Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: Notesfiles $Revision: 1.6.2.14 $; site siemens.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!princeton!siemens!steve
From: steve@siemens.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: colorful magic (3)
Message-ID: <26000011@siemens.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 31-May-85 08:15:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: siemens.26000011
Posted: Fri May 31 08:15:00 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Jun-85 02:09:09 EDT
Lines: 68
Nf-ID: #N:siemens:26000011:000:3467
Nf-From: siemens!steve    May 31 08:15:00 1985


I'm pretty sure this never made it so I'm re-posting.

			Conjuring Demons
			----------------

A magic user can bind a demon to a symbol he draws (or carves, etc.) and
charge it to carry out its spell when certain specified conditions are met.
The magician may not bind a demon to a symbol that already exists; he must
create the symbol at the time he conjures the demon.  If the symbol is
destroyed the demon disappears quietly.  However, the condition for carrying
out the spell may be destruction of the symbol; in that case the demon will
do the spell before disappearing.  Any spell that is triggered when some
conditions are met requires a demon (to determine when the conditions are
met).  Conversely, in this universe a demon by definition is no more than
a magical thing that watches for some condition to be met and then carries
out a spell.

For a basic (ie typical) spell of level n,

		Conditions		       Actual Spell Level
	immediate effect			n
	simple condition			n + 1
	each add'l simple condition		add .5 (round up)
	each alternate course of action		add 1

Example:
Magic Mouth by definition already includes one simple condition.  A Magic
Mouth that yells "Bad guys are coming!" if someone it doesn't know
approaches and "Welcome!" if its caster approaches would be a spell of
level 4:  Magic Mouth is level 2, plus 1 for the alternate course of
action, and plus 1 for the two extra simple conditions.  The three simple
conditions are 1) someone approaches, 2) someone (who is approaching) is
unknown, and 3) caster approaches.

It is important for the DM to count simple conditions correctly.  A simple
condition has a subject and a verb, and possibly an object.  The subject
and verb must be as simple as possible; the subject can specify a unique
thing, person, or whatever, or it may specify a very broad class.  "This
red handkercheif" is OK because it specifies a unique particular object.
A qualification of something already mentioned counts as a simple
condition; 2) in the previous paragraph is.  "A red handkercheif" is
actually a simple subject and a qualification:  "A handkercheif" and the
qualification "The handkercheif is red.".  Generally, any article-followed-
by-noun is an allowable subject, and any verb is OK.  The only object
allowed is the symbol or something already mentioned as the subject of
another simple condition.

The action of the spell cannot refer to something not mentioned in the
condition part.  One might wish to conjure a demon to cast a lightning
bolt at whoever opens a particular door.  This would require two simple
conditions:  "The door opens" and "Someone opens the door" in order to
have the "someone" to cast the lightning bolt at.  Alternatively, one might
have the demon cast a lightning bolt at a fixed location (the doorway)
when the door is opened; this uses only a single simple condition but
it is a little less reliable; the person who opens the door might not be
in the doorway.

The point of being so picky about simple conditions is that very reliable
demons must be expensive.  Usually, MU's should be forced to compromise
somewhat as in the previous example with the door.  Unfortunately, any
time an MU cannot remove any more simple conditions from his spell and
he has an odd number, he can add another one for free because the .5
is rounded up anyway.  A more general spell point system would fix this.

Other methods to follow soon.

...princeton!siemens!steve or SCLARK@RU-GREEN