Magis system question: spell points

[dunbruha]

I've made it to the Magic section!
In the section on spell point cost (p 38 of the book), it says "An arcanist may choose to reduce the effectiveness of a spell by eliminating dice from his ability check." And on p 13 of the quickstart rules, it says "An arcanist may lower the ranks of the dice rolled if desired to reduce spell point cost. Alternatively, ...he may eliminate one or more dice (except for the basic rank) from the roll." So my question is, are any combination of die ranks allowed? Take the example for Nathal: Arcanum D8 > Mystic D6 > Primordial D4. The possible combinations are:

D8 + D6 + D4
D8 + D6 + --
D8 + D4 + D4
D8 + D4 + --
D8 + -- + D4
D8 + -- + --

D6 + D6 + D4
D6 + D6 + --
D6 + D4 + D4
D6 + D4 + --
D6 + -- + D4
D6 + -- + --

D4 + D6 + D4
D4 + D6 + --
D4 + D4 + D4
D4 + D4 + --
D4 + -- + D4
D4 + -- + --

If this is correct (and even though several combinations are the same), this seems like the player would need a good grasp of probability to determine the optimum conbination to roll to beat a given spell difficulty. Or have I gotten it wrong?

[orcface]

That's what I took it to mean. As for probability, all I would consider is average results.
d4 = 2.5
d6 = 3.5
d8 = 4.5

I have a friend that would calculate the chance of rolling 16+ on a d8+d6+d4, but not me. If you need to defeat something's defense, bring all you got! If you do damage to yourself with a spell in a critical situation that's heroic and dramatic! Those are the best moments in the game.

[dunbruha]

That's what I took it to mean. As for probability, all I would consider is average results.
d4 = 2.5
d6 = 3.5
d8 = 4.5

Ok, that makes sense. That's an easy system to use.

I have a friend that would calculate the chance of rolling 16+ on a d8+d6+d4, but not me. If you need to defeat something's defense, bring all you got! If you do damage to yourself with a spell in a critical situation that's heroic and dramatic! Those are the best moments in the game.

But for spells where you are not trying to penetrate a defense, but are just trying to beat the difficulty of the spell, then you want to roll the minimum dice, right? For example, Spider Climb. If you wanted to cast this on yourself, then the difficulty is 1D4. So you would want to roll just enough to beat the D4 roll, to minimize the spell point cost. So in a non-combat situation, you would just roll 1D4, and if you fail, then keep trying until you beat it. But in a combat situation (where time was important), you might want to roll 1D6 or 2D4 to incerase your odds of beating the difficutly roll. Is this the way it works?

[dancross]

Hello!

But for spells where you are not trying to penetrate a defense, but are just trying to beat the difficulty of the spell, then you want to roll the minimum dice, right? For example, Spider Climb. If you wanted to cast this on yourself, then the difficulty is 1D4. So you would want to roll just enough to beat the D4 roll, to minimize the spell point cost. So in a non-combat situation, you would just roll 1D4, and if you fail, then keep trying until you beat it. But in a combat situation (where time was important), you might want to roll 1D6 or 2D4 to increase your odds of beating the difficulty roll. Is this the way it works?

That's not a bad way to do it. There's no spell point cost for failure, and if there's no situational danger or pressure I probably wouldn't even require the difficulty check (spell cost still is based on the roll that determines effectiveness).

[dancross]

I've made it to the Magic section!
In the section on spell point cost (p 38 of the book), it says "An arcanist may choose to reduce the effectiveness of a spell by eliminating dice from his ability check." And on p 13 of the quickstart rules, it says "An arcanist may lower the ranks of the dice rolled if desired to reduce spell point cost. Alternatively, ...he may eliminate one or more dice (except for the basic rank) from the roll." So my question is, are any combination of die ranks allowed? Take the example for Nathal: Arcanum D8 > Mystic D6 > Primordial D4.

Any combination you listed is possible, so long as the caster had mastered the spell's school. If not, he can't roll his mastery rank anyway.

[dunbruha]

That's not a bad way to do it. There's no spell point cost for failure, and if there's no situational danger or pressure I probably wouldn't even require the difficulty check (spell cost still is based on the roll that determines effectiveness).

I think I'm getting it!