Ian Thomson:
>Does anyone have knowledge of a set of rules/ideas that equate this,
>from any rpg system?
Some RPGs with 'freeform' sorcery rules with VERY brief summaries:
- Ars Magica (Atlas Games)
Medieval game featuring Hermetic wizards. All the 'technical terms' are in Latin.
Spells are cast by combining one of five 'Techniques' (i.e., Creo to Create) with any one
of 14 'Forms' (i.e., Ignem is Fire, Aquam is Water). You might use 'Creo Ignem' (Create
Fire) to cast a fireball. As long as you're skilled enough, you can do almost anything.
The rules are set up to let you either cast Spontaneous Magic (making it up on the spot)
or Formulaic Magic (a 'spell' that you've learned and practiced lots), which is much easier.
- Mage (White Wolf)
Modern-day gothic horror, featuring the 'future' of the world presented in Ars Magica.
The rules show similarities but are not compatible. Spells are cast by combining one
or more of 9 Spheres of Magick, such as Time and Matter to produce any effect you can
think of, limited by the level of skill you have in the Sphere in question. All spells are
'improvised' and tend to be made up on the spot - you might use, say, a combination
of Life and Matter to turn someone into stone. Spells that are 'coincidental' (i.e., don't
look like any magic actually happened) are easier than blatant acts of magic, like turning
someone into stone...
There is also a GURPS version of Mage and a version set during the Renaissance.
- GURPS Magic (Steve Jackson Games)
Has a little stuff about improvising magic, but if you don't have a copy don't buy it just for this.
- Maelstrom (Puffin Books)
A very old and obscure game about the 17th century. Had a *very* simple magic system which
divided *all* spells into 5 levels of difficulty, largely based on how blatantly they contradicted the
'laws of nature'.
Ars Magica and Mage are *particularly* good games.
As this is the Glorantha digest and not the 'general magic RPGs digest', I'll not go into it any
more. Someone might shout at me or, worse, get all sarcastic. :-)
Feel free to mail me at bruce_at_ellechino.demon.co.uk if you want to discuss this stuff at more
length off-digest.
Regards,
Bruce
End of The Glorantha Digest V6 #251