Magic World: Neat, Straight up, or On the Rocks

[Nakana 90]

I'm curious how many people play MW exactly as written (neat), with optional rules from the BGB (straight up), or with heavy house rules (on the rocks). 

How do you play? If you do change it up, what changes do you make?

I switch out the variable armor system with fixed armor value. Not really sure why, other than thinking it's simpler. 

[auyl 139]

I've always liked the faction system from RQ/Legend so if I played MW I'd incorporate that. But otherwise RAW.

[tooley1chris 591]

My PnP campaign and PbP campaign are pretty much Neat with some slight setting only differences that don't really effect mechanics. 

When I found BRP it was just what the doctor ordered. When I was introduced to MW, my search was complete.

Edited August 10, 2015 by tooley1chris

[Nick J. 278]

Pretty much by the book, but I have some special rules for my homebrew setting when it comes to cultures and non-human races with respect to Characteristic adjustments, skill affinities and the like. The most notable exceptions are that I use some of the optional rules like Heroic Hit Points and I have a casting skill.

[auyl 139]

The great thing about MW/BRP is that the system is so versatile you can do anything with it including your own rules and adjustments. Something that would be interesting to see in MW would be weapon specific special success and critical tables

[tooley1chris 591]

 Something that would be interesting to see in MW would be weapon specific special success and critical tables

THIS is the one thing my players miss about Rolemaster. I've been trying to add a lot of gritty description to Special and Critical successes but there's something special about a player rolling their own gruesome damage that makes them giddy.  

[auyl 139]

THIS is the one thing my players miss about Rolemaster. I've been trying to add a lot of gritty description to Special and Critical successes but there's something special about a player rolling their own gruesome damage that makes them giddy.  

I'll have to keep this in mind for some future projects

[Chaot 323]

I use personality skill groups from Elric! in character generation rather than cultural skill groups.

I split damage bonus into a Brawn and Finesse bonus.

I add in a skill based magic system along with sorcery.

I do experience differently.

I modify demon summoning with stuff from the Corum book.

I use my lucky trinkets, heirlooms and named items rules.

I use minion rules from Gods of Law.

[rsanford 268]

RAW with heroic hit points and free form magic...

[Nakana 90]

Forget to mention I used skill based magic as common folk magic available to everyone and Sorcery for those characters that are focused on spell casting. 

[NickMiddleton 349]

I'm curious how many people play MW exactly as written (neat), with optional rules from the BGB (straight up), or with heavy house rules (on the rocks). 

How do you play? If you do change it up, what changes do you make?

I switch out the variable armor system with fixed armor value. Not really sure why, other than thinking it's simpler. 

Err "straight up" I suppose.

I use BRP BGB "difficulty" (Halve skill for hard tasks, double it for easy), because I have since sometime in the late 1980's / early 1990's#; I tend to let players suggests a special effect alternative to boosting their damage on specials and criticals and sensible  (circumstances  and weapon appropriate) suggestions usually get allowed. I don't kill characters on 0 THP, I generally have them dying and needing IMMEDIATE medical intervention and then extensive recovery time.

But to be honest, that describes the baseline BRP I use for MOST things...

 

Nick

#my memory is I was doing it before the Keepers Companion for Call of Cthulhu that contained it as an optional rule and Elric!, which applies it as a spot rule in various circumstances, but that may be a constructed memory...

 

[Skunkape 28]

I always add house rules or other additions to the core rule set of any game. I'm never satisfied enough by any game system to just go with the RAW version. But that's just me.

[Sunwolfe 184]

Something that would be interesting to see in MW would be weapon specific special success...

I thought the same thing, so I tinkered a bit with the BGB tool-kit and came up with house rules for special success by weapon type. I also use the difficulty based skill resolution like Nick,  I employ a Magic Skill based on POW and a homebrew magical artifact enchantment system and a few other slight arcane modifications. Otherwise, I pretty much use MW as written.

Cheers!

 

"We still live!" said John Carter of BRP/MW

[tooley1chris 591]

Oh yeah. I also use an arcane skill for all spells. Forgot that one. And of course, I use my MW supplements. Alchemy & Artifice, The Mentalist. Only just started using Feats & Aretes in my PbP game.

[mcarson 6]

For the folks that use a casting skill, do you use that in place of the resistance roll? How does it affect the combat effectiveness of magic? MW already strikes me as a game where spell casting is more of a support role than a direct combat thing, with mechanisms in place to limit both it's effectiveness and frequency of use. What mechanical role does the casting skill play?

[tooley1chris 591]

In my campaign PCs must have skills at a certain % before they can add Feats/Aretes to those skills. Fumbles/Special/Critical successes have varying effects with sorcery skill rolls as well. 

While there are a lot of support spells in vanilla MW, there are PLENTY of combat spells as well and imaginative uses for non-combat spells used in combat. 

I also use this skill roll in determining if a sorcerer can figure out what a combatant sorcerer is preparing to cast. I've been contemplating having seperate skills for all spells, making them act more like powers so that sorcerers can be specialists. 

[Nick J. 278]

For the folks that use a casting skill, do you use that in place of the resistance roll? How does it affect the combat effectiveness of magic? MW already strikes me as a game where spell casting is more of a support role than a direct combat thing, with mechanisms in place to limit both it's effectiveness and frequency of use. What mechanical role does the casting skill play?

My casting skill roll works like this: Criticals allow the spell to go off without costing magic points, Specials reduce the cost by a point and fumbles double the cost of magic points. I don't replace the resistance roll.

As for magic being a support role that hasn't been my experience; my players are usually pretty clever about trying to select the ground they fight from and do a decent to good job of protecting characters who use sorcery.

Mechanically, I just like the idea that magic can be done by anybody (with training). The 16+ power requirement is fine, but as a fan of Fafhrd and Grey Mouser, I like the idea of novices dabbling with magic and running the risk of mucking it up.

[camazotz 14]

My MW campaign uses the core, Advanced Sorcery, Dark Ages Cthulhu and an occasional nab from the BGB.