[RPM] Different Setting and Different Paths

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by PK

Regarding DR vs. Damage, it's also worth noting that a typical DR-buff spell will give you a certain amount of DR vs. every attack that lasts for several minutes at least. A damaging spell works once and then is done. So you're still getting a better value out of the DR-buffing spell in a combat situation; if done right, a single such spell can protect against dozens of attacks, whereas the offensive spell is the very definition of a one-shot.

Which is exactly what the Significant Other just pointed out as she glanced over my shoulder earlier. Something I should I should have pointed out myself. :-/

[Terwin]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

Yep. You can use a charm to have multiple effects at once - but you can still only be under the influence of one Lesser (whatever) effect AND one Greater (whatever) effect. So you can use charms to cast it - but that doesn't mean multiple effects stack.

I am not interested in stacking effects, I am more interested in having healing handy or being able to pull out a 'Kills X fast' charm when the GM tries to get a jump on us with a surprise X.

No worries. Hope I didn't come down to harsh! If so that was not the intent. Damage is good and all...but seriously, it's not the be all end all. I have a player who loooveees using RPM. She rarely uses damaging rituals and she is by far the most lethal of my players when it comes to ritual path magic. While we were playtesting Monster Hunters 3 I put my group in a very nasty encounter with a couple of werewolves. They were kidnapped and brought out into the middle of nowhere in upstate Pennsylvania. No weapons, no armor, no charms, nothing. They managed to find a tire iron, a screwdriver, and a tree branch sturdy enough to serve as a cudgel. The witch had previously used a ritual to hide her anthame in a pocket dimension. First thing she does is draw the knife and hand it off to her characters brother (a half-demon). Second thing she does is gather up everyone's improvised weapons and casts a ritual to turn them into silver. The werewolves never stood a chance. That's the kind of thing I mean when damage isn't be all end all. RPM is the ultimate multi-tool. With enough time and imagination you can do some crazy awesome things. :-)

More of an ultimate multi-tool then the base magic system?
That may not be happy-making for my GM, as the last time we used the base magic system he started to develop a twitch whenever I reached for my GURPS Magic book...(I did warn him before the game started that syntactic magic+ normal magic would be incredibly versatile, even after he outlawed certain spells as soon as I described their effects (Time Out anyone?))
... I wonder if *any* of my spells would be considered lesser spells after the first few games...

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Terwin

I am not interested in stacking effects, I am more interested in having healing handy or being able to pull out a 'Kills X fast' charm when the GM tries to get a jump on us with a surprise X.

Charms are ideal for that. I have a player in my current game who spent enough points in RPM to be a modest caster. He relies completely on charms. He has charms to open locks, stop bleeding, futz cameras, etc. He might not have a ton of raw power like the other players but he really makes use of what he he has.

Originally Posted by Terwin

More of an ultimate multi-tool then the base magic system?

In my opinion? Yeah. A lot more.

Originally Posted by Terwin

That may not be happy-making for my GM, as the last time we used the base magic system he started to develop a twitch whenever I reached for my GURPS Magic book...(I did warn him before the game started that syntactic magic+ normal magic would be incredibly versatile, even after he outlawed certain spells as soon as I described their effects (Time Out anyone?))
... I wonder if *any* of my spells would be considered lesser spells after the first few games...

When creating a ritual in RPM it's more a collaborative effort between player and GM. If you're GM is out to "get you"...well, I don't play with people like that. Of course arguing against the door, the GM really DOES need to know RPM in and out. Being that it's only 8 pages long he should be just fine. Keep in mind that RPM is incredibly "Rule 0" - if the GM says something works a certain way, that is how it works, book bedamned. If he couldn't handle syntactic magic he probably won't like RPM. Thems the breaks. Of course Magic is incredibly broken. I don't have a issue with it per say, but I won't use it any more. RPM is just to perfect to my needs.

[Terwin]

Originally Posted by Ghostdancer

When creating a ritual in RPM it's more a collaborative effort between player and GM. If you're GM is out to "get you"...well, I don't play with people like that. Of course arguing against the door, the GM really DOES need to know RPM in and out. Being that it's only 8 pages long he should be just fine. Keep in mind that RPM is incredibly "Rule 0" - if the GM says something works a certain way, that is how it works, book bedamned. If he couldn't handle syntactic magic he probably won't like RPM. Thems the breaks. Of course Magic is incredibly broken. I don't have a issue with it per say, but I won't use it any more. RPM is just to perfect to my needs.

Not so much 'out to get me' more 'Stop trying to break my plots by opening up the magic book and saying 'I cast this''
(But I think I have been getting better about that... especially since we have not used the base magic system since that first game...)

Of course with RPM I would need to first get him to agree on an effect before pulling out the physics text book/Wikipedia article/etc that lets me twist that effect into the plot hammer I was originally intending...

[Christopher R. Rice]

Originally Posted by Terwin

Not so much 'out to get me' more 'Stop trying to break my plots by opening up the magic book and saying 'I cast this''
(But I think I have been getting better about that... especially since we have not used the base magic system since that first game...)

:-/

Originally Posted by Terwin

Of course with RPM I would need to first get him to agree on an effect before pulling out the physics text book/Wikipedia article/etc that lets me twist that effect into the plot hammer I was originally intending...

Keep in mind he can simply tell you 'no' or even 'okay, quintuple cost.' Actively working against a GM is something I haven't had to deal with in a long time. My players and I are there to tell a story - a story whose ending we don't know even as we begin to spin it. YMMV.