Guest zarglif69 Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 My Fantasy Hero world has an archipelago called the Chaoslands, a land where magic has become extremely erratic. Mages who are not used to manipulating the mana in this area find their powers very unpredictable. Their spells are just as likely to fail, manifest more or less powerful, or have a completely unexpected effect. Any suggestions on simulating this effect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraterMaker Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 I'd write up a chart ala D&D, put a lot of different effects into it, and tie it to an activation roll every time a wizard casts a spell. Since it's an environmental thing, the characters would of course get no points for such a thing, but that's balanced by having equally good and bad results on the random roll. Mind you, if it happens all the time, the players will go ape poop, so keep it reasonable like a 11- or rarer roll as an aside, if you want wizards who are used to such fluctuations, allow them to buy skill levels that can either add or subtract to the roll on the random chart. -CraterMaker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost who Walks Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 The chart sounds like a good idea, for totally random stuff. If you want to have a pattern (that might eventually be puzzled out), I would use the power advantages and disadvantages. Use just a d6, to pick one of the effects at random: (Bad) 1 = Spell costs *1d6 extra endurance, or uses up 1d6 extra charges 2 = Spell suffers from delayed effect, will go off 1d6 turns later 3 = If offensive, spell effects caster. If Defensive, spell effects closest person (Good) 4 = Spell becomes Area Effect, Effects extends for 1d6 hexes 5 = If offensive, Spell becomes Autofired. If Defensive/Other, Spell is sticky 6 = Spell costs 1/2 normal endurance, or does not use up a charge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowHawk Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 Well, it might be anathema, but I'll risk telling you that a small rpg co produced a product for the d20 system using such an effect with charts/ suggested effects, ect. Its cheap & has some ideas that you might use, so it might be worth picking up at http://www.rpgnow.com oh, I think the name of it is "Chaos Magic" Ideas can come from the strangest places, huh? <;-) hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted January 1, 2004 Report Share Posted January 1, 2004 How about applying an activation roll to all spells in the area, 13-. Now add some twists, if the character misses by less than two (so a 14, 15) the spell simply fails. If the character fails by two or three (16, 17) then there is the standard side effects rule, and if the character rolls an 18, wierd shit happens. Now if the character barely makes his activation (13, 12) his spell goes off W/10 few active points. If he rolls an 11 or 10, his spell goes of as normal, if if he makes it by even more you could add 10-20 active points as dice or area effect or whatever. You could even say that the better or worse he makes his magic skill roll (if aplicable) by, that that effects the above table. From here work out a table (for efficiency) to define how much a character makes or misses by and the system effect it has on his spell, then for every two he makes his magic skill roll by it moves up one slot on the first chart. Mix this and spice it to your flavor. As far as the random effects, they don't need to charted, just wing it. Instead of a 4d6 lightning bolt you summoned the pissed of acient dragon Gods Bane. ave fun with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowHawk Posted January 1, 2004 Report Share Posted January 1, 2004 WHOOPS :-o Sorry, I got the name of that pdf wrong. The corrent name is "Wild Spellcraft" by Ryan Nock. It was published by "Natural 20 Press", but I think thtey have since merged with another d20 company, so the nae is now different. If you do a search on "Wild Spellcraft" you'll find it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Shrike Posted January 1, 2004 Report Share Posted January 1, 2004 Hmm... you mean just like Wild Mages from AD&D 2nd Edition's Tome of Magic? No, you cant mean that -- you've often stated that there is nothing to be gained by cannibalizing ideas from xD&D into the HERO System...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zarglif69 Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 Originally posted by Killer Shrike Hmm... you mean just like Wild Mages from AD&D 2nd Edition's Tome of Magic? No, you cant mean that -- you've often stated that there is nothing to be gained by cannibalizing ideas from xD&D into the HERO System...... Hey, I never said THAT, I use ideas from DnD all the time. It's just the whole Big Picture that I take issue with. Anyways, this is just an atmospheric effect of the area, not a distinct form of magic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Shrike Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 Originally posted by zarglif69 Hey, I never said THAT, I use ideas from DnD all the time. It's just the whole Big Picture that I take issue with. What "Big Picture" are you talking about? Originally posted by zarglif69 Anyways, this is just an atmospheric effect of the area, not a distinct form of magic. Also a feature of Wild Magic in AD&D 2nd Editions Tome of Magic, and incorporated in Forgotten Realms in the form of Wild Magic zones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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