Good, good because I am that average/casual gamer but games with this kind of focus interests me so if you could make more inituative and a shallower learning curve you definitely have something.

Quote from: TristramEvans;602552I use a lot of Latin, simply because it sounds all "magicky" to me (and is one of the few languages I'm moderately fluent in).

I hope this won't sound harsh, but no, your Latin is terrible. My Latin is very bad, but still good enough to cringe at what you wrote. For example:

Demergo = I submerge
Aequitis = ? (Did you mean "aequitatis", the genitive of "aequitas"?)
Iunctio = (the) conjunction (Did you mean "iunctionis", the genitive of "iunctio", meaning "OF conjunction"?)
Desidero = I desire
Illecetra = ? (Did you mean "illecebrae", the genitive of "illecebra", meaning "OF the lure/prostitute")
Ars Magicae = ? (Did you mean "ars magica", meaning "magic art", or "ars magiae", meaning "art of magic"?)

And so on.

Now, please don't take this as a personal attack. There are many published RPGs that show a no less cavalier attitude toward latin grammar and orthography (a setting for True20 called "Lux Aeternum" springs to mind). Please put up with my rant.

Quote from: MatteoN;607150I hope this won't sound harsh, but no, your Latin is terrible. My Latin is very bad, but still good enough to cringe at what you wrote. For example:

Demergo = I submerge
Aequitis = ? (Did you mean "aequitatis", the genitive of "aequitas"?)
Iunctio = (the) conjunction (Did you mean "iunctionis", the genitive of "iunctio", meaning "OF conjunction"?)
Desidero = I desire
Illecetra = ? (Did you mean "illecebrae", the genitive of "illecebra", meaning "OF the lure/prostitute")
Ars Magicae = ? (Did you mean "ars magica", meaning "magic art", or "ars magiae", meaning "art of magic"?)

And so on.

Now, please don't take this as a personal attack. There are many published RPGs that show a no less cavalier attitude toward latin grammar and orthography (a setting for True20 called "Lux Aeternum" springs to mind). Please put up with my rant.

The Latin uses are intentionally not those typical of a written text, as I specifically chose terms that had strong metaphoric associations and had alternate poetic uses, which would conflict with the grammar you're referencing in written documents, yes. The main reason for this is because the language shouldn't be discernable to someone even with a basic knowledge of Latin.

For example, "demergo", while meaning submerge, also had the poetic meaning "to go into debt"

"aequitas" comes from the expression "aequitas equitas", meaning "justice, fairness, or equity".

"iunctio" means "connection, joining"

"desidero" means "to long for" or "to wish for greatly"

and so on. What may be causing the most confusion to you is that I am quite often using stems and leaving off the endings. The objective is based on the concept of vocce barbarae, which you may be unfamiliar with, but is a classic concept of Platonic-based magic. Basically put, it has to do with the "crazy words" used in magic are powerful because they're meaningless or nonsensical, not because they are of an "ancient or powerful language". It represented a way for the magi to disassociate their mind from conscious thought. It was a "foci", to use the vernacular.

"ars magicae" on the other hand is an inside joke for students of traditional magic who also roleplay, I'm not sure I could explain that one without wasting a lot of time for very little payoff. If you were to translate it into actual latin, it would be ars venificus.

Quote from: TristramEvans;607241What may be causing the most confusion to you is that I am quite often using stems and leaving off the endings. The objective is based on the concept of vocce barbarae, which you may be unfamiliar with, but is a classic concept of Platonic-based magic. Basically put, it has to do with the "crazy words" used in magic are powerful because they're meaningless or nonsensical, not because they are of an "ancient or powerful language". It represented a way for the magi to disassociate their mind from conscious thought. It was a "foci", to use the vernacular.

Now I see. Thank you for the explanation!

Okay, so first revision I've made was to combine the Arts and Techniques, in that now each Art is one of 3 groups of 3, each group associated with a specific Technique, or method of casting, like so...

INCANTATION (Enchanting)
Conjuration "Create"
Execration "Curse"
Obfuscation "Hide"

INVOCATION (Channeling)
Apportation "Move"
Divination "Sense"
Transmutation "Alter"

EVOCATION (Summoning)
Abjuration "Banish"
Consecration "Dedicate"
Nexation "Bind"

Also, gone are the Arcana (at least in their current form). Now, when you cast an Incantation, the number of cards drawn is determined by the character's Wits Echelon Rank. For an Invocation, the number of cards drawn is determined by the caster's Intelligence Echelon Rank. And for an Evocation spell, the number of cards drawn is based on the character's Courage Echelon Rank.

I think this simplifies matters, and also ties the magic system closer to the basic game system. Moreover, I'm quite pleased with the divisions, which I think on the whole give an indication of the 'flavour' of magic associated with a specific Technique. One could even go so far as to call them Witchcraft (Incantation), Wizardry (Invocation), and Sorcery (Evocation), but I'm a bit too pedantic for that.