|
| Piedragemas is part of the
Validus Familiaritas archetype. |
|
GM
Notes on Piedragemas
|
| Piedragemas (PAY-drah-GEH-moss) is a type of
Arcane Magic that uses Gemstones as Foci for various flatly
defined and organized Magical effects. |
| Casting Model |
| Piedragemasi is a form of "Familiarity
Casting", where in there is a set list of Magic abilities and a character
buys a Familiarity with each Magic ability they wish to be able to use. |
| GEMSTONE LORE |
| All Piedragemasi have a Power
Skill called "Gemstone Lore", which is EGO Based. This Power
Skill is used to learn new Powers and also serves as a
combination Knowledge Skill and Professional Skill for
Piedragemas if necessary. |
|
8- |
1 |
|
11- |
3 |
|
13- |
7 |
|
15- |
11 |
|
17- |
15 |
|
| The adjoining chart illustrates
relative skill levels by Gemstone Lore roll, and the cost for
each level. The associated titles don't have any actual literal
meaning; they are merely meant to be illustrative. |
|
|
Gemstone Lore: Power Skill (EGO based)
|
|
Real Cost: 3 points |
|
A Piedragemasi can also opt to instead buy a separate Gemstone Lore
Power Skill per type of Gemstone, such as
Ruby Lore (Power; EGO Based). A Piedragemasi gains a flat +2
Bonus to their Power Skill if it applies to only a single Gemstone.
However, the Power Skill must still be EGO Based.
|
|
This option might prove to be more economical to a Practitioner that
only intends to use one or two types of Gemstones, but is generally
inefficient for practitioners that intend to have a broader mastery. |
|
Ruby Lore: Power Skill (EGO based)
|
|
Real Cost: 3 points |
| GEMSTONES AND POWER
FAMILIARITIES |
| There are a number of Gemstones (listed
below), and by default each Gemstone contains five Powers. Two
of the Gemstone Powers are "Basic" and have no more than 15
Active Points, while two are "Advanced" versions of the Basic
Powers with up to 30 Active Points, and finally each Gemstone
has a Signature Power with between 31 and 45 Active Points. |
|
|
| Instead of paying the Real Cost of Gemstone
Powers, Piedragemasi instead take Familiarities with the Powers granted by
various Gemstones. This Familiarity allows them to use the relevant Power as
if it were a Power on their Character Sheet. |
| Familiarity with a Basic Power costs 2
points, and a Familiarity with an Advanced Power costs 3 points. When a
character has both Basic and both Advanced Powers for a given Gemstone, they
gain access to the Signature Power of that Gemstone for free. |
| EXAMPLE: Gordaan Vreeahl has the
Basic and Advanced Inertia Field, as well as the Basic and Advanced Trap
Familiarites of the Amber set. This cost him 10 Character Points. Because he
has all four Basic and Advanced Abilities for the Amber set, Gordaan has the
ability to use the Signature Stasis Field ability from the Amber set for
free. |
| THEMATIC RELEVANCE |
| Since the Piedragemasi are only paying a
few points for Familiarities instead of the Real Cost of their Powers they
could quickly get out of hand if not tightly limited. Thus the list of
Powers available is deliberately extremely restricted. A Piedragemasi can
only take the Powers specifically listed for their Gemstones, which is to
say that players cannot just write up any given Power, pay a couple points
for a Familiarity with it, call it "Gemstone SFX" and start using it. |
| ADVANCED POWERS |
| To buy a Familiarity with an Advanced
Gemstone Power a character must already have the applicable Basic Gemstone
Power. |
| EXAMPLE: To take the Advanced
Blast Familiarity from the Ruby set, Gordaan Vreeahl must first take the
Basic Blast Familiarity. |
| AVAILABILITY |
| It is possible for some Gemstone sets to
not be available or commonly known in some areas, or perhaps at all in a
given Campaign setting. In all cases check with the GM ahead of time to
determine what Gemstones are available to a given Piedragemasi. |
| SPECIAL
POWERS |
| For higher powered campaigns GM's might
allow a player to design thematically appropriate Power Constructs that
are more powerful or different from the common set of Piedragemasi
Powers and pay the Real Cost for them directly. If allowed, these
abilities should each be appropriate to one of the Gemstone sets that
the player has all the Familiarities for. |
| The normal Real Cost for such Special
Powers is paid for by the Character, and these Special Powers have the
same SFX as a normal Gemstone Power. Because the Character must pay the
normal Real Cost, there is no Skill Roll or other obstacle required for
them to learn the new Special Power (unless the GM chooses to impose
one), and they do not need to take a Familiarity for the Power. |
| However Special Powers are still
restricted by the Gemstone Power design requirements (below); such
Powers exist outside the structure of the Gemstone Familiarity schema,
but not the Power mechanics. The only exception to this is that
such abilities may take RSR: Gemstone Lore if the player wishes (or the
GM insists). |
| The impact of the cost in Character
Points should be sufficient to keep this sort of expansiveness under
control in most cases, but GM's are recommended to monitor the practice
for potential abuse. |
| EXAMPLE: Gordaan Vreeahl
has mastered the Ruby Set, but would like a more powerful Blast Power. The
GM allows Gordaan to make a more powerful version with Autofire and more
dice of effect, but Gordaan must pay the full Real Cost of the Power rather
than simply take a Familiarity with it. |
|
Gordaan Vreeahl's Personalized Ruby Bolts: EB 9d6 (vs. ED),
Autofire (3 shots; +1/4) (56 Active Points); Extra Time (Extra Segment, -1/2),
OIF (Ruby; -1/2), Requires A Gemstone Skill Roll (-1/2), Concentration (1/2 DCV;
-1/4); |
|
Real Cost: 20 points [6 END] |
| Restrictions |
| There are a number of
restrictions which apply to this type of Magic Use, as follows. |
| SET LIST OF SET POWERS |
| This type of Magic has a set list of
predefined Powers, called "Gemstone Powers". Further each Gemstone
set has specific Powers
available to it, and the list is closed. |
| ACTIVE POINT LIMITS |
| Basic Powers have a maximum of 15 Active
Points, Advanced Powers are between 16 to 30 Active Points, and Signature Powers are between 31 and 45 Active Points. |
| SPECIAL EFFECTS (SFX) |
| Gemstone Powers have the SFX of Arcane, Magic,
Piedragemas, and whatever Gemstone set a Power originates from. These
mandatory SFX cannot be altered by any means, including Variable Special
Effects.
|
| These various SFX are interacted with as normal for the
HERO System; thus a Magic User of another System casting a Spell that
Dispels Arcane Magic could affect Piedragemas Powers. Similarly, if such a
caster had a "Detect Ruby" Spell they might detect a Piedragemasi using a
Ruby Gemstone Power with a good PER check for their Detect, while a "Detect
Piedragemas Magic" Spell would easily detect a Piedragemasi currently using
a Gemstone Power.
|
| Unlike some other Magic Systems, the actual initiator of
a Gemstone Power does not have much of a "mystic signature" with their Magic
use. The Gemstone Lore Powers are very homogenous and generic in this
regard. To detect and recognize the "signature" of a specific Piedragemasi
after the fact would require an appropriate PER check to be made by five or
more. |
| NOTE: The Ruby Gemstone Power of Advanced
Blasts is always Magic, always
Arcane, always a Piedragemas Power, and always from the
Ruby set. |
|
REQUIRED/FORBIDDEN MODIFIERS |
|
Piedragemas Spell Design Restrictions |
- No Power may be on Charges
- No Conscious
Control and Independent may not be taken on any Power
- All Powers must either cost END by default or take the "Costs END"
Limitation
- Powers may take Reduced END
- Powers may take "Costs END Only to Activate" where
allowed by the rules normally
- All Costs END only to Activate Powers must have a defined termination,
expressed either as a duration or a specific and reasonably common event
- Powers must require a Focus to be used
- These FOCI must be Obvious
- Since any Gemstone of the Appropriate type will do
for a Focus, the Focus must be Inaccessible.
- The Focus must consist of a Gemstone of the type
appropriate to the Power set; thus all Ruby Powers must require OIF: Ruby
- Powers must have a minimum of -1 in Limitations
- No Power can Require a Skill Roll to be cast.
- A Spell may Require an additional Skill Roll to take effect
- such as a Spell requiring a
Persuasion skill roll
|
| COSTS ENDURANCE |
| The single greatest restriction on this Magic System is
that all Spells must cost Endurance to activate. This
serves to restrict the frequency of Magic Use over a short term period, such
as combat scenes. It also prevents or discourages certain Power Constructs
from being used by Piedragemasi due to mechanical conflicts or
inefficiency. |
|
ENDURANCE RESERVES |
| A Piedragemasi explicitly may not
have Endurance Reserves for their Gemstone Powers. |
| MINIMUM LIMITATIONS |
| All Gemstone Powers must have Limitations totaling to a
minimum of -1 (preferably exactly -1), and must cost Endurance to activate or use. Gemstone Powers that
grant Characteristic bonuses
(if any) must take No Figured
Characteristics. |
| All Gemstone Powers must take OIF:
(Appropriate Gemstone). This counts as part of the mandatory -1 in
Limitations. Thus Powers in the Ruby set must take OIF: Ruby, and Powers in
the Diamond set must take OIF: Diamond. |
| SPECIALIST PIEDRAGEMASI |
| Piedragemasi do not have a concept of "Specializing" in
a formal sense, but some Piedragemasi focus on one Gemstone and could be
said to be "Specialists" in a literal sense. |
| ARMOR |
| Practitioners of Piedragemas can use Armor
and suffer no real penalties for doing so (other than non-proficiency
penalties if applicable). |
|
Creating New Magic Items |
| Piedragemasi have a simple form of
Magic Item creation; they can "charge" gemstones with relevant Powers
from the appropriate Gemstone Power set. Thus a Ruby could be Charged with Powers from
the Ruby set, and so on. A Piedragemasi may only do this for Gemstone sets
that they have completed; thus to "charge" an Opal a Piedragemasi must have
all the Familiarities from the Opal set. Such Magic Items are always Ephemeral (Non-Recoverable
Charge Based), and are called "Charge Stones". |
| CHARGE STONES |
| To create a Charge Stone, a
Piedragemasi must meditate with the Gemstone to be "charged" for a number of
hours equal to the normal Real Cost of the Power being enchanted into the
Gemstone. This time does not have to be uninterrupted, but the GM should
assess an additional skill roll penalty for excessively fragmented
meditation. |
| At the end of this period of
meditation the Piedragemasi makes a Gemstone Lore Skill roll at -1/10 Active
Points in the Power being added. If successful the Gemstone has been
"Charged" and is ready for use by the Piedragemasi. |
| Obviously, the Piedragemasi must have
an actual Gemstone of the appropriate type to enchant in this fashion. By
default any gem of the appropriate type will do regardless of quality, but
some GM's might prefer a more finely grained approach requiring a gem of a
certain cost and or size. Using all of the Charges does not expend an
enchanted gem so the same gem could be used repeatedly, holding different
Powers from the same Gemstone set each time if desired. |
| ALTERING POWERS |
|
The Gemstone Powers must be used as is with only two
exceptions. First, Non-Recoverable Charges must be added to the Power; in some
cases this may necessitate the removal of Reduced END or Costs END Only To
Activate Advantages. Secondly,
Trigger may be added to a Power in any configuration for this purpose only.
|
|
NOTE: It is typical for Piedragemasi producing such
items for sale to set a Trigger to work when ever a special "word" is uttered so
that whomever they sell it to can use the item. |
| EXAMPLE:
Gordaan Vreeahl has the entire Sapphire Gemstone set and wishes to make a
Charged Stone containing the Sapphire Advanced Force Shield Power. He wants
this particular Charged Stone to have 125 uses and for each use to last
about 5 minutes -- log enough to get out of an altercation if necessary. |
| Gordaan plans to
sell the item for a tidy profit so he sets the Shield to work on a Command
Word type trigger. |
| The final result
mechanically is a 30 Active Point, 9 Real Cost construct. It will take
Gordaan 9 hours of meditation, followed by a Gemstone Lore Skill Roll with
a -3 penalty to successfully "Charge" the Gemstone. Also, Gordaan must have
a Sapphire to Charge; no other type of Gemstone will work to hold a Power
from the Sapphire set. |
|
Sapphire Advanced Force Shield Charge Stone: Sapphire Advanced
Force Shield: Force Field (10 PD/10 ED), Hardened (+1/4), Trigger (Command Word;
+1/4) (30 Active Points); 125 Charges which Never Recover (-1 1/4), OIF
(Sapphire; -1/2), Extra Time (Delayed Phase, -1/4), Concentration (1/2 DCV;
-1/4); |
|
Real Cost: 9 |
|
Recommended Monetary Cost: 270 xc |