Sunrunner or Channeler

[Knivy]

Another (somewhat) similar one is Brent Weeks Black Prism series. Drafting colors into stuff is pretty cool. But i especially approve of the Stormlight system.

 

There is a very clear Jordan influence on Brent Weeks' work. The Chandry, for instance, remind me deeply of the Aes Sedai. Whatsherface is very Verin-like.

I have seen that too, but Im interested if you can connect the Night Angel series to Jordan?

 

In what way? I mean the thematics and worldbuilding influence are fairly clear--not copying, mind, I just think its evident that Weeks was a Jordan fan and that shows in his work (which just shows the man has good taste, lol)

In much of any way, I guess. The Black Prism made it pretty obvious he has read Jordan's works, but I dont really see much similarity between the Night Angel series beyond what most fantasy series have in common. Beyond the reluctant hero/killing evil/2 forms of magic that are essentially the same, I cant compare the two. Im not saying you're wrong, I just dont see it. I am a chem major, not an english major, so im no expert :D

[Darksmoon]

It has been a looong time since I read that series. It really is a good one though.

 

I personally think that Channelers are more powerful as they do not require anything to fuel their power.

[Luckers]

Another (somewhat) similar one is Brent Weeks Black Prism series. Drafting colors into stuff is pretty cool. But i especially approve of the Stormlight system.

 

There is a very clear Jordan influence on Brent Weeks' work. The Chandry, for instance, remind me deeply of the Aes Sedai. Whatsherface is very Verin-like.

I have seen that too, but Im interested if you can connect the Night Angel series to Jordan?

 

In what way? I mean the thematics and worldbuilding influence are fairly clear--not copying, mind, I just think its evident that Weeks was a Jordan fan and that shows in his work (which just shows the man has good taste, lol)

In much of any way, I guess. The Black Prism made it pretty obvious he has read Jordan's works, but I dont really see much similarity between the Night Angel series beyond what most fantasy series have in common. Beyond the reluctant hero/killing evil/2 forms of magic that are essentially the same, I cant compare the two. Im not saying you're wrong, I just dont see it. I am a chem major, not an english major, so im no expert :D

 

Oh, right, lol... well, I've only read the Night Angel series... so... that maybe speaks for itself.

 

Mainly for me it was the Chantry, mostly, and in particular Ariel seemed very Aes Sedai-ish. But mainly just the general tone of the writing and world.

[Hagazussa]

I like the Energy model of magick so I would have to say Channeler. I also do think a Channeler would beat a Sunrunner and here is why, speed. When you get to a certain power level it do not matter which mage is the strongest or have the most boom in his or her spells, what matters is how quickly the mage can get those spells out and a well trained Channeler can do so in a heartbeat.

 

Now however if I could choose a magick system completely at will it would be neither of the above. My favorite magick system is the one you find in the roleplaying game Mage the Ascension, this is a metal model system is is heavily based on Chaos magick. Basically the concept is that reality is completely malleable and a mage is an individual who realize this and who can then change reality, to do this each mage have a Paradigm, this is a belief system or rather a magick system, in theory any magick system can be a paradigm in Mage the Ascension, and also anything is possible, there are no limits, the only limits are the ones the mage put on his or her self though their Paradigm and paradox, the disbelief of normal people who can as the song says do real bad thing to you. I love the Magick system in WoT but it is my second favorite to the one in Mage the Ascension.

[Knivy]

Another (somewhat) similar one is Brent Weeks Black Prism series. Drafting colors into stuff is pretty cool. But i especially approve of the Stormlight system.

 

There is a very clear Jordan influence on Brent Weeks' work. The Chandry, for instance, remind me deeply of the Aes Sedai. Whatsherface is very Verin-like.

I have seen that too, but Im interested if you can connect the Night Angel series to Jordan?

 

In what way? I mean the thematics and worldbuilding influence are fairly clear--not copying, mind, I just think its evident that Weeks was a Jordan fan and that shows in his work (which just shows the man has good taste, lol)

In much of any way, I guess. The Black Prism made it pretty obvious he has read Jordan's works, but I dont really see much similarity between the Night Angel series beyond what most fantasy series have in common. Beyond the reluctant hero/killing evil/2 forms of magic that are essentially the same, I cant compare the two. Im not saying you're wrong, I just dont see it. I am a chem major, not an english major, so im no expert :D

 

Oh, right, lol... well, I've only read the Night Angel series... so... that maybe speaks for itself.

 

Mainly for me it was the Chantry, mostly, and in particular Ariel seemed very Aes Sedai-ish. But mainly just the general tone of the writing and world.

Eh, the Chantry might be AS influenced, but i see it as more of a general fantasy staple. It is one of several schools of magic, while the others are exclusively male (I think) that one is exclusively female. The conflict between the two groups of the chantry do suggest a WoT influence, now that I think of it...

 

I definitely recommend the Black Prism for a quick read, its pretty good. Its only book one of a series, but since you've put up with waiting for WoT, I think you can take it.

[Hagazussa]

A all female order of mystics could be inspired by Bene Gesserit from Dune to, after all I always assumed that the Aes Sedai was based on them. Now the magick if you want to call it that of the Bene Gesserit is very different but their social structure is extremely similar.

[Knivy]

Another comparison is the ruler who collects curse words, without knowing their meanings :)

 

And yes, the Dune example is a great point too.

[Hagazussa]

Also Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mist of Avalon book where published in 1983 seven years before Eye of the World and one years before Jordan started writing on the series and in Mists of Avalon you do have a order of all female mages living on an island and meddling in all the politics of the world around them. The idea of orders of magic users separated by gender is nothing new. Hell when I was a little girl my mother used to read some books for me named The Little Witch, it was about a child witch who constantly got into trouble with the adult witches, if I am not mistaken all the adult witches where female and they definitely where a group or an order and there is probably allot other examples that I just can not remember right now.

 

The problem I have seen with Fantasy is that everything something become popular someone think that everything with a similar concept have to be inspired by it or worse stolen. For example every time you have a school for magick in a book series or a film now everyone scream Harry Potter clone, but they forget all the things that used this concept before, for example The Worst Witch who came long before Harry Potter. I agree if something is very similar then it might be inspired for something else, but something as simple as single gender groups of mages are a pretty broad concept.

[Whizbang]

I've only read the Sunrunner series a couple of times, and that was many years ago, so I only have vague recollections. I would place WoT Channelers over Sunrunners. Sunrunners were pretty weak, if I remember correctly. Sorcerers would fare better, I think, but neither can really counter pure physical attacks, can they? A channeler creates a bolt of lightning, what can a Sunrunner/Sorcerer do? I don't remember them being able to create shields or deflect physical objects. Sioned created the dome of starlight around Rohan and whoever that High Prince guy was (or am I misremebering that scene and it was Pol and someone else?), but I think that only kept other Sunrunners/Sorcerers from interfering with the duel. Did it stop things like arrows too?

 

Sunrunners/Sorcerers can make fire, I think I remember, as a weapon, but that doesn't hold a candle (pun intended) to Balefire. And a Channeler could just wrap a shield around a Sunrunner/Sorcerer that kept all light out, effectively nulling their power, wherease can a Sunrunner/Sorcerer break a channeler's mind when they are in the void/embracing Saidar? The void seems, at least for the men, to protect the mind from mental attacks.

 

'Course Sunrunners/Sorcerers can link without being near each other, so there is that. You could never get a working circle of channelers that span a continent.

[elric]

it hard to compare system from diffreent books since the base rules are diffrents,

 

from your description of sunrunner i would prefare channelers , couse it appear sunrunner is ONLY combat oriented while channeler is more versatile.

 

Exalted -> allow u to play Manga like character, think DragonBall /Naruto /Avatar

 

and in my opinion the best Magic system belong in table top RPG -> Ars Magica

[Whizbang]

I like the Belgariad/Malloreon(spelling?) system, myself. It is all a matter of Will and imagination (and for some reason a word, any old word). I like it for a couple of reasons, it is limited only by the talent and imagination of the magic user, but still requires ages and ages of study to master (Belgarath and company are thousands of years old).

 

Another one that was unique and interesting was the magic system from The Lon Tobyn Chronicles. The mage gets his/her power from a bird of prey, and then focuses it through a crystal. It seemed fairly limited to only Magefire, wood shaping, and healing, but it is implied that other spells are possible. Doesn't compare to Channeling for power or general usefulness, but cool nonetheless.

[Hagazussa]

and in my opinion the best Magic system belong in table top RPG -> Ars Magica

 

That is a good system, though while a Hermetic Magus can get quite powerful they are so much slower than a WoT channeler so before one of them had been able to get halfway through his chanting and hand gestures a decent strength channeler would have incinerated him, the exception perhaps being people like Flambeau himself and those of that caliber. Actually me and my hubby was discussing whatever or not allot of the more fancy weaves in WoT could be recreated in Ars and we found that yes but you would have to have some extreme degrees to do it. WoT is a much more powerful system. Now the only two real advantages a Hermetic Magus would have over a channeler is A the parma magica and B, the most important one, WoT channelers are born with a cap on their abilities, they can learn to be creative with what they got, but Morgase will never be able to do more than slightly levitate a scarf. A Hermetic Magus however have no such cap and will continue to develop their magical abilities for as long as he or she keep studying.

 

Another one that was unique and interesting was the magic system from The Lon Tobyn Chronicles. The mage gets his/her power from a bird of prey, and then focuses it through a crystal. It seemed fairly limited to only Magefire, wood shaping, and healing, but it is implied that other spells are possible. Doesn't compare to Channeling for power or general usefulness, but cool nonetheless.

 

This is a cool magick system and quite unique the problem is that if you kill a magick user's birdie then they are stuck being able to do almost nothing until they can replace their familiar with a new one which take time, not to mention that killing the familiar seriously unhinges the magick user for a time and makes them vulnerable to become trapped as restless spirits if they die before they find a new one so they are very easy to take out.

[elric]

i like Ars Magica also becouse of its great versatility

 

u can save ebergy and use the a spell construct or if u strong/educated enough u can invent something on the spot. the only limitation beeing your imagination as a player :)

 

and rem 1 of Ars rules is that it VERY hard to hit another mage with direct spell, due to the natural spell resistence mage have.

and i dont recall chaneler having destruction ,i dont mean destructive weave like fireball, i mean destroying spell that destroy matter like destroying the air around u creating vacum to choke u -> indirect attack that bypass the resistence btw :) )

or creation -> creatin a few ton over your head and letting gravity do its job :)))

[Hagazussa]

and rem 1 of Ars rules is that it VERY hard to hit another mage with direct spell, due to the natural spell resistence mage have.

 

That is not natural that is the parma, the spell that Bonisagus made that let Trianoma pitch the whole idea of the Order of Hermes to other magi, at the time most magi lived alone, perhaps with an apprentice or two and killing other magi for their magical secrets where common, but when Trionoma begun to gather magi to her offering Bonisagus joined theory of magic as well as the parma magica she managed to get many over on her side. The parma however is a short ritual the magus have to perform each sunset and sunrise, without it he or she do not have any special magical protection.

 

and i dont recall chaneler having destruction ,i dont mean destructive weave like fireball, i mean destroying spell that destroy matter like destroying the air around u creating vacum to choke u -> indirect attack that bypass the resistence btw :) )

or creation -> creatin a few ton over your head and letting gravity do its job :)))

 

Perdo Auram can be used for much fun. However I do think that WoT channelers should be able to duplicate about every effect that Hermetic Magi can do expect for the things that go directly against the channeling system like affect oneself with ones own magic, a channeler should be able to create a vacum for example just plainly using Air.