Tabletop Games Thread

[Dragos Bee]

No Chronicles of Darkness/New World of Darkness 2e in the poll choices?

[Deathhappens]

I was reading a D&D crossover fic where Shirou got portal'd to Exandria (from Critical Role) via Grail Shenanigans, and while the standard problems of characterization popped up (and made me quit it), the author did something that in retrospect was kind of boring: the author contrived an excuse to remove Shirou's Circuits in order to lock away his access to UBW and thus force him to use the standard D&D Vancian magic.

I had issues with that because it just made Shirou another D&D wizard instead of being a stranger in a strange land, magically as well as metaphysically, but it got me wondering:

Are there advantages to having Circuits vs D&D's Vancian style spellcasting?

I ask this because Bludflag pointed out something: I understand D&D spellcasting for wizards essentially being that they prepare spells, store them in spell slots, and when they use up a spell, they have to wait till the next day (or after 8 hours of rest in 5th Edition) before they re-memorize them again from their spellbooks.

Considering Circuits can store information like memories, blueprints, etc, would Circuits possibly be of interest to D&D wizards if they ever learned how they worked?

Like could they get around some of the memorizing and storage issues with spells D&D wizards have?

How spellcasting works in D&D varies by edition, by the type of spell (Arcane/Divine/other) and by DM fiat, but overall I'm pretty sure a TMverse magus wouldn't be able to use any of it.

[warellis]

How spellcasting works in D&D varies by edition, by the type of spell (Arcane/Divine/other) and by DM fiat, but overall I'm pretty sure a TMverse magus wouldn't be able to use any of it.

Well could a D&Dverse magus use Circuits then you think? Could they be bred into children there then?

[Deathhappens]

Magic in D&D generally comes from tapping into extraplanar sources (The Weave for arcane casters, their deities for divine casters, patrons for warlocks, etc). Psionics are inherent, but also not really "magic". By contrast, T-M magic is about manipulating an energy source (mana) either inside your body (Od) or outside in the world (Prana).Circuits just make the process more efficient and boost your "internal storage". Someone in the D&D world might be able to use prana (assuming there is any) to cast already existing arcane spells, but they wouldn't be a Vancian-style wizard anymore.

As for casting T-M style magecraft, remember that the "formulas" used by magi are engraved into the world. So they would either have to recreate an entire magecraft paradigm from scratch to use any of it.

[warellis]

T-M style magecraft is merely an MP system that taps into environmental mana or the wielder's own lifenforce, to utilize as magical energy to power spells.

I guess the closest equivalent in D&D would be psionics or that Spheres of Power thing.

[SpoonyViking]

Random bit of trivia, but the Weave is mostly specific to Faerun. Other worlds have their own systems - which usually end up as exactly the same, at least functionally if not conceptually. Also, the Weave shouldn't be considered extraplanar; it's more like another layer to the world. I imagine any TM spell that taps into mana would tap into the Weave instead (and thus be subject to all of its rules).

As for the magic system of Dying Earth, if I understand it correctly (I haven't read the original anthology yet, only some of the Cugel short stories), while humans were limited to the memorisation of complex "mathemagical" formulae (which isn't that different from how TM magic works outside of the "fire and forget" concept), I wonder if the sandestins don't tap into some sort of magical reservoir - internal or external - to power their feats?

In any case, outside of fringe abilities like Reality Marbles and such, a TM magus would probably be limited to abilities that rely only on running magical energy - I doubt any of their Thaumaturgical Foundations would still exist in other worlds. (Even things like rune magic: Odin in Mystara isn't "our" Odin, after all.)

[Deathhappens]

Random bit of trivia, but the Weave is mostly specific to Faerun. Other worlds have their own systems - which usually end up as exactly the same, at least functionally if not conceptually. Also, the Weave shouldn't be considered extraplanar; it's more like another layer to the world. I imagine any TM spell that taps into mana would tap into the Weave instead (and thus be subject to all of its rules).

As for the magic system of Dying Earth, if I understand it correctly (I haven't read the original anthology yet, only some of the Cugel short stories), while humans were limited to the memorisation of complex "mathemagical" formulae (which isn't that different from how TM magic works outside of the "fire and forget" concept), I wonder if the sandestins don't tap into some sort of magical reservoir - internal or external - to power their feats?

In any case, outside of fringe abilities like Reality Marbles and such, a TM magus would probably be limited to abilities that rely only on running magical energy - I doubt any of their Thaumaturgical Foundations would still exist in other worlds. (Even things like rune magic: Odin in Mystara isn't "our" Odin, after all.)

"

I know the Weave and the assorted lore about Mystra 2.0/Spellplague/Time of Troubles are Faerûn-specific, but AFAIK no other setting actually explains where magic comes from (I think in Dragonlance the moons empower it, or at least affect it?) so I just went for the known quantity.
And I'll have to disagree, the Weave is definitely extraplanar. It's not a plane you can visit in and of itself but the very fact that anti-magic fields exist (and that someone can be "cut off" from it in a number of ways) means it's not really a natural sort of power, imo. Which tracks with the way almost every other caster gets their power, anyway.

[warellis]

Magic in D&D generally comes from tapping into extraplanar sources (The Weave for arcane casters, their deities for divine casters, patrons for warlocks, etc). Psionics are inherent, but also not really "magic". By contrast, T-M magic is about manipulating an energy source (mana) either inside your body (Od) or outside in the world (Prana).Circuits just make the process more efficient and boost your "internal storage". Someone in the D&D world might be able to use prana (assuming there is any) to cast already existing arcane spells, but they wouldn't be a Vancian-style wizard anymore.

As for casting T-M style magecraft, remember that the "formulas" used by magi are engraved into the world. So they would either have to recreate an entire magecraft paradigm from scratch to use any of it.

I'm not talking about casting T-M style magecraft.

I'm asking whether D&D wizards could possibly get Circuits bred into them.

I'm also asking if the information storage aspect of Circuits could be utilized to get around certain RAW aspects of D&D that are often supported in narrative (like wizards being able to only cast a number of spells per day).

[Deathhappens]

I mean, maybe? Lore is intentionally fairly vague on how exactly the mechanical restrictions on wizards and other prepared casters work out in practice, so it could work if you want it to.

- - - Updated - - -

In fact, from what I recall, at least one edition had preparing spells work as though you "cast" the majority of a spell while preparing it at the start of the day and then when you actually cast it you essentially just complete the ritual/say the activation word. That's pretty much exactly how the spells "stored" in magi circuits work, iirc.

[Dragos Bee]

Question: Are the Clock Tower similar in any way to the Seers of the Throne in Mage: The Awakening? I've been told multiple times they are not, but I could use a full summary of the differences between them...

[warellis]

Would GURPS be able to model T-M magic stuff well? Or is T-M stuff generally too "conceptual" or high powered for that?

[Ideofago]

i mean it's tabletop rpg man, if it's too conceptual for the battle system just fucking roleplay it

[Five_X]

GURPS can do anything, you could model Shokugeki no Soma with it if you wanted to. But I haven't found it a very fun system to actually play when you finish making a character and sit down at the table.

[Mattias]

IIRC High Level magic is always conceptual stuff. You get generic stuff like Teleports and One Big Explosion in whatever flavour you prefer, but the rest are all stuff like sealing away concepts from reality.

[SpoonyViking]

Would GURPS be able to model T-M magic stuff well? Or is T-M stuff generally too "conceptual" or high powered for that?

Did you think of GURPS just because it's a generic system? I might recommend HERO System instead, or even a more super-hero-centric game.

[Dragos Bee]

What about Fate Core or Accelerated? Or Cortex Prime? Or BESM (Big Eyes Small Mouth)?

[warellis]

Did you think of GURPS just because it's a generic system? I might recommend HERO System instead, or even a more super-hero-centric game.

Mostly that and I've seen it praised for how fiddly you can build characters or concepts in it.

[SpoonyViking]

Haven't played GURPS since its 3rd Edition, but kind of? I'd still rec HERO System for that; it's pretty much a clear case of "the same, but better".

[Herod]

Hero System is Lego, GURPS is Playmobil.

[warellis]

Hero System is Lego, GURPS is Playmobil.

Does Hero System allow forngrewter customization?