From: David Cake (davidc@cs.uwa.edu.au)
Date: Tue 09 Nov 1993 - 11:48:57 EET
I wasn't really sure wether this should go to the rq4 list or here, but it
seemed to big a change to RQ to leave there. So here it is, suggestions welcome
OPTIONAL RITUAL MAGIC RULES Here are a couple of ideas for the enchanting rules, that are not really anything to do with the Studies system, but are real neat. I would like to stress that these should not apply only to Sorcery. Perhaps they should apply to all ritual magic, actually, not just enchanting. Some of them have been floated before, and should be considered again. NB: the Studies system is my own sorcery draft that I just posted to the rq4 list.
The Law of Contagion
Perhaps items that have some part of the affected person incorporated within the enchantment do not need to make a resistance roll, but always affect that person (barring Countermagic, etc.). This enourages paranoia about hair, fingernail clippings, etc. but does not make it an everpresent danger (not a combat tactic). Things with less powerful links (favourite clothes, favourite items, footprints, maybe even signatures) work to a lesser extent, allowing a bonus to the attackers magic points for resistance roll purposes.
Perhaps more importantly, it may be possible to cast a spell at someone who is not visible, but is within range of the spell, using such a contagious focus. This one really throws things open to all sorts of troublesome attacks - though no worse than Sense projection allows, really.
SIMILARITY
Bonuses to attack with ritual should also be given on the basis of some
form of similarity. I would imagine that similarity is an important part
of normal ritual magic, so no particular bonuses for using candles as
part of light spells, etc. as this is probably the sort of activity that
the generic ceremony covers already. But a few special cases are worthy
of merit.
A representation of someone probably holds some power, either a bonus to magic points to overcome them, or an increased chance to cast spells that affect them. The bonus would depend on how good the representation is - perhaps either half the artistic skill of the creator, or perhaps the amount a skill roll is made by.
CORRESPONDENCES The optional rule that I like the most is that there be a bonus to magic creation for combining form and function. This should be based on the combination of the rules of similarity and contagion, and also just on cultural associations of certain things with certain magics. Some of these are culturally determined, perhaps, but many are not.
Examples
Shackles - bonuses to Dominate
Bird feathers - bonuses to Fly
Body parts - bonuses to Shapechange to that creature
Eagle feater - bonuses to sight enhancing spells.
Sword - directly harmful magic
bridle - Dominate Horse
Culturally specific examples
Genstones, for example bonuses to necromancy for Green Turquise, bonuses
to mystic vision for saphire, bonuses to fire magic for ruby.
Something like this would give RQ ritual magic a much more interesting and authentic feel, I think. RQ magic suffers a little from being somewhat flavourless, particularly sorcery.
AUTHORS NOTE
Obviously these are very rough ideas, but I rather like the ideas, and
would like to open them up to discussion (and RQ4/Rules Companion is the
perfect place to introduce them). Obviously these are not wildly original
idea, I particularly acknowledge Ars Magica and Chivalry and Sorcery (the
Swords and Sorcerers sourcebook and C & S Sourcebook 1 particularly). For
an example of the correspondences idea, Ars Magica has a particularly
good implementation (pg 246 of the 3rd edition).
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