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Post by EK - Shadow of Death on Jun 7, 2004 15:47:38 GMT -5
If we don't make magic so vastly different from any other weapon, it loses its intrigue and just becomes another monster-basher. If everytime an enemy appears the archers fire their arrows and the mage shoots off his magic missile, what makes it so revered? If he has to think very, very hard before using a spell, because the both the effect and reprucussions will always be extreme, then it gains a unique place in the world.
If the first spell a wizard learned allowed him to kill everything within 50 feet, but also completely drains his energy and exhausts him, he'd think carefully about when to best use it, if at all. Addditionally, magic will become something revered and maybe even hated in the world.
I like the idea of magic addiction, but I think the consequences should be worked out a bit more.
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Post by Galadon on Jun 7, 2004 15:53:27 GMT -5
There is the one thing you could do to magic users. Just as a reference, Lets say any spells over 3rd level makes a mage tired or hard to concentrate. This is only temporary, but like a marathon runner, you can't run 26 miles and and pretend it's a walk in the park.
Mages would have to ration out their spells.
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Post by Merkuri on Jun 8, 2004 14:02:49 GMT -5
I see what you're saying, EK, but I think that even though magic has that much power, if it has huge enough consequences to go with it then it probably won't be used at all. Plus, I think that idea might be fun for a little while, but players would get tired of having that much power, even with the consequences. If you can kill everything in 50 feet, then why does it matter that you collapse on the ground afterwards. Everybody who could threaten you is dead. It's a good idea, but I think it only has limited potential and should be restricted to just one world.
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Post by EK - Shadow of Death on Jun 9, 2004 8:49:21 GMT -5
Um... archers? Hidden foes? Friends within the area of effect? These are all complications. Besides, there's nothing saying that a mage is required to be a magic-fiend. What's to stop him from learning the bow or the sword like his soldier friends? He just won't be as good at it, having devoted some time to learning magic. As I said, we can couple this world-shaking magic with minor effects useable by a greater number of people. Things that are the equivalent of 1st and 2nd level spells in D&D.
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Post by Merkuri on Jun 10, 2004 8:37:19 GMT -5
If you really want magic that obscenely powerful then we could put it in, but it would have to be extremely rare. Perhaps it could take the form of artifacts or other enchanted items, rather than being an innate power or spell. It still drains the user (or kills them if they use it wrong/too much), but also it can be stolen or destroyed. Not having this be an innate power of characters helps the GM control it. If he decides the characters are over-using it or it's too powerful (probably because the GM realized it wasn't balanced when he handed it out and now it's making the campaigns too easy), then he can take the artifact away somehow. It also provides a way to give the characters this power for only a short amount of time (the artifact is on loan, or only has a certain number of uses).
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Post by EK - Shadow of Death on Jun 10, 2004 9:29:56 GMT -5
How about just making the mage subservient to some guild or circle instead? It could be one that promotes magical research and occult practices, but holds to a code of unobtrusiveness and secrecy. Any blatant violations of that code might cause the mage to be reprimanded instead. This could easily be tinkered to affect society's outlook on mages in general. If the guild is known to be subversive and manipulative, people might have enmity towards mages, making it even more difficult for them to perform their research. Likewise, it could be a semi-religious order that parallels the government, and as such, is given reverence, while mages could be treated as elite enforcers or social models.
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