True Sorcery

[Korzon]

Is there any information on how much (if any) of the material will be accessible under the Open Gaming License?

[Spike Y Jones]

Is there any information on how much (if any) of the material will be accessible under the Open Gaming License?

I'm assuming everything except the introduction, but my assumption may be based on outdated information.

Spike Y Jones, editor, True Sorcery

[BobSlaughter]

My Guess...
The Black Company is d20 so the spell system should be like normal D&D. Ie: Memerized, then fired.

In True Sorcery you can cast as many spells as you want, but casting spells is physically draining so you may collapse from fatigue if you overdo it. When you select a Talent, you can cast any spell effects related to that Talent, and you can modify the spells to make them more powerful, given them longer range, increase their duration, etc., but the more powerful a spell is, the more draining it is as well, so you can choose to cast a lot of little spells, a handful of medium-level spells, or one or two biggies, and then rest up.

Spike Y Jones, editor, True Sorcery

Hmm, so how is this different from the Arcana in BR? Now, I admit I don't have Blue Rose yet, they're on their way. And I recognize the fatiguing effect, but I don't know if BR has more fixed effects than the ability to modify spells like True Sorcery does.

[Jonathan Moyer]

In True Sorcery you can cast as many spells as you want, but casting spells is physically draining so you may collapse from fatigue if you overdo it. When you select a Talent, you can cast any spell effects related to that Talent, and you can modify the spells to make them more powerful, given them longer range, increase their duration, etc., but the more powerful a spell is, the more draining it is as well, so you can choose to cast a lot of little spells, a handful of medium-level spells, or one or two biggies, and then rest up.

Spike Y Jones, editor, True Sorcery

Hmm, so how is this different from the Arcana in BR? Now, I admit I don't have Blue Rose yet, they're on their way. And I recognize the fatiguing effect, but I don't know if BR has more fixed effects than the ability to modify spells like True Sorcery does.

If the BCCS is any indication, BR Arcana are more fixed than what True Sorcery talents will be. But BR Arcana are close - letting players take a minus to the check in exchange for increased effects (increase range, damage, etc.) would be similar to augmentations in the BCCS and, I suspect, True Sorcery.

[aaronil]

You can augment BR Arcana, really? That's not in the core book to my knowledge, is it from the BR player's guide? I'd be very interesting in getting more information on that as I'm developing a challenge system for powers that's along the same lines.

[Jonathan Moyer]

You can augment BR Arcana, really? That's not in the core book to my knowledge, is it from the BR player's guide? I'd be very interesting in getting more information on that as I'm developing a challenge system for powers that's along the same lines.

Not by the book, no. I was speaking hypothetically - if a GM let PCs take a penalty to their check in exchange for increased effect, that would be similar to a BCCS-style system. The Iron Heroes skill challenge system (take a penalty to skill for increased effects) is similar to this.

The BR Companion has ritual rules which allow an adept to accumulate points of elan (aka mana or chi). Elan points can be spent to augment the effects of arcana.

[Zapp]

How does "True Sorcery" compare to Elements of Magic*?

Thank you,
Zapp

*) Now I'm referring to the skill-using variant called Mythic Earth (as converted to fantasy d20).

[aaronil]

Hey Spike, I have two questions about True Sorcery.

I'm trying to design a challenge system for True20 powers (take a penalty to X, get a bonus to Y). I could just have each challenge increase the Difficulty, but I'd like to give an adept more options, like the ability to increase/lower fatigue save, area of effect, range, and the like. However, I keep looking for the "Golden Ratio" between these things.

First question, should I stop trying to reinvent the wheel and just wait till True Sorcery comes out in June/July? Does it allow an adept to alter a spell's parameters on the fly? I am assuming it does.

Second question, can I use the True20 powers in place of the True Sorcery talents and still benefit from True Sorcery?

Cheers,

Aaron

[Spike Y Jones]

I'm trying to design a challenge system for True20 powers (take a penalty to X, get a bonus to Y). I could just have each challenge increase the Difficulty, but I'd like to give an adept more options, like the ability to increase/lower fatigue save, area of effect, range, and the like. However, I keep looking for the "Golden Ratio" between these things.

First question, should I stop trying to reinvent the wheel and just wait till True Sorcery comes out in June/July? Does it allow an adept to alter a spell's parameters on the fly? I am assuming it does.

True Sorcery allows you to change spell parameters like range and area of effect on the fly. Increasing a spell's power automatically increases its drain on you, but you can also (on the fly) do some things to help reduce that, like adding extra spell components to the casting.

Second question, can I use the True20 powers in place of the True Sorcery talents and still benefit from True Sorcery?

Now that would be a question for the designer.

Spike Y Jones, not the designer of True Sorcery

[Spike Y Jones]

How does "True Sorcery" compare to Elements of Magic*?

Thank you,
Zapp

*) Now I'm referring to the skill-using variant called Mythic Earth (as converted to fantasy d20).

And that would be another question for the designer.

Spike Y Jones, wondering if the designer is hanging out somewhere around here

[Nikchick]

Spike Y Jones, wondering if the designer is hanging out somewhere around here

We're making him work on other projects.

[RJS]

Is there any way to limit how a talent works for a particular character?

Generally speaking, the effects described under each Spell are at their minimum effect, being more or less restricted already. While not spelled out in the rules as written, if you feel like restricting the base effects further, treat the spell as if it were one Magnitude lower (reducing the base DC by 5).

[RJS]

Another question:

Does True Sorcery still depend on a Magic Use skill, or is it now based on Adept level?

I put a bullet in the head of Magic Use and replaced it with Spellcraft. In Steve's True20 adaptaptation, the spellcaster uses Spellcraft instead of adept level.

[RJS]

I have a few questions-- the first one is, how many differences are there between this sysem and it's basis from the Black Company book?

True Sorcery is more or less the same system but I went through and examined all the augmentations, nipping and tucking where necessary. Overcomplications like Aptitude went away in favor of streamlining the system (CT = Spell DC - Spellcraft). Plus, there are sample spell effects for every spell. Rules for Taint and True Names were retained, though they are now in Appendices. There are other bits and pieces, but the final version is far stronger.

[RJS]

Is there any information on how much (if any) of the material will be accessible under the Open Gaming License?

Pretty much all of it.

[RJS]

Hmm, so how is this different from the Arcana in BR? Now, I admit I don't have Blue Rose yet, they're on their way. And I recognize the fatiguing effect, but I don't know if BR has more fixed effects than the ability to modify spells like True Sorcery does.

Well, there are some similarities to the Blue Rose system, since both have their roots (more or less) in the Psychic's Handbook, but the key difference is customization. True Sorcery provides a slew of spells and the means to blend them to create new effects.

[RJS]

How does "True Sorcery" compare to Elements of Magic*?

Thank you,
Zapp

*) Now I'm referring to the skill-using variant called Mythic Earth (as converted to fantasy d20).

I'm sorry, but I don't know. I don't have Elements of Magic.

[RJS]

Second question, can I use the True20 powers in place of the True Sorcery talents and still benefit from True Sorcery?

Yeah, probably. You'll need to massage some numbers, but I think you could.

[RJS]

We're making him work on other projects.

Yeah, my fellow Ronins keep me busy. Why, I haven't seen sunlight in three weeks

[Steve Kenson]

Why, I haven't seen sunlight in three weeks

But you told us the sunlight burns...

[Soul]

Any chance on getting a bit more info on the Iron Heroes intergration?

[aaronil]

Second question, can I use the True20 powers in place of the True Sorcery talents and still benefit from True Sorcery?

Yeah, probably. You'll need to massage some numbers, but I think you could.

Good to know, thanks. I too would like to know about the Iron Heroes integration. I'm guessing it introduces many of the effects as Talent Challenges?

[RJS]

The Iron Heroes appendix provides a variant Arcanist class. The idea here is to provide an alternate magic system to the one in the IH book. Magnitude increases based on character level. Spell Energy becomes Mana Tokens, which are accumulated like the tokens of other classes. We retained the Aspects of Power, but jiggered them a bit to make them more equal in terms of power. There's more, but this is off the top of my head.

[Soul]

Any chance of seeing some previews up on the GR site before its release?

[RJS]

Have we failed you in providing previews before? You bet.