(09-03-2013, 02:57 PM)FreelanceWizard Wrote:(09-03-2013, 02:33 PM)Ildur Wrote: Additionaly, when magic is involved, using only spells that are allowed mechanically will result in cornering yourself and closing the door to interesting plot developments. Not to mention modt if not all of the magic skills are combat oriented as far as gameplay is concerned.
We actually had a discussion about that on Mysterium's forums recently, since as a guild of mages, coming to consensus on what we can plausibly do in RP is sort of important.Our consensus was largely that you can scale down effects, but you can't change their essential nature. So, if you can cast Fire, you can light a pipe. If you can cast Fluid Aura, you can create water. If you can cast Bio, you can afflict someone with a temporary biological handicap (nausea, vertigo, blurred vision, etc.). Note that I say you "can" do this; since we know magic in the setting is spell-based, most of us agreed that you'd have to devise some sort of spell and expend the narrative effort to devise it ICly. Your Discipline shows you the boundaries of what you can do, but you have to devise the means. For us, this works, because it gives a solid justification for magical research and training outside of the guilds proper.
That's really just the baseline, though -- the consensus of what's nominally okay, bearing in mind usual consent rules. That said, could you scale up Flare to blow a building up? Scale up Miasma to inflict a horrific wasting curse? All of that would have to be decided and consented to by all the involved parties. Communication, as you mentioned, is always key!
I like this. Scaling down, of course, is always within reason. Scaling up is dangerous, especially in a game like this. I mean, we've got limit breaks. BOOM! Meteor comes down on somethings head. Am I ever going to pull that in an RP fight with another player? Absolutely not. There's a time and a place for the big, draining, high-powered moment, and to me that place is away from an RP situation where having that kind of power, whatever drawbacks you may suffer, tips the scales heavily in your favor.
