Developer's Blog -- A pair of new spell mechanics

[Utsukushi]

Spells arc through Astral Space very much like electricity. Weaving an extra thread to connect to another target creates a second line for that energy to cross; if you just direct that line along the same path, it wouldn't have any effect, because the energy was already going that way.

That second question is interesting to me, too, though - do you have to decide how many Threads you're Weaving when you start? Let's say you want to boost the Effect, and then Target three opponents; you do the `multiple-threads-at-once' thing and pull two Threads together in the first round, but miss the roll to get the last two Threads in the second round, and meanwhile, the Warrior's dice explode and she takes out one of the people you were planning to target. Are you still committed to four Threads, or can you just cast your spell now, with the Boosted Effect and only one additional target?


Overall, this looks really awesome. I still hate the free Talents thing you're building up to handle Matrices, but this, this looks awesome.


Huh. At least at lower Circles, I've always found Illusionists to be a little OP compared to the others. One thing you talked about that I'm not sure has ever really been addressed, though, is exactly how Disbelieving attack spells works. I mean, Disbelief costs an Action and a Strain -- if you have to stand there Disbelieving every Ethereal Bolt that comes your way to avoid taking their damage, the Illusionist has effectively taken an opponent out of the fight right there, while still wearing them down. In that sense, it only seems reasonable to say that if someone has Disbelieved once, they're effectively immune to Ethereal Bolts for the rest of the battle, at least -- but if the Illusionist then hits them with a real one, does that shake their Disbelief?

[Utsukushi]

[Panda]

It would be four threads* maximum - poor Warden, so neglected.

Adding another target does not change how spellcasting fundamentally works. There are already multi-target spells - this just turns what was once a single target spell into a multiple target spell. Mind Dagger with an extra thread for an additional target works (for all intents and purposes here) just like Sleep.

Yes, you must decide the pattern you are going to weave before you start. Whatever "calculations" go into figuring out the complexities of how to make the spell go need to be figured into the whole pattern before beginning the weave. Otherwise it can easily spiral into a cheap way to get at Hold Thread without any costs.

Disbelief no longer functions how it did in previous editions. Illusions as a whole have been rebuilt (as was promised), including the attendant subsystems. They are still recognizable, even close to where they started, but the development has been focused on making them coherent and playable in game without a lot of "umm, uhhh, hrm" and explaining things away.

[Dougansf]

I like the concept. Finally a tangible reward for good Threadweaving rolls.

I wish there were more options from Extra Threads under Success Levels, but that seems like it will be on a spell-by-spell basis.

[Sundahk]

[Panda]

I cannot give specifics at this time, but it is unlikely the events would have unfolded that way. Changes were made to specifically in an attempt to prevent that sort of farcical encounter. The entire interaction/function of illusions has been addressed in a way to make circumstances such as that (and much of their larger and stranger functions) at least make sense in context. Walking the line between making Illusionists useless and making them unstoppable is remarkably tricky, but that was the goal. I would like to think that it was accomplished, but I also like to think 8-tracks will make a comeback. Nonetheless, it should be better than before.

As of right now, Disbelief is a different creature than it was previously. It's not an action and it doesn't cost Strain. At the same time, it doesn't work against everything - a spell will note if it can be Disbelieved. There are consequences for Disbelieving a spell which is not an illusion. Sensing tests are the major mechanical interaction with illusions. As above, while it might not completely make such situations go away, there are bits which make the situation with one character who stridently refuses to believe it is an illusion significantly less common. I think we have all been down the road where you have to lasso the Sky Raider and pull them through the illusory wall.

Hopefully that sheds some light without really giving anything away.

[etherial]

[Sundahk]

[Kasbak]

I have generally played loose with the rules on illusions affecting the group on the few rare occasions they have come up. If there is a minority left that hasn't made their Sensing test and someone has demonstrated to them that it is in fact an illusion, I generally just let them have it on the next roll regardless of the TN as long as it's not a rule of 1 result. Though they haven't come up this way, I of course wouldn't use this if it were a big plot point or during something too frantic for a demonstration to be made.

In any event, I'm glad to see these rules are getting a revision. I have always felt the existing illusion rules were broken in many cases, and have really just worked around them rather than with them, so most anything should be an improvement.

[Panda]

It's gratifying to know the bar for improving illusions has been set so low. Hopefully we will meet (or even exceed) those expectations.