Changing Elementalism (Lords of Olympus)

[Jarrod Stanek]

So, I'm working on a new LoO campaign, since I've currently got the Diceless Bug (TM pending) and my last campaign didn't really take off.

Elementalism kinda bugs me. Much like Sorcery, it's the only power where you have to memorize spells to use it. So, I want to ditch the "spell memorization" aspect of the power, and make it usable at will, like the rest of the powers. I understand that this makes the power more powerful and useful, so I thought to maybe do something to offset this.

Option 1: Increase the cost from 15 points, to 25 points. This seems the most reasonable to me, not to mention the easiest solution.

Option 2: Keep the cost at fifteen, but limit the element learned to a single element. Thus learning Elementalism: Fire costs 15 points; learning Elementalism: Air costs another 15 points; and etc. So learning all four elements would end up costing a whopping 60 points. Too much? It seems kinda high to me, but maybe not. This also makes it more Avatar: The Last Airbender-ish, which is okay with me. (Excellent cartoon, terrible movie).

Option 3: Keep the costs at 15 points and keep the power as is. Basically, making this a much more powerful power.

I'd love to hear other people's opinions, thoughts, and feedback.

[Spinachcat]

What about Elementalism RAW bugs you exactly?

If you ditch spell memorizing, it definitely needs a balancing act. 25 points sounds reasonable.

I like the single element solution BUT I've seen that get wonky in other RPGs, specifically Eldritch Ass Kicking where you're mages making up spells as you go, and players just use their one element to do effectively everything.

Like any house rule, pick one and test it with your players with the caveat that the rule might need changing (and the players could then alter their PCs if neeeded)

[RPGPundit]

Yeah, I would say adding 10 points to the cost would be reasonable.  You'd probably also want to add casting times if you get rid of memorization, so that more complex elemental spells might take more than one round to cast.

[Jarrod Stanek]

Thanks for the answers/suggestions, guys. I hadn't considered increasing the casting time, in addition to the point cost increase. I like it!

[RTrimmer]

I've been using Option 2 in a  LOO/LOGAS/Amber mashup. Works fine and it makes sense to me that Nereids, for instance, have power over water and not fire.

Also with 5 and 10 point versions with fewer tricks, and a 20 point version with an elemental teleport (not crossworld).

So, I'm working on a new LoO campaign, since I've currently got the Diceless Bug (TM pending) and my last campaign didn't really take off.

Elementalism kinda bugs me. Much like Sorcery, it's the only power where you have to memorize spells to use it. So, I want to ditch the "spell memorization" aspect of the power, and make it usable at will, like the rest of the powers. I understand that this makes the power more powerful and useful, so I thought to maybe do something to offset this.

Option 1: Increase the cost from 15 points, to 25 points. This seems the most reasonable to me, not to mention the easiest solution.

Option 2: Keep the cost at fifteen, but limit the element learned to a single element. Thus learning Elementalism: Fire costs 15 points; learning Elementalism: Air costs another 15 points; and etc. So learning all four elements would end up costing a whopping 60 points. Too much? It seems kinda high to me, but maybe not. This also makes it more Avatar: The Last Airbender-ish, which is okay with me. (Excellent cartoon, terrible movie).

Option 3: Keep the costs at 15 points and keep the power as is. Basically, making this a much more powerful power.

I'd love to hear other people's opinions, thoughts, and feedback.

[RPGPundit]

Thanks for the answers/suggestions, guys. I hadn't considered increasing the casting time, in addition to the point cost increase. I like it!

Glad you're enjoying the game!