Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-12-2018, 09:56 PM   #1
Cowrie
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Default Some, but not all casters using alternate spell base?

I'm wanting to create a caster template that uses spells based on something other than IQ, likely a calculated base of (HT+Per)/2. However, other casters in the setting definitely use IQ-based spells. Do you think this would just be a feature, or should it be an enhancement on Magery since raising the base costs a minimum of 10 points even after Magery is maxed out? If an enhancement, how much should it be worth?
Cowrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2018, 10:24 PM   #2
Refplace
 
Refplace's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
Default Re: Some, but not all casters using alternate spell base?

I'd probably just charge a small UB, (HT + PER)/2 is cheaper than IQ but not by a huge amount and if you cap PER its even less of a difference.
HT and PER are also far less useful for as many circumstances as IQ.
__________________
My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more!
My GURPS fan contribution and blog:
REFPLace GURPS Landing Page
My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items)
My GURPS Wiki entries
Refplace is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2018, 11:44 PM   #3
Cowrie
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Default Re: Some, but not all casters using alternate spell base?

What price would you suggest for the UB? 5 points, maybe?
Cowrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2018, 11:52 PM   #4
Refplace
 
Refplace's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
Default Re: Some, but not all casters using alternate spell base?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowrie View Post
What price would you suggest for the UB? 5 points, maybe?
Yeah, 10 at most. I would also discourage super high Per bought above IQ.
__________________
My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more!
My GURPS fan contribution and blog:
REFPLace GURPS Landing Page
My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items)
My GURPS Wiki entries
Refplace is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 10-13-2018, 11:00 AM   #5
malloyd
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Default Re: Some, but not all casters using alternate spell base?

Personally I'd call it a feature. Mages don't after all pay a premium for IQ vs. non-mages who don't get to use anything as a base for spell skills, what with not having any spells at all.

Even if these guys end up with a spell base a point or two higher than your IQ based mages usually have, the fact that they don't get any synergy with the non-spell IQ stuff that's pretty important to most traditional "mage" builds is probably going to push them into a niche just as different from the traditional mages as those non-spellcasters.

If this is rare enough people don't prepare for it I might charge a point for the occasional surprise value or resistance to countermeasures - though here I'd expect most stuff that works as an IQ countermeasure to also lower Per, but any more than that seems likely to just discourage anybody from actually taking it. HT and Per are just so much less undervalued than IQ in the first place that giving up the extra advantages of IQ (or DX) just to get a slightly lower cost of increasing spell base seems like a fairly marginal choice already. If I have to pay extra for it too...
__________________
--
MA Lloyd
malloyd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-13-2018, 12:26 PM   #6
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: Some, but not all casters using alternate spell base?

I would suggest a base of (HT plus Per plus Will)/3, rounded down, as it would produce a more well-rounded mage with a different flavor than standard mages. Magical animals would be a natural extrapolation, as they would generally have a base of 10-12, and it would be rather amusing to have animals casting spells (though I would suggest no more than a handful of innate spells unless the animal was sapient). A snake with Flesh to Stone-20 would be quite terrifying for most groups to encounter, as they would not necessarily know where the attack was coming from.
AlexanderHowl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-13-2018, 12:32 PM   #7
evileeyore
Banned
 
evileeyore's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
Default Re: Some, but not all casters using alternate spell base?

Personally I wouldn't slap a UB on it, I'd just make it use a different "Magery". Call it whatever, but make it separate so someone can't use both types of magic with one advantage.
evileeyore is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-13-2018, 12:41 PM   #8
Cowrie
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Default Re: Some, but not all casters using alternate spell base?

An update and some additional context for the template. First of all, I've decided casters with this template just use outright HT for a spell base. Upon further consideration, it just made more sense that way. The template is a specialized caster/power-user for DF, the Seductress. Limited spell list, no Magery 0 needed. So, HT has some extra use for the template in that it raises Sex Appeal and Carousing, plus any sort of caster appreciates the extra FP. Additionally, they have at least one affliction that uses a Quick Contest of HT vs. HT, so a high HT is useful for that, and I'll probably allow some power-ups that make other abilities and/or skills benefit from HT. So, the Seductress gets a good deal of mileage out of HT.

Considering all that, plus the fact that the Attribute Substitution perk as listed in Magical Styles requires specialization by spell, 5 point is probably fairly reasonable. In fact, in PU2, there's something of a precedent for five versions of a perk requiring specialization by skill equaling blanket coverage: 5 Off-Hand Training perks can freely be replaced by Ambidexterity. So, I think I'll stick a 5 point Unusual Background.
Cowrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-13-2018, 12:55 PM   #9
malloyd
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Default Re: Some, but not all casters using alternate spell base?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowrie View Post
Considering all that, plus the fact that the Attribute Substitution perk as listed in Magical Styles requires specialization by spell, 5 point is probably fairly reasonable. In fact, in PU2, there's something of a precedent for five versions of a perk requiring specialization by skill equaling blanket coverage: 5 Off-Hand Training perks can freely be replaced by Ambidexterity. So, I think I'll stick a 5 point Unusual Background.
OK, but note that that Attribute Substitution cost assumes you will have other spells using the normal attribute. By the same logic it would be equally fair to declare all spells are based on HT, put nothing on this template, and charge every other spellcaster 5 points for using IQ, and I think it's fairly clear you don't want to do that (or its logical equivalent charging *negative* 5 points for the spellcasting ability on your Seductress template).
__________________
--
MA Lloyd
malloyd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-13-2018, 12:57 PM   #10
Cowrie
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Default Re: Some, but not all casters using alternate spell base?

Quote:
Originally Posted by malloyd View Post
OK, but note that that Attribute Substitution cost assumes you will have other spells using the normal attribute. By the same logic it would be equally fair to declare all spells are based on HT, put nothing on this template, and charge every other spellcaster 5 points for using IQ, and I think it's fairly clear you don't want to do that (or its logical equivalent charging *negative* 5 points for the spellcasting ability on your Seductress template).
Fair point. It probably should be a feature, then.
Cowrie is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:36 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.