Xavi:
- that supress the "field" part since you basically merge two arts, and that was not wat was said in the initial post. If that's the case, that's clearly too unbalanced and no worth thinking about it.
- two of the reading i have give 10 normal arts and a 11th. The 11th is the merged one, but his value is unknown.
Three solutions:
1- in the field, a 11th art is created and is always used. The score of that art is the score of one of the multiple arts normally used in this field (Corpus or Mentem in Necromantic magic, one of the four elements for Elementalists)....
2- in the field, a 11th art is created and his value is the addition of values of arts composing the field.
3- in the field , a 11th art is created and his value is based on the xps of the normal arts composing the field
For example, let's consider this magus, a necroment:
Creo 16+3
Intellego 5
Muto 10
Perdo 10
Rego 16+3
Animal 10
Aquam 0
Auram 0
Corpus 25 (with affinity)
Herbam 0
Ignem 0
Imaginem 0
Mentem 19 ( without affinity)
Terram 7
Vim 10
Does he have a 11th "necromantic" form used in all necromanting spell which worth
- 25 (always using corpus, even if higher or lower, in any Co, Co(Me) or Me spell related to necromancy)
- 44 (19+25)
- 31 (515) (because 19 = 190 px and 25 = 325px = 515 total)
Affinity is already taken in account in your basic score; puissant could be used and would provide
(If you had a puissant in mentem, for example):
Corpus 25
Mentem 19 +3
Either:
- 25 (adding but corpus remain chosen by the player has the value for "necromantic form")
- 47 (adding)
- 31 (no change since puissant give no xps)
For example: awakening the legion of the deads is normally a ReCo(Me) spell, level 55 (base 10 i think, +2voice, +3moon, +1requisite mentem, +2group, +1size)
For this magus it would become a ReNe 55. Ne form being Necromantic.
He pays for the requisite (in opposite to elemental magic), but use his Necromantic value.
Using solution 1
means that instead of 22 he has 25. Not especially good, but it can allow focusing on one art AND it can also help doing spells of the other art (here Mentem), with the first.
Example: Incantation of summoning the dead is ReMe 40 ritual.
For this magus it would become ReNe 40 ritual.
Since Ne is basically Corpus score, he would uses his corpus score in a mentem ritual, allowing him obviously to "disdain" the mentem art => xp saving.
However, parma magica remain based on the 10 normal arts and he would be weak against Mentem since he would have add his arts being, by realloting virtues:
Corpus: 34 (325 already + 190*1,5 = 610) +3 (the puissant which would be on Corpus rather that on mentem of course)
Mentem: 0 (190 px saved)
his "Necromantic" score would be 34+3, which is good (it basically mean +15 from his normal) but not as good as a focus. Since a "field of magic" is as broad as a focus, and since the field of magic is a major virtue, it can be ruled that it cannot be used WITH a focus.
It seems pretty bad in comparison...
If the example necromant had a focus, the rego and creo spells would have had +19 bonus.
However any spell using Muto/Intellego/ perdo would have less bonus from the focus, and in that aspect, the "merged forms" is more interested for "generalists" specialists. (Because necromant magic is not only about 2 techniques you can max out (Rego and creo like in the example), but also muto (turning weapons of the ghosts), intellego (speak with the ghost) and perdo (destroy ghosts, skeletons and zombies)
This version would seem OKAY for a major virtue. It allows a good flexibility instead of a focus (if you are not a generalist in techniques, as aren't generally speaking specialists who have a focus),
Solution 2 and 3 gives the same problem: we can try to balance them for a field using 2 arts (Necromant), but not one using 4 arts (Elementalists).
They seem pretty unbalanced if you think about an elementalist with Auram, Ignem, Aquam and Terram at 10... that would do an "'Elemental art" of 40! or 20 respectively using solution 2 and 3...
The same elementalist using solution 1 would have used (for example) Ignem as Elemental 11th art, bringing it to 220, with an affinity (and not increasing Aquam, auram and terram), which would mean an ignem 25 and thus an "Elemental" art 25.
More broad than a focus (elemental magic is really broad) and powerful.
Then I would reduce the field of specialty which can be defined by the addition of 2 forms only: necromancy (corpus + mentem), sea magic (auram + aquam), magmatic magic (ignem + terram), nature magic (animal + herbam)... I'm looking for other ideas