Thank you for the replies so far!
Swapping a dF for a d4 is almost the same as adding +2 to the roll. It improved to low end by +2 (-1 to 1), the high end by +3 (1 to 4) with the expected value going up by +2.5.
As such, you could (should you choose) replace practically any mechanic that involves aspects with a die swap, and end up with a similar result.
Yup they were meant to be close. +2 felt no different than an aspect, while +3 felt like too much per rank. The d4 is a big advantage for supernatural beings but still leaves the potential of rolling no higher than the highest roll of a fudge die. That said, while I could replace any aspect mechanic with the die swap, I wanted it to only apply to supernatural powers. That way superhuman mechanics feel different mechanically as well as in flavor. So far my group likes it, but my game is still a work in progress so we will see.
Does anything from here appeal to you?
That is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for! While nothing in there appeals to me specifically, I'm looking to mine ideas off of other magical systems until something clicks.
First question : Why?
or more exact, there is a perfectly fine system out there with the DFRPG, what is really bothering you in it?
Taking things here and there but not the other things is like putting the wheels of a monstertruck on the blue bettle - it creates all sorts of new problems.
We would need to know why you want to change stuff and why and to what effect before really helping in that way is really possible.
Bye
CottbusFiles - who is really into running games as RaW as possible
Fair point, I was a bit vague about what i was looking for and why
First, the magic system in the DFRPG works fine in that system, and replicates the magic in the books brilliantly, but my game system is very different. While the DFRPG is the closest published game system to mine, which is why I'm posting here for advice, they are mechanically dissimilar enough that mechanics which work in one won't always apply to the other. Most notably, stress and consequences work differently. The Dresden magic system is on the cusp of being overpowered to begin with and would be more so in my game. I could probably convert it to my system with a bit of work, but there are other concerns.
The second concern being complexity. I don't care for numbery games. I like simplicity and as little dice rolling as possible, without cheaping out on depth (something Fate does very well overall.) DFRPG magic always felt a little bit over designed (Which makes sense given the books focus on magic.) Nearly a fourth of YS is devoted to describing magic, and thaumaturgy is particularly roll heavy. I would prefer a simpler, more intuitive magic system.
The third issue involves the setting. While my setting uses elements of the DF, (One of the PC's is the Summer Knight,) it is not a Dresden Files game. it incorporates elements of Jim Butcher, Brandon Sanderson, Brent Weeks, Larry Correia, Patrick Rothfuss, Andrea Alton, John Lindqvist, and many other authors, along with my own material. I love the dresden files magic system, and I've incorporated elements of it into mine, but it isn't quite what I'm looking for.
Dresden Files magic Stresses two primary separations: Power vs. Control and Speed vs. Complexity.
In my setting, magic has so far established no separation between Evocation and Thaumaturgy. A skilled pyromancer can attempt complex actions using heat as much as a necromancer can attempt to animate a corpses hand instantly to grab someones ankle. Likewise, while magic is certainly dangerous, there is no danger of calling up more power than you can control with normal magic, or at least control well enough to prevent it from harming you as it comes out unless you do so deliberately by using a mental consequence to assist you. Of course it will still kill you if you, say, burn down a building you are standing in.
instead, the distinctions are between Sorcery (focused practitioners,) Theurgy (Sponsored Magic,) Natural Powers (Telekinetic, Pyrokinetic, etc,) and True Magic (Full Blown Wizard.)
Natural powers are a re skinned version of magic with a few differences. Its effects are not disrupted by salt, it doesn't harm technology unless you want it to, and when you apply force, it always pushes back. So a telekinetic who pushes on something heavier than them gets thrown back, a kinetomancer who does the same simply fails to move the obstacle.
Theurgy I already have a system for, which
can kill you if you draw more power than you can handle. It is far more elemental and primal since it is shaped by the beings granting it and tends to take on more traditional forms like hellfire, winter ice, or earth magic.
That leaves me needing a system for magic and natural powers. I already have a refinement system, so I only need to develop the base system of how the magic works mechanically.
Some established 'schools' of magic: Necromancy, Pyromancy, Cryomancy, Transmutation, Psychomancy, Sympathy, etc.
It is a Pseudo scientific system that does rely on physical principles, while still being able to represent nearly every type of magic from folklore and fantasy fiction (Much like the DF does.)
Most importantly, I want magic to take appropriate skills into account, while also taking discipline into account. So, for example, blasting someone at range uses the ranged skill while still using discipline. A biomancer uses magic to enhance a punch to point it can break through a brick wall, but their discipline is still a factor along with unarmed. (There is no conviction skill.)
Here is what I'm thinking so far:
Sorcery:(____________) -1 refresh can be purchased up to three times for three different types of magic before taking true magic.
True Magic: -4
Theurgy: (______________) -2
Anyone who wants to do anything significant with magic needs to also purchase the ability to store Anima or mana or chi or ki or whatever you want to call it. Every point of refresh spent would buy you two? anima points in the blank stress track representing how much anima extremely specialized training enables you to store at a time. Every point of Anima spent allows you to replace a fudge die with a d4 on a magical skill roll, and the amount that can be spent at a time is dependent on your discipline. Perhaps a discipline of 0 or lower requires spending mental stress to use anima?
Anima is primarily generated by life processes, and living things bleed more while experiencing strong emotions. The mage's own life processes will eventually regenerate their anima supply at about one point per hour, but they can charge faster by feeding on nearby power. By meditating for an hour and making an intelligence or lore roll they may draw as many points as their roll allows. If they need to recharge RIGHT NOW, then they can take a mental consequence and a full action and restore an amount equal to the consequences value (assuming that there is enough ambient power to draw from.)
(Someone with Sorcery or true magic but no Anima reserve is a minor talent, capable of mundane effects, but nothing more impressive. The group has met a Scottish necromancer with the power to... bruise apples, and even then only when he has a minute to focus)
Anyway, if you have read through my ramblings this far thank you. I'm posting this both to organize my ideas, and see if this wise bunch has anything to add. I figured I can't be the first to work on alternate fate magic systems, and any resources or ideas are welcome. Thanks for reading!
