GURPS Thaumatology: Magical Styles

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by Diomedes

On page 23, under the example for Rote Alchemy, there's this line:
Is that "44" supposed to be there, or have I found the first erratum?

Well, I see it on p29, so that may be a problem :)

Seriously, though... Why would you assume it was anything other than just a funny name?

[Diomedes]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

Seriously, though... Why would you assume it was anything other than just a funny name?

That's certainly possible, and I recall there was a similarly numerical name in Thaumatology, but it just seems oddly dissonant here. That's why I'm asking.

[Kromm]

It's a name, yeah. When we make page references, they start with "p." A word, hyphen, and number always means something utterly different.

[transmetahuman]

Thanks for the heads up, Unwitting Pawn. Pounce! Snag!
<Goes off to print and read at work>

[Sam Baughn]

Is there any more info available as to what is actually in the book? Are these styles only for use with the standard magic system or could you use them with (for instance) Path & Book magic?

[SCAR]

Originally Posted by Perfect Organism

Is there any more info available as to what is actually in the book? Are these styles only for use with the standard magic system or could you use them with (for instance) Path & Book magic?

The idea is beautifully simple - the application of Style (as per Martial Arts Styles) to Magic - and the execution is brilliant (as you would expect) with plenty of great ideas you could use in a variety of circumstances.

Chapter 1 - Building Magical Styles

What constitutes a Style; How to select the basic spells and skills for the style, including useful lists by college and other categories, and some useful 'shortcuts' if you like. This stuff is handy just for pointers in selecting starting spells (as it says in the Intro) (See the Preview!)
There are also several pages on adjusting the colleges and prerequisites.
The Restructuring Prerequisites section (1 page) is pure gold.

Chapter 2 - New Perks

A load of Magical Perks. The list of names is in the Contents (See the Preview!).
There is a great variety of ideas here which fit a whole range of circumstances and styles.
There is a box-out with notes on using Magical Styles (and Perks) with other magic systems, with a lot of reference to Thaumatology. If I'm reading it right, Styles should fit with the Paths & Books magic, but the Magic Perks might need some work.

Chapter 3 - Sample Style

The Onyx Path, a full Necromantic themed Magical Style, with Design Notes so you get an idea of how to use the rules.


Personally I love this book. My mind is just ringing with ideas from reading through it once (and I skimmed some of the detail).

[Jeffr0]

This is evil.

Now I have to buy this, the current Pyramid, the Mass Combat rules, and the older Pyramid magic issue.

Argh!

[Pomphis]

Yes, but it still hurts less than it would hurt if SJ would simply send his minions with cutlasses to take our money.

[Gavynn]

Originally Posted by Pomphis

Yes, but it still hurts less than it would hurt if SJ would simply send his minions with cutlasses to take our money.

Only if they give us pirate coins in return!

Same situation over here. I have about fifty bucks worth of e23 purchases in my backlog. I am just looking for an excuse the make the purchases. Maybe if I get my work done...

This sounds like an excellent addition to the GURPS line.

[Greg 1]

Originally Posted by Unwitting Pawn

Greg 1, you're not making my not buying it any easier :)

Sorry, Dude. Can't help it. This one is exactly what I want. :D

Well, except that it could have been bigger as OldSam points out.

Originally Posted by OldSam

But the "sample"-character of the style is also the little downside of this addon, I actually hoped to see more complete ready-made magical styles in it, the title somehow suggested this. At least one or two for different types of magicians like elemental wizards, enchanters, necromants, shamans etc. would be really good, maybe these will appear in another addon...

Sure, I would have liked that too. There isn't an inch of fat to cut from what we got, but I would have happily paid for something twice or four times the size.

Originally Posted by b-dog

1. I think that there should be more examples using the rules. Not so much to just work out the rules but also to make the reading more interesting to read and also inspire some cool ideas.

As I say above, I would certainly have been happy to have more.

2. I think that there should be some more style to the pdf. Sure it will increase the page count but sometimes it is worth it. In Mage there were explanations about the magick like where they describe it as reweaving reality or when they describe the way the magic works. I came away feeling that the book was just a list of rules instead of a book trying to capture the different styles of magic.

Its a toolkit and yet, the focus is on the rules. The more specific flavour it had, the less generic it would be.