Magic in Middle earth

[Robin Smallburrow]

Thror II

Have read your initial draft of 'Magic in Middle-earth' and generally liked it, I think it is a good (although simplistic) introduction to magic for TOR - I think my system is admittedly more complicated and requires a bit more knowledge of the setting by the Loremaster.

My only main criticism of your system is one I have levelled at other fan made ones (see below): I am not a fan of all spells only costing a Hope point to cast- IMHO there should be some Endurance cost as well, as Tolkien makes it quite clear in his writings that casting magic is tiring. I give my players the 'open door' example to illustrate:
Why doesn't Gandalf use magic to open doors? Easier to just walk up and open it!

If you are able to access the archives of the old forum you will see plenty of discussions on these points.

I think it only fair to give links below to other fan -made magic systems for TOR as I am not sure you have access to them:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/656 ... 20Lite.pdf

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/656 ... 0Magic.pdf

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/656 ... 20Ring.pdf

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/656 ... reator.pdf

Robin S.

[Robin Smallburrow]

Forgot to put in my initial post re magical items:

Two basic questions when creating a magical item:

1) Can the item be used by all, or only by a few?
2) Is the 'effect' permanent, or temporary?

Obviously a permanent, universal item is harder to make, and usually requires a permanent loss of Endurance (or Hope as has been debated) from the creator, to represent the loss of inherent power from the creator going into the item.

Robin S.

[ThrorII]

Robin,

In creating a consistent magic system for TOR, I relied heavily on what was already established in the core rules and other supplements. That is why I stuck with using Hope for spell casting. Many spell-like abilities of player-heroes are Hope based, not Endurance based. Adversaries only use Hate when casting Dreadful spells, not Endurance. Therefore, I remained consistent with what has been established in the game already.

Also, my magic system is primarily for Loremaster Characters and Adversaries only. Player-heroes generally will not have access to these spells. The system was created so I could have pre-defined and consistent spells for my Loremaster Character caster types, with effects consistent with the published adventures. Much like in the various supplements and adventures already published, the players do not need to know if the casting cost is in Hope or Endurance, all they need to know is the effect.

Finally, while it is true that Gandalf was wearied after his wizardry battle with the Balrog, I see no need to directly interpret that as Loremaster characters loose Endurance when casting. A loss of Hope for NPC's can be translated as being weary, much as Adversaries tend to flee when they are out of Hate--they are emotionally spent. Hope is actually more precious than Endurance in TOR.

I respect your insight and feedback, but I think our goals were slightly different in creating a magic system for TOR.

On the matter of magical item creation, and lore spells, I haven't figured that out yet in the slightest. As I mentioned earlier, I'm really hoping (spending a point of Hope ) that Rivendell comes out soon, and I can plagiarize the heck out of it.

[Rich H]

Personally I think you're spot on in requiring Hope expenditure to cast spells. It's very much in keeping with the RAW.