Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Matt Black" data-source="post: 961006" data-attributes="member: 5477">I've run one game using Elements of Magic. I found the system extremely flexible and adaptible to different character concepts. I also really like the spell list idea - spell lists give great guidelines for the power level of spontaneous magic. They tell a mage exactly what he can and can't do. I loved the quirky special powers than magic-users got to choose from. They really help make each different, and give the feel that magic-users are somehow touched by supernatural forces.Problems, some of which it look like they may be addressed in the next version:There is some effort made to encourage themed caster types - you have grey, red, green, etc mages which have access to different sets of elements and targets, but because it's so easy to multi-class (your caster level keeps going up), you only have to take a single level of general mage to give your druid teleport and invisibility.Related to this is the fact that you get HEAPS of spell lists (partially necessary because you have to buy 'charm', 'abjure', etc. for every creature type & element separately. But it does mean that you can easily burn a single spell list or two for a very powerful magic type, which may not be particularly appropriate to your caster type.There is some encouragement to stick to a smaller set of magic themes - you gain slight bonuses for buying the same spell list for a number of different creatures or elements. However I think that more could be done in this regard - for example, feats might be created to steer casters in a particular direction. If you've spent a feat on becoming a 'master summoner' then you're going to want to invest more spell lists in summoning. Also, you could make it so that it's cheaper to buy spell lists for other creature types or elements once you've invested in your first.We also found that the system was a little time-intensive. You get so many spell lists at higher levels that high level mages take a long time to create, which can be a pain for DMs. Each spell list implies a large number of individual spells - at least one per spell level, but potentially many more. With dozens of spell lists, magic-users have a lot to choose from. This is mostly good for PCs, but made NPC casters tricky to run. Some guidelines to simplify NPC casters would have been helpful. The system works best when the players have  strong character concepts, and are willing to restrict themselves to those concepts when choosing spell lists. Two of my players made a necromancer/death-priest and an artificer/alchemist. These worked well, but even created at 4th level took a while to put together.A question for RangerWickett: Will the revised version be free to those who paid for V1.0? Really looking forward to seeing it.MB</blockquote>

Verification