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Old 07-29-2016, 07:44 PM   #2
Gef
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Yucca Valley, CA
Default Re: First magic style

Analysis:

I like the way it turned out, but it took a lot of time. Not sure I can do much of this, but the first one's for a PC.

In my game world, 4% of the population have the gift, and half are One College Only (and half the rest are limited some other way, like cyclic). You can train up levels but can't buy off the limitation. Plus, it makes sense to specialize even if you have a broader gift, so there are thousands of wizards in the setting for each college, and it's pseudo-rennaisance, so somewhat organized. There'd be styles like this for each specialty. For this campaign, I require any PC wizard to be single-college (only 1 taker so far).

The leveled approach to alternate prereqs saves a lot of time. Handy to have the spell charts even so. I like that I didn't have to require a dozen spells that the PC can never cast to get another dozen that he can, and I like having some spells that do a P&W job even though they aren't normally in the college.

Regarding the leveled approach, I combined levels 3 and 4, and bumped a bit from 2 and 5, to get all the Resist spells in one place, because that's the signature of the style. But it's okay, 6 spells plus CI as a prereq are enough for any "level 4" spell.

In the campaign setting, the church has a lock on mages. Other countries have secular guilds but not the PCs' home. A master wizard has less rank than a priest. Also, multiple magics exist, but the main two are spells and effect-shaping book magic. Priests use the latter.

I use enhancements and limitations on spells (from the old S. John Ross Pyramid article in 3e days but heavily modified from that start). I combine the modifiers into standard packages to define a school; that's why all the deacon spells require Theology: They have to invoke the names of saints (and can't cast quietly). Plus they need their holy symbols (instead of the wand a secular wizard would use).

I allow casting by default from a grimoire. That's why I gave attention to the actual books and didn't include the Improvised Casting perk.

Last edited by Gef; 07-29-2016 at 07:47 PM.
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