Regarding 'Stupid Mages'; I was thinking about it, and realized that what bothers me about the 'base stat for spells is 10+Magery' (Presented in Thaumatology and elsewhere) instead of 'IQ + Magery' is that 10 is a bit too low. Rather than an average of IQ and 10, I'd suggest spells be based on 12+Magery; this means that most spells will be working off a base of Skill-10. --Harald387 16:02, 11 February 2009 (UTC)
- It might also be worth looking into using a Ritual Magic system instead of the standard; when you're dealing with things on this scale, futzing with individual spells in a grimoire is a pain in the ass. --Harald387 16:07, 11 February 2009 (UTC)
- I like the Ritual Magic system (I also like the Path/Book system, for reference). I think this would be a campaign well served by either, and perhaps a good excuse to break out the Threshold casting system as well...
- Benefits (to me) of the RM system - mages who are good at the complicated/fancy spells are forced to be excellent at cantrips, OR forced to spend lots of points at being specialized in being great at the complicated/fancy spells. Lesser mages who are OK at cantrips are horribad at high end spells, but can actually take a shot at trying something exotic.
- Possible drawback of combining Ritual Magic and Threshold casting is mages are tempted to "risk it all" on a BIG spell they only know at a terrible effective skill level, possibly leading to a threshold event and a critical failure all at once. I say "possible" because the idea amuses me as a GM AND as a player, but that may be more unstable than Mark wants to deal with.
- Stylish, though. --Bruno 20:09, 11 February 2009 (UTC)
Further on Ritual Magic[]
AND ANOTHER THING... *grin*
Ritual Magic costs more points, and results in a broader spread of skill levels - so instead of a homogenous "Everything is at a base level that will succeed 53/54 of the time" you get things which the mage is qualitatively better or worse at - OR the mage spends a zillion points raising everything up to the same level. Which is basically ineffective. It follows the usual Rule of Techniques, where buying up more than about four techniques to max level (per skill) tends to be silly, and buying one Hard technique up one point almost isn't worth it.
So what you get is a mage who's good at a category of spells, has a few signature moves, and is generally "Good" down to "laughable" at the rest, but could try to pull them off if he really had to.
I recommend the Solitary Ceremonial enhancement on Magery, however, especially when combined with Threshold casting - then you can try dumping a fragton of extra mana into a spell if you really need it more reliable - but at the cost that you burn out afterward and it takes forever to cast.
Energy Accumulating or Effect Shaping?[]
Path/Book magic comes in two types, Energy Accumulating and Effect Shaping. Did you have one in mind? Effect Shaping is sort of the "Default" I guess but I figured I'd best check
Energy Accumulating requires multiple rolls to acquire "energy" (best thought of as "time points", not like the Energy used in basic spellcasting). The longer it takes you to scoop up the energy, the more likely everything will go tits up, but the more energy you scoop up, the bigger the effect. If interrupted mid-scooping, you can redirect it to another purpose, although that can be risky. Actual spell casting once you have the energy is easy - interrupting the grand high ritualist in the middle of his attempt to destroy the world CAN actually result in the ritualist instead redirecting that energy with a gesture to raise a mighty army of demons to chase you off. He'll be pissed at the waste of it for his world-destroying spell, but at least he didn't get a sword in his throat.
Effect Shaping doesn't have the headache of raising energy and then grounding excess, but requires a lot of skill and subtlety, or a huge pile of preparation, or a combination of the two. Skill penalties abound!
- I don't have a strong preference, so if anyone else does, this would be a good time to speak up. Failing that, path wizards will probably use Energy Accumulation, while path saints will use Effect Shaping. I think that gives a semi-consistent feel: enforcing your will on the cosmos is draining/takes time, while being a conduit for a greater power can only be done so often.
- --Mark 16:02, 14 February 2009 (UTC)
Maximum talent levels?[]
And another question! Are you working with maximums for talent levels? Combining a cap, with Cunning, and Ritual Magic or Path/Book magic will make spellcasting very point expensive compared to standard systems. This may or may not be your intent! I figured I should point it out though.
- I think a cap in the 7-10 range should be sufficient. I'd rather encourage really Talented people over people with high base attributes, as attributes can lead to niche stealing in a way that 100 points in Advantages can't.