Mixing path/style and free-form magic

Murezor · 06-02-2015, 01:53 PM

I'm the GM in a custom game world. In this world, magic used to be illegal and the exclusive domain of the church. Decades later, the church was "disarmed" and magic became the domain of a new order of mages, specifically a council of elder wizards. Mages are few (probably 1 in 250) so they created a number of colleges in order to yoke the strength of mages in a meaningful way and limit the spread of magical training to the city's enemies. These magical guilds (styles) have the benefit of secret spells (some stock, some of my own creation) and magical perk training but have somewhat of a vocational slant (bodyguards, battle mages, stand & fight mages, naval mages, etc). I hadn't really thought about players creating characters outside of these colleges, but, alas, one of my players wants something less rigid. Even Thaumatology: Magical Styles, as he points out, has a blurb about avoiding mandatory styles so I'm inclined to placate him as long as it doesn't unbalance my game world.

My questions are partly about style and party about rules. This city hasn't made training of magic outside of the guilds outright illegal though the guilds would certainly see other schools as competitors. Mind Control and Necromatic magic are strictly banned and the repercussions for their application are very serious (imprisonment).

I've never used magical styles before so I'm wondering if anyone has mixed styles with more of a dilettante approach? How did you accomplish it? Did you require them to take a Contact or Patron to learn new spells? I thought about another guild where the members have more freedom to learn what they want, but they must pay to attend it... thus implying some form of wealth you think?

What if they decide to include elicit spells? Unusual background? Secret? I'm considering banning him from taking the elicit spells because they could cause intra-party conflict. Any advice would be very helpful!

Murezor · 06-03-2015, 09:19 AM

Any advice on how to handle this? I think I might just disallow the use of elicit magic altogether and require the player to take a Patron or Contact (who he must pay) in order to get a teacher.

T.K. · 06-03-2015, 11:34 AM

Well...easiest way to sort through this is thinking backwards:

What's is good about being into one of those strict-style guilds?

- Secret Spells > He basically won't have access to any of these guild-specific spells. Period.

- Knowledge Access > Guilds might/should have considerable resource material that can be perused freely by its members. He also won't have access to these.

- Status > Being of a guild might give you status or connections on something specific, like you want a bodyguard job without being of the "bodyguards guild"? G'luck with that... He would normally be seen as an amateur among professional people, basically.

- Speed of Learning > Members of guilds have strict styles for a reason. It should be faster to learn spells inside their own styles, due to synergy and similarity. The rogue mage should be able to learn all types of stuff, but in a lower pace or require to have access to specific material on how to perform new spells (like a grimoire or a willing teacher and time).

With these in place I believe the balance is somewhat ok:

Guild mage

Learns faster (style similarity)
Learns easier (Can learn new spells by himself with practice and time)
Stricter range of spells (to preserve style and similarity)
Better Status (Taken as a professional on its field)
Knowledge (Vast access to "stuff" pertinent to the guild)

Rogue mage

Learns slower (different kinds of magic, spells and styles)
Learns harder (Needs well-written info aka detailed grimoires or willing mentors)
Broader range of spells (Not style or similarity)
Lower status (Until proven, taken as an amateur)
Lack of Resources (No Patron, no knowledge source...)

06-02-2015, 01:53 PM	#1
Murezor Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Austin, TX	Mixing path/style and free-form magic I'm the GM in a custom game world. In this world, magic used to be illegal and the exclusive domain of the church. Decades later, the church was "disarmed" and magic became the domain of a new order of mages, specifically a council of elder wizards. Mages are few (probably 1 in 250) so they created a number of colleges in order to yoke the strength of mages in a meaningful way and limit the spread of magical training to the city's enemies. These magical guilds (styles) have the benefit of secret spells (some stock, some of my own creation) and magical perk training but have somewhat of a vocational slant (bodyguards, battle mages, stand & fight mages, naval mages, etc). I hadn't really thought about players creating characters outside of these colleges, but, alas, one of my players wants something less rigid. Even Thaumatology: Magical Styles, as he points out, has a blurb about avoiding mandatory styles so I'm inclined to placate him as long as it doesn't unbalance my game world. My questions are partly about style and party about rules. This city hasn't made training of magic outside of the guilds outright illegal though the guilds would certainly see other schools as competitors. Mind Control and Necromatic magic are strictly banned and the repercussions for their application are very serious (imprisonment). I've never used magical styles before so I'm wondering if anyone has mixed styles with more of a dilettante approach? How did you accomplish it? Did you require them to take a Contact or Patron to learn new spells? I thought about another guild where the members have more freedom to learn what they want, but they must pay to attend it... thus implying some form of wealth you think? What if they decide to include elicit spells? Unusual background? Secret? I'm considering banning him from taking the elicit spells because they could cause intra-party conflict. Any advice would be very helpful! Last edited by Murezor; 06-02-2015 at 01:58 PM.

06-03-2015, 09:19 AM	#2
Murezor Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Austin, TX	Re: Mixing path/style and free-form magic Any advice on how to handle this? I think I might just disallow the use of elicit magic altogether and require the player to take a Patron or Contact (who he must pay) in order to get a teacher. __________________ "You look trustworthy! Perhaps you would like to join our noble quest." - Rogar the Barbarian (The Gamers)

06-03-2015, 11:34 AM	#3
T.K. Join Date: Nov 2013	Re: Mixing path/style and free-form magic Well...easiest way to sort through this is thinking backwards: What's is good about being into one of those strict-style guilds? - Secret Spells > He basically won't have access to any of these guild-specific spells. Period. - Knowledge Access > Guilds might/should have considerable resource material that can be perused freely by its members. He also won't have access to these. - Status > Being of a guild might give you status or connections on something specific, like you want a bodyguard job without being of the "bodyguards guild"? G'luck with that... He would normally be seen as an amateur among professional people, basically. - Speed of Learning > Members of guilds have strict styles for a reason. It should be faster to learn spells inside their own styles, due to synergy and similarity. The rogue mage should be able to learn all types of stuff, but in a lower pace or require to have access to specific material on how to perform new spells (like a grimoire or a willing teacher and time). With these in place I believe the balance is somewhat ok: Guild mage Learns faster (style similarity) Learns easier (Can learn new spells by himself with practice and time) Stricter range of spells (to preserve style and similarity) Better Status (Taken as a professional on its field) Knowledge (Vast access to "stuff" pertinent to the guild) Rogue mage Learns slower (different kinds of magic, spells and styles) Learns harder (Needs well-written info aka detailed grimoires or willing mentors) Broader range of spells (Not style or similarity) Lower status (Until proven, taken as an amateur) Lack of Resources (No Patron, no knowledge source...)