View Single Post
Old 05-13-2021, 06:32 AM   #2
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
Default Re: Magery as an improvable advantage?

Continuing on a theme...

Would one expect someone with Acute Vision at level 1, be able to increase it to acute vision 2 just because the person has been using their acute vision on a regular basis?

If Magery can be improved by some means of enhancing some inner trait by sheer exercise of said "trait", can one lose Magery from a lack of using said "trait" much like one can lose physical strength via lack of exercise?

If Magery can be improved - can it diminish over time much as anything else - due to aging?

By asking questions like these and getting answers - I hope to find a way to perhaps introduce the ability to improve Magery over time. But - just as in GURPS, where IQ was forced to become a higher priced attribute due to its multiplicity of use - should Magery that is improvable, actively cost more per level than is Magery that is not improvable?

Case in point: Increasing Magery effectively expands the number of spells you can learn that were otherwise out of your reach. Improving Magery means that you become that much better at identifying if an item is magical or not. By unlocking the ability to improve magery - you're effecitvely turning it into its own attribute of sorts.

And finally...

Can a non-mage simply pay 5 character points to attain Magery 0 if that person didn't have the innate trait in the first place?

What precisely is 10 points being spent to improve Magery from Level 0 to Level one actually representing in "reality" terms? Is it "knowledge"? Is it "attribute increase"? Is it a perception increase?

Raising one from a ST 10 to ST 11 requires Exercise. Improving IQ by +1 requires eduction of sorts (even though IQ is not education in and of itself). Raising Dexterity is the process of training your body to more easily move or manipulate things such as dodging stuff or repetitious actions for muscle memory. Increasing HT (hmm, can't tell you how I'd approach that as a GM - there has to be some sort of theoretical limit to that!)

So - hit me with your best explanations, offer more definitions, correct what I've listed, or what have you.

As GM, do you require that before you can spend 1 character point towards raising Magery, that the character has to achieve a critical success at their current highest level Magery based spell before they can put 1 character point towards improving Magery to the next level?

For example: Casting magery 0 based spells over and over would not permit a mageborn to improve magery 1 to Magery 2. Casting Magery 1 spells over and over on the other hand, might?

So, HOW do you treat raising Magery in your campaigns such that it makes inherent sense to you as a GM or player?
hal is offline   Reply With Quote