Re: Animists vs Devotees

From: Mark Galeotti <mark_at_...> <mark_at_...>
Date: Wed, 08 Jan 2003 14:58:12 -0000


There is an imbalance if animists (or indeed those from sorcerous cultures) are compared minimax style against theists - FWIW, this is something addressed in HQ. However it is not quite so simply a case of 5 one-use fetishes vs 3 unlimited-use affinities. A starting animist character can have integrated one spirit (for unlimited use talent magic) for every 2 fetishes given up in chargen (HW p213), so we could be talking 2 unlimited-use magics + 1 one-use vs 3 u-u- magics. An imbalance, sure, but not so severe. And talents can then be increased at a rate of 1HP/pt instead of the 3HP affinities cost.

Furthermore, this whole arms race minimax issue is a bit of a red herring.

(a) The 100 word approach allows you to completely reshape the base
template. One initiate might have his 3 affinities and little more, an animist might use some of those words and start off with an array of fetishes and talents.

(b) It's not about raw power. At present I'm playing in a game as an
Esvulari squire, and the sum total of my magic is a handful of petty knacks such as Tidy Up! Sure, at first it was a wrench compared with theist devotees able to do massive magics, but the game works just as well at this power level, and we can still have a blast.

All the best

Mark

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