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[GreatWyrmGold]

((Still, while gangs that get together because they use the same kind of magic are possible, they wouldn't be the only kind.))

[Corsair]

((It probably is the most popular due to either efficiency or ease of use))

[GreatWyrmGold]

((Tell me, how many gangs IRL are formed because they all use Glock pistols?))

[miauw62]

((Tell me, how many gangs IRL are formed because they all use Glock pistols?))

((I think this is slightly different, with rituals and stuff.))

[GreatWyrmGold]

((From the sounds of it, the different kinds of magic would mostly have different personal rituals. To continue the metaphor, everyone in a gang might use Glocks so they can all help each other when they break down and to help new members learn, but the gang wouldn't be formed because of it, more than one might use Glocks, and if someone who preferred a Ruger wanted to join that wouldn't disqualify him.))

[Parisbre56]

((Yes, but look at the artificers. They are the closest real world analogy. Industrial workers. Once the economy dried up, and businesses started to shut down due to lack of money magic, they turned their talents to crime to make due, just like it happens in real life whenever an economy collapses. Perhaps the other mages and the ways they empower themselves somehow fit into their lifestyle before the collapse. Perhaps SM were middle to upper class with lots of access to food and stuff, but not enough money to pay for magic and BS are lower classes, left to use mice and other vermin that frequent their shacks in the hopes of attaining power. The MB will be something like a new middle class emerging to replace the old and fill a power vacuum, aiding in the restructuring of the society, and a kind of mercenary police. Overtime as magic got even more scarce and things got more or less stable, the origins of those practices were forgotten and only the rituals remained.))

[GreatWyrmGold]

((It's possible, but again, that wouldn't be the only origin for gangs. In any case, it's also a bit dull if
there's just one Artificer's Gang and one Mage Eater gang, and that's it. Rival gangs of artificers, plus some other artificers working with Mage Eaters and other groups, plus some gangs formed purely for non-magic-related reasons made of two or three different kinds of mages, would be much more interesting.))

[piecewise]

Let me answer  a few questions before I start driving this morning.

1. The exclusive use of one type of magic attainment style and of more focused magic styles is the result of cultural influences in the game. The starved magi are rather fanatical, something like the self flagellation groups from the middle ages. They believe their magic is the only "pure" kind and that their self sacrifice is to keep society intact. Bloodskimmers believe in a sort of perverted "Survival of the fittest". They consider themselves to be the new alpha predators who feed on lesser animals and men; that they live by right of superiority and might. etc. There's backstory behind each and it's more then just that particular style that binds them; rather that style is a result of the greater things that bind them.

2.However, it is entirely possible for players to start their own gangs where they mix different methods or even develop their own. The only downside would be that the other gangs are more established; they have npc members, hang outs, resources,knowledge, all that sort of stuff. So while it would be completely possible for a group of players to branch off and create their own gang, gather npc units, amass knowledge and give the others a run for their money, it would be more difficult.

3.Respawning wouldn't really be a thing to worry about. For one, you begin unaffiliated and can live your life as a lone wolf or join a gang or create your own or hell, start a cafe and sell bagels if you want. Secondly, magical knowledge is unique to the character. Dying means losing that knowledge. And, although you can write down that knowledge or teach it to others, it takes time to learn. So it's not like raiding someplace would be impossible because an endless supply of meat shields would keep spawning in some back room somewhere.

4. I'm still working on how magic would work, mostly because I would be creating a new, more holistic system designed around discovery via experimentation rather then being given a list of words and just combining them. That and working on making it a deterministic system yet still one that feels "magical".

[GreatWyrmGold]

((1 makes the all-one-group gangs make more sense. Still, piecewise, a few questions:

1. Will there be more than one gang of each kind?
2. Will there be NPC gangs composed of a couple kinds of mages?
3. Will the gangs include a few non-type mages (likely artificers or others who can make cool toys for the main boys)?
4. Will NPCs be able to join PC gangs?))

[Parisbre56]

((Sounds good.

Oh and GWG I can make an educated guess that the answers to 1 is no (or at least they won't be very strong) and 2 and 4 have already been answered. And for 3 artificers are mages, they just prefer to focus their magic through objects. They aren't a profession, they are a faction. Although I guess you could train under them to gain knowledge and then defect and start selling your services. Or maybe they trade their services too.))

Edit: got the numbers wrong somehow.))

[Tsuchigumo550]

I'd automatically try for create-a-gang because why not

[GreatWyrmGold]

((Sounds good.

Oh and GWG I can make an educated guess that the answers to 1 is no (or at least they won't be very strong) and 2 and 4 have already been answered. And for 3 artificers are mages, they just prefer to focus their magic through objects. They aren't a profession, they are a faction. Although I guess you could train under them to gain knowledge and then defect and start selling your services. Or maybe they trade their services too.))

Edit: got the numbers wrong somehow.))

((It was pretty vague; I read it as possibly being that these were tendencies. And my question is: Are there no artificers willing to help non-artificers, or is every single faction too dumb to let anyone not of the "right" kind of mage in?))

[Parisbre56]

((It's not the kind of mage that matters , the way I understand it. There are no kind of mages, just people who can use magic. What matters is knowledge. Would you be able to learn how to use magic like an artificer without them to teach you? Will the other, apparently fanatical groups accept you? If you learnt from the artificers and then defected, would they leave you unpunished?))

[GreatWyrmGold]

((Since it's possible to start new gangs, and since there are at least as many unaffiliated people as PCs, evidently not very hard.))

[Parisbre56]

((Starting a new gang would mean going without a magical source which would mean that your stats will suffer, you won't be able to do more than basic magic, your pool will replenish slowly, if at all, and you'll have to use either time consuming research or undertake dangerous missions to expand that knowledge. And you'd also have to hide from the other more powerful people and factions. And you won't have much luck getting NPCs to join you looking weak like that. And magic is rare. And knowledge is akin to a character stat. It takes time to gain it. You can't just read a spell off a book and cast it like that unless it's really simple.))