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Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/17/84 chuqui version 1.7 9/23/84; site nsc.UUCP
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From: chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Re: Limiting Magic
Message-ID: <2602@nsc.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 16-Apr-85 00:52:31 EST
Article-I.D.: nsc.2602
Posted: Tue Apr 16 00:52:31 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 16-Apr-85 18:53:42 EST
References: <12303@watmath.UUCP> <320@petrus.UUCP>
Reply-To: chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach)
Organization: The Crystal Cave
Lines: 39
Summary: 

>By the way, I have a really neat magic system, but it has one flaw that
>the obvious solutions won't really fix:  a magic user can go off and spend
>some huge amount of time making an arbitrary number of potions or enchanted
>swords or whatever and then carry huge amounts of magic with him.  Any
>suggestions on "realistic" reasons why magic users cannot do this, that don't
>restrict the ability to make a few potions or swords or whatever?

I've been working on a set of AD&D enhancements to magic that might help.
The basic problem is that most FRP systems use a simple pass/fail on magic
spells. Reality, of course, is much different. If a spell user sneezes
halfway through a spell, it really isn't likely for the spell to just go
away. A lot of energy (manna?) has been organized already by the parts of
the spell that HAVE been activated, and that has to go somewhere. My
extensions allow for spells to backfire, twist, turn, and generally do
whatever sadistic things the DM can think of. It also allows for messed up
scrolls, with blurs, blotches, and typos causing slight distortions of the
spell that might not be readily noticable until you use the scroll (for
example, you might not notice that the scroll is a 'sheep' scroll instead
of a 'sleep' scroll until you try to use it in battle.

Where this becomes very useful is spell development. The main hazards in
AD&D spell development currently are time and money, and since many DM's
seem to ignore age on PC's, if you have gold, eventually you get the spell.
If you use something like a chemist as a base for creating new magic
compounds, as you get farther towards the edge of knowledge you find
yourself more likely to have something blow up in your face. With magic,
that can be VERY inconvenient, especially if you gate in a demon or
something without appropriate protection. By making it more difficult to
create spells and making it more dangerous to use them you make the magic
user a bit more cautious and help restore a bit of balance to the game.
Would YOU send a mage to create a new spell if you know the DM might just
cause him to blow up and take half the town with it? 

chuq
-- 
:From the closet of anxieties of:                 Chuq Von Rospach
{cbosgd,fortune,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!chuqui   nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA

There is nobody as small as those who refuse to accept the success of others.