[Prince Charon]

I haven't seen much use of Path/Book Magic in DF, beyond the worked example of Incantation Magic (which I currently don't have the book for). It occurred to me that it could be interesting to have some form of Effect Shaping magic in a DF type of setting, or otherwise one that is closer to (but not the same as) the version in GURPS Thaumatology. Some might say that Path/Book Magic is too subtle for a DF game. This is false, as shown by (for example) the Paths of Elements and Form, and by how spirits may in some cases manifest, but also because PBM is a magic system framework, rather than a single system. The version to be described in this thread would simply be another worked example, or a few examples, but the version given in the book does not need a lot of changing in order to fit.

Let's say that DF ritual mages (at least the wandering adventurers) tend to have at least Path/Book Adept (Space), sometimes with various limitations, but might not have other levels of Path/Book Adept. They tend to create a number of charms and otherwise prepare Conditional Rituals (GURPS Thaumatology p138) before going into a dungeon, or when they have time while in a dungeon (or otherwise on an adventure). Below are my general thoughts on how each casting profession (as well as Artificers and Scholars) might use Path/Book Magic (no templates, though, because I do not think that my understanding of DF is sufficient to do balanced templates):

* Bard
Bards tend to have one or more oral Book styles, rather than learning Paths - note though that this is a suggestion, not a requirement, and some bards will learn the wizards' style, or the style of a particular faith. The core skill would most often be Musical Influence or some form of Ritual Magic, though this depends on the style.

A bard's preferred musical instrument (generally Signature Gear) may also be a Mystic Symbol (Gadget advantage) providing Path/Book Adept, and possibly other advantages.


* Cleric
The followers of each deity teach a different style or styles. Generally, this is the Path of Health plus one or more Paths related to the deity's focus, though the style may be a Book style instead. Still, this being DF, at least one Book in such a style should have Dose, Succor, and one or more other Health rituals. The core skill would be either Ritual Magic (<deity/faith>) or Religious Ritual (<deity/faith>).

The symbol of one's faith may also be a Mystic Symbol. Any space consecrated to the cleric's deity should be considered an appropriate Ritual Space for the cleric's style. Spaces consecrated to an allied deity may be considered appropriate ritual spaces, often with a small penalty. Check with the GM.


* Druid
The typical Druid style includes the Paths of Elements, Form, and Nature, and possibly Spirit (or it may be a Book style, possibly oral, that includes rituals from those Paths in the Books, along with some others). The core skill would most often be Ritual Magic (Druidism), which has Symbol Drawing (Ogham), Naturalist, and Herb Lore as Complementary Skills. A more versatile druid (taken far enough, practically a druid-themed wizard) might instead use some variant of Celtic Tree Magic as a Path or Book style.

Some druids have Path/Book Adept (Space) with environmental limitations, specifically treating any wilderness as a Ritual Space (though how dense the wilderness needs to be varies). Druids are more likely to have a Familiar than a Mystic Symbol.


* Wizard
Wizards tend to be versatile, and thus will have many Paths (or Books, if you want to go there). The 'standard' Wizard style has the following Paths:

Path of Air
Path of Cunning
Path of Dreams
Path of Earth
Path of Fire
Path of Form
Path of Knowledge
Path of Luck
Path of Protection
Path of Spirit
Path of Water

As you can see, the Path of Gadgets is absent due to the tech level (though variant styles might have it, and some of the rituals exist in other Paths), the Paths of Health and Nature are absent due to niche protection, and the Path of Elements is split up. It is appropriate to add new rituals to the Elemental Paths, perhaps including Element-specialized forms of Summon; e.g. Explosive Runes, if developed, probably belongs under Fire or Air, while something like Magic Missile would likely fall under Spirit. The core skill would most often be Thaumatology (Wizardry), though some form of Ritual Magic is also plausible.

A wide range of alternate Paths are possibly if you want to go there, such as adapting the Colleges of the main GURPS spellcasting system, or the Schools of Magic used by certain other dungeoncrawling fantasy game systems.

A wizard's staff has a knob in the end of it might be a Mystic Symbol, or they might have some other item serving that purpose. A wizard might also have a Familiar.


* Artificer
An artificer that uses Path/Book Magic at all (most wouldn't) is likely to have a style that includes the Path of Gadgets, or a Book style that has one or more Books that incorporate rituals from the Path of Gadgets. The most common core skills are probably Alchemy, Engineer (Gadgets), and Weird Science.

Artificers don't tend to have familiars, and are less likely to have a Mystic Symbol than the other professions.


* Scholar
Scholars tend to use one or more Book styles. Such Books often serve as Mystic Symbols, limited to the Book's own style.



Thoughts?