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Old 04-21-2021, 10:46 AM   #1
VIVIT
 
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Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: The Wired
Default Thaumatology rolls to identify spells

Quote:
Originally Posted by M9
Secret Spells
It is rarely clear what spell a wizard is casting while he's casting it, especially if he knows it well enough to cast it silently! In general, if a spell has no obvious visible effect (unlike Fireball), it can be kept a secret. This can make magical battles much more interesting, when only the GM knows exactly what spells are in effect and on whom.

Even if the spell is audible, observers may have to make a Thaumatology roll to recognize a spell they do not themselves know. Observers without Thaumatology are completely out of luck!
How do you guys treat this in practice? The skill brackets for spells don't go straight from "full ritual" to "no ritual". If you're using Alternate Magic Rituals/Flexible Rituals (M9, THM37), you can even get wizards casting a spell by speaking without gesturing, or by gesturing without speaking. What does that mean for spell recognition? Flexible Rituals also offers the option to take double casting time to chant loudly, gesture carefully (and, by my interpretation, in an exaggerated manner) for a +1 to effective skill. That should grant a bonus to identify the spell, but how much?

What this rule brings to mind is a scene in the anime Slayers where the main character scares off some assailants by casting a light spell and pretending it's a fireball. Both are common spells, and IIRC one of the assailants even knew them, but the spells have similar-sounding incantations, and of them both create orbs of light. The main character seems to have combined the spell with a successful Acting roll and taken advantage of her Reputation as a vicious, powerful murderhobo.

If a player tried this, I think I might rule that it requires an exaggerated ritual with double casting time, but instead of receiving the typical +1, the user turns the Thaumatology roll to identify the spell into a Quick Contest vs. Acting to convince the enemy that a different spell (either another from the same college or some unrelated but plausible lookalike from another college) is being cast.
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Old 04-21-2021, 04:25 PM   #2
Anaraxes
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Default Re: Thaumatology rolls to identify spells

Give the Thaumatology roll to ID the spell the same modifiers from the more or less detailed ritual used by the caster. +1 if they're doing the whole thing with extra time, 0 for regular casting, harder when the caster is just using a word or gesture, etc.
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