[RPM] Conditional Rituals (Too Powerful?)

[PK]

Originally Posted by templar

Limiting Conditional Rituals
A character can have a number of Conditional Rituals "slots" equal to his Thaumatology + His Magery (as the default system), however each CR that exceeds its safe Threshold costs +1 slot, +2 slots for exceeding twice his safe threshold, +3 slots for more than three times the safe threshold, etc.

Example: Jonas the Seeker is a mage with a Thaumatology of 15 and a Magery of 2; possessing 17 slots for Conditional Rituals. His Safe Threshold is 29. He currently has 4 Rituals prepared: Fireball (31), Fighting Irons (11), Death Touch (63) and Haste 32. This costs Jonas 8 of his 17 slots (1 for Fighting Irons, 2 each for Fireball and Haste, and 3 for Death Touch).

I understand the concept of what you're trying to do -- you're using the "safe threshold" (ST) value as a gauge for what the standard cost of a spell should be. But doing so overlooks the fact that those ST values are strictly for gathering ambient energy. Most mages will put in a significant amount of energy via sacrificed FP and mana reserve. This is why (e.g.) I suggested a maximum charm size of "10 + 4xST", not simply a multiplier of ST.

In addition, this rule seems to assume a static ST value. What about casters who rely on Ritual Mastery, places of power, grimoires, and workspace kits? The low-skill caster who depends on these bonuses to make conditional rituals is an important character type -- each of MH1 and MH4 featured an entire template built around it. If you're setting the ST based on base skill, it'll create very weird results. For example, take a skill-10, Magery 0 caster with Ritual Mastery (+2) in a weak Place of Power (+2), with a modest grimoire (+3), making a charm with a good workspace kit (+1). His effective skill rises from 10 to 18, raising his ST from 4 to 42! So if he casts a 50-energy ritual, does that occupy 13 slots or 2? (And if it occupies 13, how is that even possible if he only has 10 slots?)

It's an interesting idea, and I think there's some promise in it, but it's important that you consider these angles as well so you aren't blindsided by them.