Greywander
2021-05-12, 11:56 PM
There's a few different ideas for magic systems that I've been playing with that I'd like to implement alongside each other in order to give players different options for playing magical characters. I want each system to feel different and unique, and to appeal to different types of players and styles of play. At the moment, I'm leaning toward using Fudge as the basis on which to build an original system that includes these magic systems, but I'm not sure how relevant that will be.
The thing is, I'm not really sure what I should do mechanically for theurgy (aka Divine magic). I at least have a solid idea for what each of the other magic systems looks like, if not the exact implementation. It would probably be helpful for me to go over these other magic systems first so that you can sort of see what I'm going for as a whole as well as which mechanics already exist so that theurgy can be different from those.
Sorcery is basically your superhero magic. Many creatures have their own innate supernatural traits and abilities, and those traits and abilities sometimes manifest in humans as sorcery. Each sorcerer has one (or more) bloodline that determines which sorceries they'll have access to, as well as what sort of weakness they have. For example, a sorcerer with a fey bloodline will have access to things like shapeshifting and illusions, and will find their sorceries foiled by iron (e.g. offensive sorceries can't penetrate iron armor, or slap a pair of iron handcuffs on 'em and they can't use any fey sorcery).
Sorceries will probably be either at-will or running on some kind of stamina mechanic. In any case, they're mostly spammable and viable for combat use. This makes sorcery quite powerful, but the tradeoff will likely be a high XP cost to level up multiple sorceries. Because of this, many sorcerers will probably just pick up a few build-defining sorceries and use them to enhance otherwise mundane abilities. The end result will likely look a lot like a comic book superhero. "Full caster" sorcerers can be quite powerful, but also cost a lot of XP to build.
Geomagy is a ritual-based spellcasting system; basically magical programming via arcane symbols and geometric figures. Something like the alchemy of FMA. A geomagus is basically a wizard, but because their magic is all rituals they have limited combat application. They can draw a spell on a scroll and carry it with them (and scrolls are not generally consumed), but we're probably talking something that is 3 or 6 feet in diameter, and the general rule is that the magic only affects things inside the magic circle. The size of the spell will affect its power, as well as needing to fit the spell's target entirely within the geometric figure, which is why you might need it to be that big. Some or all spells will also have spots drawn in to the figure where you need to place the material components, which may or may not be consumed. Otherwise, once a spell is drawn, it is permanently active until either part of it is erased or one of the components runs out.
I'm debating between making each individual spell a trait you have to spend XP for, and making a skill that lets you "freestyle" spells. I could do both; knowing a specific spell lets you draw it without needing to roll, and gives a bonus if you tweak that spell, whereas trying to freestyle has a risk of the spell simply not working or having an unintended effect. I'm still figuring out how dangerous this should be; I imagine that a fair number of mages simply disappear one day, the result of drawing a spell incorrectly with a catastrophic outcome, but I think I'd rather steer clear world-ending bugs in a spell's code. The universe must have pretty good error handling, otherwise an errant mage would have accidentally destroyed it by now from a typo in one of their spells.
Witchcraft is where you make contracts with spirits and other creatures to perform a service in exchange for payment. Any spirit you've contracted is called a familiar. Usually you're either finding spirits in the wild or learning a ritual that allows you to summon or contact that spirit (this might overlap with geomagy, though these rituals might also be something else entirely). Usually these contracts take the form of permanent minions, temporary summons, spellcasting-by-proxy (where you call up a familiar to use one of its abilities on your behalf), or buffing via possession (the spirit possesses you in order to extend some of its traits to you, e.g. a troll giving you regeneration; naturally there's some danger to this).
A big part of witchcraft is negotiating with the spirit and writing up a contract. What I have in mind is for a contract to read more like a D&D class feature and less like an actual legal document, so my plan is to basically create an outline of the different sections for a contract, each of which should only be one or two paragraphs. The most important parts would be Services (what the familiar is expected to do for you) and Payment (what you are expected to provide to the familiar), but other sections would deal with things such as the conditions under which the contract can be terminated, if you or your familiar can be compelled to provide services or payment against your will, and what the consequences are for violating the contract (e.g. failing to provide services or payment).
So now we come to Theurgy. Fundamentally, theurgy is the same type of magic as witchcraft, the major difference is the power of the spirits involved (gods vs. anything else) and your relationship with that spirit (ruler/subject vs. business transaction). Practically, the two are very different, mostly because the gods are so much stronger than any other spirit out there.
Each god will probably have their own system for determining who gets to be a theurge. I can broadly see splitting it into two categories: clerics, and prophets. Clerics are basically "super priests"; they are part of the priesthood and trained well beyond what most priests are, then undergo a ritual to see if their god chooses to extend their power to them. Those who are rejected return to the priesthood, but those who are chosen become full clerics, vessels of their god's divine will. Prophets, on the other hand, can be literally anyone, even someone who doesn't worship that god, and the god just decided to grant them power just because. Usually this is because the god in question tends to be the Chessmaster, and this particular person having divine power is all part of The Plan™. Clerics are generally expected to adhere to a set of tenets and to actively further their god's agenda, whereas prophets can do as they please but have no guaranty their power won't be taken away as suddenly as it was given. Mostly, this is just a difference in RP.
What I don't have figured out is the actual mechanical implementation of theurgy. What exactly are you spending XP on? How do you cast your spells? Does it expend a resource? Is there some randomness depending on how your god is feeling? How does theurgy fit in with, and differ from, the other magic systems described above? How can I use the mechanics to evoke the feeling of being a vessel of divine will?
That's kind of where I'm at. Anyway, I realize I rambled on a bit there, so thanks for taking the time to read through this.
The thing is, I'm not really sure what I should do mechanically for theurgy (aka Divine magic). I at least have a solid idea for what each of the other magic systems looks like, if not the exact implementation. It would probably be helpful for me to go over these other magic systems first so that you can sort of see what I'm going for as a whole as well as which mechanics already exist so that theurgy can be different from those.
Sorcery is basically your superhero magic. Many creatures have their own innate supernatural traits and abilities, and those traits and abilities sometimes manifest in humans as sorcery. Each sorcerer has one (or more) bloodline that determines which sorceries they'll have access to, as well as what sort of weakness they have. For example, a sorcerer with a fey bloodline will have access to things like shapeshifting and illusions, and will find their sorceries foiled by iron (e.g. offensive sorceries can't penetrate iron armor, or slap a pair of iron handcuffs on 'em and they can't use any fey sorcery).
Sorceries will probably be either at-will or running on some kind of stamina mechanic. In any case, they're mostly spammable and viable for combat use. This makes sorcery quite powerful, but the tradeoff will likely be a high XP cost to level up multiple sorceries. Because of this, many sorcerers will probably just pick up a few build-defining sorceries and use them to enhance otherwise mundane abilities. The end result will likely look a lot like a comic book superhero. "Full caster" sorcerers can be quite powerful, but also cost a lot of XP to build.
Geomagy is a ritual-based spellcasting system; basically magical programming via arcane symbols and geometric figures. Something like the alchemy of FMA. A geomagus is basically a wizard, but because their magic is all rituals they have limited combat application. They can draw a spell on a scroll and carry it with them (and scrolls are not generally consumed), but we're probably talking something that is 3 or 6 feet in diameter, and the general rule is that the magic only affects things inside the magic circle. The size of the spell will affect its power, as well as needing to fit the spell's target entirely within the geometric figure, which is why you might need it to be that big. Some or all spells will also have spots drawn in to the figure where you need to place the material components, which may or may not be consumed. Otherwise, once a spell is drawn, it is permanently active until either part of it is erased or one of the components runs out.
I'm debating between making each individual spell a trait you have to spend XP for, and making a skill that lets you "freestyle" spells. I could do both; knowing a specific spell lets you draw it without needing to roll, and gives a bonus if you tweak that spell, whereas trying to freestyle has a risk of the spell simply not working or having an unintended effect. I'm still figuring out how dangerous this should be; I imagine that a fair number of mages simply disappear one day, the result of drawing a spell incorrectly with a catastrophic outcome, but I think I'd rather steer clear world-ending bugs in a spell's code. The universe must have pretty good error handling, otherwise an errant mage would have accidentally destroyed it by now from a typo in one of their spells.
Witchcraft is where you make contracts with spirits and other creatures to perform a service in exchange for payment. Any spirit you've contracted is called a familiar. Usually you're either finding spirits in the wild or learning a ritual that allows you to summon or contact that spirit (this might overlap with geomagy, though these rituals might also be something else entirely). Usually these contracts take the form of permanent minions, temporary summons, spellcasting-by-proxy (where you call up a familiar to use one of its abilities on your behalf), or buffing via possession (the spirit possesses you in order to extend some of its traits to you, e.g. a troll giving you regeneration; naturally there's some danger to this).
A big part of witchcraft is negotiating with the spirit and writing up a contract. What I have in mind is for a contract to read more like a D&D class feature and less like an actual legal document, so my plan is to basically create an outline of the different sections for a contract, each of which should only be one or two paragraphs. The most important parts would be Services (what the familiar is expected to do for you) and Payment (what you are expected to provide to the familiar), but other sections would deal with things such as the conditions under which the contract can be terminated, if you or your familiar can be compelled to provide services or payment against your will, and what the consequences are for violating the contract (e.g. failing to provide services or payment).
So now we come to Theurgy. Fundamentally, theurgy is the same type of magic as witchcraft, the major difference is the power of the spirits involved (gods vs. anything else) and your relationship with that spirit (ruler/subject vs. business transaction). Practically, the two are very different, mostly because the gods are so much stronger than any other spirit out there.
Each god will probably have their own system for determining who gets to be a theurge. I can broadly see splitting it into two categories: clerics, and prophets. Clerics are basically "super priests"; they are part of the priesthood and trained well beyond what most priests are, then undergo a ritual to see if their god chooses to extend their power to them. Those who are rejected return to the priesthood, but those who are chosen become full clerics, vessels of their god's divine will. Prophets, on the other hand, can be literally anyone, even someone who doesn't worship that god, and the god just decided to grant them power just because. Usually this is because the god in question tends to be the Chessmaster, and this particular person having divine power is all part of The Plan™. Clerics are generally expected to adhere to a set of tenets and to actively further their god's agenda, whereas prophets can do as they please but have no guaranty their power won't be taken away as suddenly as it was given. Mostly, this is just a difference in RP.
What I don't have figured out is the actual mechanical implementation of theurgy. What exactly are you spending XP on? How do you cast your spells? Does it expend a resource? Is there some randomness depending on how your god is feeling? How does theurgy fit in with, and differ from, the other magic systems described above? How can I use the mechanics to evoke the feeling of being a vessel of divine will?
That's kind of where I'm at. Anyway, I realize I rambled on a bit there, so thanks for taking the time to read through this.