I'd be grateful for any comments, advice or suggestions.

General notes:

I love the elegant simplicity of the HQ rules. The complexities of Glorantha's four magic systems leave me cold. I also don't want Gloranthan flavour in my Midnight game. (Nor DnD flavour either, which is the system Midnight was written for.)

I like magical abilities grouped by theme, and I like flexibility for spellcasters in improvising/developing their own spells. I'd also like Channelers (Midnight "mages") and Legates ("priests" of the evil god) to have slightly different strengths and weaknesses if I can achieve that without getting bogged down in rules complications again.

So basically what I'm shooting for is something as simple, elegant and flexible and I can make it. I'm no game designer and I've only started my journey with HQ, so I'm sure my current attempt can be improved by several dimensions.


Here's what I have so far:

Magical Abilities* are learnt by gaining access to Magic Keywords* (3HP base cost), either from a teacher or by puzzling out a record, preferably both.

(*I refer to magical abilities as Spells and keywords as Grimoires with my group, but am not using these terms above so as to avoid confusing experienced Gloranthans - I'm not trying to use Wizardry here, really.)


Channelers and Legates gain access to Magic Keywords as part of their training (Channelers one, Legates two). Advancement is as for mundane abilities, except ratings in Magic Keywords can also be improved (3HP).

Magical Abilities are used like mundane abilities, either actively or as augments. Magic Keywords as such can't be used as augments (this is the rule for mundane keywords, right?).

Using Magical Abilities requires gestures and chanting. Legates also use their religious symbol as a focus (treated as a tool, lack of symbol gives a penalty, perhaps -10).

Channelers can improvise on named Magical Abilities that are part of their Magic Keyword(s), and may be able to cement successful inventions.

Legates can improvise but can't cement new Magical Abilities. Legates choose their Magic Keywords from a list of only nine, their religion's canon.

When within the range of a Temple, Legates gain bonuses to their Magical Abilities and Channelers gain penalties. I'm leaning towards using the Consequences table for this, i.e. ranging from +/-1 to double rating (Legate) / no use possible (Channeler). The latter is likely to apply only within the actual temple building of the most powerful temples.


The contents of a Magic Keyword:

I'm thinking five Magical Abilities per Magic Keyword for Channelers. Some Magic Keywords will be fragmented (i.e. contain fewer than five Magical Abilities) when first learnt. When a Channeler cements a new Magical Ability in a Keyword that already contains five, this causes one other Magical Ability to fade.
(Too strict? Should I leave more room for development here? A higher limit or no limit at all?)


Some sample Magic Keywords I wrote for a Jungle Elf Channeler in my game:

SWAMP
Draw Water
Entangling Mist
Find Path Through Mire
Ghostly Flicker
Shrouding Mist


TOUCAN
Toucan’s Laugh
Toucan’s Leap
Toucan’s Flight
Toucan’s Rainbow Feathers


VINE
Draw Poison
Foliage Hide Me
Make Berries Last
Make Vine Grow
Moss Soup


SANITY
Floating Sound
Project Image
Mislead
Waking Nightmare