Two questions on Fantasy Craft....

[Blankbeard]

This was hashed out in the long Q&A thread somewhere. In general, always use current values for formulas like number of spells known.  So when your wisdom or spellcasting ranks increase, you gain new spells known.  Likewise, increasing your lifestyle may increase your appearance bonus.  Whether or not temporary bonuses affect derived stats is largely left to the Game Control's discretion.  I don't think I'd let temporary wisdom gain new spells (at least under normal circumstances) but temporary lifestyle would affect appearance.

There are a lot of places where details are left up to the GC's decisions.   Some of these (as mentioned above) are being clarified in the errata.  So hopefully when you read the second printing you'll find more advice about reasonable options.

[Krensky]

This general principle is crucial to building characters to a concept too. Spell Library, for instance, increases your Spells Known by an amount equal to your Lifestyle. In 3.X, most feats like this would be based off the character's Lifestyle when he took the feat, giving you an incentive to hold off on taking it until you were higher level and would get more spells out of it. In Fantasy Craft, you can take it at first level (or take Wizard as your specialty and not get hosed on that front) because the bonus is equal to your current Lifestyle at all times, so it scales up with you.

On a similar note:

Pat, will the Prepared caster variant/quality show up in Spellbound?

[ArawnNox]

The default way is that you begin with a number of spells equal to your Wisdom Modifier + Ranks in Spellcasting (+ Lifestyle if you take the Spell Library feat). These spells can be of any level, not just what you can cast (future investments/prior knowledge/ect). When any of those factors in the equasion go up, so do your number of spells. The how's and why's, as Pat said, are in the GM's hands. Scrolls, research, spellbook copying, absorbing energy from fallen opponents... whatever you want.

My apologies, if that was your question and I missed the intent.

Yeah, that was it. I didn't see anywhere where it said "Whenever your spellcasting ranks or wisdom goes up, so do your number of spells."  Then again, like I said, I don't have regular access to the book.

No big deal though. Thanks for being so quick to respond!

So where does it say that, for further reference? Or was that something that was accidentally left out of the 1st printing and is being added in the 2nd printing?

Page 110, third paragraph. Bolded Text: Known Spells.
Everything you need to know about magic is in chapter 3: Grimoire.

[Desertpuma]

Just be wary when you look at it because Chapter 3 still shows as Chapter 2: Lore on the upper right corner of the right side of the pages. If you are amidst Spells and it reads Lore up there instead of Grimoire, then you are actually in Chapter 3.

[Crafty_Pat]

Pat and Alex have said previously that these answers will be answered in detail in upcoming Spellbound releases.

So where does it say that, for further reference? Or was that something that was accidentally left out of the 1st printing and is being added in the 2nd printing?

Actually, the OP's initial questions - determining spells known and how they're gained - are both inferred in the First Printing but unfortunately weren't very clear. We're clearing those up in the Second Printing and the errata, and that text will be expanded in Spellbound. So you're getting the answers immediately and more detail later.

This was hashed out in the long Q&A thread somewhere. In general, always use current values for formulas like number of spells known.  So when your wisdom or spellcasting ranks increase, you gain new spells known.  Likewise, increasing your lifestyle may increase your appearance bonus.  Whether or not temporary bonuses affect derived stats is largely left to the Game Control's discretion.  I don't think I'd let temporary wisdom gain new spells (at least under normal circumstances) but temporary lifestyle would affect appearance.

Attribute modifiers are covered in the Impairment section on page 9 (yes, the title may lead you to believe these rules only apply to penalties but as you can see from the body text, it refers to both bonuses and penalties). Basically, permanent changes affect all derived stats immediately while temporary changes affect only a handful of specific stats.

Other stat modifiers can and should easily be determined with the same gauge, though we do leave many of those unique situations up to the GM.

There are a lot of places where details are left up to the GC's decisions.   Some of these (as mentioned above) are being clarified in the errata.  So hopefully when you read the second printing you'll find more advice about reasonable options.

Generally, we leave cases open to GM interpretation when we perceive that there are at least two strong and logical ways to rule that don't upset other parts of the system.

Pat, will the Prepared caster variant/quality show up in Spellbound?

The Vancian magic quality? Yes, among other variant spellcasting systems and options.

Just be wary when you look at it because Chapter 3 still shows as Chapter 2: Lore on the upper right corner of the right side of the pages. If you are amidst Spells and it reads Lore up there instead of Grimoire, then you are actually in Chapter 3.

Also fixed in the Second Printing.

[Eärendle]

Does Second Printing also specify each magic wielding class as an arcane or divine caster? Currently only mage and priest are identified as such and these only by the text on page 110. If they are intended to be reserved game terms, the descriptors could be more effectively utilised by including them in the class feature listings (late to mention it, I know). If I'm reading the skill description correctly, the use of arcane caster rather than character is all that keeps a PC from casting untrained.

[Crafty_Pat]

Does Second Printing also specify each magic wielding class as an arcane or divine caster? Currently only mage and priest are identified as such and these only by the text on page 110. If they are intended to be reserved game terms, the descriptors could be more effectively utilised by including them in the class feature listings (late to mention it, I know). If I'm reading the skill description correctly, the use of arcane caster rather than character is all that keeps a PC from casting untrained.

We don't hard-code whether a class is arcane or divine because each class interacts with magic in its own unique ways. Some classes, like the Mage and Priest, will strictly employ one type of magic, while others, like the Monk, will access one type in new ways, and still others, as you'll see in Spellbound, will actually bridge the two types, or even introduce entirely different ways to cast.

The types of casting available to each class, when not spelled out, are obvious from context anyway, so there's no need to further clarify.

[Desertpuma]

I'm guessing Mystic Theurge is going to demonstrate one of these new ways.

[TheAuldGrump]

Alex and I have an effects-based system we'll get out there eventually, but it's an entirely separate enterprise from Spellbound, which is specifically spell-based.

This has me hopeful - I am a much bigger fan of effects based magic than rote spells. Ars Magica is my favorite such system, with that of Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth and Changeling: the Dreaming locked in battle for a distant second place.

The Auld Grump, why the heck am I still awake?