Making a Human Spellcaster

By SavageBob, in Realms of Terrinoth

So, I'm joining my first Terrinoth game, and I'm considering making a Divine spellcaster. I haven't had a chance to play around with Genesys's magic system or its Terrinoth refinements, though, so I'm curious what folks see as the most effective strategy as far as characteristics go. I'm specifically looking at making a Human, so I can at best get three stats to 3, or one stat to 3 and a second to 4 (presumably Willpower, my spellcasting stat).

Which strategy would you recommend? In Star Wars, I'd err toward the wider array of 3s, but I understand that Genesys magic can be pretty tough with all the upgrades for additional effects. But I also know that Terrinoth introduced more magical implements and so on, so is a Disciple with only a 3 in Willpower a viable concept in that setting?

Thanks for any help. I generally avoid minmaxing, but I'm trying to avoid a situation where I create a character who is inept at what is supposed to be his core focus.

Well your in kinda luck since willpower governs your divine casting and your strain you will need both :)

So short answer: You can be effective with both a 3 and 4. Go 4 for pure caster go 3 if you want to help the party with secondary roles.

Long answer:

But other then being a divine caster i would advice you to build your concept a bit more before making your XP or stat choices. Kinda sounds like old advice but it still helps. Dont worry about 3 or 4.

Who is this human where does he come from what role will you fill in the party. Who is your deity ? are you part of the cult of Kellos or do you worship something else.

Do you see him as a Templar in shining armor or more of a Priest in robes of red and gold preaching the word of the flame to all ? Is he old and wise or young and foolish ? Maybe your also the party face as well ?

With that said having a willpower of 3 or 4 will benefit you a lot. Chosing your secondary stat will depend a lot on the concept of the character and the role you will fill in the party. If you get a 4 in willpower build a concept around it. He is strong mental person. Maybe get some coercion to back it up or something :)

You can be effective with both 3 and 4 in willpower. A 4 will help you more in the beginning but once you get 2-3 sessions in you can ramp up your divine skill in divine. There are implements and talents that can help you be effective but dont try and be effective in everything. Pick a concept like the firepriest of Kellos or something else and build your magic around that. If you really want to get a feel for it. Imagine your priest and make a small spell list and see how effective you can be.

Example:

Holy fire of Kellos - the attack action with fire and holy. Say you use a fire wand the difficulty will be 2 purple damage is willpower+3+success with the burn quality. Deal 2 x success damage to unholy things what ever they are.

Or maybe:

Curse of Syraskil select one target at short range for this curse and make a
hard ddd Divine check. If the check is successful, until the end of the
characters next turn, the target decreases the ability of any skill check they make
by one (in effect, this means they remove one ability d from their checks).Also after
the target makes a check, you may change one setback dice to a face displaying a single
failure.

Just a few examples. Make a few spells on your own. Name them something even if its just the basic heal effect and write down the difficulty and effect. Will help you narrate it and also know how likely you are to succeed.

Thanks for the detailed advice! Yes, the idea is for this character to be both a divine caster and the party face. That means a 3 in Presence and either a 3 or 4 in Willpower. Going 3 in Willpower will let him get 3 in Intellect, as well, but will make his spellcasting weaker in the beginning.

I actually have a very good idea of his background. He's kind of a wise street preacher kind of guy, comes off a bit cooky to some, but when he speaks, it's always very deep and insightful. He's his village's storyteller and channels a local ancestral god.

But, yes, I'm thinking maybe 3s in Intellect, Willpower, and Presence may be the best bet. He won't be great in combat otherwise, but he'll be able to buff his allies. My main concern was that 3 in Willpower with Divine at 1 or 2 would not be effective for several sessions, but maybe it's not that big of a deal.

Willpower at three with your divine at 1 or 2 will be effective to start with if you keep your spells on the simpler side. As you add range, people or effects you add difficulty. Being able to control how hard you want to make the spell is what makes the system scale fairly well.

Edited by Flobio
Grammar