Magic-biased (but non-wizard) culture

[Glorelendil]

There's a bunch of discussion in the announcement sticky thread about a magic-using culture. I for one am perfectly happy without it, but it's fun to contemplate. So I took a stab at creating what such a culture would look like. Maybe it's an "apprentice to lesser Istari" culture? I dunno.

Please note:
- This is not meant to represent a specific culture; it's just a sketch of what such a culture could look like while fitting in with the rest of TOR.
- Thus I didn't even bother trying to name it.
- The basic premise is that "magic" is really just Lore.
- I also didn't work very hard at balancing numbers. These are just ideas.
- This is the result of 45 minutes work; I'm sure there are better ideas.
(Forums are brutal places; thus all the caveats.)


Ahem....

Prototype Culture

Backgrounds: Body always <= 3. High wits. Variable Heart.
Specialities: All forms of lore, smoking, story-telling, smithcraft.
Distinctive Features: Any

Cultural Blessing: “Loremaster” Roll 2 feat dice and keep higher result on all Lore rolls

Weapon Choices (unlike other cultures you only get one weapon, and a max starting skill of 1)
Staff: 1
or:
(Swords): 1

Common Skills:
0 points: Battle, Hunting, Athletics, Stealth, Explore, Athletics
1 point: Craft, Courtesy, Healing, Inspire, Travel, Awareness
2 points: Awe, Riddle, Insight, Song, Persuade
3 points: Lore

Virtue Ideas (My naming choices suck...these are just placeholders.)

• “Force of Personality” Spend a point of hope to boost one Personality common skill by a huge amount for X turns.
  “Fire and Brimstone” Spend endurance to cause a flame to flare suddenly, blinding and possibly damaging enemies. Effect depends on amount of endurance spent, limited by size of fire source. (This might be a “pick one of three” virtue to manipulate an element, with the choice being between Fire, Water, or Air.)
  “Metamagic” Multi-tiered virtue
  • First get the ability to sense/detect “magic”
    Next get the ability to dispel/cancel it (spend endurance, roll Lore, on a failure lose a point of hope, on a Sauron also get a point of Shadow)
    Finally get the ability to cast enchantments
  “Personal Rune” Carve/burn/scribe your personal rune on a solid surface. It will be noticed by your allies and invisible to your enemies. Anybody who knows you and sees it rolls Insight to understand the message.
  “Remove Shadow” Spend one Hope to try to reduce an ally’s Shadow by one. Requires a Wisdom roll vs variable TN.
  “Linguist” Automatically be able to read any written language. Spend Hope to decipher magical writing.

I was also thinking about a virtue that would make enemies less likely to notice/target you in combat. Not sure exactly what the mechanic would look like.


Reward Ideas:

• Loremaster’s Staff: Parry +3 (assumes existence of quarterstaff weapon type)
  Numenorean Ring: Never Weary when using Personality or Custom common skills.
  Rhunic Robe: -2 on Travel TNs, Winter Gear encumbrance = 1.

[Angelalex242]

I should say such a race (Maia!) would also have access to the Broken Spells of the Dwarves and the Magic of the Elves.

As for the stats...Body Tertiary, Heart Secondary, Wits Primary (4, 6, 7)

A wizard should have high (Hobbitlike, even, or superior to hobbit!) hope, as many magic virtues require hope to power such spells. They might have a correspondingly hobbit like endurance to compensate.

[Otaku-sempai]

In my own opinion, any Wizard-like player characters need to be Men, not Istari or other Maiar. Black Numeoreans can apparently produce evil Sorcerers; likewise there can probably be Easterling Shaman or other evil spell-casters among the Southrons of Far Harad or the Variags of Khand.

A Mage Adventurer should be something along the lines of a Gondorean Scholar with a Numenorean bloodline who has taken a particular interest magic and spells; and who has spent much time and effort researching such spells.

[Elmoth]

We need to define what can be done with magic before going for that. In fact it would be better to define what MORTALS can do with magic, not maia. Still, since our main source of evidence to what

From the Istari we have:
- create fire (narya?)
- create fireworks (narya?)
- rise morale (narya?)
- create light (narya?)
- stop torches (goblin cave)
- disappear in a puff of smoke
- mind control/manipulation (Saruman)
- stop/expel Shadow creatures and effects (witch king, balrog, Saruman's mind control over Theoden)
- dispel other people's magics
- talk with items and animals (Gandalf, Radagast)




We also know that magic can be used to
- create magic items (sword, minor rings of power). The powers invested in these vary a lot.
- rise the dead and/or gain control over death
- Long range mind control (Saruman)
- Genetic engineering (Saruman, Sauron, Morgoth)
- Extend life

Anything more?

The powers associated with what Gandalf can do and what other magic users are supposed to do with magic seem to differ a lot.

[Woodclaw]

We need to define what can be done with magic before going for that. In fact it would be better to define what MORTALS can do with magic, not maia. Still, since our main source of evidence to what

we know of the powers of gandalf, that basically are:
- create fire (narya?)
. create fireworks (narya?)
- rise morale (narya?)
- create light (narya?)
- stop torches (goblin cave)
- stop/expel Shadow creatures and effects (witch king, balrog, Saruman's mind control over Theoden)
- disappear in a puff of smoke
- talk with animals (mearas).

We also know that magic can be used to
- create magic items (sword, minor rings of power). The powers invested in these vary a lot.
- rise the dead and/or gain control over death
- Long range mind control (Saruman)
- Genetic engineering (Saruman, Sauron, Morgoth)
- Extend life

Anything more?

The powers associated with what Gandalf can do and what other magic users are supposed to do with magic seem to differ a lot.

I would add some degree of emotional/mental manipulation to the list. Gandalf seemed to grow a lot more terrifying than usual when he scared Bilbo into upholding his decision to gave Frodo the Ring. Saruman is arguably a master of this.

[Angelalex242]

If you throw Radagast in there, you get all his 'druidic' powers too. He clearly has Speakers + a lot of other things.

[Elmoth]

Added mind control, dispel other people's magics and speak with items/animals to the list. Any other stuff?

Xavi

[Mim]

Virtue Ideas (My naming choices suck...these are just placeholders.)

• “Force of Personality” Spend a point of hope to boost one Personality common skill by a huge amount for X turns.
  “Fire and Brimstone” Spend endurance to cause a flame to flare suddenly, blinding and possibly damaging enemies. Effect depends on amount of endurance spent, limited by size of fire source. (This might be a “pick one of three” virtue to manipulate an element, with the choice being between Fire, Water, or Air.)
  “Metamagic” Multi-tiered virtue
  • First get the ability to sense/detect “magic”
    Next get the ability to dispel/cancel it (spend endurance, roll Lore, on a failure lose a point of hope, on a Sauron also get a point of Shadow)
    Finally get the ability to cast enchantments
  “Personal Rune” Carve/burn/scribe your personal rune on a solid surface. It will be noticed by your allies and invisible to your enemies. Anybody who knows you and sees it rolls Insight to understand the message.
  “Remove Shadow” Spend one Hope to try to reduce an ally’s Shadow by one. Requires a Wisdom roll vs variable TN.
  “Linguist” Automatically be able to read any written language. Spend Hope to decipher magical writing.

I especially like these & may adapt them for my game. Thank you!

[Mim]

Since several of us use Gandalf as an example (valid or otherwise), we may wish to note a couple of quick points:

1. Gandalf practiced his art subtly during the period leading up to the War of the Ring. He hesitated to cast fire to heat the Fellowship while they crossed Caradhras, for example, until it was almost too late, because he did not want to warn the Enemy of his (their) presence.

This is perhaps the trickiest part for those of us who prefer a touch of extra magic - how to integrate someone subtly. You'll have to emphasize this point to your player(s) if you want to be canon, & to account for other spellcasters possibly becoming aware of the casting (it's more or less linked in Middle-earth). Gareth & Francesco do this nicely with Radagast the Brown in TfW.

2. Even prior to the War he could let loose when he chose. Note this passage from when Aragorn & Frodo viewed his battle against the Nazgûl on Weathertop:

...As Frodo lay, tired but unable to close his eyes, it seemed to him that far away there came a light in the eastern sky: it flashed and faded many times. It was not the dawn, for that was still some hours off.

'What is the light?' he asked Strider, who had risen, and was standing, gazing ahead into the night.

'I do not know,' Strider answered. 'It is too distant to make out. It is like lightning that leaps up from the hill-tops.'

Frodo lay down again, but for a long while he could still see the white flashes, and against them the tall dark figure of Strider, standing silent and watchful...

They later discovered the scorch marks of the battle. In addition, Gandalf mentioned lightning (& thunder) when he recounted his battle against the Balrog.

So, does this mean that he could cast some type of lightning bolt, or that the Ringwraiths and/or Balrog could? If so, once or more than once? You can make an argument for any of the above, & it gets complicated .

[Mim]

A number of C7 contractors on the Forums (who are probably in the know) have said they're opposed to this topic (for all of the reasons already stated), so it's unlikely that C7 will ever incorporate spellcasters as heroes. That said, however, several of us have bravely stepped-up to offer our interpretations for house rules. Here are three spells that I'm tweaking for anyone who wants to play Dúnedain Seers in my chronicles. They're a mix from Dwarven Broken Spells, "Study with the Lampmaker" in THofW, & another game. I can only hope that 1-6 points of Endurance damage isn't too overpowering (fingers crossed)

Create Light
You may create light, typically on your hand or at the end of your staff.

You can vary the intensity and color of the light as you wish, though it is equal to that of a strong torch at most, sufficient to light a twenty-foot radius, under most circumstances, or a slightly larger area at night or underground. This spell lasts for one success dice of hours per point of your Heart rating.

Blazing Light
You may now cause your Create Light to blaze with a magical flare of great intensity, almost as bright as the sun.

This blaze quickly dies out, but while it burns, it is as though night turns to day: creatures who are harmed by the sun suffer accordingly (monsters with Hate Sunlight suffer the loss of one point of Hate, and those with Denizen of the Dark lose the associated advantage for three rounds).

The Light of the Stars
You learn how to bestow the blessing of Elbereth upon your magic.

By spending a point of Hope, you may cause your Create Light to burn with the pure light of the stars—bright enough to pierce any gloom. This light flares for a limited time (a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom rating) but, while it burns, creatures of the Enemy cannot engage you in close combat unless they spend three Hate Points.

In addition, you can scorch the Enemy with one success dice of the Light of the Stars damage, out to a maximum range of sixty feet plus your Heart rating.

Once the Light of the Stars goes out, you can cast the spell again at the cost of one point of Hope.