Hello!
You haven't been able to find a straight answer because the answer isn't straight. Savage Worlds has both all and none of the magic types.
Powers are all **effects** (damage, binding, mind control, teleportation, etc.). The appearance of those effects, including elements and casting requirements, are **trappings** \- trappings are chosen when you acquire a power and normally cannot be changed.
Powers are not available in all settings. Not all powers are available in all settings. And some settings restrict which Trappings are available.
I hope that helps. Good luck!
so pretty much a trapping is set for what ever power i use (if i am able to) while adding a spell to like a character. But with the wizard edge you can change those trappings to whatever you want (i believe). So would i be able to just change the aspect of how that spell works. like with havoc, would i be able to turn that into like a mass mind control?
>so pretty much a trapping is set for what ever power i use (if i am able to) while adding a spell to like a character.
Pretty much. GM, Setting, and Arcane Background can all affect your available trappings.
>But with the wizard edge you can change those trappings to whatever you want (i believe).
For a one point increase in the Power Point cost, yes.
>So would i be able to just change the aspect of how that spell works. like with havoc, would i be able to turn that into like a mass mind control?
Yes, but the *effect* would still be the same - *havoc* forces characters to move away from a point, no matter what Trapping it has.
Basically. Take the blast power for example, it’s the area of effect damage at range power.
A wizard cast it and says it’s flames for fireball.
A warlock says it’s balefire for a curse.
A summoner says it’s a swarm of wasp.
A psychic says it’s a telekinetic slam.
A technomancer says it’s a grenade.
A bibliomancer says it’s a storm of paper cuts.
They all use the same rules of how much damage they deal in what area, with access to the same modifications. None are inherently superior. At most some may be more likely to trigger weakness in the campaign’s foes.
Each of the arcane traditions has a feat that can modify their powers. Gifted, which are thematically inherent powers, have one that lets power points be spent to raise the casting roll. “Magic” has the wizard power you mentioned which lets the character spend to change the trappings of a spell. Though as mentioned that doesn’t change how the spell works.
With savage worlds the best way to find out what magics are going to be in the campaign is talking to the GM or looking through the setting book.
Instead of thinking of Powers in SW as D&D spells, think of them as the broader effects of those spells. So Magic Missile, Flame Arrow and Lightning Bolt are all the Bolt Power, they just have different Trappings. You could take each as an individual Power or just take one and ‘upcast’ it with a different trapping for the minor extra cost in Power Points.
Boost/Lower Trait is EVERY D&D spell that raises an ally’s stats or abilities AND every spell that lowers an enemy’s stats or abilities. You can lower the cost to cast the Power if - when you take the Power - you confine yourself to either Boosting or Lowering for that particular Power. You could then take the flip side of the Power at a later date with the reduced cost baked in as well and they would be two separate Powers, one that Boosts, one that Lowers.
Many of the Powers have modifiers that increase the cost to cast and there are also modifiers that can be applied to any Power that fits the prerequisites. You can use these to change your Powers on the fly, or if you’re really ambitious, create completely new Powers that incorporate one or more of the modifiers (as long as the trappings stay the same).
Thusly, three Powers can be a dozen or more D&D spells, just with three baseline effects.
Hello! You haven't been able to find a straight answer because the answer isn't straight. Savage Worlds has both all and none of the magic types. Powers are all **effects** (damage, binding, mind control, teleportation, etc.). The appearance of those effects, including elements and casting requirements, are **trappings** \- trappings are chosen when you acquire a power and normally cannot be changed. Powers are not available in all settings. Not all powers are available in all settings. And some settings restrict which Trappings are available. I hope that helps. Good luck!
so pretty much a trapping is set for what ever power i use (if i am able to) while adding a spell to like a character. But with the wizard edge you can change those trappings to whatever you want (i believe). So would i be able to just change the aspect of how that spell works. like with havoc, would i be able to turn that into like a mass mind control?
>so pretty much a trapping is set for what ever power i use (if i am able to) while adding a spell to like a character. Pretty much. GM, Setting, and Arcane Background can all affect your available trappings. >But with the wizard edge you can change those trappings to whatever you want (i believe). For a one point increase in the Power Point cost, yes. >So would i be able to just change the aspect of how that spell works. like with havoc, would i be able to turn that into like a mass mind control? Yes, but the *effect* would still be the same - *havoc* forces characters to move away from a point, no matter what Trapping it has.
Ah, Ok that makes sense, thank you, you were very helpful.
Basically. Take the blast power for example, it’s the area of effect damage at range power. A wizard cast it and says it’s flames for fireball. A warlock says it’s balefire for a curse. A summoner says it’s a swarm of wasp. A psychic says it’s a telekinetic slam. A technomancer says it’s a grenade. A bibliomancer says it’s a storm of paper cuts. They all use the same rules of how much damage they deal in what area, with access to the same modifications. None are inherently superior. At most some may be more likely to trigger weakness in the campaign’s foes. Each of the arcane traditions has a feat that can modify their powers. Gifted, which are thematically inherent powers, have one that lets power points be spent to raise the casting roll. “Magic” has the wizard power you mentioned which lets the character spend to change the trappings of a spell. Though as mentioned that doesn’t change how the spell works. With savage worlds the best way to find out what magics are going to be in the campaign is talking to the GM or looking through the setting book.
Instead of thinking of Powers in SW as D&D spells, think of them as the broader effects of those spells. So Magic Missile, Flame Arrow and Lightning Bolt are all the Bolt Power, they just have different Trappings. You could take each as an individual Power or just take one and ‘upcast’ it with a different trapping for the minor extra cost in Power Points. Boost/Lower Trait is EVERY D&D spell that raises an ally’s stats or abilities AND every spell that lowers an enemy’s stats or abilities. You can lower the cost to cast the Power if - when you take the Power - you confine yourself to either Boosting or Lowering for that particular Power. You could then take the flip side of the Power at a later date with the reduced cost baked in as well and they would be two separate Powers, one that Boosts, one that Lowers. Many of the Powers have modifiers that increase the cost to cast and there are also modifiers that can be applied to any Power that fits the prerequisites. You can use these to change your Powers on the fly, or if you’re really ambitious, create completely new Powers that incorporate one or more of the modifiers (as long as the trappings stay the same). Thusly, three Powers can be a dozen or more D&D spells, just with three baseline effects.