[RPM] Ritual Path Magic Styles?

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Varyon

I've considered similar for adapting RPM for Clerical magic, having a god's "domain" (or whatever it's called in DF) be the Path. Healing would have Sense used to detect and diagnose health problems, Strengthen to bolster natural/assisted healing and disease immunities, Restore for magical healing, Control for... something (teleoperation of medical equipment? wards against disease?), Create to make bandages and salves, Transform maybe for things like skin grafts. Good would have Sense for detecting evil and analyzing how good a target is, Strengthen to bolster just about anything against true evil, Restore for healing Good beings, Control for wards against evil, Create to sanctify areas and summon Good servitors, Transform for... something (giving allies Divine Servitor templates? redeeming damned souls?). The main issue I had was in making such Paths interesting without being overwhelming, so I certainly look forward to what you come up with in terms of racial paths (as I suspect what you discover could be easily adopted for Domain Paths).

Oh yes, easily enough. I've got a couple ideas for Wildcard Paths as well...but I can't tell you too much about that. :-)

[dataweaver]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

I guess if it's just digital control that makes sense, but if you can affect hardware (not just software) I still don't see the point. YMMV, of course.

You can’t use the Path of Mind to alter a person’s wetware (i.e., brain), at least not in any overt, blatant ways; you need Life for that. Using Mind to influence digital devices follows a similar premise. But again, it’s probably a moot point, given the “Expert Skill” option which I’m liking more and more — mainly because it sidesteps all of the above debates nicely: it doesn’t matter if you’d normally use Mind, Matter, Energy, Chance, etc.; if it deals with digital data, this “cross-path” handles it.

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

I'm actually toying with something like this in the campaign I'm making right now. Basically it's a "Racial Path Magic" - it involves a single VH skill that can be used to perform magic commonly associated with or conceptually is a part of a race. So werewolves might have magic to enhance pack bonds, heal their members, and so on. Might make it to a article at some point.

Yep. Another way to view it is that you’re taking a magical tradition (what you’d normally buy Higher Purpose for) and treating it as a custom skill: bits and pieces of multiple Paths that are thematically related getting collected under a single new “Path”. Call it VH if it corresponds roughly with the guidelines for a standard tradition, or H if it’s exceptionally narrow (exceptionally broad ones should either be broken up into multiple skills or represented by a Wildcard skill).

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

I'd make them Mind/Energy specialists, since electric impulses and stuff usually count as the latter.

Bear in mind that these are mystics, not scientists; to them and to their magic, information is more fundamental than electric impulses are.

[Kalzazz]

I've found it to work pretty well for Clerical stuff to use Clerical Investment instead of Magery 0, and use RPM PI instead of RPM Magery and Theology (My Favorite Religion) in place of Thaumatology and leave the paths the same

What I have done is use 'Higher Purpose - Cast Things Zeus Likes' (or insert deity here) to more specialize clerics

Theology is a H instead of a VH like Thaumatology, but, I usually don't see it as the 'awesome knowledge skill everyone loves' like Thaumatology is, so it seems balanced enough

I haven't myself used it, but, starslayer and godogma have both had 'Deity Aspected Places of Power' show up (for Zeus and for Santa Claus), so 'this place is a +2 place of power, +3 (or more) for stuff Zeus likes (or really likes), with +0 (or less) for stuff that Zeus actively dislikes)' in Godogma's case

starslayer with Santa Claus instead had it be '+X to stuff associated with Santa Claus's powers (transportation, telling naughty or nice, creating presents) and such, rather than 'would Santa like this?' as the guiding criterion

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

You can’t use the Path of Mind to alter a person’s wetware (i.e., brain), at least not in any overt, blatant ways; you need Life for that. Using Mind to influence digital devices follows a similar premise. But again, it’s probably a moot point, given the “Expert Skill” option which I’m liking more and more — mainly because it sidesteps all of the above debates nicely: it doesn’t matter if you’d normally use Mind, Matter, Energy, Chance, etc.; if it deals with digital data, this “cross-path” handles it.

What you just basically described is a Book skill reskinned from my article. ;-)

Originally Posted by dataweaver

Yep. Another way to view it is that you’re taking a magical tradition (what you’d normally buy Higher Purpose for) and treating it as a custom skill: bits and pieces of multiple Paths that are thematically related getting collected under a single new “Path”. Call it VH if it corresponds roughly with the guidelines for a standard tradition, or H if it’s exceptionally narrow (exceptionally broad ones should either be broken up into multiple skills or represented by a Wildcard skill).

This is more or less how I've done it - which ended up forcing me to think of something else I was working on in a different way...which ended up culminating in some thought on Wildcard! Path magic...

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

I'm actually toying with something like this in the campaign I'm making right now. Basically it's a "Racial Path Magic" - it involves a single VH skill that can be used to perform magic commonly associated with or conceptually is a part of a race. So werewolves might have magic to enhance pack bonds, heal their members, and so on. Might make it to a article at some point.

Path of Undead is a good baseline I think. If your say a Vampire lord it covers most of what you need for enhancing yourself or manipulating other Undead.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Refplace

Path of Undead is a good baseline I think. If your say a Vampire lord it covers most of what you need for enhancing yourself or manipulating other Undead.

Actually, I straight up used the Tradition guidelines for RPM Specialists.

[dataweaver]

Originally Posted by Kalzazz

I've found it to work pretty well for Clerical stuff to use Clerical Investment instead of Magery 0, and use RPM PI instead of RPM Magery and Theology (My Favorite Religion) in place of Thaumatology and leave the paths the same

What I have done is use 'Higher Purpose - Cast Things Zeus Likes' (or insert deity here) to more specialize clerics

Theology is a H instead of a VH like Thaumatology, but, I usually don't see it as the 'awesome knowledge skill everyone loves' like Thaumatology is, so it seems balanced enough

This is close to the Clerical Magic advice in Ghostdancer’s article; but it goes with Ritual Magic as the core skill rather than Theology. Ritual Magic is essentially a VH counterpart to Religious Ritual (it even defaults to Religious Ritual); and the RPM rules strongly suggest a VH core skill. OTOH, Theology would work well as a Stablizing Skill for Clerical Magic.

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

What you just basically described is a Book skill reskinned from my article. ;-)

*head-smack* Well, duh! I’m so used to thinking of Books as being associated with Grimoires and/or representing esoteric secrets reserved for inner-circle members that I completely missed this.

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

OTOH, Theology would work well as a Stablizing Skill for Clerical Magic.

I like this quite a bit. This is probably the best way to use that perk with Clerical Magic.

Originally Posted by dataweaver

*head-smack* Well, duh! I’m so used to thinking of Books as being associated with Grimoires and/or representing esoteric secrets reserved for inner-circle members that I completely missed this.

To be fair - I do put all sorts of ester eggs in my articles. To date...many of them are unnoticed.

[dataweaver]

Updated the Reality Hackers write-up.

Yeah; you include easter eggs. But that doesn’t excuse me from not noticing that a Book is a cross-Path skill. As a major proponent of the Path/Book Magic system, I ought to have recognized that point.

[dataweaver]

WIP:

Bureaucratic RPM
This style of magic presupposes a setting that features a theocracy in the truest sense of the word: rule by the gods. Gods and spirits in this setting are known quantities, existing side by side with mortals in an elaborate hierarchy of both temporal and spiritual authority. “Angel” is synonymous with “a spirit who is an agent of the Divine Bureaucracy” (think “Law Enforcement”, “Espionage”, or “Military”), while “demon” is synonymous with “a spirit who opposes the Divine Bureaucracy” (think “Organized Crime”). Priests double as civil servants, regulating mortal activities on behalf of the spirits and serving as the representatives of their mortal charges in the courts of the spirits; this grants them authority over spirits where their mortal charges are concerned, and that authority in turn allows them to work magic.

In effect, I’m starting with GURPS Powers: Divine Favor and GURPS Thaumatology: Ritual Path Magic for this; but I’m applying GURPS Social Engineering: Pulling Rank to it, as well as the “Divine Favor”, “Clerical Path Magic”, and “Path Realms” sections of Ghostdancer’s Alternative Ritual Path Magic Pyramid article. Pulling Rank means that there isn’t a separate Divine Favor Advantage; that’s folded into the priest’s Religious Rank, with Assistance Rolls acting as the basis for Specific and General Prayers. “Clerical Path Magic” retools RPM’s skills and advantages to reflect the priestly nature of this magic; “Divine Favor” explains how rituals and prayers interact; and “Path Realms” explains how Religious Rank interacts with rituals: that is, Religious Rank doubles as a “Path Realm”.

Elaborating on that last point: Religious Rank doesn’t align with the Paths; that is, you don’t specialize Religious Rank by Path (indeed, “Book Magic”, representing the religion’s sacred scriptures, would be appropriate here, with the scope of a Book’s effects conforming to the authority granted by the Religious Rank). However, Religious Rank works like a Path Realm in all other ways: when a given RPM Ritual falls under the Religious Rank’s jurisdiction, the Rank waives the need for Power Investiture; and your level of Religious Rank helps determine whether a given Effect counts as Greater or Lesser, per the “Path Realms” guidelines.

Actually, Religious Rank does come in several types: the default type, assumed above, is indistinguishable from Administrative Rank; but there are special Orders of Monks who serve different functions in the theocratic hierarchy. Their Ranks function more like Police Rank or Military Rank. “Priests” who have aligned themselves with demons might base their magic on something akin to Criminal Rank. And gods who patronize certain arts and crafts might lead to RPM empowered by what is effectively Guild Rank.