For many moons I have searched for the "perfect" role-playing system--just
enough rules to prevent chaos, but with simplicity and flexibility, and,
above all, a magic/psi system that makes sense.  Every system I have seen
either limits each mage/psion to a few carefully thought out spells, or
is riddled with paradoxes.  

I hereby nominate this item, therefore, the place for discussion of
magic, magic systems, and, in short, anything magic related.

        (except, of course, that evil and unnamable card game)

58 responses total.

The rune magick system presented in the Death Gate novels makes sense,
the only thing that is limited is the wave of possibility.  It is a hard
to use system for roleplaying, but once mastered, would eliminate the
need for any other types of powers.
Possibility magick is the key.

explain this please...

I could never explain Patryn and Sartan rune magick as well as Weis & Hickman,
but I will attempt to explain.

A god, whosr name I currently do not remember, created the universe and
then left it to its own devices.  This did nothing to the line of reality,
but it created the wave of possibility.  Magick users twist possibilities
into reality through runes and other methods.

the one who weaves the waves I believe he was called

Elighn, I think.  I know his name started with E.

nice touch...what are the game effects?

I do not know for Patyrn/Sartan rune magick, however, information on AD&D
rune magick can be gained from "The Vikings Campaign Sourcebook".
It is hard to further explain Death Gate magick without having my copy of
"Dragon Wing" sitting in front of me.

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Ars Magica or Mage: the Ascencion
yet..They're my personal favorites for magick

I rather like the system set out in Everway (by the creative half of the 
Ars Magica design team), myself.

Don't sit there, tell!

Never heard of it.

Nor have I.

Given that Everway came out this summer, that's not TOO supprising.
It has been put out by Wizards of the Coast (you know, the Magic 
people?) and very heavily pushed, though.  
        Now, what do you want me to tell about?  THe magic system specifically?
the system in general? the background?  It does use a lot of really neat 
experimental techniques, like drawing picture cards apon which to base 
your char, which gives you the total freedom to create your character, 
while letting you get a random inspiration to build around.

He said the "M" word!

        I created a magic system to be used with AD&D / D&D games.  It's
radically different than the system offers.  It's a darned shame
I lost it on computer disk, but I'd be happy to try to reconstruct it.

That would be purty neat if you could, hoagy.  
BAD mneme!  DOWN boy!  <and mneme gets no biscuit>

Now, what am I getting punished for? Meantioning magic?  But isn't magic what
thsi item is about?

You're being punished for mentioning the "M" word.  If you would like
a more precise explanation, orinoco or I would be happy to tell you
why that WotC game is a forbidden word here.  Most of us know who
the Wizards of the Coast are already anyway.

Ok, we've established the fact that WotC blows goats and enjoys it, but I
wanna see hoagy's new magick system!

The point I was/am making is that WoTC does NOT blow goats, and is a far 
classier company than either of the other two rich RPG companies (TSR and
WW).  While they did begin and continue to produce several games in the 
not-by-any-means-rpg collectible gaming genre, you will note that few 
successful RPG companies have not contributed their own fruits to that 
dish, and that WoTC neither began nor do they end with CCGs.  
        WoTC entered existance by publishing The Primal Order, a non
game-dependant RPG aid for dealing with/roleplaying deities.  They are the 
publishers of the latest version of Ars Magica, under the guidance of 
Johnathan Tweet, the creative half of the team that first created that
groundbreaking storytelling (even before White Wolf) RPG (Johnathan also
write Over the Edge, which is quite possibly the best of the storytelling 
games set in the modern age).
        Now they have published Everway: Johnathan Tweet's latest contribution
to the roleplaying genre, a fantasy low-tech roleplaying game which combines
a revolutionary character creation system (pick 5 art cards and make up a 
story about thm (and your character), then develop her by answering 
questions posed by the GM and other players), fascinating new subjective
mechanics (a Tarot-like "fortune deck"), and a setting that will knock your 
socks off.
 
        Now, what waws I being punished for, again?

I'd just thought I'd say It's my birthday, yeah

Now THAT was an answer! Sorry, this "Let's make spin-offs of everything under  
the sun" attitude that goes with this collectible playing card shit just pisses
me off.

I was punishing you for mentioning a specific card game made by WoTC.
I have no prob. with WoTC in general. I still want to see that magic system
tho.  Everyway sounds intriguing.

WHERE RU HOAGY?

I think i offended him...

BAD ORIN!

This item was originally a "gret ring only" item, and as such, discussion of
any CCGs whatever is forbidden.  However, the link has busted that tie.

ah, that's our prob, I'm still reading it in great ring...okay, mneme,
as a member of rpg and not ring, you're forgiven

wait this was orrigonally great ring only? who linked it, I sure didn't

Some FW of the rpg conference, who did not following linkage etiquitte.

That would be Setzer.....

And the only way to unlink an item is to kill one of it's counterparts.
I am surprised that Setzer did not ask about linkage in the info .cf, like
I did (as vidar) when I was wondering about linkage... ah well...

Oh, this was great ring originally? That explains the reactions when I
meantioned M* in passing.  For the actaul magic system in Everway, it 
doesn't have one. Sorta.
        What it does have is a detailed elemental cosmology (4 elements) which 
serve as the foundation of the magic system, as well as the "basic statistics."
        Once you get around to sticking numbers into your character (as 
described earlier, there a a few steps that precede thes, several of which are 
more important), you have 20 points to divide among fire, air, earth, and water
as well as magic and powers.  Each of the elements means something in terms of 
ability, personality, and often physical apearance, as well as representing a 
"flavor" of magic, but you can redefine them somewhat, explaining that while
fire is the usual element associated with fighting, your character fights 
primarily with your airy qualities, and therefore are a good fighter dispite 
not having a very good fire score (or whatever).  
        Powers may cost 0-3 points (every character may have one free "0 point
power"), each one costing 1 for being major, one for coming up friequently, 
and one for being flexible.  A 0-point power is theoretically none of these,
but therei s some leway, especially for friquent, but not major or flexible
powers (for instance, "winning smile" is a 0 point, even though your character
probably uses it all the time).
        Magic is a whole 'nother ball game.  IF you are creating a mage (I had 
some fun doing this when having the character creation system demoed to us by
Johnathan at Worldcon), you describe what kind of magic your character has, 
and determine whether it is better associated with a firey, watery, airy, or 
earthy approach (for instance, fire deals with evoking the qualities in the
world around us, while a water mage might deal more with percieving an
knowing, and an air mage with creating and communicating), thus picking a 
realated element.  Your magic skill is now tied to that element, and cannot
be higher than your score in that element.  As to what you can do with your 
magic, since having a magic score of a particular number necesitates that you 
have dedicated twice that number of points (half in the magic score, half in
the related element), you can get an effect equivalent to that achievable by
someone with 2 related elements of that number (so someone with a 2 in magic 
is likely to be able to preform only small, though a large number of tasks, 
someone with 7 in magic can probably rout an army, if they chose an apropriate
meathod.

what exactly is "Everway" this sounds interesting?

Good boy, mneme

34: Everway's a new, revolutionary fantasy RPG (was out this summer).
#35: <laugh>

RE: #29

I didn't link it.  I've never been on long enough to figure out how.
Therefore, I've never linked and have no desire to know and/or
use "linkage ettiquite".

well then who was It I don't think it was me

Is plork still FW?

- Backtalk version 1.3.30 - Copyright 1996-2006, Jan Wolter and Steve Weiss