Charge gathering (was Re: [UA] Lavomancy)

[Myles Corcoran]

Matthew Rowan Norwood wrote:

> Balanced charge-gathering is one of the hardest things (IMO) about
> designing a new school. It might be cool conceptually, but if it's not
> playable, no one will let PCs use it in their game. Even some of the
> schools in the book fall down here: the difference between a minor and a
> significant Dipsomancer is completely at the whim of the GM and when he
> decides to present a vessel in the game.

	Hear, hear. I have a bit of a problem with Dispomancy 
for just this reason. Even the core rulebook schools are quite 
different in the assumed difficulties for charge gathering. 
Cliomancy and Dispomancy are the worst, in my view, in that they 
leave an awful lot to GM whim. This is fine if the GM has a clear 
idea of the number of charges he or she wants to feed into a game.
I'd like more of a player input into the charge gathering though, 
as schools like Epideromancy and <blanks on the name of the 
risk takers> leave a lot in the hands of the player; when to 
take a risk, when to take a wound, etc. The Clios and Dipsos 
charges, particularly the significant charges, are either too 
easy to come by, if the GM is generous, or too hard, if the GM 
is tight with the famous (place/drinking vessel). Other schools 
have to make hard choices, why not the drunks and history buffs?
	On a related subject, though, I did find the suggested 
charge gathering rates stuff in PoMoMa really helpful. A little 
bit like that included in each fan-written school could be useful  
as a guide to the author's idea of the charge gathering style of 
the school.

	Myles

--
Myles Corcoran    myles at ck.cit.alcatel.fr    Alcatel Ireland Ltd. 
"It is better, of course, to know  | (home) : (+353) 021 4503904
useless things than to know        | (work) : (+353) 023 20469  
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