Elemental Reductions

  Hello Friends! I'm thrilled to be hosting December's RPG Blog Carnival topic, Beyond Vancian Magic ! I'm not a hater, but I'll admit I prefer different systems being different, and clerical and magic user magic systems are basically the same.   I'm looking forward to seeing your interesting takes and contributions on evolving past that kind of magic system.  While I chose this topic about half a year ago, it's come up recently on r/osr, in the post Vancian Magic - What It Is How It Works and Where Did It Come From? Here are some ideas to get you started if you don't already have something in mind: Creating entirely new magic systems, or emulating those of other works, such as those by Brandon Sanderson or Jim Butcher. Spellcasting based on the undead turning table, as illustrated by ktrey of d4 Caltrops suggested using in Alternative Spell Casting . Expand on existing the existing "Vancian" system: Make spells truly Vancian, so that they a...

This is a follow-up on my last post, Happy Gunpowder Treason Day! for this month's  RPG Blog Carnival topic: Haves and Have-Nots: Social Classes in Fantasy Worlds . Unfortunately, I didn't have time to fully flesh it out. As a starting point, I'm a fan of Chgowz 's  " Three Hexes " campaign starter format.  Here's a sketch of my take on that: Premise: The campaign takes place in a magical England analog, Anglia, in the early 1600s.  King James is expanding the support of the Church of Anglia in its schism from the Orthodox Church and the High Cardinal's rule over religious matters.   With minor tweaking, this could instead be The Three Musketeers or something in Prussia. Themes: Conflict between crown loyalists and orthodox loyalists: The Crown loyalists (or "Loyalists") call the other side disloyal foreigners: Trying to crush the everyday people who haven't demonstrated their loyalty to the Crown under their heels. And some of them t...

Remember, remember, The Fifth of November, Gunpowder treason and plot; For I see no reason Why Gunpowder Treason Should ever be forgot.  Rather than trying to summarize this myself, I'll just quote from the Wikipedia article , in part because it keeps all the links: The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason , was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English Roman Catholics , led by Robert Catesby , who considered their actions attempted tyrannicide and who sought regime change in England after decades of religious persecution . The plan was to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605, [ a ] as the prelude to a popular revolt in the Midlands during which King James's nine-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth , was to be installed as the new head of state. Catesby is suspected ...