Jacob/RedSpellsRedux

Goals:

• Make Red better at PvM?, and slightly worse at PvP? (and MvP?)
• Increase interactivity - make it easier for people to stop Red mages using their powers, but give red potentially greater mana-efficiency if they don't.

1-3 Firedart 1-3

Duration: instant

Range: 10 metres

Effect: Red N on the target

N.B. Firedart 4+ do not exist, that much destructive fire magic cannot be channelled that simply.

5-8 Incinerate 4-6

Duration: instant

Range: 3 metres

Effect: Red N on the target

N.B. Incinerate 1-3 do exist, but only do N damage, so they're strictly inferior to Firedart. Incinerate 7-8 do not - I think hex should be a hard cap on DD.

2,4-8: Fireball 1-6

Duration: instant

Range: self

Effect: Mass Red N-2

3,5,7: Disruption 1-3

Duration: instant

Range: self

Effect: Wide red single, double, triple.

3,5,7: Slow burn 1-3

Duration: 5 mins

Range: self/10 metres

You may throw five bolts of fire at a target. Each of these requires a 6-word verbal, and you must leave at least 10 seconds between each call and the start of the next verbal. All of these calls must be made on a single target, but the target need not be selected at the point the spell is cast. The last call must be made within 5 minutes of casting the spell. Casting this cancels any previously active “burn” spells you have up. The calls for “slow burn 1” are red nothing ignite, red half ignite, red single ignite, red double ignite, red triple ignite; slow burns 2 and 3 start at half and single and go on to quad and quin.

4,6,8: Searing/Blazing?/Incandescant? wrath

Duration: 5 minutes

Range: Self/10 metres.

For the next five minutes, you can cast firedart 1/2/3 at will for no mana, by full verbal. You cannot target more than one of these on any given person. Cancels any other “wrath” spell you have up

2: Resist Fire

Duration: 5 mins

Range: Self/touch

The target is immune to red damage for five minutes (and also to normal fire should it become relevant).

2:Ally of the flames

Duration: Inflict

Range: lay on hands

The target gains immunity to all calls including the word "Red" originating from the caster. It is is not possible for the caster to remove this spell before the duration expires (and impossible to meditate back the mana), so be careful who you cast it on... It can be purged (at level 2), though.

1-4: Flame Strike vII.a 1-4

Duration: 5 minutes

Range: One weapon

Replace one damage call with an edged weapon with "red double/triple/quad/quin".

1-4: Flame Strike vII.b 1-4

Duration: 5 seconds

Range: one weapon

Replace one damage call with an edged weapon with "red triple/quad/quin/hex".

1: Enflame arrows

Duration: 5 mins

Enflame up to 3 arrows, for +1 degree of red damage.

N.B. I reckon the existing spell could do with some love, hence lowering it one level.

3,4,6: Enflame Dagger/Sword?/Polearm?

Duration: 5 minutes

Range: One weapon

Add 1 degree of unnatural red damage to all blows landed with that weapon.

5,7,8: Blazing Dagger/Sword?/Polearm?

Duration: 5 minutes

Range: One weapon

Add 2 degrees of unnatural red damage to all blows landed with that weapon, but each time you land a blow you take a “red single” to whichever hand(s) you are wielding it in. This damage *can* be reduced, resisted, or stopped by armour, but unless you take the full damage from it you do not get to apply the damage buff, and you can choose not to apply resistances against it.

5: Fire Trident

Range: 10 m

Red triple to each of three targets.

6: Fire Harpoon

Range: 10m

Red quad to each of two targets.

3,5,7, Fireblast 1-3

Range: 10m

Red single strikedown 5 /red double strikedown 10/red triple strikedown 30

4,5; Small/large Explosion

Range: self

Mass/wide red single strikedown

4,7, Blazing aura 1-2

Range: self

Duration:5 mins

Effect: Retributive red single/double at will.

4,6,8 Scalded hands 1-3

Range: 10m

Call Red single, global disarm 5 / red double, global disarm 10 / red triple, global disarm 30

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Comments? Is something along these lines worth AGMing? --Jacob

I would be unhappy about introducing a new range type (i.e. single target 3m for Incinerate). --Felicity

I don't think that will matter at all, to be honest. It's something that everyone but the caster can and will safely ignore. It won't lead to arguments, because people won't know for sure what the effect just used on them was; it will occasionally lead to people taking calls that they were technically just out of range of, but I don't see that as a big problem. Plus, having established the precedent, it opens up a *lot* of new design-space, of a kind that adds very little complication to the system and a lot of value (3m casting forces interaction in a way that 10m doesn't). --Jacob

This is a good point. Complexity which only a small part of the playerbase have to understand has a much lower cost than complexity which everyone has to understand. On the other hand, people WILL forget, at least for a while. Refs will need to be proactive about reminding people of their spell ranges, but I don't think there is a problem otherwise. I love 3m range, it forces mages to cooperate closely with warriors if they want to get their best spells in. They can stand back and play artillery if they prefer, but they'll get less damage per second and less mana efficiency. --V

Mass Red Single is far too weak at level 3 - it's more suited to level 2. Since Mass Red Quad is definitely a level 6 spell, the progression needs a gap somewhere.

Tweaked. Given the existance of "Ally of the Flames", I'd suggest leaving double and triple on the overcosted side - my theory is that Mass may suddenly become useful. --Jacob

Slow Burn and Wrath are interesting spells tactically. I have no idea how they'd work out in play, but I'd love to see them in action.

Resist Fire is problematic since it stops us using fire-damage equipped monsters against a party with a fire mage; Ally of the Flames is a much more sound spell.

Flame Strike 1-4 are strictly better versions of an existing spell progression (Red N by weapon blow at level N) but that's not necessarily a problem - only red mages with a natural damage call of Single or higher benefit, and red is often regarded as a poor choice for Warlocks at the moment.

Blazing Weapon seems risky, balance wise - a level 3 warrior can wear 4-point plate on both arms and call RED QUAD with a bastard sword four times in a fight for no hit-point loss. Or, more egregiously, can call eight RED TRIPLES for no hit-point loss if he swaps his swords between hands mid-fight.

Blazing Aura scares me, and I really think it should be "one retributive Red Single every 5 seconds", otherwise it's just too good on a warlock.

No thoughts on Trident and Harpoon yet, I'll have a think about it and get back to you. --Valtiel

I hate ignite as a call, it's not in the call system and it's okay for applying the cantrip to people you already kind of have the attention of but I don't want to hear it across a crowded battlefield.

The reason for adding "ignite" to slow burn (and nothing else) is not that it in any way changes the target's reaction, but that it lets people know that what they are taking is a slow burn and it's going to get worse if they don't do something about it fast - I think the spell is more interesting if people are aware they're being targetted by it. Ignite certainly isn't a core part of the functionality, but it was the only way I could think of achieving that. I agree it's clumsy, though - can you suggest any other ways?--Jacob

I love the Wrath series, I have no idea how well balanced they are but it's the kind of thing I'd give all mages if I was rewriting the magic system again :-).

Resist Fire is way too powerful at its level, it's reasonable that this is in red somewhere but it should be in line with the Grey magic damage resistance spells.

We've generally tried to block / take out all the +N degrees of damage by next hit spells - while it's slightly less bad if it's only on yourself, they tend to end up in the hands of a warlock with natural triples and it all goes wrong from there, and it's just easier to pick the right level for DAMAGE CALL by next hit rather than +N by next hit.

I think the intention of the Blazing spell is that the damage is effectively THROUGH if you want the buff to stay up? I'm not sure how that works metaphysically but it is quite cool so I would like to make it work :). OTOH I enjoy big damage calls and am terrible for system balance...

I figure we could work DISARM in there somewhere? DISARM has always struck me as a very Red thing to do, especially durational disarm - 'your hands hurt too much to pick stuff up after your sword became red hot in them' just makes sense to me...

I would say that, as with fireblast, damage+disarm feels more red than disarm. I'll add some later this evening. --Jacob

Note I'm not _actually_ convinced that Red is broken enough to fix, but I'll cheerfully go through nitpicking properly and making my own pet version of this if you do intend to submit it to the OGM.

--ChessyPig

Flame strike: Argh, argh, no. Make it a 'replace', not an 'add'. The alternative gets you into hex and up very quickly. --I

Tweaked. --Jacob

Still overpowered, IMO. Brown, right now, has 'replace with BROWN Ngle' at level N. The fact that it's by-weapon is balanced against the fact that it can hit limbs, and can circumvent a lot of the magical wards. --I

I am aware of the Brown spells; my opinion is that they are notably underpowered - I had two of them as Sir George, and never once found myself in a situation where they appeared to be worth using. "N damage by blow" is effectively "+N-1 damage", which is already less cost-efficient than the "zap spells". And that's without taking into account the fact that "by blow" is interactive whereas zap isn't, so the former should be encouraged and the latter discouraged. --Jacob