Alternate GURPS: converting Sorcery Spells into Magic Spells

[simply Nathan]

Since any sort of direct and proper fix to the Costs FP limitation is too large a project, how about making that limitation (and that one only) a Multiplicative Modifier and waiving the 20% minimum base price?

Costs 1 FP = 19 20ths of modified cost
Costs 2 FP = 18 20ths of modified cost
...
Costs 10 FP = 1/2 of modified cost
...
Costs 19 FP = 1 20th of modified cost

Since even someone with HT 20 cannot get FP higher than 26 and Energy Reserve always requires special permissions, there's really not much point in Costs FP modifiers larger than 25 even in the abstract.

[wellspring]

Originally Posted by dataweaver

* We really do need to decide how much Costs FP should be worth. PK's House Rules suggests -10% per level; simply Nathan has suggested -30%/-5% per level, -25%/-10% per level, or just -20% per level. I've privately entertained the possibility of making it work a bit like Corrupting (e.g., don't treat it as a percent modifier at all; instead, after applying all other modifiers, reduce the cost of the Ability by 1 point for every FP its usage costs). Wellspring makes a case for keeping it as it is. I'm leaning toward wellspring's argument right now, but I'm still open to persuasion.

I want to stress: I think simply Nathan is right, but until/unless it becomes official GURPS I don't want to create a system that depends on a house rule that isn't used anywhere other than here.

Especially since if this works out, it'll have to coexist with other powers and magic systems that are balanced around the existing FP cost modifier.

[dataweaver]

OK: after letting this lie fallow for a while, I've got some more thoughts on this:

1. The “Advantages to Skills” conversion process takes inspiration from “Skills to Advantages”, but doesn't quite work the same way. In particular, there's no Unusual Training Perk on the Skills side; instead, Magery 0 serves as the “enabling Advantage”. There is no “phantom accessibility Limitation” for the Advantage build, but you don't need to take Unusual Training to pick up the Skill either. However, this changes the conversion rates:

• Easy Skills come from 1-point Advantages.
• Average Skills come from 2-point Advantages.
• Hard Skills come from 3–4-point Advantages.
• Very Hard Skills come from 5–8-point Advantages.

You should try to aim for 1, 2, 4, or 8 points. If it happens to come in lower, so be it; but you don't have to force yourself all the way down to a net -80% modifier if a less extreme modifier will get you to one of those thresholds.

Note that this lowers the cap for “Minor Arcana” (from 45 points to 40 points, before limitations), but it also narrows the gap between Very Hard Minor Arcana an Hard Major Arcana (9–10 instead of 10–15).

2. Speaking of Major Arcana, I don't know why we can't just use Sorcerous Empowerment to enable them the same way it would enable the Advantages they're based off of. Alternately, perhaps Magery can be used in place of Wizardry, at the added cost of putting all other magic out of bounds whenever you use a Major Arcanum, not just other Major Arcana.

3. Using Techniques to get access to more power: one way to do this would be to apply Power Stunts from GURPS Powers to the Advantage, in the same way that Psionic Powers did. This doesn't mess with the point cost, but does add to the energy cost.

4. Prerequisite chains can be added freely as you see fit. They do not affect the cost in any way.

5. Power-ups 8: Limitations suggests -10% Accessibility for Requires Gestures, and another -10% for Requires Magic Words — and another -10% for Requires Material Component. When converting Sorcery to Magic, I'd start with these; then add a mixture of Takes Extra Time and Costs Fatigue, with probably no more than two levels of Takes Extra Time. This can knock the price down considerably before the energy cost starts to balloon.

Thoughts?

[dataweaver]

Going through the Sorcerer's Grimoire in GURPS Thaumatology: Sorcery:

Air Jet [5/level+20%=6/level]: add the need for gestures and incantations, knocking out the +20%; then add a level of Takes Extra Time (2 seconds instead of one) and Costs Fatigue, Variable. That's 5 FP for the first die plus another 4 FP for each additional die, for -10%. Net cost: 4/level. That makes it a Hard Skill with damage called by skill: 1d at base skill, +1d per level after that.

No-Smell [10+530%=63]: Has to be a Major Arcanum; and even then, you need to come up with -230% worth of Limitations to get its cost down to 40. Ouch!