Mana Encyclopedia

[Firebirdwyvern]

When we were discussing the Brazen Bulls hunting ability, Shokomon mentioned that they can use Fire mana.

 

I know mana has been mentioned a lot, but what is it? How is it made? We have some species who creates their own, but it must also be natural too.

 

Since we have something for dragons (which I am not a big fan off because it seems not to count owned dragons), can we have something to help those people who are making dragon concepts that harness the power of mana?

 

We know that one Halloween dragon can use, and the Xenowyrms can as well. But what about others? I know in one story a gold dragon and his mate used a shard of fire mana to help their egg, but can all dragons use mana regardless of what type it is?

 

 

[Niya]

You might want to check out the DC Lore AMA. TJ has answered a lot of similar questions already, but you can ask more if there's something you need to know.

[Obscure_Trash]

This might answer some of your questions: https://dragcave.net/dragonopedia/magic

 

EDIT: To say I would also enjoy getting more info on magic/elements/valkamere. The fact that mana can literally morph humans into different appearances is super cool and something I'd love to see added to the cave.

Edited July 6, 2016 by SockPuppet Strangler

[Fiona]

I agree the mana system does need filled out. Not only do the individual types of mana need more definition but the overall way mana works could use more explanation.

 

I've got some ideas for how that could be done, TJ willing.

[Angelina Gienah]

Always for world knowledge expansion

[Firebirdwyvern]

I agree the mana system does need filled out. Not only do the individual types of mana need more definition but the overall way mana works could use more explanation.

 

I've got some ideas for how that could be done, TJ willing.

That would be wonderful, I checked the link and it does answer some of what I suggested...but what about those dragons who have mana inside them? If you could somehow explain that...it would be good and useful.

 

From what I read, raw mana is liquid...so that could be the liquid in the heating pouches of the Bull...but yet the Desipis has mana crystals embedded in their bodies.

 

Not sure if I'm repeating what I said in the OP, but can certain types of mana be harmful to certain types of dragons?

 

So much to learn...I hope he agrees Fiona. It would be nice to have an area dedicated to Mana itself.

[TJ09]

I agree the mana system does need filled out. Not only do the individual types of mana need more definition but the overall way mana works could use more explanation.

 

I've got some ideas for how that could be done, TJ willing.

What specific questions do you have that the existing content doesn't answer? "The overall way mana works" is unfortunately too vague to properly address, since there are a number of ways it could go, and it's unlikely you're looking for a scientific justification for how mana is able to properly function within the world of Valkemare.

 

It's likely the information already exists but isn't presented in the page, but it's hard to condense things into encyclopedic form without knowing what things to include.

[Fiona]

From discussions not in public I may have an idea of how mana works in our dragons, but I may be wrong. I may have an idea for the forms mana takes and why and how, but I don't think all that is public. From what I've seen in DR I don't know if all the players understand how mana works in our dragons, what sort of things they can do with it. I know the definitions of the various types of mana aren't clear. Let's take Light mana for example. I know you've said publicly that Light mana doesn't refer exclusively to physical light but includes the concept of goodness. Yet when in DR I see people talking about Light mana in their concepts it seems they are thinking only of physical light.

 

I don't think most people even consider how the different forms of mana affect each other. I'm not sure they even know that they do affect each other. If Light trumps Dark what effect does that have when a Light mana wielding dragon encounters a Dark mana wielding dragon in an unfriendly encounter?

 

For people to really understand the mana system I think it needs to be more completely spelled out. So, in short, I think the 12 different types of mana need official detailed definitions, I think the way different types of mana affect each other should be clearly spelled out, I think exactly what Balance means as the hub of the mana wheel needs to be clearly spelled out and I think the forms that mana can take, how it does that and why, should be spelled out. Yes, as part of the encyclopedia.

[olympe]

I think the very least we need is this:

What is mana?

What does mana do?

What can be done with mana?

Does mana have a strength and weakness system similar to the Pokémon elements? (Fi's comment seems to suggest it does.)

 

Then, of course, we need some information on each kind of mana.

What effect does this particular type of mana have?

Is there some other kind of mana it cannot be combined with? (For example, can light be combined with dark? They seem like polar opposites.)

[HeatherMarie]

I just re-read the encyclopedia and I still have questions as well. How is mana formed? What is it made out of? Is it found in some form everywhere, or only in specific places? We breed mis-matched dragons together all the time, but in reality would light and dark mana dragons be compatible? It says raw mana of differing elements don't mix well; If two different mana dragons tried to breed, would they end up turning against each other?

 

Plus what Fiona and Olympe said.

[TJ09]

How is mana formed? What is it made out of?

The encyclopedia is written from a perspective of what humans would know about the world. They most certainly would not yet know the origins of mana, and the real answer to your second question is "it's made out of mana; it is its own substance."

For either of these two questions, I don't see a need to revise the encyclopedia based on the answers.

 

Is it found in some form everywhere, or only in specific places?

It is indeed found more or less everywhere. Think of it like water, which is pretty omnipresent but certain places have higher concentrations than others.

In this case, the text "Mana can be found naturally in pools, springs, or as solid crystals." mostly covers this; but it could be slightly revised to clarify that it's all over the world

 

We breed mis-matched dragons together all the time, but in reality would light and dark mana dragons be compatible? It says raw mana of differing elements don't mix well; If two different mana dragons tried to breed, would they end up turning against each other?

Raw mana specifically refers to mana as a substance in its natural state (“Mana can be found naturally ... [m]ana in this 'raw' form ...”), so the connection between statements about raw mana and creature behaviors isn't quite correct.

[TJ09]

What is mana?

What does mana do?

"The energy to power all forms of magic comes from a substance called mana. This liquid provides the energy that is utilized when casting a spell (or otherwise using magic)."

This seems adequate to me. That is, mana is "a substance ... [that] provides the energy used when casting a spell," and what it does is "[provide] the energy used when casting a spell."

 

What can be done with mana?

The real question here is, "what can be done with magic?" I've intentionally left that unanswered, because there's no meaningful way to set boundaries that aren't arbitrary. More or less, you can accomplish just about anything, as long as you have enough energy to invest to make it happen. In practice, I'd expect it to be more nuanced than that (which one of the main limiting factors being how much mana energy a being could reasonably obtain/control), but I don't have a better way to describe what it can't do except "I'll know it when I see it."

 

Does mana have a strength and weakness system similar to the Pokémon elements? (Fi's comment seems to suggest it does.)

Here you're talking about the 13 elements themselves, not mana. In this case, there are a series of triads, and thus far no good diagram has been published for it. We thought about doing a lore expansion for the 10th birthday that would've included that, but decided to focus on more gameplay-oriented changes instead.

It'll still happen, eventually.

But whatever is there is definitely a bit less contrived than Pokemon's system, given that Valkemare is a lore and not a video game (yet...?).

 

Then, of course, we need some information on each kind of mana.

What effect does this particular type of mana have?

Is there some other kind of mana it cannot be combined with? (For example, can light be combined with dark? They seem like polar opposites.)

Again, I do believe you're talking more about the elements here than mana specifically. There is a page that describes each element, and those descriptions need to be expanded a little bit. But it's also intentionally vague and broad, for reasons similar to the "what can be done with magic" question above.

[TJ09]

From discussions not in public I may have an idea of how mana works in our dragons, but I may be wrong. I may have an idea for the forms mana takes and why and how, but I don't think all that is public.

I don't have any idea what you mean by "why," but "how" is indeed already in the encyclopedia, which references both liquid and crystal mana.

 

From what I've seen in DR I don't know if all the players understand how mana works in our dragons, what sort of things they can do with it. I know the definitions of the various types of mana aren't clear. Let's take Light mana for example. I know you've said publicly that Light mana doesn't refer exclusively to physical light but includes the concept of goodness. Yet when in DR I see people talking about Light mana in their concepts it seems they are thinking only of physical light.

Mentioned in a previous post, the elements page needs a bunch of work, but that's somewhat-tangential to mana itself

 

I don't think most people even consider how the different forms of mana affect each other. I'm not sure they even know that they do affect each other. If Light trumps Dark what effect does that have when a Light mana wielding dragon encounters a Dark mana wielding dragon in an unfriendly encounter?

For people to really understand the mana system I think it needs to be more completely spelled out. So, in short, I think the 12 different types of mana need official detailed definitions, I think the way different types of mana affect each other should be clearly spelled out, I think exactly what Balance means as the hub of the mana wheel needs to be clearly spelled out and I think the forms that mana can take, how it does that and why, should be spelled out. Yes, as part of the encyclopedia.

Covered both above and in the response to olympe.

[Firebirdwyvern]

But do you think in time humans may know more because of their dragons? Many of the stories for events involved dragons talking to the user who is a person, so could it be possible that the knowledge of humans may expand if they are having help from dragons?

 

But given that mana is kind of a vague topic, what if we merely had some facts listed for the known mana types? Like what uses may be for that mana (as somebody stated), for example fire mana can be used for spells but can also be used to warm something up (like that egg from the story).

 

It just may be good to help people with mana for their concepts. I don’t think I have yet to encounter anyone who has a dragon that uses light mana.

[olympe]

Thanks for your answers, TJ.

[Fiona]

Thanks for the explanations, Bossman.

 

I think if the definitions of the elements were expanded a lot of confusion would be cleared up, and as you said above, eventually that will be done.

Edited July 11, 2016 by Fiona BlueFire

[Firebirdwyvern]

Sounds fair enough, but now I have another question that kind of just came to me via Shokomon's suggestion.

 

Does raw mana have adverse effects on other creatures that may come into contact with it? Like insects and animals that may get too close to these pools (or might step in it and try to wash themselves).

 

I am very puzzled by the honey drake and how it says they can fit in a beehive. Are they that small? Or are the bees in this world large?

[Pokemonfan13]

Actually, the honey drake's description doesn't say that they can fit inside hives, only that they "feed from hives". Bears feed from hives. Hopefully the honey drake isn't as destructive as bears, but that could come down to their head being able to fit.

[TJ09]

Does raw mana have adverse effects on other creatures that may come into contact with it? Like insects and animals that may get too close to these pools (or might step in it and try to wash themselves).

Yes.

 

Certain beings may have innate connections to magic. That is, they can utilize magic in some innate, primitive form, despite lacking the ability to cast spells. Often, this results from exposure to raw mana; many naturally-found pools are surrounded with plants and animals that have been mutated in such a way.

 

The other bits have been addressed by PF13.