Forms and Techniques (Action Powers)
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| Heroic Action Role-Play |
Looking at T3, I think I might have to go with Form-Technique (Substantive - Verb) combinations to bring some order to power shticks. We used this idea a lot in Malleus.
The idea is to make a template page for each Form/Technique combination. Then there are combination pages using these template pages for each form and technique that list all the powers you gain access to by learning a particular form or technique. Note that there can be more than one power for each combination, and some pages might have none.
To learn powers, you first pay to open either a form or technique, then to open each power you thus gained access to. This is to discourage but not prohibit cherry-picking.
Techniques
- Blast - Uses the form to attack.
- Detect - Detects or analyzes the form, or uses the form to gather information in some way.
- Dispel - Destroys or dispels the form. This is generally not simple disintegration, but more subtle.
- Emote - Impose moods associated with the form on creatures.
- Imbue - Imbues creatures with the form, which generally gives them some new abilities and or resistances but not a physical change.
- Move - Move the from about, or use the form to move.
- Shapeshift - Changes creatures into something of the form, wholly or partially.
- Summon - Summons and controls creatures related to the form.
- Transmute - Conjures or transforms objects tied to the form.
Forms
These are the substances or subjects you can work magic upon.
Elements
These are the basic building-blocks of the material world.
Manifestations
These are shapes and variants that the elements can take.
Animal - Plant - Ice - Illusion
Ethos
These are moral aspects of reality.
Darkness - Flux - Order - Light
Origin
These are metaforms for the four power origins; many of the powers here are specialized against one origin or affect the powers of one origin only.
Gifts - Magic - Spiritual - Technology
Essences
These are mystic essences that imbue existence but are hard to observe or quantify.
Technique - Form Table
This table shows all the Form - Technique combinations and links to the template page of each. This is where the actual power descriptions are written down and edited. It is generally easier to read the descriptions of the respective Forms and Techniques on their own pages, where all the techniques of each are gathered together.