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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Crazy Jerome" data-source="post: 5827844" data-attributes="member: 54877">I'm very much in favor of all low-powered magic enhancing existing abilities instead of serving as replacements. Knock gives a hefty bonus to open that lock (perhaps for several tries) instead of opening it direct. Charm Person gives a +10 to appropriate social checks for the duration. And so forth. Arcana Unearthed/Evolved use this technique to great effect. But you are right that this is a great place to use alternate dice instead of a straight plus. A decent sneaker in an elven cloak with 2d10 has a nice boost, while an already excellent sneaker in such a cloak is really hard to detect. You get the effect you want (skill still matters), with some definite boosts. Perhaps in the mundane to magical distinctions, it could be roughed out like this:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fantastical but Mundane: Elven cloak gives you 2d10 with sneak, doesn't help clumsy, untrained guy in plate all that much.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Magical Aid to Mundane: Cloaking spell gives you +10 to sneak, helps everyone in obviously magical way, as now that plate guy sneaks like a trained, low-level rogue in leather, and the rogue can do things that simply aren't normally possible.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Straight Magical: Invisibility - you are or you aren't. Skill still matters for sound here, but you are undetectable to sight.</li> </ul>I'd like for most of the low-level magic to be of the first two kinds.  As you move to more magical at a given level, the costs go up.  (Obvious cost in a Vancian system--the straight magical is limited to the 1/day or slots or whatever.  You'd have different costs with other systems.)  As the caster gains in power, they start doing some of the first two more or less whenever they feel like it, either because it is now "at will" or similarly frequent, a ritual that costs little at this stage of the game, or other such reasons.  The straight magical gets more frequent, but definitely retains limits. That leaves room for mundane equipment to operate, still growing gradually less important by character level, but parts of it remaining good backup options well into the higher levels.</blockquote>

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