel]

You could... Probably get something like that going with strong enough Illusion magic?

But the kind of effort it'd take to start, let alone maintain, something like that... I can't even imagine the kinda resources or GM bullshit that'd require.

[heptagram]

Don't get me wrong, it would take quite a bit of energy, but it seems like it's fairly doable. I'm curious if anyone bothered. Some who wield magic do enjoy putting it to some extravagant use.

[have_hat_will_travel]

I don't know of any... Not that'd be as programmable as the VR games. Phantasms can fool all the senses, but they're based on the reader's mind completing the scene, so it's not as consistent. In fact, that's key to how you beat them...

I guess the techniques in your time might be better developed, though?

[heptagram]

At the very least, they're based more on the vision of another. Extracting something from the mind of another with humans' technology is not very simple.

[have_hat_will_travel]

I've heard there's magics for it, but they're marked as particularly Vile magics for a reason.

The horrific pain being just a start.

[heptagram]

Perhaps it needs some refinement, or the means of accomplishing the effect need to be changed. It is often very possible to achieve something dangerous in a painful way, but many people are not willing to try if it has such a dangerous reputation.

[have_hat_will_travel]

Yeah... That would definitely be beyond my range. I'm a Bard, developing new magics isn't my category.

We've got some Wizards around, at least???

[heptagram]

I've spent most of my life engineering my own spells, so I could probably do something like that if it became necessary.

[have_hat_will_travel]

... Okay, that's actually legitimately really neat. I know some Wizards who do some of their own magics back in my world, but almost everyone there iterates from existing work.

Bards are just a bit more brazen about grabbing existing work - spells, stories, you name it - and worked out a few spells that depend on stylish performance that most Wizards would classify as 'beneath them'.

Doing the primary development yourself is... A couple levels above what I've encountered. So, pretty neat.

[heptagram]

It's an extremely difficult skill to learn, but I lived in a world with next to nobody else with any magical talent or knowledge whatsoever. Even those who were interested did not actually discover much. So it was a talent I had to learn.

[have_hat_will_travel]

Huh.. That's definitely a different experience than my own work. Bards would barely exist if we didn't build off one another's work, so...

Wow. Alone, though. That's a downer.

[heptagram]

Needless to say, it was very difficult to get even a little bit of a foothold. It was difficult, but worthwhile in the end.

[have_hat_will_travel]

... Yeah.

My quest was a little different in nature, but it was worthwhile for... Well, at least the world. Not so sure it did much besides levels for myself, the more I think it.