[Thaumatology] A good set of Realms for a 12 Realm, 3-level Threshold-based system

[deathbyflossing]

I am attempting to create a threshold-based magic system with 12 realms, each of which corresponds to a Zodiac sign (precisely WHICH sign depends on which zodiac you are using). The system has 3 levels of Realm mastery with a hypothetical 4th. The system is intended for an urban fantasy type game.

My question is , what would be a good, balanced set of Realms for this system?

[Refplace]

Are you asking what zodiac to use? Sounds like your talking about and already planning on the Western one.

[Phantasm]

Elemental Realms: Earth (Solid Matter), Air (Gases), Fire (Energy), Water (Liquid/Fluid Matter)
Existential Realms: Mind, Spirit/Soul, Space, Time
Meta-Realms: Nature, Luck (Probability), Magic, Change


Not the best mix, I admit, and I'm not so sure Change doesn't fall under Luck/Probability.

[deathbyflossing]

Thank you for replying. No my question is how should I 'divide up the universe', to quote Thaumatology. Ritual Path magic uses a 9 realm set of Body, Chance, Crossroads, Energy, Magic, Matter, Mind, Spirit, and Undead. Mage: the Awakening uses a 10 Realm system that splits Crossroads into Time and Space (and has Death instead of Undead, with a slightly different focus). Mage: the Ascension (from which Awakening's system ultimately derives) uses a 9 Realm system where Death and Chance are combined into Entropy. Thaumatology has two example methods that use a 4-way split. My question is, how to divide up the universe 12 ways without making one Realm over- or underpowered?

[deathbyflossing]

@Phantasm: Hmm, read 'Change' as Transformation and it's seems workable, but I'm concerned that the elemental realms are too focused, or rather Earth, Air and Water are in comparison to Fire (ALL energy essentially makes it one Energy Realm vs three 'one third of matter' realms, and I'm not sure that's balanced. Thank you for your input though, I'M VERY new to GURPS.

[dataweaver]

Got Thaumatology? Try looking at the Decans. There are 36 of them, corresponding three-to-one to the traditional Zodiac.

[William]

For a 12-Realm system corresponding to the zodiac, I would roughly take the 24 GURPS Colleges and pair them up reasonably thematically, letting a sign cover effects related to those themes. Here is one possibility:

Aries: Necromancy, Technology (shade the difference between demons, undead, and AIs -- and maybe there isn't one)
Leo: Fire, Light & Darkness
Sagittarius: Healing, Plant (venerating the wisdom of Chiron)

Taurus: Earth, Animal -- a brutal, primitive sign
Virgo: Food, Body Control -- concerned with providence and purity
Capricorn: Making and Breaking, Enchantment -- a sign of forming things

Gemini: Illusion & Creation, Mind Control -- a sign of misdirection and red herrings
Libra: Sound, Communication & Empathy -- a sign of interactions
Aquarius: Air, Weather

Cancer: Water, Protection & Warning
Scorpio: Meta, Knowledge -- the sign lurking within magic itself
Pisces: Movement, Gate

Second alternative: take dataweaver's suggestion and have the three levels of Realm mastery correspond to effects associated to a decan, with the initiate choosing which to master first (to avoid the problem of having one decan be for some reason superior to the others in realm levels, which it feels to me like they shouldn't be).

[Emerald Cat]

Basing your magic system around the zodiac is difficult because you need so many different branches of magic. But I'll see what I can do.

Physical: Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Life, and Space
Spiritual: Memories, Emotions, Senses/Perception, Intelligence/Reasoning, Luck, and Magic

[deathbyflossing]

@william: that... is perfect. That's what I'll do, thank you, and thank the rest of you for your suggestions!

[Sam Baughn]

Originally Posted by deathbyflossing

I'm concerned that the elemental realms are too focused, or rather Earth, Air and Water are in comparison to Fire (ALL energy essentially makes it one Energy Realm vs three 'one third of matter' realms, and I'm not sure that's balanced.

Possibly have the four elements each cover their own forms of energy?

Fire is heat, light and maybe electricity.
Earth is gravity and possibly magnetism.
Air could be kinetic energy? Maybe electricity too, justified as lightning being a form of weather and weather being mostly controlled by air.
Water could be chemical energy? Or cold, if you have cold and heat as separate forms of energy (which is nonsense in terms of physics, but makes sense in an instinctive way).