Anyone picked up True Sorcery?

[iwatt]

Also, the GM can do marvelous things with material components. I don't know about True Sorcery yet, but on other games GMs have come up with spell components that gave bonuses of varying size to the skill check based on its affinity to certain talents. Dried Zombie Claws give a +6 to fear spells, for instance, or a snoe eel's egg gives a +8 to all cold-energy spells, or powdered stone giant femur gives either a +4 to telekinesis spells, or a +4 to any Earth spells, etc.

Now this idea is awesome!! TS uses a circumstance bonus from expendable components that depend on the spell magnitude. But using thematically appropriate components is awesome and great for plot hooks!!!

"I Love the smell of bat guano in the morning"

 

[Henry]

Now this idea is awesome!! TS uses a circumstance bonus from expendable components that depend on the spell magnitude. But using thematically appropriate components is awesome and great for plot hooks!!!

"I Love the smell of bat guano in the morning"

Yeah -- did any of you ever have those experiences in AD&D where you went monster hunting just for the components to make a magic item? They're back, baby!! Only this time, for spells!

"A Displacer Beast? FANTASTIC!!! Just wait a minute and let me collect the adrenal gland..."

SPLUT! CRACK!

 

[Banshee16]

This is the info we released about the book months ago and it's pretty clear about what the book is. If people didn't choose to read it, there's not much we can do about that.

True Sorcery
A Magic Sourcebook for OGL Gaming
Author: Robert J. Schwalb
Cover Artist: Matt Cavotta
Format: 128 pages, softback
MSRP: Print $23.95, PDF $12.00
Product Code: GRR1707
ISBN: 1-932442-71-5

True Sorcery introduces a flexible, dynamic, and innovative magic system that puts eldritch mastery into your hands. Forget slots and spells per day; True Sorcery gives you the power to build spells of your own design, letting you decide how fast, how far, and how potent your spells will be. With these rules, you become the true master of magic. Revised and expanded from the ENnie Award-winning The Black Company Campaign Setting, this system provides new spells, a slew of sample spell effects, feats, and an all-new magic item creation system. The book also includes conversion guides so you can use True Sorcery with Malhavoc Press’s Iron Heroes, d20 Modern, Thieves’ World, and the hit True20 Adventure Roleplaying game. No matter what OGL game you favor, True Sorcery opens the door to a new world of magical possibilities.

So does this mean that if you're not running Iron Kingdoms or Thieves World or True20, that it's not going to be compatible? The whole time along, I'd been hoping it would be able to be used with regular D20....be that D&D, or Iron Kingdoms or Arcana Unearthed or whatever. I don't know how far Iron Heroes and Thieves World differ from regular D20.

Banshee

 

[iwatt]

So does this mean that if you're not running Iron Kingdoms or Thieves World or True20, that it's not going to be compatible? The whole time along, I'd been hoping it would be able to be used with regular D20....be that D&D, or Iron Kingdoms or Arcana Unearthed or whatever. I don't know how far Iron Heroes and Thieves World differ from regular D20.

Banshee

Nah. The base book is completely portable to D&D as is IMNSHO

 

[ValhallaGH]

So does this mean that if you're not running Iron Kingdoms or Thieves World or True20, that it's not going to be compatible? The whole time along, I'd been hoping it would be able to be used with regular D20....be that D&D, or Iron Kingdoms or Arcana Unearthed or whatever. I don't know how far Iron Heroes and Thieves World differ from regular D20.

Banshee

It's for all OGL gaming. Which means it is for all d20 gaming, especially D&D. The base assumption is that you will replace the D&D Sorcerer class with the True Sorcery Spellcaster class. The rest of the system is written with that base assumption, along with advice on replacing any or all caster classes with this system.

The conversion material is just there for those systems that Green Ronin feels that it should be supporting; such systems as True20 (a Green Ronin system), Iron Heroes (which needs a new magic system) and d20 Modern (which would appreciate a new magic system).

 

[Azgulor]

Example snipped:

Now, i do recall that the precise focus of this book is subtely over power, and that is exactly what is happening here. I can cast a lot of lesser, safer spells, but the balance of power is 180 degrees from what I - we - are used to. And i'm not sure that's what i'm looking for.

Furthermore, even tinkering mildly with the augmentations of a spell will suck up game time as I frantically flip back and forth and recalculate DC's. Having a set, prepared spell is fine, but casting spells on the fly will be much more problematic.

I think you just made a sale for Green Ronin! Lesser, safer spells cast more frequently and a focus on subtlety over power - I've waited 20 years for D&D (or one of its variants) to get that right! 90% of all the fantasy fiction I've read works this way. NONE of it works like D&D magic - hell, even the FR novels usually don't have magic work the way it does in D&D.

Azgulor

 

[JohnSnow]

As a comparison, from Black Company a Force Hammer hitting multiple targets would be about a DC 38 (40 ft range, fort save half, 20 ft, radius, 6d4 nonlethal dmg, drain 1d8+7). If Student of Magic worked the same as BCCS student of wizardry, that would be about 2 spell energy points just by itself. (well, for my BCCS wizards, more like 4 spell energy points, because I always make sure the wizard has a high CON for this system).

Well, I have both, and it's not a lot different. As of the non-errata pdf, they've made three (IMO) weird changes from the BCCS system. One is that an extra die of damage now adds +5 to the DC. Secondly, the cost to increase burst radius is +5 per 5 ft. rather than +5 per 10 ft. Finally, the time to cast table is slightly altered. From the emails I traded with Rob, I got the impression some of those might be errors.

Using the Force spell in True Sorcery to reproduce the same spell, I get DC 62.

Math: DC 10 (base), +30 ft. (+3), +5d4 nonlethal (+25), area to ranged (+5), burst (+4), +15 ft. (+15).

The difference is in the higher cost for the burst radius (15 vs. 5) and the MUCH higher cost for the extra dice of damage (+25 vs. +10). But there's no saving throw.

Take off those differences, and the True Sorcery version would be DC 27 and drain 1d8 + 5.

Student of Magic class feature grants Spell Energy = Con modifier +1 (Min 1). Dabbler grants Con bonus (min 1).

For the record, the Iron Heroes Arcanist is a little different.

 

[Fenris]

Well Henry had me sold on this systme from our GT game. I have been waiting for it for a while. I suppose it is too late for the printed versions though and they have gone to the printer with the errors?

How well would the errata sync with the print version. I dislike pdfs but to get a correct copy that maybe my route. :\

 

[Banshee16]

I assume that everyone is looking at the PDF version right now. I've been waiting for the print version. Would it be too much to hope that the errata which is being discussed and gathered right now would be applied to the print book, or will it go to print full of all those errors? Is it too late to fix it?

Banshee

 

[ValhallaGH]

I get the feeling that the final PDF version, assuming it is finalized by the end of next week, is the version that will hit the printers. That's why GR is trying so hard to catch all those last minute errors that they've missed, or not had, previously.

Of course, I don't actually know and am probably talking out of my behind.