So you've observed
a celestial body, and now you're ready to PREDICT the future... or maybe just
the weather?
Either way, this section will provide you with the information you'll need.
What exactly is a PREDICTION?
Good question. The old school train of thought, is that predicting the future
is just that, predicting the future... Meaning that you when you predict and
get a bonus to a skill, let's say Heavy Edged for example, that in the near future
you will be better using heavy edged weapons. This line of logic doesn't really
fit with what our predictions do though, as you'll see below.
The new philosophy that is growing in popularity among players, is that when
a Moon Mage predicts the future, they are actually affecting/altering the webs
of fate. This belief makes more sense, when you consider the way that predictions
work, by that I mean that they take effect the second you make your prediction.
There are 2 types of predictions that a Moon Mage can do.
The first, and simplest, is for you to simply PREDICT the WEATHER. This will give you a brief listing of upcoming weather conditions. Each one of these represents the most likely possibility for the weather over the next 10-11 (I believe) minutes. That is the time interval that weather has the possibility of changing on. A Moon Mage may predict the weather at any time and as often as they like. You will learn a small amount of Astrology doing so, but there is a timer on the experience gain.
The syntax to make a weather prediction is: PREDICT WEATHER.
Secondly, and by far more complicated, is for you to PREDICT the FUTURE. This form of prediction is a powerful tool that is not completely under your control. Predicting the future actually alters your "effective" ranks in a skill, like Evasion or Primary Magic for example. This alteration can be positive, or negative. It can also range from a couple of ranks, to tens, or even over a hundred ranks. In the past, before Global Caps and the new Prediction System, I've personally been under the effects of 2 negative predictions that effectively lowered my Primary Magic from around 230 ranks, into a negative amount. Like I said, predictions are a powerful tool, but not completely under your control.
A Moon Mage may attempt to predict the future at any time, but the prediction will not work if you have not made a successful observation of a celestial body at some point, and stored a skill set in your observation pool. If you don't know what I'm talking about by this, read about making Observations here.
The syntax to
make a prediction is: PREDICT FUTURE <NAME> <SKILL
SET>
For
example: PREDICT
FUTURE ELDRAD DEFENSE
Type PREDICT USAGE in game to view all of your prediction options.
Predictable
skill sets:
Lore - All possible lore skills (excluding other
Guild's specific skills when predicting on yourself).
Magic - Your magical skills.
Survival - Your survival skills, including Evasion,
although Evasion may move under Defense at some
point.
Offense - All of the possible weapons, plus the
Brawling skill.
Defense - All of the possible armor types, plus
the Parry and Multi-Opponent
skills even though they are technically under offense when you do an EXP
OFFENSE command.
How to
interpret prediction visions:
When you predict the
future, you, and only you, will see a vision meant to describe the nature of
the prediction. This vision is a few lines of very cryptic text meant to tell
you what skill was affected, for how long, how much it was affected, and whether
this was positive or negative adjustment to your skill's ranks.
I will give a sample prediction and explain what the lines do. Each line tells you something different.
After a few moments, the mists
of time begin to part. <-Vision Start
You see yourself fiddling with a small object. <- Tells you what skill SET is
being predicted, NOT what skill
You see a rabbit being roasted on a spit. <-Tells
you the Magnitude of the prediction, uses temperature
You see some fish spawning in a river. <-Tells you the Duration of the
prediction, uses examples of time
The fate you see brings a chill to your soul. <-Tells you rather the prediction
is "good" (warm) or "bad" (chill)
Your observations of the heavens have served you
well. <-The
following 2 lines mean you changed a "bad"
You are able to turn this fate to a positive one.
prediction to a "good" prediction.
You sense this vision involves the <NAME> skill. <-Tells
you exactly what skill was affected (Rare at lower skill levels))
You see nothing else. <-Vision End
If you get a prediction on a skill that is currently under the influence of another prediction, then the latest prediction will averaged in with what ever the current bonus on that skill is. This happens regardless of the type of prediction (bonus, or curse).
The
"skull" vision:
Occasionally
when you predict the future, your vision will be interrupted by a
vision of a grinning skull chewing on your head. Many, including
myself, believe this to be the work of Tezirah trying to escape
from the Plane of Probability. This unpleasant phenomenon causes
you to be stunned, and knocked to the ground (fun fun fun).
When this happens, you have just done 2 things:
1. You have given yourself a powerful negative prediction *(around 144-153 negative ranks!!) on a random skill in the skill set you were predicting on. (Note: You can not go into negative ranks from this)
2. You have cleared ALL skill set observations stored in your observation pool.
Below is a sample of what the "skull" vision looks like:
You see yourself decapitating a
norg.
You see the sun rising on a bitterly cold winter's morning.
You see a father teaching his young son to throw a spear.
Suddenly your mind receives a numbing
jolt!
The world fades to black as a giant, grinning skull places its mouth over your
head and begins to chew.
Magnitude
list: *order may be
incorrect (additions or corrections welcome)
--You
see snow falling upon a high, stony mountain.
--You see a man trudging against a chill stinging wind.
--You see the sun rising on a bitterly cold winter's morning.
--You see a stand of frost-covered pine trees.
--You see a warm spring bubbling from a rocky outcropping.
--You see a billowing chimney in a country home.
--You see a mother hen sitting on its brood.
--You see the midday sun warming you under its soft face.
--You see a steaming tub of hot water.
--You see the high noontime sun on a hot summer day.
--You see a rabbit being roasted on a spit.
--You see a blacksmith pounding a glowing metal slab.
--You see a geyser spewing gouts of steam into the air.
--You see a blazing bonfire.
--You see a great, red drake belching fire in the clouds.
--You see a fire raging through a pine forest.
--You see the blistering desert sun.
It shines brilliantly upon you, parching your
throat.
--You see a volcano spewing great masses of molten rock.
The lava is falling upon a burning countryside.
--You see a grossly bloated sun.
It has grown many times its normal size.
The sky is filled with its eerie, red light.
Duration
list: *order may be incorrect (additions or
corrections welcome)
--You see a small insect trapped in a spider's web.
--You see a hooded figure being led to a gallows.
--You see a mouse being stalked by a cat.
--You see an elderly man, laying on his deathbed.
--You see some fish spawning in a river.
--You see a young puppy, frolicking in a meadow.
--You see a father teaching his young son to throw a spear.
--You see a summer storm battering a small town.
--You see a tortoise sunning itself on a rock.
--You see candle burning in a window.
--You see a full Yavash, shining high in the night sky.
--You see a full Xibar, shining high in the night sky.
--You see the night sky, filled with stars.
--You see a caterpillar weaving a cocoon.
--You see a small bird sitting upon a nest full of eggs.
--You see a soldier, heading off to war.
--You see a man building a small cottage.
--You see a pregnant woman reading a book.
--You see a young boy taking his vows of apprenticeship.
--You see a shackled figure being led into a dungeon.
--You see a hermit, living in solitude in the wilds.
--You see man and woman exchanging wedding vows.
--You see an endless sea of crystal-blue water.
--You see an ancient mountain, worn by the sands of time.
--You see all of the Gods together in council.
Eldrad's
Theory:
The following is pure speculation on my part and not to be
considered factual data.
I have noticed that the Constellations that are "dark" aspects of one of the Immortal's, tend to give negative predictions in certain skills sets at an unusually high frequency. An example would be The Shrike constellation, and the Magic skill set. I draw this conclusion from my personal results, so it could just be a fluke. More testing is needed to prove this.
This concludes the Predictions section. If you want to know how to do predictions with the various prediction tools, then go back to The Celestial Bodies and Predicting the Future page and click on one of icons for the tool you are wanting to learn about.
*Data contributed by Fateweaver Mozzik.