Since it's as much Fantasy as anything else, I thought I'd post here about the magic style shown in the first few volumes of the Magic Teacher Negima manga. This is skipping the whole Partner business, because that's where it becomes more of a superheroic setup.
As I see it, the magic for Negima seems to function as follows:
Magisters (wizards) usually require a physical focus to channel their power through when casting, this is normally a special magic staff. The staff is very literally acting as a focus, and in fact if the wizard channels more power through the staff or other item than it can take it will be destroyed in the process. Different items can handle different amounts of power before being destroyed, for example, as a backup Negi carried his "training wand" into a fight, and then when he used it to cast a large spell it was destroyed. Thus Magisters need to carry more than one focus to prevent this. (Note: There are characters who cast without foci, but most do have them that I've seen.)
Magisters must speak while casting, and the more powerful spells seem to take longer. Specifically, offensive spells take at least twice as long as defensive spells to cast, leaving the caster quite open to attack by other means. This isn't helped by magic being relatively instant, and sustained magic requiring sustained focus and limited ability to do other spells. Again, in the comic, it was more practical for advanced magisters to use offensive magic instead of defensive magic to counter other offensive magic. (Because once the mage had committed to attacking offensively, going defensive was giving up the initiative and risking being defeated.)
Spells can and do fail due to caster ability and go awry.
Magisters seem to have a large number of spells, but since spells are largely instant don't seem to use more than one at once. Lower level minor spells seem to call on the user's own power, higher level spells have elemental and spiritual components, invoking outside forces. The exception seems to be things like Flight spells and other movement spells or minor support spells.
Magic items like potions and scrolls and such are used by magisters who can't cast or need something fast, but are 1-shot spells that burn themselves up in the process.
So, based on the above writeup, I believe in HERO a normal human Magister's writeup would include:
Multipower with ultra slots only.
- OAF- Focus Item
- Gestures
- Incantations
- 0 DCV Concentration throughout
- Requires a Magic Skll Roll
- If a spells active points/5 exceeds the body of the focus item, the item is destroyed during the casting process.
Notes:
- All Offensive spells must also take at least 1 phase extra time.
- Minor spells, totalling 30 active points or less may be bought outside of the multipower, but are still subject to standard limitations.
- Spells with more than 30 active points should pick an elemental focus and spiritual focus (ie Water Nymph Archers!) which will determine their special effects and possible other minor in-game effects. No cost modifier for this.
- All mages should buy (with points) a personal magic staff or similar focus item which has sufficient strength to withstand being used for casting at their level of power.
- All mages should chose a code-phrase which starts and personalizes their particular spells. "ie "Klatuu Barada Nikto! Ten Nymph Archers of Ice!"
Any thoughts? I'm not currently planning to use this, but since I began to read the comic recently I naturally started to break it down in HERO terms and thought I'd clarify my ideas here.
Rob
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Originally Posted by UltraRob
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