Creating Advanced MAGIC Characters for ICRPG

I go over how to make Advanced MAGIC characters from both ICRPG Master Edition and the original ICRPG MAGIC book. Both are great options to elevate magic users to a whole new level with a lot of tasty bits. Highly recommend building one out some time and throwing them into a game now and then.
SOFTCOVER Index Card RPG Master Edition by Runehammer Games
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HARDCOVER Index Card RPG Master Edition by Runehammer Games
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FREE ICRPG Quickstart
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ICRPG MAGIC
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Artwork by Hankerin Ferinale
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[@eriksalholm]

Hi Kane. I recently discovered your channel when I decided to convert my group’s upcoming campaign to ICRPG. I really appreciate the effort you put in to make everything so clear and accessible. Your videos have been really helpful for me to get to grips with the system. Thank you.

[@Effacez]

Nice! This was really confusing for me and my players a while back when we're trying to make magic users. Wish we had this vid back then! 😄

[@KanesKiln]

Glad it helped! Sounds like it's time to revisit the advanced MAGIC characters and have an all mages adventures :D

[@monomakes]

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[@KanesKiln]

My pleasure. Hopefully it helps with a few questions about advanced magic characters.

[@lilcwa]

Fantastic video! I use almost all of the rules and guidelines for arcane spellcasting in the Magic expansion to Core 2.0 except for spell types and having three (3) starting spells. I don’t have my Mages specialize or keep track of mastery by type, as it adds a lot of bookkeeping, even though it also adds a lot of thematically and mechanical flavor. I’m old-school, so I have Mage characters start with one spell (which is open to choice but usually winds up being Arcane Missile). Spell POWER level, spell cost in HP, and the Mercurial Failure table are all crucial to differentiating and running arcane magic at my table. I think what I’ve cherry-picked provides a nice balance between playability and sophistication.

[@fchrisb804]

Yeah, I think this is why they consolidated Spell Types to 3. This is a lot easier to manage but I did like Core 2e's MAGIC Classes and the fact that they started with access to only certain spells.

[@KanesKiln]

Oooh you definitely did pull the tasty bits to include. I also really like mixing the two methods because I do think Master Edition refined a lot, but I still prefer some of the original. The two that I definitely enjoy including is the Spell Cost in HP (that's just such a juicy concept I can't let it go and it plays really well into Recovery actions) and the Acquisition of spells. I think those make great hooks for mages to seek after and for how I can include them in my games.

[@micahgreen409]

@@KanesKiln When you run with casting from HP, do you keep the costs at 2, 4, 6, and 8? Or do you run it with 1, 4, 9, and 16? I don't have any dedicated Mages in my games yet, we're all figuring out the basics. But my Thief did recently aquire some spell scrolls....

[@KanesKiln]

I guess it would depend on who I'm playing with, but the Master Edition version tends to be a little simpler so I go with that. The Math of running Spell Level X Spell Power can be a little tricky. As for your thief picking up some spell scrolls, I would probably recommend just sticking with the basic spell casting system of Roll to Cast and wait to implement the advanced Magic system until after you're comfortable with the system overall. So whatever spell scroll your thief picked up, just have them roll INT/WIS depending (most likely INT) and if they beat the target, let them cast the spell.

[@lilcwa]

@@micahgreen409 At my own table, casting POWER level is fully multiplicative; if a Mage casts a Level 2 spell at POWER 3 (for triple damage, let’s say), that character takes a 6 HP hit as the casting cost. To me, this makes the unlimited roll-to-cast mechanics of ICRPG a lot more tactical. And the Mage sticks closer to that Priest! 😉

[@fchrisb804]

Hey Kane, do a video on Advanced Characters some time, if you can? I really like that you included 2e and ME... because there are still a lot of people still playing 2e or using 2e for some things. Great Job!

[@KanesKiln]

Sure thing! I'll make a plan to do that for the next character build video I do. Thank you for letting me know :D

[@KanesKiln]

Hey! I hope that stream was helpful and answered a few questions. I saw you dropped a question at the last second and just wanted to let you know that the forums are a great place to get ideas pr suggestions on custom paths. If you have other questions feel to reach out directly there and we can chat! forums.runehammer.online/

[@fchrisb804]

@@KanesKiln Yep, I'm on there. I think some on there have the attitude that everyone should just 'get' the ICRPG Style or Method and don't appreciate that some of us have been playing very structured games and this is all 'new' for GMs and Players. That said, I have seen some Races up there and those examples are helpful.

[@samchafin4623]

Had no idea the old MAGIC supplement was so different. I need to check that out a little more closely.

[@KanesKiln]

It definitely was unique when compared with the rest of CORE, but ME did bring it much closer to the rest of ICRPG so it's pretty easy to plug in and out of games as needed.

[@jcraigwilliams70]

18:09 I don't know if the intent of Spell Mastery is that the *multiplier* becomes one (IE casting at Power 3 would be 3 X 1 points instead of 3 X 2), but since it says "regardless of level, I take that to mean a Level 1 spell cast at Power 1 costs one point, while a Level 4 spell cast at Power 4 also costs 1 point.

[@KanesKiln]

That's how I would read the Type Mastery section in ME as well (pg. 319). Whether it is a Level 4 cast or a level 1 cast, it's 1 SP per cast.

[@TheTYMONGER]

Dammit Kane now I am going to have to give up my wanting to only make my Priest using the list of spells to try this out.

[@KanesKiln]

Haha sorry, but I'm telling you the advanced MAGIC characters can be a lot of fun so try it eventually ;)

[@sethhanson5771]

Thanks for the video. When you explain SP for advanced magic you state each spell costs 2 SP x spell power level. So a 1st level spell cast at 4 power level would be 8 SP. So a 2nd level spell cast with a power level of 1 would be 4 SP or if cast with a power level of 4 it would be 16 SP ((2 SP x spell level) x spell power) ? Thanks

[@KanesKiln]

I apologize if I screwed this up, but here's how I understand it from the Master Edition version of MAGIC: - Each spell in the advanced magic section has a Level (1-4). This "level" doesn't affect the cost to cast. It impacts more what's available to you, like it mentions you should learn three level 1 spells before learning a level 2 spell. I didn't really cover this in the video because I was just talking about character creation which is all level 1 spells - Each spell in the advanced magic section can be cast at 1 of 4 levels of Power. This 'power' level multiplies the effect of the spell and adjusts the cost. Any spell cast at power 1 costs 2 SP. Any spell cast at power 4 costs 8 SP. In essences it's 2 SP X POWER I think it gets a little confusing because the original version of MAGIC included the level of the spell and the power in the total cost. Hope that makes sense.

[@sethhanson5771]

@@KanesKiln Yes that at least explains the intent of the rules. For my game I'll just have to add a mechanic to add more SP. It just feels like there should be a higher cost per spell level. Something like - *2nd level are 3 SP, *3rd 4 SP and *4th 5 SP, which would make a 4th level spell at power level 4 cost 20 SP rather than 8

[@colerape]

Is Master and 2E the same thing as far as rules go? I know Master has core rules and adds some Worlds books. Does it change rules from 2E?

[@KanesKiln]

For the most part yes. The core system doesn't change a whole ton between the two. Some things that are different are like how characters are created to include some abilities, the advanced MAGIC system got an overhaul to be more inline with other settings, and Gun effort was included to bump Magic effort up to a d10. Overall though, both systems woke perfectly well and are compatible with each other. I did do a side by side flip through of the two versions if you're curious: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKu9iZ1qrs19pLM

[@colerape]

So I've done my research. Now I'm really confused. Master is new but pared down. Pared down to the point that I will eventually need 2E to fill in the blanks regarding the various setting primers that are in the Master Edition?

[@KanesKiln]

Master Edition is new, but I like to think of it more of the refined version, rather than being pared down. Having 2E is an excellent resource because it does fill in the blanks but it isn't required to play in the settings or play ICRPG at all. The reason for that is because Runehammer expects GMs and players to make it their own. The details are Master Edition and 2e about the different settings and worlds are super juicy but not required. It encourages that DIY mindset so if there are little details missing, you can totally change or create your own things to fill them in.

[@scottamelville]

Is there a good resource of Pre-gen Mages like these two?

[@KanesKiln]

Hmm... I haven't seen any, but I'll look around and if not, I'll try to throw a few together and then post them up on the forums!

[@scottamelville]

@@KanesKiln that would be a cool product.

[@mikemcglasson1286]

Is all magic effort still on a d10?

[@KanesKiln]

In Master Edition, Magic and Energy effort use a d10. In 2e CORE, magic was a D8.