Review my Magic System

[JmOz]

These are the rules I am thinking of making my wizards follow in my new FH campeign, please give me your opinions:

All wizards will use a MP,
Each slot in the MP is requitred to take the "Can be used with personal End or End Reserve advantage"
No wizard may have a natural end reserve (Must be via a focus)
The MP will further be limited with the following limitations: RSR, VarLim -1/4 (-1/2 of limitations)


VarLiims include:

Foci
Gestures
Incantations
Concentration
ExtraTime
x2 End

Furthermore all spells WILL COST ENDURANCE

[mudpyr8]

I think your spells will end up costing too little, especially things like movement or defenses.

[Old Man]

My problem with using MPs for spells is that it makes it far too cheap for mages to buy zillions of spells. If you check out my current character in the "I want your characters" thread, you can see that I didn't have to work real hard to get the cost of each slot down to one point. That can allow mages to have so many spells that they always have the exact right one for any occasion. Or you might consider that to be a good thing.

[Ndreare]

Actually after the first three or spells it is no big deal having five or six attack forms. You cannot use them all at once anyways. I actually like characters that are somewhat varied in my games as the players may feel the characters are more cinematic. It is nice to have characters that actually generate a feel somewhat close to the type of books you base your adventures on. From my experience most books work in a similar way to a multi power anyways where the initial learning of magic may be hard but picking up new spells is easier. A big problem I find is that people spend so much time trying to limit each other or emulate a game like the old D&D that they forget we are here to have fun and if the player has fun making a character like Conan or Rand Al'thor then more power to them. (Yes in AD&D characters start of with two or three spells and in new D20 they get from 3-4 effective first level spells but who cares. Maybe the player enjoys the feel of G.U.R.P.S. or perhaps the Runes of Ambria, Wheel of Time, Palladium, Rifts or even the D&D novels where mages have a larger variety of spells to call on. After all we all want to have fun.) The General "limitations" I use are on things like no movement over 15 combat or no Defense over 12 PD/8rPD as opposed to complex formulas although I do have a formulae or two I do use now and then it is very rare that I refer to them. After all who cares weather it is from one of fifty spells or a Suite of Armor.

In final I would like to say look at the "Character" first and the numbers second.

P.S.: This is not meant to seem to be a rant or anything close this is only my opinion. I mean if game balance is that big of a deal remember that you can always make an NPC with the same numbers as a PC as an antagonist then you know it will be fare.

[GamePhil]

One thing, JmOz, what type of magic system are you trying to devise? It might help with generating suggestions. Can you describe it in non-mechanical terms?

On the other hand, game mechanics can make a good shorthand. Your system seems to indicate: Magic can be performed by an act of will but becomes easier with a short ritual or pre-prepared item (thus the Variable Limitation), that mages have the ability to know a great many spells (the Multipower), that they only have so much "juice" to apply to their spells at one time (the Multipower again), and that some form of mystic energy can be stored in certain items (the Endurance Reserve). Is that about right? Any other thoughts?

[JmOz]

Close,

Okay, magic is a learned art, while some people are born with the talent they will rarely start using magic.

It is also a blessing of sorts from three gods of magic, that is to say the origin of magic was the three dragons (all are gods) decided to gift the races with the ability to manipulate the streams of magic. To manipulate the energy is what a mage learns

It is common practice for mages to use certain items to assist them in there castings, chants, gestures, wands, etc...

Yes magical energy can be stored in containers, thus making it so the mage can call on it instead of channeling the stream directly, which can be tiring. To fill a basic container, the first magic items a mage learns how to build, a mage must channel the magic into it, this is tiring but then can function as a battery (Mechanicaly the End Res Rec costs end to use)

Yes I see a mage as having alot of spells,

Magic itself is understood by natives to some degree (a wizard needs not fear being considered a demon)

I need to work on it somemore...