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Page Fault

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About Page Fault

  • Birthday 08/11/1978

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    Software Engineer

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  1. Re: Opposing Magic Systems I've settled on what I think is a workable system for both Wizardry and Channeling. Maybe one has clear advantages over the other, but I think they're relatively well-balanced. And even if one has an advantage 90% of the time, I'm mostly concerned with flavor, not power. Wizardry draws its power from the surrounding mana, but indirectly. Wizards tap into the mana and store it internally... in other words, not using an Endurance Reserve. They are affected by skill penalties for low mana areas, and can't use magic at all in no mana regions, but their spell costs and such aren't affected by the mana in the area. This grants them an advantage in low mana areas. They have a wide selection of spells, and purchase them like Turokian age, at Real Cost/3. But to buy them, they must buy up a Perk that determines their Active Point limit. This also means that the various spells can have different limitations, while Channelers can't. Channelers on the other hand, do have an Endurance Reserve, but pay extra Endurance and suffer reduced REC when in low mana zones. With a large enough Reserve, the problem can be mitigated a little, but in the lower mana zones Wizards still have a clear advantage. In the high mana areas, Channelers definitely reign, in number of spells they can cast at least. They buy all of their abilities in a Multipower, and have several different disciplines, so have a more restricted spell selection. But for points, a Multipower is a little more efficient in the long run. All spells require the same Limitations, however, since they're in a Multipower(well, they could have /more/ Limitations, but you know what I mean). They can also get rid of some limitations by increasing the Endurace cost. There's a few more complexities, like when it's possible to buy off RSR, and how Wizards make spells, and that sort of thing, but that's the 'meat' of the system. Doc, thanks for the ideas, and katal3, I'm not currently using that, but I'm going to stat out a build that does, and run some quick sample plays with each to see which best gets the effect I want. But I expect some hand waving to go on.
  2. Re: Opposing Magic Systems Huh. To be honest, when I said 'Opposing' I intended it in a cultural manner, and was mostly wanting a way to differentiate their "feel" without making one overpoweringly more effective than another. That said, the idea that Channelling and Wizardry actively clash with one another when used in proximity has some... interesting implications, and isn't out of line with the description I have already written up on how they both work. It also brings up another thought I need to consider. I have a race with what amounts to Magic Resistance against any sort of magic, which grows stronger in a group. I was going to buy it as a Suppress Magic with some modifiers to only affect the user, and just hand wave the effect of a large number of them creating a magical null zone. But maybe that would best be put into another thread.
  3. Re: Attuning to Magic Items I've actually run into this thought with my own campaign, and I had a solution that I believe should work. It's not particularly novel, but you might want to consider it. For minor magic items, doing what you suggest works fine, since within a session or two, it should be paid off. For more complex items, why don't you consider partial attunement? As the character uses the item and becomes more in sync with its properties, they learn to use it better, and can buy various abilities in a tiered system. It's a tiny bit more work for the GM, but items that powerful should be rare enough that it isn't an issue, right? If you want to be really fancy, you can simply offer them a list of point costs, instead of listing what the exact powers are, so they don't know what they're unlocking. Or perhaps require an in-game event("Your sword can parry arrows?" "... Apparently so.") And of course, there are a few solutions offered in the Fantasy Hero book itself.
  4. Re: Opposing Magic Systems Mmm... not quite what I was looking for, unfortunately. But very useful to some, and I'll be able to use quite a bit of it when refining things. Much appreciation sent your way, etc.
  5. Hey, all. I've been lurking here for a while, with an off and on post, but finally have something to say! Hooray and... all that. Anyway, I'm preparing to run a Fantasy Hero game which is, basically, post-apocalyptic fantasy. Think something like Valdorian Age meets Dark Sun meets Skyrealms of Jorune and you'll probably be completely off, but that's not important. The main point I'm trying to iron out right now is the two opposing arcane magic schools(as opposed to divine-granted magic), and how to make them feel different. Wizardry is the style that was practiced 'Pre-Cataclysm' days, and is distrusted and feared now. I'd like to represent it as somehow more flexible than Channelling, the other style that is available, but I'm not certain exactly how to go about the differentiation. Channelling makes use of the abundant magical energy available Post-Cataclysm, and is much more structured, and seen as more natural by most of the population(those that can tell the difference, at least) What I already have are the various disadvantages and such that Wizards and Channellers must take, to represent their different societies and structure of teaching. What I don't have are actual rules for the magical systems. One setting-specific item is that areas of varying magical energy are very, very common, ranging from no mana at all to so much that almost everything is exaggerated. The different levels will apply skill roll penalties or bonuses to every type of magic. What I'm considering so far is having Wizardry purchase spells like in TA, Real/3, with an Active Point limit to spells set by a Perk that can be bought. All spells use a single Wizardry skill, though it can be specialized, and can access most of the 'schools' of magic, such as Elementalism and Necromancy and others that I allow. Which ones I allow is a separate issue I'm still considering. The spells will be required to have 3 or 4 modifiers from a list, but different spells can have different modifiers. This is supposed to represent the Wizardry flexibility. Channelling is more focused, and bought in tighter groupings, like Elementalism as one group, but with different skills for Fire, Water, etc. Druidry and others are under consideration, too. For now, I'm using the Grimoire definitions for magic schools. My current idea is that Channellers don't need to buy a Perk, but purchase a Multipower instead. So they have a tighter focus, but potentially more spells within that focus. In addition, the Multipower itself will have a number of modifiers chosen by the character at creation, and all spells will have those modifiers, also less flexible than Wizards. So, I'm mostly asking for opinions. Other considerations are the allowance of an Endurance Reserve... maybe dependent on mana level, or maybe dependent on mana level for one type, but not the other. I've also thought about allowing Channellers to ignore modifiers to a spell at the price of Increased Endurance. But would these be too unbalanced? Am I overthinking the problem? Appreciate any comments in advance. I'll be posting more about the setting as I find the time, if people are interested. I'm also doing a number of prefabs for HDv3, since they seem to be lacking in the area of generic Fantasy armor and weapons and such. ---- Currently lacking a signature, Page Fault
  6. Re: Computers as characters Sounds a lot like GhostWheel from the Amber series. Actually that would be an interesting power to try to model. Or would it be a Perk, as a computer? It blurs the line, since it's not really directly under the control of the character, is it? My gut feeling says something like an Uncontrolled or Independent power... but I think it'd be easier to just handwave things as a Follower or even just a Contact or something.
  7. Re: The World of Via I didn't mean for it to sound like criticism, I assumed you'd done more work than what was listed I'm at work now or I'd say more, but look forward to seeing what else you have.
  8. Re: The World of Via I have a few thoughts. On the Fae, since they're another obvious power, might some humans worship them in some way shape or form? With obvious displays of godly might, perhaps not, but it is something to consider. If the world is peaceful, what are the characters to do? Are they hero wannabees, or all descended from Aveliel somehow? I presume some kind of crisis will occur for them to handle. Or does the campaign focus on less world-threatening threats, such as inter-family disputes and politics? Are Fae available as a character race, out of curiosity, or are they more "fantastical" and not bound by physical law? I'm working on my own campaign at the moment, which I hope to post here soon, so I'm naturally a bit curious.
  9. Re: Fantasy Hero I've found it to be incredibly useful. Travel time over terrain, medieval population distribution, plenty of other information. Most of it is easy to find from other sources, sure... but isn't it nice to have a source in one place, that you can carry around? Has plenty of good campaign ideas, too. Now, if you're really tight on cash, you can survive without it easy enough. But I've never regret buying it, that's for sure.
  10. Re: 20 Years ago Today I was 7, at the time, and obviously in elementary school. We had a substitute teacher that day, a man whose name I can't recall but I have a clear picture of him. It was PE time, and we were playing basketball I think... or something to do with the basketball hoop, as I was next in line when we heard the news. Yes, I have a pretty clear memory of it. It didn't deter me. I went to SpaceCamp a few years later, in fact.
  11. Re: Making a Ninja Hero Campaign with Anthro Characters Have you considered taking a look at the Ironclaw and Jadeclaw settings from Sanguine? I haven't seen if they're still producing, but they have some interesting rules for factoring in an anthro species. They also have an interesting system, but not so interesting that I'm giving up my Fantasy Hero collection for it
  12. I have a gun-based "super normal" in my campaign and some experience to burn, and I've bought Autofire as a naked Advantage. But some of the rules for Autofire skills are a little confusing. As I understand it: Attacking multiple enemies with a spray gives a -1 OCV cumulative per hex spread, and takes a Full Phase, but has no DCV penalty. Buying Accurate Sprayfire on the other hand, makes it a Half Phase Action, reduces the penalty to a flat -1 OCV, but then halves DCV? That seems a little odd, did I miss something? If I use an Autofire Skill(all of which halve DCV), can I buy Penalty Skill Levels to compensate for the loss? I assume these would be added after the halving. Or do I need to buy DCV levels with some sort of Conditional Power Limitation? Can Sprayfire still be used to target Hit Locations? (Head shot, hand shot, kneecap, depending on target... ouch) Finally, I also have a Deadly Blow with a Costs Endurance disadvantage. Do I need to pay Endurance for every shot in the Autofire, or just once for the power? Thanks for the help in advance.
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