Ritual magic and literacy

[Michael Lewis]

I've been thinking of trying to incorporate ritual magic in our game. I've only skimmed it but a friend of mine says the system implies that you should be literate. The genre that we are playing is GURPS Ice Age with some magic, so the players are all illiterate.

Is this true?

[Refplace]

It could go either way depending on campaign setting. Most works and research assumes literacy but you can have an oral tradition or other method such as inspiration for learning.

[RyanW]

No more than the basic magic system does. I.e. there is a standard assumption that mages have the option of learning from books, but there is nothing that really hinges on that assumption.

If you're looking for a magic system for shaman-style casters, you might want to take a look at Path/Book Magic if you have Thaumatology. And even with that name, literacy isn't required. Books are merely presented as one way rituals can be organized, for things like traditional grimoires.

[Michael Lewis]

I have Thaumatology. My question is about path magic and Shamanism. So I'm assuming literacy is not required?

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Michael Lewis

I have Thaumatology. My question is about path magic and Shamanism. So I'm assuming literacy is not required?

No. All that's required is a way of reducing a ritual to a fixed form that can be transmitted to another person. Nonliterate cultures have a lot of those: mnemonic verse, memory houses, elaborate rehearsals, and so on. Rhyme, alliteration, meter, stanzaic forms, and recurrent tropes and epithets are all poetic tricks for aiding memory, for example.

You can even use "book magic" to represent an oral tradition.

Bill Stoddard

[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by Michael Lewis

The genre that we are playing is GURPS Ice Age with some magic, so the players are all illiterate.

LOL I know you meant all he player characters are illiterate, but that still gave me a chuckle.

[Dead Monky]

Originally Posted by whswhs

No. All that's required is a way of reducing a ritual to a fixed form that can be transmitted to another person. Nonliterate cultures have a lot of those: mnemonic verse, memory houses, elaborate rehearsals, and so on. Rhyme, alliteration, meter, stanzaic forms, and recurrent tropes and epithets are all poetic tricks for aiding memory, for example.

You can even use "book magic" to represent an oral tradition.

Bill Stoddard

That's how I do it. Whenever it comes to the magic stuff, I use the term "book" loosely. Defining it more as anything than can be used to store, hold and transfer the knowledge. In my games (GURPS and other) we have our characters use all sorts of crap in place of traditional wizardy spell books: piles of carved bones, collections of little hand made figurines, a bag full of painted teeth, hell tattoos even. Whatever made sense for the character.

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by whswhs

No. All that's required is a way of reducing a ritual to a fixed form that can be transmitted to another person. Nonliterate cultures have a lot of those: mnemonic verse, memory houses, elaborate rehearsals, and so on. Rhyme, alliteration, meter, stanzaic forms, and recurrent tropes and epithets are all poetic tricks for aiding memory, for example.

"GURPS Fantasy" suggests representing such mnemotechniques by Eidetic Memory with a Preparation Required Limitation. It ends up costing 3 or 4 CP, depending on how much Preperation is Required, so costs the same as full Literacy or even more.

I personally suggest a Perk for lesser mnemotechniques (such as are taught to most children in pre-literate or anti-literate societies) that gives a modest bonus to IQ rolls to recall prepared material. Upgradable to the limited Eidetic Memory version when/if desired.

The question is, how is Ritual Path Magic penalized for characters who only have the Perk? And how is it further penalized for those who lack even the Perk?

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen

I personally suggest a Perk for lesser mnemotechniques (such as are taught to most children in pre-literate or anti-literate societies) that gives a modest bonus to IQ rolls to recall prepared material. Upgradable to the limited Eidetic Memory version when/if desired.

What GURPS Fantasy provides for that is the skill of Bardic Lore. Roll your skill and you can get the applicable verses out of memory. For really basic stuff, like "thirty days hath September," I'd allow a +6 or a straight IQ roll.

Bill Stoddard