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Spell Casters and Multiple Traditions
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Author:  JohnK [ Mon Jul 27, 2009 11:31 am ]
Post subject:  Spell Casters and Multiple Traditions
Hullo, folks (and Matt in particular),

A theoretical question here...

Let's say I want to create a very tough magical opponent for the player characters. Say Toughness 6. Let's say I want him to be a spell caster. Given that the rules and world mechanics seem to indicate that a spell caster can only be of one Tradition, and that determined by race, could this NPC baddy that I create have several different Traditions?

If so, how would one account for say a Human necromancer also having access to Elven elemental magic and Rover beguiling?

Can a spell caster learn a Tradition of magic of a race not his own?
Author:  Matt [ Mon Jul 27, 2009 8:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Spell Casters and Multiple Traditions
There is actually a new talent in the upcoming book that allows just what your're looking for.

I think it is called Braiding, which allows the caster to use spells from other traditions at +1 difficulty.

He needs a separate magic skill for each tradition.
Author:  JohnK [ Tue Jul 28, 2009 11:26 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Spell Casters and Multiple Traditions
Hullo, Matt,

Matt wrote:
There is actually a new talent in the upcoming book that allows just what your're looking for.

I think it is called Braiding, which allows the caster to use spells from other traditions at +1 difficulty.

He needs a separate magic skill for each tradition.


Great, something else I need to wait on the new book for! :lol:

That said, you didn't really answer the original question, Matt. With or without a new Talent, can a spell caster in the world of DESOLATION learn more than one Tradition of magic? For example, if an Elf elementalist were willing to teach a Sorcerer his Tradition of magic, could the Sorcerer learn elemental magic that way? Or is the discipline and mental process of each Tradition of magic so intrinsic to the casting of said ,magic that the Traditions are inimical to one another?
Author:  Matt [ Tue Jul 28, 2009 9:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Spell Casters and Multiple Traditions
I follow the racial pre-requisites when it comes to traditions.

I think you hit it on the head when you talked about mental process and discipline. Different races have different perspectives on the world and how magic works. I think it is ingrained in each racial identity and is something that can't be passed onto an outsider - even if they are raised from birth - especially for the Charisma based magics.

Other GMs are more than welcome to decide in the their game that a dwarf raised by elves could learn elemental magic. I can see the reasoning behing it. Some would find it very cool to play a dwarf elementalist.

But I like the separations of magics.
Author:  JohnK [ Wed Jul 29, 2009 11:08 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Spell Casters and Multiple Traditions
Hullo, Matt,

Matt wrote:
I follow the racial pre-requisites when it comes to traditions.


I'm like you in that regard. That element of how magic works seems to be a central basis of the magic system. The division of magic along racial lines is quite neat, too. :)

Matt wrote:
I think you hit it on the head when you talked about mental process and discipline. Different races have different perspectives on the world and how magic works. I think it is ingrained in each racial identity and is something that can't be passed onto an outsider - even if they are raised from birth - especially for the Charisma based magics.


This was something that was implicit from the write-ups on the various magical Traditions, notably the sections on what spell casters of each type can do, and how the different Traditions see Burn. Or so it seemed to me. :) That said, I can see some GMs wanting to mix and match the various Traditions. Different strokes, and all that. :)

Matt wrote:
Other GMs are more than welcome to decide in the their game that a dwarf raised by elves could learn elemental magic. I can see the reasoning behing it. Some would find it very cool to play a dwarf elementalist.

But I like the separations of magics.


So do I. The only way I could see spell casters of one Tradition having extra Traditions and all would be a modifier to the casting roll perhaps or something else based on the nature of the Traditions involved, and how the GM views them in their game world. For example, I really don't see a lot in common between Beguiling and Elemental magic. So that might have a very large penalty. However, that said, this is something I will leave to those who are contemplating having spell casters with multiple Traditions in their games.
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