Ideas in RPGs that sound cooler than they are

Vellorian · October 30, 2006, 01:18:36 PM

Dragonriders.

Settembrini · October 30, 2006, 01:21:28 PM

QuoteDragonriders.

of Pern.

Caesar Slaad · October 30, 2006, 02:58:14 PM

On the fly spell creation.

Too easy to do wrong, and even in campaigns where it is done right, it either has to be gimped or recognized as the potent tool it is and dealth with.

RPGPundit · October 30, 2006, 03:42:03 PM

Quote from: Caesar SlaadOn the fly spell creation.

Too easy to do wrong, and even in campaigns where it is done right, it either has to be gimped or recognized as the potent tool it is and dealth with.

Oh god yes. I've never seen a "make your own spells" magic system that was actually balanced or playable.

RPGPundit

ColonelHardisson · October 30, 2006, 04:22:04 PM

Quote from: Caesar SlaadOn the fly spell creation.

Too easy to do wrong, and even in campaigns where it is done right, it either has to be gimped or recognized as the potent tool it is and dealth with.

Quote from: RPGPunditOh god yes. I've never seen a "make your own spells" magic system that was actually balanced or playable.

RPGPundit

Damn. That was gonna be my pick. Most everytime I see someone rail against the D&D spell slot system, it seems they feel that "spontaneous magic" is the solution, the Holy Grail of RPG magic use.

Handling starships in RPGs rarely works, either in or out of combat. It either boils down to some abstract dice rolls or is a system that doesn't integrate well with the rest of the game.

Sosthenes · October 30, 2006, 04:24:37 PM

Quote from: RPGPunditOh god yes. I've never seen a "make your own spells" magic system that was actually balanced or playable.

I think Black Company/True Sorcery looks okay. But that's more the Fire, Fusion & Steel of magic systems, nothing you can just pull out of your sleeve at a moments notice.

Then again, I think the Talislanta/Omni System isn't too bad. Very simple, so you don't spend too much time adding up effects. You can't model everything with it, but for the usual stuff it's quite okay.

ColonelHardisson · October 30, 2006, 04:26:30 PM

Quote from: SosthenesI think Black Company/True Sorcery looks okay. But that's more the Fire, Fusion & Steel of magic systems, nothing you can just pull out of your sleeve at a moments notice.

True Sorcery does look good, but I haven't had a chance to use it in actual play. Too often "spontaneous" magic systems are anything but "spontaneous."

Sosthenes · October 30, 2006, 04:34:45 PM

I wouldn't describe it as spontaneous. Unless you're Rain Man.
But it's a half-way decent building block for creating your own spells in your spare time. They won't be balanced perfectly, but you won't be doing a worse job than some WotC products

The Yann Waters · October 30, 2006, 04:41:11 PM

Quote from: Caesar SlaadOn the fly spell creation.

Ars Magica, Mage: The Ascension, Nobilis... I couldn't honestly say that handling those systems has ever caused any great inconvenience for me.

Nicephorus · October 30, 2006, 04:47:34 PM

Mage Duels/Psychic Duels. The concept sounds cool but it usually winds up being an odd stand alone set of rules that has big holes. I want the duel scene from The Raven but get yatzee plus accounting.

The pyschic combat rules in Skills and Powers had the problem that the attacker virtually always spent more pts in attacking than they could hope to cause in damage, making it only good for beating down a much weaker opponent instead of offing them with one of your powers.

jrients · October 30, 2006, 04:53:09 PM

Quote from: NicephorusMage Duels/Psychic Duels. The concept sounds cool but it usually winds up being an odd stand alone set of rules that has big holes. I want the duel scene from The Raven but get yatzee plus accounting.

I've actually been looking at tackling this one in my Basic/Expert D&D campaign. The basic idea is to fold the duel system into the counterspelling rules. A duel is essentially two mages attempting simultaneous counterspells. Still working on the details, but the long and short is each mage rolls 2d6, determine higher net score, and consult a small random chart to see how fried the loser gets. No biggie.

The Yann Waters · October 30, 2006, 05:01:07 PM

Quote from: NicephorusMage Duels/Psychic Duels.

That's basically the Nob combat system in a nutshell, and it can get flashy and strange.

Caesar Slaad · October 30, 2006, 05:07:01 PM

Quote from: GrimGentArs Magica, Mage: The Ascension, Nobilis... I couldn't honestly say that handling those systems has ever caused any great inconvenience for me.

You failed to include/address the rest of my post.

Ars Magica works because it recognizes the wizard as the most powerful, driving character type, which is in part facilitated by troupe play. Same with M:tA.

You try to set it side-by-side with other character types, it becomes more difficult to find a happy medium between giving it enough utility and gimping it enough that other players aren't outshone by your magical swiss army knife character.

Jack Spencer Jr · October 30, 2006, 05:13:02 PM

"Cinematic"

I don't know about you, but I still can't see anything. This is radio, not television.

The Yann Waters · October 30, 2006, 05:51:12 PM

Quote from: Caesar SlaadYou failed to include/address the rest of my post.

Ah, so the problem for you was maintaining party balance or niche protection? Hmm. That might admittedly become a problem in some games. It's not been a concern in anything I've run during the last decade or so, though.