Re: Re: Basic magic question

From: Alex Ferguson <abf_at_...>
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 21:11:54 +0100 (BST)

> >IOW, if you have a fly spell, you can fly as often as you like. Some things
> >I know are limitted to, say with Healing, per wound. But a healer could heal
> >a whole battlefield (and someone who raises undead could also, presumably,
> >raise a whole battlefield).

> Yes. Someone with a knife can kill an entire village.

Well, the difference is I already knew that, so Hero Wars telling me it wasn't such a shock. OTOH, the idea that magic is like a running tap is surprising, and on a deep level, Wrong.

I wouldn't propose making wholesale rules changes, though. It'd just be too annoying and disruptive to have some sort of 'bookkeeping rules'. I'd mainly just suggest applying *gasp* common sense, if the narrator feels they are 'abusing' their magic, or 'taking it for granted'.

As Nick was saying on the GD, _sacrificial_ magic is very much a case of "do ut des", or to put it in less fancy Latin, quid pro quo. If you over-use your magic, 'piety mods' ought to come into play at some point. Contrariwise, if someone makes some extraordinary sacrifice to their god (ritually prepared, or extemporised), then gratuitous one-off bonuses would be in order. The 'mystical strike' rules for some secrets are _sort of_ trying to do this; alas, they're desparately broken.

Cheers,
Alex.

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