tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post8470080547958330205..comments2024-03-29T00:46:13.625-07:00Comments on B/X BLACKRAZOR: Breaking with Tradition (Part 1)JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post-23944687172893537582012-07-23T02:21:42.010-07:002012-07-23T02:21:42.010-07:00Honestly, wizards need some sort of mechanic to pr...Honestly, wizards need some sort of mechanic to protect other people from them. Fact is, being able to do virtually anything by chanting a few magic words trivializes the scope of the world and the utility of things like soldiers.<br /><br />Now, legions of wizard-kings battling each other in the burning wastelands of humanity? That's pretty awesome right there, like something out of Thundarr.<br /><br />Best ideas for spellcasting limitations I've seen/read/come up with include:<br />- Spells exhaust the caster physically and/or mentally, meaning that overexertion will wear out the caster (and possibly his mind) permanently.<br />- Casting magic reduces the lifespan of the user, requiring them to find ways to artificially extend life in order to retain their power for more than a decade or two.<br />- Magic pulls directly from the life around it. Using magic causes plants to wither and die, people to come down with sudden illnesses, and can eventually turn a lush field into a desert.The Raging Zephyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16238689405657291572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post-75870175354182163112012-06-15T19:46:50.341-07:002012-06-15T19:46:50.341-07:00Either you have an artificial limit on the ability...Either you have an artificial limit on the ability of a wizard to cast spells or wizards are spell chucking superheroes. <br /><br />One or the other.Hedgehobbithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17606283586332210195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post-92004969555154708052012-06-15T16:24:55.934-07:002012-06-15T16:24:55.934-07:00@ Drance: Own it, played it, love it...but I don&#...@ Drance: Own it, played it, love it...but I don't recall anyone ever using the sorcery or power words. Most players blew their points in bidding wars and the usual bloodshed ensued. I'll check it out.<br /><br />@ Shlomo: Minus the 'instability,' what you suggest is very similar to that once-upon-a-time RPG I worked on so long ago. However, I found it extremely difficult to articulate and codify rules for it, even rough guidelines, that didn't feel too arbitrary.JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08532311924539491087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post-32456834181969924882012-06-15T13:40:42.577-07:002012-06-15T13:40:42.577-07:00this reminds me of a similar idea i want to use so...this reminds me of a similar idea i want to use someday.<br /><br />"magical power" wears out if used the same way over and over again. creating a new magical effect causes this effect to be very powerful, if unstable. over time the effect will weaken, but any side-effects will be removed as well.<br /><br />unless a wizard wants to grow weaker he will have to use (and in the long run create) new spells all the time. if a system like this is used spell creation would have to be as simple and quick as possible, maybe even allowing wizards to create spells on the spot (with added "instability" of course ;))Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post-87175732929241937482012-06-15T10:44:21.273-07:002012-06-15T10:44:21.273-07:00In some old stories, didn't magic cast over an...In some old stories, didn't magic cast over and over against an individual start to lose effectiveness after a while? Perhaps there's something in that for an RPG...the limiting factor comes from the abilities of a wizard's opponent(s), not from the wizard himself. So a magic user may be able to cast "unlimited" spells, but that doesn't mean that the spells are as effective every time they are cast. The more someone is exposed to his magic, the more they can resist? And perhaps there's people/beings that the wizard can't cast against at all until he reaches a higher level of skill? From all this I can see an increasing ability to "save" against a wizard's spells for NPCs/monsters, and perhaps a diceless mechanic where one simply can't cast spells against "stronger" foes. I think the thoughts come from my experience with Amber Diceless RPG. If you have access to that game at all, I'd suggest reading up on it a bit for some ideas, potentially. It's pretty different from "traditional" RPGs.Anthony Simeonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04312134763577949405noreply@blogger.com