Dual Magic Expenditure

DuranStrife · 2002-09-16T19:51:23

I''d like opinions on a magic system I''m designing for my action-RPG-in-progress, Pentaverse. Spellcasting requires a lot of personal confidence. While having the ability to fling around unlimited massive barrages of fireballs is all well and good for some RPGs, I''d like to create a built-in limit to how many supernatural effects can be created per day, aside from the normal spell point limit. The system would work as follows: Magic Points (MP): The more powerful the spell, the more MP are expended. The weakest spells cost only 1 MP, while spells of mass destruction and powerful teleportation magic can cost as much as 50 MP. MP are replenished by 1/8 (round up) for each hour''s rest the character managed to get last night. There is also a spell which costs only 1 MP and takes a full minute to cast that fully restores all MP. Magic Points represent "concrete" magical energy as opposed to faith power, but can be replenished easily by deep concentration. Magical energy is easily drawn from the fabric of the universe itself without limit, but the actual amount of energy a spellcaster can hold at one time is limited by that character''s level and intellect. Spell Points (SP): All spells, no matter their power level, cost 1 SP in addition to the MP cost. SP are restored by 1/8 for each hour of sleep the character gets, but cannot be restored in ANY other way. SP represents the character''s faith in her/his own power, as opposed to the actual magical energy needed for spellcasting, which is abundant and thus easily obtainable. SP represent the fact that your character''s imagination (a vital component of spellcasting) simply can''t take more than a certain amount of strain in any given 24-hour period. Most spellcasters (there are one or two exceptions) are, quite simply, out of power once they run out of SP. This system prevents the high level character who has accumulated 1469 MP (or some other, equally frightening number; whatever is high enough to be obscene in your game''s system) from casting 1469 (or more, under some systems) spells per day, while at the same time keeping that character from being limited to 28 high level spells per day (1469/50 rounded down). Opinions, fellow game designers?

Game Design and Theory Game Design

Started by DuranStrife September 12, 2002 06:09 PM

20 comments, last by DuranStrife 21 years, 7 months ago

Sandman

2,211

September 16, 2002 04:39 PM

quote:Original post by DuranStrife
Finally, Sandman, the point of being able to restore your MP is to allow restoration of MP without using Ether/Mana Potions/Energy Potions/etc. If there''s one non-gameplay factor in RPGs that disgusts me, it''s being able to DRINK something to get more magical energy. Aside from the bathroom-related problems that will inevitably arise after your character has downed 50 doses of Beer of Mana Restoration (or whatever), magic-drinking is just flat-out a disgusting practice. When fighting the final boss in any Square game, my spellcasters spend all of their turns guzzling magic, whenever they''re not firing salvos of fireballs. My energy restoration system is at LEAST as balanced and twice as aesthetic as this abominable practice.

Sorry, but I really don''t agree with this. You may not like potions of instant mana restoration or whatever, but at least you can control the frequency of use - if you make them rare enough, the player will have be very careful when they choose to use them. Your spell can be used as often as the player likes, so it is a no brainer just to cast it after every fight, so you always have enough mp for the next one. You may as well not bother with a mana system at all if you include this spell, and just let the players cast as many spells as they feel like casting.

If you don''t like mana potions, don''t have them. But don''t introduce this spell either, because it will completely screw up your gameplay and make magic users extremely uninteresting to play.

Kylotan

10,510

September 16, 2002 07:51 PM

quote:Original post by DuranStrife
Kylotan:
When characters get up to high levels, they will have a bit more MP than they strictly need. This is the joy of leveling. An example mildly high-level (Lvl. 40) Wizard has 753 MP and 168 SP under the DME system. A low-level (Lvl. 1) Wizard has only 9 MP and 9 SP. I''m sure that you''ll still dislike DME and all, but I fail to see how you can determine that it is unbalanced just by looking at my original post.

What is ''DME''? Is it some name you''ve given your system?

Your basic MP system is unbalanced because you give the players too many points relative to the weak spells and then add in a hack (SPs) to ensure they can''t really use them. With the hack of using 2 sets of points, it''s no longer unbalanced, it''s just unwieldy. It would be far more intuitive for most players, not to mention probably easier to balance the spells, to come up with a simpler system that doesn''t need multiple resources to keep it in check.

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Dual Magic Expenditure

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Dual Magic Expenditure

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