Experimental Systems

Experimental Game Systems

This page has listed different experimental game systems that can be used in the Amar Role Playing Game. Note that these game variants are experimental, and therefore, the systems might seem unbalanced, or doesn't cover every part of the original system.

Evolutionary Magick

The Evolutionary Magick is a new, simplified magic system that changes the way spells are learnt, and their effect as they level up. While making the system simpler, it also allows magic casters to easier get a larger variety of spells to use from. Currently the evolutionary magic system is being worked on, and is not finished.

Incantation Magick

Every living creature has Magical Aptitude (MA), but only a few have a significant amount - 1 or more in gaming terms. Those who have a significant MA can use that to affect a situation (add or subtract as much MA as you want or can to any skills roll) - but doing so requires a whole month to recover that MA.

Someone with significant amount of MA can learn to focus it into what is commonly known as a Whomp - a sudden release of focused magical energy. A minimum of 1 MA is spent in releasing a basic Whomp - but more can be spent in one Whomp to enhance its effect. The Whomp will have a tiny personalized effect - like making you more awake, making others around you slightly nauseated, creating a soft wind, ripples in water or some such. The effect of the Whomp reflects the individual's personality. Such a focused release of MA requires only a good night's sleep to regain the magical energy. The Whomp has a DR of 0 and will not be so strong as to significantly affect self or others in gaming terms (cannot add or subtract any numbers to the target's attributes, skills or otherwise). A Whomp would normally take 1 round to cast, have a range of 3 meters or less, the effect lasting for 1 round while requiring active focus for that duration.

From the Whomp, the person can start training personalized magic spells - a release of magical energy that has focused effects. The person can start adding a certain amount of MA to a basic Whomp and by that create a specific spell. One must add at least 3 MA to evolve the Whomp (or any spell) into a new spell. Example; A wannabe mage has a basic Whomp that makes people around her slightly nauseous for 1 round by releasing one MA and making the DR roll of 0. By adding 3 MA to the Whomp, she can make the nausea last for 2 rounds and actually give those around her -1 in status for that long (effects on target's attributes or skills normally are 1 per two added of MA). If she keeps up training that specific enhancement to her Whomp (2 rounds duration/-1 in status), she will eventually convert the beefed-up Whomp into a new spell with DR 3 (she calls it "Nausea"). That spell will only require 1 MA to cast, but now she will have the opportunity to add MA while casting that spell in order to enhance the effects of the spell.

There are a few rules when changing a spell by adding MA when it is cast or when forging a new spell with higher DR:

1. It requires 2 additional steps to reduce the casting time for a spell one level lower on the "time scale for spells".
2. To reduce the casting time from 1 round to Instant requires 4 steps. Such a spell has an actual casting time of one second. Thus one can theoretically cast 6 spells during one combat round.
Additionally, when forging a new spell:
3. It must be sufficiently different from any other spell the caster has - at least 3 "steps" in any direction from any other spell.
4. For every 5 in DR, a spell gets a casting time one level higher on the "time scale for spells".