Heroic Abilities for Casters
- Thread starter Ultor
- Start date
Deleriad
Mongoose
Because I'm a bit of a sad, mechanics geek here are some comments intended as constructive criticism.
In general:
* the abilities are irrelevant for divine spell casters (spells don't cast MPs) and spirit magicians.
* "Passive" heroic abilities were removed from RQ1 because they tended to devolve into d20 style feats. Putting them back in is one of those things that tends to lead to bloat, complication in play while players deal with lists of abilities and also makes them less "special" because they are always on.
The abilities listed seem fine but not especially heroic. There is no cinematic moment of use about them. To my eyes they look gamist. As an example of a different route these are ideas partly inspired by the list. These are off the top of my head so are not properly thought through yet. They also try to reward mages who go beyond the normal magic skills.
Blood Potency. POW 16, Resilience 90%, Hero Points: 10
Duration: 1 spell
When you invoke this ability the spell you are casting has its Magnitude increased by half-again (rounded up). Immediately after the spell is cast, you lose one level of Fatigue.
Spell Slinger. POW 16, Spell casting skill 90%. Hero Points: 8
Duration: 1 spell
The spell's casting time is reduced by 1 Combat Action. This ability can be used multiple times on a single spell. If the casting time would be reduced to zero Combat Actions then the spell can be cast as a reaction to another character's action (like Countermagic) but still requires a single Combat Action.
[Runic] Connection. POW 18. Runetouched [rune]. Lore (Rune) or Grimoire (linked to rune) 90%. Hero Points 12.
Duration: instant
The character must be runetouched and choose a substance linked to that rune. Once per day the character may touch that substance and spend 5 minutes of total concentration attuning to the substance. At the end of 5 minutes the character regains all their Magic Points, including the one spent to activate the ability.
Mental Potency. INT 18. Spell casting skill 90%. Hero Points 12.
Duration: 1 spell
The critical chance with the spell is doubled. (This cannot be used multiple times on one spell.)
The idea is to ramp up the drama and special nature of the abilities so that invoking them is memorable. If you want to add these to the blog please feel free to do so.
In general:
* the abilities are irrelevant for divine spell casters (spells don't cast MPs) and spirit magicians.
* "Passive" heroic abilities were removed from RQ1 because they tended to devolve into d20 style feats. Putting them back in is one of those things that tends to lead to bloat, complication in play while players deal with lists of abilities and also makes them less "special" because they are always on.
The abilities listed seem fine but not especially heroic. There is no cinematic moment of use about them. To my eyes they look gamist. As an example of a different route these are ideas partly inspired by the list. These are off the top of my head so are not properly thought through yet. They also try to reward mages who go beyond the normal magic skills.
Blood Potency. POW 16, Resilience 90%, Hero Points: 10
Duration: 1 spell
When you invoke this ability the spell you are casting has its Magnitude increased by half-again (rounded up). Immediately after the spell is cast, you lose one level of Fatigue.
Spell Slinger. POW 16, Spell casting skill 90%. Hero Points: 8
Duration: 1 spell
The spell's casting time is reduced by 1 Combat Action. This ability can be used multiple times on a single spell. If the casting time would be reduced to zero Combat Actions then the spell can be cast as a reaction to another character's action (like Countermagic) but still requires a single Combat Action.
[Runic] Connection. POW 18. Runetouched [rune]. Lore (Rune) or Grimoire (linked to rune) 90%. Hero Points 12.
Duration: instant
The character must be runetouched and choose a substance linked to that rune. Once per day the character may touch that substance and spend 5 minutes of total concentration attuning to the substance. At the end of 5 minutes the character regains all their Magic Points, including the one spent to activate the ability.
Mental Potency. INT 18. Spell casting skill 90%. Hero Points 12.
Duration: 1 spell
The critical chance with the spell is doubled. (This cannot be used multiple times on one spell.)
The idea is to ramp up the drama and special nature of the abilities so that invoking them is memorable. If you want to add these to the blog please feel free to do so.
I've linked it from the wiki:
http://mrqwiki.com/wiki/index.php/MRQ2Heroic_Abilities
http://mrqwiki.com/wiki/index.php/MRQ2Heroic_Abilities
@Deleriad:
I appreciate your comments, and I really liked your take on those Heroic Abilities. This is what I was really after in writing these up - there seemed to be a complete absence of HA's related to casters. So, in response to this post I decided to write some up to get the discussion going.
This is a strong start! I'd like keep this up. Perhaps someone can offer some ideas pertaining to divine or spirit casters?
I appreciate your comments, and I really liked your take on those Heroic Abilities. This is what I was really after in writing these up - there seemed to be a complete absence of HA's related to casters. So, in response to this post I decided to write some up to get the discussion going.
This is a strong start! I'd like keep this up. Perhaps someone can offer some ideas pertaining to divine or spirit casters?
I've added Deleriad's suggestions to the blog.
Other suggestions very welcome. I'm working on a couple for Divine Casters.
For spirit magicians, how about:
Encorporate
Requirements: CHA 15+, Spirit Binding 90%+
Hero Points: 12
Duration: One task
Allows the Spirit Magician to give the spirit a corporeal form on a successful Spirit Binding roll. The spirit gains physical characteristics of the same range as its Intensity score (eg Intensity 1 get 1d6+6, Intensity 3 gets 1d6+18 - see S&P 89, p.14). Animal spirits will manifest as the appropriate animal. Plant spirits will be ambulatory. Bane spirits will manifest as a monstrous creature with a gaping maw and so on.
If the spirit is killed while Corporeal, it must succeed at a persistence roll or is lost forever. Most intelligent spirits will therefore need negotiating with to agree to Encorporation.
This ability would allow a magician with a bunch of Ancestor Spirits, for instance, to have them all appear at once, rather than only one of them possessing him.
Other suggestions very welcome. I'm working on a couple for Divine Casters.
For spirit magicians, how about:
Encorporate
Requirements: CHA 15+, Spirit Binding 90%+
Hero Points: 12
Duration: One task
Allows the Spirit Magician to give the spirit a corporeal form on a successful Spirit Binding roll. The spirit gains physical characteristics of the same range as its Intensity score (eg Intensity 1 get 1d6+6, Intensity 3 gets 1d6+18 - see S&P 89, p.14). Animal spirits will manifest as the appropriate animal. Plant spirits will be ambulatory. Bane spirits will manifest as a monstrous creature with a gaping maw and so on.
If the spirit is killed while Corporeal, it must succeed at a persistence roll or is lost forever. Most intelligent spirits will therefore need negotiating with to agree to Encorporation.
This ability would allow a magician with a bunch of Ancestor Spirits, for instance, to have them all appear at once, rather than only one of them possessing him.
