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Magic Tweak ideas... (looking for feedback)


Lloyd Dupont

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Continuing on my chronic rule tweaking tendency...

I am contemplating introducing the magic point system of other BRP/D100 system into Revolution D100 as follows:
- Might and Range are no longer needed stunt but automatic ability to every caster
- Spell MP cost would be 9 - character's channelling + spell channelling cost
- Might make SR cost depend on MP cost and change save somehow.. since it's way more costly might use just 1 differential roll or something... though I like the current conflict rules.. mm...

What is my goal here?
Reduce magic spamming, and giving easier access to magic to random NPC

Now I might give it a try, but I am curious to know if any one got any particular opinion on that topic?

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Other ideas I might start testing soon:

I think I might try this cost (above, channelling cost + 9 - concentration / 10) but simply apply it to the Exertion Point, it's quite high Magic Point won't do... Maybe use another number instead of 9... Also minimum is 1 EP.

For SR I would use EP Cost + 4
 

Ideas I am already using:

  • Duration and maintenance

I kind of rework spell duration and maintenance to be more deterministic.... (and also less confusing)

spell, by default are either instant or last like 2 minute (fudge value), to be maintain one need to allocate channelling point

1 channelling point will maintain personal spell (either on self r on item always WIL meter or less away from caster) as long as wanted

For spell on others more channelling points should be allocated for the whole duration in advance. The whole duration should be chosen at cast time. Option *can* be given to the target to release the spell before (to recover the channelling points) otherwise the caster should be able to cast the spell again at the target to cancel it before  the end

Duration on others
- 1 point: 1 hour
- 2 points: 1 day
- 3 points: 1 week

  • Magic item cost

Might do just like the rule, but the rules are confusing. It's conflict to build. The opposing difficulty is either 50% with blueprint or 80% without. The conflict pool is channelling cost x3 for 1 use, or channelling cost x4 for permanent.

I am thinking 1 week round for magic building conflict round. But one use items can be made in batch of.. some number.. mmm.. TBD...

Edited by Lloyd Dupont
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I am rephrasing exactly these parts of the rules at the moment to be clearer.

Quote

1 channelling point will maintain personal spell (either on self r on item always WIL meter or less away from caster) as long as wanted

This sounds seriously overpowered to me. Why should you pay less to maintains spells on yourself?

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15 hours ago, RosenMcStern said:

This sounds seriously overpowered to me. Why should you pay less to maintains spells on yourself?

If 1 EP gives you 1 hour of duration, and spell cost EP to cast and 5 minute rest gives you D6 EP back. You can recast your spells every hour without any trouble...
So I thought, why bother use more than 1EP?

But arguably this could be an issue at night, come to think of it...
And also (arguably again), since I (significantly) increased spell casting cost (unless you are an arch wizard), spell caster might have spend half an hour every hour to rest to renew spell, which might clearly be a bother worth mentioning...

Mmmm... Maybe this rule can go indeed. But, at least, I explained to you where it came from! ;)

Edited by Lloyd Dupont
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I see where this is coming from. The point is that you are trying to recreate a casting procedure that is based on resource expenditure (EP) as its limiting factor. And then you are trying to automate the procedure for periodic recasting of the power so that you need not replay the casting at regular intervals. 

But this is unnecessary and prone to quirks and abuses. You have already found one weak point in the whole mechanism(sleeping). There are certainly others, and enterprising players will soon find and exploit them.

The rules about Channelling represent exactly this, the repetition of casting and the act of periodic meditation to regain energies; abstracted in a single number so that you do not have to keep the procedure identical to the one you use in combat, and you do not have to continuously check whether there is something that disturbs your concentration. Your character knows how to do it, and that's all. The rules are not clear (I am rewriting them) but they are enough to keep long duration magic under control. Even skilled magicians usually have one or two long durations at most upon themselves, and something smaller cast on a shorter term basis on party members. 

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One thing I have found with Revolution D100 is that if I come up with a great idea of how to "improve" it, Paolo has almost certainly thought about it and discarded it for good reasons.

There are lots of changes that would make it a different game, but few that would make it a better game. Double Advantage, obviously, being an exception. 🙂

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Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. 

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On 11/18/2019 at 2:40 AM, Lloyd Dupont said:

What is my goal here?
Reduce magic spamming, and giving easier access to magic to random NPC

If you want to give easier access to magic for NPCs, just assume they appear with spells cast. It's a lot easier in any game.

 

Simon Phipp - Caldmore Chameleon - Wallowing in my elitism since 1982. Many Systems, One Family. Just a fanboy. 

www.soltakss.com/index.html

Jonstown Compendium author. Find my contributions here

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Well, those changes are not just contrived, they make me a happier GM! :P 

 

On a tangent topic, and one that *might* explain my (biggest?) difference of opinion with many other players of the various D100 system. I really dislike a common trope in movies and books of the few and rare powerful Wizards. I always wonder, where are all the mediocre Wizards that explain the society that produce those few elite Wizards?
So in my fantasy Worlds I wants lots of those forgotten average Wizard. (and also I want starting wizard to be rather "average", not because of spell rarity but because of magic difficulty / cost) (in fact, I want to reproduce the D&D feeling about magic)
In a more personal extreme, I am even tempted to give magic to animal, instead of coming up with more creative monster, like Beholder, how about a fire breathing Deer hey? But I am not quite sure yet, after all rifle firing Jabbers in Borderlands 3 do seems a little odd to me.. like the aforementioned deer might be ...
(I already dropped a magic wielding spider queen, that was fun! :D

Edited by Lloyd Dupont
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  • 2 weeks later...

After talking to my player I used this simplified formulas for magic exertion points cost "Spell Power - (Channelling - Spell Power)", or (more simple but same) "2 * Spell Power - Channelling"

Which means, the more powerful the spell the more expensive, the more unused channelling to cast (i.e. the more easy) the less costly it is.

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