I have included here for the purposes of clarification and edification, some examples of Game Play, as well as difficult or unusual rulings and some special situations that I have encountered. The potential GM will find this information most helpful as a guideline, but players will also benefit from it. Please remember that this is only the way I work with the rules and anyone is free to take the SIMRPG system and change it or interpret it as they see fit, as long as they get people willing to play with them.
An Example of the Creation of a New Type of Magick ExtraThe backstory behind this was that I had a player who wanted to be an Ogun, a voodoo witch doctor type. I asked him how much power he wanted to have, what limitations, and what effects he thought he could create. Between us we quickly brainstormed a kind of generalized description and outline of what we knew or thought we knew about the powers of a voodoo priest. We listed about six or seven (Cursing People, Voodoo Dolls, Snake-like ability to fascinate a foe, Talking to/Fighting Spirits, Healing with potions, Performing Rituals, Being Possessed by or borrowing the powers or knowledge of Animal spirits and Boas (these are totemic Voodoo Gods), Reading omens and seeing the future, etc..) He wasn't really interested in some of the heavier stuff, just enough to impress the yokels of the village he was from and to give him an edge over others. We divided the powers or effects that a voodoo Ogun could produce into things that could be reproduced or accomplished with normal skills (for instance Herb Lore, Hypnotism, Physician, Performance, Divining, etc... ) and those that needed some magickal or supernatural "Oomph" to be really effective and useful. So we decided that he probably should get the skills I listed above to start with, plus whatever else he thought would be needed, and then we worked on the magickal side of things. We went over the powers, tried to weed them down to the necessary, and make sure they were useful and could tie into the character's strengths and skills and help accomplish his desires. The result came out something like this:
Some Basic Voodoo Powers
- Evil Eye
- Use of this ability causes the target to suffer either, (a) a Plague of painful boils or some such affliction causing one point of damage and lasting for a number of days equal to the Strain spent by the caster; or (b) a Hex of unluckiness that lasts for a single day and causes all Tests made by the target to be -1 for every 2 points of Strain spent by the Caster. Requires a successfully WIll Test.
- Mesmerize
- Use of this ability requires eye contact between caster and target causes the target to be paralyzed for one round per Strain spent by the caster. Their mind and their body is frozen until eye contact is interrupted or the Caster ceases to spend Strain. The caster may move around as long as they maintain eye contact with the target. As long as the target is Mesmerized, the Ogun has a +5 to any Hypnotism Test he makes to get the target to reveal information or to introduce a post-hypnotic suggestion into the target's mind (usually takes a minimum of 5 rounds per suggestion). Requires a successful Will Test.
- Spirit Walk
- Use of this ability allows the caster to send forth his spirit on a journey, costs 5 Strain. Through this, the caster can, (a) visit earthly locations or people known to him and witness what occurs; (b) speak with and engage in combat with other spirits, boas (minor gods or totems), or inhabitants of the spirit/astral realms (can perform exorcism or spirit healing by this method of driving off evil spirits); or (c) attack a living person's spirit in dreams to weaken their Will. Spirit combat is accomplished by a contest of Wills each round, with a +1 bonus to Will for one single combat (until the target is defeated or Ogun is) for each Strain spent. Each successful round (One combatant succeeds in Will Test and the other fails), the target takes a kind of spiritual damage. Assume that the Ogun's or person's Wisdom is his Strength for the combat and calculate the Base Damage as per normal. Each time the target loses, the Ogun roles damage and the target then loses that many Strain. When they drop to zero Strain, any further damage done is to Will, until the target's Will has dropped to zero (can not drop any further). At this point, the spirit loses it's coherence and fades. If it was a Spirit creature, it may or may not be permanently destoyed. For a living person, their Strain and Will is reduced by whatever damage they have taken. They regain Strain as per normal and Will at the rate of one point per day (unless they are attacked again). This makes them now more vulnerable to the Ogun's power. Additionally, if they have lost Will, they are listless and less energetic, feeling unrested, tired, and slow. This generally amounts to a -1 to all Tests until they regain their full Will.
- Create Effigy or Talisman
- An Effigy is a representation of an enemy or target. If a physical Remnant of the target (hair, blood, sweat, nails, semen, etc..) can be attached or included in the effigy, then the target is -3 Will when resisting Magick cast with the aid of the Effigy. If the effigy simply has an important possession of the target (a locket, a ring, etc..) then the target is -1 Will to resist a spell cast with the aid of the effigy (these bonuses are cumulative). A Talisman is a magickal artifact that has a bit of the Ogun's blood in it. If he wields it in a spell or during a spirit walk, he has a +1 to his Will. But if it is stolen from him, it can be used as an Effigy on him (-4 to the Ogun's will because it is a possession and has a physical Remnant of his) and the holder has a +1 to their Will to resist the Ogun. It takes a full day of work to create either of these items. Multiple Effigies or Talismans do not function to increase the bonuses (six Talismans do not give the Ogun a +6 to his Will, he still only has a +1). But they can act as backups if something is lost or broken.
After I had gone through the powers and made the ruling on their use, I settled on a cost of about 10 points total (about the same as being a Magick Adept). I started off on the assumption of 3 points per power and then modified it. I knew Spirit Walk would be more expensive because of it's power and I knew Evil Eye would be less useful so I lowered it's cost, but it evened out in the end. It was quite expensive as an extra, but it turned out to be well worth the investment and hours of fun to the consternation of the Ogun's fellow players, who had to bear to brunt of this evil little man's pride and willful vengeance against any slight to him. But it also evened out for the character, since he wasn't that good at combat, but was a persuasive and charismatic bastard when he wanted to be.So, as a guideline to the GM confronted by a player who wants to do something new, here a few suggestions. Get an idea of how far outside the norm this is. The more unusual, the more expensive. Also determine the power or ability itself, where it comes or arises from, the game effect and rules governing it's use, and how much the ability will influence or unbalance play, as well as how generally useful or versatile it is. I assume a basic cost of 3-5 points per extra, modified by the considerations I just listed. If you don't want to allow something, forbid it or make it really expensive. Remember that if a player spends most of his points on a special ability, he won't be able to have many skills. Also, remember that you're the GM. If the power starts getting out of hand in play, then throw a monkey wrench in his plans. Introduce foes that the power doesn't work on or whose nature or abilities cancel its effectiveness. Or have curses or the God's disfavor cause the power to be weakened or fail until something is set right. Often, to limit a special ability, I make its use based on Strain expenditure, so it is naturally limited and doesn't unbalance play much more than a powerful or specialized mage would. And please, by all means send me questions, suggestions, or your own ideas on special powers and I'll include them in the optional rules section and credit you for them.