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Old 10-30-2013, 08:41 PM   #41
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Default Re: [RPM] Ritual Path Magic: doing the WEIRD stuff

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Originally Posted by Ghostdancer View Post
I wonder how cone of power from Thaumatology would work in RPM?
I thought about them a bit too, also Mass magic and other things.
I would call Cone of Power its own Ritual and while casting people can contribute to it. however that seems to go against the RAW.
But a way to build up power without it being tied to a specific effect is one I like the concept of.
Perhaps the spell creates a temporary place of Power? Would that be ok or also against the rules?
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Old 10-31-2013, 03:55 AM   #42
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Default Re: [RPM] Ritual Path Magic: doing the WEIRD stuff

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I wouldn't allow that. The rules are fairly explicit that ambient energy can only be gathered for a specific spell, when casting it. "Storing" energy in anything other than your own mana reserve would break that rule.
Hmmm. Seems like living batteries are the only way to go then. (I must admit it's a weird feeling when a more flexible magic system can't do what GURPS Standard can.)
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Old 10-31-2013, 04:26 AM   #43
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Default Re: [RPM] Ritual Path Magic: doing the WEIRD stuff

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Originally Posted by vicky_molokh View Post
Hmmm. Seems like living batteries are the only way to go then. (I must admit it's a weird feeling when a more flexible magic system can't do what GURPS Standard can.)
That does seem to be a problem with a flexible system, some rituals might have to be cast over centuries with the ritual multiple casters over the duration.
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Old 10-31-2013, 08:48 AM   #44
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Default Re: [RPM] Ritual Path Magic: doing the WEIRD stuff

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(I must admit it's a weird feeling when a more flexible magic system can't do what GURPS Standard can.)
It's not that it can't so much as it has some potentially scary repercussions. I'll give it some thought and see if I can't come up with an rpm battery that is still fair. It might be as simple as spending a cp per 25 energy to stabilize it or some such.
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Old 10-31-2013, 08:55 AM   #45
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Default Re: [RPM] Ritual Path Magic: doing the WEIRD stuff

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It's not that it can't so much as it has some potentially scary repercussions. I'll give it some thought and see if I can't come up with an rpm battery that is still fair. It might be as simple as spending a cp per 25 energy to stabilize it or some such.
Or just that you can only have one limited to your personal ER.
Or buya building ER for group use.
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Old 10-31-2013, 09:06 AM   #46
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Default Re: [RPM] Ritual Path Magic: doing the WEIRD stuff

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Or just that you can only have one limited to your personal ER.
Or buya building ER for group use.
You know, as much as I hate the gadget limitation and dislike using it for magic items, this might be a good place to apply it. ER (gadget) might be perfect. Then recharging it is just a matter of using a lesser create magic effect.

Now for a more df-style powerstone, i will still ponder it. Such potential gamebreakiness seems fitting there.
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Old 10-31-2013, 09:06 AM   #47
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Default Re: [RPM] Ritual Path Magic: doing the WEIRD stuff

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Or just that you can only have one limited to your personal ER.
Or buya building ER for group use.
When I mentioned living batteries, I pretty much meant it. Variants include:
  • A bound spirit/familiar/golem/uplift/bioroid Ally/Minion with lots of Magery and/or ER.
  • People selling their FP.
  • People giving their FP on a semi-regular schedule in exchange for the mages buffing their crops etc.
  • Mage circles with mutual aid agreements, such that you give 10 Energy yesterday and tomorrow, but get 10 Energy today (through casting together).
An ER-filled Ally seems like the most efficient way to do it, albeit still costs points; other methods are less mobile, but are not point-demanding.
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Old 10-31-2013, 12:34 PM   #48
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Default Re: [RPM] Ritual Path Magic: doing the WEIRD stuff

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Hmmm. Seems like living batteries are the only way to go then. (I must admit it's a weird feeling when a more flexible magic system can't do what GURPS Standard can.)
It has nothing to do with flexibility. It has to do with different core assumptions behind the system. In RPM, the act of gathering energy is the act of casting a spell! There's no separation between "acquire energy" and "cast a ritual." Thus, anything that lets you accumulate and store energy on the side would not be the equivalent of a standard GURPS magic "manastone" -- it would be the equivalent of a standard GURPS magic spell that allowed you to skip having to roll the dice to cast your next <X> spells.
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Old 10-31-2013, 04:13 PM   #49
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Default Re: [RPM] Ritual Path Magic: doing the WEIRD stuff

Alright, my mind went to a weird place, thanks to the powerstone discussion, the ministory in the RPM book, and Full Metal Alchemist (which would be best modeled using a variant of RPM).

Would it be possible to fuse multiple sentient beings into a single entity that can then be sacrificed to power a spell? Something like this might be accomplished via Greater Destroy Spirit or Greater Destroy Body (to sever the spirit/body link), Greater Transform Spirit (to fuse the spirits together), and either a Greater Strengthen Body (to put them all into one person) or Greater Create Body (to create a vessel to store them). You'd then need to toss in Area Effect (to hit all of your victims), Affliction: Heart Attack (to actually kill them), Duration (otherwise it's just an expensive spell that kills a bunch of people), possibly Range (probably best to just exclude the caster from the effect), and Subject Weight. With 4 Greater Effects (x9), this is going to be expensive!

Assuming we've packed our human sacrifices into a 3-yard circle, with the caster at the outer edge of it, intend to sacrifice the vessel within the next hour, and are going to put all that energy into one unfortunate sacrifice, that's Greater Destroy Spirit (5) + Greater Transform Spirit (8) + Greater Strengthen Body (3) + Area Effect, 3-yard sphere (2) + Affliction, Heart Attack (60) + Duration, 1 hour (3) + Subject Weight, 300 lb (3). Total energy is 84x9=756!

If possible, a better option would be to first set up something like Pentagram Trap designed to hold human spirits (costing only ~10 energy), then use Prepare Vessel*. After this, you'd either mortally wound all but the vessel or cast Sever Soul*. Finally, you'll use Infuse Vessel* to put all the souls into the vessel, and then sacrifice him/her to fuel your actual spell.

Working it out, however, it seems like you aren't able to get anything like a decent return on your investment. 60 sacrifices would (assuming all are HP 10, IQ 10) get you 1200 energy, but just the Prepare Vessel spell to get that much would cost 3585 energy (the vessel would need an additional 590 HP, and at 6 energy per HP...).

*Prepare Vessel (Greater Strengthen Body with Altered Traits, HP, and Duration, 1 hour) This grants the character additional HP to allow him to take in all the other spirits. To calculate the amount of total HP needed, figure out how much energy you'd get from sacrificing each of the victims, multiply by 5 and divide by the vessel's IQ. Note this is effectively giving the target additional HP for purposes of being sacrificed. While this isn't allowed as per Stacking Spells, I think the rest of what we're doing to get to the final sacrifice justifies it.
Sever Soul(Greater Destroy Spirit with Affliction: Heart Attack, Subject Weight, 300 lb, and Area Effect, 3 yards, excluding the caster and vessel, for total cost 71x3=213) This damages the body/spirit link, allowing you to rip the souls out and put them into the vessel. If allowed, you'll want to precede this with a Lesser Destroy Spirit with Bestows a Penalty (to HT rolls to survive) or Altered Traits (Easy to Kill).
Infuse Vessel (Greater Transform Spirit with Altered Traits, HP, and Duration, 1 hour) This is where you actually put all the spirits into the vessel. Total HP is as it was for Prepare Vessel, and the effects of course do not stack. Infuse Vessel therefore costs the same as Prepare Vessel, with a +5x3=+15 to the energy cost for being a Transform rather than Strengthen effect.
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Old 10-31-2013, 07:45 PM   #50
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Default Re: [RPM] Ritual Path Magic: doing the WEIRD stuff

In re: "Sacrificial abomination," I'd say no, at least just from the "Magic can't improve magic" sub-trope of RPM as written.

Weird Stuff:

Instant Girlfriend/Boyfriend, a common desire of a young mage.

Greater Create Body, Greater Create Mind

The Freebies, I presume, create a generic human with stats:

Quote:
ST 10
DX 10
IQ 8
HT 10
All skills are defaults and the creation has the same native cultural and language abilities as the caster.
However, the energy costs, without a MacGuffin, would get prohibitive rather quickly. It's probably cheaper to mind-control someone to be one's date...

Or, you know, actually ASK someone politely instead....
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