Building Ritual Magic Systems

[arcady]

Fantasy Hero lists a Ritual limitation, but that's really just a needs multiple people limiter.

 

How would you construct a -magic system- where the more mages you added to a spell's casting, the more powerful it would get.

 

One lone mage casting would be 'X', two working together might be able to pull in 1.5x, and a coven of thirteen perhaps as much as 3x, 10x, or 13x.

 

If I wanted something like say:

1 = x

2 = 1.2x

3 = 1.5x

5 = 2x

8 = 2.5x

13 = 3x

 

where x is dice of effect.

 

How would I structure the ability to add together your power?

 

Use some variation of pushing and sharing the END cost? Or use...?

 

What about methods where x was related to the skill roll (aiding others in the skill check) as well or instead.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Building Ritual Magic Systems

 

My Spellweaver Magic System contains a variant, Derwydd, that works more or less like this.

 

http://www.killershrike.com/FantasyHERO/GreyHEROContent/PackageDeals/spellweaverPackages.shtml

 

Basically, since the Spellweaver system doesnt have set spells, you build the spell effect you want and then try to cast it. Limitations dont effect the real cost since nothing is actually being paid for the spell; instead Limitations grant a +1 bonus to the skill roll for each -1/4. This effectively translates into the greater the limitations that apply in a given circumstance the more Active Points you can sling around. However, as a restraint each variant only allows a very small selection of available limitations.

 

In the case of Derwydd they are allowed:

 

Ritual

Window of Opportunity

Immobile Foci (Standing Stone or equivalent)

Incantations

Concentration

 

Effectively, when a particular Window of Opportunity is in effect the GM will grant an appropriate Limitation value; similarly, when a practitioner casts in the presense of a Standing Stone (or equivalent) the Limitation is available up to the limit of what the configuration of the Standing Stone justifys.

 

Similarly when a Derwydd has other Derwydd who know the same Spell Skill they may take Ritual at the level corresponding to the number of other Derwydd that know the Spell and are assisting; note that with this Magic System a Spell Effect with Ritual cannot be cast by a single caster, and the character with the best Spell Skill roll makes the Spell Skill roll, but all those taking part in the Ritual pay the END involved.

[arcady]

Re: Building Ritual Magic Systems

 

It just occurred to me that one simple way of doing this would be to have all the helping mages use their VPPs to do an AID on the VPP and spell of the main caster.

 

I'd apply the standard effect rule from page 72 in the 5E book of 3 per die on that, to make it flow faster - and I guess they'd have to split the AID evenly between the pool and the spell resulting in 1.5 points per die to each if I'm reading pages 74 to 75 of the 5E book correctly.