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Old 10-13-2013, 11:43 AM   #11
DangerousThing
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Default Re: RPM magery and limitations

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Originally Posted by starslayer View Post
So GM (Kal) is starting a new game, I am building a new PC, and we are curious. Is it applicable to apply limitations to the Magery advantage when used for RPM magic.

I am specifically interested in applying 'solitary -40%' to it.

I personally think it is quite applicable, but it will prevent the caster from using willing sacrifice as a power source for magic (or at least, magic where the mage gets to use his/her magery). Which leaves energy reserves, energy gathering, self sacrifice, and unwilling sacrifice as valid energy sources.
You can't even use unwilling sacrifice if you're using a sapient being. Healing is extremely difficult for you unless you use charms.

On the other hand, I would require a will roll to donate HP after the first time even if the PC was willing (I don't think any PC in my game would agree to donate HP); it's too dangerous because the PC would literally be putting his life in your hands.
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Old 10-13-2013, 11:51 AM   #12
vierasmarius
 
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Default Re: RPM magery and limitations

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Originally Posted by DangerousThing View Post
On the other hand, I would require a will roll to donate HP after the first time even if the PC was willing (I don't think any PC in my game would agree to donate HP); it's too dangerous because the PC would literally be putting his life in your hands.
I'm with you there. When sacrificing HP, damage shouldn't just magically "appear". Instead, those HP lost should represent physical trauma the subject is receiving (or inflicting on himself!) in order to "release" life energy for the ritual. That definitely calls for a Will roll. (I know this isn't RAW, just my interpretation.)
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Old 10-13-2013, 11:59 AM   #13
Kalzazz
 
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Default Re: RPM magery and limitations

I have no issues whatsoever with the idea PCs can contribute HP to spells during adventures. PCs spend HP as they accomplish objectives, whether that is because they voluntarily donated to friendly mage or because they involuntarily donated to unfriendly ogre with axe

I will admit I am somewhat iffy on the idea of massive downtime donations though, as I vaguely assume that PCs during downtime vanish off to downtime aether space and/or hang out in the bar (for this particular campaign, spending copious time hanging out in the bar is a campaign mandatory requirement)
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Old 10-13-2013, 12:23 PM   #14
Nosforontu
 
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Default Re: RPM magery and limitations

I am looking through RPM at the energy accumulation methods for casters and I am not seeing how Solitary really prevents a RPM wizard from drawing energy from his friends in a significant way during down time using RAW.

Lets break it down for a moment number 1 I am assuming Traditional Fantasy mage has 3 levels of magery, and that RPM Solitary Caster spends a similar amount of points on his magery with the default 40% reduction in price meaning that he is able to purchase 5 levels of magery. This works out to a +6 Energy Reserve and a skill cap of +2 for his spells which goes a bit of a ways to offeset the -3 penalty for having a single friend in the area when tapping energy sources.

We know that a RPM Caster can only tap a single alternate energy source a turn as a concentraton effect, what is not listed is the max range that a character can draw from and it does not seem the caster has to be touching the target to do so, and that some of the alternate energy sources can tap into a wide area such as acre of territory.

Lets assume that the casters buddy has to be within the 10 yard radius surrounding the wizard for the moment till PK or Ghost Dancer chime in. So a Solitary Casters friend takes a step into the characters radius the caster taps him for energy at net of a -1 penalty (-3 penalty for solitary caster, +2 relative skill the caster was able to buy up thanks to having a higher magery cap).

First friend then leaves the area and the second friend enters at the same skill level the caster had originally, followed eventually by the third friend. All characters in that proposed party effectively provide their friend their energy just as if he was a regular RPM wizard except that they are darting out of the radius afterwards. Keep in mind the Caster is only able to gather energy from one alternative energy source at a time regardless of rather or not he is a Solitary RPM wizard or a standard RPM wizard
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Old 10-13-2013, 12:28 PM   #15
DangerousThing
 
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Default Re: RPM magery and limitations

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Originally Posted by vierasmarius View Post
I'm with you there. When sacrificing HP, damage shouldn't just magically "appear". Instead, those HP lost should represent physical trauma the subject is receiving (or inflicting on himself!) in order to "release" life energy for the ritual. That definitely calls for a Will roll. (I know this isn't RAW, just my interpretation.)
I have it such that the mage is sucking the life force from the subject. It's voluntary, but I set the damage done to 1d per donated point and it requires a WILL roll for the mage to stop taking life energy. This damage takes twice as long to heal.

The reasoning is that it is extremely painful for the subject, but highly pleasurable and addictive for the mage. A single failed WILL roll starts the addiction cycle. Once addicted the mage gets a semi-permanent -1 for each further failed WILL roll.

These are just my house rules because I don't like this sort of thing, and any correlations with RAW are purely coincidence.
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Old 10-13-2013, 01:04 PM   #16
Christopher R. Rice
 
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Default Re: RPM magery and limitations

Tapping a source requires touching it, so says the example in Voluntarily Sacrifice (Thaumatology: Ritual Path Magic, p. 21). That said, a Lesser Restore Magic effect with a distance modifier might allow a caster to tap into that "source" at a later date without needing to touch the subject.
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Last edited by Christopher R. Rice; 10-13-2013 at 01:37 PM.
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Old 10-13-2013, 01:10 PM   #17
Nosforontu
 
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Default Re: RPM magery and limitations

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Originally Posted by Ghostdancer View Post
Tapping a source requiring touching it, so says the example in Voluntarily Sacrifice (Thaumatology: Ritual Path Magic, p. 21).
Missed that line thanks for the correction.
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