I just happened to see someone else is building a magic system from the ground up. Fortunately i have several lists of personally constructed spells from previous versions of my work to build with, but i'm wanting to simplify their categories. Right now i've gone from about 6-8 down to 4.

Here's an excerpt:

QuoteClerical Magic is the use of magic scrolls and spell books. By reading the words aloud, the spell is cast, whether by intent or not. (similar to how the Book of the Dead accidentally raised the Mummy, Imhotep). Scrolls are disposable, like rounds of ammunition, the words on the page vanishing as they are read. Books, on the other hand, may be recited from indefinitely.

Ritual Magic is the use of magical implements, ornaments, and drawings. Their processes are long and often expensive, sometimes the completion of a single spell may become a lifelong pursuit, but their effects are powerful, and permanent unless broken.

Elemental Magic is the practice of drawing energy from ones surroundings to fuel your spells. They are often limited by the raw materials surrounding the spell caster, and are commonly manifested in terms of reshaping the landscape.

Pranic Magic is the art of using the spell caster's own energy to fuel his spells. This is possibly the most dangerous form of spell casting, but the most versatile, as it relies on the physical endurance of the caster. If used foolishly, casting spells in such a manner could easily lead to the death of the caster.[/

Previously all my magic systems had been based on the caster as the source of spell power and vehicle for casting. Clerical and Ritual bypass the caster as the vehicle, Elemental bypasses the caster as the source of power.

Additionally, a character's source of Pranic energy may also be used to perform non-magical actions, such as special combat skills (rush attack, acrobatic flourish, heavy blows, etc.) but i don't want the character's Prana resource to be derived from a physical stat directly related to physical combat.

Currently my six stats are: Vitality, Strength, Dexterity, Perception, Mind, Confidence.

Every character begins with 30 Endurance, and 10 Resolve, 0 Prana.

Vitality- Is added to your Endurance and Prana totals. Reflects your health and heartiness.
Strength- Is added to your Melee Damage rolls. Reflects your brawn and physique.
Dexterity- Is added to your Melee Attack rolls. Reflects your agility and nimbleness.
Perception- Is added to your Ranged Attack and Damage rolls. Reflects your awareness.
Mind- Is added to your Magic Attacks and Damage rolls. Reflects your guile and persuasiveness.
Confidence- Is added to your Resolve total and Magic Defense rolls. Reflects your instinct and stubbornness.

Vitality
Constitution- The ability to resist poison and disease, and recover Endurance.
Appearance- The ability to charm opponents by your presence.

Strength
Intimidation- The ability to repel opponents by your presence.
Lifting- The ability to push, pull, or lift heavy objects.

Dexterity
Grappling- The ability to wrestle people or objects to a more favorable position.
Subtlety- The ability to use disguise, conceal, and move silently.

Perception
Searching- The ability to spot hidden things.
Listening- The ability to hear faint sounds.

Mind
Negotiation- The ability to persuade a situation to a slightly more favorable outcome.
Improvisation- The ability to learn new skills as the need arises.

Confidence
Will- The ability to resist different types of persuasions or distractions.
Intuition- The ability to discern things about people or situations not obvious to the naked eye.

Another problem here is, i'm not certain Intuition belongs with Confidence. I previously had Wisdom in the place of Confidence, but i decided it didn't fit there. I could move Intuition over to Perception, and combine Listening and Searching into one, but then Confidence would be one derived ability less than the others. I want two derived abilities per Attribute.

Quote from: Amalgam;649729Vitality
Constitution- The ability to resist poison and disease, and recover Endurance.
Appearance- The ability to charm opponents by your presence.

Strength
Intimidation- The ability to repel opponents by your presence.
Lifting- The ability to push, pull, or lift heavy objects.

Dexterity
Grappling- The ability to wrestle people or objects to a more favorable position.
Subtlety- The ability to use disguise, conceal, and move silently.

Perception
Searching- The ability to spot hidden things.
Listening- The ability to hear faint sounds.

Mind
Negotiation- The ability to persuade a situation to a slightly more favorable outcome.
Improvisation- The ability to learn new skills as the need arises.

Confidence
Will- The ability to resist different types of persuasions or distractions.
Intuition- The ability to discern things about people or situations not obvious to the naked eye.

Another problem here is, i'm not certain Intuition belongs with Confidence. I previously had Wisdom in the place of Confidence, but i decided it didn't fit there. I could move Intuition over to Perception, and combine Listening and Searching into one, but then Confidence would be one derived ability less than the others. I want two derived abilities per Attribute.

Simple: Shift the places on Intuition and Improvisation.
Confidence may make it easier to rely on ones improvisations, and Intuition may be seen as a Psi-thing (Mind), and also works perfect with Negotiaton.

ooh! good suggestion, thanks. i'll have to consider that.

EDIT: I decided to swap negotiation and intuition. Intuition does seem to be more a mental exercise than anything else, and negotiation, while i had thought of it as a mental exercise, does seem to be a confidence/charisma thing up there with Bluffing. Improvisation needs to be renamed/rethought/rephrased. It's meant to be the character's mental ability to learn new things on the fly, so maybe Erudition, Learning, Enlightenment, Refinement, Savvy, etc...

I'm also on the lookout for any abilities that seem redundant. Like Searching and Listening. Do they need to be separate, or can they be convincingly combined?

I have another question now, regarding magic users not wearing armor.

I know some games offer reasons for it, while others just impose penalties and expect you to go with it.

In D&D from what i know, it has to do with the somatic component of a spell (the hand movements) being impeded.

My system does not have somatic components (just verbal and material), and i'm puzzling on how to approach dissuading spell casters from wearing heavy armor.

Another important question is: should i?

I know it's a bit of a game balance issue, but is it an issue that actually makes sense?

Either way, whether i make armor detrimental to spell casters or not, i feel there should be some benefit to wearing no armor or light armor. Perhaps by making spell casting easier or more effective in light armor, or by making garments such as robes have extra pockets for storing small items in that can be taken out as a minor action and used.

Quote from: Amalgam;650927I have another question now, regarding magic users not wearing armor.

I know some games offer reasons for it, while others just impose penalties and expect you to go with it.

In D&D from what i know, it has to do with the somatic component of a spell (the hand movements) being impeded.

Er, not really. In D&D, what it has to do with is history. It's that way because that's always been part of D&D, from the little digest books. And it was that way originally because Gary Gygax wanted it that way in an attempt at game balance. He didn't really make any bones about it. (Bows, or rather, arrows[1], did low damage for the same reason). All else is rationalization to keep whiney players quiet.

Quote from: Amalgam;650927My system does not have somatic components (just verbal and material), and i'm puzzling on how to approach dissuading spell casters from wearing heavy armor.

The most common rationale is that a lot of metal interferes with the magic. If you've got a magic skill, it could be a negative modifier to that. Or it could just be "if you carry more than xxx pounds of steel/whatever, you can't cast spells."

Quote from: Amalgam;650927Another important question is: should i?

That depends on the flavor you're looking for. Chivalry & Sorcery never had that restriction. The kind of armor you wore depended mostly on your social class of birth (because there was very little social mobility in medieval Europe). If you were of noble birth, mage or not, you probably wore full armor of the best kind available. Similiarly, there was no artificial restriction on clerics using edged weapons. In some parts of the medieval period (especially the earlier parts), Bishops were often battle commanders, and sometimes very good ones. That gave C&S a much more medieval European flavor, vs. the swords & sorcery (Vancian, strictly speaking) flavor of D&D. The difference is a matter of preference.

Quote from: Amalgam;650927I know it's a bit of a game balance issue, but is it an issue that actually makes sense?

Only is the sense of style. If you want all character classes to be approximately equal, it's one tool you can use. If you're looking for a more historical European (or most anywhere else, for that matter), you're looking for imbalance between the haves and the have-nots, and that's one of them. I would think that unless magic is very weak and for practical purposes useless, that mages would, regardless of where they start, tend to rise to the upper levels of society, and equip themselves appropriately.

Quote from: Amalgam;650927Either way, whether i make armor detrimental to spell casters or not, i feel there should be some benefit to wearing no armor or light armor. Perhaps by making spell casting easier or more effective in light armor, or by making garments such as robes have extra pockets for storing small items in that can be taken out as a minor action and used.

No armor often gives bonuses in dodging, less encumbrance (which means faster and further running, or the ability to carry more other stuff), more options in clothing, and so on. It also affects the role playing. If you're walking around town wearing heavy armor, you're walking around town looking for trouble. It's not true that it's impossible to sleep in armor, but it is uncomfortable to wear all the time, and all armor requires maintenance or it rusts or just falls apart. Plus, if you wear it all the time, it's gonna smell bad after a short time. All that affects how others react to the character.

[1]There was a letters column in The Dragon magazine, waaaay back when it still had "The" in the name, asking how much damage bows did. The offical, direct-from-Gygax answer was, "Bows do 1-4 points of damage, thereafter rendering them useless for the firing of arrows."