Quote:
Originally Posted by MikMod
Agreed. Simple == Good in my book. It's a very interesting mechanic to think about, but I'm concerned that:
(a) wizards are almost immediately going to be crippled down to low level spells, and be locked out of using more powerful spells a bit later when they really need them. This could also distort wizards into mainly learning very basic spells. And
(b) what happens after an IQ 12 wizard has acquired 5 points of mental fatigue? Are they now incapable of casting any spells at all?!
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Yes. That is the point. As I have said, I didn't intend the mechanic to replace ST as a casting resource. These are last ditch options, for when you're back is against the rope, you've still got mana to cast with. To address point (a): This could distort a wizard into mainly learning very basic spells. You would call such a wizard a "sorcerer" or "savant" or some other new nifty name. But if a wizard valued having access to a wide variety of more powerful spells, he would be more wary of using sorcery to power any spell. It is a new option with drawbacks and tradeoffs.
To answer question (b): Also
yes. That's not very different to how wizards have always worked, however. Magic demands a cost, and if you cast too many spells then you will be eventually be unable to cast any more spells. My mechanic offers a new,
riskier source of power for your spells, it does not offer a wizard absolution from all limitation. It could be a little bit more powerful, I agree, but those points you brought up are absolutely the goal of the mechanic. Let me share what I've settled for my own campaign:
Savant (1) If a wizard wishes to, he may learn a spell as a Savant. This gives him the ability to pay the cost of that spell by fatiguing his IQ in addition to his ST or Manastaff. IQ powers spells twice as efficiently as ST or mana. If a wizard uses IQ to pay for a spell, but the spell's cost is 1, he is at +1DX to cast the spell. If he renews a continuing type spell with IQ and it's cost was 1, he does not have to renew it on his next turn. For every point of IQ distant a wizard's adjIQ is from the IQ level of the spell he is trying to cast, the wizard is at -2DX to cast that spell.
Sorcery (2) If a wizard wishes to, he may learn a spell as a Sorcerer. This gives him the ability to pay the cost of that spell by fatiguing his IQ in addition to his ST or Manastaff. IQ powers spells thrice as efficiently as ST or mana. If a wizard uses IQ to pay for a spell, but the spell's cost is 1, he is at +2DX to cast the spell (and if the spell's cost is 2, he is at +1DX). If he renews a continuing type spell with IQ and it's cost was 1, he does not have to renew it on his next 2 turns (if it's cost was 2, he does not have to renew it on only is next turn). For every point of IQ distant a wizard's adjIQ is from the IQ level of the spell he is trying to cast, the wizard is at -1DX to cast that spell.