Author Topic: Sponsored magic (unseelie)  (Read 1834 times)

Offline Druidgamer

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Sponsored magic (unseelie)
« on: April 23, 2013, 05:26:26 AM »
I am a bit confused. My character has Unseelie Magic (only, no other "human" magic). I understand the "with evocation's speed and methods" except for the part about drawing power for the spell.

1) Can my character draw power for a winter thaumaturgy over multiple passes like normal or does it have to be done as an evocation (all in one shot) thus limiting the strength of the spell if I don't want Winter to handle the excess (and massively increasing my debt)?

2) Can my character assist a normal (non-sponsored) thaumaturgy as long as it falls within Winter's elements (wildness, death, decay, slumber, cold)?

3) One of the issues our group came up against was we wanted to come up with a sleep spell as a non-lethal way of removing witnesses & potential victims, along the lines of the Mind Fog spell in the examples.  The end result was twice the difficulty of "taking out" the entire zone. Is this correct.

4) And last of all, can a spell (either evo or thau, depending on answer to #1 same for me either way) combine 2 components in the same spell, as in a mental attack that causes stress also makes the target 'sleepy'?  My reason for this is I'm thinking of a Sleep spell that wears down the target each hit vs a (weapon 6 mental attack that causes a stroke to the guard I was trying to knock out). Realistically I know that "non-lethal" CAN kill, like a stun used on someone with a pacemaker, but 'magic' should be able to avoid that. :-)

Offline Tedronai

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Re: Sponsored magic (unseelie)
« Reply #1 on: April 23, 2013, 05:53:41 AM »
Thaumaturgy with evocation's speed and methods is executed exactly as evocation in all ways except that the end result goes beyond what evocation is normally capable of into realms normally accessible only to thaumaturgy.

At the very least, your character should be able to maneuver, assess, and declare several relevant aspects useful in the casting of a large thaumaturgical ritual.
Personally, I'd likely rule (or possibly Compel) that only those sharing the same basic form of magic with the 'lead' ritualist could join directly in the casting itself.  Even substantially different traditions of mortal magic would prove difficult to integrate efficiently.

The player of a character that achieves a take-out result 'owns' the narrative of that take-out.  They may dictate the effects as they see fit within the bounds of reason as adjudicated by the gaming group as a whole.  It is not inherently unreasonable that someone taken out by an attack narrated as a ball of fire suffer little more than minor burns, a concussion, and some time unconscious, for instance.
This stems from the fact that an attack that 'succeeds' mechanically does not necessarily 'hit' narratively.

I suggest you take a look at the 'special effect attacks' section on page 326.
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Offline Wordmaker

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Re: Sponsored magic (unseelie)
« Reply #2 on: April 23, 2013, 08:12:15 AM »
The player of a character that achieves a take-out result 'owns' the narrative of that take-out.  They may dictate the effects as they see fit within the bounds of reason as adjudicated by the gaming group as a whole.  It is not inherently unreasonable that someone taken out by an attack narrated as a ball of fire suffer little more than minor burns, a concussion, and some time unconscious, for instance.
This stems from the fact that an attack that 'succeeds' mechanically does not necessarily 'hit' narratively.

I suggest you take a look at the 'special effect attacks' section on page 326.

Bingo. A fireball could strike down close to your target and the blast could knock them off their feet. That's still a successful hit, but you choose to narrate the action in a way that lets your target survive. There really shouldn't be any penalty or added difficulty for wanting to end a fight non-lethally.