First, a few skill corrections before I address the new questions/clarifications.
Excellent. We'll get this straight.
1. Calling upon Rittiw takes under 5 seconds (two lines of spoken verse and mental imagery while already running)....
I can do this. Let me clarify, for the sake of understanding, how the system works and what I'm doing with it.
Spells have either a time factor (TF) or a repeat factor (RF). A Time Factor means that it takes this long to cast the ritual; sometimes the spell effect is running concurrent with the casting, but usually it begins upon completion of the ritual. A Repeat Factor means that the spell works like a weapon, that it happens "immediately" but that it takes a certain amount of time before it can be cast again--like pulling the trigger on a gun, or shooting an arrow. "Immediately" in Multiverser is, technically, six seconds for an amateur, half that for a professional, and a third of that for an expert. Always time factors are divided and repeat factors multiplied by the skill ability level of the skilled user. The theory is that you can perform the ritual faster but still accurately as you get better at it.
There are hundreds of skills listed in the rule book, with what are called "baselines". A baseline means that someone doing at least this much "ritual" will get this much "effect". Usually the baseline includes a time factor or repeat factor, often a range, area of effect, amount of damage, duration, and other details (and there are defaults for some of these if the spell description does not include them). The system then allows you to customize each spell by trading ritual, efficacy, and probability of success. Each doubling or halving of any spell component in your favor costs you 10 percentage points on the success roll; each doubling or halving against you gains you 10 percentage points. Thus if the baseline says 1:00 to cast and you say 2:00, you gain +10 on your chance to succeed; if you want +20, you must double it again to 4:00. Similarly, if it does damaging (1-5) damage and you want dangerous (1-10) damage, you take -10; if you want lethal (1-20), that's -20.
It's evident that there are advantages to RF over TF skills--they happen quickly, you can do them immediately. There is a -20 penalty for converting a time factor skill to a repeat factor skill, in addition to the penalty for the time. That is, if you take a 1:00 TF and turn it into an RF 1, both are done one time per minute, but the TF skill hits at the end of the first minute and the RF at the beginning; if you also want to make it twice a minute (RF 2), that's an additional -10 for increasing the rate.
You commented that you pray this while already running. I'm stretching a bit here, but if already running is a necessary part of the skill, there's a bonus for necessary physical action. (This would mean, for example, that you could not use the skill if you were "already swimming" or "about to run" or "already climbing".) I'm also inclined to bonus you for "not more than twice a day"--however, I've some questions about that, too.
The big one is, how long does the effect last? Obviously, "no more than twice a day" is not much of a limitation if it lasts twelve hours, but a serious limitation if it lasts sixty seconds.
The second is like it, whether you can "chain" it, that is, whether you could cast it again immediately on it lapsing or have to wait some time after that.
Similarly, if the prayer fails (all sometimes do), when can you try a second time, and does that prevent you from trying yet again later? That is, is it limited to two attempts or two successes, and does failure prevent you from trying again immediately?
Given that, I can form this, probably at the baseline, maybe with a slight bonus if the running is a necessary component.
Calling upon Tarec likewise takes under 5 seconds when done by itself. When he's just protecting my person I don't need to do anything to maintain the protection, but when he's asked to protect a vehicle I'm in there is a continual mental effort, like lifting a heavy weight behind my eyeballs. Calling upon Tarec and Rexol together also involves this sense of weight while setting up the parameters of the protection over a single place, but once the circle is closed the sensation of effort/weight fades away.
I think I'll keep it simple and ignore the weight. I could give you a bonus if I decided that the maintenance of the effect prevented you from performing other skills, but then I'd have to split the self from the vehicle into two skills (because they do not work the same way, but have different limitations) and would have to figure out what the limitation is, exactly.
I can do the TF to RF conversion on this, but it will make it -20 for success on the skill, unless you've got something to balance that penalty that I've not noticed. You did not suggest that it has the sort of limits per day as the other, and it does not seem to involve any physical aspect (for which I should penalize you already, if it's only verbal, as the baseline assumes that all skills have at least two of the three possible components of speech, physical involvement, and material objects (which can include something like a holy symbol or prayer book that must be held)).
Calling on Rexol isn't as fast
Does this mean that we'll leave the 1:00 TF in place, or did you want to shorten it?
Calling on Chostine is as fast as calling on Rittiw, but there seems to be a need for some degree of reverence or respect in my mind when calling.
I realize that this is important, but it does not seem to have any game impact--that is, "my character assumes a state of reverence and calls on Chostine" takes no more time than "my character calls on Chostine",
unless we specify that "assumes a state of reverence" is a time-consuming part of the ritual, that it will take some period of time to compose yourself into that state. Thus if we include that as part of the ritual, we keep the 1:00 TF with the spoken part "at the end of it", and assume that this restricts your ability to do other things in that time.
If I'm not getting it, clarify for me.
I doubt that her darkness would make calling her or her brothers (Alinbak and Kelistan) any more difficult, nor hide someone from them, since the three share priests.
I certainly understand that she would be able to see you when she hides you. You've not mentioned her brothers to this point, and I might want to consider whether making them accessible opens the floodgates, as it were. As it stands now, you've indicated no prayers to them; but if really they could do everything for which you normally call on another spirit, then there's not much point to saying that this is a limitation. On the other hand, assuming that they are limited (your spirits all seem to be limited to power within their own spheres) I can see how including them in the "accessible" category would make sense. What do they oversee?
I'm not sure how long it takes to call on Comyndria, but 2:30 is quite a bit too long, unless I was using a ceremony or ritualized entreaty.
As I recall, I actually cut a 10:00 TF in half twice to get that, which I balanced against +20 for a cure that doesn't actually eliminate the disease but only mitigates it temporarily. I can cut it again, particularly if there's some physical involvement to balance it. Remembering that TFs are supposed to be divisible by 6 seconds (so that they can be cut by two and by three as you advance), how long do you recommend?
I should mention, for all cases, that I've given you amateur, usually high amateur, skill ability levels. If you have a professional skill ability level, that automatically cuts the time in half (and doubles/halves in your favor another factor to which we agree), in which case we would list it at the time an amateur would take and recognize that as a professional you take only half that long.
Abraxas' influence doesn't seem to behave like protection. It's like he's altering the targeted spell itself, exchanging two variables within it. Caster becomes subject, and subject becomes caster.
Sometimes I suprise myself--I actually have this listed under M4@8 Manipulate Magic: "Some of these redirect magic to the source or an alternate target." That sounds like what you're saying.
The problem, though, is it puts me back to two skills: that works on magic, not psionics, so I would probably need a separate skills (M4@10 Energy Control NOS) to deal with powers that are psionic/psychic in nature. That's not a problem for me, but you seemed to think they should be the same skill. I can incorporate the two as one, but they would have the higher 4@10 bias and a -10 penalty for combining skills; since the baseline for such a skill might be as short as 0:12 I can make it 0:24 to eliminate the penalty--just under half a minute. Does that work for you?
Comyndria and the storm... that was an odd event.
O.K., since it is a unique event and one you don't fully understand yourself, and since we're talking petitions to a spirit, I think I'll ignore this for the moment. Neither of us are quite sure what it does. If we come to a point where you want to do the same thing in game, remind me that you did it before, and we'll construct the skill then, because we'll have the conditions to say "this is what it does and how to do it".
There are still a couple questions above, but most of them are simply for you to confirm or clarify, so again, feel free to start on your equipment post.
--M. J. Young
