Elements of Magic - Mythic Earth (post-release proofread complete!)

[RangerWickett]

Additionally, I must have accidentally deleted the 'Strong Emotion' for Courage in the Charm spell.

Heroic (5 MP): Heroic creatures gain a +2 morale bonus to attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, ability checks, saves, and skill checks. The spell also acts as a strong Calm against fear effects only.

 

[RangerWickett]

I'm somewhat confused by this, as the Craft Permanent Spell feat seems to indicate quite clearly that it's the feat used for permanent items as well. Given that, and what Marius said about the CP costs, I don't see why either permanent spells or permanent items would be more attractive than the other.

The issue is that Permanent Spells can be created on the spot. You're like, "I want to turn you into a toad forever. Bam!"

Or better yet, "I want +6 Strength." With a permanent spell, that takes 2 rounds tops. With an item, it takes 13 days.

Originally I was looking for different ways to balance the immediacy, which I think is why the feat Craft Permanent Spell says it can work for both items and permanent spells. But I ultimately decided that it worked better the way I had it originally in EOM-R. I just didn't fix the feat.

 

[RangerWickett]

In the latest post of The Long Road - A [smallcaps]High Fantasy[/smallcaps] Storyhour, I've posted stats for a general thug who showed up in the game, and a sample spellcaster.

 

[Marius Delphus]

Well, in D&D, permanent spells (like that +6 STR) are simply of unlimited duration and can be dispelled entirely, whereas magic items are merely suppressed briefly when dispelled. So there's a built-in limitation right there. (Of course, there might be practical limitations depending on the spell: to dispel the Exorcise Spirit spell, for example, maybe you'd have to find the spirit that was exorcised.)

If you wanted the ability to place an item-type permanent spell on something other than an item, maybe that's one thing only epic spellcasters can pull off. Which would lead to dispelling such spells, or disjoining items (as Mordenkainen's disjunction), as another thing only epic spellcasters could do.

 

[RangerWickett]

Ah. Hm. Ugh.

Hrm?

Okay, random noises aside, this is an insight into how difficult it is to keep track of a whole magic system by oneself. I remember considering Marius Delphus's (he's the brilliant layout artist responsible for the gorgeous look of the book) idea. I think I was hesitant to use it because it meant that someone could use a renewable resource (a spell to dispel magic) to counter a non-renewable resource (Action Points used to create a permanent spell).

 

[Marius Delphus]

I think I was hesitant to use it because it meant that someone could use a renewable resource (a spell to dispel magic) to counter a non-renewable resource (Action Points used to create a permanent spell).

Eek. Urgh.

I ended up deleting that part of my post when I found I'd made a tiny but critical rules error regarding D&D permanent spells. This DID occur to me. Honestly.

I came up with some possibilities, all of which I gave short shrift because I don't like them. (Probably why I didn't miss them when rereading my post.) My objections are in [brackets]:

1. Refund CP to the caster if a permanent spell is dispelled (probably some, but not all) [but this would require nasty, ptooie! bookkeeping!]
2. Charge fewer CP for permanent spells [adds math, assumes balance between permanent spells with caveat and items STILL isn't right; would need the most playtesting]
3. Require anyone dispelling a permanent spell to have the Craft Permanent Spell feat [doesn't make internal sense]
4. Require anyone dispelling a permanent spell to spend CP (of the four, I like this one best) [but how many? and as if there aren't enough uses for CP!]

And, well, thanks for the compliment

 

[RangerWickett]

Hence my opinion that it should use a similar format to EOM-R. One feat for items, one for Permanent Spells.

 

[RangerWickett]

And I want to give a thank you to Alzrius for his review of Mythic Earth. (At least I'm pretty sure Alzrius and Shane O'Conner are the same person. Silly screen names getting stuff all mucked up.

You raise a good point that there isn't enough focus on D&D usage. I did kinda figure that I'd done enough fantasy traditions in Lyceian Arcana, and I didn't want to repeat material from that book. I think I'd used up most of my best magical tradition ideas, so yeah, I could have done better there.

 

[genshou]

Hence my opinion that it should use a similar format to EOM-R. One feat for items, one for Permanent Spells.

I'm with RangerWickett on this one. When I bought the book, one of the strongest selling points for EoMR, aside from the magic system itself, was the way that magic item creation worked. I think ME should follow the same format. In EoMR a permanent magical effect cannot be dispelled, only supressed. I read this as saying it applies to both wondrous items and permanent spells. EoMR had the additional mechanical difference in item creation. If you don't want to spend gold, you can instead spend XP. Is this (a distinct mechanical difference in how the cost is paid) the case in EoM-ME? I haven't gotten that far into the book yet

 

[Alzrius]

And I want to give a thank you to Alzrius for his review of Mythic Earth.

It was my pleasure. Reviewing is its own reward. That and the free products.

(At least I'm pretty sure Alzrius and Shane O'Conner are the same person. Silly screen names getting stuff all mucked up.

Gah! You revealed my secret identity!

You raise a good point that there isn't enough focus on D&D usage. I did kinda figure that I'd done enough fantasy traditions in Lyceian Arcana, and I didn't want to repeat material from that book. I think I'd used up most of my best magical tradition ideas, so yeah, I could have done better there.

I felt like I was being punitive assigning four out of five stars over that, but I did feel that there was some room for iconic fantasy traditions, among other fantasy features, that wasn't utilized. Don't get me wrong, I love what I see in ME (pun intended), but I also saw that there could have been more.