Resolving problem with pentagrams and wish contest of wills

Skarg · 03-24-2020, 11:33 PM

The reduced IQ is just one of the issues, but yes, adjusting the IQ or effective IQ would help, and I like the idea of each demon having its own IQ which can vary, because it reduces the predictability.

Another main issue is that the new rules just say the demon attacks the wizard, which has at least three issues:

1) As mentioned, how that's going to work given the usual use of a pentagram, is not clear.

2) Even if you say the wizard has to be in the pentagram with the demon, it doesn't say you can't have prepared a small army and/or other wizards ready to take out the demon, which would be reasonable for an industrial wish-farming operation to do.

3) Even if you say the Demon gets to act before anyone else and the wizard must be attackable, it's just a 4d attack, and there are ways to survive, avoid, or recover from that which are worth investing in if you get to farm wishes.

The original rules avoided these by having the contest of wills result directly in death or being turned to ash, with no intervention possible.

This subject has been gone over before here, and we came up with several creative other ways to handle it. Some I liked included:

* Demons even more randomized with even more personality and varied abilities. Some are better at the contest of wills.

* Each demon has unpredictable types of things they can grant. Not all of them can grant wishes.

* On failure to control a demon, it may teleport away before you can respond, and do unpredictable mischief.

* Summoning a demon introduces you to a specific demon, who will remember you and develop a relationship with you that may become steadily more problematic over time, especially if you keep summoning demons.

03-24-2020, 11:33 PM	#10
Skarg Join Date: May 2015	Re: Resolving problem with pentagrams and wish contest of wills The reduced IQ is just one of the issues, but yes, adjusting the IQ or effective IQ would help, and I like the idea of each demon having its own IQ which can vary, because it reduces the predictability. Another main issue is that the new rules just say the demon attacks the wizard, which has at least three issues: 1) As mentioned, how that's going to work given the usual use of a pentagram, is not clear. 2) Even if you say the wizard has to be in the pentagram with the demon, it doesn't say you can't have prepared a small army and/or other wizards ready to take out the demon, which would be reasonable for an industrial wish-farming operation to do. 3) Even if you say the Demon gets to act before anyone else and the wizard must be attackable, it's just a 4d attack, and there are ways to survive, avoid, or recover from that which are worth investing in if you get to farm wishes. The original rules avoided these by having the contest of wills result directly in death or being turned to ash, with no intervention possible. This subject has been gone over before here, and we came up with several creative other ways to handle it. Some I liked included: * Demons even more randomized with even more personality and varied abilities. Some are better at the contest of wills. * Each demon has unpredictable types of things they can grant. Not all of them can grant wishes. * On failure to control a demon, it may teleport away before you can respond, and do unpredictable mischief. * Summoning a demon introduces you to a specific demon, who will remember you and develop a relationship with you that may become steadily more problematic over time, especially if you keep summoning demons.