Hmmm... thoughts on Ad Avis

[Rath Darkblade]

What kind of wizard is Ad Avis, really? (All right, an evil one. But that's hardly a description). What I'm wondering more about is what kind of wizard he is - after all, his sole purpose is to raise up even more evil beings than he is (Avoozl, Iblis) which suggests that he is an invoker. But on the other hand, he can turn people into things, which brings to mind certain transmutation spells or druidic magic.

On the other other hand, IIRC, he can also cast fireballs and other offensive magic - and then there's all that business about him being a necromancer... *shrug*

So just what is he? *puzzled* Any ideas, anyone?

[AndreaDraco]

I always thought he was a powerful archmage, with a vast knowledge in many different areas of magic, all of them put to a bad end by his twisted mind. I figured he knew a lot of spells from different magical branches, and that he studied them for his purposes, even without strictly adhering to a particular school.

Truth be told, though, I've never put much thought in this subject

[DeadPoolX]

Hmmm... interesting idea.

I don't think there are "specialty schools" of magic in QFG. Magic seems more of a general-use concept in that series, as opposed to other games (mostly RPGs) where magic can fall into separate categories.

Trying to assign D&D traits to an entirely different game is fairly pointless. Sure, you could probably accomplish it, but that'd prove nothing. Why not compare Oblivion and Neverwinter Nights? You could it (to some degree), but what would that mean? Not a whole lot, really. The design is completely different.

If anything, comparing the QFG series to a game like Oblivion makes more sense, since both games raise skills in a similar fashion.

[Datadog]

He seems to fall under the category of "dark wizard" for me. Maybe if he actually specialized in something, it would keep his mind off of ruling the world. Much like the Hero, he just knows a lot of spells, and it's up to him on how to use them.

[Rath Darkblade]

The thing is, I've started writing a new QfG story, set around the rise of Ad Avis's son, who is expelled from the Necromancers' Guild for being too evil. As punishment, he is sent to try to save Spielburg... and this is as far as I've gotten with this. :\

I thought maybe thinking about what kind of wizard Ad Avis was, and what kind of father he would have made, would give me some ideas (as well as a cute reference to Star Wars when the two of them meet up in part 2).

How does this sound to everyone? I'm kind of stuck. Would anyone like to make a "Writer's Round" thing out of this? I'm sure everyone knows how this works, but in case anyone doesn't - basically, everyone takes turns at writing a chapter, making things up as we go along (while keeping in with concepts from the QfG universe) and tying things up together in the end. How does that sound?

[DeadPoolX]

I'd advise against the "too evil" part. That sounds very two-dimensional. A good character needs depth and even if he's evil, there should be more to him than that.

Besides... no one is "evil for evil's sake." Well, not unless you're a cartoon villain. But who really wants to emulate Skeletor?

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmmm... well, Ad Avis Jr. (unless I can find him a better name?) only starts out as "too evil". (After all, with a dad like Addy, how can anyone not be evil?) But he quickly learns and soon, the evillest thing he does is play humourous and humiliating practical jokes on people that annoy him. >;)

I'm planning for him to grow further as the fanfic goes on. I'm not sure how this might go yet, but it could be fun.

So who wants to try a "Writer's Round"?

[DeadPoolX]

Hmmm... well, Ad Avis Jr. (unless I can find him a better name?) only starts out as "too evil". (After all, with a dad like Addy, how can anyone not be evil?) But he quickly learns and soon, the evillest thing he does is play humourous and humiliating practical jokes on people that annoy him. >;)

I'm planning for him to grow further as the fanfic goes on. I'm not sure how this might go yet, but it could be fun.

So who wants to try a "Writer's Round"?

Look, I hate to harp on this (it's your story after all), but... no one is "evil." Not really.

There are many people in history we've now deemed "evil," but their reasons weren't to do "evil." They thought they were doing what was "right" or "necessary" for them. That doesn't mean they didn't end up committing evil acts. Most probably did. However, their original intent was not to be "evil," not matter how screwed up their reasons were.

Let's bring up Hitler. Today he is considered "evil" and in many ways I can't argue with that. However, he didn't set out to be "evil." He did what he thought was necessary to unite Germany and conquer other nations for the Third Reich. Did he end up doing "evil" in the process? Yes, absolutely. But the original intent wasn't to commit random acts of "evil."

See my point? You can be "evil" without intentionally trying to be "evil." That makes the character more interesting.