Extracts and Spheres of Power

[legomaster00156]

I'm looking at running a game without the use of traditional magic, meaning that all spellcasters are instead spherecasters. However, I'm not sure how to handle alchemists and investigators, who instead use their psuedo-spell extracts. Any suggestions?

[Grod_The_Giant]

Mechanically they're pretty close to classic Vancean magic, and can produce some (though by no means all) of the same effects. Conceptually, you could go either way. I think the answer is going to depend on why you're running the game without Vancean magic.

[TheIronGolem]

I'm looking at running a game without the use of traditional magic, meaning that all spellcasters are instead spherecasters. However, I'm not sure how to handle alchemists and investigators, who instead use their psuedo-spell extracts. Any suggestions?

Both of those classes have archetypes that replace extracts with spherecasting. Were you not aware of this, or are you specifically looking to keep extracts?

[legomaster00156]

The main reason is that the setting fits the system of spheres better than it suits the system of magic schools. There are explicitly light mages, necromancers, healers, etc., which all sounds a lot more like specialized spherecasters than spellcasters.
As for the archetypes, no, I was not yet aware of them.

[digiman619]

The main reason is that the setting fits the system of spheres better than it suits the system of magic schools. There are explicitly light mages, necromancers, healers, etc., which all sounds a lot more like specialized spherecasters than spellcasters.
As for the archetypes, no, I was not yet aware of them.

The Investigator only has one (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/psyforensic), but the Alchemist has (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/archaic-alchemist) three (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/combat-engineer) archetypes (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/essentialist) for Spheres of Power, and both (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/battered-detective) have (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/mortal-chemist) archetypes for the new Spheres of Might system. (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/spheres-of-might)

[legomaster00156]

I noticed that the Archaic Alchemist archetype could also just as easily be granted to the Investigator, so this works very well. I'll just throw in the Apothecary tradition (including the Medicinal drawback for Life) and call it good.

[digiman619]

Glad I could help.

[Dr_Dinosaur]

Also thr creators have stated that while they wrote archetypes to give the alchemy classes spherecasting, they actually consider it to be the one place Vancian makes sense and that just having extracts be their own thing works just fine.