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Pendragon d20?
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<blockquote data-quote="ColonelHardisson" data-source="post: 346857" data-attributes="member: 363"><p>Yes, I have it. We nominated it for an ENnie. I also mentioned it above.</p><p></p><p>Simon Collins mentions in his review that the Geomancy section would be good for a Pendragon-like game. I agree. I also think that Alchemy & Herbalists is also a good resource for such a game.</p><p></p><p>However, I think that some people want want something that doesn't really need much in the way of game mechanics, as far as a magic system for a Pendragon d20 conversion is concerned. </p><p></p><p>If spellcasters are made to be less powerful than fighter-types when it comes to melee, then there is no point in going beyond what early editions of Pendragon said to do when it came to magic - it's purely the province of the DM. No hard rules are needed; the DM simply decides the effects. There would be no point to do otherwise; if a wizard or sorceress has to rest for days after using a few spells, then he or she would be useless as a PC. I suppose some would find enjoyment in roleplaying such a character, but would probably tire of being overshadowed in every single combat the party engages in. Plus, if I was in that party, I'd probably tire of protecting such a character and dividing treasure and XP with him or her, just so they can toss some relatively weak or nebulous spells every so often.</p><p></p><p>Further, magic, if it's going to be for PC use, needs hard rules. While the thought of a system that somehow retains a mysterous air to it is appealing, the fact that we need to quantify it to keep the game fair necessitates hard rules. That's the nature of d20. Something like Ars Magica's system seems appropriate, but that's a game in which the wizards dominate. They don't dominate in Pendragon.</p><p></p><p>So, the gist of all this is - if you want spellcasting PCs in Pendragon d20, you'll have to use a system that uses hard rules for magic - like the D&D rules. Call of Cthulhu's magic system, or a variant of it, would also work well, but that system is not an integral part of a class' power. If a CoCd20 PC doesn't get spells to use, he or she is still going to be balanced against the other PCs. So why not use CoCd20 rules for PCs? Because CoCd20 characters are weaker than their D&D counterparts. It doesn't seem to fit with the Pendragon milieu. I guess you could devise a Pendragon spellcaster using the CoCd20 rules, and keep the D&D fighter-types, but you'd again have the weak PC in a party that is quite a bit more capable than him or her.</p><p></p><p>So what would I do? One of two things - either disallow spellcasting PCs in such a conversion, or use one of the d20 systems mentioned - of course, I'd simply use what I suggested above in my other posts. But, that's just me. Tastes vary.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ColonelHardisson, post: 346857, member: 363"] Yes, I have it. We nominated it for an ENnie. I also mentioned it above. Simon Collins mentions in his review that the Geomancy section would be good for a Pendragon-like game. I agree. I also think that Alchemy & Herbalists is also a good resource for such a game. However, I think that some people want want something that doesn't really need much in the way of game mechanics, as far as a magic system for a Pendragon d20 conversion is concerned. If spellcasters are made to be less powerful than fighter-types when it comes to melee, then there is no point in going beyond what early editions of Pendragon said to do when it came to magic - it's purely the province of the DM. No hard rules are needed; the DM simply decides the effects. There would be no point to do otherwise; if a wizard or sorceress has to rest for days after using a few spells, then he or she would be useless as a PC. I suppose some would find enjoyment in roleplaying such a character, but would probably tire of being overshadowed in every single combat the party engages in. Plus, if I was in that party, I'd probably tire of protecting such a character and dividing treasure and XP with him or her, just so they can toss some relatively weak or nebulous spells every so often. Further, magic, if it's going to be for PC use, needs hard rules. While the thought of a system that somehow retains a mysterous air to it is appealing, the fact that we need to quantify it to keep the game fair necessitates hard rules. That's the nature of d20. Something like Ars Magica's system seems appropriate, but that's a game in which the wizards dominate. They don't dominate in Pendragon. So, the gist of all this is - if you want spellcasting PCs in Pendragon d20, you'll have to use a system that uses hard rules for magic - like the D&D rules. Call of Cthulhu's magic system, or a variant of it, would also work well, but that system is not an integral part of a class' power. If a CoCd20 PC doesn't get spells to use, he or she is still going to be balanced against the other PCs. So why not use CoCd20 rules for PCs? Because CoCd20 characters are weaker than their D&D counterparts. It doesn't seem to fit with the Pendragon milieu. I guess you could devise a Pendragon spellcaster using the CoCd20 rules, and keep the D&D fighter-types, but you'd again have the weak PC in a party that is quite a bit more capable than him or her. So what would I do? One of two things - either disallow spellcasting PCs in such a conversion, or use one of the d20 systems mentioned - of course, I'd simply use what I suggested above in my other posts. But, that's just me. Tastes vary. [/QUOTE]
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