Forum Replies Created
GreykevWell, the GMs could hand out poker chips to represent charges once a PC has roleplayed the necessary actions to get one… but I think you’re asking how to ajudicate the effects of rituals?
I’ve only got the core rulebok handy, but it seems pretty straitforward; the spells either provide information (which a GM would tell the player), or affect another person’s actions. It’d be kind of like charades:
Player A works a spell, the GM is satisfied that it is successful and writes a short note explaining what the spell does. If the spell affects Player A (bargain of pyrrhus, armor of desire, etc) he hangs onto the GM’s note and shows it to his next attacker.
If the spell affects someone else (plague of hiccups) the GM slips the note to the affected player. Whether or not the PC is aware of the spell the player must roleplay the conditions and either make mind checks to realize something is up, or hope that her friends will realize there’s something odd happening.
As far as who knows what, perhaps each adept begins play knowing as many minor rituals (either in her school or the ‘universal’ ones) as she has charges. After that she’d need to either trade information or do research to figure out “new” rituals.
I’m not sure if this is at all what you’re asking for, but I hope it helps.
Greykev
Greykevsecond group of skills:
Understood by animals: They may not do what you ask, and you have no idea what they’re saying, but house pets and wild creatures certainly understand you! Whether you can convince the guard dog to be quiet, or the pigeons not to anoint your car depends on how well you can appeal to an animal intellect.
Lucid dreamer: as in our world, the ability to be aware one is dreaming and affect the content. In UA perhaps the dreams can come true, or the places the dreamer visits are eerily accurate in their wakening-world details. Perhaps the dreamer can pull other sleepers into the dream… Depending on which way you take it could forward many plots.
Crap magnet: Not literally, but for some reason if something bad is going to happen to a random PC it happens to the magnet unless he rolls a success to avoid it. Matched success yields a “danger sense” which lets him try to do something as everything hits the fan. Matched failure, well, maybe everyone in the party gets some.
Magic pockets/purse/backpack/trunk/etc: for the packrat in the party, unless finding t’s a plot point the person with magic pockets can turn up on short notice just about anything that would fit in their magic receptacle. Alternatively, assign size categories to the tens digit, number of minutes to find the thing to the ones. Ludicrous things on matched successes only: “why yes, I *do* have a Geiger counter in my backpack, why do you ask?”
The gist of things: you may not speak Burmese, but you have a good idea what the second mate off that tramp steamer you were at last night was trying to say. Generally this is better for a family of languages than a specific one, the weirdness comes from never having studied or heard a word of it before.
—
These are mostlu common-day magics, but they’d wet the apatite for more out-there things.
cheers,
Kevin
Greykevfirst group of skills:
Mechanical knack: pick up something you’ve never seen before, shake it, blow the dust off, whack it on the side, and Hey! It’s working again! For a little while: successful roll
= minutes of function or seconds if it’s really complex, hours for matched success…
Information font: Phoenician pottery? Mesoamerican tribal customs? Where to eat at 2AM in Davenport Iowa? The info font (might) know. more for the erudite or scatter-brained, this is a cool thing since it lets you give hints & misinformation.
Where it’s at: whether dowsing for water or knowing where that lost tennis bracelet got to, the player has a direction & distance impression about where things are. Might need a physical prop, or only work on things they’re familiar with, with a photo, etc.
Doom sayer: the gloomy coworker whose worst fears about things come true more often than not. Harks back to knocking on wood, but a great skill for players who speculate about what might be going on or happening behind the scenes.
What you need: Talk to people, get to know them, and what they need just comes to you. It may not turn their life upside down, but it might just cheer them up. Use the tens digit of successes as an indicator or how important the identified need is to the person. Failures use the ones digit for how far off the player is in his/her assessment.