Experimental Techniques

******CURRENTLY UNDER REVISION******

This is a page for all the neat little tricks you players come up with; along with estimated mana cost, progress, and how hard they are to execute.

Progress is graded from E to A, like other stuff. Anything below A rank means that you'll need to roll dice for its proper execution.

Training a Skill:
Whenever you decide to train a skill, you'll be given a set of three 'refinement' rolls. These allow you to try to upgrade a skill one rank. These are standard 1d20s, and you need to make at least 3 successful rolls per skill to advance a rank. You don't need to make them consecutively. Meditating decreases the minimum by 2.

Innovation (Starting Out)= Minimum varies for 'success' (This is to see if it's theoretically possible, hence the jump around.)
E= Minimum 18 for 'success'
D= Minimum 16 for 'success'
C= Minimum 14 for 'success'
B= Minimum 12 for 'success'

The more refined the technique, the less mana it'll cost, up to a point. You'll also have to make less rolls to use it in combat:

E= 4d20; total above 40 for minimum success.
D= 3d20; total above 30 for minimum success.
C= 2d20; total above 20 for minimum success.
B= 1d20; total above 10 for minimum success.

******CURRENTLY UNDER REVISION******
---------------------
******NEW MECHANICS******
The method for new techniques is relatively simple. Theoretical Techniques are just that...techniques that could, in theory, work. You haven't put any actual work into them, they're just concepts and ideas. However, they'll need to have some kind of connection to the base techniques you have already to be permitted. You will need a certain amount of 'Inspirational EXP' to be confidant enough to make a Theoretical Technique work. With Theoretical Techniques, using existing techniques in certain scenarios, or with certain stipulations, will 'inspire' you narratively. This inspiration will be notified, and will be a signifier for the fact that you're getting closer to unlocking a move in particular. The closer you are, the more precise the description will be. Simply practicing the move outright in your downtime will be a major earner of EXP. Once a move is learned, it'll come with a set mana cost like all other techniques.

Current Experimental Techniques:

Sticky Bombs:
-Rank: C
-Current Cost: 200 Mana
-Current Description: Can fire off a one-shot blast that’ll stick to an enemy or other surface and remain undetonated until you will -it. Cannot be charged or shrunken, and has much less explosive power than a full charged magi-blast.

Sparkling Fireworks:
-Rank: C (1 Roll Left to Upgrade)
-Current Cost: 350 Mana
-Current Description: A showy technique that causes a lot of pieces of unfocused mana to erupt from your hand in a shower of sparkles, or at times small balls of mana that pop into the same. No real damage on it unless it hits point blank- and then it's basically kinda a 'burning' sensation. Doesn't stick, though- and the bright flash can briefly blind people, although not as well as Sun's Flare.

Harmonized Mana Blasts (Harmony Blasts)
-Rank: C (3 Rolls Left to Upgrade)
-Current Cost: 100 Mana
-Blasts which are on the same frequency as another individual's mana signature, in order to decrease the possibility of friendly fire.

Wisp Lighter- This technique is the basis, you think, for a flamethrower technique. As it is, you’d have to be within touching range of something to light anything on fire with it, but it’s at least something if you don’t want to DIRECTLY poke something with your fingers...

Theoretical Techniques:

Shotgun Punch
-A theoretical technique that would involve layering your hand or hands energy your fist: A layer of condensed mana first on the skin similar to the Orbital Ring, and then a layer of sticky/explosive mana on top of that, so that it detonates on contact while keeping the hands safe. It would act like a shaped charge, directing and intensifying the blast, while theoretically taking less mana.
-Estimated Difficulty- Moderate

Reactive Armor
-Mana balls compressed by a protective light field that sticks to you. When enemies hit you, they are blasted away by the explosion which also propels you away from them to safety!
-Estimated Difficulty: Hard
-Estimated Mana Usage: 2000-1000

Chain Lightning
-Ionizing a pathway with a low-power mana beam then sending our electric / burning aura down it, then extending that with multiple mana-paths. Link it with a feedback response to make the lightning attracted to the mana of sentient beings, utilizing their natural mana to augment and redirect to another source of mana.
-Estimated Difficulty: HARD
-Estimated Mana Usage: 5000-3000

Electric Shield (Thunderdome)
-Saturating an area in baseline mana, then filling it with electrified mana in order to cause an area of effect that can damage anyone inside.
-Estimated Difficulty: Somewhat Hard.
-Estimated Mana Usage: 5000-2500

Mana Lasso/Tether
Possible inspirations: local Driders
An utilitarian technique, developed by modifying the 'sticky mana' in order to conjure a mana tether that can bind itself to an object and serve as a lasso, grappling hook or...
-Estimated Difficulty: Moderate

Mana Conductor
Possible inspirations: Izumi's 'Ki Channel'
Mastering the 'mana lasso/tether' technique allows us to improvise various applications of it's conductive properties: 'shock touch' to create a taser (maybe earn some of that sweet hidden exp for chain lightning), 'energy channel' for direct damage, 'healing hands' for remote healing (should be easier after consulting with Izumi), channeling 'flux wave' through the tether would allow us to choose a single target for 'controlled disharmonization' (increasing its potency and reducing negative effects on Miranda), and many more!
Less of a technique and more like mastery of mana application mechanics. Could be used to boost efficiency of magical items with abilities similar to techniques that are known.
-Estimated Difficulty: Hard
-Special Notes: Requires Learning Mana Tether

Barrier Manipulation
Miranda's barriers have properties with untapped potential and there are a lot of ways to make them more versatile. The first steps would be making them non-static - make them movable and able to change shapes. Later, with enough inspiration and creativity, we could come up with different applications of barrier's properties that might become independent techniques, like energy blades, personal shielding, air platforms/steps and... skateblades? (Yup.)
-Estimated Difficulty: Easy-to-Moderate

Mana Knuckles
Possible inspirations: Red Sun Gauntlets+, Izumi's 'Palms of Succor'
Fairly direct application of Miranda's mana manipulation (MMM), a simple upgrade that fits into her hand-to-hand speciality. Another utilitarian technique that has the same mana conductivity rules and combos with 'Mana Tether', but intended for a more intimate approach.
-Estimated Difficulty: Easy

Flamethrower
Possible inspirations: Flamebringer
Continued practice of 'Fireworks' technique in order to create stream of burning mana. Could be combined with 'Sticky Mana' and other mana conductive techniques and items.
-Estimated Difficulty: Moderate

Mana Gliding
Possible inspirations: Fake Wings
Experimenting with 'energy channel' and jump boost, and some experience with using the fake wings, would allow Miranda to adjust her trajectory during her long jumps (imagine airstrafing after a rocket-jump from Q3 and TF2). Further improvement of MMM could lead to unlocking flying techniques like energy channeled levitation or mana wings.
-Estimated Difficulty: HARD
-Special Notes: Would require advanced understanding of Mana Control...

Legs Channeling (Basic)
Theoretically, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to channel your mana through your legs- in fact, you're pretty sure you've done it at least once before if only by accident. As for doing it on purpose? Well, there could be a number of uses for that that AREN'T extraneous...
-Estimated Difficulty: Very Easy-Moderate

Shrapnel Shot
Concept of using barrier's properties to create an offensive ranged technique by shooting barrier-shards in a small cone. It lacks in damage and precision compared to magiblasts, and is intended for suppressing/covering fire and area denial in general. May be charged to improve its penetrative properties or use existing barriers.
-Estimated Difficulty: Moderate

Grenade Barrier
Combining sticky bomb with a ball-shaped shield. This 'grenade' will detonate and cover everything with shrapnel of barrier-shards. Ideal for clearing a room from hostiles in one swoop without actually removing said room from existence. Since it uses sticky bomb as a base and shrapnel as a damage source it obviously loses in power compared with charged magiblast.
-Estimated Difficulty: Hard
-Special Notes: Mastery of Barrier Manipulation is required.

Sticky Trap
A side grade for that 'lightning trap' that we almost never use. This cheaper counterpart binds the target in sticky mana, disabling its movement. Mana conductivity rules apply, allowing more combos, but don't expect it to surpass an 'orbital ring'.
-Estimated Difficulty: Easy

Mental Protection Training
Your mind, though strong, is also...well, weak. You really should look into fixing that.
-Estimated Difficulty: Hard