Name Magic: Unsalvageable
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power_word_wedgie
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Re: Name magic
Crissa: FYI, I answered your post over >HERE<. Th thread seemed to be more on-topic that this one. Just doing it before the Great Fence Builder reminds us to do so.
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Username17
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Re: Name magic
Arcana Unearthed, Monte Cook's side project did something along these lines. In order to do a true name system, it really has to be integrated into your whole setting. You can't just have one guy keeping his true name secret like he's an Earthsea character while everyone else does normal D&D mechanics.
Essentially, either you have words with power or you don't. It's a pretty invasive shift into standard D&D to make it name dependent. Not a difficult one, just invasive. You have to make things name dependent for every character or it ends up feeling tacked on and stupid - like psionics.
So it's actually a lot of work to put name magic into D&D. None of the work is hard, there's just a lot of it to do. You have to adjust spells like Cure Light Wounds so that it works better if you know the true name of the subject. Then you have to adjust spells like Nightmare so that they do as well.
-Username17
Essentially, either you have words with power or you don't. It's a pretty invasive shift into standard D&D to make it name dependent. Not a difficult one, just invasive. You have to make things name dependent for every character or it ends up feeling tacked on and stupid - like psionics.
So it's actually a lot of work to put name magic into D&D. None of the work is hard, there's just a lot of it to do. You have to adjust spells like Cure Light Wounds so that it works better if you know the true name of the subject. Then you have to adjust spells like Nightmare so that they do as well.
-Username17
Guest (Unregistered) at [unixtime wrote:1143917109[/unixtime]]Anyway, I haven't read this new book on Name Magic at all, but I think it is a neat idea for an option for a D & D game. When you start the game, you have every player pick two names for for each character. Then you change the rules around a bit and incorporate name magic into the whole setting. I wouldn't stop with just cleric and magic user spells. You could take the ranger, who already has the favored-enemy theme, and give him special bonuses in combat against favored enemies if he learns their names. Monsters who've had the vampire template for over a hundred years forget their true name, but if you discover what it is you control them. Then make up some true-name feats that are cool. It could fit into D&D pretty well and might be interesting and fun.
Re: Name magic
FrankTrollman at [unixtime wrote:1144108807[/unixtime]]So it's actually a lot of work to put name magic into D&D. None of the work is hard, there's just a lot of it to do. You have to adjust spells like Cure Light Wounds so that it works better if you know the true name of the subject. Then you have to adjust spells like Nightmare so that they do as well.
-Username17
Yeah, there are definitely a lot of spells and rewriting them all, plus all the other abilities that you would want to make relevant, would be a whole lot of work. It's a shame that the Tome of Magic book doesn't do that work for you. I guess the concensus is that this book went in the wrong direction.