(Psi)SeveredHead said:
That would be strange. The arcane spellcasters in Alternity Dark Matter played a heck of a lot more like a Mage than an Occultist. No one went digging around for scrolls.
However, spellcasters in Dark*Matter didn't go around throwing things like
Fireball (there was the Hellfire spell for Diabolist mages, but it was far weaker than Fireball),
Dimension Door if they were Arcane or
Raise Dead if they were Divine, which are core spells in d20 Modern. D&D style, vancian spellcasters in d20 Modern are certainly not what Dark*Matter casters are like. In Dark*Matter, spellcasters were relatively weak (each school of magic essentially had only 7 or 8 spells total, maybe some more advanced effects from those spells if you had a lot of skill points in them), and while they could be powerful if they had lots of time or proper conditions, or were powerful compared to people without their abilities, they weren't D&D Clerics and Wizards with slightly reworked abilities, which is what the d20 Modern Acolyte and Mage are.
Now, I do think it is theoretically possible to refit Mage and Acolyte for Dark*Matter, my old homebrew conversion did this, by making various spell lists, and you chose a specific spell list when you took the class based on the various types of FX from Alternity Dark*Matter, with each specialty also having an additional requirement for the Mage class to represent prerequisite training, but if I had it to do over again, I'd probably brew up a feats & skills type system, and use Occultist, or a modified version of that class, as a general magic-oriented class.
As examples of what high level, advanced characters could do with their magic and psionics, look at the NPC's in the core book.
Comte Claude-Louis de Saint Germaine. A 36th level Human Vampire (well, Ekkimmu, but it's the vampires of that setting). The highest level NPC in Dark*Matter, a vampire that is about 300 years old and one of the greatest occultists on earth. What could he do? He knew 4 arcane spells, he could create illusions, hold people motionless, put people to sleep, and perform alchemical transmutations. He had 5 psionic powers: the ability to control his metabolism, the ability to heal himself, the ability to rejuvenate himself, the ability to block mental intrustions from others, and the ability to make psionic suggestions.
Vasily Nevsky Gregorvitch. A 16th level human, the patriarch of the Order of St. Gregory, essentially the leader of the inquisition in the modern day. What can the leader of the secret inquisition do? He can ward off demons, perform exorcisms, and pray for guidance and probably get an actual answer.
Dr. Itohiro Nakami. A 24th level Grey alien (aka Fraal) who poses as a reclusive elderly Japanese gentleman thanks to an illusion generating device using alien technology to greatly amplify his own telepathic illusions. He's one of the few NPC's in the setting who is allowed to have an outright psionic class instead of just being a "talent" because he's an alien. So, what does being 24th level and actually having a psionic class get him? The ability to telepathically obscure his presence, interface with machinery, perform basic telepathy, project illusions, shield his mind, and make psionic suggestions.
These abilites seem a little light for what you'd likely get for having 10 levels in various advanced classes, as each of these NPC's are supposed to be the best or some of the best in their fields on the whole planet, and are the sorts of NPC's who would have all 10 levels in the appropriate FC classes.
