Talislanta HERO Magic

[ShadowRaptor]

For anybody that has played Talislanta and understands its magic system, what would be the best way to achieve its versatility using the HERO system?

[AlHazred]

I have been considering this while doing various Talislanta Hero conversions for my own Fantasy Hero campaigns.

Tal magic is very versatile. Essentially, magic users learn an Order, a school of magic, then develop skill ratings in various Modes which represent the different ways to use the magic of the Order; thus the Move Mode skill rating would be tested if the caster wanted to move a rock, or fly, or deflect missiles. Similar to Hero, the "special effect" is less important than the result. Each Mode represents hundreds of spells the magician knows -- the player is encouraged to make these up, but he only has to develop a skill rating in the Modes themselves.

It costs about 100 XP to develop a new Order, in a system where each experience point represents about a week of training. A new Mode costs 25 XP to develop in comparison.

These seem to be Variable Power Pools, with a special set of Limitations to the Control Cost. Let's see:

Requires a Skill Roll, since there seems to be a chance it doesn't work. I'm thinking it may require a separate Skill for each Mode.

Limitations based on the Order chosen: each Order has its own special bonuses and penalties associated with it. For instance, Crystallomancers require crystals to make their magic work, Cryptomancers must have a writing surface, Cartomancer magic only works with a specially-prepared deck of Zodar cards, etc. I think all of them require Gestures and Incantations, except maybe for Mysticism which requires Concentration.

Powers Can Be Changed At Any Time (+1)

No Time To Change Powers (+1)

Strongly Limited Powers Based On Mode Skills (-1 to -2). Basically, there are 12 Modes, each of which is strongly attached to a number of effects: Alter (Aid/increased stats/decreased stats), Attack (EB/HA/RKA/HKA), Conjure (Transform used to create objects), Defend (Armor/FF/FW/etc.), Heal (Healing), Illusion (Images), Influence (MC/increased PRE), Move (any Movement Power), Reveal (Detects and Enhanced Senses), Summon (Summon), Transform (Transform), and Ward (?; have to check the book when I get home).

If you charge a character to learn each one as a seperate Skill, charge for the Pool, and forbid Skill Levels to cover the Modes, then you have a cost structure remarkably similar to Talislanta.