Author Topic: Focus items for odd Sponsored Magic abilities  (Read 2137 times)

Offline exploding_brain

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Focus items for odd Sponsored Magic abilities
« on: November 17, 2010, 10:22:15 PM »
Let's say we have a caster who uses Seelie (Summer) Magic, in addition to evocation and thaumaturgy.  The caster wants to make an item that improves his Biomancy, which he can perform using the method of either thaumaturgy or evocation. Would a focus item that helps in one case be effective in the other, or would he need separate items for each method?

Offline sinker

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Re: Focus items for odd Sponsored Magic abilities
« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2010, 10:41:49 PM »
I would think that they're the same thing. Biomancy at evocation speeds is still thaumaturgy just faster.

Offline MyNinjaH8sU

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Re: Focus items for odd Sponsored Magic abilities
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2010, 10:48:55 PM »
It's actually way broader. YS defines Summer and Winter as elements for the purpose of evocation. So yo would simply have a focus that would give you a bonus to Summer Evocation Control or Power. Same for thaumaturgy, but obviously complexity or control.

Seems really good I know, but it's there in the sponsored magic section.

Offline exploding_brain

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Re: Focus items for odd Sponsored Magic abilities
« Reply #3 on: November 17, 2010, 11:01:06 PM »
So you think a character could have an item that boosts just about any evocation they do with Summer as an element, and a separate item that boosts just about anything they can do with Summer as the ritual theme, but not one that does both.

My actual conundrum is with a custom Sponsored Magic power that give my character Worldwalking with evocation's methods and speed. I'm trying to figure out how many slots I need to devote to improving my Worldwalking, both the evocation version and the ritual version.

Offline Becq

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Re: Focus items for odd Sponsored Magic abilities
« Reply #4 on: November 17, 2010, 11:02:19 PM »
The way I look at it is that Summer magic is an element of its own that overlaps with other spellcasting powers.  In your example, it's almost as if the character now knows evocation elements from two different styles of magic -- three from the 'classic' style (fire/earth/water/air/spirit) and one from the 'Fae' style (summer/winter/spring(?)/fall(?)).  In addition, the character knows a specialized 'theme' of Thaumaturgy as part of Summer magic in addition to any other themes and functions he already knows, and can cast that theme as though it was evocation.

There is some overlap in both categories.  As such, when choosing specializations or focus item, I think that "Summer Magic" is an option, which overlaps other options but does not stack.  That is, you can cast a flame attack as either a Fire element evocation, or as a Summer magic evocation, or as a Fire element evocation powered by Summer (which would generally be the most effective because it gives all of the benefits of fire and summer).  You could have a +2 fire power and a +1 summer power, but you can't use both bonuses on a spell.  Instead, you'd use the best that applies to the spell cast.  For a flame bolt spell, that could be either.  For a plant growth spell, it would have to be summer rather than fire.

As another example, if you had +2 fire power and +1 summer control, you could cast a summer-powered flame bolt using the power bonus from fire and the control bonus from summer.  (But the plant growth spell would benefit from only the summer control bonus, as before.)

I think that Summer magic is still split into Evocation and Thaumaturgy for purposes of specialization and focii.  Summer Thaum cast as an Evocation would count as an Evocation for purposes of bonuses, while ritual uses of Summer magic count as a 'Theme' within Thaum.  So if you had a bonus to a functional aspect of Thaum (like Crafting) it would give bonuses to Crafting items with Summer magic, too.  Or if you had a bonus for a Thaum theme that overlapped with Summer magic (like Biomancy), then you could use which bonus was better, so long as the effect you want is covered by both themes.

At least, that's my take.  Assuming it even makes sense to you.

Offline sinker

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Re: Focus items for odd Sponsored Magic abilities
« Reply #5 on: November 17, 2010, 11:03:57 PM »
They're both still worldwalking, which means they're both still Thaumaturgy, even though one is faster. So any bonus to thaumaturgy:worldwalking is going to help both.

Offline MyNinjaH8sU

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Re: Focus items for odd Sponsored Magic abilities
« Reply #6 on: November 18, 2010, 05:37:04 AM »
Actually, if you use Thaumaturgy with "the speed and trappings of evocation" than you are casting an evocation with new effects. You cast it just as if you were using an evocation spell. Taking the mental stress, and summoning up power with your conviction.


Unless I missed what the issue really was.