Looking for Advice on EoM: Mythic Earth

[Nowhere421]

Alrighty, a few days ago I got my hands on a copy of Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth and fell in love with the system on sight. Mythic Earth's magic system is pretty much everything I've been looking for in a d20 magic system and I'm really looking foward to running a ME game! However, I do have some concerns that were not addressed in the book, so I've come here looking for advice on these matters.

1.) Are there any particular guidelines I can follow when creating new Traditions? I want to include a few traditions of my own design and convert some from other games, but I'm not entirely sure how to go about it. This two Traditions represents my first attempt (would you say that they are balanced or should I go back to the drawing board?):

DIPSOMANCY [TRADITION]
You believe you gain potent magical powers while intoxicated.
Benefit: You gain the magical skills Attack, Defend, Divine, Illusion, Move, and Summon as class skills and receive a +2 bonus to all spellcasting checks. You may only cast spells while you are inebriated and must suffer from some manner of impairment penalty from an intoxicant to get your mojo to work just right; no penalty, no magic.
Rituals: [Not entirely sure what kind of rituals this tradition would have...]
Mishap: The mishap for this tradition is either going to be a.) You suffer a penalty equal to half the spell level to Wisdom for as long as the spell’s intended duration or b.) you pass out (and are thus rendered helpless) for the spell's intended duration.

ONE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS [TRADITION]
You are heir to the wondrous and supremely flexible, though blatantly unsubtle, magical traditions of Persia and the ancient Middle East.
Prerequisite: Knowledge (history) 4 ranks
Benefit: You gain all magical skills as class skills and gain a +2 bonus to any one spellcasting check of your choice, but you may not use death, physical damage, mental or sonic Attack spells, do not gain telepathic or mind reading Charm spells, and may only use obedient Summon spells. Furthermore any check made to reveal the presence of you or your magic is made with a +4 bonus.
Rituals: [still working on it...]
Mishap: You take damage equal to the spell level, and become surrounded in a terrifying nimbus of power, imposing a penalty on all Hide, Move Silently, and Charisma checks equal to half the spell’s level for the spell’s intended duration.

2.) Are there any specific pitfalls I should avoid while running an EoM: ME game?

3.) Pretty much everyone in my group wants to be a spellcaster, which is fine by me, but I am kind of worried about what an entire group of mages will do to the game. What would be the best way to keep the game balanced, fun, and challenging without rendering the player's powers useless at every other turn or unfairly railroading anyone?

4.) In my game, dimensional travel will play a pretty big part in the character's day-to-day lives, so I'm considering lowering the level cost of the Teleport, Shift to Gaia enhancement by 2 points. Is this a good idea?

5.) I've been thinking of using a different rule when it comes to dealing with Affliction enhancements and death damage under the Attack skill: rather than be avialible only to characters who have a Tradition that lets them deal death damage, any character with at least 6 ranks in the Attack skill may make full use of Affliction enhancements and death damage. Likewise, under the attack skill, to gain use of the "Other Move Enhancements" (fly, teleport, etc.) a character need only have 6-8 ranks in the Move skill. Is this a sound varient?

And that's all I got for now. I'd appreciate any advice I can get ^^ Also, I'm new to these forums so if this thread is in the wroong area, plase pardon my ignorance.

 

[ValhallaGH]

1) Dipsomancy rituals should involve drunken / stoned orgies.
Dipsomancy is okay but 1001 Nights is broken. There's a reason the generalist wizard tradition takes a -2 (it really only needs to be a -1) to it's spellcasting.
2) The Defend skill can be really ridiculous, as can the Move (Haste) stuff. Charm is insanely broken without a few small adjustments, after which it becomes quite reasonable. Rituals are usually okay but can get out of hand quickly.
And keep an eye on the magical enhancement limits. Your players won't, so you have to.
3) Use opposing mages, magical creatures, or magically aware- mage fighting organizations. Very, very rarely negate their magical abilities; instead oppose them with magics, tactics, and skills that make it difficult and fun for them to face these challenges.
4) Can't say. It might be alright but it might allow abusive travel, escapes, and other uses. Good luck.
5) No. Afflictions are freaking nasty. Even if you don't let them stack (which I didn't), they are the quickest way to end a fight (all enemies are reduced to 18 or fewer "hp" since a 0 ability renders the victim comatose, paralyzed or dead). Affecting others with move powers is insanely nice for combat, but not as bad for long distance travel.

Good luck.

 

[Nowhere421]

Thank you very much for the response ValhallaGH ^^

1) Dipsomancy rituals should involve drunken / stoned orgies.
Dipsomancy is okay but 1001 Nights is broken. There's a reason the generalist wizard tradition takes a -2 (it really only needs to be a -1) to it's spellcasting.

Alrighty, 1001 Nights is gone. As long as my drunken/stoner mages pass, I'm happy so no big loss there

2) The Defend skill can be really ridiculous, as can the Move (Haste) stuff. Charm is insanely broken without a few small adjustments, after which it becomes quite reasonable. Rituals are usually okay but can get out of hand quickly.
And keep an eye on the magical enhancement limits. Your players won't, so you have to.

Duely noted. What steps can I take to balance out Defend, Charm, and Move (haste)? Should I just remove Move (haste) alltogether?

3) Use opposing mages, magical creatures, or magically aware- mage fighting organizations. Very, very rarely negate their magical abilities; instead oppose them with magics, tactics, and skills that make it difficult and fun for them to face these challenges.

Much thanks ^^ For the record, I have no intention of negating their powers (at least, not more than once or twice). It kind of defeats the purpose of playing a spellcasting character and just plain isn't fun. I can't tell you how many Mage: the Awakening games I gave up on in frustration because the Storyteller kept trying to prevent us from using magic.

4) Can't say. It might be alright but it might allow abusive travel, escapes, and other uses. Good luck.

I already got that covered; one of the things I'm going to stress to the players is that just because they can travel to another dimension on a whim doesn't mean that their enemies can't do the same. Also, in my game Gaia is a pretty dangerous place, so travel there without proper perperation or forethought is a risky venture.

5) No. Afflictions are freaking nasty. Even if you don't let them stack (which I didn't), they are the quickest way to end a fight (all enemies are reduced to 18 or fewer "hp" since a 0 ability renders the victim comatose, paralyzed or dead). Affecting others with move powers is insanely nice for combat, but not as bad for long distance travel.

Alrighty, no Afflictions for anyone save for those who have the proper feats. So, should I hang on to the Movement Specilization feat? Also, I've been thinking of introducing a few new Affliction enchanments that impose a penalty to skill checks, attack rolls, and saving throws; does this idea have merit or is it potentially more trouble than it's worth?

Good luck.

Thanks for the encouragement and your time ^^