Ritualist speculation

Winterclaw

Winterclaw

Wark!!!

Join Date: May 2005

Florida

W/

Okay, in prophecies it was established that all the forms of magic were split up and no one mage could use all types. With that in mind, how do ritualists fit in to things? Are they an exception to the rule? Is there a new deity?

If you look at their skill list, they've got spells that could be a part of everything except maybe mesmer spells.

However I'm going to assume that what was oringally stated is still in effect so I'll guess they are in the nature branch. Still I'm curious to see what some of the other guesses are.

MSecorsky

MSecorsky

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

So Cal

The Sinister Vanguard

Me/

Rangers are one with nature.

Ritualists will control nature.

Align

Align

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Oct 2005

Protectors of Awesome[AWE]

W/

They will steal your SOOOUUUUUULLLLLLL!!!

Commanding spirits from the beyond doesn't count as an elemental or whatever spell. Just because their EFFECT is similar doesn't mean it's the same element. Aura of Restoration heals you, does that mean its monk magic?

Mercury Angel

Mercury Angel

Avatar of Gwen

Join Date: Apr 2005

Wandering my own road.

The 4 schools of Magic are Preservation, Destruction, Aggression, and Denial.

I'd give my input if I knew what it meant by 'aggression'.

Winterclaw

Winterclaw

Wark!!!

Join Date: May 2005

Florida

W/

That would depend on whether necros are destruction or elementalists are.

Vahn Roi

Vahn Roi

Forge Runner

Join Date: Apr 2006

[HiDE]

Maybe Necros fall under Denial? To cheat death is fight the inevitable and to fight the inevitable is to deny fate?

Then again one could turn it around to say there is Preservation of life in death magic...

I donno, I'm just talking out of my rear as usual...

Mercury Angel

Mercury Angel

Avatar of Gwen

Join Date: Apr 2005

Wandering my own road.

Most of the posts in this thread have been deleted;
As nice as it might be to talk about what kind of ritualist you want to make, if you'll look over the first post again, this thread has nothing to do with that.

Also, I'm moving this to the lore forum, since it relates to the GW lore. Hopefully, that'll make it more clear.

TGgold

TGgold

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2005

Flying Gophers

Rt/P

I believe it was shwon inthe FPE that Ritualists obey both Lyssa and Grenth.
Maybe that will help figure something out about their magic? Or maybe it will make you more confused, like it did me >_>

Theos

Theos

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2005

River Dancing

Eternal Treachery [TimE]

Me/E

The FPE showed us only that Ritualists recieved favor from Grenth, as did Necros, and Assassins recieved favor from Lyssa, as did Mesmers. In a way they are alot like their god's other class just that some what inverted O-o

Sentao Nugra

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jul 2005

Crystal Lake, Illinois

Grenths Rejects [GR]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mercury Angel
The 4 schools of Magic are Preservation, Destruction, Aggression, and Denial.

I'd give my input if I knew what it meant by 'aggression'.
Preservation - Monks
Destruction - Elementialists
Agression - Necromancers
Denial - Mesmers

Like the person above me said, the gods the Ritualist and Assassin worship seem to still be in line with the skills they have; Now try and put Ritualists into the above schools. It seems like they have taken a little from each school, maybe it will become clearer with more Ritualist lore in GW: F.

draxynnic

draxynnic

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Nov 2005

[CRFH]

It's a question I've asked myself. I think I agree with Align - they don't really fit into any of them.

My suspicion would be that the 'keystone' Bloodstone still contains a residual amount of the original mixed magic that existed before the seperation of the Bloodstones, and that it's this power that backs up the supernatural abilities of not only the Ritualist, but other classes such as the Ranger and Assassin (and, arguably, even the Warrior). Such a setup would still mean that no one individual could wield the full power of all four types, but effects that do require mixing of types are still available.

Another possibility tying the Ritualist (and, to a lesser extent, the Ranger) to the keystone is to point out that none of the four known Bloodstones seem to deal with the spirit world. In this outlook, instead of governing 'mixed' magic forms, the keystone specifically deals with spirits - hence providing a way to bypass the limitation (instead of drawing upon bloodstone X yourself, you get a spirit to produce the effect you want for you, whether the spirit is physically present or, in the case of those Ritualist effects that don't summon a spirit, simply casts a spell through a temporary rift opened for it to do so by the Ritualist - in this interpretation, for instance, Spirit Light is essentially the opening of a rift to a ghost monk and asking/compelling said ghost monk to heal the recipient).

A third interpretation is that dealing with spirits is an entirely different form of magic that bypasses the Bloodstones entirely.

master_ranger_matt

master_ranger_matt

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Nov 2005

Salt Lake City, Utah.... no im not mormon

Radicals Against Tyrants [RAT]

R/Me

The ritualists summon spirits which act as seperate mages to do seperate things. In other words they are like an army commander. They control the grunts, spirits in this case, and the spirits have different skills, that when combined and summoned by a ritualist, make up all types.

Winterclaw

Winterclaw

Wark!!!

Join Date: May 2005

Florida

W/

I can see Assassins as Lyssia (though they'd make better followers of Grenith), however I don't see Ritualists following Gernith for two reasons. First of all they have a few lightning skills (and dead-boy is ice), secondly they have a few ressurect skills.

Both those things would point to Dwayna.

Elrond Afil

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Oct 2005

R/Me

they focus on dark magic

hence grenth

Warcheif_Jonval

Warcheif_Jonval

Academy Page

Join Date: Mar 2006

Defending the gates of the Ascalon Settlement

E/Me

I went over what a Ritualist is in one of the Factions Preview posts, so her i go again...

Ritualists are the last remnents of Cantha's old tradition of Ancestor worshop. The Shrine in Kurzic terretory (which you can see if you go to the GWF map in the map gallery) Is a shrine to a now deciced Kurzic preist and is one of the cheif stops on the ancestor worshop pilgramiage.

The Ritualist channel the powers of the dead, and this, in theory, could circumvent the ristriction on magic set down by the gods. i would place them as more or less godless as the remanents of the old religion of Cantha. But if i would give them a god, it would be Greneth, as the primary function of the profession is to commune with the dead. That is Greneth terretory.

Assasins worshop both Lyssa and Greneth, i belive i saw somewhere on the same GWF thread I posted the above orrigionaly in had this info.

Kingsbane

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2006

The good old U.S.A.

KoTR

R/Rt

I don't think that Greneth is the Ritualists god becaus of the great dislike the Ritualists traners had for the necromancers in the monastarty if you go and look at the thinks theay say when theay talk abought necromancers theay do it with great distane that how ever dosent mena that Greneth isent thear god it just makes it hard to beleave for me and somthing eleas you should noatce is that the Ritualists armor and npc Ritualists seam to give the hint that theay dont need to use thear eyes and that it is as if theay are seeing beond the mortal reamle as if that is a sacrafice for thear power?? and the blode stone threary is verry doughtfull think abought it theas are god's all powerfulkl beanings that can do what theay pleaz if theay decrey that no one is going ot use the blode sotone well you get my point

Crazyvietguy

Crazyvietguy

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Aug 2005

[Njk]

Rt/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingsbane
I don't think that Greneth is the Ritualists god becaus of the great dislike the Ritualists traners had for the necromancers in the monastarty if you go and look at the thinks theay say when theay talk abought necromancers theay do it with great distane that how ever dosent mena that Greneth isent thear god it just makes it hard to beleave for me and somthing eleas you should noatce is that the Ritualists armor and npc Ritualists seam to give the hint that theay dont need to use thear eyes and that it is as if theay are seeing beond the mortal reamle as if that is a sacrafice for thear power?? and the blode stone threary is verry doughtfull think abought it theas are god's all powerfulkl beanings that can do what theay pleaz if theay decrey that no one is going ot use the blode sotone well you get my point
MY GOODNESS, sorry man, but i think you need a spell checker. Just reading that made my eyes hurt

SnipiousMax

SnipiousMax

Perfectly Elocuted

Join Date: Sep 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by Warcheif_Jonval
The Ritualist channel the powers of the dead, and this, in theory, could circumvent the ristriction on magic set down by the gods. i would place them as more or less godless as the remanents of the old religion of Cantha.
That's what I was going to point out.

My impression of Ritualist is that they are twisting the rules and restrictions of normal magic, because they are not bound to any one god. I personally imagine them using an older form of magic, and rather than being limited to a particular school, they have ascended them all, and are able to use magic for whatever purpose they choose....though arguably with more negative effects than those that use contemporary magic. Rather than mastering magic...they're bending or subverting it. I would not tie them in with grenth at all...seems to me that what they do (ie... forcing souls to do their bidding) is circumventing Grenth's own power. I can't imagine he'd be happy about that.

Quest_techie

Academy Page

Join Date: Apr 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by Winterclaw
Okay, in prophecies it was established that all the forms of magic were split up and no one mage could use all types. With that in mind, how do ritualists fit in to things? Are they an exception to the rule? Is there a new deity?

If you look at their skill list, they've got spells that could be a part of everything except maybe mesmer spells.

However I'm going to assume that what was oringally stated is still in effect so I'll guess they are in the nature branch. Still I'm curious to see what some of the other guesses are.


there have been hints of a spare diety (I don't remember who, but an npc said the 5 dieties at some point, was a canthan)

Cirian

Cirian

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Oct 2005

European Union

The Amazon Basin

Grenth is the patron of Necromancers, Ritualists and Hydromancers.

If you know anything about classical mythology, you may know the deities Hades and Persephone - the two rulers of the underworld. Hades is the God of the Dead, and he governs the taking of newly dead souls into the underworld. His wife Persephone is the Goddess of Rebirth and governs the cleansed souls leaving the underworld to be reborn into the world of the living. Together they are half of the cycle of life and death and represent the seasons Winter and Spring.

To me Ritualists represent that aspect of 'rebirth', marking the end of a soul's journey though the underworld. Note that rebirth isn't a function of nature (Melandru) or divinity (Dwayna)

For the sake of completeness, Melandru governs the 'life' half of the cycle of life and death and embodies 'nurturing' (Summer) and 'dying' (Autumn). Likewise, Rangers nurture and kill.

Melandru and Grenth are the only two deities that represent the cycle of Life and Death.

Dwayna (who represents Divinity) is on a whole new level! I was writing something for Dwayna but it's really... beyond the scope of this thread I don't want to go there

Likewise Lyssa (Chaos) and Balthazar (Order) are on a different axis to Life and Death, so I won't touch them either

Note that there is no Good / Evil axis among the gods - Good and Evil are the subjective concepts of mortals!

Woo! Hope you liked that post Deeeeeeeeep!

SnipiousMax

SnipiousMax

Perfectly Elocuted

Join Date: Sep 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cirian
To me Ritualists represent that aspect of 'rebirth', marking the end of a soul's journey though the underworld.
I'd agree with that....except the spirits the Ritualist summon are in chains, and the spells they cast are often at the spirit's expense. To me, it's like they're cheating the cycle, and taking advantage of the cheat.

Going a bit beyond the thread... to Cirian...Do you see the Melandru/Grenth/Balthazar/Lyssa like four points of a plane, and Dwyana as what keeps everything balanced?

Markaedw

Markaedw

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Nov 2005

N/

Well, if you read the lore section of the Pima Guide, it says that the ritualist power used to come from thier ancestors and is older than the magic the gods gave mankind. Much of the origional way is lost, due to a hybrid of old ancestor's magic and the new magic.

I think they do not fit in because their magic is older. These spirits come from the Underworld and Fissue of Woe, I would say rits are not part of the pantheon people currently worship, but have adopted the current gods.

Much like Voodoo has adopted the Catholic church.

Goats17

Goats17

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Feb 2006

House Zu Heltzer, laughing at them.

The [GEAR] Trick

N/Me

Why hasn't any thought of teh three sub-deities that are mentioned in the Lore book for factions? Couldn't they be the Ritualists gods together?

Sha Noran

Sha Noran

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Nov 2005

http://tinyurl.com/2jlusq

Idiot Savants [iQ]

R/

Actually, Ritualists are sort of a combination Ranger/Necro/Monk...

Their god, however, is Grenth. Go outside a town to a rez shrine sometime while your region has favor and talk to Grenth's guy. Ritualists get their attribute buff from him.

Steps Ascending

Steps Ascending

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jun 2006

Freelancing (Guildless)

perhaps they are governed game-wise by grenth(grenth = dead people),
But the way they(the game) say their magic works, (comuning, chanelling, all the ancestor thing), it seem more like they are scavenging/luring spirits/energy(note that spirits are NOT gods, nor are the people thay are god-related) to the physical world and then enslave them (they blind themselves to commune with the dead).
SOmehow it's like what we are doing with the law of physics : - we do not control lightning, yet we can give it a better way to the ground than by passing throught our house,
-we cannot order a river to alter its course but we can build a dam to ''persuade'' it to cange its course.

the same way, rits do not control the world but they can sense useful spirits and weaken the barrier to allow them passage to us, or weaken the barrier to create a Spiritual Warp that will damages those around it after some time (3 sec), or use an object to channel more energy/chanel it more efficiently through a target (see Channeled Strike).

Steps Ascending

Steps Ascending

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jun 2006

Freelancing (Guildless)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Goats17
Why hasn't any thought of teh three sub-deities that are mentioned in the Lore book for factions? Couldn't they be the Ritualists gods together?
Indeed they could be useful or at the very least interesting.
I'll chack them next time I get my hand on my faction manual.

Roupe

Roupe

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jul 2005

Perhaps the Ritualist god was the death god Dhuum,the one that Grenth destoyed & replaced with Grenth himself.

(forcing spirits with chains seem cruel)

Quote:
Before the time of Grenth, when death was ruled by a cruel and unjust god, there stood a tower and a throne on this very plain. But Grenth rose up and destroyed the one called Dhuum and shattered down his tower, leaving only these storms of chaos as a reminder of the power that once held dominion here.
--Reaper of the Chaos Planes:

penguo

penguo

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Mar 2006

Abaddons Bane

N/

i think ritualists magic at first was true talking with spirits etc...then later they adjusted to the rela magic