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Old 01-28-2018, 11:09 AM   #21
Bazial
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: [Thaumatology] Thoughts on a magic system

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Originally Posted by mlangsdorf View Post
I went through the chat logs of my online game at one point and tallied up how much FP people actually used in adventuring situations - the theoretical throughput is 50-250 FP per 8 day day, but it's hard to optimize to that in adventuring conditions - and it worked out closer to 30-40 FP/day.

I then ran a different online game using Threshold Magic, a standard Threshold of about 25, and a Recovery Rate of about 35, and it worked out pretty nicely: the wizard went over threshold toward the end of the day, and there was a definite sense of "now I have to conserve magic" but he could still contribute if things got really dangerous. He pushed himself too far a couple of times - I was using a more generous Catastrophe table but he went overboard - and pretty much had to say "I cannot cast spells for a week or my character will explode." Fortunately, they were done with the adventure then and could take the time off.

Long story short, moderate threshold, high recovery rate, less punishing catastrophe table gives you slightly more impressive wizards who can't wreck your game world's economy the way FP casters can. The recommend high threshold, low recovery rate, punishing catastrophe table gives you wizards that can do an impressive thing every few days but don't do very much magic otherwise.
Thanks for sharing! I will keep this in mind. I always thought the part of Thaumatology that discusses different threshold/rec setups was a bit underdeveloped, and after reading this, I definitely think I'll up the rec rate.

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Originally Posted by dataweaver View Post
So, what exactly about it doesn't sit well with your players?
I may have used too strong a term here, apologies; it's more that they're not quite comfortable enough with GURPS as a system (understandable since most of them are new to it) to appreciate what RPM has to offer. They were quite interested in it, but quickly conceded that the amount of numerical fiddliness and the amount of player-GM negotiation were beyond them right now. In truth, I understand them, and I didn't want to force it upon them. They were interested in trying it out in the future, however, when they are more familiar with GURPS overall, so there's hope ahead.
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Old 01-29-2018, 12:20 AM   #22
Rupert
 
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wellington, NZ
Default Re: [Thaumatology] Thoughts on a magic system

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Originally Posted by Fred Brackin View Post
For a really simple solution you could use standard Magic with the Ceremonial Only limitation. Then lift this for use of Jet and Missile Spell Items such as wands and staves. This greatly reduces the use of magic in combat while still leaving magic as a whole fairly common and powerful.
Another option would be to lift the restriction for all magic items. Thus items aren't just a way to 'know' a spell that costs money rather than character points, but a tool for combat casting a spell.
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Old 01-30-2018, 01:45 PM   #23
Bazial
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: [Thaumatology] Thoughts on a magic system

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Originally Posted by Rupert View Post
Another option would be to lift the restriction for all magic items. Thus items aren't just a way to 'know' a spell that costs money rather than character points, but a tool for combat casting a spell.
That's a pretty cool idea. I like it. I think it fits fairly well with decanic modifiers, i.e. a magic item would be made of appropriate materials to its college, thereby effectively making up for some of the preq and mana penalty.
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