Author Topic: The scope of Thematic Thamaturgy  (Read 6169 times)

Offline Ihadris

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Re: The scope of Thematic Thamaturgy
« Reply #15 on: April 11, 2010, 03:06:26 PM »
Do you have a few themes in mind you'd like to run past us? This might work better as a "workshop".

One of my players is specialising in Air and Spirit based evocation using the theme of Chi/Ki and I was considering making a complimentary NPC ally or a mirror type rival NPC. I thought perhaps wards, with bonuses for landmine spells that use force or air as the triggered effect, divination with a focus on psychometry & emotional states, and the summoning & binding of Spirits (more along the lines of the Japanese Kami then ghosts). As regards to what would be out, Crafting, Veils, wards with evocation effects outside of the air and spirit specialties and conjuration would receive no bonus.

Generally though when I have thought about how I would respond if a player said to me that they wanted to have a theme releating to one of the elements I havn't been confident about where to draw the line. On the one hand I dont want to give the player too much power but on the other I dont want them to feel like they are being punished for specialising in Thaumaturgy and wanting to keep to a theme.
At what point would you say that a concept is too wide?

Offline The Codex

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Re: The scope of Thematic Thamaturgy
« Reply #16 on: April 11, 2010, 09:42:48 PM »
Actully I think this why I have been struggling to find ideas that fit a theme with in the context of the rules.... Is there a way of not quantifying but possibly giving some more guidlines around themes for both rituals and channeling as that would help I think with also working out magic users from other cultures as well.

Cheers

Offline Ihadris

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Re: The scope of Thematic Thamaturgy
« Reply #17 on: April 13, 2010, 01:33:44 PM »
Okay I was thinking about this over the last couple of days.

From reading the rules over again in details there seems to be 8 types of Thaumaturgy listed: Summoning & Binding, Crafting, Conjuration, Divination, Veils, Transformation & Disruption, Transportation & World Walking and Wards.

The example themes given seem to fall into two catagories: 'wide focus with narrow application' and 'narrow focus with wide application'. Biomancy and Psychomancy seem to be wide focus with narrow application; each having around 3 areas of specialisation  (Divination, Transformation & Disruption, Transportation & World Walking for both of them.)

Where as Ectomancy lists all of the thaumaturigcal types but is limited strictly to ghosts. (Discounting Demonic, Fae & other spirits of the Nevernever and Outsiders) Diabolism is a similar example.

Would it then be fair to say that the wider the application of theme to the thaumaturigcal types the more limited the situations that grant the bonus become?

Ihadris

Offline iago

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Re: The scope of Thematic Thamaturgy
« Reply #18 on: April 13, 2010, 01:57:53 PM »
Would it then be fair to say that the wider the application of theme to the thaumaturigcal types the more limited the situations that grant the bonus become?

Nice detective work, Ihadris. I don't know if we deliberately thought about it that way (we were trying to document what we knew of implicitly and explicitly from the series), but I think you're on to something there.
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Offline Ihadris

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Re: The scope of Thematic Thamaturgy
« Reply #19 on: April 13, 2010, 02:43:46 PM »
Nice detective work, Ihadris. I don't know if we deliberately thought about it that way (we were trying to document what we knew of implicitly and explicitly from the series), but I think you're on to something there.

Thanks very much! I just needed some sort of a balancing structure straight in my head so I could say yay or nay to potential themes from my players. I realise through reading a lot of the threads that your already adding in it a lot more of the notes in the margin but this could be worth a mention.


Offline The Codex

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Re: The scope of Thematic Thamaturgy
« Reply #20 on: April 16, 2010, 02:50:18 PM »
Thank you this really helped the character development:

Here is how the Picturamancer ended up

After ages of trying to do this we found a nice simple solution, the character can use Performance to make declerations during the ritual phase to tag it for the ritual, flavour wise this can include mixing ingrediants into the paint etc....

Its a nice thematic work around driven of the characters High aspect, and easily usable as well by a Focused Practioner, The Character has the ability to work only effects that he can paint so Wards which can be painted onto any surface of the building or hung in a suitable venue, Summoning and binding (which works  in a really cool way the Canvas is placed inside a ring of Copper Frame and then the summoned creature is bound to its 'image' as drawn by the character...), and Crafting (this includes special paints, not potions that allow certain effect, focus item paint brushes... you get the idea)

Any way I hope this helps with your idea it took a while to get the balance right with this character but now very very happy with it..... 

The only other thought we did have and where we then started to struggle if you could use an Stunt to replace Lore with Performance, in a way of 'feeling' the spell through his art, making it more of an Art than a science, however had no way of really setting conditions of the trappings of the Lore Skill and struggled with it for ages, and in the end the decleration just felt better... However if you can see a way that this would work it would make a real difference to the character as he is just creating magic with no Lore, meaning he will be unaware of what the consequences would be.... a great hook early on...

Offline Ihadris

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Re: The scope of Thematic Thamaturgy
« Reply #21 on: April 17, 2010, 01:48:47 AM »
I'm glad it helped Korwin, your character turned out awesome! I love the idea of sealing summoned creatures into the painting.

Offline Korwin

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Re: The scope of Thematic Thamaturgy
« Reply #22 on: April 17, 2010, 09:00:22 AM »
I'm glad it helped Korwin, your character turned out awesome! I love the idea of sealing summoned creatures into the painting.

Hmm? I heard my name invoked...?