> That's a fair point, but I still think that most common
magic
> should make the user a better person in their culture instead of a
better
> warrior, basket maker, or whatever. Find Lost Child makes a lot
more sense
> than Bladesharp (or Raise Barn).
Two points I want to reply to here:
I think the point about a specialist leading a communal service is
actually not all that theistic. The west does communal magic,
theists are all about the relationship between you and your god.
HOWEVER, if you read the rules about mass action, essentially the
leaders most relevant ability will augment the collective effort, and
of course your leader will use all of his own augments on his
ability. So it is still important to have a good carpenter leading
the effort. Also the mass action rules call for the supporters to
use their best most relevant skill. I would think that most
heortling farmers would have to improvise off a key word for barn
raising, but as OA initiates could augment with their "making"
affinity.
Secondly, I think a lot of common magic is potentially availabe, but cultures have only found, made common, and retained, those abilities that seem relevant. But there is no mass church in most cases saying "we will teach the "find lost child" feat but not the "make beer more potent" feat. Rather it is a much more informal network of people teaching others what they know that the others also want to know. So my grandfather knew how to sacrifice to Mr. Toad to learn the "make beer more potent" feat, and he passed it on to me one day, and I taught my buds tom, dick, and harry, cause they are good mates and deserve to enjoy life too. Which is not to say my grandfather couldn't have also taught me "find lost child" and that I might not teach my mates if we had to all go out and find some lost child. But most of them are probably less willing to go out of their way to get me to teach it, and to go wait on a hill on the right day until midnight when Five Stray Winds comes to court Three Ripe Berries, and is willing to accept a sacrifice to teach the feat.
Now, we may have a different view of how organized common religions are, and in truth they probably vary a lot. We may also have different takes on who can teach common magic.
> >While I agree in principle, two masteries in Common Magic ought to
> >outshine a stripling's 17 in the affinities. Some people like
Griselda are
> >heavy duty Common Magic users. (Is there a rewritten Griselda for
> >HeroQuest?)
>
> Yes, but a 10W2 Combat God Devotee should kick a 10W2
Common Magic
> Expert's butt in combat, although the CME might have a broader pool
of
> abilities (that "I'm stronger than all who are faster than me and
faster
> than all who are stronger" effect).
>
Actually, I would say that the combat god devotee who has sunk 100 HP
into various combat abilities should outstrip the CM user who has
sunk 100 HP into combat abilities. (abilities = mundane skills +
magic). A devotee with 10W2 in Humakt's Deat Magic will probably
beat someone with almost no magic and 10W2 in sword and shield, but
one would certainly hope that this is the case, since it took far
more HP for the devotee to achieve that level.
The problem right now is that as far as augments go, a CM user who
gets to choose his fight has an advantage. If he has raised 3
abilities to the same level as the theists Combat affinity, he will
get three times the combat augment. However this is balanced by
things like:
- The theist can improvise feats that such a focussed CM user may
have a hard time resisting.
- They each only get one augment out of first magic, which in many
fights is all that matters.
- The Combat affinity is always applicable. The CM user who has
sharp sword, harden leather, and swift strike, with sharp sword as
his first magic, will find himself in trouble when a brawl suddenly
erupts and he is in shirt sleeves, the theist won't.
- If the theist gets a magic sword and magic armor, he can use their
magic for further augments, while the CM user is already using his
full quota of magical augments, which evens things up even when the
CM user gets to fully 'power up.'
- The theist almost surely gets to do cooler and more varied things,
which is not quite the same as being more powerful, but is worth
somethnig as a player!
--Bryan
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