difficulty & haste for spells
- Thread starter mwsasser
- Start date
alex_greene
Guest
It seems logical, particularly during downtime when someone can take ten times longer to cast a simple spell than the rules state because there is no urgency or pressure.
Bifford
Banded Mongoose
Working from experience with crafting things in leather and wood (for LARP), I would say that the time taken to do something would be exactly the same, possibly a little longer. However the quality of item/spell/goods produced when it is done at ease would be at least one step higher on the crafting list.
Therefore, what one might produce "out in the field" in two hours would be of "adequate" quality. Whereas the same item produced in a workshop/home in two hours, or two and a half hours would be of "fine" quality (and therefore of greater value).
It boils down to not being rushed and therefore being a little bit more careful in your production.
Sam / Bifford
Therefore, what one might produce "out in the field" in two hours would be of "adequate" quality. Whereas the same item produced in a workshop/home in two hours, or two and a half hours would be of "fine" quality (and therefore of greater value).
It boils down to not being rushed and therefore being a little bit more careful in your production.
Sam / Bifford
alex_greene
Guest
I want to know if the bonus can apply to Sorcery (Grimoire) skill - and if so, whether it affects the casting of a sorcery spell such as Castback or Neutralise Magic, where the effect of the spell depends on the rating of Sorcery (Grimoire).
For instance, say the caster has 46% in Sorcery (The Green Book of the Serpent Tree) and he knows a spell such as Enhance (INT) or Enhance (POW) from that Grimoire, and he takes ten times the normal casting time to gain +60%, raising his Sorcery (Green Book of the Serpent Tree) to 106%, could he use the bonus to boost the amount of INT or POW by a maximum of +2 per 10%, or +22 (up to the limit of 2x his normal INT or POW)?
For instance, say the caster has 46% in Sorcery (The Green Book of the Serpent Tree) and he knows a spell such as Enhance (INT) or Enhance (POW) from that Grimoire, and he takes ten times the normal casting time to gain +60%, raising his Sorcery (Green Book of the Serpent Tree) to 106%, could he use the bonus to boost the amount of INT or POW by a maximum of +2 per 10%, or +22 (up to the limit of 2x his normal INT or POW)?
These are good points. I'm leaning toward not allowing crafting or magic skills to be prepped in that way. Thinking that I'd rather give add difficulty to crafting in the field though instead of making it a higher quality. And with magic prep, what does that mean for sorcery anyway... you'd just be reading slower?
Simulacrum
Mongoose
This one has come up a few times - consensus so far is the casting chance goes up with extra time spent, but not the scale of effect, which is based on raw skill.
Bifford
Banded Mongoose
mwsasser said:
Reading slower, understanding what is written and learning from the spell, rather than just blindly reciting what is written.
I reference you to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The book that Harry finds with all the corrections - while he did not read this carefully to digest the info, the half-blood prince (Snape) obviously did. He then worked from the established norms and added/changed things so they worked better or easier.
This would be the same here. Not every spellcaster works in the same way - some might prefer to say it one way, others to do it another way. Taking your time over reading the spell means they digest it, learn from it and can try variations in a safe and controlled area rather than out in the field, magic and swords flying all around and them thinking "...what if I just change this....or do this....?"
alex_greene
Guest
I'd go for allowing the scale of effect to go up as well, based on the fact that you might have to take your time in order to scale up beyond what you're normally capable of. Reaching beyond your capacity is one hallmark of sorcerers, after all ...
alex_greene
Guest
Yup.mwsasser said:
I like the idea of a sorcerer taking his time and generating some stupendous working of magic. I've yet to conjure up a Weather Control sorcery spell, but a sorcerer who takes his time could use this rule to his advantage to conjure up terrifying weather the likes of which Prospero could not have contemplated ...
alex_greene
Guest
I do like the idea of a potent sorcerer taking an hour or four to work up Form/Set, then using it to sculpt a Mount Rushmore-sized display of faces in the side of a cliff, or pulling a Magneto trick with a suspension bridge a la X3: The Last Stand with the Golden Gate.PhilHibbs said:
alex_greene
Guest
Likewise, with haste I can't see a sorcerer being able to do much more than create a minor effect right away, and any sorcerers with a Sorcery (Grimoire) spell of less than 100% might not be able to get anything at all to happen - even those with 100% attempting a spell with a Formidable penalty may only get their spell to fire once in five times, and even then it'll only be able to affect at least 2 levels, or 2 cu. m. of gas or liquid, or something up to 6 SIZ.
Casting a powerful spell with a snap of the fingers ... that's the province of the Grand Masters. Be cool to be able to pull off that kind of a stunt, even with an 80% casting skill penalty.
Casting a powerful spell with a snap of the fingers ... that's the province of the Grand Masters. Be cool to be able to pull off that kind of a stunt, even with an 80% casting skill penalty.
sdavies2720
Mongoose
I like it too, but I'd prefer to have it tied to a special location (that provides extra power), another ritual, or some other factor. I'm ok with the chance of success going up, just not the power: I don't want the characters uber-buffed when they have a lot of time to prepare. Having them get normal buffs is benefit enough.alex_greene said:
Steve
alex_greene
Guest
Then why do you give them legendary abilities?sdavies2720 said:
They don't always have to take the time to cast a spell. They don't always have the time. And there are many compensations for casting megabuffed spells.
For one thing, beings may notice the character. For another thing, the character would become a trouble magnet, drawing the hostility of individuals and whole groups who would make it their life's work to take the character down a peg or two.
And he can always roll a natural 00 and bomb his spell and half his magic points to oblivion.
The aim is for the characters to write legends.Your aim as Referee is not to drag them down, but give them space to rise, and fall, by their own actions. If that means megabuffed spells that incidentally draw half the character's magic points, leaving him vulnerable to an attack while he is recovering those magic points, well so be it. That's the nature of challenge.
mwsasser said:
So... about the crafting. I don't see any time frames for crafting in the MRQ2 book. I see the Arms book has crafting times for buildings but I didn't see anything for weapons, armor, wood carving, basket-weaving for example.
It's hard to say something took 5 times as long for example when I can't find a basis to multiply 5 against.
sdavies2720
Mongoose
Hmm. Well, the tone of the game is different. My campaign does not have a lot of Heroic Abilities, in part because they require quests (going to specific places in the world typically) to get. The heroic battles typically happen at power spots (notice a theme going on here), they don't happen just because the characters happen to have extra time to cast before the battle.alex_greene said:
Their challenges come in a lot of different forms, and on a lot of levels. I haven't found that allowing this particular casting advantage is required for epic encounters. And I don't see my disallowing it as an effort to "drag them down."
But your game may vary.
mwsasser said:
Ah... found something in the MRQ1 book for crafting basic items in the Making Money section, where it sites a basic example on page 56. For a regular ordinary item you divide the item's cost by 5 and it takes that long in hours. So a bastard sword takes 50 hours of work, dagger 6 hours. And thats if you roll without fumbles.
