11-10-2021, 08:30 PM | #1 |
Join Date: May 2010
|
[DF] Placing areas of different mana in Dungeon Fantasy
In GURPS Dungeon Fantasy, nature's strength and sanctity are pretty straightforward: the nature's strength rules come with very clear examples of various penalties, while areas of high/low sanctity presumably correspond to good/evil temples (at least ones above some threshold of importance). But it's much less clear how one should go about placing areas of high or low mana, much less very high or no mana, even though some parts of the game clearly require such areas in order to make sense: liches can only be killed permanently in no-mana areas, and the faerie folk's Dependency on mana is a free 25 points of no-mana zones aren't encountered occasionally.
If we look to DFRPG for guidance, Spells indicates that areas of high/low mana are actually supposed to be more common than areas of high/low sanctity—but "random", which could explain that while clerics often operate in cities (with historic temples), wizards tend to end up making their bases in random spots of wilderness. But the answers in Spells still aren't wholly satisfactory, because it indicates areas of no mana should be plot-device level rare—which causes real problems for explaining how PCs are ever supposed to (permanently) defeat a lich. So I'm left feeling I don't have a wholly satisfactory approach here. What have people on the forums done in their own campaigns? |
11-10-2021, 11:32 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Apr 2013
|
Re: [DF] Placing areas of different mana in Dungeon Fantasy
Drain Mana is available to PI 6 clerics (who don't have Magery to lose), Suspend Mana is at PI 5, and scrolls are available to lich hunters.
|
11-11-2021, 02:33 AM | #3 |
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: The deep dark haunted woods
|
Re: [DF] Placing areas of different mana in Dungeon Fantasy
Years before DF, I was part of a fantasy campaign where the mana levels increased the further one went underground, allowing levels to the dungeon of increasing supernatural/magical threat.
The first levels were pretty normal, but the midpoint had magic wielders becoming prominent. The bottom level, of course, being so ridiculously magical that magic was almost as dangerous to the user as the target, making the fighters more important. It worked out pretty well. Tactics that worked at the beginning were useless later on, which prevented complacency. We had to keep alert.
__________________
"When you talk about damage radius, even atomic weapons pale before that of an unfettered idiot in a position of power." - Sam Starfall from the webcomic Freefall |
11-11-2021, 03:19 AM | #4 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Helsinki, Finland
|
Re: [DF] Placing areas of different mana in Dungeon Fantasy
Roll 3d6 for each area that comes up and hasn't been resolved yet. High number indicates high mana, low number indicates low mana, 18 means very high mana and 3 means no mana.
__________________
[/delurk] AotA is of course IMHO, YMMV. vincit qui se vincit |
11-11-2021, 08:03 AM | #5 | ||
Join Date: Jun 2013
|
Re: [DF] Placing areas of different mana in Dungeon Fantasy
Quote:
Of course, if one can create temporary NMZ's (with an appropriate spell, power, scroll, artifact, etc), then you just need one of those (although acquiring such may well be a quest unto itself). Quote:
Code:
Roll (Freq) Mana Level 3-4 (1.85%) None 5-7 (14.3%) Low 8-13 (67.6%) Normal 14-16 (14.3%) High 17-18 (1.85%) Very High Code:
Roll (Freq) Mana Level 1 (5%) None 2-4 (15%) Low 5-16 (60%) Normal 17-19 (15%) High 20 (5%) Very High
__________________
GURPS Overhaul Last edited by Varyon; 11-11-2021 at 08:14 AM. |
||
11-11-2021, 12:27 PM | #6 | ||||
Join Date: May 2010
|
Re: [DF] Placing areas of different mana in Dungeon Fantasy
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
|
||||
11-11-2021, 12:54 PM | #7 | |
Join Date: Jun 2013
|
Re: [DF] Placing areas of different mana in Dungeon Fantasy
Quote:
__________________
GURPS Overhaul |
|
11-11-2021, 01:49 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
|
Re: [DF] Placing areas of different mana in Dungeon Fantasy
You can also dispose of a lich using non-damage methods; casting entombment seems uniquely appropriate, and flesh to stone will work if the GM is willing to consider a lich a valid target for the spell.
|
11-11-2021, 01:55 PM | #9 | |
On Notice
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Sumter, SC
|
Re: [DF] Placing areas of different mana in Dungeon Fantasy
Quote:
Yes this makes 15-18 No mana but the cumulative percentage of getting 15 or higher is 4.5% (100.0-95.4) which is effectively a 1 on a d20 (auto failure under 1 and 20 rule)
__________________
Help make a digital reference for GURPS by coming to the GURPS wiki and provide some information and links (such as to various Fanmade 4e Bestiaries) . Please, provide more then just a title and a page number. |
|
11-11-2021, 02:21 PM | #10 | |
Join Date: Jun 2013
|
Re: [DF] Placing areas of different mana in Dungeon Fantasy
Quote:
If using -10 for No Mana and +10 for Very High Mana, I'd probably be more inclined to have it be Normal for 10 or 11, and +1 per deviation (probably - below 10, + above 11). That appears to only allow for a range of +7, but I'd have 3's, 4's, 17's, and 18's "explode" - a roll of 17 is +6, and you reroll and add the result of that roll to the +6 (alternatively, to make NMZ's and Very High Mana more rare, only have 3's and 18's explode). Note an explosion can either have no effect or make the effect more pronounced, it can't suppress it (so if you roll a 3 - for -7 - and then roll a 15 - for +5 - you actually just stay with -7), and you can't go below -10 or above +10.
__________________
GURPS Overhaul |
|
Tags |
dungeon fantasy |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|