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Old 07-11-2018, 05:36 PM   #2
Rick_Smith
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Coquitlam B.C.
Default Is the Trance Spell ideal?

Hi all,
The IQ 16 spell, Trance costs 10 fatigue ST (fST) to cast and gets to ask a yes / no question to the GM.

There are a few thing about this, I don't like:

-- It is the only real scrying spell in TFT. A few more would be welcome.

-- It is unlike scrying spells in fantasy fiction. I've never seen a fantasy novel where a wizard casts a spell repeatedly in order to play a game of 20 questions. It does not feel magical.

-- It is too powerful. A dictator can spend 10 fST and ask, "Is Joe planning to betray me?" I want magic that detects loyalty to be difficult and unreliable.

-- It is too powerful. With a bunch of apprentices the wizard can cast this spell again and again. "Is my enemy, the wizard Zapper, north of the river Middlewash?" "Is Zapper east of Dwarfton? Is Zapper north of the Ironhills? ...

-- The spell is too powerful. There is ZERO chance that the GM will give incorrect information.

-- The spell is too powerful. There is no way to shield against a Trance with some sort of Scry guard spell.

***

Some suggestions:
-- Remove Trance. Replace it with more limited and interesting scrying spells.
-- Make it so Trance (3) is three times more expensive than normal spells, in order to make it rarer.
-- Make it so that Trance costs the wizard damage rather than fatigue (like the Death Spell).
-- Make it so that Trance can only be cast every so often. (Once per hour or once per day.)

Discussion is welcome.

Warm regards, Rick.
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