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View Full Version : Limitations for the limitless. Rules and definitions for a custom magic system.



Zakier
2016-11-29, 10:24 AM
During another discussion on this and other forums, it was stated more than once that while my magic sysyem is interesting it is incomplete. If not incomplete than far too open ended allowing abuses in droves and no incentive to play anything other than a mage. Even skills beyond knowledge check would be useless.

I want to adopt rules and limits to the system to address this problem.

My design so far is basically as follows.

Magic consist of 12 schools and 6 levels of mastery for each school that give access to different ways of manipulation for that school.


This list is not final. May require blending or splitting. Not sure that I've got everything covered.


Life: living beings, flesh, healing, humanoids and animals, diseases, bacteria, essentially anything living.

Death: anything that was once living and now is not, Decay, Bones,

Fate: Chaos, Change, Random Chance, Destiny. Luck.

Matter: earth, plants, rocks, mass, metal water, minerals, chemicals, gasses.

Spirit: Ghost, Astral Projection, Ectoplasm, Etherial concepts, The Soul.

Mind: Thoughts, dreams, Conciousness, desire, telepathy, language, intelligence.

Time: time, precognition, postcognition, past, future.

space: distance between, separation, physical location.

Forces: fire, wind, gravity, electricity, Kendrick Energy, Radiation.

void: absence, the fabric between, nothingness. Shadows,

planes: Deminsions, the Realms, reality

Magic: the raw power of creation, cosmic energy, divinity.

I mayb want to expand, alter and rename these. Possibly all three.


Manipulations are how you want to effect things. I've been using the mage the awakening system but I don't know if I want to stick with those practices.

If you have ideas on a different list of how things are effected (named more scientifically or magically) ide be happy to hear.


Currently the list is

5 Apprentice:
Compelling, concealing,

10 Initiate:
divining, revealing,

15 Disciple:
Commanding, warding

20 Journeyman:
modifying, strengthening,

25 Adept:
Transforming, weakening,

30 Master:
creating destroying.

In that order through your ranks Apprentice to master with 2 practices available per rank.




Simple spells require only knowledge in a single school while the more powerful spells may require 3 or more in a single casting.

This process Includes manipulating a spell in multiple ways. Like Transforming a dog into a grizzly bear and commanding it to obey all verbal commands. Transform and command are both Manipulations but doing the above requires both the life school and the mind school and both spells while possible individually work better in conjunction with each other in this situation.



Mana is drawn from the Aether flow. Rather than inherently part of a person like bioelectricoty is. Mana is external but a good 50-75% of society is capable of drawing mana.



Binding is a skill that allows a mage to weave a spell into items, places, people etc. Basically it's enchanting (no current limits as work in progress)



Formulae can be written out using a mixed symbols/Rune system that much resembles scientific equations. Using this and "Grimoirs" a mage can (with practice) cast more Weavings at once since the book frees up a portion of the mind from having to keep the wanted effect imagined. A


Mechanical limitations:

The avg person cannot cast more than a single spell at once. (Stat wise an avg stat is 5. Weaving max unaided is determined by agi+int/5 rounded down with a final Max of 4 currently. I know I don't want players to be able to blend all schools at once as that's for sure over powered) the Fluff entails that handling too much of the raw magical forces at once can wreak havoc on the mind and body.

Ranks in a particular school are purchased with training points.

Each school requires the player to rank up at least 12 points in a mastery level before being able to put points in the next mastery level.

The points can be distributed however one wishes between the two practices in that mastery.

The player cannot have more ranks in a level than they do in previous levels. (Can't be a 6 rank master if your only a 5 rank apprentice)

Your total casting score is a combination of the ranks in that particular practice for that school and whatever you roll. Plus your skill rank in the relevant skill, drawing, binding, concentration, Weaving.

Casting a spell requires the player to define what they wish to do, to what, how and with what.

The base dc's are based on answering these questions.



Jhin the mage wishes to attack his enemy with magic. His ranks in forces grant him access to Disciple level skills. Around him is no fire or ready lightning. He wants to cause damage not anything else so gravity is useless, nothing is moving so no kinetic energy and no ready source of radiation. This leaves wind available.

Jhin wants to use his ranks in forces to command the wind twice. First to spin in a disc pattern creating a cutting edge. Second to fly at his enemy.

(You cannot command multiple actions at once. If what you want your spell to do requires you saying "and" then it's a second spell)

Disciple level effects cost 15. (This is also the base dc)

When Weaving, each spell and effect must be rolled individually with a penalty applied to every effect past the first of -2 (or a +2 to the DC if you prefer)

A player also must have enough mana to cast the spell.

In this situation were going to assume that jhin succeeded in drawing sufficient mana beforehand.

The final mana cost for this spell would be 15+17=32

Since this is not an extended duration type spell (which has increases in DC and mana cost at multiples of 5 per upgrade from instant to rounds, minutes, hours, 24 hours) there is no increase in its dc.

However the spell is ranged.

All spells baseline for free at touch range.

Increase the DC appropriately for the category uograde.

In this case short range 5' to 30' = +5 dc/mana

Only the second spell requires range.

17+5 = 22

Combined mana cost is 15 + 22 = 37

Roll each dc separately using your weacing magic skill rank (in jhin's case 7= 4 basic skill magic + 3 advanced skill weaving) plus the relevant Stat (7) (14) plus the rank in the practice. (His command practice is rank 4 (14+4=18)

The dice rolled is 2d20 one positive one negative.

He rolls a +15/-6 (15-6=9)

18+9=27 first roll

Second roll 17/-5 =12

18+12=30

His total Roll for Weaving this spell is 57. It's overall DC was 37.

The base damage for a spell is equal to the mana cost. In this case 37.

Jhin exceeded the spell dc by a large amount and in this system gives back that extra effort towards skills and magic as a currency called surge.

Surge can be spent to extend a duration, increase range or increases strength of an effect. (Buffs and debunks cost 5 per increase, damage cost 1 per point. )

Jhin was well within range so he spends half the points towards extra damage. +10 to damage.

The other half of his points he decides to hold onto, refilling his main mana pool. Mana recharged by 10.


The target has to succeed in a reflex or defense roll equal to the DC of the part of the spell that was the attack. In this case the command to fly at him.

Defense dc is 22.




The limits of binding have not been determined, the process of inscribing pre-made Weavings to a Grimoirs has not been determined.


Yes the system is complicated. It's meant to be. Magic in this system and the skill system and combat are designed to involve critical thinking. TactiCal combat is rewarding.

How you do it is meant to be as important as what you do.


What are your thoughts on the mechanics of the System as you see it?

What Fluff limitations do you think need to be added to prevent things like pun pun? (other than the dm screaming no repeatedly)

Expansions or changes to the schools of study and the practices would be appreciated provided the base style of the System stays consistent.

Additionally, technology does exist openly in this setting and the schools of magic are meant to be viewed from a near scientific angle. Magic and technology are blended regularly and can effect eachother. (More details need to be worked out for this as well.

Zakier
2016-11-30, 02:42 PM
Bump, does Noone have an opinion?