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Learning spells

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 6:14 am
by Maxus
How do you guys handle spell learning?

I use the untutored spell learning otional rule and find that it works pretty well, although I have a few questions on how other GM's handle the whole spell learning process. More specifically, learning from a Grimoires and the time it takes.

Read Write magic says that a talent roll per page is required when reading magical text and I am certain that it is written in one of the ED books that a spell usually takes up as many pages as its circle. So I have a few questions.

1) How long does it take to learn a spell?

2) Does the caster have to read and understand each page seperatly (As many successful rolls as the circle of the spell) before being able to learn a spell?

3) How long does it take to complete a reading of one page of magical script?

The reason for these questions is for better handling of spell learning during downtime. If a character wishes to train, trade, and learn spells during a 7 day downtime period, I want to be sure that I am giving them a fair stab at the things they want to do without allowing to much to happen. A caster with 3 recovery tests can attempt 4 spell learning tests per day (1 default plus sacrifice his 3 recovery tests for three more attempts.) but how long do they take?

If a caster wants make 4 spell learning rolls and then train up two talents in one day, how much of the day does the spell learning take up. For example, a caster roll 4 read write magic tests first thing in the morning and then spend 16 hours increasing 2 talents. How many more hours did the spell learning take?

With read/write magic as a standard action there is confusion over how long spell learning actually takes.

Re: Learning spells

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 2:53 pm
by slayride
As per the book, it is a standard action with one Read/Write Magic Test versus the Spell's Learning Difficulty.

1) one round per each page of the spell or magical writing, Standard Action per the rules. Generally making one test for the entire book, scroll, etc. is more efficient on session time than doing each page. This goes into tedious territory requiring individual page rolls. Especially when the actual understanding of the text is interpreted by the Result Level.

2) One Read/Write Magic Test to try and learn the spell regardless of the number of pages. This one is hard coded, since you only get one Test, and one for every Recovery Test you sacrifice, you can only make one Test per spell learning attempt.

3) one round, Standard Action per the rules.

In the rules, learning a spell doesn't take a significant amount of time, so a magician could easily attempt to learn 4 spells and meditate twice.

This isn't by the book or canon:

In my Barsaive, reading magical runes and texts is a standard action for one page, sustained for each additional page (so 2 pages would be a sustained (2) action). Learning a new spell, reading it and transcribing it into your grimoire is an extended sustained action though, with the amount of time it takes as one hour per Circle of the spell (so one hour for a First Circle spell). This means that a character could easily learn 4 spells of Novice Circle (1-4 hours each), 3 spells of Journeyman Circle (5-8 hours each, and may have to sleep the next day to recover), 2 spells of Warden Circle (9-12 hours, and also would have to sleep the next day to Recover), 1 spell of Master Circles (13-15 hours) in a day. This also makes it such that it cuts into their meditation time however. To me, this was the compromise solution, the method per the book makes it too easy to learn 4 spells in a day from a captured magician's grimoire, and greatly increase their spells. In this case I am using the silver/legend point cost optional rules because it is too fast to learn in my opinion. The time factor makes it fair, since the magician has to sacrifice time for spells that''ll reduce their time to advance in their Discipline. Personally its a matter of taste, since I don't want the Player Character magicians in my game to have the uber grimoire with all spells in it. This is okay for the adept Game Master Characters, since having all spells possible makes it easier for the Game Master to choose the spell load out they want, but the grimoire they have should probably only include the spells they actually used in combat, summons they had made, or traps they created to keep from giving the magicians too many spell options.