RE: RE: [spoon-discuss] Proto-prop: Aes Sedai

["Craig" <ragnarok@xxxxxxxxx>]

>could we try not cluttering up the rules with fantasy references this time,
remember that things got confusing when the rules worked counter
>intuitively to the
>way everyone thought they should because of the background?
*coughsirenscough*

How 'bout a bit of fantasy rules that makes no reference to anything? I
can't deny having inspirations; I just won't make reference to them.

I counter-proto-propose:

{{
Add a rule with the keyword "mana", titled "The Castes", with the following
text:
 {{
There will be four possible castes, Peasants, Wizards, Nobility, and
Deities. Except for the Minister of Mana, no player may be a member of more
than one caste.

A. Peasants.

Upon joining the game, a new player is of the Peasant caste. Peasants have
no special powers, but may become any caste at all.

B. Wizards.

Upon becoming a Wizard, a player must assign emself Magical Attributes
(MAs). Wizards have six points to assign to the three MAs. A Wizard may only
change caste if e has not done so during the past two nweeks.

C. Nobility.

Nobles (who may also be called Lords if male, Ladies if female, and Queen
Bees if drone) gain 10 mana every nweek. A Noble may only change caste if e
has not done so during the past two nweeks. Nobles may give away their mana.
[[Technically so can everyone else; but that is kinda the point of
Nobility - they get mana, but can't use it themselves.]]

D. Deities.

Deities have no special powers, but may act all superior and such. They are
encouraged to threaten other players with damnation, smiting, and whatnot;
this may freak out any newbies who have not yet read the rules, allowing us
all to have a good laugh at the expense of the new guy.
 }}

Add another rule with the keyword "mana", titled "Magical Attributes", with
the following text:
 {{
There are three Magical Attributes (MAs). They are Land, Sea, and Fire.

Land covers rocks and living things. Also, any effect pertaining to the Grid
requires at least level one in Land.

Sea covers water, wetness, weather, and dead things.

Fire covers burning, chaos, explosions, and all sorts of cool stuff like
that.

If a Wizard has an MA at level 1, e may sense things related to that MA. For
instance, Land at level one and Sea at level one (abbreviated "L1 S1") is
required to figure out what the weather is on the grid, if you are so
clueless as to not know. The more useful application is that first-level MAs
allow a Wizard to sense nearby spells.

Second-level MAs allow a Wizard to give the universe a vague or tiny "push."
This may be a spell to update the weather, or the creation of a candle-sized
flame.

With an MA at level three, Wizards have the power to do much larger effects.
Explosions, avalanches, rainstorms, and other such things would be
third-level effects.

At level four of a Magical Attribute, a Wizard has complete control over
whatever the thing in question is. This means setting the whole grid on
fire, burying a kingdom under seven feet of snow, or similar.
 ))

Add another rule with the keyword "mana" and the title "Magic has its Costs"
with the following text:
 {{
A Wizard must pay mana to use eir Magical Attributes. The cost of a spell
shall be computed by adding up across all three MAs how high a wizard's
skill must be to perform the action, then adding one. For instance, creating
a moist pebble would require both Land and Sea at the second level, and no
Fire at all. This means that doing so would cost five mana.

A Wizard may decide that the price on an effect is higher than e wishes. E
may spend fewer mana than the spell normally costs and roll 2dX, where X is
the number of mana the spell costs minus the number of mana the player is
spending. So the moist pebble could be cast at a cost of one mana and a roll
of 2d4. If the result is less than or equal to the normal mana cost of the
spell, then the player succeeds. If it is not, the player still spends the
mana e had meant to spend, but the spell does not work. Such a player also
gains the attribute "Poor Spellcaster" for one nweek.

Note that since Wizards don't recover their mana, they will have to get mana
by working with the nobility.
 }}

Add another rule with the keyword "mana" and the title "The Ministry of
Mana". Its text will be as follows:
 {{
There will be a Ministry called the Ministry of Mana. When a player wishes
to cast a spell, e shall describe it to the Minister, who will determine the
required Magical Attributes to cast the spell and its cost in mana. The
Minister will only inform people of the effects that they notice; spells may
thus be kept secret until they would have an effect.

The Minister of Mana will also be in charge of tracking such mundane things
as who has how much mana and what MAs.

The Minister of Mana is such a cool person that e counts as all four castes
at once. E may thus cast spells and regenerate mana. Upon leaving the
Ministry, the Minister becomes a Peasant.
 }}
}}

Questions? Comments? Complaints? Offers of cash?

 -- Teucer

"You should definitely use objective, rational means to arrive at a
considered opinion.  I recommend flipping a coin."
 -Mark Shoulson

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