Confusion about magic

[KILLTHIS]

Heyas everyone,

sorry if this has been asked before (and I was dumb enough to not see it) but soon I'll be the GM for a few buddies and we want to play in a fantasy setting. Of course at least one of them wanted to do some magic. I'm currently trying to figure it out.

So far I know that Magery is required and that there is a difference towards clerical magic; Still I wonder what Thaumatology and Ritual Magic do for the magic system.

Secondly I'd like to know what the costs for spells are. I may didn't see it but I couldn't point out what e.g. a level of the "Light"-Spell would cost.

Thank you in advance.

[weby]

Thaumatology is the skill of magic knowledge, it has nothing to do with casting spells, but it is used for things like researching new spells or identifying a spell that someone cast if you do not know that spell.

Ritual magic is mostly used in some alternate magic systems, in the basic magic system it really has no place.

Learning spells:
Spells are learned like skills. Most are Hard skills based on IQ with magery providing a bonus as talents provide for other skills(some are very hard).

The main difference between spells and most other skills is the prerequisites, most spells require you to know another spell before you can learn the next spell in the chain(and many of theose again require some other spell and so on). A good resource to see the chains is the free GURPS Magic Spell Charts pdf: http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-0203

[KILLTHIS]

Alright, thank you very much. Know it's clear to me.

[The Colonel]

Hang on a minute chaps ... some confusion may also arise from the fact that there are two rules supplements also called (GURPS) Thaumatology and (GURPS) Ritual Path Magic.

These both present completely different ways of organising magic systems over and above the setup in the basic rules.

[KILLTHIS]

Alright... how do they differ? I'd be able to lend both from a friend since he rarely used either of them. I just want to see what kind of benefits there would be in order to spice the setting a bit.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

Hang on a minute chaps ... some confusion may also arise from the fact that there are two rules supplements also called (GURPS) Thaumatology and (GURPS) Ritual Path Magic.

These both present completely different ways of organising magic systems over and above the setup in the basic rules.

Weby's reply took the OP as asking about the skills in the Basic Set named "Thaumatology" and "Ritual Magic" (not "Ritual Path Magic").

@KILLTHIS: There are more than a few magic systems out there for GURPS, because not every setting treats magic the same.

The Basic Set presents the standard Magic system, which is further supplemented in (GURPS) Magic by adding several hundred additional spells. This magic system has a clerical variant which replaces Magery with Power Investiture and does away with spell prerequisites, but you may wish to talk with any players making clerical casters to make sure the spells they take are ones the gods/spirits/demons/djinn/etc. would grant. For most standard fantasy settings, this system would

The Basic Set also presents something called "Ritual Magic" as a variation on the magic system, which treats each spell college as its own Skill and each spell as a Technique. This is the primary system that uses the Ritual Magic skill; there's a sidebox in the Basic Set's chapter on magic for how it works, and it's given a chapter in (GURPS) Magic as well as a more in-depth treatment in (GURPS) Thaumatology.

(GURPS) Magic also gives a chapter or two near the end on different systems, many of which are looked at more closely in (GURPS) Thaumatology. Don't let it overwhelm you; if there's stuff there you don't understand, ask us. I recommend, though, for your first game, to ignore those chapters until you grok the standard magic system.

I highly recommend checking out the Dungeon Fantasy line for your first fantasy games. I don't get into dungeon-crawling myself, but the line has a lot that can be adapted to stuff outside the dungeon. DF5: Allies is good for druid/ranger animal companions, wizard familiars, and similar companions, while the books for Sages and Clerics (don't have their numbers off-hand, sorry) can diversify a bit.

Once you're familiar with the main system from the Basic Set and Magic, check out the following supplements for other magic systems to expand the available flavors: Thaumatology, Powers, Divine Powers, Chinese Elemental Powers, and Ritual Path Magic. Be cautious about mixing magic systems; some of the more flexible magic options don't mix well with the more rote-standard system.

[evileeyore]

My advice:

Unless you are an experienced GM, for your first campaign stick to GURPS Basic and GURPS Magic and ignore the other books in the 'magic' line.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by KILLTHIS

So far I know that Magery is required and that there is a difference towards clerical magic; Still I wonder what Thaumatology and Ritual Magic do for the magic system.

Secondly I'd like to know what the costs for spells are. I may didn't see it but I couldn't point out what e.g. a level of the "Light"-Spell would cost.

Thank you in advance.

Magery is required in most places. See "Mana" on p.235 of Characters.

In the standard system the caster loses Fatigue pts when he casts. A Light spell will need 1 FP and last for 1 minute. At the end of that minute the caster can either let the spell go out or spend another FP for another minute. This is called "maintenance" can go on for as long as the caster has FP.

However, trick #1 in Gurps Magic is that a caster who has level 15 in a spell subtracts 1 pt from the cost in FP to cast and maintain. This can go to zero cost and our expert caster can keep his light spell going....probably until he has to sleep.

[KILLTHIS]

Alright, thank you very much for your help. You guys are awesome. :)

[weby]

I replied with the basic magic system answers, because that the the "default" when you use GURPS and the most ready to run "off the shelf" with least job by the GM, the others are extras and normally require more work.

Thus my suggestion is the same as evileeyore: use the basic system at first, when you have more experience and know what you like an not like about it then consider the alternatives.

But for a more traditional fantasy division to mage/priest/druid the Dungeon fantasy version of the basic magic system is a nice one and definitely recommended if you want that feel.

Personally I do not like any of the GURPS magic systems except the powers-divine magic, that provides a fairly nice system, but only covers the "priest side"