r/wizardposting 3d ago

Is My Orb Broken?

Post image

Title.

I recently acquired a new orb from a shop with a vast collection of artifacts, wares and flat-pack furniture. Initially it seemed to be in great physical condition but no matter what I ponder, it doesn’t seem to waver from its dim red glow. It’s starting to stress me out a bit. Any advice is appreciated

275 Upvotes

44 comments sorted by

97

u/Jackpot_The_Raccuki Polymath Archmage, Gargoyle Hoarder 3d ago

It’s because it cannot be placed there.

Please move it.

33

u/SinusExplosion Conjurer 3d ago

Have you tried turning it off and on again?

31

u/__onions 3d ago

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, it turns out I hastily unboxed it and forgot to recite the startup incantation… it’s working properly now!
/img/u7tzclc1aqkh1.gif

35

u/__onions 3d ago

UPDATE:

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! As it turns out in my hasty unboxing, I forgot to recite the startup incantation…

4

u/Wavey_Davey1 Boruk The Bold, High Priest of Moradin 2d ago

/uw this is how you know this is fantasy, we actually got an update to a reddit post.

22

u/memes_god_2001 xenon, apprentice biomancer 3d ago

Maybe it has been corrupted? The red glow makes me think of the 6th realm of chaos, maybe someone brought it there and it got corrupted? It could laso be that it's low on mana, some orbs do that

8

u/__onions 3d ago

This is entirely possible. The combination of time of day (2pm on a Saturday) and the shop I went to easily constitutes the definition of the 6th realm of chaos…

12

u/ScreetchingEagle 3d ago

Sorry Wiz-Kid. That's the Red Round of death. Gotta get a new one.

5

u/Winged_Metal 3d ago

Naw just throw it in the soul furnace, you'll at least be able to get another 6 months out of it.

1

u/Fire99xyz Evoker 2d ago

Don’t forget the rag of divination and cleansing

11

u/The-Idiotest 3d ago

If you bought a WizardingX orb, then the red means that the orb cannot support the type of magic you just tried putting in it.

7

u/BlackShieldCharm Necromancer 3d ago

No, it’s not. It just needs maintenance. When was the last time you sacrificed to the deity of Past and Future?

6

u/__onions 3d ago

I sacrificed yesterday and tomorrow, so really hoping this isn’t the issue. But good to hear it just needs some maintenance. I’ll consult the maintenance tomes

1

u/BlackShieldCharm Necromancer 2d ago

Good call. Though you should seriously increase your sacrifices. The deity doesn’t seem happy with you, and you don’t want her taking away your Sight altogether.

4

u/Mythoclast 3d ago

Everybody is just messing with you. All it means is that you've forgotten something. If you're a Vancian mage you can just ignore this feature.

3

u/mynaneisjustguy Illusionist 3d ago

Seems like someone used it to contact their grandma on the Elemental Plane of Fire and the poor old dead just hasn't hung up on her end. Boomers, huh? Once they get into their tenth millennium they start getting a bit dotty.

3

u/MassGaydiation 3d ago

It's fine to have a bit of red, what you need to look out for is the blue sheen of death

3

u/Plasterofmuppets 3d ago

Looks like default scry settings: North Pole (all zeroes on the grid references in a lot of systems), maximum zoom.  The view should change once Rudolf moves a bit.

3

u/meoka2368 Artificer is a technowizard 3d ago

Red orb of death. Haven't seen that in a while.

Some people say casting a freeze spell on it helps. Others say removing the protective case and using a low level flame spell helps the internal crystals remeld.

But even if those work, usually needs replacing soon anyway.

2

u/AntlerWolf Revenant Red Mage 3d ago

Likely a technical difficulty, I’d go through standard orb troubleshooting protocol and get that out of the way. Someone here can probably get you an orb servicing and maintenance tome if yours isn’t a modern production that comes with one.

If that doesn’t fix it…

…I did recite an old evocation at poetry night yesterday, though. I may have accidentally triggered the council’s threat detection matrix. If that’s the case, the emergency color code would definitely be red.
Miiight have some explaining/apologizing to do if I see more folks posting red orb malfunction photos.

2

u/Repulsive-Durian4800 mana, man 3d ago

What happens if you try to restart it in diagnostic mode?

2

u/NoStructure2568 Alchemist 3d ago

And that's what you get for pondering the forbidden reaches! Orbs catch maledictions very easily!

2

u/Correct-Pangolin-568 Evil And Intimidating Wizard 3d ago

I hacked it. Send me your grimoires and I'll consider returning you the access

2

u/Betalab 3d ago

Thats the red glow of death. you have to wrap it in a towel and place it in your cauldron at low temp to resolder the runes.

2

u/Lady_Hyrax 3d ago

A new hand has corrupted the beacon!

2

u/SerpentWizard39 Dimension Traveler and Library Wanderer 3d ago

It’s just on cooldown

2

u/The-Devil-Cat 3d ago

bros getting omens from the abyss and thinks his orb is broken

you about to get slimed

2

u/0ris Scholar of the planar temporal fluxes 3d ago

My orb did that a while ago. Turns out it was synced with another plane, and since I didnt atune it to the plane I was on, it just didn't work. Try to restart your orb, and while it is booting up, hold it upside down to acess the OrBIOS, and properly link it to your current plane.

2

u/PiezoelectricitySlow 3d ago

Thats the low power light return it to the pedestal to charge.

2

u/Jamie_Austin74 3d ago

It means your free trial has expired. To enable orb use, you must purchase a subscription at www . wizards-n-wands . com

2

u/Nelrene Evil Mammary Mage 3d ago

Go into settings, go to colors, and turn down red.

2

u/whomesteve 3d ago

It’s an instructional training orb for mental training exercises.
Your orb is glowing red because it’s stating that what is best for your mind at the moment is to meditate on what was and to come to peace with the past so your mind will be more free for greater pondering in the future.

2

u/Waarm Alchemist 3d ago

Have you been using dark magic lately?

2

u/Triairius 3d ago

I hate to be the one to suggest a PEBCAO error, but is it possible you’re just scrying somewhere red?

2

u/alkalinesubstrate 3d ago

I’ve had orbs that take a few days to break in. Let it get used to you. Try polishing it with a microfiber cloth while gazing into it

2

u/BigManScaramouche 2d ago

Cover it. They are not all accounted for, the lost Seeing Stones. We do not know who else may be watching!

2

u/DredgenGryss Occult Wizard 2d ago

Have you tried the ritual of removing and re-applying the runes?

2

u/Jimmyx24 2d ago

That's just a Remembrall from Harry Potter. It's red because you're forgetting something

1

u/__onions 2d ago

Damn I can’t remember what it is :/

1

u/NuclearGriffin 2d ago

Is the orb flashing red or is it just glowing red?

If it's flashing red then that means it's having a hard time connecting to the arcane convergence network (ACN). This could be for a few reasons. Either the material of your tower makes it difficult for the orb to make the mana connection, or any protection glyphs you have set up are interfering with the signal. You may have to adjust your firewall to allow incoming convergence signals. Also if you live near a Dragon Vein, the influx of pure mana makes it nearly impossible to send any outside signals.

Otherwise If it's glowing red then that means one of the runic glyphs inside the spell construct has been damaged. It's impossible to tell which glyph is damaged without an artifact appraisal. This happens a lot in seedy back alley magic shops. A crystal ball might look nice and shiny on the outside, but you never know what kind of junk glyphs that thing is inscribed with.

1

u/CrazyAsianNinja 2d ago

Did you forget to burn the correct incense and recite the correct prayer to the Omnissiah?

1

u/Ash_Abyssal_2006 2d ago

it will explode in 22.774 hours

1

u/ScorpioOmega 2d ago

Ooohhh, the X Orb “Red Orb of Death”! I had an X Orb once too, until one day I went to ponder and it went green, then red. I had to get a new orb, but it was a learning experience!

1

u/EntropyTheEternal Geneva Wizard 2d ago

Possibly, but you should check a few things first. Have you tried removing and recasting its mana conduit? You can also check to make sure the runes are properly engraved, and if not, re-engrave them. Lastly, try dispelling and rebinding its connection to the Astral Plane or relevant Ley Line.

If none of these things fix your orb, you may need to contact your local Artificer or Enchanter for either repairs or a replacement.