[RPM] High Energy Cost spells (Example Body of Shadow)

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by ronalmb

I'm not sure. It just feels like a +4 penalty to casting isn't as significant as the safe threshold penalty for a 350 point spell.

Not sure what you are saying here. Is it a +4 to skill or effective skill? The first can be pretty significant.

Originally Posted by ronalmb

Campaign is on the cusp of the dawning of the age of wizardry. There aren't local magic shops from which people can purchase grimoires. Talahsee (kind of a collective hive-mind society of elves greatly in tune with the world) have shown up and have started teaching men about how to weave magic. Humans, in return, will repay the poor Talahsee with the contagion of individuality, leaving their innocent society in shambles eventually.

Neat.

Originally Posted by ronalmb

So right now, definitely a time of high magic and experimentation. Would-be NPC mages will be screwing up and melting their brains or causing upheaval (adventure plot hooks for the party to resolve) as the two societies come to terms with contact with each other, etc.

You know what I'd do? I'd make things random. Maybe something like before you roll to cast, make a Thuamatology check at a penalty equal to the base energy cost / 10. Success means the spell works exactly like it's supposed to for the campaign. Success with a margin of the penalty or greater means you can knock off one Greater effect for that casting only (e.g., if you have to roll Thaumatology-2 for a spell, succeeding by two means you can ignore one Greater effect for that spell's casting). Failure means you treat it as if it had a extra Greater effect. Critical failure has it's usual effects, but treat the total energy of the spell as if it had two Greater effects more than normal. Critical success works as a success but also allows you to instantly purchase the Shortcut to Power or Secret Spell perk for that ritual. This way, characters are going to want to buy more Thaumatology than just their Path skill level.

Originally Posted by ronalmb

There isn't much in the way of magic items, grimoires, and an established tradition of wizardry (yet). The players are playing characters present at this important point in the campaign world's history (It's an old established campaign world from back in my days of 2nd Edition D&D and those old Skills and Powers books).

So make "naturally occuring" grimoires possible. In my article The Old Ways in Pyramid #3/56: Prehistory I talk about TL0 "grimoires" which can be anything from a crystal to a wooden branch. Maybe such grimoires "harmonize" with a particular spell(s).