The Spell Mastery Ability of Adaptive casting, allowing you to share Mastery Abilities between General level/Similar spells, when to you take this? Do I choose it for my Main spell and choose different mastery abilities for each of my variations? Or do all my mastery Abilities come from my main spell, and each of the others should have Adaptive Casting and nothing more? Or can I take three abilities for each, Adaptive casting as one of those three, and thus have four mastery abilities to uose with those two spells?
I am thinking my second answer, but I am not sure. Opinions or ideas anyone?
I'm not looking at the text right now, but my thinking was that you take the mastery ability with a particular spell, and then any other mastery abilities you take with that same spell can be applied to other versions of that spell cast at different levels. For example, a magus learns Wizard's Communion at Level 20. After a few years, he has mastered the spell with a score of 3. He has three special abilities, and he has chosen Adaptive Casting, Penetration, and Stalwart Casting. He also knows Wizard's Communion at Level 25, Level 30, and Level 35. Whenever he casts any of the versions of Wizard's Communion that he has learned, he may add 3 to his casting score and his Penetration score, subtract 3 botch dice, and potentially use less Fatigue.
Okay, what about his Mastery Scores and Mastery abilities for the other two versions of the spells? I have the Flawless Magic Virtue. I have to take something, because I have an automatic Mastery score of 1 in each and every spell.
For example, I learn Wizard's Communion at level 20. In a year of solid practice I will develop a Mastery score of 3. Let us presume I chose Stalwart Casting, Penetration, and Adaptive Casting. Then I go and learn a level 25 and level 30. I automatically start with a Mastery score of 1 in each. What shall I choose? If I take Adaptive, can I use my abilities with the other spells as well? This seems like a cheep way to gain new mastery abilities. Let us say my Mastery score is 8. It takes 45 xps to go to nine. But wait! I will spend three seasons learning General Level spells, take Adaptive as my first pick, then spend 5 xp's on each (as they are doubled) to take each up to a score of 2.
That is no more than 5 seasons, and it would take 5 seasons to gain 45 xp's from a quality 9 summa. I cheep out and gain three mastery abilities instead of 1.
I am thinking it would be wiser to have a main mastery ability, and just default to that one by taking Adaptive with any new variants that come along then closing off that ability.
Math is wrong I would gain 90 xps, five more and I can go up two points. Still, the cheep way edges out by one mastery ability over the same amount of time
Hmmm, much to mull over.
I love 5th edition spell mastery though
I'd say that if he takes Adaptive Casting for the new spell, he can apply other mastery abilities associated with that spell to another one. If he doesn't take Adaptive Casting, he can choose to use the mastery score and special abilities he has for that spell or use the ones with the spell that has Adaptive Casting, but he can't mix and match them.
For example, let's say your character learns Demon's Eternal Oblivion at Level 5, and spends 5 xp (one season of practice!) for a mastery score of 2. His special abilities are Adaptive Casting and Penetration. Then he learns it at Level 10 and Level 15, and gets a mastery score of 1 for free with each of them. Let's say he takes Multiple Casting and Ablative Casting. I'd say he could then cast the Level 10 spell with either a boost to Penetration or a copy, and the Level 15 spell with either a boost to Penetration or a boost to the amount of Might affected. If he later increases both mastery score sto 2 and takes Adaptive Casting for both, I'd let him combine them all. That's a little cheaper than increasing the first mastery score to 4, but he is supposed to be good at mastery, right? Also it means he doesn't get one good mastery score that he can use with everything, because they're all at 2. Ah well.
Awesome! Thaks for the advice. I have sworn off all Ward spells , except for the Ward against Heat and Flames. I was thinking of taking it again as a higher level (and more protective) spell. That and Wrath of Reculed were the only two spells I was pondering (those who don't know, wait and see, my Wrath of Reculed spell is gonna kick some flaming @$$).
I have never seen it played this way by any SG I ever had. I think you are incorrect. It says explicitly "...your Study Totals for mastering spells are doubled", not "The XP you allocate to mastery scores for any particular spell are doubled".
The wording in the book does not lend itself to your interpretation. If that is what the writer meant then this clearly needs an errata.
Hee hee, maybe running out of cool mastery abilities will make you want to include penetration in wards, if only so that you can take the Magic Resistance and Penetration special abilities.
I'd say that the masteries taken with lvl 25 and 30 spells only applies to these versions, unless you also take adaptative casting for them, in which case they are usable for all versions.
Enjoy
Since each new Spell is a separate Ability, and different level versions of the same general spell are separate Spells, I agree completely.
Having Adaptive Casting with Demon's Eternal Oblivion lvl5 lets you use any other mastery abilities for this spell on any other level version of DEO. E.g. your level 10 and 15 and so on verisons
But to use any mastery abilities on these other level versions on anything else than this particular level, requires Adaptive Casting on this too.
So in conclusion, if you're going to have several level versions of the same spell, this is gold! Only bother to put exp into one of them, take Adaptive Casting and all other abilities are usable on any and all other versions.
But! There are many fine mastery abilities, and if you want more than a few, it's going to be expensive to buy this one ability.
The other possibility is to spread it out, and raise all mastery abilities of all different level versions to a mere 2, this is quite cheap. And then take Adaptive Casting and one other for each ability. The downside is, you're "wasting" one mastery ability slot with each spell, because you need Adaptive Casting on them all.
LOL, take Resistance for Aegis of the Hearth. For me, that's the trade off. The idea that the Aegis is not all powerful and can be resisted, well, that opens up a lot of ideas.
I am in someone else's game for a change. I will use their ward rules for now
I would gain 90 xps, five more and I can go up two points. Still, the cheep way edges out by one mastery ability over the same amount of time
