Thoughts on a Setting

[Whitewings]

The idea is simple: in the very recent past, in a TL3^ normal mana setting, the practice of magic was well-established. Then something changed, and now no mage can spend more than 1 energy on any casting of any spell. What effects might this have on magical practices and the standing and professional functions of magicians?

An important setting element is that astrological and decanic modifiers do apply and both raise effective skill and reduce fatigue costs.

[ericthered]

So before they could only spend a single point, and now they can spend a bunch?

well, first off, you go from a very limited spell list to a very expansive one.

A while back I (in conjunction with hal) did a deep dive on what spells are economy shaking in low tech, and they're basically all more than 1 energy:

• Shape Earth
• Earth to Stone
• Hair Growth
• Bless Plants

[Varyon]

I'm assuming there's a typo in the opening post, and it's meant to be "now mages can't spend more than 1 energy on any casting of a spell."

A big one is going to be that, unless that's a per-person limit rather than a per-spell limit, large ritual castings - or any casting with multiple people working together - are no longer possible. This also means no new magic items.

You'd probably have Johnny-One-Spells being encouraged in many cases, with mages focusing on perfecting a single spell to get their skill level as high as possible to reduce casting costs. Those astrological/decanic/traditional trappings are going to see heavy use for similar reasons.

[RyanW]

(I also assume you meant they suddenly can't spend more than one point)

The effect depends on the specifics. Or, possibly, the specifics depend on the wanted effect. As suggested by Varyon, there's the question of whether N mages, casting ritually, are limited to N points or 1 point.

Another question is whether mages can use other power sources in addition (pre-cataclysm powerstones, bits harvested from magical creatures/plants/minerals, etc.). If these exist (and allow casters to go past the 1 point limit) they become highly valuable. Do you want mages (or adventuring parties hired by mages) to undertake dangerous quests hunting down rumored magic energy sources?

[Whitewings]

That was indeed supposed to be “no mage.” And yes, the limit is per caster.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Whitewings

That was indeed supposed to be “no mage.” And yes, the limit is per caster.

What about for large ceremonies, where friendly spectators are able to each contribute 1 energy? Would these still be restricted to 1 energy per mage involved (meaning spectators can only serve to let a mage cast without using their own reserves*), or would all of the participants count as "casters" and thus you'd be able to cast a 100 energy spell with one mage and 99 friendly spectators?

EDIT: Well, depending on how you set them up (and your setting's metaphysics), they may be able to count as part of astrological/decanic/traditional trappings - a group of chanting cultists is a classic - and thus help that way, rather than by actually contributing energy.