snoman314
Journeyman Douchebag
Posts: 225
Preferred Game Systems: GURPS
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Post by snoman314 on Jul 12, 2014 16:02:38 GMT -8
I'm still listening to the episode, but I heard stu complaining that there's not a magic system that does what Harry Dresden does. I had to pause the episode and come post here: GURPS Ritual Path Magic. By default it works exactly like thaumaturgy in the books, and if you have a decent energy reserve, your evocation is covered as well. Spells are a combination of effects, and the types and number of effects determines the cost and difficulty of the 'Ritual'. You can come up with new spells during play this way. Definitely check it out.
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Post by HourEleven on Jul 12, 2014 17:53:04 GMT -8
Gurps ritual magic is fantastic. We use a modified version of it in a monster hunting game and it provides incredible flexibility while maintaining a strong balance (as strong as you can expect with magic).
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snoman314
Journeyman Douchebag
Posts: 225
Preferred Game Systems: GURPS
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Post by snoman314 on Jul 13, 2014 16:15:40 GMT -8
Whaaat!? The mook +1'd my Gurps related post. That just made my lunchbreak!
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Post by SavageCheerleader on Jul 14, 2014 14:27:22 GMT -8
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Post by joecrak on Jul 14, 2014 15:39:01 GMT -8
Why not just play FATE for both games, and have fun being awesome and not worry about the rules?
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jeffrywith1e
Journeyman Douchebag
Posts: 182
Preferred Game Systems: Pathfinder, BRP, d20 Modern
Currently Playing: Pathfinder
Currently Running: OpenQuest
Favorite Species of Monkey: gone to heaven
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Post by jeffrywith1e on Jul 14, 2014 18:18:03 GMT -8
Still listening to the podcast so maybe this gets mentioned later...
I love how BRP/CoC, etc handles skill increases; particularly if you are trained by a teacher there is a chance that you could lose points in your skill! This is possible if a fumble is rolled, and I guess it could reflect a situation where the teacher was bad or there was no chemistry between teacher and student.
I've read that rule, but I've never heard about it actually happening in play. I imagine the player wouldn't be too happy about it.
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snoman314
Journeyman Douchebag
Posts: 225
Preferred Game Systems: GURPS
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Post by snoman314 on Jul 14, 2014 21:49:24 GMT -8
Why not just play FATE for both games, and have fun being awesome and not worry about the rules? I've played in a couple of Fate games now, and I'm still interested in trying it some more, by more GMs, to get more of a feel for it. However, the more I do get exposed to it, the more dissatisfied it makes me. Your reply above sums up exactly why I think it gets less fun for me, the more I try it. The whole system seems to be based on just narratively making stuff up to help the situation. It doesn't seem to matter what skills your character has, or what equipment you prepared for the situation. If you can come up with some crazy idea, then you're going to win. That's not very satisfying for me. It feels like there's no real challenge to overcome. Then again, maybe the games I've been in have just been run that way.
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fredrix
Master Douchebag
Posts: 2,142
Preferred Game Systems: Fate, L5R, Pendragon, Gumshoe, Feng Shui
Currently Playing: Pendragon, Song of Ice and Fire, L5R, Feng Shui, Traveller
Currently Running: Fate, Coriolis, Nights Black Agents
Favorite Species of Monkey: 1970's NTV, dubbed by the BBC (though The Water Margin beats it)
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HJRP 12-09
Jul 14, 2014 22:23:08 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by fredrix on Jul 14, 2014 22:23:08 GMT -8
Why not just play FATE for both games, and have fun being awesome and not worry about the rules? Because most of the narrative in magical literature comes from the fact that magic DOES have rules. Mage first ed (I can't speak for nWoD) did have the best rules I've seen so far for magic. That said I'm thinking about a Magic system for Fate/Cortex plus, based on Newton's Principua, as featured in the PC Peter Blake books by Ben Aaronovich.
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Post by Kainguru on Jul 15, 2014 2:30:31 GMT -8
In the dim depths of time the podcast mentioned the Chivalry & Sorcery magick mechanic . . . As one if the best and 'realistic' being based actual historical magikal traditions. NB: C&S spell it with a 'k'. Aaron
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Post by ayslyn on Jul 15, 2014 5:06:16 GMT -8
Why not just play FATE for both games, and have fun being awesome and not worry about the rules? Because most of the narrative in magical literature comes from the fact that magic DOES have rules. Mage first ed (I can't speak for nWoD) did have the best rules I've seen so far for magic. They tackle magic in the Fate Toolkit, and internal consistency is a very important aspect to it.
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Post by joecrak on Jul 15, 2014 5:54:23 GMT -8
Why not just play FATE for both games, and have fun being awesome and not worry about the rules? I've played in a couple of Fate games now, and I'm still interested in trying it some more, by more GMs, to get more of a feel for it. However, the more I do get exposed to it, the more dissatisfied it makes me. Your reply above sums up exactly why I think it gets less fun for me, the more I try it. The whole system seems to be based on just narratively making stuff up to help the situation. It doesn't seem to matter what skills your character has, or what equipment you prepared for the situation. If you can come up with some crazy idea, then you're going to win. That's not very satisfying for me. It feels like there's no real challenge to overcome. Then again, maybe the games I've been in have just been run that way. Maybe, but even the craziest plans can go to crap when you roll -4 and run out of Fate points. I played in a LongCon of Dresden Files at a con earlier this year. It was set in NYC , and we had multiple different magic using people, and they all seemed restricted in the type of magics they could do. Not having ever read Dresden I played the human hacker, and from my point of view, players mostly played to their character "guidelines", unless they got super angry or frustrated, then they would stray from what they were "specialized in". To me it seems like you can still have the order or "rules" of magic, without relying on a lot of rules.
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SirGuido
Supporter
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Posts: 2,127
Preferred Game Systems: L5R, Traveller, Fate Accelerated, Masks
Currently Playing: Nothing.
Currently Running: Nothing.
Favorite Species of Monkey: Anything in a Cage.
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Post by SirGuido on Jul 15, 2014 8:04:06 GMT -8
There have been about 2 or 3 different "sensei" systems in L5R throughout the years which allowed people to take the sensei skill which gave them bonuses to teaching things to others. They all sucked. In a game I ran once I had a player who really wanted to play the sensei to another character. So I took some time and wrote my own sensei system. What I did was co-opt the "box" system that L5R uses for honor/glory/status. I gave 10 boxes to each skill and attribute and each time the player trained with the sensei the sensei would make a teaching roll where the TN started at 10 times whatever they were trying to raise it to(ex. raising kenjutsu to a 2 was a TN 20)and for a success he can lower the students learning roll (in this case intelligence/kenjutsu) by 5 with an additional 5 for each successful raise he called. For each multiple that the student beat HIS TN by, he added a box to that skill/attribute. Once he hit 10, he was able to spend xp to raise the skill/attribute.
Its not fluid, and its very crunchy, but its what the player wanted. It worked out pretty well in the end.
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Post by shadrack on Jul 15, 2014 12:01:03 GMT -8
JiB-likely not the same, but that made me think of Bennies in Deadlands. Which, I have always really liked. You draw your bennies from a pot of different colored chips (20 white, 10 red, and 5 blue)
white => normal benny red => can roll a d6 and add it to your current total BUT=> the GM gets another chip blue => can roll a d6 and add it to your current total
GM treats all his chips as white regardless of actual color.
(I don't remember if this made it into the newest deadlands version)
fyi - there were also (sometimes) black chips, but I'll leave them off.
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Post by yojimbohawkins on Jul 15, 2014 12:55:16 GMT -8
Hmm, with regard to the HP magic school, I'd be tempted to produce a timetable/ syllabus for each year, detailing the various subjects. As I recall, in the first three years, the students basically get a taste of everything, then in the final two years choose where they want to specialise. So everyone gets the bare minimum in all the subjects available in the first year, gaining access to a low power spell or skill for each. I say skills because subjects like Potions and Herbology seem more like skills than casting spells. Give them the option to choose a subject they like for some extra points/spells, chuck in some extra curricular stuff for colour (Quidditch anyone?) and repeat for each subsequent year. At year 4, the characters choose 5 subjects in which they advance further for their final two years and there you are. Give them the option to stay on for a 'Sixth Form' with three choices and you're set. You could run that in any decent magic system, to my mind.
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Post by whutaguy on Jul 16, 2014 11:04:51 GMT -8
Broomstix is a free HP simulation.
There is an excellent article called "Getting Educated" on skill advancement in Pyramid (sjgames.com/pyramid) by Keith MacKenzie. (Hey, that's my name!) It covers learning from books, teachers, practice, study and mistakes. Most of the detail is for Gurps 3rd, but other systems are mentioned and are easily adaptable.
My friend ran a GURPS campaign called "Teens in Terror" in which we played high school students. Initial characters were 50 points. We recieved 6 points each semester to be spent on our classes, clubs and sports. We also got points for our adventure each semester. While we had to take a match class each semester, we didn't need to put points into it. We could put them into anything we could have learned, but there were grades to be considered. Its aggravating how much detention will interfere with real important stuff. As it was a boarding school, we each also got an irritating upper classman for a roommate. Mine was an enthusiastic wrestler. Also, I learned never to get therapy from a 14 year old with 1/2 point in psychology. Aversion therapy was his answer to every disadvantage.
On an older topic Don't fudge the dice. If you aren't willing to live by the result, don't roll.
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