Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

[ReaperWolf]

While setting up my SWD Fantasy demo, it occurred to me the Detect Arcana needs some work.

As it stands now it's a catch all detect magic type of power but what if it were fluffed up a bit to account for the various divination magics employed by spellcasters in other games?

Powers such as detecting undead, traps, poison, trips & snares, secret doors, along with magic, illusions, etc.

It could be based upon Rank so at Novice you can detect things such as undead, traps, magic and secret doors, at Seasoned and Veteran you can basically fire off a Locate Object type spell and at Legendary rank you acquire the ability to pierce illusions and disguises, see shapeshifters in their true forms, etc.

I'm thinking at the time you cast the power you basically stipulate what you're searching for, spend the Power Points based upon what you're looking for, and roll Spellcasting/Faith/Psionics. If going against another caster this would be an opposed roll but it could just be a simple roll TN 4.

Thoughts?

>>ReaperWolf
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<<something clever here>>

[Cryonic]

[Kevin]

Agreed. Sounds like more of a trapping thing, either the Detect power or the Notice skill.

I do have something in my homebrew fantasy setting where casters who draw on "resonant power" in the environment can detect ripples and such -- sort of a "Force sense/Spidey-sense" thing. But that's a campaign-specific thing, and particular to how that one discipline of magic works. It's something that distinguishes them from the other disciplines.

The range on that does increase with rank (within the same room at Novice, a day's ride on horseback at Legendary), and more DETAILS are available with raises on the Notice roll (for example, elements) ... but I think tying rank to specific "detection types" like you mentioned sounds a little arbitrary.

... unless you can make it fit the story.
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[ReaperWolf]

[Zadmar]

[ogbendog]

As written, Detect Arcana would detect that something was off about a shapechanged character, or an illusion, etc.

Unless of course you use Conceal Arcana.

What the OP is suggesting is that at higher ranks, it not only detects the Arcane, but removes it, or at least analyzes it, at low ranks "that dude has a spell on him", at higher ranks "that dude is shapechanged"

I don't see that knowing exactly what someone is, is that much more powerful than knowing they have a spell on them. Either way, if you are using Shapechange or illusion a lot, you'll have conceal arcana

[Jounichi]

I second the idea of breaking it up by trappings, but I'd also require that it be a separate power for each trapping.

To use D&D as an analogy...

Arcane Mark is different from Sense Undead, which is different from Trap Sense.

[Kevin]

I think you're comparing apples and oranges.

Regarding the Summon power, the rank divisions represent a matter of degree. The more experienced you are, the more power you control, and the bigger & badder the monster you can summon.

What you're referring to isn't a matter of degree, it's a matter of quality or character. Undead, traps, poison, magic, et cetera don't exist on the same scale as larger or smaller versions of each other; they're all very separate and distinct things.

In other words, the Summon power only summons creatures. It won't summon a bicycle or a slice of pumpkin pie, no matter what your rank is. And that's what it seems you're trying to make Detect Arcana do.



Now, if you were to simply change the trappings of the spell, and replace "Arcana" with something else, possibilities open up:

• Detect Undead—self-explanatory
• Detect Poison—ditto
• Detect Contrivance—any sort of man-made system like traps, hidden doors, panic rooms, speaking tubes hidden in walls, a key under the welcome mat …
• Detect Hazard—any sort of extraordinary physical hazard, natural or man-made. Traps, avalanche zones, sinkholes, and so on.
• Detect Gambit—lies, swindles, staged ploys, etc., INCLUDING disguises and shapechangers.

… and so on, and so on.




As far as this goes:

[quigs]

The Hellfrost Player's Guide from Triple Ace Games already did exactly what the OP is looking for. The gist of it was that the power name was changed to "Conceal / Detect" and when you cast it you simply named what it was you were trying to find or conceal. You could be vague (i.e. magic, gold, undead, elves, etc.) or specific (i.e. bald vampires missing a tooth, baron von smurfalot, etc.). Aside from that and the range being limited to smarts x2 the power remained exactly the same in all other respects.

[Kevin]

When you cast it, or when you took it … following the standard "take the spell twice if you want a second version" rule?
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[ValhallaGH]

Funny thing. I have yet to see someone choose Detect / Conceal as a power.

It's a trend that seems relevant to the discussion.
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"Got a problem? I've got the solution: Rocket Launcher."
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[ReaperWolf]

[Kevin]

[Zadmar]

[ValhallaGH]

[quigs]

[Clint]

The idea of making a per Rank effect of Detect Arcana is a definitely viable trapping, but really is going to depend on the setting for determination of those effects.

As it stands, the power is pretty much "True Sight" with a short duration, so the easy change would be just to use the same extended duration for Conceal (hours) and limit the effects based on that. Perhaps like...

Novice - Notice ongoing spells, magic item, or effects, but not what they are.
Seasoned - As above, but know what the specific effect is (item powers, etc.)
Veteran - See through illusions, obscure, disguises, invisibility.
Heroic - Sense supernatural creatures, but not what they specifically are.
Legendary - Sense supernatural creatures and know what they are.
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Clint Black
Savage Worlds Core Rules Brand Manager

www.peginc.com

[ReaperWolf]

[Blogotron]

I think allowing a secret Notice roll with a penalty commensurate with the threat level ( spells, vs polymorphed Demon) would be appropriate. Just make sure that the PC has Notice or else gets a free D4 when casting this power to detect magical auras. As the PC increases in Rank he gains a bonus to offset the next level of magical aura ( Essentially reducing all penalties by a set amount and improving the Novice detection by the same amount).

You could always eliminate the power

Or since the PP cost is so low why not impose a vaguity clause; all answers are clouded thus lacking pin- point clarity but rather working like a spidey sense, thus allowing your scoundrel characters to swing into action and shine while they find the hidden stuff?
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Savage Worlds doesn't even have a bell curve. It has a probability line that looks like it was drawn by a blind person in an earthquake. Anything can happen.

[Kevin]