Thoughts on a Setting

[Whitewings]

The idea is simple: in the very recent past, in a TL3^ normal mana setting, the practice of magic was well-established. Then something changed, and now no mage can spend more than 1 energy on any casting of any spell. What effects might this have on magical practices and the standing and professional functions of magicians?

An important setting element is that astrological and decanic modifiers do apply and both raise effective skill and reduce fatigue costs.

[ericthered]

So before they could only spend a single point, and now they can spend a bunch?

well, first off, you go from a very limited spell list to a very expansive one.

A while back I (in conjunction with hal) did a deep dive on what spells are economy shaking in low tech, and they're basically all more than 1 energy:

• Shape Earth
• Earth to Stone
• Hair Growth
• Bless Plants

[Varyon]

I'm assuming there's a typo in the opening post, and it's meant to be "now mages can't spend more than 1 energy on any casting of a spell."

A big one is going to be that, unless that's a per-person limit rather than a per-spell limit, large ritual castings - or any casting with multiple people working together - are no longer possible. This also means no new magic items.

You'd probably have Johnny-One-Spells being encouraged in many cases, with mages focusing on perfecting a single spell to get their skill level as high as possible to reduce casting costs. Those astrological/decanic/traditional trappings are going to see heavy use for similar reasons.

[RyanW]

(I also assume you meant they suddenly can't spend more than one point)

The effect depends on the specifics. Or, possibly, the specifics depend on the wanted effect. As suggested by Varyon, there's the question of whether N mages, casting ritually, are limited to N points or 1 point.

Another question is whether mages can use other power sources in addition (pre-cataclysm powerstones, bits harvested from magical creatures/plants/minerals, etc.). If these exist (and allow casters to go past the 1 point limit) they become highly valuable. Do you want mages (or adventuring parties hired by mages) to undertake dangerous quests hunting down rumored magic energy sources?

[Whitewings]

That was indeed supposed to be “no mage.” And yes, the limit is per caster.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by Whitewings

That was indeed supposed to be “no mage.” And yes, the limit is per caster.

What about for large ceremonies, where friendly spectators are able to each contribute 1 energy? Would these still be restricted to 1 energy per mage involved (meaning spectators can only serve to let a mage cast without using their own reserves*), or would all of the participants count as "casters" and thus you'd be able to cast a 100 energy spell with one mage and 99 friendly spectators?

EDIT: Well, depending on how you set them up (and your setting's metaphysics), they may be able to count as part of astrological/decanic/traditional trappings - a group of chanting cultists is a classic - and thus help that way, rather than by actually contributing energy.

[Whitewings]

Non-mage participants can't contribute energy, but they can perform actions that count toward trappings, like wearing appropriate amulets and holding suitably scented candles. Holding dragonsblood-scented candles for a ceremony invoking Roêlêd, for example, and wearing Leo amulets.

[RGTraynor]

One major question: is this a change that just now happened, or has it been a decade or two, and the society's already adapted?

I'm just spitballing here, but some of the changes that might take place over the long term?

* There are far fewer mages. A lot of people might not bother, if the best they can hope for is to be petty hedge witches. More powerful mages might blow themselves up in experiments to reclaim their power, or be snuffed by enemies who could now take them out with impunity.

* Those mages who do exist are going to be highly motivated to research variants on RAW spells which only require that single point of energy. Might Relieve Sickness now become Reduce Sickness? Plant Growth that forces only one week's growth than one month's? Area spells that affect less than a full hex?

* Combat mages as such cease to exist. Sorry, but putting a PC hat on, I'm not dumping a heap of points into Magery + spells so I can max out at lobbing a 1d Fireball. (It's not as if there was a concurrent change that restricted melee fighters to nothing heavier than a large knife.) Adventuring mages will be utility knives -- or else be more by way of "just happens to have four or five spells into the bargain" -- and would have to be creative. §

* Anti-mage groups/religions get a big leg up. The mages are less of a threat, they're less socially useful to the power elite.

* Obviously "fair" market value for any magic item goes through the roof, and self-Powering items are priceless artifacts. Mages will be assassinated by other mages coveting their Powerstones. Any genuine artifacts become items over which nations go to war.

§ - For instance, my wife's healer (who doesn't have any combat spells) in a recent run neutralized the Big Bad Wizard. She was just a few feet away from him as he was loudly chanting his next devastating spell ... and dropped an Ember on his tongue. Charging PC fighter, no longer worried about being turned into a pillar of goo or somesuch, did the rest.

[Whitewings]

I’m thinking two to three decades, enough for the immediate effects to settle out, but the longer term consequences are still developing. Oh, and Powerstones are normally useable, though enchanting them is a major pain.

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by RGTraynor

There are far fewer mages. A lot of people might not bother, if the best they can hope for is to be petty hedge witches. More powerful mages might blow themselves up in experiments to reclaim their power, or be snuffed by enemies who could now take them out with impunity.

Blowing yourself up with a 1 energy spell seems rather unlikely, although they may experiment with deadly elixirs and the like in an attempt to defeat the current restrictions (much as alchemists poisoned themselves and their clients with "immortality" potions). They certainly lose a lot of their protection, however (including social protection, as you note later).

Originally Posted by RGTraynor

Those mages who do exist are going to be highly motivated to research variants on RAW spells which only require that single point of energy. Might Relieve Sickness now become Reduce Sickness? Plant Growth that forces only one week's growth than one month's? Area spells that affect less than a full hex?

High investment in single spells may also be a result, as IIRC every +5 to skill above 15 is -1 to energy cost. Shape Earth 20 lets you use Shape Earth on up to 2 cubic yards, Plant Growth 25 allows you to cast the spell, etc. Considering OP has noted that the restriction is per mage rather than per spell, you could still have circles of mages casting some spells by each contributing 1 FP.

Originally Posted by RGTraynor

Obviously "fair" market value for any magic item goes through the roof, and self-Powering items are priceless artifacts. Mages will be assassinated by other mages coveting their Powerstones. Any genuine artifacts become items over which nations go to war.

OP has stated the restriction is per mage, and I suspect this would mean Slow and Sure would still be an option (which is 1 energy per mage per day). You'll lose Quick and Dirty, which I believe will make the cost of most Powerstones jump up markedly, but S&S items should still be doable. I think.

I also feel that, in a 1-energy-per-mage magic system, Powerstones aren't going to be in very high demand. Going from being able to put 10 energy in a spell to 20 energy with a 10-energy Powerstone is pretty useful; going from being able to cast up to 10 spells before needing to rest for a little less than an hour (assuming you have Recover Energy 15), for approximately up to 80 spells in a workday, to being able to do the same but also having another pool of 10 spells that regenerate at a rate of 1 per day, isn't that much of a boost (you basically get an extra hour's worth of spellcasting once every 10 days). Well, unless Powerstones let you break that limit so long as no more than 1 energy is contributed by you personally; then you're going to see markedly-increased demand for Powerstones, and combined with them now calling for S&S instead of Q&D to produce, their value will likely jump quite a bit.