Quote:
Originally Posted by David Johnston2
Of course that assumes that all those people who don't want to help won't take some alternative course like saying no, or punching the witch in the face for daring to suggesting they would help with a blasphemous defiance of God's law.
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There is that. But let's take this a step further...
What if the issue of not being able to be paid money and made to participate in a ceremony represents something more basic...
Emotion.
What if - in this game universe (because the GM said so!) - any attempt to cast circle magic will result in spell backfires affecting EVERYONE who participates.
If you're a kid named Abner (sorry, picking Abner from the comics - not to slight anyone named Abner!!!) who lives in a medieval village. You've heard wanderers talk about the great miscast of Wentworthington. It was there, that fifty villagers took part in helping a mage cast a spell, and it instead, resulted in 55 demons showing up and carrying off all 55 participants in the circle casting - all to HELL!
Abner is just plain nervious about it. Nothing that anyone tells him allays his fears, and when asked to handle the candle, he bravely smiles and tells his mom "I can do this Mom!". Deep down, he's afraid, even if rationally, he's all for helping.
Then there is the joker who is having a fight with the person for whom the spell is being cast. He knows that if he resists, the spell will be less effective or maybe not even work. He is emotionally angry with the guy, and he's actively resisting. THAT might be how he's able to sap 5 points of energy for the spell casting, because he's sort of working a common hedgewitch's spell - using anger to cause a wish fulfillment kind of thing.
It all depends on how you want magic to work. Magic may be rational - it may be emotional, or it may be the control of emotions with the rational mind - or something else entirely. <shrug>