I was just looking to get some opinions and feedback on a house rule I've been mulling over. It hasn't yet happened during a game session, but it is something one of my players had mentioned outside of the session.

The rule is; instead of being capped at 5 difficulty dice for additional magic effects, each additional effect upgrades a difficulty die by the number of difficulty die to would have added. With the new magical dice pool limit being 5 challenge dice.

I was worried about this at first, but the more I thought about it the cooler it sounded. Threat and Despair is so dangerous to magic users that I think it balances itself. I love the idea of a spellcaster knocking themselves out from pushing their magic too far.

I'm curious if anybody has done something similar, or if this sounds like it could break the game. Should i put more limits on it? Like say... they have to flip a story point to access this super magic?

i think it depends on the usage of magical implements with the house-rule, also if it structured (in-combat) vs narrative

if your house-rule can be combined with magical implements and in-combat, then it might be too powerful.

if it cant be combined with implements, i even wouldnt set a limit of upgrades if they flip a story point.

It sounds fun. Give it a shot in your next game and let us know how it goes.

This sounds really interesting, and inspired me to quickly whip up a talent:

Volatile Power

Tier: 2

Activation: Active (Incidental)

Ranked: No

When casting a spell, may add one additional effect without increasing the difficulty. When doing so, upgrade the difficulty a number of times equal to the difficulty increase of that additional effect.

Not sure about the tier, but to put it into numbers (if I did everything correctly), using this would increase your chance of success by ~5-10%, reduce the average number of threat, but (obviously) increases your chances for a despair.

A 5 Difficulty Magic Check is risky on it’s own, unless you somehow have amassed lots of boost dice and a 6 in the characteristic, you’re likely to fail. As a gm I would want to get the upgrades happening on a lower difficulty check since the players are more likely to actually roll those. Therefore that Volatile Power Talent sounds really great.

Klort, I like that talent too. What an interesting choice it will put into the player's hands ... might be easier, but SO much more can go wrong. LOL! ? Tier 2 feels right, but I could see it as Tier 3 as well ... where your real "rules breaking" talents start to be seen.

I really like that talent idea. I think Tier 3 makes a lot more sense than Tier 2.