Standard FH5 Magic System?

[CrosshairCollie]

I'm getting interested in picking up FH sometime soon ... I've been considering just trying to play off my 4th Edition books, but I didn't want to go throug the effort of re-designing all the spells. I'm lazy.

That said, does FH have a 'standard' magic system, and if so, what's it like? A comparison to the 4E version, if you're familiar with it, would be delightful and rep-worthy ... I'd especially like to know if they have arrangements like the 4E 'Spell Colleges', where the spells are divided by special effects (Air spells, Animal spells, etc). Since I can't find a copy to thumb through before buying in a store, I'll have to get it from the online store ... so, I'm being inanely curious. :)

[arcady]

I suppose you could say one of the options presented is very much like the old edition version.

split into 'colleges', needing a skill roll, pay points per spell, that sort of thing. The biggest difference is that you divide the real cost by three, and only pay that amount on the actual character. Thus a character is likely to have three times more spells than in past editions.

The book also provides a number of other systems. I'm fond of The Gift where you get a VPP equal to five times the points put in, but then have a list of actual spells you know with it, and must learn new ones - but without needing points to do so. An oversimplification, but that is the gist of it.

Several other options between those two extremes exist.

[Teflon Billy]

The FH 5ed book has several systems for you to choose from (I think close to a dozen).

The system described by arcady (divide real cost by 3, skill roll needed for spells) is the standard system for Turakian Age.

There is no requirement in the FH that you use it, and I don't see why you couldn't just declare your current spells and underlying magic system as your world's default system and leave it at that (updating your spells for 5th Ed of course;))

TB

[CrosshairCollie]

There is no requirement in the FH that you use it, and I don't see why you couldn't just declare your current spells and underlying magic system as your world's default system and leave it at that (updating your spells for 5th Ed of course;))

TB

Well, the system I was using was the standard 4E version ... I just didn't want to have to fool with updating the spells for 5E. So, I was hoping that job was done for me. ;)

[Lord Liaden]

If you're satisfied with the 4E Spell College system, many of those spells have been updated to 5E, and the college repetoires expanded, in Markdoc's online Ultimate Grimoire (http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Castle/9529/Gaming_stuff/Grimoire/the_ultimate_grimoire.htm).

Mark doesn't necessarily categorize the spells in quite the same way as the 4E Fantasy HERO books did, but you can find the updated versions under their original names.

[Michael Hopcroft]

The Fantasy Hero Grimoire line (two volumes so far, and I wouldn't be surprised if more were coming) provides a ton of ready-made spells, each with near-innumerbale variations, fully costed out with advantages, limitations, and real cost. Apply whatever modifier you use to the cost of spells for player characters and you hasve your spell list and, thus, your magic system.

These spells can do all sorts of things, and are built just like superpowers in Champions. Indeed, they seem to me quite usable in any sort of camapign setting in which amgic exists, including superheroic games.

[CrosshairCollie]

Interesting ... I should definitely pick this up when I can. Just out of curiosity, is the Mana system from the 4E Fantasy Hero Companion II given any mention? It was one of the few things from the FHC2 that was really useable. :)

[Captain Obvious]

Is that the one with the added Figured Characteristics for Mana and Mana Recovery?

If so (I seem to recall this from FHCII, but I'm not sure), it's mentioned on p221. There's not much else about it, but there doesn't really need to be much, really....

[CrosshairCollie]

Is that the one with the added Figured Characteristics for Mana and Mana Recovery?

If so (I seem to recall this from FHCII, but I'm not sure), it's mentioned on p221. There's not much else about it, but there doesn't really need to be much, really....

That's the one. I always liked that, because it meant that your 'magic Endurance' went up as you got older, instead of decreasing.