More questions on Scorcery

[Sutek]

Page 194, col 1, Spell para 2:

Okay, this says that if damage is taken while attempting to cast, "you" (obviously meaning me, the caster) must make a concentration check at one of the following:

If spell causes Damage = DC10 + damage + PP of spell
If spell causes no damage = DC10 + PP cost of spell

Hrm...this may see a daft question, but is it the PP cost of the spell I'm getting hit with, or is it the PP cost of the spell I'm trying to cast? It seems like it couls really go either way. Here's the two possibilities:

A) It's the PP of the spell hitting me, in which case more powerful casters would have likewise more powerful spells, thus forcing harder concentration checks.

B) It's the PP of the spell I wanted to cast, meaning it's harder to concentrate if I were trying to cast a more powerful spell while being affected by someone's incoming spell. I'd have a less likely chance of maintaining concentration while taking spell effects if I were trying to cast a PP8 spell than if I were trying to cast a PP4 spell.

The wording isn't clear and it seems reasonable either way, although my instincts are with the former.

 

[Anonymous]

You could go either way.

I like the explanation of a more powerful caster though I would rule the latter.

At some point the difficulty or power of the spell you are trying to cast has to come into play.

Though the rules do not specifically say I think they would have been more specific had it been the former.

Concentrating on the said spell you are trying to cast and using your own personal power to do so makes sense to fall in the equation.

It almost comes down to a "spirit or letter of the law" decison though neither one seems to be an abuse. I thinhk the latter needs less explanation.

 

[argo]

The PP cost of the spell you are attempting to cast.

Refer to the concentration skill description (p 88 ), specifically to footnote 1 of the Concenrtation DC chart where it says

If you are trying to cast, concentrate on, or direct a spell when the distraction occurs, add the level of the spell to the indicated DC

This being a copy/paste from the SRD what they meant to say was "add the PP cost of the spell to the indicated DC". Thus the DC to cast a spell while on a galloping horse (violent motion) becomes 15 + PP cost of the spell you are casting and so forth.

Hope that helps.

 

[Sutek]

Yeah, that helps. That's the way I'd expected it to be intended, and for exactly the reason you give {referiong over to the Concentration skill. The only thing that bugged me was ... well, let's take something simple.

Level 1 Curanos is trying to cast Lesser Ill-Fortune during a turn when he is in turn affected by level 6 Lord Quo's Lesser Ill-Fortune earlier that round. Curanos is therby affected "in some other way" and isn't taking damage, so if he passes a DC12 Concentration test, he own Lesser Ill-Fortune is cast just fine.

Now, suppose Level 1 Curanos is trying to cast Lesser Ill-Fortune during a turn when he is in turn affected by level 6 Lord Quo's Awful Rite of the Were-beast earlier that round. Curanos is therby affected "in some other way" and isn't taking damage, but he still need only pass a DC12 Concentration test and he casts his Lesser Ill-Fortune.

It seems like the enemy caster's power ought to be a factor in such Concentration tests. Because PP requirements and Caster Level are progressive together, it seems like a fair measure of caster prowess to fractor in either the PP, Corruption or Caster Class Level somehow. I'll probably plop Enemy Caster (PP+Corruption) into that Concentration equation, taking damage or otherwise. That way, severly powerful and corrupt Sorcerers are almost impossible to cast lesser magic against if those sorts of baddies get the drop on you (win INIT).

Thanks.

 

[argo]

Aside from the fact that a Lesser ill-fortune shouldn't prompt a concentration check, I do believe you have missed an important factor. The concentration DC when distracted by a non-damaging spell is not 10 + PP cost, it is the distracting spell's save DC + PP cost.

So the concentration DC for Curanos is not 12 but rather Quo's Magic Attack Roll + 2. I think that represents factoring in the "enemy caster's power" rather nicely.

 

[Sutek]

Okay, I see my error on non-damaging spells. DC=DC of enemy spell.

Why would Lesser Ill-fortune not be a non-damaging spell which affects a caster? That -1 modifier affects a lot of types of rolls. If it's not "interfering" what is intended to fall in that category as far as non-damaging spells goes?

Were-beast would also be a higher DC due to Quo's level being higher. I also see, by reading the spells more closely, that often there's an attack roll versus the enemy spell caster's attack roll, and this woul dbe higher reletive to levels also.

I believe I may just be over thinking it as the COncentration factors in only if the spell takes longer than a round to cast or if it's a continually damaging one. I guess thinking of the spells as being fixed power levels helps too in that it then doesn't matter how powerful the Sorcerer is, Spell A is always X PP and everyone knows this. It's Magic Attack Bonus that pertains to what I was driving at, but it does so in a different area of casting.

It's like learing D&D all over again (lol) I have to memorize all the spell descriptions just to understand how the magic system holds together - they're so much different to what I'm used to...