Quote:
Originally Posted by NickMiddleton
It does however add to the specific "feel" of that magic system in play. Yes, technically you get a similar net effect from the fact that spells are skills and characters have a limited pool of skill points - but like the old Stormbrinegr INT+POW requirements I like the fact that with "Magic" (which I tend to refer to as Wizardry) there is a clear divide between those who have dedicated their lives to study and practice of magic.
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Absolutely - and the "feel" is of course crucial. I think what concerns me most though is the "all or nothing" aspect, which for me runs counter to a lot of the philosophy of BRP. Frex, in Stormbringer, you need a min POW 16 to cast spells, and your INT limits how many spells you can "know". Theoretically, if you start with POW 12, say, and somehow make it up to 16, you can then seek out some magic guy and start learning spells. Obviously it's going to be a major pain to get any good, not to mention expensive in both time and money, but it can be done. In other words, there are only really game realities obstructing you, and a couple of rules restrictions, not blocks, which keeps the open-ended nature of BRP characters.
The WoW approach railroads your character very much into a "character class" model, where either you get magical training or you don't, and that "fixes" your character. I'm unclear if a character without magical training could get it in play, for example; maybe that's something I'll get from the BRP rules when they (finally) turn up.
I'm just brainstorming, really. When playing RQ I always liked the fact that, in principle, your character was capable of anything, but just needed to develop the skills - there were never any overt rules-imposed blocks on what your character could & couldn't do (no one saying your hamfisted sword-wielding barbarian couldn't _eventually_ learn how to pick locks, for example). I think I'm trying to keep that feel in my game.
Cheers,
Sarah