thread: 2013-12-16 : Some Basic Rules (iv, abandoned)
On 2013-12-18, plausiblefabulist wrote:
This is certainly the coolest take on the Vancian "cast it and it's gone until you spend effort on re-memorizing it" trope that I've seen, which is to say that it's the best justification I've seen for D&D-style spell mechanics where the wizard is a combat miniature with powerful effects that get used up and take a long time to replenish (cast fireball, then hide behind the fighter).
I've always had enormous trouble with "you forgot the spell". I did what? I forgot it? Like forgetting where I left my keys? Or it was magically removed from my brain? Very weak. I like this plasmid thing much, much better, and the self-motivity is a great consequence. Exciting! I like the fact that magic will be a constant duel with alien intelligences.
Still, I gotta say (apropos of nothing) that I still kind of hate that whole "forgetting a spell" trope, and that outside of Dying Earth, it's extremely uncommon in fantasy literature and myth not derived from D&D.
I rather like the "gradually increasing chance of catastrophic failure" model for limiting spellcasting, from Storming the Tower (Dungeon World is a hybrid, since it features "forgetting" as one possible cost).
And what I'd really like to see sometime is how magic actually works in fantasy literature, which is that simply every spell—no matter how good you are—is inherently quite dangerous, and meant for truly desperate situations. What keeps Ged and Gandalf from using magic every time they want to send a letter or light their pipe is that magic's consequences are always unpredictable. I don't see why that can't work in a game. "Sure, I know how to do it, I haven't forgotten, but, really, let's not go there. Trust me, you don't want to go there over this."
So can I put in a vote for a play module: LeGuinian magic...?
