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Old 08-10-2018, 07:50 AM   #1
AlexanderHowl
 
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Default Alternate Rules for Ritual Magic

By the default rules concerning ritual magic, Colleges/Paths default to the Core Skill at -6 while spells default at -(prerequisite count) to the appropriate Colleges/Paths (and may be bought up as techniques). What happens if we change those assumptions though? What effect do you think it would have if we changed them to the following:

1. Mages gain an ER (Ritual Magic) equal to their Core Skill, which recovers at 1 point every 10 minutes (modified by Recover Energy spell through the appropriate College/Path). If they possess more than one form of Ritual Magic that use different Core Skills, their ER (Ritual Magic) is based on the highest Core Skill.

2. Colleges/Paths do not default to a Core Skill and instead have to be learned separately, though they cannot exceed the core skill.

3. The prerequisite count increases the final energy cost of a spell (after modifiers for area, damage, SM, etc) rather than decreasing the effective skill of a spell, meaning that they cannot be purchased as a technique.

What do you think? Would it make ritual magic better, weaker, or just different? Would you use the above changes?
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Old 08-10-2018, 09:28 AM   #2
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Default Re: Alternate Rules for Ritual Magic

So individual skills are the same skill level as the College/Path skill?
Does that skill level reduce casting costs?

Overall it sounds like mages may have more tactical flexibility and power between the ER and energy cost reduction (If above is true).
More advanced spells may see less use due to higher energy costs, even with the ER.
I'd expect very high core skills.
Requires more consideration, I like the concept in some ways but not sure how it would work out.
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Old 08-10-2018, 03:51 PM   #3
AlexanderHowl
 
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Default Re: Alternate Rules for Ritual Magic

You would probably need to remove ritual bonuses from possessing high skill and/or cap base skill to 12 plus Magery.
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Old 08-10-2018, 05:27 PM   #4
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Default Re: Alternate Rules for Ritual Magic

I'd be inclined to make the size of the ER a function of Magery rather than the core skill. I could also see scrapping the Recover Energy spell entirely and instead building its effects directly into the core skill. That is, you recover one energy every 10 minutes normally; but if your core skill is 15 or higher you recover one energy every 5 minutes; and if your core skill is 20 or higher you recover one energy every 2 minutes.

This resolves the issue that Recover Energy doesn't play by the usual rules: you never cast it, and assigning an energy cost to it would be silly (which makes your “replace the prerequisite count with an adoption energy cost unworkable for it). Recover Energy has a prerequisite count of 2, which is on the low side as far as Prerequisite Counts go; so not much harm is done by building it into the core skill in that regard.

It also separates it from the Path of Healing (or any other Path), removing the oddity of having one Path that grants an ongoing and passive benefit while none of the others do; instead, the increased recovery rate of the mystical energy reserve becomes a feature of the mage's basic competence with magic (which is, essentially, what the core skill represents).
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Old 08-10-2018, 06:00 PM   #5
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Default Re: Alternate Rules for Ritual Magic

Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl View Post
You would probably need to remove ritual bonuses from possessing high skill and/or cap base skill to 12 plus Magery.
Alternate Rituals works great for this. Also note that with the prerequisite count being used as a cost increase instead of a skill penalty, the energy cost reduction for a given Path skill applies to all of its spells equally. And note that it's not going to be much: -1 energy for skill 15, -2 for skill 20, -3 for skill 25, and so on. That's nice for spells like Colors (where the prerequisite-boosted cost is 3 energy); but Communication would go from a cost of 4 to 14. A cost reduction of one or two points from skill isn't going to make a dent.

The problem is that prerequisite counts can get into the high 20s, while both the skill system and the energy system are built around mods in the range of one to ten. One solution would be to use an exchange rate: say, each point by which the energy cost is increased accounts for three prerequisites in the count. With this, the hardest spells (with prerequisite counts of 28 or 29) would cost ten extra energy; single-digit prerequisite counts would translate to cost increases in the range of 1 to 3 points.
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Old 08-10-2018, 06:05 PM   #6
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Default Re: Alternate Rules for Ritual Magic

Quote:
Originally Posted by dataweaver View Post
I'd be inclined to make the size of the ER a function of Magery rather than the core skill.
I think I've seen 'base ER equals Magery+10' in some threads here, and/or some of the fansites. I think that works fairly well.
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Old 08-10-2018, 07:43 PM   #7
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Default Re: Alternate Rules for Ritual Magic

I'm all for #2. This can allow you to make, for an example, an elementalist who only knows all of the air, earth, fire, and water spells.

I think I'd just put Recover Energy as a "2" prerequisite for all colleges. Then you can use whatever path you've put the most points in to determine your recovery level.

I like the thought of dual Energy Reserves. One would be a standard reserve that grows as usual based on Magery. The other would be a special reserve that refills much more slowly. This can allow a mage to actually be able to cast some of the high energy super spells but only on a limited basis.
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Old 08-10-2018, 08:12 PM   #8
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Default Re: Alternate Rules for Ritual Magic

Actually, how about this: instead of making everything more energy-intensive, just change the prerequisite count into a Mandatory Modifiers Threshold: in order to cast a spell, you must collect bonuses equal to its Prerequisite Count from such sources as Significant Dates, Materials, Magical Languages, Purity, Sacred Architecture, or Ceremonial Casting (I skipped Sacrifices because they're better as an energy source than as a prerequisite satisfier). That last one is the biggie: although it takes longer to cast Ceremonially (which, in my humble opinion, is very appropriate for something called “Ritual Magic”), it can “fill the limit bar” of a spell with relative ease.

Anyway, these “bonuses” don't actually add to the casting roll unless and until they exceed the aforementioned Threshold — and maybe not even then. Until then, they're merely the work you need to do to get your spells to work.

Since the sources of these bonuses aren't consumed by the spell, a few basic steps like chanting in a magical language or carrying around the right material for your College is enough to always be able to cast low-threshold spells; high-threshold spells require more elaborate equipment and/or more specific circumstances; but once you're set up with the right stuff in the right place and at the right time, you can cast even high-threshold spells repeatedly so long as you have the energy to do so.

And really, that's what the prerequisite count is supposed to be about: not how expensive the spell is, but how “advanced” it is.
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