Bloodshadows Magic

[Kalzazz]

Anyone used the Bloodshadows Magic System?

I thought it was quite interesting, but, it seemed awfully limiting, so I wasnt sure. I wanted to try and combine it with the basic D6 Fantasy magic system to get something friendlier, but no real luck. So, I basically just steal some of it for flavor text

[Stormchild]

I don't know the D6 version of Bloodshadows, so I don't know if there are changes to the first version of Bloodshados.
Basically Bloodshadows uses the same magic system as in Torg and Masterbook with some differences though.

Building spells is easier to understand than in Torg.

Torg uses a chart that connects the knowledges with each other to get a difficulty number while Masterbook/Bloodshadows spell creation is based on the circumstances like range, casting time et al to gauge the Difficulty and Backlash using a checklist.
In Torg the spell is created like in a sentence: with which skill and which mechanism do you wish to create which effect? Then you go from skill to mechanism to effect and calculate the difficulty numbers on the way.

I had to read the Torg rules 3 times in order to understand them. In game, they are easy and versatile.

I had to read the Masterbook rules only once to understand them. In game, they are equally easy and versatile. But they are easier to use for new players as I only go through the checklist together with the player and calculate the result. When the difficulty number is too high, it is easy to change some factors and recalculate while in Torg you have to go the whole way through again (using another mechanism f.i.)

But there are differences in what I would call flavour.
In Torg you use 4 skills (alteration, divination, conjuration and apportation) in Masterbook/Bloodshadows you also have summoning (solving the problem that a summon demon spell could be either apportation as it fetches the demon from hell or conjuration as it creates a demon out of nothing but it opened a new can of worms on the way).
Added to the skill is in all 3 systems the main knowledge used to create and learn the spell (but not to cast it, which leaves room for confusion).
Masterbook/Bloodshadows also has cantrips (small spells with no hard rules and minor effect), illusionary spell (can be disbelieved) and rules for permanent spells.

Bloodshadows has got additional flavour. It divides the magic skills into different magic schools called foci. Each school has the same rules and the same skills but different roleplaying effects. Like a destruction spell based on the focus elemental and a destruction spell based on the focus necromancy. The first is done with apportation fire (carries a flame from the magician to the target), the second is done with conjuration death (conjures forth the pattern of death in the target). It is more than flavour though as the numbers (difficulty, backlash, effect etc.) are changed too.

Also Bloodshadows has the alignments chaos, order, oathbreaker chaos and oathbreaker order which have an impact on spells too.

And Bloodshadows uses a feedback chart to determine effects of feedback (backlash in Torg terms) some are rather comical some desastrous.

In my opinion (as a Torg fan) the Masterbook magic system is easier to handle though it lacks flavour but this flavour is provided with Bloodshadows. And it has another advantage. The Masterbook magic system is called SFX system as it is meant to be used with other kinds of SFX like Psionics and Miracles. In my opinion this is a boon. A GM need only learn one set of rules not 3 different (but this was heavily discussed in the Torg forum).

[The Game Guy]

Anyone used the Bloodshadows Magic System?

I thought it was quite interesting, but, it seemed awfully limiting, so I wasnt sure. I wanted to try and combine it with the basic D6 Fantasy magic system to get something friendlier, but no real luck. So, I basically just steal some of it for flavor text

I don't know. I hear a lot of people complain about D6's basic magic system saying it's not enough.

How do you prevent from one bad solution to another?

[Kalzazz]

Not enough of what? Im not sure what your asking me

[The Game Guy]

Not enough of what? Im not sure what your asking me

Truthfully I havent looked at the D6 Magic system but I have heard others complain saying that it was very basic and not as good as it could be.

I am wondering if it is full featured enough to work

[Kalzazz]

Its a little bland and the time to design rules are to restrictive I think, but overall it functions admirably

[Kalzazz]

Ah, as a note, Ive been running the new D6 with magic since it came out (fantasy first, and then my current ongoing Space Fantasy game, and while Ive made minor tweaks for the magic system, havent tweaked it near as much as say combat)

[The Game Guy]

Ah, as a note, Ive been running the new D6 with magic since it came out (fantasy first, and then my current ongoing Space Fantasy game, and while Ive made minor tweaks for the magic system, havent tweaked it near as much as say combat)

Well you would know better then me. I admit I haven't looked at the magic, I was simply going on complaints made by other people.

I would probably pick up D6 Adventure and maybe a hardcopy of D6 Space but I have no need for D6 fantasy so I probably wont ever get a chance to take a look at the magic system.

[Kalzazz]

Adventure has the magic system in it as well

Ill admit, of the books Ive bought from the new WEG (the Space Opera pdf and Adventure pdf that predated the hardshell books, the 3 main hardshells, Fantasy Critters, Adventure critters, and Bloodshadows) the only three to see much use are the two pdfs (Space Opera pdf has a nice shopping list to accompany all my SW books shopping lists, the Adventure pdf has the spellchart to use when at the PC, and the Fantasy book has spellchart to use when not at the PC). The critter books and Bloodshadows are interesting, but not to useful for doing games, as generally the amount of work to tweak it to the party exceeds the amount of work needed to come up with stuff off the top of my head, and I havent actually found anything Im interested in using D6 Adventure and D6 Space for

D6 Fantasy I actually did run a campaign with, so was useful for that, but hasnt been used much since (if I ran a D6 Fantasy game again I might use it, or might just use my current Star Wars with Magic rules mishmash)

[The Game Guy]

Adventure has the magic system in it as well

I only have the D6 space core book in .pdf. I want to get it in print, as I want to get rid of all of my .pdfs since I hate using .pdfs.

When I am at my FLGS I will take a look at Adventure and look over the magic system.

Thanks for letting me know that.

[Kalzazz]

Why not just print a copy of the pdf? Aside from the cover if my recollection is correct its all black and white, so wont be a big deal to print

[The Game Guy]

Why not just print a copy of the pdf? Aside from the cover if my recollection is correct its all black and white, so wont be a big deal to print

I would rather have the books in print. I am getting rid of all my .pdfs as I do not like the format and do not find it useful during play

[Jamfke]

What makes a PDF not useful to you in game play? I'm asking because some of my initial published games will be PDF. I plan on implementing the table of contents, clickable links throughout the text, and a few other features available.

I always dreamed of having my game books in some format where all I needed was a laptop to take to each session. Now it has become a reality. Lugging that duffel bag full of hardbacks was - well, hard on my back!

[Kalzazz]

The Game Guy - Er, I meant, considering you already bought the pdf, and want a print book, why not print and spiral bind the pdf? Would seem to be much cheaper

Jamfke - I got one of those neat pdfs with a clickable table of contents and lots of clickable links throughout the text. Is there anyway to have the equivalent of a back button in a pdf? Im reading something, it has a link to something so I click it, read that part of the pdf, but then I want to go back to what I was reading before and have to scroll all the way to find it again

[Jamfke]

I don't know about going back to a page you were looking at previously, but you can put a 'Back' button on each page to take you to the table of contents. I'll have to check and see if that can be done though, as it is a frustrating thing to have to go back and find what you were on before.

[Jamfke]

Here's a simple workaround for going back to the previous page you were viewing after clicking on a link in a PDF. Strangely enough, it's a built in function that I wasn't aware of.

After clicking a link and reading the page you were taken to, simply click on the 'View' tab on the toolbar at the top of the PDF and then hover over the 'Go To' option in the list. Another list will pop up with several options for navigating through the PDF. The one we're interested in is one of the last two in the list 'Previous View'. Click that and it will take you back to the page you clicked from.

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/1912/navsg2.png

[The Game Guy]

What makes a PDF not useful to you in game play? I'm asking because some of my initial published games will be PDF. I plan on implementing the table of contents, clickable links throughout the text, and a few other features available.

I always dreamed of having my game books in some format where all I needed was a laptop to take to each session. Now it has become a reality. Lugging that duffel bag full of hardbacks was - well, hard on my back!

I have use a .pdf to run a game and it slowed things down a great deal while I was trying to find something. A book I can flip through fast and find what I am looking for.

So now I only look at games in print. If a game is in .pdf form I will not consider it.

[The Game Guy]

The Game Guy - Er, I meant, considering you already bought the pdf, and want a print book, why not print and spiral bind the pdf? Would seem to be much cheaper

You said magic was in D6 Adventure, I have D6 Space. At any rate I should have both books in hardcover soon so it's a non issue.