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Old 11-13-2012, 08:28 AM   #1
cadia134
 
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Default [DF] Magic as powers?

Has anyone run a DF game using magic as powers? What areas of difficulty did you run into? what worked well?
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Old 11-13-2012, 08:47 AM   #2
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Default Re: [DF] Magic as powers?

IF DF = Dungeon Fantasy I am curious as to why you would play them as powers?
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Old 11-13-2012, 08:56 AM   #3
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Default Re: [DF] Magic as powers?

Quote:
Originally Posted by NightHawk View Post
IF DF = Dungeon Fantasy I am curious as to why you would play them as powers?
Some people prefer magic built as powers. Why would a particular setting be relevant to that?
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Old 11-13-2012, 09:09 AM   #4
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Default Re: [DF] Magic as powers?

Is someone overly comparing DF to D&D again?
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Old 11-13-2012, 09:16 AM   #5
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Default Re: [DF] Magic as powers?

If you changed the woogedy-boo system from magic to powers you would lose flexibility and utility and gain reliability and focus.

With magic you can drop one point and get a whole new ability.
With powers one point can get you a five point alternate ability based on an existing power.

There is an example of using powers in DF in the Dungeon Saints article in Pyramid.
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Old 11-13-2012, 09:28 AM   #6
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Default Re: [DF] Magic as powers?

I've toyed around with this. The best worked example is Powers: Divine Favors and the related Dungeon Fantasy Saints from Pyramid.

I think the biggest issue is that mages generally lose flexibility. Instead of having 20-30 different spells, they have 5-10 different powers. Now, depending on how those powers are built, some of them may be more powerful than most spells (a 4d explosive fireball that I can throw every other turn for 1 FP? Yes please! How about a 2d wall of acid that I can create every turn!) but there's generally less of them. Mages are less likely to have an answer to every problem.

Also, buffing spells are more limited. Giving someone DR5 via the Armor spell is moderately expensive in fatigue, but cheap in points and talented PCs can buff several members of the party this way. Giving some DR5 via an affliction is 30+ points, regardless of FP used.
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Old 11-13-2012, 10:04 AM   #7
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Default Re: [DF] Magic as powers?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruno View Post
Some people prefer magic built as powers. Why would a particular setting be relevant to that?
I am just curious. I have never used it and thus the question
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Old 11-13-2012, 01:31 PM   #8
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Default Re: [DF] Magic as powers?

Quote:
Originally Posted by cadia134 View Post
Has anyone run a DF game using magic as powers? What areas of difficulty did you run into? what worked well?
Depends on how you do it.

If you take the more typical approach of having them purchase individual powers, the end result is that your casters become more DPS than support/utility. Powers doesn't do support/utility cheaply; and so if the casters want to maintain their damage, they lose access to everything else.

If you take the meta-advantage approach and branch alternate powers off for specific tricks, then your casters become more flexible than they were previously yet because of how Powers prices things ... they'll still become more fighty than previous with less support/utility.

Only do so if you want your casters to turn into blasters.

(Speaking generically, as I don't run DF ...)
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Old 11-13-2012, 05:06 PM   #9
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Default Re: [DF] Magic as powers?

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Originally Posted by cadia134 View Post
Has anyone run a DF game using magic as powers? What areas of difficulty did you run into? what worked well?
I've done this twice and played in a game like it once.

I ran one DF game where all of the players were Mages using magic as powers. Instead of just using alternate abilities though they used modular abilities with a few slots each.

With the way their Modular Abilities were built it took a long time to switch out each spell or power, but until they did they could use the abilities at will, daily or every few minutes. The goal was to do something similar to the vast array of special powers characters in D&D 4e have, and it turned out pretty well.

It's actually not hard to get modular abilities like this so cheap that you end up with more points to spend then what you put into the power.

The game had a very D&D feel to it because players tended to spend their experience points on their modular abilities. Switching them all out could take nearly a week (about a full day per ability). So what ended up happening is that the players would go on a few adventures, then return to base to spend their experience and swap out their powers. This was a lot like taking a week to "level up" And it made their points almost fluid, never really set and constantly improving and changing.

I ended up with some players going full mage, using their powers for attacks, defenses and utility. Fighter type players would use their powers on combat attacks and buffs, while rogues bought supernatural stealth moves, movement abilities, etc.

In the DF game I played I took a large pool of Cosmic Modular Abilities, a big energy reserve and regeneration for my energy reserve. He's easily the most powerful mage I've ever played.

He had two 25 character point cosmic modular slots, that costs 25 energy to change, then he would load those with abilities that also required energy. The result was very similar to video game mages with a mana pool that is used and recharges during the game, and I used his abilities to mostly mimic the spells from Skyrim. (I often used one slot in one hand for attack, and my other slot in the other hand for a shield, defense, etc.)

All three times we used Magic as Powers worked out great as far as I'm concerned.
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Old 11-14-2012, 07:12 AM   #10
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Default Re: [DF] Magic as powers?

Here's some notes I have scrawled on a structure for magic as powers, as of yet not fully tested in game.
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