Topic: Spell duration scaling

[Carewolf]

I am not fond if the duration scaling used in HARP, and since it hasn't improved in the newest version, I would like to share my unofficial errata for it. The second option is based of the duration scaling table from spell-creation in College of Magic, except it has been balanced and unstupified.

These duration scaling options replaces ALL duration scaling options in existing spells, since the existing ones are both inconsistent and unbalanced,  and even more often; absent.

There are two options:

Option 1:
Double duration: +2PP
Doubles duration, can be applied multiple times (x4 duration: +4PP, etc.)

Option 2:
Find the base duration in the table below, moving one step up in duration will cost +2PP, to move N steps up, costs +Nx2PP. The levels apply both to spells with fixed duration and spells with per rank duration.

Spell duration levels:
0.     1 round     
1.     2 rounds
2.     5 rounds
3.   10 rounds
4.    1 minute
5.    2 minutes
6.    5 minutes
7.  10 minutes
8.  20 minutes
9.    1 hour
10.  2 hours
11.  5 hours
12. 12 hours
13.   1 day

Examples:
Bless that lasts 2 rounds/rank by default,  costs, +2PP to get to 5 rounds/rank and +6PP to get to 1 minute/rank.
Calm that  last 5 rounds/rank by default, costs +2PP to get to 10 rounds/rank, and +4PP to get to 1 minute/rank.
Stun Cloud that last 5 rounds by default costs +2PP to get to 10 rounds, +4PP to get to 1 minute and +22PP to make an epic whole day stun cloud.

[NicholasHMCaldwell]

I think you will find that the duration scaling options are consistent and have been changed such that Utility spells benefit from a less costly progression than Attack and Elemental Attack. As for spells that don't have a "complete" set of duration options, there is no bar in the rules any longer to applying the rest of the duration options. The scaling options are designed such that it is actually possible to make a spell Permanent, albeit with a +20 PP scaling option (-100 casting penalty). The scaling options are also costed to be consistent and balanced with the base options.

Best wishes,
Nicholas

[Carewolf]

The problem with the existing duration scaling options was that they don't take into account the base duration of the spells. This means it gets extremely expensive to increase duration even just a little bit on spells that have "high" base durations such as light for instance. Also you end up with odd situations where it there is a huge cost to just doubling the duration, but to 100 doubling it cost just 2-3PP more than doubling it.

The alternative scaling options here, tries to solve that and hopefully make more sense to wide range of spells with potentially very different base stats.