Magic and Mechanics, to you

[Lucius]

Possibly Useful Suggestion

 

A couple of mechanics I used to do Sidhe magic:

 

Limitation: Capricious. -1/4.

This limitation reflects the inherently unpredictable nature of the forces involved. A spell or other power with the Capricious limitation will at least occasionally function (or fail to function) in an unexpected way; sometimes beneficial, but more often harmful or annoying (it is a limitation after all.) Depending on how much effort the Game Operations Director wants to put into it, each casting of a spell could have something subtly "different" about it, or it could come into play only rarely.

 

 

 

Luck Effects.

Each Sidhe spell had Side Effects: Unluck that applied if the Magick skill roll failed. Each magician using such spells also had "The Luck Effect:" not a spell, but 3 or more dice of Luck with an <=8 Activation Roll (or <=11 if the player wanted to buy it up) in which the Magick skill roll also counted as the Activation roll. That is, every time you cast a spell, you have a chance of failing and acquiring dice of Unluck, and a chance of rolling well and acquiring dice of Luck. It's up to the one running the game when the Luck and Unluck dice are actually rolled and applied (i.e. it does NOT have to happen instantaneously; you could accumulate them and end up walking around with 20 dice of Unluck, not knowing when they're going to fall...) and if dice of Luck and Unluck can "cancel out" or if they all have to be rolled eventually. (Personally I favor having them cancel out, but I could see it either way.)

 

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Me and my palindromedary

[keithcurtis]

Re: Magic and Mechanics, to you

 

Well, since the genre being discussed is Fantasy Hero, and not Champions, I have to disagree a bit. While superhero comics do tend to use a chaotic hodge-podge of origins, systems, rules and styles, most fantasy novels do tend to have unified systems, or at least a commonality, even if the rules are never overtly stated.

 

As a point of curiosity, why does a unified system put you off? To me, it's a definite plus. Also, by allowing your players to define the system organically, it removes the control over theme and scope from the GM. In the example I gave above, the Savage Earth could not exist as a setting without a GM-imposed "top-down" approach. If I had allowed the players to impose the system, the whole society couldn't function in a believable sense.

 

I realize this probably comes down to YMMV, but it's funny. Your approach is totally foreign to me.

 

Keith "unless we're talking about Champions" Curtis

[mayapuppies]

Re: Magic and Mechanics, to you

 

The 4400 is in a way' date=' related to the [i']Wild Cards[/i] series of books, which owes itself to the DC and Marvel Universes, ...

I've getting the idea that the 4400 is basically X-Men lite...

 

Not the direction I was hoping it would go, but what the heck, should be a fun ride.

[oryanfactor]

Re: Magic and Mechanics, to you

 

Keith,

 

"Fantasy" Hero versus Champions, to me the difference is that Champions is modern day and mostly has guys in masks running around in spandex beating each other up, while Fantasy has elves, monsters and goblins and take place at some indeternimate time in the past. Of course, there are exceptions.

 

As to what I don't like about unified magic systems, which I expressed in the post, is that you limit your stories, or paint yourself into a corner as the system becomes clearer.

 

oryan

[Curufea]

Re: Magic and Mechanics, to you

 

Only if magic is a central theme to the campaign and it's undefined nature is important to that. If it's incidental (if every player is not a magic user) then it doesn't need to be unlimited and chaotic.

[Cantriped]

Re: Magic and Mechanics, to you

 

besides, depending on how "realistily" to paint your structure, your magic system while "limiting" can also provide cohesion to the plot. The magic will also seem a lot more amazing if past experience tells you what the villian is doing seems impossible.

For example, in the story I'm writing the primary form of magic is a quasi-vancian prepared system where you have to draw, etch, carve (etc) a "seal" into something in order to perform that kind of magic.

Now, one of the characters in the story is well known simply because he doesn't seem to have to draw a seal in order to use magic. while whats really going on is that he has a Seal tattoo'd onto his arms which allow him to "Draw" other seals.

Normally said seal is hidden by the cloths he wears, as are the seals he "draws" on his body to cast. thus the impression is given that he he not limited by the system when in fact he's merely found a shortcut.

[prestidigitator]

Re: Magic and Mechanics, to you

 

besides, depending on how "realistily" to paint your structure, your magic system while "limiting" can also provide cohesion to the plot. The magic will also seem a lot more amazing if past experience tells you what the villian is doing seems impossible.

For example, in the story I'm writing the primary form of magic is a quasi-vancian prepared system where you have to draw, etch, carve (etc) a "seal" into something in order to perform that kind of magic.

Now, one of the characters in the story is well known simply because he doesn't seem to have to draw a seal in order to use magic. while whats really going on is that he has a Seal tattoo'd onto his arms which allow him to "Draw" other seals.

Normally said seal is hidden by the cloths he wears, as are the seals he "draws" on his body to cast. thus the impression is given that he he not limited by the system when in fact he's merely found a shortcut.

Hmm. Sort of like the difference between the different Runic spellcasters in the Death Gate series. Those books had a lot of cool detail (but, I have to add, some annoying inconsistencies too. Grr).

[Markdoc]

Re: Magic and Mechanics, to you

 

Also, a common mechanic does not necessarily mean a common style - just as with the example given for the "seal magic" I have a common underlying structure to how magic works in the game world: I want it to be "sword and sorcery" style - powerful, but not overwhelming in combat situations. Specifically, I require concentration and extra time (to make casters vulnerable in direct HTH), a skill roll to temper the use of high AP spells and a requirement that all magic uses LTE, so casters get exhausted if they cast a lot of spells and can need days of rest to recover from a magic-intense battle.

 

However, every culture has its own style of magic (or styles - there's 3 different kinds of magic in the current game), which deals with these limitations in a different way - there are some cultures who DO have powerful styles of combat magic. Some of these require preparing spells in advance (often well in advance) and triggering them. Other schools specialise in just one or two attack and defence spells and mages work in pairs (or teams) - in both cases, trading combat power for flexibility. In some cultures magic is a gift that anyone can use, if they make the right sacrifices, in others it's closely-guarded secret, taught in ancient schools

 

This lets me tailor magic to each culture (or just as often, the other way round) so that it's logical, consistent AND flavourful, but remains firmly under my control as a GM, for game balance reasons.

 

cheers, Mark

[Fenixcrest]

Re: Magic and Mechanics, to you

 

I try to write a fairly detailed "background" document about magic. Basically, why it works, what it looks like, what the conventions and standards of its practicioners are; obviously, these vary in a world where there are multiple types of magic. The game mechanics don't matter so much- if you have the points for it, and I deem it a power that doesn't make me cringe as a GM, then it's yours... but I'll expect an explanation of its effects, how others perceive those effects (appearance, sound, etc), any other campaign-relevant info (which book do you keep it in, what language is it written in, and so on, if these apply).