So I've been running a game for the past year or so, and a player of mine has begun to greatly get on my nerves in regards to spell usage as well as power grabbing. I can usually tolerate it, however recently I've been wondering on how some things work. I'm not entirely sure what to do.

The spell as follows.

Creation Spell

Create Homunculus
Level 26
Action: Active
Type: Effect
Effect: Homunculi are small magical elementals that casters use at times for various purposes, from espionage to housework. The spell creates a zero level mystical being under complete control of the caster, as per the rules in
Chapter 26. It is a Being Between Worlds with a Gnosis of 5, but, given its minor nature, the following rules apply:
1- First of all, its characteristics can never be higher than 5, nor can it have any Primary Ability or Secondary Ability higher than 50.
2- It also suffers a –2 penalty to size, and it cannot choose Uncommon Size.
3- It can’t have any Intellectual Ability higher than their Caster.
Each Homunculus created might be completely different.
Zeon: Base(60), Intermediate(80), Advanced(250), Arcane(350)
Int Req: Base(6), Intermediate(9), Advanced(12), Arcane(15)
Base: 1 Homunculus.
Intermediate: 10 Homunculi.
Advanced: 25 Homunculi.
Arcane: 100 Homunculi.
Maintenance: 10 / 20 / 25 / 35 Daily.

Now, the problem that I'm running in to is the fact that the player uses the spell to create as he calls them, "wing packs" which allow he and the party to fly at natural flight 10. This is in addition to bonuses such as the wings being natural weapons. Ok, I can understand that, I mean, Archangel from X-Men had bladed wings, or whatever. The wings are mostly used as defense negations. Wings attack first, then the player giving the player the ability to attack after the defender has already defended twice. They're also used as extra defenses. That plus the Damage barrier of 100 is causing some problems.

To defend against this, I'm beginning to wonder how I should be making the player run this. Previously I've had the wing packs run at the same initiative as the player who wears it. In addition to the fact that their is no attack or defense penalty for the wings attacking and fluttering around while the player is also attacking. Seems like one heck of an annoying cluster****.

Should I have the "wing packs" be their own initiative? Thus if the player wants to use them to defend then they need to roll higher and be prepared to hold initiative. Also, any restrictions that should possibly be added? I know that just about every single use he has is in no way in line with the original definition of Homonculus...

Second:

Pricing spells. Buying a spell and self teaching to learn the spell. What are the suggestions for pricing these? Or even finding someone to teach you the spells? Current spell costs have been something around Spell level divided by 2 times ten in gold cost. So a spell like Chimera costs 400 gold coins. One of my players (the same as the above) pitched a fit saying it was to expensive and I was being unfair. Far as I can tell those spells are ridiculously obscene. Granted some have their drawbacks definitely.... But suggestions?

Thirdly and lastly (for the moment! dun dun dun....)

Chimera, which makes you a between worlds being as well as giving you a level or four. I feel that the whole between worlds thing already has it's punishment set out by the fact that you can easily be summoned, bound, controlled, and if somehow were in another plane banished. At least, I'm also assuming banish doesn't do anything to someone who's already on their natural plane. However, I also feel that there is another punishment, and this being social. If the church knows you're a between worlds being and not fully human anymore (after all, you're no longer "natural") they should be persecuted. The question also comes to, what should a group like the Heaven Order? I kind of feel that it's a kick the person out scenario since it's no longer a "natural power gain" such as through striving through your own works, and instead becomes a short cut . Any suggestions?

I don't have anything for issues two or three atm.

Tackling one for a moment though, the Humunculi are each their own individual creatures of level 0, with the largest possible size being 8 (4' to 5'4"), and that's if they get a 5 in both Strength and Constitution. The other aspect of it is as well, with a Strength of only 5, and a max Dex and Agi of 5 each, they would have it takes for themselves to fly if they have wings. But no where near enough to fly themselves and a regular sized PC.

Second, there is a Zeon max of Intelligence x20. at Intelligence 15, that's 300 Zeon, base spell cost of 60, +240 extra Zeon, every ten points of which add +1 Humunculus, that's 25 Humunculi there. Even if the character had an insane Intelligence of 20, that's a total of 35 Humunculi that he can create with the spell per casting, and cost 40 Zeon per day to maintain.

Third, I didn't read any where in character creation, creature creation, or the spell, anything that makes a "wearable" creature. Personally, if I was running it, I'd tell the player he can us sand paper for his character sheet from then on.

Each Creature is made as Level 0, that's 400 DP. Even if going for max Characteristics of 5 in each, that's only 40 DP. Each one has to have a Class to determine the DP costs going into the rest of its creation. Natural Flight costs 80 DP for rating 10 (120 DP so far), and it has to be Natural, since they don't have the gnosis high enough for any of the mystical flight values... yeah, I don't see how to effectively use them as he is trying to.

I would never allow a creature with a maximum size of 5'4" fly carrying its own weight and the weight of any other creature that was more than 2'7". Even to just through science into it, people don't have hollow bones, flying creatures (as far as I know of) do. As far as I was taught, the hollow bones are part of what lets most birds be able to fly. So a 5'4" flying creature is going to weigh less than a 5'4" person, than add armor, weapons, gear, packs, bags, or whatever they have on them. The Humunculi do not have Mystical Flight Values (if they did or could, I wouldn't see a problem, simple answer, they are flying via magic), and they get to have 0 zip nilch noda colder than absolute zero Zeon in them, the Humunculi can't use magic, ergo, they do not have any means that grants them the ability to fly while carrying a full sized creature wearing at least clothing, and zip them around at their full base natural flight value.

I could be completely off, even if I am, hopefully its sound enough that you could use it if you really don't care that its off and want to make him "stop it", which is a great phrase every GM should have in his arsenal!

I hope this is at least of some help to you. Oh, and if its any help, this is coming from the guy that's been banned by friends from playing magic users in just about every game system that we have played so far. I will say, I don't have Arcana Exxet or access to a copy in a language I can read (I do have access to it in Spanish though), so if there are rules changes in there, they have not been taken into account in this post.

(One final note: 100 humunculi in one casting?! That would require an Intelligence of 53!!!!!!)

Alright, on the other two issues:

The pricing seems fair to me, if not somewhat cheap. A Level 80 spell for 400 gold crowns? That's pretty much the highest level Creation spell there is before getting into High Magic! Now, considering at character creation, I can start with 2,000 gold crowns for 1 Creation Point, that's really easy to get. Also take into account, the world setting has 1 out of every 10,000 people have the gift. So there's not a lot of them, and definitely not that many resources for them. I don't see the world of Gaia being filled with magic shops in every town, and spell books available wherever you go.

If he does get the Chimera spell, honestly, I'd say let him, then screw him over by doing something that transfers him to a new body! He loses all the benefits (as per the last paragraph of the spell)!!!! Also, once he casts it on himself, until he loses the powers via body loss or switching, he can't cast it on himself again.

What is his Character's Intelligence anyways? If its 11 or less, his max level in any one sphere would be 75, thus he wouldn't be able to cast Chimera. If its 12 or higher, than he'd have a max of 100 points in any one school of magic.

As far as pricing for spells goes as well. Page 113, Table 57, it has a Magic level Cost chart for spells based on level categories. A level 80 spell would cost 16 Magic Levels to purchase.

Granted, again, disclaimer, I could be full of ****! Still relatively new to the system, but I have GM'd numerous other systems successfully, and I have been pouring through the books a lot since I've gotten them prepping to run my first Anima game.

Also on the first point:

Like Nochtal said: The Homunculi are individuals, so the players can't control them. Leaving the the point, that a creature with strength <= 5 shouldn't be able to carry a normal person (Strength 5 means, that the normal loading ist 50 lbs and maximum loading would be 130 lbs (with a reduction of movement and fatigue loss every turn)), the players couldn't control the homunculi to make good combat maneuvers. Think about it: you are carried from something, who you doesn't know, what it will do in the next second. Will it crash you in your opponent? Will it fly higher or lower? And so on.

Now, to attack someone or defense against something, when you don't know, how your whole body will move in the next moment, it is rather difficult. For example: The enemy makes an sword strike against your chest and you would block it. Now, the homunculi would increase his flying height about 1 meter/3'3" ... now the enemy would hit your legs and your weapon would totally out of the way.

Another point: At page 282 (last part on this page) is written, that the GM distributes about 100 and 200 DP, when a player create creature with magic. In the case of homunculi it would be about 1/4 to half of the DP of the creature. As Nochtal said, for the biggest size possible, the homunculi must have const and strength 5 (so there size would be 10 - 2, so 8). I'm not absolute sure, how to read the table on page 282, so I would use the "best case szenario" for the wizard: To get both on 5, he would pay 10 DP (and 6 DP for the other 6 characteristics, for at least to be on 1). Then 80 DP for natural fly (96 DP), then 20 DP for natural weapon (116 DP, Damage 30). Now, if we say, the GM distributes only 100 DP, the wizard has 184 DP for distribution on attack and defense, which would be, in the best case, an 2 DP for 1 attack/defense, so 92 points for attack/defense. If the creatures would. On page 13 is written, that the difference between attack and defense can't be greater than 50, so 46/46 would be a normal distribution and 71/21 would be the largest distribution on attack or defense. Now, the creature would have Agi- and Dex-Values of 1, therefore getting -30 on his attack and defense, so, his attack and defense value would be 16/16 or 41/-9.

If the wizard would choose bigger Agi- and Dex-Values, he could get slightly higher attack and defense, but only slightly.

So, all in all, I don't think, it could be possible, that homunculi could be used in this way.

To your third point:

First, I think, a creature, which is "between the worlds", wouldn't have his "natural plain" in the material world, because, then it would be a natural being and not a "between the world". The moment, in which the person became a "between the world", he stopped to be a really natural being. Also, banish brings a creature to the flow of souls or the wake.

Truly, the church would try to kill the chimera, because the church tries to kill every "between the worlds" creature ... and if the chimera is also the wizard, it would change nothing. Tol Rauko would try to but the chimera away. The heavenly order ... I would say, if chimera isn't disturbing peace in the empire, they wouldn't really care (but if the chimera looks like a real big and nasty monster, this could be enough "disturbtion" to kill it).

So long,

F3nr1s said:

Actually, created creatures lack souls and are totally under domination by their creator. If they are given a soul however, as with the High Magic spell "Provide Soul" then they attain free will. See page 130 for more info. Because they lack souls, even though they are being between worlds, they are also not subject to summoning abilities since summoning abilities only affect things bound to the soul flow. (though, as with free will, providing a soul for your creation makes it subject to summoning abilities as well).

To discuss the OP

1. Homunculi are simply not strong enough to carry a human with a maximum strength of 5. The Damage Barrier of 100 can be easily ignored by being able to damage energy, or simply by having a base damage of higher than 100 (remember, damage barriers do not actually subtract from damage, they are an all-or-nothing thing). third, if using homunculi to attack people, I would arrange them into a mass combat unit, and all homunculi attacking one target all count as one mass combat unit, making it so that the maximum penalty a homunculi can inflict to defense is simply one attack.

2. spells don't necessarily cost anything, there isn't really a market for these kinds of things, and groups like Order of Yehudah, Magus Order, or even the Great University are more than happy to provide tutoring for free so long as you enroll in these organizations. a better question is "how long does it take to learn a spell" I believe Arcana Exxet has rules for that, but for the time being, you'll have to create your own.

3. I actually rule in my games that Chimera can't even look remotely close to human. You are a monster if you cast Chimera on yourself, and there is no rules against roleplaying a monster, but you'll have to be pretty clever or have really good illusion magic to be able to participate in the bulk of roleplaying if you're going to be playing a monster.

Errata: My point of saying they were each individual creatures wasn't meant to dispute the control of the creator over them, it was to point out that even though they are controlled, they are not part of another creature.

This seems to be pretty well argued out, so I'll add my 2 cents quickly;

1) I have little I can add to this, but on the Damage Barrier, AlphaWhelp mentioned someone that can Damage Energy automatically bypasses Damage Barriers, but did not emphasize this as much as I believe it should be. Almost all beings should be able to damage energy by level 2, level 4 if they are a Meapon Master, so the Damage Barrier is only helpful against really weak mooks.

2) Spells do not cost anything (officially), if you have started a book you can learn higher levels in that book by experimenting on your own. Starting a new book does require a teacher or spellbook. These would not be too hard to acquire, just dangerous.

While there is no reason to make wizards pay large amounts of money for their spells, if it makes sense in your game then it would work. But only If you make Technitians, Fighters, etc. pay for their Ki Techniques, Mentalists their Psychic Powers, and Taoists pay for their Martial Arts. If you have a system that makes all classes pay about the same amount for their abilities, I see no problem with requiring that much for high-level Ki Techniques/Power/Magic (albeit the Powers and Ki Techniques would have to cost more as that they get less volume than the wizard does). It is about balance, making the wizard pay large sums of money while everyone else gets their powers for free is unfair, at best. Unbalancing at worst.

3) Chimera has a lot of drawbacks for all its bonuses, and there are a lot of rulings on it that could be useful which I've never gotten answered. It is a very hard spell to control, as a GM. Not much I can say to help with it though. sorry. It has been a spell of much debate, with few answers.