RuleMaster said:
FYI, I asked RangerWickett some months ago, if there will be some kind of "Circle Magic", and he said, that there will be "Group Casting" in Lyceian Arcana. If it is still true (can that be confirmed?), then no work is necessary.
Here’s the basics of it, which will vary depending on the style of ritual magic you use in your game.
To cast a spell through combined effort, you need to have all the contributing spellcasters donate MP. The amount of MP you donate is worth a different amount of ‘Ritual Magic Points.’ The MP cost of the spell you’re trying to cast determines how much RMP it takes to pay for it. There’s more to it than this, but here’s the chart.
MP Paid: - RMP Value:
01 : ……1
02 : ……2
03 : ……3
04 : ……4
05 : ……6
06 : ……8
07 : …..12
08 : …..15
09 : …..25
10 : …..35
11 : …..50
12 : …..65
13 : …..95
14 : ….125
15 : ….190
16 : ….250
17 : ….375
18 : ….500
19 : ….750
20 : …1000
21 : …1500
22 : …2000
23 : …3000
24 : …4000
25 : …6000
26 : …8000
27 : ..12000
28 : ..16000
29 : ..24000
30 : ..32000
31 : ..48000
32 : ..64000
33 : ..96000
34 : .128000
35 : .192000
36 : .256000
37 : .384000
38 : .512000
39 : .768000
40 : 1024000
41+ : For each 2 MP you increase, double the cost.
Only spellcasters who know all the spell lists used in the spell you’re casting can donate MP, and each cannot donate more MP in a single round than his MP Limit. However, the spellcasters can donate MP over the course of several turns. Each round a mage donates MP, he must make a caster level check (DC equal to the spell being cast), or else his donated MP is wasted.
Once all the MP is gathered, the group must still cast the spell. Since you are casting the spell on the fly, this takes two full rounds. A ‘lead caster’ makes a caster level check (DC 11 + spell MP cost), and each assisting spellcaster who beats a DC 10 caster level check gives the main caster a +2 bonus. If the check succeeds, the spell is cast. If the spell fails by less than 5, the spell just fails. If the check fails by 5 or more, the spell backlashes on those involved. The specifics of the backlash depend on how the GM wants to set up his magic.
A nice guideline is damage equal to the spell’s MP cost, and a point of Wisdom damage for each MP the spell is above the strongest Mage’s MP Limit. A particularly nasty setting, something Cthulhu-esque, might have you still take half damage on a success.
Example One: Four 14th level mages try to cast a 20-MP spell. Each 14 MP they donate is worth 125 RMP, and a 20-MP spell takes 1000 RMP to cast. Each round, the mages have to succeed DC 20 caster level checks, but if they’re not in a rush, they can just take 10. After two rounds of each donating 14 MP, they have enough MP, and can begin casting the spell. Two rounds later, the mage who is the leader makes a DC 30 caster level check. The other three casters cannot fail their assist check, so the lead mage adds a +6 bonus to his check. If the lead mage Takes 10, he will manage to succeed in casting the spell.
Example Two: A 20th level mage tries to revive a legendary warrior who died centuries ago, a 25-MP spell. The mage spends six rounds donating 20 MP each round, enough to total the 6000 RMP needed for the 25-MP spell. After concentrating for six rounds, and spending two rounds to cast the spell, he must make a DC 35 caster level check.
Still undergoing some revision. It’s rather hard to playtest 30-MP effects.
Okay, here is my error and questions list - I'm posting this here, so your other thread is kept pure for printing purposes. Please include confirmed ones there.
Errata:
Page 7: Can a Transform Specialist while being Animagus change his animal form using this ability? Why can't be all Boons upgraded like the Minor Energy Resistance?
No to the Transform Specialist question. For the other question, some of the boons sorta scale, like spiritual medium to sixth sense. The boons were mostly just sample ideas for minor magical powers that would be interesting and flavorful. It should be easy to make up new ones for your own game.
Page 24: "Diogenes’s Deshackling (Dispel Magic 13/Gen 2)": Shouldn't the name be "Diogenes’ Deshackling"? And the spell is a Dispel Magic 14/Gen 1.
Depending on which book you reference, it is either correct or incorrect to put ‘s after a singular word that ends in S. For plurals that end in S, like “Mages’ Spellbooks,” you never put the s after the apostrophe.
And yes, it is incorrectly listed as 13/2 on page 24.
Page 27: "When you first cast the spell, you can choose to have its duration be less than the normal one minute. You can also dismiss the spell as a standard action." This is true for spells with enhanced durations?
You can dismiss any spell you cast by spending a standard action. Or, when you cast a spell, you can choose any specific duration that is less than the amount you paid for. That way, the spell will end automatically and you don’t have to spend an action to end it. It doesn’t come up often.
Page 31: "Saving Throw, [Element]. The spell provides a saving throw bonus against natural attacks (including innate magical attacks) from creatures with the appropriate elemental descriptor." and similar. If innate magical attacks are also attacks with innate mage levels, how count these magical attacks, if extra mage levels stack with the innate ones? As normal if the MPs spent are more than the innate mage level?
So you’re asking, basically, if you had a fire monster with a natural caster level of 5, and it cast a spell on you, would Abjure Fire give you a saving throw bonus against the spell? Yes. If the creature then took a level of Mage to have a caster level of 6, would Abjure Fire still protect against its spells?
I don’t know. It never came up. What do you think?
Page 32: Table 3.6: MP Cost & Energy Resistance: With 7 MPs one can gain a energy resistence of 40, but the corresponding Hex entry says only 35.
It’s easier to get a resistance to energy than it is to remove resistance. Not all effects of reversible spell lists are equal in cost.
Page 34: How interact Energy Weakness and Energy Resistance, if you weak someone with full resistence? Also only the table has the text "Energy Weakness", the surrounding text mentions still "Energy Resistance".
If you try to ‘reduce’ energy immunity, there’s no effect. You’d have to spend 8 MP to remove the energy immunity, or 15 MP to remove every energy resistance on the creature.
Page 42: "Telepathic Domination (7 MP). For the spell’s duration, you may command the creature whenever you want from any distance, with any level of complexity." Also on other planes? "Mind Modify": Does a permanent modification count as effect, which counts to the number of permanent spells and wondrous items a character can use?
As per the core rules, pretty much nothing extends to other planes unless it says so.
Any permanent spell, even an unwilling one, counts against the limit.
Page 44: "Elemental Object": "(2 MP for the area of effect, the base 2 MP for this enhancement, and then another 2 MP because of how much the area of effect costs)." The first 2 MP are for the enhancement Elemental Object.
I don’t know what you’re saying.
Page 45: "Create Air": "farhenheit" instead "Fahrenheit".
Page 46: "Create Light", "Create Shadow": Do they cancel each other? At least Evoke Shadow has an influence on Create Light, but why not vice versa?
Of course they negate each other.
Page 48: "Pocket Armory": "Thee can be any weapons and armor of your choice,..." "Thee" instead "They".
Dispel Magic: "Dispel Magic can dispel (but not counter) the ongoing effects of supernatural abilities as well as spells." The new 3.5 core rules don't allow this anymore. "Area of Effect: Normally you’ll target only a single spell or effect with this skill, but sometimes you may want to dispel or counter every effect in an area, and thus you can purchase area of effect enhancements normally as with any spell." If a spell covers more area than the dispel spell can target, what happens?
I could’ve sworn I got the ‘dispel supernatural abilities’ text from the 3.5 PHB. Hrm. Well, since most such abilities don’t have MP costs or caster levels, just ignore it.
Page 49: Counterspelling, Example Two: "TheDC is 34 (11 + caster level + 0 for...". Obvious.
Page 51: "Example Six: Ursus is generally cautious of being spyed on,...". "spyed" instead "spied".
Page 52: "Fire Guard" - "You must know Evoke Fire to have the shield set to protect against it." While there are 4 MP spent on Dispel Magic, it isn't mentioned that "Fire Guard" can know three other spell lists.
You
can have up to 4 spell lists, but I chose to only mention 1. The rest were unimportant to the flavor of the spell, and up to you to decide.
Page 56: "Putrify Food" instead "Putrefy".
"Ice – Freeze": Do objects gain their hardness back after the end of the duration?
Of course they go back to normal when the spell ends.
Page 57: "Life - Life": What can protect against the Mild effect? Abjure Life?
Nope. If you use the mild side effect of Evoke Life, you change the way the spell deals damage. It should have been spelled out, but no, Life resistance will reduce the damage, but it won’t stop it from being mental.
Page 58: "Time – Temporality: If an Evoke Time spell is save-based, it allows a Will save instead of a Reflex save." Shouldn't that be worded like the other examples? "Evoke Time spells that allow saving throws for half damage require Will saves instead of Reflex saves." Or can be chosen between a Reflex and a Will save?
Nope, it’s Will. It was just that, when we cleared up the wording of that effect on other Evoke spells, we didn’t clear it up for Evoke Time.
Page 68: "Casters can choose not to make the recipient detect in this way, and most magic items that grant ability bonuses do not change a creature’s aura." "detect" instead "detectable"? And if a caster has chosen this option, is the recipient still affectable as described above?
“Detect” I think is a suitable word, but regardless, if the caster of Infuse Fire chooses for the subject to not become a Fire creature, then Heal Fire won’t heal it. If the caster chooses for Infuse Evil to not make the target detect as evil, then Evoke Good won’t do full damage to it.
Page 69: "Phasing Attack. The attack selectively passes through certain types of matter harmlessly,..." What certain types?
Read the next sentence in that paragraph. It ignores armor and shields, but not the enhancement bonuses of those items.
Page 71: "Move Life": A permanent Move Life used for possession allows someone to take over the body of dragon and kill his own former body. This lets some questions open: What happens to the hit dice? Do I gain the racial hit dice of my new body? Do I gain all ex-, su- and sp-abilities? What happens, if a (permanent) dispel affects me?
If you’re in the body, you’d have all your class-based hit dice, plus all the racial hit dice appropriate to that body. You’d have all that body’s appropriate abilities. Your GM will probably want to adjust your effective character level, but hey, if you manage to force your way into a dragon’s body, good for you.
If you’ve made the spell permanent, and a temporary dispel is used, your soul is forced out of your body, akin to the spirit wander effect. If your original body is still alive, the two souls go back to their normal sides. Otherwise, your soul’s just ejected and the body lies limp. If the dispel is permanent, and your original body is dead, you die too, and may end up as some sort of uneasy spirit if your GM wants. Your new body lives on in a coma-like state.
Page 72: "Move Nature": No explanations are given for Snowstep, Waterwalk and Airwalk. "Move Space": What category is a place which has been scried upon?
Snowstep lets you walk on snow or ice without making balance checks. Waterwalk lets you walk on water as if it were solid ground. Airwalk lets you walk on air as if it were solid ground. I thought that seemed obvious enough. If you’ve scryed on a place, it counts as ‘Viewed Once,’ unless you’ve scryed on it a lot.
Page 74: "Remote Viewing": What is the base DC for the Will save for noticing, that one's being scried upon? The same of the spell?
Yes. If a spell mentions a save DC, it’s always 10 + ½ MP cost + caster’s Charisma bonus, unless it says otherwise.
Page 78: "Cantrip: A 0 MP Transform [Creature] spell can turn a willing creature into a creature of the appropriate type with CR ½ or lower, but only if they are the same element type." Shouldn't that be "the same creature type"? The last sentence of this paragraph half redundant.
No, a 0 MP Transform Animal spell would let you turn a human into a cat, Transform Humanoid would let you turn into a goblin, and Transform Vermin would let you turn into a giant bee. You could not, however, use Transform Undead to turn a human into a zombie, because one is a life creature, and one is a death creature.
Page 88: "...(base 10, 10 from MP, and 10 from psuedo-ranks)." Obvious. "you’ll usually want to combine this with some sort of inescapable death trap." This sentence is used twice - maybe one time too much.
Can items created, which can use the item creation feats themselves? How about intelligent items? If creatures can be created through the Permanent Spell feat, why can the undead spawn other undead? Because of the multiplier effect of the item creation feat above, is the magic some kind of virulent? Can created creatures be resurrected? And there is no mentioning of the "Pay 5000 XP and get a Wish-like effect.".
I’m not quite clear about the question.
The open question from my review: Do only the general creature types lose their immunities like [Plant] the immunity against transformations? Also subtypes like the Abominations (see the SRD or the ELH)? An example in the Transform spells shows that Dragons keep their Sleep immunity. Regarding Transform's Strong Defenses enhancement: I use the CR system from the (upcoming?) Immortals Handbook, which equals CR and ECL. Because so the CR includes the possibility of the player's abuse: Is Strong Defenses still necessary?
I’m not very familiar with the Immortals Handbook.
For immunities, generally if the immunity is only to a small type of magic (like dragons against sleep), it keeps it. If the creature had immunity to mind-affecting effects, it can still be affected by specifically-designed Charm and Compel lists against that creature type, since that was a key part of the design of the magic system. I wasn’t familiar with Abominations, so probably the most balanced thing for them would be to have a new Charm Abomination spell list.
As for Transforming the untransformable, I never understood why plants can’t be transformed, but then again, I rarely use plant monsters. For your game, I’d suggest you keep the resistance, but maybe allow it if you include the ‘different element type’ enhancement.
And I didn't found a possibility to increase the mental ability threshold from the Animate enhancement. Furthermore, the "partly transformation"-option should say something in the lines: "You can choose to transform yourself partly, like having bear claws instead hands. The resulting CR has to be examined like a new race, which is the corresponding modified base form of your own race without any class levels." Of course, this isn't something what can be done on the fly, but with the above mentioned CR system it is possible.
I didn’t want to allow you to increase mental ability scores. And yes, that’s pretty much what I was shooting for, with the warning that you should not let casters ‘research’ creatures that are inappropriate for their type. For instance, no humanoids with natural breath weapons.
