[M&M 3E] Sword and sorcery idea

[EpicEclipse]

So a pure breed shadow noble? You understand playing a pure breed does limit the gate affinity right? I mean, shadow magic is cool with the illusions and ephemeral effects (Note, this DOES include "mental" effects as targeted illusions)

One CAN always look for magical (there is no arcane and divine. Just the gates) secrets and such, though it's not like scrolls and stuff you can cast from. Magical items, items imbued with gate magic are fine though.

[Doctor Malsyn]

Any thoughts on the naming conventions i mentioned for the Elemental races and their associative elements?

[EpicEclipse]

Ive had some thoughts, actually. Do you think that with 'elves' and their various natural affinities, they might have adopted a tribe-like stance rgearding their racial cultures? I was thibking of names that some of them might have as well. Earthborn, windswept, firesoul, Waterfolk, etc... What do you think?

Well, remember the elemental gate is more specifically energies. Not a bad idea, just needs to be adjusted slightly. Stone and earth would be under Creation as matter, and living plants would be Wild as living things.

[Doctor Malsyn]

Oh? Hm. What would you classify the elements of the elementals as then?

[EpicEclipse]

Oh? Hm. What would you classify the elements of the elementals as then?

Energy! Heat, electricity, cold, etc, etc

[Camus]

So a pure breed shadow noble? You understand playing a pure breed does limit the gate affinity right? I mean, shadow magic is cool with the illusions and ephemeral effects (Note, this DOES include "mental" effects as targeted illusions)

One CAN always look for magical (there is no arcane and divine. Just the gates) secrets and such, though it's not like scrolls and stuff you can cast from. Magical items, items imbued with gate magic are fine though.

Yeah I was thinking of that. I wanted to give him benefit other gate affinity, without buying any actual power, just reflecting that he was searching for knowledge that was forbidden in his homeland and that was why he was outcasted. And now in the Nexus he can search for knowledge as he pleases. Not that he could actually manage to use spells as easy and naturally as with his own gate.
What's your take on rituals?

[Doctor Malsyn]

I think I need a bit of help thinking my concept through to completion then. I had the idea of basically an Arabian and sand themed elf, dark skinned while excelling in mixing swordplay and sand-based magic. My original thought was just an Elemental who used a combination of wind and earth magic, but that's a bit thrown now with the clarification relating to their magic.

[pathfinderq1]

Just in terms of wrapping my head around things, it looks like those who have 'Multiple Gate Affinity' (and thus more powerful/flexible magic, but at the cost of longer/more intense study) occupy the cultural space that wizards fill in traditional fantasy- would that be fairly accurate?

Where would weather magic fall, in terms of gates? I'm thinking elemental, but wanted to check...

[EpicEclipse]

Yes, due to how magic works in a more restrictive system, some kinds of magic simply don't work or exist. Weather magic for example, nothing controls the weather itself. You can fire off lighting holds or gusts of wind (via kinetic energy) or make it really hot or cold with elemental, but making it rain is a PHENOMINAL feat, because you are using magic to science up some rain. Possible, but you are manipulating the weather by science, so it can have ramifications and is probably more appropriate as a ritual than a standard effect.

As for sand magic, creation mixed with elemental could do it. Creating the crystalline grains of sand is creation, and manipulating them by kinetic energy is elemental.

So both doable, but requires more thought than d&d magic since its part magic part science.

All in All, this might be too constrictive a setting for play by post. Or maybe M&M in particular.

[Doctor Malsyn]

I just kept think that maybe we could just try playing Mage or Sorcerer with the more you explain their magic system. Just with more fantasy elements, which would make Sorcerer more ideal.

But, we can run this however you'd like.

[Camus]

I think it has value in the fact that it is a particular setteing which I like, it's not as full blown as I do whatever with magic, so I dig it. If you can have a game with three people, I say let's put our heads together and make it work cuz it sound too good to let it die

[Doctor Malsyn]

Camus has a good point too.

[EpicEclipse]

It would be easier to think of the magic system as similar to Mage from White Wolf. Each gate has a sphere of influence that is very distinct. It means magic like that found in D&D is generally incompatible.

The difference is, in Mage one can learn multiple circles and combine them into spells where as in my setting, one isn't meant to know more than one gate except in rare circumstances, kind of like Avatar. In that cartoon, everyone but the avatar is limited to one type of bending, though each type also has subtypes as well where that's not so prevalent in my setting here.

The idea is that with limited magical influence you affect other things and it encourages creative thinking rather than just having an out of the box effect that just magically does it's thing because magic.

Like I pointed out with the weather magic, it's possible, but more because of science than magic itself. Sand is possible, but only by blending two gates.

Creation magic creates things, it doesn't move them around. Movement like that is kinetic energy so falls under elemental.

Each gate is limited, but can be used creatively AND encourages multiple casters to work together for many effects. Otherwise, you could just as easily be a swordsman who knows enough elemental gate magic through your affinity to wreath your weapon in flames or ice or electricity or force, etc. Magic is common in this world, but the power of said magic varies greatly from person to person.

Magic CAN be imbued in particular kinds of crystals which can be sort of 'programed' for lack of a better explanation, to interact a certain way when interacting with a specific thing. A crystal can be imb8ed to strengthen a blade, but it would work for only that blade.

The main issue I see is that I can think clearly in how to build around all this stuff, but it's hard to expect others to get it. I tend to find when I think of more restrictive stuff like this it doesn't catch on too well.

[Camus]

That can work well, I mean you get the most creative and compromised players. It would be too self loathing to include me there but I can say you get the most creative players, and me.

On the sand thing, I don't beloved you need to create it, you can just use the one that there is, that is what they did in avatar, they used the elements, they couldn't actually create it out of nowhere

[EpicEclipse]

That's true, but on that logic, there is nothing restricting you to sand because what is moving said sand doesn't care what it's moving. It's just kinetic energy.

I was thinking if you wanted to something sort of unique M.O. for the character by way of a signature magical style, whipping up sand out of nowhere and doing stuff with it Gaara style, creation and elemental would be the way.