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Old 03-16-2018, 12:47 PM   #11
JLV
 
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Arizona
Default Re: Interesting Magical Variation

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Originally Posted by Chris Goodwin View Post
In general, what can 1 ST worth of magic achieve? (How much damage, how much armor protection, how much summoned creature time, etc.)
Tying a knot, lighting a candle, making someone yawn, dimming a light, nudging a box -- this is already answered (though frankly, I think even paying 1ST point is a bit high...) Damage is limited to 0 or 1 point. Again, already answered.

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Originally Posted by Chris Goodwin View Post
How do you limit how much ST a wizard can put into one spell?
You tell him that a minor effect only costs 1 ST point, and that he can't put more than 1 ST point into it.

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Originally Posted by Chris Goodwin View Post
How do you determine what kinds of spells a wizard can cast? (Verb-noun is very common.)
You negotiate -- the player proposes a minor effect that he wants to try, and the GM either approves, disapproves, or suggests something slightly different.

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How do you determine whether the wizard successfully casts the spell?
The same way you do any other spell.
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Old 07-17-2018, 11:04 AM   #12
GhengisRexx
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Default Re: Interesting Magical Variation

There is another rpg that addresses this with "trappings". So if your wizard has survival skill and needs a fire, (or water for that matter), the player makes the normal survival roll , but might achieve the results magically. Mechanically there is no change, but from an role playing standpoint, it's cool when the wizard (after making the survival roll) utters a word of power and "poof". Food and drink appear out of thin air.

This kind of mechanism can be creatively used with combat skills. A wizard with unarmed combat talent might have flaming fists to get the bonus damage. Staff mastery might cause the wizards staff to appear as a giant icicle, dripping pools of icy ground (representing any defensive bonus.)

The beauty of this is it adds flavor and rewards player creativity, but requires almost nothing from the GM.
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Old 07-17-2018, 11:08 PM   #13
David Bofinger
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
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Default Re: Interesting Magical Variation

I think ideas like this sound fun when you propose them. "Haha, I tied the bandit's shoelaces together!" But what if it's the fifth fight in a row that the wizard has tied someone's shoelaces together? That might get old pretty fast. I think magic is like this is most interesting if there's a bunch of things you might be able to do but don't always get to choose what. Actually, that might be a good rule of thumb for a wizard generally.
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Old 07-20-2018, 02:24 PM   #14
guymc
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Default Re: Interesting Magical Variation

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Originally Posted by David Bofinger View Post
I think ideas like this sound fun when you propose them. "Haha, I tied the bandit's shoelaces together!" But what if it's the fifth fight in a row that the wizard has tied someone's shoelaces together? That might get old pretty fast. I think magic is like this is most interesting if there's a bunch of things you might be able to do but don't always get to choose what. Actually, that might be a good rule of thumb for a wizard generally.
If I were going to do something like this in a variant campaign, I’d call it a hex. (Yes, I know... it is a terrible pun.) The cost would be 1 ST (only) and the effect would be to cause the target to have a random minor misfortune. “Random” means that the GM decides exactly what happens. “Minor” means it can’t trip someone and send him down the stairs or into a pit, or affect whether or not a target’s die roll is successful. Preference would be for minor-league effective or at least annoying, with a bend toward funny if possible.

The effect must always be something so subtle that it could have reasonably happened purely by accident. Yes to having an evil high priest snag the hem of his fine robe and rip it open - or off. No to changing the color of his robe suddenly, or erasing the text in a book. Yes to the target pulling a 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 in draw poker, no to changing his cards once he’s bet.

Yes, it should not be allowed in combat, though if the caster was WELL out of combat himself it could be cast on a combatant. (Think of someone in the arena seats messing with a gladiator to embarrass him.)

A hex must be aimed like a missile spell, although it is an invisible one. This makes it possible to miss and hex the wrong person. The only way to be sure is to touch the person you are hexing, in which case there is no chance to miss. A hex is not necessarily instantaneous, either, but the effect will occur within a minute or so. (As Roger Rabbit put it, “only when it’s funny”.

Oh, and pulling ths sort of thing on a full Wizard is a dangerous sort of proposition, since one of the first things you learn in Wizard School is how to recognize the subtle effect of a hex. If the identity of the hexer isn’t Immediately obvious, however, the target may not be able to figure out who it is. The spell does require a slight hand gesture to aim, so I’d allow the target a standard IQ save to spot it if the caster performs a SECOND hex on him and is visible in a room. I’d give the IQ save on a first hex to someone fairly close to the caster. If he’s already looking right at you, forget it — the target knows.

A subtle hex duel across a crowded room is a common occurrence at Wizard school — until the teacher catches on and hexes both duelists — or worse.

THIS IS NOT A PROPOSAL FOR A CORE GAME SPELL! It is just how I’’d implement the kind of thing you were discussing in a variant game.
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Last edited by guymc; 07-20-2018 at 02:33 PM.
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Old 07-20-2018, 02:47 PM   #15
JLV
 
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Default Re: Interesting Magical Variation

That was more or less what my intent was by suggesting it as an interesting variation.

Agree with Guy -- NOT a core rule...
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