Magic traits

From Sagataflwiki

Latest revision as of 03:01, 27 April 2011

This article contains a selection of Advantages and DisAdvantages that modify the character's ability to cast spells, Endow magic items, or use magic in some other ways.

For all of the DisAdvantages below, Mage Factor is important.

Endowing Talent/Incompetence

Endowing Talent

These Advantages give a RD bonus to all uses of the Endowing skill to put Enchantments into items, and to function as an Assistant to another Endower, but not to other uses, e.g. uses reflecting the character's factual knowledge about Endowing or about Enchantments.

In addition to the bonus, this general Endowing Talent also lowers the threshold at which the character may pour some of his Essence into an Essence Storage item. The threshold is lowered by the grade, i.s. a character with Major Endowing Talent may pour Essence into an Essence Storage item as soon as his Endowing skill is 4.

The Safer version of Endowing Talent also has a negative modifier to Endowing Fumble Outcome rolls, thereby tending to make the consequences less dangerous.

Endowing Aspected or Limited Talent

These Advantages give an RD bonus to use of the Endowing skill to put a particular category of Enchantments into items, with this category being chosen by the character crator from the list further down. The higher grades of the Aspected version of the Advantag also gives a lesser RD bonus to all other uses of the Endowing skill.

Aspected Talent with Endowing

Limited Talent with Endowing

Yes, Endow Aspected Talent is exactly similar to Endow Limited Talent. Only at the higher grades is there any difference.

Endowing Talent, legal Aspects/Limitations

This is a list of legal choices for Aspects or Limitations for the above Advantages. Note that any of the below are also legal choices for the Specialization of any character's Endowing skill.

• Focus, and other Spellcasting Tools
• Spell Investments, all Realms
• Weapon Enchantments (any available to the Endowing method, including Steered/Returning Weapon))
• Armour Enchantments (any available to the Endowing method)
• Attribute bonus (incl. sub-attribute bonus, Senses, Endurance, and Aging-affecting Enchantments, Amulet bonuses)
• Amulets and Talismans (note there is some overlap with previoous category)
• Skill bonus
• Power bonus
• Enviromental/Survival (Sustenance, Heat/Cold Tolerance, Diving Enchantments)
• Slave/Control items (including Cursed Items)
• Battle Items
• Oddball Enchantments (Shrink/Transform, Create Wealth, and anything else not fitting any of the above categories, provided that it is available to the Endowing method)

Any Aspect or Limitation bonus also applies to putting the Item Toughness Enchantment into items.

Spellcasting Talent/Incompetence

This section deals with Talents and Incompetences with spellcasting, in the form of a general or specific RD modifier. Talent modifiers do not stack with each other. If a character has two Talents, e.g. a -1 RD Talent with All Spellcasting and a -2 RD Talent with Fire Magic, use only the highest Talent bonus (in thise case -2 RD to Fire Magic).

Incompetence modifiers do stack with each other, however. If a character has a +2 RD Incompetence penalty with All Spellcasting, and a +2 RD Incompetence penalty with Element Category Spellcasting, and a -1 RD bonus with Fire Magic, he casts Fire Magic spells at a +3 RD penalty and all other spells at a +4 RD penalty.

You may take as many Talents as desired, from the below tables, but be wary of purchasing overlapping ones, since they do not stack and you must pay full price for each.

Also note that if you have a Strong Magic Advantage, then any Talent that overlaps with your Strong Magic costs double (look in the SM column to find the cost), and if you have the Very Strong MAgic Advantage then any Talent that overlaps with your Very Strong Magic costs quadruple (look in the VSM column to find the cost). It doesn't matter how small the overlap is, but note that if you have both Strong Magic and Very Strong Magic, and your Talent only overlaps with the Strong Magic, then you only double the cost of the Talent.

Spellcasting Talent

Spellcasting General Talent

Spellcasting Category Talent

Spellcasting Realm Talent

Spellcasting and Endowing Incompetence

Incompetence points

The compensatory points given for Spellcasting Incompetences are initially given in IPs, Incompetence Points, which are then later converted into a DP value, with the character's Mage Factor (MF) playing a part in the conversion formula.

Spellcasting and Endowing Incompetence DisAdvantages

Old table above (to be deleted eventually), new table below:

IP to DP conversion

Aging Fumble Consequence Buffer

This Advantage gives you a Buffer against Oldness Points lost due to spellcasting Fumbles and Endowing Fumbles, as well as other Aging consequences that are a result of magical mishaps (your own or that of another person), rather than being naturally occuring or being deliberately inflicted upon you by someone else or voluntariry sacrificed by yourself.

Every time you suffer accumulation of Oldness Points, in an eligble way (see above), subtract them from your buffer. Only when your Buffer is spent do you suffer the remaining Oldness Points. Once the Buffer is spent, you can forget about it, since it cannot be recharged.

See Essence_traits for the two other buffers Advantages, Death Touch Buffer and Fumble (E) Buffer, and note that you may not have both Fumble Buffer (A) and Fumble Buffer (E).

Terrain Affinity

Terrain Affinity Advantage

A Terrain Affinity consists of a minimum of two Advantages, one that defines what Terrain type the character has a magical Affinity for, and one or several others that defines what benefits the character gets when he is casting spells or Endowing items while in that terrain type.

Terrain Affinty traits do not have any cost in Archmae Points (AMPs) unless explicitly stated.

Humans cannot have more than a Major Terrain Affinity, and only supernatural beings can have a Wondrous Terrain Affinity. In many cases, a species package will define a species as having a Terrain Affinity with a specific Terrain type, and also then often having one or several Advantages that gives benefits when in that terrain. E.g. in many settings, Dwarves will be defined, by their speceis package, as having a Major (or Grand) Affinity with the Underground Terrain type, and having the TAFA: Reduced Endowing Fumbles (thus simulating the fact that Dwarves tends to be great creators of permanent magical items.

Note that no being may have more than one Terrain Affinity, and also that some of the other Sagatafl magic rules give outright benefits to any character who has Terrain Affinity, e.g. Domain Magic.

Terrain Affinity Benefit Advantages (TAFAs)

TAFA stands for Terrain Affinity Advantage, and is an Advantage that gives the character certain benefits when he works magic (spellcasting or Endowing, rarely - if ever - other forms of magic) when he is in a Terrain type that he has an Affinity for, with the nature of the benefit dependent on the level of Affinity (Minor, Major, Grand or Wondrous).

These TAFAs make Endowing Fumbles or Spellcasting Fumbles less severe, by giving a modifier to the Fumble Consequence Roll. Please note that Endowing Fumbles use a rather different Fumble Consequence Table than Spellcasting, with a different scale.

A character may have any number of TAFAS as long as they don't contradict each other. Bonuses tend to stack with each other (especially Fumble Consequence modifiers).

Advice

Please note

See also

Strong Magic is a selection of Advantages that get their own article instead of being in this.
Mage Factor
Essence traits