The Forge Archives

Quote from: Reality Aberrant
Does the system comes with a standard setting as well? How easy is to take the mechanics and use your own world? What is Magic Like?

Others will provide more detailed answers to be sure, but I will note
the standard setting is Weyrth. It's relatively detailed, drawing much inspiration from real earth with all those fun twists and curveballs that befit a cleverly home-brewed system turned professional RPG release. Or something. Anyways, I'd say using it for a truly home brewed setting would happen real quick-like. The only things, thematic-wise, that would be important to keep are a) the theme of riddle-seeking in some form or another (ie TROS) b) the scarcity and power of magic.

Magic is kind of wacky. Basically, you get some examples and an in-depth spell creation formula. After that, go crazy making your own up. It does provide flexability, though I don't really see any being truly created "on the fly" although YMMV. Magic is not "balanced" per se, albeit there is a balancing mechanism in the form of the aging process- a spell has a target number to cast; your spell pool must be split into casting dice and resisting aging dice. Have fun!

Well, those are my thoughts on your question. I can elaborate, as I'm sure others will.

*AR*

IMHO, the only reason that magic is at all "balanced" is a roleplaying element.

If everybody in the country knows you are a sorceror, they will either hate you or fear you (in most countries).  That means they will either want to kill you or see you killed.  Even for a sorceror, this is bad.

ok, how about this?
Would someone care to elaborate on the magic system?

I know that you have a pool for casting spells and you split that pool betwen the spell per se and resisting the aging effects of the spell but how does one resist the effect of the spell? is this even possible? i read somewhere that the magic systems is not "Fireball like" so how do i create those effects? i want to rain fire on an advancing army, what would be the mechanics involved? can the soldiers of the advancing army be able to sidestep the effects? resist them?

thanks for any info and i am sorry if all this is in the book, i just havent got it yet.

If you want to stop an advancing army, you can make some cool fireball effects by:

Using the Movement Vagary (there are nine vagaries, three of which are physical, three mental and three spiritual) to move the air around them at very fast speeds to create intense heat.  It will still need fuel to burn, but such a spell will get a fire started in a hurry.

Of course, you could just use the movement to STOP the air in front of them from moving, then rain down upon them with mundane stuff (arrows, rocks, etc.)

Or, you could simply move the rocks, or even the side of a mountain.

And we haven't even started with the other eight vagaries!

Quotewant to rain fire on an advancing army, what would be the mechanics involved? can the soldiers of the advancing army be able to sidestep the effects? resist them?

The mechanics involved... A little too complex to go into the mechanical details, but here's how I'd do it, were I a Weyrth sorcerer with a jones for raining fire down on the heads of my enemy's soldiery..

1. Find a wealthy nobleman with a healthy (or unhealthy) dose of paranoia and an army of conscripts or mercenaries... whatever.

2. Give him some juicy details on how such and such enemy has it in for him.

3. Offer him a way to destroy this enemy before he is himself destroyed... then teach his siege engine troops about naphtha, which I have discovered the secrets of while studying things both arcane and mundane.

4. Either through subtle manipulation, or even more subtle use of the Conquer vagary, Guide your wealthy, noble dupe into a conflict with the enemy... then, when the enemy's troops are within catapult range, rain fire down upon them.

THAT is how I would do it, because direct use of sorcery means I get older, at a minimum, and may involve me being passed out on the battlefield, helpless before those who hate and fear sorcerers.

Or you could just find two 12.5kg chunks of U235, stick them in seperate lead containers, and then slap them together *really* hard using the movement vagary.  I suggest making it a spell of three and adding a good deal of vision, so you can be really, really, far away when it happens. :-)

-Jeff

P.S. Hell, you could probably achieve the same effect by speeding up the reaction on an atomic level, also using movement and two applications of vision (one to see tiny things, two to see from really far way).

Now here's an idea for an adventure. There is a "magic mineral" that causes disease and other things that was once used by one of the nine to wipe out a whole city. Your antagonist is looking for some of it, the heroes are trying to stop it...it would be sort of a Tom Clancy meets Fantasy. You could have a whole string of Tom Clancy style games (John Clark and Jack Ryan style characters). The play-style would be very compatible to TROS. Think of it, subtle violence, magical nukes, intrigue, fieldcraft...all kinds of great stuff.

What do you guys think?

That is very, very weird...But still cool.

Quote from: Jake NorwoodNow here's an idea for an adventure. There is a "magic mineral" that causes disease and other things that was once used by one of the nine to wipe out a whole city. Your antagonist is looking for some of it, the heroes are trying to stop it...it would be sort of a Tom Clancy meets Fantasy. You could have a whole string of Tom Clancy style games (John Clark and Jack Ryan style characters). The play-style would be very compatible to TROS. Think of it, subtle violence, magical nukes, intrigue, fieldcraft...all kinds of great stuff.

What do you guys think?

All that trouble. Nah I'll just pick up a large rock with Movement3 Vision 2 Summoning 1( City Killer) spells and fling it at the ground at near lightspeed. I figure the parts that haven't vaporized will pack one heck of a kenetic whallop

With a spell like that, well if you are lucky, Weyerth will survive.

QuoteWith a spell like that, well if you are lucky, Weyerth will survive.

So, it brings us all back to religion...are there gods, fate, or something else protecting Weyrth from a madman?

Jake

Quote from: Jake Norwood

QuoteWith a spell like that, well if you are lucky, Weyerth will survive.

So, it brings us all back to religion...are there gods, fate, or something else protecting Weyrth from a madman?

Jake

Probably not. :)

QuoteSo, it brings us all back to religion...are there gods, fate, or something else protecting Weyrth from a madman?

Of course, magic is limited by the imagination...so how many years would it take of having vision 3 and movement 3 to develop a basic understanding of atomic theory?  You'd also have to fathom that things can go faster than sound, before you'd make it happen, right?  So it takes X amount of years to get the powers, then how long would you have to study with it before you could use it in such a manner?  And if you spent that many years studying, probably the most important thing to you is studying more...

One benefit of magic, though, is that anyone truly interested in the study of the universe won't have his or her discoveries used by people with the interest of destruction.  You won't find a wizard's quantum theory being cobbled together by two third world nations, waiting to go at it :)

This just comes to mind since in our game, the major sorcerer was upset that he was born a serf, and never got a chance to learn to read, be a doctor, or anything else.  Instead of using his power to learn to read, to heal, he aged himself 70 years in a senseless battle against the kingdom...
Power without wisdom is dangerous, but not invincible :)

Chris

Quote from: Jake NorwoodNow here's an idea for an adventure. There is a "magic mineral" that causes disease and other things that was once used by one of the nine to wipe out a whole city. Your antagonist is looking for some of it, the heroes are trying to stop it...it would be sort of a Tom Clancy meets Fantasy. You could have a whole string of Tom Clancy style games (John Clark and Jack Ryan style characters). The play-style would be very compatible to TROS. Think of it, subtle violence, magical nukes, intrigue, fieldcraft...all kinds of great stuff.

What do you guys think?

I think you better not start that game untill I get out there.

Quote from: Bankuei

QuoteSo, it brings us all back to religion...are there gods, fate, or something else protecting Weyrth from a madman?

Of course, magic is limited by the imagination...so how many years would it take of having vision 3 and movement 3 to develop a basic understanding of atomic theory?  You'd also have to fathom that things can go faster than sound, before you'd make it happen, right?  So it takes X amount of years to get the powers, then how long would you have to study with it before you could use it in such a manner?  And if you spent that many years studying, probably the most important thing to you is studying more...

Chris

Of course, with Movement 3 (and ONLY with Movement 3) it is easier to destroy the world by accident than on purpose. Imagine a sorceror who chooses "to hit that AS HARD AS I CAN with a bunch of rock." Oh, the Energy release....