05-26-2019, 01:50 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: The deep dark haunted woods
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Yet Again I ask This Question ... { Killer Mutant Penguin Magic }
I've been asking this question periodically ever since I joined this forum in 2005. I have NEVER gotten a clear answer. But Hope Blooms Eternal and all that.
In GURPS Technomancer, the Killer Mutant Penguins all have magery and are linked into a collective consciousness. Witnesses to a magic ritual can supply power to a ritual. There are many thousands of Penguins. Do the members of a collective consciousness not present at a ritual contribute power to a magic ritual conducted by one of them? If so do they count as witnesses or participants or actual casters? This is a game-breaker, as any individual Penguin enchanter could potentially tap into a reservoir of many thousands of Fatigue for making artifacts or casting spells. But only if the collective consciouness can participate at some level. No one has ever given a clear answer, with the dialog decaying into either a discussion of magic rituals or the nature of the collective mind. (Or jokes about penguins.) So is it "yes they participate in X fashion, giving y extra energy" or "no for thus-and-so reason"? Who will resolve my dilemma?
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05-26-2019, 02:30 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
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Re: Yet Again I ask This Question ...
See Ceremonial Magic in GURPS Magic, p. 12 or Basic p. 238.
Spectator are limited to 100 Participating mages can supply as much FP if they know the spell at 15+,up to 3 FP if they know the spell at 14 or lower. Whats not really clear is how close they have to be. I vaguely recall somewhere they have to be touching (perhaps Thaumatology) but I houserule they have to be close enough to touch at least one other participant, and are usually grouped up so multiples are close.
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05-26-2019, 02:45 PM | #3 | |
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Luxembourg
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M
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My reading, using magic 3e and Compendium I for rules : -it is not a circle, that would require physical contact. -Spectator : they share knowledge in real time, and obviously have both the belief and desire to help. And since they are intelligent drone, they are not functionaly a single mind. So, I guess the collective qualify as observers, contributing up to 1 per penguin. However, remenber that spectators can only contribute up to a maximum of 100 spectator energy points per spell. (Magic 3e p15) Also, they sit on a very high magic area. Since a ritual fail on a 16+, and failure is automatically a disaster in very high magic area, I would guess they are not playing around with mass rituals if they can avoid to do so ... But the potential is there, as noted in Technomancer "capable of massed ritual magic" Last edited by Celjabba; 05-26-2019 at 02:51 PM. |
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05-26-2019, 03:07 PM | #4 | ||
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
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Re: Yet Again I ask This Question ...
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05-26-2019, 03:26 PM | #5 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: Yet Again I ask This Question ...
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Ceremonial Magic in 3E required Circle participants to be *physically* connected (not necessarily touching each other, but frex, touching a common center). Spectators are assumed to be nearby, but in this case, Mindlink might allow more distant participants. The limit of 100 points from spectators would keep this from being terribly abusive. We might surmise that the penguins are limited in the power available for ceremonies, else they would likely be terrorizing the human civilizations with 10,000+ energy point ceremonial spells. |
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05-26-2019, 03:27 PM | #6 | |
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Luxembourg
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Re: Yet Again I ask This Question ...
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And they don't seem to want to leave Antartica anyway. Moreover, while a Penguin may get 100fp from the collective, if he is in range of the collective and have the requisite skill, a single technowizard can draw power from a NEMA power line for about 50 fp ... so both side have huge potential for mass magic spells : 2 mages holding hand near a power line match a collective-boosted penguin. Last edited by Celjabba; 05-26-2019 at 03:37 PM. |
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05-26-2019, 03:30 PM | #7 | |
Join Date: Sep 2011
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Re: Yet Again I ask This Question ...
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The relevant references are all GURPS 3rd ed. and as follows: Killer penguin racial template [p. T66 (GURPS Technomancer)] Mindshare [pp. CI60-CI61 (GURPS Compendium I)] Ceremonial and Group Magic [pp. M13-M14 (GURPS Magic)] According to the racial template, all the killer penguins have Magery 1 and Mindshare (global consciousness; 1,000 mile radius; c. 12,000 drones; intelligent drones). In accordance with the rules for Mindshare, this establishes that each drone is, individually within the race and independently of any other member of the race, a mage. At this point the question becomes how each member of the race can contribute to a ceremonial casting. By the rules for ceremonial and group casting, the fact that each member of the race is aware of any ceremonial casting at the moment it happens is interesting, but also completely irrelevant to the casting. By the rules for ceremonial casting, there are two, and only two, ways in which fatigue may be contributed to the casting. As part of a Circle, which can be any number of magicians who must be physically joined in some way, such as holding hands. Thus, only those killer penguins physically present can be part of the circle. As there are no non-mage killer penguins, the members of the circle are limited to contributing 3 FP if they know the spell at 14- or any amount if they know the spell at 15+. Only unskilled (i.e., non-mage who know the spell at 14-, including those who don't know the spell at all) observers can contribute as Spectators. As no killer penguin is a non-mage, no killer penguin can contribute as a spectator. Thus the only killer penguins within the global consciousness who can contribute to the ceremonial casting are those who are physically present as part of the Circle. No other killer penguin can contribute FP to the casting. [I suppose they could contribute advice, but does any mage want someone nattering in his ear when he's trying to cast a ceremonial ritual?] |
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05-26-2019, 11:54 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: The deep dark haunted woods
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Re: Yet Again I ask This Question ...
Answers at last. Plus references, too. Much thanks, comrades.
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05-27-2019, 09:28 AM | #9 | |||
Join Date: Nov 2016
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Re: Yet Again I ask This Question ...
I partially agree with this. I agree it is not possible, but the argument should be different.
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Edit: Are these Disgaea's Prinny?
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05-27-2019, 11:18 AM | #10 |
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: The deep dark haunted woods
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Re: Yet Again I ask This Question ...
No I specified in the Mutant Killer Penguins from GURPS Technomancer. I didn't know Disgaea even had penguins.
And thanks for the analysis.
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"When you talk about damage radius, even atomic weapons pale before that of an unfettered idiot in a position of power." - Sam Starfall from the webcomic Freefall |
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