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Old 04-12-2020, 04:51 PM   #4
Prince Charon
 
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Default Re: [Pulp/Supers] Reawakened Heroes of a Golden Age

Magic

Mana Levels

The world the Reawakened remember had mostly normal mana with variations, though a lot of it was Aspected and there were ley lines in many places. The modern world seems to be mostly low mana with variations, though again, there are many ley lines, and a lot of areas of Aspected mana (some at higher levels). Also, there is some evidence, according to those able to determine this, that the world had no or very low mana immediately before people started getting Reawakened.

The Mana Enhancer and Mana Damper advantages are fairly rare, but are not unknown.


Magery and Magic Resistance

Magery 0 works pretty much as normal, and rarely has limitations other than as part of a Gadget, or granted by a Familiar. The Magery talent is normally accompanied by the same level in Magic Resistance (Switchable, +50%) [3/level], Magic Resistance (Improved, +150%) [5/level], or Magic Resistance (Improved, +150%; Switchable, +50%) [6/level]. Magery being accompanied by unmodified Magic Resistance wouldn't make a lot of sense, and Magery combined with Magic Susceptibility would be especially odd in this setting, Magery with no form of Magic Resistance added is rare, but not unheard of. Either way, the Magery talent boosts skill with most variants of magic:
Magery is the Power Talent for Magic As Powers, Path/Book Magic, and Spirit Magic. Normal Magery has no effect on Realm magic; Realm Magery is a separate talent, though it has the same cost (alternatively, you can double the cost of Realm Magery, and have it act as both Realm Magery and normal Magery). Realm Magery is likewise often accompanied by some form of Magic Resistance. Note that there is no 'Realm Magery 0' advantage; that's covered by the individual Realms.

Limited Magery talent is rather more common than Magery talent without limitations added. 'Emergencies Only, -30%' is pretty common, as is 'Uncontrollable, -30%' if accompanied by an appropriate Wild Talent; 'Useless Under Stress, -60%' is somewhat common, especially for users of Path/Book Magic. One College Only does not appear due to the standard Spell-based system not being used, but Aspected Magery is a fairly close equivalent (choose an Aspect or Aspects, like an element or a concept, and the GM decides what the limitation is worth - mostly, it should be close to the cost of One College Magery), and is quite common.


Types of Magic

* Magic As Powers

This works pretty much the way Magic As Powers usually does. The other forms of magic are sometimes the origin of Magic as Powers, whether as a Gadget, or as a spell that has become a part of you. Critical failures are normally applied as normal Powers critical failures, except as otherwise noted.

Sorcery is probably not available in this setting, though magical Modular Abilities or sets of Alternative Abilities with various limitations are.

Divine Favor falls under this heading, but is pretty rare. Demi-gods tend to have it at high levels (12 or better), though they may also or instead have Realm Magic (which will be in a later post or posts). Divine avatars just have Realm Magic, as they don't need Divine Favor (unless the GM doesn't want to use Realm Magic at all, in which case they just have Divine Favor at 16 or higher). Normal mortals may have Divine Favor, but this is very rare; they're more likely to use some other power that they think is Divine Favor (or know isn't, but claim it is), or to have a power or set of powers with the 'Divine, -10%' limitation. In general, Divine Favor will tend to be specialized based on the portfolio of the specific deity.

While the powers of pantheons cannot be compared to other pantheons, it is possible to vaguely compare power levels within a particular pantheon; see the 'Totem Spirits as Patrons' and 'Divine Favor and Totems' sections of this article on Totem Spirits. You could also use this and GURPS Powers: Divine Favor to create a 'Demonic Favor' power, though I suggest that something like that should have a 'Corrupting, -20%' limitation.

Divine Favor critical failures are normally rolled on the "Clerical" Table (GURPS Thaumatology p257), unless specified otherwise - e. g. 'Demonic Favor' would tend to be rolled on either the Diabolic/Horrific Table (Thaumatology p258) or the Black Critical Table (GURPS Magic p157), and a Trickster God's follower might well roll on the Comedy Table (Thaumatology p257).

I recommend that GMs and players think VERY carefully and have an honest discussion about it before using any faith that the GM or players (or anyone likely to be observing) actually follows.

Powers based on Alchemy or Herb Lore are reasonably plausible. I suggest that in addition to the 'Magic, -10%' limitation, you add 'Pact (Ritualism), -5%' and/or some level of Preparation Required. A more versatile Powers-based alchemist/herbalist might have some form of Modular Abilities with Preparation Required, or perhaps have Gadget Slots. Gizmos could also be useful. Gadgeteer limited to a single skill works fairly well with Powers-based Alchemy or Herb Lore.

(I hit a point where I should have divided it further.)
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