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Yes

19 (46.3%)

No

9 (22%)

It should be more than that

6 (14.6%)

It should be less than that

7 (17.1%)

Total Members Voted: 41

[thegamemaster1234]

((I feel that many of the purposed nerfs are... a bit too much for my taste))

((But...))

Instead of a universal nerf, why not restrict the use of essences in combat, where they’re most problematic? Under normal circumstances, duels are very fast-paced, and logic states that a well-though-out doom spell shouldn’t be cast at the drop of a hat. Using a large number of essences on a time-sensitive spell could prompt a LUCK roll to see whether the spell takes up the entire turn (leaving nor room/concentration for dodging and such), leaks power, breaks down, or even backfires because there simply isn’t time to include all the information your +CMP essences want to stuff in.

It may be possible to encourage the use of chaotic essences by making them exempt from these restrictions- if they decide to help, of course.

((Building on this... how about this:))

((How about this: there is to be no cap on the number of essences that a given player can store, and there is to be no cap on how many can be used... but in combat, here's what I suggest: if a player casts a spell in combat using essences, they get a -1 to dodge attacks for that turn for every two non-chaotic essences used(chaotic essences don't do this). If a player is hit only because of that dodge malus.... for instance 5 vs. 6-3(6 essences on doom spell), the player loses 2x CMP on their spell(either that or they just get a luck roll or endurance roll to keep the spell from collapsing), where x is the attack targeting roll minus the total dodge roll(malus taken into account).))

((The problem with this idea is that melee combat and physical stats would become more preferable to magic in a fight.

I do like the proposed ritual power growth mechanics from previous posts, I think it would be interesting if we got some official rules on it.

As for the essence debate - I really can't say. We all don't like sitting down and gathering power for turns on end, but we don't like failure or power limitations either.))

[FallacyofUrist]

((Melee combat and physical actions bolstered by preparations made beforehand, that is(magic weaponry and such). Simple spells still won't be too hard to cast in combat, though.))

[endlessblaze]

make adjustments to the core so it can magically hear vocal commands and then prosses them.

[fillipk]

((Essence needs will hurt some affinities more than others for example there is only so much I can do without powerful spells.  I agree essences need to be nerfrd because no one can go against James, Jace, and Crimson and win.  I think rituals with themematic materials from your affinity could take the place of essences and essences would be used in fast pace combat situations since you would be able to have at most 5 per affinity, doubled if you doubled up.))

[XXXXYYYY]

((Essence needs will hurt some affinities more than others for example there is only so much I can do without powerful spells.  I agree essences need to be nerfed because no one can go against James, Jace, and Crimson and win.))

((I am unsure about this. how would the affinities to be hurt be decided? It can't be player decided - grudges and enmities would be gifted a weapon, whithout ensuring fairness. GM decided could feel arbitrary. The best solution would be some sort of algorithm to determine how powerful an affinity is, but that seems nigh impossible.))

((I think rituals with themematic materials from your affinity could take the place of essences and essences would be used in fast pace combat situations since you would be able to have at most 5 per affinity, doubled if you doubled up.))

((Whilst I voted to keep essences as they are in the poll, I can get behind this completely. It fits thematically with the game and should help to lessen the grip that essences have, while still making them useful. I might limit them by power, though, rather than number. Perhaps you can use essences to give up to +5/+5 (+10/+10 with a doubled affinity) to a spell in combat, and adding more essences past that won't take effect? Chaotic essences should be exempt, though, because their very nature should help balance them.))
((It also buffs doubled affinities, which should make it worth it to double up. I had felt that doubling up wouldn't be worth it, but this change would change that.))

[fillipk]

((When I said some affinities would hurt more then others, I meant that there is only so much some affinities can do without big spells.

XXXXYYYY I think your change is good, but there should be a limit on the amount of essences you can have otherwise not much would change and you still couldn't duel the big mages because they would out last you.))

[XXXXYYYY]

((When I said some affinities would hurt more then others, I meant that there is only so much some affinities can do without big spells.

XXXXYYYY I think your change is good, but there should be a limit on the amount of essences you can have otherwise not much would change and you still couldn't duel the big mages because they would out last you.))

((Ah, for some reason I had parsed it as a mangled form of saying that certain affinities should be nerfed by harming their essence creation/use.))

((The problem with fighting the big mages is that they intrinsically have an edge - either through essences, as it is now, or strong gear or summoned followers or protection due to interpersonal reasons - that're hard as all hell to negate. Some of the reasons James, for example, is so hard to kill are:
1) He's damn good at using his affinities - Can be negated by being similarly skilled
2) He has a ton of magical power at his disposal - This would be hampered by the changes in the works
3) Grundar
4) He has very good equipment (adamantine armor, a good chainsaw, +2 luck bonus, magic resistance,Staff of Power+MoMI for an additional +1/+1 to all spells) - This is hard to deal with, and even harder to fix from a game rules perspective.
))

[Trewque]

Craft three essences. Stand next to Jiksap.

[ATHATH]

I don't like essences at all. They turn the game into little more than a grind-fest. People spend actions laying low and making essences instead of casting actual magic or doing anything that requires thought or risk. They've completely replace the original magic system which required actual though and creativity to use. Instead of thinking of a spell, figuring out how closely it relates to your affinity and applying bonuses and negatives, it's just grind until you have enough power then nuke shit. It means whoever has more time to grind wins most of the time instead of who's more skilled and creative.

The problem essences were made to solve was that there was no way to cast big spells. I think a system where we can cast a normal spell, then continuously modify or add more power to it until it's a big spell would be much more interesting and more balanced.

My thoughts exactly. Essences remove the need to think spell modifiers. All you need to do is to slap enough essences in and you are on your way to success. And then you spend few turns charging your essence pool.

I would probably limit amount of essences one can have at any given time. Probably 10. That way you have to think more carefully when to use essences. But this still leaves problem with big doom spells. Solution to this could be ritual spells. Multiturn spells with expotential power to turns performed. Further multiplied with multiple casters. So if one turn spell has power of 1, two turn has 4, three turn 9, four turn 16. Math would be x² where x is number of turns spent casting. Adding more casters would be x²*n² where n is number of casters. Numbers need to be tweaked but anyway, it would encourage cooperation for massive spells.

Another thought would be to record spells into storage crystal. Spend few turns casting massive spell and store it into crystal to be unleashed later instantly. Another use for shards, maybe?

This looks good and simple. I like the idea of using shards to bypass the limit.

[FallacyofUrist]

((But where would that leave casting during combat?))

[Whisperling]

I don't like essences at all. They turn the game into little more than a grind-fest. People spend actions laying low and making essences instead of casting actual magic or doing anything that requires thought or risk. They've completely replace the original magic system which required actual though and creativity to use. Instead of thinking of a spell, figuring out how closely it relates to your affinity and applying bonuses and negatives, it's just grind until you have enough power then nuke shit. It means whoever has more time to grind wins most of the time instead of who's more skilled and creative.

The problem essences were made to solve was that there was no way to cast big spells. I think a system where we can cast a normal spell, then continuously modify or add more power to it until it's a big spell would be much more interesting and more balanced.

My thoughts exactly. Essences remove the need to think spell modifiers. All you need to do is to slap enough essences in and you are on your way to success. And then you spend few turns charging your essence pool.

I would probably limit amount of essences one can have at any given time. Probably 10. That way you have to think more carefully when to use essences. But this still leaves problem with big doom spells. Solution to this could be ritual spells. Multiturn spells with expotential power to turns performed. Further multiplied with multiple casters. So if one turn spell has power of 1, two turn has 4, three turn 9, four turn 16. Math would be x² where x is number of turns spent casting. Adding more casters would be x²*n² where n is number of casters. Numbers need to be tweaked but anyway, it would encourage cooperation for massive spells.

Another thought would be to record spells into storage crystal. Spend few turns casting massive spell and store it into crystal to be unleashed later instantly. Another use for shards, maybe?

This looks good and simple. I like the idea of using shards to bypass the limit.

Thus, putting people who don't engage in PVP at even more of a disadvantage.

[XXXXYYYY]

((If shards are used to store big spells for later, I think that it could quickly become a stomp, where the smaller person would quickly run out of shards to use to store those spells - the old mages with more shards would be exponentially more powerful and versatile. Some of the problems with the current system would only get amplified with the change, especially fillipk's.))
((If another method were used - say, a once-use storage crystal (affinity specific) must be created in one ritual that can hold a maximum power X, where X is the power used to make the crystal. Then, a spell with power <=X cast later could be stored for later use.))
((That said, I'd still support the system with the above change, especially if the objects used to make the ritual would somehow benefit its casting.))

[Elephant Parade]

((But where would that leave casting during combat?))

It would leave it unpredictable, and not absurdly shard-dependent. Rather than "I USE FIFTY ESSENCES TO CAST DEATHSPELL FOUR", you might need to use a weaker, more situational spell.

[endlessblaze]

i honestly like things as they are now.

[H4zardZ1]

((Meanwhile...
Step 1. Get a STR amplifying affinity(eg. acceleration)
Step 2. Get control of yourself with that affinity
Step 3. Punch the heck out of everyone

Or really, just punch with your fists covered with your affinity.))