RPM question

[nudj]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

Yes. (Though it's possible to build adepts that might sling magic in battle.)

RPM was originally designed for the Monster Hunters line, urban fantasy of the sort which normally presumes a wainscot / secret magic setting, and often in the modern day where there's not evidently a lot of magic around (from my mundane point of view). Magic is ritualistic, a relatively drawn-out process of pouring through the grimoire and going through the motions to "gather energy". MH also assumes preparation is important to the success of the hunters -- researching to figure out what they're up against, learning its weaknesses, scouting its habits, lair, and minions, and for the mages, creating charms for spells they're likely to need, not just doing everything off the cuff, charging into the next dungeon room because the PCs are supposed to win, right? Well, not the unprepared PCs, at least not in MH.

The Greater / Lesser Effect distinction is there also to help give the mechanics that feel of a secret magic setting. Think Mage: the Ascension rather than D&D. Magic with big flashy effects that are really improbable in the setting are Greater, with the meta goal of discouraging their use in favor of magic that's more subtle, easier for the mundanes to overlook or confuse as some rational effect.

If that's not the feel of the setting you want for a game, but you do want mages slinging fireballs and calling lightning, teleporting about the battlefield, then you might make Ritual Adept cheaper or otherwise speed up energy gathering, and you might rarely or never have Greater Effects in that setting. You might also need to ponder what limits mages do have in the setting, so other archetypes aren't at best redundant.

I was looking for something that gave flexible rules for creating "any" magic spell someone could come up with (unlike GURPS Magic) but wasn't as complex and prescriptive as powers and stunts. It sounds like if I want more spontaneity, I need to really think about what is a greater effect in my game. I'm not sure loading up on charms or conditional spells is what I want (sounds like "fire and forget"). Ritual Adept is clear, but maybe high levels of Magery/Thaumatology/Path skills would be enough (it's a high point game with goons and bosses).

Thanks for all the advice guys!