Spell Force
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=== World impact === | === World impact === | ||
| - | + | The Spell Force stat serves to make the Ranges, RIs and Durations of Spells somewhat unpredictable. The normal values for such stats are known, but sometimes casters will Push one or the other, or dual-Push one, or dual-Push one ''and'' Push the other. This gives a nice lack of predictability; you cannot count on being out of range, unless you are more than four times further away from the enemy than the Spell's normal range. Likewise you cannot count on a Spell expiring. | |
==== The Ärth setting ==== | ==== The Ärth setting ==== | ||
| - | + | Spell Pushing is rare in the Ärth setting, and with this and the Spell Force stat being recent addition to the rules system, the "older" important NPCs will tend to have SPFs of 3, and so be strongly disinclined to Push. Then again, that just makes the exceptions all the scarier. | |
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== Design Notes == | == Design Notes == | ||
Talk briefly about what the purpose of the mechanic is. Omit this section if it is extremely obvious to the target audience. | Talk briefly about what the purpose of the mechanic is. Omit this section if it is extremely obvious to the target audience. | ||
Revision as of 15:43, 2 January 2011
Spell Force, SPF, is a statistic that has a default value of 3, but which can be higher for some characters for some or all Spell Realms or Categories, or can be lower than 3.
It is used for one thing only, Spell Pushing, which is a roll to attempt to cast a Spell with a longer-than-normal Range and/or Duration (or Range Increment for attack spells). This article contains separate Advantages and DisAdvantages that can affect a character's Spell Force value, but in addition to this, SPF is also affected by the Strong Magic traits.
Spell Force, and its acronym SPF, is not to be confused with Speed Factor and its acronym, SF.
Contents |
Spell Force traits
Increased Spell Force
Reduced Spell Force
Advice
Ask yourself this: Does your character need to Push his Spells? Pushing can significantly increase Range, Range Increment or Duration, but at some risk, with this risk being lowered by having a higher Spell Force.
How often does your character need to Push? Is it worth the DPs? Also be mindful of the increased cost of Increased Spell Force if the trait overlaps with Strong Magic. The cause of the cost multiplier is Strong Magic, so there's no extra cost penalty for having Increased Spell Force that overlaps with a Spellcasting Talent.m
On the other hand, if being magically powerful is part of your character concept, and you want more Spell Force than you get from Strong Magic, then do take Increased Spell Force especially if it is for a fairly narrow subset of Spellcasting, such as a Realm, which makes the cost affordable, even with the doubling.
You should be wary of lusting after the benefits of Very Strong Magic, though. The extra effect is - usually - only for 6th level Spells, and do you really want to try to Push a 6th level Spell? Higher level Spells generally have better Ranges or RIs to begin with, and also sometimes better Durations, and the consequences of Fumbling a Spell Force roll for a 6th level Spell will be unpleasant.
Even normal Strong Magic, without the Very prefix, gives the increased effect only to 4th, 5th and 6th level Spells, and you probably don't want to routinely Push 4th and 5th level Spells either.
So, Pushing is mainly done for lower level Spells, for the sake of safety. Still, Strong Magic (and VSM) does increase Spell Force, and even if the bonus is relatively small it stacks with the bonus from the Increased Spell Force Advantages, so you shouldn't rule out taking both of Strong Magic and Increased Spell Force.
An alternative is to take both, but for different Realms. Strong Magic for Divination (where you get some nice extra benefits) and Increased Spell Force for Fire Magic.
Please note
Clarify, elaborate, try to predict and answer questions that are somewhat likely to be asked during character creation or during play.
Mini-FAQ
Put in sub-sections (three ='s) each containing multiple Q&As, and insert a blank line between each individual Q&A.
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The world
World impact
The Spell Force stat serves to make the Ranges, RIs and Durations of Spells somewhat unpredictable. The normal values for such stats are known, but sometimes casters will Push one or the other, or dual-Push one, or dual-Push one and Push the other. This gives a nice lack of predictability; you cannot count on being out of range, unless you are more than four times further away from the enemy than the Spell's normal range. Likewise you cannot count on a Spell expiring.
The Ärth setting
Spell Pushing is rare in the Ärth setting, and with this and the Spell Force stat being recent addition to the rules system, the "older" important NPCs will tend to have SPFs of 3, and so be strongly disinclined to Push. Then again, that just makes the exceptions all the scarier.
Design Notes
Talk briefly about what the purpose of the mechanic is. Omit this section if it is extremely obvious to the target audience.
Quick mini-glossary
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See also
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link
Table to use
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