Post by Ramir on Apr 15, 2014 8:59:29 GMT -5
As you know, The Menagerie has five dedicated types of magic, all with their own spell lists for levels one through ten. To keep things simple though, all magic has the same set of rules, as explained herein.
Any mage can cast one spell of their highest level in that school, and one additional spell for each level below that. For example:
- A mage with lvl 3 Evocation can cast 1 lvl 3 spell, 2 lvl 2 spells and 3 lvl 1 spells.
You can choose which of your spells you cast, according to these quantities.
The above allowance apply to each 'day'. The mage must sleep to reset their allowance. In the game world, that means a proper, eight hours sleep. There is no 'shorter sleep because I have some left', as that would be a pain to measure. So long as you get a proper night's rest, you are reset.
There is no limitation on where you spend your points. You can choose one, or even all schools of magic if you so wish.
1. You cannot cast spells above your level, regardless of your level in other school.
2. Learning more school does not alter your allowance. Your allowance is unaffected. By learning multiple schools, you gain versatility.
Most 'casting time' is immediate. This means the mage can trigger the spell in that same turn. Your GM will indicate effects.
Some spells require 'whole rounds'. What this means is that the mage must spend the rest of this round casting the spell and that the spell will complete at the beginning of their next turn (or the turn after for 2 whole rounds).
This also means that the mage can be stopped, whilst casting this spell. Any damage or interference may prevent the spell from working. This is often the case with larger, more powerful spells.
A mage can cast one spell each round and this will consume their turn. Be wary of this in combat.
As long as the mage has the allowance, they can use a spell multiple times, even with the prior spell still in effect. There are some restrictions to this:
1. Any like buffs, debuffs or status effects cannot stack. So, if an ally has a Brawn bonus, they cannot be given another Brawn bonus. This is to better balance magic and to keep the impacts of magic simple. This does not mean the spell cannot be cast, should that person be in an AOE, or should the spell do something such as heal them. This includes ALL mages in play.
2. A mage cannot have more than one summons active at a time. For example, no summoning a Darkling and a Helghast. One mage, one summon.
Targets for spells must be in view of the mage. The exception to this is if the spell clearly states otherwise. AOEs must trigger on a visible location, but may effect an area out of the mages sight.
Please follow these guidelines:
1. The schools are not clearly defined, in that you do not have to practice the same methods as other mages, for the same spell.
2. Mages are fully expected to role play their casting, even if the spell is considered 'immediate'.
3. 'Visual effects' are permitted for casting. They cannot impact the world, the players or the game in any way and are strictly for flair. Having sparkling particles swim about your mage when casting a light spell would be a good example. Please be modest in this regard. Flair is not permitted without casting.
To keep things simple when defending against magic, treat it as a physical attack. So a fire attack is treated like fire, a cloud of gaseous fog is treated in that manner and so on. Whilst that seems terribly vague, missile attacks are missile attacks, regardless of what they are made of. If you need further advice, please speak to your GM.
Your ability to defend against magic will come down to your combat talents and your gear, largely your armour. If you're a mage and don't have the luxury of fancy armour, you'll likely find you have a spell to help defend yourself.
... That magic is inherently difficult to balance in this format. Power playing is certainly frowned upon and please, should you identify a potential flaw, exploit or other issue, let your staff know.
Have fun.
HOW MUCH MAGIC CAN YOU CAST
Any mage can cast one spell of their highest level in that school, and one additional spell for each level below that. For example:
- A mage with lvl 3 Evocation can cast 1 lvl 3 spell, 2 lvl 2 spells and 3 lvl 1 spells.
You can choose which of your spells you cast, according to these quantities.
HOW FREQUENTLY YOU CAN CAST
The above allowance apply to each 'day'. The mage must sleep to reset their allowance. In the game world, that means a proper, eight hours sleep. There is no 'shorter sleep because I have some left', as that would be a pain to measure. So long as you get a proper night's rest, you are reset.
LEARNING MULTIPLE SCHOOLS
There is no limitation on where you spend your points. You can choose one, or even all schools of magic if you so wish.
HOW THIS EFFECTS SPELL ALLOWANCE
1. You cannot cast spells above your level, regardless of your level in other school.
2. Learning more school does not alter your allowance. Your allowance is unaffected. By learning multiple schools, you gain versatility.
CASTING TIMES
Most 'casting time' is immediate. This means the mage can trigger the spell in that same turn. Your GM will indicate effects.
Some spells require 'whole rounds'. What this means is that the mage must spend the rest of this round casting the spell and that the spell will complete at the beginning of their next turn (or the turn after for 2 whole rounds).
This also means that the mage can be stopped, whilst casting this spell. Any damage or interference may prevent the spell from working. This is often the case with larger, more powerful spells.
A mage can cast one spell each round and this will consume their turn. Be wary of this in combat.
CASTING MULTIPLE SPELLS
As long as the mage has the allowance, they can use a spell multiple times, even with the prior spell still in effect. There are some restrictions to this:
1. Any like buffs, debuffs or status effects cannot stack. So, if an ally has a Brawn bonus, they cannot be given another Brawn bonus. This is to better balance magic and to keep the impacts of magic simple. This does not mean the spell cannot be cast, should that person be in an AOE, or should the spell do something such as heal them. This includes ALL mages in play.
2. A mage cannot have more than one summons active at a time. For example, no summoning a Darkling and a Helghast. One mage, one summon.
TARGETING FOR SPELLS
Targets for spells must be in view of the mage. The exception to this is if the spell clearly states otherwise. AOEs must trigger on a visible location, but may effect an area out of the mages sight.
ROLE PLAYING MAGIC CASTING
Please follow these guidelines:
1. The schools are not clearly defined, in that you do not have to practice the same methods as other mages, for the same spell.
2. Mages are fully expected to role play their casting, even if the spell is considered 'immediate'.
3. 'Visual effects' are permitted for casting. They cannot impact the world, the players or the game in any way and are strictly for flair. Having sparkling particles swim about your mage when casting a light spell would be a good example. Please be modest in this regard. Flair is not permitted without casting.
DEFENDING AGAINST MAGIC
To keep things simple when defending against magic, treat it as a physical attack. So a fire attack is treated like fire, a cloud of gaseous fog is treated in that manner and so on. Whilst that seems terribly vague, missile attacks are missile attacks, regardless of what they are made of. If you need further advice, please speak to your GM.
Your ability to defend against magic will come down to your combat talents and your gear, largely your armour. If you're a mage and don't have the luxury of fancy armour, you'll likely find you have a spell to help defend yourself.
PLEASE REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING
... That magic is inherently difficult to balance in this format. Power playing is certainly frowned upon and please, should you identify a potential flaw, exploit or other issue, let your staff know.
Have fun.