09-18-2017, 05:35 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Dance Limitation on Magery
Why is Dance is a -40% limitation on Magery?
A player did this in trying to build a type of sword mage. Is there some implication I missing beyond the obvious if you are immobilized you can't cast a spell with Magery? |
09-18-2017, 05:55 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Sep 2007
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Re: Dance Limitation on Magery
High skill never eliminates the need for dancing. So, a Dance mage can never get away with "stealth" casting. That's often been important in games I've been in, and sometimes mages buy up their skill levels just to hit level 20 (the lowest "concentrate only" level). So part of the cost is "Skill doesn't reduce ritual requirements as per RAW".
Even at lower levels, the normal casting rituals are pretty minor ("a word or two" or "a small gesture (a couple of fingers are enough)" at level 15, which is a pretty typical base skill level even for 150-point mages.) So dancing is already more obvious. Also, dancing is more restrictive -- you need some area around you. (Though you might allow a single hex if it's clear, GMs might rule you need even more room than that, as in these real or fictional examples, where the dancer takes up at least 2-3 yards of space, even though they're both pretty sedate.) And the dancer needs a reasonable floor surface on which to dance, lest you need DX rolls to avoid falling (or worse). Being able to dance is more limiting than simply "not paralyzed". It also implies your hands are free for expressive use (and when not free, often because they're occupied with ritual props). |
09-18-2017, 06:02 PM | #3 | |
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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Re: Dance Limitation on Magery
Quote:
I would say, however, that to qualify for this, you actually have to be dancing, and you can't just handwave the dance as being part of the normal foot gestures spells require. So, you've got to a have a decent clear floorspace, or make a DX roll to avoid falling if you don't, and the movements will be obviously a dance, you can't pass them off as just some shuffling or fidgeting to someone watching. For a "sword mage", I'd be inclined to say that, if they want to be casting spells while fighting with a sword, they've got to be wielding the sword as a dance. At minimum, they'd have to have Dancing skill at some level, and I'd be inclined to cap their effective weapon skill at their Dancing skill. |
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09-18-2017, 06:49 PM | #4 | |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
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Re: Dance Limitation on Magery
Quote:
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09-18-2017, 08:12 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Re: Dance Limitation on Magery
Appreciate the responses been very helpful.
So to throw another curve ball here the character is going to rely on Flight and Hawk Flight So what skill combo would it take to come up with a flight dance :-) |
09-18-2017, 08:15 PM | #6 |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
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Re: Dance Limitation on Magery
Cap Flying and Aerobatics.
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09-18-2017, 08:17 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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Re: Dance Limitation on Magery
I think I'd call it another specialization of Dancing, actually - just like Acrobatics is "ground-based movement" and has an aerial counterpart in Aerobatics, I think it's reasonable to declare that the Dancing skill is really "ground based dancing" and another specialty exists for "air-based dancing". I'd have them default to each other at -4, but Dancing (Air) should probably get a bonus from 3D Spatial Sense, just like Aerobatics does.
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09-18-2017, 08:41 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Re: Dance Limitation on Magery
Again thanks guys, my ruling to the player.
OK so the deal is this with the dancing it is allowed but you need to take the dancing skill. At -40% it is actually dancing as opposed to must be able to move. To maintain a spell you must be dancing the whole duration. If you are dancing then your melee skill will be capped the lower of your weapon skill or your dance skill. And to dance during flight you will need a Dance (Air) skill.* And you will need at least the majority of the six surrounding hexes clear (4 out of the 6). Or you will need to make a dancing roll to keep on dancing. Now you don't technically need the dance skill to do magic but if you are going to maintain spells with dancing only magery AND attack in melee (or ranged weapons) then you are going to need know how to dance. Time to get footloose! Last edited by robertsconley; 09-18-2017 at 08:44 PM. |
09-19-2017, 10:26 AM | #9 |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Canada
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Re: Dance Limitation on Magery
On the plus side, if you break out in interpretive dance in the middle of a battlefield, you might be able to argue it as a Dirty Trick the first time as you confuse the crap out of your enemies. :)
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09-19-2017, 10:33 AM | #10 |
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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Re: Dance Limitation on Magery
Everything else you suggested seems fine, but this one seems a bit overly-harsh. I'd suggest instead that the mage has to dance when the maintenance comes due. So if you've got a 1-minute duration spell, and the mage wants to maintain it, they have to be free to dance for a few seconds (I'd just use the original casting time) at the end of the minute. It's still limiting, because a spell can easily come due at a time it would be inconvenient to break out the old soft-shoe, but it's not as crippling for long-duration spells.
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Tags |
dancing, magery |
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