Hello guys. Today I'd like to ask you about your opinion regarding raising difficulty on skill tests in general and on evocations as a special focus. It is something I have been thinking about lately, because it is something that comes up in the novels on a regular basis. Raising difficulty on skill tests is pretty well described in YW. But is it transferable to discipline rolls for evocation actions?
On several occasions Harry states that some kinds of magic are more difficult and taxing then others. Tiny Changes Spoiler ahead: Harry for example states in changes that earth magic is pretty difficult and not really his forte and that he basically can do only this one digging spell (when he hides his contraband in Leas garden).
Apparently moving earth still needs the amount of energy it would if you'd be digging with a shovel.
In my opinion this does not translate to the rules very well. In game terms what Harry did is a simple maneuver on the scene. Thats just a good effort and not nearly as difficult to pull of as Harry makes it sound. You can argue that Jim did make him say this for dramatic effect and that it shouldn't translate into the game, but then again isn't dramatic effect a large part of the game?
I bet you can come up with several more occasions where Harry claims that some sort of magic is more difficult then an other. When he says it he always make it sound like a general statement and not something that is only true for him...
I'm not inclined to changing anything in the rules. All I want to know is if somebody else is bothered by this and if there are ways other GM are handling the problem.
The books are written from his point of view, so we do not have a lot of different viewpoints. I always understood those statements as only being true for him and his understanding of magic.
Morgan for example would probably disagree, as he does quite well with earth magic, as far as we know.
I think it mostly depends on the wizard itself. If the character resembles one element better than another, the odds are good, that he is going to be better with that element than the opposite. Harry is the Wind/Fire guy, as stated in YW: "not so subtle, yet quick to anger". Morgan on the other hand is always described as rock solid, never wavering, which fits earth pretty well.
Changes spoiler: Remember Lea's comment about Harry being able to use opposite elements with such ease.
I think that this is reflected in the evocation rules pretty good. You start out with 3 of 5 elements, specialising in them before you can even think about casting anything from the other elements. Getting the other elements is in fact quite expensive, and you are never going to be great in all of them.
Maybe Harry's "earth evocations" aren't even earth evocations, but spirit evocations using brute force to create the effect he wants. That would explain, why he thinks that they are hard to do, because he has to use way more energy to create the same effect than someone with a specialisation in earth evocations would have to.
Although I had a problem creating a character. The player wanted to specialise in earth evocations, and he wanted to be able to put up walls if he was followed or create a hole in the wall to get through. I told him, those would have to be maneuvers which he could then tag. He was not satisfied with this, because he said he should be able to cut of anyone following him completely. Same with blocks, he said if he raised a wall between himself and his attacker, the attacker should not even be able to hit him. Well, he is a bit of a powergamer, borderline munchkin, so that might have been the main problem.