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Magic types and magic resistance?


sladethesniper

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Several questions:

1) What form of magic is most common in your games? Sorcery, magic or Elric style summoning?

2) How do you adjudicate magic resistance for PCs or NPCs? Do you allow it at all? I am looking through the BGB, Elric, CoC and RQ looking for how to do it, and not really finding any ruling on it.

3) For your games, do the balance issues between non-magic users and magic users arise? I ask because in BRP games that I have been in do not seem to have the imbalance in between fighters & mages that other games have (specifically the D&D "linear fighters, quadratic wizards" trope)

Thanks.

-STS

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Well, it depends upon the setting for me, but I tend to like the 'Magic' system with individual spell skills and MP cost as a basis for magic. I'm not sure what you mean by 'magic resistance' - like do you mean a 'Saving Throw vs Spells', or something like that? I don't think thats part of BRP magic. Basically the spells work if the caster can perform them, and if there are any rolls on the part of the opponent it will be rolls such as Dodge or in some cases, a POWx5% roll, etc trying to get out of the way of the spell effects or otherwise resist the result of the spell.

As far as game balance goes, its an arbitrary thing. In combat. a warrior often has an edge over a caster as they can act whilst the caster is preparing magic, although once the magic is successfully performed then the caster often has the advantage. Also, some spells (ie as in Mythos magic in Call of Cthulhu) are no good in combat, but the outcome of spell casting is advantageous, and also often a plot device (ie summoning a Servitor, for example).

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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1. Very heavily into Sorcery and Summoning. This is because I've been running Elric! for a long time. Recently I have run a bit with Magic (leaning heavily on Classic Fantasy). I currently have an overwhelming desire to run a kitchen sink fantasy heartbreaker that would include several powers systems (magic, sorcery, summoning, virtues, dragonlines martial arts, meld magic, psychic stuff and elemental paths...)

2. Only built in resistance, Pow : Pow or mp : mp, that sort of stuff. I could see giving beasties a save, like 'Con x1% for a spell not to land' or 'takes half damage from magic' or whatever, but it's not something I regularly do.

3. Summoning can be insanely overpowering but it's a question of scale and where focus is put during the game. If my PCs all have over 100% in combat skills and they are fighting city guards at 30-40% a guy with Hell's Blade or a Palsy is going to have some nifty scene descriptions but isn't going to outshine the PC who is a combat machine, just compliment. Even when you bring demon armor/weapons into it, it's still not taking away from the glory of the other PCs.

When you start scaling up the challenges survival becomes an issue of strategies employed. Or if no strategy is employed, dumb luck. Outside of combat magic users may have some tricks to solve issues but the other PCs also have options through roleplaying. Never just one goal and always multiple options to complete said goals.

Honestly, I don't find sorcery spells overpowering at all. I think they are a great resource to a group and, depending on the magic paradigm of the campaign, a great source of story ideas. I don't see magic spells being that different either. While they can scale up in power, they are limited by skill %. A PC using Magic is going to only have a few tricks up their sleeve for a long time.

70/420

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1) What form of magic is most common in your games? Sorcery, magic or Elric style summoning?

The only RQ campaign I've played in the past ten years is based on the computer game Dragon Age: Origins. We have ported the spells over to RQ3.

Before that I used to play RQ3 in Glorantha, Stormbringer in the Young Kingdoms and CoC in the 20's, so the choice for magic was obvious.

2) How do you adjudicate magic resistance for PCs or NPCs? Do you allow it at all? I am looking through the BGB, Elric, CoC and RQ looking for how to do it, and not really finding any ruling on it.

For resistance there is the resistance table, although newer versions of RQ have done away with it and use skills instead. So the spellcaster (active) rolls on the table to overcome the resistance of the target (passive). Usually it's POW vs. POW but can be vs. CON or DEX depending on the spell. RQ6 has Willpower, Endurance and Evade.

What happens if the roll is not made depends on the system and the spell used. Some spells might not work at all, some might have their effect halved etc.

3) For your games, do the balance issues between non-magic users and magic users arise? I ask because in BRP games that I have been in do not seem to have the imbalance in between fighters & mages that other games have (specifically the D&D "linear fighters, quadratic wizards" trope)

When we ported the magic over from DA:O we also took warrior and rogue talents, so in our campaign everybody has special skills, although most of it is not magic. Personally I don't like our system very much, because it makes parts of the game feel a bit too much like D&D, which I'm not a fan of.

In RuneQuest spells are usually either skills or tied to skills, like everything else, so in a way it balances out a bit. Still, I'm not a big fan of "game balance". I don't mind magic being powerful as long as it is in plausible in the setting, so it may very rare and costly or everybody may have access to it like in Glorantha.

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I'm a fan of most of the magic systems. I loved spirit magic in RQ back in the old days, really liked but didn't fully understand sorcery in RQ3, and am fond of both the individual spell as skill model and the distinct sorcery from BRP. I think I'd be inclined to use them all, sprinkled throughout the setting.

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1) What form of magic is most common in your games? Sorcery, magic or Elric style summoning?

Basic Magic, I suppose, as I tend to use RQ3-style magic in my games.

2) How do you adjudicate magic resistance for PCs or NPCs? Do you allow it at all? I am looking through the BGB, Elric, CoC and RQ looking for how to do it, and not really finding any ruling on it.

Generally, POW vs POW roles. It is the easiest way, in my opinion. I am not keen on Legend's opposed Persistence vs Resilience rolls.

3) For your games, do the balance issues between non-magic users and magic users arise? I ask because in BRP games that I have been in do not seem to have the imbalance in between fighters & mages that other games have (specifically the D&D "linear fighters, quadratic wizards" trope)

Most of my games allow anyone to use magic. I very rarely restrict magic to certain professions. Magic specialists, such as Priests, Shamans and Sorcerers, can be a bit unbalancing, but very rarely does this cause too much of a problem.

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

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