Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 08-23-2010, 01:59 AM   #81
Greg 1
 
Greg 1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Default Re: Magical Style Ideas

Quote:
Originally Posted by gmjasongurps View Post
Here is a magical style I put together to serve as a template for a cleric of a storm/sea god for my current campaign.
It looks like a very interesting style.

Quote:
it is based on the worship of Algor, the Stormlord, from the Palladium Fantasy world setting.
Providing information about the God would be helpful in understanding the style. Background about the priesthood and what they do would also be useful.

Have you considered writing it up using the format in GURPS Thaumatology: Magical Styles and adding it to the fan magical style archive at RPGnet? It doesn't presently have any styles for mages of sea and storm.

Last edited by Greg 1; 08-23-2010 at 04:12 AM.
Greg 1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-23-2010, 05:29 AM   #82
Greg 1
 
Greg 1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Default Re: Magical Style Ideas

Quote:
Originally Posted by arnej View Post
I'm messing around with a rogue-ish magical style. Thought I'd run it past the collective and humbly beg for feedback.
I like it so far. I think that a style for con-men, second-story artists and rogues is a good idea.

Quote:
Required spells: Apportation, Simple Illusion, Sound, Foolishness, Scryguard, Magelock, Detect Magic
If these spells are required, you will want to put them on a spell list at the lowest level.

Quote:
Interestingly, it is structured based on how close you can get to the objective without being detected. The first level deals strictly with ‘casing the joint.’ Gathering intel, scouting out the terrain. The second level is intended for sneaking in and out. Spells of movement and stealth. The third level allows for interaction with individuals, misdirecting or confusing the opposition. And the last deals with the ultimate challenge - bearding a mage in his own den.
That is interesting indeed. Grouping spells by function adds flavour. This method will, of course, allow mages of this style much easier access to some spells than most mages have. Your level 1 spells, for instance, include 3 with a prerequisite count of 6. Perhaps that's ok. I'm not really seeing munchkin bait in the style as it stands, although I often miss munchkin bait.

Quote:
How many spells should count for 'journeyman' status, to proceed to the next level?
I would go with half of the spells of the previous level, rounded up.

Quote:
I threw in a skill to be acquired at each level as well. I haven't seen this done before - what do you think?
It seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Last edited by Greg 1; 08-23-2010 at 05:33 AM.
Greg 1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-03-2011, 01:29 PM   #83
cbower
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Tuscaloosa, AL
Default Re: Magical Style Ideas

Haven't seen a style posted in a while, so here's one I've been working on:

Fire-Spears
9 points
Style Prerequisites: Magery 0.

Fire Clan is one of the Wild’s most infamous barbarian tribes, made up entirely of mages. The Fire-Spear Society warriors are the direct attackers of Fire Clan, and they specialize in using Fireball, Explosive Fireball, and Create Fire to deliver a full-frontal assault of flame upon the ranks of their enemies and control the battlefield.

Required Skills: Innate Attack (Projectile); Soldier; Spear.
Required Spells: Create Fire; Explosive Fireball; Fireball; Ignite Fire; Shape Fire.
Perks: Blood Magic; Combat Ceremony (Create Fire); Enhanced Spell (Guided/Fireball); Enhanced Spell (Increased Range/Explosive Fireball); Enhanced Spell (Increased Range/Fireball); Enhanced Spell (Long Range/Create Fire); Frightening Spell Effects (Any); Intuitive Cantrip (Kindle); Kill Switch (Create Fire); Missile Spell Mastery (Explosive Fireball); Missile Spell Mastery (Fireball); Reduced Footprint (Create Fire); Secret Material (Fire Salts); Spell Hardiness (Any Fire spell).

Optional Traits
Attributes: Improved ST, DX, and HT.
Advantages: Allies or Ally Group (Fire-Spear warriors); Combat Reflexes; Fearlessness; Fit or Very Fit; High Pain Threshold; Languages (Fire Nymph or other languages of the Fire Plane); Patron (Fire-Spear Society or clan chieftan).
Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Pirate’s or Soldier’s); Fanaticism; Pyromania; Stubbornness.
Skills: Explosives (Fireworks); Innate Attack (Beam); Innate Attack (Breath); Leadership; Strategy; Tactics; Thaumatology.

Spell List
Body Control: Itch; Pain; Resist Pain; Spasm.
Fire: Body of Flames (VH); Breathe Fire (VH); Burning Touch; Deflect Energy; Essential Flame; Extinguish Fire; Fast Fire; Fire Cloud; Fireproof; Flaming Armor; Flame Jet; Flaming Missiles; Flaming Weapon; Heat; Phantom Flame; Rain of Fire; Resist Fire; Slow Fire; Smoke.
Movement: Apportation; Great Haste (VH); Haste.
Protection and Warning: Armor; Block; Deflect Missile; Iron Arm; Missile Shield; Shield.

Secret Material: Fire Salts
The ashy remains of a Fire Elemental, prepared correctly, become a potent one-use magical energy source. Not all Fire Elementals leave this residue; those brought to the Real World via a spell never do, while those native to the Real World almost always will.
Transforming the ash to Fire Salts needs a lab, takes an hour, and requires a Thaumatology-3 roll by someone with the Secret Material (Fire Salts) perk. Any success produces a crystalline powder containing energy equal to the margin of success (minimum 1), up to the starting HP of the Fire Elemental.
cbower is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2011, 06:35 AM   #84
ajardoor
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Default Re: Magical Style Ideas

Here's some half-assed concepts I just made up now. Anyone up for fully fleshing them out?

Road of the Running Mage - style focusing on Movement, Protection & Warning, Gate, Illusion and other spells for escaping and escaping foes, taught to the desperate, the indebted, the hunted and the pariah. Secret spell taught to stylists is Catch Me If You Can, which will magically defeat any attempt to locate or capture the subject, ala Bless and Curse.

Inquistion For Spiritual Purity - a cross between Inquistion-style uptight moralists, demon-fighting excorcists and particularly judgemental social workers, The Inquistion For Spiritual Purity believes that their hated demonic enemies are so good at possessing and tempting mortals because human society has become decadent and complacent. They seek to fix this by curing people of drug addictions, mental illnesses, criminal tendecies and personality disorders. Naturally, they care little for the human rights of their 'patients'. Their spells include the Mind Control, Healing and anti-spirit Necromancy colleges. The style's Secret Spells are Temperance (like Perfection of the Soul from Thaumatology, this spell suppresses the subject's 'negative' mental disadvantages like Callous, Sadism, Addiction and Megalomania) and Inquistion Into Morality (informs the caster of the subject's overall morality and recent history of immoral acts).

Adept of The Priced Rose - style favoured by magical prostitutes, meant to help them 'on the job'. The spell list includes ones from the Body Control, Mind Control, Illusion, Communication & Empathy and various other colleges. Secret spells are Healing Orgasm (kinda like the Healing Slumber spell, but...sexier), Alter Sexuality (makes the subject heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual) and Alter Sexuality Other (makes the subject heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual).
__________________
My blog: http://tabletoprpg333.home.blog
ajardoor is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 03-04-2011, 07:37 AM   #85
Mgellis
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Flushing, Michigan
Default Re: Magical Style Ideas

Just for fun, I built a "magical style generator" on Inspiration PadPro. It comes up with elaborate names for magical styles, schools, tomes, and lodges. I find it useful for coming up with ideas. Here are a few, if anyone would like to play around with them and see what they come up with...

The Scientific Apostles of Industrial Sorcery

Edwardian Geomancy

Infernal Calculus

Egyptian Water Magic

The Codex Agricola

The Glyphs of the Baltic Gods
Mgellis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-22-2011, 09:42 AM   #86
Mateus
 
Mateus's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Curitiba - PR (Brazil)
Default Re: Magical Style Ideas

Here goes my contribution. It's my first try to build a Style and as is a "kind of necromantic style" it has some similiarities with the Style proposed on the Magical Styles book (but its not even close a copy!). Its focused on some particuliarities of my setting. The next Style will be much more unique (I will post it later).

PS: Originaly I wrote it in portuguese (my native language).

ARCANE ORDER OF THE BLACK HAND:
SYMBOL: Humanoid left hand in front view, open, black with green energy emanating from the center of the palm on a white background.

STYLE COST: 13.

NUMBER OF SPELLS: 75.

STYLE PREREQUISITE: Will 12; Rank Academic 0: Servant of The Black Hand (Arcane Order of The Black Hand, Rch: Almost Everywhere -0%); Magery 1 (Danger Spell Learning -10%; Pact: Vow Minor - Never Reveal The Secrets Of The Style -5%); Social Regard: Mage (Rch: Everyone Except Others Magic Dwelling Beings -5%); Unnatural Features: The Black Hand's Mark; Different Critical Failure Table: Magic (Black Magic).

SKILL-BASED LIMITS: Thanatology [IQ/H].

The Arcane Order of the Black Hand is a school focused primarily in the college of necromancy, but its curriculum also puts a great weight in the college of body control and includes tricks of the colleges of healing and knowledge. It is primarily an experimental style that seeks to know the body, death and afterlife. The organization has a strongly iniciastic character however largely academic.

The Order worships an unknown entity called The Black Hand. Outside the innermost circles of the Order, people knows very little about this entity. It is believed that it is not part of any of the pantheons of the Continent and some scholars also put The Black Hand off the sphere of the Immortal Kingdons. The general perception is that The Black Hand confers many benefits in exchange for apparently few obligations.

The state of art of the skills and knowledge of the Order are based on the reading and interpretation of the Black Tomes. These obscure texts were found between 987-992 CE after excavations carried out at locations indicated by The Black Hand to the former dean of Arcane Academy, Boyar Bohdan Sergeyevich Lebedev "Nadmieny". Three years after the discovery of the last volume he founded the first seat of the Arcane Order of The Black Hand in the Municipality of Kiev. Over time the organization grew and spread across the Continente (and perhaps even to unknown lands!). No one knows the fate of the original volumes, but all seats have at least one copy of any of the volumes, even if it is based on incomplete versions.

Because they deal very closely with the dead and the spirits of the dead, in some places more tolerant, the Order receives the permission of the local pantheon to perform exorcisms of unwanted ghosts. In less tolerant places, the Order is considered a heresy, and can only exist in the shadows of society.

REQUIRED SKILLS: Hidden Lore: Ghosts [IQ/A]; Physiology/TL [IQ/H]; Research/TL [IQ/A]; Ritual Magic: The Black Hand [IQ/VH]; Thanatology [IQ/H]; Thaumatology [IQ/VH]; Theology: The Black Hand [IQ/H].

REQUIRED SPELLS: Death Vision [IQ/H]; Debility [IQ/H]; Detect Magic [IQ/H]; Final Rest [IQ/H]; Itch [IQ/H].

PERKS: Blood Magic; Continuous Ritual (Deathtouch, Materialize, Paralyze Limb or Steal Skill); Elixir Resistance (Aging, Death, Eternal Rest, Love or Truth); Far-Casting 1-3: Steal Skill; Frightening Side-Effects (Burning Death, Call Of The Black Hand, Deathtouch, Rotting Death, The Black Hand’s Speech or Wither Limb); Huge Subjects 1-2: Zombie; Improvised Magic: Ordem Arcana da Mão Negra; Intimidation Curses; Intuitive Cantrip: Corpse Smart; Licensed Ghosts Exorcist; Life-Force Burn 1-5; Magical Style Adaptation: Academia Arcana; Melee Spell Mastery (Deathtouch, Paralyze Limb or Rotting Death); Mundane Magic: Turn Spirit as Exorcism; Named Possession: Black Hand’s Staff; Power Casting 1-4: Deathtouch; Rote Alchemy (Aging, Death or Eternal Rest); Rule Of 17-20 (Command Spirit*, Turn Spirit or Wither Limb); Sanctum 1-3; Scroll-Reading (Ancient, Rusyn); Secret Material: Ectoplasmic Essence; Secret Spell (Call Of The Black Hand, Lich, Resurrection, The Black Hand Lich, The Black Hand's Speech or Ward Of The Black Hand); Shaman’s Trance; Spell Enhancement: Affects Insubstantial; Standard Operational Procedure (Magical Lawyer).

SECRET SPELLS: Call Of The Black Hand [IQ/VH]; Lich [IQ/VH]; Resurrection [IQ/VH]; The Black Hand Lich [IQ/VH]; The Black Hand's Speech [IQ/VH]; Ward Of The Black Hand [IQ/VH].

SPELL LIST:

FIRST CIRCLE (BLACK HAND SERVANT): Death Vision [IQ/H]; Debility [IQ/H]; Detect Magic [IQ/H]; Final Rest [IQ/H]; Itch [IQ/H].

SECOND CIRCLE (BLACK HAND DISCIPLE): Counterspell [IQ/H]; Frailty [IQ/H]; Identify Spell [IQ/H]; Mage Sense [IQ/H]; Seek Magic [IQ/H]; Sense Mana [IQ/H]; Sense Spirit [IQ/H]; Share Energy [IQ/H]; Share Vitality [IQ/H]; Spasm [IQ/H]; Summon Spirit [IQ/H].

THIRD CIRCLE (BLACK HAND COLABORATOR): Diagnosis [IQ/H]; History [IQ/H]; Hunger [IQ/H]; Materialize [IQ/H]; Pain [IQ/H]; Remove Contagion [IQ/H]; Restoration [IQ/VH]; Sensitive [IQ/H]; Solidify [IQ/H]; Steal Energy [IQ/H]; Steal Vitality [IQ/H]; Stop Bleeding [IQ/H]; Stop Spasm [IQ/H]; Turn Spirit [IQ/H].

FOURTH CIRCLE (BLACK HAND BRINGER): Affect Spirits [IQ/H]; Age [IQ/VH]; Agonize [IQ/H]; Ancient History [IQ/H]; Astral Vision [IQ/H]; Command Spirit* [IQ/H]; Control Zombie [IQ/H]; Cure Disease [IQ/H]; Evisceration [IQ/VH]; Nauseated [IQ/H]; Paralyze Limb [IQ/H]; Pestilence [IQ/H]; Retch [IQ/H]; Slow Healing [IQ/H]; Steal Vigor [IQ/VH]; Steal Wisdom [IQ/VH]; Stop Healing [IQ/H]; Strike Barren [IQ/H]; Thirst [IQ/H]; Total Paralysis [IQ/H]; Zombie [IQ/H]; Zombie Summoning [IQ/H].

FIFTH CIRCLE (BLACK HAND): Animate Shadow [IQ/H]; Bind Spirit* [IQ/VH]; Burning Death [IQ/VH]; Deathtouch [IQ/H]; Divination: Hostismancy [IQ/H]; Entrap Spirit [IQ/H]; Mass Zombie [IQ/VH]; Prehistory [IQ/H]; Recall [IQ/H]; Rotting Death [IQ/VH]; Soul Jar [IQ/VH]; Steal Skill [IQ/VH]; Steal Youth [IQ/VH]; Summon Demon* [IQ/H]; Ward Of The Black Hand [IQ/VH]; Wither Limb [IQ/H].

SIXTH CIRCLE (BLACK HAND MASTER): Call Of The Black Hand [IQ/VH]; Lich [IQ/VH]; Pentagram [IQ/H]; Repel Spirits [IQ/H]; Resurrection [IQ/VH].

SEVENTH CIRCLE BLACK HAND LORD): The Black Hand Lich [IQ/VH]; The Black Hand's Speech [IQ/VH].

OPTIONAL TRAITS:

ATTRIBUTES: IQ 13; HT+.

SECONDARY ATTRIBUTES: Will+.

LANGUAGES: Ancient; Rusyn.

ADVANTAGES: Extra Life 1; Magery 3 (Danger Spell Learning -10%, Pact: Vow Minor - Never Reveal The Secrets Of The Style -5%); See Invisible: Spirits (Acce: Only Ghosts -50%, Mana Sensitive -10%); Social Regard: Well-Know Mage (Rch: Everyone Except Others Magic Dwelling Beings -5%); Social Regard: Archmage (Rch: Everyone Except Others Magic Dwelling Beings -5%); Spirit Empathy (Acce: Only Ghosts -50%, Mana Sensitive -10%); Unfazeable.

DISADVANTAGES: Social Stigma: Excommunicated.

SKILLS: Alchemy/TL [IQ/VH]; Exorcism: Ghosts [Will/A]; Hazardous Materials/TL: Ectoplasmic [IQ/A]; Religious Ritual: A Mão Negra [IQ/H]; Teaching [IQ/A].
__________________
Link for my DF Campaign Game: http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/panorica
Mateus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2012, 11:20 AM   #87
Sense of Duty (Kittens)
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Default Re: Magical Style Ideas

Quote:
Originally Posted by ajardoor View Post
Here's some half-assed concepts I just made up now. Anyone up for fully fleshing them out?

Adept of The Priced Rose - style favoured by magical prostitutes, meant to help them 'on the job'. The spell list includes ones from the Body Control, Mind Control, Illusion, Communication & Empathy and various other colleges. Secret spells are Healing Orgasm (kinda like the Healing Slumber spell, but...sexier), Alter Sexuality (makes the subject heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual) and Alter Sexuality Other (makes the subject heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual).
This is an interesting concept. One noticable omission is the healing College with the intuitive inclusion of Resist Disease.
__________________
Steal Energy- giving Dungeon Fantasy wizards a pretext to learn healing magic since 2004.
Sense of Duty (Kittens) is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2012, 02:01 PM   #88
Sense of Duty (Kittens)
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Default Re: Magical Style Ideas

This is my first attempt at a style.

Sorcerors of the Cloud
This is a style used by a secretive group of hackers who use the internet for magical purposes. They have no social structure or unified agenda, other than a general agreement to keep themselves secret.
Prerequisite Skills: Computer Operation, Computer Repair, Computer Programming, Computer Hacking.
Advantages: Intuitive Mathematician, Eidetic Memory
Perks:
+ Accessory (general kind of basic i/o device) Keyboard, mic, headphones etc.
+Farcasting
+ Legacy Magic: Negates up to -2 for older TLs from specified TL for any given spell you cast.
+Power Over Internet (Used for Thaumaturigcal area network ceremonial casting)
+Enchantmentbotting (You can cast slow and sure enchantments without the need for your presence by making a suitable Computer Programming roll. The subject of the enchantment must be connected somehow to the TAN or on a connected webcam. Other CPUS which must be clients of main CPU can simulated enchanting assistants at -1 to enchanting skill. Enchanter must make sucessful rolls against all spells to properly configure bots. If power or program function is interrupted, project must begin anew, nothing is consumed, however.)
+Spanning Tree Casting (When a server is targeted by a spell, you may specify any of its clients at 1/8 cost apiece, rounded up, maintenence of spells is free as long as spell is maintained on server.)
Disadvantages: Social Stigma(Criminal) Enemies, shyness, curiosity

Secret Spells:
Some spells are Optional Specializations of extant spells. Others have alternate prerequisites. All spells learned via this style count in the Technology college.

Seek Computer: Works as other Seek Spells in meatspace. Casting this online will act like a ping function.

Shape Network: I don't know how to balance this spell at all! :o

Delete: Cast on a pice of data, it removes it entirely from storage, memory locations will have innocuous noise. Duration, Permanent,

Steganomancy: Seems to be identical to Delete spell, but the data returns, unchanged at the end of the spell's duration. (prereq. Delete)
Duration: 1 hour or less Cost to cast 4 to cast half to maintain.

Mung Average: As Shatter, explicitly for computers. Caster may specify that the computer does not necessarily fall apart. (prereq Heat)

Troll As Provoke, but the target is a text block. Half cost to maintain, Text can be enchanted to permanently troll readers for 10x cost

Resist Malware Area Caster must specify any number of malware varieties (requires Programming, hacking, or computer security rolls) Specified malware will not install or execute on target drives. Duration 30 minutes) Base cost 3 same to maintain.
Mana Threading Regular Subject processes data faster. Some data may be lost if spell expires. Spell castings are not cumulative. Duration: one hour Cost 3 per 10% efficiency increase up to 10 x magery level % same to maintain. Computer may be enchanted with manathreading for 100x energy rating.

Cleanse Drive VH: This spell eradicates all types of programs or files specified by the caster from the target drive.
Backdoor VH Special This spell creates a hyperlink between one icon,character, or web page object that is not already a link to a other document, program, or site, bypassing all security protocols. Browsers identify target as a link normally. Caster must have destination site open or know its directory path. Destination does not need to be on a network! If Backdoor expires while link is used, destination will close. Admins over the target will be aware it is opened or activated, but they will not be able to trace the user.Prereq at least ten other spells from the SoC. Costs: 20 to cast, Half to maintain. Link can be made permanent with 100x energy enchantment.

Elite Skillz VH: As Inspired Creation, but applies solely to programming or Computer Repair related endeavors. It only costs the subject 5 FP and 0 HP, but he or she gains Obsession(6)(Complete the project) until the project is complete. A subject may only be influenced by one Elite Skills casting at a time. Duration: Until Obsession is resisted by subject or project is complete. Base Cost: 8

Spell List
Measurement, Inscribe (Alt prereq. Writing or typing skill), Copy, Encrypt, Seek Power, Draw Power(alt prereq seek computer), Heat (alt prereq Draw Power), Resist Heat, Resist Lightning (Prereq Resist Heat), Resist Water (Prereq Resist Heat), Enchant, Scroll
Machine Language (alt prereq Computer programming >=13)
__________________
Steal Energy- giving Dungeon Fantasy wizards a pretext to learn healing magic since 2004.
Sense of Duty (Kittens) is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
magic, magical styles, thaumatology

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:52 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.