03-18-2012, 04:03 PM | #21 | |
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: The Athens of America
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Re: Ceremonial Magic used to support an army.
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Illusion Disguise + Illusion...zot not terribliy expensive infiltrators...when you don't feel you can trust *anyone* teamwork and discipline takes a beating...plus issuing false commands is fun too... Nightvision + Hide...cast on 2-4 commando types (per mage) can make sentry removal much easier and surprize night assaults more fruitful. Glue + Link scattered across a projected avenue of attack becomes a (fairly cheap) defacto minefield that shatters enemy formations and can make 1-6 soldiers (per megahex) into archer meat... Quick March...one mage casting this spell can double the strategic movement speed of an infantry squad or calvary troop....cast ceremonially with battalions of true believers lined up and bingo entire companies can break land speed records... There are many many more...again like Gurps magic in general they are support funcitons not damage ones...but IMHO mages are quite dangerous...really the only hang up is explaining why the mages will choose to do this instead of... ...reseach, shattering the worlds economy with <see other threads> spell scheme, etc, etc... Good Luck Troopoer!!
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03-18-2012, 04:05 PM | #22 |
Join Date: Apr 2011
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Re: Ceremonial Magic used to support an army.
But overall, I agree with Brackin. The number of wizards in a regular game world with magery 3 is very, very small. Players just pay their points and collect the magery, but the general can't order them like pizza. These guys are cloistered in their towers, jealously guarded by their guild as they're trained, or studying obsessively to climb the thaumaturgic/academic ladder. The ones easily seduced by loyalty to kingdom will probably die as apprentices because they've been fighting rather than studying. The ones with the spells you need got them by staying out of such mundane concerns. Some weaker mages might well end up in His Awesomeness's Service. And there, we'll see healing and food-creation and mapping and scrying and divining. And maybe some combat spell-casting. Specialists who actually fit the stereotypical role of fantasy magic in warfare. I see it as almost being like the role of the Church in medieval history. When the Wizard's Guild does firmly take a side, watch out. But it's comparatively rare. That's not to say they won't get involved; history has examples of Cardinals and even Popes personally intervening in battles. But they aren't the general's personal shotguns. |
03-18-2012, 04:21 PM | #23 |
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
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Re: Ceremonial Magic used to support an army.
This thread reminds me greatly of the classic DOS game Master of Magic, in which strategic and tactical spellcasting plays a major role. In that game, the majority of spellcasting (with the exception of spells cast be heroes who have their own MP) is fueled by "Mana Crystals", the equivalent of Paut. These crystals are produced through rituals at shrines and temples, or harvested from natural nodes, and are basically a strategic resource available to the Archmage. How might the inclusion of reserves of Paut or Manastones impact these massive, strategic-level spells? I could see it either as supplementary to or a replacement for Ceremonial casting.
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03-18-2012, 04:26 PM | #24 | |
Join Date: Mar 2012
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Re: Ceremonial Magic used to support an army.
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I guess, in theory, a long range mage might have significant penalties when fighting an ambusher who is only a few yards away. This would probably make the Strategic magic unattractive for PC's, who often find themselves fighting enemies who come upon them suddenly from cover. It could be one of those situations where the "high fantasy" feeling of mega-spells being slung across a battlefield like artillery bombardments is cool to have in the world but not really something you want to put into the hands of PCs. |
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03-18-2012, 04:33 PM | #25 | |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
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Re: Ceremonial Magic used to support an army.
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Ley Lines can help but what the Nodes were would be more like a Mana Spring or Mana Basin. Mana Basin is described in Fantasy, Mana Springs apparently were 3e and didnt make it to 4E |
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03-18-2012, 04:36 PM | #26 | ||
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
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Re: Ceremonial Magic used to support an army.
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Yeah, the Mana Basin looks pretty appropriate. There still needs to be some way to transform the accumulated energy into a transportable medium; in that particular setting it seems to occur naturally, or at least with the aid of spirits. Also, for mana provided by ceremonial worship, I suspect it's not a bunch of clerics casting "Manastone" over and over, but something more akin to the Meditation rules in Thaumatology - each pilgrim-day of prayer provides one energy point, with the cleric overseeing the ritual somehow converting that into a crystalline form. Again, in keeping with the strategic nature of the setting's magic, this may not be through his personal power but by some enchanted artifact present in the temple (the altar would be a good choice). Last edited by vierasmarius; 03-18-2012 at 04:47 PM. |
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03-18-2012, 09:15 PM | #27 |
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Boston, Hub of the Universe!
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Re: Ceremonial Magic used to support an army.
Logistics. Many from the Food College, Create/Purify/Essential Water, Quick March, Weather Dome, Continual Light, minor healing spells to sanitize and patch up the wounded and cure plague/sickness.
Proper application of all of those brings up the average fighting ability of your forces because few soldiers are suffering from deprivation/injury/illness, and increases overall mobility because scouts and messengers can move around faster, and you don't need to haul around the staggering amount of supplies of food, water, and torches/lamp oil. There are a ton of minor but useful enchantments that would help improve the fighting readiness of small groups (like a squad).
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03-18-2012, 09:15 PM | #28 | |
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Provo, UT
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Re: Ceremonial Magic used to support an army.
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Long range attacks with spells require either Magery 3 or allowing the Techniques to be bought to increase the range of spells. There are also several other rules in Thaumatology for increasing range, especially during Ceremonial Casting. Magery 3 gives you access to Telecast, Delay, Hang Spell, etc. An army with access to these spells will own the battlefield. The mage doesn't even have to leave his tent. Spells can be delivered by arrow, catapult or other spells over great distances to unleash hell on the other army. Rain of Ice Daggers can be set off above the enemy, mages could fly over troops, dropping 100 yard spheres of flame down on soldiers, etc. (But really, with Delay its better to just create short lived bombs, mortar, etc.) Telecast is even worse. One second your army is fine, the next they are all on fire. You can always protect your supporters with a Force Dome. It can block even light from escaping, nicely protecting your supporters and removing any chance of unwilling observers reducing the energy available. A race like Elves, who all possess even Magery 0 is unbeatable I think. There is no limit to how many elves can contribute energy to a Ceremonial Casting. 1000 elves = 3000 energy, 10,000 elves gets you up to 30,000 energy. Mess with their forest and they might just turn your capitol into a crater . . . |
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03-18-2012, 09:28 PM | #29 | |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
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Re: Ceremonial Magic used to support an army.
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As for the Elves, unless they ALL know the same spell there still capped at 100 total. So were probably talking about only the most basic spells getting a big boost over that 100 cap. Mind you I am not saying an Elven army is not dangerous just that the example was somewhat overstated. |
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03-18-2012, 10:37 PM | #30 |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Central Europe
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Re: Ceremonial Magic used to support an army.
Don't forget that one of the original target genres for GURPS Magic magic was horror. Several Pyramid adventures give magical terrors half a dozen random spells, and several early writeups for the undead give them spells instead of advantages. The circle of cultists with candles engaged in an awful rite is a classic element of horror.
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