|
The following document details a Magic System
for the HERO System that will closely model
the new Warhammer FRPG 2e Magic System. |
|
It is worth noting that the material provided
herein is fully functional as a standalone
Magic System. If doing so, I posit calling
them "Loremasters", in reference
to the segregation of the practitioners
by Lore Talents. |
|
GM Notes on Loremastery
|
|
THE WINDS OF
MAGIC (AKA LOREMASTERY) |
|
The new Warhammer FRPG Magic System is based
in part on the Magic System in use in the
table top wargame version of Warhammer,
borrowing heavily on the concept of the
Eight Winds of Magic, Necromancy, Chaos
Sorcery, and Divine Magic. Functionally
it revolves around the concept of "Lore
Talents" that give monogamous access
to specific types of Magic.
|
|
Individual Spellcasters have a great deal
of latitude within their Lore, being able
to cast any spell therein so long as they
are able to generate a large enough result
by rolling one or more "Magic"
dice and comparing their total to a target
number. However, this flexibility within
their Lore is countered by the inability
to ever learn another Lore. |
|
TYPES OF MAGIC |
|
Spells are broken down into categories,
with Petty Magic at the bottom as the principal
"gateway" access that all Spellcasters
have in common, and giving way to higher
level access abilities in the form of various
"Lore" groups, Arcane, Dark, and
Divine that are each further differentiated
into types. The type of Lore one knows determines
what kind of spells the character has available
to them. |
|
ARCANE MAGIC |
|
Arcane Magic is divided into the eight Winds
of Magic, with each "Wind" having
a different symbolic color and focusing
on various sorts of magic. Each Wind has
a separate Arcane Magic Talent associated
with it, and a given character can only
ever know one of them. The eight Winds are: |
- Light (White): Light Magic
- Celestial (Blue): Divination Magic
- Gold (Yellow): Metal Magic
- Jade (Green): Life Magic
- Amber (Brown): Animal Magic
- Bright (Red): Fire Magic
- Shadow (Gray): Illusion and Shadow Magic
- Amethyst (Purple): Death Magic
|
|
DIVINE MAGIC |
|
Divine Magic is specific to various patron
deities; Divine Spellcasters are servants
and followers of a particular deity, who
in turn invests them with the ability to
work magic on their behalf. Each deity has
a corresponding Divine Magic Talent associated
with it, and a given character can only
ever know one of them. Common deities that
grant Divine Magic are: |
- Grungni
- Manaan
- Morr
- Myrmidia
- Ranald
- Sigmar
- Shallya
- Taal and Rhya
- Ulric
- Varena
|
|
DARK MAGIC |
|
Dark Magic is evil, dangerous, and/or otherwise
not well accepted in civilized lands. Working
with darker forces grants greater power
more easily, but also is generally far less
forgiving. Each type of Dark Magic has a
separate Dark Magic Talent associated with
it, and a given character can only ever
know one of them. The types of Dark Magic
are: |
|
|
|
GENERAL SPELLCASTING |
|
The specific mechanical details of how to
convert Warhammer FRPG 2e Magic into the
HERO System are provided below, but this
section gives a brief overview of how Magic
works in the source material. |
|
SPELL ACCESS AND TARGET NUMBERS |
|
Each type of Lore gives access to a variety
of spells of that type, and an individual
Spellcaster can attempt to cast any spells
of that type at will. However, each spell
has a target number that the Spellcaster
must achieve by rolling their Magic dice.
The number of Magic dice available to a
Spellcaster is determined by their Magic
Rating, and is the true measure of a Spellcaster's
potency; the more dice they can roll the
more likely they will succeed when casting
spells. A Spellcaster can theoretically
attempt to cast any spell within their Lore,
but some spells have sufficiently high target
numbers that they are effectively impossible
to cast unless a character has multiple
Magic dice.
|
|
CURSE OF TZEENTCH |
|
As an interesting twist however, rolling
more dice also incurs more danger in the
source material due to a feature of the
game called "The Curse of Tzeentch",
which basically indicates that any time
two or more Magic dice roll the same number
some side effect occurs. The nature of the
side effect ranges from an annoyance for
a pair to catastrophic with five or more
matches. The more dice one rolls, the more
likely some unforeseen side effect will
result; this adds an interesting dynamic
tension to every single Magic roll, and
means a Spellcaster is always in the horns
of dilemma to cast or not to cast, and how
many dice to roll if they do. It is important
to note that if the target number of the
spell is reached, it is still successfully
cast even if the Curse of Tzeentch is invoked. |
|
NOTE: This reminds me a lot of the use of
Arete and the risk of "botching"
in MAGE: The Ascenscion, except only 1's
mattered in that game, whereas in the new
Warhammer FRPG Magic System any value can
cause a match. |
|
OTHER REQUIREMENTS |
|
In addition to having a Lore, Spellcasters
must also know an Arcane Language, with
the exception of those who have the Hedge
Magic ability (but they suffer a serious
penalty until they acquire an Arcane Language).
|
|
Finally, a Spellcaster must also know the
Channeling Skill, but this is an arbitrary
restriction since spells can be cast without
the use of Channeling. |
|
MECHANICS |
|
The following section details how to model
the Warhammer Magic System described above
in the HERO System. |
|
ARCANE LANGUAGE |
|
All Spellcasters must know the "Arcane
Language", which in the HERO
System can be treated as a 3 point language
with literacy included. |
|
Arcane Language (fluent conversation;
literate);
|
|
Real Cost: 3 points |
|
MAGIC RATING |
|
To map the concept of the Magic System as
closely as possible, each point of Magic
a Warhammer character has is translated
into a single die of a special form of the
Luck Power. This form of Luck is not used
in either the normal fashion of Luck in
the HERO System or any of the optional uses.
|
|
Instead, whenever a Spellcaster wants to
cast a spell they must roll one or more
of their "Magic" Luck dice and
add the face of the dice together. If the
total equals or exceeds the Active Points
divided by 3 (AP/3) of the spell being cast.
then they successfully cast the spell; if
not then they fail to cast the spell. |
|
There is no limit per day on how often a
Spellcaster may use their "Magic"
Luck dice in this fashion, but they may
not use it for any other purpose. |
|
The number of "Magic" Luck dice
a Spellcasters can have is directly constrained
by the size of their Magic VPP as described
below, but in summary a character with a
Magic Rating 1 VPP must have exactly 1d6
"Magic" Luck (no more, no less),
while a character with a Magic Rating 3
VPP must have exactly 3d6 "Magic"
Luck, and so on. |
|
Magic Die: 1d6 "Magic"
Luck ; Partially Limited (Suffers -1 per
2 DEF of Armor Currently Worn, (- 1/2)) |
|
Real Cost: 3.33 points per d6 |
|
Example: Kerahl the Bright Wizard
has a Magic Rating of 3 in Warhammer. When
converted into the HERO System he gets 3d6
"Magic" Luck as defined above
for 10 Real Points. |
|
Suffers -1 per 2 DEF of Armor Currently
Worn |
|
As indicated, when a Spellcaster is wearing
Armor, it is much more difficult to work
Magic. When they roll their "Magic"
Luck dice, a Spellcaster must subtract one
(-1) from the face of each die rolled for
every 2 DEF of Armor they are wearing (rounded
in their favor). |
|
This is where the Armored Casting ability
comes in handy. Defined as Penalty Skill
Levels to Offset Armor Casting Penalty for
All Spells at the 3 points per +1 level,
the ability can be purchased multiple times.
However, while the penalty is applied to
each die, the PSL's are not; they are applied
one for one to individual penalties. Thus
if a character is suffering -2 to each die
for wearing DEF 4 Armor and had +2 PSL vs
Armor Casting Penalty, then they would essentially
ignore the penalty altogether on one of
the dice they roll. |
|
Example: Kerahl the Bright Wizard
is wearing Leather Armor (DEF 3) and tries
to cast Fire Ball, a 30 Active Point spell
with a target number of 10 (30/3). Kerahl
has three "Magic" Luck dice at
his disposal and decides to roll all three.
They come up 6,4,2 for a total of 12. Normally
Kerahl would have succeeded, but since he
is wearing DEF 3 armor each die suffers
a -1, which means he only rolled a 9 and
thus the spell fails. If Kerahl had the
Armored Casting ability he would have offset
two points of the penalty for a total of
11 and thus succeeded. |
|
Armored Casting: +2 Penalty
Skill Levels to Offset Armor Casting Penalty |
|
Real Cost: 6 Points |
|
LORE TALENTS |
|
Each type of Lore requires a Custom Talent
which costs 5 points, with the exception
of Hedge Wizardry which only costs 1 point.
These Talents are shown on the Ability Conversion
table here.
Possession of such a Talent allows a character
to purchase and use a Variable Power Pool
that has "Cosmic" (i.e. 0 Phase
Change, No Skill Roll Required) access to
spells of that type of Magic. This is described
in depth below. |
|
NOTE: By default and in keeping with the
source material a character may only ever
have Petty Magic and one other Lore Talent.
However, individual GM's could waive that
restriction for a broader Magic System.
This isn't worth any points if enforced;
it's simply a Campaign Groundrule. |
|
LORE VPP |
|
The size of a character's VPP is directly
analogous to their Magic rating in Warhammer;
the higher their Magic Rating in Warhammer,
the larger their VPP in the HERO System.
The following depicts the write ups for
Magic ratings 1 thru 5; the progression
should be clear from this, but basically
every +1 Magic rating adds 10 Pool to the
VPP. |
|
A character must have a number of "Magic"
Luck dice equal to the rating of their VPP.
Thus a character with a Rating 4 VPP must
have exactly 4d6 "Magic" Luck
dice. |
|
As a character gains Experience Points and
advances their Variable Power Pool, they
can put points into it as they like, but
they can't use more Pool than their current
rating until they have completely paid off
the next rating and also bought another
"Magic" Luck die. Effectively
the next level of VPP and it's corresponding
"Magic" Luck die is on lay away
until the character can completely pay for
them. |
|
Example: The Wizard Verakin has a
Rating 2 Magic VPP and 2d6 Magic Luck. As
time passes Verakin's player puts points
into the VPP, growing it from 45 Real Cost
to 60 Real Cost. However during this time
Verakin can only use the 30 Pool his Rating
2 allows him. Finally, 18 experience points
later, Verakin's player pays off both the
15 points to get from 30 Pool to 40 Pool,
and 3 points to buy another die of Magic
Luck. Verakin immediately has 3d6 "Magic"
Luck and 40 Pool available to him, allowing
him to cast more powerful spells. |
|
Magic Rating 1: Variable Power Pool
20 Pool; No Skill Roll Required
to Change Powers (+1), 0 Phase Change (+1);
Incantations (-1/4), RSR: Requires "Magic"
Luck Roll (Dice Total vs AP/3 Target Number;-3/4),
SE: Suffer SE equal to -1/4 per Matching
Die Of Luck Roll (-3/4), Must Have Appropriate
Lore Talents (-1/4);
|
|
Real Cost: 30 points |
|
Magic Rating 2: Increase Variable
Power Pool to 30 Pool |
|
Real Cost: +15 points (45 points total) |
|
Magic Rating 3: Increase Variable
Power Pool to 40 Pool |
|
Real Cost: +15 points (60 points total) |
|
Magic Rating 4: Increase Variable
Power Pool to 50 Pool |
|
Real Cost: +15 points (75 points total) |
|
Magic Rating 5: Increase Variable
Power Pool to 60 Pool |
|
Real Cost: +15 points (90 points total) |
|
Incantations |
|
This Limitation must be taken on individual
spells. |
|
All Warhammer Spells require Incantations
in the "Arcane Language", except
for those cast by Hedge Wizards who use
made up phrases or snippets of true Arcane
phrases (and they suffer for the lack).
At least -1/4 worth of Incantations must
be taken on every spell. |
|
Requires "Magic" Luck Roll |
|
This Limitation affects the VPP directly
and is not taken on individual spells. |
|
As discussed previously above, each time
a Spellcaster attempts to cast a spell they
must roll one or more "Magic"
Luck dice, and compare the total to the
Active Points of the spell divided by 3
(AP/3). If the total does not at least equal
the AP/3 of the spell, then it's casting
fails. |
|
Suffer Side Effects and the Curse of Tzeentch |
|
This Limitation affects the VPP directly
and is not taken on individual spells. |
|
This is the "Curse of Tzeentch"
equivalent in the HERO System. For each
matching die rolled with Magic "Luck",
the spell suffers -1/4 worth of a random
Side Effect as per the Power Limitation
Side Effect. Thus if doubles are rolled,
then the spell has a "Minor Side Effect",
which is worth -1/4. If triples are rolled,
then the spell has a "Major Side Effect",
which is worth -1/2. If quadruples are rolled,
then the spell has a "Major Side Effect"
that also affects the character and the
environment , which is worth -3/4. If quintuplets
are rolled, then the spell has an "Extreme
Side Effect", which is worth -1. And
so on and so forth.
|
|
The actual effect that a given Side Effect
takes is up to the GM. Some GM's might want
to model individual occurrences listed in
the source material in HERO System terms,
while others might want to play it more
by ear, and still other more diabolical
GM's might devise their own Curse of Tzeentch
effects. |
|
When all else fails or in a pinch a GM can
always fall back on a number of dice of
Unluck with a cost equivalent to the Active
Points indicated by the Side Effect. Thus
if a 40 Active Point spell causes a Minor
Side Effect, then the GM could reasonably
just roll 3d6 of Unluck (15 points worth
of Unluck proxying for the 15 Active Points
of the Minor Side Effect) against the character
and let that be his guide for how severe
to make the Side Effect. |
|
Whichever way a GM decides to handle it,
they should be aware that the Curse will
occur a lot, and the nuances of how the
GM handles it will have a big impact on
the performance of Magic and how it is perceived
by the players. If the GM is heavy handed
with the Curse, few will be eager to play
a Spellcaster, those that do will cast few
spells, and the working of Magic will be
seen as very dangerous thing to be around
even for bystanders. If the GM is lenient,
then Spellcasters will be much more common
and spells will be cast more often. Either
way or something in between, the GM should
be sure that they are sending the message
they want to send to portray Spellcasting
as they think appropriate to the kind of
story they are trying to tell. |
|
Must Have Appropriate Lore Talents |
|
This Limitation affects the VPP directly
and is not taken on individual spells. |
|
This Limitation is analogous to "Magic
Only" or some other light restriction.
It basically just means that a person with
the Arcane Lore (Amber) Talent can't cast
spells from the Dark Magic (Necromancy)
category, etc. Essentially this Limitation
simply means that while the VPP is functionally
Cosmic, the selection of individual effects
is still restricted. |
|
The Lesser Magic Talent is a minor exception
to this as described later. |
|
Other Limitations |
|
Because the VPP is effectively Cosmic, and
spells can be brought in and out as needed,
there isn't a large need to apply further
Limitations to individual spells. Primarily
such Limitations should be applied to appropriately
model effects rather than to lower the Real
Cost. One benefit of applying Limitations
however is so that constant spell effects
can be maintained over time while still
allowing active spell casting.
|
|
An important caveat to applying other Limitations
should be made regarding "Material
Components", i.e. Expendable Foci.
That situation is handled in a different
fashion as indicated below under "Material
Components", and the Foci Limitation
should not be applied directly to individual
spells. |
|
CHANNELING |
|
Channeling is the means by which a Spellcaster
focuses their minds and draws more deeply
upon the Winds of Magic. When casting a
spell, a Spellcaster may take a 1/2 Phase
action to make a Channeling Skill Roll.
If the roll succeeds, they may roll an extra
"Magic" Luck die to determine
if they successfully cast the spell. This
die does count for purposes of resolving
the Curse of Tzeentch, so this process is
not without danger. |
|
To model this in the HERO System, all Spellcasters
must also take the following two abilities
together when they get their first "Magic"
Luck die. |
|
Channeling: Channeling Power Skill
(EGO) + 1 |
|
Real Cost 5 points |
|
Channeling Die: +1d6 "Magic"
Luck ; RSR: Channeling (- 1/2) |
|
Real Cost 3 points |
|
MATERIAL COMPONENTS |
|
In the source material Spellcasters don't
have to use "Material Components"
to cast their spells, but if they have some
available that are appropriate to the spell
they are trying to cast they get to roll
an extra Magic die. |
|
It is up to the GM as to what qualifies
as a suitable item, but as a general rule
of thumb since the Material Component is
expended by the casting the GM should be
careful to not allow players to get a free
"disintegrate" effect out of the
bargain. |
|
NOTE: The acquisition of suitable Material
Components can be an endless font of adventuring,
as anyone that has ever played Ars Magica
is well aware. However not all players,
in fact few players, really enjoy having
to quest for every hair of newt and eye
of dog. It's one of those tropes that is
great with certain players and groups, and
a major drag for others. It's up to individual
GM's how available individual Material Components
are, but it is important for the GM to be
consistent. If yesterday the GM hand waived
away a Material Component for a spell, and
today is getting anal about the same Material
Component on the same spell it sends a mixed
message and is pure concentrated unfun for
the players. |
|
To model this in the HERO System, all Spellcasters
must also take the following ability when
they get their first "Magic" Luck
die. |
|
Component Die: +1d6 "Magic"
Luck ; OIF Expendable Spell Component (-
3/4) |
|
Real Cost 2 points |
|
EXTRA DICE FROM CHANNELING AND MATERIAL
COMPONENTS |
|
The math savvy have probably already figured
out that if a Spellcaster is always trying
to cast spells with the maximum amount of
Active Points available to their rating
then they will always be a little behind
the power curve, however for the non math
heads this state of affairs is explicitly
called out here.
|
|
At Magic Rating 1 a spell caster's VPP is
20 Active Points, and they have 1d6 "Magic"
Luck available to them. Considering the
AP/3 target number requirement against the
maximum AP of 20, it breaks down as 20/3
= 6.667, which rounds to 7. Thus it is impossible
for the Spellcaster to successfully cast
a spell with the full 20 AP in their Magic
Rating 1 VPP with their lone 1d6 "Magic"
Luck die. It's also pretty unlikely that
they'll succeed at casting anything with
more than 13 Active Points with any kind
of consistency since (14/3) = 5, which is
not reliably acheivable on 1d6.
|
|
As the spell caster's VPP goes up in 10
point increments per Magic Rating, the spellcaster
only get one more d6 of "Magic"
Luck to roll against a maximum target number
that has gone up (10/3) = 3.33 points, and
the average on 1d6 = 3.5. Thus while Spellcasters
do gain some ground every 10 Pool, it's
not enough to change the fact that they
are always lagging behind. They will always
be grasping at straws when they try to cast
spells at the top of their range. |
|
It is important to understand that this
situation is by design. Magic is supposed
to be risky and difficult in Warhammer,
and this is reinforced by making sure that
if a character wants to push their limits
and cast magic at the outer edge of their
capacity, then they are going to have to
work for it. |
|
This is where Channeling and Material Components
come into play. Having just one more d6
of "Magic" Luck can make all the
difference to a Spellcaster, turning the
nearly impossible to fairly good odds. |
|
Consider the Spellcaster with 30 Pool trying
to cast a 30 AP spell with 2d6 vs a target
number of (30/3) = 10. Normally they would
need a really good roll on 2d6 to get a
10 or better. If the Spellcaster can make
a Channeling Roll first or has an appropriate
Material Component however, that extra d6
changes the odds significantly; instead
of making the roll very rarely, they
will make the roll on average. This
progression of one extra dice shifting a
roll from difficult to average continues
all the way through 60 AP and 5d6 (60/3
= 20, 5*3.5 = 17.5, 6*3.5 = 21), though
it is less marked.
|
|
In short, Spellcasters will need to use
Channeling and/or Material Components to
reliably use their Magic at its fullest
potential, particularly in the lower Magic
Ratings. Also, note that neither die has
the Armor Casting Limitation on them; they
are not effected by wearing Armor. Finally,
a Spellcaster must always roll at least
one die of normal "Magic" Luck
dice in conjunction with their Material
Component or Channeling die. |
|
DARK LORE |
|
As noted previously Dark Lore is easier
to work than normal Magic, but also more
dangerous. Effectively it grants one more
"Magic" Luck die, but this die
must always be rolled. The character must
then drop the lowest die for purposes of
determining if the target number was reached,
but all dice rolled count for purposes of
determining the Curse of Tzeentch. Any character
with a Dark Lore Talent must also take this
ability. |
|
Dark Magic Die: +1d6 "Magic"
Luck ; Must Be Rolled Whenever "Magic"
Luck Dice Are Rolled (- 1/4), Lowest Die
Must Be Dropped From Total (-1/4) |
|
Real Cost 3 points |
|
Example: Gorgios the Necromancer
has a Magic Rating of 2 and a 30 Pool VPP.
He is trying to cast Call of Vanhel, which
has 30 AP and a target number of 10. Gorgios
is determined to cast this spell, so he
takes a 1/2 Phase Action to Channel and
is successful; he gets to roll his
Channeling die. He also decides to roll
both of his normal "Magic" Luck
dice. Thus he rolls a total of 4 dice, composed
of his 2 normal "Magic" Luck dice,
his Channeling die, and his mandatory Dark
Magic die. He rolls 3,3,4,5; normally he
would total all four, but Dark Magic causes
the lowest die to drop for purposes of determining
the total (one of the 3's in this case).
The total is therefore 12; a success. However
all four dice count for determining the
Curse of Tzeentch, so Gorgios suffers a
Minor Side Effect due to the matching 3's. |
|
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS |
|
Following are some final issues and considerations
applicable to this style of Magic. |
|
LESSER MAGIC |
|
The Lesser Magic Talents simply allow Spellcasters
access to one extra generic spell each.
For purposes of this Magic System, this
Talent has the net affect of allowing the
Spellcaster to use an equivalent of the
same spell in their Magic VPP. Simply extend
an individual Spellcasters allowed spell
list to include their Lore as normal, plus
whatever spells they have a Lesser Magic
Talent for. |
|
HEDGE WIZARDS |
|
Hedge Wizards are untrained Spellcasters
that are able to fuddle along, but at great
risk Having the Hedge Wizard Talent allows
a character to cast Petty Magic spells,
but inefficiently. If the character also
has Arcane Language Magic, then they cast
Petty Magic essentially just like a character
that only has the Petty Magic Talent. However
if they don't have the Arcane Language ability
then every time the character casts a spell
they must roll an extra Magic "Luck"
die which does not count towards the required
target number of (AP/3), but does count
for determining the Curse of Tzeentch. |
|
As an aside, this ability exists only to
allow conversions from Warhammer. It is
highly unlikely that any new character made
in the HERO System would ever take this
ability instead of just going the standard
route, since it is largely useless and is
actually more of a hindrance than an actual
ability. |
|
DISLIKED |
|
Magic users are not generally liked in the
source material, and in fact occasionally
suffer problems with groups like Witch Hunters
and other such intolerant folk. Due to this
it is appropriate for Arcane Spellcasters
to take the following limitation. |
|
Social Limitation: Magic User (Occasionally
8-, Major) |
|
Disadvantage Value: -10 points |
|
DARK LORE |
|
Spell casters that use one of the Dark Lores
have it even worse than that. They may take
the above Disadvantage at the Extreme level,
indicating that if it is discovered that
they dabble in the Dark Arts there will
literally be hell to pay if the Witch Hunters
and other dangerous folk have anything to
say about it. |
|
Social Limitation: Dark Magic User
(Occasionally 8-, Extreme); -15 points |
|
Disadvantage Value: -15 points |
|
ENDURANCE |
|
Endurance is not of any special significance
to this style of Magic. Individual spells
may or may not cost END depending on their
design and particulars. A Spellcaster may
not buy an Endurance Reserve for their Spellcasting
however. |
|
CHARGES |
|
Due to the Cosmic nature of the VPP used
by this style of Magic, spells may not be
on Charges. |
|
CONVERTING SPELLS |
|
Converting Warhammer spells into the HERO
System is usually pretty easy to do. Simply
consider what a particular spell is trying
to accomplish and then design an affect
that basically models that in the HERO System. |
|
As a general rule of thumb you can use the
Casting Number in the source material as
a guideline for how many Active Points the
spell should have in the HERO System via
the following formula, which gives a ballpark
figure. |
|
NOTE: Both formula give the same result;
one is the full calculation to go from a
d10 to a d6, and then multiply by 3 due
to the (AP/3) model being used by this Magic
System. The short version just shortcuts
this full calculation. |
|
Formula: ((WH Casting Number * .625)
* 3) = Active Points |
|
Short Formula: (WH Casting Number
* 1.875) = Active Points |
|
Example 1: The spell Starshine, which
has a casting number of 22 in the source
material should have somewhere around 40
Active Points in the HERO System.
|
|
Example 2: The spell Claws of Fury
has a casting number of 8 in the source
material, and thus should have somewhere
around 15 Active Points in the HERO System.
|
|
It is important to note that due to differences
in the game systems, not all abilities will
map cleanly in this fashion; some abilities
in Warhammer may require significantly more
Active Points to properly model in the HERO
System than this simple formula can account
for. |
|
Gabor the Amber Wizard has a Magic Rating
of 3 and thus has a VPP with 40 Pool and
3d6 "Magic" Luck, +1d6 when Channeling,
and +1d6 when using an appropriate expendable
Material Component. |
|
He may, at will, attempt to cast any spell
he wishes from the Amber Lore of Arcane
Magic. Whenever he attempts to do this,
he rolls one or more of his "Magic"
Luck dice, plus the Channeling die and/or
the Material Component die when appropriate. |
|
He could, for example, cast Calm the Wild
Beast one Phase, Form of the Soaring Raven
the next, and The Beast Unleashed the Phase
after that. The only caveats being that
the spells must be from the Amber Lore,
he must equal or exceed the (AP/3) of the
spell on his "Magic" Luck dice,
and he must be able to fit the spell's Active
Points and Real Cost into his VPP's currently
available Pool. |
|
ILL MET IN OLDE WORLDE FOREST |
|
One day Gabor is walking through a dark
forest and is beset by a group of three
Bandits who waylay him on the path and demand
a toll. Having none of that, Gabor attempts
to cast Crow's Feast to summon a swarm of
mystic crows to teach them the error of
their ways.
|
|
Crows Feast: Killing Attack - Ranged
1d6 (vs. PD), Penetrating (+1/2), Area Of
Effect Nonselective (2" Radius; +3/4)
(34 Active Points); Extra Time (Full Phase,
-1/2), Incantations (-1/4);
|
|
[3 END]; Target Number: 11 |
|
Phase 12 |
|
Crow's Feast takes a full Phase to cast,
so Gabor likely wouldn't get a chance to
Channel without tipping his hand, but luckily
he happens to have a caged crow hanging
from his walking stick, which is the necessary
Material Component for this spell.
|
|
Going all in, Gabor's player rolls all 3d6
of his "Magic" Luck dice +1d6
for having the necessary material component
and deciding to use it. The dice come up
1,4,4, and a 5 on his Material Component
die, which adds up to 14. Gabor is wearing
Leather Armor (DEF 3), so he must subtract
1 from each of his 3d6 "Magic"
Luck dice, for a net of -3. However Gabor
has 2 PSL's to offset Armor Casting penalties
and thus subtracts 1 for a total of 13.
Crow's Feast has a target number of 11,
so Gabor has successfully cast the spell.
Success! |
|
Unfortunately Gabor has also invoked the
Curse of Tzeentch at the "Minor Side
Effect" level due to the double fours.
The GM is using a version of the Chaos Manifestation
charts from the source material and rolls
for a Minor Manifestation. The dice indicate
Aytheric Shock, so the GM tells the
player to take 1 BODY and rolls a STUN Multiple
of 4, inflicting 4 STUN on Gabor as well,
with no defenses applied. |
|
Normally the spell would target a hex at
DCV 3, but since the "Nonselective"
modifier is taken on the AoE, instead Gabor
also has to roll to hit each opponent separately
with his normal OCV plus any applicable
Combat Levels he has. In this case Gabor
has an OCV of 5 and 2 All Combat Levels
that he chooses to apply for a DCV of 7.
|
|
He easily hits his target hex, getting all
three Bandits in the spells radius while
keeping himself out of it. The Bandits have
DCV's of 4, 6, and 9 respectively. The GM
decides that the Bandits didn't expect the
harmless looking mark to whip out a major
spell, and thus don't think to Dive for
Cover. Gabor rolls three Attack Rolls and
manages to hit all three.
|
|
Next Gabor's player rolls the damage, in
this case 1d6 Killing. The roll comes up
as a 3 for damage and a STUN Multiple of
4. This damage is applied equally to all
three Bandits. Normally 3 BODY would not
be enough to get through the Bandit's Leather
Armor (DEF 3), but because the spell is
Penetrating the Bandits each take 1 BODY
regardless. They also each take 12 STUN
- 3 PD and however much PD they have individually.
|
|
Gabor's player notes on his character sheet
that Gabor has spent 3 END, and also marks
off the Caged Crow Material Component he
expended to cast the spell. |
|
In game, Gabor shouts out the words of Power,
calling crows from the very Aethyr to swarm
down upon his foes, while reaching up to
release the catch on the caged rook dangling
from his walking stick. With a shrieking
caw the crow takes flight, and from seemingly
nowhere a horde of bloody winged and iron
beaked birds of dark aspect descend upon
the Bandits standing astride Gabor's trail
to peck at their heads and exposed flesh.
However, crackling blue sparks pop and hiss
around the Wizard, singeing his hair and
flesh. |
|
Finally Gabor's player decided to follow-up
his attack with a Presence Attack (they're
an action that takes no time). The GM decides
that any Bandit that the Presence Attack
achieves +10 effect against will bolt --
they're fairly cowardly after all. |
|
Tossing his head back imperiously, Gabor
shouts, "FOOLS! You dare extort a WIZARD?
Flee now or DIE!!!!" |
|
Gabor has a 16 PRE for 3d6, and the GM determines
that the roll will be modified as so: +2d6
for Extremely Violent Action, +1d6 for a
Good Soliloquy, +1d6 for the fear ignorant
people have for magic users, and -1d6 for
In Combat, for a total of 6d6. Gabor's player
rolls and comes up with a 21. This is compared
to the better of each Bandit's EGO and PRE
to determine the effect as normal for Presence
Attacks. One of the Bandits only has an
EGO and PRE of 10, and runs screaming into
the forest. They other two are steadier,
but still are impressed by Gabor's might. |
|
On their action both remaining Bandits,
who already have their swords drawn, 1/2
Phase Move and 1/2 Phase Attack Gabor. Gabor's
DCV is a base of 5, +1 DCV level for a total
of 6. The two Bandits have OCV's of 4 and
9; making Attack Rolls the first bandit
needs a 9-, while the other needs a 14-
to hit Gabor. Unsurprisingly the OCV 4 Bandit
misses and the OCV 9 Bandit hits. |
|
The Bandit does 2d6+1 damage with his sword
and STR, and rolls 7 BODY and a STUN Multiple
of 3. Gabor subtracts his 3 DEF from the
BODY and thus takes 4 BODY. He has a base
PD of 4, and thus subtracts 7 from the 21
STUN the attack inflicted, taking 14 STUN.
Luckily Gabor has a 15 CON and isn't stunned,
or else he would likely never recover. |
|
In game the two Bandits, bleeding from scratches
about their face and arms, dash in to strike
at Gabor. One clumsily misses, but the other
scores a brutal strike across Gabor's arm,
sending a gout of blood flying. |
|
Post Segment 12 Recovery |
|
Gabor gets to apply his 5 REC to the 18
STUN he suffered last TURN to the Curse
of Tzeentch and the Bandits, as well as
the 3 END he spent on his spell. The Bandits
each get their Recovery as well. |
|
Segment 4 |
|
Both Gabor and the Bandit with OCV 9 go
in this Phase, but the Bandit has a better
DEX. Fortunately for Gabor he has enough
Lightning Reflexes to go first any way,
and realizing that he is unlikely to win
this battle he casts Form of the Soaring
Raven to change into a raven and fly away. |
|
Form of the Soaring Raven: Multiform
(50 Character Points in the most expensive
form), Reversion (+1/4) (12 Active Points);
Incantations (-1/4) |
|
[0 END]; Target Number: 4 |
|
Gabor decides to not take any chances and
rolls all three of his "Magic"
Luck dice. They come up 2, 3, and 5 for
a total of 10, -3 for wearing Armor, and
offset by 2 with PSL's vs Armored Casting
for a total of 9. Luckily, no Curse of Tzeentch
this time around.
|
|
Gabor intones another word of Power, shifts
into the form of a raven, and flies away
from the befuddled Bandits. Sometimes discretion
is the better part of valor. |