New Magic System

[Tywyll]

Currently, my homebrew world has three major magical systems. Wizardry (book learning style magic), Divine, and Sorcery (inborn talent). The following is a very rough draft of ideas about how Sorcery should work. Let me know what you think.

 

All sorcerers have Legacies. Legacies are aspects of the power within them, something they are born with (or steal later in life). These tend to follow in bloodlines, so your sorcerous child will usually demonstrate the same legacies you have. Legacies would be things like: Flame Born, Wind Born, Elf Born, Dragon Born, Scion Born (my name for Angels), etc. Someone from different bloodlines of Sorcerers could have mixed legacies, and so a character can start with no more than Con/4 Legacies.

 

Legacies cost 5 pts a piece.

 

Then, to use their Legacy, Sorcerers learn Manipulations. These are the skills that allow them to draw the power from their legacies. These are purchased as 3/2 skills. Right now, I am dividing them along the Power Type distinction in the rule book (Attack, Defense, Body, Movement, etc). Its a toss up if these are Con based skill or Ego based skills.

 

Characters can specialize in a Legacy with a 3 pt (5 pt?) skill level that gives them +1 with all Manipulations of that legacy.

 

Style:

All Sorcerers develope a style of casting. These are "crutches" that are either learned from others or intuited by their power. All Styles must have at least -1 total limitations. These limitations apply to all their spells. Overcoming these limitations imposes a -2 per -1/4 limitation you ignore. If the style has more than -1, it grants a bonus to all spells cast of +1 per 1/4.

Bardic Style(+1): Incantations -1/4, Gestures (Both Hands) -1/2, OIF (Instrument of opportunity) -1/2.

Incanter: Incantations -1/4, Gestures -1/4, Extra Time Full Phase -1/2

Ritualist(+5): Incantations Throughout -1/2, Extra Time Full Turn -1 1/4, Gestures Throughout -1/2

etc...

 

Casting a spell:

Spells are spontaneous affairs for the Sorcerers. They combine their Manipulation with their Legacy to generate effects. So, to throw a Fireball, a Sorcerer would need to roll their Attack Manipulation and have the Fire Born (or Dragon Born) Legacy. All spells are -1 per 5 AP. All spells must cost END every Phase they are active. If a power is normally constant, making it cost END (as this is a base line assumption) does not automatically make the power visible.

 

Casting powerful spells can be difficult for a Sorcerer. They make this easier by accepting greater penalties to their spells. Each step up on the time chart is a +1(Ritualists actually get greater benefit since all of their spells must be rituals and are therefore essentially non-combat). Every other limitation they take is +1 per 1/4. They cannot take Foci as a limitation on a spell except by approval (such as a spell that changes a weapon in their hand or something, but no waving wands or wizard staffs).

 

Wearing Metal/non-Organic armor or carrying large amounts of metal inhibits casting spells. Each pt of DEF from non-organic armor is a -1 to all casting rolls. Every 5kg of metal is a -1 (though not in armor's case, the two are not added together).

 

I'm toying with allowing Sorcerers to learn "rotes" to make certain practiced spells easier, but haven't figured a satisfactory way to handle it yet.

[UltraRob]

Re: New Magic System

 

 

I'm toying with allowing Sorcerers to learn "rotes" to make certain practiced spells easier, but haven't figured a satisfactory way to handle it yet.

 

Penalty Skill Levels, 1pt=+1 with a particular spell.

 

Thus for 12pts you can cast the 60pt (-12) fireball spell really well thanks to practice practice practice!

 

Rob

[Tywyll]

Re: New Magic System

 

Problem with the penalty skill level idea is that for 12 points, the character could also get either +6 to their Attack manipulation, or +4 to a Legacy (assuming I go with the 3 pt levels).

 

So it needs to be a set price I think. Like a familiarity or something. But that makes it too similar to my Wizardry system.