Spell suggestions

[Duranamir]

Two spell suggestions

Dig <direction>
This spell would allow a mage to dig out exits etc without getting his hands dirty.

Extract minerals
This spell would work as an alternative to mining pulling the minerals in an area to the surface and forming them into conveient chunks.

[Tortus]

I like the first one, but the second, not so much.

Mining is a trade that takes time and effort to improve in, and having a spell to do it for you would nullify that effort and render miners somewhat obsolete.

[Duranamir]

As far as the second spell i was not intending it to make miners obselete but provide an alternative means of obtaining metal. I would think that the spell at best should function as an average miner and would require a quest to learn. Also spells also require practice to improve so I do not see how this method is superior to mining by hand. In fact it may be inferior due to using mana and requiring a component.

However it would give an alternative to those (like me) who do not want to actually get there hands dirty. Or could not otherwise learn mining.

Duranamir

[Argentia]

I can see where you're coming from, Duranamir, but I don't really like these ideas, really more so the second one, for a couple of reasons. First, there are already skills/trades in the game that accomplish these things.(Although I know that your goal was to provide an alternate means to do these things, but I'm just not a big fan of redundancy) Second, mining and digging are skills which require you to get your hands dirty. There's really no way around it, unless you're clever and hire some lackies to do it for you. Sometimes while RPing we realize that there are certain skills/feats which may not make much sense for our characters to learn or to do. But that's what makes our characters unique, I think. Their flaws and quirks give them identity and make them fun to play and play with. I personally think we should work with these flaws, rather than try to find ways around them. My third reason is that mining is generally a trade given only to Dwarves.(And maybe Gondites, I think?) If you give a wizard a way to obtain metal by himself, I doubt he's going to ask a dwarf to get the metal for him anymore, not when he can get it himself. I realize in the Underdark it's a different story, because there are no dwarves/mining trade, but I think I'd rather see the trade put in and given to commoners rather than a spell to do the same thing.

Sorry if any of this sounded a little mean, if it did, I didn't intend it to.

[Elenthis]

I have no opinion currently about weather or not this is worth the time, but I would like to say that IMO, magic should be "realistically" (I use the term loosely) able to accomplish anything. Thats the whole point. Digging, Mining, moving objects, Wizards are people who've developed such an ability with the weave that they are supposedly able to move mountains if they are 'strong' enough. I see no reason why they could not, with practice, move small portions of the mountain instead. As far as any ideas for mechanics I have, I'll hold off until I agree or disagree with these ideas as far as the game is concerned, but I personally dont think "Someone else can do that, so magic shouldnt be able to" should ever be a consideration in weather or not a spell should exist. "Someone else already can" should IMO be balanced with penalties and costs, not existence.
~Elenthis.

[Argentia]

It's not because "someone else already can" that I don't believe this spell is appropriate, it's that I'm worried that with the addition of such a spell, people will have more of a mentality of "I don't need that someone else anymore."

I suppose it's a matter for another topic, but I don't agree that magic can accomplish anything, at least not in respects to FK. I can see it accomplishing astounding feats in the novels and FR world, and I can see it doing so on FK too, but I don't think a wizard should be able to do everything that other classes can do. It's a class's limitations that makes them rely on other classes(A wizard needs a warrior to block, a warrior needs a priest to heal, ect.) and so we interact and RP together.

[Andreas]

I proposed this (magical means of mining) during some area development and it was categorically denied. Mining is a trade available to PCs who complete the appropriate quest.

I think a more realistic solution to the mining problem in Menzoberranzan would be to allow duegar, orcs, half-orcs, goblins and any other non-drow suitable to the area to also have Menzoberranzan as a home town start area and, if they meet the proper requirements, become miners. It seems a lot more IC to me that "lesser races" would do that sort of dirty work. Even drow commoners don't seem to do much in the way of manual labour from what I've seen in the novels. It'll open up role play oppurtunities for drow and non-human races in the Underdark, too.

[Alaudrien]

hmm I could see the use of this sorta spell to wizards for a simple thing like if they found an appropriate place undergruond they could do it to find and bring out things they could use for spell components..instead of just out and buying them..like they go find a suitable place and cast one spell to locate a gem that can be used for some such or a elemental stone for anothers pell and then use the draw out spell to bring it out to where he can get it..from there he could go find someone who can work it into what he needs or what not..would be interesting to see that and i just wanna see a wizard gut some extraplanar beast for its liver to use in a spell! ><