[Spoilers]Astral Ward and Magic

[Cronospere.8143]

There is something I am not completely following. Minor races dont have access to perform magic themselves. 

So the astral ward is basicly a group of wizards. Can all of them do magic? If so, what about R'tchikk. The skritt is one of those minor races. Does joining the Astral Ward bypass that? 

[Sajuuk Khar.1509]

I'm not sure where you got the idea that the minor races can't perform magic themselves when we see numerous NPCs do so. They don't have AS developed of magic as the major races, but they still have magic.

Also the Wizards are a special group, the leaders. The Astral Ward are just people. Not everyone in the ward in a Wizard.

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

2 hours ago, Cronospere.8143 said:

There is something I am not completely following. Minor races dont have access to perform magic themselves.

Incorrect, everyone is theoretically capable of using magic, and this includes minor races. Quaggan are known to have several kinds of rituals; grawl have numberous shamans who lead their tribes, etc.

While they don't have magic as advanced as the asura, they do have magic.

2 hours ago, Cronospere.8143 said:

So the astral ward is basicly a group of wizards. Can all of them do magic? If so, what about R'tchikk. The skritt is one of those minor races. Does joining the Astral Ward bypass that? 

In the context of SotO, the term "Wizard" is a modern translation of an ancient Seer word that is more than a mere magic caster - it's more on par to Lord of the Rings and how Gandalf, a wizard, is more than just some mere magic caster, he's a Valar. In this case, Wizards are original mortals who had high magical potency and underwent an ancient Seer ritual to become attuned to the world's flow of magic directly, which grants them what appears to be cease of aging (or at least very slow aging, as both Isgarren and Mabon are several thousand years old, Dagon a few thousand years, and Lhyr is even over 250 years old when the oldest known dwarf was well aged at 120 years).

And per above, skritt do have their own magic - it's just not particularly common because they're not particularly intelligent. Joining the Astral Ward does nothing - Astral Ward (and their Rift Hunter subdivision) are just normal mortals who work for the Wizard's Court.

Edited November 30, 2023 by Konig Des Todes.2086

[CETheLucid.3964]

R'tchikk is also a special case of asuran mad scientists make a skritt super smart. She's not able to relate to her own people anymore, follow their chitters or commune with the skritt hive mind. She's exceptional in her own right and why she's ended up in the Astral Ward. The wizards, the ward, and her good charr friend are her family now.

That she's with them and even appointed as a curator suggests she's more than a bit proficient.

[Narcemus.1348]

11 hours ago, Konig Des Todes.2086 said:

In the context of SotO, the term "Wizard" is a modern translation of an ancient Seer word that is more than a mere magic caster - it's more on par to Lord of the Rings and how Gandalf, a wizard, is more than just some mere magic caster, he's a Valar. In this case, Wizards are original mortals who had high magical potency and underwent an ancient Seer ritual to become attuned to the world's flow of magic directly, which grants them what appears to be cease of aging (or at least very slow aging, as both Isgarren and Mabon are several thousand years old, Dagon a few thousand years, and Lhyr is even over 250 years old when the oldest known dwarf was well aged at 120 years).

One minor, unimportant correction. Gamdalf was a Maiar, not a Valar. Still of the Ainur, but of a much lesser power level than the Valar. The reasoning behind sending the Maiar/Wizards was because in the last war the Valar, in their might, destroyed the land while defeating Melkor. They did not want a repeat of that process so they sent lesser beings limited by the bodies of elderly men. Anyways, your point stands, and I hope this does not detail the topic.

[Kalavier.1097]

9 hours ago, CETheLucid.3964 said:

R'tchikk is also a special case of asuran mad scientists make a skritt super smart. She's not able to relate to her own people anymore, follow their chitters or commune with the skritt hive mind. She's exceptional in her own right and why she's ended up in the Astral Ward. The wizards, the ward, and her good charr friend are her family now.

That she's with them and even appointed as a curator suggests she's more than a bit proficient.

A few things here. She is a case of an Intelligence boost by questionable science, however nothing at all says she cannot communicate with Skritt in their native tongue. Just that she wasn't fitting in and went her own way.

Also Skritt don't have a hive mind at all. That isn't how they work. They are also able to function well as lone individuals, it's just they can be distracted very easily. We do see singular skritt used as couriers.

[draxynnic.3719]

I also had a strong impression that R'tchikk was, at most, a deputy. Her bastion is the Bastion of Knowledge, which is Isgarren's bastion. This contrasts with some of the other bastions that are run by high-ranking Astral Ward in the absence of a wizard, such as the Bastion of Nature being run by Zizzl, and weirdly enough I think I saw the sylvari doctor's hologram over the Obscure, but don't quote me on that. (It's probably going to be Zojja who takes over the Obscure in the end anyway.)

As for her capabilities... I don't remember her using magic, but I might not have been watching closely enough (probably distracted by Gladium doing daredevil stuff). The Astral Ward does seem to have more spellcasters than most military organisations (particularly friendly ones...), but not exclusively so.

[Kalavier.1097]

2 hours ago, draxynnic.3719 said:

I also had a strong impression that R'tchikk was, at most, a deputy. Her bastion is the Bastion of Knowledge, which is Isgarren's bastion. This contrasts with some of the other bastions that are run by high-ranking Astral Ward in the absence of a wizard, such as the Bastion of Nature being run by Zizzl, and weirdly enough I think I saw the sylvari doctor's hologram over the Obscure, but don't quote me on that. (It's probably going to be Zojja who takes over the Obscure in the end anyway.)

As for her capabilities... I don't remember her using magic, but I might not have been watching closely enough (probably distracted by Gladium doing daredevil stuff). The Astral Ward does seem to have more spellcasters than most military organisations (particularly friendly ones...), but not exclusively so.

Narcisse, the sylvari, runs the greenhouse at the bastion of the Natural.

Each bastion (Besides Balance and Celestial) appears to have a few high ranking Astral ward members helping run the place. R'tchikk runs the museum, while the Kodan runs the library. etc.

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

8 hours ago, draxynnic.3719 said:

I also had a strong impression that R'tchikk was, at most, a deputy. Her bastion is the Bastion of Knowledge, which is Isgarren's bastion. This contrasts with some of the other bastions that are run by high-ranking Astral Ward in the absence of a wizard, such as the Bastion of Nature being run by Zizzl, and weirdly enough I think I saw the sylvari doctor's hologram over the Obscure, but don't quote me on that. (It's probably going to be Zojja who takes over the Obscure in the end anyway.)

As for her capabilities... I don't remember her using magic, but I might not have been watching closely enough (probably distracted by Gladium doing daredevil stuff). The Astral Ward does seem to have more spellcasters than most military organisations (particularly friendly ones...), but not exclusively so.

There is a female sylvari for the hologram of Obscure, but it isn't the doctor. Just a rando who only shows up for some events in Obscure - I personally expected Galrath since he's introduced in the main story before you enter Amnytas as the representative of Obscure. I guess he's not one for speeches, despite his militant drills in Strength, or we got a rewrite late on.