Combining Core Magic Rules with Magic Supplement Magic Rules

icrpg-magic

#1

Hey,

just wanted to give my two cents to the Magic system :slight_smile:

My D&D Group war arguing that the Magic rules from the Magic Supplement were too harsh and nobody wanted to play a magic class, so we altered the rules a little bit. Just wanted to share with the community and like to hear your thoughts on this :slight_smile:

Spell Burn Die (d4)
We use a spell burn die to track how many casts the caster has made.
If she reaches a 4 (four casts made) on the d4 she is still able to cast spells but for the cost described in the Magic Supplement (Sacrifice HP based on Spell Level x Spell Power)
If she wants to reset the Mana Burn Die to 0 she has to roll a CON ATTEMPT followed by a MAGIC EFFORT of 1 Heart.

This keeps the Magic magic dangerous but not too dangerous :slight_smile:

Tell me what you think. Really would like to have some feedback.

Cheers,
Qual der Wal


Alfheim Magic vs. Magic (SP/Power) System
#2

Bunch of wusses.

(Just kidding, but also not.)

Itā€™s not harsh. It really isnā€™t. Iā€™ts about choosing when to put yourself in danger and fully utilize your powers and when to hold back and let the remainder of the group do their thing.

I ran a game with 3 MAGIC users and an arcane archer (who also had to pay 1 HP per cast). You know what happened?

The game was badass. Characters changed their preset strategies (their ā€œbuildsā€) to aid or relieve their fellow casters when they knew they were in a bind. They chose to down themselves to defeat dangerous enemies. Players felt more immersed and engaged with the game because there was another dimension to think about.

I honestly urge you to have them at least try the MAGIC system as designed. If they feel itā€™s not their cup of tea (theyā€™re probably have their minds made up because they read it and thought it was scary from what you wrote), and if they really canā€™t adapt THEN you look for alternatives.

But to each table their own game.


#3

I thought it wasnā€™t harsh enough :joy:

I increased my critical fail value by 1 every time the player used magic. First time it was 1, then 2 then 3 etc

Really put the fear of magic into the group, which was my aim


#4

Totally right. They donā€˜t think a HP only MAGIC System is funšŸ˜‚ But they didnā€˜t try.

Will try to convince them. Thx.


#5

I think the magic system is incredibly fair and epic as it is (both Core and Magic).
One of my players sacrificed his caster in order to cast a giant fireball that came down from the sky and it couldnā€™t had been more epic than that, everyone was in awe as he described it, saved everyone at the very last instant, and no one actually knew he could do that.
Thereā€™s a few homebrews i usually use for casters that might be useful for you and your table:

-Give your casters a Mana Heart worth of 10 Hp only usable for casting. Theyā€™ll feel safer, for a while, but as soon as the adventure takes its toll on them theyā€™re gonna feel it alright. You can recover mana by resting, potions, modifying loot and spells to heal ā€œblue heartsā€, etc.
-Every lvl 1 spell is a ā€œcantripā€, meaning it has no cost, and follows the casting rules of Core, unless you cast it at increased power, in that case the formula remains the same as magic.
-Let your players pick how they wanna cast the spells: One of my players really liked the system from Low Fantasy Gaming: Midlands (idk if i can tell you exactly how it is without a copyright infringement, sorry, iā€™m sure you can look it up), and i felt it was pretty neat and in place amongst the other casting possibilities. Another player sticked with Magic health cost, and another one really enjoyed being a caster when we played before Magic came out, so he kinda used Core mechanics with a lot of new spells. Everything felt in place, and everyone had an in game explanation of why they casted the way they did. It only made the game better <3.
-Diy the diyable.

I can only tell you how much fun weā€™ve had so far, and hope you consider trying it as you see fit <3
Also hope it helped you in some way <3
Cheers!


#6

What you propose can be done, without too many side effects.

As the author of SPELLS & FEATS, I would like to caution you against opening the floodgates for MAGIC. Spells in ICRPG MAGIC and in my book are designed with the HP COST in mind. Thatā€™s why they are largely more powerful than spells in ICRPG CORE, especially at higher levels and powers. It is the assumption of the designers (Hank and myself in this case) that these spells will not be spammed.

Having said all that, it is still your game and do whatever you think is right for your group. First I would urge them to play with the rules as written because those rules have been tested many times and they work. My experience with those rules mirror @Nicolas_Bohnenbergerā€™s exactly. A great cost for critical spells cast at the right time is very satisfying for players.

If your players still donā€™t like the system as written, you can change it to accomodate them. As I said, your proposal can work but Iā€™d suggest some limitation for those free spells like they canā€™t be cast at POWER 3+ or something like that. Casting 4 LEVEL IV spells at POWER 4 for free can be a bit too much.

There are other great suggestions in this thread already. Giving them a seperate heart (a.k.a a Mana Heart), letting them pick their own spellcasting method (like limiting them to core spells) etc. can also solve the ā€œproblemā€.

Let them play with the rules as written first though. Like others have said, HP COST gives another dimension to think about and makes spellcasting rewarding, instead of limiting as one would suspect.


#7

Really appreciate the input.

We already decided to try the ā€œoriginalā€ rules first and decide later if they are fitting for us :slight_smile:

Thank you all for the great input!

Cheers,
Qual der Wal.

PS. Awesome Community :slight_smile: