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anyone think that vancian magic is limited?
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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8831631" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>Whereas I have found such "power at a price" systems provide <em>extreme</em> incentives to breaking both the spirit and the intended play experience in order to minimize the "price" and maximize the "power." Further, because a dead character is usually a speed bump in such systems (because all characters die easily and frequently, most of the time), the "price" is merely a delay, a waiting until you get lucky. Getting a royal flush in a single draw is rare and special. Getting a royal flush when you discard all the cards, shuffle, and start drawing again the instant you get a card that breaks the flush is neither rare nor special: it <em>guarantees</em> you will get one eventually. And winning for long enough to reach the "phenomenal cosmic power" stage of a Wizard is quite a bit easier than repeatedly shuffling and drawing until you get a royal flush. (That is, the probability that you won't ever get a royal flush no matter how many times you try is 0, and it converges to 0 much faster than it would if you were just counting the chance of drawing one outright.)</p><p></p><p>This is not to say that it is <em>impossible</em> to create a magic system which enforces some degree of risk. Just that, if you do, you must be <em>absolutely certain</em> that there is no way to subvert the price, nor to win the prize without paying. As the game grows more rich in detail, the player's ability to do this grows in combinatoric explosion.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 8831631, member: 6790260"] Whereas I have found such "power at a price" systems provide [I]extreme[/I] incentives to breaking both the spirit and the intended play experience in order to minimize the "price" and maximize the "power." Further, because a dead character is usually a speed bump in such systems (because all characters die easily and frequently, most of the time), the "price" is merely a delay, a waiting until you get lucky. Getting a royal flush in a single draw is rare and special. Getting a royal flush when you discard all the cards, shuffle, and start drawing again the instant you get a card that breaks the flush is neither rare nor special: it [I]guarantees[/I] you will get one eventually. And winning for long enough to reach the "phenomenal cosmic power" stage of a Wizard is quite a bit easier than repeatedly shuffling and drawing until you get a royal flush. (That is, the probability that you won't ever get a royal flush no matter how many times you try is 0, and it converges to 0 much faster than it would if you were just counting the chance of drawing one outright.) This is not to say that it is [I]impossible[/I] to create a magic system which enforces some degree of risk. Just that, if you do, you must be [I]absolutely certain[/I] that there is no way to subvert the price, nor to win the prize without paying. As the game grows more rich in detail, the player's ability to do this grows in combinatoric explosion. [/QUOTE]
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anyone think that vancian magic is limited?
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