Goodman Games

In reading Second Sight (pg 267), the game mechanics of the 12-13 result are very different from all the other results. I'm playing with three different ideas to address this and would love some input from you all.

1. Leave it as is and not worry about it.
2. Change the 12-13 result to read exactly like the 14-17 result, but change 75% to 70%. Create an entire new spell to use the mechanics of the original 12-13 result.
3. If a PC's spellcheck is > 13, then allow the PC, if he so chooses, to use the 12-13 result instead of the result corresponding his spellcheck.

What are your thoughts?

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Terry Olson

I was pondering this spell myself the other day - it's a spell which doesn't quite seem to make sense as is.
It takes 10 minutes to cast, and yet the first result is clearly intended towards a combat situation, and in fact all the results from 12 right up to 23 mention combat rounds.

I initially was going with an option for the cleric to choose to cast the spell in a round instead of a turn, with only the first result (+4 bonus to a chosen roll) being available. However, I couldn’t see that being used much - Bless gives a longer lasting bonus (although admittedly not as great at the same result level).
Similarly, your third option would also likely never be used - who would spend 10 minutes preparing the spell, carefully timing it so that there is a combat going on just as you finish casting, only to have a single roll modified after all that time?

I'd probably go with your second option, and remove references to rounds from all the results. This then becomes a non-combat spell, to be cast when PCs are lost, confused, and indecisive - so pretty much most of the time

Merl, thanks for responding! I was afraid I'd have to enter the Hall of Shame and bump my own thread


You know, I completely missed that the casting time is 1 turn; that makes the 12-13 result stranger. I think I will replace that portion of the spell (my second option). Thanks again for the response.

It dawned on me that people may be reading this thead without having the rulebook handy, so I'll enter in what the spell results are, just in case anyone wants to chime in who couldn't before:

12-13: For one round, the cleric glimpses the future. In doing so, he gains great insight into the most effective manner to complete any action. The cleric receive a +4 bonus to a single roll of his choosing on his next round, whether it’s an attack roll, damage roll, skill check, spell check, or something else.

14-17: The cleric has a hint of possible outcomes. He must spend the following round concentrating on a choice that must be made in the next 30 minutes. For example, he may be deciding which direction to turn in a dungeon or whether to enter a room. The cleric gets a sense of whether the action will be to his benefit or harm. There is a 75% chance that the sense the cleric receives is accurate.

All 18+ results have a similar flavor as the 14-17 result, just longer durations than 30min and better chance than 75%. 32+ includes a +1 to all rolls for the cleric for the next month.

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Terry Olson