Beyond Dominia August 1998 -- Vol. 3, No. 8

 
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by Ryan Hutnick

REAL Magic (aka Magic the RPG)

Magic sure can be a fun game, even though it's not very logical. No, not in regards to the hundreds of pages of errata and such, but how some of the mechanics and play rules seem to be less than what they could be. That's not neccessarily a bad thing, in fact it probably just saves headaches for the designers and beginning players. Let's face it, even though at it's core Magic can be horribly complicated, one can get the *very* basics down with only a few games with someone who knows what he/she is doing. But how many players have asked the question "Why don't creatures have an agility rating?" Or "Why can't creatures equip artifacts?" These mechanics don't exist in normal Magic play, but they do exist in REAL Magic.

REAL Magic is simply a way to give Magic more of an RPG feel. In REAL Magic creatures have an agility rating next to their power/toughness. Creatures can deliver critical hits, and land more than one blow if it's attacked or attacking. Don't like a creature that your opponent just summoned? Bribe it, and maybe it will come to your side and fight for you. Want to send one of your creatures on a quest that will sabotage your opponents plans? Go for it! REAL Magic makes each game seem more like an epic war than a simple wizard-to-wizard duel.

Listed below are the necessary changes/additions needed to change Magic into REAL Magic.

1. All games played under REAL Magic follow the most current Type 1 restricted/banned lists. Decks must contain at least 120 cards, and players start with 60 life.
 
2. Banding does not exist in REAL Magic. Why? You'll soon see. :) No, seriously, banding makes some of the necessary combat changes very difficult to implement. When playing REAL Magic, please eliminate the following words off cards which they appear (not literally, of course) - band, bands, banding, banded.
 
3. When a creature has locked in damage, you roll dice and it does 0-N damage, where N is the creature's power. Example - a Force of Nature will do anywhere from 0-8 damage; how much exactly depends on how good a roller you are. If you find that you have extra numbers on a second die, eliminate the extras and roll until you land on one that fits. Example - say you have to figure out Force of Nature damage, and you only have 6 sided dice. Roll one six sider, and then roll the other. Ignore anything higher than a 2; when you finally roll a 1 or 2 add that to the number of the first die and that's the damage the Force will do.
 
4. Creatures have an agility number next to their power/toughness. The number will be either 1, 2, or 3. Creatures with a 1 (Lead Golem, Ironroot Treefolk) are the slowest of the bunch...they have a good chance of hitting a creature with an agility of 2, and a poor chance of hitting a creature with an agility of 3. Creatures with an agility of 2 (Benalish Hero, Arctic Wolves) have a good chance of hitting both an agility 1 and agility 3 creature. Creatures with an agility of 3 (Serra Angel, King Cheetah) have a good chance of hitting an agility 2 creature, and will always hit an agility 1 creature. Here's how it all works - after blockers are declared, you roll for agility. If both creatures have the same agility, you roll 1D6 for each. Roll a 1, the creature misses; 2-6, it hits. If a creature with an agility of 1 (Lead Golem) blocks/attacks a creature with agility 3 (Serra Angel), the 3 agility creature (Serra) will hit the 1 agiltiy (Golem,) but for the 1 agility (Golem) you roll 1D6. Roll a 1 it hits, 2-6 it misses. If a creature with an agility of 2 (Arctic Wolves) blocks/attacks a creature with an agility of 3 (King Cheetah,) roll 1D6 for each. Roll 1 or 6 it misses, 2-5 it hits. Use this same method if a creature with an agility of 1 blocks/attacks a creature with an agility of 2.

Note - I am aware of possibly arguments that can arrise over what agility rating some creatures have. Simply put, I do not have the time to give an agility rating to each individual creature in Magic. Therefore, the official rule regarding arguments is this: if you cannot agree on an agility rating, flip a coin to decide. Or you can always email me, I'll think about it, and give you a speedy reply with my answer. :)

 
5. When a creature hits, you do the penetration roll. This is simple. Roll 2D6, and if the result is 2-10, the creature penetrates, and combat proceeds. If the result is 11-16, it does not penetrate, and the creature deals no damage in combat.
 
6. When a creature has both won the agility roll and penetration roll, you proceed to see of the creature's hit is critical. To do this, roll 2D6. If the result is a 2 or 12, the opposing creature dies instantly and is sent straight to the graveyard, without the possibilty of regeneration. If the reult of the roll is 3-11, the strike was not critical and combat proceeds as normal. Note - say both creatures won the agility roll...which creature do you roll for critical first? The attacking creature.
 
7. This is a fun one. :) When a creature kills another creature in combat (or due to it's own fast effect, like a Tim ability,) it gains experience points equal to the combination of the dead creature's power/toughness/agility. A creature raises a level once it has gained X experience, where X is equal to it's combined power/toughness/agility. Whenever a creature raises a level, it gets +1/+1 (no additions to the agility rating) and one special ability (phasing, flanking, islandwalk, first strike, etc.) of your choice (you cannot choose banding.) Example - your Benalish Hero, by some miracle with lucky die rolls, takes down a Force of Nature (8/8/2.) The Force will give the Hero 18 experience points. The Hero needs 3 experience points to raise a level, so...the Hero will gain 6 levels! This means the Hero will now be 7/72 and will have 6 special abilities. Imagine the possibilities...give it flanking 6 times, make it a shadow-flanking-flying-islandwalking-first strike-rampage monstrosity...the possibilities are endless.
 
8. Creature quests. This ability is played as a fast effect that can be done only once per turn, and only in your main phase. To initiate a creature quest, first choose a creature you control. Then announce you are sending it on a quest, and state to what opponent you are sending it to. Now, grab 3D6, choose "odd" or "even" and roll the dice. If all three numbers are what you chose, then the quest was successful, and you can choose from the following options:
  • A. Look through the opponent's library, remove two cards from the game. Opponent then shuffles his/her library.
  • B. Look through the opponent's library, select one permanent, and put it immediately into play on your side. Opponent then shuffles his/her library.
  • C. Choose a permanent owned by the opponent; that permanent is removed from the game.

    • If the quest is unsuccessful, then the opponent gets to choose one of those options to be performed on you.
     
    9. Spells can fizzle. Whenever you cast a spell, roll 2D6. If the result is 2 or 12, the spell fizzles and is removed from the game. If the result is 3-11, the spell is casted normally.
     
    10. Damage dealing Sorceries and Instants can backfire. Whenever you cast a damage dealing Instant or Sorcery, first roll to see if it fizzles or not. If it goes through ok, roll 3D6. If the result is 5, 10, or 15, the spell backfires and does however many damage it would have done to creatures/players to you instead.
     
    11. You can bribe creatures. Whenever a creature attacks you, and you decide not to block it, you can bribe it. Here's how it works - say a War Mammoth attacks you...you can't block and decide to bribe it. Roll 2D6. Whatever the result of the roll is, you lose life equal to the number rolled (cannot be prevented or re-directed.) If the result is 2-3, the creature is bribed and is taken out of combat. If the result is 12, the creature is taken out of combat and you gain control of it. If the result is 4-11 the bribe was unsucessful and combat proceeds as normal. Note - you can only bribe a specific creature once per combat.
     
    12. Creatures can hit several times when they finally get into damage dealing phase in combat. After a creature hits once (and deals 0-N damage) you roll 1D6. If the result is 1 the creature hits a second time; 2-6 it doesn't hit again and combat proceeds. If the creature hits a second time, you roll again for a third hit. If the third hit connects, you try for a fourth hit...and so on. Note - for the second, third, and so on hits, you do not roll for agility again, but you do roll for penetration and critical for each seperate hit.
     
    13. Creatures can equip certain *non-creature* artifacts. This boosts their power/toughness (not agility.) You'll have to use logic to determine what artifacts can and cannot be equipped. For example, you can equip Aladdin's Ring, Helm of Awakening, Helm of Obedience, Sword of the Ages, and Dingus Staff. Flying Carpet, Ivory Tower, and Library of Leng cannot be equipped. (Note - again, if arguments arise, the official rule is to flip a coin to decide...you could also email me, if you so desire.) So what does this do for the creature? Add this text to each equippable artifact: 0, Remove this artifact from the game: target creature gets +X/+X, where X is the casting cost of this artifact. (This change is permanent; it expires only when the creature is put into the graveyard or removed from the game.)
     
    14. You can hide creatures. Once a turn, during your main phase, played as a Sorcery, you can lay a creature card face down, untapped, on the table (you do not pay any kind of casting cost, and this isn't considered a put into play effect, so Aether Flash wouldn't do anything to it.) Since the creature is hidden, it is considered out of play, so it can't be targetted by spells and global effects like Wrath of God would not get rid of it. At any time fast effects are legal, you may pay the hidden creature's casting cost and flip it over, treating it as though it has just been cast, however it is not effecting by summoning sickness (it will, though, take Aether Flash damage, and be affected by any other coming into play effects being caused by permanents.)
     
    15. Here's a biggie...the Unite ability. Simply put, this ability will cause one of three things to happen:
  • A. All of your opponent's creatures come into play on your side
  • B. All of your creatures come into play on your opponen't side
  • C. All of your creatures become tapped

    • The Unite ability consists of all your creatures meeting with your opponent's creatures, and trying to convince them that their master is no good, and to come and help you out. Of course, this can backfire, causing your creatures to think that *you* are no good, and them going to your opponent's side. The talks can also simply be unsuccessful for both sides, which leads to all your creatures becoming tapped. The Unite ability can only be done once per turn and only during the main phase, and it's played as a Sorcery. When you declare to Unite, roll 4D6. If the result is 4-8, you gain control of all of your opponent's creatures. If the result is 9-19, all your creatures become tapped. If the result is 20-24, your opponent gains control of all of your creatures.

    The purpose of REAL Magic is simply to make Magic more fun and involved. If you have any other RPG-ish ideas that you think will add to the experience of REAL Magic, go ahead and implement them. The goal here is to provide another way of having fun with the game you love to play. Don't be intimidated by the seemingly complex extra rules needed to play REAL Magic. Give it a try...you might be amazed by how differently you look at the game.

              Ryan Hutnick
              a***n@n***f.com

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