Making Common Magic Unique

[alex_greene]

Here's an alternative rule for Common Magic which makes it unique and even more incompatible with both Sorcery and Divine Magic.

Instead of drawing upon Magic Points, each cast Common Magic spell costs 1 Fatigue, regardless of the Magnitude of the spell cast. The spell takes the normal amount of time to cast, as outlined in Legend Core Rulebook.

The character casts the spell and accumulates levels of Fatigue based on the success of the Common Magic roll:-

Critical Success: Common Magic spell costs zero Fatigue.
Success: Common Magic spell activates. Caster accumulates +1 Fatigue level.
Failure: Common Magic spell does not activate. Caster accumulates +1 Fatigue level.
Fumble: Common Magic spell does not activate. Caster accumulates +2 Fatigue levels.

Of course, this would make a magician with the Tireless Heroic Ability somewhat hard to defeat. Games Masters should feel free to forbid that Heroic Ability to characters who possess Common Magic, or simply state that the Fatigue acquired as a result of Common Magic bypasses that Heroic Ability; even heroes who cast Common Magic have to shake it off the hard way.

[soltakss]

Good idea. Having magic tire someone out is a common theme of fantasy fiction, after all.

I would have it as a style of Common Magic, for certain magicians. It wouldn't suit undead as they are tireless as well.

[Da Boss]

Thats a really cool idea - even just as a variant of the main rules or for a specific type of magician or style.

thanks

[alex_greene]

Think of it as a bloodless variant of the Exsanguination rules from Arcania of Legend: Blood Magic.

If Games Masters are okay with using this rule, they can rule for fairness' sake that Fatigue levels lost through Common Magic are recovered more quickly than Fatigue levels lost through hard work - from rest in half-hour units, perhaps, rather than units of two hours' rest per Fatigue level regained.

The interesting thing about the Fatigue system, that I've just noticed, is that the Fatigue table on page 90 calls for Persistence tests when the character drops to the Exhausted and Debilitated Fatigue levels.

I mean, it's got to be Resilience, surely?

[soltakss]

I suppose Persistence to actively overcome the tiredness.

Resilience is normally used when something is trying to overcome you.

[alex_greene]

I figured that Resilience was to resist things affecting the physical body, and Persistence for things affecting the mind and soul.

[Lord High Munchkin]

I read it as "mind over matter" to struggle on.