A Whole New Way To Deal With Magic

[DEFCON Clown]

I don't have any of the Fantasy Hero books, so if this idea is in them I'm not aware of it. In any Fantasy Hero games I've played or run I've always found magic too expensive. So I've come up with a system that reduces the cost while still making costly to have powerful magic.

 

It works like this, for every type of magic you wish to use (Fire, Earth, High Magic, Sorcery, etc.) you have to buy a perk which costs 5pts. The perk grants you the ability to have 5 Active Points for those types of spells. The next time you buy it you get an additional 5 AC and so on. Spells themselves cost 1pt no matter how many AC they have. Of course all the differents types of magic have different limitations that are mandatory. For instance High Magic requires a Focus and Incantations, Sorcery requires Incantations and Eye Contact.

 

So what do you think?

[AmadanNaBriona]

Re: A Whole New Way To Deal With Magic

 

I don't have any of the Fantasy Hero books, so if this idea is in them I'm not aware of it. In any Fantasy Hero games I've played or run I've always found magic too expensive. So I've come up with a system that reduces the cost while still making costly to have powerful magic.

 

It works like this, for every type of magic you wish to use (Fire, Earth, High Magic, Sorcery, etc.) you have to buy a perk which costs 5pts. The perk grants you the ability to have 5 Active Points for those types of spells. The next time you buy it you get an additional 5 AC and so on. Spells themselves cost 1pt no matter how many AC they have. Of course all the differents types of magic have different limitations that are mandatory. For instance High Magic requires a Focus and Incantations, Sorcery requires Incantations and Eye Contact.

 

So what do you think?

 

 

Ideas like this are discussed in the FH book. When you see us FH heads discussing various kinds of magic systems, this style will usually be shorthanded as a talent based magic system.

 

I'm fond of the idea myself, but only for certain kinds of games

[Killer Shrike]

Re: A Whole New Way To Deal With Magic

 

The Gift on pg 265 of 5th Edition Fantasy HERO works basically likes that.

 

I refer to it as "Unlocked Casting" in my "Magic System Design" document:

 

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

[Thia Halmades]

Re: A Whole New Way To Deal With Magic

 

I think you're building a Framework in a really complicated manner, IMO. The talent based magic systems work similarly - buy a skill, buy a spell (framework, no framework, 1/3rd Real, whatever) and then all your spells have RSR slapped onto them, where the Talent you purchased is the skill driving the magick. This makes casting extremely expensive, but much less 'superheroic.'

[Krieghandt]

Re: A Whole New Way To Deal With Magic

 

I presently use multipower, and require all adds be bought on the power. keeps the power levels in the heroic range, gives players flexibility, and cost 1/5 or 1/10 the points. After all, when was the last time you didnt use an EXP, PEN, +1 stun fireball at full force?

Krieghandt

[atlascott]

Re: A Whole New Way To Deal With Magic

 

I use a variable power pool with a control cost but the player has to buy a Spellcasting talent and must make a spellcasting roll to cast the spell, DC modifier is -AP/10, and the spells must be prepared daily and in advance, with a character able to learn 3x the VPP in RP per day. BAsically you can find this on killer shrike's site, or close to it in the FH book.

 

This gives the prepared spell feel, gives the caster some flexibility, makes the really powerful spells hard to cast. Some complaints from the caster that 3x is not enough.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: A Whole New Way To Deal With Magic

 

I presently use multipower, and require all adds be bought on the power. keeps the power levels in the heroic range, gives players flexibility, and cost 1/5 or 1/10 the points. After all, when was the last time you didnt use an EXP, PEN, +1 stun fireball at full force?

Krieghandt

 

A lot depends on the feel you're aiming for. A Multipower encourages all attack powers to have the same DC's. A spellcaster adding a Flash spell to a 45 AP "attack" multipower will almost certainly take a 9d6 Flash. A caster in a setting where each spell is purchased separately may buy a 4d6 Flash as a spell which blinds the target briefly.

 

Now, if spellcasters get 1 MP and need to run all spells from it, the tone changes. Using all my MP points on an attack means having no (magical) defenses, so some smaller slots start to make sense. Even then, it doesn't cost much to have attacks that go up to the pool max, but to use lower power legvels to alow other spells to also be run from the pool most of the time.