Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - What's the best GURPS thaumatology system for a minor godlike boss being?

ericthered · 09-28-2020, 02:15 PM

Well, if he's only a big and bad as a large dragon, he's unlikely to be an bona fide God, just a little spirit shaped a bit like a Diety.

I've used RPM quite a bit, and I've used Realm magic a fair amount. My take-aways:

RPM has a strong fingerprint, in the form of how long it takes to cast, the way charms work, and the ability of most mages to achieve most effects. If you want the diety to be powerful but take a while between big castings, RPM isn't a bad strategy.
RPM gains power more quickly than some other systems for the same amount of points when in the 600 point range, but this is an NPC, so its not a big deal, but it is something to be aware of.
Setting up realm magic prices is only as complicated as you make it. When working with concepts the size of a Gurps: Magic college, I usually just eyeball the cost at 30 and call it good. This is an NPC, so you don't even need to worry about that point cost, though you can certainly keep an eye on it. Your Godling has undeath, destruction/void, creation/illusion and mind control. It might have a few others at low levels as well. Vary the levels of each realm, and you've got it set up. You can also wing the level costs, like saying that mind control only for dark emotions is only 2 out of 5 levels: one for detect, one for dark emotions, one for all emotions, one for actual mind control, and one for the god-like power. (if he doesn't have detection, that's a single level)
Realm magic that uses the Energy costs in the book is expensive in terms of FP. You'll want a Large energy reserve, and even those can run out extremely quickly. ER regeneration may be appropriate.
I actually usually run Realm magic with alternate casting cost, paid in some weird metaphysical currency that can be gathered from the world (I've actually used electricity before). I get the best results with that.
You can also run Realm magic with "Disregarding Energy Costs" from pages 194 and 195. Unless you intentionally want to limit the diety via ER, you can just use this.
A lot of parameters on Realm magic are customizable. Casting time is just a touch slow, but even at its slowest its faster than RPM... its just slow enough for a melee fighter to notice what's happening and actually do something.

Just talking about my experience with the systems.

09-28-2020, 02:15 PM	#5
ericthered Hero of Democracy Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: far from the ocean	Re: What's the best GURPS thaumatology system for a minor godlike boss being? Well, if he's only a big and bad as a large dragon, he's unlikely to be an bona fide God, just a little spirit shaped a bit like a Diety. I've used RPM quite a bit, and I've used Realm magic a fair amount. My take-aways: RPM has a strong fingerprint, in the form of how long it takes to cast, the way charms work, and the ability of most mages to achieve most effects. If you want the diety to be powerful but take a while between big castings, RPM isn't a bad strategy. RPM gains power more quickly than some other systems for the same amount of points when in the 600 point range, but this is an NPC, so its not a big deal, but it is something to be aware of. Setting up realm magic prices is only as complicated as you make it. When working with concepts the size of a Gurps: Magic college, I usually just eyeball the cost at 30 and call it good. This is an NPC, so you don't even need to worry about that point cost, though you can certainly keep an eye on it. Your Godling has undeath, destruction/void, creation/illusion and mind control. It might have a few others at low levels as well. Vary the levels of each realm, and you've got it set up. You can also wing the level costs, like saying that mind control only for dark emotions is only 2 out of 5 levels: one for detect, one for dark emotions, one for all emotions, one for actual mind control, and one for the god-like power. (if he doesn't have detection, that's a single level) Realm magic that uses the Energy costs in the book is expensive in terms of FP. You'll want a Large energy reserve, and even those can run out extremely quickly. ER regeneration may be appropriate. I actually usually run Realm magic with alternate casting cost, paid in some weird metaphysical currency that can be gathered from the world (I've actually used electricity before). I get the best results with that. You can also run Realm magic with "Disregarding Energy Costs" from pages 194 and 195. Unless you intentionally want to limit the diety via ER, you can just use this. A lot of parameters on Realm magic are customizable. Casting time is just a touch slow, but even at its slowest its faster than RPM... its just slow enough for a melee fighter to notice what's happening and actually do something. Just talking about my experience with the systems. __________________ Be helpful, not pedantic Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one!