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Elements of Magic & Low Magic Setting?
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<blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 2482420" data-attributes="member: 63"><p>Devyn, one day I might put out a mini-pdf with just some suggestions of this sort. But as a starter:</p><p></p><p>I designed EOM with a lot of sliding balance points. It's kinda like a chair in a luxury car. You can slide it forward or back, raise it up or down, tilt it forward or backward, and even heat it. If you toss in some extra cash, you can get a massage.</p><p></p><p>The main sliding balance points in EOM are:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">MP Limit.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">MP available.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Cost of spell effects.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Spell lists known.</li> </ul><p></p><p>So here'd be my suggestions for a low-magic, but not caster-neutered game. Bear in mind I only know of Iron Heroes from what I've read on these boards. Pick one or more options, mix em together, see what you like.</p><p></p><p>1. The easiest one is to restrict some spell lists. From what I read, IH characters don't need buff spells, and you might not want world-breaking magic, so just disallow Heal, Infuse, and Move spells except for Move Death, Move Life, and Move Force. You might also limit Abjure spells so that they can only be used for the Ward and Bind effects, not for damage reduction, AC boosts, etc. This still leaves you with Charm, Compel, Create, Dispel Magic, Divination, Evoke, Illusion, Scry, Spellcraft, Summon, and Transform. Or, taking a Grim Tales cue, just start off saying <em>no</em> magic is available, and decide what spell lists you do want to be available.</p><p></p><p>2. Limit the spell lists known. Mages get MP as usual, but they have to seek out sources to get spell lists. Maybe to learn Evoke Fire you have to defeat a fire elemental in a game of chance, and to get Charm Humanoid you have to sacrifice a point of Wisdom to the mind-raping of a dream monster. They don't get <em>any</em> spell lists automatically, so you can specifically decide what magic they get access to.</p><p></p><p>3. Reduce the MP Limit. You might be a powerful archmage, and can cast lots of weak spells, but no bringing back the dead, teleporting, or turning into a dragon. That doesn't really fit with the style of sword & sorcery novels, though. In those stories, powerful archmages might have lots of minor, discreet spells protecting them, but when they cast their one or two spells, those spells are dramatic and cool.</p><p></p><p>4. Maybe reduce the amount of MP you get by half. Your spells are as powerful, but you have to be more conservative with when you use them.</p><p></p><p>5. Taking another Grim Tales approach (and one I'm co-opting for my modern version of the EOM rules), you have two MP Limits. The first one is your safe limit, and it's 6 less than your character level. So if you're 8th level, you can cast 2-MP spells safely, and if 6th level or less, you have no safe limit. Then you have your actual limit, which is equal to your character level. If you cast something higher than your safe limit, you suffer some sort of drawback. You become fatigued, or you take 1 Strength damage for each MP the spell was above your safe limit (if you run out of Str, you take Con damage). Basically what this does is allow you to use lots of weak spells which won't affect the game too much, but you have to be cautious when you cast powerful spells.</p><p></p><p>I personally recommend using 5 with either 1 or 3.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RangerWickett, post: 2482420, member: 63"] Devyn, one day I might put out a mini-pdf with just some suggestions of this sort. But as a starter: I designed EOM with a lot of sliding balance points. It's kinda like a chair in a luxury car. You can slide it forward or back, raise it up or down, tilt it forward or backward, and even heat it. If you toss in some extra cash, you can get a massage. The main sliding balance points in EOM are: [list][*]MP Limit. [*]MP available. [*]Cost of spell effects. [*]Spell lists known.[/list] So here'd be my suggestions for a low-magic, but not caster-neutered game. Bear in mind I only know of Iron Heroes from what I've read on these boards. Pick one or more options, mix em together, see what you like. 1. The easiest one is to restrict some spell lists. From what I read, IH characters don't need buff spells, and you might not want world-breaking magic, so just disallow Heal, Infuse, and Move spells except for Move Death, Move Life, and Move Force. You might also limit Abjure spells so that they can only be used for the Ward and Bind effects, not for damage reduction, AC boosts, etc. This still leaves you with Charm, Compel, Create, Dispel Magic, Divination, Evoke, Illusion, Scry, Spellcraft, Summon, and Transform. Or, taking a Grim Tales cue, just start off saying [i]no[/i] magic is available, and decide what spell lists you do want to be available. 2. Limit the spell lists known. Mages get MP as usual, but they have to seek out sources to get spell lists. Maybe to learn Evoke Fire you have to defeat a fire elemental in a game of chance, and to get Charm Humanoid you have to sacrifice a point of Wisdom to the mind-raping of a dream monster. They don't get [i]any[/i] spell lists automatically, so you can specifically decide what magic they get access to. 3. Reduce the MP Limit. You might be a powerful archmage, and can cast lots of weak spells, but no bringing back the dead, teleporting, or turning into a dragon. That doesn't really fit with the style of sword & sorcery novels, though. In those stories, powerful archmages might have lots of minor, discreet spells protecting them, but when they cast their one or two spells, those spells are dramatic and cool. 4. Maybe reduce the amount of MP you get by half. Your spells are as powerful, but you have to be more conservative with when you use them. 5. Taking another Grim Tales approach (and one I'm co-opting for my modern version of the EOM rules), you have two MP Limits. The first one is your safe limit, and it's 6 less than your character level. So if you're 8th level, you can cast 2-MP spells safely, and if 6th level or less, you have no safe limit. Then you have your actual limit, which is equal to your character level. If you cast something higher than your safe limit, you suffer some sort of drawback. You become fatigued, or you take 1 Strength damage for each MP the spell was above your safe limit (if you run out of Str, you take Con damage). Basically what this does is allow you to use lots of weak spells which won't affect the game too much, but you have to be cautious when you cast powerful spells. I personally recommend using 5 with either 1 or 3. [/QUOTE]
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