Artistry (skill)

Bard Magick Circle Voice • Thespia • Artistry

The art of crafting has been present in Aetherius for countless years, from the simple making of letters for writing, to journals for recording histories, to crafting beautiful instruments to bring music to the masses. Artistry allows many mundane things to be created, for use across the world. Yet there are also certain artesian creations that have more esoteric abilities, and though the secrets of their very construction involve symbols and components that can effect the wave of magickal tides are not known to those outside of the profession, it is known that masters of their craft can create paintings which can capture the very essence of their subject, allowing them to possess certain abilities of their originator. From the mundane letter to the marvellous portraits, the abilities of true masters of crafting are without parallel.

Mandolin
Syntax: CRAFT MANDOLIN	You may craft a mandolin while in the presence of a workbench. A basic but versatile instrument, in the hands of a skilled musician it can grant a variety of defenses.
Commodities: 5 wood
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Paper
Syntax: CRAFT PAPER	In the presence of a workbench, you may turn one wood into five pieces of paper used as a commodity for other crafts.
Commodities: 1 wood
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Sketchbook
Syntax: CRAFT SKETCHBOOK	While in the presence of a workbench, you may craft a sketchbook, used to bind the essence of others in a drawing.
Commodities: 50 paper
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Quill
Syntax: CRAFT QUILL	While in the presence of a workbench, you may craft an eagle's feather quill, necessary for drawing in one's sketchbook.
Commodities: 1 eagle's feather
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Flute
Syntax: CRAFT FLUTE	While in the presence of a workbench, you can craft a small silver flute, used to provide a variety of beneficial defenses, while also capable of harming an opponent.
Commodities: 10 silver
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Sketch
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Knife
Syntax: CRAFT KNIFE	While in the presence of a workbench, you may craft a small knife sigil. The knife sigil can negate several defences that would prevent the detection of the target's present location. Once thrown, this effect will last for several minutes.
Commodities: 1 silver
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Green Ink
Syntax: FILL IN <sketch> WITH GREEN	Sketches filled with green ink will regenerate some of their health upon each successful attack. Each sketch can be filled with a maximum of three inks.
Commodities: 1 green ink
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Drum
Syntax: CRAFT DRUM	You may craft a small oaken drum while in the presence of a workbench. The percussive sounds of this instrument, when played by a skilled musician, may cause harm to your enemies or provide you with beneficial defenses.
Commodities: 1 leather, 1 cloth, 3 wood
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Bard
Syntax: SKETCHLINK <word> <target>	Sketches of a Bard are capable of using the following Voice words: Rubait, Kiyan, Mellaon, Kawis, Daemos, Oyiem. Voice words used by sketches are not affected by resonance.
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Blue Ink
Syntax: FILL IN <sketch> WITH BLUE	Sketches filled with blue ink have a chance to freeze their target upon each successful hit. Each sketch can be filled with a maximum of three inks.
Commodities: 1 blue ink
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Portrait
Syntax: CRAFT FRAME DRAW PORTRAIT OF <player> PORTRAIT <portrait> ROOM <description> PORTRAIT <portrait> EXAMINED PORTRAIT <portrait> MAGICKAL [YES	An Artistan may capture the essence of someone on canvas. Once the basic portrait frame has been constructed, the artist must then detail all aspects of the portrait. All portraits must be approved by the Master Artisan before they may be used. Once the portrait has been approved, the portrait becomes the property of the portrait's subject. Furthermore, any allies of the subject may use the following abilities: PORTRAIT <portrait> GLANCE - Allows you to look through the eyes of the subject PORTRAIT <portrait> STATUS - Allows you to see the subject's health/mana/afflictions PORTRAIT <portrait> TRAVEL - After a short wait, you may travel through the portrait to the subject - Be warned, the portrait will remain where it is
Commodities: 10 wood, 10 paper
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Panpipes
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Circles
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Yellow Ink
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Druid
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Scribe
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Red Ink
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Craftsmanship
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Hunter
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Globe
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Mage
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Purple Ink
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Harp
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Runeguard
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Artisan
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Renegade
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Gold Ink
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Sketching

One of the primary features of the Artistry skillset is the creation of magickally animated paper sketches. These hand-drawn pages of artwork become enchanted loyal servants of the Bard, able to be commanded to perform a variety of attacks upon enemy players.

Sketches are classified by the source of their inspiration as follows:

• Creature sketches mimic any mobile creature in Imperian. They have a simple attack that deals damage and can be used to locate other players in the same area.
• Bard sketches mimic the Bard profession. They may use certain Voice abilities against an enemy to afflict or deal damage.
• Druid sketches mimic the Druid profession. They have abilities that can knock down a target or reveal hidden players in the room.
• Hunter sketches mimic the Hunter profession. They have freezing and fire attacks and can deliver the formaldehyde toxin, as well as provide instant travel across the local area.
• Mage sketches mimic the Mage profession. In addition to dealing damage, they can freeze, firelash and summon walls of ice.
• Runeguard sketches mimic the Runeguard profession. These focus on delivering toxins, removing defensive shields and punishing an enemy for attempting to flee.
• Renegade sketches mimic the Renegade profession. They have the capacity to entangle, stab with poison and garrote an enemy, as well as pull nearby targets from an adjacent room.

Only three sketches may be enchanted at one time, and each sketch has a limited number of attacks they may perform before they are destroyed.

Additionally, each sketch may be upgraded by adding up to three coloured inks to their outline:

• Green allows them to regenerate health with each attack
• Blue gives their attacks a chance to freeze the player
• Yellow halves the damage they receive
• Red gives their attacks a chance to set the player ablaze
• Purple increases the damage their attacks deal
• Gold makes them immune to critical hits

Sketch Tactics

This section will be completed by a Bard combatant. Talk to a skilled Bard in-game for more information.

Instruments

The Artistry skillset also contains a number of abilities that craft the instruments needed to play most Thespia songs. The instruments crafted can be used by any Bard as long as they have the relevant Thespia ability, and the skill of the Artisan can determine how effectively they perform in the hands of a musician (see the Artisan ability below).

Instruments crafted are all identical in appearance, and consist of:

• the Mandolin,
• the Flute,
• the Drum,
• the Panpipes, and
• the Harp.

Both instruments and other crafts constructed using Artistry require the use of an artist's workbench. For new Bard players, the easiest one to find resides within the main guildhall of the Bards guild in Kinsarmar, a few rooms away from the location of the guild tutor, Aliphae.

Miscellaneous Crafts

Artisans also employ their craft to create a variety of items useful in the daily life of a travelling Bard, from elegantly personalized stationery and documents to magickal devices that delight and amaze. These utility items include:

• a knife-shaped sigil, which can peel back cloaking defences that prevent detection of those in the location it is activated; and
• a magickal orb that displays a sequence of custom illusions.

Certain Artistry abilities also allow the Bard to create objects with an unique appearance that has been designed by themselves or other players. These abilities confer access to a number of design patterns that have been approved for use by Artisans, allowing completely customised items to be created that are used as:

• letters,
• journals,
• books,
• tomes, and
• scrolls.