New Flaw Ideas: UnGifted Parma and Odious Gift

Games Discussion Ars Magica
1

Hi all,

This is an idea for a new flaw. Please let me know what you think in terms of balance, interest, etc. (In particular, please help me come up with a better name).

UnGifted Parma: Major, Hermetic. Your Parma Magica is unable to suppress the effects the Gifted have on you. Your natural inclination, which you may attempt to suppress, is in accordance with pages 76-77. You react this way to all other Gifted individuals, regardless of whether or not your Parma Magica is up. You are aware of this, and may attempt to struggle against it, but your inclination is still to treat other Gifted individuals with suspicion and hostility. You take the -3 (or -6, if you have Blatant Gift) penalties when interacting with other Gifted individuals. You are not bothered by Gently Gifted Indviduals, just the same as anyone else. You may take Gentle Gift or Blatant Gift as normal. You may acclimate to specific gifted individuals over the course of a decade or so, as normal. The Storyguide may allow this to be a bit faster, since you've lived with this problem since your Gauntlet, but rarely would it be less than five years. Your magic resistance otherwise functions normally.

Odious Gift: Major, Hermetic. Your gift is magnified in a different, but still unpleasant, way than the Blatant Gift. Other magi's Parma Magica do not protect them from the effects of your Gift. You may have difficulties convincing them of this state of affairs. You take a -3 penalty when interacting with anyone, Gifted or not, as indicated on page 76-77 of the Core Rulebook. Protecting someone with your Parma Magica will not solve this issue. Your magic resistance otherwise functions normally. This flaw is compatible with UnGifted Parma and The Blatant Gift, but not the Gentle Gift. Other magi may acclimate to you, the same as any other mortal would, but it takes the normal ten years or so.

What do you think of these in terms of interest and game balance? It seems both would be Major Flaws, roughly on par with the Blatant Gift. I'd initially designed them as one flaw (your parma doesn't protect you from Gifted people; theirs doesn't protect themselves from you), but that seems to be a bit too much.

I'd also appreciate better names--this is what I was able to come up with.

2

These are very interesting and I like them, but in my saga they would be Minor Flaws. Ars has a lot of "-3 to something" Flaws and "+3 to something" Virtues; they're Minor and this falls into that category.

3

By comparison with the gift-modifying flaws in Houses of Hermes:Mystery Cults under the Merinita section, if having your gift be particularly offensive to infernal- or divine- oriented creatures are both minor flaws, the above two examples are definitely minor.

4

Minor

5

Neat flaws. As an alternative name for Ungifted Parma, how about "Petulant Parma."

Would this mean that you have to subtract 3 from the quality of any hermetic teaching, in addition to the social effects?

6

considering "unaffected by the Gift" is a minor virtue, I don't see how having the effects of the gift penetrate your parma can be major- a major flaw that can be defeated by a minor virtue is unbalanced.

7

Hi all,

Thanks for the advice! My initial thinking was that if something messes up your ability to interact with other Magi, it should be a Major flaw. However, the consensus does seem pretty clear that these two should be minor (or, maybe one Major flaw if they're consolidated into one flaw). Many thanks for your input, all!

8

Interestingly, I got 'Through the Aegis' for Christmas. One of the elder magi in the winter covenant has a Twilight Scar that causes his parma to not protect him from the effects of the gift.

Since Twilight Scars are rarely supposed to be huge things, that fits in line with the idea that these should be minor flaws.
(Also, I promise I came up with this idea before I read the book).