[MH] Using RPM for lower-powered genres

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by Rev. Pee Kitty

Anywhere the GM deems "a place of magical potency" gives a bonus. The only example given may be that of a site used for consistent spellcasting, but it's just that -- an example. It's descriptive, not prescriptive.

MH2 goes into a little more detail on sacred places (such as rules for tracking them down), and makes it clear that there are lots of reasons a place could give a bonus. Even a modern building with "auspicious architecture" may have a sacred place somewhere on its premises.

So ley lines = covered. Just decide how potent they are and give a bonus from +1 to +5. Done!

We have song lines down here which could perform a similar function.

This thread has been very inspiring.

[Luke Bunyip]

Originally Posted by Rev. Pee Kitty

Luke, you may want to ease your friend into MH using MH4: Sidekicks to build heroes. Then, when everyone's comfortable, bump 'em all up to 400 points in a "flash-forward"!

Darn it Rev! I can fake patience, but I want to run this one-off game this year. OK, within the next month.

Seriously, I just want to try out the ritual magic in a game setting. I might consider MH4:Sidekicks if I get a new gaming group up and running later in the year.

[Hanuman47]

Originally Posted by Langy

Do you think it would be too unbalanced to use the skill bonuses for Sympathy, Names, and Contagion in the RPM system? I really like the flavor of them, but I'm not sure that allowing up to a +11 skill bonus would be a really good idea.

Perhaps it would make more sense to treat them as specific cases of "Traditional Trappings" as outlined at the bottom of page 34, and use them for an energy cost reductor. I was considering making this the rule in an Alchemical Baroque game in which I'm substituting Ritual Path Magic for Path/Book Magic. For example, I might rule that a caster can get up to 10% cost reduction for each of Sympathy, Name, and Contagion that they can supply.

[Langy]

Originally Posted by Hanuman47

Perhaps it would make more sense to treat them as specific cases of "Traditional Trappings" as outlined at the bottom of page 34, and use them for an energy cost reductor. I was considering making this the rule in an Alchemical Baroque game in which I'm substituting Ritual Path Magic for Path/Book Magic. For example, I might rule that a caster can get up to 10% cost reduction for each of Sympathy, Name, and Contagion that they can supply.

That's a good idea! I'll probably make it a -5% energy cost per +1 bonus, with a maximum of -25%. I might make having one thing - say, the Name bit - give a skill bonus instead, but otherwise this is a good idea.

[Exxar]

Originally Posted by Langy

No, not really. I'd like to use some of those modifiers, but I'm not sure on if it's balanced with the rest of the system. You can quite easily net a +11 bonus to cast on yourself or one of your friends if you use some of the modifiers, for example. I'm curious if this would be balanced or not, not whether or not I can use them if I wish to.

Here are some things you could do to lower that +11 bonus if you're worried about it:

• reduce the Sympathy bonus for a clear video from +3 to +2 (I don't like the idea of high-tech solutions giving greater bonuses than low-tech ones)
• don't allow the Sympathy bonuses for the subject or his twin/clone being physically present for beneficial rituals
• make it hard to learn one's True Name, so you have that option limited to yourself in most circumstances
• most people don't have the kind of name that gives +3 IMO, so you can get at most +2 for Names in most situations
• make it non-trivial (in cost, convenience and/or time required) to get more than +1 for Sacrifice (sacrificing artwork, jewelry and money is costly, you can't carry a coop full of chickens around so you need to get them on a per-ritual basis and the things could squawk and alert the neighbors, etc.)
• don't use stuff besides Sympathy, Names, Contagion and Sacrifice, stuff like hermetic correspondences etc.

I'm rolling with the above assumptions and have no problem in my low-powered campaign.

[Anthony]

In practice, the rules for non-adept casting on p36 have the equivalent of the laws of contagion: a -5 to casting if you don't have a connection. Rather than the simplified rules there, you can probably just allow the ritual modifiers to negate the penalties for non-adept casting (i.e. you would normally be at -15 because you're a non-adept, not casting in a properly prepared space, and trying to use the same casting time as an adept, but because you have +11 in bonuses you only have a total of -4).

[Exxar]

That doesn't make any sense. Those penalties for non-adepts are exactly the ones you get if you don't have any proper requisites to "fuel" Sympathy, Names etc, for performing outside of a ritual space, etc. All of them can be mitigated with minimal effort, and the +11 is what you can get over that minimum.