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Old 10-18-2020, 09:44 AM   #1
smathers
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Default Mana level as a character advantage/disadvantage

I'm discussing a character concept with a player for an upcoming game and we both think it would be interesting for the character to have highly variable results to spell casting. In short, when they fail badly, the results should be spectacular (although not game ending), but they should have a chance to pump out a little more umph too.

One thought about how to do this is to allow the character to have a personal mana level that is higher than background with all of the good and bad effects which go along with it.

Any thoughts about what that should cost as an advantage?

Is it game breaking to give High Mana or Very High Mana as an advantage?

Is there a better way to do this?
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Old 10-18-2020, 09:59 AM   #2
AlexanderHowl
 
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Default Re: Mana level as a character advantage/disadvantage

It is called Mana Enhancer (Basic, p. 68), and it costs 50 CP/level.
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Old 10-18-2020, 10:07 AM   #3
Anders
 
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Default Re: Mana level as a character advantage/disadvantage

There's also Wild Mana Generator from Thaumatology, which is 100 points. People with that advantage tend to live short but glorious lives.
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Old 10-18-2020, 06:43 PM   #4
Plane
 
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Default Re: Mana level as a character advantage/disadvantage

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Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
It is called Mana Enhancer (Basic, p. 68), and it costs 50 CP/level.
If you don't mind prep time and RPing various customizations, the crunchy munchy approach is super-flexible too...

It's based on P64 "Only Afflictions with Based on Will and Malediction 1," being a -50% limitation on Modular Abilities.

This forces you to take those +120% in enhancements, but you otherwise have custom design of your Affliction, so you could specify any crazy number of weird limitations (accessibility, etc) as suited to your various needs.

You want to aim things so that you buy a 5-point advantage as an Alternative Ability to your Magery 0 so that it only costs you a perk.

Affliction 1 costs 10, so you need net -50% modifiers.
Cosmic Power 2 costs 20, so you need net -75% modifiers.

It doesn't matter a huge deal which. This is sort of a chicken/egg situations because:

1) if you have Affliction, it will be designed with "Advantage: Modular Abilities: Limited Cosmic Power 1 -80%" +200% enhancement and -250% in limitations.
2) if you have Cosmic Power, you will take the -50% limitation for MaledictionAfflictionsVsWill to pay for Physical +50% (Affliction is physical) then another -75% in limitations. Then use it to your +120% afflictions as in (1)
In either case you will initially load up on limitations to get you through the door, but then you will do a feedback loop until you are read to swap in other advantages (like Mana Enhancer) for your Afflictions.

You can do custom limited versions (Aspected Mana Enhancer) and whatever variations in duratior or selective effect suit you. It's perfect for building fortresses.

You have to assume that gods just set up layers and LAYERS of stuff like this, but it's like a game of jenga because when gods want to battle they'll start negating each other's advantages from afar without being detected for counterattacks.

Probably the gods end up having No Signature -25% on all their stuff and Obscure (all Senses) so they just end up perfectly hidden at all times and unable to intervene except when they deign to mess with mortals at which point yo might be able to backtrace their interferences somehow.
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Old 10-19-2020, 07:11 AM   #5
Imbicatus
 
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Default Re: Mana level as a character advantage/disadvantage

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Originally Posted by Anders View Post
There's also Wild Mana Generator from Thaumatology, which is 100 points. People with that advantage tend to live short but glorious lives.
It’s one of the few advantages that will actually kill your character. If you take it I highly recommend also taking as much luck as you can afford and try to always be under the effects of a bless spell.
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Old 10-19-2020, 07:42 AM   #6
Anders
 
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Default Re: Mana level as a character advantage/disadvantage

In fact, I may allow you to take it for 50 points, since it effectively includes Terminally Ill [-50].
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Old 10-19-2020, 12:23 PM   #7
Plane
 
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Default Re: Mana level as a character advantage/disadvantage

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Originally Posted by Imbicatus View Post
It’s one of the few advantages that will actually kill your character.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anders View Post
it effectively includes Terminally Ill [-50].
If you guys are talking about all normal fails turning into crit fails, and having a higher chance of suffering M7 effects, the most dangerous seem to be 3 (1d injury) or 18 (demon) both of which are potentially survivable.

Malign entities like demons might not even attack, maybe they just want to make contracts with you and lure you into Black Magic?

Nothing obligates you to actually cast spells either, but I guess the problem is other mages who DO want to cast them will hang out with you to get their 0 FP unresistable critical successes, and you may end up suffering some of their crit fail results. Not injury (that's just to caster) but perhaps from malign entities.
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Old 10-19-2020, 12:34 PM   #8
Imbicatus
 
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Default Re: Mana level as a character advantage/disadvantage

That’s just the results for a normal failure that is treated as a critical. An actual critical failure the GM is encouraged to disregard the chart for something truly spectacular. Something that make a demon not seem spectacular is likely going to kill the caster, his friends, or do something else that is very, very, bad.
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Old 10-19-2020, 01:32 PM   #9
AlexanderHowl
 
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Default Re: Mana level as a character advantage/disadvantage

A demonic incursion would be a good choice. For example, 3d6×(energy cost of spell) demons appear and imprison the caster because the caster is their anchor to the world. They may not range more than (Magery + 1) × 10 miles from the caster or else they will be banished (which will also happen if the caster dies). In order to bribe/encourage the caster into behaving, the demons are willing to give the caster 20% of their potential victims and 20% of their collected loot. For example, the caster could request that every girl under the age of 18 by unmolested or that a specific cathedral by left intact.
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Old 10-19-2020, 07:48 PM   #10
smathers
 
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Default Re: Mana level as a character advantage/disadvantage

Thanks for the discussion! This helps a lot.
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