OK, so right now, our long-running campaign is a streamlined Rolemaster variant.  Some of the players and I have been talking about stripping things down even more--and one of the big items on the menu, ambitious as it is, is a free-form magic system.

Now, we're using percentiles to roll on casting.  I've looked at Ars Magica, Palladium Fantasy's wards, Iron Gauntlets, HinterWelt's work on the subject--even some of the FUDGE variants.  And I think I have some good ideas.

Here's a few things:

No spell points; rather, when the caster fails a Will save (or the equivalent) on casting (we're working on this, he loses a said # of Hits (Critical Failures, doubly so).

Basically, our thought is to divide everything up into domains:  Law, Chaos, Air, Wind, Earth, Physic, Plants, etc--with the thought that most mages will ever be able to only access one domain (a select few with be able to do 2).  So there needs to be some flexibility with spell casting.

We've thought of the following formula of:

Action + Domain + Modifier

Basically, what you're doing, the domain you're doing it to, and any factors to limit or shape it.  The limiters would come from the Difficulty Checks set--basically, minor disturbances or bonuses would have a low DC to beat, things that minorly affect others would be a bit higher, severe changes within the Domain or severely affecting another would be higher up from that, and heavy-duty stuff would be madness for an initiate to try--though, with Rolemaster, all things are possible.

One thing we want to convey is how difficult it is to be PRECISE with magic.  You can cast something too well--your gentle breeze can be a little too much and affect your arrow shot.

So, really, we need a solid list of "Actions" upon which to build our spells.  They should be general enough to be able to describe any sort of action towards the Domain in question.  We had:

Inflict
Enhance
Create
Alter
Destroy
Diminish
Protect

The thought is, players have to develop ranks in each action separately--so one player might have a high bonus to Protect (Fire), whereas another one might have a humble bonus spread out over Inflict, Alter, and Diminish (Fire).

Modifiers, I'll get to.  Thoughts?  I know free-form isn't for everyone, but its something we want to try.  We're also working on Domains--ideally, we want a decent-sized list of domains already discovered (thank you, 3.5 Dieties & Demigods), but need to look at how some of those would work with these spells.

Quote from: Zachary The FirstNo spell points; rather, when the caster fails a Will save (or the equivalent) on casting (we're working on this, he loses a said # of Hits (Critical Failures, doubly so).

While I personally like this sort of system, bear in mind that it's terribly unpredictable.  If a caster gets lucky, they can recklessly do powerful things and keep doing powerful things while an unlucky caster can have problems even if they are careful and reserved.

Quote from: John MorrowWhile I personally like this sort of system, bear in mind that it's terribly unpredictable.  If a caster gets lucky, they can recklessly do powerful things and keep doing powerful things while an unlucky caster can have problems even if they are careful and reserved.

Absolutely.  But we're Rolemaster players.  We're on board with this.

Well, you have my free form system. What you seem to be working towards is a pseudo-spell list with your actions.

If you want a precision feel, I would suggest a degree of success. The closer to the target number the precise the action is. So, made it by a lot, you get your effect in an extreme. Missed it by a lot, you fail in a bad way (take damage or no effect or something not related to the effect).

I would suggest some sort of fatiguing mechanism. Either a modifier based on the number of times cast or an increased chance for risk.

Bil

Quote from: HinterWeltWell, you have my free form system. What you seem to be working towards is a pseudo-spell list with your actions.

If you want a precision feel, I would suggest a degree of success. The closer to the target number the precise the action is. So, made it by a lot, you get your effect in an extreme. Missed it by a lot, you fail in a bad way (take damage or no effect or something not related to the effect).

I would suggest some sort of fatiguing mechanism. Either a modifier based on the number of times cast or an increased chance for risk.

Bil

I LOVE both of those suggestions.  So if a cantrip has a DC of 50, and you roll way, way, way overpowered, consider it a SURGE.  Likewise, if you're trying to cast a low-level effect, and the DC is 70, and you roll 71, that's pretty close to the mark.  Hmm...that just might work.

Perhaps the ranks, then, aren't necessarily a bonus.  If you have a +20 in Create (Fire), and roll a 90, but were aiming for a 70, you could SUBTRACT the 20 points as well to get close to the mark.  In the case, the rank or bonus would show your level of control!!!

We do have a Luck mechanic, where points can be spent to modify rolls, but its pretty limited.

On the second point, perhaps a -5% modifier per spell cast per day on chance to fatigue?

Quote from: Zachary The FirstI LOVE both of those suggestions.  So if a cantrip has a DC of 50, and you roll way, way, way overpowered, consider it a SURGE.  Likewise, if you're trying to cast a low-level effect, and the DC is 70, and you roll 71, that's pretty close to the mark.  Hmm...that just might work.

Perhaps the ranks, then, aren't necessarily a bonus.  If you have a +20 in Create (Fire), and roll a 90, but were aiming for a 70, you could SUBTRACT the 20 points as well to get close to the mark.  In the case, the rank or bonus would show your level of control!!!

We do have a Luck mechanic, where points can be spent to modify rolls, but its pretty limited.

On the second point, perhaps a -5% modifier per spell cast per day on chance to fatigue?

Yeah, that would work.

As to bonuses, that was what I was thinking. Also, the ranks could be set up to adjust on a target. You could work off of a stat or just a target of 50 and ranks allow you to move the roll closer.

Just an idea. You are closer to the system you are using so...

Bill