sevicler
Member
How do I edit status?
Posts: 272
|
Post by sevicler on Jul 12, 2017 16:41:16 GMT
Hey Sev, the reason I thought we should get some spell lists together now is that it seems some folks are interested in having magic abilities that fall outside of traditional fantasy magic, seeming to incorporate more anime or Japanese traditions. So in order to try to accommodate that we might need to see if we can fit those abilities into our framework or create a different subcategory for them. As it stands, the default fantasy type magic (wizards and witches with fireballs and curses) is a given, also there is a lot of flexibility to that system when you include devotion-based Divine magic as granted by deities and dragons. Psychic abilities are popular and have been mentioned with interest, and likewise there appears to be a call for some Japanese anime derived abilities (most I'm not familiar with but the examples shown seem to be quite overpowered). My concern is that someone who would prefer to set their stories and characters in a more traditional atmosphere be turned off by the presence of laser swords and transmutable exoskeletons; and likewise someone who enjoys that may feel constrained in a traditional setting. I hope we could find a middle ground where those abilities can find a place in this world, but not become so overpowering they destroy the balance. I'm going to do some reading today on some of the more traditional D&D magic from a 5e D&D wiki page I found the other day, as well as some Pathfinder info over at D20 www.d20pfsrd.com/ if you're interested. Since Paul mentioned earlier "Magic: D&D style spells and magic use are in effect, but fleshing out the new schools of high magic and necromancy is a great idea and everything suggested valid.", I think that's a good place to start and it seems at a cursory glance Pathfinder has already tried to incorporate some more unusual backgrounds and magics to their framework.
Incorporating anime-style magic will be difficult. Nearly every anime I've ever seen has magic systems that are CRAZY overpowered, with no clear limits as to what each character can do. Many of these characters can suddenly pull out new powers out of their butts as the story demands. Most anime don't even have magic systems. Instead, magic is designed around individual characters in order to make each character 'unique and stand out' just as much as their multi-colored hair (no offense). This obviously results in no consistency nor solid rules regarding magic as magic 'simply exists'. Believe it or not, my stories on Notarikon and Temple Nimbus is in parts inspired by Japanese Anime (Castle in the Sky) We are NOT including laser swords lol. They're too imbalanced (ignores armor and deflects magic??). Of course, a magic caster skilled in the 'Light' and 'Fire' element could temporarily conjure a pseudo-lightsaber that sets things on fire, but this is supposed to be a high-level spell and cannot be sustained for more than a minute and can be dispelled by another caster (basically a niche use for ripostes or desperate defense weapon). I haven't actually read anything on Pathfinder. I should probably do that. Again, my $0.02
|
|
sevicler
Member
How do I edit status?
Posts: 272
|
Post by sevicler on Jul 12, 2017 16:43:37 GMT
Also, in accordance with Vincent's suggestion of some Divine magic limitations based on the deity, I think that's a good idea, similar to the Lich King's ability to raise the dead based the location from him. The gods likely have the strongest power the closer to the location of the gods themselves; in an Imperial Pantheon akin to Mount Olympus or where the gods 'reside' in a temple dedicated to them. Their relative power can diminish as they leave areas where they aren't worshiped and maybe in their main temple their power is almost absolute..like seeking shelter against the strongest of foes inside the temple of the God of Mercy, or something like that. Likewise, their ability to act through their conduit (the devotee casting Divine magic in their name) could also be enhanced or diminished based on the caster's target...a pious worshiper of a particular god may be able to heal themselves greater for the same amount of effort as only healing a non-believer a small amount, but they may be able to heal a fellow believer just as much as themselves. That would give various gods and deities more relevance and could add to the overall flavor of the world. My own and Vincent's suggestions on Arcane and Divine magic basically translates to 'The god's domain is faith and territory' so yes this could be included.
|
|
sevicler
Member
How do I edit status?
Posts: 272
|
Post by sevicler on Jul 12, 2017 16:47:39 GMT
Late. Tired. Sleep now.
|
|
Alan Schiff
Registered
Manufacturers and Vendors
Posts: 464
|
Post by Alan Schiff on Jul 12, 2017 21:09:04 GMT
A couple thoughts here. IMHO I think we're starting to make things too complicated. If this were an actual D&D campaign setting, all of these rules and limitations might make sense, but I don't see the need for several pages-worth of rules to govern magic in this situation. We're developing a world for stories, not a tabletop RPG; the reader doesn't need to know or care about exactly how many spells a caster of Nth level gets per day.
That said, I like the Anima Mea basis: a spellcaster's power is limited by their "life essence." A novice caster can only use so much, a couple of minor spells-worth, before they have to rest and recuperate. Practice increases one's stamina, so the longer you practice the art, the more spells you can cast before running out of steam. This goes for both arcane and divine magic, not sure how talisman magic fits in exactly.
Anima Vestra can be used in conjunction with Anima Mea to siphon enough life essence to cast the spell, but it's a more limited resource. There's only so much essence one can pull from plants or animals. The larger the source, the more you can pull, so a blade of grass is of less assistance than a mature oak tree, and a sparrow less than an ostrich. However, to keep this from getting OP, the caster still needs to use some of his own essence. Maybe 50/50? Also, pulling from other sentient races is considered taboo.
I'm personally not a fan of D&D-style "psionic" powers. They blur the lines with true magic too much. However, psychic powers like telepathy and telekinesis are ok. Some people (and some races) are inherently psychic; it's not something that can be learned. It is, however, more limited than true spell casting.
It hasn't come up in a bit, but a similar caution with monsters. We don't need to list every monster in every monster manual from each edition of D&D. I think we should start relatively small, and new monsters can always be added later. Goblins and orcs are a given, same as dragons, centaurs, etc. There are plenty of mainstream creatures from mythology to be had without delving into the Underdark.
Also, a note to everyone: beware infringing on intellectual property. We don't need Wizards of the Coast or a Deviant-Art artist to sue SBG because we stole their ideas. :)
Just my $0.02, hope it helps.
|
|
|
Post by freq on Jul 12, 2017 21:31:42 GMT
the magic system is getting near as complicated as the one used in ars magica
Realms of Power
The overarching premise of the Ars Magica setting is that the "mundane" world of ordinary, physical existence is a place where four great supernatural forces have varying degrees of influence and presence.
The Divine realm This is the supreme, holy force of Creation - God as represented by the scriptures of the Abrahamic religions, and his agents in the world. Divine influence diminishes anything not attuned to it (i.e. anything of a Faerie, Infernal or Magical nature) and is categorically opposed to all things Infernal. One of the Order's struggles is in reconciling their avoidance of mundane politics with the inexorable spread of the Dominion (Divine influence permeating the land as more land is settled by Christian and Muslim nations and more centers of Divine worship are constructed). The Infernal realm Satan and his demonic forces. In the medieval context, this includes everything from Satan himself to illnesses and bad smells. Demons are compelled to corrupt, destroy, and tempt all mortals to sin; while the Order of Hermes refuses to explicitly name the Infernal as their enemies (which it is assumed would draw too much attention and wrath to the Order), they have been forbidden from entering into agreements with Hell's minions ever since a corruption scandal nearly ruined House Tytalus in the 11th century. As the evil/negative counterpart to the Divine, Infernal power also weakens the effects of any Realm not attuned to Hell or other forsaken spaces. Infernally tainted forms of magic do exist, usually of great deceptive or destructive power, or acquired too easily for understanding, especially in order to tempt magi. Anyone in the Order found guilty of diabolism is expelled and hunted down. The Faerie realm Creatures of traditional fairy tales. These creatures are often capricious, sometimes malicious, but invariably addicted to (even dependent upon for their very existence) human attention, emotion and creative expression. Despite such considerations, Study of the Faerie realm can be rewarding to some. Magi are allowed to associate with the Fae (in fact, one House of the Order has become increasingly dominated by its members' pursuit of 'Faerie Magic') as long as they do not incur their wrath and thereby endanger their fellows. The realm of Magic A mysterious arcane force, to which all magi (among other rare entities) are inherently attuned. This is the power almost exclusively used to cast spells and enchant objects. Magic and Faerie have some positive resonance with each other, reflected in either aura's benefit to the other realm's powers, and in that remote or lost pagan traditions can have connections with either (in some cases, Faerie entities seem to have 'replaced' Magical ones when the devotees of the latter either lost their way or became extinct).
Additionally, a "Realm of Reason" appeared in the Third Edition. This was associated with skepticism and empirical observation, and its "rational aura" challenged most supernatural effects. Many fans of the game consider this to be paradoxical and inconsistent, since applying reason and rationality to the world of Ars Magica should really lead to the conclusion that magic does exist and fairies are real, etc., and yet the "True Reason" promoted by this fifth realm posited the contrary, and thus resembled a delusional (yet effective) state of mind rather than a rational one.[11] The realm of Reason had additional counter-intuitive effects - for example, imposing penalties on wizard's magic use when in prominent mundane libraries, despite the predominant portrayal of Hermetic Magic as a scholarly pursuit.
The centerpiece of Ars Magica is the system of Hermetic Magic devised by Bonisagus. It consists of 15 Arts, divided into 5 Techniques and 10 Forms. This is sometimes called a "Verb/Noun" system: the Technique is the verb (what effect the magic has), and the Form is the noun (the entity, object or substance that is affected or brought forth). These 'verb-noun' combinations can be used to cast both Formulaic spells (which are recorded in texts, are learned through study and mastered through experience, and have known, fixed effects) and Spontaneous spells (which a caster improvises with no prior knowledge other than the Arts themselves, giving the potential results greater flexibility but lower potency). Every apprentice (with a few Ex Miscellanea exceptions) is "opened" in all 15 Arts before fully joining the Order; each Art begins with a Score of 0 and a mage may usually only increase one of them during a season (see below).
Each Technique is named by a first-person singular present tense indicative Latin verb:
Creo ("I create") brings objects and substances into existence from nothing, or makes an already-existing target a "more perfect" version of itself (e.g. healing magic, as healed bodies are nearer perfection than wounded bodies). Intellego ("I perceive") detects or reveals, enhances a target's natural senses or conveys supernatural ones. Muto ("I transform") alters the nature of a being, object or substance, adding unnatural traits and/or removing natural ones. Perdo ("I destroy") decays, disintegrates or otherwise diminishes the target, making something a worse example of its kind (i.e. the opposite of Creo). Rego ("I control") involves manipulation of the target in any way that does not alter its nature, e.g. direct a target's movement, put a creature to sleep, or force a tree to bear fruit out of season. This is the main Technique used in spells of protection or 'warding'.
Each Form is named by a singular accusative Latin noun:
Animal affects "all natural living things that are not plants or humans, doing to animals what Mentem and Corpus spells do to people" as well as "things made with animal products" such as leather, wool, cheese, silk, etc. Since bacteria were unknown in medieval times, illness (e.g.) was considered either a form of possession or an imbalance of 'bodily humors'; thus, magic dealing with disease is relegated variously to Creo, Mentem and/or Vim effects. Auram affects lightning, wind and gaseous substances; other weather effects typically require an Aquam requisite (see below). Aquam is used for any liquid, with the exception of blood (which requires Animal or Corpus magic to affect); non-liquid forms of water will involve requisites (see below). Corpus (the incorrect declension Corporem was used in older editions) applies to the human body, making it crucial to longevity formulas. Herbam primarily involves plants, but applies equally to any organic matter, living or dead, that is not of animal origin. Ignem involves light and heat, and is heavily represented in the fire spells of House Flambeau. Imaginem (previously Imagonem) deals with images, sounds, and other sensory stimuli (thus is involved in most illusionary effects). Mentem deals with emotions, memories, thoughts and spirits. Terram involves earth and minerals: mere soil is the simplest target, while stone, metal and gems require progressively greater investment of spell levels to achieve the same effect. Vim ("power") involves magic itself, as well as demons (the overlap is not widely understood, but the fact that there is one is a significant obstacle to the Order's 'public relations', particularly concerning the Church).
A mage's skill when casting a spell is the sum of their scores in the appropriate technique and form.
Some spells involve more than one Technique, and/or more than one Form at once; each Art used in addition to the basic pair is called a requisite. All relevant Art Scores are compared: the caster's lowest Technique and lowest Form are used, reflecting the limiting of the caster's magical knowledge.
Regardless of how high one's Art Scores may rise, there are outer boundaries to the application of Hermetic Magic (whether Formulaic, Spontaneous or even Ritual). Bonisagus's theory outlines a set of inherent Limits, similar in concept to the laws of physics; the two central, 'Greater' Limits are:
Magic cannot influence a pure manifestation of the Divine; while earthly Relics (however sacred) and agents of the Divine (anything "separate from the mind of God") may be resistant to magic they are not immune, but it is impossible to (e.g.) interfere with a Miracle (which may be prayed for by an agent or supplicant, but is itself a direct intervention by Divine will). Magic cannot permanently change a target's Essential Nature (the implications of which vary depending on the target in question).
There are also eleven 'Lesser Limits' (addressing more specific 'blind spots' such as aging, creation, time and the soul) which are generally thought either to derive from the two Greater Limits, or to be flaws in Hermetic Theory which may eventually be 'corrected'.
Additional statistics for every spell (which have been redefined in nearly every new edition of the game) are Target (what or whom the spell is directed at), Range (how far the Target may be from the caster), and Duration. For reasons of balance, some spells require the expenditure of "vis" - magical essence in physical form - which all magi and covenants tend to make a point of hoarding and/or trading. No Creo effect, for example, can be permanent unless vis is consumed during the casting. Some Formulaic Magic is so effective that it can only be achieved with vis and an elaborate, time-consuming ritual (hence, Ritual Spells). This automatically applies to any spell of a greater Level than 50, any spell with a Duration of 'Year', and any non-Imagonem spell with a range of 'Sight'.
super complicated but also very usefull in the right mind set, think we need to work more on the cultures before we ramp up the power of the individuals
|
|
Ramses1079
Member
“Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum"
Posts: 609
|
Post by Ramses1079 on Jul 12, 2017 22:11:57 GMT
It may sound it, but he was only ever to serve as a "Great Equalizer" and as .I said, his aspirations were NEVER for world domination. What do you "Magic Systems Creators" think about starting your OWNtnread specifically FOR magic related discussions. Reason I bring it up is that once I start listing ALL the creatures I intend to, it's going to mess up conversations you guys are trying to have. Any thoughts? Oh plus we'll have to coordinate on "Summoning" and "Summoned Creatures." I love "summoning like Final Fantasy type creatures....minus Odin, Shiva, and Bahamut (obvious because they're deities). Also what about Planes of existence? In D&D there's the "Abyss" which has (you guessed it) 666 layers, each layer run by a Demi-God to God-level entity; and the 9 Hells, where Asmodeus is "The Prince." So is sewerage "mini-threads" agreeable so we're not talking all over each other??
|
|
Ramses1079
Member
“Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum"
Posts: 609
|
Post by Ramses1079 on Jul 12, 2017 22:22:47 GMT
I hate to say it, but that sounds crazy overpowered. I agree. This guy is way too overpowered (sadly, doesn't make him intriguing). I certainly hope he's not your main character nor does he play a big role in the story. Sorry, but no one likes 'gary stu' characters. And sadly this guy ticks nearly all the 'gary stu' checklist (the only thing he's lacking is a harem). I suggest dialing down on the 'chosen one','superpower' and 'unique one-of-a-kind weapon-that-can-kill-anything-ever' aspects of your character description. I hope this doesn't offend you, though. One other suggestion; if you decide to keep him as he is, why not make him some sort of deity? He doesn't actively involve himself in the story but is constantly referred to and spoken about by his followers, which is also how people know of his powers and capabilities. ANYWAYS, ARE WE DESIGNING CHARACTERS NOW???! Here's a little guideline to prevent anyone from making mary sue/gary stu characters: www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htmIt's in the form of a quiz. You'll have to see for yourself, though. I would NEVER take offense to your opinion! Like I said he's not a "chosen one" or anything like THAT he just "clipped the wings" of anyone who got TOO powerful to the point where they would bring about a Ragnarok/Armageddon type situation, and he was only a suggestion, not a "must have." As far as I understood it from Paul's words the only "Character Introductions" or storytelling.......which can't start till WE are done helping bulid the foundation for this world.....will be about the characters written for the weapons in the contest, the contest WINNER in particular. Personally, my weapon ideas were for/about the Elves and the Drow (or Dark Elves....which I absolutely LOVE as a sub-race). So anywho, separate "mini-threads" a good idea chaps? Meaning thread for magic/psionics......thread for Bestiary....Thread for Guilds....etc?
|
|
Ramses1079
Member
“Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum"
Posts: 609
|
Post by Ramses1079 on Jul 12, 2017 22:37:41 GMT
A couple thoughts here. IMHO I think we're starting to make things too complicated. If this were an actual D&D campaign setting, all of these rules and limitations might make sense, but I don't see the need for several pages-worth of rules to govern magic in this situation. We're developing a world for stories, not a tabletop RPG; the reader doesn't need to know or care about exactly how many spells a caster of Nth level gets per day. That said, I like the Anima Mea basis: a spellcaster's power is limited by their "life essence." A novice caster can only use so much, a couple of minor spells-worth, before they have to rest and recuperate. Practice increases one's stamina, so the longer you practice the art, the more spells you can cast before running out of steam. This goes for both arcane and divine magic, not sure how talisman magic fits in exactly. Anima Vestra can be used in conjunction with Anima Mea to siphon enough life essence to cast the spell, but it's a more limited resource. There's only so much essence one can pull from plants or animals. The larger the source, the more you can pull, so a blade of grass is of less assistance than a mature oak tree, and a sparrow less than an ostrich. However, to keep this from getting OP, the caster still needs to use some of his own essence. Maybe 50/50? Also, pulling from other sentient races is considered taboo. I'm personally not a fan of D&D-style "psionic" powers. They blur the lines with true magic too much. However, psychic powers like telepathy and telekinesis are ok. Some people (and some races) are inherently psychic; it's not something that can be learned. It is, however, more limited than true spell casting. It hasn't come up in a bit, but a similar caution with monsters. We don't need to list every monster in every monster manual from each edition of D&D. I think we should start relatively small, and new monsters can always be added later. Goblins and orcs are a given, same as dragons, centaurs, etc. There are plenty of mainstream creatures from mythology to be had without delving into the Underdark. Also, a note to everyone: beware infringing on intellectual property. We don't need Wizards of the Coast or a Deviant-Art artist to sue SBG because we stole their ideas. Just my $0.02, hope it helps. Thanks for the .02 but as writer for the Bestiary it was never my idea, or intent to verbatim copy from the monstrous manuals....I've stated that several times. As far as magic goes, you'd have to Che with the Above blokes In Charge of magic and Psionics, and going by your response, you've OBVIOUSLY never "played" a psionicist. They are kept in check by PSP's (Psionic Strength Points) that would increase every level......keeping LOW LEVEL psionicists from being unstoppable. And Psionics are NOT subpar to magic. First off, " thought" which is the speed it takes to activate a Psionic ability, is way faster than spell casting (if you're following the story type of magic.....NOT like physically playing D&D. Everyone already had a chance to put their names up for whatever committee they wanted to join. If EVERYONE throws random thoughts out at the same time it's going to start arguments and just add to confusion. This requires a SYSTEM not random thoughts from people who couldn't be bothered to join one of the committees. 🙂
|
|
Ramses1079
Member
“Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum"
Posts: 609
|
Post by Ramses1079 on Jul 12, 2017 22:41:19 GMT
Oh and Paul already okayed the " committee" idea, he ALSO sees organization and cooperation as the only successful way to bring such a HUGE project together. Honestly, unless you submitted a weapon idea or put ANY effort into a story ABOUT any of those weapons why are you trying to "get involved" now?
|
|
|
Post by demonskull on Jul 12, 2017 22:58:34 GMT
The Sub- threads would kick start the other aspects of the world's creation. In order to keep the threads easy to identify might I suggest the threads be titled: FDC-Guilds, FDC-Bestiary, FDC-Magic/Psionics etc as needed
One of the mods could relocate the existing magic/psi posts to the new sub thread so everything is together.
|
|
Ramses1079
Member
“Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum"
Posts: 609
|
Post by Ramses1079 on Jul 13, 2017 0:40:28 GMT
Sure, that was EXACTLY why I was suggesting "sub-threads," are you sure YOU'RE not a psionicist?? 😳 It'd just be a royal mess to keep an entire "worlds" creation in One thread.
|
|
Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
|
Post by Ifrit on Jul 13, 2017 1:10:03 GMT
Should we design characters? I still gotta design a Tuatha De person
|
|
Alan Schiff
Registered
Manufacturers and Vendors
Posts: 464
|
Post by Alan Schiff on Jul 13, 2017 1:29:02 GMT
Ramses, I never said nor implied that you were going to verbatim copy the monster manuals. I was only cautioning people who might now or in the future be involved with races and creatures.
Nor did I ever say that psionics was less powerful or more overpowered than regular magic. I said I personally don't care for it, that often there is no substantial difference between the two, so why have two systems? If a psionicist can do everything a spellcaster can, why not just be a spell caster? If divine casters and arcane casters do different things, then psionicists (or psychics, or whatever you want to call them) should be different too.
Paul said the committee thing was a good idea and that this would be figured out in the next few days, but that right now general brainstorming was the idea. It has only been 2 days. Not everyone is on the forum all the time, so you have to allow people time to read through everything new and gather their thoughts. I understand it's easy to get really gung-ho about the project and take off running, but not everyone works that way. As a general brainstorming session, seeing the public back-and-forth regarding the magic system, I had some input. Is this not a board-wide project? Eventually there ought to be more input than just from one or two people on a committee, when that is even official.
I don't know if your statement regarding not getting involved now if you didn't submit a weapon or story before was directed at me, but I have 2 thoughts. First, if it WAS directed at me, I did submit 2 weapons with backstories. Second, again, as this is supposed to be a project for all SBG members, it wouldn't be very fair if you could only participate now if you were able to submit a design. Not everyone is that artistic or creative when it comes to designing swords, but may have valid input for world-building.
Until Paul announces the winners, we may not know exactly whose stories/characters will be canon, which makes it a little difficult to set anything in stone. Again, right now Paul said general brainstorming is the idea.
|
|
Ramses1079
Member
“Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum"
Posts: 609
|
Post by Ramses1079 on Jul 13, 2017 1:32:15 GMT
Maybe wait for now on that Djinn.....at least till the contest is decided, THEN we can see "how" Paul wants to incorporate "which" characters. We'll do Magic/Psionics, Bestiary, towns/cities, guilds.....etc FIRST. Then characters to place in the world?
|
|
|
Post by dchisenh on Jul 13, 2017 1:36:31 GMT
Alrighty, I went ahead and started a thread in the Off Topic Forum Cafe for the discussion of Magic in the SBG Fantasy Design Competition. I'm hoping other topics will follow suit down there and a mod could move the relevant posts from this thread to those. In case that isn't possible, I reserved a few blank posts following the thread's initiation to facilitate cutting and pasting of what's already been discussed.
To give folks some time to migrate down there, I did want to reply to Alan in particular because I agree 100% with your points.
First, I haven't seen where it's really been defined "HOW" this world will be brought to life, will this just be a collection of stories written by members to provide context for some sword designs? Will this world be the basis for an on-going forum/chat-based role playing community, being mostly informal and with only broad categories of geography/bestiary/magic/society loosely defined for cohesive storytelling purposes? Will this world be the basis for online or table-top RPGing, necessitating a more detailed, tabulated and point based definition?
Personally, I hope the world will be defined in enough detail to give a solid scaffold for commercial sword design (I'd like to see more battle-ready fantasy designs), to engage this sword community and like minded fantasy and RPG fans to permit an ongoing, somewhat informal story collective that could be used at times for forum/chat based roleplaying and later adapted to online/tabletop-like formats in the mold of D&D and Pathfinder, able to be played online using frameworks like Roll20.com or in a more basic format, Discord. This would allow us to start collecting some stories as soon as the broadest of categories are defined (geography, nations/races/cultures, major characters, bestiary, magic, etc.) I would suggest we not get too deep in the weeds on things like point systems (for instance, saying a wizard can only cast 2 cantrips per 24 hours, 2 prepared level 1 spells and 1 level 2 spell when he is level 2) but instead have a general acknowledgement that character's limitations are defined by their basic experience (i.e. backstory) and will likely need to start in a realistic baseline. If someone wants to write a backstory for a particularly powerful character (a god, demi-god, Lich King, Demon of the Demon's Teeth mountains, etc.) I'd suggest contacting the committee that is in charge of, for a lack of a better name, 'Main Characters'.
Now, the reason I mentioned Pathfinder in particular is that it appears to have a more 'wide ranging' base of source material, including enough diversity in it's class makeup that almost anyone should be able to find one that suits their needs. In addition, according to Pathfinder's publisher Panzio, "The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is published under the OGL, and game rules that do not involve Paizo's intellectual property (such as our deities) are generally open and available for use by other publishers according to the terms of the Open Game License. In addition, we've also created a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatibility License that allows other publishers to indicate compatibility with the Pathfinder RPG on their product." This should ease any copyright concerns and allows us a framework with which to borrow from when necessary and perhaps later adapt to in order to create compatible campaigns using an established Pathfinder module in something like Roll20.
I would like to see our original content, like Sev's Anima Mea/Vestra, along with other original ideas created by fellow SBGers give our world a signature flavor; enough that it's recognizable but familiar to those who want to join in.
Anyway, I'm based in Eastern Standard Time and it appears Sev might be somewhere else based on his last post today, so as soon as he's on I hope he'll weigh in on the thread I started in the Off Topic Cafe, until then if anyone has any input on what types of magic they'd like to see or abilities they would like to include, feel free to either post them in that thread or PM me directly, I'd be happy to try to accommodate what folks actually want to be able to do within the framework of what we're building. All I ask is to keep in mind the basic tenets outlined by Paul earlier in this thread with regards to D&D magic and try not to do something overpowering or unbalanced.
|
|
|
Post by demonskull on Jul 13, 2017 1:58:27 GMT
I started the Bestiary thread, also in the Cafe with a basic descriptive format. I sure the contributors for this thread will come up with a more complete template. I have volunteered to keep them in alphabetical order once we start seeing some contributions. At that time I'll most likely start a separate thread with just the alphabetized listing.
|
|
Ramses1079
Member
“Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum"
Posts: 609
|
Post by Ramses1079 on Jul 13, 2017 2:03:21 GMT
Ramses, I never said nor implied that you were going to verbatim copy the monster manuals. I was only cautioning people who might now or in the future be involved with races and creatures. Nor did I ever say that psionics was less powerful or more overpowered than regular magic. I said I personally don't care for it, that often there is no substantial difference between the two, so why have two systems? If a psionicist can do everything a spellcaster can, why not just be a spell caster? If divine casters and arcane casters do different things, then psionicists (or psychics, or whatever you want to call them) should be different too. Paul said the committee thing was a good idea and that this would be figured out in the next few days, but that right now general brainstorming was the idea. It has only been 2 days. Not everyone is on the forum all the time, so you have to allow people time to read through everything new and gather their thoughts. I understand it's easy to get really gung-ho about the project and take off running, but not everyone works that way. As a general brainstorming session, seeing the public back-and-forth regarding the magic system, I had some input. Is this not a board-wide project? Eventually there ought to be more input than just from one or two people on a committee, when that is even official. I don't know if your statement regarding not getting involved now if you didn't submit a weapon or story before was directed at me, but I have 2 thoughts. First, if it WAS directed at me, I did submit 2 weapons with backstories. Second, again, as this is supposed to be a project for all SBG members, it wouldn't be very fair if you could only participate now if you were able to submit a design. Not everyone is that artistic or creative when it comes to designing swords, but may have valid input for world-building. Until Paul announces the winners, we may not know exactly whose stories/characters will be canon, which makes it a little difficult to set anything in stone. Again, right now Paul said general brainstorming is the idea. Well "verbatim" wouldn't be an option anyways due to legal issues, and you DID imply that "true spell casting" was superior. Also you never answered whether or not you played a psionicist....which it's obvious you haven't. So making comments like yours are opinion ONLY, not based on fact. There are MAJOR differences between magic and psionics (which is WHY Wizards of the Coast made two seperate manuals. Again, a psionicist will pretty much always have "the jump" on a Wizard due to psionics being activated by THOUGHT alone. If you are going by Hollywood Wizards like _andolf the _rey who just points his staff and "whoosh" then sure it'd be a little more in even ground. There are WAY more protective items against magic then there are "protections from Psionics," so to say the two are SO similar as to not distinguish between the two is a huge misconception. That would be like saying a carpenter and a plumber are "basically" the same because they are both considered a construction trade. As far as WHO I was talking to (I have no idea WHY you're the second person I've had to "explain" this to) if it was aimed at you, I would have said your name. I can't stand that passive aggressive B.S! It was a general statement, and ASSUMING it was aimed at you was flat out wrong. I have no idea (nor do I care) whether you submitted any drawings or not, MY point was that the ideas should be taken OFF THIS THREAD and separated into sub-threads to avoid miscommunications and people's assumptions. Is that clearer for you? The guys working in the Magic and psionics system have find a damn good job.....to just waltz into their design and make " grand sweeping" statements like you did are NOT helpful and are in fact counter-productive. You want to help or share an opinion, pick something g you actually know about. There is going to be a sub-thread on guilds......if you are a "vendor" and have knowledge of weapons (whether its smithing them or even just selling them, you probably know more than "I" do) than have at it. By all means! For future reference, if something I say has ANYTHING to do with you, you'll see your name. That say no misunderstandings. If you want to help out with the bestiary I have NO problems with that.....BUT so you're aware, there are creatures that are PURE pscionicists......I.e Illithids, and certain Celestial creatures as well as some fiends /demons. Just a heads up 😁
|
|
Ramses1079
Member
“Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum"
Posts: 609
|
Post by Ramses1079 on Jul 13, 2017 2:13:55 GMT
I started the Bestiary thread, also in the Cafe with a basic descriptive format. I sure the contributors for this thread will come up with a more complete template. I have volunteered to keep them in alphabetical order once we start seeing some contributions. At that time I'll most likely start a separate thread with just the alphabetized listing. Errrrr maybe we should wait for Paul or a MOD to pick a place for sub-threads?? That's why I didn't start one yesterday. Also I was thinking of maybe selecting monsters/creatures by region, country, or climate as opposed to alphabetically. Cause even if we do it A-Z, we still have to "place" them where they'll go. Sure, some are self explanatory, but undead for instance are a wide and varied catagory......and according to some earlier posts (even with Paul agreeing) it was thought up that some undead would be bought/rented as slave labor or even protection. Which I think is genius, cause undead DON'T get tired, DON'T get sick or suffer from hunger or infection. They're also completely "loyal" to their owner, or creator, and NEVER revolt or mutiny.....unless a powerful enough Necromancer could wrest control of them.
|
|
|
Post by demonskull on Jul 13, 2017 2:17:34 GMT
Okay , my bad. My offer to organize is still out there, whether by alphabet or region or as yet to be determined.
|
|
Ramses1079
Member
“Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum"
Posts: 609
|
Post by Ramses1079 on Jul 13, 2017 2:35:41 GMT
No, no, no.....that's not what I meant. I "should" have said thank you instead of all that other blah, blah 😅 It's just that if the powers that be decide they want it somewhere tucked away I'd hate to see us lose any brainstorming we come up with. Would you rather we start alphabetically, or do you think maybe if we start in the frozen North and work our way South that would allow us to cover the whole "world" before we even reach the south?
|
|