Continuing on Magic and Race

So after I dropped the last idea into my online bucket, I went ahead and made a brief write-up for it:

"Certain types of magic are traditional to (and generally guarded by) certain races:

Dwarves are regarded as the masters of Gem Magic, while Elves have long been the keepers of Crystal Resonance.  This has lead to a feud between the two races, as the Dwarves begrudge the harvesting of quartz and other appropriate crystals for what they view as a "perversion" of Gem Magic, while the Elves say that Gem Magic was an attempt by the Dwarves to steal the knowledge of Crystal Resonance.

Halflings use Sorcery, though other races often refer to it derogatorily as Witchcraft.  It is a simplistic magic, but with no less potential to be powerful.

Gnomes, with their analytical minds and love for categorizing, developed Occultism, which relies upon hidden knowledge derived from both arcane formulas and religious texts and ceremonies (which are often formulas disguised as dogma and doctrine).

Humans, with their short lifespans and overwhelming drive for power and knowledge, have not developed their own form of magic, instead learning whatever form they prefer (or can get their hands on).

It is possible to learn more than one type of magic, though finding willing teachers may be difficult."

Magic and Race

So I'm puttering about, as usual, with my various spreadsheets and text files, trying to determine how many or which magic systems I want to keep, like I do.  I'm starting to separate things out by assigning which stat is used for casting, when suddenly a thought hits me: what if your character's race determined what sorts of magic you had access to?

So maybe humans have access to gem magic, which I figure is more or less universal, as well as some other type, probably based on the spell lists in various resource books.  And maybe elves can use gem magic, as well as the free-form d6 based magic system I came up with.  In the meanwhile, maybe dwarves can use gem magic, as well as something based on runes, and halflings get gem magic and... I don't know yet.  But the idea just hit me about five minutes ago.

Whaddaya want for nothin'?  A rubber biscuit?

Demonwars: One More Thing

Something I'd intended to bring up last post, that strikes close to some of the problems I've been having with differentiating between races, is that the setting (at least in this book) doesn't have non-human PCs.  Even the elves of the world, the Touel'alfar, are treated as a mysterious NPC faction that will occasionally take human children off to be trained as this game's version of the Ranger class, but is generally unseen unless they want to be seen.  So you can play as an elf-trained human, but you're still human.

For the setting, this likely makes sense (again, I haven't read the books the setting is based on), but from a mechanical standpoint it also makes things less complicated and tricky, regarding balance between races and what sorts of differences they have: there are no different races for PCs, so there are no differences.

I don't know that I want to go that route, but there are times that solution seems tempting.

Gem Magic

One of the several d20 books I have on my shelves is R.A. Salvatore's Demonwars Campaign Setting book. It's got a neat flavor to it, despite that I've never read the books its based on. Definitely a lower magic setting than traditional D&D, with most hybrid classes only being permitted if they drop their spellcasting abilities, and clerics/druids/wizards/sorcerers being replaced entirely with setting-appropriate casting types based on the indigenous magic system: specially imbued gemstones.

Woo, objectification.

Sexualized cover art aside, I really like the concept of gem magic and the way it has been implemented in this system.  Enough that I would use it, perhaps slightly modified, in my own games, except that as it is I'm already struggling with too many options and magic systems.  I had wanted to make this system less complicated, not more, and having multiple systems of magic and spellcasting does not fit with that goal.

Regarding the setting's system, essentially there are gemstones which are imbued with magic (as well as naturally occurring gemstones that are not imbued, and can't be used to cast spells).  The type of stone determines what type of magic or effects it can produce in the hands of a skilled wielder.  Certain feats permit wielding two or even three stones at once, combining them to produce new effects not possible with only one gemstone.

The setting uses a mana-type system instead of spells-per-day, since you invoke the power of a stone through channeling that mana into/through it, and gem-wielding classes get 1d8 mana per level, with a bonus from their Con modifier.  This still provides a limiter, which is what a spells/day system does, but there is also the secondary limiter of having any magic dependent upon having one of these special gemstones.  There's no learning new spells each level, or scroll scribing giving a wizard a utilitarian edge.  You either have the stone you need, or you don't - leveling just gives you more mana.  Multiple gem wielders, though, can potentially share stones with each other, and I don't think there's any mention of stones breaking or losing their magical properties with use.

Combining it with any other magic system has the potential to make gem magic significantly under-powered, which means if I do want to use it, it may have to be the only magic system available.  Alternatively, I could keep all these systems as options and leave it up to the players as to what gets used.

A fun toy to set the mood with

So, this is a thing:

Mental Balancing Act

Last post got me thinking about how Psionics could be balanced so as not to be too overpowering in comparison with other magic types.

The first limiter, of course, is that the "casting stat" for Psionics is a derived stat, so to have a comparable amount of power to draw on you need to have multiple base stats which are high enough to average to another high or moderately-high stat.  With a system where there are only three base stats, admittedly, that is not necessarily as difficult as some, and yet it also means one low score can remove it as a viable option.

Something else to consider is what can affect, or is affected by, what.

Physical can affect physical things.  That's... pretty much it.

Magic can affect physical things, and it can affect magical things.  It can also bypass physical, depending on the spell.

Psionics can affect physical things (though this may or may not be more difficult), and it can affect mental/psionic things.  It can easily (depending on the setting, nearly by default) bypass physical.

But magic does not (at least typically) affect psionics, and likewise psionics do not affect magic.

So where's the problem?

Generally, magic does physical damage.  Even when it bypasses physical armor, it does physical damage or has some physical effect.  Psionics do mental damage, the grand majority of the time.  So a psionicist can easily bypass not only physical armor, but any form of resistance to physical damage, and is therefore even more effective against physical-based characters than a magically-trained character.  In addition, since magic doesn't affect psionics, a psion can bypass magical defenses as well, and is only slightly deterred by the better mental stats of a spellcaster vs. a fighter.

On the other hand, a psion can't block a non-physical magic attack, either.  Hmm.

Ok, so really, where's the problem?

Even if I permit a magic-user to affect psionics, and psions to affect magic (at an increased power cost for either) all I'm doing is making attack and defense types more accessible.  Which would mean mages and psions could actually have a chance of resisting each other rather than being glass cannons.

Maybe it isn't as intrinsically overpowered as I thought.

Free-Form Featherfall

So, I've scrapped the entirety of my magic system, including the compendium list of spells that I'd accumulated, and replaced it with a free-form system somewhat reminiscent of the casting system in Fabletop or the skill and magic system in Shadowrun.  For purposes of nostalgia (and because I'm not ready to scrap my list of weaponry and make all weapons of any given size equal), I still have physical combat within the d20 set-up.

So how does this make things simpler?

I have some basic rules for how spells work, and how adding on different effects increases the cost of any given spell on casting.  But by making the magic system entirely free-form I eliminate the need for resource books.  No more looking up spell descriptions.

It makes it potentially more powerful, sure.  High-powered mages have always been powerful.  And there's still the limiter of "I'm the DM," plus the added bonus that a player can't point to the rulebook and say "but, but, but!"  Plus, it gives the player an excuse to roll a whole bunch of six-siders, which is always fun.

My test subje-erm... game tester has brought up the concern that it can be easier on the player to have a list of spells to work from, the idea that you can look in your toolbox and see what you've got.  And while there is some truth there, if a player wanted to they could write down spells they've used or come up with to refer from later on as well.  I think the potential for versatility and accessibility outweighs that particular bonus.  Plus, I've already come up with a short list of example spells that simulate well-known effects, so if someone says "well what can I do?" I can hand them that list.

Another aspect of this free-form system is that it means any caster can cast any spell.  Healing, direct-damage, buffs/debuffs, whatever, is free game.  Because as I've discussed here before, the idea that any given person can't figure out how to make a spell work in their own tradition is a bit weak.  So I have two spellcasting traditions, Arcanist and Spiritualist.  You can claim the power comes from a potato on a string around your neck, if you like - the only mechanical difference is which of the two spellcasting stats you use for your primary.

This free-form system will also work for psionics, and I have the mechanics in place to support a psionic system, but psionics have always been a bit game-breaking as far as power goes, primarily due to the general non-existence of psionic-resistant monsters.  I'm thinking I may keep psionic ability as a rarity, rolled at character generation, as my mother does it.