[crossfire] [IDEA] Reagents for cast magic

[Brendan Lally]

I'll try to only post to the list once this time.....

On 10/14/05, ERACC <
     eracclists at bellsouth.net
     > wrote:
>
      He's not random. I chose him specifically because I agree with his
     >
      fantasy ideas on "witchcraft" vs. "sorcery" and his writing that down
     >
      in his novels keeps me from having to reiterate it here.
     
It might do if it was someone I had heard of.....

>
      As for "game
     >
      balance" ... well, I've not ever been fond of that term as it
     >
      usually means nerfing or disabling something I have found fun to use
     >
      in the game.
     
If by 'fun' you mean unequivocably superior to all other options to
solve the same problem, then yes. Almost all games, from a simple game
of draughts to more sophistacated games like risk or D&D are based
around making interesting choices, when the best choice to make is
unclear and requires some combination of skill, luck, experience and
planning. A choice that has an obvious or trivial best solution is
null. It doesn't matter in game terms and is merely an impediment to
the enjoyment of the game. I am not convinced that currently choice of
spells (particularly in combat) is an interesting choice most of the
time (it tends to be meteor swarm, if that doesn't work icestorm or
banisment (if undead or the right race). Only very rarely are any
other spells used, at least IME.

>
      Same goes for "game economy". It's a fantasy game, it
     >
      *should* be easy to get insanely "wealthy" once one knows how. If I
     >
      want things to be difficult and to have little money I have that in
     >
      real life.
     
Maybe but you shouldn't get that at level 1. It should rather be
something that is gradually accumulated, and requires a degree of
challenge, at least initially. If that is absent, then money is made
worthless.

>
      I'm reading "game balance" but thinking "game complexity". I think
     >
      this will just make the game more complex. It is already quite
     >
      complex now and takes plenty of time to learn to play well enough to
     >
      survive to a high level
     
This doesn't neccessarily have to make the game more complex. It would
be quite possible to remove spell points at the same time, and with it
the complexity of power crystals, power potions, and magic stats.

Especially if the amount of each ingredient it was possible to
stockpile was limited (to go back to my previous idea about
incorporating it into food, a point at which you are told 'your body
is incapable of holding any more of this'

likewise paths could be removed, rather have attunements to the
individual ingredients (so that you need twice as much, or half the
number for certain spells).

To my mind that would be a /simpler/ magic system than the one that
exists currently. The question then would be whether it is worth
changing to. That is a difficult question to resolve (which is why it
is a topic of discussion here).