Line #30 TabletopGame/MAGUS


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Tropes-MAGUS_4734.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:250:[-Cover of the 1th edition corebook.\
3	It was called ''[[FanNickname Ye Big Green]]'' for a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin reason]].-] ]]
4
5	-->''[[PretentiousLatinMotto Miracle Adeptia Guns Urrus Sorrate]]''
6	--->--What '''[[FunWithAcronyms M.A.G.U.S.]]''' stands for [[BlatantLies according to]] WordOfGod.
7
8	''M.A.G.U.S.'' subtitled ''Avagy a Kalandorok krónikái'' (Or the Adventurer Chronicles), [[FanNickname colloquially]] also known as ''Mákos'' (Lucky), ''Mókus'' (Squirrel) or the ''Nagy Ződ''' (Ye Big Green), is the second[[note]]The first was "Harc és Varázslat" (Fight and Sorcery).[[/note]], most influential and probably only ever marginally successful Hungarian tabletop role-playing game.
9
10	It's ''based on'' the fantasy novels ''A Halál Havában'' (In the month of Death, 1990) and ''Észak Lángjai'' (Flames of North, 1991) by Gáspár András and Novák Csanád (they wrote under the PenName "Wayne Chapman") and was first published in 1993, then republished with minor bugfixes several times in the following years culminating in a major revision in 1999 that got a [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks cold reception]]. In 2004 the game got a d20 rewrite and later in 2007 a modernized edition of its original system. It suffered a lot of [[ExecutiveMeddling publisher changes]] and [[WeAreStrugglingTogether disputes between the creators]] in its turbulent history.
11
12	The gamesystem is quite [[LoadsAndLoadsOfRules rules heavy]] (not Rolemaster level but still) and uses percentage based resolution except when it doesn't. To elaborate basically from the four different editions only the d20 one had a unified mechanic. The whole original system is a mess of percentage based, base number and add roll, roll under with d10, etc. mechanics.
13
14	The gameworld, called Ynev, was originally LowFantasy / StandardFantasySetting, but later got expanded with more and more CyberPunk and {{Horror}} (mostly CosmicHorror) elements and was subjected to frequent and abusive {{Ret Con}}s as time went by. And there were also more and more novels of varying quality published that shaped it, for better or worse, as many times the [[GameplayAndStorySegregation fiction writers didn't know much about the RPG]].
15
16	There is currently news of yet another reboot with a late 2013 release date, which {{Schedule Slip}}ped to 2014... or [[DevelopmentHell maybe 2015]]. Fans are divided.
17
18	----
19	!This game provides examples of:
20
21	* AdventureFriendlyWorld: Sometimes reading the books made people wonder how any muggles could ever survive in this world
22	* AlienNonInterferenceClause: A godly one. Gods may only act through their minions and believers... [[HandWave because reasons]]. Not that it stops them from being RulesLawyer.
23	* ClassAndLevelSystem: Mostly with FantasyCharacterClasses.
24	* BlackComedy / GallowsHumor: Darton, the [[EverybodyHatesHades god of death]] from the Pyarron pantheon, has this as [[OddJobGod addition to]] what you expect his domain would be, so all his believers are prone to it.
25	* DependingOnTheWriter: One of the biggest problems of the game and the novels was the lack of unifying direction, which resulted in this and the GameplayAndStorySegregation.
26	* EldritchAbomination: The Aquir. Also the old gods in the stars. This game had a lot of Lovecraftian influences, but no SanityMeter oddly.
27	* EmotionsVsStoicism: This was the base conflict in the racial war between the {{Precursor\|s}} races Amund (Emotion, hidden race) and the Dzsenn (Stoicism, SupernaturalElite of the Dzsad).
28	* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Several. The Dzsad are obviously Arabian influenced, Enoszuke is Chinese-Japanese, Shadon vaguely European MiddleAges etc..
29	* FantasyWorldMap: One suspiciously reminiscent of the Mediterranean-Sea.
30	* GameplayAndStorySegregation: There is the game and the gamestats that say what a character can or cannot do, and there are the official novels and other assorted background material that give backstory, flavor etc. They don't match.
31	* HotWitch: Not mandatory, but witches get a bonus on their "Beauty" roll, and a spell that turns them into one if they aren't.
32	* HubCity: Erion the City of Adventurers.
33	* InhumanlyBeautifulRace: The elves' "Beauty" score caps at 21 (normal humans 18, if specifically beautiful class 20), the Hurii don't come in anything else but 21, the [[SerialEscalation Amunds' cap at 23]].
34	* InsistentTerminology:
35	** Adventurer is ''Kalandozó'' not ''Kalandor'' learn the difference! ([[ArtifactTitle Despite the subtitle]].)
36	** The time unit for spellcasting is not seconds it's ''segments''.
37	* JerkassGods: The default setting. If they aren't jerks they are {{evil\|God}} (the one god [[TheSocialDarwinist Ranagol]], [[GodOfEvil Orwella]] from the Pyarron pantheon etc.) or {{mad\|God}} (the Kyr god Tharr, [[MadArtist Della]] from the Pyarron pantheon). The [[AlienNonInterferenceClause Godly Non Interference Clause]] is a very very good thing.
38	* LightIsNotGood / GoodIsNotNice: Depending of interpretation the one god Domvik, Sogron the Kyr god of fire (and knowledge) counts too, and the Elves. Generally it is hard to find nice and merciful gods, old races or anyone powerful even when they embody light or are nominally good.
39	* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: Yes. And a lot of missed playtesting too.
40	** GameBreaker: Wizards were a highly powerful class that required experienced GM-ing and had serious {{Munchkin}} potential if left unchecked.
41	* LoadsAndLoadsOfRules: Yes. And contradictory mechanics. Like:
42	** Measuring time in turns in battles but in seconds (it's ''[[InsistentTerminology segments]]'') when spellcasting ... now if someone uses magic in battles, [[ObviousRulePatch ummmmm, let's say a turn is 10 segments]]. OK?
43	** Or several different ways to measure skill proficiency: Some have levels (originally two, later this got expanded to 5 or even more), some are percentage based, how these relate is a great mystery.
44	* TheMagocracy: Toron, the towns of the Sogronite Fire Mages... as basically any culture having Kyr {{precursors}} has a tendency to this.
45	* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Krán, and basically any place that happens to worship [[TheSocialDarwinist Ranagol]].
46	* NumerologicalMotif: The Kyr (and any culture they fathered) had/have an obsession with odd numbers... even numbers are either considered unlucky or are pretended to not exist.
47	* UsefulNotes/{{Plagiarism}}: Not the game itself even if it wasn't as original as its developers liked to pretend, but some of the art was... researched. Like [[http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/3081/plagium.jpg this]] little demonstration. Left one is from the ''Tabletopgame/{{Cyberpunk}} 2020'' Roleplaying Game the right from ''A Démon Átka'' (The Demon's Curse) adventure module published for ''M.A.G.U.S.''.
48	* PlayingWithFire: Several magic users but it's the stated specialty of the Sogronite Fire Mages.
49	* {{Precursors}}: The [[GoodIsNotNice Elves]], the [[TheMagocracy Kyr]], the [[EldritchAbomination Aquir]], The [[StrawmanEmotional Amund]], The [[StrawVulcan Dzsen]], The [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent Dragons]] etc.. And your adventurer can be unlucky enough to encounter any of these. But he likely won't live to tell the tale.
50	* PointBuy: The revisions aimed to this. Their success is questionable.
51	* PurpleProse: The books (the novels are worse) are written in a style that defies "People Sit On Chairs" (they "put down their behinds on richly padded seats" for example) and [[DelusionsOfEloquence seriously reeks of thesaurus abuse]].
52	* RecursiveCanon: OK. The tabletop game and novels are inspired by the "Adventurer Chronicles" kept by monks in a remote monastery of the gameworld. There were also hints that it's a RealityWritingBook in ways (one [[MarySue canonical NPC]]-s managed to erase himself from it... which made him ImmuneToFate).
53	* RetCon: The game world (Ynev) began as StandardFantasySetting then the more and more supplemental material got published the darker and bleaker it became. Around the turn of the century it was basically TheDungAges with traces of DungeonPunk. Or for a smaller scale example: The elves were the tolkienesque IncorruptiblePurePureness at the beginning but turned into a DyingRace of {{Absolute Xenophobe}}s, who are just marginally less homicidal than the other [[{{Precursors}} old races]].
54	* ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: Neither Hungarian Fantasy/RPG writers apparently, all data seems to be basically AssPull which resulted in oddities like the gameworld being bigger than Pangaea and the frozen north having an average temperature of +11 degrees Celsius.
55	* {{Sourcebook}}: In it's long run it got several. Some of the more notable:
56	** ''Worldbooks'': ''Summarium: A teremtés könyvei'' (Summarium: The books of creation) is the most comprehensive setting book ever[[note]]Actually this was meant to be the first book of a three book total revision... which [[DevelopmentHell never got published]].[[/note]]; ''Geoframia kivonatok: Enoszuke'' (Excerpts from Geoframia: Enoszuke) about the FantasyCounterpartCulture of Japan.
57	** ''Splatbooks'': ''Papok, Paplovagok Kézikönyve'' (Handbook of Priests and Paladins) volumes 1 and 2; ''Harcosok, Gladiatorok, Barbárok'' (Fighters, Gladiators, Barbarians).
58	** ''Catalogs'': The ''Bestiárium'' (Bestiary) even got three different editions.
59	** ''Rule expansions'': ''Második törvénykönyv'' (The Second Book of Law) which had new classes, races, weapons and special rules to make combat even more complicated; ''Új tekercsek'' (The New Scrolls) which is basically what ever got written (and not really playtested) from the Summarium rule revision so a PointBuy system and a revision of the skills (but still no unified mechanic).
60	* StandardFantasyRaces: Humans are the most numerous race on Ynev, divided into many nations. Elves are portrayed as an AbsoluteXenophobe race looking down on everyone else; dwarves are your typical master craftsmen dwelling in underground kingdoms; orcs are mostly savage barbarians, but there are tamed "court orcs" enslaved by humans. Expansions introduced a handful of more unusual races, including the barbaric CatFolk "khál". Goblins, giants, dragons, various forms of demons and undead, etc. exist as enemies.
61	* SupernaturalElite: Many {{Precursors}} races are ManBehindTheMan nobility in the countries of the gameworld.
62	* TheScottishTrope: You never ever say you'll officially remake this game or ''A Nyúl átka'' will smite you. You have been warned.
63	** ''A Nyúl átka'' is untranslatable Hungarian {{Pun}} as "Nyúl" can have several meanings in this context so it's ''the {{curse}} of...'' either:
64	*** ''[[KillerRabbit the Rabbit]]''
65	*** ''the ex-development team member (Nyulászi Zsolt, nickname: "Nyúl") who went on to do {{TabletopGame/Codex}}''
66	*** ''[[ShapedLikeItself Touching (it)]]''
67	* UnconventionalAlignment: Slight variation on the standard CharacterAlignment system as it has a [[OrderVersusChaos Chaos-Law]] axis and a [[DeathSeeker De]][[TheUnfettered ath]]-[[TheFettered Life]] one which represents how much the character values life and [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial has nothing to do with good and evil]].
68	* WanderingMinstrel: the Bard character class.
69	* AWizardDidIt: Well, the standard answer for implausible being and ability combinations (like the 'stealth giant') were "Inherited magical abilities" which is just one step away from "It's magic, we don't have to explain it!".
70	** Also for the geographical and larger scale weirdness (Anything that would fit under ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale and various ArtisticLicense tropes) "It's a created world" ... so "The Gods Did It!". Which one and how (as there were many and the rise of humanity was a fairly recent event according to setting material) was never explained.

Context TabletopGame / MAGUS