MJ, you seriously need to take a lesson from me. I don't have a job, and therefore, I have no set schedule. I sleep when I'm tired and wake up when my body says it's time. I've been known to go 2-3 days without sleeping just because I didn't feel like it. I've also been known to sleep 16 out of 24 hours in a day, just because I did feel like it. To my knowledge, you don't have a job either. Not a traditional job anyway. I make everyone else work around MY schedule. If my mom calls and says she needs help at her house, I say "I'll call you when I'm ready to come over." If my aunt needs me to run her to the grocery store, I tell her the same thing. I make the world work around MY schedule. I find it's much more simple for me that way.
I'm so glad my tax money goes to make sure John can sleep to noon :P
I'll give you the psychosis and the disability check, then you can tell me I have it easy. Personally, I see it as getting revenge on all the people that used to pick on me and bully me for being psychotic. Now they're paying for my apartment.
John, other people dependent on me have deadlines. My youngest still has to catch the schoolbus--and if he doesn't I have to drive him to school. I can't tell him that I'll drive him to school after I take his mother to work--she's on the evening shift, and by the time she gets to work the buses are getting ready to bring the kids home from school. My wife doesn't appreciate having to work eight or more hours and then stand outside waiting for me to arrive to get her when we are stuck with a single car. Other people need to get to jobs or job interviews or medical appointments or court appearances--they don't have control over when they have to be where they need to be, so either I have to drive them when they need to be there, or I have to let them take my car (and they do not all have valid licenses, for various reasons).
It looks like I have Harry, John 2, and Adam in play tonight.
We have some culture shock happening with Harry, as he tries to put forward the idea of a woman going to school to learn something she doesn't really need to know.
John 2 is changing his equipment a bit and starting a training program.
I'm addressing Adam's new skill list, as he continues to study under Merlin's tutelage.
I think I'm done; that's good, because I think something just arose--I may need to deliver medicine to someone some distance from here.
--M. J. Young
If I have anything even remotely resembling a schedule, it would be sleeping early morning to mid afternoon (6-10 am - 12 noon-4 pm) if I have any kind of schedule, that's it and that's all. However, sometimes I do go to sleep at 11 pm, and end up waking up a 6-7 O-clock in the morning. I hate it when that happens!!! As far as my life is concerned, it's as good a time to wake up as any (literally!!). However, I still hate it when I do that. That's how much I hate mornings.
I think I've spent over an hour addressing that thread about a world without schedules, so for what it's worth, John, your talk about not having a schedule has thrown me severely off mine. I've got to be somewhere in seventy-five minutes; let's see if I can do anything with the games for Harry, John 2, and Adam before then--and no, John, I will not defend you from the wrath of Adam if it turns out that I don't get to his thread because of dealing with yours.
I'm enjoying my conversation with Harry. I might marry this girl myself, if this keeps going.
I really want just to say no to John 2's query concerning whether there happens to be, in the gym of the martial arts dojo at this moment, someone who is practicing boxing; but even though I consider it impossible I know it's not impossible, so I'll give him that one in a thousand shot of something that happens once in a thousand shots actually happening: if he gets a 3 on his GE roll, that's what he finds. He doesn't; he gets a 10, which is very favorable, but not nearly favorable enough.
Adam wants an always-active retrocognitive event sense, and I've already stated that Merlin knows one; I'll put Merlin's SAL at 3@7 on this, as I think it's something he has demonstrated in history, a general sensitivity to psychic events. The always active version is -20 but works without Adam having to say it's active. It's an 11@1 skill, Adam rolls 72, Geneice 76, and since hers is the less likely to succeed and both are reasonably likely I'll crunch her numbers. She has the 10@1 bias+2@4 BRA+3@7 for the example's SAL+Merlin's teaching SAL and his Psi BRA, we're looking at 162 plus those two numbers which are probably in this thread somewhere but are both at least 2@; subtractions are the 11@1 bias and -20 SM, -131. That gives us a base of 31 plus at least forty-two more and certainly more more than that, so we're good, 1@2 Event Awareness always active P11@1 -20SM.
The rolls for history of object are 14 and 93. Of course, Geneice' bias just went up to 11@1, so an 11@2 skill is a lot closer; on the other hand, Merlin probably is not as good at this as he is at the other, probably only a 3@1. I believe his teaching skill is 3@5 and his Psi BRA 2@10, so that's +50 for those, +31=+81, +111=192+24=216, and this time there is no sitmod penalty so we're looking at -112 and a certain success, 1@3 History of Object P11@2 (which some call psychronomy) for Geneice, 1@1 for Adam.
I've got to run, but I think that's a good bit completed. Adam can't spend all his posts on learning skills, so we'll slate another venture--this one appropriate enough, both because it will have been long enough for the sword stone trick to have gotten a lot of attention and because there is good reason not to learn two "can you feel the vibrations" skills too close together.
--M. J. Young
I think I've spent over an hour addressing that thread about a world without schedules, so for what it's worth, John, your talk about not having a schedule has thrown me severely off mine. I've got to be somewhere in seventy-five minutes; let's see if I can do anything with the games for Harry, John 2, and Adam before then--and no, John, I will not defend you from the wrath of Adam if it turns out that I don't get to his thread because of dealing with yours.
MJ, with all due respect, you did that to yourself. You could have waited until later tonight or even tomorrow to address it, and/or given the Cliff's Notes version of what you wrote. I didn't hold a gun to your head and force you to sit there for an hour and type all of that.
For what's it's worth, I think I've found a few solutions to some of the problems you brought up. What is the penalty of owning a business, for example? (That's just to remind me) What is the penalty for crime? I imagine a world where vigilante justice is acceptable, and if a criminal isn't caught on the spot, he never is. That should fix some of the problems you mentioned.
After a weekend of being way too busy, I'm finally able to post two transcripts from AIM sessions with Ric, three and six days old now.
In the first, he decides he's going to go talk to the elders. After a long conversation with Kaidou-sama, Ric is going to be trained as a ninja. The way I wanted their custom to work is that the man who recovers a ninja's scabbard, if he is not one of the Daimyo's men, can either replace the dead ninja himself, or name someone to be trained in his place. Ric did nothing that I felt required dice rolls, but at the end of this session I resolved to handle all dice physically from now on, as my experience as both player and referee is teaching me not to trust digital dice-bots.
In the second, he starts out going home. He asks about a lantern, and I see no reason why he shouldn't have a basic one. Fine, he has a lantern in his room.
Then he sends me a spell worksheet (because unlike me, Eric is a smart kitty and kept a blank copy that he now fills out and transfers to me whenever he wants to try something). It reads like so:
Is this arcane or holy magic, alliance, neutral, or anarch?
-Arcane
What exactly will the magic do?
-Cancels the light in an area around the target, the exact opposite of a torch.
What distances, sizes, areas,or quantities are involved?
-Light is absorbed for a 20 foot diameter. It centers around the target.
Over what variables does the character have control?
-The target.
What, if any, is the base damage category for the magic?
-No damage.
How long does it take to perform the ritual necessary for the spell?
-One minute.
How many times in a minute may an amateur cast it?
-Once.
How long will the magic last?
-However long it would take for the target to burn, as if it were set on fire at one end (Example: A struck match).
Exactly what will the character say?
-"I deny the light it's hold here, if only for just now."
Must the words be spoken loudly or forcefully?
-No.
Are the words in a language other than the character's native tongue?
-No.
Is the sound of the words vital to the magic, or will it work if the words are properly articulated within a place where there is no sound?
-The phrase is a focus, it must be spoken, or the physical motions of speech attempted.
What does the character do?
-Light the end of the target on fire, extinguish the source fire, say the phrase, blow out the fire, in that order. Must be done in one blow/gust/attempt, without any external help, like water or sand. The effect triggers when the fire is out.
Which body parts must be committed to this action?
-One hands holds the target, the other ignites it, and you must blow out the fire with just your breath.
Which body parts can be substituted if necessary for the ones normally used (e.g., left hand instead of right)?
-Dominant hand must hold target.
Is the ritual physically exhausting?
-You feel the effort on the body, but it feels more like sprinting up a flight of stairs. It takes the wind out of you.
What materials are required?
-Flammable object as the target, source of fire to light it.
Which if any of these are destroyed or damaged beyond use during the ritual?
-The target disappears at the rate a fire would consume it. The effect ends when the object is gone.
Are there any other limitations on the use of this skill?
-Only one active casting at a time.
Skill Bias -91
Reduce Range to Touch = +20
Time Factor / Repeat Factor 1 = +20 +3 doublings = +60
Both Hands = +3
Requires a component +2, destroyed = +4
Bias = +0
Appropriate words spoken = +5
World Bias = +2
BRA 22
Example 11 (a 1@1 example from his own botch - he has seen it done before...)
Total = 36% chance to succeed
6% chance to botch
Rolled an 18
I adjudicated it based on Wodium (his real name is Scott, right? I'm so bad with names) Scott's recommendations from the first time. On the down side, I realized only after I rolled it that this is an 8@1 Concealment, not a 9@1 Create Light variant, but Ric had a solid success either way. I added it to his sheet reading thusly:
1@1 Negate Light M8@1 – Caster must, in order, light the target object (held in his dominant hand) on fire, put out the source fire, speak aloud in English “I deny the light its hold here, if only just for now,” then blow out the burning target in one breath. Involves both hands, material component, appropriate words which much be spoken aloud, target is destroyed over the course of the duration. Creates a bubble of magical darkness which negates ambient non-magical light, radius 20’. Duration RS/2 minutes. +94 SM
This also led me to what will be my new custom for new players: making their spell list be a separate page of the character sheet, so I never have to deal with trying to type magic skills into those skill chart tables again.
He wakes up to find that Higashi forged him a sword. Is it a bit unrealistic that someone could forge a sword in one day? Probably, but it makes for good dramatic effect, and since Ric is a merciful player who doesn't get hung up on me justifying everything that goes into his game, I have a bit of leeway with that sort of thing.
As they were guiding him on the road out of town, Kaidou got a signal from his man ahead, and hid himself and Ric while two of the Daimyo's creepy faceless samurai rode by. (It occurred to me at that point that the world's Mag bias is high enough for their to be no one in those suits, that they are just spirit-animated suits of armor with no person inside. I'm not sure if I want to go all Thousand Sons on him or not.) Then they rode by. Later on, Kaidou had Eric take a shot with the longbow. He's using it as a tech weapon, there's almost no chance of him failing. He rolled low and got himself a 1@1 Use Longbow T 3@1.
At that point it was 1:30 in the morning and I was too tired to go on, so we leave off with Eric riding to ninja school.
Much more likely that this is a 4@1 Darkness, in my opinion (a subset of M4@1 Manipulate Light). Of course, in magic Darkness is a kind of energy that can be created and destroyed, but if the effect of the spell is "the opposite of a torch," that sounds to me like light repression rather than light destruction or darkness creation. Also, his incantation specifically mentions interacting with light, another factor pushing me towards a 4@ energy manipulative over an 8@ illusion or a 9@ energy creation.
That'll mess with your baselines, of course, giving you a different final sit-mod, but I highly doubt that a roll that succeeded for an 8@ skill would fail for a 4@.
Edit: working with the baselines for Darkness, the sit-mods would be thus:
Reduce Range to Touch = +20? If you really want to. I'm dubious, personally.*
Time Factor 1min (from 45sec = 1/3 of a doubling) = +3
Area 20' diameter (from 10'x10', 1.57 doublings) = -16
Both Hands = +3
Requires a component +2, destroyed = +4
Appropriate words spoken = +5
(Subtotal: -1, or maybe +19*)
Bias = +0 (Really? No religion, no music?)
Skill Bias -41
World Bias = +2
BRA 22
Example 11 (a 1@1 example from his own botch - he has seen it done before...)
Total = -7% chance to succeed (or 13%*)
10% chance to botch (or 8%*)
Rolled an 18 . . . failure.
Well, fudge. I guess you could claim that you're changing the baseline duration to RS=minutes, and giving him +10 for halving that to RS/2=minutes, and giving him +20 for reducing the range to touch. Those are some naughty precedents, but from what I've seen so far, I'm not sure you really mind. That pushes the final success chance to 23, changes the skill SM to +29, and would make the skill look like this:
1@1 Negate Light M4@1 – Caster must, in order, light the target object (held in his dominant hand) on fire, put out the source fire, speak aloud in English “I deny the light its hold here, if only just for now,” then blow out the burning target in one breath. Involves both hands, material component, appropriate words which much be spoken aloud, target is destroyed over the course of the duration. Creates a bubble of magical darkness which negates ambient non-magical light, diameter 20’. Duration RS/2 minutes. +29 SM
Usually, it's just not that easy to jump right in to doing magic from zero background - though Ric, apparently, has managed. Another advantage of this interpretation: Ric doesn't jump eight levels on his very first spell.
*(On the one hand, I could envision a Darkness spell that was ranged. On the other hand, once he's cast this spell on his lantern or whatever, he could very easily just throw it. Limitation, or advantage in disguise?)
There is a simpler darkness skill, but the concealment is a good choice.
It looks like tonight I have only Harry and John 2, so let's get to it.
The conversation between Harry and Arabelle continues nicely.
I've got to keep it in my head that John 2 is at an Okydoky Smoky dojo.
--M. J. Young
Wodium - you said the difference between Instant Activation and all that was +20 for making it a Repeat Factor, and the way he wrote it made it seem longer to me. Nonetheless, if I do it your way I negate 40 points of penalty (for the 4@1 vs 8@1 bias) and 40 points of benefit (from the not multiplied but only changed time factor), so he breaks even. I go with +20 for touch-range because I'm used to thinking in D&D terms, wherein messing with Range is a fairly significant swing, and the difference between Touch and actual Range is a fairly heavy barrier. I rule accordingly. Plus, he may be able to throw his darkness stick, but how far, and how accurately, while blind from his own darkness? I really don't mind giving him the benefit of that, since I know he thinks similarly in terms of Range vs Touch. As for the duration... it's a bubble of darkness. If he really NEEDS a bubble of darkness to last a maximum of 50 minutes... well... I can't imagine a situation where he would need an hour of darkness wherein he wouldn't have some larger problem encouraging him not to stand around waiting to see how long it's going to last.
To be honest, this probably IS the 4@1 spell you're describing, I just managed to not find the Manipulate Light spell when I was looking for it, so I'll go with your version even though I don't entirely agree with your reasoning. Your final spell and sit-mods look more like what I'm used to seeing from MJ, too, which makes me more inclined to believe you (and also allows the spell to work, which is good, as I'm not inclined towards retcons that take away success). So I'm giving Ric the news about that.
Meanwhile, I'm giving him another AIM session, and hoping that the magic rules will make sense to me eventually.
Actually, I wrote that whole post without actually reading the 8@1 description, so I kind of missed where it says "areas of impenetrable darkness" in the list of examples. Your way was better than I had thought. I still think mine's valid, obviously, but . . .
A Repeat Factor of 1 (once per minute) is considered better than a Time Factor of sixty seconds (one minute), because with the RF you get your results right away. Thus, if the baseline is a RF and you switch to a TF of equivalent length, that's a downgrade, worth +20. Going from a TF to an equal-length RF is an upgrade, costing you -20.
You started with 18 seconds, the baseline for the M8@1 Concealments. To get to a RF of 1 from there, I would have doubled 1.67 times to get to 60 seconds (worth +17), and then converted from a TF of 1min to a RF of 1 (at a cost of -20), for a net penalty of -3. I'm not sure how you got +60.
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As for magic rules in general . . . hmm. You know, MJ likes that worksheet, and it's probably most useful as something to hand to a player to make sure he tells you what you need to know. But, I never use it when I'm assigning sit-mods to a spell. If you're trying to remember what to include in the calculation, I have a rule of thumb:
Everything about the spell is worth points.
Everything. If something about the spell doesn't contribute to the sit-mod, that's just because it coincidentally matches the baseline, meaning its worth is +0.
What's the area? The range? The casting time? What needs to be there? Are the restrictions on where, when, how, why the spell must be cast? Everything has a baseline value; if it's not listed in the skill description, it's listed right here:
Area of Effect: 1000 cubic feet (10'x10'x10') OR 100 square feet (10'x10'), whichever makes more sense
Duration: Ten times the time factor
Time Factor: One-tenth of the duration
Range: The minimum necessary to be effective (the rulebook is silent)
(Note that if you're using the default 1:10 TF:duration ratio, you should only adjust the SM for one of those two factors.) Deviation from the baseline is worth +10 for every disadvantageous doubling or halving and costs -10 for every advantageous doubling or halving. "Fractional doublings" are worth +/- 1 for each 10% of what would have been the next whole doubling/halving.
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I realize that a lot of that is restatement of what you know, but my hope is that it is concise and/or helpful restatement.
It only occurs to me after typing all that to ask, what about the magic rules makes least sense to you?
That actually is really helpful. Especially your explanation of RF vs TF. That never made sense to me until now. Basically with a Repeat Factor, it goes off now and then you have to wait before you can do it again (kinda like having a cooldown period) whereas with a Time Factor, you wait now and it goes off when you're done (kinda like having a charging up period), am I right?
The thing that makes the least sense to me, really, is adjudicating all the things that aren't as static as that. When Ric originally wrote that spell, for instance, he wanted it to last "as long as it would take to burn the thing I just lit on fire, if I lit it on fire." Well, what do you do with that? He could blowtorch a hole in a door and then blow it out - a door set on very little fire might smolderingly burn for days, projecting a bubble of darkness all the while, even if his spell was a fairly weak success. Or he could light a match, get a really strong success, and it would still last... about fifteen seconds.
Or, for instance, what is the scale for restrictiveness bonuses?
+5 = Not all that restrictive. You must have a weapon on you.
+10 = A bit restrictive. You must have a sword on you.
+15 = Very restrictive. You must have your named individual sword on you.
+20 = How are you doing this? You must absorb your named unique sword into your body (or something similarly out there).
Casting under a full moon?
Casting on a specific day of the year?
Casting under a solar/lunar eclipse? Of plural suns/moons?
Also, with the ""Fractional doublings" are worth +/- 1 for each 10% of what would have been the next whole doubling/halving." I still have no clue at all what that means. Do you mean if it has a baseline of 60 seconds, and he makes it take 80, that's 50% of one doubling (plus one-half) and thus worth... +5?
As for the +60... yeah I have no idea how I managed that either, but since I switched him to the 4@1 version anyway it really doesn't matter. Thanks for agreeing with me that the 8@1 Concealments can do that - at least I know I'm not entirely misguided. I really need to start looking for things from the bottom up more consistently.
With the "duration = 10x time factor" does that apply to repeat-factor spells too? How long ought a repeat factor spell endure?
Simplest question first: If the baseline is 60 seconds, he would have to double it to 120 seconds to get +10. That's plus sixty seconds for a plus ten sit-mod, or plus one per six seconds. Increasing the time factor to 80 seconds is only adding twenty seconds to the time factor (base 60s plus 20s = 80s total), so he only gets (20/6 = 3.33) +3.
If the time factor was one minute and he wanted to make it five, that's +10 for going from one to two, +10 for going from two to four, and then - but wait, four times two is eight, not five, so we need to work with fractions. Eight minus four is four minutes, and five minus four is one minute; so he's only doing a quarter of the third doubling, and since 2.5 (from 25%) rounds up to 3, that's +3 for going from four minutes to five minutes. ( (5-4)/(8-4) = 1/4 = 2.5 = +3 ) So that's a total of +23 for increasing the TF from 1min to 5min - what I've been calling "two and a quarter doublings."
Answers to the rest coming presently.
With the "duration = 10x time factor" does that apply to repeat-factor spells too? How long ought a repeat factor spell endure?
A lot of repeat factor skills are very quick - what's the duration of a gunshot? About the same as a fireball or a counterspell. If a very short duration would be useless or doesn't make sense, go with ten minutes divided by the repeat factor.
Or, for instance, what is the scale for restrictiveness bonuses?
+5 = Not all that restrictive. You must have a weapon on you.
+10 = A bit restrictive. You must have a sword on you.
+15 = Very restrictive. You must have your named individual sword on you.
+20 = How are you doing this? You must absorb your named unique sword into your body (or something similarly out there).
A rule that will serve you well: if you can treat it as a material component, do so. That said, the first four things you list here are, unambiguously, material component requirements, and as such the bonuses you suggest are uniformly too high. Divide those in half, and you're closer. (Except the last one, that's almost just right.)
For each material component, give it a rating from 1 to 10 based on its difficulty to obtain and replace. Ten means it's practically impossible on both counts, and one is often either ubiquitous or easy to fashion from almost anything.
For example: 'You must have a weapon on you.' This depends on how you define a weapon. If you mean anything that can serve as a weapon, that can be just about anything - a stick, a rock - so that's worth +1. If you mean a fashioned object designed to be a weapon, that's more like +3. If it must specifically be a sword, I'd say +4, going as high as +6 if you got real specific as to what kind of sword and how it was made. If you want +10 for a sword, you'd better specify Excalibur.
Note that destruction of the object doubles its point value (which is why we never ever ever give more than 10 points for a single material), so if your spell consumes Excalibur, that's worth +20 - which is enough to convert into quadruple the power of the baseline (by taking a matching -20 penalty for two doublings).
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For anything you can't interpret as a material component, you can still use the material component bonuses as a sort of yardstick. Keep in mind that +10 is about what you get for requiring a live human sacrifice; ask yourself if this restriction is sufficient to excuse the character from spilling human blood.
The most common restriction of this sort has to do with time or place, but place can often be thought of in terms of material components. I'll give my values for some likely-seeming time/place restrictions. These are the most subjective of all, so don't take my word as gospel:
+2: Only (outdoors/indoors/at night/during the day)
+3: In sunlight, in total darkness, underground
+5: In moonlight, deep underground (define: maybe 30' ?), several stories up
+7: Specific (day of the week/phase of the moon)
+10: Full moon at night, during a storm (specific type)
+15: Specific solstice, during an eclipse
In general, circumstances the character could produce himself shouldn't be worth more than +10 - and remember, he can do magic.
I've been thinking about your "as long as it would burn" question, and I think I have an answer that satisfies me, but I really need to make dinner. I'll get back to you.
Oh! Oh, it hurts.
Range: The minimum necessary to be effective (the rulebook is silent)
Scott, do you have the original first printing rules (the weird binding) or the perfect bound book version? I remember that you said you owned it for several years before you dared trying anything with it, and I remember that there were a few edits made to the reprint, and do not now remember exactly what (and am not certain I can lay my hands on a copy of that original version at the moment). However, on page 214, under the heading Targeting Magic, second (and last) paragraph of that section, it reads:
For ranged attacks, if no ranges are given, standard baseline ranges should be assumed to be 20':50':75':100':+1/1'. This of course can be modified by alteration in sit-mods, which can then be altered by alterations in ritual. If any ranges are changed, only the range with the greatest sit-mod is counted, unless there are changes in both directions, in which case opposing sit-mods should be combined.
So there is a default range set for spells. I believe, too, that it was copied to the magic skills worksheet.
Thing is, I do remember at some point realizing that there was no default range and adding it to the text; I just don't remember whether it was before or after the first printing.
Note that if you're using the default 1:10 TF:duration ratio, you should only adjust the SM for one of those two factors.
Actually, although after the fact I realized that there might be situations in which I would have preferred that the TF could not be lowered without suffering penalties, in general if you lower the TF and the Duration and keep the ratio between them the same, I figure that the penalties for the shorter TF balance the bonuses for the shorter Duration and let it stand. In most cases that's perfectly reasonable--using Create Light, it says that it has an "instant activation" (read six second) time factor and a "ten minute" (read six hundred second) duration, but there's no reason why you couldn't stretch the TF to a minute and the duration to a hundred minutes, and keep the baseline because the ratio is the same.
+5 = Not all that restrictive. You must have a weapon on you.
+10 = A bit restrictive. You must have a sword on you.
+15 = Very restrictive. You must have your named individual sword on you.
+20 = How are you doing this? You must absorb your named unique sword into your body (or something similarly out there).
These examples are wrong, because this is not a "restrictiveness bonus" in the same sense. The weapon is a "material component", something needed to perform the skill. Material components are rated from 1 to 10, where 1 is something you can pick up almost anywhere in the multiverse (dirt, water, sand, leaf, hair, scale) and 10 is an object which is nearly unique (the crucifix given by Saint Peter to Chris, Cthulu's Necronomicon).
In our examples, "a weapon" is probably worth 2, because almost any stick can be a weapon, but it has to meet some sort of minimal qualifications (that a complete novice has an ordinary chance to injure someone with it). "Sword" is specifically a manufactured weapon which cannot be obtained in worlds in which they cannot make swords (although really only 4@ alloy soft metal skills are needed to create a bronze sword). I would probably make it +4. The named individual sword is a unique item--if that sword is taken or destroyed you cannot perform that spell anymore, until you either recover it or learn the spell with a new sword (starting over at 1@1). As for absorbing your sword into your body, well, if you mean that the sword is destroyed in the process, the value of any material component destroyed in the casting is doubled--but it has to be destroyed, and therefore unrecoverable, and it's very difficult to get good at spells that require the destruction of unique objects. Difficult to practice these.
As for these:
Well, that's why we have live referees: we need someone who can assess just how much of a limitation any particular specification will be to a spell. Some worlds don't have moons; some have multiple moons. Universes will have very different "years", making it difficult to identify a specific "day of the year".Casting under a full moon?
Casting on a specific day of the year?
Casting under a solar/lunar eclipse? Of plural suns/moons?
Generally I compare the nature of the restriction against similar restrictions. Does this mean that the character would not be able to perform it in a time or place where it would be desireable to perform it? The fact that I can only create the holy bread for the divine service standing in the chapel is not a significant limitation if that's the only place worshippers are permitted to eat it. The fact that I can only call the holy lightning to strike the enemies at the gate when I am standing in the divine chapel is a considerably greater limitation, because I might want to do it from the palace, or the fortress, or the base camp, or the bridge, and I'm out of luck because that's not permitted by the spell. So generally if a limitation makes it harder to cast the spell in times and places where I might reasonably wish to do so, it gets me points; if it's just there as a meaningless statement of conditions that are already pretty much given anyway, then it's not a bonus. I don't get a bonus for saying that the caster must be alive, because a dead caster is not likely to be able to cast anything anyway. I don't normally get a bonus for saying that the caster must be breathing, unless the spell is particularly useful in places where the caster is likely not to be breathing--under water, in space, buried alive--because this would mean that the caster would have had to cast the spell before he ran out of air, and might not have the luxury to do so.
If someone says that the spell to freeze the solar eclipse in place for ten hours can only be cast on a day of the solar eclipse, you ignore that. If they say that the spell to charm the opposing armies and bring them under your control can only be cast during the solar eclipse, that's a significant limitation, because you might want to cast that spell at a time when there isn't going to be a solar eclipse in the area for a few years.
I don't give single-item bonuses greater than 50, and it's pretty rare for me to exceed 10. The same goes to penalties. I do give cumulative bonuses and penalties greater than that, as for multiple doublings or halvings of any factor involved.
With the "duration = 10x time factor" does that apply to repeat-factor spells too? How long ought a repeat factor spell endure?
Oh--good one. Most repeat factor spells can be resolved by one of these answers:
- They don't have any duration at all--a fireball or a lightning bolt as a repeat factor skill hits its target and is gone.
- The spell description states the baseline duration.
- Although the spell description itself does not state the duration, there is another spell in the same section of similar power that does.
- The "duration" is for practical purposes irrelevant, as for example with a M6@5 striker: once you launch the force weapon (0:30 TF) you can strike once per minute (RF1) for as long as you continue to use the skill, that is, until you stop or a botch stops you (you have to roll attacks, which are skill-based).
- The RF is worked backwards to a TF, and the duration is ten times that. That is, an RF1 is effectively sixty seconds, RF2 is thirty, RF 1/2 is two minutes.
If none of those seem to resolve the matter, then it's up to the referee to decide just how powerful the effect is likely to be, and how limited it ought to be in duration at the baseline.
I admit that the "as long as it would burn" stipulation is a bit of an enigma. I'm really eager to see Scott's answer, but here are some preliminary thoughts on my part:
- Because this is magic, it will burn for whatever the baseline duration of the skill would be. Thus if we say that he is going to ignite the object afire and there will be darkness for "as long as it would burn", then we determine that the baseline duration for a 1:00 casting is 10:00, then we declare that whether he burns a match or a house, the entire material component will be consumed in exactly ten minutes.
- We add a rolling sit-mod clause: at a -10 penalty the character has control over the duration, stipulated that when he chooses his object to burn the duration for which it will burn will be calculated, compared against the 10:00 baseline, and the casting will suffer a -10 sit-mod for each doubling of the duration over that ten minutes. Taking, then, the example of a door that would burn "for days", we go from 10:00 to 20:00 (-10) to 40:00 (-20) to 80:00=1:20:00 (-30) to 2:40 (-40) to 5:20 (-50) to 10:40 (-60) to 21:20 (-70) to 42:40 (-80) to 83:20=3 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes (-90) to 6 days, 22 hours, 40 minutes--close enough to a week, at -100. If he tries to use the door for a long duration version, he faces the -100 situation modifier for duration. That doesn't mean he of necessity fails. Probably he wouldn't try this at all unless he had already built into the skill a lot of other bonuses and had reached at least high professional level with it.
- We determine up front a maximum duration, penalize the skill based on that maximum duration, and allow him to run it for shorter periods as desired. If he attempts to cast the spell in a way that would exceed the maximum duration, it won't work at all--he must ignite something that would reasonably be consumed within the specified time.
Those are the answers that come to mind. Of course, I would probably just say, this is silly, how am I supposed to know how long things will burn? Give me something more reasonable. But it's really a clever idea, and it gives you some leeway as referee--after all, you certainly have a much better idea how long it will take any given piece of wood to burn than the character does. That birch branch has so much flammable natural oil in it that it will be gone in minutes; that piece of ebony will burn for hours.
Probably there have been posts while I've been composing this, but let me post it anyway and see where we stand.
--M. J. Young
There was a lot not in game, and there are also three players--Harry, John 2, and Adam.
Harry and Arabelle are flirting up a storm here; I think we have a match.
John 2 has invited a black belt Okydoky Smoky student to spar against his high amateur boxing ability. Since I have mixed feelings, I need to explain them to myself and figure out what dice to roll. My feelings stem from the fact that I see this guy as "working" right now, watching the gym and helping students. That, though, does not preclude the possibility that he might spar with one of the students if requested. I don't see any "must learn this skill first" maneuvers in the style description (like fall shock absorption) so that's not an obstacle. I think though, that John will need to make a simple persuasion check to get this guy to agree to take his attention off the other students and spar. The roll is 24; that's definitely outside John's persuasion attribute.
Adam is packing for a trip to London, but he's got more stuff available than he had last time he went somewhere, so let me check on his packing list. In fact, maybe I should post his available equipment here for reference:
- Adam Micheal Keller
Leather Duster (split back trench coat)
Big Dig T-short Navy Blue
Cell phone/PDA
Wallet w/40 dollars
belt
X-Ray Goggles
Thermal Goggles
Holy Symbol: Eye of Odin Lapis Lazuli on Silver Chain
Carpenter’s Jeans
1 multipurpose tool on belt
1 swiss pocket army knife on belt
Boots, Leather Steel Toed
Tactical Harness for Vest, Legs and Back modified for two katanas, and Quiver on back or belt
Tactical Belt w/ Pouches
2x FN-Five Seven w/ 20 clips of 20 bullets of 7x28mm ball round caliber (15lbs) RF10 dangerous, titanium parts for critical elements, anti-corrosion exterior finish, night sights, laser sights q.v.
Pneumatic Dart Gun with 20 darts of sleep toxin
Kinetic Blaster, from Destiny
Compound Bow 15':??':??':??':+?/?'
Quiver for Arrows
60 Arrows (Sherwood Forest)
8 Exploding Arrows
4 Hunting Arrows
1 Gigabyte Lexar Securedrive USB thumb drive
Large Backpack
Spiral Bound Notebook
Dozen Pens and Pencils
Passport, British Standard: Alan Kittle (cover story he is an insurance broker from LLoyds of London)
Passport, British Diplomatic: Allister Konrad MI-6 #047
Masamune, steel 4@2 density katana with vibroblade hilt weapon of quality, purple Amethyst in hilt, dangerous+damaging dependent rider, +5 damage points
Murasama, steel 4@2 density katana with vibroblade hilt, Lapis Lazuli in hilt, dangerous+damaging dependent rider
Passport, American: Anthony Killian (cover story is he is an ex Ranger teaching martial arts)
Passport, Australian: Albrecht Kent (cover story is he is the owner of an Import/Export company)
Passport, South African: Allen Kincaid (cover story is that he owns a diamond mine there)
Passport, New Zealand: Aiden Keenan (cover story is that he is a shipping tycoon)
Passport, Irish: Adair Kennady (cover story is he graduated from Cambridge University with many degrees, and is a Physicist)
Passport, Canadian: Alex Korath (cover story is that he is a computer hacker who graduated from MIT)
MI-6 ID
All my hackmaster items on a PDF DVD: Hackmaster Complete RPG, books, modules, class guides (they give indepth of both divine, and arcane magic, thief and fighter skills +styles)
Many Sets of real gem and plastic polyhedrial dice
Set sterling silver dice
Dell XPS latest Gen Laptop (10 lbs)
50 Gold Nuggets average 2 ounces each
Calculator (Solor and Battery Powered)
Large Duffle Bag
3 Deoderant Sticks
1 Folding brush/mirror combo
1 Toothbrush
1 Tube of Toothpaste
1 Box of dental floss
1 Bottle of Hydrogen Proxide
1 Bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol
1 Box of Band Aid Bandages
1 4 roll pack of Tolit Paper
1 Bath Towel
1 Washcloth
1 Mach 3 razer, with 10 refill packs
1 Bottle of Salon Shampoo and conditioner
1 3 pack of Irish Spring soap
1 Panasonic FZ-10 camera with extra battery and charger
8 pounds of light clothing (three full changes)
Computer repair kit (small screwdrivers, wrenches, and pliers)
1 Ball of Twine (100 foot)
1 Roll of Industrial Strength Ductape
Case MRE's (5#)
1 1 1/2 Gallon Jug of Deer Park Water
PSG-1 w/10x site w/ 10 clips of 10 bullets, (25lbs), RF3, base lethal, ranges 20:80:200:800:+1/8 feet, with the scope's effect doubling effective ranges but cutting the RF in half when used, optional silencer
M29 5.56/.25mm 6 shot grenade camera gun, with 10 clips of 30 5.56 bullets and 10 of 6 20mm grenades (30lbs), M-16 like gun, pneumatic grenade launcher 0:50:200:500:+1/5 yards RF 2, rifle 10':50':200':800':+1/8' RF6 dangerous Magazine Capacity: 30 rounds reload 0:18
Pancor Jackhammer MKII Automatic Shotgun 10 round drum with 200 rounds of ammo (15 lbs)
Dragon Cane Nunchaku, ends of nunchaku fifteen inches each, thirty inch long heavy cane; inside edges hollowed and threaded concealing fifteen inch cord when screwed together, decorative dragon head screws onto end, total length of cane thirty-six inches
Gold wedding ring, alternating diamonds, emeralds, rubies, twist detachable ring with fine garrotte wire
Omega Seamaster 2531.80 (Die Another Day/World Is Not Enough version) with miniature grappling hook, 50 foot high tensile micro filament, 800 pound test, dual high-powered lasers, titanium casing, men's styling
Black 40 GB Video Ipod
Custom Spectra Armor -48 cover value
Custom Spectra Helmet -4 cover value
10 sleeping gas pellets 5':10':15':20':+5/1' stamina check RS=S/D/N unconscious RS/5 minutes 5' radius center
80 GB Black Video Ipod, loaded with music
Laser sights on FN-five-seven pistols, Character must have skill in use laser sights; this skill works at +20; Successful use of the skill gives +RS to the shot; Target gets an intuition check, which may be bonused or penalized according to conditions. Success means target is aware of the beam before the shot is fired, and can take action.
Springfield XD-45 in the 4 inch barrel, night sights
5 Springfield XD-45 magazines
500 .45 ACP ammo
30 Aluminum Arrows with Broad Heads
Set good binoculars
Qt. Water Bottle, full
Pack long matches
Hand pumped water filtration tube
Charger for kinetic blaster
Focus/Holy Symbol: Spear, elongated silver head, blue sapphire inset stone, oak shank inscribed with Celtic runes against undead, head and shank magically given quality of diamond hardness
Geneice Baldo Killian
Hairbrush with concealed knife (the handle and body of steel so that it will be evident that it is the cause of the metal detector disruption, and design a quality brush that is beautiful in a modern way, with a six inch blade concealed within)
Large diamond on platinum band wedding ring, surrounded by sapphires, cuts glass and plexiglass
Omega Seamaster 2531.80 (Die Another Day/World Is Not Enough version) with miniature grappling hook, 30 foot high tensile micro filament, 600 pound test, high-powered laser, titanium casing, women's styling
Engagement Ring:
"Insurance" box containing $125K in gems, jewelry, and metals, and explanatory letter
2x FN-Five Seven w/ 20 clips of 20 bullets of 7x28mm ball round caliber (15lbs) RF10 dangerous, titanium parts for critical elements, anti-corrosion exterior finish, night sights, laser sights q.v.
Gold wedding ring, alternating diamonds, emeralds, rubies, twist detachable ring with fine garrotte wire
Custom Spectra Armor -48 cover value
Custom Spectra Helmet -4 cover value
Springfield XD-45 in the 4 inch barrel, night sights
5 Springfield XD-45 magazines
500 .45 ACP ammo
Mishap, steel 4@2 density Katana-model Vibrosword weapon of quality with Amethyst gem in hilt, dangerous+damaging dependent rider, +5 damage points
Circumstance, steel 4@8 density Katana-model Vibrosword with Aventurine gem in hilt, dangerous+damaging dependent rider
Small diamond-studded gold crucifix, very delicate filigree background, that she wears around her neck
Focus/Holy Symbol: Sword, silver blade, inscribed with Celtic runes against undead, amethyst inset stone, gold crosspiece hilt magically given the hardness of a diamond
--M. J. Young
Without looking in the book, I'm sure you're right and that that line is exactly where you say it is. I'm sure because I remember seeing that line before; but, when I went to the section where all the other defaults were listed ("Arcane Magic"), I couldn't find it, and I assumed I'd misremembered. If I'd been looking it up for my own sake, I'd have searched around more thoroughly, but seeing as it was for John . . .
___
I'm not sure my proposal for the burning-duration question is the best, but here 'tis:
- Require that the item to be burned must be ignited entirely withing the time factor. Depending on the circumstances and the target object, that may call for a T1@ skill check of some kind.
- Come up with a typical target object, and assess a reasonable burning time for that object. Call this the 'cap time' (see below). Sit-mod as though the duration were adjusted to this number, and then slap on another -10. (This SM applies to all castings, regardless of the object.)
- If the fire ever goes out, the spell immediately ends.
- If the target object is still burning after the 'cap time' has elapsed, the caster may make an additional skill check to allow the effect to continue, similar to chaining a running check. This is a passive check, requiring no action or even thought on the part of the character; it's assumed to be reflective of the skillfulness of the original casting. If this check fails, the spell ends. If it succeeds, the effect continues until the object burns out or the cap time elapses again (at which time the caster may make another chaining check), whichever comes first. If the check botches, the magic goes haywire - and it's your fault for letting it burn so long!
- Remove the bonus for destroying the burned component; it's not the spell that's destroying the object, it's the fire. If the spell ends prematurely, the item may be salvageable or even reusable.
There. How's that?
Edit: Also, assess a cumulative -10 SM on every passive chaining check after the first. This keeps the sneaky player from trying for a very short 'cap time' and thus creating a no-fail skill which he can proceed to chain for days on end.
Edit 2: Optionally, RSx2 = % of cap time that may elapse before next chaining check (creating a range from 2% to 200%).
Sounds like a good solution, Scott. That would work.
Let me look at present games for Harry, John 2, and Adam.
I think perhaps our matchmaker will step in to move things forward for Harry. Let me also apologize for getting the character name wrong, and state that I've added John Sevenwind as an alias on the character sheet.
John 2 is talking with the martial arts student instructor.
It occurs to me that I have not been keeping track of Merlin's skills, and I probably should; but on a roll of 03 he certainly will manage to travel the between. If Adam doesn't object, we'll go there.
--M. J. Young
I have Harry, Scott, John 2, and Adam, and about ninety minutes to address them before I have to run--but I should return anyway.
Harry is about to plan a wedding.
Scott is planning a holy symbol ritual, but first is going to have to deal with this can of Wyrms he's opened about magic.
Oh, *"Down the shore" is the correct New Jersey way of describing an oceanside vacation.
John thinks I should give him a general effects roll to see whether he can find this "martial arts style" he's identified in the computer. He's wrong. First, I've already determined for him all the martial arts styles that exist in the compound and he's looked through them. Second, what he's describing is acrobatics, not martial arts, and wouldn't show up on a search for martial arts styles. Third, this acrobatics style could have any of a thousand names--it could be called Bob in this universe (and have a competitive school named Weave). Fourth and finally, whether he can find something in the computer is more dependent on his skill at using a computer than on whether it's there.
Adam has surprised me with an interesting turn--no, not the idea of spending the night in his room, but the idea of scoping out the tavern for vampires.
--M. J. Young
I've got Harry, John 2, and Adam in play again today.
I think we've just about finished with the arrangements for Harry's marriage.
John 2 rolls 32 against his computer use skill, which is 1@7 SAL+2x12@ bias+2@2 BRA=63%. That's a success, but not a very strong one.
Adam is going to enhance his auditory perception to listen for heartbeats in people near him. With his 1@1 SAL, 2x11@ bias, and 2@10 BRA, a roll of 31 is a moderate success against his 63% chance of success, and will last for about half an hour. Now what we need to know is how many vampires might actually be here, and who might strike up conversation with him. The GE roll is 10, Nearly as Good As Expected.
Other than that I owe John a post about "realistic" combat, I think I'm done here.
--M. J. Young
After a stretched period of AIM sessions and indecisiveness on my part, I've finally got Ric's game back on track. Since Jenny still hasn't gotten started and Kirk seems to have wandered off, Ric has my attention all to himself, dubious may that honor be.
He's done nothing that requires a roll, but the old sorcerer gave him a list of cryptic ingredients. Just so I don't outsmart myself and forget what the heck I was on about, I'll write down the translations here.
1: Rain water.
2: This one is a trick question - it's actually literal. Rice grown in the shade, or underground, that has never been grown in proper sunlight.
3: A four-leaf clover.
4: A baby's tears.
4: Squeeze the starch from a potato.
I thought that was the trick for deceiving the giant about squeezing the water out of a rock? Or was that with cheese...
Scott - Good one. I hadn't interpreted it that way. How novel.
I'd have gone for tearing from an animal--a mouse, perhaps. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think we can be certain babies have not known sadness, if to experience is to know. Yet mammalian eyes, at least, and I expect most eyes of non-marine animals, are lubricated via tear ducts, and so the liquid within their eyes would properly be tears--but a primitive enough animal could not experience (I would think) the emotion of sadness.
I have Harry and John 2 playing today.
Harry wraps up his dinner engagement and I think returns to the ship a bit early. I have some notes to make on the identity of this girl, whose name apparently shifted from Arabella to Arabelle and some point, but I'm going with the original in my notes.
John 2 rolls 82 on his effort to communicate with deity. That spell has a +40 sitmod, but he's only got a 1@1 SAL in a 0@ bias world with a 2@2 BRA, 73% chance of success, so it fails. I'm not sure what he had in mind for new use, but since it failed it doesn't matter--until he tries it again, probably tomorrow.
--M. J. Young
Personally I like Arabelle better if it's all the same to you, but she's your NPC.
Ric isn't really doing anything, so his update is just in general.
I actually have a question about Ric's game, if MJ or Scott happen to read through and feel like answering: He is essentially in school, with Professional and Expert-level masters making Training rolls (which as long as I don't roll ridiculously high I'm assuming pass, to spare myself the math). That said, does he advance one specific ninja skill every 25 days, or all of his ninja skills every 25 days, assuming he's being trained in a very general "liberal arts ninja" sort of way?
My first thought was that he would get one skill advancement every 25 days, thinking he can't get credit for more than one skill at a time.
Then I remember that my own skill advancements in Mary Piper seem to be everything I was using regularly.
The end result is, I'm not sure.
After a six-month time lapse, does he get 7 skill advancements, or 7 advancements on ALL his skills, assuming his trainers make their rolls?
Depends on how many of them he's being trained in.
No, really. Three hours per five days is sufficient for a skill mark when one comes due; if he's spending at least four hours and twelve minutes a day at Ninja U (21 hours / five days = 4.2 hours/day), then it's certainly reasonable to advance him in every one of the seven skills every 25 (or fifty) days.
(In fact, if some of the skills he's learning are closely related, I might give him a bit of a break on the time - say, the basic style and the three special maneuvers only take 9 hours every five days instead of twelve, because in some sense practicing one helps him with the others.)
About teaching and training rolls: in a flatlined bias, you might be surprised at how often an expert teacher fails his roll. Example -
2@10 BRA (Persuasion)
3@10 SAL (Teaching)
+0 World bias level doubled
____
70% success (27% failure, 3% botch)
Notice that that's the highest possible skill and the highest humanly possible attribute. A more reasonable expert might have a 60% chance of success (2@5 BRA, 3@5 SAL), failing a solid 40% of the time (with one in ten failures catastrophic).
If that seems like a lot of failure to you, keep in mind that "failure" in this case is only learning twice as fast as normal as opposed to four times as fast. A high-end professional teacher with a level two BRA averages 2 intensities every 75 days, or about ten intensities a year (assuming an appropriate program for the learner's skill level) - about three times the speed of a learner on his own.
And the usual botch for a teaching/training roll is that the student does not get the benefit of the teacher for that time around--he fails this roll and skips the next advancement.
Let me give a quick outline of how it tends to go. Gee, I wish I could do tables here.
Training starts at Day 0.
- Day 25, training roll succeeds, +1 intensity.
Day 50, training roll succeeds, +1 intensity.
Day 75, training roll succeeds, +1 intensity.
Day 100, training roll succeeds, +1 intensity. - Day 25, training roll fails, no advancement.
Day 50, no training roll made, +1 intensity.
Day 75, training roll fails, no advancement.
Day 100, no training roll made, +1 intensity. - Day 25, training roll botches, no advancement.
Day 50, no training roll, no advancement.
Day 75, training roll fails, no advancment.
Day 100, no training roll made, +1 intensity.
*****
It is likely to be a bad week. It's 2:30 in the morning and I've not had supper yet and have a lot on my plate (figuratively) tomorrow. I also have a major errand on Wednesday--picking up a stranded college student so he can be home for Thanksgiving. And of course there is Thanksgiving, and I will be doing a substantial amount of the cooking. All of which is to say that I cannot promise I will be here to run a game all week, but I do promise to attempt to get here and answer what I can.
--M. J. Young
And I was already tired.
I have dealt again with the non-game threads, but it is too late to start the game threads, particularly since as of midnight it is my wedding anniversary and I cannot justify being in my office much longer.
--M. J. Young
Somebody call Ripley's Believe it or Not!!!! We have a man that remembers his wedding anniversary!!!
So how many eons has it been since you got married?
Happy Anniversary, Boss. I'll drink a toast to you and your wife with dinner tonight.
On that note: How many days in a year in the Mary Piper Alpha verse? I've been assuming it was 365, but different planet probably means a different year. Once Verser-me is married he'll want to be able to keep track of that sort of thing, and do something special for Arabelle whereever they happen to be by then.
Thanks for the good wishes.
Harry, since no player has ever left the ship and settled in any port in this world, the shape of the year has never mattered--only the shape of the journey.
I've burned up my available time again for the moment, and probably will not be back tonight. If I do not make it here tomorrow, let me wish all our U.S.A. group a Happy Thanksgiving.
--M. J. Young
Huzzah for trailblazing! Sort of.
You realize with me attempting to join the city guard, you're either going to have to Verse me out pretty soon or start getting REALLY detailed on Durnmist, right? (Just don't Verse me out before my wedding. Wouldn't be fair to Arabelle... >.> )
It appears that tonight I just might have enough time to address the long-patient posts of our gamers. I again extend my apologies and my thanks for your patience in this.
I also wish all a happy Thanksgiving, and hope perhaps that tonight's posts may give you yet one more thing for which to be thankful.
Harry, John 2, and Adam are my patient patients.
Harry is returning to the ship, and soon enough the sea, unless he takes some other steps before departure.
John 2 keeps throwing this PUSH TF at me--Pray Until Something Happens. That, of course, creates a serious problem for me, because I can't calculate the odds until I know the TF, and I can't know the TF until I've rolled the dice. Ah, but perhaps I can deal with it another way. Let me calculate the odds based on the baseline TF and roll the dice, and then adjust the TF to match the probability rolled on the dice for "something" to happen--stipulated, that if it is closer to a botch than to a success, then he quickly gets the botch rather than getting the succees slowly.
But the other problem is that I have to know what he is actually praying, so I'll ask him.
Finally, he wants to know whether his search for places that taught a "martial art" that was really an acrobatic style that turned up a bunch of acrobatic instructors also turned up a weight training program. On one level, I think if I did a Google search for techniques to aid flight when pursued and I got a weight training program, I'd have serious doubts about the quality of their search algorithm; on the other hand, there is a chance that a place that teaches acrobatics also has weight training--and with a GE roll of 11, that's a big deal.
Adam gets his interview with a vampire.
--M. J. Young
It sounds like you're making it more likely for me to botch. Given my behavior of late, I don't really begrudge you that. However, you do have the reputation as the single most fair referee, so I will trust your judgment here.
Ok, before I update his game, I'm doing some work for Ric. He's being trained in 33 skills, of which some are closely related (Tightropes, Tightrope Speed, and Tightrope Non-contact, for instance). So we'll say that for purposes of training rolls, he is being trained in 22 unrelated skills.
In six months of 10-hour days, six days a week, he runs up 1,440 hours of training (60 hours a week, 4 weeks a month, for 6 months), or 65.455 hours per skill. So he'll get two chances to advance each related group of skills. I'm sure I could maximize his efficiency a bit more, get him an extra roll or two on some of his skills, but the math is beyond me even on a good day.
I'm going to assume his instructors are reasonably capable (2@4 BRA) and above average or they wouldn't be Masters (2@10). The Psi bias here remains flatlined, so here's the result of 44d% shooting for a 54% or lower target number:
21 successes, 4 botches, 19 failures.
So Ric gets 21 successes to raising his skills. Since we never really established HOW he was spending his time, and I want Ric to become the kind of ninja he wants to become, I'll let him distribute those 21 advancements as he sees fit, unless there's some compelling reason not to (if they HAVE to represent one skill or group of skills every other die, for instance, or if we're assuming he never neglected any training in favor of others).
Am I leaving anything out? Does he still advance the skills his teachers failed to train him in, only slower? Obviously those four botches mean he gained nothing a couple of times (it looks to me like they add up to one sensei he just doesn't get a long with), but what about the just plain failures?
or 65.455 hours per skill. So he'll get two chances to advance each related group of skills.
There's something going on inside that word "so" that I'm missing.
(I might come back and write a longer post about skill advancement, but I'm busy; in the meantime it'll help to know how you got here from there.)