Rules Clarification: Magical Aptitudes

[divineseeker]

Just to get clear my understanding is Magic works like this:

1. Sacrifice a Magic token to create a new rule
2. Either a GM or a player sets a price (at the cost of a power token for the player)
3. Spend a Magic token to activate the relevant Magical Aptitude (ie Vampire amptitude for a rule referencing vampiric abilities or Sorceror Aptitude for a magical rule reference sorcerors etc)
4. Commit the necessary actions to use Faculty + Magical Aptitude and resolve outcome.

Given the costs involve why would any player use magic at all? For example why not use action tokens to lift a heavy object or attack a target rather than use magic? I may have missed something but what about Magic allows it to be useful or powerful. What happens in a conflict between a Magical Aptitude and a non-Magical aptitude? Does magic trump non magic?

[Brennan Taylor]

You are in most particulars correct.

A couple of clarifications:
on 2: If the GM creates the fact, the player with the most magic tokens gets to set the price at no cost. Players only need to spend a power token to earn the right to set a price if they wish to take this right from someone else (GM or player).
on 3: A player only needs to spend a Magic token to activate an aptitude once per session. Once the aptitude is active, the player may use the magical effects as often as he wants.

As to why one would want to use magic, it comes in with whatever effects have been set with the fact. If we the players are facing a vampire villain, for example, I would definitely want to sacrifice some magic tokens to put limitations on the vampire, such as "repelled by garlic." By the same token, say an enemy is escaping and I am playing a sorcerer. I can then set a magical fact that I can magically track someone by using one of their hairs or some other discarded part of them (maybe blood, if we wounded him). This gives me an ability I normally would be unable to have, which is the advantage of magic.

[divineseeker]

Just to be clear once the Magic Aptitude or quality or fact is activated with the expenditure of a magic token, it order to make use it in a specific action one would still need to use Action tokens? Following your example

1) I sacrifice one magical token to create the following fact: Sorcery can track people (with an appropriate price)
2) I spend one magic token to activate my Sorcery aptitude (if I haven't already)
3) I commit action tokens to track my opponent amongst what ever else I want to do]

Thanks for the answer Mr Taylor

[Brennan Taylor]

1) I sacrifice one magical token to create the following fact: Sorcery can track people (with an appropriate price)
2) I spend one magic token to activate my Sorcery aptitude (if I haven't already)
3) I commit action tokens to track my opponent amongst what ever else I want to do

Correct. However, later in the same session, you decide to track someone using magic again. You only need to repeat #3 in this case.

Then, in the next session, you wish to use this power again. You repeat #2 and #3 and are able to track people using sorcery.

[Cooper]

If you do not mind, I also have a question on this topic:

Say you character is a Sorcerer, so you have a "sorcerer" aptitude, which is simply described on the theme document as the ability to use magic. So, for each thing I want my aptitude to do will need a sacrificed magic token, correct? A good example would be individual spells (like tracking someone, or shooting fire from your fingers or something).

[Brennan Taylor]

That's right. Each time you define a new ability for a sorcerer, you need to create a new fact and sacrifice a magic token.

[Cooper]

I knew it! Thanks again!

[shadowpriest]

Cool topic, thanks for the info, i was having the some of the same questions about magic