Re: Concentrating Magic

From: Ashley Munday <aescleal_at_...>
Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2007 02:23:11 +0100 (BST)


What's wrong with the idea of saying that if a character has "Concentrated in A" X and they try using magic from realm/sphere/kazi B then the minimum resistance they have to overcome to get it to work is X. If the ability used this way would make no difference use it to augment the opponent's resistance.

So if a character has "Master of sorcerous magic 15W3" and they want to use their "Snake singing charm 1w" then they'd better have some funky augments. The whole alien world thing now just adjusts concentration abilities - +20 to the level of the ability for the world you're on.

Conversely just bin the whole rules for concentration and if someone wants to take a shed load of concentration type abilities ("I've talked to Orlanth," "I can see the Storm Realm from the corner of my eye", "Daemon's heed my voice") then let them work as any other abilities. If it's a special case, it's no fun so bin it.

Cheers,

Ash

>
> >> > 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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