Mark of the Boar: an odd circumstance
Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2020 2:08 am
A Shaman spell from Mystic Paths, page 319.
So, after some discussion on discord, I think we've resolved that there are differences of opinion on how this spell should work in a specific case, and there are those who feel that one aspect of the spell is very odd.
without going into too many details, the spell is one of the types where you get a benefit, but are semi-possessed by a spirit that requires you to act in a certain way. in this case, always moving towards or engaging an opponent. if the spell ends early for any reason, a penalty is applied (I don't believe the specifics of what that penalty is are terrible relevant, merely that they are bad and happen if the spell ends early for any reason regardless of what the reason is).
now, as is common with many spells, the duration is based on your spellcasting talent, and extra successes increase the duration; the higher the rating, and the more successes on the spellcasting test, the longer it lasts. this results in a situation where a magician with spellcasting of, say, 4, would give the bonus for 4 rounds (plus possible extra due to successes), giving a duration of 4 or 6 rounds in most cases, and hopefully will end at or around the end of the fight. on the other hand, suppose a spellcaster with 12 spellcasting talent by various means were to cast it, it is fairly rare for a fight to last 12 rounds, let alone the extra 2-3 successes worth of duration you're likely going to get, which means you're probably getting the penalty applied if you have won the fight and have no more opponents, because the requirement is not that you must engage an enemy if there is one, the requirement is simply that you must engage an enemy.
this leads to the odd circumstance I was referring to in the title; if I were a powerful spellcaster, for the purposes of this spell I would rather be a much weaker spellcaster. the upside of being more powerful will rarely be useful, and the spell's drawback will be far more likely to trigger, unless you can designate some vaguely-defined idea of an enemy *somewhere* and charge off towards that direction or something along those lines...
so, I was hoping we might get a bit of clarification on the intent here. in a scenario where a fight is ended (no escaping enemies or nearby enemies that could easily be charged), what is *intended* to happen?
(oh, and I suppose I should add this: at the moment, the GM has ruled that the boar spirit would sense no enemies, and you'd be fine to act more or less normally. though I presume that if the spell is still running and you come across another enemy, you'd be right back to charging in like a maniac).
So, after some discussion on discord, I think we've resolved that there are differences of opinion on how this spell should work in a specific case, and there are those who feel that one aspect of the spell is very odd.
without going into too many details, the spell is one of the types where you get a benefit, but are semi-possessed by a spirit that requires you to act in a certain way. in this case, always moving towards or engaging an opponent. if the spell ends early for any reason, a penalty is applied (I don't believe the specifics of what that penalty is are terrible relevant, merely that they are bad and happen if the spell ends early for any reason regardless of what the reason is).
now, as is common with many spells, the duration is based on your spellcasting talent, and extra successes increase the duration; the higher the rating, and the more successes on the spellcasting test, the longer it lasts. this results in a situation where a magician with spellcasting of, say, 4, would give the bonus for 4 rounds (plus possible extra due to successes), giving a duration of 4 or 6 rounds in most cases, and hopefully will end at or around the end of the fight. on the other hand, suppose a spellcaster with 12 spellcasting talent by various means were to cast it, it is fairly rare for a fight to last 12 rounds, let alone the extra 2-3 successes worth of duration you're likely going to get, which means you're probably getting the penalty applied if you have won the fight and have no more opponents, because the requirement is not that you must engage an enemy if there is one, the requirement is simply that you must engage an enemy.
this leads to the odd circumstance I was referring to in the title; if I were a powerful spellcaster, for the purposes of this spell I would rather be a much weaker spellcaster. the upside of being more powerful will rarely be useful, and the spell's drawback will be far more likely to trigger, unless you can designate some vaguely-defined idea of an enemy *somewhere* and charge off towards that direction or something along those lines...
so, I was hoping we might get a bit of clarification on the intent here. in a scenario where a fight is ended (no escaping enemies or nearby enemies that could easily be charged), what is *intended* to happen?
(oh, and I suppose I should add this: at the moment, the GM has ruled that the boar spirit would sense no enemies, and you'd be fine to act more or less normally. though I presume that if the spell is still running and you come across another enemy, you'd be right back to charging in like a maniac).