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Dhavaer
2006-11-07, 05:53 AM
Okie-dokie.

I'm trying to do something very much similar to the Urban Arcana incantations system, but with slightly easier, non-Knowledge based casting, and more subtle effects.

Instead of arcane and divine spells (okay, all incantations are the same, but hey) I'm thinking of Left Hand spells and Right Hand spells. Left Hand is somewhat closer to arcane, mostly giving bonuses or inflicting penalties. It's Charisma based and has the possibility of ill-effects. Right Hand is more divine, with mostly healing effects. It's not keyed to an ability, instead it becomes easier to cast as more people are involved.

Left-Hand Path

Righty. To perform a Left Hand ritual, you make a Charisma check, as normal. You gain particular bonuses dependant on what equipment you have. Standard equipment is: a candle, crystal, or representation of yourself (representing spirit), a chalice (basically just a cup, representing water), an athame (blunted dagger, representing air), a pentacle (representing earth), and a wand (representing fire).
Missing any of the elemental equipment inflicts a -1 penalty on your Charisma. Missing the representation of spirit inflicts a -2 penalty.

You can also consecrate the equipment, which requires a spell of its own. A consecration spell requires 3 successful Charisma checks, and only needs the piece of equipment to be consecrated and a representation of spirit. Failing the spell makes the piece of equipment magically unfit; it cannot be consecrated and no longer averts the penalty for lacking equipment. Succeeding drains you of 500xp and grants a +1 bonus to your Charisma whenever that piece of equipment is used.

You must also be able to fulfil the requirements of at least 2 Laws of Magic, the Law of Names, the Law of Connection and the Law of Sympathy. Modern Magic, by The Game Mechanics, has some excellent tables for this, but the sort version is that the Law of Names requires the target's name, the more personal the better. (So knowing they were called Slappy in high school is better than knowing their full birth name). The Law of Connection requires the presence of the target, or a part of them (blood is best, a personal possession is acceptable). The Law of Sympathy likes having things similar to the spell's intent. (Having a wallet or chequebook when casting a spell to make money is good, having a peace symbol when casting a curse is bad)

Assuming you've managed to get all of that stuff, now the casting starts. You make a Charisma check once for every 10 minutes of casting, just like for an incantation. You can't, of course, take 10 on a roll for spellcasting.
If you fail two in a row, the spell fails. Once you've passed the required number, generally something like 5 or 6, the spell is cast, and the target has to save. All saves against magic are Will saves, although they frequently affect other saves, or cause them indirectly. The save DC is equal to the Charisma check DC. Following the casting of a ritual, successful or not, the caster is exhausted until they rest for at least 8 hours. Following the rest, the caster is fatigued for 1 hour for each unsuccessful check made. You can't cast when you're exhausted. Casting when fatigued gives you a -4 penalty to Charisma, and you need a full day's rest to recover from exhaustion instead of 8 hours.

Let's have a shot at a ritual.

Destruction Ritual

The Destruction ritual requires at least 5 DC 15 Charisma checks. It lasts for one day per successful check made. For the duration of the spell, the target suffers a -2 penalty to Fortitude saves. If the target spends an action point on a Fortitude save during the duration, the action point's result counts as a penalty instead of a bonus, and the spell immediately ends.

Does this seem at all balanced? If it does, and I'm not overly discouraged or sane in the morning, I'll post some more rituals then. I'd appreciate some input as to how Right Hand rituals might work. They aren't intended to function for a small number of casters, so possibly having each caster give a +1/4 levels might be functional.

Dhavaer
2006-11-07, 08:14 PM
Right Hand Path

To perform a Right Hand ritual, you need at least 3 people to participate. You can and should have more. Each participant grants a +1 bonus to the check for each 5 levels they have, minimum 1. Racial hit die don't count. If a participant has an object they hold as sacred (a crucifix for a Christian, a blessed amulet for a Wiccan, etc) they count as 1 level higher. If they have a particularly sacred relic (a piece of the True Cross for the aforementioned Christian, for example) or are in a particularly sacred place (the Dome of the Rock for a Muslim, though I may have that wrong) they count as 2 levels higher. Note that the object or place needs no power of its own, it must merely be thought of as sacred.

If they are in somewhere or in close proximity to an object that they feel is hostile to their faith (a desecrated church or inverted cross to that Christian I keep picking on) they count as 2 levels lower.

The Right Hand path doesn't need to pay attention to the laws of magic, but then, they can't get any benefits from them either. The target of the ritual needs to be within the same room as the ritual itself, and if unwilling must be restrained.

A level check is made each 10 minutes, with no taking 10. The multiple casters don't make seperate checks, only one check is made every 10 minutes for any one ritual. Failing 10 checks in a row means failure, and failure means the each participant is disheartened for a number of days equal to the total number of failures in the ritual. Someone who is disheartened cannot participate in Right Hand rituals.

Success in the ritual, however, means that the casters are full of faith and confidence. They get a +1 bonus to Will saves for the next 24 hours.

Example Right Hand rituals:

Prayer for Health
Praying for someone's health requires at least 5 DC 25 checks. It lasts for 1 day per successful check. For the duration, the target recieves a +2 bonus to saves against disease and poison.

Restore Faith
Restoring faith requires at least 6 DC 30 checks. If successful, it removes the disheartened condition from the target.

Dhavaer
2006-11-07, 11:48 PM
That flavory stuff

Left Hand rituals don't benefit from having anyone else around. You can't get a bonus from secondary casters or aid another. The only thing another person can do to make an impression on your ritual is annoy you enough to disrupt your concentration, which is, obviously, a bad thing for you. The only reason you might get someone else to help you cast is if your target has a really high Will save, and then the other person can cast at the same time you can and you can both hope that one of your spells sticks.
Left Hand rituals are powered by the caster's own personal strength. The various equipment has no power in and of itself, it simply provides a way for the caster to channel their power more efficiently. Consecrated equipment is more closely attuned to the caster who performed the consecration, and so they can use it still more efficiently.
The Laws of Magic work similarly; an analogy might be that the spell is a car, the caster's Charisma is the petrol, the equipment is the fuel lines, filters, valves, etc, and the various knick-knacks related to the Laws of Magic are the road. The target's shoelace is a partly trampled trail, and the target's blood is a highway.

After casting a Left Hand ritual, the caster feels drained but satisfied, and somewhat empowered. Experiencing the flow of one's spirit through the ritual can be inspiring, and Left Hand casters often feel motivated to draw, write, compose or otherwise channel their creative energies. However, sustained casting over a long period of weeks can make more negative changes in the caster, instilling arrogance and manipulative tendancies.

Collin152
2006-11-08, 09:59 PM
Well, i love using Incantations, and I love Varient magic systems. it dosent seem very... clear. in my hasty thinking state I cant really analyze it. What are these "laws of magic" you reference?

FarseerUlthran
2006-11-08, 10:13 PM
Very neat and well written. I rarely allow magic in my campaigns but I may have to introduce these (I play d20 Modern).
Thank you.

Dhavaer
2006-11-09, 12:00 AM
Well, i love using Incantations, and I love Varient magic systems. it dosent seem very... clear. in my hasty thinking state I cant really analyze it. What are these "laws of magic" you reference?

Laws of Magic table ahoy!

If anyone could tell me how to make a table, that'd be sweet.

Law of Names
Full name of target: +1 to Cha
Alias or nickname of target: +1
Special or legal document with the target's full name (i.e. birth certificate): +2
Baptismal, confirmation or secret society name: +4
'True Name' of target (only applicable to outsiders): +8

Law of Connection
Target present: +1
Personal possession present: +1
Ritual tool consecrated by target: +2
Nail clippings or hair: +2
Blood or other body fluid: +4

Law of Sympathy
Symbolic represtentaion of spell's effect (snapping a bone or burning an effigy for a Destruction Ritual): +1
Physical representation of target (doll, toy, puppet, etc): +1
Photo or realistic representation of target: +2
Target is physically manipulated in a symbolic way: +4
Symbols run counter to intent (peace symbols present for Destruction Ritual): +1 - +4, GM fiat.

These are pretty much straight from Modern Magic, so

"Modern Magic (Print), Copyright 2004, The Game Mechanics, Inc; Authors: Eric Cagle, Mike Montesa, Rich Redman, Mat Smith, and Stan!"