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Old 04-13-2018, 03:52 PM   #1
b-dog
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Default Pact idea for wizards

I was thinking about wizards and I had an idea of them having pacts with pagan gods and the Infernal. The idea is that a Wizard makes a pact with a pagan god or the Infernal and then he can cast his spells using the Sanctitiy of the pagan god or the sanctity of the Infernal in place of mana. The sanctity must be used for one college like say fire and can not be used for all spells. For example a wizard could make a pact with Poseiden and then cast water college spells using the sanctity of Poseidon in place of the mana level.
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Old 04-18-2018, 07:59 AM   #2
LoneWolf23k
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Default Re: Pact idea for wizards

Have you taken a look at rules for Assisting Spirits from GURPS Thaumatology? It's basically a system through which a spellcaster can make a contract with a supernatural entity and gain access to spells or bonus energy to cast magic, as long as the spellcaster furthers the entity's goals.
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Old 04-18-2018, 09:49 AM   #3
Kromm
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Default Re: Pact idea for wizards

This is a valid subject for GURPS Dungeon Fantasy but not really for the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game, so moved.
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Old 04-18-2018, 10:08 AM   #4
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Default Re: Pact idea for wizards

I don't see why you would be calling this a "wizard." It looks like an exact fit to Power Investiture into a holy person.
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Old 04-18-2018, 10:48 AM   #5
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Default Re: Pact idea for wizards

I think what b-dog is saying is that a regular DF wizard could make a (lower-case-p) pact with a powerful entity that can normally grant spells via Power Investiture to use their wizardly spells with either mana or that particular entity's sanctity.

As Magery is already limited by mana that would be a net enhancement on that advantage. The cost would depend a lot on how often low or no mana zones overlap with normal sanctity. For simplicity's sake I would call it a +20% enhancement in DF, because it can be a nasty surprise. By the numbers it should probably be +5%, but that would be extremely negligible. As a GM I would also require a compulsory disadvantage and for an infernal power that would probably the greater price to be paid...
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Old 04-18-2018, 11:33 AM   #6
whswhs
 
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Default Re: Pact idea for wizards

That dual setup still seems overcomplicated. I think if you can access some spells either through Magery or through Power Investiture, what you have is Power Investiture as an Alternate Ability of Magery, for one-fifth the price.
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Old 04-18-2018, 01:17 PM   #7
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Default Re: Pact idea for wizards

That's a nifty way of doing it and also comes with a decent price tag. Still would require some disadvantage to make it more flavourful.
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Old 04-18-2018, 01:34 PM   #8
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Default Re: Pact idea for wizards

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blind Mapmaker View Post
That's a nifty way of doing it and also comes with a decent price tag. Still would require some disadvantage to make it more flavourful.
I think that disadvantage is inherent in Power Investiture. That has to be granted by a god or similar being, and such a being both has a focused spell list and requires conditions equivalent to a Pact, though it's not treated as a limitation, being inherent in PI. You just have to make them up and play them.
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Old 04-18-2018, 01:56 PM   #9
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Default Re: Pact idea for wizards

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blind Mapmaker View Post
That's a nifty way of doing it and also comes with a decent price tag. Still would require some disadvantage to make it more flavourful.
It seems likely that the wizard would have to either offer a significant tribute or do a quest to get this advantage, rather than just buying it at character creation. They just get the advantage on their sheet as a quest reward, while those who help them get some sort of loot.
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Old 04-18-2018, 02:07 PM   #10
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Default Re: Pact idea for wizards

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Originally Posted by Nereidalbel View Post
It seems likely that the wizard would have to either offer a significant tribute or do a quest to get this advantage, rather than just buying it at character creation. They just get the advantage on their sheet as a quest reward, while those who help them get some sort of loot.
I'm really not seeing that. It seems to me that if you can attain an advantage in GURPS, then you can attain it by going through a series of events, and there must be some way of defining a newly created character as being in the state that results from already having gone through that series of events. I don't think GURPS naturally has benefits that you can only have by gaining them in play.
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