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Old 06-15-2021, 07:39 AM   #1
Shimmin Beg
 
Join Date: Nov 2020
Default Using spells based on X gives unexpected modifiers

I'm trying to make a character with spellcasting based on Will, rather than IQ. I notice there's a modifier available for this on each spell. There's also the variant file Variant Magic 4e - Alt Attribute Will.gdf which I've installed.

The results aren't what I was expecting. My character has IQ 10 and Will 14, and Power Investiture 3.

If I simply add a spell, with the default 1 point, I get it at level 11. Okay, that's 10-2+3, so it's based on IQ.

If I select the "Will-based" modifier, my skill goes down to 7. Looking at the options, this is giving me a new modifier: "-4 from Create Fire (Clerical)". Seems odd...

so I pulled open the modifier itself, and it's calculating as gives -(ST:Will - ST:IQ) to owner::level. Will 14 - IQ 10 gives us 4, so it's giving me a -4 modifier. I would expect the opposite. The other X-based modifiers seem to work the same way.

As far as I can tell, this X-based modifier is calculating how much better X is than the normal attribute, and then penalizing you by that much, instead of benefiting you.

Is there something I'm doing wrong? Do I need to activate Variant Magic 4e - Alt Attribute Will.gdf somehow? I added it after first trying just the modifier and getting the result above. As far as I can tell nothing changed when I installed it and restarted.
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Old 06-15-2021, 03:57 PM   #2
Armin
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Default Re: Using spells based on X gives unexpected modifiers

I don't know what the modifiers are intended to do, so I'll let that alone for now.

It looks like what you want, for spells based on Will, is indeed the Variant Magic 4e - Alt Attribute Will.gdf file, as its purpose is exactly that: to change all spells to be based on Will instead of IQ.

To use that file, you need to include it in your data set of loaded files. Go to the Data Sets tab of Options. That will show you what data set you're loading, and the files it includes.

Click the Change button to change to a different data set. At the top of the Data Sets window is the Available Data Sets list, and just above that is a little toolbar. Click the blank page icon for New Data Set. Type the name of your data set, such as Variant Will Magic. From the Available Data Files list, add all the ones you want to the Included Data Files list. Include Variant Magic 4e - Alt Attribute Will.gdf from the variants folder, and be sure it's loaded after Magic (and/or Fantasy). When you have all the files you want, click OK.

Then, click Load Now to actually load that new data set into GCA. You can create lots of various data sets but not load them, so you need to be sure you actually load the one you just made because you want it now.

Now, you should see all the Spells in the Available Spells lists will have Will/H or Will/VH types, and they'll be based on Will. If you are using an existing character, you'll want to delete their spells and add them again.

You shouldn't need any modifiers for this.
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Old 06-16-2021, 05:47 AM   #3
Shimmin Beg
 
Join Date: Nov 2020
Default Re: Using spells based on X gives unexpected modifiers

Thank you. While I was waiting I played around with things, and ended up installing Clerical Magic and the Clerical version of the Alt Attribute file. That's worked perfectly. I saw this reply when I came back to update my post with that solution.

Maybe I did something differently the first time round, but it's working now so I'm happy. When I'm next doing something similar I'll check it against your instructions. Much appreciated!
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Old 06-16-2021, 06:33 AM   #4
RogerBW
 
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Default Re: Using spells based on X gives unexpected modifiers

The other thing that comes to mind, if you've started a character and then changed active data sets, is Tools → Resynchronize.
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