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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mmadsen" data-source="post: 5029716" data-attributes="member: 1645">A standard complaint about D&D magic (and much RPG magic in general) is that it doesn't feel magical; it's too tactical, too well-defined, too scientific.  Of course, if it's not well-defined, it's hard to adjudicate within a game -- and at least part of D&D's allure is that it's a game with rules.What are some straightforward, easy-to-adjudicate ways to get that "plot device" magic feel -- without losing game-ability?Ravenloft offers a few interesting elements.  Evil acts (and evil spells in particular) draw a Powers Check -- the Dark Powers may take notice and grant the evildoer a twisted boon to draw him down the Path of Corruption.  (Star Wars has Dark Side points that achieve much the same thing.)Ravenloft's curses mix dramatic elements with game mechanics, giving penalties for less dramatic curses: a large penalty for mentioning game mechanics in the curse, another penalty for broad prohibitions (e.g. no spellcasting) rather than narrow (e.g. blinding headaches with every spell cast), another penalty for not tailoring the curse to the victim, another penalty for not including an "escape clause" (e.g. until kissed by a beautiful princess), etc.  Naturally, there's a bonus for making a curse with your dying breath.Rather than offering just one 3rd-level version of bestow curse (with bland effects: −6 to an ability; −4 on attacks, saves, and checks; or 50% chance of losing each action), Ravenloft gives examples of curses from embarrassing to lethal: Embarrassing Forked Tongue Blackened Hands Hair Turns White Hungers for Raw Meat etc. Lethal Torturous Death Immediate Transformation into Monster Must Kill Daily etc.You could make an entire spell system out of Ravenloft's curses.Ravenloft also modifies many plot-crashing spells (most divinations, remove curse, etc.), forcing characters to do a little detective work, to quest for a cure to the curse or disease that plagues them, etc.Call of Cthulhu makes spells fairly rare, generally creepy, and very costly to learn or cast.  Players fear the Sanity cost of learning and casting magic spells.GURPS's alternate <a href="http://www.io.com/~sjohn/unlimited-mana.htm" target="_blank">Unlimited Mana</a> rules offer a surprisingly elegant solution: instead of providing spellcasters with a hard limit (whether in terms of fatigue points, power points, or spell slots), it gives them a soft limit they can cross -- with (unpredictable) consequences. "To draw too deeply on my Gift can lead to madness and death. Do not demand of me what you do not comprehend."Also -- and this may sound trivial -- it gives spellcasters quite a bit of power, but power that does not return completely overnight.  Much of the mundane nature of gaming magic is in its trivial cost.  If you make a D&D spellcaster's slot monthly rather than daily, you don't change his adventuring behavior much, but you explain why magic isn't quite so ubiquitous.The Buffy the Vampire Slayer game goes out of its way to emulate the "plot device" magic of the show.  One of the simpler mechanics it uses for this is a roll to see if a spell works flawlessly.  A spell can do any number of things: Fails Works Works, but delayed Works, but weakly Works, but caster harmed Works, but wrong target Unexpected effectThus, magic often comes at a price.  Also, Buffy enforces strong "flavor" constraints: spells typically require research in an occult library, followed by long rituals with elaborate ingredients, etc.  And, for a true "plot device" spell, the director can require a rare alignment of the stars (or whatever); it's actually encouraged.Lastly, even D&D touches on "plot device" magic with its long history of the twisted wish spell.  That's magic at a price.(I presented these thoughts at <a href="http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=56036" target="_blank">RPG.net</a> ages ago, but a <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/269287-interesting-article-about-magic-rpgs.html" target="_blank">recent thread</a> here at EN World reminded me of them.) </blockquote>

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