The Elements of Magic

[Dragongirl]

Hehe anyone else think this sounds exactly like the magic system of the old ICE MERP books? I liked that old game and wonder how this compares to those out of print books.

"Natural 20 Press
I have just received the final version of Natural 20 Press' next offering, the somewhat long-awaited The Elements of Magic. This book is a brand new magic system for the D20 system, which dispenses with the usual spell memorisation system and divisions between "arcane" and "divine" magic, and instead presents a magic system based on "spell lists" - a mage learns a spell list (such as "Evoke Fire"), and, as he/she increases in level, is able to do more powerful things within the sphere of that list. You can already download a text file listing various elementals based on the elements described in this book. The PDF will go on sale next week. "

 

[s/LaSH]

Heyyy... you're right, it does remind me a little of that, at least superficially. Although, product not being out yet, I can't comment yet... if it works, that's OK, although I'm still not certain about an entire product devoted to the system. (I'm developing my own homebrew power system that takes maybe a dozen pages to outline everything it can do. Haven't playtested it in D&D yet, but it works quite well in my homebrew system...)

Time will tell. I'll wait for a review.

 

[Henry]

Actually, it reminds me of the magic systems from Mythus Dangerous journeys - white mages, black mages, green mages - the only thing missing is the grey mages.

 

[s/LaSH]

I know naught of these 'journeys' of which you speak (well, besides the name; I've seen that before). Any data y'kin swing my way?

(At least it's not Final Fantasy... black mages blow stuff up, white mages put it back together, red mages do both, and blue (time?) mages sit off on the side wondering if they could somehow transport the white mage back in time and prevent the black mage blowing it up in the first place. Or something. And then you have those guys with the bags, and the ones who like rocks, and those other guys who don't really cast spells but they jump so high during their attack that you'd think their nose would bleed. Weird stuff.)

 

[Eternalknight]

And both of the above sound like Magic the Gathering

 

[Zappo]

I dunno about either of the previously mentioned games, but I once had in mind a similar idea for a magic system which I never developed. The idea was to represent a magic system where you had 'spells' and 'arts'. A set of spells with a theme comprises an art; each spell has a very generic application, much like the spell lists of the first post. You can improve a single spell, getting more and more powerful applications of it, or improve a whole art, which is just like improving every single spell in it except that the total XP (or skill points, or whatever) cost is less than the sum of the single costs. An alternative formulation disallowed improving an art but gave a discount in improving a spell in the same art as a spell which you already know.

 

[mmadsen]

Yes, it does sound like MERP or Rolemaster -- and that's not a bad thing, as long as they don't bring Rolemaster's complexity along for the ride.

 

[Christian Walker]

I am really excited by this product. I have been gaming since 1982 and frankly, I am sick to death of Magic Missiles, Sleep, and what not. If I can't ditch the old, tired spells, at least I can enjoy a new way of casting them!

I applaud Morrus and his crew.

 

[Terath Ninir]

Howdy! I'm the author of this upcoming PDF, so I should probably respond.

The spell lists are like a clerical domain, without the power, and with a 0th level spell. After I had the book 90% done, I looked in my copy of MERP for the first time in years (I was comparing magic systems). I noticed that the spell lists I'm using are similar to the MERP/ICE spell lists. Thus, whilst not a direct borrowing, I bet that I know where 3e got the clerical domains.

The spell lists are not the same, though. MERP/ICE spell lists are, in most ways, much less powerful than D&D spells. This is balanced against D&D. And the MERP spell lists, at least, tended to be all over the place -- some offensive spells, some defensive, some utility. These spell lists are more focused, so a list will be all offense, defense, etc.

I can't comment on Dangerous Journeys, as I've never seen those books. But Final Fantasy *was* an inspiration, though a slight one. The book has black mages, white mages, and red mages, but they're quite a bit different than any of the video game versions. And there is a grey mage, too.

It has nothing whatsoever to do with Magic: the Gathering. I spose you could make that into an RPG, but I'm not going to be the one to try.

If y'all have any other questions, I would be happy to answer them.

 

[Dave G]

Yeah, I've got a question!

When can I BUY it!