Custom race with custom magic: how do points stack?

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1

After a long time on other projects, I've finally come back to my Class, Race, and Magic Type pages, hopefully to make them into something that not only works, but is easier to maintain, and covers all the released material up to now. However, I've run into a few snags here are there, in regards to the rules as laid out in the Player's Companion and Axioms 1:

According to the Player's Companion, points allocated to Arcane stack with racial points - that is, it's possible to have Arcane 4, Elf 4: the class casts as a full level mage, with 200% spells per level, the equivalent of Arcane 8. However, while Divine points do stack with racial points allocated to Divine, there is a limit of 4 points; Divine 2, Nobirus 2 is fine, but Divine 3, Nobirus 2 is right out. Using with Axioms 1, it's possible to create a new type of magic; if I create a race similar to Elf that uses this new magic, which rule does that new magic type follow, and why?

  1. Studious acquisition allows greater than 4 total point allocated to that magic type, while Prayerful does not (and what about Inherited?)
  2. Base XP dictates the limit: if it costs 4 points for full caster, that means up to 8 points, 2 points for full caster means up to 4 points... and 3 points for full caster means up to 6 points: full caster, spells x 166%?
  3. Spell progression dictates the limit: Standard allows up to 8, Alternate allows up to 4, and Improved allows...?
  4. It's a choice: whoever is creating the magic type can choose if they want to allow more than 4 build points to be allocated.
  5. Arcane is special: Arcane, and only Arcane, is allowed more than 4 build points.
2

I am not an Autarch, but I can help you with 3 and 5.

Heroic Fantasy Handbook allows conversions of the Arcane races of Elf and Zaharan to Eldritch, which is an Improved progression. So Improved progression allows 8, even if spell progression doesn't dictate the limit.

This answers 5 also, since Eldritch (via conversion) is allowed 8 build points so it's not just Arcane.

Race interacts with magic in lots of special ways.

For example, the Elf has innate magical power, granting a 125xp discount on Arcane (and Eldritch) value selected for custom classes. An extra 125xp discount also applies to Elf 4. That discount seems to be 20% the 625xp cost of the magic type. If a race had innate magical power in Divine, what would their discount be?

 

3

Still not an Autarch, but given where the limit of Divine 4 is mentioned in the PC, I'd say it could also be this:

6.  It's an attribute of the Race. The Nobiran race is limited to a combined total of Divine 4.

Other races that provide Divine value (such as the undocumented race of the Deep One Hybrid from BCK) may allow more than 4, but if they do, they'd better document what values 5-8 provide.