Gaming in the Magic: The Gathering setting

[Ockham's Spoon]

Re: Gaming in the Magic: The Gathering setting

 

I ran a Fantasy Hero campaign where the magic system was loosely based on MtG. Wizards collected or created magical trinkets, sigils, and glyphs instead of cards [Aside: I mistakenly referred to them as "magic charms" and thereafter the players all called them "Lucky Charms" and we were plagued with silly cereal and leprechaun jokes]. Each had an END Reserve to power their spells, with the size and REC of the Reserve dependent on the number of mana trinkets they had.

 

Most spells were not Summon specifically (though some were), but rather had summoning as a sfx. The spell colleges matched the colors in MtG, and most wizards only cast spells of a single color. Each college required a KS: Appropriate College which could be used as a complimentary roll to the Magic Skill roll. Other KS could also act as complimentary rolls, so if the wizard had KS: Angels, he could get a bonus to his roll for any angel-based spell he had. Although the actual geography did not affect mana, there were ley lines that boosted or hindered different types of magic in some places.

 

How well did it work? About as well as any Hero magic system. What I will say is that it resembled MtG but didn't have the same flavor, not because I couldn't create the spells or monsters, but because the key to a really good MtG deck is the synergy between the cards. The Hero system is by and large too well balanced to exploit loop-holes in the system, which is what MtG really encourages. That is a good thing for most RPGs, but it does mean that you will have a hard time getting that MtG flavor and keeping the game balanced at the same time.