Creating a Super Mage/Cleric

[Edeldhur]

Ok guys, I am posting my character as it is down below. Please bear in mind my inexperience in character creation.

Additionally, my GM decided to run things a little differently as far as mana goes - he created a different stat called mana which costs 2 points per level, and which is spent if wanted, to cast spells. Additionally, there is a new limitation for spells that cost mana which is -4 points for each point of mana it costs.

Now I have come up with this character since this should be a fast paced campaign, where we will supposedly earn a lot of points per session/adventure - up to 25.... Hence i chose multiple basic powers that i should be able to evolve quickly - this is my roleplayer part thinking that it is more acceptable to develop powers you already have as "potential" (as in the 3rd edition psionics i believe).

Here it is, and let the flaming begin :D


Stats: ST 10 (0); DX: 12(40); IQ: 14(80); HL: 10 (0)
Move 6; Dodge 9

Stats: 120
Advantages: 118
Powers: 22
Disadvantages: -50
Quirks: -5
Skills?: 23
Mana 22
Total: 250

Advantages
Combat reflexes 15
Compartmentalized mind 50
Once a day (-40%) -20
Magic (-10%) -5
Requires gestures and speech(-10%) -5
Instantaneous (+20%) 10
Total 30
Absorption (+100%) 1 10
[Force field (+20%)] 2
Normal DR 1 5
[Force field (+20%)] 1
Ablative DR (5) 5
[Force field (+20%)] 1
Eidetic Memory 5
High Pain Threshold 10
Less sleep (2pts/lvl) 4
Mana regeneration (fast) 50
(Usable 4 times a day) -20% -10
Requires gestures and speech (-10%) -5
Magic (-10%) -5

Mana pool:
MP +20 x 2/LVL = 40 (innate attack only -70%) = 12pts 12
MP +5 x2/LVL = 10 pts 10
Total: 22pts

1- Throw meteor
Crushing 5pts/lvl LVL 6 = 30 pts base (minimo 12 pts) 30
magical -10% -3
Requires gestures and speech -10% -3
No knockback -10% -3
Variable +5% 2
Cost 5 MP -20
Total 3

2- Fire ball (alternate attack from Meteor)
Fire 5pts/lvl LVL 5 = 25
magical -10%
Requires gestures and speech -10%
Variable +5%
Area effect +4radius+100%
Innacurate -3 -15%
Cost 8 MP -32
Total: 43 -32 = 11/5 = 3pts
Fireball with 5D damage - radius 4yards, costs 1.6mp for each 1d damage?

8 points in the innate attack skill

Healing 30pts
cures 2HP for each 1mp spent
- only healing -20%
- capped max 10HP -30%
- magic -10%
- Requires gestures and speech -10%
Total 30 -70% = 9 pts 9

Bull's strike strength +8 striking strength 1 arm (+2D damage) = 24 points
Malediction touch only +70%
variable +5%
magical -10%
Cost 8MP -32pts
Total 24+65%=40-32=8pts 8

Can increase ST to the Target -costing 1MP for each +1ST and 50% of that to maintain every minute.



Now i am still struggling with the skills....

Cheers

[mlangsdorf]

Originally Posted by Edeldhur

Ok guys, I am posting my character as it is down below. Please bear in mind my inexperience in character creation.

Additionally, my GM decided to run things a little differently as far as mana goes - he created a different stat called mana which costs 2 points per level, and which is spent if wanted, to cast spells. Additionally, there is a new limitation for spells that cost mana which is -4 points for each point of mana it costs.

Okay, that's weird, and probably unbalanced, but that's the environment you live in.

Originally Posted by Edeldhur

Here it is, and let the flaming begin :D

Stats: ST 10 (0); DX: 12(40); IQ: 14(80); HL: 10 (0)
Move 6; Dodge 9

Hey, we don't flame around here. We critique, and hopefully politely.

First note in that regard: by convention, point costs are in square brackets, like so:
ST 10 [0]; DX 12 [40]; IQ 14 [80]; HT 10 [0]; Speed 5.5 [0] Move 5 [0]

Perfectly normal stat line. You might want to bump up HT, as the difference between falling unconscious 50% of the time when something bad happens and 25% of the time is pretty significant. Also, Speed is rounded down, not up, so you're at Speed 5.5 and Move 5.

Originally Posted by Edeldhur

Advantages
Combat reflexes 15
Compartmentalized mind 50
Once a day (-40%) -20
Magic (-10%) -5
Requires gestures and speech(-10%) -5
Instantaneous (+20%) 10
Total 30

A trait should all be on one line, preferably, for easy reading:
Compartmentalized Mind (Limited Use: 1/day -40%; Magic -10%; Requires gestures and speed -10%; Instantaneous +20%) [30]

Originally Posted by Edeldhur

Absorption (+100%) 1 10
[Force field (+20%)] 2
Normal DR 1 5
[Force field (+20%)] 1
Ablative DR (5) 5
[Force field (+20%)] 1

Yeah, I have no idea what you're going for here.

Originally Posted by Edeldhur

Eidetic Memory 5
High Pain Threshold 10
Less sleep (2pts/lvl) 4
Mana regeneration (fast) 50
(Usable 4 times a day) -20% -10
Requires gestures and speech (-10%) -5
Magic (-10%) -5

HPT and Combat Reflexes are more common on fighter types than mage types, but whatever you want. You're spending a lot of points of the Compartmentalized Mind and Mana Regeneration that might be more useful for additional spells/skills.

Originally Posted by Edeldhur

Mana pool:
MP +20 x 2/LVL = 40 (innate attack only -70%) = 12pts 12
MP +5 x2/LVL = 10 pts 10
Total: 22pts

1- Throw meteor
Crushing 5pts/lvl LVL 6 = 30 pts base (minimo 12 pts) 30
magical -10% -3
Requires gestures and speech -10% -3
No knockback -10% -3
Variable +5% 2
Cost 5 MP -20
Total 3

2- Fire ball (alternate attack from Meteor)
Fire 5pts/lvl LVL 5 = 25
magical -10%
Requires gestures and speech -10%
Variable +5%
Area effect +4radius+100%
Innacurate -3 -15%
Cost 8 MP -32
Total: 43 -32 = 11/5 = 3pts
Fireball with 5D damage - radius 4yards, costs 1.6mp for each 1d damage?

Alternate Attacks use the more expensive, not least expensive, attack. So you're looking at 11 points for the fireball and 1 point more for the meteor shower, not 3 and 3. Sorry.

Originally Posted by Edeldhur

8 points in the innate attack skill

Healing 30pts
cures 2HP for each 1mp spent
- only healing -20%
- capped max 10HP -30%
- magic -10%
- Requires gestures and speech -10%
Total 30 -70% = 9 pts 9

Fine.

Originally Posted by Edeldhur

Bull's strike strength +8 striking strength 1 arm (+2D damage) = 24 points
Malediction touch only +70%
variable +5%
magical -10%
Cost 8MP -32pts
Total 24+65%=40-32=8pts 8

Can increase ST to the Target -costing 1MP for each +1ST and 50% of that to maintain every minute.

Striking ST normally costs 5 points - are you only using it for 1 arm? That'll hurt any two-handed weapon users or unarmed combatants that use bites or kicks.

Originally Posted by Edeldhur

Now i am still struggling with the skills....

We know you have:
Innate Attack (Projectile) DX+3 [8]

I'd recommend also picking up the buckler skill (at DX+2) and a medium buckler. I don't know if I'd bother with a weapon skill for this guy except maybe Knife - it's easy and Long Knives make decent parrying weapons. The rest is up to you, to some extent, but Influence and Knowledge type skills help justify that high IQ.

[Edeldhur]

First of all, mlangsdorf thanks for your feedback so far on this thread, it has been extremely helpful.

The whole absorption and DR (ablative and not) mash up comes from a long line of playing GURPS in an SUPERS (500 point, post modern era) environment as a "super-normal" with 650 points and not a single super power on his body - I guess that the Gyroc skill at 25 and the dodge at 17 made my GM at the time rule that I simply could not gain powers out of the hat (it was out of pure anger for sure, not game balance :D).

From then on, this concept stuck so... I tend to buy stuff like sort of "potential powers" that I can increase later on without much expense - DR is one of those.

I do have the feeling also that I am spending too many points on Compartmentalized Mind and Mana Regeneration, but does it not seem that the mana regen will become essential in the long run? And also, compartmentalized mind seems like completely amazing for a caster... casting a spell and maintaining another? Am i looking at it wrong?

Thank you for the corrections on the point costs and on the structure in presenting the character - I will edit it ASAP.

Ye, the striking strength is for one arm only - none of the fighter types actually uses two handed weapons...

Regarding the skills, I was trying to go for Wizard! and Cleric! but it would seem, since we find no "official" skill list for those, that my GM will not pull any skill set of that kind out of his hat anytime soon...

Medium buckler is an idea that had never actually crossed my mind but it sounds great - maybe in the near future I will get some sort of Force Shield power ;)

As regarding to skills, I was planning on all that could eventually be scholar related as Alchemy, Occult, Area Knowledge, etc...

Again, thanks for the feedback so far, and for the patience.

Edeldhur

[Edeldhur]

Originally Posted by mlangsdorf

I'd recommend also picking up the buckler skill (at DX+2) and a medium buckler. I don't know if I'd bother with a weapon skill for this guy except maybe Knife - it's easy and Long Knives make decent parrying weapons. The rest is up to you, to some extent, but Influence and Knowledge type skills help justify that high IQ.

I am trying to stay focused here, but when you give me the weapon and shield tips, everything comes crashing in again as it usually does with GURPS - the idea about the fighter/mage type and further, the archer/mage... FOCUS Edeldhur :D

[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by Edeldhur

Additionally, my GM decided to run things a little differently as far as mana goes - he created a different stat called mana which costs 2 points per level, and which is spent if wanted, to cast spells. Additionally, there is a new limitation for spells that cost mana which is -4 points for each point of mana it costs.

Umm I'm Note sure what you're saying here but it seams like you have a renamed but slightly cheaper Energy Reserve (Magic)

and I'm note sure what you mean by -4... but sound like you have a repriced "Cost Fatigue" which is normally -5%/level plus and additional -5% ER only.

[mlangsdorf]

Cleric! and Wizard! are entirely official: see Dungeon Fantasy 1 Adventurers.

I expect adventuring wizards to have some kind of combat skills. I know Staff is traditional, and moderately useful if you're using standard GURPS Magic rules, but your guy is set up more as a ranged fighter. Shields are so much more useful for defending against arrows than staffs, so that's my recommendation. It isn't "be a wizard/warrior" but "have some way of defending yourself against likely attackers."

Compartmentalized Mind is very cool, but it's very expensive. I'm not sure about Mana Regeneration: you're spending 30 points (which is 15 Mana Points, essentially) for the limited ability to recover Mana faster. I'd check with the GM if you can buy the Mana Regeneration later and put it off if so.

My question about the DR wasn't "why are you doing this" but "what are you doing?" Sorry if I was unclear.

[roguebfl]

You might by as Familiar (25%, constantly, Special abilities) [5] like some cheep putti/cherub or archon. Then put Granted by Familiar ,-40% on thinks like you Mana points, Mana Regeneration, Compartmentalized Mind, DR and other exotic abilities and save a few points that way

[Edeldhur]

Originally Posted by Lamech

Okay, magic as powers: My preferred way to do this is modular abilities. If you have powers or psionic powers you can assemble the slotted version of cosmic: I.E. wish for any ability you want, costs 7+5/cp. Otherwise you'll need to stick with the 10/cp cosmic power one. You'll want physical +50%. You'll probably want some limitations: extra time, pact ("Vow: never used edged weapons" and "DoF: never be too rich" are good ones), maybe a nuisance effect (glowing light radiates from you making you unsteathable and rapidly destroying any metal armor you aren't wearing because it costs too much -10%)

Anyway regardless of the details you should end up with roughly a 0% overall modifier. Then sink a bunch of points into this, say... 150 (it is your main shtick) and you now have a 30 or 15 point modular ability slot! Any physical ability you want is yours.


Now buffing is amazingly effective in GURPS. Even more so if you have modular abilities to back it up. For maximum effectiveness and flavor you'll want the following ability: affliction, malediction, melee range C, increased duration (as much as you can get away with). Costs roughly 32 points. Now something important to note about modular abilities? They can enhance existing advantages. So at 15-30 point modular ability slot you had? Well now it can be used to make your affliction better. Either make it nasty and sleep enemies, or make it grant advantages and buff your teammates.

Congrats now you are an effective fighter (save or die attacks), and an effective support unit (granting luck, serendipity, DR, acute (sense), magery, striking ST, chameleon, energy reserve, unfazable, ect.) makes you all around amazing.

Ok, so after last night i took my mage/cleric for a test drive, I wasn't very happy with it [you probably already saw another post of mine around saying that I want to change to an archer type :D) - In any case I still want to understand this and see how it may work, so I was looking at the Modular abilities suggestions again.

My doubts are (and lets see if i have the gist of modular abilities understood correctly):

- As Lamech said above, and if I understood correctly, I would have a 30 or 15 modular ability POOL at 10cp for each cp in the pool - is this correct?
- Also, if i understood, this means that I really need to give Modular Abilities a twist in such a way that I can bring that cost down to an "acceptable level" with limitations - lets say it ends with 5 points per point in the pool and i spend a grand total of 100 points = 20 pool points - is this assumption correct?
- However, from what I have seen, to get such a large cost reduction, the limitations need to be steep, and I have seen them built mostly around cleric like limitations - is this because those are more readily applicable in a gaming way? What if you do not intend to be a cleric and still use modular abilities - are there other limitations that can be as effectively put to use to lower the costs?
- Can i place alternative abilities "inside" the modular pool?

Apologies for continuing with the questions bombardment - I just want to get this straight in my head, and these forums look like the perfect place.

On a side note, it is extremely cool to see all the activity around GURPS - I had no idea.

Thanks,

Edeldhur

[Edeldhur]

Adding to the above - with the appropriate modifier, skills can be included in the pool correct?

So this means, that I chose a set of skills/powers/advantages within the pool cost that are active at a determined moment?

[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by Edeldhur

Ok, so after last night i took my mage/cleric for a test drive, I wasn't very happy with it [you probably already saw another post of mine around saying that I want to change to an archer type :D) - In any case I still want to understand this and see how it may work, so I was looking at the Modular abilities suggestions again.

My doubts are (and lets see if i have the gist of modular abilities understood correctly):

- As Lamech said above, and if I understood correctly, I would have a 30 or 15 modular ability POOL at 10cp for each cp in the pool - is this correct?
- Also, if i understood, this means that I really need to give Modular Abilities a twist in such a way that I can bring that cost down to an "acceptable level" with limitations - lets say it ends with 5 points per point in the pool and i spend a grand total of 100 points = 20 pool points - is this assumption correct?

See my example poster early

Advantages: Modular Abilities: Divine Inspiration (15 points) (Pact -50%, Physical +100%, Requires Reaction Roll -5%, Trigger: Hold Holy sysbol -20%)[83];

Is such a pool that after modification costs 5 points per pool point and is not limited to mental traits.

- However, from what I have seen, to get such a large cost reduction, the limitations need to be steep, and I have seen them built mostly around cleric like limitations - is this because those are more readily applicable in a gaming way? What if you do not intend to be a cleric and still use modular abilities - are there other limitations that can be as effectively put to use to lower the costs?

the pool form is often used for clerics as saying the source of the pool is answered prayers is an easier concept to understand.

Mages tend to use Slots vetion like Super-Memorization which requires the spell to be in the spell book before it can be memorized into a slot temporarily.

- Can i place alternative abilities "inside" the modular pool?

I can see why not IF all the conditions are met currently withing the pool.