Strong Magic

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Strong Magic is an expensive Advantage that applies to a subset of the Spells available in the Spell Magic system, making some spells cast by the character more powerful. Most often, only Spells of level 4, 5 and 6 are affected.

The most common choice is Strong Magic (SM) for a single Realm. Several Realms may be chosen, or even a Category, or else Very Strong Magic (VSM) for a single Realm at great expense.

Contents

Benefits of Strong Magic and VSM

For each single Spell sub-Realm, the table of spells has two extra columns, defining the effect of Strong Magic (SM) and VSM. In almost all cases, SM affects only Spells of level 4, 5 and 6, thus not low or low-medium level spells. VSM usually affects only 6th level spells. The primary benefit is in a stronger spell effect, meaning more build points for the effect (as with Shapechange Magc or Illusion Magic), more damage from a damage-causing spell, and so forth.

It is a common case for a Realm to not have all its high level Spells affected by Strong Magic, simply because there is no "effect magnitude" that it can act upon. In a few cases, most obviously Divination, there is no effect magnitude of most Spells (perhaps of any Spells), and there Strong Magic and VSM therefore works differently, by increasing the range of the Spells, so that there is at least some benefit.

In addition to this primary benefit, there are also a few minor ones.

Benefits of Strong Magic (SM)

These are the benefits of Strong magic:

  • Higher level Spells are more powerful (when possible); this tends to affect Spells of levels 4 to 6.
  • All Spellcasting to which Strong Magic applies gets 1 point of extra Spell Force (SPF), except if the Divination-specific version of Strong Magic is taken, in which case 2 SPF is added.

Benefits of Very Strong Magic (VSM)

These are the benefits of Very Strong magic:

  • The highest level Spells are more powerful (when possible); this tends to affect only 6th level Spells. Lower level Spells use the SM column for effect.
  • When there is a Saving Throw to resist the Spell, the target suffers a +1 RD penalty to it.
  • All Spellcasting to which Very Strong Magic applies gets 2 points of extra Spell Force (SPF), except if the Divination-specific version of VSM is taken, in which case 4 SPF is added.

Prerequisites for and drawback of Strong Magic and VSM

A character cannot have Strong Magic is his Psyche is lower than 4, and cannot have any Very Strong Magic if his Psyche is lower than 6.

Also, if a character has Strong Magic, any Spellcasting Talent that he has that overlaps with the Strong Magic costs double, and if a character has Very Strong Magic, any Spellcasting Talent that he has that overlaps with the VSM costs quadruple.

The costs of Strong Magic (new3)

Table Header in bold
and large font
Strong Magic Cost AMP +SPF
Divination Realm DP +2
Healing, Shapechange
or Weather Realm 		DP +1
one other Realm DP +1
one Realm Pair DP +1
Black or Element Cat. DP +1
Grey Category DP +1
Nature Category DP +1
All Spells DP +1
Strong Magic works all the time
Table Header in bold
and large font
Strong Magic Cost AMP +SPF
Divination Realm DP +2
Healing, Shapechange
or Weather Realm 		DP +1
one other Realm DP +1
one Realm Pair DP +1
Black or Element Cat. DP +1
Grey Category DP +1
Nature Category DP +1
All Spells DP +1
Strong Magic works all the time
Table Header in bold
and large font
Strong Magic Cost AMP +SPF
Divination Realm DP +2
Healing, Shapechange
or Weather Realm 		DP +1
one other Realm DP +1
one Realm Pair DP +1
Black or Element Cat. DP +1
Grey Category DP +1
Nature Category DP +1
All Spells DP +1
Strong Magic works all the time
Table Header in bold
and large font
Strong Magic Cost AMP +SPF
Divination Realm DP +2
Healing, Shapechange
or Weather Realm 		DP +1
one other Realm DP +1
one Realm Pair DP +1
Black or Element Cat. DP +1
Grey Category DP +1
Nature Category DP +1
All Spells DP +1
Strong Magic works all the time
Table Header in bold
and large font
Strong Magic Cost AMP +SPF
Divination Realm DP +2
Healing, Shapechange
or Weather Realm 		DP +1
one other Realm DP +1
one Realm Pair DP +1
Black or Element Cat. DP +1
Grey Category DP +1
Nature Category DP +1
All Spells DP +1
Strong Magic works all the time
Table Header in bold
and large font
Strong Magic Cost AMP +SPF
Divination Realm DP +2
Healing, Shapechange
or Weather Realm 		DP +1
one other Realm DP +1
one Realm Pair DP +1
Black or Element Cat. DP +1
Grey Category DP +1
Nature Category DP +1
All Spells DP +1
Strong Magic works all the time


The costs of Strong Magic (newnew)

Strong Magic Cost AMP +SPF Notes
one sub-Realm DP +1
Divination Realm DP +2
one Realm DP +1 Any one Realm other than Divination
one Realm Pair DP +1 Affects any one Realm Pair
Black Category DP +1
one Category DP +1 Any one Category except Black
All Spells DP +1
General notes Strong Magic works all the time

The above is the normal, always-working Strong Magic.

Very Strong Magic Cost AMP +SPF Notes
one sub-Realm DP +2
Divination Realm DP +4
one Realm DP +2 Any one Realm other than Divination
one Realm Pair DP +2 Affects any one Realm Pair
Black Category DP +2
one Category DP +2 Any one Category except Black
All Spells DP +2
General notes Very Strong Magic works all the time

And above here is the normal, always-working Very Strong Magic.

Strong Magic Cost AMP +SPF Notes
one sub-Realm DP +1*
Divination Realm DP +2*
one Realm DP +1* Any one Realm other than Divination
one Realm Pair DP +1* Affects any one Realm Pair
Black Category DP +1*
one Category DP +1* Any one Category except Black
All Spells DP +1*
General notes Character might Age when using this Strong Magic

* Remember, the bonus to Spell Force (SPF) only applies when the character chooses to use the trait.

Very Strong Magic Cost AMP +SPF Notes
one sub-Realm DP +2**
Divination Realm DP +4**
one Realm DP +2** Any one Realm other than Divination
one Realm Pair DP +2** Affects any one Realm Pair
Black Category DP +2**
one Category DP +2** Any one Category except Black
All Spells DP +2**
General notes Works as Strong Magic all the time, but as Very Strong Magic when character sacrifices 1 OP


** Remember, when the trait is not actively used, the bonus to SPF is halved.

Strong Magic Cost AMP +SPF Notes
one sub-Realm DP +1*
Divination Realm DP +2*
one Realm DP +1* Any one Realm other than Divination
one Realm Pair DP +1* Affects any one Realm Pair
Black Category DP +1*
one Category DP +1* Any one Category except Black
All Spells DP +1*
General notes works as Strong Magic once per 6 Moons per trait, otherwise as normal magic

* Remember, the bonus to Spell Force (SPF) only applies when the character chooses to use the trait.

Very Strong Magic Cost AMP +SPF Notes
one sub-Realm DP +2*
Divination Realm DP +4*
one Realm DP +2* Any one Realm other than Divination
one Realm Pair DP +2* Affects any one Realm Pair
Black Category DP +2*
one Category DP +2* Any one Category except Black
All Spells DP +2*
General notes Works as Very Strong Magic once per 3 Years per trait, otherwise as normal magic.

* Remember, the bonus to Spell Force (SPF) only applies when the character chooses to use the trait.

Very Strong Magic Cost AMP +SPF Notes
one sub-Realm DP +2**
Divination Realm DP +4**
one Realm DP +2** Any one Realm other than Divination
one Realm Pair DP +2** Affects any one Realm Pair
Black Category DP +2**
one Category DP +2** Any one Category except Black
All Spells DP +2**
General notes Works as Very Strong Magic once per 15 Years per trait, otherwise as Strong Magic.


** Remember, when the trait is not actively used, the bonus to SPF is halved.

The costs of Strong Magic (new)

Strong Magic Cost
SM 		AMP
VSM 		Cost
VSM 		AMP
VSM 		Notes
one sub-Realm 20 DP 2 80 DP 4
Divination 20 DP 2 80 DP 5 note: adds +2 to Spell Force (SPF), or +4 for VSM.
In both cases double the normal SPF bonus.
one Realm 30 DP 3 135 DP 8 Any one Realm other than Divination
one Realm Pair 40 DP 4 200 DP 12 Affects any one Realm Pair
Black Category 100 DP 6 550 DP 20
one Category 140 DP 7 800 DP 22 Any one Category except Black
All Spells 400 DP 12 2400 DP 40

The cost of Strong Magic

This section defines the costs of the various Strong Magic and Very Strong Magic Advantages. Note that only one Advantage may be chosen from the below tables.

NOTE: The below tables are superceded by the new tables in the above section, do not use the below tables; they will be deleted soon.

Strong Magic Cost Notes
1 sub-Realm 20 DP Affects any one sub-Realm
Divination Realm 20 DP Affects Divination Realms, adds 2 Spell Force instead of 1
1 Realm 30 DP Affects any one Realm; the most popular choice
1 Realm Pair 70 DP Affects one Realm Pair
2 Realms (same Cat.) 80 DP Affects two Realms from the same Category
2 Realms (diff. Cat.) 90 DP Affects two Realms not from the same Category

This first table deals with simple cases.

Strong Magic Cost Notes
3 Realms (diff. Cat.) 180 DP Affects three Realms not all from the same Category
4 Realms (2x2 Cat.) 360 DP Affects two Realms from one Category and two Realms from another Category
4 Realms (diff. Cat.) 400 DP Affects four Realms not all from the same Category
Black Category 180 DP Affects all Spells from the Black Category
Other Category 210 DP Affects all Spells from the Element, Green or Grey Category

This table deals with slightly more complex, or more expensive cases. And yes, the 400 DP is not a typo. Also please note the differentiated cost for Category Strong Magic, depending on whether it is a small Category containing 4 Realms, or a large Category containing 6 or 7 Realms.

Very Strong Magic Cost Notes
1 sub-Realm 100 DP Affects one sub-Realm
Divination Realm 80 DP Affects Divination Realm, adds 4 Spell Force instead of 2
1 Realm 120 DP Affects one Realm
Realm Pair 300 DP Affects one Realm Pair
1 Realm + SM (same) 180 DP VSM for 1 Realm, SM for another Realm in the same Category
1 Realm + SM (other) 240 DP VSM for 1 Realm, SM for another Realm not in the same Category

This table deals with Very Strong Magic, as well as combination cases of Very Strong Magic and "normal" Strong Magic. Keep in mind, only one Advantage from these tables may be chosen.

Realm by Realm Advice

This section talks briefly about each Realm, whether choosing Strong Magic or Ver Strong MAgic for it is a good idea; note that this section will be updated as new Spells are created and added to the system.

Black Magic Category

Some Black Magic Realm work well with Strong Magic and VSM, others probably won't.

Curses

Many, perhaps most, Curses will be Build Point-based, so SM and VSM for Curses is a good choice.

Demonology

Demon-summoning spells tend to be highly level-based and so are difficult or even impossible to boost. One solution is to work with the Dominate Demon Spells, to make them give more Favours on average, or somehow work with Pentagrams. Offhand, Strong Magic and VSM seems like a bad choice for Demonology. Another possibility is that VSM lets the character Summon an even higher grade of Demon with the 6th level Spell. That's a nice boost, but Strong Magic isn't getting this.

Horror Magic

Necromancy

Strong Magic or VSM with Necromancy is a good choice, since Control Undead Spells are easy to boost, and likewise Speak With Dead Spells can get more Build Points.

Elemental Magic Category

Various Control Element Spells can always get a larger volume affected. Likewise, the 6th level version of the various Summon Elemental Spells can Summon a more powerful kind of Elemental.

Air Magic

In addition to the above general text on this Category, this Realm also has damage-causing Spells, and defensive Spells, that can easily have their effects boosted.

Earth Magic

See Element Magic Category entry.

Fire Magic

In addition to the above general text on this Category, this Realm also has damage-causing Spells, and defensive Spells, that can easily have their effects boosted.

Frost Magic

In addition to the above general text on this Category, this Realm also has damage-causing Spells, and defensive Spells, that can easily have their effects boosted.

Light Magic

See Element Magic Category entry.

Shadow Magic

See Element Magic Category entry.

Water MAgic

See Element Magic Category entry.

Grey Magic Category

Like Green Magic, the Realms of the Grey Category are rather varied. Some are well suited for SM and VSM, or mostly for SM, while others are a poor choice.

Combat Magic

There should be plenty of numerical effects here, that can be boosted with SM and VSM. A good choice.

Defence Magic

There should be plenty of numerical effects here, that can be boosted with SM and VSM. A good choice.

Divination

With few, if any, Divination Spells having any kind of numerical effect, and therefore the DP cost if Strong Magic and VSM specific to Divination is reduced, and the Spell Force bonus is higher than normal, to make it a more attractive choice.

Emotion Magic

Unsure. It's probably not a good idea to take SM or VSM for this Realm, before at least a significant minority of the Spells have been defined.

Illusion Magic

This Realm was the first ever to use Build Points. They're a central game mechanic, and SM is an excellent choice. Since there's no Saving Throw for Illusion Spells, you need to be able to cst 6th level Spells to enjoy the benefit of VSM, but if you can cast those, then VSM is a good choice.

MetaMagic

Some MetaMagic spells deals with analysis or detection of magic, and these cannot be boosted by SM and VSM. Others, however, deal with negation of various kinds (Dispel Magic) and Counter-Spelling, and their numerical effects can easily be boosted by SM and VSM, makin MetaMagic an excellent choice.

Thought Magic

Unsure. It's probably not a good idea to take SM or VSM for this Realm, before at least a significant minority of the Spells have been defined.

Nature Magic Category

Nature Magic, sometimes called Green Magic, has some Realms that are quite different from each other (??? Grey Magic is much "worse" in this regard!), and not all of them work well with SM and VSM.

Animal Magic

Unsure. It's probably not a good idea to take SM or VSM for this Realm, before at least a significant minority of the Spells have been defined.

Body Magic

At least some Spells, probably many, have numerical effects that can be boosted with SM and VSM.

Healing Magic

Plenty of opportunities for boosted effects via SM and VSM.

Plant Magic

Unsure. It's probably not a good idea to take SM or VSM for this Realm, before at least a significant minority of the Spells have been defined.

Shapechange Magic

Animal Shapehcange Spells are based heavily on Build Points, so SM and VSM here is a good choice. Humanoid Shapechange Spells will perhaps turn out not to be boostable, so if that if your main interest, you probably shouldn't take SM or VSM.

Weather Magic

The area affected can always be improved, making Strong Magic or VSM for Weather Magic a good choice.

Other advice

Strong Magic is expensive, and ignoring the Very Strong Magic version, the only real benefit is more powerful high-level spells. The single level of Spell Safety doesn't make a big difference, and for almost all Spells, there is no more power for Spell level 1 to 3, so you have to be able to cast at least 4th level Spells, and preferably also 5th level Spells, from your chosen Realm, in order to enjoy the benefit of SM.

If you start the game able to do that, it's fine. Almost all Realms benefit from Strong Magic in some way, and those that don't are labelled with warnings.

You're going to need some improved RD in order to safely cast high level Spells; the best way to get an RD bonus to Spellcasting is to get a Focus, usually one you Endow yourself, and Strong Magic tends to suggest single-Realm casters, whereas most other spellcasters specialize a bit more broadly, in an entire Category. (You can take Strong Magic for an entire Category, but it'll cost you!)

Taking a Talent to synergize with your Strong Magic is also a good idea, in spite of the doubled cost. It's very worth it, if you have the aDvantage Points that it costs.

As for Very Strong Magic, this is so expensive that it's really only appropriate for high-powered campaigns. Also, note carefully the benefits. What you get, all over your Realm of choice (or whatever breadth you've chosen), is that the target's Saving Throw is penalized if there is a Saving Throw, and a little bit extra Spell Safety (2 levels instead of 1). This applies to all spells, of any level, covered by your Very Strong Magic.

The greater power applies only to the very highest level Spells, usually only to 6th level Spells. Spells of level 4 and 5 are improved in power only as per Strong Magic. This means that you're not truly benefitting from the hugely expensive Advantage of Very Strong Magic efore you're able to reliably cast 6th level Spells. You don't have to start the game able to cast 6th level Spells reliably, but you ought to be headed in that direction and you ought to have a reasonable expectation of arriving there soon, relative to the expected duration of the campaign. Otherwise you've just wasted a lot of DPs. Even more so if you also purchase a Talent at quadruple cost!

In a very high-powered campaign, Very Strong Magic is a perfectly fine choice, though. You'll be somewhat of a one-trick-pony, but that one trick kicks total ass, like a very angry and very strong mule. And it's not all that specialized. Some Realms offer a broader range of effects than others; compare Fire Magic with Body Magic.

At the same time, you never have to take Strong Magic. It's optional. You can spend your DPs elsewhere. Strong Magic is never mandatory, even in a very high-powered campaign. Just find some other way to kick butt. Maybe a Major Talent, even a Major Talent with an entire Category. Buy many of Mystery Slots. Buy extra Essence and a Talent with Endowing. Or crank your Psyche up as high as it can go (9, in most settings) and raise your Will and Mystical Intelligence (or base Intelligence!) to within visual range of Psyche.

Strong Magic is available for choice to simulate one character concept out of many, that of the innately powerful spellcaster (whose Spells of one type are for some strange reason more powerful than one would expect), in sharp contrast to other choices such as Talent or having a large number of Mystery Slots. You don't have to take it. But if you do take it, it'll affect your playing experience.

Casting Options

Without a Talent, you're not really better off than anyone else when it comes to Casting Options. Your Spell Safety helps a tiny bit when you do screw up, making Fumbles slightly less bad, but you really do have the same need as every other spellcaster, to learn the Casting Option Lores and develop the more advanced Casting Option Mysteries. So consider your needs. If your Spells are combat-oriented, you'll want Fast Casting. If your Spells are more deception-oriented, you'll want Silent Casting and/or No Gestures Casting, culminating in Stealth Casting. Either way, buy some extra Mystery Slots. Or if your Strong Magic applies to neither combat Spells nor deception Spells, then you don't have much need for Casting Options.

Taking a Talent helps little, since it gives only a -1 RD bonus, not enough to opset the base penalties from Casting Options. At best it can save a Mystery Slot or two. Taking a Major Talent, however, helps a lot, but is also very expensive.

Please note

The Spell Force bonus to Divination is only increased if the single-Realm version of Strong Magic is chosen, not for the Grey Category version.

Mini-FAQ

Put in sub-sections (three ='s) each containing multiple Q&As, and insert a blank line between each individual Q&A.

sub-section

Q:
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Q:
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The world

A section mainly for the GM, or worldbuilder, about the world impact of the phenomenon, e.g. an Item Creation Power, or an attribute or other stat that may sometimes be starkly high or low relative to the Human average.

World impact

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The Ärth setting

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Design Notes

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Quick mini-glossary

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See also

Magic traits (Should be changed to separate article for Spellcasting Talents)
Spell Force
Spell Pushing

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