06-20-2014, 12:34 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Limits on Spells Available in Book Magic?
Are there hard limits on how many spells can be available in a book in the Book Magic rules in GURPS Thaumaturgy?
Thanks, M
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06-20-2014, 12:22 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
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Re: Limits on Spells Available in Book Magic?
No limit, but it is normally up to the GM to design the Books. At the most lenient he could let players design Books, then carefully review them. Ultimately it's the GM's job to judge whether a Book is appropriate in his campaign setting. Keep in mind not just overall power and number of rituals, but also if the Book has a coherent theme or reasonable explanation for the rituals it includes. And of course you can always charge an Unusual Background for access to especially potent or rare magical traditions.
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06-20-2014, 03:17 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: Limits on Spells Available in Book Magic?
That "coherent theme" bit is a major limiter: no matter how many spells appear in a Book devoted to Fire Magic, you won’t find a spell in there for causing an earthquake or curing an illness. In fact, that’s why there’s no need for a cap on the number of spells in a given Book.
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06-20-2014, 04:11 PM | #5 | |
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Ellicott City, MD
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Re: Limits on Spells Available in Book Magic?
Quote:
As for earthquakes, is manipulating lava not covered by a Fire book? Sure, the energy cost should be really high, but, it's not out of the question! |
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06-20-2014, 04:15 PM | #6 |
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Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
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Re: Limits on Spells Available in Book Magic?
Thats only paths. There is no need for book magic to be of the same theme.
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06-20-2014, 04:22 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
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Re: Limits on Spells Available in Book Magic?
For Paths the "theme" is the central concept or force (Spirits, Nature, Healing, etc) that the magic is manipulating. For Books, the "theme" can be more nebulous, but shouldn't be taken any less seriously. The examples in Thaumatology all have clear inspirations. Basically, there should be some rationale for why these particular rituals are grouped together, beyond just "the player likes them".
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06-20-2014, 04:37 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: Limits on Spells Available in Book Magic?
And if the GM allows a Book that uses comic book style “the flimsiest excuse is adequate justification to it”, he gets what he deserves.
Last edited by dataweaver; 06-20-2014 at 05:00 PM. |
06-21-2014, 09:06 AM | #9 | |
Join Date: Dec 2012
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Re: Limits on Spells Available in Book Magic?
Quote:
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06-21-2014, 09:29 AM | #10 |
Join Date: Sep 2007
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Re: Limits on Spells Available in Book Magic?
I always pictured Books as containing relatively few spells. This would motivate mages to collect a large number of tomes, and let you invent more names by which they can refer to them. Making individual spells quirky can also motivate collection of Books that overlap (seeking to find a version without a quirk, or have a beneficial one).
If a single Book has a huge number and variety of spells, I'd use a Path or create a style instead. The differences are only flavor. But if the PCs get to make up books that are just "My Personal Spell List", by Me, you might as well not bother saying that you're using Book magic, and just pick from the regular spell list. The only reason to have Paths or Books to constrain that choice. So, the limit on number of spells in a book is dictated by those goals for flavor and constraint in the setting. By RAW, there is no limit. |
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path/book magic |
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