A Discussion on Magick by Melrose Artnox.
Given the general interest in magick and the obvious response to those who have an interest in magick, I thought it high time make my own topic on the matter. I have taken more than enough time watching the forums on the subject and get to know those in this rather large community of magick lovers. Small magick, Large magick, no magick, full magick - the whole scale.
I’m completely reluctant to create a bluebird, but considering the community, we might as well have a mature conversation about this mechanic and perhaps talk out a solution.
The first question is: Do we want a system that grants magick, or a simple magick like ability (a talent), to less than 5% of the player population that occurs during a rare, unspecified time or event.
Or: Do we want a system that allows everyone to obtain magick, but, to preserve the fairness and equality of balance, make the endeavor to learn, grow, and specialize in magick one that is extremely hard to do, an extremely long process to take, and extremely hard to learn how to use efficiently once obtained.
The issue with both of these is that both are hard to do, but the outcome is somewhat anticlimactic in a way. Game Design 101: The payoff must be of equal proportion to the effort getting it. So, you play around and one day discover you have a rare, once every 2 real life years talent or you work really hard to discover and obtain magick, but all you do is turn into a bird… Don’t get me wrong, I’ve long wished to make like Medivh and crow out, but if that’s all I do, I might as well just be a gardener. Maybe I’ll get a job as the King’s personal messenger bird, who knows?
So, the next question is, how do we make the payoff equal to the effort without becoming Gods of Elyria? Perhaps it’s a mix of cool down and charging timers? Small spells, one every hour. Medium spells, one a day. Large Spells, one a year. Use a talent whenever. Each takes a certain amount of time and juice to power up and use. In game time, of course.
That’s just my thoughts on it though, feel free to leave your own. Let’s have a chat about this.