Rules question about magic.

[PaladinV]

I'm sorry I'm not savvy enough to figure this out on my own but two questions. First, what would the modifier on an energy reserve which did not regenerate be? Second, How would you model a magic system where people used magic and it was addictive and harmful, such that they could burn out thier ability to use magic, maybe permenantly and even kill themselves. The practitioners of magic would always crave stronger and stronger magic and would eventually nearly all succumb to it and either die or destroy thier ability to use magic.

Thanks in advance.

[Anaraxes]

1) Interesting question. Do you really mean the ER can never replenish under any circumstances, and thus will eventually wear out? I'd be tempted to peg the ER at 20% cost, since per RAW you can never reduce the net limitation to more than -80%. If the ER is big enough that you expect the PCs to actually get some use out of it, or the scenario is so short-term that the limitation isn't a limitation, then it would be worth less. There aren't a lot of expendable advantages, but there is Favor, which is essentially an expendable Contact/Patron. Cost for that is the base advantage / 5, which is to say -80%, and it's usable only once. So again, ER cost /5.

2) I'd have magic use pile up points in Addiction, eventually leading to a Dependency. As the Dependency grows stronger and stronger, it eventually gets to the point where users aren't going to be able to feed it ("continual" magic use) and thus will die. You might have the Dependency do "damage" to their magic advantages (Magery, or individual abilities if you're using magic-as-powers) and only start in on FP/HP damage when those are gone.

[Not another shrubbery]

The one-time ER has come up before, most recently in the "Spawn" Magic? thread. Given that Special Recharge is at least -70%, it looks safe to call this -80%.

For addictive magic: Is their some reason you wouldn't want to just use Addiction? It seems like you ought to be able to tweak those rules to fit most any kind of dependency.

[transmetahuman]

If there's no way to ever recharge your magical energy (not Leech, not Lend Energy, nada), I'd take a hint from Meditative Magic in Fantasy. Rather than use ER and a limitation, just call it 25 points of mana per single character point.

[PaladinV]

OK, I'm going to read up on addiction. I'm looking for an alternate energy source with a resist roll, similar to the way it was done in Shadowrun with drain. I can't figure how to cost that out. Of course you can do a resist roll or take damage but again I'm concerned how to cost that. Maybe I'm just to much of a noob to be trying fancy stuff with the system.

Meditative magic from fantasy is almost exactly what I was looking for. THanks.

[carllarson]

Wouldn't SR magic use fatigue (Mental damage) with spells-as-powers having Costs Fatigue enhanced with Resistable?

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by PaladinV

I'm sorry I'm not savvy enough to figure this out on my own but two questions. First, what would the modifier on an energy reserve which did not regenerate be? Second, How would you model a magic system where people used magic and it was addictive and harmful, such that they could burn out thier ability to use magic, maybe permenantly and even kill themselves. The practitioners of magic would always crave stronger and stronger magic and would eventually nearly all succumb to it and either die or destroy thier ability to use magic.

I believe I worked both of those out in GURPS Fantasy. An energy reserve that doesn't regenerate is Meditative Magic; you don't actually pay points for the Energy Reserve at all—instead you pay 1 point for a single use of 25 energy, and the "reserve" is created for free when you buy the energy and goes away when you use it. (The equivalence is based on 200 hours to gain 1 point of a skill, and an 8-hour day to do 1 energy point of enchantment by the "slow and sure" method.) Addictive and harmful magic looks a lot like Point Debt, a subhead under Sacrificial Magic: you spend energy you don't have, and at a certain point you've spent too much and acquire a disadvantage, which could be Addiction, for example, or an Involuntary Duty to your supplier.

Bill Stoddard

[zorg]

Originally Posted by PaladinV

OK, I'm going to read up on addiction. I'm looking for an alternate energy source with a resist roll, similar to the way it was done in Shadowrun with drain. I can't figure how to cost that out. Of course you can do a resist roll or take damage but again I'm concerned how to cost that.

You can do that with the either-or construct.

Make it "Either Requires Will roll Or Costs FP". The cost is the limitation values multiplied, so for a Will roll (-5%) and Costs 2 FP (-10%), you'd end up with 10% of 5% (or vice versa), = 0,5% (in other words, at best a Quirk). In game, this works out so that you either succeed at a Will roll, or pay the FP.

To make this worthwile, you'd need to upgrade the FP cost (maybe to something like 1d, or even more), or add a few other fun limitations. Or change the Will roll to an IQ roll (which would be -10%, instead of only -5%). Or use Costs HP.

[Not another shrubbery]

Meditative Magic resembles a very efficient form of Special Recharge ER. Something like it is probably better for most fantasy games than a Single Use ER, though it's a little too much bang for the buck IMO.

A quick cost comparison:

1. 3 points buys 1 FP.
2. 3 points buys 5 FP (Single Use).
3. 3 points buys 75 FP (Meditative).

Meditative thus effectively is like a -98.67% limitation on FP.

[transmetahuman]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

Meditative Magic resembles a very efficient form of Special Recharge ER. Something like it is probably better for most fantasy games than a Single Use ER, though it's a little too much bang for the buck IMO.

A quick cost comparison:

1. 3 points buys 1 FP.
2. 3 points buys 5 FP (Single Use).
3. 3 points buys 75 FP (Meditative).

Meditative thus effectively is like a -98.67% limitation on FP.

Depends on whether you let the caster "recharge" with bonus CP, or if he's out of the game for eight hours every time he wants to get back 1 stinkin' FP. In this case, where it sounds like the character won't be able to recharge it at all, it sounds pretty reasonable.