Magery and Necromancy - Page 2

Anaraxes · 12-30-2020, 05:32 AM

Similar to the first couple of ideas, this game could just have two kinds of Magery - with Necromancy and without. "Good" Magery doesn't let you take necromantic spells or add any bonus to them, and doesn't get a discount. "No necromancy" is one of those Taboo Traits, not worth any points because it's so likely to be abused by someone that never wanted to be a necromancer in the first place. "Evil" Magery gets you one more College. Perhaps worth a small amount, but it also comes with Corruption if you use it, so I'd call that a wash. So, same price as "Good" Magery.

That said, having thought of the system that way, I wouldn't even bother making up a second custom trait (annoying automated tools). I'd just say that in this setting, if you do choose to learn and use any necromantic spells, you've opened yourself up to Corruption. And one of the effects of increasing Corruption I'd consider adding in would be that it starts to infect your other Colleges -- probably starting with the more hostile and damaging ones, like Fire or Mind Control, and going from there -- so that if you use those spells, you're also pulling on the corrupt energy, and they increase your Corruption along with just the base Necromancy. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it control your destiny.

You could define the two kinds of Magery as a complete partition of the list of Colleges (in this case, a One-College Magery for necromancy) if you think that's easier to deal with. But to run a game that's about the temptation of power, I wouldn't put up hard, binary walls between good and bad. You want it to be a slippery slope so that players always have that choice nagging at them in the crux of the moment, not an absolute game-mechanical prohibition that "you can't do that because you didn't buy Trait X".

Taneli · 12-30-2020, 05:52 AM

Yes, just add some corruption cost to such spells.

If you want to be nice, reduce the fatigue cost by some amount too.

Anders · 12-30-2020, 06:29 AM

I think this is a quirk.

Flyndaran · 12-30-2020, 09:00 AM

Necromancy can't be cast by mere mortals. Perhaps those spells can only be taught or cast through Spirit Contracts.

As a feature of the setting, it would neither costs nor gives points for mages to lack that college.

Plane · 12-30-2020, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by finn

A GM could just declare that Necromancy causes Corruption in that particular world.
I see no reason to adjust the point value of traits such as Magery.

Though GMs can declare built-in settings it's usually nice to have some kind of point value associated with something...

You can take -5% on advantages normally fueled by FP if they are instead only fueled by ER.

There's a "blood magic' limitation where you always need to spent at least 1 HP to cast a spell (or alternatively ONLY hit points, no FP at all) so maybe something similar for corruption?

There's also "no external" or "no internal" type magery limitations but I'm not sure which one you'd count Corruption as. Black Magic clearly seems external (demon is giving you FP) but corruption you're blackening yourself so it almost seems internal like FP/HP is.

ER is also weird: in raw form I would think internal but if you made it a gadget or from familiar then it would seem external.

Rather than "free corruption for all based on your magery!" (this makes Magery BETTER) I wonder if it might be more fair to only allow "cast using corruption" via buying ER (magic) and then taking "Corrupting" limitation on the ER?

ER 5 [15] w/ -20% is 12 (saves 3 points) so you would take on 3 corruption any time you accessed the ER afaik

12-30-2020, 05:32 AM	#11
Anaraxes Join Date: Sep 2007	Re: Magery and Necromancy Similar to the first couple of ideas, this game could just have two kinds of Magery - with Necromancy and without. "Good" Magery doesn't let you take necromantic spells or add any bonus to them, and doesn't get a discount. "No necromancy" is one of those Taboo Traits, not worth any points because it's so likely to be abused by someone that never wanted to be a necromancer in the first place. "Evil" Magery gets you one more College. Perhaps worth a small amount, but it also comes with Corruption if you use it, so I'd call that a wash. So, same price as "Good" Magery. That said, having thought of the system that way, I wouldn't even bother making up a second custom trait (annoying automated tools). I'd just say that in this setting, if you do choose to learn and use any necromantic spells, you've opened yourself up to Corruption. And one of the effects of increasing Corruption I'd consider adding in would be that it starts to infect your other Colleges -- probably starting with the more hostile and damaging ones, like Fire or Mind Control, and going from there -- so that if you use those spells, you're also pulling on the corrupt energy, and they increase your Corruption along with just the base Necromancy. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it control your destiny. You could define the two kinds of Magery as a complete partition of the list of Colleges (in this case, a One-College Magery for necromancy) if you think that's easier to deal with. But to run a game that's about the temptation of power, I wouldn't put up hard, binary walls between good and bad. You want it to be a slippery slope so that players always have that choice nagging at them in the crux of the moment, not an absolute game-mechanical prohibition that "you can't do that because you didn't buy Trait X".

12-30-2020, 05:52 AM	#12
Taneli Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Helsinki, Finland	Re: Magery and Necromancy Yes, just add some corruption cost to such spells. If you want to be nice, reduce the fatigue cost by some amount too. __________________ [/delurk] AotA is of course IMHO, YMMV. vincit qui se vincit

12-30-2020, 06:29 AM	#13
Anders Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden	Re: Magery and Necromancy I think this is a quirk. __________________ “When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...” Marcus Aurelius

12-30-2020, 09:00 AM	#14
Flyndaran Untagged Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon	Re: Magery and Necromancy Necromancy can't be cast by mere mortals. Perhaps those spells can only be taught or cast through Spirit Contracts. As a feature of the setting, it would neither costs nor gives points for mages to lack that college. __________________ Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check.