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Old 02-23-2021, 10:31 AM   #1
Kieddicus
 
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Default Spell Components

I've been playing some D&D lately as that is the game my house church prefers and it got me thinking about the differences between D&D and TFT magic systems.

In general I prefer TFT magic I like how you are practically spending your life force to cast magic and that you can cast any spell you know; as opposed to D&D were you just have a set number of spells to cast per day and you have to prepare which spells you want to cast.

With that said I'm not opposed to spell components. My idea is if you expend the components to cast a spell it would reduce the cost of the spell, this would allow starting wizards and wizards who don't have staves to cast a little more often, and add a little flavor to the game.
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Old 02-23-2021, 11:58 AM   #2
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Default Re: Spell Components

That can be fun, though I've never done it with TFT. You'll want to make it expensive or at least inconvenient, and readying the components will make spells take longer, which will require some adjudication. The book Ardonirane: City of the Thorsz has two neat commodities, mnorenessa and Tavos tea, that could make interesting components.
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Old 02-23-2021, 04:56 PM   #3
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Default Re: Spell Components

Require a live human as the sacrifice for Summon Demon?
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Old 02-23-2021, 07:48 PM   #4
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Default Re: Spell Components

Quote:
Originally Posted by hcobb View Post
Require a live human as the sacrifice for Summon Demon?
Or a halfling for a Lesser Demon?
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Old 02-24-2021, 06:35 AM   #5
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Default Re: Spell Components

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Or a halfling for a Lesser Demon?
The more innocent the sacrifice, the greater the demon. Better yet, the more evil the sacrifice, the greater the demon.
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Old 02-24-2021, 09:42 AM   #6
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Default Re: Spell Components

Greater demons need giant bodies of course.
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Old 02-24-2021, 11:44 PM   #7
Steve Plambeck
 
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Default Re: Spell Components

My preference would be to leave the secular Demon summoning spells as is, but certainly if one were being summoned by an invocation of theurgy, then big sacrifices would be very appropriate. That is, if a High Priest isn't spending ST or Mana to summon the Demon, he/she's got to pay in some other way! Sacrificing an enemy might not even be enough depending on the religion -- for a really important Greater Demon the sacrifice called for might even be a member of the royal family, or even the local monarch.

Not that those making the sacrifice would consider themselves doing evil. They'd be calling on their deity to send help in the form of a Greater Demon, but they would see the creature as an Archangel. Lesser Demons of course would only be perceived as regular Angels, and might not warrant quite as dramatic a sacrifice -- probably one of your PCs would do <evil grin>

Requiring certain spell components (for whatever reason) wouldn't just add flavor, it allows for the GM to adjust play balance by doing something other than always charging a high ST cost.
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Old 02-25-2021, 01:03 PM   #8
larsdangly
 
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Default Re: Spell Components

I have always liked the concept of spell components because they make the magic system more immersive, interesting and anchored to the setting and campaign. But I find it hard to implement in practice because it's a detail that is easily forgotten in the midst of play, particularly by the GM, who has a lot on their plate. If one wanted to do something like this regularly it might work best to have just one (or perhaps a few) critical components that act as a sort of 'meta' currency for magic. It would be easier to convince players to gate-keep a system like this if you provide some positive incentive, like treating critical ingredients as consumable Mana sources.
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Old 02-25-2021, 02:57 PM   #9
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Default Re: Spell Components

I think the element is most appropriate when you characterize certain spells as rituals in your game. As Lars implies, i don't think components would be practical for combat or other spells designed to have immediate in-game effects. We discussed this idea in an older thread which I will try to find.

Here it is...
http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=160610
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Old 02-25-2021, 08:29 PM   #10
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Default Re: Spell Components

Quote:
Originally Posted by hcobb View Post
Require a live human as the sacrifice for Summon Demon?
Require a Lesser Demon as the sacrifice for Summon Greater Demon?
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