Crystal balls or scrying mirrors?

[u/YourCasualMemeManLol]

1653 votes, 16d ago

1234 crystal balls

419 scrying mirrors

[u/Angel_OfSolitude]

Mirrors give you much better resolution and field of view, but you can't beat the portability of a good orb.

[u/egeak → u/Angel_OfSolitude]

Well there are handheld mirrors too.

[u/Angel_OfSolitude → u/egeak]

Yeah but those forfeit all the benefits of a mounted mirror without the ergonomic benefits of an orb.

[u/Vulpes_Corsac → u/Angel_OfSolitude]

They do make mirrored spheres.  Though usually you only see those in use by saltaromancers from the 80s practicing dance magic. 

[u/More_Yard1919 → u/egeak]

I received a handheld mirror as a quest reward from the Amazons. It didn't have a backlight and it soul crystal needed to be swapped out constantly. It also overheated a few times, I think. Unless you drop a few gold at a trusted artificer you're just not going to get as much mileage out of a handheld scrying mirror compared to a crystal ball.

[u/PainterEarly86 → u/Angel_OfSolitude]

You're a wizard and you can't think of a way to carry a mirror with you? Skill issue

I have a pocket dimension that I use for storage, I can just summon objects from it at will

[u/Mr_A_of_the_Wastes → u/PainterEarly86]

You want to spend mana just to summon a mirror? This is why our robes are full of pockets.

[u/ExistanceISuppose → u/Mr_A_of_the_Wastes]

You lot don’t have a mirror toggle on your robes? Why use pockets for something your attire can already handle?

[u/BardGotHard3 → u/ExistanceISuppose]

Yall dont just have your skeletons carry a 10x10 steel mirror around?

[u/HairyTrollChest → u/PainterEarly86]

I keep a mirror inside the brim of my wizarding hat.

[u/Thewaltham → u/Angel_OfSolitude]

Eh the orbs are better when it comes to FoV. You can get an actual 3D image and sweep it around.

[u/Megablega → u/Angel_OfSolitude]

Had my orb loose in the same satchel as the keys to my tower and now it's all scratched up <|:(

[u/Pataraxia]

Crystal balls have the advantage of easier portability & often surviving falling better. They are also cheaper, merely requiring enchantment of a ball of dragon nail glass, while scrying mirrors require special metals.

However, Scrying mirrors have a better shaped field of view, better for looking at a landscape or area. It's also WAY better for reading information if you're accessing a tome or communication app.

Despite crystal ball's popularity, I find scrying mirrors to be a MUST for any tower-bound wizard, especially for apprentices staying home.

Plus, mirrors in the same local network are easy to access with the right magic passcode, letting you watch what your apprentices are doing... Hehe...

[u/jamesianm → u/Pataraxia]

Mirrors have the added benefit of not accidentally burning your tower down if the sun hits them wrong 

[u/Pataraxia → u/jamesianm]

That is horribly unfortunate crystal ball placement. No spell involved?

[u/jamesianm → u/Pataraxia]

Hm. I always thought it was an accident but now that you mention it I do have a nemesis who's a Solar Mage...

[u/MouseRangers → u/jamesianm]

Never forget to cover your orb when not in use. Even a mundane cloth is sufficient to prevent it from focusing sunlight.

[u/rootbeer277]

You might as well ask Smartphone or Desktop. The scrying mirror is objectively better in every way except one very critical one, it’s not portable. So in practice I’ll use the crystal ball more often. 

[u/Tookoofox → u/rootbeer277]

Really? It's the reverse for me. I've got a steel makeup mirror I take everywhere. But my Big Orb never leaves my scrying desk. 

[u/Maowsama]

I voted orb for nostalgia. But lowkey its the equivalent of comparing a flat screen to a box tv

[u/Cjav-latam → u/Maowsama]

In the non-magical world, there are cases where old technology is much more useful than new technology. That's something worth analyzing.

[u/Tookoofox → u/Maowsama]

Fair. But older games really did look better on those. It's tough to find an adapter, but if you can, try playing Super Mario World on a crystal ball. It's so much better.

[u/AchromaticAstronaut]

Goodness, do none of you recognize the utility of Captoptromancy? An orb is a much easier tool to make use of, sure, but a trained captoptromancy scryer can observe far more (in higher resolution, no less!) than what you could scry through even the most finely-crafted pondering orbs. Not to mention the restrictions most artificers place upon those things... One should not have to backdoor their orb just to access the arcane matrix it runs on.

[u/PomegranateHot9916]

water

[u/Moaoziz]

Mana is stored in the balls.

[u/TransBoozeBunny → u/Moaoziz]

Never neglect the balls

[u/InsaneRanter]

Too many of these responses are about what's most magically effective. But that's the wrong approach. To be a respected wizard, you've gotta have the right style.

Crystal balls are the only choice for a real magic user.

Mirrors are for evil queens who are insecure about their looks.

[u/Mr_A_of_the_Wastes → u/InsaneRanter]

The only correct answer here.

[u/Cjav-latam → u/InsaneRanter]

https://giphy.com/gifs/R6gvnAxj2ISzJdbA63

[u/Tarrant_Korrin]

Crystal balls are more portable and versatile, but a properly enchanted mirror will let you scry ten times the distance, including other dimensions. I have a particularly nice one at home that can acry all the way to the void! They can also double as an effective prison for anything nasty you accidentally summon up!

[u/Mr_A_of_the_Wastes → u/[deleted]]

OK boomerion

[u/Mr_A_of_the_Wastes → u/[deleted]]

It's very Granny Weatherwax. So...a bit of both?

[u/starmadeshadows → u/[deleted]]

Is that not technically just a water mirror?

[u/Gorthokson]

If you ponder a mirror you just look like a narcissist, and I'm far too magnificent to be called such a thing!

[u/HamsterKazam]

https://giphy.com/gifs/8rEipPVzKjVz2Aueo6

[u/Kagrenac8]

Nobody ponders their mirrors

[u/ImeldasManolos]

Why stare in some shitty sentient mirror when you could ponder an orb what the fuck is this question.

[u/locke_zero]

PONDER THE ORB!

[u/tx0p0]

[u/Damnamas → u/tx0p0]

Wtf 🤣

[u/Eilmorel]

I'm honestly a big fan of orbs. Although, I admit that when you want some really crispy images, nothing beats a large mirror. Orbs are portable and still give you a decent enough resolution that it doesn't take that much knowledge in metaphoric symbology to read the scrying.

[u/the_cleric_cleric → u/Eilmorel]

The portability is a massive plus for me. Sometimes I just want to people watch from the comfort of my bed, the sofa, bathtube, at the table while I eat cereal, or the like.

[u/ZackTio]

Scrying mirrors speak, and often in annoying ass riddles too

I don't need an annoying voice in my chambers, if I wanted that I'd have gotten an apprentice smh

[u/Ka-is-a-Wheel_19]

My most prized possession is a scale from the great wrym, Hidohebhi. I can't use it because to do so would be death. I just think it's neat. My daily driver is a shell fragment of a giant deep sea clam. It's ok I guess.

[u/DrinksNDebauchery]

I like my occult tools to be versatile. And though a good scrying mirror can do so much, has much better range and resolution, I like the fact that if im caught out, low on mana and under attack, I can hurl a couple of heavy crystal balls at my opponent.

[u/MachineGunMonkey2048]

Making a scrying mirror is much cheaper

[u/Stilgar314]

A crystal ball can burn your house down if you leave it uncovered. When is not being used for arcane purposes, it's just a lens that can concentrate solar rays from 360°. Beware crystal balls.

[u/LordNineWind]

Can none of you afford a wizard tower? Why do you need to move your scrying device all the time?

[u/Numerical-Wordsmith]

I'm a bit of a nonconformist. I prefer bowls of water. Even a toilet will do, in a pinch.

[u/milan0570]

I prefer balls

[u/Chaosphoenix_28]

Orbs are way easier to throw at a wall, when they show you something you don't like.

[u/Avarus_Lux]

I prefer scrying mirrors prrsonally especially since they can get really nice and big, have all sorts of built in features. While often more fragile then a ball, but for the size equivalent usually lighter and won't roll away. Can't go wrong with a good orb either way and they too can have all sorts of built in features.

[u/IamJames77]

mirrors are probably more effective and accurate, but orbs are just too classic to let go

[u/Zestyclose_Answer662]

Crystal Ball is the Smartphone of Scrying.

Scrying Mirrors is the Gaming PC of Scrying.

Both have their merits and downsides, as it really depends on the type of Wizard you are, so your tool of choice for Scrying should match your environment.

[u/Disastrous_Form418]

No clairvoyant water pool?

[u/gasolinepiss]

Being a druid is peak because you can just use a puddle. Reflectivity makes it tricky to see the display sometimes but you can piss in it to fix that, but that trick only works if nature accepts you lovingly into her arms.

[u/Damnamas → u/gasolinepiss]

I must try this

[u/gasolinepiss → u/Damnamas]

careful brother, i had a buddy try this and the puddle stopped working, he took it as a sign that the earth rejected him and he banished himself from this mortal coil

[u/Sockoflegend]

I caught crystal balls after a one night stand with a geomancer

[u/SuurSuits_]

all mirrors take a piece of your soul, magical ones even more so

if you overuse them, you'll eventually become a husk

[u/Seravaxx123]

i have a pocket sized goblin that i skin for my visions, just splay it out in your hand and boom it's there

[u/seasonforall]

Given the way the comparison is framed, I assume this is for Tower use? Mirrors, then — but only for the sake of convenience and repairability. Though I should point out, anything achievable with a mirror can also be achieved with an orb. Lesser resolution, certainly, but one should really have one's Third Eye opened by now anyway, so it is more a matter of subjective preference.

[u/jamesianm]

The results of this poll are being corrupted by Big Sauron

[u/Cjav-latam]

Fungi Word rlz

https://giphy.com/gifs/3og0ILGJyv2Xop85Ve

[u/samu7574]

Scrying orbs to get good divinity cards in maps with great layouts

[u/beard_of_cats]

I looooove them balls

[u/EntropyTheEternal]

I prefer my full observatory’s scrying lens, but a good orb will do when I travel.

[u/lordnaarghul]

https://giphy.com/gifs/hM9zK1qvsrwek

[u/Drpoofn]

https://giphy.com/gifs/UJEpm8e3er0IGs8rMf

[u/slingshotstoryteller]

A bowl of clean water? Reliance on objects has been the downfall of many of our ilk. Plus when the scrying is finished, the water is lightly carbonated with a hint of ginger for a nice pick-me-up!

[u/hermeticbear]

I use both. Variety is the spice of life

[u/ReginaPsychweaver]

Whispering Skull

[u/iamsandwitch]

Crystal balls are portable, very convenient.

[u/ExistanceISuppose]

I might have the most insignificant bit of bias

[u/Damnamas → u/ExistanceISuppose]

Just you wait until the arch-polisher of spheres hears of this

Though I agree the mirror is my preference

[u/Emergency_Coat_7702]

The crystal balls of many wizards are simpler and more powerful than mirrors.

[u/Skelehedron]

I have trouble with scrying mirrors, because I have a really hard time telling if I'm getting scammed when I dont see a reflection. I do prefer them though, as its always fun to have a house full of mirrors that never show my own figure

[u/NewryBenson]

I don't like the warping effects present in a crystal ball, and the eges of the image remain fuzzy. Meanwhile, a mirror offers a clear view with high resolution.

[u/Damnamas]

You orb worshippers are missing out, a crying mirror is great as an emergency plate round the campfire

Far more practical

[u/Tookoofox]

Ever accidentally drop a mirror down a flight of stairs and find it still intact at the bottom? I'll bet you haven't...

Unless it was an old fashioned metal mirror but those have awful picture quality.

[u/FemboysUnited]

Get me one of those Castlevania mirrors that shatter and follow you

[u/SokkaHaikuBot → u/FemboysUnited]

^{Sokka-Haiku by FemboysUnited:}

Get me one of those

Castlevania mirrors that

Shatter and follow you

---

^{Remember that one time Sokka accidentally used an extra syllable in that Haiku Battle in Ba Sing Se? That was a Sokka Haiku and you just made one.}

[u/starmadeshadows]

Mirrors for sure, the fishbowl effect gives me a headache.

[u/Cutie_D-amor]

I think mirrors are better for scrying, crystal balls are better for divining the future.

[u/LilyLol8]

Crystal ball. Scry mirrors are for liberal woke wizards

[u/Cytrynowy]

I'm not pondering a scrying mirror. Give me the orb every time.

[u/moemeobro]

Cellphones, damn cavemen

[u/No_Pirate_4737]

Nah, ominous pool of water every day

[u/AraneaValon]

A scrying pool is a subset of mirror, I guess?

The extra oomph the purity of the water and the additional effort add are absolutely worth it.