* Max Spell EL Variant Home Brew Rule Information Over the last 20 odd years my personal table game group has tweaked their characters once their stats reach the highest points. After 2 decades clearly some characters would be at the highest attributes and stats. Some have requested over the last 2 decades tweaks to max ELs as a bonus for mastery of that spell. We have worked on this verbal rule for years and have had no real issues other than one abusing the special variant with slight abuse. So it seems a fair system as a bonus for the hard work. Because this has been mainly a verbal rule nothing has ever been documented in a file or paper. This is the first time it has been documented. As a result it may be slightly different from the verbal system we have worked on over the years. The points below are not set in stone. I have been known to haggle with a player on the points based on the tweak and the spell itself. Obviously lower level spells will get cheaper haggles to lower points while spells that kill outright with tweaks to make them even more deadly will need the full points. These points are mostly arbitrary and subject to change. But is only a general rule. 1) Max EL notes Most Max ELs in spells are limited in their numbers. Here are some average stats assuming basic random numbers without racial mods: Low Stat: 8 Average: 40 Highest: 80 Best: 100 Rare: 150+ Best being the very highest with some toys and mods that help out. In theory rare cases like Supernatural attributes and toys could allow a Prime State to be 150+. If we use the same comparison for MEL then we come up with: Low Stat: 1 Average: 5 Highest: 20 Rare: 20+ Most start out with MEL 5 on average. By a few years of play it is easy to be MEL 10. But it slows down after that. Based on that the Max EL effects are: Low Stat: 1 Average: 5 Highest: 10 Best: 10 Rare: 17+ For most players the max EL tends to be around 10. There can be EL11/12 spells but those are more rare. Even more rare in that is higher than EL12. In my 20 odd years I've seen only 1 or 2 characters with higher than EL12 spells. 2) Spell Mechanics Every spell has the basic following attributes: Duration, Range, Casting Cost, Casting Speed, Base Mana Cost and Other Effect. 3) Spell Max EL Bonus As a reward for reaching a MAX Spell EL we have come up with the ability to tweak the spell. This reflects the ability of the wizard to learn from his mastery of the spell. He could come up with new mechanics and rites of it. Even though a person may get to the highest EL he can he still learns from the spell by earning MEP. Even if one never gets expertise the ability to improve the spell should still be there. When you reach the MAX El of a spell and there is no clear indication it will not improve even after CPs and Attributes are changed then let me know if you wish to tweak that spell. To prevent someone abusing this rule there are limits of realism to the bonus. To help this we have come up with a points type system. Since many will reach EL10 before they actually get to the max EL then this can be considered the First Bonus. This bonus should be figured out first. If the EL will go up from attribute changes and still has growth then it will be the First Bonus. If it will not grow then it will be the Final Bonus. 4) The First Bonus The First Bonus will allow you to tweak or buy a special for the spell. The points to buy these tweaks are from either 1) Expertise or 2) Current MEP. If from expertise of the spell this comes from a pool you can collect. If this is what you want to be pooled then you need to let me know any expertise will be set for that point once the EL is reached The First Bonus is paid out once. You select which bonus you wish and which sub effect. You only get one selection from the below list. Unless stated otherwise. The points are paid out of any pooled Expertise of that spell or Current MEP. If Current MEP then you lose those points and so it is advised that if you wish to pool those points that it be kept separate for purposes of MEL advancement so stats don't have to be redone later. Common examples are as follows: Duration - Expertise MEP Improve x2 400 500 Improve x3 500 750 Improve x4 750 900 Improve x5 1000 1000 Add Factor per phase + 50 + 50 Add Factor per turn +100 +200 Add Factor per minute +200 +400 Add Factor per hours +500 +500 Add Factor per days +750 +750 Change Factor up 1 1500 1500 Important: If the spell duration is for a spell that does injury in some fashion then the points above are paid at 1.5 the cost. If it is a non injury spell then it is x1 the cost. No Duration 2000 2000 Improve: Improve time by factor above. Example (EL+1)x5 Minutes. A improve 3 would be for this spell ((EL+1)x5)x3 minutes making it triple long. Add factor: Per points paid (one time payment get the added time effect. This one time payment is done from the one bonus. So if you get the First bonus and you want to spend 300 of expertise or experience you can. Rather than one bonus this Add Factor allows you to spend what you wish up to a max of 1000 points from the Expertise/Experience you wish to pay. For example a spell might have EL+1 phases. If you wish to pay out 300 experience for your First bonus then you can increase it by 6 phases. So it would be EL+7 phases. Same goes for each factor from phases to days accordingly. Change Factor allows you to upgrade the time factor by one. So phase would turn into Turn. Turn would turn into Minute and so on as follows: Phase to Turn Turn to Minute Minute to Hour Hour to Days Days to Months No Duration allows you to remove the duration. This has to be approved and fit the spell. Some spells like healing spells now have no duration. So it may be needed that the spell will have no duration for the purpose. If approved it could mean a Light spell would have no duration until dispelled or other spell effects it. to balance this though if you remove the duration of this spell then your using it at full concentration. This means other actions may be limited by this full concentration. Example: A Wizard has EL10 in Fireball spell. He wishes to to change the duration which is 2 phases by default. He pays for his First bonus in Add Factor for minute paying 300 expertise from his collected Fireball pool. This changes duration from 2 phases to 22 phases making it a powerful spell now. Range - Expertise MEP Improve x2 250 300 Improve x3 500 500 Improve x4 750 750 Improve x5 1000 1000 Important: If the spell duration is for a spell that does injury in some fashion then the points above are paid at 1.5 the cost. If it is a non injury spell then it is x1 the cost. Example: A wizard wishes to tweak his Luck spell at EL10 to improve range by a factor of x. To improve it to x3 will cost 500 points. So it goes from EL+1" to (EL+1")x3. Damage - Expertise MEP Improve x2 500 500 Improve x3 750 750 Improve x4 1000 1000 Improve x5 1500 1500 Add Special 2000 2000 Important: If spell doesn't do damage then this doesn't make the spell suddenly do damage. So this tweak is only for spells that supply damage. Add Special - The player may wish to add some special effect to the existing damage. For example while a Fire Arrow does basic fire damage the player may wish to add electrical effect as well for metal. The effect and any possible added damage will have to be haggled over with the GM. All requests are within realism and reason. Example: A wizard gets to eL10 in Fire Arrow. He pays 750 for x3 to damage. It will go from 1d6+EL to (1d6+EL)x3. So a EL10 FA would do 33-48 points of damage! Other Effect: Expertise MEP Add effect Varies Varies Change effect Varies Varies Important: Must be realistic and within reason of the spell for this new tweak to be applied. For example to tweak a light spell into giving you the effect of Flight will likely not be approved or be awfully expensive. These other effects include Inclusions and the like. This covers the ability to add a new effect to the spell or change an existing effect. It will be up to the GM to determine a cost if any. In fact some effects maybe free for the tweak while others may be expensive. Example: A Wizard gets to EL10 Abandon and wishes to tweak the spell. He decides to change the effect of the spell to control the direction those are fled in and to slow their PMR to 25% instead of 50%. The GM decides this is worth 300 points. But the player also considers adding an effect so that all weapons are dropped immediately and person becomes less aware. The GM decides this is only worth 150 points. Base Mana Cost (BMC) - Expertise MEP Decrease by 1 (X*50)+100 (X+50)+100 Decrease by 2 (X*50)+300 (X+50)+300 Decrease by 3 (X*50)+500 (X+50)+500 Where X is the current BMC. Example: A Druid wishes to change his Wisdom from a BMC 8 to BMC 6 for faster and cheaper casting. This will cost him (8*50)+300= 700 points. But a fighter mage wishes to change a BMC 2 down to 1. This will cost him only 200 points. Casting Speed: Expertise MEP Increase by 10% 400 400 Increase by 25% 800 800 Increase by 50% 1000 1000 Other increase Varies Varies Example: A wizard can cast 8 mana in one phase for this spell. He wishes to increase this speed by 25%. So he can now cast 12 mana points for this one spell only. So if the cost is 10 without the tweak it would take 2 phases but with the tweak it would take 1 phase. Casting Cost: Expertise MEP Decrease by 10% 500 500 Decrease by 25% 750 750 Decrease by 50% 1000 1000 Other Decrease Varies Varies Example: A Music spell costs 12 to cast. The wizard wishes to tweak the spell by decreasing it to 50% so he pays the 1000 mep. It now only costs him 6 to cast the spell. Experience - Expertise MEP Other Effect Varies Varies Important: This is not MEP experience. This allows the caster to learn more experience merits from the spell than might gain from simple better ways to cast the spell. For example from a Code/Decode spell of a different language he may gain some minor experience in that language even if he can't read it. It may be residue effect from the spell. Alignment Change - Expertise MEP Alignment Change Varies Varies In the rare case where a spell is better to use in a different alingment than it currently is this tweak can be done. For example some shamans have to pay triple the cost for another alignment spell. If the wizard makes the spell the other alignment then the x3 cost doesn't apply. This is not a free tweak and likely will cost some expensive points. It will be up to the GM to decide if this is possible and the points. It must follow within the mythos and realism of the P&P universe. For example to change Death Powers from Chaos to Law would be extremely expensive and would be looked at by the gods as some rare act. It might cause the player to obtain a tracer for the gods to watch. But a spell like Neutral Charisma might only be a cheap tweak and the gods would not care if this was done. Abysmal Failures - Expertise MEP 1 Free Check 750 1000 Reduce by 5 200 200 Reduce by 10 400 400 Reduce by 20 500 500 Divine Chance Varies Varies 1 Free Check: Player can have a Abysmal re-rolled if it occurs once more. This is allowed once per month of game time only. It is a Get-out-of-Abysmal card basically. Reduce by X: Reduce the dice effect for abysmal by the number above. This is done once per week of game time. divine Chance: In my roll a roll of 100 can always lead to a possible Abysmal after a new roll is made. This reflects the gods wishing the spell to fail. Even if you have a -50 to the roll already this is possible. To pay for this could be expensive and cause a god or two to notice. But once paid the chance of a always possible Abysmal will be removed. Example: A MEL6 wizard has a 3% chance of abysmal basic with no mods. He decides to pay 200 points to reduce it to almost nil. So a roll of 100 becomes 95 always for this spell, effect and duration above. Caster Centric Effect: Expertise MEP Spell Effect Varies Varies Some spells require the caster to cast the spell only or for the spell to be cast upon himself only. While others allow caster and a target. This tweak can allow the spell to be changed. It will be up to the GM and player to haggle over this effect within reason and realism. Example: A Spell says it can only be done on the caster himself and no one else. A wizard decides to pay the cost after haggling of 750 point. The spell can now be cast upon a person other than the caster. Materials: Expertise MEP Material Effect Varies Varies Some spells require things like blood, hair or plants or such materials to cast. This tweak allows the spell to slightly change that within realism. It is up to the GM and player to haggle over the details. Example: A tracking spell requires blood. A player offers to pay 1500 MEP if he can track a person without blood. The GM decides this is a good price and the person must be known. If not known then the casting cost is twice normal. Combo Bonus Expertise MEP Bonus Effect Varies Varies This allows you to combine two tweaks if the cost and GM allows it. Important: All considerations will be up to the GM to decide. Example: A wizard wishes to change Duration x2 of his Fire Resistance and add the ability to cool himself from fire so sweating doesn't occur. The cost for duration tweak is 400. The cost the GM for other is 200. So the total is 600 and the GM allows it. Other Stuff: Expertise MEP Other Effect Varies Varies Something that is not decided above to tweak. It is up to the player to figure out and the GM to approve. 5) When does the Tweak apply: This depends on the tweak and spell. Some tweaks may be constant while others have a frequency use. Some may require that you cast at Max el while others can be done any spell EL. The GM will work with you to decide which applies for the tweak you wish. Example: A spell tweak to add duration has been approved for constant and any spell EL. But a fireball that improved the damage x3 has been approved only for casting at EL5 and above and once a day only. If the fireball is cast at EL1 then the damage is normal even with his tweak. But the same damage for a Fire Wall might be cast at any EL spell. It will be up to how abusive the effect is. 6) First Bonus Typically a First Bonus is awarded at EL10 for most people. But this is not always the case. The following rule of thumb is used: BMC EL for First Bonus 1-5 10 6-10 11 11-15 12 16-20 13 Higher BMC spells get more expertise so increase in EL faster. This is why the EL tends to be higher for First Bonus to balance it off. Either the EL above or the Maximum normal EL defines the First bonus. If the EL above is reached then you are awarded a chance for the First Bonus. But if your basic attributes and such define the Max EL and you reach it then you can also get the First which in this case would likely be the Final Bonus. 7) Second Bonus If you were given a First bonus and the spell can still go higher before you reach your normal Max EL then you are eligible for a Second or more Bonuses. Per EL above the EL above for First bonus you get a core chance of (Max EL*5)%. If the roll is good then you can get another bonus. This can be a Second, Third, and so on Bonus up to the point the EL reaches the normal Max EL. Example: A First Bonus was given to a wizard at EL10. The spell reaches EL11 and his Max formula says EL12 will be the last level. He is allowed a chance for a Second bonus. This is a core 60% chance roll under a D100. 8) Final Bonus A final bonus is typically the last bonus when the Max EL is reached. But a First Bonus can be a Final Bonus. If the First is the Final bonus the player is eligible for a special consideration on the tweak of his choice. Since this would be his/her only chance at a tweak he may want it extra special. The GM will keep this in mind for such cases of approval. 9) Restrictions and Terms: All values and rules are subject to GM approval. A. All expertise and MEP point payments are final once done. No refunds or changes. B. Points from Expertise can be done from a Pool or from current expertise. If Pool it is a one time reduction assuming the pool is that amount. If Current then the spell will be reduced accordingly. This can reduce the EL of the spell down in fact. This has only been done rarely and not recommended generally. C. Experience: Experience is taken from Current or Pool. The Pool must be the amount of payment to qualify. If from Current MEP then MEL could be adjusted backwards if such a reduction causes the MEL to go lower. D. MEP is taken from trained areas. Innate MEP pools can't be used for this purpose. E. If for some reason the Max EL shows the spell EL to be below 8 then there is no chance for a bonus. So if a low level MEL1 guy with awful stats shows his max EL is 3 then he simply will not be able to get a bonus. This is only for EL9 and above spells that the gods begin to see as masters in those spells. F. First and Other Bonuses are subject to abuse. If the player in question has been abusive in the tweaks in the past then the GM will act to balance such abuse. Examples would be to tweak 5 spells that cause damage by x5 in a row. That is getting a bit overkill and the gods may deem that edging on seeking to be a god and deal with it by sending Avatars to offer deals or "deal" with the player. While "abuse" is a relative term need only ask the GM what might be considered if you have a plan in mind for future spells. F. Consideration for approval is subject to several factors. If you have 50 plus spells then a powerful tweak might be less a chance while a light tweak would. But if you have only 10 spells then if you wanted 10 powerful tweaks that might be fine as well. Another factor the GM decides for approval is how the spell was improved over time. If over general use spread over years then approval will come quicker. But spells that have only been cast in a library for 3 months straight to simply go up in ELs will get less consideration from the gods for this tweak. G. Natural Magicians: In theory some NMUs can get to EL20 in some spells. It is possible. As a result tweak for these people may be reduced for balance sake. These players may have to be judged what their First Bonus will be by the GM. H. These tweaks are a reward for mastery not a certain bonus. Some tweaks can be denied by the gods. This especially implies the gods are scared said person will challenge their own goddom power by wanting to be them. This is where the Mythos comes into place. The gods do not like to be challenged. If a player suddenly becomes EL20 in Hand of Death and tweaks his spells to add even nastier area effects then the Death Gods will see that as a personal affront. They either may send a Avatar to ask the player to become their personal Host on the Middle World to show how powerful they are OR send the avatar to threaten/kill the player for wanting to usurp them. Who would worship a death god if one is next door? I. Pooled MEP will have to be from THAT spell you wish to get the tweak from. If you plan to tweak Luck but get MEP from Might then it will be invalid. However if you do wish to bend this rule then a ratio of 2:1 is paid. For every 2 mep from other spells you can pool 1 into the planned tweaked spell pool. 10) Steps for Bonuses Step 1: If you see a spell approach EL10 check if the spell is near Max EL. If it will go beyond that then you can get a First Bonus. If it will be the Max EL then you will get a Final Bonus. Keep track of your spell ELs once they generally become EL9. Step 2: If you decide to tweak the spells ask the GM how much the tweak and effects of that tweak be. Basically outline the plan to the GM first. Step 3: Once the plan is defined and points are known if such apply then let the GM know if you wish to Pool or will use the points from Current Expertise/MEP. If pooled a separate amount will be placed on the sheet. Step 4: Once the points are earned and paid then the spell will be tweaked. The conditions and other notes will be placed on the character sheet. Step 5: When using a tweaked spell it is important to notify the GM when a tweak is used. This is for record keeping and to make sure basic v2 book 2 rules aren't applied. 11) Conclusion In conclusion this bonus rule is a variant that has worked for the local group for decades. It was a reward when spells got a bit old and redundant. Aside from Varange aka Clay there hasn't been much abuse from it. The above numbers were generic and either decreased or increased over time. Since none of the house rule was ever fully documented like this there is a chance something is missing from the document. I don't mind tweaking of spells to make it especially more efficient. We all know some BMCs and Formula are insane. Should be phases not minutes or should allow more X from the spell than Y. This is why it is done. So have fun and remember adding pretty lights as a spell tweak is free but adding a super weapon effect to a spell will be expensive. Updated: 8/17/2010