Re: Concentrating Magic

From: Roderick and Ellen Robertson <rjremr_at_...>
Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:26:34 -0700

>> > If you wanted something more complicated, I'd go
>> for a
>> > "concentrated in <otherworld>" ability, to be used
>> as
>> > a positive or negative augment as appropriate. I'm
>> > pretty sure it's been suggested before. Numbers
>> would
>> > need a bit of juggling to get the right effect,
>> but
>> > that's a question for the Rules list rather than
>> this
>> > one.

I don't think this is the best way. Concentration in one Otherworld eliminates the possibility of concentrating in another, which having it be "just a skill" doesn't - a hero should *not* have anything like: Concentrated in Theism 17,
Concentrated in Animism 2w
Concentrated in Sorcery 15w3
(Sure, you can put a caveat on the use of this one type of skill "Can't have any other Concentration abilities", but that's adding a "special rule" and thus complexity).

>My feeling was that for a negative augment to
>effectively stop another form of magic from working at
>all, it would need to be a -17 augment. I won't work
>out the ability level that implies, but it's
>ridiculously large. And the "stops it completely"
>level of ability should be *normal* for a fully
>concentrated devotee.

The level would need to be 10w8*. And a -17 wouldn't *stop* a "Magical feat 18w2" type ability, just reduce it to a "mere" 1w2.

>Working the other way, do we really want a
>Concentrated person to get a +17 to their magical
>abilities?

Not *my* cup of tea, thanks.

>I like the idea of everything being an ability, but
>having suggested this, I still don't see how to make
>it workable. Let's hope someone else is better with
>Numbers than I am (not hard!)

To eliminate the -20 Otherworld Penalty (a feature of the current Concentration rules, and something people probably want to keep), you need a 1w10* ability rating. That would still only be a -20 to ability; which would annoy, but not stop, multiple-mastery people.

*real numbers required would be 6w8 and 16w9 due to rounding up, but 1, 10 and 20 are cleaner numbers...

I think going with a binary system ("If you are concentrated, you simply can't use other magic, and you get XYZ benefits") is better than the skill idea, frankly.

RR
He was born with the gift of laughter and the sense that the world was mad R. Sabatini, Scaramouche

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