Stat Equivalencies in Fantasy AGE for Spell or Action Design

 The following are equivalent and can be used to convert between each other.

  • 1 MP (mana point)
  • 2 SP (stunt point)
  • 2 TN (target number) (Note: this is used incrementally and is not the base)
  • 4 HP (health point)
  • 1 minor action
  • 0.5 major action
  • 10 yards (measure of distance)

All of those equivalencies can be worked out using basic action and stunts.

  • 1 MP = 2 SP, from Skillful Casting stunt
  • 2 SP = 2 TN, from Powerful Casting stunt
  • 2 SP = 4 HP, from Healing Power stunt
  • 0.5 major action = 2 TN, from Defend major action
  • 1 minor action = 0.5 major action, comparing move versus run
  • 1 minor action = 10 yards, using move with zero stats or ancestry is 10
  • 1 major action = TN 10 at 2 MP using Healing Touch (2MP) which is 2d6
  • 1 major action = 4SP, from Healing Touch being average 7HP which divided by two and rounded up for SP cost is 3.5 => 4SP
  • 1 minor action = 2SP, from 1 minor action = 0.5 major action

The minor action here is a little stronger than many of the minors actions in the rules. Aim, Guard Up, Stand Fast all provide either 1 TN or 1 SP in value. I would argue that the standard minor actions are a bit weak. If you wanted them at a value of 1 then 1 major action would equal 4 minor actions, and a single turn would have a total value of 5. With my assumption you get a total value of 6 that could be a major and a minor, or three minors.

Using these equivalencies with the base TN of 6 from "start-of-new-action-model-for-age-in.html" blog post we can build many of the simpler spells in Fantasy AGE. Some of them match pretty closely to the rules. Others not so much but in a way that I think leads to a more balanced system.

One note about area of effect spells like Flame Blast or Firestorm. Flame Blast has a 8 yard by 2 yard area while Firestorm has a 4 yard radius. I have come up with several options to how you can boil the area down to a linear like distance but they all come from either using the side length of a square or the diameter of the circle.

  • Flame Blast Area of Effect Value
    • Area is 8 * 2 = 16
    • Side length of a square with equal area is square root of 16 = 4 yards
    • Area value is 4 yards divided by 10 yards per MP = 0.4.
    • This is also pretty close to 0.5 MP which is equal to 1 SP or 1 TN of value
  • Firestorm Area of Effect Value
    • Radius is stated as 4 yards 8 yards diameter, so value is 8/10

You could also pick one of the sides of the rectangle like 8 if you like if it better represents the spell as a long straight line (since 2 yards is the minimum width) which turns out the be 4/10 again. For a spell like Shock Blast, it is stated already as a 6 by 6 square which translates to 6/10 easily. Ice Sheet has a 10 yard diameter, so a 10/10 value. As you can see there are a few ways to price but they are all based on using one of the linear measures of that area being a side length or a diameter.

We can take all of this and build a new Firestorm spell. It seems expensive from the rules so lets see what reverse engineering it can provide for balance. We will convert all values to MP for addition and then convert the MP into the equivalent TN to add to the base TN.

  • 0.8 for a 4 yard radius
  • 5 for a 50 yard max casting range
  • 2.6 for a 10.5/4 HP per MP/value
  • 0.5 for knock prone
    • would be one but since there is a chance to resist the knock down with acrobatic test which we can assume a place holder TN11 test for 50% which halves the 1 MP value to 0.5
    • it costs 2 SP = 1 MP to knock some one down, but rules state have a movement action can stand back up which would be 0.5 MP. I don't like the idea of half actions so we will keep the equivalent cost at the 2SP and not halve it.
  • Total = 0.8 + 5 + 2.6 + 0.5 = 8.9
  • TN then is 8.9 * 2 = 18, plus a base of 6 equals a total of 24
So Firestorm with these stats should have a higher TN but a lower MP with TN 23 and MP 9 (rounded up). While the MP cost seems right, the TN doesn't. You would need a +12 casting roll for 50% chance to succeed. Let's try Flame Blast

  • 0.4 for an area value ( SQRT(8*2) = 4)
  • 3.125 for an average of 8 and 4.5 damage due to opposed roll divided by two
  • total of 3.125+0.4=3.525
  • TN = 3.525*2 = 7, plus the base of 6 = TN 13

Flame Blast then gets reverse engineered to MP 4 (3.525 rounded up) and TN 13, which is only one of from the rules with TN 12. So what would be the problem with Firestorm? I think it is the range that is quite generous. If we knock it down to 20 yards, the value is 5.5 for an added TN of 11 which puts it at TN 17 and MP 6 which seems more reasonable. I would even reduce the damage to 2d6 further lowering to a value of 4.65 with TN 15.3 and MP 5.

Weapons fit this model very well, especially if you want to consider lower TN for smaller weapons.

  • 1h sword/axe/mace for 2d6 damage. Value is 7/4 = 1.75. TN is 1.75 * 2 = 3.5
    • TN 6 + 4 = 10, MP = 2 but we kind of ignore that.
  • 2h weapon at 3d6. Value is 10.5/4 = 2.625. TN is 2.625 * 2 = 5.25
    • TN 6 + 6 = 12, MP = 3
  • dagger or light weapon at 1d6. Value is 3.5/4 = 0.875. TN is 0.875 * 2 = 1.75
    • TN 6 + 2 = 8, MP = 1
  • long bow 1d6+3 at 26/52 yards. Value is 6.5/4 + 26/10 = 4.225. TN is 4.225 * 2 = 8.45
    • TN 6 + 9 = 15. MP = 5
    • Long Range TN 6 + 12 = 18, MP = 7

We see our first potential issue with ranged weapons due to range being very costly in this model. I think this is where "technology" aspect fits it to make a hard task easier. To reduce the TN from 15 to 10 that could be factored into the monetary price or rarity of such an object. I think it would be important to include these kind of adjustments transparently (even if it is hand wavy reason) to keep the system looking consistent.

Overall I think the stat equivalency and TN action base of 6 does work pretty well. There are a lot of spell effects that I haven't put an equivalency on such as duration and other passive effects.

Edit - changed area of effect math from radius to diameter to be more similar to the side length square.

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