ad arbitrium censoris
For each oath and mark the Censor-Mage collects, a measure of lifeforce may be called upon by the collector. An oath can only be made by a signitor free of mind. A Censor-Mage may not lie about the ramifications of signing. Each score of signators will result in another level of lifeforce. If the Censor-Mage calls upon the lifeforce it is pulled equally and permanently from that score of signitors. This accumulation of lifeforce lasts only one lustrum (5 years) at which point all obligations become null and void.
________________________
Thanks to mike in the comments to the last post for the idea. So, your MU goes around signing people up to your worldview/quest goals. They sign on and you get some hitpoints you can burn through in reaching those goals. I'm thinking 1 hit point for 20 every signitors. That way you sign up one serf and it's in his best interest to try and help you sign up 19 other folks to share the burden of that one hit point permamnently lost. The hope is that the difficulty of getting someone to offer you some of their hitpoints will balance the powerful gain of hitpoints.
Using the hitpoints logistically I imagine being similar to splintering shields-- you get hit and you can decide to burn up one of these communal hit points or not.
With spells like this, that incorporate costs or difficult choices within them, I have no clue what level to make them. What level would you make this?
I don't think I'd make it a spell. Either it would be a benefit of joining the Censor Mages (which would require appropriate quests and oaths of allegiance) or it might be a magic item. A large tome wherein the signators put their name.
ReplyDeleteEither way, it might make an interesting quest propeller. That little village troubled by werewolves might not have a penny between them. But saving them might make them grateful enough that they would become signators.
And it doesn't seem too unbalanced to me. The fighters get shields that can be splintered. The mage gets a lousy 5 hit points per 100 people.
If I did make it a spell, I would level it according to how much power you want the lowliest censor mage to have. Can newbie first-level apprentices be censor mages? Or are all censor mages at least powerful enough to cast a fire balls or clairvoyance? The player would probably cast it during downtime anyway, so the draw on resources isn't the big issue. The issue is the point at which he can cast it.
Censor-Mage was me just getting fancy-schmancy with the latinate content. I imagined it as any mage. You're right 5/100 isn't really worth it is it? Maybe make it twice as much.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking 5 per hundred is a good amount for the above village in peril situation. There isn't a very large chance that it'll unbalance the game, but it is still a nice reward. Making it larger increases the chance that some player will find some way to unbalance the system.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts went immediately to the village in Ong Bak, too: they should be able to do this. I'd say 2nd level spell, 3rd at the most, and double the bang for the buck. I'd also make it available to clerics and monks, maybe more than MUs... Perhaps MUs could have a version that lets you cozen people out of their contributions, but carries a terrible risk?
ReplyDeleteHey, just watched Ong Bak, good idea.
ReplyDelete