Revision as of 22:07, 3 March 2016

Potency is a concept that is not, at its core, unique to Trinity, but this particular application of the concept is, so far as the d20 System as a whole is concerned. Ironically, this concept is heavily inspired by D&D 4th Edition.

Potency was born out of the desire to standardize the caller's eikons in order to reduce player workload in understanding how each summon worked. By invoking a common table of values, it was believed that we could reduce lookup times and make it easier for players to understand how the eikons compared to each other in terms of combat value. However, since that initial inception, it has been found that the potency concept is also incredibly helpful in encounter design and class balance.

Potency is currently a work-in-progress. Moving Trinity into a potency-based system is yet another departure from core d20, but one that will undoubtedly be significantly rewarding in terms of easing play and making class balance that much easier.

Overview

Level-based scalars in spell design in d20 was a solid concept, and allowed for casters to become more effective as they gained levels. While this paradigm works in a "linear warriors quadratic wizards" setup, with the introduction of maneuvers to Trinity and the massive class rebalancing (which is currently still in progress as of 15-10-21), level-based scalars are no longer sensible.

Of primary concern is the fact that level-based scalars introduce planned obsolescence into spell design: while magic missile retains some punch at higher levels, the fact is that it is simply an ineffective spell once characters enter high level play. Much of Trinity caster redesign has focused on reducing the total number of spell levels for the majority of casting classes. As such, allowing lower-tier spells to retain their power at higher levels is a solid way of allowing casters to function for extended periods of time, alleviating the "15 minute workday" problem.

Potency is the means by which this is accomplished. Rather than fixed damage codes for individual abilities, any ability that has a numerical value attached - primarily damage and healing, but not limited to these - instead has a potency, which is a damage code that scales with character level. A spell may say that it deals potency 4 fire damage; for a 1st-level character, that spell deals 1d10+4 damage, while for a 20th, it deals 5d12+40 damage. The relative effectiveness of the spell remains the same over the character's lifetime.

This also resolves issues of multi-classing at higher levels being ineffective. A potency 4 effect is always a potency 4 effect; if a 19th-level einhander decides to take a level of mage, the spells they can access will be just as effective as those of a character who has been a mage all their life. The distinction is that the 20th-level mage will be able to cast those spells effectively all day, while the 19th-level einhander/1st-level mage will have only a few MP, and must be significantly more sparing. Likewise, the mage will have access to effects that can hit multiple targets, have longer durations, or have higher potency.

The table of potency codes is listed at the top of this page for ease of reference in play.

Half and Double

Some effects will call for half potency, while others will call for double potency.

In the event of a half descriptor, roll the indicated potency normally, then halve the result, rounding down. In general, higher-potency effects will not use half, but will instead simply use a smaller potency value.

In the event of a double descriptor, roll the indicated potency normally, then double the result. In general, lower-potency effects will not use double, but will instead simply use a larger potency value.

Problems

There are a number of problems with potency as it currently stands.

For one, it is largely untested in a sensible environment; all instances to date (as of 15-10-21) of usage of potency have been "in the field" in which far too many factors are uncontrolled. As such, it is impossible to say whether or not these values are truly balanced at this time.

The need for damage codes to exist across all potency values for all levels has also resulted in extreme inflation at the higher potencies during low-level play. A potency 10 effect is lethal to any creature it hits at 1st level; while all the potency values on the table above are sensible in regards to each other (average values are proportional to their distance from potency 8, with each step representing a roughly 12.5% difference in average), they are not necessarily sensible in terms of hit points at lower levels.

A potential solution to the inflated damage values is to give some kind of hit point "kicker" at first level, to alleviate the high lethality the potency system presents. Other methods of increasing hit points are not on the table, as doing so will undoubtedly result in an arms race between hit points and potency; a rough eye-ball estimate indicates that a one-time bump at first level may be sufficient, but great care will be required to properly calibrate the value.