Eon Alstringsmodifikationer

[Yahuna]

Hi everybody,

So far we have been playing with on mage from the Pyrotropic aspect and all has gone fine so far. Now, another player wants to try to play a mage and he is looking for a different aspect.

He has pointed out to me that some aspects, such as Kosmotropy or Astrotropy have "Alstringsmodifikationer" which make the aspect very difficult to play, since you easily get -1d6 or -2d6 to cast spells of that aspect, unless certain restrictive condition are met, such as "beign at night with a cloudy sky that hides the stars" (astrotropy), or casting "during a clear night" (kosmotropy).

On the other hand, in Pyrotropy, as long as you have a lit torch in your hand, you are casting spells with -0d6. This is a condition very easy to meet, or at least, a condition that is under the player /character power to control.

I would like to hear some opinions on this topic from you before I start house rulling the Alstringsmodifikationer of aspects such as Kosmotropy and Astrotropy to meet a similar criteria to that or Pyrotropy.

Thx!

 

[Svarte Faraonen]

There is a balance to it, in terms of how dissipations work. When you fail at using Pyrotropy, the effects on the table are typically more severe than those of the cosmic aspects, so a pyromancer has more suitable conditions for casting spells, but also takes higher risks if they fail.

 

[Yahuna]

There is a balance to it, in terms of how dissipations work. When you fail at using Pyrotropy, the effects on the table are typically more severe than those of the cosmic aspects, so a pyromancer has more suitable conditions for casting spells, but also takes higher risks if they fail.

Thx for the quick response.

If this is the balancing point as you mention, I don't think I can share the game design criteria here.

I don't think that having a less severe dissipation effect is enough "compensation" for the fact that you are casting your spells most of the time at -1d6 or -2d6. Not sure this is fun for the player.

In any case it is good to know that if I am to modify the Alstringsmodifikationer, I have also to check the dissipation tables.

 

[jensofsweden]

The dissipation thing does provide some balance, but I'd say the modifiers are based more-so on in-world logic. The elemental aspects are more accessible to the people in Mundana as they are, quite literally, close to hand. Meanwhile, the stars are specks of light located impossibly far away, and they generally cannot be perceived during the day – as such, their influence is weaker and harder to tap into.

Naturally, astro- and cosmomancers are going to want to be active (magically) at night, because that is when their power is going to be at its strongest – so the players will need to keep this in mind. The cosmomancer could also circumvent a lot of their negative modifiers by chasing misery (reducing their Wellbeing by as much as possible), while the astromancer should strive to start with 0 Numbness and then do whatever they can to shield themselves from accruing it (in E5 this should be easier than in E4).

I've had groups that contained both astro-, cosmo-, and heliomancers (at the same time!), and I'd give the following as tips/advice:

• The mages may want to consider working with more than one aspect, as this will allow them to pick up a complementary aspect that is either more accessible in general (ie Pyromancy) or an aspect that is more accessible during the opposite time of day (ie Heliomancy and Astromancy)
• The group (and the GM) will need to keep their mages limitations (time of day) in mind when making plans.
  • If there are conflicts of interest, the GM may need to do some additional work to ensure there are opportunities for all mages have opportunities to shine.
• The mages will likely find ways to play around their negative modifiers after a little while.
  • The cosmomancer relished every opportunity to get subjected to Grief/Fear, as this provided opportunities to lower their own Wellbeing.
  • The heliomancer was the complete opposite, doing their best to keep their character happy and healthy.
  • The astromancer became an adept planner; they chose spells that could support the party in various ways and performed rituals at night (when their power was greater) to increase their duration to 1 Day (or longer).

 

[Yahuna]

The dissipation thing does provide some balance, but I'd say the modifiers are based more-so on in-world logic. The elemental aspects are more accessible to the people in Mundana as they are, quite literally, close to hand. Meanwhile, the stars are specks of light located impossibly far away, and they generally cannot be perceived during the day – as such, their influence is weaker and harder to tap into.

Naturally, astro- and cosmomancers are going to want to be active (magically) at night, because that is when their power is going to be at its strongest – so the players will need to keep this in mind. The cosmomancer could also circumvent a lot of their negative modifiers by chasing misery (reducing their Wellbeing by as much as possible), while the astromancer should strive to start with 0 Numbness and then do whatever they can to shield themselves from accruing it (in E5 this should be easier than in E4).

I've had groups that contained both astro-, cosmo-, and heliomancers (at the same time!), and I'd give the following as tips/advice:

• The mages may want to consider working with more than one aspect, as this will allow them to pick up a complementary aspect that is either more accessible in general (ie Pyromancy) or an aspect that is more accessible during the opposite time of day (ie Heliomancy and Astromancy)
• The group (and the GM) will need to keep their mages limitations (time of day) in mind when making plans.
  • If there are conflicts of interest, the GM may need to do some additional work to ensure there are opportunities for all mages have opportunities to shine.
• The mages will likely find ways to play around their negative modifiers after a little while.
  • The cosmomancer relished every opportunity to get subjected to Grief/Fear, as this provided opportunities to lower their own Wellbeing.
  • The heliomancer was the complete opposite, doing their best to keep their character happy and healthy.
  • The astromancer became an adept planner; they chose spells that could support the party in various ways and performed rituals at night (when their power was greater) to increase their duration to 1 Day (or longer).

Thanks for your insightful reply. I will discuss it with my player.

I fully agree that the modifiers are nicely based in-world logic, and definitely they perfectly match the world's lore, or the "feeling" of the aspect. From that point of view I think it is beautifully done. Playability is a different issue. I did not rise this topic as a critic on the design decision (even if I may may not share it). Also, given the vast amount of aspects that potentially will be published, I am perfectly fine if not all of them are perfectly balance for a player character. May be some of them will be more adequate for NPCs, while others will be more popular among PCs.

My goal with this thread was exactly this, get view points from more experience players, GMs and even designers before taking any decision on house ruling anything.