Topic: Rune Master RMCII

[OLF, i.e. Olf Le Fol]

And while some mobs might fail their RR by 20 pts, if the mobs are the same level as the caster failure is on average much lower.  Fireballs will probably do about the same, you can shoot a fireball at a range.

A Fireball has an area of effect of 10'R whereas a Sigil of Pain has an area of effect of 10'R per level. A Fireball is blocked by obstacles (walls, physical barriers, etc.) whereas a Sigil of Pain's effect is not. Casting a Fireball costs PP, casting the 'spell' enruned by a Sigil of Pain does not since it's just as reading a rune; sure, having the Fireball on a rune paper would have the same effect but "Fireball" is a level 8 spell, requiring a Runemaster to be at least level 16 to enruned it and at least level 20 to embed it as a chargeable rune whereas a Sigil of Pain may be cast starting from level 9.
Sure, it doesn't give a Runemaster complete invincibility, as he'd still be vulnerable to projectiles, mostly, but he's a Runemaster, an Essence spell caster. A Solid Barrier (from the very powerful, but not enough to be broken, "Barriers" Closed Essence spell list in the SUC) is a level 9 spell, completely protecting the Runemaster from physical, solid projectiles. Yes, he's still vulnerable to spells, gases, liquids, etc. but, heh, if your mobs have many spellcasters whilst all being of the level of the Runemaster, I think we may disagree on the definition of "mob"!
Again, he's a Runemaster, so very likely to have, you know, a great collection of Runes with many, many, miscellaneous and different spells, especially to counter his weakness.

[jdale]

A Fireball is blocked by obstacles (walls, physical barriers, etc.) whereas a Sigil of Pain's effect is not.

I don't agree with this part of your reading. Sigil of Pain (and the other Sigils) does not explicitly state the spell is blocked by obstacles, but neither does Fireball. My presumption would be that spells are blocked by obstacles unless explicitly noted otherwise. If you have to read between the lines to reach a conclusion that makes something super powerful, it's probably not a correct reading.

But for the record I do agree with your reading that the caster, despite being at the center of the area of effect, is not affected. Otherwise that's sufficiently important that it would have to be noted (and make the spell pretty worthless to boot).

One interesting factor here is that, if you do manage to kill the runemaster, you get all the remaining prepared rune papers. So it may be hard, but it's also rewarding....

[OLF, i.e. Olf Le Fol]

I don't agree with this part of your reading. Sigil of Pain (and the other Sigils) does not explicitly state the spell is blocked by obstacles, but neither does Fireball. My presumption would be that spells are blocked by obstacles unless explicitly noted otherwise.

Fair enough. For my part, I consider the physical aspect of the spell manifestation, with spells not being blocked by obstacles unless they have a physical manifestation (such as a fireball, icebolt and the like), because magic is not blocked by magic, allowing people to cast detection spells, for instance, through obstacles. How could one detect presences in a closed room, for instance, if magic thus spells were blocked by obstacles? Such spells aren't "explicitly noted as not being blocked by obstacles" after all. Spells with physical manifestations are different, though, with the physical manifestation being blocked by obstacles (so the fire of a fireball) though not the magical energy of the spell itself (so someone may detect that a spell was cast on the other side of the wall).

[Tywyll]

A Fireball is blocked by obstacles (walls, physical barriers, etc.) whereas a Sigil of Pain's effect is not.

I don't agree with this part of your reading. Sigil of Pain (and the other Sigils) does not explicitly state the spell is blocked by obstacles, but neither does Fireball. My presumption would be that spells are blocked by obstacles unless explicitly noted otherwise. If you have to read between the lines to reach a conclusion that makes something super powerful, it's probably not a correct reading.

But for the record I do agree with your reading that the caster, despite being at the center of the area of effect, is not affected. Otherwise that's sufficiently important that it would have to be noted (and make the spell pretty worthless to boot).

One interesting factor here is that, if you do manage to kill the runemaster, you get all the remaining prepared rune papers. So it may be hard, but it's also rewarding....

Sorry for the Necro, but I DO NOT agree that the reader is immune to the effects of the spell. Nowhere does it say that or imply it. I think these are clearly riffs on the D&D Symbol spells, which were designed as traps rather than as something you used then and there.

I mean, maybe the author wanted a super aoe spell effect, but clearly that is broken and doesn't line up with existing powers. I think a trap that blasts the reader and all their nearby allies makes more sense.

[jdale]

They'd be pretty lousy traps, considering you need to make a successful Runes maneuver to activate them. Compare the spell description of the Sigils to the spell description of the Sign spells on the open essence list Rune Mastery in Spell Law. Signs are traps. Sigils are Runes that are simply limited to specific effects instead of embedding other spells.

[EltonJ]

However, I think you are remembering RMC-III Magus pg. 15:

"NOTE: Because of the difficulty of playing a Magus and the potential power inherent in this profession, GMs and players should carefully confer before starting a character with this profession."

I remember the magus.  very powerful.  Well written, but very powerful.  The Runemaster was also very powerful in it's own right. I want something like the diabolist from the Palladium RPG.  While the magus and runemaster professions could do a diabolist, they could do the diabolist better.

[OLF, i.e. Olf Le Fol]

The Runemaster was also very powerful in it's own right. I want something like the diabolist from the Palladium RPG.

Though, mayhap, the diabolist may be an interesting profession in its (as in, you know, the possessive adjective rather than the contraction of a pronoun and a laincursed verb whose presence here makes no sense) own right, not many people, especially nowadays, actually know anything about the Palladium RPG (Palladium is probably more known for RIFTS)… Besides, the RM system and the Palladium system, though level-based, are IMO too different to be accurately compared.

[EltonJ]

The Runemaster was also very powerful in it's own right. I want something like the diabolist from the Palladium RPG.

Though, mayhap, the diabolist may be an interesting profession in its (as in, you know, the possessive adjective rather than the contraction of a pronoun and a laincursed verb whose presence here makes no sense) own right, not many people, especially nowadays, actually know anything about the Palladium RPG (Palladium is probably more known for RIFTS)… Besides, the RM system and the Palladium system, though level-based, are IMO too different to be accurately compared.

Yes, they are.