Topic: Casting channeling spells in metal armor

[Aramis]

I would like to know lowering the option 10.6 ESF for casting in armor would greatly unbalance the game. I have a player that likes to play paladins and wants to wear Full Plate armor as thats what he has come acustomed to. He would like to use the champion out of Combat Companion. What are some of your thoughts on this?

G Mo

[thrud]

As a GM you can make any mods you like.
If it's only a one time deal you can give him a gift/talent/background option called transcend armour removing all casting restrictions for armour.
The important thing is to have fun and a "Paladin" in plate armour is hardly going to break the game.

[Erik Sharma]

Well if I do recall it correctly Champions in Combat Companion get a spell called Transcend Armor on the list Faith's Shield, think it's a lvl 1 or lvl 2 spell. That should help players that want to cast spells in Metal Armors and already do reduce the ESF when casting spells in metal armors.

Another option I do use is that I let the Spell Mastery skill be applied to a whole spell List and use the ranks to modify the Casters ESF and since armors to affect it the skill does too, it is an addition to the Transcend Armor spell and can improve your ability with casting spells in metal armors a lot.

It's not really impossible even in RMC to do those Metal Wearing Paladin types that wield both armor and spells but it's not necessary depends on where the players want to put his Development Points.
I guess that's the point since you are playing RMC and not D&D and letting the players to form their characters how they want instead of just cutting it out of a premade mold.

Ohh and another option is to take the skill Transcend Armor from RMFRP and incorporate it to RMC to bypass the problem and making the above changes unnecessary unless you want to include em as a bonus.

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

I would like to know lowering the option 10.6 ESF for casting in armor would greatly unbalance the game. I have a player that likes to play paladins and wants to wear Full Plate armor as thats what he has come acustomed to. He would like to use the champion out of Combat Companion. What are some of your thoughts on this?

Look at the Transcend Armor spells on the Faith's Shield list. They start at second level and go from there.

Just as the character is unlikely to be able to wear full plate starting out (due to maneuver modifiers and a cost of 5/* per rank for maneuvering in Plate), he is also unlikely to wear it when starting out and casting spells.

Eventually he will get to the point where he can wear the full plate armor.

If he starts off wearing just a metal breatplate (AT 17, ESF 30, MnMP -15, MxMP -90, MsP 0, QuP 10), he is going to have a larger maneuver penalty (-90) starting off than he will a casting penalty for ESF (30). And the lowest level Transcend Armor spell will reduce that by 10 to a 20 (it takes the 12th level Transcend Armor to reduce it to zero).

I would strongly urge against combining different methods of reducing ESF, as every method other than the spell will be usable by every other caster in your setting, and that can lead to unbalancing things (Mages wearing mithril chain armor).

[thrud]

Hmm, note to self....
"Mithril chain armor" 

[Aramis]

  cool beans. IC I just needed to read a little more into combat companion. I just got it last week and have not read much of it yet as I'm trying to obsorb the 3 core books and RME. So far I like what the champion is and how it takes someone to meditate before he suits up for the day. Sort of like Lancalot praying in the cathedral at first light.

G Mo

[pastaav]

I would strongly urge against combining different methods of reducing ESF, as every method other than the spell will be usable by every other caster in your setting, and that can lead to unbalancing things (Mages wearing mithril chain armor).

Sorry if I object...but there is really no requirement that all skills must be learnable by all characters. A character that lack a horse can easily be denied to learn riding. Likewise a character that can't cast fire bolt can not learn directed spells fire bolt. Likewise a character without a source of knowledge may not learn a lore skill. Adding a this-skill-is-only-taught-to-paladins rule to a setting is a seconds work.

At the end of the day it works like this
*Transcend armor as a skill works like a DP-sink. You sacrifice some of your DP for lots of levels until you at high level get the real benefit.
*Transcend armor as a talent works like either let-some-characters-cheat-the-system if talent is given for free or sacrifice-development-at-a-level-up-to-never-care-about-ESF if you pay it with large sum of DP.
*Transcend armor as a spell works like skip-some-PP-to-be-able-to-PP-at-all
*Transcend armor as a item is essentially GM sanctioned cheating...pay nothing to get the reward

Any of the above methods put restrictions...yet my take on it is that diminishing returns mean that only the Transcend armor as a skill is a real limitation. Sacrifice some PP to be able use the rest of your PP at all is not really a real limit. Pay a large sum of DP at high level to get rid of ESF is due to diminishing returns no real sacrifice.

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

Sorry if I object...but there is really no requirement that all skills must be learnable by all characters. A character that lack a horse can easily be denied to learn riding. Likewise a character that can't cast fire bolt can not learn directed spells fire bolt. Likewise a character without a source of knowledge may not learn a lore skill. Adding a this-skill-is-only-taught-to-paladins rule to a setting is a seconds work.

One of the precepts of Rolemaster has always been that any character can learn any skill. You have mentioned that skills may have their own prerequisites and requirements in order to be learned and have given examples of such. A Fighter can gain skill in Directed Spells if he has a way of casting Shock Bolt at least once a day (via spell or item, or even Talent/Gift)

You can also limit skills based on culture or on race (so long as anybody may select that culture or race) and there is no problem. (Note: I am less happy about using Race as a requirement for a certain skill, but can see it happening).

But if you limit a skill to a single profession then you are giving that profession preferential treatment.And that, I think, is a very bad thing to do.

It is also one of the reasons why the Champion has Transcend Armor spells, and there is no intention of putting a Transcend Armor skill into RMC.

[thrud]

In a way I like your thoughts pastaav, Transcend Armour being tought only to paladins.
But like everything else in life, there are always people not playing by the book. The knowledge would eventually leak out and other people than Paladins would learn it. The Priests/monks in their temples would only teach the worthy of course but knowledge has a tendency to escape its shackles and eventually it will escape.

[Skaran]

Of course the clerics also have to perform a ritual on said armour to make it worthy of the deity bestowing those powers on the paladin. Has to be renewed every festival etc. The paladin also has to perform his duties according to the doctrines of the deity he/she draws their power from. Then there are duties given by the clerics as sort of a payment for the ritual cleansing of the armour, castleguard, quests for the temple etc.

The clerics can also do said ritual for non paladins of their deity of course but the cost(s) could be interesting plot hooks too.

Always look for the plot hooks.