I was looking over my mystic ideas and realized that they have as good a chance of being implemented as I have of winning the lottery without buying a ticket. In other words the odds are somewhere between zero and none.
I got to thinking about why I became a mystic in the first place. It was so I could get knowledge and record it for other people to use. That's why I put together Eyes of Puddleby, but the sad truth of the matter is that as a mystic I am not suited to gaining knowledge. Furthermore, of all the classes, mystics are least likely to share their knowledge with other people (least of all other mystics). I thought mystics would view each other as fellow travelers but actually mystics view each other as robbers who would steal their treasure unless they are on their guard. The treasure in this case is knowledge.
As a Journeyman Mystic, I am not wanted in groups because I have nothing to offer and when I go on hunts I try to pretend that my skills are useful when I know they are not. My boosts are weak and scanning isn't needed. Therefore, it's hard for me to go to places to find knowledge because I'm frail physically, and actually I have no tools that enable me to know anything more than anyone else.
Therefore, I have been considering resetting and becoming a Ranger. I know it's a radical idea to throw away so many years of struggle to get where I am today but it's either that or continue hiding in the library and letting Eyes of Puddleby stagnate. At least as a Ranger I will be able to leave town without running from every Giant Vermine that comes my way. I'll be weaker than I am now for a while, until I get some Evus training but after that I will only get stronger and stronger.
Do I want to give up any chance I may have at becoming a Full Mystic? Do I care about being a Full Mystic at all even more? At this time I am only apathetic about the possibility, and am not all that interested about playing politics behind the scenes as so many others seem to enjoy doing.
I don't even know if I have a chance at getting promoted or whether I'm on some blacklist with no hope at all. For someone like me who's goal oriented it's hard not knowing whether I'm doing well or doing badly.
I'd hate to disappoint the Full Mystics who seem to support me such as Rincewind, Melben, and Asenath. Yet I can't remain a mystic for their sake and it's not like they're clanning any more often than I am.
Hmm, if I were to become a Ranger what would I do? I'd start out with getting 200 Skea and 100 Marsh Hermit right away and would only become a Fighter to get the dagger, which is a great weapon, and to avoid being thought of as a mystic wannabe. The reason I'd get all of those non-fighter ranks first is to get them out of the way and so I could more easily follow with groups going to the advanced pathfinding books as soon as I could. After I got done I'd switch to Evus and stay with him until I qualified for the Gossamer some time after hitting 3rd-circle and then I'd get 100 Gossamer ranks. After that I'd go back to Evus while working on becoming a Ranger which would probably take me until after I reached 4th-circle. Once becoming 4th-circle I'd get the 50 ranks with Rodnus and get another 100 Gossamer ranks. I'll probably train a bit more with Evus until I reach the next message because I'm weird like that. If I'm still not a Ranger after all of that then I'll probably just get more Gossamer. After I become a Ranger I'll improve my spirit and switch from Evus as my main fighter trainer to one of the Ranger combo trainers. One is more offensive and the other is more defensive but aside from that I don't know which one is better for me. I'll get more Gossamer along the way and probably won't get more than 400 in the end. Having a good amount of Gossamer is important but I don't want to be like those Rangers who have to rely on luck to get last hits so I want a good amount of natural Atkus and Darkus as well. Plus, if I ever decide to get morphs I don't want to be prevented from getting them or taking advantage of them if my fighter ranks are too low.
Aaah! I'm really talking myself into making this dramatic change but I won't do it just yet. I'll do some more thinking about it before coming to a decision.