An obvious question...

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

... About voice spells (yes, I am lazy :blush: ).

If you cast one silently, I guess its range is reduced to... Well, none?

This happened recently in our saga, and I didn't want to detract the plot, but it seemed really strange to me to see a magus cast a spell at voice range without making any sound at all.

2

It is strange, because unless the caster cast it on themselves, it was a cheat.

(Re-)read the definition of Range:Voice (AM p 112). (It's just one paragraph)

"The range is based on the distance that the caster's voice carries..."

So, yes, a whisper carries a very short distance, and "silence" not at all.

In situations like that, a SG has to weigh "detracting from the plot" in the immediate situation vs detracting from the game itself in the long run. In my experience, the "harder" the rules of the world, the more believable and enjoyable it is. If the rules of magic keep bending and breaking to make things "easy" for the story, then it's more like an amusement park ride, where you know you're going to get where you're going, no matter what.

3

I have had some quiet magic mages and they basically had to almost forgo most voice spells becuase it went against their casting style. THankfully both have alternatives, one uses flexible formulaic to up it to sight or drop it to eye most of the time, the other is holy maga and uses presense (holy Magus range).

4

Roller Coasters are fun!!
a few minor points...

  • it was an "Eye" ranged spell, not Voice
  • I didn't even take immediate note of the silent casting. I just saw "Intellego Spell" and saw it as a chance to info dump and advance the story along.
  • Harder is not more believable or more enjoyable. It isn't necessarilly less so either. Harder is just harder, for the sake of being harder. Some people like that, some don't.

YVMV :smiley:

5

Not the same saga :wink:

6

See the fifth column of the insert on page 83 of ArM5. This gives the ranges for various loudness of Voice. Silent is indeed range 0 paces (caster only).

7

Oh, okay :slight_smile:
I am a dork :wink:
I do admit to playing fast and loose sometimes to get the story moving along, but I do like sticking to the rules and making sure they are applied evenly to both the antagonist and the protagonist. To me, that's where I get my sense of realism from.