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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

[H4zardZ1]

Platypus:

The island whirrs about.

((A simple formula for everyone hating the ritual system:
(Essences used(per turn average)+POT and CMP bonus+Normal Dice)*Turns*Mages
If you have enough POT and CMP bonus, or your inventory is clogged with essences, forget rituals and go into the normal multi-turn casting. In other words: Rituals UP plz buff))

[ironsnake345]

Platypus:

The island whirrs about.

((A simple formula for everyone hating the ritual system:
(Essences used(per turn average)+POT and CMP bonus+Normal Dice)*Turns*Mages
If you have enough POT and CMP bonus, or your inventory is clogged with essences, forget rituals and go into the normal multi-turn casting. In other words: Rituals UP plz buff))

((What's per turn average?))

[thegamemaster1234]

Platypus:

The island whirrs about.

((A simple formula for everyone hating the ritual system:
(Essences used(per turn average)+POT and CMP bonus+Normal Dice)*Turns*Mages
If you have enough POT and CMP bonus, or your inventory is clogged with essences, forget rituals and go into the normal multi-turn casting. In other words: Rituals UP plz buff))

((What's per turn average?))

((More importantly, what's multi-turn casting? I haven't seen this before...))

Jiksap was pleased to discover that these small shards were picked up by the whirlpool. He doesn't quite know what they're good for yet, but such things come in time. It was also good to find out his wounds weren't as bad as one would have thought based on the description; maybe water really does help muffle explosions after all?

Treasure hunting was quite profitable. Perhaps doing it again would be even more so? Only one way to find out!

More treasure hunting! 3 essences along the way. Follow a path going closer to shore.

[Whisperling]

Rituals UP plz buff

((I agree with this, but I still think rituals should be more involved than just continuing a spell.

Here’s a tentative system, because why not. It’s a bit like the current one, but there are extra goodies thrown in, failures are less common (but much more nasty), and there’s some room for flexibility. Not sure how it’d go over, but I’ve had it bouncing around in my head for a while now, so it’s good to get it out.))

Spoiler: System (click to show/hide)

For each turn you perform the ritual, you may either perform an action.
An action would be something along the lines of lighting candles or dancing a jig. However, actions must relate to both the affinity being used and the purpose of the spell. So, someone with the Earth affinity could clap two stones together to create an earthquake, but throwing dirt in the air (unrelated to the purpose of the spell) or shaking a bowl of water (unrelated to the affinity) would make the spell collapse.

For each action, a hidden d6 is rolled. You don’t know the exact results unless you roll a 1 or a 6, but you get a general feeling and maybe some flashy special effects to illustrate how successful you were.

1:  Roll CMP to see if the ritual collapses. (It collapses on a roll of 1-3 and continues on 4-6. Essences probably aren’t usable.)
2: +2 POT
3: +3 POT
4: +4 POT, the final spell gains a minor additional effect based on your action.
5: +5 POT, the final spell gains a powerful additional effect based on your action.
6: +7 POT, roll CMP to see if the ritual collapses. (Same deal.)

Ritual collapse means that fun things happen to you based on all of your actions in that ritual. The guy who banged two stones together might find himself crushed between boulders.

Completing the ritual casts the spell with boosted POT, and a CMP roll. Essences are usable, and modifier penalties can optionally be taken out of POT rather than CMP.


Other stuff:
Things like sacrifices, living sacrifices, and focus use could exist, but would be classified as different “types” of action.
I’d say that a sacrifice is really just an action which results in the destruction of a valuable item. So, the person with Earth affinity might crush their enchanted glass ring with a rock. Maybe this would result in a higher risk/reward ratio, a bonus to the ritual roll, a guaranteed effect, or something else.

If this system were to be used, I would definitely be willing to come up with a list of special actions and their effects, but if that were to happen, I’d rather get some input from DG beforehand.
--------------------------------------

The target/s of an attack ritual should definitely get some sort of tingly or unpleasant feeling. Maybe even a direction?

[DreamerGhost]

Rituals UP plz buff

((I agree with this, but I still think rituals should be more involved than just continuing a spell.

Here’s a tentative system, because why not. It’s a bit like the current one, but there are extra goodies thrown in, failures are less common (but much more nasty), and there’s some room for flexibility. Not sure how it’d go over, but I’ve had it bouncing around in my head for a while now, so it’s good to get it out.))

Spoiler: System (click to show/hide)

For each turn you perform the ritual, you may either perform an action.
An action would be something along the lines of lighting candles or dancing a jig. However, actions must relate to both the affinity being used and the purpose of the spell. So, someone with the Earth affinity could clap two stones together to create an earthquake, but throwing dirt in the air (unrelated to the purpose of the spell) or shaking a bowl of water (unrelated to the affinity) would make the spell collapse.

For each action, a hidden d6 is rolled. You don’t know the exact results unless you roll a 1 or a 6, but you get a general feeling and maybe some flashy special effects to illustrate how successful you were.

1:  Roll CMP to see if the ritual collapses. (It collapses on a roll of 1-3 and continues on 4-6. Essences probably aren’t usable.)
2: +2 POT
3: +3 POT
4: +4 POT, the final spell gains a minor additional effect based on your action.
5: +5 POT, the final spell gains a powerful additional effect based on your action.
6: +7 POT, roll CMP to see if the ritual collapses. (Same deal.)

Ritual collapse means that fun things happen to you based on all of your actions in that ritual. The guy who banged two stones together might find himself crushed between boulders.

Completing the ritual casts the spell with boosted POT, and a CMP roll. Essences are usable, and modifier penalties can optionally be taken out of POT rather than CMP.


Other stuff:
Things like sacrifices, living sacrifices, and focus use could exist, but would be classified as different “types” of action.
I’d say that a sacrifice is really just an action which results in the destruction of a valuable item. So, the person with Earth affinity might crush their enchanted glass ring with a rock. Maybe this would result in a higher risk/reward ratio, a bonus to the ritual roll, a guaranteed effect, or something else.

If this system were to be used, I would definitely be willing to come up with a list of special actions and their effects, but if that were to happen, I’d rather get some input from DG beforehand.
--------------------------------------

The target/s of an attack ritual should definitely get some sort of tingly or unpleasant feeling. Maybe even a direction?

The system looks fine, though POT values would need to be greater, otherwise you can just channel a spell for virtualy same effect. Possibly increase per component/wizard/turn?

[ironsnake345]

Rituals UP plz buff

((I agree with this, but I still think rituals should be more involved than just continuing a spell.

Here’s a tentative system, because why not. It’s a bit like the current one, but there are extra goodies thrown in, failures are less common (but much more nasty), and there’s some room for flexibility. Not sure how it’d go over, but I’ve had it bouncing around in my head for a while now, so it’s good to get it out.))

Spoiler: System (click to show/hide)

For each turn you perform the ritual, you may either perform an action.
An action would be something along the lines of lighting candles or dancing a jig. However, actions must relate to both the affinity being used and the purpose of the spell. So, someone with the Earth affinity could clap two stones together to create an earthquake, but throwing dirt in the air (unrelated to the purpose of the spell) or shaking a bowl of water (unrelated to the affinity) would make the spell collapse.

For each action, a hidden d6 is rolled. You don’t know the exact results unless you roll a 1 or a 6, but you get a general feeling and maybe some flashy special effects to illustrate how successful you were.

1:  Roll CMP to see if the ritual collapses. (It collapses on a roll of 1-3 and continues on 4-6. Essences probably aren’t usable.)
2: +2 POT
3: +3 POT
4: +4 POT, the final spell gains a minor additional effect based on your action.
5: +5 POT, the final spell gains a powerful additional effect based on your action.
6: +7 POT, roll CMP to see if the ritual collapses. (Same deal.)

Ritual collapse means that fun things happen to you based on all of your actions in that ritual. The guy who banged two stones together might find himself crushed between boulders.

Completing the ritual casts the spell with boosted POT, and a CMP roll. Essences are usable, and modifier penalties can optionally be taken out of POT rather than CMP.


Other stuff:
Things like sacrifices, living sacrifices, and focus use could exist, but would be classified as different “types” of action.
I’d say that a sacrifice is really just an action which results in the destruction of a valuable item. So, the person with Earth affinity might crush their enchanted glass ring with a rock. Maybe this would result in a higher risk/reward ratio, a bonus to the ritual roll, a guaranteed effect, or something else.

If this system were to be used, I would definitely be willing to come up with a list of special actions and their effects, but if that were to happen, I’d rather get some input from DG beforehand.
--------------------------------------

The target/s of an attack ritual should definitely get some sort of tingly or unpleasant feeling. Maybe even a direction?

The system looks fine, though POT values would need to be greater, otherwise you can just channel a spell for virtualy same effect. Possibly increase per component/wizard/turn?

((I think that sounds like a good idea. Adding extra effects to the spell increases risk, but spending more turns channeling decreases risk of end spell result while maybe raising power, and using more physical/magical/etc components as foci helps stabilize the channeling process, and using multiple wizards essentially multiplies the power and stability of the ritual IF they can mesh their magic properly. (probably a few rolls involved in that one... Maybe effective communication and magi in question being allies would carry bonuses?) This would make ritual casting much more interesting, and worthwhile.))

[Whisperling]

The system looks fine, though POT values would need to be greater, otherwise you can just channel a spell for virtualy same effect. Possibly increase per component/wizard/turn?

((I think that sounds like a good idea. Adding extra effects to the spell increases risk, but spending more turns channeling decreases risk of end spell result while maybe raising power, and using more physical/magical/etc components as foci helps stabilize the channeling process, and using multiple wizards essentially multiplies the power and stability of the ritual IF they can mesh their magic properly. (probably a few rolls involved in that one... Maybe effective communication and magi in question being allies would carry bonuses?) This would make ritual casting much more interesting, and worthwhile.))

Spoiler: Long reply (click to show/hide)

You guys might want to read both of these- the topics tend to mesh a bit.

(Mostly) DG:

If by "channeling" you mean the current ritual system, it actually is somewhat different. Mostly in that you can get additional effects, the POT bonuses are higher, and there's the possibility of a CMP save before the ritual collapses and starts trying to kill you. Plus, you don't actually have to use any items, though they'd probably help depending on what the special action types ended up being.

Some of that definitely has to be toned down, now that I'm thinking about it more closely.


(More on additional effects below. I think people got a little confused about that, possibly because my wording wasn't great.)


If you still think POT values should be greater, increasing the base numbers is probably a good start. Maybe to 3/4/6/7/9? That's only an increase of 1/2 for everything, but it's enough that I don't think anyone would regret a turn of non-failing ritual casting. I'm a little wary of increases from extra mages components or turns, mainly because numbers over 2 get game-breakingly powerful.

(Mostly) Ironsnake:

I guess I wasn't entirely clear in one part- "additional effects" as described in the roll chart are not the nasty things that happen in spell collapse. The roll chart effects are supposed to be a good thing, if unpredictable and liable to get out of hand.

If the example mage who was banging rocks together to create an earthquake rolled 4 (minor additional effect), the earthquake might generate a hail of pebbles which flew around and tried to "squeeze" enemies between them in midair, mostly causing bruises and maybe some minor cuts. If they rolled a 5 (major effect), there would probably be boulders flying around and crushing people. The mage who did the ritual would probably end up getting caught in the crossfire, but they wouldn't be the main target of the effect.

Collapse effects are targeted directly and exclusively at the poor sod who tried to cast the spell, and are for every single action they did, without fail. They basically get into one predicament for every turn they continued the ritual.

[DreamerGhost]

Turn 145

Wayfarer noted that his mask had shifted into a helmet. Useful. But of course, anyone who looked at him would have to see his horribly scarred face. Wayfarer was going to have to make another solid force mask.

Wayfarer removes his helmet from his head, then heads straight north, making 4 solid force essences as he goes.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

SPD [(2)/2+1=2]
CMP [5+1=6]
POT [6]
CMP [6]
POT [2-1=1]
CMP [6+1-2=5]
POT [1-2=-1]
CMP [5+1-3=3]
POT [5-3=2]

Wayfarer sighed. The protection offered by the helmet was just not worth the guarantee of death it promised should it break. His face felt wind for the first time in months. It felt strange. Wayfarer knew better than to bother exploring this strangeness, what he wanted was northwards and he set out without delay.

Go up 1 tile and up-left 3 tiles. Boost my speed with Kinesis magic. Punch Chorkinaan in the skull, using kinesis magic to increase the kinetic energy of his skull going through his brain. (This ensures so that even if I get high POT/low CMP roll, it's his skull that explodes (as opposed to going straight backwards) rather than my hand.)

PM action

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

CMP [5+2+1=8]
POT [5+1=6]
SPD [(4)/2+1+2=5]
DEX [4]
STR [1+1=2]
DEX [1]
END [3+1=4]
CMP [6+2+1-1=8]
POT [3+1-1=3]
STR [3]
DEX [5+1=6]

Chorkinaan saw Henry approaching from far away. Calmly, he left his sword floating in the air and grabbed hold of his improvised floater. Henry, as luck would have it, was coming from the exact direction to which the floater was modified to fall to. Chorkinaan waited until Henry was close enough for a chance and released the floater. It flew off, rapidly accelerating, but Henry managed to sidestep it without much trouble. Chorkinaan was not too upset, it would had been nice if he failed to dodge, but he still had his blade. When Henry reached him the sword proved very useful, as Chorkinaan made use of the increased range it offered to strike first. Henry smiled. The strike was too weak, he saw that there was no weight behind it, he called the feint and didn’t even bother to dodge. Magic swirled around his fist as he closed in and struck. The whole idea of feints was not committing to actual attack, however, allowing Chorkinaan enough of a window remaining to evade the fist, energy sending a blast of air uselessly far away behind Chorkinaan.

call out to the birds of the forest, asking about what dangers lie within

make 2 essences

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

CMP [5+1=6]
POT [5+1=6]
CMP [5]
POT [3]
CMP [6+1-2=5]
POT [6+1-2=5]

Seva called out to many birds of the forest. Walking through a forest one could hear birdsongs, even see one here and there, but there are so many left unseen. It took a call as this to truly see how many there actually were. Birds flew by in hundreds, none stopping by but all speaking in a song about the forest. There were dangerous animals. There were creatures that lurked underground and hunted any beasts that wandered too close. There were places near the swamps where ground would swallow the wingless in an instant. Treants sometimes fought with the creatures that hunted from beneath. Sometimes, the underground creatures fought among themselves, turning the ground as if it was boiling liquid and leaving caves waiting for something heavy enough to walk over.

"Well I have no idea which way to go. You're the luckiest Gambler so could you guess a random direction?"

Follow Gambler! Also heal Gambler because his sheet says he's still injured and poisoned.
If Gambler doesn't do anything then guess my own direction to go.
Don't just blindly walk into obstacles though. Go around or fly over anything in the way.

Oh, and remember to give Skelliborn back his enchanted swiss army knife.
And of course make 3 essences. Healing.

To Grundar:
"Don't worry, we'll find the perfect place to plant it. For now try to find Jase or Crimson and stick with them until we find each other."

Close eyes. Rotate, and rely on luck to find the best direction to head. Open eyes. Go that way. Make Two Essences.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

CMP [3+2=5]
POT [3+1+1=5]
CMP [2+2-1=3]
POT [6+1+1-1=7]
CMP [2]
POT [4]
CMP [1+2-3=0]
LUCK [10]
LUCK [2+2=4]
LUCK [7+2=9]
LUCK [3+2=5]
CMP [2+1=3]
POT [4+1+1=6]
CMP [2]
POT [1+1+1-1=2]

James looked at gambler again. The spot of blood around his shoulder had grown, reminding James that he was still bleeding. It would probably be nice to heal that before he bled out. Gambler began spinning in place, possibly some part of his spell, but that would give little trouble for James. With each spin Gambler made wound in his shoulder grew less and less painful, until the pain subsided completely. He took this as a time to start moving ad stepped forward. He felt something akin to mud under his feet but continued moving. The muddy substance became deeper and deeper with every step. Soon, as Gambler raised his leg for a step his feet didn’t breach surface. Then his knees. It took liquid reaching his waist and something slimy and cold beginning to wriggle up his leg for Gambler to begin reconsidering his method of navigation. James meanwhile, was having some problems of his own. One of his essences had imploded and mutated one of the flesh heaps, causing it to grow a dozen eyes of various sizes which the creature used to observe it's surroundings and James in particular with great enthusiasm.

*cough* "Damn it!" *cough*

Try again! To hell with additional essences, swim to the closest land after heating up.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

STR [5-1=4]
END [1]

Kahel struggled against the water. More civilized part of his mind had ideas as to how properly and without much noise get to the shore. That part had to stand away as more primal need to get out of the water right now had fully overtaken Kahel. He half floated half swam towards a small island of sand and rocks and collapsed on the shore. He was out of the water and it was time to enjoy sweet air without obstructions while lying calmly on the beach. Everything else could and would wait.

Uproot.
Summon powerfull fertilizer. Essences used: three +1/+1, chaotic +2/+1 and +1 POT.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

CMP [3+1=4]
POT [2+1=3]
CMP [4+1+5-1=9]
POT [4+1+5-1=9]
LUCK [3]

Shias ordered the roots that bound him to the earth to move and they did. Slowly and carefully he stood up, roots dragging behind him as some sort of strange cape. It could be inconvenient if someone decided to climb on him from behind, but he was mobile once more. It was a tad late to ask the forest for permission of entry, but a small gift should help. Shias conjured fertilizer for the trees, focusing on spreading it through a large area. However, the magic was feeling somewhat mischievous. The spell twisted ever so slightly and forest floor was overrun with organic smell of sewage. Trees probably wouldn't mind though some wolf who had marked its territory around here might feel rather hurt.

So guys. My master who I'm apprenticed too just sent me an image of a crystal tower I'm supposed to go to. Interested?

Skeliborn

Action:

Try to store the eldritch portal within the  5 throwing knifes.

(I'm thinking that if you align the 5 blades as the points of a Pentagram the eldritch portal reforms between the blades)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

CMP [4+1=5]
POT [4+1=5]
LUCK [10]

Skeliborn was faced with a problem. Namely, "Would carrying portal infused knives in a bag have a chance of accidentally forming a portal?". Saner person would wonder how exactly he was going to bind a portal to a few knives, or if it was even possible to move portals, or possibly if it was good idea to try to move one. They would ponder through calculations of power, possibility of repercussions and chances of universe unraveling itself. Skeliborn was blissfully unburdened by such thoughts. Eldritch energies overcharged the knives, causing metal and leather to split and reveal the flesh beneath. The metal knives turned into an amalgamation of chitin and bone and leather strips now reassembled an extremely cleanly flayed snake. It was probably nothing to worry about.

3 more essences

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

CMP [3+1=4]
POT [4+2=6]
CMP [6]
POT [2+2-1=3]
CMP [6+1-2=5]
POT [6]

Gloomy was looking calmly through a window to the scene outside. There was a cloud of magic charged dust where one would suspect a geyser. That would probably soon result in a lot of magically charged water. It was entirely irrelevant to Gloomy, although it was possible that someone was trying to assemble a siege weapon over there.

"Well I've felt worse, so you said you wanted a favor, what is it?"

"I believe I'll need your help in performing a ritual. I'm not quite sure what magical assistance I'll need, but a bodyguard would be a great boon."

Try that Essence roulette thing.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

CMP [5+1=6]
POT [6]
CMP [5]
POT [4-1=3]
CMP [4+1-2=3]
POT [4-2=2]
CMP [3+1-3=1]
POT [5-3=2]
CMP [3+1-4=0]
LUCK [2]
END [5]

Cuberac was waiting. Sure, Blake was fine now, but he could explode into tentacles at any moment. Neither of them had any idea about what exactly was in the cube and Cuberac knew enough to dislike unknowns. But it was fine for the moment and thus Cuberac decided to stretch his power. It did not take long for power to snap back. Flint cubes scattered to all sides before accelerating back into Cuberac. There were too many to dodge, but they were not that troublesome if they were ramming rather than cutting. Cuberac hunched down and endured stone flying into him. It hurt, but less than getting cut would. When Cuberac finally stood back up there were dozen sharpened flint cubes scattered around, none of them floating anymore.

Move to a safe distance, same hex just farther away, and make 3 essences

"Very well, but I am a bit low on power at the momment."

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

CMP [6+1=7]
POT [6+2=8]
CMP [2]
POT [6+2-1=7]
CMP [6+1-2=5]
POT [1]

Blake took a few steps away from Cuberac. People who chose to brave essence roulade were danger twice over, as they were likely to explode in immediate sense and were clearly insane meaning that they were just as likely to explode sometime later. The decision proved prudent as soon Cuberac's flint cubes began attacking him. They didn’t seem to be doing damage so Blake merely waited for them to stop with mild amusement on his face.

Jiksap was pleased to discover that these small shards were picked up by the whirlpool. He doesn't quite know what they're good for yet, but such things come in time. It was also good to find out his wounds weren't as bad as one would have thought based on the description; maybe water really does help muffle explosions after all?

Treasure hunting was quite profitable. Perhaps doing it again would be even more so? Only one way to find out!

More treasure hunting! 3 essences along the way. Follow a path going closer to shore.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

LUCK [8]
CMP [6+1=7]
POT [5+1=6]
CMP [1]
POT [1]
CMP [2+1-2=1]
POT [1+1-2=0]

Jiksap continued exploring the murky depths. Luck was still smiling on him, as he brushed aside mud from what seemed to be a box decorated with gold and with one of those stainless steel locks. It wouldn't take long to open if he had required tools. And by required tools Jiksap meant a hammer. He was a straightforward person and locks were only as good as the stuff holding them in place. Of course there was no realistic way to get a good swing underwater, but that could be solved later. Jiksap looked around and noticed that water ahead of him was somewhat muddier that that around. Something had raised up the dirt, question was where it was now.

Spoiler: map (click to show/hide)

[DreamerGhost]

I'm beat today. PM's will go out tomorow.

[DAPARROT]

ok, so stay off the ground

enter the forest, staying in the branches of the trees, make 2 essences

[Andres]

"I'll make it easy for you, Chorkinaan. Give up the shards and I'll let you go."

[FallacyofUrist]

Wayfarer was silent. As always. A new mask could wait until he had a means of defending himself. And that... would need more essences.
Such tedium. But that was outweighed by what he saw in the distance.

Wayfarer heads northwest(northeast?) to the edge of the icy area, but no further. While doing so, he also does another solid force essence roulette.

[star2wars3]

Looks like I have insurance ad Transportation. Now... To the crystal tower.

Skeliborn

Action:

Travel to the crystal tower. 3 Essences along the way.(If one collapses, stop making essences)

[ironsnake345]

"I'll make it easy for you, Chorkinaan. Give up the shards and I'll let you go."

Damn, and here I was thinking I could win this fight with resourcefulness. You're a dangerous foe, I'll give you that, but I've got some deadly magic under my hat too, AND a weapon. No deal, bestie!

Using his chaotic essence, Chorkinaan attempts to increase the rigidity of Henry the Best's skin as much as possible. If Henry can still move, he follows up with a good slash from the sword.

((Wow, this fight is getting epic. Stealth karate-chop interrupted by sneak attack interrupted by apocalypse, then followed by gravity screw, epic charge and power punch, and then some resourceful sword master shit. This is a really badass fight. That's why he's henre the best, isn't it? Everything he does turns out badass!))

((Edit: my dad even says the events of this forum game would make a good movie))

[Andres]

((What does a chaotic essence do? It says nothing about them in the OP.))