Some questions......

[VR Dragon]

First off.... How do I translate running or flight speeds/ inches / or whatever they are into MPH or KPH?

 

 

secondly, I have been trying hard to come up with a magic system for a up coming FH game but I am such a total newbie to it that I can hardly graps what I am reading. I'm a Green GM .

 

I am wanting to make a elemental magic framework or something that spell casters can buy. but mine keep ending up costly as all hell. Can anyone me/ give me some pointers?.... God I wish I had a Hero System GM around...

[L. Marcus]

Re: Some questions......

 

Well . . . That first one is pretty easy . . . Take your Running in inches times your Speed and you get your Combat Movement for a full Turn. Divide this by six and you get your combat move in meters per second. Double this, and you have an approximation of your movement expressed in MPH . . .

[KA.]

Re: Some questions......

 

VR Dragon,

 

Why don't you post a few of your spells as an example, and we may be able to help you.

 

It is kind of hard to tell where you might be going wrong, when we can't see where you are going.

 

Or, if you are just coming up with overall guidelines, post those.

 

KA.

[Labrat]

Re: Some questions......

 

Movement in Inches * SPD (Actions/Turn) * 5 (Turns/Min) = “/Min

Movement in Inches * SPD (Actions/Turn) * 5 (Turns/Min) * 60 (Min/Hour) = “/Hour

Miles/Hour = Result/804.5â€

Km/Hour = 500â€/Km

 

Check my math, please. There's a nice conversion chart in TUV.

[APE]

Re: Some questions......

 

Inches per turn * 0.6 = kph

Inches per turn * 0.36 = mph

[Super Squirrel]

Re: Some questions......

 

secondly, I have been trying hard to come up with a magic system for a up coming FH game but I am such a total newbie to it that I can hardly graps what I am reading. I'm a Green GM .

Are you running a High Fantasy or a Low Fantasy campaign?

 

Killer Shrike has a pretty elaborate system available if you want a large, diverse system.

 

In my Easthaven Campaign I have all magic ruled by a VPP system. The three major magic systems are Elementalism, Divine, Tantric, and Shadow Magic. Elementalism is sub-divided into six elementals. Fire, Water, Air, Spirit, Earth, and Nature. I have a number of sample spells on Aldaric Gaming. The spell system can be found here:

http://aldaric.com/guidelines?keyword=magic

 

But if you want something quick and dirty that is already very well developed, go with Killer Shrike's work.

[L. Marcus]

Re: Some questions......

 

Hoh, hyes! KS has done a MoNuMENTal job!

 

 

 

 

 

 

. . . And Tantric Magic, huh?

[Super Squirrel]

Re: Some questions......

 

Just to make sure I'm clear. The above post had a link to my system, not Killer Shrike. If you thought that about my system you are in for one heck of a surprise.

 

Tantric magic is magic of the body cast by Song, Dance, or Sex.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Some questions......

 

Killer Shrike has a pretty elaborate system available if you want a large, diverse system.

Thanx for the kind words; but my ego drives me to pik a nit -- its "systems", plural

 

 

Anyway, here is a general document containing advice for desigining Magic Systems -- its a high level conceptual pass intended to help new GMs.

 

http://www.killershrike.com/FantasyHERO/HighFantasyHERO/shrikeMagicDesign.shtml

 

 

Here is a document with recommendations on implementing Magic:

 

http://www.killershrike.com/FantasyHERO/HighFantasyHERO/GeneralSpellRestrictions.shtml

 

And here is a document indicating at a high level traits of the various Magic Systems on my site:

 

http://www.killershrike.com/FantasyHERO/HighFantasyHERO/shrikeMagicSystemAdvisor.shtml

 

 

All of those links and many more are collected together on my High Fantasy HERO Content page:

 

http://www.killershrike.com/FantasyHERO/HighFantasyHERO/FantasyHERO.shtml

[Basil]

Re: Some questions......

 

First off.... How do I translate running or flight speeds/ inches / or whatever they are into MPH or KPH?

 

More specific than some have been:

Hexes of movement as bought (i.e., your Combat Velocity), times total NCM multiplier (including built-in x2), times SPD, is your MAX (a "stat" used in later 4th ed., unfortunately dropped from 5th). Or:

Combat Move * NCM * SPD = MAX.

 

Max times 0.6 is your velocity in km/hr.

 

km/hr * 0.6214 ~ mph.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Some questions......

 

The rule of thumb I use for doing quick mph estimates is (Total hex * SPD) / 2.66

 

Its not 100 % accurate by a margin, but its fast and gives me a good enough idea to keep the game moving with.

[VR Dragon]

Re: Some questions......

 

I thank you for your information about the speed conversion.

 

About the spells I have made? I haven't really nailed anything down, I am using my hero designer program to fiddle around with multipowers, elemental controls, and I have not a clue on how to approach VPP.

 

So far what I have worked out is some themes. For elemental magic I was going for gestures ( traces arcane sigil in the air ) and was thinking of linking it with a rune magic thingie for enchanting stuff.

 

I was wanting to make spells the war mage ( the guys who practice elemental magic ) starts off with after his squire/apprenticeship be basicly the same in power to ranged weapons.

 

Each War Magi has a particular attunement to one of the forces of nature ( Earth, Fire, Air, Water, Electricity, or Aether ) and he joins a mage cabal of that particular element. so basicly these would be the FX of his spell forms.

 

Basicly I was looking for a starting spell frame in the range of 50 to 60 points. It would have a Aetheral Shield Spell ( EB Force Field or something), a Energy blast, a ranged killing attack with proper elemental enhancment (Explosion for fire ball, extra stun or more damage for electricity, etc....) But to be honest I am currently at a loss to construct this framework thing. I am also trying for figure out the using of a power skill ( maybe one for each elemental force ) to use instead of VPPs, ECs, and MPs.

 

I am trying to understand these things, I have th big fat FH gerne book and hero main book. I only have the USPD hero designer thing for prefab powers to draw upon for inspiration.

 

 

can someone explain to me ( in the hero designer ) what the adder of ( + 1 pip means? and how do I roll a 1/2 d 6, or 1d6-1.) How do I read these when I roll the dice?

 

[Chris Goodwin]

Re: Some questions......

 

can someone explain to me ( in the hero designer ) what the adder of ( + 1 pip means? and how do I roll a 1/2 d 6' date=' or 1d6-1.) How do I read these when I roll the dice?[/quote']

 

1 pip usually refers to 1 point of the characteristic: STR pips, BODY pips, etc. They're called that to differentiate them from Active Points worth of the Characteristic: 1 pip of BODY is 2 Active Points worth of BODY.

 

+1 pip if you're talking about dice rolls means roll the dice and add one to the total: 2d6+1 means roll 2d6 and add one. So if you rolled 2 and 3 on the dice, your total would be 6 (2 + 3 + 1).

 

1/2d6 means roll one die and divide the result by two, rounding up. If you're rolling it with any other dice it's best to use a die of a different color to differentiate the results. So if you were rolling 3 1/2 d6 (three white and one blue) and the white dice came up 6, 5, 1, and the blue die came up 5, then your total would be 15 (6 + 5 + 1 + 5/2 (2.5 which rounds to 3)).

 

d6-1 means roll the number of dice and subtract one from the total. So if you were rolling 5d6-1, and the dice came up 2, 3, 3, 3, 6; your total would be 16 (2 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 6 - 1). 1 is the minimum value on 1d6-1.

 

Does this help?

[Lucius]

Some questions......

 

 

About the spells I have made? I haven't really nailed anything down, I am using my hero designer program to fiddle around with multipowers, elemental controls, and I have not a clue on how to approach VPP.

 

So far what I have worked out is some themes. For elemental magic I was going for gestures ( traces arcane sigil in the air ) and was thinking of linking it with a rune magic thingie for enchanting stuff.

 

I was wanting to make spells the war mage ( the guys who practice elemental magic ) starts off with after his squire/apprenticeship be basicly the same in power to ranged weapons.

 

Each War Magi has a particular attunement to one of the forces of nature ( Earth, Fire, Air, Water, Electricity, or Aether ) and he joins a mage cabal of that particular element. so basicly these would be the FX of his spell forms.

 

Basicly I was looking for a starting spell frame in the range of 50 to 60 points. It would have a Aetheral Shield Spell ( EB Force Field or something), a Energy blast, a ranged killing attack with proper elemental enhancment (Explosion for fire ball, extra stun or more damage for electricity, etc....) But to be honest I am currently at a loss to construct this framework thing. I am also trying for figure out the using of a power skill ( maybe one for each elemental force ) to use instead of VPPs, ECs, and MPs.

 

 

 

 

My suggestion - don't try Variable Power Pools yet. Get some experience first.

 

Multipowers may be a better idea.

 

Here's another suggestion to simplify your life.

 

Assume each cabal has spells that are in essense similar. For example, each has an Energy Blast of a given amount of dice - same base cost.

 

Each has the same VALUE of advantages - same active cost. Examples:

 

Fire: Fireball: Explosion, extended radius

Air: Wind Blast : Indirect (any direction)

Earth: Hail of Stones: Autofire 5 shot, 1/2 END

Water: Water Jet: Does knockback (which fantasy spells ordinarily don't, so it's an advantage), does 1 1/2 X knockback

 

This is assuming a total +3/4 advantage. you may want more, or less.

 

And each has the same VALUE of limitations - same real cost.

Besides the limitations you put on EVERY spell (gestures, to draw the symbol in the air, etc) you may have some that are on all of a given cabals' spells....

 

Fire: Must have an actual flame, if only a candle, in view.

Air: Incantations (air being associated with words, communication, etc.)

Earth: Concentration (stand as still as stone)

Water: Variable limitations (water is flexible)

 

Just remember, you do not want your players to realize that a different cabal's spells have underlying similarities; emphasize the different special effects, so that each cabal's (why did you choose to use that word by the way?) magick seems unique and different.

 

Also, why are they "war magi" especially?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Just ignore the palindromedary

[austenandrews]

Re: Some questions......

 

Here's what I would do, for a basic starting spell framework:

 

Use a 60 point Multipower. Figure out the common limitations for each "magic school" - magic Focus, gestures, whatever. Go for a nice, round number - let's say -1. (Lucius's suggestion is good, to make all the schools have the same total limitation value. When the numbers stay consistent, you can focus on making each effect unique.)

 

So you have a MP that costs the player 30 pts. Now build each spell as a Multipower slot. With MPs you have two options - variable slots and fixed slots. Fixed slots are easier to manage, so I'd stick with them to start out with. (A Fixed Slot always uses up the same number of Multipower points.)

 

If you want to keep it really simple, make every spell the same number of Active Points. I'd go with 30 Active Points. That gives you a 2d6 RKA (or 1d6+1 Explosion or 0 END); 6d6 EB; 7 DEF Hardened FF at 0 END; etc. At this point, just make up as many 30 Active Point powers as you want.

 

Now the player spends 30 pts for a "magic pool" (Multipower) and 1 point per spell (30 Active Points with -1 Limitations = 15 Real Points; divide by 10 to get the Fixed Slot cost - 15/10 = 1.5 which rounds down to 1 pt). The PC can have up to two spells active at a time (since each spell is 30 Active Points and the MP is 60 points).

 

So it winds up being pretty simple:

- GM: Design a whole bunch of 30 Active Point spells.

- Player: 30 pts for a magic pool, 1 pt per spell. Up to 2 spells active at once.

 

 

Some caveats:

 

- Keep in mind that only two spells can be active at a time, say a FF and an attack spell. Don't design power combinations that require 3 spells to be active at once (say, Mind Scan + Telepathy + Mental Illusions).

 

- Mind END costs. A spellcaster can burn END at a much higher rate than a melee character, and generally doesn't have as high a CON to begin with. Again, it can be frustrating to play a character that had to spend points for his attacks (unlike melee characters), usually isn't as accurate as melee characters and can only fight for one or two Turns before he's out of ammo. (You may want spellcasters to be limited compared to melee fighters, but design it that way intentionally, not accidentally.)

 

- Think carefully about using Requires a Skill Roll as a spell limitation. It adds yet another roll to a combat system that can get bogged down already. Plus beginning characters rarely have high skill rolls, so you're essentially stealing random Phases from the player. That can be frustrating, especially when melee characters never have the same problem.

 

- Work to give each "school" noticably different spells, to differentiate them. Otherwise every school will have the same list of spells, which becomes obvious in short order. ("Oh, he's using the 6d6 EB attack that all war mages have." "War mages all have 7 DEF Force Fields, so use your 2d6 attack against him.") Also I wouldn't show players the spell writeups from other schools.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: Some questions......

 

You might want to check out the "Metier" Magic System on my website:

 

http://www.killershrike.com/FantasyHERO/HighFantasyHERO/MagicSystems/Metier.shtml

 

It is Multipower based and is designed to be configurable for a variety of similar but different Magic "styles".

 

 

Also, the Magecraft Magic System:

 

http://www.killershrike.com/FantasyHERO/HighFantasyHERO/MagicSystems/Magecraft.shtml

 

is designed to be really simple and easy to use, ideal for beginners to the game.

 

 

 

Loremastery is another one to consider that sounds like it would fit your needs:

 

http://www.killershrike.com/FantasyHERO/ConversionWH2e/conversionWH2eMagic.shtml

 

I designed it to model the WH2e style of Magic, but its a very flexible and cool model; in this case your "LORE" talents would be Earth, Fire, Air, Water, Electricity and similar Elemental specialties, and Aether could take the place of "Dark Lores", indicating that it has a stronger tap on Magic but is dangerous to use.

[VR Dragon]

Re: Some questions......

 

 

Cabal, why did you choose to use that word by the way?

 

Also, why are they "war magi" especially?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

 

Cabals sounded cool and they are secretive with members of one cabal not sharing their knowlege with the other cabals. Besides sect was of a religous tone and war magi are not priests.

 

War Mage Wielding both blade (and wearing armor) and arcane evocation, Warrior Mages are masters of combat wizardry whose origins are shrouded in the mists of an ancient past. The "Guild of Elemental Mages" traces its roots to the Age of Myths.

 

War Mage Creed: "First comes Power, then Duty, then Death. Power brings Duty, and Duty leads to Death. To live the cycle is to be a Warrior Mage."

 

Ask a War Mage what a war mage does/is "We are the destroyers, yet we are also the peacekeepers. We face any threat with both sword and spell, and the enemies of the people know this and cower in fear."

[Lucius]

Re: Some answers

 

Cabals sounded cool and they are secretive with members of one cabal not sharing their knowlege with the other cabals. Besides sect was of a religous tone and war magi are not priests.

 

War Mage Wielding both blade (and wearing armor) and arcane evocation, Warrior Mages are masters of combat wizardry whose origins are shrouded in the mists of an ancient past. The "Guild of Elemental Mages" traces its roots to the Age of Myths.

 

War Mage Creed: "First comes Power, then Duty, then Death. Power brings Duty, and Duty leads to Death. To live the cycle is to be a Warrior Mage."

 

Ask a War Mage what a war mage does/is "We are the destroyers, yet we are also the peacekeepers. We face any threat with both sword and spell, and the enemies of the people know this and cower in fear."

 

Oh, so they're going to be wearing armor and using weapons. In that case, you might want to skip the standard offensive and defensive spells and focus on things that ONLY magi can do. For standard offense and defense, they'll be using similar tools to any other warrior.

 

 

What kind of threats are they going to be facing?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

(-: :-)

[VR Dragon]

Re: Some questions......

 

Okay, Even more questions.

 

In champians heros buy their Equipment with character points, but in FH they buy them with money. So how much money does/do starting heros get to buy equipment? Any special rules or something?

[L. Marcus]

Re: Some questions......

 

In heroic fantasy campaigns, or heroic campaigns in general? As far as FH is conserned, I think it says something like 300-500 silver pieces for starting characters, using the FH equipment guide . . .

 

But otherwise? Hard to tell . . . How much money would a PI have, or a Mobster hitman . . . ? My guess is that somewhere between a couple of months' up to a year's worth of wages will be a good approximation . . .

[VR Dragon]

Re: Some answers

 

Oh, so they're going to be wearing armor and using weapons. In that case, you might want to skip the standard offensive and defensive spells and focus on things that ONLY magi can do. For standard offense and defense, they'll be using similar tools to any other warrior.

 

 

What kind of threats are they going to be facing?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

(-: :-)

 

Well to be honest I was thinking of War Magi being Magic primary and sword/armor secondary. They will know how to use a choosen weapon with decent skill but nothing like a true fighter who is good with many weapons. Magic is their primary focus and this magic mostly of a ranged attack with some spells that effect the local environment in a manor to hender someone else while fighting (such as a small localized tremor spell or making an ice patch under someone). Basicly magic is just a crossbow/bow weapon for these guys. The true spellcaster is the moon mage guild.

 

As to what these guys will be fighting/defending town against? Well monster invasions, monsters in the local area, threats to the provice/realm, etc.... Kinda

[VR Dragon]

Re: Some questions......

 

Okay I have read over my magic systems chapter and I think I have come to a choice. I was thinking of using a 1 skill for spell casting, 1 skill for magic items n stuff, and 1 skill or talant for END reser.

 

each spell using guild will have a primary magic skill and no guild can use magic from anther guild. I was thinking of having a large list of spells and casting a spell would involve a skill roll with a penalty based on how power a spell is trying to be cast.

 

And thats where I am having trouble. How do I do a skill based magic system with spells not being purched by the character.

[Starwolf]

Re: Some questions......

 

I run a Turakian Age IRC game, and my magic system (Taken from the TA book) runs like this...

 

All spells are designed as individual powers. All spells must take the Spell and Requires a Skill Roll limitations. Other common limitations include incantations, Gestures, Foci, Concentration, and Extra Time. Most spells are cast through a Focus (End Reserve), when a mage is created he/she must specify whether his/her spells are cast through a Focus. If so they get to buy an END reserve, but if lost spells cast without it cost extra END.

 

All spells are divided into Arcana or schools. Each arcana has its own skill roll. To cast spells from a given school the mage must first buy the appropriate arcana skill. Each spell is then purchased with character points (or XP) individually by the mage. The purchase cost for Turakian Age spells has three levels Active Cost (which is a good indicator of how powerful the spell is), Real Cost (which is the total cost of the spell with limitations added in), and Final Cost (which is Real Cost/3). Mages pay Final Cost for their spells. Finally there is a penalty to the magic roll based on the Active Cost of the spell. The penalty is either -1 per 10 active points, or for tough spells -1 per 5 active points.

 

To cast a spell the mage announces (on his/her movement phase) which spell is being attempted. He/She makes a magic skill roll and expends the spells END (END is used even if the roll fails). At the appropriate time the spell goes off. When the spell goes off any required targeting rolls, damage rolls, hit location rolls, and other effects are roll/generated.

 

Hope this helps...

[ghost-angel]

Re: Some questions......

 

For anyone who wants a quick Speed Calculator try this Excel Spreadheet:

 

Speed Calculator - it's a plug in the numbers kinda thing with all movements on one sheet.

[SleepyDrug]

Re: Some questions......

 

I run a Turakian Age IRC game, and my magic system (Taken from the TA book) runs like this...

 

All spells are designed as individual powers. All spells must take the Spell and Requires a Skill Roll limitations. Other common limitations include incantations, Gestures, Foci, Concentration, and Extra Time. Most spells are cast through a Focus (End Reserve), when a mage is created he/she must specify whether his/her spells are cast through a Focus. If so they get to buy an END reserve, but if lost spells cast without it cost extra END.

 

What is the Spell limitation? I don't recognize it from Fantasy HERO