10-21-2017, 02:09 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Jul 2005
|
GURPS Spell Construction Kit
Things would be a whole lot easier if GURPS Magic had a system to it.
I mean looking back on it we might still have had the plethora of Magic systems Thaumatology rounded up (and all those which have come up since) but if they had started out with a system that told you how much being an Area spell affected cost and difficulty, what sort of chain of prerequisites you should build up for a particular effect, what level of Magery a spell should require... If there was a why to all that rather than just winging it my life would be easier than it is just now. My (decades old) project to find a system for Tekumel that I like and can actually run went plotz again last week when I realised that FATE wasn't going to be the answer I was hoping for. And my players, annoying simulationists the lot of them, looked at me and asked why I couldn't use GURPS. It's the magic system (I told them as I have a thousand times). I can't use the core GURPS system: to keep the flavour of the world I need to convert the idiosyncratic spells of the source material. I can take the Psychic Magic and turn it into a set of GURPS Powers, no problem But the Ritual Magic is a bitch. No, Ritual Magic in the GURPS sense won't work: it relies on the corpus of standard GURPS spells. Nor will Ritual Path Magic: the various temples keep knowledge of their specialities separate to increase their own power. There's no Thaumatological reason a Karakan worshiper can't learn the secrets of Wuru, purely social ones. So are there any other systems for constructing spells in GURPS? Even unpublished amateur efforts. You may assume I have looked at all the ideas in THAUMATOLOGY and have yet to be inspired by them.
__________________
Michael Cule,
Genius for Hire, Gaming Dinosaur Second Class |
10-21-2017, 02:34 PM | #2 |
Ceci n'est pas une tag.
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Vancouver, WA (Portland Metro)
|
Re: GURPS Spell Construction Kit
Sorcery, perhaps?
__________________
I'm a collector, not a gamer. =) |
10-21-2017, 02:44 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
|
Re: GURPS Spell Construction Kit
|
10-21-2017, 03:22 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
|
Re: GURPS Spell Construction Kit
GURPS magic does go into some detail I think page 6 and 7 on making new spells and Thaumatology helps. I used those as the basis for several of my magic systems.
__________________
My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more! My GURPS fan contribution and blog: REFPLace GURPS Landing Page My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items) My GURPS Wiki entries |
10-21-2017, 03:23 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: near London, UK
|
Re: GURPS Spell Construction Kit
Failing other options, if you were to describe broadly how the ritual magic of Tékumel should feel in play, I imagine the brains trust here would be able to come up with a variety of ways of doing it.
__________________
Podcast: Improvised Radio Theatre - With Dice Gaming stuff here: Tekeli-li! Blog; Webcomic Laager and Limehouse Buy things by me on Warehouse 23 |
10-21-2017, 03:47 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
|
Re: GURPS Spell Construction Kit
For what it is worth, I had a spell that I converted over from DRAGONQUEST where the caster inscribes the name of a demon on a slip of paper, and then hands it over to the intended victim. The demon, even if defeated the first time around, will show up 30 days later to keep on trying until it succeeds. The only way to get around from the curse is to either have it removed via REMOVE CURSE, or by handing the slip of paper to someone else. Throwing it away and someone else taking it doesn't count - you have to GIVE it away and someone has to accept it. Energy cost to cast is 10, PLUS 1 Hit point (Blood) to activate the curse. Name of the Demon has to be its true name. As a consequence of that, the demon itself is not too happy that someone knows its true name and will usually find a way to gun for the one who cast the curse/spell. Prerequisites were "Summon Demon" and "Curse" and Magery 2.
Technically, the spell was "indefinite" and lasted until the target (or A target if the paper was handed off) was killed. So - just about anything can be converted into use with GURPS. |
10-21-2017, 03:54 PM | #8 |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
|
Re: GURPS Spell Construction Kit
The myGurps site has a system for modifying the standard gurps magic system. Its by PK, who wrote it before he was hired by Steve Jackson games.
Gurps Thaumatology actually has a pretty impressive tool set to let you build magic spells and magic systems, though it doesn't look like that if you just start reading at the beginning. And as roger said, we'd be happy to build something if you could describe the initial system to us.
__________________
Be helpful, not pedantic Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one! |
10-22-2017, 12:24 PM | #9 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Helsinki, Finland
|
Re: GURPS Spell Construction Kit
GURPS Magic: Death Spells has something of a start for spell development kit for GURPS Magic.
__________________
[/delurk] AotA is of course IMHO, YMMV. vincit qui se vincit |
10-22-2017, 06:58 PM | #10 |
Ceci n'est pas une tag.
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Vancouver, WA (Portland Metro)
|
Re: GURPS Spell Construction Kit
Can you elaborate, please?
__________________
I'm a collector, not a gamer. =) |
Tags |
magic, tekumel |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|