Editing Samsara:Settings (section)

===Magic ===
In order to do the magic conversion, we need to think how we want magic to work in this game. Do we, for example, want to retain the D&D idea of discrete “spells”? Or would sorcerers have a more generalized control over their elements (such as I suggested in the Thematic-magic in Appendix A)? Also, could anyone potentially work a little magic, or must you have the “Sorcery” or “Sha’ir” ability (I like this, myself, as playing up the magical nature of the setting))? 

Performing any kind of magic (sorcery or the sha’ir arts) requires a Simple Contest, as suggested in Appendix A. I’m thinking of the variation where the player’s describe failures and the GM describes successes, but could work the other way too: 


* A Simple Failure EITHER means the effect did not go off and 1 check has been received in the Spell Contest, if the mage desires to keep trying OR that the effect did occur but in some unexpected and not entirely helpful way. 


* A Full Failure means the spell failed to go occurs and 2 checks in the Spell Contest. 


* A Spectacular Failure results in 3 checks even if the casters desires not to pursue the Spell Contest, which means 1 severe check. For sorcerers this is Mental; for sha’ir this is Social. Optionally, something magical does happen, but it is rather unpleasant for the caster (something equivalent to 3 checks, but in any sphere. For example, if your were trying to create hunting-hound from a flame, maybe be a ball of flame mushrooms in front of you and you take 3 checks of Physical). Thus it’s a choice to just take your lumps and forget it, or take your lumps AND hope something useful come out of the resulting mishap.


In order to distinguish sha’ir and sorcerers better, I’m thinking it might be a good idea to retain the spell idea for sorcerer but dump the “spell fetching” for sha’ir, replacing it with services from the djinn. The effect would be that sha’ir have access to a greater range of effects, but through more complex (and potentially dangerous) means, while sorcerers will be somewhat limited to those spells which they know, but will have a generally easier (and quicker) time producing them. Sorcerers are craftsmen and (at the higher levels of learning) scientists; sha’ir are artists. 

====Sorcerers====
If we kept the spells for sorcerers, we might say something like this: all sorcerers begin knowing all the appropriate 1st level spells for their provinces. Further spells will have to be bought, found, traded, or stolen. Casting calls for a Simple contest in which the sorcerers rolls INT + PER + Sorcery versus the spell’s CR. The CR is +5 for 1st level spells and increases by +1 for each further level (so 9th level spells are CR +13) 

Sorcerers who use all 4 provinces are limited to spells of level 1-2. Further power requires specialization. Rejecting 1 province allows knowledge of spells up to level 4, while rejecting 2 provinces allows knowledge up to level 6. The ability to cast spells of levels 7+ requires committing to one and only one elemental province. One-province sorcerers are not distrusted because everybody thinks they are part of the True Flame (that’s such a dumb rationale), but rather because the heavy-hitter sorcerers are all specialists. Even when they are aligned with you, having a nuclear bomb nearby is disconcerting. Of course, you could be specialized and have no particular power to speak of, but that’s not commonly realized. On the other hand, even the humblest village has a healer or cunning man with some first-level spells and no specialty; they are respected like any other craftsman, but not feared. 

====Sha’ir (a start)====
Sha’ir would use something like Ten Million Gods from the Appendix A. Their abilities are entirely based off of securing the services and support of supernatural beings. How exactly that might work…eh…I’m still working on it. The easiest way is to say that the GM decides how difficult the request is, assigns a CR, and the guy rolls. More involved might use the effects-based construction and derive the CR from that. I’m thinking that you could say that all effects take approximately 4 turns to arrive. Higher success on the casting roll could be traded in for reducing the time required (so a Spectacular success could be traded in for a Simple Success only requiring 2 turns) 

====Digitalogists====
Digitalogists study much the same magic as sorcerers, but there approach is far more theoretical than the average sorcerer’s practical knowledge. As relatively recent phenomenon, digitalogy emerged from the break-throughs of a handful of theoretical sorcerers and mathematicians in the schools of Qadib, City of Sages. It involved the realization that all spells can be predicted and explained by certain algorithms (bonus points to those who realize that the al-gorithm is Arabic). To the theorists, this was confirmation that the world can be understood entirely mathematically, although they would not take the heretical step of suggesting that the world is mathematical (not publicly, anyway). 

Digitalogists are able to learn spells in a way unknown to regular sorcerers. By understanding the fundamental rationale behind spells, they are able to successfully cast spells beyond the capacity of sorcerers. However, because of the greater time and effort spent in learning the formulae of spells, these mathemagicians are able to learn comparatively few spells. All digitalogists begin the game knowing a number of spells equal to INT + Mathematics scores; these spells may be of any level and appear as separate abilities. There are very few venues in which to learn new digitalogy spells and very few fellow digitalogists from which to learn them. The mathemagician should expect to learn new spells at a very slow rate. 

To cast a spell, the digitologist rolls INT + PER + Sorcery + the individual spell bonus. This gives them a larger bonus than most sorcerers and means that they may attempt higher level spells earlier. Because digitalogists understand a basic unity to magic, they need not specialize in any elemental provinces to cast higher level spells (they regard the Theory of Conceptual Incompatibilities as the product of lazy minds and the Theory of Provincial Obeisance as scarcely worthy of serous discussion). Casting takes time, however, as the mathemagician must draw out the formulae of the spells for it to take effect; all digitalogy spells take 2 turns to activate.


[[Samsara:Main Page|Main Page]]

1.[[Samsara:Fundamentals|Fundamentals]]

2.[[Samsara:Contests|Contests]]

3.[[Samsara:Modifiers|Modifiers and the Character]]

4.[[Samsara:Attributes|Attributes]]

5.[[Samsara:Abilities|Abilities]]

6.[[Samsara:Motives|Motives]]

7.[[Samsara:Checks|Checks]]

8.[[Samsara:Character generation|Character Generation]]

9.[[Samsara:Samsara points|Samsara Points]]

10.[[Samsara:Long term play|Long Term Play]]

11.[[Samsara:Examples of play|Examples of Play]]

12.[[Samsara:Ultramundane abilities|Appendix A - Ultramundane Abilities]]

13.[[Samsara:Settings|Appendix B – Settings]]