The Sceptre of Fire

Post by **Jetrel** » January 25th, 2005, 11:01 am

A sketch of my interpretation of the thing.

Also, some musing on the origin - the scepter itself is somewhat special - the claw-like bit not so much so, but the runed part entwined about it was what took the dwarves so darned long to make.

The Jewel, though, is by far the most important thing. I haven't played ROW yet (shame on me, but, then, the lack of my doing so may have been quite beneficial to the state of our art), and as such forgive me if I step on any plot stuff. I really don't want to damage any storywriting anyone else has made, I'm just brainstorming here.

The jewel was a gift from the Ignae to the dwarves, the dwarves being friends with both the Ignae (elemental spirits of fire), and the Seldane (elemental spirits of earth and stone).

Not sure why or anything - probably some great story to tell.

More stuff to come about the nature of the jewel, but here's a sketch for now.

Post by **turin** » January 25th, 2005, 1:20 pm

I think that in TROW it is implied that Haldric brings over the jewel that goes in the sceptre of fire from the Green Isle. He finds it in a lich-lord's lomb.

Anyway, that image is good, but the crook/claw-like thing at the botom is odd. I would think it would just have a straight line for a shaft...

Post by **Dave** » January 26th, 2005, 12:58 am

I think the image looks very cool...though I agree the bottom looks weird.

David

scott · Post by **scott** » January 26th, 2005, 2:23 am

That's so you can hang it on your belt. Those dwarves are smart, and it only took them 30 years to figure that out. Good drawing.

Post by **quartex** » January 26th, 2005, 2:40 am

A sceptre isn't something you usually dangle from your belt. good drawing, but the top is the better half.

Post by **Sangel** » January 26th, 2005, 5:01 am

I actually like the hook at the bottom - but it is far too big. I think it shouldn't be wider than the head; this keeps the sceptre "balanced" looking.

Ankka · Post by **Ankka** » January 26th, 2005, 2:11 pm

I agree with Sangel here. I like the hook... it makes it look a little more special than just a straight stick.

Great drawing.

Elvish_Pillager · Post by **Elvish_Pillager** » January 26th, 2005, 2:20 pm

Am I the only one who thinks the hook is the right size? It needs to be big to balance all the contraptions at the head. It's a good idea to hold a sceptre, especially a heavy one, near its balancing point, and it doesn't look right to hold a sceptre too near its head.

scott · Post by **scott** » January 26th, 2005, 2:29 pm

And it's much better than what we have now

Post by **Jetrel** » January 26th, 2005, 4:33 pm

Hmm. An interesting set of reactions.

The basic idea with the crook was to create something that was a bit visually unsettling. This being an eldrich magical artifact, I figured it would be nice if it didn't look like the average late-european monarch's sceptre.

Additionally, I had hoped to make the thing fit a bizarre "form follows function" rhetoric, under the idea that we have no idea what shape it would have to be to achieve its function. That is to say, it is obeying rules we don't really understand.

It's not a great design for a sceptre that a king sits around in his throne room holding all day, and it is a bit awkward to carry even in battle. However, it was never designed to be that - the magical properties of the thing vastly outweigh the other problems. It was really a magical tool, given to the royal family of wesnoth for some great debt the dwarves owed to them.

One thing that I think would really be cool would be if the staff had other storyline uses than just being the legitimizer of an heir. For example, if, in the final battle, Asheviere and a few of her dark wizard henchmen try to do some bit of black magic, and Delfador uses the staff augment his counterspell. Or any number of other things.

That said, the drawing needs a little work. Maybe I'll come up with some cool idea of how to make it look strange without the crook, or maybe having the crook is a good idea.

Post by **Dave** » January 26th, 2005, 10:44 pm

Jetryl wrote:the magical properties of the thing vastly outweigh the other problems. It was really a magical tool, given to the royal family of wesnoth for some great debt the dwarves owed to them.

Actually, if you read the storyline of HttT closely, you will notice that it's never really said to be magical. The power of it mainly lies in the king saying that his heir would be the one who retrieves the scepter, and this being well-known among the peoples of Wesnoth.

The only thing that indicates that it holds any kind of special power is that whoever gets it also gets to shoot massive fireballs at their enemies!

David

Post by **turin** » January 26th, 2005, 11:12 pm

The crook just looks odd coming off of the snake-wrap as it does. If it came off the center thingy (forgot name for it), it would look better.

@Dave: I think being able to shoot giant magic fireballs when you couldn't before proves its magical power.

Post by **Dave** » January 27th, 2005, 1:50 am

turin wrote: @Dave: I think being able to shoot giant magic fireballs when you couldn't before proves its magical power.

Yes....but it doesn't really prove it's anymore powerful than what, say, Delfador uses...or what a Great Mage uses.

No-where else in the campaign is it ever said that there is anything magically powerful about it that would make its wielder king.

David

Post by **Jetrel** » January 27th, 2005, 7:03 am

geez, I was just throwin' out an idea.

I think it should have some significant magical importance, at least the jewel bit, but it ain't my story. Dave gets to make the decision.

Q: Why do I want to make a campaign that has nothing (explicitly) to do with the world of wesnoth?
A: Because it won't step on anybody's creative feet.
Which means I don't have to run around asking people if doing something is alright.

Elvish_Pillager · Post by **Elvish_Pillager** » January 27th, 2005, 10:09 am

Dave wrote:Yes....but it doesn't really prove it's anymore powerful than what, say, Delfador uses...or what a Great Mage uses.

What about the fact that it deals more damage than the Great Mage, in the hands of a lower level non-mage?