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BRP Invisibilty Spell


silent_bob

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I have a question about the invisibility spell on page 98 of the BRP rules.

The second paragraph of the spell description states that :

"Your character must concentrate on the spell and

must do no more than walk or speak. Fighting, taking

injury, using another power, performing some athletic

maneuver, or similar distractions will break the effects

and cause the invisible item to become visible once

more."

However the third paragraph of the description contradicts the second paragraph as follows:

"There are few limitations to what actions your char-

acter can commit while Invisible. He or she can move,

attack, flee, or stand still as long as the spell is active."

So which part of the spell description is correct?

I remember that RQ considered the invisibility an active spell and required concentration by the caster to

maintain the spell and this is the way we handled it. We figured that the second paragraph was referring

to the spell caster and the third paragraph to the target of the spell.

What are your thoughts?

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I noticed this same thing while writing Classic Fantasy. I added an addenda in my book as follows...

"Classic Fantasy Changes and Notes: The final paragraph detailing Invisibility in Basic Roleplaying should be ignored as it appears to contradict the previous paragraph. Also, while attacking from invisibility will cancel the spell, a melee attack is considered Easy. All other effects are as detailed in Basic Roleplaying."

Rod

Join my Mythras/RuneQuest 6: Classic Fantasy Yahoo Group at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RQCF/info

"D100 - Exactly 5 times better than D20"

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I always played it that the spellcaster had to concentrate whilst casting as usual. The target then can perform non-combat actions whilst invisible for usual spell duration. The spell can 'break' if combat is attempted, although the target receives an Easy initial attack before the spell is broken, so that is similar to how it is done in 'Classic Fantasy'. I made the character make a Luck roll to see if the spell breaks during combat, but perhaps there could be a mechanic linking it to the caster's spell casting roll instead.

If the Invisibility spell is performed with a 'Special Success' I rule that it is not broken during combat, and being a generous GM I decided that a 'Critical Success' mirrored this, and additionally allows the target to choose to be invisible at will (freely switching between 'on and off' states) for a period of d20 game hours ( I kinda like magic criticals to be quite 'magical', but that may be a bit too potent for some settings).

Not sure what is canon, considering it does contradict itself in the BGB...

Edited by Mankcam

" Sure it's fun, but it is also well known that a D20 roll and an AC is no match against a hefty swing of a D100% and a D20 Hit Location Table!"

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Yes, that's probably more BRPish and systematic. I find the Luck roll underused, however, and look for excuses when to use it, and as I made the ruling 'on the fly' it seemed appropriate to use a Luck roll. You're correct in the fact that a mechanic tied to the caster's concentration or initial spell casting roll is probably the way to go for a more consistent ruling.

" Sure it's fun, but it is also well known that a D20 roll and an AC is no match against a hefty swing of a D100% and a D20 Hit Location Table!"

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A Luck roll would (obviously) work just as well, and might give the game a slightly different feeling in how magic works. I'm sure there are other ways of tweaking active spells like this, tailoring them for a specific setting. One of the reasons we all love BRP :)

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