Principles of Magic

[Khanibal]

Okay, I own two PB games. Rifts and Nightbane. I'm playing a wiz in Rifts and I would like to research some spells eventually. Even in the RUE, the Principles of Magic skill is unavailable. I can affiliate myself to a guild and take this skill at when I level and get another occ related slot.

My question is this: Why is this skill unavailable? It would seem that the world went from practically NO magic to being hip-deep. This seems like an ideal environment to inspire people to research their own spells.
Also, I notice that the Lore: Magic skill in Rifts is unavailable (at least I couldn't find it) in Nightbane, but that it shares a similar (not identical) vein as the PoM.

Can anyone help clear up this dilemma?

[Nekira Sudacne]

They're two different games, they don't appear in the other games because they don't exsist in the other games. What's the issue, exsactly?

Of if you want them to be in both games, just let characters take it.

Either it's a non-issue, or an excrutatingly simple issue.

[drewkitty ~..~]

I for this one I just add this skill to each and every mage I make by fiat. (This would exclude intuitive magic users like Mystics.)

[Prysus]

Greetings and Salutations. Well, if you're going to use the "Principles of Magic" skill from Nightbane, you might as well use it all the way as written.

All practitioners of magic get this skill ...

After that some other notes and exceptions are listed, but it does say all magic users get the skill. So ... if you're porting it over to R:UE, port over the fact all mages get it. End of problem. Note: This is if you feel this is necessary for a mage to research spells and such.

With that said, looking at the skill (as written) and the Lore: Magic skill ... more or less they're the same skill, with a different name and percentile. Lore: Magic also knows about magical creatures, but this is easily covered in Demons & Monsters. Principles of Magic basically lets someone recognize rituals, incantations, geniune symbols, and items. More or less, that's what Lore: Magic does as well. If I'm missing something, then just let me know because otherwise I think I'm missing the problem. Thank you for your time and patience, please have a nice day. Farewell and safe journeys to all.

[drewkitty ~..~]

IM, just like there are some cross setting rules that started off in the rifts books and are found nowhere else, the Text concerning magic and magical endeavors and talk about personal styles in through the Glass Darkly are also cross setting applicable. And since Rifts is a crossroads of the megaverse, taking the rules from the other settings to rifts is more likely then anything else.

As for the other games that PB makes, I only know of two, Recon and the Mechinoids Trilogy. The rest are just other settings, mostly.

[Cinos]

Don't see a big issue, most of PB settings are -highly- compatable with some logic. Either have the GM give it to all 'learned' caster classes, or make it a 1-2 Skill Cost (I myself would opt for spending a Related or two, mainly because making spells seems more complex then learning incantations).