Forum > RMSS/FRP
Arcane Shields
katastrophe:
I had a look at that Arcane Shields list from the Arcane companion. Spell one is a shield that is an instant and concentration. Not sure who helpful that spell is overall since concentration takes up so much activity. The 3rd level spell like the others from the other realms is a shield with duration. Unlike the other shield spells from the other realms and the arcane shield 1st spell, it does not have the "instant" designation.
Does anyone know whether this was a typo or if this spell was intended to be worse than the other spells of its kind.
jdale:
I can only speculate that they were trying to limit the stacking potential of spells on that list. But overall it seems like a good example of something that didn't need to be arcane in the first place.
Hurin:
The one benefit of the spell being concentration is that it could potentially last longer that way. But that is a pretty situational benefit.
One other benefit of Arcane spells in previous editions was just the flexibility they gave to casters. E.g. Channeling users had no Shield spell readily available, and even Essence users only had it on a Closed list, so making it Open Arcane might have made it more readily available to Arcane casters.
jdale:
In RMSS, for an arcane caster the arcane open and closed lists are cheaper than the open or closed lists of any other realm. But if you're a pure or hybrid caster of any other realm, the closed lists of your own realm are cheaper than arcane open lists. So the advantage is only if it's not in your realm at all.
That said, on the whole it's a more powerful list than Attack Avoidance in Mentalism, and even a bit better than Shield Mastery in Essence since it adds in spell deflection. I just think the arcane lists should be more distinct than simply doing things better or giving easier access to lists. There should be something fundamental about them that, while it is useful, also makes clear why realm-based magic replaced arcane. For example instead of deflecting arrows in a nice predictable way, create a chaotic region of air that causes them to fly in a random direction and attack whatever is along the new path. Instead of deflecting spells, change them into random spells.
Hurin:
--- Quote from: jdale on June 10, 2022, 06:51:40 PM ---In RMSS, for an arcane caster the arcane open and closed lists are cheaper than the open or closed lists of any other realm. But if you're a pure or hybrid caster of any other realm, the closed lists of your own realm are cheaper than arcane open lists. So the advantage is only if it's not in your realm at all.
--- End quote ---
Yes, so an Archmage would have the advantage of access to a shield spell whereas a Cleric would not.
--- Quote --- I just think the arcane lists should be more distinct than simply doing things better or giving easier access to lists.
--- End quote ---
Definitely!
--- Quote ---There should be something fundamental about them that, while it is useful, also makes clear why realm-based magic replaced arcane. For example instead of deflecting arrows in a nice predictable way, create a chaotic region of air that causes them to fly in a random direction and attack whatever is along the new path. Instead of deflecting spells, change them into random spells.
--- End quote ---
I agree there should be something distinctive, but the thing that made realm-based magic replace arcane (if we're going by the original explanation of Arcane magic, as it was first introduced in Rolemaster Companion I) was that Arcane spells took more effort and training to learn (and I would add to cast, since they had all the penalties of all the realms). The same idea of Arcane spells being higher cost was extended to the individual spell costs in Companion IV, section 4.8. Arcane spells also tended to be more powerful as compensation.
So for me, in RMU, I'd like to see Arcane spells continue to cost more but pack a bit more punch, especially if they can combine effects from multiple realms. This shows why they are harder to learn and cast, and explains why the realm-based versions have replaced the arcane version.
That's a bit harder to do with a simple shield spell. I guess you could make it a level 1 spell (since Essence has shield at level 2 and Mentalism at level 3), thus making it more effective. Or maybe it could be a +30 DB bonus rather than the normal +25. Or perhaps it could be cast on others (none of the other Shields can, IIRC). Or maybe it could have a longer duration, Arcane magic being generally more powerful.
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