Craft Magic and Life Boost question

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

Craft Magic Major Virtue allows make Charged Items using your Casting Total, Life Boost can be used to Boost the Casting Total?

2

More precisely, Life Boost can boost (ArM5 p.44) "your formulaic spell casting totals", giving bonuses on the spell casting roll.
Such bonuses do not have any effects on the roll sometimes needed by someone using Craft Magic, because (HoH:S p.131) "he does not add the die result to his total".

3

The quoted part about not adding the die result is just for the first of the four applications of Craft Magic.
The question was about the third application, where the text is clear that you DO roll as normal and include the die result.

"Use the character’s Casting Total or
the result of the Supernatural Ability roll
as if it were a Lab Total to determine the
effect’s level and the number of charges (so
that an exceptional roll might allow the
character to enchant a great many more
charges than usual). "
HoH:S p131

4

In that case, the Casting Total is certainly not an (ArM5 p.44 Life Boost) "formulaic spell casting total" any more. So by its definition Life Boost does not apply.

5

The Casting Total is for the casting of a spell (which be a formulaic spell) - why is it not a "formulaic spell casting total" ?

1 Like
6

Obviously not every Casting Total is a "formulaic spell casting total".

In the (HoH:S p.131) First case which I addressed above, the Casting Total might be actually at least a spell casting total, because it is several times described as "like casting a spell". But there the roll does not add to the total - so bonuses to the roll don't either. Whether the spell casting total is "formulaic" or not I deliberately leave open here.

In the HoH:S p.131 Third case, the Casting Total is used "as if it were a Lab Total" - not as a spell casting total. The result of the Third case is also not described as a spell to be cast, but as an ArM5 p.99f effect to be instilled.

7

Thanks for the answers.

After a brief discussion, in my game we are going to use the option that Life Boost does help to make Craft Magic.

Thanks!