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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ValhallaGH" data-source="post: 3101956" data-attributes="member: 41187">Ah, normal.  If you consider the PCs of an Iron Heroes game to be "normal" then it is indeed low magic, by your deffinition.  If you  don't then Iron Heroes is not merely an epic fantasy adventure game, it's also high magic.Monsters are bad guys.  Bad guys get to break the rules.  That's why they are bad guys.Nice try, though.Easy and Capable are relative tersm.  Clear up the following for me and that would be a great breakdown.How can you run a normal D&D game with the Iron Heroes rules system?  How do you handle the multitude of casters found in D&D?  How you do you handle the plethora of magic equipment?  How can you maintain a semblance of game balance?How can you do all of the above easily?If you can answer that then I would love to see it.  I've been wracking my brain over an IH-Eberron conversion for some time and have yet to achieve anything I am satisfied with.Capable of what?  Compared to whom?Yes, that wasn't the best possible pitch to market the Arcanist; however, I am the anti-thesis of a marketing person as I (almost without exception) stick with blunt truth.  Second, I was trying to point out it's flaws and weaknesses, not it's good points (of which the Arcanist class has many and the magic system has very few).  Third, while a well built and played Arcanist can be as effective any other PC, he is hardly equivalent to a D&D Sorcerrer.  Evocation is an impressively weak school in IH, so much so that the Eldritch Dart ability is generally supperior to an evocation spell; quite the departure from the potential artillery platform of the Sorcerer.  There is no dispell ability written into the IH system (though it appears to have been intended), meaning that a third of the D&D caster's intended role (cancelling out other casters and their effects) cannot be performed by the Arcanist.  Many mastery 8, 9, or 10 effects are equivalent to D&D spells of levels 4, 5, 6 or 7, yet the D&D spells arrive 3 or more levels earlier.  Etc, etc.My point is gathered from the implications and results (empirical and theoretical) of the game mechanics of the Iron Heroes magic system.  Period.  1) Spells can fail to cast, every single time.  Skilled mages are less likely to fail but a natural 1 is always a failure and often a major disaster.2) Magic is harmful; almost as much for the mage as for his foes.  Strain, minor disasters, major disasters and the sacrifices involved in the Arcane Pact ability are all proof of this.3) Casting a spell is a lot like playing Russian Roulette.  You may be fine, your foes may eat the bullet, your friends may eat the bullet or you may eat the bullet.  It's all a matter of luck.Personally, I would like it if the magic system worked better, i.e. were more powerful and less disasterous.  That's why I've adopted the True Sorcery system for my Iron Heroes games.</blockquote>

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