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Game Design Masterclass: Ars Magica
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<blockquote data-quote="TrippyHippy" data-source="post: 8420419" data-attributes="member: 27252"><p>Yes it is a stat+skill+d10 vs target number. Stats range from -5 to +5 in a scale not dissimilar to D&D’s Ability bonuses.</p><p></p><p>In the case of a magic roll, it is Technique+Form+Stamina (a stat) for a formulaic spell, divided by 2 if spontaneous and Fatiguing, or divided by 5 if non-fatiguing (generally, cantrip-like at this level). Fatigue is tracked like health levels and are recovered over time. Ritual magic get extra skill scores added to the roll.</p><p></p><p>The D10 can be read as a normal roll or, more likely, a ’stress roll’ where 2-9 are read normally, but ‘1’ is counted as a 10 with an extra roll added (so ‘1’ + ‘6’ = 16) and a ‘0’ counts as a zero with an additional number of d10s rolled. The number of extra ‘botch dice' increases in conjunction with the nominal danger of the situation, and each one rolled is checked to see if they also come up with a ‘0’ which would make it a ‘botch’ - the more rolled, the worse the botch.</p><p></p><p>I think that Ars Magica was the first RPG to self describe itself as a ’Storytelling’ game and make notions towards being ‘narrative’ in design. These days the term can be disputed as to what this actually means in a game. In the case of Ars Magica, the innovations of Troupe style play (with no adherence to game balance between characters and shifting ’Storyguides'), group-shared Covenant design, the structure of a ’Saga' being based on Seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) along with copious advice about how to structure stories in the text, meant that being ‘narrative’ was the main thrust of the game.</p><p></p><p>Magic in the game does not rely on spell points or any other such measure. Wizards are really powerful and can cast their spells as many times as they want, indefinitely - although spontaneous magic can Fatigue a character. However, the consequences of a botched magical skill roll can be really bad and over time the use of magic can ‘warp’ the casters and/or send them to ’Twilight'. Other spell casters can also counteract their magic, and make magical duels - formal contests are called ‘Certamen’ - to see which spell comes out on top. Similarly, some spells might meet magical resistance from various sources that need to be overcome through the casting roll.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TrippyHippy, post: 8420419, member: 27252"] Yes it is a stat+skill+d10 vs target number. Stats range from -5 to +5 in a scale not dissimilar to D&D’s Ability bonuses. In the case of a magic roll, it is Technique+Form+Stamina (a stat) for a formulaic spell, divided by 2 if spontaneous and Fatiguing, or divided by 5 if non-fatiguing (generally, cantrip-like at this level). Fatigue is tracked like health levels and are recovered over time. Ritual magic get extra skill scores added to the roll. The D10 can be read as a normal roll or, more likely, a ’stress roll’ where 2-9 are read normally, but ‘1’ is counted as a 10 with an extra roll added (so ‘1’ + ‘6’ = 16) and a ‘0’ counts as a zero with an additional number of d10s rolled. The number of extra ‘botch dice' increases in conjunction with the nominal danger of the situation, and each one rolled is checked to see if they also come up with a ‘0’ which would make it a ‘botch’ - the more rolled, the worse the botch. I think that Ars Magica was the first RPG to self describe itself as a ’Storytelling’ game and make notions towards being ‘narrative’ in design. These days the term can be disputed as to what this actually means in a game. In the case of Ars Magica, the innovations of Troupe style play (with no adherence to game balance between characters and shifting ’Storyguides'), group-shared Covenant design, the structure of a ’Saga' being based on Seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) along with copious advice about how to structure stories in the text, meant that being ‘narrative’ was the main thrust of the game. Magic in the game does not rely on spell points or any other such measure. Wizards are really powerful and can cast their spells as many times as they want, indefinitely - although spontaneous magic can Fatigue a character. However, the consequences of a botched magical skill roll can be really bad and over time the use of magic can ‘warp’ the casters and/or send them to ’Twilight'. Other spell casters can also counteract their magic, and make magical duels - formal contests are called ‘Certamen’ - to see which spell comes out on top. Similarly, some spells might meet magical resistance from various sources that need to be overcome through the casting roll. [/QUOTE]
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