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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Haltherrion" data-source="post: 5470556" data-attributes="member: 18253">I won't claim to have thought this all the way through <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> but I was thinking more along the lines of any PC could choose to pursue magic (maybe it has more of a psionics feel at least in the sense that it is innate) to a minor extent, but not enough that the characters became hard-core casters. Therefore, as a minor element of their character, they could always choose to not use magic without knocking the legs out from under their PC. This would allow magic to be highly random, highly draining and possibly very dangerous without "ruining" the PC; that is making it unplayable. One way to do it is to not require much training to use magic; it's something you pick up as you go a long. Say for instance in a class-less system, PCs could put some portion of their "level up points" into magic use. If you limit how much they could put into magic at any one level, you have magic, it can be rare and dangerous. It could fit Gandalf for instance who in LOTR doesn't really handle lots of heavyweight magic. He knows a lot of lore, some interesting utility and flash-bang spells, maybe some protection magic not explicitly called out in the book but he swings a sword with the rest of the folks in some battles. My issue is making the magic more subtle and dangerous while still making it fun for any PCs using it and not driving it into the hands of only NPCs (because it is unusable for PCs). I think it could be done but I don't think most classic FRPG systems are necessarily the way to do it. For instance, in a system where a few people invest a little bit in magic and casting a spell causes permanent damage to their PC so that ultimately they either can't cast magic or must stop using it, if they haven't given up a lot of ability to be able to use magic, the player won't feel all that put out about not using it much and eventually stopping to use it (or killing his PC). If magic defines most of his PC's utility but he is forced to be sparing in its use or it rarely works, it can be a very frustrating experience. Such a system might be internally quite consistent, fresh and exciting to the refereee but not necessariy be much fun to play, at least not as a caster and many folks do like to play casters. As [MENTION=1165](Psi)SeveredHead[/MENTION] notes, it might work better in fiction than in a game. Could do be done with care though and it might better capture magic as often treated in fiction. If you went my route, making it accessible to all interested could offset the basic reduction of its utility in the player's mindd. Fun discussion.</blockquote>

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