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Old 09-13-2017, 07:01 PM   #1
Jachra
 
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Join Date: Dec 2011
Default [RPM] [Advice] Egyptian Magic - Lesser/Greater Split

I need some advice, I'm a little stumped.
I've been working on an Egyptian magic variation of Ritual Path Magic, but I'm having trouble deciding what the Lesser/Greater split should be.
(If you're curious, the Paths I chose are: the Sky (gasses/air, thought), the River (spirits, water/liquids), the Earth (solid matter, life), the Sun (fire/energy, passions/emotions), Duat (death, travel, dimensions), Sekhem (magic itself), and Ma'at (order, truth, divination, harmony, reality). There's also the opposing Path of Isfet, which is (lies, chaos, confusion, disorder, unreality))

I figured that Transforming things should be like-to-like - ie, if something's of a similar size/shape then it's easy to transform one to the other - but I'm not wedded to it.
Theme I'm going for is moderate to high fantasy.

But yeah, having trouble figuring out what the split should be between Lesser/Greater. If you could provide some ideas on good alternative splits, that would definitely help me out.
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Old 09-13-2017, 09:58 PM   #2
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Default Re: [RPM] [Advice] Egyptian Magic - Lesser/Greater Split

Maybe take a page out of Incanters and just do away with greater and lesser splits entirely. If you are going for high fantasy then why have lesser magic? Just let Egyptian magicians do their thing.
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Old 09-13-2017, 11:48 PM   #3
Jachra
 
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Default Re: [RPM] [Advice] Egyptian Magic - Lesser/Greater Split

Where's Incanters from?
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Old 09-14-2017, 12:25 AM   #4
dcarson
 
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Default Re: [RPM] [Advice] Egyptian Magic - Lesser/Greater Split

Are you going to deal with how they divide the soul into the Ba, Ka and Akh?
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Old 09-14-2017, 12:43 AM   #5
Jachra
 
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Default Re: [RPM] [Advice] Egyptian Magic - Lesser/Greater Split

AM I!?

*ahem*

Quote:
Akh
5 points + 10 points/level
Egyptians speak of a mystic union of two parts of the soul, the ba and the ka, to form a greater whole known as the Akh, the “magically effective one.” While anyone may attempt to gather Sekhem and utter a spell with care and practice, only those with an Akh may do so effectively. Some people are born (or perhaps more accurately, reborn) with their Akh already intact, but most must gain this state of unity through magical experience and practice. Akh is purchased in levels, starting with level 0. Other cultures have mistaken Akhs for angels or another external force, while occultists in the late 19th and early 20th century viewed it as a sort of higher self, which is closer to the truth. More on this in the Souls section.
Akh 0: Without at least Akh at level 0, a sorcerer is at -5 to cast spells. In addition, when you first see and again when you first touch a magic item, the GM makes a Sense roll and adds the Akh level as a bonus, success meaning the sorceress intuitively recognize it as magical. A roll of 3 or 4 also tells you if it’s helpful or dangerous, and a rough idea of its power. 5 points.
Akh 1+: Each level of Akh provides an additional benefit:

Higher Maximum Skills: It raises the skill cap of Path skills to the lower of their Heka or (Akh level + 12). For example, with Heka 15 and Akh 2, the skill cap is 14.
Sekhem Reserve: It grants a Sekhem reserve of (Akh level x 3).
Additional Conditional Spells: A caster may have (Heka skill + Akh level) conditional spells active.
Quote:
Sheut
Every spellcaster has a mysterious part of their souls that offers certain benefits. Typically speaking, this part of a mage comes to her in dreams, or else visits them when they first arrive in the underworld. It is the spiritual shadow of the mage, their Sheut, and it lives primarily in Duat. It can take the form of the mage or an animal to which the mage is particularly connected to. Spiritual animals are related, and all hearken back to spiritual icons called totems, meaning that spirits that relate to that animal will consider the mage kin. For instance, Isabella’s genius is a jaguar, and all jaguar spirits consider her to be immediate kin, while other cats may think well of her.
There are two primary benefits involved with having a genius:

With a Lesser Sense Duat effect, the mage may communicate with her Sheut, either asking it to come to her or speak with her in a waking dream. Generally speaking, this is useful for learning about conditions in Duat, but a Sheut can also be set to perform tasks if it is willing; just because it’s part of the mage’s combined soul doesn’t mean it’ll be immediately obedient. Its capabilities are generally the same as the mage’s, though they cannot cast spells on their own, and their knowledge of Duat is great (always at least 3 levels higher than the character’s, a minimum of 12.) The Sheut may contact the mage in dreams almost at will.
The mage may transform into the shape of their Sheut reflexively with the expenditure of 3 Sekhem. They may assume their natural shape with a similar expenditure. Normally, this doesn’t require a roll, but if pressured they can make a Heka roll.

Familiars
By investing their shadow with greater power, a mage may manifest it into a companion that can accompany them in the waking world as well as in Duat.
A caster with a familiar should first buy it as an Ally (p. B36) with Special Abilities: Summonable. If desired, she should then take advantages to represent powers granted by the familiar, with the limitation Granted by Familiar. For example, a caster might be able to turn invisible as a power when her cat is around; she buys the cat as an Ally and takes Invisibility (Granted by Familiar, -40%) [24].
I have plans for the Ren and Ab as well, but haven't written them, yet
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Old 09-14-2017, 01:51 AM   #6
johndallman
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Default Re: [RPM] [Advice] Egyptian Magic - Lesser/Greater Split

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jachra View Post
Where's Incanters from?
GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 19: Incantation Magic. It's a simplified variant of RPM.
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