Fire and Forget

I was struck by a thought as I was driving home last night (no one was hurt and I was able to maintain control of my vehicle). I was thinking about the AGE system used in the Dragon Age Dark Fantasy Roleplaying Game and how it felt like an Old School game. While I haven't played it yet, what I've read so far suggests this to be true, except for one thing: spell casting.

"Helpless Pieces of the Game he Plays"
Adelaide Hanscom [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

DARPG uses a mana point (MP) system for casting spells. Mages have an allotment of MPs to spend on the casting of each spell. This is a dynamic an free form system that plays very much like a video game: pick a spell and spend your MPs, keep casting until you run out of MPs, rest to recover MPs, repeat. I've watched my son do this when he plays a spell-casting character in World of Warcraft.

But it doesn't feel Old School enough for me. I come from the "fire and forget" school of D&D and think that is a perfectly natural way for magic to work, especially if you've read Jack Vance's Dying Earth series. So, I began a little thought experiment as I drove: could you use the AGE system to mimic the F&F approach to magic.

My first thought was to have the mage characters spend their MPs each day "memorizing" spells. I think the number of MPs might need to change a little bit and stress from armor also has to be taken into account. I haven't been able to allot much time to this thought exercise so here is my first pass:

Learning Spells
At level 1 a mage has learned Magic + 3 spells. These spells are recorded in the mage's spellbook. A mage may only have learned (Magic * 2) + Level spells. The exception to this are the spells learned at level 1. For Example: a mage with Magic 0 will have learned 3 spells at level 1; if the mage does not raise his Magic, he may not learn another spell until he has achieved level 4 ( (0 * 2) + 4).

A mage can learn any spell he comes upon by making a successful Learning Roll: Cunning (Arcane Lore) vs a TN 10 + MP Cost of spell. For spells with variable MP, use the lowest value in the range.

Memory Points
Memory points (MPs) represent a mage's mental capacity when it come to holding the chaotic energy of spells in their mind. A mage has trained their mind to act as a receptacle for the formulaic spells that are used to unleash magical effects. The mage's mind can only contain so much chaotic energy at one time. These spells are imprinted into their mind and held ready until they are released by the mage to create the desired effect, casting the spell. After the energy is released, that spell is "forgotten" and cannot be cast again until the mage has "re-memorized" it. A mage can memorize the same spell effect multiple times, provide the mage has sufficient MPs to do so.

A level 1 mage starts the game with memory points equal to 10 + (Magic * 2) and adds Magic * 2 more every time he gains a level. Apply changes to Magic before calculating MPs gained for a new level. MPs gained for previous levels are not recalculated when Magic is raised, it only affects MPs gained going forward in levels.

Powerful mages can hold many more spells at the ready in their mind than a novice. Each spell has a cost associated in MPs which must be paid when the spell is memorized. A mage must be wise and prudent when selecting which spells to memorize for the day.

Preparing Spells
Mages store their spells in written form in their spellbooks. Each time a mage wishes to prepare a spell for casting they must sit in study with the spell, memorizing the formula and imprinting its pattern into their mind. This act of memorizing the spell prepares it for later casting. The time it takes to memorize a spell is equal to 15 minutes per MP cost for the spell. For example, Arcane Bolt, MP Cost 2, will take 30 minutes to prepare.

Spells and Armor
Mages can cast spells while wearing armor, although the strain of such an action can interfere with the spell casting. Use the strain listed in the Casting in Armor table as a penalty on the Casting Roll.

Regaining Memory Points
Mages regain MPs by resting. A full 8 hours of rest are required for a mage to regain all spent memory points. If a mage still holds un-cast, memorized spells in their mind, the mage can choose to "forget" any or all of those spells at this time to free up MPs to be used toward preparing more or different spells. The time it takes to safely expend the memorized spell is 15 minutes no matter how many MPs were originally used in preparing the spell.

Spellbooks
Spellbooks are large bound tomes used to store the spells the mages has learned. Spellbooks come in various shapes and sizes. A blank spellbook cost 75 sp and can hold up to 10 spells as well as copious mundane notes. Ink used to record the spell in the spellbook cost 10 sp per MP cost of spell.

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Follow Your Bliss,
JJ

Dragon Age RPG

@Highmoon and @ newbiedm have been giving lots of love to the Dragon Age RPG (DARPG), from Green Ronin, on Twitter. So much so that I contacted my FLGS to order me the boxed set. When these guys recommend a game, I can't help but to listen. If you are at all curious about DARPG, then check out their new blog, Dragon Age Oracle, devoted to the game (and follow the DAO blog on Twitter as well).

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Follow Your Bliss,
JJ

GMing Aspects: Dresden Files RPG

DM Samuel wrote a great post looking at what he called his "speedbump" when trying to GM games of Dresden Files RPG (DFRPG) for his players. He attributes his problem to years of DMing D&D. I get exactly where he's coming from and feel much the same way. I thought I'd continue the discussion here.

The Dresden Files Roleplaying Game cover

Assessment vs Declaration
First I wanted to make a minor clarification regarding mechanics for any of those unfamiliar with the FATE system. DM Samuel uses the term Declaration as the act performed by the player to add story elements to the game. I want to expand the idea by adding the game term Assessment as an game element for further exploration.

Assessment is an application of a successful skill roll to discover an existing Aspect, whether the Aspect is on an NPC, scene or object. This differs from a Declaration in the fact the GM needs to identify specific Aspects before-hand. Declared Aspects need not be previously established by the GM, publicly or privately.

Skills vs Aspects
Building off this, it is important to note that skills are equally important to performing these two functions. a character good at Driving may be able to Assess any modifications performed on a vehicle or Declare a potential problem on the car that is chasing them. The fact that the character was "Born with a wrench in his hand" will certainly help make those rolls successful.

DM Samuel does a great job discussing the beauty of Aspects and their elegant nature, so no need to repeat what he said. I think they're the bee's knees of the FATE system, but they do require a shift in thinking when approaching play, especially if your experience has been heavily GM-centric (regardless of which side of the screen you were on).

Player Empowerment vs GM Preparation
The true art to using Aspects falls on both the player and the GM. DM Samuel was focusing on his role as GM, but some of the weight is squarely on player's shoulders.

The player needs to be aware of what their skills can do. Many skills grant players opportunities to make Assessments and Declarations. Players should be very familiar with all the Trappings of their skills. Knowing what the skills allow is just the beginning, they also need to watch for opportunities in play to use those skills to make Assessments and Declarations.

For the GM, the previous paragraph also applies; you have to know what the skills can do so you can support your players as they Assess and Declare. Even better is to create scenes that present players with opportunities to use those skills. DFRPG makes it easy to plan for in this respect given the skills "pyramid": a definite hierarchy of skills rated most skilled to least skilled. Plan for Assessments from the character's highest ranked skill, give them a chance to use those skills and build familiarity with this element of the game. I guarantee if they get a taste of it they will want more.

DM Samuel touched upon the idea that the GM has to prepare fewer details because the players can fill in the details that are important to them using Declarations. I think the preparation has to be focused in a different way. A certain amount of flexibility is required to GM DFRPG. Too rigid a setting or story will not allow players (and their characters) the freedom to explore and contribute.

As far as specific advice on how a GM can do this I have two "don'ts":

• Don't plan for every contingency. Feel free to establish scenes that have no clear resolution. If the players have to break into the villain's lair, loosely sketch possible opposition and let the players use their Skills to Declare some Aspects on the scene. 
• Don't be afraid to say "yes" to your player's declarations.

I'm sure I'm missing some points here; my experience running DFRPG almost matches DM Samuel's exactly. I look forward to learning more of the nuances in the game as time goes on and will plan to share what I learn here.

Follow your bliss,
JJ

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