Alternative Magic Systems

[jwpacker]

Has anyone else experimented with alternatives to the default magic systems?

I've been tossing around a variation on the BRP style magic system where every spell is it's own advanced skill, but also ideas around having a separate skill for each college of magic, and a number of spells under each one.

The former limits magic pretty severely, as it takes a great deal of study (investment of starting points and future improvement rolls) to get more spells, or to get really good with the ones you already have.

I also like the idea of high skill giving you chances of casting spells for reduced or zero MP cost, either based on the score you have with that spell, or based on your roll, with critical successes always costing zero, and a reduction in the price of the spell by 1 for every, say 30% of your spell skill roll

(example: I know disruption at 55%. I cast it at magnitude 2, which ought to cost me two MP. I roll a 48 on my dice, which is higher than 30%, but less than 60% (or in this case 55%, as anything above that would be a failure), so the cost is reduced by one.)

What other totally different or altered systems have you been using, or used in the past?

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I have considered a couple of different alternatives, but haven't completely fleshed them out/converted them to D100.

1. Vancian Magic (ala D&D and most D20 games)
D&D used Levels but you could easily use "For each 5% of the Magic skill your character has, you get XXX Spells, which you can cast once each. Automatic success), so in this case the percentage represents your level. Cost to increase this percentage should be higher than other skills.

2. Free-form magic (ala Wheel of Time)
There are no fixed spells. When a mage wishes to cast a spell, they work out what they want it to do, the GM and the Player agree on the cost and the Player rolls for success. MUCH harder, but with the right players, it could be fun. Standard things like damage would have pretty standard costs.

This isn't really an alternate type of magic, but I have seriously considered combining Spirit Magic and Divine Magic.

Most magic is Spirit Magic, but some Ancestors and Spirits are so strong, so worshiped, that they achieve essentially divine status. In this setting, belief translates into POWER for the one believed in. So, the more people that believe a particular ancester is divine, the more powerful and divine-like that ancestors spirit becomes. So each God is working to increase their number of worshipers so that they get more power. Dedicating Power to an Ancestor or God becomes even more important now, since essentially a mortal is providing direct power to the God and getting some of the combined power of the other believers back. I figure that the Followers, those who don't dedicate POW to a God, give the equivalent of 0.1 POW to that God. The large number of followers is actually where most of a God's power comes from, through sheer numbers.

Sorcery works exactly the opposite, it is based on "science" so the Gods and Spirits are bypassed. Thus the inherant emnity between Divine Mages and Sorcerers...

 

[mwsasser]

I've always thought the black company d20 magic system and mrq sorcery looked similar in some ways. A further mod of sorcery using the black company magic system would be cool.

 

[sdavies2720]

I've just done a minor alteration to Legend Common Magic: To cast the spell requires a 'spell stone' which has the structure of the spell embedded in it. The mage holds the stone, puts in the appropriate magic points, and the spell goes off, consuming the stone. Stones are available from the church or from the military.

Mainly, it's an outgrowth of the world history, but it does mean that characters need to stay connected to society to get their spell supplies replenished.

Steve

 

[RangerDan]

I dreamt up an alternative version of Sorcery for a more Swords & Sorcery feel where Sorcery is typically the realm of the bad guys. Basically I wanted to simulate the evil coven of sorcerers and witches in their tower casting bad stuff at the king on the other side of the country. I also wanted the "good guy" spellcasters to be tempted into more power by doing bad stuff 8) .

It's a little complicated, but in short:
* Sorcery costs 1 MP per point of Manipulation rather than per type of Manipulation. Magic effects are difficult to create.
* Sorcerers can cast some spells as rituals, which allows for more power but takes longer.
* Range and Duration manipulations are increased when performing a ritual.
* A ritual allows for more Manipulation, limited by Manipulation/5, instead of Manipulation/10.
* Casting rituals at sites of power or during a solar eclipse or using the Obsidian Crown of Mengedda (for example) or sacrificing a virgin princess allows for even more power, allowing Manipulation/4, Manipulation/3, etc.
* Sorcerers fuel the massive amounts of MP needed through A) willing donations from apprentices or worshippers and B) animal or human sacrifices.

 

[alex_greene]

One rule not considered - pooling together Sorcery, so that a coven of sorcerers - all working from the same Grimoire, and thus using the same Sorcery (Grimoire) skill - can work together to maximise the Manipulation factors they can spend on the spell, with all participants adding the Magic Points for the Manipulation and the coven leader doing the actual casting.

With enough participants (say, a maximum of one participant per 10% of the team leader's Sorcery (Grimoire) skill) they could cast a powerful, long - lasting spell over a distance, affecting multiple targets and with a Magnitude large enough to crack the strongest Divine Magic protective spell.

As an alternative to the rule above, you could simply state that a coven has to have, say, thirteen members in order to cast such spells in your setting. Something to think on.

 

[Simulacrum]

You'll find rules for that in Spellcom (Wraith Recon setting), under Concert Casting, which allows for spells of extraordinary power. This write-up was also present in the draft of Blood Magic, which never saw print under RQII but I believe will now be issued under Legend at some point.

Likewise Age of Treason has a much less powerful 'Power Sharing' divine magic spell that allows the lead sorcerer to draw on resources from other people in the room.