How To Model: Magic adversely affected by cold iron

[jml]

Hello,

 

I want to have a system of magic where magic is adversely affected by the proximity of cold iron.

 

Now, the effect could either be increased END cost, or some sort of drain, or increased difficulty. I haven't really decided yet.

 

What I don't know is how to model the very fact of cold iron's influence. Should magicians take a Disad? Should it be a Limitation on spells? Should it have any point cost impact at all?

 

Thanks,

jml

[McCoy]

Re: How To Model: Magic adversely affected by cold iron

 

Hello,

 

I want to have a system of magic where magic is adversely affected by the proximity of cold iron.

 

Now, the effect could either be increased END cost, or some sort of drain, or increased difficulty. I haven't really decided yet.

 

What I don't know is how to model the very fact of cold iron's influence. Should magicians take a Disad? Should it be a Limitation on spells? Should it have any point cost impact at all?

 

Thanks,

jml

I would suggest all spell Require Skill Roll, and that cold iron has a change enviroment attached that gives negative levles to the skill roll. If PC's are buying iron armor or shields to ward offf enemy spells, they should have to pay for the change environment.

[lensman]

Re: How To Model: Magic adversely affected by cold iron

 

It seems you could break down the effects to three areas.

 

One is the use of Magic in the presence of Cold Iron. This could be a Environmnetal Effect that depending on th eamount of cold iron present, could act as -'s to any Magic Skill roll.

Mages might buy PSL's for there Magic skill vrs. just Cold Iron effects or a GM not disallow anyone to buy such PSLs.

For MAgic effects such as Enchantments or Magic Items such an environment could act as a Suppress.

 

Two is the personal area of a mage and exposure to cold iron. Like Armor or manacles, or bracers Clearly Mages will not be wearing cold iron of their own volition. A Gm might just use weight of any cold iron present and say for ecvery 1 kg. there is a -5 to MAgic skill rolls or perhaps an effect for casting. An example is 2 d6 NND for every 10 Active points of Magic attempted.

 

Third is the use of cold iron against the mage. Here cold iron may take the shape of a weapon, Armor or sheild. IN this case you might also afix a bonus based on kg. and say evry KG. is 10 pts. of effect vrs. Magic, So Armor has extra DEF's Shields have +'s top DCV vrs. Magic and Weapons do extra DC's or Ap vrs, magic defenses.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: How To Model: Magic adversely affected by cold iron

 

The effect I'm thinking here is that Cold Iron inhibits or perhaps, absorbs Magical Energies, correct?

 

In which case, being in the presence of a large quantity of Cold Iron (or having some small amount on one's person) would provide penalties to the basic Magic Skill rolls as others have suggested.

 

Cold Iron could be used as a storage medium to hide the auras of magical items and creatures and could be used as manacles and cages to prevent mages from casting spells, in which case I would use the Cold Iron as a 0End Suppress vs any Magical SFX same time. Thus any mage spells and/or Power Framework would be reduced or shut off completely when put in a cold iron cage and significantly reduced when fitted with Cold Iron manacles (probably with a Cold Iron mask to prevent them from using Incantations and Power Words etc) My suggestion would be 2D6 Suppress per 1Kg of Cold Iron material. Thus 6Kg worth of manacles would produce a 12D6 suppress. A cage with 10Kg of Cold Iron bars would produce a 20D6 Suppress.

 

I'm also assuming here that Cold Iron is extremely difficult to produce and incredibly expensive as well....

[Curufea]

Re: How To Model: Magic adversely affected by cold iron

 

Any disadvantage that effects everyone equally, shouldn't cost points - just like Normal Characteristic Maxima in an heroic setting. IMHO.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: How To Model: Magic adversely affected by cold iron

 

Any disadvantage that effects everyone equally' date=' shouldn't cost points - just like Normal Characteristic Maxima in an heroic setting. IMHO.[/quote']

 

Of course it wouldn't cost points.

 

when I said "expensive" I was talking about monetary expenditures in the campaign attempting to aquire the material....

[Curufea]

Re: How To Model: Magic adversely affected by cold iron

 

The original myths of cold iron come from the dark ages - where mining for iron was actually difficult, and anything made of metal was a rarer commodity than these days...

 

However - some fantasy settings make up for the iron surplus in fantasy, by defining Cold Iron as Meteoric Iron (ie iron ore from meteors).

 

It really depends on how much you want it to effect everyday life.

[Markdoc]

Re: How To Model: Magic adversely affected by cold iron

 

Have look here:

 

http://www.geocities.com/markdoc.geo/Gaming_stuff/Grimoire/magic_systems.htm#On%20Stranger%20Tides

 

It's not precisely what you asked for, but you could easily enough steal from it what you do need.

 

Cheers, Mark

[Old Man]

Re: How To Model: Magic adversely affected by cold iron

 

I would suggest all spell Require Skill Roll' date=' and that cold iron has a change enviroment attached that gives negative levles to the skill roll. If PC's are buying iron armor or shields to ward offf enemy spells, they should have to pay for the change environment.[/quote']

 

Ooh, that's elegant, I like it

[Ndreare]

Re: How To Model: Magic adversely affected by cold iron

 

I would suggest all spell Require Skill Roll' date=' and that cold iron has a change enviroment attached that gives negative levles to the skill roll. If PC's are buying iron armor or shields to ward offf enemy spells, they should have to pay for the change environment.[/quote']

 

A Lttle over complicated for some one to carry a Sword?

 

I know I have used this very weekness (based off of irish lore) in my games and I always called it "Iron Weekness" -1/2. Then I woulked out the penalty.

 

Let me give an example.

Jareck wants to be a Mage

Tommy Wants to be a Thief

 

Is it fare that tommy have to pay extra points to compensate for Jeracks extra power? I say no. Instead this is either a feature of Jeracks power or a weekness of it either way Jerack should be the one breaking even or not at all.

 

If there were no mages in the group would the players have to pay Extra points for their steel swords?

[Trencher]

Re: How To Model: Magic adversely affected by cold iron

 

A Lttle over complicated for some one to carry a Sword?

I agree with this.

 

 

If there were no mages in the group would the players have to pay Extra points for their steel swords?

Cold iron swords are very poor compared to steel swords.

But since cold iron has an adverse effect on magic then it could be more effective than steel sword sometimes.

A steel sword is +1 ocv and has 1t6+1 HKA.

While a cold iron sword could be +0 ocv and be 1t6-1 with a couple of dice of continuous drain magic.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: How To Model: Magic adversely affected by cold iron

 

There are a dozen or more ways to do this, but the most important consideration is what kind of Magic System(s) you are using in your game. Please post back with more details?

 

 

However, in a general sense:

 

Universal effects generally shouldnt cost points to any character -- if it's part of the operating assumptions of the setting, then it's just a background environmental effect like drowning or falling. You don't mechanically define what causes someone to fall or drown -- gravity and a need for oxygen are assumptions for settings where they apply -- instead you just define what the effects of falling or drowning are. Similarly you can state that Cold Iron Disruption is an assumption of the setting, and define what effect that has in simple, scaled terms.

 

For example, you might say that the disrupting effects of Cold Iron are in direct correlation to it's quantity and proximity. Next, you need to determine how to measure this negative effect, and this will vary based upon how your Magic System(s) work. For instance, if your Magic System(s) require skill rolls, you could obviously rate the effect as penalties based upon amount of Cold Iron present, and how close it is. If your Magic System(s) require END expenditure, then you could rate it in therms of ever-increasing END multiples. If your Magic System requires extra time, you could rate it in terms of ever-increasing hops up the Time Chart.

 

Alternately you could measure the effect as more of a triggered effect, perhaps as a DRAIN vs a particular Characteristic affecting any person using Magic in the presense of Cold Iron. You could "borrow" the mechanic of Susceptibility or Side Effect, or blend both together. You could also decide to go "flat" on the Drain, applying a longer FADE rate rather than more dice of effect.

 

Another option would be to simply have Cold Iron work as an AoE Suppress on all Magic Simultaneously, but personal experience has proven to me that broad Suppresses (and more complicated Drains) are usually more of a bookkeeping annoyance than it's worth. It's a good mechanical model, but it slows the game down.

 

Maybe the blanket effect of Cold Iron is a conglomerate effect, ensuring that it nerfs multiple Magic Systems that are mechanically very different -- and in fact that interaction might further be a nuance affecting the pros and cons of rival Magic Systems -- maybe System A is generally stronger than System B, but the effect of Cold Iron on System B is significantly milder, giving it a situational pro.

 

And so on. There are a lot of different cool and flavorful thing you can do with this sort of "ground rule" or operating assumption.

 

 

Hope this helps....

[jml]

Re: How To Model: Magic adversely affected by cold iron

 

Thanks very much for the cool ideas guys. I've figured out my own take, based on your collective advice, and submit it here for review and feedback.

 

(The "On Stranger Tides" stuff sounds very cool, if only for having magic and pirates in the same setting.)

 

The magic system (working title "Uncanny Astrology") has spells bought individually, with a Required Magic skill roll per arcana. There are other magics in the world, but cold iron affects only this one kind, which gains its powers from the stars.

 

Excerpt:

For some reason, not understood by the wise, it is more difficult to work magic in the presence of wrought iron or forged steel. The closer a magician is to a large body of iron, the more difficult it is to cast his spells. Some say this is because iron is the dust to which the stars return. Others claim iron spends its life hidden from the stars in the earth and, though mined and wrought, still seeks to hide from them.

 

By constant exposure and diligent practice, some magicians are able to become better at performing magic around iron.

 

Magicians have adopted the elven habit of referring to all worked iron and steel as "cold iron".

 

Difficult Around Cold Iron (-1/2): A magician in a hex with between 10kg and 100kg of wrought iron takes a -4 penalty to his Magic roll. Every hex of distance decreases that penalty by 1. For every extra 100kg or part thereof, the penalty increases by 1. Every additional large body of worked iron "in range" increases the penalty by 1. Wearing steel armor makes the task even more difficult for the magician, and imposes an additional -2 penalty. Magicians may buy PSLs to offset this penalty.

[Supreme]

Re: How To Model: Magic adversely affected by cold iron

 

...the effect could either be increased END cost...

Anyone buying a spell with reduced END, must do so through a naked advantage which has the "not in proximity to cold iron" limitation applied. Also, anyone with an END reserve could have a "not in proximity to cold iron" limitation applied to either the REC or the END.