Some rules clarifications (2)

[karask]

Some more clarifications on the magic systems.

Divine magic: Only a single combat action (so movement and reaction are available)
Text: "Divine Magic spells always take only a single combat Action to cast and takes place on the INT order of the character casting the spell."

Why does divine magic say "single combat action" ?   When can you have two combat actions ? Does it mean when a skill is >100% and you split it to 2+ attacks ?

 

Also some Battle magic spells have the "ranged" trait. The description does not say anything that helps on range so the default range of battle magic takes precedence. Why do spells like "Extra defense" and "Vomit" have that trait? Typo?

 

Cheers

Edited April 24, 2017 by karask

[karask]

Another clarification.

Say Alice and Bob are fighting. Alice has 15 Int and Bob 10 Dex.

Alice goes first and casts a spell (any kind) first. If I understand correctly the rules she finishes the spell before Bob can act. 

At 10 Bob acts and try to hit (Alice can attempt a dodge).

Since Alice plays before Bob.. will she always cast the spell uncontested (other than the battle magic skill) ?

Thanks

[Sunwolfe]

Greetings Karask:

As I rule it in my games...

I don't believe provision has been made in the RAW for splitting magical attacks--for a Divine magic user this would be problematic anyway considering they are "...automatically successful" when they cast as it's really the gods doing it for them. I believe the ruling was making the point that it only takes a short moment to "cast" (call down) a divine spell, emphasizing the point (130). 

I believe the case might be made for a 100%+ Religion (Own) priest or a 100%+ Mage to split their skill for the casting of multiple attack spells similarly to Close Combat masters who can split their skill and attack twice (63). That would fall into the realm of house-ruling.

As far a the B.M. ranged thing goes, notice that the description says, "...allows the target..." (109). Presumably this means that a caster can cast Vomit or Extra Defense on someone up to "...POWx3 in meteres..." away (100).

At the INT and DEX you describe, Alice is going to ace Bob and get to take her Combat Action before he gets to take his Combat Action, BUT that being said, Bob will attempt to resist her spell. If he tries to do so with a Dodge, that'll be his Defensive Reaction. If he needs to resist using Persistence or Resilience, a closer look at the Resist trait description suggests such are not counted as a Defensive Reaction--they seem to happen automatically on a metaphysical level.

Thus, INT and DEX are for the sake of order only--who goes first, NOT necessarily for counting exactly when things occur in the round. 

Be careful not to get caught up in the, "Well, her Vomit spell occurred on INT 16 and his attack wouldn't even have started until DEX 12, so he's vomiting because he didn't get a chance to resist...blah-blah-blah." You will go down a rabbit hole so deep your game may not recover.

Cheers!

_____________

Two things that were helpful to me in wrapping my head round ti were: 

1.) Think of it as Alice beginning her casting at the top of the round and then releasing (casts) her spell on her INT rank. What happens after that, well, we'll just have to see. 

2.) Think of parries,  dodges and resistances as happening whenever they are needed. They don't have to follow strict I-attack:You-attack protocol. Bob will try to resist Alice's Befuddle spell when the time is right, using Persistence. It'll happen without conscious thought.

[karask]

Thank you for the reply Sunwolfe!

 

4 hours ago, Sunwolfe said:

Greetings Karask:

As I rule it in my games...

I don't believe provision has been made in the RAW for splitting magical attacks--for a Divine magic user this would be problematic anyway considering they are "...automatically successful" when they cast as it's really the gods doing it for them. I believe the ruling was making the point that it only takes a short moment to "cast" (call down) a divine spell, emphasizing the point (130). 

I believe the case might be made for a 100%+ Religion (Own) priest or a 100%+ Mage to split their skill for the casting of multiple attack spells similarly to Close Combat masters who can split their skill and attack twice (63). That would fall into the realm of house-ruling.

That is what I assumed as well. I will probably use this but with at least half of the skill to be used as part of the divine casting. i.e. if 120% ..at least 60% will be lost for the spell casting (to be refined in practice).

 

4 hours ago, Sunwolfe said:

As far a the B.M. ranged thing goes, notice that the description says, "...allows the target..." (109). Presumably this means that a caster can cast Vomit or Extra Defense on someone up to "...POWx3 in meteres..." away (100).

But the distance for B.M. is always POWx3 in meters if applicable. You can cast Avoidance up to POWx3 meters as well, right? That is why I assume it is a typo.

 

Another question. When starting Sorcerers or Priests the rules say +40 to the appropriate skill but it doesn't say what to remove to "pay" for that extra 40 (which other PCs won't benefit from). How to you balance that?   (Just asking... probably I won't allow sorcery/divine spells at the beginning)

 

 

[karask]

Multi-posted by mistake and deleted.

Edited April 25, 2017 by karask
Multi-posted by mistake and deleted.

[karask]

Multi-posted by mistake and deleted.

Edited April 25, 2017 by karask
Multi-posted by mistake and deleted.

[Sunwolfe]

Heya, Karask!

"You can cast Avoidance up to POWx3 meters as well, right?"

Well, that's for you as the GM to call. In my game, Avoidance is a Touch range spell and cannot be cast at distance. There is no reference to it being "Ranged" in the description and it just felt right to me (no pun intended).

Another question. When starting Sorcerers or Priests the rules say +40 to the appropriate skill but it doesn't say what to remove to "pay" for that extra 40 (which other PCs won't benefit from). How to you balance that?   (Just asking... probably I won't allow sorcery/divine spells at the beginning)

In a way you answered your own question :-) I assume you're talking about the "Start with a Religion (Chosen Cult) of INT+40" and "Start with a Sorcery Casting INT+40" on page 20. These are Advance Magic (Optional) rules for players who want to start out with more experienced casters who have gone beyond Battle Magic. That +40 points reflects a more experienced character. Nothing needs to be removed from the other points pools to balance things out. Usually players start out with Battle Magic, "...at the beginning..." and later advance to Divine or Sorcery based on game play and history. 

BTW, if you have a Close Combat oriented character who grouses a bit about the casters getting a +40% break, toss 'em an extra 40 points to divide up amongst their melee skills (close, ranged, unarmed, dodge).

Cheers!

Edited April 27, 2017 by Sunwolfe
punctuation

[karask]

Thank you for your time Sunwolfe!