[PnP] Elf Shot questions

Albert Sales drite_mi at yahoo.com
Mon May 12 13:42:13 CEST 2008


And I thought my rules were harsh.
   
  Yes, this has stirred a hornets nest.  The Fatal Spear notation is what initally made me wonder about exact parameters and other limitations.  However, PnP is wonderful in how lethal it can potentially be.  
     As to the number of bows that could be crafted, I set no limits on that.  I did use my (personally added) Will drain for any permanent magic.  Pretty much, each bow would cost 3 Will Power, and every two arrows would cost one more from the crafter.  This way, you wouldn't see "Elf-shot fletchers" making dozens of bows.  (A recap for that; I apply 25% of the mana cost of ANY permanent spell to be deducted from current Will.) 
     I required the person firing the Elfshot to have the spell at the level used.  This makes perfect sense to me.  The only way around this was to ensorcell the item with elf-shot.  This would allow anyone to use the bow and arrows with no mana or need to know the spell.  It also costs the creator a lot more to produce.  As a side note here, I would allow a dedicated bow to be given a mana battery of up to Permanent MEL x 6 Mana for use in the elf-shot, which would also take (Permanent EL x 2) off the success roll and increase the effective casting speed by (Permanent MEL/2 :  The mana from the battery).  It was more than a wand, but less than a staff, when thus ensorcelled.  
     The denotation of the success rolls IS indeed clearly stated.  The house-rule to roll this at the shot was adopted at my players' request.  I had also attempted a "margin tracking" idea that worked quite well.  The mana expenditure (ie, allocating the spell) isn't addressed directly.  The dedication must be done, but the mana at usage is unmentioned, and, in my opinion, fair.  The invested mana could even be viewed as -invested- in the sense that the bow and arrows hold onto it.  And, if they are ever used for any other purpose, the mana is lost.  When the mana is consumed, a new dedication is needed.  Each shot would be able to take from the arrows and/or bow. 
     Fatal spear states that it follows the same parameters, but also states that "if the spell works..." which implies that it might not.  One mention that was given to me is that the spear and the arrows could be "target specific".  I didn't like that idea for elf-shot, but seems logical for fatal spear.  Still, I never used that ruling.  
   
     Elf-shot is a BMC 1 spell.  At a higher cost, it would not be so much of an issue, but it is cheap to learn, advance, and cast.  To grant it a no-further cost permanent one-shot neutralization on most targets is a bit much.  At BMC 4, Fatal Spear is quite potent.  If it is permanently reusable without extra cost, it is too powerful, imho.  If it expends itself at use or must be re-allocated for each use (preferably with a success roll), it is not overpowered compared to other spells.  I love the high lethality potential in the game, but a "no defense" situation is quite severe.  An elvish retriever with elf-shot bow and arrows should not be taken lightly; they WILL get their mark.  With the house-rules, they will need to take a little longer and be a little more cautious (Hide un-noticed in the woods, wait for a decent range while allocating as much mana as they need to, fire from position with aim and ambush, and score an almost guaranteed severe or deadly).  Without
 the house rules, it becomes far more lethal, and thus less of an art.  Also, Fatal Spear would become a true terror (and, how can you use it for anything but the spell if it always operates?).  
     I had actually either ment to bring this up or did bring this up some time ago.  This spell has a lot of factors to consider in it.  In this discussion, I feel that I stirred the hornets nest, as I added these factors back in after the basic description was defined.  I love seeing everyone's take on it.  This is the essence of this type of group.  I hope that everyone is enjoying the discussion on it; I know I am.  It is interesting that this "simple spell" has risen as much of a topic as the "multiple professions" questions.

"Paul L. Ming" <pming at northwestel.net> wrote:
  Hiya.

Well, it's never come up in my group. Personally, I'd probably adapt a 
rule from my own RPG sytem. Basically, any 'permanent magic spell' (not 
just making a magic Ring of Flying, but making any item that 'has magic 
in it until released'; potions, for example) require MP expenditure. 
There are mutliple ways of doing it in my system, but the one I'd apply 
here is the "MP used for the spell is 'gone' until that spell is used. 
The mage *does NOT* regenerate it. That mana from his personal aura has 
been placed into an item...he no longer has access to it.". So, a mage 
who makes a bow and 5 arrows for Elf Shot, would be 'out' a total of 35 
Mana until the arrows and bow are 'used up'. For the bow, as soon as it 
shoots a non-elf-shot arrow. So if our mage had a total Mana score of 
100, he would only be able to cast 65 per day...as long as the bow and 5 
arrows still had the Elf Shot on them.

This would likely cut down a LOT of magic users just sitting there all 
day, for weeks on end, making arrows for their king...or party of 
adventurers. :)

Paul L. Ming

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