Sarah Darkmagic posted about rituals in D&D 4th Edition, which is in response to a discussion around post on NeoGrognard (which is really cool, by the way).
Of interest in Sarah’s post is the topic of ritual currency. That is to say, the rules as written essentially penalize the ritualist by taking from their share of the loot to convert it into the material components required for casting rituals. One thing that a lot people seem to like is using healing surges for this (I am of this school or thought), because despite healing being in the name, surges are perceived as and are being reworked into a kind of energy expenditure. I think it is a good idea.
A really good idea, in fact. So good that I am using something similar in Nexia RPG.
The basic idea is that all powers and abilities are their own tiered ladder, in which character points can be spent on. A quick example is that a spell like Fireball would have a requisite to buy the first level, in this case Fire Mastery level 3. The Fire Mastery level determines the damage it does, while the Fireball level determines the range and area-of-effect. So, a first level Fireball, with just the requisite met, would do 3d6 damage, and would have a range of 10 and area 1 (using similar mechanics from D&D 4e’s grid system).
The point cost for these powers are the same for the level you are buying, so it is 1 point for first level, 2 for second level, and so on. In the above example, it would cost 7 points to learn that fireball spell (you do the math).
That is all just background (and will probably be tweaked) to explain how something like a healing surge is used in spells, and more on topic, rituals. Because Nexia RPG is based on video games and anime, I wanted to have a pool of points to draw on to power abilities.
However, I think that hit points are already a difficult number to keep track of, and to have two similar pools to track on paper is just silly, especially given that “mana” will almost always be static amounts (as opposed to HP, which is randomized subtractions).
So instead I created a much smaller pool to draw from, that was easy to manage by the player, and also creates one of the mini-games in the RPG. Again, this isn’t set in stone yet, but let’s say that everyone starts with two points of mana. These power everything from a magic bolt to a vicious sword attack to a particularly focused arrow strike. A lot of powers will draw on this pool of energy, but it will of particular interest to the magi and clergy in the party.
Each character will by default have a couple of values that affect their mana pool: max capacity and refresh. Mages will be able to start with an additional unit of mana, so they will have three. It will likely be in their interest to increase their mana refresh as well, since that is how much they get back when the spend an action to do so. This works out something like this: I cast a spell that requires 3 mana, it resolves, and then I use my second action to refresh, which gives me 2 mana. On my next turn, if I want to cast that same spell, I will have to refresh again, but I will only get 1 mana for it, and I will be empty at the end of the turn.
There are a lot of factors that allow for a player to customize how their character uses their pool. This also carries over into rituals.
When creating the mechanics for Nexia, I have these two categories they fall under: narrative and technical. They are basically whether it can be best expressed with someone describing what is going on (narrating to the gaming group) or by rolling dice (which brings all the math in). For rituals, I wanted them to be narrative, as long as they were technically valid. So, if a character wants to cast a ritual to hide their camp, they will need some ability that fits the bill, have a copy of or have spent the time creating the ritual, and being able to narrate the ritual being cast. Most of the time this will be worked out with the GM, and it will either just work, have some obvious (to the ritualist) material component that may or may not be expensive, or it may have a mana expenditure involved.
That last bit, if required, actually determines how long the ritual takes to complete. For instance, a very low level mage could try to cast a very high level ritual, say as part of their training, or in an emergency (“This portal spell will take us back to my master’s tower!”). They can cast it, but depending on how much mana is involved, it may take a while. It is requires 20 mana to cast, and they have a max of three, there is going to be a lot of narrating, or even more exciting, an intense 7 rounds of combat (refresh, expend, repeat), while hopefully they are protected enough to open said portal.
I’ve always liked the idea of healing surges, though it was difficult to use as an alternative currency, since it is tied to constitution in addition to class. I can’t find a compelling reason why dwarven earthmages should be more successful at powering rituals or spells than a dedicated human or elf. The core mechanic still favors healing over other uses, and I doubt they can rewrite it without many players feeling “nerfed”.
But at least the bloggers are talking about it. That is where the game will be saved. 