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Old 05-22-2020, 03:21 PM   #1
Plane
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Default what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?

M102's description of the Knowledge/Meta spell "Seek Magic" has a parenthesis saying it will detect "demons, elemental, spirits, etc"

This is also probably important for M101's "Detect Magic" which mentions "detects items, spells, magical creatures" and M102's "Mage Sense" which says "whether some unseen magical item or creature is nearby"

For simplicity I'm guessing being/creature are synonymous nouns.

I don't see a trait that stands out in the elemental templates or the demon template as setting them apart as "magical creature" detectable by these spells.

Is this basically an unwritten 0-point feature because being detectable has benefits (allies can find me) and drawbacks (enemies can find me) that cancel out?
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Old 05-22-2020, 03:51 PM   #2
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Default Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?

I don't think it's a trait you can point at. It's an origin. If you're a non-mundane creature from another plane of existence or a being whose form requires magic to exist, I'd consider that a magical being. If you're mortal but you have magical abilities, you're not a magical creature.
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Old 05-22-2020, 03:55 PM   #3
Kromm
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Default Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?

It's whatever the GM says it is in that particular campaign. It doesn't have to have a point value or show up on templates, any more than "left-handed" or "redhead" do. Magic and other abilities can trigger on completely arbitrary descriptors; GURPS doesn't really go in for the hard categories that the Other Game likes, though if you play GURPS Dungeon Fantasy or especially the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game, the monster classes are fairly clear about what's "magical."

And yes, "being," "creature," "entity," etc. all mean the same thing.
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Old 05-22-2020, 03:59 PM   #4
David Johnston2
 
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Default Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Plane View Post
Is this basically an unwritten 0-point feature because being detectable has benefits (allies can find me) and drawbacks (enemies can find me) that cancel out?
It's safe to assume that anything with magical racial advantages (except for aptitude) is detectable as a "magical being".
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Old 05-22-2020, 04:11 PM   #5
Plane
 
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Default Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?

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Originally Posted by David Johnston2 View Post
It's safe to assume that anything with magical racial advantages (except for aptitude) is detectable as a "magical being".
by Aptitude do you mean Magery, since that's listed as not being enough to make them magical?
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Old 05-22-2020, 05:33 PM   #6
Anthony
 
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Default Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?

Any trait whose behavior changes in a no mana zone would be magical (magery doesn't, you still get the bonus to spell skill levels. It's the spells that change behavior).
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Old 05-22-2020, 09:32 PM   #7
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Default Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?

I generally have magical beings possess Dependency (Mana) at some level (even if it is only a quirk). It means that they will usually avoid no mana areas and may avoid low mana areas (depending on the critter). Of course, a critter with Dependency (Monthly; Mana) is probably going to be fine chasing a party of adventurers into a no mana area, though they will not follow them for weeks on end.
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Old 05-23-2020, 05:06 PM   #8
Plane
 
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Default Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?

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Originally Posted by Anthony View Post
Any trait whose behavior changes in a no mana zone would be magical (magery doesn't, you still get the bonus to spell skill levels. It's the spells that change behavior).
Maybe some way to reflect magical beings would be to create a modified version of the Magical -10% power modifier to apply to one of their traits, and just apply that to elementals/demons?

Something that wouldn't be a huge impact, like a point of HT which disappears in a No Mana zone.

Except so it doesn't affect point cost the modifier would need some +10% offset.
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Old 05-23-2020, 09:16 PM   #9
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Default Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?

If you're applying a modifier whose cost gets erased elsewhere just as a workaround to identify a magical being, you can just as easily forget all that and simply declare it a magical being without writing anything on a character sheet. If you insist that something has to be written down, write "Magical Being [0]."
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Old 05-25-2020, 07:26 AM   #10
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Default Re: what trait determines a "magical being" sensed by Detect/Seek Magic?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stormcrow View Post

If you insist that something has to be written down, write "Magical Being [0]."
Pretty much this.



It's meant to be a zero-cost trait that's implicit and doesn't change how the rules work most of the time. Examples for ordinary humans include age, sex, height, weight, and handedness . . . a bit like that. Abilities can definitely "target" such things without implying those qualities ought to have point costs or any effect aside from "zero-cost label for abilities to specify." If I want to claim a huge Accessibility modifier for "Only affects 52-year-olds," I can; that doesn't make being 52 years old special for those who are that age, only for the one with the narrowly limited ability.

As I said, Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game players get a fairly clear encapsulation on p. 14 of Monsters: constructs, demons, divine servitors, elementals, faerie, spirits, and undead. This is reinforced by the wording of Seek Magic (Spells, p. 45). Pentagram (Spells, p. 51) adds what should be an obvious case: "beings conjured by spells."

Also, you won't get far splitting hairs on wording. Some lists use "include," which in ordinary English usage is a way to introduce an incomplete list of examples, not an exhaustive enumeration (e.g., "valuable metals include gold and silver" doesn't exclude other coin metals like copper, platinum, and various alloys). And "being," "creature," and "entity" are simply synonyms; we try to use them all to break up the monotony of written work.
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